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Camino Santiago - Portuguese
  • Christopher Geis
  • Christopher Geis

Camino Santiago - Portuguese

Starting in Lisbon with a detour through Fatima Weiterlesen
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  • Christopher GeisCamino Santiago - PortugueseReisender
    1

    Afternoon Daylight

    9. Mai in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    What a difference from. Mid morning. After the thunderstorm passed, I got back out on the Camino and it was cold at first but with each passing step, my body seemed to warm up just a little bit until the sun broke out through the clouds with birds chirping, brooks and streams flowing, and the trickle of water on the path. The sun seemed to start to dry everything out.

    It was another beautiful afternoon passing by river after river, walking through the forest of the foothills and descending upon our next town. Once checked in and cleaned up I was able to go out to the beach for the first time and actually dip my toes and feet into the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Once back at the hotel I indulged in a Turkish bath and sauna took full advantage of my weary muscles and got my muscles recharged before going out to dinner - guess where? Yep, pizza. I finally figured out why I do Pizza so much, well, one of the reasons why I do pizza so much They open earlier than the Portuguese restaurants and I just can’t be eating at a restaurant that opens at 7:30.

    I Got some beautiful pictures of sunset which was at like 8:45 PM. Also took a picture of the town Square which I realize I haven’t been getting a lot of pictures of town, so I will be doing a better job of getting pictures of each town.    Weiterlesen

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    Taking It Easy

    10. Mai in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today felt like a walk in the park - flat, no hills, and along the water. I chose to go with a water taxi vs. ferry boat and walked the alternative route to Aguarda. Total of only 13 km.

    The time changed, so we are an hour ahead of Portugal, 9 hours ahead of Pacific Daylight Time.

    It was cold today. My feet are still cold! Even still, I had to get out and enjoy a bit of the town at least until it closed down from 2 pm - 5 pm. Love the concept. It's hard to get used to. I sped up the taxi ride for you to enjoy!

    I started a new audible book by Fr Robert Spitzer. Check out more about him at www.magiscenter.com, including The Four Levels of Happiness book among others he has written. Oh, by the way, he is blind which makes his accomplishments that much more special.

    I walked into church for my stamp and it just so happened mass had just started. I was able to receive communion and get my camino credentials stamped! Ready for sinner - Pulpo prepared in olive oil with Paprika and lobster with rice. Both are especiales of Aguarda. OK so the lobster came with roe so it’s a female lobster roe is considered a delicacy. You vote. What do you think? Do I eat it or do I push it to the side? I’ll let you know on the next post after you vote.    Weiterlesen

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    Living in the Present

    11. Mai in Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Okay - I’ll keep on posing questions, you don’t have to answer them.

    What does living in the present mean to you? I’d love to hear in the comments section below.

    I just started listening to the Power of Now which I originally read 25 years ago. I thought it would be a good time to revisit with all the other audible books I’ve been listening to. It reminded me that all we have is the present. Our mind (and social media) robs us of truly living in the present by bringing up the past or the future - these thoughts can lead to worrying, anxiety, depression, stress, and more.

    All these books seem to have a connection, talking about ego and peace and joy and love, and it all comes down to peace and love. From the four levels of happiness to the power of grace to the power of now to walking with God and the introduction to the spiritual life love connects them all. It Reminds me of a Saint Teresa of Calcutta saying.

    The fruit of silence is prayer,
    The fruit of prayer is faith,
    The fruit of faith is love,
    The fruit of love is service,
    The fruit of service is peace.

    Love is giving of yourself fully, without the expectation of anything in return. It is letting go of our ego and not caring whether we are right or wrong. It is living in the present- since we can’t actually live in the past or in the future.

    The Hawaiian culture embodies this concept. Ever hear of the term Hawaiian time? It isn’t about being late and on your own time. No, it actually takes time out of the equation and allows us to live in the present - to enjoy whatever it is we are doing such as talk story with one another, enjoying a sunset, or swimming/snorkeling in the ocean with the honu, reef sharks, or spinner dolphins. It isn’t concerned with the constraint of time. When we are present in the moment we are giving our full attention and effort to whatever it is we are doing.

    At CMASAS, we’ve designed our educational philosophy to align with this concept. Students work at their own pace, their own time, and are therefore, able to dive into concepts more fully and authentic than in traditional settings of switching subjects every 50-60 minutes and juggling multiple courses and living by the bell. By focusing on few subjects provides for more meaningful learning and more opportunity of staying in the present.

    Okay - now for my daily recap:

    Breakfast started at 8 am and EVERYTHING in A Guarda was closed until 9 am. I grabbed a quick breakfast and timed my start do that I could stop and grab an espresso on the way out of town. Within 45 minutes it started raining and didn’t let up for over an hour. I was one in a long line of pilgrims on the trail which hugged the coast. At least I packed my waterproof socks and an extra shirt just in case. Both were needed today as there was no escaping the rain this time. No cafes, no covered areas, just the outdoors!

