Donal's Camino Walk DAY17
My rest day, time to write up my Blog, and get some post cards and send them off.
Last evening the meal that we had was special. The Abbot came in and gave a big speech which was very funny in places, well I think, it was funny as everyone laughed- I didn't understand a word.
The meal followed the usual pattern of Soup, Salad, Main Course this time of ???? Cheese and Desert washed down by a few glasses of red.
After that we went to the Church and there was a Benediction for us Pilgrims where we were presented with a copy of Gospel readings.
PAIN
Pain while walking the CAMINO. Before I started my walk, my main concern was the pain in my heel. As I walked after the first day I had pain in my hip and forgot the heel pain. After that I got pain in my shoulders from carrying my backpack. After that I had pain in my Calves and for got about all the other pains. I also occasionally got my Arthritis wrist pains from using the walking poles. And then I got Blisters and these were painful. But I got over all these pains and I continue my walk tomorrow.
All over Ireland there are people with Cancer. They are going through treatment that will, hopefully, cure them. The treatment can be very painful debilitating and they can feel very sick. I think of these people as I walk and offer up my very little, not even worth mentioning, pain
I think especially of patients in St James's Hospital being treated my Dr. John Kennedy. I also think of patients who have been treated in the past. I think of all the dedicated nurses in St James's , in the wards and in the ChemoTherapy rooms. I think of all these things as I walk the Camino of St. James from Le Puy to Santiago de Compostella in Northern Spain, a distance of 1000 miles.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Donal's Camino Walk DAY16
Today I got hopelessly lost and bypassed one village entirely. I folled the wrong Balise which was silly of me. The balise that I should have being following and which I have followed since I stared is coloured Red and White (come on Cork) but I follow ed a red and yellow one. Any way getting direction from local people and stopping cars , one a Post Office van, I got back on track again.
As soon as I got back on track, to celebrate I sat down and had a mid morning meal of a ham and cheese sandwich and some dried apricots, washed down with plenty of water, which is so important. While I was there a group of pilgrims came along and were delighted to meet Donal the Irishman again. We hadn't seen each other for about a week and they had been talking about me and wondered where I was. This Irishman is attracting a lot of attention because it is so rare for Irish people to walk the Le Puy route- the reason that I started there was because I had driven through it, in 1995, I think, with Doreen and the girls.
While I was there another group of friends passed by, Norm and his wife Sue from Australia, with Beatrice from Belgium.
I think at this time I should list off the nationalities of the friends that I have made so far on the Camino--French, Canadian, Belgian, German, Austrian, Dutch.
Apart from getting lost, the walk to Conques was relatively easy. Still the arriving groups looked like the walking wounded limping up into the Abbey (Abbay) of Conques where we were staying for the night- me for two nights as I am taking a day off and resting my tired feet in this lovely town.
Today I got hopelessly lost and bypassed one village entirely. I folled the wrong Balise which was silly of me. The balise that I should have being following and which I have followed since I stared is coloured Red and White (come on Cork) but I follow ed a red and yellow one. Any way getting direction from local people and stopping cars , one a Post Office van, I got back on track again.
As soon as I got back on track, to celebrate I sat down and had a mid morning meal of a ham and cheese sandwich and some dried apricots, washed down with plenty of water, which is so important. While I was there a group of pilgrims came along and were delighted to meet Donal the Irishman again. We hadn't seen each other for about a week and they had been talking about me and wondered where I was. This Irishman is attracting a lot of attention because it is so rare for Irish people to walk the Le Puy route- the reason that I started there was because I had driven through it, in 1995, I think, with Doreen and the girls.
While I was there another group of friends passed by, Norm and his wife Sue from Australia, with Beatrice from Belgium.
I think at this time I should list off the nationalities of the friends that I have made so far on the Camino--French, Canadian, Belgian, German, Austrian, Dutch.
