rambling the Camino

          May ,2015
                                                       THE BEGINNING

1100 miles (1800 kl) , a hike along three of the most famous routes used by the christian pilgrims, since the discovery of the burial place of St James the apostle in the 9th century.
I am excited to undertake this challenge, a journey that will answer the question people continue to ask me,"why", well, maybe Ill have an answer.
They say that being called to walk the Camino is no accident, thats not for me to question, its long been a desire to take this walk and now is the time.  I dont have any specific reason for taking this journey and I am not looking for any Ah-haa moment along the way. In Buddhism, there is a great saying, "Never have I felt so good, since I gave up all hope", for some that may seem negative, but really its about expectation, If you have no expectations of this in life, you cant be disappointed, and without expectation, your mind will be most open and willing to hear the subtle messages that most people noisily rush on past .
For most, this Jacobian pilgrimage ends in the town of Santiago de Compostela in the north west corner of Spain,   For some pilgrims, the journey continues after Santiago, on to the western corner of Galicia (Costa de Morte-the coast of death)where some burn their clothes and toss their shoes into the ocean. I plan to take this final 3 day hike along the Finisterre Way, which at the time was known as the farthest known point west in the modern world, the final stretch of an itinerary traced in the sky by the Milky Way. I do plan though, to spare the worlds oceans the indignity of having me throw another pair of stinky worn out hiking boots into it.
Santiago de Compostela is known as a bastion of European culture, and the burial site of one of the prominent 12 apostles of Jesus , St James, the patron of pilgrims and laborers..
According to history, Jesus named him one one of the "sons of thunder".
St James is thought to have actually been the cousin of Jesus through the sister of the Virgin Mary, he was charged with spreading the word of Christianity after the Crucifixion of Jesus, and traveled into northern Spain to do so, this is why he is so revered and celebrated by Christians and others in the Basque region of Spain.
Upon his return home in AD 44, James was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa for his christian beliefs.
James was later made a saint and his bones were secretly smuggled back to Spain to be buried in Santiago de Compostela., where a large  cathedral stands over his burial site today.
James was later labelled a martyr, there are two kinds of saints, Martyr's and Confessors , the Christian martyr's are those who were put to death for their beliefs, the confessors are those who died of natural causes.
A true pilgrim will take this journey with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and will rely on peoples generosity and kindness to further cloth and feed them along this journey, I personally will be leaving my shaver behind, and taking a credit card.  I predict this hike will take me between two months, or ten weeks to complete. ...really, what am I thinking?.

well, packing the back pack and trying to keep the weight under 20 pounds, dont know if that is possible, but I do know one thing, if it rains Im going to drown as there is no room for my Dry Duck suit. Not that there is much left of that suit after the King Ludwig Trail hike we did in Bavaria two years ago. After that adventure, I think Flop, Burger, Keeps, Deep and myself  all felt like we had swum the hole way, thank god for the German beer and sausage.

As I challenge myself with this blog, I have noticed that the only way it appears on the site is in reverse chronological order, so new posts are at the top. I figured out I can cheat and manipulate the date of the posting, where upon the blog reads in order and is easier to follow. So anyone following the times and dates of the post, you will notice the post times are actually older, but they are really  newer posts, so ignore the date stamp, I will include the actual date in the script at times.
Along with me on this trip will be a dear soul who left us far too early in life, Andrew, at the request of his mom and family, who are wonderful friends of mine, will be taking the hike in spirit.
"Voy a ver el mundo", see the world, was Andrews moto, now he will get a chance and its my privilege,     Deary me, I wonder if his mom knows what mischief he is about to get up to.

Andrew

Each time I pack this bag, I have to eliminate something else to get the bare necessities, so I need to quit before I end up hiking in my underwear (OK , I know, hold the comments)
Boots, (for this kind of distance, be sure to start with boots or shoes at least 1 full size to big, or welcome the blisters as your feet grow)
1 sandals
minimal toiletries
2 underwear
1 speedo (I know, I know)
1 micro fiber towel
sleeping bag ( very light one, mine is 600 grams, take a sleeping bag sock to use most night)
1 jeans
1 decent shorts( you can buy more on the way)
1 decent t-shirts( you can buy more on the way)
2 quick dry hiking shorts with liner
3 quick dry t -hiking shirts
1 cap
2 socks ( easy to buy more) 
electronics
passport and guide book

Well the bag is as light as I can make it and it still feels like my bad shoulder is going to complain. 

The big issue really is where to carry my Ipad without breaking it. Ill have to carry my boots by hand to Europe as there is no way they will fit inside.. I have a feeling that day #1 will be a wake up call, and some of the stuff in my bag will go bye bye at the first village, but we will see.

