8/31/02 Hacinas

Vultures, the dead & dinosaurs

Santi and I spent the whole day traveling the countryside in look for adventure. In the morning, we climbed one of the mountain peaks I can see from the house. We parked the car in Ahedo, at the base of the mountain. The weather was perfect, the sky was blue and the temperature wasn't oo hot at all. A good thing too, because in some places the walking seemed almost vertical, really taking an effort to put one foot in front of the other. We actually met an older woman who was on her way back down the mountain after here morning hike.

A long climb up from the village

Near the top, the vultures began to circle, over a dozen. Santi found a feather and it was huge, at least 18" long. Santi says the birds are endangered because they can't find enough to eat. Their stomachs can't handle fresh meat, but they need it several days dead to digest properly. With modern ranching and farming, there just isn't any dead livestock for them to eat.

The mountain is named San Carlos because of the battlements that were built on the top during the Carlist Wars of the 19th century. The vista was breathtaking. On the east side, we could see the patchwork of farms up and down the valley. On the other side was the wild rangeland where the film "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" with Clint Eastwood was filmed. We took a break at the north end of the ridgeline (~5200'), with the red tile roofs of Conteiras far below.

Although not as strenuous, the climb down was tricky because with the steep incline, it would be easy to slip and tumble all the way down. We caught up to the elderly woman from this morning, resting under the shade of a tree. She proudly showed us her find of the day, a huge pedo de lobo mushroom, the size of a bowling ball.

And a difficult climb down too

Once we got back to Salas, we had a good lunch with Amparo and Miranda. While Miranda and Santi took an afternoon siesta, Amparo and I watched "Nadie Conoce a Nadie" or "No Body Knows No One", a Spanish thriller. Well done but I still only catch a few words of dialog.

While Amparo took Miranda over to Javier's, Santi and I went out adventuring again. First, we stopped by the Necrópolis de Cuyacabras near Quintanas de la Sierra. During the Middle Ages, about 9th-10th century, Catholic churches were hidden in the mountains to protect the people from the invading Moors. On this high outcrop deep in the forest, they built a small chapel. And carved out of the surrounding bedrock, you find dozens and dozens of crude burial crypts, most for children and infants. One of the largest was just big enough for me to fit in.

Crypts carved out of the rock

While we drove to our next stopping point, I noticed many large lumber mills. Santi tells me that the lumber from this area has been well known for centuries. A lot of the great ships of the Spanish Armada were built of wood from here.

Besides wood, this whole area of Spain is known for it's huge amount of evidence of dinosaurs. In Regumiel de la Sierra, you can find both large and small dinosaur footprints. These were found in exposed bedrock in a cow pasture. My whole food was about equal to one of the toes.

Our last stop was another medieval burial crypt near Revuga. On our way home I saw many sheep and cattle out grazing, even more reminding me of how similar this area is to Oregon or Montana.

I fit!

All day, I've had this tickle in my throat I just can't shake. Javier had a fever last night, and I hope I didn't catch whatever he has because we have more adventures planned for tomorrow.

8/30/02 Hacinas

The Russians are coming!

For the last three weeks, I've been watching masons finish the last remaining sections of stonework on Natí and José's house. They finished this morning and spent most of the day packing up. The only thing left to do on the house is to put in the lawn sprinkler system and lay down the sod. It's a beautiful home, but Natí says she's jealous of our green lawns and white picket fences in the US.

Tonight after class, we went to another free concert put on by Salas. It was a traveling troupe of dancers, singers and musicians from Russia. Even though most of the town's summer residents have left, the performance still attracted a standing room only crowd. It was a good show.

The only downside to these evening gatherings is that I find myself in groups of people and I can't understand a word. It doesn't help that my brain is exhausted after class. We always seem to run into Natís family. Her brother, Oscar, must think I'm a complete idiot because I still can't understand him when he talks to me. All I do is give him that 'confused' look and he gives up with a smile. I know Amparo has taught me everything I need to know to carry on an adult conversation but I feel I'd be more comfortable in the kindergarten class. I'm glad I usually forget these feelings by the time I wake up.

8/29/02 Hacinas

Home construction

A little chilly this morning but it really warmed up by the afternoon.

Watched some of the new home construction down the street. All the walls are made of hollow bricks. It will be interesting to see how it progresses.

New home concrete and brick construction

Doing more stone work

Amparo says we are about done with all my Spanish grammar, so we'll be doing more conversation practice from now on. I'm glad I came for this immersion but it's been intense. Amparo has crammed over a semester of college Spanish into my head in just a few weeks. Now all I have to do is sort it out.

Tonight, I had the sad realization that I'll be leaving here soon. I have gotten comfortable attached to Natí, José and Javier, my adopted Spanish family. And I know I have close friends with Amparo, Santi and Miranda. I hope in my heart, that I can keep connected to these new friends for many years to come.

8/28/02 Hacinas

Summer is over

Today was much too cold to study out on the porch. But that confined both Javier and I inside. I think I might be a bad influence on him with our rough play. He's just starting to test his physical limits and you have to watch him close in case he goes too far. We had a lot of fun playing fooseball on his miniature game even though it was broken. Who needs to spin the handles when you can just reach in and score a goal with your hand. I figure he beat me 10-0, even though he didn't realize they were made on his own goal.

After a lot of wrestling, I needed a nap before lunch. I hope I don't need all these naps while walking the Camino. The clouds obscured the mountain-tops all day but we didn't get any rain. Should be sunny all over Spain tomorrow afternoon.

I realize now that Amparo knows that I can't absorb all this material this fast, but she's hopeful if I do it right the first time, it will come easier later. She said my best teacher on the Camino will be to talk Spanish as often as I can with as many people as I can. I already have a very good grounding in pronunciation she said, which will help a lot. Other students have had years of Spanish in their home countries but had difficulty speaking here. We talked a bit about how to continue my lessons once I get back home to the USA.

Had 'anchovies of the north' tonight along with salad and bread. Not bad at all. But I wonder what it's doing to my cholesterol.

