Journeying Together

31 Oct. Santiago This is weird. I’m ready for bed and the wet laundry is hanging in the room. And it doesn’t really matter if it dries or not before morning—usually a problem with the socks. It doesn’t have to be packed up til Friday and that seems really odd.  And I don’t have a plan for where we’re headed or when we can stop for breakfast.  I’m not quite sure what to do with myself. This playing tourist is interesting stuff. We had a lovely dinner of tapas tonight with our new friend Alice. Squid in its own ink was the centerpiece of our gastronomic experience.  We ran into friends we have made along the way and it was delightful. We had a difficult decision to make this evening. First, tomorrow at pilgrims mass the censor will definitely swing with the celebration of All Saints Day.  It’s supposed to be quite the thing to see.   Also, when you e gone this far, it’s customary to see Finisterre-The End of the World.  We had hoped to do that. Our ...

31 Oct. San Marcos to Santiago.  About a whopping 6 km We headed out early this morning in optimal walking conditions for our final trek into Santiago. The walk was along roads and the smell of cows was replaced with exhaust fumes. I prefer the cows, quite frankly. Dodge the cow pies game was replace with duck the cars. Cow pies are infinitely less dangerous. But we could see Santiago in the distance and it wasn’t long until the cathedral came into view. However, this being a pilgrimage, the way was not the most direct and it often seemed we were going around the town rather than through it.  But the yellow arrows and scallop shells kept us on the right path and we found ourselves at the cathedral. While the cathedral is beautiful, it is under reconstruction and covered with scaffolding. That didn’t keep us from having a good look around, hugging the apostle, viewing the tomb of St. James and sitting for an hour in order to hold a seat for worship. As the famous censo...

30 Oct.   A Rua to San Marcos.   17.1 km The path has become more noisy with the sounds of traffic. Also with the sounds of people as more pilgrims enter the Camino. How did we get here?  At days end we have only 6 km to go to enter the city of Santiago. We chose this intentionally as we want to walk into the cathedral fresh. We started 39 days ago and had no idea what we were doing. We have slept In albergues, hostels, pensions and hotels. We have met people from across the globe. We have walked mesetas, mountains and hills. It has been glorious and difficult and wondrous. And for all of those moments, I am thankful. Tomorrow, Santiago..  Buen Camino

29 Oct.   Arzua to A Rua. 16.8 km It occurred to me yesterday by my lack of photographs, that I have begun to take the beauty of this place for granted. Just like day after day I wearied of the brown meseta, The beauty of Galicia has begun to seem so familiar as not to warrant a second glance. I wonder how often we do that in everyday life—so take for granted the beauty around us that we do not notice it. So today I did my best to see this place for all the wonder it possesses. The landscape is gradually changing, giving way to woods.  We walked through beautifully scented eucalyptus groves dappled with sunlight. The music of the cowbells and the crowding of roosters added today the grunting of pigs. It was like the children’s song, “All God’s Critters got a Place in the Choir.” There was also the added tapping of more trekking poles as the number of pilgrims has increased. One pilgrim was definitely marching to the tune of his own drummer as he punctuated his steps w...

28 Oct.  Melide to Arzua.    14.3 KM Today’s blog shall be short and sweet. After another picture perfect day, we are sitting at a table with a retired Episcopal Priest discussing the blessings of the journey as we await Saturday evening mass at the church.. We are a mere two days from Santiago and I have made all the reservations for the next two days. We were warned that we should do that as there will be so many pilgrims.  It was such an easy accomplishment that I think it was probably unnecessary. As the end of this journey approaches, I can hardly get my head around the breadth and depth of all that we have experienced. It has been amazing and I am stunned that we are so close to completion.  But more about my reflections later. For now I have a new friend with whom to converse. Buen Camino

Oct 27.  Palas de Rei to Melide. 14.5 km Life draws crowds. Pilgrims traipse along the Camino with greetings to each other but, unless we’ve stopped for a coffee/bathroom break and happen to strike up a bit of a chat, we don’t just make the time to stop with one another to observe together the wonders around us.  Unless, like today, a cow has just given birth to a brand new calf. Movement on the Camino came to a screeching halt. Voices became subdued as we all stood in the mystery of new life coming forth and the tender care shown by mama cow. For the rest of the day during those coffee/bathroom breaks it was the topic of choice. As we’ve walked along we have been in awe of new shoots springing forth from the earth, new friendships formed around the dinner table, and now a new baby born in a meadow. Buen Camino

26 Oct.  Gonzar to Palas de Rei. 17 km One of the true pleasures of the Camino is the meeting of people and sharing of stories. We have met incredible people on the journey, some while walking and sharing just a brief moment; some over coffee or meals. The weather has been helpful in our meetings. When we arrive and have showered and such, most albergues or hostal provide a terrace or bar where it’s customary to sit and relax. As pilgrims spill in we tend to join in conversation—where the day started, the difficulty of the hills, the interesting things seen that day. It’s not uncommon to then make plans for dinner together for meals shared are tastier and richer in so many ways. Last night our new friends included an innkeeper from Seattle, two young people from Israel, a woman of Turkish descent from England and a pair of long time friends, both law enforcement officers from California. Our dinner conversation was lively and included insights into serving in the Israel...

