crazy making?!

there are so many stories to tell about the Camino. so many reflections to share and photos as well. and yet life moves on...and so i am going to attempt to share both the present moments, and the many moments and highlights of the Camino. i am not sure this is the wisest decision but i fear if i don't keep up with the present moment i will be stuck trying to recreate it all later. 

so here goes.

we did it. the Scientist, the Healer, the Officer, Ovi and I got to Santiago de Compostela, TOGETHER. it was a week ago today. we were together the last 100 kilometers. we walked, talked, met new people, reunited with old, shared memorable meals, witnessed beautiful sunrises and sunsets...and we walked through the arch to the sound of bagpipes and shared emotional moments in front of the Cathedral. yes the same Cathedral some of you saw us in front of with the webcam. 

the Officer was more outwardly emotional than the rest. with good reason, he shouldn't have been able to accomplish this. his doctors told him not to do it. his body was wracked with pain and illness throughout the weeks.he had every reason to say, "i will complete the Camino another time." 

it was his dream and he did it. 

and each of us, with our own doubts, injuries, worries, fears, or whatever else could hold us back...we did it too. all of us came to the Camino for our own reasons, different and personal reasons. our arrival in Santiago was shared and still deeply personal...for me it was memorable because both were in balance.

we stood in front of the Cathedral. we walked hand in hand up the steps to enter the same cathedral that has seen millions of pilgrims through the decades. i sat in awe and gratitude not quite sure it was all real. even when holding the Compostela in my hands with my name written in latin it didn't feel real. during the noon pilgrim mass as they read out all the pilgrims (they read the home country and starting point of the pilgrimmage, no names) who had arrived that day it took everything i had to translate the mass and most importantly the homily which may have been one of the most powerful i have ever heard. still it was all sort of surreal.

we stayed in Santiago for another day and then went to Fisterra, literally what the Romans believed was the end of the earth (in latin, Fini terra). then it became real. when i saw the water and that there was nowhere for me to walk, i knew and could feel my pilgrimmage was complete.

in the week since we arrived in Santiago there were many celebratory and goodbye dinners. we had days of goodbyes which for me were bittersweet. it was sad of course. sad to say goodbye to people who shared in this incredibly special and unique experience. sad to recognize that i may not see some of these people ever again. sad to say goodbye and so very happy to have shared even a moment of my life with them. because whether i see them again or not, whether we are facebook friends or skype buddies or friends for life via email, whether we visit each others homes or we reunite in another country or another camino...i know i am better because i knew them and i know my life has been greatly enriched because of what we shared.

so, while yesterday was strange and a bit sad...waking up without my friends, a new city (A Coruña), a new part of Spain and just myself....it started the next phase of my travels.

the road to Santiago

the last time i posted it was questionable as to what would happen with the Officer...would he meet us in Sarria? would he be able to continue? and what about Ovi and the Scientist?

the Healer and I left Fronfria with a new addition to the Camino family. we first met him in Astorga with his father. as the story goes, the father walked the Camino with his friend 5 years ago and this time the two decided to invite their sons. and so the Spirited Son, a recent college grad and teacher-to-be is on the Camino with his father, his father´s friend, and the son of his father´s friend (a firefighter)...ah and they are all from Arizona, the Phoenix area to be more specific. as happens on the Camino we met this group in Astorga and ran into the Spirited Son again in Ponferrada. this time he was with a friend of his from college who was walking the Camino with her father! they had hoped to meet up on the Camino and spend a few days walking together and then the Spirited Son would meet up with his father again. As it turns out we kept crossing paths the next few days and soon enough the Spirited Son was walking with us to Sarria.

not far from Sarria we came across the Scientist, literally on the road! what a happy reunion! we knew we were just behind her and Ovi but not quite positive how far so it was a happy moment. but Ovi, he was not there and to our surprise the Scientist explained, "i don´t know about Ovi, we lost each other at O´Cebreiro!" somehow they started the day together, got into the town and somehow separated. so this was the day before and so we wondered, "will Ovi meet us in Sarria? is he ahead of us? is he behind us? did he get my emails or the Officer´s text messages?" but the Camino works in funny ways and always provides ;-)

upon arriving in Sarria the Healer and I discussed possible alburgues and both our books recommended a few. we decided on one and then upon reading a bit about the other changed our minds. we arrived at Don Álvaro, a private alburgue to find they had beds and as we gave our names the hospitelero said, "oh you have a reservation"...hmmm we didn`t make a reservation. ah of course, the Officer found a way to Sarria and made the reservation for us. but no, the reservation was for the Healer, myself and the Officer. strange. and then we were told, "the Romanian waits for you."

