p_c_neary@hotmail.com

Staying in touch

A friend recently mused about whether I was still in touch with the goings on in the States, and it reminded me how different things are today, communications-wise.

Back in 1983, I was assigned to a US Army unit in what was then called West Germany. We had access to German television stations and one or two British channels over-the-air. If you lived in Army housing, you had access to the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, a unique cable system which provided a smattering of shows from any of the major US networks, minus the commercials. Some shows were a season or so “late.” Others were series which had never made it, so they were provided free to the military. News was the national edition of one network (NBC, as I remember it) recorded and shipped over, then shown a day late. AFRTS got their first satellite access in 1984, which meant we started receiving actual channels and news in real time, which was a major change. We got the morning shows late in the afternoon, due to the time differential: one of my strongest memories from those days was watching the Challenger disaster live as we sat down to dinner.

Phone service was provided by the BundesPost: think MaBell without the charm, and it was ridiculously expensive (as all long distance phone service was). Many times, you had to call an operator and schedule an overseas call; alternatively, family back home could call you collect, in effect notifying you they were at home and wanted to talk. You would deny the charges, then return the call to save them some money.

Mail took an extra week or so to arrive. The only papers available were the International Herald-Tribune, a weekly compilation run jointly (at that time) by the Washington Post and New York Times, or the daily Stars & Stripes.

And of course there was no Internet.

The net effect was to to be somewhat distanced from the news and the culture. I have always had trouble placing music from The Clash into any timeline, because right as they became famous back in the States, we were out of touch in Europe (which is an excellent excuse to embed one of their songs).

What’s different today? In place of the government-provided infrastructure described above, we have an organic, commercial one in Mexico. Because of the demands of primarily American and Canadian expats, we have access to several cable, streaming, and satellite TV services. I have Dish network, ostensibly in Cincinnati, Ohio, so I get some fifty channels, including all the major networks, local affiliates, PBS, CNN, Fox, HBO, Disney, ESPN, etc. For television news, I watch one major network (usually ABC), BBC America/International, and Special Report on Fox.

Using web applications, I listen every morning to WTOP, the DC-area news and traffic radio station, but now I get to smirk when the traffic or weather is bad. My favorite magazine subscriptions (The Economist, First Things) have gone digital, delivered to my tablet. Online I use GoogleNews to aggregate several feeds, and I use an incognito tab on my Chrome browser to read the Washington Post and New York Times every day. When I run into something behind a paywall or subscription-only, I use the Internet archive (tip: bookmark this site and use it; it works great) to get free access.

Mail delivery is even worse in Mexico, but is improving due to the introduction of Amazon here and its delivery system for packages.

We still have T-mobile cell phone service, with free calling to the States, and we can Skype/Google-chat when we want video. Whatsapp, an app which is used all over the world but not that often in the States, gives us free text messaging and asynchronous communications.

Not to mention, with the time I have as a retiree, I can pretty much choose how much news to consume, and when. One thing I haven’t mentioned: social media. Given our internet connectivity, social media is as ubiquitous here as in the States. However, if you get any of your news from social media, I suggest you reconsider. I can tell you the biases of all the media sources I use, but as the Russian troll operation demonstrated, the online world is far more complicated. With so many people trying to spin or distort what they call news, you are better off using social media for connecting with friends, not gathering information, wherever you are.

A Walter Mitty injury update

It was bright and sunny and I was day-dreaming…

Three seconds left in the game. USC had the ball at the Irish two-yard line; they were down by four, so this next play was the last one, for all the marbles.

I was the strong safety for the Irish defense. When the Trojans broke the huddle, I found the Tight End and followed him to the wide side of the field. As their Quarterback barked his signals, I read the alignment: if it was a pass, I had the End in man-to-man coverage; if a run, I was to force the action back toward the middle. The Trojan backfield was a two back set. Just before the snap, their right fullback went in motion left, to my side of the field, and I knew instantly it was “student body left,” a play they were famous for, a play which made Heisman-winners out of scoundrels like Simpson and Garrett and White.

The Tight End was cracking back on our right defensive end, confirming a run. As I dashed into the backfield, the fullback veered to my left to block the outside linebacker. It was now just me and the ball carrier: tackle him and win the game, miss and lose. As I set my feet and started moving forward, he leaned to his right, toward the shortest route to the end zone. I hesitated, and he pivoted on his right leg and started to sprint to his left, to the open grass, to the corner and the flag. I accelerated toward him: all I had to do was keep my head up, wrap him up, take his momentum wide and ride him out of bounds for the win.

