Homeward bound or I wish I wasn't

Sitting in, as they pronounce it so beautifully, Lishboa Airport. We had a slightly panicked jog from our arrival gate to our departure one. Between a fairly close window and the hour time difference it got the heart rate up!! A good thing as we face the last long leg of our journey home. 

I know I sort of dropped off the radar upon arrival in Santiago.  Easy to do in the flurry of activities that a pilgrim finds themselves sucked into.  

Find your room/ hotel. Check where your travel companions are. Meetup with people you  "lost" along the way. Arrange celebratory meals and drinks. Get one Compostella. Get another from San Francisco. Maybe even a distance one if your inclined. Attend at least one pilgrim mass. Visit the saints bones in the crypt and again give santiago un abrazo if one is inclined. All this takes a surprising amount of time. 

This briefest of times in one of my favorite cities included two special moments. I finally got to meet and hug two of my favorite Camino people . In the flesh at last. 

During the mad flurry of getting Compostellas I literally walked into Tracy Saunders as she was waiting to attend a wedding in santiago.  Less than fortyeight hours later, sharing an English mass in one of the tiny chapels behind the main altar in the cathedral, I finally met Johnny Walker!! Next year I WILL have enough time to actually do more than joyfully hug them both. 

Which reminds me, if you need (and who doesn't really?) decompression time after doing the Camino, go visit Tracy at the Little Fox House. It's a tiny jewel hidden at the end of the world. Check her FB page. Just the right way to gather yourself before you head back to a world that hasn't been changed by the Camino as you yourself may have been. 

And now sadly we are well and truly winging our way back.  One more security check here in Lishboa airport (lucky us!) and we're on our way.  

O Burgo or not quite there yet.

We're spending the night just on the edge of O Pedrouzo. The original plan was the municipal alburgue. 

Then at our first coffee break, who do we meet but Marcy from our Philadelphia Camino group! 30 seconds more and we would have missed each other. Thanks to her walking companion Klaus, we also ended up with reservations at a private alburgue! So tonight we celebrate.

The electrical difficulties of this Camino are preventing me from putting in pics now. No charger for my camera! Full up on pics on my iPhone. Now I'm using Rays!! Even trying to use Klauses charger didn't quite work. Sigh. But again, if these are the biggest problems, I am one lucky person. 

So tomorrow we walk into santiago. German, French, Danish and American. We have wine to share when we reach the praza de obradorio.  Now we need to pray that the rain holds off. We who are all tanned and healthy looking. Again we have walked for weeks, mostly in sunshine. So we cannot complain. Bon nuit. Schlaff gut. Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite! Really!!

Sobrado dos Monxes

I wasn't kidding when I said the place deserved its own post. 

It's quite a slog, seemingly mostly down hill to Sobrado dos Monxes. Just at the point you think your feet can't step down one more time, you encounter the lake which is right around the bend from the monks. 

The facade is covered in lichen, much the same as Sangtiago de Compostella.  And small plants have begun to sprout from various nooks an crannies that will require quite an investment to remove.  

We entered thru a huge iron gate with the word Pax written huge above. Our hospitalero had lovely classical music playing as we signed in. 

I confess to a moment of doubt when I was informed that we'd have to wait an hour to shower, as the water heater was broken. If there is one thing you come to cherish after a hard day walking thru the forest, and the highways and the byways it's a shower and the opportunity to clean your clothes. 

They did get immediate brownie points for having a washer AND a dryer.  One hour later, the promised shower was available. Sobrado also boasts not one but two super mercados!!

So off to the store. Damian, Dominique and me. The original plan was a simple dinner of sausages, mashed potatoes and maybe a salad. But inspite of two whole stores, there were no fresh sausages to be had. So quick change by our personal chef de cuisine and it was decided we'd have tortilla Frances aka an omelette.  

The eggs had yolks the color I've never quite seen. Deep dark orange yellow. The resulting omelette was incredible and not one scrap was left. Roughly the same thing went down with tomato salad and the peas and carrots swimming in fresh butter. 

The room we ate in was once probably used by the monks. Now they live upstairs. The entire dozen or so. Benedictine monks. 

Vespers was a beautiful prelude to dinner. The singing did what that sort always does to me. It brought on the tears. (To my sons. Stop laughing!)

After vespers we ate and at nine it was time for Completo. This was done with much more subdued lighting. The singing was so sweet and so peacefull. Literally a lullaby by Benedictine monks. Perfect. 

As they departed the chapel, a bowl of holy water was offered by a younger monk. After the last of the monks had blessed himself, the young monk gestured to those lay people present to come forward. It was rather lovely to be included.  None of us said a word as we descended the massive stone staircase.

Off to our pilgrim room and to sleep.   

In the early morning we again all meet in the former dining room for our respective breaking of the nights fast. For me it was once again you hurt with muesli and dried fruit. And of course coffee. Coffee Via courtesy of Starbucks. 

Off thru the very quiet village and into the woods. No hint of the heat to come. By one o'clock it was quite warm. Especially for October. By three we were all roasting with very little shade as our lovely little trickle joined the Camino Frances. 

Walking into Arzua with Chantal (who was really feeling the heat even more than the rest of us.) I did what I did three years ago when walking the Frances myself. Music. Fast or funny music. Any thing to distract the mind and keep the feet moving  

So I entered the main Camino singing. "Let it Go" from my granddaughters favorite movie Frozen. Great choice when it's 25celcius. Add some baton twirling tricks I've learned after three Caminos and let's just say I think I embarrasses my spouse. But bleeeeeep it was so much fun. 

