10/3/08 Blessings and Astorga

(Note: This is posted on 6/27/09 because I just now retrieved it from old “sent” files.)

Before I left California, I read a little piece in one of the Chicken Soup books (Stories for a Better World) about the power of blessing people, things, and situations.  It was entitled “The Gentle Art of Blessing” by Pierre Pradervand; it touched me and others with whom I shared it.

So one of my spiritual purposes or disciplines is to do my best to remember to bless myself and others on this pilgrimage.  One of the ways I am helping myself remember is this:  When I come to a cairn, a pile of stones that pilgrims before me have placed by the roadside or on top of a marker sign or at the base of a monument, I say “God bless me, God bless those walking with me, God bless those who have walked before me and those who will walk after, God bless the land here and all that lives on it, God bless the whole wide world.”  It feels like a child´s prayer, and I really like that, and although I don´t put a stone on every single cairn I pass, I often say it many times a day.  It actually helps the walking go easier.

Another thing I´ve been doing is going into cathedrals and churches along the way.  Every village has a remarkable one.  The houses may be falling down, but the little church is clean, sweet smelling, dimly lit, quiet, and filled with art.  Roughly carved crucifixes.  Virgin Marys.  Paintings.  Often sculptures of St. James in his many forms.  He is usually shown holding a staff with a water gourd attached; he has a scallop shell on his clothing or somewhere, and he wears a hat. Sometimes he is on a white horse, with a cross-shaped sword, cutting off heads.  This is Santiago de Matamoros,  St James the killer of moors.

In the churches, I try to remember to plant a Light Column, simply calling for Divine Light to be anchored through me into that place, blessing those present, those who have come before, and those who will come after.  I usually find myself smiling and happy when I´ve done that.

Yesterday we spent the day in Astorga, a lovely, happy medium-sized town with modern stores and a gorgeous cathedral, half of pinkish stone, half of regular gray.  Right next to the cathedral is a Gaudi palace that has been turned into the Museum of the Camino.  Gaudi, as you probably know, was an amazingly fanciful architect, who has created fairy tale like wonder-buildings, full of surprises.

My Swiss friend Fabienne and I walked through the several floors of the wildly decorated Gaudi Palace together, laughing (I hate to confess) at some of the sculptures of saints (one St. Rogue is depicted pulling his robe aside and pointing to a bandage on his thigh; another is of a saint holding a platter with her two cut-off breasts on it).

We offered pretend tea to one another in some of the elegant rooms (to the shock of some of the other visitors).  Fabienne is studying improvisation and theater, so we were practicing spontaneously, we decided. Got to make your own joy!

Computer time is done.

10/2/08 Leon Festivities and a Fright on the Way

(Note: This is posted on 6/27/09 because I retrieved it from old “sent” files.)

I´ll write a bit about Leon in this, if I can.

We dragged into Leon, Spain, on Saturday evening, wandering through the industrial part of the city, following the often-elusive yellow arrows into the ancient partially walled inner city. There we found wonderful respite, an old monastery albergue run by Benedictine nuns that houses many of the pilgrims.  They had a women-only dorm (the first I’ve seen) and others for couples and men.  And they had full force hot showers.  You can´t imagine how pleased one is to find that.

The old Leon city houses the magnificent famous gothic cathedral that has some of the most stunning stain glass windows anywhere in the world.  Now we show up on a fiesta weekend, and that means all the info about mass times and so forth is changed.  The albergue (which allowed us to stay an additional night), makes everyone leave at 8 am so they can clean, so Marla and I walked to the cathedral and were there in time for the sunrise and a sweet little mass in a small chapel.  The morning sunrise through the intense blues and reds of the windows was magnificent.

Soon after we had coffee in a small cafe, the fiesta began. It involved all sorts of old carts pulled by bullocks and horses and mules and ponies going through the street in front of the cathedral.  It seemed to me to be kind of a harvest festival because many carts were loaded with squash and vegetables, but who knows, it was also the festival of San Frolain (that’s not spelled correctly, but he is the patron saint of Leon).

To me the best part of Leon was seeing the other cathedral, San Isodoro, which is different from all the churches we´ve seen.  Underneath it is a museum and kind of excavated rooms full of fanciful folk art that seemed to be both Christian and pagan. The guide spoke only in Spanish and of course I missed most of that info.

