Posts Tagged With: Walking the Camino

Walking into Fromista

Posted on April 13, 2015 by bethlindfoote

Itero to Fromista was 15k. I looked forward to walking into Fromista because it was one of the places I stayed on my “bus tour” of the Meseta after I hurt my ankle in 2013. I had an expectation that it would be meaningful to walk into town as opposed to getting off the bus, and perhaps it might even offer some insights.

From Itero, the Camino took me out into a long stretch of farmland. I met another French guy, Jean-Louis, on that stretch and we had a nice conversation, which made the time on the flat, straight path go faster. He was walking faster, and en route to Santiago, so we said Buen Camino after a stop for coffee. I saw a Rollo or monument there, and a remarkable door to the closed (!) church.

Then I walked along the Canal de Castilla, which was a short lived transportation breakthrough like the C&O Canal on the East Coast. Now I think it’s used for agriculture. I felt a beautiful sense of solitude.

Fromista was hosting their annual Fiesta of San Telmo, who was born there in 1184 and became the patron saint of sailors. There were carnival rides in the plazas and anticipation in the air, when I arrived on Saturday afternoon. I checked into a private Albergue, Estrella del Camino, did some laundry, and went out to explore the town.

I saw the places I remembered from my stay in 2013: the plaza where Gina, my Camino friend from the beginning in St. Jean, jumped up and down and yelled when she saw me. The hotel where I holed up, the restaurant where we ate dinner. The town looked so different now that I could walk. Little did I know that there was a health clinic on the same block as the hotel.

This time I stayed in a traditional Albergue with bunk beds and a nice sunny patio where pilgrims enjoyed the sun as their laundry dried.

The pride of Fromista is the Church of San Martin, constructed in 1066. It is considered to be one of the worlds’ best examples of Romanesque architecture!

Seeing it again was like visiting an old friend. The interior is clean and spare. It’s no longer a church, which is too bad. The carvings are pure Romanesque, and reminded me this time of the carvings at the Templar Church in the City of London.

The Crucifix, from the 11thC is exquisite. I sat for awhile savoring the experience of being there again, and said thanks for the blessing of healing, and for my life.

Back at the Albergue, I met Nancy, from New Brunswick, who was in the same position I was in 2013. She has plantar fasciatis, and a sore knee. She’s traveling with her husband and two friends from home, and she was taxiing from place to place. It felt good to give her the novel I’ve been carting around. The hours are long when you can’t move, and you’re staying in a foreign country. And it’s very frustrating.

I went out again and saw this parade go by, kind of like New Orleans.

The Mass and Novena to San Telmo was at 8:00 in another beautiful Romanesque church, San Pedro. The large statue of the Saint was standing in the sanctuary in a position of honor

The church was almost full of Fromistans for the service. After the Mass the priest led a litany for San Telmo and from the back of the church a great mass of baritone voices sang the song to San Telmo, and everyone joined in the chorus. It felt like a gathering of the clans. Afterwards everyone greeted each other with hugs and kisses.

It was 9:00 so sat down for a pilgrim dinner, and enjoyed people watching. It was a good day in Fromista. I did feel a sense of completion by seeing it again, on foot.

Categories: April 2015, Santiago de Compostela | Tags: Camino 3.0, Fromista, The Meseta, Walking the Camino | 4 Comments

Burgos to Hornillos

Posted on April 9, 2015 by bethlindfoote

Yesterday I walked 20k, from Burgos to Hornillos. I considered taking a taxi out to the outskirts of Burgos like I did when I left Leon in October, but the purist in me won out. After settling up my hotel bill, I crossed the plaza to touch the Cathedral and say a prayer, and then stepped onto the Camino.

The way out of Burgos took awhile, through city streets, past the University, and through a gate and a alley of trees that looked familiar. I think it was one of the locations used in The Way. When Martin Sheen leaves Burgos, the Dad of the young thief makes him carry Martin Sheen’s pack down a long alley of trees until they get to a gate at the edge of town. This looked like the place.

Then the Camino passed the penitentiary, and what’s known at home as the “corporation yard,” alongside the highway, the railway, and the autopista. As I was trying to find my way through several unmarked intersections, I ran into my first pilgrim. Gabby had just taken a 25 hour bus ride from Germany. We walked together the rest of the day.