our response was almost in unison..."OVI!!!!"...imagine our surprise! and imagine his when he saw the Scientist! we then came to find out that he had been texting back and forth with the Officer about arriving in Sarria and the alburgue location but the Officer never mentioned that he was not with us! so Ovi thought we all were together, the Officer was still in Fonfria, Ovi and the Scientist didn´t know where the other was, and the Healer and I had added the Spirited Son to our family and were just hopeful we would all find our way back to each other. and there we all were...together, well almost. the Officer was still in Fonfria. we wondered would there be a bus to bring him to Sarria? will he be feeling well enough to walk 27 kilometers we needed to walk that day?

the next morning, a few minutes after 8am the Officer walked triumphantly up to the Iglesia de Santa Mariña!

screen shot from Santiago!

thanks to the dad for capturing this! here we are...the Doctor, the Officer, the Healer, myself, the happy Canadian, the Runner and some additional friends. hurray!!!

see us on the webcam!

we just found out there is a webcam in the main plaza in front of the cathedral in Santiago. we will be there at 6pm tonight (Sunday) in hopes that family and friends will see us all! so do the math if you can...6pm in Spain...


http://www.compostelavirtual.com/webcam/camara-web-plaza-obradoiro-santiago-compostela.html

if this doesn´t work, maybe do some searching for the web cam in plaza obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela.

more to come later on the days leading up to our arrival in Santiago, our arrival and our visit to Fisterra. hope to see you tonight!

Sarria

after our day of rest in Astorga we knew we would be behind our friends and Camino family but with each day we hoped we were getting closer as we would walk just a little further. last night i sent an email to Ovi and the Scientist while the Officer tried a text message to Ovi saying, ¨sunday in Sarria?¨ we got no reply last night or this morning at 6:15am...the Healer and i figured we would see them in the next day or so. the Officer is struggling with intense pain in the non-reconstructed ankle. it could be a ligament, it could be a muscle, it could be anything really. all we know is that each doctor he talks to offers the same advice, rest. but the Officer is a warrior and is determined to get to Santiago so he continues to walk. but since we all started in San Jean he has only walked a few days before needing rest for one ailment or another. the Camino is surely testing him, in truth it appears to be a battle from within that is waging in front of us all and the best we can do is support this young man in figuring out what the Camino means to him.

after an exciting day of incredible beauty as we ascended into Galicia the Officer was unbelievably happy to have walked but in significant pain by night. he decided to take today to rest and as there are no buses from the small villages into Sarria on a Sunday he will arriving early tomorrow morning and join us. you see in Sarria we are at the 100 kilometer mark and you must walk from this point to Santiago to get the compostela...the grand document of your journey. hopefully he will be able to do it. we are all hoping...

to be continued...

Galicia Spain

we entered into Galicia Spain this morning and it was like entering another country. not only is the terrain-landscape entirely different, the language is familiar but not the spanish i know, and the weather is just nutty. literally turning the bend into Galicia and we were welcomed with cool air and gusts of wind. soon enough it was rain and a bit later it was fog-rain-snow. mind you i left this morning wearing shorts and a long sleeve shirt. wow.

the celtic roots are so obvious i feel funny just typing it. it is going to be an exciting next few days as we explore the region. what i can say is that we are among green rolling hills, stone buildings, wood carvings with celtic features...gone are the storks i was almost getting used to seeing soaring high above or peering down from church towers...

a whole new world...again.

less than a week to Santiago

I have come to the conclusion that my best writing about this trip will come after i have already arrived in Santiago. the limited internet access and my inability to post photos makes describing my days or telling my stories slightly difficult. still i think it will be hard to put all this into words no matter what.

hard to believe it is all coming to an end. of course it won´t really end as it is all kind of a new beginning. the Officer told us that there is a french saying that says when you leave on the pilgrimmage you leave as a walker-hiker-traveler but you return a pilgrim and stay that way. amazing thought.

