Reflections

Monica from Pamplona. A sweet girl I met that I hope to see again.... when I live my next dream.... to live in Spain

The ocean at last.... on the last painful downhill approach to Cee. This was near the end of a 4o km day for me and all I could say as I made my descent back to sea leval was ouch, fn ouch, I was in tears at the end of the day because every single step was brutal but I knew the pain like most days wouldn't last. It sometimes is simply an exercise in trust... trust that everything will be ok eventually. And you know what? It was.... eventually.

Herman from Germany had been walking for 2 months when I met him. He started walking from his front door. I was sure I would see him again... but no...

Denise from France, another person I shared time with and may never see again (I can't read her handwriting in my book.) Too bad because I would have liked to send her this fabulous photo. She had her own wonderful style.




I hesitate to write the last posting with my reflections because that really means my camino is over because my blog is over. It is often said that when one finishes the camino, that is when the real one begins. It is sad to say goodbye to the walk and the wonderful lifestyle of just getting up and walking to destinations unknown.

Words of advice for anyone considering walking the camino.... I started in Burgos and took my time. I could have walked further in a shorter amount of time but I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to be stressed by a schedule. Also, I have allowed myself some time at home before going back to work. Just as well because I haven't slept worth a damn and when I do it is at odd hours. I think it is true that the jet lag coming in this direction is tough. Anyways for anyone considering the walk, I recommend taking as much time and walking for as long as you can. Some people start later than I did in Leon, or even Sarria which is only 100 kms, enough to qualify for a certificate from the cathedral. Where I started, the majority of pilgrims had already been walking for a couple of weeks. They had chilled out by that time and patiently showed me the way.... their way. By the time we all get to Sarria, it is as if there is a flood of chatty, excited, hyper people on what was once a quiet walk. It takes a couple of weeks to empty out the mind with busy thoughts and that to me is the best part of the camino. I won't give the usual tips such as pack lightly, break in your boots, try out all your clothes and pack at home... but I guess I just did, didn't I?

One thing I loved about Spain that took me a while to clue into was the lovely spanish men who call the barristas guapa (beautiful) when ordering a coffee or whatever. The women love it of course and I think calling someone you don't know beautiful makes the world a better place. I was in Madrid in a little tienda and I heard the most groovey cubanlmusic and I asked who it was. It turns out they had the cd for sale....Rauel Torres, originally from Cuba but now living in Madrid. I was so thrilled. When I paid for my cd and got it in my hand, I told the woman, muchas gracias guapa. She gave me the nicest smile and a flower. I wasn't sure if women called other women guapa until I was called guapa by a female musician earlier that day in the Plaza Mayor.

The weird thing about the camino is that there are so many connections made, so many sharing of moments only to find out that one never ever will see that person again. I lost a few people on the walk that I was so sure I would see again. The aussie brothers.... Gabriel... Judy.... Herman... Dora... Natasha....even Miguel who professed his love for me while I washed my socks..so many.

Would I walk the camino again? Abso-fn-lutely! I would choose a different season... maybe the winter or the spring. As I walked, I knew I was only catching a snapshot of just one season and I would try and imagine the hayfields with their first shoots coming up out of the ground in the spring and how different that must look. Another time, I would have a better idea of what to put in my pack and more importantly what not to put in my pack.

I would take better notes. The days tend to blur together. And I would try and learn some working french and german to be able to communicate with more people. My spanish was ok but those other languages would be really helpful.

I walked by so many albergues I would have loved to stay in but it was too early in the day to stop. I would like to see the sunrise at the cruz de ferro. And I definitely would walk all the way to the end of the world... Fisterre again. And I would walk into many more sunsets.

The walk isn't for everyone and perhaps everyone isn't for the walk. It was a must-do-before-I-leave-the-planet thing and now it is a must-do-again-before-I-leave-the planet. I am grateful that I gave myself this gift of time. It was a gentle way to say goodbye to my dad and a gentle way to get reaquainted with life. So simple. One foot in front of the other. The pain and discomfort passes. As that aussie woman Sonja said, walking with the pack is purgatory and at the end of every day is heaven when it is time to give the aching feet and tired bones a rest.

I guess my camino is over or hopefully just beginning. Estoy agradecida por todo. Buen camino a todos.

Back home

Back home now. Although my body is still on spanish time which is odd being so out of sync with the rest of Campbell River. I think I will do one more post before I say goodbye to this blog. I would like to take some time to reflect and think about things and post a few pictures --- oh and correct my spelling mistakes. I was aware of the mistakes but figured at the time they didn't impede the meaning.

