Notices

19/05/2012

I have reached Santiago De Compestella on the Camino Del Norte. I have walked about 800kms. It is difficult to really say the distance as some days one has to stay on the road or take a diversion.

I have been walking for 28 days.  I can´t get home until my booked flight on Tuesday.  This is a problem for me.  I want to get home.

The reasons people walk a Camino are very different.  I have listened to some and not had much patience for them.

I walked into the Cathedral yesterday and saw many priests in the Confessional boxes.  Last year i did not see this. I asked was it possible to receive absolution in Ingles and it was.  So for me this was a high moment.  Those at home who know me will know how much I offer up my suffering every day for others.

I have some one on my side, my Camino friends from last year know what this is like.  This year I was lucky again to gain 3 Camino friends.  We all walked well together.  But when I took off like a diesel train on the last day into Santiago my friends could not believe it.  I could not believe it.  My legs were like new.  I could hear the bells/Santiago calling.

I will probably not post again until I make plans for next year.  I will amend my photo blogs and let all my friends know how things go at home.

I am blessed.  We got a Misa this morning at 8.30 beside the cafe we intented to have breakfast in, the locals were going to fatima on pilgrimage. I am blessed.  adios.

08/05/2012

Day 20 - still going strong

The last few days have been very pleasant walking and the SUN has been shining. But Carlos has left us. He walks only to Ribadeo this time as he is back to classes on Monday. 4 of us remain and it looks like we will stay together.

The old and the new

We have been lucky with the Alberques, the Camino Associacions (friends) have some good old schools converted and they require a donation or 5euro only. Facilities are very basic. They also are out of the small towns a bit so you need to eat first or bring food, many have no kitchens.

We have managed to cook 3 times, same each time Spaghetti with sauce. We have 5 more days before we head South for Santiago and we hope to spend a bit of time on the last beach today.

There has been much discussion among some of the pilgrims about the difference between the Camino Frances and the Norte. The route from Aviles to Soto was very difficult, but we find now we get more satisfaction at the end of the day if the route has been hard. Some of the towns we pass through are wonderful and it would be nice to rest more and take more time seeing the sights BUT we have started to say “adbc”. “adbe”. etc etc..lovely churches, lovely ermitas, and a lot of Germans too. This is a joke as Carol is married to a german and is able to speak to most of the pilgrims, Ray and Akira have good spanish so they can talk to most people too. There are not that many people walking this route though.

02/05/2012

An Evening Meal

In Ireland we set great store by the weather. Many believe our changeable weather accounts for our bad or good moods. This may apply out here in Spain, on the Camino also, though I am not a true believer in the thought.  But I had begun to believe that this pilgrimage was not going to provide the same spiritual or personal gain that I had felt on the last one.

Things have now changed as they do. A few days of walking provided a great variety of scenery and places to sleep at night. Firstly the scenery. Spain has fallen foul of the unfinished estates also. It is very sad to see at the side of an historic Camino path huge apartment blocks unfinished and ruining parts of the Northern coastal route. And then the path turned inward through small pueblos and farmsteads and small Ermitas and roadside crosses and I started to smile again.

The sun came out also and the sunscreen with it. So sleeping at night, a second visit to a Monasterio, really in a converted dairy, but we got to attend a vespers that night and the Cistercians in Cobreces are one of the few in Northern Spain. We also stayed with the Nuns in their convent in Laredo, getting to the Mass that night to hear the Nuns singing (my friends said they sang out of key..I did not notice)!.

The walking is tough and I am blessed with my companions. On the first day we met Carlos a young Portugese man who walks with us still.  He is deeply spiritual and kind. We now have an older Japanese man with us too, he gets up at 4am and meditates and chants, his routine and manners are one of total acceptance, peace and tolerance. The young people love his attitude. My companions speak, Spanish, Portugese, German, Japanese, Arabic, English, French and un poco de Gaelic..I only speak a little Spanish, a little French and feel a little humble.

