Almost there!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates! We are doing great! We are now in the province of Galicia and we're loving the mountains, the mist, and the cooler temperatures. A week ago we were in the beautiful city of Leon, finally out of the Meseta, and it's hard to believe that we are 5 (or 6) days from Santiago. In the past week, we visited the cathedral of Leon, enjoyed the chocolate of Astorga, but most importantly we made new friends. We stopped at a parochial albergue in a small town called Foncebadon at the suggestion of our friend Michelle, a man from Italy walking the Camino for his young son who needs a kidney transplant. Michelle prepared a delicious Italian dinner for the pilgrims staying at the albergue, and we met Kennet from Denmark (previously known as Hat Guy for his tendency to wear his hat at all times- even in the albergue & bar) and Nicholas from London. Now, several days later, we feel like we've known our Camino family forever. Yesterday we climbed the second most intense mountain of the Camino into Galicia. We couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Spain has so many different regions that every day holds something new and special. I'm so grateful for the ways that God has worked in our lives and we know that the next week will be intense but so beautiful. We couldn't have imagined the things that we've seen & experienced and we are so grateful but please pray for us to be open to everything in these last days!

Salve Regina

Yesterday was one of my favorite Camino days so far. We left Boadilla at 5:30am and walked under the stars. We stumbled upon cafes at the perfect times, the weather was surprisingly cool, and for some reason we just flew as we walked the 26km to Carrion de Los Condes. I wanted to stay in the first albergue because it was attached to a convent where St Francis of Assisi stayed when he walked the Camino. We made it to the albergue before it filled up & everything was perfect. Free wifi at the bar down the street didn't hurt either! Carrion is a bigger town & we were thrilled to find more than one decently sized super mercado to stock up at and after wandering around, napping, and eating a simple dinner we went to Mass. First, we went to explore the convent's chapel and amazingly they were having adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. After some time in prayer we went to the church for Mass where they were also having adoration. It was do beautiful and I really experienced God's loving presence and His desire for us to continue the Camino. It was exactly what we needed and so much more. Deacon Joe was able to serve at Mass as deacon, even reading the Gospel! Pictures to come. A community of sisters provided the music and after a really touching mass attended by many pilgrims the sisters sang a song they wrote while the priest individually blessed each pilgrim. There were over 60 pilgrims present, some Catholic, some not, but it was incredibly beautiful to watch the faces of the pilgrims and see the peace & joy on their faces. God is so good & so loving and He just wants us to let Him love us. After the blessing, the priest & sisters lead us in singing the Salve Regina before a statue of the Blessed Mother from the 13th century. This was the third or fourth time we've sung the Salve on the Camino and it is so wonderful to be able to join in singing a hymn to Mary in Latin with people from all over the world. She is really with us, guiding and protecting us and we are so grateful. Today we walked to Terradillos de Los Templarios and we're happily enjoying the garden (there are kittens!) and waiting for dinner. Today is the halfway point for miles/kilometers and hopefully the rest of this journey will be as fruitful & interesting as the first.

The Meseta

Different people, in different ways, say that the Camino is like life. Ups & downs, joys & sorrows, persevering & struggling- it's almost a cliche. Nevertheless, it is very true. Two days ago we were in Burgos, home to the second largest cathedral in Spain, and today we are two days into our walk in the Meseta; a desert that lasts for seven days. We've been nervous about the Meseta since the beginning and it really is hot and dry and difficult. But as the cliche goes, there are deserts & mesetas in our lives, just like the Camino. For me, the thing about the Camino is that it is actually pretty simple. You wake up, you eat/drink cafe if you can, you walk, you stop & rest/eat, you walk, you rest etc., find an albergue, shower & wash clothes, nap/find wifi, go to Mass if possible, eat again, sleep- repeat. Because the Camino is a simpler life and because there is a lot of quiet & time to think, as well as real physical suffering, it is impossible to live life as you did at home. In our normal lives, we can distract ourselves from our fears, insecurities, loneliness, inconsistencies, doubts, problems, etc. with so many different things. It is easy to be numb, to avoid the issue, to live a life on the surface. It's much harder to do that here. The distractions are gone, silence fills the space of noise, and you are faced with yourself. Your real self. I hope that as the Meseta continues & the Camino continues we'll continue to be faced with these questions, and be open to the answers and healing that God provides.

