Journey to Santiago - Day 22, 23, and 24, 19th - 22nd stage

Day 22 - Leon to Ponferrada (by bus) 

Distance walked today: 0 km (0 miles)

Total distance walked: 352.1 km (220.1 miles)

Total distance left: 207.2 km (129.5 miles)

Day 23 - Ponferrada 

Distance walked today: 0 km (0 miles)

Total distance walked: 352.1 km (220.1 miles)

Total distance left: 207.2 km (129.5 miles)

Day 24 - Ponferrada

Distance walked today: 0 km (0 miles)

Total distance walked: 352.1 km (220.1 miles)

Total distance left: 207.2 km (129.5 miles)

Surprise! We are in Spain all together! I couldn't say anything before because we were going to surprise Adal on Sunday and he actually reads this blog.

So N and I travelled all day and almost all night to Santiago Saturday, then Sunday rented a car and drove to Ponferrada, where I knew Adal was resting. We drove all the way to the albergue (hostel) in Ponferrada, walked in, and found him sitting by the fountain in the hostel. His face registered total blankness, like he didn't recognize us, like he knew we shouldn't be there. The shock was clear. N was so happy to see her daddy she didn't move from his side all day! It was worth all the effort I went through to keep the surprise, believe me I had a hard time not spoiling it. But it was totally worth it.

Adal's feet were not doing well at all. The skin under his toes was completely gone and infection set in. He had to go to the hospital, where he was given antibiotics and the lesions were cleaned and dressed. He was told to treat the injuries as burns rather than blisters, as it was mostly the skin burned off from the friction, despite all his tricks and methods for preventing injury. Sometimes these things happen no matter how many preventive measures you take. He decided to bus it from Leon to Ponferrada, where it was cheaper and he actually skipped some very difficult and hilly stages. Besides, it's cheaper to stay in Ponferrada. In this town they have a section of a hospital for walkers and injuries associated with the walk, such as foot lesions, etc. And it's free of charge for the walkers. So Adal has been going every day to get his wounds dressed and looked at. I have to say it was really impressive to see his feet, they looked so painful! But they look worse than they feel.

So Friday he busses it to Ponferrada, stayed at the hostel, but to stay longer than one day, you need to show a medical certification. So he had to go get one at the hospital in order to stay Saturday night. Sunday we found him and we moved into a cute little hotel in town. We walked around town, ate lots of octopus and tapas, let N run around the plaza, and turned in early. Today Monday we ate a late breakfast, bought some medical supplies for Adal's feet, some snacks and other essentials, and walked around the Templar castle in town. We stopped for roasted garlic shrimps and chipirones, which are a smaller variety of squid. Yum!

We ran into another walker, from North Carolina. She was also recovering from lesions. We made fast friends and talked for about two hours with her. She was missing her five yr old daughter so she enjoyed N's company. Her husband and daughter will meet her in Santiago. And she's originally from dc! Small world. It was fascinating to talk to her about the Way. I have to admit I'm inspired to at least try 100 km to Santiago.

There's a movie coming out with Martin Sheen about the camino de Santiago, called The Way. I've seen the trailers and it brings tears to my eyes. Please be sure to check it out, it looks like a really good story, directed by his son Emilio Estevez.

I'm connected via hotel wifi with the iPad so I'm limited to placing links and distance information. Once I get back I will edit the posts and add the information.

In the meantime, we're spending quality family time and enjoying Spain. There's so much to learn about the Way and it's walkers, it's subculture and norms, the ins and outs of the traveling ways.

Adal plans to resume his walking from Ponferrada on Wednesday, when he feels he will be recovered enough to continue. We will be here to help him along until Thursday, when we have to drive back to Santiago.

I've never seen Adal so happy. Never. When asked what he's learned along the Way he told me "Letting go. And that life is beautiful". Yes, it is.

Journey to Santiago - Day 20 and 21, 16th - 18th Stage

Day 20 - Carrion de los Condes to Terradillos de los Templarios

Distance walked today: 26.6 km (16.6 miles)

Total distance walked: 352.1 km (220.1 miles)

Total distance left: 378.2 km (236.4 miles)

Information on the stage traveled here.

