We´re coming home

After some long evenings of discussion and a look at our budget we have pulled the plug on this trip.

On the camino the lodging only costs $20 for the two of us per night. Out of the system we are finding lodging at $80 to $130 per night. We talked to another Dr. and he suggested more rest (undefined) and yesterday and today Yvonne has had two bad days so....... We have no guarantee as to when she would be able to walk.

This has been a difficult decision, as we so enjoyed the days of walking and the camaraderie of those we were walking with. The nights in the albergues were wonderful discussions of politics, countries, and customs. But Yvonne and I believe that the added cost of continuing this trip and the uncertainty that we could finish made this decision inevitable.

We are very disappointed and tears all around but we have learned alot about what we can do and what we will do in the future. This is the way to see a country and the people. We have made some interesting friends. We will plan other walking tours because this was just wonderful (maybe to the Cherry Bean each morning for cafe´ con leche).

Santiago is still waiting for us. We will get there one day.

Thank you all for your prayers and support of our adventure. I hope that each of you get this kind of experience. It is amazing.

When we get home I will post some of the picture that you did not get to see.

We are in Belorado

Our last night in Santo Domingo was a wild one. First, during our dinner the regular evening sprinkles began. Then the skies opened up and it poured. It was still very warm and humid and very wet. We were eating outside of the cafe at their covered sidewalk tables. This is extremely common here is Spain. Noone worries about the rain. They just carry umbrellas and keep strolling. The kids play and the moms push strollers and buggies with umbrellas. We later we were in our room at the Pension and the thunder and lightening began. One lightening strike was about a block away. I´ve never heard such a loud bang.

It rained during the night but about 11:00 the fiesta began. The band struck up a tune in front of the church a couple of blocks away and they sang in the cafe below our room, cars on the streets, people on the streets shouting and singing. (By the way, Spain won an important soccer match this week which added to the celebration). We were told that this week was a fiesta for San Juan, but it seems to be celebrated sporadically from town to town. We are not sure what it is about, but people seem to take any opportunity to relax, close their shops and have a beer with their friends at the taverns, moms, dads, kids, and dogs. We finally got to sleep about 1:00 and awoke to our adventure in moving today.

Each of us stretched our boundaries today to move on. We got up in Santo Domingo and I took Yvonne to the bus station. Where she made a lot of friends while she waited for the 9:15 bus to Belorado (it came at 9:35 after 3 other busses). You would be suprised what Yvonne can do. She talked an Italian man with limited English into putting her backpack in the luggage compartment of the bus (this happened as both of them struggled with which bus was going to Belorado).

My day was pretty uneventful. The busses are comfortable and air conditioned and very clean. I arrived in Belorado (it is a village of about 2000 people). We had reseverations at one of the Pensions so I went looking for it. I can tell you that a single woman on crutches with a backpack hobbling through town certainly gets noticed. Many people helped me find the Pension and get in the locked door and get rid of my pack for the day. I found a local cafe/bar and had my requisite cafe con leche and pulled out my book to read for the day while I waited for Stanley. It was a quiet day until I decided to find the refugio and wait for him there. Our book said there were 2, I went to one, it was closed. I hobbled around looking for the other one and finally got very tired and my knees hurt, so I went to the central plaza and found a bench in front of the church and sent Stanley mental images of where I was. Just about the time that I´d given him his last 15 minutes to show up, I heard ¨Hey, Chica¨and there he was. We are very happy to be together again and not concerned where the other one is.

I set out to walk to Belorado. It was weird to walk without Yvonne. Not as much fun and I can only talk to myself so long before I get bored. Walked for 7 hours and covered 25K. During the walk I saw Yvonne go by on the bus and waved but she was looking for me on the other side of the road.

This was a day of rolling hills but mostly up hill. Through fields of wheat and barley. There were towns every 2-3K but today seems to be a festival day (I think that most days are) so all of the cafe´s and bars were closed so I could not get a sandwich until late in the day. I saw several churches. Talked to a couple of ladies from Canada and one from Germany all of whom were stopped with blisters and foot problems. Finally arrived in Belorado and found Mom in the square beginning to worry about me. It was sure fun to shout ¨Hey Chica¨across the square and have several ladies turn around (in my dreams).

This being apart on our camino is not what we signed up for so I do not know if we will do this again.

Hope this finds you all well.

No pictures today, no connection for the camera.