    Oia is a small town with very few services - a restaurant, a bar/cafe, a petro station, and a mercado which is closed on Sunday. I went to the bar/cafe and ordered a hamburger - it must have been at least a half pound or more. Plenty to fill me up for lunch and dinner.    Weiterlesen

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    Anticipation

    12. Mai in Spanien ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    A short 13 km today from Oia two Baiona. Even so the rain set in about an hour and into the walk and I was able to finally find a covering under an entrance way to someone’s home. I got my handy dandy fold out chair out set it up sat down for about 1520 minutes until the rain Settled into more of a light rain and took off on the way while I saw many pilgrims not many spoken English, as has been the case since Porto.

    I arrived in Baiona shortly after 1 PM got checked into the hotel cleaned up did laundry for the final time and then went to the waterfront and was enjoying the view of the bay with all the sailboats and skyline and tell the bus arrived dropping off our students, parents and staff members just in front of the hotel. Since it was Monday, most restaurants were closed so we had a choice between two restaurants catty corner from each other and had a terrific first meal together. Hopefully this will prepare us for our walk of 27 km and that everyone will be fueled up and ready to go    Weiterlesen

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    The Longest Mile(s)

    13. Mai in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today was the first day of our school Camino. 16 of our students, parents and staff joining myself along with our guide to embark on our journey we started in Baiona and ended in Vigo. While everyone was excited at the start by the end of the day, the reality hit hard. We were exhausted. It was a long day as we only averaged about 2 mph versus my 3+ miles per hour previously. we stayed together as a group as much as possible, stopping often to make sure that no one got lost and especially as we entered Vigo, as the mayor of Vigo for some reason is not a big fan of the Camino, so the city does not sponsor any signage within the city, which makes it difficult to follow the way. Fortunately, our guide is from Vigo so she was able to navigate the streets and get us to our hotel, with the shortest and quickest way possible.

    I stayed towards the back for the most part, making sure that no one would get separated from our group and that I could help find the way back if we did get separated. Vigo is a very large city of about 300,000 people and is an alternative port city to Porto. It took over an hour of walking through the city to get to our hotel and are told it’ll take over two hours to walk out of the city to get back on the way in the morning. I was able to walk with some of the parents and students and get to know them a little bit better - where they came from and what life is like in their country I learned a little bit more about Australia and Greece.    Weiterlesen

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    Convergence

    14. Mai in Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We had a 23 km walk today and split up into three groups. We have the fast group the regular walkers and the Lalley-gaggers. It’s been great getting to know some of the students a little bit more and from where the live I walked with two students today and the fast group Corwin and Laney. Corwin is from a small town off the Oregon coast and Laney from Singapore. Is interesting to learn a little bit more about the culture and people of Singapore and Laney’s perspective.

    There is 0% chance of rain all day today, but was predicted to be a high of 62°. As we were walking on our final couple miles, we could see some storm clouds building over the mountains and sure enough just after we checked in and start getting some raindrops. So much for 0% chance of rain. For dinner we gave everyone the choice of a seafood restaurant or kebab shop, which is basically similar to a gyro shop. Surprisingly just about everybody chose the gyros.

    Haven’t been able to listen to much of my audible books, the past couple days just focusing on interacting with the students parents and our staff. Well yesterday, we hardly saw anybody on the way today we saw many pilgrims and many of them spoke English. I also caught up with my Columbia friends that I met in Coimbra and was able to get more pictures and have The meet some of the group. It was great to see them again.

    Upon entering town to Soutomaior we came across a beautiful horse that came up to us when I called it over. Rueili and Laney were able to rub its nose and forehead and interact with the horse for a short time.    Weiterlesen

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    A River Runs Through Us

    15. Mai in Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Today I switched to the back of the pack again. Making sure everyone was doing OK on the third day of walking. We walked along the river for majority of the day just a beautiful path, gently flowing river, beautiful green ferns and trees, which provided for a nice covered path eventually reaching Pontevedra.

