Final days in Lisbon - The good, and the bad

     As I finished up my week in Lisbon, I feel like I have seen a lot of the city. Most of my days were spent walking through the Latin Quarter and Alfama district which were both neat to get lost in because there are so many unique buildings and tile works throughout the narrow alleyways. My plans however were greatly changed due to the hop-on, hop-off tour bus I was taking around the city, breaking down twice. So, I didn't get to see everything that I had originally planned to visit, but I was presented with the other wonders of Lisbon. On my way to visit the Sao Roque church (which has the most expensive altar in the world) the bus broke down for the second time, but it broke down near the basilica which was absolutely beautiful (and the highlight of time in Lisbon), as well as a lovely park. So I am taking what I have learned on the camino and applying it now - when things don't go according to plan, keep moving forward, and eventually it will all work out. On my final day in northern Portugal, I was planning on taking a day trip to Sintra, a very beautiful city with a fairytale atmosphere. The day before my tour I called to confirm my pick-up time and location, and after being redirected to five different numbers, I was told to call the first number I had called, and finally got my confirmation. The tour director told me that I would be picked up outside of my hostel at 8:20am, so, on the day of the tour, I was outside by 8am. 8:20 rolled along and the bus was still not here. Another twenty minutes passed and I was still waiting. I was starting to become frustrated, and because the company didn't open until 9am, I wasn't able to call anybody. So after over an hour of waiting, I got a hold of the tour director and asked why I was not picked up at my designated time and location. This is when I was informed that they do not pick up outside of hostels and that I was supposed to go to the bus station where I would be met with the bus. When I explained what I had been told on the previous day, there was no apology, instead, the lady told me that I must have called the wrong number (which I didn't). After this little mess up, I was not in the best of moods, but I still really wanted to go to Sintra. So, I hopped on the train, when to Sintra, and did all of the sightseeing that I was supposed to do in the first place. I visited the Moorish castle, the Pena Palace (which is very colorful and architecturally fascinating), and I visited a palace with a very beautiful garden. The garden was neat because there are many grottos that you can walk through, and all of the cave tunnels lead to different places throughout the park. I got lost a few times and had no idea where I was, but it was fun to explore this massive garden. After a full day of sightseeing in Sintra I took the train back into Lisbon and went straight to bed. The next day I would be back on a bus, this time headed to Lagos in the south.
     Today was my first full day in Lagos, and what did I do all day? I spent the entire day at the beach! The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the hot sand felt amazing on my decaying feet. Lagos is a beautiful city, and it is completely different from all of the places I have visited. Not only is Lagos a tourist town and beach resort, but it is mostly owned by the Brits, so everywhere I walk people are speaking English. Although its nice to hear people having conversations in my mother tongue, I miss the language barrier and attempting to communicate with the waiters and store owners. But, I am in lover with Lagos! The beaches are beautiful and everything is within walking distance. My only negative about Lagos is that the water is still freakin cold!! I was hoping that since I am in the south and close to the Mediterranean that it was going to be warm, but the ocean is heart attack cold. I went in a few times to cool off, but after about five minutes when my body is completely numb, I need to get out! I am also really enjoying the food. Everything is really cheap so I can afford to eat three times a day rather than just once. Plus, all of the cravings that I had on the camino (sushi, fish and chips, steak, and the list goes on) are all in Lagos, so every night I get to eat at a restaurant with all of the food I have been missing.I have another four days in Lagos before I head back into Spain and then Morocco. Because there isn't a whole lot to do and see hear, I am going to relax at the beach and enjoy the few remaining days I have left on my adventure.  Maybe I will go on a dolphin sightseeing excursion, maybe I will go scuba-diving. My options are endless! 

Oh the joys in getting lost

     After leaving Finisterre last week and returning to Santiago, I enjoyed two days of the "Apostle 2012" festival. On the 24th they had an amazing fireworks and light show above the cathedral. I can't even begin to describe how wonderstruck I was during the show! They made it appear as if the cathedral was on fire, they made the cathedral dance, made it crumble to the ground, and turned it into a mechanical machine. It was also an interesting experience because the plaza was filled with thousands of people, and you literally had no bubble space. But all in all, it was fantastic.Most of the festival I wandered the crowded streets of Santiago (while attempting to stay clear of the thousands of new pilgrims arriving during these two days). In one of the parks they set up a PNE type of thing with sooo much food, rides, and different forms of entertainment. I only rode the Ferris wheel because it went slow, and the reason I did so was because for the past two months I have been going at a speed of 4km an hour, and after the bus ride into Santiago (where we averaged 100km an hour) I was extremely car sick, so just the thought of riding the roller coaster or spinning rides made me feel sick. On the 25th there wasn´t a whole lot going on, although in the morning they had a parade and ceremony outside the cathedral followed by the special pilgrim mass which I did not attend because people had been waiting in the line for over four hours and by the time the ceremony was over, the line to get into the cathedral was almost a kilometer long! And there was no way I was going to be crammed into that cathedral again to watch a hour long mass.
     When I concluded my two days in Santiago, I took a morning bus on the 26th to Portugal! It amazed me while I was sitting on the bus that in just a matter of hours I would be in a completely different country, and that it would only take me five hours rather than a month (if I were walking). I had to change buses in Porto in order to get to Lisbon, so when I arrived in Porto, I took a taxi to the bus station to buy my ticket to Lisbon. The lady in the ticket office said that the next bus would be at 3pm...it was already 2:58pm so I would have to hurry up and get to the platform. I waited for a good half hour and there was still no bus. I didn´t know what was going on...Portugal is worse than Spain when it comes to arriving or departing on time. Forty-five minutes passed and there was still no bus. I was standing there all alone with my heavy bags, fearing that I might have missed the bus somehow. Then it dawned on me, maybe there is a time difference between Spain and Portugal. So, I walked over the the clock in the bus station and discovered that there was indeed a time difference...it was only 2:45pm. Stupid, stupid me. When the bus arrived, it was only a four hour ride before I would be in Lisbon. And by 7pm I was finally in the first Portuguese city I was going to explore. However, I felt very overwhelmed walking in to Lisbon because for the past two months I have been in small Spanish villages where you can reach everything by foot. Now, I was in a city with 600 000 people and I would have to take the metro in order to get where I wanted to go. It was all a big confusing at first, and even when I figured out how to get out of the bus station, my confusion only grew worse. In order to get to my hostel, I would first have to take the metro, then the bus, then the tram, and then walk a few meters. It was beginning to get dark and I didn´t have a city map so maneuvering myself throughout Lisbon was fairly difficult. The tram was the worst part. The stops were not clearly marked, and none of the people I asked knew where I was supposed to get off. So, I rode the tram for over a hour before this lady told me where my stop was (If I got off at the right stop in the first place, it should have taken less than ten minutes). By the time I found my hostel it was already 9pm. I was tired from my long day of travel, so after a late dinner of curried chicken, I called it a night.
     I have now been in Lisbon for three days, and the city is very beautiful. Even though I get lost...everyday...it is fun wandering through the narrow streets and stumbling upon hidden treasures. However, I am finding it hard to go from pilgrim to tourist. I am so used to the relaxed lifestyle I once had on the camino. I miss sitting in cafes for hours reading and basking in the sun, and even though I can still do those things in Lisbon, there are so many touristic sites that I want to explore, and I feel that I would be wasting the little time I have here if I sat in a cafe all day. So far I have visited the St. George castle, the monuments dedicated to the Age of Discovery, many, many churches, and a few very interesting museums. One of my favorite museums so far has been the Tile museum (which I didn´t think I would like very much, but it was on the list of the top things to do in Lisbon so I decided to check it out). The museum was neat because it contained different tile artwork from the 16th and 17th centuries, and the museum is located in a palace that is decorated elaborately with the tiles.  Some of the patterns and pictures just blow you away.
     When I was on the camino, the Canadian couple I met, Dean and Amanda, told me so much about the delicious Portuguese pastries, one in particular being a burnt custard tart. On my first full day in Lisbon, the first morsel of food that I had was the burnt custard tart...IT WAS AMAZING! I have to control myself whenever I walk past one of the several hundred pastry shops because I could easily eat those tarts all day. One of my favorite things that I have done in Lisbon so far is visiting the Oceanarium. It is the largest oceanarium in Europe, and the second largest in the world! Basically the oceanarium consists of four large salt water tanks each containing sea life from either the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, or Antarctic oceans. The four tanks then flow into an even larger tank in the center of the oceanarium where all of the sea animals swim about; it is supposed to be representative of a single ocean (composed of the four main oceans). I have two more days in Lisbon before I leave for Sintra, and then Lagos in the south. I´ve checked the weather reports, and in the south it is supposed to be HOT! Perfect weather for the beach.

Sand, Sea, and Sun Tans

So for the past six days I have done nothing but lay at the beach all day and occasionally get up to go eat. Finisterre is a small fishing town, and although there isn't a lot to do here, it has been really nice to sit back and relax; I mean, after having walked 900km in a month and a half, I think I deserve to be lazy for a while. Up until Saturday, Kathrin had been with me. We had a delicious picnic at the beach (Which I did all the cooking for! Cooking is definitely something I miss doing everyday), we ate a lot of icecream, and enjoyed the few remaining days we had left together. Also, the weather has been very agreeable with my plans of relaxation! The sun is always shining and temperatures are reaching the low 30s, which is extremely bizarre for Finisterre because Galicia is the rainy region. But I'm not complaining! One thing that I really wanted to do while I was in Finisterre was swim in the ocean, that way I could say that I swam at "the end of the world". The only problem is, is that the ocean is friggin cold! I talked with a couple from Tofino and they said the water is colder than Tofino! As I walked into the water to knee depth, I was already contemplating whether or not to go in. I kept telling myself that I only had to do it once, I only had to do it once. Finally, after giving myself a little pep talk, I dove into the cold water and came up feeling refreshed, energized, and like I was about to have a heart attack. In the past six days I have gone in the water twice. Today (Monday) was my last full day in Finisterre. Although I will be sad to leave, I am really looking forward to the final twenty-two days of my trip! To celebrate my final day at "the end of the world" I decided to go out for a fancy lunch. It might have cost me an arm and a leg, but it was all worth it. I started with scallops...or rather, a scallop. Yes, for €7 I had ONE scallop, but a very good scallop it was. And for my main I had spider crab which was absolutely delicious! The seafood here is soo fresh; it literally comes from the sea and straight into the kitchen! This evening I am really excited to be going on a sunset cruise around the cape of Finisterre. I think it will be the perfect way to conclude my time here. Tomorrow I will catch a morning bus back to Santiago where I am going to participate in the festivities of Saint James. I'm intrigued to see what awaits me in Santiago; it should be a lot of fun!

