Day 158 - A heart of stone

Thursday is my hiking day. I get up at the crack of dawn and meet my hiking buddies for a day in the mountains. Unless someone has a really important reason to prevent me from packing my backpack and putting on my boots, you'll find me out there once a week.

Recently there have been a few important events that prevented me from getting out there but thank goodness, yesterday everyone was healthy and happy and I spent a glorious day in the Silvermine Nature Reserve, situated close to the city of Cape Town.

It was one of those perfect days on the mountain. Lovely weather, a great route and a grand finale consisting of layers and layers of cloud rolling in from nowhere. One minute we were sitting in the sun, enjoying our lunch, the next minute we had to scramble for jackets. As I watched the clouds roll in I couldn't help but think of that disastrous summit attempt on Everest in 1996 when eight climbers perished after being caught in a unexpected storm.

Just a reminder that one has to have the utmost respect for nature. You don't make the rules out there and I also made a mental note to double check the contents of my backpack - those little things truly can be lifesavers. Yesterday I was certainly reminded that a whistle is an essential item to have in case one gets lost in the mist.

A while ago I read that a whistle also came in handy when a pilgrim on the Camino found himself in the precarious position of being chased by a bull out in the middle of nowhere. The noise of the whistle was effective enough to stop the creature from flattening the poor fellow - a useful item to pack indeed!

While we were exploring one of the caves on the route I came across the perfect heart shaped little stone in the picture above. I knew I'd found my Camino stone and this is what I'll take with me to Spain next year. I'll add it to the great pile of stones placed at the foot of a cross on the route by so many before me.

There are many theories as to why people have been doing this for centuries and this forum provides a few good possible answers. I'm afraid that if the theory that the stone has to be big enough to represent all your sins is to be believed, I'll probably have to send a shipping container over there, so I choose not to go with that one!

I'm also very happy to report that at least three of my hiking partners are seriously considering walking to Santiago with me next year. That alone will be one of the biggest birthday gifts anyone could possibly give me! I look forward to meeting all the new people who are destined to cross my path but having these truly special people on the road with me is going to add another dimension to my journey.

God has blessed me with some of the most wonderful, sincere people in my life the last couple of years. Not
a day goes by that I'm not thankful for that!

At the beginning of the year, in the spirit of new year's enthusiasm and positive resolutions, I created a blog where I planned to post all my weekly hiking pictures. Well, I've finally posted some pictures and if you'd like to experience a little of yesterday's magic with me, you're very welcome to click here - I'd be very happy to hear your comments!

Do you have any beautiful hikes in your part of the world?

Day 154 - The small things...

Taken on one of my hikes and chosen for this post as the two open flowers somehow represent the old, as they've been open for a while and the new blossom is representative of the new - full of promise, waiting to bask in the sun! The old is still beautiful and worthy of being photographed but the new is associated with so much expectation, promise and beauty! As the old is so much more visible and dominant, one almost overlooks the new that is right there, under your nose!

In the last two days I received two very different messages from different sources but somehow they are so connected and represent such a clear message, that I felt compelled to stitch them together with words and share it with whoever happens to come across this little part of my world.

The first message was this. Scientists have concluded that 'now' consists of exactly five seconds. So every five seconds of our lives we are handed a brand new 'now'. So think about this - in our lifetimes we are handed a gazillion 'now's' and yet, if you are like me, how often do we remain stuck in our past lives?

To just bring this concept home in a very real way, a friend told me about the clock that she has on her wall at home - rather than it being numbered from one to twelve, the word 'now' has been printed on it twelve times instead.

How perfect. And how spot on!

Somehow this got me thinking and I'm going to work very hard at making that my goal in life. Live in the now - all the stuff that we carry along gets so heavy at times, the energy that is needed to deal with old stuff is so much better spent on the 'now' things!

Planning a camino all these months ahead of time certainly is embracing that concept, so I've realised that I am well and truly on my way to living a 'now' life. Planning positive things for one's own future is certainly one way of ensuring that your future 'now's' are indeed worth looking forward to!

This morning another friend forward me the following piece and it made me realize how important the living-in-the-now concept really is. These two messages are indeed connected and has certainly ensured that I for one have taken more than a few minutes to reflect.

The
Cab Ride

I arrived at the address and honked the horn.
after waiting a few minutes
I walked to the
door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a
frail, elderly voice. I could hear something
being dragged across the floor.

After
a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in
her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a
print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned
on it, like somebody out of a 1940's
movie.

By her side was a small nylon
suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had
lived in it for years. All the furniture was
covered with sheets.

There were no
clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils
on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and
glassware.

'Would you carry my bag
out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase
to the cab, then returned to assist the
woman.

She took my arm and we walked
slowly toward the curb.

