Working on A Dream

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2009-07-21T16:40:00.004+02:00

Day 35: Madrid to Raleigh

Our flight from Dublin to JFK was delayed five hours making us get in to NY at 1 in the morning. Our flight to Raleigh was booking on a different ticket so we missed our flight.

The best option was to rent a car and drive to Raleigh, which we did. I was wired driving.

I hope to see you each soon and I can't wait to share pictures with everyone once I have them developed!

Much love.

Madrid

2009-07-17T17:59:00.002+02:00

Day 31: Santiago de Compostela

Tomorrow morning, Charlie and I are taking a bus to Madrid (9 hours). We will be there for a day and a half before our flight on Monday.

I reserved a hotel room for us located a few minutes from the Plaza Mayor and most of the museums, which will be very cool. We may be able to see a bull fight on Sunday night as well.

Yesterday we went to pilgrim´s mass in the cathedral which was very boring, but I appreciate the experience. The bishop preached about how the camino is analagous to life. There are times when we are tired, in pain, joyful, etc. and we always need to keep pressing on. Santiago I guess can be seen as heaven, the ultimate prize/reward. His message was the only part I actually enjoyed about mass.

Hope all is well at home. Can´t wait to see everyone.

This is the best part of the trip, the best part.... the party I really like...

2009-07-15T22:05:00.009+02:00

Day 29: Arzúa-Santiago de Compostela

We initially planned arriving into Santiago tomorrow morning, but decided to suck it up and we walked our longest day yet, 40km. It was amazing walking into the city.

Nothing hurt, we took our boots off and tied them to our walking sticks and marched into the city like conquering heroes in sandals. When we got to the cathedral in the old district, we lay down in the plaza just staring and soaking it all in. When navegating the narrow streets looking for the end of the camino, I felt as if I was being cheered on!

Now, we sort of don´t know what to do with ourselves. The idea of not waking up at 6 am and walking for 7 hours is strange. We actually get to rest, drink coffee in some café, write in our journals, and do whatever we want.

I weighed myself in the pharmacy in town. I lost 20 pounds, weighing in at a solid 190. I am very excited about this and I feel more motivated than ever in keeping up with being fit. I haven´t weighed this less since 2000, when I graduated highschool!

So yea, we are here. We most likely will not stay in Santiago for four days (it´s not that big of a city), so we are thinking about going to Madrid, where our plane leaves on Monday, in order to visit some museums (Dalí, Picasso, etc.) and perhaps see a bull fight. I´ll keep you posted on what we decide.

Thanks for the comments. I wasn´t fishing for love :)

A Coruña

2009-07-14T09:09:00.002+02:00

Day 28: Casanova-Arzúa

We just ventured into A Coruña, the last province in Galicia and consequently the last of the camino. Currently there are 50k left which will put us in Santiago on Thursday morning just in time for pilgrim´s mass at the cathedral.

I am convinced that I will start running from 20k away. Charlie said he will not join me. I am pretty sure that if I ran, my legs would simply fall off.

I´ll write one more of these posts when we get to Santiago. (Don´t really even know if anyone besides myself are actually reading these)

We will be there for three days before our flight home.

The Running of the Bulls

2009-07-10T17:20:00.003+02:00

Day 24: O Cebreiro- Triscastela

Charlie and I have been fortunate enough to catch the last three days´infamous "Running of the Bulls" during our morning breakfast.

Today, a 20 something year old died. A bull gored the guy in the throat.

If we get to catch tomorrow´s running, I wonder if I will still "laugh" when I see some lunatic get trampled by bulls?

Galicia!

2009-07-09T20:38:00.004+02:00

Day 23: Villafranca del Bierzo- O Cebreiro

Well, lately I have not written much. That is because as the days progess, I am growing more tired, and we are venturing into 15th century territories where internet is not as accesible.

Today we crossed over into the last autonomy of Spain where Santiago is located; Galicia.

I don´t have developed pictures, but just google-image the country of Ireland, and you can see where we are. Green mountains that are absolutely breathtaking.

I miss you all and look forward to seeing you shortly. We will arrive in Santiago next Thursday, the 16th I believe. I will still continue to write as much as I am able. Pray for healing of my right hamstring, as it has given me some trouble these past few days. Otherwise, everything is great for Charlie and I, just a few blisters which is to be expected.

It is weird to be so close to our final destination. Looking back on these past three weeks seems like a dream. This trip is by far one of the coolest things that I have ever done, and also has been one the hardest things that I have done.

