santiago again

hi everyone
i don´t know if anyone is here, but if you are, i´ll tell you about the last few days.
i walked to finisterre on monday, tuesday and wednesday. it was a beautiful walk in spite of the fact that it was misty and foggy for the last two days. i could hear the fog horn so i knew the ocean was close, but i couldn´t see it until the last couple hours of walking. Finisterre was rainy and cold the first night. i checked into a great hostal, with corner windows in my room.it felt very cozy. the hostal was called hostal lopez and it had figures of snow white and the seven dwarfs on the patio. i knew it was for me when i saw them.
i went to sleep with the sound of rain out my window, but woke up to bright blue skies and a view of the harbor that look my breath away. christine and her friend marcella and i had coffee and then walked to the lighthouse, the final 2.7 km to marker 00.00km. impossible. i think i walked around 1700km, give or take. but to think of it in terms of central france to the ocean just seemed too good to be true. we sat and laughed and took pictures of the ocean, the rocks, each other.
i burned some of my clothes in the firepit, my favorite orange shirt melted and disappeared. it all felt so good. later we packed a picnic to go for our swim in the ocean and watch the sunset. on friday morning i walked alone on the beach. everything looked beautiful.
i took the bus back to santiago friday afternoon, to be here for the feast of st. james. crowds, music, fireworks, parades, a festival for the whole town.
now santiago is perfect. it all seems just right. i have gone to two more masses, happily gave st. james a hug, walked around smiling. i met new people who i spent the day with. maybe tomorrow i will go on a day trip back to the ocean to muxia before i get on the plane to come home.
i am so happy to be coming home. i think that´s all there is to say. goodbye from spain.
love,
mary

santiago

i'm here! i came into santiago last night at about 5. i started walking at 7am, it was a perfect, cool, sunny, breezy walking day and i just kept going. i walked 40km, the longest i have ever walked. i guess i wasn´t running out of steam but just so ready to be in santiago and off the road. the first time i walked to santiago, i didn´t want it to end. this time i was finished about 3 days ago. it seemed perfect to come in at sunset.
my walk in was perfect, no other pilgrims, just many spanish people walking in their neighborhoods, enjoying the evening. i think i walked the camino this time to complete something and i feel it´s completed. i was really happy walking in. i don´t even know what it is. and finesterre is my new beginning.
walking the camino at this time of year has one big problem. there are hundreds of high school (mabe college) students who walk for 100 km to qualify for their certificate. the energy is crazy. people talking past midnight, up again at 4:30, racing for a bed in a next town. for me it changed the whole feeling, hence my 40k walk to finish. i am hoping the way to finisterre is more calm!!!
darin walked in to santiago this morning at 7 so we could say goodbye to paul again. we were waiting in the plaza, and then there is violin music. it was boram, under the portico behind us. there were maybe 10 of us in the plaza, everyone silent, a few seagulls, pink morning light, and that beautiful music. her music was with me in the beginning of spain at a warm happy italian dinner and now the end of the walk in front of the cathedral.
paul, darin and i had our last of many coffees and paul started down the hill to finisterre. it was a little sad, but mostly happy. i am certain i will see him again. i think he was my best friend on this camino and he´s 18!
today i expect to see more familiar faces of people i have met on the way. many goodbyes, each goodbye a thank you for the gift of meeting. happy and sad together.
a little later-
i just came back from mass. once again the mass was awesome. i saw the korean man with his son, gorg from stuttgart, the french couple i tried to outrun ( back before i promised st. roch i would stop using my ipod to temper my experiences) another french couple who walked from le puy with me and christine. perfect. the nun is still leading the singing in the chirch- a voice of an angel, maybe she is an angel. and again the incense. i sat in the same place as last time. sweet. ok. maybe my walk to santiago will never be finished.( this time i heard una le puy, etas unidas, that´s me.
tommorrow morning i am meeting before mentioned french couple and we are starting the walk to finesterre, then i am coming back to stay at this simple hostel for the celebration of st. james next weekend. i´m told i will see the fireworks from my room.

updates

just a few updates on people i have talked about. first of all, violin girl is here. her name is boram, and she doesn´t look like a girl anymore. she is strong and tan and has walked all of the way with her violin. she took a day to rest and then has walked far each day to get here.we were so happy to see each other.
antonio and massimo sent me text messages telling me where they were every once and a while and then they called from finesterre! they were so happy! massimo said ¨- big kisses from antonio and i wait for you in florence.
it will be exciting to see who else appears in santiago when i am there.
today was difficult for me. i am running out of steam i think. i am in palas de rei, in a hostel for more sleep. sunday santiago. bye
mary