Camino calculations!

When you are walking the Camino mileage or kilometers matter. Whether you count them or not, like calories, your body will do it any way. 

Yesterday was from Baamonde to Miraz. Today was from Miraz to Sobrado dos Monxes. As originally posted this was supposed to be one etap (section) of 41km. In other words a marathon. Nope. 

Fortunately the blessed Confraternity of Saint James stepped in with Miraz, at about 15km in.  It's an especially nice alburgue with one of the best kitchen facilities we've seen along the way!!

 Even more spectacular was the centrifuge!! It rather like having just the spin cycle on the washer. So after hand washing you get to spin your clothes to the point of being nearly done. 

An hour in the sun and you have cleN dry laundry!  When you have only two sets of clothes this is a real treat. 

After a great breakfast with Sadie and Priscilla out hospitilleras, we were off for what is still our longest day. 25.5 km. over hill over dale. And over the highest point on this Camino. We did it. Almost wo lunch!!

Fortunately we found a lake 2km before our mine start refuge and sat for 2/2 an hour and gobbled up the remains of our food. Em salads Russ, potato chips, chorizo, queso chocalate and water! A veritable feast along the Camino. 

.......

Dinner last night was the best omelette ever. Dominique made it for us with peas and carrots the likes of which I've never eaten. Followed with a tomato salad we were well prepared ( or so we thought) for walking to Azura. 

Sobrado dos Monches deserves an entire entry of its own.  We were privileged to attend vespers with the monks. Damian and I were the only ones from our group to go back for Completo. It was like having the monks sing us a lullaby.  Beautiful and amazing. If you ever ever have the opportunity...go. 

Onward

It seems nearly a week since we left Karmela at her little alburgue. But it's barely fortyeight hours. 

We went fro beautiful and ancient to beautify and modern. Gontan was as sleek and modern as they come. Comfortable too. The only complaint would be for one more pot. There was only one. One pot, 26 beds!  Yet Dominique managed to cook us up a delicious dinner for six. Dominique, Chantal, Damian, Gabriel, Ray & I feasted on pasta with chorizo and tomato. 

Well rested we pushed on to the municipal alburgue in Vilalba. As sleek modern and bright as Gontan was vilalba was not. It's got potential.  It's one huge,three story stone block. Looks some on the outside and striking in its own way. Then you step inside to this space that could be amazing. But for the fact that it's all ALL painted brown. Chocolate brown. Shit brown. All the walls. In every room.  Ahh well. And in the kitchen, one pot. One pot and thirty six beds!! Somehow Dominique still made amazing pasta for dinner. Pasta with fish and tuna and calamari!

Six hours later:

We are in Baamonde. Ninety six beds. One pot. One very small pot. I think Galicians have a wicked sense of humor. 

Dinner tonight out did every other so far on the Camino. 

Mountain hideaway

Last night we shared some thing probably few are lucky enough to have a chance to enjoy. Directly on the Camino del Norte is a little piece of Galician Heaven.  

O Bisonte. A private alburgue that our friend from Germany, Damian found. The owner/hospitialiero was Karmela. An artist and fascinating woman. 

The house is "two kilometers" past Mondenedo. Straight up!!! But that also meant we didn't have that part of the climb first thing in the morning. Gotta stay positive. 

We climbed. And climbed up a tiny local road. Up up up!! A quick call to make certain we hadn't passed and we  kept on walking. 

Then we saw it. No missing the bright red Bison. Or our friend Dominique, with his bright shirts, bandana tied over his bald pate and his even brighter smile. We'd made it. 

If you have walked in Spain you've seen the beautiful old stone houses. Slate roofs and half open doors. Naturally shaped wood over the doors and windows. A real feeling of being a part of the landscape. 

Our beds were in the attic. The beams were entire trees! Curved and smooth. The wood above was also simply a slab cut from a tree. You could see the slate tiled in spots where the tree slabs didn't meet.  

Our beds were simple iron with very comfy mattresses. Karmela left a fresh apple on each of our beds. Shades of things to come. 

Dinner was  pumpkin soup (homegrown pumpkin!), followed by pasta salad with ham and queso and tortilla de Espana.  The eggs too were from her chickens. Wine to wash it all down. We ate outside on a picnictable watching the light changing on the hills opposite. 

The only sounds during the night were the snorers. And an occasional dog somewhere up the valley.   

At 7:15 am we were all moving snd ready to begin our day. Karmela gave us a terrific breakfast. Cafe con leche, tostada, local honey, home made apricot jam, muesli, and fresh orange juice. 

Fortified we took the hills like champs and made Gontan by 1:00pm. Two vino tintos and two cerveza con limon (at two different bars - spreading our economic impact) we are settling in for a communal dinner. 

  

Tonight we cook in our alburgue. Pasta con chorizo, tomato salad olives and bread. Vino of course. Dominique will be our chef de cuisine. 

Gratitude

For having my own plug for charging our phones! 

Gratitude for fresh Zumo de Naranja! OJ !

Gratitude for company ! 

Ha so you thought you had your day planned!!

Gotta be a bit quick!! Tired as all get out. Our "just" 20km ended at more like 22 or 23 km!  Which matters to your feet and your head on a bright and sunny day on the Camino. 

We successfully ditched 1.5k at the Correo this morning.  Yeah!!  That also got us off to a late start. Like easily a half hour later. So at 9 am we left Ribadeo.  Beautiful city where we enjoyed a delicious dinner with a couple from Quebec. 

