Left to right -Giovanni, French Foreign Legion Veteran.  Brad – founder of VOC and USN Seabee Veteran.  Piotr – Polish Navy Veteran.  Dan – USMC Veteran

Witold pauses on the road for a photo

After crossing the Pyrenees, we settle into a routine of walking, eating, sleeping and doing it all over the following day.  Of course those are the main portions of the day, but as we walk, and as we gather at the albergue for the evening, we talk amongst ourselves and we meet the other travelers on “The Way.”

Our conversations cover a lot of territory.  I spend part of each day with each member of our group.  Most of our talks are about the small matters in life, sometimes about powerful and even horrific events that happened during our military service. Veterans seem to speak a different language between each other when the conversation goes down that path. Every day I learn a little more about our amazing group of Veterans.  

I asked Witold what his favorite part of walking the Camino is so far, he thought for awhile and then said that as his body gets in shape from the long hours of walking, he feels better.  Even younger. He has been struggling with blood sugar issues but by actively walking and getting in shape, he feels much better.

Many people believe that the first third of the Camino is about conditioning your body, getting used to walking every day, making your metabolism more efficient.  I think Witold is experiencing this – I look forward to asking the question again once we are on the Meseta.