My journey on the Camino ..... An attempt to summarize what is not possible to summarize.

It's all part of "the journey". That's what I have heard a friend say many times while we are playing golf. More specifically Bobby gets stuck with me as a partner and when I play poorly he would always say " it's all part of the journey". He is a very good player, I am not. As badly as I play he never gets upset .... "it's all part of the journey". I have a new understanding of what that means to me after the Camino.

I did not mention this in the Stage 34 blog so I will now. As I was approaching  the Hill of Happiness,  I was met by a local TV crew, one reporter and a cameraman. They were from TV Galicia. It said so in big blue letters on the side of their small white car. 

As I got closer to them the reporter started to move toward the trail, microphone in hand. I stopped and he asked me a question, first in Spanish and then after I responded in English he asked the question again. The question was basically how was it to walk in the rain? I responded "it's all part of the journey". He thanked me and I walked away with the camera man following me as I passed him. That's when it struck me that everything I have experienced on my 500 mile walk was in fact my journey and it had many parts to it. I doubt he understood my response and I don't think I'll be on the six o'clock news.

Rain, wind, snow, mud, cold, hot, blue sky's and that's just the weather. Throw in the people, the difficulty, the discomfort, the fear of failure and so much more and you start to understand that it really  is a journey. It's is a journey I will never forget. 

I will also take from this journey new tools which I will use in my coaching business. I look forward to getting back to my work with a young and talented sales team.

My goal when I left California on May 13th was to complete the Camino. I can't describe the feeling of the fear of failure. I had worked hard to prepare but I did not have any idea of what I would be facing when I took my first step onto the Camino in St. Jean, France. Was I really ready? Could I walk ten or more days consecutively carrying more than twenty two pounds on my back? In the end I will walk thirty four days in a row without taking a day off. That was not planned for, it just turned out that way.

The first test came on day two in the snow. Have I prepared for snow? No. I live in San Juan Capistrano, we don't have snow. That was the first test of my commitment. I am here as an act of gratitude for all the gifts and blessings I have received. Would the gratitude be for just one day and 17 miles because the snow caused me to quit? If I am here also to leave something for my grandchildren about who I was, what would quitting on day two say about me?

It's easy to quit. Always is, always will be. That is not the message I want them to get from my Camino. Being injured and unable to complete the journey is one thing, quitting because of weather is not an option. I can also tell you that the ability to reject quitting is made much easier when each day starts with a message from one of the people who want to see me complete the journey. It is a truly motivating reminder of why you cannot quit. There is no way to let all of these people down, you must continue. And let's not forget that in my backpack is a card that I am not supposed to open until my 30th day on the Camino. Should I just go home and open it at the club on the 30th day afrer quitting? Not going to happen.

I shared with you some of my fondest work related stories. There many more. I trust that in time when Brayden and Taylor are old enough to understand what message I am trying to send them , that they will see far more than just the story about young David and changing Tired to Fired. The message I hope they will come away with is that it is wrong to behave the way young David did. Calling in sick when you are not. Putting more work on others because you are just selfish. Realizing that the result was correct. My methods may have been a bit unconventional but they did work. 

When I was working I had cards printed, the size of a business card which simply stated our Value Proposition. The card said only this:

       We tell the truth ......... We do the right thing ......... We never promise what we can't deliver.

How would young David's actions line up with these values? Everyone had the card, it was lamenated and we encouraged everyone to keep it with them at all times. Simple and it works. That's the message.

So here I am on an airplane from Santiago to Madrid where I will connect to a nonstop flight to Los Angeles, 5628 miles away. The flight will take thirteen hours,  not much more than Stage 27's walk which was only 18 miles. That puts some things about the Camino in perspective.

I had dinner last night with both Rainer and Michele. The food was good and it was a good way to end the Camino. Michele walked the last two days by combining two Stages in order to meet us for dinner here in Santiago.

Before dinner I head back to the central part of ithe city, its a short walk to do some shopping. It's raining and I buy an umbrella for three Euro's . I guess I am preparing for my return to a fear of rain. Actually I buy the umbrella because its chilly and I don't need to have my cold get any worse. It's getting much better, I don't sound like Barry White any longer.

We have a forth for dinner. A guy who is from Italy Michele met back in Astorga. Interesting guy, played on three teams that won the Itailan Super Bowl, as in American football. Big guy, very fit. He rode a bike for his Camino and did it in twenty days. He builds custom motorcycles for a living.

The question comes up about would you walk the Camino again? For me the answer is very easy ..No.

Not because I didn't enjoy my Camino. I said No because I enjoyed it so much that there is no way I could duplicate it. If I were to do it again I know that I would be constantly comparing any second attemp with the first which would only mean disappointment . Now throw in the fact that I'm not getting any younger, I don't want to train that hard again and perhaps its easy to understand my "No" answer.

How could I ever walk to Villafranca without thinking of my "detour" and the Dos Jose's or my exit from Astorga when I stop at the tiny little Camino church and find that my Credential is missing and in a panic return to the hotel to begin a search for it? There are others, a ride in a cop car in Los Arcos, 

Lilo, Anna , Bono , Irish Ann, Big Billy, Burgos Ray, the Children just to name a few. 

My Camino experience was very special when I think of Nelly and Fernando but of course Michele and Rainer were the two people I spent lots of time with. I look forward to having dinner with them again next year at Michele's Restaurant. I'm guessing we just might get a good table.

So here I am waiting to board Iberia flight 6171. I am eager to get home and yes the beard will stay for perhaps a week but not any longer.

There are so many people to thank who helped make my Camino possible but there are also some who I want to say a special thanks to. 

To Pat who planted the seed . I know that you will enjoy your Camino and that you will meet some very interesting people. Thank you.

To Sharel without whom I would not have been able to complete my Camino. Sharel worked very hard to keep me out of bunk beds and put up with all of my constant changes. Thank you.

Last but not least, Robin who from the moment I first spoke of the idea of walking the Camino never stopped or wavered in her support. She put up with all of my training schedules and was there when I would express doubts about being able to go five hundred miles. Thank you, I Love You and I look forward to seeing you at the airport. Remember I will be the old guy with the mostly white beard!

So that's it, my blog is complete. I have enjoyed trying to get it posted everyday and I wait with great anticipation for my final grade. Thanks for joing me. I hope you got something from it, perhaps even a laugh or two.

Buen Camino and may you be as blessed as I am. 

Jim.

Stage 34 .... It's the final Stage to Santiago. One million steps, five hundred miles and a great number of really incredible memory's .

I will first have coffee con leche and then push off to Santiago. I have already started dumping anything I don't need to get to or stay in Santiago. I could leave my poles behind but I thought that they have really worked hard to help get me here and that the least I could do is let them walk into Santiago with me. We will part company before I leave on Friday morning for my connecting flight to Madrid. 

It was a somewhat restless night. A combination of my cold and a bit of anticipation. I just want to go and finish. I was asleep early and awake every couple of hours until I just gave up at 6:00. Each time I woke up I would look out the window to check the weather. It's been raining all night, not a heavy rain but a steady rain.

If this rain continues for my final Stage then it will be Barry White getting the Compostela at the Pilgrim Office. I was feeling a little better and thought that it might be Louie Armstrong instead. I will just have to deal with it one last time, continue to take the LAFOR and walk into Santiago with a cold.

I will not be getting to Santiago in time for the Piligrims Mass at noon anyway, so I will just wait and see if the weather changes. It is now 6:30, I will leave between 9:00 and 10:00. The Pilgrim's Office is open until 7:00 tonight. Rainer has already warned me that there will be a line which could mean that it may take an hour or more. I really don't care. I will just wait to see the swinging of the giant insense burner, Botafumeiro until tomorrow. The Cathedral seats up to 1000 people so there is a good chance that I will get a seat.

I finish breakfast at 8:15 and it does not look like its going to be getting much better. I am leavening early and will just take my time on this my final walk to Santiago. I am so glad there isn't a Stage 35.

