Friday, June 30, 2017

When the idea...

to accompany our camino with a blog first came to us, it seemed like an inspired one. After all, we did plan to regularly update our family and friends of our whereabouts so why not do it in the form of a blog? We also both like to write so how hard can it be? Writing a narrative about our walk seemed like a natural thing to do. Ha! Shows how much we know! Our camino proved over and over again that things don't always go according to plan. 😁

The thing is, I didn't want to not write about it. It was an amazing time and an amazing experience and even though we do plan to do it again, it won't ever be like this first. This is my way of preserving those memories. 

Going through the  challenging process of piecing everything together, I was a lot surprised by the details that came to mind when I looked at the photos that we took or read the notes that I wrote from before (yes, I did keep notes), details that I thought I've forgotten. Maybe we weren't meant to write about it then, not right away. Maybe the distance and the passing of time has given me a better lens to see and realize more.  


And now it's almost two years later that I am able to sort of complete this blog. I say sort of because now and then, I still remember some details and I add it to a post, so in that, I think this is going to continue to be a work in progress for some time to come.  Plus, I live in hope that someday my sister will pick up  her part of the narrative. 😊 So yes, it's all mostly memories, not always pleasant, but all good ones.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Day 29, September 29, Santiago de Compostela - late post


          On September 18, we said goodbye to Taylor in Ponferrada, but thanks to Facebook, we were able to stay in touch during our walk. She came to Santiago a few days earlier than us and decided to stay for a few days. Luckily, she was still there when we arrived. Our first night in Santiago was her last. We planned to have dinner together to just catch up and talk about our caminos. We met in front of the cathedral and walked around the streets of Santiago looking for a quiet place to eat and talk. That turned out to be an impossible affair because every few meters or so, she or my sister and I or sometimes all of us would get stopped by fellow pilgrims trying to catch up. This went on for a while until we just decided to plop ourselves at the next cafe or restaurant with an available table, otherwise, we'd never get to eat. So, we got a table and of course the same thing kept happening the entire evening. People would stop by and greet us, give us hugs and stay for a chat, some would stay and some would go on. I don't even know at what point our small table got extended and extended until there were more than a dozen pilgrims excitedly talking and laughing and swapping tales around us in various languages. So much for finding a quiet place to chat. I'm just glad we were able to order  and start dinner before everyone descended on us. One thing you learn fast on the camino: you may choose to start your walk in solitude, but that's not necessarily how you will end up at the end of the day. 

                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          Taylor mentioned that there was an English pilgrim's mass every afternoon at the cathedral so we made sure to check the schedule and  make time for that. So, on our last day in Santiago, we found ourselves attending the only English mass we've ever been to during our entire camino. It was held in one of those tiny chapels inside the cathedral. The chapel couldn't have fit more than 20 people comfortably but I know that there were more people than that because they had to line the walls with chairs even all the way at the back of the altar, and every seat was taken. Laurie and Stacey were in the same mass and we were happy to see them make it to Santiago, physical injuries notwithstanding. The priest who presided was Irish and before he started, he asked all of us attending to introduce ourselves, which country we came from and talk a bit about why we did our camino. He wanted the celebration to be a personal thing for each of us. Another thing he did differently was that during the Prayers of the Faithful, he had all of us, or at least all those who were comfortable speaking about it, mention our petitions out loud so that we all could pray for it as a community.  That was something that everyone in the room appreciated, I think. During communion, instead of him feeding us the host, he set it up so each pilgrim can go up the the altar, take a host, dip it in wine and  feed ourselves. It was truly one of the most solemn and touching masses I have ever been to, bar none. He was able to create an intimacy in a roomful of strangers and made us feel again that sense of community that we experienced during our camino. There was not a dry eye in that chapel once the mass ended. It was a wonderful celebration and I think that was exactly the solemnity a lot of us were looking for to cap our camino. 


                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'll be taking the first flight out to Barcelona in the morning. We talk about our walk as we start sorting and packing our stuff for the last leg of our journey. Now and then we would look at our credentials and our compostelas and smile. Even now, 800 something kilometers from where we started from, there's a lot of it that seems unreal to us. Maybe it will always be that way. But for now we end this camino, prepare ourselves to go back to reality and with hopeful hearts, look forward to our next one.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Day 28, September 28, Santiago to Muxia,Finsterre and back– late post


