Some Final Thoughts

Some of you have heard me say that there are three things that bind us to the ancient church as far back as the apostles. The first is a vigorous proclamation of the name of Jesus, the second is the confession of the ancient creeds and the third is to remember the poor. All three of these are as old as the church itself and, in many ways, when you forget one or more of them you stop being a church. These are the things that make us different from other groups that do nice things, and sometimes they are the things that make us different from some who claim to be Christian.

When we remember these children in Ecuador, when we collect shoes and clothes and send money for scholarships and buy nativities and speak of them in our prayers, they keep us Christian. They make our hearts bigger, they remind us of the strength of our faith by seeing the strength of their faith, they remind us that the possibility of ministry in the name of Jesus is as large and grand and wide as our imagination. I know that we do things closer to home that help us in all of this and those things are equally important. But I believe that this is not a case of either/or, but both/and.

There is no doubt that it is important to remember the neighbor that you see, the one who lives in our community. But now we also remember the neighbor who lives a bit south of the middle of the earth. And you know what? They remember us too! They pray for us and send us the best they have to offer, and in this we are bound together over all of these miles in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, just as we say every week.

May God bless us so that we may be a blessing to his world and in doing his work, be blessed again.

Peace from Ecuador for the last time, this time!

Time to Leave

It's time to leave. There is the ongoing sense that if we had more time and more money, there are more things that could be done. Then we see the kids here and we know that there is a mountain of things that have been done. When we see kids with no family to speak of, who come from horrid situations go to college, we know that what's happening is worth the effort and is paying off. When a small child sees violence at home but knows that there is someplace to come after school for a few hours, for a safe place to hang out or do homework and have a meal (probably her only meal for the day) we know that what happens here is more than money, but the love and dedication and prayers of many many many people.

We saw a fair of street missions today. Many people in Ecuador are helping lost and abandoned and forgotten kids. The ones at the Refugio are ours and the things we do in Jesus' name here matter more than we can probably imagine or will ever know until we see the Kingdom in its fullness.

The hearts of the people here are very large. A sign of this are the unending gifts they have given to us to bring home to share with all of you; their best crafts, cards, pictures, paintings, some of their most treasured possessions. Among the people we work with, we saw no pleading for more or excuses for why things may not be working, but a hard determination to help these kids make something of their lives, to give them a chance, to remind them that they are loved, to teach them of Jesus and to make us, their American sponsors proud of them.

Gourmet Dining in Quito

Our dinner this evening was prepared by our college students. Raphael, my guy, is attending culinary school, so oversaw the cooking of a fabulous 6 course meal. As you can imagine, we couldn't be prouder of them. All of them come from the Refugio and are the first group to break out of the cycles that held kids in poverty before. It's true, not every kid is going to make it out of poverty for a number of reasons. But these kids had a dream, worked hard, tolerated the ill-will and taunting of their classmates and are seeking to make a new life for themselves. They don't have families or homes to fall back on and all of them are making it financially because someone from St. Mark is helping them pay for school and they are not allowed to make bone-headed mistakes and stay in the program.

If most of the kids we see at the Refugio are living under the pressures of crushing poverty, it is your help that gives them a respite, a place to go and find a meal (probably their only meal of the day) and an adult who doesn't beat them, who loves them and who encourages those who dare to dream of a better life. This happens because some people who live far away in a strange place called Virginia care enough to help make it happen. And some believed enough and are desperately trying to break out of a cycle that sucks so many back in. And because they were with people who loved them (even when parents wouldn't our couldn't) and demanded that they do their best (because charity without expectations only leads to dependancy and not responsibility and freedom). And because some people in that far away place loves them enough to help them, their dreams are becoming reality.

Tonight, one of the girls who spent the whole night chattering away, wanting to know what it was like to be a priest who wasn't Catholic and what the differences were and was a little frustrated with my lack of Spanish skills (she is working to be a lawyer, wouldn't you know) finally got to the nub of the issue; why was I there with her? Because Jesus wanted me to be there with her. She finally stopped talking for a while and sat there with a smile on her face. That's what it is really about, isn't it? We're here because Jesus has called us here.

la Mitad del Mundo - The Middle of the World

Today was the day we traveled to the middle of the world. About 1 hour 15 minutes north of Quito (yes, we've been in the southern hemisphere) lies the equator. When I was a kid, I never imagined being on the equator, but here we are! The day began with a stop at a monastary that makes ice cream. Remind me if I ever say I want to be a monk, to join a monastary that makes ice cream. Then it was off to an inactive volcano (at least that's there story and their sticking with it!) near the equator which you can see in one of the pictures. It is thought the mountain had been twice as high as it is, but blew it's top 400-500 years ago. The mountains here are really high, but it is the Andes, after all. And yes, there are llamas!

