We will be the ones jumping up and down!
--Jenny
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Watch us on the Webcam
There is a 9 hour time difference between Santiago and Tucson, Az. To watch me on the webcam tomorrow, our plan is to be there between 1:00-1:30pm following the Pilgrims Mass. That would make it 4-4:30am in Tucson.
To see me in action...
Here is the website that I talked about in the post below to watch me near the cathedral in Santiago. I am going to talk to my parents tonight to set up a specific time. I will probably have my mom post tonight so that she can say what time we set up.
http://www.caminosantiago.com/web/webcams.htm
http://www.caminosantiago.com/web/webcams.htm
And then we only had 12.8 miles to go.....
To start, I had a really good post last night but the internet cut out and it didn´t post so i will do my best to do a bit of catch up and remember everything I wrote about last night =(
Starting with day 29, we walked from Sarria to Portomarin. This day was really hard for my for some reason. It was near the end, we were close enough to count the days we had left to walk on one hand and i was just utterly exhausted. It was one of the hardest mental days I have had. It was around this time that a lot more casual walkers were starting and it seemed that whenever i came close to just being quiet and walking by myself, a big group of loud walkers would come up and it was hard to shake them. I have come to really enjoy the quiet and peacefulness of walking alone. It feels like you have the whole Camino to yourself. That night, we made a wonderful dinner of pasta and pushed a bunch of tables together in our albergue. We bought two Sanitago Tarts and ate every bite. The tarts may be my new favorite food. It is an almond cake and pretty wonderful.
From Portamarin, we walked 16 more miles to Palas de Rei. I felt a lot better this day, just with more energy and an all around excitment to be walking again. Hannah and I were walking together in the morning and our friend Greg bounced up behind us. We hadn´t seen Greg in about a week so it was exciting to see him again. The three of us walked together for the rest of the day into town. The frienships you have on the Camino are so interesting because there are people I know i will never see again but that made such an impact on my time here. I thought Greg was maybe too far ahead of us so we wouldn´t see him again so it was pretty exciting to have him come back and surprise us. When this is all over, I think the part I am going to miss the most is just walking up to someone and talking for an hour or so. The talks can be shorter or longer but just striking up a conversation with a perfect stranger has become such an important part of my day. I have learned so much from having talks with people I may never see again but for that time, they had an impact on my walk.
That night in Palas de Rei, we celebrated John´s birthday, another guy in our little group. Our plan was to make a big dinner similar to my birthday but when we got into the albergue....there was a kitchen but no pots, pans, plates or cutlery. As with most of our plans we have made on the camino, we had to switch them around. Instead, we went out to a nice dinner and had our traditional pilgrim´s meal. This particular restuarant however was one of the nicest dinners I have had. They brought out an extra big piece of Santiago Tart for John and we all sang happy birthday to him.
From Palas de Rei, we walked another 16 miles to Ribadiso. I had a wonderful post all about this day yesterday....but sadly it is lost. The walk itself was pretty, through some small towns and through some farms and forests. The mornings are the hardest to get started. I think I can honestly say that for the first mile or so of every single morning, I have regretted the decision to walk. Its just cold and hard to get started in the morning. But then, the sun comes up and it becomes wonderful again. I really love seeing the sun rise every morning. Once that happens, I am glad I am here once again. The sunrise this morning was one of the best I have seen. I stopped for about 10 minutes and watched it. The sky was just filled with pink and purple streaks of light (two of my favorite colors). As I was standing on this mound watching the sun, a few other older pilgrims stopped and took a picture of me. Maybe it was because my pink socks matched the sky...=)
Jess and I walked together for most of the day and as we walked through one of the small towns, a very nice but very pushy priest invited us into his church. By inviting....I mean he took my hand and pulled me inside. He gave us these little cards and asked us if he could stamp our Pilgrim´s passports. We looked at each other and pulled them out, letting him stamp them. Afterwards, he asked if we wanted to see the church. I said that we were going to continue on our walk. This wasn´t really the answer he wanted so instead he just took my hand and pulled me into the sanctuary. There was another woman sitting down in a pew so Jess and I sat down. The priest then read a very nice prayer for us and then walked out. By this point, we were doing our best to hold in the laughter. He was such a sweet man but it was just so unexpected and funny at the same time. When we finally got out of the church, we laughed for the next five or ten minutes about it.
The albergue in Ribadiso may be my favorite one. The description in the guide book says
¨This is a wonderful reconstruction of an old pilgrim hospice, with an award for environmental architecture, an idyllic location on the river Iso.¨
It lived up to expectation and we spent most of the afternoon laying in the grass outside . They even had warm showers which makes it rank high on my list. I decided that it would be a good idea to wash all of my clothes because it had been a little while since I had done that. This was a bit of a gamble because if the didn´t dry, then it was going to be a very cold morning. Good news though....they dried. The quick dry feature really held true and I was just fine!
This morning, we walked from Ribadiso about 2 miles into a town, Arzua and had breakfast. We were talking about how once we stop walking, our breakfast habits are going to have to change pretty dramatically. My two pastery breakfasts are not going to go as well if I am not walking 15 miles a day. I think I may have to cut it down to just one pastery once we stop walking.
