Status: Trancendental :)

Supplies:
21 pieces of Dentyne Ice -fresh breath is my life.
still no oxicotin
30 pretzel sticks
0 bottle of vino tinto
1 topical antibiotic
1 tape
0 apples

Short Summary:
-27.7 Kilometers traversed
-From Belorado to Ages (going past St. Juan de Ortega)
-into the mountians, 1150 meters at the highest elevation.
-rained all day.
-did not stop until I reached the top.
-ate largest sandwich ever and a coffee and then moved on to Ages for the night.
-hung out with Phillip, Veronica, and Barbara from Germany.
-meet America Dave and wife from Canada.
-impressed Germans with ability to consume Paella.
-answered emails and made posts.

Today I was the last guy in the room at the Santa Maria Albergue in Belorado. What happend to my roomies, they totally dissed me. I awoke got my gear together and then at breakfast proceeded to make a crazy concoction of nescaffe, chocolate quick mix, hot water, milk, and a glob of jam that fell off my toast. I was way too sleepy to remake the drink. I sat down, said good morning to the colony of files, buenos dias, shared some of my meal with them, and then tore out of town very very slowly. I needed to wait for my feet to wake up. Luckly the pouring rain helped keep me awake as I headed into the mountians to St. Juan de Ortega. It basically poured the whole way. I was able with my camera to catalog the many different shades of mud sticking to my shoes: orange, red, light tan, and brown (who would of thought there could be such a range of colors, huh, nice?). I loved the mud it was so nice and squishy on my feet. Like walking in cake batter. Well the mountains were great (born in WestVirgina living in Vermont, and friend of ¨Goat Boy¨Bryan Rooney, hell yeah). I basically felt great except for the extended traverses down hill which start to cramp the left leg (I known, sally). At the top I reunited with the french ladies from the night before (one is 73 years old, damn, must be a ninja) whom left me at like 6:00 AM (schooled them). Along the way I also meet a guy fom Vancouver Island, Mike. (He is Bilbo Baggins from Lord of the Rings!) Nice guy is wife still thinks he is as the local pub back home on Vancouver Island. (Go figure. Just kidding.) Well, Mike and I parted and then I past him latter. (Out of the way hobbit.) Because the kid did not stop. Along the route to the top I had to focus on breathing so much so that I was not able to eat the apple I brought. So in order to do this I had to slowly take very very small bites. I decide that for very every bite I took I would say a small pray of thanks and protection for all those I hold dear in my heart. I finished the apple 10 kilometers later.

At the top my feet were tired and as much as the sparse conditions of the Albergue and the cold showers appealed to me I decide to eat and then move on to Ages the next village. While at the top near St. Juan de Ortega I had the largest sandwich ever. It was basically a very wide french bread stuffed with an egg and sausage omelette. It was truly sublime. (I haven´t had a vegtable in 10 days. Sorry colon.) Got to Ages meet my German friends had dinner and impressed them by doing magic tricks. No just kidding at this stage of the Camino eating monster portions of Paella is as impressive as it gets. Paella is a signature spainsh rice dish which includes vegtables, chicken, ham, anything with a face, liver, seafood, small rocks. Just kidding they weren´t small rocks but rather pieces of chicken bone. But I was not going to complain. I asked for second with extra rocks, please. It was muy bueno. For desert we were served the Spanish version of a hoodsie cup (small cup with chocolate and vanilla ice cream).

I checked my eamil surfed porn and went to bed. Just kidding, Haven´t you been paying attention, I am on a spirtual journey, Yo! Porn doesn´t jive with that! Gezzz.. Thank you for reading the blog and posting comments. It means a lot to me.

