Hi you guys,
I am happy to have another internet cafe so soon. I have had two of the most beautiful days of the Camino. I know I say this all the time, but really this has been awesome. I am in a area that is open and endless. Yesterday I stopped for a moment and looked around and there was not a person or car or any sound at all. I could see for miles. The sky was brilliant blue and there were high wintery clouds. The temperature was 40 when I started out in Burgos and about 55 when I arrived in Hontanos. It really reminded me of Montana. I walked 31k yesterday arriving in Hontonos at about 4:30. I kept looking for the village and couldn´t see it until I came to the top of a hill. There ahead of me, tucked under the hill , was the village. I have a picture , I hope it shows well. It was stunning. I stayed in a beautiful algergue, had dinner with a man from Germany who has been walking since June 3. His name is Alfred, he is about 35 I think. I walked with him a bit on the way to Burgos. The albergue is private and fancy. 12 euro. Dinner 10euro. I was on the top bunk though. Not my favorite place. Actually, my sleeping bag fell off in the middle of the night and I had to go down and put it back up on top. things you never experience at home. This morning I started out at 7:40 just before sunrise. There was frost on everything. I was able to watch the sunrise light up the hills and see the full moon at the same time. The scene looked like a tacky Christmas card, it was so beautiful. Remember, Kathy, when we thought the beauty of the morning scenes we had when we ran looked like velvet paintings? Same thing.
I walked most of today with Kristina from Denmark. She is 35 and needs to finish the Camino by the 14th of October. I ran into her on the way about 8k out of Hontonas. We walked to this town, 35k for me. I think the most so far. Today was also beautiful, sunny, breezy and probably 65f.
I love Spain. It is rougher than France, and less fixed up. The villages look like real, the churches old. Today an old man met us on the path and kissed us both on the cheek. Yesterday I had two great encounters. The first happened while I was working my way out of Burgos. It´s harder to find the way in a city. I am following yellow arrows now, not the red and white stripes. They are painted on rocks or walls usually. But in a city they can be anywhere, curbs, trash cans, the poles holding up stop signs. Anywhere. Well, I couldn´t find the arrow at an intersection. I took out my map and then I heard yelling. I looked behind me and up on a building that was under construction were three men in hard hats waving at me to cross the street and take a left! I love it how everyone in this area is engaged in the camino. Another time was headed in the wrong direction and someone set me straight. The next great encounter I had was with a shepard. I decided to have lunch and put my mat down on the edge of a field. Then I saw a flock of sheep coming up the hill. Then I saw the shepard, the goats, the donkey, the three older dogs and a puppy. The puppy decided to see what I was eating and the other dogs didn´t want to miss out and came over too and the sheep followed. I was busy taking their picture and realized they were at my feet. The shepard whistled and they all obeyed and went back across the road.
Today Kristina said that another man told her that the Camino is a lesson is letting go. Maybe that´s what I was trying to say when I wrote last time. You let go of friends, you let go of your favorite little knife, your favorite sports bra and it seems so natural. It isn´t that it doesn´t matter, it´s that it is life.
I was also thinking of something someone said before I left. They said this will be such a great adventure. Now maybe I have a limited definition of adventure, but I think of it as having a lot of adrenalin involved. This is empty of adrenalin. It is so peaceful and calm. People are happy and laugh a lot.
I have decided that I will be home for Alison´s first match or event. That means I´ll be there by the 20th. I feel great, it´s fun to walk and so I think I can finish the last 424 in time. That´s my hope. I can´t wait to see her skate. And I want to see Erika, Benji and Adam and most of all I want to see Oscar. I miss feeling his soft skin. And he talks so much now, I want to be there for that. I want to have a pedicure, a martini at the Nicollet Island Inn and breakfast with my sister Barb. I love this and life would be easy if a person could spend the rest of it only concerned with having enough water and a can of sardines in their pack, but I miss engaging with all of you.
Opps. Time is running out. I´ll be back in touch as soon as I can.
Love,
Mom\Mary
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
more changes in Spain
Hi everybody,
I am in Burgos today. It is a gorgeous big city and I am staying in a hotel with fabulous sheets. I am alone, or rather by myself. It seems like things changed fast, but then, they always do. I can hardly tell you what happened, it happened so fast. You know that I have had a hard time with Dominique for a while. As I have gotten more confident about being here, he is more critical. He hates having to tell me anything, and I hate not knowing what's happening. He wants to leave earlier and go faster every day and I want to slow down so it doesn't go by too fast. But when Domenico joined us, it was fun. We laughed so much. I was having so much fun and I thought they were too. But in the end, once Dominique arrived in Spain he got more and more driven. He wants to leave early and go fast. Domenico is tired of walking so fast and wants to spend more time working out some problems. He really wants to walk alone. It is in my nature to gather people together and so I was really sad. I imagined us walking into Santiago together and celebrating. Althought Domenico hasonly walked with us for 10 days or so he been so sweet about it all. We had some very sweet and tender talks, in my limited Italian. The night before we parted he sat me down to go over the hard parts of the walk that are coming up. Then he said, Mary no posso andare con te. I can´t go with you. I started to cry a little and he said " perche piange Mary?" Why are you crying? I said I am so sad. He said I know, but why do you cry? I said "oh, it helps get the bad feeling that is inside of me out." He said " I can´t cry Mary." Then he said let´s go eat.
In the morning, Domenico found a woman who could translate for him. He told me how much he enjoyed walking with me and how much I added to his camino and that he would never forget our time together. He held my face in his hands and said again non posso andare con te. And he was crying. Dominique simply shook my hand and said good-bye.
Even though I still am sad when I think about saying good-bye to Domenico , I know it is the best thing for me. People in the albergues often talk about how they started walking with someone and then for some reason went off on their own. I will be fine. I walked about 27k yesterday and then took a taxi about 8 k with a woman to Burgos. We went to a beautiful monastery outside of town and walked another 10k back into Burgos. We found the albergo at about 8pm. It is so cold here now ( it was 40f last night), and we were freezing. I decided that a day off with great sheets in a big town would be really nice. So I am staying tonight. We will have dinner later and then she leaves for holland tonight and tomorrow I will start off again. I think I am about three weeks from finishing. I am going to use them well, spending much time by myself and being thankful for it. I know that if I had stayed with Dominique/Dominico , my camino would have be less about me and more about managing our little group. Not so good.
