LIVE from the Camino I felt the calling...

[NilsTenerife]

One day there was this inner knowledge. After the camino just popped up a couple of times in my universe, I knew: I need to go. Tingling in the spine, a slight nervousness. That usually shows me I am on the right track.

A dear friend wanted to go and we talked about perhaps walking a bit together. We had the same flight to Porto, but first parted ways, as she wanted to go to the city centre for the first night. I had other plans: Why drive backwards and then have more to walk the next day?

So, I preferred to walk outside the airport and straight towards the central way, still getting more than enough of the big city. For some kilometres, I walked with another pilgrim, and I met two small groups, but most of the time I was on my own.

Gladly, after the loud city streets, the first villages came soon. Not being used to seeing many rivers in Tenerife, I adored the small streams and the beautiful sounds... I touched some old tree beings on the way and thanked them.

A bit tired, but not exhausted, I made it to Casa do Laura, where I enjoyed a good shower in a spacious bathroom, followed by some writing time in the beautiful garden.

As I prepared well for my camino by doing a few training hikes with full backpack in the steep mountains of Tenerife while partly fasting, today's walk was quite pleasant. My body already got used to carrying the weight, I had plenty of water, and didn't feel like needing food.

When I mentioned this in the introductional post, someone was concerned. And yes, as a safety advice for others, please don't copy me if you didn't prepare very well before. I have practiced this and I listen very closely to what my body needs and wants.

I am curious what the next day will bring. For sure, I'll take it slow, perhaps again only a half day of walking?

 

[lovelyshell]

If you like the tiled building take lots of pictures! I did the Portuguese last year and I wish I had taken more.

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 2:

As I was thinking about electrolytes and easing my walking & fasting a bit, Gaia (others would say: the universe) had a surprise for me today. In the middle of the path there was a lemon. But no tree around. I was grateful for this present and answer for my question and just ate it on the way. It was perfect, didn't raise my blood sugar levels, but felt refreshing without any sudden hunger afterwards.

I kept a fast pace for about three hours, overtaking and meeting some people from before, and just felt great... One pilgrim I met had a self-built carriage strapped around his body, pulling his luggage behind him. Amazing idea!

I was especially fond of the many little and bigger streams, and I realized how much I had missed this living already ten years in Tenerife.

Over time, the walk got more and more difficult for the thighs, although a good talk with a companion helped to make it to Casa do Maria in Pedra Furada. Again a beautiful and affordable place with lots of space and a nice garden. Other people walk further to Barcelos, but I couldn't even have imagined to do that...

As I was feeling more exhausted and some hunger appeared (which seldom happens any more while I'm fasting), I decided to break the fast with a self-cooked meal from the supermarket, intuitively feeling into the ingredients that my body wanted.

Hopefully, it will just give some strength and not take too much away from my already stronger feeling of connectedness and higher frequencies.

 

[ApproachingBliss]

A lemon. Did you smile, or burst out laughing to find it without a lemon tree around?
How was your self-cooked meal?
Nice pictures.

 

[NilsTenerife]

A lemon. Did you smile, or burst out laughing to find it without a lemon tree around?
How was your self-cooked meal?
Nice pictures.

Yes, it was kind of both, smiling, laughing and being super grateful of how Gaia always takes such good care of me. The meal was nice, lots of veggies. Enough for me to not want any more food today. I walked with some others and we asked an old woman if we could harvest lemons from her tree. So, I had another one and the others tried it as well.

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 3

Lots and lots of cats! Many streams and rivers, I met my brasilian companion again half way, although he started much earlier, and with a woman from Poland we went to Aburin (she continued for another 7 km). I found 22 km perfect.

My friend who took the same flight but started walking a day later had a 34 km day and managed to catch up, so that we can meet.

The statue in Barcelos is brand new, just 2 weeks old.

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 4

My friend and me started early, as it was supposed to rain later. So it did, about half way of the 20 km. I felt mostly okay with it, accepting and enjoying nature and the company of my friend. At one time, I was even grateful and thanked Gaia for the water, without it there would be no beautiful greens or the many streams that I liked so much.

