Completion

Santiago de Compostela: A holy city. An old city. A city once of huge religious significance - a significance that once colored the life of the City to such an extent that it is difficult for me to fully appreciate. But artifacts of this commitment to religion remain, although to me there seems a strong sense of faded glory. Somewhere in the hustle and bussel of this modern European city, now driven by commerce, government and education, there is a muffled voice calling out from the past still proclaiming the relevance of the spiritually lead life - at least the Roman Catholic version of it.

A holy City - third in ranking to Rome and Jerusalem in religious importance. How could it be that important - out in the hinterland of north-west Spain? It seems the reason is based on the miraculous revelation of the location of the remains of St. James, one of the twelve apostles. The only other remains of an apostle are Peter's in Rome. There was no city here prior to the discovery of St. James' remains in 813. So monumentally important was this find that today 1 cathedral with 18 chapels, 12 convents and monasteries, and 27 historic churches frame an extraordinary religious commitment to the relevance of St. James and his remains. Represented here with very significant buildings are the Carmelites, Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, Sisters of St. Claire, Jesuits, Augustinians, Sisters of Mercy, and more. There is no mistaking the gravity of religious significance of this place in the Roman Catholic world.

A holy city - based on events that may be explained only by God's hand. I quote from a booklet: "According to ancient tradition, St. James, one of the 12 apostles, traveled to Hispania and came to Galicia, the end of the earth, the most western place, to spread Christianity. In the year 44, he's was executed in Jerusalem and refused burial. His disciples sailed the sea as far as Galicia, where they buried him. His tomb remained forgotten until, in the year 813, a shining light indicated the place where he was buried. The chapel that was erected on the site was eventually turned into a monumental Cathedral, which became the center of a marvelous levitical city. The discovery was followed by a series of miracles and apparitions, giving rise to numerous legends. Guided by the Milky Way, the itinerary marked in the sky, thousands of pilgrims started coming from distant European lands."

So this is the remarkable history of why there is today a Camino. Ted and I did not travel this path to pay homage to St. James or specifically to God. We did walk with an open mind and willingness to see our Christian path in new light, and to be guided in spiritual growth where the opportunity presented itself. What was my spiritual experience? - I will write this in a future blog - but I can say there was no grand epiphany or revelation. There was however meaningful experience that will likely affect my spirituality for the rest of my life, and in ways that I will fully understand only in the future.

Day 11 (October 12)

We arrived in Santiago and met Cathy an Sallie in front of the Cathedral. All is well and it's quite a relief to arrive and put the hiking boots and pack away. The old city is beautiful and vibrant. We had a great dinner and am now getting ready for bed. I will have a more complete update tomorrow.

Day 10 (October 11)

Would you believe it was another sunny, warm day! This is 33 days without rain for Ted, and everyone of those days was sunny. This must be some kind of record as this is definitely not normal.

Today we left O Coto at just after 8 am - somewhat late. I had a great sleep for about 10 hours - I never sleep for 10 hours. Well maybe tonight. We had our longest day - covering 35kms. Our original destination for the day was Arzua. We got there at 2:30. We both felt we could do more, but the next place we felt sure that there was accommodation was Brea, 15 kms further down the road. In our experience, that is an unusually long distance with no albergue. Another 15 on top of the 22 kms we had already walked seemed too much. However, we also had experienced that there were albergues, casa ruals, and pensions that were not in our book. Surely there were some in this 15 km stretch even though the books showed none. We checked with other pelegrinos around us, and there books also showed no places to stay. We then walked to the alberge in Arzua that some friends were planning to stay at. Fortunately the young lady behind the desk spoke sufficient English, and we asked her if she knew of a place to stay in this 15 km zone. She did and said it was in Salceda, about 10 kms down the trail. At our request, she phoned and made arrangements for us. Because the pension was not going to be staffed when we would arrive, she gave us their phone numbers. This seemed to work out well. Only another 10 kms, we have a reservation, we have contact phone numbers. This was OK as a friend taught us how to call locally using our Canadian cell phones.

