Pizza Movil in León has great pizza and Ben & Jerry's ice cream

So I'm in León today. Arrived yesterday afternoon and I'm taking a short break this morning to do some Interneting. It's raining sporatically, and is rather cold, and so I'm regretting leaving my hoodie back in Moratinos. Now I'm considering looking for something cheap like a long sleeved tee or a wind breaker. It should be about 17 or 18 more days to Santiago... I'm excited and anxious to continue my travels around Europe (and certainly think that less of it will be via foot than walking the Camino), but at the same time I'm not looking forward to this journey ending.

My American friend from Connecticut, Alexa, whom I've been walking with for the last couple of weeks is taking a break day today and staying in León. Hopefully we'll meet up again before Santiago. It's been nice to have someone else to talk to that speaks English well and joneses for Ben & Jerry's and pizza - which by the way we ate for lunch yesterday after we arrived in town!

So I'll be doing 19km to a place called Villadongo or something like that. There's an albergue there, and then the next day I may walk a bit farther than planned. We shall see. I can go back to the albergue here to get my things at 11. Perhaps we'll have an early lunch before I take off. I could go for some bean and chorizo stew. Yum. And nice and warm to boot.

That's all for today. Goging to do some other looking around and then take off.

Ciao.

The news from Carrion de los Condes

So, here´s how things are in a nutshell:

I´m about half way through walking the Camino
My feet really smell
I have a bunch of new friends from all over the world
I have a beard
I´m tired
I measure my days in kilometers
I walk

I am good. Very good.

Update on the Camino

Hey everyone. I found an albergue that had a computer. Just updating quickly to say everything´s going well. I´m not too sore and my feet are in great condition. It´s tiring, but totally worth it. The most beautiful things I´ve ever seen.

Call me on my cell if you want to entertain me.

Until next time.

Ryan

Last entry before I start my Camino

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Pamplona and then on Saturday I'll be starting to walk the Camino. I've made some revisions which I'll chart out in the side box here, and honestly most things are going to be decided on an as needed basis. I'm not really going to stick to any iron itinerary, though I think I should be back here in Moratinos by late April. While I'm walking though I'm going to be keeping a paper journal, so I won't be making any updates for about a month. I may or may not publish my thoughts and notes from my walk, though if not just catch up with me at some point after I've come home if you'd like to hear about it.

Today is Rebekah's birthday, so if you're a family or friend of hers please be sure to wish her a happy one. Also after I woke up this morning I weighed myself and found I seem to be slowly wasting away, though I've not seen any margaritas around here. Down to 278. Crazy.

If you'd like to reach me and give me a little cheerleading while I walk, feel free to call the Spanish mobile number. All my incoming calls are free, but I can make calls for very cheap as well, so if you want to talk but don't have an affordable way to call internationally, just send me a text message or something and I'll call you. I'm warning some of my close friends that I'll probably be calling you at random points just to hear a familiar voice. Thanks in advance kids.

Anyhow, we're going into town shortly so I thought I'd write this early today in case I'm not able to before Saturday. I'll be back in about four weeks or so, and will resume blogging my adventures from there. Until then.

Cheers.

Ryan

In the morning when we rise, that's the time I love the best

I slept in again today until about 10am. The bed was all warm and snuggly, and I couldn't possibly give that up in any hurry! Got up, dressed, and went into the kitchen and made a nice pot of Yerba Matte. Super strong Argentinian tea–yum. After that I Rebekah and I played around with the IKEA kitchen creator program and assembled their future kitchen which will be in the bedroom I'm sitting in right now. It's not a huge room, but we managed to cram everything necessary in and still have a decent sized space open. It's going to look very nice.

Sebastien came over and asked me to pop over to The Alamo and help him with something he was doing inside the house. Holding a board while he drilled into it... that took about ten minutes, then I headed back here to hang out with Paddy, Rebekah and Una. We read some, then Paddy decided to start making lunch, another tasty concoction in which he managed to include all the leftovers that were in the fridge. It was deemed the sweet, tangy, zesty, hearty, spicy soup.

After we finished eating I cleaned up and then went and chatted with Sebastien for a bit to get his recommendations about places to see along the Camino. Shortly after we finished Rebekah, Paddy, and I went out on a walk with Una, along the road toward San Nicolas. We walked past this property that used to be used as an electricity mill, but is now in shambles. It's a really nice piece of land with some excellent looking structures–despite their falling apart–on it. The only thing is it's between two expressways, though there's a sound barrier in the back and the one it faces, N-120 which Moratinos is on, is hardly used.

There were all kinds of anoles running about and sunning themselves on one part of the building. It was neat, as I've never really seen reptiles other than snakes in the wild. Along the path there were also some really great plants including small yellow and blue flowers, a vibrantly red moss, and these bushes which grow seemingly along every road here that Reb calls horse tails. I call them the “We don't take no crap from nobody” shrubs as they seem like they might withstand a nuclear holocaust. Very sturdy plants indeed. I found a cool shell on the path too that is solid white with a dark brown or black spiral following it's natural shape. I'm thinking of trying to make a necklace with it.

