Finisterre, the end of the world

We´ve reached Finisterre and the end of the world according to Camino legend and the beliefs of the Celts who used to send their deceased out to sea from this place, the westernmost point of Europe. We´ve been here for 5 days now as we´ve found a very agreeable place to spend our time at the ¨pilgrim home¨ of Miguel and Julianna and their one year old son, Julios. We´ve found a home with a meditation room, art room, living room and kitchen where others who have been walking on the Camino are also coming to take rest after the long walk. In the evenings those who wish to share a meal make something to share and others who like do the same, then we´re sitting down together in a circle to eat and give thanks. It´s quite an international mix, and really one sees how the Camino joins together the world community as everyone (old and young and from every country) comes to make these walks. We´ve discovered that the paths are many as one can start from just about anywhere in Europe. The tradition is to walk from one´s own home and then to walk back. Even you can go from your own doorstep if you live as far north as Russia, as far south as southern Italy. There are actual routes across Europe to Santiago and then to Finisterre. However, some of the routes are more well marked by the yellow arrow and scallop shell than others. The tradition is at the end of the walk to collect a scallop shell from the ocean and then this becomes one´s credential so that others know one is a pilgrim and then is offered pilgrim´s menu and pilgrim´s rates for accomodation. The scallop shell is a good choice because this type of shell is plentiful on the beaches here, they´re strong, and they have the symbolism of the many lines of the shell coming to one point. ... Certainly this has been part of the way as well since everyone is not only coming from his or her own physical destination and starting point, but one´s own philosophical and mental understanding. There are many interesting conversations among the pilgrims about one´s beliefs ... and about ¨the way¨ which is another way to translate the word ¨camino¨. What I´ve heard most are statements like this: It´s about helping others, doing good like that; Life is about giving and sharing with others and doing for others and like that one helps oneself. There seems to be a lot of shared community sentiment that is this very notion. We hear stories now, too, from pilgrims telling about their experience on the camino ... telling how hard it had been, and what were some of the ¨tests¨that each one was presented ... such as a lot of anger coming up. Or some we are meeting deliberately walked the path very slowly as a walking meditation, or just so not to have the goal in mind so much as to experience the way each and every day as one was going, or the musician who carried his guitar and so could only go short distances. Each one has something to say, and many are in life in a transitional place changing from one profession to another, and all are very happy to reach the end and to feel the accomplishment of having come so many kilometers on foot. One Frenchman was so moved he couldn´t express, but just he said he felt ¨sentimental¨and said he didn´t know, but all it was is that he could feel this feeling in his heart and it was so strong for him. He walked from Le Puy in France and came about 8 weeks of walking.

For us we are grateful to be here, and we are enjoying our time at the Casa de Miguel and Julianna. Since 5 days it has been more rain and wind than sun and so we are making best use of time spent inside! We have been resting, sharing with others, meditating, doing yoga (and teaching it to others), cooking, reading, making origami with the children and other pilgrims (Wes has been teaching all of us), walking at the beach some. We´ve even had an offer to stay for the summer if I want to teach yoga to the pilgrims (and then we could make some concerted efforts to learn Spanish, too!)

As of now ... our plan is to return to Barcelona before June 17 as we´ve signed up to serve a ten day Vipassana meditation course at the Vipassana Center, Dhamma Neru, that is near Barcelona. Perhaps there we will get more clear about our next ¨camino¨ so to see what arises in our own minds about our next plan. Currently we are gathering a lot of information about walking in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Andalucia; I´m thinking about getting the credential to teach English, and then to teach English and yoga. Of course, we would both like to learn Spanish! ... We´ve realized that this takes time and that spending time in places is the way to achieve this very goal (a tutor and text book are a good idea too).

We´ll try to post pics, but we may have lost them in the camera ...

With love to all, and our best wishes, too!

We´ve Arrived!

