Life's a Stitch

I was thinking, why are we referring to our time away as a vacation? As in C's complaint observation that he spent his entire vacation down south replacing flooring. Vacation from what? We're retired. Every day is either Saturday or a vacation. 

More lessons:

Pavlova goes well with Rioja

Who says you can't have pavlova twice in one week?  A double lesson here – it's cheaper to buy whipping cream by the quart.

The cold weather didn't keep us from the pool.

That same weather encouraged our yardbird,  the road runner, to stay warm on the patio furniture and once, he even came inside for a visit.

I'll leave you with some sunset pictures, thanks to B. Next time will be on dogs, giant and otherwise, and Joshua Trees.

 

Apologies for the absence, we were in California with the entire family and friends.

While there we talked about a co-worker of my daughter's, who at the end of each day reflects on what was learned on that particular day. You can tell she worked in academia. A nice concept, though. And although I can't give you an example for each day, I can start with a few. 

I learned:

That Canada Post charges $50 to hold your mail for a four week period. And I thought the post office was a public service paid through our tax system. Nominal fee maybe, but $50? 

It is naive to think that you can change the flooring in a two bedroom apartment over a four week period. It was mayhem, but thanks to the S's-I-L, C, friends Wayne and Margaret (who loaned us essential tools such as a jack hammer and shop vac), Dave of Blogless Marsha fame, and Jose from B&B Flooring we got it done in the nick of time. This meant a mostly cement floor in the kitchen and living room from before Christmas until the second week in January. It also meant powerful grinding of said cement floor, after the boys removed the ceramic tile, with resulting heaps of dust. I should have invested in Swiffer prior to starting the project. There were times when nobody was happy, but we reminded ourselves such is the nature of first world problems. 

Those familiar with the area will recognize that I plied those boys with date shakes from Shields. And In 'n Out burgers. 

Torrential rain in southern California results in roof leakage, flash flooding and mountains with beautiful snow to compliment the palm trees.

Two environmental anomalies can happen 12 hours apart. Flash flooding followed by earthquake. No kidding. I never said I lead a dull life.

Noro virus sweeps through a household with a voracious appetite. Maybe appetite is the wrong word. Apologies to Blogless Marsha and Dave, whose visit last week included such exposure and resulting effects.

In the Palm Springs area, if you need a stuck ring removed from your finger, you pay a visit to the fire department. Marsha's Dave experienced this first hand, so to speak. 

I think six lesson are enough for this post. To think that just weeks ago, we were walking in reflective solitude on the Camino de Santiago. But I am the first to say that life is about balance.

Over the years we have simplified our Christmas traditions to a table top tree and no gifts, stockings only. Thinking back to more frenzied times, I have an appreciation for those working families who maintain the cultural expectations and customs. I don't know how you do it. Christmas aside, like all retirees I know, I don't know how I had time for life while working full time, hardly able to fit in everything in now, without the job.

I lie. I did ask for a practical early Christmas gift, a 13.5" cast iron pan as my current non-stick one was peeling at a dangerous rate and I was tired of replacing them. Trouble is, it weighs 7.5lbs, and there's no shuffling of the food with an elegant tilting of the pan and flick of the wrist without risk of significant injury. Considering my wrists, what was I thinking? It is now a permanent fixture on top of the stove, a form of kitchen art. It is getting used, then slid back onto the stove after washing, as there is going to be no lifting of that behemoth in and out of the pot and pan drawer.

There was a fun deadline for this holiday season, a painting commission for a house portrait. Still standing, it was built in the 1600's in Quebec, and was inhabited by her many times great grandparents who raised 14 children in the house. We combined aspects of three photos of the house, old and current, changed the season to fall, and came up with this:

The real house, magnificently renovated, is currently for sale for $529,000 CDN,  beautifully perched above the St. Lawrence River. I love doing house paintings and learning about the building's history and the people who lived there.

Much of the painting planning process was done while listening to my favourite CBC radio in the background. There was a talk show regarding Christmas traditions and one mom shared her family gifting formula. Four presents: something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read. That simplifies things a bit. I might add something hand painted to hang on the wall ;-) 

It's our 33rd anniversary, our longevity as a couple lasting more than half our lives, as C pointed out. We agree that a sense of commitment to get through life's hurdles is a given, but I wanted to think beyond that. If we knew what we know now, 33 years and 1 day ago, what would be our advice to ourselves? I would tell us to remember to have fun together. It is easy to find fun in other parts life, but as long as you are married and have to share all that seriousness, remember to create some balance by having fun together. C, in his way of wry humour, responded, " What fun?," as if we don't have any, which cracked me up, which ends up qualifying as fun because he can still make me laugh.