portomarin

hi
this is my favorite part of spain- galicia. there is something so refreashing about this land after the dry, relatively flat meseta. there are mountain ranges that traps moisture from the ocean and makes everything green. the highest point of the camino after the pyrenees is o cebreiro. the walk is 3 km from villfranca and up. i wanted to walk an alternative route, a high route, because the first time i was here i skipped that option. so that was my plan. i left my albergue at 6:30 and as i walked by pauls algergue,he walked out. we talked about which route to take, and he decided to come with me. it was a very steep walk out of town, almost like walking up an alley, into the hills. the sun hadn´t risen yet and the light was awesome. we walked and walked and made it to the high ridge, and there eating an orange, sat darin. the three of us stayed together until 4pm when we finished on top of o cebrerio.it is a tiny village, with bells on cows and sheep in the fields, endless green hills rolling off into the distance and music coming from the bars, music of galecia, a mixture of irish and spanish sounds. it is magic. i would love to be there in the winter, in the snow,sitting by a fireplace. it was great accomplish that with paul and darin, we were very happy with ourselves.
in my guidebook it says there is always rain in galecia, rain or fog. both times i have been there it was clear and beautiful.
next day was down the mountain. then yesterday, i walked alone again through tiny old villages. they aren´t even villages, they are one or two homes tucked in a flat place, homes made of stone, dry construction with something stuck in for insulation. the stone looks like a brown slate for the walls and black slate on the roofs.i think of the patience it took to build such a thing. to gather the stone, to set it piece by piece to build a sturdy wall. amazing. and then there are the cows walking down the streets with dogs on their heels, if cows have heels. i love all of this, and the foxglove and wild daisies and butterflies. today, it was the same but with a slightly different stone to build with.
what a great day. except that today i said goodbye to paul. he has the urge to go fast and get to santiago one day before jessica and i. we had a goodbye party on the roof last night and yogurt together this morning. he is a awesome. i can´t imagine what he will accomplish with his life, but it is going to be good. he promised to take time to enjoy the way and jump in the ocean at the end. i am sure i will see him again.
darin can´t decide if he wants to go fast or slow. he does both. i know i want to go slow, to see as much as i can, because i don´t expect to come back here. i will be in santiago on sunday and finesterre next week and home on the 28th. but i´getting ahead of myself.
jessica is here, i don´t know where christine is, but i never know until i here her call my name. it feels so different this time, no excitement of crossing the 100 km marker or thoughts of santiago. it is more like every moment is the one i love. the stones, the flowers, the cows, the butterflies are what i dreamed of when i was home and now seeing them is perfect. santiago will be great, and i am really looking forward to seeing the ocean. and then my girls and their families. more later
mary

villafranca del bierzo

hello
it is saturday in spain, in villafranca to be exact. it might be in the region of galecia, if not it is very close. i know that every day i say it was a beautiful day, but it is the truth. i have not had to walk in rain since the first day in spain. everyday has been sunny, with bright, light blue skies and sometimes clouds. i have a new family. we are 4 usually and sometimes five. there is paul from poland ( 18) jessica from PA (28) darin from Canada (40 something) and me. i have been thinking of what brings us together and it is english of course, and the fact that we all like to walk alone, and they are all very funny and we are all interested in spirituality. Darin is a buddist, paul is a gracious catholic and jessica is an earnist christian, maybe catholic. jessica said to me early on, "i keep asking god what he is waiting for. i want him to talk to me. i only have ( ) days left! what is he waiting for." she looks like a gymnist, short strong and when she walks she plants her feet! bam bam bam. her blond ponytail swings back and forth. and where is god! the fifth person is christine who is austrian but has lived in america for 15 years. she is here celebrating her 50th birthday. she now practices native american rites. we have dinner most nights, and talk and laugh.
i last left you in leon. saying i love leon. i was a tourist that day, staying in a hotel, going to museums, watching tv! leon has the most beautiful cathedral i have ever seen. it is one of the most beautiful things i have seen, right next to coral reefs, the grand canyon and the met opera. it has so many stained glass windows, it is like being inside a kalidiscope. there is also another old monestary, san isodora that has frescos, 800 years old and fresh as new.
i walked out of leon, to the small albergue, tio pepe. i stood and watched the storks again in the morning sun, and christine and i met. she too loves the storks. we walked out on town together and there was a flasher in his doorway. i,because i can´t really focus that well and am naive, thought he was just getting his paper (as if there is home delivery of paper in a town of 63 people) but christine saw it all. poor flashers. i see nothing. how frustrating for them.
i walked to astorga, foncebadon and then on to panferrada. there were rolling hills, more grapes, mountains. all of this leads up to beautiful, green galicia and the very celtic o cebriero. yesterday afternoon there was a wedding procession through the town plaza, beautiful people in formal dress followed by the most interesting bag pipe music. it wasn´t like the typical sound, it had a definite galician sound. i love that music. this morning while paul and i were walking out of the town, the bride and groom were walking down the street with their friends on the way to their hotel. it was about 7 am. they looked as beautiful as last night. what is the secret..why don´t the spanish need sleep?
i am less than 200 km from santiago and then will be walking to the ocean, another 99km. all of us have made a pledge on my hiking pole to jump into the ocean, even if we aren´t together. Darin will have to do it in nova scotia, he isn´t going to finesterre.
mary
ps massimo and antonio sent me a text saying they are close to santigo. great news.

