CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

(October 12,  2015)

 Here is my personalized certificate of completion.  775km completed.  Started at Saint Jean Pied du Port on September 3,2015 completed on October 8,2015.

There is much folklore in Galacia about witches and supernatural, especially nature spirits.  Dennis pointed out that with my flyaway silver hair I highly resemble this little "Brugha".  What do you think? Any resemblance?

#Pilgrim

ENJOYING WIND AND SUN

(received October 11, 2015)  
My bunk in Melide.  My hat with flowers for courage, my pack which holds all of my earthly possessions for these 6 weeks of travel, my bed sack that I made from an old flannel sheet that Jessie (my niece) had given me years ago, is spread out for a night of rest.  Must say I was always glad for the extra blankets that were available during these cold nights.

Enjoying the strong wind and the warm sun.

The COLD, the WET, and the CHALLENGES

(October 4-5, 2015)

These have been challenging days because of the weather.

We thought it couldn't get any worse than yesterday and we were wrong.  Yesterday, even with our rain covers over our packs and ponchos over that, still everything is wet.  My bed sheet was even damp last night. I put it in the dryer for a while with not much effect.  The dryers here are very different from what we have.  Took a long time to dry out all of our wet clothes. 

Today the rain poured down almost the entire time of walking.  The wind got so strong that we were nearly airborn.  I felt like a kite about to lift off!  It was really quite a challenge as we walked into the wind and were being confronted with driving rain slamming us in our faces.

We finally found a place to get in out of the weather where we stopped for something warm to eat.  The wind was so strong that, while we were outside the cafe, it blew their 4-5 foot sign over and ripped, torrentially waving the canvas awning as water poured off of it like a waterfall. 

Needless to say we were glad for a respite, however we were very cold and soaked to the skin.  We teased about this experience giving new meaning to "walking on water."  Our boots sloshed as we trod on, our pants stuck to our legs, our long sleeved clothing was drenched.  There was simply no getting away from the cold since we were so wet.

I had a couple of cups of hot tea with bacon and eggs.

We started out again when the wind and rain calmed down a bit only to have it all kick up with more ferociousness than earlier.  We were way past the point of caring about the rain since there was no way that we could be anymore wet and cold.

I can't help but wonder why this is happening now during these final days of our Camino  de Santiago?  Almost feels like a desperate attempt to keep us from succeeding.  On Saturday I visited Urgencia to see a medical doctor.  I knew I was coming down with bronchitis so I thought it best to get an antibiotic.  She agreed with me and I started taking the Medicine Saturday evening.  This weather has been even more of a challenge to my breathing and energy.   So what is this all about?

In the evening we attended the Pilgrims Mass at the Santiago Church in Melide.  The priest was amazing in the way that he welcomed all of us.  He came into the congregation to find out where everyone came from and spoke a welcome in several languages.  At the end of the Mass we all circled the altar for a blessing and sprinkling of holy water.  It was all very moving.

We connected with the mother-daughters team from Australia: Helen, Angela Hatton? And her sister.  Enjoyed a wonderful meal together and had the restaurant call the Albergue to ask what to do since we would be getting back after curfew.

Today was another day of rain and cold. I have certainly had enough of this weather.

Tomorrow is supposed to be only cloudy. We will walk to San Lazaro and James will go into Santiago to meet up with his "wee" wife.  More on that another time.  Actually there is so much that I pondered today that I have not written.

The relative ness of suffering .....

What is suffering one day is negligible in the light of the next day's challenges.

Bathroom and hall lights on timers...being left on the dark...bowing to the bathroom door!

Paths became rivers....almost lost my shoe to the mud.

I'm falling asleep.  Got to go now.

Buen Camino,

Pilgrim Carol

QUEIMADA - Witches Brew

(October 12, 2015)

This is a video of Nuno preparing the Galacia Witches Brew for us.  It is a very special warm after dinner drink presented on fire....hopefully to burn off all of the alcohol.  Experiencing these local traditions are so delightful.  With me at table are Dennis, my traveling companion and Tony, a Pilgrim we connected with a while back and have had the blessing of sharing with him once again before he heads home to British Columbia, Canada.

MANUEL and DOCENDA

So much has been happening and I have had a time trying to keep up with it all.  I very much want to journal every awareness and I am overwhelmed by the multitude of new thoughts. Part of the problem is the technology limitations while traveling in the remote areas and having to post info when wifi is available.

Some thoughts ....

Today I walked from Sarria beginning the countdown to Santiago.  There has been much that wasn't expected ... But that's the Camino.  I have certainly learned a lot from making this journey and I know there is much to come.

Today we walked much further, and a much more difficult terrain than expected.  The climbs were steep and the villages and stopping places much further than our guidebook indicated.

We thought we would not make it.  We each carried our packs and the weight bore down on us. Our feet, our shoulders, and our backs were asking for rest.  We did stop a couple of times but it was simply not enough.  We needed to get to a refuge and we both knew it. We were no longer any help to each other.  It is an interesting dynamic to observe what happens when we believe we are out of resources and have no further options.  I observed the way we each began to round up our individual resources to make it to our destination.  When in pain, and with the fear of not making it, we became single minded.  It was difficult to consider anything accept our own needs. We became protective and lost the larger vision.

Earlier in the day as we walked through small, two house villages, we were approached by an elderly woman running out of her house calling "Ola" with a dish of freshly made crepes that she sprinkled with sugar, folded with her fingers and handed one to each of us. We were open and so cordial.  She let us take a picture of her dish of crepes but not of her.  

