Grandma's Birthday

Guyses ... Would you please pop into a church today to say a prayer for Grandma Doyle? Today is her birthday!

Ian was close to some flooding yesterday, but Norman was spared the worst of it.

Hope you're enjoying a relaxing day today.

The Dutch Lady

There was a lady who hiked the Camino all the way from the Netherlands not long ago. It took her several months, but she made it. Her three main pieces of advice are*:

1) Take it one day at a time.
2) Listen to your body and rest when you need to rest. Don’t push it.
3) Take Sundays off.

So, I hope Seamus and Noah take a day off and then take every Sunday off from now on. A ruined foot/arch should be avoided by all means. Seeing they have limits on their time (unlike the lady from the Netherlands), spending chunks of kilometers on bikes or a bus is the wise thing to do.

I read about that wine town of Irache … in the medieval days, the townfolk paid their taxes in wine, wheat and labor. How fun to stay in the castle! Glad you’re enjoying the Sietsas! Nothing like a morning of strenuous work followed by a rejuvenating Siesta!

*Taken from To the Field of Stars by Kevin A. Codd.

I Hope the Camino Sign-Maker Got Fired!

Yesterday we decided to push past Estella because 1) we got there around 11 which is way too early to stop, and 2) everyone wants to stop at the big towns. So we pushed a little past. We made it to Villamayor de Monjardin (Upper Village of Mountain Garden?). They had no phone or internet! That put the big town of today way too close as well (Los Arcos). It is ironic that we passed through Los Arcos today, because my feet finally gave in. I think there is something wrong with the arch in my left shoe. I think it's too high or something. It has been bothering me a lot. Today was too much. So I put on my flip flops for what turned into the last about 15 km! I wouldn´t say it's better, but definitely less bad on the feet. We are in Viana tonight and there is a sports store that opens at about 5. I don´t know what happened to the people that colonized America, but they should not have abandoned the siesta culture of Europe. Anyway, we passed through a town that had a sign that said 3km to the next one ... then we saw another one a few km later that said 8. I was pretty mad which is why I´m encouraging firing this camino sign guy. I know no one is perfect, but that was pretty messed up.

Mom - if we can´t find me some shoes, we are going to call you about possibly getting bikes ... I´ll call you, please hear me out. (Love you)

For some reason my camera isn´t hooking up to this computer, so no pictures today. But I´ll go through them to recap some of the past 2 days:

We watched the game 2 nights ago, I was glad to just not lose. I also ordered a Budweiser (1 for a 90 minute game, mom) which turned out to be a flop as it was recommended to drink by 19 May. I guess the Spaniards aren´t too enamored by our beer, so it gets old.

There are huge slugs that are really dark colored. They look big enough to be cat poop. We´ve even seen small dog poop far away and guessed it was a slug.

We got Kinder Eggs. I´ve been calling them Kinder Huevos. But they are different from when we had them in Italy. Its a plastic egg shell, one half has chocolate in it and a small spoon (it's very soft chocolate) the other half has a prize. Mine was actually a little scallop-looking shell that has a button to push and a snake pops out.

We stopped in Bodegas Irache where they have a free wine fountain! I´m no wine expert, but it tasted pretty good to me, and the price was right.

Above the place we stayed last night was a castle that I was told dates back to the Roman days and has been used through the Medieval days. The bar in town had the key and you could walk up the mountain to check it out. We passed. We did about 29 km yesterday (and today, accidentally).

The hostel was free and provided by the church. We left a donation for the average cost of one anyway. It was cool, it was basically just a huge horse shoe-shaped bench with mattresses on it. If I have a dozen kids They get one big room and that´s how the sleeping arrangement is going to be.

That's all I have for now.

Hasta Luego!

