The Camino – Elizabeth Arroyave-Pitts

May 18th — The walk was from Sarria to Portamarin, Elizabeth and I walked together it was at in a relaxed manner… At times I could go at a faster pace but decided to stay at her pace.  It turned out to be a hot day so by the time we got to Portamarin we were tired.  We stayed a large municpal albergue.  It was large but nice.  The showers and baths were separated, man and women, that was a treat.  There were no shower doors… this is one of the challenges that I still had/have a hard time with.  They had a lovely kitchen but no cooking utensils or pans.  I wnet to buy a can for tuna, tomato, bread and wine. I had to find a paper plate and was it as it had been used, cut the bread and tomato with a pocket knife and beg for a plastic cup to drink my wine…. I was grateful and my meal was wonderful….  I still was in shock from the loss of my dear friend Patti… Jay and Charlie the Americans bless their heart always worried about me came looking for me they were staying at a private albergue wich means they had fewer people to a room and more bath/shower facitilties and a view of the lake.  As i was walking out of the albergue that they were stayin at there was Eva, it was good to she here, shw was the Hungarian that had had a breakdown and I had not seen here since.  She was doing good and was anxious to get to Santiago. I ended up that day going to dinner with Jay and Charile we had pizza not a pilgram menu for a change! that was a treat!

May 19th I walked from PortMarin to Melide,  I started with Elizabeth all was good, it was a foggy day with drizzle, About an hour into the walk, I had the urge to walk faster, I could not say a word, I just put my ipod on and off I went. It was Patti’s funeral… I still can not grasp that I will nto see here in this life again, My heart ached and my feet just walked.. I cried and mourned for an Patti. When I arrived to Palais de Rei what was to be my destination, it was anoise city the elections where the next week and there was car with loud speakers for each candiate.  I bumped into Jay and told him I had to continue walking I could not stand the noise and just need space.  I continued to walk until I had walked 36 miles. I was tired and bumped into Hinez a German pilgram that had been doing the walk from Germany through the last 10 years with a group of poeple.  They were going on another 6 km, my body could not go on a that point, there was no albergue there the only thing was a hotel.  I went there and got a room.  I showered, went down to eat and there was no other pilgrams.  A few walke in for a rest but then continued on.  I was sad and the owner saw me.  The owner saw that I was sad and understood the hardship I was going thru but looked me in the eyes and told me that pilgrams are strong and that we overcome situations and make the most of them that my friend would want me to celebrate her life.  I went to my room and cried, looked my self in the mirrow and realized that i had to leave, i was not in my place, i had a spiritual bookelt with me i had picked up a few days agi opened it up randomly and there it was that PIlgrams go thru tough times and we needed eachpther, that this is what communities and friends are for.  I realized then that i did not fit in this hotel, i needed to be in an albergue with my fellow pilgrams.  I had washed my clothes in the sink as i had every day and hung around the room to dry,  Well I packed up and went downstairs and told the lady thank you and walked on it was I walked 42 km that day.  arrive to meilde at 7:30pm i was tired but felt right at home and ahd a good nights rest. I had noticed changes in myself and I am grateful for these… God is amazing we are not amde to be isolated rather to be in support groups and be there for eachother, we are one and this is a great feeling….

I walked from La Faba to Samos…. I started the walk with my Italian friend Elizabeth, it was foggy and still had a long hike up the mountain. It was cold and throughout the day ti sprinkled… I recall at one point we came across a little old lady she was standing outside her house with homemade crepes and a shaker with sugar and cinnamon…If Rick ( my husband) was here he would eat all of them!  She offered us one and chatted with us, it was so special.. she greeted all pilgrims and offered a little warmth with her homemade crepes and smile…  We were only to walk to Trialacala but I had heard about a Monastery Samos that I had to go to,  it would mean that I would have to walk 37 KM (23 miles more or less) and that would be a lone walk as we had hiked a steep mountain the day before and in the am.  But i got the energy and did it, Elizabeth stayed behind….  I got there and was tired.  I showered, washed clothes, eat… We slept in a room within the Monastery with bunk beds and showers…  At 7:30pm (1:30pm East Coast time) Gregorian Chants were to take place.. I was there.. Little did I know that at this exact time on this day, I true friend (Angel to all) would pass away….May 17…  As i had hiked a long way the day before I would only hike 15 km (9.4 miles.) Jay, an American I had meet a few days prior (Jay and Charlie helped me and gave me an adaptor to be able to charge my cellphone, Ipod and camera), had ended there as well but without his friends (there were 5 retired guys from the North Carolina area that were walking the Camino together), so we walked in a “relaxed Manner” to our destination- Sarria.  We got there around 10am and I was not sure if I would stay or walk on, I decided to stay, It was early for the Municipal Albergue to be open, so we found a private one owned by a Son and his father and mother.  When we walked in, the mom was there and said make yourself at home, we reserved the beds for the rest of the crew, Rachel, the mom, said I have to go to the hospital, I have a pilgrim that has been in the hospital for a few days she is very ill, i asked what she had, I found out that she was a 29 walking the Camino that had Fought Leukemia and that had gotten an infection, her body was trying to fight it and was given antibiotics, her body was having a slow response but they were hopeful that she would be able to gain strength to get back home to London to see her Doctors.  She was walking with her sister… later that evening I went to  a Locomotora with the Americans, it is a place that they have several computers set up to do email at a low cost, and I received mail that My dear Friend Patti had passed away…  I was devastated; I to this day am in shock….  Come to find out she too was fighting an infection and had had low immune system due to cancer she had fought, this was so unexpected as she had never shared this with us….  Jay and Charlie found me latter that evening in the Park in front of the church mourning… they gave me A Pilgrim Tao cross in honor of Patti, I at that moment dedicated the rest of the walk to Patti, the 110 km that is required to walk to get the acknowledgement that you walked the Camino… My Heart still aches for the tremendous loss. Patti was the first rue friend that I had lost … I will carry her Spirit with me and hope that all that knew her will remember her by carrying on her spirit and adopting a part of it in your lives…..  I knew Patti was with me… I had been blessed to take care of her garden while she and Joe (her husband were away) and from that day forward I would see flowers that bloom in her garden, I had not seen these on the Camino until May 18^th…..

