Mother earth, my dear old friend
I yearn to be with you again
Away from the city
Away from the crowds
Away from the noisy buses that come around

To run faster than the wind and feel it combing my hair
To climb your tallest trees that you have shared
To scream at the top of my longs in the middle of the woods
I never want to do what I should…

I found this poem by Jennica Figueroa… It’s not that I don’t want to be at home with the people that I love the most in the world… it’s just that I want to be there too.

I’ve been home for 7 weeks and the Via feels so long ago and so far away.  A few days after my return I had a simple pre-planned operation to remove a rather large and ugly varicose vein.

I’ve had this vein for years and years and assumed, as it never hurt, that it wasn’t a problem… so I ignored it.  Apparently this wasn’t a good idea and my surgeon said that it should be removed as soon as I finished my walk (I think I might have been the only pilgrim walking with a compression stocking under my kit).

Anyway… we drove home from Muxia and a few days later I had the op.  In my head I thought I would be off my feet for a day or two but in reality I was off my feet for a few weeks.  Indeed it’s Boxing Day now and I still have the remnants of swelling and bruising.  To make matters worse, just as it was starting to feel better, I picked up some kind of cold/flu virus and both me and Matt have spent the last week or so coughing and spluttering.

Why am I telling you this?  Because I feel lost.  I went from walking to watching repeats on day-time television.  I think I have a case of post-camino blues.  It was only a few days ago that I even bothered to sort through my photos… but sort them I did and I made a little slideshow.  I’m not sure that it has made me feel any less lost… but I have enjoyed reliving my grand adventure and I am wondering when and where I will walk next… and I’m taking this as a good sign.. I’m looking for arrows again.