Just as I was closing in on him, I felt the unmistakable crunch of contact as someone hit me from behind, low, in the back of the legs. Must be the wide receiver cracking back on me! Dammit! “What Happened?” I exclaimed.

My wife’s distressed voice answered, “I fell.” Wait a minute. No gridiron, no Touchdown Jesus, no soft green grass. Just my wife sprawled in the middle of a cobblestone street, having tripped just as we began day three of this week’s hiking.

(The culprit, left, now safely secured; the hook, right)

As Judy turned the corner at the entrance to our development, the loop of her right hiking shoe caught the hook on her left, effectively tying her feet together. She fell like a tree in a derecho, rolling into the back of my legs as she did. Despite having no military training, she executed a perfect three point landing fall. Unfortunately, the points she chose to land on were her knee, her wrist, and her face.

(Have you stopped beating your wife yet, Señor?)

I helped her up and we double-timed back to our casa for some first aid. To her credit, she insisted our returning to the hike, and she completed the entire 13 mile hike with pack, despite an assortment of bandages and ointments. Based on her performance, I am thinking of adopting the French Foreign Legion saying as our Camino motto: “March or Die!”

We have some rest coming, and we’ll make sure those loose shoestrings are secured next time.

Back to my daydream. Before I snapped to, I am sure I saw the ref throw the flag for clipping. This wasn’t the Coliseum, after all.

Three in a row, and a Toe

We are less than 50 days out from the Camino Frances. This means we are reviewing our packing lists trying to cut ounces wherever we can (do I really need deodorant?), doing some strategic thinking (how often do we stay in albergues, that is hostels, and when do we opt for hotels), and focusing our training on very specific challenges.

This is no time to exhaust oneself with a rash of extra training, perhaps causing an injury in the process. Last week, we practiced doing back-to-back hikes. The first was a 14 mile flat hike with full packs; the next day we did 7 miles, full packs, but up the nearest mountain. This week, we will string together three straight days, probably two long flat hikes sandwiched around a mountain climb.

No narrow switchbacks like this on the Camino

We had our first stress injury last week: Judy noticed a small blister when we came down off the mountain, and said her big toe felt tender. Later that night, it began to throb, and we feared she had bruised the toenail. If you are a runner or regular hiker, you know what is coming: she will probably lose the toenail. It is not as bad as it sounds, but still nobody likes to lose a toenail. Runners experience it all the time, I am told–in my three decades of running, I never lost one, but I did have my little toe smashed one time and lost half the nail. For hikers, it usually results from a long downhill trail, where your toes constantly slide forward in a loose shoe and bang the toe box, bruising the toe, then losing the nail. Judy thought she didn’t get her hiking shoes tied tightly, and our feet have not swelled yet, so our hiking shoes are a size bigger than our feet. Put it all together and you lose a toenail.

Otherwise, our training has been progressing well. We have not had a problem with hydration, pack weight, food, or bathroom breaks. All of these things have to be carefully monitored during the Camino. We did practice one other Camino pitfall: alcohol. After climbing down the mountain last week, we stopped at our favorite restaurant (Gosha’s) for lunch. They were advertising a margarita special: 45 pesos ($2.25 USD) each. Well, we were thirsty as well as hungry, so we ordered the special and downed a margarita. As we lingered over our meal, the waiter asked if we would like another? Now Judy has a one-drink limit, but “Of course”, I responded; Judy agreed with me (probably the effect of the hike and the first margarita). So we both had a second.

After we paid our bill, I got up and put my pack on. Judy, too stood up, wavered, then said “oh, I shouldn’t have had a second margarita.” Well, we walked the two miles home hand-in-hand, mostly to ensure Judy did not wander from the hiking trail into the adjacent roadway. It was an entertaining experience, and when we got home she had a great siesta and awoke none the worse for the experience. Lunch with beer or wine is often a staple on the Camino; I will certainly indulge (professional drinker, closed course, don’t try this at home), but I bet Judy won’t…unless we see a margarita special!

Chili today, hot tamale

Sorry for the pun title, here’s a little jazz to make up for it.

One of the oddities of living in a place with such a wide variety of cultures is how they mesh. Annually for the past 40 years, Ajijic has hosted a charity fundraiser called the “Mexican National Chili Cook-off.” The event looks exactly like any of the hundreds of similar Chili contests NOB, but with a Mexican flavor.

This is the unofficial start of the charity fundraising season down here, with several different types of events aimed at the large population of temporary expats known as snowbirds.