Well, the body has limits. After the next 5 kms, my knee and the blister on my heel both started to pain. We arrived in Salceda and I was now in pain and tired. So where in Salceda is this place? I ask a local in his backyard for assistance which he willingly provides in Spanish only. He points out where it is, and off we go. When we get there, we can't find the place. We drop into a local restaurant who's owner indicates that's not a good place to stay. Well, what to do. Ted arranges for a taxi, due to my situation, to the next Town, Brea. But it's not a taxi with a taxi license that picks us up, it's a guy in a van that only speaks Spanish. We hop in and he delivers us to a nice pension about 2 kms down the road. But this guy isn't a taxi driver, he's the owner of the pension! Wow. He charged us 38 Euros for the room with 2 beds, and nothing for the ride. We all got something out of this deal, not quite what Ted and I were expecting - but it all worked out well.

So now we are within a long day's walk to Santiago. If we do this tomorrow, we'll be in a day early - not bad. Cathy and Sallie reach Santiago by train tonight. Will we be able to push ourselves and meet the tomorrow some time. Stay tuned ...

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Day 9 (October 10)

Wow - 9 days. In some ways it seems like 3 day, in others 1,000 days. Dare I say it - it was another beautiful sunny day with temperature maybe 25 to 27 max. We left Gonzar around 8am and arrived in O Coto about 3:30 after pounding away for 25 kms. The hills are still linear, but not as high or as steep. When we first got into the hills, we traversed them by walking up or down along their linear length. Now, we seem to go straight onto the hill and over their top. The runs up and down can be up to 2 kms of steady work. I have definitely increased my strength to do this and can climb the long trails without rest. After doing this 3 or 4 times in a day, it gets tiring. In fact today was the first day that I really felt like quitting early. I was tired and thirsty. But no, we have to go on. I said a little prayer for strength and pushed on even though I was tired. Would you be surprised if I told you that our intended stop point for the day did not work out, and we pushed on a further 3 kms. Figures! The day I'm tired early. Something comes to mind about not counting chickens before ...

Well, the place we are staying in is really quite nice and we had a lovely dinner with very nice people who run the place. I find it surprising that we can get along at being understood even though I speak hardly a word of Spanish, and they have only a few words of English. It all works. I'm now getting a sense of what they are saying even though I don't know the words.

We crossed paths again with Anna from Indiana - a nice reunion. She made me a sandwich from a long loaf and some type of olive sliced meat. It was yummy. We also met 3 young German girls who had surprisingly good English. It was interesting to hear them switch from German to English in the same sentence. They even had all the little phases that a native english person would use. Language is so fascinating.

Well, it's off to bed. 22 kms tomorrow - the average day.

How Catholic am I now?

This is an interesting question. I am not a Catholic and I never have been. But this is a pilgrimage, and if one is here for religious reasons, then there is probably some level of comfort or identification with Roman Catholicism. When this pilgimage began centuries ago, there was only the Roman church. I'm not sure how close the eastern church was to the Roman church 1,000 years ago, but let's say it was close as both came from the Roman root.
I think this question can quickly flash to a whole list of differences between Catholicism and Anglicanism. However, in comparison to other protestants, it seems to me that Anglicans are the closest of the protestants to Catholics. We are definitely not the same, in some very critical areas, but we are similar.
Given the similarity of Angicanism to Catholicism, I would say that makes me a 50% Catholic. (Some may strongly disagree with this concept and I would understand that - they just do not understand my head space on this). Add the impact and learning from the cusillio experience and I think that adds another 10%. While cusillio started in the Catholic church in Spain, some will argue that the version I went through was Anglicanized. While I agree with this, there is nothing in Angicanism that I have experienced, heard about, or read about that is anything like the cusillio experience. It's Catholic roots are still very visible in my view.
So now I'm up to 60% Catholic. To this I will add the experience of the pilgrimage. While there are no priests walking with us or pulling us into churches for conversion discussions, the thread of the Catholic church is very evident, if not mostly in my own mind due to my own limited understanding of Catholicism and the history of the Roman church. The experience of the pilgrimage reinforces some very basic religious concepts: that spiritual progress occurs with work; that even though there are obstacles to spiritual growth, hard work and determination will yield results; miracles are available to those with the correct perspective. Are these concepts strongest within Catholicism or Anglicanism. I would say the former. So I'm giving myself another 5% because I now more fully believe in these concepts.
So, there you have it. Based on my overly narrow and simplistic approach, I would say I'm 65% Catholic, even though I'm very much an Anglican. Wow, we can have some great debates over this!

