Livin the Life in Leon

I'm sitting in a restaurant enjoying my pizza and coke like never before. As tempted as I was to go to burger king (another great find after Mickey ds yesterday), I smelled the pizzas coming from the restaurant next to my hotel and couldn't say no. Today was awesome to say the least. I didn't do much, and that's what made it enjoyable. After a bust yesterday because of the festival and stores closed, I went to the convent hostel for church then sleep. I was exhausted and with the snoring people symphony and hot air from so many bodies in one room- I didn't sleep well at all. I was up at 3 contemplating going exploring since I couldn't sleep. I figured my feet needed the rest even if I couldn't. At around 730am I left the hostel with my backpack without a thing to do. I had my list of things to do but hours before stores opened. I felt like a homeless person to be honest- all my belongings on me without a place to go. It was pretty cold this morning and of course I didn't pack anything warm. I hung out in a bar with wifi until around 9. I hadn't showered in about 2 days, my clothes were filthy, and I was exhausted.

When I went back to the sports store I saw yesterday, SANTA CLAUS DEPORTES, I was pleasantly surprised with my options for new shoes. They had my Nikes, for about $150... Ouch. The woman at the store showed me some Solomans, which were exactly what I needed for only $110- we're talking Euros here. So, with our charades of a conversation because my lack of Spanish, I threw out my old shoes and socks and bought new ones. I walked down the street to the farmacia, showed the pharmacist my feet, and literally bought the place out. I ventured to the historic district of town to find a cheap hotel along the Camino route, and found one right across the plaza from a beautiful building (not quite sure what it is- but it looks old and important). I paid about 30euro for my own room, a queen size bed, a full bathroom, real towels and sheets, and the best part- a window which I can open that overlooks the plaza and that really cool old building. I was so siked I passed out and broke in the hotel room with a 3 hour power nap.

When I got up I checked my Facebook and news to me- Kari from Illinois skipped ahead and was in Leon. I messaged her back and came to find out she was throwing up all night after walking 40km in a day... She trained it here to rest up all weekend before continuing the Camino. I went to see her this afternoon and she was not leaving her bed. I'll take the blisters over the vomiting I think.

So here I am enjoying my pizza contemplating my next plan of attack. I have 4 hours of light to see some sights if I'm going to hit the road walking tomorrow. But then there is the possibility of staying another day, meeting up with the young crowd who should be here by then to watch Spain in the EuroCup soccer finals tomorrow night. I think it's going to be a game time decision in the morning. Which will prevail- the comfortable bed or the new shoes I'm dying to try out? If I hit the road and start walking I need to go early. You see, the route is starting to get crowded. That means the hostels are filling up. More pilgrims choose to do the last portion of the walk instead of the whole thing. It should prove to be an interesting final 2 weeks here on the Camino. New shoes, double the pilgrims, more mountains, rainy yet green, and SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (the finish line) in the near future. Goodnight from Leon and hope all is well with each of you. A special shout out to one my roomies from college, Kristin Amram, who is getting married probably as I type this.
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Gravel...

You see, it all started with my near death experience. There were two route options today: I chose the one closest to the road in case I had to hitch hike. Well, the path alongside the road was gravel, and you all know how I feel about gravel. Therefore, I chose to just walk on the shoulder of the road to give my feet the smoothest possible terrain. It would have been fine and dandy if the car didn't try to pass the big truck, but it did. I had to jump off the road and into the side ditch. Yes I fell to the ground, but I still have all my limbs- BONUS! So after I was almost hit by a car- I moved to the gravel path. I started feeling the pain in my feet at this point. It was then the thoughts started rolling.

Over the past few weeks I have been blogging and face booking and receiving the nicest messages and comments ever. You guys really do care, and you show your care and concern with so much love. When I started explaining how badly my feet hurt with my blisters, I can't tell you how many people offered to send care packages to me. The tricky thing is finding a post office along the route that would hold it for me until I got there- not going to happen.

