I’M DONE, OR AM I?

It’s only after you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.

Arriving in Santiago was somewhat anticlimactic in that the second time around is just not the same as the first.  Not to say that I wasn’t pleased with my effort, just not the same feeling of excitement and awe.  The last couple of days were pretty routine, and it seemed that the crowds had thinned out somewhat.  I saw many a pilgrim waiting at bus stops or climbing into a taxi.  I had dinner with some of the new pilgrims, Robert from Santa Barbara and Barry and his wife Dayle from New Zealand.  I was able to share some of my pilgrim knowledge with them when they were just starting out.  Always good to help a fellow pilgrim.

PILGRIMS WAITING FOR A BUS

GETTING WARM IN A BAR

IN SIGHT OF THE CATHEDRAL 

My last day, I wasn’t in a hurry, sleeping till 7:30 and having a leisurely breakfast before heading out.  I arrived in the early afternoon, went to the cathedral square for the official arrival and customary photos, then headed to my hotel.  The hotel I’ve stayed in before was booked but they recommended and place around the corner.  I was glad I was only staying one night, as my single room was the size of a closet.  A closet with a balcony mind you, but still a closet.  After dropping off my pack it was time to head to the pilgrims office to get my Compestella and  the distance certificate.

I WAS TRYING TO GET A PHOTO OF THE CATHEDRAL BUT THIS

GOT IN THE WAY

There is almost always a line one must stand in to be able to get a Compestella.  The Compestella is in Latin and the volunteers who issue them write your name in Latin.  On this day they were short of volunteers, but there were an ample amount of pilgrims.  It took 2 hours and 45 minutes of standing in line to receive mine.  I hurt more from standing that long than I did on any of the days walking.  1308 pilgrims arrived in Santiago with me and that’s not counting the one’s who don’t stand in the line.  So how far did I walk?  732 Kilometers or 455 miles.  If I ever walk the Camino again, I’ll probably forgo The Compestella.

WAITING IN LINE

I am now in Muxia, having taken the bus here,  a small fishing village on the coast.  Muxia is considered, along with Finisterre, to be the end of the earth.  It is here that pilgrims of old thought the earth ended.  Pilgrims would arrive and many would burn their clothing as they had become rags from their long journey.  Mine still have some life left in them, so I’m hanging on to them.

The coast line here is rugged and there is a beautiful chapel built on the rocks.  On Christmas Day in 2013, the chapel was struck by lightning and pretty much destroyed by the resulting fire.  Today it has been rebuilt and the interior is done in the seafaring motif with models of sailing ships hanging from the ceiling.

MUXIA

THE LIGHTNING STRIKE

ZERO KILOMETER MARKER





I’ll be spending my last days in Spain contemplating this journey and possibility my last Camino.  Will this walk change me in any way.  I believe any walk of this type changes you in some fashion, each person in their own way.  Will I do it again?  Only time will tell.

Below is a quote by Washington Irving, who in 1829 walked in Spain, not on the Camino, but the route he followed is now one of the many paths you can follow.

“Such were our minor preparations for the journey, but above all we laid in an ample stock of good humor, and a genuine disposition to be pleased, taking things as we found them, rough or smooth, and mingling with all classes and conditions in a kind of vagabond companionship. It is the true way to travel in Spain. With such disposition and determination, what a country is it for a traveller, where the most miserable inn is as full of adventure as an enchanted castle, and every meal is in itself an achievement!”   

NEARING THE END

In the end, it's not the years in your live that counts, it's the life in your years.

Well, I guess it’s time for an update on my progress.  I haven’t actually done the math but I’m real close to the 400 mile mark, might have actually passed it today.  That leaves about 45 miles to Santiago.  The plan is, if everything works out right, I will arrive on the 23rd.

Still no issues with the feet, but as a preventative measure I’ve been taping my susceptible toes each morning and they are doing fine.  Still walking around 12 miles a day, sometimes less and sometimes more.  In the last episode I had left the high point of the Camino but by no means did that mean I was done with the hills.  Walked through a region of vast vineyards and the cities of Ponferrada Cacabelos, and Villafranca del Bierzo.  Ponferrada is home to the Templar Castle, and it is one castle that really looks like one.  I skipped the tour and opted for a short walking tour of the old section of the city before relaxing with a glass of wine.  I did take a well deserved day off in Villafranca which after a little exploring it became one of my favorite towns on the Camino.  Not too big and with a nice old city center.