Day 8 (October 9)

Another incredible day of sun. We started off at 7:15 in blackness partially lit by a beautiful array of stars. It took about an hour for there to be enough light to turn out our head lamps. The morning was very cool. We walked among the well treed ridges and valleys of Galacia as we continued westward to our destination of Gonzar - a very small town west of Portomarin. We had expected a 25 km day. However there were two section of the trail closed for reconstruction. We made detours that added time to the trip. By the time we arrived at the albergue at 3:30 we were pretty tired. Another peligrino has a pedometer which read 29.3 kms for our exact trip. That's a lot of detour!

We had a lovely lunch in Portomarin with another peligrino. She is walking alone and related a story that had occured to her a couple of days ago. I will not get into the details here, but there is a real risk of harm for women walking alone. Some areas are very remote and there are not always other peligrinos close by on the trail. Apparently, there have always been security issues for peligrinos.

I also had a very nice discussion with a gentleman from Holland that started his walk in France. Total trip is something like 1600 kms. That's big!

Well, as of today I have completed 180 kms. The walk today physically went well overall, but I continue to have upper shin pain in the morning that slows me down and creates discomfort. I'm really not sure what drives this. I'm wondering if the cold mornings are part of it? Or if the muscles need to be worked for a few hours to get loose? Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

Day 7

We left Triacastela this morning and are staying in an albergue in the small
town of Barbadelo, just to the west of the large town of Sarria. Total
distance today was 24 kms, We started off at 7:15 approx., in the black.
This is only possible because we have head lamps. Sometimes the trail
markings can be hard to see, but we did well. By about 8:15 there is enough
light to switch the lamps off.
For the first 3 hours I had a significant amount of upper shin pain,
especially on the down slopes. I consumed my remaining Advil and for the
last half of the day things went much better. I'm not sure if the
improvement was just the Advil, or whether the walking loosened things up.
From the map it looked like we would be dropping in elevation all day. And
while this was the general trend, there was actually a lot of up and down.
We walked mostly along the side of ridges overlooking beautiful valleys.
The towns were mostly small except for Sarria. In Sarria, I picked up more
Advil and some Epsom salts for my blisters. Just before we left Sarria we
stopped at a pub for lunch. We noticed that we were right across the street
from a very modest city hall. Soon, some very well dress people started
arriving at city hall. Then a couple of photographers and a video camera
person. Well yes, it was a wedding party. Half an hour later a beautiful
old car arrived with a bride all decked out in white. It was very nice to
watch this unfold from our table on the patio. The gathering and
interaction of the people looked as if it could be in Milton or any other
place in an industrialized country. People seem so much the same here as at
home. We focus on differences, but we probably have more in common with one
another than our differences.
Also today we bumped into a middle aged, sporty type named Shelly from
Saskatchewan. Her story blew our minds. She has been walking 35 to 40 kms
per day since France. But that's not all - she does this wearing sandals!
She expressed some concern that a pain in her lower shin may be tendinitis.
Wow, I can't imagine.
She also said something very interesting that a couple of older sister from
Ireland had told her about time for contemplation while walking the Camino -
well honey, there's no time for that because we're always thinking about our
feet, or legs, or where we are going, or where we are going to eat. This
sadly is so true.
Dinner is done - bacon and eggs, soup, salad and yogurt - and I've stayed
behind at the table to finish this update. Our morning plan is to be up and
out for 7am.
This has been a challenging but good day. I have now walked over 150 kms.
Tomorrow we cross the 100 kms to go point - very significant for Ted - the
final push.
Good night!

