Camino

Day 32 – Triacastela to Barbadelo
23k – 684k to date

Today was a day of walking down from the mountains. But just to get everyone woke up correctly, we had a climb of about 3.3k to stretch the legs out. Today was a day of limited, but beautiful views. The question begs, how can mountain views be limited? In this area, the trail has been beat down and worn out into areas that create 6 to 8 feet walls on the side, it makes for a beautiful trail. Also, the trees and other scenery sometimes just limit the view. We passed through a bigger city, Sarria, before stopping.

Sarria is the last potential starting point for anyone that wants to walk the minimum of this Camino and still have the Church issue a Compostella (basically a certificate of completion). Those of us that have been walking awhile are a little fearful of an additional influx of pilgrims that will compete for beds and other services for the next few nights. Hopefully, the merchants have some experience and have got the numbers figured out. One question posed today from the St. Jean starting crew was should someone walking 100k get the same recognition as someone walking 800k? Most agreed that anyone completing the Camino, whether 100k or 800k deserved the same. No one knows the reason someone is walking just 100k, that may be all they physically can do or that may be all the time they are allowed. Whatever their reasons for starting in Sarria, they will now be traveling the same path as those that have been traveling weeks.

That is kinda the way it is in life, we all travel the same path of life, some just get on and off in different places. It is not our place to judge, even though that is one of the hardest things not to do in our world. We are all equal in the basics, we are born as a gift from God to our parents. We all grow up to do something in life, that may be a king or a street sweeper, but we all have a role to help our community be a better place, then we all get a little older and are the mentors to the younger till God decides it is time for us to go to the real home we have waiting for us. Life in this world is a good thing and it is our responsibility to try and make this world a little better. One way we do that is we all accept each other as equals. That is the way it is on this Camino, everyone in the hostel tonight is sleeping in the same type beds, everyone had to wash their own clothes and everyone has to scrounge for dinner, then tomorrow everyone has to get up and walk. That leads us back to we can’t judge, because we are all equal. Even if someone walks 15k tomorrow and I have more planned and wished I could just walk 15k and be where I want to be…..

Another day of stepping closer to a goal for me…..

Luke 6:37

continue to day 33

Day 31 O Cebreiro to Triacastela

21k – 661k to date

Today was the best weather day and some of the most gorgeous views I have seen. They definitely rival the views of the first week. The hike today was supposed to bring us down off the mountain we hiked up yesterday and after a few additional climbs, it did bring us down to a nice valley town that has two long streets and looks like the pilgrim trade is the lifeblood of the town. The trek once it started down was pretty steep in places and made the going a little slow, so even with the reduced distance, it still took almost 6 hours to get here.

After about 12k of hiking, I got to the last intermediate town with services and went into the bar and it was almost like old home week on the Camino! I saw several I have been moving with over the last week and I saw 6 previous acquaintances that we have not seen for a week or two. It seems that the trail is narrowing down as we get closer to Santiago. I expect tomorrow to maybe be the same as today. It really is amazing how you meet people, then go on your way, only to find them again weeks later and they remember you and you remember them. When they say some of the best parts of this journey are the community, they are right. People are the best part of this journey. Some are really outgoing and help bring you out the shell, while others may not even be able to communicate, but are always there with a smile and don’t mind sharing a table or a bench. There are very few that just want to keep to their little group, for those, they are missing a huge part of this journey.

How do you meet people on this journey, especially if you are a bit of an introvert like me? Several ways, from day one, I decided to always find pilgrim(s) eating dinner and then go sit with them. I have only had one meal by myself and that was one evening I was very late in going to eat. That was a little tough to do starting out, but when you think about it, most other pilgrims are also looking for new people to start a conversation, so I have always been welcome at a table. I have found that after one time, that also leads to additional invitations to come sit at our table tonight. One of the other ways to meet people is to being willing to talk while walking. Not only does it help the day go faster, it gives time to meet and learn about people one on one. Finally, you also see people day after day in the same hostels and that just leads to pulling up chairs together out in the courtyard as everyone tries to rest there feet.

Your next question might be what to discuss with someone totally foreign, and to a Texan, that even means those from California. I have found that the best conversation pieces are to let the other person talk about their family and home, that opens them up to comfortable areas and we all love visiting about our family or home. If things ever stall out in the discussions, there is always politics and Donald Trump, people all over the world are curious if Trump is a serious candidate and even more, can he win? Once the communication door is open, we always find things to talk about, even if it is just about today’s hike or the health of your feet.

