Day 23 – Rest Days Are the Best Days

Ate with Allie and her mom, Francie, last night.

 We love their strong mother-daughter connection!

Here we go again! It's a rest day and

breakfast time. #Mike'saddiction

Iglesia San Tirso, 12th Century – first structure

built of mud and bricks instead of stone.

Close-up of the tower.

Another old church, Iglesia de San Lorenzo.

Inside San Lorenzo, a casket in the choir seats!

Coming out of the main gate in Sahagun.

San Benito Arch, pretty impressive.

We are getting this selfie thing down.

 A little courtyard gate, leading to a hidden door.

Probably where the Pope comes and goes! ;)

Sanctuary de La Virgen Peregrina. Cool place.

You enter, and it has sculptures down main hall.

Mike especially loved the artist.

This man has a skull on the back of his head,

as if he were evolving into the man in front.

Front view of the skull-sprouting subject.

Lifting the falling pole.

(Using your power to fix what's broken?)

Dome over the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus.

The Madonna is dressed as a pilgrim.

Close-up of Mary in pilgrim mode.

Room with Muslim artwork on the walls.

Another example of that art. Interesting stuff.

Break time. 

Dave downs a famous waffle cookie from Sahagun.

(Mike abstained to keep his shape.) ha

Bullfight in town next week. Barriers are ready!

Behind us is the bull rink,

and that ain't no bull.

The two pilgrims just got a certificate for 

making it halfway. (We are more than halfway.)

Mike really enjoyed the Sanctuary de  

La Virgen Peregrina. It was beautiful.

Fountain on the street runs all day long.

Guess they have more water than California.

A typical plaza at night, kids playing. 

Great ambience!

Terrific rest day in Sahagun.

11.8 miles to El Burgo Raneero!

A story from Mike:

          I want to talk about Dave; please indulge me. When I thought about people that I could travel with through Spain for 500 miles, 40+ days on a pilgrim's budget, I came up with nobody. Not a soul. Then one night at the beach house in San Diego, we had our good friends, the Andersons, down for a long weekend. What about Dave?, I thought. He is retired, adventurous, hiked the John Muir trail with Ryan, etc. I decided to ask him and then we watched the movie "The Way," with Martin Sheen. Dave later said he would love to make the trip with me. I felt tremendously humbled that he would want to commit to something like that with me. And I had no real idea what Dave would be like for such a trip.

          Well, I am writing this now, halfway through our 500 miles, after hiking with Dave for 24 of the 48 days on the Camino (not counting the three days prior in Biarritz, France and the three days coming at the end). Dave is absolutely fantastic to be with, morning, afternoon and evening. What I write is only words, but please fill them with the true, deep meaning I intend. He is patient and kind in every way. He is always thinking of others. He goes out of his way to make you feel important. He actually cares about you. He expects to share everything with you. (He may buy an apple or orange, and he will slice it up and expect you to take half.) He never speaks an unkind word about anybody, even though they may be a complete jerk. He never complains about anything, like when he got blisters, never a squawk. He carries 5 extra pounds of rocks for sacrifice on the pile of Cruz de Ferro. More important, he loves his family, especially Sue, Matt, Karin, Ryan and Todd, for whom he cares deeply, and each of his precious grandkids. And many more...

          I could not imagine a more even-keeled, kind and Christ-like person to be with for two months on this strenuous experience than Dave Anderson. Thank you Dave and Sue, so much.

As you can see by his words, 

Mike is seeing his own qualities in Dave.

Birds of a feather, I'd say.

(Sue)

One more story from Mike:

When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God (Mos. 2:41).

          This is an incredible, divine principle. I see it acted out all the time with friends and family. We are dedicating this Camino walk to raising awareness of mental illness and suicide prevention. Our families have been deeply touched by both of these challenges and have come to realize the value of service in the lives of those who so often feel isolated in their suffering. My sister has struggled for many years with both anxiety and depression. I don't know the challenges she individually faces, but I do know that she gets considerable relief and comfort by serving others. When Ann is able to work at the LAC suicide prevention center, the opportunity to help people who are experiencing great challenges themselves changes her own journey. In her compassion and love for them, she feels more whole. In her empathy for their circumstances, she feels less alone. Both of these strengthen her spirit and offer her greater reserves to fight her personal battle. Of course, these are just my thoughts and observations. The really important ones come from Ann herself. We showed you a general video called "Stigma" earlier. This video is strictly about Annie, and we love her dearly.