8/27/02 Hacinas

Couldn't wake up today

A weird day for me today. I got up at my usual time, had some hot cocoa and toast for breakfast and opened the books to study. But I just couldn't keep my eyes open. I didn't feel sick, just exhausted. Much to Javier's disappointment, I decided to take an early nap. Found myself waking up after 1pm. Javier attempted to make up for the lost morning with me by trying to cram several hours of play into the short time we had before lunch. But as I was finishing lunch, I noticed blood on my hand. Went to the bathroom mirror and discovered dried blood from a nose bleed. I just wonder if I'm not adjusting to the altitude. Maybe if I drink more water?

Since I slept the entire morning , instead of an afternoon siesta, I took a walk around the pueblo. Pictures just can't capture these surroundings; mountains all around, with pastures scattered on the valley floor. I can see several other pueblos from the hilltops of Hacinas. If it wasn't for the stone buildings with their tile roofs, I'd swear I was in Montana or Oregon.

Hacinas

Nati & José live in the second house from the left

I wasn't very prepared when the time arrived for my Spanish class, but Amparo was understanding. I get very frustrated because sometimes simple sentences I want to say to me don't translate well. In my lessons I'm learning that many commonly used phrases in Spanish don't translate well either into English. My lessons are speeding along but I'm still worried about my conversational skills. A plus for me though is all the time Amparo has been helping me work on my pronunciation. When Natí tries to say something to me in English, I have difficulty understanding it because of her pronunciation. Hopefully with the dictionary or phrase book, I'll b able to say things correctly on my pilgrimage.

Even with my language difficulties, we still seem to communicate. Yesterday Josí and I talked a bit about politics and the death penalty, while tonight Natí and I talked about American film. One day I'd really like to have a conversation with them withough using a dictionary.

Before bed, Javier had all of us participating in his imaginary band while Natí, José and I played our imaginary instruments.

A little too short for dad's saxophone

8/26/02 Hacinas

Mountain biking with Miguel

Today I went exploring with Miguel on mountain bikes. Miguel and Eva were supposed to be my original host family but Eva is the deputy Mayor. With so much of her time devoted to the festival last week, they didn't think it would be a good match at that time. I seem to see Miguel almost everyday. He is much loved and admired by everyone I speak to. During the school year, he drives the school bus, but he's a retired National Policeman. A very interesting guy, but he doesn't speak a word of English.

When he found out I loved to ride bikes, he has wanted to take me out on one of his daily rides. The weather cooperated and we set out before lunch. The soil here is very sandy and you could hardly find any evidence of the deluge we received yesterday. We rode on old farm roads, most just two tire tracks on the ground.

Miguel

We ended up in a nearby village called Castrillo de la Reina. We sat outside the bar drinking Cokes and amazingly, communicating. Migue was very patient with my poor Spanish and frequent use of the dictionary. I was glad we got out on the bikes and hopefully, we can do it again.

8/25/02 Hacinas

The rain in Spain...

Our plans ended even before they began today. Although the sun was up early, the clouds rolled in fast. When it began to rain, it really rained. It seemed to last hours. José said it was a sign that summer was coming to an end.

The view off the front porch

So today became a good day to be lazy. Sometimes I wonder why I'm so sleepy but I figure my body knows what it needs. Javier is definitely harder to please when he's confined indoors, especially when he's got three adults for attention. After a few wrestling matches with Javier, I took a long nap after lunch.

I didn't know what we were going to do since our excursion was rained out. The doorbell woke me out of my siesta, but I was surprised that it was Amparo, Santi and their daughter Miranda. We sat around and visited while the two kids burned enough energy to light up a city.

Miranda can 'ROCK!' too

We ended up going to a slide show presentation on Morocco being shown in Salas. And then we drove to nearby Castrovidas for a photo exhibit on Egypt and Kenya. To get to Castrovidas from the main road, you cross the river using a Roman bridge, just barely wide enough for a car. To think it's lasted all this time is amazing.

Amparo says that if the weather improves, we might still take our excursion later this week. With the way everyone talks, I think I'm in store for quite a bit of rain during my pilgrimage walk next month. Sure glad I brought rain gear and an umbrella.

8/24/02 Hacinas

Cavemen at Atapuerca

Today we went north, just outside of Burgos to the archaeological site of Atapuerca. This huge dig, most of which is in the extensive caves in the area, researchers have found a link between Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals. Unfortunately for us, the weather was not cooperating with our outing. It rained on and off all day, causing it to be a lot cooler too.

Afterwards, we all went to Burgos for lunch. The exciting thing for me was to finally see some pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago through the city. I must have seen a dozen walking in the rain. And where we had lunch, tow couples were eating with their burros grazing in the grass outside. Last year only seven people made the trek with donkeys, so this was a rare sight indeed.

A loaded burro takes a rest

We were having lunch with some friends of Natí and José that they knew in Burgos. There were ten adults and just about that many kids. To start off with, the waiter brought out a three-foot diameter pan filled with paella, (and we ate the whole thing) followed by an assortment of smaller dishes and salad. Of course we had to have dessert and coffee. They served the lemon ice cream in a lemon and coconut ice cream in a coconut. And the men finished off the meal with a glass of Pacharan.

¡Me gusta helado!

During lunch, the kids began to get restless. We were sitting in a backroom with several other large parties. At one point Javier began kicking his ball, and before we knew it, launched it right into another family as they were trying to eat. It bounced off one mother, spilling her drink and the ball landed in their paella. The husband handed us the ball while Natí made a few quiet apologies. Within seconds, everyone was back to normal. I can just imagine what huge kind of brawl would have ensued had this same event happened in an American restaurant.

I hate to say it, but I probably got more enjoyment out of playing with the children than I got from the archeology dig. Alberto and Marisol had two adorable little girls. Alicia is three years old and she seemed to enjoy anything I did with her. She could stop giggling when I carryed her on my shoulders or bounced her on my knee like a horse.

Javier wonders "Is it real?"