Day 21 - Terradillos de los Templarios to Leon (by Train)

Distance walked today: 0 km (0 miles)

Total distance walked: 352.1 km (220.1 miles)

Total distance left: 310.5 km (194.1 miles)

Information on the city of Leon here.

Yesterday Adal found the stage very difficult.  Not because of terrain, or hills, or weather.  Because there were 17 km of no towns, there was nowhere to really stop and rest.  He barely ate, and got to Terradillos de los Templarios very late and starving.  He walked straight to the first hostel he found and took the last slot.  Then he got stuck with a group of loud and bubbly Koreans.  His feet hurt, his toe was really swollen, and he was really really tired.  I think it was just a hard day for him.

Today he decided to take the train to Leon, skipping stage 17 and 18.  His toe is bad enough he decided to see a doctor either today or tomorrow.  It's swollen and though he keeps draining it of liquid, it's not getting better.  I don't think it's a showstopper but I feel better that he's going to get it checked out.  And I think a rest will do him well.  He ran into the Brazilian Jose Luis, so I think they are travelling together.  And he's going to meet Juan the Canarian in Leon, maybe to meet his family.  

Last night was the Stockholm Gay Choir concert, and a good friend, William, performed.  It was fun, political, and poignant.  They did a great job and the solos were awesome.  I'm a bit tired today, and tomorrow is the Fourth of July celebration at the Embassy.  N is still pretty peppy, in a general good mood.  But the mornings, aaagh!!  I have to draaaaag her out of bed, "brush your teeth," "brush your teeth," "BRUSH YOUR TEETH!"  "Get dressed," "get dressed," "GET DRESSED NOW!"  "Mommy you're yelling at me."  "Then MOOOVE!!!"  It's a constant fight against the clock, and i'm trying to get ready for work at the same time.  So please, if anybody has any techniques that work to keep the peace AND get them out the door quickly, please please share!!

Journey to Santiago - Day 19, Fifteenth Stage

Day 19 - Fromista To Carrion de los Condes

Distance walked today: 19.6 km (12.3 miles)

Total distance walked: 325.5 km (203.4 miles)

Total distance left: 404.8 km (253 miles)

Information on the stage traveled here.

Adal is halfway to Santiago de Compostela!  He's excited to have gotten this far, and his next goal is Leon, which is about 95 km away.

And he still has his other toenail!  He's been saving it by punching lots of holes in the surrounding skin and squeezing all the accumulated fluid in the toe.  This relieves the pressure that builds up under the nail, but he has to squeeze often to release that pressure.  The most important thing, I think, is that nothing has kept him from going.  He just doesn't feel the pain or the small obstacles, maybe because he wants to finish this so badly.  And of course there's the time factor; he has to finish by a certain date.

The path has been paralleling a major road and going through agricultural fields, so he saw a lot of wheat fields today.  It was relatively flat.  Tomorrow there's 17 km between one town and the next, probably the longest stretch he's walked so far without going through a town.  So logistically, he's planning to eat a hearty breakfast and maybe take some bread with him for the road.

He's thinking about checking out some lighter sleeping mats.  I had completely forgotten he was carrying a sleeping mat.  It's not really a sleeping bag, more like a mat you put on top of a hard bed.  So he's going to look for something lighter at a store in Carrion de los Condes, looking to shave a kilo or a kilo and a half from his pack.

Remember the Canarian Juan?  He's about a stage ahead, and his family wants to meet him in Leon.  I'm sure it will be a cool time.

N and I are doing well.  Looks like we avoided the cold crud going around school and the Embassy by drinking lots of Vitamin C fizzies.  We've settled into a comfortable temporary routine, but this week is sure to be stressful, with lots of work stuff (three projects at the same time and counting), the Embassy fourth of July celebration (I'm on the food committee for 1000 people), and a friend's concert (Stockholm's Gay Choir).  But I have a looong relaxing weekend to look forward to!

Journey to Santiago - Day 18, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Stage

Day 18 - Castrojeriz To Fromista

Distance walked today: 24.3 km (15.2 miles)

Total distance walked: 305.9 km (191.2 miles)

Total distance left: 424.4 km (265.3 miles)

Information on the stage traveled here.

My friends, it seems Adal will lose another nail.  The other big toe is suffering.  He's punched a hole in the toe to help it drain, but we fear he will lose it anyway.  It looks like another toenail funeral is imminent.

