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 :)

My day in Estella

     So today was my first day of not walking. I woke up this morning at 6:30 (yeah, I got to sleep in!) and all of my fellow pilgrims were gone. I have to admit that it was pretty lonely; it was only me, an empty room, and the albergue owner who didn´t speak any English. But it was a nice surprise when my new friend Emma (who forgot her hat in the room) came back to get it and say good-bye to me. I felt a little bit better now that I had some closure before everyone left me to my lonesome. After I packed my belongings and managed to communicate with the albergue owner about staying one more night, I was out the door and ready to explore the beautiful city of Estella - slowly that is, seeing how my blisters were still pretty sore. I took a stroll throught the park, found a nice bench in the sun, and read my novel for a while. What a treat! I haven´t read in so long...but I guess now that I will be alone for some time I will have plenty of time to read! As I was walking through the town attempting to navigate myself around using a map, I ended up in a completely different neighborhood than I wanted to be in. I had no clue what street I was on or which of the hundreds of bridges I was closest to. So, I worked up the courage to ask two gentlemen to show me the way back to the city center. Not only did they point me in the right direction, but one of the guys offered to walk me to my destination (and it looked like he was busy doing something when I interrupted him). This is what I love about the camino. In small towns like Estella, the people are so generous towards the pilgrims and they are willing to go out of their way to help us.
     By the time I arrived back in the park it was mid-afternnon. Although it wasn´t really hot, I found a quiet area by the river, threw off my shoes and and just soaked in the cool water. The cold water felt so nice on my aching muscles, and I ended up spending a good two hours sitting in that very spot. Before I went for lunch, I sat in the main plaza to people watch for a while. The lifestyle in Spain is so interesting! 1pm is typically when the kids are released from school for lunch, and they get like 1.5 hours! While I was sitting in the plaza, there was a group of boys who came running out of no where and started playing volleyball over one of the benches. And there was this group of girls who started picking leaves and asking me what variety of leaf it was. Unfortunately I couldn´t help them. After a little bit of people watching, I found a quaint cafe and had lunch. For €15 I had a full salad, roast lamb, and icecream...oh, and a FULL BOTTLE OF REALLY GOOD WINE! I was by myself, and I didn´t want any of the food to go to waste, so I spend three hours eating and finishing off the entire bottle of wine. I am on a budget so I need to use up everything that I spend my money on ;) After lunch, I took another stroll thought the town and then returned to the albergue to see all of the new pilgrims that had arrived. At one point I began looking for anyone that I knew, and then I realized that all of my friends are ahead of me. It was quite disappointing knowing that I am all alone once more, but that just means I have to make new friends from this point forward. Tomorrow I will continue my walk. 21km to Los Arcos. It´s hard to believe that after six days of walking I have walked over 130km!! And then I go to look at a map of Spain. Taking into consideration the entire distance of my pilgrimage, it doesn´t look like I have walked far at all.
     I hope you are all having fun at home. I miss everyone and I am looking foreward to sharing my experiences with you all in August! Bye for now.