But honestly, from foot care products to candy to even a pair of new shoes- the offers were coming in left and right. The generosity was beyond anything I ever imagined. I can't explain how thankful I am to all of you. But it was while thinking about how kind you guys have been while walking on the gravel that made my head spin.

Rewind about 3 years ago, and picture me riding in a tro-tro in Ghana. My head was probably literally out the window because I was sweating so badly. This is when I noticed the women, with babies on their backs, in the hot sun hammering and chiseling rocks. I couldn't understand why they would sit for hours and hours doing this tedious job- what was it for? When I asked the man next to me he answered, "making stones." In other words, making GRAVEL. This had to be the WORST job ever. They had to fill a big box with chiseled away rock to get paid like 50 cents a day. Hours in the scorching heat hammering away was by far the worst thing I could imagine. Sometimes the truck came to pick it up and pay them, sometimes it didn't show up. No wonder I hate gravel so much...

Fast forward to today on the path, made of gravel, that I was walking on. I thought to myself, I CHOSE to take this trip and walk. I CHOSE to not train and get my feet ready. If I want to quit, I can. If I want to buy new shoes, I can. If I need supplies, I can probably search and find them. What about those women who make gravel every day for a living. They don't really have a choice. They need to work. They need to support their families. What about the men and women in uniform who get blisters MUCH worse than I do. My brother offered his advice to me when he heard I had bad blisters- when he was in Afghanistan they used gauze and duct tape. Are you serious? That is what the people fighting for our freedom are using? Here I am with a thousand options for foot care, and they are the ones keeping us safe yet suffering much more then me.

To those who offered the packages- I appreciate the kindness and generosity more than you know. However, there are other people in this world-Ghanaians, our own men and women in uniform, and so many others that are MUCH MORE deserving then me of care packages. So I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you. I'm very appreciative, just not deserving.

It took me forever to put this into something that made sense. You see, I think about Ghana each morning. When I start off my walk, it's usually dark out. It's not really scary, just lonely. I got into the habit of going through the whole morning assembly routine from Our Lady of Holy Cross School. I recite the "Good morning Sisters, good morning teachers, good morning friends... How are you... We are fine thank you and what about you... Onto the Ghana national anthem, the Ghana pledge, the prayers, and then... THE MARCHING SONGS! I sing as many as I can remember before zoning out. Before I left on this trip, I sewed the school patch onto my backpack. I wanted to keep my students and friends from Ghana on my mind. Of course my other students, friends, and family are on my mind as well. And with the outpouring of support for me, it made me think about what is possible for the outpouring of support of others. That's why I felt unworthy of the overload of generosity from you guys.

I am still in search of my mission on this Camino. I have thoughts and ideas of course... Nothing final or complete. But especially after today, the St. Catherine's motto comes to mind. "What we keep we lose, Only what we give remains our own." I realized today how so many of you live this out... Made visible by your offering to help me. Imagine the possibilities if together we found those truly worthy of this generosity.

With that said, I made it the 20km this morning to catch a bus to Leon. I even saw Christian from Denmark at the bus station! He got off before me in a other town. When I arrived, I got off the bus and was welcomed by a McDonald's. HEAVENNNNN!!! I was thinking very highly of this city until I started walking around. I thought it was just siesta since everything was closed. I came to find out that today and tomorrow are a festival (oh joy). It turns out THAT was why everything was closed. I wandered the city for a good hour following the farmacia signs to be let down at each one. I am hoping tomorrow will have more luck. As for tonight, I am passing on the festivities. I am going to church at the convent I am staying in and going to sleep early. Tomorrow I will be on the search for an open pharmacy and a shoe store. I passed one today called Santa Claus Deportes which looked promising... And I need to find a hotel. Rules of the camino for pilgrims... One night in a hostel before they kick you out to make room for new pilgrims the following day. I'm not complaining, but rather excited to have a room to myself.

*The picture is during my walk. You can see how boring it was, the shoulder I was walking on, the gravel I was forced to walk on after almost dying, and the ditch I fell into haha. If you look closely you can see a church steeple... Also known as a light at the end of a tunnel. I knew I was almost there giving me hope that I could finish the day strong and make the 20km.