He sounded exhausted after today.  Maybe it was the 18 deg hill of one 1 km he walked today.  Or just sheer exhaustion is setting in.  24.3 km was a pretty good stretch.  He's now resting in Fromista.  Last night's hostel had bunk beds, and an Austrian girl hooked up with a German guy and strange noises came from above Adal's bed.  Yes, I suppose these things happen when you have a lot of young people trekking across Spain, but it's not very comforting to me.  That made me a little uncomfortable.  But the icing on the cake?  She woke up Adal to inform him he was snoring.  Yes, the nerve!

Today's question comes from Arnie, Adal's former college roommate and longtime friend:

Arnie: What are the logistics of eating on the path?  What do you buy, what do you cook, where and with what do you cook?

Adal: There is plenty of food on the way, in the towns you come across the way.  Most hostels have kitchens you can cook in, but it's not practical to cook for yourself.  So sometimes if you get 2 or 3 people, you can buy food at the local market and make pasta with something simple.  The food is really good in the towns.  You grab a quick breakfast before starting.  Some hostels will include breakfast for a few extra Euros.  I don't really get hungry while walking, but I force myself to eat something when I start feeling weak.  You can buy stuff like bread and cheese and ham, but then you have to carry the extra weight.  I prefer to eat out most of the time, it's usually not that expensive.

As I thought, once Monday comes around it back to the routine and things aren't so bad.  It was deliciously rainy this morning, bad enough that N and I kept nudging each other to wake up and get out of bed.  The rush of work and N makes the day go faster.  I didn't think I would need to hear Adal's voice every day, I thought I could get by with a few text messages and a call every other day, but I look forward to hearing his stories and his voice every day.  Telling him about N and my day, hearing him sound excited, or tired, or hurting, or happy; it's nice.  It's real nice.  I feel like I hug his voice every time he calls.

Journey to Santiago - Day 16 and 17, Fourteenth Stage

Day 16 - Burgos To Hornillos

Distance walked today: 20.6 km (12.9 miles)

Total distance walked: 261.9 km (163.7 miles)

Total distance left: 466.4 km (291.5 miles)

Information on the stage traveled here.

Day 17 - Hornillos To Castrojeriz

Distance walked today: 19.7 km (12.3 miles)

Total distance walked: 281.6 km (176 miles)

Total distance left: 446.7 km (280.4 miles)

Information on the stage traveled here.

Adal did indeed stay in Hornillos yesterday, and today looks like he will stay in Castrojeriz.  Last I spoke to him he was having a beer and resting, deciding whether to stay or go, but it seems he made the decision to stay.

He is about 40% percent done!  And he reports back that the pantyhose under the socks help greatly in the friction.  He's a bit worried about his other big toe, it seems to be a bit swollen.  I wouldn't be surprised if it fell off as well.  But let's hope not!

He keeps meeting interesting people along the way.  Last night he had dinner with two Singaporeans of Chinese descent and they all spoke at length about China and Singapore.  He also ran into a German girl about 23 or 24 that is walking the Camino with her father, and they stay at hotels rather than hostels.  The father has every step and part of the journey mapped out and planned, but the girl would rather stay in the hostels and meet the people walking.  

Like I mentioned before, weekends are the hardest.  I really miss him.  What else can I say?  I tried to take a nap because I was so tired today, but N kept interrupting me and made me feel guilty that she was hungry.  So after I forced myself up, cooked and served, she left more than half of it.  Now I'm playing catchup with laundry.  I just don't have time to do it during the week.  We have a cleaning lady who comes on Tuesdays, but she doesn't organize or do laundry or put things away for us, so we still have plenty left to do.  It's really not that bad if you don't get too behind on stuff.  I think it was just rough this last week because for two days straight I worked until 7 - 7:30 pm at home.  Work all day to come home and work more (and I mean both work from home and work in the home) is wearing me a little thin.  Single moms have my full respect.  There's just no break.  Or maybe it's because I have no family close to help me out.  

It's easier during the week because there's more of a routine in place.  Things just kinda run on automatic.  So really, I may be looking forward to Monday after all!

