Better days, and even better evenings

Portomarin to Palas de Rei

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
approximately 25 kilometers (15 1/2 miles)
(click on the slideshow to be taken to the Picasa website where you can see larger photos and more comments).

"The Camino is a place where many, perhaps most, walk with limp that manages to be humble and proud at the same time. Humble because the world can see your weakness, but proud too, that you soldier on in the face of pain and hardship. I have a limp - mine has several causes... In the end, I keep going because I have no other option." I wrote this at the end of my second day of walking. I had recovered enough to complete the walk. It was still difficult, but it went much better than that first difficult day.

The first 5 hours or so felt quite good (or as good as can be on the Camino), but the last hour or two was difficult again. At this point I faced loneliness again as I saw no other pilgrims for more than two kilometers towards the end of my day. The biggest disappointment was arriving at my targeted destination to find all the albergue beds full (albergues are the housing specifically for pilgrims). Rather than walk 3 kilometers ahead (0r 1 backwards), I chose instead to get a room at a pension - a private room. Certainly a disappointment considering my goal was to meet other pilgrims and experience as much of the pilgrim life as possible. Not even considering that the 20 euro cost was nearly 7 times the 3 euro charge for the government run albergues.

I arrived in Palas de Rei tired and a bit put-out by a number of things, but it turned out to be a stop that I think was divinely appointed. I connected with Psalm 24 and the idea that "the earth is the Lord's and everything in it, The world, and all who live in it." So many evangelical and protestant people give little thought to this place, and this event because it is 'Catholic', but in the end, all of these people, and all of these places are still God's. I often visit Catholic churches and cathedrals and walk away having really noticed and felt the differences from my own faith experience. However, today, I instead noticed and felt the familiar things of this small catholic church in town. In many ways it reminded me of a church from my youth. Sure, the artwork is different, but much else could have been in an evangelical or protestant church from any small town in the states.

Pilgrims of the Day: I wish I had a picture to share, but I saw the same father and teenage son several times over the course of the day. I suspect they were Japonese, but I'm no expert in these things. But there were clearly happy and content. Happy with the day's walk, happy with the weather, and content to be experiencing this together.

Pilgrim of the Day II: I had hoped to have a favorite for each day - but turns out I had 2 today, and one more on another day (stay tuned). Due to my late arrival, and discovery of a reasonably priced private room, I was able to assist another late arrival to town when I overheard her trying to work out in english where she'd be staying. Several hours later, she arrived at the restaurant I had chosen to eat dinner at. We shared a table and some conversation. Turns out she was on her 2nd full-length camino (for lack of a cooler term, I've been calling them 'long-hikers.') Up until this point, I had not yet met a long-hiker. We had a fascinating conversation as I was able to pepper her with questions about her experiences - why, what she's learned, etc, etc. And she was also very interested in our vision, and was very encouraging. I did not see her again after that meal (somewhat rare with 3 stages more), but I am convinced that our meeting had been another that was divinely appointed. I walked away with a sense that there are pilgrims out there that would really love to stay at a place like we have in mind.

Putzing around Portomarin

Tuesday, September 23, 2008.
Portomarin
0 Kilometers

Portomarin is a town of 2,000 residents found on the river Miño. In the 1960's the town moved from the banks of the river to the bluffs overlooking it before the arrival of a new dam. It is a beautiful town, and was a great place to spend a day of solitude. After a difficult first day, and an equally difficult first night on account of my fever I was seriously considering calling it quits, returning home, and delaying my first Camino trip until another time. After consulting with my advisory team (Faith) I decided to stay put for a day in Portomarin to rest before attempting to complete the journey. As a result, I had plenty of time to read, journal, listen to music, and take pictures.

I had this to say in my journal: "I think in my mind I imagined a trip of exploration, discovery, wonder, and relaxation. So far, 2 days in I'm already confronting lonliness. I'm reading a book (Gilead) that is grappling with mortality and purpose. I'm afraid I don't have what it takes to finish, and I've hardly begun - and a short journey at that (many pilgrims walk for 30-40 straight days). It is harder on many levels than I expected. Despite the free time, I'm finding it hard to focus time towards God. I'm having trouble "connecting" - whatever that means. I guess it means I am seeking some direct relating - no shock, I guess, considering my growing awareness of my own lonliness."

I did enjoy some down time, wandering around the ruins of the old town on the river, listening to music, and exploring the little town with my camera. But the best part of the day was seeing God provide once again in the form of new 'roommates.' Another group of outgoing Spaniards invited me into their newly formed community. We played Mafia in spanish - a game I have enjoyed very much in english. They adopted me into their midst despite my elementary communication skills. I ended up walking parts of the next 4 days with them.

