Day 24 - Molinaseca to Villafranca del Bierzo

Today's walk took me from the near outskirts of Ponferrada, windingly through the city, and out through a quiet, residential part of town. Walking in, we noticed all of these work zones marked along the road...except that there were no workers. It's a theme I've noticed before throughout Spain. Hitting the city itself, we stopped at a bar for breakfast...and found all of the road workers, smoking and drinking...at 10:30 in the morning.

One note for pilgrims: Cacabelos at the time only had one open albergue. I don't recall if there were others that just weren't open at that time yet. But this one was a bunch of walk-in closet sized particle board rooms around the exterior of the church. Bathrooms were not attached. It looked less than desirable (cold and clausterphobic) and made me walk more than 10 kms further to Villafranca del Bierzo (which actually was a lovely town).

How do I live a Spanish lifestyle when I'm back home in the United States? In Villafranca del Bierzo, I had to wait around for the grocery store to open...at 10 am...and it still opened 15 minutes late. Stores have a posted opening time (usually 9 or 10), but nobody is there at that time to open the place. Then they close for siesta at 2, even when it's not summer, and re-open at 5 pm. By 8, they're closed. Dinner's rarely served before 8pm, with most Spaniards eating from 10 until midnight. Nothing but bars are open on Sundays. Oh...and every other Monday is a fiesta when everything but bars are closed.

If you go to a bar in the morning to get a cafe con leche and a magdalena, you'll find all the locals...drinking whiskey, cognac, or orujo...for breakfast. The bars are completely mulitpurpose, serving "breakfast," lunch, and dinner, along with drinks (everything from zumo de naranja to cafe to cervezas). More importantly, they serve as places where local townspeople go to socialize. Drinking alcohol is very inexpensive with a glass of beer or wine costing only a Euro.

So. How do I go about implementing at least siesta at my job?

Day 23 - Rabanal del Camino to Molinaseca

Today was one of those epic stages of El Camino, where not only does the beautiful scenery weigh heavily upon your emotions, but so does the significance of a cross: Cruz de Ferro. In itself, it's not a spectacular cross, rather a "plainish" one set upon a tall pillar with a tall pile of rocks strewn at the base. But it's those rocks that are so significant. For years and years, tradition has it that pilgrims bring a stone from their own home. As they walk El Camino, they "put" into the stone a burden upon their mind and heart. By casting away the stone at Cruz de Ferro, the pilgrim symbolically casts away their burden.

I brought a stone from Kansas City. I put great thought into what burdens I would cast away. But then about half way through my journey across Spain, I realized my burdens were maybe a bit insignificant relative to the burdens of others. I met a man from Austria named Markus. I never got his last name. I had heard through the pilgrim grapevine that he had left his home in Austria on foot, walked to Rome, then left Rome and headed towards Santiago de Compostela. I had picked up his pack at some point and knew it was heavy. It was about half way through my pilgrimage that he told me about how heavy his heart was and the reason for his journey.

Back home in Austria, there was a car accident that took the lives of his entire family: his father, his mother, his wife, his son, and his daughter. In his grief, he left his home and his job searching for peace in his heart. By the time I met him, he had long exhausted his money. Putting a hand on his shoulder, I realized how little money he had by realizing how little he's been eating: he was incredibly skinny and it couldn't be healthy. From that point on, every time I saw him, I gave him all the food in my pack (except nuts, his teeth were apparently bad) and took him to eat if we were near a town.

Standing now at Cruz de Ferro myself, I looked at the pile of stones, many with writing on them, many weighing down pictures, and I wondered what other burdens lay cast beneath my feet. I placed my stone, spent a moment pondering my own burdens, said a prayer for all the pilgrims before me, the pilgrims after me, and for Markus.

Peace be with you, Markus.

Day 22 - Astorga to Rabanal del Camino

Rabanal del Camino. What a cool little town. I had such high hopes of staying at the Albergue Gaucelmo, but they were dashed by a bunch of bed bugs infesting the place. It was closed. Presumably by closing, they were able to fumigate the place thoroughly for future pilgrims. The albergue I did stay at was very cool all the same.

The neatest experience in Rabanal del Camino was participating in the Liturgy of Hours and Night Prayers at the local church. I've heard recordings of  monks doing Gregorian chants in Latin before. I've even heard it from the depths of the church in Viana, Spain on El Camino. But to actually participate in it is a very spiritual experience. Led by the Benedictine monks of San Salvador del Monte Irago, I had to remember my decades old Latin in this centuries old church to chant along. Unique experiences like this along El Camino are what make the whole journey so unique and so memorable.