Journey to Santiago - Day 15 and 16, Thirteenth Stage

Distance walked today: ? km 

Total distance walked: 262.6 + ? km 

Total distance left: 489 - ? km 

Information on the stage traveled here.

Information about the town of Burgos.

Yesterday Adal took the day off to rest his legs and walk around Burgos.  As I mentioned before, Burgos is the town of the Cid, so there's lots to see.  The Cathedral even holds the remains and tomb of the Cid!  The entry to the Cathedral is 5 euros, 2.5 Euros for the walkers upon showing their credentials.  Credentials are a type of passport showing you are an official walker and there's places for stamps at each town.  It's proof you walked what you said you walked.  Adal left his in the room when he went to the Cathedral, and he told the girl at the window: "But I can show you my feet!"  No thanks, she gave him the discount.  As a rule, Adal usually doesn't pay to go into a church (and even free it's pretty hard to get him to go in, unless it's historical), but he had a feeling the tomb of the Cid was inside.  He wasn't disappointed!

The rest did his feet well, as they were able to air out and recover.  He plans to take his next rest in Leon, another major city along the way.  Even resting though, he walked all over the city.  He stayed at a nice hotel and was enjoying the pampering.  He found an Australian to share the cost with the first night and then a German guy the next night.  He's been hanging out with the German guy, a young 21-year-old, a bit.  I guess the Canarian Juan found another group of good looking girls to follow.  He was last seen massaging the tired feet of a female walker.

Today the plan was to get to at least Hornillas del Camino, and last time I spoke to him that was still on track.  Tomorrow I will have to confirm with him his actual stage end.

The hardest days for me are Fridays.  That's our relaxing day and when I most miss him.  Usually we'll get sushi or pizza and talk about what we want to do on the weekend.  Today I got a call from a friend here in Sweden to go check out Stockholm's Titan Arum, the corpse flower, that was in bloom.  It only blooms once every few decades, so it's a big deal.  The kids ran around, and we were lucky it was over it's fullest bloom because the stench it gives off is of rotting meat.  Tomorrow there's a party for one of N's classmates. 

Really, I'm taking it day by day, because if not the idea of doing everything by myself will overwhelm me.  Just one day at a time, just like Adal.

Journey to Santiago - Day 14, Twelfth Stage

Day 14 - San Juan de Ortega to Burgos

Distance walked today: 28.7 km (17.9 miles)

Total distance walked: 241.3 km (150.8 miles)

Total distance left: 487 km (304.4 miles)

Information on the stage traveled here.

Information about the town of Burgos.

Adal walked a whopping 18 miles today!  Yet he sounded less exhausted than yesterday.  He was tired, but feeling well.  His legs were sore but not in pain.  And he made it to Burgos!  Famous city of the Poem of the Cid.  He has earned a stay at a nice 4 star hotel for tonight, and a day as a tourist.  He says it's a larger town, more like a city, and he has finally fixed his local phone.

The last few miles of the path to Burgos were on a road and not very desirable, so Adal decided to take a detour that added 2 km to his trek but wandered amongst more favorable and safer paths.

He tells me that the Camino de Santiago has three saints along the path: Santo Domingo de la Calzada, San Juan de Ortega, and Santiago de Compostela.  He's been to two of the three already!  As for one of the questions asked before, about emergency services, he said the town of Burgos had an emergency hotline posted on large signs, and 4x4 emergency medical vehicles dedicated to helping out the Walkers of the path. He saw the 4x4s pass him twice, so it seems the town of Burgos is serious about helping those on the path.

So Adal picked up some old lady pantyhose, the kind that only goes to like your ankles or calves.  He's going to try it out because he says the pantyliners work great!  They make the perfect giant bandaid.

Today was N's spring concert in school and I took 2 hours from work to go see her.  It was a cute outside performance with the kids from nursery, reception, and year 1 dancing and singing around a Maypole.  The music teacher, Ms. Swan, played the violin.  And N has another loose tooth!  This one is going the same way as the first tooth: the adult tooth already came out right behind it while the baby tooth is still wobbly.  Better start that Orthodontic fund now...

Tomorrow is the reception year picnic in the afternoon, and I will be there.  I feel N needs the extra attention from mom because Daddy's gone.  Tomorrow we'll make it a movie night and eat popcorn.  I printed out a calendar of May and June for her to cross out the days, counting down the days to friend's birthdays, Papa coming home, and Abu coming to visit.  I think this will help her visualize better how many days are left, and help her count the days.

