Early Morning

In the countryside after Astorga- walking early- 
with the remnants of a thunderstorm still in the air

"I'll tell you how the sun rose a ribbon at a time."

~Emily Dickinson 

On warmer days in France and Spain 

I always preferred to start walking in the morning cool.

To walk as the world awoke to a new day 

was always a time of real joy for me

deep quiet joy.

And this particular morning I walked with my Quebec friends.

It had been an unbearably hot night,

until in the early hours, a loud thunderstorm began. 

We were glad to escape early, 

though nervous lest the storm return while we were in the open.

We were all excited, after so many days of 'flat' walking

to be heading for the mountains again, 

towards Rabanal del Camino... Foncebadon..... Cruz de Ferro...

places of mysterious names, 

all in the higher land that we couldn't wait to climb.