Returning

Last day; last night in Madrid.

The last few days in Madrid have been interesting.  LOTS of walking, wandering, getting lost, getting found.  Maneuvering around with minimal language skills.

As perplexed as I was to be done with the backpacking portion of the Camino, I have an inkling this portion of the journey was important as well.  Don't ask, I can't expand/expound on it yet.

My traveling companion is tired of me and I of her.

But, boy, I'm ready to return to "home".  I think.  I'm curious what reentry will be like.

Lots to process.  Action to take...

Here are just a few images from the last few days.  Thanks for following this blog.

You can't get there from here.

Hello all.

I'm certain the Madrid train station is akin to Dante's 5th circle of hell.

When last I wrote, I was in Lisbon.  A beautiful, busy, busy city.  At times evoking memories of three rung circuses.  And HOT. Unlike Spain, the siesta is not observed in Lisbon or Porto...maybe somewhere else?

I stayed at a hostel which, as it turns out, is right in the thick of thuings.  There are benefits to that, but if I ever go back, I'd look to stay farther out.  Too crazy.

In fact, I left a day earlier than originally planned.  I took a bus from Lisbon to Merida, a five hour ride through lovely countryside.  No major sign announced our entrance to Spain, but there was a noticeable change in the building styles and, of course, language on the sign.

I went to Merida because:

1.  It was directly east of Spain, en route to Madrid; and
2.  I read about the Roman ruins and aqueduct.

Other than that skimpy information, I had no idea what to expect.  Merida is SMALL.  Well, the old center is.  They have created a lovely walking Running path that pretty much circles the town and from which one buses and traipses over ancient Roman ruins.  And it's quiet.

The first afternoon/evening (I arrived during siesta, so l rested as mandated), I was initially dismayed and certain I had made a lame brained decision to go there.  But I soon realized it was just right.

Remember how this is a spiral journey...the learning continues.  This particular learning had to do with trusting my inner self and going with what feels right.  Merida was lovely and QUIET.

And unbeknownst to me it's on the via de la Plata route of the Camino Santiago - Seville to Santiago.  I discovered this.but stumbling on .
some of the tell tale signs, and then running into a number of peregrina   it was nice to run into them.

Just that, waiting for the train, I noticed a peregrina and stuck up conversation with her.  She is from Korea.  This year she did the el norte of the Camino. Last year she did the Frances (the route I did. The most popular route from the French side of the Pyrenees to Santiago.)  Then she rented an apartment in Merida for a couple of months. And is day tripping from there.

She doesn't speak Spanish.

A light bulb went off.

So, in my current approach to travel:  flying by the seat of my pants.  Sort of.  I identified places, booked lodgings and decided travel arrangements would be obvious.  (Discovering my arrogant American self.)

Turns out getting to Merida from Lisbon isn't  too hard...finding the bus and bus stall in Lisbon was.  But getting from Merida to Toledo turned out to be impossible.  Panic.  However, I needed only to take the early train to Madrid, and then another train to Toledo.

Easy.   Right?  Not that day.  No English speaking customer service staff to give directions; computer system running self service ticket machines was down; the hand processing ticket counter was. Byzantine in its operations...no English, no instructions in any v language; this coincided lunch hour and regardless of the fact there were well over 100 people standing awaiting their turn, staff went to lunch leaving two people to carry on.

However, fortunately, the computer system for the automated ticket machines came back up after an hour.  And I even found one with English translation!  Riding that stress wave, baby.

Got to Toledo by 4:30 and climbed the mountain of stairs leading to my room under the eaves (no hyperbole), and took a rest.

TTFN

When a terminus isn't.

Hello again.

I'm sitting in a quiet hostel and trying to be disciplined and write.  So many possible distractions: watching beautiful young girls pose and vamp for the camera, re-checking the backpack, working yet another crossword, checking FB...you know.

So here goes.

