Karen's Blog

June 2nd
Post Date: June 2nd, 2011

 

We are in Burgos and Aaron will be taking a train to Madrid tonight, sleep in the airport and then fly back to the States tomorrow. We have walked 107 miles together and I am very proud of his courage to come this far on this journey with me. This is NOT easy! His ankle continues to cause him alot of pain when walking and feels like he will only cause further damage to it by continuing on. I have met a couple of Canadian women who have embarked on the journey separately and we all seem to be keeping about the same pace, so I will continue on with them, walking mostly solo but hooking up an the end of the day at the Albergues to share some dinner. The Albergues are in  general very clean, but very crowded and it is always a challenge sleeping in a big room with alot of strangers who snore. However, it  is a place to meet new friends, share a bottle of wine and stories after a long hard day. Both of my knees are causing me pain and I have support bandages on both, so I will keeping walking until my knees buckle and then I will take the bus.My blisters have healed over pretty well. We rode the bus from Logroño to Burgos so Aaron could make it here to see the beautiful catherdral and make a transfer back home from here. Everything logistically is a challenge to make arrangements, we still can´t figure out how to dial an 800 # from here and internet access if very unreliable from my smart phone, which is smarter than me, BTW, and there are usually lines of people waiting to do their laundry and use the internet. So if I do not blog for a few days, that is why.  I believe you should be able to post a comment here and my blog and I would love to hear from you all.

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¿What day is it?
Post Date: May 31st, 2011

 After spending the day resting in Logroño, we slept until 9 am  and made an omlette and bacon for breakfast at the private pensione we stayed at that advertised a jacuzzi, which did not work BTW, took a bus to Santo Domingo and arrived at the Albergue to an unfriendly inn keeper who informed us we couldnt stay at the Albergue because we skipped a town and did not walk today. At the same moment, my ¨Canadian friend, Melanie, who has been walking at a similar pace, and we have hooked up three nights with now, showed up and somehow I convinced the innkeeper that we were extremely sorry for breaking the rules, that we did not know them, and promised never to do it again. Alas, we have a bed to sleep in tonight. In the meantime this is Melanie´s post from yesterday, which still has me laughing out loud!

(Melanie in window of private pension enjoying being a peregrina princesa)

" Bloody hell.  I hate this Camino.  I had a horribly, long, hot, long, hot, long, boring walk today and arrived at this alberque to a brusque welcome,  cold showers, no toilet seats, and 90 beds squeezed into a space that would be cramped for 20.  I am in a top bed alongside an amorous Spaniard who wants to give me massages.  The only saving grace is some drinks I had with some Canadians.  However now I am pissed on an empty stomach.  I have done the Math and realize that I have to chop off 6 days from my journey.  I am thinking of taking a short walk tomorrow, spending two days in a hotel in Burgos, 2 days in Leon and then walking the last 2 weeks into Santiago which will be through mountains which I prefer to this hot, flat, throbbing, interminable, intolerable, monotonous, hell-on-earth.  As you can probably tell I am bitter and have discovered that I am not a very good pilgrim after all…. ¨"

 

Aaron´s ankle is better today, I think we will try to walk again tomorrow, or  maybe . . .  take the bus! Hasta luego.

 

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Day 5
Post Date: May 30th, 2011

We are in Logrono, and have hiked 75 miles but we are stopping for a rest today because Aaron is having a very difficult time walking right now due to an old ankle injury. He is in the pension with his foot elevated and on ice while I am trying to find some prescription strength pain killers. He does not know if he will be able to go further at this pont. We will decide what to do tomorrow. We may take a bus to Burgos and if he is still not able to walk we will spend a couple days there and wait and see. I may have to finish the walk myself and he will have to return home if this doesn´t get better. I am tending to three of my own open blisters right now but feel like I will be able to continue on. The weather is beautiful and the scenery still captivating. I hope he recovers quickly so we can walk together.  More soon . . .

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May 27 – We are still alive!
Post Date: May 27th, 2011

2nd day on the trail. It is absolutely gorgeous here along the camino trail, oriental poppies are in bloom everywhere and it reminds me of a Monet painting. The weather has been cool and comfortable to hike in. We have approximately 25 miles under our belt (feet) and we both already have developed a blister each. Lots of challenges getting here and along the way, as I am sure they will continue as we journey, but I think it will get easier as we acclimate to the situation. We are in Lorca and looking to make it to Estella tonight. Stay tuned . . . .

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Hello world!
Post Date: May 20th, 2011
I am culturious.
I am curious about other cultures.
I am a world traveler.
I am inquisitive about life.
I am a seeker of truth.
I am a participant, not an observer.
I want to hike up the highest peaks and through the lowest valleys.
I want to connect with new people and new places.
I want to speak and understand foreign languages.
I am motivated by self discovery and discovery of the world.
I am a doer, and I am not afraid to get my hands dirty or my feet blistered.
I will stretch my boundaries.
I will savor the experience.
I will get a new look at life.
I will explore another side.
I want to heighten my senses, with feeling, food, friendship and fun.
I am culturious.
(Insired by AFAR magazine. Author unknown)
 
 
My 26 year old son, Aaron and I are embarking on a 500 mile pilgrimage which we leave for on May 24, 2011 and return on June 28th. We will have 33 days to walk the road to Santiago in Spain, averaging 15 miles per day carrying our own clothing and provisions. The purpose of this trip is to deepen our experience of life, in a very minimalistic way and see the world from a new perspective.
 
For eleven centuries people have been drawn to walk this pilgrimage since the year 814 when a Spanish hermit discovered the body of the apostle St. James at Santiago de Compostela. A Gothic cathedral was constructed in St James honor and mass is still held there every day with hundreds of pilgrims arriving daily to hear their name announced for having completed the pilgrimage. The landscape changes drastically as we begin in the French Pyrenees mountains at 6200 foot elevation and end at sea level at Santiago de Compostela 33 days later. We will be walking through mountains and valleys, cities and countryside and staying at the local albergues, which are hostels for the pilgrims to stay at. Many are old churches that have been converted and there are several hundred people sleeping on cots in the church in the same room. ( we are bringing ear plugs!) We will travel the trail with other pilgrims from all over the world and along the way we will share stories of miracles and mysteries, hardships and triumphs.  The trail we are walking is known as "The Camino Frances" if anyone would like to follow along our path and progress.  
I hope you will find this journey intriguing and follow us along the way. Your prayers and positive thoughts would be appreciated. The locals yell "Altreya" as the pilgrims walk by, offering their support. Buen Camino! (Translation: Right path)
 
 May 21st -4 days  until our departure. It's snowing again in Vail today. I walked with my 15 lb back pack on for three miles uphill at an elevation of 9000 feet. Last weekend my girlfriends Jennie and Teresa and I hiked 10 miles up over three mountain peaks with our snow shoes strapped on our backs until we needed them to continue up the mountain. That was grueling!
 
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