Mission: Re-Entry

As I begin to think about returning home to life as I used to know it, I can't help but think about all the pilgrim-centric things I must leave behind on the Camino. Discussing this with the gang - mom, Lizzie, Red and Sactown Rick - we came up with a list of pilgrim oddities, routines and habits we might unknowingly find ourselves doing back in the real world. If you do happen to discover us acting out any of the following scenarios, please utter the phrase, "get your sparkle on" - a secret passcode that will snap our unconscious out of it. (Yes, just like with Sinatra in "The Manchurian Candidate".)

1.) Ignoring our lovely, well-equipped, efficient and reliable washers and dryers in favor of hand-washing our clothes in the sink and hanging them outside our windows.
2.) Lubing my feet up with Body Glide and wrapping my toes with Compede before slipping on my heels and going dancing. Although, possibly a genius idea...
3.) Peeing in our friends' backyards behind the largest bushes we can find.
4.) Recording a snoring track and playing it at night to get to sleep.
5.) Taking our pants off in rooms filled with strangers.
6.) Asking to see the "pilgrim's menu" at every restaurant.
7.) Strapping on our backpacks before leaving for work.
8.) Asking for a "cafe con leche" at Starbucks and a "vino blanco" at the bar.
9.) Checking the corners of our mattresses every night for bed bugs and wearing tea tree oil as a perfume.
10.) Giving people directions in kilometers, the temperature in Celsius and the price in Euros.
11.) Wearing flip-flops in the shower.
12.) Complaining when a hike is only 11 miles. Barely a workout!
13.) Setting our phone alarms to chime every hour on the hour.
14.) Exclaiming "Buen Camino!" to everyone who passes us on the street.
15.) Using trekking poles to walk to the movie theater, grocery store, cafe, pharmacy, etc... Also, not a bad idea if you live in a shady neighborhood. Remember how handy they were as weapons against Devil Dog?
16.) Having a red pepper, pack of olives, an avocado, bag of nuts, baguette, cheese and granola bars on us AT ALL TIMES.
17.) Pouring bath and beauty products into sample sized bottles and throwing the rest away.
18.) Keeping the lights off in the house in the dark of morning and wearing a headlamp to find our way to the bathroom.
19.) Eating everything with a spork.
20.) Texting our Camino Love late into the night. Wait, that's one habit I do intend to keep...
21.) Bringing our sleepsacs and quick-dry towels with us when we spend the night at someone's house.
22.) Carrying extra toilet paper into every bathroom we enter and then rating that bathroom based on its cleanliness and abundance of paper products and soap.
23.) Looking for yellow arrows on walls and sidewalks when trying to find our way around the city.
24.) Going to the pharmacy to buy one single item every single freakin' day.
25.) Talking to people very very slowly so that they understand us.
26.) And last but not least, blogging about my daily Camino experiences. The habit I will truly miss the most.

----------
A few from Portomarin to Palas del Rei...





Smoke-filled sunrise.


Love my dandelion fields.


Is it the best idea to hang your clean laundry up by your cows?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Palas del Rei, Spain