The more I know, the more I know I know nothing!

There was no internet last night in El Burgo Ranero so I could not write a blog for last night. I'll blog twice today, once for yesterday and then again for today. And here we go:

2 nights ago in Terradillos de Los Templarios, right after I wrote my blog, the twelve of us sat down for dinner to celebrate Antonello's 24th and Hideo's 62'nd birthday. We're all sure that Hideo is travelling with a fake passport and is really 42...the man is legendary for sure! :) Hideo bought us all champagne before dinner and we tosted for their health and happiness. Our dinner was it's usual loud self and then Hideo stood up to make a toast. His toast was so beautiful, he beared his soul about how happy he was with the Camino and how greatful he was for our part in his journey. He said that after 17 days he had already gotten more out of this journey than he ever thought he would get from the whole Camino. Even though Jiney had to help translate parts of his speech, it was so amazing that it touched all of our hearts. Thank you Hideo!!!

After dinner Laura, an Italian girl that I massaged the night before, asked if she could give me a Reiki session. I graciously accepted. She told me after the session that I was in total balance and it seemed like I didn't even need Reiki. She also told me that I had the most energy she had ever felt before. It was a good session :)

I didn't sleep a lot that night, actually very little. There were only four of us in the room that night, me, Jiney, Katrin and Hideo. But still I had to pee like 5-7 times over the night. The physiotherapist in Santa Maria told me to drink even more water than I already do and I've been doing exactly that. Either it's working and this is the result or I'm drinking too much water. And I never do too much of anything...like everybody knows ;)

Katrin tried to wake me early in morning but I had to get some rest. I woke up rather late, again compared to Camino goers that is, and had breakfast alone a little after 8:00. I was alone when I set off on the day's journey, our goal the 32,4 km walk to El Burgo Ranero. I found a beautiful bench with a stone circle in front of it that reminded me of the stone circle with the 10 stages that we saw a few days earlier. I sat down there for prayer and meditation and had such an experience that I was there for an hour.

When I stood up my mind was so open, for a lack of a better word, and my brain again became it's own think tank. There are so many things that crossed my mind especially a quote I heard some time ago: "The more I know, the more I know I know nothing!". Someone told me that Einstein had said that but it dosn't really matter who said it; there's wisdom in those words. Every time I think I have life ALL figured out my mind becomes rigid, I close myself off from other possibilities and my life ends up in a big mess. Knowing that I don't know everything is truly the greatest thing I've learned. The more I learn the more things I hear about that I know nothing about; things I didn't even know existed before. The more I learn the bigger the world gets and the more I realize that I truly know so little. So, in affect, the more I know, the more I know I know nothing! I have so often thought that I really had figured out life in one way or another, only to have my whole idea revolutionized a short time after that. I thought how important it is for me to keep an open mind, to be willing to try new things, to listen to others even though they have another opinion than mine and to be willing to change my views if I'm presented with something that appears to be the truth. It is with a closed mind that I have made most of my mistakes in life. Every morning in prayer and meditation I ask that my ideas of the world be taken from me, that what I THINK is true be taken from me and that I get to have a new experience. The results have truly been amazing; people, places and things that I previously had one idea about have ended up meaning something completely different to me!

A great man named Vilhelm passed me that morning, he didn't recognize me. I met him in Zubiri on my second day and he was kind enough to wake me the morning after. But that day he strolled past me and when I called him he told me that he hadn't recognized me; I looked like I was Spanish and bore little resemblance to the man I was on my second day on this journey. Vilhelm is from the Netherlands and he actually started his walk there. His total journey will be more than 2600 km's and he will have travelled for 4 months. His view on the Camino is amazing. He says that the most important part is to find a rhythm and not to have any peaks on your journey. He did walk 44 km's one day but that was only because the Albergue he was going to sleep in was already full and he had to walk to the next town. He tries to walk about 25 km's a day. He says people often try to compete with themselves and test their limits, but he says that is unnecessary; the Camino wil do that for you. Sometimes it will do it in the form of weather, sometimes physical pain, sometimes other people. The most important thing to realize in his opinion is that you don't have control. The Camino is in charge!

