October 23

This is so frustrating! I just lost another longish post as I left it to have a nap and now cannot find where "drafts" are stored.

To continue:  My South African friend, Mary Goodenough, who walked all but around ten kilometers of the Camino, with a pack heavier than mine, never a hiker before -a 62-year-old woman of grit, to say the least - she said, when she got to Santiago, that she never, ever would have made it if she hadn't been "carried along" by others, her Camino friends and the support of friends at home.

I think that's true of others, for sure of me.  The support of family and friends at home and people I've come to love here has kept me going, and makes me want to finish the walk.  That is definitely part of the culture and blessing if the Camino.  Of course, also, you meet people you want to see again, to have dinner with, to get to know better and that keeps those legs and poles swinging.

In my case, it kept them swinging in constant pain a little too long so that I'm now having to rest for days to see IF I can continue.  The good news is that today is the first day in weeks with no ibuprofen at all and I can walk, not without some pain, but I feel that with two more days rest, I'll be able at least to walk some of the way back to Santiago.

I would like to be there by November first, All Saints Day, as the monks will surely swing the botufumeiro at that moon pilgrim's mass.  This is a very large silver incense burner that takes four strong monks to swing from ropes on a pulley high in the crossing.  I watched them last week and it is very trickly, the timing and the strength if the monks quite awe inspiring.  In medieval times, it was used to fumigate the peregrinos, who arrived in Santiago diseased and stinking to high heaven.  (Where did that expression come from? Wow, never asked that question before...)

Anyway, that'll all for now.

Love to all,

Mary

My knee recuperating sanctuary - Paloma y Lena, San Memed

Me, there October 20th

Fishing, real fishing village, north coast

Waves crashing against the sacred rocks at Muxia

Muxia looking back from the far end if the beach

XIIth century remnant of original cathedral of Santiago; 3horses representing the three wise men at Christ's birth

Nineteenth century mermaids (ugly,I think

This Nineteenth Century fountain, ugly mermaids, I think, nineteenth century

Zoom in -the XIth century symbol -the cross, the circle and the Celtic knot superimposed moved me to tears

Entrance to the Samos monastery

Samos - the 29 monks sang the Vespers mass

Samos - the monastery from the Camino approach

A sweet stretch of Camino en route to Samos

This sign cracked me up - we saw several in this one town

Another field

Typical Galician field with stone fence

Yesterday I got an email from Alysson Siwik, the director of the Gila Vonservation Coalition, saying there was another important water meeting coming up.  For what it is worth, I pray for the Gila River every day , especially when I  walki by an acequia  head gate.  Our whole system of water distribution came to  NM from Spain and in the north the Spanish lingo is still used -mayordomo and parciantes; on the Gila, we just say ditch, but the practices are the same.  I've even seen sheets of heavy plastic like we use to back up the water for individual fields or rows.

I  am in Galicia now - the home stretch!  It is wet and incredibly green; the trees covered with moss.  Old, gnarly chestnuts - they are either not planted or so long ago there is no order - also many big, old walnuts, whose fallen nuts I see people cracking, one against another, moist and flavorful.

I took another detour Monday and  Tuesday, to see another monastery, this one at Samos.  It is one of the oldest and largest in Spain, with a small town serving the monks and visitors wrapped around it.  A lovely slow moving clear stream flows past with so many trout in it - we saw one giant one about eighteen inches long!

I've been ordering trout quite a bit for dinner as I know it will be local and fresh. The pilgrim menu generally costs about 8 to 12 euros (mulltiply by 1.5) and consists of three courses, with bread and wine included.

My knee is not better and I have had plenty of rest, so I guess I am headed for the surgeon when I get home.  As long as I take 3 to 5 ibuprofen tablets a day, use my sticks, especially going down hills, walk slowly,  I can do  the 10 km a day without too much pain.

Here are some recent photos.  Love to all, mary

Sculpture in front of huge Bierzo wine cooperative

More dry stack rock wall and slate roof

Dry stack rock construction and slate roofs Foncebadon

Light from 125 stained glass windows, Leon

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Choir stalls at Leon Cathedral, carves walnut

10-12-13

I just looked at my posts and the photo cations don't appear.  Sorry. I'll try to learn how to fix that.

Today I am resting in a gorgeous town of 5000.  Had to come back here yesterday in a taxi to see a doctor about my knee - easy and free for people over 65!  Thanks be the problem is tendinitis and not a torn ligament.  He spoke no English but was kind and patient with my broken and ungrammatical Spanish.  I had written down "trigeminal neuralgial" and  "oxcarbezepine" and he wrote a prescription on the spot which I filled down the street for one-third what I pay at home.  The pain has been intense so I definitely needed more and had worried some about running out.

My spiritual work recently has been to move my shame about not carrying my pack into humility.  I  now accepting my limitations and that I simply cannot walk with 15 or so pounds extra on my knee.  So be it.  I have also been realizing that along with shame, there was anger, anger at myself and at God.  But I had to laugh because the anger was because now I wouldn't have the pride I would have felt at carrying the pack all the way!  Pride is not exactly a virtue, is it?  What a lesson.  Then there's the envy to work on when I see people my age or older carrying their packs....