The way out was a little hard to follow at first. But it was a beautiful climb and the views and houses were amazing. 

Our goal for the day ? Gondan. Only to find pilgrims we knew trying to decide of they too could make another 2.1km!! The beautiful alburgue was cerrado! Closed! So on to San Xusto. We made it and have beds for tonight. 

So dinner was/is at the local bar (restaurant/coffee bar/bar) boccadillos!! Boccadillos means literally little mouthfuls/little bites. Well they must be some big folk that call these little. We had atun(tuna) with lettuce and tomato.  With Mahou cerveza (beer) delicious!! 

We were careful to make a break every hour today. Horray iPhone!! It kept is from pushing too far too fast and being toast. 

Tomorrow Mondeneda. We hope. 

La Caridad with none to spare.

Tonight we slept in the quiet sleepy(especially by Spanish standards) little town of La Caridad. Charity. Apparently male Perigrinos especially from Mediterranean countries are exempt from showing it. 

 They were a large group. Deep voices. And a seeming inability to pack their things with out talking about it. All this at just after 5am.

 They are gone now. My spouse has rejoined the snoring concert on the upper level. 

Me, I just finished packing most of my gear (a fair bit of his too)   Now, at 6:30 chillin for a few before we begin our walk to Ribadeo.  

5.5 hours later!

Chillin again half of today's walk in and we're in Tol/San Salvador having our usual cofee and Nestea. Bar nuts included! God I love Spain. Nine kilometers more before we find a bed. 

Most of the morning walking with a couple from Quebec. They have been walking the whole route since San Sebastian.  We parted here in Tol as I was hell bent on finding an Aseo (aka bathroom). They were just eating their sandwiches at the crossroads. Lovely couple to spend a mornings walk with. 

Boring a weather talk can be, gotta say its beautiful today. It was 55 when we started and is probably 70+ now with a cool breeze off the ocean. Wonderful. 

A few hours later!! The days walking is done and so are we. The albuergue was completo. No big surprise as it has only 12 beds. So we're in Hotel Rosmary. Immaculate.  In the center of town. Room with private bath. 35€!  We would have spent 10 for the alburgue. So this is a deal. 

So now a little about today's walking. Or a little more. After we parted from the Canadian couple, we ate at the nearby bar.

 From this point forward the "way" and I use the term very loosely, was on the road. Not next to. Not parallel. ON the road.   For most of the nine km.  An occasional side walk when in a village. Otherwise every truck or car that passed we would stand facing the road to make ourselves as small a profile as possible. As unpleasant as the mornings walk was lovely. This piece needs to be reworked. It's seriously dangerous.  

As dangerous as this bit was, crossing the Ria de Ribadeo was cool. Really cool.  The walkway was narrow, barely 36 inches. But the view was worth every hard foot fall on concrete!  

Had in Barcelona!

Ahhh such bummer of a story. I took such great pains to pack carefully. Made sure we had duplicated certain critical items. Things like phone chargers and adapters.   

So what happens when your in a hurry as the taxi company is calling (my second phone call in espanol)? You grab the phone grab the cord pull and run out the door. Woulda been nice to have taped them together as I'd read about someone else doing. But no. I didn't. So a room at 290 Mallorca Barcelona now comes with a free American adaptor. 

While Barcelona is a beautiful city with sh has a slightly darker side to her soul. She's considered the pick pocket Capitol of the world. We may not have had our actual pockets done or our purses, but our packs were pilfered when we went to fly to Asturias. They got Rays tiny bag of electronic goodies worth only a few dollars all told. A battery charger for the camera he brought. An extra card for pictures.  $25 bucks I. Amazon. Max. But priceless when your 3000 miles from home moving across the countryside like a snail, your back pack now your home for more than 16 days. 

But karma, she has a sense of humor too. We had a small plastic bag of sterilizer for our water bottles. Labeled with instructions. I've done this before w checked bags. No problem. Well about the time I discover we have no phone chargers, I find the One Step cleaner is gone. I now have the hilarious vision of some lowlife hood snorting cleaner.  Priceless.  

Best laid plans!! God is so laughing.

Wow. No other words for today (and yesterday's time in the Camino del Norte. 

To begin we were having too much fun visiting with friends in Barcelona. Way to much fun. An evening on the beach with fire works and delicious food. We got to bed late. Spanish early (Laura was heading to a party after dropping us off!) at 11:30.  

While someone fell asleep instantly )and I'm not pointing any fingers ) I took a while to nod off. A little more than an hour later someone (again no names) wakes me up. No more sleep and a taxi coming at 5:15! Lucky me. Although I'm pathetically proud of my first two phone calls in Spanish. All by my self. 

The taxi was prompt, courteous and quick. Wish I could say the same for Vuelings check in lines. But we got thru and had an hour and a half to spare so of course we hunted for Jamon! 

The flight to Asturias was one and a half hours. The bus into Aviles was quick and believe it or not came with wifi! On the bus. Alsa, you rock! (That's the main bus line in the area)

In Aviles we grab another bus to Novellana. It dropped us at a tiny round about or circle kinda in the middle of nowhere! And we were off! As any experienced pilgrim knows, y'all don't start walking nearly 20 km at noon!! But we did! Brilliant us! 

The route where we began was to be polite, rather sparsely marked. And unfortunately for us a fairly strenuous one. It was supposed to be our third day by my original plan. But mi spouse wanted to cut a day or so to allow for a rest day of needed, or more time in santiago de compostella. So what should have been for Camino tested legs was done on tired,virgin legs. 350+ meters of elevation gain! Ha! We were spent. 