She's reading really well.  It seems like it was a bit slow in the beginning, and now is snowballing into a bigger and bigger vocabulary.  Today she practically read a relatively difficult book by herself,  one of her own instead of a school book with carefully planned words.  Only problem is that it takes so looong.  It took us almost an hour!  But I can definitely see a huge improvement in reading.  I was a pretty fast reader myself, but I don't think I read that well in kindergarten, or even first grade.  I hate to brag about kids, because each is unique and learn things at their own pace.  Kids that are faster aren't necessarily always rocket scientists.  And though her reading is really good, her writing is lagging behind.  And really, I don't care if she's reading at 8th grade level or kinder, that stuff just isn't an indicator of anything.  But yet, I'm really proud at how she tries so hard to push herself to sound out the "tricky" words.  And even better?  She's kinder to those around her, and more aware of how others feel, which is improving as she grows.  THAT is what's really important.

Journey to Santiago - Day 13, Eleventh Stage

Day 13 - Belorado to San Juan de Ortega

Distance walked today: 23.7 km (14.8 miles)

Total distance walked: 212.6 km (132.9 miles)

Total distance left: 515.7 km (322.3 miles)

Information on the stage traveled here.

Adal sounded SOOO tired today on the phone.  I heard the exhaustion and the effort of today.  But he made it.  He walked from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm with only 30 minutes of rest.  Every 2 hours or so he rests for about 3-4 minutes.  He's currently in San Juan de Ortega.  Population?  18!!  Exactly three houses, one church, and one bar.  He's looking forward to a dinner of pork chops tonight.  Some things never change!

Find more info about the terrain and towns along the way here.

Tomorrow he plans on walking 26.7 km to Burgos, the famous city in "El cantar del Mio Cid" (The Poem of the Cid).  He will take a rest there and do some sightseeing.  Well deserved.


I asked him about the panty liners.  He uses them as a cushion bandage along the side of his feet, inside the boot, protecting the big toes.  A friend suggested he also use pantyhose socks inside his regular socks to help.  He's going to try it.  Imagine, Adal using panty liners and wearing panty hose!


If you have any questions you'd like to ask Adal about his walk to Santiago, or have any well wishes you'd like to send, please contact me and I'll make sure to post them here.  Sometimes he can log on and read this blog, and I'm sure he would enjoy that.

The first questions come from my middle and high school English teacher, Mrs. Lynn White:
1) Do you eat special foods for energy? 
Adal: beer and local wine and coffee
2) What do you think about when you're alone and walking these long distances?
Adal: "WTF am I doing?"
3) Do you ever feel as if you can't go on and want to give up? 
Adal: when I don't have my foods from #1
4) How much is the weather a factor in this long journey? 
Adal: sun rain cold heat.. the Camino never stops!
5) Is there an emergency system in place for a walker who suddenly had a serious medical problem? 
Adal: they have a 911 lookalike the 112, they told me my nail falling off wasn't an emergency

My question of the day:
1) How do you know what town you are in or if you've reached a waypoint?  Are there signs?  Do you know how much farther you have to go?
Adal: Yes, for the most part it's well marked along the way with signs.  If not, you ask the people you meet walking.


Well Wishes:
Mrs. Lynn White: We're all having a vicarious experience and thank you for sharing with us a journey on so many levels.
Florece Stevens-Shaw: Let him know that I'm very proud of him!


Tomorrow N has a Spring concert.  I will be there, hopefully with photos and video!

Journey to Santiago - Day 12, Tenth Stage

Day 12 - Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado

Distance walked today: 22.7 km (14.2 miles)

Total distance walked: 188.9 km (118.1 miles)

Total distance left: 539.4 km (337.1 miles)

Information on the stage traveled here.

First full day back on a whole stage, Adal made it to Belorado.  22.7 km today.  There was a convoluted story today about the Canarian with a lost wallet who needed money and a monk that came to the rescue, and ended up finding him about 4 or 5 km from Beldorado.  The monk provided the Canarian, who now has a name, Juan, with some extra money and a lift on the last leg.  And so, because they arrived in Belorado with a holy man, it's fair game.  At least in their eyes!  It was mostly flat terrain, check out the stage here.