Santo Domingo day 2 Finally some Pictures

We have decided to spend another couple of days in Santo Domingo. Yvonne can walk short distance with out the crutches but it is not Kilometers or miles. The pictures are of a couple of folks from Switzerland who we keep running into. This seems to happen alot as people speed up and slow down.

Yesterday we toured the Cathedral here. They have an interesting way to worship here. There is a chicken and a rooster that are in church all of the time. The story goes that a married couple and their 18 year old son on their way to Santiago stopped here. A girl at the inn fell in love with the son. He rebuffed her. She wanted revenge an planted a silver goblet in his luggage. When they left she called the sherif and he was arrested. The punishment for robbery was death so he was hanged. The parents went to see their hanged son and heard his voice telling them that Sainto Domingo had saved his life. They went straight to the house of the Sherif and told him of the miracle. Incredulous he responded their son was about as alive as the roasted cock and hen he was about to eat. At which point the cock and hen leaped from the plate and began to crow. In memor of this event a live cock and hen (always white) are kept through out the year near the sepulchre of the saint buried in the church.

We walked around the 13 century city walls and you can see the storks that seem to be every where roosting up there. There will be a Fiesta in Spain on Tuesday and this should be interesting. We probably would not have seen it if we were walking.

There may be a few days of Yvonne bussing and me walking or Yvonne walking short days and then catching the bus until she can be sure that her knee will hold up.

All this is a little depressing but we are trying to stay positive and take it as it comes. Walking your own camino has a whole new meaning

Y

Thursday & Friday in Najera

We bussed to Najera and found housing. Have spent two days here and will bus to the next town. Yvonne is beginning to move about without the crutches but..... We have to tell you this is not the camino that we envisioned but it has been interesting watching the town come out into the square or along the river and the kids play while the adult drink and talk. What a different pace. It has been clear and gorgeous. We hobbled to a museum and looked at old stuff and then hobbled to a wonderful church and looked at old stuff. I have great pictures of old stuff. The storks are amazing. On every church tower and building is a nest.

We are a little depressed but we can do nothing but wait until Yvonne´s knee is better. Trying to find the lesson (It could be to relax and go with the flow) but that is hard for us.

Thank you for your prayers.

We are going to continue to bus along until Yvonne can walk and then we will take the project back up.

Yvonne´´s Knee

Monday Yvonne strained her knee and we had to hobble into town. There did not seem to be any reason for the strain other then just being tired. This was one of the easiest walks we have had in the whole trip. When we got to the refugio we found that this seems to be the time when many people have problems (ankles, knees, blisters). (Yvonne learned new swear words. I did not know she even knew them. She is reading over my shoulder and says that she did not know them either.) It was extremely painful and we went to see the Dr. on Tuesday. The folks at the refugio have been great and contacted the Dr. And the people at the Pharmacia.



Monday one of the people with us who was a physical theirpist worked on her knee, a massuse who was working at the refiguio worked on her knee. All agreed that we might have to take 3-5 days off the walk so that we can continue.



There were about 17-20 international students who took us under their wings and included us into their dinner making plans. They allowed me to go get the wine, bread, and cookies. Great conversation with everyone in several languages (UK, Ireland, Italy, USA, Spain) it was fun and kept Yvonne occupied. Went to bed and in the morning had a taxi take us to the hospital in Logrono. The hospital was huge and modern. Our insurance worked well and they were able to determine that there was no permanant damage to the knee. It was just tired and stretched. This was all done in two languages with some very patient people. They have given her ibuprofem as an anti-inflamatory and rest for 4-5 days. We took a taxi to the center of town and found a pension for the next few days. I spent some time finding crutches and we encounsed ourselves in the plaza and watched the storks (who have nests on the steeple of the cathedral) cruz around. The organ was play in the cathedral and we tried to get in. Finally they opened the doors and for the next hour we sat in the cathedral and listened to a wonderful concert on a 1742 organ which had 2000 pipes and 38 ranks (huge!!!!). This did more than anything else to lift our spirts and realize that even when forced to stop there are wonders to behold.

Then wonder of wonder the kids from last night arrived after their 30K walk. Concerned about Yvonne. We pulled together the tables outside of the tavern and had another 15-20 person international conversation that ranged from Bush to the church, universities in London and US, new careers in the US, etc.

We wished them Buen Cammino as they headed off to bed and we did the same.

Today (Wed) had a good night got up and came down to the square where we found a book store and bought 2 books. Bought breakfast and sat in the plaza and read until noon.