Good night.

Sunflowers!

2009-07-05T21:02:00.008+02:00

(Cathedral of Saint Mary, León)

Day 19: Villar de Mozarife- Astorga

(Confused with León separtist graffiti)

Today was a really nice walk. Tomorrow we start walking into the Leonese Mountains which will give us our first view into Galicia, where we hope to be by Thursday.

Sunflowers actually freak me out. I think it is because I give them human qualities as if they are always looking at me. However, I have always wanted to see a field full of them, and out of the blue we find one today. Enjoy the pictures.

Burger King

2009-07-04T16:09:00.005+02:00

Day 18: León-Villar de Mazarife

On our hike yesterday, the dreaded 38km hike to León, I had an overwhelming desire to eat Burger King. Now if you know anything about me, you know that I don´t eat Burger King, not even in the states. And it´s not like I am pregnant and having weird cravings...

Anyways, the same old jamón sandwiches or olive oil drenched chicken and fries are starting to get old. Spanish cuisine, at least in this region, is not varied by any means. In Galicia, the last province of the camino, they have great seafood and other culinary delights. So, I convinced Charlie to eat Buger King... the most American thing we can do in Spain. I admit that it was embarassing. Whatever. It could be worse, we could´ve had McDonald´s.

Anyways, moving along. The mountains are getting closer and closer (naturally...) and I find myself getting more excited as the days progess. Only 11 more days and we are in Santiago. These next 11 days are supposed to be some of the most beautiful sections of the camino. The people who inhabit the region of Galicia are also very interesting. If you have been following along with my entries, you may remember reading about the Basque Country. Well in Galicia, there is also another cultural entity knowns as the "gallegos." Gallegos speak Spanish but their primary language is known as "gallego." If you imagine Spanish and Portuguese getting married and having a son, his name would be "gallego" (weird image I know, but that is they dynamic of the language).

Therefore, by knowing both Spanish and Portuguese, I am also very excited to experience the linguistic distinction between these intriguing people and the rest of Castilla. Don´t worry though, the "gallegos" don´t have a terrorist/separatist group. So we will be safe from car bombs.

Siesta...

2009-07-02T13:21:00.006+02:00

Day 16: El Burgo Ranero

It´s hot! Upper nineties and I am finally understanding the origin of siesta. I once asked a man when the stores were going to open back up, and instead of telling me a time he said, "it´s still too hot for anything to open up for a while..."

Tomorrow our goal is reach León. It will be our longest hike, around 38 km. Wish us luck!

As we ended our hike, we now see a vague silhouette of the mountains. We will reach them in about four days. I love that we can see them as they are enormous and beautiful, but also because they are the last hills to overcome before reaching the so longed for Santiago.

Forward!

2009-06-30T21:30:00.004+02:00

(Marina, log in to my email and read the email I wrote you. For some reason the computer will not let me send it, so you can read it under "drafts."

Day 14: Boadillo del Camino-Carrion de los Condes

Every step we take is one step closer to Santiago.

You may be thinking, "duh!"

As obvious as that is, there are times that I need to continue telling myself in order to finish the day. Today was one of those days. Physically, I feel great apart from my feet. My legs are stronger than they have been for quite some time. They may even be classified as deadly weapons by now. From now on, now that our bodies are accustomed to walking 15-20 miles a day, the camino has turned into a mental challenge. The further we venture into camino, the fewer pilgrims we find that are doing the entire walk. Therefore I feel more so alone as we have already said goodbye to some great people whom I now can call friend. Now, most are section hikers simply due to the fact that they have jobs.

The camino is absolutely beautiful. However, there are days that aren´t so pleasing to the eye. Today I felt like I was in West Texas (if you knew me when I lived there, you then know what that means). For the rest of you, flat, brown, hot, and straight. This portion of the camino last four days approximately, and we have finished two of them. The nice reward will be finishing in Leon on Friday afternoon.

Despite the monotony of this stage, morale is high. We feel we are actually making progess as we passed the halfway point this afternoon.

Some pilgrims hike the camino not necessarily to reach a goal but rather to enjoy the present. For example, there is a pilgrim who walks the camino constantly. When we reaches Santiago, he turns around and goes back. And so on... He has finished the camino more than 10 times at least. That is nuts!