The most interesting night the three of us had together this week was the night we spent in a garage. There were four beds, and a really nice bathroom. And of course, a garage door. We assumed we would be alone and were so happy. When we came home from dinner, we heard the shower going and saw a backpack. Oh no. A snorer! Instead a really beautiful man walked out of the bathroom. Reddish blonde hair, boxer shorts. Man alive. He was Irish, and has relatives in Eau Claire. He had walked 40k and was going out dancing.
About my clothes etc. I love my two shirts. One day I wear the orange one, the next the blue one. I love my shorts, although they may be retired. I bought long pants today. I have lost a bra and my Swiss army knife. It doesn´t matter. I have bites, and I don´t care. I haven´t worn lipstick more than twice since I arrived. I think I look fine. My boots are holding up ok, they will make it to Santiago with me. My socks are amazing. I have two pairs, wash the pair I wore and alternate them. I love the product Glide. I think it has helped me have fewer blisters. I love eating sardines with bread. And Spanish wine is really delicious.
Well, that´s about all. Thanks for writing. I have trouble trying to write back, the messages get rejected often. I don´t know what to do about the map. I couldn,t open the one alison sent to me.
Thanks for being there. I love your messages. I am really happy. What a great experience.
I love you.
Mom Mary
I am in Burgos today. It is a gorgeous big city and I am staying in a hotel with fabulous sheets. I am alone, or rather by myself. It seems like things changed fast, but then, they always do. I can hardly tell you what happened, it happened so fast. You know that I have had a hard time with Dominique for a while. As I have gotten more confident about being here, he is more critical. He hates having to tell me anything, and I hate not knowing what's happening. He wants to leave earlier and go faster every day and I want to slow down so it doesn't go by too fast. But when Domenico joined us, it was fun. We laughed so much. I was having so much fun and I thought they were too. But in the end, once Dominique arrived in Spain he got more and more driven. He wants to leave early and go fast. Domenico is tired of walking so fast and wants to spend more time working out some problems. He really wants to walk alone. It is in my nature to gather people together and so I was really sad. I imagined us walking into Santiago together and celebrating. Althought Domenico hasonly walked with us for 10 days or so he been so sweet about it all. We had some very sweet and tender talks, in my limited Italian. The night before we parted he sat me down to go over the hard parts of the walk that are coming up. Then he said, Mary no posso andare con te. I can´t go with you. I started to cry a little and he said " perche piange Mary?" Why are you crying? I said I am so sad. He said I know, but why do you cry? I said "oh, it helps get the bad feeling that is inside of me out." He said " I can´t cry Mary." Then he said let´s go eat.
In the morning, Domenico found a woman who could translate for him. He told me how much he enjoyed walking with me and how much I added to his camino and that he would never forget our time together. He held my face in his hands and said again non posso andare con te. And he was crying. Dominique simply shook my hand and said good-bye.
Even though I still am sad when I think about saying good-bye to Domenico , I know it is the best thing for me. People in the albergues often talk about how they started walking with someone and then for some reason went off on their own. I will be fine. I walked about 27k yesterday and then took a taxi about 8 k with a woman to Burgos. We went to a beautiful monastery outside of town and walked another 10k back into Burgos. We found the albergo at about 8pm. It is so cold here now ( it was 40f last night), and we were freezing. I decided that a day off with great sheets in a big town would be really nice. So I am staying tonight. We will have dinner later and then she leaves for holland tonight and tomorrow I will start off again. I think I am about three weeks from finishing. I am going to use them well, spending much time by myself and being thankful for it. I know that if I had stayed with Dominique/Dominico , my camino would have be less about me and more about managing our little group. Not so good.
The most interesting night the three of us had together this week was the night we spent in a garage. There were four beds, and a really nice bathroom. And of course, a garage door. We assumed we would be alone and were so happy. When we came home from dinner, we heard the shower going and saw a backpack. Oh no. A snorer! Instead a really beautiful man walked out of the bathroom. Reddish blonde hair, boxer shorts. Man alive. He was Irish, and has relatives in Eau Claire. He had walked 40k and was going out dancing.
About my clothes etc. I love my two shirts. One day I wear the orange one, the next the blue one. I love my shorts, although they may be retired. I bought long pants today. I have lost a bra and my Swiss army knife. It doesn´t matter. I have bites, and I don´t care. I haven´t worn lipstick more than twice since I arrived. I think I look fine. My boots are holding up ok, they will make it to Santiago with me. My socks are amazing. I have two pairs, wash the pair I wore and alternate them. I love the product Glide. I think it has helped me have fewer blisters. I love eating sardines with bread. And Spanish wine is really delicious.
Well, that´s about all. Thanks for writing. I have trouble trying to write back, the messages get rejected often. I don´t know what to do about the map. I couldn,t open the one alison sent to me.
Thanks for being there. I love your messages. I am really happy. What a great experience.
I love you.
Mom Mary
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
hi again
It´s 5 am and instead of listening to my neighbors snore, I thought I´d come talk with you. I forgot to tell you a few things. Two days ago we walked by a huge farm with at least a million sheep inside a barn. The noise coming from that barn is the same as in my room right now. This comes under the be careful of what you wish for-- I wanted more people and good Lord I´ve got them.
OK. The stories. Dominique is an amazingly generous person. He is always clearing the path to make it easier for someone to come behind him. Or if we find blackberries, he takes a few so others will find some. Well, yesterday he was making a little temple of rocks (cairn?) to make the path more obvious. He picked up a rock and under it was the most beautiful cross, the kind that is attached to a rosary. It is two sided with the christ figure on the front and on the back an image of Mary. Mary lifts off and there is a place for a picture or something. It is greenish from oxidation, but the design is awesome. There is no-one I know who would treasure that cross more than Dominique. This is the first really unbelievable thing I have seen on the camino, though I hear it happens all the time.
