My Latest Adventure

I got home last night about 7:30 pm. Dan had dinner waiting for me, and there were welcome-home flowers from my sisters. How lucky am I?

After the Porto challenge, my trip was relatively smooth sailing. I met a sweet mom-and-son couple, Lecia and Harlan, while waiting in line at the gate in Lisbon. They were returning from the Taylor Swift concert in Madrid. It was a 16-year birthday gift for Harlan, and by the sounds of it, this was a good excuse for Mom as well.

I laughed at one point in our conversation when they were showing me photos of the Golden Doodle puppy they adopted a few years ago.

I said, “Aren’t dogs great? They are such perfect creatures.”

Harlan said, “She reminds me of Gigi.”

Lecia offered, “Gigi was my mom. She died in Apri.”

“Aww,” I said, “You see your grandmother in the dog?”

“No,” he responded, “In you.” 🙂

Turned out their seats were right behind mine. I caught this as I was heading for the bathroom.

And hallelujah for Global Entry. When I was coming through Customs in Chicago, there were thousands of people in line. I zipped through without waiting a single second!

It was a delight to have my French press coffee this morning and pay a visit to my garden.

I was also delighted on my way home to receive a couple of messages from mentors in Dreaming in Script, in response to my latest calligraphy submission. I submitted the sample with a list of 14 comments I saw as errors/weaknesses.

From Sneha: “These are looking so awesome, Christine! It’s easier to see 14 things of what you’d like to improve, but how about picking 14 things or more that you’re happy with? 🙂 I see so many great things happening on this page! <3 

I’ll share one with you: your ASC loops are gorgeous and have a lovely consistency!”

From Tony: “Sneha is very good at reminding us to focus on the things that are going well as much as the things that are not. 🙂 

I agree with her that your ascender loops are stunning. Your “l” and “b” in the third line are chef’s kiss.”

So, now that I’m home, I can print the required sheet to submit this formally. This is required to move forward in the class.

I may have said it before, but it bares repeating because it has become even more true. This is the worst job I have ever done at choosing a flight itinerary. I was already kicking myself for the 10-hour layover in Lisbon on the way in. Wasn’t I suprised when I arrived in Lisbon from Porto, on my 11 pm flight last night, and proceeded to connect with my 12:40 (thinking it was am) flight to Chicago, only to discover that it was for 12:40 pm the next day!! I wasn’t even thinking that airlines use military time. If it were actually 12:40 am, it would have said, 0040.

The only thing that took the sting off was Michele’s coincidental message letting me know that Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts. It helped…some. I tried sleeping in a chair, in a couple of chairs, and on a bench, but the sounds of construction would not allow me to sleep. I finally went into the bathroom, went to the farthest stall, put on my rain gear for warmth, used one of my cubes for a pillow, curled up in a fetal position and slept on the floor. It wasn’t great, because of the occasional slammping of stall doors, but I did get a little sleep. I swear, this will never happen again.

I continue to be amazed at the number of smokers here and in Spain. I saw these images on tobacco products in the duty-free shopping area:

It’s 8:20 am. I have four hours until my flight. I just spotted a McDonald’s in the food court here. Perhaps I can get a decent cup of coffee, which I will enjoy while I do calligraphy.

Also, such a gift that Trump will be sentenced on my birthday. Thank you God.

I’m sitting in the dining area of the 3K Hotel right now. Just finished breakfast and I’m catching up. Dan left for the airport at 5:30 this morning. My flight doesn’t leave until 10:55 tonight, so I’m just hanging out here until about 8 pm when I’ll take a taxi to the airport, and then it’s just the flight and a bus home. I’ll be home by 8 pm tomorrow night. The least fun part of traveling. Oh well, until we enter the beam-me-up phase of our evolution, I guess I should just be grateful that I don’t have to go by boat.

Samantha, Julie and Wine arrived the next day. I told Samantha that I was going to meet her at the arch and videotape her entry. What I forgot was El Portugués pilgrims enter on the other side of the cathedral. So, instead of me videotaping her, Julie videotaped Samantha sneaking up on me.

I spent the afternoon touring the cathedral museum and strolling the streets while Dan napped. He wasn’t interested in the tour because many talked about it including a tower walk, which was pretty precarious. So, we had lunch near the square and then I walked back to the cathethral museum for the tour.

Turned out that tour was full, so I couldn’t do it. I was only able to tour the artwork: tapestries, sculptures, silver, gold… the usual church riches. I enjoyed my walk around town. The weather was perfect, sunny and in the upper 70s.

