May 30. Day 18. Walked 112 km (70 miles) since my last blog. Walked 458 of 771 km (285 of 479 miles) total.
I took a much needed rest day yesterday and did not walk at all. When I arrived in El Burgo Ranero two days ago, I was spent. I had been experiencing some mild stomach upset all day, the blisters on my left foot were really bothering me, and my hip was acting up off and on. Many people take rest days on the Camino, but I had it in my head that I would not need one. However, having hit my halfway mark already, and with the stomach thing as the straw that broke the camel´s back, I decided that a day of rest might help. So when I checked into the Albergue I chose a private room for two nights at 30€ per night. Pretty expensive, but I figured if I was going to take a rest I wanted to be able to sleep well and shower (among other things) privately. It was definitely the right decision. When I got up this morning and started walking again, I felt (almost) like a new person. My blisters no longer bothered me, my hip was fine, and my stomach issues were all but gone.
It occurred to me as I have read some of my past blogs that I might be focusing a bit too much on my physical challenges and not talking enough about the really incredible experience I am having. Everyone on the camino has some physical challenge or another and mine have really been comparatively minor. But it is hard to really explain what 6 plus hours per day walking alone and thinking is like. I guess I haven´t really gone there too much, because I am at a bit of a loss for words on how to describe it. The morning hours are really the best and most pure. From about 6:30 to 9:30 I am often able to cover close to 15km and it usually goes by very quickly. Sometimes it is like dreaming... I know I was thinking about something, but when I look back I can´t remember exactly what. Other times I remember very vividly what I was thinking about. I have not had any great revelations or spiritual experiences, as many people who walk the camino have. However, I have enjoyed the time alone without distractions (e.g. tv) to really think for maybe the first time in my life.
Talia asked me recently if this was a fun trip. The answer is somewhat nuanced. I would not necessarily use the word fun to describe this experience. I think playing tennis and going to the movies are fun. This experience has been very enjoyable. I thoroughly enjoy the walking. I have had great moments of community and warmth in the evenings with new friends that I seem to make almost daily. And I would definitely do this again and recommend it highly to anyone to whom the idea of it holds even the slightest appeal. I am also getting a great sense of accomplishment as I get closer and closer to my goal. I have no doubt now that I will walk to Santiago and that gives me a great feeling. However I do admit that since I now know that I can do it, I also feel that it must not be all that huge of an accomplishment. And I am starting to think I need to set my sights higher... maybe the Colorado Trail or the AT. To be honest, I was hoping to rid myself of some this circular and ridiculous "never good enough" thinking. But hey, I still have two more weeks!
I had intended for today´s blog to be mostly about my daily routine because (a) I think it might be somewhat entertaining for people who know me and (b) I think it will be a good way to help me remember this experience when I have returned home and have ready access to a washer/dryer again. But I am getting a little tired of writing, so it will have to wait until next time...
Buen Camino!!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
May 26. Day 14. Walked 108.4 km (67.35 miles) since my last blog. Walked 345.2 of 787 km (214.5 of 489 miles) total.
It has been a few days since my last blog. I started to get concerned that the walk was starting to be more about the blog, than the blog was about the walk, so I decided that I will blog when I feel the urge, or when something blogworthy happens. Today, both were true!
I started today in Boadilla del Camino and am writing this from Carrion de los Condes after a 26.1km (16.2) mile walk today. For the last two nights I have stayed in two really nice albergues. Both had a great community feel and served community dinners. Last night especially, there were people out in the courtyard for hours drinking wine, talking and singing. It had such a nice feeling. As many of us are going at approximately the same pace, I see many of the same faces night after night. I have become friends with one man (Nikos) in particular. Nikos is from Greece, but lives mainly in Germany now. This is his fourth time walking the Camino, and he has basically decided to make it his life. He has started a business in which he walks the Camino with clients who do not want to walk it alone. Since he knows the Camino so well, he is a great resource. Tonight he is staying in a different albergue from me, but I ran into him in a cafe and he invited me to come to his albergue tonight where he is making dinner for 6 or 7 other walkers (I can´t write pilgrims with a straight face, though that is what people call each other out here!).
