More Photos for practice

Try again....

Here I am at the beginning of the Camino in Roncesvalles, Spain so you have to add around 25 Ks for going over the Pyrennes.

And these are a couple of photos of the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. I definitely am getting the hang of this so expect lots more from me. Love you all. Marie

PHOTOS

Hi Everyone I'm going to try this again with some Hostel Angels helping me. I found some postings that were only drafts, I never published them for you to see. This one is of me outside the Camino Office when I got my Compostela on July 10, 2012. A former lifetime! Ha Ha

#23 Took a day trip from Seville to Cadiz, Spain today

Hi everyone I had a wonderful day today. I grabbed a bus this morning and in less than 2 hours I was in Cadiz. There was a Tall Ships Gathering with these ships from all over the world. None from the US but a few from South America. The place was hopping that it was the last day and at 1:00 p.m. they all took off out of the port. Their horns were sounding and there must have been over a hundred little boats out there escorting them or at least sailing along with them for a look. Cadiz is an ancient city from the Phoenicians and the Roman times. I took a bus tour and learned that back in its heyday the only other city with a larger population was Rome. It was a BIG city! Now it is mainly a resort town with popular beaches. Most of the people on the bus had beach chairs with them. I'm back at my hostel now and will be getting packed again to move on tomorrow. I'll be going to Cordoba for 2 days and then Granada for three days after that. I don't have anything booked after that so I could stay more then 3 days if I like it. I'll keep you posted. BTW, it's just like being in Phoenix here. Very hot, like being in an oven outside. And the hotel reception desk told me it was hotter last week. I'm used to it so no problem. Love, Marie

#22 In Seville, Spain

Hi Everyone, I´m in Seville now and loving it. I went on a walking tour this morning. I am getting smarter and smarter with my traveling. I took a bus from Lisbon to Seville overnight and arrived here this morning around 6:00 a.m. * I found out that I won´t travel at night again. I sat right behind the driver on the passenger side and I was woken around 1:00 A.M. by a passenger screaming at the driver that ¨You´re going to get us all killed that you´re driving all over the bloody road!¨ In the US we are better regulated so I wouldn´t hesitate to travel at night but not here. Also, when I arrived nothing was open and no one was working. The price of the bus ticket was the same - day or night - so next time it´s going to be a day trip. I found a Hostel online and made my reservation and the place is great. They offered the walking tour, and there are three other tours I would like to take- a day trip to Cadiz (the oldest city in Western Europe), a Flamingo dancing show, and a night tour for drinks and tapas at three different restaurants. Still have to look and make plans for where I go after this? Still haven´t figured out how to upload my photos to this blog but there are lots of young people here and this is a public computer I am using so I will see if I can get someone to help me. I just need to be shown and then I´ll be good. I´ll keep in touch. Love, Marie

#21 I'm in Lisbon, Portugal

Hi Everyone, Thanks for the comments, I have received them and they made me feel so good that so many of you believed I was going to do it. I heard only 40% of pilgrims who start in St. Jean Pied de Port make it to Santiago but it's not a good statistic because there really isn't any way to prove it. There are many people who continue after a while that you can keep on going as time permits. I met one person that did it in 4 years - 2009, 2010, 2011 and finished it this year. That's determination! The Camino is so well known, and respected in Europe that I met some young people who said they are going to list it on their resume. So what have I been doing since July 10th? That's when I received my Compostela. I went to Finisterra, then to Muxia, then back to Santiago for 2 more days with Tricia. Then I was advised to visit with a Canadian Pilgrim who has been living in Spain for 16 years now and opens her home to Pilgrims after they finish it, kind of an After the Camino Retreat. I stayed at her home for 4 days and it was great. Then I went to Porto, Portugal for two nights. Porto is beautiful. I could have stayed another day or two but I wanted to get to Fatima on Sunday so I could experience the candlelight processions, etc. They do that every night but the crowds are bigger on weekends. I also met a priest-in-training that walked the Camino with us. He saw me during the day and told me he was carrying the statue of the Blessed Mother Sunday night for the procession. That was nice, especially the group he was with had an American flag that they led the procession with. So I am now in Lisbon. Nice city but in an economic situation that there is a lot of begging and signs everywhere warning of pick-pocketing. The Office of Tourism found me a nice hotel and I got $5 off the normal price since they booked it for me. I'm connected through my hotel so I hope this is going to work. I'm going to start backwards and give you a photo of Lisbon to see if it works. It's late already,almost 11:00 P.M. and I can't seem to do it. I'll try again tomorrow. Love, Marie

#20 Sorry I'm so slow sharing my photos

Hi everyone I'm in Santiago but am leaving in a couple of hours for 3-5 days. Tricia left this morning making her way to Sweden. I was going to Portugal but several people told me about a retreat place for returned pilgrims. The woman who runs it is American and it is on a donation only basis so it's cheap. The 3 people who went there says it really helped because I feel very strange- after the big event and empty if you know what I mean? But the problem is you may not unless you walked the Camino. So this retreat is only for pilgrims. Tracy, the woman who runs it only accepts up to 5 people in her home so I called ahead of time to see if she would accept me. She's even going to pick me up at the bus station. I tried last night to get on the internet with my computer and it wouldn't connect. It was the internet connection, not my computer. Later the Italian pilgrim in the room next door told me that he was very sad because he lost his camera with all his photos. Please say a prayer for him, it was heart breaking. So I whipped out my computer and downloaded all 819 photos I took so my photos are now in 2 places. Lots of scenery, churches, people I met, funny things that I wanted to share. I'll say goodbye for now and you'll hear from me soon. I am still amazed I DID it! Love Marie S

#19 I think - Got my Compostella!

