A short update from Puente La Reina

We´ve arrived in Puente La Reina, a nice, mid-sized town midway through our journey. It´s 1:35 in the afternoon here, and the sun is just starting to heat things up to their warmest. It´s good to be done walking and inside by now.

Quite a bit of interesting things to report since my arrival in Spain earlier this week, but since the siesta begins in 25 minutes and this shop closes until 5:00, I´ll need to give the brief overview, and save the details for later.

Walking the Camino has been a real learning experience for me. I thought I was ready for it, but I learned early on that it had lots of surprises for me. Still does, most likely.

One very pleasant surprise has been my ability to communicate with people here, most often in Spanish. Although I don´t have the widest vocabulary, I´ve been able to engage people at every stop along the way, sometimes having conversations in Spanish for ten to twenty minutes or more. I´ve greatly enjoyed getting to know the people of Navarra (the province of Spain that we´re traversing), and have also enjoyed their graciousness toward pilgrims.

Our first day on the Camino was VERY long, as expected. I did fine, but was plenty tired by the end of the day. Absolutely beautiful scenery, and we were all very cheerful for the first several miles. As the reality of the walk set in, most of us felt our original high spirits fall a little bit. It was a wonderful thing to finish that night, and find that our hotel in Zubiri (although it was on the far edge of town) was a very nice establishment.

The next day was off to Pamplona, a good day´s hike off. Here´s where my real learning began - I crashed. I couldn´t make it. I managed about seven miles before finding myself absolutely wiped out. I think I may have been getting near the point of heat exhaustion. I wasn´t in any danger - the place where I stopped was a rest area on a highway, and I was walking with one other member of our group and our leader, who had a telephone. I´d been drinking LOTS of water (even Stewart, our leader, was surprised at how much was gone from my water bladder), but I hadn´t known that I needed to eat salty items in a good quantity in order to replace the salt I´d lose while sweating. I hadn´t been making any point to do that, and the electrolyte tablets I took at the rest area made a good difference. Also contributing to the breakdown was that I haven´t until today had much apetite while in Spain. I´ve eaten because I knew I needed to, not because I had a desire to eat. I´m learning now to distinguish between apetite and hunger - my body may not be displaying the first, but almost certainly is experiencing the second throughout the day. I´ve been much more deliberate about eating regularly and heartily (especially salty items - beer and potato chips are highly recommended), and have been doing much better since.

It was not a disaster, however. Another member of our group who had also struggled the day before had fallen behind us by accident (Stewart tries to pull up the rear, and she´d been passed while on an unintentional "detour". By the time I was attempting to make a decision about going on that afternoon, she had made it to the rest area and joined us. Between the two of us, we agreed that it would be best for us to catch a ride the remaining five miles or so, since it was late and rather hot.

This also turned out to be a good experience. Stewart waved a 20€ bill around, and within a minute or two we were riding with a very nice British couple in their ancient Mercedes-Benz bus (converted into a camper). We had a fine conversation, and they were glad to bring us into Pamplona, where they intended to visit a friend of theirs. Meeting Lynn and Steve was one of those unexpected gifts of the road - something I could not have planned and had not desired, but an experience for which I´m grateful, nonetheless.

Yesterday´s walk from Pamplona to Cizur Menor was MUCH easier - only three miles, most of it through the city of Pamplona itself. After a great night of sleep in a fine hotel, I was feeling pretty good, although a bit nervous because of the previous day. The walk was over, though, almost before it was done, and we spent the entire afternoon enjoying the hospitality of Doña Maribel Roncal, the keeper of our albergue, and swimming (free for pilgrims!) in the pool in down-the-road Cizur Mayor.

Which brings us to today. But since the tienda is closing in a few minutes, I´ll have to post that update later. Suffice it to say I´m well, in good spirits, and having a FINE day today. No worries - es bueno ser un peregrino en el Camino. It´s good to be a pilgrim on the Camino.

Hasta luego...

Safe - and tired - in Barcelona

I'm posting to you from the Hostel Aviño in the Barri Gotico (the
Gothic neighborhood), which is Barcelona's old section downtown. The
buildings are packed in close, with winding streets and evening life
that seems never to stop. It's 10:27 in the evening here, and I'm
about ready to go to bed... the first real sleep I'll have had in
around 34 hours.