25 Oct.  Ferreiros to Gonzar. 16:4 km Little things mean a lot. As we left this morning we saw a man singlehandedly trying  to get a chest freezer out of a little trailer. Dad speaks no Spanish and the man spoke no English but somehow they conveyed where the thing had to go and worked together to get it there. The beginnings of international peace? Our day was as the last few have been—beautiful, peaceful, perfect temperatures and just plain delightful. At least it was until once again we were confronted with the damage of the recent fires. Who would perpetuate such atrocities in places where livestock are feeding, crops are grown for food and where a path brings much needed economic stimulus in the form of spending by pilgrims for lodging, food and such? Rather than focus on the evil, I looked and saw farmers continuing to shepherd their herds and crocus blooming amidst the charred embers and I thought of the two men moving a freezer this morning and decided that goo...

24 Oct. Vigo de Sarria to Ferreiros. 14.5 km Just another day in paradise. We left Sarria and entered again typical Galicia with meadows and farmland and stone walls and livestock. What is atypical for this time of year are the blue skies and moderate temperatures. It’s been gorgeous! We walked up and down hills and through beautiful little hamlets. Today, to add to the music of the cowbells, we found at the top of one of the hills a bagpipe player in traditional Galician dress. He entertained us all with a few songs and it was a delightful respite in the shade for a bit. The number of pilgrims has increased as we have passed the 100 km mark —all that is required to get a certificate of completion. The enthusiasm that is injected into the walk is palpable and welcome. Although, with the influx of pilgrims comes an influx of trinket sellers and junk shops that has been refreshingly absent for the journey. I suppose it was inevitable. It’s been lovely to take our time and rea...

23 Oct.  Samos to Vigo de Sarria.   13:8 km Spring crocuses in late October, it’s amazing. They are all over the place. They are one of the beautiful things we are seeing on a regular basis.  Today we walked from Samos to our destination and the first 10 km had not a single town. There was the occasional closed church, the farm, the herd of cows or sheep. At one point we came to a cross roads and fortunately a farmer was driving by in his John Deere tractor. We flagged him down and he graciously pointed the way.  The skies were blue and the temperatures perfect for our stroll through the countryside. It was perfect.  When we got settled in our hostal, I had an opportunity to call Matt—always a treat these days—and Dad went to check out the neighborhood. I had barely hung up when Dad yelled for me to come downstairs. He had just spotted two of the friends we had made earlier and then lost. It was a lovely reunion on the street and another of t...

22 Oct. Triacastela to Samos.  10.5 km The two directionally impaired stooges were finally brave enough that to take an alternate route and do some off road sight seeing. We headed to Samos under gorgeous bright blue skies. There were no towns between Triacastela and Samos so it was a straight shot.  We did encounter the first of the fire damage of this fall, most of which was caused by arsonists. It b3gs the question as to why someone would do that to this beautiful slice of creation. And yet life does seem to continue ie as we saw seeds and new plants even among the devastation. The crowning glory of our day was a visit to the oldest monastery in Spain dating for the 6th century. The monastery has been redone on the 1880s and the again rebuilt from fire damage in 1951. It is still I use and we had a lively tou by one of the monks translated by a fellow pilgrim in English as we went along.  Buen Camino

21 Oct.  Fonfria to Triacastela.   12.1 km We share the path with many of Gods creatures. These days we have been cognizant of the humble cow. The music of their bells accompanies us through the hills. The joy of watching the calves with their mothers give us great delight. Because of the generosity of their bodies, we have found a delightful snack of soft fresh cows milk cheese smothered in honey and slathered on bread. But probably nothing causes us to ponder the cow more than our new favorite game of "Dodge the cow pie."   Barns are not separate edifices out in the fields in this part of the world. Barns are to be found in the lower part of the house in the village. Thus, in the morning the cows are herded down the same path that pilgrims follow out into their fields to reverse the process in the evening when they are brought home for milking. And so at times we must choose between rocks, mud or manure. It makes for interesting walking.  We are fully...

