Camino Entry 44

The Templar castle in Ponferrada: http://goo.gl/maps/T97No

Entry 44, January 7^th, 2012

I forgot to mention the roscón yesterday. Ernesto bought a pair of these holiday cakes for us because it was king's day and he misses his family. They're large and round with a hole in the center and are only baked once a year for Reyes. There is a toy baked into each one as well – they were delicious as we ate them in the Korean woman's tiny sitting room.

Roscón

Expenses, Day 44

Coffee: 2.00

Provision: 2.30

Albergue San Nicolás de Flüe (Ponferrada): 5.00

Provision: 1.83

Menú: 10.00

Breakfast and Chocolate: 5.00

Laundry: 1.00

Internet: .50

Total: 27.63

Trip Total: 1013.34

I keep saying this, but these past two days have been some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen.

Leaving Foncebadon (after saying goodbye to Ernesto and Chan Hee) I was right below the cloud level. The sun rose and I saw a reverse sunrise as it ascended into the mist. It was strange walking through the clouds with everything backlit as if with a red spotlight.

Is Foncebadon where Coelho fought the dog? I can't remember. (note: it is)

I reached the Cruz de Ferro shortly afterward. It is a small iron cross mounted atop a huge wooden pillar around seven meters tall, located at the highest point I will see on the Camino Frances (more than 1500 meters in elevation). Traditionally pilgrims bring a stone in their bag, representing sins and attachments, to the Cruz de Ferro and leave it there as a symbol of casting off these weights. There is a huge pile of stones, mementos, pictures, ribbons and such around the base of the pillar. Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of stones – some of them massive! My companions have been busy.

I climbed the pile, hand over hand, until I could touch the pillar. Removing my own stone, I considered it for a moment. It came to me on the Camino Aragonés, a rough block of sandstone that sits nicely in my palm. I let it fall and it was swallowed by the rest.

One last little detail about the albergue in Foncebadon before I forget. On the mantle above the excellent fireplace and mixed in with the Buddhas, baby Jesuses, and Krishnas was a somber Obi-wan Kenobi. Epic win.

The rest of the day was spent on slender paths winding through the hills. Mist was pouring off the mountains in the wet East wind. I saw two other ruined villages, one which was called Manjarín (pop. 1) and had an albergue of sorts. It looked interesting, but the owner was busy and didn't want me around. Stuttering generator, ramshackle buildings, downspout made of bottled waters cut in half.

Later in the afternoon we did start to come across little villages fueled by tourism. Kwang-sik said that we made 1000m of downward elevation today, all of it rough, uneven, and rocky. Eventually I made it out of the mountains and into the valley – back into the thick clouds. Above, everything was bright and sparkling, but below it was like being stuck in a dream sequence. Visibility was fifty feet, maximum.

We took Rosa to dinner since she flies back to Italy tomorrow. A bit too much wine . . . tomorrow is Sunday and so went grocery shopping after dinner. Standing in the store, a little drunk, smelling of wine and old sweat, spattered with mud and 44 days unshaven, I realized that I was barely one step above the homeless. The camino truly is a lesson in humility.

Camino Entry 42

Today's google street view, headed across the famous bridge in Hospital de Órbigo: http://goo.gl/maps/8Pld7

Entry 42, January 5^th, 2012

We passed a legit jousting pitch this morning. “1^st weekends in June (1° fin de semana de Junio)” say the sugar packets here in the cafe in Hospital de Órbigo. I am reminded of Arthur watching the jousts as a boy in “The Once and Future King.” This is also the town with the bridge with 19 arches.

The jousting pitch, and the bridge with 19 arches.

One of the common sights for the last 100km or so have been small rooms and houses dug out of grass hillocks. Most look like simple storage sheds but some are clearly residences, with a few windows and chimneys. Hobbit holes?

León has been settled as a city since 910, but it existed as a Roman military fort since the first century.

The path was very nice today (if a bit rocky), tracing through forest and scrubland. Climbing a hill, I came upon a small stand by the side of the camino called “La Casa de los Dioses,” and decorated with a large red heart. It is run by a Catalan man named David who sleeps in a lean-to nearby and mans the post year-round. He walked the camino from Cataluñya and back before deciding to serve the pilgrims with organic juice, bread, water, and peanut butter (he doesn't usually get the peanut butter, but he went into Astorga yesterday and had an intuition that an American would visit (me)). Everything is free, and he takes donations to pay for supplies and eventually to buy the nearby barn for a meditation center and pilgrim shelter.

Now that is a liberated lifestyle. He calls his little spot “an oasis.”

A beautiful soul, but not the life that I want to lead. I am more complex than that, for better and for worse.

Tonight we are in Astorga, the traditional resting point before crossing the mountains, and truly the end of the meseta. Perhaps we arrive on the 14^th or 15^th in Santiago.

