Camino Daze May 2017 – Days 1-3

Day 1 – My First Taste of Spain

On the first anniversary of my Camino Frances Journey, I was inspired to share some images and impressions with you my family and friends, and with new friends yet to meet on this Camino of Life.   These photos and thoughts were recorded on Day 1 of my first Camino Frances Journey, geographically beginning in Burgos and culminating in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, in May 2017 (21 days of walking The Way).

Thought for TODAY:  The Taste of Life is the primary sense that pulls us into and along this physical journey on earth – first the taste of our mother’s milk which provides all the nourishment necessary for our growing bodies in initial years, then the abundance and variety of cuisine provided by Mother Earth Herself.  The Beauty experienced and created through our Earth Journey is what feeds and expands our Souls, personally and collectively.

No wonder the stork has historically been the world-wide answer to young children’s question “Where do babies come from?”  Both parents care ceaselessly for their chicks until they fledge.

Excerpt from my Journal:

Saturday, May 6^th– Burgos to Tardajos (~7 mi/11 km)

Explored a bit of Burgos in the morning: found a bite of breakfast at first place to open (~9 a.m.), bought our seashells to hang on our Camino Pilgrim packs, loaded our packs and checked out of our hotel room about 12 noon to start our walking… saw my first storks – a nesting pair feeding their young in a huge nest atop a steeple tower… Along The Camino, found a dead baby snake and moved it to the side of the Camino, out of the way of trampling pilgrim feet.  Seemed to be a reminder to me to keep shedding my skin, keep growing, die to my old self, and be prepared to be a bit raw for awhile, until more experience weaves me a new cloak of protection through wisdom – and Life Transformed Again!  And then there were more storks feeding their chicks – so majestic in their flight, making a clacking sound with synchronized head bobbing and neck craning before regurgitating a meal for their babies – New Life Again! New Beginnings! New Journey!

What gifts did your Camino bring you TODAY?

Day 2 – Day or Night, Miles or Kilometers?

Of all the things I thought I needed to prepare, and be prepared, for on my first Camino Walk, I never dreamed how much of a challenge Time and Space (or distance) would be, at least for the first few days and miles I spent in Spain.  Initially the big adjustment was the time difference between home and Spain – it is like… well… like day and night – Spain is 8 hours ahead of my life-long bio-clock in Mountain-time-zone.  I’ve traveled far east and far west many times, and know about jet-lag and many tips on what to do to alleviate the short-term stress on body and mind so I can enjoy a week or two of touristing on the other side of the globe – and then just collapse for a week when I get home and back to my native diurnal and seasonal biorhythms.

For me, The Camino Frances journey was in a whole different universe in regards to the demands on my physical body – I would be walking an average of 15 miles per day, through unfamiliar country/terrain and unpredictable weather (hot and cold, wet and dry).  It also took me about a week to get my digestion and sleep cycles mostly adjusted (never completely normalized even by day 21).   Daily meals were generally as follows:  Breakfast at 8-9 a.m. Spain Time (ST) – 4-5 p.m. Mountain Time (MT); Lunch/Snack no later than 1 p.m. ST (before everyone closed for afternoon siesta hours) – 9 p.m. MT; Pilgrim Dinner/biggest meal of the day 7:30-8:00 p.m. ST – 3:30-4:00A.M. MT! My sister, Debbie and I usually tried to be in bed by 9 p.m. ST (5 a.m. MT) so we could get up at 4:30-5:30 a.m. to be on the Camino by 6-7 a.m. ST (often before sunrise) so we could get most of our walking in during the cooler hours of the morning.  We would walk a couple hours until we got to the first open bar (where both food and drink are served, and where you could get your water bottles filled and use the restroom facilities for the price of a snack or beverage).   The Time challenge mostly affected my physical body. Now the Space challenge was more of a mind and psychological thing for me.  I was rationally prepared for the conversion of my U.S. standard miles to the rest of the world metric measure of distance in kilometers, but psychologically I had to play a few games with myself during the first half of our trek – it just seemed too depressing to think about walking 21 kilometers to our albergue the second night on the Camino, so I converted the daily distances to be walked back to miles, 12.3 miles (seemed a lot more reasonable to knock off on our second day of walking).  Later on in our Journey, I reverted back to kilometers – especially at the end of the day – as it made me feel a lot more accomplished for the ground we covered (and I didn’t have to do all that math in my head when looking at guide books and road signs!)

Here’s an excerpt from my Camino Journal on Day 2:

Sunday, May 7^th– Tardajos -> Hontanas (12.3 mi)
Up earlier today and a much longer day across the Mesilla.  Heard my first cuckoo bird, as well as seeing more storks and their high-perched giant nests…  Along the way today:  a big woolly dog drinking water out of puddles, and then laying down in the middle of them to cool off…  Lots of birds singing today and more flowers blooming.  Mariposas – iridescent blue, painted lady, and sulfur butterflies – Time to Transform Again!

The Mesilla is not all flat – and very green in spring with new wheat.

If I couldn’t figure out the signs, a little bird was there to tell me which way to go!

Transformation – and the prelude to the magnificent stained glass windows of cathedrals
we would see later along The Camino.

Geraniums brighten the streets everywhere in Spain, and were especially inspiring along our Camino walk…

… here they even began to speak and urge us each step of our Heart-Spirit Journey!

