Thursday, June 30, 2011

Full Circle

Tomorrow mom and I complete our Camino journey. Nearly three months and 1000 miles have led us to the final destination... Santiago. We have come so far, learned so much and felt so greatly. Yet, today's series of mishaps proved one thing - that on every journey you somehow inexplicably come full circle. As Two Stooges we started off and as Two Stooges we will end. In tune with the Camino Gypsy Chronicle's devotion to honesty, here is a full disclosure of the truth on this our second to the last day of walking.

Truth - We passed the town we were supposed to stay in by nearly 3km.
Truth - If it hadn't been for the fact that I was meeting up with my Camino Love in said town and so had to be there, mom and I would have probably kept walking another 2km before realizing we had overshot the goal.
Truth - We tried to talk to two men on horseback to find out where we were, and they looked as us with blank stares and trotted on.
Truth - We searched the next town for a bar, and not finding one, attempted for the first time to hitchhike.
Truth - No one wanted to pick us up. I cannot blame them.
Truth - Finally mom spotted a hotel on the freeway, and we were able to phone a cab. To kill time we killed two shots of Scotch Whiskey.
Truth - Lizzie later told us that apparently there was a HUGE sign announcing the town (she used hand gestures to show exactly how HUGE it was). Precisely how we missed it is a Camino mystery we will never solve.
Truth - On any journey it is best to be humble and forgiving of oneself, as we all have a Stooge within us just waiting to come out and cause trouble.

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Just a couple Arzua to Arca de Pino pics, as the camera batteries were on the skids. How appropriate for the day!


Sunrise over windmills.


Mom captures your Camino Gypsy writer's shadow, which she is soon to leave behind in Santiago.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Arca de Pino, Spain

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Guapas

As Red and I walked together today, a biker took the time and energy to stop and tell us, "Buen Camino, guapas" - guapas essentially meaning 'hot chicks'. One thing I must thank the Camino for (and believe me, there are many) is a very acute boost in my self esteem. Never in all my life have I been so gawked at, whistled at, blown kisses to, stared at with quiet approval and wonder as I walk by, filmed with smart phones, winked at, flirted with, come on to, double-taked at, hit on or asked to take pictures with. I no doubt have made it into many a Spanish fantasy, probably wearing my short hiking shorts (my pants got stolen by a cleaning lady!)

Now, if you know me, you know I am not conceited. Or vain. In fact, I have slung many a curse word, snarl and insult at the mirror over these past 30 years. So this has all come as quite an amusing and lovely surprise. Just yesterday, a trucker craned his neck and popped his head out the window to blow a kiss at Red and I. Marvelous man! In L.A. I am average at best. In Spain, I am dynamite. At home, I might scorn these men and their ogling. Here, I say, 'bring it on!' Why not be put on a pedestal for once (no matter how creepy that pedestal is), even if just for aesthetics? I'm a feminist, yes, but in Spain I gladly accept my Guapa Crown.

So, ladies, if you yearn to be appreciated for what you were born with or have worked hard to create, buy a plane ticket, pack your bags, don't even bother with shaving and get yourself to Espana.

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Palas del Rei to Arzua. Mom had the camera all day, so the pics are from her and many from Red who was nice enough to take what she calls, "Tess pics" for me. Glad to know I have a style.





Artist at work.


Couldn't be clearer.











These odd structures hold mainly grain, but we've also seen hens and corn.








Action shot.








Girl power!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Arzua, Spain

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.

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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

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Heat Wave

Imagine, if you will, a 95-degree summer day in Sacramento. The heat is thick, sticky and oppressive. When you breathe, it feels like you're choking on hot tea. Ten minutes outdoors, and your skin burns hot enough to iron a t-shirt. Have the image in your head? Good. Now imagine calling up a friend and asking her/him if they'd like to take a 13-mile walk in this soul-draining heat. Preferably on a trail with no shade trees so that you can cook your body both inside and out. Your friend exclaims, "Of course!" and suggests bringing two 23-pound bags of potatoes to haul on your backs the entire way. She has a potluck to attend that night, and she's supposed to bring baked potatoes. You are thrilled at the idea, and ask her if she wouldn't mind also bringing a sack of dirt so that you can bathe in it to look as disgusting as possible for the walk. "No problem," she answers. It would be her pleasure.

