Tag: group

Long day with a reward

Today was over 31km so we really pushed. We did this just to arrive at one specific Albergue in Zubaldika. It’s a “Refugio” meaning that it operates purely on donations. You are greeted differently and cared-for more genuinely at Refugios than anywhere else on Camino.
Dinner and breakfast are included. All I can say is here you feel loved on. It’s very very nice.

-Mark

Cizur Menor to Puente La Reina
Pics: sunrise over Pamplona, statue is medieval pilgrims at Alto del Perdón; descent from there – no training can prepare one for this terrain; field outside Óbanos; pilgrim statue at entrance to Puente La Reina; bridge over the Arga River on the western side of Puente La Reina.

Today was quite hot. Helma and I are sitting in the shade at Bar Aloa having beer for me, coffee and cigarette for Helma. We toured the city after showering and laundry (washing machine – something I’ll indulge). Eating paella tonight. Staying at Estrella Guía, small, 12 beds. Unable to stay at Puente – all beds reserved. Even Helma reserved her bed for tonight.

– Cindy

Grizzly bears and Harley’s

Tonight I thought about all my friends at work. It started off with four people snoring so loudly, hense grizzly bears and Harley’s, that I was thinking of referring them for sleep studies and UPPPs (uvulopalatopharyngoplasties). Then it turned to the people I spend most of my day with. I’m so thankful for each of them and what they have meant to me over the years. I know some of you have been praying for this journey….please don’t stop. You all are a blessing to me. Nadine

Larrasoaña to Cizur Menor
Pics: the gang at the albergue last night: Terry, Helma, me, Sarah, Clara; Jesús, the albergue owner; bridge in Larrasoaña; Camino markings; entrance to albergue Mirabel Roncal; me buying Compeed (for blisters) from a vending machine. Currently, having beers and tapas with new friends from Vancouver, Luxembourg, and Australia. Feet are tired and I have a bad blister in bottom of pinky toe. Life is good.

-Cindy

It’s so fun trying to speak to a German, an Italian, and a Korean all at the same time when none of us speak the same language. But it’s amazing that we do communicate. Reminds me of a scripture that people will come from all Nations, tribe and tongue. Nadine

Roncesvalles to Larrasoaña

Long day today, 26 kilometers. At noon in Zubiri my body was ready to move on another 5.3 km. The last two kilometers were tough. Gorgeous clear sunshine. Grateful the aerosol sun screen went through airport security.

The Way – its construction and materials are as diverse as the people sojourning. Many pilgrims from around the world. My cubicle mates last night were from Germany and Italy. Enrique set his goal to be in Pamplona today…almost 40 km. As I arrived in Larrasoaña I was joined by Terry from Taiwan. We were done walking and chose Hostel Bide Ederra…clean and small. Looking forward to dinner and an early night. Also met Helma from Holland.- Cindy

Church was awesome again today. We’ve been prayed over by our church family as we leave on this journey, seeking expectingly, somewhat apprehensive about the unknown, terribly excited but overall we feel the love of so many we leave behind. – Nadine

Arrived in Roncesvalles
It’s been a long day. Not even sure how many hours I’ve been awake…only dozing on the plane and then, the train. Met some lovely folks in Madrid who were on the same flight as me. They’re starting in Astorga. But one of them spoke fluent Spanish, helping me get to the correct metro platform to the Puerta Atocha train station. Then, another man on the metro showed me how to read the train ticket and to wait until the departure was posted on the board at the station. God’s provision. I met two ladies getting off the train in Pamplona and we shared a taxi to Roncesvalles. The albergue fills up at 4pm generally. Lots of pilgrims. I’m off to explore -Cindy .

Ways to View this Blog

Hey Everyone
Thanks for following our Blog.

Here is some information on different ways to follow us.

The simplest way is to just type
dowtycamino2017.tumblr.com
Password=pilgrimage

This will show you everyone’s (Nadine, Ken, Cindy, Allison and Mark) entries in a “most-recent-first” order. That means as you scroll down you’ll see earlier and earlier posts.
This is nice because the most recent posts will be near the top.

The bad thing about this is that we may post a story and follow it up with a picture. For you you’d see the picture first and have to scroll down to see the story to which it relates.

You can also see this whole Blog in chronological order by going to:

dowtycamino2017.tumblr.com/tagged/group/chrono
Password=pilgrimage

This is nice but as the Blog gets bigger you’ll have to do a lot of scrolling to get to the new posts.

If you want to just see Cindy’s posts you can do that by replacing “group” in the address above with “Cindy” i.e.
dowtycamino2017.tumblr.com/tagged/Cindy/chrono

For just Allison and I, change “group” to “MNA” which stands for Mark and Allison.

For just Ken and Nadine change “group” to “KNN” which obviously stands for Ken and Nadine.

Unfortunately there is no way to just see one persons posts in “most recent first” order.

So enjoy and thanks again for following us.
Please comment and encourage us as we make our way some 500mi across Spain.

-Mark

Blank slate

Each of us awakens with an idea of what the day might look like. We are creatures of habit and routine. We can “see” how the day, week, month might look. As I practiced yoga this week an intriguing thought crossed my mind. Actually, it’s more a reality than just a thought. Shortly, I embark on a journey where I no longer “see” each day. No routine, no pre-arranged place to sleep, no idea where or what I’ll eat…no plan. What crossed my mind was my life would soon simply be a blank slate, truly living in the present moment. –Cindy

Gram Weenies

One of the “things you do” to pass the time when you are waiting for the day of departure to finally arrive is to examine your pack weight over and over again. You meticulously examine every ounce of weight in hopes of a new discovery to remove one more gram from your load.
Although I haven’t gotten to the point of examining my toothbrush, “do I really need ALL of those bristles?”, I have explored most other options for reducing my pack weight. I’m down to 21.4lbs FSO (from skin out). If you subtract my lightest ensemble that’s a max of 17.2lbs on my back including 1.5l of water. If your not into backpacking – trust me that’s pretty good. I could drop a bit more weight if I didn’t carry electronics (phone, camera, chargers, etc) but I’ve pretty much decided they are worth their weight.
Allison is at 20.2lbs FSO and max 17.5lbs on her back. She has a bit of work to do but that’s still not bad.
So…as I watch the calendar and eagerly await May 21 I really need to find something else to occupy my mind.

– Mark