Total distance covered so far: 82km

Sitting on a very comfortable couch, with a cold aqua con gas in hand, flies buzzing everywhere and a remarkable view of one of the many peaks of this area, my heart is filled with a sense of peace, gratitude and awe.

I woke up this morning feeling very heavy and tired in my body. We have been doing our 28 conscious connected breaths and a felt sense meditation every day before getting out of bed, and this morning, when I checked in with what was alive in my body, I was met with a deep sense of tiredness. Along with it came disappointment.

I have always been someone who wakes up energised. I am a morning person who thrives on getting out of bed and beginning the day. Mornings have always been my favourite part of life. But today, my body was switching on a little more slowly and the pain in my neck and shoulders from carrying my backpack was very present.

Our bags weigh around 16kg and, as our host later said when he picked one up for all of two seconds to throw it into the back of his car, “No, impossible! How do you carry this?”

Well, we do.

Interestingly, my legs have been feeling surprisingly strong, but my shoulders, much like they did last year, have been carrying a deep ache between my shoulder blades and along the sides of my neck. As I reflected on this, I realised that since my breakup last June, much of my focus has been on tending to my emotional and spiritual world.

I was about to say that my physical body had taken a back seat, but that isn’t really true.

If anything, I have simply been listening to it differently.

I have been focusing more on rest, more on sleep, more on walking slowly, more on nourishing myself with comforting and healthy food, and more on creating moments of stillness. Those are the cues my body has been offering me and those are the cues I have been responding to. Not the push. Not the win. Not the constant drive to do more or be more.

And yet, because I have a competitive streak, a part of me hopes that my drive will return one day, but this time with a softer edge and a deeper respect for the limits of my being.

In the meantime, I will continue choosing stillness, gentleness and a kinder approach towards this wonderful body that carries me through the world.

During our silent mornings together, my mum and I have been practising this kindness. I begin at my toes and slowly work my way upwards, thanking each part of my body for the role it plays in allowing me to do the things I love.

I think my mum and I have become slightly accustomed to this level of exertion and perhaps see it as fairly normal. However, the more people’s eyes widen and the more hosts tell us, “You’re crazy,” the more we are beginning to realise that it is actually quite incredible that our bodies and spirits keep bringing us back together on these adventures.

And so I keep thanking my body for its willingness to carry me to these viewpoints, climb these mountains and swim in these beautiful rivers and waterfalls.

This morning, I gratefully received some healing from Mum, who had very wisely packed her acupuncture needles. They were an absolute saving grace.

I lay there feeling relief almost immediately as I breathed into the tension and allowed it to soften. You can almost feel the muscle climbing up the needle as it begins to let go. She also kindly offered to carry my rather weighty iPad for the day, which initially landed in me as guilt. Thankfully, a quieter voice reminded me that it is okay to ask for help and it is equally okay to receive it.

We had enjoyed another wonderful stay at Posada San Pelayo, which we have since discovered is essentially a hostel with a great deal more charm than the word hostel suggests.

The hosts were incredibly kind and, before bed the previous evening, we had one of those classic travel conversations assisted almost entirely by Google Translate, trying to communicate just how much we had loved our stay there, particularly the gardens.

Sneaking out at 7am, the only sign of life was a gentleman enjoying a cigarette on the balcony of his room.

I will never understand that choice.

We immediately began climbing in silence, weaving our way through meadows and shady trees, the golden morning light becoming more abundant now that we were further east. Hay bales lay scattered across the fields, glowing softly in the early sun.

The route soon led us into a stretch of forest, which has always been one of our favourite terrains. We love the towering trees, the shade and the birdsong. There was also something incredibly gentle about the atmosphere today. A quietness had settled over the valley and, with so little human noise interrupting it, the whole place felt magical.

As we emerged from the forest, we found ourselves at a large terraced viewpoint overlooking the East Massif. Someone had thoughtfully installed a selfie stand, perfectly positioned to capture both the view and the people standing in front of it.

We have been continually impressed by the care that has gone into maintaining these trails. The paths are beautifully looked after and there always seems to be another thoughtful stop, bench or viewpoint waiting around the corner.

After taking our obligatory photo, we continued down towards the monastery.

Perhaps I missed something, or perhaps the real beauty exists within its walls, but from the outside it looked rather like a very large rectangular building. I wouldn’t personally list it amongst the highlights of the trip. However, just as I was having that thought, we noticed signs indicating that a pilgrimage route ended there, which suggested it clearly holds significance for many people.

I must remember to look up the story behind it.

In the entire morning, we passed only one other walker and, unsurprisingly, she was heading towards the monastery.

And then our long descent began.

Road walking is never our favourite, but thankfully good conversation makes the kilometres pass quickly. In the distance we spotted a campsite and initially decided not to stop. Then I noticed a wooden log cabin overflowing with bougainvillea and immediately changed my mind.

I simply cannot resist a cute coffee stop.

So we pulled in.

