Some Pitfalls and Heartache

Sorry, but this one's going to be kind of a downer. For a while, everything seemed to be going wrong. Nothing life-or-death, mind you, but still. . .First someone stole my trekking poles from outside the baggage office in Santiago. They weren't letting anyone put their poles inside their bags or attach them to the side, so everyone was leaving them leaned against the wall. Mine were safe the first day, but the second day I left them they were gone when I went back. The biggest issue is that it wasn't just pilgrims that use that office, but tourists of all kinds. And those puppies are worth about $120. So I was bummed about that. At least I made it all the way through the Camino before they were taken! Then I lost my travel silverware. They were awesome! They all fit inside each other, and were great because they were actually metal. Most people had a little plastic spork thingie that had a little knifeish end, but if your baguette got the slightest bit hard, it wouldn't cut. So mine saved the day many times over. Lastly, I found this really pretty ring in Santiago that I bought, and I'm pretty sure I promptly threw it away in Madrid. I think it was in a bag that I tossed. I even looked in there before throwing it out!
Madrid left a lot to be desired. It felt like a waste of a few days. I do have to give it some credit, though. The city map was amazing, and the metro was the best I've ever been on. Plus, I might have been harder on it than it truly deserved, because after the Camino I felt a little melancholic, a little without purpose, perhaps. There also seemed to be a loss of community. So maybe it just got the brunt of my mood. But I still don't think I'll be sad if I never go back.
Lastly, I went up to Resurrection Fest - something I had been looking forward to for 5 months! Seriously, if I were having a bad day I'd just think about the fact that I'd get to see Heaven Shall Burn live. I'd imagine how incredible they'd be on stage, and all would be well. This earns a *double sigh* - they don't play until tonight, and I'm in Barcelona tonight! I didn´t get to see them!!! :*( My heart sank when I figured that out, leaving a rock in the pit of my stomach. I still get sad thinking about it. So I've decided that if they ever come back to the States, I'm going to see them come hell or high water. Harumph!
Barcelona is pretty nice, but honestly I think I'm ready to leave. Actually, I'm just ready for some stability, a real home, somewhere where all my things have a place. But I'm definitely not ready to go back to DC. I don't feel like I ever want to go back there. And I haven't missed work for one minute the entire time I've been here. I've actually kinda been hoping I would these past few days, but it just hasn't happened. Sorry, Amy. :(
I can't believe it's been 6 weeks abroad already!! It seems incredible that the time passed as quickly as it did. There were times in the beginning when I wasn't sure I would ever be going home - it just sounded like such a long time. But I'll be on US soil late Monday night!

I miss all your faces. Can't wait to see you all. Love you.

Glorious Santiago

I´VE MADE IT!! I´m here, in Santiago, and I´m so happy about that. The walk is all done, and I have to say I´m not the least bit sad about it.
I made it to the Pilgrim Office (well, the end of the line) at 11:42, and was getting my Compostela at 2:24. More than 2 1/2 hours of standing in line. But I got to see some cool things as I was waiting, so that was good.
After I got my Compostela I changed clothes, put my bag in a baggage office, visited the information office to see about what they were doing with all the extra pilgrims (nothing - we get to camp out, I guess), and went shopping. I just got back from walking to and from the train station to see about getting an earlier train to Madrid, but everything´s full. So I´m keeping what I´ve got.
I´m pretty tired. Can´t think of much to write about. Maybe I´ll come back tomorrow or Monday.

Home soon.

HELLOOOOO!!

