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After much back and forth, we decided to cut out as many of the extras as we can and just focus on the Camino. The current version of the plan (such as it is) looks like this:
Fly out of Seattle on Easter Sunday and into Madrid.
From there, we go to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port by one of two ways, either flying to Biarritz and then taking the train, or taking a bus to Pamplona and then bus or taxi.
We will take rest days in (at least) Pamplona and Burgos. Possibly Astorga. We’ll play it by ear.
Then, depending on what day we arrive in Santiago, we will have some options: stay in Santiago a couple of extra days, or take a quick jaunt to Finisterre, or hang out in Madrid.
Yesterday at our parish adult catechesis session, I gave a presentation on Christian pilgrimage. Needless to say, the second half of the presentation was about the Camino.
It was well received, and the entire group was engaged with the topic. Normally, you’ve always got your folks who sort of just sit back and absorb, but last night everybody was jumping in.
It was a lot of fun – two people even asked if there would be a longer Camino presentation. Not, I think, as part of our RCIA / adult catechesis program, but I could certainly be persuaded to put something together.
| Originally published at Another Pilgrim on the Way |
One year from today, Easter Sunday, 27 March 2016, Francine and I intend to board an airplane and set out on our second Camino. Because next year is a leap-year, that’s 366 days from today.
Yesterday, I celebrated the tenth anniversary of my Baptism. A year from today, Easter will fall on exactly the same day that it did back in 2005, the last time it will fall on that date for at least the next hundred years.
So that seems auspicious.
Already, we’ve begun the hunt for new, lighter and more efficient equipment. I’ve got my new Aarn body pack, which is absolutely fantastic, and Francine has purchased a new smaller pack as well.
The Clymb is our friend.
Training is slowly coming together, and I suspect we will formalize it in the weeks after Easter. Now we just need to save up the money! In the past year or two, we’ve had to lay out for a new furnace and a new stove, so the coffers are a great deal thinner than I’d like.
Still, we will figure out a way.
That reminds me… I need to renew my passport. Perhaps I the time has come to start making lists.
| Originally published at Another Pilgrim on the Way |
It’s a truism that one doesn’t need a map to walk the Camino. After all, there’s a yellow arrow painted or printed or engraved somewhere every twenty yards or so. If you haven’t seen one in a while, you’ve probably wandered off the right path.
Having said that, I like maps. I especially like maps that represent terrain, distances, and directions.
I absolutely love Camino maps that tell me the distance between each village by every possible route, and the amenities located in each village, town, and city.
And throw in random cultural and historical notes? Absolute gold. No guide book required.
In short, I love this map:
It was absolutely invaluable. I talked about it in a number of blog posts from the Camino here and here, for example.
Sadly, I no longer have it. I’m pretty sure I gave it or loaned it to somebody with the idea that they would need it before I would, and that I could just purchase the new edition when it came out.
On my lunch today, I went by the site of the publisher, Pili Pala Press. Imagine my disappointment to discover this:
I’m fairly certain that my agonized, wailing scream could be heard as far away as Arzúa.
Needless to say, in my desperation, I’ve e-mailed the publisher:
Hello!
In 2013, my wife and I walked the Camino Frances with one of your amazing Camino map booklets. We had researched any number of maps, and yours was by far and away the best. Just knowing which towns and villages had which amenities allowed us to plan our days.
Sadly, that map is now gone.
My wife and I are now planning our second Camino for 2016. I immediately came to your site to purchase another (perhaps updated?) copy. I was devastated to discover that you were no longer selling them.
I’m writing now to beg. Surely there is at least one copy left somewhere that I could purchase? Did you check behind the sofa? Under the refrigerator?
Please help me!
cheers,
thom
Let’s see how they respond.
Meanwhile, 395 days to go.
There’s a countdown app on my phone, silently counting down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until we leave for our second Camino.
In this new year, we have a lot to do to get ready.
Last week we tried out my new backpack bodypack, an Aarn. It was absolutely brilliant. Even fully laden, it was so light you could hardly believe it. The walk, just our usual 3.5 km around Snake Lake, did however convince me that I am badly out of shape.
Since it’s new year’s day, it looks like it’s time for some resolutions.
Resolutions. Everybody makes them, and most of them don’t last past the middle of January.
Given that we have but 450 days before we walk the Camino again in the spring of 2016, and given my impressive number of bad habits, here are my resolutions as they currently stand:
- Spanish. Learn some.
- Do more of the following: walk, pray, read, laugh, love.
- Finish writing one of the books I’m working on. In fact, just write more. And publish.
We’ll see how that goes.
| Originally published at Another Pilgrim on the Way |
(from my journal)
Mansilla de las Mulas
18 April
Another long Meseta trek. Breakfast in El Burgo Ranero. Met a cat outside the bar who begged for food.
Power-walked after El Burgo Ranero – not sure why the energy. Met back up with Eamon at rest area about 5km before Reliegos where we lunched. Second half of lunch in Reliegos, where strange old woman attempted to re-direct peregrinos off the Camino for her own nefarious ends – presumably to patronize a family business.