As for now, its off to the airport                                                                            

                                                           CAMINO PORTUGUES

Originally it was decided to do the northern way first, but seeing as we are starting early in the season, I think we will do the Portugues Way first as its further south and will be warm now, and really hot later in the season. That way, moving north for the second leg should be somewhat cooler, and will miss the early storms while hiking through the Pyrenees Mountains . Attached is the first leg from Lisbon to Santiago de Compostella, looks like the walk starts the morning of the 31st, April.

Arrived in Caruna today  ,April 29. After much messing around with the airlines, and had to take different flights to get here, arrived 8 hours late. Off to Lisbon tomorrow at 5am , will get our Camino credentials , have a night off, then hit the road the next morning.

Tonight john and I went out for supper in Coruna, had 3 beers each, and two pinchos( like bruchetas with squid, sardines, cheeses and veggies)  just wonderful .        Oh yeh 7 bucks

Finally got to Lisbon and found a hostel in town. Then the fun started again, at no Camino office were there any credentials for the Way. Luckily we had copies so we will have to use them till we hit a village where they have some for us going forward.
Its pretty hot but going to take an early night as I didn't sleep worth a damn last night in the crusty old hostel

Found

The start at the old Igraja de Santiago church, but the office there exists no more, so no credentials.

Took about 10 minutes to actually find the first Way marker to get us on trail tomorrow, why is it that all trails lead UP. I need to talk to someone about that

this is the start of the first leg for us, 610km to Santiago be Compostela, before we then head to France for the second leg. The Way markers are somewhat confused at this point, between yellow arrows on trees to this official market hidden on a road sign.

I have a strong suspition this marking

Will standardise itself as we reach the countryside tomorrow afternoon

32km tomorrow, but pretty flat, at least 5 hours in the city though before we get to the first beer............did I just say that.

Buen Camino

Today was a big day in Lisbon as they were celebrating May Day, so as I'm struggling with this new neck injury from a crash on my motocross bike in the mountains,when I have the pack on, and we had a bit of a gathering last night with a bunch of South Africans, we gave it a rest and will start tomorrow as the weather will be better too. L

lisbon from the cathederal today, and some of the traditional folk dancing in the square

John being himself again, a great bunch having dinner at the hostel.

and this live artist was being very clever.

tomorrow May 2nd,,got to start walking no matter the issues

Got on the road at 6am today may 2nd, was still dark so got to watch the sun rise over the River Tajo as we walked along its bank. Felt good to finally get our giddy up on, but what a day.
The first 2 1\2 hours are spent walking out of the city through industrial and deprived areas. The constant cobbled road and concrete were hard to take as a day one, that just hammers your feet. If I was a pilgrim Reading this as research , and wasn't hell bent on walking every step with the ancient ones, I would taxis past this point.
Just before turning west and hiking along the banks of the Rio Trancao, an old man stopped his car and gave us directions as we were a little confused, ten minutes later along the river ,out he pops again as he lived there, and insisted we come in to his house to refill our water bottles,,,even though they didn't need it.
For the most part everyone who recognized us as Pilgrims ,have gone out of the way to help, its like we are honoring them by taking this journey in their country.
20 miles today , that turned into 23 because we missed the turn to the hostel, in truth, the book was way wrong. that's too much for the first day, and I'm feeling it now, had a hot hot shower and now in a side street cantina having a beer ( carb loading), I had got ready for this, but you can't be completely prepared for the first day, did you know that hiking calls on muscles you didn't know were there, even ones in your ears and also your hair follicles. Tomorrow we are near a highway a lot of the time, which ain't great, another 20 miles, then I hope we will be into the country and tiny villages. I'm complaining a bit right now, but I know whats  coming once I find a stride and rhythm  , a high that's so motivating. and I need to change my attitude, 4 more days and it will be easier, and hopefully my neck etc will relax. you can train, but only walking yourself into fitness on the Way works.
Well, time for dinner
Buen Camino

May 3rd , Argh, what a day, got up this morning feeling like an elephant was on my back , I don't quite get it as this isn't my first rodeo, I cant seem to find my rhythm, and can't get into a good cadence. As I wobble along like a walrus I sometime doubt myself but that won't last long. My feet are hot and my toe nails are 60 shades of Grey, that in itself is crazy ', because I have hiked in these very shoes for over 500 miles before this trip, the only change has been I replaced the inner liners. So I need to look at that. Got going early this morning, all 4 of us John, myself, andrew and ibuprofen, after about two hours Ibuprofen left, must have missed a turn.
Then the rain came, time to put of the wet gear,oh that's right, I didn't bring any as I wasn't going to need it.