Today was a very memorable day for me. I did not get a lot of sleep last night, and as usually happens when I don´t sleep, I was dragging a bit -- especially by the end of the day. I reached a town called Villacazar de Sirga at about noon and had to decide whether to go another 6 km to my real destination for the day, or stop there for the night. As I said, I was dragging more than usual and had already walked 20km, but I also felt it was important for me to reach Carrion tonight, because just past Carrion is a 17.5 km (10.9 mi) stretch with almost no facilities (including water and food). It is the longest such stretch on the Camino and I felt it was important to start it first thing in the morning, when I would be fresh. Just ahead of me I saw what looked to be about 100 school students starting to walk on the camino. As I caught up to them, a few of them started asking me questions. When they found out that I was from the US and that I did not speak Spanish, they were fascinated. They were completely surrounding me as we walked together, practicing their English (which was pretty good, actually!) by peppering me with questions like, "What is your favorite animal?" I felt a bit like the Pied Piper as the kids were laughing, singing, asking me questions, and trying to teach me a little Spanish. Every time I would get something right, one of the girls would yell "very good!", and they especially loved it when I was able to pronounce a new word correctly, rolling r and all. The 6km walking with them went more quickly than any 6km I have walked to date, and I soon found myself in Carrrion yelling "Adios" to my new little friends, and wishing I had 6km more to walk with them. What a great day... definitely blog worthy!
Quick update on my health... my hip still bothers me sometimes but I have found that if I take a break when it starts to hurt, I can usually avoid the kind of pain that makes me feel I have to stop. So I would say that while it is not completely behind me, I am more and more confident that it won´t be a huge issue going forward (knock on wood!). As for the nearly foot sized blister on my left foot, well, that is another story completely. While it does not stop me from walking, or even slow me down much at all, it is a constant reminder that I am in the process of walking 500 miles. By the way -- tomorrow marks the half-way point... right on schedule!
Buen Camino...
It has been a few days since my last blog. I started to get concerned that the walk was starting to be more about the blog, than the blog was about the walk, so I decided that I will blog when I feel the urge, or when something blogworthy happens. Today, both were true!
I started today in Boadilla del Camino and am writing this from Carrion de los Condes after a 26.1km (16.2) mile walk today. For the last two nights I have stayed in two really nice albergues. Both had a great community feel and served community dinners. Last night especially, there were people out in the courtyard for hours drinking wine, talking and singing. It had such a nice feeling. As many of us are going at approximately the same pace, I see many of the same faces night after night. I have become friends with one man (Nikos) in particular. Nikos is from Greece, but lives mainly in Germany now. This is his fourth time walking the Camino, and he has basically decided to make it his life. He has started a business in which he walks the Camino with clients who do not want to walk it alone. Since he knows the Camino so well, he is a great resource. Tonight he is staying in a different albergue from me, but I ran into him in a cafe and he invited me to come to his albergue tonight where he is making dinner for 6 or 7 other walkers (I can´t write pilgrims with a straight face, though that is what people call each other out here!).