The hostel today is a parochial hostel, run by two Swiss men.  This means it's run by the church, they don't charge, but do suggest donations.  Usually 5 euros is enough.  One of the Swiss hosts has walked several times from Switzerland, over 2100 kms!!  If that isn't humbling, I don't know what is.

Tomorrow 27.4 harrowing km await him.  This may be his longest leg yet.  It is a slightly up-sloping terrain, which he can handle fine.  The worst for him are the downhills; rough on his feet, rough on his toes, rough on his ankles, and rough on his knees.  His toenail is doing well, and it's not even bothering him.  His little toe, well, as he puts it, good thing I haven't seen it.  It must look pretty nasty.  He has a round of peeling the extra skin off and a good Betadyne soak planned tonight for the little piggy.

I know you all must be wondering about the panty liner stint.  As he reports, it worked wonders!  It felt great, and he will be a panty liner wearer for the rest of the Camino!  Hey, whatever works in extreme conditions is fine by me.

And I'm holding out okay.  Work is super busy, telecommuting is not easy with N around, and we've got a very early pushed-ahead Fourth of July celebration May 27th.  Yes, we will celebrate the Fourth before Memorial Day, as a goodbye to our Ambassador.  It involves lots of food, decorations, tents, grills, drinks, glasses, tables, guests, and sponsors.  Budget?  $0.  That's right folks.  Miracles for free.  And to throw a little extra in the mix, this week N has, wait for it, TWO school activities that require my presence.  Of course, I'm happy to go and be there for her, but it makes it that much more crazy.  Oh, and a birthday party Sunday, can't forget about that.

Actually, keeping busy makes the days go faster.  I'm very proud of my team at work, they are awesome.  So  I made cupcakes with N as a thank you today.  And just to bust their butt, two manly men, we made them pink.  With sprinkles.  : )

I look forward to his voice.  His voice is all I have right now.  His voice sounds happy, excited, driven, purposeful.  Full of life.  Keep going papito.

Journey to Santiago - Day 11, Ninth Stage

Day 11 - Azofra to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

Distance walked today: 15.3 km (9.6 miles)

Total distance walked: 166.2 km (103.9 miles)

Total distance left: 562.1 km (351.3 miles)

Information on the stage traveled here.

Today Adal finished the ninth stage, which he had started yesterday.  He reached Santo Domingo de la Calzada, which is a larger town.  It was only about 15 - 18 km, and he finished with no problem.  His little toe on the right foot is starting to bother him, and I think he is nervous about being slowed down if it gets worse.

He is at a nice hostel, run by nuns who are the nicest and provide a place to stay for free.  They treat the travellers very well.  All they request is a five euro donation.  Last night, the hostel he was at was "luxurious" by path standards: only two per room!  He lodged with a somewhat snobby German guy, and as he was waking from a nap, he saw the German walking out with his bed.  Maybe the snoring bothered him?  When he walked out, the bed was nowhere to be found, so he must've moved it to another room.  So lucky him he got a room all by himself.

He ran into the Canarian forensic doctor, who in his ambition to follow the lycra-clad hotties, walked 40 km!  Ah, what some men will do for a woman.  Well, too ambitious, because he ended up with a tendonitis that grounded him for today.  So they made a hot lunch of rice and tuna and pepper chicken.

And now I will share with you a dark secret of the path.  There's a special something walkers on the path use to protect their feet.  Now, you may not be initiated in the ways of the path, but I will share.  Pantyliners.  Yep, most walkers put pantyliners in their shoes instead of insoles, or they use them around their feet.  The thin kind.  Makes sense, they are extremely absorbent, hygienic, and stay put.  So I'm laughing a bit to myself as I imagine Adal putting pantyliners in his shoes to protect his little toe.  And laughing a bit about imagining him going to the local pharmacy to purchase them.  Ah, if I only had a photo!

Starting tomorrow, he will try to complete the main stages fully.  Tomorrow he expects to finish the tenth stage, from Santo Domingo to Belorado, which is 22 km of mostly flat terrain.  Luckily the next few days are pretty level, which makes for easier walking.  He's been taking Motrin several times a day, but I advised him to make sure not to exceed 800 mg a day, the maximum safe dose.  The Motrin keeps the swelling down, pains at bay, and he's been counting on it to keep the tendonitis away.  Apparently tendonitis is common among the walkers and can ground you until it eases.

