The rhythm of the Camino

I have noticed during the past week, that when one is walking the Camino, one has their own rhythm.  It isn´t something you notice at the beginning, but after a few days you realize that you walk at your own rate, in your own way.  Sometimes Natalie will ask me to stop and look at something and it is really hard to stop and lose your rhythm.  I am sure it is the same for her.  It is just a slow, plod, plod, plod looking around, getting into the feeling of the Camino. One´s rhythm is a very personal thing.

Today, I saw another blind man, except this man  was totally blind.  He was holding onto the the backpack of a lady in front of him.  There were three of them.  The lady, with the blind man holding onto her backpack and another man walking with them. I caught up with them and chatted for awhile.  They were a dutch couple and the blind man was their nephew.  We had such a jolly time chatting, Mike their nephew  spoke English very well.  Very funny, thought I was a young woman, said he was looking for a young woman  and I told him I hated to disappoint him but I was not, I just had a young voice and I have been married for 39  years.

I have met some very interesting people on the Camino, all with different stories, all with different reasons for walking the Camino.  Yesterday I met a young Korean girl Ji Ni who was walking the Camino balancing a large water bottle on her head.  She was amazing really.  She had become separated from  her friend who had hooked up with an American man and she was now walking the Camino alone.

 Today Natalie and I  walked from Logrono to Ventosa which was a short walk by Camino standards -18 km. We are staying in a lovely Alburgue and sat in the garden all afternoon, drinking wine with our new  Canadian friends.  Tomorrow we leave for Azorfa.  

You know meeting Mike and his aunt made me think about the rhythm of the Camino.  These are two people who are different by Camino standards -  They are walking  the Camino together as one.  This is the magic of the Camino.  

  

Los Arcos to Lograno

Well, Natalie and I have moved up in the World.  We have gone from spending the night on a mattress on the gym floor in Zuberi to spending last night in the most lovely Alburgue yet.  We had a private room, well.... almost private.  It was the Canadian Contingent.  Me and Nat, Hope and Gail from Calgary and Margaret and Miriam from Owen Sound Ontario.  We cooked a communal dinner of rice, shrimp and salad followed by flan, or as I know it creme caramel, followed by nice glass of wine.  Then... off to bed only to awaken at 6 for a lovely breakfast supplied by our hosts. Off we went 28 km to Lograno.  It was a lovely walk, through vineyards, olive groves and wheat fields.  On the way we bumped into Russell, or as I have named him. Dennis.  Now let me tell you about Russell. We met him on our first night in Zuberi. He is a legally blind chap, originally from Glasgow who now lives near Victoria Station in London.  He is travelling the Camino, by himself on an extremely limited budget.  The reason I named him Dennis is due to his black and red sweater his mother had knit him. For those of you who are not from the UK, a cartoon character named Dennis the Mennis wears this sweater. Russell is 46 and used to be a scaffolder but due to his becoming blind is now on disability.  We couldn´´t believe that Russell had made it this far. He was not properly equipped, was sleeping rough most of the time, not in an albergue, he would just find shelter on the side of the road.  He is a lovely man and it was so nice to bump into him again.  We contined on our way.  We tend to be travelling most of the time with Hope and Gail, the two sisters from Calgary. Natalie bless her heart is booking our Alburgues ahead of time as she can speak Spanish very well and knows how to use the phone.  We have arrived in Lagrono and our Alburgue is in an apartment complex with no cooking facilities so it will be a pilgrim´´s special for us tonight.  This consists of 4 courses for around 8 euros.  Great food.  Our accomodation price is a bit high today. 10.50 euros.  This is such a fantastic experience.  I can feel my legs getting stronger daily and my mind is becoming clearer.  If possible, I will try and blog again tomorrow.  Adios Amigos

Paris

Well we have arrived after a basically uneventful flight. Natalie and  I were wondering though is it a good omen that "Happy Feet" was the inflight movie?  Something to think about I'd say and only time will tell. unfortunately when we went to pick up our luggage the lovely baggage handlers had ripped off the sternum strap of Natalie's backpack. Not a good start I'd say. That aside we have had a fabulous time seeing all the major sites of Paris. Did i mention it is now   my favourite city?  Such wonderful architecture and so clean. We have one more day here and then will catch a train  to St Jean Peid De Port on Saturday

The Gym Ladies

As some of you may know, I am leaving next Tuesday the 24th of April  for "My Camino".  I was not  going to post on my blog again until that day, but I feel that  should let you know about something that happened last night. 

They say that the Camino provides, that it is magic, that it changes your life.  I feel that even before I have left for the Camino my life has changed.  As I have mentioned in my previous posts I am walking the Camino with two ladies that I met at the gym.