Today was a very memorable day for me. I did not get a lot of sleep last night, and as usually happens when I don´t sleep, I was dragging a bit -- especially by the end of the day. I reached a town called Villacazar de Sirga at about noon and had to decide whether to go another 6 km to my real destination for the day, or stop there for the night. As I said, I was dragging more than usual and had already walked 20km, but I also felt it was important for me to reach Carrion tonight, because just past Carrion is a 17.5 km (10.9 mi) stretch with almost no facilities (including water and food). It is the longest such stretch on the Camino and I felt it was important to start it first thing in the morning, when I would be fresh. Just ahead of me I saw what looked to be about 100 school students starting to walk on the camino. As I caught up to them, a few of them started asking me questions. When they found out that I was from the US and that I did not speak Spanish, they were fascinated. They were completely surrounding me as we walked together, practicing their English (which was pretty good, actually!) by peppering me with questions like, "What is your favorite animal?" I felt a bit like the Pied Piper as the kids were laughing, singing, asking me questions, and trying to teach me a little Spanish. Every time I would get something right, one of the girls would yell "very good!", and they especially loved it when I was able to pronounce a new word correctly, rolling r and all. The 6km walking with them went more quickly than any 6km I have walked to date, and I soon found myself in Carrrion yelling "Adios" to my new little friends, and wishing I had 6km more to walk with them. What a great day... definitely blog worthy!
Quick update on my health... my hip still bothers me sometimes but I have found that if I take a break when it starts to hurt, I can usually avoid the kind of pain that makes me feel I have to stop. So I would say that while it is not completely behind me, I am more and more confident that it won´t be a huge issue going forward (knock on wood!). As for the nearly foot sized blister on my left foot, well, that is another story completely. While it does not stop me from walking, or even slow me down much at all, it is a constant reminder that I am in the process of walking 500 miles. By the way -- tomorrow marks the half-way point... right on schedule!
Buen Camino...
Monday, May 24, 2010
Taking a blog break
All - I am taking a little break from blogging. But everything is going well on the Camino!!
- Posted from my iPhone
- Posted from my iPhone
Saturday, May 22, 2010
May 22. 4:00 PM. Day 10. Walked 12.2 km (7.6) miles) today. Walked 236.8 of 787 km (149.1 of 478 miles) total.
Today was a scary day. As you can see, I walked less today by far than on any other day. And I felt every single step. For those of you who are reading along with me every day, you may remember that on day two I felt some pain in my right hip. But I kept walking and eventually the pain went away. Well, today I felt the same pain, but this time I could not walk through it. It was very painful and I am guessing that I walked at about half of my normal pace. The good news is that I am still a little ahead of my 32 day plan, because I had made some great gains over the last few days. However, the bad news is that, for the first time, I have had to think about the possibility that I might not be able to complete this. I am definitely not near that point yet, but it was quite disheartening to even entertain the thought.
In addition to the physical pain, or maybe because of it, I dont know, I found myself very homesick last night and today. I miss my kids terribly, more than I really expected to (and I expected to miss them a lot!). It occurred to me that I have already been gone for over a week, and I still have more than four left. I have never been away from them for this long and I would give anything to hug them right now.
It is a shame that I was feeling this way today, because the walk today was actually quite spectacular. It was the biggest climb of the walk so far (hopefully that had something to do with my hip pain, though truthfully it started in earnest last night) and the bulk of it was on a mountain road/path. There was literally not one cloud in the sky all day, and the sky was a deep blue color that I have rarely seen. Because of my physical discomfort, I stopped more frequently than usual. At one point I found a bench, laid down for about 45 minutes, and listened to And Then There Were Three (Genesis), one of my all time favorite albums. It was very relaxing and I might have even drifted off for a few minutes.
Right now I am in a little town called Ages, which is about 4km past the book's scheduled stopping point for today, which was San Juan de Ortega. As my hip started hurting more and more, I decided that I would have to stop in San Juan de Ortega, and in fact I did stop there and had lunch. However, thinking that the albergue was still a bit down the road, I put on my pack and continued walking. I had gone maybe 500 yards when I saw someone walking the other way. He told me that the albergue was actually in the church where I had just been, and he was walking back there. With as much pain as I was in, I could not bring myself to walk backwards even 500 yards. There is just no way... I already walked that 500 yards... I am NOT doing it again!! So, I decided to push on and walk the extra 4km (about 2.5 miles), just so I would not have to backtrack 500 yards. How is that for stubborn??!