October 7th (day 6)

Today has been a short day as we walked from the high land of Hospital Da
Condesa to the much lower town of Triacastela, a walk of 15 kms. Overnight
there was quite a bit of rain and the temperatures dropped. By morning the
rain stopped so we walked through another day without rain. As we started
out and as long as we remained at the higher elevations, there was a dense
cool mist supported by a steady wind. It felt very maritime. I eventually
put my rain jacket on top of my fleece jacket to keep warm.
By the time we reached lower elevations we left the mist behind and the sun
came out and raised the temperature. It has turned out to be a beautiful
fall day.
The area is still characterized by tall hills and deep valleys, but the
valleys have higher levels of agricultural activity. For at least half the
day we have passed dairy cattle in greener pastures. The downside of this
has been a day of cow patty avoidance. The cows and the peligrenos share
the same trails. The cows are milked in the villages and are taken out to
the pastures after the morning milking. Some trails are quite the mess, and
the smell of manure has been with us the whole day.
On the physical side, my feet are fine and appear to have adjusted to the
walking demands. My shins and knees had a very tough day due to the
significant downhill trek. A double dose of Advil helped quite a bit.
Thankfully we only needed to complete 15 kms today.
We are staying in a private albergue tonight. It's quite nice. I have
attached a photo of it.

Vespers

While we were in Rabanal del Camino on the evening of October 2nd, I had the
opportunity to attend a vespers service at the local church. Of course it
was Catholic, and the service was conducted by three monks from an order in
Germany that run the Catholic activities in this town. In case your mind is
running to an image of short, heavy set older men, looking like they came
from a previous century, these monks were young, bright, and well
maintained.
The church was perfect for this vespers service. Old - centuries old. The
interior was quite dark as I believe there was just one window. The ceiling
was not that high and formed a large barrel vault of stone. The wall and
ceiling surfaces were old and crumbling and looked like someone should have
commenced repairs two centuries ago. The flooring was all new and produced
this amazing aesthetic contrast to the state of the rest of the building.
It was a compelling space.
Layered on top of that - medieval music! I love medieval church music! The
three monks knew the music cold and sang it beautifully. And they sang in
Latin. Thanks to my experience singing a good number of catholic masses
with the Toronto Classical Singers - I knew the words and how to pronounce
most of them! The words and the music were printed, with the music
presented in the medieval musical form - I actually studied this!!!!!!!!
Yes, I was very excited. Wow, who would have thought that this would happen
- a wonderful spiritual experience produced by a harmony of factors. It was
truly magnificent.

El Camino, eh!

A comment that comes from many people from other countries when we explain
where we are from is "there sure are a lot of Canadians on the Camino."
Then there is the follow-up question, "Why would that be?" Yikes! Our
government didn't let us know how to answer that one. No government
pronouncements, no newspaper or TV articles or editorials on spirituality
trends, no memorable national church movements pushing people to the Camino,
not even an incredible super low Air Canada discount package to northern
Spain. So why? Well I only know one thing for sure - we have met a lot of
Canadians. Strange eh?

Day 5 - October 6th

Today was beautiful with near clear skys and temperatures around 25 - great
for hiking. We covered 23.5 kms from Trebadelo to Hospital Da Contesa. We
started at the floor of a valley between two ridges, and worked our way up
over 2,200 ft to high pass and down into another system of valleys. The
photo is taken near the top of the pass looking back towards from were we
came. What is in view represents less than half our vertical climb.
Trebadelo is hidden behind ridges.

