Arrived; we're off again...

I have reached my goal! arrived in Santiago yesterday evening, the city I set out towards on foot 68 days ago. There were times when I did not really think this place existed, days that would drag on and on, steps that seemed to take me nowhere, pains that never seemed to leave, and rains that never stopped to fall. I wondered many times if I wasn't a fool for taking on such a goal, sometimes even questioning whether this place actually existed, for it so often seemed like a fantasy in a made up world far off at the end of the never ending european horizon of plains, plateaus, mountain tops, deep valleys, and path after path after path.

Yesterday though, David and I stepped onto the Obradorio, what some have described as the most beautiful square in the world. And it was! We plopped down right in the middle, staring at the Cathedral towering above us, on the backdrop of a bright blue sky, and were left speechless for at least 5 minutes. The beauty of the place did not so much stem from the impressive midieval architecture of the church, or even the largess of the palaces encircling it, but from the realization that we had reached what for so long seemed unreachable. And we were not alone... hundreds of other pilgrims were milling around us as well, all with their own particular experience, and purpose for being there. Be it the pilgrim who walked the 100km to receive his Compostella or the pilgrim who walked from Moscow, or even the older man I saw with leg braces on, we had all reached our goal! It could have very well become a place to boost my pride, relish in my accomplishement, and pat myself on the back for what I had just accomplished. But no, in fact it was just the opposite, one of the most humbling experiences of my life, for on that square, we were sitting in a place where thousands, millions perhaps, of other pilgrims had been before, and where millions will be again. And what am I , but one of them, one small drop adding to the flow of this river which began in the 9th century and will continue for years to come. David and I prayed together there on that square, thanking the LORD for his protection over us, for the things He taught us all along the way and for the way he strenthened our friendship through this endeavor. I was wondering if I would cry when I got here, I didn't but at that moment my throat tightened up... huge emotions, huge.

Along this path there was much physical pain, yes, but it was easily compensated by a multitude of joys as well. If I were to make a list here you would be reading for hours and this is already getting long. I so enjoyed the freedom experienced of the past two months, living day by day, never thinking of the next deadline, the next paycheck, or the latest bombing in the news. I so enjoyed meeting so many interesting people all along the way, who we met and who welcomed us in their home, offering us coffee, or a meal, or even a roof for the night. I so enjoyed all the great discussions I had for hours on end with David. I so enjoyed my times of solitude in some of the most remote and beautiful places I've ever seen... Is this amazing experience really over?! I don't have to walk tomorrow... Am I happy about that? My body sure is, but I don't know if I really am. It's odd really, I've walked towards this far away place for so long all the while with the hope of getting here, and soon after I arrive my feelings already tend towards nostalgia, and I long for more.

But why? Do I not still have a goal to press on to? Was I just playing at being a pilgrim? If so I will go back into the "real world" and the game will be over. But no, I've become a pilgrim, and this pilgrimmage continues for the rest of my life. It's never over! We are all pilgrims really, every day is a new étape or stage, a new place to walk to. There are pains and joys, sorrows and victorious accomplishments, but through it all we are all pressing towards something. What is your goal? Here is mine:

I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Thank you all who followed us over these past two months. Those who prayed for us, called us, wrote us... You were all an encouragement in one way or another. I hope to answer you all on a more personal level once I have a bit more time. In the mean time,

ULTREIA!

Joshua.

Santiago de Compostela

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23

It is over with. We no longer have to walk. And it´s difficult to stop.

With incredible joy we approached Santiago yesterday, but not without a tight heart. This is it, Monte de Gozo has announced our arrival, we see the city of the End of the Earth. Fortunately we prepared ourselves in Lavacolla, in the creek, where pilgrims throughout the ages have bathed before entering Saint James´sanctuary. As we took our time to bathe, to wash the clothes we had worn on our backs during the entire pilgrimage, our minds had trouble understanding that only 10 kms separated us from our goal. We passed the modern outskirts and entered the old city, without having seen the cathedral yet when finally we arrived at the Puerta do Camiño. There, as we came into the old city, our eyes saw the towers of our goal. Impossible! We walked all the way here from a far away land, through many cultures and countries. We pulled out from our pockets the volcanic stones we picked up in Le Puy en Velay and set them down in Santiago.

In awe, we sat on the Plaza del Obradoiro facing Saint James´Cathedral. Crushed beneath its massive facade, our bodies lost all strength to go in until we felt ready to go see inside, where pilgrims have since long ago put their hands on the first pillar inside; this pillar holds up two arches that present the entire genealogy of Christ, the Tree of Jesse. We hugged Saint James and sat before his tomb in the crypt, hardly believing we had walked all those kilometers to be in that small room together.

