One day I decided to go for a walk…

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 🤗

Yesterday Glen missed a camino sign and walked a mile and a half when he saw this.

Danger Explosives

Military Zone

Do not go off the road

He turned around and went back 😉

Sometimes I think one of the things I did right is the way I packed my backpack. Everything is in its own little stuff sack (toiletries, clothes, electronics, misc). So every night I get them all out and lay them side by side like little Lilliputian sleeping bags.

At least I know where everything is.

Sometimes a Damm beer tastes good after a long day of walking.

Expect analog doors and locks

Buon Camino!

This morning I woke up at 5:00 am, an hour and a half before I needed to. I felt refreshed and awake and ready to tackle the day ahead…21 miles. But my body was in a complete state of shutdown. The Spirit was willing but the body was not. So I decided to play a grace card and skip walking today. Thirteen straight days of walking was too much. I sent Glen on his way and had my own little adventure.

I had breakfast in the hotel and chatted with some of the guests. There is a group of 20 women doing the Camino together. It’s a challenge for them as they walk at different paces and yet are expected to arrive at the destination together.

Then I got on a bus to head for our destination, Ibeas de Juarros. As I got on the bus I heard, “Hey I recognize you!” It was a woman we met in Estella staying at the same hotel. We chatted for the 15 minutes we were on the bus together. It was very companionable.

On the Camino people weave in and out of our lives. All have been so interesting and so friendly. Sometimes we meet people that aren’t even on the Camino like the couple we met in Huarte. We happened to be in the same bar having a glass of wine. They were ready to leave but they ended up getting another glass and we chatted for over an hour.

When I got to Ibeas I had some lunch, checked into the hotel, and rested. My tracker wasn’t happy. It told me my rings were not as far along as they usually are so I shut my tracker off to give it some rest too 😁

The Camino has been more crowded than anticipated. There are not the long stretches with no person in sight, hours to contemplate whatever it is God is whispering. Before I complain about this I try to accept what comes my way with the attitude that this is a reflection of life itself.

There are two common questions asked on the camino.

1. Is this your first Camino?

They say that your first Camino is never your last. I have found that to be true. I met a man named John; he’s 78 years old. He gave me some directions and seemed knowledgeable so I asked if this was his first Camino. He told me it was his second. Then he told me he finished his first with his wife in June 2019. Upon their return home he told her he wanted to go back and do it alone. Her response? Of course! She was already thinking of returning next year alone.

The second question?

Why are you doing the Camino?

The answers here are all over the place.

I walked the Camino after my first wife died and now I want to share the Camino with my new wife.

I quit my job and I’m trying to figure out what comes next in my life.

I’ve wanted to do this for 40 years and this year I’m doing it.

Today I met a Norwegian woman who said that she wanted to be more intentional about expressing gratitude for everything that God has done in her life. Her answer gave me a gentle pause. I don’t feel particularly grateful for the blisters on my foot, but I am grateful for her wise words and conversation that carried me along and made me forget my blisters 🙂

People say two things about the Camino: the Camino will provide and, express gratitude for all the Camino gives you.

Gracias Camino!

There is a legend on the Camino that is associated with the town of Santo Domingo. The story goes that a couple and their son are making the pilgrimage to Santiago. They stop in Santo Domingo where the daughter of the innkeeper falls in love with the son. Unfortunately he rejects her advances so she decides to hide a silver cup in his sack and accuse him of a crime. The next day the parents start out and the son somewhat later. He is stopped and searched and the cup is found. The punishment for theft is hanging. Sometime after the execution the parents realize that their son has not kept up with them so they backtrack to find him. When they discover he has been hanged Santiago (St. James) appears to them and tells them he is still alive. The parents run to the judicial official of the town to tell him that Santiago has declared their son to be alive. It so happens that this official is sitting down to a dinner of roasted chicken. Having witnessed the execution the official tells them that their son is as dead as the chicken on his plate, at which the roasted chicken rises up from the plate clucking.

I’m told but cannot confirm, that this story is so beloved that a hen and a rooster are always kept in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo.

We have been staying in some very nice hotels along the Camino much nicer than the albergues or even most of the other hotels and bed & breakfasts along the way. Two nights ago my husband said he thought the hotel was definitely less nice than any of the others. I was confused by this proclamation. There were two twin beds to sleep in and they were comfortable. Plus the sink had a stopper so I could wash clothes out and the balcony had a clothesline with clothes pins. A luxury!

The Camino has been more crowded than anticipated so tonight the only accommodation we could find was an apartment. It has a washing machine! So I put all my clothes in the washer, wrapped myself in a towel, poured myself a glass of wine, and watched Legally Blonde on my phone.

I guess some days I’m not very profound, but at least my clothes are clean 🤗

Today was not the prettiest day on the Camino. It was a short walk from Logrono to Navarette, about 8 miles and it drizzled rain with a pretty good head wind. The Camino also took us along the highway so we were accompanied by the sounds of cars and truck racing by. But life has its ugly parts too doesn’t it. Pain, illness, broken relationships, and more. You just keep moving on the Camino and things will change.

Today was also interesting because we passed by the fence of crosses.

This part of the Camino stretches for a couple of kilometers. At first there is a long a part of just fence with these crosses. Pretty soon though the grapevines and wild berries start to grow through the fence so that the crosses are obscured.

Some of the crosses have the names of loved ones with a date, but most are just simple sticks woven into the fence.

I wonder if the crosses speak of a particular death of someone or the death of some hope or dream. Or could the empty crosses speak of a resurrection in the life of the pilgrim who left it?

Tonight Navarete is home

Buon Camino!