June 25 Wednesday - Santiago de Compostela Summer In Galicia, Transitions

June 25 Wednesday - Santiago de Compostela

Summer In Galicia, Transitions

Summer in Galicia is like winter at home. The first few days I was here it was warm, not hot, but warm. The highs were probably mid seventies. Then it started raining and there were thunder storms. The temperatures are in the mid to high sixties, with moisture in the air, and occasional showers. That's winter at home. But it isn't winter, it is summer. And my mind has begun it's normal migration from where I am to where I am going. For about two weeks before I leave for Spain, my mind is half at home, but turning toward Spain. And about two weeks before it is time to return home, the process reverses and my thoughts start turning increasingly to home. I started becoming aware of this phenomenon about five or six years ago. 

I'm thinking of warm summer nights spent watching the Dodgers, friends, family, walks on the beaches, and soft summer breezes. I have enjoyed my time here, as Zi always do. I have enjoyed the food here, as I always do. And I have enjoyed the people here, as I always do. If for some reason I found myself living in Spain, I am sure I would be happy here. I would learn to love  fútbol, as I love baseball. I would make friends. I would learn to speak Spanish well enough to have long conversations. But I don't live here, I live in California. And Zi love my home. 

I think this year after walking three Caminos, serving as a hospitalera  twice and as an Amiga twice; I have come to the realization that I enjoy walking more than the voluntary service. It's not an easy thing to come to grips with or to admit, but I believe it is my truth. This is not to say that I haven't enjoyed my times of service. I have enjoyed them very much, met some amazing people and made some great friends. But I prefer walking. Maybe I like the impermanence, the continual change, and the sense of adventure. I'm not sure what it is and maybe I will get some clarity or maybe it is just one of those things I need to recognize and roll with it. Coming from a background of service, this has been a big chunk of truth to learn about myself. 

I seem to have come to a time in my life where I can appreciate that there are some things I like because I like them and some thing is I like because I think I should like them. I'm getting better at spotting the difference and accepting the reality of that distinction. I am no longer willing to do things because I think I should like them.  

Going Again

I will be going on the Camino de la Plata this year. I'm leaving April15 and returning July 2. The Via de la Plata is a different and much less traveled route from Seville, in southern Spain, to Santiago, in northern Spain. Hopefully this year I will also hike to the coast at Finisterre and Muxia.

The blog will be at nancy7484.blogspot.com   There is nothing written there now, but you can go and put in you email address to get the blogs by email when I start writing..

Day 79 - Finisterre - October 2, 2013

Day 79 -Finisterre - October 2

I am done walking for this Camino. I got up and had breakfast downstairs. I met Daniel and we took off to Plaza Glacia to catch the number 5 City Bus to the bus station to catch the bus to Finisterre. We thought it was a forty five minute bus ride, but it was three hours. It was ok because the scenery was beautiful. And I found the place John and I stayed in the midst of a fire in 2006. I've lost most of the emails from that trip and for the last couple of years I've been trying to figure out where it is on maps. Now I know, it's on the coast on the way to Finisterre. It was just a hotel and bar and a few house in 2006. It is called San Francisco and is outside a little town named Louro, which is after Mouros and before Finsterre. I even spotted the location of the Great Banana Ordeal. lol that little part of the trip brought back a ton of memories.

When we got to Finisterre, Daniel went to the beach to do his thing and I walked out to the lighthouse at the end of the world. It was about a 3km walk and the weather was perfect weather for the moment. The wind was blowing it was cloudy with intermittent light rain. I walked past the lighthouse and down the slope where people had left thing or burned them. I didn't really want to leave anything or burn anything. I just want a moment to say "thank you" to God. So I sat down on a rock and listened to Leonard Cohen, "If It Be Your Will; Joan Baez, "God Is God; and Judy Collinns, "Amazing Grace." I cried, prayed, and said "thank you." It was the perfect ending to a wonderful adventure.

I walked back into town and ran into this guy, Milo, who I met having coffee somewhere on the Camino. While I was talking to Milo, we decided we should have our picture taken, so we ask a passerby if she would take our picture. About that time Daniel came by, so we went and had a bite and a café for me and chatted while we waited for our bus.

Daniel found some empty seats in the back of the bus and took a nap on the way back. He missed the scary stuff. At one stop we waited for a long time and a new bus driver came. The guy who had been driving the bus moved over to the jump seat by the door. They were both young guys, so they started to have their own party in the front of the bus talking loud and laughing, talking on cell phones, and the driver kept looking over at the other guy while they were talking. There's nothing wrong with any of this behavior unless your driving a large bus on narrow winding roads with other traffic shortly after the horrific train wreck that occurred while the engineer was talking on a cell phone, there was a bad bus crash that caused several deaths, I think in Valencia, Spain and Involving a cellphone. I'm sitting in the front seat watching this and getting a little panicky. I mostly don't worry about things, figuring when my time is up it will be up. But I don't want to sit and watch and wait for it to happen.