villar de mazarife

hello!
it is about 5pm, in the next room, in a bar, there is a spanish soap opera on the tv.low soft voice interupted ever two minutes for rapid fire ads. it´s great. i am staying in the same albergue-bar that i stayed in last time. as i was approaching this village, there were 10 pilgrims ahead of me. i thought, wow, it´s a top bunk for me tonight. but they all went someplace else. 4 of them signed in and then left. i think i am here alone. hmm. it seems fine enough.
i left off somewhere at the beginning of the meseta, didn´t i? here is what it was like, short version. first day- beautiful soft white clouds scattered in a perfectly blue endless sky. butterflies, wildflowers. walked the last half with massimo, who was exhausted. we played what does that cloud look like to you? day 2- hot, cloudless, endless. that´s the day that ended massimo and antonio´s walk in the meseta and made me into a charging, ipod listening walking machine. day 3- cloudy, almost rained in the morning, spent most of the day walking off the road, next to a river. poplar trees, sunshine, a man on a combine gave me candy ( really),lots of little flies and two beautiful churches. day 4- long straight ( maybe roman) road. 16 km without a town, or chair, or tree, or water. i walked the first part alone and then the last with an 18 year old from poland. he is part of my new family.ended that day going further than others in my little group, spent an hour or two alone in rolling hills of barley and wheat. awesome. day 5 took another alternate route to stay off the road. it is described as looking like africa. i don´t know. but again it was 22 km without comforts. what it had was more butterflies ( they are so happy looking, always) and grains and flowers and birds. there were also irrigation ditches with frogs in them. i was trying to think- what did they remind me of? the sound was so familiar, and then it came to me. when you were little did you take pieces of broken balloon and make little balloons out of them and rub them against your teeth to make a certain skeaking rubber sound? my sisters and i did. and those frogs sounded just like that.i was with my sisters again every time i heard those frogs. i love them. that´s pretty much the meseta. i love it. if you think of north or south dakota, or wyoming, i think you can imagine what it is like.
storks have been a big part of my life lately too. i have seen them do two things that i didn´t notice last time. the first is that i think they are fanning there babies or maybe eggs, but they stand on the edge of these enormous nests and fann their enorous wings. i was in burgos the first time i saw that. it was in the hot afternoon and just watching them do that cooled me off. the other cool thing they do is make a loud clacking sound with their beaks. i have no idea what that is for, but they do it all night. if i wake up and hear that sound i have to smile in bed, knowing where that sound is coming from. what are they doing.
ok one more thing and then i´m done. this is about burgos, which was many days ago now, but i forgot to tell you last time. i arrived in burgos on a holiday. the feast day of san juan and pedro. to celebrate there are groups of people dressed in folk costumes bringing flowers to a statue of the blessed virgin set up in front of the cathedral. i think there was a judging too. the streets were packed, really packed. the tourist office told me the festival would end for the afternoon at 2 and then i could go into the cathedral. at 2:15 or so i started to the cathedral, swimming against the tide of all the people leaving the street. once i was in the middle, it didn´t matter which way i was heading, it seemed i was going against the tide. i tried to follow a tiny old nun through because people gave her room, but her wake was too small and she too fast so i got swallowed up again. then i found a mother pushing a stroller, once again people gave her room and i followed right behind and finally got through to the church. i learned an inportant lesson. maybe three.
later that night, when we all had turned off the lights and started to fall asleep, the band started. i´d say about 10 or 10:30pm. the last time i was here, i would have been so irritated, this time i just love how not like home this is. i only wish the music had been a little easier to hear. THEN at 12pm the fireworks started. slowly, people got out of bed and went to the windows to watch. there we were, in the dark, strangers in our underwear, all watching fireworks. not talking, because we were in our underwear.
next time i will tell you of my stay in leon. a pit stop, reinvigorating. i love that city.
mary

massimo, antonio and the meseta

hello
my friend bernard told me one time about a philosopher, fulbert steffensky, who says that we often aren´t really living because we temper our lives with comfort. and that when we are cold or hungry or thirsty, we know we are alive. we agree that that is one of the fabulous things of the camino. you really feel alive and exposed. i always thought of being untempered as being tired, or hungry or wet or cold, but bermard said being lonesome was also a part of being untempered. i didn´t want to notice that. but he is right. i guess i am really alive today because i´m sad and saying goodbye again.
for some reason, antonio and massimo make me happy. i smile when i see them. that has been the case from the first minutes i met them. just now i heard antonio´s voice in this room and i smile. they are good friends to each other, they laugh all the time, they depend on each other, and, happpily, they invited me into their lives. it is just great. well, today they decided it´s too hard to walk. they are going to take a bus to leon ( four days for me) and maybe further because the meseta is too hard. they both have health issues and the meseta scares them. reaching santiago is really important to them and they don´t want to risk that by walking on the meseta. it is so hot, and the road long. today there were no clouds and the temperature probably was into the 80´s when we reached the town we are in. but that means that i may not see them again. massimo says we will see each other in florence, but that is just a way of saying goodbye gently. we will have dinner tonight and tomorrow i will leave early, crying no doubt, and that will be that.
it is the best and the worst of the camino, getting really close to people and then leaving them when it is time.
i feel great physically. nothing hurts. i am relaxed and calm. i love the land even when it is hot. i have water and sunscreen and a hat and i am good to go. i have to admit that i looked ahead at the miles we had to walk this afternoon- you can see them- and i put on my ipod and gospel music. it was good. then a couple who are a little younger than i am started to gain on me and my old competitive spirit clicked in and off i went. thats no way to go to santiago, but it was fun.
but if i don´t have someone to be with at night, if i don´t find new friends, it will be hard. untempered i guess. i am a crazy person, i live alone, i like being alone for the most part, but i don´t look forward to being alone now.
i think it will take me 3 or 4 days to pass through the meseta. it really is gorgeous. last night a young man asked me how to get through it. i said don´t get through it, enjoy it. think of how lucky you are to be here now in this place. now i have to listen to myself.
there is only one couple who are still with me from the original group. they are really nice but don´t speak english. the father and son had to back off because the son´s ankle is hurting. gorg from germany is ahead.
there were proably other things i intended to say, but these things are on my mind.
bye from very very sunny spain.
mom, nonna, mary
a note to kathy coskran. the old man who kisses was out today. he talked to me when i was in castrojeriz. blah blah and then he leaned in to kiss me. i offered my cheek, he indicated my lips, i gave him my cheek, he tried for the lips. i pulled away. i didn´t think he was so cute this time. but he could have had my cheek. could this be the same guy?