I pack my gear for the last time and exclude a couple of items like the detergent. I will not miss having to do that little sink task again. It is 9:30 as I return to the Camino. I will make several stops along the way for water, coffee and to have my Credential stamped at least three times. 

The temperature is nearly perfect, about sixty degrees and just a slight breeze and its cloudy. There are sections of the trail where there is mud but nothing that will cause me to perform the mud dance. The rain has left the trail soft which is good for the Limo's and their passengers. I am dressed as well as I can given the fact that I don't have many options.

I have all seven stones in my backpack and they will be placed at The Hiill of Happiness which will be about ten miles from my starting point. I will take several pictures today including a few of the markers which count down the number of kilometers remaining to Santiago. Each is a clear reminder of just how close I am.

It begins to rain after only two miles but I am in the forest so the tree cover acts as an umbrella making the rain a non event. As I come out of the forest the rain stops and I will make my first wardrobe change. It's getting a little warm and of course I am heating up from inside the rain jacket. 

With about four miles to go I make my final stop for coffee. It's a very small place and very few customers. As I drink my coffee it begins to rain. The two people who work here are completely glued to the television as they watch the American reality show filmed in a pawn shop in Detriot. The show is a less than flattering example of how people in the U.S. behave. 

I reach Monte do Gozo which is now marked by the sizable monument commemorating the visit by Pope John Paul the second. The Hill of Happiness. It is certainly not the view that pilgrims from a thousand years ago had from the top of hill. It is very different I am sure. Hundreds of years ago the pilgrims could actually see the Cathedral from this location but now all you see is the outer edges of the suburbs of Santiago.

I place the seven stones at the base of the monument and take a few pictures. Robin will send them to  family and others. This is my final task. I begin my walk downhill into Santiago. I walk past the Monte del Gozo Albergue which is within a couple hundred feet of the monument. It has beds for up to three thousand pilgrims! Can you imagine the sounds that three thousand people in bunk beds can make! It's actually a row of buildings which are filled with beds. I am so glad that Sharel didn't book me here!

As I walk over a freeway bridge I see it. It's the sign that simply says SANTIAGO. I take a picture, I have arrived, my Camino walk is complete. I made it! Five hundred miles, one million steps. The Camino Frances. It's a bit odd because I am walking alone and there isn't anyone to say "hey I made it", I have completed my Camnio.

The next item on my agenda is to go to the Pilgrims office near the cathedral and claim my Compostela but first I want to find the hotel to shower and change. Everything I am wearing is wet and I don't want to stand in line as wet as I am still carrying all of my gear.

I get to my room and take a much needed shower. Rainer has just arrived and I will meet him in the lobby to leave for the Pilgrim's office. He's been there twice before so he knows the drill. 

We get to the Pilgrims office and as luck would have it there is no line and I present my Credential's to the clerk. She inspects them. I have two now because the American version is to small. She asks me to complete a short questionnaire. She stamps my Credential's and hands them back to me along with my Compostela. The Compostela is in Latin and it includes my Latin name, Jacobum. Not exactly flattering is it? 

Rainer and I will have dinner and then I will do my best to sleep in tomorrow morning. The only thing I have planned for Thursday is to attend the Pilgrims Mass at noon. 

I will post my final blog as a summary of my Camino. I will write it on the plane back to Los Angeles on Friday, I'm taking Thursday off. That's it for now, no more walking, I am in Santiago. 

See you soon. Good night.

A post before the post..... I made it ! I am in Santiago and will soon post the Stage 34 blog.

Stage 33 ..... I am really close, I am as shocked as you are .... Today 13 miles closer to the goal, Santiago

Fortunately the medicine is working. I feel much better today than when I went to bed last night. I guess walking in the cold rain was not good for me. I'm really close but I'm also really tired.

Breakfast is what it is, you just get use to it. I will get a head start on Rainer. He will be at a different hotel tonight because my hotel is sold out. We will meet for dinner on Wednesday in Santiago.

Unlike yesterday the weather this morning is clear but its cold. It's 18 C or about 57 F. That's a good temperature for walking but throw in some wind and it gets al little chilly. It's much better than yesterday and there is no point in dwelling on it. You just deal with it and go.

The Camino is crowded today . If feels like a "walkathon". With very few exceptions they are all new faces. I do see from time to time a few of the children, they are all spread out. 

It's a nice day and the trail is much better. The mud for the most part is gone. No surprise hills, just 13 miles. I am moving at a pretty good pace because I keep passing people but I'm not pushing it. I don't take my first break until I've gone about five miles. A little something to eat, water and a snack and I am back on the Camino. 

I think I am more focused because I am getting so close. I have all of the stones, they have all been marked and will be placed at The Hill of Happiness tomorrow just as I get set to enter the city. I will leave about the same time as I did today, 10:00. I could leave earlier to try and make the Pilgrims Mass at noon but that would just mean pushing it . I will attend the Pilgrims Mass on Thursday, it will be a lot easier. Getting my Compostela tomorrow will be my focus followed by buying one long sleeve shirt I can wear to dinner and then on the flight home. All of the clothes I came with will not be returning. 

I arrive in O Pedrouzo at 3:30 , five an a half hours. It's amazing how the trail conditions will effect time. It's also amazing how fast you can walk 13 miles when you know that it's going to bring you to the last Stage of this 500 mile journey! 

Now a little dinner, some cold medicine and some sleep before I start Stage 34 a walk of only 12 miles to Santiago. Just think that for those of you on the west coast, I will be completing my Camino at the Cathedral of Saint James as you have your morning coffee, I hope you enjoy it as much I will enjoy seeing the Cathedral . 

Good night .

Stage 32 .... My walk today will be 17 miles to Arzua .... The tool I bought at the junk shop is no match for this hard rock soil. Rain, cold, wind and mud make for a very, very long day.

I tested the tool I bought and it won't do the job. I need to find a real shovel or something close to it to dig an adequate hole for my four Cross's. The good news is that as I walked into this very small village I walked right past a hardware store. Yesterday was Sunday so it was closed. The hotel clerk thinks it will open today around 9:30. I guess they are not in a hurry to get their day started. By the way the picture of my Cross's are attached to the Stage 30 blog.

When I went to meet Rainer for dinner it was raining and getting cold. It's been raining  all night and it appears that it will rain for all of my seventeen miles today.  Not a problem, no complaints. I have had fantastic weather for all but a few tough days back at the beginning of my Camino, so this was somewhat over due.

There is only one route and the trail will be mostly flat with an uphill portion starting around the ten mile point. The rain has been steady all night so its likely that there will be mud. My poles are now veterans and will once again get me through it.

Breakfast is in the basement of the building. It's 7:30 but I can't leave until I get a chance to visit the hardware store which does not open until 9:30. There are no windows at breakfast so when I go back up the stairs to the lobby I am pleasantly surprised to see that not only has it stopped raining, it's also sunny and getting warmer. I think it's going to be a good day. I will be wrong.

When I woke this morning I could also sense a head cold getting started. I will plan on stopping at the Farmacia on my way out of the village. First stop the hardware store for the tool.

The clerk at the store does not understand me so I just begin looking around the store and I do find one tool which will work. It's a hand held version of a pickax. I buy it. The handle is detached from the head which will make packing it easy. 

I am leaving the village and I stop at the Farmacia. My cold is getting worse and my throat's not all that good. The Farmacia is so small that four people waiting for help is going to take forever. I decide it can't wait. Bad decision.

The weather is cold but sunny. I can see the dark sky off in the distance and it appears that I am headed that way. The walk should be fairly flat. I will find out that with five miles to go I will be very, very wrong. The last five miles today will be straight up hill and will rain without stopping for all five miles.

After only one mile I am overheating and stop for a wardrobe change. I will repeat this four or five times in the first three hours. It's time consuming and its not really resting in spite of the fact that you are not walking and your backpack is on the ground. This is really slowing me down and it's an energy burner.