By kilometer 10 we reached the village of Tarjadas and had lunch at the neighborhood bar aka pub. The energetic woman behind the bar was cook and bartender, and the place was filled with locals. My Ensalada Mixta was freshly made, and they had interesting tapas made with quail eggs.

After taking off my boots and letting my feet breath, I was relieved to find that there were no hot spots. (I’ve become very protective of my feet.) Onward! Another 10k took us out into the countryside and up onto the Meseta. Looking back, towards the East, we saw a mountain range fringed with snow.

Everything was green and bursting with new life. Gabby shared with me the names of the birds in German.

Finally, we made it to Hornillos, and checked into Albergue Alzar. I like all sorts of accommodations on the Camino, but I have a fondness for the private Albergues. They’re usually run by a family or couple, and offer a communal meal.

After a restorative shower, the six pilgrims in residence gathered for dinner. Our hosts served paella, salad, wine, and dessert. There were two women from Valencia, a couple from Belgium who started their Camino at home and continue to walk several weeks a year, Gabby, and me.

One of the many things that I love about the Camino is this: it brings people together from many countries to share a communal experience. And last night the owners of the albergue were very involved in the dinner conversation, and it was fun to wade in in Spanish. Between us there were four languages spoken, but we had a lovely dinner party talking about our travels and sharing photos we’d taken as we walked.

I’m finding myself more interested this time in Spanish culture, and what it’s like to live along the Camino.

With jet lag and 20k under my belt, curling up in my sleeping bag on the lower bunk was wonderful. And my new white noise app and headphones, made even the more challenging aspects of communal sleeping easier this time.

Categories: April 2015, Santiago de Compostela | Tags: Albergues, Burgos, Camino 3.0, Returning to the Camino, The Meseta, Walking the Camino | 2 Comments

Training

Posted on April 3, 2015 by bethlindfoote

I’m stepping up the training with my fully loaded pack. Walked twice around Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland for a total of 11K in two hours. Feeling good! The whiffs of weed drifting along the breeze from my fellow East Bay walkers and relaxed folk certainly didn’t hurt.

Near the place where I met the fellow Peregrina, I passed this trash can…Camino symbols are everywhere!

Yesterday I circled twice around Lafayette Reservoir for a total of 8.6K in two hours. Once again, someone passed me coming the other direction and said, “Buen Camino!”

Feeling good! More hills, less weed wafting along the way in the suburbs. But some weeds were blooming.

They, too, were signs of the Camino.

Categories: April 2015, Return to Camino, Santiago de Compostela | Tags: Camino 3.0, Camino Preparation, Walking the Camino | 9 Comments

Spring Break on the Meseta

Posted on March 31, 2015 by bethlindfoote

I’m excited. A little panicked. Excited. But mostly excited.

I’m beginning Camino 3.0. on Easter Monday! I’ll be walking from Burgos to Leon, a distance of 112 Miles, or 181 Kilometers. I have mapped out about 12 days of walking plus getting to and from Madrid.

Why Burgos to Leon? When I walked in June of 2013, my ankle gave out shortly before Burgos. Then I bussed across the Meseta, staying in Fromista, Carrion de los Condes, and finally Leon. My good-bye photo was by the statue of the tired pilgrim at the San Marcos Parador in Leon.

When I went back on my second Camino in October of 2013, I started in Leon, at the same statue in front of the Parador, and walked to Santiago. It was a marvelous feeling to walk out of Leon. This time, I’m going to have the pleasure of walking into Leon.

That segment across the middle of Spain has been calling to me. With its wide open spaces, and big skies, it’s known as the third of the Camino for the mind. I’m sure it will be. Along with being for the mind, I see this trip as an Eastertide Retreat, a time to walk and meditate, and pray. And an opportunity to feel that mind/body/spirit alignment again as a Pilgrim.

Since the Meseta is very hot during the summer, walking it in the springtime sounded more and more appealing. It will be green and there should be wildflowers!

I’ll be flying into Madrid and taking a bus from the airport to Burgos, where I’ll spend the night. I’m taking a jet lag day in Burgos and then heading out on the Camino the next morning. Burgos is a beautiful city, and I am looking forward to seeing the Cathedral again, and heading out onto the Meseta!

In the meantime, I’m training! I’m working out with the trainer at the gym, and I’ve been walking around Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland with my full pack on, which is fun. I can make it around the 5.5 K lake in an hour with no blisters and minimal fatigue.