As always, the last few kilometres were a struggle and my friend pushed it hard to get to our pre-booked accomodation in Ponte de Lima.

A weird thing happened when I opened my backpack. I had another lemon in there, but it was gone... Perhaps a payback for the one I found on the road a couple of days ago?

As my body clearly told me it wanted food after another two days of fasting, my friend and I went to the only place around that was open. Almost everything was with meat, so I enjoyed a big plate of super fresh shrimps.

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 5

My worst day so far, emotionally and physically. My friend from Tenerife wanted to walk alone, which also felt right for me to process some things better.

And then there was my Camino friend, we met at the first private albergue and had been booking the same accomodations for the next day, sometimes meeting on the way, and more time for conversations in the evenings. He was upset about some things and decided to book his own places from now on.

Then came the physical challenges. First walking on a path that was deeply flooded with water with no way to walk around. (I heard later that this is a well-known problem after a day of rain, and I wonder why this doesn't get changed?) My shoes were completely soaked and I had to change socks, which is not easy when you have to hold the backpack with one hand...

Then came... More rain! And then more and more quite steep climbs up. After the first ones I thought, "you gotta be kidding" when I saw the next ones that were even steeper.

Adding to that came my emotional struggle. It was weird, I liked to be alone for the processing and felt I needed that, but with equal weight I felt very sad and alone.

There even was a point when I thought, why not just find the next bus station and head to some small village or town, spend a couple of days there and book a flight back. That's how bad I felt...

And once again, I contemplated, there is just not enough LOVE in this world, we humans reduce ourselves to the absolute minimum. In my intuitively written books I have explored ways how to expand our feelings of LOVE with each other by maybe the factor 10.

But humans are stubborn and prefer to stick with what they know (their comfort zone), much too afraid of opening to more. This also made me very sad, I was crying on the way to release the emotions and energies, which only partly worked.

Arriving at the nice place for resting and sleeping, a good friend thanked me via voice message for spreading the LOVE. Good time, it was comforting to hear, but I still think about visiting the nearby restaurant later, mostly for comforting reasons. Hopefully the next days will get better and I'll be able to continue my fasting.

 

[NilsTenerife]

Here some photos from my day. As the rain kept coming back, I couldn't always take the mobile out, otherwise I would have taken even more. Apart from my struggles, the nature sights were wonderful.

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 6

The rain was on and off today, which meant changing the jacket often, as it quickly got too warm when a bit of sun came out.

I walked alone again, with only brief encounters of other pilgrims. The night before, I had some awake times and used it to inwardly ask for more information about a past life story with a friend that I had just received the day before.

When something is relevant for my growth path, I get answers, sometimes images, and I suddenly unlock the memory. There was a lot to process in the first part of the walk!



Then, I asked for more information on one of my newly integrated spirit guides, for a better understanding. As not much was coming here, I accepted and knew that it didn't seem to be relevant right now.

Even in the rainy times, the walk was beautiful. I went slower than normal to enjoy the lush green, the many streams, cats, dogs and sheep.




And then came the magic moment of crossing the bridge over a large river, which was the border to Spain, which had been my chosen home country for the last ten years. From now on, communication will be so much easier for me, as not every Portuguese speaks English or (understandable) Spanish.




Arriving at my hostel in Tui, I had the option to choose from two different rooms with bunk beds. I took the one where I felt a better energy, and surprisingly, I had the whole room with 8 beds just for myself! A bit weird type of single room, so to say.

After shower, laundry and resting, I went for a stroll through the old town of Tui and more or less "coincidentally" met my friend from Tenerife at the cathedral.

As she wanted to do a long 31 km walk the next day, and I wanted to stick to my approximately 20 km, it would probably be our last time together on the Camino, so we took a long walk together through town, some woods and along the promenade of the big river before saying goodbye and buen camino.



Back at my hostel, I planned my trip for the next days until the end, as I want to walk the "spiritual variant" and this implies a bit of planning.

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 7

There were several options for this next part after Tui. I decided to walk for a bit more than 20 kilometres to reach my first public albergue in Mós. With the time difference between Portugal and Spain, it was the first time I started while it was still dark. And guess what? It was raining again...