After the volcano it was off to the equator, the middle of the earth. Yes, I spent a fair piece of time hopping from north to south. In the picture, Rob and Suzette are in the north, Anne was in the southern hemisphere and I had a foot on both sides - I felt very balanced. There is a museum nearby so we stopped and watched all of the funk equator effects. Gravity is slightly less on the equator - you weigh 2.2 lbs. less on the equator and you're not quite as strong. Things should balance better. One is invited to balance an egg on a nail - you can see Rob giving it a try (unsuccessfully, I might add). I did it 4 times and got a diploma to prove it! We also watched the Coriolis effect. A few feet one way or another and the water spins left or right as it goes down a drain. On the equator, it falls straight down the drain. Pretty funky.

My New Best Friend

After leaving the Refugio, we stopped off to see one of the local priests. This is a relationship we have been trying to nurture for some time, since many of the kids have wanted to go to religious instruction (we pay for their books - they cost $3 each) and we want him to support them in this. For a while, he seemed to think we protestants were trying to poach people from his turf. We're pretty certain he doesn't think this any longer, plus we want him to provide real spiritual support to our kids from the Refugio. It's a delicate dance that costs me a little money, but I think somehow Martin Luther would find the humor in a Lutheran pastor providing support for a Catholic ministry. We think it's great that these kids have learned by watching what we at St. Mark do for them and how important a component Jesus is to what we do for them.

As we started down the hill this evening, we stopped off at the home of three kids. Two are in college (people from St. Mark support them in this) and their younger brother, a late teenager, still goes up to the Refugio. All three share a mother who is a prostitue, but they figure all three have different fathers. These young ones are struggling mightily to make a better life for themselves. The ones who love them are the ladies from the Refugio and Suzette and Anne. They wanted prayers and we all could barely make it to the end. Each one grabbed on to me and pointed up and said in halting English, "Please, for me, each day."

Back to the Refugio

After our trip to Allyus, it was back to the Refugio. It was time to give out pants and shirts and socks and shoes. Suzette looked like a peddler, just opening her sack. Anne was beat sorting out pants and shirts and shoes for the kids to pick out one of each (yes, they got two shoes!). We decided she shouldn't work at the annual white sale. Five kids at a time came into a room and picked out their favorites. The girls all wanted white and pink sparkly tennis shoes and the decorated jeans. Everyone, from the youngest to the oldest was excited to get their new clothes. Many put them on immediately and wanted our approval of their choices. There was also a dentist up the hill today, so teeth were getting cleaned and poked. We also got out the American football I brought with me. We had blast playing. Clearly some have seen a bit of Monday Night Football, since they wanted me to snap center the ball to them while they went "hut, hut!" So far, I don't think Ben Rothlesberger has to worry about his job for a while! I only wish you could have experienced the joy the things you sent to these kids brought them this afternoon.

Allyus

The next place we were off to was Allyus. This is a mission aimed at helping indigenous (indian) people/children from the mountains. Poised on the side of a cliff, these families have put together a fabulous ministry. While falling under the same foundation as the other missions we support down here, Allyus is different in that while the people are VERY poor, the parents and present and involved in the lives of their children (ages infant to 5 yrs old). There is something like a PTA where the parents do all of the labor on the building. The value of parental involvement is truly a cross-cultural thing. These folks received $500 from St. Mark Preschool and have used it to transform their building.

The thought is that many of the children will return to the hills at some point, so much of the work here is to teach them how to survive. They learn of traditional cooking and housing methods. They learn to wash on something like an advanced wash board (I watched a 3 1/2 and a 4 year old pound every speck of dirt out of some clothes - trust me, it was clean) and their waiting for the guinea pigs to arrive (don't ask). They had special cakes and drinks they made for us and presented each of us with a hand-made wool poncho (Anne's fit perfectly, you can use your imagination about Rob and I) after a dance they did for us. We spent some time talking about rudimentary accounting and how to go about getting an estimate. They soaked up the information like a sponge. Extremely proud and extremely eager people. It was amazing to see what a little offering could accomplish!

