"Senda" next to roads- this is not the Camino at its most interesting. A lot of walking today was on tracks like this. Flat and boring. Not my favourite kind of route! I did spy this interesting lamp-post in a village along the way though, and I also found a delicious crunchy New Zealand apple in a bar. Yum! However, hospitality is a gift. All the frustrations of a boring day's walk melted away when I reached the parish albergue in Carrion de los Condes, next to the church in the middle of town, and run by mostly young Augustinian sisters. They were incredibly welcoming, and took each person up to find their bed for the night. Then in the evening they had a singing session where you were welcome to join them or not, as you chose. People filled up the chairs in the entrance foyer, then sat on the staircase. There were mainly Spanish songs, and most were religious. But some, like 'Guantanamera' we were all able to join in with. And Lyne taught people "Ultreia". The sisters finished off with a blessing, and handed out little coloured paper stars. I carried mine carefully in my wallet to Santiago, then gave it to my friend Monique near Paris....
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
"Senda" next to roads- this is not the Camino at its most interesting. A lot of walking today was on tracks like this. Flat and boring. Not my favourite kind of route!
I did spy this interesting lamp-post in a village along the way though, and I also found a delicious crunchy New Zealand apple in a bar. Yum!
However, hospitality is a gift. All the frustrations of a boring day's walk melted away when I reached the parish albergue in Carrion de los Condes, next to the church in the middle of town, and run by mostly young Augustinian sisters. They were incredibly welcoming, and took each person up to find their bed for the night. Then in the evening they had a singing session where you were welcome to join them or not, as you chose. People filled up the chairs in the entrance foyer, then sat on the staircase. There were mainly Spanish songs, and most were religious. But some, like 'Guantanamera' we were all able to join in with. And Lyne taught people "Ultreia". The sisters finished off with a blessing, and handed out little coloured paper stars. I carried mine carefully in my wallet to Santiago, then gave it to my friend Monique near Paris....
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