El Camino - The Way #39

And on the next day - morning did come - as anticipated.  Almost everyone is familiar with shrink wrapped products - the most common are found in the vegetable and meat aisles in the grocery store. The shrink wrap process has been developed so well that many other industries and products now benefit from shrink wrapping - multiple units of the same product - similar and related products may be wrapped together - especially when introducing a new product. Today while walking - we came across a field where the farmer had shrink wrapped his hay crop. We have seen other systems used to protect hay during the winter months - this was the first time we have seen hay wrapped in plastic. 

On occasion - we will come across people who have shrink wrapped their faith - faith that carried them for a period of time - then for no reason - wrapped neatly in a package - placed on an upper shelf - in the closet of their heart - waiting - for an awakening.  Perhaps in this Lent season we may be the one to help them remove that wrapping - to rediscover their faith. 

Hey Hey - Hay 

Saw this sign early in the morning - never found out how to pronounce - not a worry just like reading Scripture - some words - cannot pronounce - as long as you learn the meaning

Morning fog so dense it looks like a lake 

Display of giant sized ants 5 feet tall 

Another One 

And another..

And......

Mary and Jesus 

Dancing Pilgrims - Celebrating?

Debating which way to go?

Our Destination - One hour drive - three days walk - 65 Km to go 

Corn crib - drying & storing corn 

Way Marker with St Gianna card & stones 

Way Marker sponsored by group caring for the Camino 

13 Kilometers down - only 52 Km to go 

Medieval Bridge over quiet waters - time to look for an albergue

All Smiles - Wine & Tapas coming up 

End of day prayers 

Today was a hot 23 kilometer walk - lots of sun - again - no giant hills to climb - one rough patch with rocks and stumps to cope with - otherwise a good day.  Even when we come to a road block in our lives - we are delayed a short time - work through whatever might be - then continue on.  Our days in Lent getting shorter - there is a light at the end of the tunnel - or in our case walking the Camino - at the end of each day a bed.

Deacon Dale 

El Camino - The Way #38

One of the great conversations among those who are considering walking the Camino is foot wear - style - type - brand - high top - low cut - heavy weight soles - lightweight - shoes or sandals - flexibility - socks - and more.  Once on the Camino - one learns that your precious footwear which you invested a lot of money on - has to be left at the albergue entrance - cannot take to your bunk - at risk of being taken either accidentally or intentionally.  Rarely - pilgrims with old or uncomfortable footwear will leave theirs in the rack and take somebody else's.  More often in the early morning in the dark - someone accidentally takes a pair similar to theirs but not theirs - causing destress and anxiety.  Because we wanted to ensure that this did not happen to us - we made it a point to tie our shoes together with the laces and then tie our two pair together making it difficult for anyone to accidentally take the wrong four shoes in place of their two.  Foot care is very important on the Camino - especially when you get blisters. As noted in an earlier post - the complete Camino - from the Pyrenees to Santiago is about one million steps.  Since we did not start in France and walk over the mountains into Spain - we would only have about 800,000 possible steps maximum.  In reality I only got one blister - one that refused to heal since I was continuing to irritate that area on a daily basis.  Here now - at home on our Lenten journey - a spiritual trip - so easy for us to make changes - when we experience a misstep - changes to our our plans easy - able to continue towards our goal. 

Will my shoes be there in the morning?

There are a bunch of bridges in this area due to the high water level - now that level much lower so it makes one wonder what happened to the water

Bridge system 

Back on solid ground 

More morning fog 

Nice web 

What wove this? 

Trail along the highway 

Place to rest sore feet - eat a snack 

Cemetery 

We are not alone no matter what path we follow 

Welcome to our villa 

John Deere tractor sales - familiar sight reminds of home 

Should we stay or should we go - we went 

Close to village - blacktop - time to think about stopping 

After 17 Kilometers - Vino y tapas  - we stopped - 3 cheeses - 3 meats - bread - wine 

Our albergue for the night 

Hello stranger - are these for us?

Nice looking horse

This day ended with us sipping wine - munching on cheese & meats - waiting for dinner time.

Throughout Lent it is important that we nurture not only our spirits but also our bodies - although fasting - by consuming less is good - completely avoiding food is not exactly what is expected. When we deny ourselves of all food - drink - it often becomes counter productive - creating an anger inside - that we have to starve.  The goal is spiritual enlightenment - drawing closer to God - not anger because somebody decided you had to go hungry or thirsty.  Each individual has to make that decision for themselves - not for others.  As for us on Camino - we went to the  local restaurant and as normal ordered the pilgrim Menu complete with a full bottle of wine.  Bedtime - night prayers - morning will come again - all too early. 

Deacon Dale 

El Camino - The Way #37

I Am Not Religious

I find it interesting that many of the people who we met on the Camino were very quick to reply "I am not religious" when discussing their motivation to walk the Camino - this was before I ever mentioned that I was a Roman Catholic deacon - to them we were nothing more than an older American couple with time on our hands to kill. From the way they say it - or from the tone in their voices - I perceive that they make that comment for a number of reasons.


#1 - they are religious - but are afraid that they will be labeled a religious fanatic - and will be shunned
#2 - they are Catholic - but not actively practicing the faith - and are afraid of being
shunned
#3 - they are not Catholic/Christian - but are seekers - looking for the Truth
#4 - they know the Truth lies in Jesus Christ - but do not know how to make Him a part of
their life
#5 - they have confused religious with spiritual - the two not being exactly the same

Everyone of us has a part of our being that is spiritual - basically - each of us embodies a trinitarian existence - the physical - the intellectual - the spiritual. Our physical is nurtured by the foods we eat and the games we play - the intellectual is nurtured by the works we read and the problems our minds contemplate - the spiritual is nurtured by religious devotions and the life experiences we encounter. Not all are religious - in the common sense - but all are spiritual - in the lives we lead - in the events we experience - in the peoples we meet - in the places we visit - in the things we hear and do.

To walk the Camino - is to touch the Divine - in whatever form or shape - one experiences such things - sight - sound - smell - taste - feel. Each person on the Camino is seeking to fulfill that inner part - we call our spiritual side - seeking to fill a void that is not complete - seeking to become whole - to answer questions - to receive answers. As we seek to fill our spiritual side - we do so - by religiously walking day after day to Santiago.

The same goes for Lent - so many people are seeking to fill voids that exist in their lives. It is possible that void may be filled by prayers - meditation - quiet - spiritual readings - even this blog.   All it takes is openness.

Where have you seen markers in your life? 

A lonely cross erected along the trail - additions by passing pilgrims  

We added one of the 500 Saint Gianna prayer cards we had printed up 

Country Church

At one time the rivers were so high these bridges had to be greatly elevated

note original bridge much lower 

The bridge is so high people with fear of heights have trouble crossing 

Water level very low now 

Old Roman stairs near river 

After the scary walk over the bridge - greeted with this staircase 

Portomarin 89.5 Km to go 

And then more stairs

And a short up hill yet 

A flat street - about time 

Pilgrim pointing to Santiago 

Church had to be disassembled from original lower location by river and

moved here to higher ground or be completely under water 

Sign explains the relocation of church 

albergue with a lot of younger pilgrims 

End of day - wine - beer - tapas

Another rough day - happy to shower - change - find drinks and snacks - waiting for dinner.

Sleep - bedtime prayers.

Deacon Dale