• Sing a Song ...

    25 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    I've been singing on the Way from time to time. Right now I have the Carpenters' "Sing a Song" on my Camino sing list.

    Last night at an Italian albergue we were treated to a live guitar performance by a Spanish pilgrim who is carrying his instrument, talent and voice on the Camino. His rendition of Simon and Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence was haunting and sorrowful.

    After supper the party continued with the largely Italian pilgrim cohort singing improvisational versions of Bob Dylan's Knocking on Heaven's Door, accompanied by the beautiful strumming of the Spanish pilgrim. Magic.
    Okumaya devam et

  • The simple things ...

    24 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    ... in life are the best. Today that was two large slices of watermelon, being enthusiastically greeted by our Spanish friend Andrés, and sharing a laugh with a Belgian hiking trio. And now a tinto verano (red wine on ice with some fizzy lemon pop) at an Italian albuerge, bare feet and the anticipation of supper shortly. Ah ... muy buen!Okumaya devam et

  • The Fallen

    23 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Marita was born 27 years ago on a beautiful summer day in Calgary. This post is dedicated to her.

    There are sobering moments on the Camino when you come across a monument or a cross memorializing a pilgrim's last steps in life on the Way. Some are simple markers and others full blown headstones. Some died well on in their years and others much younger.

    We have seen tributes to people from many parts of the world -- all who dreamed of making it to Santiago de Compostella but fell short. We remember the fallen, honouring them by moving forward while keeping their memory warm and close in our hearts.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Illumination. ...

    23 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    ... can take many forms. As we started off in the dark this morning from Boadilla our path was lit with my headlamp. Later in an ancient church, modern stain glass windows illuminated the stony interior. And then out in the daylight again where a blazing Spanish sun pushed our shadows westward to Santiago de Compostella.Okumaya devam et

  • Place and pace

    22 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    The Way, right now, is the PLACE for me. The terrain on the Meseta is remarkably familiar to me -- sun-baked Southern Alberta without the coulees. Mostly flat but at times we hike up and out of a broad valley to walk past endless fields, the wheat long since harvested and swaths of sunflowers with their heads in quiet and permanent repose, awaiting the reaping.

    Coleen and I are fast walkers, often overtaking and passing other pilgrims with an "Hola and Buen Camino". One peregrina likened us to the strong easterly wind that was at our backs all day. It is our PACE, certainly not a race, and our powerful strides make me feel alive ... strong.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Give a Pilgrim a grape ...

    21 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    and he'll take a cluster.

    Pilgrims are a rather unkempt, smelly and disheveled bunch until rejuvenating showers in the late afternoom make us human again. In the big cities we stick out like sore thumbs, often our laundry blowing in the breeze, safety pinned to our backpacks to dry wet socks or shirts.

    Notwithstanding our appearances we will invariably be greeted by complete strangers with a genuine "Buen Camino" -- literally have a good Camino. Last week, Coleen and I walked along a dirt path where a Spanish troop of about 70 khaki clad soldiers wielding carbines were taking a rest-on-your-haunches break. We were treated with well wishes and dozens of Buen Caminos by smiling troops.

    Perhaps we're not such a bad lot after all.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Burgos ... oh wow.

    20 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The medieval pilgrim arriving at the jaw - dropping cathedral in Burgos might have been tempted to stay here awhile for surely this was a place where heaven and earth seemed just a little closer. A place where angels and saints convened in joyous celebration.

    It is without question the most beautiful cathedral I've yet to see in Europe.

    On a less spiritual note, Coleen and I took the opportunity of the big city to tuck into incredibly tasty and cheap tapas along with our first ice-chilled sangria of this trip.

    My spiritual and temporal needs now met, adios for from this most contented pilgrim.
    Okumaya devam et

  • O' Canada, O' Camino ...