So I put on My iPod and some soothing music, but Even turned up full volume I can't hear it over their loud conversation. I'm thinking I could ask them to please stop what their doing and pay attention to their job, or I could get off the bus, put on some rock n roll. I took the last option. I still couldn't hear the music very well, so to river the tension, I started singing long, loudly. Now I need to explain, I can't sing. When I sing lullabies, children have ask me to stop or have nightmares. But I love to sing. I usually limit myself to places on the Camino when no one is around, the shower, and other places where I won't annoy anyone or embarrass myself. But this was a matter of life and death, or at least of possibly freaking out and ending up in the nut ward with tranquilizer darts in me. So I sang in my outside voice. Everyone was behind me so I didn't see their reaction, but the older man next to me looked startled and the older woman across the aisle looked like SHE was going to jump off the bus while it was moving. I don't know if I was singing that badly or if she thought I was off my nut and might be dangerous.

But I sang and stopped waiting for the accident to happen and I was happy as a clam. The two bus drivers seemed to think it was amusing and went right on endangering lives. Eventually Daniel woke up and realized we were at the stop where we should be getting off. We did and the bus moved on. I hope those two don't kill some one some day. Today was apparently not my day. Though I almost laughed myself to death writing this.

Day 92 - Seville a Madrid - October 14, 2013

Day 92 - Seville a Madrid - October 14, 2013

What a day! I got up this morning, showered and went down for breakfast with the Bears. After breakfast we returned to the room, finished packing,

and went downstairs to check out and get a cab. I had a really nice conversation with the cab driver on the way to the airport. Her husband did the Camino Via Plata from Sevilla to Santiago on a bicycle. So we talked about the Camino and stuff. I told I was trying to learn Spanish and she said I was doing very well. She said it is hard to understand folks in Seville because they swallow the ends of words. I had noticed that, like they say, "Buen Día" instead of, "Buenos Dias." 

I got to the train station early and noticed there was an earlier train leaving for Madrid in fifteen minutes. I thought, "If I catch the earlier train I might be able to catch the 2pm meeting in Madrid and go to a Flamenco show tonight. What the heck. I'll go to the ticket counter, see if I can get waited on quickly and ask if I can change the ticket." Well, I could and I did and I scurried down the ramp and got on the train. It was a quiet uneventful train ride. I read some. I'm reading a really good book titled "1Q84." I also looked out the window some and thought about doing the Via Playa some Spring. The flowers are supposed to be incredible. 

The train got to Madrid about ten minutes early. I got on the Metro which stops right in front of Micky Dees, which is right next door to my hotel. I check in

gather myself together and head to the meeting. It's the start of siesta time so the Metro is crazy busy with everyone going home to eat. Then I get off and realize the meeting is further from the Metro stop than I thought it was. So I got there for half the meeting, which is better than no meeting. But I decided to skip the Flamenco and go to the night one too. After the 2pm meeting I stopped at Starbucks to have an Americano and a cookie. I was very surprised when they

served it to me in a ceramic cup. I had seen people drinking coffee from a ceramic cup, but I thought they had just bought the cup and had their coffee put into it. 

On the Metro on the way back to the hotel I remembered I had planned to go to the Prado Museo this afternoon. So I stopped by the hotel, regathered myself and headed to the Prado on foot. On the way I saw there was a SMOOY frozen yogurt shop right down the street from my hotel on the way to Puerta del Sol  I got there and they were having a special exhibition of Velasquez paintings and it was included in the price of the regular ticket. What a deal! The Velasquez exhibit was very interesting. It was the paintings he had done of the Court of Phillip IV King of Spain and Mariana of Austria, his wife. Then I went and visited my friends

Goya's Mahas and Tres de Mayo and Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch. I saw a bunch of other paintings too numerous to mention. Their collection is extensive. But I must admit I always get lost and turned around in that museum, to me their map or plan is hard to follow. 

Back at the hotel I grabbed the Bears (they didn't want to go to the Museum) and we went down to Micky Dees for a bite to eat before getting on the Metro to go to the second meeting. The meeting was good. Both meetings today were on Step One. Hmm?! Before going upstairs for the night I went and got a melon SMOOY yogurt and took it up to the room. 

Leea and I stayed in this room last year and the hotel faces onto Gran Via, one of the main roads in central Madrid and another street that leads to the Puerta del Sol and also seems to be the spot for working girls. Leea and I noticed there were a lot of women in extremely tight or skimpy outfits and very tall heels just standing around. Our hotel window looked out on this street last year and we ended up joking with some of the women who were across from our window. This year my room faces Gran Via. :( 

Well it's time to get some sleep. By the time you wake up tomorrow I should be in Newark waiting for my fight to John Wayne. 