I had been walking rather slow before I met him. Ever since Santa Maria I have not been able to tie my shoelaces tight so I'm rather loose in my shoe. It was recommended to me by the physiotherapist and every time I try and "disobey" him I end up in a lot of pain. But I had been pain free from the tendonitis for a day at least and I intened on staying like that. But there are at least 3 disadvantages to having loosely tied shoes. The first is that I don't get all the ankle support I could get. The second is that my shoes fill up with pebbles and gravel. And the third I'll tell you about at the end of the day. But I was walking slowly mainly because of number 1, little ankle support. Up until this point I had been relatively free from any pain in my right foot. But my ankle seems to need the support, count on it even and there was some pain in my ankle right there and then. But when Vilhelm arrived, to my surprise and pleasure, I found out that I could walk much faster.

Lunch in Sahagun was great. I cought up with Antonello, Sascia, Simone, Katrin, Jiney and Hideo there. The city is beautiful and I love how easily a Pilgrim can navigate a big city like that. All we have to do is follow the yellow arrows and the conch shells that lead the way.

After Sahagun I travelled rather fast and my think tank was on again. I didn't listen to any music until the very end but rather enjoyed the fact that almost anything and everything was racing through my brain at the speed of light. At the end I felt a pain just below my big toe on my right foot and I turned the music on then to try and dull the pain.

When I finally arrived in El Burgo Ranero after the 32,4 km walk I was tired and the pain had gotten worse. I found this amazing Albergue, with a beautiful lawn (no kidding, it looked like a high priced vacation resort) named La Laguna. I discovered that the pain was in fact a blister, my second one and hopefully my last. It was bigger than the first one and there was no physiotherapist to help me with it. I got a needle from Tomasz and for the first time I popped my own blister, yay me! Which brings me to the third reason why loosely tied shoes aren't so good: chafing. There is a bigger chance for blisters if your foot is moving around in your shoe while you walk and since I can't tie my shoelaces too tight I ended up with a nice one.

Attila the Hun cooked a great meal and the 6 of us, the dutch guy, Molly, Kesha, Tomasz and I had a delicious pasta ala Attila. Afterwards we had a great discussion about why we were doing the Camino and if it wouldn't be an entire blog post in itself I would surely tell you Attila's reason for being here.

There was no computer there so the night was pretty much spent hanging with my friends. I should have done some yoga, but I didn't feel bad at that moment and I did get some great moments with my friends.

Antonello arrived pretty late. He, Simone and Sascia went the wrong way twice that day. They had, again, tried to drink red wine in the sun much to their dismay. The path these days mostly concists of long stretches with almost no shade and the sun has been extremely hot recently, sweltering being my favorite word these days.

My mind was still on hyper mode when I went to bed. So many thoughts raced through my mind and I just couldn't fall asleep. As I lay there I really felt that I had lost a lot weight on the journey. Losing weight was not a goal for this trip, I knew it was going to happen but it wasn't a goal in itself. But it felt good to know that I had lost so much weight. Thoughts of this and everything else raced through my mind and I got very little sleep that night.

Stand your ground

After blogging last night a great dinner awaited me. A dutch guy and Attila the Hun (I kid you not, his name is Attila and he's from Hungary) had made a big enough meal for about 15 pilgrims (or about 20 people having a normal day) and we all had a great dinner together! There was an amazing salad that was composed of just onions and oranges (maybe some spices); I couldn't believe how good it tasted cause I was sure it wouldn't mix well together. Guess I'm finding out more and more about myself and life on this trip! ;)

After dinner and cleaning up after dinner that is, I was going to do yoga but ended up massaging 4 people. Like I told you before, it seems as if I've become known as someone who fixes people. I did my best to help the four of them and I think I even worked a miracle for Attila the Hun. When I was going to grab a few minutes before bed to do some yoga Molly grabbed me instead and said that it was my turn to get a massage. She earned the nickname Molly Magic and going to bed after that was just wonderful.

I was awoken by a guy who trains Mixed Martial Arts fighters by sparring with them. He said he was going to wake me up with a knee to the ribs, a good kick in the liver. I'm really glad he made good on his promise to wake me up and lied about how he was going to do it! ;) When Sascia arrived we went to Antonello's room and awoke him by singing "Happy birthday to you!" He wasn't quite awake after that so I also sang for him in Icelandic "Hann á afmaeli í dag! (Happy birhtday to you!)". My Italian hermano is 24 today, Happy birthday maestro!!!!