Walking uphill today was fine - as was walking flat. For some reason,
walking downhill was very painful below the knees on the front shins. I'm
taking Advil every 4 hours to see if that helps, and I applied a cream Ted
has. Hopefully it will work.

We had a blister discussion with various Canadians at a bar half way up our
climb today, and there was no agreement on the best method to treat them.
According to one person, the Spanish medical community feels it is best not
to drain a blister. Medical communities in other countries appear to
differ. All I know is that I have done nothing but cover mine, and they
appear to be doing much better today - all of them - even after a tough 23.5
kms.

On the weather front, Ted has not walked in rain during any of his 28 days
on the Camino, or stated another way, in over 500 kms of walking. The
weather is very unusual according to our inn keepers yesterday. Now that we
are in the area of Galacia, rain is expected. We watched a weather system
move in tonight, but it is not raining yet, and one of the locals said it
will not rain tomorrow.

I forgot to add a comment about wine to my blog yesterday. Our evening
dinners include a beverage - either water or a bottle of wine. Now it may
surprise you that we choose the wine, and you may ask what does it taste
like if it is equal to water in value - but you would be approaching this
from the perspective of a Canadian, not a Spaniard. The bottle of wine put
on the table last night had a value of around 2 Euros, a little more than a
bottle of water. The wine is locally produced, and sold to the
establishment in large containers. The establishment then divides it into
regularly sized bottle and puts a house label on it. There appears to be no
taxes or government marketing controls. The really big surprise - the wine
was excellent - really. I wish I could bring it home for 2 Euros a bottle,
($3Cdn). It really was a nice wine. The wine tonight really wasn't that
good - but we consoled ourselves that it only cost 2 Euros - what should one
expect - water? It still had more value than water!

October 5th - Innkeepers

We reached Trabadelo and these were our innkeepers.  They are a delightful couple – he’s Spanish, she’s Dutch.  They speak English well and were able to tell us much about the area, themselves and their experiences.  They did the Camino a few years ago, and then decided to open this Inn with 3 rooms and a small bar with a few dining tables.

 

October 5th

Ted and I are doing well and ended an 18 + 3 km day in the small village of Trabadello.  We walked through steep sided valleys with ridges of a couple of hundred meters on each side, and a river below us.  I was thankful we only walked 21kms.  Unfortunately I lead us off course for 3kms. Oops!  Thankfully Ted was not upset.

My feet are sore and Ted has a soreness issue as well.  But who doesn’t out here?!  Tomorrow is a 23.5 km day and we climb a big hill.  The following day is only 15 km so we should get some rest.

Tonight Ted and I are staying at a wonderful 3 room inn sharing a quaint room.  Our dinner was wonderful – both food and company.  We dined with Larry and Jill from Colorado – absolutely wonderful Christian people.  Anyone would wish they were their neighbours.  We enjoyed ourselves greatly.

Tomorrow a new day and new experiences.

 

Witch Doctor

This is quite amazing.  Someone had a bout of tendonitis in Rabinal del Cambino. 

We signed into an alberque on the outside of town and got our gear all settled in.  We then went wondering in the town and came across another alberque and went in to check it out.  We sat down at a nice ‘happening’ bar and patio with lots of Perigrenos.  Ted knew a number of them and we had a great time updating on experiences and people.  One fellow Ted had talked and walked with a number of times emerged from behind a closed door.  Tom greeted Ted warmly and pointed to his legs to show off his multiple, two-coloured bandages.  “What the heck happened?” was the natural question.  It turns out that there is a physiotherapist who works out of the alberque and that he has a wonderful method for healing tendonitis.  For just over an hour, this therapist worked on Tom’s legs with deep, painful massage, oils and bells (yes, the ding dong type), and then applied these bandages.  Tom said he felt great.  All this for 18 Euros – and on a Sunday.  What luck to find that just when he needed it most.

Or was it luck?  Without delving too deeply into faith, there is a saying on the Camino that needs are provided for, usually when the need is greatest.  My experience so far - there have been a couple of events that I am remaining open about.  Perhaps coincidence can not fully explain them.  Ahh the Camino!!