The perks to suffering

Suffering. We all talk about it, feel it, know it, and experience it. It's something we can all relate to. This trip is full of suffering and trials. From the lack of bathrooms to the sore feet and shoulders, we feel suffering. What we seem to miss out on sometimes are the amazing blessings and graces that are poured out for us. Sometimes people can be so preoccupied with their own pain that they look right over the beautiful gifts we receive. We wake up every morning before the sun. We put on our shoes usually in a dimly lit area and we head off down the road barely awake with mostly empty stomachs. Despite the pain Ive been stopping to notice the sunrise. A gift from God. Mid day we pray that Mary's mantle will shield us from the rays but in the morning, the very sight of it is comforting. This last few weeks have been a great test of patience, pride, humility, and all of our other virtues. Daily we remind each other of Gods gifts and love as we all grow in friendship with both each other and God. We pray for each other when we're weak and we offer the food we have even when we're hungry. We've been so blessed to experience the glory of God even through each painful step. We see the kindness of our Lord in strangers when they come up next to us on the trail. We feel comfort in a gentle smile from the peregrino limping a few feet away and we see the love of God in the smiles of the people we surround ourselves with, even if we can't speak the same language. This is how God created us to be. Even if we don't speak the same language or even share the same faith, we see in everyone we encounter that the foundation of our new friendships and conversations are based on faith. Some searching for it, some trying to deepen it and some trying to understand what faith even is. Either way each day it becomes clearer that we really are blessed as one body in Christ. Pray for us! We keep praying for you! Love, Maria

No, we're not sleeping in the wilderness yet

So we've been walking the Camino for 11 days and we've experienced a lot that the Way has to offer. One of the things that we experience everyday is the local albergue. Whenever we reach the town that we're going to stop at, the first thing that we do is check in at the albergue. Albergues are essentially youth hostels made specifically for pilgrims, and each one is unique. So far we've stayed at all three types of albergues and each kind has it's own advantages and disadvantages. The first and most common kind are the municipal albergues. These are run by the government and are usually bigger. There are usually pretty good facilities (good showers, kitchen), but they fit a lot of people in each room so you're probably going to be stuck with a couple people who snore. The municipal ones are cheaper and we've had some good nights at them. The next kind are the private albergues which are a little bit more expensive, but you get what you pay for. The facilities are better and they each have a unique flavor. One of our favorite albergues was a private albergue called Casa de Austria. We wanted to stay there at first because Jess had spent a semester in Austria, but we never expected how good the choice was. Jess already posted about our great time there, but let me just say, from my perspective, the evening jam session with Jess and our new friends from California was really, really cool. The final kind of albergue is parochial. These are run by the Church and connected to the local parish. They're run.by volunteers called hospitaleros who work for 2 week periods. These have been my favorite albergues so far. The facilities are not as good, we have to sleep on mats on the floor, and we're crammed in the rooms, but they make up for it with the atmosphere. The best part of parochial albergues is the communal meal. We get together and prepare the meal and then eat as a community. The meals have been great and the company is even better. Also, because it's connected to the Church, there's usually a priest and we always pray some sort of night prayer. These have been great nights and they really add a lot to the Camino. Tomorrow we'll move on to Ages and then we'll be in Burgos the day after. After that we move on to the dreaded Meseta, but for now, we're just going to take it day by day.