Finisterre - The end of the world, the end of my camino!

After 46 days and 905km of walking, I have finally reached Finisterre...the end of the world. These last few days of walking have been filled with mixed emotions. There were times when all I wanted to do was finish the camino and I would become frustrated with having to walk for 6 hours every day. But I was also sad that my camino was coming to an end; I have really enjoyed my time away from reality, and despite having to drag myself out of bed each morning at 6:15am and start walking, I have fallen into the rhythm of the camino and it will be incrediy hard to not have to walk everyday. Yesterday morning when I woke up, it didn't hit me that this was going to be my last day of walking until I saw the Finisterre peninsula off in the distance. This was it, this was the end. As I marched across the 2.5km long promenade with my head held high, sweat dripping down my face, and the sun shining high in the sky, I took in all of my surroundings and pondered my camino experience. Once I arrived in the city center, I was bombarded with people handing out brochures promoting their albergues, but at that moment I didn't care about finding an albergue. All I wanted to do was walk to "the end of the world" (the lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula) with all of my belongings that I have carried with me since St. Jean Pied de Port. Although most people leave their backpacks in the albergues, it was important for me to walk all the way to the end with everything that I had carried with me when I left St. Jean on June 3. I did however reserve a bed in one of the albergues so that I knew for sure I would have a place secured when I returned to the town. But after getting situated with my bed, I took off with my backpack and walking poles, and I walked the last 4km of my camino. When I arrived at the lighthouse, I found a quiet area away from all of the tourists and other pilgrims so that I could conclude my camino with a moment of silence. At the lighthouse it is also customary to burn an article of clothing or item of significance from your camino. But seeing how I have been unintentionally losing some of my clothes along the way, I didn't really want to burn the few remaining clothes that I had left. Instead, I had another item that had been important to me along my camino, and now that the end had come, I burned it. When I finished what I had come to do at the lighthouse, I headed back into town to receive my Finisterre compostela. Once the piece of paper was handed to me, I was officially done MY camino. Even though the Camino de Santiago was longer and I had been through a lot more during those 800km, I didn't feel anything when I received my compostela in Santiago. But with my Finisterre compostela in hand, I felt a sense of accomplishment...I did it! I walked the ENTIRE distance across northern Spain! Later in the evening I met up with Kathrin and we returns to the lighthouse to watch the sun set. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever witnessed! And it was the perfect way to end the camino.

My arrival in Santiago de Compostela

     On the morning of Friday July 13, 2012 I walked the remaining 5km of the Camino de Santiago and stood awestruck beneath the cathedral that marks the end of an 800km journey. As I walked into Santiago de Compostela it began raining ever so slightly, but I wasn´t going to let the miserable weather ruin my day. I had arrived, I had actually arrived after over a month of walking. I was amazed at how beautiful the cathedral is. Sure, I had seen it in pictures and on TV, but there is nothing like seeing it towering over you in the middle of a crowded plaza. After admiring the cathedral for a while, I figured that it was time to get in line to receive my compostela which would mark the end of the camino. But, as I was walking towards the pilgrim office, I found Nancy and Kathrin waiting outside a restaurant. I was so happy to see them again! I knew that Kathrin was arriving the same day as me, but Nancy had walked to Santiago on Thurday (when I stayed on Monte del Gozo) and she was planning on taking a bus to Finisterre on Friday. I was really surpirsed to see that Nancy was still here. It turns out that she had decided against going to Finisterre and was planning on staying in Santiago until her flight back home which meant that we would get to spend the entire day together! So, after a little catching up, I stood in line at the pilgrims office and waited for my compostela. Then it was made official. On Friday July 13, 2012, Matthaeum Cugnet (they write our names in Latin which is really neat) has completed the Camino de Santiago. After recieving my compostela, the lady at the desk asked me how I felt now that I had arried in Santiago. Honestly, I hadn´t given it a lot of thought. I was excited to be in Santiago, I was proud of myself for having come this far, but at that very moment in the pilgrims office, I felt like I had arrived. The camino wasn´t over for me though, I still have another 100km of walking before I reach Finisterre, and all throughout the camino Finisterre has been running through my head as my final destination. Santiago was just another stop along the way. To celebrate my arrival, I decided to treat myself to a large breakfast, but seeing how breakfast in Spain is basically bread and jam, it was hard to find a place with real food! After peaking in and out of several cafes, I found a place that looked promising. For €10 I had a huge plate of rice, sausage links, and fried eggs all smothered in a delicious red sauce. When the plate was set in front of me, I was excited! But, over the past few weeks I have become accustomed to having a piece of bread and coffee for breakfast, so I was only able to half of my wonderful meal which was somewhat disappointing because I would have liked to eat the entire thing! After breakfast, me, Nancy, and Kathrin toured the city before going to the pilgrim mass at 12pm. Although it was incredibly long, the mass was quite nice. They even swung the large incense burner which is what I was really looking foreward to. After mass there are a few ¨rituals¨ each pilgrim is supposed to partake in, one of which is hugging the statue of Saint James. So, like every other pilgrim in the cathedral, I got in line and waited for my turn to hug the statue. Then, I went below the statue to visit the tomb where the body of Saint James is said to be kept. By the time we left the cathedral it was starting to rain really hard, so most of the afternoon was spent in the albergue, but, I am returning to Santiago on July 24 so that is when I will do all of my touristy things. In the meantime, it was nice to spend time with Nancy and Kathrin to celebrate the end of the camino.
     When I woke up on Saturday morning, I lay in bed thinking to myself, ¨Wow, I´m actually here. I am in Santiago de Compostela and I am done the camino¨. It wasn´t until I looked below my bed and saw my boots and backpack that I realized that MY camino wasn´t over yet. I was leaving for Finisterre and I had 22km of walking ahead of me today. When I worked up the strength to drag myself out of bed it was already 8am. Before leaving though, I said goodbye to Nancy and Kathrin (Even though I would be seeing Kathrin later in the day because she is walking to Finisterre as well. But this would be the last time I would see Nancy). We said our farewells, and then I was back on the road. At first it was hard to walk away from Santiago because this is really the end of the camino, but once the cathedral was out of sight and I was surrounded by forest again, the walk became much easier. The Camino de Finisterre is literally the road less travelled. For the entire six hours that I was on the road, I only saw five people! It was strange because I was just getting used to bwalking on crowded paths. Now, I am all alone and it felt like I was in the middle of no where. There were a few times where I had to double check my guidebook and retrace my steps just to make sure that I was going thr right way. But, it was a beautiful walk (one of my favorites so far this trip) and I loved the peace and quiet! After a full day of walking, I was glad to arrive at the albergue. Now, only three more days of walking before I arrive in Finisterre! And that WILL be the the end of the camino for me! The end of the world is the end of MY camino.

Monte del Gozo - Why am I walking the camino?

As I sit upon a park bench in Monte del Gozo overlooking Santiago de Compostela (which is now only 5km away), I can't help but think to myself, "Why am I here? Why did I choose to walk the Camino de Santiago?". Over the last 40 days I have walked nearly 800km, and after endless hours of thinking and personal reflection, I still don't know why I am here. The camino started out as a way to escape the real world, spend some time alone, and travel for an extended period of time. But after over a month of walking I have come to realize that the camino means so much more to me. As I look back on all of my experiences along the way, I am grateful for all of the wonderful people I have met. Elizabeth, Suzy, Gary, Isabelle, Tenneth, Emma, Kathleen, Judy, Cherri, Mora, Mary, Suzana, Patrick, Kathrin, Nancy, and everyone else that I have had the pleasure of meeting, have made my camino experience unforgettable; and for that, I thank you. The camino is literally made out of blood, sweat, and tears. There have been days where I have shed tears of sadness, and days where I have shed tears of happiness. My feet have bled, and I have definitely been sweating...a lot! But, no matter how hard the camino is, and no matter how exhausted I have been at the end of the day, the time I have spent with my new friends, the tranquility of the tiny Spanish villages, the breathtaking monuments, and the bars, have been worth every step! So why am I walking the camino? Honestly, I don't really know. I guess tomorrow when I arrive in Santiago and stand beneath the cathedral I will gain some understanding of why I am here, why I decided to walk 800km across northern Spain with no set purpose. But now, as I sit a top Monte del Gozo I have time to think, I have time to reflect. It doesn't feel real, I have to keep pinching myself to prove that this is not a dream. Those large buildings and city lights off in the distance are Santiago de Compostela. Only a few weeks ago I was in St. Jean Pied de Port getting ready to begin the camino. Now, I am Galicia getting ready to complete the camino. Have I really walked this far? I still can't believe it, I'm almost done.

