The Good, The Bad and the Muddy!

When I packed for this trip, I prepared for cold, rainy weather. I prepared for days of heat and sun as well. And so far this walk has seen all the above, plus the special element of MUD. I have walked the last 80km uphill, downhill, on flat ground, and through many a vineyard in deep, red clay mud. The type of mud that sucks your shoes off, the type of mud that makes the quads burn and the butt ache with each pull of the shoe. The mud is the best suction cup i have every encountered. It can hold anything. Even me! But for better or worse I have persisted and have made my muddy way through town after town. And the beauty of the camino is evident as I enter each new town, village and city. Because instead of being greeted with stares of disgust I am greeted with many a friendly Spanish face and a cheer of Buon Camino!!! The Spanish are proud of the Camino and every town has arrows that guide me on my way to the next place of refuge for the night. The townspeople smile and wish me well. They offer me cafe con leche and at night I drink the deep red wines of Rioja for about 4 euros a bottle! And each time I stop on my way, thinking I cannot take another step in mud, someone will pass me by and say, ¨Buon Camino¨and they then grab my arm and walk with me until my smile comes back. I can´t describe the feeling it gives me to be on this walk, but I can say that every day my love affair with Spain grows deeper. Now I just have to figure out how to get out of eating the intestines that they serve for dinner! That is the bad part!

The Camino Frances Walking Route

Here is a place for almost daily information on the route I am following and how much walking I´m actually doing!

Day 1- Saint Jean-Pied-Du-Port to Roncesvalles - 25km walk going over the Pyreenes
Day 2 - Roncesvalles to Zubiri - walked 23km - mostly downhill
Day 3 - Zubiri to Pomplona - will walk 23km - terrain vaires
Day 4 - Pomplona to Puenta la Reina - crazy walking into and out of Pomplona! -22.5km
Day 5 - Puenta La Reina to Estella. Estella is a great city! - 21.5km
Day 6 - Estella to Los Arcos - 24km
Day 7 - Los Arcos to Vianna - 18km
Day 8 - Vianna to Navarrete - 22.5 km
Day 9 - Navarrete to Azofra - 21.5 km
Day 10 - Azofra to Granon - 20.5km
Day 11 - Granon to Tosantos - 22km
Day 12 - Tosantos to Atapuerca - 25km
Day 13 - Atapuerca to Burgos - 21km - 2nd large city and a day of rest for me!
Day 14 - RESTED IN BURGOS!!! Went to the cathedral and a real chocolateria!
Day 15 - Burgos to Hornillos del Camino - 20km
Day 15 - Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz - 19km
Day 16 - Castrojeriz to Fromista - 25km
Day 17 - Fromista to Carrion de los Condes - 20km
Day 18 - Carrion to Terradillos de los Templarios - 26km
THIS IS THE HALF WAY POINT! WE WERE ALL EXCITED.
I continue to cross the meseta, the high plains of wheat fields. I will finish the meseta is three days when I arrive in Leon. There is a snow prediction for Leon but we hope that will pass. After Leon the plains climb into the mountains again and there are long days of 27 to 32 km to reach the next hostal. My route is dictated by the hostals being open. In summer this is not a problem but in winter many of these places close.
Day 19 - Terradillos to Bercianos - 23km (i may go to El Burgo Ranero at 30km but it depends on the weather and the opening of Bercianos hostal)


Total walked so far: 397km!
Left to walk: 357km

Pictues Coming Soon!

Hey Eveyone!

Thanks for reading and keeping in touch. Please keep reading and pass this site along to anyone and everyone. Im leaving tomorrow for Paris and then Im off to St. Jean Pied-de-Port to begin the Camino Fances. Ill post photos of my time in Germany tonight. Take care and see you all in two months!

Annie

Postcards from a Plane!

