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Camino de Santiago
  • Steve Broyles
  • Steve Broyles

Camino de Santiago

Walking to find clarity, seeking the present. Leer más
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  • Steve BroylesCamino de SantiagoViajero

    Orison from SJPDP

    1 de junio de 2023, Francia ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Today was beautiful in a misty/rainy way.

    The 8ish km hike was more notable for being wet and steep than far.

    Along the way I enjoyed the company of a large raptor soaring not far overhead. That bird's grace and freedom buoyed my spirits, as did enjoying a playlist shared by a good friend. It takes a village!

    As I passed the highpoint and into my final destination the mists closed in to where I could barely see one side of the road from the other. While the vistas were obliterated, I enjoyed a sense of being alone yet connected to the rest of the peregrinos, especially my "Camino Family"- there were 19 of us in the hostel Beilari last night and I suspect we will cross paths many times in the next few weeks.... I'm sitting with several of us now and was happy to see several more over the course of the day.

    It's only noon, so my Day 1 is far from over...
    I'm hoping that the mists clear up to enjoy some sun and vistas.    Leer más

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  • Steve BroylesCamino de SantiagoViajero

    Best Crappy Coffee Ever

    2 de junio de 2023, Francia ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    I forgot my sandwich this morning, which saddens me and makes me want a sandwich de patê more than I think I've ever wanted one...

    Funny how that works.

    But this little van serves a passable instant coffee and snacks, so all will be just fine.

    Edit: oh joy!! The van had patê, and Emily bought yummy bread! Which occasioned using my spoon.... Justifying that ounce.

    Life is good    Leer más

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  • Steve BroylesCamino de SantiagoViajero

    Camino Day 2

    2 de junio de 2023, España ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    The uphill today was remarkable. Overall distance was just under 19km, but we climbed nearly 2,500ft and that felt significant... And I averaged less than 2mph.

    Lots of cute sheep, cows, and horses. Epic soaring vistas.

    I'm happy with the amount of rest and look-around time. Overall I feel good, and tomorrow is purported to be an easier day.

    I was seeing the "check-knee" light blink a little towards the end so I am looking forward to a restful night.

    Dinner was a tasty trout, presumably local though I did not ask.

    I'm excited to be in Spain! I love this country and culture, and enjoy being able to engage in real conversation with the locals.... France was a fun challenge but pantomime and google -translate aren't the same as understanding someone.

    I'm really digging the water fountains. Publicly accessible water is such a simply wonderful indicator or civilization!    Leer más

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  • Steve BroylesCamino de SantiagoViajero

    Day 3, Zubiri

    3 de junio de 2023, España ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    14 miles. 2,000ft gain. 7:21 total time.

    The trail today was 'easy' on paper and felt ok, but had its moments.

    Among them, the gnarly off-angle rain-slick rock strewn sections... With beautiful wild roses (flowers! And thorns) on the side.

    But it also had soaring vistas, soaring raptors, decomposing headstones in an unkempt graveyard, beautiful stone-walled homes, cold beer, friendly people, sun dappled woodsy pathways, witchy murals, a surprisingly well-stocked little market, various bridges over babbling waterways, a single ferocious dog on a chain that reaches halfway into the sidewalk (fun!), many fountains, bucolic pastures, sheep, horses, semi-feral cats lounging languidly (does anything out-languid a cat?), sun, rain, sometimes both, long stretches of well kept pathway, a few highway crossings, bicycles, other pilgrims, a welcome ATM, cool breezes, a happy lab in a river, a snake in the same river, and more wildflowers than I could possibly count.

    Along the way I was accompanied by the presence of three people, two dead but welcome in my mind and one who is neither.

    I've got no reason why they visited when they did but working through my feelings for them is a big part of why I'm here. I was, frankly, surprised by how intensely I felt my father's company while I was in a wooded section. He and I never hiked together from what I recall but I know that he would have found the setting "As pretty as pretty can be." ... And I was glad to have him along for a spell.

    As I write this out I am sitting on a comfortable plastic chair, thinking I should get my sun-weary skin washed and into some shade.