The Chili cook off ran Friday through Sunday, with contests for Margaritas, Salsa, and of course Chili. They had a large stage with a steady stream of performers: we were there Saturday at noon for some local Mariachis. In addition to the contest tastings, there were booths for drinks, hot dogs, pizza, hamburgers, and tacos. For some reason we always end up getting in line for the taco booth; I guess I have already eaten all the hot dogs I ever should.

There were several raffle drawings each day, and a large collection of tents where local tradespeople or organizations could pitch their wares. We bought a rug and some knives, but I still couldn’t find just the right hat.

Some store owners had exotic pets on display: we saw an owl, an exotic bird, and a snake. There were roving bagpipers and Caballeros on dancing caballos. And it all seemed to fit together. Anyway, a good time was had by all, whether you ate Chili or not.

Local Crafts & Craftsmen

We asked a local craftsman to repair a small wooden table which has been in the entranceway of every house we owned. The piece was a gift from my mom to my wife, so it had sentimental value. The wood was damaged (let’s call it distressed-that’s much more chic) and the lock didn’t work. Still, it was one of only two pieces of furniture we brought with us to Mexico, partially with the intention to have it repaired. We told him to refinish it, add some turquoise highlighting, and build a hutch for the top of it. Voila, as they say.

At the chili cook-off (more to follow on that), we also picked up some fine local knives (very sharp and stylish) as well as a hand-made rug from Oaxaca. Again, excellent craftsmanship.

Then there was the case of some local services we employed. I previously told you the tale of our air conditioner installation and the resulting (unintended) fountain in our carport. When those workmen were done, I also noticed that the indoor portion of the air conditioner was not centered on the wall (who knew you had to request that?), and that there was an extra hole in the wall, since their first attempt at drilling did not succeed. All this from the same gentleman who offered to run a drainage hose from the air conditioner into (the top of) my wife’s bathroom sink.

“Now I know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall”

Here are some workmen cutting a metal rod to fit in our sunscreen. They best embody the local spirit to just “get it

done” without regard to personal safety. If you look closely, you’ll see they are cutting the metal, on my patio, without the hindrance of any eye or flesh protection.

Lastly, we recently bought a new light for our walk-in closet. The small, recessed LED bulb was simply too weak to get dressed by, so we bought a lantern style hanging light which complemented some other lights in our bedroom. This seemed like a simple replacement operation, so I did not supervise it. Silly me. What we have now is a cable running from the old light to the new light. I hadn’t thought of that solution.

So what is the point? I relish the excellent craftsmanship we have encountered, all at a reasonable cost. I don’t blame the other craftsmen for what did not quite turn out. Again, the cost was minimal, and there are always cultural translations to consider. If anything, I have learned to be exceedingly specific, because if you say “install” it does not mean “replace” and if you don’t say “centered” it will not be so. Just a few more flavors of expat life.

Why be a pilgrim?

So why do people walk the 500 miles from St. Jean Pied-de-Port, France, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain? There are as many reasons as there are pilgrims, but they can be organized in several logical categories.

Like pilgrims from the Middle Ages to the present, the largest category would be religious/spiritual. Originally this would have been a primarily Catholic endeavor, as Catholics were encouraged to go on pilgrimage to various shrines, including Santiago, where the bones of St James were allegedly discovered. Now there is an equal number of “spiritual, not religious” types who go on pilgrimage to re-center their minds, disconnect from the electronic chatter of modern life, or strip life to the bare essentials and engage more honestly with other people. This last point is a common refrain from peregrinos (pilgrims): on the camino, you have only what you need, so you eliminate the artifice of modern society and have more meaningful relationships with your fellow pilgrims.

Another large group is seeking simple self-improvement. They want to lose weight, quit smoking or kick some other bad habit, get in shape, or simplify one’s life. There are some similarities here to the first group, but without any specific spiritual content. Smaller sets of pilgrims are on vacation, after a personal accomplishment, or do it just because it is there.

For whatever reasons pilgrims have, the numbers have been consistently increasing. Last year over 300,000 walked the Camino Frances, with the frequency diagram displaying a familiar normal distribution (I promised no math, but this is statistics) centered on the Summer months.

This counts “completions” with most taking 30-45 days

To receive the official completion certificate, or Compostela, you need only complete the last 100 kilometers of the Camino Frances. When you arrive in Santiago, they ask whether you walked for religious/spiritual reasons or for other reasons. If the former, you receive a Latin script Compostela attesting to your accomplishment; if the latter, your certificado is in Spanish. If you wish, for a few Euros you can also receive a certificate of distance which attests to the actual time and distance hiked.