Now, we rest and contemplate on everything behind us and before us, acknowledging that this pilgrimage has been one of the most intense and powerful moments of our lives. Our faith has grown, and we have changed. It is quite hard to write, even vaguely, what we are living now. We sat this morning with masses of people at the High Mass in the cathedral this morning, and as we sat there among many other pilgrims, the priest read out where every pilgrim had come from. When "De Le Puy en Velay: 2 peregrinos" echoed in the Church, a rush of joy filled us, but when the list went on such as " De Tours: 1 peregrino" "De Oviedo, de Irun, de Pamplona, de Munich, de Roma, de Paris, etc..." silence grew more and more over the crouds and only the cries of some pilgrims could be heard around us. What a moment! Europe has gathered here, and we are all sitting here together, all from different places, and though some have walked more than others, a deep sense of humility and respect for one another could be sensed.

Our feet still hurt, we want to walk but our minds and bodies know it´s over with... what is to come next? We don´t know, but life is a lot less scary now for we know we are worth more than birds in God´s eyes, and that He will never forsake us and will always provide along this other pilgrimage we have started some 26/27 years ago. Thanks for all your encouragement and prayers. You guys were with us along the entire way!

Tonight we celebrate!

Lugo !!! 1563 kms behind us, 101 kms to go

Hello Everyone!! We just made it to Lugo!! We made it over the mountains, not without trouble, and our minds are now fixed fully on the goal. Our next days will be San Roman de Retorta, Melide, Santa Irene... and SANTIAGO!!! Four more days of walking!! We will arrive on Saturday the 15th early afternoon. From Tineo to O Cadavo Baleiro, we had to go over mountains... endless valleys and passes under a blazing sun. Some days were without food (from Pola de Allande to A Fonsagrada, there was nothing but path and mountains). In Oviedo I threw my shoes away, it was a sad moment. They had helped me walk 1350 kms, but by the end, my feet were basically coming out of them. So I bought new shoes and so far my feet are fine, a few new blisters, but nothing bad. In A Fonsagrada, James Hackman, a close friend, met us and has been walking with us, and will be to the end! It´s a great boost to have a new person walking along with us and lift our weary minds a bit. He lives and works in India, and flew all the way to Spain to visit Mathieu, my brother, and walk with us. Today is his second day... he´s in pain. I fell behind right at the beginning of the day, and never found Josh and James until the end in Lugo. They had gotten lost and I was trying to catch up with them; little did I know they were behind me. So I walked 31 kms in 6h. I did assume, after a while, that they were behind me, so I left a bag with food for them along the trail, with a note telling them when I had passed that point. They found it, fortunately... it would have been lost food. I didn´t want to wait for them, because I wasn´t 100 % sure they were behind me. Unfortunately, they got lost twice and prolonged their day with 4 extra kms... the camino... at one point they were heading straight north, and not west. Everything is going well, the weather has been hot and dry, my stomach is back to normal and Josh hasn´t gotten sick. In Pola de Allande, I met a pilgrim waiting for a bus. He was going home because of a stomach flu. He was extremely sad and depressed and it made me realize THAT though we are very close, anything can happen still. We aren´t there until we get there! As we approach Santiago, we feel the end of our pilgrimage, with everything after it sometimes weighing our minds down a bit. Josh knows that right after he gets back, he´ll be living a crazy life of quick decision making, millions of emails to write, many things to think about. I know my teaching life will pick up quickly and I´ll be sucked back into a rat race life. We are so tired of walking, yet, stopping implies so much... All of a sudden, we´ll be back home, where we have closets with a large variety of clothes to choose from in the morning, a bed to sleep in for more than 1 night, a normal life... we haven´t slept in the same place for the past 64 night. We know we´ve changed, and it´s been a good thing for us to experience intense pain, with a set goal ahead of us. The joys and suprises along the way have made our pains so much worth going through. Life wouldn´t be a good one without pain, and a far away goal reached without pain would be dull. As I walked alone this morning through beautiful woods here in Galicia, I went through all the pains we went through since we left the forests of the Velay, in central France, and I was so glad for them. Had we not gone through challenges, we probably would have quit out of boredom or lost our way. At times, the pain was so intense we would walk faster, concentrate more so we wouldn´t get lost, and the place we´d be shooting for that day would be like reaching heaven. No, suffering and pain is very good, one of the best motivators out there... I remember Josh walking into Cahors, with feet that looked like raw chicken skin; he was walking so fast and so focused, in such a humamal way... such a difference with some of our past couple of days where we haven´t had much physical pain, and where it´s taken us 6 hours to walk 10 kms, where we´ve been way slower, much more lazy... and because of that, we´ve come to the pilgrim hostal dead last, and had to sleep on the ground, for lack of available beds. So yeah, it´s good to get our butts kicked along the way, in some way or another. Anyway, our last update might be in Santiago... Josh just decided to quit, so I´ll be coming alone.

