After hearing from Sebastian who had done it by bile and Ho who had done it by foot, as well as a few other people I met in Nepal, I had put the Camino de Santiago de Compostela high up on my bucket list, and since my bucket list is actually rather a motivational to do list, I was quite set on walking the Camino sooner rather than later. When talking to angelina about it, she was pretty set on doing it by her 40's, expecting to reach her mid life crisis. I managed to convince her that by 40 she would probably have kids a and thus a to big responsibility to take off for a month, and she also realized that waiting for a crisis to do the Camino was a silly thing. So within an hour we decided to do the Camino together in May, and gave us no more than two weeks to start it...no preparation needed, just go with the flow and see what happens. Being both experienced travelers, me still having my backpack on and Hera barely unpacked, we were to meet again on May 9th in Madrid at the main city bus stop. Here is what happened next...
Day 0: May 9th, Madrid to Pamplona
Angelina and I reunited at the major bus station in Madrid after three months of distance,me on the road in Asia and her back in Brazil. We then took a bus straight to Pamplona (each ticket ended up being way cheaper than planned, so good news and good start!). Going directly to St Jean Pied de Port (SJPDP) was not possible, so Pamplona would be a great option for a first night. Pamplona the city is very pretty. Beautiful citadel, and gorgeous middle ages stone paved little streets. And well, we made it a must to walk the trail of the world famous bull enciero. The releasing of the bulls in the city usually happens every July.
We even had a delicious lunch "casse croute" (ham and cheese baguette sandwich) right in front of the main arena, watching passerby's, and killing time until our bus departure time to SJPDP. Fantastic beautiful day to walk around Pamplona and soak up some historical vibe before attacking the Camino. And actually getting ahead of the game so that when we go through Pamplona next in two or three days, we won't need to visit it again and will be able to move on to the next town.
We made it to SJPDP right before sun down. Tiny little medieval town where the Albergues all filled up very quickly. The only one left was one right before the town gates, held by a very kind and welcoming French basque man. We bought the Camions passport: la credential, and got our first stamp. Early night as tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us. Day 1 is supposed to be the most challenging of the whole Camino. So they say. 1,200m of positive climb and 500m of negative climb. Average time, between 7 and 7.5hrs.
Day 1: May 10th. From SJPDP (France) to Roncesvalles (Spain). 27km in 6 hrs! Challenging?! Really?!
Up at 5:30am for an hour of meditation. A ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast in the kitchen, and we were on the road by 7:30am.
The weather was spectacular. The landscape impressively green and peaceful. The road incredibly steep yet easy. We were mentally prepared, so no big deal. Knowing Angelina's walking pace from India and Bangladesh, we were expecting to walk relatively slowly. But no, she was impressively quite fast and barely made me wait for her. (Promises to be a great Camino!) What an interesting morning. The four people I spoke with in the morning all were from four different countries from four different continents. Ecuador, Portugal, Australia, Namibia. Fantastic how globalization is just all over, even in the smallest of French little border towns. The diversity of people on the trail here seems definitely wider than around the Anapurna. Great fun ahead! :-)
Along the walk today, we passed some of the most beautiful and muscular horses I have ever seen. Magnificent beasts! The sky was often filled with griffons or eagles flying in circles enjoying the hot winds. What an incredible day of sceneries we were privileged to see. I had no ideas the Pyrenees were so beautiful.
Like I mentioned yesterday, the whole walk is on average between 7 and 7.5 hrs. We did it in 6 hrs, without all that much pain. Only the way down was slightly painful as it was a sort of slippery steep slope through the forest for a good 5 km. Ouch for the knees! But beautiful forest crossing.
The albergue in Roncesvalles is a gigantic 400 bed medieval monastery converted into a dormitory center where masses are still performed. A gorgeous place to stay vibrant with all nationalities.
After getting our credential stamped, our beds paid for, our shower taken and our laundry done, we walked around, trying to kill time until dinner time. The only two restaurants in town are to expensive for us to have lunch today (aside from the chocolate we had bought before) and there is no tienda around. So patience...
In the mean time we hang out in the very nice Church, meditate for an hour (at least I tried...though unsuccessful) and even attend a mass.) 7pm! Diner time! Finally!!!
Uffff...the wait was well worth it. We each eat about half a Kg of pasta, then some fresh trout, and a ton of bred. Hehe! French roots don't disappear that easily.
It is quite chilly outside, so another early night. Well...most people went straight to bed after dinner. It seems everyone is dead after today. Hmmm...it's only day 1. Save some energy people.
This guy just did something hilarious as I am typing this. He stood near the thermostat device on the wall with his iPhone, thinking it was the WiFi router. I told him what it was and he started laughing. Lol
Day 2: May 11th. From Roncesvalles to Zabaldika. 38km in 7.5 hrs.
This a morning we left at 7:15am, about an hour after everyone...and under the rain. In a few hours we managed to pass a good 60 people (Angelina made it a game to count everyone we would pass...yes, slightly competitive woman! Lol) it was rainy and cold. But we managed. And walked and walked through the beautiful green forest. Quick breakfast break to buy bread and make cheese sandwiches under a dripping roof gutter, and off we went...