Click below to support suicide prevention

and mental health, the causes Mike and Dave 

are championing with their walk.

Day 22 – Stepping on to Sahagun

Dave, walking away from Calzadillo after breakfast.

Hobbits, anyone?

Catching up to Tanys with her sprained ankle.

She is walking so much better today after some

PT and acupuncture last night. Good to see this

improvement in her spirits and her injury!

Entering the first town. What's it named??

Mike is singing it loud and clear so all our

grandkids can hear: "Ledigo, let it go..."

Leaving Ledigos, aka "Let it go's."

Sadly, we are not Frozen.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

Wide open field with, guess what?

Wheat, baby!

A bunker complex in the middle of Moratinos. 

Entering the county of El Camino de Santiago.

Can you hear this little stream?

The waters look so clear and clean.

Just outside of Sahagun is this cool park with

a bridge, church, benches, and green grass.

Here's the bridge with water flowing beneath.

Ermita Virgen del Puente (Our Lady of the Bridge)

 used to house pilgrims in the 12th century.

This tiny chapel with Romanesque foundations

 is near a shady poplar grove by the river.

One of two interesting statues at Rio Valderaduey.

The other one. Not sure who it is...maybe just

the representation of a crusader?

Dave, exiting the park, headed for Sahagun.

∞§∞

In Palancia, near Sahagun, a small tree stands as a memorial to the Reverend Phillip Wren, a Methodist minister/pilgrim from England who died there on May 2013. He had walked The Way several times, later indicating that he hoped to finish out his time on earth by walking it once more. Unlike Reverend Wren, we don't have the desire to finish out our lives on the Camino, but we do hope to make them better by what we learn.

A story about Mike from Dave:

This cute pair (below) are Rhain and Nick. She's of Irish descent and explained that no one ever says her name correctly. After a bit of coaching, I proved her wrong (Ray-in). The two were high school friends who now attend college in Vermont, near family. Nick studies computer programming. Rain is transferring to Texas A&M next semester on a full-ride equestrian scholarship...horse jumping and all! Only about 8 NCAA schools have equestrian teams and competition, so she must have serious skills. Sadly, Rhain broke her hip a while ago and still limps a bit, causing some pain in her knee. (Hence, the wrap.) But here's the kicker: Did you know that our own Mikey had a horse and did competitive jumping as a youngster? At least, he did until one time when the horse stopped, but Mike still managed to clear the obstacle by himself and land on his head! That explains a lot, doesn't it? Anyway, Mike had a good chat with Rhain about their shared experiences horsing around. These kids are not married, but they seem pretty tight. It was fun to hang with them for a while.

Another story from Dave, with a couple of assists from Mike:

We had noticed these cute kids walking past our breakfast location yesterday. That afternoon, we sat next to them at a rest area. Julia was a cute, friendly girl from DC who had transferred to a school in Boston and wanted to walk the Camino. When Mike said he was from Utah, she said her brother worked for an Orem, Utah rehab for troubled kids. He loved working there, and when we told her we were trying to raise money for suicide prevention and the National Alliance for Mental Illness, she lit up and said her brother wants to work for NAMI in the field of mental health. Pretty neat.

The two guys from Germany were Garret and Maltae, fun young guys we've run into several times. We asked when they started at St. Jean, and they sheepishly named the same day we started. Guess they are on the "old guy" pace. Both were a bit embarrassed that it was taking them so long, because they had to go home in the middle of June. The two didn't get nearly as far as they had planned, due to some blister and ankle issues that slowed them up. They also confessed they were having too much fun stopping and talking with everyone along the way. We see people of all ages on the Camino, but we notice that most are kind and caring and young at heart. 

We walked 13.7 miles today, but we have

a rest day tomorrow and time to recoup

before we travel on to El Burgo Ranero.

Buen Camino.

Click below to support suicide prevention

and mental health, the causes Mike and Dave 

are championing with their walk.