It's a different camino

As the crowds grow larger, the path becomes noisier, and the people behave inconsiderately, my patience and enjoyment on the camino begins to decrease. Prior to Sarria, I became accustomed to the camino "way of life", and after walking for several weeks, you learn certain rules as a pilgrim: when you get up in the morning you don't turn on the light, after 9pm you are quiet, and when there are few bathrooms and many pilgrims, you finish quickly and get out as to not hold up the line. But, on this last leg of the camino, there are hundreds of new pilgrims who have not learned and do not practice these simple courtesies. Yesterday in the albergue I was staying in, there was a group of eight young Spaniards who had just started the camino. While I was taking a nap in the afternoon, they made so much noice in the room and I couldn't sleep! Katrine (who was also in the room trying to sleep) asked them to be quieter; they gave us a dirty glare and continued making a bunch of noice. They also emptied their entire backpacks in the room, taking up all the table space and they even put their belongings on all of the other beds (including mine) which I thought was incredibly inconsiderate. We all have limited space as it is, you don't need to take up the entire room and leave less room for the rest of us. Another incident I had yesterday was while I was walking. If I am walking alone I tend to sing to myself, and if people are around I will sing quietly. But yesterday as I was singing quietly to myself, the couple walking ahead of me turned around and told me to shut up because it was disrupting their conversation. We are all walking the camino for different reasons and we all have our own way of making our walks more enjoyable; I sing (as do many people). Just the fact that someone would tell me to shut up so they could carry on with their conversation, I think that is really rude! It's a free road, if you don't like my singing then walk faster or let me pass you. I am trying not to let all of the new pilgrims annoy me though. I keep reminding myself that if I am angry at everyone else, then I am ruining MY camino experience. I try my best to separate myself from the large crowds, and when I am walking all alone, my walks are quite peaceful and relaxing. Lately I have been walking more without listening to my IPod; it gives me more time to think about why I am here, and what I want to get out of the camino. And with Santiago just around the corner, my camino is quickly coming to an end, and then I will have to return to the real world. So, I need to enjoy these last few days of walking because pretty soon I will be on a plane headed back home. Now today I left the albergue earlier than usual (mostly because my noisy roommates were flicking lights on and off and talking loudly at 5am), but I was able to walk straight through the big cities without having to run into any large groups. For a majority of the day I had the entire path to myself which was great! Today was also one of the more beautiful days because it was mostly in the forest and through quiet hamlets. Although I have been trying to stay in smaller albergies these past few days, tonight I am in a large municipal albergue with 200 beds in three dormitories. Also, I am in a big city which is great because there are several shops so I can stock up on supplies, but it is also challenging because it is loud, busy, and modern - the complete opposite of how I have been living this past week. But, it is all part of the camino experience...I just keep telling myself that. Oh, and ever since I entered Galicia, I have been dying to try the regional specialty...octopus! Today for lunch I tried the octopus for the first time. It was delicious! It is lightly seasoned with olive oil, salt, and paprika, and it tastes soo fresh. I thought it would be chewy and tough, but I was surprised to discover that it melts in your mouth! I will definitely be having some more before I leave this part of Spain! In three days I will have finished the Camino de Santiago! I still can't believe it! Ever since Sarria they have had sign postings every 500 meters telling you how far Santiago is. I have about 50km left; that's crazy! My goal for the next dew days is to enjoy every last minute of my walks. I will not let the crowds and noise bother me, I will walk MY camino.

Moooooooo

So this Kurt guy. Well, unfortunately I have seen him off and on for the past week, and we always seem to share a room together despite my pleas for him to be in a different room...or completely different albergue. When I first met Kurt, he seemed somewhat normal. Then, he talked to me for twenty minutes about why he liked to take pictures of cow poo! What?! Apparently he is looking for "the biggest and juiciest pile", and he says he wants to find a solid one so he can take it home with him. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Kurt talks very slowly and in such a monotone voice, so his rants last FOREVER. And just when you are about to get up and leave, he starts talking even more...you just cannot escape him! Last night the albergue I was staying in had a hairdryer. Kurt saw Katrine using it and assumed it was hers; he then approached her after and asked if he could borrow it to dry his hair...Kurt is bald. He doesn't have any hair. Later in the day he heard me, Nancy, and Katrine talking about how the camino is slowly making us all mental, then Kurt overheard and asked us in such a serious manner what mental conditions we had and if we were taking medications for them. After explaining that we were just joking about all the walking making us mental, Kurt's response was "Oh. Well that's good. Cause it wouldn't be a very good idea for crazy people to walk the camino"...says the man who takes pictures of cow poo. Kurt has also forgotten my name even though I tell him what it is everyday; but, I have convinced him that my real name is Canada, and that I live in Canada. He found it was quite funny that I would be named after a country...I told him that I had forgetful parents and they named me Canada so they would remember where we lived. He believed me and said that he understands. Then last night at dinner, while Kurt was shoveling food into his mouth as if it was going to disappear (it was all you could eat...they had plenty of food), Kurt was complaining about the people in "this country" not being able to speak Spanish. He said he finds it hard to order food because it takes the waiter a few tries before they finally understand what you want; Kurt doesn't have that kind of patience when it comes to food. I wonder why they don't speak English as a first language Kurt...maybe because they live in Spain and speak Spanish? This morning when I went into the washroom, I was greeted by Kurt's bare ass. He was just standing in the middle of the room, bent over, completely naked. Not what I really wanted to see first thing in the morning. Even while I was brushing my teeth, he still stood in the same position. But, when Chris (a guy I met from Germany) was in the washroom, Kurt began "touching himself" while standing behind Chris and waiting for the sink. There's something off with this guy...I don't think he is OK in the head. Afterwards at the breakfast table, Kurt explained to me and Nancy why he doesn't drink Spanish milk. He says that the milk has too many preservatives and that the preservatives taste bad. You can't taste preservatives Kurt! He thought it was crazy that I would drink the milk...I thought it was crazy that Kurt could taste preservatives. Before I left, Kurt asked where I was planning on staying today. I told him I was planning to walk 30km, maybe father if I was feeling up to it (really I was only walking 22km; I just wanted Kurt to get as far from mr as possible). Kurt said he planned on walking 30km as well. But, when I arrived at the abergue today, after settling in, guess who arrived twenty minutes later...Kurt! Oh god! Do I not get a break from this guy?? I may have to drink more than usual tonight so I can make it through the evening. Now I promise more Kurt stories will come over the next few days, but I want to talk about my walk today. Despite my amazing sleep last night, when I woke up this morning I was still very tired, and therefore found it hard to start walking. Once I got into the swing of things my day went pretty smoothly. I stopped at a bar for breakfast and had the most amazing apple cake. It was so dense, and so mosist, and oh so tasty! And it only cost me €1,20! Delicious, delicious, delicious! After reaching Sarria (which is the 115km mark), the crowds became larger because Sarria-Santiago de Compostela is the minimum distance you have to walk to receive your compostela. Now I can deal with walking alongside more people, but it annoys me when they walk in huge groups and take up the entire path! Even as you try to walk past they don't move out of the way for you. It's just plain rude! And "buen camino" has taken on an entirely different meaning...people only say it to get your attention; it now means "get out of my way". At one point we had to cross a long bridge and I was stuck in between two school groups. It felt like we were all being herded like cattle. Just to make things more interesting, I started "mooing" as I walked behind people. Hey, it got them to move out of the way. Me and Nancy also started playing a game where we would guess how long each pilgrim had been walking for. If they were clean, chipper, walking fast, and smelled of perfume, you could tell it was only their first day of walking. When you are on the road walking for over a month, you tend to not care about your appearance and you let some things slide. But, after I escaped the crowds, I had an enjoyable walk. It only rained for a little while, and then the sun came out!!! Finally! I haven't seen my shadow in soooo long! Also, as of today I officially have less than 100km to walk before I reach Santiago! I can't believe I am already this close! Back when I started, Santiago seemed incredibly far away, now, I am in the double digits! On Friday I will arrive and then begin my walk to the coast (a further 100km). By for now!

Rainy, Muddy, Rainy

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, I have had a lot of sun these past few days...not! It has rained constantly for three days straight. By the time I reach my albergue in the afternoon, I am soaked, freezing, and tired. Earlier last week I was on my own again after saying farewell to Suzana and Patrick, and walking father ahead than Nancy, Katrine, and Tom. But, when I arrived in Ponferrada, I met up with Nancy and Katrine again! Even though we had only been apart for a day, it was really exciting to see them again.  We are planning on walking together until Santiago seeing how we all have almost identical schedules. Oh, and I am jumping ahead, but I only just realized that I will be arriving in Santiago de Compostela on Friday the 13th! That will be an interesting day! Now, after leaving Ponferrada, I was about to embark on my last day of walking through the province of Leon. Yesterday, I conquered the steepest climb of the entire camino and arrived in Galicia - the final province I have to walk through before reaching Santiago. Although the hike was draining, the views were spectacular! I was once again surrounded by trees and walking on dirt paths rather than on the highway. Once I reached the summit, I was welcomed by a large grey cloud and I was showered with chilling rain...it wasn´t really what I was hoping for, but still, Galicia is beautiful! And, walking in the rain isn´t too bad. It´s cold, and irritating, and cold, and uncomfortable, but I think that it is best to experience Galica in the rain. The mist. the fog, and the chilling atmosphere create a mystical environment. In one of the albergues I stayed in, I attended a church service which was, well, very, very different than I had expected. The priest made us stand in a circle and say ¨Buen Camino¨ in our own languages. Me and Nacy were the only ones who spoke English, so Nancy thought it would be funny to make everyone say ¨Up your bum!¨¨, but then we decided against it for obvious weekends. Then, the priest asked for volunteers to have their feet cleaned. Luckily I didn´t volunteer because we had to clean other peoples feet and then kiss their feet. After walking for eight hours a day, I don´t want someones stinky feet anywhere near my mouth. Afterwards, we had to go around and hug all of the pilgrims. I don´t know why, but I noticed, and Nancy noticed that alot of people were running up to hug ME...why am I so special?? But, when I was hugging this one lady and we were doing the double cheek kiss, her head went one way, mine went the other, and we ended up kissing on the lips. She smiled, and then went on to the next pilgrim. When I was telling Nacy after, she said that she would have to keep an eye on me at night...she didn´t want to see me sneaking off to that lady´s bunk. We couldn´t stop laughing. Today was the worst day wlking, not because I was tired, but because it was pouring! The dirt path I was walking on actually turned into a river and I had to hide under a tree for a while! It was crazy!! After a long and wet day of walking, I arrived in San Mamed; a quite albergue just off the road with a beautiful garden, amazing showers, and rooms with only eight people. And, I have no snorers in my room. Over the next few days the camino is going to get a lot busier though. Because Sarria (the city I walk through tomorrow) is the 100km mark and therefore the minimum distance you have to walk in order to recieve your compostela, thousands of pilgrims start from here. I have already been walking alongside large groups of people and it is not fun. I miss the solitude and quite walks. But, I have planned my last few days so that I am staying in small cities where I will hopefully have some peace and quiet. Other than that, I am almost done my pilgrimage! Onlly six more days before >I reach Santiago, and eleven days until I reach Finisterre! I cannot believe the end is almost here! Stay tuned for more crazy stories. My next post will include one about a strange man named Kurt from the States. There is something off with him and he is just really weird, and sometimes scary to talk to. Bye for now!