Viana & Navarette

Last night we stayed in a parochial albergue in Viana. There are three types of albergues: municipal (run by the town), private, and parochial (by a church). The albergue was actually connected to the Church and it was donation only & included a shared meal. The volunteers who greeted us and cooked for us were named Jean & Elvira. Jean is from Ireland & Elvira is originally from CT! Small world! Also staying in the albergue with us were our new friends from California. We met Dale & Paul and their sons Ben & Nick in Estella and at the Los Arcos albergue we played guitar & ukulele and sang together. It was Camino magic & I'll never forget it. Ben & Nick are both 16 and they've been having a great Camino and definitely added some fun to our group. The parochial albergue had simple facilities (ie. mat on the ground) but it was great. We all went to Mass in the beautiful Church & we went to confession to the gentlest & kindest priest. He gave all the pilgrims a very personal blessing after Mass & it was a true experience of God's love. The shared dinner was fun & delicious and the priest joined us all. After, he let us into the choir loft and Deacon Joe played the organ & everyone sang. We ended the night with "Salve Regina." we have really been feeling Mary's hand guiding us & she really is wrapping us in her mantle of protective clouds & gentle breezes. We know the temperature is going to spike tomorrow but these two days have been a grace. Tonight we are at a really nice albergue in Navarette. Siesta time is ending soon and we'll go to dinner & Mass, or vice versa, and definitely have a restful sleep. We plan to wake up early tomorrow to try to beat the heat! Please pray that we stay fuerte (strong) & injury/illness free & that we are open to what the Lorr has in store for us! We are praying for you!

Day 6: Casa Austria

Yesterday was a rough day. It was the first day that was really hot. We were hurting and with the sun beating down on us we went slower than usual and every km seemed way too long! Estella was a nice city and we were all able to take a nap but for the first time since the crazy walk from St Jean to Roncevalles, I was really discouraged. God is really good to us as always and today's 13 mile walk from Estella to Los Arcos was a welcome relief. We left earlier than usual, which we're learning is really helpful in beating the heat. We only made 2 short stops and we were in Los Arcos by 11! Some other pilgrims pushed on to Torres del Rio but we were advised that Torres only had one 50 person albergue and was a much smaller town so we stayed and checked into Casa de Austria and highly recommended by Camino veteran Sarah Brixner. It lives up to the hype! It's super quaint & cozy with a beautiful classical guitar (everyone is jamming!) and games, books, a foot bath, coffee machine, wifi, a kitchen, garden, and birds! It's a Camino dream! We've been relaxing & exploring & Deacon Joe & Eric made us a delicious dinner of spaghetti with meat sauce, tomato & cucumber salad, topped with freshly grated cheese. So good! We are going to Mass st 8 and probably straight to bed. Tomorrow is are ally long day and it might rain so say a prayer for us. We will continue to Logrono if we can but some people are stopping in Viana so we're leaving it up to God. He is doing a pretty great job of choosing albergues! Love to everyone back home!

Camino Day 5

Today we walked from Puente la Reina to Estella. The day started with a huge, long, steep hill that made me reconsider yesterday's optimism. The Camino is really, really difficult. The climbing temperature didn't help either. We saw a lot of wheat fields, a few cute towns, and had little shade. We struggled to find a church that had Mass at a time we could go but we ended up making it to the 8pm at a beautiful church in Estella. Please pray that we continue to persevere. Our feet and legs are so sore and our packs feel heavier every day. We are offering all of this up for our intentions and yours.

Camino Day 4

Today we walked from Cizur Manor to Puenta de la Reina. It was 13 miles and we saw a beautiful old church of the Knights Templar. We also saw many fields of sunflowers which were magnificent. We are at a new albuergue with a pool, however, we were too tired to swim haha but the albuergue is great. We love the Camino. It is pretty awesome. Praised be Jesus Christ- now and forever!