We had a long stretch to walk in the sweltering sun today, 17 km's without a town or fountain. We all walked together today, stopped together...stayed together! It's also Hyodo's birthday today and because this wonderful Japanese man only wanted to walk the 26,5 km's to Terradillos de Los Templarios we decided to let that be our resting point for the day. And then tonight there's going to be a huge birthday party! :D

We walked rather slowly and really enjoyed each other's company. I had a great talk with Tomasz, a real adventurer from Poland. Katrin and Jiney were bit pretty bad by bedbugs and couldn't wait to get some cream on that after our journey. Antonello had a bottle of wine while we were walking only to find out that wine in this much heat isn't really good for you when you're walking 26,5 km's for the day. When we were leaving Carrion, Antonello did his best to teach me some Spanish...we'll see how well he/I did in the refresher course in the morning. We sang songs, everything from "Good morning, good morning" to "Welcome to the Jungle". We talked about the state of affairs for the west vs. the 3rd world. We laughed. We joked. We had a great day together!

I listened to music and walked "alone" for almost 3 km's, the last part of our journey. I got to thinking about the importance of Standing your ground! Yesterday and today there were moments on the journey when I was like: "Ok, I've had enough. I'm ready to go home!" It was only a moment but still it entered my mind. Even though this trip is loads of fun and a real adventure, it's difficult to say the least. We are all standing our ground against that part of us that wants to give up, the part of us that has had enough! The thought didn't end there but it went on to include standing your ground against others. The importance of standing your ground when you've decided something for yourself, like the fact that I don't drink anymore. So many times in my life I've decided something like that or usually something that affects my life in a smaller way, like going to the gym regularly or eating healthy, and then when someone offers me something great to eat or offers something to do that's more fun than going to the gym => then I've done that, instead of Standing my ground! There are so many things in life that I want to do or already do, that others will tempt me to give up. It is at those moments that I must Stand my ground!!! Anything that I decide to do that takes time, dedication or persistance will require me to Stand my ground when other things or people tempt me away from what I have decided. This trip is an excellent training device for exactly this skill in so many ways that it's scary! :) It presses so many buttons for so many things that I've decided to do with my life. My answer is: I'M Standing my GROUND!

We're at a wonderful Albergue here in Terradillos de la Cueza after a nice 26,5 km walk. After the shower I sort of realized that I haven't told you guys and gals that I have eczema all over the top of my left foot (and a little on my right), a couple of bug bites, a couple of small cuts (thank you so much my wonderful mother for the antibiotic cream!!! :*) and a few other ailments. It's interesting how all that fades to the background when you have soar shoulders, an ankle that's killing you or tendonitis of the shin! ;)

Going to go find Antonello now beautiful people. If you have birthday wishes for this wonderful man just write them here and I'll make sure he get's your wishes!

I hope that you Stand your ground when life offers you temptations that stray you from the path you have already chosen!!!

Do you want to be happy or do you want to be right?

Last night after blogging I had a great dinner with Katrin, Kesha and Jiney. We had loads of fun and laughed so incredible hard. Can't really explain the humor, you kind of had to be there; for example we laughed about having a funeral in 5 km's...you had to be there! ;)

When I got back to the Albergue, Antonello and some others were going out for a beer. I decided to stay behind and do some yoga. I haven't done yoga in a long long time, I've done stretches and taught other people a few stretches and yoga techniques, but I haven't done yoga. My choice was the best one I've made in ages. I did the yoga exercises that my body needed and I freed up a lot of tension around my tendonitis. I could feel that my whole body needed it and I immediatly felt a lot better. Again, one of my best decisions on the trip.

