Today we´re in Zubiri, about a 13-mile trek from Roncesvalle. Last night in the alberge was interesting--about 100 people on old iron bunk beds in one large room. Earplugs continue to come in very, very handy.
We walked all of today with a young man (Emlyn´s age) from Holland, with whom we also had dinner last night. He´s here walking on his own, so it was great fun to connect and walk together. He unfortunately is undertaking his first backpacking trek, and came in leather boots that are not yet broken in, so he´s been suffering with a variety of aches and pains. But while a bit of the day was spent talking about those (his and ours), most of it was in conversation about faith and spiritual journeying, and a lot of banter and laughter. Emlyn pulled out the old game Marty and I used to play with the kids, "I´m going on a backpacking trip, and in my pack I will take...." (add an item working through the alphabet, with each person having to recite the entire list). That was a hoot, and kept us going for quite a while. TJ did an admirable job in a language that´s not native, and then challenged us to a Dutch version. We made it to F, with words that are similar in English and Dutch--and then we pretty much wore out.
The day was a bit more of a challenge than we anticipated--a series of pretty steep ascents and descents that really kept us sweating. Sunny and warm, it was beautiful, but a very strenuous hike! We stopped at cafes for both breakfast and lunch. Over lunch I met a woman from Ireland who knew my friend Maurice Lennon from the Stockton´s Wing days, when she was a huge fan. We very much enjoyed chatting over that, having come together on the Camino and finding this unexpected connection.
We had hoped to get a bit farther today, but with the blisters and aches and pains, we decided to stop here today, in a lovely town situated on a clear-running brook, complete with stone bridge. Soaking our feet in the cold water felt like heaven, and Emlyn and TJ spent a fair amount of time catching crayfish and watching the fish.
I shared dinner this evening with Hank, a gentleman about my age also from Holland, we spent a good deal of time talking about our churches, the culture where we live, and what we hope for for our kids. It´s amazing the depth of conversation one comes to quickly and easily here; there is an almost immediate sense of trust and shared experience, even when you only see folks now and then along the trail.
The Camino continues to be fairly sparsely populated; most of the pilgrims definitely seem to have gone before us. It´s a huge relief to find plenty of beds available wherever we stop, and just enough people to talk to along the way. Lots of mutual encouragment and support, and laughter for the journey!
My pack is probably at least 5 pounds heavier than it should be, and perhaps more, but it has been no trouble at all, for which I´m grateful! At the end of the trail, it´s about 7 pounds lighter than when I start out, since the water bladder weighs about that much full. But it hasn´t been a problem that any of us have noticed. Although, as I said, the hike is still pretty tough in spots.
We are in Spain now (did I mention that yesterday), so Em is showing her Spanish chops getting us aspirin and bandages in the pharmacy. She and Niles headed out with TJ for dinner and are sitting outside with a group of young people, although at 10:00 it´s probably past bedtime for all of us. We may try to get up at about 4:30 or 5:00 to get a very early start into Pamplona tomorrow, but we´ll see how that goes.
Again, a challenging day, but one full of surprising blessings. And my feet are holding up better than I thought, so I´ll keep thinking happy thoughts and hope it continues. Looking forward to a more level trek tomorrow, and hopefully some time to sightsee in Pamplona.
Blessings on your journies!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Over the Pyranees and into Roncasvalle
Well, we made it over the Pyranees--something I´ve been trying to imagine having accomplished for a long time. Yesterday, that first short stretch up had me really worried about today, when we would be going more than twice as far. I really wasn´t sure how we were going to be able to do it, especially since the second day of something like this is usually much more difficult for me.
We had a great dinner last night (lamb, fixed by people who know how to do it, and beans and vegetable soup), but this morning we fueled up for the long trek with--no kidding--a bowl of coffe, and pieces of bread with butter and jam. Seriously, that was it. I gotta admit I was pretty stunned that that was the breakfast provided by the algergue, but there you go. I drank my bowl of coffee and ate about three or four small (baguette-sized) pieces of bread, and off we went.
