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100 Skies without You
  • Steven Dromgool
  • Steven Dromgool

100 Skies without You

A personal pilgrimage Leggi altro
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  • Inizio del viaggio
    12 aprile 2022
    Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore

    Setting my heart on pilgrimage

    12 aprile 2022, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Last night I decided I was Camino bound, today is my first day of training up to the Te Aroha lookout. It seems fittng that I start from 'The Place of Love' leaving my parents house.

    Starting was tough - I feel tired, sore, reluctant inadequate. Excuses abound, an easier path beckons. It seems that the path of pilgrimage consists mainly of putting one foot in front of the other.

    Fast is not the goal, persistence and progress.

    What emerges - a fresh perspective

    But the skies are still grey without you    Leggi altro

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  • Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore
    Chillin'

    Day 2 - Surrounded by beauty

    13 aprile 2022, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    It was hard waking in the rain this morning. So many reasons just to roll over - but underneath a strange excitement and an emerging kernel of determination.

    On the trail the air felt thick and full and I walked in a magical bubble of lush greens and browns.

    I also learnt to watch my way as I set off down a wrong path. I was caught up jumping ahead in my mind and needed to come back again and again to now.

    My phone died on the way up the hill so the photo reminds me that evening of driving through the Waikato sunset in awe - wishing I could share them with you.    Leggi altro

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  • Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore

    Day 5 Climbing the Peaks It felt like a

    16 aprile 2022, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    It felt like a long hard slog today, staying with an early wake up and a sense of determination to try the peak today. Matt came along for the first piece, which felt tough and fast.

    I felt like I only found me after starting off again and starting a conversation with farmer Adam who had done a shorter track and was heading down. He was interested and interesting and so I relaxed my agenda and enjoyed the connection (random strangers is part of the fun).

    Missing my cloud painter and noticing my mind tendency to drift into preoccupation, loneliness even some anger which powered part of the last ascent. That felt a little dangerous but the physiological effect was interesting. Now lying here feeling relaxed and very certain that day 1 will just be the 13.5 km ascent, not the 25km one.

    I realise I should leave soon as I have no water and 11 km to go down the hill.

    But it is very peaceful here.    Leggi altro

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  • Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore

    Landing in Munich

    29 maggio 2022, Germania ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    landed after a surprisingly comfortable flight by the window next to 2 lovely German guys who have me some great exploration ideas. So i got through the night and having fortified myself with airport pretzels, strudel and hot chocolate I navigated the train and met a lovely young American couple having a two year delayed honeymoon - an internal wince but I enjoyed chatting and left them to their conversation feeling sad and wondering about how to spend this day.

    It feels like reinventing myself. I realise that I have spent my life looking after our having to attend to the care of others in some way and now the person in my care is me. It's like I need to attend to what I want and I'm used to stuffing that piece down.

    At the same time I also feel in care myself. The meeting of the couple, the nice Dutch lady at dancing, the host at the Havana club sitting me some shoes. Even this amazing technology that enables me to encounter all these different worlds and sources of information and now I'm of to see a real life castle.    Leggi altro

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  • Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore

    Buen Camino Oviedo

    2 giugno 2022, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    I'm sitting in a cafe with a steaming hot chocolate in front of me waiting with some anticipation for the tourist office to open so I can get my pilgrim's passport and 'begin' my journey.

    Lots of feelings and people I'm carrying with me and feeling full and sad at the same time. I've been wandering gathering last minute supplies a and questioning some of my packing choices. But mostly thinking of Abby and what I can carry for her on the camino. She has been on my heart a lot the past few days my brave strong daughter still carrying her Loss with courage, dignity and oh so much wisdom. I turn a corner in the old city and am assailed by the scent of flowers - and it comes to me forget-me-nots those beautiful blue flowers (just like her eyes) that bloom and die so quickly yet still ask us to remember and love them again.

    Thoughts of Abby lead to Zoe and the loss surges again, I have missed seeing my fierce brilliant daughter these last years. the photo I carry of her a round happy child sitting on my lap on a swing at the beach. I just have to trust again that in time the hurts will fade enough for the talking to begin.

    Cam also is on my mind, the purity of his longing for a secure intact family mirrors the loss and heartbreak I feel about Corinne. It's hard not to imagine her here beside me, soaking up the beauty and the coffee, holding hands and dancing in the square. I also remind myself that that would not have happened anyway.

    So coming back to now, 20 minutes till opening time (well its Spain so maybe 25)

    Salut    Leggi altro

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  • Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore

    A hobbits heaven

    3 giugno 2022, Spagna ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    I stopped for a drink at an eco-alberges today along with two cousins from California and got recommended this amazing alberges Roca Madre the owner built this from the original centuries old stable walls horrible wifi but the connections were amazing. Diego has this smile and smile and presence that is is so full of love it's astounding. Along with Felix the biology teacher from Asturia, now teaching in Chicago we had an evening full of laughter and spanglish.Leggi altro

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  • Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore

    We don't mess around with chocolate

    3 giugno 2022, Spagna ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Settled in at Roca Madre and heading down to Corleonna for a pick me up - everything feels lighter without the pack and I'm feeling tired but ok.

