Catching up!

I've neglected blogging for a few days but have a good Wi-Fi connection, pronounced "wee fee" in Espanol, so I'll catch up.

I did get out and explore Leon on my rest day and had a kebab at the fiesta 

I also found this pilgrim statue and a German couple took this shot

I left Leon early the next morning and walked 16 miles to a small village San Martin del Camino for the night. I bunked with Fabio from Italy and Jamie and Gerard from Barcelona. Four Frenchmen were in the next room and it made for interesting dinner conversation as Fabio was the only one besides me that spoke English. The owner of the albergue gave me a local fruit that she called "ojo" but I'm not sure.

It tasted good, reminded me of some of the fruits in Jamaica. 

The next day was to Astorga. It was a beautiful sunrise 

but the trail got rather rocky later in the day. On the steep downhill walk there was an interesting statue of a pilgrim drinking from his flask and a local man took great joy in showing me how it worked. 

Everyone has been more than welcoming all along the way.

In Astorga  I again ran into my Australian pastor friend Ray and his wife Pura as I was looking at the Cathedral.

The next day was a much longer day because I have moved away from the flat plains of the Meseta back into the mountains. I wanted to get most of tomorrow's climb out of the way so I extended myself and hiked 17 miles to stay in an albergue in Founcebadon. The trail was rocky and steep in places but I was at my destination and checked in by 2:30. 

Founcebadon is an old village that really only survives by providing services to pilgrims. There were 35 of us this evening and for once I met up with several Americans and a few Canadians. The most interesting to me though were two seventy year old ladies from New Zealand who were walking the trail together.

Our meal was a riot when the chef brought out his masterpiece paella

This was probably the most filling meal I've had so far. Muy bueno!

There was this interesting sign in the coed bathroom that I need to add

The next day was a hike past the highest point of the Camino (4934 feet) where the Iron Cross, La Cruz de Ferro, stands.

 I've made a practice the past several years in my recovery to leave my recovery chips in different places. I was planning to leave my 24 year sobriety coin at the Iron Cross.

It was raining as I left the albergue so I suited up in my poncho

but as I was climbing up the mountain this was the view

As I approached the Cross

 thinking of my sobriety and also our friend Clark who has been gone for two years this day I once again ran into Ray and Pura. I recognized God at work here giving me someone who could witness my ritual.

This is Ray, my brother from another mother, but as he says "the same Father"! with an Austrailian accent.

It's good to be sober and it's been very easy to have agua solo with meals, instead of wine. Cheaper too for the restaurant!

Unfortunately, what goes up must come down and the rest of this day, some 20 kilometers, was spent descending to 2000 feet. I find the descents much harder on my feet and knees than ascents and this was a painful, rocky trail.

I had been passing a group of guys from Brazil for the past three days, one wearing a cowboy hat. I commented on his hat and he started calling me "Oklahoma" whenever he would see me

The trail continued down forever it seemed until I reached Molinaseca, my destination for the day. I was very glad to arrive and I stayed in a hostal with a private room to get a reprieve from the snoring. As I arrived the rain began again but I was safe inside!

Dinner was oxtail stew,

and I ate with Kristof from Berlin who I had met at an earlier stop in Granon.

A good night's sleep does wonders and my feet have healed enough that I didn't need to treat my heels today. The toes still take a pounding but are getting better as well.

I left later than usual this morning and arrived in Ponferrada to see this

Castillo de los Templarios, a 12th century Templar castle, now a national monument. I wish I had the energy to explore, but I don't.

It was a reasonably short day, 14 miles to Cacabelos. This will allow another 14 mile day tomorrow before I need to climb the last mountain before Santiago. I'll climb from 600 to 1300 meters in 10 kilometers. These mountains separate Castilla y Leon from Galicia. The rest of the Camino is through this ancient Celtic land, much wetter than I've been used to.

I'll let you know how it goes. For tonight, resting my feet in Cacabelos!

Buen Camino!

Reflecting on Three Weeks of the Camino

I'm in Leon today, Friday October 3 and also tomorrow. I've been walking the Camino for three weeks and want to pace myself a bit.