As always though Camino angels turn up just as you start to panic. We turned down a dirt rap as the arrows indicated. It was rocky. It was steep. It went on for ever. It ends in a small beach. There doesn't seem to be any way out. Except one. The way we came. Please God no!  Then there appear two people. Also pilgrims taking pics on the rocky beach. They showed us the tiny marker about 50 meters back and almost hidden in the weeds. The way continued and we weren't all alone. Yeah!  

Well it continued. Up. And up. And more steeply up. At one point when we finly saw a small. Country train stop w a shelter we sat and spent some precious roaming data to check a map. That helped in making choices. Choices that saved our tired hides. One arrow pointed us directly back down the hill. Nope. Not gonna do it. I'll take the high road thank you very much. 

When we meet our Camino angels later they told us what a great choice we made. They were completely spent from that last round of ups and downs. 

So we ended up in Cadavedo at around 6:00pm. Late. Very late by Camino standards. At least how I'm accustomed to doing it. Usually it's in town and in an albuergue by 3 at the latest. So we followed them to the hotel they'd prebooked. Ha! We got the last room. For 42 euros to was heaven. So, should you ever be in Cadavedo, definitely check out Hotel Astur-Regal. Small , cute, friendly and most important of all clean! And very good food. Or is that my hunger? Nah it was very good. 

Today's route was much easier with only one nasty climb after Canero. And that was rough but we did it. From there o. It was really quite nice and only rarely along the actual road. 

The final leg ony to Luarca was great.  Sunny as all get out, fresh breeze off the sea and gardens to die for. One person even left a basket of apples for pilgrims to grab if they wanted. 

The descent into downtown was steep. But worth it. All of a sudden you come around the corner and wham there it is. The beautiful little harbor sitting in the sun. Brilliantly colored boats anchored all about. It looks like some thing from Thomas the Tank Engine or a storybook  

Do we continued down lured forward by the hope of a beer, a bed and some food. 

On the way there is a lovely arch over the street.  There is also a sweet looking young local boy. So in my very best Castilian I ask him to photograph us. Por favor. "Si, ?Los Ustados Unidos? Is what I get for it! So much for my pride today. 

Tomorrow, Pinera. Now - DINNER!

Beginning again

We began our training again.  I can say we, because this year the plans include walking with mi esposa (?) and one of my bestest buddies, Joe.  These are the two guys I walked with on the Portuguese in '08.  The fourth from our party then seems to have fallen off the map.

Ray is, as always, a bit of a nervous nelly and a tad reluctant about the walk.  Joe is a little anxious too.  Me...nope.  Not that I don't have immense respect for the route we are looking at, the Primitivo, but I have the Frances under my belt.  It seems to be making a real difference in how nervous, or not nervous, I feel.  I know it won't be easy, but I know that it is nothing more than one step after another repeated over and over.

Experience is a wonderful gift.  The gift of getting older. 

Let the planning and plotting begin!

We have begun! Plans are at last underway for a 2014 Camino.  Discussion is underway as to the exact route we'll take this time around.

Again it is a "we" trip.  There are currently 3 guys joining me including my ever reluctant spouse.  It'll be interesting to see how he fares on this journey.  God knows I'll be checking his backpack way WAY more carefully this time. No more discovering as the rain begins to pour down on us that he'd hadn't bothered to pack the poncho I'd gotten him.  Or his own toothpaste, shampoo, soap.  Nope, ain't gonna be a pack mule this time around!  I killed the pack mule on the Camino Portuguese!! However, I may opt for duct tape.  Great for so many repairs to feet and packs and whining!! Just kidding (just don't test me too much!)

We're looking at one of the northern routes.  Dates are still flexible, but if we go for more than 2 weeks (oh yes please!) I'm personally in for the Primitivo.  Or perhaps the Del Norte.  If the guys really want a truncated version of my solo trip, we could do some of the latter end of the Frances.  But with so much unexplored territory I'd much much rather opt for new terrain.

So now....off to begin getting the feet and the body ready!! That means calling the damn foot doctor!! Sigh.  Old feet, old injuries and old age are conspiring to make me work for what I want.  But work I will.

Un Abrazo for Santiago de Compostella

(I wrote this two days after the accident, but somehow life got in the way of posting it.  But not in the way of thinking about the North of Spain and all my fellow pilgrims out there on the way right now. Give the Saint a hug for por favor!!)

In July, I believe, every pilgrim alive was back on the way or in the Praza do Obradoiro.  We are all sharing the pain and the sorrow of our fellow pilgrims. 

My train had just pulled in, I was going home.

How many of us have ridden that same train, on those very same tracks.   Sitting, quietly, gently rocking along.  Sleeping our way to what destinations?  Bumping along, knee to knee sometimes.

My knees.  My fellow travelers knees.  Having just woken up, on my way back to Madrid I discovered Matt (knees on the right!) had covered my legs during the night with his shirt because I was shivering.  I hadn't even woken up! Angels along the way come in all shapes, sizes and forms!

I'm sure many were probably doing the same on the Wednesday eve of the Feast of St. James. 

Or perhaps they were just waking up and getting ready to disembark.  Excited to be reaching beautiful Santiago de Compostella.  The Feast Day at hand, celebrations, fireworks, parties all ready to begin.  Mass and the legendary Botofumeria ready to swing to the heights.  Weary pilgrims in the Cathedral, perhaps looking for familiar faces, come to meet them and welcome them back to the "real" world.

