Here we go again!!!
Again?
By: Elizabeth
The Camino, again? repeatedly say some.
Why not a new location this year, just for fun?
Not unlike returning to a family lake house, I reply,
This pilgrimage allows us to temporarily leave our normal life, I pleasurably sigh.
Each year the people, experiences, trails and food can change.
Expecting our best laid plans to suddenly rearrange.
Accepting flexibility and forgiveness for one’s self and others,
All while learning from our international sisters and brothers.
It helps us appreciate what we have in the United States.
Sometimes an open mind and a sharing heart is all it takes.
Letting go of our bias, false information and preconceived control.
Simply put, “A bad day for the ego is a good day for the soul”.
Why walk 500 miles, you ask… and for a fifth time?
We believe strengthening yourself mentally and physically is done in our prime.
We want to not only think, but live, outside our box,
With just a backpack and your best friend, adventure travel rocks!
Elizabeth:
“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” – Steve Jobs
How true! I see it in other’s eyes when we say we are going away for a couple months. “I wish I could do that” some might say. “I wish I could take the time off”, or “I could never do that… but it sounds amazing!”. Not only 12 months of planning this year’s trip, especially to include Cooper and Chelsea on their first Camino with us, but starting to save and invest 4 decades ago, before Gary and I were married (38 years on May 3rd! …over 40 years together!) is cumulatively the reason we are able to leave for several months on vacation each year, now. The dinners we cooked at home rather than going out; Blockbuster movies on the couch with the kids vs paying for movie tickets which usually included popcorn, soda and more costs; the do-it-yourself projects rather than hiring someone; waiting a longer time to be able to pay for something, before we bought it; teaching the kids that Birthday’s and Christmas were times to appreciate those around you and what you do have, rather than being given things; and the choices we made to save and invest made this all possible. Gary and I never take for granted the choices we made to build a solid, caring home life and a strong financial foundation without sacrificing family, fun and experiences along the way!
Thank you again to our dear youngest son, Tucker, for caring for our house, getting the mail and being our in-place ground support! (We mentioned previously that Tucker chose to build a garage at his house, with Gary, rather than travel with us this time). And Thank you Mark S., a long-time friend and neighbor, for taking in and loving on our 95+ lb. energetic lab (isn’t that redundant? “energetic lab”… Tee hee). We are grateful to you both, and all the others in our lives that assist and support us!!
My 14lb backpack (before water and snacks) and I will be on a plane Monday AM (4/29/24) to meet Gary, Cooper and Chelsea in Madrid.
I’m just plane excited for this trip!
Not an original… but sounds like a pun I would say! Tee hee
Gary’s Recap – April 27, 2024
Since completing the Camino Portuguese la Coasta I have returned to Pontevedra by train for a night, returned to Santiago for 2 nights and now I am in A Coruna, on the north coast of Spain. Tomorrow I return to Santiago, Monday to Madrid and Tuesday we all meet and head to San Sebastian, then Saint Jean Pied de Port, France to begin the Camino Frances!
In my last post I think I finished with NZ, Denmark, England and I having lunch together after walking into the main plaza in front of the cathedral. Ireland walked in with us, but he didn’t join us for lunch.
So now that I (and you) are caught up – this whole trip I have booked one night ahead. NZ had booked her whole trip up front. We had gotten a day ahead of her schedule so she had changed a few things near the end, but Santiago was tougher, because things are expensive and full. She didn’t have a room for the 24th. I half jokingly said let’s take the train back the 30+ miles to Pontevedra. We had been there on a Sunday when everything was closed and hotels there are half the price of Santiago. A round trip ticket was 13 euro. She thought that was a great idea, so off we went. I caught up on some work and returned to my favorite coffee shop to get a hot, out of the oven, nata – a Portuguese custard tart. We met several Pilgrims, so that was fun. Late the next morning we were back on the train for the 40 minute trip back to Santiago. We met up with Ireland and England and the four of us stayed together until after 10:30PM so they could see the shadow pilgrim. See photo below.
The next morning England was on a bus to Porto for a few days before flying home. Ireland, NZ and I had lunch before Ireland had to head to the airport in the afternoon, so then there were two – NZ and I. We had dinner together last night and went for a final walk together this morning. BTW – It has been cold (42 degrees) and raining the past 2 days in Santiago. We have a WhatsApp community with the 5 of us (Denmark incl.) and everyone is still communicating on it. Ireland sent us a picture of sunrise from his house this morning. Denmark sent a picture with her son. It has been fun. Today (Saturday the 27th) NZ flew to Copenhagen to meet up with her husband. I took a train 30 minutes north to A Coruna. The forecast was for rain all day, but it has stopped and is now partly sunny.
A Coruna is a beautiful seaside city. I walked from the train station to my hotel (1.5 miles) in all my wet clothing from this morning in Santiago. I thought it would be raining here and I only have two sets of clothes, so didn’t want to get my second set wet while walking from the train station. Once I checked in, I washed my wet clothes and put on nice dry ones. I changed the inserts in my sneakers as well. Yes, I have a spare set of inserts. After that I did a 5 mile long walking tour of the city.
I have a room in Santiago for tomorrow night, but still need to book my return train ticket. It was less than $5 for the ticket to get here and I did it all on my phone. There is a train basically every hour, so very easy to get around. Well, that is the update for now. The next update will be from France!
Flowers and fruits at the Pontevedra farmers market. 
The Shadow Pilgrim. A very cool shadow in an outside corner of Santiago’s cathedral. 
Looking back at the Santiago Cathedral in the rain. 
The waves breaking on the rocks in A Coruna 
A Coruna lighthouse, “Tower of Hercules”, originally built in the first century 
View of the aquarium from below the lighthouse. 
Sitting on a park bench by the marina
What we find in a soul mate is not something to tame, but something wild to run with.
Robert Brault
Gary and Elizabeth's Adventures 