The second thing it not so lofty. It has to do with a bull fight. I have never seen one. In Sanguisa two nights ago there was a festival with a bull fight. We decided to go. We arrived at 5 for a 5:30 start. Everyone was dressed in white with red scarves around their necks. There were carrying baguettes and coolers and bottles of wine. We sat down and watched the preparation of the ring. It was a really small one, and had puddles from the downpour earier in the day. For two hours we watched the preparation and listened as people cheered the tractor. The sky kept getting darker and darker and then just black with ominous clouds. Soon, the announcement came that the fight would be cancelled until a week later and everyone would get their money back. Hurrah for the bull, hurrah for me not receiving bad karmah by watching a bull die, and hurrah for all the others who got to go to another party next week.
Note to Chuck and Kathy. There is no doubt that I have become a flashlight person. We get up in the dark, now 6:30 and leave by 7:15. The D´s are both type A and competitive. I am happy to go too. I am always awake at that time, so why not go outside?
Ginny, I loved the story about Troy. Poor Darwin.
Also, you might have noticed I walked off the map up above. Alison is going to try to find another of the next 670 kilometers. If you like, you can google The way of St James or Camino de Santiago and find information too.
One last thing. The night before last their were about 12 people staying together. The Italian family and Dominico decided to make pasta for whoever wanted to have dinner together. There were 9 people from 7 countires, Spain, France, Austria, Ireland, Italy, America, Germany. ( The wine cost 2.2 euro.
OK. Bye again. It´s alost 6 and I have to wake my buddies. Have a good day.
Mary
OK. The stories. Dominique is an amazingly generous person. He is always clearing the path to make it easier for someone to come behind him. Or if we find blackberries, he takes a few so others will find some. Well, yesterday he was making a little temple of rocks (cairn?) to make the path more obvious. He picked up a rock and under it was the most beautiful cross, the kind that is attached to a rosary. It is two sided with the christ figure on the front and on the back an image of Mary. Mary lifts off and there is a place for a picture or something. It is greenish from oxidation, but the design is awesome. There is no-one I know who would treasure that cross more than Dominique. This is the first really unbelievable thing I have seen on the camino, though I hear it happens all the time.
The second thing it not so lofty. It has to do with a bull fight. I have never seen one. In Sanguisa two nights ago there was a festival with a bull fight. We decided to go. We arrived at 5 for a 5:30 start. Everyone was dressed in white with red scarves around their necks. There were carrying baguettes and coolers and bottles of wine. We sat down and watched the preparation of the ring. It was a really small one, and had puddles from the downpour earier in the day. For two hours we watched the preparation and listened as people cheered the tractor. The sky kept getting darker and darker and then just black with ominous clouds. Soon, the announcement came that the fight would be cancelled until a week later and everyone would get their money back. Hurrah for the bull, hurrah for me not receiving bad karmah by watching a bull die, and hurrah for all the others who got to go to another party next week.
Note to Chuck and Kathy. There is no doubt that I have become a flashlight person. We get up in the dark, now 6:30 and leave by 7:15. The D´s are both type A and competitive. I am happy to go too. I am always awake at that time, so why not go outside?
Ginny, I loved the story about Troy. Poor Darwin.
Also, you might have noticed I walked off the map up above. Alison is going to try to find another of the next 670 kilometers. If you like, you can google The way of St James or Camino de Santiago and find information too.
One last thing. The night before last their were about 12 people staying together. The Italian family and Dominico decided to make pasta for whoever wanted to have dinner together. There were 9 people from 7 countires, Spain, France, Austria, Ireland, Italy, America, Germany. ( The wine cost 2.2 euro.
OK. Bye again. It´s alost 6 and I have to wake my buddies. Have a good day.
Mary
from Puente la Reina
Hi again
I always feel that I will keep things short and then go on and on. But really , tonight I think I will keep it short. I cannot believe that I am here. In my book it says that I have walked 900 kilometers. That is 540 some miles. We have taken public transportation for about 25 miles, so 515 miles. It has been so beautiful. Since we crossed over into Spain the terrain has changed dramatically. On the French side of th Pyrenees it was lush and green with pines and oak etc. Right over the summit it changed to white sandstone and little bushes about as tall as I am. The walk up was in forest, the walk down on rocks in gulleys. It doesn´t sound good, but it was fun and beautiful. On the way up I could hear cow bells, or maybe sheep bells mixed in with the wind and the river down below us. On the Spanish side it is open with with rock and blue skies and few animals. Today we walked on the side of a mountain. Down below us was a huge highway with semis. In the afternoon we turned into rolling countryside and a few villages. This town is ancient. There is a bridge that was built in the 1200´s for the pilgrims who were walking to Santiago. It is so moving to realize that this tradition has been going on for so long.
I am still walking with Dominique and Dominico has joined us. He is the Italian speaker. Can you believe how lucky I am? I was really ready to leave Dominique because we were not able to talk at all. I never could figure out what he was planning or doing. Now, Dominique and Dominico speak French together, Domenico and I speak Italian and Dominique and I speak English. Dominique can´t speek Italian, Dominico can´t speak English and as you know I can´t speak French. If we have problems we turn to the other person for a second translation. It is realy fun and my Italian no doubt will be good in 4 more weeks. I know things change all the time here, but I hope we stay together till the end.
The weather has been amazing. Three days we have missed a terrible rain storm and hail by getting to the albergue (just like the gites in France) just before it starts. We are all showered and happy and poor wet people come struggling in, freezing. The temperature has been in the 70´s during the day. Yesterday I wore a jacket all day. Today not. The evenings are cool. The biggest challenge now is to get my clothes dry. Everyday I wash what I was wearing and before bed, I take it down from the clothes line and pin what is wet to my backpack. Then during the day , if it doesn´t rain, it dries to wear in the evening. Because we have had only two days of walking in the rain in the 37 I have walked, it´s all worked out.
The D´s are expert gatherers. We will be walking and all of the sudden they run up to a tree and fruit starts flying. I just stand back and receive gifts of figs and almonds and sometimes now, grapes. It feels so primitive and wonderful. They laugh and compete and are so proud of what they get. And the fruit tastes fabulous.