And then our final dinner together that evening. Dan and I went first to the wrong restaurant: Pulperia O’Piorno instead of Meson O’Piorno. My Google Maps was not cooperating to get us there. Not sure why, but we were going in circles. Finally, Samantha shared her location with us, and we made it, half a drink behind.

Dan and I took a bus yesterday from Santiago to Porto to begin our return home. The bus ride is three hours. You are not allowed to eat anything on the bus, and you have to pay 50 cents to use the toilet. I didn’t have a 50-cent piece, so I dropped in a 1-euro coin. It didn’t work, and my coin was not returned. I told the bus driver, and he just shrugged his shoulders. What a sad way to make money! Dan asked a woman across the aisle from us if she had 50 cents. She gave me the coin. I used it, and then I held the door open for the next guy. That’ll show ’em.

Almost home!

My computer decided to wake up today, so I can catch up. We arrived in Santiago de Compostela yesterday. It was another beautiful day of walking. I walked 13 miles from Padron to SDC and then took a taxi, as per Dan’s plan. I met him in town outside our hostel a bit later. Santa Cristina is a lovely hostel. It is very near the square. There are ample bathrooms, and the communal area is clean and commodious with a long wooden table and benches. Free coffee, tea and fruit all day, as well as a free washing machine!

I’ve been sitting in the kitchen area this morning practicing calligraphy and chatting with Anita (Utah), who is a volunteer here at the hostel as well as with the associated Episcopalian church nearby. She is on a three-month assignment, helping out at the hostel and coordinating church visits for incoming groups.

Dan is going to go to Mass, and then we will do the cathedral museum tour. Teo has already arrived in town this morning. Dan went to meet him in the square, and they made plans for dinner this evening. Samantha is going to text me when she is close, and we will meet her in the square. We met Patrick for dinner last night. He is leaving today.

I had to re-post this photo of my Camino Angel. Ana pointed out some edits that needed to be made. Thanks, Ana!

Images from yesterday’s final walk:

I didn’t blog yesterday. I was so tired by 8 pm, that I didn’t even try. We walked 15 miles from Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis. It was a mostly nice day until the end when it started to rain.

When we got to our room, my bag was not there. Top Santiago said they dropped it off in the fourth floor reception office, but it wasn’t there. After about an hour, it was discovered that there were two Christines on the driver’s list, and he got out bags mixed up.

We had a pilgrim’s menu dinner at Las Temas restaurant on the river. It would have been great if the weather were fine, and we could have sat outside, oh well.

Today was only 11 miles to Padron. It’s Sunday, and we showered and went out, just in time to catch the end of the market. Apparently, this is the second largest open market in Spain. The vendors were mostly selling just junky clothing, shoes, etc. Everyone was closing down, but we had enough time to purchase a roasted chicken, a red pepper, strawberries and cherries.

Right now, I’m sitting in the communal dining area of this hostel, Albergue da Meiga. I’m just finishing up my blog, and then I’m going to do calligraphy. Dan said he was going to take a nap. I’ll be interested to hear how that went. About an hour ago a group started trickling in, and they are LOUD. They are a group of kids from Mexico. I chatted with one young woman a short time ago. She said they are a group of 150. Not sure how many are here at this albergue, but safe to say “a lot.”

I wish I could repeat this day every day of the Camino. The weather was perfect and the terrain was easy and interesting. Some was through urban/industrial areas, but most of it was through a wooded area along a river. At one point, for at least an hour, I was completely alone. I even worried at one point that I had gotten off the trail, but then I saw a little arrow on a rock with the word “peace.” Thank you!

A few video clips of my walk to Pontevedra:

The walk was 10 miles. Pontevedra is a beautiful, classic European town, with motorless streets, lots of plazas and people sitting out, enjoying a drink, a chat and the sun.

We had dinner at a place called Atrevido. We were joined again by Teo, Zak, Michelle and Samantha. As we were walking to the restaurant, we met Teo who had two new friends with him: Julie and Wayne (Australia). When Julie introduced herself, she said, “Hi, I’m Julie and this is Wine.”

“Wine?” I responded.

“Yes, Wine, like John Wine, the movie star.” She continued, “I always have to add that last part because people think I’m saying wine, instead of wine.”

Of course, this was good for more than one laugh during dinner. At one point, I was pouring wine, and I asked Wayne, “Wine, Wine?” He just shook his head no. He didn’t get it.

We asked Julie to say the name of the drink and then say the name of her husband. She thought they sounded completely different. They did not.