Starting out for the Second Day

Today began with much brighter weather. The sun was out, the sky was blue and my head finally didn't hurt any (remember - altitude). We started the day by taking a trip to visit Jefferson, a young man from the Refugio who is struggling mightily with health ailments. On the way to see Jefferson, we passed some interesting sights (ask me about the burros when I get home). The air here is really pretty bad. Quito sits in a bowl surrounded by the Andes mountains (some snow-topped and one active volcano) so all those bus fumes just hang around. Too, the roads are quite an adventure.

The Importance of What we do in This Place

As we visited the centers today, I was frankly lulled into a sense that while these people are significantly poorer than we are, things weren't so bad for many of these kids. They seemed so happy. Then we had the opportunity to visit the homes of some of the kids from the Refugio. Squaller would be several steps up the ladder for these kids. You can see some of the pictures of the some of the places we saw. Whole living spaces (most of us wouldn't call them that) smaller than one of my children's bedrooms, occupied by 4 or 5 or 6 kids and 1 or 2 or 3 adults. The last time I saw anything close to this was not in Detroit or New York or Washington, but was in Cairo, Egypt. These were places where children as young as 10 were left alone at night to deal with infant siblings. One boy, 12 was heading out to try to wash cars for some money. He will ride the last bus home tonight, after I've gone to sleep, and will get up tomorrow to go to school. What you help provide in this place is a gift of God for children who truly have nothing but the clothes you sent to them. If you have every wondered if your life had made a difference no matter how small, I can speak to the fact that it has.

Visiting the Kids

Our first visits were to Tierra de Hombres, which is essentially a pre-school for 2-6 year olds. These are some really little kids (I felt like a vertiable giant most of the day, even among adults) who really like being tossed in the air. That's what Rob and I did for a lot of the time we were there. While the facilities are clean and well-loved, it is hard to describe how different they are from those of our pre-school. The building sits on a fault line and is literally falling into the ground. No one is certain how long it will stand.

We had a chance to enjoy a snack with these little tikes. Rob and I barely fit onto the chairs. After some crying about our departure it was off to the Refugio, because by this time most of the kids were done with school for the day. I'm hard pressed to describe how it feels to be among these children. I doubt the king or queen of England would receive a more enthusiastic welcome. from nearly the time you enter until the time you leave two or three or four or five kids are hanging off of you. They want to be hugged and hold onto your hand (Rob thinks one little pip was trying slip his wedding band off!), even the boys. Most of the boys are used to men who beat them - it's a unique thing for them to be among grown men who are not drunk, high and trying to beat them. Most sad.

Everyone is pretty clean. The washing machine is an improved version of the rock your great-great-grandmother used, but they have hot water out of a tap now. There are showers and kids make a good practice of washing hands and then brushing teeth after meals (for nearly all, it is the only meal they will eat today). There are opportunities to work on homework (everyone is going to school - thanks to your support) or crafts (this is when the nativities get painted or the bracelets get woven) after dinner. It really is a lively place.

There was a special party in our honor today. The panaeria baked special cakes (eh, it was the thought, really, that counted most) and sang and danced. The kids were excited to get the cake and Anne handed out certificates to kids who had been working in the bakery.

In all it was an amazing thing to see up close and in person. Looking back on this, I'm not certain I really knew what to expect. I'm certain I wasn't ready for the enthusiasm of the welcome (I'm the only first-timer in the group, Suzette, Rob and Anne have all been down before) and I was most impressed with how tidy and clean and orderly everything was. Obviously, the ladies who work tirelessly day in and day out with these kids give it their hearts and souls and in any way of looking at this situation, do a remarkable job. The joy of the kids in the place is palpable and real. It is a refuge in the truest sense of the word.

The Start of the First Day

Things really started for us today. We got all of the goods we needed to take to distribute today ready and packed up. Suzette spent the evening counting sorting and dividing. The list included 177 pairs of shoes, 140 pants, 83 shirts, 140 toothbrushes and toothpaste, 153 balls of all sorts, 20 hand puppets and a few other assorted gifts. All we were missing was a partridge in a pear tree. It's really a phenomenal collection of stuff everyone sent to help these children. To say thanks for all of your help barely begins to scratch the surface of the impact everyone has had on a group of people so few of us have actually met. If you had the opportunity to meet them, you would wish you had done more, but more about that later.