When we were in the cafe, the tv show Amazing Race was on TV. Kirstin and I watched it really closely to see if the people we know who are on it were still on the show. It took about half an hour to realize that it was an old episode from a few seasons ago... (So, Jake you are going to have to let us know how they are doing).
The rest of the day went really well. I thought my foot was feeling pretty good this morning so I only took one Ibeprophen. This turned out to be a pretty big mistake with an hour left to walk. I am going to need to stick to the two Ibeprophens until further notice from my feet. They are looking very swollen though. They will need to go down in order to fit into my high heels. I can´t come home to Halloween season and not be able to wear high heels with whatever costume I choose!
Hannah said today when we got into our albergue that it is pretty cool that the people who slept in our beds last night are reaching Santiago today. I can´t believe that we will be those pilgrims walking in tomorrow.
So, tomorrow is the day we walk into Santiago. It seems like it came so fast. There were days at the beginning that were too overwhelming to even count how many miles we had to go that day let alone how many until Santiago. As the day went on today, I couldn´t help but feel so proud of myself. The magnitude of how far I have come, both physically and just mentally are huge. I always knew i could do it, but there is just something so special about being so close to actually getting there. Our plan is to wake up really early and try and make it into Santiago for the 12pm Pilgrim´s mass. Our plans haven´t really held up so far but I think we have a good chance at following through with this one. I just can´t wait to walk into the city and know that I have walked over 500 miles in 33 days.
Kirstin and I decided a few weeks ago that we would talk about walking to Finisterre when we got closer to Santiago. Finisterre is considered the end of the world (according to Christopher Columbus). It is an extra 3 days of walking but you end up on the coast of Spain, overlooking the ocean. Today, we talked about it and for some crazy reason, we are signing ourselves up to walk those extra three days. There is something sort of satisfying about saying that we walked until we physically couldn´t anymore because of the ocean. Some postive things about this is we get to spend more days with Hannah, Jess and Ben and continue our two pastery breakfast habit a bit longer.
I think it will also be a little bit more personal to finish in Finisterre. Santiago seems like it will be crazy and busy and really fun. Finisterre is a bit more quiet and there is a tradition of burning your clothes when you get there. It is supposed to symbolize the new you. According to our crazy woman in San Bol (the one who kicked us out) ¨You die as the sun sets and the clothes burn. Then you turn around and are reborn¨. Imagine that being said in a very flowy, over the top hippy voice.
But I am excited to continue on. I think both of us would really regret not walking if we just took a bus there. To answer your question Grandma, Kirstin is doing really well. She had a really big, pretty fantastic looking blister yesterday but once it was popped, it didn´t bother her anymore. It was better than the girl who took her sock off yesterday and her big toenail came off with it. My foot is getting better, well its not getting worse at least!
Arizona posted a link to a website that has a webcam of Santiago. We are planning on getting in around 10:30am tomorrow which will be 1:30am at home. But maybe just take a look throughout the morning because we will be walking around there and spending most of the day in that area.
ONLY 12.8 MILES LEFT!!!!!
Starting with day 29, we walked from Sarria to Portomarin. This day was really hard for my for some reason. It was near the end, we were close enough to count the days we had left to walk on one hand and i was just utterly exhausted. It was one of the hardest mental days I have had. It was around this time that a lot more casual walkers were starting and it seemed that whenever i came close to just being quiet and walking by myself, a big group of loud walkers would come up and it was hard to shake them. I have come to really enjoy the quiet and peacefulness of walking alone. It feels like you have the whole Camino to yourself. That night, we made a wonderful dinner of pasta and pushed a bunch of tables together in our albergue. We bought two Sanitago Tarts and ate every bite. The tarts may be my new favorite food. It is an almond cake and pretty wonderful.
From Portamarin, we walked 16 more miles to Palas de Rei. I felt a lot better this day, just with more energy and an all around excitment to be walking again. Hannah and I were walking together in the morning and our friend Greg bounced up behind us. We hadn´t seen Greg in about a week so it was exciting to see him again. The three of us walked together for the rest of the day into town. The frienships you have on the Camino are so interesting because there are people I know i will never see again but that made such an impact on my time here. I thought Greg was maybe too far ahead of us so we wouldn´t see him again so it was pretty exciting to have him come back and surprise us. When this is all over, I think the part I am going to miss the most is just walking up to someone and talking for an hour or so. The talks can be shorter or longer but just striking up a conversation with a perfect stranger has become such an important part of my day. I have learned so much from having talks with people I may never see again but for that time, they had an impact on my walk.
That night in Palas de Rei, we celebrated John´s birthday, another guy in our little group. Our plan was to make a big dinner similar to my birthday but when we got into the albergue....there was a kitchen but no pots, pans, plates or cutlery. As with most of our plans we have made on the camino, we had to switch them around. Instead, we went out to a nice dinner and had our traditional pilgrim´s meal. This particular restuarant however was one of the nicest dinners I have had. They brought out an extra big piece of Santiago Tart for John and we all sang happy birthday to him.
