Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Just a quick note as we leave Estella. It´s been raining on and off since I arrived on the Camino, though yesterday was clear and gorgeous. This morning, however, the Camino has a new surprise for us. It´s snowing. It´s not sticking, mind, but big wet flakes of snow are falling everywhere. Buen Camino!
» Read moreWe continue to be confounded by technological problems. Lack of wifi is not allowing me to upload the several hundred photos I´ve taken. I´m blogging from the Albergue Municipal in Estella at the end of day 4, but what I´d like to do is tell you a little bit about yesterday. Truly, I haven´t yet processed it all, so I´ll […]
» Read moreIt´s funny, but the pilgrim hostels (“albergues”) either have wifi or a computer lab. With the lab, I can use a proper computer with a proper keyboard, but unfortunately I cannot upload my photos. So I´m here in Pamplona, after walking another 21.5km, staying at the Albergue Jesus y Maria, which is perhaps a block from the great Cathedral. Day […]
» Read moreAfter my arrival in Roncesvalles, I quickly made friends with a young woman from Germany, who had the bunk above mine. She had walked through the snows from Saint Jean, and she helped me get oriented to albergue life. So Linda and I shared the pilgrim’s menu: first course of a wonderful potato soup (possibly they had once been introduced […]
» Read moreNo photos yet, sorry. The albergue in Roncesvalles has a computer room but no wifi that I can find, so I can´t upload my photos from the camera. I arrived here about an hour ago, and have had my first stamp on my pilgrim´s passport and a long, long shower. Items still to do include laundry and dinner. Getting here […]
» Read moreWhen in April the sweet showers fall And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all The veins are bathed in liquor of such power As brings about the engendering of the flower, When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath Exhales an air in every grove and heath Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun His half-course […]
» Read moreIn less than a day, my flight will be taking off. I’ve gone through various stages of nervousness, elation, and even fear in the past few days. More than once I’ve asked myself, “what, are you crazy, Thom?” Add to that the emotions that inevitably come with Holy Week – the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Stations of the Cross, […]
» Read moreTime grows short! We`re back from Stations at church and doing all sorts of last minute errands. Among these are the dreaded final packing. I like to be all packed for trips at least a full day before going somewhere. This way, I tend to discover all the things I forgot still laying about the house. This post is also […]
» Read moreBack in August, a buddy and I had what I called “an inadvertent Camino day”, where we sort of accidentally walked 25km. While there’s no such thing as a “typical” day on the Camino, 25km is a pretty fair shot at it. Well, today I intentionally walked 25km with full pack. Francine (who is a couple of weeks behind me […]
» Read moreBlessing of the “Rucksacks” This past weekend was a crazy whirl of last minute errands and bon voyages. Although I’m not leaving until Easter Sunday, and Francine not until the 17th of April, we thought it best to avoid the rushing around the week before Easter. We topped up our equipment at the REI sale in Tacoma on Saturday. Some […]
» Read morePilgrims on the Camino carry a Credencial, or pilgrim’s passport. They are issued by various Confraternities of Saint James, and you can also get one at Cathedrals and other places along the Way. The idea is that you get it stamped each day – ideally several times a day – to record where you’ve been and to prove that you’re […]
» Read moreThe photo here was taken by a pilgrim yesterday at Roncesvalles. The passes are choked with snow, and at this point people have to walk on the highway to get from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Roncesvalles. And it’s taking them two days. I won’t have that kind of time, and I’m leaving in just over two weeks. Even assuming the snow is […]
» Read moreFrancine and I were sick most of the week with a cold that would not quit. I stayed home Wednesday and Thursday. An attempt at working from home on Friday was a spectacular failure. Needless to say, our whole training schedule this week was a shambles. And by shambles I mean this: on Wednesday I walked a block to the […]
» Read moreAt the highest point of the Camino in Spain, upon the plateau of Monte Irago, is a cross. This cross, called Cruz de Ferro (literally, “iron cross”) is a tall oak post with a small iron cross attached to the top. All around the cross is a large pile of stones. Pilgrims have been laying a stone at Cruz de […]
» Read moreNow that we are well and truly in Lent, our serious training has begun. Prior to the beginning of February, Francine and I were hiking the weekends and I was walking about two miles a day during my commute. Now we’ve got a slightly more intensive plan. I’m well aware that there’s a school of thought that says you can’t […]
» Read moreSixty days from today, I fly to Spain. Sixty days in advance is the earliest you can purchase a train ticket in Spain using Renfe‘s web site. Since I need to get from Madrid to Pamplona (and thence to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port), I figured I would buy a train ticket today. Here’s what I learned: the train takes three hours and the […]
» Read moreCodex Calixtinus Folio 4r,showing Saint James Some time ago, I ruminated on why. Why do the Camino? Here’s another answer, from the very first guide book to the Camino, the Codex Calixtinus, written some time in the XIIth Century: The pilgrim route is a very good thing, but it is narrow. For the road which leads us to life is […]
» Read more