          It was still dark when we checked out of our albergue to hunt down our hostel. Since we planned early on to spend 2 nights in Santiago, we wanted to be a little more comfortable and chose to book a private room in a hostel. We had no idea where it was though so we had to allot some time to search for it. It could be that it wasn't particularly easy to find it or we were just bad at understanding Google's instructions because it took us awhile to find it. After going up and down the same street for the nth time with our backpacks made heavier by frustration and hunger, we eventually gave up on the technology and decided to get directions the old-fashioned way, by asking random people. By then, the sun was starting to rise and there were more people walking along the streets. So we learned that we and Google were off by at least 3 blocks. Like the previous day when we arrived at our albergue, it was still too early when we got there so we couldn't check in yet. We actually just wanted to be able to leave our packs and walking sticks this morning since leaving them at the albergue was out. After securing our things at the hostel, we were off again for today's trip.  We got to the meeting place for the tour  about 45 minutes early so we had time to walk the block and look for a place to have breakfast and cafe con leche. 

          This was day 28, the day we scheduled a visit to Muxia and Finisterre. Depending on your pace, it takes roughly 3-4 days to walk from Santiago de Compostella to Finisterre, and another 28 km. to get to Muxia from there. That's time and energy we definitely didn't have anymore. But we did take those buses and trains when possible so we could squeeze in these 2 places into our itinerary. So, after 27 days of walking, we got on a tour bus and looked forward to a comfortable ride to the 0.0 km. marker. It was very touristy and so different from what we've gotten used to on this camino. During the ride, our guide would point out places of interest and kept us entertained by sharing the history of and some tidbits of information about Galicia. Now and then, we would see pilgrims on a hillside or by the side of the road still continuing on with their walk. 

          The tour headed to Muxia first, where according to legend, Mother Mary appeared to Santiago in his despair and disappointment to encourage him to continue with the work of conversion that Jesus has appointed to him.  A chapel stands there in commemoration, the Santuario de Nuestra Senora de la Barca. Unfortunately, the chapel was closed on that day so we were not able to go inside. 

          On the highest point on that coast stands a huge sculpture called A Ferida or the Wound. In 2002, the Prestige oil spill happened, a devastating oil spill that ruined thousands of kilometers of Spanish, Portuguese and French beaches and coastline. That spill  was cleaned up through the efforts of thousands of volunteers. Now, you wouldn't even know about it from looking at the coastline. That sculpture stands there in commemoration of those volunteers who worked tirelessly to restore it.

          Afterwards, we headed to Finisterre, literally the “end of the land” as dubbed by the Romans. Legend has it that they named it Finisterre because once they got to this point, they were not able to see any land across. This is where the zero kilometer marker is and typically where the pilgrimage ends. At the back of the museum, when you go down the rocky path, you will see a cross made of stone that is attached to a stone altar. On the ground in front of it, there's a small circle of rocks, what you would normally see in a bonfire. This apparently is where in olden days, pilgrims come to burn all their material possessions after their walk to start life afresh, free from burdens of the past. According to our guide it’s more symbolic now, much like leaving a rock to symbolize the forgiveness of past and future sins at the cross in Cruz de Ferro. He said that these days, burning things on this site is no longer allowed, That statement however was made a lie when we looked closely and saw newly-burned remnants of brightly colored pieces of cloths and other things that are no longer recognizable lying among the ashes.

          We had a couple more stops along the Costa da Morte after that, but I stopped paying attention after these two. I did take a photo op in front of the waterfall of Ezaro since we were already there, but for the most part I was satisfied and I spent the remainder of the bus ride just daydreaming about my next camino. When we got back to Santiago, Anj and I went to Ivar's office to pick up our packages (the stuff we sent ahead from Saint Jean and Pamplona) so we could start sorting out and packing our stuff for the next leg of our journey.

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Day 27, September 27, Monte de Gozo to Santiago de Compostella – late post



          Last day of walk! We left  the albergue before sunrise, which at the end of September is about 7:30 in the morning. We were only about 5km. away so it was okay to walk it in the dark. We arrived in Santiago within an hour but we wandered around for another half hour looking for our albergue. When we found it, we couldn't check in yet since it was way too early in the day to take-in new pilgrims. So, we left our packs and looked around for an open breakfast place. We found something close to the cathedral. It was teeming with people, a mix of pilgrims, tourists and locals, so we assumed it was as good a place as any to break our fast. We were lucky enough to get a table after waiting for only about 15 minutes. I don't remember what we ate exactly, only the excitement of being there at last in Santiago. After breakfast, we still had a lot of time to kill so we went back to our albergue to hang out at the lobby and take advantage of the free WiFi service. It was only until after an hour later that we realized we forgot to do something important. We haven't gotten our compostelas yet! We actually only realized it when a couple of pilgrims came in carrying theirs in a tube.