From Palas de Rei, we walked another 16 miles to Ribadiso. I had a wonderful post all about this day yesterday....but sadly it is lost. The walk itself was pretty, through some small towns and through some farms and forests. The mornings are the hardest to get started. I think I can honestly say that for the first mile or so of every single morning, I have regretted the decision to walk. Its just cold and hard to get started in the morning. But then, the sun comes up and it becomes wonderful again. I really love seeing the sun rise every morning. Once that happens, I am glad I am here once again. The sunrise this morning was one of the best I have seen. I stopped for about 10 minutes and watched it. The sky was just filled with pink and purple streaks of light (two of my favorite colors). As I was standing on this mound watching the sun, a few other older pilgrims stopped and took a picture of me. Maybe it was because my pink socks matched the sky...=)
Jess and I walked together for most of the day and as we walked through one of the small towns, a very nice but very pushy priest invited us into his church. By inviting....I mean he took my hand and pulled me inside. He gave us these little cards and asked us if he could stamp our Pilgrim´s passports. We looked at each other and pulled them out, letting him stamp them. Afterwards, he asked if we wanted to see the church. I said that we were going to continue on our walk. This wasn´t really the answer he wanted so instead he just took my hand and pulled me into the sanctuary. There was another woman sitting down in a pew so Jess and I sat down. The priest then read a very nice prayer for us and then walked out. By this point, we were doing our best to hold in the laughter. He was such a sweet man but it was just so unexpected and funny at the same time. When we finally got out of the church, we laughed for the next five or ten minutes about it.
The albergue in Ribadiso may be my favorite one. The description in the guide book says
¨This is a wonderful reconstruction of an old pilgrim hospice, with an award for environmental architecture, an idyllic location on the river Iso.¨
It lived up to expectation and we spent most of the afternoon laying in the grass outside . They even had warm showers which makes it rank high on my list. I decided that it would be a good idea to wash all of my clothes because it had been a little while since I had done that. This was a bit of a gamble because if the didn´t dry, then it was going to be a very cold morning. Good news though....they dried. The quick dry feature really held true and I was just fine!
This morning, we walked from Ribadiso about 2 miles into a town, Arzua and had breakfast. We were talking about how once we stop walking, our breakfast habits are going to have to change pretty dramatically. My two pastery breakfasts are not going to go as well if I am not walking 15 miles a day. I think I may have to cut it down to just one pastery once we stop walking.
When we were in the cafe, the tv show Amazing Race was on TV. Kirstin and I watched it really closely to see if the people we know who are on it were still on the show. It took about half an hour to realize that it was an old episode from a few seasons ago... (So, Jake you are going to have to let us know how they are doing).
The rest of the day went really well. I thought my foot was feeling pretty good this morning so I only took one Ibeprophen. This turned out to be a pretty big mistake with an hour left to walk. I am going to need to stick to the two Ibeprophens until further notice from my feet. They are looking very swollen though. They will need to go down in order to fit into my high heels. I can´t come home to Halloween season and not be able to wear high heels with whatever costume I choose!
Hannah said today when we got into our albergue that it is pretty cool that the people who slept in our beds last night are reaching Santiago today. I can´t believe that we will be those pilgrims walking in tomorrow.
So, tomorrow is the day we walk into Santiago. It seems like it came so fast. There were days at the beginning that were too overwhelming to even count how many miles we had to go that day let alone how many until Santiago. As the day went on today, I couldn´t help but feel so proud of myself. The magnitude of how far I have come, both physically and just mentally are huge. I always knew i could do it, but there is just something so special about being so close to actually getting there. Our plan is to wake up really early and try and make it into Santiago for the 12pm Pilgrim´s mass. Our plans haven´t really held up so far but I think we have a good chance at following through with this one. I just can´t wait to walk into the city and know that I have walked over 500 miles in 33 days.
Kirstin and I decided a few weeks ago that we would talk about walking to Finisterre when we got closer to Santiago. Finisterre is considered the end of the world (according to Christopher Columbus). It is an extra 3 days of walking but you end up on the coast of Spain, overlooking the ocean. Today, we talked about it and for some crazy reason, we are signing ourselves up to walk those extra three days. There is something sort of satisfying about saying that we walked until we physically couldn´t anymore because of the ocean. Some postive things about this is we get to spend more days with Hannah, Jess and Ben and continue our two pastery breakfast habit a bit longer.
I think it will also be a little bit more personal to finish in Finisterre. Santiago seems like it will be crazy and busy and really fun. Finisterre is a bit more quiet and there is a tradition of burning your clothes when you get there. It is supposed to symbolize the new you. According to our crazy woman in San Bol (the one who kicked us out) ¨You die as the sun sets and the clothes burn. Then you turn around and are reborn¨. Imagine that being said in a very flowy, over the top hippy voice.
