Hours Of My Life

Day: 13-15, Miles Today: 0.0, Total Miles: 119.84 My Camino is Complete, and I am full of Joy As I mentioned earlier, Friday was a long day of walking and thinking about my journey. I had many competing thoughts and feelings about pilgrimage, perseverance, purpose, mission, call, love,… The list goes on. Mostly, how far did I want to go. All the way to the Atlantic, or would I stop sooner? One of my hiking companions, I think it was Pascal from Canada, mentioned the scene from Forrest Gump where he had been running back and forth across America. Then one day he just stopped. It was time. I liked that idea. I’d just know when it was time.  “I think I’ll Go Home Now” Irene (or Morpheus) A day or two later, I met my dear nurse friends over a drink in Golinhac. As I described my thoughts and feelings, Irene from Hong Kong spoke up. She looked at me, and with complete seriousness and immense insight, simply said, “You must choose.” I looked at her a little confused, and she repeated, “ ...

Day: 12, Miles Today: 9.42, Miles To Date: 119.84 Videos from last night Now that I have a better WiFi connection, I have to share 2 videos from dinner last night. After dessert, Magali from France played a guitar from the Gite and just happened to pick a favorite song of mine. She led us all in a lovely version of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”. Afterwards, Mr Pak sang a Korean song all about dreams. He performed with such power and emotion. I wish I could share the whole song, but here is a glimpse of his performance.  Walking to Conques today Church of Saint-Peter in Espeyrac. Originally built in the 15th century and reconstructed in the 19th century.  Lunch with my friends Lorena from Peru and Dorian from Italy.  The Abbey church in Conques.   Buen Camino. 

  Day: 11, Miles Today: 9.02, Miles To Date: 110.42 Hard day walking Not much to share today. Mostly a hard day walking. Lots of quiet time to think. I’ll share the fruits of that thinking time tomorrow.  I did pass a small stone barn on a very steep trail. Next to it was a small stone house. I marvel at the perseverance needed to haul all these stones up and down the hill to build these structures centuries ago. And there is a beauty in the stone’s fortitude to continue standing over the centuries.  I would share 2 lovely videos of the pilgrims singing around the dinner table, but the WiFi here is too slow to upload videos. I’ll try to share tomorrow.  Buen Camino.

Day: 10, Miles Today: 11.3, Miles To Date: 101.4 Wow, what a beautiful day It’s late and I’m tired, so more pictures and less commentary today.  Thus is Gaetan, who along with Sophie ran the lovely Gite from last night. Nena.  The first 3 miles were so easy and went so fast. That was all due to Nena. We walked together and she told me her fascinating life story. Born in the Philippines and now living in California. She has worked as a nurse and traveled to more than 55 countries.  Here are her traveling companions. Irene from Hong Kong and Elizabeth, born in the Philippines and now living in Brownsville, TX. She is the only other current Texan I’ve met so far. We run into each other almost every single day.  Espalion The city of Espalion was stunning. The park on the way into town had frame art installations that gave interesting views of the city.  The church in Espalion.  Church of Saint-Pierre of Bessuéjouls The bell tower of this ancient church dates fr...

Day: 9, Miles Today: 10.4, Miles To Date: 90.1 Best Day So Far Today was the best day so far. I had a good night’s sleep, and the biggest breakfast offered yet, with cereal and yogurt in addition to the bread. I think the protein helped the rest of the day.  Here is a look back at Saint-Chely as I started out this morning.  Then my first 6 miles were smooth and felt great. I met Pascal, a photographer and writer from Montreal, and we walked together for a mile or so. I stopped at a green meadow for rest and a picnic, with the sun shining and looking at hills and valleys in front of me. It was a magical, perfect moment. It made me think of a song I love by Katell Keineg, called “One Hell of a Life”. I suggest you find it on YouTube. The chorus is: When I'm dead Please don't philosophize or feel regret Just remember me when I said I had one hell of a life One hell of a life The rest of the walk had 1 hard mile and finished with 2 good ones. The legs are getting into shape, ...