091709 Day Four

Alas Joseph was in fine form with his Rhambo like bandana on ( some pilgims called him that) and today pulled away from me as we crossed over into the region called Castilla y Leon. However before that we had coffee and meet up with an Austria dude named Rudy whom we meet the night before. Let me tell you Rudy is hard core. He started walking from Austria (yes freakin Austria) and he sleeps out every single night (talk about frugal). (He must save a ton of money on car insurance.) The guy is a machine or machina if you are in Spain. Anyway, today I felt great thanks to my buddy the medico in Sanata Domingo (I did shake the man´s hand.). I could feel my feet changing, healing, and mutating just like Perter Parker after the spider bite. I kicked butt and was the second person to get to the Albergue called Santa Maria in Belorado. Due to my affinity with Santa Maria I felt it to be a good omen. Unfortunatley, it appears flies do so as well. The albergue was very spartan and had flies were every where and I mean every where. Bathroom? Yep. Hallway? Yep! Sleeping Area? Yep! Dinning table? Dude, there more flies there than on a dead wildabeast in Africa! It was Totally Lord of the flies. So I made the best of it. The accomadations maybe harboring some lethal disease. But again it was free except for a donation and I ain´t sleeping outside again. While I laid in my bed resting I made sport out of killing them. I even managed to get 4 out of the air with a single swipe. I had some beers in town and ate the most unhealthy chocolate covered waffle cake thing I bought at the supermarcado (definitely not atkins aproved). At 8:00 PM there was mass and a special service in the churchfor pilgrims. The church was lierally attached to the albergue. It is the first time ever (I think ) I was not late for church. Check that goal off my list... Went to bed. Next day heading into the mountains. Thank you for reading and for the comments I means a great deal to me. I hope to post some pictures when I get a chance.

Miles to Santiago: 363.

091609 Day Three

Ok, I am way behind... Haven´t seen a computer in what seems like forever (my carpal tunnel is totally cured ). The next town Joseph and I arrive at was Santa Domingo de la Calzada. The Cathedral of Santa Domingo de la Calzada is there. He is the patron saints for the pilgrims or at least did much to assist and promote the pilgimage. Some parts of church are like a 1000 years old. The city is about 5,000 folks and the old portion where the albergue is just beautiful. Here is the chicken story. The is myth is called the Miracle of the Cock and the hen. There once was this beautiful inn keepers daughter who became smitten with a young lad as he traveled with his family along the pligrim route. For what ever reason he refused her advances(lame.). Angered by this she hid a gold cup in his bag and had him arrested for robbery (that will teach him). He then was hanged. It is not clear where his parents were when this happened (probably watching the evening news)? Anyway returning back they found him miraculously hanging in the gallows being protected by Santa Domingo. The parents then went to see the sheriff and ask for the release of their son. They came upon the sheriff as he was about to commence in a chicken dinner. When the parents said there son was alive the sheriff protested by saying that he was ¨no more alive than the chickens he was to have for dinner¨. At this the chickens sprung to life and crowed. I will leave you to find the moral here (you could go many ways here). To this day there are live chickens kept in the Cathedral and I have the pix to prove it.

We started at 6:00 AM from Asofra. During the trip to Santa Domingo it rained heavy with a strong head wind. Good news we only had to travel16 Kilometers. Bad news I did not stop once and it was a steady slow climb. And I mean not once. Joseph pulled away from me but I caught him when he had to take a powder. We entered Santa Domingo together and were the first to place our bags in front of the nicest albergues I have ever seen. It was very cool and modern with all the ammenities. It was also free except for a donation. The people running the place were nice and gave us simple directions to the shops were I had to buy a fleece (we are heading into the mountains) and some walmart like teva sandals. (Oh brother, I swore I would never buy a pair, I am a chuck taylor docksider kind of guy not a teva guy, whaterver dude.)

I also go to see a medico (doctor) who was so impressed my blistered feet he took a picture of one and called his assistant over to see it. Let me tell it looks nasty. I won´t even example how bad it looks. No pain no gain right!

That night in the common area Joseph and I chatted with other pilgrims, a german girl named Veronica who is a packaging major and these 3 Spain marathoner ladies who average about 7 kilometers an hour. On of the ladies makes very expensive woman´s leather shoes. We finishe my bottle of wine with bread and cheese then retired. We left the next day at 6:30 AM in the dark.

091509 Day Two Continued

Jopeh is a legend. He is a retired engineer from Mercedes and a grandfather. He is full of life and a wicked lady charmer. He speaks several languages sometimes at the sametime. He keeps using Italian instead of Spanish and confuses the hell out of me. If he can´t say it in one of the languages he knows he acts it out and uses sounds. He acts like a kid. Simply put we get along great even though we don´t understand each other half the time. We shared the cab from Ventosa when we were both shut out from the albergue. The taxi was the best taxi I have ever seen. It was freakin awesome. It was a Mercedes A class and we did about 90 miles an hour (if not more) to Asofra were I posted yesterday. The driver had more blink on him than a gangster rapper. The taxi business must be good.