That´s about all for now. We are staying in a huge albergue ( 5 euros tonight) and I bet there are 100 people here. I don´t expect too much sleep. I have become a great fan of earplugs.
OK. I better get into my bed. I´m in a room of about twenty bunks.
Bye for now.
Love,
Mom Mary
I always feel that I will keep things short and then go on and on. But really , tonight I think I will keep it short. I cannot believe that I am here. In my book it says that I have walked 900 kilometers. That is 540 some miles. We have taken public transportation for about 25 miles, so 515 miles. It has been so beautiful. Since we crossed over into Spain the terrain has changed dramatically. On the French side of th Pyrenees it was lush and green with pines and oak etc. Right over the summit it changed to white sandstone and little bushes about as tall as I am. The walk up was in forest, the walk down on rocks in gulleys. It doesn´t sound good, but it was fun and beautiful. On the way up I could hear cow bells, or maybe sheep bells mixed in with the wind and the river down below us. On the Spanish side it is open with with rock and blue skies and few animals. Today we walked on the side of a mountain. Down below us was a huge highway with semis. In the afternoon we turned into rolling countryside and a few villages. This town is ancient. There is a bridge that was built in the 1200´s for the pilgrims who were walking to Santiago. It is so moving to realize that this tradition has been going on for so long.
I am still walking with Dominique and Dominico has joined us. He is the Italian speaker. Can you believe how lucky I am? I was really ready to leave Dominique because we were not able to talk at all. I never could figure out what he was planning or doing. Now, Dominique and Dominico speak French together, Domenico and I speak Italian and Dominique and I speak English. Dominique can´t speek Italian, Dominico can´t speak English and as you know I can´t speak French. If we have problems we turn to the other person for a second translation. It is realy fun and my Italian no doubt will be good in 4 more weeks. I know things change all the time here, but I hope we stay together till the end.
The weather has been amazing. Three days we have missed a terrible rain storm and hail by getting to the albergue (just like the gites in France) just before it starts. We are all showered and happy and poor wet people come struggling in, freezing. The temperature has been in the 70´s during the day. Yesterday I wore a jacket all day. Today not. The evenings are cool. The biggest challenge now is to get my clothes dry. Everyday I wash what I was wearing and before bed, I take it down from the clothes line and pin what is wet to my backpack. Then during the day , if it doesn´t rain, it dries to wear in the evening. Because we have had only two days of walking in the rain in the 37 I have walked, it´s all worked out.
The D´s are expert gatherers. We will be walking and all of the sudden they run up to a tree and fruit starts flying. I just stand back and receive gifts of figs and almonds and sometimes now, grapes. It feels so primitive and wonderful. They laugh and compete and are so proud of what they get. And the fruit tastes fabulous.
That´s about all for now. We are staying in a huge albergue ( 5 euros tonight) and I bet there are 100 people here. I don´t expect too much sleep. I have become a great fan of earplugs.
OK. I better get into my bed. I´m in a room of about twenty bunks.
Bye for now.
Love,
Mom Mary
Friday, September 14, 2007
From Jaca
Hi everyone,
I last left you last Saturday, now it is Wednesday for me. I am over the Pyrenees, saying si instead of oui and am drinking cerveza. I´ll tell you a bit of how it was to get here.
First of all, we walked to Morlas on Sunday. It was a crazy day. First of all on Sunday and Monday morning there is nothing open. No restaurants or bars or grocery stores. Nothing really. We had enough food for Sunday and Monday till noon. We walked until noon and stopped on a park bench to have our lunch, for me it was sardines on a bagette and apricots and chocolate for dessert. While we were sitting on the bench a woman walking her dog stopped to talk. She was English and said to me " would you two like a beer?¨ more than anything I thought. She invited us to her house for a beer and a tour of her amazing garden. We left he home after about an hours visit. About two hours later some people having a garden party called us over and gave us Pellegrino water to drink. Nice, seeing we are pelligrini. They also told us of a sheep festival in the town we were going to but they thought it was over at 5pm. Apparently at this festival you can eat lots of lamb things. We both liked that idea better than more sardines. I asked Dominique what the festival would be like, because of course I could not understand a thing they talked about. He said that the peoples in the town were dressing up in old clothes and the sheep would march through the town. I loved the image of the sheep marching more than anything. OK. We walked into town and heard a voice over a microphone. We thought the festival was going on longer than the people thought. So we walked over to the sound of the microphone and there was a party festival thing going on in what looked like a Kmart parking lot. We were walking around trying to figure out what was going on and a man came up and talked to dominique. Here is where I feel like the Gary Larson cartoon with the two panels one with a man talking to the dog and saying things like we are going to the park Fido and then you are getting a bath and then going to the vet etc and the dog hearing blah blah blah Fido. Blah blah Fido. I am Fido in this case. Dominique asks me if I want to have grilled lamb dinner for 11Euros. I say sure. Then they walk away to the man´s car. We get in. Dominique says he is going to drive us to the gite so we can wash ourselves and we can walk back. I say how far is it? he says it´s the man´s car. ok. We get left off and settle in and shower and start walking back. We have no idea where to go, Dominique hales a car. I hear "Blah Blah". He gets in the back seat and says "come on Mary". A woman drives us to the Kmart parking lot. Now there are lots of people. It looks like a church dinner. There are lots of tables and folding chairs. There is a truck playing electronic Donna Summers and Simon and Garfinkle music, with a little country western sprinkled in but all in a disco beat. I ask what is this? Dominique says he thinks that it´s a walking association and they are celebrating the fact that he sheep are walking to Bordeau for the winter. ok. People start to sit down, it is now about 8:30 and the sky is a beautiful pink. The music is now disco folk music. The dinner is served by kind of sexy looking church ladies. They put recycled liter bottles full of wine on the tables. They put piles of bread on also. Then they served the first course. It was a plate of cold meats. Fabulous. Next came the grilled lamb with a white bean side dish. The man next to me kept my plastic cup filled with rose wine. Finally, they serve cheese and fruit. By now it is late and dark. Dominique leans over to me and says I don´t understand a thing they are saying to me. They speak Bearnise. ok. Really now it is time to go. I mention to him that we have to go and he nods to the man next to me. Again we walk to the parking lot and the man sitting next to me drives us to the gite.