Halfway around the Lake today someone stopped me and said, “are you getting ready for the Camino?” Turns out she had walked it twice.

It was great to hear someone say, “Buen Camino!” again.

Categories: April 2015, Return to Camino | Tags: Burgos, Camino 3.0, Camino Preparation, Pilgrimage, Spring on the Meseta, The Meseta, Walking the Camino | 6 Comments

Post Camino thoughts: I Live in a Body

Posted on May 2, 2014 by bethlindfoote

Rush Hour Traffic

Six months ago, I flew home from Madrid to San Francisco after finishing the second half of my Camino. It feels like time to share some of my thoughts about what I learned from walking the Camino.

Lesson #1: “I live in a Body.”

On the Camino you walk places. And keep walking to the next place, and the next. I covered about 10-15 miles a day at about 3 miles per hour.

During my years as a commuter, I covered 70 miles a day, often in bumper to bumper traffic, or at 70 mph., but my body was sitting in a padded driver’s seat. Walking the Camino made me see how much I drove and how bad it was for my body.

Walking to Najera

During my first Camino in June my body struggled to move from being a commuter into being a pilgrim. I was not used to that level of movement, and I expected too much out of my body, hence the ankle injury. When I returned in October, my body was more prepared, I took my time, and I began to experience being in my body in a new way.

There was unique physical pleasure in walking the Camino. It went beyond the usual pleasures of day hiking, even in the Sierra, the Rockies, or other scenic places where I’d recently hiked. It was pleasurable to realize I was moving myself across the landscape under my own power. It’s a primal thing that we in the 21st Century never experience. I felt a bond with people of earlier centuries for whom walking was the only way to travel.

It was pleasurable to feel my body grow stronger day by day. It was pleasurable to start walking slowly in the morning, and then move into a comfortable pace. The walking became meditative. My body was working, and my mind was relaxed. It was pleasurable to feel my physical self, my emotional self, and my intellectual self move into alignment.

I learned that my intellectual self is usually in charge, often wrestles with my emotional self, and my physical self usually comes along for the ride. It was a surprise to see what it felt like to do it differently.

At the end of the day it was pleasurable to feel the sensations of being truly hungry and thirsty. My body was happily challenged, and used. I felt alive in a physical way I’d never experienced before. Walking 3-5 hours a day felt like what my body was built to do.

On the Camino, I made friends with my body, instead of using it primarily as my “vehicle” for propelling my “head” around. I lived more in the moment. God never felt closer than in those days on the Camino.

Becoming a Pilgrim

When I returned home, I was in the best shape I’d ever been in, and I wanted to stay that fit. But it’s not my natural inclination to work-out for the sake of working-out. On the Camino, working-out was integrated into the whole journey of discovery. Most of all, I wanted to preserve the feeling of well-being and spirituality that came with it.

Now I see that walking the Camino was good practice for the rest of my life. When I take a hike, or do yoga, or swim, I feel that now familiar sense of alignment between my physical self, my emotional self, and my intellectual self. It’s more than working out, or building muscle, it’s become a spiritual discipline. In those moments of joy, I feel God is close.

I live in a body, and it is good.

Categories: Camino de Santiago, Reflections, Uncategorized | Tags: Camino joy, Camino Spirituality, Embodiment on the Camino, Pilgrimage, Returning from Camino, Walking the Camino, What I learned from the Camino | 4 Comments

Reflections on a Guidebook

Posted on April 2, 2014 by bethlindfoote

A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago by John Brierley

A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago, A Practical & Mystical Manual for the Modern Pilgrim by John Brierley

If you learned to drive before the Internet, like I did, you probably spent a lot of time with the DMV Handbook learning the rules of the road. I’m sure I spent just as much time with John Brierley’s Guidebook, “A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago” as I prepared to walk the Camino. And then I studied it everyday I was on the Camino. My copy is dog-eared and water-stained. But I love it. Unlike a lot of guidebooks, this one has a definite voice, of John Brierley, who’s very male, Anglo, fit, and for some reason, doesn’t much like pilgrims to spend time in cities along the Camino. After all the time I’ve spent with his book, I feel like I know the guy.

What I like most about Brierley is his interest in the “Inner Path” of the Way of St. James. The subtitle of the guidebook is, “A Practical & Mystical Manual for the Modern Day Pilgrim.” He includes a self-assessment with questions like, “How do you differentiate pilgrimage from a long distance walk? “What do you see as the primary purpose of your life? Are you working consciously towards fulfilling that purpose?”

