At the cross - Cruz de Ferro

This is a very special place and time on most pilgrim's journey. I left a token of the journey for Ann, our friend Deb, and myself. No words really describe this moment.

I haven't written much about my physical condition after walking a Marathon or more each day through hills and high Plateau of Spain with a backpack on, but much to my surprise I feel better than at any time in my life. I have had no substantial foot issues, no joint pain, and have slept well. 

I attribute all that to good genes, following guidelines for not getting blisters and an amazing creator guiding my steps. 

I have been so blessed by the people that I have met and the conversations we have enjoyed.  

I have so little time to devote to writing to you because being present is so important and easy. Some will understand what I mean when I say Agape love is in evidence all day long. I had no idea that this was possible on earth.

Time to turn off the lights here in Ponferrada and get some sleep. Tomorrow will come early and we have an easy 26 kilometer day planned after today's difficult 32 kilometer hike.

We have just over 120 miles (out of 500) left to go. I will either shorten the daily distances or stay an extra day someplace along the way.

T.O.J. of the day is not a person but is a look at the history of Jews in this region.

Camino as a Model of Life - 1

This is the first of a series on Camino as a model of life.

Location wise, I have left León and have "only" 295 km to go. Having walked 450 plus I am confident I will make it.

Please Goggle "Cathedral in León" to see an amazing place.

Camino map added

I have added a link to another blogger's Camino map for your convenience. It is near the top in the Camino Resources bar. Not every little town is listed, but I'll give you an idea where  I am related to what is shown. Please let me know if the map works for you.

For example, I am now in the tiny town of Arcahueja just east of Leon.  I am taking two short distance days to allow my feet to heal after a pretty solid week of 17 mile plus days.

I will be going into Leon in the morning and touring the cathedral and other historic places, buying new socks and a better cell phone plan.

I'm working on a post on The Camino as a Model of Life which should go up tonight or tomorrow.

Circus!

Halfway celebration

This gateway marks our halfway point, crossed at noon today in Sahagún. Wonderful celebration planned for tonight.

Some days are just different

Today my trusty four-day partners, Stephanie, Janice and Pilar, completed about 28 kilometers ending in Villalcazar de Sirga, another small town. The old churches along the way are unbelievable, this one built in 1066, if I understood it right. That year rings a bell, doesn't it?

We passed two notable places - the first an individual, Pepe, offering almonds and love to passing pilgrims. 

Here you see Stephanie and her aunt Janice being thoroughly entertained by Pepe, an 80 year old man serving God by his outreach to the pilgrims. He wrote an individual prayer in each of our pilgrim passports.

The second an Albergue/bar (eating place) that bought me back to thoughts of a hippie commune of the 1960s.  

The place was complete with burros, chicks and hens, ducks, geese, dogs, and who knows what other beasts. Also had hammocks and guitar playing young people. And this is where we stopped for a mid-day meal.

Chicks cleaning up any crumbs we dropped

Burro at the table, right?

Stephanie with one of the dogs

Finally, a picture of me discussing the finer points of life with the man keeping watch over the church.

I include a couple of extra pictures for your enjoyment.

Full moon plans foiled

 I had planned to walk all night under the full moon that was last night. I had gotten to the Meseta, a fairly level area. However it was cold and periods of rain were forecast. In summary, all is well, I'm past 340 km of the 780 km total. More when I finally get time to write and connectivity.

And the moon was awesome. We started at 5:30 this morning so we got to walk in the moonlight.

I've been waiting for Ages

Just a quick note to let you know that I am in Agés, near to Burgos. The weather was threatening, but I actually walked 4km further than my planned destination of San Juan de Ortega.

The elevation profile gives you some idea of how steep the trails are on this walk. 

I was just in time to get the second to last bed at this Albergue in Agés.

Are you up for the task?

Sunrise Surprise

Breakfast Tortill

 "Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks."

― Phillips Brooks

In the last week or so I have done things I would have never thought possible. I am not a strong or sporting person, so it amazes me that I have been able to walk the distances I have on difficult mountain trails and roads. 

The quote above was appropriate for my day and I share it with you in hope that may be encouraged in completing your personal Camino.

I promised some comments on the mechanics of this amazing experience, which has its own culture and standards. There are exceptions to what I write here, but this is a typical day for me.

You are sleeping in a room on bunk beds with between 8 and 50 other people. Lights out and silence at 10pm, doors locked. If you were out on the town and didn't get back, too bad.  You are not getting in.

At about 5am some people start getting up and heading out to get an early start. While most are very quiet, I am aware of movement in the dark as they slip out. I have been getting up at about 6am and get my stuff together, go downstairs to put on my shoes that are always left outside the living area. There may be some coffee or toast, but that is usually later after the early walkers are long gone. I try to have an apple to enjoy as I head out in the dark at about 6:30 and follow the Way.  The sun is to your back and at about 7:15 there is good sky light. Seeing the sun come up each day is wonderful.