Santigo 787Km

23/04/2012

I wonder who thinks that a pilgrimage walk is a great way to get away from home and enjoy a few weeks walking in Spain. Well, I don´t blame you. But the only words I can think of to call this post and message is Muddy. Forest mud, river mud, sandy mud, wet mud, red mud, yellow mud, mud that sucks the very soul from your body and makes you wonder why you thought a Camino in April in Northern Spain is a good idea.

I hope the pictures I attach give you an idea. I have not taken the pictures of todays boots yet as I can´t even see them. So it has been raining. We walked to San Sebastian and stayed in a Youth Hostel there. We took a high track through a muddy forest into Orio. The path was quite beautiful and the views over the sea were amazing.

Walking the Camino

I thought I might get a swim but the waves on this coast are for surfers. In Deba we stayed in a little room beside the beach, the facilities were very basic, and the Walrus, the Carpenter and the little puppy were sleeping there too, all men who snored!

I will have nick names for most of the peregrinos by the time I finish in Santiago.

I walk with an Irish woman, a Spanish woman from Valencia and a young Portugese fire-man who is deeply religous. We four are now in Gernika in a room with a french couple in a very dear youth hostel.

Today the guide book said take the road if possible as there might be mud but the yellow arrows kept leading us into the river, mud, forest and we couldn´t seem to stay on the road. It was very scenic and it was not raining this morning, but is now.

Last night we slept in Ziorta Monastery, what a treat, a Japanese man was the only other person there, we were given a good supper of soup and bread, attended Vespers and got our first pilgrims blessing. We did get Mass in Deba on Saturday night. Mass in the Basque language is hard for the Spanish to understand, let alone the Portugese or Irish but we enjoyed the Misa as it was our first.

Sharing the journey

Unlike the Camino Frances there is not the same opportunity to attend local mass at night as the alberques are on the outskirts of towns. I have great opportunity to wonder why I am here and appreciate the chance I have to gain some spiritual space. My companions are also giving me an opportunity to see the strength of faith that takes us all on this journey into the unknown.

If you want to read further on any of the stages check out these sites.

http://www.mundicamino.com/rutas.cfm?id=37 –

http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/los-caminos-de-santiago/del-norte/

18/04/2012

Pilgrim on the Camino

Are you interested in pilgrimage?   Do you wonder could you do a long distance walk to an ancient pilgrimage site? There are many options available for the modern pilgrim. One of our parishioners considers herself to be very priviliged to have completed a Camino to Santiago in 2011 and received her Compestela.  She now goes forth on her second Camino, this time taking an alternative route.

Follow her pilgrimage on this page and follow her physical and spiritual journey.

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA-Northern Spain. This quietly enchanting ancient yet vibrant city of cobbled streets and stone arches is the destination of thousands of pilgrims, on foot and bicycle and horse-back every year… from every corner of the world.  They come to travel the Camino de Santiago…they come in search of Spain, of adventure, of cultural enlightenment, of spiritual growth and most will return home with much, much more.

Its appeal is far reaching and its effect is deep and long lasting. The centuries-old pilgrimage to Compostela along the Road to Santiago can start in many different places, many start from their own front door. In 2011 I started from St Jean Pied de Port and walked (with my husband) the 870km or so to Santiago de Compestela.

On April 18th I take a flight to Biarritz and a train to Irun where I commence the Camino De Norte hoping to walk 870km along the Coastal Ruta and arrive in Santiago 35 days later. At the moment I am busy preparing.  I have my back bag packed, well I know what is going into it.  My mind is not so well prepared.  I am 53 and fairly fit.  I travel alone this time.

Last year we saw many people in their 60′s and 70′s walking alone, collecting their Compestelas (certificate) and declaring the best part was the individual satisfaction of being on their own, a challenge to their body, spirit, mind and soul.  So I prepare for my solo pilgrimage with  hope, trepidation and many many prayers. I will stop at many sites along the way and think of everyone back home in Greystones, especially my familiy.

Check out http://www.stjamesirl.com for historical background and further information.Check out my blog if you wish http://unascamino2011.wordpress.com/