Apart from getting lost, the walk to Conques was relatively easy. Still the arriving groups looked like the walking wounded limping up into the Abbey (Abbay) of Conques where we were staying for the night- me for two nights as I am taking a day off and resting my tired feet in this lovely town.
onal's Camino Walk DAY 15
Made slight miscalculation with my distance today and had to do an extra 8 Km to get to my Gite. This made a total distance of 24 Km. The Gite that I am staying in is run by donation only and you can give what you like and its just put into a box. We will get dinner and breakfast as well. I'd say that there is a religious motivation behind the running of it. lt was a lot like the one in Estaing.
Today was hard again but I got here much earlier than I had planned.There was a lot of road walking today and that I do not like.
Today I was thinking as I walked how I would advise people thinking of doing the Camino.
1. You should be a regular walker
2 You should be fit
3. If you have problems with your knees, the Camino would be very dfficult for you but not impossible
4 Learn to walk using two walking poles.
5 You should practice with your back pack with the expected things packed in it that you propose to take and you should play around to get the best weight distribution suitable for you.
6 If you plan to do the Le Puy Route learn to speak French as it is a distinct disadvantage not to be a French speaker.
7. Get a French Sim Card for your mobile for ringing up to reserve your bed for the night
8 If you are doing the Camino France which is the usual one undertaken which starts in St. Jean Pied De Port from just over the Spanish border you should learn some Spanish as well.
9. Who should do the Camino?---everyone--it is your life revealed to you as you walk
Where I an staying tonight is a very relaxed , pleasant place. The whole atmosphere here encouraged by Fabian, our host, was very communal. Before dinner we had apperitifs and in my honour, I think they got an Irish beer, which tasted nice. It was called George Killian, brewed in Enniscorthy. Fabian told me that I was the first from Ireland to stay with him in Le Suelie.
The dinner consisted of Soup, Salad, main course like Shepherds' pie and a lovely desert to finish off things and of course we had the red wine as well.
Over all it was a very pleasent and relaxed evening and in honour of the occasion of being the first Irish person to pass throgh I sang Grace, the song about the marriage of Joseph Mary Plunkett and Grace Gifford, on the night before he was executed in 1916. It went down very well.
Made slight miscalculation with my distance today and had to do an extra 8 Km to get to my Gite. This made a total distance of 24 Km. The Gite that I am staying in is run by donation only and you can give what you like and its just put into a box. We will get dinner and breakfast as well. I'd say that there is a religious motivation behind the running of it. lt was a lot like the one in Estaing.
Today was hard again but I got here much earlier than I had planned.There was a lot of road walking today and that I do not like.
Today I was thinking as I walked how I would advise people thinking of doing the Camino.
1. You should be a regular walker
2 You should be fit
3. If you have problems with your knees, the Camino would be very dfficult for you but not impossible
4 Learn to walk using two walking poles.
5 You should practice with your back pack with the expected things packed in it that you propose to take and you should play around to get the best weight distribution suitable for you.
6 If you plan to do the Le Puy Route learn to speak French as it is a distinct disadvantage not to be a French speaker.
7. Get a French Sim Card for your mobile for ringing up to reserve your bed for the night
8 If you are doing the Camino France which is the usual one undertaken which starts in St. Jean Pied De Port from just over the Spanish border you should learn some Spanish as well.
9. Who should do the Camino?---everyone--it is your life revealed to you as you walk
Where I an staying tonight is a very relaxed , pleasant place. The whole atmosphere here encouraged by Fabian, our host, was very communal. Before dinner we had apperitifs and in my honour, I think they got an Irish beer, which tasted nice. It was called George Killian, brewed in Enniscorthy. Fabian told me that I was the first from Ireland to stay with him in Le Suelie.
The dinner consisted of Soup, Salad, main course like Shepherds' pie and a lovely desert to finish off things and of course we had the red wine as well.
Over all it was a very pleasent and relaxed evening and in honour of the occasion of being the first Irish person to pass throgh I sang Grace, the song about the marriage of Joseph Mary Plunkett and Grace Gifford, on the night before he was executed in 1916. It went down very well.
