EPILOGUE

Hi folks it has been a while since I have posted anything on my blog but I needed to process the Pilgrimage i partook in my head and also to heal my poor suffering feet after all the abuse I gave them pounding the many kilometres that I walked to Santiago, 1000ks in all!. I realised that nothing can prepare the body and mind to walk the Camino De Santiago in all its length, almost everyone that I met along the way seemed to be suffering from the effects of blisters callouses and sores on their feet, I also developed the painful condition of something i later found out was plantar fasciitis, or policeman’s flat feet!. Many people I chatted with also seemed to be suffering from painful Tendonitis in their knees and ankles and were trying to manage the pain each day whilst they were walking. On the many plus side of things I found that the peace I found myself in, walking on my own every day was priceless mind expanding and simply amazing. Some days I would be walking for many hours in such a state of harmony and peace with only with the sounds of nature surrounding me, and because I was walking slowly I noticed almost every very acute detail along the path, ranging from the odd wild strawberry growing in a little pocket of sunshine, to watching many numerous birds of prey soaring high above me in the sky. Another great thing about walking along the Camino is the comradeship felt with the many other Pilgrims all walking and heading towards the common goal of Santiago De Compostella, I feel that we are all connected in some way towards getting there and everyone I meet collectively helps each other out emotionally and spiritually even if they don’t realise that they are doing this, I can now understand how so many pilgrims come along, or are drawn to come this ancient pathway. Most of the Albergies I stayed at whilst walking to Santiago were modern, comfortable and very welcoming, most with good facilities and many of the hospitaleras running them went out of their way to make the many pilgrim’s feel comfy and at home when they arrived after a tiresome days walk. The only complaint I have about the albergies is that all of them are making huge profits from the pilgrims that pass through each day and then not reinvesting the profits into the albergies so one can simply not help the feeling of being a cash cow. The other thing that I noticed whilst walking along was that a lot of the pilgrims had huge rucksacks on their backs filled with who knows what!, this seemed to reflect the amount of baggage they carried in their minds too, as the ones i met that carried little seemed more at peace, one comes to realise as one walks that not too much is needed in material things to survive, all we really need in life is good suitable clothing for the climate were in, good food, and clean water, and a comfy place to sleep at night, that’s all, anything else is all material wants not needs!. I tried many ways of managing the many blisters and a corn I suffered with, at the end of each day I would thread cotton onto a sterilised needle and then pierce the blister with it leaving the cotton hanging out of each end allowing the blister to drain overnight I also rubbed alcohol onto the other parts of my feet that didn’t have the blisters, and I would then give my feet a good massage. I then found that the blisters reappeared by the end of the next days walk so the very same process was then repeated again. May i say i hope you have enjoyed reading this blog in its entirety. Since returning to the UK I have had many ideas running around in my head as to what adventures I should embark on in the near future, I am always open to suggestions from anyone that manages to enjoy reading my posts on here. I am currently focusing on manifesting monetary abundance so any donations are gratefully received, hit the donate button on the right of this page.

journeying

Hi everyone, here's what I've been up too since my last blog of to be continued a while back...... I had many factors on the decisions I made over the time spent on contemplation of my pilgrimage up until and whilst staying in the city of Leon, so here goes in my explanation of firstly the lessons I learn't and then what I decided to do next, I hope you all enjoy. Firstly I realized I had damaged both of my feet by overworking my ligaments that ran across both arches,I also had a couple of bad blisters and a very sore corn on my little toe,and couldn't see the point of carrying on walking towards Santiago in excruciating pain as the Camino will always be here. Secondly up until this point of my pilgrimage in the middle of the winter, the weather I encountered was somewhat harsh exposed to the elements but probably no different to any other winter on the Camino, I found the trail quite solitary at many times along its route which was great for inner exploration but not so good for the fact many albergies were shut after a long cold days walk, and others that said on my guide sheet that they would be open ,clearly were not when I arrived so I would then have to trek sometimes maybe another 10k to find somewhere to rest for the night which in irony was what did the damage to my feet. I then took the decision to head back to the UK and heal my body by getting a train to Madrid then a plane out of Spain. As I write this blog my rucksack is sitting next me here at home packed and almost ready to go,I have ordered and I'm just waiting for delivery a new pair of walking poles, and also lightened my loads a bit by streamlining the innards of my backpack slightly.I have been going to the gym for extended periods since coming back and doing extensive cardiovascular and weights training to improve my general stamina and strength,I have bought a great guide book a pilgrims guide to the Camino by a author called John Brierley,the maps in this guide are great and it also lists the lengths of each stage and also gives readers comprehensive information in many other ways. Although as mentioned earlier my backpack is packed and ready I have decided to go back and finish the pilgrimage in April because by then all the albergies along the way hopefully will be open,and I will have an entirely different experience meeting other pilgrims,hopefully the weather may be a bit kinder to me too. I have now put out to the universe to raise the very appreciated and needed cash to carry on this adventure and exploration, firstly to the city of Santiago then onto the coast at Muxia, then who knows where the wind will take me,as it's really not the destination that's important, it's the glory of the ride along the way. I will keep posting my thoughts and plans on here over the coming weeks, so please keep on popping back or subscribe to this post and you will receive a notification by email when I do. All donations to my cause humbly and gratefully received.

