Greetings from Jaca, Spain

Temperature:

In the Pyrennes - 70 degrees with a light breeze (beautiful)

Mood: Happy to be among friends.

Hello all,

Well, I guess this will be last post for my el camino de santiago blog.

Funny its not how I thought it would turn out. I thought my last post would be upon my arrival to Santiago de Compostela. But, I guess that will have to wait until next year. Life, as it turns out, cannot always be planned. Just lived. And, of course, enjoyed!

As you can see, from the photos, I am happily staying here in Jaca, Spain with my friend Susana. Susana, the girl in the blue t-shirt, is a wonderful woman. I met her in Madrid when I worked as an English teacher and she worked as the administrator of the language academy.

Now she owns her own restaurant. Always a dream for her! She is an incredible chef. She has a restaurant called "Gaston" and her menu is to die for.

I am spending the week with Susana, her niece Virginia, the pretty girl in the purple t-shirt, as well as Chus, Susana´s dear friend (the blond). The four of us spend our days hanging out in the restaurant, taking walks around Jaca and just talking about life.

Its great. Especially now that I´m recovering from bronchitis, to just chill out and take it easy.

I´ll be leaving for Madrid on Sunday. Then I´ll spend a few days there visiting some other friends and then off to San Francisco on Thursday, August 7th.

Thank you all for your lovely emails. Keep them coming! I´ll still be in touch. And thank you all for your interest in my trip through the camino. I will be returning next year. And of course I will have another blog to share with all of you.

Lots of love,

Andrea

El Camino de Santiago - 2009!

Mood: Bittersweet

Hello all,

A couple of days ago, I arrived at a difficult decision. It was hard but I decided to leave the Camino and come back it to it next year.

It wasn´t easy, especially because I thought that I had just a little cold. I thought that a day in a private hostal would clear it up. But that little cold became worse. Finally I went to the doctor and she said that I have bronchitis. Her recommendation? Take antibiotics, drink lots of fluid, get lots of sleep and save the camino for another time.

Remember in an earlier post I talked about the camino and that its divided into three parts?
The Pyrenees represents the physical (lots of hills to climb) the Mesita represents the mental (its flat and brown with nothing in view) and Galicia represents the spiritual (its beautiful).

I am proud that for the most part, I completed the physical and the mental. And excited that the spiritual part of the adventure is still ahead of me. I cannot miss out on this last adventure. So, back to Leon in June, 2009!!

And what am I up to now? Well, I followed the doctor´s orders and stayed in Leon until last Friday. From Tuesday until Friday I basically stayed in bed and slept. I made friends with the lady who runs the hostal and she visited me regularly in my room and brought hot tea and sandwiches. Very kind! And very, very Spanish!

And, during my trip, I stayed in touch with my best friend,Susana, from Madrid (remember I lived there for three years). I told her that I had to give up the camino. So, she invited me to stay with her in Jaca, Spain. So, I took a bus yesterday and now I´m with Susana, hanging out. Jaca is in the Pyrenees so I am back where I started in the beginning of the camino.

I´m very happy hanging out with Susana. And feel very lucky to have such a good friend.

I´ll post one last post in the next day or two with pictures from Jaca.

Love to all of you,
Andrea


Love,
Andrea

Really sick in Leon

Leon

Temperature: Moderate
Mood: A little sad

Hello all,

Well, three days ago when I first noticed a sore throat, I had thought that it was nothing that a good night sleep wouldn´t cure.

Then, the following day, I really couldn´t speak. No voice.

Yesterday, I thought, well, I´ll just stay overnight in a decent hotel room, drink lots of juice, relax, then I´ll take a bus to where I should be and rejoin my friends.

And, yesterday, I also went to see a local doctor in Leon. She told me that I had better stay in bed a few more days and she prescribed me some antibiotics. I guess its a little more severe than I thought.

So, here I am in Leon. I still have a slight fever, congested chest, sore throat. All those good things.