The next day we stayed at a priest house because the only hotel in town was closed. I really didn´t like the whole idea. It felt so irresponsible to go on to that town without any idea of where we would sleep. It made me think about asking for help, and what that means to me. I decided that I can accept something offered to me, I can ask for something if I´m in trouble, but I don´t like to assume that we can knock on a door and someone should help us. That is what we did. Dominique says see Mary, things work out. I hated doing that. The thing that made me feel better was so little. When we were outside eating our dinner and the priest came out. I gave him a cookie. He accepted it like it was a treasure. More and more I am hating not having any input on decisions.
The next day was the toughest of the whole trip. We walked 18 miles in a forest, up, and up and up. The trail was horrible, rutted and slippery. That night I called Erika and talked with Oscar. He said " I love you Nonna." That night I was so lonesome. I just wanted to see you all. I started to think about coming home early. I mean, really, I´ve accomplished a lot. Why not? The next morning I decided to listen to my ipod and put an end to Dominique´s constant talking. Benji and Alison made play lists for me just for this moment. I listened to "I am woman, hear me roar" and started to tear up, and walk faster. Then laugh. This day was up, up up too but through gorgeous little mountain towns. The morning was as beatuiful as the day before was ugly. Another song was James Brown, Get on up! It was perfect In the afternoon things got interesting. We were walking high on a steep river bank. There were tree tops at our feet. At times they path was washed out or no more than a foot wide. You just had to go quickly and pay attention. It was fun.
We stayed in a gite with another Dominique who speaks French and Italian, Dominique who speaks French and a little English, Heine who spoke English and German and a man from Denmark who spoke German and Danish of course. It was Dominiques 62 birthday, he bought champagne for the occasion. The five of us sang happy birthday to him in our respective languages and drank the champagne. Then we talked about the war. They actually feel sorry for American´s´but don´t understand why we don´t get rid of Bush. I didn´t have a good answer. All I could say is that things work slow in American politics. Usually, it´s for the best. This time I think not.
The next day over the top of the Pyrenees with huge smiles and today down again. It is so exciting to be in Spain. We are in a gite again, now with the two Dominiques. They want to cook dinner for the three of us and another man who I don´t know. But I like this man. He called me the petite American. Actually, I am getting a big head. These guys talk about me using words like tres sportif and they make a gesture which means strong I think. Blah blah blah Fido.
So far I think I´ve walked about 450 miles, almost halfway. I will try to get another map of Spain on the blog so you can follow me after Puente la Reina. I decided to go on...
The men have come back now and it´s time to get to work fixing dinner. I miss you.
Love,
Mom /Mary
I last left you last Saturday, now it is Wednesday for me. I am over the Pyrenees, saying si instead of oui and am drinking cerveza. I´ll tell you a bit of how it was to get here.
First of all, we walked to Morlas on Sunday. It was a crazy day. First of all on Sunday and Monday morning there is nothing open. No restaurants or bars or grocery stores. Nothing really. We had enough food for Sunday and Monday till noon. We walked until noon and stopped on a park bench to have our lunch, for me it was sardines on a bagette and apricots and chocolate for dessert. While we were sitting on the bench a woman walking her dog stopped to talk. She was English and said to me " would you two like a beer?¨ more than anything I thought. She invited us to her house for a beer and a tour of her amazing garden. We left he home after about an hours visit. About two hours later some people having a garden party called us over and gave us Pellegrino water to drink. Nice, seeing we are pelligrini. They also told us of a sheep festival in the town we were going to but they thought it was over at 5pm. Apparently at this festival you can eat lots of lamb things. We both liked that idea better than more sardines. I asked Dominique what the festival would be like, because of course I could not understand a thing they talked about. He said that the peoples in the town were dressing up in old clothes and the sheep would march through the town. I loved the image of the sheep marching more than anything. OK. We walked into town and heard a voice over a microphone. We thought the festival was going on longer than the people thought. So we walked over to the sound of the microphone and there was a party festival thing going on in what looked like a Kmart parking lot. We were walking around trying to figure out what was going on and a man came up and talked to dominique. Here is where I feel like the Gary Larson cartoon with the two panels one with a man talking to the dog and saying things like we are going to the park Fido and then you are getting a bath and then going to the vet etc and the dog hearing blah blah blah Fido. Blah blah Fido. I am Fido in this case. Dominique asks me if I want to have grilled lamb dinner for 11Euros. I say sure. Then they walk away to the man´s car. We get in. Dominique says he is going to drive us to the gite so we can wash ourselves and we can walk back. I say how far is it? he says it´s the man´s car. ok. We get left off and settle in and shower and start walking back. We have no idea where to go, Dominique hales a car. I hear "Blah Blah". He gets in the back seat and says "come on Mary". A woman drives us to the Kmart parking lot. Now there are lots of people. It looks like a church dinner. There are lots of tables and folding chairs. There is a truck playing electronic Donna Summers and Simon and Garfinkle music, with a little country western sprinkled in but all in a disco beat. I ask what is this? Dominique says he thinks that it´s a walking association and they are celebrating the fact that he sheep are walking to Bordeau for the winter. ok. People start to sit down, it is now about 8:30 and the sky is a beautiful pink. The music is now disco folk music. The dinner is served by kind of sexy looking church ladies. They put recycled liter bottles full of wine on the tables. They put piles of bread on also. Then they served the first course. It was a plate of cold meats. Fabulous. Next came the grilled lamb with a white bean side dish. The man next to me kept my plastic cup filled with rose wine. Finally, they serve cheese and fruit. By now it is late and dark. Dominique leans over to me and says I don´t understand a thing they are saying to me. They speak Bearnise. ok. Really now it is time to go. I mention to him that we have to go and he nods to the man next to me. Again we walk to the parking lot and the man sitting next to me drives us to the gite.
The next day we stayed at a priest house because the only hotel in town was closed. I really didn´t like the whole idea. It felt so irresponsible to go on to that town without any idea of where we would sleep. It made me think about asking for help, and what that means to me. I decided that I can accept something offered to me, I can ask for something if I´m in trouble, but I don´t like to assume that we can knock on a door and someone should help us. That is what we did. Dominique says see Mary, things work out. I hated doing that. The thing that made me feel better was so little. When we were outside eating our dinner and the priest came out. I gave him a cookie. He accepted it like it was a treasure. More and more I am hating not having any input on decisions.
