On Leapfrogging

October 6

The first time we leapfrog to the next map (to find an open farmacia), I feel awful.  We'd both known we would have to do it, and more than once, too, to get to the must-do 100 km on time, but the first instance turns out to be because of my darn feet.

However, while consulting the guide book for other possible skipping points, Jerri finds a blurb by the author himself: “The majority of pilgrims will have committed to travel the whole route by foot, which is highly commendable, but others have different time constraints. If the idea of taking public transport seems like heresy it might be useful to ask yourself--why not? ... The ego and its obsessive behavioral patterns can be just as limiting as a laissez faire attitude and indifference.  What, then, is your motivation for this journey, the intention you set out with?  Does your decision to walk rather than take the bus serve that purpose?"  In fact, Brierley (the author) even suggests taking buses past such sections as the one into León on the busy, dangerous main road.

Those considerations notwithstanding, I choose to console myself with the fact that, any day we must leapfrog, it is not to rest or spend extra time sightseeing; we will merely move ahead a map to start walking for the day.