Santiago Matamoros (Saint James the Moorslayer)

Sometimes Saint James is portrayed on a horse with a sword held in an aggressive pose and trampling upon some poor fellow. This image is known as "Santiago Matamoros." During The Middle Ages, there was much conflict in Spain between Christians and Muslims. Ambiguous legends suggest that Saint James gave encouragement through visions and prayer to slay as many Moors (a grouping of Muslims) as possible. I have a hard time with this. It is easier for me to believe that the body of Saint James … even if it was in a stone sarcophagus … drifted all the way across the Mediterranean Sea, through the Strait of Gibraltar and up the coast of Spain than it is for me to believe that he encouraged the slaying of Moors. I do believe he hoped for all to learn of Christ … but I find it hard to believe that Saint James encouraged a Moorish genocide.

Logroño

I guess the boys had a very busy day, or could not find a computer. I wonder if they are approaching the city of Logroño … if so, 1/5 of their journey would be behind them. Logroño was in a very desirable location in the Middle Ages, and so consequently had many battles … groups fighting for the location. As a result, few medieval buildings remain. It’s evidently somewhat of a modern/industrial sort of city now. But, it does have a river going through it, the Río Ebro. If Seamus and Noah happened to have their inner tubes with them, hopped into the Río Ebro and went tubing down the river about 110 miles, they would reach Zaragoza … which is where Mary appeared to the apostle James and gave him encouragement for his evangelizing. It would be neat to visit the spot, and the boys would probably enjoy giving their feet a break like that, but then they would be many miles off track. Maybe another time.

The Agony Of The Feet

Ouch … I remember Seamus once arching his back and screaming as we tried to put him back in his car seat. It was 24 summers ago. We were in San Diego and had just driven from New York.

Well, from Puente La Reina, Seamus and Noah have 228 miles before meeting Ian in León … 12 days from today (Thanks for teaching me how to use Bing Maps before you left, Noah!). A grueling journey. I wish I could have given them the full 6 weeks or 2 months for the complete trip, but they have responsibilities and we have limited funds. A month (and two weeks for Ian) was the best we could do.

While Chad and I are sleeping tonight, Seamus and Noah might happen across a retablo or two. Retablos are large, ornate backdrops for altars that became very popular in Spain. When it starts getting hot and pilgrims want to cool off, they often step inside one of the many old churches along the way to rest for a few moments. If Seamus and Noah stop inside the Church of San Salvador in Lorca, they’ll see a “theatrical” image of Saint James displayed on the retablo. If they don’t see this retablo, they will undoubtedly see at least one other before the end of their journey.

A Sad Note … Today is the funeral of my Aunt Lib. She had been ill, but it was still sad to lose her. Intriguingly, she died on Wednesday, which was the feast of “Our Lady Virgin Mother of Grace” and her funeral today is the feast of the “Immaculate Heart of Mary.” Pretty neat for a lady who had a great devotion to the Blessed Mother. I like to think that Aunt Lib is keeping an eye on my boys … she had six sons of her own (followed by a daughter … named Mary, of course!).

Have You Ever Seen a Baby that Hates the Car Seat?

... and it arches its back and cries once it sees the seat? I think that's how my feet feel about my shoes. I wish the Camino was flip flop friendly.
We are in Punta la Reina and have crossed over the bridge my mom made note of ... only to turn back because we had passed all the hostels and didn´t want to walk to the next town. We washed out clothes and used the dryer which mostly dried our clothes. We also went to a store for an onion and tomato, and another one for a tube of cookies that look a lot like Hit Cookies ... that's going to be breakfast. We also got some kind of sausage at a meat market. We´re not real sure what kind it is. We are going to make lunch today and eat out for dinner instead, so we can watch the U.S. play England. I really hope the U.S. wins.





Today was super muddy. We also saw a lot of windmills (you can kind of see one in the background above). There was also a shrine to the pilgrims (the picture is below).

The first picture is a picture of me with my pants pulled up under my poncho. I start the day with some windbreaker pants and take them off when I get too warm. Every time I take them off I sing the I Wear No Pants song from the Dockers commercial. I can´t figure out how to get it down here with this text.

We spent a lot of time up in the mountains-hills today. It is amazing how they farm every bit of land they can. There were some crops up high.

Annnnd I´m starving. So, I´m going to work with Noah to see what kind of lunch we can whip up out of the mystery sausage and veggies.