I am about six miles from my starting point when it starts to rain. The trail s covered in mud and puddles which means there is no straight line to walk, every step is zigging and zagging around the mud and standing water. The poles are hard at work. Again an energy burner. 

The rain is now steady and as I am doing the mud dance I am working on an idea for my four Cross's . I think I have the spot picked out. I will bury them today in the rain. One of the challenges I face in trying to close the book on my four Cross's idea is the pilgrim traffic. I would like to do this without a witness becoming curious. I really don't have a concern about someone doubling back to dig it up but I would feel better if I can do it privately. That won't be a problem because of the rain.

As it rains non stop and I am working hard I am also sweating so much that I am getting wet from the inside out. 

There is a beautiful little church in a small village of Santa Marie. It is near here that I have decided to bury my four Cross's. I find the spot, its also symbolic and I dig the hole with my new tool and take pictures with both my iPhone and my iPad . I will send them to Robin  and it will be quite easy to find the location which is very near a permanent structure which will be here for years to come. 

I am so wet from the sweat and so worn out from all the stops that when it stops raining with about seven miles to go I take off my rain jacket and decide that if it rains again I will just get wet. Within a mile I am now just walking in the rain without the rain jacket. I will just get wet. I've done it before in the first few days at the start of my Camino, no big deal.

The last five miles are a real test made more difficult because I did not see it coming. I arrive at the hotel at 6:30 nearly eight and a half hours after I started. Because of the wardrobe delays, the Cross's burial and a couple of stops for food and coffee this day is not only somewhat difficult, it's also long.

I meet Rainer at 7:30 for dinner. Dinner is good but my cold is now becoming a serious issue. I fell like crap and when I speak you think you are talking to Barry White. Now my problem is I need to get to a Farmacia but none will open until 10:00 tomorrow morning. That's not good. Rainer asks the waiter what time the Farmaca opens and he does say 10:00 but wait, there is also a twenty four hour emergency Farmacia. It's about a mile and a half from where I am sitting. It's now about 9:00. 

The last thing I am going to do is to walk another three miles trying to find a Farmacia in the dark while its raining. I can't find the Camino In day light and perfect weather so trying to find a Fsrmacia on foot while its raining in the dark is out of the question.

The waiter says he will try to get a taxi to come and take me. Ronald to the rescue . Ronald is the taxi driver who picks me up. He says to me in perfect English, "what do you need at the pharmacy"? I explain. 

We arrive at the emergency Farmarcia and its just a tiny window that cannot be more the two feet square. Ronald gets out, rings the service button and he explains what is wrong with me and just like that the guy in the Farmacia puts my cold medicine in the push out delivery door. I am now given my LAFOR Polvo Para Solucion Oral and we are on our way back to the hotel. Ronald explains dosage and also says  "no beer".  A taxi driver and a Doctor.

I am ready to get to sleep. It's been a very long day. I now have only two more days of walking . Tomorrow I will walk to O Pedrouzo, Stage 33, 13 miles. I hope the LAFOR works! 

Good night.

Stage 31 a walk of fifteen miles to Palas De Rei ..... I wonder if David is still tired ? Happy Fathers Day!

I did not realize it was Father's Day until this morning when I received an email from Robin. So to all of the Fathers out there, Happy Fathers Day. I wish I was there. I will be soon. I only have about 45 miles remaining. Just three more days. It's hard to believe.

I did not sleep very well last night. A combination of a bed that just was not comfortable and a room that was a little to warm for me. I will get over it. I'm on my way to breakfast.

It's the usual, that's all I will say with one exception. Today the coffee is not very good. I will pass and just get something at my first stop, Gonzar, which is about five miles from my starting point.

The first two miles are where all of the days walking challenges will be. After the elevation change which is up about 900 feet, the Camino will be flat and in good condition. The weather is perfect, a little cloud cover, a slight breeze and plenty of shade make for what I think is the easiest day yet. Yes, I know fifteen miles is difficult but trust me fifteen in these conditions is much better than six on a difficult trail.

I am in the lobby trying to download email and send the Stage 30 post because the wifi only works in the lobby. As I am trying to get that accomplished I am sitting in the lobby looking at the map for today's walk. I am interested in trying to determine if there are any surprise turns or more than one trail. Yes, I know exactly what you are all saying right now .... Jim's reading a map, this could be trouble.

You are correct. I have proven that I am not to be trusted with a map. It has given me a new found level of respect for the work being performed by that woman in the dashboard of my car. 

That reminds me, I have a person in my iPad Mini who is starting to get under my skin. He or she was hired by Steve Jobs to guess what word I am trying to type. It bugs me. You know, you type in the first two letters of a word and he or she just takes a guess and slips in a word. Annoying. I will admit that there are many occasions where the word is the same I am trying to type and that does help out. 

I don't know who this person is in my Mini but I do know this. He or she never won a spelling bee. 

Speaking of spelling this reminds me of one of the best Management moments of my career. I'm sorry but when you are walking for more than six hours like I was today these things do pop into your head.

Here is what happened. It was the mid 80's and I was traveling constantly. I just returned to the office after a road trip and my assistant is filling me in on what I missed while I was gone. She says to me "we have a problem". Ok tell me what it is. 

Jan tells me that David, a young man on the sales desk has developed a habit of calling in sick on Mondays when I am away and it's causing problems with phone coverage. Ok , I'll take care of it. I call David into my office and we have a conversation. That would be a BC Jim conversation where I do all of the talking and he just listens. I tell Jan our problem has been fixed.

About two or three weeks later I fly to the west coast on Sunday so I can be with customers on Monday morning. I call the next morning to see if I have any messages and Jan brings me up to speed and then says "David's not in today". You can't be serious.

I asked if he called in sick and so help me she says  "no, he called in and said he was tired"! What I said next was an immediate response, immediate. 

"Jan I want you to drop everything you have planned for today and find David, get him on the phone, tell him you spoke to me and then tell him Jim said, get a piece of paper and a pencil and write down the word TIRED and change the first letter to F"! Brilliant. Simply brilliant. Come on, you have to agree that was pretty good.

Who said you can't have fun at work. I think Jan actually liked it more than I did. I wonder if David is still tired ?

Back to the Camno. As I already said, it's a beautiful day. I am making such good time that I find myself telling me to slow down. There is absolutely no reason for going to fast. I left Portomarin at 10:00 and will arrive at 4:15, that includes stops where I have a bite to eat and  give the passengers some airtime.

Say hello to Tilley the talker. I am on the Camino and all is good. I can hear her behind me. She is a good distance back but I can hear her like she is standing next to me. She never takes a breath! It's constant. I am not walking with her but I am on the verge of a headache. I cannot believe what the guy she is with must be going through. It's so bad that I decide to take a break and let them pass. They are not wearing backpacks or carring anything so they should be faster. I stop and take off my backpack. She is talking non-stop all he way to me and for as far as I can see once they pass me. The Camino is quite, she apparently did not get the memo. Tilley the Talker, that's the name I give her and I will see her again three more times today and each time she will be talking without interruption. This guy is either a saint or he is deaf.

The balance of my walk today in Stage 31 is uneventful. No detours. My walk today will be about six and a half hours.

Now, the Stones. I will have seven to be placed at the Mount Joy, Monte de Gozo, a monument commerating the visit of Pope John Paul the second from which the Cathedral towers can be seen. It will be that moment when I know that I have arrived in Santiago.

The seven stones. First, there will be one stone simply marked with "THE LIST". It represents all of those who I have on my "list" which dates back more than fifty years, started on the day my Granfather died when I was about 15 years old. The list has grown as a list of this kind will. I have it memorized. This stone will be for all on the "list".

Each of those for whom I will place a single stone are also on the list. They are: My parents, my brother Bobby, my sister Susan, Robin's father and Clara, Bill's Mother. Beth understands the list and I know she will like the idea. 