Eventually I get to a bar, a small restaurant that will offer coffee and tortillas (omelets) and pastries, maybe more. This is sacred ground, my friends. If we had these places in the US fast food stores would have no lines. I am going to miss this for sure.

So we are now an hour or two onto the day's walk and the air is warming, time for sun screen and sun glasses, putting the fleece in the pack and putting in some serious miles.  Each town I enter presents itself on a unique way, and each one has an array of things to see and hear. Too many things, in fact. I find myself standing in awe of the architecture and layout of the streets, how serious people take their responsibility to make their property beautiful with plantings and objects of art.

Look at the grapes hanging over the entrance to a small house.

Eventually it is time to eat lunch, which I have skipped several days in favor of an orange or apple or a bag of nuts. When I do get lunch it is usually a bocadilla, a simple sandwich on a local bread with one or two ingredients, my favorite being chorizo. But I have had ham or one containing the tortilla I mentioned as a breakfast dish.

Then more walking, trying to arrive about 1 or 2 pm to get a bed. There are record numbers of people doing this Camino at this time and I have been told the same thing Joseph and Mary heard: sorry, no more room at the Inn. But so far I've been able to find something indoors.  Many are sleeping on the ground, even outside.  I have started going to little towns not featured so much in guide books and find them very special.

So you get a bed assigned (begging for a lower bunk) and take your soap, towel and some clean clothes to the shower, use your bar of soap for hair and body, then hand wash your garments with that same bar of soap. So this is the second important bar in the day of the pilgrim.

Hang up your clothes in the sun - you did bring clothes pins, right? Then join the other pilgrims in conversation, usually ones you know and new ones to meet. A dozen languages being spoken, much gesturing, laughter and learning. I have met pilgrims from Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, U.S., Canada, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Ireland, Korea and more. We somehow manage to eat, wash, sleep and enjoy meals together.

Time for a funny story: I became friends with Alberto, an Italian with philosophical level English skills. We had deep conversation and shared some travel. After our dinner on a local outdoor place with a woman from Holland and a man from Germany they left and two other Italians sat at our table. Remember that 10 pm deadline to get back to our bed? Almost missed it!  

Anyway the other two were not really English speakers, but I understood the general drift from their body language and enjoyed our time together. We agreed to meet in the morning to walk together.  

The next morning while walking they began singing English language popular songs (Yellow Submarine was one favorite) and after all three men had sung in beautiful voice they insisted I sing. Those who know me know that I am now in trouble.

 I don't sing. So after a minute of thinking I selected a religious song: Janis Joplin's "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz...." And I got acceptable reviews. You had to be there.

Anyway, that's the bones of a pilgrim's day. Wake, walk, wash, eat, sleep, repeat. Enjoy. Did I mention that I have never smiled so much in my life? And I think others are doing it to, even the ones with sore feet. 

Next time I plan to share a story about a 77 year old woman I walked with the other day, be sure to join me for this amazing story of one pilgrim on the Way.

"as it is" on the Camino

The other day I mentioned that I was spending time considering the phrase in the Lord's Prayer "... as it is (in heaven)..." and I would like to share some thoughts that surfaced.

Now I have to preface this with admission that the Camino is not like anything I have been a part of, and that my thoughts here are not completely sorted out. But I want to attempt to communicate in a timely fashion what it is like for me to be here.

I will use biblical quotations as they came to me while walking. If you don't believe in the Bible, no problem, just understand the words as they read to you.

The first thing that I realized was that we all 'know' each other.  Somehow the process of gaining trust, a first step in building a friendship, is already completed. This is pretty amazing.  People of all ages, genders, national identity, economic and educational achievement treat one another as peers.
I have seen no exceptions.

I have walked, talked, broken bread, washed clothes, and slept in the same room with hundreds of people now, and there has not been a cross word, even in the struggle to understand one another's language. We just act as if we are life long friends from the first greeting.

The Bible verse that comes to mind is from Galatians 3:

26So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Now let me be clear, few of these folks talk about any faith in Christ, but the behavior brings those words to my mind. Ironically, at home people that do profess to be followers often don't.

Tomorrow I will try to share some of the mechanics of doing this walk. Even the way that part has developed over the centuries brings to mind what "... as it is..." in the heavenly realm should include.

Please be praying for me as I increase daily distances. My feet are doing fine as is the rest of my body, but walking this much each day involves unusual demands. Each day is wonder full on its own right, and I wish you could meet every single person I have had the pleasure to share my experience with. 

 I will share a few of them with you in coming days.

T.O.J. today is Bodo Eleazar.