Ahhh, the sun sets on our Juan de Yepes albergue at the end of our second day, bringing a blanket of sweet coolness and the assurance of a good night’s sleep for an early start the next morning.

What gifts did your Camino bring you TODAY?

 

 

Day 3 – Rainbows and Tie Dye Brighten My Camino

Today, present time (June 11, 2018), I am engaging in one of my favorite creative activities: Tie-Dying!.  It got me to thinking about one of the big inspirations and motivating factors for me before, during, and after my first Camino walk.  The inspiration came from a young woman I barely knew before she left her Earth Walk.  Kyra was my husband’s grand-niece (his brother’s grand-daughter), who lived with her parents in Castle Rock, CO.  About 7 months before I was to begin my Camino walk with my sister, we learned that Kyra had tragically died in a car accident just blocks from the high school she attended as a senior student.  I had met Kyra a few times at family reunions, but had not seen her since she was maybe 10 or 12 years old.  I knew very little about her young adult life, but I felt a special connection to her when I learned that she absolutely loved tie dye clothes and was considered by her friends and family to be a free spirit “retro-hippy.”  We attended her Memorial Service in Castle Rock and the church was packed with a couple hundred family members and friends – almost all were wearing tie dye shirts in honor of Kyra.  I had actually been asked to bring as many tie dye shirts and scarves from my inventory as I could spare (I have a tie-dye hobby-business, as I am a bit of a retro-hippy myself), so was able to contribute to the colorful rainbow spectacle at the church that day.  Here are a few things I heard and learned about Kyra from those who were close to her (which was a large percentage of her community): “Kyra lived – and she had a blast!” (her dad); “She put everybody before herself.” (a close friend of the family).  This same family friend had received many letters and special little gifts in the mail from Kyra when he was serving overseas; a local newspaper quoted him, “This world can be an ugly one if you are always focused on the bad things.  Kyra reminded me of the beauty this world has to offer every time she smiled.”

 Kyra, and the things I learned about her after she was gone, inspired me to really “Go for Life” and “have a blast”, as her dad had said about her.  I had already previously decided that tie dye was going with me on my Camino (I like to bring my rainbows with me wherever I go).   Then I met one of Kyra’s uncles, Mitch, who had been walking the Camino Frances when he received the news about her death and had flown back to the States to be with his brother and family.  Mitch ended up with one of the tie-dye shirts I made and he told me he planned to return to Spain and finish his Camino walk wearing the “Rainbow Colors” for Kyra.  Kyra had connected me more deeply with the extended family I had not previously known, and with another “Pilgrim” who was already walking the same Camino adventure I would be immersed in 7 months down the road!  Both Mitch and I had Kyra with us on our Camino walks.  Several times during the memorial event, she  was referred to as a “Shooting Star” – so bright and beautiful even for her short life, a beautiful streak across the infinitely deep night sky.   I later learned on my Camino walk that the Camino Frances is often fondly referred to as “The Milky Way” – so it was a profound reminder to me that we all walk in the Divine Company of those have gone before us, as well as those with us in the present, and those who come after us on this Earth Walk through the Stars … we are all of the Rainbow Race walking as One on The Way.

Excerpt from my Camino Journal on Day 3:

Monday, May 8^th– Hontanas àItero de la Vega (10.4 mi)

We get up at 5:30 a.m. today to get early start – we want to get beds at a small hermitage – San Nicolas de Puentelitero Hospital de Peregrinos – famous for its rustic yet very warm hospitality.  More butterflies, red poppies, and vast vibrant green fields of wheat.  I am still “working my shit mind,” negative self-talk and complaining, though mixed with moments of peaceful reflection when I focus on my breath, Presence, and enjoyment of my amazing surroundings.  We reach the hermitage about two hours before they open, so hang out knowing our beds are secured.  The hosts don’t speak any English (except the one woman who speaks a little), nor do they speak any Spanish – only Italian.  There are about five other Italian guests staying there this particular night, one of whom graciously served as our interpreter – Bruno spoke pretty fair English (though he was very modest about it)…  We had a beautiful ceremony before dinner:  one foot was ceremonially bathed with water, towel dried, and then kissed by the main host, also named Bruno, and finally blessed with a prayer for our pilgrim walk.

Other memorable experiences today:  A giant green chameleon-like lizard hiding in the garden wall behind the hermitage.  Our first Roman style aqueduct bridge at the border of two provinces.  Group photo of all the guests and hosts in front of the San Nicolas “hermitage”.  A great home cooked meal (on wood burning stove) served by candlelight – every time we emptied our plates, the hosts, assuming we must still be hungry, instantly refilled them!  No electricity or heat at the hermitage, so early to bed and grateful for our own warm sleeping bags and the extra blankets provided by our Italian Confraternity hosts. 

A tie-dyed sky to start each day!

A pilgrim earning her halo.

Rustic accommodations at our Italian Confraternity hosted hermitage tonight.

Saint James, guardian of pilgrims and packs while we sleep.

Look at the magical and beautiful design on this guy’s skin – wish I could put that in a tie-dye pattern!

One of the first of many Roman aqueduct bridges we crossed during our Camino walk.

What gifts did your Camino bring you TODAY?