Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Day 7-8 Across the fields and vineyards days

These have been two good days of walking even though the 28+ degree heat has made the afternoons harder.
We left Estella a very pretty historic city and soon came to the Monasterie Irache where there was a fountain tap where you could fill your bottles with vino tinto. Since it was about 8am we resisited but there were a couple of young Irish lads there and I suspect they may have taken the opportunity.
There was a major climb in the day up to a small hilltop village Villamayor de Monjardin which had an unusual castle overlooking it.
Los Arcos was the overnight stay and we stayed at the Municipal Albergue. It was a bit crowded but OK.
We went to 8pm mass in the main church of St Mary of the Arches. This church has a magnificent Renaissance Bell Tower which we could hear ringing out as we approached acroos the fields.. The baroque interior was quite spectacular and the mass very devotional. At the end the priest called up all the pilgrims for a blessing and gave out pilgrim prayers. He was quite a charasmatic character and full of life.
It was interesting that there was quite a big congregation and they recited the rosary before mass and there was a litany said. The whole church was glittering alight in the gold and embellishments and with many iconic figures and saints.
" More devotion and less devotions" used to be a mantra after Vatican II. To be honest though, there was a real sense of devotion in the prayers and while there is the traditional symbol and ritual there was an underlying spirituality in the atmosphere of the church........
Viana is on a hill top and is a walled town. The town hall clock chimes as I write.and we have walked so fast today we have beaten our bag carrier and Betty is waiting patiently, not, to arrive so that we can have a shower and freshen up.
Betty says
"The whole region of the Navarre which we leave tomorrow has been exceptionally beautiful. There are not many animals but lots of birds and insects, centipedes and ants and amazingly what looked like wild blue daisies. There are many green olives on the trees not yet ripe to eat. The grapes along the way have been very sweet although we have only sampled a few. "

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Day 6 To Estella and The Irish John Day

Enough about the travel highlights because I think they may be boring non camino travellers .. the camino has some really interesting people .
THE STORY OF IRISH JOHN
Remember the irishman in the kilt.
He dined with us last night at the Albergue and told his story showing an irish paper clipping.
The short version of the story.... hopefully accurate in respect to John
His father was a publican( now deceased) who at some stage in his life inherited a skull and a scallop shell...couldn´t quite work out the mysterious details... The skull somehow disappeared but he gave the scallop shell to his son Irish John and said " If you ever get a chance, take this shell back to Santiago so that th spirit of the owner can rest"
this year there was a replica ship built in Ireland which used to take pilgrims to Coruna in Northern Spain for the Camino.
Irish John seized the chance´signed up´got his camino credentials and they all started out at ST JAMES GATE in Dublin ( mentioned previously as the Guinness Brewery).
He is walking in his kilt because all the travellers were dressed up appropriately.
I touched the shell.
He is a very kind and courteous man as we have passed him and he us many times.
I hope this retelling does justice to his camino to honour his father´s request.
BUEN CAMINO
From Estella a beautiful medieval town.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Day 5 As High as the Wind Vanes Day

The kindly auberge manager supplied breakfast after a " guten morgan" at 6am. We set out in the cold following pilgrims in the mist. Pamploma had a big Saturday night it seemed because there were still revellers in the streets and the narrow streets showed all the evidence of partying.
We wended our way out and the camino icons were great guides.

We were passed again by two young French girls who we respectfully referred to quietly as Prancer and Dancer. They were so fast and effortless in their walking with their packs... and they would be far ahead and as we plodded on there they were again passing us.. It was good to see the energy and enthusiasm .

The mountain climb for the day wasn´t too bad.. steady but sure..with the Weather Vanes/Turbines whatever high on the horizon. It was getting very hot as the sun broke through the mist and no wind at all so the vanes were quite lifeless.

Being Sunday we had many Spanish runners shooting past us at a great rate as we stopped to suck in air. Then there were trail bike riders grunting through the gears as they climbed impossible altitude.
At the top there was a kind of panoramic iron crafted tableau of pilgrims.
A very slow down and down and down some more and we had a coffee fix with some Aussies.
Puenta La Reina was just an hour away and we struglled in , across the majestic bridge and the up to a Refugio on a hillside.
met the Irishman again( without the kilt..bit hard to recognise but he was wearing green..must be the midges) and the 1000km super French lady( we beat her in)

This probably chalks up the 100km mark I think give or take a few clicks.
It´s a bit hard to make this blog a little interesting at the end of a long day. We are both pretty tired but we hope that we are getting into the rhythm and we are just taking each day as it comes. Sorry can´t post photos today on this computer.
Hasta Leghos

Day 4 A Pamploma no Bulls day

Zubiri was an interesting stay at the private refugio.
There was a middle age Dutchman who had already walked 800km and was now walking 40km per day. He actually walked in one day which we had taken three. " The last 10 km today were hard" he said as we slumped on our bunks.

