They say that the second day of the Adkins diet is the worst, it is the day that your body is going into Keitosis and you suffer from "clinical depression". Well I guess the Camino must have a lot oto do with the Adkins diet because today was an absolutely horrble day.
At the end of the day: (what I suspect to be) two broken pinkie toes, 8 blisters (3 HUGE ones), lots of pain and a dash of desperation. But I made it, Camino:1 Veronica: 0 (it will be zero til I get there).
So today was the day that we walk from Roncesvalles to Zubiri. My feet started out hurting from the get-go and I thought the pain would not escalate from there; boy was I mistaken! I dont´think I have ever felt so much pain in my life! Yesterday I crossed the Pyrinees and I thought "they say today is the worst day." except they don´t tell you that on the second day you have to deal with all the aftermath of your first day, and believe me people, the Pyrinees are bithces, every last one of them.
The first hostel I stayed in was pretty great, they had a really good atmosphere "L Espirit du Chemin" and it really was a fantastic experience. The place is owned by a couple who work for free and live like their guests for the entire six months the open, the other six months of the year they move back to their home on Holland, where they are from, and try to make enough money to survive the reast of the time. People who have done the Camino and have stayed there previously go to volunteer for a couple of weeks at t a time.
There I met Yurgen, a a 44-year-old ultra-conservative Catholic, with Rastafarian dreads, whose philosophy in life is to not work and simply ask God for the things that he needs (by the way this really does work for him), he also seems to be a communist (the utopian version not the Castro one) and he´s a pot farmer. You guys will see pictures of him when I get back. He was really nice to me despite the fact that he spoke very little English and I no German. But his Germanness was getting on my nerves as he simply wanted to "go, go, go!" and my feet didn´t allow. I found myself not being able to have a moment without him and I couldn´t deal. So, today I think I dropped enough hints and he walked in front of me.
Today was terrible I cried at one point. I wanted to cry before the point that I did but I think the ters, they just didn´t want to come. There came a point today where my feet started to really hurt. Whereas yesterday I looked at the surroundings and marvelled at the beauty I was walking through, today I barely kept my eyes off the ground should I slip. The times I did look up I could see how gorgeous it was, my feet were in so much pain. And let me tell you why.
So Miami is not a place to break in boots, no matter how much I walked in them and wore the boots what I thought was sufficient time for them to be worn in, they were not, people could simply look at my boots and tell that they were not broken in due to the kind of boot that they are. I of course bought the best kind of boot for this, the one that would protest your feet the most from outside damage, well, no one told me that these boots' killer instinct would also be aimed at my poor feet. OK so that one you can´t blame me for. But I am still a come-mierda...
Monday, when I arrived to Saint Jean Pied du Port I went to the Pilgrim information office. They said that there were two paths to take to Roncesvalles: 1. the Napoleon ROute through the mountains, or 2. The path along the road. Of course, you know which one I chose, and you know I did it because it was the prettiest of the two, but seriously I COULD HAVE BOUGHT A POST CARD!
By the time I got the Hostel: about 100 bunk-beds located in a beautiful old church (don´t worry people, they had running hot water and heating)I knew I would finish this Camino because there was no way in Hell I delt with everything I did to not finish it... and it´s only day 1! So yestreday people recommended I tape my feet for the blisters, the tape was very sticky and I basically wrapped my foot in it, and, well, my foot got taped to the flip-flop. I thought for a second I was going to either have to rip my skin off or do the Camino with one chancleta and one boot.
Today I felt the aftermath of my decision yesterday, apparently, Karma is not stricly Hindu.
The word of the day is wet. I was all wet, it was pouring and muddy, most of the down hills felt like water slides. I am very thankful Conchita (my grandfather´s wife) told me to cut my crap of "finding" sticks along the way and to just buy sticks at the sport's store, I will never be able to thank that woman enough. Although, maybe if I had fallen and gone down the mountains on my ass, my feet wouldn´t hurt so much? Now I´m not so sure.
At one point, I had to leave the people I was walking with and sit on a rock, cry and call my mother (or call my grandfather and tell him to call my mother and tell her to call me).
My mother told me that the path of the Camino was a microcosm of the path of life, and it was then I realized that I had spent the last two days trying to keep someone else's rhythm and that this was part of my problem. Maybe that´s soemthing I do in life as well? I shall have to ponder. That conversating gave me strenght to not sleep right there on the floor because my pain was so great.