Great conversations, mostly about Australian movies. Half the group is splitting off tomorrow to take what is called The Spiritual Path. We will all meet up in a few days in Santiago de Compostela.

Not much to report today. I quit at mile three. Up to that point it was extremely challenging. At one point, I was walking on my tiptoes to climb. I think I could have reached out and touched the road. I started to become a bit concerned about some chest pain I’ve been having. It’s not new. I’ve been noting it for about a year. It usually goes away after about 15 to 20 minutes and may be completely normal, but in combination with the fact that I haven’t been sleeping, it was just too much for my little brain.

Dan was waiting for me at the top of a hill, and he knew something was off. I couldn’t conceal it and actually started crying – what the!?! I know it’s mainly the lack of sleep where I can cry at the drop of a hat. I realize now that the emotion was due to the fact that I felt like I was disappointing Dan. I know he enjoys the fact that I am able to do this with him, and as silly as it sounds, I felt like I was letting him down. I know, ridiculous, and he’d be the first to say so. We both agreed it was best if I just took a taxi from there.

We crossed the street to a fire station to call a taxi. They were so kind. They offered to take me to a hospital and gave me water and a nectarine. I feel fine right now, just tired.

The proprietor here, Inés, is very sweet. She made me a cup of coffee, and we chatted while she was cleaning. This place is old but super clean. She doesn’t live here, she just rents out the four rooms. Because we are so far up from town, she stocks the kitchen with food for purchase, so we don’t have to worry about going out for dinner.

After finishing with the cleaning, Inés left and returned at 6 pm with a cake called bizcocho. It is a bundt cake made with lemon and orange. Fabulous. I had a piece immediately and the another for breakfast.

Shortly after I arrived, I received a text from Michele that she was in the hospital. She was having pain in her left arm while at work yesterday and drove herself to the ER after work. Due to her history, they kept her overnight and have been monitoring her bloodwork. They may do a stress test. This familial heart issue is certainly no picnic.

I have no Wi-Fi here, so I’m using my phone, and it seems that I cannot upload photos when doing this, so I’ll add them later.

Today was the toughest day so far. Lots of hills. I had to stop a number of times, count to 10 and continue – one foot in front of the other. It was nearly 15 miles. We are no longer along the coast. The trails now look very much like El Francés: some trails were woody, rocky, and muddy. Others were through urban/industrial areas.

The weather turned out to be beautiful. The morning started with a heavy downpour, but it slowed way down before we were even out the door. We had our rain gear on, and then took it off again before we left.

At our lunch break we saw Samantha coming down the street. She joined us for the majority of the end of our walk, and then she took a taxi to Redondella – our stop for tomorrow.

Our room is so tiny, I can’t even get a decent photo of the inside.

Time for dinner. We’re meeting a couple of Dan’s friends. We had a great dinner at a place called El Capitan. It was a late one for us because it didn’t open until 8:30. We met Dan’s friends, Teo (China) and Zak and his mom, Michelle (New Zealand). Teo also invited Lynn (China).

I couldn’t quite understand, but I think Lynn said that she was actually planning to walk El Inglés and somehow ended up in Porto and now in Redondella. No idea. She said she chose El Inglés because it was short. She also said she can’t get up early enough to walk long distances. She blamed her parents?? Then she showed us pictures of her elderly (55- and 56-year-old parents rapelling the Great Wall.

What a difference a day makes!! Or, actually a few days. I feel SO much better. My only remaining symptom is a cough, which isn’t too bad. Yesterday, I was thinking I was such a whiner and should never have attempted to do this walk, maybe I should just go home. But I woke this morning feeling very well.

I walked the complete 13 miles today with no problem. The first eight miles I walked with Samantha. She was delightful. I learned a lot about her story. She is 29 years old and recently separated from a partner of eight years. She is very wise for her years and possesses the gift of the ability to embrace her challenges, knowing she will grow from them. She also realizes that she cannot control life and is learning to accept and be curious. Apparently, there were a number of issues which led to the split, but she thinks he did not want to continue with the relationship because she expressed her belief that she will want to be a mother some day. Tonight she is staying in a very upscale accommodation to treat herself – good for her!!

Heading out to dinner!

We crossed over from Portugal to Spain today. The water taxi was “iffy.” Each boat holds only six people. One group left before us and were back shortly thereafter saying that their boat broke down. Once we finally got onto a boat, it was only about 10 seconds before the driver turned to the motor and started taking it apart, declaring that it needed a rest. The motor rested for about a minute. He started it up again, and we were off. It was only about a five-minute crossing. The arrow in the photo shows our launch point. Galiza (Spain) is the destination.