    19 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Of all the nationalities on the Camino right now, Canada would appear to be over represented. Lotsa Canucks from BC, the Prairies, Ontario and Quebec. Canadians have become the subject of much discussion amongst or pilgrim cohort walking to Santiago de Compostella.

    But right now I am basking in the Spanish sun with a glass of vino blanco and in the words of the Canadian singer David Myles ...."countin' up my worries but I can't think of one." Hasta luego.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Always moving .... forward

    17 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Illuminated only by our single headlamp, the trail out of Navarette was spooky this morning at 6:15 AM when we struck off. Once it has risen, the sun is a great guide in the morning as we need only to follow our shadows, inexorably moving further west. 230 kilometers completed and 570 remaining to Santiago de Compostella.Okumaya devam et

  • No room at the Inn

    16 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Arrived this evening and all the albuerges are full. The town is putting up about 40 pilgrims in a library building which is bring renovated. Only 1 bathroom amongst us all. Looks like a refugee camp. Fortunately, most of us are used to sleeping in tight quarters. Hopefully the snorers will be at the end of the hall.Okumaya devam et

  • Pointing the Way

    15 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    It's hard to get lost on the Way. Flechas amarillos -- yellow arrows are always close by to guide you past historic churches, thru tiny villages and hillside trails. When a yellow arrow isn't available, all manner of material from rocks to pine cones are fashioned to ensure all errant pilgrims make it to Santiago de Compostella.Okumaya devam et

  • The Walking Wounded

    14 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We have been told that you walk the Camino with your head not your feet. Lofty sentiments but there is no convincing my two blistered toes and wonky knees that this is true. All manner of pilgrims are limping along the Way, ankles or knees taped and braced. Pain relief is in high demand. And wine therapy is enthusiastically embraced by the pilgrims in the evenings.Okumaya devam et

  • And that's no Bull ...

    13 Eylül 2017, Ispanya ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    After a rough trip over the Pyrenees in driving rain and wind, Pamplona was a much needed boost today. In the City where bulls are loosed onto the cobble streets each summer, we enjoyed wondrous Spanish sunshine, scrumptious pinchos (tapas) and scoops of lemon and mango gelato in the city square. Then a hike to Alto Perdon where rusting steel pilgrims point the Way to Santiago de Compostella. Buenas dias.Okumaya devam et

  • And so it begins ...

    10 Eylül 2017, Fransa ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    ... with a single step on a French cobblestone lane under a stone arch which has seen millions of pilgrims over many centuries. Coleen and I add our names to the traveling ledger of wayfarers who have preceded us. Today was a short day but a steep up thru the mists and rains of the Pyrenees. Tomorrow we will summit these mountains and nightfall will find us sleeping under Spanish skies.Okumaya devam et

  • Classic Dublin

    9 Eylül 2017, İrlanda ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    After a day trip and coastal sea walk in Howth we escaped into the pubs of Dublin yesterday to escape a few showers. We listened to live traditional Irish music while quaffing a dark brown Guinness and tucking into flavorful Irish stew. Graham McLaren from Scotland has been our convivial companion these past 2 days. But we now say farewell to Graham and the Emerald Isle ... we sleep in St Jean Pied de Port tonight. The Camino begins tomorrow.Okumaya devam et

  • Unconventional start ...

    6 Eylül 2017, İrlanda ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Eschewing Irish stew and Guiness, we opted for cheap but tasty fare for our first day in Dublin ... spicy Korean cuisine featurung kim chee for supper and a Hare Krishna eatery for lunch. A visit to Kilmainham Gaol gave us some history and of course some of the tragedy that is Ireland. And never far away ... a reminder of the pilgrimage to come.Okumaya devam et

  • Weighty matters ..

    29 Ağustos 2017, Kanada ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Weight matters when considering what to take on your back for an 800-km pilgrimage across northern Spain. Today was our final pack with a goal of keeping our pack weight to 10% of our body weight. With kitchen scale in hand and pack consultant Julilla advising us ... mission accomplished.Okumaya devam et

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