Manufacturing Content

Absence

Hello blog.  I’ve been busy, uh, traveling.  Too busy to keep up with my travel blogging.  It would be much easier if I weren’t traveling, but unfortunately I am.  It would also be easier if the smallest, most remote places we’ve seen so far, the villages along our four day trek through the Usambara mountains in Tanzania, had internet access.  But, since most don’t even have power, I guess we can forgive, eh?
 
It would also be easier if we weren’t busy lazing on Kendwa Beach in Zanzibar for a week, which I guess is less forgivable.  But, I mean, when beer is about $2.50, and the sand is flower soft and white, I almost forget what a computer is.
 
If we hadn’t spent all of that time camping in Kenya, looking at wildlife and watching out for the most dangerous animal in Africa, I might have blogged.  But alas, the hippo is an elusive foe, and one prone to striking when you are using a mouse.

 

If the South of France wasn’t so damned comfortable, with the house, and the kitchen, and the lovely beech, and the friends from home who braved the French hospitality and joined us.  If only, but again I am beaten.

 

I hope, with the gift of these photo albums, you can forgive me, blog.  I treat you better.

 

D-man.

The Camino in Pictures

There were many, many days of walking on the Camino de Santiago, and each one of them was unique.  Each deserves a whole blog post, and a whole photo album, but to avoid overexposing you to this fantastic experience, here are just a few.  Of course, the best way to experience the Camino is to walk it yourself, and I encourage anyone with the faintest interest in undertaking such a journey to get to Spain an do it.

We ran into all sorts of conditions on the Camino.  Some days were rainy, some clear, and some were very foggy, to the point where it became tough to see the bright yellow arrows marking the path.

 
Some days, the weather just couldn't make up it's mind.

 
In most cases, a good cafe con leche was all that was needed to conquer the weather, and continue the walk.

Some days were full, and we had to do laundry and other chores after walking all morning.

And on others, we could just lift our feet off the ground, lean back, and relax.

Some days, the sunrises were just so breathtaking, that it was hard to continue.  Sunrises, by the way, are always behind you on the Camino, because you are always walking west, and the temptation to stop and stare, and watch for that perfect moment when the sun breaks the horizon is very strong.

 

And some days, you finally arrive and get the chance to lay down, relax, and wonder what it all meant. 

There are more photos on the photo album in the sidebar, and Kimu's side of the story can be found on her blog.  We now return to our regularly scheduled travel blogging.

D.

Rewards

When I checked my email a few days after finishing the Camino, I had received the following poem from my Mom.  It was a very sweet gesture, and one that deserves to be shared - hopefully she won't mind!

D & K Pilgrims

 

Once there were too happy souls

Very young and very bold

 

Out to walk the Pilgrim's Way

Determined no matter what to stay

 

Through sun, rain and pain

This challenge was theirs to gain

 

St. James was kind, pious and modest

Setting an example for this great progress

 

Blessed are you D & K

For having reached the Camino today!

D.

Walking and Thinking (conclusion)

Well, we've been finished walking for almost two weeks now, and it's time to wrap this sucker up.  The Camino was a fantastic experience, that much is obvious.  I mean, how much more can you really say about getting up at six a.m. every morning and walking about thirty kilometers.

This tends to change the way you think about a lot of things; the baggage you carry, the difficulty of everyday life, the importance of all the superfluous things that ordinary life brings.  I won't preach or elaborate on these things, but they are very important lessons to have learned, and I'm sure that they will come through in the things we do during the next six months.

From here, we go to Africa, India, Nepal and South East Asia.  There, we will see some of the most challenging and beautiful thigs, and they will be a test to the tests we've overcome on the Camino.  Will we feel diferently about being a tourist in the poorest of the poor countries, where food crises threaten to take away even the most basic elements of life?  Will we stop and help, or get back on the tour bus and go on.  Heavy questions indeed, but the world is a heavy place, and the heavier your backpack is, the harder it is to get through it.

D.