Lunch break we had at a little town fountain, rillettes de canard, fresh baguette, and ham, cheese, tomatoes sandwiches were at our self made menu. Delicious!!!
We didn't really know where we wanted to stop for the night when we left this morning, but we knew that we didn't want to stop where the biggest chunk of pilgrims would stop. And we also knew that there was an albergue situated in an old monastery next to a church...and on donativo base. So well...we decided to push as far as possible and try to reach that albergue. Why not?! Sounded interesting and romantic.
Little did we realize that it would mean pushing as far as 38km. Today felt much harder than yesterday. Most definitely. Not so much for the slopes nor the terrain, but more so for the simple endurance of the distance, and our walking pace which was yet again quite good. Angelina is really surprising me every day. I hope she can keep the same pace for the remaining of the Camino, but I will try to squeeze in a day or two of shorter distance here and there so she can rest a bit.
The albergue in Zabaldika is located on top of a steep hill, off the main road. Since this place only has 18 beds, we were really worried that it would be full by the time we would arrive, but we took the risk. Worst case, we would just have to push another 5km...meaning a total of 43km!
As we were walking on the road, each time we would encounter other pilgrims I would make sure to accelerate my pace to put as much distance between them and us as possible. When I got to the bottom of the hill trail to get to the monastery, I noticed a pilgrim on his bike approaching as well. So I took off running all the way up the trail. Great finish to such long killer day. Lol
Thank God the albergue was only half full.
The hospitalero, or place handler is named Juan, and is a very kind and helpful man from Bilbao, who has a big heart and good humor but who likes to give the impression he is always serious. Quite funny actually.
Since we had quite many hours before sun down and dinner, we decided to try and meditate outside in the sun. Unfortunately the wind was to strong and cold, so much for no external stimulation. So attempt failed.
The dinner that Juan cooked for all of us was delicious. And the fact of all eating around a huge table was so nice and entertaining. Like a big family reunion. Angelina and I and another couple, volunteered to clean up the dishes after dinner.
What happened after dinner was probably one of the nicest moment of the Camino for sure. Since we were staying in an old monastery, and the village was "led" by four nuns, we got to receive a special peregrino Blessing in three languages on the mezzanine floor of the Church. It was so deeply moving to share our experiences and feelings and get the nuns to individually bless us for the rest of our journey. I even had to play interpreters for everyone who didn't speak Spanish or French. It was a fun little touch. Little did I know that such blessing moment would happen at several occasions during the rest of the Camino...
Needless to say that we all went to sleep with a big smile and a fulfilled heart.
Day 3: May 12th, from Zabaldika to Puente La Reina. 35km
Today has been an absolutely magnificent day. The landscapes fabulous. The infinite fields of cereals sensually dancing like bachata dancers on smooth ocean waves. Such a spectacle!
We walked more than we thought we would be able to. Our feet are starting to ache quite a lot.
But it is all worth it. We had a delicious casse croute with our friends from Ecuador (Elizabeth and Roberto), joined by a young girl from Puerto Rico (Isabella) all under the sun, overlooking the vast valley.
Arriving in the town of Puente La Reina was such a relief, at last. And the albergue is quite large and filled with people from all over, as usual.
We walked round along the river and by the famous bridge. Took a nap in the grass in the sun. Got some groceries and cooked more than we could eat. The kilometers are slowly and painfully accumulating, but it is all so fulfilling.
But what has caught more my attention today, is to watch almost everyone, all ages and generations, so deeply focused on writing into their diary. It is so mysteriously fascinating to just try to imagine what each one is thinking and writing. Some have their eyes red and watery, others big smiles, or gluing photos here and there. But almost everyone is daily filling up pages of little booklets of all sorts. I don't think I have ever seen anything as mysterious and opening so wide the door to imagination. I will pay more attention to this every day now, and perhaps try to shoot some discreet photos of people as they get lost in their thoughts and write up their feelings.
Anyhow, this Camino is getting more and more interesting. Not so much because of what I am learning about myself, but more because of what I get to observe about others. And this perhaps in some way down the line, thanks to this, I shall learn more about myself. Quien sabe?
Til then, buenas noches. Time to sleep for those sore feet, the load of pasta, and half a liter of beer. ;-)
Day 4: May 13th, from Puente la Reina to Estella. 22km
Last night we barely slept at all due to a disturbingly snoring cheerleader Asian american dude from Michigan making the whole dorm room shake like hell.
Hence, no real meditation this morning. :-(
Ah, something extremely important I forgot to mention before: if you have any kind of allergy, try not to do the Camino in May...as it is peak allergy season between the wind and all the pollen flying all over. But in my case I guess it is just another little obstacle to the pilgrimage...in other words, part of the journey. So a good stock of tissues and lots of sniffles and go!
