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Camino de Santiago

June - July 2022
"All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking."
-Friedrich Nietzsche.
Walking is slow and deliberate. Getting to deep conversations can be too. Read more
  • 26footprints
  • 3countries
  • 19days
  • 289photos
  • 9videos
  • 8.0kkilometers
  • 6.7kkilometers
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  • Camino de Santiago
    2111
    Day 13

    Palais de Rei to Arzua

    June 26, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Today was a 30km day. (That’s 18.6 miles for you English people). We were on the trail by 7:30 which is about half an hour better than our best leave time yet. This is our longest day. Tomorrow should (should?!) be a piece of cake. (Unless we are so sore from today that we can’t move.)

    We walked through a lot of industrial areas today. It wasn’t the most thrilling of the legs. It was long and a bit boring at times. We had to find ways of amusing ourselves so there was a cherry spitting contest after we scored some cherries from a farmers market. There was the school drive playlist sing along - the CD Jon never removed from his car in the 6 years he drove all three boys to school in the mornings. Aiden opened up a can of olives in anchovy paste he bought in a vending machine. And also a can of licorice stuffed with weird colored flavors. I bought a cup of corned nuts from a roadside stand to eat because I was bored. Daniel aways walks with a croissant in his hand to keep himself amused and full of calories. We also were entertained by a singing Irish couple on the trail just when I was about to lose my mind. The Way must have known we needed a diversion.

    Of course we are always amused by the dogs and cats that greet us in every town. We also noticed more weird wildlife this hike- probably because there were fewer things to look at in the distance. We saw a cool green lizard, a really weird octopus mushroom, a big pinching beetle, and some flowers that seemed different.

    Two days left. Oh, and before I forget, this hotel is really cool. A centuries old building gone modern. I’ll post more pictures in the next footprint because I can only do 20 at a time.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    Day 14

    Arzua to O Pedrouzo

    June 27, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    I feel like the entertainment on the trail is becoming about the people rather than the scenery. We’re walking through small towns that are sweet and scenic but by this time we feel like we’ve seen it. The eucalyptus forests smell good and harkened us back to our California days but we’re over that now too. The volume of people on the trail is greater now and the characters are coming out. Today there was a basque walking the Camino on stilts. Ollie says they use stilts to shepherd their flocks so he must be doing it to represent his culture. I walked with “Springfield”(That’s what I call them) today- a couple who live in Springfield Illinois. They started in St Jean and have done the whole thing. There was also “Holland” who started in Holland and has done over 3000km and is almost done. He was having a bad day. I think he’s struggling to return to normal life after walking for the past 148 days straight. He’s two days out from being done, that’s they only reason I can come up with to be having a bad day. Then there’s a man we’ve passed every day now for the last three days. (We pass him every morning which means he walks hours longer than we do to catch up at night and gets up earlier than us to get back in the trail.) He walks with a struggle- one step for every five I can take. I can tell he has to think about the movement every step he takes. He has scars all over his head from surgery. I am embarrassed that all I can think to say is “Buen Camino” as I pass him. There has to be more I can come up with in my limited Spanish to encourage him. I pray he makes it.

    My feet are sore and my shins are killing me but I’ve got 18 km left to go. Tomorrow will feel awesome!    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    122
    Day 15

    We made it! Santiago at last!

    June 28, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Today was a good day for most of us. For Jon, it was a test of his grit. As I mentioned briefly, Jon’s feet and legs have not been in a great place. Today his leg and knee were really bothering him. He pretty much limped the whole 18km today. He has grit and he clenched his teeth and did it! The rest of us had to watch him walk in pain. Thankfully, we all made it! The last part of the trip is such a strange experience. I thought it would be like seeing the Emerald City from far off and we would go running to the steps of the cathedral. Actually it was a windy path through downtrodden urban neighborhoods and you couldn’t even see the steeple until you rounded the corner of a bunch of old buildings and suddenly it was there. Not what I imagined. I guess though it is a metaphor and this whole trip is a pilgrimage for self reflection. I know Martin Luther would roll his eyes at me for wanting the compestella but honestly, I think God understands our need for physical gestures to help us believe and understand the heavenly gestures. Why else would He use water and wine and bread? He knows we are weak minded and need something physical to hold onto. The pilgrimage and piece of paper in the end aren’t necessary for forgiveness and grace. But they help us get to the right place to receive forgiveness and believe that it is true.

    I don’t know if it is something I’d frame in my house but I do know I will treasure it and use it to remember this awesome adventure of bonding as a family and sending off our first born into the world. The boys talked for 180km to each other- to us- And hopefully in their heads with God. I feel good about how we solved problems and worked as a team. I’m satisfied with my Camino and feel grateful for this opportunity. What an adventure!

    This evening we went to mass. It was all in Spanish but we knew the order of service and could tell what was happening. They swung the botafumiero at the end which is a special treat. The cathedral was amazing. What a grand finale!

    (By the way, funny that thousands of years of pilgrimage on a holy trail doesn’t trump modern necessities. The trail is clearly moved to go around an airport runway. Funny!)    Read more

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