After a very filling and very long lunch, we went back to Atapuerca for more of a hands-on exhibit of how the 'cavemen' lived. The rangers talked about the specific humans being researched at Atapuerca but also talked about the evolution of such things as tools, hunting weapons and art. The whole exhibit was outside with several recreations of vaarious kinds of homes.

Instead of heading home, we all went back to Burgos for some late dessert in the plaza. My friend Pat would love Spain because they serve real melted chocolate. I was a little sad to say goodbye to these new people I've met today. Alberto gave me his phone number and said to call when I walked through Burgos on my pilgrimage. They live one street over from the route as it passes through the city.

We finally sat down for a quick dinner before saying goodnight at 1pm. Amparo's family and I are supposed to go on another trip tomorrow but I guess it depends on the weather.

8/23/02 Hacinas

Learning a language is hard

Well, I've had two weeks of Spanish lessons as of today. I think I've come to the dangerous transition where I know just enough Spanish to get into trouble. Tonight Natí and I went to a free outdoor theater production. Very funny by the crowds reaction but I barely cought a few words. Afterwards, we went for a drink with a few of her girlfriends. At one point, one of the women asked me if I was going to come back to Spain. I thought she asked me if I'd ever been to Spain before. When I said "No!" she seemed upset and wanted to know why. That's when I got confused and said I didn't understand. Natí translated the question again and I said I would definitely come back to Spain. See what I meat about language getting me in trouble.

Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever learn enough Spanish in this four weeks to be comfortable on the Camino. José says I already know more than most foriegners I'll meet. Amparo is working very hard to get me as far in the language as I can in this short time. I have my own textbook and she's constantly xeroxing things that I might need or be interested in. I hope I can see them all again before I leave Spain and "actually" be able to talk to them in at least a little bit of conversational Spanish.

Well, it's after 2am and I need my sleep. Tomorrow we go on an excertion to one of the top archeological sites in the study of human evolution near Burgos. I hope the weather is better because it's been cloud, cold and rainy all day.

8/22/02 Hacinas

Wandering around Hacinas

For the last couple of days, I've been trying to get in a regular stretching and exercise program. I'm not going to worry about getting ready for the pilgrimage, I'll just start out slow and build up as I go. So, my routine is a little exercise (sit-ups, push-ups, etc) and some much needed stretching. Then I jump right into my Spanish lessons. About noon, I took a break to walk around the village.

Front entrance of the church

Although it can get really hot, today was very windy and cooler. But if you got out of the wind, you heated up pretty fast. I say hello to all the people I see but I usually get no replies or even a smile. I guess I'm still the "stranger from America."

José grew up here. About the only two businesses in town are the bakery (panadaria) owned by his uncle, and the bar, owned by his father I think. A bar in Spain is more like a café. It's just a place to get a drink or a cup of coffee. Most have tapas which are bite-size snacks, and the kids can usually get an ice cream cone.

Looking towards the mountains from the hill-top church

I wandered to the highest point in Hacinas near the church. It's an amazing view. Mountain buttes to the west, the village below to the south, and north you can barely see a few rooftops of Salas, and to the east, distant mountains. It's very difficult to capture with a camera. The village is made up of many old and new homes all mixed together. Because the styles are similar, it looks like it was all planned that way. A lot of homes have Geraniums in the windows. The place is so different from small towns in the USA. Even though it's small, Hacinas appears very healthy and full of life.

I took some time to draw one of the four bells in the church tower. I just need to practice more with my drawing. Before lunch, I played a bit with Javier. He is such a musician. While he played the drum (very loud), he wanted me to make-believe I was playing the trombone. He's such a good kid.

Drummer boy

After lunch, I took a long siesta. I could get addicted to these after-lunch naps very easily. I had just enough time to say hello to Nati as she got home from work, and to study a bit before Amparo picked me up for my lesson.

I think I hit a 'stress' bump today. Sometimes I don't think anyone knows how hard this is for me to learn Spanish. I've been trying to learn a new language for years with no luck despite countless hours of study. If immersion doesn't work, I may give up. Today's lesson seemed like "Day 1". Every time Amparo asked me something, I would draw a big blank. I just can't absorb it fast enough.

After the long three-hours of class, Amparo Santi, 2-year-old Miranda and I headed out for a free concert by a band from Cuba. Very good music had many people dancing in the ailes of this outdoor concert. Sometimes I just sin in amazement of all the beautiful women here. Several people tried to talk to me but I seemed to always freze-up. A collegue of Santi's from another city government was visiting and she told me she had walked the Camino three times but I couldn't think of anything to say in Spanish.

Back at home, my brain feels fried. I think my frustration with my lack of progress with Spanish is near a breaking point. I need to relax and have some fun. Everyone tells me I'm doing well, I just need to believe them.

8/21/02 Hacinas

Couldn't keep awake

I just couldn't seem to keep awake today. I slept in until 10am. Tried to study and then had to take a two-hour siesta after lunch. I could have even taken another nap while waiting for Amparo to pick me up for class. She said it was probably a combination of things, the most significant being the altitude and the Spanish day. Her first American student, Alex, never did get used to it and he was here five weeks. Plus, she added, I'm probably still trying to catch up for the sleep I lost during the fiesta.

Nati's kitchen which is the center of the house activity

I actually started making a few sentences today in Spanish. I thought I saw Amparo cringe once during my lesson because of my pronunciation but she says I'm slowing getting it. It's hard to see the word written and not sound it out with an English pronunciation. Especially when the Spanish and English word are spelled very similar.

Amparo told me today that Nati and José have really enjoyed my stay and that if I extended my time here, they would be happy to have me. I guess that reflects on how my brothers and I were raised by our mother. They even said Javier misses me while I'm at class. I hope I have made some life-long friends here.

8/20/02 Hacinas

Studying to the beat of Javier's drum

Took another long walk this morning all the way to Salas, about 50-minutes along the bike path. I'm slowly recognizing landmarks in both Salas and Hacinas, enough not to be totally lost.

Another warm day and I spent most of it studying out on the porch. Javier joins me most of the time, always wanting me to "Mira! Mira!" which means "Look!" or to play the drums with him. His parents say has has a good natural rhythm and this fall at school, he will be taking music class for the first time.