Laughter and Tears

It's been a while since my last post. So, what have I been up to these past few days? Well, I've met an amazing group of people who I have been walking with, I climbed to 1,505 meters above sea level, and I think I would have been killed if I decided to stay in an albergue I had originally planned to stay in. But let's start from the begining. A few days ago I met Nancy, Tom, and Katrine, and over the past week we have become quite close. Recently I befriended a younger couple from Barcelona, Suzana and Patrick. They are so amazing to walk with and our evenings are always filled with laughter. Now yesterday was a very special day. I climbed to the highest point on the entire camino, Cruz de Ferro. At 1,505 meters above sea level, I had amazing views of the lush green hills and wildflowers growing on the side of the mountain. It was immaculate. The reason Cruz de Ferro is such an important symbol of the camino is because this is where you are forgiven for your sins (so they say), and you can leave a blessing in the form of a rock or other item of importance for the loved ones in your life. Before I left for the camino, all of the books I read said that you are to bring a rock from your home country and you are to carry it until you reach Cruz de Ferro. Then, once you add your stone to the pile, you are forgiven for all of your sins and are freed from the burdens in your life. After Cruz de Ferro yesterday, I only had another 2km of walking before I reached Manjarin (the town that was supposed to be my destination for the day). My guidebook described Manjarin as a mountain sanctuary - a place where you could escape from the real world (seeing how it was 10km from the nearest city). Manjarin is also a ghost town, or it was until Tómas "renovated" one of the abandoned houses and turned it into an albergue. I had arranged to stay here with Patrick and Suzana, but when I arrived at 1pm, they were no where to be seen. And seeing how the albergue was in fact the entire town, it was weird that I couldn't find them. I thought they might have already checked in, so, I went to do the same. But Tómas informed me that I couldn't check in for another hour...hmmmm. Maybe I had passed Suzana and Patrick somewhere on the trail, so I sat sat outside for twenty minutes waiting to see if they arrived. While I was waiting, Tómas approached me and began to explain the rules of the albergue. Dinner was at 8:30pm, the bathroom was anywhere outside, and I was FORBIDDEN to leave before 7:30am! WTF?! I am forbidden to leave a place? Usually the albergue owners kick you out in the morning, but here I was not allowed to leave until I was set free. That's kind of sketchy. Along with the fact that there were no beds (only the floor), there were no windows except for the tarps covering the holes in the walls, the door was a plank, and Tómas was a dirty looking old man with few teeth that were all yellow and brown, I thought it was in my best interest to walk another 7km to the next albergue. I practically ran away from that place! But before I left, Tómas asked where I was going with my backpack after I showed an interest in spending the night. I told him I was going for a walk, but that I would be back later to check in...ummm, no! This place is freaky and I think if I stayed I would not be finishing the camino...I would be dead. The next 7km though were brutal. It was all down a very steep hill and on loose rocks. By the time I reached Acebo at about 3:45pm, I was exhausted and my knees were killing me! I also found Suzana and Patrick in Acebo too. They said that they took one look at Manjarin and just kept walking...they figured I would do the same. Once we checked into the albergue (which had three beds left! Thank God!), I collapsed onto my bed and took a nice long siesta. In total I walked 29km!! I haven't walked that much since the first day. It was tiring. That evening at the dinner table, me, Patrick and Suzana were in tears because we were laughing so hard about what could have happened if we stayed in Majarin. Tómas may have eaten us, we would be locked in a cellar until 7:30am and may or may not be released, or Tómas would make us kill the only cow in town to eat for our dinner. What was even more hilarious was that everyone that I saw up at Manjarin earlier in the day all ended up at our albergue! I guess it was the right decision to leave. We also joked about why a middle aged man would want to move to the middle of nowhere and live by himself while running an albergue?! Was it his decision or was he exiled to Manjarin? Who knows. We also pondered what Tómas would do IF we left before 7:30am. Would he hunt us down? How would he know if we left? Honestly, we really didn't want to know the answer. All in all, it was a very memorable day. I will never forget it...mostly because whenever I close my eyes Tómas' face still pops into my mind. Today, me, Suzana, and Patrick all decided to walk to Ponferrada (an easy 15km). But, Patrick had a pinched nerve in his back and it was excruciatingly painful for him to walk. They ended up only walking 9km before we had to say farewell. It was hard to part ways. We had grown so close over the past few days and we had so much fun together. But there was no way Patrick could continue on, so it was best that they stayed behind. This is the first time I am actually the one who is ahead of the group. Yesterday Nancy, Tom, and Katrine stayed in a town 12km before Acebo while the rest of us continued on. Now I am all alone again. But, I have a few short days coming up, and the others all have very similar schedules to mine, so I am positive that I will see them all again. It would be so crazy if we all met outside the cathedral in Santiago!! That would be such an amazing way to end the camino! So, after leaving Patrick and Suzana, I walked to Ponferrada. What is neat about this town is that there is a fully restored castle that once belonged to the Knights Templar. The castle is so beautiful, and it is really amazing how the castle has been incorporated into the modern metropolis of Ponferrada. Aside from the castle, there isn't a whole lot to do here. I think it will be an early night though so that I get a full nights rest (not like the last two nights where I was sleeping next to horrible snorers, one who sounded like he was whacking a seal against the wall). By next Friday I will arrive in Santiago de Compostela! It has gone by so fast and I can hardly believe that I have already walked this far! I'm almost there; just keep walking, just keep walking, just keep walking, walking, walking. Bye for now :)

I'm getting closer!

After my incident with the police yesterday I was wasn't in the best mood during my last day in Leon. I didn't feel like doing a whole lot, so I mostly sat around and ate a fair amount of gelato (there was a gelato bar with over twenty flavors and too many toppings to count; I couldn't refuse an experience like that). But, while I was prepping my lunch for today, a very nice family from Madrid came up to me and apologized on behalf of all the Spanish people for what had happened to me with the police. They said it wasn't right for them to do something like that without telling me why, and they felt very sorry for me. We talked for a while about what we all did back home, although the lady was the only one who could speak English and her eleven year old son only new a few English words. But, we had a good time; and they were amazed that I was only nineteen and doing the camino alone. They said that they were very proud of me. This morning when I woke up, despite the fact that I was tired and didn't want to get out of bed, I was eager to start walking again. Not only was I looking forward to being with new people, but I was leaving behind the crazy German couple who accused me on stealing their belongings! I really enjoyed my walk this morning too; it was mostly along the highway and through the outskirts of Leon, but with Carrie Underwood blaring in my ears and a relatively flat walk ahead of me, I was having fun. Today was also the first day that it finally hit me that I am walking across all of northern Spain! With every step I am one step closer to Finisterre - the end of the world. When I arrived in Mazarife this afternoon, I ended choosing the strangest albergue. There is a large pirate ship in the garden, spiderman is climbing up the door frame, and there are drawings and writing all over the walls. Some of the pictures are pretty good, but a majority of it looks like they let a toddler with a crayon loose in all of the rooms. But, it is a very colorful place to stay. After spending two days in Leon, although I quite enjoyed the busy city atmosphere, it is nice to be back in these small hamlets. And, the people that I am walking with this time are all very friendly. I have already met three great people, Nancy (Australia), Katrine (Germany), and Tom (USA). They invited me to join them for dinner which I thought was very kind; Tom made a potato and zucchini dish with a salad. It was delicious. Afterwards we sat around and talked for a while about kids, my fear of dogs, Tom's hatred of FRIENDS, and, well, the camino. It was nice to sit down and have a proper dinner with people again; I haven't done that in quite a while. Also, today is a special day. I am 295km away from Santiago!!! The Camino de Santiago is close to 800km and I have less than 300km to walk! Time is just flying by. Tomorrow is another easy day of walking with not a whole lot to see. But who knows, the camino is full of surprises; I may have another encounter with the police. We will see. So, bye for now!

"The Singing Canadian"...or rather, "The Canadian Criminal"

Music blaring, drinks a pouring, fans screaming in the streets, and patriotically dressed people trying to sell me noise makers and football memorabilia...just a typical day during the San Juan and San Pedro festival. Last night after I finally settled in, toured the cathedral, and did some window shopping (today I do my REAL souvenir shopping!), the festivities were starting. It was neat walking down the tiny streets and stumbling upon the different plazas because people were starting to set up for different activites. I was intrigued to find out what was going to be going on tonight. I talked to a lady at the information center, and apparently the parades, fireworks, and bull fights only happen on the weekend (which I am not here for). Oh well, not anbig dissapointmet. She did tell me however that they were going to have live music, dances, and a children's festival running all throughout the evening, and then again all day tomorrow. So, I began walking around waiting for the festival to begin. Just as I was about to tour the building designed by Antoine Gaudi, I heard cheering and applause coming from the plaza across the street. So, I abandoned my plans and went to see what all the commotion was about. To my surprise I had stumbled upon a dance competition of sorts. There were all sorts of teams; people dancing salsa, hip-hop, ballet, and freestyle. It was a really neat experience and very enjoyable to watch. When the dancing ended, the soccer match between Spain and Portugal was about to begin. The streets were filled with people! And I swear, the entire population of Leon were sittin in cafés watching the game on large flat screens set up in all of the plazas. I'm not a soccer fan, but I did walk around and watch snippits of the game in different bars. People were going crazy! Every few seconds you would hear a gasp, cheering, or someone yelling "Noo Nooo Nooooo!". It was interesting. Before I turned in for the night I had a drink at a quieter bar and enjoyed the live music playing right outside the cathedral. When I did decide to go to bed though, the game had just ended, Spain won, and bangs, honking, cheering, screaming, and whooing could be heard from inside my room. I have come to realize that whenever A Spain match is on, you are never going to be able to fall asleep. Whether they win or lose, these hard core football fans will keep everyone awake. This morning when I woke up, I felt very refreshed and I was looking forward to a day of no walking. After I left my room, I had a very nice breakfast and then wandered over to the albergue to see what time I could check in at. As I was sitting outside the albergue door waiting for it to open, the police pulled up in front of me. I didn't think anything of it at first so I just continued listening to my music. Then, two police officers approach me, take my backpack and begin searching through everything while asking me questions in Spanish. I kept saying that I didn't speak Spanish, but they didn't speak English either, so it was of no help. I had no clue what was going on, and I was quite scared. I started looking around for someone to help me but people would look the other way. Finally I saw the German couple who were staying in the same hostel as me last night and who I had talked with briefly. They started walking towards me so I thought they were going to help (seeing how they spoke both Spanish and English). But then the guy started yelling at me saying that I broke into his room this morning and stole his laptop and IPad. WTF?! He said I left rather early this morning and seemed like I was in a rush...as if I was leaving the scene of the crime. That was their evidence. They didn't actually see me in their room or in possession of their belongings, but apparently smiling at them and saying "Buen Camino" was enough for them to suspect me. I left at 9am by the way! That's not early, and I even talked with the lady at the reception desk for a few minutes before leaving. Once the police discovered the stolen items weren't in my possession, they apologized, but the German guy's last words to me were "I still don't trust him, he has it somewhere". I explained everything I did this morning, every person I talked to, and every step I took through the city. Before I was released, the German couple then asked if I would help them look with the police. Ummm, NO! After what happened here, I'm staying far away from you people (I didn't actually say that though). I felt really embarrassed after. All the other pilgrims were looking at me like I was some sort of criminal; not the first impression I was trying to make with these new people. Afterwards I didn't really feel up to doing anything; I felt kind of down and now my morning had been ruined. But, I did go for a walk around Leon, did a little shopping and sat in a cafe reading. Leon is such a beautiful city, one of my favorite places so far this trip. There isn't a whole lot to do, but wandering through the streets is quite peaceful. At one point I felt like I was in Disneyland because there were like five different Disney themed stores all along a single street. I found one store that sells gourmet donuts, so I am waiting until this evening when I will treat myself to one. With regards to the festival, there isn't a whole lot going on tonight. A few dances and a puppet show (for 3-10 year olds), and that's basically it. I'll still walk around and see what catches my eye. Sometimes they have special activities going on that aren't listed in the book. Tomorrow I start walking again! In three weeks time I will arrive in Santiago de Compostela! Wow!! Time is just flying by right now. In the begining of June it seemed so far away...now I am soo close! Hope you are all enjoying your summer. Bye for now :)