I´m pondering whether or not I should continue the camino. I mean, what I have could just be a strong cold or maybe its bronchitis. I don´t know

So my dilemma: I love hiking the camino - it´s awesome! I mean, I´m seeing Spain by foot, I´m meeting tons of new people, I´m testing my physical limits and more than anything, I feel God´s presence everywhere. It´s amazing.

On the other hand, maybe I should save my energy to fight whatever I have. I guess I can be like the Europeans and come back next summer and finish the last stage. Like I said, many people walk the camino in stages: Pamplona to Burgos for example. Or Leon to Santiago de Compostela.

I don ´t know. I´ll make the decision in the next day or two. I´ll keep you posted.

Hasta pronto,
Andrea

Sick in Leon

Temperature: Mild
Mood: A little crabby

Hello,

Yesterday when I arrived in Leon I actually had laryngitis! And I like to talk. So when I hung out with my fellow pilgrims for lunch, dinner, sightseeing - it was a bit difficult. Although, I still chatted quite a bit, I sounded like a frog.

Today when I woke up, I had a slight fever, runny nose and even worse laryngitis.

It was hard but I said goodbye to my camino friends. I then checked into a proper hotel. Today I plan to just sleep, drink lots of fluids and take some medicine that I picked up at the pharmacy.

Sickness is part of the camino. So are blisters, tenditinius, twisted ankles etc.

Some pilgrims must rest for days. Others have to give up the camino all together and try again next year.

I´m grateful. I should be okay by tomorrow.

Andrea

Leon

Temperature: A bit cloudy so great for travelling

Mood: Feeling alive.

I´ll spare you all of the details of all of the other towns that I passed between Sahagun and Leon. Let me just tell you that I am in Leon. Yahoo!!!!! Leon officially ends the mesita and soon I will be in verdent pastures. Leon, if you look at the map is number (304-301). I´m roughly 2/3 of the way to the final destination (Santiago de Compostela).

For the last two days, I´ve been walking with a young man from Korea - Jay. He´s only 23 and is in his 5th year of medical school! He speaks English quite well. He´s fun.

Leon is a major city with over 100,00 inhabitants. Another roman city, its famous for its huge cathedral in the center. Lots of tiny winding streets and all filled with cafes. It really is a beautiful city and aside from Burgos, its probably one of my favorites on the camino.

And, of course I was able to find an internet cafe to post my latest pix on comments. The pictures above are actually from the internet as my puny camera can´t do the city justice.


Tonight, hang out with some other pilgrims, dinner, explore more of the city, and sleep. Begin another 24 kilometer day tomorrow.

Hasta pronto,
Andrea

Sahagun

Temperature: Hot, Hot, Hot
Mood: Cheering up a bit after hanging out with some new friends.

Okay, the truth is, I don´t really like walking alone. Many pilgrims go on the camino on their own and they love to be by themselves. For them the camino is so reflective and they can think about the direction of their life and ponder some of the bigger questions that life poses.

Okay - I like doing all of that too. But, I still like travelling with other pilgrims. That´s just me.

So, again, I lucked out and travelled with a German lady - Hildegard. I think she said that she´s from Bremin, Germany. She pushed me to travel hard. This time I did about 35 kilometers - about 20 miles or so. That´s so much. Especially in the part of Spain that we are in now. The mesita.

Let me explain a little about the mesita. Its flat. And dry. And unchanging. And covered in very brown weeds and grass. And there are very few towns so you must be sure to bring plenty of drinking water or you will be set up for some major dehydration. And did I mention flat? Yep, as flat as a pancake so forget about trying to look ahead for the next town that´s a few miles away for a little inspirtation.

Really, the el camino de santiago is divided up into 3 major stages: The Pyrenees, The Mesita, and the rolling hills of Galicia. A ¨hospitalero¨ (an albergue greeter) said that there is a Spanish saying about the el camino¨: The Pyrenees is physical (lots of major hills), The Mesita is mental (you have to psychologically prepare yourself for the dryness and flatness) and Galicia is spiritual (its just beautiful).

I´m glad I had some company.