Hasta Luego

Following Along

Not long after I go to bed tonight, Seamus and Noah will probably wake up and once again hit the trail. I’m grateful to David M. Gitlitz & Linda Kay Davidson for putting together a fabulous book that includes all sorts of intriguing details about the Camino. Through their book I can follow along the boys’ paths and learn some fun things. For example, just a few tiny towns beyond Cizur Menor, where they will begin their journey in the morning, they’ll pass a fountain of water for thirsty travelers near a hamlet called Zariquiégui. Supposedly, St. James once appeared at the spot to give water to a tormented and parched pilgrim. If they get far enough, they will see a neat statue of Saint James at the merging of two major Camino routes. A bit after that, they will have crossed over a pretty Romanesque bridge while exiting the city of Puente La Reina (Bridge of the Queen) - the same bridge that’s on the cover of their Pilgrim Credentials.

The authors of this book hiked the Camino for the first time in 1974 … when they saw NO other pilgrims along the way and very few albergues with beds to sleep on. For their 1996 pilgrimage, they came across hundreds of others on the Camino! The renewed interest is a curious phenomenon … 200,000 pilgrims are expected in Santiago this year! So, the boys should see more and more people as they get closer to Santiago de Compostela.

My Dogs Are Tired

Wow,

I felt like a bigshot coming into this figuring we could walk till about 5 or 6. False. We get pretty tired by lunch, then we eat, and go a little farther. Although, after a bit of looking, we weren´t 100% sure we´d make it Pamplona today. But we made it barely past at Zizur Menor.

The picture is of Noah and me today. Right behind my head was a city that we were assuming was Pamplona. Then the trail turned and we were way off. But we cruised through Pamplona, very close to the bus station that took us to our starting point. We found a bank and cashed in Noah´s American money. The banker asked to see his passport and then gave us a funny look and asked questions because it says he was born in Italy. I explained that we live in the US now and he was born there because Poppy was in the military.

Yesterday we almost ran out of money. So we couldn´t afford dinner at a restaurant. So we went to the store and bought enough bread and pasta to eat dinner and breakfast too. It wasn´t half bad.

I´m running out of time on here. We´re going to find more food for dinner.

Ciao!

The Town of Zubiri - - - A Basque Lesson

“Zubiri” is Basque for “Town of the Bridge.” There is a medieval bridge over the Río Arga in the village of Zubiri. According to a Santiago pilgrim from the 1600s, Fr. Domenico Laffi, this bridge was a very dangerous point in the journey. There were guards who demanded hefty payments from pilgrims ... with threats of beatings or being tossed into the river. I’m glad it is not the 1600s!

*********

A Side Note – The other day I picked up the book The Old Man and the Sea from the library. Yesterday as I read the introduction, I learned that Ernest Hemmingway referred to this book as his “Santiago story.” I liked that.

Ambition is a Funny Thing

Well, Noah and I are on pace for our 20 mile per day ambition ... but we are pooped. We just hit the 10 mile mark in Zubiri (from Roncesvalles, there was no taxi to France by the time we got there). We doubt we´ll knock out another 10 this afternoon. We´re pretty tired. Time´s running out. But we´re still having fun!

Ian Leaves Two Weeks From Today

Ian was a little shell-shocked the other day. When I purchased his airline tickets a while back, there were a few glitches (some dramatic cost differences, actually) and he ended up with an itinerary that includes a 12-hour lay-over in Madrid! I hated to tell him about that … so I didn’t (Sorry Ian!). He mentioned on the phone a few days ago that when he went to take a closer look at his plane schedule he noticed the HUGE layover and hoped it was a typo … but it wasn’t! But, I know my resourceful son will figure something out. I doubt he’ll spend 12 hours sitting in a chair waiting patiently. He’s a patient person, but that’s beyond even his abilities! He already knows of a few sights in Madrid … also, pilgrimages are not meant to be perfectly comfortable. He’ll get a head start on the challenge of the whole thing!