For me, as much as I do enjoy the moment, what drives me is thought of accomplishing a difficult task... which has an end. I don´t wish the days away for the sake of reaching that goal, but without Santiago, I wonder if I could be doing this hike. I don´t think there is anything wrong with that mentality, it is just a different approach to the camino.

This is the type of thing I am in constant thought about during my day´s hike.

(that´s a stork nest!)

Enjoy the pictures.

The tooth

2009-06-27T19:24:00.002+02:00

Day 11: City Walking

Last Monday I was in the city of Logroño. While eating lunch, my chipped tooth broke off. I feared this before leaving so I was well prepared... well sort of. My dentist said the best thing for me to do if this happened was to put super glue on the tooth and that should be fine until I get back to the states. Well the super glue did not work. Don´t ask why.

I start freaking out. Here I am, with tooth in hand (the front top tooth by the way, so now I look like a hillbilly) in northern Spain.

Here is where the story kicks in. All of this happens in Spanish. I ask the lady working at the inn what she would do in a similar situation. She says, go to the hospital that is just a few blocks away. I take her advice and go to the hospital. I hate hospitals by the way. I can´t believe I am going into this place with my tooth broken off. Weirdly enough there is a front desk with an elderly woman sitting there. I tell her my situation and she says that I have to go to another hospital where there is a walk-in clinic. This hospital is a good 30 minute walk away on the other side of the city. Finding this place proved to be a daunting task. In line, wondering how the healthcare system works, I finally get to speak to someone and they tell me that only tooth extractions are performed there.

I then ask the nice lady what she recommends that I do. "I would walk the main streets looking for a dentist. But good luck, because you will most likely need an appointment." Okay. Here I go, looking for a dentist. About 10 minutes later, I locate the first dentist office. I ring the doorbell and they buzz me in. When I talk to the woman at the front desk and tell her about my situation, she tells me to hold on while she talks to this random dentist. About 10 minutes pass and they said they can see me in 30 minutes. I wait. I sit in the dentist chair and Mr. Dentist Man "fixes" my tooth. He did a terrible job but my tooth is attached (it looks okay, but feels weird). My worst fear is that he did more long-term damage than he did short-term help. That is nothing to worry about now of course. So, walking all over the city for a few hours (after walking 16 miles that morning and early afternoon) and 60 euro later, I am exhausted with low morale.

A few days later, on my walk, I came to a realization. For someone who has low self-esteem when it comes to his Spanish-speaking abilities, I kicked butt in Logroño. Six years ago, I could never have done what I did last Monday. Two hospitals, one dentist, explaining my situation (which is a bizarre one), and coming out with a newly attached tooth. Not bad eh? It is the first time in my life that I feel confident with my linguistic abilities. Marina may be the only one who knew that about me, but that has always been the case. I don´t know how much money this will cost me to get it "refixed", but as far now, the experience has been far worth it.

20 miles / 33 km

2009-06-26T18:24:00.010+02:00

Day 10: And still going...

It is so hard to believe that we have made it to double digit days. Morale is high, our bodies feel good (except for the feet of course) and we are excited about the next ten days.

On paper, today was our most difficult day, but it didn´t feel that way. We walked 20.5 miles making it our longest trip thus far. Tomorrow we will reach Burgos, only a 13 mile walk which will be a nice change of pace.

The picture is from today´s walk. I hope you enjoy.

Castilla y León

2009-06-25T20:39:00.005+02:00

Day 9: New Frontiers

Today Charlie and I left the wine region of La Rioja and entered Castilla y León, a very important and historic region of the country. We will be in Castilla for about 12 days I believe.

On Saturday we will reach Burgos. You can easily locate Burgos on the map located on the blog website. This may give you a better idea with the progress we have made in a little over one week.

I don´t have much to add from yesterday´s post except that the USA defeated Spain in the semi-final in the Confederations Cup. Charlie and I had a great time watching the match in some hole in the wall bar in Santo Domingo. There we ran into about 8 Spaniards who have been with us for a few days now on the camino. It was great to watch Charlie interact with them. These new friendships are amazing to watch. Even though their is the huge language gap (between Charlie and them) it seems the camino breaks down all barriers because of the common bond we all have.

I think that will be the thing I will miss the most when all of this is over; the community. As for now, I will soak it all in and cease every day.

Different Reasons for Different People

2009-06-24T15:57:00.007+02:00

Day 8: Charlie´s feet are giving out... Enjoy the pictures I took with Charlie´s camera. They have no real correlation with the email. I just wanted to give you more of an idea about where we are.

