So with technical problems behind us hopefully, I’ll attempt to give you insight to my journey so far.
Position: In Camino del Perdon having spent the night in the beautiful Basque city of Pamplona…
One of the most important lessons (which of course I had learned in theory before;) the Camino has taught me thus far, is the absolute necessity to keep one eye on your destination (dream, goal, aim), one of which in my case, is to reach Santiago by May 13th, and to keep the other eye on the path. I have already paid the price for being to hasty and unconcentrated. None the less I have approx 100 km behind me in just 2 days. The second lesson, is the heavy load (backpack for five weeks) I am carrying is distracting me no end. I need far too long to unpack, repack, and it is so heavy that I am concentrating more on the burden of carrying it, than enjoying the beautiful scenery that the Camino has presented me to enjoy thus far.
I’m sitting in this wonderful little cafe writing on my mobile, among various nationalities, and I’m already feeling the magic that this path has to offer…
Now on to Puenta de la Reina, where I may overnight, making for the shortest daily distance (23 km) so far. So with lessons learned the hard, I’ll love you and leave you till this time tomorrow…
Be watchful,
love,
Paul
Hi Paul
Okay, keep going, enjoy the tapas, stay away from the toros…
in Pamplona.
You are doing well, covering a fair distance.
Hope your mobile “hic cough” is sorted out.
Love
Dearest Paulo, Paul and friends,
hmmm.. Wouldn’t it be interesting if every person paid honestly what they thought of the service? I wonder how much richer or poorer some people may be. I think you could find someone who loves Paulo’s books pretty much anywhere around you. Personally, i’ve noticed readers either love it completely and are forever die hard fans or people have a complete distaste for it.. Hmmm.. Paul i wish you a safe journey, and i look forward to more posts from you after your phone is sorted out.
Aditya, my friend! Its been a while. I’ve missed you. How have you been? Is life treating you well? Yes, i must agree with you, and i’ve decided to write continuously.. Well more regularly like i did before. :) we’ve been here for a long time hey.. I think for years we’ve been talking to through here.. I’m so glad you’re still here. I look forward to some more discussions :) mwah. Take care my friend.
Love you all.. Lol including Paulo of course..
Thank you for being,
Yajna
Good to hear your recent news Paul, especialy meeting some good people in the Auberge-I am looking foeward to seeing the photo!I am glad your are reflecting on the toughness of the journey as well.’The journey’ you are taking is reflecting deep meaning for us…and where we are on our own personal challanges.
Keep Well : )
Love
Breda
Dear freinds, I have to appologize but my mobile is dead… at least until I can get to Logrono tomorrow hopefully. I am in Los Arcos after another long hard say from Puenta de Raina, the weather has been very changeable with violent thunderstorms follow by bright sunshine…. typical April weather. Walking through the wonderful hills of the Rioja wine region, was really wonderful, even with or perhaps exactly because of the vibrant contrasts cast by the storms.
I stopped for a snack and to avoid a heavy shower in Villamayor de Monjarin and a younf man looked out of a small auberge and bekonned me in. With the smell of incense filling the room he started to ask what I’d like to eat, so we decided on a Bocadella (Typical white bread sandwich) and he filled it with tuna and eggs… delicious ;)
A very friendly guy, David Viclal Figuls was rushing around the small pleasing everyone with his friendly style. I noticed a book of Paulo?s “Like a flowing river” in his collection, and I asked him if had read other books by the same author, and he said he had and liked them very much. So I took his photo with the book in his hand and will send to Paula when my mobile is working again tomorrow. The absolute topper was that when I asked to pay the bill, he said give me what you think it was worth… I said no please tell me the regular price… he said no please give what you want as a donation for my Auberge… amazed at his wonderful trust and honesty, and given that he had made a fresh salad and supplied me with water, I put a somewhat higher amount (I believe) into his cash box. I said you are a truly nice human being… oh no he said humbly… please, you are God… (he meant it too…;) That’s customer service…;)
So with that story for the day I’ll say good night and please don’t worry when you don’t hear from me every single day, because sometimes there is no signal for hours on end, and the internet stations in the Auberges are allways occupied and time is short online. The mobile is ready for the junk yard… ;) Thanks for all your wonderful support, you travel with me all the way. Love, Paul
A special kiss for my wife and beloved daughter, don’t worry.
Love, Paul
PS: Paulo, I know that you understand the effect the Camino has on a person better than anyone, and I must admit, I did not expect the journey to quite as exhausting, both physically & mentally, as it is.
I’ll do my best to update as often as I am able. Thank you for your understanding.