As I am walking along I am looking at individual stones which I think will represent all seven. Once I have selected and marked them I will send a photo to Robin to distribute among family. The picture of Clara's stone will be sent directly to Bill and Beth.

The markings on the stones won't last very long but the idea will last forever. 

One last comment before I go. I opened Amanda's envelope and it was just the icing on the cake for what has been a really great day. With that I will say good night. Thanks for joining me, I will be there soon.

Tomorrow I walk to Ribadiso, a walk of 16 miles. Just three Stages remain. I'm close, really close. Good night.

 

Stage 30 .... I have a very busy day in front of me .... My four Cross's, the seven stones and a card to open.... All good.

Today I will walk twelve miles from Sarria to Portomarin. It will be a very leisurely walk when compared to many others to date. The weather is perfect, sunny and around sixty five with a nice breeze. The route today will also provide a nice mix of sun and shade. 

I leave after breakfast at 10:00. I am in no hurry. I also need to stop at the Farmacia for sunblock.  As I approach the Farmacia I pass a shop that can only be described as a junk shop. It carries everything from tee shirts to garden hoses. I will look in the shop for two items I need to complete the plan for my four Cross's.

The walk today starts out of the city by climbing fifty four steps to the Camino. Today I must also remember to begin having my Credential stamped at least twice a day. I am now within four days of Santiago. The one physical test for the day will come within the first two miles. A long and fairly steep hill that fortunately is in the shade. I will complete the climb with three stops, I'm in no rush. Injury  caused by foolish and aggressive tactics makes no sense. I am getting to close to risk that.

Along the way today I will see many new faces . They will be the new people who will walk from Sarria to Santiago, the shortest distance to walk and qualify for a Compostela. 

Rainer leaves after having breakfast about an hour ahead of me. I will catch him later and we will walk the final three miles into Portomarin together. My pace today is very good but I need to be a bit more careful not to push it. Tomorrow I will be more cautious.  

My four Cross's, what is the plan? First a little Camino history. For hundreds of years pilgrims would bring with them a stone with the name of someone on it who had passed away and leave it at a place they have selected on the Camino in memory of that person. Pilgrims would also bring a stone at the request of others. Rainer is carrying two such stones and will place them at a preselected location. I have been collecting seven stones along my Camino and I will place all seven at the monument at the top of the hill overlooking Santiago often called the monument of Happiness. It has this name because it will bring happiness to the pilgrim as he sees for the first time his destination, Santiago. I will tell you more about the stones shortly but first my four Cross's . 

As I was training months ago I thought about the stones and how many I would bring and for whom. I also decided to do something else in addition to the stones. I would leave four Cross's buried on the Camino. I have sent to Robin a picture of my four Cross's all of which are silver and each a bit different while at the same time they are exactly alike. They are in a small metal box and include two notes, one which I will share with you, the other to be read only by the person, perhaps one of my grandchildren or another family member who finds the box. The box will be buried between Sarria and Santiago and I will record its exact location which will be sent to Robin along with pictures.

The part of the note I will share with you says: 

Hello,

I am not sure who you are but congratulations on finding the box. 

I hope you are enjoying your Camino as much as I did mine. More importantly, I hope you are here as an act of gratitude for all of the gifts and blessings you have received just as I did in 2013.

There are four Crosses in the box. Pin one to your backpack, it will keep you safe. Bring the other three home. Give one to Nanna, one to your Mother and give the last one to someone who is very special to you.

Safe travels, and may God continue to bless you.

 Love Poppy.

I have not decided exactly where I will leave the box, I am working on that but it will be near a monument to be used as a reference point that will in all likelihood be here on the Camino for many years to come.

I will tell you about the stones tomorrow. Back to my walk to Portomarin. 

Uneventful but almost a repeat of one of my past detours. As I am walking and thinking about how big a mistake it was not to think quickly enough to get a picture of the Dos Jose's, I realize that I can turn this lapse into something really great. 

Robin has already begun planning a return trip to Spain next year which also includes a stop in Germany to have dinner with Michele and Rainer at Michele's restaurant in Dordmun. After Germany we will go to Spain and visit some of the cities where I did not get to see much because of the schedule I put myself on. While walking today I had what I think is a great idea.

We will include a visit to Villafranca, the village where the Dos Jose's brought me. We will stay at the Paradore and hire and English speaking driver to help us find the bar with the card games somewhere near a village called San Juan P something. Believe it or not I do know what direction it is from Villafranca and I know that it's about forty kilometers away. I doubt there are a lot of San Juan P something's .

We will go late in the afternoon, around 3:00 to 4:00, the same time I wandered into that parking lot. I hope to find one or both of the Jose's where I will have my picture taken with them and also get a picture of the Pink Panther car ! 

As I am walking along today completely focused on putting this idea together the two people I just passed on the Camino yell out to me. I turn around and they are waving at me because I just walked right past the left turn I was supposed to make to stay on the Camino. I almost took a "detour" thinking about how to put this idea together. Saved again by two strangers ! 

Rainer and I arrive at the hotel, its 4:25. My walk today took about six hours. It was a really good day. Now to get my gear taken care of, rest a bit and then two things. Dinner and then I open the card Amanda gave me with instructions not to do so until my 30th day, which is today.

I have only four days of walking ahead of me. Tomorrow will be Stage 31 a walk from Portomarin to Palas De Rei, fifteen and a half miles. I also will share with you the plan for the stones. 

Have a great day.

Stage 29 .... On my way to Sarria .... I now have only six days remaining to complete My Camino.

The walk to Askaris will be fairly easy with just a few rolling hills and only one hill of any real size. It appears that I will once again have good weather. I looked out my window and many of the pilgrims are walking in shorts and t-shirts. I will also walk in shorts and a tee shirt but not because I want to, I have no choice. It's the only outfit I have left.

Off to breakfast and I will begin to get a feel for the weather. I am wearing the shorts, tee shirt combo and my rain jacket. It's fine, this should work. I will try to find some other replacements to get me to Santiago once I arrive in Sarria.

I have my morning fix of bread, coffee and orange juice. I will need to find a Farmacia on my way to Sarria, I am almost out of sunblock. 

There are two routes available today. One route is about a mile and a half shorter but there is much less shade. The second longer route, The Roman route, is longer but it is also a bit flatter and for the majority of the day there will be shade. It's already getting warm as I pack so I decide to take the Roman route. Today will be a walk of about 14 miles. When I arrive in Sarria I will then have less than eighty three miles remaining.

The first three miles is along side a roadway. The trail and the road are separated by a substantial guard rail. This part of the trail is a solid surface, no rocks. There is shade for about half of this part and then the Camino goes through the forest. A river is on my left for the first two hours and it is running rapidly which helps drown out the sound of the nearby traffic. I will stop at the first small village to eat something and pick up some additional water. The temperature is rising making it more important to have an adequate supply of water..

The first few villages I pass through don't offer anything in the way of a cafe so I just continue on to Samos which is about six miles from today's start. The village is beautiful and as you enter the village crossing over the Rio Oribio you see this massive monastery. I stop here and take a picture. I need something to eat. There are two cafe's just across the bridge and the first one appears to be crowded with pilgrims. I head to the second cafe. There are seats outside but they are all in the sun. I step inside and there are tables. The cafe is very clean and has a nice choice of smaller items that are not all engulfed in a loaf of bread. I have a salad and an agua con gas. I will also refill my metal bottle which hooks onto the front of my backpack. Perfect, back to the Camino. 

As I am leaving he village I see a Farmacia and I stop to get my sunblock and realize that I also need more of the Spanish spots cream . I show the clerk my two current versions. She has the sports cream and offers a different sun screen. Fine, that was easy.

The balance of the day is just a slow walk through many villages and farms. Lots of cattle and lots of dogs and cats. I have only one "event" today. No, I don't get lost or leave something behind. When I stopped at the small cafe I bought water with gas with my salad. Two small bottles. When I asked the young girl to please put two bottles of cold water in my metal bottle I did not say "con gas".