In Asofra when were fortunate to get space on the floor in a long hallway. Next to some other German folk and a Polish Couple. Also in Asofra it became official my feet had massive blisters on them. When I showered it made me whince in pain. Jospeh and I ate dinner, split a bottle of wine a Rioja (named after the region of Spain were are in) and I posted my entry then tried to sleep in a fit of exhaustion. The next day we got up at 6 AM and set out for Santa Domingo de la Calzado. Tomorrow I will tell you about the chickens.

Also, please remember my posts are always a day behind due to travel and access to the internet.

Thank you for reading.

091509 Day Two

Reporting form Santa Domingo de Calzado, Rioja, Spain

Status: Alive but spent.

Supplies:
28 pieces of Dentyne Ice
still no oxicotin
35 pretzel sticks
0 granola bars
1 very bruised apple
half bottle of vino

Short Summary:
-From Top of cold Mountain North of Torres del Rio to Viana (last town along trail in Navarre, Basque Country).
-Viana to Logrono.
-Logrono to Ventosa. (Albergue in Ventosa and Najera full.)
-Slept on floor Azofra.
-Walked for 13 hours straight with only 45 minutes total rest with 3 stops.
-Covered about 47 kilometers.
-Feet blistered and in pain.
-Mentally and physically drained. Meet two Germans.
-Tomorrow it will rain. (Its all good. :) )

Post:

Where did we leave off? Ah, top of frozen Mountain at 4:30 AM right, I then proceeded to work my way along the trail in pitch darkness using my head lamp and flash light when necessary. I got lost at least twice due to the darkeness which stressed me out a bit. I walked basically in total darkness and solitude for the next 3 to 4 hours (Spain does not adhere to day light savings time) with only the stars to keep me company. The stars while not too chatty were majestic, serene, and inspiring. I dig stars. I was thankful to have them to view along with the lights of Viana off in the distance. At this point I am out of water and my cell phone battery is very low (so i turned it off after fumbling with due to the cold). My mind is also wandering and turning negative and some fatigue is starting to kick in.

Viana is a small city with the population of 3,500 and from the looks of it they know how to party. Upon entering the town I found a water fountain, filled up my water bottle, and took a quickie French shower. Now presentable I made may way through the town along the trail bearing witness to all the refuse from a big celebration the night before. As I walked I would occasionally come across men dressed in white wearing red bandanas as the started to make their way home. (Bandana, another thing I forgot. Rats.) It appears that last night´s celebration included bulls fights. Cool. Pressing toward Ventosa I next came to Logrono in Rioja Spain. In Logrono I stopped for 25 minutes ate a tortilla (which in Spain is a cross between an omlette and a quiche and is already made) and 2 beers. What can I say the cell phone was really really low. After finishing I walked by the Igesia Santiago Church (St. James) and proceeded to leave the town. Logrono is a very large college town of 115,000. It took me a long time to navigate through the city without loosing my way. By the time I reached the city park area at the edge of town I was spent. I laid down in the grass for 15 minutes and would have slept, however sleep would not come. I proceeded to stretch and then go on. At this point I have not had a meaningful interaction with another human in 48 hours. Time to ¨Cowboy Up¨. 11 kilometers later I was at Navarette a town of 2200. During this part of the trek I noticed I was being followed by a mysterious female dressed in black. It turns out this was Mila which is German for Mary. She is works with children from broken homes and is at University to be a primary teacher. She was very kind and helped me with my pack which needed adjusting. (I know, I know, leave it to a woman to get things done.) I left Mila behind as she had to wait for her companions and I got wheels (even in my sorry shape I was still walking very fast). I blew past many other pilgrims without a word feeling a little better after some conversation and having learned my second German word, the word for ¨bow and arrow¨. I will not attempt to spell it here. In Navarette I bought 6 drinkable yogurts and 3 pinapple juices. I consumed them all sans one juice. I continued on not feeling so good, slowing down mentally and physically. Outside of Navarette I stopped one last time under a freeway underpass near a pair of jeans. Some poor guy or girl must have lost them. So my fear of loosing pants is not unfounded. (I will have to dicuss the significance of the jeans with my friend Mariya.) Deciding against taking them with me I pushed on for what I guess was another 3 kilometers. I then could see Ventosa perched on a very steep hill. (Great, Love it.) I finally reached the Albergue which was full (Jakpot). This is when I meet Joseph. I have to stop here and get some rest. I will try to add more later. Thank you for reading.