The next day was the toughest of the whole trip. We walked 18 miles in a forest, up, and up and up. The trail was horrible, rutted and slippery. That night I called Erika and talked with Oscar. He said " I love you Nonna." That night I was so lonesome. I just wanted to see you all. I started to think about coming home early. I mean, really, I´ve accomplished a lot. Why not? The next morning I decided to listen to my ipod and put an end to Dominique´s constant talking. Benji and Alison made play lists for me just for this moment. I listened to "I am woman, hear me roar" and started to tear up, and walk faster. Then laugh. This day was up, up up too but through gorgeous little mountain towns. The morning was as beatuiful as the day before was ugly. Another song was James Brown, Get on up! It was perfect In the afternoon things got interesting. We were walking high on a steep river bank. There were tree tops at our feet. At times they path was washed out or no more than a foot wide. You just had to go quickly and pay attention. It was fun.
We stayed in a gite with another Dominique who speaks French and Italian, Dominique who speaks French and a little English, Heine who spoke English and German and a man from Denmark who spoke German and Danish of course. It was Dominiques 62 birthday, he bought champagne for the occasion. The five of us sang happy birthday to him in our respective languages and drank the champagne. Then we talked about the war. They actually feel sorry for American´s´but don´t understand why we don´t get rid of Bush. I didn´t have a good answer. All I could say is that things work slow in American politics. Usually, it´s for the best. This time I think not.
The next day over the top of the Pyrenees with huge smiles and today down again. It is so exciting to be in Spain. We are in a gite again, now with the two Dominiques. They want to cook dinner for the three of us and another man who I don´t know. But I like this man. He called me the petite American. Actually, I am getting a big head. These guys talk about me using words like tres sportif and they make a gesture which means strong I think. Blah blah blah Fido.
So far I think I´ve walked about 450 miles, almost halfway. I will try to get another map of Spain on the blog so you can follow me after Puente la Reina. I decided to go on...
The men have come back now and it´s time to get to work fixing dinner. I miss you.
Love,
Mom /Mary
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Maubourguet
Hi again,
First of all I'm back on the French keyboard so enjoy the challenge along with me, ok?
this week has been so much more calm, thank God. First the toe report- Dominique's are good, more or less, and we have been able to go long distances. I think I have walked 350 miles so far. The awesome thing is that two days ago we started to see see the Pyrenees. One morning they appeared like a thin blu\grey line on the horizon, like a pirate ship, then yesterday they were quite big and jagged and snow covered. They are beautiful, they seem to cover the entire horizon. It is exciting and anxiety causing at the same time. here we go, up and over; probably in four days.
Last Sunday we were at Toulouse, staying by the Church of St sernin, a bishop who was dragged by a bull to his death in 250ad. The hotel is on Rue de Taur, named that because of the incident. It is all so old. That is part of the joy of this walk, knowing that the same paths have been walked on for hundreds of years. We took the metro to the outskirts of Toulose to start our walking again (not the pilgrim way but more satisfying for two impatient people). One of the chambre d'hotes we stayed at was run by a masseuse so I had a foot massage! My feet deserved the treat after all the work they have done.
We have slept in luxury this week too. Everynight has been either someones home or a hotel. i never realized how much I loved sheets before this walk. Sheets really are one of lifes great pleasures.
For two days this week we have had the pleasure of walking with John from York. A perfect combination for Dominique and I, a man who speaks French but is English. I loved every minute of it. We talked about politics and religion and he listened patiently while I talked about how annoying it is to be led around not knowing what to expect from one minute to the next and how I was used to charting my own course and now I had no say in anything and blah blah blah. It felt so good to vent. We also laughed about old scenes from Faulty towers. He left for home today, both Dominique and I enjoyed the break. Three weeks being together 24- 7 is too much.
Let me talk a little about this area. For one thing, this is a region of paté fois gras. There are ducks and geese everywhere. I have had duck soup and duck legs and even fois gras. It was served with figs on toast. Nice but not worth the effort on the part of the bird I think: The crops are still sunflowers and corn; primarily. The land is brown, clay mostly. The fields go on forever. there are plently of hills so I can see forever. We seldom walk on asphalt. We are on paths through farm fields or on stones in forests. The temperature is like MN, cool enough for a jacket in the morning and hot in the afternoon.
I am happy to announce that I am the proud mother of a roller girl. Alison, aka Sweet Justice, is now on the team she wanted to be on. her first game is on 20 October. I am really happy for her and can,t wait for the first game I will be able to see.
I have loads of pictures and will try to get some attached here. Take care. Thank you for writing. I love reading your notes. I try to respond to you personally but for some reason my emails get sent back. I have no idea where I will have another café to write to you. Things look to be more and more remote for a while.
I love you all. Bye till Spain; I think.
Mary/mom.
First of all I'm back on the French keyboard so enjoy the challenge along with me, ok?
this week has been so much more calm, thank God. First the toe report- Dominique's are good, more or less, and we have been able to go long distances. I think I have walked 350 miles so far. The awesome thing is that two days ago we started to see see the Pyrenees. One morning they appeared like a thin blu\grey line on the horizon, like a pirate ship, then yesterday they were quite big and jagged and snow covered. They are beautiful, they seem to cover the entire horizon. It is exciting and anxiety causing at the same time. here we go, up and over; probably in four days.
Last Sunday we were at Toulouse, staying by the Church of St sernin, a bishop who was dragged by a bull to his death in 250ad. The hotel is on Rue de Taur, named that because of the incident. It is all so old. That is part of the joy of this walk, knowing that the same paths have been walked on for hundreds of years. We took the metro to the outskirts of Toulose to start our walking again (not the pilgrim way but more satisfying for two impatient people). One of the chambre d'hotes we stayed at was run by a masseuse so I had a foot massage! My feet deserved the treat after all the work they have done.