So, today...it started by a great breakfast of polenta left over from last night..and then we got quite delayed as our Ecuadorian friends realized they had lost their little pouch containing all their money and credit/debit cards. A traveler can only understand how alarming and stressful such situation can be when in a totally foreign country. So we stayed with them for a couple of hours trying to figure out what to do. I gave them half of the cash I had left, and as they went to the police to make a loss declaration, we headed out on our way to the beautiful meadows of Navarra.
Exiting Puente la Reina as the sun was till rising, and walking through the medieval paved streets was so splendid.
We had decided to take it easy today as we were both quite tired and both our four feet were very sore. So only 22km it would be. Quite a short day!
Since today for the first time we finally carried both fresh bread, butter, salami and eggs, we were finally able to have a real casse croute wherever we wanted without having to wait to get to a town. So we decided on a cute little spot on dry grass overlooking a field of wheat and poppies.
As we were enjoying our delicious sandwiches, a big heavy gray cloud decided to settle right above our heads and to greet us with several cold drops. Our bad luck I guess...so we quickly forgot about the idea of taking a little power nap, and headed back on the trail.
By 3:30pm we had arrived at Estella. Another beautiful little medieval town, with about 8 churches. (!) Beautiful, and finally a town where there is life. So far, aside from Pamplona, all the towns we went through seemed like ghost towns. Not a soul in the streets. Strange. As if the locals were looking out for us peregrinos, and running inside and shutting down their houses until we all get through, and then party like animals to celebrate their peregrino free town. Lol like in those strange movies, or maybe it is just my imagination.
In Estella we also got to attend a mass in this gorgeous church, and as it is the tradition on the Camino, we received the peregrino blessing from the priest. I am absolutely not a believer of any religion, but it is quite interesting and enjoyable to attend masses in different churches on the Camino, as the Camino is at the origin a religious pilgrimage.
So yet again, I got to act as translator for everyone present. Quite fun. And the priest was such a nice and funny character. Trying to squeeze in every single word he knew of Korean, French, Portuguese, ...there as Roberto and Elizabeth arrived late, we caught up with them when the mass was over, and fantastic news, they had found back their wallet. Ufff!!! Lots of emotions for them today.
The sad news of the day though was that Isabella, the Porto Rican girl got some serious knee injury which might probably slow her down dramatically for the rest of her Camino. Perhaps a life lesson she is supposed to learn...
Day 5: May 14th, from Estella to Torres del Rio. 28km. Another short and slow day...
Today quite a few peregrinos woke up with sustained injuries. Unfortunately even the Puerto Rican girl had a tendinitis at the knee. I guess when our body speaks, we must listen to it as it is telling us key things.
We woke up fine, and got going by 7:45am. We aimed for a short day but to not stop at Los Arcos where most people would stop. The walk was nothing spectacular, but still quite delightful.
Our lunch casse croute was memorable. We spotted a big bunch of haystack overlooking the valley. We climbed it and made our nap/lunch there. Almost every single peregrino passing by took photos of us. That spot was priceless and so nice. We could have definitely stayed there all day.
In Los Arcos, the plaza was gorgeous, and the church unbelievable! So much gold all over. Such a reminder how much money the Church is wasting on useless decoration instead of helping the poor. How much food and clothe could have been bought with all the money that was spent to decorate that church!? Uffff!
Anyhow...mid afternoon we made it to Torres del Rio. Beautiful little 2,000 or so inhabitants. Quiet and ageless. It is funny that as we go on, we keep on seeing the same faces at the same kind of places. We keep on meeting up with the same Dutch, Irish, Koreans, Japanese and Canadians every day. All have the same pace and same desire to find a hole in the wall kind of place to rest and spend the night.
So Casa de Mari is where we will spend the night. Our roommate is a senior Brazilian couple who has already completed the Camino in 2011, and a Japanese man.
Tomorrow is another day.
As I am writing these lines, my feet soaking in hot water, I am feeling tired, already. So tonight will be an early night. In bed before 10pm...and the sun is not even set yet.
30 more days to go. So excited to see how each day is a different adventure, and how each day we get to know better the other peregrinos on the trail.
This Camino is thus far everything I expected and more.
And Angelina couldn't be a better partner to do it with. :-)
Buenas noches. Be happy.
Day 6: May 15th, from Torres del Rio to Navarrete. 32 km.
The snoring stroke again last night. But this time, the criminal was a 50's year old Brazilian woman! Who thought such a small woman could make such bestial noises. It almost felt like the walls were shaking. So no...not a full night sleep yet again.
This morning was quite freezing outside...yet definitely the nicest part of the day in terms of landscape.
To some degrees, a slow day again as it was mostly flat, and in a straight line. But the hard part was that is was all fully exposed to the sun. No shade whatsoever! :-(
After a delicious and such pleasant breakfast on the little plaza of Viana at the foot of the church, we headed out to Logronos, where most peregrinos stop for the night. The city is almost as big as Pamplona with a few sites to see. We went through them in a short time as we had no intention of spending the night in such busy and big city. Since the city is apparently reputed for its yummy food, we decided to share a menu to try. Hmmm...perhaps not the best choice we made as none of it was that succulent. Next time we will not take any menu but rather order some pintxos to taste.
