It had been such a gorgeous day yesterday, that it seemed like a forecast for rain with 65% probability had to be wrong. But it wasn't! It was a flat walk this morning. Nothing was open in Boadilla del Camino for breakfast. But soon afterwards the track moved along beside a canal, where there was the wonderful noise of frogs to join the birdsong. And the canal led eventually to the edge of Fromista, where I parted from it. I joined Lyne and Denis at 1pm Mass, then we lunched in a nearby restaurant. Then it rained some more, and I never did quite get to like Fromista. The hospitalero wasn't especially friendly, and with the rain, it was hard to find somewhere other than the dorm to gather in and talk to others. And those in my dorm room were mostly grumpy old men who just wanted to sleep the day away, with some ominous signs of how many snorers there were amongst them... Grump!! However, the rain did eventually ease off. And this exquisite Romanesque church of St Martin, near the municipal albergue in Fromista, reopened after the siesta for visits. And if you visit Fromista for no other reason, this church is worth coming for....
When I was preparing to walk the route from Le-Puy-en-Velay to SJPP, I found there wasn't much info in English, and I hope this blog might fill the gap a little.... In 2008 I walked from Le Puy to Santiago. In 2012 I walked from Cluny to Conques, then spent three weeks in Spain, re-walking two sections of the Camino Frances. Please feel free to contact me if you wish.
Hunkered In
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The sky keeps changing colors, the wind roars all night and morning.
Sometime overnight it pulled the chicken-hut door off its hinges and
smashed it to k...
Beachscape
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I haven't blogged for a while, but here is a new poem.
*Beachscape*
*Surprising that I never knew before*
*the bright curve of this bay,*
*the way the wash...
Taranaki-born, long-time Manawatu resident and primary teacher; inveterate traveler, Camino walker, occasional cyclist, lover of sea and bush walks; getting into genealogy more; collapsed catholic; lapsed musician looking forward to doing more again in retirement
from the poem "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver.....
" I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
This quote is taken from notion900 on the Pilgrimage to Santiago forum: "Please know that although some people seem to imagine it as some appalling ordeal, the camino is a very health-giving thing - if you do simple things like healthy food, plenty of water, moisturise your feet and get plenty of sleep. Being out in nature for 5 weeks is just so life-giving: I finished the camino absolutely glowing with health and vitality. I hope you have a wonderful time."
'Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.' Goethe
"Glowing... this is the thing about pictures of people on the Camino. This light within... As if the Camino washed the soul and cleared the eyes." Claire Bangasser in a comment on Johnnie Walker's blog
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