not your everyday walk around the block

I got an email this morning.. my mother is out walking..

"Walked 23 K today. We stopped for coffee, lunch beside a lovely forest stream and then for a beer. The weather remains great, warm & sunny. Today our trail took us through a lot of country side and forest. Saw and smelled Eucalyptus trees, also saw lots of pine, oak, ferns, and vineyards everywhere. Saw a family harvesting the grapes today, standing on boxes in the field beside a wagon. There is also a lot of corn, sometimes in the front or back yard or anywhere there is an acre or two of land..

We have 43 K left to walk. The trail is quite well marked with signs - yellow scallop shells on posts with the kilometers or yellow arrows on posts, stone walls, the pavement, and wherever. We have to keep watch as we walk to avoid having to go back to the last sign. And everywhere there are shrines. The local people are very friendly and wave and smile and sometimes give us blessings. Sometimes older women lean out of their upstairs windows to greet us. The older women all wear dresses and aprons."

My mother is walking the El Camino De Santiago and she is officially renewed her membership as my personal hero.