We have slept in luxury this week too. Everynight has been either someones home or a hotel. i never realized how much I loved sheets before this walk. Sheets really are one of lifes great pleasures.
For two days this week we have had the pleasure of walking with John from York. A perfect combination for Dominique and I, a man who speaks French but is English. I loved every minute of it. We talked about politics and religion and he listened patiently while I talked about how annoying it is to be led around not knowing what to expect from one minute to the next and how I was used to charting my own course and now I had no say in anything and blah blah blah. It felt so good to vent. We also laughed about old scenes from Faulty towers. He left for home today, both Dominique and I enjoyed the break. Three weeks being together 24- 7 is too much.
Let me talk a little about this area. For one thing, this is a region of paté fois gras. There are ducks and geese everywhere. I have had duck soup and duck legs and even fois gras. It was served with figs on toast. Nice but not worth the effort on the part of the bird I think: The crops are still sunflowers and corn; primarily. The land is brown, clay mostly. The fields go on forever. there are plently of hills so I can see forever. We seldom walk on asphalt. We are on paths through farm fields or on stones in forests. The temperature is like MN, cool enough for a jacket in the morning and hot in the afternoon.
I am happy to announce that I am the proud mother of a roller girl. Alison, aka Sweet Justice, is now on the team she wanted to be on. her first game is on 20 October. I am really happy for her and can,t wait for the first game I will be able to see.
I have loads of pictures and will try to get some attached here. Take care. Thank you for writing. I love reading your notes. I try to respond to you personally but for some reason my emails get sent back. I have no idea where I will have another café to write to you. Things look to be more and more remote for a while.
I love you all. Bye till Spain; I think.
Mary/mom.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Toulouse
Hi everyone-
Thank you for all of your comments. It is such a treat for me to find an internet cafe because I can talk with you!!! and look! an American keyboard! You might see lots of these!!!
Well, here is what's new.
I read a book by Annie Lamont in which she said that there are two kinds of prayer, "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. and Help me! Help me! Help me!" I think for the first two weeks of my walk it was all thank you, thank you. Thank you to the Coskran's for introducing me to the Camino, thank you to my girls and their husbands for supporting the idea, thank you to Dominique for guiding me. Now I have had the flip side, Help Me! Help me! Help me! Here is what happened.
Last Monday when Dominique said he had a sore toe, I had no idea how sore. We left Castres at 10 am. Far too late on a hot day. We walked in the sun on asphalt for 4 hours. Dominique was really quiet and then I noticed limping. Once he took off his boot and tried to treat his toe. When he put it back on he cried out in pain. He broke out in a sweat. I said we had to stop, he said no and walked on. About an hour later he was a little out of his head. He asked me where we were. I knew we had to stop and we were in the middle of nowhere. I told him I would check my guide. I looked for the nearest town, but instead found that there was an Abbey nearby and that they took in pilgrims in emergencies. He agreed we had to flag a car. The second one that went by stopped and a young man gave us a ride to En Calcat and the monestary of Saint-Benoit, a Benedictine monestary. The monks called a doctor and gave us ice water and apple juice. By 4:30 pm a doctor had seen Dominique and told him he might have to stop. He had a huge infection that might need surgery. Now I am sorry to tell you this, but almost instantly I pictured Dominique's wife picking him up at the abbey and me walking in the hot sun, dying. I was so frightened. The abbey was a contempletive abbey so there was no talking. Only praying. We went to vespers and listened to beautiful chant from the monks, about 60 of them. Then we went to dinner, in silence. All I did was think about what to do. And, wipe away the tears that kept rolling down my cheeks. We went to vespers again at 9pm, 9am, mass at noon and vespers at 3pm. By this time I quit crying. There were about 15 women at the abbey on a retreat. I don't know if they were nuns or not. I couldn't ask. After dinner Dominique told me one of the women wanted to talk with me. We met in the garden and she told me that she had walked to Camino alone for one week and that I could do it. ( There must have been some talking going on in that place.) She spoke very good English and was enthusiastic about me walking. She said I must trust. That night I asked God to give me a very direct answer of what to do. I didn't want anything coy. I was too tired. I didn't want to walk if it was my ego leading and I didn't want to quit because I felt so good. This was Monday night. On the Sunday morning before, I had listened to my ipod. I love to listen to Gospel music on Sundays. One of the songs I heard had a line in it " walk in Jerusalem just like John." When I woke up on Tuesday morning, that song was going through my head. Pretty clear I thought. So on Tuesday we sat down and made a plan of where I would stop and how far I would walk. I was going to leave on Wednesday morning. On Tueday night after 9pm vespers another woman stopped me and said she had walked the Camino alone. She said "don't be afraid. We are never alone." So, I went to bed and when I woke up Dominique said he would hitchhike to Ravel, they next town and meet me. I walked. It was great. I didn't get lost, there was a thunder and lighting storm and I survived. Really, it was fun. Well, now it's Sunday. Dominique is in church. The antibiotics have worked on his toe ( he thinks it's St. Anthony, who knows. He prayed to find the healthy toe that went missing.) But for me, the most important thing is that I know I can do this by myself. I don't want to. It's lonely to walk alone. But I can. Yesterday I hit dominiques hiking pole by mistake. All of the sudden he was reciting Moliere and pretending to duel with me. How could I miss being around that? I believe that the idea that we are never alone can mean lots of things. One thing it means to me is that there are people everywhere who want to help. And I think the trust I must have is first with myself and then with others and finally with God.
Since then we have stayed in Ravel ( with great people who fixed lentil stew for dinner), in Les Calles with a very handsome couple who fixed a camembert tart and tomato soup and served fabulous wine. ( He also massaged her feet in the garden after they went for a bike ride. Lessons are all around me.) We have walked on a canal for the last three days. First Le Rigole, a tiny thing I think is used for irrigation and then the Canal Midi. It was perfect for sore feet, flat and shaded. There were so many barges on the Canal Midi, like houseboats. It was so much fun to see. All day today was similar to walking around the lakes. Many bikers, walkers, runners. I know for sure I am a city girl. I feel right at home here in Toulouse. I can't believe how close we are getting to Spain. Yikes.
