Dedication of my Camino



I have decided to dedicate my Camino to my mother. She instilled in me a sense of curiosity and adventure. Without this I probably would not be here. My mother is one of the most intelligent and curious people I have ever known. Mom, if you are reading this I know that you would find northern Spain fascinating and beautiful. If you could, you would do this walk and so would dad I´m sure.You could probably give me a good lesson in much of the history here.

As some of you may know, I have left my bicycle in Leon and am now walking the rest of the way to Santiago. Cycling certainly has its merits. It´s not as hard on the body for one thing, it´s a more efficient use of energy, it´s faster and most importantly I can carry a lot more food. I seem to be hungry all the time and some of these rural mountain villages don´t offer much beyond dry sandwiches and the typical "pilgrim menu" but more on that later. I´m not complaining as I still maintain that anytime I get to eat anything and drink some clean water is an awesome day. I don´t take that for granted as most of the world has not much to eat and a greater majority do not have clean water. In fact, in honor of clean water, I am going to reserve some at the monestary alburge where I am staying by not taking a shower. I had one yesterday. That´s my future revenge for the old guy in the next bunk who will be snoring his way into nirvanna tonight while I lie awake thinking up ways to.....never mind.

But I digress. I am grateful it´s not raining at the moment and I have a place to sleep. Life is good, Spain is fabulous and even though my feet are killing me, I get to do this.

Thanks again for reading this. I´m still trying to sort out the photo thing.

Westward, ever westward

Sadly I think my camera has stopped recording photos. I think I need to reformat the memory card.

In any case.

I am in Mansillas de Las Mulas. If anyone knows what mansillas are or what the mulas are then my hat is off to you. I´m less than 20 miles east of Leon. It´s the last big city before Santiago I think.

I´m on the Meseta now and the wind has been howling. It´s gotten a little cooler and there has been some rain. Lucky for me, I have not had to cycle in it much. It´s like Camelot, it seems to rain before I get there or after I leave or at night. It´s bound to happen however that I´ll be cycling in it eventually. I picked up my mileage some because I would like to arrive in Santiago before it snows. The locals say it´s coming. 

Some of the alburgues are begining to close for the winter but there are still plenty of pilgrims out on the road so they are still crowded at times. I stayed in one private hostel owned by a single family that were really kind. The dormitory actually had a lounge with couches, comfy chairs AND best of all a pellet stove. Most of the alburgues seem to lack anyhting resembling a soft place to sit or relax. I suppose they don´t want us to get too comfortable.  I turned on the pellet stove immediatley and everyone was so grateful. Later, one of the sons of the family asked me when I was in the dining room if I was the one from Colorado who started the stove. I thought I was in big trouble but he patted me on the back and said (in clear but heavily accented English), "Colorado, you knew how to light the stove. Good for you. It´s because you are from Colorado that you knew how to do it...ha ha ha". "Actually" i said, "I read the directions" which were in Spanish, English and I think Dutch. Such is the Camino...They call me "Colorado" in these parts.

At this point I think this is the most difficult thing I have done. But then I say that about a lot of things. The cycling is great although I don´t recommend this ride for the novice touring cyclist. I followed the Calzada Romana (the old Roman road, a scenic route) today for 15 miles or so and it was a bone jarring experience. Huge rocks and gravel. Oy! My brain stem hurt at the end of the day. For the most part the alburgues are great but inevitably there is some old, large guy who snores like a chainsaw. I have heard stories of some of them being kicked out of the dorms. Even I have not done that yet. I´m not used to being around people this much. It´s gotten too cold to camp so I´m learning patience. I sleep later or when I´m dead. I have a great book.

I´ll be off the meseta soon and the terrain will change. Maybe I´ll get a room in a hotel in Leon. 

But all in all, it´s still an amazing journey. There is something profound about this that seems to skirt the edge of my consciousness and I cannot put my finger on just yet. It´s a convincing sensation that there is something coming, transforming, I don´t know. I love the churches and cathedrals. The hermitages are especially alluring and always, my prayer each day is the same, "God, help me to find you out on the road today". When I reach the safe harbor of an alburgue at the end of the day I realize that that is exactley what has happened.