In Leon, Marla´s feet gave her some trouble so we decided to separate for a few days. She´s taking a bus up the road a bit, and we will meet again on Tuesday in Astorga.  This morning early I took off for a little village about 23 km outside of Leon.  My walking companion is a young Swiss psychotherapist woman, with whom we´ve been walking for a few days, and we´ve had delightful, funny, meaningful conversations.  She and I seem to walk at the same pace, and one´s natural pace is something you get to know in all these days of walking, so that´s comfortable and fun.  Fabienne speaks fluent English, German, French, and Spanish which is a great relief whenever anyone with any of those languages interacts with us.

Now what am I learning for myself on the Camino?  Certainly one thing is how simply I can live.  Having most of what I need in a pack I carry on my back really makes things easy. And what is funny, of course, is when we unpack each night, it´s a little like the Cat in the Hat.  Out comes sleeping paraphernalia, medical supplies, clothing, magazines, books, writing materials, batteries, cosmetics, jewelry, food and water, and much more.  It´s magic!

But a really funny and scary thing happened the other day:

Four of us women, two Americans, one Korean, one Swiss, sit down under a tree on a sidewalk on the outskirts of Leon to eat a bite.  We take out our food, spread out a bit, and settle into conversation when a somewhat disheveled, quite large man with a fierce look comes down the street. He stops in front of the young Korean woman who can’t speak any European language well, reaches to take her drink away from her, then puts his hand into her food bag, grabs an apple out of it, takes a bite and walks on.  We´re shocked! It’s a daylight robbery before our very eyes.  We look at one another in dismay and fear. We decide to bless him and be grateful that it was only an apple he took, not a camera or purse.

Then a few minutes later he’s turned around and coming back toward us.

Panic. You never saw four women pack up so quickly. We stuff everything in to our bags helter-skelter, grab walking sticks and cameras for one another, and by the time he reaches us, we´re on our feet as a foursome of bodies with heavy packs, composed, and walking again.

Besides being scared out of our wits, we laugh aloud repeatedly at how quickly we collectively jumped into action, given how long it takes us to pack in the morning!

Anyway, it’s all another day on the Camino. Soon Fabienne and I will meander to the grocery store and buy some salad makings and bread and cheese.  That will make a nice supper and this albergue has a kitchen.  Hurray!

32 Km in one day! September 29, 2008

I have not written for quite a few days because of such limited internet access, and now, of course I can hardly think of what is important to say.  That is what seems to happen on the Camino. YOu cannot remember what used to be important.

What is important on the Camino is how many kilometers it is to the next cafe where you can get coffee, use the bathroom, and talk to other pilgrims!  It is very funny how we plan our route based on how many little villages we will pass.  We see the rooftops from a distance and take heart.

In any case, we have come through about 6 or 8 days on the Meseta.  I forget which.  This area is beautiful to me, because I have always found the plains or prairie inspiring, but others complain of the monotony, the absence of trees and hills. I think it is a bit like hiking through Oklahoma and Kansas, sun beating down, cool wind, sometimes cloud cover, only the road and the backs of the pilgrims walking in front of you.  But you get into a happy daze, sing all the songs you know, chat with walking companions, rest in the shade of the few trees, and know eventually it will all change.

The day before we arrived and entered Leon was a 32 km day (about 20 plus miles) which was the most walking I have done in one stretch.  Marla, bless her heart, took a taxi for part of the way AND took the packs for me and another pilgrim, so it was easier.  Though actually, now, my pack feels like part of me.  Once I sling it over my shoulder and it is buckled and settled in, honestly, I hardly notice it until I take it off again.  I had a bit of trouble with heel blisters on that 32 km day, but one just runs a sterilized needle thru the blister, lets the fluid run out, and top it off with a bandage. A night of sleep cures a great deal.

Talk to you soon, love to all. Love Esther

Bilbao – September 19, 2008

Well, as you may know, the Camino has unexpected twists and turns.  And ours yesterday took us off the trail altogether for a day, actually two, of exploration in the city of Bilbao.  Surprise!

We woke up yesteday, after a night sleeping on the floor in front of the altar in the church of San Juan Bapista in a tiny village of Granon with about 29 other pilgrims who did not have another place to sleep.   And our sweet companions, it turned out, decided to take a bus to make up for time missed.  (They have an earlier return deadline than Marla and I do.)

So that was a bit of a shock, and in order to cushion the separation anxiety, Marla and I decided to wait at the bus stop to bid them adios to Santo Domingo, where they were going to catch another bus to Burgos.

Well, when the bus pulled up, the sign on it read that it went on to Bilbao, and  Marla and I made a spontaneous decision to go to Bilbao. ( Bilbao was the one city Marla was deadset on seeing.) And after about 10 min on the bus, Cynthia and Carra changed their minds and decided to come   with us there!  Haven´t laughed so hard in a long time at all our indecision and spontainety.