You can click on the slideshow below for better quality pictures on the Picasa website. I've also added a few more details than normal in the comment sections.

Camino Fever

This is the start of several postings covering my first experience walking part of the Camino de Santiago this past week. Each post will cover one day of my journey.

Monday, September 22, 2008.
From Sarria to Portomarin.
approximately 25 kilometers (15 1/2 miles)

Walked out of our piso at 8am, not quite daylight on an overcast morning. A little past 8:30 I boarded a train at a station across the ria from our neighborhood. Fortunately, the train to my starting point, Sarria, goes by the closest station to our house. The clouds splattered the train with bits of rain as we entered deeper into the Galician countryside. At times it seemed like the mist and the forest conspired to swallow the train whole - this sensation was puncutated when we actually entered into tunnels. After arriving a little late to Sarria I found my credential after three stops and was finally on my way shortly before noon. (If you walk more than 100km of the Camino you have a 'credencial del peregrino' - a sort of passport that you must get stamped twice a day to prove you walked the distance. When you arrive in Santiago, you present your credential and recieve a 'Compostela' - a certificate confirming the completion of your camino.)

The day was harder than I imagined. I was very tired and sore quite early in the walk. The going felt slow, and I felt off-schedule from how I planned things in my head. I found taking breaks and eating food to be difficult this first day. God provided for me anyhow, when some fellow pilgrims shared some of their home-made empanada with me, and then when I joined three young spaniards for a portion of the walk. They were university students, and were very friendly and out-going. This was the beginning of the trend that carried me through the rest of the week - most of my community on the camino was with Spaniards - which was also a blessing. It provided me with a precious opportunity for extended practice, it grew my confidence in my skills, and it allowed me to grow in my cultural knowledge as well.

The walk the first day really reminded me many times of northwest Illinois, where my Dad grew up on a milk farm. The landscape was lush and green, dotted with fields of corn, wheat, and cow pastures. Plenty of the familiar black and white mottled milking cows were around, as well as tractors and farming equipment. The main differences were found in the size of the fields, herds, farms, and the structure of the houses and farm buildings (stone here vs. wood).

Of my five days of walking, this first day had the steepest ascending and descending. It was a long day, and I finally arrived stumbling into Portomarin somewhere between 6 and seven in the evening. I felt like I had zero energy, and could hardly believe I actually made it after such a long and hard day. I hauled myself to the showers, and realized after I was freshly clean that I was really cold - really, really cold. I put on as many layers of clothes as I could and retreated into my bunk. I was able to conjure up a blanket from the staff, but spent more than two hours both shivering with the chills while feeling really really hot. I realized at this point that I had a fever and had been likely walking for most of the day with this growing illness. I had no energy, and could hardly get out of bed. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, with the help of some Ibuprofen I brought for muscle pain, I was able to crawl out of bed and make it over to a restaurant for a little food.

I wrote in my journal that it had already been nothing like I imagined. If I were to learn anything from this journey, my first day showed me that as a mirror to the journey of life, the camino showed me that things can be hard and difficult, and that above all, it takes hard work. It takes willpower to go on even when you feel like you have nothing left.

Regrettably, I did not take any photos on this first day. It was probably the most remote portion of the camino I walked, and was quite pretty. It did threaten rain all day (but never did rain), and that combined with my focus on finishing kept the camera in my bag. Stay tuned for photos from other days.

Mmmmm.... Queso!!!!

I'll be blogging a lot about my recent trip on the Camino, but first, a shot of our little booster-seat-bound thief. We left her alone in the kitchen (momentarily) strapped into her chair thinking she was restrained from getting into much trouble. Only to return to find she had absconded the last two (yes that is two slices thick!) pieces of Gouda. As Dora would say - "Delicioso!"

Someday We'll Go All the Way

I think I knew Eddie Vedder was a Cubs fan, but I didn't know he'd written a tune about the Cubs, "Someday We'll Go All the Way." (Looks like he threw a mean opening pitch).

I'm not usually one to go for cheesy sports songs (The Super Bowl Shuffle excluded, of course). But this one has a classic feel to it. Obviously, much of Cub Nation is excited and hopeful that this year will be that year. If you are interested, you can listen to the song on myspace.

Go Cubs!

First-Class Accommodations

A friend pointed out this interesting bit:  A 747 is being turned into a hostel in Stockholm, to be located at the Stockholm airport.  

I remember a hostel in Stockholm from my backpacking days that was in an old boat.  At this juncture, our plans do not include planes, boats, or trains.  But it is fun to see some creativity out there.