She kept
thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I
told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers
the way I would want my mother to be
treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good
boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave
me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
through downtown?'

'It's not the
shortest way,' I answered
quickly..

'Oh, I don't mind,' she
said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a
hospice.

I looked in the rear-view
mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have
any family left,' she continued in a soft
voice.. 'The doctor says I don't have very
long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the
meter.

'What route would you like me
to take?' I asked.

For the next two
hours, we drove through the city. She showed me
the building where she had once worked as an
elevator operator.

We drove through the
neighborhood where she and her husband had lived
when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in
front of a furniture warehouse that had once
been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a
girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow
in front of a particular building or corner and
would sit staring into the darkness, saying
nothing.

As the first hint of sun was
creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm
tired. Let's go now'.

We drove in
silence to the address she had given me. It was
a low building, like a small convalescent home,
with a driveway that passed under a
portico.

Two orderlies came out to
the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were
Solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.

I
opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to
the door. The woman was already seated in a
wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?'
She asked, reaching into her
purse.

'Nothing,' I
said

'You have to make a living,' she
answered.

'There are other
passengers,' I responded.

Almost
without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She
held onto me tightly.

'You gave an
old woman a little moment of joy,' she
said.
'Thank you.'

I squeezed her
hand, and then walked into the dim morning
light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound
of the closing of a life..

I didn't
pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove
aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that
day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had
gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient
to end his shift?
What
if I had refused to take the run, or had honked
once, then driven away?

On a quick
review, I don't think that I have done anything
more important in my life.

We're
conditioned to think that our lives revolve
around great moments.

But great
moments often catch us unaware-beautifully
wrapped in what others may consider a small
one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY
WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID ~BUT~THEY WILL
ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM
FEEL.

You won't get any big surprise
in 10 days if you send this to ten people. But,
you might help make the world a little kinder
and more compassionate by sending.
it on and
reminding us that often it is the random acts of
kindness that most benefit all of
us.

Thank you, my
friend...

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

Well, I thought that was food for thought! I hope to be grabbing all those precious 'now's' that I'm being blessed with and live them to the fullest! Anything else would be such a waste!

Day 146 - Back to reality...

Back to reality it is this week. Funny thing about travelling - by the end of the second week away one starts feeling a little homesick and then, once you're home, you wish you were back right where you came from! This was a pretty busy trip, as the main object was to find a little property that we could call home for part of the year, either in Portugal or Madeira.

As there are SO many properties on the market in Portugal, the task was daunting, to say the least. In Lagos, situated in the south of the country in the sunny Algarve, there are 2000 new apartments on the market alone! So for us in the end it boiled down to establishing where it was that we wanted to be and after visiting the centre of Portugal and comparing the life we would have there with what the Algarve has to offer, we have settled on the latter.

We've now made an offer on a little apartment, so here's hoping that if it's meant to be, so be it. If not, well, then we'll continue looking.

Sometimes the biggest obstacle to overcome in life (in my humble opinion anyway) is to actually make a decision about whatever needs to be decided upon!  In our case the decision to have a little place in Portugal has been hovering in the background for years now. We've looked and discussed, looked and discussed  and now we're finally at the place where it is a done deal. No more wondering about what if, should we, shouldn't we - just get on with it now! So there you have it.

Decision made.

Our main base will remain here for many years but once we have a place to call our own on that side, we'll spend a month or two there every year and eventually the plan is to follow the sun for half of every year.

Feels good to say goodbye to procrastination!

This morning in church the minister said something that really struck home. He said: 'All of us are going to die. It's a given. What many of us forget to do, is to live.'

Having made this decision makes me feel that we've decided to live! Nothing is impossible if you really want to make it happen bad enough. So here's hoping that all falls in place as it should, however long it takes!

The other highlight in my week happened yesterday. And as this blog has a lot to do with the Camino, I'm happy to say that this bit of news is as camino related as it gets! The Confraternity of St James of South Africa held a Camino presentation at a church just around the corner from me.

What an amazing morning!

Other than all the amazing information I received, I was in awe of how many people who have already walked several times themselves, attended what essentially was an informative session for people who have never walked! It just brought home to me that the affect that the Camino has on people is undeniable.

More about the presentation in my next post. In the meantime, here are some of the photos I took on our trip. Enjoy!

And finally...

Driving in Madeira is not for the fainthearted! We were in a little Renault Clio here and we decided that we know when we're defeated - a hasty retreat into the nearest little hole we could find, a friendly wave from the busdriver and all was well again!

Loving Madeira!

Just a quick hallo from the magical island of Madeira! We flew in to Funchal from Lisbon this morning and we've had a wonderful day. Winter in Madeira is quite pleasant and needless to say, the food is to die for!