We got to San Nicolas and stopped in at Barrunta where we had a beer and some tasty cured ham. We also got a brief lesson on umlauts ( ¨, usually found over u's, as in über) used in Spanish words that begin with “gui-” from our friendly bartender, Raoul. We left after a half hour or so and let Una run through the hare fields as we made our way back to Moratinos. It was a truly gorgeous day today with interesting cloud formations and really gusty winds, nice winds though. The rustle of different kinds of plants along the terrain really appealed to me. Also, on the way home I found the rock–or pebble I guess–that I'm going to carry with me on my Camino. Traditionally people carry a stone from the place they begin the Camino to a point about ¾ of the way to Santiago, just outside Astorga. There you'll find a huge cross surrounded by an ocean of stones, left behind by other pilgrims. The stone is supposed to represent your sins, and as you pass you cast it away, and are absolved. Really I'm following tradition more than any formal belief system that I have, but the stone I discovered seemed incredibly appropriate as it has a crude cross formed on it, created by it's natural expansion and contraction between the hot and cold weather.

We got home, Paddy took a nap, and Rebekah worked while I read a few issues of The New Yorker that Libby gave her while she was in the States. There was this fantastically funny article posing as an advertisement for a system of health pills called Mr. Goodbody's Health System, or something to that extent. I couldn't stop laughing at the “testimonials” they ran. Good stuff. Libby called and talked to Reb for a while, then she and I chatted for a few minutes. It was good to hear from her. It seems she's lost 7lbs. since being home from Spain. Go Lib!

Paddy slept until about 7:30, then he and Rebekah decided they were going to take me out to dinner, it being my last night in Moratinos (tomorrow really is, but because of Holy Week here I guess things will be closing early). We went to the big hotel in Sahgun, Peurta de Sahagun, which Paddy and Reb call Hotel Posh. Their restaurant wasn't fancy per se, but was nice, and we had a great meal. There was a large party of seniors dining just after we arrived, presumably in town for Holy Week. They finished eating and then brought out these huge bottles of champagne, which got all the grandmotherly types quite happy. We also watched the futbol match between Valencia (Spain) and Chelsea (England). It ended up being a draw, though because Valencia was playing away from home their goals will technically count double in the case of a tie breaker after they play the next game in Valencia. Such an interesting sport. I find the more and more I watch it the more I seem to enjoy it. It's too bad America hasn't caught on quite yet to soccer like the rest of the world has.

After dinner we headed home, and now we're all heading to bed. The stars here tonight are absolutely brilliant. You can easily pick out so many constellations, I just wish I had a chart so I could remember which are which.

Anyhow, I'm headed to bed. Sleepy Ryan.

Ticket to ride

Got up today just before 10 or so. I'm getting lazy, and just days before I have to leave and start waking up at some god awful hour. Oh well, ha ha. I went and had some coffee, then hopped in the shower and got dressed. Paddy and Rebekah were taking the dog out for a walk, so I decided to join them.

First we headed over to The Alamo, and there was a pilg there, Phil from California. It was nice seeing another American walking, and he was very friendly. He came back over to Paddy and Rebekah's house to have a cup of coffee and get a Moratinos cello (that's a stamp, not a musical instrument!), then we walked with him to San Nicolas while Una ran out in the hare fields.

Rebeakh and I headed back, found Paddy and when we got home the neighbor lady had my card that my mom sent me. A funny singing birthday card from her and Jimmy. Also after we got back the three of us lined the basin in the courtyard with a tarpaulin, filled it with water, added a little bleach and then dumped in the old yurt lining which was covered in some kind of mildew. Rebekah noted that while yesterday we were “yurt wrastlin'” today we were “yurt bleachin'.” We're a simple folk.

After we got that situated, we came in and Rebekah made a very nice lunch, something called Pasta alioli, which I'm probably misspelling, but was basically pasta coated in olive oil which has been cooked with garlic, onion, and some red pepper. Then an egg is mixed into the lot, similar to my Carbonara, and just as tasty! I did the washing up after we were through, Rebekah sat down to work on the issue of American Pilgrim she's volunteering for and Paddy went to take a nap. Meanwhile I pulled out the large map of France and started charting the different routes that make up the Grande Randonnée, anticipating my adventure post-Camino.

