Tag: life

Be still

On By Mountains of LifeLeave a comment

After a very long journey yesterday, I had a late start this morning. I decided to warm up on the way to Morskie Oko. For those unfamiliar with Polish mountains, it is a long walk, but a very easy and accessible. Being accessible means that it’s also very busy. Waiting in a queue for the tickets to the National Park, I wondered whether it was the best choice. I wasn’t going to turn back, so I put some sun cream and sunglasses on and set off.

I was surprised how easily I could block out the chatter around me. The trail wasn’t as busy as it could be, but it wasn’t the solitude of the Pyrenees. As soon as I blocked out the human voices, I realised how still everything was. I’m used to this valley at different times of year when there is so much life and sound in nature. Today everything is SO still. The river and the streams that are a source of sound at any other time are totally frozen. Maybe with an exception of one our most famous waterfalls, but at the moment this usually roaring waterfall turned into a very quiet stream and you can hear it only for a moment. I had my headphones with music and audiobooks, but I decide to put them in my backpack. This stillness is so profound.

After stopping at the mountain hut, I decided to go up the yellow trail for a while. I intended only to go to a good spot to take a few pictures of the frozen lake and the hut itself. I didn’t have any equipment with me apart from the trekking poles. I didn’t need crampons or ice-axe for my original plan. I kept walking up thinking that in the worst-case scenario, I’d go back the same way. The conditions up to the final climb were fantastic and even that last section was doable if one knew how. I met a few people, but those places are away from the madding crowd which makes this stillness even more profound. You could hear a bird every now and then, but apart from that there was only the sound of snow crunching under your feet, your heartbeat, your breathing… None of those could spoil that sense of stillness. It’s funny, I didn’t even sing. Neither out loud or in my head. Apart from maybe two moments when the views were so stunning, that ‘O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder…’ simply sprang to my lips. It made me realise that you can well filter out any external noise if you only want to. I often thought that I needed a quiet place to achieve this. An excuse? Possibly…

Every time I allow it to happen, this sense of stillness makes me go deeper into my heart. When I do it like that, I’m at peace.

Be still…

Hear you heart…

Hear your thoughts…

See what’s there and where it will take you…

The Pyrenees Day 0: Can I still do it?

On By Mountains of Life3 Comments

It’s not quite day one as I haven’t done any hiking today, but it gives some important background to the whole trip.

For various reasons, this past year felt a lot like a dragging myself through the valley of darkness. Recently, I’ve been so exhausted that for once, I doubted the wisdom of this kind of holiday. However, the flights were booked and I decided to go anyway.

I flew to Bilbao and spent the first night in the albergue on the French Camino in Pamplona. I took my pilgrim’s credential – once a pilgrim, always a pilgrim. This brought back some nice memories from ten years ago – almost to the day.

This morning, I found a cafe and over a cup of strong coffee, I finally decided where in the Pyrenees I was going to start. I phoned the refuge and booked a place for tonight. I was rather pleased with that as this trip started to finally take some shape. That joy didn’t last long. I soon found out that there was only one bus a day from Pamplona to Jaca and then to Panticosa – leaving at 3:30 in the afternoon which really was a waste of time. I was awfully annoyed with myself about not checking it beforehand to eventually realise that it wouldn’t have made any difference. I was getting more and more tired and frustrated. It was hot and I dehydrated myself which didn’t help, but only saw it later. The bus to Panticosa wasn’t going to get me to the refuge Casa de Piedra, even though it’s accessible by road. I was looking at the map and I’d have to walk the last 4 miles on the road or take a taxi. While I wasn’t keen on walking on asphalt with all the gear (more about this in a moment), I don’t take taxis in the mountains! It was so unthinkable that I literally cried. I again questioned whether I can do this kind of holiday anymore and wondered if I’d come back in a worse condition than I left. That last bit was equally unthinkable. I mean wasting the holiday.

The gear… I’ve been hiking all my life and I have no idea how on earth I could pack myself like I did!!! My backpack is far too heavy, but I can’t think of anything that I could leave behind. I really don’t know what I was thinking of while packing. Actually, if I wanted to be fair to myself, it wasn’t completely thoughless packing. I had in mind my trip from 2017 when I didn’t stay in mountain huts which changes the way you pack. Though what really had an impact on my packing was a recent reflection on things that I ‘carry’ in my life. One question that I need to answer during this trip is: How am I going to repack my life’s backpack?

Anyway, as I do, I decided to get on with it all and it was going to be a taxi. I would have excused myself anyway as soon as I saw that road!

I got on that bus and relaxed a bit. As we were getting closer to the Pyrenees, there was also more peace. During the last hour from Jaca to Panticosa, I started feeling that it all would be well.

Seeing these views from the bus was enough to bring me peace and energy.

When I got off in Panticosa, I started looking for a taxi. There were phone numbers at the bus stop, but I really don’t like phoning people. There was a woman talking on the phone, so I waited until she finished and asked her. At that moment, a car arrived and she told her husband that I needed to go to Casa de Piedra. He gave me a huge welcoming hug and said that, of course, they would take me there. It turned out that they were from Venezuela and worked in one of the hotels next to the refuge. As it happens, they asked my name, where I was from etc. When I said that I lived in Exeter, he only exclaimed loud ‘no’. Imagine that! Nearly fifty years ago, he was sent to Exeter for an English course to polish his English. He asked if I knew a place called Heavitree. I laughed in reply – that’s where my parish church is and where I work, I said.

Mario and Miriam were my life savers. They told me to ask at the hotel’s reception if I wanted to see them. Mario said that I was a fighter and that I’d be OK even with my backpack. How has he come to this conclusion 🤔? There is some truth in it!

I got to Casa de Piedra with uplifted spirit, left my stuff and went to walk around to stretch my legs and enjoy the views.

I agreed for a brief coaching session that evening. We were going to play it by ear as I didn’t know where I would be, but both: my coach and I thought that it would be great to connect while I’m in the mountains. I was laughing so much when we were on Zoom. I could feel how different I looked in comparison to this morning. There was a massive thunderstorm soon after we started and I had to run back, but I love thunderstorms and I laughed even more. I watched that thunderstorm and then everything around in such amazement. For some reason, it makes me think of Anne when she first arrived and was exploring the Green Gables. I must have fallen asleep with a huge smile on my face.

On the mountain the Lord will provide…