Yesterday, I finally felt a sense of normalcy, outside with friends, experienced Pilgrims and soon-to-be Pilgrims. For a brief while, on the trail, no masks but a respectable distance it seemed like BC (Before COVID).
The Professors were taking a group of students back to Huntsville State Park, the last place we went BC. This group of students with the exception or Roy from our February trip was a new group.
Three of them are going to go with Chris to Spain and the Camino next year, maybe? All depends on the state of the world and vaccines as well as humans behaving themselves for the next 9-10 months. I was encouraged that some just wanted to hike and had heard about Chris on campus so, they joined in too.
It’s encouraging that even with the state of the world currently, these young people are still optimistic about getting to go to Spain next May. They were excited and curious and maybe a bit concerned about being in shape.
We didn’t walk 10 miles/16k this time and it’s a good thing, unused legs, knees and feet reminded most of us that we’ve not been as active as we needed to be. I may not still deserve my Ziegenbruder nickname but, I’m going to hold on to it anyway. Even with this, when we finished, Ann produced the best beer I’ve ever had in the world…today. It was a good day, I’m glad I could go down, if only for the day.
For those 6 hours, I could remember what it had been like before this plague and looked forward to the day that we can once again go out, hike, go to dinner or the theatre or just speak with a neighbor, without a mask.
I will not and have not resisted the reality, I know that resistance is futile and, it only hurts me. So, I look towards the future and our trip to Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Hill Country and to the future free of CV-19.
While you may not be able to tell from my last many posts, I am actually a quite positive person. Yes, many things have conspired to drag me down or, at least try to drag me down, I’ve decided that I will not allow that to happen.
To begin anew, I’ve decided to order new credential(s) for my long Camino in the Fall of 2023. I ordered the Irish Credential, I saw on in 2017 and knew I needed one. I know, you can say, why get them now? It’s a long time until the Fall of 2023 and, you’d be correct, it’s a bit over 3 years.
But, I’m optimistic and, it gives me something to look forward to, to plan for and to dream about. Isn’t that really what living is about? What’s next? Where to? When do we leave? Why do I have to wait so long?
I’ve written previously about this long Camino, beginning in Lourdes and then taking the Camino Aragones through the Somport Pass and joining the Camino Francés in Puente la Reina. From there, slowly meandering our way across Spain. Looking for side trips, the road less travelled.
Phase 1
My friend Ann and I have talked about doing this, maybe mid-September to mid-November, a change of weather and seasons would be nice. Maybe, I can convince Susan to join us. I would be a miracle worker if I could do that but, I am an optimist.
Not having a true time constraint is going to be something to get used to, that factor was a motivation of its own, I always knew that I had to be finished by some date. I guess my airline reservation will be my motivation, tickets can be changed though.
Who knows, maybe I’ll even volunteer as a Hospitalero, I’m very sure Susan will not get on board for that but, one can hope.
Sorry for the negativity, I’ll strive to be more forward thinking and continue to work on equanimity.
For most of the week, I just could not seem to get motivated to get outside. I did but, it didn’t bring the joy and relief that my walks normally do. Whether it was the continuing and overbearing sense of gloom that is our lives during the CV-19 pandemic or whether I was just feeling lazy, I don’t know.
I wrote earlier in the week about an email from my friend Nigel where he described having a Camino on his doorstep. At first, even that sort of wore on me. I guess I was feeling sorry for myself, I didn’t have that beautiful countryside just out my door.
This week, I also finished re-reading Walking, One Step At A Time by Erling Kagge. It was a gift from my friend Katja and one that I will probably re-read again (is that a thing?). It’s not a particularly long book and it’s not a difficult read but, it is packed with insight and I didn’t feel as if I’d captured enough from it on the first read.
Towards the end of the book, page 157 in my edition, Kagge writes “The ability to walk, to put one foot in front of the other, invented us.” In context, he was writing about Homo Sapiens having not invented walking, a far earlier relative did. But walking inspired us as creatures to do extraordinary things, to explore.
Reading that and then thinking about Nigel’s Camino made me think about the many places I’ve never walked in Dallas which is another point in Kagge’s book, walking your city and other cities.
So, this morning, I got up, read the paper and took off to explore my neighborhood and others around it. Earlier, I wrote about the CHG in his narrowboat discovering a city he’d been to many times and I compared it to walking across Spain and seeing it at eye level and in “real” time, not in a car.