And about that sense of humour:

 

Upon arriving in Santiago I mentioned that I'd post about our souvenirs later, the criteria being an item light in weight and unbreakable. I gave another hint in this post where the photo of the Camino symbol of the city of Navarette appeared, our favourite symbol on the Way.

So, we took the big step to commemorate our experience together and after an acceptable amount of consideration and research, we visited Dr. Mortiis in Santiago for our Camino tattoos. The pictures make them look larger than their size of 3cms, about 1.25". It was something we never thought we'd do, but agreed it was an appropriate gesture of solidarity. If you know us, I should probably have told you to sit down first, this being so out of character.

Coincidentally Chuck is now reading a book which refers to "those turning points in people's lives that inspire a tattoo – almost any pilgrim experience will do." (J. Irving)

It was something very different for us, but I can confidently say we've had not a smidge of regret. 

We're out of data and by the time you read this we'll be close to arriving back home in Vancouver, having cruised across the Atlantic with 20 friends and family, who met us in Barcelona to celebrate and help us sail into retirement.

Our Camino dream came true and that's how it seems now, a dream. Did it really happen? It's the kind, though, that after awakening stays with you like the best book you've ever read. You keep going back to it in your mind, reliving certain parts, until you finally incorporate it into your life, its influence staying with you forever.

I'll be back soon. Buen Camino.

As our children were born we established some new traditions. Each Christmas I bought a Time Magazine Year in Review, presenting each child when in their 20's a stack of world history since their birth.

When I turned 30, C and I celebrated with a bottle of wine from the year of my birth from our favourite Spanish winery, Torres. We've continued that tradition by buying a bottle of the same wine in each of our children's birth years, to be opened with them on their 30th birthdays. Two down, one to go, each bottle of Torres Gran Coronas living up to our expectations.

Today we had the privilege of visiting the Torres winery in the Penedes region Spain. Having booked a walking tour, we were pleasantly surprised to find it was a private tour as it was a weekday in the off season. What a treat, a private tasting that included the same wine we've been saving for the kids.

In the museum there was an actual bottle of the wine we drank on my 30th birthday. So long ago it was in a museum!

Thank you to our guide, Stephania from Italy, a 25 year old wine expert who has studied seven languages, for adding to a wonderful experience.

The budget question is probably the most common question asked of us, followed by the weight loss question. As for the latter C lost 3lbs and I'm not weighing myself. The bottom line is you eat like a horse on the Camino in order to keep up your energy.

Another woman from Vancouver said that if you want to weigh less after the Camino, loose it prior to starting. It's the bread and all that wine. A pilgrim from Rhode Island asked me if I thought people would need counselling after their experience. Hell no, I said, it's more likely that they'd need rehab after days of Spanish wine at lunch and dinner.

As for money, two of us staying in a range private rooms, some with shared bathroom which was never a problem, ranged from 30-55e per night. A three course pilgrim meal each per day came to 18-24e. A shared omelet (tortilla con patates) sandwich brekkie and two drinks came to 4-6e daily, and a sandwich lunch with beer was around 10e for two. Bag transport for our one support pack ranged from 3-7e per day depending upon the region.

Then there's the rest of it: SIM cards, laundry, haircuts, transportation for errands and touring, museum admissions and snacks… Once in Spain, for the two of us keeping in mind that larger cities are more expensive, we were fine with 100e per day. Of course our trip became more expensive as the value of the CDN dollar declined. Then there were the unbudgeted items like replacement of lost belongings, a clinic visit and souvenirs.

Some spending tips:
– weekend menus at restaurants are more expensive for the same items you order on weekdays.
– a can of diet coke in the grocery store, where you can detach a couple of cans from the six pack, costs about .55e each. In a bar, with a glass and ice, the cost goes up to 2e and sometimes the bottle is as little as 200mls. Cute bottle, high price. Beer can be cheaper than coke or water.
– if you are looking for eggs in the grocery store, they are in a regular aisle, unrefrigerated. And don't forget to use the plastic gloves provided and weigh and tag your produce and bakery items, prior to checking out, in the supermarket.
– if you order from a menu in a restaurant, instead of the pilgrim meal or menu del dia, you will be brought bread and charged for it.
– there is a small service charge for sitting at a table on a restaurant's terrace.
– there can be a huge difference in the quality of a meal with a price difference of 2e. Stay away from the places that display commercially produced menus for paella, pasta or pizza. These are reheated factory made items, think microwaved frozen dinner.