When we left for the day, a few things struck me as first impressions. First, we're really high up. About 9,400 feet at the hotel, above 10,000 feet at the children's refuge. That's nearly 2 miles. Even with altitude sickness medicine, you're head feels a little funky and your sinuses hurt. The second thing I noted was that Quito is the poor capital of a poor country. Even the nice parts of town look pretty rough around the edges in comparison to our standards. The third is that taxi cab drivers are the same the world over. Washington, our driver, is a great guy, but wow! it is an adventure riding with him. It doesn't help that the roads are worse than anything even in Michigan. It's sort of funny that as he parks, he backs the cab into the curb to keep it from rolling down the hill.

Our day began with meeting with people who run the foundation who oversee the several missions for the impoverished children in Quito. These are the people who work to provide for the buildings (even as we have helped provide funding) and get our money to the places it is supposed to go. A lot of money comes from agencies in Spain, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, with volunteers occasionally coming from some of those countries, but it was clear that no one has the connection to this foundation or the children that St. Mark has. We are the ones who provide ongoing love and support on a regular basis. We also learned of a new project starting in the Santo Domingo region of Ecuador to provide clean water to a group of people who are living on a dump. More on that later.

Arriving in Ecuador

Well, we made it to Ecuador. Our plane landed basically on time, we picked up all of our luggage (all 6 50+ lbs. suitcases plus our carry-ons) and sailed through customs. What we didn't know yet was that Suzette spent nearly 3 hours begging the customs agents to allow us to bring our bags into the country. The rules have changed since the first of October in that Ecuador doesn't want people bringing charitable donations into the country without getting shook-down first. Fortunately, Suzette was convincing (I wouldn't want to stand in her way, even if I was the president of Ecuador when it comes to the kids up the mountain in Quito) and an agent agreed to look the other way while our bags went through the x-ray machine. We came through the gate to find some very relieved people waiting to see us. We then got whisked off to our hotel and collapsed into our beds.

Waiting in Atlanta

Well, it's true, 28% of the world waits in Atlanta in order to go somewhere else! Who would have thought, Atlanta as the crossroads of the world (I always thought it was Pittsburgh). Listening to the people, everyone seems to wait forever in Atlanta as well. Maybe the reformers were wrong. Maybe there really is a purgatory, the Catholic church just had the wrong location.

Well, we got to Richmond, only to find out that most of our baggage was overweight. We thought we had a connection to sneak our bags onto the plane, but it didn't work out quite as we had hoped, so it was a game of musical baggage to shift things around (fortunately, I had under-packed). I don't know if you've ever tried to pack up 40 pairs of shoes and then shift them around, but it is quite a challenge, even if they are little shoes.

We got to Atlanta and Rob had to go fetch his bag which the stewardess insisted had to be stored under the plane (I blame myself for not getting it into the overhead fast enough) even though it was clearly smaller than most of the bags in the overhead. Anne's passport couldn't be read in the card reader, plus she sent a voice mail to the wrong Rob when we were trying to find Rob Goff (Anne's clearly not our technical genius on this expedition).

The real highlight of the trip so far is that Anne got carded when we were ordering lunch. Yes, that is correct, she got carded - she really had to produce her ID before the waiter would bring the beer. It made her day. We toyed around with taking the flight to Rome (the gate is next to our gate) but we figured, someone would look at the pictures and figure it out.

Well, we're all sitting here waiting for our plane to Quito. It's an interesting collection of people who travel to Quito. The next time we post to you, we'll be in a different continent!

Getting Ready to Go

It's the packing. I hate packing. Did you get everything? Do you really need that? It's only 5 days, will anyone notice that I wore the same shirt two days? (yes, they'll see the pictures!) The new twist with this trip is that Suzette Goff has packed more than half of the stuff for each of us. Our bags are filled up with shoes and clothes and 150 toothbrushes and toothpaste (now there's something I know that I can get ahold of if I forget), balls, an American football, air pumps, bandages and ointments and gifts for the local priests. This must be how Santa feels!

I have to say that I'm really excited about going. It's hard to go, there's a million things to get done here, the school year is a crazy time for our family, but I'm still excited about going. I want to see this thing, these people that we think about so much, that we pray for so much, that we have invested so much of the work of our parish into. It is not an exaggeration to say that I'm going as part of you, as an extension of all of you and our ministry at St. Mark. And, I won't lie, yes I'm excited about standing on the equator!

We leave Yorktown at 8:00 am for a flight out of Richmond to Atlanta at 10:55 am. There's a 5 hour layover in Atlanta and 6 hours to Quito, arriving at 10:15 pm (Quito is 1 hour behind our time). I don't know if I'll have time to post when we arrive, so I might put up something while we're waiting in Atlanta.