I still do not have USB connections so cannot sent pictures but a couple more days and then back to the walk. I am running out of time so

Thank your for your prayers.

We love you all. Do not worry about us. This is our camino as they tell us and we will do what we can.

Villa Mayor de Monjardin

We have walked 25 K to day to the top of the hill and are really tired but happy with ourselves. The albergue to night is very spartan but clean and we appreciate the roof and a bed and a cold shower. We figured the kilometers wrong last post and we are at 93 tonight and tomorrow will break the 100 K mark. Only 690 to go. We only have a few minutes left on our internet machine. The wine is great, the weather has been mostly clear. The housing was great last night but most of all the people we have met on the trail have been fabulous. The people who staff the albergues are caring and know what we need before we ask.

Our conversations are multilingual and hysterical. To night the French couple spoke Spanish to us as well as we spoke Spanish to them. It became very funny. They also spoke French to the Italians who spoke Spanish to us. And in the middle of all this the Danish couple spoke English to us and the Australian who speaks only English. The Australian has read Mark Moncrief´s articles and recognized his name. It is a small world. But what I think is that the wine helps all of us understand each other better.

We need to go. Have another 20 K to do tomorrow. The hills are tall but we are mighty. We have earned the title Las Tortugas (the turtles) but we get there eventually.

No picture tonight because we cannot hook the camera up to this machine.

Will post again when we can.

Keep praying. Your prayers keep us going up the mountains.

Love you all, bye until next time.

We found internet

We are sorry that we did not write last night but we did not make it to Pamplona. Here goes the story.

We had a wonderful night in Pamplona. We got in just fine. Amazingly we slept until 9:00 in Pamplona be fore we left for Roncesvalles. This created a late start. Got to Roncesvalles at 11:00, bought our credentials, too a few pictures and found the entrance to the Camino. Said a prayer for a safe journey and stepped on. Walked on a beautiful trail through woodlands, past dairy farms with cows and sheep grazing on beautiful green hill sides. Sprinkled at first and then had real rain. We continued to Espinal. Stopped at the tavern for our first coffee con leche. Ate the trail mix that we had been carrying for the plane and had not used yet. The rest of the day was up hill hard and down hill hard. We finally got to Zubriri about 7:00. We should have stopped in Viskarret but wanted to make the first stage (we did not want to get behind. What an error). In Zubriri all of the refugios were full so we went to the tavern to have a wine and asked about housing. The owner said wait wait and found a patron who spoke English (she was from Sweden) who knew about a room. The owner made arrangements for us to be picked up (after dinner which was great at his place) and delivered to a vacation apartment which was amazing.

We were up and out by 8:00 and planned to go to Pamplona but wondered if we could make it. Two big hills and rain and mud on this day. Planned to have coffee con leche in Larrasoana after two hours of walking through pasture land more belled draft horses and cattle sounding like giant wind chimes but the village was closed because of a sewer leak. Had to go on with out it eating the trail mix along the way. An apt begging to our day. It is amazing, there are roses growing wild along the path so that our way was strewn with rose petals. It continued to rain and shower. The path was muddy muddy muddy. In one particular section I slipped a fell. No damage to dad but the pole snapped causing difficulty for the rest of the day. We decide to stop early (only 10 miles) in Arre. We walked in beat and not sure this was a great idea. The hospitalero met us with smiles and care. Took us to the 11 century chapel for a moment and to the dormitory. It was clean there was a place to dry our cloths for the first time in two days. Every need was met. We met two great people from Quebec who speak enough English for us to have a great time. White Flower on all of the joints, advil and a good nights sleep made a great difference. (there was a little wine in the mix also)

This morning awoke at 6 and up and out by 7:30 (mom is really fast at this now). We were worred about yesterday but after about 20 minutes of walking all the kinks left and we trudged along to Pamplona. Finally back where we started. Quickly through the city and in the process found a store that had walking poles and replaced mine. Stopped at the cathedral and across the street had some coffee con leche. Walked through Pamplona ( what an experience 200,000 people) on to Cizur Menor where an old man our second angel of the day, kept us going in the right direction and then walked with us to make sure that we made it. The folks that live here have been careful for us and supportive of our trek. It is such an inspiration. ¨Buen Camino¨ lifts our spirits and helps us to keep going.