Mind Over Matter

Uphill, I can deal with. Downhill, no problem. But walking 15km on an empty dirt trail with no signs of civilization and nowhere to sit and rest...now that's hard! When I began my walk yesterday I felt both mentally and physically tired. I knew the nearest town would be about a four hour walk, so I had my "halfway coffee" before I left. I don't know why but my backpack felt incredibly heavy yesterday; even though I was carrying less than I usually would because I didn't have any fruit in my bag. But, I pushed through and kept walking, it wasn't too bad, I just took my time. However, when I went to check my guidebook to see approximately how far I had walked, I discovered that it had fallen out of my backpack! (This is the second time I have lost my guidebook. The first time was back before Burgos and this guy Stephan had found it and gave it to me in Atapuerca). I walked back along the trail and asked people if they had found it, but I wasn't having any luck. I decided I wasn't going to let it bug me; in two days I would be in Leon and I could buy a new one. So, I continued my walk and then four hours later I caught a glimpse of the first sign of civilization! Finally! I have never been so happy to see a slum city; now I could take a proper break. During the last 5km before I arrived in Mansilla (my destination for the day), I was exhausted. This happens every day though. It doesn't matter whether I am walking 15km, 20km, or 30km, the last hour is always the hardest; all I want to do is take my backpack off and take a nice cool shower. But, after six hours of walking I arrived in Mansilla. After finding the albergue I wasn't in the mood to walk around. I have been spending A LOT of time outside, so I was going to spend a majority of my time in the albergue. None of my roommates were in so I had the whole room to myself. I took a nice long nap, watched FRIENDS, and drank a litre of juice. When I did go outside for a stroll I was not too impressed with the 38 degrees and very humid weather. I couldn't have taken more than five steps before I was drenched in sweat! It was disgusting; and it's not like you can do anything in this weather, so I sat under a shady tree. By the time 9pm rolled around it was time to go to bed, however, it was still 35 degrees outside, and even with the window in my room open, it was still unbearably hot and I couldn't fall asleep...that is, until I tool some gravol. I did end up having a really good nights sleep though. When I woke up this morning I was eager to arrive in Leon where I would be taking another rest day, AND I would get to enjoy the San Juan And San Pedro festival! I was excited! The walk was much easier too. Even though it was along the highway, the towns were all fairly close so I didn't feel like I was in the middle of nowhere. I did however discover a dull pain in my right knee so I walked slower as to not irritate it, but, what I have come to learn through walking is that the camino is more mental than it is physical. We all experience some sort of pain along the way, but the severity of the pain all depends on how much you think about it. I consentrated on my music and the pain went away. When I arrived in Leon it took me a while to find a place to sleep for the next two nights. Because I didn't have my guidebook, I didn't have a list of the albergues or hostels. But, when I found the albergue I was informed that I wouldn't be able to stay here for two nights due to the festival and the fact that the albergue isn't a municipal albergue but is rather run by the church. Now what was I to do? I asked at the information center if their was a cheap hostel I could stay in for one night (and then sleep in the albergue on Thursday night), but they kept directing mr to a bunch of hotels. I didn't want to treat myself to a nice hotel room in Leon because I was just in one last week when I was in Burgos. I am planning on treating myself to a nice room in Sarria though which is 100km from Santiago. But, my options seemed limited here in Leon, that was until a I talked to a different lady at the tourist office and she pointed menin the direction of a "hostel-type" arrangement but with private rooms. It only cost me €20 so it's not too bad. On the plus side, I have my own room and my own bathroom...just none of the luxuries such as towels and a TV that I had in Burgos; but who cares, I'm not treating myself to anything in Leon. It's just funny how these things work out. Originally I had considered splurging on a hotel in Leon, but after much consideration, I thought it best to wait until I reached the point most pilgrims start walking from (in Sarria). But I feel that there is someone looking out for me, and they know I didnt want to spend too much money but somehow and for some reason they wanted me to have some privacy for a night - something we are deprived of while walking the camino. After I settled in I went for a walk over to the cathedral. Now I still can't believe it, but this random guy walked up to me and was like "did you lose a guidebook yesterday?". YES!!!!! Unbelievable! I asked him how he knew it was my guidebook and he said he saw the Canadian flag on my backpack, and my guidebook was marked with sticky notes that said "Lifesaving Society BC", soooo, he put two and two together and assumed the book must be mine. Just when I thought things weren't going my way, they always seem to work out in the end. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the camino always provides. Thanks to that guy I saved €20 because I didn't have to buy a new book. But, twice is lucky...very lucky. I'm putting that stupid book in the bottom of my backpack where it will never fall out! That's all for now, stay tuned and tomorrow I will share with you my adventures in Leon :) so far so good! Bye for now.

Vending Machine Hamburgers

This morning when I woke up I had to decide whether or not I wanted to walk 13km or 28km. After a long debate with myself, I thought it best to have a shorter day of walking. So, after a mere three hours I arrived in Sahagún, a much larger and much nicer city than the one I stayed in yesterday...at least there are proper cafés here! When I started out this morning, I knew it wasn't going to be a very scenic route (it was mostly along the highway) so I wasn't too excited to start out, but, the Clupknee family walked past me just as I was eating breakfast so I knew I would get to see and talk with them along the way. The Clupknee's are walking to raise money for those with Parkinsons disease - Carol, one of the ladies has Parkinsons but she still manages to walk the camino most days which I think is incredible and just goes to show that with a little determination and hard work, you can achieve anything! Anyways, I took my time today because I was in no rush to make it to the next city, and I didn't want to arrive too early. After a second breakfast of sorts with the Clupknee's, we said our goodbyes because they were planning on walking the full 28km. But I thought it was very nice when one the the guys (I forget who it was that said it) but they said to me that "I hope we see you again Matthew, but if we don't, we will still see you again". And it's true. You never know with the camino, if something is meant to be, then it will happen at somepoint along the way. Who knows, our paths may cross back in North America. Afterwards, I finally checked into my albergue and decided to do my grocery shopping for tomorrow, however, I have come to realize that everything is closed on Sundays. So all I had for breakfast tomorrow were a few sunflower seeds, a piece of bread, and my last fibre bar. Yum. It was extremely hot today as well, and I know I have been complaining about the cold, but I would rather the weather be balanced than going from one extreme to the next! I did some sightseeing but then I had to find a shady area where I could get a drink. I went back to the same cafe I had breakfast at, ordered myself two calimochos, and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere. I also ended up talking with this girl Caroline from Germany. I was so happy when I discovered that Caroline is a huge fan of FRIENDS. We spent most of the afternoon talking about our favorite episodes and reenacting funny scenes. Our schedules are fairly similar too so I will be swing a lot more of her. Now, I was pretty hungry during the afternoon but I only wanted something cheap to eat. But because the markets were closed, my only option was to eat out...that is, until I saw "the vending machine" across the street from the cafe I was sitting in. This was no ordinary vending machine. It didn't sell peanuts, or chips, or candy, no, it sold hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken wings, and grilled cheese. Mmmmmm, hot meat coming from a vending machine on the side of the road...I won't lie, I was tempted to purchase a burger or something, but the fear of being poisoned was enough to stop me from eating hot vending machine meat. And, who knows how long that food is in their for, and how the heck do they microwave it from within a machine?! Too many questions to answer before I would dare eat anything. I ended up splurging on a half decent pork chop for dinner, at least I knew it came from an actual kitchen. All in all, a very enjoyable day. Come Wednesday I will arrive in León and take another rest day. I am really excited because on the Wednesday and Thursday that I will be in León they are celebrating the San Juan and San Pedro festivals which consist of parades, carnivals, fireworks, bullfights, AND, running of the bulls!! I am really really excited! But, the festival is a week long so I hope some of the exciting things happen on the days I am there, otherwise I may have to stay in León on the Friday as well. Anyways, bye for now!

Half Way Day!