I walked about 5 miles/8km down tree lined streets, through 100-year-old neighborhoods and I greeted everyone that I saw. Some acknowledged me, others pretended not to hear, one stared at me and a few took the opportunity to expand the meaning of social distancing. It didn’t bother me a bit as a matter of fact, it inspired me to continue to do it.
Kagge talks about walking and preparing to walk which for those that don’t do it regularly it’s often the most difficult part. When I first started training to walk the Camino de Santiago, we’d walk what I now consider a short distance and we’d be tired. As we started, our hearts seemed like they were pounding, we labored to breathe, and we sweat.
The body is a funny thing, if you continue to walk, even on that first walk, the body adapts. Your heart rate drops, your breathing calms and while you still sweat, especially here in Texas, you sweat far less. We adapt. Exactly as Kagge describes.
As important, your mind begins to slow down and you begin to hear, see, smell, feel and enjoy your surroundings, at least I do. I did today on my urban neighborhood hike. As I walked, my inspiration began to return and by the time I was home, I was planning my exploration of the University Crossing Trail.
In these times it’s easy to get sucked into the vortex of negativity, for me anyway. So, to paraphrase Hippocrates, if you feel poorly, go for a walk. If you still do, go for another.
Thanks to my friends for the inspiration and motivation, it came at exactly the right time for me.
A veteran member of the Casa Ivar blog, @davebugg, has posted a well done video of Day 1 of the Camino Frances from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles which includes the full walking video with maps, elevation and incline information (although apparently it only went to 15% when some of it is almost 22%). For the wannabe or the hard core, it’s worth a look. https://youtu.be/RvFCv8aJKcQ
For those who have never done it, the video is about 1.5 hours, my trip took me about 9.5 hours. I hope you enjoy their work.
I hadn’t realized that it’d been a month since my last post and almost 2 months since I stated my goals or quest so, I thought an update was in order.
My goals/quest as stated in early December were:
Fast
for 24 hours.
No
alcohol for a month.
Perform
a random act of kindness every day for a year. Be kind
every day.
Visit
all the countries of the world that begin with ‘S’.
Write
a book about travel as we age.
Improve
my Spanish language skills to a conversational level.
Walk
the CF one more time, slowly.
Lose
25 lbs.
Well, I’m happy to announce that I’ve completed 2 quests, fasting for 24 hours and no alcohol for a month. Both were surprisingly easy and while I looked forward to a glass of red wine, I have to tell you it was a bit disappointing as I’ve had a cold and it just didn’t have the taste that I’d hoped for, I’ll try again in a week or so.
I’ve also decided to incorporate both into my normal routine. I’ll fast occasionally, and I will detox each January. This aspect, incorporating, was discussed in The Happiness of Pursuit.
I wrote previously about struggling with #3, the random act of kindness. I feared that I would trivialize it so, I took some artistic license and changed it to Be Kind Every Day. Doesn’t get more simple than that and, it’s no longer an act but a part of me as a person.
My #8 is in progress even though I’ve not really
tried, I’ve lost 8 lbs/3.5kg, no booze probably contributed to that. I’ll focus a bit more on this goal now.
As for the others, I think improving my Spanish will be the next area of focus for me, espero…
Due to technical difficulties beyond my control, my website was down for 8 days and trying to restore it from an iPhone proved to be a bit difficult. Basically, an addin when WordPress updated my site did not load properly but, who really cares about why…
As I was flying back home, I began to think about my 2019 Camino trying not to compare and contrast it to my trip in 2017 but, I found that it was impossible to do.
The first thing that struck me was the complete difference in the social structure. On the Camino Frances (CF), you were immediately thrown together with dozens of Pilgrims in Saint Jean Pied de Port (SJPP) waiting to assault the Pyrenees. I met Leo within an hour of arriving in France, not so in Ferrol where I began my Camino Ingles (CI).
Leo being Leo
On my way to Ferrol, I saw no Pilgrims on the train that ran between A Coruna and Ferrol, unlike the train from Bayonne to SJPP which was packed with excited Pilgrims from around the world.
Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore
I began my walk on Day 1 early on a Sunday and I did not see another person for over an hour and not another Pilgrim for most of the day. By the end of my Day 1 on the CF, I’d met at least a dozen people.
By Day 3, I finally began to meet other Pilgrims on my way to Bruma, first when seeking shelter from the rain at the Meson Museo in Presedo and again at the Hotel Canaima in Meson do Vento. The bar at this hotel seems to be the hub of activity for this entire area.