THE CASTLE

THE MOST PHOTOGRAPHED HOUSE ON THE CAMINO 

CHURCH IN VILLAFRANCA 

PATTIE AND VERA, IRELAND 

After Villafranca there is a beautiful section walking along a rushing river at the bottom of a deep valley.  The downside to the walk is it’s beside a highway and the trail is entirely pavement.  Luckily there are numerous small villages along the way for resting ones feet and getting something to eat or drink.  All this time you are gradually climbing until you reach the hamlet of Las HerrerÍas, then it gets steep, still beautiful but steep.  After a total climb of 2100 feet you arrive at the small ridge top village of O Cebreiro with it’s stone buildings and thatched roofs.  The last time I made this climb, it rained the entire time, with cold cutting winds. I walked right through the town only stopping for coffee.  This time was different.  It rained the entire climb but no wind and I opted to stay overnight.  Soon the rain stopped and the skies cleared and the views opened up before me.

Near the top of the climb, you enter into Galicia and the region that includes Santiago.  Located in the northwest corner of Spain, it gets a lot of rain and it’s green everywhere.  As I am walking slow and have the time, I take the long route via Samos with it’s huge monastery.  But the highlight was the lush landscape with few pilgrims.  So for most of two days is was really quiet, with easy walking.

So now I am in the last 100 kilometers and the path is crowded.  It is the last 100 kilometers one must walk in order to obtain their Compostela once reaching Santiago.  There are hundreds of them, all excited and eager to go.  After a couple of days they settle down, slow down, and quiet down.  They will be stiff and sore each morning and many are sporting blisters.  I’ve have noticed that there is a lot more taxi traffic on the Camino now, as many have underestimated the difficulty of the walk.  It is easy of us veterans to look down upon these new fresh smelling pilgrims, but we must remember that each person walks their own Camino.

100 KILOMETERS TO GO

TIME FOR A RANT

Graffiti is a pathetic attempt at anonymous recognition 

Graffiti is just about everywhere in the world and for the most part I don’t like it.  Sure there is some that is funny or thought provoking but it’s still a blight on the landscape and I would rather not have to look at it.  Unfortunately it is also on the Camino.  People wishing you “Buen Camino”, signing their name, leaving all kinds of messages.  They write it anywhere there is a surface that will accept their pen or brush.  The sad thing is the people leaving their tag are pilgrims.

Perhaps I’m just old fashioned but I can’t understand why they do it.  Do they actually think others will appreciate it?  Maybe they think it’s beautiful or that they are making some kind of important statement.  I think it shows their disrespect for someone else’s property, private or public.

In the Galicia region, all the trail markers were recently replaced with new ones.  I’m sure a lot of expense was expended make and place these monuments along the trail.  There’s one approximately every 1/2 kilometer, and some have already taken advantage of the blank space.  It’s only a matter of time and they’ll all be defaced.

A while back on the Meseta, I saw a Italian guy with a red marking pen writing on the back of a road sign.  My first though was, here’s this pilgrim and what does he bring with him on his pilgrimage, a @$%%*# marking pen.  So the cop in me couldn’t help myself and I confronted him.  “What do you think you’re doing?”  He just looked sheepishly at me and shrugged his shoulders.  I then suggested that I come to his house and write something on his front door or better yet is car?  “No comprende”.  Like hell buddy, you know exactly what I said.  Don’t know if it did any good, but he walked ahead of me and I never saw his tag again.

One tag that I have seen several times a day since I started walking is “Melted Rubber Humans”.  So I searched Google and it turns out it’s a alternative band in Scotland.  So who wrote it hundreds of times, a band member, or just some stupid fan.  I’m going to try to find out if one of the band members walked the Camino and send him or her a message.  I know, I know, I’ll probably just be wasting my time, but what the hell, why not?

So, I’ve raised a question in my mind.  We pilgrims on the Camino are guided on our journey by yellow arrows.  Sometimes these arrows are in the form of formal signs placed by the Spanish government, but most times they are just crudely painted on some surface.  The sidewalk, walls, street signs, light posts, trees.  Is this ok? Is it graffiti or something different?  What do you think?

THE THREE PARTS OF THE CAMINO

It’s only after you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.

It is said that the Camino is divided into thirds.  The first third is physical.  That is certainly true for most people, as generally speaking, people arrive in Saint Jean Pied de Port and begin the climb up and over the Pyrenees.  Those with very little training before hand find out pretty quickly that it’s not going to be a walk in the park.  Then there’s walking 10 to 20 miles in day over varied terrain and doing it again day after day.  Even for those who arrive physically fit, the extra exertion required for the every day aspect of the journey tests most.