I feel this journey has been a blessing of people. Some are characters, some are sincere, some are just plain old people, but all are on the same adventure and that makes us common souls. Also, I have met quite a few Christians on this path. That is a refreshing thing to see. Just yesterday, while walking with Eric and Peiter, during a rest stop I called Sherry about her Sunday School lesson. Today, Eric asked how my wife’s Church lesson went! Peiter and Eric, who are walking a week a year, leave the trail today, Eric said God Bless and Peiter said I will probably never see you again, but I have had fun sharing dinners and time with you. To me, that is what this community is all about.

The day countdown has begun….

Hebrews 13:2

continue to day 32

Day 30 – Villfranca del Bierzo to O Cebrerio

29k – 640k to date

Wow, today was a long day, but worked out nicely. I added an extra 5k of walking (straight up the mountain) today to gain a little advantage on the next couple of days. The first 20k were all slightly uphill as we moved into the mountains of the Galicia provence. Most of that 20k was done on trails beside the road or on small country roads. After 20k, the trail turned offroad and up even more. Pilgrims have talked for weeks about how tough the climb to O Cebrerio was going to be. I would have to say that most of it lived up to the stories. But it was a beautiful day with a little mountain crispness in the air, so it was pleasant to be out. On the final climb of 9k, I just divided it into 3 sections, as there were three villages to divide the climb and before you knew it, I was at the top, ready to stop and rest for tomorrow.

There were a few potential problems extending today which put me in pretty late into my home for the evening. I had no reservation for a bed and was depending on he municipal hostel to have beds available. Upon arriving in town, I was told the hostel is full, so I immediately stuck my head in a small hotel door and asked if there was a room for the night. The lady frowned, then smiled and said follow me, she showed me a small room on the first floor with a small bathroom and said it would be 35 euros. I said yes and I was set with a bed and bathroom. The other problem was it didn’t allow time to air dry my clothes after washing. I was forced to go seek out a dryer in this town. The mercado across the square had one and I took my washed clothes over and asked to buy some tokens to dry my clothes. Wait, it wasn’t that easy. The lady clerk grabbed my bag, started yelling (have I mentioned that Spanish accelerate their volume when making a point), felt the wet clothes and then shook her head and said mucho dinero several times. She was definitely the laundromat nazi. I gave her a 20 euro bill and she gave me 17.75 in change, took the clothes and started the dryer. She said come back in 20 minutes. I did and she pulled the clothes out of the dryer, stated perfecto and grinned for the “favor” she had done for me.

The views of today were fantastic once I started getting to the top of the mountain. It was nice to just stop several times and view the landscape. In the next to last town, I had stopped at the bar to rest and have an orange juice. A couple of friends and I were talking when a small herd of cows and calves were herded down the main street (okay – only street) past the bar and down a trail. Paul said about 15 minutes before I got there, a tractor had pulled up, the driver got out and drank a beer, then got back on the tractor and took off down the road. Such is the pleasures of life in rural Spain. I forgot to mention that last week in one small village, I saw a tractor being backed out of a garage one morning as I walked by. I think the farmer felt that tractor was valuable.

One thing that I did not talk about on the information about Cruz Ferro was that all the people that left there, I noticed after leaving, none looked back. They were all looking forward to the life and adventure ahead. I even noticed I had no desire to look back, I was excited to be moving forward. Maybe that is how life should be, we should all be excited about what is coming and quit worrying about what is past. An old wise man once said, if you spend all your time looking back, all that will happen is you will run into he door.

Moving forward, sometime in leaps, sometimes in bounds and sometimes by inches, but moving forward.

Isaiah 43:18

continue to day 31

Day 29 – Ponferrada to Villafranca Del Bierzo

24k – 611k to date

I have arrived in the beautiful and busy town of Villafranca Del Bierzo today and once I showered and cleaned clothes, I was off to see the different parts of town. Everyday when I am about 1k from my home town for the day, I am tired, my feet are sore and I think I just need a rest. My thoughts are that I will clean up and just take a nap till dinner time and not move any more than I have to, but once I am cleaned up, something happens and the tourist in me wants to know where I am and what is here worth seeing. I will say, almost every city, town, village or hole in the wall I have stopped at has something good worth seeing. The large towns I have been in all have beautiful structures, like Churchs or Castles to see, they also have active center city (old town) plazas that draw people for social aspects and trade. The towns and villages always have a nice Church and usually a small town plaza that has a few shops and bars (remember bars are really cafes that serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, they just call them bars over here). Even the one horse hole in the wall places where I have stopped usually have one mercardo (grocery shop) and a couple of bars, it is nice to know where everything is and we always like to scope the dinner prospects out before chosing where dinner will be served.

