Safe Arrival and Reflection

Compostela, or Field of Stars! Arrived to the cathedral in time for midday mass and communion. The enormous nave was completely stuffed with pilgrims, tourists and locals. The worship service lasted one hour and included five international pilgrim speakers, representing all pilgrims -- in a variety of tongues. After several prayers, chants, and a communion, the mass concluded with a unique incense ceremony during which a large insence burner dropped from the ceiling, and was swung, suspended by a thick rope, like an enormous pendulum, directly across the center arms of the nave, passing at the base of the altar. It took several priests to yank and jerk the rope, causing the metal, smoking sphere to whip side to side, ascending several tens of meters off the ground. It was alarmingly close to my head, as I was seated with Lara from Italy on the floor in the front of the side wing pews. The photos and video clips are spectacular!
I am content to be in the company of Lara of Italy, Josef and Liz of Austria, Javier and Roberto of Spain, and more arriving by the minute. Hector from Mexico, Adriano and Juliane from Italy should be here tomorrow in time for this mass (post note: indeed, they arrived). They were delayed by fever, fatigue and foot trouble. Adriano was unable to walk these last few days. He has a crippling athritis in his feet and fingers. He will probably return for the final 100km next year, as he missed several etapas these last few days. Evi (our Northern Italian skier) had to return early, as she was accepted to coach skiing in New Zealand and must fly from Italy earlier than anticipated. She will undoubtedly return to complete her pilgrimage another year, perhaps with Adriano(?).

The next couple of nights will be a mix of celebration and recovery. We have had our credentials stamped and received our official CAPITULUM hujur Almae Apostolicae et Metropolitanae... Sancti Jacobi certificate of pilgrimage. Sunday many of us will walk the three additional days to the ocean, where it was once thought to be ¨the end of the earth¨ by those first pilgrims arriving here. Supposedly we are to burn our clothes on the beach. There are many rituals along the camino, some more authentic than others! For example, the ¨Queimada¨ at Albergue Rivadaiso was fun, too: an igniting of sugar, coffee beans, agua de vida (pure grain alcohol)! I singed my eyebrows.

Each of us has our own camino, our own way, our own path to discover. This camino has given me daily miracles and challenges, fine tuning my mind to view humanity and myself with even greater beauty... to let go of the things I cannot change, and enjoy the present moment. If you are looking for a Carpe Diem experience... and, want to expand your mind, transform your spirit, wait nolonger! Walking El Camino de Santiago de Compostela may hold the key to unlatch an inner door. On the otherside is a mirror into your soul. You have only to earnestly and bravely look for and accept the key. This requires patience and moving beyond the ego, and even the physical.

During the camino, you will be encouraged to shed the negativities and dependecies of modernity, and bathe yourself in the infinite potential that you already possess. After taking inventory of your dreams and priorities, you may return to modernity with the clarity of mind that will allow you to set into motion your intentions and desires, to find deeper and more genuine satisfaction... not in materialism, but in the right relations of the pilgrims that are your neighbors, are your co-workers, your friends, family, classmates, and soulmates.

Idealistic? You bet! But why not find out your potential by taking the plunge. Book your ticket and co-create your own spiritual experience with the universe and your God-dess.

p.s. I suggest you come alone (or at least agree to hike several hours alone), to be completely free from expectations that travel companions place on eachother.

Nearing Santiago

With approximately one week left on my pilgrimage, I find myself at the foothills of a mountain, on the edge of the Leon Province in the Albergue do Brasil.

How will I feel in one week, when I arrive at the cathedral in Santiago? What transformations have occurred, and what surprises does the camino still hold? Will I continue on the Cabo Finisterre, to the seaside to find a Concha, scallop shell, the symbol of the pilgrim?
From the ambulance ride with Mireille, a French woman who fell down a flight of stairs and gashed open the skin of her eyebrow and cheekbone, at 5:30 in the morning and needed an interpreter at the emergency clinic... to teary goodbyes to those internationl pilgrims who aren´t finishing the trek this year; but take buses, trains and flights back to their respective countries.