One last thing before I go. Last night I stayed in a beautiful albergue. There was a man and a woman there who I thought were boyfriend and girlfriend. It turns out that he is 37 and she is 14. I figured them both for their mid twenties. I think I am losing it! Anyway, their story is pretty amazing. As a preface, I should tell you that the route I am walking is one of many Caminos de Santiago. There are many routes all through Europe. The one I am walking is the most popular and most heavily traveled. So, back to my story, these people I met had already walked the Camino from Sevilla to Santiago (1,000km) and were now walking my Camino backwards from Santiago to St. Jean (another 800km). They were only 10 days from their destination and had already been walking for three months! He works for an association in France that takes juveniles who have gotten in trouble and sends them on a three month walk rather than send them to jail. How is that for cool? I was just so impressed by both of them. I wish that I could have talked to her, but she did not speak English. He was incredible though. It made my night!
Guess what?? I just SAW my kids. This computer has Skype and they figured out how to Skype from Talia's laptop. I could see and talk to them as if they were here. What great timing... I really needed that!
Until tomorrow...
Today was a scary day. As you can see, I walked less today by far than on any other day. And I felt every single step. For those of you who are reading along with me every day, you may remember that on day two I felt some pain in my right hip. But I kept walking and eventually the pain went away. Well, today I felt the same pain, but this time I could not walk through it. It was very painful and I am guessing that I walked at about half of my normal pace. The good news is that I am still a little ahead of my 32 day plan, because I had made some great gains over the last few days. However, the bad news is that, for the first time, I have had to think about the possibility that I might not be able to complete this. I am definitely not near that point yet, but it was quite disheartening to even entertain the thought.
In addition to the physical pain, or maybe because of it, I dont know, I found myself very homesick last night and today. I miss my kids terribly, more than I really expected to (and I expected to miss them a lot!). It occurred to me that I have already been gone for over a week, and I still have more than four left. I have never been away from them for this long and I would give anything to hug them right now.
It is a shame that I was feeling this way today, because the walk today was actually quite spectacular. It was the biggest climb of the walk so far (hopefully that had something to do with my hip pain, though truthfully it started in earnest last night) and the bulk of it was on a mountain road/path. There was literally not one cloud in the sky all day, and the sky was a deep blue color that I have rarely seen. Because of my physical discomfort, I stopped more frequently than usual. At one point I found a bench, laid down for about 45 minutes, and listened to And Then There Were Three (Genesis), one of my all time favorite albums. It was very relaxing and I might have even drifted off for a few minutes.
Right now I am in a little town called Ages, which is about 4km past the book's scheduled stopping point for today, which was San Juan de Ortega. As my hip started hurting more and more, I decided that I would have to stop in San Juan de Ortega, and in fact I did stop there and had lunch. However, thinking that the albergue was still a bit down the road, I put on my pack and continued walking. I had gone maybe 500 yards when I saw someone walking the other way. He told me that the albergue was actually in the church where I had just been, and he was walking back there. With as much pain as I was in, I could not bring myself to walk backwards even 500 yards. There is just no way... I already walked that 500 yards... I am NOT doing it again!! So, I decided to push on and walk the extra 4km (about 2.5 miles), just so I would not have to backtrack 500 yards. How is that for stubborn??!
One last thing before I go. Last night I stayed in a beautiful albergue. There was a man and a woman there who I thought were boyfriend and girlfriend. It turns out that he is 37 and she is 14. I figured them both for their mid twenties. I think I am losing it! Anyway, their story is pretty amazing. As a preface, I should tell you that the route I am walking is one of many Caminos de Santiago. There are many routes all through Europe. The one I am walking is the most popular and most heavily traveled. So, back to my story, these people I met had already walked the Camino from Sevilla to Santiago (1,000km) and were now walking my Camino backwards from Santiago to St. Jean (another 800km). They were only 10 days from their destination and had already been walking for three months! He works for an association in France that takes juveniles who have gotten in trouble and sends them on a three month walk rather than send them to jail. How is that for cool? I was just so impressed by both of them. I wish that I could have talked to her, but she did not speak English. He was incredible though. It made my night!