Took a break in a river village called Vilafranca.  Then moved on to what's maybe the worste section of this Camino, it was highways and main roads forever, boring and torture on the feet. On the way to our night stop in Azambula, we ran into a guy on a bicycle, turns out he is the guy who paints the Way signs for the pilgrims.he warned us about the boring part ahead, then talked about the Camino how there was two Camino's, the physical one and the mental one, and there is no shortcut for the true pilgrim, great, now a dose of guilt too, I guess I wasn't going to taxi that part after all.

The Way marker and all round good guy, I told him we couldn't get credentials in Lisbon, so he gave us some that he was carrying, the Camino has a way of caring for the pilgrims they say.

Got to Azambuja ,and pulled my boot inner soles,cut the section out from behind the toes forward,,we will see. When I took a leak, I noticed the color and realised I was also very dehydrated, this is because I have not put water in my pack bladder ,as I'm trying not to carry the extra 4  pounds on my neck,  tomorrow that has to change.

May 4 th,,,,, woke up and hit the trail by 6 am, was drizzling again and I thought I had the answer, I had my SCCA windbreaker which I wore over my race suit on cold days at the track, next time I'll use it as a wind breaker as designed,, as it sure as hell won't keep out water, if anything, it stores water.

The rain held up for awhile as the sun came up, it was country side and farms, so much better than the day before, I seemed to relax now that I was out of the city, and my pace picked up. The wild poppies were out everywhere, and not a sole in sight , pretty peaceful

after 3 hours, the rain picked up

And we were lucky to find a cafe where we had coffee and a ham sandwich while we let it subside. I was starting to feel good, my feet didn't hurt so my spirits picked up. Then I didn't care about the rain so much, as I had been wet for so long now that I'm sure my lap times in the swimpool have improved

A Way marker just before

Santarem, our night stop, and a good shot of happy (which is long for. Dry) john crossing on top of the flood dyke along the Rio Tejo in the town of Valada.

Approaching our night stop,

we have a 1000ft climb into the town

After 20 miles today, I didn't need that, but I think I'm finally finding my stride,my body realized what we are doing and its starting to feel good.

I stopped half way up the climb to drink from the old Roman fountain, the water

is sweet

How sad ,we just pulled in and I felt like a million bucks, just to be told that 5 pilgrims had just died two days ahead of us, hit buy a car at night along a country road. Brings you back to earth in a hurry.

My thoughts are with them and their families, as Im sure are all the pilgrims on the Way.

I need a hot shower, find Ibuprofen again and indulge a little. I think my mojo is back and Im ready to take this on. God speed those who lost their lives, and bring on tomorrow.

May, 5th and day 4 left early as usual as we like to get on the road before it gets too hot, it was pretty hard finding the little alleys and paths in the dark, but we made it down to the river flood plain buy 6 4/5 am from the town of Santarem.

This was a tricky day with lots of bad signs and switch backs, decided to throttle back a bit and stop for coffee after each 10 kilometers, take off our boots and give the old feet a rub. Didn't help much as there was a lot of hard pack and asphalt, that's the stuff that hammers your feet, and the soles of mine were so sore when we got to GOLEGA where we are staying, that I soaked them in ice for a half hour.

the big toes are still bruised but not getting any worse since I cut the front of the liner off. In fact I stopped on trail today to trim it a little more

Resting near a Way marker with the tunes playing a little jazz,,,soul food

Closing in on Golega, we hiked through and past the abandoned church of St Joao d

e Vinchenzo, was kind of eerie to say the least, but when a cow in the field fell over as I walked past,I took it as a sign to wash my hiking gear properly tonight

in Quinta de Bros we witness the swallows coming back to roost for the summer, was really cool, and they didn't mind how bad I smelled, but at this point our feet were really starting go cry, yet everything else is showing signs of improvement, hope so as there is only 1020. Miles to go.

This is what we were looking for, the church in Galega and the end of this long day.

Beer,shower,ice feet, clean clothes,dinner, and not nessecarily in the order.

