Table 78

On the first night of our cruise we followed directions and went to our assigned table, Table 78 at 8:00pm.  It is a table for 6 in the center of the room and a couple that had already been seated were speaking German to one another.  They looked a little older than Ann and me but it is hard to tell. Otfrid and Erika are from near Munich and they shared that they were language teachers, but that English was not one they had learned, nor was Spanish.  They specialized in Eastern European and Slavic languages and even Arabic.

And then her son went to Spain to study theology and fell in love and married a Spanish woman in Malaga.  Now they had the need to learn Spanish and, from traveling elsewhere, felt the need to become more fluent in English. Which made them perfect table mates for us.  We are interested in Germany and Eastern Europe as well. It turns out that they were older than they appeared to me, in their 80s and still traveling the world.

But we still had two empty chairs at the table …

Enter Cynthia and Jesus from the Tampa area, both Spanish language teachers of professionals working in bilingual populations.  They arrived a few minutes after we had and joined right into the language discussion. And they both had walked the Camino more than once - Jesus had completed six walks over the years! Jesus was from Galicia, now a US citizen and has been working in the US for many years. He commented that walking the Camino helped him maintain connection to his home country and he is one of the few people who knew exactly where we are moving to and remembered it warmly.

Just another example that reinforces Einstein’s reported statement that “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” (I know he likely never said that, but it is so good!)

We are getting along fine on the cruise, slept well, found everything we needed, went into Key West, our first port of call, and got back onto the ship. Key West is lovely and there is a lot to see, eat, drink and hear. We took the trolley tour and spend some time in the Mel Fisher Treasure Museum which tells the story of a man who woke up every day and said “Today is the Day” while searching for the sunken remains of a Spanish ship loaded with silver, gold and more.  Perhaps we will have another chance to spend more time here in the future.

I suspect that this will be my last post for a week or so. Next stop is in the Canary Islands. Thank you for joining us along the way ...

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The Other Jew today is Arlo Haskell who wrote The Jews of Key West: Smugglers, Cigar Makers, and Revolutionaries (1823-1969), an entertaining and authoritative account of Key West’s Jewish community.

What was Required for Us to Live in Spain?

Many folks have asked what we had to do to live in Spain as residents and I'll take a stab at responding to that question but want all to understand that not only am I NOT an expert on this topic but also, from what I have read, applying for and getting a visa depends on many factors including where you call home. If one stays for 90 days or less no visa is required for US citizens.

Spanish Consulate in Washington, DC

The Consulate's Role

Assuming you are living legally in the United States you must apply for your residence visa at the Spanish consulate covering your state.  You can find that out at The Embassy webpage, selecting a consulate that looks near your residence and looking for 'Jurisdiction' which will show a map or list of states they cover.  Each consulate website seems to be slightly different, but look around and you will find the answer. For example, Our consulate, for Virginia, is in Washington, DC.

Once you find the right consulate website, look for visa information, review all the types one can apply for and their requirements.  In our case, it was the non-lucrative visa which means we are not permitted to be employed by a Spanish employer.  If one works remotely for an off-shore employer that is allowed.  We have no desire or need to earn money, so the non-lucrative visa fit our needs well.

Each consulate appears to have different requirements, and most require an appointment to submit your application.  The Washington, DC consulate did not make appointments and we just walked in and were in and out in about an hour and a half.

The basic requirements are that you have

1. income to support yourselves (we used Social Security and pension benefits letters);
2. a clear criminal record (we used Commonwealth of Virginia background check with fingerprints via the State Police);
3. statement by a doctor that you are free of communicable diseases, addictions, and mental health issues;
4. proof of health insurance that is comparable with what Europeans enjoy from the government (meaning no co-pays or deductibles).  

There is also a form that must be filled out, some documents must be translated into Spanish by an official translator and the criminal background report signature must be validated by what is called an Apostille of the Hague, kind of like an internationally recognized notary seal.