After leaving town and walking on a larger road for a while, the path finally went into more foresty areas before splitting into two. The slightly shorter option was to continue on a bigger road, and as I read (and later heard from other pilgrims), it would go through very boring and ugly industrial areas.

I opted for the longer walk through nature and felt greatly rewarded. At times, there were moments of bliss and high consciousness, were everything blended into one, becoming my inner me. Magical!



Yesterday, a woman waited in her car in the woods to (quite eagerly) sell her self-made sweets. Today there was a bagpiper, surprising anyone walking by. His music filled the space with a special atmosphere, and so I thanked him for playing.



As always, I touched many tree beings on the way, sending out a heartfelt "thank you" to them.



Again, the rain was on and off, but it didn't matter any more. This was my daily life now, and it felt okay and good. I decided to become lighter in my heart, and after a few moments, the clouds shifted away for a while, letting the sun shine through.



I processed the past life story once again that I had received during the last few days, getting some more details along the way. It was interesting to observe how the memories of the past started to blend with my "memories" of the future, as I call them, although they are always only possibilities, depending on the choices I make.

When I reached the albergue, there was a huge group of pilgrims standing on the street. I feared that I would be too late to get a space, as the public albergues don't take reservations and work only on a "first come, first serve" basis.

After about an hour, they left for walking together, and it became more quiet. Shortly after that, the reception opened and I was one of the first to choose my bed for the night.

Just before, I texted my friend from Tenerife who I would maybe not see again for the rest of the trip, and at that moment, she walked by. She only had a few minutes, as her plan was to continue for another ten kilometres. The short talk was good, honest and needed for both of us, something to work through, and once again, I was grateful about this divine timing.

As it was still raining and quite cold, I decided to eat again, although the prices looked expensive. But I asked, and they also had a cheaper "pilgrim's menu" with an extraordinary food quality. Yum!

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 8

So far, my shortest walk, about 16 km to Arcade de Riba. But as it had some steeper pathways up and down again, it turned out to be the perfect length, as I felt quite tired afterwards.

Although deeper processes can be felt and worked with by walking alone, I asked a woman at the hostel if she wanted to share some walking & talking time together, as we were leaving at the same time. We had good talks, I shared with her my differing views about the mission of Jesus, especially the parts the church had been keeping a secret. We connected well and I met her later again in the town where we were staying.

After some time, I continued alone again, until I connected with another woman on the way. We talked about the holographic world view (as a particle of the universe, we are also everything that is, which means... infinite power, freedom and also responsibility) and "memories" of the future. She just had an experience with that, and was glad to hear that this is becoming more normal these days.

Walking by a garden, I spotted a sweet, black cat who was sitting on a garage roof. I stopped and inwardly connected with her. Then, she threw up! The natural way cats do this sometimes, to get rid of hair and perhaps indigestible food from some animal they catched. I felt a meaning in this: stay clean and purge everything that is not truly YOU before you reach your destination... (Which in my case is Pico Sacro and not Santiago de Compostela, more about that later.)

Also today, in some short moments, I had that feeling of ONEness with everything that is again. It can be confusing and at times overwhelming while walking, as the world as I know it turns into a huge mirroring illusionary dream of everything inside. I like these moments and the fact that they are coming more often now.

Shortly before Arcade, I met a pilgrim who listened to English punk music and ran down the mountain as fast as he could. Funny! Let your inner child come out...

The rain only started today when I was already at my place for the night, yeah!

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 9

Yesterday, I talked with a fellow pilgrim about lucid dreams (becoming fully aware of the dreaming state while dreaming), and that I find it so difficult to train for having them more often. It must have stirred something, the next night I had two of them, but only for a short time.

In the second dream I saw a watch on my wrist, it clearly showed 6:00, so I wondered how cool would it be if I would check now and see if it's also the same time in what we call our "normal" reality.

Unfortunately, that was of course also the trigger then to wake up and not continue the lucid dreaming. So, I looked, and it was 5:49 - close enough.

As always, I left without breakfast. The walk continued mostly in rain with short pauses, which I have become so used to already that it didn't matter.