Rebekah, bless her, lent me her mobile phone to use while I'm walking as my VodaFone SIM chip works in her VodaFone mobile, but not the spare they have here. Her SIM however works in the spare phone, so she was willing to swap. In the meantime I'm going to order an Orange SIM since that's the only network I seem to be able to get with my Cingular Nokia. All in all a royal pain in the ass, and I start to feel like Paddy sounds whenever anyone talks about mobiles or other electronics: “Oh fuck it all!” Nonetheless, I have a working phone now and my European mobile number is the one I can be reached on (see side box on how to contact me, the number and dialing instructions from U.S. are listed there).

Once Paddy was up again, we hauled the now hopefully clean yurt lining out of the basin and strung it out on the clothesline to dry. It sort of looks like the backdrop to some high school performance of a Greek tragedy. Then we gathered our things and went back into Sahagun to do some more Internetting that wasn't finished yesterday (because Reb forgot her purse and her list of things to Internet). We went to German's where I parked my laptop inside to catch the WiFi, and Paddy and Rebekah sat in the car to use Skype via her Mac.

I chatted with some friends–amazed that I was online two days in a row!–wrote some emails, caught up on my friends' lives via LiveJournal, updated my blog, and uploaded pictures that I've had for a while. I also downloaded the program from IKEA that Rebekah wants to use to design her spiffy new kitchen. After I was through I met both Paddy and Reb over at Cafe Zentral where they were enjoying a drink. We left shortly after and stopped at the train station before heading home. I got my train ticket to Pamplona, leaving on Friday afternoon. I've decided to rearrange my Camino itinerary, and will be starting from Pamplona now just for the sake of simplicity. It is one day in from the “official” Camino start point of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, and about 4 or 5 days from my original plan to start in Somport. It would just be more hassle than I think it's worth though to get a train to Pamplona and then try to route myself via bus to wherever else. When I head back on my way to France I'll be sure to visit the Aragon area though.

Back at home Paddy made a very nice pallella with some chiperones (squid thingies) he and Rebekah picked up while we were in Sahagun. It tasted great with a little soy sauce, and lots of bread. Yum squid. Before and after eating Rebekah and I sat and discussed stop-by-stop the Camino from Pamplona to Santiago. She gave me good tips on places to see and albergues to stay in. I'm also going to catch up with Sebastien and hopefully James and Marianne before I leave on Friday and see what they recommend. Talked to my mom for a bit before sitting down to write, and now I think it's time to hit the hay... but not in the barn. That stuff is all smelly and old. Good night.

IMPORTANT UPDATE

I finally got my Spanish number working. So if you want to call me, please do so using the number in the Contact Me box on the right.

Thanks!

Ryan

Yurt wrastlin' and curried chicken a good day make

Today I got up at around 9:45, had some coffee and then threw on some clothes. We were going into Sahagun to do some re-stocking shopping and to get an Internet fix. Not long after I was ready to go Marianne came over and asked to steal me for 30 minutes or so to help with the yurt. I panicked–but then Paddy and Rebekah assured me that they were still going to walk the dog before going into town. A sigh of relief, me feeling like a crazy Internet junkie, I went over to The Alamo with Marianne.

There I found the yurt's skeleton, circular lattice work on a 2x4 platform. I was needed to hold the central support with Marianne while James and Sebastien put in the spokes to hold it up. The yurt is sort of like a giant overturned wheel cloaked in fabric. So we held, and James and Sebastien fumbled and grumbled. Things were good, things were bad, crooked at times, falling apart at others. But we managed to get the framework held together enough to install the remaining spokes.

Paddy and Rebekah showed up with Una about an hour later and by then things had progressed to the point where everyone was needed to attach the layers of felt and waterproofing to the structure. It took another hour or so and then we had most of the yurt assembled. Paddy headed back home to make some lunch, and Reb and I stayed to help with the finishing layers, our excursion postponed until after siesta.

At about two-o'clock we headed back home to have an incredible chili-esque concoction that Paddy created from the hardly edible slop I had made last week while they were in Madrid. It was great. After eating I did the washing up, and Rebekah did a Tarot reading for me. It was nice, she's not given me one in a few years, and it seemed pretty positive. I don't hold much stock in things like that as I think, like horoscopes they can be applicable to anyone's situation, but it was fun nonetheless. Then Paddy went to nap, and I went back to The Alamo with Sebastien to help him arrange his new home. We constructed several tables out of scrap from the yard, and I explained the intricate differences between a closet, an armoir, a dresser, and cupboards to Sebastien. It seems in Belgium they call the lot of them “closet.” Weird.

Back home around 5 found Paddy and Rebekah ready to go. The four of us headed into Sahagun, Paddy and I Interneted for about an hour and a half, and Reb and Seb did the shopping. I talked to some friends via Trillian which was super nice. Draque claims that I've left behind a “Ryan-shaped hole” and that people at his parties since I've left, who don't even necessarily know me by name, ask where the guy who makes the great drinks is. I also got some good information on the GR routes throughout France, checked email, updated Blogger, the usual. I forgot to upload pictures to my grandfather's Walgreen's account though... I still need to take some of myself for family, as they're starting to question my actually being in Europe seeing as I've been in zilch as far as my pictures are concerned.

