Jour 15- September 5 dedicated to the birthday girl...

Day 15

This day is dedicated to Nancy Butler Cosman.

We left Burgos late -9:00 am. K and S are going on ahead by bus. 

We had breakfast at a wonderful cafe called Los Tonales, by the Cathedral. Manolo, the owner, was so sweet. It also had great Wifi, which is a rarity indeed, so we took that time to upload pictures, especially.   We walked 22 km, of which three quarters was the Meseta. Most people bus this part- they find it flat and boring. It is a challenge, as you are really out in the open, with nothing but small brown hills on either side. In spite of that, we had a great day. We met interesting locals like Maria and had a little picnic lunch in the square of the tiny village of Tardejos, complete with cerveza.

Maria was a lady near Rabe who adores Canadians. She watches for them, on her bicycle, and makes sure they know how to navigate the detour, caused by the construction of two huge, new overpasses.

I think she does this because she loves to meet and talk to people, and if they speak Spanish, all the better.

She is a language teacher, who no longer teaches, because the structure of the family has broken down totally, per Maria, and the parents rule. Hey, teachers out there - does that sound familiar? I told her I knew exactly how she felt.

She was thrilled to receive a Canada/US pin from Nancy, and wanted my email address and my blog site.  All the time she is talking, she is smiling and laughing.  Treasures like Maria are why we walk the Camino, and don't bus any part of it. Not yet anyway. We soldier on!  

When we finally saw our destination, the tiny pueblo of Hornillos in the far distance, when we crested that last hill, after over five hours, we were ecstatic!

I started to climb up a small hill, to go have a whiz, when Nancy says - "Joanne, there is someone there sleeping." There was! It was Martin, our shoeless Frenchman from Day 8 in Viana. He is wearing shoes today, and has a backpack, but he is still not talking. He always acknowledges me when I speak to him, by tapping his heart and gesturing outwards.  Later, I saw him listening to a young Frenchwoman.

We have met people who have been hiking since July (Germans), Quebecois who had already been hiking 45 days through France, before we met them in Granon for our Italian supper. 

For many people, this Camino is a big, physical challenge.  I know for me, that part was initially, and still is, a very important component of my journey. However, I am discovering many other aspects to this walk. When I told Nancy today that sometimes I think I would have no trouble just to keep walking indefinitely, as long as I had Vimy, she said "Are you going to do a Forrest Gump on us?"

Today is Nancy's birthday. She has a been a wonderful walking companion. She is always cool and calm, and never gets her knickers in a knot, like I do ( a lot!), but then I calm down quickly. She is the better pilgrim, because she is walking on, day after day, in spite of a lot of physical adversity, which I will leave her to share, but which I can tell you has a lot to do with her feet.

May God bless and keep you well, as we journey this wonderful Camino together, mon amie! Happy Birthday!

With love and gratitude from Hornillos del Camino, Spain.

Day 14- September 4

Day 14

Dedicated to my friends John and Gloria who are doing their own Camino, in a different way.

We left late- 8:15. OMG - we slept in until 6:30. On our own - K and S are bussing to Burgos. We did 20.5 km today.

I feel great! Long hike into Burgos. First we had to find the Albergue where we had sent the backpacks. However, we first stopped in the suburbs to buy a sweater and a Camino buff, and get money out of the bank. I had lost my lenses cleaner in Villafranca- the only thing I lost and I had been bemoaning the fact ever since. When I sat on a bench to figure out where we were, Nancy went into the optical shop right in front of us and asked for a lenses wipe. He gave her two! God bless her for doing that. It made me cry!

We saw half of the Edmonton group of 9 on our hike today. We hadn't seen any of that original group of 40 starting out from Orisson on Day 2, in a few days (other than K and S) so it was nice to see them. They wanted to know if we had seen their companion with the leg braces. I said "Oh, you mean the Bishop? No, we saw God, but not the Bishop."

They got a chuckle out of that!