Well, she put two bottles of  con gas in my bottle which bounces around as I walk and sure enough it explodes just under my chin. I'm now cooled off by my water bottle and its not a problem, its warm and there is plenty of water ahead. It did get my attention when it started hissing just before it burst.

I will just fill the bottle myself from now on.

I arrive in Sarria at 4:15 which means my walk today took about seven hours including a number of breaks and a longer than average lunch break. No issues, just a bit tired and sore. Nothing the ice and the cream can't handle. 

First order of business after a shower will be to find a store for a couple of replacement items that will get me to Santiago, now just five days away.  I find a shop and buy a pair of cargo shorts, two light weight shirts and I am now ready for the final five days.

I have been planning  more than five months for the Sarria to Santiago final five days. I have a couple of very special tasks to complete. At the end of tomorrow's post I will share that with you. 

I will ask Robin to post the picture of my four Cross's . That's it for now. Have a good day.

 

Stage 28 ,,,, down the hill a drop of two thousand feet, thirteen and a half miles to Triacastela

I am awake early. I slept well because of how much Stage 27 and the uphill climb took out of me. The good news is that its behind me. I am now in the final Region of the Camino, Galicia. When I complete today's Stage 28 I will be six days from Santiago.

I will take my time leaving today because when I first look out the window it is raining and there is some hail. It's cold at the top of the mountain. It's very cold. I get dressed and go to have coffee early just to get outside and try to get a feel for the weather.

It's a short walk to the cafe. It's packed with pilgrims, some of whom are down right rude. There is one woman trying to keep up with all of the coffee orders. It's not possible, each cup is made individually , its not like the waitress at a diner who just walks around with a pot of coffee in her hand continuously offering refills. There is also one guy working and his only job is to make the toast and he can't keep up. Madness. I will come back later.

I'm in no hurry because the weather is not good right now so I will wait it out, perhaps it will improve. 

I will just go back to my "suite" and take a look at the map for today's walk and do a better job of preparing . 

I also forgot to tell you about the British couple I met last night while icing my leg. John and Vivian who live outside of London I think is what they said. Nice people . 

Our conversation starts with a question from John about my injury. I explain that it's just a muscle strain and that with some ice and my Spanish hot cream I will be fine. By the way I don't know what the injury really is I am just guessing but I do think that's what it is. 

The conversation continues about how tough the mountain is and I am a bit surprised at how relaxed and comfortable they appear to be after such a tough day. John asks me where I began my Camino and I tell him St Jean to which he responds  "that's where we started as well, three years ago". Three years ago ! Now that's what I call a  "Detour", a really big detour. Maybe I'm not in the record book yet.

He explains. He and Vivian return to the Camino each year, select a section they will walk and then return home. I'm not sure but I think there is a donkey service involved. It does not matter, everyone does the Camino in whatever way fits them best.

So now I've met pilgrims on both ends of the spectrum. The Brazilian guy who will complete the Camino in just twenty four days and this English couple who will compete there's in perhaps four or five years.

I was right about the weather. At 9:30 its vastly improved and I return for coffee and now there are only a few people. I order my coffee and toast. It's ok but not great. One thing that strikes me is the number of people who are wearing shorts. It's still pretty cold. I am still a wimp.

I am packed and on my way with everything, yes everything. I also know exactly where I am going and how I will approach today's walk. I will go slow. I will take breaks along the way at a number of check points. I will also eat something when I reach Alto do Poio which is about four and a half miles from my starting point. I will just walk past Casa Jaime today, I don't yet need directions.

It's cold but I have dressed as well as I could for it. My hands are cold but everything else is ok. I will soon be shedding layers as the weather improves all day and it actually gets warm.

There are a number of up hill climbs and then back down again until you finally get to the last hill that brings you to Alto do Poio. The last hill to the top is a pretty steep hill and I take a couple of breaks, I'm in no hurry. 

When I reach the top there is immediately on my right about thirty pilgrims sitting on the patio having something to eat or drink. This looks like a popular place, I will stop here. 

When I walk inside there are a few tables and I see that a number of pilgrims are having the soup. I don't know what it is but it looks good. I order the soup. It's spinach soup with small pieces of vegetables, its very good. I remove the Limos  and give the passengers a break. I will repeat this at least three more times today. I do notice that the Limos are looking a bit tired. Just get me to Santiago, only about eighty five more miles.

The steep downhill section does not start until I am about four miles from the destination. Once it starts it will not stop until Stage 28 is completed. I just go slow, the trail is once again covered in rocks. 

I arrive without an event at 5:15. It was difficult in parts but nothing like yesterday. It's a nice little village. Take care of the gear, shower and then go to try a glass of white wine which is what Galicia is famous for.

Tomorrow, Friday June 14th will be Stage 29, a walk of only twelve miles to Sarria. Only six days to Santiago. Have a nice day. 

Stage 27 .... Up and over the mountain .... By far my toughest day .... Even tougher than my snow day.

At the end of Stage 26 I am meeting Rainer for dinner at the hotel. Dinner will start late, at 9:00 and I don't mind because after what I experienced with my "detour" I need to just regroup mentally as well as needing some rest. I get my gear taken care of and a shower. I have about two hours to myself . 

I set the alarm on my iPhone just in case I fall a sleep while trying to get the days blog written. Trying to put the day together mentally is not going to happen which leads to the decision to separate the "detour" from the rest of the day.

As I am going through the gear I decide that at least two pieces of clothing will be left behind in order to reduce weight for Stage 27. Not difficult given the fact that all of it is shot. 

Dinner is good but not great. I have the duck but its not cooked enough. I won't send it back, its just not important, I'm not very hungry. The wine is good, we are now in the Bierzo region. Rainer came here by bus and has not decided if he will walk Stage 27.

I don't tell him about the "detour", its too embarrassing and the details would leave little time for any other topics. We do discuss my up coming task which I will complete during my last seven days, Stages 28-34. I will tell you what that is after I complete Stage 28. I have been planning it since I was in training.

I meet Rainer for breakfast. I need to go over Stage 27 the destination, O'Cebreiro in detail. There are three routes to choose from to get over the mountain. They all will require the last five mile elevation challenge and I don't want a repeat of the "minor" error I made in Stage 26. I am a bit nervous about having three route choices but I confident that Rainer will know what's best. 

He has prepared a written note which gives me nine checks points. He has included the distance between each in kilometers. I can just keep it in my pocket. He shows me the route in my book. We finish breakfast. Rainer is taking his time and has decided to go ahead to Triacastela by bus because he can't find a hotel in O'Cebreiro. Triacastela is the Stage 28 destination on Thursday.

The first ten miles of Stage 27 are fairly flat and on a solid surface mostly paved road through small villages (the check points) which gives me plenty of opportunity to stop, rest and keep up the water supply. I will need it, it's getting very warm. Rainer told me at breakfast that the temperature today will be as high as 29 C which I know is very warm. I really do need to figure out the C math.

I do stop several times because I know what's ahead. I will soon find out that I really don't know just how very, very difficult it will be. When I do stop I am now really taking breaks including taking off my Limos and even undressing the passengers. It's all ok because everyone does it, it's the Camino.

At one of my last check points I have my pre-climb the Mountain meal. Keep in mind that these little places are just mostly snacks shops. Here it is: a Diet Coke, a banana , a small donut , a Snickers and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. How's that for a power lunch.

I have now walked for about eight miles and I think I can see it, the Mountain, hard to be sure but I am starting to get a sense of what is coming.

 

I have seen a growing number of pilgrims today on this route. Many are limping. I will see less and less of them as the climb starts. Two distinct memories will stay with me at the end of Stage 27.  The first is the number of times I was sure I had reached the top and would quickly realize that I had not. I can't tell you how many times I thought it was over but it's more than eight or nine times . I just stopped counting. Nothing more disappointing than thinking you are there and you are not only wrong but what is in front of you around a hidden corner is another piece of the hill that is steeper and its rock covered surface is worse. My poles are working very hard and my hands are feeling it.

