October 1, 2013. Midterm Report

Memorials along The Way. We see many of these pictures, crosses and memories of loved ones of people who have walked the Camino but have died. It's very touching.  

Early morning dew

We see pilgrims with HUGE backpacks on the trail. I don't know how they do it!  I wanted to give them my taxis service card, but I couldn't catch up to them. 

Sam and I are very academic, we decided to post a midterm report card...self assessment. 

Mary's Midterm Pilgrim Report Card:

Works & Plays Well with Others:          A-

Physical Education.                             C

Home Economics. (Bunk area tidy)      A

Reflections (needs improvement)         C-

European History (I read all signs).       B

World Religions (needs improvement)  C

Pilgrim Code & Ethics                          B

Self Discovery 101                               B-

Now that I have discovered how to survive as a Pilgrim on the Camino, I'm hoping that I can devote more time to reflection and answering the question of "Why am I here"  "Is this just a very long walk or a pilgrimage" _____________________________

Day 21 - El Ganso - Mid Term Report

Today is the half way point in our journey time wise.  We have walked 21 days in September since leaving St Jean Pied de Port on Sept 10.  We have a flight booked from Santiago to Madrid on October 22 so we have 21 days in October available to walk.  We walked 9 miles today in 4 hours bringing our total miles walked to 160.  We also passed the halfway point in distance today since we have 155 miles to go to reach Santiago!

We have planned our remaining itinerary for the next three weeks.  It includes 16 days of walking, 3 days for rest and 2 spare days.  We have been told that the Camino will get more crowded the last 70 miles (past Sarria) since that is the minimum distance one can walk and still earn your compostela or certificate of completion for the journey.

Arriving in El Ganzo

Foggy morning on trail

This is basically an abandoned village that was active during Medieval times because of the pilgrims.  Pretty dumpy town. 

Hmmmm...see what I mean.  

Because we were the first to arrive to the hostel today, we got the 'honeymoon suite'. It's a double bed under the metal steps just off to the side of 10 bunk beds within the dormitory. There are 18 bunk beds upstairs. When we chose this bed, We forgot to consider the noise of all these people hoofing it up the stairs. It sounds like steel drums overhead. Lights are turned off at 10:00 pm, so hopefully it will be quiet. 

Day #20: more pictures.

Bell tower on small church across from hostel

Front of hostel

Friendly French woman pulling her pack on the Camino. I stopped to chat with her. She is camping along the Way with her husband so she has more gear than most pilgrims. It seems difficult to drag that thing over these rocky hilly roads. 

View of Astorga as we approach the city limits. 

Bell ringers in the town square. 

Day #20. Astorga

Entry way into Astorga. 

We walked 10.4 miles in 5 hours today. We have walked a total of 151 miles in 16 days on the Camino so far. We arrived at the hostel at 1:00pm and got a first-come-first-serve PRIVATE room for 5€. It costs 5€ each whether you   get a private room or dormitory with 20 people stacked together.  Jade took a cab.

 I'm sore. Sam is fine. Sam is always fine. Usually Sam walks the 8-11 miles with me dragging ass behind him, gets into the hostel, drops his pack, takes a shower and says,

 "So, do you want to walk around town and see the sights?"  

After my shower after arrival to the hostel, I'm usually in my pajamas curled up in my sleeping bag and ready for siesta.  I'm refreshed after a 2-3 hour rest. Then I'm ready to go out for drinks, dinner and any sight seeing within a two block radius of home. 

Local people harvesting grapes 

I stopped to chat with this guy picking grapes. He did not know English. He gave us a huge handful of white and Concord grapes to eat on the Camino. 

Today's hostel--note the sink in the room!

How did this dog get on the roof?

Roman ruins excavated from the center of Astorga. Dated from 1st-4th century AD. 2000 years ago!  Note the mosaic to the right of picture. 

Day #19

Ancient Roman bridge leading into the village

I can't fill in the name of this village because I forgot where the hell we are today. 

Sam is asleep so I can't ask the navigator. But I can tell you about our hostel & dinner group tonight!

We walked 9.2 miles today in the pouring rain. I didn't want to wear my rain pants when we left this morning because they make me sweat. Instead I got soaking wet through my hiking pants, but I didn't get sweaty. Sam wore his rain pants--I bet nobody's surprised with that news. It only rained 3 hours of our 5 hour walk so that was nice. 