And then that slow motion that accidents always seem to happen in, crumbling of everything. Those few seconds that go so slowly and in such vivid detail as you relive them. 

To this day, 28 years later, I still see the two cars in front of me.  The slow motion decision to steer ever so slightly right to avoid the car with the children.  The impact.  The shaking hand groping for glasses.  Silence and at the same time the sound of metal being cut open on the car and then the ceiling of the ambulance.  And thinking what a strange way to travel, strapped to a gurney, staring up and then closing my eyes in a desperate attempt to shut out the other worldliness.  Strange and unkown hands carry you out and into the hospital.  Multiply this by unkown numbers.  Oh Santiago and Spain I truly ache for you.  And pray for you.

For all who must now get on a train and put faith in others that they will  in fact arrive in one piece, peaceably, I pray for you too. Getting in a car afterwards was so difficult.  As I'm sure riding in a train will be for so many now. 

So, beloved of cities, you are cared for, prayed for by countless numbers.  Held in so many hearts.  As you begin the slow journey forward to healing you are wished the most heartfelt of Buen Camino's. And angels ever guard thee. Perhaps today it is St. James giving all of Santiago "Un Abrazo".

View from my room at La Hospedería San Martín Pinario.

Calling!!

It has been a long time since I've posted here.  A really long time.  Not that I don't think of the Camino nearly every day.  Several times a day.  But it has been nearly two years since my last walk. Two years to feel fully grounded and both feet on the earth here at home.

Then it begins, that small shift.  That moment when the tide reaches it's peak and for a moment everything is still.  Then it turns.  I've seen it on the river enough times, kayaking madly happily, up river with the tidal surge.  For just a moment the water is a beautiful mirror.  Completely still beneath you. Yet somewhere deep beneath my little plastic shell bobbing on the top as I lean into my paddle, something shifts and the pull down the river begins again.  That's me with the Camino.  I've been quietly paddling in one direction for a goodly time now, but the tide, she's a changin.

Just as I've felt that pull calling me back to the North of Spain, apparently others feel it too.  Feeling the urge to read and reread posts on various Camino blogs and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but news of others heading back out again!  Sagalouts aka Ian of the Road to Nowhere is heading out soon. Karen Hype and her hubby will be Hyping the Camino again this year, as is Emilene from SA on My Pilgrimage to Santiago.  Also out of South Africa, Sylvia Nilson of Amawalker, will be leading a group of slower walkers beginning in Sarria. Walking in the fall this year will be two more friends from 2011, including Homer of Homer's Travels.  It's going to be a great year for blog hopping my way on the road to Santiago.  Following all of these blogs will help me focus on my preparations over this next year plus of waiting.

It's not just the means, but also life that keeps me here for the moment.  And I do mean LIFE!! On my last Camino I was a newly minted grandmother or Oma of two weeks. Currently there are three beautiful girls who call me Omi and by the time my feet hit the trail again, there will be four little ones!  Waiting, difficult as it is, lets me continue as the main babysitter for two of the girls.  It also allows me to be present for each amazing arrival.  Each first birthday.  All major events that this Oma wants and needs to be present for.  Still the undertow tugs and pulls.

Better than year allows me to plan a route.  I won't have quite as much time to walk, so the entire Camino Frances isn't possible, but there are so many other beautiful options.  For a while the Camino Ingles (the English Route) was top of the list.  Now the Camino Primitivo (First Camino) seems to be at the top.  It's somewhat less traveled and a bit more remote. It also appears to be, from all accounts, a bit more rugged.  So, for me, it sounds like more of a challenge.  Both a physical as well as a spiritual one.  Fewer people means fewer distractions from the internal road.

The Camino Frances was full of pilgrims.  It was wonderful to meet so many people from so many countries.  But there were moments when you had to really work at getting time alone to just be.  Not that it wasn't possible.  I found I had to be more aware of making that time.  For me that usually meant leaving very early in the morning to walk alone.  And as I wasn't well for most of the Camino, everyone else caught up with me pretty easily!  So a little care got me the best of both worlds.

This time I feel something different.  More of a need for solitude.  Not total and complete, just more.  From what I've read so far, I think the Primitivo might do the trick.  Time will tell.  Nice to be thinking concretely not just a vague and ephemeral someday!

Meanwhile, I'll just be peeking over many a pilgrim bloggers shoulder.  Watching postings with joy as they make their way towards St. James. 

Emilio Estevez y mi Mochilla!

I may have made a comment about hardly watching TV these days, but movies, well that's another story.  Or maybe it's just the same old story.  The Camino, or The Way of St. James.  On Youtube, I'm forever perusing other peoples videos. Or as I've often said to other pilgrims on their blogs, peaking over their shoulders.  It's a little like slipping yourself into their backpacks, for a mile or so and getting to view the road perhaps from a slightly different vantage point than you might otherwise have done.


In a few weeks, at long last, the granddaddy of Camino videos will be available on DVD!  By this I mean the movie, The Way, by Emilio Estevez, starring Martin Sheen.  Of course I have a preorder in place!  There are other Camino movies in the works, most especially The Camino Documentary by Lydia B. Smith.  More about that one in another post.

The Way.  Long awaited by many of us Caminoholics.  For a number of years, we knew this one was in the works.  We waited.  We chatted on the Camino Forum.  We blogged.  We waited.  The longest wait seemed to be for the release of the film here in the States.  I remember fellow pilgrims from England and Ireland, who'd gotten to see it before they came over and walked last summer.  So lucky.  Or so I thought at the time.  It wouldn't be available in any way shape or form for quite some time after I got home.

