Sarong, Friends, Versatility & Momentary Celebrity
6/24/22
The power of the sarong!
From day 1, this sarong has been as true a companion as Michael.
On the hot days, the beginning of our trek, it kept me human and sane. I would come to a water stop, lake, or sometimes even a clean rain gutter. I’d dip the sarong in, let it soak up that magical water, and then oh-so-gently squeeze it to achieve the perfect cloth-to-water ratio. The most satisfying part of the process was, of course, when I would then drape it over my body, a small baptism. I am reborn!
The sarong also acts as a blanket at night. You’d think it a lousy blanket because it’s thin and small and used for pilgrim baptisms. However, it’s never very cold at our stops in town or in my Albergue room. I’ve found that this sarong allows me some comfort and some cover, without overheating me. Even though the temperatures have dropped some, it’s often just too warm to even slip inside my sleeping bag liner (a light-weighted cloth “tempered from Sea to Summit,” according to the label).
The sarong also acts as a windbreaker for my ears. I wrap it around my head and neck like a Babooshka’s wrap. It keeps the wind from penetrating my skull on frigid cold mornings while also protecting me from sunburn on my face and neck.
And then there’s the versatility the sarong offers as a fashion piece, oh my! I’ve wrapped it around my neck and kept warm. I’ve put my hat on top of this sarong to secure it, finding this to be quite comfortable. And in the evenings, I’ve used the sarong as a dress! I have become quite adept at wrapping it around my body, crisscrossing it in the front and tying it in the back. That’s a very comfortable in hallway of wearing it. But mostly what I do is wrap this sarong around my waist as a skirt and pair it with a cool spaghetti strap or on the cooler night three-quarter sleeve cotton shirt, pilgrim style.
I can sing nothing but the highest praise for my dearly beloved companion, the multi-faceted, multi-functional, multi-purpose sarong. Sometimes love lands at first sight. Sometimes it’s built day after day when a sarong shows up to save your life, again and again and again.
6/25/22
New friends!
Through the magic of the Camino, we’re meeting new friends. We completed the first third of our walk in Burgos, a lively city. For the first time Michael and I were able to stay in a hostel. This cost a little more but it allowed us a double bed and our own private bath! This was thrilling!
The town was bustling and filled with music. Michael and I often have music playing 24/7 in our house. Either the bedroom speakers or living room speakers always have some version of Van Morrison radio or Joni Mitchell radio playing. But on this trip we get live music! We get a woman practicing some opera rendition of a beautiful aria one day, a serenade in a coffee shop the next.
This serenade was offered by a 90-year-old man with about three teeth left in his mouth but everyone around him knew he was big stuff in his day. And to be honest, he could still do it, he could still hold the note. His throat was hollow and he could just bring that sound from his gut all the way through and out his mouth and produce an amazing vocal sound and a peak and intonation that was phenomenal! He approached me when I first saw him and he said do you sing? Of course my brain goes to YMCA Camp song renditions right away but he was actually inferring, do you sing opera? Because I do! He says. That’s where he was trying to lead me along. Michael videotaped it and I’ll share it with you!
There's song and music being played everywhere! As we walked through Burgos, we listened to bands playing in a square, passed speakers being set up for some kind of concert, and then as we rounded a corner, there was an outside concert. Apparently, it’s a summer series that was playing for everyone in the city to hear. It was wonderful! Something Spotify would never be able to do justice.
We meet people everywhere! And instantly the camaraderie is easy and comfortable. Our missions are the same. Even if the mission is just to walk and that’s all we have in common, it’s enough. We can all talk about blisters, sunburned legs, and sore muscles but that doesn’t seem to last very long. We end up talking about why it is that we are walking. Or how many times have we done this trek? Or are you having fun yet? We meet friends with ease and I think they meet us with ease as well.
6/26/22
Sharon
I’ve talked about Sharon. She is the one who every day says she’s going home, and every day she continues.
She is doing so much better now! She has blisters and we treat them with care, but she doesn’t allow her blisters to slow her down. Yesterday while singing songs on the road, she actually said these words to me: “when I do this walk again…“ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!
Somehow through visiting the village churches and each and every staff, participating in her newfound friendship with Mi Sun, enjoying new foods, new people, and new exercise, she has found her way at least for now! We are so happy that she has found peace with this.