This is an inevitable part of the Camino - being confronted with your whole self.  Walking alone is in some ways like zazen, the solitude with no need to interact or respond to other people.  But the Camino is completely different from sesshin in that mornings and evenings I have the opportunity to be as social as I want to be, making new friends, reconnecting with old ones, listening to people's fascinating stories, sharing my own.  So the thoughts that clutter the mind during the day are about the immediate present, who I am today or yesterday, much more than in Zen practice.  

The other difference, of course, is stimulation.  In zazen one is minimizing stimulation by wearing plain, dark clothing and not meeting other people's eyes, only speaking to the teacher, facing the wall and so forth.  Here the landscape is constantly changing, everyone who passes says, "buen Camino" and there is warm conviviality at breakfast and dinner.  I love it.

I'll try a different way of posting photos now.

Lots of love, everyone,

Mary

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10-4-14

(Got the date wrong on some photos - it is the 4th.)

Yesterday I walked 20 Kms mostly right beside the N-120, a very busy highway, not the receded route, because Mary from SA recommended an alberque.  She said in her email that  I'd love the food, everything organic and vegetables from its garden!  At this point, I would walk a mile for a green vegetable!  The Spanish grow them, but we never see them on menu.

The Albergue Vieira was a dream come true.  Walking in, on the right is an open kitchen with baskets of tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, red peppers onions.  Heaven!   Both the proprietress and the cook were smiling welcomingly, and both dinner and breakfast could be ordered at registration.  The total cost for two scrumptious meals,  bed, shower and  which was later served with laundry opportunity was 21 euros - about $30.

 

My new young friend from Germany Laura and I were invited into the kitchen for spoonfuls of a delicious and, praise God and pass the biscuits , SPICY! Tomato-based sauce later served with dinner.  The menu:  a vegetarian paella )I got the recipe!), bread, plates of them/sliced Spanish ham, chorizo and salami, chicken ices roasted with garlic in a slightly thickened gravy and mushrooms sautéed with garlic.  There was the always free in Spain vino Tinto.

The desserts were not homemade but everyone was happy-I had yoghurt natural, but there was chocolate mousse with or without whipped cream and several flavors of ice cream.

There were only nine of us - a Frencj couple, a young Spanish couple walking the Camino to help decide whether to marry (a dilemma because she has a good job in Mexico and he is very involved with his family's hotel in Madrid), three South Koreans (young man with father, and a young woman walking alone), me and Laura.

As usual, the common language was English. Whew.  We had a wide-ranging discussion and many toasted.  A wonderful evening, and if we meet again on the Camino,  I'm sure we'll feel like old friends.

Time to rest these eyes!

Love to all - mary burton

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10-3-13

What a wonderful birthday party I had! The night before my actual birthday.  Mary and I were staying at a family-run casa rural in Calzadilla de Los Hermanillos and at dinner there was a candle to blow out in my homemade lemon mousse, happy birthday sung in three languages and a flute serenade from an interesting fellow from Holland!

BUT on October first, a day of rain and wind and red Mud muck, we got seriously lost and probably walked 30 km or so before we and 4 other peregrinos perdidos asked a woman to call us a cab for what turned out to be the last 4 Kms. I figure my 72nd year can only go up from there!  Thank heavens I had shipped my pack or I would have really been a wreck.

When we arrived at our little Hostal in Mansillas de las Mulas, we found a small pot of red roses with a birthday note from Pia!  She was staying at an alberque - having hopped off there instead if going on to Leon,

I am staying an extra day in Leon - at a hotel recommended by Ron Henry - my foot and knee are much better, but I feel another easy day will be good.  I'll lose some friends, but who knows?  I might catch them up later.

I am now 50 Kms past the halfway mark.

Whew!  It is a big effort but I am so glad to be here.  It sounds corny,  but when the going gets rough, I think, "offer it up for the river."

Enough staring at this tiny keyboard!

Love to all,

MBR

9-27-13

This evening was one of the most memorable of the Camino so far.  I stayed at the Santa Maria alberque, in a room with only three others - Doug and Lari from Franklin-Pierceand a very kind woman from Slovenia.  At 5:30 in the adjacent church was vespers.  One of the three nuns sang and played an instrument I've not seen before, shaped a bit like an Autoharp, but not strummed.  She just slid her hand from top to bottom and the sound was like an electrified harp.  Her voice was sublime, no other word will do.

Afterwards, in the foyer of the alberque the nuns and the bilingual hospitalero hosted a "encuentro musical."  There were song sheets for all 40 or so pelegrinos,  sitting in around the room and up the stairs, songs from four languages.  After a few songs led by the angelic voice of Sister ??,  we were invited to go around and say ournames, where we come from, and  why we were walking the Camino.  After the first few people,any of us (including me) had years strewing down our cheeks.  Then the hospitalero asked if anybody would like to sing a song from his home country.  

We heard from Sweden, Korea, France,  Armenia - I wanted to sing "Side by Side"  but couldn't remember all the words.  Of course two days later in the shower I sang it flawlessly, joined by an American man in the next stall.  Oh, we'll. 

Then there was the pilgrim mass with more exquisite singing.  A  beautiful evening all around,

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9-30-13