What? This doesn't sound like a fun hike? It sounds miserable? Well, I couldn't agree more. This was our walk today from Serria to Portomarin. Hot. Boiling. Grimy. Skanky. Stinky. Exhausting. Scorching. Skin-blistering. Dehydrating. Brain-deadening. 95-degree walk.

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The hot-as-Hades walk from Serria to Portomarin. Don't let the beauty fool ya...


Sunrise over Serria.


Sunrise spotlight. Notice Lizzie's shadow making an appearance.





Camino love letters. Looks like someone other than me fell for the ol' Belgium charm.





Pizza on-the-go.


Coke is always so enterprising. Here a Camino themed soda machine.








Sauce, taste, toss! Our official Camino emblem makes an appearance - the artichoke. (See 'Sauce, Taste, Toss' blog if you have no idea what I'm talking about.)





This guy deserves two pictures as he posed for us for about twenty minutes. As if he'd been waiting for this moment his whole life.


Still life of pilgrim offerings.


This one's for you, dad!





Cutlery art.


Our 130 bed albergue.


Branded like pilgrim cattle.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Portomarin, Spain

Music Video & Photo Montage - "Hola Gatto!"

It should come as no surprise that I am a fan of the feline kind. Every cat I see on the Camino I greet with, "Hey pretty kitty! Ohhh, you're so cute. Gatto, I love you! I kiss you on the lips!" Sick isn't it? I truly have a problem. If I can't find a man to marry me, I'll wind up one of those old ladies who dresses her cats up in Halloween costumes. Oh wait, I already do that. (CleoCATra!) On a side note, perhaps there's a direct correlation between cat costumes and lack of wedding band... Something to think about...

Although I've taken a rather generous amount of pictures of French and Spanish cats on this journey, never have I penned an official song for such encounters. On Father's Day, Red and I wrote Rick (official trail dad, otherwise known as Papa Stork) a poem, so in turn, he composed a song for us entitled, "Hola Gatto!" based on our incessant need to say hello to every animal that crosses our path. Here is Rick singing that tune just outside Portomarin.

YouTube Video

Well, apparently once you write a song about a Camino experience, the Camino offers you a reward. And here it is in photo montage...











The cat really did jump up onto Red's backpack. The best part is, we discovered from other pilgrims that this cat is famous for being an official pilgrim greeter. Shortly after these pictures were taken, said greeter began to eat Red's hat. Bad greeter! Naughty Greeter! I kiss you on the lips!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Portomarin, Spain

Video - "Breakfast With A Side Of Cow"

A sample cow crossing - this one from the comfort of the breakfast table. If you listen closely to Rick's dialogue he really does utter the phrase, "Holy cow". And as a side note, is my voice really that grating? I feel like one of those poor saps on "American Idol" who think they can sing well but really sound like a metal fork getting stuck in the garbage disposal. I always believed myself to have a rather pleasant voice. Myth busted.

YouTube Video


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Portomarin, Spain

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Highlights - Triacastela to Serria

A looong hot day walking... limping... from Triacastela to Serria. Felt like walking on hot coals through the Mojave Desert. My boot rubber nearly stuck to the trail. You could fry eggs on my skin. Or start a fire with the reflection in my sunglasses. I would write a lengthy lovely blog about it, but my brain is overheated and my fingers are so scorched each tap of the keyboard feels like someone is poking lit matches under my nails. So, some pictures instead...


The wee cool hours of the morning. 6am start.


Early morning snuggles.





Mmmm, veggies...





The monastery in Samos, from afar.





After a HUGE breakfast - 2 large cafes con leche, tortilla francesa AND a slice of almond Santiago cake - we wait for the monastery to open.


Monks inspect their flowers.


The murals inside are amazing!














Monastery gardens.


A common sight - pots atop slate roofs.


Soda machine sent from heaven.



Secret garden. I didn't dare touch the gate for fear it might singe my skin. Yes, friends, it was THAT hot.





The fair set up outside our hotel in Serria. Very creepy vibe. Weird dudes watching us as we walked through. "Hang onto your boobs and wallets, ladies!"

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Serria, Spain