We are in a lovely apartment in the heart of Burgos, booked through AirBnb, and celebrating Nancy's birthday one day early. Fiesta time!💥 Sari and Katherina have made a lovely supper of salad, chicken, bread, wine and Nancy's favourite- apple pie for dessert. I don't know what we have done to deserve meeting such generous people who are now such wonderful friends.

All in all a great day, although the hike through Burgos, first entering through the industrial part, past the airport and then the burbs, before hitting the old town, was very hard on the feet and lower back. We pounded a lot of pavement!

Burgos is a beautiful city. You must see the Cathedral.  People are wonderfully friendly and always ever so helpful.

As Nancy and I walked a lot alone, we shared a lot of our emotional baggage. I know I have some to get rid of, and I think I am letting go of some of it on this Camino.  

We have been hiking for two weeks, and I wouldn't change a single,solitary day, or minute of it.

I carry you all in my thoughts and prayers, especially Gloria and John, today.  Bless you both!

With much love and gratitude from Burgos, Spain.

Jour 13- 2 septembre: dedicated to...

my oldest friend Patsy, with whom I have shared, over a 51 year period, all the joys and sorrows of life, from the birth of our children, to having a crush on the same guy as 20 year olds, to the death of a parent, and everything in between.

We left at 6:40 am in the rain from Villafranca with Sari and and Katerina. It was a very dark, tunnel type climb straight up not ONE, but TWO mountains. What a way to start the day! Plus we left too early to get breakfast and we had no food. We did a 12 k hike before we hit a cafe in San Juan de Ortega.  The sun came out at 9:18, on and off all day, and it was cool. Really, the sun was mostly off! Keith says he has done 340 km to Espinosa, and we are at least 25 km past that. The numbers in your guide book, on the trail, or in someone's Fitbit, never, EVER seem to agree. I think I am going to give up on trying to figure out how many km of the 820k Nancy and I have hiked. Just like I have given up on trying to figure out the day, or the date! Frig it!

We only hiked a total of 21 km today and were in Atapuerca by noon. A lovely squid sandwich for lunch, and a rest in our private room for two in a hostel. Well worth the extra 10 Euros not to have to put up with snores, smells, and stuffy dorm rooms! Not to mention naked Frenchmen!

Oh yeah - the donkey! A mother from Portugal is hiking the Camino with her three young sons, the oldest of whom is no older than seven. They have a tent, a big, beautiful dog, and a real live donkey to carry their stuff. Honest! I have a picture of the dog and donkey, if I can ever upload them. 

Wifi in Spain is driving me to distraction! I have not been able to upload pics for three days!

Good night my dear, supportive good friend Patsy. Big hugs Nan!

PS:

See, I told you everyone does The Camino their own way! Word has it Mom started in France and has to be back in Portugal soon for the boys to go back to school.

Signing off with love and gratitude from Atapuerca, Spain!

Day 12-September 2: dedicated to...

... my good friend in England,Tracy, who knows how to tell me to suck it up and also knows best how to cheer me up. We met six years ago in an Israeli wedding banquet hall on our way to Jerusalem, where I told her to *!?% in a nice way (a less than auspicious start to a friendship), but which did not prove to be an impediment in any way.

We left at 6:45 am from Granon and were in Belogrado by 10:30. We really hustled and did 15.7 km but the trail was parallel to the N-120, a major highway. It was noisy and not the least bit pleasant. We have left the Rioja region of Spain, to enter into the Castille y Leon region. We hiked a further 11.4 , for a total of 27.2 km today. We arrived at our Albergue in Villafranca at 3:15, totally exhausted. For the first time since taking the Camino, I took something for pain in my lower back- one whole Tylenol!

On the Camino today, we kept running into our naked Frenchman from Viana, (Day 8)  whom we have nicknamed "Cojones".  He is in the same Albergue as we are, but we took a private room. So no need to run into him in the middle of the night, in the bathroom.