Expenses, Day 42

Breakfast: 2.30

Pastries: 2.50

Provison: 4.37

Oasis: 3.00

Tomorrow's provision: 2.50

Korean albergue: 6.00

Menú: 8.50

Total: 29.17

Trip Total: 971.81

It is the eve of Reyes, the three kings' arrival to visit the baby Jesus. The kids all get their presents tomorrow and so they are bouncing off the walls with excitement. Instead of sitting on Santa's lap, they sit on one of the three kings', who have a platform set up in the middle of Astorga. The whole town is turned out for the festivities, and tomorrow is a holiday with barbecues and everything. I think the symbolism makes more sense this way than back home.

Christmas is a lovely time to visit Spain, even if everything is closed.

Those with the most faith walk the fastest. Kwang-sik, who has strong faith, can thrown down 40kms a day, no problem.

The Spanish are also fantastic walkers. My pace is comparatively slow, but I am strong on hills and rough terrain. Not a sprinter.

Camino Entry 32

Where am I today?

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=&layer=c&cbll=42.340117,-3.705311&cbp=11,0,0,0,0

Entry 32, December 26^th, 2011

Expenses, Day 32

Burgos Cathedral: 2.50

Postcards: 2.20

Burgos Munincipal Albergue: 5.00

Chinese Food: 12.00

Churros con chocolate: 4.00

Replacement toothbrush + toothpaste: 5.00

Total: 32.70

Trip Total: 738.53

Another beautiful day today – not a cloud in the sky. Cresting the ridge out of Agés we found a huge series of concentric circles, made of white stones placed by pilgrims in the heath. It was very strong – a rock in the center had “love” painted on it.

Also from the ridge we could see Burgos, and beyond – the meséta. I am excited – time to put on some serious kilometers to León! My feet feel great, and my boots feel like sex on two feet. It is not the enemy, impatience, that urges me on, but enthusiasm!

Cleber found me a perfect walking stick at the albergue last night. It is exactly the right height and is smooth and straight. I appreciated it on the way down the hill. Now I feel like a real pilgrim.

The addition of the stick is tempered by the fact that I keep forgetting things. I left my watch behind on Christmas Eve, and this morning I left my whole toiletries bag behind. No great loss, as I only had a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, soap, and toenail clippers, but an annoying one. I need to find soap, and the floss was useful to have as string.

We ate Chinese food today in Burgos, as the Master was craving rice. At the restaurant (La Gran Muralla – the great wall) we were translating through three languages – Korean to English to Spanish to the server, and back from Spanish to English to Korean to the Master. The Koreans didn't want to tip – old animosities die hard, I guess. The food was okay. My stomach was feeling unsettled earlier, but is doing alright now.

The cathedral here is amazing, easily on par with Notre Dame in terms of raw beauty. Gothic, Gothic, Gothic!!! But for something so rich and ornamented, it was surprisingly bright inside. I always expect Gothic architecture to be very dark, but it never is. I guess it really is all about light. El Cid and his wife were buried here – it was not so much a cathedral as it was a complex.

And so rich in storytelling! Everywhere there were tombs and chapels of so-and-so and such-and-such, all covered entirely in Christian imagery. The choir in particular; each seat had three different scenes engraved on it from different stories – that makes hundreds of narratives in that space alone! How can anyone keep track of so much history?

If I had to describe Spain in one word, it would be “richness.” Rich storytelling, rich architecture, rich food – we found another chocolatería. Chocolate con churros, mmm . . . the place was all decked out in Charlie Chaplain stuff, which was a bit of a non-sequiter; not that we were complaining.

Later I was in town again to find a toothbrush, and the place was bustling. Christmas in Spain seems to begin on the 25^th and run until January 6^th, the day when the wise men arrived (and the day that children get their presents). People were caroling in the plaza, food vendors were everywhere, and it was packed!

I stopped and listened to a street violinist for a while. Here on the camino, without iPod or computer, I feel starved for music. Anything I hear is like water to a man in the desert – it falls straight into my depths. I crave it. Harmonies are the sweetest treats in the world. My sensitivity is heightened . . . I love it!

Camino Entry 31

**New Feature!**

Where am I?

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=&layer=c&cbll=42.370171,-3.47941&cbp=11,0,0,0,0

Entry 31, December 25^th, 2011

Merry Christmas!

The family is at home right now (almost exactly right now, actually) opening presents and eating breakfast. I just crested the top of the pass on the way to the monastery of San Juan de Ortega. We may not stop there, because it's probably closed – Agés is the next city. We'll see.

I'm so glad to be here, even though I'm missing Christmas.

We passed through an old forest on the way up the mountain. In the stark winter light, the trees are black and white splinters, crackling in the brisk air. Fragile brown moss covers everything and crumbles to dust between the fingers, draped over branches and stone alike. The only green is a bit of long bladed grass and the clusters of pines scattered here and there. A hint of red bubbles through the undergrowth – stinging nettles.

An old, twisted forest – a muted palate of browns, grays, and reds. The clay is laced with frost underfoot. Winter in Spain.

