I wouldn’t call it a routine day but all went as smoothly as could be expected. Up and out of Terridillos before 7 am. And into Bercianos Del Camino by 1:30 pm
Never saw the rain, just the puddles.
Continue reading‘Half way to Paradise, so near yet so far away…’
Thank you, Billy Fury for that 1961 golden oldie. (Recorded the day before I turned 11.)
Well, this golden oldie crossed the halfway mark on the Camino Frances this morning at 10:30 am, three hours after leaving Carrion De Los Condes.
Continue readingFirst day of rain, since the Pyrenees — and it mattered not a bit
Up before dawn in Fromista, a town with no there there, from what I could tell. Happy to move on.
Like a Peregrino pro, my bag was ready to lift and run with barely a zipper squeak to awaken my neighbors.
Open the front door and … FLASH! KABOOM! The sky erupted in fireworks and drizzle.
Back inside I was able to whip out my backpack condom for the first time. And it fit perfectly.
Of course, there was no more rain. Well hardly any. It began to come down just as I was steps from tonight’s lodging, the 90-bed convent Espíritu Santo in Carrion de Los Condos.
The sisters are marvelous, greeting each damp peregrino as if he or she were the first of the day. Many beds but spacious accommodations. And for your 10 euros, you get a Miraculous Conception medallion to wear around your neck.
My first coffee break came a half-hour after leaving Fromista. All over the cafe were placards with the number “58” written large.
“The number 58 looks like a spiderweb,” explained the owner. “They scare the flies away.”
Well, I’ll say this, there were no flies.
If you try it, let me know how well it works!
This walk was quick and easy, 13 miles over moderately flat country terrain. Mostly beside a highway, but with several villages and a riverwalk to add variety.
I’m going to fill in the rest as a picture essay because there is a Mass with Gregorian chant in an hour. My favorite music.
Leaving Población, we were given the option of a river trail or a walk beside the highway.
Duh.
I was with two of my favorite companions — Stephen from Ireland and Eduardo from Chile.
Stephen found a ring with three blue stones several days ago and he has been running around like it was a glass slipper, trying to find the owner.
Greta from Slovenia was sitting beside the river trail and …. The ring fit her perfectly!
Later, Greta told me the turquoise color of the stones matches the river Reka Soca, near which she used to live in Slovenia.
“I can’t wait to call my husband and tell him I am not engaged!” She added.
Leaving the river trail, we passed through some quiet and rather damp villages. There was a Celtic cross out in a field not far from the trail.
We stopped for a second cup of coffee at a cafe owned by a hilarious Brazilian gentleman. If you declined sugar with your coffee, he pulled out his blunderbuss pistol and said, “Are you sure you don’t want sugar??”
“Brazilians are the happiest people in all of South America,” said Eduardo as we left.
We took a short detour to visit the church of St. James in Villacazar. Foreboding on the outside, warmly inviting and modest inside.
Gonna need some new socks soon.
Taking responsibility for the choices you make
Walking the Camino Frances requires an endless number of choices that must be made every day.
They start with:
Continue readingWell, Bob, almost half-way, what have we learned from the Camino?
Today was only a 20-kilometer walk from Hornillos to Castrojeriz, but I still left long before sunrise.
There is something primal about walking alone in darkness, assisted only by a headlamp or the full moon.
Continue readingA chill in the air, a moving spiritual encounter, and all of Ireland seems to be walking the Camino
I’ve had a run of Irish companions on the Camino today (meaning the past 24 hours).
There is my perennial friend Eoghan (Owen) who I encounter every couple of days.
Last night in Burgos, Kate from Tasmania and Martin from Bristol (Eng.) joined me for some tapas before calling it a night.
Continue readingA layover day in Burgos leaves me exhausted
You’d think a day off would mean rest and relaxation. But no.
I spent nearly the entire morning walking about in the massive cathedral. It is not so much a place of worship as a … well … I don’t know what.
Continue readingThe Camino path plays mind games before yielding a most magnificent city
A mystical morning, on the path from little Ages to Burgos. The full moon was strong enough to cut through the gauzy morning haze.
No headlamp was needed, though Deny from Quebec and I walked right past the turn, both of us talking, neither of us looking for the yellow arrows in the woozy dawn light.
Continue readingWalking into the moon
My bunk-room mates settled the issue for me this morning in Belorado: Should I get up early for the 18 mile walk to Ages or start late and cope with the afternoon sun?
The rustling and zipping of bags, dropping of electronics in the dark, scurrying to the bathroom, the burst of red light from headlamps — it all began before 5 a.m.
That’s ok. I wasn’t sleeping much anyway.
Continue readingOn the Camino: The pause that refreshes
I pressed the pause button today.
I have walked 232.8 kilometers to date and I have 533.8 to go, but I am beginning to feel like the Camino Frances is walking me.
I am not walking the Camino.
Continue reading