20 Oct.   La Faba to Fonfria.   16.7 km We are officially now in Galicia. Our day began in the last miles of Castile y Leon in an eerie fog. We were sorely disappointed as we knew we were surround d by gorgeous mountains. However, it didn't take long until the fog started to lift and we saw the "floating islands" the tops of mountains seen above the fog line. We made lots of stops to take in the breathtaking view that changed by the second. Words cannot describe th beauty of this part of Spain. We made the final climb to O'Cebreiro where we enjoyed a juice break and viewed one of the oldest churches on the Camino. The weather immediately changed and we were confronted by the wind s of Galicia, but fortunately not the rain. Just a light drizzle close to our destination that did not warrant retrieving our rain gear! The landscape has become more hills than mountains and with the ever changing cloud cover is a beauty to behold. Our albergue this evening i...

Oct 19.  Trabadelo to La Faba.  13.9 km Our albergue this evening is heated!  What bliss! The weather has turned damp and cold although somehow we've managed to evade the rain. I've pulled out the down jacket and we're hiking with our gloves and ear coverings. So we were very pleased to find heat in the bunk room as well as the bathrooms. It really is a luxury to find such things. Especially in an albergue that is an old parish house attached to a church.  Our day was beautiful. The day began with a fairly dense fog that played hide and seek with the mountains. The views were beautiful everywhere, from the tiny hamlets to the majestic peaks. The cows and sheep with their bells kept us company throughout the day.  While most of the day we walked along the road, the last 3.4 km were straight uphill on slate paths. It was a bit challenging but fun. Tomorrow there are 5 more km uphill before we begin the long descent into Santiago which is...

18 Oct.  cacabelos to Trabadelo   18.8 km Our morning began with the sound of pouring rain before we even got out of bed. Incidentally, the albergue last night night was not as horrible as we had anticipated. So, with the rain coming down, I did what any self respecting pilgrim would do--I nested down deeper into my sleeping bag!  By time to wake up, though, the rain had calmed substantially and we were able to don our ponchos and head out into a gentle drizzle.  Our first stop was to be about 5 km where there was to be an adorable bar for breakfast. Alas, it was closed so we went on to halfway through our days journey and found coffee and toast. After a much needed breakfast break, we only had 8 more km to cover. The skies had cleared and we moved on with cool temperatures and a nice cloud cover.  We had beautiful views of the mountains as the morning took us through vineyards. The afternoon hike was mostly roadside but lovely nonetheless. And we ...

17 Oct.  Ponferrada to Cacabelos.  16.7 km Last night was an amazing evening. We had dinner with many of the other pilgrims staying at our darling albergue. Peg from Conn., Thomas from Norway and Thomas from Germany: sisters from Seattle and Lucia from Brazil and Lynne from Scotland. Our meal was fantastic and we all slept well in our lovely clean sheets. Definitely the best part of this journey is the opportunity to meet others on The Way. Talk of the fires is part of every pilgrim conversation as is the prayer and hope for rain. Much of the day today was indeed spent walking in a soft rain and we were all grateful, especially since the way was fairly flat and paved.  This land is desperate for rain and I hope it continues. We arrived at our destination excited about the prospect of staying in an albergue with private rooms (shared bath) surrounding a church. That said, we are learning to be grateful for whatever we find. These "private rooms" are barely bigger...

16 Oct.   Acebo to Ponferrada.  14.4 km Today's journey was not long, but it was a tedious descent out of the mountain. We played leapfrog with two other pilgrims, stopping alternately for short breaks and then moving ahead. It was also a lovely way to keep an eye on each other and make sure an ankle didn't turn. The ground is slate and the rocks are slippery. We were thankful that the rain held off and we did not have to contend with mud. We arrived in good time at Ponferrada where we found the most delightful little albergue. It looks more like a home than a resting place for pilgrims. The hostess welcomed us and showed us to our bunk room where she gave us the bottom bunks in anticipation of few guests. The beauty of this place is that there are freshly washed sheets on the bunk. No sleeping bag required. Oh the joys of little things!  And the top bunks are high enough that we will not whack our heads getting in and out of bed. They also offer a community meal!...

15 Oct.  Rabanal to Acebo. 16.5 km Today our climb took us to the famous Iron Cross where pilgrims pause to leave a token of the burdens they carry. The cross was smaller than I anticipated and the pile of rocks much larger than I had imagined. My congregation gave me a stone to leave at the foot of this cross, but as I reflected on the token I would leave as I walked the previous few days, it seemed inappropriate to leave that stone. It was, to me, a representation of the people God has gifted me to serve. I've loved and cared for them. We have worked side by side for 10 years. They are not a burden to me. They are a gift. And so I still carry that stone for that is not a burden I wish to leave behind. So, what did I leave?  Well, to me a burden is something distracting, bothersome; a hindrance. I carry many burdens constantly--the what ifs and I wish'--the failures that I fear define me. The questions that nag at me as if I had the answers life would be perfect; th...