It´s Day 30 and we´ve arrived at Santiago!!
We continued across the meseta in Castilla y Leon until we reached the Bierzo and then we climbed another mountain. The conditions changed as we finally got some rain and colder temperatures. But wow!! All so beautiful ... and once at the top of the mountain we reached the province of Galicia which is so very green. We´ve been climbing up and down green hills passing rose gardens through our way across Galicia. The path has narrowed as we came into this Celtic land (yes, Galicia has Celtic roots) ... and we passed instead of poplar forests through majestic oak forests ... and some pine ... and now even eucalpytus. But everything seemed to come narrower and closer, and Galicia itself is so very small and the towns are quaint and small too.
Today we walked the last 20 km into Santiago, but passed so unseen it seemed as the path traversed the forests and away from the towns. It´s the climax of the journey and yet it seems like just another day ... YET TRULY how fantastic to see this very old cathedral! It´s stunning! And the old town of Santiago is charming with its narrow stone streets and big plazas. We´ll post some pics .......

We´ve continued to meet very nice people, and today it has been fun to see those we´ve gotten to know on the path at different stages ... some who strode ahead, some who fell behind but arrived here safely anyway by other means than one´s feet ...

Yesterday we met another Vipassana meditator from US who spent the past 3 months serving at Dhamma Neru outside of Barcelona ... so ... we caught glimpses of what´s ahead as we plan to serve starting in mid June. We plan to continue to walk to Finisterre, to the westernmost point of Europe and to the Atlantic, then perhaps walk some in Portugal before returning to Barcelona and the Center.

One nice thing we got to read today was that this (Santiago) is the end and the beginning ... and the journey continues ... that journey ... the journey of the pilgrim ... is to continue to know oneself, to know others, to get closer to God ... that is the way of the Christian pilgrim.

Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday in Santiago. I think there will be a lot of festivities as it´s the day 50 days after Easter when though everyone spoke different languages ... there was mutual understanding among all. Certainly we´ve gotten to know people from all over ... perhaps we´ll all easily converse tomorrow, May 31, Sunday!

Best to all!
With love from me and Wes...........

Day 18, the Lion City, Leon

We made it to Leon and have crossed much of the meseta. Still going and on our way to the base of the mountain where we will ascend to the 1,500 meter plus pass. Day 18. 464 kilometers trekked, and 300 more to go!

Tonight we´re accommodating at the albergue, the shelter, at the Monastery with 150 other pilgrims! We hope to hear the monks chanting tonight, then plan to start off early on our way to Orbigo tomorrow.

Recently we have discovered the pastries! We´ll try to post some pics of these good treats, but now will give you a feast of the country on these first 18 days of the Camino. If you like, enjoy the slideshow of 300 pics! by clicking here.

Much love to all! Best wishes for continued good health to one and all. We love you!

