One day I decided to go for a walk…

“Just once I’d like to wake up when I’m done sleeping”

Anna, Downton Abbey

If the Camino mantra is Walk, Wash, Eat, Sleep, I have to say that after I walk and wash my clothes I barely have the gumption to wash myself. Dinner is never before 7:30 pm and by 5:00 pm I could care less about eating and often just lay my head on the table praying that I can go to sleep.

I forgot to relate to you all what happened yesterday morning. After we left our hotel we stopped at Cafeteria Alfonso for breakfast. Don’t let the name fool you this is not a cafeteria like we know it. Nonetheless the cafe con leche was excellent and I had a great pastry filled with lemony cream for my breakfast. I ordered at the bar and the bar man served me. Usually I ask “how much?” and pay, but for some reason I didn’t do this. When we were done we left. Later it occurred to me that I hadn’t paid so I asked Glen if he did. The answer…no. We were so tired that we just didn’t think.

So today I did a little research and while I didn’t get the full address I have the street name and the name of the cafe. I’m going to send the owner a note and 20€ to more than cover our bill and to cover whatever other pilgrims might have forgotten to pay with the rest.

As I’m writing this it’s 4:40 pm and I’d really like to lay my head on the table and close my eyes. Maybe I didn’t train enough, maybe I’m just not young enough…but like I said on Day 1, I don’t know if I’ll make it, but watch how good I fake it.

Oh, BTW I bought some new shoes and a new hat last night in Leon. I lost my green hat and my blue shoes had lost all their tread and cushioning. The good news is that all was 40% off 🤗

Today is a dry day spiritually. It’s cold, dreary, and gray.

We are walking into Leon which is about 13 miles but a lot of it is along the highway. Of course the last couple days have been along the highway so it’s not a new scene just not pleasant.

My feet, legs, and back feel good, but my heart feels uninspired.

I’ve been listening to some Taizé music and on a sunny day it feels like the whole camino is my chapel to worship in. But today it’s not working.

As I walk along the path I’m remembering the Scottish man who was walking barefoot and I wonder where he is and if he’s been able to keep doing the Camino in his bare feet.

I’ve begun to identify backpacks like cars, by the logo on the back. Maybe I could create a camino bingo game and market it.

Graffiti along the Camino has change quite a bit from the beginning. This is what I used to see…

For many days now this is what I see on the Camino…

So many of the signs along the camino are scrawled with this vitriol. Others come along and try to add their own take by changing the letters. And it looks like the same handwriting. It doesn’t strike me as being of the Spirit and I feel tired and beat down just seeing it.

So how will I make it to Leon today? By putting one foot in front of the other until I arrive.

Middle Earth

This is the view from our hostal in Moratinos. We are beginning to see more and more of these dwellings dug into the clay earth. Because the temperature inside these “hobbit houses” is constant they are ideal as wine/root cellars. Another fun fact is that hundreds of years ago parents would send their children in to dig out more clay to enlarge the cellar and for the kids to keep warm in winter. Why didn’t I ever think of digging a hole and letting my kids work on it in winter???

Middle Camino

On our walk we came across this small church and these two statues that form a sort of gate. It’s very unobtrusive. There’s no modern signage to announce the significance of this church. The path just winds past the church and between the statues. Only upon closer inspection did I see that one panel proclaims this place as the geographical center of the Camino.

I had in my mind that León was the halfway point but this seems much more appropriate. The Camino is an inner as well as an outer journey and it seems that this quiet little chapel along with its two guardians is the way to announce the midway point. A gentle reminder that God is at the center of the Camino.

Buon Camino

Dear Friends so far I have tried to share with you the best and most meaningful parts of the Camino. Today though it’s time to share with you a less attractive side of the Camino.

The Camino is good.

Pain is bad.

And then there is something so unbelievable that I must caution you before you continue. There is a lunchtime ritual on the Camino that may shock your sensibilities.

A Pilgrim or group of Pilgrims will arrive at a cafe for lunch and beers will be ordered. Then one or more of the Pilgrims will unlace his/her shoes and then peal off their socks. Feet are then inspected, bandages carefully removed, and blisters inspected. Sometimes the assistance of another pilgrim is engaged to inspect injuries that the original Pilgrim cannot see. Afterwards ointment is applied, bandages are replaced, clean socks put on, and the beer is drunk. Hand sanitizer optional.

Buon Camino 👣

Exodus 34.29:

Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

There are a lot of fields of sunflowers in Spain. Not only is Spanish olive oil a prime commodity, but sunflower oil as well.

Lately the sunflowers seem to be speaking to me. Their season is past and their heads are bowed. And they all seem to face away from Santiago. These are not the bright shining faces who have seen God and are ready to share that joy with the world. These are sad, dejected faces, looking for the sun, but unable to lift their heads to find it.

And yet there is more life in the sunflowers. Their seeds have been harvested for oil, food, feed for animals, and for planting the next crop. Another season is ahead for the sunflowers and once again they will lift their heads toward the sun.

As I look at the sunflowers I ponder my own life. What season am I in? Have I fulfilled my calling or is there an encore yet in my life?

I have a secret that not many people know about me. It’s nothing bad or shameful. Sometimes I dream about babies: one baby, many babies, babies of all colors, someone else’s baby, my baby. Whenever I dream about babies I have this feeling that God is about to birth something new in my life. Last night I dreamed about a baby.

DAY 20 A WORD ABOUT HOSPITALITY

Where else but on the camino can you stop at a food truck in the middle of no where and get a coffee served in a glass cup on a saucer with a real spoon…

…and a camino stamp?

Carry on my wayward son
For there’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more.

–Kansas Lyrics to Carry on Wayward Son

Today we are in the heart of the Meseta. This is the flatlands of Spain.