Feet and Legs

On the Camino people seem to suffer most from problems involving the feet and legs.  Just about everyone I have spoken with is suffering from, or has recovered from, issues with their feet and/or legs.  A gentleman I talked to today said that everyone will have a problem – it’s just too demanding on the feet and legs to walk 20 kms day after day.  This is exacerbated by inadequate training which does not replicate the extreme conditions.

In my prep, I probably never would have had a problem.  But it would be very difficult to find five days to hike 100 kms just to inflict enough stress to see what starts to break down.  That is why most people struggle, why some people need to rest for a few days, why some people unfortunately go home.

Blisters are a big issue.  I have 5 and the photo shows the tape job to my left foot.  Some swear by duct tape.  Others advise using a sterile needle to place thread into the blister to act as a wick and drain it.  I have not used the thread method as I am concerned about infection.  There is no way in the environment that I am in to keep wounds really clean all the time.  The blisters are slowing me down, but it is manageable.  Every step is a reminder that I am pushing it.  Should that not be a metaphor for life – and is this me learning what a pilgrimage is all about?  Can there be gain without pain?  For many this is hopefully not the case.  But so far the events in my life which I can clearly see have helped improve me as a person came with the most pain.  Sometimes great personal pain.  With pain in one foot and pain in one shin I cannot be distracted from the physical task of moving forward and enjoying the Camino experience.  Is this the experience that trains one for greater focus when the Camino is complete?  Is this where the Camino roots into real life?  Perhaps I’m sounding a little ‘woohoo’ here – but really, change your environment and change your experience of the world.  Time will tell.  I want to move forward to complete the Camino while enjoying and experiencing everything I can.

There is an interesting saying on the Camino – the first third is about the physical, the second about the emotional and the last third about the spiritual!

Hola!

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Tough Days

I have had a phone issue.  In spite of purchasing a bundled package for phone use in Spain – of course at a premium – I am not able to send original emails from my phone.  However, I can text, receive emails and reply to emails.  I have come up with a work around though which involves Cathy.  Cheers to Cathy!

 

I am now two days late in updating.  A hundred things are running through my mind and it’s difficult to know where to start. 

 

Why not with logistics?  Today we covered 28 km and are staying in a pilgrim hostel beside a church in the town of Cacabelus at km 193.5 to Santiago.  Yesterday we covered 27 kms and stayed in a lovely hotel in the town of Molinaseca at km 219 to Santiago.  However, we also went up and down 1000feet!  I basically hobbled into Molinaseca – it felt like my walking sticks were carrying me!  Have I mentioned the beautiful cloudless sky and +30C temperatures, or the very rocky trails?  I pushed my feet and legs as far as they could go. I have 4 blisters which, thanks to compedes and duct tape, is a manageable issue.  The biggest problem is going downhill on steep, rocky trails.  I find this drains and stiffens the small muscles on the front of the shins.

 

Thankfully today had little in the way of vertical challenge – just distance.  I was very tired by the time we arrived in Cacabelus.  Apparently not uncommon for people starting – the body is just not used to the amount of work being asked of it, especially with the pack load and difficult terrain.  I understand it gets better after the first week.  My training never subjected me to anywhere near this level of effort.

 

That said, my spirits are high and I am enjoying myself.  There are all sorts of people here – all ages, circumstances and physical capabilities.  I have nothing to complain about.

 

Ted is doing well and the extra days he has spent on the trail show, especially at the end of the day when I’m dragging my butt.

 

Will write more tomorrow; night is taking my ability to focus.

Why?