May 15th – I started the day early 5:30 am it was dark after walking for 45 mintues i realized i ended up at the same spot i started!  Well some times mistakes can be gifts…. there was an easy way by the side of the highway or a hard one climbing a steep mountain, due my tendenitious, i took the easy one at first when a ended at the same spot i decieded to take the long one… wow what a gift, i was the only one walking and as i was the sun was rising God is big we are small, it was one of the most amazing sunrises!  I was listening to spiritaul music and i felt so light, i cried, sang and danced yes danced….. at the end of the day I ended in La Faba, Elizabeth and Andrea the Italians were there and we ended cooking dinner for 8 of us it was a simple pasta with tomato sauce and bread with wine but what a great dinner with the love and company we shared…..

I walked from Foncebon to Villfranca de Bierzo… As always I woke up early and started walking alone, when i got to Ponferrada, i noticed a man walking with a small backpack and saying hi to all the locals, I was intrigued and asked him if he was walking the camino… his name was Santiago, no kidding, and he is a friend of the camino, this is an organization that makes sure the signs are clear, most are yellow sprayed arrows on trees or sidewalks or rocks, anyway I walked iwth him for the rest of the day, he reminded me so much of my fathers dad, my grandfather Mariano, he took me to eat where the locals eat, shared storied with me about the camino, his life and was just a wonderful man… We walked thru vineyards, mountains, and he was not pleased with the albergue at Villafranca so he spoke to a freind of his, owner of a resturant where we eat lunch, and they got me a room at a hostal. This was the best meal I had had.  The owner wife had been a cheif at the Tops resturants in Spain and he was in think involved in government, after walking the camino, the camino called them to open a upscale palce to feed pilgrams, the back of the card says, when you open your doors to a pilgram with respect and love you open your doors to Santiago…. Amazing Grace how sweet You are….  As i was wlking around town i bumped into a German lady that had met the night before, and she was looking for a room to stay but the town was full, it happened that I had 2 beds in my room so we shared….Amazing Grace how sweet You are…. 

Well lots has happened since I last updted my blog, I want to apologize for dropping off but I guess this is part of the effects of the journey.

During my evening in Foncebon (yes this is where Paulo and Shriley both had some interesting expereinces) the town consists of 6 buildings of which only 3 our inhabited. all for sleeping. I stayed at the church converted into a Albergue. We got a terrbile storm that evening, the next day just as we were to leave the storm stopped, not kidding just 5 mins till we stepped out!  Then one of the most amazing days was ahead, I would walk towards the Iron Cross, it is a place where pilgrams pray and leave behind a rock symbolizing their burden, request, gratefulness, etc to our Heavingly Father. WOW! The walk towards the cross was wonderful, The mountians were filled with purples flowers, I felt as though I was lifted in the heavens… I arrived to my destination Molinaseca and was there around noon, not to many people yest so I sat down with a bottle of wine and some glasses and awaited for others to arrive and toast the day.  It was common of pilgrams to share all or moments and things….

This evening one of the pilgrams I had met the day before, had a breakdown,  the albergue, weight of the pack, tendenitis, people, etc had gotten to her.  So walked out and was looking for a place to stay, earlier that day I had met one of the hotel owners as I had lost my charger adpator… he drove up when he saw us and mentioned that he was going home to see if he had the adpator, long of it he offered this pilgram a room at a very low cost, it turned out he had been a pilgram in the past and the camino called him to open a hotel… God is grand!