A beautiful Earth Day in every way!

Oh my ... I really must remember to take a camera with me on these long jaunts! We walked for 5 hrs today and covered 23 kms. On this earth day, the sun was shining, the flowers were absolutely incredible and the greens seemed brighter than usual. The mountains in the distance were magestic with their snow peaked tops and the sky above them was as blue as blue could be, with just a few strands of cotton-batton clouds scattered here and there. The ocean, a little bit turbulent and yet perfect I suppose for the sailboat which skimmed along the top. As I said to Martin, we will see a vast variety of scenery on our trip ... but, none can beat what we have right here on our doorstep! We indeed are very blessed.

We stopped at a golf course in Qualicum and had a pre-planned lunch with a group from the women's bible study of our church. It was great to have this little get-together, I will miss my friends while I am gone. God has blessed us and enriched us as we have become closely connected throughout these past couple of years on our collective spiritual formation journey.

On our return walk to Parksville, I was once again so pleased to see another group of fellow runners. I think it is God's way of allowing me to say my goodbyes in such a way as this; I have no doubt that their well-wishes will go with us and help to carry us during the more challenging times of our Camino.