Dear Caminoheads,

My fellow Bureau Chiefs are just amazing, and we seem to be developing some sort of mind-reading thing, as there are 2 deep and touching comments on the post from yesterday that must be read by all, and they came very handy as today I am not feeling great, I guess I caught some bug and my stomach isn’t happy.

Here is Ronaldo’s… Remember: he is our Bureau Chief once in the USA East Coast, but fell in love with Astorga and the meseta, and moved there along with his main love, Anne.

 

When this ‘war’ first started, having no idea that it would go on even this long, I had the feeling that the restrictions limiting personal contact enjoyed by Spanish people (kisses as a common greeting, for example) would contribute to mental health issues apart from, and potentially longer lasting than, the virus particle itself.

But from my vantage point as a new-comer to this community in northern Spain, I have observed wonderful resilience and great community responsibility despite many deaths and infections. Many businesses have closed, and recently a few new ones have opened, people here do respect mask use and personal spacing and hand cleaning upon entry to businesses, and perhaps most important, I think I can see smiles underneath those masks.

So I hope that you too are smiling under that mask and that your smile encourages others to ‘Carry On’ even if there is a ‘war’ going on.

Cris signed off with HTL. Do you know what HTL means, at least to me? Hug Too Long, that kind of contact that is long enough to release some magic things in our bodies that overcomes physical and emotional pain, brings a flow of warm memories and makes one want to do it again.

HTL loves,
Ronaldo

 

Virus free Loves,

Cris