Despite what my lack of blogging may suggest, I am still alive and well! I haven´t been in a place that´s had internet since Astorga, which was the last time I wrote. Not too long after that day I entered the province of Galicia, and the municipal albergues here are rather bare-minimum, utilitarian type places. Aside from the lack of internet, one example of this is in the kitchens. In every place I stayed before Galicia the albergues had kitchens with pots and pans, dishes, etc. free for use (so long as you cleaned up after yourself, naturally), along with things like salt, pepper, olive oil, and then any food left over by other pilgrims. Mostly pastas. They also tended to have refrigerators for pilgrim use. The ones in Galicia have nothing. They have a stove, but nothing to cook with. No fridge. Many of the ones I´ve been in recently have been old converted schoolhouses.
Regardless of the amenities, I´ve been super happy to have a place to sleep the past few nights. In order to become an "official" pilgrim, you have to walk at least the last 100km. Sarria was the closest "big" city (around 4,000 people) to that marker, at 117km out. I was there 2 days ago and MANY people started hiking there. It´s been hard to not be judgemental. Not only are huge crowds of people clogging the camino with their tiny little cinch bags, acting like this is a fun outing for a day, but there are what I call the bus pilgrims, who take a bus, get off and hike through a town, get back on the bus to the next town, walk through that one, get back on the bus, etc. Some of them even take up albergue room! There have been so many people displaced the past few nights, and I´ve been very excited to have a bed. There have been camps set up in backyards with big tents, crowding 10-12 people in each, people sleeping in restaurants, sleeping in parks, etc. Today I thought I´d have to sleep in a park in Melide, which is the town I´m in, because the town I planned on staying in didn´t have the albergue listed in the books and maps. I ended up having to walk an extra 6km to Melide, and had asked at a Pensión if the lady knew where they were putting extra pilgrims because we had heard along the way that the albergue here was completely full. She let me and the lady I´ve been walking with the past 2 days know that there was another albergue just down the road that had room. I got goosebumps I was so hopefull for a spot. Sure enough! It´s basically a big sports arena, and there are about 120 people on mats on the floor who were part of at least one big group. The walking pilgrims got beds, though! Woohoo!!
I have to confess that I´m very much looking forward to the end of the trek. I have 3 days left of walking, and I am excited for the party in Santiago. Plus, I´m ready to not have to walk all day. :)
The next two nights I have a guaranteed spot with some people I´ve met along the way in a hostal, so maybe there will be internet at those places. They´re an expensive 20-25€ each! :)

I´ll try to talk soon. Miss all of you!!