Everyone on the "camino" has a different reason for walking.

Usually the question arises pretty quickly after meeting someone new (an event that occurs daily). Here are a few reasons why others are walking:

Robert from Montreal: He is walking in honor of his son who is on his second tour in Afghanistan. He is in the Canadian infantry. Before being deployed, his son gave Robert a hat for the "camino" and wrote inside of it. The second day Robert was on the "camino" the hat was stolen. He asked us to keep an eye out for it. The agony in his eyes was heartbreaking. I haven´t seen him since Sunday morning.

Bjorn from Berlin: He is walking the "camino" for his second time. For him, it is a vacation. Nothing more. I met Bjorn on Sunday afternoon. I am not sure if I will see him again on the trip, I saw him last around lunch time today.

Rachel from Quebec City: She is going to school in the fall and wanted some time for reflection and to be alone. I have not seen Rachel since Sunday evening, the same day I met her.

Some really big German man from Stuttgart: For religious reasons and sport. He continues to trekk to the same cities as Charlie and I since Saturday.

Matt from Raleigh, NC: I think the reasons for him are so many that I wouldn´t know where to begin explaining. He has been with me since the beginning last Wednesday monrning.

(on the way in to Santo Domingo de la Calzada)

All that being said, one of the greatest parts of the trip is meeting people from all over the world. Everyone is so different, yet we all have at least one thing in common. There is an incredibly unique bond. I asked another German (there are a lot by the way) what is was like the first time he arrived at Santiago. His description of that whole day made me tear up. Actually, today I was still thinking about what he said, and I teared up again on the trail. I won´t go into how he described arriving there in Santiago, I will save that for me. I feel more motivation now than ever because of him. I absolutely cannot wait.

(That´s me on the "camino")

As I said in my last post, nobody knows what I am. The German from Stuttgart asked if my parents were Spanish because of my skin color. I said "no, but I am dark." I have joined back up with Joaquim, the Brazilian whom I met on Thursday of last week. We were separated by different plans for a few days. At first I thought he was French because he seems to talk to everyone in French regardless of where everyone is from. Charlie said he knew he wasn´t French because he said hello to us. I think that is a valid point.

(As we approach Viana, La Rioja)

Fields of Gold

2009-06-21T20:58:00.003+02:00

Day 5:

We are in a tiny little village perched upon a hill named Torres del Rio. That seems to be the theme as of late, villages on top of hills. We normally can see the next village from a few km away and the sight is never old. What never fails, the church/cathedral that towers over the rest of the whitewashed home with red tile roofing. At one moment today, Charlie said aloud, "Everywhere I look is beautiful." I couldn´t agree more.

I am not as good as a writer as I´d like to be and I wish I could give you an idea to where we are 7 hours a day.

All day we strut through golden wheat fields as far as the eye can see. Lately we also approach vineyards (we are now in the wine region of Spain) or olive groves with mountains surrounding us on the horizon. I wish I could count the number of Gladiator, Lord of the Rings, and Braveheart references we have made simply due to our surroundings. We are in a beautiful place, a place I wish you will be able to see one day for yourselves.

Today we hiked 19 miles, our longest day so far. This long trip finally put us back on track to finishing the camino before our plane leaves on the 20th of July. I would say a highlight for the past few days is this:

Nobody knows I am American. I have been asked (by Spaniards) where in Spain I am from, if I was italian, or french. From a language stand point, this is very exciting! I know I will never (most likely) acquire native-like fluency, but to make the locals unsure is the next best place to be.

Also, my castillian-Spanish accent is resurfacing. This is something I wish to hold on to as I teach next year.

I wish you all the best and I look forward to hearing back from you all.

Now I am 27. Upper 20´s eh? Yuck...

the Basques

2009-06-20T22:16:00.007+02:00

Day 4: Spanish terrorism

(I initially was planning on involving my students as a part of this blog as a summer reading assignment. Caught in the hustle and bustle of preparing for this trip as well as celebrating my good friend Ryans´wedding, I simply did not have time to track down my future students to inform them of this assignment. Therefore I will forego the writings in Spanish and English- there simply is not enough time.)

That being said:

Greetings from Estella!

Today we had a great hike! Our bodies are adapting well; now the only thing that hurts is our feet. We both have yet to get blisters, so that is great.