Guess what?? I just SAW my kids. This computer has Skype and they figured out how to Skype from Talia's laptop. I could see and talk to them as if they were here. What great timing... I really needed that!
Until tomorrow...
Friday, May 21, 2010
May 21. 3:00 PM. Day 9. Walked 24.8 km (15.4) miles) today. Walked 224.6 of 787 km (139.5 of 478 miles) total.
Before I left Colorado I bought a great book called A Pilgrimś Guide to the Camino de Santiago, by John Brierley. It is an excellent book, and I have seen many other pilgrims carrying it as well. He breaks the walk into 33 stages (each stage is one day), and for each stage he describes the walk itself, the churches and other notable things to see, the albergues along with brief descriptions, plus other information about the towns, etc... It has been a fantastic resource and probably one of the things I am most afraid of losing!
As you may remember from yesterdayś entry, I went 11km farther than he suggested for that stage, so I ended yesterday in the middle of todayś stage. This was somewhat intentional, as I thought it might reduce the "traffic". Well, mission accomplished. For the entire 15 mile walk today, I saw probably 5 other walkers. It was almost spooky, but this is what I imagined the walk to be like when I first thought about doing this, so it feels quite good in a lot of ways. We shall see if it holds up or if today was just an anomoly.
Before I tell you about the incredible place in which I am staying tonight, I would be remiss if I did not share a little story from last night. After finishing my blog entry, I ate dinner early (6:00, which is very early to eat here!) so that I could be in bed as early as possible. By 6:30, I was climbing into my sleeping bed on the top bunk. There was a man in the bunk beneath me already asleep and a woman in the bottom bunk across from us, also already asleep. After about 10 minutes or so I was drifting off pretty nicely, when I felt the bed begin to move -- quite rhythmically. I immediately started praying that this was an earthquake, but alas, it was not. I just layed there in shock, coughing as loud as I could, wondering whether I should be laughing or throwing up (these were not attractive people and I found out later that they were most likely people who walk up and down the camino all year looking for cheap places to sleep, among other things), and thinking "hello!! (hola!!), you are not alone." Thankfully, Mr. Romance did not take long and she was soon back in her own bed. And, believe it or not, I was asleep again soon after. Mom and dad -- do you remember my Italian train story from 1986??
Now, a quick note for Talia and Zach, in case they are reading this: When a mommy pilgrim and a daddy pilgrim love each other very much...
Ok, enough of that. I am now in one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever stayed in in my life. It is in a little town called Villafranca Montes de Oca (population 200). The man who owns the hotel has done the camino a few times and when he built the hotel he added and albergue in the back. It is gorgeous. The hotel was only built last year, so it is not listed yet in many of the guide books; but it is in mine. And when I read about it, I planned my route specifically so I could be here. It has completely exceeded my expectations. Not only is it spectacularly beautiful, but since no one knows about it, there are only 2 other pilgrims here so far. The shower was incredible and the room is perfectly cool and comfortable. All this for... are you ready... 8€. I am in pilgrim heaven!
Until tomorrow...
Before I left Colorado I bought a great book called A Pilgrimś Guide to the Camino de Santiago, by John Brierley. It is an excellent book, and I have seen many other pilgrims carrying it as well. He breaks the walk into 33 stages (each stage is one day), and for each stage he describes the walk itself, the churches and other notable things to see, the albergues along with brief descriptions, plus other information about the towns, etc... It has been a fantastic resource and probably one of the things I am most afraid of losing!
