Day 17

Today we walked only 13k/8miles to Sahagun where our friend Keko (a former teacher at Mt. Carmel High School) picked us up and brought us to his house for the night.  

Here's Emily at the statue marking the geographical center of the camino (the center of the path in Spain, not including where we started in France).

It reminded me a bit of the Neverending Story.  

Here's another pilgrim statue.  I call him the "pouty pilgrim".  It seems their statue-making skills could use a little work around here.  

The archway to the town of Sahagun.  

A friendly old guy in Sahagun asked us where we were going because we were in the town, not on the camino path.  When we told him we were going to San Lorenzo church (where we were to meet Keko) he tried to discourage us, pointing out the main church in the town and telling us to go there.  He only spoke Spanish and he spoke it very quickly.  When we did not give in he personally took us across town weaving through streets and the market until we reached San Lorenzo.  Not only was the church closed, it was also under construction, haha, no wonder he was discouraging us.  But, before he left, he took out his keys and opened the side chapel room, a sort of museum where they keep the big floats they carry for Holy Week processions.  He was very proud of the items kept in there, as he should be, they were very beautiful.  I took one picture before I saw the "no photos" sign, oops.  

I'm always impressed with the local people who go out of their way to help the pilgrims.  He could have just pointed us in the right direction of San Lorenzo and the hostess at the other albergue could have just told me there is no pharmacy in their town, but they went the extra mile to help us, to make our journey easier, or to show us something we wouldn't have seen otherwise.  And that brings me to Keko.   I should've known our time with Keko would be wonderful because in one email he told me "it's your decision, what is best for you, you are the ones walking the camino so you are the important ones!"

Keko picked us up and drove us north to Gijon, the beautiful town on the northern coast of Spain where he lives.  On the drive he asked if we like the beach... what?! Are you kidding me?  I mean I knew Gijon was on the coast but I did not know Keko lives one block from the water!  I was getting pretty excited.  

We stopped on the way to Gijon at this amazing restaurant.  The best meal I've had in Spain, hands down, and one of the best meals anywhere I'd say!  We had salad, bread, wine, cooked vegetables, really good beef, lamb, and cheesecake for dessert.  We all ate way too much, of course!

After lunch we drove into Asturia, the province where he lives.  He said it's the most beautiful place in the world and I have to agree... It's at least in the top ten!  

Are you kidding me?!  The mountains and the beach?  I couldn't have planned this better myself! 

We walked along the beach and the marina at night.  Keko's friend Tito told us some history of the town and we had drinks, including the famous Gijon cider.  

I'm thankful for being somewhere where I know someone, for Keko's amazing hospitality, for good food, and for sleeping in a bed with sheets not a sleeping bag.  OH AND THE BEACH!  God is so good, He never ceases to surprise (and spoil) me... this time He's done it by bringing me to Gijon and giving Keko as a host!  

I'm learning how great God is and He's making it an easy lesson!  :)

Day 16

Not much to report today, just a long day of walking, walking, walking.   We walked 26k/16miles with not much to look at while we walked.  The beginning was 17k without a village or anything of consequence to take a picture of.  

And just like the past two days, it rained almost the whole day.  We arrived in Terradillos de Los Templarios, yet another small village.  Since there was no grocery store we chose to eat the Pilgrim Meal for dinner.  We ate with two young American guys, a young woman from Italy, and Eveely, our friend from Belgium.  We've known Eveely since day 1 but this was the first time we had a long conversation with her.  She was full of questions about God, life, religion, etc, and she is very open in discussing her own life and beliefs with us.  Like everyone, she's searching.  I look forward to having more discussions when we meet her again, later on the camino.  

Today I'm thankful this long and boring day is behind us.  Many say this is the hard part of the camino because with nothing to see it makes your days walking go by very slowly.  I'm also thankful my feet are still doing okay!  

I learned everyone is searching... But not everyone feels "lost".  I thank God for faith so that even when I'm searching I'm not lost.  

Day 15

HALFWAY DAY!!!

We woke up this morning feeling good and ready to celebrate HALFWAY DAY! 

Here I am eating a giant donut to celebrate HALFWAY DAY.  

HALFWAY DAY, yay!!

HALFWAY DAY, yay!

Lays potato chip celebration of HALFWAY DAY. 

... and here's the end of celebrating, about an hour into the day it started raining and never stopped :(  blah.  It really stinks walking in rain all day long. 

But when we arrived in Carrion de Los Condes we were greater with friendly faces, tea, and cookies!  The volunteers at the albergue were about as great as they come.  They welcomed everyone and told us about a meet and greet (and singing), Mass with a special Pilgrim blessing at the end, and a communal meal if we want to participate (we did not because it didn't start until after 9). We had this delicious meal we made on our own before Mass.  