Home, yeah, coming home and trying to get settled.  Trying to feel at home again.  Missing the daily walk to, well, where ever fate and feet would take me.  Missing the openness of the days, never really knowing who you might meet.  It's quite an adjustment after nearly a month and a half of living that way.  Living simply.  Living out of my pack.  Living so small and yet larger than my life has probably ever been before.  Heartfelt sigh here!

So, back to the movie, The Way.  What a gift to have it released and previewed close to where I live.  Not one of the lucky ones who got a ticket for the preview, I went to the theater anyhow. A few friends stopped by too, a former co-worker and his wife.  We waited outside for while, knowing that Estevez and Sheen were supposed to be there for a Q & A afterwards.  While they choose to go home early, since it really didn't look like we could get in, I simply couldn't tear myself away.  Well, I'm too often saying to others that there is always more than one way to skin a cat.  And so there is!

Walking myself back to the theater my plan was to wait in the lobby.  I thought perhaps I'd simply get someone to take a picture of me, pack on my back, Camino shoes on my feet, next to a poster of the movie.  Then I'd buy tickets for when it actually opened at this theater at the end of the week.  That's all.  If I spotted either of the movie makers, great, but lets be realistic, the odds weren't good.  Sigh.  Such is life.

Inside I asked a woman next to me, looking at the flyers and promotional materials on the table, would she use my camera to take a picture, since I wasn't going to be able to get to see the movie on this particular evening.  She looked at me and said "Lets see if we can't get you in with my husband and me."  She promptly grabbed the young man in charge of the list of attendees, and asked him if there were any no shows.  He said yes, he still had quite a few tickets left and simply handed me one.  Wow.  Ask and ye shall receive!

Me, mi mochilla (backpack) and my incredibly dingy Camino shoes walked into the theatre almost in a daze.  There were seats in the front rows.  The first two rows, you know the ones we adults avoid, 'cause they give you a crick in the neck!  I happily sat myself down, propped my feet on the arm of the seat in front of me and got comfortable for the next hour and  a half.

Sitting so close actually turned out to be wonderfully overwhelming.  It made it feel as though I was in the film, back on the Camino.  The Pyrenees, the Meseta, the bars and oh yeah, the bunk beds!  I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and roared with laughter, as did other former pilgrims in the audience, when the main characters were twirling their bourdons or hiking sticks.  Ahh the memories.  So seeing it post Camino was more of a blessing than it would have been seeing it pre-pilgrimage.

Immediately after, from the back of the theater came, Estevez, Sheen and a host of others who were responsible for this lovely film.  My only quibble, such as it is, was the film school that was present. They rather took over some of the question and answer period.  I never got to ask my burning question!  I still, to this day, don't know if any of the filming crew or cast got blisters on the Camino.

As the Q & A drew to a close, assistants began to herd the movie folk out a side exit.  Down in the front.  Right by those two front rows, that no adult wants to sit in.  Where I was.  So, happy that I'd listened to a friend who'd quipped, I should get one of them to sign my backpack, I whipped out a permanent marker and asked Emilio, "?Escribe en mi Mochilla, por favor?"  Ok, so that 'taint perfect Espanol, but he knew what I wanted!   So below, my now two Camino backpack has become a priceless heirloom!   Nah, still a tatty old back filled with the most wonderful memories and still with miles to go before I put it to sleep for good!

"Buen Camino, Emilio Estevez"

Happy New Year!

It's difficult to believe that this year is actually coming to a close.  It's been quite spectacular and will rank as one of the most special in my life.  So far!  Two beautiful granddaughters.  One Camino Frances done and done!  So many wonderful new friends.  Just as many lovely old ones too.  I am filled to the brim with blessings this year, as it draws to a sweet close.  Truly the words, my cup runneth over, have never felt so true. 

Where the road will lead in this coming year I can't quite say.  If the past is anything to measure by, it could be truly amazing.  In fact I know it will be.  So to all who have stopped by here, blessings be upon you.  Blessings on all in your life.  Peace and joy be yours in the up coming New Year!

Now after a long days hiking in the Pine Barrens,  I'm off to slay some opponents at Scrabble!!

Buen Camino all!

Watershed Moment?

Left or right?  Yes or No? High road or low road?  There come moments in all of our lives when there is a shift or a line that gets crossed.  A change.  A choice that gets made, and everything that comes after will be different.  Sometimes it's obvious and clear for anyone to see.  Sometimes the changes can be so subtle.  I think sometimes those quiet ones may have the most lasting effect.

I knew the Camino, this Camino, was important for me.  I knew I would have time to think, uninterrupted.  Time to just be, completely removed from all the "things" that make up my so called life. No distractions.  To the point I lost all track of the days of the week! The most obvious and funny one was sitting in Hontanas as the bells began to peal, looking at another pilgrim and wondering why.  It was it turns out, Sunday morning!