Leaving Cizur Menor it is just up hill to the top where the statues in the picture are found. Then down hill (very steep and rocky) into Uterga where we are sitting have a beer and writing to you. Today lifted our spirits. The walk was harder, we have covered about 75 Km and tomorrow we will break 100. We are leaving stuff at every stop that we do not need to lighten the load. Our Canadian friends are here and we will have dinner soon.

We are in Pamplona

We have traveled all day and night and are finally in Pamplona and in our room. This will be the last time we sleep in the same room together alone. The hotel has this internet service so it was easy to send this. We do not believe that we get to another machine until we get back to Pamplona.

The trip was long!!!! We had only one scare as our bags were only checked through to Madrid so we had to go down and get them from the baggage claim area and then reenter the airport and re check in. There was plenty of time to do this so we were not worried but my bag did not come up at the carousel. We waited and waited and began to get weird. They shut down the carousel. More weirdness on our part. Then they started up the carousel for the next plane and what should come out of the bowels of the earth but my pack. Then we had to run for the gate. Again only one small issue we had to go through security again. We made it but considering that we started Monday at 4:00 and it is now about noon on Tuesday our brains are a little fried.

We have flown on three types of airplanes the first a 747 with good seats, TV in the back of each seat for each person, two meals, three snacks and a great crew. We finished on a puddle junper that we were bussed to the plane and then had to stand in the rain to board, flew through thunder storms and landed in an airport smaller than Monterey in the rain, food was a roll, but they had a great crew.

The resturants have finally opened (9:00) so we are going to get a meal, repack our packs, get the rain gear out, get some sleep and take a taxi up to Roncesvalles to morrow to start. This whole day has been a blurr and surreal but what a great start.

At the family meeting it became clear that all had outfits and were ready to travel at a moment's notice.


Dad put his foot down. Sorry, there are only two plane tickets.

You will have to pay your own ways.

Betsy sent some of these pictures taken after church today. It is just great to have support from all these people.

You all enjoy the picts.


I just can't believe the cutouts that my brother had done.

What a great Sunday!! David and Lynn brought down our images of completion. This is just what we will look like after 450 miles. Check out Yvonne's hair !!! As you can see we are packing light. Only one bag apiece and a lap top.

The service was great. We were blessed and are blessed by a group of people that support this craziness. The kids were at the service to support us also. (They think that their parents are nuts but that does not change their past opinions.)

We are out of here tomorrow. Hope we can sleep tonight.

Gift from the Choir

We had a great choir practice last night. Yvonne brought a lot of music to get ready for next year and the choir brought us a gift. Wine, cheese and prayers for our safe journey. There was a lot of talk about walking and where we were going and how to do it safely. Lots of laughter and support for this project. The picture is of the mighty choir. We are going out in style.

I will graduate tonight into retirement. We will do the final packing on Saturday. (oh, the water heater went down yesterday) David and Lynn will come down on Sunday and then tak us to the airport on Monday. We will fly from San Francisco to London, from London to Madrid, from Madird to Pomplona and crash. Up in the morning to bus to Roscenvillas and then we start this amazing journey.

Yvonne and I thank you all for your support.

Z and Kevin's Baby Shower

Meghann and Brian have spent the last couple of days getting this party together. I came out great!! Many folks came down and there were a lot of kids who broke a pinata. There were a lot of adults that put diapers on dolls and tasted and identified baby food. A great time was had by all. Here is looking forward to a baby on 08/08/08 and grandpa believes at 8:08:08.

The kids helped open the presents and were great fun.

Yvonne and I are now weighing toilet articles to see what we really need and what we do not need. We walked 11 miles yesterday with our packs. Yvonne's weighs 18 lbs with out water so we need to find something that can come out and mine weighs 26 lbs with water and by the end of the day I felt that I could loose some weight also. The first days walk is 12 miles so we know we can do that but......


I have not figured out how to get the pictures where I want them but I will get better as it goes. If you find two of these with the same name I also lost a draft of this post so you might get it and you might not.

"Z's" baby shower

Nothing else is happening at the Crane house so Meghan and Brian hosted Z's baby shower this after noon. They did a great job. Zoe hung out. The babies played in the water. Games were played (Brian found these and Meghann would not let us do any that involved drinking) All of the kids helped Z unwrap the packages. Everyone had a great time. Here are a few pictures of the afternoon.

We are almost on the way

This is the first of our attempted journals of our walk. I hope we can make this work. Even Fiske had to get out and walk to get his pictures.