TALES FROM THE RADICAL SABBATICAL
Tales from the radical sabbatical
This man has been living on the side of the trail for 6 years with no power or water. Every day he gets up and stocks his stand with fresh fruits, juices and snacks for the pilgrims walking by. And he only takes donations...share as you are able. Another example of the true Camino spirit.
This night was a real treat! A German chef walking the Camino spent the afternoon sourcing food and cooking dinner for 10 other pilgrims, of which he barely knew 2. We were lucky enough to join the party for a beautiful four course dinner, cooked with only a hot plate and sink. A truly fantastic Camino experience!
This is a snapshot of our pilgrim's passport which is over half full. Many inns will not give you a room if you don't have one. This will be one of the coolest souvenirs we will ever have. It cost a $1 to buy empty at the first stop.
It was really cool to come across a guy doing the Camino like it was done back in the day. That said, it seemed a bit off there was a cellphone in the mix. Abroad had a different perspective. Her take was: "Trust me - if you're going to walk 500 miles with a jackass, you're gonna need a smartphone."
Creativity is a must when you're traveling on a budget. Made this for Abroad in our hotel room with fresh locally sourced ingredients. Throw in a bottle of wine and you have dinner for two for $15.
We are off to a good start with a touch past a third of the walk under our feet. In 14 days of walking we have done about 475K steps and covered 220 miles. It's nice to have a day off.
A few days ago we stopped for lunch in a nice shady spot by the local church. I started to walk into the church as an elderly man was closing the massive front door to the church, but he insisted that I come in. He wanted me to see the beautiful church and listen to what he had to say about the crosses, alter and candles. He saw that I wanted to light a candle, so he relit a match that had already been burnt and then handed me the match to light my candle. I then said a prayer for all the pilgrims walking the Camino. As I was leaving, he held both my hands and said "Buen Camino" and some other things that unfortunately I could not understand in Spanish, and then gave me a kiss on the cheek. I think at this very moment it became more clear to me as to why I am walking the Camino....
We now have proof that at least two of these exist, and here is the photo to prove it. This is a rather popular spot for obvious reasons. Unfortunately we came upon it rather early in the morning, but all the same free wine is still free wine. And for what it's worth, The Idiot had a Bigfoot sighting in Oklahoma around 1974 give or take. He was not by himself and there is another witness, and no free wine was involved.
This is what happens when you get jumped by three guys on a side street in Pamplona. I think all four of them were over the age of 70, but all the same when it's five against one you don't stand much of a chance. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. If Abroad ever tells you that I was simply walking down the trail and tripped over my own 2 feet...I will categorically deny this is what happened.
This is how much we have to cover on the way to Santiago. The good news is that this is in km's, not miles.
View from our room on the first day of the walk.
Now we begin our journey, starting with the Camino de Santiago, a 500 mile walk at the foot of the Pyrenees in Spain. With a bit of good fortune this should take about 40 days. The first day actually begins in France and we cross over into Spain. After four days of walking we will be in Pamplona, which is the largest city on the walk. We will take a rest day there to explore the sites.
