A small village passed Payton by on the trail. On one farmhouse, in painted Portuguese tiles, a poem about joy. His second dispatch from the Camino de Santiago is an ode to the Atlantic that has walked beside him for a week, and a question for the rest of us: what brought you joy today?

A husband’s final smile. A rose blooming a month early. This is a reflection on grief, awe, and the quiet strand that ties us back to the living world.