Recap? Maybe it just the beginning....

It is almost 48 hours since I got back home, and approximately 72 hours since I finished el camino by entering the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. If I closed my eyes and open my heart I am still overwhelmed by the feeling I felt at that moment. That last day on the trail was a very emotional day. We walked approximately 19 km from our room to the city. We passed the airport where the fence that kept on us on the path was covered with thousands of crosses made out of sticks ,rods, whatever the pilgrims had carried or found on the ground. We walked on and started the second climb of the day as we entered the Monte de Gozo, called that because it is the first place on el camino where the pelegrino could look and see the steeples of the cathedral far off in the distance. Now there is a monument built there in honor of Blessed Pope John Paul the Great and St Francis of Assisi. I was in tears as I neared that pinnacle thinking of what great men had walked this path before me, and here I was in the same place.

As I started to go down , I saw some gypsies to the side of the path and so I went to see what they were selling. To make a short story of a long encounter they made me a leather bracelet on the spot and a wired pilgrim to take with me through out my future travels. As I bid them goodbye, one of them says you have some time? or are you in a rush. My better instinct told me tell him you are rushed but I said no, we are not in a rush. So he told me to follow another path off the main one, and that it would lead me to 2 iron pilgrims, as I looked to where they looked I would be able to see the steeples of the church. And so I climbed even further, and reached the spot. I felt like I was the first pelegrino to have still the far off church. I said a prayer of thanksgiving and place one of my hand made rosaries on the huge statutes fingers.

And then we started to climb down. I entered the city and felt lost. There were signs , the shell was still on the pavement at times, but humanity was quicly approaching . I had entered an university city where everyone was in a rush. Here I was a pelegrino, with my stick in hand feeling lost and vulnerable. But I had seen the steeple, I knew I was going in the correct general direction. As we got closer to the church we entered the old city and the souvenir shops assaulted our senses. But we continued, turned into smaller passages, and the saw the side of the cathedral. I was here, as I started to get closer I heard bagpipes, there was someone actually playing the bagpipes outside when we walked by, and then I turned into the main plaza.

There it was before me , bigger then life, it encompassed all of my visual field. It was gigantic, I climbed the steps and entered into the coolness of the main church. It was dark, and it felt cold, but I was here. I had made it. With the help of Barbara and countless others on the path. With all of your prayers, I was here. Tears streamed down my face, I went to the altar, I said a prayer. I climbed the steps behind the altar where I could give Santiago the customary hug. I remember closing my eyes as I laid my face on his mantle and felt the cold of the silver and the hardness of the stones; and all I could think was THANK YOU. I climbed down and then went to the place where his crypt is. I knelt and there I prayed for a long time. I prayed for each one of you as well as for all those intentions I had carried in my heart during the last 9 days , over the past year. I got up went to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and said a prayer of thanksgiving. I was done as a pilgrim, I had become a tourist now. I did get my Compostela, that is the certificate the church issues when you have completed at least 100 km of el camino.

What lessons did I learn or relearn? First, that for me, God speaks to me in the silence of my heart. I have to shut up to be able to listen to Him. Second, that I have to listen to His Words so I can walk the correct path for my life. Third, that I want to be an honest man. Fourth, that there are guideposts to help us along the path, that we are not to go off the path or we are liable to get hurt or lost. Fifth, that el camino has shells or arrows to guide the pelegrino, but in my life God is even more inventive on how He guides me.Sixth, that there is nothing that I should be afraid of,and seventh that I am very much loved by God and those around me.

You know I am back home, but some say that El Camino really starts when you leave Santaigo. I will be on this new path the rest of my life. I know that I will be back to Spain, to el camino. And I hope that if you see me looking lost and disoriented you might just point me to the right path. As you might guess, my blogs form this trip are not really over yet. I have in my heart certain instances that I want to share with you and some of those lessons that I experienced. I wish you a buen camino because we are all in some journey and we all are seekers in this life.

Peace and Joy. Happy Easter.

It is like running a marathon...

You know whem you have trained for a marathon and you are getting to the end and you think yes,I can make it the training and effort was worth it. Well that is how is how I feel tonight. Like my friend,Barbara, says walking the camino might be like childbirth, after it is over you remember only the good parts. I can see what she means now because now, I only see the good.

Today was a relatively easy day. it was mostly level ground and the weather still cool.We traveled 18 km and it only took us about 6 hours. we got to the hotel early about 3:00 pm , so had time to wash some clothes, rest , and drink a couple of glasses of sidra from the tap.

Still I feel that the magic of el camino is not only in the quiet times where God can speak to your heart, but the people He places in your path. I have met some wonderful people, some crazier people the me, and some real characters that I have formed stories around like I usually do when I do ny training on the beach.