Last night when Antonello got back he had decided that he wanted to walk 20 km's the next day. The choice stood between 20 and 37 km's, the last 17 in a sort of desert with no town or fountain, just the midday sun bearing down on you. It's Antonello's birthday tomorrow so we, the remnants of The Fellowship, wanted to end up in the same town as him. Knowing that I only had 20 km's to walk today I decided to "sleep in". We have to have already left the Albergue's at 8:00, so sleeping in really isn't anything like what I've normally used that phrase for! ;)

After breakfast in the town's square and prayer and meditation, I set out to walk the 20 km walk to Carrion de los Condes. I like the mornings because I'm usually alone with my thoughts then. I like to sleep a little later than the others, that way I don't have to fight over the bathroom stalls and it's rather peaceful and quiet outside for prayer and meditation. The mornings become a little paradise of my own and the morning walk always brings up interesting ideas and thoughts.

This morning I started thinking about the first time someone asked me the question: "Do you want to be happy or do you want to be right?" I remember becoming angry, like I had to choose one or the other; that if I was happy I couldn't be right and vice versa. But that's not what the question is about at all. What it really is asking you is which you think is more important and especially when the two are in conflict, which do you value more. Sadly I have valued being right more a lot of the time, especially in my relationships with the fairer sex. Another reason why I became angry when I was asked that question was because in general at that time I valued being right a lot more than being happy and I took pride in that. Sometimes I really wish I could go back in time and make better choices but I guess that in life it's all about the journey. Only experience could teach me that being happy is a lot more important than being right. Now, even though I know that, I still sometimes pursue being right more than being happy. But this is all a part of the process, part of the journey and just remembering the importance of being happy brings me a step closer to choosing it over being right the next time!

I walked the 20,9 km's to Carrion de los Condes without taking a break. I mean who needs it right? It's only 20,9 km's :) I love how things like that have become relative. 20 km's is really like taking a break now. This was almost a day of rest and relaxation. I got to Carrion a little after 13:00 and me and Antonello picked a great Albergue. We have beds again and it's a beautiful place run by loving nuns. I went out for lunch shortly after we got here and then took the worlds greatest nap. I think that rest was exactly what my body needed.

Today my tendonitis caused me almost no pain and I'm going to have to go with the explanation that it was the yoga. I could feel last night that it immediatly did wonders so I'm gonna thank that for the miracle of feeling almost no pain. When I didn't feel pain in my shin anymore I could better feel that my body is tired after all this walking but what I also realized is that my shoulders don't hurt anymore. How amazing is that? They didn't hurt yesterday either, or the day before. Compared to how much they hurt the first few days it's amazing that now carrying all this weight all day long is just something they're used to. Guess this trip is changing me in more ways than just mentally and spiritually.

I'm going to go find my friends now and think about what to get Antonello for his birthday. We're talking about going 32 km's tomorrow and I feel ready for it to say the least. I hope you value happiness more than being right beautiful people and if you don't, that your values will shift in times to come!

The little things

Yesterday I arrived in Hontanas to find out that there was no internet in the entire town. So today's blog will also be about yesterday and the night before that. :)

So 2 nights ago in Burgos we were having a farewell dinner, our last supper if you will, for Alexander and Anaise. There were 18 of us and we just had a blast. In this restaurant amazingly enough we were allowed to put the tables together, they even did it for us. We found it amuzing and refreshing after our little "incident" in San Juan. There was not a silent moment while we were there, we even sang our national anthems for each other. There were so many countries represented; Italy, France, Slovakia, Japan, South-Korea, Germany, New Zealand, Poland, Holland, Iceland of course and I feel like I'm forgetting somebody. I didn't know the Icelandic anthem, and I couldn't sing it even if I did, so I sang for them "Ísland ogrum skorid" , a perfect substitute in my opinion! :) There was endless tomfoolery all through the night and we barely got back into the Albergue before it closed. A perfect night!

Woke up the next morning, was going to try and get an early start but ended up waiting for Antonello and having a farewell breakfast with Anaise. I like what I did better than getting an early start! :) Antonello, Anaise, Carolien and I had breakfast in the square next to the Cathedral of Burgos and then met Alexander who was wandering around the square as we came out. We got to say a proper goodbye there and Frodo and Sam...I mean Alexander and Anaise left for the bus station. As hard as it was to say goodbye and as much as I'm going to miss them, yet again it's wonderful to have made such a connection in such a short time.