Good in Goodbye

     So today is a day of mixed emotions. Over the past week I have befriended the most amazing people ever! Ever since St. Jean Pied de Port, I have grown closer and closer with Elizabeth, Suzy, Chris, Gary, Isabelle, Tenneth, Kathleen, Mora, Mary, Judy, Cheri, and David. Along the way I have met so many people from all over the world, including my new friend Emma (PEI). It is nice to  form terrific relationships with each person. However, today may be the last day I get to see all of my friends. As they walk on to Los Arcos, I a staying here in Estella for a well deserved break to explore the beautiful city and soak in the crystal clear river. As much as my heart is telling me to move on and be with all of my friends, I know that it is best for me to stay put for a day and give my body time to rest before I continue walking. But, I am excited to have some time to myself. Originally I had planned to walk the camino alone, but as you learn along the way, plans change. And as much as I am going to miss all of these great people I have become friends with, I am looking forward to the solitude. and who knows, maybe we will meet up later down the road. My walk today was very beautiful. 22km through the beautiful Spanish countryside, walking along almond trees and vineyards! My feet were fairly sore today because I have some pretty big blisters right near the bottom of my toes from all of the down hill walking. But, with a few pads and bandaids, I was eager to get on with my day. My pace was much slower so Elizabeth and my fellow pilgrim friends went ahead of me, but it was so peaceful walking alone. The advice I would give anyone that plans to walk the camino is that you have to remember to look backwards. At one point I glanced back (thinking there was a wolf stalking me) and I witnessed the most beautiful sunrise! I was wonderstruck by the simple beauty that the camino has to offer. And all throughout the day, I made sure to look behind me and admire the view. What i most enjoy about walking by myself is that i get to choose what I want to do. If I want to stop for a glass of orange juice, then I don´t have to worry about arranging plans to meet up later with people. If I want to sit in a park for a few hours and watch the locals live their day to day lives, then that´s what I do. One of the highlights of my walk today was when I was like 2km away from Estella (the city I was planning on stopping in). A Spansih couple I had seen of and on throughout the past week was stopped by a large pool of water soaking their feet. I walked by, smiled, and said ¨buen camino¨, but to my surprise, they stopped me in my tracks and invided me to sit with them. So, I took of my shoes and stuck my feet in thr ice water. WHAT AN AMAZING FEELING AFTER A LONG DAY OF WALKING! Our conversation was very broken because of the language barrier, but the guy showed me how to fix my blisters and even dried my feet of with HIS towel. It is little things like this along the way that really make the camino what it is. Back at home, you don´t get complete strangers offering you their food and medical expertice. And despite the fact that neither of us understand one another, we were laughing and eating cherries by the river!
     Later in the afternoon when I arrived in Estella, I met up with Emma and Kathleen who invited me to join them for dinner. They were planning on cooking so I was really excited to be back in the kitchen! We walked down to the supermarket to get supplies for our dinner, went back to the albergue, and sat in the sun doing what else, poping blisters and complianing about the pain! Good times, good times. After our little siesta, it was time for dinner. Because Kathleen was generous enough to buy all of the groceries, I decided to cook, with Emma´s assistance of course. We had a fantastic meal of pasta in a vegatable and beef tomato sauce, with wine, bread, and more wine. For dessert, fresh strawberries and whip cream. They were all amazed with my cooking, so that made me feel quite special. After a few corny jokes, a broken wine bottle, and a fair amount of spilt wine, it was time to call it a night. I am going to have a relaxing day in Estella tomorrow...and I will probably visit the wine fountain a few dozen times. But I am going to miss all of my amazing friends. I hope we all stay in touch and maybe have a camino reunion in a few years time. If any of you are reading my blog, thank-you for making my first week on the camino a  memorable one! I wish I could continue on with you all, but the camino is a person journey and we all have our own schedules that we need to follow. I am certain our paths will cross at somepoint in the near future. Bye for now!

