Wandering With Wally

I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.

Susan Sontag

Wandering With Wally

Wally is a tiny walrus

A plastic one at that

He doesn’t speak, but he captures hearts-

My silent diplomat

I have to carry him everywhere -

His feet were not made for walking

He soulfully stares as we wander the world

from the corner of my pocket.

He probably wishes it was cooler

In the places we go together,

But he doesn’t complain; he just goes along

No matter what the weather.

A diplomat, my Wally is -

He’s always making friends

So I always take him with me

When I go to explore new lands.

Overlooking the Atlantic on the way to A Guarda in Spain along the Portuguese El Camino

Resting on a cliff in the Cies Islands National Park in Galicia

Wally carrying a little burden on the Portuguese Way…

Sitting on a signpost along the Portuguese El Camino.

In Italy - sitting on a terrace overlooking the mountains in Emilia Romagna

Resting among the leaves on a sidewalk in Fort Worth

Wandering through a unique historic district of Fort Worth, Wally posed on an outdoor tap dance stage, and beneath the eggplant at a community garden.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

George Bernard Shaw

I’ve been traveling a lot this fall - to Europe for three weeks, then a quick trip to Indiana and then Texas for my mom’s 80th birthday. Everywhere I go, I bring Wally with me. I found him in a rest area parking lot on a road trip a couple of years ago - he was a little dirty, a little banged up, but adorable. (Click Here to see the first Wally post). Over the past couple years, he’s been stuffed in my luggage, backpack; purse, pockets and/or camera bag - sometimes I just carry him in my hand while I’m walking or running. I’m always looking for photo ops for him while I’m out wandering. He’s very photogenic. He lightens my mood and makes other people smile. Maybe they just think I’m crazy. Either way, it’s ok - I learn a lot by trying to put him into a scene; to have a little fun with perspective, to inject a sense of humor into my travels. I hope you enjoy the results.

Thank you so much for being here! I will see you next week!

Wistfully watching the sun rise over the mountains in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

El Camino de Santiago

Truth is one, paths are many.

Mahatma Gandhi

Day one. The Path begins.

Prologue

My mother asked me for a truth

She knew would hurt her in the telling

And I told her, and it did.

The Way

I began to walk this storied path

Heavy hearted and confused,

Humbled by seeing myself

A little more clearly.

A truth unspoken for years -

Was just dishonesty.

I began to walk

But I was not a pilgrim,

I was just a traveler walking an old path

For the exercise; and to see a bit

Of the world I hadn’t seen-

To experience a little beauty.

Then I listened to the stories,

Told by other travelers.

Saw the weary man,

Who walked

Hundreds of miles from the north –

And I began to sense the power

of the road I was on.

As we climbed a steep rocky trail

I heard a man say

There was a place up there

To lay your burden down

symbolically

In the form of a stone -

At a cross in the woods

With a pillar of other stones

Beneath it.

.

We found the spot,

Sunlight streamed through,

lighting the cross.

A woman I had met walked up,

and placed her stone there,

bowing her head - letting it go.

Was her burden lifted?

I don’t really know,

But soon after that

I went looking my own stone.

Calla lilies bloomed along the roadside.

A humble pile of stones and a cross made of broken limbs where pilgrims symbolically lay down their burdens

Day 2 - Ponte de Lima - The Medieval and Roman Bridge and its church, The Igreja de Santo Antonio.

Along the route, there are many mementos from pilgrims who have passed through. Words of encouragement on a stone…

burdens symbolically left behind under a cross in the woods.

Day 3 We walk to the remnants of an ancient civilization overlooking the sea and the mountains beyond on our first day in Spain

the ancient ruins overlook the more modern fishing town of A Guarda below

The walk led us through sculptures of the stations of the cross to a little town on the top of a hill.

Back down at sea level, horses grazed along the Coastal Camino

while signposts and red breasted birds pointed the way

We arrived in the colorful fishing town of A Guarda for a lunch break.

We ended the night at one of the Paradores hotels (a nationally owned chained) in the town of Baiona.

On Day 4, We took a boat to the Cies Islands - pictured here is the long winding pathway we walked to see the lighthouse.

My fellow travelers lead the way

A mist in the distance created a magical blue haze over the islands and mountains.

On Day 5 We began the final trek into Santiago de Compostela - stopping at the little church of Santiago Apostol, where a kind volunteer stamped our trail passports and offered us a moment to rest and appreciate the beauty of the altar and its sculptures.

A final walk through the woods into the city.

When we reached the square, after passing through an arched tunnel where a man played the Spanish bagpipe to welcome pilgrims, the sight of the Cathedral made me burst into tears. I didn’t expect to feel that way, but it washed over me all at once. There was something really special about this journey - even if I only experienced a part of it. New friendships were forged, and an older friendship deepened. People come here for all different reasons, but everyone I met was changed by it in ways they didn’t expect.

On the 6th day, we walked back to the town from our hotel on the outskirts of Santiago, back to the church to get a tour of the Cathedral and its Museum. The sun was just beginning to crest over the trees and the old part of the city in the distance.

On this path let the heart be your guide.

Rumi

Thank you so much for being here! I will see you next week!

P.S. I want to thank my friend Kat for walking this path with me! It wouldn’t have been as special for me without her.