But I am excited to continue on. I think both of us would really regret not walking if we just took a bus there. To answer your question Grandma, Kirstin is doing really well. She had a really big, pretty fantastic looking blister yesterday but once it was popped, it didn´t bother her anymore. It was better than the girl who took her sock off yesterday and her big toenail came off with it. My foot is getting better, well its not getting worse at least!
Arizona posted a link to a website that has a webcam of Santiago. We are planning on getting in around 10:30am tomorrow which will be 1:30am at home. But maybe just take a look throughout the morning because we will be walking around there and spending most of the day in that area.
ONLY 12.8 MILES LEFT!!!!!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The final countdown
The last few days have been absolutely beautiful. We are in Sarria right now and have had two shorter days today and yesterday. Three days ago, we walked to O´Comrero which was one of the hardest walks I have had. It was almost 20 miles and took forever but was worth every single step because of how beautiful everything looked. Once we got in, I pretty much collapsed from exhaustion but was just very proud of myself. My foot still hurts and every step is painful but to just put it out of my head and enjoy the day was a struggle. I kept looking up and seeing how beautiful everything was and was just so thankful to be there at that moment. I was walking with Hannah for most of the day and when we finally reached O´Combrero, we just hugged each other. The climb up there was so steep and just kept climbing up and up and up and up and up. It was such a relief to finally get there.
Yesterday we took a slow day because it was only 12 miles. One of my favorite parts of the day was stopping at this blackberry bush with about 10 other people. Everyone was just picking the berries and laughing. They were so delicious, my hands were dripping with purple juice. When we finally reached where we stayed last night, everyone else was laying out on the lawn so we joined them. The rest of the afternoon was spent just laying on the grass and talking. Dinner has gotten much more casual as the days go on and we get more tired. The resturants all offer a pilgrim´s menu that has just gotten old and a bit expensive. It is the same thing in every town so we have started just going to the market and picking up quick stuff. My personal favorite has become crackers with tuna and tomatos, fruit, yogurt and chocolate. Its a pretty good combination.
When Kirstin and I started talking about the Camino, we decided that we wanted to take every detour so we could as much as possible....that hasn´t so much happened but I think its okay. Today we could have walked an extra 3 or 4 miles to this monastary but we decided to take the short day and go the alternative route. It turned out to be just as beautiful. The way we took was through some mountains and we were in fog for most of the morning. It made everything around us look very much like England and the towns were all these small brick buildings that looked old.
My hair is getting really blond from being in the sun all day. I was worried about what would happen to the dye job while I was over here but it is turning pretty blond. Its sort of strange to see myself look so different every day. I haven´t worn makeup in a full month or done my hair. I am looking forward to going back to my normal look though...I miss my normal clothes. I think it has been really good for me though to strip all of that other stuff away, its just not something I am going to keep up with when I am done. My camino look can stay on the camino =).
I heard a rumor that rasberry bushes are supposed to be coming up so I that will be a fun treat! The bed bugs have become an issue but THANK GOD I have not had any problems!!! The albergues have started handing out disposible sheets for our beds and pillows. I sleep much better with the sheet over my bed. Before I tried my best to caccoon into my sleeping bag so no part of me was touching the bed at all.
We are only 5 days away from Santiago and will get in on Monday. I can´t believe how fast it as gone. Tomorrow is our month anniversary of walking. We laughed today about how we are enjoying the shorter days as they are coming up but the shorter days are still 12 and 13 miles. If at home I said I was walked even 5 miles on the treadmill, that would be pretty impressive. But we are walking that with 20 pounds backpacks on and calling it easy...
Today is the town that a lot of people start because we are only 100 km away from Santiago. In order to get your certificate at the end, that is the minimum you need to walk so a lot of people start here. There are a large amount of people with day packs as well and are sending their stuff forward. Its hard to just let that go and not be annoyed when there aren´t as many beds when you feel like you deserve a bed over the person who has only been walking a day, with a 4 pound bag. Everyone does their camino differently but I am also thankful that I have been able to do it in the way I have. There is something really satisfying about finishing a really hard day and just sitting down. Its simple but wonderful at the same time.
Yesterday we took a slow day because it was only 12 miles. One of my favorite parts of the day was stopping at this blackberry bush with about 10 other people. Everyone was just picking the berries and laughing. They were so delicious, my hands were dripping with purple juice. When we finally reached where we stayed last night, everyone else was laying out on the lawn so we joined them. The rest of the afternoon was spent just laying on the grass and talking. Dinner has gotten much more casual as the days go on and we get more tired. The resturants all offer a pilgrim´s menu that has just gotten old and a bit expensive. It is the same thing in every town so we have started just going to the market and picking up quick stuff. My personal favorite has become crackers with tuna and tomatos, fruit, yogurt and chocolate. Its a pretty good combination.
When Kirstin and I started talking about the Camino, we decided that we wanted to take every detour so we could as much as possible....that hasn´t so much happened but I think its okay. Today we could have walked an extra 3 or 4 miles to this monastary but we decided to take the short day and go the alternative route. It turned out to be just as beautiful. The way we took was through some mountains and we were in fog for most of the morning. It made everything around us look very much like England and the towns were all these small brick buildings that looked old.