Madrid,,, the last day

Plaza Mayor at noon
Cocktails in the late afternoon
The market this morning
El Parque de Retiro en Madrid
My comida in the dining car on the way to Madrid.

Just a quick post....It is yet another beautiful summer like day in Madrid. The train was fun. I shared the sleeper car with 3 great gals and then whiled away the hours with 2 delightful spanish guys in the dining car. When we arrived in Madrid, we went out for coffee before going our separate ways. I felt on top of the world and I felt like I owned the streets of Madrid especially in comparision to how I felt when I first arrived in Madrid a month ago. A month ago I was a nervous nelly pretending to be brave. No more nervous nelly but by the time, later afternoon hit, the prospects of dining alone in the city made me feel profoundly sad. So I had a good cry and then decided to try some Thai food. There was a woman sitting by herself so I invited her to join me. Thankfully she spoke english and we proceeded to have a wonderful meal together and then walked the streets of Madrid together until about 2 in the morning. Everyone was parading last night and we had an absolute blast. I´ve agreed to meet her again tonight but unfortunately I´m not sure what plaza we agreed upon so I might be a no show.

Today I have been walking and walking and walking and getting lost and loving it. I went to an amazing market and bought a kick ass coat and other adornments.

I could live in Madrid. It has a fabulous pulse and for the most part, I find it quite friendly. And if I don´t find it friendly, I just move on.

Tomorrow is a travel day. Yuck. Never mind. I am going back to see what happens next in Madrid. My next big decision is where to watch the sunset tonight. I stumbled upon an East Indian Restaurant area today so that might be tonight's dinner of choice. That is if I can find it. I was a little lost when I found it earlier.

Salud!

Hola a Todos de Santiago

Miguel, the man who fixed my sandals on the way to Fisterre
The beginning of the walk from Compostela to Fisterre
A piper in Compostela at sunset
The view from Fisterre, el fin del mundo.... the end of the earth.
The view from where we slept last night. I had a wee swim just before sunset.
Our night cap meal from last night. Las vavias found only in this particular bay where we stayed last night. Muy muy sabrosa....
The most precious momento other than memories from my camino
The view from above where I found my scallop shell.
The beach where I found my concha just 8 or so kms before Fisterre. It felt sooooo good to take off my hot boots and walk in the warm soft sand

Efren, Voy a recordarte siempre....

So.... after walking for 3 days and many special special moments I am waiting for my train to leave tonight destined for Madrid. My camino is over. However, I had many many magical moments on the way to the coast in Fisterre. I felt extremely strong so I had long days in order to spend the last day getting there taking my time. I found my scallop shell on the first beach I walked on. Fine powdery sand. It was so good to see the ocean again. On my second last day, the day I was walking 40 kms, I ran into a camino friend, Efren. Efren was born Alicante and spent the first 25 years of his life in Spain and then moved to Germany. Our language together was spanish. We ran into each other many times along the way and I always enjoyed our conversations. We agreed to meet up in Fisterre on the last day. We spent hours and hours talking but not nearly enough. Last night I joined Efren and his friends for dinner in Muxia, another seaside town and we gorged ourselves on various plates of tasty tasty seafood. Afterwards, Efren and I went to a another bar closer to where we are staying and that´s when we had the most devin plate of strange looking clams that taste like lobster that are only fished in that particular bay. We watched the sunset together. Today Efren drove me back to Santiago and we spent the day wandering around Santiago savouring our last moments together. The parting was kind of harsh. We got stuck and a little lost in horrendous traffic and then we said goodbye in a smokey grotty cafeteria in the train station. I was going to wait there until my train was ready to leave but it was too unpleasant to the senses. At one point people were running around in circles cramming on to a bus because their train was broken down. Too crazy for me.

Many highlights in the last few days aside from Efren.... and Efren Esto esto es para ti. Te extrano mucho y espero nuestros caminos van a encontrar en otra vez .... Es verdad, a veces la vida esta muy sabrosa.... Perhaps I will post some pictures to save some words.

I feel strong, svelte and very content. I hope the camino stays with me for a while. This was the most profoundly wonderful trip I have ever taken. Now I am off to Madrid, far away from the camino. When I wake up tomorrow morning I will be in a new place. I don´t have a place to stay yet but I will figure that out in the morning.

Hopefully the train station will be a bit more tranquila now.