We passed through Chicago and Frankfurt on our way here, and arrived
in Barcelona around 10:00 this morning, local time. After a good bit
of driving around (some intentional, some less so), we found our way
to the hostel. It's hot and muggy here tonight, and our rooms
(although very nice, in an ancient-building sort of way) will be a bit
uncomfortable tonight. No big matter, though: First off, we'll sleep
no matter what, after putting on a LOT of miles walking around
Barcelona today. Second, we'll be leaving the hostel at 3:30 tomorrow
morning (yes, about five hours from now), so we won't have much time
to swelter in our rooms.

Spain is fabulous, and although I'm utterly exhausted, I'm also very
glad to be here. Barcelona is an amazing city, and I know I'll need to
come back here again in the future.

Tomorrow will be our longest day. We will leave early in the morning,
as I mentioned, for Pamplona (about five or six hours from here, as
the locals tell it), where we will meet up with a guide who will ride
with us to the trailhead at Roncesvalles, where we will enjoy a tour.
Then it's on the road. Most days we will be done with our walking by
the siesta (at 13:00), but tomorrow we will have to walk straight
through to get to Zubiri, 14 miles away, and our beds for the night.
It should take us well into the evening, with the late start we'll be
having.

After that things should lighten up. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow
will be our crucible. If we can make it through this, then we will
finish the Camino alright.

I would write more, but I really need some sleep. I don't know when
I'll be able to update again, but when I have net access, I'll be sure
to add an update.

Thanks for your prayers - you are in my prayers, as well!

On pilgrimage via the Camino de Santiago

Earlier this month I made oblique reference to my pending travels abroad; tomorrow I'm off to the airport in order to join a pilgrim group on the ancient Camino de Santiago in northern Spain.

I'll be traveling with a small group of alumni from Concordia College. We'll follow about 75 miles of the "Camino Frances" route, passing through Pamplona only a week after the famous running of the bulls. We will be honest-to-goodness pilgrims, carrying our walking sticks and packs the whole way. Our day-to-day mileage will vary from around five (on the day we pass through Pamplona, allowing extra time there) to fifteen or so. See the image below for an overview of our route:


Click on the image for a larger version...

I'm carrying plenty of photographic equipment (probably more than I should!) and plan on publishing a detailed travelogue sometime after my return to the States. You can look for that here as soon as it's ready.

In the meanwhile, I don't expect to be able to post from the road. It's possible I might find Internet access while abroad, but there's no guarantee. If possible, I'll post quick updates here in the blog; otherwise, you'll just have to wait for the full travelogue sometime in August.

I'll be back Stateside on July 28, and will return to Litchville August 1.

Please remember our small group in your prayers! I look forward to sharing the details of what is sure to be one of my life's great adventures.

As they say on the Camino: ¡Ultreya! Onward!

Stop the credit offer deluge

My antipathy toward credit card companies is well known. One of the banks' more annoying tactics (although not necessarily their most insidious one) is the omnipresent pre-approved credit offer. I've been a student most of my life, and have made many very stupid decisions when it comes to my finances on top of that. Now I am a pastor (on a pastor's income), paying back my heaps of student loans. Take all this into consideration, and I am not what I consider a good credit risk at this point - not by any stretch of the imagination.

And yet the offers keep coming. I'm never going to send in those stupid forms - I don't want their credit, might not qualify for their credit, and would take the time to research my options online and choose the best card with the least impositions if I wanted a card, anyway. The fat envelopes clog my PO box and waste my time. The only thing they're good for is leaving a marvelous paper trail for a would-be identity thief.

That's why I've chosen to permanently opt out of pre-screened credit offers. By filling out two very short forms, I've guaranteed that no more of these odious things will arrive in my mail.

There are much better ways to get the credit you need - if you really need it - than by jumping at a bulk-mailed offer in your PO. Those offers cater to impulse and manipulation, rather than careful, reasoned financial decisions. There is no upside to consumers to receiving them, and a world of possible hurt from not cutting them off. I'd encourage everyone who reads this blog to do yourself a favor, and use the link above to remove yourself from the credit marketers' databases for five years - or forever. I sincerely doubt you'll ever miss those "YOU'RE APPROVED!" envelopes.