We needed a recent wedding certificate from the state where we were married to prove we were a couple, which reduced the amount of income we needed to prove and that needed an Apostille as well.

All these things were easy and affordable except the health insurance.  I found through research that if I had a Spanish bank account I could get the required insurance for about one quarter the cost of buying it internationally and paying by credit card.  So I researched how to open a Spanish account and found that normally one had to have the residence status to open an account.  But there was some mention of a 'non-resident account' so I flew to Spain and tried to open an account.  Six banks in Valencia told me it was impossible.  But two hinted that I might have better luck in Leon, the capital of the province where we intended to live.

The Lion of Leon

Off to Leon 

So I bought a train ticket and away I went to Leon.  I'll shorten the tale to say that I walked into a small bank branch office in Leon and a banker there worked with me for over three hours to not only get me a bank account but also the required health insurance, complete with the policy in my hand, in Spanish of course, so no translation required.  This was a branch of the same well-known Spanish bank that in Valencia told me it was impossible. It was amazingly good work on his part and he has earned my loyalty.  I never would have guessed that one could buy health insurance at the bank.

I now had time for a quick trip to Astorga, 30 minutes away by bus or train, to look at neighborhoods where we will be renting and visit the stores we would be relying on the coming year. Astorga still captures my heart even though the gelato shop was closed for the season.

I had gotten translations of all the other required documents in Virginia, but as long as I was in Spain I decided to get it all translated by an officially recognized translator if I could find one who could do it in 24 hours.  I asked Siri for the name of a translator near me and Sheila's name came up.  I called her, told her my situation, she agreed to do it, I sent her the originals as email attachments and picked the official translations up at her office the next day as I passed back through Leon on my way back to Valencia.

Back in the States

Outside the consulate after submitting our application

Papers in hand we drove up to Washington, walked into the consulate, they reviewed our paperwork, had us sign a few forms and accepted our payment and an Express Mail envelope.  They told us it would take three to five weeks to get a response, and we walked away feeling very thankful and positive about our experience.

Two weeks later we got a call saying our application had been approved, the next day the overnight mail envelope appeared with all our paperwork.  That night we clicked 'submit' on our cruise tickets and as I write this we are two days from boarding the ship for a restful 14 day trip to Barcelona.

We have elected to not have WiFi on the ship so there may not be any posts or responses until May 11th, don't worry about us.  I may find a connection at some port we stop at, but I am not sure.

Remember, your experience, should you chose to apply for a visa, will not be the same as mine, each visa type has different requirements, each consulate seems to have different instructions and procedures.  But if you have questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to give you good information based on my reading and current experience.

Why Astorga?

Thinking back a couple of years to my desire to live in Spain, I believe it was Astorga that captured my imagination on what living in this new culture would entail.  It wasn't a tiny hamlet with few services and people.  It wasn't a large city with hustle and bustle.  It was historic, beautiful, had a train station to enable friends to come to visit and for us to explore the continent. There are few foreigners living there.  Castillian Spanish is the language, not one of the many dialects.

It is located in the north part of Spain, in Leon Province, just east of Galacia.  It is along the French route and the Via de la Plata from Sevilla meets the French route there.  So there is lots of Camino activity to enjoy.

Most of all it includes the wonderful memory of the gelato shop, Veretium.  Yes, the gelato shop was, and is, a key factor in the decision to locate here.  Most of my friends have heard this story, often more than once, but I'll share it with you so it will be in writing.

Background: For many pilgrims, a major factor in walking the Camino de Santiago is the formation of a 'Camino Family' which develops organically and without much effort as one walks along paths, eats meals, washes clothes and shares our lives.  I use the term 'fall in love' as a wrapper for this process.  I fell in love with hundreds of people from all over the world, some of whom I wasn't even able to speak to or understand because they spoke no languages that I understood at a cognitive level.  But no problem, share a meal and laughter and that is all it took.