Whatever one’s motivation, one theme among peregrinos is consistent: how well pilgrims treat one another, and how well pilgrims are treated by their Spanish hosts. Out on the camino, people share with and care for each other. The small towns, some of which only survive by association with the camino, provide a warm welcome. Stories abound of services provided or help rendered by anonymous pilgrims to those in need. Likewise, there are numerous tales of pilgrims finding “no room at the inn” and being taken to stay in local’s homes. There are exceptions, but crime or simple boorish behavior stand out mostly as exceptions to the rule of good behavior.

This is the magic of the camino, and what really brings many pilgrims to come back and walk the camino over and over.

As for me, I am walking in thanksgiving. From early on when my wife Judy and I considered walking the camino, I saw it as a way of saying “thank you” to God for good health, a great family, a satisfying career, and all the other blessings I have received. We’ll spend time every day giving thanks, looking to help others (or maybe accepting help from others–that’s a blessing too) and praying. If you have a prayer request, let me know!

Why not be an expat?

As I pass the first anniversary of life as an expat, I am tempted to review the good and bad aspects of it. If you read my blog, you already know I find the balance tilted to the positive side. However, I have noted several times that expat life is not for everyone. So what are the reasons that would make expat life–especially expat life in Mexico–disagreeable for the average American?

The top reason on my list would be healthcare. It is at the top not because one cannot find quality doctors and hospitals: in Mexico, you can. Rather, it tops the list because healthcare is so critically important to one’s physical and financial well-being that if you have any doubt about your situation in either case (financial- or health-wise), you must question whether you’re expat material. If you don’t have portable health insurance, won’t qualify for another nation’s healthcare, don’t have money to buy insurance locally or in reserve to cover health emergencies, expat life may not be for you.

Likewise, if you have serious health problems, you want to think twice about expat life. Medical culture, like all culture, varies in every country. Figuring out what your doctor really means, regardless of whatever he or she says (and in what language), is difficult enough when you are familiar with the culture. Levels of care vary, not because one system is more or less caring, but because different systems have different views on what is appropriate. Any friction in healthcare is major friction, because it is literally a matter of life or death. Failing health (coupled with an inability to cover escalating costs) is the leading reason expats return home.

Second on the list is family matters. How close and frequent are your relationships with your immediate or extended family? If you live in the same town as your extended family, and you get together several times a week and are always available to one another, you may find expat life to be too disconnecting. One must be very honest about this issue. If I was still working (which would have been necessary were I not an expat), I would be limited in the time I could spend with my grandchildren. Expat life freed up my time, which enables more and better time with them. However, my family has always been all over the map (literally), and even my closest grandchild was a solid hour away from my last home near DC. Here in Mexico, I am a four hour plane ride away from them, but my calendar is clear, so I can drop by pretty easily (like we did over the MLK holiday this year). In the meantime, we skype on a regular basis. I am blessed that my immediate family has few (almost none, really) health or personal issues. If you need that close daily family interaction, or have family members who need your personal attention, expat life may be a bridge too far.

Next would be your flexibility. There are a few hardy souls who thrive in the absence of any routine; you usually see them on adventure TV shows. Most of us need some level of routine, or certainty, to be comfortable. As an expat, you are inherently out of your comfort zone. Can you adapt to it? It comes in all shapes and sizes: when I go the local Walmart (familiar), they may be no potato chip brands or flavors I recognize. A left turn signal can mean almost anything. Russet potatoes are difficult to find. You should say “buenos dias” to people you pass on the street, and that changes to “buenos tardes” at noon and “buenas noches” after dark. Shrimp cocktail is a form of cold, spicy soup. Asking for directions is asking for trouble. Butter contains no salt, and there is no caramel. Mañana means sometime.

None of these points is important, but collectively they represent a lot of turbulence. As an expat, there are times when you start to think you are building a routine, and then you’re hit with several changes all at once. If you aren’t flexible enough to change with such challenges, you may find expat life unsettling.

Someone’s villa grande is just around the bend

How do you feel when you are confronted with abject poverty? Poverty exists side-by-side with wealth in Mexico. Begging is not considered a sign of poor character: some people are just worse off, and they beg to make ends meet. If you go out where there are groups of people (like the market, a shopping center, a soccer match) you will run into people begging, children selling fruit or junk or trinkets, or perhaps a handicapped person offering to wash your car. If you say no, they leave you alone. No one gets angry about their entreaties. If you give them some money, they will be very grateful; around the corner will be more of the same. You have to pick and choose where you drop your coins, and saying no is never fun. If this scene pulls too hard on your heartstrings, maybe you’re not an expat.