atapuerca

it has been a wonderful day and so i kept walking. i had planned to go 22, but walked 27k today. i remember so clearly now the first time i walked and i am struck by the differences both in me and the land. me- i am confident, free to come and go when i like, happy to be back, and familiar with the process of checking into the albergue,knowing where to put my boots and poles, finding the showers, the washing area for my clothes, the clothes line. it is all automatic now.
bed bugs- i arrived at the bedbug town at only 11:30am so i kept walking. i ended up at Granon, a small town with it´s albergue connected to the church. we slept on mats on the floor in an attic area. there were only 30 people, and we cooked and ate together. the local priest has a pilgrims mass every night and after a pilgrims blessing. i have been to a few of these blessings and they were disappointing. automatic, given by a bored priest. this time was the exact opposite. the priest was totally present with us.in the blessing he said that he was honored to be with us not because we were brave to take on this challenge of walking so far, but because we were brave to be on a spiritual journey. he said we would have three encounters along the way. the first with ourselves. and when we came to know ourselves, we would have the courage to open oursleves to others, even all of our enemies- the person who turns on the lights at 5 am and the person who snores next to us. all people. and when we open to loving others, we would encounter god. he said even if we don´t believe, we will meet god. it was really beautiful. we stood in complete silence, drawn by his sincerity and confidence. there were few dry eyes.
last night was just as good for me. i stayed at the albergue where i said goodbye to the dominiques last time and where i began walking alone. i felt like i had come full circle. it was great. the same man who is the host at the albergue was there again. he kissed my cheeks and said welcome home. ´
and today i am in atapuerca, i am in the home of lucy, the 800,000 year old homo antecessor, and some of the best preserved human remains ever found. it is an unesco site and work is still being done in the area.
oh, about the difference in spain. i loved this landscape when i was here in the fall of 2007, and i love it even more today. in the fall everything has a finished look to it. an ending. everything harvested and the world waiting for winter. today it seems that someone painted over the land with water-colors. how many shades of green can there be? or gold? it is just gorgeous. there is field after field of wheat, and barley and something else, i don´t know. i feel so lucky to be here before harvest or any cutting, the see the tall plants. the sunflowers are taller now, but still without flowers.
ok good bye. i am off to dinner.

najera

we have settled into a small cluster of people it seems. there are the father and son from korea, a man named goerge who has walked all of the way from stuttgart ( he has been walking since april 19), there is a man from eastern canada, a danish man named lucas, and the three italiansand a couple from france. there is a lso a group from quebec. have i mentioned them? there are three priests and about 15 or 20 young people. the priests walk in their white robes ( they are dominicans) and it is surrealistic to see them in the fields, their white robes flowing. there is a young woman with the voice of an angel with them and if you are lucky you end up taking a shower at the same time she does. (the girl with the violin has fallen behind, her violin is heavy and she is so little. )
everynight the italians and i eat together, antonia still doing all of the cooking and gabriella and i clean up. massimo makes the salad and sets the table. i love this time with them. they laugh all the time.
yesterday was the first day i have seen storks. there was a guide to the cathedral in logrono and while he was taking we noticed the storks in the bell tower. we totally stopped listening to him and watched the storks. he should find a different place to stand an talk. he is no competition to the storks. they are beautiful, a soft pale pink it seemed. lovely.
ok time is almost out. tomorrow is santa domingo, the place i got bed-bugs last time. wish me luck.
love
mary

butterflies and wild flowers

last night i staying in estella. i stayed in an albergue that hires impaired people, both mentally and physically. it was a welcoming place and i was happy to be there. until about 11. my italian friends were there too and we had a great dinner, again pasta and wine, but without the violin. they are very funny people and i enjoy being a part of their group. massimo even told me my italian was getting great, more words and longer sentances etc. nice. but last night, oh my god, the snoring was horrible. i picked up my yoga mat and sleeping bag at about midnight and went to the reception area and slept on the tile floor.
then there was massimo, all dressed and with his back pack. i asked him what time it was, he said something and mezzo. i assumed 5 and mezzo, 5:30. i thought great, i´ll get up and we can go. then i checked my ipod clock. it was 4 and mezzo! 4:30. in my new great italian i said "you are crazy pilgrims." they are also slow pilgrims when it comes to leaving in the morning. they were in and out and whispering and laughing until about 6 when i decided to get up and get going. i was thankful i asked where they were staying today so i could stay someplace else. i need a little sleep.
today was gorgeous. spanish gorgeous. to me that means a wide open world, soft hills, golden fields, olive trees, wildflowers, butterflies, and blue sky. i am in los arcos and am going to go take a nap now. buenos tardes.
nonna
ps i just heard a man speak basque and it reminded me of a little happening. a quick story. i was in a post office in a town called trinity de los terre or something like that ( another disappoiting package is coming home, only discards from my backpack. sorry) anyway, a woman came in and i felt like she was critical of something that had to do with me. she was talking loud and people were embarrassed and looking at me. then she said something to me. i said in my little spanish " excuse me, i don´t speak spanish." then she really went off, and said she didn´t speak spanish either and then i remembered that i was in basque land. i just said in english, i am so sorry. she looked at me and held out her hand. i took it. she pulled me toward her and kissed both of my cheeks and said something about santiago. holy cow, this can be intense sometimes. one minute i am the enemy and the next i am loved.

puenta la reina

now that i am in spain, i can write almost every day, it seems, but i won´t.