Again, we traveled over twice as far today, but did an increase in elevation about equal to what we did yesterday in much less distance. Which meant that the climb wasn´t nearly as stressful. Em and Niles rapidly fell into a pattern of pacing, letting each other know what they needed or what was working, and whatever they came up with seemed to work well for me.
And oh my gosh. The Pyranees! So stunningly beautiful! Lots of sheep, and cows, and horses on mountain tops with very little in the way of habitation. The sound of the bells travels for miles. And so often we´d just stop and watch the vultures soaring and riding the thermals. Up close, you know, they are pretty darn ugly. But soaring across a blue sky in huge, graceful loops, they are pretty darn beautiful. Idyllic doesn´t begin to describe it.
Coming down the Pyranees was a completely different type of beauty, as we rapidly came below the tree line. The descent was steep and fast, and we were indeed feeling the different stress. My knees began complaining pretty much right off the bat. But actually, all things considered, we´ve all done very well--no serious blisters, pains or injuries in these two very strenuous days.
Again, we certainly see other pilgrims--many of whom we have seen off and on again in the algergues or along the way, and so developed a camino friendship. (The kind that says, "Could you take just one more picture for us?" or "Do you have any idea where one might find a somewhat un-humiliating spot for a relief break?¨ Certain levels of friendships develop quickly out of necessity here, supported by the communal life of the albergues.)
Anyway, there are other pilgrims. But there is plenty of space for walking on one´s own, too--just enough quiet time and companionship balancing wonderfully. This is a very low week for pilgrim travel, which I gotta admit has been a relief to me. I was sort of dreading the record numbers I kept hearing about.
So it´s been a day filled with beauty and gratitude more than offsetting the strains and aches and occasional weariness. I have been very aware of the number of people who have said they´d be praying for us today--and we felt those prayers! I have been filled with gratitude for the opportunity to walk--not only in this place, but in this kairos-space. An abundance of blessing, indeed.
We had a great dinner last night (lamb, fixed by people who know how to do it, and beans and vegetable soup), but this morning we fueled up for the long trek with--no kidding--a bowl of coffe, and pieces of bread with butter and jam. Seriously, that was it. I gotta admit I was pretty stunned that that was the breakfast provided by the algergue, but there you go. I drank my bowl of coffee and ate about three or four small (baguette-sized) pieces of bread, and off we went.
Again, we traveled over twice as far today, but did an increase in elevation about equal to what we did yesterday in much less distance. Which meant that the climb wasn´t nearly as stressful. Em and Niles rapidly fell into a pattern of pacing, letting each other know what they needed or what was working, and whatever they came up with seemed to work well for me.
And oh my gosh. The Pyranees! So stunningly beautiful! Lots of sheep, and cows, and horses on mountain tops with very little in the way of habitation. The sound of the bells travels for miles. And so often we´d just stop and watch the vultures soaring and riding the thermals. Up close, you know, they are pretty darn ugly. But soaring across a blue sky in huge, graceful loops, they are pretty darn beautiful. Idyllic doesn´t begin to describe it.
Coming down the Pyranees was a completely different type of beauty, as we rapidly came below the tree line. The descent was steep and fast, and we were indeed feeling the different stress. My knees began complaining pretty much right off the bat. But actually, all things considered, we´ve all done very well--no serious blisters, pains or injuries in these two very strenuous days.
Again, we certainly see other pilgrims--many of whom we have seen off and on again in the algergues or along the way, and so developed a camino friendship. (The kind that says, "Could you take just one more picture for us?" or "Do you have any idea where one might find a somewhat un-humiliating spot for a relief break?¨ Certain levels of friendships develop quickly out of necessity here, supported by the communal life of the albergues.)
Anyway, there are other pilgrims. But there is plenty of space for walking on one´s own, too--just enough quiet time and companionship balancing wonderfully. This is a very low week for pilgrim travel, which I gotta admit has been a relief to me. I was sort of dreading the record numbers I kept hearing about.
