Invincible Nature (Almost Wordless Wednesday)

“Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad, whatever is done and suffered by her creatures. All scars she heals, whether in rocks or water or sky or hearts.”

          — John Muir, John of the Mountains

Photo taken just outside Fineroyls, France, in the remote high plains of L’Aubrac. This was our first week of walking from Le Puy, and the man in the photo is Eugene, our first English-speaking friend.

We walked with Eugene through three stunningly beautiful, challenging days, sharing stories and struggling through the steady climbs and descents of the Le Puy Camino route. The hills, not to mention that giant backpack, took their tolls on Eugene’s knees, and after a couple of weeks he had to go home to Australia to heal. This photo, capturing both the shadows and optimism of early morning, was the last time we saw him.

He came back the following year, though, and finished his walk to Santiago. All scars do heal.