Mid-Stream and Swimming

Sometimes it seems though we´re swimming through a sea of green since the wheat fields blowing in the wind looks like green waves in an ocean, especially here now where we´re walking. We´re traversing a meseta across Palencia and Junta Castille y Leon towards the town of Leon now. The land is vast and one feels part of that expanse. Today we walked a straight dirt and rock road without variation for 10 straight miles with no town in sight and no sound of road. It was like a desert and one´s feet really felt like wheels just step by step turning towards our destination - the next town - which never appeared but at the last since it sat just a hundred feet or so below the meseta on which we walked. The wheat fields surrounded us and sometimes the way was lined by a row of poplar trees. The feeling now on Day 15 of continous walking - day after day - is profound in the sense that one is really absorbed by the feeling of the air on one´s skin, the sight of the red earth beneath one´s feet, the sight of the sky and clouds, the play of the little birds darting in the wind, the steady repition of step by step going by some internal momentum that seems only to have a destination now that is a volition to reach the end of this land mass. Indeed, this will be the Atlantic ocean! The terrain of Palencia, a province the Romans inhabited in 900´s and before, is mostly flatlands, wind and sky. The air has been cold here these three days that we´ve been walking, and the town architecture has been Romanesque, though the towns have been much littler than the ones we found earlier on the path, and without the traditional town center as we´re formerly used to walking through. It´s so interesting how it changes and we don´t know what to expect, yet there is so much in common day to day. We walk through the morning and into the afternoon, then we find a place to take rest, we shop in the local store in the evening for fresh food to cook, we cook in the communal kitchen of the places we stay, and we share conversation and sometimes food with the others we meet on the path. Last night we were sharing a table with North Americans only! This was the first time we had such company alone since mostly we are meeting Italian, French, and Spanish travellers. The company of pilgrims last night was a couple from Canada, a couple from Atlanta, Georgia, a man from Mississippi.
The accommodation has mostly been in the municipal albergues where we share a dormitory style room with others, but this changes and from time to time we have a double room, and-or we stay in the parroquial albergues (which are donation only, and so a very different feeling since the persons there are there to serve the pilgrims as volunteers and there´s no need for the pilgrim to give any money remuneration, but most do) ... The parroquial albergue at Granon in the province of La Riojia was very special. We stayed in the quarters just attached to the church an even there was a doorway and small hall entry way into the back of the church, San Juan de Batista! We even were able to walk up the tower into the bell room, but it was shockingly loud!! We stayed in a loft room on sleeping mats with about 16 others. There was a skylight just above my mat and we could see the stork´s nest on top of the small bell tower! The sunlight streamed in at that spot, and that´s why I chose it. The hospitalaria who led us up to the loft asked which place we´d like and we went straight for the window. We got there and landed means we unpacked and lay down on the mat to rest, stretch, listen to the conversations of others coming in, talking too ...
One person says, ¨One thing about this camino (this walk), it´s not boring. It´s different every time.¨
Truly! Every day, though walking, is quite different, even when the landscape is scarcely changing as it has been recently!
Another woman comments to us right as we settle into our spaces in the loft, ¨It was like a gateway opening when I came into this albergue here in the church and the hospitalar (the volunteer) offered me a cup of water. I was so tired and it seemed as if he saw, and just gave it and let me sit quietly.¨ She was profoundly moved, and it´s like that sometimes ... some surrender is there and there is some opening that is moving and freeing the heart towards greater lightness. She was so cheered by the effort of that volunteer, and he was so happy to selflessly give. He also walks the camino and knows the strength it takes, and so he can see and give what´s needed, and we are not always so open, but then to receive this open heartedness just opens our own heart ... The parroquial albergues have more of this sincere true pilgrim spirit ... as it´s a place where nothing is expected, but what is needed is given. The two men serving for two weeks at this one prepared a meal for 44 of us from the donation monies that had been given the night before. We all set up and cleaned up, and we all really appreciated the small confines, the piano, the guitar, the good spirits of one another ... That evening some of us went into the back of the church and had some prayers up in the very old choir stalls ...
People are coming for many reasons on this camino. It´s usually a mix, but it is also either religious, cultural, spiritual, or for physical fitness ... One young woman told me when I asked her what brought her ... ¨A lot of things - some good - some bad.¨ Someone last night said that the walk will change you ... no matter what. Indeed it is interesting to everyday make this concerted effort to walk, and towards a destination that is so far away ... We do this in life all the time as we set goals and reach them. Perhaps here only is that it´s confined in a limited space of time and the camino is one´s sole occupation ... sort of like a 10-day meditation course in ways ... only different.
Perhaps in about 6 days time we will be ascending another mountain up to 1,500 meters, and then we´ll be well on our way towards the ocean and to Santiago. We´ll write as often as we can.
All friends, family and loved ones are in our thoughts.