Overall I was glad we saved enough and waited for retirement, so we could do the Camino in one go with the ability to stay in private rooms. And it was an excellent opportunity, as one of my daughter's coworkers said, to spend our kid's inheritance 😉 Thank you, children.

Next post: the trip home.

We continue to shed the cocoon of our Camino experience. Chuck in Santiago:

Chuck now:

He concedes that he's more comfortable this way.

We did a 12k day yesterday to enjoy the beach and the Pablo Casals museum in Sant Salvador.

My mother was a huge fan as cellist/conductor Casals had strong ties to Puerto Rico. His mother was from Rio Piedres, and he lived his last years there in exile with his Puerto Rican wife, protesting the civil unrest in Spain. I have vivid childhood memories of listening to his music. We walked clear across Spain and this was the best museum we visited.

View from his house on the sea:

At his birthplace in El Vendrell:

More from Spain to come, the last of the Camino posts.

So, you're thinking about doing the Camino de Santiago, or you don't want to do it but you're curious. Here are some suggestions and what I wish I'd have known ahead of time:

1. Almost everyone I talked to on the Way agreed with me – it's harder than they were expecting terrain-wise. The only exception being C, who for some reason, had an easier time than the rest of us. Expectations? The power of positive thinking? Ahead of time he told me he would not suffer from blisters and guess what? Not a one, no blisters for C. That alone is a Camino exception worth noting.

2. Pain control: walking 20k+ per day you can count on pain. Bring whatever drugs you need. If I had known that bursitis and tendinitis we're going to be significant I would have brought my tens unit along to place on relevant trigger points. Voltarin gel and Ibuprofen, AKA Vitamin I, are available in Spain.

3. Foot care: as soon as you feel the slightest discomfort, attend to your feet. The pebble in your shoe or that hotspot of pain can cause bruises and blisters that take days to heal. Some people swear by applying little pieces of duct tape to the painful spot to avoid the b word.

4. Allow yourself a slow start. Get over the jetlag prior to beginning and take the first few days slowly. If you're limited for time start farther down the route.

St Jean Pied de Port, the French starting point, which became particularly popular due to the movie "the Way," does not allow a gentle and gradual start. Even if you taken the break in Orrison, the second day, particularly the decent, can have a negative impact on your Camino if you are prone to knee and ankle issues. If those areas of your body are in good shape, have at it.

5. Make sure you take breaks even if you don't feel like it. It makes a difference to the wear and tear on your feet and exhaustion level.

6. Phone service. This is a long one, but not Camino specific. It applies to any phone service from Europe.

If your phone is unlocked it's easy to find SIM cards in Spain. If you are starting across the border in France, keep in mind that your reasonably priced Spanish service won't work there. You can buy SIM cards that reach farther than Spain at a higher price.

We bought Vodaphone cards for 15e for an hour of worldwide calling, 60 texts and 1.5 gigs of data, good for 30 days with the ability to carry forward the unused portion. Good in theory, but the online/call-in recharge feature didn't work with foreign credit cards. Instead we recharged at Vodaphone stores, which always wiped out our carry forward credits, necessitating a call to customer "service." The quotes indicate the level of service to expect. Next time I'd get the lower 10e card and recharge when necessary without concern for carrying forward the unused portion. If you run out of phone minutes you can always use data to call on Skype.

7. Bank Machines: if you are a Scotiabank or Bank of America customer, there is an agreement with Deutsche Bank in Spain, allowing you to use the ATMs without fees, however they are located mostly in the big cities. Deutsche Bank has a partnership with the Spanish postal system, Correos, and occasionally there are ATMs outside of post offices. The withdrawal limit is 600e per day, so planning is required. Avoid bank machines on the weekends. If your card is kept, you won't be able to recover it until Monday.

Plan carefully, there are multi day stretches on the Camino without access to ATMs and some of the Spanish banks will not honour foreign cards although their sign indicates they are on your bank's debit system.

8. We found we could purchase bus tickets onboard and bus drivers can give change. Sometimes, on city buses, there's a limit of 10e in change.

9. Business hours: most stores are on the siesta system, closing roughly between 2 and 5:00pm. The larger grocery stores (Mercadona, Dia Max, Eroski, Frioz) didn't close. Most restaurants open for dinner at 8:00pm, some catering to pilgrims, a bit earlier. Museums are generally closed on Mondays.

I'll be doing a separate post on the budget.