Bilbao has the Guggenheim, which we all saw together, and we spent the night in the albergue.  They did go on to Leon this morning, and Marla and I then took in the Fine Arts Museum, then hopped a bus to Burgos.

The cathedral here is awesome.  But guess what!  As we walked by a group of well dressed people, and commented on how beautiful they all looked (they were there for a wedding), we approached a man to ask for directions.  Wouldn you know, he was the Mayor of Burgos, and a former Minister of Labor for Spain. So we got pictures taken with him.!

One of my affirmations is Ïm always at the right place at the right time!  Seems to be working.  (Ann if I´ve already said any of this, pls delete!)

Tomorrow its back to the Camino, back to the boots, to the joy, sweat, and endless road.  Yeah!

Much love,

Esther

Notes from the Camino – September 16, 2008

We are still with our two American friends. We seem inseparable, we wait for one another, eat together, plan the next day together, and sing together. (The planning I leave to the others, too many chiefs, I am totally willing to be an Indian and go where others decide.)

It does not seem quite like walking and walking.  More like eating breakfast, awesome cafe con leche (coffee with milk) from a dispensing machine at the albergue and pan (bread) that we bought the day before, and then walking with packs for 8 or 9 km, hoping to find another bar that serves cafe con leche and has a bano.  That´s the important thing for me, the bano.

When we get to the next town, we talk about our sore feet, take off our boots, laugh a lot, order something to eat, talk about the plan for the afternoon, laugh some more, then we saddle up our horses again (get our packs on) and walk for the next 8 or 9 km, again hoping to arrive at an albergue soon or a bar or something for relief.  Mostly it is all pretty funny lately. I have only had had two blisters.

Last night in the albergue, we were all so tired, but when we got on our top berths in a room with 10 beds, we started singing. An Aussie woman was amazed at the fact that we could harmonize (we are all raised in Protestant churches with plenty of choral singing).  We joked that we are going to give a concert in the cathedral when we reach Santiago de Compostela, and we´re going to be making a CD, The Camino Girls.

There really is not time for boredom as we walk. The landscape changes every few minutes as we conquer a hill, see another ruin that we check in the book, or just chatter on with one another. And it is so beautiful. So absolutely beautiful.  We went through many vineyards today, loaded with fruit waiting for harvest.

Here are a few of my insights based on the camino so far:

• She who carries the fewest things wins.
• If you don´t take care to balance your pack one day, you pay for it the next.
• It´s much easier to walk where others have walked when you´re on a rocky road.
• I have the good fortune to always be in the right place at the right time, for me!
• You have step off the path and watch others pass, if you want to write.
• In silence, we become more focused and make more progress.
• When you walk on a cliff, keep your eyes on the path straight ahead.
• Develop ways to communicate with those behind and those ahead.
• There´s an amazing power in simply putting one foot in front of the others.
• There´s quite a difference between seeing a city and entering it.

Tonight we are in a new albergue, with little private rooms for two and its not bunk beds. Extraordinary treat.  However, the shower water is cold, a small price to pay for the anticipation of sleep.

Our friend Ginny who was supposed to join us in Santo Domingo has postponed her arrival here in Spain as her mother needs a second operation. One just adjusts on the Camino. If I do not make it the whole way, I can always come back another year.

A sign in the albergue today, “A tourist demands. A pilgrim thanks.”

I like that a lot. Yesterday we met a pilgrim from Brazil who had all his possessions on his back in a pack. Everything he owned was on his back. He had gotten into some sort of political hot water and left the country and his business.  I do not think he could have been happier.

Yesterday I called my daughter and son-in-law in California, where my grandson Colin had his 4th birthday.  It was so great to talk to them.  Colin just answered yes to all my questions, like he was shocked to be talking at all, and I had to laugh at that.

We’ll soon be at Burgos, where we will find out if Ginny can actually join us. Marla and I may make a bus trip to Bilbao while we wait.  Carra and Cynthia will go on, because they have more of a deadline than we do.  Oh, what will we do without them.  How will we give our concert in Santiago? I will miss them terribly.

So all is well, I am exhausted.  I have not slept well in spite of sleeping pills. The food is great. Thoughts are scattered, as you can tell.  Just had several glasses of local vino blanco with supper.  Oh life is good!

Much love to all, Esther

This is Fun! – September 14, 2009

We are having extraordinary serendipity! Yesterday we climbed into the town of Viana just in time to go to mass, which included a beautiful parade of the new virgin. They carried a virgin in front with flags and great costumes into this huge ornate church.