Day 21 - San Martin del Camino to Astorga

This post will be in the form of an open letter to the Merrell shoe company (which will also be mailed to them with pictures).

Dear Merrell,

You'll have to excuse my bluntness here, but your shoes suck. I bought a pair of Chameleon 3 Ventilator GTX hiking shoes to do El Camino de Santiago, a 500 mile hike across Spain over varied terrain, including sand, grass, gravel, with the majority of it being paved track. The shoes were ordered from Zappos.com on July 7th so that I could have ample time to break in the shoes and make sure they'd work well (my first day of walking El Camino was September 28th). They were definitely comfortable and walked very well. I only put about 75-100 miles on them in preparation for my trip.

Merely three hundred miles into my trip, I couldn't use them anymore: both the soles had worn through and the right shank collapsed, noticeable altering the support of my arch and making a squeaking/creaking sound with each step I took. I'm not an exceedingly heavy man (175 pounds at the start of the trip). The Camino Frances route I took allows for shelter every night and plenty of food and water along  the way, meaning that I only carried 25 pounds at most (including snacks and water). I certainly would not have expected both soles to wear through in only 400 miles. I would've gladly sent you the shoes to see the damage firsthand, but there was not a snowball's chance in hell I was carrying them for 200 more miles (I didn't shave for 5 1/2 weeks because I didn't want to carry shaving cream and a razor) or pay to ship them from Spain. I did, however, take pictures to show you the wear of the soles and the tear in the Gore-Tex caused by the collapsed shank. They are enclosed.

Luckily when they were finally unusable, I was very close to a town big enough to have several sporting goods stores. After spending a couple hours trying on different shoes and spending $147.89 on new ones (after converting the Eurodollars to the horrible U.S. Dollar), I had nothing but fear that I would get blisters since the new shoes of course weren't broken in. Of course there was nothing I could do about that except take excess precautions (foot antiperspirant, vaseline, thin socks under thicker socks, airing my feet out every few hours, Compeed on hot spots, etc.). Despite all of the precautions I took, I still got a few blisters.

At dinner after purchasing the new boots, I met a German gentleman who was doing El Camino for the FIFTH time...IN THE SAME PAIR OF BOOTS. His hiking boots have traveled underfoot over 2,400 miles and aside from having nearly treadless soles, were in decent shape. Your hiking shoes, the third version of the Chameleon model, I should add, didn't even last 400 miles. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Given the circumstances, I'd like Merrell to pay $147.89 for the replacement boots I was forced to buy and I'll eat the cost of the necessary blister prevention supplies and the pain and suffering I endured when I got blisters anyway.

I look forward to your reply.

Dissapointedly,

Thomas Lin

Day 20 - León to San Martin del Camino

Today's walk wasn't bad. I kept it short on account of too many Calimochos the night before. San Martin del Camino is a quiet little town, as many of them have been. There were very few pilgrims staying in the municipal albergue (there were 3 of us!). It was rather cold already in the afternoon, so we knew it was going to be a cold night. The heating at the albergue was not on, so I was a little worried about the night. My sleeping bag (the Marmot Pounder) kept me plenty warm throughout the night. Getting up in the morning was difficult as I didn't want to leave the warmth of my sleeping bag.

The three of us in San Martin del Camino made me realize how my trip was really the United Nations del Camino. One guy was French, but also spoke Spanish. And the other guy was Brazillian, but spoke Spanish as well. Notice that nobody else spoke English. With my French better than my Spanish, I was speaking in my horrible French to the French guy who was translating it to Spanish for the other guy. I took several years of French in school, but the last time I did that was 1993. The last time I've tried to use French? 1993.

Here's a list of the countries of people I've met on this trip (in no particular order):

• United States (VERY few)
• Canada
• Australia
• Holland
• Belgium
• Spain (incl. Mallorca and the Canary Islands)
  
• France
• Germany
• Austria
• Iceland
• Poland
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Italy
• England
• Ireland
• S. Korea
• Estonia
• Denmark
• Japan
• Norway
• Finland
  

It was quite an eclectic mix of people. Generally, everyone speaks English. I noticed a lot of the Spaniards (doing El Camino) didn't speak English. But we were all able to somehow communicate our needs and they were met.