Second Try Today

A lot has happened since I was last able to post. San Juan de Ortega, the town I was in 2 nights ago, was a town of 20. No, I didn´t forget a 0 or two - 20, as in one more than 19. The albergue served garlic soup, a traditional dish of the area, which was mainly water-logged bread in a garlic broth. It tasted alright, and was free, so I can´t say too many bad things about it. During that time, I met some guys and we went next door to the bar to have dinner. Two were from France, Vincent and Bibo (I think that´s what he said his name was). Vincent is from Paris, Bibo from Lyon, and they met in Hong Kong during an internship they both had there. Both studied business in school, and they just graduated, so they´re young. There was Jonathan, a Canadian, who spent the past 6 months in Israel doing various things, one of which was hiking an isolated path for 6 weeks through mountains. So he said the Camino is just for fun. Sounds crazy to me. The last was a Hungarian whose name was so complicated it slipped my mind as soon as he said it. He just finished medical school in Hungary, but has never wanted anything to do with medicine. I was curious why he would have gone in the first place, but never got around to asking. He is going to go back to school for computer science - his dream has always been to write a new operating system. Pretty intense. They were fun, and I´m wishing now I had taken my camera with me to dinner, because I never got a chance to get their pictures. That´s one thing I need to be better at, taking pictures of the people I meet.
Spain won the World Cup. That was sheer insanity. I was in Burgos last night, which is a fairly big city (the second biggest I´ve been in since starting the Camino) at 170,000 people. There was a giant screen set up in one of the city squares, and mobs of people were there decked out in their red and yellow, with flags and horns and even some were dressed up as matadors. I tried the local ¨festival drink¨consisting of red wine and Coke. I wasn´t too sure about it until I tasted it - it´s surprisingly delicious!! I´m told that it´s really only good cold, though, which ours was. The cups they were serving these drinks in, along with beers, were probably 40 oz. In other words, massive. And it only cost me €4. I could only drink about 3/4 of it, all the pop made my stomach hurt and I was simply too tired, but well worth it. Most of the people from the first group I travelled with were in Burgos as well (yay!), so I went with them to watch the match. We were standing on the periphery of the square, and I was only able to handle the first half, then my feet were telling me it was long past time to lie down. I definitely heard when Spain scored in what must have been overtime, though. People were partying in the streets hard core until 5:30 this morning. There were fireworks, horns, shouting, music, singing. Someone near the albergue was even shooting off a gun or two. I´m just thankful ´we´won. Who knows what might have happened had those masses of drunken people been mad about losing.
I had time this morning to go through the Burgos cathedral. It is pretty awe-inspiring. It´s stunning to think how much money went into the place. It was super ornate everywhere, with several (maybe 8?) little chapels inside, each one different. Lots of people are buried in there as well. I took tons of pictures, because I simply couldn´t get over the details in the carvings and sculptures.
I took two busses today. One from Burgos to Leon, and the second from Leon to here (aqui), Astorga. This morning I passed a couple different people that I came to know over the past few days as I was leaving the albergue, and I felt myself slinking off, almost feeling ashamed, even though I knew that there was nothing wrong with taking a bus. I quickly got over this feeling as we drove through some of the most boring countryside I´ve seen. It reminds me of the midwest. Ha. My camera had died in the cathedral, and I had been feeling a little bummed about not being able to take pictures along the way here, but as it turns out there wasn´t anything I wanted a picture of anyway! The first bus was having several difficulties, one of which was being stuck behind an accident in which another bus hit a car. They had to CareFlight someone away, and and ambulance took someone else. At that point it was still a question as to whether I would make my connecting bus, but I was okay with the possibility of not making it. As it turns out, I missed it, but another one came an hour later. While I was waiting I tried to make a post, but I wrote until I ran out of time and the computer kicked me off. Oops.
I also just finished a €10 Japanese massage. It was pretty wonderful. The funniest part was when she cupped a butt cheek, swirled it around a little, then pushed up and suddenly let go, letting it jiggle back into place. She did this 3 times on each side. I almost started laughing. The weirdest part was when she took half a cottonball in each hand, stuck them on the end of her fingers, and then stuck her fingers in my ear! She was pushing around in there and it became clear that she just really wanted to give each body part equal attention. The whole thing lasted 45 minutes, and felt pretty darn good.
All of your comments are cracking me up! Dad - there have been men in speedos, but most of the swimsuits worn by men remind me of those drag suits that were really popular my senior year of high school. The little boyshort type things. Same with underwear. The men all strip down to their mini boxerbriefs or tighty-unwhities (they all are some bright color - something else European, I think) and walk around the sleeping areas like that. Even the old men. Even the large men. Even the old, large men. Like I said previously, it takes some getting used to.
Grandma - don´t worry about me falling too hard for the potbellies! Many of them are wrinkly as well.
Mom - I´ll most likely be coming back, don´t worry. I´ve yet to see cold, fresh milk. Even in supermarkets, they keep the cartons unrefrigerated. And I don´t think it´s fresh. Someone said it´s got preservatives or something in it. I don´t know. I´ve yet to try it.
One last remark to leave you thinking - I´ve experienced more farting here than ever before in my life. And I have a brother and lived with boys for several years! Someone is always letting one rip, and they´re not little squeakers, either. They sound like someone needs to hurry to the toilet because they just made a mess. And sometimes they´re already on the toilet. Tip for anyone thinking of doing anything like this, ever - if you have a choice, pick the bed furthest from the bathroom. If you´re not woken up by the sound, you´ll be woken by the smell.
And with that, I wish you a good night! :D

Only 11 Minutes Left On This Computer

I´m trying to conserve my cash, as I´m running a little low and there won´t be an ATM until Burgos tomorrow.
Made it to San Juan de Ortega!! 24km and some change - woohoo! :) I put on those blister plasters, called Compeed, and they were miracle workers. I still felt the blister for sure, but I was no longer limping, I was placing my foot straight instead of out, I resembled a normal human being.
It was a hard day today, though. Just after km 8 I was thinking ¨Today is a good day!¨ I was feeling good, I was happy, and I spotted a really cool-looking lizard on the road. At first I thought he was one of the greenish-brown lizards that you see all over here, kind of like the ones that run rampant in Florida. But this guy was black with bright green spots. And he held still for a body shot and a closeup! I thanked him before moving on. :) Shortly thereafter, however, the climb started, and it got really stinkin´hot. If there had been a town at about km 16, the day would have been just about perfect. As it was, there was nothing after the first 12, so the last 12 were climbing mountains and in the sun with no good stopping points.
Walked most of the way with a guy from Germany. Not sure what his name is - it´s one of those names that I could have him say about a million times, and I still wouldn´t get it. It´s definitely not Otto, that much I know. We´re smelly as a rule, pilgrims are, but he was a little smellier than most. It was hard to walk next to him after about 10 this morning. At first I thought it might be me, but I doubled up on the deodorant and triple-checked and it wasn´t me after all.
Garlic soup at the albergue tonight. Traditional dish of the area, apparently. Slightly intrigued. . .
My skin´s bubbling. It´s on my arms. I think I´m trying to sweat, and for whatever reason my skin is blocking it. It goes away when I rest for a bit.