Day 91 - Seville - October 13, 2013

Day 91 - Seville - October 13, 2013

In my utter devastation over the Dodgers loss last night I forgot to mention Saturday night in Seville. It is a party that begins in the early evening in the streets and cafes and moves into the clubs around midnight. The one thing you notice immediately is the tremendous number of young people between eighteen and twenty five that are out, dressed to the nines and looking for to party. Then I remembered, Seville has a few colleges and at least one university. And it makes sense. 

Then there are the families with kids. On Saturdays and fiestas even the toddlers are out with their families until after midnight. It shocked me at first, years ago, but now I'm used to it and the kids don't seem any the worse for it. In fact one of the things I adore about Spanish culture is the way families do things together and age groups mix. If there is a fiesta there are toddlers, kids, teenagers, young adults, moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas dancing, singing, eating, drinking, laughing and chatting. And this same scene plays out to a lesser extent every evening in the designated plaza or park. It is truly a joy to observe. Our society's activities are so age segregated they rarely mix. I don't believe the Spanish use a lot of baby sitters. It looks like everyone just comes along. 

Anyway, last night the streets, restaurants, cafes and bars were packed. Everyone was having fun. 

This morning the town woke up slow. Me too. I got up had breakfast and fiddled around getting things packed up to go to Madrid tomorrow. By the time most of you wake up tomorrow I will be in Madrid. After breakfast I just wandered up one street and down the other watching people go to church or go for coffee and pastries. I got out of the tourist section and just walked regular streets. At some point I ended up at a Hoppy Bus stop and hopped on. I spent a pleasant hour on the upper deck in the sunshine just watching Seville go by. At one point we were stopped on the major street along the river when a motorcycle procession went by with a police escort. At first I thought it was a funeral, but there were all kinds of bikes from Scooters to big motorcycles and no one

was dressed like it was a funeral. It wasn't political. I never did figure out what it was about, but the police had the whole south side of the street blocked so it was just bikes, no cars. We passed the cars later on backed up for a couple of miles tooting their horns. lol

After the Hoppy Bus I went through the old Jewish area, did some shopping, had some tapas and then wandered some more. I wandered right up to a helado place and got myself a cup of Chocolate Brownie. Then I came back to the hotel to shower and get rested for my final flamenco show. 

The final Flamenco show ranked adobe of the best, if not the best. What a wonderful way to end my stay in Seville. I

sat next to a couple from South Dakota who had like a three or four year old boy with them. They were very nice. They had been to Barcelona, Granada and Seville. They leaving tomorrow to go to Madrid then Lisbon. All in two weeks. 

I sat in front of some very annoying women from London. One kept kicking me. They all talked incessantly. And one of them was just really peeved because the ticket agent at the bus station didn't speak one word of English. He was in Spain after all, where the language is Spanish. What I thought was worthy of notice is that she was in Spain and doesn't speak one word of Spanish. You don't have to speak Spanish to be in Spain, but  getting upset with someone doing his job in the language if the country he works in is a little weird. 

Well next comes Madrid. Then comes home!!!!

Day 87 - Córdoba a Seville - October 9, 2013

Day 87 - Córdoba a Seville - October 9, 2013

Got up, got organized, and got a taxi (yup living high on the hog) to the train station. 

It's a noisy train this morning. Two or three people are talking on their cell phones and the four people in front of me are having breakfast or a snack of potato chips and other foods in crinkly wrappers. One woman talked on the phone for the whole forty five minute train ride. I think my ear would be sore. 

My pet peeve is women who pee on the toilet seat and don't clean up after themselves. I mean seriously, if you want to pee standing up like men do, then grab some toilet paper and lift the frigging toilet seat. This morning I encountered one of these who didn't even flush the toilet. Germaphobe? I hate cleaning up after women who do this, but I hate sitting on a wet seat worse. 

It must be burning day between Cordóba and Seville, because there was a lot of smoke out in the fields that looked like controlled burning. I noticed this along the Caminoi, like outside Ponferrado. It's like regulated so you only have poor air quality for a limited time. 

Anyway, I got to Seville all dry. I got a cab (really living it up) to the hotel. I was flabbergasted when I opened the door to the room. I think it's the nicest too I've ever stayed in anywhere, ever. And I've stayed in some very fancy, very expensive hotels (usually when someone else paid for them.) this hotel is in an old building that's been restored and it only has six rooms. The downstairs, which is part of the hotel is a restaurant and a cooking school. I can't wait to see what breakfast is like, it's included with the room. And it's not that expensive. The

bed is as big as a football field and it has a step down living room with a fireplace and a big screen TV. The bathtub is a jacuzzi. I'm in heaven. Though I do love the bunk beds in the albergues too. ;)

Before I leave the hotel I have the woman at the reception office make reservations for me for tonight at the flamenco show she recommends and for tomorrow night at a place that Trip Advisor recommends. Tomorrow I will go get a ticket for either Friday or Saturday at the Museum of Flamenco where Leea and I saw a great show four years ago. I also looked up meetings and found an English speaking one Satunday morning at 10:30. I called the number for it and talked to Dave who told me where it was and how to get there. He has also walked the Camino, so we talked about that for a while. 