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230 Miles Down... Ouch!

I tried my best but I just couldn't go very far today. I went 14km and my feet were so bad I had to stop. I came to this hostel right in the town of Fromista, by the train station. I'm sure I'll regret this later when I'm trying to sleep and the trains come through. However, it was the first hostel I came to and it had wifi. I arrived at like 10:30am, only walked about 4.5 hours including my breakfast break. I now have to entertain myself here all day- so wifi was a must. I want to walk into town to see the church but my feet just can't do it. There is an old guy cruising around on his bike outside... Maybe he will let me borrow that bad boy. We will see.

When I got here the owner came out and asked if I was staying. I didn't know yet because I wanted to see what my feet looked like. I knew how they felt, but I wanted to see. I got a coke because I'm addicted and drank that before I could manage to peel off my shoes and socks. When my socks came off, the sight was not pretty. Blisters the size of half dollars on the bottoms of BOTH of my feet filled with puss and looking like thyme were about to burst. I honestly don't know how they didn't while I was walking. I started crying when I saw them and the guy felt so badly for me it was only slightly awkward. I don't really know why I cried, but I just didn't want to believe my feet were that bad. I wanted to make it at least one more town, I wanted to maybe even rest and then continue on my scheduled journey later today.

With these feet, I don't know what to do. There is a 20km walk tomorrow which will take me to a town where I can catch a bus to Leon- a big city. I think i can make it. If I skip ahead to Leon, I skip about 4 days of walking. If I rest here, I'll be bored out of my mind. I'm hoping Leon will have a store where I can buy some Nikes. I hate hiking boots, I hate hiking shoes, I just want some good old Nikes to finish this walk. I'm sure I'll pay about a million bucks for them, but I don't care. I'm not quitting. I might be skipping a couple of days, but a big city will have a good pharmacy, a good shoe store, and will be interesting enough to take a day off or two and let these blisters heal.

Some people say on the Camino your sins are forgiven through your feet. Well God, if this is true, I think I get the point...

As for my 14km today, it was actually quite a nice walk. I hate the gravel path because when I step on a rock in the right spot on my foot (every 4 steps or so) it hurts so badly. However, there was a canal after about 10km of walking that made everything green around it. If I wasn't focusing on my feet I would have really enjoyed it. I was stopping a lot to take a deep breath and battle through the throbbing... In doing so I was taking pictures of what I was looking at. The picture for this post is before I got to the canal and green part. It was right as the sun was coming up and the gravel was kicking my butt. After about an hour of slow crawling basically, I turned around to see how far I had walked, and this is what I saw.
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Pilgrim?

Between the church bells every half hour and my internal alarm clock, I was up at 4:45am this morning. However, our hostel was awesome and really relaxing after a long day. Instead of the normal 20+ beds in a room, Kari and I had our own room with bunk beds. It was the first night I didn't need my ipod to block out the snoring. When I woke up I was so stiff and sore but knew it was important to beat the heat. The group met outside at 5am (IL., Denmark, VA Beach, VCU, Vancouver, and OH.) in the darkness but with headlamps to light our way. It's so different walking with a group of people instead of solo. The VA Beach boys whipped out the iPod speakers and STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON was blaring as we watched our steps to avoid tripping while walking along the path in the darkness. Oh so different from my previous solo walks... It turned out to be an overcast day which was a huge bonus for me following a day of extreme heat. I stuck with them past ruins, through a small town, behind a shepherd and a flock of sheep blocking the road, up a steep climb with an amazing view, and down into another village. This was 20k into the walk, and even though it wasn't even 11am, I decided to call it quits and say bye to the group. My blister was back in full swing on the bottom of my foot and the pain was too much to ignore for another 10k. As much as I love everyone I was walking with, it is nice to be on my own again. The hostel isn't the best, the village is nothing fancy, but resting and having nothing to do is pretty awesome.