At some point, the path split again, and as always, I chose the slightly longer variant through nature instead of walking on a busy and loud street.

Well, this time only, it actually became an adventure seeking a possible way through or around the deep muddy ground! Walking sticks would have been great to have here. But I managed to keep balance and stay reasonably clean.



Although it took really long finding my way through the more challenging spots, the wonderful nature rewarded me many times. I kept touching trees on the bark or the leaves to say "Thank you. I love you."





I made it to Pontevedra, which was less busy due to a holiday. Most shops were closed, but I found a small supermarket that was open. As I wasn't sure how to keep it with food for the day, I went in and actually found very pure natural medicine: organic chocolate with 99% cacao! So, I ate 40 grams and felt my heart as warm as it gets in a cacao ceremony.

Right after Pontevedra, there was supposed to be a sign when the path to the "spiritual variant" of the Camino would go off, which I had planned to take. Was it because there was a temporary diversion that I missed it?

After some time, I connected with the maybe youngest pilgrim I had met so far. She was also coming from Germany, I sensed a very pure angelic aura, and we walked and talked a bit together.

Then she asked if I might have missed the turn towards the spiritual variant. According to my app, I did. But didn't want to walk back, so I continued a bit longer with her, started another app that showed small pathways (better than Google Maps) and thought, oh well, then I just do my own private version of the Camino until I get onto the official path of the spiritual variant.

When I met another pilgrim taking the same path and then seeing yellow arrows again, I was surprised. Had the official Camino changed recently in the app and I've intuitively found the old version?



The stone crosses alongside the small roads certainly looked much older than any I had seen on the way before. Was this path more close to the original one where it was said that the remains of St. James were carried?

I arrived in Combarro where I had booked a night in a hostel. There was a huge fruit shop at the beginning of the town and I felt like staying away from ordinary cooked food and pilgrim's menus.

Intuition said, stay as clean as possible, and also my mind showed me that this is the most important part of the journey, in memory of St. James / Santiago / Jakob (German).

So, after my usual routine of shower, washing clothes, resting with feet up, and a short siesta, I went back to the fruit shop and got enough for two delicious fruit meals: one right away, sitting on a bench in front of the sea, and one for the next day, as it would be Sunday with all shops closed.

Thank you for another day in the beautiful nature of Mother Gaia, with many magic moments of intuition, synchronicities and inner awareness.

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 10

It's nice to sometimes have a dormitory with eight beds just for yourself. This night, I shared one with a female pilgrim from central america. As I was the only man in the hostel, all the other women were placed in another room.

Dreams are for me just as important as what people call the "normal" reality. Last night, there was another special one. First, I experienced kindness, closeness and loving care with someone who I had lost connection with.

Then, while walking through some caves, she and two other beings were singing a complex angelic mantra, in perfect unison. It was very beautiful and etheric. The dream went on and I came by to hear them singing the mantra two more times.

Afterwards, one of the beings greeted me, saying he was pleased to meet me. He radiated a wise aura, and looked extraordinary different: very white skin, white hair and white eyes. Then, I woke up, which was good, in order to really remember this well.

On some websites I had read that the climb up from Combarro could be challenging after a long walk, that's why I wanted to do it fresh in the morning. It turned out that it was relatively easy when I took my time.

I was astonished that almost the whole path was on paved roads. Not quite the same what the ones experienced who carried the remains of St. James up the hills! Some more natural paths would have been nice, to connect better with nature, but in our modern world, things are what they are.

For a change, it wasn't raining and the sun even came out a bit. The path remained to be a bit boring in comparison to other days. Nevertheless, I had good internal processes, realising that we have been everything that ever was and everything that will ever be. Everything was only created for and by us to wake up from our dream. What a huge responsibility to take on, and it takes a lot to integrate all of this!

There is a kind of eye of a needle when coming down again after the climb up the hill. One can either stay in the public albergue in A Armenteira, which is only a super short ten kilometres from Combarro, or continue five kilometres more and stay in a much more expensive hotel. I decided to do the first, taking the short day as it is.

The last kilometres downhill were more beautiful to walk. The stones on the ground seemed to sparkle with silver. I had a closer look and was surprised to see something like a silver foil on the ground. I picked up a small stone and with my fingernails I was able to scratch off a bit. How weird?