Approaching Mansilla de las Mulas
Nice walk with Eamon to the Municipal Albergue in Mansilla de las Mulas, which appears fantastic – good amenities, great location.
At various points in the day talked with Owen (from Ireland) and walked with Santiago. At the albergue, met Mia and John, Owen, Cliff, and even Volker (last seen in Los Arcos).
Drinks and dinner with Mia, Eamon, and a father-daughter pair of Scottish bicyclists, John and Heather.
All the photos, day 17!
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In less than a day, my flight will be taking off. I’ve gone through various stages of nervousness, elation, and even fear in the past few days.
More than once I’ve asked myself, “what, are you crazy, Thom?”
Add to that the emotions that inevitably come with Holy Week – the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Stations of the Cross, Good Friday – and you’ve got a real recipe for a roller-coaster.
Oddly, yesterday`s fast went a long way toward calming my jangled nerves. I’m feeling perfectly serene as I prepare for the Easter Vigil.
At least until tomorrow!
| Originally published at Another Pilgrim on the Way |
Time grows short! We`re back from Stations at church and doing all sorts of last minute errands.
Among these are the dreaded final packing. I like to be all packed for trips at least a full day before going somewhere. This way, I tend to discover all the things I forgot still laying about the house.
This post is also my first attempt to post using the equipment and software I plan to use while blogging the Camino. Let`s see how it works!
Pilgrims on the Camino carry a Credencial, or pilgrim’s passport. They are issued by various Confraternities of Saint James, and you can also get one at Cathedrals and other places along the Way.
The idea is that you get it stamped each day – ideally several times a day – to record where you’ve been and to prove that you’re actually a pilgrim walking (or biking) the Camino.
Most pilgrim hostels (usually called albergues or refugios) require that you have a credencial in order to stay there.
Ours were issued by American Pilgrims on the Camino, and as of today, they each have their first two “stamps”. Well, really the two we have are embossed seals, but the ones we get on the Camino will be ink.
On 04 March, we got them sealed by our home parish of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Tacoma. This seal, as it turns out, was affixed sideways.
On 15 March, we got them sealed by our Cathedral Church of Saint James in Seattle. This one’s upside-down.
Seems about right for us!
| Originally published at Another Pilgrim on the Way |
The photo here was taken by a pilgrim yesterday at Roncesvalles. The passes are choked with snow, and at this point people have to walk on the highway to get from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Roncesvalles.
And it’s taking them two days.
I won’t have that kind of time, and I’m leaving in just over two weeks. Even assuming the snow is done by then, the locals are saying it’s going to be a morass of mud.
I’m seriously thinking of bagging the first trans-Pyrenee day and starting in Roncesvalles instead.
This has the added advantage of some level of certainty. I’ve got a bus ticket from Madrid to Pamplona, and there is a regular and frequent bus from Pamplona to Roncesvalles. Getting to Saint-Jean would require a taxi-share with fellow pilgrims, which is sort of catch as catch can.
We shall see what the situation is when I arrive.
Meanwhile, later this afternoon Francine and I are heading over to Saint James Cathedral in Seattle to get our Credentials stamped. Photos later!
| Originally published at Another Pilgrim on the Way |
At the highest point of the Camino in Spain, upon the plateau of Monte Irago, is a cross.
This cross, called Cruz de Ferro (literally, “iron cross”) is a tall oak post with a small iron cross attached to the top. All around the cross is a large pile of stones.
Pilgrims have been laying a stone at Cruz de Ferro for centuries.
I’m no different. I’m bringing a stone. I collected it during my inadvertent Camino day, back in August. On that day, my friend Paul and I sort of accidentally walked about 25 km.
Along the way, we passed near a number of tall, crumbly cliffs. On a whim, I grabbed a small stone from the base of one. I’m glad I did.
Today, as part of our continuing training, I walked a mere 18km, and Francine walked 16km. Full packs.
It was a good walk, but the aftermath has been less than pleasant. Our feet hurt, and we’re crabby. Some days are like that. Some days you forget to put down that stone you’re carrying, the one that’s weighing you down.
When asked why angels could fly, G.K. Chesterton replied, “because they take themselves so lightly.”
Perhaps for us to fly, we need to put down those stones we carry, the ones we keep collecting.
Next Saturday, I walk 20km. The Saturday after that, 25.
A few weeks later, I’ll be walking on the Camino. We should get to Cruz de Ferro sometime in the last week of April, at which point I will lay down my stone, as have countless pilgrims before me.
Lord, may this stone, a symbol of my efforts on the pilgrimage that I lay at the foot of the cross of the Saviour, one day weigh the balance in favour of my good deeds when the deeds of my life are judged. Let it be so.
(traditional pilgrim’s prayer at Cruz de Ferro)
| Originally published at Another Pilgrim on the Way |
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Sixty days from today, I fly to Spain. Sixty days in advance is the earliest you can purchase a train ticket in Spain using Renfe‘s web site.
