Dale and Arlene's Camino 2013

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Shrink Wrapped

Almost everyone is familiar with shrink wrapped products - the most common are found in the vegetable and meat aisles in the grocery store. The shrink wrap process has been developed so well that many other industries and products now benefit from shrink wrapping - multiple units of the same product - similar and related products may be wrapped together - especially when introducing a new product. Today while walking - we came across a field where the farmer had shrink wrapped his hay crop. We have seen other systems used to protect hay during the winter months - this was the first time we have seen hay wrapped in plastic.

On occasion - we will come across people who have shrink wrapped their faith - faith that carried them for a period of time - then for no reason - wrapped neatly in a package - placed on an upper shelf - in the closet of their heart - waiting - for an awakening.

Shrink Wrapped Hay

Today's Starting Point - Can't Pronounce It

Looks Like A Lake - Morning Fog Ahead

Big Ant Problem

Do Not Climb On The Ant

Another Ant

Do You See The Spider Checking Out This Ant

70 kilometers to Santiago

This Is For Dee

New Meaning To New House In The Valley

Are They Pointing The Way To Santiago - Dancing - Arguing?

65 kilometers by Car - One Hour - Walking 3 Days

Farm Grain Drying Bin - Modern

Old Style Grain Drying Bin On Left - Not Much Has Changed

Rocky Terrain Ahead

What Can I Say?

Getting Closer

Leaving Saint Gianna Molla Prayer Cards at Each Way Mark

Group Like - The Knights of Columbus - To Promote The Way

Medieval Bridge

Arlene - Time To Find an Albergue - Tired Feet

51.5 kilometers to Go - Long Day - 23 kilometers

Today was warm - about 91F - Dry and Hot - Time to Shower - Eat -Sleep

Buen Camino

Dale and Arlene

The Hills Are Alive

The hills are alive - with the sound of pilgrims - the tap-ity tap - of their walking sticks - with laughter and joy - in their voices - and languages - too numerous to count (sung to the tune The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music) - no - the Von Trapp family is not here - but almost everyone else is. One thing about The Camino - is the international appeal - with peregrinos from around the world - walking this journey. In a matter of minutes - we have heard - Italian - Polish - German - Dutch - Irish - Scotch - Korean - Chinese - Portuguese - Queens English - Australian - Japanese - American English spoken - and that was at breakfast! We find it very interesting that one Camino can draw so many diverse cultures to one spot. The Camino community was saddened yesterday to hear of two men who were hit by a truck while walking the Camino - prayers have been said for their complete recovery. As much as we - who walk the Camino - have left the real world behind - it continues to pull us back every now and then - as if to say - you cannot escape forever.

To many - it appears as if we are escaping - truth be told - we are entering more deeply - into the mystery of mankind - the mystical forces - which make us different - and the same - individuals - yet community - seeking to free ourselves from the apron strings of the world - while holding tighter than ever in an attempt to stay connected.

Leaving Portomarin - Bridges Everywhere Connecting People

Back to Nature - Back to the Hills - Back to the Haze

10:00 AM Morning Fog - Do We Live in a Fog?

Morning Dew On A Web

Is That Corn in the Fields or a Field Full of Corn

10:30 AM Fog Still With Us

Roadside Rest Area for Peregrinos

Village Cemetery - High Rise in the Country

12:00 Noon - Sun Finally Coming Out To Clear Fog

Village Pathway

Looks Like A Tractor Store Here

Do We Walk or Check-in to an Albergue

Yes - Keep on Walking - 77 kilometers to Santiago

Entering Village - Food and Rest

After 17 kilometers of Hills and Dusty Paths - Raciones and Vino

Former School House Now an Albergue - 6€ for a Bed and Shower

Horses on the Camino - Not Pilgrims - Just Out For a Ride

Sitting next to this horse trough - relaxing - thinking about today's walk - looking forward to dinner - had to move to inside seating - a group of obnoxious peregrinos busy with impressing each other with their accomplishments and self-importance filled the air with a manure stink that made the smell of horses much more appealing.

Buen Camino

Dale and Arlene

Friday, September 20, 2013

I Am Not Religious

I find it interesting that many of the people who we have met on the Camino are very quick to reply "I am not religious" when discussing their motivation to walk the Camino - this is before I ever mention that I am a Roman Catholic deacon - to them we are nothing more than an older American couple with time on our hands to kill. From the way they say it - or from the tone in their voices - I perceive that they make that comment for a number of reasons.

#1 - they are religious - but are afraid that they will be labeled a religious fanatic - and will be shunned

#2 - they are Catholic - but not actively practicing the faith - and are afraid of being
shunned
#3 - they are not Catholic/Christian - but are seekers - looking for the Truth

#4 - they know the Truth lies in Jesus Christ - but do not know how to make Him a part of
their life

#5 - they have confused religious with spiritual - the two not being exactly the same

Everyone of us has a part of our being that is spiritual - basically - each of us embodies a trinitarian existence - the physical - the intellectual - the spiritual. Our physical is nurtured by the foods we eat and the games we play - the intellectual is nurtured by the works we read and the problems our minds contemplate - the spiritual is nurtured by religious devotions and the life experiences we encounter. Not all are religious - in the common sense - but all are spiritual - in the lives we lead - in the events we experience - in the peoples we meet - in the places we visit - in the things we hear and do.

To walk the Camino - is to touch the Divine - in whatever form or shape - one experiences such things - sight - sound - smell - taste - feel. Each person on the Camino is seeking to fulfill that inner part - we call our spiritual side - seeking to fill a void that is not complete - seeking to become whole - to answer questions - to receive answers. As we seek to fill our spiritual side - we do so - by religiously walking day after day to Santiago.

The Yellow Arrow That Calls Us To Walk Our Personal Journey Day After Day