We've just gone for a long walk and I'm ready to call it a day! How wonderful to be surrounded by the sounds and smells of a place that I love so much...

We plan to explore Funchal tomorrow, do some shopping, take a million pictures and perhaps have lunch at one of our favourite spots. I already have visions of my favourite dish in this city - pork, marinated in red wine and garlic, served with homemade Portuguese bread. Add a jug of Sangria, some good company and you can't possibly ask for more!

Boa noite my friends!

Fado, magical Port and tartlets to die for...

If Portugal came to mind after reading that little teaser, you're spot-on! We're off to Portugal for two weeks and my boarding call is being announced as I type! Watch this space - will take loads of photographs and report back in the near future...

Ate logo!

Day 115 - An unexpected gift...

Gifts come in all shapes and forms. Sometimes it's right under your nose and sometimes we completely miss the most special ones. This morning I received what I consider to be one of the most special gifts that I could possibly have asked for.

I've really been struggling to get going with my training for the Two Oceans half marathon. This is an annual event that takes place in Cape Town near the end of April. So not much time left! My regular running partner has become so good that I can't possibly keep up with her anymore. After I climbed Kilimanjaro last year in July I have just never managed to get back on the road again, so I really am starting from scratch. I've had a few false starts this year, every panic attack brought on by thoughts of the route caused me to run to the cupboard, put on my running shoes and head for the hills! I've really just been kidding myself though, as allowing two weeks between a run/walk of 5km hardly qualifies as a 'training schedule'!

So yesterday I kicked myself under the proverbial behind and managed to survive a 8km run/walk. Thursday is my hiking day, so today I was supposed to be walking on Table Mountain with my little group of trusted hiking friends. That was not meant to be however, as the plumbing monsters (and I do believe they are universal inhabitants of all our homes) decided that a burst pipe in my bathroom will be much more fun to deal with. A newly decorated bathroom is being drilled to pieces as we speak... A 'gift', you ask? Well I suppose it was a gift of sorts, but this particular one I'm returning to sender...

The real gift came in a different form. As I knew the plumber was only coming at 10am, I decided to tap :)  into that new sporty energy that has appeared from who knows where and headed out for another run. I'd been going for about 15 minutes when I heard someone run behind me. I expected to have someone pass me by in a flash and then watch them disappear in the distance. Instead I was greeted with a big friendly smile and just like that, I had met my new running partner!

I'm going left, she said. I'm going right, I said. After thinking a few seconds about going left, which meant an extra couple of kilometers for me, I decided, what the heck. Left it was and that was the best detour I think I've taken in a while!

Vicky and I hit it of immediately and the road just slipped by under my feet as we chatted away. By the end of our run we had decided to meet on a regular basis and help motivate each other, she is training for the Two Oceans as well. So, this chance meeting would not have happened if the pipe in my bathroom didn't burst yesterday.

I was so angry last night at the thought that I was missing my hike today. Who would have thought that instead I was to receive this special gift instead. And who knows, once we get fit enough - we'll manage to keep up with my original running buddy, a double whammy that will be!

Seems like being out on the road really is the place to meet wonderful people. I can't wait to tackle those 780 kilometers in 2012!

As for Jeremiah - in this next extract of his journal he describes a gift of sorts that he received on the Camino from yet another stranger.

Picture: Jeremia Ray

“Did you do much sport? Perhaps, ice skating when you were younger?” I suppose the question made perfect sense. Jean, from Belgium, was performing reiki on my knee. It was late in the evening. A family of Koreans had already retired to the dormitory. Jean was taking a vacation from life. His intention was to take two years and explore. He would do El Camino Frances, head south into Portugal and farther into Northern Africa. We had walked together for two days, but I knew the pain in my knee would prevent us from staying together. He had started in France, carrying over 20kg of gear in neatly arranged pack and could walk 40km in a day without thinking twice. I admired him.

There was a basic level of communication between us. I hadn't spoken French since living in Namur, Belgium in 2002 and his English was of equal ability. He would indicate his ability to speak by mimicking a paddling movement with his arms as though to say “I can get by.” After the reiki session he spoke to me about what he felt. He told me that he can sense an inability within me to trust myself and, when this inability arising, rather than thinking positively (glass is half full) I tend to get down on myself thus placing more pressure on what isn't oppose to seeing what is. He spoke slowly, basic, child French so that I would understand. I did, perfectly. There, in that warm dining area in Estella he had seen a pain that ran deeper than just me knee. He had looked within me and seen the root of it, the cause. I gave him a warm hug that said both “thank you” and “goodbye.”