Thank you too Paula and Supi for your marvellous web support… bear with me, we’ll get this right. I’ll try to get the mobile sorted in Logrono. Love, Paul
Dearest Paul, we missed you today or maybe with the .. extra burden you have decided to throw us away too!! ;]
Hopefully everything is going with …good weather and light heart.
LOVE,
Thelma.
Paul,no news today? Hope everything is fine over there…Let us know whats going on.We are all with you.Wish you all best things.God bless you.Love
Alexandra
Hia Paul
“the Camino has taught me thus far, is the absolute necessity to keep one eye on your destination (dream, goal, aim), one of which in my case, is to reach Santiago by May 13th, and to keep the other eye on the path.”
yeah that is right, trick is why we don’t do it without being implored, even then so often things slip in our consciousness.
Yagna ! good to see yo here. for people on the path it helps to keep company of other ’seekers’, and this place offers one of the best virtual destinations, for todays’ virtual people like us.
Paulo ! it is about remaining aware ! consious ain’t it ?
like that paul ‘be watchful’
love
aditya
Paul,
I finished the Camino last summer, and it changed my life. God bless your journey! A word on the heavy load you bear on your back…I found that as I began my journey, the heaviness of my backpack represented some of the burden I was bearing in my heart- past hurts, failures, fear, …letting go of some things in your pack, things you may think you need, but really do not – may help you begin to let go of the things in your heart. Buen Camino Peregrino!
Allison
Dear Paulo, I needed the night for your mystery…
Thank you
Love
Hildegarde
xxx
Querida Rosa de los vientos, yo ya hice una lista con lo que me llevaría en la mochila. Es importante un botiquin de primeros auxilios con lo escencial para dolores y cortadas. 2 cambios de ropa, implementos de trekking como imperdibles (que según, funcionan hasta para secar la ropa al sol, colgandola de la mochila),celular con cámara digital, cantimplora, bloqueador solar, jabon, pasta dental, papel higienico, shampoo, documentos, navaja, yesquero, provisiones con mucho chocolate y un extenso etcétera. No se me ocurre nada mas pero por lo que veo tendría que llevarme una maleta a control remoto… jajaja!
Querido Paul de Austria, estoy muy contenta por todas tus reseñas y veo el apoyo que ésta comunidad de internet te ofrece, me conmueve mucho, que paso a paso permitas que el camino te encante con su magia y te vas transformando en el camino, porque serás parte de él y él será una parte de ti. Que el entusiasmo, la fe y el amor brille en tu corazon y que continues creciendo con tus sueños. que la bondad de Dios
te acompañe siempre y te bendiga.
Espero hacer el camino a Santiago pronto
Con amor Paola
—————————————————————-
Dear Paul from Austria, I am very happy for all your reviews and i see the support that offers to you this internet´s community, I moved a lot, step by step to let the way, enchanted you, with your magic and you’re turning into the road, because You will be part of the road and it will be a part of you. The enthusiasm, faith and love shine in your heart and you grow with your dreams. that the goodness of God
always be with you and bless you.
Again I apologize for my English and also leave a message in Spanish
I hope to do the way to St James soon
Love, Paola.
Dear Paul,coucou, bonjour
Sept kilos est le poids recommande pour le sac – comme pour prendre l’ avion – oh la la – ca va etre difficile, non? Il va falloir que tu fasses un audit peut-etre?
Enfin, penses-y et je pense a toi. Bon courage.
Gros bisous.
P.S. Les chaussures, ca va? As-tu pense a prendre du sparadrap …au cas ou…pour les ampoules.
Regarde le paysage, prends ton temps, ecoutes les oiseaux qui chantent. :)
Dearsest Paulo, Paul and friends,
I’ve been through some rather traumatic experiences in the past fortnight
that’s left me in a state of mind where I just didn’t want to think anymore.
I didn’t want to challenge anything and a part of me just settled in a
comfort zone of blatantly denying my love to think, to explore myself to
even just continue doing what I love. Yesterday, while in a hurry I walked
into an Exclusive Books shop. I searched for The
Alchemist under Paulo’s surname and didn’t see it in its usual place. I
stood there as my friend called and thought,”now that’s just great, I can’t
even find his book. Isn’t that the cherry on top to a horrible day.. ” Yes,
I was extremely negative and as a walked to leave, I said to myself, “No, go
back and give it a chance. Walk the other way because maybe just maybe its
on the other side for some reason. His books must be here.” So after fighting with myself, and hearing friends
screaming for me, I quickly walked back. Thank goodness I did, not even a few
shelves down I found all his books, 10, 20 copies of each but I couldn’t see
one of The Alchemist. So I did exactly the same as before, moaned, created
more pessimistic thoughts and walked on. Again, I convinced myself to go
back and I did. I found a single copy of The Alchemist lodged between his other books, and when I opened it, i found the perfect paragraph that fitted in the situation i was in. I read it those 2-3 lines quickly and walked silently to my friends. Even with them, although silent still, something was changing inside of me. Some hope. Some interest. Some desire to ponder. And i did. I thought. And soon i began to speak. And it helped. It helped me remember just how much i love being challenged. How much i love thinking, discovering, and how much i love Paulo, his books and this site. How much this place challenges me, and just how much apart of me all of you are. So i came back today, to write to tell you, i love you all. And to my suprise i found Paul, with such courage, on this wonderful journey.