Donal's Camino Walk DAY 14
Now this was a hard day's walking. It was the first day that I fell behind on the schedule that I set myself. My blisters gave me a bit of trouble but really it was just one hard day. Ay one stage I stopped at a seat opposite Eglise de Saint-Pierre-de-Bessuejouls and got talking to another pilgrim, called Michel and he was a Canadian. He had already walked the Spanish end to Santiago two years ago with his wife. While I was resting there I looked across to where our path was leading and I couldn't believe my eyes. Our path was leading nearly vertically up the mountainside. Later, when I tackled it, I would say that it was the most difficult part of the Camino yet . By the time I reached Estaing at 17 Km I was well and truly knackered . And to make matters worse, I had nowhere to stay as all the places Donal(jun) had tried for me were booked out and one place that didn.t take bookings had only three places left. When I arrived they were gone. When I asked if he knew where else I could get a bed, he said that there was a house across the street with rooms to rent for 13 euro a night and he brought me across and sorted out the bed for the night with the use of a kitchen . He was a member of a lay religous group and they provided beds for pilgrims
Now this was a hard day's walking. It was the first day that I fell behind on the schedule that I set myself. My blisters gave me a bit of trouble but really it was just one hard day. Ay one stage I stopped at a seat opposite Eglise de Saint-Pierre-de-Bessuejouls and got talking to another pilgrim, called Michel and he was a Canadian. He had already walked the Spanish end to Santiago two years ago with his wife. While I was resting there I looked across to where our path was leading and I couldn't believe my eyes. Our path was leading nearly vertically up the mountainside. Later, when I tackled it, I would say that it was the most difficult part of the Camino yet . By the time I reached Estaing at 17 Km I was well and truly knackered . And to make matters worse, I had nowhere to stay as all the places Donal(jun) had tried for me were booked out and one place that didn.t take bookings had only three places left. When I arrived they were gone. When I asked if he knew where else I could get a bed, he said that there was a house across the street with rooms to rent for 13 euro a night and he brought me across and sorted out the bed for the night with the use of a kitchen . He was a member of a lay religous group and they provided beds for pilgrims
Donal's Camino Walk DAY 12
Last night I had dinner with a group of Britons, from the St Briuc region of Brittany. One of them told me that it was quite common for retired people to walk the Camino on Retirement. They were walking as far as Conques.
Today was a longer walk than I had planned because of having problems of getting somewhere to stay as they were all booked out. My son Donal , who lives in Nice is my booking agent when I cant get a Tourist Office to book for me. It was 23.5 Kilometres 8Km more than I planned. That last 8 Km was a descent of about 1500Ft which was fairly steep and I have never liked coming down steep inclines. And today I had problems during that last 8Km. I got 3 Ampoules on my right foot- oh sorry -I got 3 blisters. And of course my luck was in when friends that I made from Brittany, at last night's dinner came along, and one of them Marie Noel was a nurse and did the necessary pricking of the blisters etc. One of the other ladies supplied a larger Compeed than I had, so they got me back on the path again.
CHOOSING PATHS
As you walk you have to be very careful where you place each foot as most of the paths are very rough. Sometimes there is room for two people to walk or sometimes the paths are very narrow where only one person at a time can negotiate. At times the paths branch out to two or more places you can walk. You have to make decisions on which you will choose- the smooth, the rocky, the muddy etc. Sometimes the choice is between a rock and a hard place and it was like that today on the 1500 ft. descent. But then life is like that , isn't, we have to make choices all the time, and lets hope that we make the right choices.
Last night I had dinner with a group of Britons, from the St Briuc region of Brittany. One of them told me that it was quite common for retired people to walk the Camino on Retirement. They were walking as far as Conques.