In this country, I have noticed that the general life style is very much more laid back than in the US. If you want to buy some fruit at the mercardo between 1pm and 5pm, forget it, most businesses take that time as siesta time and close down. Some towns will look deserted during siesta. Thankfully, businesses open back up about 5pm and are open till 8pm or 9pm. One blessing for the pilgrims are that bars usually stay open most of the day. Also, this culture seems to be built around strong social interaction. In town plazas (gathering places like a town square) most evenings, the social activity picks up dramatically. There will be kids playing or running, adults visiting and seniors just observing it all. In general, the Spanish seem like a happy and thriving population, even if the economics over here are still limited. It is almost like they have a block party pretty often in the town plazas.

Speaking of mercardos, we have been in large grocery store type that will rival United or Safeway. From there, the gamut is all across the board. Several days ago, I was in a small village with one market. It was run by a nice little older gentleman, it had three shelves and they were all protected by the owner. If you wanted something, you had to ask him for it, you couldn’t reach over. Also, only two people could enter the store at a time, that created a backlog of pilgrims waiting to stock up our just splurge on a power bar for an afternoon snack. It was actually fun waiting in line just to see what would be left by the time you got in there. Secret was, he had a stock room across the hall and when the shelf was without, he would go get some more to restock. Power bars were at a premium that day. Also, while we were in line, all the town kids came for snacks, but they didn’t wait in line, they just ran in, grabbed their snack and left some money on the table, all the while the little grocer was just smiling and helping pilgrims. Just one example of the patience required to be on this adventure.

Back to today, it was a beautiful weather day. The first 10k was a tromp through the suburbs of Ponferrada, there were four in a row, all nice burbs and this was probably the nicest houses and neighborhoods we have seen. One area, showed it’s wealth by a series of “gardens” that were very nicely fenced plots of maybe 1/3 of an acre and very well manicured. After the last suburb, we headed into the hills and found ourselves in wine country again. Vineyards were everywhere. To the immediate west, we could see the mountains we would go into tomorrow, just after coming out of a set of mountains yesterday. The views were great today and the finishing town of Villarranca seems very nice.

A few more steps down the road

1 Corinthians 10:24

continue to day 30

Day 28 – Foncebadon to Ponferrada
27k – 587k to date

It was a beautiful day to be walking in the Cantabrian mountains of Spain today. As I left last night’s resting place, I looked back and saw the sun just coming up and a cross placed in the middle of the rocky road, it was a nice way to start. After a short climb, I reached Cruz Ferro, an iconic spot on the Camino. It is a tall pole with a cross on the top and a small chapel to the side. It is iconic because pilgrims are supposed to bring a rock or memento from home and leave it there. With the leaving of the rock, you are supposed to let the rock or memento keep your burdens that you want to leave on the Camino and not take or have when you get back home.

I honestly thought I would see this mound of stones and mementos as a Grisswald tourist moment, but honestly, as you see it get larger as you walk up to it, it is a very moving place. I believe it is a special place because thousands, if not millions of pilgrims have stopped in that spot and at the minimum taken time to consider things that burden their life down. It doesn’t matter your faith, it is a place to just stop and consider your life and the weights that are attached to that life. I did not bring a stone from home, but I did bring something of significance to my life and I did leave it close to the top of that ever growing mound. I didn’t leave it there to leave my burdens behind, but I left it there to help remind me to keep my priorities in life in constant order. Those should always be God first, family second and your “life” third.

The rest of the day was a trek down to the valley floor and the large city of Ponferrada. Upon entering town, I was amazed to see a large castle. It is a 13th century Templar castle and is preserved in very good shape. I noticed there were even parts of the castle with current windows, so I assume some offices are built in there. The castle is supposed to hold all kinds of secret Templar symbols. There was also a large, but not overly ornate Catholic Church across the square.

Life just keeps happening one day at time!

Psalm 55:22

continue to day 29

Day 27 – Astorga to Foncebadon
26k – 560k to date

I need to tell you about our afternoon friends that show up without fail and travel with us until we reach our home for the evening. The Spanish National Animal Control Board has developed a system to release 13 flies per day to accompany each pilgrim to their final daily destination. This was started to make sure that afternoon hikers are never alone. The flies have very strict rules, they can never start accompanying anyone before 11:00am. They cannot follow pilgrims into intermediate towns, this allows pilgrims to stop at outdoor bars and stores to spend money in their country and finally they are not allowed to enter the town of the final destination. The Spanish government was very generous to allow a bakers dozen every day, as with most things on the trek, much is given to the pilgrim.