Cyclists were still speeding by us today and not ringing their bells. When two whizzed by with the usual "Buen Camino" greeting, Nancy and I simultaneously told them to...you know! En plus, je leur ai donné le doigt d'honneur! Pas gentilleje le sais. ☺️

Still no blisters! Lucky me!

Plus my boots are holding up well. 

Did I mention that I drank a lot of beer during the heatwave? Then I thought I was getting a beer belly.  Great! I would be the one pilgrim who would come home fatter than when she left! So I switched to sangria. Just as refreshing, but a lot less calories.

We are not far from the city of Burgos. Once there we will have hiked over a third of the way, which is 340 km.  We hope to take a day's rest and celebrate Nancy's 59th birthday in Burgos, Saturday, with Sari and Katherina.

Back to our friend "Cojones". Did I already say that everyone does the Camino their own way? I find out his name is Laurent, he is a true "bon vivant" and he and his friend are doing the Camino 200 km every year. They are finishing their third quarter tomorrow. They have a car which they park, hike 20k up the Camino, and then hike back to their car. They pick  up the next day where they turned around. Last year they had a chauffeur, which means they weren't doubling back. They are doing what I did during my training! Next year they will finally get to finish The Camino. That is what the French call "ténacité!"

Laurent has taken a shine to me, probably because of my French accent and my feistiness, which he was witness to in Granon. Too long a story to go into now. Anyway, he kept following me around our Albergue today, at the bar, in the foyer, even at one point picking me up and swinging me around 360 degrees. Gees, I already felt like a rag doll after that 27k hike! At dinner, I gave him a NB pin. He was pleased as punch as he showed me the Canada pin and BC pin he had already been given on his other treks. Now maybe he will stop following me. He looks to be in his forties. Is he especially fond of little old ladies? His traveling companion is a tinier version of me, a sweetie named Christiane. 

Tomorrow I will tell you my donkey story!

Bonne nuit ma chère amie Tracy!

With love and gratitude from Villafranca de Montes de Oca, Spain.

Jour 11 - 1 septembre: dedicated to my dear friend Listen Linda....

Day 11- We left Azofra at 6:30 in mist and overcast skies. Michel from Reunion hiked with us. His wife took the bus again because of blistered feet. We were in Santo Domingo by 9:40 and in Granon by 12:30- a distance of 23 km today.  That was really good timing. 

This day is dedicated to my good friend Listen Linda, because she has been a constant and true friend through a dark time in my life. When I cried she made me laugh. When I needed company she came to visit me. Today for the first time I wore the bright yellow poncho she insisted I take.  Merci mon amie!

I walked a bit with Ariane , a 31 yr old Canadian from Ottawa who quit her job to come do The Camino, then decide when she gets back what she wants to do.  I next walked with a Brit, 59 years old who was amazed when I asked if he was from Liverpool. I had recognized the accent.  His name was Keith and since his company would not give him the extra time to do The Camino, he quit his job too.

Weather is so much cooler-  what a difference it makes!  The Albergue so highly recommended in Granon, and the reason we stopped there- was on the recommendation of our Dutch author dinner companion the night before, based on his book "The 50 best hostels on the Camino" . It was..... guess what? CLOSED! Why? It was being fumigated! No loss there I guess-thank goodness. I don't know that I will follow any of his other 49 recommendations.  I am going to throw his book out. I can't afford to carry the weight. LOL