An hour or so later, there was the Running of the Bulls!  There was excitement everywhere.  The narrow main street was blocked off and then the bulls were set loose and prodded to run up and down.  Everybody in town turned out, mostly dressed in red and white, many happily inebriated, to watch, dance and eat. It was a great celebration.

In one narrow street they set up two long tables, one sat about 200 people, literally, tables all lined up and beautifully set, the other table had room for about 100 more diners.

That night we arrived in L’Ogrono, unfortunately, after the albergue was closed, so we went to the church refuge where they turn no one away.  We slept on the floor and participated in a special blessing for the pilgrims, there were about 50 of us. We sat in the choir loft of this in Catholic churches that served as our home for the night. Several of us sang together in the huge cathedral until late in the evening.  We sang How Great Thou Art, which I sing in memory of my father.  He seems very present with me as I walk for some reason.

This morning we are shooting for about 18 km.  We are meeting pilgrims from all over the world, Italy, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the USA, France and Spain. There is a great sense of camaraderie and support.

This is fun!

Love to all, Esther

No Sleep for the Pilgrims – September 13, 2008

This whole weekend it looks like the villages of Navarre are celebrating something special. We have not quite figured out what, but in this sweet little town of Torres del Rio, the residents are decked out in red and white, the kids are dressed in Halloween type costumes, AND they play music loudly until 5 am.

It was the same last night in Villamayor de Monjardin. Firecrackers about 11pm and music right outside our albergue window on the plaza until dawn.  It is really lovely, except for the issue of sleep.

We walked about 19 km today, and have several more long days ahead, well, actually about 35 more long days.  But it is exquisitely beautiful. Undulating low hills, contoured fields of harvested wheat, vineyards, asparagus beds and these clean, old, enchanting villages.  Except for the exhaustion, still sore feet, and heavy packs, we are loving it and are totally happy.

We have been climbing a good deal. A few days ago we climbed the Mt of Pardon, the high place of pardon, outside Pamplona, and we sang How Great Thou Art, which is my father’s favorite hymn, at the summit of this beautiful mountain. I know he heard it.

We also sang that today in the octagonal church of the Holy Sepulcher, (maybe built by Knights Templar in 12th century), the acoustics are extraordinary. I taped us singing.

I have also been practicing chi walking a good deal.  This is what was taught to me by my friend, Andree Leighton in Los Angeles. It is much better for the hips, legs, feet, but it does take being conscious of what one is doing.

Only 2 minutes left! Andree has a website that explains chi walking.  Please Google it and I do not have time to find the link now.

So much more to tell! Love to all!   Esther

Hello from the Road – September 11, 2008

Hello everyone!

Today I get to work on a Spanish keyboard. I have not been near an internet computer for last few days and most of my disciplines are totally shot.  I am not keeping up my journal very well, nor recording expenses. Who cares. We are all exhausted at the end of every day.

A day or so ago, we struggled to get to an albergue only to find it was complete which means full, so we struggled on to another only to find we were in the wrong village, We finally made to a place where we could rest. It actually turned out to be a lovely albergue and the next morning, we went to an the extraordinary church of Eunate. Google it, if you wish, it is most unusual. We were very grateful to just sit in the coolness there and use the bano (bathroom) next door.

We are not making very good time. Who cares. We are still teamed up with Cynthia and Carra from Maine, most gratefully, as Cynthia negotiates all sorts of things with her excellent French and broken Spanish.

There are few Americans on the road at all, and few Spaniards (except for some bicyclists), many Germans, some Brits and French.

Highlight the other night: Carra and Cynthia are Protestants and know many of the hymns that I know, so we sing as we walk along, and also sometimes when we reach the albergue. Last night the woman who runs the albergue heard us and asked us to sing after the pilgrim supper. It was the most fun. The other pilgrims applauded, in some cases joined in. One Italian guy made a special request for We Shall Overcome. Then he said, This is the America we love, not the Bush America. I found that interesting.

I am having great difficulty finding an open post office. When we got to Puerta la Reina, (Door of the Queen) [Correction 6/27/09--Puenta la Reina, Bridge of the Queen] a decent size city, in early afternoon, we found the post office was open only from 8:30 am to 11:30 am each day. It is not good to wait as it is much better to walk in early morning because of the heat, and waiting causes a delay reaching another city for hours.

The countryside is agricultural, beautiful vineyards, harvested wheat fields, orchards, olives and some fruit.

We have an idea to write a collaborative children’s book, so American kids can know about this. We’ll see.