The walk from Logrono to Navarrete felt like it would never end. Sun and sun and more sun with barely any shade to hide and rest. We found however, a little spot of fresh grass in the shade and by the little pond where swans and ducks were having their fun...so we took a little siesta. Ufff...we could have stayed there for days.
In Navarrete, we got lucky and found a very cute albergue of which the dorm floor has a feel of a big doll house. Very cute. The hospitalero himself is super nice and cooked us a very nice dinner, donativo.
This town is probably the nicest of all thus far. Both Angelina and I agree on this. The plaza is gorgeous and very well designed, the church is as spectacular from the outside as it is from the inside. But no mass today. Next time inchallah.
The accumulation of the past 6 days is staring to make its impact now. We are both quite tired much earlier than we used to. It is now 9:15pm and we are both ready for bed. So is everyone else in the albergue though. Tomorrow is supposed to be a super short day, only 22km. Short enough to give us plenty of time to discover Najera and rest plenty.
We are not sure whether Roberto and Elizabeth made it to town today or not. We will see tomorrow I guess as most everyone will stop at Najera for the night anyway.
Despite the heat and fatigue, today was yet another magnificent day.
Life is great!
Namaste.
Day 7: May 16th, from Navarrete to Azofra. 25km done by 2pm.
One week already. Time flies.
We had a wonderful breakfast sitting on the front wall of the church of a small town overlooking the valley...while eating our usual casse croute consisting of baguette, camambert and jam. Absolutely delicious in every way!
Once we got to Azofra, we basically spent the rest of the day hanging out with our Canadian friends from Nova Scotia, Chris and Joyce. All afternoon on the outdoor terrace, in the sun as the strong wind is blowing all the drying laundry flapping on our heads, and chatting about social work, politics, religions, life...we then later on cooked a delicious dinner. Angelina made a yummy risotto, Chris made some great seared veggies, and I seared some succulent pork with honey vinegar sauce, even adding a little sprinkle of dried thyme I had picked up on the Camino while walking and dried in my pocket. Lovely dinner to celebrate our first week on the Camino. A memorable and delicious moment mostly thanks to the company we had.
And yet again, in bed by 9:30pm
Day 8: May 17th, from Azofra to Granion, only 22 km.
When we stayed in Zabaldika, the hospitalero Juan highly suggested to stay at the paroquial in Granion, so we kind of planned out our route based on that. And we are not disappointed at all thus far. The town is gorgeous...yet as usual, a ghost town. Not a soul in the streets.
Our dorm basically consists of 20 mats laid on the floor next to each other on the floor of the annex building of the church. This beautiful little church in the middle of old green parks. Fabulous village. All cooking dinner together. Same will be for breakfast. Like a big family of perfect strangers.
Two more days and Angelina is turning 33yrs old. I still don't have her present ready. Inspired by Sebastian and Alma's way of dealing with their bday gifts, Angelina and I agreed to do the same. Nothing shall be bought, but we must make something with our own hands using our creativity. So I have decided to put together a little colorful booklet with drawings counting the story of how we met last year. So we will see...
Today we have a mass at 7pm and dinner is at 8pm. Perhaps a peregrino blessing later on. I haven't been to that many churches and masses in such a short period of time in a very long time. But it is part of the Camino I guess...it helps a bit more to get into the mood of the Camino spirit and history.
I am now back from the blessing session, actually called here a reflection session. It was an incredibly moving moment. We were all seating on the ancient wooden chairs of the church choir floor on the far end of the church. The light was off. Only little candles were put on the armrests of each chair, giving such a dramatic and mysterious feeling to the moment. Then one by one we expressed our feelings and thoughts about our own Camino, while passing a bigger candle to the next person. Last, we finished by holding each others hands to make a circle and then hugging and making a wish out loud for our left hand neighbor. Such a strong and intense moment. I won't hide that I had some tears on the verge of falling. After we were done, we took the secret passage back to the sleeping area. To our surprise, a few of us who had skipped the reflection session stayed back and were playing the piano...magnificently well. Ufff...we all stayed there, watching him (young Canadian Jean Michel) play, secretly wishing he wouldn't stop.
Before I forget, the diner was incredibly nice and entertaining. Before serving the food that was cooked for all of us, we each, nationality by nationality, had to sing a song from our country. Believe me, the Italians didn't have to be begged to sing as loudly as they could, all their classic songs. Anyway, it was ton of fun to hear so many songs in so many languages.
When all the lights are off, and sleep time has come...it is yet again a snoring festival! :-(
Another sleepless night ahead...
Day 9: May 18th, from Granion to Villafranca de Montes de Oca, 30km
What a long day today! Long portions fully exposed under the sun. Small uninhabited villages.
Yesterday I started to feel some pinching pain at the lower level of my right tibia, on the middle/tendon area. I kept walking anyway. Today, towards the end of the walk, the pain intensified a bit, pushing me to stop after 30km. I am really hoping the pain will stop and that it is nothing serious other than a sore muscle.