Am reading Depak Chopra´s ¨The Seven Spiritual Laws to Success¨, for the second time.

Receiving friendly text messages from friends and family (which are free to receive from you, but please understand they cost me to send out, so I refrain), they bring me wonderful cheer, your simple hello´s.

Kevin lands on the 9th, and we will travel Spain until our Madrid departure on the 19th. Angel and Barb, our friends who live in the Gredo Mountains, west of Madrid, await our arrival. They will host us for three nights. I look forward to the recovery time, and planning time with Kevin. Kevin writes emails daily, with packing and shopping questions. He is very excited to use a passport again, after so many years of being stateside.

A steep mountain awaits for today´s hike, and I have been typing, responding to several emails, and delaying this inevitable departure. The sun will scorch me if I don´t reach the shelter before the hours of siesta! I have already crisped my ears, and now wear a gifted green bandana, from Hector of Mexico.

My cell number, for text messages only please, is 207-653-6256 (and please sign your text message, or I will not know who your are). It does not cost you anything additional, as this is my regular Maine cell phone.

El Camino, another world

If you are wondering to where I have disappeared, you must go back a few centuries to the medeival times and even before, when Roman roads were cutting across the Iberian Peninsula!
As this pilgrimage is rather sacred at times, full of mediation and personal reflection, we are encouraged to distance ourselves from the outer world of modernity. The Way of Saint James is also communal, bringing together voyagers from France, German speaking countries, Italy, Brasil, plus a handful of Canadians and US citizens.
I have gone through a variety of foot pain, including the stretching of arches tendons. I have walked thru the pain and somehow arrived on the otherside. ¨Physician heal thyself¨as the bible suggests.
I hike from village to village along marked paths thru forests and fields. At times my ears burn from the extreme sun, while other times I am wrapped in my gore´tex avoiding wind and heavy rains. The storks are flying high in the sky and build nests upon the belfry of each church, many of which are in ruins.
The fountains are spring fed in the villages and serve as necessary watering holes to refill our reservoirs and canteens. Hospilaleros greet us at the door of albergues and refugios, showing us the way to showers, toilets and bunkbeds. Exhausted, we prop our feet up and look forward to dinner, sometimes in restaurants which offer a special fare for pilgrims, othertimes we cook in the refuge kitchen. Some refuges serve communal dinners. Some refuges ask for a donation, others have a set fee for lodging.
We sleep in monasteries, churches, convents, gymnasiums, hostals, hotels, pensiones, refugios, albergues, .... wherever a bed is available that we can afford. The hundreds of pilgrims in transit sometimes make it difficult to find room availability. At times this requires walking additional kilometers in the early evening, with wornout feet. These are humbling challenges which serve to strengthen our faith in the human spirit and powers that be.
Although each pilgrim will have a very personal adventure, I will say that by the end one is sure to experience transformation in facing multiple levels of challenges.

French website for Pilgrims

Please visit the following French website to learn about Le Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle (The Way of Saint James of Compostela), the pilgrimage hike I am about to embark on -- leaving from the French side of the Pyrenees in an area called Bayonne, a village called Saint Jean Pied de Port. After registering as a pilgrim and receiving my credentials, I will cross the mountain range, through the Basque region (an ancient and isolated valley civilization), hopping from one refuge to another, walking alongside other pilgrims hailing from around the world. For Spanish websites, google: El camino de Santiago de Compostela.

http://www.aucoeurduchemin.org/spip/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=161

This website is helping me in my initial planning. I find it to be well organized, thorough and pertinent to my particular route, El Camino Frances.
More websites to come!