I have lots of stories, but the most important is the change in my heart. I miss you all, I hope to personally shared some of them with you. And I want you to know that as I give Santiago my hug tomorrow, your arms will be around him also, because I carry each of you in my heart.

Buen Camino.

Is it 'Groundhog Day' the movie?

It is the end of day 7 on El Camino and we are about 37 km away from Santiago, traveled about 20 km today. The weather started off cool and cloudy by the end of the day it was very sunny and warm. I had to strip down to my undershirt. I am not sure if it the weariness associated from the long walks but it seems I am a hamster in one of those exercise balls, no matter how far or how slow or fast i go it seems like I am just going in circles, or better yet up and then down and then up again. Today I kept thinking about the parable that Jesus said about the Pharisee and tax collector that both went to the temple to pray. And the Pharisee stood there and his prayer basically was how great he was and how thankful he was that he wasn't like the tax collector. The tax collector on the other hand just knelt face down saying be merciful to me a sinner. Well you know who left justified. For km after km today , i could only repeat Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, be merciful to me, a sinner. It was really revealed to me what a humbling experience it is to be at the total mercy of God. It has been an eye opening experience to see, once again, the greatness of God and the nothingness of man. Got a pamphlet at a church and it was called Do the camino, I open it and it says why look at your past failures? It can only lead to new temptations. God has forgiven you, leave the old man behind. Wild, right?

On a lighter note, the food is still fantastic and the people unbelievable. In the middle of no where today there was a stand with water, coffee, fruit, walnuts, jam cake and chestnuts. I grabhed the chestnuts. Also went to Mass at Arzua and there was an american,Julie, we had met her in Madrid the day we arrived. Also the Spanish guys I have talked about. We are all scheduled to arrive in Santiago on Wednesday. The priest at the Mass called all the pilgrims to the front at the end and gave us the special pilgrim's blessing. It was neat because we all knew each other. Well my friends , it almost midnight and tomorrow is another long day. Buen Camino.

Started to enter the Enchanted Forest

Can you believe it, it has been a week since I left Florida, and this part of the journey will be over in a blink of an eye. Today I walked about 20 km and it did cool down finally to where a light jacket was needed for most of the day. Traveled from Portomarin to Lestedo. Staying at the restored rectory of the old church. Since it is early in the season we have the whole place to ourselves.

Galicians believe that their forests are enchanted because the trees look like the ones in the movies, where you can see faces and body parts in their trunks. And so as we entered I realize that today would be a day to battle the demons and giants in my life. I think that no matter how perfect your life is, there is always a struggle within yourself, to choose good and evil. Today I once again looked at this struggle and thought about and fought so good gold overcome evil.

Today was also a day that it mattered not where we walked but who we encountered on that walk. It was not a day to see the beauty with my eyes but to experience the beauty and goodness in the people I walked with and encountered throughout the day.
I met a band of five Spanish friends and Dana, the seeker of Truth, from Australia.

In the end I realized that yes we do the battle , yes we have to fight the demons in our lives, but we don't have to do it by ourselves. Sometimes God will place those people in our lives to help us fight , to lift our spirits and be our Sancho Panza.

Buen camino fellow pelegrino.

Buen Camino fellow pelegrino.

I know God has a sense of humor....

Went from Sarria to Portomarin today, that is about 25 km took us about 8 hours because there is still record heat here. In past years it has snowed at this time of year, but lucky us we are sweating at close to 30 C. Today we reached a milestone or should I say km-stone. We made it to 100 km from Santiago, actually now about 88 km away. The terrain was definitely a challenge , with either an uphill climb or downhill ; seldom was it even.
Part of the uphill was over foot wide granite steps with water rushing on either side. Well this is where God's sense of humor comes in. When we had successfully traversed this section, I was happy with myself with the accomplishment. Well, it was now time to go downhill. No, no more steps, only a couple of inches of mud. And this is a dry part of the year. I'm thinking ok God yes I will even walk through this mud for you.

But isn't this like our real life, sometimes when we think ok I have either had enough or enough already... He gets you through it.

Tonight it seems cooler, and the stars are incredible, it is truly the milky way. A lot of you know that I did the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge, and you call me goofy. After I get back just call me Santiago because this if not for the spiritual, is a lot crazier. Buen camino, my friends.

Silence is golden....

Today we walked from Tricastela to Sarria , a distance of maybe 20 some km or like 11 or 12 miles. We picked the high road because it was moré scenic , less traveled and slihhtly shorter. Beautiful vistas were st every córner but the most impressive thing of today's trip was the silence. In the chirping of the birds, the babbling of the brooks, the breeze through the trees the sound of a cow bell, there was a especial silence and solitude on today's walk. I felt in my heart that in this quiet , in this solitude is where I can feel and come to understand and appreciate God's presence in my life. I think that is why the world is so messed up right now. Too much busyness, too much audio visual stimulationprevents us from seeing, from heading the whisper of God in our lives. So this journey for me now becomes moré personal. It is not a time to network, to do the things I would normally do. The time comes when the journey not only takes me when step closer to Santiago, but it also takes me closer to once encountering my God in the silence if my heart

Is this like Vegas? What is said in 'el camino' stays there, I think not....