a much needed day of rest

*a note- no more names, as per usual i will refer to people by their inspired (or not so inspired) moniker.

today is a day of rest for 3 of us. the others came to Astorga yesterday and went on this morning but 3 of us decided we needed a day of rest. we head over the mountains into Galicia in the next few days and have had some long days in the past week so we are in need of a break. the Officer is still healing and we are hoping 4 days of rest will help (he took a bus ahead to Astorga a few days ago). the Camino has been rough on the Officer- ankle sprain, bad cold, blisters and all that on top of the injuries he sustained in Afghanistan- a reconstructed ankle still isn´t the same as the one he had before. for the Healer, this is week 9 of his journey as he started in Strassburg so he certainly could use a break. Astorga is a perfect place too, not too big but plenty to do. so while we all physically need a day, mentally we also need time to explore and let our minds prep for the final push. we are estimating 10 more days to Santiago. which will mean 1 month from starting out most of our little Camino family will be strolling through Santiago at the same time. that is the hope anyway. Ovi (an exception to the name rule as there is no better descriptor than Ovi!) is off with the Scientist as they walk well together and we are hoping our paths will cross again soon. maybe for a night of sleeping under the stars in the legendary haunted forest in Galicia. granted we don´t exactly know where the forest is but the legends are told all along the Camino and we are determined to sleep outdoors at least once during this epoch journey. so while it is the Healer, the Officer and myself we had a fabulous dinner with much of the ¨family¨last night, and are hoping to run into the others towards the end.

one day i will tell the stories of the Runner (Ireland), the Speaker of the Camino (Britain), the Doctor of the Camino (Israel), the Funny Canadian (obviously Canada), the future Priest (Spain), the Scientist (Germany), the Hungarian (umm...Hungary), the Silent One (Germany)...

well time is running out at the internet cafe. gotta run...no wait, just strolling today.

long days

the last few days we have working to cross the Spanish meseta...flat land with little shade and lots of heat...many say it is the most boring and unbearable part of the camino. it has been challenging but mainly because we have logged many kilometers in only a few days. we were averaging 27-30 and this week had multiple days of 35-41...so there was a day that was just plain hard, physically and emotionally. today was a light day, only 28 kilometers and tomorrow will be easy breezy as it is only 17 kilometers to Astorga where we have agreed to stay an extra day for rest. we need it as our bodies are tired, we all have picked up some sort of sore throat-cold, and there are injuries that need a moment to heal. hurray for Astorga!

one of the constant conversations is about blisters because inevitably you get them. there are a random few who do not but i figure if you don´t get them you are missing out. the amount of advice, compassion, laughter, disgust and some fascination, that are shared along the road just broaden the experience. i am happy to say my blisters are healing- the worst were certainly on my toes and heels...i won´t go into detail but let me just say it made my pre-half marathon feet look beautiful!

Burgos...and a fabulous reunion

so we had planned, worst case scenario Michael, myself, Ovi and Jocelin would meet up at the cathedral in Burgos tonight at 6pm...so the scene is set, Michael and i have walked together since we parted ways with the others and were fairly clear about Jocelin´s plan but not Ovi´s as he had not showed up in Santo Domingo as planned. Michael and i walked on and enjoyed time with new-old friends of the Camino along the path and in the alburgues at night. it turns out the reunion plan was one part of the Camino gossip and so all we heard the last few days was, ¨will Ovi show up? will you all be reunited?¨ ...it´s a funny thing. we all met within the first 2 days, between San Jean and Roncevalles, and we just clicked- our pace was similar, our interests compimentary, our enjoyment of picnics along the route, and ultimately our joy of each other continued to bring us together...and so while we lost Bram the 4 of us have been a good team and one that others have gotten used to seeing along the Camino. and as i mentioned, the reunion apparently was the talk of the Camino...so when Michael, myself and Donna (our Canadian friend) arrived early in Burgos we had some coffee and then decided to head over to the cathedral to check it out. and as the bells were ringing at this astoundingly beautiful cathedral we began across the sunny square and who do you think we saw? Jocelin and Ovi! it was quite a reunion!!!

