There are many traditions on the Camino from hugging the statue of St. James upon arrival in Santiago to people putting cookies and candies out for the pilgrims as they pass their homes and villages. But one tradition that transcends everything is Cruz de Ferro, the cross of iron.
For the last millennium countless millions of pilgrims have brought rocks from their homes or picked them up on the way to lay them at this spot high in the mountains. Over the centuries these stones have created a pile which is now about 12-15 feet high and about 50 feet in diameter. Having read about this I decided that I would bring a rock from my driveway and just before leaving decided that I wanted to place one there for my grandson, Max. The week before we left Carol went to visit Ang and Max one last time and get a rock from Max. So Ang told max to bring grandma a rock, which he did, and Carol gave it to me and I have carried it around with me on the trek.
About a week ago at one of the refugios my back pack kept sliding to the floor and one of the girls picked it up and strapped it to the bed. The only problem was that she turned it upside down and Carol found Max´s rock on the floor and put it back into my pack. Unknown to us, my rock had also fallen out but was left unseen on the floor when we left. I was totally bummed by this. I had so wanted Max and me to have a place where I could always tell him as he grew up that we were always together.
I finally found a rock on the day I walked by myself, but it just wasn´t the same for me. I was very disappointed.
Time step to an email I received last week from a teacher friend of ours who asked me why I was doing the Camino. She understood why Carol was doing it, but what were my motives. I replied the obvious, if Carol is doing it, I´m doing it, and tried to explain a little about my motives of always searching for spiritual understanding, but I really didn´t have concrete answers for her.
Then while walking on the meseta, which gave lots of time for reflection, I decided the reasons I´m here are not important. They are the wrong questions What I really need to know is: "What will I take away with me from my time on the Camino." That is t he critical part. If I´m only leaving here with a sense that I had a good time, saw Spain up close, enjoyed the landscape, saw wonderful pueblos up close and met a lot of really good people, then my trip was not what it should be.
It seems to me that too often in my life, I get hung up on the process; the details of situations get in my way. And so it was with my rock. The point wasn´t whether my rock came from my driveway or any other place. The point was that I had a rock, and max gave me a rock and the two would be together just as I had hoped. I need to focus on the positive aspects of what ever it is that I´m doing and not let the negatives, which are always there, spoil the overall structure.
In so much of my life I over plan. I need to see all the details and know the ending before the process starts. That prevents me from enjoying each step along the way, and leaves me vulnerable to disappointment when things have a reality of their own. Generally, I´m better about being flexible when I travel because I know there are so many variables than I am at home where I feel I have, or can have, more control.
So some of the things I hope to take away with me are the understanding that the concept is more important than the details, and that my planning is just that, not reality.
Of course, that´s here. What happens when I get in the wrong Costco line, of some guy is driving 45 mph in a 55 mile zone and I have the solid white line and no passing place for miles to come. I have lots more thoughts on this issue, but it´s late and I just wanted to get something written tonight.
It´s 7:15 pm and after a 10 hour walk today, we´re pretty tired. We have come off the meseta, the long plateau of northern Spain. The "end of boredom" is how the books described today’s walk. True, it was really different travelling for 4-5 days where the terrain was flat and the vistas were gone from sight, but it really gave time for introspection and reflection. Before the meseta, we had villages every 2-3 miles and we went up and down, then down and up. The views were spectacular, the landscape wonderful. On the meseta, it was so flat, that you could only see a limited part of the landscape. It was just one foot in front of the other, mile after mile.. That is not to say that it was less interesting than the others days just different. As I said, lots of time to talk and think.
Well that changed with a vengeance today. We went up and up and up, then plunged down precipitously, dropping about 3000 feet in just 7 miles. It was really tough going. The trail was very rough and uneven, and the going was difficult. Carol´s knee and feet held up better than mine, and at the end of the 20 miles I was really dead. We decided that we´d pamper ourselves with a hotel room tonight where we could dress and undress without restriction. I had a very long, very hot shower, not worrying about whether I was taking hot water from somebody else, and Carol had a leisurely, hot bath. Good for the souls as well as the bodies. We did laundry, had an early dinner, in Spain, no less, relaxed, and what else, went for a walk:-)
And lastly, for those of you who are interested, following is the website, sent to me by my dutiful and beautiful daughter, Angela. This is the website that is a live webcam at the top of the O Cebreiro climb, described as the most grueling day on the Camino. It has a four thousand foot assent at the end of a 20 mile day. We´re hedging our bets a little by travelling a few extra miles tomorrow and cutting down the overall distance for the day. To that end, we hope to be at the refugio by 4 p.m. Spain time This coming Monday, which is 7 am pst, and the rest of you can figure it out from there- We´ll try to repeat the act at 5 pm, for those of you who don´t have to be up that early on a Monday morning.
Anyway, the website is:
When we´re there on Monday evening our time, that will mean only a week more to go, only 100 miles left to conquer and the worst of it over, or so it seems at this point. Now, don´t start planning tooo much Jim, just let it happen.
In the mean time, it´s time to complete my walk by heading back to my hotel and relaxing for an hour or two before going to bed and starting it all over again tomorrow. We wouldn´t have it any other way.,
Love to all,
Carol and jim
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