
Previous Posts
Day 1- And the Healing has Begun
Who ever thought that my pilgrimage would begin with me jerking off into a plastic cup? I’ll get to that in a little bit, but for now, I’m standing at the edge of uncertainty staring at the abyss and a 482 mile walk across Spain on the Camino de Santiago. What brought...
Day 2- Tom Hanks
I was startled awake in my top bunk by a rotund, jovial guy telling me (and the other 180 pilgrims sleeping in bunks in my room) to essentially get our asses in gear. I had set my alarm for earlier but in my post Pyrenees/rain soaked delirium the night before, I guess...
Day 3- The Old Man and the Sea
Last night was a splendid example of the serendipitous things that seem to happen on the camino. I arrived in Zubiri, a small town of around 400 people, at around 2pm. Around the corner came Kento (I haven’t seen Kento walking the camino yet, but he certainly has the...
DAY 4 – Windmills, Dreamers, and Don Quixote
I left the Los Tres Reyes Hotel in Pamplona and found the camino running behind the hotel and I followed the gold scallop shells (symbols of the camino) planted in the sidewalk. If life was only that easy. Just put your head down and follow the signs. But I guess that...
Day 5- Losing my Religion
The auberge last night in Puente La Reina was the best so far- auberge jacque. They had the usual stuff. The bunks- sets of 4 that were separated by thin walls, so it was somewhat private. They had showers that played music - Losing My Religion echoed thorough the...
Day 6 – Free Wine!
Cormac woke up at 530, packed, and headed downstairs, leaving before I got my act together. I walked out the door of the auberge at around 6:30. As I rounded the corner to the camino, there were four guys singing merrily in Spanish. It was Sunday morning, so I thought...
Day 7- The Zen Coyote Patron Saint of the Camino
After my swim last night, I walked over and sat down at the little outside bar, next to the pool. Cormac was there and introduced me to Heather (who was typing on a laptop), and Jenny from Cologne.. Heather was also writing a blog about her journey. We chatted about...
Day 8- Of Grace and Blisters
I woke up in the middle of a sound sleep. I could tell because I was in that state of confusion where you're not sure of where you are. It may have had something to do with the fact that I was in a galaxy, far far away...It was nice to stay in a hotel again, but for...
Day 9 – Alone with my Underwear
Last night was a reunion of sorts. After settling in at the the little town of Ventosa, another quintessential Spanish town with winding, cobblestoned streets and built around a church on a hill, Cormac and Pasquel prepared pasta with a bolognese sauce, the Portland...
Day 10 – What the F
Cormac and I left Santo Domingo and picked up the camino just outside the door of the auberge. We opted to wander around a bit to find an ATM after being told there wouldn’t be one until Burgos, two days away. After we found it, we were out of town quickly, heading...
Day 11 – Nobody Can Look at a Sunflower and Not Smile
I left Cuatro Cantinas auberge in Belorado before dawn. At this point, Cormac and I were walking the same pace, ending up at the same places more or less since we were both consulting Brierley. We would typically be together by the end of the day and end up at the...
Day 12- The Goat Always Heads toward the Mountain- Spanish Proverb
I slept well. Apparently some other didn’t. I guess my kindle made noises again (if only for a short while) and I was snoring a bit - from what Cormac told me the girl in the bunk next to me was sitting up staring at me, perhaps wondering if she should kick me in the...
Day 13- The Patron Saint of Blisters
I left my swanky hotel room (how many times do you hear the word “swanky” these days?) - 200 square feet of pure luxury. Well, not really but it served it's purpose. It had a shower, a single bed, and a small desk which looked out over the street below. I packed up...
DAY 14 – Dinner with the Mamas and the Papas
I forgot to mention that the previous afternoon after getting into Honatas, I had ambled up the road to the public swimming pool. It was glorious, my spirits were lifted. My blisters were appeased. I met two guys from the states, more or less. One of them was Irish...
Day 15- All things must pass away
I had dinner with Cormac and Sinead last night, but was not staying at the same place as them, so I left the next morning by myself in the dark. Castrojariz is a pretty town, classic, a cobblestoned main street with two storied casa's on each side, opening up to a...
Day 16- Maybe There’s a God Above, but All I’ve ever Learned from Love…
Sinead and Cormac decided to splurge and have a “real meal” and asked me if I’d like to join them and I accepted. Up to now I had pretty much dined on the Pilgrims meal- usually 3 courses, a choice of 3-5 dishes for each course. The first would typically be a choice...
Day 17 -Of Clangers and Crack
I walked out of the "parish of singing sisters and stolen cell phones" in the dark. The camino snaked through the rest of the town, past several plazas, then headed downhill to the river I where I had sat down and written the previous days' post the afternoon before....