Soon we will leave the province of Navarra which is one of two Spanish provinces where the Basque people reside. Yesterday a Spanish anti-terrorism detective was killed by a car bomb by the Basque terrorist organization known as "ETA." ETA stands for "Basques for Homeland and Freedom" in their own unique and archaic language of Euskera. I have always been fascinated with these people ever since 2002 when I was living in Santander. It actually is my favorite unit to teach in my Spanish classes; not necessarily the "ETA" but rather the whole Basque ethnic group. They receive little press in the states but are a big deal in Europe. As we entered in to this medieval town of Estella, we couldn´t help but notice the graffitti informing pilgrims that we are not in Spain but rather Basque country. Another writing of note one the sidewalks was in reference to killing Spanish police stating their desire to be an independent state. As I write this portion of the blog, I can´t help but think about how big our world is and think about how much is going on that we may never know about. My wish is to find about these sort of things as much as I can. Not necessarily to sympathize with these groups/cultures, but rather to understand them more completely.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I am not big on celebrating the big day, but I do admit that I wish Marina was here with me. I will be 27.

The rains in Spain mainly fall on the plain? I don´t think so!

2009-06-19T16:02:00.010+02:00

Day 3: The longest day. Rain for 5 hours in the morning in the mountains of Pamplona. Yuck!

Well I could go on and on about the beautiful things we have seen. My terrible vocabulary level will do no justice when describing how spectacular this country truly is. In addition to my terrible vocabulary, I am sure a photograph will fall short as well.

Picture #1- Pretty view of our trail ahead of us.

This morning consisted of a rainy, cold 7 mile journey up this mountain. Four hours later we reached the peak only to find a man from Idaho selling food and drink from his van. He is raising money to climb Mt. Everest. I felt like a fool meeting him in the condition that I was in.

Picture #2- Myself just before attacking the modern windmills (as seen in rear of photo). Like Don Quixote de la Mancha, I did not win the battle. (laughter?)

We have met a few pilgrims along the way.

One is a goofy 50 year old Finnish man and his name is Timo. I can´t decide if he is funny because he is Finnish, or because that is his personality.

Two are Austrian girls, about my age. Marina, don´t get jealous. They are gay.

One 55 year old Brazilian man named Joaquin. He is from Marina´s home state of Minas Gerais. This guy is my favorite! Seems that I am speaking equal amounts of Portuguese as Spanish on this trip, thanks to this guy.

More to come. Thanks for reading.

And we´re off!

2009-06-03T14:38:00.006+02:00

Day 1: The beginning.

Today we commenced our journey in Roncesvalles, Spain just a few km from the French border.

You know the feeling you get when you´re body aches so much that you can´t really feel it anymore? And by stopping, you feel worse so you are only left with continuing foward uphill? Well if you do know that feeling, then you are not alone. Charlie knows it too (laughter).

Without going into too much detail about where we are going next (after all its just a dot on the map if you´re not here), I think I will spend more time writing about my random experiences here on the hike as well as some random thoughts that raid my brain.

That being said, here is the first unique experience.

After 42 hours of travel from RDU to Pamplona, Charlie and I take a taxi to Roncesvalles. It was 5:30 AM. The cab driver, who could have not been more than 30, was your typical Spanish male. If you don´t know what is typical, then perhaps this story will shine some light on that subject.

So here we are in the taxi and Carlos (that´s not his real name) is blasting Spanish pop music. Spanish pop music is terrible, but I can tolerate it from time to time. After about 5 minutes or so, Carlos decides to switch the music to the Greatest Hits of Shania Twain! We are in the taxi for a total of 35 minutes or so. So here I am laughing in the back seat from agony, fatigue, and other mixed emotions I may have had. But in the end, I believe Carlos is having the last laugh. Because around mile 12 today I am singing:

"Ok, so you´re Brad Pitt. That don´t impress me much! ..."

Did he think he was doing us a favor?

¡Es oficial! It's official!

2009-03-18T17:54:00.000+01:00

Charlie y yo hemos comprado nuestros vuelos para España. Pasaremos cinco semanas en el Camino de Santiago de Compostela en el norte de España. Por favor, continúa leyendo por más información, noticias, y una breve historia de unas de las peregrinaciones más importantes en el mundo crisitano.

Charlie and I have purchased our flight to Spain. We will be spending exactly five weeks on the "Camino de Santiago de Compostela" in Northern Spain. More to come including news, information, and a brief history of one of Christiandom's most important pilgrimages.