Camino Covid

We Irish seniors have just completed 5 weeks in isolation.  The government cleverly calls it "cocooning", but to us over 70s it feels a bit more like house arrest.  We are not permitted to leave our perimeters, post a letter, pop to the nearby shop.  We are dependent for all our grocery and medication needs on kindly younger neighbours, or offspring living half an hour away, who are already up to their limits with home working and home schooling, and having their groceries delivered by booking several weeks in advance, or queuing patiently at their local shops.  It seems very selfish to add our needs to theirs, but so it is decreed.  We miss our grandchildren and our friends, but this won't last forever, and next week our prison doors will open partially, and we can leave our gardens to stroll for up to 2kms from home.  Alleluia!

I had been hoping to do another fundraising camino.  May is such a perfect month in northern Spain, and the paths would not be too busy.  But of course all those plans are now redundant, as Spaniards tentatively allow their children out of their apartments for an hour's fresh air and exercise each day: they have been cooped up far longer than us.

Unlike most of our friends who are tied to limited outdoor space, we are in the enviable position of living beside fields with wonderful sea views, where we have permission to roam.  Since March 28th this has proved a huge boon to me, and I have rigidly walked two or three hours each day.  It's fairly demanding territory as we are perched on an undulating hill, and the grass is growing longer and lusher each day.  I don my wellingtons, and head out morning and late afternoon, whether I feel like it or not.

Needing to watch where to put my feet in uneven ground, I have begun to notice the wealth of butterflies, insects and wild flowers that populate these acres.  Suddenly I am keen to identify this flora and fauna, and spot birds which are summer visitors.  Away from traffic noise, the birdsong is marvellous, and my heart lifts once I climb the style and enter this magical unfolding of spring .  There are special little spots where I can sit and catch my breath, and listen to the sounds of nature, undisturbed by man or beast.  It is truly paradise.

And to my astonishment, the kilometers have been mounting up almost without my knowing, but my phone has been keeping count.  Since March 28 I have completed a comfortable 193 kms and must issue myself with a Covid compostela.  My two new hips are rejoicing in all this exercise, and while it's nothing like the real thing, it is certainly good training for when I can once again don my hiking boots and be en camino!