i am now walking on the same paths that i walked on 18 months ago. i am also staying in the same albergue in puenta la reina. what i remember from the first time is that i got no sleep because there was so much snoring. i remember that i wrote an entry at 9 pm and again at 4 or so. i am sure that this won´t happen tonight because now i am a pro.

i took a detour from the camino to visit a chuch i loved last time, santa maria de eunate. it is set out by itself in a field. it is six sided and plain and has amazing and strange carvings of faces on the outside. in the inside the light is warm and diffuse and low because the windows are made of thin marble, not glass. i could sit in there for hours. i am so happy i had a chance to see it again.

life is good, walking is beautiful, i am getting a little cluster of new friends and the weather has been sunny and cool. what more could a pilgrim want. i´ll be back again soon.
mary

spain

i am in a little town in spain, my first day saying hola and my first day walking alone. at first i was feeling sorry for myself, and then the grown up me reminded me that it was what i had planned originally. i am crazy sometimes.
anyway the day was great, in spite of the fact that i slipped in the mud on a slippery surface and scared three young irish girls who came running over to help me up. i was pretty muddy but not the least bit hurt. but they stayed right with me until we were down the steep part. it was like skiing in hiking boots. it had rained all night and the dirt is clay or something really slick. it was funny being treated like i was 95 but they were really kind.
a few hours later a bull walked out of his barn and stood right on the path. i stoppped and though how long do we stay like this and then two men on mountain bikes rode up and approached the bull very slowly and the bull moved a lit to let them through and me behind them. i love this, there is something new every day.
but before i go on about today, yesterday was the most beautiful day of all of my camino days, this year and last time. it was the day we walked over the pyrenees. we started up the mountain the night before staying at a little town 500m up. all night there was an awesome powerful storm, lots of thunder and lightening. in the morning we couldn´t see 5 feet in front of us. we started walking, staying on the trial was easier than we expected. it was amazing to be walking in the fog, hearing sheep and cow bells, seeing nothing. after an hour or so the sun started to shine through the fog and we could faintly see the sheep. then up and up we went all day with fog in the valleys, vultures flying overhead and hundreds of sheep on the hillsides. (there is a crazy virgin mary statue up on some rocks. poor thing looks like someone forgot her there. )
we cross the border into spain and down into roncevalles, another tiny town with a big beautiful
abbey. as we walked into town, i was wandering around looking for the gite and a car stopped to set me cross the road and i waved thanks and tom o´connor, kathleen´s husband, said "no problem mary!" he had arrived at exactly the same time as kathleen and i.
the sad part was saying goodbye to annie and bernard hache and then kathleen. we spent 5 weeks walking together, not every hour of every day, but most days and every night in the same gite. we became good friends with annie and bernard in spite of not speaking the same language. what good people they are. helping us. every morning annie put a small stone at the first cross she saw, today i did that for her.
kathleen, tom and i had a goodbye dinner last night and this morning tom walked me out to the path for the start of my day. ( i stopped by their room to take the last of kathleens peanut butter, her backpack cover, extra plastic bags and her last can of tuna. all essential pilgrim needs.
so that´s it. me, spain, a new language and new people to meet. my next door bunk mate speaks italian. she, her husband and his friend are going to santiago. tonight i get to listen to italian.
bye.
mary
5 hours later:
my italian neighbors invited me to dinner-pasta made by antonio and massimo. gabriella made the salad. a korean "family" was making something of chicken that smelled fabulous. we all wait in the communal kitchen for the korean meal to end and the italian one to begin. while waiting i find out that the korean people, a man with his son and two young women only met yesterday but today they walk together and cook a meal together. the italian woman did not know the italian men until this morning and they walked together and fix a meal together. while talking, me the translater for the italians, we learn that one young woman is carrying her violin on the camino. while we eat our pasta she plays the violin and the others listen. then antonio starts singing italian songs and she plays along. we all sing songs from naples, o sole mio , santa lucia, besseme muchu, etc. then two people from holland come into the kitchen because they can hear the music from outside. this is the camino. if anyone wondered why i would do this again, you now know, and so do i. goodnight.
xoxox

ostablat

hi everyone
we are in basque region now and it is unbelievable beautiful. there are rolling hills and white farmhouse with red shutters scattered all around the hills. add cows, sheep, a chuch here and there and you know what my last two days have been like: it is so peaceful and beautiful. tomorrow we will be at the foot of the pyrenees at hontos and then we walk over. the great thing is that bernard and annie have decided to go to the spanish side with us. also another woman who has often been with us. our little group has been together for weeks really and the day after tomorrow it breaks up. the french people are all going home. kathleen's husband is coming to roncevalles to get her. he is also bringing me new socks. isn,t that crazy?. so in two days i will be by myself. it is a little sad because i have been enjoying everyone: always someone to have dinner with, to laugh with, to get help from and walk with if we want to. it has been fun being with kathleen. but her heart is not into this now when she gets sore every afternoon. plus, she has walked 500 miles, not feeling that great a lot of the time. she is incredibly strong.
it has been very cloudy so we really haven't seen the mountains in their splender for the last few days. a few days ago, i realized that in the haze and clouds the mountains look like ocean waves: now when i see them, that is all i can see. i think we are only seeing a small bit of them. i don't know really.
anyway the next time i write i will be in spain, walking by myself meeting knew people, trying to speak a little spanish. the time has gone fast for me.
(i spoke with oscar a few days ago and he sounded so old. at the end he said- well, it's been good talking with you. what a boy. )
ok bye from france.
love,
nonna; mom; mary

