This is the trio I spoke of the other day. The dad gave me the poem his grandfather had written and asked me to read it to our group. Saw them this misty morning leaving Portomarin and having a beer in the late afternoon close to Palais de Rey.
On the Road with Ann
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – 100 km, Signs and Symbols
The Camino is full of symbols and rituals, which can be taken literally, dismissed as silly, or taken metaphorically. Pilgrims of all ages and backgrounds seem drawn into these age old rituals. At any way station or significant marker, pilgrims leave stones brought from home, bandanas, luggage tags from flights, […]
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – First photos from the Camino
First round of photos. My camera broke. These are rather poor, taking with iPhone through waterproof cover. [nggallery id=13]
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – A Family and Friendly Affair
We have now walked for four days, and the sun is shining at last. The countryside is stunning on an intimate scale. Three times today I had to move to the side of the trail to let a herd of cattle pass. All of us are walking well, at our […]
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – Breaking bread
A hearty breakfast before setting out.
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – Day 3 caminando
Today is our third day of walking. You would never know we are in Spain. This part of the country looks and feels like Ireland, lush, green, wooded, hilly, stone fences and houses, slate roofs. The rain has stopped and the temperature has been perfect. It feels like magic lives […]
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – And so we begin.
It is morning of our third day of walking. Here is Michael, from NY. The first two days have been rainy, with spells of teeming rain. And yet, they have been utterly glorious. The sound of cow bells, church bells, the rhythmic sound of walking poles hitting the ground, and […]
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – Encountering censorship
I leave for the airport in a couple hours, en route to Spain, for the Camino trip. I go directly from there to Vietnam. In selecting literature to discuss in Vietnam, I consulted a professor of Vietnamese literature who teaches in California. We soon discovered, from our tour operator in […]
TRAVEL PURSUITS – Vietnamese and Cambodians – what’s really in their hearts and on their minds?
The term “hearts and minds” was buried somewhere in me and sprang to mind as I was thinking about a title for this blog post. Hearts and Minds refers to a short lived campaign by the United States military during the Vietnam War intended to win the popular support of […]
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – Tiptoe through the tulips with me
Not one of Flora’s brilliant race A form more perfect can display; Art could not feign more simple grace Nor Nature take a line away. – James Montgomery, On Planting a Tulip-Root Everybody thinks that tulips come from Holland. Actually, Tulips are native to Central Asia and Turkey. In the […]