My hair is getting really blond from being in the sun all day. I was worried about what would happen to the dye job while I was over here but it is turning pretty blond. Its sort of strange to see myself look so different every day. I haven´t worn makeup in a full month or done my hair. I am looking forward to going back to my normal look though...I miss my normal clothes. I think it has been really good for me though to strip all of that other stuff away, its just not something I am going to keep up with when I am done. My camino look can stay on the camino =).
I heard a rumor that rasberry bushes are supposed to be coming up so I that will be a fun treat! The bed bugs have become an issue but THANK GOD I have not had any problems!!! The albergues have started handing out disposible sheets for our beds and pillows. I sleep much better with the sheet over my bed. Before I tried my best to caccoon into my sleeping bag so no part of me was touching the bed at all.
We are only 5 days away from Santiago and will get in on Monday. I can´t believe how fast it as gone. Tomorrow is our month anniversary of walking. We laughed today about how we are enjoying the shorter days as they are coming up but the shorter days are still 12 and 13 miles. If at home I said I was walked even 5 miles on the treadmill, that would be pretty impressive. But we are walking that with 20 pounds backpacks on and calling it easy...
Today is the town that a lot of people start because we are only 100 km away from Santiago. In order to get your certificate at the end, that is the minimum you need to walk so a lot of people start here. There are a large amount of people with day packs as well and are sending their stuff forward. Its hard to just let that go and not be annoyed when there aren´t as many beds when you feel like you deserve a bed over the person who has only been walking a day, with a 4 pound bag. Everyone does their camino differently but I am also thankful that I have been able to do it in the way I have. There is something really satisfying about finishing a really hard day and just sitting down. Its simple but wonderful at the same time.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Catching up a bit
Its been a few days since I have been able to write due to the lack of computers.
The last few days have been pretty good. We walked from Mazarife to Astorga which was about 19 miles. So much for all of my resting.... but I did really well and made it in pretty good time. Astorga was a really neat city and I highly recommend visiting. There are a few Gaudi buildings and also a ton of chocolate shops. What could really be much better? We stayed in a really hippy albergue towards the end of town. They played a lot of Bob Marley and all of the people who worked there had pretty long time. I really liked our night there.
The next morning we were going to walk to Rabanal. My foot hurt so badly when I first woke up that I could barely walk. I didn´t think I would be able to walk so I decided to take the bus or a taxi. There is another girl with us, Sabie, who has caught some sort of stomach flu so she wasn´t going to walk either. We were going to just split the taxi to the next town. Everyone left and I started to feel really bad about not being able to walk. I sulked a bit and was just all around pretty grumpy. But when I moved around the albergue, my foot started to feel a little bit better. I decided to just take the taxi half the way and walk the last half of the day. I just felt so much better about not taking the whole day of. I didn´t want to miss anything. I caught up with all of my friends and we walked together for about 5 miles and took a little break at a bar. After half an hour, we decided to just order a bottle of wine and stay for a bit longer. After our wine, one bottle just didn´t seem enough...so we bought another one and walked and drank =). The last 4 or 5 miles went by much quicker. We sang and walked and drank a bit more until we finally got into Rabanal. It was a pretty fun afternoon.
That night, we decided make some pasta for all of us to share so we went down to the tiny little market and bought some vegitables and pasta. When we got into the kitchen, this man who no one knew, Miguel, just took charge of our dinner. He started ordering us around to cut things and he just made our dinner for us. He of course ate with us but it was pretty hilarious. We were going to have a pretty average dinner but Miguel the chef from Spain made us a delicious baked pasta. We ate outside all wrapped up in blankets and enjoyed our dinner. Afterwards, we went into this little sitting area with a fire place and a man from South Korea played us songs on his guitar. He knew a lot of church songs which I knew from my church camp days. I took a ton of pictures because I didn´t want to forget such a nice moment.
The next morning, our plan was to wake up early and try and make it to this giant cross by the sunrise. The cross is at one of the highest points on the camino and people bring rocks or little momentos from home to place there. As life goes, our plan to make it by sunrise was way off but we made it up there about half an hour afte sunrise. The cross is an absolutely beautiful site.
Instead of bringing a rock from home, I brought a photo of my best friend Jenny and I. Jenny was the person who originally told me about the camino and I know that she will one day go on the Camino as well. I wanted to leave a piece of her and I there for her to come to when she gets here. The photo won´t be there of course, but the cross will. I said a little prayer for her and put our picture under a little tiny pile of rocks and took a photo of it.
As the day went on, it became one of the best days of walking I have had so far. The sites were beautiful. There was a lot of climbing and then going down a mountain but the views all around were incredible. We stopped and had lunch in this very small town that was picture perfect. We got sandwiches and the woman who made them had so much love for her job, it may have been the best sandwich I have ever had. She just made you happy by being around her.
We stayed in Molinaseca which was a 16 mile walk fom Rabanal. The town had a lake that ran through it and we spent the afternoon laying by the river on the grass and dangling our feet in the water. It was a pretty early night but the day was just wonderful.
