A Few Days Without Internet

A conglomerate set of days and thoughts

Ponferrada municipal albergue. No internet. Oh well. 

Oct 5 Sunday. A nice kitchen and Sunday. Again. This means groceries. 

 O'Cebreiro,pronounced oh-thay-bray-air-oh

October 6. 

One heck of a climb into the Provence  of Galacia today. Rain, wind and wanting to make time. Up to 1300 meters in one pass. This was the only time we've skipped showers after walking and just jumped into our sleeping  bags to warm up. 

Thatched roofs. This one was right next to our albergue. 

Triacastela,

Oct 7. Tuesday

There is something to be said for not having internet for a few days. I've skipped writing and enjoyed the people around us. We entered into the mystical, magical area of Galicia yesterday. It was some serious uphill yesterday in rain. Our albergue was a municipal, with 82 beds in our dormitory room. We supped at a the only local place and hit the sleeping bags, as it was very cold. 

While we had some wine, orujo (a local liquor, made from grape skins, similar to cognac), bread and cheese, we finally met one of the other residents of Hawaii that we have been hearing about. Oddly enough, he is originally from Lynden WA. Small world. He is walking with his brother and sister in law. Best guess on age is early 70s. I chuckled myself to sleep listening to a podcast of 'Wait wait, Don't Tell Me' that was taped at the Paramount in Seattle. Rick Steve's was the 'not my job' celebrity. It was such a full dorm room that I just hunkered down in the bag, put a scarf over my eyes and zoned out. 

What goes up, must come down. We spent today going downhill, with only a couple of mountain passes to climb up. Downhill is so much harder on our shins, knees and hips, that we progress slowly. Today was a 21 km day. We are taking advantage of our relative well being and getting some miles behind us. Again, we are in a municipal albergue that have rooms and bathrooms. No kitchen. Rooms of two bunk sets though. Much more civilized. We share a room with a couple of power hikers from Brazil.

We walked in rain today and yesterday, but it wasn't a constant downpour. Both days were like Seattle misty rain, with some deluges interspersed. 

We are both ready to get home. Santiago is about 130 km away. We hope our bodies hold up and that we get there in a week. When we finally go somewhere with internet, I'll post to the blog and start looking for return tickets. I REALLY want to get home in time to see the Palace production of La Cage aux Follies. 

Galacia is a beautiful region that reminds me of the Seattle area. Rain, green, dairy cattle, and everywhere beauty surrounds us.

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Oct 9 Thursday 

Mercadorio albergue. Nothing else - just an albergue. 

What day is this? John says today marks our 40th day. Do the math, and he's right. We have lost track of days and the 'real world' recently, because we've been without internet connection.

We've made some good time in the past days. Our bodies are not healing, but accepting that we are nearing our goal and will get help, once we return home. We spent a number of nights in municipal albergues and are now getting into an area that the private albergues are more plentiful and better suited for us.

The Galacias are spectacularly beautiful. We crossed over another mountain range on Tuesday, in the rain. Rain has been our companion for a few days, but the forecast looks good for walking without liquid sunshine for the next two couple of days. From here on out, we must have two stamps daily on our credentials. Starting in Sarria yesterday, we've been joined by 100km Compostella seekers. To get the Compostella, one must travel, by foot, at least 100km to Santiago. Folks with new, clean shoes and first time injuries as they attempt a climb are wishing us buen Camino. I had a long talk yesterday with a young woman we've been meeting at various places along the way about how difficult it is to not feel a bit judgmental about these fresh new walkers. Each person gets from the Camino what they give. They have only the time, inclination or desire to do the least amount necessary. We've gained wisdom from the Camino, along with our share of aches and blisters. It not possible to have a such a deep experience without having put in our time and heart.

We continue to be blessed by wonderful folks, amazing countryside and good health. Tonight we shared dinner with two women from Colorado and had a delightful time. One, and perhaps both, will, be out to visit us in Hawaii. 

We walked into a small chapel and I was taken by this baptismal font. 

It's cold outside, in this tiny berg, but some lower bunk snuggling and getting toasty make me ready for my upper bunk.

When I have internet again, I'll post a couple of entries and a photo montage of our last few days. We feel we will be in Santiago on Wednesday morning.

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Saturday. O Cero

Averaging 19 km daily

Only 100 km to go. 

Last night we were in Ventas De Naron at the albergue Casa Molar. 

Yeaterday morning, as we were passing out of the rather large town of Portomarin, we had the moment of sweet revenge. Well, perhaps not revenge. Comeuppance is a better word. 