There was another French lady we met the day before and she had walked 100okm solo already and she looked as though she could run the whole way.

The walk today was very good and without th mini mountains of yesterday. Through peaceful rural settings with sheep grazing in the fields. We had breakfast at the first main toen and met Anne Marie and John from Canberra. They were catching a busa to Pamploma as Anne Marie had blisters... sensible option.

Not much more of interest to say except we reached Pamoloma and the long walk through the burbs. We stayed at a really great albergue by the river which was run by a German couple..friendly, helpful, clean... The Canadians and other Aussies were there.
The plazas in Pamploma were fascinating and there was a big street procession. Not sure what it was about but I think the Spaniards like to celebrate and there were huge figurines of kings and queens and music.

Decided that we would head on from Pamploma... oh yes we didn,t see any bulls but saw the bull ring!!!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

St Jean pied de port glimpses


St James Gate at the entrance to the Citadel and the old town.


Day 3 Packing it to Zubiri Day





After the pilgrim blessing at Roncevalles we thought that this might be good for the trip.

"Many ups and downs" we were told and there were more ups then downs.

Made good progress at the start with the pacls. Cold weather but quite beautiful.

An Irishman in a kilt passed us " not good for midges" he said and then when he said " you look like you have irish background" I was a new friend when I said yes.

We have been walking with some Canberrians of our vintage and that has been good. There is a group of Canadian women also that we have met who have the same bag carriers. We were also hailed by some Aussies who saw our flag emblem Tasmanians .. they were really fit.
We struggled into Zubiri and after a hot shower thwe world looked better. Not such a fun day but everyone was hurting from the hills.
Pampona tomorrow

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Day 2 A Pyranees Panoramic Day

We made it to Roncevalle...... yes

Set out in the dark again and the dawn opened up beautiful vistas of the Pyranees. Up the ashphalt with other pilgrims in the distance and behind. Again the valleys were quite inspiring... did not see the great eagles that soared the heights yesterday.

We passed the Statue of Our Lady and almost on cue the fog descended so that 1 metre vision was good.. Pretty exciting because we needed to detour over the heights and fields at a cross.. We found the cross in the fog and there was a Frenchman who had pitched a small tent and said he wasn´t going over the pass in the fog. He did offer to share the pup tent which was kind of him.
It was too cold to stop so we pushed on and for about 15 minutes there were not many markers until they started to appear and that was a relief. Just small red and white painted signs were very reassuring.
We came to the frontier and did the bonjour... buenos dies salutes.
The fog started to drift so that we could see into deep valleys. This path is now great because they were erecting numbered snow poles and there were more camino icons. The snow poles will be very useful for winter trekking as this area must lie under thick coats of snow.

Too cold to stop even though we had long donned our goretex jackets and were just thankful we had changed these in preference to the lightweight ponchos we had bought..

We headed past a group of day packers who were saying prayers together and singing a hymn..They had bussed past us on the road, got out at Our Lady´s statue. Perhaps a religious bushwalking group.. hard way to go on a picnic as we saw them dining later in Roncevalles.

Then down through some magic beech forest to the monastery...The trees were in autumn colours and we sat in the warm sunlight and lunched on the Orisson sanwiches.

We booked into a hostal as the albergue was not open to 4pm and we needed to regroup...lots of regrouping will be here.

We will go to the pilgrim mass in the church later.
We are tired but happy as the saying goes...will try to add some more interesting bits in this blog as it is sounding like a post card

DAY 1 An Orisson and Eagles Day

The morning was dark and foggy as we set out through the Spanish Gate of the town. The path was clearly marked with the friendly camino logos which did not quite match the unfriendly road upwards.

However the scenery was beautiful. Green fields and valleys and spectacular views of the Pyranees ( through the fog) There did not seem to be many other pilgrims around although we met two Canadian girls at the start ( also having their bags collected)

The climb soon became quite serious going and the fog seemed to descend on us giving a ghostly appearance. Sun filtered through revealing deep green valleys and livestock. With the sun came the humidity ( 9 days of rain in France said a travelling Irish bike rider ) .... sunny days ahead.

We made it to the hostel...It was meant to be dorm style but we were given a small room at the back which was great. It is good that we are able to finish about mid afternoon and regroup.
Lots of pilgrims there... An Aussie couple from Canberra... The Canadians and many others.