The second memory I will keep from Stage 27 is the Bull. Yes the a bull. I not only have pictures, I have a video. As I am climbing yet another hill I did not think existed, I look up and coming directly at me from the top of the hill and completely taking up the entire trail is a heard of cows, all very large and all with horns . There is also a bull. He is big and his color is black, the cows are all brown and or tan. I have to find a place to get out of the way. I climb up the bank on the side of the trail and find just enough room to get out of the way or I hope it's enough room. 

The herd is being lead down the mountain by an old man with a very long stick and three dogs. His horses are just walking behind him and the herd. As they pass me they are not more than arms length from me. The bull just slowly passes and he an gives me a glance. The video is quite good. I will send pictures to Robin.

Speaking of pictures I do take some of the view from the top. It's the reward. In the end it takes me nearly eleven hours to complete Stage 27. I get to my room and as fast as I can I am in the shower. There will be no need for Veep today. I will throw away everything I was wearing. I have completely sweat through it all. Even Veep in a machine is no match. I will buy a tee shirt and find some replacements as soon as possible. 

I am not very hungry but I go to the cafe where I sit and and have a large salad and ice my leg while eating. It's quite common. Hard to believe but in just one hour after that brutal walk I'm recovered and feel good. Just a little ice and some Spanish leg cream and I will be ready for Stage 28, a walk to Triacastela just 13.2 miles but all down hill and with little shade. 

Another detour! Yes I have done it again. This error will cause me to walk an additional 3.2 miles on my most difficult day. I did not make a wrong turn. I get to the top of the final hill and I see a sign with an arrow to O'Cebbeiro. I just keep going and begin to get a bit concerned that I have done it again! 

I walk slowly done a hill through the trees and I see a small building. I will stop there and find out where I am. I am exhausted. I walk into the Casa Jaime and ask for a small beer. I am the only customer. I will soon find out why. I show the young woman behind the bar my iPad and ask how much farther to O'Cebbeiro. She looks at me with a strange look and then tells me that I just walked right through and past it! 

No choice, I turn around and begin the march back up the hill of about 3.1 km to my hotel. I have now added about 3.2 miles to this a very difficult day and yes I do recognize the hotel once I get there as a  place I just walked right past.

Just seven more days and I will complete my Camino. I have only 96 miles in front of me. That's it .... Have a nice day.

This will be a Stage 26 update .... My detour, its complex. It's embarrassing and it will be one of my most memorable days.

I purposely did not go into any details about my "detour" in stage 26 because it warrants its own full post. I think you will agree. 

I could not include the details because it would have taken me a great deal of time to tell you what happened. I was tired, really tired when I finally reached Villafranca. I was not just physically tired but more mentally spent. Almost as much as I was on the Credential day. I said it was no big deal but it was actually monumental! So here is what actually happened yesterday.

I am going along at a very good pace, my leg after the first mile was as good as it was before I injured it. Yes, I was back to nearly full strength. That's good but it will come back and cause a huge problem.

I am about nine miles into Stage 26, or so I think. As it turns out I am a couple of miles ahead of that. This will now create a detour that may be a record. I am at a fork in the trail and I have a problem. Most of the Camino markings are stationary and permanent . You will see the Camino shell or more often than not you will see a hand painted yellow arrow directing you. 

At times there will be yellow arrows on buildings,street signs, curbs, trees and lots of other permanent structures. But there are also these printed signs with the yellow arrow which have been produced on what looks like a twelve by twelve piece of styrofoam. They are not permanent. They are just set out leaning on a wall or any number of on other permanganate objects. Making sense?

Well at this fork in the road there are actually three different trails all going off in different directions and the styrofoam marker is just sitting on top of a bush obviously put there by the wind or the rain. It's pointing straight up. No direction. I stop, take off my backpack and get out my guide book to look at the map. There are zero reference points where I am standing. No other pilgrims can be seen in any direction. None. I need to make a decision. 

What I don't know is that I have long passed where I think I am and based on that the map says I need to go left. So I go left. What will happen may be a Camino record for a "detour" taken by a pilgrim. Are you starting to see why I left this out yesterday? In addition to the time it would take explain what happened, I am going to dinner and  I want to complete the basic Stage 26 blog. I can't do it after dinner because it will be to late and I need to leave early to face what will become my toughest day . That will be covered in my Stage 27 blog. I just completed astage 27 and it took me more than eleven hours! That's for later.

Back to my detour. I walk more than ten miles on my "detour" but of course I have no idea what has happened. I pass through a forest for more than two hours being attacked by all sorts of bugs. I pull up my neck scarf over he back of my head and my hat and I pull up the front up to my eyes. The net result is that I am now experiencing what it must be like looking out of a Gurkha . It's weird. What happens next will make this day my number two most memorable, second only to my Credential day. That can not be topped even by this. 

Are you starting to understand why I left tis out yesterday. Well the best is yet to come. 

I finally come out of the forest and see daylight for the first time in more that an hour. I know something is terribly wrong. I come to a small village. I have been walking down hill for a long time. The village is empty of people but there are a lot of cats. I reach a main road and stop to look at the map. There is a sigh that says I am in San Juan something or other and I cannot find it anywhere on my maps. Nothing. This is not good. Now which way to go? If left back there was wrong I will now go right. I don't have much choice. 

I walk about a half a mile. I have been walking for nearly eight hours. Up ahead there is a fairly large building with a large sign that says BAR. Lots of cars in the parking lot. I will go there and try to get directions. 

As I walk across the road I see two guys talking in the parking lot. I actually ask in Spanish, "question , please" and they both just look at me while I hand the younger big guy my iPad Mimi with the address of my hotel in Villafranca and the guy goes nuts! He's waving his hands all over the place speaking to the older guy in Spanish at eighty words a minute. I sense this is not good.  I don't understand a word he is saying while the older guy is speaking to me at an even faster rate. I wait for an opening and I simply ask "kilometers". The young guy says a number I think I understand but I can't believe it. The older guy is agreeing with him as he continues to wave his hands all over the place. Are you sitting down ?

He tells me that I am 40 kilometers from Villafranca ! That's farther away than when I first started eight hours ago. I am, to put it mildly, stunned ! Speechless, completely speechless . My next one word question is simply "taxi" and they both go back into crazy mode saying only, "no , no , no".

I make that universal hand signal for telephone and they both just say,"no". I get it, there is no taxi service here, in wherever it is I am standing. I reach in my pocket and take out every Euro I have, 75.

Remember when I first left Javier's hotel and tried the ATM? Technical Difficulty's ? That's all I have 75 Euros. They both continue their rapid fire conversation as they turn and head for the bar. I am in shock. It's 4:00 and I am twenty miles away from Villafranca. 

I need to think of a solution. This is not a good time to panic. Starting to see why this was not part of yesterday's blog?

I am tired, I need to sit and think. I follow them into the bar. I open the door and its a mad house of men screaming from one end of this very large room to the other. There are several card games in progress. I don't know what games they are playing but it appears that in order to play you must scream a lot at each other. No one notices that I have walked in. It takes a while but I finally get a beer and head back to the front porch which is completely empty and I sit at a little table where I know that I must figure something out. This is just incredible.

I am sitting there for about fifteen minutes while men come and go. It's like I am invisible and then out comes the old guy I first met in the parking lot. He starts speaking to me in Spanish and he can tell I don't understand him. He stops talking and points at me, then points at himself and makes a gesture like he is driving a car! I think he is saying that he will drive me to Villafranca! He then points at his watch which I think is him telling me when he can leave. He goes back inside.

Did I miss understand him? Is he going to give me a ride? I am not sure but I am hoping I am correct.