Today I walked to Villafranca which was 19 miles. Today was mostly through vineyards and small towns. It is picking season for the grapes and there were huge groups of families out working in the field. The day was long but seemed to go by pretty quickly because there was so much to see.
There is a long line for the computer so I need to sign off for now. Hopefully tomorrow I can write a bit more.
Only 8 more days of walking...its gone by so fast!
The last few days have been pretty good. We walked from Mazarife to Astorga which was about 19 miles. So much for all of my resting.... but I did really well and made it in pretty good time. Astorga was a really neat city and I highly recommend visiting. There are a few Gaudi buildings and also a ton of chocolate shops. What could really be much better? We stayed in a really hippy albergue towards the end of town. They played a lot of Bob Marley and all of the people who worked there had pretty long time. I really liked our night there.
The next morning we were going to walk to Rabanal. My foot hurt so badly when I first woke up that I could barely walk. I didn´t think I would be able to walk so I decided to take the bus or a taxi. There is another girl with us, Sabie, who has caught some sort of stomach flu so she wasn´t going to walk either. We were going to just split the taxi to the next town. Everyone left and I started to feel really bad about not being able to walk. I sulked a bit and was just all around pretty grumpy. But when I moved around the albergue, my foot started to feel a little bit better. I decided to just take the taxi half the way and walk the last half of the day. I just felt so much better about not taking the whole day of. I didn´t want to miss anything. I caught up with all of my friends and we walked together for about 5 miles and took a little break at a bar. After half an hour, we decided to just order a bottle of wine and stay for a bit longer. After our wine, one bottle just didn´t seem enough...so we bought another one and walked and drank =). The last 4 or 5 miles went by much quicker. We sang and walked and drank a bit more until we finally got into Rabanal. It was a pretty fun afternoon.
That night, we decided make some pasta for all of us to share so we went down to the tiny little market and bought some vegitables and pasta. When we got into the kitchen, this man who no one knew, Miguel, just took charge of our dinner. He started ordering us around to cut things and he just made our dinner for us. He of course ate with us but it was pretty hilarious. We were going to have a pretty average dinner but Miguel the chef from Spain made us a delicious baked pasta. We ate outside all wrapped up in blankets and enjoyed our dinner. Afterwards, we went into this little sitting area with a fire place and a man from South Korea played us songs on his guitar. He knew a lot of church songs which I knew from my church camp days. I took a ton of pictures because I didn´t want to forget such a nice moment.
The next morning, our plan was to wake up early and try and make it to this giant cross by the sunrise. The cross is at one of the highest points on the camino and people bring rocks or little momentos from home to place there. As life goes, our plan to make it by sunrise was way off but we made it up there about half an hour afte sunrise. The cross is an absolutely beautiful site.
Instead of bringing a rock from home, I brought a photo of my best friend Jenny and I. Jenny was the person who originally told me about the camino and I know that she will one day go on the Camino as well. I wanted to leave a piece of her and I there for her to come to when she gets here. The photo won´t be there of course, but the cross will. I said a little prayer for her and put our picture under a little tiny pile of rocks and took a photo of it.
As the day went on, it became one of the best days of walking I have had so far. The sites were beautiful. There was a lot of climbing and then going down a mountain but the views all around were incredible. We stopped and had lunch in this very small town that was picture perfect. We got sandwiches and the woman who made them had so much love for her job, it may have been the best sandwich I have ever had. She just made you happy by being around her.
We stayed in Molinaseca which was a 16 mile walk fom Rabanal. The town had a lake that ran through it and we spent the afternoon laying by the river on the grass and dangling our feet in the water. It was a pretty early night but the day was just wonderful.
Today I walked to Villafranca which was 19 miles. Today was mostly through vineyards and small towns. It is picking season for the grapes and there were huge groups of families out working in the field. The day was long but seemed to go by pretty quickly because there was so much to see.
There is a long line for the computer so I need to sign off for now. Hopefully tomorrow I can write a bit more.
Only 8 more days of walking...its gone by so fast!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
I cheated a bit today....
Yesterday we walked into Léon which wasn´t too long of a walk but my foot was killing me. It feels like I have bruised my heel and I was up to 1200mg of Iberprophen and it was still hurting. I was struggling a lot on the way in and was sort of just all around feeling bad for myself. I had called my dad the night before and found out our very loved family dog, Molly, was put to sleep a few days earlier. I decided to dedicate my walk that day to Molly and I think it helped me get through the day. Along the trail, people stack rocks in little piles and the rocks are supposed to signify prayers or burdens you want to leave behind. I left a few rocks along the way for Molly. I didn´t really talk much during the walk to anyone so it was a pretty quiet day.