Now let me tell you about the gym.  I started going to the gym a few years ago but didn't start to go on a regular basis until last May.  This is because of Judy.  Judy is our gym instructor who 3 times a weeks runs a fitness class.  She just seems to have a way of bringing everyone together.  During our class we laugh, we sing, we talk and boy do we talk.  And... of course we exercise.  All of the ladies in the class know about  Natalie, Shelagh and myself walking the Camino and they have been so supportive.  It is not every day one wakes up and decides one is going to walk 800 km. in the North of Spain. It can sometimes seems a bit daunting and just chatting with these ladies in the class makes the whole thing seem more attainable and more real.

Last night they took the three of us out for a little Bon Voyage dinner  at the local pub.  When I looked down the table and saw all the people that came out to wish us well it made me realize how fortunate we three are.  I didn't even know these ladies a year ago.    But there they all were, sending us on our way with Good Wishes.  Gosh I feel blessed, and I know that when I am on the Camino, and it is  raining, and my legs might be aching and I  might be thinking what the heck have I done.  I will close my eyes and picture that table in the pub with all the gym ladies and.....  I will keep on walking and walking and walking.  

Trial Run

Today I thought it was about time I did a hike with my backpack.   It is recommended that one's backpack should not weigh anymore than 20 lbs. (9.07 kg.) or else one will just start throwing things out of their backpack whilst on the Camino in order to make the journey a little more bearable.  I have been very conscious of weight whilst buying all the various things I will need on the Camino. For instance my sleeping bag only weighs 675 grams.( 1 1/2 lbs.)  Today my backpack was not fully packed, I didn't have my two pairs of socks, my Crocs ( a Camino fashion statement) my contact lense fluid, toothpaste, toothbrush and meds, and a couple of other things  packed but that was it.  It only weighed 10 lbs. Yipee!!!  I figure once I have fully packed it, it will be about 15 lbs. maximum which is very good. 

I had made arrangments to meet Natalie at the top of the street and we walked 4 km. to start our hike with the rest of our group.   We had a lovely hike  through the Don Valley.  It is hard to believe that such a beautiful Valley runs right through the centre of Toronto.  We walked along the Don River.  Darlene, the group leader really planned a nice hike and  our goal was the Camino Restaurant on Danforth Avenue. 

The owner of the Camino restaurant is Hiroshi, who is originally from Japan and is a  French trained chef . He  has walked the Camino twice.  Besides the wonderful food he prepared, he also gave us a slide show of his trip on the Camino  de Norte last year.  It was lovely to see the passion he felt whilst talking about his previous pilgrimages. 

After our lunch we were on the road again and by the time we were finished Darlene informed me we had walked 23 km. and I felt great!  No pains from the back pack and I felt I could have walked another 5 km.  I am starting to think I am ready for the Camino. 

Why I am walking the Camino.

In May of last year, my friend Natalie walked the El Camino de Santiago de Compostela for the 4th time.   Natalie is  a fellow gym member at Fitness Works for Women, a wonderful gym in Toronto which I belong to.  Whilst she was on the Camino she would keep us up to date, via email,with her various adventures, whilst walking this 800 km. pilgrimage. I must admit that until then, I had never heard of the El Camino, but reading her emails made me want to find out more. 

I researched the El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, otherwise known as The Way of St. James and learnt that it was one of the most important Christian Piligrimages during medieval times and is over 1000 years old.  The most common route is  the Camino de Frances.  The route starts at St. Jean de Pied de Port on the border of France and Spain and ends in Santiago where legend says the bones of St. James have been laid to rest. 

The more I read about this Pilgrimage, the more it seemed to have a grip on me.  I wasn't sure I was as brave as Natalie, who had walked it the four times by herself, I really didn't feel I could walk it alone.   She returned home in June with all her wonderful tales of the roads she had walked, the people she had met, the food she had eaten and the wonderful feeling one has, just by walking the Camino.  She then announced that she would take anyone who wished to go with her on the Camino the following year and I jumped at the chance. 

I started walking and planning right away and we now have two other Pilgrims who will be joining us too.  Shelagh, another gym member and her friend Cathy.   We leave on April 24th and start walking on April 29th.

People walk the Camino for different reasons.  Religious, Spiritual or just for the challenge.  10 years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After six months of surgery and some not very nice treatment, my life moved on, but one never really knows when one has had cancer if it will ever return. I often think of other breast cancer patients who were not as "lucky" as me.  I don't ever like to dwell on the fact that I had breast cancer, but it is always there,  far back in the recesses of my  mind and I am very thankful that after 10 years I am  still cancer free.   It is for this reason that I am walking the Camino.  "My Camino" is a Celebration - A Celebration of my Life.