          So off we went in search of the pilgrims's center. We found it after half an hour of going around in circles on the streets of Santiago, and only because of the long queue of excited pilgrims waiting outside. So we lined up and were pleasantly surprised with many happy reunions while standing in line. We must have waited for about an hour and a half before our turn came. When I got to the counter, the lady on the other side was smiling and asked me just a few questions after stamping my passport: Where did I start? Who I was walking with? Why did I do the walk? How long did I walk? When I said 27 days she was shocked. For an average pilgrim, that was a very short time to tackle an 800 km. distance. I had to explain that we took the bus and the train on some parts of it because we simply did not have time to do the full 34-day prescribed walk. After that brief interview, she read the name she wrote on my compostela aloud before handing it to me and never was I more thrilled to be given a certificate in my life. I think I stared at it with a big smile on my face for a few minutes after I stepped out of that office before I was ready to move on.


          Another thing that we didn't think about was how full the cathedral was likely to be for the midday pilgrims' mass. I guess we assumed that going in half an hour early for the service would be more than enough time. Add to that was the fact that there were still a lot of pilgrims milling about and greeting each other, in no hurry to go inside. Well, lesson learned for next time because the cathedral was packed with both pilgrims and tourists alike awaiting the pilgrims’ mass that was to start at noon. The mass was not in English, of course but the priest translated parts of it for those who don't speak Spanish. Pilgrims and tourists alike whipped out their cameras at the swinging of the botafumeiro. I could be wrong but I guess everyone was looking forward to that sight. This is not a regular occurrence, I was told. Apparently, the botafumeiro is only used on special liturgical celebrations or for pilgrimages that have requested for it from the cathedral. Another blessing. I also liked the recessional when about 30 or so clerics in full regalia started walking down the steps of the altar, passing by the middle aisle to exit the main church. I quite enjoyed that long processional. 

          After the mass, once people started spilling out of the cathedral, we saw happily even more familiar pilgrims, people we’ve walked with at some point during the camino, especially those we never thought we’d see again. After all the excitement calmed down, we went back to the cathedral to read out and pray for each of the petitions of family and friends we carried with us throughout the walk.  

        With all the excitement of arriving in Santiago, getting our compostelas, attending the pilgrims’ mass and saying final goodbyes to fellow pilgrims, we had a very late lunch, our last pilgrims' menu del dia. As we exited the restaurant, a lady in one of the outdoor tables called out to me and asked, “Aren’t you from the Philippines?” When I said yes, she invited me to sit down. She said we met in Pamplona, at the beginning of her Camino. She said I talked to her and her friend as we were walking out of the city. We chatted for a little while about our walks and when it was time to say goodbye, I asked if I could give her a hug. She said, that’s how she remembered me, because I gave them both hugs as we said goodbyes in Pamplona. And I said, “That’s perfect! This just brings us full circle. “ 

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Day 26, September 26, O Pedrouzo to Monte de Gozo– late post











          Everyone at the albergue was in high spirits. We all knew what awaited most of us at the end of the day tomorrow.  The excitement in the air was almost a physical thing. We were almost done! We couldn't wait for it to be over but we also wanted to prolong it as much as we can. In celebration, a lot of the pilgrims staying in the albergue went out in the evening to get a last round of drinks before the last day of walk tomorrow but after the unexpectedly long walk we had, we opted to stay in, cook dinner and enoy the quiet of the albergue's rooftop kitchen and dining area.

          I say most of us because instead of heading directly to Santiago, we chose to stay at Monte de Gozo. I didn’t want us to arrive at Santiago surely tired from a 21 km. walk to appreciate what we see. Most of the pilgrims were going forward after taking a brief pause and getting refreshments at Monte de Gozo and it was so tempting to join them.  I'm sure I would have made the most of it regardless of what time we get in, or how tired we were, but I also knew that whatever excitement I feel would be dimmed by the need to rest my aching feet and body. So, we rested and enjoyed the welcome break instead. 

          After doing our laundry, we had a light dinner and explored the biggest albergue we have ever seen on this camino. It was a huge compound on a hill and the buildings are arranged in a terraced layer. That sounds charming, but it actually isn't. This albergue actually just doesn't look like one. It doesn't have any of that warm welcoming atmosphere you get from every other albergue along the camino. Neither does the aesthetic make up for it in any way. It was really more utilitarian than anything. The buildings were nondescript and the almost barracks-like starkness of the rooms' walls can make you feel like you're in a converted factory building rather than a pilgrims' accommodations. But, they have a functioning laundry machine and dryer so I won't complain. 