Since I need to get from Madrid to Pamplona (and thence to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port), I figured I would buy a train ticket today.
Here’s what I learned: the train takes three hours and the ticket is more than twice the cost of a bus ticket. The bus does take five hours, but has the added advantage of leaving directly from the airport.
So I went to the Alsa site and worked my way through the mix of English and Spanish on the site’s “English” pages. Thank goodness for Google Translator.
So that’s one more thing off my rapidly shrinking list of Things To Take Care Of Before I Leave.
The next big one is, of course, Francine’s air tickets. We’ve been holding off for a better fare, since she doesn’t leave for Spain until 17 April. I continue to be amazed that the fares can vary by several hundred dollars on any given day.
Once that’s taken care of, we’ll look for RyanAir or train tickets to get us back to Madrid from Santiago de Compostela after our Camino.
We’ll also have to get her a train ticket from Madrid to León to start her Camino, but I’m hoping those will be cheaper since it’s a commuter train.
And phones! Got to get a pair of burner phones.
Still, the list is shrinking.
Camino planning has taken a turn for the serious this week. Francine got her backpack (a Gregory Freia 30) and ordered her trekking poles, towel, and some other equipment.
Oh, and today I booked my flight to Madrid.
I’ll be flying out on Easter morning (31 March) and arriving in Madrid on April Fool’s Day. Seems appropriate.
Then, I’ll take a bus to Pamplona, followed by a bus and/or rideshare to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
After 19 days of walking (God willing), I’ll arrive in León and meet Francine. Together we will walk the remaining two weeks through Galicia to Santiago de Compostela.
Once we have her air tickets sorted out, I’ll book us some RyanAir flights from Santiago to Madrid.
Huzzah!
Training is ramping up as well, as we try to get back into shape. On Sunday, we walked about 5km through Tacoma with full packs. Not a huge distance, but we’re both getting over a flu. Not to mention the whole holiday fat issue.
We walked to our parish of Holy Rosary, and then the route for our planned parish Corpus Christi procession with our pastor, Fr. Maurer, and our friend Greg. They, sadly, did not have packs.
They did have some nice hats, however. Father in particular was wearing a saturno. I’m kicking myself for not getting a photo of him.
I, of course, was wearing the hat Francine knitted for me. At least until I got too warm, and then it was back to the old standby: the adventury hat!
Happy they who dwell in your house!
Continually they praise you.
Happy the men whose strength you are!
Their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage.(from Psalm 84,
Optional Responsorial Psalm for today’s
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph)
With just over three months to go until I leave for the Camino, my preparations are again revving up. Over the holidays (which I here loosely define as “between Thanksgiving and New Year), hiking has largely fallen by the wayside. Equipment purchasing has slowed. Other things have crowded my thoughts.
With today’s psalm, however, I’m reminded that, with God as my strength, the time has again come to set my heart upon the pilgrimage.
While my “Training Lent” program doesn’t go into high gear until the first week of February, we’ll be getting back to the weekly hiking right after the New Year.
My plan of slowly purchasing equipment has paid off, with only a few items remaining in my Amazon wishlist, most of them small incidentals. And maps. I’ll want the maps, I think.
In typical Thom overboard fashion, my packing list is actually a spreadsheet that includes weights in grams for all the various items. I’m still overweight, but I’m paring it down, even as I’m adding the last little bits of equipment.
The two heaviest items, my hiking shoes and my pack, are not likely to change, so I’m really nibbling around the edges.
Spanish language work is next up. I speak no word of Spanish that doesn’t involve food or greeting somebody. My foreign language skills in general are pretty poor.
I’ll be trying out Coffee Break Spanish for starters. We’ll see how that goes. Suggestions welcome!
Then there are the endless details, everything from getting my pilgrim’s passport stamped at my parish and the cathedral to trip insurance to, you know, actually purchasing the plane tickets. And depending on how I fly in, additional bus or train tickets as well. I’ve been waiting until after the Christmas holiday to get tickets.
I check the flights every day, and I’m astonished that the same flight will vary in cost by more than $500 from day to day. It’s crazy. I’ve got a target price (depending on whether I fly in to Pamplona or Biarritz), and I’m pouncing the instant I see it.
Just to be on the safe side, I’m also engaging my firm’s travel coordinator, to see if she can get me a deal.
Ultreya!
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Fifteen weeks to go! Some of you will have noticed a link to my Camino Amazon wishlist under the countdown. While I’ve got all of the important equipment settled, there are a few odds and ends there.
The other day, I received a package from Amazon. Now, I’ve got a couple of things purchased there on a “pre-publication” status, so I’m never terribly surprised when something just sort of shows up out of the blue.
This, however, was not something I’d ordered, but something on my Camino wishlist.
The book is called The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook
It was given to me as a Christmas present. The thing is, I don’t know who sent it.
I mean, I know his name, but I’ve never met him. I don’t know who he is, or how he got onto my wishlist.
So, thank you Federico Giunchi, whoever you are! May the blessings of Christmas be yours.