Those are very big questions for a travel guidebook. But the Camino is a very big walk. Brierley keeps reminding you that you’re on a Pilgrimage. Even on the days when you wonder why the heck you are walking for in the rain for five hours.

Brierley balances these big, philosophical questions with a ton of practical details. He breaks the Camino into thirty-three stages. Each stage is meticulously researched and has its own map and contour guide so you can see what kind of elevation to expect from day to day. The listings of amenities, down to individual villages, are very accurate. Access to this kind of information in English was priceless to a tired Pilgrim.

Each stage in the guidebook begins with a quote. Some are familiar, like: “Be the change you want to see in the world,” Mahatma Ghandi, and “Practice random acts of loving kindness and acts of senseless beauty.” Some of them sang to me as I walked: “Worrying is praying for what you don’t want,” and “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today a gift—that is why it is called the present.”

He also includes “Personal reflections” from Anonymous Pilgrims. When I read them before walking the Camino they seemed sentimental or even surreal. But once I was a Pilgrim myself, they made much more sense, and now they remind me of what it’s like to be in the Pilgrim state of mind. You’re often bone-tired, sore, and nursing an injury. You’re also full of joy, endorphins, and having the time of your life, all at the same time. Being a Pilgrim means entering an altered state of wonder.

In that altered state it’s easy to forget your physical limitations. Even though Brierley recommends taking it easy in the first few stages, and listening to your body, the fact that he’s chopped the Camino into 33 stages makes it seem like everyone should be able to walk 20-30 kilometers every day. His stages have become normative for American Pilgrims.

Beware! In your “regular life” you would never walk a half-marathon a day thirty days in a row. Even after training for the Camino, most people need more than the 2 rest days he recommends. It’s easy to overdo it, injure yourself, and have to stop, or even go home. That’s what happened to me in June, 2013.

When I returned in October of the same year, I cut Brierley’s stages in half—to 12-15 kilometers a day.

It opened up the Camino for me because I was no longer focusing on getting to a certain town at the end of each Brierley stage. I stopped whenever I wanted to. The journey became more about the journey than the destination. And that is what the Camino is all about.

As time went on, I found myself leaving my Brierley guide in its ziplock bag, and just enjoying where I was on the Camino. That’s what the Camino is about, too. The maps began to seem unnecessary. The yellow arrows marking the Camino were enough.

Yellow Arrow along the Camino

Perhaps the best thing about the Brierley guide was that it helped me to have more faith in myself as a solo traveler, and to claim my own Camino.

I’ve sometimes wished that Life had a guidebook that gave Brierley-like advice: “at this point the trail splits into three and you have to choose your level of difficulty”, or “here’s the contour guide for young adulthood, and middle age.”

But life is more unpredictable than that. We sometimes find ourselves on the most difficult path that we would have never chosen. Or have long phases of sameness, like the section on the Camino called the Meseta.

Who’s with you on the journey makes all the difference. Even at his most mystical, John Brierley never mentioned this: Jesus kept showing up to walk with me, through my fellow Pilgrims.

Dear Pilgrim, I hope you enjoy Brierley’s guidebook as much as I have. It points you toward the good stuff. But remember to take your eyes off the guidebook and live in the moment. It’s even better than what Brierley describes.

Categories: Book Reviews, Camino Guidebooks, Camino Logistics, Reflections | Tags: Brierley, Camino Guidebooks, Camino Preparation, Returning from Camino, Walking the Camino | 2 Comments

What I brought on the Camino

Posted on November 7, 2013 by bethlindfoote

I’ve been home from Spain for a week, and my pack has been sitting at the end of the bed, half-unpacked. Today I began to put it away in the garage.

Contents of my pack for the October Camino 2.0

But wait! I know you’ve been dying to know what was in it. So I’ll give you a tour.

Osprey Kyte 36

The pack is an Osprey Kyte Woman’s S/M, 36 liters. You can see my Pilgrim’s Shell and my patches for American Pilgrims on the Camino and the Pilgrim Network.

One of the most valuable features of the pack was its waterproof rain cover. It’s integrated into the pack, and completely covers it, then stuffs back into its own compartment when not needed. It’s something that I’d probably never use in California, but I used it a lot on the Camino. Best of all, it kept the body of the pack very dry.