Hasta Pronto,
Andrea

Fromista to Carrion de los Condes

Temperature: Mild
Mood: Still a little sad

Hello all,

If you look at the map at the bottom of my blog, I´m about 4 towns west of Burgos. Slowly but surely getting towards the goal of Santiago de Compestala. Its exciting news for me as I´ve travelled about 430 kilometers (a lot for me).

But, still a bit sad after saying goodbye to my group of fellow pilgrims in Burgos. And, as I said before, especially sad to say goodbye to Deiter. That was a bit emotional.

So, I was on my own to Fromista. And walking alone can always be reflective but it can be kind of lonely. I was cheered a little bit when I got to the albergue in Fromista. As you can see it is a bit of a paradise with a pool and everything!!! We all sat around the pool and drank limonade or beer and just relaxed after a 16 mile walk.

Then the next day, I began walking on my own to Carrion de los Condes,

The first 5 kilometers of the walk was heavenly - flat dry earth along a beautifully green river. This part of the walk I did on my own. I found myself praying and thanking God for all that he has given and shown me. It was early in the morning, about 6:30 and as I walked I realized how fortunate I am and how I just wanted to drink in this special moment.

A bit later, Karina from Barcelona and Meriella from France caught up to me on the road. We walked on together chanting: ¨Somos mujeres jovenes, fuertes y positivas¨. We are young, strong and positive women. We´re going to compete this last 25 kilometers if it kills us!!! :)

Later, when in Carrion de los Condes, many of us who are staying at the same hostal gathered for dinner. (See picture above) As Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quijote once said: Hunger is the best sauce.

And that´s right. Food never tasted so good.

Lastly, right before I went to bed, at the albergue, a group of young Spanish kids were playing games with the nuns of the hostal. Back home in the states, you rarely see nuns, but here in Spain, its so wonderful to see them all over. It reminded me of when I was young and in Catholic school.

Hasta pronto,
Andrea

Castrojeriz - Fromista

Temperature: hot, hot, hot

Mood: Sad

In my last stop, Burgos, it seemed where are all of the pilgrims with whom I had been travelling had decided to leave. Its not uncommon for Eurpoeans to do the camino in sections as opposed to travelling the whole 790 kilometers at once.

So gone were the Italian ladies (see picture) the Norwegian couple (see below) Montserrat and her dog (see picture) and of course my ¨belovable¨ Dieter. It is a weird feeling to be surrounded by great friends that you had just really bonded with just to say farewell.

So, feeling a little sad, I took a bus to Cartrojeriz and began the next phase of my journey. This section is the ¨mesita¨. I had ended the Pyrreneas section with Burgos (marked by several hills and valleys, rioja grape vineyards and magnificient views) And, now have begun the mesita - flat, dry and arid.

Imagine my surprise after walking some 20 kilometres to find a little albergue with a pool (see picture)!! So, so, so nice. It was a little oasis where people were lounging around in bikinis and drinking ¨claras¨ (beer and 7up basically) and just taking in the sun.

My feet, once again were killing me so I quickly chucked my bag and put my feet in the pool.

Sweet relief.

Hasta pronto,
Andrea

Burgos

Temperature: Extremely warm in the afternoon and then somewhat windy at night

Mood: Well rested

Hello all,

Well, I decided to kick back a bit in Burgos - my feet definitely needed a rest! They were covered in blisters. Sometimes I think it is a bit foolhardy of me to go from relatively little exercise back home to walking 12 to 15 miles daily. So I´m paying the price. I´m glad to have stayed in Burgos - its a beautiful city.

Looking at the map you can see that Burgos is more less the half way point in the camino frances. So that´s kind of a nice feeling. Burgos is rich in history, especially the central area. As you can see from the pictures, the most important landmark is the cathedral. Burgos has amazingly wide streets with an electric night life. I was lucky to have fellow pilgrim friends with whom I could enjoy a lovely meal. Two of them are down below - a lovely Norwegian couple named Kari and Armstein.

These two are teachers in Norway and they told me quite a bit about education in Norway. Did you know that the teacher to student ratio in Norway is 5 to 1? Incredible!!!!! As we all know, back in the states, we´re looking at 35 students to a single teacher. That´s socialism for you.