         Once outside the fences of the compound, we climbed to the top of the hill to closely examine the huge marker sitting there. This marker is actually the first thing that you notice when you arrive at this place because of its size and location. But once your eyes have scanned the area, you will notice the tiny chapel of San Marco that stands to a side. Pilgrims visit the dimly-lit chapel mostly to get stamps for their passports. 


          When you go up and take a closer look at the marker, you will see that each of the four sides depicts different religious scenes. You will also see a variety of pilgrim offerings like folded prayers, rocks, walking sticks, photos and even shoes. From this vantage point, you will see another hill close by, on top of which rests the two iconic pilgrim statues pointing to Santiago. We walked across to that hill, settled in and watched the sun set on the city of Santiago, imagining ourselves there in less than 24 hours. It was thrilling and surreal at the same time. This walk is almost over. It's hard to describe what I was feeling at that exact moment. Even now, words are not easy to come by. There was a sense of fulfillment and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and peace, of course, but for the rest, I still can't find the right words. 
   

       When darkness started settling in, we went back to our albergue and found to our surprise that we had roommates. We shared a room with a couple of ladies from the US, good friends who are travelling together. One of them was a volunteer hospitalier. She stayed in one municipal albergue for a month halfway through her camino and was only now getting the opportunity to finish her walk. She told us that the wine and bread we saw in some shrines along the camino are for pilgrims who run out of supplies, and not actually the offerings we initially thought they were. When she found out that our reservation was not until Monday night, she kindly volunteered to book us beds in the same albergue that they will be staying at in Santiago. On a Sunday in Santiago, that turned out to be a good thing since we met a lot of people the following day unable to find a place to stay.  

Thursday, June 08, 2017

Day 25, September 25, Melide to O Pedrouzo– late post



          Today started out a good walk. It was mostly rolling hills and bends which was still tiring but I didn't mind them so much anymore. What I did mind was that there were so many pilgrims, it was difficult to have some quiet time on this leg. I ran into Marley's group again a few times today in some of the places I took breaks at. At this point, some of the pilgrims we've walked part of the way with are quite familiar with the fact that I am doing the walk with my twin. So, every time I would stop somewhere to re-fill my water bottle, or to get a snack, or simply to catch my breath, pilgrims would ask, "Where's your sister?" Yep, Anj was also getting the same questions during her walk. It was getting tiring having to explain that: a. She walks faster than me so she goes on ahead and we just decide the night before where to meet for lunch breaks or where to rest for the next night and; b. We quite enjoy walking by ourselves and making our camino "personal," which has the added bonus of us having a lot more stories to share when we do see each other in the late afternoons. That often ends up being a long conversation because people are naturally curious and the more comfortable they are with you, the more follow-up questions they have. And after you've walked days or even weeks together, people definitely get comfortable seeing you around.
     
          The previous day, while getting a cold soda from a cafe, another pilgrim, an older lady, asked me where my sister was, and hoping to make a quick exit and to avoid having to give that explanation that would inevitably start a long conversation, I just flippantly answered that I lost her somewhere but I'm sure I'll find her again soon. This cracked her up and she shared the story with the other pilgrims she was walking with, who all seemed amused by the joke. So from then, some pilgrims would walk up to me sometimes and with smiles on their faces ask me if I found my sister yet. Yes, that followed me all the way to Santiago.  😆


 One of the most interesting pilgrims I saw today or perhaps ever during my entire camino is a young mother. She caught my attention as I was catching my breath because she was pushing a pram up the hill while her sleeping son of about 3 or 4 was peacefully napping. That quite amazed me. It was hard enough for me to carry my own weight up those hills most times, but to have to push up a stroller with a sleeping baby in it was just beyond me.  I called her a superwoman. She said she just didn't want to wait until her son was older to do her camino so she's doing it now. She said she does get help from fellow pilgrims sometimes and she makes sure she doesn't push herself too hard. They stop when they have to and she lets her son play a bit so he can use up his energy and so he doesn't get cranky. She also has their things sent ahead to the next albergue so she doesn't carry unnecessary weight. Her son incidentally also has his own pilgrim's passport and I imagine him someday looking at it and wondering about those places and those stamps. I was humbled by this woman and I hope that little boy grows up someday having the same fire his mother has.


         
 We had a pretty good plan going into our walk today. We wanted to walk the 24 kilometers to Salceda, which is between popular stops. We assumed that because of its location, we would find plenty of beds.  Well, that didn’t happen. We had to walk another 3 km. to the next town, which incidentally was also full. I was tired and hot and I think it was pretty obvious from the expression on my face that I was not in the best of moods. In fact, one of the pilgrims I met earlier today saw me and called out to ask where my smile was. I just gave her a small smile and waved at her even though I wanted to say I lost it about 3 kilometers ago. 