Toto I think we’re back in Kansas

I have heard two metaphors for the Meseta.

1. The beginning of the camino is like birth to young adulthood. Birth is a great struggle and as one grows there are new challenges and many choices to make. The Meseta is that part of your life when you are more settled. You have a job, maybe a partner, maybe kids, maybe just a cat. But you have a routine: work, kids, cook, laundry, etc. You think this is what your life will be like for the rest of your time on earth. It’s just routine from here on out.

2. Another interpretation is that the Meseta is non-binding. There is nothing to do, nothing to see, just keep walking and in the walking you are able to let go of…whatever and be free.

I don’t know which will be true for me or if it will something else entirely different.

I started humming the Kansas song since we are headed to Carrion de Los Campos and then as I looked at the scenery so flat and unchanging, the words seem to speak to me.

I am weary and tonight I will lay my head down to rest. And tomorrow I will carry on.

Buon Camino

Today I’m going to do a little advertising.

Last night we stayed in the Hotel Rural Oasibeth. This hotel was sparkling clean, very new, and offered all the amenities of dining, bar, and breakfast, plus those I look for: a sunny balcony and a sink with a stopper. But what really set this hotel apart is the utter joy and hospitality that the owner Loli exudes. It is abundantly clear that she loves being hostess to pilgrims. In fact the whole staff follows her lead in graciousness.

Adding to the atmosphere of generosity is the amazing food. Without a doubt we probably had our best meal. I had thick slices of potatoes in a carabineros sauce and shrimp. A quick google search turned up a lot of recipes for the carabineros sauce, all in Spanish, but when I get home I am going to make this. It was amazing. Not to mention this was the appetizer and I could have made a whole meal of it. We also had some spicy mushrooms and Loli told us she cooked them with this…

It must be some kind of dried chillies.

Loli was so funny. She told us that in Spain they kiss once on each cheek, but in France it’s twice. I told her in my family we kiss three times (left, right, left) and she said her family too. I’m sure we must be related somehow.

You cannot imagine the kindness and generosity of spirit that lives on the Camino.

Buon Camino

Yesterday was a strong day for me which is not always a positive thing. Though I felt very good on the walk, I over did it and my ankle has been painful since last night. So I decided to play another grace card and skip the 15 miles today with the steep incline in the beginning 😉.

Even though the mantra of the Camino is walk, wash, eat, sleep, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for reflecting at the end of the day. Pilgrims meet at the end of the day, thoughts are exchanged about the walk and various parts that were difficult, beautiful, and inspiring. Drinks are sipped under umbrellas in the late afternoon sun and dinner plans are made. After dinner there is hardly energy to discuss the plan of attack for the next day and get ready for bed.

Yesterday I walked past the ruins of San Anton a 14th century convent. While not much is left of it I was particularly captivated by the blue skies through the two arches and the detail on the facade.

There was a serenity about the site and after a few minutes I decided to continue on. I was probably only about 10-15 yards away when I heard some beautiful harp music. Really, harp music! I walked on toward it and this is what I found..

It was a real oasis of hospitality. The owner treated everyone like treasured friends and along with pouring drinks he gave each of us a thick slice of deep red watermelon. A spot of shade, a cold drink, and soothing music to cradle one’s heart. The 30 minutes or so that I spent there refreshed my feet and soul.

And today? I’m writing in the lobby of our hotel. I have a glass of white Spanish wine and there is some Enya music playing. Sometimes a Christmas song comes up in the shuffle. Bliss 😊

Maybe we should all stop around 4:00 pm, have a cold drink with some olives or nuts. Put on some soothing music and reflect of the goodness of God’s creation.

Sunrise over Rabe de las Calzades

Coffee from a vending machine and a two week old protein bar for breakfast. The sunrise more than made up for the marginal breakfast.

This morning I woke up and for the first time I had that sense of “oh my goodness I’ve been doing this for more than two weeks and I still have almost 4 weeks to go”, and it’s not the physical thing it’s beginning to be the mental game

Even the monuments along the road are becoming different. In the beginning they were piles of rocks beautifully placed want to top another sometimes pictures, sometimes flowers, sometimes little handwritten notes; I think of them as memorials of love.

Now I pass a marker and it seems to have a pile of stones haphazardly thrown on it and sometimes a shoe with a hole in it.

It seems to speak of more despair and fatigue than the initial joy of the journey.

And yet God is present here too.

Psalm 139 v. 7-12 NRSV

Every day on the Camino has been different. We started in the Pyrenees, moved on to some steep ascents and declines in the foothills, traversed the Rioja wine country and its rolling hills, and now we are in a flat area. We walked to Burgos yesterday and fortunately the lady who runs the hotel where we stayed told us of an alternative route which took us through a long and beautiful park. Otherwise this is what our walk might have looked like.

I’m not sure how to describe this journey. As I said every day is different: the terrain, the weather, the food, the people. I can hardly remember where I was one or two days ago. Nor can I remember where I’m going to.

On the Camino they say you walk, wash, eat, sleep. It’s true. When I arrive someplace I wash my clothes, then myself. Then we walk into town to find someplace to have a drink or eat. Tonight our little jaunt brought us to a small bar.

This is the map where pilgrims place a pin where they are from. And all along the wall people have left notes and souvenirs of their journeys. And somehow I am part of this.

Why did I do this? How did I come to be here? What am I doing here? I don’t know. I only know that we’re about to eat and later go to sleep and in the morning I’ll start walking again.

For now I am grateful for the small apartment we are staying in, for the simple meal prepared, and for the clean laundry drying.

Today this is my life and tomorrow it will be the same.

Buon Camino 🤗