Trail Sign Thursday

So...finding your way on the Camino is actually pretty awesome and easy- there are these little yellow (in theory) arrows, or flechas, that show you where to go!  Below is a sampling of the great signs and weird and wonderful markers we saw that made the Camino even cooler...and safer and easier too!  There are a lot of photos, but it gives you a glimpse of the experience!  And any distance estimates you see? Lies!

  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

Stay tuned for Friendly Friday!  Lots of wonderful pictures of the AMAZING people we met along the Way!

-K-

We Made It! Wednesday

So, since I'm typing this 9 months after the trip, clearly we did survive the Camino.  Sorry to spoil the suspense for you all!

I don't think I have words to accurately describe the feeling of elation, accomplishment, sadness and paralysis that we felt when we arrived by the cathedral in Santiago.  After walking for 34 days straight, you're not entirely sure what you should be doing when you reach your destination.  Santiago is filled with lost-looking pilgrims whose faces light up when they see someone from the journey, but who, you can tell, are still looking for the little yellow flechas to tell them where to go next.  The Camino really is all about the journey, and arriving at the destination seemed almost unimportant.  It took us a couple of days to actually come to terms with being there, and not being pilgrims anymore--I'll do a separate post about visiting the Cathedral and really feeling like the journey was over (complete with video of the giant incense burner swinging through the rafters) on Sunday.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from the end of our journey-our arrival in Santiago and our trip to Finisterre, the point in mainland Europe that's the closest to home. 

Arriving in Santiago!  We had to cross a very busy highway and climb two fences to get this photo.  If you look closely, you'll notice I'm holding a little doll--that's Angelita.  Since our friend Angie (Hi Angie!) thought up the idea of the Camino trip, and then couldn't come with us at the last minute, we carried Angelita along so that a little bit of Angie would travel with us.  You'll notice her lurking in a lot of our shots.

So...the closer we got to the Cathedral, the slower we walked and the more pictures we took.  We weren't alone, either--we noticed a lot of pilgrims having coffee in the sidewalk cafes just inside the city limits.  This sculpture reminded me of my cuz (Miss you Cuz!) so we had to take a picture.  It's sort of too bad we didn't take a video...I finished posing, and then immediately turned around and walked head-first into the arm of the starfish.

When you finish the Camino, you get a certificate!  Here's Jana in the courtyard of the pilgrim reception place, holding her certificate on the right, and her pilgrim passport with stamps on the left.  We carried our passport with us from France, and it was our proof that we'd walked the whole way!

This is it!  Our destination!  The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

Looking out towards home in Finisterre (well, the photo is looking towards home...we're looking towards our friend Sinead, who took the picture)

Journey's End...the train station at Santiago de Compostela.  We boarded a night train from here to Madrid, and bid farewell to our pilgrim ways.  And some of our pilgrim clothes (after 34 days, some things should just be thrown away)

Although this seems like a bit of a farewell to the Camino post, I will be back tomorrow with more from Spain--right now I'm thinking we'll have Trail Marker Thursday (you wouldn't believe some of the signs), Friendly Friday (this will be a long one, with a selection of many of the wonderful people we met along the Way), Statue and Scenery Saturday (pretty self explanatory) and Sacred Sunday (with the promised inside-the-Cathedral bits and the giant swinging incense burner).  Stay tuned!

For today, I'll leave you with the quintessential 'we made it' shot from the Camino.  Adios, amigos!

-K-

Gathering Momentum

And I'm back for the second day in a row!  I've been thinking a lot about Spain and the Camino lately, partly because the weather here in Gros Morne is so snowy and cold.  So, tonight, as we sipped Spanish wine, my mind drifted back to warmer climes and interesting sights.  Since it's Valentine's Day today, I thought I'd stay away from posting pictures of people, and instead show some of the strange statues and sights along the Camino de Santiago.  Enjoy!

Tonight, as the snow falls on Norris Point, I'm sipping wine from THIS vineyard!  Bodegas Campina, in case you're wondering.  It's a lovely wine, and reminds me of this day of walking- it was the day before my birthday and we were headed for a little town where I drank hot chocolate (provided with a kiss on the forehead by the lovely grandmotherly owner) and discovered how to say 'elastic bandage' in Spanish

Jana thought they were running from a hail of bullets...I just think school crossing signs in Spain are a realistic portrait of Spanish driving.  Run, little children, run!

Even the fenceposts were walking the Camino!

Mandatory cheesy pose-with-statue shot, taken by Jean-Marc, who guided on the Camino pushing a wheelbarrow thingy, and advised us on the dangers of dehydration and gave us pain au chocolat for our breakfast that morning.  Merci!

And one final surreal shot.  This is a stained glass window in a church in Spain.  It is also the spitting image of Matthew Grant.  It freaked Jana and I out a little bit.  We were REALLY freaked out when Matt sent us a picture of him wearing a very similar hat.  The resemblance is creepy-cool.  Unless you know Matt, of course, you'll just have to trust me :)

And finally, the promised photo of the restaurant hen, cleaning up and keeping us company.  Awesome.

Until tomorrow, lovelies!  Happy Valentine`s Day!

-K-

The Best Laid Plans....

So, somehow it's been months and months since I've updated this blog, I never did manage to post Camino pictures, and I'm back at home and readjusting to life at work and in snow (after last winter in Europe, that's not easy to do).  In honour of the Year of the Dragon however, I'm going to pull my act together and start blogging each week again, posting 5 pictures from life in these parts, or whichever parts I happen to visit.  This means I'm promising to post here at least once a week (probably on Sundays again).

Just to build a little momentum, I'm going to post a few pictures each day this week from those lost months in Europe.  Many were taken by my travel buddy Jana (hi Jana!) who is a much better photographer than I.  Please prepare yourself for a drop in picture quality later!  And Jana--if you feel like posting some pictures from your adventures around New Zealand (hint hint), feel free!

We'll start with the Camino!



Breakfast Break by the Hospital San Anton (photo courtesy of our 80-year old friend Ricardo, who stopped to chat before leaving us in his dust)




Early Morning, Pilgrim v. Local, Logrono




We climbed up one side of this hill, and then had to climb down the other...this is me taking a well-earned break!




Crossing into Galicia, for the last part of our journey on the Camino.  This day started beautifully, but by mid-morning was so foggy we could barely see the signpost!  A group of Spanish men took this photo for us--they then power-walked off and were out of sight in no time.  It's no wonder we dubbed ourselves the Herd of Turtles!




The highest point of the Camino!  I'm checking our guidebook--we were trying to make sure there was
a water fountain and food nearby--we crossed down out of the fog, and found a lovely restaurant on top of another mountain, complete with a hen walking around the tables picking up crumbs (I'll post that one next time)

Next up- people we met on the Camino...and maybe that hen!

-K-