Super Guay

Hello everyone! This is my first post from the Camino & I'm awkwardly typing on my iPhone while using the albuergue wifi on day 3 of walking. I'm tired & sore but so far I love the Camino. There is so much more ahead that literally you have to take it a day at a time, sometimes even a hill at a time. We started in Paris after an uneventful flight. Our hostel was actually wonderful but sadly we didn't have much time to explore. We saw the miraculous medal shrine, Notre Dame ( sadly from the outside only) and the Eiffel tower at night which was actually so beautiful. We struggled to find an affordable place to have decent food & we were all starving so I prayed a quick prayer to Mary to help us find a restaurant. A block later we had found the perfect place. This may have been our first small Camino miracle. Oh actually finding the miraculous medal Shrine due to the kindness of a Parisienne college student before it closed was the first. On Tuesday, July 3 we took a train from Paris to Bayonne and then Bayonne, but this didn't happen without a serious miracle. I had bought the tickets online but had to enter a code at a kiosk to get them. I also had to enter my name and it just wasn't working. We ran around the train station, getting into various lines, speaking French left & right, and time was running out. The flying novenas started and I finally got the tickets to work but only two printed. As I stood there first in elation then horror, Deacon Joe yelled at me to jump into a line for help. I suddenly received the Gift of French and explained my situation. Voila. Tickets! THANK YOU, MARY! At the Bayonne train station, we met some fellow Americans, college students from Virginia, and the Camino friendships started forming. At this point, I have to confess that I left the Martin Backpacker at home. I did, however, bring the ukulele. But what do you know, essentially the third pilgrim we met was a man from California who HAS THE MARTIN BACKPACKER. We haven't played together yet but we are going to and I'm pretty convinced that he is going to leave it behind and it will come into the possession of our group. Just a feeling. St Jean Pied de Port is a beautiful town in France and where we started. I made reservations at an albuergue called Esprit du Chemin (Spirit of the Camino) which turned out to be a huge win. Our roommates were a hilarious French man named Gilles and his grandson Mathieu who was, in his own words, "keeping his grandfather." He poured us "Coca Cola Francais" (red wine) at the awesome communal meal. We loved that albuergue! Everyone was wonderful! We also received our pilgrim credential & first stamp. We went to mass in the town and it was so beautiful, peaceful and we received an amazing blessing of pilgrims. We were very concerned that it was going to rain on our first day. Maria, Robby, & I prayed the prayer against storms in the Pieta prayer booklet and some prayers to St Raphael. We did not want to cross the Pyrenees in a thunderstorm, but as with everything so far, we entrusted everything to Jesus & Mary Thank you so much again, Mary- it didn't rain really. I asked her to wrap us in her mantle and she did. We were covered with cool refreshing fog that helped us not overheat in what was seriously the craziest walk of my life. I thought I was going to die. Really. It was that hard. But the views were amazing- mountains, fields, ponies, sheep, cattle, griffin vultures (super guay!). We were referring to guidebook along the way, & we knew a statue of our Lady was coming up. It was so foggy that we could barely see a thing but suddenly, through the mist, the statue appeared. We went & prayed with some other pilgrims in Italian, English, & French and then Robby lead the Salve Regina. It was so beautiful & peaceful in the midst of a difficult day. Our favorite pilgrims of the day were a hilarious British couple who kept teasing us about the 4th of July. We walked 16 miles from 7:30 to 5pm with SERIOUS hills. We stayed in Roncevalles, a tiny town with a brand new albuergue with plenty of room. We went to mass there, ate dinner (pork & bony/scaly fish...) and slept! Day 2 took us through a cold & rainy morning for a 17 mile day. We were sore & moving slowly but overall it was a great day. In the morning I met a sweet older Swiss lady who told me how she converted to Catholicism because of the Eucharist. Loved it. More from her later! We chatted with our Virginian friends along the way and Eric & Robby literally played soccer with a dog. Yeah, that happened. We also saw a lot of baby animals haha. We arrived triumphantly in Larrasoana just after finishing our rosary to find that the only albuergue in town was full. The town would not allow anyone to sleep on the streets or courtyards. Not good. I had just prayed a flying novena that the albuergue would have spots but God had other plans. Some pilgrims invited us to sleep in the countryside with them, which is quite a fuerte & courageous activity- problem being that the nights have been freezing, my sleep sack is so thin & so terrible, and we have seen slugs the size of our faces. Some ladies told us that there could be space in a pension (like an albuergue but more expensive & private) so Eric went to check. While he was gone I saw my friend Hedwig from the morning who also had nowhere to sleep. She and her French companion (Rosaline) also were going to move on, to either walk to the next town or to sleep outside. They went to get food & Eric came back with news that he got us the last 4 beds at the pension and he wanted to give them to me, Maria, and the older ladies. We found them in the bar and they insisted that they didn't want to spend the extra euros for the pension and they believed that God would provide. They wouldn't accept any money but they were incredibly touched that we wanted to help them and they were surprised that we were Catholic & doing the Camino for religious reasons. I tried so hard to convince them to stay because I was really worried about them. I was upset when they went off into the wilderness. Our overall level of being upset was at an all-time high when we got to the pension & found that our spots were gone. There was no room at the inn. The only thing we could do was actually sit down where we were and begin a flying novena. 2 Hail Mary's into the novena, Eric emerged grinning from ear to ear. We don't know how this happen. Multiplication of beds? No one knows. Eric used his Spanish skills, Mary took pity upon us, and we didn't have to sleep in the field. We actually had an amazing 4 person room. There was much rejoicing. We went to the market to buy dinner and the guy working at the market was in the movie The Way!! The rest of the night was just great. We hung out with the Way guy, and some Korean pilgrims played the flute for us. I played the uke for them & Adele's "Someone Like You" is apparently universal. This morning we got up and walked as fast as we could to make it to Pamplona before the San Fermin festival began. That's right, readers. We just so happened to be in Pamplona for the running with the bulls. Actually the running is tomorrow but we did get swept up in droves of people dressed in white & red, spraying each other with sangria. It was CRAZY!!! We had to take a detour but we beasted through and were even given free lunch in the park. PTL. Walking to Cizur Manor, the town we are in now, we saw Hedwig & Rosaline!!! They slept in a sacristy of a monastery right near the Blessed Sacrament. I don't know if we'll see them again because they have less time than us to make it to Santiago. So far, there has been so much laughter, storytelling, ridiculous comments, and random exclamations of "Super Guay!" and "Fuerte!". I can't believe this is only day 3. We are praying and offering up our steps and our discomforts for souls, our friends & family, America, Archbishop Lori, the Church, and so much more. Please pray for us!!! We love & miss you all!!!