Oviedo, the end is nearing!

Hello People,

a few hundred kilometers back, we were arriving in Cahors, in France, just when the Tour de France was going through. Yesterday, as we came into Oviedo (which is only 320 kms away from our goal) we arrived just as the Vuelta de España was here. It´s the Spanish Tour, so though we came into Oviedo dead tired, with the usual feeling of having broken feet, we had a good laugh.
Yesterday we walked 37 kms on asphalt, through pre-big city roads with a lot of old buildings, factories, junk here and there, but our day was entertained in some very fun ways! As we left a very ugly town called Pola de Siero, some gypsies invited us into their little house to jam on guitars and sing along... we had a blast, although it cost us 2 hours of walking, which made it so that we were last to arrive at the Oviedo Pilgrim Hostal, which meant, of course, no more beds... only the dining room floor for our weary bodies. We didn´t care too much, it was worth spending time in a gypsie home. (I think the Kleeman brothers got the opportunity to do the same there two days earlier). Indeed it was fun, it was a give and take moment... as they entertained us, fed us, their chickens took advantage of our cookies and ate them all, somehow they managed to get them down from Josh´s bag. We got our revenge... one chicken tried to cross the road just outside the house, but never made it, some car made that one pay for the rest who dared to steal from poor pilgrims. I´m probably talking nonsense to all of you, sorry! It´s just one of many random things that happen to us all along the way.

We are starting to look like bums, really. We are at a point where we are not sure if we are animals or humans... so the definition we´ve given ourselves is humamal. It´s a strange feeling to come into a town and really look like a beggar. Most pilgrims don´t though, I don´t know what we´re doing differently. We shower plenty...
As for my health, I´m feeling better and am able to hold food in my stomach more than 6 hours now. Hopefully we won´t get sick before the end.

We caught up with Cassie and another Danish woman we met along the way a while back, but we don´t think we´ll see the Kleeman brothers until we get there in Santiago. Many pilgrims are starting from Oviedo, so perhaps we´ll be making new friends before the end. Well it´s time for us to move along, hope all is well with all of you,

Oh and before we go, just want to say thank you for your prayers again!

David

400 Km away from St James

We are exactly 400 kilometers from our goal and are facing the biggest obstruction in our path so far. I am writing this just outside of Llanes where we slept last night. The four days since our last update in Santander have been a mix of difficulties, blessings, frustrations, ugly industrial zones, beautiful countrysides and the occasional little mirarcle. We left Santander overjoyed by the fact that the sun was shining. Days on end we had been soaked to the bone, walking through the most heavily industrialized zone in northern Spain, and the sun has the power to make even large smoke spewing factories seem a bit nicer. It was hot and humid we had 37 kilometers to walk to Santilliana Del Mar, but it was a good day. There was no donativo ( a.k.a free) hostel in Santillana,and since the weather was finally nice we reverted to our old ways and slept by the church... The local priest gave us clams, cassoulet and aspergus (long story) which was a welcome change, to our regular diet. The next day we had a short étape ahead of us which was good for our spirits and david´s leg. The sun kept up, we got there early and were able to bathe in the atlantic that afternoon. That night, we slept in an old prison now converted into a pilgrim hostel, pretty cool... Tuesday we were off to Unquera another day of walking on roads under and over highways, which made us miss the ´good old days´of the french portion of the camino which was 90% path. We pushed through, trying to keep a good attitude about it, and finding new ways to entertain ourselves along the way... and as always, we finally arrived in Unquera. David has developed a bout of shin splints, or tendinitis which makes walking (especially downhill) very painful after 20k, and by then his leg had swollen to worrysome proportions. I went on ahead to find some ice, and find out to my surprise that there was no hostel in the town, as indicated in our guide book... again dark clouds were forming and sleeping outside was not an option. I explored the town for different sleeping possiblities with a roof, abandonned buildings, buildings under construction were the best options but our spirits being as low as they were, we decided to treat ourselves to the generous pilgrim offer the local hotel made for us.. 50% off = 20 euro for a room. Personal bathroom, television, two beds. WOW! We were so excited when we got our keys, and plopped down on our mattresses, David iced his leg and we vegged in front of the tv for a couple hours before getting a good night´s sleep. The next day the rain had finally returned. It rained hard, very hard all morning and into the afternoon... but, we were finally walking on beautiful paths, right on the ocean. We witnessed a rare geological phenomenon called Bufones, where the waves crash against the cliffs, and spew up water like a geiser a dozen meters further up land, with enourmous power and a huge rumble... Our exploration was probably a bit dangerous, but that spiced things up. We kept walking and arrived in Llanes tired, wet, hungry but in good spirits. The day was absolutely magnificent in terms of beauty, in the top 5 so far! We had treated ourselves to the hotel the night before, and the budget definitely didn´t allow another night indoors so it was exploration time again trying to find a spot to sleep. The best option turned out to be the local soccer stadium, which had a side door left open (just for us?)... the covered bleachers would do the trick perfectly. A couple hours later the obstacle mentioned at the beginning of this update showed it´s face. David has developed some sort of stomach flu... Diarrheah and Vomitting most of the night. We were both finally able to sleep a bit around 4am, but David has absolutely no energy left, and isn´t quite sure yet how much food he can hold down. This morning we were able to get fluids and electrolites back into his body, but he is very very weak. This has forced us to check in to yet another hostel 2 km outside of Llanes, which is again way above our budget. David is sleeping right now though, which is good, and again we have our own bathroom if need be... I am going to go back into town this afternoon to play guitar and try and earn a bit of money to cover these costs. We are both hoping that this is just a one day flu and that he will be able to hold food down today to regain his energy to continue a bit further tomorrow. We have two flat days along the ocean left before attacking the Asturias mountains, our last chain before Santiago. As this ¨adventure¨ continues, we wonder what else can or will happen before we finally arrive to our goal, either way each new challenge makes that arrival all the sweeter... ULTREIA!