Recovering from virus in Paris

Have had a slight delay in reaching el Camino. Contracted a virus while touring with my niece. She flew out Monday also not feeling well, initially shaking it off as a cold. At airport I was dragging, and suffering from headache. Said our lethargic goodbyes. I thought I would faint going to my hostel, especially the fifty foot staircase leading up to the front door from a lower street. Then checking in and being given the fifth floor with no elevator gave way to further dizziness. Upon further analysis, and thrity seconds of a digital thermometer in my mouth, voila 102 degrees (pack one)!
Fever broke later that evening, after laying low and taking Tylenol and applying cold washcloth compress on neck and forehead.
Next morning I felt well enough to go out and found myself hiking the dome and rooftop terraces of Sacre Coeur! Next was delivering some surprises to Hotel Concorde to leave in room for the pending arrival of my mother and grandmother who would reach Paris via chunnel after a few days of London. Wow, what timing--there was their tour bus out front with both seated in front, easily visible. A wave and I was on the bus placing a bouquet in my mother`s lap for her birthday and semi-retirement! Hugs and chit chat, the tour members were released by their guide to check in. We lunched and walked about the area, making plans for the next couple days.
The Louvre and Giverny gobbled up the majority of our two days.
My health quickly relapsed, and I found myself right back in bed after Giverny and farewells to Mom and Grandma. No hugs upon departure, just a white surgical mask to protect them and others from my germs, which by now were confirmed to be a virus. I received a text message from niece with doctor`s diagnosis.
The view from my room is extraordinary. I know it well!

Hostel Searching Tips

Before I begin, I like to occasionally enter a general disclaimer to remind you of a few things. You would do best to automatically excuse me of any spelling and grammatical errors or other entry oddities! These blogs are often entered late at night. The time you see posted is not the time I am posting. I do not have opportunity to go back and edit or re-read my work. There is no spellchecker. I am often using a european keyboard upon which the letters do not correspond to the keys on which I have been trained to type, which conflicts with spelling, punctuation and accents. Finally, I am not a writer. This is raw, first draft, in the field, off the top off my head blogging! Thank you for your support in overlooking any all all sorts of opportunity for my human error.

For Europe hostel searches and online reservations, I recommend www.gomio.com or www.hostelworld.com; the first being preferential.
When all others failed, not allowing for sameday booking, Gomio managed to both find available rooms/beds that appeared full on other search sites, as well as allowed for online reservations. The standard non-refundable fee for booking online with a credit card is two dollars. In addition to this, you will usually be charged ten percent of the room charge at the time of booking online (24 hour cancellation policy if you expect your money back). Keep in mind, this does NOT mean that the hostel you are checking in to will allow you to pay the balance with your credit card. Several hostels require CASH only. With some luck you may be able to use travelers cheques if already in euro denomination. If you or a parent is a AAA member, this service is FREE. That is, you may exchange US dollars at the AAA travel agency (Marginal Way, Portland) for Euro traveler checks. AAA accepts personal checks, cash and credit cards. For details, call AAA in advance to determine the maximum you wish to exchange and how you plan to pay.

When booking a hostel online, READ THE FINE PRINT. There are such things as curfews and lock-outs, and late check-in guidelines. To save money, pack a bath towel, and a bedsack/sheet (twin size that is sewn together). This will eliminate the need to rent for up to three euros per hostel (note, a sleeping bag for hosteling is unnecessary and would take up needed room in your backpack). A sleeping bag is essential if hiking The Way of Saint James, as you stay in refuges/refugios, or if you are planning to camp.
All hostels are different. I am staying at a lovely hostel/hotel in Paris which includes a delicious breakfast as part of the per night per person fee of twenty-four euro. Although you hope to find hostels for eighteen euros per night, a breadfast is easily worth five euros if it includes real o.j., coffee, teas, cocoa, cereal selections, croissants and petite baguettes! This hostel also includes free high speed wifi internet service. Showers and televisions are in the rooms (en suite), another plus (no stumbling down the halls). Take advantage of these pluses when you can, as some hostels offer other services or fewer services.
Okay, so where am I? Hotel Caulaincourt, metro Lemarck/Caulaincourt. 2 Square Caulaincourt.
This is in the eighth arrondissement, in walking distance to Sacre Coeur Basilica, Moulin Rouge, Place Pigalle/Clichy and other Monmartre favourites. Nearby Cimetiere Monmartre houses many memorials tombs of famous folks in history, such as Victor Hugo and Scott Joplin. Do a search for more details.