We are at a private hostel call "Verde" in Hospital de _______.  We have a private room with twin beds for 12€ each.  We could have stayed in the 14 bunk bed dormitory for 9€ each,  but we splurged tonight. Its so rare to get a private room in a hostel.  1€=$1.40 approx    

Dinner was a vegetarian meal and offered to pilgrims for a "donation". Sam's sister-in-law, Leisa, would have loved it since she is a vegetarian. It's very Buddha here. It's our first Veg. Meal since we've been in Spain. Leisa would starve on the Camino. She is still having nightmares over the picture of the pig hooves at the counter of the lunch cafe. 

We had miso & orzo soup, vegetable & rice curry and banana/pear cake. Everything was homemade by our hostel manager/chef. She does not use any animal products at all. They are all green hence the name "Verde".   It was very good. 

At the dinner table tonight we had 7 people from 4 countries speaking 3 different languages.  It was quite a challenge. Thank you to my sister, Nancy, for downloading Google Translator for me. It was fun to play with the App at the table. We took turns passing    around my IPhone and speaking German, English and Spanish directly into the phone and showing everyone the written translation. Everyone laughed and thought it was amazing. The Australian young woman downloaded it at the table onto her smartphone. 

Also, thank you to Nancy for setting up this blog for us. I never thought it would be so fun to blog!  I'm not a good sleeper, so I have always read books in the evening & the middle of the night to get sleepy. Books are too heavy for the Camino so now I write instead of read. Thanks big sister!  I love you so much!   

Stopping to smell the sunflowers.  We have passes acres and acres of sunflowers but they are all past their prime except for this little guy by the side of the road. 

The Way

Rain, rain, rain. 

The cornfields have replaced the vineyards. Corn isn't nearly as much fun to nibble on while walking on the trail. 

Adios!

Continued day #18 Mosaic

More pictures from today. 

As you entered this village we found this beautiful mosaic of ancient pilgrims on the Camino made from tiny squares of granite tile. Date:1994

Day# 18 Camino Chic.

Dressing on the Camino is a challenge on so many different levels. When you first come down the catwalk in st. Jean Pied de Pants in France , the pressure is mounting because France sets the tone for the 2013 pilgrimage to Santiago. When following the bright yellow arrows for 500 miles, other pilgrims are judging you. "Does my backpack make my ass look big?". "No, your ass makes your ass look big."  Maybe you shouldn't eat so many Oreos and M&Ms?  

This pressure to perform leads pilgrims to buy super expensive 'superlite' fabrics, gortex waterproof, head lamp like a cool miner, outerware, "Tilly" hats. North face and REI shirts and rip off pants, Solomon trekking gloves & Leki or black diamond trekking poles that will transport you across the miles like "Beam Me Up, Scotty !" Special boots that costs $200 each foot because 'you are worth it'. Do you want a priest to pass you on the Camino ?  Hell no!  Eat my dust,Father.  "I'll see you in confession Mary Elizabeth Regina"!  

And then you need the latest & greatest backpack that will hold all your stuff that you just bought at REI and still require that it only weighs 10% of your weight. So you buy a bigger pack than the REI salesman recommended because "you can handle it..after all, God will help you."  You also buy every gadget to enhance your Camino experience:  secret money belt, gorilla tripod,super light camera, journals, guidebooks, smart wool everything, electronic water purifier and EXofficio  underwear. 

In the hostels, everyone runs around in their underpants. Guys & girls, old and young. Now I'm a normal American modesty level. If wish I had known this shower room etiquette on coed showers, I would not have been so shocked.  But now I'm used to it and who cares? 

Here Sam is wearing his chic blue rain gear.  Looking smart and a bit like St James  with that new beard. "Godspeed , Sam!"

Some Camino couples match their clothes, backpacks, shoes and hats. This is not Camino Chic!  We are not marching into France to seize the castle. 

Here we stand in a picture of the modern day pilgrim. Highly prepared, safe and secure in our ability to not just follow the pack, but lead the pack to the cathedral in Santiago.  

Here I am heading into town for a

Sangria. I am wearing my 'going out clothes'.  When I return to my bunk, the same clothes miraculously turn into pajamas, and then reincarnated back  into Camino hiking clothes in the morning.  When you only have 2 sets of clothes, your imagination is your best friend. 