The straps did get wet. But it was only on my last day when the rain was pouring for hours that the pack itself eventually got soaked.

REI Travel Sack Sleeping Bag

My sleeping bag lived at the bottom of the pack. It was one of the best items on board. I was really glad I had it towards the end of October, when the heat was not turned on in many places I stayed in Galicia. It was also very comfortable when I was on the beginning of the Camino in June. It weighs less than l lb. BTW, it has arm holes so you can wear it around the house!

Keen Targhee Boots

On one of my many trips to REI in September, I bought a new pair of boots. Beware, you’re supposed to break in your boots over a course of months—but these Keen Targhee boots were the best—terrific toe room, and they were comfortable from day one. I only got one itty bitty blister the first day out, and that was it. To top it off, they’re waterproof!

Above the boots you can see my three pairs of Darn Tough wool socks from Vermont. I decided to take three pairs so that I wouldn’t have to do as much laundry, and I was glad I did. It felt luxurious.

Next to the boots are my Keen sandals. I brought these in June, and they were fine in October, too. Many people brought Crocs or flip-flops, which are a lot lighter, but I like my Keens, they protect my toes.

Patagonia Torrent Rain Shell and Decathelon Rain Pants

Patagonia Torrent Rain Shell and Decathalon Rain Pants

It rains a lot in Galicia, and I’m so glad I invested in some real rain gear. The Patagonia Torrent rain shell kept me fairly dry even in the most wet conditions. It was amazing! The rain pants kept me dry, but didn’t breath as much. Together with the rain cover on the pack, I felt confident walking in the rain. And it turned out to be fun!

When I walked in June I expected to carry my pack every day. Then I discovered Jacotrans, and other services that, for a small fee, will transport your pack to a destination you designate, farther along the Camino.

REI Flash 22 Daypack

In October, I brought a small, lightweight daypack with me so that I could use the transport service more easily. Even with the transport service, you want to carry your guidebook, water, and whatever else. I liked how this pack had big cargo pockets on the side for my guidebook and water bottle.

With the wet weather, I ended up off-loading heavier items to the daypack, and carrying my Osprey pack because it had the rain cover.

In an case, I would recommend using the pack transport services. There are days when the terrain is rough, or you just feel like having a lighter load. For between 3 and 7 Euros a day, it’s a great deal!

Black Diamond Trekking Poles

Here are my “Jesus poles.” I used these Black Diamond trekking poles everyday. They were great for stability in muddy conditions, going uphill, and especially going downhill on rocks, and slippery terrain. It took me awhile to realize that there is a left and a right pole, and there’s a correct way to use them. The straps are there so you can put weight on the poles.

Jesus tape

I’ll show you a close-up of the Jesus tape on them. My colleague at Trinity, Menlo Park applied the Jesus tape, and I often thought of how Jesus really was walking with me every step of the way.

Trekking poles cannot go on board an airplane, and mine don’t collapse down to fit into the pack. So I had to come up with a creative solution.

Lightweight Duffel Bag

The night before I left, I went to Big 5 and bought this lightweight duffel bag. I checked the pack and the poles together in it. I thought about mailing it to myself in Santiago, but ended up just carrying it the whole way. No big deal.

In June, I swore by my Camelbak type 2-liter water system. Hydration is critical when you’re walking a half-marathon a day.

Platapus water bottle

Goldhara McKay, a fellow pilgrim, recommended this kind of collapsible water bottle on the American Pilgrims on the Camino Facebook page, and I decided to try it instead of the Camelbak type system. I started out with two of them, but left one at the Molinaseca albergue—I hope someone is using it right now. They’re terrific! When empty, you can curl it up into a pocket, and it weighs nothing.

REI high fashion

What to wear everywhere. Who knew that REI was such a fashion house?

I wore these convertible grey pants from St. Jean Pied-de-Port, France, to Santiago de Compostela, and on to Madrid. (In the evening I changed into the yoga pants.)

Add a black or vino tinto colored T-shirt, a Merino wool half-zip, and a Buff or the Camino scarf, and you’ve got an outfit.

Was there anything I wish I’d left behind? Yes, my zip lock bag of toiletries, which seemed to weigh a ton. Somehow I collected full size containers of shampoo, toothpaste, and moisturizer, plus foot care supplies like foot cream and blister care items.

But I was glad I had my BB Cream, blush and lipstick to dress it up a bit each morning.

