29 Noviembre 2012 -- Hola Madrid!

Well, I guess I'm not in Kansas anymore :-)

Judging by the buildings I see as the taxi takes me from the train station to the hostal. Judging by the shops I see as the taxi moves in and out of the busy city streets.

Judging by how how I feel! For the first time in a long while I have an upset stomach. This is a city that smokes :-| so even though the hostal is smoke-free, the smell of cigarette smoke wafts here and there. And the busy-ness. As I go out to explore this very big city...capital of Spain! Perhaps one day here would have been better.

All Good...to notice what I notice after my Camino! Definitely the energy of this city is swirling around me. It's sensory, commercial, urban overwhelming after such quiet surroundings. And so much--shops, buildings, people, traffic. Perhaps staying 2 blocks near the Gran Via was not a good idea? Although it's quiet on this narrow street! And I have a back room.

I am reminded of my re-entry after being in the rainforest in Ecuador and then Quito--sitting at the airport, feeling everyone and everything rushing and all that was overwhelming.

Oh well...Tom recommended I see Museo Sorollo so I will make my way there either via foot or the Metro.

Yet first...food as it's been since lunch yesterday that I ate. As I walked the couple blocks from my hotel or rather hostal to Gran Via...I noticed this Chinese restaurant. And hot soup sounded good! Especially since it is a bit chilly here :-). Glad the sun is shining!

Voila... Won ton soup (with the teeny, tiny dried shrimp in the broth) definitely hit the spot! And spinach sautéed with garlic--tasty! Tea with real tea leaves - no bag tea :-). Buen provinco!

For some reason, I am very cold and still now feeling well, so I head back to the hostal for more layers! Instead, I take a rest that turns into sleep...into the evening. Kind and gentle to myself -- re-entering a very large city, especially one as colorful and vibrant as Madrid, requires adjustment time after being on Camino for 64 days!

Tomorrow is another day!

Buen Camino!

I Can Tell I Am In Pork Loving Country :-)

A photo is worth a thousand words :-) I visited a large supermarket here in Santiago as I had 6 hours before my night sleeper train leaves :-) to Madrid. Where else would I be able to buy an entire cured ham leg? And all displayed in not one but three places in the supermarket :-)

The other thing I cannot get over...walking into restaurants, bars, supermarkets and hearing American music over the PA system! Cities, towns, villages! Makes me think I am not in a different country :-)

And the rain comes. The rain goes. The sun shines. The skies turn gray and dark. It is cool. It is cold. Such is the changing weather I experienced in a matter of minutes while in Santiago since I arrived on Monday afternoon. I forgot to ask if this is normal.

28 Noviembre 2012

Kind and Gentle...

My intention was to awake this past Sunday morning (25 Noviembre 2012) and walk on to Muxia from Fisterre. And when I awoke that morning...I felt in my heart that my camino was complete! So I stayed on another day in Fisterre! To enjoy the quiet and solitude! To be kind and gentle to myself!

What I want to share with you is what I intend for myself (and to remind myself).....the past (in my case 64) days have been most experiential. And with any experiential, it is wise to be kind and gentle (repeat...kind and gentle) with the self when re-entering the life held before the 64 days began! Also not to be too hasty with big, huge decisions or choices! Allowing the experiences of the past 64 days as much time as they (not I) need to fully integrate into all of me!

Today...Martes, 27 Noviembre 2012...I am in Santiago once again. The bus ride yesterday from Fisterre to Santiago --felt strange to be riding in a bus after all these days of walking :-)

It was a beautiful day so the views from the bus were spectacular! Do take the bus if you ever find yourself in Santiago or the coastal towns there!

Today was spent at a fisiotheriapia appointment--maintenance and a way to be kind and gentle to myself :-)

Retrieved my luggage from the post office -- the one Jacotrans got from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Samtiago for me while I walked!

Made my airplane arrangements to go to North Carolina on Monday to visit my sister and her family.

Now it's time to have a last dinner in Santiago! And then figure out how I'm getting to Madrid tomorrow. And where I will stay until Monday's flight! Source, help me find a safe, clean, inexpensive place :-)

Last minute does not seem to bother me :-). Just like those descent paths made of stone and rocks :-)

All Good!

Buen Camino!

Leaving behind something treasured...

I was reading a post on the Camino forum about a pelegrino who threw into the water at Cabo Fisterre--his knife. It had cut many bocadillos (Spanish for sandwiches) and fruit and cheese for him along El Camino. And yet he wanted to leave it there, to decompose in the water and return to the elements that possibly was used to forge it.

I thought about that post...and realized that inadvertently I left behind in Fisterre--something treasured! My polar Buff! The one that a friend gave me two years ago and I never wore. Even though it can be worn 10 different ways according to the packaging. Until El Camino...where it became a treasured item! An item that kept my head warm in the wind, cold, rain with the polar end of it. Or the chill with the regular side of it. Kept my face warm when the wind was fierce! I loved it because I could wear it to keep my head warm even with my hair (which y'all know is long) up in its bun configuration!