I could not believe it, there were probably 20 pilgrims at Mass!  If only all the albergues encouraged people to go to Mass when they sign in!  The priest gave everyone an individual blessing and did a great job adding spirituality to the camino for some pilgrims who would otherwise not have found it.  

This is a statue of Our Lady of the Way.  

Today I learned I really don't like walking all day on the rain and that really friendly and inviting hosts can make all the difference on the world.  

I'm thankful it's halfway day... have I mentioned that?  IT'S HALFWAY DAY!!!

Day 14

Day 14 

Hontanas to Boadilla - 29km/18miles

To prove the full recovery of both my feet and my stomach we decided to go a full day today!  I have to admit it feels good to get through so much distance and to be on the trail all day.  I mean, that's what I'm here for, right? To walk, and to walk a lot!  Of course, never in my life did I think I would say it feels "good" to walk 18 miles in a day!  

My feet are very tired.  But that's just it, they're tired, not blistered, the only pain is the normal pain that comes from walking so much.  Yay!  I like normal pain :) 

Here's the San Anton monastery.  We wanted to stay here last night.  Luckily someone told us their guidebook said it was closed.  We emailed and sure enough; it's closed.  Thank God for the helpful info because it's not near any other albergues and I'm sure I wouldn't have been too happy to find it closed when we got there! 

There was a huge archway over the road.  See the tiny little person on the road?  

Inside the archway there were these two spaces where pilgrims have left messages, thoughts, and prayer intentions.  I thought it appropriate that this one in English was left right at the front where Em and I could read it. 

Emily found a walking stick!  It's a bit heavier than mind but she said it was really nice for the hill we climbed today.  

Entering the town if Castrojeriz.

A camino marker at the top of the hill.  Castrojeriz is the town in the distance at the bottom. 

A not-so-great moment for Green when she accidentally stepped in horse crap.  

A random building with interesting graffiti.  I like Jack the pumpkin king!

Here's our albergue for the night.  It looks a bit odd from the outside, but inside the entryway is a nice courtyard and very friendly hosts!  Also we bumped into Rosvetta, a wonderful lady we met the day before we started.  She's always a joy to run into and catch up with!  

Today I'm thankful for my new shoes; they took me 18 miles without a single new blister!  I'm also thankful for the good weather and trail conditions.  And I'm most thankful for all those at home who have been praying for me and my poor feet!  It worked. THANK YOU!

I learned that 18 miles can feel pretty good.  And I learned there are days when I actually WANT to get out of bed and walk... who knew?! 

Quotes

"You are the mother (in reference to Emily) and you are the daughter? (in reference to Betsy)" - a priest about to give us a blessing.  We both just looked at him dumbfounded.

"Yes! This chair looks old and nasty and comfortable.  It's perfect for me!" -Betsy in the sitting room at the albergue

Love to all from me sitting and blogging in my old, nasty, comfy chair! 

Day 12

At some point during the night I got over the fever.  My body felt better and I knew we'd be able to walk! Yay!  Of course, I still had diarrhea and I knew I'd be weak from only eating one bowl of soup the day before, so our options were a town 10k away or one 12k away.  I didn't want to push it more than that.  

Before we set out I asked the hostess at the albergue what time the pharmacy opens because the medicine I had for diarrhea wasn't cutting it.  It opens at 2pm... Great... And it's not like it is in the states where you can by over-the-counter drugs at the grocery store.  Off we go!  

Here's my one picture for the day.  I'm eating my lunch (crackers).  I don't have any other pictures because it wasn't cery pretty.  It was probably my least favorite day as far as scenery.  We were near the highway some if the time and it was just dull, flat, and boring.  

Emily did a good job of keeping my mind occupied so I wouldn't just be thinking about my upset stomach the whole time. First, she had coffee with her breakfast so she was in a great mood and a lot more talkative than usual in the mornings.  Next, she made me tell her stories of my other traveling experiences in Europe, specifically when I studied in Austria.  It helped the time pass quickly.  

Here's  Rabe de las Calzades where we stopped for the night.  

At first I was concerned about the albergue as the sign said it opened at 12:30 and at 1 there still wasn't anyone there... And I had to go to the bathroom, if course.  

But when it finally did open we were welcomed by a very kind Spanish woman and we knew it would be a pleasant stay in this tiny village.  We signed up for dinner and breakfast at the albergue since we didn't see a single restaurant or grocery store in town.  Total $18.5e for bed, dinner, and breakfast. Not bad.  We try to keep to a budget of $20e per day.  