Paul, I found your journey amazing so far, and i’m very grateful to this site for allowing you to share your lessons with us. In every moment, you will learn something. A simple thing like you concentrating on carrying your back pack and forgetting to look around you- holds so very much! Its so often that we are encompassed by our daily challenges that we forget why we’re living and the absolute beauty that surrounds us. Maybe this should be a reminder to us all, to lift our heads up once in a while, and look around to see just how incredible our surroundings are. Paul, my friend, i wish you have a beautiful journey and i know you will discover remarkable things about yourself. May God bless you and know my thoughts are with you. :)
Paulo, thank you for giving him the opportunity to share himself with us and taking such interest. I know, it must be a dream come true for him. It would be for me.
Thank you for being,
Yajna
Querido Paul from Austria: gracioso lo de la mochila, pensando en que llevaría si hiciera el camino, todo se acumula, movil importante, cargador de movil muy importante ya pesa luego la cartera, documentos y un diaria donde tomar notas importante,lo mínimo de aseo cepillo y pasta y papel higiénico verdad? ya ocupa una muda para cambiarse. ¿Que más? a alguien se le ocurren más cosas que llevarían y si alguien hizo el camino ¿Qué nos aconsejan?.
Un beso Paul y recuerda que ahora estás haciendo la meditación peregrina. Recuerda que tu Alma se está cargando más que la mochila y sobretodo a medida que vayas conociendo a peregrinos se cargará más aunque este peso te hará elevarte.
Pienso en ti y un beso para tu hija y tu mujer.
You are in my thoughts Paul and it is good to read how your journey is going.You are doing well-the distance you have walked in a few days-’Well Done!!!Have you booked your accomadation in advance or on arrival-depending where you are?
It is true what Thelma wrote-we are challanged daily on Paulos’ blog!
Hope you enjoy today.
Breda
100km dear Paul…you are wonderful.
I wish that your eyes… may give you the strength to go on.
Your destination is Compostella, I hope you reach your goal on the 13th…and I feel like saying let the date go…your heart shall bring you to Compostella on the right time.
Take care of you dear Paul and your backpack…and thank you for your lessons, I shall empty my…pack too.
Love
Hildegarde
xxx
Funny, I had on my mind the weight of the backpack today (one of the off putting things about hiking), I can’t stand carrying anything heavy, and we do always carry our burdens without even feeling the weight.
Great to hear from you and hope your heart and your journey become lighter with each step towards your goal.
Lots of love
Pandora
One of the things I loath while traveling is excess baggage.
Get rid of it!
:D
Today, i had such a sleepless night, every other hour i was awake, and couldnt get to sleep..i was worried about you and now i see your post i smiled!!
It seems that ,abandoning the things that one doesnt need is one of the greatest lessons one has to learn in order to continue on his path and leave for good all these things that were of no benefit for him (thoughts, material things, habits and so on) only this way he can change to become what he really is
Paul you are remarkable!
Love and Graditude
Annie..
Dearest Paul, we were worried about you being tired and .. silent!
The first days are always the most difficult, because everything is new and we need to adjust our senses, body and Soul to the Path in front of us.
Here above is our Paulo Coelho following you too with his heart and arms opened and .. lifting some of your burden.
He teaches us the Pilgrimage too, even when we are in our homes following our routines.
Have a nice evening and a ..light ‘Rücksack’ and an open heart.
LOVE,
Thelma.
Hello Paul, so nice hearing your news.Thanks a lot for sharing glimpses and feelings from your spiritual journey.I am amazed how well you deal with the whole situation, you really tough guy…In the good sense of the word,of course. Keep it up, dear Paul.
Have a wonderful time, God bless you.
If you look around, you will see a lot of abandoned things. On the second day, people get rid of what they thought they will need during the journey.
In the Genesis:
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
As God divided the waters (above and below) the same happens to the pilgrim. You will continue to carry the same weight, but it will be lighter.
ULTREYA
Paulo