After weeks of dodging groups bicyclists and witnessing their arrogant attitudes, yesterday morning, as a group went whizzing by, one man got his comeuppance. In the early morning fog and near darkness outside the town of Portomarin, John had to jump aside to keep from being hit by a group of four cyclists. Right after the group passed, we heard a POP. It was the distinct sound of a tire popping. We happened to be in a group about ten pilgrims...and there were chuckles and smiles among us all. I know from many conversations with other walkers that bicyclist are universally disliked on the Camino. The main reason is the extreme arrogance and inconsideration. We've been fortunate enough to meet a few cyclists who are not like that. 

Caldo Gallica. That is the soup in our bowls each night. The temperatures during the day are in the mid 50s. That's fine for for walking, but our rooms are very cold. As soon as we shower, we are honkering down into our sleeping bags to get warm. After warming up, I typically head for the communal area of the albergue in hopes of getting some internet. Sometimes there is reliable internet, but lately, it's been hard to get a good connection. Today the señora told me there is no pass code for the internet. Great. But while I sit in the bar, I find absolutely no connection. 

When there is a good connection, I'm working on getting flights home. We plan to be in Santiago in Tuesday afternoon, get our Compostella, get a room for some sleep and begin the journey home on Wednesday.

We shared our dinner time with two men from St John's NF. One of them, Hissan, is originally from Teran and came to the US over 40 years ago to study. When I asked him where he went to school, I got a big surprise. He went to College of Emporia, where my brother Rick went. They may have been there at the same time, but I think not, as Hissan is a bit older than Rick. 

Remember Frau Brucher, from Young Frankenstein? She is the owner of our freezing cold Hostal. But she doesn't speak German. Just the attitude. Forgive me, fare reader. I'm cold. I'm tired. And she won't turn on the heat. Oh well. We had some rabbit stew at a different Hostal. Off in a hurry tomorrow morning. Maybe we'll even find some wifi.

Missing picture

The picture I had of my leave at La Cruz de Ferro didn't make it to the blog. 

Short post. 

Poles, shell, Mom and Daddy. 

Listen With Your Heart

El Ganso/Rabanal/Foncebadon

Oct 3. 11.5 km. Mostly uphill

After leaving our albergue in El Ganso, we were greeted with a path that more closely resembled a ditch and were grateful that there was no rain...again. The ditch gave way to asphalt for a few miles and eventually to the uphill climb through a riverbed.

Again, we are so very blessed to have the weather we've had. Very little rain is not the normal weather for this area during late summer and early autumn. 

The riverbed walk was a wonderful dance with slate and rocks. There was a fence that skirted the riverbed path for nearly two miles, that was covered with crosses of all sorts.

Fancy crosses or just two sticks, I'm sure each one had a story to go with it. 

 As we climbed on our path today, we were surrounded by scrub oak, which had been washed clean with rains a week ago. In the distance, beyond the scrub oak, I could hear the cowbells in the fields and the cattle lowing.

The terrain has changed today. Two days ago, we walked in wheat, corn and barley fields.

Today we walked into short pines and a gain elevation of 500 meters. We are now at about 1200 meters elevation. The weather is significantly colder and we are grateful for the hot water in showers. While the mornings are cold, the sun breaks out and by 9 AM we are usually shedding our hats and jackets.

We made a rest stop in a field filled with little purple flowers. They look like crocuses, but they have no green base. The field was wild with them and the morning sun made them sing with color.

John did great with the kinetic tape on his shins through it.  I'm so glad that John's leg is better. He had some strange pooling of blood above his sock line today that was quite painful. After some thought he remembered that it's been a few weeks since he's had aspirin. We will get some in the next town that has a farmicia. Other than that, he is doing fine.

Tomorrow we will go to Cruz Farro, a rather sacred place on the Camino.

I walked the 2 km up to it today from our albergue while John rested. It isn't much to look at, but it has a strong emotional pull. At 4934 feet above sea level, it is an iron cross on top of a pole, that has become an abiding symbol for those who walk the Camino. Centuries of worries, loves and memories are piled around this simple cross. It was such a different feel, waking on the path with no backpack. I had a skirt, jacket and hiking boots. The weather and mountain views were spectacular.

When I returned from my stroll up the mountain, I took some pictures of this incredibly old village. It once served as an important way station for pilgrims, but fell into disuse during the industrial revolution when there were few and fewer people walking the Camino.

Domincan run albergue 

The goat gets plenty of attention

Crunbled ruins dating back nearly 1000 years. 

Foncebadon has had a resurgence with more and more people taking the time to walk. 

We had dinner at an incredible medieval style restaurant that was recommended to us by a Belgian when were were in Carrion. The veal and ribs were delicious and there was enough to make our lunch for tomorrow. 

Our walk tomorrow has some very steep declines, which are hard on my knee and John's calves. We plan for only 12 km. If we feel good, we will go on another 5 km to the next albergue. At this point, we are just listening to our bodies and learning to stop when we need to.