Class wasn't as hard tonight but I keep wondering if it will take me years to master just the basics. Nati asked me yesterday if I felt comfortable enough with the language to go buy some bread at the baker in Hacinas. I chickened out.

It seems every meal here in Spain has some new experience for me. Tonight we had salad made with lettuce, carrots, onions, hardboiled eggs, potato pieces, bean sprouts, and tuna, all topped off with olive oil but no vinegar. And I noticed that no one uses salt or pepper at the table. But for the second course, of which most meals have three, we had fried squid. Not bad. Oh, will my family be surprised.

8/19/02 Hacinas

Back to class

This morning while Nati and José went to work, I decided to get out and explore. In the Salas area, they have marked three 40-kilometer mountain bike routes to ride or walk. One of the routes passes in front of Nati and José's house. The highway seems a bit dangerous to ride on, but I still see many people doing it. So, I thought if I could find my way from Hacinas to Salas, everyone wouldn't have to chauffeur me around. It's only 2½-km to Salas but I got lost twice. No matter, I made it home in time for lunch.

The back road leading to Hacinas

While his parents are at work, Treni babysits Javier and does the housekeeping. She's even more shy than me and speaks no English. But she absolutely adores Javier and has a special way with him. She's gentle, never raising her voice and has the patience of Job.

As the sun really started to warm things up, I tried to study. Last night I tossed and turned because of a late night cup of coffee with José. So I kept falling asleep on my books in the afternoon heat.

Class with Amparo was very frustrating today. I had trouble with pronunciation all last week, but I think today was even worse. We started working on grammer. I understand how everything works, I just can't remember it. I think I've been speaking English too much and not taking full advantage of this total immersion concept.

We spent some time with Cristina at the plaza this evening before heading home for a late dinner around midnight.

8/18/02 Hacinas

Peaceful day after...

Rolled out of bed around 1pm to try and finally begin studying. I found myself napping several times today. As José said it was a peaceful day, especially compared to the fiesta. We ate lunch out on the porch and later watched several youth soccer games being played on the soccer filed across the street.

Watching the game from the porch

Geme, Pedro and Alberto stopped by on their way back to Madrid now that the festival is over. I hope I get to see them again before I leave Spain. Tomorrow everyone will be back into a normal routine. José will be gone by 8am and he thinks he will be very busy after his week's vacation. Nati will be back at the city offices, while I have the day free to study or anything else I want to do because class isn't until 4pm.

It will take days, or maybe weeks, to let the whole experience of the fiesta and the peña sink in. If I went home tomorrow, I'd rate this my best trip ever. I am so happy I came here.

8/17/02 Hacinas

Eat, drink & be merry

After six hours of sleep, it was time to get up to eat lunch. On this last day of the fiesta, lunch was a huge picnic at the park across the river. Again more food and drink, but the atmosphere was more subdued. You could tell those that had danced the night away because you found them sleeping on their picnic blankets.

Victor, Nati's mother, Gema, Alberto, Pedro, José, Javier

As always, the band keeps on going

Our peña gathered for a huge group photo to add to the walls of the peña headquarters. Everyone kept asking if I would come back next year. And I think now that if I am able, I will be here. Hopefully my Spanish will be better so I can really get to know these wonderful people who made me feel so welcomed in the peña.

Peña de Alboroto

Again we began to dance and sing our way from bar to bar. I had thought of bringing a small recorder on this trip, but now I could kick myself for deciding not to. After four days, I can hum most of the band's songs even if I don't know the words. Throughout the fiesta, José and Alberto have told me each of the song's style and where in Spain it originated. Even so, I wish I could take some of this music home with me.

Just time for a cold one before we go dancin' again

At dinner with the peña, I was asked with cheers to sing something from America. But for the life of me I couldn't think of anything. When, not if, I come next year, I'll be prepared. We decided to make one more long night of dancing. Even early in the morning, the fiesta was attended by all ages. I talked with Nati's mother and some of her aunts and an uncle at 4am.

Nati's mother, aunt & uncle at 3:42AM

On each of the previous nights, there had been a fireworks display like we have in America. But tonight, the excitement was rignt in the plaza because of the "Toro de Fuego", the Bull of Fire.

Bull of Fire

Several men, each taking a turn, run around the plaza underneath a large metal bull-shape complete with horns. On top is a large array of fireworks that spray out on all sides. While many of us stood at the edges to watch, hundreds tried to keep ahead of the bull as it sped around the plaza.

Nati, Alberto, Cristina, Gema, Pedro dancin' till dawn

Another concert began and we spent a little more time dancing before we made our way home about 6am.

8/16/02 Hacinas

Watching the sun rise with my peña

Well, it's 8am and I'm getting ready for bed. I can't think of the last time I stayed up to watch the sun rise.

This morning, I finished my first full week of immersion Spanish. I understand more than I speak. And I get real nervous when talking to someone too. Next week, Amparo says she will as José and Nati to only speak Spanish. No English translations. Seems I might be improving their English more than learning my Spanish. Oops.

Wow, the Queen & her Attendants!

After another lunch at Nati's mother's house, we joined another parade of peñas to the Plaza del Toros. Two rejoneadores would face four individual bulls on horseback. It was similar as with the matadores, but the degree of control over the horses with a charging bull was remarkable, sometimes only using his feet for control. One difference in the event, was that the rejoneadore placed two banderellas at a time. And to increase the difficulty, each successive pair got shorter, requiring him to lean in closer to the bull to place them. The killing thrust was done with a sort of long spear.

After the roar of the crowd demanded it, one rejoneadore was awarded both of the bull's ears and the tail for his skill. At one point in the bullfight, he was able to lean over and place his elbow on the forehead of the charging bull while directing his galloping horse with no hands.

Bullfighting on horseback

We left the bullfight arena in another parade of peñas back to the plaza. Compared to yesterday's rain, today was marvelous.