14 Oct continued For whatever reason, the interwebs froze up and I could not edit my post from yesterday.  So, to continue...our day ended with mass. The town boasted of a Gregoria's Chant Vespers led by the monks of the Benedictine Monastery. However, they were taking the week off. Sigh. But Mass was held in the church, a simple edifice. The priest alternated between Spanish, English and German for the prayers and homily and other portions of the liturgy. It was such a gift to b able to easily understand a sermon on listening.  We had met a few new friends at the albergue, which, by the way, was packed to the gills!  So much for thinning ranks!  Our new friends went to mass with us and then joined us for dinner. As did Robert from New York who was with us at the beginning of our pilgrimage. It's fun to run across people at different stages of the Camino and share stories.  As we are in Maragato country, I ordered the local fare. It was every odd...

14 Oct.   Santa Catalina to Rabanal.  11.2. Km Today's trek took us up a gentle slope for the morning. We find ourselves with only 148.9 miles too go and 22 days left to cover those miles, which means we can adopt a very leisurely pace in the mountains. Expecting to find the pace frustrating, I am pleased to find that these days are a real gift. The pilgrim throngs have thinned out drastically and the mountains are filled with quiet. No traffic. No background televisions or music. Just silence. It's amazing. These mountains are home to the disappearing Margarato peoples. Villages are crumbling and virtually uninhabited and no one know the exact history behind this people. It's a rather sad portion of Spain. Our only stop was at the Cowboy Bar in the Magarato village of El Gonso. S We then resumed our leisurely pace stopping for a fruit break where we found a litter of begging kittens. Fortunately, soon followed along a compassionate soul from Poland who ha...

13 Oct.  San Justo de la Vega to Santa Catalina de Somoza.   14.1 Km Oh, yes, the way takes many forms. As we entered Astorga this morning this was where the yellow arrow led. It's a bridge over a railroad bed. No straight up and over for these industrious Spanish engineers! Astorga is a beautiful town, home of the Gaudi Palace and historically on a major trade route. So it's full of shopping and eating opportunities. We took our time strolling through town and even stopped at a Pilgrims store full of hiking gear to make some purchases. For instance, I brought gloves but neglected anything for my head in the cooler temps. Oy! Then it was onward through a few villages and the beginning of the uphill climb into the mountains. The landscape is changing beautifully but today's climb was so gradual, we had to look back to double check if we were going upward! We're both enjoying the fact that we can move leisurely through this part of the journey, having pushed a ...

12 Oct.   San Martin del Camino to San Justo de la Vega.     20.2 km We are coming to what is for me the most exciting part of the journey- crossing the mountains. Dad is back to about 100% and we had a marvelous day. We started out along the interstate again and despite the temptation to follow farm roads, we stuck to the route this time. After the first 6 or so km we came to the town of Hospital de Orbigo and the beautiful bridge that legend says "A noble knight from Leon, scorned by a beautiful lady, threw down the gauntlet to any knight who dared pass as he undertook to defend the bridge and his honor." After a stop for breakfast we were on our way to begin the climb into the foothills of the Pyrenees. The scenery is beautiful and theoines smell magnificent and we are finding the climb to be much easier as we have learned the secret of sending our packs ahead.  For the entire journey we have notice people of all ages and abilities walking with mer...

11 Oct. La Virgen del Camino to San Martin del Camino   17.5 km On the books we walked 17.5 km. In reality it was probably 21 or 22 km. We woke up early and departed for a days walk that, although not terribly peaceful along a major interstate, was at the least a straight line and easy to follow. So it baffles the imagination that we were very anxious at not finding our customary yellow arrows or Camino clamshell markers and thus kept going back and forth across the highway over footbridges and under tunnels until we found ourselves going around the two easy first towns in which we had hoped to stop for coffee. At the second we took a detour and walked the road into the town only to find the only cafe to be closed. The blessing was that we learned it was not the town we thought it was; we were off course. Had we continued we would have had to go miles out of our way to get back on track.  Naturally, the few people up and about were gracious to help us find our...

10 Oct Attended mass at the church of San Froillen  tonight. According to tradition St. James had a vision of St. Mary who told him to throw a stone and where the stone landed a church was to be built. Lovely sanctuary. Mass on Tues took a whole 20 minutes.

