Thoughts on Being a Pilgrim

So, you think you´ll go on a pilgrimage and it will be a time of contemplation, meditation, and possible spiritual growth. Sounds pretty good, right? Of course, you know there will be challenges, but, hey, you think, that´s part of it. Wouldn´t be a "real" pilgrimage without that, would it? It´s taken a while, but I think I have gotten into the "pilgrim´s routine". When you are a pilgrim, here´s what your normal schedule is like: Somewhere between 6 am and 6:30 am you officially wake up, because normally you must be out of the alburgue where you have stayed by 8:30 at the latest. Immediately, the rustling of plastic bags begins. It´s like the surf coming up at high tide as everyone begins to gather their belongings, stuff their sleeping bags, and stumble to the bathroom, which is normally at least 100 meters away from where you are sleeping. The morning packing is very important, because packing wrong can throw off your whole day. So, wash off, put on the clothes you laid out the night before (normally the ones you wore the day before if they´re not TOO smelly), and start zipping everything else into your ziploc or recently accumulated grocery sacks. Stuff the backpack. Check to make sure you have something for a snack along the way. For those of you in America, if you stay in an alburge that offers¨"breakfast" you might get a cup (or bowl) of coffee, a hard crust of bread and some marmalade if there´s anything left in the jar. For a while now I have been living on nuts, cheese and chocolate. Well, it could be worse! Oh, also red wine. Anyway, now you´ve got the pack packed, and you´ve got your boots on and the sandals packed away. Check your water. Heave on the pack and strap it down tight. I learned a great lesson from my German friends that the tighter and snugger the pack is to your body, the lighter it feels. Make sure you´ve got your sticks, and whatever items of wet clothing that yo need to dry pinned to your backpack. My eternal thanks to the person on some e-mail list who said to travel with lots of large safety pins. They are lifesavers!! Make sure you have the foot cream and a change of socks hanging ready, too.

Start walking. Now time for the quiet contemplation and meditation, right? Well, the first hour you spend being overtaken by pilgrims from the place you just left, as well as from the previous village who left an hour earlier. "Hola!" "Buenos dias!" "Buen Camino!" It´s a daily chorus, but eventually, you realized that you are once again at the end of the line, and you are alone for a bit. Meditation? Well, now you are watching very closely everywhere you put each foot because of the rocks, roots and ravines. Perhaps the road flattens out. By then, you are scoping out a good place to pee, and wishing the bowl of coffee might have been a little smaller. Ah, there´s an opportune tree. That need taken care of, you press on. Ah, a hill. Everything in Spain is on a hill. With rocks. Then you must come down again. On rocks. It´s necessary to have a lot of concentration for this, and I am very thankful for my walking stick. Finally, at some point around midday, you do begin to find a rhythm, and have a few moments of just enjoyment of the outdoors, and a look to the scenery around. The contryside here is lovely when you have a moment to look a it. but then, it is time to change your socks, and you must carefully examine your feet for any signs of a budding blister. So far, I´ve been very lucky with no blisters, just painful feet. It´s after the midday break that each step begins to be agonizing. I´m not sure why, but it just simply hurts to put my feet on the ground. But, the next bed is still kilometers away, so stopping is not an option.

At last, the final town for the day is in sight. You follow the signs to the alburgue, and hope that you will have a bed. Ah, yes, you are early enough, and blessed be, you have not only a bed but a BOTTOM bunk. Trust me, at my age and weight, being on the top bunk is not as fun as it used to be. Especially when you have to get up twice a night and walk 100 meters to pee!

Immediately you reach the bed, the unpacking begins. First order, a shower. Tip of traveling light--use the underwear you wore all day as your wash cloth for the shower. You wash out the underwear at the same t ime, and get a head start on drying. Also realize that the shower will be just large enough for you to stand in, it will be a hand-held shower with nowhere to hang it up, so you will have to either hold it in one hand and wash with the other, or somehow hold it under your arm or some other odd configuration in order to bathe. Additionally, there is no such thing as a soap dish, a bath mat, or ventilation in Spanish buildings. I step immediately from the shower into my sandals, and dry off the feet and shoes later. I have one bar of soap, and do end up pinching off just a small enough piece to use for each shower, because there´s no place to put anything while you´re trying to juggle the hand held shower that won´t hang up. Plus, not being able to turn around in the shower at all can be problematic. But, if you´re determined, you can get clean! Then, once showered, then put on the sandals and start arranging the plastic bags for the morning rush. These will be re-arranged and re-re-arranged at least 4 or 5 more times before you go to bed. Then you find out if there´s anyone you know in the alburgue with you. The folks who go a certain pace tend to show up at a lot of the same places. If so, figure out what you want to do for dinner, but it won´t be a restaurant because no restautant in Spain opens before 9pm, and in most alburgues lights out and lock up is at 10. So, tapas, bocadillos, or find an alimentacion (grocery store) that´s open for sausage, cheese, tuna, and, of course, chocolate! Then, maybe, some quiet time in the town or in the church, if the church is open, and if it´s not so big that it is a tourist attraction, in which case there is no quiet.

But soon, it is time to head back to the alburgue to make sure you are not locked out. Find your bed and get your sleeping bag or other covers ready. REcheck the plastic bags. Find the eye shades and/or ear plugs. Lie down and try to sleep, possibly doze off. Then, the evening concert begins. The varied sounds that a room full of human beings makes during the night is truly astounding. And enough to drive you crazy. But, around midnight (you know this because the church bells ring all night), things start to settle down, and maybe you doze off for a bit, only to be awakened at 6am by the light coming on, when you struggle up and do it all over again. And that´s what it´s like to be a pilgrim, pilgrim.

Pilgrim blessings from the Road!

Crone