Here we go Again

Elizabeth and I are planning a fourth trip to Spain this summer to walk the Camino. I will fly out of Phoenix on July 25^th, land in Madrid on the 26^th, take a train to Pamplona where I will spend the night. On the morning on the 27^th I will get a ride to Saint Jean Pied de Port, France and start walking west. Elizabeth has a job in North Carolina the second week in August, so she will fly from Charlotte to Madrid, landing August 12^th. I will take a train from the Camino to meet her at the Madrid airport and together we will travel the 2 hours by train north again, back to where I left off. We will continue west through Santiago, completing our walk on the Atlantic coast in Finisterre. After a few days beside the sea, we will return to Phoenix on September 8^th. If all goes as planned, I will walk 220 miles by himself (well, with a bunch of friends I haven’t met yet) and together E and I will walk the final 330 to the “The End Of The World” – the ancient explorers thought.

This journal will be a bit different from our previous Caminos. In the past we have used trailjournals.com. This year, we will only use our website. The plan is to post a new page every few days. So this will be more of the format of our Roaming Rangeley journals.

Below are pictures from our 2019 Camino de Santiago (The Way to Santiago)

This is an excerpt from our 2019 Camino journal, Elizabeth’s thoughts:

Why I do the Camino…again… and again…?

As we were belting out Piano Man by Billy Joel, with 17 of our closest Camino friends at the Adobe Restaurant in El Burgo Ranero last night, I realized that there has not been a location that I have visited, in all our vacations through the years, where you can be with people you have never met, from all over the world, and feel so connected with one another. All of us have a common goal, Santiago, so the ice breaker has been done for us. The wonderful people walking the Camino, and those living in the villages who support and profit from the pilgrims, are so willing to assist, are very supportive and take part in whatever is occurring at that moment. The restaurant owner was closing after he served us and when we started singing, he came to our table and began recording us on his phone and enjoying the impromptu concert!

I love the spontaneity and flexibility that is so much a part of one’s experience on The Way. Gary and I thought we would eat at 3:30pm yesterday but realized the menu selections were going to be better starting at 6:30pm – Change in plans #1. Ohio Mom called out to Gary and I from her hotel window as we were walking by on the small and quiet street: “Hola! “ (Hello!), “Let’s meet for dinner at 6:30pm” I told her. When we gathered at 6:30, not only were we joined by Ohio Mom and her four daughters, but two women from Oregon and another woman from the US – Change in plans #2. Now a total of 10, we decided not to eat at the restaurant we were standing in front of, as they were already busy, but opted to go to another one down the street with lots of vegetarian options which can be difficult to find on the Camino – Change in plans #3. When we arrived at Adobe Restaurant, Gary and I realized that we had been there before and the food was amazing. They had a large table on the back patio and we were welcomed with open arms! It all seems to work out when you are relaxed and just go with the flow!

As we were about to leave following dinner, a woman from Australia and two men from France came and sat at our table with a guitar they said they found in the bar. Two people from another table slid over and a sing-a-long, complete with beautiful 17 harmonizing voices began! – Change in plans #4! We did not leave the restaurant until almost 10pm!  We would have stayed longer but several of us were at an Albergue (a hostel) and most have a 10pm curfew. Where in the world can you pull up a chair, to a table of perfect strangers, and feel like you are with family?

Since my job in the corporate meeting business is constant decision making and organization a must, I love the fact that I have very few choices to make each day on The Way. I have one set of clean clothes in my pack, one set on my back, what to wear? Done. Where to go today? West, done. What to eat? We pack a few snacks to eat along the trail; order breakfast part way through the day, finish walking for the day and get dinner at some time between 2 and 8pm. Does it really matter? The routine is simple and the same each day upon arrival…shower, do laundry, relax/nap, eat, socialize (or not) and go to bed. Repeat.

Walking verses biking or driving allows you to experience so many more of your senses. You not only see the flowers, but also smell them. You not only watch the mice scurry across the path but hear them rustling in the leaves. You see the hawk soaring in the thermals above you and then hear him screech. You hear a click, click, noise with chirps and look up to see a huge stork nest with mom feeding her chicks. You come upon another person (pilgrim or local) and they call out: “Buenos Dias, Buen Camino!” (Good day, Good walk) and you respond: “Gracias!” (Thank you!). You experience the hard packed dirt, gravel, blacktop and forest bedding under your feet. You can hear the wind blow the grains and corn in the fields, the dogs and chickens letting you know they are there.

You can walk in silence or listen to music; walk with others or alone; choose to be near the towns and roads or take an ancient remote route. You can cover a few miles or walk for 8 hours in a day. You can stay in a private room with a bath or in a large bunk room and share facilities. You can order fresh squeezed orange juice or espresso made to order. Tonight brings a good night’s sleep in a beautifully renovated horse barn complete with a communal dinner with new and interesting international pilgrims who, in a single day, have a common thread with us and quickly become part of our Camino family.

Elizabeth (2022)

“…You must leave a little space and time for the serendipitous events that happen on the Camino at the darndest times and very frequently… Keith Duke Scott

2022 is a Holy Year, explained by Camino Ways, a tour company, below:

“In 2021, the feast of St. James (July 25th) fell on a Sunday, thus making the year a Holy Year. St. James is the patron saint of Spain and according to the New Testament, he was one of Jesus’ 12 Apostles…

…This only happens every few years and the last (Holy Year) was in 2010. In fact, because of our leap years, Holy Years actually only occur 14 times in a century, so it really is quite a unique experience.

(St. James’) remains are said to be buried in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and are therefore a major source of pilgrimage. People have walked the Camino to Santiago for thousands of years…”

Feel free to read our 2015, 2016 and/or 2019 Camino journals by clicking Camino de Santiago . Then click on the photo of the year you want to read about. That will bring you to our Trailjournals.com past Camino posts.