Good Friends and a Glass of Wine

     Well, four days in to my trek and over 100km of walking, I am begining to make some really good friends along the way. I met Elizabeth (California), Isabelle (Holland), Tenneth (South Africa), Gary (Australia), and Suzy and Chris (Alaska), in St. Jean Pied de Port. Our little group of seven have been walking together for the past four days. It feels like we have know each other for such a long time - maybe thats because we walk together for 8-10 hours a day and talk about everything! When I started my second day of walking, my shoulders and lower legs were fairly sore; but, I was really excited to start walking again and see what the day had in store for me. It was a much shorter day (I think it was only 7-8 hours) and we arrived in what we were all calling the ¨L¨ city because we couldn´t pronounce the name. The walk was mostly downhill and the views were spectacular! Walking through the forest felt like being in a fairytale, and frankly, it was hard to believe that I was actually in Spain!Along the walk I met Mora and Mary - a mother daughter duo from Washington DC. At the albergue in the ¨L¨ city, Mora, Mary, and I (along with other pilgrims) had a communal dinner which was unforgetable! The wine was constantly being poured and we were laughing the entire time! I love the pilgrim meals we have been having so far. i have met so many people from all over the world; it is nice to learn about what other people do in different countries, and I think it allows you to open your eyes and gain new perspectives about life. On my third day of walking, I was planning on walking to Pamplona which is where I was planning on resting for a full day (not including the day i arrived). Turns out, Pamplona was a really short walk from the ¨L¨ city.- We arrived by 11am!I was set on staying the night, but most of the group decided to walk futher. However, Gary and Elizabeth decided to stay the night with me as well. And what a night it was. After a stroll around the old town and a delicious lunch of pinxtos, we sat at Cafe Iruna (made famous by Hemmingway´s novel ¨The Sun Also Rises¨) and basically drank from 2pm until just after 10! It was a long night, but boy was it fun. We talked nonstop for hours on end about life, the camino, and random topics like swimming in a pool filled with caramel.Throughout the evening it hit me that this was probably going to be the last time I would see Gary and Elizabeth because I had originally planned to stay the following day in Pamplona. But on the camino, you learn that plans change. I couldn´t say bye to these guys after only three days! So, I decided to skip my rest day in Pamplona and I walked to Puente de Reina today with everyone. I´m glad that I decided to walk today because I was able to see Kathleen (Ireland) and Cheri, Judy, and David (Florida) again!i was so happy seeing all of their faces again, and although it would be nice to meet completely new people, It is comforting knowing that each night I will get to see my friends and share a bottle (or two...or three...maybe five bottles) of wine with them. So I have thrown my plans out the window. I am going to play it by ear, listen to what my body is telling me each night, and just enjoy the camino with my friends. If I finish earlier than expected, that just means I have more time to see the rest of this beautiful country!
     But before I sign off tonight, I should talk about my walk today. I didnt leave Pamplona as early as I would have liked to, but i spend an amazing day walking with ELizabeth; we didn´t arrive until just before 3pm, mostly because we tooka detour to see a romanesque church which was well worth the hour or so climbing uphill in the heat! The views of the countryside are just amazing. Once we reached the highest point of our climb, words would not be able to describe the view of Pamplona and all of the surrounding hamlets. I was speachless.There is so much to talk about that I don´t know where to begin. So you will all have to wait to see my pictures. Then you will understand.
     Tomorrow I am going to walk to Estella (about 21km away). Depending on how bad my feet are I might end up spending a rest day in Estella and meet up with the rest of my friends later. I have a few painful blisters right at the bottom of my toes (where they meet the foot) and it is painful to walk, or at least it was. I have a cream  to use and some blister healing things from the pharmacy that I have been using and they seem to work.
     Well, I am off to go get some sleep, rest my feet, maybe read a little, and get ready for another exciting day of walking! It is really so much fun, and I would highly reccomend it to anyone...although that may change when the heat gets to me and my feet fall off ;) Bye for now

Camino de Santiago - Day One: St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles

Well today was a long, and tiring, and wet, and absolutely beautiful day! After arriving in St. Jean Pied de Port yesterday afternoon, I spent a relaxing evening strolling the city and talking to some of the fellow pilgrims. I would have to say the highlight of yesterday was walking into the pilgrim office, being handed my pilgrim passport, and receiving that first stamp! Wow! Unbelievable! The adrenaline rush was crazy and I was tempted to start walking that evening, but, I stayed put. In the hostel I met some wonderful people from all across the world. I am happy to say that Susan and her son Chris (from Alaska), and Elizabeth (from California) are my walking buddies :D We hit it off instantly and we all have so much in common. Elizabeth, dropped of university to take a break and travel the world; she started walking the camino in France! I have to say that it is nice to talk with some English speaking people and hold a conversation...I forgot how much I missed that. And we all decided that we would walk to Roncesvalles together he next day...and we did! But before the walk, I must talk about St. Jean. The city is absolutely beautiful and it is the epitome of a small French town. Even sitting around the communal table in my hostel, there are people from ALL over the world. Unlike in San Sebastian where my fellow roommates were just "backpackers", I already feel at home on the camino. The people are just so friendly, and even though we don't all speak the same language, it is fun trying to communicate wig everyone. And since we are all walking the camino (maybe for different reasons), we all have "the walk" in common. Now, on to the big day! Me, Susan, Chris, Elizabeth, and Gary (from Australia), and Tenneth (from Cape town) were all up for 5am. After a quick (which turned out to be a lot of talk afterwards) breakfast, we were on the road by 6:45. It was sprinkling when we started, but it wasn't too bad, so we continued our walk. The first part of the walk (just leaving St. Jean) was straight up hill. I thought I was going to die! But the worse was still to come. It got steeper, and steeper, and steeper; and then the paved road turned to muddy gravel, and soon enough, we were walking on the grassy floors of the Basque hills! The view was spectacual! Even though you couldn't see for miles (due to the fog and wha was now torrential downpour), I had an amazing view of the city and surrounding valleys and hills. So lush, so green; and even with the rain, this was probably the freshest spelling atmosphere I have been in in a long time. Throughout the day our group kind of broke off, but I stuck with Susan for the entire walk and we talked almost the entire time. What I find really neat about the camino is that you get to meet so many people from all over the world, even if it just for a few brief moments. And no matter what language we all speak, we can all share a "buen camino" with one another. As the day progressed,it became even more wet...and by the time I reached Roncesvalles, I was soaked to the bone! In total I walked 30km in 10 hours!!! AND IT WAS ALMOST ALL UPHILL!!! My body isn't that sore tonight, but I will definitely feel it tomorrow! Roncesvalles is a small city, not a lot to see, but it is pretty. And the sun finally came out around 6pm so it was a little bit warmer! Today's post will be a shorter one. I have yet another busy day tomorrow so I want to hit the hay. Thankfully tomorrow is only 20km (maybe more if I'm feeling up to it...probably not) and it is all downhill and flat, so that will be nice! 1 day down, 53 more to go! The hardest part is over, now let's just see if I can push myself through it all. I will start by forcing myself out of bed tomorrow morning ;) My next post should be in the next 3-4 days when I reach Pamplona (maybe sooner if I have internet. Bye for now! And I hope you are all enjoying your June!

Farewell to San Sebastian

It's hard to believe that my week in San Sebastian has come to an end! I am amazed with the weather these past five days; it has been really hot (high 20s to low 30s)...perfect beach weather makes for a nice, relaxing holiday. Although I am ready to move on and begin my walk on Sunday, it will be sad to say goodbye to San Sebastian. What I have come to realize over the week is that in San Sebastian there isn't a lot to do, but there is a lot to see. When I went for my morning stroll everyday, I always discovered something new, whether it be an intriguing gelato shop, a hidden church, a peaceful park, or the perfect location along the promenade to watch the sun set over La Concha Bay. Just when I was getting board of seeing the same old things, San Sebastian always seemed to drawn me back in. Although it has been nice to sit back and relax everyday and not have any set plans, it has been a big adjustment...at least it has been for me. I'm not used to not doing anything, I need to find ways to keep myself busy. That's why I think the camino will be good for me because I will be walking for most of the day, so I will be able to keep myself busy that way. What has been my highlight of San Sebastian? I would have to say that my favorite thing about San Sebastian was going on the Pinxto tasting tour, but I also really enjoyed sitting on a bench in the early evening with a bowl of Limon gelato and a good book! It's sad that I have to leave, but I am ready for my next adventure! Tomorrow I will be taking a train from Hendaya to Bayonne and then finally to St. Jean Pied de Port, the starting location of my pilgrimage! I'll admit it, it's prettying intimidating when I think about it. I mean, I know that the path is well marked, but what if, what if I wake up Sunday morning and start walking right when I was meant to walk left?! What if I end up in Italy rather than in Santiago de Compostela?! Yeah, I know, I'm over reacting...it will all be fine...I hope :P Even today as I was sitting on the beach, I saw two pilgrims walk past me with their scallop shells attached to their backpacks. This is the first time I have seen any pilgrims since I have been in Spain. Maybe it's a sign that this is what I'm supposed to do? And then it really hit me. Come Saturday afternoon, I will be walking into the pilgrim office in St. Jean Pied de Port to pick up MY scallop shell and pilgrim passport! What an adrenaline rush that will be! I hope you are all having a wonderful start to June back home. I will be thinking of all y'all while I am doing my walk! Trust me, I have 54 days and 900km of walking ahead of me...I will have time to think about each and every one of you ;) Talk to you soon! And wish me luck!