Roncesvalles (500 Miles To Go)

For a day, Camino de Santiago de Compostela might be referred to as “Le Chemin de St. Jacques” … the French translation. I was really surprised that the boys decided to try to start at St-Jean-Pied-De-Port because they are already on a tight schedule. But, they got to Roncesvalles after the last taxi to St-Jean-Pied-De-Port had left. I am very glad they can see/hike the Pyrenees Mountains, experience a bit of Basque culture and hopefully meet a few French people, to see that they have many pluses. I hope they are getting off to a great start today. It is already 12:40 PM for them ... 1:00 is quitting time for most Saintiago Pilgrims.

We Still Love Each Other ... So Far

Holy smokes, we are pooped. The flight leaving DFW left a little late. It was fun though. Noah sat next to some guy that curled up in a ball and slept most of the time ... except for take-off and landing where he played with his iphone instead of turning it off. I sat next to a guy named David and his wife who were on their way to Bulgaria to visit her family. He is from St. Louis and went to seminary school in Croatia where he met his wife. Needless to say, he didn´t become a priest. He is now a high school science teacher in Kansas. Very nice people. The plane had several movies to watch. There was also a documentary on a Spanish musician who did the Camino all the way from the Netherlands! Pretty cool. There was a guy in the row behind Noah who helped me get a few pics of the sunrise from the plane. It was pretty cool.

Because the flight was a little late, that put us in Madrid at about 11 to get our boarding tickets and get to our next gate for Pamplona in 15 minutes. By the time we got our boarding passes and figured out where we needed to go, the sign said it would take 20 min to get there and the boarding pass said if you are not there 15 min before the departure time, you won´t get on. Fortunately that flight was delayed by 30 min, so we were ok.

Then we sat on the plane for about 30 min because of weather. But we finally landed. I used the ATM, it seemed to work just fine. We went to information and found out how to get to Jean-Pied-De-Port (that's a little surprise for you Mammy). The lady said she spoke a little English and then proceeded to speak zero English. But we figured it out. So we took an airport bus to a big bus hub, got tickets to Orreaga-Roncesvalles (bus), then we´ll catch a cab to Jean-Pied-De-Port.

The second picture is in front of some church by the bus station. It was locked so we couldn´t go in. But it looks like Mary is on the top.

Noah just tried making a panic over losing his bus ticket to Roncesvalles ... turns out he didn´t know what it looked like. We have it. The bus leaves at 6, it's 4 right now. We´re going to try to stay awake until we find a hostel so we can go straight to sleep. The idea is that we will set our body clocks in one night ... we´ll see how that goes.

Pamplona

Seamus and Noah should have landed in Pamplona about an hour and a half ago. While I am just waking up and getting ready to start the day, it is now mid-day for them. I’m so curious to know what they are doing! I have to admit, I’m glad that they are missing the “Running of the Bulls” (July 7) … that might distract them a bit!

I also wonder … will they backtrack into the Pyrenees? Some claim that the true beginning of the Camino is in St-Jean-Pied-De-Port just inside the French border. Others say that the classic beginning is in Roncesvalles … just on the Spanish side of the border. The Die-Hards insist that you must start from your front door and walk the whole way (that would be tricky if your front door is in Texas!). At any rate, there are lots of routes to choose from, but, it is the journey of the heart that matters the most.

A Piece of Trivia – The tradition of Running with the Bulls was made popular to Americans through Ernest Hemingway’s classic book, The Sun Also Rises.

Various Hiking Routes to Santiago

Brotherly Love

The boys are getting so grown up … and used to living life their own way. Seamus and Ian have been out of the house for 6 and 4 years now and Noah has gotten used to practically having the whole back of the house to himself. Plus, Noah is now a teenager … Seamus and Ian have not experienced close-up the phenomenon of Noah slowly morphing into a young man … with more thoughts, feelings and opinions of his own developing all the time. The boys’ visits together these days are typically short and fun. They are not used to lots of togetherness anymore. Another prayer of mine is that these three confident, independent brothers can face the challenges of so much time together combined with hours of physical endurance and somewhat archaic living conditions … with grace, humility, patience, forbearance, acceptance, forgiveness, joy and fraternal love.

Love my boys.