(Note that I am entering this on a phone, please excuse typos, etc.)

Along one's Way

Creation

Breakfast in Viana

Early start from Torres del Rio, which was celebrating something all night long with loud music, so on the road at 5:30 and walked 6 miles by 8am when I stopped for a coffee and egg sandwich. This is the view as I enjoy my coffee.

The rest of the day should be easy compared to all the up and down of the morning walk.

Walking Westward in the dark is great as the sun comes up behind and illuminates the western sky, revealing progressive detail to the terrestrial world while giving one a light show in the sky.

I should be in the large city of Logroño this afternoon, 150km into the 800km walk.

Please pardon the typos I noticed in some part posts, I am doing this on a phone, and often pretty tired when I get to poking in the words.

And God's response...

The Albergue in Villamayor de Monjardin run by oasistrails.org was just the right answer to yesterday's post. Ellen and Ronald who were volunteers from Holland could not have been more hospitable. Everyone felt the love.

View from the front of the Alberge

Religious? Spiritual? Other?

I am leaving Estella, nearing the end of Navarro and approaching Rioja, both wine country. 

The way has been beautiful beyond words or pictures and I look forward to each day's walks.

But so far I have been unable to share with you things about the religious or spiritual intent of the other pilgrims. I have not talked to anyone who suggested that they were doing this for religious reasons. I have not talked to anyone who reported being a church goer. That should not be taken as applying to everyone, just the 100 or so I have talked to so far.

However the Kingdom is demonstrated so well, and in the next few days I plan to share some vignettes that illustrate God's grace and hand on us, whether we think we have it or not.

I leave Estella for Los Arcos today. As I walk I am considering the phrase in the Lord's prayer "as it is..." and I invite you to join me in that.

Sorry for the operator failures

Sorry for the blast of out of order entries earlier, I had not figured out that I have to Publish these email-based entries after emailing them. I will try to keep it in order going forward.

Today is yet hotter than previous days, so it might be a short distance again. I will be crossing famous bridge at Puenta la Reina near sunrise, looking forward to that.

I enjoy seeing comments, and Google the people or places to learn more.

When the going gets tough

Today I get to walk up to where those windmills are planted. I'm less than 1km from them and after that it is downhill the rest of the day, they say. We shall see.

"When the going gets tough, I'm not always sure what you do. I'm not saying that I know how to fix everything when the going gets tough, but I do know this: when the going goes tough, you don't quit. And you don't fold up. And you don't go in the other direction."

― John Madden 

Approaching Pamplona

After three challenging days with up and down paths, today is largely level. Not Kansas, mind you, but my heart is not beating so hard.

While I expected to meet interesting people, my cup really has over-flowed. 

24 hours ago I met my new friend Alberto, from Italy.  Several hours later I came into Zubri after a hard and hot day to find Alberto sitting on the ground waiting for a taxi. All the beds in that town were full, and the next town was 5km (3 miles) and I was in no condition to walk that much more.

So we shared the 5 minute can ride and we're taken to a very nice private Alberge, St. Nickolas. We got two beds and proceeded to do the daily routine of shower, wash the clothes, hang to dry while meeting other pilgrims.

Alberto and I agreed to have dinner on town and at about 7pm walked a few blocks to a tavern where we meet friends from Germany and Belgium, Nora and Kurt. We are and solved all the problems of the world for an hour or so, and they left.

Alberto had one more small beer and his Italian new-found friends Luciano and Jaco (spelling may be wrong) arrived and we spent another sprites hour sharing life's joys (including motorcycle stories!) and agreed to meet at 7am to walk together.

I do not have words to describe how fast I have become a part of the lives of people from all over the world. At this point, it is the people, more that the beauty of the walk. that owns my heart.

What more is to come in the next 30 days?

The first picture is Nora, Kurt and Alberto at dinner, next should be the Italian side of the family, and last the place I sit letting my feet rest.

Made it over the Pyrenees

Just a quick update to let you know that I am doing well but not having much net access.

I have completed the hardest physical part, and I'm feeling fine. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen on earth.

I will post pictures, which are inadequate, when I am able.

On my way to Zubri after a night in Roncesvalles.

Buen Camino!

Goodbye Pamplona

Walking across this historic city where bulls run down the city streets and Hemingway lived and wrote. 

Lovely place, which I had more time to poke around.

I got a late start, about 7am. The city was just waking up...

Through this archway begins my actual Camino walk in a few minutes. St. Jean Pied de Port is an incredibly nice place, even if it were not the beginning of my walk.

My first night in an Alberge went very well except my clothes didn't get dry, no big deal.

Going to the post office to send extra stuff to Santiago so I don't have to carry it all 500 miles.

The prayer of this day is that the shutters of my heart be open to God breath. Please join me in that today.