And then it was that I was descending the mountain – over a path that was strewn with boulders, graced with gnarly tree roots , and even home to a small herd of wild horses. It was odd (and somehow metaphorical?) that going down was more difficult than treading upwards had been, and yet down […]
Near the bottom of the trail – and very near to Roncevalles itself – we came across a small pathside church. It was locked up tight at the time, and yet it was possible to peer through its closed doors upon the wide-open Beauty that lived therein … “I am convinced that it is the […]
And so it was the I arrived at the tiny pilgrims’ hamlet of Roncevalles, my current Walk’s first stopover in Spain. It has been a long walk already, a journey already filled with faults & frustrations; difficulties & detours. And yet here I am, somehow already Spain – somehow already halfway Home … Feeling grateful, […]
As per the norm on this Walk, I make my first stop in this next new town the local church – where I give the usual professings of gratitude for having been able to come so far and resolve for continuing onward hereafter … “We are all as young as our faith, as old as […]
At this early juncture of my time in Roncevalles, I was still without shelter for the night, for the local hospitaleros had made it clear that I would not be allowed to sleep in the town’s only hostel without providing both the requisite monies and acceptable identification (neither of which I was carrying on this […]
Now that I knew where I would attempting to sleep in a pinch, I roamed the tiny town a bit looking for other alternatives. And yet no matter where I looked – the local tourist bureau, the locked-up tight prior’s house, and a small bevy of closed sanctuaries & local pubs – no offer of […]
And so it was that I returned to the primary hostel, where hospitalero Daniel witnessed my warm & heartfelt farewell to hospitaleras Marie & Ria – both of whom had campaigned hard for Daniel and his boss to make an exception to the rule and allow me to stay the night, and both of whom […]
And so it was that Daniel – the hospitalero who had been quite gruffly against me staying in town at all that night – came to me shortly thereafter and told me that the staff would indeed be making an incredibly rare exception by allowing me to stay the night in the overflow hostel nearby […]
Not having a clock or watch of any kind on this [pilgrimage, I had gotten used to “reading the skies” to tell what time it was – to judging by how light (or dark) it was outside whether or not it was time to rise and re-commence my walking. Well, unbeknownst to me at the […]
I tend to naturally wake early even when not walking a pilgrimage, and this morning was no different from so many others before – rising feeling vibrant & refreshed after only four hours of sleep in my serendipitous 4-star pension-lobby sanctuary. I then proceeded to do what I also do on most similar pilgrimage mornings: […]
After a few peaceful hours of waiting alone in the hostel foyer, other pilgrims began steadily filtering in in anticipation of eating a fine pilgrim’s breakfast before yet another fine day of pilgrim’s walking. I will gladly state that breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day, and that this is true whether […]
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