Okay, out of time. Adios!

Blister!!!!

Not too much to say today. I was only able to walk 4km yesterday, because the blister that encompases my entire little toe became pretty bad. I´ll spare you the gory details, but it became a bit bloody. MJW - you´d definitely be grossed out. My ¨rest day¨ yesterday enabled me to go 11km today, which is better. I just went to the Farmacia and got some blister plasters - we´ll see if they work. I´ve heard from Sasha from New Zealand that they are superb. I hope she´s right. :)
People here in Europe are much more comfortable with their bodies than we are. It´s wonderful. It takes some getting used to, I admit, to see blue hairs walking around in just their bras on a hot day, and old men with their bellies bouncing a bit as they walk down the street, but I love it. I spent about an hour at a municipal pool yesterday afternoon, and I was one of 2 people in a one-piece (the other was wearing Hello Kitty) - EVERYONE else was in a bikini. Even the mothers, one of which was about my size but had about 30 years on me.
I´m loving how far money goes when you´re a pilgrim. I have to confess that it´s one of the reasons I haven´t quit just yet - I´ve spent about 110 € in a week. That includes housing, meals, sunscreen, soap, everything. It´s cheaper than living in DC for that amount of time, that´s for sure! Who ever thought you could go on vacation and save money?
Mom said the other day that when I get home she´s treating me to a pedicure - it´s one of the things I´m most looking forward to! My feet are nasty! I´ve seen worse on this trip, though, that´s for sure!
I´m so tan you might not recognize me. :)

Coming to Terms and the Spain/Germany Match

Sitting in a bar with several pilgrims and several more Spaniards watching Spain play Germany in the World Cup semifinals. I don´t really care who wins, but, admittedly, it would be cool for Spain to win while I´m here. I´m just imagining the celebration, really. Although, I´ll most likely be asleep for it tonight. Hopefully I´ll catch some of it tomorrow. . .or if Spain goes on to win the whole thing.
Ate a rather delicious dinner with all the pilgrims in the albergue tonight. I´m staying in a church, and cost is by donation, and they cook dinner for everyone! We had a salad type thing (a little lettuce, many tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, green peppers and white beans), some pasta al dente with zucchini, and watermelon for dessert. Of course, there was wine and bread. Staples.
Walked with Rob from Georgia (state in US, not European country) today. He´s probably in his mid fifties, has two sons, and is very sweet. He´s doing this for many reasons which we bonded over a little, but he´s a little pushy with his views on religion. Despite feeling slightly preached to today, he helped immensly to pass the time.

Throw out all your expectations concerning where I will be on a certain day. It´s what I´ve had to do. I´m in Grañon tonight, which is where I should have been yesterday, and I´m surprisingly okay with it. I´ve learned that distance doesn´t dictate lessons learned, struggles won, changes made. I will still spend 27 days figuring out who I am, who I want to be, what I want and how to get it. This can be a meaningful experience regardless of if I walk the entire distance. I would even argue that it will become even more meaningful if I listen to what my body is telling me and stop when necessary - it will give me a chance to love my surroundings and live in the moment rather than being conscious only of pain. There is no sense in that.
I think I am becoming more comfortable with my limitations. If I accept them for what they are, I can move on to aspects that are perhaps more important, hold more weight, than how far I can walk each day with an extra 12 kg on my back. Ultimately, I don´t think pushing myself toward 40km a day will have a positive impact on my life. It is still a struggle, and I still have to push myself, to complete 25km/day.
That should be enough for me, and I think, perhaps more slowly than I would prefer, that it is becoming my truth.

I miss and love you all. :)