Joshua

Santander (1100 kms)

Here we are! In Santander!
Hard to believe we´ve past the 1000 km mark, and are still going... Since Bilbao, 120 kms behind, much has happened, and a new challenge for us has made the distance between these two cities seem like an entire Camino in itself! We left Bilbao in rain, not just rain, abundant, flooding rain! That could sum up our entire week. It took an entire day of walking to leave the industrial zones around Bilbao, in rain. It started raining so hard once that we took refuge under some poor old little house on a hill. As we stood there, trying to avoid the tennis ball size drops of water ( not quite, but not far) the door of the house opened up, and we were welcomed by an old lady with five little smelly dogs to take a seat for a bit. She was so nice with us, treated us like her sons. She made coffee and we talked for over 1 hour. The rain never did stop, but at least we had met someone very nice along the way on one of our hardest days mentally. These past 5 days we have walked along highways, and major roads... not the most interesting, but rather challenging, as trucks and cars incessantly fly by. But yesterday was our last day of rain, but it made sure to come down on us one last time so we would remember it. We came into a little village on a steep hill, and the rain was coming down so hard pieces of asphalt were flowing down past us, along with sewage and trash. Our feet were in water up past our ankles at times. We couldn´t help but laugh our heads off at the craziness of the situation. Needless to say that my clothes haven´t dried in one week and smell like bitter smelly moldy feet. Today, in Santander, it´s laundry time, hopefully things aren´t too ruined. My shoes are falling apart from being wet so much. My socks show in 8 differents areas. Had it rained one more day, we´d both have pneumonias I think!

Apart from that, all is well, last night we stayed in an awesome hostal in Guemes, just outside of Santander with our 3 friends from Chicago area ( Alex, Nick, Cassie) and a lady from Madrid, another guy from Pozuelo (suburb of Madrid) and three germans ladies. We had a blast eating around a big table while Josh gave us a little guitar concert. We were introduced to Gorujo, a local liquor (50%), which made us forget the cold and rain pretty quickly!

We are going to push to Boo de Pielagos today... Hope everyone is doing well! Thanks for the comments! We´re always happy to give an update, it helps us think back a bit and take into account all the things that have just happened.

David

The Bilbao Clan

From Bilbao
Yesterday, feeling well, we decided to walk 53 kms from Bolibar, a town just outside of Markina-Xemein to Bilbao in order to have a full rest day in Bilbao. We walked over 11 hours straight, but felt good, most of the time. It´s true that after 5 weeks of walking, our bodies have become accustomed to long distances. Bilbao is quite fun! It´s fiesta time here, even though it´s raining and will be through Friday, and the people are nice!We stayed in an albergue last night, and are staying in the same one tonight, and the three pilgrims mentioned in the last entry commentaries are here! So here is the photo of us with Alex, Nicolas and Cassie!