May 6 the from Goleta to Tomar,
I smell sooooo good today, was 29 degrees C today so got to an early start at 6.30am and headed north with a fellow pilgrim from the Netherlands named  Mark, had great conversation as he is very much into learning about life, life skills, and personal growth.   Along the way into the village of Vila nova barquina, we came across the abandoned palace of Quinta Cardigan, magic

It was sad to see these great old building falling into disrepair because of the bad economy.  We stopped at a bridge and could see the river valley as the sun came up , just before heading into a forest where we had three big climbs today

so, a lot of the group got lost in the forest,may be the one time being a hasher gave me the upper hand, john and I breezed through this area as we could see the lay of the land. My feet are doing well now, though they don't look pretty, and I slowed my pace a bit, and forced myself to look up and out, the further out into the countryside we get the more I'm enjoying the hike, but 5 days averaging 22 miles a day is hard on the body,and this does not ease up till day  9 where we have a 14 miler, just one.

hiking through the barren forest areas where direction markers were non existantK

We have met some great pilgrims on the road, stayed st the same hostel for the past few nights , and walked together each day for awhile till everyone breaks off at their own pace.  Decided to all go to dinner in Tomar as one pilgrim is falling out due to injury tomorrow, and one is headed to the coast for a rest. We are going to stay here for one day and catch the bus to Fatimar to see the cathedral, then return to this village to continue the walk. It will give the feet a chance to heal, the next segment is a 1500 feet climb over22 miles.

Dinner from L to R,  john USA,Elisabeth Puerto Rico, Gloria Puerto Rico, Steve  Kansas city,  Norbert Hungary, mark The Netherlands, Daly p. Rico

 Having a local wine, a vino tinto with pat, Andrew and john, Andrew got smashed

oh yeh, and if you think you would like to take this challenge on. Bring it, Mr macho thinks he can tackle just about anything,, but I've been handed a dose of humble over the past few days, this  is the part where the mind ignores the feet

U

Felt strange not walking today, but it was the right choice. We took the bus to Fatima to visit the cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary. Apparently coming to Portugal and not seeing this is like going to Rome and not visiting the Vatican. It was very impressive but the history threw me a bit. This is where the three children saw an apparition in bright white with a rosary hanging from her hands.This apparition returned to see the children for 5 consecutive months, in the 13 th century, and told them to pray. The last visit was witnessed by 70,000 people, and this was the shocker for me, that was in 1917.

you normally associate this type of history with events from hundreds of years ago. Decided to go to the chapel and burn a candle to honor all my quiet friends who have passed, including Andrew.

for my friends and family ( deceased ).

Came back to the hostel to rest and clean up for the start tomorrow. Buy fruit and do laundry etc.  Called around to the other pilgrims  to see who needed to share the washing machine, and collected shirts and shorts, and about ,7 pairs of hiking socks. If you opened your heart and listened very very carefully, you could hear all the socks calling out to each other " OK now listen everyone, don't forget to keep an eye on your partner"

Left Tomar at 6 am in the dark, it had been raining, so the humidity was high, but a half hour later the sun rose and it was clearing. Straight into the hill we were dreading, which was kind of silly really,  because unbeknown to us. There were worste ones to come. Anyway, the path spent most of the day in the forests and high mountain villages

Here we are 2.5 hours in ,in the mountain village of Calvinos, the road was still wet so I used it to cool my feet as we had coffee.

With us is a pilgrim from Holland, mark,

This dog was such a delight ( seeing as the others all want to eat you), he wouldn't leave me alone, so I stayed and played awhile. Into the forests again and staying high which was cooler, and eliminated some of the elevation gains we would have had to climb if we had dropped into the valleys. The villages are very quiet and still during the day, but if you see someone, they are all willing to feed you water or give directions.

If this sock was a horse, I'd have to shoot it,,,,,,,,I guess two pair won't make the 1100 miles. Saved me from having to finally wash it though.

We are in the town of Alviazere tonight, looks like one cafe, so I'll be eating,,,,,,,,,,,,well, whatever they actually have

onwards tomorrow to  Rabacal. 20 .3 miles

Today is the longest day with lots of hills according to the book, so all I really have to share is" I walked and walked" . just got into our night stop, had a nap and a shower, in that order, now posting a few views of the day. The feet are getting better as I try a few ideas, thanks Gus.
early start from our abode and into the farmland. The yellow arrow is the Camino we are doing, the blue is the pilgrimage to Fatima from Porto. That is happening now and we will be passing the groups in the next day or two coming the other way. The potugese form large groups with support vehicles and do this every year in the hopes of seeing the lady appear at the cathedral.

Coming off this farm lane there was a HUGE dog that weighed about 5 lbs, which nipped me, the little bastard. I then had a laugh because in knew john was about 15 minutes behind me and he would get nailed too, I forgot he had sticks, so he bravely fought him off.

Now below, that's called two things, 1) I can eat what I want at anytime because I'll work if off in 10 minutes, or 2) breakfast

Today its breakfast, guilty free with a coffee.

Lots of country lanes and forest today

the spring flowers are out

Say a prayer ,looking for help up the next hill, and on we go

Like I would forget