Well, after 3 days in Burgos, I´m ready to set off with my backpack and take on the camino. My blisters are all cleared up so I have no excuse to not take on a 30 kilometer day.

Hasta luego,
Andrea

Burgos

Dieter

Hello all,

Again, sometimes it´s a bit difficult to find a computer so it´s been awhile since I last updated the blog. Many apologies.

Anyway, in this entry I would like to write about my travelling companion, Dieter. It´s funny, the camino is a lot like life - some friends come into your life for only a season and others, if your lucky, are around much longer. I have met many pilgrims, most of whom I would share a meal, perhaps a glass of wine, spend an afternoon walking. And its the fellow pilgrims that make walking the camino so delightful. I have met wonderful people from Norway, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Spain. Of course, English is always the lingua franca and I feel fortunate to speak it as my first language. All of these pilgrims just blow me away with their language skills.

Most often I would walk an afternoon with one group, or meet another couple of pilgrims during dinner. All delightful encounters but most somewhat fleeting. But Dieter has been a bit different.

We met about a week ago. Sometimes we walk together and sometimes we walk alone. If we don´t walk together, I always know that I will definitely see him at the pilgrim hostal. Its a nice feeling to know that even if you begin your day on your own, at the end of the day there´s someone to hang out with.

Dieter is from Germany but he speaks English very well. When I first saw him, I thought he was British. And, when we spoke he seemed to be a bit hesitant in English. I thought to myself, oh, seems like a nice guy but too bad we won´t be able to hang out much. But, ás we walked together, to my surprise his English just seemed to improve with each passing day.

On the road we talk about many things like the differences in American and German politics, the importance of religion in one´s life, the philosophy of the camino, and our most favorite topic - our blisters! And one more thing - he is a whiz with maps, distances and schedules. he has saved me many times from going the wrong way. That is always nice in a travelling companion.

Dieter is only walking from Pamplona to Burgos. Many pilgrims in Europe just do part of the journey only to start up again the following year to complete another section. He will be leaving on the 16th.

I will miss him.

Hasta luego,
Andrea

Dieter

Why do the pilgrimage?

Hello,

Look below and you can see a poem written in Spanish about the pilgrimage. It was written a graffiti wall where pilgrims left their little bits of wisdom in German, French, etc. I was really taken with this one. It makes me think why I have chosen to walk the camino. I can only say, that as this urban wisdom suggests, there is a strong force within me that has called me for months. I am so glad that I have listened to this inner voice.

Anyway, here´s the translation:

First photo:

Dust, mud, sun and rain,
this is the Camino of Santiago.
Thousands of pilgrims have come
over thousands of years.

Pilgrim, who calls you?
What hidden force beckons you?
Not the countyside of stars,
not the huge cathedrals

Not the bravado of the province of Navarra,
Not the wine of the rioja region,
Not the shellfish of Galicia,
Not the Spanish countryside



Second photo:

Pilgrim, who calls you?
What hidden force attracts you?
Not the people on the camino,
not the rural customs.

Not the history and the culture
Not the rooster from the city of Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
Not Gaudi´s palace (in Barcelona).
Not the castle Ponferrada.

Third photo:
Everything that you see as you pass.
Is a pleasure to see.
More than the voice that calls you
You feel it more deeply.

The force that pushes me,
The force that attracts me,
I can´t even try to explain
Only someone up above knows.

Spanish poem

Day 14 - whoops, forgot to update in awhile

Just outside of Burgos (see map) about 40% there

Temperature: Super cold in the morning, then over 80 degrees in afternoon
Mood: Having fun

Hello all,

Sorry its been a while since my last update. Been travelling, making new friends, laughing, having some vino.

Ill be uploading some photos as soon as I find another usb port. In the meantime, the update:

In the past few days, I have actually been walking an average of 18 miles are so. As you know, Im not in the greatest of shape but its amazing how quickly the body can acclimate. And, its so much better when you are walking with new friends instead of on your own. Not only can you talk about world affairs and stuff but they kind of carry you along in their own pace.

Its cool.

