Madrid.

Preparing to head home has been a busy time. Trying to get all of Guapo’s paperwork to fly was exhaustive. Madrid is a beautoful city, but I think I speak for both Rachel and myself when I say that we ae ready to head home.
If anyone has any questions about the trip (there is much that i omotted from this blog, I prefer to share information via conversation, but just public blog posts) please come ask!
Thank you all for helping me with this adventure in Spain.

Hunter – wednesday

Just realized some of my posts this last week didnt post. Will update it soon.
Started on ocebrero yesterday and walked to triacastela barefoot. I set up the tent in thebwoods with Rachel and we prepared to camp arournd 3. Around 7:30 we decided to pack up and walk more. We took the san xil route over the hill just in time to see the sun set over Sarria. Long story short; we were confronted by dogs, enjoyed the peace in being the only ones on the road, were gifted with an undistorted view of the stars at night, and we walked the 20km to Sarria by midnight.

Spent a few days in the mountains last week. Ill write some posts about the experience.

Buen camino, pilgrims.

Peace, love, forever.

Hunter – Wednesday

Fell asleep in the woods before Rabanal del Camino. I woke up to the birds singing the sun over the mountain and sat silently in the moderate confort of my sleeping bag, waiting for the sun to warm the earth again. It was cold, but what else on the Camino isn’t? It was free, minus the cost of the tent and tarp. Rschel and I were free to talk openly, and not worry about disturbing other pilgrims. And possibly the best part, no half-naked snoring old men.

Frustration led to buying a tent

The longer I walk the frances, and the closer to Santiago I get, the more defeated I become. I’ve grown sick of the wide road. I’ve grown sick of the hundreds of pilgrims in every city along the way. I’m exhausted by the tourist traps. I wanted to come here to learn about leaving little impact. I intended to study agriculture while I was here. I can’t escape the feeling that I abandoned those goals in search of something else. Instead of trying to understand intricate agricultural prsctices, I’ve realized my desperate desire to first learn Spanish. It was foolish to think I could discover so much without a proper command for the language. My Spanish has improved tenfold, but most of that was not due to the Camino Frances. Ever since joining the frances, my only chance to speak Spanish seems to be ordering food from the cafés, and shirt conversations with the hosteleros. Most people on the Frances seem to have less of a command for the language than I do. I have a sense of regret that I can’t seem to change. I wish I would have taken another route. I wish we went right past Logroño up to the norte. I wish we would have taken a bus to Salamanca from Burgos. I would have missed out on some wonderful inter-personal connections with other people, but I would have felt less trapped by the Camino. The French route emminates tourism at its best. Most of the small towns here continue to exist solely for pilgrims to walk through and spend more money. The route has created a deep-seated dependency on pilgrims. It’s a sad truth of tourism. Spanish unemployment is through the roof, it would be foolish for them not to take advantage of the pilgrimage for a source of employment for these small plain towns. But the dependency takes away the hospitality. People here are friendly to pilgrims, but the rumors of farmers seeing pilgrims and stopping to invite them in for food and water has long been lost on this path. The frances is disenchanting, and I feel disillusioned by it.
We have shout 250 km to go, and I couldn’t seem to care less about walking this route.
I’m tempted to take a bus to the north or south, and seeing how close to Santiago I can get before the time is up. The Compostela has lost its importance. My stamps on my credentials have started to mean more than anything I could imagine.

My project has changed from my starting plan. Instead of the academic pursuit of rural development, I learned that true development comes from connecting with a community. So I’ve focused on Spanish studies, and placed a strong importance with interpersonal connections.

Update: Finished ranting, bought a tent. Will try to see if locals / albergues will lwt us set up the tent for free.