Closely related to the poverty issue is, surprisingly, pets (especially in Mexico). I have heard more than one expat lament the way dogs are treated here: some folks become so upset they return home. Dogs are just a useful appliance here; they are not pets in the North American concept (I rarely even see cats here). One sees roof-dogs which live out in the hot tropical sun with the sole purpose of alerting owners if anyone approaches the property. Street dogs are common, lazing alongside the roads, many limping from a close encounter of the vehicular kind. Seeing a dog’s body in the road is not at all unusual. As long as a dog performs a useful task, they are given some minimal shelter and food; if they dont, they are set loose. Local governments wait until they get complaints about dog packs, then they set out poison to eliminate the problem. As a lifelong dog owner, it is heartbreaking, but I also realize many Mexicans do not have the resources to spend on pets as luxury items. If sad dog stories are too much for you, you’ll need to toughen up to be an expat.

These are the top five facets of expat life which make it something not everyone can embrace (in my opinion). As an expat, I can attest to the fact that many confront these situations and negotiate them successfully to become expats. Some expats choose to be snowbirds, spending colder months down here and warmer months back home. This helps address the expat challenges I mentioned, but also adds the cost of maintaining two residences.

As I said at the beginning, I think the positives outweigh the negatives. With more and more baby boomers retiring every day, we are seeing a significant increase in new arrivals lakeside. I hope they are considering the challenges I have discussed above; if not they face more than a little disappointment.

Rules for Social Media

When I first started blogging and reading social media. I was shocked by much of what I saw. I originally wrote this post at that time, but then I shelved it, sensing that maybe my experience was not widely shared. Since that time, things have gotten worse, and I have ample evidence from friends and acquaintances that many feel the same way. Here is what I wrote:

There is a meme with a long pedigree, going back to at least 1835, that cites the three questions, or three gates, or the rule of three. Sometimes it is attributed to Socrates, sometimes Buddha or a Sufi mystic, the Quakers or a nineteenth century poet named Beth Day.

Three things to consider before spreading gossip, exchanging info, or even speaking:

Is what you are going to say true, to the best of your ability?
Is what you are going to say good, either good news or something good about another?
Is what you are about to say essential to those who will hear it, and if not essential, at least useful?

A post which fails the first test is a lie or propaganda. One which passes the first and fails the second test is just an unwelcome, inconvenient truth; something which passes the first two but not the third is simply information, if irrelevant. One can see how any post which failed all three tests is malicious gossip, and therefore should not be shared. There is wisdom in applying these rules, especially with respect to information about other people.

I’d like to propose an adaptation of these rules for social media:

Have you verified what you want to post is true? This is a subtle change, but it removes the passive nature of the original with an active requirement. Just because you like it, or saw it in the Times or on a website is NOT good enough. Newspapers print retractions everyday, and first reports are often proven wrong. If you cite a media source, have you checked competitors? Did you check Snopes? If your source is partisan, have you sought an opposing view? If you quote someone famous, did you Google it? If it refers to a court decision, did you read the actual finding? Think this is overdoing it? How do YOU like to be on the receiving end of an endless stream of partisan screeds, troll-tweets and fake news? Don’t add to it; be value-added by checking the truth!
If it is true, have you questioned your motives? Ask “why am I posting this?” To antagonize someone? To score a point on the internet scoreboard? Will this cause someone to think, or just react? If the only response you seek is “Wow, you’re right!”, you may be virtue-signalling. If you are, you are also contributing to the social media echo chamber. Just don’t.
It was true, and your intentions are as pure as the driven snow. Great, now ask yourself “what good will come to those who read this?” Not good for you, mind you. Will they be better educated about an issue? Will they understand some little known aspect or nuance? Will they encounter an unexpected argument or a compelling case? Or it this a tired rehash or a polemic?

That’s it. The internet did not suspend the rules of civilized discourse–it just seems so. Simply because someone (even the President) violates them, that does not mean we abandon them altogether. If you think otherwise, where does it stop? By all means argue for your cause, and oppose hatred and bigotry where you find it, but do so with love and wisdom. The worst abuses have come from those who were certain they were on the right side of history.

Social media needs some rules. It is great for cat & dog pics, news on family, and finding old friends. It is not so good for informed discussion and adult discourse. Let’s make it better.

PS. This post was not directed at any of my good friends or their recent posts. Given the state of social media in general, I could post this ANY time.