At 4:45 the older guy and the big young guy come out of the bar and wave at me to follow them to the older guy's car. Its looks exactly like the car that Peter Sellers drove in the movie the Pink Panther. I put my backpack and poles in the back, the old guy is driving, the young guy is in the back seat and I am in the front passenger seat. We start and the old guy points at my seatbelt. I understand.

So here I am in the Pink Panther car driving on a freeway at about 50 miles an hour with two complete strangers who I can't communicate with going I don't know where. I ask the young guy, in Spanish, his name. He tells me Jose. The old guy says the same, Jose. The young guy tells me that its Dous Jose's and that the older guy is his father. Jose and Jose junior . 

We arrive in Villafranca in about twenty minutes. The son was correct, about twenty miles. I am in Villafranca. They both get out and in there own way I can tell they are happy for me. I offer the 75 Euros and they say "no". I insist and the son takes it. 

They drive away and two hours later I am regretting that in all of the thank you's I can say to them, I wish I had taken their picture. Now you no why I did not want to try and add this to the Stage 26 blog.

In summary I should have turned right and walked about eight miles to Villafranca but I turned left and walked about them miles to the bar in San Juan something resulting in the nearly twenty mile "detour".

I have now been transferred twice by four complete strangers just trying to help me on my Camino. Two policemen in a patrol car with lights on the roof and two Jose"s in a Peter Seller's, Pink Panther car without lights on the roof !

This will be my second most memorable day on the Camino. I am exhausted. I will post my Stage 27 journey tomorrow. 

Before I go I do want to tell you that today was the toughest day I have had thus far and that I did not leave anything at my last hotel and I did not take any "detours" today ! 

Good night.

Stage 26 .... Nineteen miles plus detour for a total of twenty one .... My second secret weapon.... The Mall.

 Nineteen miles I turn into twenty one on my way to Villafranca del Bierzo.

First my arrival in Molinaseca, end of stage 25. It was a very tough day. As I said already, third most difficult thus far. 

I make it to Molinaseca, it took me nearly nine hours. I am beat and now searching for my hotel. The last thing I want to do is to walk past it and have to double back, there is just something about covering the same ground twice. 

As I enter ths small village I cross over a bridge and I spot a Farmacia. I will stop there, buy something and ask for directions to the Muriel. I walk in and the first thing I see is a sunglasses display. Perfect, I need another pair. I buy them and ask for directions. I am very close, just a couple of hundred yards to the left and I will soon be in the shower. I find it, it was very close.

I check in and take care of all of the paperwork with Javier. He shows me to my room, 102. It's on the third floor. Don't ask, I don't have a clue as to how 102 is on the third floor. All I know is that after I climb to the third floor I will done for the day.

Javier opens the door and its the smallest room to date. I don't care. I completely dump my backpack and get the Veep working and then the shower. It's now about 7:00 and I do want  something to eat but I have no interest in a pilgrims dinner that is not served until 8:30. I head back down stairs in search of something simple and quick. I need to get back to my mini suite to ice my left leg.

As I leave the hotel I immediately spot a small market. I will need some things for tomorrow so I should take care of that now while it's still open. As I enter the owner hands me a piece of ham he has just sliced. It's fantastic. I don't know what it's called and I don't care. I ask him to slice more. He understands and I continue to look around for snacks to take with me. It's the owner again and this time he has sliced a piece of cheese and hands it to me. Delicious. Pease slice more. I am now putting together something I can bring back to my room and eat while icing my leg. This is starting to come together. I buy a bag of chips, a sinkers and three bottles of water, con gas. 

I am back at the hotel in less than thirty minutes. Javier is at the desk. I ask for a glass of Crienza Riojia. While he is opening the wine I ask him if there might be a bigger room available? He understands and says yes! It's room 103 right next door to my mini suite. Off we go. I have my dinner and wine with me as we climb back to to see room 103. 

He opens the door to 103 and it looks like a suite at the Plaza compared to 102. I'll take it. How much? Ten Euro extra. Price only matters ....

I get my leg squared away and my dinner is ready and I am starting to recover. I will check my email and finish my blog for the day. I never took a sip of the wine. The wifi does not work in 103 and the last thing I'm going to do is to go back down three flights to ask why. 

I fall sleep, I think around 8:30 and wake up again at 2:30 in the morning. My leg is still wrapped in ice although the ice has melted a great deal. My leg does not seem much better. I remove the ice and go to the Spanish Bengay. I start to write my blog and a couple of emails which I will try to send from the cafe in the morning. Hopefully the wifi will work from there . For the first time since arriving in Spain on May 14th I set the alarm on my iPhone. I cannot afford to sleep late I have nineteen miles to face and will need an early start. I set it for 7:00 am with a goal of being on the Camino by 8:30.

The alarm wakes me at 7:00. Time to pack, have a carb fest and get on with my nineteen mile journey.

I am on schedule, packed most everything and I will head to breakfast. Before I leave my suite 103 on the third floor I do realize that I am missing a pair of socks. They must be in junior 102. No problem Javier will help fix the problem.

I get to the cafe and tell Javier that I have left something in room 102 and he gives me the key. I sit and wait for my breakfast. It gives me a chance to see if the wifi works in the cafe. It does and I start to receive emails.

I get several, all wishing me well and to just keep using the ice. All helpful. I also get one that is both funny and expected. It's from Mike. We play a lot of golf together and Mike always drives the cart. He drives for three reasons. One because he keeps score two because he has never lost a golf cart and three, Mike was a professional race car driver.

His email is perfectly timed. He sends a message about me having to buy my fifth pair of sun glasses . He knows me like a book.

What's funny is that as I recieve Mike's email I am on my way to get my missing socks in 102 which I left behind in haste to get to my new room, get the ice started and have a bite to eat. Back up the stairs and I have the key for 102. 

I enter 102 and begin the search. No socks but I did find my poles, foot cream, my water bottle and my micro fiber towel ! I guess it was good that the socks were missing. I return to 103 .

I am ready to leave and I pick up my jacket and there are the socks. Now I do have everything and I am on my way to today's nineteen mile test. Mike would understand.

The weather is good. It's a bit cool but the sky is clear and there isn't much wind. My leg is acting up and it feels weaker than it has in the last two days. I'm beginning to think that the ice has a positive effect for a period of time and then perhaps I should apply heat. I'm not sure but I am concerned with what I'm feeling and where I am going. I just need to deal with it. At this moment I remember a very special phone call I had with one of my best sales people many years ago.

As our business grew much larger I was becoming further removed from the point of sale. With more than one hundred sales people in the field it happens. I would see my top performers a few times each year and they would call from time to time. I enjoyed the phone contact because it kept me closer to what was going on at point of sale. If you had sales of more that $100 million each year you could call me anytime. If your sales were less than $100 million each year, call at your own risk, BC Jim might pick up the phone.

I got a call from one of my very best sales people and this is what took place. The caller is one of my top ten producers, an elite group of talented people. He was young as we're many of them and he was still learning and developing.

He began the call by immediately complaining about a service issue involving one large piece of business. He was very angry and offered solutions including a couple of terminations and other drastic steps. I just listened. He finally reached the point where he was repeating himself when I asked "are you done"? A quite response, "yes".

"Now it's my turn. I am going to give you something to do today. You will cancel all of your other work until you have completed this assignment, I will not a accept any excuse for failing to do what I tell you to do". 

"When I end this call you will go to the Mall,  buy yourself a cup of coffee and find a bench to sit on. You will stay there until you see a young mother or a couple walk past you with a child that clearly has a life long disability and then you will call me back and we will finish this conversation. Do you understand"?

I got a very subdued "yes" and I hang up.

Later that day he called me back. I took the call. All he said was "Jim I apologize, I am sorry, I will never call you again with a single complaint. I get it".

"Good, now get back to work and don't ever forget what you just told me". I had forgotten that story although I have told it to a number of young managers as part of my coaching. And because of that memory I will not be writing about my left leg and or any other "minor problem I think I may have".

