Now I know how the Scarecrow felt!

Today, as I sit in our home back in Arundel, Maine on this gorgeous early New England fall day, we are back from our attempt at doing the Camino. My dream of doing this life-defining ancient pilgrimage was sparked by a casual reference in a book I read way back in 1983, continued unrealized for thirty years, was re-ignited after Joan & I both retired in 2010, became real during a year and a half’s training and last week ended suddenly after my body said “No mas!” in Estella, Spain. We had walked nearly a hundred miles, crossed the Pyrenees Mountains, spent nights in 12^th century monasteries now serving as hostels and had fallen in love with Spain, our fellow pilgrims and what we were doing.

So what’s the “scarecrow” stuff all about?  Well, it’s kind of the way I’m feeling right now as I try to sort out my emotions. Remember the scene in the wonderful movie “The Wizard of Oz” when Dorothy, Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and the Scarecrow are walking in the dark and scary woods (Signpost: “I’d go back if I were you!) and are attacked by the flying monkeys? The hay stuffing of Scarecrow is torn apart in the attack and as the others come to rescue him, he says: “There’s some of me over there and some of me over here!” 

That’s the way I feel.  I can look at our experience from two perspectives:

It was a failure.  Joan & I set out to walk 500 miles from St. Jean Pied a Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain - the historic and fabled Camino Frances that has been walked by pilgrims for at least a thousand years. Nothing less than making it to Santiago counted. We trained for a year and a half, walked over 300 miles in preparation and climbed local mountains; we both lost lots of weight & got really fit at the gym. Yet I had to stop after only doing 20% of our mission. My body just gave out and I couldn’t even think of heading out into the sparsely populated miles ahead, so say nothing of the medical downside if I got worse. I wasn’t having “fun” anymore and Joan was getting really stressed by fear of the potential disaster looming ahead. So we just quit and headed home, not having done what we set out to do. We failed in our mission - as pre-conceived.

It was a success. We really did what any good explorer would do. We first did a “deep recon” of the landscape, people, obstacles and experiences that lay ahead to become better prepared to succeed in our objective, which was (and is) to be able to fully experience the transformational opportunities that present themselves in walking for a long time through an unfamiliar world. We came back from our two week reconnaissance mission with a much greater understanding of what we really need to do in order to reach our goal. We succeeded in our mission - as defined retrospectively.

Both of us are feeling more comfortable in the second “success” perspective now. We found out that:

• ·         We really need to speak some Spanish. Outside the big cities, we couldn’t communicate at all effectively. More importantly, we were only skimming the surface of the world we were in.  And once we moved off the well-worn “pilgrim track” (as we did when we sought medical help), it was dangerous to not be able to communicate. We start lessons on October 10^th.

• ·         Don’t believe the guide book. The ubiquitous Brierley Guide to the Camino was a trap for us. We fell into the mindset that doing 25 kilometers a day was normal and that we would be walking on lots of “gently rolling” terrain. We now understand that we will do best with daily stages of 10-12 km and that there will be lots of short, steep hills - up and down. We will do lots of hill training and climbing staircases with a 15 lb. pack, 10 times up and down.

• ·         Listen to your body. Accept the very real limitations that being a 79 year old (albeit pretty fit) walker entails. Stop early and often. Rest every 4-5 days and enjoy it, don’t feel guilty. Have our 15 pound backpacks carried by cab over the nasty parts. Take a bus every now and then. Do our own Camino that will fit us, not strive for some mythical “right” way to do it.

• ·         Cut it in small “chunks”.  The Europeans often tackle the journey in annual two to three week pieces, to fit with their vacation.  We should do the same, since the thought of being away from home for two months was a little disquieting and uncomfortable.

• ·         Hold on to home base. Our wonderful home in Maine is special to both of us and it doesn’t feel right to be away for so long. And when we get our new golden retriever pack-mate later this fall, shorter time-away will be even more important. .

I have just been checked out by my doctor (he also happens to be an experienced mountain climber who has been to Tibet and knows about the effects of sustained over-exertion) and he diagnosed me as basically OK – I was just worn out by continuing to burn more energy than I could rebuild; this resulted in my sudden loss of vitality and mental disorientation. He agreed that it was smart to stop when we did, which makes me feel better about deciding to quit in Legrono.

We are feeling revitalized and look forward to our Camino - Phase Two. Joan & I are planning to go back to Spain for three weeks in the fall of 2014.  We will fly to Madrid, and then start in Sarria, about 100 km from Santiago and “walk easy”, following the lessons we learned in our 2013 recon. We will only walk about 10 -12 km a day, with a few rest & exploration days thrown in at interesting places as well as spending time in Santiago. We then plan on taking a bus from Santiago to Finesterre at the western edge of Spain and spending at least a day there before returning to Santiago, heading back to Madrid and then flying home. That will mark a satisfactory completion of our pilgrimage together. But wait – there’s more!