Thanks for reading this. 

More from The Camino

Our Patron Saint

 Spain is incredible! The Camino is incredible! I have this little group of people that I continually encounter along the way. We talk about the hostels, our feet, the bread and cheese we eat and how exhausted we all are. There are different levels of hostels starting with the most basic donativos (by donation) often run by the nearby parish. Up to posh, private hostels and then of coursae there are hotels and pensiones. The municipal hostels are the most popular. They cost 6 or 7 Euros can be crowded.  They wake us up at 6 and kick us out by 8. It´s not even daylight yet. .

I am in a private hostel tonight in Logroño. It´s 14 Euros and a little more upscale. I´m going to get a private room tomorrow for the quiet and rest day.

Spain is lively. Business opens somewhere around 8 and 10 in the AM closes promptley at noon and sometimes opens again after 4 or 5.

This hostel is right on the main square by the cathedral. I love the cathedrals! Although the Baroque period was gaudy for sure and there is alot of that here, the bells still ring about every 15 minutes.

The Spanish people are so kind and for the most part very gracious. Lovely people. They are loud and vivacious and there are children everywhere... I´ve spent a few nights camped in the hills and that´s the best. But camping is essentially illegal in Spain but not  enforced here on the Camino in the north...

There are churches, hermitages, cathedrals and generally places for worship, meditation or quite reflection about every few miles and they are all in various stages of repair or disrepair. I saw one today in Vania that had no roof. Those are the best for me. I got a thing for archeological ruins. The hilltops have a remnant of one kind or another visible for miles. 

La Hermita de San Miguel set on a hilltop amidst a grove of olives

Inside La Hermita de San Miguel
Those are hundres of prayers, petitions, notes, photos, stones and other memmorials
on the altars

There are grapes, olives, artichokes, sheep, goats. It is an amazing country. I love it!

This whole experience is so rich in so many ways, I cannot begin to describe it. It has challenegd me in ways I never dreamed of and it has provided gifts I never would have imagined. So many simple acts of kindness from locals, other pilgrims, me reaching out to someone else, whatever.

I posted some photos on my facebook page. I hope you´ll have a look.

On the Camino

Riding up the French side toward the Spanish border across the Pyranees

Wow, what a ride so far....

The weather in Bayonne was not great but as one can see from the photo the weather has improved.

Once in San Jean I began to meet many more pilgrims as is to be expected. Many people begin their journey there. Of course I´ve met folks from all over. 

The first part of this section was unbelievably steep. I pushed my bike for about half. The next day was even longer and more gruelling. But here I am at the pass being greeted and cheered by the French contingent.

From here it was up and down but not like the first part...The rest of the ride to Roncessvalles was beautiful. 

This is a hospitelero dedicated to Pilgrims. It´s a hostel run by volunteers and has been in continuous service since the 1200s or earlier. It sleeps about 180 people. The dorms and facilities have been renovated recently and is very clean and bright. I don´t sleep well in a room with 100 other people so I have been doing some camping.

That night after dinner there was a Pilgrim´s mass and blessing in the adjoining church. It was funny because my friend Alexander and I heard 2 completely different things. My Spanish is pretty good but there was a terrible echo in the church so it was unclear. But I thought I heard the priest say that, "Normally, communion is reserved just for Catholics but since you are all Pilgrims on the journey something, something....." My freind Alexander said he heard, "Communion is reserved for Catholics only"... In any case, I like to believe that what I heard was correct because I took communion. I was not struck dead on the spot by lightening. Besides WWJD What would Jesus do? He´d say, "Cut the crap, you are all welcome at the table. I did not invent religious differences or even religion"...Was he not the first true revolutionary?

If anyone is offended then good, I am following well.

Thanks for reading this. More photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/117111156682678516435/BayonneStJeanPiedDePortRoncesvallesAndIntoPamplona