So it´s been a day filled with beauty and gratitude more than offsetting the strains and aches and occasional weariness. I have been very aware of the number of people who have said they´d be praying for us today--and we felt those prayers! I have been filled with gratitude for the opportunity to walk--not only in this place, but in this kairos-space. An abundance of blessing, indeed.
Monday, June 28, 2010
SJPP and first day in the Pyranees
Well, they say the Camino provides, and it appears to be true so far. Met a Canadian yesterday in Bayonne who accompanied us into SJPP. Roland already had a reservation at a refugio, so we followed him and got a lovely room right off the bat. Rooms are hostel style, so we shared. (Gotta get used to that quick here!) Roland is fluent in French, and ended up helping us get in some last minute shopping (Em's sandal broke) and obtain our pilgrim's credentials, and then we shared a few beers and dinner.
He also phoned ahead for us and got us all reservations at the refugio just 8 kilometers up the trail--but that 8 K was an altitude increase of 1650 feet! Don't know if it was just nerves, but none of us (Niles, Em and I) slept more than an hour or two last night--not the best way to start, to be sure.
The area is absolutely chqrming--farms, sheep, horses, cows--very idyllic. But wow--UP! It was a very tough morning. Tomorrow we have to continue up and go twice as far, but the grade is a little easier; we'll see! But the view here is stunning, looking out into the Pyranees, watching the vultures ride the thermals, and just enjoying the respite after tough first leg. Roland woke before us and got here so early he chose to go on, so we haven't been able to thank him again for making this possible. But thank goodness for his presence and help yesterday--we would not have been able to do the whole 26 K in one day, I'm sure.
But at least we're feeling more confident now of the next step. And the fellow pilgrims we've met have been delightful--although there are very few English-speakers. We were glad to learn that our strategy of starting late enough to arrive in Compostela after the festival seems to be working; our host told us they had been seeing 2000 pilgrims a day, but last week it dropped to 190. I'm feeling a lot better about that; rooms will be easier to get, and everything feels more relaxed.
So far, so good. Thanks for the good wishes and prayers. Buen Camino!
He also phoned ahead for us and got us all reservations at the refugio just 8 kilometers up the trail--but that 8 K was an altitude increase of 1650 feet! Don't know if it was just nerves, but none of us (Niles, Em and I) slept more than an hour or two last night--not the best way to start, to be sure.
The area is absolutely chqrming--farms, sheep, horses, cows--very idyllic. But wow--UP! It was a very tough morning. Tomorrow we have to continue up and go twice as far, but the grade is a little easier; we'll see! But the view here is stunning, looking out into the Pyranees, watching the vultures ride the thermals, and just enjoying the respite after tough first leg. Roland woke before us and got here so early he chose to go on, so we haven't been able to thank him again for making this possible. But thank goodness for his presence and help yesterday--we would not have been able to do the whole 26 K in one day, I'm sure.
But at least we're feeling more confident now of the next step. And the fellow pilgrims we've met have been delightful--although there are very few English-speakers. We were glad to learn that our strategy of starting late enough to arrive in Compostela after the festival seems to be working; our host told us they had been seeing 2000 pilgrims a day, but last week it dropped to 190. I'm feeling a lot better about that; rooms will be easier to get, and everything feels more relaxed.
So far, so good. Thanks for the good wishes and prayers. Buen Camino!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
In Bayonne
Well, we made it this far. It's Sunday morning, and we're in Bayonne, waiting for the bus to St. Jean Pied du Port (hereafter SJPP). We thought we could get there early today, but on Sunday the only bus is at 3:30. So we scoped out an internet cafe, and I'm learning how hard it is to type on a not-querty keyboard. (If you find lots of "q's" where there should be an "a," that's why.)
Oh my. Did I seriously just post that on Sunday morning I'm sitting in an internet cafe? Uh, oops.... St. Paul people, I'm with you in spirit--really! (Of course, at this hour most of you are still asleep. But you know what I mean.)