Listen with your heart, not your ego. My saying for the day.

Meat Pie and Attitude

Astorga/Murias de Rechivaldo/Santa Catalina/El Ganso

Oct 2. 15 km

We left Astorga at 7:10 AM. It was cold and I believe it's only going to get colder in the mornings as the time goes on. We got to Murias de Rechivaldo a couple of hours later and were treated to a wonderful coffee break. At Meson El Llar, we had a wonderful tortilla, stuffed with fresh tomato,melt use and other veggies. We also got a slice of meat pie to have for dinner. The woman running the place is a firecracker. She shouted at one man for wearing his backpack inside her shop, another for using her outdoor tables and not buying food.

Character times ten, but I kissed her when we left.

Again we were between large groups of people, making our way at a leisurely pace. There are more walkers, due to so many paths coming together in Astorga, but this time of year is bringing fewer and fewer walkers.

We passed sheep paddocks and watched our terrain change. Our albergue was in the small town of El Ganso. It was a nice, newer place, with a beautiful man taking care of it. The bunk beds were the squeakiest beds I've ever heard. One fellow, from Seattle/Ballard, said the squeak woke him when he was just running over. 

I helped John strap on the kinetic tape and we hope for the best. The challenge will be to keep it on overnight.

Our photo montage of the day...

A way marker on our walk. 

Santa Catalina has business from walkers, bicyclists and pilgrims. 

A typical scene of drying laundry, in our albergue for the evening. 

La Cruz de Ferro

Oct 4, 2014

Cruz De Ferro 

Oct 4, 2014

I'm lying in bed.  The wind is blowing and it's cold outside. John is in the bunk below me, snoring away. Even though we should be getting going (it's 6:15 AM) I let him sleep.  Today will be emotional for both of us. That little iron cross, on top of a big pole, symbolizes the opportunity to move on. Leave worries behind. 

My life has been blessed. There were deaths that tore my soul.  Today I leave something from my heart at Cruz de Ferro, as a opportunity to truly move on. With forgiveness. With blessings. With prayers. 

For the last 354 miles I've had a shell from Hat Island tied to my walking stick. The rhythmic clack of the shell has been a comfort, and today I will leave that shell at La Cruz de Ferro. My shell represents to me a previous life. My beloved husband, Scott, was the heart of Hat Island for me. He was the heart of my love and of our children. With that shell, I will not leave the love we shared at the top of a mountain, but I will continue move on. 

I've also been carrying one of the most beautiful pictures of my parents, taken only a few years before Daddy died. They were posing for their church directory and the photographer caught them on film, while they were goofing off. I miss them both so much and am so grateful for the life and love they gave me. We don't get to choose the family we are born into, and I was blessed when God plopped me into the Starkeys. 

My prayers today will be for my Simmons family; James, Woody, Rick, MaryAnn, Uncle Buddy. My prayers today will be for the Starkey family; Dee and Linda, Rick and Katie, Ed, Sami, Kristen. 

John just tapped me. He is ready to prepare for our morning. I'll continue my thoughts later today. 

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It's good to look back. See the path we have been on. See our mistakes. See our failures. See our joys. See our fears. From looking back we can learn. That is what today is. A day of blessings, heart felt thanks and an opportunity to thank God. 

I carry three other items on this journey that stay with me. Grandma Starkey's wedding band has been on my left hand since we left home. The rosary I bought when I was on a trip to Copper Canyon in Mexico with Aunt Pam and Uncle Dean. A scarf, given to me by Lisa Zukaitis. All of these people have deeply touched my life. Again, I feel blessed. All of these people were in my prayers today too. 

Fruit Stands, Calves and concrete

Vallar de Orbigo/Astorga

Oct 01. 15 km

John probably overexerted today, but I think he was determined to get to Astorga. We had a leisurely time in the morning and didn't head out until just before 8 AM. The sky was clear and star filled, but the weather wasn't as cold as it has been in the previous mornings. Never the less, we had on gloves and fleeces when we left our albergue.

A few kilometers into our morning, we crossed a dairy farm as part of the path. I'm such a sucker for calves, and there were plenty of them there. We were passed by tractors today on our mostly clay and rock road, as they headed to the fields to plow. . What a reliefs hose clay roads were for John's tendinitis. Shortly after the farm, we were greeted by an elderly man who was out for his morning walk.

He stopped by this funny pilgrim homage and was talking up a storm with me. I sure wish I knew what he was saying, as I'm sure it would have been totally entertaining. We bid one another adios and he wished me a buen Camino.

John and I walked side by side for parts of the day, and I walked my own pace for other parts. He is forced to keep his pace slow and it almost pains me to go that slow. So I'll forge on ahead and either circle back to him or wait at a nice bit of shade, a viewpoint or a hilltop.

