Butterflies

Sara and I have busted out solid days since Leon...36 km to Hospital de Origo, 38 km to Rabanal de Camino, 26 km to Molenseca and 32 km today to Villafranca.  We had another great (but late) night Saturday night. Continuing to be the hosts with the most, Felix, Belen and their daughter Paloma drove an hour from Leon to pick us up and take us out to dinner. We had another wonderful evening and delicious (non-pilgrim) meal and the opportunity to meet Paloma...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! She is smart, sweet and funny. We are looking forward to hosting her in San Diego in the fall. 

The news from the Camino is more of the same..eat breakfast, walk, rest, walk, eat lunch, walk, bath, eat, laundry, sleep. I do have one tale I would like to share with you from the road. Sara and I walked 18 km from Hospital to Astorga and then took a break for lunch. Sara had started to get some blisters, first on her hand from the walking poles and then some small ones on the outsides (not bottom) of both of her feet. In Astorga after lunch we popped the blisters. Within one km of leaving Astorga, Sara was in real pain, screaming like she had just been shot! Note that while I would never want Sara to get blisters, it was nice that she was able to understand what I had been going through. Most people would have stopped for the day. Not Sace...she took off her hiking boots, put on her reef beach slippers and motored on. We had three opportunities to call it a day, however she insisted we keep going. So we pushed forward and after an 11 hour day, Sara rocking 20km in flimsy reef sandals, rolled into Rabanal at 9:00 pm.

Today is Mothers Day. I want to give a Happy Mothers Day shout out to all of the moms, but especially the ones that have been Moms to me: Cindy, Hilda, Neta, Molly, Pam. More than anything I wish I could call my biological mother today and tell her how much I love her. That would also mean that was still alive. My mom died 5+ years ago and my life hasn't really been the same since. I lost my number one fan, my cheerleader, a woman who told me that I could do anything, be anything, achieve anything in life that I wanted to...and more than that she believed it. I lost the person that was my first call anytime anything happened in my life, good or bad. I lost the person that always comforted and never judged me when I fucked up. I lost someone who loved me more than anything else, who gave birth to me, who would do anything for me, who supported me, who nurtured me, who guided my soul. I lost a big piece of my heart and it still aches for her. Of course I recognize that I am not the only person that lost someone special...Kira lost her mom and best friend, Sean, Bryan and all of her foster kids lost their mom, countless others lost their friend, confidant and life guidance counselor. My mom touched so many lives in so many positive ways. She was amazing. I miss my mom everyday. 

Early on in the Camino a Spanish friend of ours Jesus said that if we ever get lost just follow the butterflies to Santiago. This stuck with me because ever since her death I have always associated butterflies as my mom checking in on me. Sure enough, everywhere I looked today I saw butterflies. While Mom may not actually be with me as a butterfly on the Camino, she is on the Camino with me because she is, and always will be, a huge part of my heart. I love you and miss you Mom. You were the best mom a kid could have.

Camino Tip del Dia: Get a guide book and pay attention to it. There have been multiple times with multiple options on how to get to the next stage and one route is usually much better than another.  The guide book will let you know which way to go.  They also should have general information about each stop, places to stay with ratings, sites worth visiting, kms between towns, suggested days, etc. We have been using the Rother Walking guide. It has been solid, I would recommend it.

Camino Friend del Dia: Jesus! We met Jesus on the second day in Zubri. We had lunch and spent the afternoon with him. Jesus is a Spanish gentlemen (and I mean that in the sense that he is truly a gentleman), retired husband and father walking the Camino for the third or fourth time. He always has great advice for the newbies, thus some call him Father Jesus. We have seen him at multiple stops throughout the Camino including tonight.  He encourages with kind and supporting words. We are big fans of Jesus (something I never thought this nice Jewish boy would write). The Camino is like that...you lose track of someone, don't think you will see them again but then they pop up out of the blue and it's such a joy to catch-up and see them again.

Camino Random Observation del Dia: I meant to mention in my Espana post that while at dinner with Felix, we watched Atletico Madrid play (and win) in the Europa League final.  Turns out AM is Felix's favorite team and rooting for them is like rooting for the Cubs so it was a very big victory. They love their football in Spain (football pitches are everywhere)...and I fit right in. Watching Barcelona play in The Champions league a few weeks ago while in Spain was incredible despite the fact they choked an opportunity to advance to the finals with a man advantage. I was going nuts, cheering, celebrating and having a blast. Jesus and the other Spaniards called me a "hincha". A hincha is a hardcore football fan. I considered it a compliment.

Camino Song del Dia: Tumbling Dice, The Rolling Stones. My moms favorite band. The last time I saw my mom we were at a Rolling Stones concert at the Hollywood Bowl that Kira was working and, of course, hooked us up w seats in first row. The Edge and Lance Armstrong were right behind us! I always associate the Stones with Mom.