arzacq

hi my friends,
i have seen the pyrenees and they are bigger than i remember and more beautiful. actually, because they are still snow covered the contours are more visible and that makes them more dramatic;and they are really close. holy cow.
i am also seeing flowering lavendar now and yellow arrows showing the way. both exciting things for ,e. the yellow arrows are used in spain and seeing them makes me realize spain is possible.
kathleen has decided to go home. her husband is coming to spain and picking her up somewhere along the way. he's renting a car and i picture him drivning by and swooping her up. i will miss her but look forward to walking by myself at the same time. so i am happy.
ok. there is a line for this computer so i have to go.
bye.
love
mary

nogaro

hi everyone
it seems like a long time since i wrote. I will start where i left off with kathleen going to the doctor.
we went to the hospital in mosiac and there a very attractive. boy-doctor basically told her - what is the surprise? you have been walking 25-30 km a day with a pack in the heat. you have to stop for 4 days and take an anti-inflammatory. then see. so she stayed in the hotel watching cnn and i left with annie and bernard.
the night befor i left her at the hotel was crazy. we wanted to stay in a hotel so we could rest- however, the hotel was on a busy main street and by the park where fireworks ended the weekend celebration: we went up on the hotel roof with the other guests and watched. guess what? it was the identical ooh and ahh and wow. that was great, but the rest of the night was so loud, there was no sleeping.
i walked out of town on the canal midi, i also walked along the canal midi the first ti,e i walked the ca,ino. i am very close to the towns i walked in the first time i was here. the first group of people iwe talked with have left, most fro, injuries or soreness. the heat has taken it's toll. remaining are herve and joseph and annie and bernard. actually we may have lost joseph and herve because they are walking faster.
anyway i walked and kathleen stqyed back. i walked through beatutiful medieal towns which have been beautifdully reconstructed: they qre so lovey: one town had a covered area in the center for a market. you could see written on the inside of various sections of the market maise, millet, and grains i didn't recognise. it was a grain market, like our grain exchange i think. For the three days that kathleen stayed back i walked through rolling hills of sunflowers (now only 5 inches tall- they will be stunning later( the landscape is like a picture, big rolling hills, patchwork of colors of grains and fields some just plowed some hay being cut. all beautiful. the weather was hot and sunny, then it became windy and changed to cool and rainey.
kathleen is walking again. we are going slower and walking fewer kms in a day. the first day back we walked through a really dark woods and down a muddy track to a pond that was so noisy with frogs we just stood there and laughed: i have never heard such noise. then we walked another 50 meters and were on top of a roman bridge. these are the times i shake my head in disbelief at how lucky i am to be here. what a fabulous life. that afternoon we stopped at a roman villa excavation. the villa was from the 4th century and had heated water floing under the floors in the winter and cool water in the summer. it had a spring feed pool with heated water: but the best thing it had were mosaics, beautiful beautiful mosaics:
yesterday and today was walking through vineyards: this is armagnac region, kand they grow lots of grapes (i almost said bunches...)
annie and bernard- i don't know how ,uch i have said about them so i will now. we have known them from the second day, bernard helped me wioth a phone call when i lost my way in the conversation. at first we just kept running into them and now we plan to be together, for the night or for dinner or for a day of walking. i love being with them. annie is 70, bernard 71. they are tall and willowy, fast, and so happy. bernard laughs all the time and annie loves it. they are kind and gentle with each other. they have 5 daughters and 20 grandchildren. they are always on the phone with one or the other child. annie speaks so,e english and loves teaching me, coaching me, encouraging me to speak french. bernard and i have a similar sense of humor. even though he doesn't speak english; he understands my jokes and i his. they have been the best part of my walk so far. it is getting a little sad though because they are finishing soon, and we may even loose track of them before we hit the spanish border. we never know. it is be one of those happy- sad wonderful things. now when we part, we kiss cheeks knowing what is coming.
today annie and bernard saw the pyrenees! it was cloudy most of the day, but when i wasn't looking the pyrenees poked through the clouds: they said there is lots of snow on them. i am so excited to see them. kathleen and i will be in spain in about 10 days. it's impossible. the time has gone so fast. kathleen is uncertain how far she will go. she misses her husband and he her, and she isn't certain about her feet, so we will see. i feel great, i was made for long walks with a big pack on my back. i love eating tuna along the road, i love hearing people speak words i don't understand, i love trying to talk french and searching for words to make sentances. ( it is surprising how much you can say with about 15 verbs; all present tense, and maybe 30 nouns, plus 3 or 4 adverbs.) i love looking for the marks on the trees that show our way, i love meeting people along the way who do tiny acts of kindness ( like the woman who hollered across a parking lot to me that my earring wasn't fastened.) i love sharing food, clothes pins, soap, duct tape etc: with other pilgrims. i am happy, thankful, and excited to continue.
the only stupid thing is my equipment. things aren't made as well as they were two years ago. i have worn through the vibram on one shoe, have a hole in one of my favorite smart wool socks and have repaired the inside of one boot with duct tape. and my shoe laces are frayed. what the heck. i still have miles to go! i will be in tatters when i am walking in spain.
ok this has been really long, but for a change no one is waiting for the computer, and it is nice and light in here, but i'll stop now.
take good care of yourselves.
mary

mosiac

hello

i am i the office of a man who owns the hotel we are staying at in ,osiac. he has bob marley playing on his co,puter. this day has been incredible: kathleen and i stayed in lazerate last night. it is an town built buy the count of toulouse in 1000 ad and settled mor in 1200; it is so well preerved, i think one of the most beautiful towns i have seen and perhaps even i,agined. kathleen and i went to dinner, came to our gi at about 8 pm to go to sleep. the couple we are sharing a room with show how they have moved our landry from a hanger in the room to hangers hanging outside, about 50 feet from the ground. great: it will dry the clothes: we go to bed, i think it will be quiet because we are at the edge of town, no, we are all laying in bed, lights out, quiet. dogs start barking, one howling. then the snoring starts. sometime later a bunch of motor cycles come into town:  people staying here come home. what is it? 12? 2? i have no idea.