Buen Camino!

Categories: Camino, Camino de Santiago, Camino Logistics, Reflections, Return to Camino, Uncategorized | Tags: Camino gear, Camino Preparation, Pilgrimage, Returning from Camino, Walking the Camino | 2 Comments

“Thin Places” on the Camino; a Reflection on Halloween, All Saints & All Souls

Posted on November 5, 2013 by bethlindfoote

I love the convergence of Halloween, All Saints and All Souls this time of year, as summer moves into fall, and the days grow shorter.

Walking alone through ancient forests in Galicia

The Celtic tradition considers this sequence of days a “thin place” where the veil between our everyday world and the world of the divine becomes more permeable.

When I returned to the Camino in October of 2013, I found that much of my journey was a series of thin places. Over and over, I was touched by the beauty of nature, history, art, and fellow pilgrims. And I had several mysterious encounters that brought me close to loved ones who had died.

Once when I was hanging out at the the Albergue in Astorga, I saw a Scandinavian man about my age check into the albergue.

He seemed familiar, but I knew I hadn’t met him before. Then it dawned on me that he looked just like my Swedish cousin who had died in his thirties, many years ago. If he had lived into his 50’s he would look a lot like my fellow pilgrim at the Albergue contemplating chess moves by himself at the large chessboard in the common room. It was as if a door opened in my heart that I had shut a long time ago. I realized that I had not thought of my him for many years. Seeing his “double,” made me remember him with fondness, and say a prayer for him.

Another day I noticed that the pilgrim walking with me reminded me of someone but I couldn’t quite put my finger on who it was. We were having so much fun walking and talking that I forgot about the hunch for the rest of the day. She was funny, forthright, and down to earth. She made me laugh at myself in a “cut the bullshit” kind of way. Later on, I made the connection. She reminded me of my in-law who was about my age when she passed away from a swift-moving cancer.

She and I had never made enough time to see each other. I had regrets about that now. But somehow spending the day with my new Camino friend was like having some of that unstructured time I’d missed with her. It was a healing experience.

In 1996 my brother, my only sibling, died at 35 under sad circumstances. By the time he died, we had not seen each other for a long time, and I had many regrets about our estrangement. Could I have been a better sister? Could we have helped him find his way through addiction and mental illness?

Tom Petty lyrics on the outskirts of Santiago

Along the second half of the Camino someone had written Tom Petty lyrics on the backs of traffic signs and mileage markers. Every time I came upon one of these signs I laughed because it was so random: Tom Petty on Spanish traffic signs! Then I remembered that my brother had been a big Tom Petty fan, and he would have laughed with me.

Seeing those Tom Petty lyrics gave me an unexpected positive memory of my brother as an adult. We didn’t have many of them, and, I realized that some of that had been my fault. I remembered him in a negative way.

As I walked alone and laughed about the randomness of the Tom Petty lyrics, I felt a sense of comfort surround my troubled relationship with my brother. We had a laugh together that seemed to heal a long held grudge against him that was so tough to live with. I had wanted to let go of it, but I didn’t know how to.

This was one of the grace-filled moments of the Camino. I felt like my brother was reaching out to me through those silly signs, making me laugh, and that he wanted me to know that he had forgiven me. It makes me cry to think about it again.

These experiences of “thin places” along the Camino were full of tears, and it felt good to cry. I cried as I walked, and cried some more, and as the tears flowed, I felt lighter and freer. I sometimes wondered why I was crying: Perhaps I had not really grieved for these dear people in my life? I think that was part of it. Our culture doesn’t honor grief; we just soldier on.

It’s funny, but The Camino requires soldiering on, too. It’s hard to walk that far everyday and one of the mysteries of walking day after day is that hard physical work allowed some hard emotional and spiritual work to happen at the same time. Maybe my sedentary life had locked in those emotions? The body must hold difficult memories and emotions. I do believe that now.

The unexpected tears were also tears of joy and awe. I remembered each of these beautiful people as I walked the meditative rhythm of the Camino. I felt tears of thankfulness and joy and felt the grace of forgiveness and God’s love surrounding us in beauty and mystery.

All along the Camino I saw my loved one’s reflection in my fellow pilgrims, and our common humanity. I understood in an almost visceral way that, just beyond this “thin place,”our loved ones are alive in the Lord, and that we are all members of the “Communion of Saints.”