  Day: 8, Miles Today: 10.2, Miles To Date: 79.64 Where are the deep thoughts? That’s the same question I have? Actually, I think the first week on the Camino taught me to let go of control. Just get up and walk and see what the day brings. That was a hard lesson.  I believe the next 2 weeks to 2 months might be more about emptying myself and wearing away my tough exterior to make way for wisdom to take root.  I heard Fr Mike say to be patient, but don’t procrastinate. I think those are good walking orders.  It’s all downhill from here Today I crested the highest elevation on the French part of the Camino until I reach the Pyrenees. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there is a lot of downhill from here. And down hill is the toughest part.  Here I am at the back of the line lumbering up the hill. This is the easy part! Then at the peak. Still smiling. (Ignorance is bliss!) Finally, here is a look at the down hill that went on forever. You can see how the...

Day: 7, Miles Today: 7.63, Miles To Date: 69.44 1 week completed. Many more to go. Today completes my first week on the Camino. I feel like my legs & body are 50% of the way to Camino ready. I’m happy with that after 1 week. I’ll continue with medium length days for another week. Then I’ll think of ramping up to 12-15 mile days. (20-25 KM for those of us on those side of the planet. ) Walking in an ancient land It is so interesting to walk in a place where almost everything is so ancient. Many buildings, churches, and even stone walls are 800+ years old. Here is a very old arched bridge. I’ve stopped looking up exact ages. Just call it very old.  And here is a detail of the cross at the center of the bridge.  Friends on the Way As I mentioned before, the friends you make on the Camino are one of the best parts of the Way. Here I am on the trail with. Jerry, Agnes, and Jeremy. We all stayed at the Gite Chez Annie last night.  Food, Glorious Food   I haven’t talked...

  Day: 6, Miles Today: 9.95, Miles To Date: 61.81 Like a vacation on my Camino It’s funny how busy life on the Camino feels. Wake up, pack, walk, walk, walk, arrive and immediately shower and wash clothes in the sink and look for a line to dry them on. Find lodging for tomorrow, dinner, and off to bed. Find time for a beer on a good day. And write my blog! Sunday Mass at St Etienne today was at 11am. It’s like I had the morning off  from 8-11. I sat in the warm sun of the Church courtyard and searched for rooms at the next few stops. My new friend Jeremy did the same. Mass inside St Etienne was freezing. I had to put on my sweater and jacket. Buen Camino!

Day: 5, Miles Today: 9.55, Miles To Date: 51.86 Today was another great day. Walked alone most of the day to Aumont-Aubrac. Daily Rhythm I’m getting into a rhythm for the start of each day. At the suggestion of Fr John at Cistercian , my first mile each day consists of: Breathing deep, and concentrating on each breath.  Becoming completely aware of my surroundings. Concentrate on the sights, sounds, & smells all around.  With each breath, simply say the name of Jesus.  At the end of the first mile, I stop to adjust my layers depending on the weather and the difficulty of the trail. Then I put in the ear buds and start the 2nd mile with Morning Prayer (Liturgy of the Hours at DivineOffice.com).  I’ve added a new devotion, the Office of Readings, that I start at mile 3.  And without hardly noticing, the 1st three miles are done.  Fellow Pilgrims One of the great joys of the Camino is all the fellow pilgrims you get to meet. It’s a magical community of peo...

Day: 4, Miles Today: 13.63, Miles To Date: 42.31 Today was fantastic.  I recovered from my miserable day yesterday and ended my pity party. A good pork chop for dinner in the Gite and a good rest did the trick. Today was uneventful. In the way that a day walking through the French countryside with a cool breeze & birds singing & not a care in the world is uneventful. I woke up and decided to just put one foot in front of the other, and all of a sudden I’d covered 13 miles. Here’s a look back at Le Villeret, where I spent the night.  The little coffee shop behind a church where I stopped for a rest and bought a baguette sandwich to go. I stopped by a field to sit on the ground and air out my feet (very important to do a few times a day) while I ate my lunch.   Stopping by Chapel St. Roch. Built in 1732 and renovated many times since then. A small church that’s still in use today.  Buen Camino!