The first flowers I remember giving to you happened early in our dating days. I was playing hockey on Sunday mornings in the Dorchester Men’s No Body Contact League. You even drove out to the arena on occasion to watch. Helmets did not require cages and as a result, an inadvertent stick struck me inContinue reading “Creating Beauty”
Tag Archives: #memoir
Welcome to the End of the World
Finesterre. It was the end of the world as they knew it. Back then. Predating Christianity, people journeyed to Cape Fisterra on the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death) where they believed the sun died, bringing the worlds of the living and the dead closer together. Finisterre is now the traditional end of the CaminoContinue reading “Welcome to the End of the World”
Santiago de Compostela
“We made it.” My voice cracking, my eyes welling up, Olga crying in joy. “We made it.” An emotional moment that overwhelmed us. We asked a fellow pilgrim to snap a photo in that instant to capture the end of our journey so we could send it out immediately to our family. Then Olga andContinue reading “Santiago de Compostela”
Friol to Melide to Salceda
The Camino has changed. The increased number of people have made the alone times less frequent, reduced even further after Melide when the Camino Frances melds with the Camino Primitivo. The earlier collective comraderie has narrowed to one’s immediate circle. The pilgrimmage is beginning to feel more like a long tourist walk through the countryside.Continue reading “Friol to Melide to Salceda”
Lugo to Friol
Lugo is 100 km from Santiago de Compostela which makes the city a popular starting place for people desiring the certificate at the end of their Camino. The trek today, as a result, was considerably busier with those just beginning and those continuing. Lugo is a travel destination in its own right. Olga and IContinue reading “Lugo to Friol”
Castroverde to Lugo
The hope was for the swelling and pain in Olga’s ankle/shin to subside enough for her to resume walking. We would have four days of down time and skip the mountains to allow for the possibility. Castroverde would be an excellent place to start again as the path is mostly flat and the inevitable inclinesContinue reading “Castroverde to Lugo”
Salas to Tineo
When the children were young, our family enjoyed playing a board game entitled, The Tortoise, the Fox, and the Hare. The premise was simple: a race to the finish line, first one crossing wins. There was a pair of six sided dice for each contestant except the numbers were different. The Hare’s dice resembled aContinue reading “Salas to Tineo”
The Wind
The documentary, Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago, follows several pilgrims across the French route, each with their own story. One was a young Danish woman, traveling on her own who eventually partners with another solo traveler, a French Canadian, because they are both walking the same pace. Agnes ported a heavy backpack, jammedContinue reading “The Wind”
Walk the Way
We got our first taste of the Camino in Italy. Olga and I were making another pilgrimage, to the medieval town of Assisi as part of our travels this past May. The three city trip was a return to Italy, the first ten days on our own, Assisi then Florence; the last third in VeniceContinue reading “Walk the Way”
Camino Primitivo
There is no turning back now, the tickets have been purchased. AC824, seats 26A and 26C, September 2, Toronto to Madrid. A short subway jaunt the next morning to Madrid Chamartin in time to catch the 11;23 train for a 3.5 hour ride to Oviedo where our pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela begins. In truth,Continue reading “Camino Primitivo”
Wonderings 