Thursday 27 September 2007
The last 50km...
Will make this short because I am very tired and am walking 35km tomorrow morning.
Seth and I have been walking some 40km days so will make it to Santiago on Saturday morning, in time for the midday Mass. The days are colder now but beautifully clear and the walking is magical, taking us across gently rolling hills and through remote rural villages. Our destination seems to pull us like a magnet and every morning we can smell it on the breeze.
I am hugely touched by all the sponsorship and will give you all an update from the Tanzanian projects on my return.
My next post will be on Sunday with a huge smile on my face and a slightly sore head.
Love to all.
Greg x
Seth and I have been walking some 40km days so will make it to Santiago on Saturday morning, in time for the midday Mass. The days are colder now but beautifully clear and the walking is magical, taking us across gently rolling hills and through remote rural villages. Our destination seems to pull us like a magnet and every morning we can smell it on the breeze.
I am hugely touched by all the sponsorship and will give you all an update from the Tanzanian projects on my return.
My next post will be on Sunday with a huge smile on my face and a slightly sore head.
Love to all.
Greg x
Friday 21 September 2007
My heart´s in the mountains (and the last 200km)...
Having waxed lyrical about the beautiful flatness of the Meseta it began to wear thin after a few hundred kilometres. Some pilgrims resorted to Ave Marias or Buddhist mantras to get them through the monotonous landscape, I just kept my eyes on the horizon, knowing that at some point the distant haze would reveal the towering peaks of the Aquilianos mountains. In hindsight I think prayer would have been the easier option as the days dragged on and there was still no sign of them. There were however interesting diversions in the form of historic little towns and engaging pilgrims.
For example in Hospital de Orbigo a medieval knight sought to show his devotion to fair maid by wearing an iron collar to display the strength of his attachment to her. She however was less than impressed with his sartorial statement, so he decided on another tack. He invited all of the knights of Europe to joust in a tournament on the (still standing) narrow bridge leading into the town. After a two week carnival of fluttering pennants, majestic horses, glistening armour, and gored knights, our amorous nobleman finally emerged triumphant to win the hand of fair lady who begrudgingly accepted his advances. History doesn´t record whether they lived happily ever after, but I have my doubts. He sounds a bit needy and she seems high maintenance.
I also met another pilgrim who was my French doppelganger. As well as bearing a slight resemblance to me, he has been working in Palestine this year, specialises in NGO work in conflict zones and is called Gregoire. I almost asked him for a job but thought networking wasn´t a very Camino thing to do.
Anyways, the mountains duly arrived after the ancient city of Astorga. From there I climbed to over 1600m (the highest point of the Camino) and was greeted with a dawn over the Meseta that left me with a feeling of ecstasy all day. Am currently at the foot of that mountain in the small city of Ponferrada and still blissfully happy to be back in the hills for the last 200km.
Maybe part of this exuberance is the knowledge that in 9 days time i can have a celebratory glass of Rioja and an espresso in Santiago after nearly 2 months off the smokes, booze and caffeine. Am feeling ridiculously fit and wake up every morning with a terrible hangunder and a nagging feeling of purity. I know it won´t last so am determined to make the most of the last week and a half which Seth and I will be walking together from tomorrow onwards.
Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored me, it gave me a real lift during the hard times and will go a very long way in the small Tanzanian communities that both Seth and I have worked in and know well.
Love to everyone and look forward to seeing most of you in October.
Greg x
For example in Hospital de Orbigo a medieval knight sought to show his devotion to fair maid by wearing an iron collar to display the strength of his attachment to her. She however was less than impressed with his sartorial statement, so he decided on another tack. He invited all of the knights of Europe to joust in a tournament on the (still standing) narrow bridge leading into the town. After a two week carnival of fluttering pennants, majestic horses, glistening armour, and gored knights, our amorous nobleman finally emerged triumphant to win the hand of fair lady who begrudgingly accepted his advances. History doesn´t record whether they lived happily ever after, but I have my doubts. He sounds a bit needy and she seems high maintenance.