At a the top of a rather long climb up a hill, we encountered a stand of fruit, breads and juices, being offered by a man who was running a volunteer relief stop.

The stand was a welcome site and we met with walkers from all over.

Ben, from Montreal, seems to be on the same slow pace we are as we have run to him numerous times during the past few days. I had to get a photo of him as we were getting some fruit. John took the time to to put more Voltarin on his shins. After a few minutes, we took off, down the hill.

My darling was struggling more than he should have. But he's stubborn and was determined to get to the albergue in Astorga.

As we crested to the last hill top outside of Astorga, we came to a large cement cross, a park in the making and a guitar player earning some euros from the passing walkers. We enjoyed a few minutes in the shade, and then took off of the final descent into the town. It was mostly concrete and difficult walking for John. We walked past warehouses, with corn fields behind them, over a train track, across another bridge and finally, up the the last hill to get to the albergue.

The very large (holds 162 beds) is well laid out and we ended up in a room with only two sets of bunk beds. We shared the room with two young German women. We decided to cook some dinner in the small kitchen but completely forgot about the mad house in large albergues at dinner time. John got completely frustrated, partly because his legs hurt so much. I ended up with a lentil, veggie and chorizo stew, salad and bread. A man who played guitar a few nights back at Jesus' house, made some pasta. But we had to wiggle around up to 15 people, jostling for burners, pans and places to work. I've promised John that I'll stop cooking in the big albergues. We met a delightful woman from Denver, Maggie, who brought bread and wine. She said she will look us up in couchsurfing...I hope so. She was a great dinner companion.

I did a bit of cleanup on John's blisters. The surface was dry so we decided it was It time to cut the outer layer. It took some time, but the blisters look like baby skin now. We will put Compeed on the new skin and see how it does. The blisters have been placed on the less intense list of medical things for John. The shin splints are getting better, but not healed. When we purchased some warm stocking caps at a sporting good store, John found some kinesics wraps,that we will try tomorrow.

I have been discovering, more and more, that my language has changed, fare readers, when I refer to the people who are on the quest to Santiago. It has become evident that most do the people walking to Santiago are, indeed, not pilgrims. They have a physical accomplishment to make, a need to be alone, want to meet new people, need an adventure or any other of a myriad of reasons to walk the Camino. I'm finding very few people who are here on a quest for a greater understanding of God, or of His wishes for us. Hence, I've begun calling these Camino folks walkers, not pilgrims.  So be it. It's the Camino and everyone have their own needs. 

What Now? Another Surprise Body Surprise

Villar de Mazarife/Villavante/Hospital de Orbigo/Villares de Orbigo

Sept 30. 18 km

We continue on a path of small villages that are so accustomed to having and helping pilgrims that we feel welcomed in each one. Our morning stroll started on asphalt-yucko. No traffic, but the dreaded asphalt is hard on our bodies, especially after being spoiled by clay paths yesterday. After about an hour, the asphalt gave way to clay and rocks. The skies were partly cloudy and prevented the night to get too cold. 

We didn't stop for food, as we started the day with some yogurt, breakfast bars and coffee at Casa de Jesus.

Big bushes of rose hips have been our constant companion during the past number of weeks. They look like gigantic berries, brilliantly reflecting the sunshine that fall on them.

The autumn colors are beginning to become more evident. The beauty of the sunshine on the leaves was just too much of a temptation...I had to capture it.

We had a treacherous highway crossing before coming to an ancient Roman bridge, Puente Orbigo. The bridge was beautiful and is on the site of some famous jousting that helped settle who was the ruler...for that century. I've been amazed at how many conquerors have taken Spain and then been taken themselves.

The bridge is also the where the knight who Don Quixote was fashioned after did his deed of saving his valor. 

We stopped briefly in Villavante to review our map. As we walked on, John's shin splints flared up. the pain grew worse and worse as we continued. By the time we reached Vallares de Orbigo, he was in such pain that he could barely walk. Ibuprofen, Voltarin, ice and leg up. He napped all afternoon. All day he said he would be able to make it to Astorga tomorrow, about 15 km further down the road. Even though he is a bit better, I was able to convince him that there are options and that we can always stop with less kilometers being walked for the day. We'll see how it goes...

Our walk into Viallares de Orbigo was lines with beautidul trees.  The village is being renovated, like so many others along thee way. 

Our hospitera was from Belgium and has been running this really wonderful albergue for only three weeks. She made us dinner and breakfast.

With only eight pilgrims, I know we are still on the path less traveled. 

As fall is fast approaching, we will be sure to get some warm hats tomorrow. This evening we discussed the possibility of only going as far as Cruce del Ferro. We can return to finish another year. John is hurting so. I've told him that he has another 25 years of walking. It actually selfish if me...I don't want to have to push the wheelchair!