The last few days, Ive been hanging out with a guy from Germany named Dieter. He is really alot of fun. His English is pretty good but I do like his little Dieterisms like: I do declare it

Well, I know this is a short entry. Ill wrîte very soon.

Andrea

Day 9 Logrono

Temperature: Mild

Mood: Feeling great!

Woke up this morning with some blisters but nothing that some compeed couldn´t buffer. Had a bit of a late start because the pharmacy didn´t open until about 9 a.m. But, I think it was all part of a divine plan because I got to walk with Hernan, the Spanish man on the left, and Zoli, the Hungarian man on the right (he´s holding the flute).

Both men were amazing in their own separate ways. Hernan, a 73 year old guy from the Basque country and with the strength of a race horce, spent the day telling me all about the Spanish history. For the most part I could understand him until he would get really excited and would speak rapid castellano - then I only got the gist of it.

Some interesting factoids:

The prince of Spain got a new law passed in parlament that now the first born female can inherit the throne. Never been done in the history of Spain. He has two small daughters.

In Barcelona, bullfighting is never broadcast. It is not at all a popular sport in Cataluna.

Spain suffered from an extreme shortage of food after the civil war. One reason, all of the farms were abandoned and two, Argentina sent many boats of food over to Spain but Franco, who was a friend of Hitler, sent them all to Germany. What a way to look out for your country.

Anyway, Hernan was a joy, always laughing, giving me encouragement during kilometer 20 of the day´s journey when I thought I would drop, teaching me some new Spanish vocab. He was great!

And Zoli - he was fun too. His English was limited and he spoke no Spanish. So I served as a traslator for these guys. Zoli is only 33 years old and is an accomplished musician from Budapest. He writes scores for various local operas. And boy can he sing. His voice as pure and as piercing as an angel. This he did by surprise when the three of us were exploring an abandoned cathedral. The acostics just carried his voice....

The stretch of the el camino has plenty of roman bridges and aqueducts. The concept of the arch and a keystone really withstanding the test of time. I imagine myself following in the tracks of thousands, actually at this point, millions of pilgrims who have travelled over these same bridges.
I feel united with current and past pilgrims.

Hasta pronto,
Andrea

Day 9 Logrono

Temperature: Mild

Mood: Feeling great

Map of Camino Frances

Hello all,

Someone emailed me letting me know that I forgot to include the Camino Frances. Yes, how can you track my progress if you don´t know where I am?

So its the Camino Frances. And, I´m happy to report, that I have just made it to Logrono. So I´m about 10% of the way there!

Andrea

Day 6 cizur menor - puente de la reina

Temperature: bit misty in the morning and then getting to about 90 high noon

Mood: Ready to start the day

Day 6

I got up this morning with my blisters healed and ready to take on the day. Today´s trip was about 19 kilometers or 12 miles. Surprisingly I handled it with ease. No blister pain, no knee problems, no fatigue.

I ended up walking with a guy from Finland ¨Kimmo¨. A young guy about 28 with a tatoo on his neck and red hair. Nicest guy who, as is the order around here, spoke English very well. He´s an artist who is finding himself with a bit of time on his hands and decided to walk the Camino. We talked about the differences in Finnish and American cultures, about the Spain-Germany soccer match (Spain won), places to check out in Costa del Sol (he´s into beaches and I had just been there), etc.

It is always good to have a travelling companion with you when you walk. It makes the day so much more pleasant! The hours fly by and before you know it you´re at your next destination.

The route between Cizur Menor is a taxing on as it has one long hill that covers about 2 miles. It´s gentle but its long. There are great views of Pamplona to the north-west. Plus there are many public fountains along the way to refill those water bottles (drinking at least 12 oz of h20 every half hour is crucial!!)

Well, Kimmo and I made it to the next alberque in Puenta de la reina. Its a pleasant enough town and I look forward to going to dinner and maybe having a tortilla de patata. This alberque is run by monks so definitely separate rooms and bathrooms for men and women and lights out at 10. Its a good thing.

I´m off to the garden to take a siesta.

P.S. Still hoping to find a computer with a usb port.