Day 19 - Mansilla de las Mulas to León

A short day today...only 18.2 km, allowing me to get into León early to see what I hear is a great city. It's noticable that the meseta is ending as we're starting to get rolling hills. Nothing big, but after the completely flat meseta, it's a welcome change. I could see that they're building a new footbridge across a major highway that could very well be for El Camino and the crowds they're expecting for the Holy Year next year. Hopefully that's what it's for as the way into León seemed out of the way, taking us up the highest hill overlooking León right by radio and TV towers broadcasting to the cities (I actually think I could feel the microwaves affecting my pancreas). I will say that getting over the ridge of that hill and being able to see the city was a welcoming site. The beautiful cathedral was clearly visible. Sometimes seeing your goal is a blessing in disguise (another life lesson) as you have such anticipation of getting there that sometimes you'd rather just be there.

As soon as I got to the old part of town where the cathedral was, I could see and sense that the city had a great vibe, full of people walking around and just enjoying the wonderful weather. I decided to stick to the original plan and spend two days there, checking into the Hotel Paris (ironic) only a couple hundred yards from the Cathedral and right in the heart of it. Little did I know when I chose the place (based on location) that the hotel contained a spa and it was also for hotel guests! Saunas and hot tubs do no good on swollen feet, but they still felt wonderful on tired and weary muscles! For those staying in León for whatever reason, I highly suggest it. It was a nice hotel, a decent price, and in a perfect locaton.

As I was staying there on Friday and Saturday nights, I was able to take part in the nightlife, unlike my friends staying in the albergue, as it locked its doors at 9:30. There were several of us in hotels, so I wasn't alone. There were sooo many young people, just going bar to bar having a beer or glass of wine and the tapas that come with each drink in the evening. Then the locals had me experience a calimocho. It's half red wine (vino tinto) and Coca-Cola served in a large cup. It tastes better than it sounds, goes down like candy, and can pack quite a punch given its ease to drink! Sunday was a late and hard walk out of León after a late night on the town!

Temporary post...under the weather

Fear not, I'm on the mend now. But I've had a touch of the flu. I've still been walking. But taking the time and effort to find internet has not been a priority. Updates soon, I promise!

Day 18 - Bercianos de Real Camino to Mansilla de las Mulas

The anticipation of getting to León and then to start climbing a mountain again is getting to me. I hear many great things about the city of León and plan to spend 2 days there exploring the sites and just taking in the culture and people of a Spanish city. Burgos and Logroño have inspired the extra day's stay. Also, I want to arrive in Santiago de Compostela on October 31st. That way, the pilgrim's mass I attend on the 1st will be on All Saints Day and they will pull out the botafumeiro. In English, we call it a thurible, the little incense cannister that is swung during certain times at mass. But apparently, the botafumeiro in Santiago is humongous, swinging across the entire transept of the church and requiring several people (thurifers) to hold on to the other end of the rope to swing it. I can't wait to see that! They pull it out for Holy Days and apparently when they get enough pilgrim donations, but that takes a fair amount. Given that it's not a Holy Year and not the high season for El Camino, I doubt we would get enough.

Day 17 - Terradillos de los Templarios to Bercianos de Real Camino

Today is more of the Meseta. Though the landscape can be dull at times, it offers a great time to think. It's also starting to get cold at night. The air is very dry here, so it can get cold quickly, but it can also warm up quickly once the sun comes up. As I walk, I've realized how a rollercoaster can be a metaphor for life...and some of you know how I love rollercoasters! Now I just have to enjoy the ride of life. When the walking is flat, I miss the mountains for their scenery and the nuances of climbing and descending them. When it's warm, I wish it were cool. When it's cool, I wish it were warm. Everything comes and goes. I just need to learn to roll with the punches.

One side note...a fellow pilgrim that I'd never seen before came up to me in the albergue and said: "I've read your blog."

"You have?"

"Yes, you used to have 'interesting' hair."

Yup...that was me. Guilty as charged. He found my blog either through a search or through a forum. But either way, if you read it again: Hi, Brian from Ireland!

Day 16 - Carrión de los Condes to Terradillos de los Templarios

I mentioned in the previous post how flat and boring the landscape can be. Today was a better example of it. The first 17.5 km were through NOTHING but wide open fields. There was not a single town or anything. It's trying to walk through that as it can feel very hopeless when you're feet are hurting, you're hungry, you've been walking for a few hours, and all you see in front of you is fields, all harvested, some already tilled, some still waiting for tilling. But like I said before, it's in these times that I think you can get the most contemplation done. I have hardly pulled out the camera the last few days as it would be generally the same picture, over and over.

On I walk.