    At one point then to Ponta Vedra use the bathroom and not having them in along the way I split off in the group went on a very busy road where I was able to see a couple goats and pet them and use a restroom at a Kia dealership. I then walked along that busy street until the next bridge Walked over that bridge and waited for the lollygagging Guild to pass by under the bridge. Taking a nice little video of their stroll along the river.    Weiterlesen

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    Hustling for Waterfalls

    16. Mai in Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Today our guide left with the main group, but a couple stayed back to take a rest day and regroup. I initially stayed back to make sure everyone got off safely then hustled to catch up with the main group that was walking. I was about two hours behind and was hoping to catch up by the time they reached the waterfall. In order to do so I thought I would need to use my running poles for running, which I did for a portion of the way, passing up many of pilgrims, including some that I had met along the way between Lisbon and Porto. And yes, of course I stopped and spoke with them and took the moment to be present before going along my way. As God has done this whole trip he had me catch up to the group just before the waterfall. They bought sandwiches at the café right before and bought an extra one for me just in case - all was good. We dipped our toes, feet, knees, and some dove all in to the frigid Waters. It was numbing but exhilarating. With our feet and knees soothed from the healing waters of the waterfall, We reached our destination calda de reis where we found they had a public hot spring to soak our feet and knees or a private hot spring pool and hot tub to dive int. the private pool was €12 plus $2 euros for a towel. The Majority of students enjoyed the pool before dinner - a very average pizza.Weiterlesen

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    The Heat Is On!

    17. Mai in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    It was a high of 84° during the walk today the morning started out in the low 50s and slow slowly rose to 84 by mid afternoon.

    April and I stayed back for the morning. The rest of the group took off around nine to start out on the way to Padron. We finally left about 1 PM made a stop midway through at a little café where we ran into two women with babies one 16 months old and the other about the same age from Czechoslovakia. they had full backpacks a nice little buggy stroller and are just enjoying the Camino. We were very impressed. They took off shortly after we got there and then came back immediately as they got a flat tire and proceeded to change the flat tire from their stroller. we met another young lady along the path from Scotland named Kate and had a nice conversation with her for an hour or two until she took a break just before entering town. we got to Padrón just after 5 PM were able to check in get cleaned up and be ready for a dinner at 7:30. It seems like everyone’s bodies are starting to acclimate to walking long distances the past couple days. everyone is excited to reach the destination of Campostella de Santiago tomorrow to complete our journey for the majority they completed 125 km Santiago will mark 550 km for myself. Maybe next time I’ll do the Camino Norte, which is 1000 km total. That’s gotta take at least two months.

    It is amazing how through Grace we all have started on our own paths going at our own pace and have all been able to speed up or slow down to walk together as one group the past two days with the exception of myself and April who have dealt with Some logistics. This has been a natural process versus a demand to control the situation.    Weiterlesen

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    The Journey Is Done!

    18. Mai in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Or has it just begun?

    The hotels wifi in Santiago was not connecting for me so these posts are delayed.

    We started out at about 8:30 AM. I stayed back as one of the students was a late coming down so we caught up with them. Got started about 845 the 25 km walk was mostly uphill, slight incline, but a beautiful walk and such a feeling of accomplishment, relief, and awe as we entered the city and came to the cathedral de Santiago.

    Our hotel room was about a 20 minute walk from the cathedral so after hanging out and getting some pictures and just enjoy enjoying the moment with everyone, we headed to the hotel to check in. we are just enough time to check in and get refreshed before leaving for mass at the cathedral at 7:30 PM. Our guide officially dropped us off at the hotel got all of our certificates for the completion of the Camino and that us farewell.

    When we arrived 40 minutes prior to mass there were no seats left and we scrambled to find any remaining single seats, I was a bit surprised that there are so many non-Catholics that attended mass after their pilgrimage. It was a good surprise after mass we all met in the courtyard at 8:30 and headed to dinner for an Italian feast getting back to the hotel at about 11:30 PM. It was a long and exhausting day. I have found it difficult to build a do these posts with so much going on my apologies.

    Will I go on another Camino? Quite possibly, but not for a while. It was painful, exhausting, with highs and lows throughout the journey, but well worth the time spent contemplating life and God, meeting new friends, visiting with old friends, all while walking with purpose!    Weiterlesen

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    Journey of the Soul

    19. Mai in Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    my day started finding a local specialty coffee shop that roasted their own coffee. from the coffee to the all the ingredients that wanted to making a great cup of coffee latte mocha, and even the pastries use the best ingredients sourced locally and you could feel the passion from the owner. I went there when they opened at 8:30 and hung out for an hour getting recharged with three shots of espresso plus a mocha waiting for the rest of the group to arrive to pick up their certificates of completion.

    at 9:30 we left to attend the pilgrim‘s mass in English and the priest just brought everything home started. I haven’t everyone stand up and introduce themselves where they’re from where they started the Camino and if they’re with a group, the priest, then one and two address the congregation about the movement of the body and the journey of the soul. It was a beautiful Talk. I wish we could’ve recorded it to remember more of it, but everyone that attended was touched the theme of love one another rang throughout the entire mass including the prayer of the faithful where the priest welcomed everyone to come up like a candle and to pray for those that they had paid for throughout their journey. we prayed for peace, Pope Leo, those who are still on the Camino ,those who were injured during the Camino, for a safe trip home, and all the personal intentions of those attending mass. I offered up prayers for all of you, my wife, family, friends, our CMASAS family, and especially for Mary Macie who is battling cancer for the 3rd time.