I left Burgos about 10:00 in the morning and was alone, Antonello went ahead of me and I stayed behind for prayer and meditation. My tendonitis on my shin was pretty bad after a crazy previous evening so I walked as fast as I could, every step a painful one. It was so bad that if the physiotherapist hadn't told me that the tendonitis wasn't dangerous at all, only painful, then I would have taken a days rest at the very least. But I powered on and my goal for the day was the 31 km trek to Honandas.

On my way to Honandas I started thinking about the power of "the little things"! When I was younger I really believed in the awesome power of "the little things", how a smile, a compliment to a stranger or someone you know, calling someone even if just for a minute to show that you care and stuff like that - I believed that a little thing like that could totally change your whole day and perhaps even your life. I believed it because I could see evidence of it in my own life and in other people's lives. I made it my mission to try and affect as many people as I could in this way, to try and do little things to make their day better in any way I could and I practiced fully appreciating it when others did something like that for me. Good times...good times! Over the years I became jaded and my belief in the power of little things diminished. I still did a lot of it, but I didn't think it held the same awesome power that I once did.

This trip has changed me!!! I can see the incredible power behind "the little things" again, how they can affect you in every way imagineable and even change your life forever. A prime example happened when I arrived in the first town , 10 km away from Burgos. There I met Antonello and he greeted me with Hermanito (little brother). He said it twice and there was something in the way he said it, the affection and connection was amazing, I could feel he really saw me as his brother. I told him about this later in the evening and told him how it had affected me and that it had just made my day. He was so happy to hear it and he told me that this was exactly how he meant it. Good times...good times! :)

I walked alone the whole journey that day and I didn't listen to my ipod or anything like that. It was amazing the things that crossed my mind, how walking alone without any music or company can really stimulate your thinking process and help you get a better look at the different sides of everything you contemplate. I felt like I had 10 days to myself really, so much passed through my mind; so many interesting thoughts and contemplations. It was really a "think tank" of my own and I look forward to putting my ideas into action.

I walked the 31 km's to Honandas and I didn't take a break for the last 21 km's. As I approached the valley (I was on the mountain side above the valley) and the town slowly appeared as if out of nowhere I was soooooo happy!!! I took a picture of the town, more than one, and my feet welcomed the rest that I would soon feel. The first people I met when I got into town was the Mexican couple and they told me that they were just taking a break and that they were going to head on the 10 km's to the next town. They also started in Burgos so at first I thought they were crazy. Then I thought to myself that I had enough energy left for 10 km's more. I decided to give Antonello, my big brother (even though he's younger than me), a chance to talk me out of it. Italian's have a way with words and hand gestures so it didn't take him long to convince me to stay. We had a great dinner that night as Antonello made us some spaghetti, Italian style; Katrin, Colin, Antonello and I. I should have taken some time that evening to rest my foot as I would find out the next morning.

This morning I awoke at 6:00, hoping to get an early start for the 35 km's we had planned for the day, the walk from Honandas to Frómista. Sadly, someone had stolen my breakfast so I had to go visit the awesome "supermarket" (was more like a shop) guys again. I had a great breakfast with them and even though they spoke no English and I no Spanish, we proved that you don't have to know a common language in order to have a nice conversation! :)

I set out at 8:00, walked out of the supermarket and there was Pia, a Danish woman, and we walked together the first 10 km's to the next town and got to know each other. It was fun walk and we ended up singing together and generally having a good time. When I got to the next town I needed to go to a pharmacy to buy more anti-inflamitory cream and pills and some other stuff so we split up. I stopped at the pharmacy, hoping to fix my leg, the tendonitis being the most painful yet this morning. I prayed and meditated there and set out again hoping that I would be ready to face the road painfree...or at least that I could endure the pain.

This part of the journey is called the desert because of long walks without towns and it's very hot here. Not long after a very steep hill there were some men that had driven out there to give water, coffee and fruit to the Pilgrim's and only accepted donations instead. I thought it was especially nice since there weren't a lot of towns on the way so I sat down and had some oranges. Really nice guys! :)

It wasn't until after the next town after that that I hit my stride. I was getting so sick of the pain and even though I was blasting my ipod I couldn't get past the pain. I decided to try and power walk the crap out of it, just as an experiement. And what do you know, it worked! I don't know if it was the endorphins, adrenalin or a mix of many wonderful chemicals of the body, but it worked! I was pain free.