we get up at 6 to walk early and avoid the heat: good walk for five h ours and then kathleen starts to hurt. she has had trouble for 10 days with her feet and now leg. today is bad enough we hitch a ride for the last 5km; she is going to the dr tomorrow. we will know ,ore then.

in the meanti,e we are at a 2 star hotel, and just had the best diner i have had in france; ever: before dinner we walked about town. there is a holiday today, maybe graduation, maybe pentecost, maybe both. we saw a parade with vintage cars, tubas playing, children holding banners. SO SIMPLE ND BEAUTIFL; oh, sorry about the caps, its dark in this office.

then, we walked into the local abbey and who was there but our guardians; annie and bernard. they are a couple who we have walked with, who make reservations for us in the gites and who are our friends: they live in paris: every time we say goodbye like we wont see them again and there they are: 

we arrived at the abbey in time for the 6 pm offices sang by 6 nuns. pure beautiful voices filling the cathedral. earlier this morning we stopped at a small chapel at the same time as three other women. one woman starting humming. then singing fully. the church was totally empty; except for the 4 of us , and her voice. i think i am the luckiest person. these are the times that make the steep hills and slippery stones seem like nothing.

a few quick thoughts- people love to talk to us about obama. not talk really, but say his name with a thumbs up. they say- yes we can! when we are walking up a steep grade: 

we have been walking past fields of poppies. unimaginable how Many poppies. lavendar is sprouting- not lavendar yet; but smells wonderful.

there is much more to say but really it is dark in here. now roy orbison is singing;`goodnight

sleep well

love`

mary

figeac

hi everyone
kathleen and i found a hotel in this town and are being tourists today. it is an old important town of the 11 c etc: now is a little trashy, with graffiti and young men hanging around, bored. i was here before and remember it as beautiful. this town seems to be at the edge of the mountains and perhaps tomorrow will begin to walk the stages that are less like this
W and this M. We sent home some things that are too heavy to carry in this heat.
there are ,any interesting peiople along the way and ways to walk: here are two examples. there is a woman who was born in mexico, now lives in switzerland: she is walking with her 7 year old son. they walk 20km at the most. the father meets them every two weeks and walks along. the boy has never had a tv etc and is very interested in the things he is seeing everyday. i think- how ,uch responsibility iit is to have him with her: i wish them well. today there was no room for them to stay, so they are staying with the nuns. another man walked with us fro, le puy. he teaches english at a university. he recited emily dickinson and shakespere while he walks, he loves english; helped with my french. he has a van that he stays in; so he walks; then hichhikes back to his van drives to the new spot and repeats the motion: he is finished now; in figeac:
the last charazcter is enrique- he is maybe 68; has bad feet, but loves the camino. so far he has taken a taxi most days: he is a flirt; a spaniard, knows everyone and everyone knows him.
last there is firmin. he is a young man from montreal. he is 18, oringinally from rwonda (???), wants to be a write plays when he is older, he is gathering material: i so wish i had read canterbury tales.
we will be rested tomorrow and ready for the next section.
i miss you all but especially jude and oscar; those sweet boys.
mary
sorry, i still cant figure out the photos. firmin told me, but no. and he is gone....

conques

kathleen and i are in conques. it is gorgeous. the whole town is a historical monument, dating from the 8th century. the church is the church of sainte foy, saint faith. it is romanesque apparently rebuilt in the 11 century. i just returned from the blessing of the pilgrims. kathleen and i are the only americans that we know of who are walking now. it feels like an honorable position: the other pilgrims are so helpful to us and watch out for us all the time. when i was to go up to the altar for my blessing tonight, a bunch of people were whispering - Mary, that's you; go.( now i can't find the exclamation point.) this is a big weekend in this region, they are moving the cows to the upper grasses so that calls for a celebration and it is the feast of the assumption so another reason to celebrate. this town is a tourist hot spot and because of the holidays it is full to the brim. Kathleen and i are staying in a beautiful huge abbey. we have to leave in the morning and many of our friends are staying to rest. we are sad to say goodbye. and we are worn out. it has been really hard walking these last three days. so humid and hot. and then there is the trail. it is rocky, slippery when wet(says the guide book) and STEEP. it is fun at first and then exausting. i have decided this way is very pretty, as was arles, and there aren't too many people. kathleen and i spend at least 4 hour a day walking separately. we have solitude. so all of that is good.
we are just tired. we need to walk 24 km tomorrow and then maybe we will find a hotel or someplace to spend a day with our feet up. we have gone 207 km so far.
here is what i have seen: poppies, cows of every color, some with really long horns, chickens of every shape and size, a crazy looking duck/turkey bird, buffalo, old old churches, hills with so may trees it looks like broccoli; a huge high pasture that didn't seem to end, endless sky above the pasture, snakes, wildflowers. I have heard birds; laughing people, cow bells, sheeps dogs barking far away, french, thunder; church bells. i feel so fortunate.
someone wants the computer now, so good night.
a happy tired pilgrim,
mary
i need to find someone to help me upload a photo or two. i think they are pretty: maybe this week.