     Anyway, the nearest town was 8 kilometers away, but 27 kilometers was my absolute limit if I was to walk again the following day. I refused to walk another step but we had nowhere to sleep. We ended up taking a taxi for those last 8 kilometers of the day, but not before making sure we had a bed and a pillow to lay our heads on. So that's why ahead of schedule, we found ourselves just 21 km. from Santiago.

Friday, June 02, 2017

Day 24, September 24, Portos to Melide– late post




         I was a bit confused when I arrived at this place the previous afternoon. This was our agreed stop for the day but on the outside, it looked more like a cafe than an albergue. This was further enforced by the fact that there were a number of tables set up for outdoor dining, and all of which










were occupied by pilgrims taking their mid afternoon break. Wolfgang and Anna were there and they told me that they ran into my sister about half an hour past. They said Anj was unfortunately not able to book beds for us here so she decided to keep on walking to the next town. This was not news that I wanted to hear but not having a choice, I decided to forge ahead and continue walking. The next town was about 5 kilometers away so it wasn't so daunting. But still, I was already at that point where I was ready to put my feet up and rest. Thankfully, as I was leaving, I heard my name being called. Apparently, my sister did get lucky. Three people who called in to reserve their beds did not show up so the hospitalier gave my sister two beds. She did intend to go to the next town like she told Wolfgang and Anna, but the hospitalier caught her in time. Whew! what a relief!  So, we were able to do our laundry and rest early, like we planned.



    









     I'm not sure if Portos is  one of those one-house towns or if the houses here are really just far away from each other. But this albergue-cum-bar was definitely by itself. There was not much else nearby.  The closest store is 3km. back the closest church is 2 km. forward. Since we did not have provisions, we had to walk forward 5 km. before breakfast. You can imagine our moods by then. We were already bickering by the time we found a place to eat. That restaurant at the town entrance sure was a welcome site. After breakfast armed with better moods, we headed to the town proper and located the church for our morning prayers. When the church attendant stamped our passports, he got excited to learn that we were from the Philippines. He pointed us to the 3 priests who were quietly praying near the front pew, saying that one of them is from the Philippines. We didn’t want to bother them but the man was insistent. So, we met Fr. Alberto Silva of the Comboni Missionaries, a Portuguese priest who was based in the Philippines for 18 years. He asked us if we could attend mass in the afternoon because he wanted to pray for us. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay long since we've barely begun our day’s walk. But he did promise to dedicate his afternoon mass to us nonetheless. Too bad we couldn’t be there. But that definitely made our day! Marley was there again as we exited the church and he kindly agreed to take our photo with Fr. Alberto.


     In Furelos, heading to Melide, I walked part of the way with an older pilgrim who didn't seem to be liking her walk very much. She said she started walking just a few days before, I'm guessing Sarria, and that it was more difficult than she expected. She didn't seem like the average pilgrim. She had the requisite gear of course, but it seemed like she was carrying too much for the 5 or 6-day walk from Sarria to Santiago. She actually looked like she doesn't know what she got herself into and why she started walking in the first place. She also looked kinda lonely, so I decided to walk with her the rest of the way to Melide and bring her to the same albergue I was going to. She was very curious about my walk and so I shared some of my experiences and told her stories of some of the people I’ve met. Upon entering town, we ran into Marley (again) who wouldn't let us go without tasting pulpo. He said he saw Anj earlier and gave us directions to the albergue she went to.
 
   Throughout our walk, some pilgrims would pass by and wave, one or two gave me brief hugs before moving on. This lady wondered aloud how we all seemed comfortable around each other, knowing that we all just met within the course of our camino. I just shrugged and smiled. I didn't know how to explain it to her then (mostly because I was out of breath from walking uphill), but the way I see it, no matter how long or how far you walk, the moment you begin your camino, you become part of this amazing community of pilgrims. It's your choice to trust in that community to look out for you or not and to reciprocate other's kindness or not. I also believe that however personal each pilgrim's camino is, nobody can do it on their own. You rely on your strength of course and you savor your moments of solitude, but whether you choose to admit it or not, you also draw comfort from the presence of others. That's probably one of the reasons why even after a full day's walk, most pilgrims still enjoy trading tales accompanied by that ever present bottle  or two of vino tinxto. Because no matter how temporary and fleeting that bond is that you form with other pilgrims, that fellowship is an integral part of the camino. But most times, a wave, a smile, a hug and a taste of pulpo are all you need to keep on walking.