And so I sit here at the viewing point looking out over the small town of Aguas da Prata, birthplace of the Caminho da Fé, and the spot I choose as a place to stop over for a day to give my legs somewhat of a rest. Accompanied by some dark clouds floating by on my right and on my left is good old Christ who seems to be looking out over just about every town in Brasil no matter how small it may be.

I have done about 300 kilometers of walking right now in what have been more or less 12 full walking days. So far so good. I was a little bit doubtful before I started my walk because of the lack of training that i had been putting in beforehand but the first three days of walking combined with the Easter stopover in São Sebastião do Paraíso have more or less made up for that. Now I feel proud for already having made it almost halfway to Aparecida and very happy with the decision to have chosen this adventure which seemed somewhat of a strange and exotic plan when i first thought of it bit feels just fine right now.

I had imagined the town of Aguas da Prata to be a bit more lively considering the fact that many pilgrims use this place as the start of their journey to Aparecida. I pictured talking to other pilgrims out on picturesque cobblestone streets and seeing people being excited about the journey ahead or, like my case, already partially undertaken. But in reality it’s a quiet town where most of the activity takes place on the big road which runs right through the middle of it. Truth is is that it is not high Pilgrim season either and maybe most pilgrims just left early this morning which is more or less what pilgrims do. Later on during the year, during the months of July and August, when it’s colder and dryer, you will probably find many more pilgrims here and on the way to Aparecida.

It was kind of a deception though when i arrived here yesterday. I had expected a little bit more energy and a somewhat more welcoming experience. Walking into town already was not the best experience because of the 6km stretch of highway I was forced to walk along and at some points leaving literally no space for pedestrians. I had expected something else from the birthplace of the Caminho and what, according to the map, was supposed to be a relaxing 16km pre-resting day walk turned out to be quite the effort (22km in total). I guess if you want to rest then you really have to earn it and I did. I did stop at the restaurant located at the camping next to the toll booths about 2km outside of the town to have somewhat of a break from the highway walking experience but before i was able to have a light lunch I went through a 10 minute during toilet experience trying to free up my internal ways and causing me to sweat even more then i had been doing so during the preceding hour of walking with trucks and cars speeding by.

But i arrived here in the end and after a shower at the Pousada all was forgotten and satisfaction remains. And then 4 Yamaha motorcycles come riding onto the premises of the Pousada. From the yellow arrows on their shirts I can see that they are also on the Caminho da Fé. I am annoyed by the loud sound they make and internally judge them immediately for doing the Caminho in the way that they do. After having escaped for some coffee and having returned to the Pousada I let my curiosity take the upper hand and talk with them for a bit. My first real fellow pilgrim interaction apart from the cyclists i have encountered along the way. It is nice to share some experiences although theirs is obviously quite different. They have covered the same route which took me 12 days in just 2. And they are travelling with a support car with which they encounter on strategic locations along the route. They are a jolly bunch of friends and family and we even shared dinner together in a restaurant on the outskirts of 4the town.

Today, which is my resting day, my body feels a bit tired, almost as if it is complying with the resting day plan, just like it also responds when I have to do a long day full of uphill sections. It feels a little bit insecure to have my body feeling like this considering the fact that I have two more weeks of walking ahead but I assume that it will respond again when I resume my walk tomorrow.

I am actually already at the end of my resting day now, back at just another Pousada. The walk up to the Christ was followed by a visit to the local forest to spot some more of the monkeys which I have already been seeing along the way. Then it was off to the supermarket which is part of the daily ritual of preparing for the day to come and ensuring that I will have enough food to get me through a day of walking. All in all I still walked over 10 kilometers which seems a bit much for a resting day.

Looking at what is still to come I feel a mixture of excitement and also laziness. Part of me is keen on continuing the journey and another part also just wants to stop and relax. These sensations may also occur on a typical day of walking. When I wake up I may not feel like walking at all but as the day and the walk advances I will start feeling energized and convinced again to keep on going and then i will end the day physically tired but enthusiastic about another adventure lived that day. And there is enough adventure still to be lived after the halfway mark which I will pass somewhere tomorrow. But still, now at the end of my resting day, I am looking forward more to getting a good night’s rest tonight. So let’s not get ahead of things and leave the Caminho for the day to come.