Day 18 – Wrecking Ball
While I'm sitting at a cafe in Burgo Ranero writing this I'm hearing "Wrecking Ball" drifting over on the back of the warm Spanish air that is reaching out, caressing me. I guess you just can't get away from some shit out here on the camino. Not that I'm not a huge...
Day 19 – Shine
I walked out of El Burgo Raeno in the dark which was just as well. One of the less inspiring towns on the tour (even Led Zeppelin had to play Omaha once in awhile) although it had a cool church (of course-they all did) with huge stork nests. The place I stayed at was...
Day 20 – …that each Tomorrow Find us Farther than Today.
I stayed late in Leon, catching up on my writing, picking up a few supplies in town, stuff that I had left behind. I picked up a new pair of Ray Bans in town, then walked to a sporting goods store on the outskirts, that was close to the camino to get a new long...
Day 21- A Habenero Souffle in Hell
I left Villar de Mazarife and walked out though corn fields in the dark. At 6 in the morning it was warm enough for short sleeves. I don’t know about you, but walking through cornfields in the dark in Busted Whistle Spain makes my mind wander. I thought about every...
Day 22- Banjos, Butterflies and Boxcar Willie
I left Astorga walking the cobbled streets of the ancient town. Being from California where anything older than 50 years has been torn down and replaced by a strip mall or McMansion, it was cool to step out onto the street and see this: Well, it would have looked like...
Day 23- The Wind
I stepped out of the auberge in Foncedebadon onto the camino alone and in the dark. The path snaked up through the town and kept climbing. I was surrounded by …darkness and the sound of the wind rustling through the brush. There was no one else around, I was in a...
Day 24 – Watchin’ the River Flow
Today was to be one of the most beautiful walks out of a town up to now on this, my personal chautauqua. The previous night, I had ended up at the municipal auberge in Ponferrada. Every town has one and it is the standard- bunks, showers, a place to hand wash, a...
Day 25- The Camino Not Taken
I got up at 6, which was a little late for me, and had breakfast at the welcoming bar at Auberges Leo in Villafranca. Since it was so cozy, I decided to whip out the laptop and write. I hadn’t seen Clive and Patrique since just before my swim the previous day, but...
Day 26 – We Make A Life by What We Give
I woke up in Herrarias at 5:30 for an early start. Clive and Jerique were in the bunks next to me but had decided to take it easy- they didn’t have to be in Compostella until 2 days after me, and I knew I had to pick up the pace if I was to, in the end, make my flight...
Day 27- It is in the Shelter of Each Other that the People Live – Irish Proverb
It was dark when I left Triacastella. After a few kilometers I went through a another little village that looked storybook-like. We’re talking the shire. Well, with modern appliances and wifi I'm sure. After crossing a small bridge, the path climbed out of the village...
Day 28 – We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once
I had spoken with Amanda the previous night before dinner (here's the shot of last night's paella for those who missed it) and had another, rousing, spirited conversation with her. One of the reasons I came here was to think about our relationship (amongst other...
Day 29 – Who Knows Where the Time Goes
I woke up in Ventas de Naron and packed quickly. I was a little later than usual so I began my day walking in the light for a change. The "town" was in hilly terrain, and the camino continued uphill for awhile towards the highest point on todays trek- 700 or so meters...
Day 30- Birds, Butterflies, and Beginnings
With train rides and flights and schedules to meet clouding my dreams, I was up early and left Azura in the dark. I was out the door in no more than 10 minutes. I guess I have acquired a little grace somewhere along the way. I ran across three guys who were heading...
Day 31- A Brand New Day
I left my hotel in O Pino and walked along the main road for awhile, being passed by cars and huge, loud semi’s in the dark. I had an opportunity to veer off into a small town (only houses, no cafe's or business as far as I could tell) so I took it. I had consulted...
Day 32- The Road Home, Odds and Ends
The road back... I forgot to mention that I arrived in Santiago with Amanda. Well, sort of. She texted me when I was a kilometer or so out. She was in bed ready to go to sleep. I convinced her to stick with me for awhile, not letting her know where I was. Then I...
Time don’t fly, it bounds and leaps
Well, if anyone is still listening, you may want to know how things have turned out. And if anything has changed. Or maybe you don’t give a fuck. I’m not sure if I do. I may have changed some. But as far as any profound shifts in the core of my being…well…life just...
And so it goes…
Am thinking the last post was a little, uhh, nihilistic. And so it goes. It is what it is. Shit happens. And sometimes we step in it. And maybe we stop to swear at our bad luck. And sometimes we walk right through it without hardly even noticing. But not very often. I...