We took a long breakfast break in Belorado on the main plaza. A very cute little town. And we took a few other short breaks because of my pain. So we assumed that Chris, Joyce and Jean Michel, our three Canadian friends had passed us. 12km later when we arrived in Villafranca, we were surprised to see that they hadn't arrived yet. So we checked in directly at the Municipal. Most of the people from the night before were already there. All familiar faces.
Later on we saw the Canadians passing by. They apparently arrived 15 minutes after us. But checked in at the private albergue. They came by to say hello, and to invite us for dinner.
That afternoon I started working on Angelina's birthday gift while, resting my leg.
The dinner that night was very nice. More so because of the company.
Chris even bought a bottle of rose wine, knowing that I preferred rose to red. So we all had quite a bit of alcohol by the end of the dinner. It made the snore fest an easy obstacle to overcome when we all went to sleep. Though I myself stayed up quite late in order to get further ahead with Angelina's gift.
11pm...sleepy time now.
Day 10: May 19th, from Villafranca to Cardenuela Rio Pico, 25km
Another long day of walking interrupted by breaks due to my painful leg. After a dozen kms we got to San Juan de Ortega, cute little town with a big ancient church. We stopped for breakfast. The Canadians quickly caught up with us. Our break ended up being very long, a good hour and a half!
The rest of the walk was nothing pleasant, at least for me. I think the pain is starting to take over the fun. I should have worked more about me slowing us down rather than Angelina when we started the Camino. Lol
Finally we made it to Cardenuela. My leg hurts, I needed the rest.
The sky is gray and low. It started raining.
Not a soul in town other than the handlers of the two albergues.
We checked in the municipal. 20 beds crammed up into a small space. No hot water. Promises to be an interesting night since it is full.
The bar of our albergue looks cold and unwelcoming, so we go to the other one for lunch and for dinner. The owners are this adorable couple (him from Spain, her from Colombia). Delicious food and fantastic music. Finally some bachata, salsa, cumbia. It makes my day. We met a couple from Brazil doing the Camino on bikes. It seems that aside from Angelina, all Brazilians are doing the Camino by bike.
At the end of the dinner, the hospitalero offered me a digestif. Combined with the bachata playing, I made an attempt to dance with Angelina (for the first time ever). She didn't seem to motivated. So we quickly stopped. Hmmm...will have to seriously work on this in the future, as dancing is a big part of who I am and what I love.
By the time we get back to our albergue, literally across the street, everyone is already in bed sleeping.
I wait for our friends and Angelina to get to bed, and I get to work on her gift.
It is now 2:30am, Angelina's gift is finished, and I am quite satisfied with it. Time to go to sleep...or at least try...it is yet another snore fest in there, and one of the bed keeps on squeeking at each breath that the person sleeping in it takes.
Day 11: May 20th, from Cardenuela Rio Pico to Tardajos via Burgos, 25km plus site seeing.
Today is Angelina's 33rd birthday! Happy birthday Lollipop!!! I went to sleep at 2:30am to finish up her gift.
It was a spectacular day. We woke up late. The three Italians left at 5am, and the rest of the people left at about 6:00am or so. We and the Canadians, left by 8:30am.
I gave Angelina her gift when she finished packing and while Chris and Joyce were still packing. She red it and shed a few tears. She loved it. I was happy to see that it was impactful and moving. Mission accomplished. :-)
We then headed out to the little resto bar where we had diner, and had a bday breakfast with Chris and Joyce. The Hospitalera was kind enough to put a little candle on Angelina's muffin, so we all sang for her. Great start of the day.
The walk to Burgos was nothing spectacular, but rather long. Yet, when arriving in Burgos we witnessed the generosity of locals who helped us find our way and even walked a long way with us till we reached the city center.
Burgos is a magnificent ancient city. Way above Pamplona! Lots of deliciously looking little pincho bars and restaurants. Old arches and streets. Lots of people walking around. A fabulous cathedral and several beautiful churches.
We had a perfect lunch all four of us. It is very rare, rather unique to have what I call a perfect meal. The company was fantastic: Angelina, Chris and Joyce. The food absolutely yummy! And the waiter was just so kind, welcoming, and hilarious at the same time. I think all four of us were somehow moved and in awe by how perfect the moment was. It was almost hard to get out of our chairs and leave.
Chris and Joyce decided to stay in Burgos. They are not walking the whole Camino for lack of time. Burgos is their last stop. Angelina and I were in doubt the whole day whether we should stay or not. I know for my part, it made me very sad to have to say good bye to them so soon on our Camino. They are really special people. We have built very strong bonds and friendship with them for the past few days.
After lunch, we said goodbye. Warm hugs and heavy hearts. We went to visit the cathedral before going back to the albergue to pick up our bags and head out to start walking to the next town. But between after lunch and exiting the city we kept on bumping into each other, as if some sign was trying to tell us that we were supposed to stay in Burgos and spend a few more days with them. We actually said goodbye about 4 times. Lol
The walk to the next town, Tardajos, was no fun at all. Filled with feelings of doubt about having left Burgos one day to early, and the trail itself, not that interesting at all, and never ending.