    So I arrive at the bar with Laura (divorce attorney from Vegas) and Julia (teacher from somewhere more southern) - friends for 40 years although some strain is starting to show and order Caliente sjokalade (yup I'm at a bar and trying a little spanish - Jason Headley would be so proud of me https://youtu.be/UABqrdBll1c so this chocolate arrives, it is hot but it's like mousse you can stand the spoon up in it. SalutLeggi altro

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  • Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore

    Alone in a crowd

    4 giugno 2022, Spagna ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Arrived footsore and weary today, amazing how accurate that term is - not knee sore or back sore or cold sore but aching in my feet ( no blisters or hot spot) just a lot of weight for a lot of miles.

    The back up Alberges (the third I tried) was empty when I arrived and I was too tired to walk down stairs so I just hung up clothes to dry and shed my boots and limped down to the supermercado for yogurt and oats, cheese and a roll ( that turned out to be stuffed with chorizo) and tomato and a selection of drinks, and chicken noodles soup. then cooked a yummy late lunch.i was just finishing when a hurricane of Spanish men arrived with way to much energy for having walked nearly 35 km. After thoroughly quizzing me they proceeded to talk at high speed and volume for the next 2.5 hours then left enmasse to ship out drink having made lunch (at 5 pm) I was tempted to leave and try somewhere else I think I've been a bit spoiled by the smaller intimate alberges we have been in to date but I decided to tough it out although I put myself in the other room with a single bunk bed.    Leggi altro

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  • Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore

    Wrong side of the bed

    5 giugno 2022, Spagna ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Woke up this morning having not got to bed till 2 pm courtesy of the wall between the 'private' room and the kitchen being an office partition. At 11:30 I finally went in and asked the remaining 2 guys to talk in their room, they were very apologetic but I felt it off sorts and alien and I realised later pretty lonely. I got woken just before 6 and got up feeling a little footsore and had a hot shower which helped immensely and was on the road by 6:30 feeling tired, a bit grumpy and shaking the dust of La Espina from my feet.

    My day made an immediate upturn upon meeting Jose sans his lovely wife Maria who we passed back and forth with on the lat few hours of yesterday with. Apparently she decided to sleep in and take a taxi 🚕 a decision that sounded very smart to me. Jose was walking much faster on his own + no pack so he headed off which was good as we had reached the limits of our shared language. Well mostly his shared language.

    Mary and Joseph came upon me yesterday I was talking to a horse 🐎 (not the one below but somewhat similar) and I was trying to reassure them I was not totally crazy and Jose said no problem Steven from New Zealand who talks with horses. (I guess their are worse sobriquets).I then had a recollection of which I was very proud cabello (horse right) he shakes his head, not a word caberro - ah yes the double ll as 'r'. I was still pretty proud 'Steven who can spell horse'

    So I trotted on still achy feet wondering about doing to take a nurofen but basically couldn't be bothered enough to hunt it ( that cow below was channeling my vibe) and little bit by little bit started feeling better. I reached my half way point in Tineo at 9:30 supposedly a bigger town but everything was closed so I pushed on and as I went out of the town the sun started to rise through the hills.    Leggi altro

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  • Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore

    No dinner

    5 giugno 2022, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    good thing we had a big lunch today as no dinner tonight - it's Sunday- the pub's still open though.

    Just chilling out on the alberges down with the English rose 🌹 Emma and Brazilian beauty Caroline.

    Evelyn the harpist made a brief appearance at the casa bar but I think she got a private room.

    I was briefly tempted to do the private room but the alberges was empty and had a washer and dryer so I could dry my clothes properly.

    I started regretting that decision tonight after a very chilled out afternoon chatting with Caroline and had a little nap to be awoken by the arrival of the Spanish lads - there was the normal noise explosion but they have disappeared now and seemed somewhat subdued and exhausted - it seems they had a big lunch today and did the last few hours of the walk in the full sun.

    I think everyone is a bit worried about hospitalis tomorrow it's a big walk (minimum 28 km) for us since we need to walk an extra 4 km to get to the start and no water or shops on the way.

    Hopefully the boys will settle and we can get a good rest.    Leggi altro

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  • Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore

    My body is talking

    6 giugno 2022, Spagna ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    My feet specifically. Now I'm not exactly sure what they are saying but I think it goes something like this:

    'You f#%#ing a#$hole you sit on your ass for 25 years and get fat and then decide out of the blue to walk over 300 km plus extras for getting lost and then carry a freaking backpack as well - you b@%%$#d'

    but I might have got that wrong 🤔    Leggi altro

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  • Steven Dromgool100 Skies without YouViaggiatore

    A room of my own

    6 giugno 2022, Spagna ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Arrived feeling pretty good, and walked to my private room that I booked last night with the help of Carolina only to find that my bags had arrived but I was not booked here but further back down down the road still a room of my own with a shower ensuite was wonderful, and the nap fantastic followed by the 3 course peregrine menu amazing - forgot to photograph the steak and chips for second course.Leggi altro

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