Today, as in everyday, I was referred to as a pilgrim (or peregrino) from hostel owners, locals, waitors, etc. It's funny because I usually just consider myself a tourist. I mean... I'm wearing a backpack, I'm taking pictures, I send postcards, and I stick out pretty clearly. It was today after my walk when I was talking to someone on Facebook when they told me, "you're a true pilgrim..." and this got me thinking. What is a true pilgrim? What's the difference between a tourist and a pilgrim?

I think both of these people set off on trips, or journeys. But the reason behind going is different. A tourist wants to see new things and bring home a souvenir to prove it. A pilgrim wants to experience new things but without a souvenir to prove it. A pilgrim's journey, or experiences, are the souvenir in itself. It may not be a Tshirt, or something concrete. But they do come home with something for sure. They are changed beyond the tourist because they are seeking more than the tourist seeks. You see, for me at least, what you get out of a vacation or pilgrimage is what you put into it. This Camino could definitely be considered a vacation, but it's not. What makes it a pilgrimage, and what makes me a pilgrim instead of a tourist, is what I am putting into it in hopes of getting something out of it.
So now the question is, what am I putting into this trip? It's hard to put into words but it's giving this journey up to God. I believe I'm doing this for a reason, even if that is yet to be determined exactly. Each day I pray for God to be with me and to open my eyes to new things and people and experiences. I try to see God in every one and every thing. I read about the history of this pilgrimage and seeing the sights makes it all come to life. The ancient ruins, the Roman bridges, the old churches, cathedrals, monasteries, and convents are all remarkable to see but even more incredible to think about their past and those who came before. I'm learning, I'm experiencing, I'm on a religious quest, and therefore I'm a pilgrim. Note: I will be getting a Tshirt at the end... But that won't be the only thing I take away...

It's not just on a specific trip that one can be considered a pilgrim or a tourist. Think about it... In our everyday lives we can easily live as tourists or pilgrims. It's important to consider what you are putting into your life and what you want out of it. That will help you see if you are a pilgrim or a tourist. For me, the important thing will be to take what I have learned here and not just bring it home with me. But instead, I need to bring it home AND keep it a part of who I am. It's easy to pray and develop a strong relationship with God when you're in the middle of no where and walking alone for hours. The challenge will be when my life gets crazy again to still be a pilgrim on a quest for God each day of my life.

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Hot...Hot...Hot

My night in Burgos was a lot of fun. It was a really neat city with a lot to do, but the best part was I met a lot of cool people. I reunited with Kari and Christian (IL. and Denmark), ran into the VA boys again, and then I met some really cool people from Florida and Ohio. It's a much younger crowd that who I have been hanging with so that is cool. We went to church together at the cathedral, got some drinks, and then had dinner. The guide book had us walking just 20km today, but these guys wanted to push it and do 30km. I wanted to stay with them because they are fun and so it was 30km for today. I had done 30 before but never in this heat. We are now on what they call the meseta. I don't really understand it, but it's like a big, hot plateau. You have to climb up it, then it's super hot and dry. Needless to say my 30km in scorching heat was not fun. My feet were killing me. Once we passed the 20k mark there was no where to stop so I had to keep going. When we arrived I was thrilled. It was a huge accomplishment for me but I was wiped out. I have a new blister on the bottom of my foot which stinks. I syringed out the puss and will figure out how to dress it for tomorrow. I'm definitely not doing 30k again with the way my feet feel. It will mean saying goodbye to the fun crowd but that's okay. When we finally approached the town it was pretty cool. You couldn't see anything... Just dripping with sweat and desert like landscape in all directions. Then out of nowhere in this valley you could see the steeple to a church... Finally our stopping point for the day! I showered when we finally arrived after our long, hot walk and took a solid 2 hour nap before eating with this new crowd who are all really fun to be around. Overall, it was a long, hot day... but this was in the gospel reading for today- "How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few..." I think the road I traveled down today was just like this. It was tough, it wasn't pretty, but at the end of the day it was a great feeling. How many times in life do we want things to come easy? How many times do we complain and then bite our tongue when the reward is worth it? I always try to remember that if God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. And I'm pretty sure it will be worth it in the end. During these tough and difficult 30k hot days, I am thankful for the friendships I have made, the opportunities I've had thus far, and look forward to the rewarding finish of accomplishment and hope for what is possible.