In the afternoon we saw many eagles riding the thermals in the valley as they sought prey. Quite majestic birds in their flight and unique to this area of the Pyranees

Oh yes and our bags were there too ...Had a great pilgrim meal and we ate too much but were sensible with the vino....
Looking forward to the climb tomorrow.

Progress to Pied de Port

The TGV down from Paris was great and at Bayonne we panicked a bit when the train was late and we were rushed on to a bus.....all´s well as the rail line was washed out.

St Jean Pied de Port ( St jean at the foot of the mountains) was very beautiful.. great middle ages town with a citadel with ramparts where I am sure the French and Spanish had some interesting exchanges over time..

We walked through the St James Gate....sorry no photos as can´t get usb access to this computer...try another later.

We caught the pilgrim mass at night and at the end all the pilgrims were invited up and asked where we were from and the priest read them out with a blessing.... pretty moving

We got our credentials.. passport from the pilgrim office and the customary scallop shell...oh well what would it be without the shells

Have to confess here that I knew of a bagage carrier company and I thought that we could wreck ourselves on the two day transit of the Pyranees... that´s my excuse.. Betty heartily agreed.... It was a good idea as we were able to really get into walking mode..

A very memorable town with its cobblestone streets and atmosphere

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOBUSES

Great trip in 20 hours to Paris and our luggage arrived.

Afternoon stroll around the sites and sights of Paris and to notre Dame cathedral. Grand exterior and inspirational interior... filtered light through thousands of stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings....lefet a very deep inmpression.

By accident walked down the Rue de St Jacques ( st james street) where it is told that pilgrims set out from the cathedral on pillgrimmage...
OFF TOMORROW TO THE PYRANEES TO START OUR PILGRIMMAGE

PARIS PHOTOS







Friday, September 18, 2009

THOUGHT STREAMS ABOUT CAMINO LIFE


An 800km walkinging pilgrimage simplifies daily living.
It simply comes down to a few simple statements and questions on daily survival.
*** "All that I have is packed in my back. How do I make it b........LIGHTER??????"
*** "Today I've been walking for 6 hours( estoy consado). Where's the next refugio and will there be a bed and shower vacant?"
*** " I haven't had breakfast or lunch. Where's the next cafe?"
That does sound a bit of a human body needs... I know the spirit will be fed by the journey( mm that's sound a bit like a platitude ,sorry )
Anyway,these are some of the questions we have been asking ourselves about the camino for quite a few months.
Oh yes!!! We have got our packs down to 7kg ( Betty) and 10kg ( Jim) after a lot of effort and I hope we can resist putting in extras this week end. OK, so I did add a dime novel to read but I did cut my toothbrush in half!!!!! (LOL). Yes indeed you can see by this talk ,what you can be reduced to saying and doing.
However, if we knew all the answers it wouldn't really be an adventure because that is at the element of moving out of a comfort zone. I guess because it's a holiday ,I don't really want to move too far out ...actually.
Anyway I'm writing this in school time when everyone else is busy marking so I am going to do some school finalising.
One thing that will be a bit special for me today is touching the crest on the St James gates before I leave school . I don't have a lot of devotional practices but call it, whatever it is ,the touching of the St James Crest does have a special meaning for me and I feel it carries the heart and people of this community. ...Works for me
Excuse the muted excitement and random thoughts of this blog. Hopefully will have something a bit more interesting along the road

Thursday, September 17, 2009

TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG

This blog has been pretty formal up to this stage- info feast .....

Question is ...." Do I need a blog to publicly track this journey as we set out in a few days?" .
Well I am a writer. I have always written diaries of all our overseas/national extended trips and also have a kept journals of every bushwalk I have done.....
Really only of interest to me and helpful at times to go back on track notes on past walks. Good for reminiscing....But this is slightly different where the blog is out there .
I have read blogs of many other travellers on the Camino. I know I am interested because I am going there ( cognitive dissonance is the term)
So I guess I preface this blog which starts out on the Camino... welcome ...and you are a mouse click awy from saying goodbye. If you have stayed you have found something interesting ..good.
I hope you find something . I hope also that I can find many things on this journey and particularly the spirituality of Santiago(St James).
Buen Camino
Happy Trails
Jim

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

WHAT IS A PILGRIM?