I met up with Pia again when I had 6 km's left and had some bananas. The stop proved to be interesting because Pia was turning a wheel that made water come out from a well and one of my walking sticks got caught in the wheel and got bent. We did our best to fix it but it's still a little bent. I figure that since I got one straight stick now the other one must be gay. I'm totally fine with that so everything's good. Pia and I had another fun walk and we figured that she must be my Danish wife for the day...I think everyone should experience that if only for a day! ;)

Arriving in Frómista was so amazing!!! 35 km's today!!! I can't believe it but sure enough it's true! The Albergue I'm sleeping in even has me sleeping in a bed for the first time on the trip, instead of a bunk bed that is. This is legendary for sure! :D

Well I've showered, hand washed my clothes, blogged and now it's time for some food. I hope you give yourself some time to affect others with the power of "the little things" and that you really appreciate it when someone does the same for you! :)

The fellowship of the Camino

Last night in San Juan de Ortega there was only one place to get something to eat, unless we wanted to get something out of a vending machine. We went to the place and tried to pull some tables together but were abruptly stopped by the owner, a real patrone, who only knew how to say NO and was obviously only equipped with ears for decorative purposes. Anaise tried to talk to him but all her sentences were interupted with the word NO and a long line of some derogatory words. Antonello was going to give it a go, see if he could reason with the fellow, but instead ended up storming away cursing as only an Italian can. It was an hillarious scene! We almost boycotted the restaurant but when the Italian temper had cooled off we decided that we could eat there after all. But they stopped serving real dinner even before our first attempt at eating there so we ended up getting huge sandwiches and laughing a lot about the "NO" patrone and many many other things.

This morning we woke up rather late and as usual I stayed behind to pray and meditate. My tendonitis was still quite painful and I wasn't sure I was gonna be able to catch up with them at all. But after anti-inflamitory cream and pills, a great breakfast and a serene meditation I started walking and to my amazement it didn't hurt a lot. Soon enough the pain seemed to subside and I was back in gear, my speed was back. I'm still tired though, this being the 12th day of walking more than 20 km a day! ;)

It was cloudy this morning and the countryside was so beautiful in the overcast sky and wet landscape. The air was so fresh after the rain and you could smell the wonderful aroma of the vegitation all around. Rescently the Camino has been taking us through one small town after another. I caught up with them in the second town after San Juan.

We had a great walk together today and shortly after that second town, Atapuerca, we found an amazing stone circle. We gave each circle a meaning and entered them with all our being. There were ten circle, one after another until we reached the center. They were 1) Energy 2) Love 3) Joy 4) Spirit 5) Happiness 6) Love (again, because it's so important) 7) Friendship 8) Self-discovery 9) Discovery of the world 10) Discovery of that which is eternal.

We travelled on through the day, Burgos being our destination. From San Juan to Burgos is 27,4 km and the arrival of members of my Camino family varied quite a bit. I see us now as sort of the first book in the Lord of the Rings and the sad thing is that I think that book is coming to an end. There is still plenty left of the story, 2 books according to the analogy, but we might do it in different groups from here on in. Tonight is Alexander's and Anaise's last night and their leaving, I think, will be symbolic for the end of the Fellowship of the Camino! We will most likely break up into smaller groups that will travel together, we might see each other from time to time but I don't think it will be the same (again, pretty similar to the analogy)! Now that we have arrived in Burgos all of us have pretty much hit our stride. Some will want to walk faster, some keep the same pace and others, be it because of pain/injuries or other reasons will want to walk slower. So tonight is our last night together as the Fellowship I think, our last supper if you will! I know I'm going to miss them but again, just like with the french guys, it makes me happy that I'll miss them; that means that I truly care for them and that we made an amazing connection in such a short time. Anyway, I'm sure we'll all meet up and have a reunion soon enough! ;)

This all made me think of what my pace will be. I know I'll travel more km's a day, most likely around my original goal of 28 km or even 30 km. My body was tired today, probably (again) because I've been going more than 20 km every day for the past 12 days. I'm hoping that I'll have more energy tomorrow and in the coming days. I was afraid this morning that my tendonitis would hurt for the rest of the trip and when the pain came back in the last 3 km of today's walk I became afraid that my trip would take me closer to 6 weeks than my goal of 4. I think the fear came as a result of the sadness I felt about the end of the fellowship of the Camino, bad feelings have a way of begetting bad feelings. I turned my attention to the fact that I was about to experience something new on my journey and the new brings endless possibilities. Fear was turned into excitement and I'm ready for the next part of my journey now!