Getting Registered

Over the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to complete some of those little administrative tasks with which we are all familiar, and which are just as important for an expat.

First, I had to renew my car’s registration. This proved fairly easy and cost only $500 MXP ($ 25 USD) since I got a 10% discount for paying right away. Such discounts are common in Mexico, including on things like speeding tickets and property taxes. One small complication with the process was that the Mexican government now demands you provide an RFC # when registering/renewing your car. RFC stands for Registro Federal de Contribuyentes. It is a way for the government to better track people for tax purposes; you need an RFC for most major transactions (buying/selling cars, houses, etc.). This is especially important in Mexico, where so much business is done “off the books” to avoid taxes. You can get an RFC number online through a fairly easy process; once you have it, it stays with you as long as you are a resident. I have one last administrative requirement for my automobile: sometime before April, I’ll need to take the car in for an emissions inspection.

Finally, I completed the transition from Residente Temporal to Residente Permanente. I paid a fee and filled out the documents attesting to my resident address and my retirement income. The last step was to get fingerprinted (again), and now I too (along with my dear wife) have an official green card issued by the Mexican government. What does it mean? I never have to update or renew my status–hence the term permanente. I use the “Mexicanos” lines when entering or leaving the country instead of using the “foreigners” lines. What else? I must pay taxes if I make any income in Mexico (which was always the case, but I won’t be making any income, so whatever). I am eligible for Mexican health care (Seguro Popular or IMSS), and I can apply for a Mexican capital gains tax exemption if I ever sell my casa. I can’t vote here, and I can no longer own a foreign-plated vehicle in Mexico. That’s the deal.

The biggest advantage with Resident Permanente is not having to renew your status or pay anything ever again. While the Mexican federal government sometimes changes the rules and charges for tourists and temporary residents, it leaves permanentes alone. Some expats go all the way to getting Mexican citizenship, but as far as I can see that only lets you vote. I’m sick enough of politics in my home country to not want to engage in it here!

A Camino Day (Proposed)

Some of you may be wondering what that 800 kilometer hike across northern Spain will look like. From a geographic perspective, it starts in the Pyrenees mountains, crosses the Basque country and heads into the meseta or Spanish plains, and ends in Galicia. Much of it crosses fertile cropland, including vineyards, with about three mountain ranges. Along the way we’ll pass through numerous small villages along with the cities of Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León, and Santiago de Compostela. Some of the way is roadside, some farm trails, some traditional hiking routes. But what does an average day look like? Based on the preparatory research I have done, here is what pilgrims tell me.

The pilgrim’s day starts early, perhaps 6 am, especially if you stay at an albergue or hostel. Most albergues insist everyone leaves by 8 am so they can clean for the next night’s pilgrims; yes, you can only stay one night in each albergue. Breakfast may be available at or near the albergue, or at least some coffee. Most pilgrims want to get on the road before the heat of the day, and many albergues are first-come, first-served, so there can be a little bit of an Oklahoma landrush in the morning to get an early start. One of the banes of pilgrims in the the albergues is the rustling sound of other pilgrims, which may start as early as 4 am, as they try to get packed and depart.

Tortilla de papas, almost always available

Whenever the time comes, breakfast is probably continental, such as a pastry with coffee. Lunch is often a sandwich called a bocadillo, which is some form of ham on french bread. Some push lunch back until 1-3 pm, perhaps coinciding with arriving at the next stop’s albergue, but others keep a lunch break around noon. Most pilgrims hope to get in to their next albergue or inn sometime in the afternoon. After check-in, you find your bed/room, unload, shower and switch into your casual dinner outfit, and wash your hiking gear from that day. Next comes some quiet time to siesta (my favorite), read, catch up on social media, buy some trail food for the next day, or fix any physical issues (blisters?).

Some towns have a pilgrim’s mass at night, and many restaurants will serve a pilgrims menu of three courses (soup/pasta, meat, dessert) and vino de casa for a nominal fee (E10). After socializing with fellow pilgrims, most retire early for the evening. This might mean sleep, but it might not, as the cacophony of snoring, people rustling in their backpacks, and the usual comings-and-goings can make sleep a challenge. Some pilgrims only stay in albergues; others only use hotels and private rooms.

Wake up and do it all over again. For 30-45 days.

Now of course there are the many hours of time spent walking, which can also be an opportunity for prayer, sight-seeing, introspection, or meeting one’s fellow pilgrims. That gets to the “why” of the Camino, and I will return in a future post to answer it.