I did notice one fault in my group of accompanying flies today, once I got into the hard climbs, about 9 of the flies took off early. I thought I should report this to the board, but these flies work hard, so I will let it slide.

Today was a good day as I moved from the nice city of Astorga into the Cantabrian mountains. I am in the bowl of a pass tonight and about 1,500 meters high (5,000′), not high by our standards, but high for Spain. The climate is still very semi arid even this high, but on the other side of this mountain, I am supposed to enter a valley with a great microclimate that is known for growing grapes for award winning wines.

Astorga was a good town, I spent about 2 hours in the main town plaza last night and it was very active with affluent locals. Also, in Astorga, there are three Catholic Churchs, as I passed the first one coming into town, on the back of a truck was a glass enclosed statue of the Jesus crucifixion being moved somewhere. It was a strange sight and they were moving off before I could get a good picture.

The trail after Astorga took a steady incline upwards, nothing really difficult until the last 7k, but we knew we were going up all day. It was a standard day, passing through several small towns. As I approached my final destination, the views became great again. It is amazing what a little altitude does for the view. Tonight, I am in a town with a population of 13. It is solely here to serve pilgrims traveling.

On the road today, there were quite a few familiar faces showing up again. I had breakfast number 2 with Peiter from Denmark and his brother Eric from Switzerland, they are an interesting pair. They started their Camino in 2009 and take one week each year and hike parts. They should have finished by now, but like today, they only went 15k, so they are moving slowly. I think they just use this as an excuse to spend one week together away from the wives, but it works for them. They also travel first class, with hotels and good meals when available. Also saw several first week friends and when you see them, it is like a reunion. I think this community helps make the experience something special.

Moving slowly from village to village.

Isaiah 7:18

continue to day 28

Day 26 – Villar de Mazarife to Astorga
32k – 524k to date

Big day today, a long trek to get to where I wanted to be tonight. The landscape today changed drastically, this morning was all corn fields and good corn. Apparently, there is a valley there with good water and decent land. I also saw one dairy that seemed to be government owned as it had district signs and a fence that no individual would spend money putting up. I also saw one private dairy, but both were enclosed, so there were no pictures that showed anything good.

As I passed through the last village midway today, the other side started up a hill and all the sudden I was out of farming country and back into the hills before the mountain tomorrow. The trail for 8k of the last 11k was on Roman road and my feet are still screaming at me, even two hours later. The pounding your feet take are the one bad thing about this trail.

Yesterday, a talked about eating, but I failed to mention the eating habits of various pilgrims. I will use last night as an example, first the dainty French woman that sat across from me scarfed down her food, grabbed the bread to swab the plate and even used her fingers to scrape the last of the chocolate from the desert plate. She also stole a couple of extra bread slices for later. Then there was the Danish businessman that very slowly ate every bite of his food, but did so in a way that seemed refined, except after the first and second course, he would also grab a piece of bread, tear it and swabbed the salad bowl and the plate. He used his fork to scrape the chocolate. Additionally, there were two younger girls who very politely ate most of their salad, ate almost all of the paella (which was good) and slowly ate the dessert while caring on a conversation across the table. The only thing about them is that they did use the bread to swab the paella plate. There is something challenging about having that bread on the table all the time, people can’t help but use it for cleaning their plate. All meals are similar, but during the day in the bars, when people are in a hurry, the table habits get a little worse….. Where do I fall in the table manners group? I hope mom taught me right and I try to maintain some manners, plus, a few years ago, I decided to always try, to keep a little bit on the plate, that helps maintain the bread use at a decent level. I guess being a pilgrim removes some of those table manners if you are not careful.

I am about to go find an evening meal, but I will remember what mom said “keep your elbows off the table!” Have we ever figured out why we can’t put our elbows on the table?

Changing gears, please keep Greg and Clarissa Rhodes and their children in your prayers. Also keep Howard and Belinda in those prayers. Greg had a troubling medical report and they are pursuing further tests. Howard and Belinda have been special people in our lives and we want to support them during this time.  Life is a precious gift from God and we are never guaranteed a set time here.

Our lives are a challenge, whether trying to walk a few miles or trying to understand God’s path for our lives.

2 Corinthians 4:18

continue to day 27