I woke up this morning after a goodnights sleep and I was ready to begin my walk. Originally I only planned to walk 17km, however, I ended up walking 28km! It´s addicting sometimes. When I arrived at what was supposed to be my destination for the day, I took a short break for second breakfast and then I felt refreshed and ready to walk some more. I just kept walking, and walking, and walking until I arrived in Terradillos. It wasn´t until I read my guidebook more carefully that I discovered that Terradillos is the half way point between  St. Jean Pied de  Port and Santiago de Compostela! Wow! I am half way through the Camino de Santiago! Only 387km left , it´s so hard to believe. But before I arrived in Terradillos today, I did have to walk 28km through wheat fields and empty farm land. But, aside from the complete isolation, my walk this morning was very beautiful. Even though I was walking alongside roads for a majority of the day, I was surrounded by very fragrant flowers in all sorts of colours. I also walked along the oldest and most well preserved Roman road leading from Burgos to Astorga; it´s kind of neat to think that thousands of years ago, Roman armies marched on the same ground that I am walking on today. Thinking that I was only going to be walking 17km, I took my time and just enjoyed my surroundings. But, I arrived in Calzadilla an hour earlier than I had originally planned, so, I decided to walk on. That way I would get to spend a few more days with the group I am walking with currently. I really like talking to everyone, they are all very kind and quite amusing to talk to. I completed my walk today around 1:30pm. However, Terradillos is an extremely small town; there is NOTHING TO DO HERE! I decided to stay in the albergue in town rather than the one a kilometer off route...big mistake. Even though the albergue is clean and very well organized, the town is deserted: mind you, there is only a population of sixty. But still, I was expecting the city to have a bar, so, I went for a little stroll only to discover that the ¨bar¨is in an abandoned house, and all of the drinks are kept on a small plastic table in the back. There weren´t even any chairs. I had to sit outside on a very questionable bench. Asisde from the ¨bar¨, this town is empty. I spent a good four hours sitting in the albergue garden reading, writing, and, well, sleeping. Finally I decided to walk over to the other albergue and check it out. It is so much nicer than the one I am staying in! It has a proper bar, sturdy chairs, and the grass is a lot softer to sleep on. So, I decided to stay here for dinner and then just return to my albergue to sleep for the night. All in all, it has been a very pleasant day. My feet no longer hurt and all of my blisters have healed! FINALLY! I still can´t believe it. My pilgrimage is almost over. Only four more weeks of walking...wow! Bye for now :)

Getting my tan on

     Why was yesterday an exciting day? Not only did I walk through one province and into the next (Burgos to Palencia), but the sun was shining and it was hot! Finally! I was so excited when I finished my walk yesterday because I was able to sit outside in a cafe (without my jacket) and bask in the sun. What a relaxing afternoon. And what better way to enjoy the sun than with a calimocho, otherwise know as red wine with coca-cola. After Gary (one of my Australian friends I made during the first week of the walk) introduced me to this drink, I have been hooked! It sounds strange and I was skeptical about it at first, but on a hot summer day, it is so refreshing. And I challenge you all to try it, I guarantee that you will probably like it. When I started walking yestreday I was not too impressed with the fact that the first kilometer was all uphill...not really something to help wake you up. But, when I reached the top of the hill, I had an amazing view over the province of Burgos on one side, and the province of Palencia on the other side. Afterwards, the walk was generally flat, but it was incredibly windy so it felt like I was taking one step forward and two steps back. I did however meet a family from the States who are walking to raise money for a charity supporting those with Parkinsons disease. I talked and walked with them for a majority of the day; it was nice to be in the company of others again. When I arrived in Fromista yesterday, I met up with a Canadian couple (Amanda and Dean) who I had seen freqently over the past week. They are from Banff. We sat in a cafe together for several hours talking aboout travel, the camino, and people who we got weird vibes from and could possibly be serial killers. They are such a nice couple and we have a lot in common. Amanda and Dean are travelling for eight months in Europe and then in Southeast Asia. Amanda, who is originally from Portugal reccomended some places that I should definately visit in Portugal if I have time after the camino. So, who knows, I may end up going to Portugal as well in the end of July; my plans are flexible. After an amzing evening of laughing, white mushroom risotto, and blood sausage (Which I have been eating every chance I get because it is so gosh darn delicious! Although I didn´t know what it was exactly until last night), it was time to call it a night. However, yesterday was byfar the worst sleep I have had this entire trip. There were three incredibly loud snorers in my room, one lady was up every half hour throwing up, and, to top it all off, four very drunk guys came stumbling into the room quite late and made the most noise that they could possibly make! Even my last sleeping pill didn´t help me fall asleep so I spent a good three hours watching reruns of FREINDS on my Ipod. Oh well, it´s all apart of the camino experience.
     Today was yet another lovely day. I was only walking along the highway for a few hours, but a majority of the walk was in a forested area right along a stream. One of the more intersting walks I have had this trip. I thought it was very strange though because I didn´t see anybody while I was walking today. There was one lady from England who I leapfrogged with, but other than that, not a single soul was walking in front of or behind me. So, the ¨Singing Canadian¨made another appearance and kept me entertained for  few hours. Now I don´t know if I am considered a good singer in Spain (or Europe in general) because the English lady overheard me singing while she was walking behind me and wanted to know if I was in a choir, or if I sang professionally, or if I had taken singing lessons. She was amazed with my voice, so I don´t know, maybe I do sing better than I think. Anyways, when I arrived in Carrion, I was amazed with the albergue I am staying in tonight. As soon as I walked in the door I was greeted with a glass of sweet tea. The people here are really friendly and I felt very welcomed. This albergue is run by a group of Augustinian nuns. Tonight they have a full evening of activities planned. Apparently they are unbelievable singers and will be singing for all of the pilgrims while we enjoy a communal dinner followed by a pilgrim blessing. I am really looking forward to this evening, it should be a lot of fun. Well, bye for now :)

There's no shame in sleeping on park benches

After leaving Burgos two days ago I began the second leg of the camino through the empty meseta. Although this second half is generally flat, the cities are quite far away from each other so for a majority of the day I find myself walking in the middle of no where. It's a nice change from walking along freeways, but after hours of staring at empty fields with civilization being miles away, it gets pretty boring. Thankfully I am an "amazing" singer so I can keep myself entertained. Because I spent a rest day in Burgos, I have once again fell behind all of the terrific people I had met along the way, but now I get to start fresh and meet some new people. When I woke up yesterday I wasn't really in the mood to walk, but once I dragged myself out of bed and freshened up, I felt much better. And the route was very nice as well; it as mostly flat, there was a lot to see, and my feet didn't hurt! About 5km from Hornillos (my destination for the day), it was all downhill...extremely steep and on loose rocks. When I was talking to a lady a dinner, she said that the locals call that hill the "mule killer" because it is so easy to slip and roll. Hornillos has a population of about 70...although I only saw two locals (the guy running the bar and the lady who runs the albergue). The town was completely deserted and there was literally nothing to do! The bar was on the side of the road and the main "plaza" was basically a sidewalk. AND to top it all of, there was no internet so I had to live like a "real" pilgrim. I sat in the bar for a few hours caring for my feet, reading, and, well, sleeping. I don't like to spend any more time than I have to in the albergue because I would much rather enjoy the atmosphere of the towns I am visiting. So, when I am tired I curl up on park benches (sometimes on benches with dried bird poop...I'm a pilgrim, I'm roughin it) and I will take a long cat nap. It was funny because the Australian couple (Shannon and Chris) first met me after one of my naps. They say me sleeping in the park clutching all my belongings, and from talking to them later on, they were debating on whether or not to wake me up. Even today when I arrived in Castrojeriz I curled up on a bench in the plaza. The locals, and even some of the other pilgrims give me second glances, but who cares, it's comfy and it is probably the only time I fall into a really deep sleep. Anyways, today was a very interesting day of walking. At one point I was waking through the ruins of St. Antón church. This church was famous along the camino because it is where the Tau cross originated. The cross is in the shape of a 'T' and is supposed to protect whoever carries it from evil and sickness. So, I bought a cross of my own, but as soon as I left the ruins with the cross in hand, my allergies started to really act up and I was coughing like crazy! I don't think the cross is fulfilling it's purpose...at least for me anyways. Castrojeriz is a much larger town with more to see and do. I took a nice stroll around the town, visited the church, and of course, took a nap on not one, but two different benches! Also, there are more dogs than people in this town, and with me being a person who is quite fearful of dogs, I have to use my walking sticks as a barrier and I sometimes take the longer route to where I want to go just so I can avoid walking past the dogs. I had a bad experience a few days back with one dog. I was really tired and was planning on stopping at the bar in the town I was walking through, but this dog came running out of no where barking and looking very demon-like. I ran like crazy away from the bar and took my break outside of the town. Stupid dogs. Aside from all of that, hopefully the weather will continue to improve. It's partly sunny, but really windy. And from all of the people that I have seen, I am the only pilgrim in pants and a jacket; it's "Matthew" cold, so maybe I am just strange. Tomorrow is another nice and easy day. I don't know if I will walk a bit farther than originally planned and have a few more shorted days or if I will just stick to my schedule. We will see how I feel. Well, bye for now! Hope you are all enjoying your summer :)

Gypsies, and more gypsies, and one freaky gypsy!

Yesterday was byfar the best day I have had on the camino...even though I was livin it up in my own private hotel room and wasn't really a "true pilgrim". But, I had an amazing evening of delicious food, a comfy bed, and a Criminal Minds marathon was on all night. I knew that I probably should have gotten a good nights rest, but it's Criminal Minds!! I couldn't turn the TV off. So, I was up until 1:30am watching my TV family catch serial killers. But I did sleep until 9am and had one of the best sleeps I have had my entire trip. This morning I decided to take it easy and enjoy the few hours I had left in my hotel room. I checked out around 11:30 and then checked into the albergue right after. Because it is a Monday, everything was closed, well the castle and evolution museum were closed, but I did spend a few hours touring the inside of the cathedral. It was incredible! I thought the outside was amazing, but the inside blew me away! It is so hard to believe that 700 years ago people actually constructed this masterpiece! After a light lunch and a failed attempt at window shopping for souvenirs (I ended up only buying a little something), I found a cafe with chocolate and churros. The only reason I "ran" into this cafe was because I was being followed by a gypsie...she followed me from the cathedral, down a few streets, and then she sat outside the cafe I am sitting in at this very moment. SHE IS STILL WALKING BACK AND FORTH OUTSIDE THE WINDOW!!! Ahhh! She's going to eat me! And the freaky thing was that when I was walking away from her and walked down the street leading towards the cafe, she started singing and moaning....freaked me out! But she isn't the only gypsy I have come into contact with today. They are everywhere in Burgos, so everytime I walked past one I would clutch my belongings tightly and walk fast! And there was this one gypsy who came up to me while I was eating lunch and airing my feet out (when I was most vulnerable) and she started asking for money...she wouldn't leave until the store owner shooed her away. Why? Why do these people like me so much...Anyways, tonight I am gonna go to bed early, another busy day of walking tomorrow...thankfully my feet are almost completely healed. I enter the meseta tomorrow as well. This is where the camino is almost completely flat and there is nothing to see for miles and miles. And from reading my guidebook, on tomorrow's walk, fox's make quite common appearances. Guess I'll be carrying my pocket knife with me tomorrow. I am excited to start the second leg of the camino. And again, since I took a rest day today, I am a day behind all of the fantastic people I met...so, I have to meet new people which isn't a terrible thing. Oh, and I am nearly finished reading "One Day" so I will get to start a new book tomorrow!!! Yayy! Okay, bye for now :)

And 294km later...