Thanks for your interest. I'll get some pictures up to you soon!

Kilometer Post 0, and Now Back Home

Well, we all passed kilometer post 0 in the middle of the Cathedral square. The walk is over and we wound our way back home. In some ways the trip home (3 airplanes, 5,700 miles and a couple of crabby Spanish airport security people) felt longer than the walk. I hope everyone feels recovered and rested by now. It took a couple of days, but my left ankle is back to its proper shape and I can see the tendons in my foot. Obviously, one learns to appreciate simpler pleasures after something like a pilgrimage, but that is part of the point of all of this!

As we walked, we learned that there were a lot of reasons for walking down this trail - thanksgiving for something, penance for something, searching for self, because it's there, to see if you can do it, etc, etc, etc. I wanted to be there with a bunch of people I liked, to share the experience and participate in something millions of Christians have participated in over 1,200 years. I suspect, though, that as each of us thinks about this over the years to come, we may find different reasons and different understanding to what we did and what we may have accomplished.

In a world filled up with intense business, there are few things simpler than just walking. And for a week, that is all we did, and we found out that that simple act was enough for a day. We will all remember the people we met along the way and the stories we heard. For most of us living out here in the suburbs, there was a certain earthiness to what we did - the paths were not prepared like the Nolan Trail, you smelled cows and rotting hay, the native people might be missing more teeth than is acceptable in proper suburban society, the world isn't as neat and tidy as we like to make it out to be in our neat and tidy houses (it never is, but we like to fool ourselves into thinking it might be).

I had a chance to read of someone else's experience and this is what they said (much of which sounded familiar...)

Perhaps the greatest change is entering a world with few choices – there will be two items on the menu (maybe) in the village's single café, one place to stay, and one church to attend.

Friendships made there will always stay with you, even when you lose touch completely. As we walked, a small perambulating village, we realized how lost we really are, and were driven to look out for each other. I do not yet understand how the Camino affected me. I came away with a great respect and affection for the feet which carried me so far, and an awareness that we must travel as lightly as we can. It confirmed what I was, but taught me lessons: time spent watching the sky is well spent; staff meetings are blasphemous wastes of time; café con leche in the morning is good; wine at dinner affirms the unity of creation. The blessing of our pilgrimage is that it all doesn't have to make sense at once or immediately. Marco Polo didn't make sense of the orient the moment he came home, either. But we set out to do it, and we accomplished our goal. Everyone made it to the end. On their own power. But with the aide of everyone else around them who supported them through the journey. One thing is for sure, though. We are all part of a unique little fraternity who have done this. We have seen things not everyone has seen, and that affects our lives. All of us are thankful to all of the people of St. Mark who helped get us to the pilgrim trail and who supported us in this endeavor. All of you traveled with us in ways you probably don't quite understand and you all were among the things I remembered there in front of the bones of the Saint. Thanks for helping to make our pilgrimage possible. And now, now the mileposts aren't going down any longer, they're going up as we wind our way through our lives here at home. Peace, The St. Mark Pilgrims

Not Quite Ready to Leave

It's almost time to leave Santiago and Spain. It was an amazing thing to run into people we had met on the trail here in Santiago. There is a certain fraternity that is formed by those who do this.

But we weren't quite ready to leave yet. After dinner we went back down into the Cathedral square to sing and dance with the others there and listen to the music. As you can see, our own Kathleen and Kayla were two of the stars of the evening!

See you all in a day or so!

The St. Mark Pilgrims

The Pilgrims Arrive!

We arrived at our destination! As with the millions before us, the St. Mark Pilgrims arrived at the shrine of St. James. Today's walk was 12 km, a virtual stroll by now. It rained on and off for most of the walk. We walked the first 7 km and gathered together at Monte Gozo, Mount Joy, for the last 5 km into Santiago. Over this last hour we got wet a lot, but as we got close to the end, the skies started to clear.

At 11:10 am, we arrived at the 0 km stone. It was almost hard to believe. We didn't spend much time looking around yet since we went to get seats for the pilgrim Mass at 12:00. The Cathedral was packed. Wall to wall, end to end, the place was filled with pilgrims who gathered, as they do each day, for this event. The two highlights were hearing the name of our group read out and the burning of the Botofumeria, the huge incense burner. This is truly an event unlike anything you have ever seen. You have to see the video we bring home. It looked like the thing was going to hit the ceiling (and it's a really high ceiling!). It takes six men to swing it. We all agree that we need one at St. Mark!!!