After everyone was done we got a drink in a local pub then headed home. Sebastien went back to the yurt where he seems bent on spending all his time now. Whatever makes him happy I guess. He didn't even have dinner with us–his loss!

With some spontaneity I roasted onions, apricots, apples, red bell peppers and nuts with some nice chicken leg-slash-thigh combos that Reb bough, all cooked in a super curry. Then, without Basmati or Jasmine rice, I doctored up some perfectly cooked – thanks to Delia Smith – white rice with sugar, cinnamon, laurel, and ginger. It went with the curry very nicely. Paddy and Rebekah both praised my efforts, Reb saying if she had been served that food in a restaurant she would be impressed. That made me happy.

Oh, the record for “Funniest Exchange” today (CAUTION: Not for those with any strong religious convictions.):

Premise: A discussion about Holy Week, specifically about how Rebekah's birthday lands on the day Jesus was killed.

Rebekah: Yeah, but on Sunday he comes back. He always comes back... every year.

Ryan: Kind of like that damned groundhog! “Well guys, Jesus saw his shadow... looks like it'll be another five hundred years of Christianity!”

END

I also managed to slip in the phrase “goddamned Jesus” into a conversation today – I can't even recall what we were discussing, though it was amusing at the moment. I think we can all agree that no matter what it might have been I was certainly on a roll in terms of earning my ticket to Hell today (should such a place exist. See Henry Miller on Paradise and it's flaws, March 26).

Good night!

Sylvia Brown and the Dastardly Case of the Lost Bike

First off, I don't know who the hell Sylvia Brown is. Just read.

I got up today and went into the kitchen to find Rebekah and Paddy. Had some coffee and talked for a bit. It seems Sebastien finally came home last night – or this morning rather – a t about 5:00am. However the bike was no where to be seen. Today is his birthday.

While the two of them took Una for her morning walk I finished eating some bread then took a shower and got dressed to go to mass after they returned. Once they were back and ready, Sebastien came into the kitchen. Paddy asked him where the bike was and his initial response was something along the lines of a shocked, “Oh my god.” He said he'd left it somewhere in Sahagun the night before, but that he would go into town to get it today.

So the three of us, sans Sebastien, went to Mass to discover that we were the only ones without a bit of a tree or bush – Psalm Sunday. Everyone had an assortment of olive, grape, rosemary, and pine boughs, and they were all nice enough to offer us a piece off their own Psalm. I got an olive branch, at least I think that's what it is, from Modesto. The priest arrived and we all stood outside while he blessed the Psalms, shaking holy water at the group. The Mass itself was nice. Some pilgs stopped in to participate, and afterwards one of the German men had forgotten his walking stick inside. We had to get the key to the doors from Julia's father. On the way back home we stopped to drop off the keys and had a nice chat with Julia and her family. They have a floor warmer under one of their rooms, which is seemingly common around here. Paddy and Rebekah call it a Gloria, though theirs doesn't work, but instead smoke seeps up through the kitchen tiles. Julia's mother was tending the flames, and it was really quite a roaring fire. Also she made Rebekah speak Castillian inside the house when talking with Julia. It's good practice, and Reb says she thinks being away has actually improved her Spanish.

Back home I prepared a sort of Ensaladilla Rusa for our lunch, and we were greeted by a note from Sebastien saying that he'd gone to live in the yurt at James' place. The salad was nice, especially in light of the fact that we didn't have much around to actually prepare in line of food.

After eating we all sat around for a while reading and talking. Rebekah then came in to unpack her bags and I decided that I should probably pack my sack that I'm taking on the Camino. Got everything I'm going to need in it, and it only weighs 8 kilos. Reb says that's pretty damn good.

James and Marianne showed up to celebrate Sebastien's birthday but he wasn't anywhere around. We assumed he had stayed in Sahagun once he'd gone in to get the bike. James went looking for him and found him tipsy, embarrassed, and sad in the yurt. It seems he got news that his ex-girlfriend has a new boyfriend, so he's depressed about that, and additionally he'd lost the bike and didn't want to face Paddy. James called to relay the situation, Paddy was irritated, but Rebekah told him to chill out. James came back then he and Rebekah decided to go over and get Sebastien and try to cheer him up a bit, as after all it was his birthday. James told Reb that he'd driven to the Irish pub in Sahagun to see if Sebastien was there, but that they didn't know where he was and also said Sebastien was banned from coming in ever again. Shenanigans.

Sebastien came over to the house and apologized for losing the bike. We had some wine then after James and Marianne left with the kids had a simple meal of spaghetti with pesto. Tomorrow we're going into town to do a major shop. Sebastien ended up sleeping in the house tonight, and after dinner we've all gone to bed. Good night.