When St. James Calls

So, today is the day. In less than 12 hours we’ll be on the plane. Surprisingly, I’m mostly packed. It’s been a process, though, and I still haven’t packed some of the absolute essentials. I’ve noticed that I’ve fallen into one of my really bad habits: when I have something really important to do, I seem to do other things that aren’t important at all. For example, in the past week, when I should have been packing and making sure I had everything, I learned half a song on the piano and finished half of a book that has nothing to do with the Camino.

As the Camino gets closer, though, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that this is actually happening. I’ve dreamed of this for years. When we started seriously talking about it last year, I could hardly believe that this would really happen. Now I stand ready to board the plane, and I’ve never been more nervous or excited in my life.

I think I’m about as prepared as I can be. I’ve done a good amount of research, I have all the equipment that I should need, and I’ve been training these past few weeks. I know that things might go wrong, and I know that no amount of training is going to prepare me for the pounding that’s coming.

There are some things, though, that I can’t prepare for. I really don’t know what awaits us along the way, and I don’t mean the wild dogs. I am pretty confident that this is going to be a life-changing trip. I doubt the changes will be monumental, but there is a reason for my going on this pilgrimage, and that reason will be something that will affect my life.

As one complete stranger once put it, “St. James is calling.” Why? What is it about a 500-mile walk that has anything to do with my life today? I don’t know, and that is what has me balancing on the thin line between excitement and anxiety. Slowing down for a month is going to reveal things about myself that I might not want to see. 

Regardless of what’s ahead, St. James has called, and I’m coming. I wish I had his faith to leave his nets and his father at the call of Christ. I’ve taken my time preparing and have tried to keep control as much as possible. At a certain point, though, I’m going to have to let go of all my preparations and just walk.