One day I decided to go for a walk…

3 October 2023, Camino 3, Day 34

Melide to Arzua

It’s cool (60 degrees) and a bit humid this morning. It feels good walking but stopping for a drink it seems chilly.

It’s a short walk to Arzua which is good. My ankle has been acting up and I welcome a reduction in kilometers.

I walked for a bit with a young woman who reminds me a great deal of my own daughters. She’s newly graduated from college and beginning to send out resumes. And she’s a little torn about which direction her heart is calling her to.

With more than 40 years difference between us I find myself asking the same questions. Should I continue writing this blog? Should I try to change it into a book? A podcast? A children’s book? I thought I was dispensing elderly wisdom and I find all the same questions coming back at me. Sure I have my Medicare card and sure potential employers might be concerned about the longevity of my work life, but does any of that matter?

I may live another 40 years or I may get hit by a bus 🚌 tomorrow. The question is still what am I going to do next? And truthfully this is precisely the question I brought with me on the Camino. It’s the question I prayed into my rock that I laid at the base of Cruz de Fierro. What am I going to do next? Or better yet who am I going to be?

Buen Camino

1 October 2023, Camino 3, Day 32

Portomarin to Palais de Rei

Full disclosure: I am not walking to Palais de Rei today. Yesterday was a very tough day. The walk itself was not too bad but the heat was brutal. In addition walking into Portomarin is a very steep downhill followed by a very steep up hill.

Not only is one faced with these steps but the town is a constant incline throughout. I made it to within 30 feet of our hotel when I absolutely had to take off my pack and sit and…well…I fainted. I’m ok. Some cold water on my face and to drink revived me. And here is where I want to talk about the kindness of people on the camino. The owner of the hotel came out offering all kinds of assistance, including calling an ambulance. Later she called to ask how I was and her husband (a doctor) asked some questions to get the full picture of the situation and told us to call at anytime if things got bad. Later one of the other residents stopped by at the owner’s request to lay eyes on me and report back. I felt very cared for.

The pilgrims office requires two stamps per day for the last 100 km as additional proof of having walked them. Only after that proof will they issue a Pilgrim’s Compostela.

So I’m sure you’ve already noticed that I’m taking a taxi and therefore I am not walking today. I’m really not all that fussed about getting a third compostela. However I want to frame my pilgrim’s credential (passport) and I would like to have the final Pilgrims’ stamp from Santiago. So yes, I’m going to lie in front of God and everybody in the pilgrim’s office about today. I’m relying of the grace of God and not God’s judgment.

Buen Camino

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30 September 2023, Camino 3, Day 31

Sarria to Portomarin

Today was everything I expected and more.

There were all sorts of groups of people. Groups of men being loud, teenagers sitting on the roadside texting, and more. And when I say more I mean something more interesting possibly. There is a group of men traveling in matching shirts. Yesterday they were orange and today they were blue. This evening I noticed they were pink.

The thing I found most curious was the design on their shirts.

Their t-shirts all have St. James on the front in black and white stripes.

I have heard of low level prisoners being given the option of walking the camino instead of prison time because the Camino is a life altering event. I certainly believe it has an impact on my life but never considered it might be used to rehabilitate criminals. Perhaps our own judicial system should consider something like this. Perhaps

It was a beautiful walk today.

I’ll have to add my stamps tomorrow as I forgot to photograph them 😢

Buen Camino

2 October 2023, Camino 3, Day 33

Palais de Rei to Melide

Today we are walking the Primativo route to Melide where we will rejoin the Frances route. It is the oldest of the routes to Santiago and the route that the king of Spain took to pay homage to the bones of St. James which were discovered in the 9th century by a hermit who had a dream.

Of course all of this is the stuff of legends and folklore. There is no proof that St. James (of the brothers James and John in the Bible) was ever in Spain. The story is that he was be headed in Jerusalem and two of his disciples recovered his bodily parts and set sail for Spain in a stone boat held afloat by scallop shells.

Thus the scallop shell as symbol of the camino.

St. James never walked the Camino de Santiago (Spanish for St. James).

But I’ve been thinking about a lot of other things as my time on the camino draws to a close. Two years ago I really pondered “what do you think when you’re alone with your thoughts”? I had a lot of time to think about that as that was the camino I walked alone.

I think a lot about dreams I had when I was younger like owning a small restaurant. I know that time has passed so I think about how I might live out that dream in another way. I think a lot about my grandchildren and the memories I want to make with them. After all when I’m gone, memories of me are all they will have.

What do you dream about? What do you think when you’re alone with your thoughts. Who do you want to be? Not do…be.

Tell me your dreams and hopes.

Buen Camino

4 October 2023, Camino 3, Day 35

Arzua to O Pedrouzo

It’s a beautiful day today. The weather is cool, the path shady with bits of mild sunshine, rolling hills, and good traction on the road. About 13 miles to O Pedrouzo. It is the last day before the last day.

I have walked alone much of the morning. My feelings are all jumbled up. I’m sad the walk is almost over. I’m happy the walk is almost over. I’m yearning to return to my home and I’ll miss Spain. It’s like trying to mix oil and vinegar. No matter how much you shake it it will never mesh together. So for now I’ll try to sit with the conflict within me.