Not sure if Javier likes this parade

The evening was spent dancing and singing. The peña would proceed the band as we paraded another few blocks to another bar. There we might sing and dance for the patron's entertainment, or just sit and talk while we caught our breath. Some twenty minutes later, we'd get up and do it all again to another bar.

My understanding is that each of the peñas is different in how they approach the festival. Peña 'El Alboroto' spends more money on the band and our meals, and less on alcohol than some of the other peñas. The band is as much fun for us as it is entertaining to the people we pass by. It was not uncommon to see an older couple begin to dance, or for someone to join in our singing as we paraded past their homes.

I was part of the crew that prepared the hall for dinner tonight. I have really felt a part of this peña and not just as an observer. The peña is usually only together once a year at this fiesta, but they have been trying to organize activities throughout the year. The problem is that Salas is a summer town. It usually only has 2000 inhabitants, but during the summer months it swells to 5000. Many of the peña members grew up in Salas and still have family here, but they live and work elsewhere.

Tonight was a little different. Aftr a long meal of eating, drinking and talking, we again took to the streets to parade from bar to bar. But when it was finally time for the band to be finished for the evening, we just began dancing at a concert being held in the plaza. The last song finished at 5am. Ah, but we were not done quite yet. My small group of Nati, Cristina, Anna, Gema, Pedro and Alberto found a quiet bar to rest as we waited for the sun to come up.

At about 7am, we found ourselves at the peña's small headquarters, complete with pictures of past fiestas on the wall. Here we feasted on glasses of real melted chocolate. One of those present was Rubén, a college-age member of the peña. He's kind of a fun and crazy guy, just a little bit different than the rest, but in a good way. His English was very good despite a long night of drinking and dancing. You know a person is pretty fluent with a language when they can make jokes in that language. We were all laughing so hard, it hurt.

A very tired Jim finally fell into bed a little after 8am.

8/15/02 Hacinas

Matadores at the Plaza de Toros

Oh, 11am came way too soon this morning. Poor Nati had sleep in her eyes when José took me to class. Because of the festival, I haven't been able to study much, so Amparo decided to concentrate on pronunciation. I have a great difficulty with the trill of the 'rr'. As far as my Spanish goes, when Amparo speaks normally, I seem to understand about a big portion, as long as I realize what subject we're talking about. But when I speak to others, especially new people I'm introduced to, I get nervous and can't seem to understand or respond to anything.

This morning was also the "Vuelta de Burgos", a single day professional bicycle race that rode through Salas twice. From Amparo's balcony I was able to watch the cyclists, and the whole support motorcaid, zoom through the city streets. It didn't start or finish in town because a city must pay for that privilage. Santi says that the city is still paying for a race run several years ago. Todays race ran up and down the mountains in the surrounding area. A U.S.Postal Team member placed 2nd in the final standings.

After class, José picked me up and we headed over to Nati's mother's house for lunch with the whole family. Nati's twin brothers, Oscar and Sergio were there along with everyone I met yesterday at Javier's birthday lunch. Just like most mothers with a new guest at the table, whenever my plate became empty, another serving was piled on it even though no one else was having seconds. Maybe later I can describe all the foods that are eaten here in Spain. Today was paella, saffron rice with shrimp and small clams, and desert was a type of ice cream you slice and place between sugar wafers. Mmmm good!

We hurried to the plaza where we joined the other peñas for a parade to the bullfighting arena across town. The weather today hasn't been great, with rain putting a damper on the whole day's festivities. On our way, we ended up sharing a buildings overhang with the festival queen and her attendents whe the rain got too heavy.

Another dancing parade to the Plaza del Toros

The bullfighting arena was less than half-full because of the bad weather. The two bullfighters would each face two different bulls, total for the day four. After the bull is released into the ring, several novillos, sort of a bullfighter assistant, use large pink capes to begin tiring the bull as it charges each of them. Then they stab the bull's shoulder hump with several pairs of barbed spikes called banderellas that further weaken the bull as it bleeds. Then the matadore alone faces the bull with his red cape. The art is in how he faces the bull as it charges, like turning his back or kneeling on the ground as the bull thunders past the flowing cape. Finally, with the bull weakened and exhausted, the matador must make the kill with a sword thrust through the spinal cord as the bull drops it's horns during the final charge. After watching it, this must be the most dangerous part of the whole bullfight.

Olé

Today's event included two new matadores and it showed, although I don't think the rain helped them any. The first matadore had great style and made the dangerous moves look easy. But he needed four or five sword thrusts to finally kill the bull. I could sense in the way the crowd reacted that this was terrible. The second matadore didn't have as much style but he killed the bull with a single thrust. And he was awarded one of the bull's ears to signify his skill in this fight. Two ears is better and awarding the tail means the best. But the same matadore needed several attempts to kill his second bull. The difficulty is trying to keep the sword from bouncing off the vertebrae or missing the spinal cord completely.

By the end of the bullfights, the rain had finally let up as we walked back to the town center in search of other members of our peña.

Like yesterday, my peña danced through the streets from bar to bar. Everyone was drinking casually. They were there to have fun, not to get drunk. Besides there was a long day ahead, and the dancing sure burned up a lot of the alcohol.

Dancin' in the street

Alberto, who works for a company in Madrid that buys and distributes American-made products, became my unofficial interpreter during the festival. I asked Pedro, who travels a lot, why he's never been to the US. He said that the Spanish seemed to be treated so badly at customs because they speak Spanish, that most Spaniards would rather go somewhere else.

At 11pm, the city put on a huge fireworks display. Then we headed to the hall for dinner with the peña. Tonight was pork with mushrooms and peas, along with salad and bread. After wine, coffee and Parcharan, there were many songs sung, most requiring audience participation. Then came a sort of new member initiation. Sort of a test of reflexes which having had a few drinks didn't help me any. I jumped up to the challenge along with a few other new peña members. Everyone gathered around to see but they had to hush the crowd so one of the girls could explain in English what I needed to do.