Leon

Leon City. I've decided to take a rest in this beautiful city, recharge my batteries rest my tired feet and explore this amazing place,I've taken many photos of the center of the old city and its like a rabbit warren also so photogenic and I've uploaded the pics onto my Flickr account which is www.Flickr.com/photos/moldaviteman Yesterday I found a spa and had a well earn't sauna,steam,Jacuzzi, and then a good massage. The albergie is quiet at the mo. Apart from mammoth snoring at night so good earplugs really recommended if like me a light sleeper, the weather is lovely and sunny out but crisp like 3' degrees.3 euros deposit gives me use of one of the bicycles that the albergie owns and after my weeks of plodding toward Santiago if feel like speedy Gonzales :'0) the hostel is closed for cleaning from 10 till 12:30 so I'm sitting in a great cafe 500yards from the door enjoying a Grande cafe con leche and a tortilla Francesca contemplating life the universe and feeling very content with life. One thing I've realized along this pilgrimage is that we normally have so many luxuries at our disposal in this abundant point in space and time, and these luxuries we have somehow taken for granted, and eventually we kid ourself's in thinking these luxuries are necessities in our life.ha ha, Walking this walk I've realized we really don't need much to enjoy and live life,only good food,clean water, practical clothes,and universal unconditional love for all and everything,and if we truly trust. In this philosophy the universe will always provide exactly what we need along the way.Buen Camino :'0)

Calzadilla de la fuega to Sahugun

Camino de la Calzadilla to Sahugun 42,000 stepometer I must mention that the albergie at Calzadilla de la fuega is being run temporarily by a German lady that wears glasses and one lense is seriously cracked.Upon arrival as it was Sunday (and their is no bars or shops in the village) I decided to pay 7 euros for the bed and another 10 euros for the Pellegrino menu to be served at 7pm the past few days I've opted for the menu at other albergies and been fed good food three courses and hot food and lots of it and been very satisfied,I should have known it was a con as she was selling rotten fruit and other things like hats and clothes and stuff that people had left behind or discarded for unrealistic prices!! It smelt a bit funky too in the office when I sat in there to register!!. When 7pm came I was served sticky stodgy spaghetti with some kind of tomato sauce and lots of oil with an egg cut up into it and was cold and was far from satisfactory and tasted foul but I was hungry so I ate it. The next course was simply a cold small sardine type fish complete with its head and skin tail the lot,it was dry and well fishy!!!.and that was all I was offered.no dessert or anything else,even though she joined me at the other side of the broken plastic table with a huge cup of noodle type soup and a plate full of what looked like deep fried battered chicken and veg for herself.I really felt unhappy with what I was given for 10 euros and she's really out to make money out of the pilgrims so she can stay traveling the Camino and i had seriously bad indigestion burping up fish taste till I went to bed a bit later.the bed was uncomfortable but the only thing that was in my favour was that early eve the woman turned the heating off and left me alone but the switch wasn't working properly so it stayed on all night so when I woke up at 7 the next morning with an inch of snow outside at least it was still warm in the albergie.I obviously quickly left and started my walk towards Sahagun in the snow,the temp.outside was just above freezing and when I got a little way out of the village it started to rain,my feet seem to be aching loads today and I'm finding the track hard going I've got about 22k to go today and have my waterproofs on.I find it easier to walk along the road as it seems flatter and theirs no traffic on this road as they all use the motorway that runs parallel to it, at lunchtime I find a good bar the only one so far in the dew villages I've passed through and have a welcome couple of coffees and a big slice of tortilla I got about 6ks to get to Sahugun so go a bit slower after lunch and reach there at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon I walk all around the town only to find all of the albergies shut and the towns having a siesta so no shops open.theres a train station in Sahugun so I decide to jump on the train half an hours journey to Leon instead of the three days walk and rest here for a few days as my feet are suffering so bad.when I arrived in Leon I walked from the station and visit the amazing cathedral before heading to the albergie for a well earnt rest.I'm totally exhausted but feel so good in my head and in my heart.lets hope the rest will revitalize my poor feet :)

Carrion de los condes to Calzadilla de la cueza

Carrion des condes to Calzadilla de la cueza. 23450 stepometer
My feet were aching today so I walked slowly leaving the albergie and town at 9 it wasn't so cold today as it has been but still the fog and low visabilty, but with added damp mist so rain jacket was defiantly needed I plodded the very straight track for hours it felt like being on a no ending conveyor belt I couldn't stop for long when I really needed too as my muscles are constantly cramping in the cold when I do and my body gets freezing when I had walked for about 3 hrs a man stopped in his car and gave my a flyer for his albergie I asked him how much further to the next village and he said 5ks I wished it a lot less but it was just over an hour later I reached the village the albergie here has heating but not in the bathroom and I declined the outdoor swimming pool and I spend the rest of today relaxing my sore muscles in my sleeping bag in bed near the radiator happy,goodnight.

st jean-pied-le-port

H

eres where I started the walk from on the 10th December 2011 I chose to drive down through France to this point,many start from their homes simply putting a rucksack on their backs and saying goodbye for whenever!!!
on the first night in sjpp there was 5 pilgrims staying at the one albergie open I got chatting with one man Michael from chzec republic who had set off from Prague 4 months previously,and one French man john Lou who had set off from Paris three nonth back.
the town itself is an ancient bastilion and very picturesque with an amazing citadel at the top well worth exploring.
the day I arrived it was cool and scattered clouds and I could see huge rainbow trout swimming lasily in the river under the towns bridge.
there's plenty of places to park a car and leave it in the town,theirs a lidls shop and good bakeries plus a good tourist information.
the fraternity if st James office is very easy to find and they are very helpful.
they have upto date list of open albergies all along the French route from there onwards.
plus a map showing you the contours of the days ahead.they have free internet there too but it's very antiquated and slow but free so cant complain.
beautiful cobbled streets and ancient houses all set around a panorama of hills.