I'm gonna go enjoy the time I have left with my friends now, especially the last supper. Stay awesome beautiful people, I hope that if good times are coming to and end in your life that they will bring new exciting times filled with wonder and amazement!

Coincidences

Right after I wrote my blog last night I started thinking about the coincidences that led to me being on this trip. It's amazing to think that I wasn't sure if I was going to go all the way to Flateyri (8 hour drive) to my friends birthday party but I'm so glad, for so many reasons, that I decided to go. I wouldn't be here if I hadn't gone, that's for sure. If it wasn't for Andri being there and me getting a lift in the same car as him then I wouldn't even know about the Camino.

This taught me 2 important lessons. The first one being to grab all the opportunities for adventures that are presented to me. We left on a Saturday, rode in a car for 8 hours, celebrated Atli's birthday in Flateyri, woke up the next day and rode in the car back to Reykjavík for another 8 hours. It was an amazing adventure and I almost missed out on it because I thought it could have been too much of an hassle. I went and had the time of my life, found out about the Camino to Santiago de Compostela and here I am on this life changing journey. The second lesson was to grab the "coincidences" that life offers you. The big coincidence was that Andri was there and that he talked about going the Camino and voila => here I am. But if I hadn't grabbed the idea and made it a reality I know I would have regretted it the rest of my life. Sometimes I've had these "coincidences" happen to me, I know that I should do something/go somewhere/meet someone or somthing like that but I don't follow through. It is a terrible thing to waste these beautiful opportunities, guidances if you will, that life offers you. A coincidence to me is a spiritual thing, it is the magic of life helping you find what you truly want...and very often what you truly need!

Last night was great and Antonello must have had another great night since everyone was yet again kept awake by his awesome snoring! :) I on the other hand wasn't in their room, having arrived before them, and would of course have slept fine despite the snoring thanks to my earplugs. This morning the others left as I was about to pray and meditate, I was going to catch up as soon as I was done. But that wasn't as easy as I had hoped. Walking with tendonitis on the shin is actually quite painful and I can't walk very fast. I felt grounded or at least like someone had slowed me down to a crawl. I can walk pretty fast and catching up to the group has always been very easy for me. But not now!

I started to think about what this could teach me. I saw that I was very impatient with myself and that I didn't tolerate failure well. This for me was failure and I had promised Alexander to catch up quickly so that we could walk together. I felt rushed and I felt that my slow walking was like breaking a promise. All of the sudden I was glad that this had happened. I could see that often when I was walking the Camino I was rushing for one reason or another and the same could be said for my life. I miss out on life and the Camino when I do this, too busy trying to get where I'm going to enjoy what's happening right now in my life. I saw that I had been grounded for a reason, the Camino had taught me another lesson. Enjoy the journey my friend, enjoy the moment, be present, take a look around and enjoy the scenery.

I caught up with them in a small Bar (that's where Spaniards go for food) about 12:40 in Villafranca Montes de Oca. We had a great lunch and after getting some juice we headed up the steep steep steep hills that would lead us to San Juan de Ortega, our destination for the day. The 24,3 km journey was amazing and I'm glad that I got to talk to Anaise some more and really get to know her. She'll be leaving soon like so many of our little Camino famly have done before her.

The computers here are not really up to par. After about 20 minutes of trying to access my facebook account and my internet bank I had closed myself off from my facebook account and I couldn't pay any bills. I swear the pain in dealing with the computer was worse than the pain of walking today and that was bad enough! But luckily I found away to access my blog and even though I won't be able to post my blogpost on facebook, I at least found a way to post a blog. ;)

Going to get back to my friends now beautiful people. I hope you are experiencing amazing coincidences in your life and that you truly seize them when they happen! And don't forget the journey on your way to your destinations! ;)

Why am I doing this?