Expenses, Day 31

Albergue, Dinner Menu, Breakfast (Agés): 20.00

Total: 20.00

Trip Total: 705.83

The albergue at the monastery was closed, so we moved on. I did stop and take a look inside the basilica, though. It is not every day that one has a basilica to themselves on Christmas.

San Juan Ortega is mostly in the Romanic style, with a huge Gothic sepulchre in the middle. Everything was in white stone – with the brilliant, washed-out winter light coming in it was quite beautiful and absolutely quiet, like a forest after a snowfall. I sat in front of the tomb of San Juan de Ortega – a plain, unadorned thing (1080 – 1163), and lit a candle.

Who would have guessed a year ago that I would be here adventuring, visiting the tombs of saints and sleeping in caves!

I could have asked for no better Christmas present than an afternoon of quiet moments, and that's what I got. There was a hill later with a meadow and a scattering of old oak trees that I sat under for a while.  It is nice to know that there are still quiet places in the world, places beyond McDonald's and the internet . . . places with meadows and oak trees.

I crossed the ridge to see Agés, pop. 50, nestled in the valley below. The albergue is a maze of warm rooms and good smells – the last of the family have been departing throughout the evening from last night's Christmas dinner. We have a big pan of paella to look forward to, the eight of us. It will be good after today's 28km.

To read: “The Art of Possibility,” Benjamin Sander

Camino Entry 30

Entry 30, December 24^th, 2011

Shopping List:

8 baguettes

Garlic

Mayo

Oregano

Parmesan Cheese

White sugar

Brown sugar

Eggs

Flour

Butter

Vanilla

Baking Powder (polva de horniar)

Salt

Chocolate Chips

2 bottles of wine

4 kg pasta

1 kg shrimp

1 L oil

Nata de Leche

1 Bottle KAS Limon (for Ernesto)

Our group is spending Christmas Eve in Belorado.  Belorado is a big pilgrim town; there is an impression of Martin Sheen’s feet here in cement from when he visited while filming the movie.  I reached the town first and left a message in stones for the others while I went to look for albergues – there was only one open.

Wan Woo and I went grocery shopping for Christmas dinner.  I volunteered to make garlic bread and cookies, while the Master made seafood pasta.  On our way back from the store, we ran into another pilgrim who was traveling on her own and brought her back with us to the albergue for dinner.

The cookies proved to be a challenge.  The only store was open for only a few hours and had a limited selection – in particular, it had no baking powder, brown sugar, vanilla extract, or chocolate chips.  We were able to find some dried vanilla, which we cut up and ground into powder, and a few smashed chocolate bars were more than sufficient to replace the chocolate chips, but when it came to baking powder and brown sugar I was stumped.  Finally I just went ahead and made them with doubled white sugar and no powder, and they turned out fairly well.  Not my best batch ever, but considering the ingredients and the number of kilometers we walked today I was happy with them.  So were the others.

Dinner was delicious, and noisy.  The new pilgrim is German, so we’ve added another language to the table.  What a strange Christmas I’m having!

Expenses, Day 30

Albergue: 6.00

Dinner: 6.00

Provisions: 5.00

Total:  17.00

Trip Total: 685.83

Camino Entry 28

Day 28, December 22^nd, 2011

Expenses, Day 28

Pastries: 2.90

Coffee: 1.10

Dinner: 3.65

Chocolate: 2.00

Albergue: 10.00

Total: 19.65

Trip Total: 645.73

Today was another short day, just because of how things worked out.  Tomorrow will be more than 20 kilometers.  I'm in Nájera.

And the albergue is busy!  The three Koreans and Ernesto are back, along with an older Korean man who the call the “master.”  He's the president of his local walking association back home, and is a professional.  Ursula's here, as well, and a Brazilian guy named Cleber that the other guys picked up.  Quite a group, really.

I love them all, but we are a dysfunctional little organization.  It is good that we have the chance to get away from each other on the road.  People don't go on pilgrimages because they have things figured out – they go because they don't have things figured out, and we are excellent proof of that.

The Christmas festivities in Spain are in full swing.  Nájera is all decorated – the little Santas on ladders or paragliders hanging from windows and balconies are particularly popular this year.  The square next to the albergue has been taken over by children who have constructed a miniature Jerusalem.  Angels on roller skates, little Arabs with Crayola beards, and straw and tents are everywhere!  They're selling hot cakes, telling fortunes, and singing.  It's impressive, really.

The Christmas music playing on Calle Mayor (Frank Sinatra) made me a little homesick for friends and family.  I can tell that it would be a lot worse if I wasn't feeling the Christmas spirit as strongly as I am right now.  Usually I get a bit of the Charlie Brown, “Why don't I feel in the spirit?” syndrome each year about this time, but this year it never materialized.  It probably has something to do with being on the camino.

I am thinking a bit about what I will do when I get home.  I know, I shouldn't, I should instead focus on what I am doing here, but I can't help it.  I am thinking about spending some time at a zen center.  Student?  Resident?  Renter?  I dunno.  I need to go talk to the monks and see if it feels right.  Maybe a pilgrimage to zen centers in the USA in is order.