I got out of the hotel about three and wandered over to the Alcazar. I was wondering if it is as wonderful as I remember it to be. I've been in it three times before. Well I got there and found out it closes at five this time of year. I also found out it will only cost me two euro to go on because I'm old. So I decide I can go today and another time or two. It was even better than I remember it. 

I went to the flamenco show and it was fantastic. I just love flamenco. This show was one of the dramatic types. I just love the looks on their faces and the body language. We weren't allowed to take pictures. Sorry. They had three female dancers, three male dancers, three singers and two guitar players. I think one of the singers was this good looking young man Leea and I saw playing a drum at an outdoor show in Granada. Then we saw him the next day on the

train ride from hell (two screaming children in the seat behind us) to Seville. One of the male dancers was about seven feet tall and really skinny. It made the foot and leg movements look even faster. After the show I was coming down the stair from the rest room and one of the female dancers said she really liked my hair. 

I got lost on the way home. Easy to do in this city and more fun than aggravating or scary. And now it's time to get some sleep. Lots of things to see and do tomorrow. Sleep with the angels. 

Day 89 - Seville - October 11, 2013

Day 89 - Seville - October 11, 2013

 I really appreciate the effort of those of you who take the time to write a comment or send me a note.   It gets lonely out here sometimes. Especially now. On the Camino I had lots of people to talk to, but now I'm just a solo tourist eating alone, walking alone, doing everything alone. Good time for reflection and I'm having fun, but it's nice to hear from my friends. I'm going to an English speaking meeting tomorrow, so that should be nice. I'll get a chance to go to one in Madrid too. 

Today was a relaxed morning. I did get cornflakes for breakfast, all I had to do was ask. I sat by the window and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. Then I walked over by the Cathedral and bought a ticket for tonight's Flamenco show. On the way I watched a protest march with police "protection." It was all very

peaceful. The Bears and I also had an encounter with a Roman soldier, but the Bears kicked a** and escaped. After all this excitement, I needed a nap. 

I got up, took a shower, and went out to wander. In my wanderings today I saw a Burger King, a KFC, and a Mickey Dees. I also saw some interesting things. I wandered over to Triana to check out the Mercado (fresh food,) but is was 3pm and most of the fresh food stalls were closed. But the bars and cafes were open and outside of one of them two guitar players and a young woman singer were creating Flamenco music. What a

treat. After I left there, I wandered along the river to Plaza España and the huge park that surrounds it. I made the mistake of wearing my flops without my injinji socks and almost immediately got a hot spot. I wanted to avoid getting a blister so I decided to explore Plaza España tomorrow or Sunday. I bought my Hop on Hop off bus ticket because I wanted to use it tomorrow and Sunday. And it got me closer to my hotel without more walking in my flops. 

One of the things I learned on the bus, about the Plaza España, was that the last big movie it was used in was Star Wars where it served as the Capitol of planet Nabu. Just a tidbit for all you Star Wars fans. 

Currently there is a gaggle of pre teen girls on the veranda across from me wearing various hats including Mickey Mouse ears. I think it must be a Friday night sleep over. They seem to be having a good time and just shouted "hola" to me. 

I stopped on my way to the flamenco show and I had one tapa tonight and one tapa (roasted lamb stuffed with spinach and mushrooms and with baked slices of potatoes) and ice cream. It was perfect. Sat at an out door cafe and two young guys came by and did a little flamenco performance for change. The problem with sitting out doors is the beggars, and there are lots of the, and the cigarette smokers, and there are lots of them. Oh well. 

The flamenco show was great. The bears and I enjoyed it. The woman who was the singer had been a dancer in another show I saw in Córdoba. I think the Flamenco circle moves around and interchange roles. It's very interesting. The artistic expression is unlimited, passionate, and beautiful. The bears and were a little disgruntled tonight. All of the shows ask you not to video tape or use flash during the shows. A majority of the shows ask you not to take photos until the end, when there is a short time when each of the performers do a little part of their performance so you can take pictures. There are always some who ignore this and take pictures. There was one guy the other night who video taped the whole thing. Not my pig not my farm. But tonight towards the end someone started taking flash pictures, and then a bunch of people joined in. I was in the front row and it was a dark theatre. All the flashes going off was really distracting and interfered with our enjoyment of the show. It also seemed to throw the performers off. We were only like two feet from the stage. Oh well. Some people are just a**holes. Sucks to be them. 

Meeting in the morning. Need to get to bed. Night, night.