We had a great time going out for dinner last night and saying goodbye to Luis was a resounding success! :) Antonello must have enjoyed the evening a little too much since his snoring kept most of our room awake through the night. I slept like a baby compared to the others, except for the usual tossing and turning of course, and thanked God for my earplugs yet again! ;)

The real goodbye was this morning and Luis wanted it to be marked that we said our final goodbyes in front of the cathedral in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. We also said goodbye to Jiney, the girl from South-Korea, and Kesha since they were gonna sit around with Luis for a while and then rest by just walking the 7 km to Grañon.

That's the funny thing...7 km is now taking a rest. I mean, we walked to Grañon this morning before we had breakfast and usually, back home, walking 7 km would mean that you had done some good exercising that day. Now you walk 7 km before breafast and it's just the start of your day! Funny how life is always relative like that. :)

Right before we reached Grañon there was a Dutch woman who we knew that was sitting down and couldn't go any further. Her legs had given out, all bloodied from blisters and hurting from the strain to her foot. There was a Spanish man walking by and he offered to walk into town and get his car to drive her to Grañon. We accepted of course and had breakfast there together.

When we left she stayed behind. I have no idea what happened to her or if this was the end of her trip. She had seen the physiotherapist last night, she had been to doctors and pharmacies but to no avail. She was still hurting, now worse than ever.

This has happened to a lot of people on the way. I mean Antonello is going this on pure willpower now, his knee having given in along the way. He's very fit, he swims every day back in Rome, but still it happened to him...even to him. It seems like no matter what condition you are in when you start this journey you still end up with some sort of ailment. I guess it's just a part of the journey and show's how difficult and straining it is.

When we were in Viloria de Rioja about 8 km away from Belorado (which is where we stopped for the night) I got to thinking why I was doing this journey. I mean really, why am I doing this? I had become so immersed in the group that my reasons were not as clear anymore. Also my leg had hurt all day, and pretty bad at that because of the tendonitis, so I really did need a reminder in why I'm walking all the way to Santiago de Compostela.

I've been struggling for a while now with what to do with my life, meaning like a job or occupation or something along those lines. When I was on my way to my friend Atli's 30th birthday party in Flateyri I was in one of the greatest car rides of my life. I knew pretty much no one in the car and it was a total blast. In that car I met Andri and he told me about this life changing journey he had gone on. He told me that this journey was usually done by people who were on a turning point in their life; had just lost a loved one, ended a relationship, quit/lost a job, just finished school or something like that. He said that the journey often helped people find out what to do next with their lives. I KNEW that this was perfect for me. This was something I had to do. I told him right there and then that I was going to walk this path and I set a date in my mind; the middle of August!

That was in April and here I am. This is proving to be just what I'm looking for! This is the end of my sabbatical and when I come back to Iceland I have to decide what I'm going to do. I believe that this journey is answering this question and so many others in my life. I have other reasons for doing this trip and I reminded myself of them all today. And when the pain was bearing down on me I screamed in my mind: ULTREIA! The perseverance, the overcoming of ones difficulties is the part in which my answers are found. This trip is hard but it's supposed to be hard. It's good to be reminded of that.

We ended the day at a perfect Albergue, it even has a pool. The 23 km walk to Belorado today was hard on us all, especially on Alexander, Antonello, Anaise, Paul and Georgia since they took a 4 km detour when they walked the wrong path for 2 km. They came to a town that was on none of their Pilgrim maps and realized that they hadn't seen a yellow arrow for ages (a yellow arrow always leads the way on the Camino). But making fun of them for that really made my day. I had walked ahead, since I needed to remind myself why I was here on this amazing journey.

We just went to the swimming pool and had loads of very cold fun. If it wasn't for the fact that I've swum in the Icelandic Ocean I don't think it would have been possible to stay in the water. The cold water helped for my muscles and definetly for my tendonitis and the fun always helps with pretty much everything.

I hope you're having a great day beautiful people and that you truly realize why you're doing the things that you're doing! That other things/people/places don't blind your from why you're chasing your goals! :)