All in all I consider survival a good thing and hope to stay in one piece. Peace out.

Health:
feet hurt beacuse feet look like hamburger.
no bee stings
no swine flu
only one near death experiences, working on number 2. ;)
sleep not so much.
3 days without coffee from Bueno Expresso

091409 Day One

Day One

Reporting form Asofra, Rioja, Spain

Status: Alive if not suffering from te latent effects of hypotherma

Supplies:
31 pieces of Dentyne Ice
no oxicotin
38 pretzel sticks
2 granola bars
1 ipod, with way too many High School Muscial Songs, thanks Abigail. :) (I love and miss you and Xavier.)
1 role of duct tape. (Never leave home without.)
1 camping knife. (Total mistake -on my keys. GITMO here I come :( )

Short Summary:
-Barre to Lebanon.
-Lebanon to Boston.
-Boston Madrid.
-Metro from Airport to Train Station.
-Bullet Train from Madrid to Pamplona. (Awesome ride excpet for movie Bride Wars in spanish. Utter torture. We can export that crap? No wonder Europeans hate us. Except for me. I am global.. :) )
-Bus from Pamplona to Los Arcos. (This is where I concluded last year.)
-Camped out (almost froze).

Post:

Monday was crazy. Was in constant motion except when sitting and waiting for another mode of transportation. Flight had only 2 infants and not only were they cute as bugs ears but they were also very well behaved. Another item in the plus column is I did not get lost in the Metro like last year and want to cry like a Sally(No comment. Never Happened).

I haven´t really ate much due to all the moving around, although the blue airline food digested quite nicely without incident. Also, as a rule I don´t drink wine, however a small bottle is included on Iberia flights that serve a meal. (I´ll take the free booze any time it´s an option. In fact I had it with the breakfast sandwich thingy as well before we landed. What- I am Europe here, they brush their teeth with wine.) Lastly regarding the flight, I got hit with a Sandra Bullock movie in Spanish (first) before I even hit the train. I barely survived it as well.

Upon arrving in Los Arcos from Pamplona my pent up nervous energy kicked-in hard, in spite of excerizing in Pamplona in the park next to the bus station, and I elected not to stay in Los Arcos but struck out instead to sleep on the top of a freezing cold moutain. Mistake? Yes and I did buy a bottle of wine. (I am noticing a theme here.) Additionally, had a very weird experience walking by the church in Los Arcos and I won´t be speaking to anyone about it.

I survived the cold and the 4 hours of sleep. If shivering uncontrollaby while passing in and out of consciousness can be counted as sleep. I thought I had earned my lesson from back in college but I digress. My goal today is Ventosa. 46 kilometers away. I will report on my progress in my next post. So far the weather has been breezy and fall like and the lanscape has been beautiful and interesting just as I remember. Other items worth mentioning include the following:


I forgot my spanish lanuage book. (Major disaster.)

I forgot my other pair pants. (Better lose the one I brought.)

I forgot about the worsening exchange rate on the dollar. I have about $33 bucks and a MacDonalds for a happy meal with toy. Sorry Abigail, I forgot that too.)

All in all I consider the trip a success so far but I may be biased I am a pathetic optimist (loser). I will keep you posted. Peace out.



Health:

no bee stings

no swine flu

only one near death experiences

about zero sleep unless you count shivering in an out of consciousness for 4 hours. (don´t try this at home.)

1 day without coffee from Bueno Expresso



Milles to go: 406

Bustin Outta here! Am heading to Spain today 9/13 (Abigail's birthday)

Am heading to Spain today 9/13 (Abigail's birthday). If interested please follow the the blog I have created:

http://fieldofstars09.blogspot.com

If you enjoy the blog please consider making a donation to the Vt Foodbank at:

http://www.vtfoodbank.org/donate/

More to come. Next stop Madrid after I get a coffee from the "Bueno Expresso" (World's Greatest Coffee.) Peace out.


Thank you.

-paul

011 44 75 2554 5207