Manuel and Docenda

Manuel

Last evening we walked the streets meeting a couple of the Village residents.  Manuel, an elderly gentleman greeted us with a warm smile.  We interacted through the language barrier with smiles, touch and gentle inviting eyes.  I snapped a quick picture of him and showed him his likeness.  His face lit up and now he welcomed Dennis taking a picture of me with him.  It was a magical moment.  We continued on and an elderly woman who had been walking before us, in and out of shadows, as if wondering who these strangers were on this quiet back road.  She obviously saw us interact with Manuel and now she positioned herself so that we not only would see her but we would walk directly toward her.  We approached carefully, smiled and greeted her gently.  Love comes in many forms. Greeting these simple

Docenda

beautiful people who are filled with curiosity about these pilgrims from all over the world who sometimes leave the worn path and spill into the less traveled roads near their  homes is such a sacred privilege.  Again a picture, the sharing of a name, Docenda, so priceless, so intimate, so precious and then that smile beyond the smile of greeting.  That wider deeper smile that reveals one's soul and soft spots.  That's what it means to me to be a pilgrim.  It means sharing the delight of Light.  O Thankfullness!

PONDERINGS

Lit candles for loved ones I remember, hold in my heart, and miss.

(September 25-27, 2015)

We have been walking each day between 15 & 21 km.  The weather has been beautiful with cool, fall-ish mornings to very warm starting around 11:00 am.

I find that I dress very warm and protect my neck and throat from the cold.  As we walk, I remove layers one by one until I am in shirt sleeves, enjoying the warmth of the sun drying out my sweated clothing.  We have been keeping a good pace even with a stop for breakfast after a couple of hours walking.  Breakfast is usually an American "cafe con leche" and a Spanish tortilla which is like a potato and egg pie.  Then we are off for the long stretch of our walk.

The past couple of days I have been recalling so many events/experiences that are part of who I am.  What I am realizing is that it seems to be time to bring all of these  pieces together as I move into the next decade of my life.  Never before have I thought about the "what's next" piece as I have during this walking/talking/pondering/reflecting time.

It has been a rich time having no other distractions other than where to sleep and what to eat.

I have accepted the role of navigator and do the ahead bookings for places to stay.  Dennis and I are very compatible travel partners with similar needs and expectations.  He has his personal agenda as every one of us has. Along with my processing, which often involves bouncing thoughts off of Dennis, I listen to his sharing also.  We are well matched for this journey.  Similar in many ways and very different in others.  Part of his journey is taking his wife's ashes to the sea at the end of this journey and moving into a new meaningful relationship.

Here is what I have been pondering and sharing with him as I listen to myself putting together so many pieces of my reality, as my awareness that all of this is coming together in a new way, as I recall and reflect.

When I was first ordained I accepted a ten week interim before the interim call to the First Christian Church in Kent, Ohio.

My first Sunday there one of the Elders asked if I would accompany her to the nursing home where one of the members was dying.  When we arrived we were informed that the dying woman's daughter had been notified and was on her way. They were concerned that she would not arrive before her mother died.  The Elder and I were shown to the woman's room to find her breathing loud, raspy and very labored.  Without thinking about it I placed my right hand on the woman and she immediately stopped breathing. I was shaken but kept my hand there for what seemed like a very long time...thinking that she had died. Then ever so gently she resumed her breathing on a steady quiet rhythmic pattern.  My face was soaked with tears, and when I glanced at the Elder so was hers.  I closed the moment with a prayer of thanksgiving. We didn't say a word to each other as we left the room and walked down the hall.  Then, breaking our silence, I asked her what she felt.  She shared that she felt a PRESENCE in the room, and I concurred.  Our tears and the overwhelming feeling of what happened in that room was something that I will never forget. This is 30 years later and I recall it as if it were yesterday.  This was the first in several of these kinds of experiences that I have experienced now.

The next that I recall vividly is my getting to know Reverend Don Bartow's story and the impact of his personal story and journey on my life experience.

More to come.....

Lights out at the Hostal in Arstoga

#pilgrim

BAGPIPES ALONG THE CAMINO

OMG ~ Can you believe that it is October already? And that I have been on the  Camino nearly a month?

Today I am in PortoMarin staying at the VillaMarin Albergue . It is very clean, close to the river and very pleasant .... Not what I expected at all!   The Camino is full of surprises. This morning as we were leaving the Casa de Rego where we stayed last night, we stopped to thank the family- Lorenzo and Carol- for a wonderful welcome and absolutely fantastic food. Lorenzo is a great chef and told us yesterday that he cooks from his heart.  He really does.  Everything was incredibly prepared.  So as we were leaving, about 7:30 this morning, he pulls out a bottle of Liquor de Herbios and pours a shot glass for Dennis and one for me.   Now I have been watching people drink beer for breakfast on

a regular basis and I must admit that I never expected to enjoy an after dinner liquor after BREAKFAST.

Yesterday on our very long walk we heard bagpipe music floating in the air.  The Galacian area that we are now walking through has Celtic ancestry.  We have been enjoying all kinds of wonderful music in the cafes as we travel.  I remarked to Dennis that the bagpipes that we were hearing didn't sound like a recording .   The music became more clear as we meandered down the wooded trail.  Then there he stood bagpipes melodiously bellowing beautiful sounds throughout the serene countryside filled with picture perfect scenes everywhere we looked.  His name is Danny and he lives in Sarria.  He told us that the pipes he was playing where different from the Scottish pipes and even explained some of the physical differences.  He told us the name of these special Celtic pipes and then he began to play once again.  He plays for the Pilgrims to help during this long way of the journey.  As we walked on we continued to hear the melodious strains of a couple more tunes.

#PILGRIM