When I made plans for waking the Camino I had very little confidence in my ability to walk with that darned pack farther than 5k.  Remember, starting out slow and tapering off.  So with that in mind, 112km was going to take a LONG time.  22.5 days.  As it turned out, even though I WAS walking incredibly slowly, I walked that distance in 8 days.

Suddenly I was left with tons of time and no plans, and no changes could be made to my flight.  So, this is a learning journey, right?  Well, that's how I think of it.  So, since I'm here, perhaps no should go investigate and explore, do research about other places.

It was a quandary which I found hard to sort out. Immediately two people I met along the way, Erin and Trudi,  posed possible options.  Nice, huh?

I wound up heading to Porto with Trudi.  So much pleasure in meeting and making new friends.  Neither of us had been to Portugal.  We bumbled along together and while we were intrigued by how different Portugal is from Spain, we got to learn our common interests and insights.  The world is a small place.

So we showed up in Porto, neither of us know Portuguese.  We needed to learn thank you and a few other phrases and fast.  But first we needed to find lodging.  Sitting at a sidewalk cafe, taking off those heavy packs, sighing as we sat back and enjoyed our cold beverages, with the aid of Wi-Fi (pronounced we-fe) and my smart phone, I set to finding lodging.  Fun task with no knowledge of places.  Our guardian angels were working for us big time.  We booked beds at the Magnolia hostel.  Setting out liking for it was an urban Camino experience...lots of guessing, a little round about, but then we found it.  We'd kind of walked the long way around.

Anyway we found it, and what a gem!  The hostel was in a 300 year old bldg which the owners have been lovingly renovating.  It´s clean, it´s in keeping with the period, it´s simple.  But it´s the staff, John, Rose, and Adriana who are the heart of this, and they are fantastic!  We each had numerous chats with each of them.  We learned lots of interesting things we would not have otherwise learned.  So convivial and fun.

So the learning continues, just as the journey continues.  I have more to share, but I need to stop hogging this computer.  More to come.

TTFN

Terminus

Here are the infamous orange shoes - caked in mud from two days of tromping along the wet paths.  I donned them for the final 8km trek into Santiago this morning.

I opened the curtains in the room and saw to my delight that the sun was shining and the sky looked very promising.  No rain shield for the pack today.  It´s the small things.

I walked for several kilometers until I reached a somewhat famous spot, high on a hill overlooking Santiago, Monte do Gozo.  On clear days (of which this was not entirely, Santiago had low cloud cover) one can see the spires of the Cathedral.  Nevertheless, it was a beautiful spot and notable for punctuating the end of the trail.  Many smiles exuding relief to be found on faces of the many trekkers passing through.

Monte do Grozo, memorial commemorating visit of Pope John Paul II

Lots of bicyclists on the Camino.  Two fellows here this morning, visibly happy and relieved to be nearing Santiago.  I completely understand.

Among the several trekkers there, I spotted the young couple pushing the stroller with their infant son.  I had seen them several days before on the trail, in the rain, only then they were draped in ponchos.  Today I got to see them without their gear.  They were quite happy to be nearing the end.  They had started at SJPP, on the French side of the Pyrenees.  What an undertaking.

As I proceed down the steep trail the last 4.7 kilometers into Santiago, I reflect on the multitude of thoughts and insights, when all of a sudden I hear from behind me:  "Is that Peggy?"  Few people call me Peggy - I prefer not to be called that.  However, a small group of Australian women with whom I had dinner one evening call me Peggy.  I´ve chosen to let them since Australians seem to add the -y /-ee ending to almost everything.  So...  In any event, I turned around to discover the tiny woman, Claire, from Gold Coast Australia.

She was delighted to find me.  We had thought our paths would intersect yesterday, but I walked farther than anyone thought I would.  I had told them to look for my orange shoes.  Sure enough, that was what Claire spotted.  And I must say, I have not seen another pair of orange shoes on the Camino.  It pays to be an oddball.