A pilgrim (lat. peregrinus) is one who undertakes a pilgrimage, literally 'far afield'. This is traditionally a visit to a place of some religious or historic significance; often a considerable distance is traveled. Examples include a Christian or Jew visiting Jerusalem or a Muslim visiting Mecca.

pilgrim
–noun
1.
a person who journeys, esp. a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion: pilgrims to the Holy Land.
2.
a traveler or wanderer, esp. in a foreign place.
3.
an original settler in a region.

pilgrimage
Noun
1. a journey to a shrine or other holy place
I think that the pilgrim/pilgrimage is not so much about where one is going .
(probably need a destination of a sacred place/cultural site/ historical site or may be to a place of natural beauty)
But it's more about the personal journey of the wanderer,wayfarer, traveller,...the camino-er
Happy trails pilgrim



Monday, September 14, 2009

Sunday, September 13, 2009

CAMINO THOUGHTS



The Camino
When we started, we did not know - exactly - why we were doing it
We had lives which were - more or less - satisfactory
We had friends known much of our lives
We had children - changed from chrysalis to butterflies
We had things:
things like machines
things like music
things like pictures
things like shelves full of books
things like money and pensions and security
We did not have one thing - and maybe that was why we started
***********

When we started, we put one foot in front of the other
We still did not know - precisely - why we were doing it
The miles passed - many of them pleasantly
Our feet blistered and were slow to heal
Our ankles turned on loose stones
The rain beat its way through our clothes
The cold chilled the marrow of our bonesSome nights, refuge was hard to find
Some days, miles of hot dust had no fountains
**************

When the first few of many long days had passed
We found - without words - that we no longer walked together
That together we spoke in our own tongues -
and often of things we had left behind where we began
That together we shut out new experience with the wall of our togetherness
That alone we spoke in other tongues and of our common experience
That alone we were open - open with interest and curiosity.
Often we met - with gladness - at the end of the day
To know our paths went on together was enough
***********

When we got to the cathedral we sat down
We saw - through the eyes of those long before us
The blinding faith, the crucial thirst for salvation
The tower slowly closing off the sky
And we counted our blessings - several hundred of them
Starting with the kindness of ordinary people on the way
And with the warmth of other travellers on the road
Travellers not at all like us - not in age, not in origin, not in interests
But warm across all these distancings
And ending with the friendship and love
We had left behind where we began.
***************

When we got to the sea at the end of the world
We sat down on the beach at sunset
We knew why we had done it
To know our lives less important than just one grain of sand
To know that we did not need the things we had left behind us
To know the we would nevertheless return to them
To know that we needed to be where we belonged
To know that kindness and friendship and love is all one needs
To know that we did not - after all - have to make this long journey to find this out
To know that - for us - it certainly helped



written near Sanguesa, Navarra, September 2003 (
Taken from http://www.santiago-compestela.com/

Sunday, September 6, 2009

THE PILGRIM TRAVELLER






For the Traveller
Every time you leave home,
Another road takes you
Into a world you were never in.
New strangers on other paths await.
New places that have never seen you
Will startle a little at your entry.
Old places that know you well
Will pretend nothing
Changed since your last visit.
**********
When you travel, you find yourself
Alone in a different way,
More attentive now
To the self you bring along,
Your more subtle eye watching
You abroad and how what meets you
Touches that part of the heart
That lies low at home:
********
How you unexpectedly attune
To the timbre in some voice,
Opening in conversation
You want to take in
To where your longing
Has pressed hard enough
Inward, on some unsaid dark,
To create a crystal of insight
You could not have knownYou needed
To illuminate
Your way.
*************
When you travel,
A new silence Goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.
*********************
A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure, before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you toward
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life,
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.
**********
May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.
May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you. ~
John O'Donohue ~

Thursday, September 3, 2009

ST JAMES GATE



Traditionally, European cities had a gate through which pilgrims set out for Santiago de compostela. The gate was called ST JAMES GATE.
Notre Dame cathedral has a western door called La Porte st Jacques which leads to the la grande rue saint jacques.


AND IN DUBLIN St. James’ Gate in Dublin was traditionally a main starting point for Irish pilgrims to begin their journey on the Camino de Santiago. Their pilgrims’ passport were stamped here before setting sail, usually for La Coruna, north of Santiago. It is still possible for Irish pilgrims to get their passports stamped here, and many do, while on their way to Santiade Compostella. It is the birthplace of the famous brewery Guinness which seems an appropriate place to begin a journey



St James College has a long tradition for those entering and leaving the campus to touch the bronze crest on the entrance gate.

For the new arrival it is a blessing and a welcome to the safety and protection of the St James community.
For the departing it is a blessing for the journey ahead.
It has all the elements of the pilgrim heart of St James