Finally we made it to Tardajos. Exhausted. I got my anti-inflammatory gel from the only pharmacy we could find and we luckily found a double room for only 20euros. We wanted to have more intimacy for once and to celebrate Angelina's birthday.
The bday dinner was less delightful and celebratory than breakfast and lunch. Less food options, and a small appetite for both of us. But we finally used some of the cachaca that angelina had brought for the occasion from Brazil, and made ourselves some yummy caipirinhas. The waitress was quite suspicious as to what we were doing, slicing limes and oranges, squeezing and crushing them into our glasses and pouring sugar into them. The drinks got us quite warm and happier about the dead ghost down we had ended up in and about having left our Canadians. We also kept on evesdropping and partially taking part of the conversation of the table next to ours. A Canadian couple, a Dutch, a Quebequois, and a French. Quite a funny and animated conversation.
Now off to bed. Finally a snoring-free room from which we won't have to take off by 6 or 7 am.
Sweet dreams...
Day 12: May 21st, from Tardajos to Hornillos, 10km
Today was the shortest day (of all hopefully). We started with heavy rain and walked only 10km...in the rain. But we had to stop because my potential tendonitis was hurting way to much and preventing me from even walking. I am very worried about it now. It is not looking good at all. I should probably have stopped for a couple days of rest sooner and not walked on for another 80km. It is still very windy and cold here, and they forecast rain all over the country for he next few days.
There is another girl who is injured with the same symptoms that I have and who is planning on taking a taxi to the next big town, 20km, to go to the health point there. I think I will join her. I don't want to let this situation jeopardize the rest of the Camino. Angelina might walk it and meet me there. Either way, I will make sure to walk the km later that I am skipping now. I am just worried about the cost of the medical visit. I don't have any insurance at all right now.
For now, my shoes and coat are drenched from the rain. Let them dry.
(I didn't have any rain pants or jacket so I made some up with two big trash bags I got from a bar in town.)
Tomorrow is another day.
Note: as Angelina and I are sitting on our bed, we can see the little alley outside where people walk in and out of the albergue, and also where people are drying their wet clothe on metal drying racks. We are so sadly surprised to see that already 7 people walked by and didn't even bother picking up the two shirts that fell on the floor in the middle of the alley to put them back up on the rack, but rather walk above them to go through the alley. I find that quite sad how some people can sometimes behave in such a selfish way...on this Camino especially, it should be the opposite. Human beings still have a very long way to go until they know how to live in society, applying selfless kindness, care, and generosity. Thank God a young girl from Quebec passed by and put them back on the rack. 1 out of 8!
Reflecting a bit on the Camino thus far...
It feels to me that the Camino is like a huge flow of positive energy where each peregrino is like an atom of that flow. Each peregrino, walking day after day, makes that energy flow through out the country. Most people on the Camino are behaving in a kind way, generous, serving, selfless, helpful, compassionate, forgiving and patient. Are they usually like that? I doubt it. But the Camino has this magical power of making the people change, at least for the duration of the Camino. The more people mix and interact with those positive and altruistic people, the more they tend to change as they realize that perhaps it is a sort of unwritten code of conduct of the Camino.
To me it could be paralleled to the actual life. This Camino is like life itself. The camino of life. From birth to death..or rather to the end goal...happiness and fulfillment perhaps. But like in life, we all start at some point, with different or similar equipment, physical conditions, problems, concerns, issues, and we all make decisions each and every day about what to do and where to go next. The sad thing is that the Camino has a much stronger and efficient impact on the peregrinos than life does on people.
That's why I really hope that this Camino has a more sustainable impact on the peregrinos, and on the world overall. Thousands of people do the Camino every year. They should spread that positive flow of energy as far as they can once their Camino is done and once they continue the rest of their life camino. This is the magic of the Camino, the potential power it has to change people and to change the world. Not the religious impact it can have. If religion is what started historically this Camino, it is clearly not what kept it going all these years. Aside from the churches we go through, there is absolutely no religious pressure coming anywhere. Ultimately, religious or not, we are all interconnected human beings, the behavior of one influences the lives of others. So I hope that as many people as possible can do this Camino to change their own camino and that of others.
Day 13: May 22nd, Hornillos to Castrojeriz...by taxi. 20km.
My leg is not feeling better. We decided that I will rest a few days. While I take the taxi with two other injured peregrinos, Angelina hit the road and walked the Camino. I was so proud of her. The weather was absolutely disgusting. Freezing cold, terrible winds and rain.
She made it with a smile. I was so impressed.
I saw a doctor that told me I have a tendinitis. Rest, gel, and ibuprofen. What a bummer. So another day, tomorrow, stuck here, delayed even more. We might not make it to Finisterre in the end. What a disappointment. But I guess life has its ways of teaching you its lessons. As Ohm used to say in Varanassi, no worry no hurry, no chicken no curry. Lol.
