On the Road At Last

Trip Anthems

On each camino, I like to have theme songs that I can sing in my ahead (if with other hikers) or aloud (if alone).  Not only do these songs help pass the miles as I hike along the Camino, but they are reflective of where my head is.

Link	Lyrics	(Spanish)
Una Noche Mas  (One Night More)	I remember the image of you drifting away, The ground under my feet sinking away. I was falling into the abyss Unable to hold on to life. How could I have imagined? What could I have had to give you? I in my maturity And you in your youth ... The years are not forgiving. I am only praying that you give me One night of love. I'm only asking for one night more in which you can cheat me one more time. I curse that you will never cry, That your heart turns to stone, That your soul loses any happiness, while my body grows old. I am only praying that you give me One night of love. I'm only asking for one night more in which you can cheat me one more time.	Recuerdo tu imagen alejándose. La tierra se hundía bajo mis pies. Fui cayéndome al vacío Sin poderme agarrar a la vida. ¿Cómo pude imaginarme Que tenía algo que darte? Y yo en mi madurez y tú En tu plena juventud ... Los años no perdonan. Sólo te ruego que me des Una noche de amor. Sólo pido una noche más Que me vuelvas a engañar. Te maldigo para que no puedas llorar, Que tu corazón se vuelva una piedra, Que tu alma pierda su alegría, A la vez que mi cuerpo envejece. Sólo te ruego que me des Una noche de amor. Sólo pido una noche más Que me vuelvas a engañar.

Emotions

What am I feeling? Nervous and anxious. Glad and happy. Really wanting to just be on the plane.

Training: All done!

On the road

6:30 a.m. Wake up.

7:30 a.m. Quick falcon watch.

8:30 a.m. we have Carlos's for the airport.

9:30 a.m. Waiting at the gate. Lost my tablet at the checkpoint. Found my tablet at the checkpoint. I lost my phone. Found my phone. I need to get my head out of the clouds. LOL

11:30 a.m. sitting in the terminal at JFK. Waiting for my 4:45 checkin.
5:15 pm. Leave JFK. I sit next to Oliver Leonard, an obvious Irishman from his accent. 15 minutes into the flight, he pulls out his secret stash of vodka and starts mixing it with the Bloody Mary mixes he got from the flight attendant. 3 hours later I finally get some sleep. Lol
4:00 am Sunday. Dublin.
6:15 am. Leave Dublin.
10:00 am. Madrid

Tim Gilfoil and I met up again after 40 years. We're both shipments from Attack Squadron 81 back in the 1970s with the u.s. Navy. Tim now lives outside of Madrid. Tim was kind enough to meet me at the airport and get me to the Madrid train station.

4:00 pm. Puebla de Sanabria. The start of Camino 2018.

Puebla de Sanabria

 Rio Tera

Albondigas, pan, tortilla y cerveza

Today's short story

The pilgrimette at JFK

Walking down the terminal corridor at JFK's JetBlue terminal, she was conscious of her dress. The way she kept pulling at her skirt and her sleeves made her feel like everyone was looking at her. The sounds of her flip-flops didn't help matters any in making her feel more comfortable.

She knew that all the people running back and forth, going to and fro had their own issues and problems, expectations and hopes to deal with. But when confronted with deep personal issues, she always felt the need to withdraw into herself. This need kept her focused on what she was feeling, much to the detriment of any observation of what was really going on around her.

Too much time to wait in the airport, too much time waiting in her life ... Too much time waiting for things to happen.

The flight to Madrid was the salvation. Getting on the plane meant a new life. Crossing the ocean meant leaving everything that was bad behind.

Up ahead were challenges she never planned to take on. In her future lay expectations that she hoped to fulfill.

The days of hiking ahead, the many miles that would pass under her feet, the hills and mountains that she would climb and descend we're about to become more than a symbol on some map of some terrain in some foreign land. Each hill would be a major irritation in her daily life. Each mountain would be surpassing an insufferable personal tragedy.

Ready to take that first step, she had to let go of what was holding her back. Leaving it all behind, she had to get on that airplane. 

This is what she wanted to think about as she walked down the terminal corridors. 

Like the little eyas learning to fly like a falcon, she had to leave the nest, fall and then struggle to soar. She gave her boarding pass to the agent, got her new life scanned by the machine and stepped onto the boarding ramp.

-- this story is based on someone I saw for all of 10 seconds in the terminal.