I find myself viewing  a lot of my life as before and after the Camino.   There were immediate and obvious changes, like the 16+ lbs left behind in the Pyrenees and the mountains of Galicia.  There are others, quiet ones that aren't as easy to define.  And I don't think El Camino is done with me yet!!  Seeing where this all leads is going to be interesting.  Probably almost as interesting as the Camino was.  Interesting for me at least...I do realize that for others, it might be as exciting as watching grass grow or paint dry

Strange, but I have been told by a few people that while they can't put a finger on it...they think I've changed.  I don't know that I thought any of this to be obvious to anyone outside my family.  A friend from the gym, had no idea where I'd gone or what I'd done, stopped me and asked what was up, why did I seem different.  I think maybe the changes are a little like what happened to my hiking shoes.  When I left home they were green and grey.  Each day that went by they grew a little more worn (and a little more cofortable too!).  When I got to Santiago, they were nearly unrecognizable.  I have similar pair of Keens here at home that have seen way fewer miles and still resemble their original color and shape.  And, while at times it felt like I'd worn my feet 'n legs down to mere nubs, here too is proof that the feet came thru in one piece too!

Just a few thoughts and samples of little things that have changed:

• Writting - constantly.  Which is funny, 'cause I didn't write a journal 'cept for this blog while actually on the Camino! Then I just wanted to in the moment.
• Trying poetry even!  Ok, so haven't exactly gone public with any, but I get immense satisfaction out of it.
• Watch very little TV, some times nothing for days on end.
• Really making space and time for all the good people in my life. Only the good...the others, I just don't sweat anymore.  I don't specifically push them away, I just don't make room for them. 
• Haven't set foot in a shopping mall since my return, and very few other retail establishments outside of the grocery store.  Now FYI, I live only a few miles from the first ever modern indoor shopping mall.  It all started here in NJ! Sheesh!
• Do more things completely independently.  So I want to go hike in Wharton State Forest.  No one to go with, no problem.  Tell the rangers and head out.  Simple as that. 
• Have not bought a single article of clothing since the scarf I bought in Santiago de Compostella. My last job was in a clothing store so this is pretty funny, and I like it!
• Finally got the courage to paint and I don't mean change the color of a room!  I drew a sketch for a particular space below the stairs in our house ten years ago.  Now I finally have the courage to put it on the wall!  Great art? No, but very satisfying!

So on a note of absolute bravery...for me...here is that sketch made 10 years ago...soon to be

on the wall it was drawn for:

Last but in no way least, perhaps one of the greatest changes is the acceptance of things that are simply, unchangeable.  Myself or rather the body I inhabit.  For all that I lost weight walking the Camino Frances, I've learned that this is a sturdy strong body that I live in.  Size is not important.  Being healthy is.  Being comfortable and confident in my own skin is.  Accepting who I am at 55 is.  And that, as the ole Master Card commercials say, is priceless!

Memories of a Museo

Museums.  I think if this word was to be in a word association "test", most, if not many would answer dust!  Or perhaps in a kinder moment, simply old or perhaps boring.  I don't know why but it's never been that way for me.  Maybe because they've been a part of my life for nearly as long as I can remember.

As children we were taken (yes some days dragged!) to museums of all sorts.  A favorite was the Trolley Museum in Connecticut.  The Trolley Museum meant being able to climb all over the machinery.  There were trips to other museums with my stateside grandparents.  They lived just outside Philadelphia.  We kids would get to stay for a week, all by ourselves, reveling in being the center of attention.  I remember Omi asking me where I wanted to go each time I was with them.  The answer was rarely anything but the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  One of my all time favorite rooms has a lovely reflecting pool in the center of the gallery.  Sometimes it was hard not to want to play in the water!  Just sitting on the marble bench swinging my feet, next to my Opa, that was fun too.

So I guess, me finding my way into museums in Santiago was just natural.  I wandered thru parts of the Cathedral Museum with Hunter prior to our taking the trip up to the roof.  On my final day in Santiago, as I continued to struggle finding tokens of rememberance for the family back home, I found my feet unerringly leading me to the Museum of Pilgrimage. It is actually incredibly close to the Cathedral and to where I was staying at the Seminario.
The entry fee isn't much.  As a perigrina, with credencial or Compostella even that small fee is waived!  Doesn't get much better than that does it!

The first few rooms were dedicated to pilgrimage in general.  There were examples of different pilgrimages around the world.  In one of those rooms I found this lovely mandala.  

In one of the halls, these tiles were on the ceiling.  I would have loved to have had copies of them.  The beautiful green and the soft ochre tones of the shells...very restful, I think.  Almost like looking at them underwater.

My fascination with columns and capitals continued here in the museum where they were wonderfully displayed where someone like me can truly examine them up close and personal.  This was like a dream come true for me, getting to see them so close and no ladders! Both my feet firmly on the floor. 

Now mind you there was a lot more to be seen there besides capital!  There were arches!!

As beautiful as this is now...worn and weathered, imagine how stunning it must have looked like when the velvet was new!

I had to fight the urge to touch these...so I zoomed in with the camera to compensate!

This is one of the most beautiful paintings, in my opinion!  An absolute jewel.

So, next time your in Santiago de Compostella, and looking for something to do, wander round the corner and have a look see at this lovely little gem of museum.  The staff are very welcoming, although the ones working that day didn't speak much English, they could not have been nicer or more helpful.  I'm including a link to their website so you can find them even more easily.  They absolutely should be on everyone's visit list!

www.mdperegrinacions.com

I'm also including the link to the cathedral, and the information about the museum there and the hours are included.

http://www.catedraldesantiago.es/ing/webcatedral.html

It was in the museum that I finally found things to bring home that felt right.  I bought a cd called Canto de Ultreia.  If I was more talented on the computer, I might even be able to include some of the haunting music from this CD, which is playing as I type here.  I also bought three tiny blue and white plates with a scallop shell on them, one for each household.  Supporting the museum by making these purchases also just felt right to me at this particular time.  They didn't feel like just purchases for the sake of buying something.  They were tangible reminders of my journey, and a way of sharing it with family back home.    Another friend bought rosaries along the way.  Again, a lovely way to bring a piece of the Camino home.  Funny, still haven't been able to go into a mall since I've been back!  Not once.  Several museums...no malls!

