Day 8, Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Another delightful trek. This one was supposed to be easier than the last one, but it seemed harder. My legs certainly suffered more. I’ve learned not to trust anything Mark says about difficulty and about time; I really love giving Mark a hard time. But, beautiful views, wonderful company, exhilarating exercise—hard to beat.

This time before we started I told everyone that if anyone wanted coaching or counseling from me during the hike, that’s one of the things I was here for. So almost for the entire hike this time I was coaching or counseling one person after another. I probably talked with five different people in this way, as we were taking this beautiful hike. Plus, it appeared that I really affected most of these people, which is very gratifying. It also made the time go very quickly.

At one point toward the end I just needed to be by myself in silence for a little while, and just take in the surroundings, which was very rejuvenating. Toward the end we came upon some ruins with a cave where it was apparent people actually lived for a while, and a few of us went in.

I was really tired by the end, especially my legs. Luckily, two people owed me trades and gave my legs a rubdown afterwards–Della is an expert healer and physical therapist and Karen is a friend–which saved me. I definitely earned my keep today on this work/trek. Another wonderful day in Costa Blanca.