After Mass, it was off to the Pilgrim's office to show our pilgrim passport and collect our official pilgrim certificate. Everyone is entered and registered. We even got a certificate for the parish as the Pilgrims of St. Mark. Then it was off for a few picture moments (the skies had cleared for a beautiful day) and then lunch.

After lunch, it was back into the Cathedral first to embrace the statue of St. James over the altar and kiss his head, as millions before us have done, then it was down into the crypt below the altar to see the silver box with the bones of St. James. The stairs are worn down from the countless people who have trod them. One pilgrimage is now over, and the one that leads us back home is set to begin.

Peace to you all from the St. Mark Pilgrims

Getting Ready for the Last Push

As you can see, we´re almost ready for the next to last push. You can´t tell yet, but it will be raining in about 10 minutes. In spite of that, some of us are managing to make friends wherever we go (and wherever we can find them!).

The paper you see is a pilgrim´s passport. One has to collect at least two stamps every day at places along the trail to prove that you have walked the appropriate amount of mileage (kilometerage?).

There are only 12 km left to the shrine of St. James. Our guide keeps pushing me to bring another group next year - next year is a particularly holy year. I tell her we need to finish this trip first!

At this point, most of us think we´ll be doing laps on the plane on the way home - it will hurt too much to sit.

Peace from the almost finished Pilgrims!

We´re Almost There!

The Pilgrims have passed 100 km and have 12 more to go! Today began with rain that lasted about 20 minutes (in a 4+ hour walk, 20 minutes isn´t so bad) but then cleared and was a lovely day. The walk took us through a varriety of environments but what was most interesting is that we clearly saw more people on the road than any other single day.

There is a lot of excitement as we make our way down the road, but there is also a lot of desire to get it done, too. in all of this, it is hard to believe that we are nearly at the end of our journey out and that it will soon be time to begin the journey home. Knees and feet are feeling the effect of all the walking, but in some ways, it is easier to walk than it is to sit. There is also the whole aspect of group sharing in an experience that no one else we know has shared - it forms a certain esprit de corps.

This afternoon we took a trip to a 10th century monastary. The monks, being Cistercians, didn´t have much to say - we had to read our own guide.

Tonight´s dinner was a sharing of strange and unusual gifts. Adam has a most impressive range of unique gifts and talents to share at a dinner table. Kathleen cackles better than most.

We will be in Santiago before you get up in the morning. We´ll remember to say a prayer for you all.

Peace from the St. Mark Pilgrims

More Pictures from Wednesday

Some More Pictures from Wednesday

The Pilgrims Pass the Half-Way Point!

The Pilgrims have passed the half-way point! We completed 30 km today (well, most of us did - a few slackers bailed out on the last 5 optional km! but I was not one of those!) It is hard to believe that we are more than half way to our goal.

Everyone is feeling pretty good, or as good as you feel after covering 80 km on foot over three days. Muscles are a bit creaky and nearly everyone has a blister or two or three, but no one seems disabled.

The weather over the past two days has been blessedly overcast (good for walking, bad for pictures) and temperatures in the very low 80's, with none of the humidity we have back home. It has been nice not to have the sun beating down on us, particularly yesterday which included a fair amount of walking on and near asphalt. It is cool in the mornings (mid 50's) but everyone seems to appreciate it.

Interestingly, the scenery really hasn't changed much the past three days. It is generally rolling landscape segmented with stone walls. Some of the hills are pretty steep, and take a really vigorous climb and take a good amount of time to get to the top. That last 5 km today was some very steep hills and some very steep descents.
Lots and lots of cows! Lots and lots of dogs! (is a German Shepherd a Spanish Shepherd in Spain?). There is a funny story to the cows in the picture - a few moments after the picture, a lady came back around the corner chasing one that obviously wanted to go another way, yelling at it the whole way.

The red cross in one of the pictures is a large cross of St. James. In Spain, his cross is formed by a sword as the main beam - a reflection on James being the "Moor-slayer," or the one who helped the Spanish chase the Moors out of Spain.

I'm glad you all have enjoyed the pictures, and we like getting the notes from everyone. Some days have been a challenge getting stuff loaded (I had to use a Windows machine yesterday :-( that was a real joy) but today I had free wireless in our room. Everyone is having a good time and it seems that everyone is having a good time. Our accommodations have been really nice and we have eaten very well - breakfast does leave a bit to be desired, some of us are wishing for a little Cafe' St. Mark!

Two more days to the relics of St. James!
Peace,The St. Mark Pilgrims