Rocks and Resources

 

Day 31 - Pomps

     We were a little disappointed by the low lying clouds this morning because the town we stayed at had a sweeping view of the valley with the Pyrenees Mountains in the background.  However, later in the day we had some great views of the mountains.

     As we have traveled along the Camino in France we have admired the centuries old buildings crafted from each region’s rock landscape. On the Aubrac plateau it was large granite rocks.  Next, it turned to limestone buildings.  The last few days, it has become round stones.  Each style of construction has its own beauty. It is evident that each region used what resources they had and made something beautiful.  It’s one of the many life lessons we are connecting to on the Camino.  Our paths in life which are given by God offer each of us different resources to build our lives from.  They are different one from another, but we each have the opportunity to build something beautiful.

     Another change that we notice is that the interior of the churches seem to be less elaborate, and in some cases quite simple.  We usually pass three or more churches a day and they are almost always open. We go in almost every one, so we have seen close to a hundred churches this past month.  A couple of times the last few days, we have been startled by sleeping pilgrims in the church.  Hopefully, Esther and I won’t need to do that, but I guess it could work as a last resort.

   We are staying in a small gite tonight with four others: another retired couple and an older brother/sister pair, all French. The few who knew English were gracious enough to include us in the conversation.  Today was a long 17 mile day, but tomorrow will be a shorter day on the trail.