Tag Archives: interview

Seek and Ye Shall Find

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The monastery in ruins

The monastery in ruins

Seek and Ye Shall Find, Ask and it Will be Provided

June 16, 2014

Quick update as I’m tired. We are currently in Itero de la Vega. We had to climb up out of a deep valley, 1080 ml high at a 12% grade- though at some points it felt closer to 25%. And then we descended back down 380ml at 18% grade.
So thankful for the breeze blowing and the dark rain clouds covering us from the bright sun.

Last night we stayed in San Anton Albergue, which is housed in the ruins of of an ancient crumbling monastery. No electricity, no warm water and yes it was cold at night in spite of the two horse blankets I slept under.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way. This place is beautiful. Under the full moon, it was gorgeous.

Oh…and a Japanese TV station showed up to interview those of us staying at the Albergue. The documentary is being produced to commemorate the 10th yr anniversary of their relationship with The Way- or something along this line. Anyway, the Japanese show had selected 10 Albergues to document in this series which will air only in Japan. They were selected based on their historical ties to the Camino. So since there were only three of us staying the night, Abby, myself and a very interesting woman from Lutherania and the both of them quickly headed to the bedroom, that left me standing there to be questioned.
The donativo hosts were making dinner and I was asked by them to help out and as I was slicing cucumbers for the salad, the camera was zooming in on close- ups of my hands all the while I am being questioned about the Camino. Thank goodness I have been able to process my thoughts during the long hours of walking the many miles of the Camino. I was able to answer all the questions fluidly ( Abby and the Lutherania woman confirmed this as they could hear everything on the other side of the wall division) much to the satisfaction of the interviewer.
Nothing like being filmed looking like a real pilgrim, decked out in a multitude of different mix matched clothes, with no make-up on and my hair sticking up in all directions due to it drying funny. A 20 minute interview…whew!

And then we were filmed eating. All of us were told to ignore the camera and act natural. While we did the best we could. The subject of why Abby and I didn’t drink alcohol came up as other religions allowed consumption. On film, I explain that we are member of a The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints…which drew blank looks until I said “Mormon” and that was understood.

Who knows how much will be kept and cut, but keep your eye out in Japan for my debut. After the Japanese film crew left, we all cheered and toasted them leaving. We had a great conversation which we enjoyed before going to bed.

What a great day and evening. We knew we were meant to stay when we arrived there at 10:30 am ( by this time we had already walked out 10 miles). I am so glad we listened to our heart and to our feet. A great relaxing day, filled with interesting conversation amongst this small group.

And these are the rich blessings that the Camino provides.

 

Spa Day- Our Way-On the Hwy

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We are doing the Camino spa style

We are doing the Camino spa style

Spa Day
June 6, 2014

Ok…this might not look like the Korean Spa, but we do have similar ingredients-salt, vinegar and cold water. I will also be scrubbing our feet with pumice and than rubbing down both feet and legs with Vaseline. Feels great on our feet and ankles. Might even do this treatment again before bed.

We packed up our bags and headed out to the post office in Pamplona. They opened at 9 am and we already knew that by the time we started to climb “the hill” it would be very hot. Others who were going onto La Reina had said to avoid doing this in the heat of the day.

While on the way to the post office, a large group of middle school students were walking by us. Some girls stopped us to interview us…really they were more interested in interviewing Abby. Their assignment was to interview pilgrims in their native tongue. The teacher told me that the point of the assignment was to teach the students that they needed to know more than Spanish and English in order to be a pilgrim. She was their French teacher. The Spanish government heavily encourages their young people to walk either the full Camino or at least the last 100km ( the amount one has to walk in order to receive the Compostela) as this looks good on their resume when applying for the university and even for a job.

This took some time, but we enjoyed helping them fulfill their assignment. Afterwards, the teacher walked us to the post office. Ok, this was yet another experience in why you should familiarize yourself with the written language in the country you are traveling to. When you pack too much stuff ( it isn’t crap…it is good quality stuff that is needed for the Camino, but hey…every ounce counts!) and need to send it home, you have to fill out a form. And don’t count on having a friendly, English speaking postal worker to help you out. I will tell you right now, THAT is not going to happen.

We stuffed the box. Weighed the box. Gasped at the price to send the box home. Purged the box. Re-weighed the box and found it to still cost a lot, but it was doable for 36€. Yes…please go to my go fund me site and stick some more money into the account.
After we finished, we had the stuff leftover in the Ikea bag. So we placed the bag on a bench in the park. Someone will appreciate the good stuff within…unless the police are called for a bomb report.

Finally made it on to the Camino. We stopped at the fruit stand, the bread shop, the market. Then we had to find a restroom. We found it at the university AND we even got a cool Camino stamp on our credential for peeing!

Onto we walked. We are staying at this beautiful Albergue Roncal in Cizur Menor that is a family home. The gardens are way beautiful. Our feet. Our soul. Our body…they are all thinking us. Well worth the 10€ For each of us to stay here instead of the 4€ place down by the historic church. No bed bugs here.

So after walking 4km or 6km ( depends on the book you use) we parked ourselves for a nice rest stop before climbing over “the hill” which we will take on early in the morning.