Back in action, 2010 (okay photos with this entry, I´ll have to do later)

Hello everyone,

Its surreal to be back on the camino once again. As they say, its never the same river twice, and that goes for people too. Two years ago, I was in such a different space when I came to the camino. I mean, I was so broken. And then, I didn´t know what to expect on the camino so that just added to the anxiety.

Now, I´m in a different place in my life and as such so is my outlook on the camino. I come to it with more confidence and a feeling of comfortability. Like returning to see an old friend. It makes me very happy.

I started in Leon, Spain, same place I left off two years ago. Another surreal experience: I stayed in the same pilgrim hostal as I had then. But in July 2008, they practically had to carry me out because I had an accute case of bronchitis. It left me so worn out that I needed to see a doctor and after many days of indecision, I finally decided that I need to go home. (see earlier blogs entries on this same blog)

But, now, just two days ago, I was one of the first pilgrims out of bed and hanging out in the kitchen with a cafe con leche!!! Then I walked 14 miles on my first day with my 15 pound backpack. Not bad for a first day. And no blisters!

On the way, I spoke with two very cool cats. One, Gabriel, a guy from Cataluna, told me all about the camino. He gave me some important information that Santiago Compestela (my ultimate goal) means : Jacob with the stars. And if you follow the camino at night, you can see a pattern of stars that lead to Santiago Compestela. That is how the old pilgrims of the 12 century could find the place!!! They decided to bury the bones of St. James (legend has it that the apostle, St. James is buried in Santiago Compestela) because there were several shooting stars seen in this location. Interesting information, right?

And I met another person, Alberto. He´s the host of this alburgue (pilgrim hostal) that I´m staying out now. Does he look like Dennis Hopper or what??? He´s a very nice person, just helping me out and making me laugh. Its nice to have company on the camino.

Anyway, I´m now two days into my journey and with about 35 kilometers under my belt. Not too much but I don´t want to get any dreaded blisters!!! I know that I´m going kinda slow by some pilgrim standards but the truth is I just want to take good care of my feet. There are some pilgrims that log 50 kilometers in one day (that´d be about 30 miles) and show up at albergue on their knees. Hey, I guess that´s one way to go. But for me, I´ve got loads of time. I could just walk 10 miles per day and still make my goal by th 25 of July.

Anway, please email me when you can: andreagruner@yahoo.com. I always love to hear from my friends in the states. I´ll be blogging every couple of days so stay tuned. ;)

I hope you are all doing very, very well.

Saludos,
Andrea