Joan is already lining up some of her good friends for her own full 500 mile Camino in 2015. Ah, youth! Details and timing are in progress but when she’s on her own, my physical constraints on her fall away and she can plan her own experience. I may decide to volunteer for a couple of weeks as a hospitalero in an Camino albergue while she’s walking for two months or maybe I'll spend a week in Leon or Burgos sampling tapas and digging deeper into their history. Stay tuned. We also plan on being at the American Pilgrims on the Camino annual Gathering to be held near St. Louis in early April 2014. Join us!

Finally,as most of our readers know, we were walking for a great cause - the Merrimack Valley Hospice House. For those who have already contributed - thank you! If you're still waiting to make your charitable donation, there's no time like right now to get that 2013 tax deduction.

 

The (Temporary) End of the Dream

Well, its over for a while. After walking nearly a hundred miles, crossing the Pyrenees Mts. , celebrating my birthday at a dinner in Roncesvalles made special by a multinational rendition of "Happy Birthday" from the crowd of pilgrims there and revelling in the sheer joy of being together with Joan walking in such a wonderful place, we've had to call it quits.  There is something wrong with me that just saps my energy and walking in Spain is just not fun any more- to say nothing of not safe.
So we are calling a halt in Logrono and taking a bus tomorrow to Madrid, spending the night at an airport hotel and flying back to Boston on Wednesday. I feel horrible about raining on a parade that meant so much to us and for which we gad planned so long. But we will be back to finish the journey and we have learned so much abiut what to do differently next time when we pick up in Logrono again. We'll talk more about that later. We want to say "Muchas Gracias" to everyone who has supported us along The Way and given us their' love and energy. Your emails and Facebook posts have meant a lot,  especially in these past few days of doubt and uncertainty.
Stay tuned for the next chapter.  Team Turtle will be back!!

A Little Bit At A Time

Sunday,  September 22

We took the morning bus from Estrella to Logrono today, finally leaving Navarre and entering the wine producing province of La Roija to the west. We shared a seat with two Irish veterans of the Camino, Seamus & his wife, Leah and had a lovely chat for the hour ride. We arrived in Logrono to find ourselves in yet another festival,  this one a week long bash celebrating all this wine and the local harvest. The old city is jammed with celebrants and the noise level is high at our pension. We also are cursed by having a Jamaican street band performing right next door in the street. Go figure?

A bit of a downer is my realization that I'm not 45 anymore and have to tailor my expectations accordingly.  My energy level has been decreasing since Pamplona and the last stretch into Estella really whipped me more than I thought. My right ankle is almost always in some degree of pain, my left hip and knee are tender and my energy today was at about 60 percent of normal.  We worried about maybe high blood pressure or a low level infection but this being Sunday all the local pharmacias are closed.  Poor Joan started carrying the load of possible outcomes (none good) if I got worse and our inability to communicate medical issues in Spanish became a looming fear. We didn't get into our room until 3:30 and once there I fell into bed. Something feels wrong and the thought of heading out from this big city scares both of us.

We tried to get some advice from our travel insurance carriers back in the States (HTH) but that was a waste of time. So we decided to wait until things open tomorrow and check my BP and temp at a pharmacist. Assuming that they are normal , we will cut back our daily stages to 5 miles or so for a while and if we have to jump ahead on the bus in order to get to Sarria by October 20 so we can get to Santiago by Nov 1st , so be it. And in the worst case, if it turns out that this us not the time for me to be continuing,  then we'll stop and fly home early.  Stay tuned!

A Day of R & R in Estella

Today is Saturday the 21st of September and we are taking a much needed break in the old pilgrimage town of Estella. Yesterday the stage from Zirauki to here was a rough one for me, with lots of sharp ups and downs and long stretchs of old Roman roads. While historic - we've never walked before on 2,000 year old roads- they were a bitch to walk on, being filled with broken cobbled sections, potholes and tippy stones for miles on end. The scenery around us was all dramatic hills and long valleys stretching away in rural elegance.

However Sam developed a series of pains in his left leg- tight hamstring follwed by a sore lateral quad and then an ache in the hip joint. In the lonely mind of this long distance walker, I immediately went to thoughts of hip replacement and aborted Camino but Joan brought reality back by recounting all the similar woes suffered by our predecessors like Dolly and Dick, who are a couple of weeks ahead of us but post or email us.

The weather is forecast to be in the 80's for the next week so we have decided to skip a couple of really nasty hilly stages and jump ahead to Logrono, about 50 miles. We catch a bus tomorrow mornjng and will plan short stages according to the weather and terrain.  We will be moving into  the meseta soon (think Kansas for flatness) and will really have to watch our hydration. 