The hardest thing for me is when we have to stay in creepy places. Last night was one. Some nasty old mattress on the floor. I spread my sheet and sleeping bag on it and try not to move. Impossible for me. But I slept well and here I am. I know it's part of the experience, but not one I like.
Notes:
Ginny I am being good to my feet. One dicey nail. No blisters.
Carlotta, my Italian words are getting stepped on by some rusty old French ones that are crawling up from a deep place in my brain, circa 1962. I need to meet an Italian.
Barb, I loved talking with you. But don't come. Who knows, tomorrow it may be me who has to stop. Things happen fast on the Camino.
Erika and Benji, I will take Oscar to the State Fair next year. I am happy he liked it. Who wouldn't! I stop and talk to babies whenever I see them.
Alison, I can't wait till the 6th to hear the rest of the story.
I love you all. Thanks for being with me.
Mom/Mary
Thank you for all of your comments. It is such a treat for me to find an internet cafe because I can talk with you!!! and look! an American keyboard! You might see lots of these!!!
Well, here is what's new.
I read a book by Annie Lamont in which she said that there are two kinds of prayer, "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. and Help me! Help me! Help me!" I think for the first two weeks of my walk it was all thank you, thank you. Thank you to the Coskran's for introducing me to the Camino, thank you to my girls and their husbands for supporting the idea, thank you to Dominique for guiding me. Now I have had the flip side, Help Me! Help me! Help me! Here is what happened.
Last Monday when Dominique said he had a sore toe, I had no idea how sore. We left Castres at 10 am. Far too late on a hot day. We walked in the sun on asphalt for 4 hours. Dominique was really quiet and then I noticed limping. Once he took off his boot and tried to treat his toe. When he put it back on he cried out in pain. He broke out in a sweat. I said we had to stop, he said no and walked on. About an hour later he was a little out of his head. He asked me where we were. I knew we had to stop and we were in the middle of nowhere. I told him I would check my guide. I looked for the nearest town, but instead found that there was an Abbey nearby and that they took in pilgrims in emergencies. He agreed we had to flag a car. The second one that went by stopped and a young man gave us a ride to En Calcat and the monestary of Saint-Benoit, a Benedictine monestary. The monks called a doctor and gave us ice water and apple juice. By 4:30 pm a doctor had seen Dominique and told him he might have to stop. He had a huge infection that might need surgery. Now I am sorry to tell you this, but almost instantly I pictured Dominique's wife picking him up at the abbey and me walking in the hot sun, dying. I was so frightened. The abbey was a contempletive abbey so there was no talking. Only praying. We went to vespers and listened to beautiful chant from the monks, about 60 of them. Then we went to dinner, in silence. All I did was think about what to do. And, wipe away the tears that kept rolling down my cheeks. We went to vespers again at 9pm, 9am, mass at noon and vespers at 3pm. By this time I quit crying. There were about 15 women at the abbey on a retreat. I don't know if they were nuns or not. I couldn't ask. After dinner Dominique told me one of the women wanted to talk with me. We met in the garden and she told me that she had walked to Camino alone for one week and that I could do it. ( There must have been some talking going on in that place.) She spoke very good English and was enthusiastic about me walking. She said I must trust. That night I asked God to give me a very direct answer of what to do. I didn't want anything coy. I was too tired. I didn't want to walk if it was my ego leading and I didn't want to quit because I felt so good. This was Monday night. On the Sunday morning before, I had listened to my ipod. I love to listen to Gospel music on Sundays. One of the songs I heard had a line in it " walk in Jerusalem just like John." When I woke up on Tuesday morning, that song was going through my head. Pretty clear I thought. So on Tuesday we sat down and made a plan of where I would stop and how far I would walk. I was going to leave on Wednesday morning. On Tueday night after 9pm vespers another woman stopped me and said she had walked the Camino alone. She said "don't be afraid. We are never alone." So, I went to bed and when I woke up Dominique said he would hitchhike to Ravel, they next town and meet me. I walked. It was great. I didn't get lost, there was a thunder and lighting storm and I survived. Really, it was fun. Well, now it's Sunday. Dominique is in church. The antibiotics have worked on his toe ( he thinks it's St. Anthony, who knows. He prayed to find the healthy toe that went missing.) But for me, the most important thing is that I know I can do this by myself. I don't want to. It's lonely to walk alone. But I can. Yesterday I hit dominiques hiking pole by mistake. All of the sudden he was reciting Moliere and pretending to duel with me. How could I miss being around that? I believe that the idea that we are never alone can mean lots of things. One thing it means to me is that there are people everywhere who want to help. And I think the trust I must have is first with myself and then with others and finally with God.
Since then we have stayed in Ravel ( with great people who fixed lentil stew for dinner), in Les Calles with a very handsome couple who fixed a camembert tart and tomato soup and served fabulous wine. ( He also massaged her feet in the garden after they went for a bike ride. Lessons are all around me.) We have walked on a canal for the last three days. First Le Rigole, a tiny thing I think is used for irrigation and then the Canal Midi. It was perfect for sore feet, flat and shaded. There were so many barges on the Canal Midi, like houseboats. It was so much fun to see. All day today was similar to walking around the lakes. Many bikers, walkers, runners. I know for sure I am a city girl. I feel right at home here in Toulouse. I can't believe how close we are getting to Spain. Yikes.
The hardest thing for me is when we have to stay in creepy places. Last night was one. Some nasty old mattress on the floor. I spread my sheet and sleeping bag on it and try not to move. Impossible for me. But I slept well and here I am. I know it's part of the experience, but not one I like.
Notes:
Ginny I am being good to my feet. One dicey nail. No blisters.
Carlotta, my Italian words are getting stepped on by some rusty old French ones that are crawling up from a deep place in my brain, circa 1962. I need to meet an Italian.
Barb, I loved talking with you. But don't come. Who knows, tomorrow it may be me who has to stop. Things happen fast on the Camino.
Erika and Benji, I will take Oscar to the State Fair next year. I am happy he liked it. Who wouldn't! I stop and talk to babies whenever I see them.
Alison, I can't wait till the 6th to hear the rest of the story.
I love you all. Thanks for being with me.
Mom/Mary
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