It is also said that the first third represents the beginning, much like the beginning of life.  We are struggling, stumbling with eyes full of excitement, finding our way, getting lost, aches and pains.  We begin to over come our fears about the walk, meeting new people with the same feelings of  nervousness about what’s in front of us.  Eventually we find a rhythm and we gain confidence.  This is our past.

The second third is mental.  This section of the Camino is on the Meseta, mostly flat and less attention is required in placing ones foot in front of the other.  The walking is generally easy, you have gained strength and are more confident.  It is here where your mind starts to wander.  For many it is boring and lonely time and some avoid this section and take a bus or train to “skip ahead”.  For others it is just the opposite and the more enjoyable part of the Camino, a time for reflection.  For me, this is my favorite part of the Camino, beautiful in it’s own way and the time when I do my best at looking at myself.  It is different for each person and for many this time represents the present.

In the final third Santiago is in sight and for many this is a spiritual time.  Even though we have some tough climbs ahead, our goal is within reach.  A time to reflect on the past, present and future, question what we have done and why and what it all means. So for most this is the future.

People walk the Camino for many different reasons.  Many are looking for answers to many of life’s questions, for personal or extremely private reasons.  Others do it to meet people from around the world, or for the physical challenge.  But for whatever reason I believe people are seeking answers.  If someone is considering walking the Camino my advise is to do it.  It is a wonderful experience.  But if you do, be prepared to discover that you will not find all the answers to all your questions.  For some they return to walk the Camino once again, and maybe even a number of times hoping to find the answers and for guidance in their life.

THREE HUNDRED MILES!

GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS ARE NOT THE RESULT OF TIMID ATTEMPTS

I hit the 300 mile mark today in the small village of El Acebo.  El Acebo is on the downhill side after crossing the high point of the Camino at just over 5,000 feet.  After 12 days, the Meseta is behind me and the two day gradual climb to Curz de Ferro (Iron Cross) began after leaving Astorga.  The cross is just shy of the highest point which comes a kilometer or two further on.  It is at the cross where pilgrims leave a stone that they have brought from home.  It is a tradition that the stone represents a burden that one has carried with them in their life and at the cross they leave the burden behind.  The meaning of the stone can be different for each person.  Some leave a stone in remembrance of a love one who has passed or it as a payer for someone.  In 2015 I left a stone for a friend who was going through a difficult time in her life.  I also left a religious metal in remembrance of a friend who had recently died.  In answer to your question, yes I left a stone.

At the cross was one of the places that I wanted to fly my drone.  I’ve been taking some aerial video along the way.  When I arrived the police were parked across the road, so I figured I’d wait them out.  But they weren’t leaving.  So finally I went and asked, and they seemed not to care.  So much for worrying about what the police would say.  After getting permission, they left.

GOING DOWN

RABINAL DEL CAMINO

The downhill side of the mountain is a lot steeper than going up.  With loose stones underfoot it is slowing going.  Tonight I am in a small bed and breakfast in the little mountain side village of El Acebo.  Just one narrow street lined with stone buildings in various states of repair.

At least for the time being the cold weather is behind me, with cool mornings, sunny skies and comfortable temperatures later in the day.  Great walking weather.  Mostly dirt roads and trails as of late, which my joints are thankful for.  Still walking my slow pace of around 20 kilometers (12 miles) a day.  There are a few that walk the same pace, but we just acknowledge each other on the path.  There is this one German guy, older than me I think, that I keep running into.  I don’t know his name, nor have I told him mine.  Each time we see each other, we feign displeasure and running into each other once again.  I happens almost daily, like the other night when I went into an upstairs restaurant in the city of Astorga, and ran into him again.  We just shake our heads that once again we have run into each other.  We have spoken to one another occasionally and it has been agreed that we will tell each other our names when we reach Santiago.

The Camino remains busy and the smaller towns fill up each night.  Pilgrims who arrive later in the day find themselves searching for a place to stay.  Sometimes that means a taxi ride to another nearby town.  Me being anal retentive have now booked all the way to Santiago.  It was my desire to walk from Santiago to Muxia, a sea coast town, but now seems that I will have run out of time to walk the additional days.  My plan noe will be to take the bus there and spend a night or two before returning to Santiago and begin the journey home.

The man on the left is Dick and that’s his son Ben on the right.  I don’t know who the guy in the middle is, he sat down and bummed a cigarette from Ben.  Anyway I last saw them on the way into Burgos and then a day ago I ran into them in Astorga.  At least for the time being we are walking the same pace, but today they will continue on after I stop.  From Idaho they started in Saint Jean and will go the distance to Santiago.