10 Oct. El Burgos Ranero to La Virgen del Camino.  45.9 km When on the Camino one faces challenging obstacles and interesting options yet all seems to be imbued with grace. Two days ago Dad began experiencing some cold symptoms. As a result, we took a fairly easy day yesterday, stopped early, visited the farmacia for meds and allowed time for rest. Despite our best efforts, he put in a miserable night such that I asked our hospitaleros early this morning if there was an option to stay another day just to allow him some sleep. There really wasn't an option. Albergues are intended to be used for one night. They open to let in pilgrims at one and expect you will be walking by 8 the next morning so the hospitaleros can make the place clean and ready for the next nights pilgrims. Our hosts were not without sympathy, though, and offered some suggestions, the most viable being taking the train to Leon where we could find a private room, a doctor if needed and other conveniences....

9 Oct Good night, Spain!

9 Oct. Calzada del Coto to El Burgo Ranero.  14.4 km Everyone does the Camino at their own pace and most take rest days along the way. Today was our rest day, covering only 14.4 km. We started at Calzado del Coto which was a bit off the beaten path, meaning that we had to find the alternate route back to Camino francais in the dark. It was well marked and we had no problem at all finding our way back to the beautiful tree lined path through Bercianos and onto our destination. We set out at a leisurely pace and enjoyed the fall day with the leaves crunching under our feet. We arrived in town well before the albergues opened - generally at 1- so stopped for an orange juice. Every bar has a juicing machine. Order a juice, the oranges get thrown in the machine and the juice goes straight into your glass. What a magnificent thing. Every day should include fresh squeezed juice! As we waited the bread man drove up in his truck. He ran in the bar to get their order and then back ou...

8 Oct. Ledigos to Calzada del Coto.  21.5 km It's Sunday so we left prepared for small towns to be closed up tight, as that has been our experience. So we got coffee before leaving, purchased fruit and yogurt and even had a sandwich prepared to go. And then we walked through towns with open bars advertising breakfast. There just seems to be no rhyme or reason to how things work. It was a lovely day. The rain in Spain is no longer on the plain. The skies have been clear and the weather unseasonable dry and warm. It doesn't bode well for the farmers and we end the day  illowing dirt around us like Pig Pen in a Charlie Brown cartoon. Right now the farmers are preparing their fields or harvesting sunflowers.. We have moved into the Provine of Leon, the town being just a few days away. Thus, the path is becoming more hilly as in this province we will face the "easy" end of the Pyrenees. We have been assured there is only one difficult peak ahead but the map indic...

8 Oct. Happy Sunday Morning! Friday night during our stay at the convent, the nuns gathered anyone who wished for a lovely sing along. They had song sheets with words for songs from various countries and invited people to sing songs from their homes. It was quite lovely. I only wish I could upload the video I took of all of us singing Amazing Grace. Yes, we have walked 200 miles across Spain and still find ourselves singing Amazing Grace!

7 Oct. Carrion de Los Condes to Ledigos. 23.4 km We were up and out early before day break because, when 18 other people are rummaging through their stuff and the lights are turned on, there isn't much point in trying to sleep. We knew we had an easy, flat 17.3 km to our planned destination so we were eager to get started. We decided to forgo coffee and breakfast as the map showed a town-the only town- about 4-5 km out. So the Brilliant twins left with only a few pieces of fruit and water. Turns out our town was an aqueduct in the middle of nowhere. Knowing we'd be at our destination by noon at the latest, we noted the lesson learned and forged ahead to a rock picnic table where we ate our apples and sipped water. We were joined by a fellow pilgrim from Norway who had made an entire baguette into a huge sandwich sliced to share. A few other pilgrims joined us an everyone was offered a piece of the feast. By 11:30 we'd reached our destination, got coffee and fruit a...

6 Oct.  Fromista to Carrion de Los Condes. 19.3 km Today was a fairly easy, flat terrain kind of a day that went fast and was full of lovely things. The towns were reasonably placed for rests and refreshments. A few km in and it was time to stop for coffee. A few more and a lovely square to grab some water. A few more and it was time to rest our feet and grab some bananas. Walking around he hedge into the cafe we found a donkey in the yard and another by the door to the bar, several geese in the yard who were busy chasing the donkeys.  The woman serving our food would chase the donkey and grab the goose and then someone would feed the geese and the donkey would want in in the action the. The goose would latch onto the donkeys tail and beat him with her feathers. Then the barkeep would come out and the cycle would just keep repeating itself. Inside the bar was a lovely lad dog begging for scraps. Standards for food service are different but certainly more entertainin...