The Camino Family

After some weeks a core group developed, and they were all younger than me, mostly female. Somewhat out of character for me, I felt that they didn't need this old guy with them all the time.  So I made some effort to 'give them space' by staying back one town along the way.  But our bond was love and after being apart from them for a couple of days I could no longer stand it.  I got up one morning early and was determined to catch up to them.




I walked hard and fast and with long strides.  52000 odd steps (about 25 miles) later I entered the town of Astorga, walking past chocolate shops with their attractive goods in the windows. Then I saw an ice cream cone sign a couple of blocks away - and being an ice cream addict - picked up the pace and entered the shop in expectation of cool, sweet, rich flavor and goodness. 

But what I saw was so much much more exciting.  It was a great event on a long day of walking and exceeded my expectations greatly: Ice cream and family together!

As I entered the door I saw and heard Stephanie, my Camino 'daughter,' saying to her Aunt Janice and another pilgrim I had yet to meet "... too bad Ron's not here, he'd love this place."  But I was there, and I hugged them and enjoyed my hard earned treat. 

Afterward, we ate on the square, I got to know the other pilgrim, Julie, and never saw much of Astorga as my heart was focused upon my family.  But the place occupied a special place for me.

Gaudi Episcopal Palace

But Astorga has a lot more to offer than just that Gelato shop and the chocolate culture.  It is small, about 10 - 12,000 people, has a long history as a crossroads in culture, trade and two Camino routes and even a history of being a place that was tolerant and kind to the Jewish population in a time when that was not common in Spain.

Ann and I visited Astorga in April of last year and she agreed that this was a wonderful place to call home for a season. It offers views to the east of high plains (La Meseta) like her home state of Kansas and snow-capped mountains to the south and west.

So this place is where we will begin our time in Spain. My current plan is to spend a year here to learn culture and language, interacting with the Camino support groups and making friends. 



In future posts I will cover getting to Astorga, finding an apartment so that you can come to visit us and some stories about the transition. I'm sure it will be filled with learning.

The Other Jew of the Day: In memory of the Jews of Astorga who appear to have been well integrated into the community until the expulsion in 1492.

Why We Are Going to Live in Spain?

In the first days of my 2016 walk from St Jean Pied de Port, France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain I was prepared to be impressed by the beauty of the mountains, of the architecture, of the history and the people along the way.

But I was not expecting to be impressed by the healthy life I was experiencing. In fact, I was expecting sore muscles, joints and blisters. Pain. And sleepless nights listening to strangers snoring in the Albergues, the hostel-like facilities where many pilgrims sleep each night.

But much to my surprise I became aware of how healthy I felt not only in the morning but also at the end of the day.  I loved the food which was simple, fresh and low-cost.

I have to say that a good part of the joy were the other people at the table - folks from around the world who were in this place for various internal reasons, but in actuality were all in one accord - walking westward each day and taking care of one-another. So it was not only healthy physically but also spiritually and emotionally.

With the exception of a stinging nettle in my right knee while taking a photo of some flowering plant alongside the path, I was not aware of any pain in my joints or muscles or feet.  It was amazing.  The ibuprofen I carried in my pack remained unopened for the entire 5 week walk.

When Ann met me in Santiago at the end of the walk it was hard to use words to describe this state of well-being after a walk that during the planning stage I had viewed as torture to my old body.

One of my reasons to go was to figure out why anyone would do this pilgrimage journey more than once - and many seemed to be doing it yearly.  What was the attraction?  I found my answer, and for each of us it is different, but for many it seems to be rooted in the spiritual concept of love.

As time went on I found that it was not only the walking and the good, simple food that contributed to that feeling of well-being.  It was the supportive people, both pilgrims and local residents along the Way.  It was the lessons learned each day.  It was good sleep.  But it was more, something that resists words.