I finally met a walking partner, Grace from Prince Edward Island, Canada on the 4th day, I’d met a friend of her’s, Pat, the day before. Grace and I walked most of Day 4 and all of Day 5 (in a pouring rain) until we reached Santiago. It was cold, windy and raining so no prolonged celebration at the Cathedral.
Wet and cold, still happy to be in Santiago with Grace from Canada
After the slow start on the social side of the Camino, I was rewarded with a planned meeting with Camino friends from 2017, Chris and Steve Mark and a group of Chris’s students from Texas A&M. This was followed by another 2017 alumni, Leo who met us in Astorga. Old friends, Leighton and Renee who’d caught up with my Germany friend, Katja, showed up as well. Now, I had a Camino Family.
Another difference was the weather which played a significant role in both Camino’s. 2017, pleasant most of the time, HOT some of the time. This year, pleasant rarely, COLD, WINDY and RAIN most of the time. The weather is one of the challenges that you must always be prepared for.
On my arrival in Ferrol this year, it was a beautiful day, sunny and quite pleasant. It began to rain off and on Day 2 and rained regularly from Day 3 on. As I walked from Sigueiro to Santiago, Grace and I were in a pouring cold rain most of the way.
In 2017, other than the first two days and the last days in A Coruna, other than hot, it was very nice and clear for most of the month. The day I walked into Villafranca del Bierzo two years ago it was 40/104. This year, easily 30 degrees (F) cooler.
The final difference between my two Camino’s was continuity. On the CF, I started in SJPP and in roughly 35 days, I walked, almost everyday, until I reached Santiago. Along the way, I picked up friends who for the most part walked the same route at more or less the same pace which deposited us in Santiago at the same time.
This year, as I mentioned earlier, I walked a shorter route, the CI, alone for 60% of the way. While I was prepared for that, it was still a bit unnerving in a way. Lots of time to think, no one to hear me swearing when I hurt my knee but also, no one for moral support as I limped on.
After Santiago, I did get a family and a familiar one as we all got together in Villar de Mazarife and again in Astorga. Walking, being with my friends, old and new was amazing. Catching up with Leo who lives here in the Dallas area was a special treat.
A&M at Albergue Verde
I also got the opportunity to continue to build my friendship with Katja who I’d met on my last day on the Camino in Finisterre two years ago. I call her the Camino Beast as she’s done the CF, twice. Last year she did part of the Norte and the Primativo. This year, she warmed up with us from Astorga to Sarria before heading south to do an alternate route of the Via de la Plata, the Camino Sanabres. I was thrilled to get her introduced to my other friends, especially Leighton and Renee. Camino friendships are lasting friendships, at least for me.
Still a long way to go, my friend Katja from Germany
I guess, what I’ve realized is that no two Camino’s are the same. If you go hoping to recreate or relive a previous Camino, I think you will be disappointed. Each Camino to me is like successive waves in the ocean, each washing over you in a similar but different way.
For me, this Camino stands solidly on it’s own. New experiences, new scenery, new aches and pains, new friends and new accomplishments. All of this tempered by the comfort that familiarity brings. It was only when I let go of 2017 that I could truly enjoy 2019.
Leaving on a jet plane…
Thomas Wolfe said it best I guess when he said, “you can’t go home again“. What he meant was that you can return but, the place you loved and thought you knew so well, will not be the same. But, is that all so bad?
For me, one of the joys of the Camino de Santiago is the preparation for that walk. I learned in 2016/17 that the walking, hiking and comradery which was part of both was almost as important as the Way itself.
The Crew
This
year, as we did in the past, many of us are making regular walks just to get
our aging bodies in shape for the daily grind of walking the 18-20 miles that
we’ll do each day.
Yesterday, we walked the White Rock Creek Trail a round trip of almost 7 miles, it was flat an easy for the most part but, it was a good start and a great chance to talk with friends. While I woke up a bit sore this morning, it felt good in a way, I earned those aches.
I had a wonderful weekend with my family at my brothers ranch in Bosque County, Texas. For those who’ve read my blog for a while, this is the same location that we used as our warm up and final training walk last year before we left for our Camino.
I had an email that I picked up after my walk yesterday morning from my first Camino friend, Leo. He told me that when he first read my response he saw “walking the the Basque Country” instead of “walking in Bosque County”, I had to admire his wishful thinking. Leo, I too am glad you had your Texas hat on in the Pilgrims Office in SJPP.