Categories: Camino, Conversations on the Camino, October 2013, Reflections, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Tags: Camino conversations, Camino tears, grief, Pilgrimage, Thin Places, Walking the Camino | 7 Comments

Landfall at the 12:00 Pilgrim’s Mass

Posted on October 26, 2013 by bethlindfoote

Friday morning I woke up in my “garret SRO” room and knew I had to move house. My pack and boots were still sopping wet and they told me at the reception desk that the heat was off until November 1st. OK.

I went on Booking.com, then went out in the neighborhood looking for the hotels on the site. I asked a jewelry store owner for directions and she suggested a hotel a little further on. They were super friendly when I arrived, more like my favorite albergues, and they have radiators that are in use!

After checking in with all my wet worldly goods, I headed back to the Cathedral where I planned to spend most of the day: the 12:00 mass, (the Butafumiero, the giant incense burner, was scheduled to swing) and then the museum and roof tour. I still felt keyed up.

At 11:30 I was fortunate to find a seat on the aisle in the transept, and waited for the 12:00 Pilgrim’s Mass to begin.

The Butafumiero is a giant incense burner made of silver that hangs from a rope attached to a pulley system above the altar. It takes a crew of men to make the Butafumiero fly. You can see the knot of ropes attached to a pillar at the crossing when it is set up for the Mass.

I felt regret that I had not arrived right then, before the Mass, like many people around sitting near me. One of my tasks of the journey is to let go of regrets, and be less hard on myself for things, for not doing things perfectly. I let it go. Like the rest of the journey, this was my Camino, with twists and particularity. It was ok.

A nun led us in singing the responses before the Mass began. There were announcements in multiple languages for silence, and that NO PHOTOS or MOBILE use during the service.

The Mass began, all in Spanish of course, but I found, through familiarity with the liturgy, and perhaps a new comprehension of Spanish that I understood a lot of it.

There was a familiar and touching moment when one of the priests moved into place to read the Gospel and he was pulled back by another priest to allow a Deacon to proclaim it. At that moment, I wanted to be with them, at the altar. But I let that thought go, too, because it felt like I was where I was supposed to be, receiving.

Then there was a Sermon. A real 20 minute sermon! And I swear I understood most of it. It was about the power of the Camino to transform us into the image of Christ. He is not an idea in our heads we’re supposed to “believe” in, but a person who is there with us. The trials and joys, the friendships of the Camino are a metaphor for life. Through them we can know Christ.

St. James knew Jesus and took the Gospel here to Galicia, and we are called to take the message back into our lives.

At the end of your Camino here in Santiago you may take home souvenirs, but the the most important one is being closer to Christ.

I looked around and noticed that I saw at least 6 or 7 people I’d walked with. Tears. People in flip flops and sandals with socks. Pilgrims. Were here together in Santiago. More tears.

At that moment, I arrived.

I felt such weepy joy shuffling shoulder to shoulder with the crowds of pilgrims to receive Communion.

I have never seen a church, let alone a cathedral, so full. It was standing room only. Like an unwashed Easter.

After the Blessing, the Butafumiero crew came out in their maroon cassocks and untied the massive ropes, and it was lowered so the incense and coals could go in. Then the “captain” of the crew signaled for it to go up above his head, he grasped the bottom of it and gave it a mighty swing towards us.

The men yanked the rope down and up, and it began to fly higher and higher over our heads and then back across the other side of the transept. Each time it swung away from us I could see the red hot coals glowing through the slots in its side. It almost touched the ceiling above my head!

Joy, pure joy, awe, amazement. So this is why I came. Not to see this spectacle, but to feel this warm opening in my heart, and the Spirit moving among the people, and within me, such love.

Of course, the crowd (me, too) whipped out their phones and took photos, but that seemed authentic to our time, as much as the extreme stinkiness (which was the origin of the Burafumiero) of our medieval friends must have been. Like them, we’re a little uncouth and worn around the edges. And that’s one of the fruits of the Camino. We’re more real.

The Butafumiero took its last pendulum swing and the “captain” caught it, and pivoted around with it on his heel, a fine Spanish flourish, like he was the Matador and the incense burner was the bull. Massive waves of applause!

As the baroque organ played, we began to move, waves of people, towards the opposite side door on the Plaza de Quintana.