So Claire and I walked in to Santiago together. And for the first time, the signs of the trail became much more difficult to find - too much urban distraction.

We made our way to the Pilgrim Center - how many cities can claim to have one of them?  After standing in line which resembled a small United Nations, I received my certificate of completing the Camino, the Compostela, and a Distance Credential.  There you have it, I´m legitimate.  It´s not why I did it, but it´s nice to look at.  And who is in line ahead of me but that couple with the infant son in the stroller.  That´s how so many experiences have been:  we meet, depart only to run into each other once again.  Sweet.  Not necessarily that we chat, socialize or anything in depth - but with that couple I had specifically asked after the baby and the mother had chatted briefly with me as I passed.  Then when we spotted each other in the line, we shared a momentary spark of recognition.  Sweet.  The baby´s name, by the way, is Kaspar.  He was very happy.

There are so many things that I´ve not mentioned but have been quite inspirational or mind boggling, but then I go to write this and have completely forgotten these things.  There was the blind woman and her companion merrily walking and singing along the path.  The companion leading with the blind woman pulling a little cart behind.  Stunning.  This path is NOT easy in the best of situations.  Then there was an older gentleman pushing a cart with his pack.  Still I cannot imagine that.  And he was moving as if there wasn´t a care in the world weighing him down.  Then there was the group of adults with obvious cognitive impairments being shepherded by a couple of counselors, through the driving rain, along this trail in the middle of nowhere - they were from a program in Madrid.  And the group of praying nuns, singing out the prayers in response to the leader.

Interesting and remarkable.  That´s just some of the things.  I´m happy to have made the friends I´ve made.  We have shared some very interesting and deep thoughts and perspectives.

That´s it for now - wifi is not working at the hotel I´m staying at, so I cannot upload more pictures until I can connect via my phone.

Until later...thanks for joining me on this path.

What's the rush? Slow down.

When I woke I heard this question: What's the rush?  After two days of

long hours and tough routes, I realized I really needn't push so hard.

The morning's walk was a lovely, quiet amble.  I hardly needed the poles.  The air was cool and breezy.  Lovely.

I've not been a person greatly attracted to poetry let alone given to crafting it, but there I was with lines popping into my head:

The leaves dancing in the breeze, singing come, come.

The aromatic eucalyptus celebrate meditative paths.

And

Crunch, crunch the Orange shoes traveling the path.

I told you I'm not a poet, but these weren't my designs, they came to me whole.  Clearly my attention is required.

I started this on Wednesday and didn't finish, so here I continue.

If I were a real power house, I would be in Santiago after tomorrow.  I'm not, so most likely Sunday.

What fool said there were no more ascents or descents?  There have been and will continue to be until Santiago.  Just not as dreadful as first few days.

 Lovely woman and her daughter from Ireland,( County Clare) -chatted me up at lunch yesterday. So many lovely folks.   However...

 I had intended on staying at that Albergue for the night (upper bunk) but the gentleman on the lower bunk was really quite unpleasant and after much reflection I decided to push on another 4km.   And hope f or a bottom bunk.

I'm pleased that walking isn't as hard as it was in the beginning.  I AM SLOW.

 

Well, I knew my pace was slow, and it doesn't matter because it's what this body can do.

Set off this morning at 6:30. Long way to walk...for me.  And it rained for four hours straight.  I was grateful to be from the PNW.  The only real drawback was my glasses steaming up.


OK the photos inserted up above and I can't seem to get them to move around.  I'm tired, sorry.  I'm trying to take it moment by moment but now I'm ready to be done.  Lots of people on the trail today and yesterday...Lots of chatter.

I chatted with a fellow from Michigan last night.  He started at the starting point in France, just across the Pyrenees.  He was eager to soak to an American.  Grumpy is an adjective I'd use to describe him.  But he has walked almost 700 km.  So I suppose he's entitled.  I was just kind of surprised by his irritation.