One of the bigger members of the peña sat on a bench between two of us. He was to be a 'cobler' making shoes. I was sitting next to him with a shoe in my hand. As he made his make-believe shoes, his hand would occassionally 'slip', hitting me in the thigh. The test of my reflexes was to hit his hand with the shoe in my hand before he hit me. He was very fast and I wasn't able to hit him even once. But the crowd loved it with a lot of laughing. The surprise came when I outlasted several other new members, and they told me I passed the initiation with flying colors. And just to be fair, they had a different contest in which the same 'cobler' sat on his knees in front of one of the new members. The object was to slap your hands together as the kneeling man dipped his head between the hands like a chicken pecking at food on the ground. Our 'chicken' was super fast and could fake out everyone. Not one person could get him. The people in the peña are a lot of fun.

Someday I would like to return to the peña and experience the fiesta able to speak some Spanish. We headed out for a few more drinks, finding ourselves back home around 3am. And we left early! The concert in the plaza was still going strong.

8/14/02 Hacinas

Fiesta de San Roque starts

Lessons are going well, I think. Today, Amparo and I had a long conversation and I thought I followed about half of it. Replying to questions has been more difficult. Someday, Amparo and her husband want to build another school in Valencia. She says that after my travels across Northern Spain, I need to return someday to see the South. Maybe I'll be their first returning student at the new school.

After the lesson, we went down to the plaza for the official beginning of the Fiesta de San Roque. The plaza was filled with hundreds of peña members, each with their distinct clothing colors. All usually wore white t-shirts and pants. The usual uniform was a shirt, worn most of time like a skirt, and a scarf. Nati grew up in Salas and was one of the founding members of Peña 'El Alboroto' (alboroto means excitement) years ago. But she skipped a few years because of her new life with José and then the coming of their son. But now that Javier is older, they felt the time right to get back involved.

Grand Opening Ceremonies

The peña is a social group mostly only active during the festival. Each peña is distinct in how it approaches the festival. Some reminded me of partying fraternities, but Peña 'El Alboroto' was more a family affair. I'm guessing it had about 100 members including children. Peña 'El Alboroto' has wanted to schedule more activities throughout the year but it is difficult because many live elsewhere, coming back to Salas in the summer to visit family and participate in the festival. As you can imagine, Salas increases in size dramatically during festival.

The peña controls it's own membership. Because Nati and her family, I have been allowed to become a new member of the peña. This is a very rare privilage to see a festival from the 'inside' instead of just as a spectator. So, I'm now wearing my blue and white striped shirt. Most of the members have a blue scarf, but I'm wearing a maroon scarf from the Mayor's office.

After a few speeches, one by Victor, Nati's older brother and also Mayor of Salas, a rocket was shot off to signal the beginning of four days of the fiesta. A lot of the younger crowd shouted and danced, spraying champagne everywhere. It didn't take long in the afternoon sun to drive everyone back home for lunch.

Various Peña Colors

Today was a large family dinner because it was Javier's birthday - 3 years old. Besides Nati's mother, two of her brothers Javi and Salva were there, as well as her sister Geme with her husband Pedro with Alberto a friend from Madrid. Javier is at that age where he loves the attention. And being the only grandchild in the family, he's guaranteed all the attention he can handle. After presents and a wonderful ice cream cake, it was time for Javier to take a much needed nap.

Javier turns 3!

The family were very encouraging in my participating in the conversation around the table, in Spanish of course. But like many family gatherings around the world, everyone was talking at once. When you only understand a few words, it's very hard when too many people are speaking at the same time to understand anything.

We all tried to catch a little shuteye because the night planned to be a long one. Around 8pm, we all loaded into the car and headed back to Salas.

The parade was made up of majorettes in front, followed by the city's marching band, then the peñas. Most of the peñas had their own band and we danced from one end of town to the other, finally finishing at the plaza.

Peña Alboroto in the parade

From there, with our band playing, the peña danced it's way around town, visiting many bars along the way. We had a couple of large drinks that we passed around while everyone caught their breath. The popular drinks here are combinations: beer and lemon soda, and another is red wine and Coke. Actually not bad drinks in this hot weather. After about fifteen minutes, the band would begin to play, then we'd dance our way to another bar. As you can imagine all this parading around by the individual peñas creates quite a few traffic jams, but most drivers were understanding. After all, it's festival!

Dancing Bar to Bar

We ended up at a community hall where a hundred members of the peña feasted on "el toro", with drinks flowing on, and on. Mostly we were drinking wine and another sweet liquer called Pacharan. All night I continued to meet more people, a lot were cousins of Nati. She said she had too many cousins to count. Everyone was very understanding of my difficulty with Spanish, speaking slowly and using a few English words they knew, so as to include me into the conversations.

Dinner with Peña 'El Alboroto'

The nights rock concert in the plaza didn't even start until almost 2am. After a bit, some of us gravitated to another bar to relax and get away from the noise.

So, I'm sitting here at 3am writing in this journal before I forget any of the day's many parts. Besides class tomorrow, which Nati's entire family thinks is crazy to attempt during festival, we are part of the peñas cooking detail. And I think the bullfights begin tomorrow too. Turns out one of José's cousins is a very good bullfighter.

Got to catch some sleep!

8/13/02 Hacinas

Learning a new culture

Even though I don't speak Spanish, I feel as if I'm a long-lost uncle of Javier. Everyone treats me as one of the family. But with such large families, maybe by the end of my four weeks here, I'll be able to clearly organize a family tree.

During class today, I discovered some cultural differences that could have made for some embarrassment. In Spain, you have your given first name, then the last name of father followed by your mother's last name. When I was told that my hosts were José María Cámara Sebastián and Natividad Urién Montero, I had assumed that they were not married. But no one changes their name when they get married. And their son's name is Javier Cámara Urien. Confusing? Just another reason why I want to be here long enough to learn more about the people and their culture.

I was a little sad that Agnes was leaving this afternoon to return to Germany. Maybe I can keep up with her and use my Spanish in the process. We played one last game of dominoes where I got trounced.

