Camino del Norte

  Santiago to Phoenix Today Loujote and Cathinea have 22 hours of travel to Phoenix. I started reading Don Quijote Man of La Mancha weeks before we left for Spain. How could I not read this literary classic when I share so many characteristics with the Don from Campo Montiel himself! I am now about half way through, not having given diligence to the read during these past 20 days across the country side of Spain. Now, sitting on planes and in airports I am picking up where I left off, with Quijote promising Panza the world but delivering him nothing but wild eyed mis-adventures and other mischief, all the while praising his beloved Dolcinea del Tobaso. The difference being that Cathinea is the one who has been subject to the hallucinatory chivalry of Loujote as they tilted at their own windmills on this wild adventure. And she is every bit as elevated in esteem and amour by Loujote for her beauty, virtue, and incomparable loveliness, not to mention grit. So, let’s add a new knicnam...

 Today we returned the bicis and spent the day sightseeing around the city. I could easily spend a week here and still not see everything I want to see.  My favorite sight of the day. St. Francis adorning the Convent of St. Francis which he founded in 1214. He had come to Santiago as a pilgrim to visit the tomb of St. James and was so inspired by the sight that he founded a convent here.  The Convent of St. Francis The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. A baroque masterpiece. Santiago stands as one of three major pilgrimage sites in all of Christianity. The other two are Rome where St. Peter is entombed in St. Peter’s Basillica and Jeruselem where Jesus is buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  And just a few more photos to finish the day…

 El Camino es la vida The. Basillica The shrine to St James just outside the Basilica. St James is the larger carving. The smaller carving is an anonymous pilgrim.  Entering Santiago O Pedrouzo to Santiago Everything temporal comes to an end, but eternity lasts forever. Today, our journey across the hills, plains, coastlines and mountains of Spain came to an end, but in many ways our journey across eternity has just begun. So we say goodbye to the farms and fields of the Basque Country, the rugged coastline of Asturias and the verdant mountains and forests of Galicia.    We entered Santiago with hundreds of other pilgrims of all ages from all over the world, speaking a multitude of languages . They entered the hallowed city, some hobbling, some with a bit of spring left in their step, some singing, some crying, all humbled. The Camino will do that to you. But deep down, isn’t that why we came?    In the words of one of our country’s greatest presidents, “We...

  Sunrise over the monastery 

 Please return to this post to read the stories of the day. We are staying in a centuries old stone albuerge and WiFi is not good inside the monastery.  The monastery of Santa Maria de Sobrado dos Monxes. The monastery was founded in 951 and is a UNESCO Heritage site. It is occupied by Trappist monks of the Cistercian order. The horse stables were renovated to create the hostel space for pilgrims. 

 I forgot to mention another incredible human experience. Lou left his water bottle and shirt in Miguel’s (the man who tried to convince us to go a “better” way) car. The friendly people at the farm where we got our clean water gave Lou a water bottle. Further down the road up drives Miguel looking for us to deliver Lou’s things. He must have driven up the path (he had a 4 wheel drive) that he thought we might have taken on his advise. . After not finding us he drove miles down the road and finally found us. Way out of his way. Once again we are very humbled and grateful. 

  Lou and Miguel. Another Angel helping us along the way.  Our Lady of the Remedies, Montanedo Leaving our hostel this morning on our way to our morning cafe con leche.  Only 3 days to go to Santiago. Feeling a little sad it’s almost over but our bodies are saying “yay!” The climb over the mountain  The mountain (looks like I little hill in this photo but believe me - Cathy.-  it was a mountain! We were almost to the top when this very kind man, Miguel pulled up beside us in his van to let us know there was a better way to go. We thought we had a great route dialed in after much conversation with several kind people in Mondoñedo so this was somewhat frustrating. Lou and Miguel must have spent at least 45 minutes going over a different route which we couldn’t understand. Finally Miguel offered to take Lou to the road to show him the way while I stayed behind on this field with the bikes and waited. I prayed hard that Lou wasn’t gone forever ( just the way my brai...

  Lucinda with the charm I gave her for helping us. We left the Green Coast of Spain today and turned sharply inland into the green mountains of Galicia. Truly a turning point on our trip. More than once have we wondered if we would make it this far. Doubt creeps in like an insidious snake looking to strike in a moment of weakness. After two very long, very hard days we had a shorter day today, only rolling outward 28 miles and upward 3000 ft. The fog over the coast this morning was cool and wispy like the vapor of sublimated air over dry ice.  We knew we had a shorter day today so we rolled out a bit late and by the time we mounted our rails, the fog had lifted giving way to the heavier vapors of the coastal cloud-cover. The first five miles were precious. Rolling along the coast with no traffic on flat roads and the most incredible ocean scenery you can imagine. We stopped at a cafe which, much to our dismay, was closed but afforded us the chance to dismount and look eastwar...

  Photo of meat at the market today. Thinking Brendo will appreciaste.  Beach day at Playa As Catedrales.   Planted some very special intentions here