The coffee was kak.

The nectarines, however, were absolutely delicious.

We are having a rather funny relationship with food on this trip. The Spanish meal schedule continues to throw a spanner in the works. Dinner starts so late that we have begun adapting by making lunch our biggest meal and then relying on dried meats, cheese and crackers in the evenings.

We keep hoping to stumble upon cucumbers and tomatoes, but surprisingly that hasn’t been easy. Eggs, which are normally our hiking staple, have been equally elusive. We found them once and they came in every colour imaginable: pink, blue, white and brown.

The food story I will remember most from this hike is lots of bread, lots of cheese, an alarming amount of fries, cured meats and, whenever possible, exceptionally good burgers and steaks.

So yes, the coffee was terrible, the nectarines were wonderful and we continued on our way feeling revitalised by the ritual of a coffee stop and a snack.

Not long afterwards I spotted a bakery with five-star Google reviews and announced that if they had croissants, I was having one.

Thankfully, they did.

And not just any croissant.

A ham and cheese croissant.

The lovely lady behind the counter toasted them for us and we sat playing backgammon while enjoying every delicious bite.

We were delighted by Potes, the biggest town we have seen so far. Although our experience was largely limited to the bakery, it was nice to see something larger than a handful of buildings. There was life, movement and energy. However, once we moved beyond the centre, the larger apartment blocks began appearing and some of the charm of the smaller villages faded away.

The path flattened out for a while, winding through meadows and following the river. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a suitable swimming spot.

To entertain ourselves, Mum and I began telling a story.

I would tell one chapter and she would continue with the next. The story evolved naturally into the tale of two brothers and a white horse and, eventually, as all good stories should, it ended with somebody finding love.

Apparently we are romantics at heart.

The game distracted us so effectively that before we knew it we had reached the 12km mark and the serious climbing was about to begin.

Thankfully that croissant carried us through.

The climb was steep, fully exposed to the sun and wonderfully challenging. My backpack felt significantly better after the adjustments and with Mum carrying my iPad.

We climbed and climbed until we eventually arrived in Pendes.

Google had identified the local dairy as the main attraction, which seemed like a dangerous suggestion considering we were already carrying a substantial block of pecorino.

Still, these little local stops are part of what makes travelling so special for me. You meet the artisans, experience the local flavours and connect with a place in a way that feels real.

The cheesemaker had technically closed for the day and was walking away with six icy cold beers when we arrived. To his credit, he turned around, reopened his little window and rather unenthusiastically showed us his products.

We left with a block of smoked local cheese and a shared lemon Radler.

The Radler was definitely more welcome than we were.

From there the climb continued through chestnut trees and eventually into one of the most beautiful forests we have encountered on the trip.

It felt like a perfect bookend to the way the day had begun.

Mum commented that the forest carried a different energy and she was absolutely right. Once she mentioned it, I became more aware of how I was feeling and there was something profoundly calming about the place.

The ancient trees seemed wise.

Their huge trunks twisted and curved towards the light, creating entire ecosystems within themselves. Trees appeared to grow out of other trees and everything felt interconnected.

As my feet crunched through layers of fallen leaves, I couldn’t help but wonder how many winters I was walking across. How many seasons had settled here, layer upon layer, before returning to the earth beneath my feet. And how many stories had travelled this very path before me.

That romantic thought was interrupted by another steep climb which eventually brought us to Refugio Cabañes and an entertaining welcome from Vincente, the Italian chef.

He sang Italian songs, drummed on his beer belly and prepared the dining room for dinner while entertaining himself immensely.

Once again there was no lunch available, so we accepted an ice cold aqua con gas and enjoyed the view.

My terrible Italian got us into a rather amusing conversation and I quickly realised that if we remained indoors, Vincente would happily continue talking until bedtime.

Eventually he called Rio, the owner of our accommodation, and together they arranged for a Spanish omelette to be made while we waited for our lift.

And so another slightly unusual lunch of omelette and fries accompanied a game of backgammon.

When Rio finally arrived, he was fascinated by our backpacks, our route and what exactly it was we thought we were doing. The conversation eventually resulted in him filming us and recording our answers.

Half the time I genuinely had no idea what was being said, but everyone seemed highly entertained.

Rio then informed us that we were the only guests staying at the Posada that evening and that we would have the entire place to ourselves.

Delightful.

The Posada itself could easily sleep forty people and we were absolutely thrilled to have the beautiful lounge, outdoor seating area and kitchen completely to ourselves. We felt rather spoiled.

Unfortunately, we were not entirely alone.

A rather impressive number of flies had also taken up residence. After some investigating, Mum discovered a dead bird near the porch which appeared to be the source of the problem. Unfortunately, without a plastic bag or any practical means of dealing with it, there wasn’t much we could do.

And so the rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, sleeping, writing this, enjoying our rehydrated chicken curry and soaking up the peace and quiet.

And hopefully tonight will be an early night.