Today was the last day of three-days of storytelling. The difference today was that they storyteller was from England, but he had a talented woman who translated besides him. José and I actually heard them three times: once with a children's group in Salas, once in the small village of Castrovido and then again in the Salas town square tonight. And that final performance in the plaza drew hundreds of people even though it didn't start till midnight.

More storytelling

This evening, Javier was part of the procession of people in traditional dress (black cloth, white lace, red accents) that were presenting flowers to the Virgin Mother at the Iglesia de Santa Maria. The church was built in the 15th century. After the alter had been completely covered with flowers, a choral group performed to a standing-room-only crowd.

Javier presenting flowers for Santa Maria

One thing that will shock most of my friends and family is all the foods that I've been eating. For example, I ate several sardines tonight, and liked them. While in Spain, I'll try everything once. So far, I haven't lost any weight if that's any indication.

I still wish the language was coming faster. I seem to forget it as fast as I learn it. I must be patient.

8/12/02 Hacinas

My first day at Spanish school

Morning came way too soon. Nati and I drove into the city, and while she went to work at city hall as a secretary, I went to Amparo's apartment for my first Spanish lesson.

I am her second American student, and her fourth student since she opened the school. For now, she is the only teacher and classes are held in her living room. But she has hopes for adding more instructors and more classroom space. After three hours, my lips are very tired because we worked mostly on pronunciation. Amparo said that the Spanish think English is an easy language to learn but they have most of their problems with pronunciation. I am trying to make sounds and use my mouth in ways it hasn't had to do. Very hard work.

Amparo tells me to give it a chance and I will be speaking Spanish, instead of just translating the words in my head, in two or three weeks. I told her my skull is pretty thich and the brain small, so it might take four or five weeks.

After class, Agnes and I went for a walk to nearby village. And because I had left my hat at home, my face and head are quite sunburned. The Spanish all take evening walks, called a paseo. I was sad to learn that Agnes is at the end of her two weeks here and is driving back to Germany to attend the University. On our walk, we used my little Spanish and her little English to talk about our families and life at home.

By the time we got back, Amparo had specially prepared a rice dish common in Valencia where she grew up. Later we talked about my contradiction of being a finicky eater. I told her that I was trying everything put on my plate, tasting everything at least once. She didn't believe I was that finicky at home because I cleaned off my plate. But then she said I could never be a finicky eater after I told her about drinking fresh goat's blood on my summer in Kenya.

Again, because of the upcoming festival, the second of three nights of storytelling was going on tonight. This story storyteller loved to involve the audience and it wasn't long before she decided to involve me. Amparo and Santi quickly told her I didn't understand her because I didn't speak Spanish. So, she began to speak English at certain parts of the story, always directing those words specifically at me, much to the audiences delight. I knew she was getting some laughs at my expense but I didn't mind. José said "Now everyone in town knows the American, Jim!"

My hosts are letting me turn in early. I sit here at midnight writing this. One reason I came at this specific time was to be here in Salas for their local festival. José and Nati are joining a peña, a sort of social association of which many peñas make up a large part of the festival. And they have invited me to join. This is not common, so it's a great opportunity to see part of the Spanish culture few foriegners get to see.

8/11/02 Hacinas

Chants at Santo Domingo de Silos

Fell asleep trying to write last night. After eleven hours of sleep I feel much better. Rolled out of bed by 9am because Amparo, Santi, Agnes, another Spanish student who is from Germany, and I are going on a field trip.

The biggest problem with learning a new language is saying "yes" when you don't understand what is being said. Before I knew it, Nati was serving me double portions because I said "yes" when I didn't understand she said "more?" At least that's what I figured out.

The temperature was a little warmer today, but they tell me it's still cooler than normal. Santi tells me that the Clint Eastwood movie "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" was filmed near here. Deep canyons, high buttes, soaring vultures overhead all remind you of the American West.

The monastary at Santo Domingo de Silas is a well known retreat for famous people in Spain like the president. But the choir is know the world over because of their Gregorian Chant music. We heard just a small bit when we went to Sunday service.

Monastery at Santo Domingo de Silas

More of the day was spent exploring Silas, a canyon nearby and another village called Covarrubios. The church architecture, while plain, was built to last centuries. At lunch I ate lamb. Very different than in the US.

We met Nati, José and Javier at a storytelling performance across the river from Salas. Even though I didn't understand any of the words, the storyteller had thousands of facial expressions, much to the delight of the children.

Storytelling

After dinner, we returned to the city square, called a plaza, for more "adult" storytelling. Now I think I've met most of Nati and José's family. Nati has five brothers and a sister. José has eight brothers and three sisters. Nati's brother, Victor, is the mayor of Salas. And one of José's brothers teaches English in Burgos.

So it's 2am and I need to be in bed because tomorrow is my first day of Spanish class. Did you know that no one wears hats here? And I need to be careful when greeting people because I I know I bruised Nati's mothers face with my glasses when I attempted to kiss her checks. Santi tells me that getting around in any town by wheelchair is near impossible because of the ancient buildings and roads. And last, my head is imploding with all the new words, sights, and cultural differences. I just don't know if I can learn all of it.

If anyone can teach me, it could only be with the patience of Amparo, Santi, Nati and José. They are the greatest.

8/10/02 Hacinas Spain

Welcome to Salas de los Infantes

I'm not sure how this will read because I've been up for about 34 hours if don't count the catnap I had on the plane.

Ricardo was excited when the second movie started: K9 with Jim Balushi. After it finished, we both tried to get some sleep. Kind of different because of the cramped quarters. Not an hour went by when they turned up the lights to serve breakfast.

Weird to watch the sun set from the airplane and then sit it rise again before landing. On the ground, I got my bags, got some Euros, and proceeded to Customs. Not questions, just a stamp and waved on. As I was leaving, passed the doors to find lots of people waiting for family and friends to arrive. Weird, I didn't see anyone's bags checked or any questions about the contents.

"Jim! Jim!" is what I heard and then a hand waving above the crowd. Santi, which is short for Santiago, is the husband of Amparo, my contact at the school. Although I didn't expect it, he spoke English so we were able to communicate on the couple hour drive north to Salas de los Infantes. He thought after my long flight, I would be too tired to jump into learning Spanish by "immersion."