Up on the Roof!!

The days I spent in Santiago were desperately needed.  They were very special in their own way.  Talking with other pilgrims in Santiago, I found I wasn't alone in that feeling.   To grab a flight straight home seemed simply unimaginable, and in a way wrong.  Even now, months later, I'm really just starting to feel like my feet are on the ground here at home.  As much as they ever may be again!  But then...they weren't exactly on the ground all the time I was Santiago either!

The last time I'd been in Santiago, in '08, I hadn't even known there was a roof top tour.    The tour is currently running at 8 Euros, and is worth every bit of it.  I had the good fortune to get to share my experience with Hunter a terrific young man, a great pilgrim, from Florida.  We'd met on the trail a while back and bumped into each other again, as pilgrims do, in Santiago.  We both enjoy church architecture and art, so sharing it with him was great.

The our actual tour began a 7:00pm with a flight of ancient stairs.   We nearly had to run up those stairs, because I was late! One wrong turn while trying to shop for family and I ended up several blocks over from where I shoulda been.  Not an auspiscious beginning for a tour with lots and lots of stairs.  That however turned out to be the only off moment!

The guide took us up to one of the rooms of the Cathedral Museum, and showed us what would have been a banquet room and gave wonderful explanations of the various carvings and colors that would have filled the room.  Even ceilings weren't left alone.  There is a whole other language being used, a kind of shorthand, that many of us are unaware of these days.  Just as we speak in sometimes unintelligible shorthand while texting, in a way so did the builders and artists who made the cathedral and surrounding buildings.  We may use the phrase IMHO (In my humble opinion!) or LOL (laughing out loud).  When these buildings were being mapped out, you might have been told your "place" in someone's humble opinion by a simple glance around you.  Look up and see plain and few ornaments in your little part of the universe and you didn't need to wonder where you fitted into the larger picture. Then all of this would have been painted too.  While our current sensibilities are accustomed to the tans, taupes, grays and browns, in their time much of the rooms as well as the cathedral proper would have been beautifully painted.  Add then banners of all sorts, tapestries and the rich colored robes and the place would have been a riot of color.  So very different from what we see today, cool and calm and monochromatic.

From these rooms our guide, Andy, took us up yet another flight of steps which brought us to the gallery in the Cathedral itself.  Amazing things to be seen and discovered here, many completely unexpected.  In it's hey day this gallery running around the cathedral would have been where pilgrims spent the night.  All of a sudden the botafumeri clearly is much more than a show stopping ornamental incense burner.  It's essentially a giant room deodorizer!

This pic was taken in '08

Look at the thickness of those ropes!!

Can you imagine waking up in the morning...looking down and seeing this in the cool light of dawn!

Here we also got an incredible up close view of what was once a rose window in the original facade of the cathedral. So sad, at least to me, to see what was once someones beautiful masterpiece pushed aside by a change in fashion.  But that still goes on today, doesn't it, out with the old and in with the new?

This area is off limits unless your on the tour, or one of the lucky people who are working on restorations up here.  This is also turns out to be the attic area of the cathedral.

Imagine this as your workspace!!  Ahh one can dream!

These giant figures are used during feistas! We were told the represent in a humorous
way pilgrims from around the world.

This is how it rests on the person carrying it!
Somehow it looks like the ultimate headache.

Now it was onward and upward to the roof itself.  I had no real idea what it might be like up there.  It was amazing.  The one and only complaint, was of myself, for being silly enough not to inquire about footwear.  I had my crocs on, which were ok, but my hiking shoes would have been much more secure.  Especially for someone who doesn't like heights all that much.

Andy our intrepid guide who patiently answered all our questions.

As you come out of the stair case this is the view that greets you straight ahead.  In clearer weather it must be unbelievable.  Although this cloud cover gave us nice even lighting.

Looking left this is what you'll see. It was funny to see how comfortable some people were up here.  Funnier still how uncomfortable some us were!

Get really brave and start wandering about anywhere...even the ridge line!

Looking down at the Plaza where I'd had a glass of champange
with Arlene the day before, celebrating our arrival in Santiago.

This curved door completely intriuged me.

Look around the city, heck look anywhere in Galicia and you'll see mosses, lichens, flowers and ferns popping out of crevices and clinging to walls.  While I found them beautiful to look at, they worried me.  I was concerned they might be causing damage to the buildings.  Andy our guide assured me that they don't.  In fact he said one of them and I'm not sure which color it was, actually acts in a protective manner for the stone face. You can see at least three colors of lichens, one moss, and two different flowers just on this one piece of ornamentation!

While looking at the building was fun...looking in was almost as much!  Being able to view parts of the great gilded altar from the roof top windows was amazing.  Someone needs to tell housekeeping they missed a spot!

Interesting and understandable, to see how the gold is only on the parts that show!

Ok...so I don't like doing windows either.

This tour was terrific and I truly recommend it to any and all going to Santiago!  But now it's time for a beer, a reward for climbing so high and getting clamy hands and feet!!   I'm off from there...humming me a little James Taylor.!!

Since my friends and family know how much I don't like heights...I had to have this picture taken up there as proof positive!  See I didn't just send my camera up with Hunter!