LIVE from the Camino Live - pilgrim blogs

[sillydoll]

This pilgrim was locked out of the refuge because they stayed out too late at a bar!

http://highmeadow.livejournal.com/3472.html

This one complains about snoring!!

http://caminomay08leontosarria.blogspot ... carce.html

 

[sillydoll]

Not everybody walks the last 100km.

This guy states that, "... the Saint would smooth it over when I showed at the Pilgrim office with Arzua as the last stamp in my "Credencial" and make the lady give me a Compostela to give my grandaughter anyway. So I caught the bus into Santiago, got the Compostela, visited the Cathedral and got back on the train to Leon and then up to Santander."

http://martinthek.livejournal.com/7593.html

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Sil, I read that - hilarious! We can only assume that he didn't mention to the Pilgrims' Office he got the bus for the last etapa!

I was actually in the Pigrims' Office recently when they refused a Compostela to two people because they thought it would have been impossible to walk the distances evidenced in their Pilgrim Passports!

John

 

[sillydoll]

This is not quite live - but a good one to read if you are thinking of going in March and risking sleet, fog and knee deep snow!

http://martinthek.livejournal.com/7394.html

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Johnnie, It IS interesting how closely the pilgrim´s office examined my credential this time, making sure I had stamps from places all along and no suspicious gaps. The guy gave ME a good looking-over too, perhaps because I´d showered and cleaned up a bit before I went to the office. Maybe I did not look sufficiently scruffy to have spent the morning slogging into Santiago in the rain.

But I did get my compostela.
So did an almost-elderly couple I met on the train back to Sahagun. They were dressed in Middle-Class splendor, carrying designer luggage... never has it been more obvious to me that these folks did NOT walk, bike, or ride a horse those last 100 km. But they had the same certificate I did, and very proudly showed them to me. They were Portuguese, so our languages were not sufficient for me to conduct a KGB-style grilling session. I told myself it´s not my job to judge.( At least while I´m not wearing my hospitalera hat!)

But one wonders.
Reb

 

[sillydoll]

This guy has finally found simplicity. http://jeremyinspain.livejournal.com/6778.html

I love his opening sentence:

Today I felt the simplicity of the camino for the first time. It has seeped into my daily routine, and at times I have marvelled at what little I need to be safe and content.

And, the essence of the camino:

Surprisingly, I´ve done very well being alone this long. I made some friends as a group early on, but ultimately I needed to leave them. They were not a good fit. Before each stop I wonder if I will eat alone, but even when (or if) I do, it´s a lovely experience because I drop all the normal anxiety or pretension as I have just enough energy to attend to the basics -- arrive at the hostel, shower, find food, eat, prepare for the next day, and then sleep. Everything else is irrelevant, and anything extra is gravy.

Wonderful!