I really couldn't thank Santi and Amparo enough for arranging to pick me up. Santi had dropped his 2-year-old daughter at her grandparents home in Madrid. Otherwise I would have had to take two subway trains to the bus station, get a ticket to Burgos, where I would catch another bus to Salas de los Infantes. The way I felt, it probably would have ended in a disaster or some "bad" adventure like getting robbed in Nairobi years ago in Kenya.

The country-side reminded me a lot of the western US. It was raining and there was very little traffic. I gather from Santi that people don't drive long distances (or maybe just him ). The roads curved a lot and it was a little scary because of the rain.

The sun was coming out when we reached Salas de los Infantes. First, we met Amparo, who is younger than I imagined. Both of them are in their early 30's. She has a wonderful smile and seems very happy. Then we went to the city hall where Santi is the lawyer for the mayor office, and also to meet Nati, her name being short for Natividad. Nati and her husband José will be my host family while I'm studying here in Salas. Everyone is very friendly and I feel very welcome.

Santi & Amparo

Later, we all went to Hacinas several kilometers away where Nati and José were putting finishing touches on a house they built. I met their son Javier, who just had a birthday party. He is three years old. José studied English in high school years ago but I think he still knows more English than I know Spanish.

After a quick two hour nap, we had lunch. Javier acts just like a kid going through his "terrible two's" sometimes. He seems frustrated when I don't reply to him and there is no way to tell him why.

I feel like I've jumped into the deep end of the "cultural pool". Javier, José and I took our evening walk around Hacinas. Even though it only has 200 people, it still had many younger people, mainly teenagers. But only the preschool is still open. The town is situated on a rocky outcropping, with the church at the top. It is lit up at night so you can see it for miles. We even got to climb the bell town where they still rang the bell b hand. I held Javier while José helped with the four large bells.

Some community gathering was going on at the school. I watched the women play tuta, a game like horse shoes but played with flat metal discs. José said that it is only recently that women were allowed to play. It's a game only known in a few towns in this area.

So far, we haven't stopped moving. Next, we went back to Salas to watch a 5K running race. Instead of everyone running at the same time, the run is in stages even though several groups only and four or five competitors. Then it was to the bar, which is more like a café, for coffee. They keep introducing me to family and friends but I can't keep all the names straight. I fell asleep several times before they finally took pity on me and we left.

Maybe the reason the Spanish eat so late is because the sun doesn't set here till 9 or 10pm. So far, I've eaten everything they've given me but I can't keep the food names straight. Finally collapsed into bed, some 34-hours after leaving KC!

8/9/02 Chicago

Leavin' on a jet plane

Mom saying goodbye

The plane just passed the coast and we're now flying over the Atlantic Ocean.

Sitting next to me is 12-year-old Ricardo who has assumed the role of my guardian. Every summer he flys to America to spend time with his grandparents in Minneapolis. He is traveling alone because his brother had a bad wreck on his bicycle (flipped over the handlebars, bruising his spleen) and the doctors didn't want him to fly for a few more weeks. So Ricardo, Ricky to his American friends, went on while his mother stayed with his brother.

As a frequent flyer, or maybe because I clearly don't travel much by air, Ricardo has politely helped me out when I couldn't figure something out. Like listening to music or turning on the overhead light. So far, it's been a pretty uneventful flight, nothing like my flight last year at the start of the bike trip. Somehow I got locked in the planes only bathroom, and the stewardess had to break the door off the hinges to extract me. Caused a 45-minute delay at our layover to repair it.

Ricardo lives near Madrid. His mother is American and his father is Spanish. And he has two brothers, Ricardo being the youngest. His English is very good but he gets stuck every once in awhile. If only I could be so lucky with Spanish.

Before dinner, he gave me pointers on places to visit in Spain. Dinner itself was 'interesting'. The chicken was cubed with skin still on it. Not the most appetizing but my other choice was veal (or maybe I lost something in the translation).

The sun has set and the movie "En La Cuidad sin Limites" (City Without Limits) is playing overhead while I write in the journal. Ricardo must not be interested in it either because he's drawing Simpson's cartoons. He liked the airplane tail I drew.

Siempre Arriba! - Always Up!

A Pilgrimage Across Northern Spain

People from all walks of life have made the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain to visit the remains of St James in the the cathedral. I studied Spansih near the Northern Spanish town of Burgos, while living with a host family for the month. My 'pilgrimage' started at the French-Spanish border, and continued some 550-miles and 36 days to Finesterre, the 'end of the world' on the Atlantic Coast.

When legend has it that a hermit found the tomb of St. James in 814, the faithful have made the pilgrimage to the cathedral in Compostela de Santiago in Northwestern Spain built in the saint's honor. In the Middle Ages half a million pilgrims a year flocked there from all over Europe. I once came across a journal entry of a 16th century pilgrim, and it reminded me of Appalachian Trail thruhiker journals. So I had to add it to my list of 'future' adventures.

In August, 2002, I took four-weeks of immersion Spanish lessons at Aula sin Fronteras in the village of Salas de los Infantes, in Northern Spain, not far from the Camino. This gave me a chance to begin learning a new language and to learn more about the people and culture of Spain.

On September 13th, 2002, I began my pilgrimage along the Camino Frances route from St Jean-Pied-de-Port, at the Spanish-French border, heading west about 550-miles across Northern Spain to Santiago de Compostello and Finisterre in little more than five weeks. I was blessed with great weather even though it was reported to be one of the wettest summers on record. Hostels, also called refugios or alburgues, are set up along the route in Spain specifically for the pilgrims use, most costing little if anything. But the highlight of the entire adventure is all the wonderful people I met along the way. Truly a melting pot of the world, with pilgrims from all over Europe and the World.

I dedicate this pilgrimage to people
caught in the crossfire in the conflicts spanning the globe.
May they show strength under adversity
but retain their faith in humanity,
giving everyone reason to hope
in peace and justice for all.