Across Navarra and into La Rioja

The countryside is spectacular. Day 4 greeted us with waving fields of green wheat as we passed over a 500 meter pass and down the other side across the Navarra terrain. There are yellow mustard flowers, deep red poppy flowers, daisies, chamomile, nettles and more along the roadside and path. The path is long and feet are hurting for most of the pilgrims. We are traversting olive country and now here in La Rioja we are more in wine country and the fields are that of grapes just starting out their season with only short green arms beginning to grow across the lines that are set for their long reach of the season. The days are long. The sun rises by 7 am, but it is not dark until well after 9 pm. We have travelled just more than 200 kilometers now, and one sees the effects of such a walk on the body. Many of the pilgrims feel the distance in the body as one becomes more aware of one´s constitution. Many of the towns established hospitals for the pilgrims, and now I see why. I imagine a lot of foot and knee doctoring happened along the route.
We traverse through the countryside for most of the day and every 5 to 15 kilometers we are walking through an old town. The modern town is built out along the fringes of the old town centers, and the camino, the way, takes us to the heart of each city and through to the other side and then back out into the country. We enter into old stone city gate, pass by and sometimes enter the very ornate gold gilded churches, follow the yellow arrows through the narrow stone streets to pass out of the town gate on the other side. Many of the town centers and churches were built around the 11th century.
Today we wake up to clouds and cold. We are in a town built by the Moors called Azofra. It is very small and there are two storks that have an enormous nest on the top of the church tower!! Imagine! And the church bells ring every hour, and the constant din of Mass bells ring two or more times a day as well!
Today we hope to travel to Santo Domingo and perhaps beyond. We hope to meditate more today and to take a small break on this full Moon day!
We are thinking of all our family and friends with the deepest love and concern.
Please share any insights and inspirations, and information. We know little about Saint James. Perhaps Uncle Phil and Aunt Liz can share some history!!

Starting Days

We arrived in St Jean Pied de Port on the night before May Day to begin the Camino as hoped on 1 May. We discovered right away that it´s a European holiday, and their Labor Day, so there were more pilgrims on the path! Fortunately, we got a very good introduction from an enthusiastic Spanish woman on the taxi ride across the border from Spain to France. She shared about staying in the pilgrim´s hostels provided by the town municipalities, and she let us know the proper thing to say to each other on the path, and that is Buon Camino, it means Good Way. This is the auspicious way to greet one another and wish each other well! It is an international path, and one of the most interesting parts of the journey is assuredly meeting people from all over the world and sharing together why we´re each walking, and what we do, how we think. As we traverse this most amazing landscape of the Navarra country in Spain and the Pyrenees mountains the way has been cold, windy, rainy, muddy, sunny, up and down ... It´s quite a lot to experience and we all reach the end of the day´s journey then to share bunks in a common room in the town municipalities or something akin to such. It´s really a joy to walk this path with so many others! ... And it´s really interesting to meet the people who run the hostels who provide for the pilgrims. Of course, we pay, but it´s little compared to normal prices for accommodations. Some of the people are volunteers who are giving a service at the hostel, so there is a very meritorious feeling of the good deed that is being given as the pilgrims are doing the deed of doing the walk. Nice.
Our first day we walked 27 km to Roncevalles through the Pyrenees and up a 1300 meter pass. On Day 2 we traversed from Roncevalles 22 km to Larrasouna. Day 3 took us near the river and through the valley to Pomplona and just above the town on the west side to a town called Cizur Menor. It is lovely here. We are in an old villa and the gardens are full of irises, roses, calendula, and daisies. Even there are 9 turtles who live in the pond here!
We are well and happy, and each time we look out at the landscape we are in awe of the beauty. The people are friendly, and we are practicing to speak French, Italian and Spanish! We are also appreciating so much the architecture, and finding good vittles along the way, too!
We´ll update when we can!

Starting Off

Today in Pamplona back trekking, ie hitchhiking northeast to the town St Jean Pied de Port, where we plan to begin the Camino de Santiago, the Way of St James, and the trek across northern Spain. St Jean Pied de Port, St James at the foot of the mountains, is just outside the Spanish border in France. It´s a traditional pilgrimmage starting off point.



View Camino de Santiago in a larger map

We arrived to Pamplona this morning from Barcelona, walked the avenue for the running of the bulls, and hit the Info office to locate some requisites for our walk, ie shoe repair services. Next stop is a ride east via Roncevalles then down the mountain to St Jean Pied de Port where we can collect our pilgrim´s passport and begin!

We hope to start the trek from St Jean Pied de Port on 1 May.