Day #18. 9/27/2013. Camino cuisine

Today we walked 8.5 miles in 4 hours to the small village of Villar de Mazariffe.  Jade took the limo service. We made this reservation in a private hostel last night and got a private room for 9€ each.  (Imagine me doing my happy dance).  The room is slightly larger than my laundry room with bunk beds but it has a window.   The hostel is directly over the bar...very convenient since it's pouring rain all afternoon.  Sam and I played 2 games of chess in the community room. Great rainy day hang out...very cozy. 

If you were wondering what meals are like here on the Camino, we will try to explain.  We both have lost weight but its not from lack of food. 

 Breakfast is fresh baguette, jam, coffee, tea, and weak juice...every single damn day.  We never have butter or margarine on the table which is surprising since the Spanish fry almost everything on the menu for lunch & dinner.  If we have a refrigerator in the community rooms or hotels then we buy yogurt and fresh juice. We buy fresh fruit everyday from the markets. 

Lunch:  we eat picnic style on the trail. Usually we pack croissants, cheese and fresh fruit. Snacks on the trail are granola bars (difficult to find in the stores), M&Ms,  KitKat bars or Oreos if we can find them in the markets. We needed to add the kcal and fast energy to our diet because we were losing to much weight. Now don't you wish you were here with us!

Dinner:  Usually by 7:00 PM we are starving.  The Spanish eat dinner later than Americans--usually 9-10 pm. But Pilgrim dinners are available after 6pm.  When we are on the Camino we usually go out with a group of  our roommates pilgrims to a "Pilgrim's Dinner". This is a special menu only for pilgrims offered by the local restaurants and bars. Dinner is served with wine, beer or water.  They usually give you a pitcher of wine. You get a large amount of good food for only 9-13€  or $13-$18.  It's a 3 course dinner with a choice of 3-5 selections for each course. Starters area choice of a huge salad, or pasta, or soup or  bean/lentil dish.     The main course offers a beef, pork, chicken and fish dish.  Desert offerings are flan, ice cream, rice pudding or fruit. 

Some of the hostels have full kitchens and we have seen pilgrims making their dinner to save dinero. Last night we decided to make our own pasta dinner at "home". We walked to the grocery store, met up with Terry (Canada) and invited him to share our dinner. He bought the wine, dessert and sauce. We bought the baguette (warm from the oven), pasta, tomatoes, etc to make a vegetable rigatoni. 

As we were cooking we met a nice couple from Australia. We shared fresh vegetables and all ate together in the community room. Aside from the struggle to politely share one 4 burner stove with other pilgrims from China & England, it was really fun!  Shopping & cooking only works if you are not exhausted from a long trek that day and the hostel has a big fully equipped kitchen. We think we will take advantage of this shared dinner preparation when the situation is right. 

Dinner last night

Day #17. La Virgen del Camino. 9/26/2013

In Leon at Plaza San Marcos, there is a bronze statue of a medieval pilgrim resting and reflecting on the Camino. 

We left Leon at 8:45 am and started our 5.5 mile walk. We slept in because we had a very nice hotel and not far to travel. Usually pilgrim don't sleep in at  Hostels because the dormitories sound like a beehive at 6:00am.  Everyone wants to start their walk while it's cool weather.  Also you want to arrive at your next hostel by noon-1:00 to make sure you get a bunk. Last night we stayed at Hotel Alfonso V (www.hotelalfonsov.com).  

Today's walk was through an industrial and commercial area. We were next to roads and walking on pavement tiles the entire time. It wasn't very nice. 

This hostel is private & called D. Antonino y Dia Cinia. Its the only pilgrim hostel in town. The next one is 8.5 miles away. There are 20 beds in our dormitory, two dormitories,  4 showers and 3 toilets in two bathrooms with separate guys/girls bathrooms. ( I really hate coed bathrooms.)  It's very clean. There is a large community room and kitchen. I would rate this a 3 out of 5 star hostel. It would earn a better Force Rating except for the 20 beds in a room. 

Yesterday in Leon we happened upon a group of Spaniards playing guitar, tambourine and the 'bones' in the main city square.

Woman playing 'Bones'. She had a heavy pick that she dragged over the bones to make a drumming sound for a base beat

They must have been playing folk songs because all the Spanish locals were singing along with the musicians.  It was very lively and happy music. Robin Nott would have jumped right in to join the band!  'Taily-Bones' with real bones!  

Hotel Parador:  this building was converted from an old pilgrim hospital of the 12th century, then later turned into a Monastery, now a fancy hotel.  The pilgrim statue sits in front of this building and he is staring at this hotel probably wishing he was staying there tonight. 