Nancy's feet hurt too much to continue- so because I speak Spanish, thank God, I found us a wonderful Casa Rurale, which is like a B and B, but the owner doesn't live there. IT was well worth the 25€ each. Some Italians going by were debating whether to continue on, when I was going to buy some "Rioja" wine next door, so I told them the place was wonderful, clean - tutti bene, mixing my Spanish with the little Italian I know. They debated some more then decided yes and by way of thanks for what turned out to be a great choice of accommodation, made us all spaghetti alla carbonara for supper. Nancy and I brought the vino and pan. How wonderful is that? A Québécois couple and another Italian couple rounded out our table of nine. Turns out one of the Italian men was an Irishman who spoke Italian, which is  "bene!" One Italian , Roberto, spoke French as well, but I was the only one who spoke Spanish, so I had to translate for all our dealings with the owner Estelle, who was "maravillosa! We had the most wonderful evening and delicious food. Luigi (of course there had to be a Luigi!) kept making fun of "curling". I did the spoon on my nose stunt to break the ice. Roberto 1 was celebrating his very first day as a retired teacher and stomach cancer survivor. They sang Volare for us. I took a video but I am sure I won't be able to post it. It truly was a magical evening!

Un gros MERCI à tous ceux qui m'ont envoyé un courriel, après mon dernier blog. You all cheered me up with your kind words and news.

Correction- Nancy's words for male anatomy are "twigs and berries" and not stones as I said. More on that in another blog.

Buono notte amica Linda.

With love and gratitude from Granon, Spain.

Day 10-August 31: dedicated to my 7 nieces and nephews

Day 10- Nancy left with someone else's walking sticks. Full moon again leaving Navarette but soon cloudy. Extremely humid- crushing. Topography changing - flat top mountains surrounded by vineyards for 360 degrees. Wine appellation of this region- Rioja. Not as striking or beautiful as  other vistas have been.

The first young man I met at 7:00 on the road today,  was William from California. His story brings me to today's dedication. 

From Paris, William took a train to the wrong St.Jean, which is the departure point for the Camino Frances. So he doubled back to the closest linking point which was Biarritz. He arrived too late to take the train to Bayonne and didn't have 100€ for a taxi, so he WALKED all night from Biarritz to Bayonne. He arrived to take the first train from there to the right St.Jean Pied de PORT. There at 9:00 am, he then proceeded to hike up the Pyrenees - almost 30 km and at some point fainted. Got up and made it to Roncesvalles as the hostel was about to close, which is at 10:00 pm.  He was on his feet and without sleep for over 48 hours! Now that is determination! And because he is young, he was fearless. We older people can be just as determined but we are maybe not so fearless?

Day 10 (yesterday)  was a weepy day for me. I cried on and off all morning, as I hiked mainly by myself. I really don't know why; a few things.  I was a little lonesome too I think. I hadn't had any emails from family, and ... you just have to have a down day once in a while I guess.  No sun, so no sun salutation for the first time. There were no towns to stop and eat breakfast in, after we left Navarette, so I didn't get to really eat until 11 am.

So in the less than perky mood I was in, let me tell you about some of the people I have met on the Camino, who put my little " Pity Party" to shame.

Marina is a beautiful Arménien refugee who was living in Syria. She was raped at 13 and saw her mother raped by Syrian army soldiers. Armenians are a minority in that country.  She and her family have since moved to Sweden, but she is doing the Camino, to help her move forward in her life. She cannot sustain a healthy relationship with any man, because of what happened to her, and what continues to happen to Armenians.  She bared her heart and soul to speak of this to a fellow Canadian, who shared it with me. I think he felt he had to.  

Gilles, un canadien de 68 ans, a récemment perdu sa fille de 42 ans, à ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease. Elle avait trois enfants.  Gilles a senti la présence de sa fille, dans l'église à Los Arcos.  Cela l'a soulagé.

A German lady my age, whom I befriended from Day One, with my little bit of German, shared on Day 8 that she is terminally ill with brain cancer. It had been in remission. She goes to the hospital as soon as she returns to Pottsdam, for surgery, but the doctor's hold little hope. She has less than six months to live and is hoping for a miracle by walking the Camino.