I can’t wait to get to bed, it seems like we miraculously revive each night. All our packs are too heavy but we don’t want to give anything up. So it goes.

Love to all of you, Wish you were here…truly.. Esther

Little Miracles

September 8, 208

Oh my gosh, this is turning out to be a most amazing experience. It seems like little miracles happen every day, and at the perfect moment, well, at least for me.

It’s been a few days since we have found a working internet.

In a tiny village, just outside Roncesvalles, we wanted to see the church, but it was still early morning (about 10 am) in Spain. As we wandered around looking for a door, a neighbor woman approached us. In halting Spanish I told her we wanted to see the church and she found a woman who let us in–it was the Church of St. Barthelomew.

A half hour later, while walking thru the village, somehow I tripped and fell, quite hard, hitting my forehead on the corner of a stone doorway.  Down I went, ouch! Miraculously, there where four pilgrims around me. The home owner heard the commotion and came out to help. One woman asked for ice, another put a salve on my forehead, the rest sent me love. After walking with the ice on my forehead until it all melted, I was quite recovered. I have an abrasion and a lump on my head, but nothing serious enough to interrupt our amazing trek. Thank you, St. James!

Another wondrous thing for me was taking refuge the next evening, yesterday, at an albergue in Trinidad de Arre, right beside an ancient Roman bridge near the outskirts of Pamplona. The hospitalero, the man who admitted us, was the most kindly person imaginable, named Raul.  After signing our credential (which you have to produce to get into the pilgrim refuge) he took us down a few stone steps, around a corner, and into a tiny church, hidden in the building.  It has an altar with a sculptural depiction of Jesus, God the Father (a kindly gentleman), and a star burst thing behind them- it was the trinity! I found myself crying.  It was so beautiful.

We have teamed up with two American women from Maine, one a Congregational Church pastor and the other a reike healer, among other things.  It is wonderful to have them for support and companionship.

Three min left now on this internet connection!

Have I mentioned how incredibly beautiful this all is. Today we are just hanging out after a short 5 km walk into the city. Two of us (I’m one of them) are not feeling well, so resting is good and the albergue we are in today is so clean and convenient.  It even has a kitchen where we enjoyed a lovely meal of local bread, cheese, apples and pears. Truly a delight!

Love and more later,

Esther

Over the Pyrenees – I did it!

September 5, 2008

Hello Everyone!

I am more exhausted than I have been in years! The great news is I have walked through and over the Pyrenees Mountains to Roncesvalles in Spain! I have accomplished something I been thinking about for months and months. What an adventure!

The French Pyrenees are unbelievably beautiful, something not to be missed in a lifetime. Soft rolling hills, high by comparison to those at almost sea level from which I live, but oh so green, with herds of grazing sheep in many places.

We began our journey this morning at 8 am after a night in a tent with the wind howling around us, we walked up, up, up, up, up in truly gale force winds. I have never been in a hurricane, but we had to bend over and go headfirst into it. I was blown over, that is the only way I can explain how I ended up on the ground with gravel in my palms. When I could not get up by myself with my heavy pack, a kind Korean angel helped me up (the same young woman who figured out how to work the showers yesterday) and gave me a bandage when I was too befuddled to find my own.

After about 3 ½ hours of walking through these beautiful mountains, we came to a cattle gate, and that, believe it or not, was the border between France and Spain. No passport required. No one about at all except other pilgrims.

Quite suddenly, even though we were in the same mountains, the flora changed, the asphalt road changed into a stony path, the hills were dryer and brown. How could that be? Somehow we got on the STEEP road to Roncesvalles rather than the one recommended by the folks at the Pilgrim Office in St Jen Pied de Port. It was so steep I am likely to have nightmares, for I do have a touch of acrophobia.

Poor Marla, who has almost no cartilage in one knee, suffered even more than I did.  Quite honestly, although I maintained an attitude of gratitude and great appreciation of the beauty and the fun of the huge wind until about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, I was almost in tears for the last hour of our walk.

The young Europeans kept bounding past us, Bon Jour! Bon Jour! One pair of Dutch guys, however, stopped us to beg for food.  Fortunately, we had half a loaf of bread and a can of sardines to give them.

We are in our first real refugio, must have 75 bunk beds all lined up – it’s a beautiful site! We got top berths, but I am so grateful.  Unfortunately no photos are allowed although I would really like to take one.  Must be kind of like basic training in the army.

Well, my euro for 20 minutes of internet time is almost expended. I’m glad I’m a fast typist!

Much love to all

Esther