Here are some phoros of the.walk into Estella and the town itself.

Perra Perigrino & us

This is our 7th day of walking since we left St. Jean Pied a Port and headed over the Pyranees into Spain. We are well into Navarre;  tonight we found ourselves in the midst of the annual festival held in the ancient hill town of Zirauki, about 10 km past Puenta La Reina. As we inched up the steep narrow streets leading to the central plaza across from the church, people dressed in various types of white and red dress appeared.  We were walking with Jorge from Hungary (a veterinarian cum photographer we had befriended outside of town) and one of the locals told us of the event. So as I write this the square is filled with long tables, families eating paella, bread and lots of local wine. Lots of wine! A surprisingly good small band and various singers are rocking the crowd with " Volare" while young kids sneak away to set off firecrackers.

Our New Zealand pals - Alistair and Sally- are here as they were last night in Obanos. Otherwise the group at the albergue is a mixture of countries; walkers and cyclists about 2/3 to 1/3.

Ceili,  our perigrinating perra ("pilgrim dog") that travels in my pack, has contributed to our ability to strike up conversation.  Young kids in particular always smile and comment when they spot her peeking out of my backpack.

For me the most surprising discovery so far along in these first 80 miles has been the community of people we encounter along the way. Fellow perigrinos are invariably open and sharing of themselves. While the rest of the world may glare angrily at each other across various walls of religion,  culture and history,  here on the Camino I have encountered zero emnity to others. Friendships are struck up on the road or in a bar sharing a morning cafe con leche. It is a refreshing and calming change from the "real world" outside that rushes ahead at 70 mph and tries to deaden the intensity of life with electronic wizardry.

Here are some pictures of our travels today.

Hemingway, Los Toros & us

Tuesday 19/9/2013
We left Trinidad de Arres around 8:30 and within a half hour stopped for some incredible chocolate hot drink,  cafe con leche and tiny pastries at Cafe Jorge.  Then continued on Calle Mayor (Main Street) for about 4 miles into the heart of Pamplona,  carefully looking for the blue and gold scallop shell signage showing the way. We approached the heart of th ed old city, protected by the high stone walls and entered by the French Gate. The portcullis raising system was a wonderfully unique nautilus design wheel winch (see picture below). Inside the old city life teemed as the people walked to work and small shops opened for business.  We were planning a lay day after the  5 mile walk into town and found a very small hotel on Calle San Nicholas, which it turns out is the taps center of town.

So our lunch consisted of following the locals into a tapas bar and ordering what they were having. Joan had a goat cheese and fruit toast thing and a small cervesa which did something with jabon and shitake mushrooms and aqua con gaz. Then back to hotel and a nap. I later snuck out while Joan was sleeping and wandered over to the Iruna Restaurant which was one of Hemingway's favorites. Reading the International Herald Trib with a cafe con leche in an outdoor cafe and people watching is a great way to spend an hour!

Around 7 we wandered back to the imposing cathedral Santa Maria de Real and stayed while a Mass was celebrated.  This 15th century Gothic masterpiece dominates the old city and is evidence of the power of the church in Spanish life I mm centuries past.  We loved Pamplona and would return in a heartbeat.  However we are to be up and out by 7 for a 12 miles walk up to 800 meters over Alto de Perdon and then to Urtega. The iconic sculptures on top capture pilgrims past and present.  We joined the parade and the picture shows.  The 3 mile walk down was steep, rocky and quite dangerous but we made Urtega by 3.

On to Pamplona!

Monday, Sept 16. We three (Joan, me & Margo, our Camino friend from Portland,  OR) leave Zubiri at 8 am for Pamplona. It was described as an easy walk but started out UP and then got rocky, steep shale and hot. We finally got to our destination around 4 and found ourselves back in the 12th century.  Trinidad de Arre - the albergue where we stayed- has been a refuge for pelugrinos for a thousand years. We were all bunked in a big room- all sexes togethet
and all snores shared. Lights out at 10 and kicked out at 8 the next morning.  Joan and I went to a simple and quite moving Pilgrim's Prayer gathering in the old chapel after diner. Coming home from the menu del peligrinos meal we found a burro waiting at the front gate. Turns out the pilgrim and his burro had left from Paris months before, made it to Compostela and were now returning home. We felt like we were time-warped back to the Middle Ages!
At dinner we met a young couple in their 20's who had met that day while doing a 40 km walk. He was from Tel Aviv and was very impressed to hear about Justin doing his Birthright trip to Israel and Charlie's walking tour to Masada.

On the Calle Mayor out to dinner we saw a group of young botd playing toro, which involves a charging a wheel mounted fake bull's head (with horns ) at the other kids. Looked scary to us but they were having fun.
Time for bed now. Up the mountain tomorrow early.