The picture is the VA crowd. The boys are from VA Beach and the girl was at VCU.


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Burgos!

Greetings from Burgos, Spain! It's a cityyyy! Today has been awesome and I'm hoping tonight will be even better. Last night I wasn't feeling too hot, after dinner with my Brazilian and Chilean friends I couldn't really sleep. I was up this morning at 5 before my alarm and decided to just start walking. It wasn't the most enjoyable walk, but when I arrived in Burgos it was awesome. The first thing you see is the massive cathedral and I knew I wanted to get a tour. It was soooo hot and I figured that bad boy would be cool, so I went straight inside. They had a guided tour where you just listened to this thing as you go, and I was all over it. I was obsessed. It was so incredible I can't even describe it. The churches here are all amazing but this one is by far the coolest ever. After my tour I went to check in at the hostel to make sure I got a bed and ran into Kari and Christian from the start of the camino... Illinois and Denmark. I haven't seen them since Pamplona, and I was so excited to see them it was an awesome reunion. Kari and I went out for lunch and drinks before heading back to the hostel to nap. We are at a bar right now getting wifi before heading to church at 7:30 and then out to dinner after. My plan was to stay here two nights, but I am not sure if I will stick to that or head out in the morning. I will see how I feel I guess.

I just wanted to send a special shout out to those who are commenting on here, commenting or posting on Facebook, emailing, or iMessaging. It is so nice to hear from you, whether it's a comment about what I've posted or just a simple hello- it means so much. I'm at such a great place in my life right now and that is because of all of you. I've mentioned before how blessed I feel but it's so true. I love my family, my job is incredible, my friends are the best, and the possibilities I'm given to travel and see the world are saaa-weeeet! This trip has opened my eyes to so much and in such a different way than Ghana did. Once again I realize how amazing I have it in the States, but I also can see how truly special and unique this part of Spain proves to be. I'm experiencing it one village at a time, one city at a time, one person at a time, one conversation at a time, and one step at a time. It's a remarkable journey that began two weeks ago. I can't wait to see where I am two months from now.... Actually I know... Getting ready for NOTRE DAME to take on Navy... GO IRISH!

Chickens in Church?

When I was told the church in Santo Domingo had chickens in it, I didn't really see the big deal. After all, when I was I'm Ghana there were chickens in church quite frequently. Chickens and goats would wander around the benches almost every Sunday. However, this was something entirely different.

When you walk into the massive church in Santo Domingo, there is a huge chicken coop high above eye level. It has beautiful carvings around it of design as well as of chickens on either side of the coop opening. When you look in the middle, through a glass opening, there sits a chicken and a hen on the opposite side of the church as the alter. Yes, real ones.

You see, as the story goes there was a father and son completing the Camino together. While in town, the boy was set up for a crime he did not commit when someone placed something of value in his bag. He was caught the next day and sentenced to be hanged. The father pleaded but was unsuccessful. The following day he saw his son was still alive hanging there, and he went to ask for him to be let down since this was clearly a miracle. When he asked the Judge to have his son back, the judge replied, "Your son is no more alive then this chicken I am eating..." and with that the drumstick in his hand started clucking and came to life. The boy was let down and ever since the town of Santo Domingo keeps chickens in their church.

The picture I took of the coop didn't come out to well, but here is a picture of the church.

This morning I walked from Santo Domingo to Belorado... About 23km. It wasn't the most beautiful of walks since we were pretty close to the highway the whole day. I am almost to Burgos, a city of about 170,000. I'm thinking of spending 2 nights there, maybe even one in a hotel, instead of a hostel with about 50 bunk beds in all directions like I have been lately. When I hit the city, I'll be about 300km down with 500km to go.

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