As I got into Léon though, I started to feel a little bit better. I caught up to everyone and we checked into a smaller albergue in the city which was run by some pretty adorible nuns. We walked around the city and it was all around a pleasant afternoon. I took a little nap and read a bit. When I stood up from my rest, I started to walk and immediatly started to cry because my foot hurt so bad. I sort of cried/hobbled along with everyone to dinner and decided that I needed to take a day off. I didn´t think I would be able to finish the day, let alone even start the day. It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I wasn´t going to walk. I felt like I was cheating but I just knew I needed to rest. When I looked in the guide book, it looked like most of the day was through Léon and then the outer suburbs, as well as some highway walking. I´ve heard some of the prettiest days are coming up so it seemed like a day that would not too bad to miss. I went to a beautiful mass that the nun put on later that night but I left my long underwear in my bag.
When I woke up in the morning, my foot felt a little bit better but still not well enough to make it the 25km (about 16 miles) to the next town. I waved goodbye to everyone as they headed off and I hobbled to the bus station. I had to have looked really pathetic based on the looks I was recieving. But I made it to the bus station and found out that the only bus to Mazarife was leaving at 1pm. It was 7 am. I wasn´t sure what to do so I sat down. The man next to me was also on the Camino and I had talked to him a little bit the night before. We chatted for a bit and then decided to go into the little cafe and have some coffee. He was done walking and was just spending the day in Léon but needed to wait a few hours until he could check into his hotel. There was a taxi line outside the cafe and I decided that I would just rather take a taxi then wait the rest of the day for the bus.
It took me a few taxi drivers to convince to drive me to the next town. But then I found a very sweet man who sort of understood my english and I sort of understood his spanish. He told me it would be between €30-40 to get me to Mazarife. I decided it was money well spent and hopped in the taxi. I saw most of my friends along the path as we zipped by. It took me about 25 minutes by car to get the albergue that would have taken 5 or 6 hours to get to by foot. When we got into town, the cab driver took me by the albergue but it was still closed seeing as it was only 9:30. He turned off the meter and drove me to a bar/cafe to wait. The ride ended up only being €25 but I gave him a big tip. I am pretty sure it was the best birthday present I could have given myself. I ordered a tea and sat and read my book for a few hours. When I stood up around 11:30, my foot didn´t hurt as badly. I got to the albergue and checked in. About half an hour went by and then everyone started trickling in. I was laying in a lawn chair, wearing my big sunglasses and sipping a soda. One of the guys just laughed at me and said that was what he was hoping he would find when he walked up the albergue. My foot is already 10x better than it was yesterday so I think this day of sitting will work wonders.
We are staying in an albergue that Arizona recommended us stay in. I am actually sitting downstairs by the kitchen and can see them starting to make dinner for us. Arizona said the pallela was wonderful here and that we needed to stay here. When you check into an albergue, they all have these big books that they write your name down in, the date you got there, your country of origin and then where you started walking. The guy who was writing in my name commented that he met a lady once who stayed here named Arizona. I smiled and told him that I knew her and that she told us we had to stay here. He flipped back in his book and we found her name and the date she stayed!
And for a rash update...it is doing much better! You can barely see it now. As one of the boys Ben so kindly told me, ¨Jenny you can date again¨. He is 17 or 18 and it reminded me of something my brother Kevin would tell me. My blisters are starting to harden and they don´t hurt at all. I think a day of feeling bad for myself and then a long rest day today will have me very happy and ready to walk in the morning.
As I got into Léon though, I started to feel a little bit better. I caught up to everyone and we checked into a smaller albergue in the city which was run by some pretty adorible nuns. We walked around the city and it was all around a pleasant afternoon. I took a little nap and read a bit. When I stood up from my rest, I started to walk and immediatly started to cry because my foot hurt so bad. I sort of cried/hobbled along with everyone to dinner and decided that I needed to take a day off. I didn´t think I would be able to finish the day, let alone even start the day. It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I wasn´t going to walk. I felt like I was cheating but I just knew I needed to rest. When I looked in the guide book, it looked like most of the day was through Léon and then the outer suburbs, as well as some highway walking. I´ve heard some of the prettiest days are coming up so it seemed like a day that would not too bad to miss. I went to a beautiful mass that the nun put on later that night but I left my long underwear in my bag.
When I woke up in the morning, my foot felt a little bit better but still not well enough to make it the 25km (about 16 miles) to the next town. I waved goodbye to everyone as they headed off and I hobbled to the bus station. I had to have looked really pathetic based on the looks I was recieving. But I made it to the bus station and found out that the only bus to Mazarife was leaving at 1pm. It was 7 am. I wasn´t sure what to do so I sat down. The man next to me was also on the Camino and I had talked to him a little bit the night before. We chatted for a bit and then decided to go into the little cafe and have some coffee. He was done walking and was just spending the day in Léon but needed to wait a few hours until he could check into his hotel. There was a taxi line outside the cafe and I decided that I would just rather take a taxi then wait the rest of the day for the bus.