Today might be Day 4 or 5 but yesterday completed the first full day of walking towards Santiago. It was a hard day, maybe the altitudes, lack of sleeping at Home or climbing hills for whatever reason it was hard. We left the village of Ociebero. Imagine a village of hobbits or smurfs and you are there, except the houses were not mushrooms. It also a place where legend says the Holy Grail was kept for many years and where a miracle with holy communion occurred and that is still there. A very holy , enchanted place indeed. And then we started to climb and climb. We reach the pass of San Roque. Then we went down , and then up and up until we reached the highest point in Galicia , meters mean nothing to me so I won't bore you with the numbers see Facebook for the picture. After we had a recovery drink called Aquarius with Alex it was off to a Hamlet where this is an old lady that hears you come and make crepes and as you pass she has them there for you , her name is Carmen . I gave her a rosary and she gave me a special blessing. The scenery is beautiful and it all males you feel how insignificant you could really be if you are not focused on , like me, following the Will of God. There is a certain smell to this walk for this day it seemed it was of simple cow manure. More to come. Buen camino.

I think the 'camino' will be easier ....

Ok it is day 2 , in Madrid. We left the hotel at 830 in the morning and got back just a while back after 9 pm. I think the actual walk will be easier. Woke up to a beautiful cool morning. Barbara got a Starbucks and I stopped at a little bar/ quick mart and got a cafe con leche and pastries. Then off to the royal palace again, stopped at several churches on the way, the museum of ham and then to Mass to celebrate Barbara's birthday. It was in the crypt church under cathedral, what an experience. Then off walking around to Plaza Mayor where I was looking for hot chocolate and churros. Too late for them so had a beer instead, good thing because I had bought some fresh pork rinds. Off to some more spectacular churches then bought meringue and a rufta, something like chocolate mousse. Yes great lunch. Then we did a trial run on the metro to train station for tomorrow morning. Came back went to KM zero where all roads start in Madrid. Then off to another church, it was closed because it is Monday so took the Metro back from Puerta de Toledo.

In the course of the day visited 7 or 8 churches and almost got run over twice. I forget that there are cars on the road too.

Ended the day at Plaza Mayor for paella and a pitcher of sangria. And no I did not walk in traffic after that. Had marzipan instead of cake.

And now I am off to bed. Buen camino.
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Getting closer .....

I am in Madrid well actually finished the first day here. Although the plane was delayed did make it into Madrid at about 10:40 am. We found that there was going to be Mass at the terminal we were at, at 100pm. We waited around, tired but made it to Mass. Then we took the bus into town. We got dropped off about 10 minutes from our hotel. Well rolling my 42 pound luggage and Barbara rolling her 44 pounds, it seemed like alot more and a lot longer distance. We found the hotel right next to Gran Via which is the main drag here.

Got to the room and realized that my telephone was not working internationally, nor any of my apps. Decided not to panic , got washed up and started to sight see. Went to the puerta del sol, el Cortes ingles department store and then just walked. Had roasted chestnuts from a street vendor, went to the royal palace, the plaza major where we tried fresh potato chips. It was starting to rain. Well we got alot of rain but had fabada asturiana. Barbara tried blood sausage for the first time and this killer cheese tart. I had natural sidra and a glass of champagne at the hotel. Got my phone working, that is why I can write here too.

Whoa did I tell you this is only day one and we are jet lagged. I can see why we are tired. Well until the next time, buen camino.

The adventure is about to begin...

Here I am sitting and waiting. I have been packed for about a week now and the day is finally here when I am about to embark on this anticipated journey. I leave in a few hours, and then I will be in Spain as I awake, a few hours earlier then you, tomorrow morning.

I am full of excitement and anticipation. What this journey holds for me only time will tell but I still feel that it will be life changing. As I learn patience in the next few hours, of waiting at airports and for planes to leave and arrive, I know that that will only be the first of many experiences and lessons to be learned , relearned and then shared with all of you.

I just want to remind you that any time you see a link on facebook there is a new blog on here. the facebook picture has been changed to on e of el camino, and it will be changed back when I am back in the states. That way you will know of my arrival. For those following the blog you will get an alert when there is a new one.

I take all of you in my heart and know that I will think of you often when I am thinking of nothing at all on my walk. I look forward to sharing it with you on here as well as sharing my pictures when I get back. I will pray for you as I hope that you will keep me in your thoughts.

Buen Camino.