I cried when I got to Zubiri. I am actually in a 5-star Hostel now (no there is no such thing, but if there were, this would be it. The stay, dinner, laundry and breakfast tomorrow morning cost me 32 Euros (which is quite expensive) but I have an entire room to myself (the other 9 beds are not occupied) and this room has two shower stalls for itself!!!!!!!!!!!! Yesterday I had to share two stalls with over 35 people! And these are REAL showers! Not the kind that you have to keep pressing a button so that the water comes back. My laundry is already folded and in my room and dinner was delicious.
I am in this hostel along with three other gentlemen, Robert (late 40s from Canada), Reto (50s from Switzerland) and Phillipe (50s from France). Needless to say the conversation at dinner was really cool!
I am not looking forward to tomorrow, I fear more blisters and strife are in my future. But I know I will make it to Santiago; all I have to do is walk.
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Even though I have been speaking to you and following the steps of your path and ordeal, I found this article absolutely enthralling. It is so real, so poignant. My child, to be a great writer all you need to do is capture your audience, make them feel the story, become the story and you have done this with mastery in this piece. Your sense of humor is a delight. The ending just floored me. This is not your mother talking; this is your colleague the writer. Chapeau!
ReplyDeleteVero,
ReplyDeleteI am so proud of you! You have made it farther thank you think, surviving the first few days. After all, the first few steps are always the hardest. Don' fret my dear sister: you're still finding your footing and rhythm. Sooner than soon you will be done with the Camino and you'll be wondering how the hell you survived all of that walking. Good luck and God's speed.
Love,
Ama
I haven't seen you or heard from you in years, but I bless the moment I clicked on your Mom's facebook post. Excellent writing, but even better, excellent person that you are! God bless you.
ReplyDeleteJuani (la esposa de Ramiro) Acosta
Well, sweetheart, I had to say something too. You are a "digna hija de tu madre y nieta de tu abuelo". Like the song says "do it your way"and remember that your regrets (like the unbroken boots) "are too few to mention". Continue your glorious Camino and under no circumstances stop your notes, regardless of pains, because if you do stop them WE WILL BE THE ONES IN PAIN for not hearing of your next episodes. A big hug from your TIO ABUELO RAMIRO ACOSTA
ReplyDeleteI hope everything is going well. Have you seen anything beautiful so far? Never forget this... success is a journey not a destination.
ReplyDeleteGood post - keep them coming - :)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, waling the Camino at --> your <-- pace and lots of Ibuprofine will do wonders.
Hope to hear from you again real soon.
Buen Camino!!!
Miss Thing!
ReplyDeleteI so admire you right now, but at no point to I envy you. Good luck girl, I miss you. Keep the posts comming. Your mother is right in the advice she gave you, and your is top notch right now. Good luck mama!
Missing you,
Jo
Vero,
ReplyDeleteIt's so great to hear from you - as I read your post I truly felt like I was right there with you--listening to you describe your adventure of misadventures in such great detail. Thanks for bringing me along with you --sorry I won't have the blisters, scars and war stories to share with you--I truly appreciate that you are taking that one for the team.
Follow your mother's sage advice -- she will always lead you on the right path-- especially when you are in pain, exhausted and/or can no longer even see the path.
I am so proud of you. Keep walking baby and you will get to where you need to go.
I love you,
Tia Lisa
I had told you before you left that I had thought of writing something for you that you could ponder on during your trip, but I ended up not doing it. I regret that I didn't, but allas,life, like El camino, always provides time and opportunity.
ReplyDeleteAs you wade through the mud, the pain and the other inconveniences and obstacles that stand in your path, consider this perspective:
El Camino is not about the walk, the terrain, the pace, or even the blisters.
On the one hand, El Camino is a constant. It was there before you were born and it will be there long after you are gone.
On the other hand, El Camino is not about anything concrete, standard, or measurable.
El Camino provides the same terrain for everyone who choses to travel it, yet, each person that makes the pilgrimage is seeking something unique to them and for them.
And so it is the same and the same time it is as many different things as there are different people who travel it.
If you chose to look down, El Camino is about rocks, obstacles, mud, asphalt and dirt.
If you chose to look up, it is about the beauty of life provided by the Almighty, just for you.
Each person that experiences it takes something unique from it, yet it remains as it was before your footprints marked its path.
And so, El Camino is not the way, is it about finding the way.
El Camino is not the reason, is about finding the reason why you chose El Camino.
Your challenge therefore, is not to reach the next Hostel, or even to reach the finish line.
El Camino is not a race or a journey, it is simply the means to find the end.
But the end is not at the finish line. The end is with you now as it was with you when you took your first step along the way.
Because, from the time you took the first step, you had the ability to chose whether to look up or down.
All El Camino has done and will do is show you what you can see and what you may find, but it is you who must chose where to look.
Find the end and you will be succesful in your journey.
Find the end and you will find your new beginning.
With all my love
Padrino