Retozar

I have to do a write-up of my Camino diary for class, so I figured it would be easier to just copy and paste all of that here instead of writing a whole new thing. So, here's my diary/classwork. Enjoy.


04 October, 2008

It's 9:00 and I'm on my way to Galicia to hike part of el Camino de Santiago. It's odd—I'm very much looking forward to the trip, but I don't have that same sense of awe/excitement/adventure that I had when I was on the train to Madrid. Maybe because this is a cushy group expedition rather than a solo foray into the unknown?
I love staring out the window and watching the landscape slide by. I also think that Grateful Dead may be the perfect music for a long bus ride. And every time Paul Simon starts playing I can't help but smile. Sometimes life is overwhelmingly wonderful.

05 October, 2008

First day of the Camino. I'm sitting on the steps of Portomarín right now. It's that perfect sunshine on bare skin with a breeze feeling. The type that makes you want to close your eyes and just feel it.
I love that something like this exists. That I'm part of a community just because I'm here, walking toward a common goal. That there are hostels that will put us up for cheap. Places that will stamp our credenciales. That the credencials and stamps even exist, because they just add to the feeling of a community. But at the same time, does this ideal community really exist in the same sense that I think it does? Don't some bar owners get sick of the constant stream of tourists, the people coming in just for a stamp or just to use the bathroom, the backpacks all over the place? And I've tried to start conversations with other peregrinos only to get a “buen camino” in response. When what I really wanted was to find out where they were from, why they had decided to do the camino, and what their experience had been like. Although maybe lots of the hikers are out here for themselves, trying to do their own thing. I guess I still have a lot to figure out about communities and community-building if that's something I want to get involved in.
Northern Spain is beautiful. Southern Spain is something new to me, but this feels completely familiar and reminds me of the trips I've taken back home. Trees everywhere, hillsides and mountains. In the distance, a view of a dark purple-black hillside with crisp white windmills tirelessly rotating into skies of blue with beautiful clouds, smoky purple tinged with pink and sometimes topped with layers of gray and bright white. Old old stone buildings with Celtic influences and lichens spanning every color from speckled white to pale green to vibrant tangerine. The river here left some great-looking geology on the other bank; makes me wish for the thousandth time that I knew more geology.
Today we hiked from Sarria to Portomarín. Here in Portomarín there's a long bridge across a shallow river, and the older Roman bridge is far below, along with the ruins of the original town. When the river rose, so did the town (and so did the church, carried stone by stone and reassembled on top of the hill). The day was beautiful. It started out a bit chilly, of course, but warmed up and we had clear skies all day long. There were plenty of times when we were walking along the road, but other times when we were on a single track on top of a Sound of Music-esque hill, or hiking up a hill on a well-maintained trail with fresh waterbars. And the hike wasn't particularly grueling—I was ready for lunch and I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow, but at the same time I could have stopped for food and then kept going if that had been the plan. But this is nice—we ate around 3 and now have time to sit in the sun and write in journals (after having showered—I feel delightfully clean!). And walking is nice. The landscape is very diverse, and it's wonderful to walk and chat. I wish I knew more about the area—its history, its present, its customs, etc. I walked with Katherine for a significant part of the day; nice to get to know her better. And we chatted about growing up, having responsibilities, making decisions, and what we want to do with our lives. And I talked with Laura, who was totally into the idea of me coming out and meeting the UA rugby team. Sweet! I miss my team and the game a lot. I want to practice with them and get back in shape when I get back home. And we'll see about running around with this UA team...something to check out, for sure.

06 October, 2008

We're in Palas de Rei now, in a sweet private hostel because the public one wouldn't let us in as a group. It was a lot of walking today, but a good day. I walked with Katherine in the back for a while in the morning, then by myself for a bit this afternoon, and the last 6-8km with Matt. Today felt a bit too much like a race for my liking, but that's also my problem for buying in to that. The scenery was gorgeous. We walked on the road or on a path along the side of the road for most of the day, but there were times when we were walking under arches of trees. The Camino today took us past quite a few small farms with cows, lots and lots of bright fields (many of which were bordered by stone walls but looked like they were just plan old grass that had been left to grow wild), and a good deal of corn and almost-ripe blackberries. There were times when the sky was just layers of clouds—a background striped blue and white with a foreground of constantly changing gray, making it look like the sky was imploding, rushing in on itself. A very cool feeling to stare up while walking.
I do find myself wishing I knew a little more about the camino—the region, the history, the significance, the culture of the area. I know that it's impossible logistically, but I feel like it should be the capstone to the course rather than at the very start. Now when I'm in class I won't have the same feeling of wanting to learn everything because I'm going to go experience it in person. Although I will have the context for what I'm learning about since I will have already hiked the camino. It has been a really good experience so far. A great way to see the countryside of Northern Spain. Sore today, though—tomorrow will be interesting for sure.

07 October, 2008

Today was absolutely delightful. It rained nonstop for the first few hours, and feet were wet within minutes, but the first 6km were full of singing, running around, jumping across puddles, and getting strange looks for being so enthusiastic. The next 4km were a bit quiet and cold, and somewhat less exciting. We stopped after 14 to grab lunch at a pulperia (and change into dry socks/try to let our boots dry out). Katherine and I took off early so we could walk slowly because of her foot, which was a great excuse for me to just meander along as well. It was really nice. The sun came out, we walked through a beautiful eucalyptus forest, we sang old songs really really loudly, we ate blackberries, and we just meandered along not worrying about when we would get there. It was fun to go without feeling rushed and to take the time to look at the countryside, especially after the rainy morning. Now we're at an unbelievably nice hostel - a river out front, a giant field off to the side where we're hanging out and listening to someone play guitar, and laundry machines (quite convenient since some of my stuff got pretty wet today). What better way to end a day than running around a giant field, staring at the clouds, and listening to guitar?

