Meseta cont'd

September 25-
After such a sumptuous cena of paella I was expecting an equally delicious breakfast but was only offered toast and jelly and strong black coffee. I started hoofing it at 8 in my boots but soon my blisters reasserted themselves which meant that I had to switch back to Crocs. Thus attired I walked, walked, walked until I arrived in Carrión de los Condes which translates to "Rotten food of the Buzzards". Sort of like "Fleahop, Alabama".
I got a room at a hostal and after a siesta started looking for a supermercado when I encountered Rolf the nice German youngster I walked with last week. He had been down for a couple of days with tendonitis so now I have caught up with him.This happens a lot.
Revictualed (if there's such a word) I set about to take some shots of Buzzard Food and ran into Patricia and her friend Xavier who had I had met several days earlier. Patricia had given me a cookie in sympathy for my blistered feet and they invited me to join them at a pilgrims mass that was about to start. I was very moved by the service. I could understand almost all of it because it is so close to ours. It made me very homesick for St.John's and my church family. And I very very much miss Eucharist.

My festooned hat

Santiago

Our Lady of the Nice Rack

I don't care who you are - that's funny

That's me converting to Catholicism

Actually I am receiving a pilgrim blessing

September 24

I left Itero at 8 and was back on the plains of the Meseta walking, walking, walking. Soon I started being besieged by biting black flies. (Unintentional alliteration) I kept using my left hand walking stick to relieve pressure on my right foot and used the right one to wave away the flies. This created a weird syncopated walk that got me thinking weird thoughts. I imagined that I was being plagued by the flies like Pharaoh was plagued for keeping the Hebrews in bondage. And I thought what if God is trying to tell me that I am holding someone or something in bondage and I had to set it free?

So I first thought of Scout the wonder dog and his companion River. Granted our dogs are the closest things I have to slaves, but as far as I am concerned,they are going to stay slaves. You can just keep those flies coming, Lord, if that's who you have in mind.

Then I thought of my children and that maybe I had sort of enslaved them with my expectations for their lives. If so, then children you are hereby manumitted from the chains of my expectations. Of course I retain the right to lecture and give advice, but you are free to not listen and to ignore my admonitions (which would be much to your subsequent chagrin, I might add).

Maybe I've tried to enslave Avis with my unreasonable demands...wait a minute. What unreasonable demands?   She's the one with the unreasonable demands. (Just kidding, honey! Ha-ha!)

Then I got a really strange thought. What if I am trying to enslave God? Haven't I tried to bend him to my will rather than to discern His?

Anyway these are the thoughts I got on the Meseta until I turned on my IPod to take my mind off my blisters.

Here are some shots of the walk yesterday where I met a smelly German who was very nice and friendly, where I walked up a steeep hill, and finally made it to a wonderful hostal where the dueña cooked fabulous paella.

That is Castrojerez in the distance.

Closer

The ridge beyond - gulp!

Looking back to Castrojerez from the top of the ridge

Larry Kurtz and Don And Debbie Schmidt from Kansas.

Larry observed that one of the benefits of the Camino was that he knew what it would be like to get old because at the end of every day he felt like he was eighty five.

You are almost caught up with me, dear readers!

September 21 etc.

September 21 - Burgos is a great city and I hope to return some day to really see the sights. I stayed in the municipal albergue which was very clean and well equipped. There were 16 bunk beds on my floor and 6 floors in the building. I heard from some other pilgrims that a 60 something man died in his sleep last week  in an albergue in Logroño. Two other pilgrims were killed by a truck just before they got to Santiago and a drunk Aussie broke both legs when he tried to climb back into his albergue and fell from the third story. All this may well be Camino lore I don't know.
Here are shots going into the city and the cathedral where El Cid is buried.

Santiago Peregrino

Santiago Matamoros

September 22- Up at 5:45 and walking out of Burgos in the dark by 7. Many pilgrims walking with me. Met an Irishman named Bernie who was walking with his father and an entourage of about 6 other youngsters. Bernie is very funny. I appreciate having all these comedians of the Camino sent to keep me laughing. Today I walked 21 miles through the Meseta which is the high plains area of Spain. When I finally got to Hotanas I said Hosanas and got a private room and crashed.

September 23 - Left Hotanas at 8 and only walked about 12 miles to Itero a little town and stayed at a cute little albergue. I shared a room with Larry who had just retired from the Navy. I was so tired I only ate some fruit and went to bed.

Folks, you have almost caught up with me. Tomorrow you will.

September 19 - Left Belorado by 8 and immediately started walking with Rick and Cristina from Boston and I would walk off and on with them all day.  Rick was suffering from blisters also and our pace was slow. We eventually made it to Villafranca Montes de Oca where I had reserved a private room at a nice hotel. It had a shared bathroom but hallelujah! It was segregated by sexes.
This is where I loaned Howard the 50 E. The hotel, that is, not the bathroom.

This is Rick and Cristina.

The Camino towards Villafranca.

The church next to my hotel in Villafranca.

September 20- I was up by 5 and out of the door by 5:30. I was walking uphill on a lonely country path, the moon was full and I walked with my headlight on for two hours. After it got light enough to see I was soon overtaken by two Australian ladies named Izey and Renee. We enjoyed walking together and comparing our two countries. Because we had gotten such an early start, we arrived at our destination, Atapuerca, by noon. The albergues opened at 1 and soon Rick and Cristina arrived. Rick is one of the funniest people I ever met and soon we all were howling at him.

From left to right that's Renee, Rick, Cristina and Izey.

The next day,Sept. 21 I was up and out by 7 and walked into Burgos by 2. The cathedral is spectacular! Here are scenes from my walk at dawn out of Atapuerca. At the top of the hill there was a cross and a spiral labyrinth.

This is Rosalinda from Jacksonville,Florida via the Philippines who is walking in honor of her husband who died six years ago.

Burgos tomorrow!

Continued

On the 15th I made it to Navarette and took some shots inside an incredible old church. Many of the churches are closed when I walk through town but this one was open and the inside was breathtaking.

That's the name of the church and, folks, this church is in a town with a population of two thousand.

Here is a photo of my backpack with wet socks hanging from it. You can also see the scallop shell given to me by Clif.

You can also see that I have tied my boots to my pack because I walk in my Crocs.

That's a picture of Scout the wonder dog after a night of heavy drinking.


On Sept 16th walked to Nájera and everything was full because of so many pilgrims there. A nice Spanish lady took pity on me and called a truck stop out on the highway that had rooms to come pick me up. The room was clean with private facilities and I got a great night's sleep.
The next day I took a cab back to Nájera and got back on the Camino. I walked with 2 nice ladies from New Zealand, a Naval Academy grad,Marine Corps track, and Howard from N.Y. who is a professional photographer doing a coffee table book about the Camino. I may have to put a lien on his book because I loaned him 50 E. and he hasn't paid me back yet but I think he will. I haven't seen him in several days.He is behind me.

I have been walking in La Rioja, the major wine growing region of Spain.

This vineyard worker will earn his denarius. This picture was taken early in the day.

Peregrino shelter and Howard.

Yours truly and Santo Domingo de Calzada where I spent the night. The next day,the 18th, I made it to Belorado where I got the email about Clifford. This is the church where I went to pray for my friend.

This translates as"He is risen and he lives among us".

Santiago was there too.

After I composed myself I went to the town square and was sitting on a park bench when Anna Rose walked up and started talking. I soon told her about losing Clif and she showed genuine compassion and sympathy. We talked for at least an hour and she was a true Camino angel. Thank you Anna Rose. And thank you Lord for sending her.