I'm very proud of him.  The telecommuting has been working well, when N is mostly calm and keeping herself entertained.  She wants to talk to me constantly, and it's hard to ignore her when she just wants my attention.  I have to step away for a few minutes to get her food, several times.  Just today for dinner she had french toast, 2 hard-boiled eggs, half an apple, and an ice cream sandwich.  She is definitely on a growth spurt!  She was proud of the sticker she had on her dress today, "for being an excellent reader."

Another day accomplished!  And several steps closer to Santiago...

Journey to Santiago - Day 10, Ninth Stage

Day 10 - Ventosa to Azofra

Distance walked today: 15.9 km (9.9 miles)

Total distance walked: 150.9 km (94.3 miles)

Total distance left: 583.5 km (364.7 miles)

Information on the stage traveled here.

About 30% done with the Camino!  He is now in the ninth stage, at a small town called Azofra.  He is preferring to stay in the smaller towns, as the larger end-of-stage towns are more difficult to find lodging in.  He is averaging about 20 kms a day, more due to watching out for his nailless toe than to exhaustion.  He's been cautious to not push too hard on a bad toe.

The hostel he's at is charming, he says.  But they have a strict "no noise before 7 am" rule.  So he got the tongue-lashing of his life when he got up at 5 am to brush his teeth.  Apparently the sound of water running and teeth brushing is right up there with shouting, singing, and drunkenness.

He claims the nail is fast growing back, and the number of blisters, although not negligible, are much less than he expected and much less than the first time he tried this path.  All good news.  I asked about his backpack, and he reports that the weight he's carrying must be good, because his back is not bothering him at all and he's had no problem.

He's back to pushing as far as he can go now.  I think tomorrow he will make it to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and after that maybe.  He had been walking with the forensic doctor from Canary Islands and an Argentinian woman, but the doctor pushed on past Azofra to follow some lycra-clad hotties on the trail and the Argentinian wanted to keep going.  That's how it is on the path, you meet people then move on.  His fame is still preceding him, he is still hailed as the Puerto Rican who lost the toenail wherever he goes on the path.  Amazing that such a little thing causes such celebrity status, but I imagine that the Path walkers have their own society and norms.  He's on this stage here.

I think after today's call I felt a little better, a bit more at ease, less stressed.

I asked him why he is walking the Camino.  He's walking it because it is an important cultural icon.  Because it's a challenge.  Because he could finish something that many have not done or finished.  The achievement.  He walks to have time for himself, to do something all by himself for himself.  I read here that he walks also for introspection.  He walks to meet all the different people that walk as well.  To talk to people from the world over that have this one thing in common: walking the Camino de Santiago.  Perhaps to belong to this travelling nomadic brotherhood, that all walk for different reasons but use the same route.  To maybe understand that others are walking for very different reasons but are on the same path.

This is not a simple question.  I think that some may decide to walk for one reason and end up finishing for completely different reasons.  And maybe the reason is the least important of this journey, or the most.  Quite complex if you ask me.

And for the more mundane and superficial, last night was the Eurovision contest.  If you don't or haven't lived in Europe, it's a big thing.  Bigger than American Idol for the US.  Bigger than the OTI Festival in Latin America.  N fell asleep watching it with me on the sofa.  Some countries' representatives were awful, some not so bad, very few were excellent.  The winners, from Azerbaijan, were ok.  Not the best, but not the worst.  They were quite passable in my opinion.  Of course, politics play a large role here.  Some (most?) countries vote for their allies or cultural cousins rather than by talent.

And N found the dress she wants for when she gets married.  She saw it on Say Yes to the Dress, and I am to buy it for her, "on the Internet."  It's a cinderella-style tulle nightmare.  Although when she saw the wiccan wedding with the fairy wings, she was pretty enthralled.

And here I sit, typing with pink and green fingernails courtesy of N's collection, so we now have matching fingernail color.  But no, this wasn't fun enough for her, she told me, she still wanted to play Candyland, you know Mami, something FUN.  Geez.  Anyone want a little girl for next weekend?