    But my cold beer has a little left to give and the salty olives have revived me. The church bell is striking four, con ganas, and people are smiling as they stroll into town.... I could sit here for a while. That my feet are throbbing may also be discouraging me from the 100m walk to tonight's lodging. Is it better to switch to flip flops now? Or keep my feet contained in their shoes until I can shower and let them start swelling in earnest? These are the sorts of "be present" problems that make a trip like this special... The nonsense worries that pervade my normal existence shrink away in the face of self-inflicted discomfort.

    I am realizing that the "mild allergies" I've been suffering since last Monday may actually be a mild cold- symptoms have evolved from "I can feel my sinuses" to a relentless runny nose, sneezing, and an occasional headache. Also I've been in 5 cities and regions varying from Mediterranean Coast to 5,000ft in the Pyrenees, to an Atlantic fishing town, to verdant foothills... I can't think of an allergen that would be common to all of those settings.

    Fortunately it isn't so bad and I'm sure that a good night's sleep will get me most of the way to healthy.... Assuming a derth of snoring in the room tonight (which has, so far, been a poor assumption).

    I may resort to some benadryl that was generously given by a friend moments before I departed... Both for relief of symptoms and also to help me sleep more than 4 hours at a stretch.    Leer más

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  • Steve BroylesCamino de SantiagoViajero

    Pamplona! Beautiful

    4 de junio de 2023, España ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    I've only just arrived, but I like it here.
    Might stay an extra night as most attractions are closed on Sunday.

    The maybe is.. I'm reluctant to to break up the fellowship with other Pilgrims with whom I've been walking.

    The added upside is ... Not walking tomorrow! My feet and shins are feeling some tiredness.

    TBD .

    Today was fairly 'easy'. Rocking out to a good playlist really helps the miles roll away. I've been unsuccessful all day in finding a coffee and pastry... High hopes for tomorrow. My chocolate croissant levels are approaching critical.

    My cold seems to be abating, thankfully.

    I think that today's star moment was deciding to take the "high road" which took us past the Church of Saint Esteban. It's a very cute 12th century church with a nice bell that we got to ring.... And has a dandy patron saint!

    That, and entering the walls of Pamplona: truly breathtaking. I'm excited to explore.

    We found lodging at rhe Albergue Plaza Catedral... So far so good!    Leer más

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  • Steve BroylesCamino de SantiagoViajero

    Bar bar ice cream

    4 de junio de 2023, España ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    Strolling Pamplona I found myself thinking again and again: "This looked this way 500 years ago."

    It's beautiful.

    After viewing rramparts bilt in the 1500's and watching children play while young lovers smoched on very-public benches, we walked, wide eyed, along anvient looking brick or stone facades lined with majestic sgade trees. I'm told it has been oddly rainy this summer.

    Hemmingway is purported to have favored Café Iruña... Or at least that's what Iruña says...
    And it's right on the main plaza so we had a beverage there. I tried Patxarán and liked it.

    The service was as bad as the setting was wonderful so we relocated and enjoyed a delicious meal.

    After dinner we strolled briefly and found ourselves ordering gelato. I was (am) happy to find dairy free chocolate. So good!

    And we meandered our way back to our lodging, another day on The Camino come to a close.    Leer más

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  • Steve BroylesCamino de SantiagoViajero

    Parting from the Cakewalkers

    5 de junio de 2023, España ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    My decision to take a rest day in Pamplona means that my happy little tribe and I are parting ways.

    Will our paths cross again on The Camino?
    It is unknowable. I do feel like there's a good chance we will see each other again somewhere. Bonds made during travel are different from the casual connections we make in daily life, that's part of what is so wonderful about travel.

    Despite the sense of loss in making this choice, I recognize that my health and well being are best served by taking some rest.

    Not only that, but I *want* to spend some more time exploring Pamplona. Perhaps not enough to return here, but certainly enough to be here now.