08 October, 2008

Sometimes I love life. And by “sometimes” I mean “pretty much all the time.” But there are just some moments where I'm filled with euphoria or wonder and can't help but think about how wonderful it is to just be alive and functioning.
Today we hiked from Ribadiso to Arco, about 22km. Everyone seemed to be moving pretty slowly and feeling sore, which was a nice change of pace. Katherine and I walked together and took it easy. Stopped a few places for food and bathrooms. My hip flexor was bothering me because I did something to it while messing around and trying to jump up on a bridge. But it was still a really nice day, a good weather (foggy/misty in the morning and sunny but not too hot later in the day). Although I do feel a bit silly for not taking any pictures and forgetting to get most of the sellos. But oh well, so it goes. Now I'm just hanging out in the sunshine in Arco. We got in at the same time as Alfonso so we went in right away to get beds, took off to have lunch, then I jumped in the shower and went off for a walk. I think everyone else is taking a siesta right now.
Tomorrow's a short day—18 km to the hostel and then 3 more to Santiago de Compostela. So we'll walk in the morning, see the cathedral in the afternoon, hang out in town that night, go to mass and visit the town the next morning, and then the bus ride back to Alicante. And then Mom, Dad, school, and Granada. It's been a really fun trip. And also really cool to see how the Camino has integrated itself into the pueblos. People are used to random strangers walking through their towns and using their bathrooms, and they're all really nice about it. And the stamp system is awesome, as is the hostel system. And it's really neat to see this other, much more rural side of Spain. Here a clothing store is much less common than a yard full of chickens. I do wish I had had more of a chance to talk to other peregrinos, but not eating in the hostels didn't exactly facilitate meeting people there and on the Camino everyone is in their own rhythm, just walking.

09 October, 2008

Last night we were hanging out in the hostel after dinner, playing guitar in the common area, and we met a few other Peregrinos. One kid from Germany (I forget his name...) who was hiking the whole thing with a friend and was starved for new music to play on his guitar. He brought it down and had a mini jam session with one of the girls from our group. Lots of Jack Johnson was played, a makeshift twig capo was used, and music was traded. A little later two guys came in to listen to us play – Alex, from Australia, and his friend Mike from Germany. They had done the Coastal Route, starting in San Sebastian, and were going to go to Finisterra after the pilgrim's mass at the Cathedral. Lots of fun to actually meet other people from the Camino and talk to them about why they had decided to do it and what their experiences had been.
We got to Santiago today. We set out after breakfast pretty much in a pack, walking through more eucalyptus forest, bounding around from group to group, messing around and sneaking things out of Jason and Seth's backpacks. Then groups split off at the first bar—the instructors heading out first, Katherine and I going slowly behind, and everyone else stopping to get a beer. It was a good day. We were both hurting a bit (Katherine way more than me, I'm sure) so we just took it slow, the scenery changed constantly, and it didn't seem too long. We got to Monte de Gozo and went up the hill with Felipe and Manolo to take a few pictures. I tried to explain “frolic” to Felipe but neither of us could quite translate the concept into the other language. In any case, Katherine and I ran around frolicking on the hill (theme of the trip, really) until the rest of the group showed up. Then we did the final 3km into the city, ran into Alex at lunch in our restaurant and then again outside the Cathedral as he drove by in a taxi and shouted goodbye out the window, and then headed over to get our compostelas—certificates that say that we hiked at least 100km of the Camino de Santiago. We went over to the Cathedral and lay down in front of it and stared up. Really cool.

12 October, 2008

After going back to the hostel for quick showers and normal clothes we set off for the city once again for a free evening. A few of us went to a fun tapas bar and then caught the last city bus back to the hostel and went to bed decently early. I'd like to say it's because I learned my lesson from not sleeping enough in Madrid, but really it's just because we were ready to leave the tapas bar by 10:30 and didn't feel like wandering around the city in the cold for another 2 hours for the nightlife to start picking up...
In the morning we went into town for breakfast and ended up going to the same tapas bar that a few of us had been to the night before. They had an equally delightful breakfast. We wandered around inside the Cathedral for a while, then went to the pilgrims' mass, and then had some free time to go buy souvenirs in the city. I had already gotten something the day before, so instead I took pictures of the Cathedral and then wandered around, eventually stumbling upon a really cool, large park where I hung out until lunchtime. Then it was back to the bus for our 14+ hour trip. It wasn't as bad as I expected. We drove through Madrid around 2 AM, and it was wonderful to see all the old buildings lit up and lots of people walking around outside. Such a cool city. Then I slept off and on for a little bit, and we got dropped off in Alicante around 7 AM. Quite the day!


It was an incredible trip and I really just want to be hiking across the Galician countryside right now. I'm going to do the whole Camino someday. Although I haven't decided which one--the French Camino (the main one) is a little easier logistically, but the Northern/Coastal Route and the Portugal Camino are both supposed to be really cool as well. And who knows, 2010 is an Ano Santo (a year when Saint Iago's day falls on a Sunday), so maybe I'll do it as a post-graduation deal. We'll see. And maybe you'll come with me?