When I start to think its tough and or that this or that is bothering me I will just tell myself to remember The Mall. My new, second secret weapon. It's one we can all use.

I finished the first four miles in very good time. My leg is not a problem. I take my first rest stop. A little water, a snickers and a couple of cherries which I bought last night at the market. The Camino snack package. At the start of today's walk there are flat paved roads and walkways giving my left leg a much needed break. I have come to the conclusion that for me the length of the walk is not the challenge, for me it's the surface of the trail.

Walking yesterday up and down very steep hills with lots of rocks was very difficult. Just trying to avoid one small injury is the entire focus. I would prefer a walk of tweny miles on a good surface than a walk of ten miles on a trail like yesterday's.

The views are quite impressive but I must stop to see them. I am just walking with my eyes completely glued to the trail. At one point that approach comes in handy. I miss stepping on about a two and a half foot snake. I step to the right, stop and take a picture of my new friend. I sent it to Robin. I have no idea what kind it is and I really don't care. As my good friend Bill at Desert Mountain says, "I don't like any creatures that don't have shoulders". Me to.

Speaking of creatures, I am passing through a very small village and I am greeted by three dogs all very aggressive and running directly at me. This is where the poles are a good investment. One of the three is getting much to close and acting like he will take a bite out of me. I keep moving but I get very aggressive with the poles and that's as close as they get. The real problem is that I was hoping to find a place with shade to take a break. The dogs have killed that idea as they chase me out of town,

The weather is fine it's just starting to warm up. By the time I reach Villafranca del Bierzo it will be in the mid 80's. 

I made it! It took more than eight and a half hours. I just need to find my hotel and get in the shower, ice my leg and rest before dinner. As I noted in my previous blog Stage 27, a long walk of more than 18 miles with significant elevation change and an even more difficult descent awaits me tomorrow . By the way when I start Stage 27 tomorrow I will have the same number of days remaining to walk as there are letters in Santiago, eight!

Did you notice that I did not go into any of the details about my "detour". What's the point. I missed a turn and had to go back. Probably added two miles, but who's complaining? Not me,  I'm thinking about The Mall right now. 

Good night.

Stage 25 17 miles to Molinaseca ... A closer look at the map would have given me a warning, this will be difficult.

I am awake early, it's Monday June 10th. At least I thinks it's the tenth. I received a message about my last post which makes me think it was not posted, so I just sent it. I hope it's not a duplicate.

On to Molinaseca . What I would have seen had I looked more closely at my guidebook this morning is that there will be significant elevation changes leaving Rabanal. The climb will be about seven hundred feet and the terrain will be rough trails almost always covered in rocks, lots of rocks. First a little update.

Equipment. I have now lost two pairs of sunglasses and I have had two additional pair lost to damage. The pair that Loli fixed for me did not make it. Even Spanish super glue could not save my seven Euro bargain glasses. The forth pair to end in the trash were purchased on Saturday at the gear shop. Loli's repaired glasses were starting to show sighs of failure so I bought this fourth pair just in case. I was correct so that when Loli's fell apart I was ready. I paid twenty two Euro for this beautiful pair. They lasted one day falling victim to the Camino when I dropped them on a rock while taking a break. Stage 25 will be without glasses for about twelve miles. A new pair at the end of stage twenty five will put the count to five pair for those keeping score.

Back to the start of this day. 

I am packing and before I will leave for the morning's toast choices I check my email. There are several. All good, friends just checking in and sending kind words about hanging in there and to keep using the ice. All helpful and motivating but there is also one from one of the old sales team which makes my day. 

It's from Larry and he says keep the ice going and good luck and then goes on to say that he really enjoyed the Price only matters... Blog. He said " I remember when you started our meeting with this opening line .... "Does everyone here know that KMart sells men's suits "? I laughed. I do remember that presentation. "Two pairs of slacks, a shirt, a tie and a reversible vest all for just $ 89.99".  Why would you buy a suit anywhere else?" You know where the presentation goes from here. That was fun. 

Fun. Business and fun. Charles always said that the business is not supposed to be fun, it should be rewarding and that can be on many levels but not fun. Speaking of Charles I think now is as good a time as any to explain, as I had promised, where BC Jim and AC Jim came from.

When I was first asked to rebuild the business, I knew that what was needed was a complete remodel. I mean everything. Most importantly I had to find the right people and that would mean that nearly the entire group of existing people would have to go.

What will also be needed is a very direct style of management. One way or the highway. I was good at that. My nickname soon became Simon as in the guy from American Idol. I took that as a compliment. I could be down right brutal. Ever fired someone in a meeting with 300 people there? I did. Not the best way to handle it but I can tell you it was effective.

Fast forward to three years later. Our business is booming, I have great people, our growth is getting lots of attention. But there is a problem. You cannot keep growing without change. What I needed was someone who could help us change our culture, including me. I needed to make that change so that all of the people in the business could improve and develop. People, you must have the right people.

There was a very talented guy working in the headquarters office who had the ear of the Chairman and was responsible for Global Executive Development. I saw him facilitate two management meetings and I knew I needed to hire him. 

There is a process you must follow when moving people from one unit to another, you know, rules.

I skipped all of that, I had dinner with Charles in Philadelphia and made him an offer he could not refuse. He said yes.

There were a lot of people upset with me. Take a number. I knew I was right and three years later I proved it. As a matter of fact Charles and I were asked to give a presentation to the Management Team on how we implemented our changes.

Charles began the work of changing the culture in our business unit and all of our people grew. In addition Charles got me to change. No more firings at meetings, no more razor sharp comments or letters to my peers and the list goes on.

Jim before Charles ( BC Jim) Jim after Charles ( AC Jim ). I do my best to stay in AC mode but I can tell you that BC Jim still makes an appearance once in awhile. I made a lot of great hires in more than thirty years, Charles was one of them.

Speaking of great people. Happy Birthday, Maggie, my Executive Assistant for ten years. And in spite of what Charles said we had some fun. Maggie would agree.

I start on my stage 25 in cooler temperatures. It's 9:00 am, plenty of time to go slow. My leg is better and if I am careful and take more breaks, it will reduce the stress. I estimate that I should reach my final destination by 4:00 leaving time for my gear and a nice break before dinner. 

I could not have been more wrong. I find out quickly that I will be tested today and it will last for the entire 17 miles. As soon as I start, the walk is straight up hill about six hundred and fifty feet. Not really hard but it comes early and I am sore. Throw in the rocks and I am no longer thinking about a nice break before dinner. I am stopping for water more often and I am consuming it quickly. I will need to resupply at the first location available, that's about three miles away. 

When I reach that point I get two bottles of water and some fruit. I need to sit and look at the map in the guide book. When I do, I realize that this day is not going to be like those last three days, long and flat.

I am looking at the map and I will soon be at the top and will then head down about three hundred feet and then back to the top. The real test won't start until about the seven mile mark and then it gets serious. From that point on for the last ten miles I will be crawling down the mountain for about twenty seven hundred feet ! 

I am moving as best I can when the terrain lets me. At the top the views are spectacular. I take some pictures because when I do I am also giving my left leg a break. My right leg is fine but now my shoulders are feeling it. And a new entry in the soreness group, my hands.

Holding on to the poles for more than three hundred and fifty miles while slamming them into the cement like ground and dealing with the rocks has finally shown up. 

There isn't a great deal more to say about today. It's just very hard. I finish my walk to Molinaseca in eight and a half hours. Today has been the third most difficult day. I have one more test ahead of me. It is the one that everyone has been talking about for the last two weeks because it is commonly said to be the second toughest day. That will be my stage 27 which I will face on Wednesday. There will be two six hundred feet changes. First up and then back down before facing the last physical test, a climb of twenty four hundred feet to the top. 

One small problem about Wednesdays walk, I have one before it on Tuesday. Tuesday's walk will be nineteen miles. I need some rest, I'm sore from head to toe. Good night.