I've traveled over 315 miles in the past twenty days and my feet can tell the tales. It's been interesting to be more in tune with my body, to be aware of the different stages it goes through in the course of a day's walking. I started out this morning virtually pain free for the first time since Logrono, two weeks ago. I've walked through the creation and healing of blisters on both heels and now overcoming blisters on my little toes.

I got a certain thrill out of asking the pharmacist for Compeed because "tengo   ampollas en mis dedos de los pies" "I have blisters on the fingers of my feet" and was understood!

A word about Compeed, I consider it a miracle product and has allowed me to continue walking while the blisters improved. Like I wrote earlier, this was a pain-free day of walking up to mile nine when tiredness sets in.

So, as you can tell, the first reflection is an obsession with the health of my feet. If my feet give out, the Camino is over. Mine seem to be improving.

Another reflection involves attitude. I have time as I walk to think, a lot, and can see the danger of falling into a negative mindset. Thoughts like "why am I doing this?" Or "I wish this were over" set up an attitude that is deadly. I've observed different persons on the Camino who have fallen into negativity and for them the joy is gone.

The truth of the Camino is that there is physical discomfort: pain, crowded sleeping quarters, unfamiliar languages, snoring, but there is also an extreme opportunity for gratitude. A private room is a special thrill!

Anytime I feel tempted toward resentment the first thought is "I'm hiking through Spain!" The next is "Everyday I am getting physically stronger" and then an extreme gratitude for the closeness I get to have with The Lord as we experience the real life difficulties together. I experienced pure joy today when I realized that my feet were pain free!

I am grateful for my mother and father who taught me about The Lord.

I am grateful for my brothers, and particularly Al who bought me a Camino guide book two years ago. It has proven to be invaluable.

I'm grateful to my Band of Brothers who encouraged me to begin hiking way back in 2006!

I'm grateful to my small group, the Body of Christ for me at this stage of life and their prayers and support.

I'm grateful for a good sponsor and the freedom I have to drink aqua y Coca Cola when offered vino tinto or cervesa!

I'm grateful for the Boys in the Hood every Wednesday as I eat lunch. You know what I mean!

I'm grateful for finding the Body of Christ alive on the Camino in the people I meet and talk with every day.

And I'm grateful for Beth who supports my hair-brained adventures. I'm looking forward to seeing her as I walk into Santiago two weeks from now.

Believe it or not, Leon is having a festival this weekend, The Feast of San Froilan, so it may prove to be an exciting night.

I'll be resting my feet!

Buen Camino

Sunday in Fromista, Spain

I'm in Fromista, Spain today on a Sunday, two weeks and 220 miles from St. Jean Pied de Port. The beginning seems long ago and the end is still nowhere in sight. My feet are asking me "What have you done to us" and sometimes I ask myself the same question!

I checked into a private hostal this afternoon for a little privacy and a night of sleep without a chorus of snoring. Last night in Castrojerez I was in a room of thirty people sharing a common bathroom, shower and kitchen. There were at least ten different nationalities represented and everyone got along well. Tonight I'm enjoying a private bath and quiet bedroom.

The past two days the Camino has been passing through the Meseta, farm country with fields either holding sunflower, or plowed and waiting for the next crop.

As I walk along this landscape there is lots of time for reflection, and this is good. I think about my feet a lot and hope to keep them healthy enough to carry me the rest of the way. 

I've fallen into a routine in order to get my 15 plus miles in each day: Wake at 6:30, treat my feet with moleskin and get dressed, breakfast, and then on the Camino by first light, 7:15-7:30.

This allows six or seven hours to walk and take in whatever sights my be on the route and still get to an albergue in time to shower, wash and hang clothes to dry and rest for the next day.

Meals are taken on the road, a bocodillo (sandwich) and cafe con leche! Dinner in Spain is usually after 7pm so meals are late and carb heavy. So far the food has been good.

In two days I reach the mid point. I'll write about the people I've met then.

Buen Camino