Months after we returned to life in our lovely mountain home in Virginia this idea of retiring in Spain came to me.  Ann was still working but had spoken of a retirement date.  I was a little timid about proposing the idea, but one evening I felt the mood was right and I blurted it out.  Ann responded in a positive way, mentioning apartments she had been researching on the internet.  She was having the same thoughts herself.  So the idea grew, and the research started on how we could get visas to become residents of this land we had come to love.

Las Fallas in Valencia

A couple more trips followed, enjoying the Las Fallas festival with Camino family member Pablo and his mom in Valencia, then walking the Portuguese Camino from Porto with our son Jack in 2018.  On that trip I took Ann to see my choice of a first place to live, Astorga, and she loved it.  More about that in the next post.

Ann retired in July of 2018 and the process went into production mode.  We began the process of gathering all the paperwork to apply for residence visas and to sell our home and other tangible property.  In the end we found great owners for all of our stuff, and a wonderful family to enjoy our home in the woods.  Not everything went according to our desired timeline, but all worked out well in the end.  God’s timing is perfect and we had no need to be in Spain on any particular day.

As I write this we are visiting family in Kansas and Oklahoma in memory of two great men who died rather unexpectedly and catching up with family members Ann hasn’t seen in a long time.  Had we been in Spain when all this happened it would not have been easy to be here with the family.

Some other benefits include having our kids and grandkids spend time with us experiencing another culture, being able to interact with pilgrims walking the Camino, helping at the albergues and seeing the rest of Spain and Europe as opportunities appear. And of course friends from all over the world having a place to stay with us when visiting Northern Spain.

In summary, we look forward to experiencing the well-being benefits that walking, healthy food, good healthcare and learning a new language and culture will provide.  We will make lots of new friends, enjoy our current friends visiting us and our hearts will be open to learning new lessons we can’t even imagine today.

The next post will be about why we selected Astorga, a small city in northern Spain, as home base for the first chapter of our new adventure.

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The Jew of the Day today is Harry Houdini (1874-1926) American magician and escapologist. From Hungary, his father was Rabbi of the Zion Reform Jewish Congregation.

The Move to Spain: Part I

Some two years after my Camino walk Ann and I made the formal decision to move to Spain in our retirement.  I have been waiting for it to all come together before posting much about the process, and that time is now. The house has been sold, the motorcycles have new owners, the visas are in hand and 60 years of accumulated stuff has been passed on to others.

In the next few posts I will detail why we are going, where we are going to live, what administrative steps it takes to live in Spain as retired, non-working Americans and finally how it all comes together as we arrive in Spain on May 11th and go about finding a place to live and begin this new chapter in our lives.

Briefly, we are going because I was first attracted to the healthy lifestyle in Spain while walking the Camino de Santiago in 2016 and after two visits Ann agreed that we needed another chapter in our lives.

We plan to spend our first year (or more) in ASTORGA which is in León province - in the northern part of Spain.  Why we chose that place has many dimensions which I’ll discuss in the next post.

But one hint that may appeal to you is that Astorga is the chocolate capital of Spain and even has a chocolate museum!


For those who may be interested in a similar move I will discuss the steps and resources we used to obtain our non-lucrative residence visa, including some tips on doing it yourself.

We will keep you in the loop on what it takes to find and rent an apartment, complete all the required administrative steps in Spain and ongoing reflections on being a foreigner learning a new language and culture.

We leave for Spain on April 27 from Tampa on a relocation cruise arriving in Barcelona on May 11th.

Let the adventure begin!

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The Other Jew today is actually the community of Jewish people in Astorga.  They somehow managed to gain recognition and exemption from taxes in 1432.  You can read more about it at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/astorga

Portugal: More Than You Expect

I can summerize our experience in Porto, Portugal and in the smaller communities that we walked through on our way to the Spanish border as joyous. The lasting impression of generosity of the people we met, merchants or just people along the way, makes Portugal a place to return to in the future.