Walking the quiet dirt roads before sunrise was incredible, the crunching of the senda beneath my boots was both therapeutic and calming, if you have not experienced this soothing sound, you should.
Lost in Bosque County, Texas
The air was cool but as a native, you could feel the coming heat, it was just there, waiting for the sun to rise to begin building to the normal early September oven and, it did not disappoint. But until then, it was wonderful.
I only walked 5.8 miles, about 9.5 K as I had to pick my daughter and son-in-law up at the Clifton International Airport (greatly over-exaggerated) and as most things here in Texas, it’s a ways, away. The upside was no knee pain and I finished wishing I had more time.
My walk reinforced my previous thoughts about living in the Now. While I was there, I had few future or past thoughts to distract me and my mind was very calm. But, keeping it real, I did think about the Pit Bull I ran into the day before and, the idea of that meeting, again and in the dark did linger. I banished the thought by taking a different road, there are plenty to choose from. Problem solved!
Get out and do something, go for a walk, long or short. Your body and mind will thank you for it.
Most of us got a taste of the Camino this past weekend. While it was not quite northern Spain and it had all the charm of an old piece of sheet-rock, it did provide us with some real miles that drug on at points in time. From what I hear, parts of the Mesita will be like this.
Long lonesome road.
We discovered miles of road that looked just like the one above and was decorated regularly by road-kill, beer cans and other trash shared by thoughtful drivers. We did discover that Keystone seems to either be the most popular local beer or, the most commonly tossed from Bubba’s pick up, it’s hard to tell.
Saturday, we walked a little over 15 miles with the early part going pretty well but as the day wore on and it started to heat up, it began to take a toll. Hydration is important as is taking in nourishment on a regular interval. I think we all knew this and we all have different tolerances but I’ll definitely tuck that away for Spain.
Blackie’s Bait Shop in Walnut Springs appeared as if it were a vision. In reality, it was shaded, they had cold beer and a place to sit. Nursing a beer is far better than nursing a blister or any other road malady.
Cold beer at Blackie’s Bait Shop, Walnut Springs, Texas
Saturday, we walked a little over 15 miles with the early part going pretty well but as the day wore on and it started to heat up, it began to take a toll. Hydration is important as is taking in nourishment on a regular interval. I think we all knew this and we all have different tolerances but I’ll definitely tuck that away for Spain.
The 4 of us completed another 12 miles +/- and we clearly discovered that day 2 was less forgiving. We all suffered a little more, blisters appeared, yesterdays aches came back and 3 of us got a weird rash on one leg each at the top of our socks.
As for me, I slept very well last night and surprisingly woke this morning feeling pretty good. Seems like the recovery time is far less than when we started, that’s a good thing as I hurt for 3 days after our first Cedar Ridge training walk way back in October.
For anyone contemplating doing the Camino, if you’re north of 30, put some time in to get your body and mind in shape. You’re welcome!
About a week out now, I’m going to rest the legs this week and maybe do some light treadmill training. Heard from Mr. G that he and his sister Becky put in 9.5 miles this weekend and they’re feeling it, just like we did months ago.
One last get together on Saturday to make connections with Rick, Paul and Becky who will meet up in Madrid next month and join the rest of the crew. Time to enjoy the company of the Pilgrims and their support team (spouse’s and significant others).
Well the grizzled old veterans got to break in our rookie Pilgrim on Saturday. Mr. G aka Paul joined us for his first official training walk. We took it easy on him as we walked the Katy Trail with no backpacks today. As we all did, he was feeling it after our 7.4 mile walk. We’re all used to it but he was feeling it.
Paul’s the one in the snazzy outfit, he’s in for a rude awaking!
In addition to Paul, it looks like his sister may be joining us, Becky, if you’re reading this, get ready! It’s not as hard as we make it seem but, as Paul found out, long distance walking is different than running. It’s part of the journey though.
Rick was not able to join us but he was at REI getting his gear taken care of, I figure they should put a plaque up for us as many of the staff now know us by name.
Rick is excited about having some travelling companions once he hits Madrid which is where he and Paul and possibly Becky will catch up. Always nice to have a travel buddy along.
For 3 of us, we’re 23 days out from the beginning of our adventure. I need to finalize all my technology and get my YouTube address to Zia and Paul. Still looking forward to the live feed with Paul’s class before he heads out, I think the fact that he’s going will only make it more interesting as they all know him.
Bosque County dress rehearsal is coming up in 2 weeks, let the beatings begin!