I have been asked – why are you walking the Camino?  I wish there was a clear and easy answer.  I know why some people do this: it’s a calling; they are walking for someone else who may be unable to do the walk or who are no longer with us; they are looking for an answer; they are looking to find someone; it’s an adventure.  I can say that I really have no definitive answer.  However, that does not mean that I have no purpose.  I know that things happen that we cannot anticipate, that we do not expect, and that we could not conceive of even if we could control the world.  I also believe that blessings surround us and that it is what is within ourselves that prevents us from seeing them.  I feel that I am here to be open and to experience – to see as much as I can – knowing that blessings may await and that blessings can be powerful and transformative.  This is not a place for logic or critique, but rather a place to open the guarded door to my own spirituality.  It’s a place to value other people and what they can provide, a place where openness, free of prejudice, may provide glimmers of revelation.  No expectations – only a view of the possible.

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I woke up late today to Ted knocking on my door. I'd say I had a pretty good sleep. Thanks Cathy for making great arrangements!

We were out from the hotel no more than 5 minutes and we met a group of 4 women in our age group. Surprise, surprise, they were all Canadians from southern Ontario. Apparently, you can throw a stone in any direction and hit a Canadian. Why would that be?

Ok - I trained, I had plenty of workout muscle soreness that is suppose to make me a strong person with better character (hee hee). Well - a pair of 2 lb hiking boots had gained about 5 lbs each by the end of today - increased muchly by a +100m climb over the day's second last 1 km. Nice test for the first day. I have ever hiked 21 km, let alone with 25 lbs on my back. The 10 lbs I lost over the last month made no difference in the weight of the pack - disappointing!. It was still heavy by day's end. The good news is that my feet and muscles feel fine, just drained. We have called for medicinal beer drinking - a well know Camino cure for hiking fatigue.

Showering and laundry are the first order once we sign in at the local Albergue (cheap hostel-focus on the first word and let it modify your image of the second word)

It has been a beautiful day of sun and nice people from around the world. Kindness spoken with eyes, patience, and a willingness to help one another overcomes the language divide.

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The train to Leon yesterday was almost empty. It was almost a metaphor for the countryside from Madrid to Leon - outside of a few cities and villages, the terrain was very dry, open and flat - and very few homes or people. It looked very empty.

I spent half an hour walking around Leon waiting for the final train. They have a nice river with parks and walkways on both sides,

The train to Astorga was a modest step down in finish compared to the previous train - but still quite acceptable. What I did not anticipate was nightfall prior to getting to Astorga. A wee tension set in as the stations are poorly lit with no visible signage. The announcements were barely audible from my seat. A woman who spoke no english assisted and I got off at the right place - to Ted waiting on the platform. Yahoo - the four stage odyssey was over and all went well.

Off to the hotel - very nice - a beer and salad dinner - also very nice - and a very welcome shower and sleep - WONDERFULL.
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Train to Leon-Interior 00093.jpg

Travel, travel, travel. I have now been traveling for almost 24 hours - with 1 one to go. I'm about to climb on the 2nd train - the one traveling to Astorga where I meet Ted and where I get to SLEEP for the night. I don't think I have any jet lag, I'm too tired.

The trip has been fine. I thought I lost my luggage at Madrid! I, with a few others were all who remained empty handed at the luggage conveyor when they announced that was all the luggage from our flight. WHAT! .... Secondary plans started to formulate - with 2 glitches. My phone was dead and no one spoke passable english! I had just reached the head of the line and had just been given a terse pronouciation lesson by the counter clerk on the differences between the French and Spanish versions of saying Leon, when a man bolted past me back to the conveyor. Upon turning around I saw a glorious sight - my lonely pack moving towards me on a near empty conveyor. My spirits were lifted. Who knows where the last load of luggage had been, but it ended well. I grabbed it and headed to the subway to get to Mchamartin Train Station, the way to Leon.
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Amsterdam Airport-00083.jpg

Arrived well at Amsterdam Airport. Customs was very low key - the agent didn't even ask me one question. My flight to Madrid leaves in two and a half hours. This is a huge, modern airport. From touchdown to parked took 10-15 minutes. I'm off to explore the stores - and maybe drop into Starbucks!
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