...I have finally completed 1/3 of the Camino de Santiago!! Wow, it's almost hard to believe! The past two weeks have been long, tiring, and an emotional roller coaster, but, that is all a part of the camino. Now before I talk about my walk into Burgos, I have a few other things to discuss. About two days ago as I was walking into Villafranca (an ugly truck stop town) I lost my guidebook somewhere on the trail. At first I was frustrated because things weren't going my way, but I kept telling myself that on Sunday when I arrived in Burgos there would be a bookstore in which I could buy another guidebook. However, yesterday I met an older couple from Australia, Shannon and Chris, and while we were talking about experiences along the camino, I brought up that I had lost my guidebook. Anyways, while we were sitting at dinner yesterday night, Shannon and Chris introduced me to Stephan from Austria. And like it was meant to be, when I told Stephan I had lost my guidebook the other day, Stephan said he found a guidebook walking into Villafranca...IT WAS MINE!! I couldn't believe it! This just goes to show that in life we are meant to meet certain people. If I didn't stop to talk with Shannon and Chris, I wouldn't have met Stephan, and I wouldn't have gotten my guidebook back! Like I have said many times before, the camino always provides. Now, today was a special day. Today is the day I completed 1/3 of the Camino de Santiago! The walk this morning started off beautifully. 10km through rocky hills with a layer of fog over the tree line, creating a mystical atmosphere. But, as I entered the outskirts of Burgos, the last 10km were along busy highways and through streets that smelt of urine. By 11:00 I arrived in central Burgos and I stood awestruck beneath the cathedral. It is soo huge and the spirals are really decorative and medieval looking! After the cathedral in Seville, the Burgos cathedral is one of the largest and most beautiful cathedrals throughout all of Spain. After sitting in the central plaza for a while, I decided it was time to check into my hotel. Because I am 1/3 of the way through the camino, I am treating myself to a private room for a change! The hotel is beautiful! I was so excited to have my own personal space and jus be able to sped my belongings out without fearing they might get lost or taken by someone else. Also, it was nice to had my own CLEAN bathroom without toothpaste on the sink! Oh, and I have actual towels and sheets on the bed; and I'm not in a bunk bed!!!!! It is amazing the little things that you cherish after walking the camino and sharing a room with hundreds of people. I was so happy the hotel had a bath, so when I finished organizing myself, I soaked in a nice warm bath for three hours! It felt absolutely amazing! Because today is supposed to be my day to relax and celebrate, I spent most of the day in my hotel room just enjoying the solitude. But its funny because whenever I heard people in the hallway, I thought they were going to come into my room, but then I realized that this is MY room, MY space, MY sanctuary! I watched tv for a while, read my book, snuggled under the covers of a nice warm bed, and just enjoyed the peace and quiet. Around 6:30 I decided to do a little bit of walking around town. I hopped on the tourist train to get a feel for the city. While I was on the train there were a bunch of little kids waving, smiling, and dancing at me...I couldn't help but laugh and feel like I was an exhibit. Later I met up with some regulars I had seen on the camino and we bid our farewells because while they move on tomorrow, I will spend a full day in Burgos. And then FINALLY I went for my celebratory dinner. I found a very nice restaurant with an appealing menu (even though I couldn't understand it). But I told myself I wasn't going to eat off the pilgrim menu; tonight's dinner would be special! Five courses of the best food I have had so far my entire trip! I started with this black rice dish with chorrizo, and then a salad, roast lamb leg, a cheese tart, a very potent (45% alcohol) spirit, and finally a hot cup of coffee; all together with a bottle of really good white wine. It didn't matter to me that my meal cost €30, I AM 1/3 OF THE WAY THROUGH THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO! I think I deserve to treat Mysore to some luxury. It was a lovely evening filled with many laughs. And I am so soo excited to sleep in a double bed in my private room tonight! My alarm is in my bag...tomorrow I sleep in. Hope you are all having a great time back home! Bye for now :)

Just one of those days

     Today was neither a good nor a bad day. When I woke up this morning I wasn´t really in the mood for walking. I knew I only had a short 12km ahead of me, but I didn´t feel up to it. But, I dragged myself out of bed, gathered my belongings, and after a quick breakfast of bruised cherries I was out the door by 7:45. Now I wasn´t physically tired, I was more mentally tired, I just felt very homesick today. As I was walking it started to bug me that while I am walking the camino, I have no sense of home. I get up every morning and walk to an entirely new city, sleep in a different (and sometime sketchy looking) bed each night, and I am living out of a small backback. I´m not able to spread my things out and have my own person space; everything I own is crammed into this bag. I´m a hobo. And it doesn´t help that over the past few days there has been no beautiful landscapes. I walk along the highway and stare at vast green fields and noisy trucks for eight hours a day. And it makes me feel sad because I see all these people walking with their families and friends, and I am alone. I have no one to confide in, and just the occasional person who speaks little English to talk to every once in a while. And because I have a longer schedule than most people, I usually don´t see any familiar faces at the end of the day. Even so, my four hours of walking today felt like it took forever. By the time I arrived in Villafranca (which isn´t a nice city...the highway passes right through and it is basically a truck stop) I was emotionally drained. There was no cafe to sit in, so I found a less antsy part of the grass to curl up on and I fell asleep for two hours. Afterwards I felt much better. I pretended to have a room in the hotel up the street from my albergue, and so I sat in the nice hotel loby for a few hours and read my novel. For dinner, I met up with this German couple I have seen periodically throughout the past few days. We had a lovely dinner and talked about anything during the course of the meal. They are really a friendly bunch of people, although I have forgotten their names and I think it would be rude to ask them at this point again. So I just have to make sure I talk to them each directly.
     Anyways, in two days I will arrive in Burgos. I am going to book a private room in a nice hotel and just relax and congratulate myself on having finished 1/3 of the Camino de Santiago!! This is also where I will be taking another rest day, so on Suday I can spend all day if I want in the hotel and then explore the city on Monday. Yay! I can´t wait. Bye for now.

"The Singing Canadian"

Why? Why am I here? Why do I get up at 6:17am every morning and walk on average 20km a day? When I woke up yesterday morning, these questions kept repeating themselves in my head. Not in a negative way, but in a more spiritual way. I mean, why am I walking the Camino de Santiago? What am I trying to achieve? I thought I was looking for solitude and a break from the real world, but what the camino has taught me so far is that family and friends are everything. When I am no surrounded by the people I love, I miss them. So then if it's not time alone that I'm looking for, then what brought me here? I guess I have 650km of walking left to ponder these questions. Anyways, yesterday was one of my best days so far on the camino. 21km, mostly flat, amazing views of the vineyards and mountains, several cafés along the way to stop and have a break, AND THE SUN WAS SHINING!! (or, at least it was for a majority of the day). In my guidebook it talks bout the mud in Rioja being incredibly sticky. I wasn't sure what they meant by "sticky", but I was soon to find out. For about 8km I walked along a very muddy trail, and it's true what they say, the mud is like leaches! By the end of the trail I had like two inches of mud build up on the bottom of my shoes!! And no matter how hard I tried to get it off, the amount of mud just kept on growing! I anticipated that I would arrive around 1:30, or maybe later depending on how many breaks I took. But, just like the previous day, I arrived earlier than expected! I made it to Santo Domingo just before 12pm!!! Wow! What a fast and easy day of walking! After settling into the albergue, I found a cozy café in the main plaza, ordered myself a glass of orange juice and read my book for a while. Right now I am reading "One Day", and during my walk each day, all I really look forward to is reading my book; it is soo good! I even discuss the book with myself while I am walking...which might look strange to my fellow pilgrims. Oh, and speaking of looking strange, when I am walking by myself (or I think I am by myself), I tend to sing/scream along to whatever is playing on my IPod. Anyways, yesterday while I was walking, I thought I was alone so I started singing (and maybe dancing a little) to some Carrie Underwood. Suddenly this French lady sped up ahead of me, turned around, and said "Ahhh, you are a singing Canadian...sounds good". Then she smiled and walked away. But when I arrived in Santo Domingo, I guess that French lady told people I was a singing Canadian because people I never met before would come up to me and call me "The Singing Canadian". I guess this is one way to meet new people. Now after my glass of orange juice, I felt that it was time for a little cat nap, so, I wandered over to a bench in the main square and fell asleep for a good hour! When I woke up, I was refreshed, and I was ready to take a look around town. I toured the cathedral, climbed the bell tower, and sat in the park for a while. The other day when I wasn't feeling too well, all I wanted to do was curl up in a blanket with a cup of tea. So, later that evening I sat at a café in the plaza while curled up in my sleep sheet, and I read until I was ready to go to bed. It is so fascinating just people watching all night. While I was reading my book there were a bunch of kids throwing and chasing a wine cork. They were too funny. And it is really interesting listening to them have conversations, even though I do not understand what they are saying, I get to make up what I think they are saying. All in all it was a very good day. Today was just the same old stuff. Nothing too interesting happened along the way. Come Sunday I will arrive in Burgos and I will be 1/3 of the way through the camino! Yay! Hope you are all having fun at home. By for now :)