Day 21 – Coming to Calzadillo

We had a simple, flat, straight walk today.

Covered 11 miles with no villages at all.

The good news is, we ate before we left.

(Thanks, Dave.)

Breakfast.

Dave was thinking about opening a supermarket

franchise in Spain, but it was already taken.

Leaving Carrion, we passed the Monetario San Zoilo,

where half our traveling friends stayed (4-star hotel).

One pilgrim's "flat tire" on the Camino.

Long road to Calzadilla de la Cueza.

We ran into a hiker from Calgary today 

on the trail. A fellow blister sufferer.

(more later)

Another flat tire. (Look closely, it's camoflauged.)

Came across Heather sketching the clouds. 

They looked a bit threatening today.

Her travel pal, Tom, is helping her 

make it all the way to Santiago.

We all help each other along.

To-die-for panoramic view video. Love these!

Yet another abandoned boot. 

But it seems to have sprouted wheat.

Made some new friends: two guys from 

Germany and a girl from DC.

Trees across the golden wheat field.

We arrive at the hotel. Dave gets the

best room again. Loving the very special colors. 

We all celebrate making the halfway point

from St. Jean to Santiago. Hurrah!

"For us, this walk was a pilgrimage, and our goal was simply to be in a space larger than our egos, and to allow that compassion to guide us with unscripted acts of service along the way." 

–Nipun Mehta

May we continue in that spirit.

Mike and Dave

A video story from Mike:

A story from Dave:
This hiker from Calgary (below) with the sprained ankle is Tanys. She got sixteen blisters on the first day of walking over the Pyrenees. She switched to sandals, then seven days ago, twisted her ankle. She hobbled along as best she could for a few more days, then stayed three days at Carrion, visited a physiotherapist, and emailed her cousin (a chiropractor). Both experts advised rest for more than three days and up to ten days, but the drive to continue on pushed her out the door this morning to give it a try after the short break. Tanys walks at about half our pace, with a pretty painful-looking limp. We stopped to see if we could be of assistance, but she said she would see us later today at our destination. She is a distance runner back home, accustomed to discomfort, so she is pushing herself. Sure enough, later in the day, she came hobbling into town. 

The Camino does something to you. It pushes you along, step after step, with a tremendous and nearly overpowering desire to accomplish your daily goal. I got caught up in that desire going into Burgos, didn't do the right things, and got my painful blister. Sometimes, we get fixated on a short-term goal and push too hard, forgetting about having the vision and patience to see the best, longer-term path. Let's hope that Tanys can manage her short and long-term Camino journey without any permanent damage to her ankle. She certainly is a trier, and we wish her well.

More wise words from Nipun Mehta:

"Walking, in our high-speed world, has unfortunately fallen out of favor. The word 'pedestrian' itself is used to describe something ordinary and commonplace. Yet, walking with intention has deep roots. Australia's aboriginal youth go on walkabouts as a rite of passage; Native American youth conduct vision quests in the wilderness; in Europe, for centuries, people have walked the Camino de Santiago, which spans the breadth of Spain. Such pilgrims place one foot firmly in front of the other, to fall in step with the rhythms of the universe and the cadence of their own hearts."

Sue's thoughts: 

There is so much inspiration to be found in the world and so much need for it. If we fail to see the sun and stars, that doesn't mean they don't or can't exist for us. It simply means we aren't looking in the right places. No matter our situation or struggle, there is always a place within ourselves (however deeply it may be hidden in any given moment) where beauty can be seen and felt. It is humanly and spiritually impossible to snuff out that spark that exists in every living being. Believing in that spark enough to find and fan it (however elusive)––needing it enough to defy whatever darkness seeks to own us––is where hope comes from.

Health issues make it impossible for me to be on this walk with Dave and Mike, but I am taking every step with them in my heart. I do believe we can learn and grow from the experiences of others, but only if we let those experiences in––no, that's too passive––only if we take them in. Are you walking along with us vicariously? If so, I hope you are feeling some of what I feel, because it is good.
. 

Buen Camino, friends.

Click below to support suicide prevention

and mental health, the causes Mike and Dave 

are championing with their walk.