April 20

Middle of the night, Montpellier, from my journal:  “I woke to find the pensione cat had crawled into our bed and snuggled in like Jai does with me.  So so sweet.  Made me miss home tremendously.  The guys are not pets, they are family, and I am ready for home.  2/3 through our trip, loving it AND ready for Jai kisses.”

“All the world is made of faith, trust, and pixie dust.”
J. M. Barrie

From my journal: “Found a group of travelers at benches outside a hostel at Eglais Sainte Mare Madelaine in Bezier.  Isabelle’s first tip was a good one.  M and I joined them for coffee.  None of them were technically traveling together. . . though they were loosely doing so now.  Our burning question:  “Why do YOU walk the Camino?’  [We wanted to hear it firsthand.]

“A woman in her 40s does a bit of it each year as a part of her Catholic Spiritual Practice, in Spring, and for no particular reason but penance. 

A 50-ish man was doing it in honor of his dead wife.  He is an atheist, she was Catholic. 

A younger woman was one year sober and walking the Camino as her 4th step.  She cried as we talked.  She said she had talked about her regret with her sponsor, but none of her friends wanted to hear it.  She had lost so many friends due to her anger when she drank, and even more when she would not party with people anymore.

Back in the car, M & I talked about this research.  Nothing we can use in these conversation.”  11:30

“Dreams are the touchstone of our character.”  Thoreau

Moleskin 8×11 watercolor journal, Pentalic HB woodless pencil, De Artramentis Document and Super5 ink, and Daniel Smith, Holbien and QoR watercolors.

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