I met Martin on the hottest day, two days ago. He had no backpack, no food and no water. His head was covered so we could only see his eyes.  His feet were wrapped in rags, which barely covered his feet.  e were walking on small stone paths that day. He refused any and all offers of food and water. Someone told us his name was Martin and he was French, because they had walked with him earlier, when he was speaking.  As one person said "Un vrai pèlerin  - c'est l'abandon total".  And it was. For some reason, I just cried for the next two km, thinking who am I to call myself a pilgrim.  I don't know the meaning of the word.  I gave him a little Canada pin, which he accepted with a gesture of thanks, taping his heart. And I went on my way, pondering what I had just seen and experienced.

Then there is Nicole, again a woman my age, whose partner threw her out in Feb. She is homeless and jobless, and is hiking the Camino on very little money,  trying to get through this huge loss, financial as well as emotional, because she has nothing. Common law in France counts for nothing, apparently, when it comes to division of assets. 

A very apropos ending to this day, was the huge, violent storm that came through Azofra forty five minutes after Nancy and I checked into that hostel.  It was frightening, with hail the size of marbles and when they hit the clay tiled roof and all those windows, it was horrific.

The storm broke the heat wave though, and the air cooled considerably.  I drank two glasses of wine with my Peregrino supper, and went to sleep in a room that had a window: it was so nice and cool.

So nieces and nephews, carpe diem! You are young, you are invincible and the world is your oyster. Go and conquer.

With love and gratitude from Azofra, Spain.  Ma tante Joanne

Such a fraternité- met a Dutchman who wrote a small book on the best 50 albergues on the Camino. 

MY CAMINO: Day 9 -30 août: dédicace à mon oncle Jean-Marie

Day 9 - Viana to Navarette- 22.7 km - full moon as we left at 6:17 am. We saw no other pilgrims for an hour. Ce jour est dédié à mon oncle Jean- Marie, qui a fait mon beau bâton. J'ai eu beaucoup de compliments et les gens, en majorité, quand j'ai dit que c'était mon oncle qui l'avait fait, on dit "Alors, il est fait avec amour, non? 

We organized supper for 8 different nationalities tonight, at our local restaurant in Navarette.  We were three French Canadians - Québecoise, Acadienne et Franco-Manitobaine, one German lady, a couple from Reunion whom I mistakenly said in a previous blog were from Madagascar, when they are from south of that island. Our waiter was German. I met my first Dane at that dinner and Marie-Claude from France rounded out the group. At another table was an American veteran with  his dog Lischka- like a seeing eye dog but for people with PTSD. They had their eight year old son Adler with them. A very interesting and really likeable couple. We did not pry by asking about the PTSD. We assumed he was an soldier from some missions.

Albergue Pilgrims in this small village of Navarette has the best food on the Camino. John from Missouri- always says we are so kind ¨Canadians"  if we ask if he is doing this or that with us, he always says he will do whatever I tell him, no problem!  I invited him to join us in Viana at dinner, when I saw he was by himself. Albert from Germany- we see on and off every day - just beginning to crack a smile and talk to us. Alone and so serious. Two women from Slovenia- separately. Too bad I couldn't hook them up. More women alone than men- someone said it is because women have more hope. Hope for everything? Hope for a better world maybe.

We also met a French Canadian who has quite a reputation on the Camino already, as "She who knows everything" and "Talks a mile a minute ALL the time". She is sweet and tries to be helpful, but everyone who has met her once, gives her a wide berth after that.  I am not making this up.

Nancy's been a trooper through less than feeling 100%, and with more foot problems than me. I am fit as a fiddle; knock on wood.  I have had two small blisters that don't even countas such.  I just wish I could sleep. We get up around 5:30 and are on the road by 6:30.  This heat

wave is supposed to end soon.  It saps your strength. We can't hike as many km as we would like.  We think we have done about 25% of the Camino.  Alleluia!

Bonne nuit mon oncle Jean. Merci encore pour Fidèle.  Malgré le fait que je l'ai laissé ici et là, en oublie, j'ai toujours pu aller le retrouver. Chance a Nancy aussi, qui me demande souvent ou est Fidèle.

En reconnaisance et amour de Navarette, en Espagne.