Hostel dorm

Community room at this hostel. 

Pictures from Leon

P

A Man practicing the organ. The music took my breathe away!

Thanks for following our blog!  It's very encouraging for us. 

We are in Leon now but back on the road walking tomorrow. It's only a 5.5 mile day and I can do that in my sleep.  Sam does all the navigation based on studying the hostel and hotel locations, sightseeing and miles travelled. This is especially important in the remote areas of the Camino. I'm more of the social coordinator. We all have our gifts in life. 

Last night we found some pilgrim friends (Christine and Eric from New Zealand) in a bar and had a tapa dinner together. If It sounds like we spend a lot of time in bars on this trip...we do.   They invited us to come & stay with them someday---Score one for New Zealand!  Christine has developed shin splints so they are taking 2 weeks off the Camino to heal and renting a car and visiting Portugal for break. It's so fun to run into people over and over again on the Camino. It is fun to share stories from the road like "worse or best hostel ever" and "the guidebook was wrong again". But with their break time we probable won't cross paths again. I have their email address to stay in touch. 

All of my pictures are from my iPhone. My phone battery died today just as we paid our admission to the Leon cathedral; so I couldn't get any pictures. This cathedral is famous for its stained glass windows and light. It has multiple beautiful glass windows where other cathedral have stone walls.  They are amazing!  I think they are Anderson.   I had to lie my way back in to the cathedral after I left for siesta to charge the phone.   Very unpilgrim like behavior, but I wanted pictures for the blog. (Hey, we paid once). I told the gatekeeper that I left to go to the bathroom. First he corrected me that it's called a 'toilet' and I know that but it sounds so gross to say that to perfect strangers.  I got scolded for leaving and returning to the cathedral without a hall pass. Cathedrals do not have bathrooms. I never thought of it before this trip but it makes sense since they were built in the 12th century. Duh. 

Day #16. 9/25/13 : train to Leon

Tapas for dinner last night!  Yummy!

We are on a two hour train ride from Burgos to Leon. The trains are comfortable with big windows. I have time to write if you have time to read. 

I've been thinking about our one hour spanish speaking tour of the monastery yesterday. We have surprised ourselves with how well we have coped with the language barrier here. I know very little Spanish, Sam even less. I took 2 years of high school Spanish forty years ago but those memories are covered in cobwebs in my brain. I bought 3 "teach yourself Spanish" books last year to prepare for this trip. My heart wasn't into it so the books were shuffled around and rarely opened. My answer was to have a Google Translator app.  on my IPhone. 

After three weeks here, I'm learning that I can understand a lot more Spanish than I can speak.  The trick is to listen for key words.  It also helps that I'm very good at charades.  I've also learned that my big smile and cheerful "Buenos  Dias, señora !" Will open up doors of communication. A smile is global. It starts you off on a good note. 

Reflecting on that tour makes me think of communicating with my dog, Bailey. She understands about 100 human words and phrases (much like me with Spanish). The rest of the time she fakes it or watches for body language (much like me with Spanish). Other dogs may understand more words but since Bailey has ADDD ( attention deficit disorder for dogs), she had to ride the Little Bus to school.  But she is the best dog ever!

So this is an example of a typical communication scenario for me & Bailey. It is quite similar to my comprehension level on that tour yesterday. Especially when I got yelled at in loud spanish in front of everyone by the tour guide and again by the police escort when I tried to take pictures. (Maybe I have ADD?). 

"Bailey!"  (She comes running, happy,  tail wagging). 

"Did you counter-surf and eat my muffin". (Her head tilts to the side because she know this is some kind of question). 

"Bad dog!"  ( tail stops wagging, head down, ears back.)

I point at the empty plate: "Did you eat my muffin?"  ( she looks sad & pitiful. Starts to lick my hand to apologize.)

"How many times have I told you not to steal food!?"   ( blank stare)

"Now go to your house and think about what you have done wrong!"  ( she walks slowly to the steps to go to her house. She looks over her shoulders and makes one more apologetic look)

"Bad Dog!"  ( she runs into her house). 

I know how Bailey feels. 

Continued Day #15

Side entrance for visitors to cathedral 

Sam thought this look like something stored here until the next Mardi Gras parade. 

Model of entire cathedral 

More cathedral pictures. 

Cool king