As you may remember from yesterdayś entry, I went 11km farther than he suggested for that stage, so I ended yesterday in the middle of todayś stage. This was somewhat intentional, as I thought it might reduce the "traffic". Well, mission accomplished. For the entire 15 mile walk today, I saw probably 5 other walkers. It was almost spooky, but this is what I imagined the walk to be like when I first thought about doing this, so it feels quite good in a lot of ways. We shall see if it holds up or if today was just an anomoly.
Before I tell you about the incredible place in which I am staying tonight, I would be remiss if I did not share a little story from last night. After finishing my blog entry, I ate dinner early (6:00, which is very early to eat here!) so that I could be in bed as early as possible. By 6:30, I was climbing into my sleeping bed on the top bunk. There was a man in the bunk beneath me already asleep and a woman in the bottom bunk across from us, also already asleep. After about 10 minutes or so I was drifting off pretty nicely, when I felt the bed begin to move -- quite rhythmically. I immediately started praying that this was an earthquake, but alas, it was not. I just layed there in shock, coughing as loud as I could, wondering whether I should be laughing or throwing up (these were not attractive people and I found out later that they were most likely people who walk up and down the camino all year looking for cheap places to sleep, among other things), and thinking "hello!! (hola!!), you are not alone." Thankfully, Mr. Romance did not take long and she was soon back in her own bed. And, believe it or not, I was asleep again soon after. Mom and dad -- do you remember my Italian train story from 1986??
Now, a quick note for Talia and Zach, in case they are reading this: When a mommy pilgrim and a daddy pilgrim love each other very much...
Ok, enough of that. I am now in one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever stayed in in my life. It is in a little town called Villafranca Montes de Oca (population 200). The man who owns the hotel has done the camino a few times and when he built the hotel he added and albergue in the back. It is gorgeous. The hotel was only built last year, so it is not listed yet in many of the guide books; but it is in mine. And when I read about it, I planned my route specifically so I could be here. It has completely exceeded my expectations. Not only is it spectacularly beautiful, but since no one knows about it, there are only 2 other pilgrims here so far. The shower was incredible and the room is perfectly cool and comfortable. All this for... are you ready... 8€. I am in pilgrim heaven!
Until tomorrow...
Thursday, May 20, 2010
For those doing the math, I am now 25% of the way through. Not that I am focusing on the end or anything, but, well, I am 25% through!
Today´s destination was supposed to be Santo Domingo, but I was on the road by 6:30 and arrived there at 11:30. I was still feeling pretty good, and rather than try to find things to do in this fairly small town, I decided to press on. I walked an additional 11km (6.8mi) and found a nice albergue in this very beautiful little town. After a freezing cold shower, I washed my clothes and found a computer. This is starting to be my routine for most days, and I have to say I like it.
My body is holding up pretty well. The only real issues I have are the one blister, which has only gotten worse, and some general foot pain that I imagine is to be expected. Still in all, I seem to be in as good or better shape than many of my fellow walkers. I met a group of young men (kids, if you ask me!!) today and one of the them is going home tomorrow because of an achilles problem. I have to be careful not to get cocky though, because at this point injury is the only thing that could stop me from finishing this. I am totally committed and still having a great time.
I had what appeared to be a very interesting conversation with a local man in one of the towns I stopped in today. It went something like this...
Me: "No hablo Ingles, pero donde esta el albergue" (which means, "I don´t speak Spanish, but where is the albergue." I start every sentence off this way just to avoid, well, to avoid this:)
Him: El albergue es proximo a la iglesia ("the albergue is next to the church". This I understood!).
Then, after a thoughtful pause, he launched into about 30 seconds of extremely fast spanish, not one word of which I understood (because, as I thought I had made clear, I do not speak Spanish).
Me (Smiling): No hablo espanol. Solo Ingles. (I don´t speak Spanish. Only English)
Him: Ahhh... Ingles. Si. Si.
Me (Still smiling as if posing for a passport photo): Si
I have to say he looked quite satisfied, and I am pretty sure I resolved something for him. So I have that going for me.
Until tomorrow...
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