Today was a longer walk than I had planned because of having problems of getting somewhere to stay as they were all booked out. My son Donal , who lives in Nice is my booking agent when I cant get a Tourist Office to book for me. It was 23.5 Kilometres 8Km more than I planned. That last 8 Km was a descent of about 1500Ft which was fairly steep and I have never liked coming down steep inclines. And today I had problems during that last 8Km. I got 3 Ampoules on my right foot- oh sorry -I got 3 blisters. And of course my luck was in when friends that I made from Brittany, at last night's dinner came along, and one of them Marie Noel was a nurse and did the necessary pricking of the blisters etc. One of the other ladies supplied a larger Compeed than I had, so they got me back on the path again.
CHOOSING PATHS
As you walk you have to be very careful where you place each foot as most of the paths are very rough. Sometimes there is room for two people to walk or sometimes the paths are very narrow where only one person at a time can negotiate. At times the paths branch out to two or more places you can walk. You have to make decisions on which you will choose- the smooth, the rocky, the muddy etc. Sometimes the choice is between a rock and a hard place and it was like that today on the 1500 ft. descent. But then life is like that , isn't, we have to make choices all the time, and lets hope that we make the right choices.
Donal's Camino Walk DAY 5
This is my 3rd. day of walking. At this stage I feel that my walks are too short but I am not changing my plan of taking it easy and doing short walks c. 10Km for the first 4 days. I am in Le Chier half way on today's reflective walk to St- Privat-d'Allier.
Last evening in Montbonnet in the Gite Le Grange I met an Australian from Sidney, called Barry. A delightful man and great company. He had Irish connection going back in time. The family connection was Kelly- related to the Famous-Infamous Ned Kelly. So what do you know- I met a descendent of Ned Kelly.
So far today I have been talking to Canadians and Americans. The Americans were father and daughter and you will see my photo taken with him.
In the Gite Le Grange I also met a French couple who, though they had no english, had little problems communicating with Barry and myself. He had walked numerous walks up and across France each of the Treks were 1000Km long. But then he was only 80 years old and he had a young wife. She was 70.
Le Grange was a lovely Gite. The owners were friendly with little or no english but this didn't matter. The Gite was bright with a great view of the mountains and it was spotlessly clean. The meal we had last evening was delicious- Salad Niceoise, followed by Pasta and pork in a lovely sauce followed the cheese course and all this washed down bu a lovely red wine..
I'm just after meeting two very friendly French ladies, Claudine from Monauban and Helene from Toulouse. They were very pleasant company during my Picnic ouside the Town Hall in Le Cleir.
Tonight I am staying in a Chateau. The Chateau de Saint-Privat, a 13th. Century lived in Chateau. Well I have to look after myself.
This is my 3rd. day of walking. At this stage I feel that my walks are too short but I am not changing my plan of taking it easy and doing short walks c. 10Km for the first 4 days. I am in Le Chier half way on today's reflective walk to St- Privat-d'Allier.
Last evening in Montbonnet in the Gite Le Grange I met an Australian from Sidney, called Barry. A delightful man and great company. He had Irish connection going back in time. The family connection was Kelly- related to the Famous-Infamous Ned Kelly. So what do you know- I met a descendent of Ned Kelly.
So far today I have been talking to Canadians and Americans. The Americans were father and daughter and you will see my photo taken with him.
In the Gite Le Grange I also met a French couple who, though they had no english, had little problems communicating with Barry and myself. He had walked numerous walks up and across France each of the Treks were 1000Km long. But then he was only 80 years old and he had a young wife. She was 70.
Le Grange was a lovely Gite. The owners were friendly with little or no english but this didn't matter. The Gite was bright with a great view of the mountains and it was spotlessly clean. The meal we had last evening was delicious- Salad Niceoise, followed by Pasta and pork in a lovely sauce followed the cheese course and all this washed down bu a lovely red wine..
I'm just after meeting two very friendly French ladies, Claudine from Monauban and Helene from Toulouse. They were very pleasant company during my Picnic ouside the Town Hall in Le Cleir.
Tonight I am staying in a Chateau. The Chateau de Saint-Privat, a 13th. Century lived in Chateau. Well I have to look after myself.
Friday, July 10, 2009
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