    I was asked to do the first reading and was honored and humbled to be able to participate in part of the mass in front of some of our students and staff I thank God for having me proclaim while in Hawaii and giving me the confidence and courage to do so.

    One of the things I was regretting most was not being able to secure having the Botafumeiro used during the 12 noon pilgrims mass at the cathedral. however, the Pilgrim’s mass in English brought such a sense of peace and calm and completion that Botfumeiro didn’t matter. Cathy Rebecca and I went from the English pilgrims mass over to the cathedral for the 12 noon pilgrims Mass at the cathedral. Again, we got there 30 minutes prior to mass and it was completely packed No seats whatsoever people lining the walls, It was a little bit overwhelming, but I was there just to stick it out and to take in as much as I could after all this was the end of the pilgrimage, and the continuation of my journey of the soul. during communion, I managed to stand in this little corner up against the pillar that was towards the front of the church that is until the nun came by and closed off access just after communion and made me go back behind the rope took us as a perfect opportunity, just to kneel just behind the rope, providing perfect site of the altar for myself and for all others behind me and into our utter amazement, the men came out with the rope that secure the botafumeiro to start the ritual. My soul was filled with the Holy Spirit with a sense of completion, grace and peace.

    Botafumeiro

    The Botafumeiro (“censer” in Galician) is one of the most famous and popular symbols of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It is a large thurible that hangs by means of a system of pulleys from the main dome of the Cathedral and swings toward the side naves. It takes eight men to move it, who are known as “tiraboleiros”. It weighs 53 kg and measures 1.50 metres; it hangs from a height of 20 metres and can pick up great speed.

    The Botafumeiro is used for liturgical reasons, in the same way as a priest would use a censer at the altar. It operates during the Cathedral’s main solemnities during the entrance procession or at the end of the Eucharist. The purpose of this great censer is to symbolise the true attitude of the believer. In the same way that the smoke from the incense rises to the top of the temple’s naves, so must the prayers of the pilgrims rise to reach the heart of God. And in the same manner that the aroma of the incense perfumes the entire basilica, so must Christians, with their virtues and the testimony of their lives, impregnate with the good scent of Christ, the society that they live in.    Weiterlesen

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    My Encourager, My Everything

    20. Mai in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    this journey would have been possible without Linda my love we spoke every day she not only encouraged me during those discussions, but she also made individual packets of supplements for me before I left and wrote an encouraging message on each one. I would pull one out each day take my supplements and keep that message close to me in my thoughts and my pocket. She had mentioned that one of the messages was hurry home. I did not see that packet until we arrived in Santiago de Campostella so the pictures, including on this are all of her messages of encouragement to me that help me along my journey thank you

    I would also like to thank all of you who have followed my journey whether you’ve made comments or not I know many of you’ve been praying for me - thank you. know that each and everyone of you have been in my thoughts and prayers every step of my journey and especially at the English pilgrims mass on Monday morning. God bless you.

    Also I would like to thank those who have supported our foundation financially during our walkathon that officially started May 12 for the final 125 km in which our students walked in support to raise funds to provide other students the opportunity that they’ve had themselves.    Weiterlesen

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    Reflections on my Soul

    21. Mai in den USA ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    This will be updated over the next several days as additional reflections are brought into my consciousness.

    I am listening to my final audible book before arriving home to San Diego - The Contemplative Leader.

    GRACE
    Grace requires a surrender of our ego. Initially to understand and realize there is something greater than our self. Secondly, that we have a choice - to surrender and accept grace or reject the spiritual world and therefore feed our ego or false self to grow while distancing us from our true self or being present. Our mind will reject grace and feed our ego to maintain control, therefore, in order to truly surrender to be in Grace, we need to lose ourselves (mind) in order to find our true self. That is to live in the now.

    CONTROL
    Someone once stated, “if you are not in control, your are out of control, and if you are out of control, you are not in control”. Ultimately we have never been in control. Either our ego has taken over or the power of grace through God leads our life. To lead an authentic, grace-filled life requires us to surrender and accept that there is a greater power within the universe, another dimension which is unseen, but can be felt and connected to/with. The visible spectrum is only a fraction of the entire spectrum, yet we discount that what we can’t see just as Thomas did at the time of Christ’s resurrection. I Belive the TV series get smart summed up our false self perfectly with the two agencies - Control and Caos, feeding our ego the false choice that if you are not in control, you are out of control, and if you are out of control, you are not in control. So, what do you have to lose other than your mind? Let God, let Grace control your life. The other choice isn’t so appealing once you really think about it, eh?

    Coming soon...

    MEDITATION/CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER

    PEACE    Weiterlesen

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    21. Mai 2025
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