6/27/22
Versatility in the hike
There are so many ways of making this work. So originally, Michael and I thought you’ve got to carry your pack every day! Your pack should weigh under 15 pounds if possible. You wash your clothes every day because you’re wearing the same clothes every day.
Don’t live extravagantly, live frugally. But that doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself. It just means to live differently.
But what I’ve also discovered is that there are people who sought out and planned their sleeping quarters each and every day. They sometimes sleep in private rooms in hotels each and every day. There are people who portage their backpacks so that they don’t have to carry them! Instead they carry a day bag they’ve just filled with the necessities for a day’s walk. They carry accommodations that would support them for five or six hours, or even up to nine hours—things like sunscreen, fruit, and water. These are the things that you’ll grab throughout your walk.
You can also have variations of your Albergue if you desire. In other words, you can choose to room with 12 others or you can have your own room. There are many, many, many options, I think, for the person that wants to do the work. There are options for you. They may cost a little more, but there are options.
There are unavoidable missteps, like forgoing your gear or hotel accommodations that you had to skip because the fire blocked your path and you were not able to walk or get services near the city. This is part of it that must be accepted to be a pilgrim. While it requires some pain tolerance, some negotiating, and yes some juggling, everything in the Camino seems to be modifiable.
6/28/22
Feeling like a celebrity, temporarily
There is a feeling of being a celebrity while walking through villages on the Camino. I can’t say if that celebrity feeling exists on all the Caminos through Spain, with originations from the different countries like Portugal or France, but what I am experiencing is YES! There is a generosity of the greeting: “Buen Camino!” People shout, greet, and welcome you. Walkers are wanted here.
Within every town and every Village there are people who I do not know and will never see again who greet me, “Bueno Camino!” They take one look at me and identify me as a pilgrim by the walking sticks, the backpack, and the scallop shell up on my back. They call me a Peregrino and they wish me a good path.
I did experience a couple of big towns like Pamploma and more specifically in Burgos when I had separated from the family of five and was walking towards a hostel to meet Michael. This was a night we decided to splurge and spend a night in a double bed with her own bathroom and a fan; we were very excited! Anyway, while I was walking towards the hostel I had my phone out with GPS guiding me towards my destination. Many people saw this and wanted to assist me by correcting my direction to tell me that I was wandering off the path and with very rapid Spanish, urgent concern, and with lots and lots of gestures, they would redirect me back onto the Camino path. I found this to be endearing and, even though I didn’t understand anything that they were saying, there was enough communicated.
It was here that I would show them my phone which indicated my GPS location. I would point out that I am heading towards the hostel with intention. It was then I could see relief flood their faces. They knew I wasn’t lost, they knew I was headed in the right direction for that day. But I love that they cared enough to stop me to make sure that I was not heading off track.
This is their town. They knew my mission, they knew my walking purpose and they wanted to help me along the way.
There is a generosity that I am witnessing over and over again among the people who live in Spain. Regardless if it’s the Basque community or the Spanish community there is a kindness of heart that tells me that they see me and that they care about what I’m doing.
I have often wondered could this be duplicated in the country that I am from? I come from a country that struggles with its diversity. Only recently has this diversity of language and cultures intensified, appearing to cause additional problems. Rather than celebrating our diversity, we appear to be divided and critical of it on the macro scale.
I’m traveling in a country that has dozens and dozens of languages. We are walking a common path and staying in common Albergues. We are greeted by smiling hosts. There appears to be no struggle, no division, no politics. There appears to be peace.
Could this kind of experience, with attention to detail, safety, and camaraderie be displayed on an American trail? In Spain I am witnessing many, many, many countries come together, people communicating through broken English & broken Spanish. All appearing to have a single
mission. This mission to walk west, together.
Could that exist in the United States? I’m not sure? I’ve traveled on the Appalachian Trail and on the California Pacific Coast Trail. Although the trail itself is clearly marked and I’m sure there are people willing to help out along the way, I'm not so sure if they could attract the diversity found here on the Camino Francis.
I’m not sure what brought us all together or what is keeping us moving, but it’s significant enough that there’s no one walking East. There’s no one walking in the opposite direction. We are a force of hundreds of thousands of people who are walking towards Saint James de Compostela
We are walking west.