Beyond the clouds, the sun is still shining...and a glass of fresh orange juice is always waiting for me at the end of the day

After a rough and draining day yesterday, I woke up this morning feeling much better. I was happy, I was excited, and I had a plan to ensure that I would have an amazing day. The large blisters beneath my toes are healing really well, I hardly feel them anymore which is terrific. But, I have two tiny blisters at the bottom of my left heel which have been causing my a lot of pain. So, I decided to walk in my crocs today; that way my boots wouldn't rub my blisters and I would be able to aerate my feet more. The past few days I have been having breakfast when I reach the first city along the way...usually an hour away. Today I ate a decent breakfast before I left so that I would have a lot of energy at the start of my walk. By 7:30am I was on the road. I walked fairly slow and took frequent breaks along the way. Unlike yesterday, there were actually rocks and benches along the way so I had places to sit down and rest my feet. The views were amazing! A majority of the walk was through vineyards overlooking the mountains and valleys. My biggest fear when walking is that when I arrive at my destination, there will not be any room in the albergue (which hasn't been the case so far). I know that worrying about not having a bed at the end of the day isn't the point of the camino, so I try to zone out and just live in the now as I am walking. Plus, there are always hotels to stay in, but I don't want to treat myself to a nice, relaxing hotel until I reach Burgos (1/3 of the way through my trip)! Anyways, I anticipated that at my speed of walking, I would arrive in Nerja just before 2pm. Now I didn't push myself to walk faster and I did take several breaks along the way (including a half hour nutritious break), but I arrived in Nerja just after 1pm! I was shocked. I wasn't in pain, nor was I tired, and now I had even longer to rest in this beautiful city. After finding the albergue, doing my laundry (or rather the albergue owner did it for me), I found a quiet café in the main plaza, and ordered a café con leché and a glass of fresh orange juice. I don't know why, but since arriving in Spain I have always had a craving for orange juice. I don't drink it at home regularly so I don't know where this craving is coming from. But the orange juice here is absolutely amazing. The oranges are squeezed fresh for each glass, and it is sooo pulpy that it feels like you drinking an actual orange. It may sound just like any other orange juice, but you would have had to try it yourself, it is so soo good! Now the past few days have been pretty cloudy and windy, and it always seems to rain around 3pm. But in Nerja it was hot and sunny, so I was in heaven sitting in the plaza reading my book! And then just like it were following some set schedule, it started to rain at 3pm. I ran to the church and was planning on taking a look around until the rain passed, but it was closed. And so was the museum. And and so was the candy store. So, my only option really was to head back to the albergue and take a nap. When I woke up the sun was shining again (although it wouldn't last for long). I took a stroll around town, bought breakfast for tomorrow, bought some more blister supplies, and had some límon gelato! Every city I go to I try to find a gelato shop, and I always get the límon gelato. It is sooooo good! So far San Sebastian has had the best límon gelato. By the time dinner rolled around, I wasn't feeling too well; my stomach didn't feel right, my throat is sore, and I have a dry cough. But I knew that I needed the nutrients so I ate what I could. Tomorrow is another short day, and I am going to bed fairly early tonight (before 9) so I get a good nights rest. And if worse comes to worse, I am a day ahead of my schedule so if I feel sick tomorrow, Incan always take another rest day. Bye for now :)

A Case of the Mondays - Yes, I am going to complain

Plain and simple, today was not a good day. But, I still need to discuss yesterday. Yesterday I arrived in Viana and was amazed by the beauty of city. Walking into the main plaza, I was greeted by the sound of church bells, trumpets, and the laughter of children. It was Sunday afternoon and the city of Viana was celebrating Corpus Christi. This is the first city I have visited this entire trip so far where all I wanted to do was explore. The albergue I was staying in was absolutely amazing. It was right in the middle of the ruins of St. Peter's church, so, the first thing I did was explore the ruins. Standing in the center of what once was a grandiose church, you can only imagine what it would have been like back in the day. After exploring the ruins, I found a nice quiet spot in the park and read my book for the rest of the afternoon. Too bad the sun wasn't out because I was freezing and would have enjoyed the sun on my back. But all in all, a nice relaxing day. This morning when I woke up, I knew right off the bat that it wasn't going to be a good day. At half past five, I was tired, cranky, and just plain sore. Even though my blisters are beginning to heal, my feet still feel bruised from awkwardly walking on the uneven ground. I didn't have any food (except for a few nuts), but I was planning on stopping in the first town for breakfast. I should have read the guide book for carefully because 10km and 4 hours later, I arrived in the first city...I wasn't too impressed that it was so far away. Loroña is a big university city so it was quite intimidating walking around after being in the country. And, the city isn't well marked for the camino route so I had to ask for help at every corner, fearing that I would go the wrong way. I finally found a bar and decided to have breakfast, but because it was 11:30, there was no breakfasty foods. I ordered an orange juice (which is the best I have had so far), a coffee, and what I thought was an egg sandwich. But when I took it out of the plastic wrap, it smelled of warm fish. Apparently it was a half egg, half mushy tuna sandwich with mayonnaise and tomato sauce...I took one sniff and decided not to even touch it. So, no breakfast for Matthew. I was getting frustrated with the busy atmosphere so I didn't stop anywhere else for food. I ATTEMPTED to get out as fast as possible. My feet were still really sore and I starred feeling pain in my upper quads, but I refrained from taking pain killers so as not to make things worse. As I was heading out of Loroña, this little 7 year old girl named Alba started talking to me in Spanish. All I understood was her asking if I was walking to Santiago. But despite the language barrier, trying to communicate with her for twenty minutes was the highlight of my day. Back on the road, I was beginning to get really tired and annoyed with everything. All I wanted to do was lay down and sleep. I have no clue why I was so tired today! Finally, after 8 hours of walking, I arrived in Navarrette. It WAS sunny when I arrived, but when I threw my stuff into the albergue and went to lay down in the plaza and read, it started to rain...just my luck! My albergue stinks of armpits so I didn't want to go back, so, I sat under a tree and then in the church until it stopped raining. When the sun came out (for the brief time is was out), I took a long cat nap beside a fountain. Afterwards I didn't feel as sore, but I was still cranky. And what better way to make me feel better? No, I didn't buy a bottle of wine, I went to the candy store and bought a lot of candy. The store owner was funny And said I was buying a lot of "nutritious" food for my walk tomorrow...I had to point out that I did buy watermelon candies ;)I hope tomorrow is a better day. I am still kind of sore, but hey, that's all part of the camino. Sorry for all the complaining. Now time to get a good nights rest. Luckily tomorrow I am only walking 17km. Woot woot! Short day, yay! Bye for now. Oh, but I should add that it wasn't all bad today. At one point I was walking along a lake with the smell of campfires...it reminded me of camping. And the views were spectacular. Now all I have to remember is that with every step, I am one step closer to a gorgeous view! Now k am off to bed!

Camino de Santiago - Day 7

It's time to hit the road again. After a relaxing day in Estella yesterday, my body wasn't as sore anymore, my blisters were beginning to heal, and I was ready to continue walking! Thinking it was going to get hot in the afternoon I wanted an early start, so, I left just before 6am...turns out today was pretty darn cold, so half way through I had to stop and put on my jacket and pants. I have decided that me and walking have a love-hate relationship. Last night and then this morning, I was really excited to start walking, but after about 6km, my feet were sore and I was tempted to walk back to Estella and sleep! But, I pushed through the pain, took plenty of rests and finished the 22km walk to Los Arcos in under 6.5 hours! Although my blisters are still tender, they aren't as bad as yesterday, and I am thinking that they should be completely healed in the next few days. The walk to Los Arcos was very beautiful. I was surrounded by mountains, vineyards, and farmland. The highlight of my walk today was probably walking past the Fuente de Vino (a fountain on the side of a winery that offers free wine to the pilgrims). Because I made it to the fountain at around 6:30am, I wasn't really in the mood for a glass of wine before I ate breakfast; but, it was free so I drank half a water bottle full. Today was my first day where I was actually alone during my walk. And it's a strange feeling knowing that when I arrive at my destination there will be no familiar faces; I'm a day behind all of my friends. I did feel lonely during my walk, so I fetched my Ipod and started jamming to some Carrie Underwood. I soon forgot that I was all alone, and I didn't notice the pain in my feet! When I finally arrived in Los Arcos, I found a small albergue with a very friendly owner. He is from Austria and was very interested in Vancouver and everything you can do there. He's quite humorous. Oh! I almost forgot. While I was walking today, I met this elderly French couple who I started chatting with. His name is Pedro, but I forgot his wife's name. We started talking about why we were walking the camino. Pedro asked me it was for religious purposes, but I told him I wasn't religious. And neither are him and his wife. I started laughing when his wife looked at me and said that she thanks God that she isn't religious...oh the irony! All in all, everything is going pretty well over here. I am starting to feel a bit homesick mostly because I don't have a set base, and I am all alone once more. But it's only the first day so I will give it time. And every day of walking means that I am 20km closer to home. That's a neat way to think of it. I came to Spain to walk home, huh. So I found out that Pedro's wife's name is Betty. They are such a cute couple! When I went out to explore Los Arcos, they saw me walking around and invited me to have a coffee with them. We talked for quite some time about travel and all the neat places we have been. It turns out that Betty is a Kindergarten teacher so she was telling me about what it is like to teach kindergarten in France. It was easy to get along too because we share similar ideas about schooling for 5-6 year olds. Betty said she wanted to teach kindergarten because the kids are allowed to be kids; there isn't a set schedule and they get more time to play and just enjoy life. I totally agree with her! Later I took a tour of the Los Arcos church. It is absolutely beautiful inside, and it kind of reminded me of St. Peters Basilica in Rome. Everything is so elaborately decorated inside and from floor to ceiling, everything is gold. Even though I am not religious, I love admiring the paintings of the saints and scenes from the Bible. It is all so detailed and you feel almost as if the painting is alive. I am now starting to enjoy being alone; I have more free time and I don have to coordinate plans with anyone else. I literally sat in a cafe in the main plaza for over two hours reading my book; what a peaceful afternoon I had! I am really looking forward to walking again tomorrow. It will be a much shorter day (20km)...yeah, that's short for me :$ Anyways, bye for now :)