as it turns out Jocelin had stayed in the town we had left him in and Ovi had went on but rather than getting to Santo Domingo he stopped before. the following day he walked a bit and figured he was just a few kilometers behind us (i have forgotten miles and am thinking entirely in kilometers these days so forgive me for not converting). the following day he walked a bit more and then decided the pain in his leg was too much (has now been diagnosed as shin splints) and so he jumped on a bus. who do you think was on the same bus? yes indeed, Jocelin!

i imagine our reunion was quite a site to those sitting peacefully in the square. laughter, hugs, and much chatter as we all tried to share our thoughts and stories of the past few days! it was quite an affair!

and to add to the fun, Donna was with us and later we reconnected with other friends as well. our tradition of Pizza Sundays was started on this night and it was followed by some fabulous desserts and more fun with our growing Camino family.

a very good day overall as it was light...only 22 kilometers of walking today and my achilles-ankles thank me as they are quite sore and swollen at this point. the many blisters have begun to go away and i am now left with ongoing soreness and discomfort but you know it´s life so on you go. thankfully today was a kind of day of rest so i hope it will help in the healing as tomorrow we have almost 30 kilometers to cover.

note- i would love to post photos but most of the computers i have found so far will not allow for uploading of photos...let me just say that the country so far has been beyond beautiful. astoundingly beautiful is the best i can do.

oh and by the way, Spain is not all sun and warmth as i had mistakenly believed. as it turns out it rains and even hails here quite a bit. yesterday we encountered rainbows, rain, sun, hail, rain, sun, rain, hail, sun, hail and then just cool air. never again will i believe that Spain is purely sunny and warm!!!

ok off to bed!

spain spain and more spain

only 553 more kilometers to Santiago!

just crossed into the Castillo y Leon region...basque country, wine country both have been seen and done! hard to believe and so much to say about both. i will try to post more later today are at least in the next few days as we have shorter distances until Burgos. when i say shorter i should explain that today was only 23 kilometers...very short compared to what we are averaging...28ish a day! so tomorrow i think is about 26 k and then another 27 to Burgos. the goal is to be in Burgos on Sunday and possibly stay there Monday as well.

our team, the "A Team" as we have dubbed ourselves- has dwindled with Bram staying behind a few days ago to fix a torn backpack and nurse a sore knee. then yesterday our french officer stayed behind and Ovi never showed in Santo Domingo. so it is Michael and i unless Ovi makes a miraculous appearance...otherwise the back up plan is we all meet in Burgos at the cathedral at 6pm...on verra!

hasta luego

day 6 of the Camino!

first chance to access the internet and i have just completed day six on the El Camino! who would have thought it would be that hard to update the blog and communicate with everyone regarding this crazy adventure i am on. so, at the moment i am in Viana Spain. the first time we have seen a flag from Spain as all the other time spent in Spain was in Basque country where the Basque culture reigns. it has been a fascinating, fun and unique experience so far and there is so much to say...

firstly, thus far i have met and talked with people from all over the world- Japan, Netherlands, France, Spain, Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Brazil, Italy, China, South Africa, Canada, Belgium, England, Ireland, Korea, Argentina! the average age range of folks walking the El Camino is about 50ish. the average temperature and terrain depends on the day and the time of day as you walk through it all.

the first day was surreal. i started in San Jean Pied de Port, France and ended in Roncevalles, Spain.crossing the Pyrenes via the route de Napoleon included beautiful views, rain, fog, heavy winds, mud, rocky terrain, a strange leafy terrain that came up to my knee, snow (!) and lots of incline and decline.at the end, upon arrival at Roncevalles, we all collectively felt wet, cold and incredibly happy to have accomplished something so very unique.

I have met many people and a few of us have come to form a little pack which may or may not change but nonetheless they all will be mentioned in future postings and have been a great addition to my life so far...they are:
Ovi- Romanian graphic designer
Bram- Dutch software engineer
Michele- German carpenter and cranial phyisiotherapist
Goselyn- French Navy officer

we have been walking together each day and it has been great fun walking, talking, observing, listening and spending time together.

here is the summary so far:
Day 1: San Jean Pied de Port, France to Roncevalles
Day 2: Roncevalles, Spain to Larrasoana
Day 3: Larrasona to Pamplona
Day 4: Larrasona to Cirauiqui
Day 5: Cirauiqui to Monjardin
Day 6: Mondardin to Viana

more very soon i hope. until then, much love!