How does one prepare for international travel? This is a slightly rhetorical question, but aside from compiling all the necessary clothes, adapters, luggage, etc. how does one mentally and physically prepare for time travel? That is what flying across time zones is essentially - time travel. In my particular case, I lost a day. I left the US Thurs. aftenoon and woke up in Germany the next day. But unlike time travel in movies, i remember every detail of my journey. I remember vividly the joy of discovering that on a full flight i had the only row with no one sitting beside me. i had two seats by the window all to myself. But a price was paid for this pleasure. It was paid in every single evil stare directed my way by my fellow passengers in coach. Specifically the very tall gentlemen who was squeesed tighter than paris hiltons jeans in his seat. and the unkind person that i am, i just smiled and snuggled down further in my luxury row. that is until..the two women in front of me reclined their seats and proceeded to "get it on" for the enjoyment of everyone is rows 24 to 27 A to J. I have nothing against lesbians mind you, nor do i have anything against public display of affection. Quite the contrary i like nothing more than someone to hold my hand, rest my head on their shoulder, secretly touch my butt though my back pocket and even give me a kiss. BUT......i have a problem with someone basically sitting in my lap and going full-tongue. Now, kudos to them for having the gumption to do that. But even more kodos go out to the Indian man who was brave enough to ring his flight attendant buzzer repeatedly until help arrived. And molto kodos to the male flight attendant who, with a great big smile plastered on his face- kindly interrupted said ladies with a few loud, "UGH HMMMS!" and a stern tap on the shoulder of the woman closest to him. The women looked sheepish and said sorry, and the male flight attendent walked away smiling. The women apologized to me, but what does one say, "oh thats ok, i had nothing to do before the in-flight movie began." or maybe "i always wanted to see real lesbians make out - its really nothing like in the movies!" or maybe "i always thought the mile high club was a myth." None of these seemed appopriate. I merely smiled and said in true northewest fashion, "No worries. Its all good!" And truth is, it was all good. The flight was good, the selection of inn flight movies, the little boy from russia who at some point in the night snuggled up next to me in the luxary row(much to the shock of his parents and me), the connecting flight in amsterdam was good - any country with toilets that have wet wipes and hand soap in the stalls is ok with me, and best of all was walking off the plane in Gemany and seeing Jochen great me at the teminal, AC-DC t-shirt and all!

Ive spent the last 5 days loving Germany. The food, the beer for breakfast, walking everywhere and seeing my friend. Im off to Spain tomorrow to begin my pilgrimage and again i sit here asking myself how does one prepare to walk across a county outside of bringing the necessary preparations. And i dont have an answer but if it involves lesbians, reclining seats, and toddlers im sure it wont be that bad!

What does Chicken Out mean?

When I finally made the decision to attempt the Camino Frances, I felt relieved. The decision had been looming over me for awhile and so as with any big life decision, once I was resolved to go to Spain, I felt rather liberated. A decision was made, my ticket was purchased and I was going to Spain. As the weeks passed by, my excitement and enthusiasm for this adventure of a lifetime grew. But something else grew too. And that something was the worm of self-doubt and fear. Now, I'm not a foolish person. Impulsive yes, foolish no. And so, as with any other type of backpacking trip I have done, I made sure to look into some of the hazards of completing the Camino by oneself, in the off-season. My research pointed to some very real hazards: not seeing another person for miles which could translate into trouble should I get hurt; very cold temperatures in Navarra and no hot water or electricity in the refugios there (many people reported getting very bad colds and having to walk on), not speaking Spanish, not finishing the camino in the time I allocated and thus having to bypass via bus some of the stops. These are all very valid concerns and ones that needed to be addressed. However, what was not on the list where being raped and murdered and left for dead. And the truth is that almost every single WOMAN I spoke to about the camino - be it a sales women, a co-worker, a friend, a stranger at a coffee shop -said something along the lines of, "Oh my god, you're going alone? Aren't you scared? You really should find someone to go with you. I would be scared to death to do something like that alone. Do you speak Spanish? You don't! Oh my god, you should not be doing this." And like any message that gets repeated enough, I found myself convincing myself that I should not do this trip alone. I let other people's fears and insecurities briefly become my own. I even went so far as to make an alternate plan to stay in Germany with my friend Jochen instead of going to Spain alone. I expressed my fears and anxiety and suggested an alternate plan in an email I sent to my friend Jochen in Germany. I told him that I was afraid I would chicken out. As Jochen is not a native speaker of English, this prashe perplexed him. He emailed back one simple, beautiful question about my fears.
"What does chicken out mean?"
And with that one sentence my courage was restored. What does chicken out mean anyway? Really what does this common American phrase mean and who sets the standard for the chicken? These were my questions and my answer is that I set the standard for the chicken. I set the standard for myself. I decide what I will and will not be afraid of. I decide what fears I will capitulate too and which ones hold no court with me. And going to Spain alone and walking across a country is not something I will allow myself to give up because of some other women's fears. Don't get me wrong, I'm not naive and as a woman I do have to take extra precautions. I'm not about to walk across Spain in my hot pants or in really tight notice me clothing. But I'm also not about to NOT do something I really want to do because I don't have anyone to go with me. The whole point of a spiritual pilgrimage is based on one going alone so as to find one's way. It's hard to find one's way if someone else is jabbering in your ear the entire time. This is not a vacation to me. This is not a tourist trip of 200 cathedrals in 35 days. This is my time alone on the road to figure me out, to see what I'm made of, what I can do on my own. Everything is packed and I'm ready...and this time...I'm bringing my chicken!!!