I hope that Angelina is not to mad at me for ruining the plan we made and slowing her down. At least the town is very nice and the albergue fantastic.
Day 14: May 23rd. Still in Castrojeriz. 0km.
This morning was ugly. Cold, wind and rain. But it quickly opened up...still freezing wind, but with bright sun at least.
Angelina and I both helped clean up the dorms after breakfast.
I will try to use the time to read up about west Africa a bit. :-)
Wow! I think that tonight we met the reason, or at least one of the reasons why I had to stay put a few days in this town. As we were having our casse croute diner on the pic nic table in front of our albergue, enjoying the last rays of sun of the day, this weird looking guy with his dog walks by and around our table. At first look, he seemed like a vagabond, or homeless guy wandering around with his stray dog. I had seen him from the window in the morning and knew he was actually a peregrino...but a special one, not one of those tourist-like peregrinos. So I start a conversation with him in Spanish. He answers in French. OK, why not. We chat for a bit, then he leaves, but as he leaves I ask him where he is from. Brazil, he replies. Ha! Within 5 seconds I make him sit down with us, and we (all three of us and in Portuguese) engage in the most interesting conversation about his story...and what an incredible story. I have walked only a few hundred a km this far and already feel the power of he Camino and have already learnt so much. This guy, Luis, has been walking 3,200km for the past 5 months...and has walked even more than that in Brazil...so you can imagine the stories he had to tell and the amount he has learnt about life in the process. Such a fascinating evening. And to top it all, he also happens to be a puppet master, and gave us a private little show for Angelina and I, right on our dinner table. To say that the evening was magical would be a huge understatement. Meeting Luis was an inspiration, and I will leave it at that...at least in this blog post.
Day 15: May 24th. Castrojeriz to Boadilla, 20km.
Not bad for a first day back on the trail. Leg is a bit sore, but OK. Boadilla is a hole. Nothing happening. We checked in at the Albergue municipal. Basic dorms with 12 beds cramped in a former school. Tiny space. Cold shower.
No supermarket, no kitchen. Three food options: the two albergues restaurants (expensive and crowed with foreigners) or the bar of our albergue. As authentic as can get. Only populated by a few local men (finally a proof that people live in these towns. Though in Castrojeriz that proof was all the oldies in line at the doctors office. Lol)
So we went for the bar option. Such an experience. The menu makes you feel like the food is authentic home made local food. But no...all frozen microwaved food. Lol yet, delicious! The beauty of European frozen foods.
We ate some raviolis and pasta there. Delicious meal, while finishing our rests of salmon pate, and observing the locals watch the soccer game on TV. I loved it.
Very early night, we wanted to hit the road early.
Off to sleep at 9pm...we actually were the last ones to get to bed. Wow! Those peregrinos...
Day 16: May 25th. From Boadilla to Carrion. 25km!
Today I am very upset and rather scandalized.
Is it because one of the old Korean couple from our dorm got one of his backpack stolen last night? No!
Is it that because of the backpack situation and me being the interpreter between the Korean man and the local police, we lost of lot of time this morning? No! I am actually glad I was there as this poor man would have had the hardest time of his life with no Spanish and only a couple of words in English.
No, it is because we passed by yet another church restoration project, of which the total cost amounted to close to half a million euros, and of which the financing came from the European union council. And the worst part was that there was a man begging for money sitting on the steps of the church.
Seriously!? Is spending half a million on restoring an old (yet beautiful) church going to do anything to help solve the current economic crisis in which Spain and Europe are right now?
We have passed by several of these historical heritage sites restoration projects since we started the Camino.
How scandalous and ridiculous and irrational is it that the State is spending so much money on such absolutely useless and unprofitable projects while unemployment is at record high and so many European countries are so indebted?!
Yes, those historical sites are beautiful and thanks to them we can have a better understanding of our ancestors and appreciate their beautiful artistic skills. But how logical is it to sacrifice our present and future for our past?! It makes no sense. All this money could be spent way better on projects to boost the economy and ensure a better future.
If people love so much these ancient historical buildings, why don't they just build more new ones? That way we could see them everywhere. If the cathedral of Notre Dame, or the Taj Mahal were replaced by identical buildings but only a few years old, would people cease to like them just because they are new? Are people really in awe because of the age of the building or because of its looks? I bet it is 85% looks and 15% age. Yet, nowadays, most housing constructions are rather ugly and aiming at making buildings look new. So quite contradictory from the behavior of praising so much antique buildings, no?
The one thing that we should learn from these historical structures is that the way they were built allowed them to last...for a very long time. But have we really learnt this? If so, why do we keep on building plywood cheap crappy unreliable unsustainable buildings that fly away or collapse at the first natural disaster? Because it costs more money? Really?! Well how about using all the money being thrown away for these historical useless buildings and sites and spend it on buildings and sites that will actually be used to put a solid roof above the heads of those in need???!!!
If the church is so keen on having its historical buildings be refitted and restored, then why doesn't it sell all the gold and silver contained in each current church and use that money?! Same goes for temples of any religion.