Naturally, I arrived much too early at the albergue and had to wait. As it was getting pretty cold, I was happy to see that it was opened at 11:30, so I could sit inside. Let's see what the rest of the day will bring.

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 10 - Part Two

As I felt like walking a bit more, I had a visit at the nearby monastery and then went back up the hill into the woods, taking the small trails. Beautiful!

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 11

I started my walk a bit before 7:00, happy to get out of the nice, but for me much too crowded and tight public albergue. I felt like a sardine in a tin, not pleasant. It was great to feel my own energies again while walking!

This was the very best nature walk on the whole trail, especially in the beginning! The trail followed a river with many little waterfalls and lots of power, one old mill ruin after the other, extraordinary beautiful! As it was still dark in the woods, I could only make pictures further down the mountain when the river was already more calm.



While walking, I processed a kind of disturbing dream I had a couple of nights ago. Although there is no right and no wrong, I felt that I could have decided better. Finally, I felt ready to forgive myself for the choice I made in the dream. It was important for me, almost as if I had solved a past-life scenario with it. I was not with my beloved ones when I should have been.



A bit later, I met an interesting young student on the path who left the albergue early, he had the bed above me. We had very good talks about our life paths, love & relationships in this new world, Jesus and the reasons why the church made a different story out of his teachings. A good connection and I hope to see him again on the boat to Padrón tomorrow.

After shower, clothes washing and resting, I explored the town and was interested in a property that was for sale. I wondered if there was a story here, as I "remembered" some episodes connected with it. Let's see what comes out of it.

Then, I felt like taking a break from fruit fasting again. It's all good about staying "clean", but when I feel like taking a pause, then that's what I'll have to do. But no kitchen was open until 20:00, you cannot even get a boccadillo (filled baguette) in any of the cafeterias. How weird! I had beer instead and patiently waited, walked and rested until then.

 

[NilsTenerife]

End of Day 11:

In the cafeteria, I met my dear friend and learned once again, that there is really nothing one can do when we observe that a fixed and settled mind does not match the signals and emotional frequencies that we perceive. It's like two different languages are spoken at the same time, but only one gets heard by the one speaking. I still find it weird every time to be pushed away for being too nice, too kind, and ... a man.

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 12

As my boat from Vilanova de Arousa was only going at 10:30 in the morning and it was raining, I slept and rested for the first time until 8:00, followed by waiting and resting some more!

When I left the really nice private albergue with only six beds per room and free usage of the washing machine, fortunately, the rain had stopped. It was only a short walk to the harbour and I met my walking companion from the day before again. We shared the same small speed boat and arrived shortly before 12:00 in Padrón.

I had a good 18 km to walk to O Milladoiro and was really eager to start. First, I had some natural medicine, the 99% organic chocolate that I had bought in Pontevedra. I walked very fast and steady and only stopped for very few seconds in between. It felt like a marathon, but I needed this for multiple reasons.



First, I still felt the energies of the baguette and the beer in my blood stream. My aura felt dimmed down and my eyes sparkled less, as I could tell from the subtle reactions when I was looking at others. I wanted to push these energies out of my system as quickly and thoroughly as possible, becoming clean again.

Second, I wanted to process the rejection from my friend, which is a topic I've almost gotten used to already.

The fast walking helped for both, so I kept the pace and even typed in some first ideas for a poem:

When a holy Mary rejects
Herself deep inside
And herself in the other
Then all our mirrors
Need better polishing.

While walking, I also tried to call the albergue that I wanted to walk to on the following day, close to Pico Sacro. Somehow, I didn't look precise enough and called a wrong number first. I tried again and couldn't get through. But I trusted, knowing that things would work out just perfectly, so I simply continued my fast pace.

Taking over many other fellow pilgrims, I didn't even stop to take any more pictures. There was nothing else to do, nothing was important any more, just the ever-present NOW and the fast walking, pushing me to my limits.

I didn't feel pain, I didn't even feel my feet, toes or muscles so much any more. It didn't matter if it was going uphill at times. I came into a state filled with endorphins that one gets by running the last few kilometres of a long race.