    Oh, and I'm told that there's a spot nearby with excellent chocolate croissants.    Leer más

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  • Steve BroylesCamino de SantiagoViajero

    'Zero Day' Pamplona

    5 de junio de 2023, España ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    While I feel like I've been taking it really easy, my 'zero' day is still more than 10 miles of strolling through the City. Much of it with a pack.

    But I enjoyed a luxurious morning of not one, but two different versions of chocolate croissant, along with two delicious cafes americano in two very distinct cafe settings.

    This brings a big smile to my very soul. Chocolate croissants are my love language and I have loved myself well today.

    I also enjoyed a fantastic three course lunch on a nice terrace. Cafe Bula, very reasonable at 19€ for more food than I should've eaten.

    The afternoon included a mediocre but pleasant 60minute massage folowed by a rainstorm that forced me into El Gaucho where I was fed outstandingly delicious snacks (with draft beers) for under $5.

    The ice cream dessert was my own doing.

    On the way home I may or may not have stopped for some jamón and a splash of beer.

    I'm so happily overfed that I feel mildly delirious.

    In the interest of geting some sleep/rest, I've splurged on a private room that specifically advertises itself as "soundproof". Vamos a ver.

    Having a full-size bed and a private bath feels luxurious after a week of having up to 12 people in the same room.

    Pamplona.... Show up hungry.
    And be aure to look around. It's a treat.    Leer más

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  • Steve BroylesCamino de SantiagoViajero

    puente de la reina from pamplona

    6 de junio de 2023, España ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Distance: 17.8miles
    Climb: 496m (1,627 ft) and more down.
    Temps in the 80s (I think?)

    Today was good but wasn't easy: both physically and emotionally/spiritually.

    Highlights for me included spending most of the day alone. I spoke to maybe 4 people for maybe 10 minutes each. If you know me at all you know that silence is just not my default mode... I enjoyed the thinking. It was a little like a silent retreat.

    Thought topics ranged greatly and many are more personal than I care to include just now.

    I made peace with some demons and learned some things about myself, which is part of why I'm here.

    The landscape started urban and morphed into sunny rolling wheatfields with brilliant red poppies. The quaint rural towns through which I walked felt remote but are probably a 20 minute drive from Pamplona. Funny how taking a trail changes perspective vs taking the highway. This led me down a path of thinking about how much our chosen route through life influnces our perspective on... Everything. I rarely pause to ask myself how much my opinion is defined by my path but I'd like to get better at that; it matters.

    As I slipped and skidded down some loose rubbly gravel I was listening to a podcast about how we aren't *really* in control of much... I had to stop and laugh at the serendipitous nature of the two things, which led to me sitting down to contemplate the soaring view and appreciate how fortunate I am that my life circumstances provide me with the opportunity to be where I am, doing what I am doing. I am enjoying it. I am happy.

    As I sat, my thoughts turned to pondering life-purpose and just how irrelevant we are in a very large sense. Sure, to some people at some times we are anything but irrelevant! Yet compared to the butterfly flitting along at my feet or the lizard scurrying down the path... How truly important is any of this? Will anyone remember me in 1,000 years? 100 years? 10? I find the former doubtful and the 2nd only slightly less doubtful. 10 years I feel pretty confident. Got that going for me, which is nice. This thought left me oddly comforted... It's just life, after all.

    And yet.... I am reminded of the importance of life purpose. I am told that the Japanese language includes the word "Ikigai" which translates roughly as "Why I wake up".

    For those who don't know me: I've had a complicated year. In addition to several other stressors; losing my brother and also my best friend in a two month period threw me for a loop and left me questioning many things. Among them: my own life choices, mortality, honesty, love, anger, loss, and the reality of impermanence. Just that!

    It has been a little while since I have been able to easily define what is my Ikigai... I'd like to rediscover that. I'm not there yet, but stay tuned..... Could happen any moment! and I believe that taking this time to focus on being present and listening to my heart, mind, and soul is likely to help.

    In the meantime, I embrace the process with enthusiasm. I try to release my 'need' for results. Some moments it works. Some.... There's opportunity for growth. Growth is certainly among the things that truly do matter in this groovy little thing called life.

    ¡Buen camino!    Leer más

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