The trip so far has been tiring but pretty good, all things considered. By the time we checked into our hotel last night (at 11:00 p.m. ) we were pretty muched zoned, having not slept in a bed for over 30 hours. We had a 7-hour train trip after our flight landed (5 hours travel, with a two-hour layover in the middle; book ahead, Marty, to avoid that little detail), so we ran on catnaps and the kind of sleep one usually gets on a plane. But it's been lovely--so much so that we decided to walk from the train station to our hotel at 11:00 last night, and thoroughly enjoyed the stroll across the river and through Bayonne. And everyone has been most gracious with our American-ness (read: lack of fluency in any language other than English), tho Niles has pulled us through quite a few conversations and transactions in France so far. He also got several hero points for catching the fact that when we purchased our tickets to Bayonne from Paris yesterday, the guy actually booked us to Biarritz.
So--so far, so good. We're down one pair of sandals (broken), and starting out on the Camino Monday instead of Sunday, but I'm thinking that all in all this qualifies as a good start. We're hoping to take the high (challenging) route through the Pyranees tomorrow, so your keeping prayers coming would be appreciated. Blessings.
Oh my. Did I seriously just post that on Sunday morning I'm sitting in an internet cafe? Uh, oops.... St. Paul people, I'm with you in spirit--really! (Of course, at this hour most of you are still asleep. But you know what I mean.)
The trip so far has been tiring but pretty good, all things considered. By the time we checked into our hotel last night (at 11:00 p.m. ) we were pretty muched zoned, having not slept in a bed for over 30 hours. We had a 7-hour train trip after our flight landed (5 hours travel, with a two-hour layover in the middle; book ahead, Marty, to avoid that little detail), so we ran on catnaps and the kind of sleep one usually gets on a plane. But it's been lovely--so much so that we decided to walk from the train station to our hotel at 11:00 last night, and thoroughly enjoyed the stroll across the river and through Bayonne. And everyone has been most gracious with our American-ness (read: lack of fluency in any language other than English), tho Niles has pulled us through quite a few conversations and transactions in France so far. He also got several hero points for catching the fact that when we purchased our tickets to Bayonne from Paris yesterday, the guy actually booked us to Biarritz.
So--so far, so good. We're down one pair of sandals (broken), and starting out on the Camino Monday instead of Sunday, but I'm thinking that all in all this qualifies as a good start. We're hoping to take the high (challenging) route through the Pyranees tomorrow, so your keeping prayers coming would be appreciated. Blessings.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Departure Day
Our ride to the airport will be here in a few minutes. (It's amazing how comforting that little detail is--having a friend drive us instead of taking a cab.) I'm a little stunned by the sensation in my chest; I hadn't expected my nerves to be this jangled. Niles and Em have confessed to feeling it too. I really didn't expect to be this nervous.
Maybe it's because Marty isn't going with us at the beginning. I rely on him for nerves-reduction probably more than he realizes. (Or maybe he realizes it all too well--sorry, hon!) I'm going to miss him a lot for this first half of the Camino; we journey well together, through all kinds of terrain....
Or maybe it's because I've never traveled internationally when I haven't been part of a group. Which means that the responsibility for making connections and communicating in a different language has always been someone else's responsibility. Loss of control issues? We could talk about my nightmares on that topic for days.
So I'm finding myself, when I feel the stress pounding a little harder, going back and reading all the messages of encouragement and support (yup, I really like Facebook), and listening yet again to the gift of music that my friend Maurice has given me (can't even describe what that has meant; it just goes straight to my heart and soothes it), and watching as Niles and Em and I weigh our packs and grin like fools (mine's finally at 18 pounds--success!). And I remember that it's all gonna be fine. The ton of prayers that are going with me don't actually weigh a thing, for all that I can feel them. The crystal Jenne gave me for strength and light rests easy on my chest. And the love of the cloud of witnesses at St. Paul and beyond is almost tangible.