When to book? I am a fly by the seat guy. I booked only the initial first two nights stay in Paris for my niece, giving us time to regain our energies and decide where we would be going. It is common to book two days prior to arrival, or even the day before. Obviously you take a risk if arriving blind. If last minute, calling directly will provide you with availability not seen on the internet. Some hostels are happy to make that call on your behalf (reciprocity). Always OFFER to pay for the call (they will probably not accept it).

JR Travel Week (Japan Rail)

Have been traveling all week on the Japan Rail lines. Will attempt to update blog this summer:

Forthcoming commentary on:
(Feb 19/20) Tokyo: Salsa & Roppongi nightlife; (Feb 21/22) Miyajima Island: Mt. Misen pilgrimage; (Feb 22) Hiroshima: hibakushas and the omni-present A-bomb; (Feb 23) Horyu-ji & Chugu-ji: birthplace of Japanese Buddhism; (Feb 23/24) Nara: Kofuki-ji & Todai-ji (Emperor Shomu); (Feb 24/25) Kyoto: Station & Higashi-Hongan-ji & Kitano Tenman-gu, a blooming marketplace:

PlayDay with Sean Patrick

Weekends for the career family mean stealing away precious playtime with the kid. Plus one tries to afford an ounce of energy for projects and such... mind you this is between changing diapers, looking for pacifiers, and feeding a demanding mouth. Today is for Kristin, she went to the gym. Tomorrow Michael will have to work on his graduate paper.
The afternoon? Daddy Michael and I took Sean to the neighborhood Ramen noodle bar for soup and dumplings, and then on to the local park. Oh, does he smile when Daddy glides him down the slide. He giggles and grins. Michael has the balancing act down pat with Sean centered in his lap for the swingset -- up, up and aways. He's a daddy's boy, no question (sorry Kristin!, babies aren't politically correct).
Now home and Sean is sitting in my lap watching Baby Einstein dvd collection "Baby Beethoven Symphony of Fun" while Daddy has passed out on nearby futon sofa... a luxury available only while Nanny Bruce is in town (wink). I'm typing with one hand. Naptime doesn't last long, as the phone rings or a bottle drops to the floor.
Now picking apple bits off Sean's and my clothing, as he merely wants to chomp with his incoming teeth, but no interest in swallowing. It's on to a rice cracker shaped like a heart. Now he's on the floor playing with blocks and toys that make sounds, like the octopus that teaches shapes, and an airplane that makes zooming sounds. His favourite is standing up behind the fire truck and pushing it around the livingroom. It has a horn, bell and siren. He will be walking without assistance within the month!
Sean has the longest eyelashes, bluest eyes, and sandiest hair. A walk in the park is an oogling hour of onlookers who are fascinated and chant "kawai" (cutie) as they go by.
It's taken a half hour for this entry, as I'm on duty and often stop to redirect Sean. My hat's off to you folks who do this on a daily basis.
We talked to Grammy and Grandpa Wells this morning via computer thru a service called www.skype.com which allows you to use microphones on computer to chat live. Excellent and basically free. Remarkable clarity, especially as it was set up as a speakerphone.
I think Grammy Wells is going to slip me an extra bonus if I take Sean home as my one piece of personal carry-on luggage. An international skype chat in this household is a fiveway gab fest (make that six with me here), in which everyone talks in and around and over the other, with very welcome interruptions when Sean decides to giggle or gabble, bibble and babble. Today he distinctly said "Da da, da da..." Although she is missing it, Sean just said "Mama, Mama."
Living at this extreme distance from family and close friends does limit your sense of feeling grounded, as well as the perhaps not so obvious limit of a support system. An eventual transition back to the states is inevitable, and with some patience and planning this international couple hope to be in proximity to Kristin's New England based family. In a place like this that offers exceptional salaries, it's easy for a decade or two to zip by without realizing it. Fortunately this couple knows when "enough is enough." The baby has definitely shifted priorities and assisted in speeding up goals.

When Mommy gets home she probably won't be impressed by the livingroom now transformed playpen. We've taken out the blocks, pots, pillows and blankies and strewn them all over the place. He's entertained, so I can finish typing and check email. Michael's fixed me a cup of hot chocolate and is preparing the curry dish.