Anyway, that's it for now.  No brilliant insights.  I keep telling folks, when asked my motivation for waking, that I need to re set my life.  Here's pRaying, fervently that that is what comes of this.

Thanks for your love and support.

TTFN

Relief

Spotty connectivity and overwhelming exhaustion have meant I haven't written a new post on the blog.  I am presently in Melide, about 50  km(?) from Santiago.  The weather has changed and is much quicker and cooler.  We had some light rain yesterday; it looks like rain tomorrow.

From Mograde I walked to Portomarin, 10km.  The walk was lovely, rolling trail though woods, farmland and little hamlets.  Setting of before the sun was fully up, I walked for several km until a lovely little albergue and cafe.  I stopped in for the requisite stamp on the Camino "passport," and for breakfast.  Sucha charming quiet place, again, in the middle of no place.  Three lovely young girls were finishing up their coffee con leches, toast, and orange juice (a standard on the Camino).  We chatted and recognized we were all Americans:  They from Wheaton college.  They were surprised I knew of it.  We shared motivations for doing the Camino.  They were surprised I was doing it solo.  Lovely girls, charming, and effusive supportive of this clearly old lady.doing this.  They invited me to join them, so nice.  I explained I was walking far too slowly, but thank you.

What I didn't say was I am pretty much enjoying my quiet time and I don't think it would be the same with waking partners.

Passing through a little hamlet Saturday morning, clearly life is slower and quieter...I walked by a house with a little boy hanging over the stone fence.  He happily said hello and I responded.  A charming little interaction.

I came upon Portomarin in late morning and stopped for the day at a private albergue.  The room had a line of 12 bunk beds, head to foot.  Nice and clean, and quiet, until the Italian cyclists.  :-)

I met and chatted with a lovely couple from Donegal.  Just the nicest folks.  We all went to bed early...well, not the Italian cyclists. :-) So many interesting approaches to life.

Up and off the next morning at 6:30, way before the sun came up.

 Good thing too, who knew it was going to be a day of unrelenting ascents and no source of shade.

 This was a pretty, but empty trail for the most part, until Gonzar, about 6 or 7 km along.  Slogging up that slope, pausing every 40 steps and catching my breath, two women from Texas came up from behind me and we chatted our way up to the cafe, along with several dozen other folks.  Brenda and Beth, niece and aunt, but pretty much the same age.  Nice women.  We shared biographic information and motivation f or waking the Camino.  We spent maybe 30 minutes together but boy we got straight to the heart of the matter. Once finished, they were off enthusiastically striking up again.

I pulled on my pack again and recommenced slogging.  It was a slow, slow day, sweating buckets.  And when I didn't think I could do one more km, out of nowhere there was a little cafe and alongside it a municipal albergue.  Just in time for it to.open at 1:00.

Here at the same time were three women: Majbrit of Denmark, Erin of Canada, and Annika of Germany.  We struck up conversation, aged to share the laundry facilities, formed a team for the next few hours.  Lovely women with interesting things to share.

This Albergue accommodated 30 people, and it filed up fairly rapidly.  I'm glad we were the first registered...it's all about access to resources.

Early the next morning we were on our ways, each with a different destination and pace.  I had a great day walking.  I was surprised that I was going to make it in too Palas de Rei, a much greater distance than I anticipated.

Along the way, I met and chatted with an older woman identifying herself as being from Allemagne.  However, her English was much better than my German, so we had a sweet chat until I could no longer keep her pace.

It's these drive by conversations that are so amazingly rewarding.  No names, no information, just some lovely kind of intimate exchange.

I hobbled into Palas de Rei, found a room for the night and went out to find food.  I walked  into a cafe and who do I find but Majbrit.  So lovely to run into someone and continue the conversations previously started.

On the trail this morning, heading to Melide, an ambitious 15 km, walking along in my quiet reverie when someone says my name and it's Erin.  Again, lovely to meet up this new friend.  Of course, my pace is slower than hers, but the connection was great for the time it lasted.