Breathing....
Maybe it's because Marty isn't going with us at the beginning. I rely on him for nerves-reduction probably more than he realizes. (Or maybe he realizes it all too well--sorry, hon!) I'm going to miss him a lot for this first half of the Camino; we journey well together, through all kinds of terrain....
Or maybe it's because I've never traveled internationally when I haven't been part of a group. Which means that the responsibility for making connections and communicating in a different language has always been someone else's responsibility. Loss of control issues? We could talk about my nightmares on that topic for days.
So I'm finding myself, when I feel the stress pounding a little harder, going back and reading all the messages of encouragement and support (yup, I really like Facebook), and listening yet again to the gift of music that my friend Maurice has given me (can't even describe what that has meant; it just goes straight to my heart and soothes it), and watching as Niles and Em and I weigh our packs and grin like fools (mine's finally at 18 pounds--success!). And I remember that it's all gonna be fine. The ton of prayers that are going with me don't actually weigh a thing, for all that I can feel them. The crystal Jenne gave me for strength and light rests easy on my chest. And the love of the cloud of witnesses at St. Paul and beyond is almost tangible.
Breathing....
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Full Blog-Awesomeness Disclosure
Among many ironies of preparing for walking El Camino de Santiago--the goal of which is to simplify and clear space for the presence of God--is the reality that I have needed to get myself in gear, create a blog and get the link to everyone who wants to know if I have one yet. I do now--at least 30 hours before wheels up. Plenty of time!
So the first question is what this blog is for. Which opens up an immediate opportunity to start laying things down again--sort of a theme for this journey. The first thing I find myself needing to lay down is the pressure of creating a blog of amazing and wonderful spiritual profundity. I'm not really sure (yet) what will go in here. I just know that I'm not really interested in trying to "produce something." If I go there, I won't get anywhere.
So full disclosure: this will be a space for recording, reflecting, ruminating--not sure how interesting that will be to anyone but me, actually, but maybe. I'll probably update where I am, what the day's been like, what hurts--and what I'm thinking. Frankly, it seems a little egotistical to think that people are that interested in what's going on in my head, as though there's a reason for you to take time out of your head because mine is so much more interesting. But there it is. Who knows--maybe this will be absolutely fascinating and amazing and go totally viral--the next Blog of Awesomeness. I'm not counting on it, tho. Just so you know....
So yeah; I'll be traveling halfway around the world to try to do something I'm not sure I can do, knowing full well that in spite of myself, God has already made provision for me. Which has already been evident in the gift of you all--the community of friends and family and Body that has always gotten me through. I am glad beyond measure that I have you at my back.
(That first day of going six hours uphill into the Pyranees, could you push, please? Thanks.)
So the first question is what this blog is for. Which opens up an immediate opportunity to start laying things down again--sort of a theme for this journey. The first thing I find myself needing to lay down is the pressure of creating a blog of amazing and wonderful spiritual profundity. I'm not really sure (yet) what will go in here. I just know that I'm not really interested in trying to "produce something." If I go there, I won't get anywhere.
So full disclosure: this will be a space for recording, reflecting, ruminating--not sure how interesting that will be to anyone but me, actually, but maybe. I'll probably update where I am, what the day's been like, what hurts--and what I'm thinking. Frankly, it seems a little egotistical to think that people are that interested in what's going on in my head, as though there's a reason for you to take time out of your head because mine is so much more interesting. But there it is. Who knows--maybe this will be absolutely fascinating and amazing and go totally viral--the next Blog of Awesomeness. I'm not counting on it, tho. Just so you know....
So yeah; I'll be traveling halfway around the world to try to do something I'm not sure I can do, knowing full well that in spite of myself, God has already made provision for me. Which has already been evident in the gift of you all--the community of friends and family and Body that has always gotten me through. I am glad beyond measure that I have you at my back.
(That first day of going six hours uphill into the Pyranees, could you push, please? Thanks.)
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