Dan engaged in conversation with a Swiss guy riding a German bike. I think he called it a Canyon.

A couple of photos from my short walk today.

I made it to mile 5.5 before I decided any further walking wasn’t going to happen. We were sitting having a snack, and although I was wearing three layers, and we were in direct sunlight, I felt chilled. Dan suggested I take a taxi for a distance and then just walk the last bit to our accommodation. I suggested I take a taxi the entire way, which was about 10 miles.

So, Dan asked a woman on the street in town where we could find a taxi or a bus. She offered to walk to the bus stop with us. On the way, we met a friend of hers, standing next to his car, and she asked if he would drive me.

He said sure, “20 euros.” Okay, fine. She rode with us. Once we got to the “supposed” accommodation, he said it was much further than he thought, and that it would be 30 euros. Okay, fine. However, I didn’t have change for a 20, and so I had to give him 40. He didn’t refuse.

There was no one home yet at the hostel/albergue, which was not terribly surprising because it was so much earlier (12:30 pm) than the usual check-in time of 3 pm. The woman called the proprietor and told her I was here. She said the proprietor told her that she was at the vet (I actually thought she said the proprietor WAS a vet) and would come by in about half an hour. I waited, and waited, and waited. I thought she must have gotten busy and that she might also be thinking she didn’t need to rush, because, after all, check-in time is check-in time.

I wasn’t alone at the little casita. I sat out in the garden where there were two dogs, two cats, chickens and a vociferous rooster, who regularly shocked me from my slumber as I relaxed in a lounge chair next to the little swimming pool in the garden. The sun felt so good as I lay there snoozing on and off.

At one point I woke and felt a bit peckish. Strange, I thought, I just ate a little while ago. I was shocked when I looked at my watch and saw that it was after 4 pm. What the!?! I finally realized, something is very wrong. No one is here, and my luggage hasn’t even shown up. I packed up my things and walked through the gate onto the little road outside, planning to knock on a random door and ask where Casa Carlota was located.

A car came up immediately. I flagged him to stop and asked him if he knew where Casa Carlota was located. “Casa Carlota? No… I know a Carlos.” Just as we were having this conversation, a little white car approached from the other direction. He said, let me pull over and ask this person if they know.

Believe it or not, it was Angela, the owner of Casa Carlota, who was driving down into town to meet with Dan who had just called her from the highway, near the Camino, asking if I had arrived. Of course, she told him I had not. She was wondering what happened to me because she showed up shortly after the phone call from the drivers earlier.

What are the chances that she would drive by at the very moment that I walked through the gate to leave and figure out where the heck I was? AND, how funny would it have been for the owner of this house to return home and find me sleeping by his pool?

Angela said she knows the guy who lives there, and said it was no big deal. In any event, I was happy to have avoided that encounter.

Casa Carlota is beautiful, especially because of the owner, Angela. She was so concerned about where I was, what happened and that I was okay.

As we were standing chatting at the spot where Dan was waiting. After we discussed how shocked we all were by this strange situation, Dan went across the highway to a little grocery store for supplies. As we waited for him to return, another hiker came up and asked where a place called “Camping” was located. Angela informed her it was still about 4 km down the road. The woman (Agnes from Hungary) was in obvious distress. Angela offered her a ride. So, we waited for Dan to return from the grocery store across the street. While we three were waiting in the car, Agnes, in true John Candy fashion from Planes, Trains and Automobiles, removed her shoes and socks and showed us the soles of her feet. The balls of her feet were one huge blister! (Sorry, no photo.) There is no way she should have been walking. Plus, she had really crappy tennis shoes and what looked like white, nylon socks. So, things weren’t going to get any better. I know I’m in poor shape right now, but at least my feet are fine. How do people not prepare for this possibility?

There are three other guests here at Casa Carlota: Samantha, a young woman from Massachusettes and a French couple, Michel and ?. They didn’t mix much.

Angela did our laundry and made us a lovely dinner of cabbage soup, roast chicken, potatoes, salad and a glass of wine. Only Samantha joined us for dinner. We are now safe and sound in our room, ready for sleep after another interesting day. Hope I’m feeling better tomorrow.

P.S. Angela called the woman whose friend drove me here and admonished her and the driver for charging me so much for the taxi. She said pilgrims are their livelihood, and he could have easily driven to a bar and gotten change. She said he took advantage of my kindness. Oh, well. What could I do? I wasn’t about to give him an argument. He must need the money.