As we walk, we constantly are passing or being passed by many people.  (Let's be serious, it's me who's being passed.)  Most of the time folks acknowledge you with a hello, a Buenas Dias, Hola, bonjour or Buen Camino.  There are fewer and fewer stretches of solitude now.  I guess I really mean emptiness, not solitude.

The last 3km today we're quite rough, and I guess I must have looked the part.  Several people were kind enough to ask if  I was doing okay.

So kind to be seen and acknowledged.  And I'm grateful that my body seems to be holding up just fine.  I look a mess when I finish for the day, but I make it to the destination.  I may be hobbling, but I do make it.

So much to reflect on.  Grateful for the love and support of many.

TTFN

What´s worse than going uphill? Downhill.

Sparkling water from Galicia

10k, that´s how far I got today.  And, boy, howdy, the albergue where I´m staying (which is the only thing out in the middle of nothing but farm lands) came along just when I was certain I would not be able to take one more step.  In fact, I was praying mighty hard for the building around the curve to be an albergue and not a private residence.  I´m not sure what I would have done, I´m thinking it might have involved crying.

I know I said my pace would be slow, but I had NO idea!  Let´s just say it took the better part of the day to trudge the 10k.  I have not calculated the elevation gain, but it was a slow and steady uphill interspersed with a small number of downhills.  I had envisioned myself going a turtle´s pace; however, I think it´s more likely a SNAIL´s pace.  

So much time to spend thinking about anything, but to be honest, I spent the majority of the time concentrating on taking the next step, and counting those steps until I let myself stop and stand still for a brief moment.  This went on for five and a half hours.  You do the math.  The only record I´m establishing is that for being the slowest.  But I am carrying that pack, and even though I was trying to make it as light as possible, it´s still heavy.  

I had much opportunity to rue carrying that pack as many tens of people passed me by carrying only a little ditty bag, a small daypack, or nothing at all!  To them, I shouted in my mind, Show Off!  Of course, I have no earthly idea what the heck their story was.  Certainly a number of them were members of tour groups with luggage transport and other arrangements being made.  It still rankled to see those somewhat elderly folks flying by merrily shouting to me: Bonjour!  Rapidly disappearing down the trail as I went back to counting my steps and concentrating on right placement of my walking sticks.  (A bit of tongue in cheek here, just in case anyone is unable to discern that...)

Everyone in the Camino Pilgrim online group keeps saying the Camino will provide.  However, there has been quite a bit of hysteria in shares about availability of rooms/beds along the Camino since it´s become so popular.  (A little bitterness expressed by the veterans, it seems ... always able to find collectives where the newbies are scorned by the veterans.)  Anyway, I was wondering how it would play out since I didn´t make prior reservations - and good thing, too, because how could I calculate my pace correctly in Seattle?  I keep digressing, sorry.  Anyway, the albergue in Sarria last night, had two rooms of bunks, one with eight bunks, the other with 12.  So of the 20 bunks available, only 5 were taken.  So, as in many situations, the hysteria might have been unnecessary.

I should tell you that while last night´s albergue itself was a nice quiet place, that bunk room rocked with the sound of a thousand buzz saws!  We all snored.  The difference among the snorers was very interesting.  Even though I had ear plugs in, it was quite intense.  Although I immediately went to embarrassment, I had to remind myself that everyone else snored as well.  Working on that care of self thing.

Tonight I will be in a room by myself as all the beds in the bunk room were taken and I just could not walk another step let alone another couple of kilometers to get to another albergue.  I figure it´s another way the universe is taking care of me:  I´ll certainly sleep better given I´ll be the only occupant, and I´ve become accustomed to my snoring.  =)

I have some lovely photos, but I can´t upload them from this computer, and there is no wifi, so it´s a project for a future date.

TTFN