Well..I walked about the tiny town of Fisterre on Saturday after my walk to Cabo Fisterre! And somewhere in that tiny town, I lost my polar Buff :-(. :-(. When I noticed it was not with me anymore...I retraced my steps in this tiny town. And was quite dismayed :-(. No luck in finding my polar Buff!

Now...it is Tuesday and I trust that, that polar Buff is keeping someone else's head or neck warm! In the meantime, I bought another in Santiago yeaterday! So this is my souvenir of Santiago! I included a photo of the polar Buff and instructions in case you're wondering (like I did when I heard the term 'Buff') -- what the h--- is a Buff?

And yes...I am getting better at demoing the different ways of wearing it--better than two years ago when it was given to me and there is a photo of me somewhere trying to wear the darn thing! It is not a darn thing today :-)

Buen Camino!

The Burning Ritual - Sabado, 24 Noviembre 2012

An awesome weather day (considering the weather report called for rain all of today) for my 3 km walk from Fisterre to Cabo Fisterre --the end of the world as they knew it in the early ages! And when I awoke the morning -- outside matched the weather report :-|. So I was tempted to stay indoors and forego the walk and the ritual.

Thank you Source for answering my request for good weather to walk to Cabo Fisterre! And reminding me that I am fully equipped to walk in the rain :-)

The burning ritual is to let go of the old so that the new can take its place.

Source, you are too funny :-). And so very good to me. As I sat at Cabo, on the rocks there and looked out towards the Atlantic Ocean, thinking about all the abundance and beneficial things in my life, letting go of all the non-beneficial stuff and enjoying the place, the water, the crashing wave sounds below me, the sky, the wind...the changing skies before me, went from gray and overcast to a hole in the gray where there was blue sky. And then off to the right...a faint rainbow appeared! WOW...thank you Source!

At that moment, I was (and still am) filled with huge appreciation and gratitude for all the abundance in my life. In all the forms that abundance takes--the forms are endless! All the fab people who came to mind as I sat there staring off into the water and the horizon. And whose names I silently held. All the experiences that brought me to this place and will continue to bring me to this place. This place where I let go of all that no longer serves me and fill it with all that does! All of Gaia and nature that had watched me walk past, through, and over them, these past 64 days, and awed me with their beauty!

After a while, I decided it was time to burn the items I had brought with me--the herbal sachets I made to ward off bedbugs (guess I needed to also sleep with the sachets not just keep them in my backpack :-), the liner socks where one has a hole in it, my nighttime sock which lost its mate a few days ago, a paper where I wrote something down as I sat there on the cape, and some miscellaneous papers collected in the last few days yet not tossed in the garbage!

Lesson learned...bring a lighter not a box of matches :-) because the wind will win over matches when trying to light a fire! I was getting frustrated and the wind was getting to me as well. About to give up when a voice inside said 'use the bed bug sachet bags to start the fire!' Voila! Success!

I left all that behind and carried back with me all the gratitude and appreciation extended to me along my life! Plus a few written items that have traveled with me on my entire camino--a note stating what I appreciate about you from Tom, a note from the closing night of my Artist's Way Group, the Pilgrim's Prayer from the albergue at Arre where I spent two extra nights -- recovering and soul searching after four days into my camino, my Camino credentiales filled with sellos (stamps) from each place I stayed along the Camino.

As I walked back to Fisterre, I was met with intermittent clear skies and sun! Thank you Source!

Buen Camino!

I'm in luxury :-)

It's 5 pm -- Viernes, 23 Noviembre 2012 - and I arrived at the hotel in Fisterre about an hour ago. 14 km from Cee. 7 leisurely (??) hours later.

This pelegrino couple I met a while ago and who I saw again as they were staying at the same hotel in Santiago, suggested I treat myself to a stay in this hotel when I reached Fisterre. They enjoyed their stay here.

Voila...here I am at Hotel Da Natureza Mar Da Ardora!

The beauty of traveling in off-season :-). The receptionist gave me my choice of two rooms. I chose based on what I could see from lying in bed -- the sea. In this case -- Mar de Fora!

So I just finished a long hot shower with the help of three different shower sprays. Washed my hair. WOW...what soft, soft towels! Now I'm snuggled under the warm covers resting and typing this up -- the heat turned off and the balcony door wide open...listening to the sounds of the sea and the wind! Fog is forming! Wrong--it's raining!

This is so much less exhausting :-) and a heck of a lot warmer than earlier when I was walking into the wind (that kept me focused otherwise I'd be blown over) and could see and hear the crashing waves to the left of me as I walked towards Fisterre. Luckily, the temps were good today, except the wind chill factor :-) AND no rain while I walked.

Also, treated myself to lunch in the true Spanish style (eatting at 2 pm) at this restaurant in the guidebook. I was the first one in the restaurant so I got seated at this great table where I could look up and out the window in front of me at the water! AHHHH - the water!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Now for a glass of vino downstairs--gratis.

As I ate my lunch and stared out in front of me out the window! As I walked today! I am truly blessed to live where I live! The Pacific and The Bay -- two beautiful bodies of water within walking or driving distance :-). And so many awesome places to walk in nature. Now...how to turn all that into a camino? Hmmm?

Buen Camino!