I also met another pilgrim who was my French doppelganger. As well as bearing a slight resemblance to me, he has been working in Palestine this year, specialises in NGO work in conflict zones and is called Gregoire. I almost asked him for a job but thought networking wasn´t a very Camino thing to do.
Anyways, the mountains duly arrived after the ancient city of Astorga. From there I climbed to over 1600m (the highest point of the Camino) and was greeted with a dawn over the Meseta that left me with a feeling of ecstasy all day. Am currently at the foot of that mountain in the small city of Ponferrada and still blissfully happy to be back in the hills for the last 200km.
Maybe part of this exuberance is the knowledge that in 9 days time i can have a celebratory glass of Rioja and an espresso in Santiago after nearly 2 months off the smokes, booze and caffeine. Am feeling ridiculously fit and wake up every morning with a terrible hangunder and a nagging feeling of purity. I know it won´t last so am determined to make the most of the last week and a half which Seth and I will be walking together from tomorrow onwards.
Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored me, it gave me a real lift during the hard times and will go a very long way in the small Tanzanian communities that both Seth and I have worked in and know well.
Love to everyone and look forward to seeing most of you in October.
Greg x
Thursday 13 September 2007
Wednesday 12 September 2007
Losing the beard and finding Jesus...
Greetings from Carrion de los Condes where we are tonight celebrating our 1000 mile mark (1600 km).
The journey from Pamplona has taken us over rugged hilly terrain, through beautiful cities such as Logroño (narrowly avoiding a massive ETA car bomb) and Burgos, and across the windswept plateau that forms the central part of the Camino.
The countryside in this part of Northern Spain resembles a sort of dream scape: vast and featureless, inviting you to project your thoughts onto the endless stubble fields. Seth and I have been walking alone for the past week to take advantage of this gentle solitude and will reunite at Leon in about a weeks time.
Many of you will be glad to know that I have finally lost the facial hair. The reason for the trip to the barbers was that it had started to feel like a furry scarf in the mid-day sun and that nesting storks were showing more than a passing interest. Seth wept openly with relief that he will now be spared the lunchtime ordeal that is watching me eat through a beard.
Lastly, I have made friends with a lovely 72 yr old man from Madrid named Jésus, whom I met in an industrial zone on the outskirts of Burgos. This is his 8th Camino in as many years and despite 2 previous heart attacks he plods relentlessly along the Way, appearing when I least expect him. In true Camino style we often meet at a time of need, with him directing me to obscure city centre Refugios and me adjusting his rucksack when he´s struggling to make it up a steep hill. Therefore, it was a momement of real warmth and joy when, 100km down the road, we found ourselves sitting next to each other for Mass in a remote Templar chapel.
Love to all.
xx
The journey from Pamplona has taken us over rugged hilly terrain, through beautiful cities such as Logroño (narrowly avoiding a massive ETA car bomb) and Burgos, and across the windswept plateau that forms the central part of the Camino.
The countryside in this part of Northern Spain resembles a sort of dream scape: vast and featureless, inviting you to project your thoughts onto the endless stubble fields. Seth and I have been walking alone for the past week to take advantage of this gentle solitude and will reunite at Leon in about a weeks time.
Many of you will be glad to know that I have finally lost the facial hair. The reason for the trip to the barbers was that it had started to feel like a furry scarf in the mid-day sun and that nesting storks were showing more than a passing interest. Seth wept openly with relief that he will now be spared the lunchtime ordeal that is watching me eat through a beard.
Lastly, I have made friends with a lovely 72 yr old man from Madrid named Jésus, whom I met in an industrial zone on the outskirts of Burgos. This is his 8th Camino in as many years and despite 2 previous heart attacks he plods relentlessly along the Way, appearing when I least expect him. In true Camino style we often meet at a time of need, with him directing me to obscure city centre Refugios and me adjusting his rucksack when he´s struggling to make it up a steep hill. Therefore, it was a momement of real warmth and joy when, 100km down the road, we found ourselves sitting next to each other for Mass in a remote Templar chapel.
Love to all.
xx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