Suddenly I saw Lisa and Harold, from Quebec! Lisa and fell into each other’s arms and sobbed. She was someone who I’d talked with for hours on the Camino, very quiet and unassuming, from a tiny town in Quebec.

She said, “so this is what it’s all about, at the end of our lives it’s going to be like this, it’s all going to make sense, our crazy lives, and it will be so beautiful!!”

Yes. It will.

We met Eric and Vi, from Bristol, Linda from Hong Kong, and her Austrian friend, on the Plaza, and found a “free buffet” of 9e for a spontaneous lunch. And there was a salad bar and broccoli!

Categories: Camino, Cathedral de Santiago de Compostella, Conversations on the Camino, October 2013, Pilgrim's Mass, Santiago de Compostela, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Tags: Arriving in Santiago de Compostela, Butafumiero, Camino joy, Camino Spirituality, Camino tears, Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela, Pilgrim Mass, Pilgrimage, St. James, Walking the Camino | 1 Comment

The Journey towards Arriving

Posted on October 26, 2013 by bethlindfoote

Wednesday night the Casa Rural served dinner at 8:00 and guests, pilgrims all, could barely stay awake, even though we knew that tomorrow was Santiago.

I sat with Jonathan and Colin, two brothers in their 60’s. They were from South Africa; Colin has lived in England for decades, and they walked the Camino to reconnect. There were other folks at the table I’d met the night before, a jolly bunch, younger women from Ireland.

Everyone revived when the food arrived. There was lots of vino tinto in jugs , but at this point in the journey, I’m now ordering the local, better wine by the glass. Colin is a wine importer and I enjoyed talking Spanish wine with him.

The conversation was still flowing at 10:00 when it hit me that tomorrow I’m really arriving in Santiago. I said goodbye, and went back to my room to do the pre-pack. Outside, it continued to rain and rain.

At 2:00 I was fully awake. I’d cranked up the radiators to dry my clothes and boots, and the room was stifling. Still raining. I got up and wrote on the blog, trying to unload the torrent of thoughts that was running through my mind.

In the morning I took my time, thinking the rain would follow the pattern of the last week and slow at 9:30. No dice. I watched everyone from the night before launch themselves into the rain.

So I took off with the fully-loaded pack. I did a better packing job, and it didn’t feel so heavy. I used one of the Hefty tall kitchen garbage bags that Jean gave me as an extra weather protection between the pack and the rain fly.

I walked an hour and stopped at the RV park (!) bar. Inside was a funny scene: about 6 Female German pilgrims seeking shelter sitting at tables, and 3 Spanish male taxi drivers hoping for business. They we’re bring complimentary and charming. But all of the pilgrims were determined to walk the last few kilometers into town, and they were a sorry group.

I needed two more stamps for the last day, so got one there and took off again. Pouring.

Water everywhere, burbling in streams along the road, streaming down the asphalt, moving, glowing in abundance. I may have received a new theology of baptism walking in the deluge.

Got to Monte de Goxo, or Mount of Joy, where pilgrims see their first glimpse of the cathedral. No glimpse today.

I was getting worried about my iPhone in my pocket. I’d bought a water-resistant Otter Box, but skipped the military grade one. My pocket was getting soaked. Not many photos of my trip into town.

I crossed over a 10 lane Autovia, and train tracks. Said a prayer for those killed in the terrible train crash.

It takes a long time to enter a city in foot. Finally I got to the medieval, human-sized streets. I kept following the shells in the pavement. There weren’t many other pilgrims.

Then all of a sudden I heard bagpipes, and saw the side of the Cathedral. The Camino goes through a charming tunnel, where street musicians play, and spits you out on the grand plaza in front of the Cathedral. I was there!

Hard to take a photo in the rain, but one of the German women I’d met earlier took my drenched iPhone a snapped a few.

I wandered my way over to the Pilgrim office and presented my credential, and received my Compostella. I felt dazed and all keyed up. I checked into the place I’d reserved, but it didn’t feel right. Too stark and one fluorescent tube light and hard surfaces.

It was only when I checked into the nice hotel the next day and went to the pilgrim Mass at 12:00 that I felt like I’d arrived.

Categories: Camino, Camino de Santiago, October 2013, Santiago de Compostela, Uncategorized | Tags: Arriving in Santiago de Compostela, Camino joy, Camino rain, Camino tears, Pilgrimage, Walking the Camino | Leave a comment

Posts Tagged With: Walking the Camino

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