It took me a few taxi drivers to convince to drive me to the next town. But then I found a very sweet man who sort of understood my english and I sort of understood his spanish. He told me it would be between €30-40 to get me to Mazarife. I decided it was money well spent and hopped in the taxi. I saw most of my friends along the path as we zipped by. It took me about 25 minutes by car to get the albergue that would have taken 5 or 6 hours to get to by foot. When we got into town, the cab driver took me by the albergue but it was still closed seeing as it was only 9:30. He turned off the meter and drove me to a bar/cafe to wait. The ride ended up only being €25 but I gave him a big tip. I am pretty sure it was the best birthday present I could have given myself. I ordered a tea and sat and read my book for a few hours. When I stood up around 11:30, my foot didn´t hurt as badly. I got to the albergue and checked in. About half an hour went by and then everyone started trickling in. I was laying in a lawn chair, wearing my big sunglasses and sipping a soda. One of the guys just laughed at me and said that was what he was hoping he would find when he walked up the albergue. My foot is already 10x better than it was yesterday so I think this day of sitting will work wonders.
We are staying in an albergue that Arizona recommended us stay in. I am actually sitting downstairs by the kitchen and can see them starting to make dinner for us. Arizona said the pallela was wonderful here and that we needed to stay here. When you check into an albergue, they all have these big books that they write your name down in, the date you got there, your country of origin and then where you started walking. The guy who was writing in my name commented that he met a lady once who stayed here named Arizona. I smiled and told him that I knew her and that she told us we had to stay here. He flipped back in his book and we found her name and the date she stayed!
And for a rash update...it is doing much better! You can barely see it now. As one of the boys Ben so kindly told me, ¨Jenny you can date again¨. He is 17 or 18 and it reminded me of something my brother Kevin would tell me. My blisters are starting to harden and they don´t hurt at all. I think a day of feeling bad for myself and then a long rest day today will have me very happy and ready to walk in the morning.
Monday, September 22, 2008
I bought 600mg Ibeprophen today
Yesterday we walked to El Burgo which was about 15 miles away from Carrion. I moved pretty slow but I took lots of breaks and made it just fine. We stayed at a parish albergue which was maybe the best sleep I have had since I´ve been here. I was in a small room with two other girls, Hannah and Jess and none of us snored. The women who ran the albergue made us all a really lovely dinner of salad and soup. There were around 60 people staying there that night so we all sat, crammed into this tiny room in long tables. I love the big group dinners, they are just so happy and full of happiness. We had to stand up and say our names and where we were from. After each person, everyone in the room cheered. There was a lot of cheering =).
We went to bed to the sound of a thunderstorm and woke up to the sound of a thunderstorm. What does that mean? Well I got to wear my rain pants for one thing. The rain actually wasn´t that bad, just a constant drizzle for the first half of the day. My rain jacket and pants worked perfectly though and I really can´t complain too much. Most of the walk was along the highway but lucky for us there wasn´t too much traffic. There is actually a path on the side of the highway so we aren´t really walking in traffic but looking ahead in my guide book, it appears to be a dangerous walk into León tomorrow. The book said something about a lot of people taking the bus in and that those bus drivers should say a prayer for the walkers. The good news is that the walk is only...ready for this.....11 miles tomorrow!
There are a lot of people who are riding their bikes along the camino. I just have to say, they are really really annoying. They don´t mean to be, but they just speed along, much faster than I can walk and sort of yell back ¨Buen Camino¨as they rush past. Its mostly that I am tired of walking and they are going faster and usually you have to move out of the way for them. It is sort of petty I suppose. Some of them have these little bells that they ding to get you to move out of they way. The bells I think are worse than the yelling at you. Some bikers today did though yell ¨Hey Chicas¨ to us as they sped past us. I knew those rain pants looked good....
My right foot still hurts so I went to the Farmacia today and bought some pretty strong ibeprophen so I should be cruising tomorrow. A few of the girls in our little group are making us dinner tonight, I think it is vegitable soup which should be really nice!
We went to bed to the sound of a thunderstorm and woke up to the sound of a thunderstorm. What does that mean? Well I got to wear my rain pants for one thing. The rain actually wasn´t that bad, just a constant drizzle for the first half of the day. My rain jacket and pants worked perfectly though and I really can´t complain too much. Most of the walk was along the highway but lucky for us there wasn´t too much traffic. There is actually a path on the side of the highway so we aren´t really walking in traffic but looking ahead in my guide book, it appears to be a dangerous walk into León tomorrow. The book said something about a lot of people taking the bus in and that those bus drivers should say a prayer for the walkers. The good news is that the walk is only...ready for this.....11 miles tomorrow!
There are a lot of people who are riding their bikes along the camino. I just have to say, they are really really annoying. They don´t mean to be, but they just speed along, much faster than I can walk and sort of yell back ¨Buen Camino¨as they rush past. Its mostly that I am tired of walking and they are going faster and usually you have to move out of the way for them. It is sort of petty I suppose. Some of them have these little bells that they ding to get you to move out of they way. The bells I think are worse than the yelling at you. Some bikers today did though yell ¨Hey Chicas¨ to us as they sped past us. I knew those rain pants looked good....
My right foot still hurts so I went to the Farmacia today and bought some pretty strong ibeprophen so I should be cruising tomorrow. A few of the girls in our little group are making us dinner tonight, I think it is vegitable soup which should be really nice!
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