finding my groove

hi again
i have a few corrections to make about yesterday's note:
first we have walked 6 days as of today: and today makes 125 km and maybe it isn't the other pilgrims keeping me from solitude. the last two days have been great, because i made sure to be by myself. the whining has stopped.
today was so much fun. we walked up a mountain so,e,ore across grazing lands and then down all afternoon on a steep, rocky, wooded path/ it is like dancing to be on those paths
goodbye again
love,
mary

hi
i have been looking every day for a computer and today_ voila, )notice i can speak french now)
kathleen and i have been walking for four days now;
we started on thursday we attended the mass for pilgrims with about 100 others. it shocked and disappointed me. i have been counting on solitude and space to reflect and i thought how will i find that. We started walking in the rain and cold in a line of pilgrims. i keep thinking no no no:
it rained all day, lightly and then really heavily at the end of the day: we were soaked and cold. we walked until 5 at night: -i went to dinner that night in sandals; wool socks; shorts, i was freezing: it rained as we walked to dinner: when we sat down we laughed; I don,t think i have ever been in public in sandals and socks but it felt perfect:
the next day it rained all day; really hard, but we were ready: it was fine: pretty actually: the other pilgrims who i wish weren,t here are really great: there are about 10 we see whose names we know and another 10 whose names we don,t know, the ones we know are primarily french: there are 4 from canada; 1 from holland; AND one of the woman had her birthday on the 15th too. i got two kisses from each of the men traveling with her:
i am having fun speaking french:
i am happy i listened to the pimsler tapes: i can say about 6 important sentances: they like talking with me to practice english: this is a great part of the walk,
yesterday was a long hard walk in the forests and mountains, but it was fun jumping around roots that looked like some huge replica of the nerve system in our bodies: we arrived in our town at 6:
today was the best day: for two reasons: i walked alone for about 4 hours and for part of that i had the solitude i was longing for: i walked on the aubrac plains with wild flowers; cows anf huge rocks: fabulous:
i am happy i am here: i have much to learn and this is the place to do it: yesterday i remembered a yoga instructor telling my class - it is impossible to catch your shadow; but if you turn from it; it will follow you; my shadow is my memory of Arles and my dreams of le puy: i will ttry to let them follow me, not lead,
by the wway, i have walked about 120 kms and am in Nasbinals: no blisters or problems,
thank you for working with me to understand my new key board:
i willl write again when i have a computer: and possibly show photos:
with love
mary

a new key board and so ,uch to say

hi everyone
i have had three beautiful days in paris: i love paris; in may; in the drizzle; in ,y gortex: lovely people; delicious food; beautiful buildings; everything:
kathleen is here; we take the train to le puy tomorrow; but today i saw the red and white belize outside of notre dame , on a pole of a stop sign, and i felt a warm familiar feeling of being home;
the belize are the marks that show the path. they are the marks that kathleen and i will spend our days following; like the three kings followed the star:
there is a path that begins in paris; these marks are for those pilgrims. i can,t wait for our marks!
{i want to read a study of key boards: i understand the letter placement; that is easy: but why is a ! the normal key and a . is a shift? in france: i think the french are too cool to use these ! but maybe not; maybe these ! go with holding hands and kissing passionately in public; and using butter on everything: i think i love the french too,)
ok, i need to go to sleep; i hope you are all happy and well:
love
mary/mom/nonna
kathleen and i went to notre dame today and there was a mass, we stayed, during the peace to your neighbor part; she said "peace, pilgrim", i laughed: i think that will be our mantra

Here we go again!

I am getting ready, doing last minute things -washing my old camino clothes, my sleeping bag, wearing my hiking boots everywhere but to bed, and dreaming about being on the way . Tomorrow I leave for Paris, on Tuesday Kathleen O'Connor joins me and we take the train to Le Puy to start our walk. 

The map above shows the major pilgrim routes to Santiago. In 2007 I started in Arles and walked to Santiago. This time my hope is to walk from Le Puy to Santiago and on to Finisterre. I say hope because I learned an important lesson the first time, -you never know what will happen.  That is the joy and terror of the walk. Really, terror is too strong. It's somewhere between surprise and shock. That is what I loved- realizing how little control I have over almost everything. What fun and what a relief.

Everyone asks me why go back to the SAME place?! I think there are two questions in that question.

First -why go back. I knew on the plane coming home in 2007 that I would go back as soon as I could. It is so beautiful, in every way. Being outside, seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting something new every day. Feeling the weather, good or bad. Being alive. I have to go back. Also, I realize how much more I have to learn.

And why the SAME place- I don't think it will be the same. I'm walking a little different route. I am walking in the spring with flowers and green fields, the last time was fall, with figs and golden fields. But most importantly, there will be a brand new set of pilgrims. It's the pilgrims that provide the character of the camino. The ones who give it flavor. It won't be the same at all. I think right now, there are people packing, checking train schedules, getting ready to walk. And as if by magic, we will all meet and perhaps become friends. (Or maybe we will annoy each other and we will look for ways to get away.) You just never know.

What I do know, is that as I walk, I will remember my first camino friends, because it was them who made the walk so lovely and it's because of them I want to go back.

It won't be long now.

Mary/mom

xoxo

PS. We have a full map this time! Thanks to my son-in-law, Benji for scanning it and helping me put it up here.