Buen Camino

There were two nuns on the outskirts of Arzua giving stamps and asking for donations for the Daughters of Santa Maria. My nun was very young and she kept asking where we were from. Someone would say “ Canada” and I said “United States” and she would point and repeat where we were from. It was all very charming.

5 October 2023, Camino 3, Day 36

O Pedrouzo to Santiago

Glen and I have had a little joke along the camino. When we are close to our destination and need to push through he says, “Let’s finish this thing before it gets out of hand.” Well today we’re going to finish it.

The day has been cool (really almost cold), misty, and overcast. We ploughed on and the walk was actually easy. I had butterflies in my stomach when I woke up but as the day progressed I felt a peace come over me. I don’t really care for the walk into Santiago. It’s a couple of kilometers to get to the old part of town where the cathedral is.

The meaning of Santiago de Compostela is St. James under a field of stars because in the 8th century the monk who had a dream about the location of the bones of St. James envisioned them under a starred filled sky. Under a field of stars…such a beautiful image.

As you enter the old cathedral square you must pass through an arch. There is almost always someone greeting pilgrims by playing the bagpipes. Bagpipes originated in Africa and migrated into Spain. Later when the Spanish set sail for Northern Europe they landed in Ireland and brought these Celtic traditions with them.

But we didn’t stop at the cathedral. Our first stop was at the pilgrim’s office. We had heard that each day 1400 pilgrims arrive in Santiago and the majority of them will head to the pilgrim’s office to get their compostellas…the certificate of completion of the camino.

Our fear was that they might tell us to come back in a day or two because the line was so long. That was not the case. There were actually only about 30 pilgrims ahead of us in line so we got in quickly.

I will upload my Compostela and my certificate of distance in another post as I will need to scan them.

There is so much more to our arrival than the bare facts I’ve laid out here. I’m going to need some time to process my feelings more fully. I’ll be taking the next few days off as we travel by train to Madrid and then fly home.

Thank you so much for being part of this journey with me.

Buen Camino

29 September 2023, Camino 3, Day 30

Triacastela to Sarria

Today we enter the last 100 km of the Camino Frances de Santiago. I feel funny about this. A month ago I was saying to myself “OMG! I still have a month of this to do?!” And now it’s the final phase.

A lot of pilgrims only walk the last 100 km. As I said yesterday for some it is a resume requirement, for others who do the camino a week or two each year it’s the final stage, and for some it’s a walking holiday. It’s hard for those of us who have been walking a great distance to merge into this last segment.

These other pilgrims are clean. Many of them carry daypacks as their luggage is sent ahead. And they are so happy. They have a spring in their step and cry out heartily, “buen camino!” while the rest of us are trudging in to Santiago resentful of this intrusion into our private time with God.

I try to remind myself that I was like that when I started out from St. Jean Pied de Port or Pamplona. But I still dislike this boisterous interruption to my communing. I think though that this time has a purpose like other parts of the camino. I think this is God’s way of telling me that I can’t stay in contemplation all the time. I must re-enter the world. And I can still bring all the gifts that have been given to me.

So today’s a day of transition.

Buen Camino

28 September 2023, Camino 3, Day 29

Pedrofita do Cebriero to Triacastela

So you can see by the elevation map that today has a major downhill. Well after yesterday…we decided to skip it and take a taxi to Triacastela 😮😁😉. Yup it’s an easy day today 🥳 It’s a nice little town and we have finally crossed over from Castilla & Leon into Galicia.

So tomorrow we start for Sarria about 100 km from Santiago. In this last stretch we must walking carrying all our worldly possessions and get two stamps per day. In Spain some employers require a certificate of completion for employment to demonstrate the character of the applicant. Of course I hear all kinds of stories of taxis pulling up to a church, people dashing to get a stamp, and then driving off to the next stop. I can’t comment on that. I can only tell you that I will do my best to walk these last 100 km with my pack from Sarria to Santiago.

Buen Camino

27 September 2023, Camino 3, Day 28

Las Herrierias to Pedrafita do Cebriero

When they were up, they were up,
And when they were down, they were down,
And when they were only halfway up,
They were neither up nor down.

Pedrafita do Cebriero is about 2 miles off the camino before reaching Ocebriero but make no mistake it’s still uphill…and downhill. In fact we are on a different camino route in Pedrafita. We were on the Camino Frances and now we are on the Camino Norte..

According to the map this “road” has a route number designated to it so we were expecting a small asphalt road at the least a gravel road. Not this…

Despite the difficult passage I feel good about today. 4 years ago I was sick and so took a taxi to our hotel where I was told I discreetly open the taxi door and leaned out before losing my cafe con leche. 2 years ago I decided to ride a horse up to Ocebriero which was a great experience and I met some wonderful people. So even though I have never hiked all the way up to Ocebriero I am very proud of having made this difficult and a little scary passage.

We have at least crossed over from Castilla & Leon into Galicia the province where Santiago is located. It is another small triumph.

Buen Camino