So we played a card game, at soup for lunch, and laid down for a nap.  Emily went to use the public wifi in the center of town.  When I woke up I heard an all-to-familiar sound.  It was a Korean group we had encountered several times before.  This is an amazing group of 18 people.  About 12 of them are youth with special needs.  The amount of patience the 6 adults must have to walk the camino with them is truly admirable.  At the end of the day it's enough work to bath yourself, wash your clothes, make your dinner, and attend to your blisters.... I can't imagine being responsible to do all that for others in addition to myself.  I really admire this group.  Okay, that being said... Emily and I pretty much decided after the albergue in Pamplona (which was one huge open room that echoed) that it would be best not to be in the same albergue as this group.  Yes, I admire them, but they're really loud and we need our sleep.  And here they are, at our little 4 room albergue in our tiny little village.  We accepted the fact that we might not sleep too well and moved on.  In our room however we met several new friends.  One French woman who is walking the camino for the 3rd time.  She first walked it after she had cancer and she walked from st. Jean to Santiago in 23 days!! Oh, and she was 48 at the time. Crazy!  Another friend is Jane, a very sweet Korean girl.  The five of us ate dinner together and at the end our hostess told us there is prayer for the pilgrims at the convent a couple blocks away.  I was pretty excited about this because the smaller villages don't have daily Mass and also because praying with the Religious communities was one of the things I wanted to experience.  

All 5 of us women went to the convent for evening prayer with the dozen sisters followed by a prayer for the pilgrims. 

But the best part, by far, was talking tithe sisters afterwards.  They had robe the kindest and most joyful group of sisters I've ever met.  Even though they didn't speak a word of English, they wanted to know all about us and they hugged us so tightly when we left.  Their "buen camino" was so heartfelt and I know they are praying for us.  They are Sisters of Doctors of Charity and they said they have sisters in the States as well.  

We were informed there would be Mass at 7am the next day with the Korean group.  This is wonderful news since this stretch if the camino is mostly smaller towns that don't have daily Mass.  

Oh!  Also, I asked our friendly Spanish-only-speaking hostess if there is a pharmacy in town and she said no but asked what I needed.  Lucky for me "diarrhea" is the same word in Spanish, because it would not have been fun to try to describe or act out in charades!  She looked in her medicine cabinet, frowned at me, then picked up the phone and called a doctor (I think).  She got off the phone and told me my medicine will arrive at 7pm.  Yay!  

When the medicine arrived I quickly scanned for directions if how many to take and took it.  I couldn't read anything else on the box or the information page, but hey, sometimes you gotta go on faith.  And the medicine is working :) 

I'm thankful for our nice little room of five women, a very kind and helpful hostess, and the joyful sisters! 

I learned to expect the unexpected on the camino (and in life) both good and bad.  I never thought I'd get to go to Mass in Korean.  I also never thought I'd have to pop-a-squat for diarrhea on the side of the trail.  Unexpected good things... and unexpected bad things! 

Quotes

"Soon you'll be as healthy as a ... duck." -Emily

"It's so weird, feel how hard it is!" -Betsy, in reference to her healed and now rock hard pinky toe. 

"I am NOT touching that." -Emily

"Ok, feel it through the sock then." -Betsy

 

Day 13

I woke up feeling great!  My new medicine worked, we were going to morning Mass, and we paid to have included breakfast!  

At Mass we found out that the Korean priest was recently ordained and after Mass he called us up and gave us each a blessing!  Yes!  I don't know ANY Korean, so I just smiled a lot, said thank you, and tried to look very appreciative :). 

 

It was rainy and cold while we ate our breakfast so we tried to wait it out.  At nine it was still the same so set off, covered in our rain gear.  

Several hours of rain and very cold wind later, it lightened up a bit.  Then came the mud.  Big, thick, chunky, clay type mud, the kind that sticks to your boots and makes them feel a few pounds heavier.  Even with all that it still felt like a good day because we were walking! 

Our friend Jane walked with us the whole day.  She thinks I look like Maggie Simpson.  It seems like she may stick with us for a few more days, which is great!  

Here's Jane and Emily walking in the rain.  This is before the mucky mud part.  

The wind made it quite cold.  I always like it when you can see our trail way off in fe distance.  

Even the sunflowers hated the weather and the mud.  Fields and fields of sad miserable sunflowers :( I just thought they were so depressing-looking I had to take a picture.  It could be used for one if those "de-motivational" posters! Haha

At the edge of Hontanas, the village where we're staying tonight, we saw this!  Apparently she made a pilgrimage to Santiago with her husband.  Pretty cool to be walking the same way as so many saints!  Although, I'm sure it was A LOT tougher for them than it is for us now.  

I'm thankful I feel better!  I'm thankful for Mass this morning and for the Korean group.  

I'm learning that most of what I'm learning on this Camino I won't really see until after the camino is finished.  Like in life, you never really know exactly what's going on or why, especially in difficult things, until after the fact.  

Oh! And my feet, everyone wants to know about my feet! Haha The new shoes did great today, even with the awful mud sticking to them!  I'm happy to report there are no new blisters!  And 8 of my 10 blisters are completely healed!  Seems like that magical 2 week mark may be true after all.  We have a long day tomorrow so we'll see!