It is absolutely incredible how much money is wasted in religious infrastructure rather than in helping people find food and a roof.
When I see all the incredible cathedrals and religious ornaments in each church and imagine how much money all of thus much have cost, and when I see how many people are homeless or below the line of poverty, I am disgusted by how big a fraud religion is.
Everyone complains at how corrupt and fraud politics are but in all honesty, people should look at religion. They are by far the kings of fraud and corruption.
If religions were actually behaving according to what they are preaching, all religious temples would be nothing note than a bare building with only benches and an altar. No fancy useless decoration. No sculpture, no painting, no precious metals. Just a place where people can connect with their god. But that, according to the different religions should be your heart. So technically you don't even need a physical place.
Anyhow, it is strange how this trip for the past year or so has allowed me to see so much clearer about the topic of religion and how I don't get impressed at all by all these historical temples I visit, but rather frustrated.
Attending a few masses on the Camino, when it is time for an old lady or a young kid to go through each aisle with a basket and ask for a small donation from everyone present in the church, I often catch myself thinking and wanting to say out loud: really? If you really need money, why don't you sell a couple of those big ancient religious sculpture coated with thick gold paint, or one of the dozen silver chalices you have on these shelves?
It is sad to see that uneducated people (I use the term of uneducated as I sincerely believe that the people blindly following and accepting such behavior are lacking education) prioritize celebrating and maintaining memories a of the past rather than surviving in the present and building for the future. Sad indeed...
All my religious friends, forgive me for this post. I do not reject people of any faith, I just reject the ways that the different institutions of religion are behaving with the people who believe in them. I find it simply disrespectful. If religion simply applied principles of respect, love and compassion between all beings, things would be so much different. The main cause of all the conflicts that have happened and keep happening in the world are the differences between people, or rather the fact of pointing out these differences, when the simple fact of pointing out the similarities would solve everything. So believing in one religion means distinguishing from other religions, thus pointing out a difference. Again, I simply believe in the law of nature, human beings. This is the core similarity between us all. Looking out for similarities rather than differences, life would be so much better.
Oh, a few great surprises in today's albergue. Isabella, the Porto Rican girl from much earlier, reappeared. Still seriously injured and slightly lost about what to do about it. The 71 yr old German guy from Hornillos is here as well. Can't believe he made it that far. His ankle is now huge, but thank god he decided to take a break here.
The vibes in this albergue are special. At 5 pm we all sat down in the stairs and I produced ourselves and why we are doing the Camino. So many stories from so many countries. Fascinating and moving. A woman from Korea is doing it for the second time because she had such a fantastic time her first. A Spanish guy for the 6th because he still hasn't found what he is looking for...sharing and talking to all these people is so enriching and inspiring. That's what the camino is all about.
Unfortunately there is absolutely no way to understand it unless you are doing it. Oh, but wait, perhaps I am wrong. As I was telling this Portuguese man who lives in france, for me the Camino is like a miniature version of life. Take every experience that happens during the Camino and extrapolate it to your life. As you walk the Camino, it talks to you. As you walk through life, life talks to you as well. The big mistake we tend to all make is to not pay enough attention and actually listen to it. All the people in our life are like the pieces of a puzzle. But a puzzle with no set image. We are the one who decide what the image should be when we assemble the giant puzzle of all the people around us based on how we interact with these people and how we impact and are impacted by these people.
The more I interact with people on this camino, the more joy and fulfillment I find in helping those who are I need. Some are moved and touches by my help and selfless gestures and others are indifferent. But it doesn't matter. We are all human beings and we all have something whether skill, knowledge or anything else that others need or could use. So why not share it? Why hold something that could be so vital to someone else?
There was a funny moment this morning. As we were walking towards our next town, a few peregrinos on bicycles came riding in the opposite direction. And as they passed us, a peregrino from the small group ahead of us said out loud: "but they are going in the opposite direction of the Camino!". Right away I told him that there was no one way for the Camino, everyone is free to walk in whichever way they want. That's the problem in life...people think there is only ones way for things to be done and don't understand/accept when people do them another way. Let's hope the Camino changes these mentalities.
Ah, I love this Camino. It is so magical.
Tomorrow, if all goes well, and we walk about 26.8km, we should arrive at the midpoint of the Camino to get to Santiago. So much done, seen, and learnt, yet only half way through...incredible!...
Day 17: May 26th, from Carrion de Los Condes to Terradillos de Los Templarios. 27km!
Today I walked to much, my tendinitis is hurting quite a lot.
But the good news (if you look at the glass being half full) is that we are exactly half way through with the Camino to Santiago.
Therefore, I have decided to actually post the previous posts on my blog today rather than waiting until I get to Santiago.
As I am posting I would like to ask my mom to forgive Mr as I totally forgot that yesterday, Sunday 25th May was France Mothers Day. So Bonne Fete Maman! :-)
And also, a huge good luck to my Papa who is having a !major art exhibition tomorrow in Casablanca. Bonne chance Papa!!!
Voila! My next post will be after June 13th when we expect to arrive in Santiago. :-)
