MMDCAMINO

A Better Son I walk for respect And tribute and gratitude  To my mother For my mother For the way she held her rosary  In her final days Until her last pulse In her last breath She instilled in me her faith So I walk In her honor To say thank you To repent for my sins Within the  Whirlwinds of emotions  And memories that transcend the moment Step, step, step Go, go, go Wait, stop, rest Just go The click of walking sticks Marking time like the tick tock Of a clock The beat of a heart Go, go, go Breathe  Step Go Sudden piercing jolts of memories  Reflections radiant like a rainbow Sparkling in the mind

 PAMPLONA - 4 DAYS I think I'm gonna be sad... Our first night's stay was at the Albergue de la Catedral. We were met by an anxious desk receptionist who said she had called and messaged us several times wondering if we would arrive by the check-in deadline. We did not have cell service on our devices and my primary phone was malfunctioning from rain damage. She looked happy for us, especially since she was now finishing her work shift. We settled (crammed) our things into our assigned dorm beds and went dinner hunting. Just outside the albergue entrance, the sun setting on the Cathedral was splendorous. To our eyes, Pamplona was a jewel in every direction. We quickly found a place with Pintxos, Pimientos, and Cerveza, what a delight! Day 1 (19 Sep 2023) Martha's flight was booked for 22 Sep 2023 from Pamplona to Madrid to begin her return back to our home in South Texas. That was the first leg of the only affordable flight combinations that we could find. Sooooo, on the go

PAMPLONA - NO BULL The Way of Saint James to Pamplona continues from Zubiri back at the point where you cross the bridge into town. The pleasant park-like stroll after first resuming gives you a brief and picturesque view of the town from above and across the river. Towns like this fill your heart. After that there is a small heavy-industrial complex or power grid zone before entering the forests again.  SLUGGING IT OUT There were numerous unexpected companions in the forest paths. Creepy crawlies of all sizes had apparently been flushed out by the rains and were unavoidable. The large ones blended into the multi-colored leaves on the floor. The main thing that made them negligible was not looking down to see if there were any. BUT, the changing terrain made NOT looking down almost impossible. Even small breezes would send the smaller variety falling from the leaves above. HINT: If you don't like these thingies, look forward, shake the airborne ones off quickly if needed, and keep

 ZUBIRI - PUEBLO DEL PUENTE - BRIDGE TOWN Reaching and seeing the bridge leading into Zubiri was a wonderful moment. We're here! We studied the board map near the bridge to get oriented because we did not have a modern active mapping tool. Fortunately the town was small. We made our way over and stayed at Hostería de Zubiri. The kind man checking us in informed us that the thunderstorms of the day had caused quite a commotion in town. He told us there was flooding here and in nearby villages and that they hadn't had that kind of deluge in over 40 years. Some of the arriving pilgrims reported being caught in hail. Apparently we had literally bore through and survived a violent and potentially catastrophic weather event. Danggg. THE RIVER The Río Arga had one or two accessible areas where the rough waters were just calm enough to use. As a favorite thing to do, I went over to put my feet in it. The coldness helped me recharge and to reduce their swollenness. Aaaahhhh. I then went