Hello everyone I'm here in Santiago, at the bus station waiting for a bus to Finisterra. The Camino past Santiago is not the short distances I can do. I usually walked less than 30 kilometers, only once did I walk 31 kms and I don't want to do that again. The Finesterra camino is 30 something kilometers everyday for 3 days and Marie decided to take the bus to see it! I have now retrieved my suitcase and have my computer so when I return from Finisterra, I will find WiFi, sign on and get my photos posted for you. It was an amazing trip. Still can't get over that I did it! Talk to you soon. In two days maybe? Love Marie

#18 In Melide

Hi everyone I'm sitting at dinner with my Camino Companions, Pat & Russ, and a 17 year old from Georgia State. He flew over to France with his Mom and then started the Camino like me from St. Jean Pied de Port. When I was his age I wasn't allowed to spend the night at a friend's house! Everything is going well and we hope to finish the Camino on Wednesday. I admit it has been rough. I fell three times, so I joke that I'm ready for the crucifixion. Yesterday I really went down for the count - other pilgrims were stopping to see if I needed help. I revived after eating a banana and drinking some fruit juice I had. But I was so tired, my pack was too heavy and it was up hill. Today I sent everything I didn't need ahead with a taxi so my pack was much lighter. And there were no hills to climb so I did well. Pat was the one that almost hit the wall at the end. Got to run so more later. Love, Marie

#17 Just 95 Kilometers from Santiago

Hello Everyone Can hardly believe I have been walking this Camino for 43 days! I am at a wonderful Alberge in Mercadoiro, Spain. Had a gourmet vegetarian dinner, ending with homemade cheesecake! And I am supposed to be looking at food as nourishment, not entertainment. Ha! We are closing in on Santiago and lots of the Alberges are now run by the government of Galicia. We (Pat, Russ and I) don't like them compared to the Alberges we stayed at in Leon so we are looking for "private" Albergues to stay at. I found this one listed and it was an old Pilgrim Hospital - 800 years old - for the dormitory, and the restaurant is a 150 year old building. What a great job they did for renovation. It's cold, we're in the mountains but they have the wood-burning stove going and lovely music. There are 4 Americans here besides us - where were they back on the 4th of July when I wanted to wish someone Happy 4th of July and we didn't meet one? We are trying to do around 25 kilometers a day so we finish in 4 days. We met a Frenchman on the Camino returning today, so proud to show us his Compostello. I took a photo of him showing us it. I'm getting tired, it's 9:00 p.m. so I'll say goodnight. We're usually walking at 7:15 every morning, but I'll be done soon! Talk to soon and hopefully get some photos posted. Love you all. Marie

#15 or is it 16? Just 6 kilometers from Sarria

Hi everyone I'm borrowing someone's computer so I'll make this quick. I'm 120 km from Santiago now. Everything is going well. Talk to you soon when I get there or have internet ability. Love you Marie

#15 I'm in Villafranca del Bierzo

Hi eveyone I am now only 177 kilometers from Santiago. Tricia already arrived there, I received an email from her letting me know. I'm in the mountains, absolutely beautiful, but the walking has been difficult. I walked 30 kms one day and it was too much for me. I've found a wonderful couple from Oregon, Pat and Russ, and we do great with each other. I thought I was going to lose them tomorrow that Pat wanted to go farther than I wanted to walk and Russ thought I was more practical and convinced Pat to walk the amount I wanted to walk. So tomorrow we will go around 25 kms, to the foot of the mountain, positioning ourselves for a BIG hike the following day,very steep! I will also have transport take my backpack so I don't kill myself. Weather has been terrific except for one day but tomorrow there could be a storm. I will have to be prepared for cold and rain. It has been 39 days now that I have been walking the Camino. Not one day have I taken off. I'm starting to impress people when they hear this, walking when I had a swollen ankle, bad back, and a fever. I filled my first Credential with some beautiful stamps and am now working on my second credential. My credntial is now more important to me than my passpost. My passport can be replaced, my Credential cannot. We have an estimated day of arrival in Santiago as maybe July 10? It could be a day earlier or later, not sure. Not sure if I will continue to Finisterra or not? That would be 3 or 4 more days of walking. I will keep you posted. Love to you all. Marie