In my bunk that evening I could hear the others sleeping. The slow, measured breath that comes from a good meal and generous amounts of wine could be heard. I was awake. My mind was racing mad with questions and wonder. “My ability to heal resides within me. I have the power to both mend and heal, to rebuild and save.” My knee, the one upon which Jean had performed reiki, was warm. I could feel a pulsating rhythm within it that seemed to be in sync with my every breath. The warm sensation rose up my leg and created a pulse within the pit of my stomach. Reaching further it crept slowly into my chest and outward to the tips of my fingers. I fell asleep that night at some unknown hour. My mind, still racing, produced fanciful and telling dreams that both amazed and alarmed my being. “My ability to heal resides within.”

Day 113 - El Camino - December 2010

For the past couple of weeks I've felt a little like the guy on the left. Talk about bloggers's block! I now get what writers fear so much, I can't imagine having deadlines and having to produce quality pieces for publication when the words just won't come together.

Life has just been pretty hectic with my days filling up with all kinds of unplanned events - I'm not sure how I found the time to actually work a few years ago, who took care of all these things that seem to fill my days now? I suppose it's all about priorities.

So right now my priorities are keeping me quite busy but my Camino is still an ever present - what shall I call it - event/destiny/reality? This blog has become a real part of that journey and I continue to be amazed by the emails I am receiving from the most wonderful people who already have, or are planning to walk the Camino.

Jeremiah Ray is one of those really special people, who like me, has fallen under the Camino spell. This young man from the USA has been fortunate enough to walk El Camino twice, most recently in December 2010. A few of us who belong to a wonderful camino forum were pretty much with him in spirit as he walked in Spain during one of the coldest winters Europe has seen in a while.

As I looked at fairytale photographs of a Spain covered in snow, I hoped that he would encounter fellow pilgrims and that the albergues would be heated! As it turned out he sometimes found himself to be the only person staying at a particular hostel at times!

One of the great things, for me, is how people start these journeys on their own and by the time they reach Santiago, they have met the most wonderful people, many of whom, it seems, become friends for life. Some often meet up years later on the Camino again - fantastic!

I asked Jeremiah, as my own walk is still so far away, if he would put pen to paper and allow me to share some of his experiences with the readers of my blog. He very kindly agreed to do so and I feel really privileged to be able to invite you along to discover the Camino, as experienced by a true pilgrim.

'I arrived in Pamplona from Madrid. The train ride was a blur as the transatlantic flight was sleepless one. On the bus from the station to the center I scanned every street for fellow pilgrims. I am not sure why I did this. I needed some sort of reassurance that others, like me, were on the move, heading westward despite the cold. Upon entering the bus I had asked the driver where I should disembark that would place me closest to the citadel. I figured from there I could find a hostel room or cheap pension where I could rest and prepare myself for an early start. He told me to “follow that old lady, she's also heading there.” I was surprised by his answer. My jet-lagged mind was expecting direction, advice... a name. Looking at the elderly lady I felt re-assured by her smile, it was warm. I followed her off the bus and watched in amazement as she scurried quickly out of sight. The day was freezing cold and, looking around, I noticed the streets were empty and the brave souls out-and-about were also scurrying in such a manner, fleeing to warm apartments, cafes or offices. I set my pack down and starting hauling out my thermals. “You're mad!” I told myself. “Why here, why now... why Northern Spain in the middle of the winter?” It was the first sign of doubt. I was tired, hungry, thirsty and beginning to doubt my decision to come to Spain in mid-December “just to walk.”

The sky was clear blue and I decided to walk a bit before finding food and shelter. I made my way to the center and allowed myself to get lost down the small, narrow streets. I remembered arriving in this city in 2006. I laughed as my timing always seemed a bit off. In 2006 I arrived in the midst of San Fermin. The city was a madhouse and the only pause in the insanity came when the thunder-clap of pounding hooves silenced the drunken masses. Turning down a small, cobblestone street I noticed an elderly man watching me. I greeted him in Spanish and asked about the weather. He was silent. I smiled, partly, and carried on. He was standing partially in a doorway and partially in the street. As I passed he held out his hand beckoning me to shake it. I removed my glove and gripped his cold, work-worn hand in mine and gave it a firm shake. “Buen Camino, peregrino.” He smiled warmly, his eyes shone brightly with the same intensity as the piercing blue sky above. I could feel his eyes upon me until I turned the corner and continued to loose myself in Pamplona. The hunger, jet-lag and thirst all melted away. This is where I was suppose to be, here, in Northern Spain in the middle of the winter.'

I've decided to publish a short piece every time I post - I loved his writing style and couldn't wait to read the next piece! I've told him he should write a book - I'm quite sure he could inspire a number of people to pack their own bags and head off to Spain!

Will you believe it, I think I've just overcome my 'blogger's block'!  ;)