As my awareness and consciousness was expanding ever more, I felt to intensify it even further by eating a lemon that I still had in my backpack. This one was especially sour, but it did what I wanted, alcalising my blood and raising my frequencies.

As in any good race, the last kilometres were not easy, but I just kept going, step by step, keeping the pace.

When I arrived at the private albergue, I was amazed how many beds it had. But how wonderful, everyone had soooo much space! The wooden beds smelled really good, and there even was a curtain to have privacy. Perfect!

I met some pilgrims from the last few places and to my surprise also the one who I connected with at the first albergue right after Porto. A circle came to a closing.

Shower, a bit of resting, and then I tried to call the following albergue again. It was fully booked, they didn't have any space for me.

Yet, I was not concerned or disappointed at all, knowing that my spirit guides and me had pre-arranged everything perfectly. I was supposed to stay my next two nights in a private room, close to Pico Sacro! After having so many nights close together with other pilgrims, I didn't feel like more socialising anyway. My own private space, yeah!, for a price that I had already paid for a bunk bed somewhere on the way.

Then I went to the biggest supermarket I had seen on the way so far. A lot of options, even pre-cooked food in many varieties, with tasty smells I haven't had for some time. Very carefully, I looked and felt into some options, just to see that I would be completely comfortable with the choice I had made earlier: staying as clean as possible by just eating fruit today.

Walking through the supermarket and the streets felt like being on another planet. People gave me weird looks, friendly and curious, I smiled at them, but felt no need to connect.

 

[NilsTenerife]

Day 13

Thanks to the great space with good privacy and earplugs, I had a good night with many deep and long dreams. As I was in no rush, I stayed a bit longer in the morning, just reflecting and resting. When I opened my bed curtains and got up, most other pilgrims were already gone.

While moving out, I met a woman from the places where we had been together before and explained that I was not going to Santiago, but instead to Pico Sacro. It seems to be very unusual to do something that not all the masses and crowds are doing.

On my way out of O Milladoiro, I walked by a small chapel that was built for Maria Magdalena. At least there is this one chapel dedicated to her - as I always felt her work here on Gaia was as important and as powerful as that of Jesus. But the world rejected her because the church told a different story. I placed a little flower from the ground on a shrine outside the chapel.

This was now my own path, turning away from the crowds-awaiting city, finding my way to the private room I booked that was close to Pico Sacro.

A car stopped next to me and the driver wanted to know where I was going, as it was obviously not the right direction to Santiago. We had a short talk, I explained my destination and the reason, and he nodded and acknowledged my choice. He told me that he knew as well that this was the place where the remains of St. James should have been.

But back in the days, queen Lupa talked about a dragon on the mountain and it seems like she preferred to have a church and a town built in the valley. One cannot get much money and power from the remains of an apostle if one buries him on a mountain!



My path followed mostly the shortest route given by Google Maps, first a bit up in the woods, then down again. There was a chapel for Santa Isabel on the way (why are all chapels almost always closed here?).



I also came unusually close to a tiny, sweet rabbit in the grass, then a squirrel hopping over a tree that was leaning over my path, and then yet another little rabbit.

It was interesting, that, aside from birds, these were the only wild animals I saw during the whole pilgrimage, and now they all appeared on one day, when I was getting close to my destination. Did I mention that the most important things in my life happen in some relation to the number three? So, I felt guided and watched by these sweet little animals.



The last kilometres where on a noisy street, and when I managed to walk some arc around through the woods, it started to drizzle once again. But nothing could really bother me any more. I was getting close, tired, the muscles around my feet hurt, but it was all okay after a nice shower and resting time.

The private room is a bliss after having shared my space for so long with others! Once again, I had my fruit meal in the afternoon and decided to rest, reflect and go deeper for the rest of the day.

Being unsure about what wanted to happen next, I felt the impulse for a short walk before going to bed. Following another impulse, I asked the waiter in a cafeteria if he could prepare me some food outside his usual offerings. He asked three times if he understood correctly what I wanted and then brought it, together with a beer. I felt like a little celebration would help with my reflection, and it was perfect!