Why/How did you decide to do this trip?

Ok, so I was asked this question about 300 times. And after giving the same answer 300 times you'd think I would be through answering this question. But the truth is...this is a very good question and cuts deep to the root of who I am. So, who am I? I'm impulsive, spiritual and yes, I believe in signs. And it was a sign that led me to this journey. I was given a book, Travels With My Donkey (which is listed in the short reading list - by my reading list you can discern that I haven't really done a lot of homework for this trip.) At any rate, I was given this book about a man who decided to walk across Spain with a donkey. It was a funny travel story and most people would think nothing of it, me included. So I merely filed this trip away in the back of my mind as something I would like to do "someday". However, that changed when within a matter of two weeks I was given another book about the Camino. That struck me as an odd coincidence. A month after that, I was reading  a novel by Paulo Cuelo and he referenced the Camino in the novel. At that point, this trip was a done deal in my mind. Things happen in three's so I knew right then and there that I had to do this trip. So I cast my eyes skyward as I read the passage in Paulo Cuelo's book and said out loud, "Ok, already, I get the point. I'll go to Spain." 

Now there are other reasons, beyond the books, that this trip appeals to me. First off, it's a great chance to learn about a foreign country and move beyond the basic tourist trip. I like spending time in a country and there is really no better way to meet the locals and really learn about a culture than by walking across a county on your own two feet. Second, the trip would be physically demanding and I relished the idea of doing something challenging. And third, b/c as you know things happen in threes,  I loved the idea that I would receive absolution for all my sins at the end of the walk. Yep, that's right - absolution! Gotta love the Catholics!! Basically, if you register your "pilgrimage" as being for religious or spiritual reasons, and if you complete the required distance and get all of your stamps in your pilgrims credential along the route, then when you reach the final cathedral in Santiago de Compostela you will receive a certificate which historically has entitled the bearer to "absolution from all their sins from the day they were born until the day they received the certificate." 

Now this third reason is really the most compelling and really where the money is at. It's the most compelling because I can sin my way my throughout Spain knowing that all will be forgiven at the end. And it's the most lucrative because, as Stefan Lofgren pointed out to me, I could sell my "get out of hell free card" on ebay upon my return to the states!!  Think of it, I can sell "absolution" online - and I'm not even a priest! And for a small price (say the price of a roundtrip ticket to Spain, all expenses included, with a little extra thrown in to pay the bills while I'm away) you could be absolved too. So, if anyone knows any big time sinners with money, give them my name and let them know we can work a deal. Moreover, if anyone wants to join me in this bound to be lucrative money making venture, let me know. All you need is a good pair of boots and some HUTSPA!!!

ps) If anyone reading this takes me in the least bit seriously and is not laughing at this evident display of sarcasm then I ask that you stop reading my blog b/c i'm bound to offend you again as i am nothing if not a smart ass.

What the heck is the Camino de Santiago de Compostela?

The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, heretofor referred to as the Camino, is a pilgrimage to Saint James. It began in the 9th century when Pelayo, a 9th-century religious hermit living in a remote area of northwestern Iberia, followed a mysterious shining start to a Roman mausoleum hidden under briars. Inside where the remains of the apostle James the Greater (in Spanish, Santiago). Once the word spread, people's feet began pounding the pavement and thus the pilgrimage to Saint James was born. It's hard to imagine such news setting the stage for a modern day pilgrimage, but back in the 9th-century, under the rule of the much stricter, rigid and fear preaching Catholic church, one pretty much had to complete a religious pilgrimage to even entertain the notion of going to the heavenly hereafter. And so the pilgrimage to Saint James began and continues to this day. There are many routes or caminos to Saint James. The route I am taking, Camino Frances, is the most popular and well-developed and well-marked. Since this is my first trip to Spain and the first time I'm engaging in such an undertaking I felt it best I do the "easy" one first. The other camino's include:

- Camino Aragones - through Jaca and Sanguesa to join the Camino Frances

-Caminos del Norte - following the Basque, Cantabrian and Asturian coasts

-Via de la Plata - from southern Spain

- Camino Portugues - from Portugal

-there are also routes from any European front door - but you have to design your own route.

Thanks to Lonely Planet for providing much of this brief history!