For those of that didn't know, I am now in Hungary. I figured that since I met so many Hungarians and they were all pretty rad it was a sign that I needed to go there. So here I am. Smack dab in the middle of Budapest. Actually I am in Pest, but I have also been staying in Buda. It has been one wild ride.
It turns out that the Hungarians are huge fans of staying up all night, every night. To put it this way, we go to bed at about 3:30am last night and that was an early night, but probably the most random. Everyone was gone yesterday. Jamie and Reka were at a Nine Inch Nails concert, Piroska was at work and Tamas was in some town doing something. Tamas had told me of a Hungarian film festival that was happening, sounds awesome right? No. By the time I had arrived the American movie was starting and it happened to be "Music and Lyrics" with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. If that wasn't bad enough it hadn't occured to me that there was a possibility that the movie was going to be in Hungarian. I felt like an ass. Oh, speaking of asses....
After the movie I ran across town to meet up with Piroska, Jamie and Reka because by some stroke of random luck we had been invited on a party bus by Piroska's brother. We arrive to a double decker tour bus with that is playing the most terrible music ever. I don't even know what genre it was but we'll just call it Crap. So, we get on to the bus and decide that we need to make the best of this and what better way to do that than to start taking shots of vodka chaced by sprite. Now that we are well on our way I think the only way to make this worthwhile is to moon the non-party bussers. Reka, Jamie and Piroska agree and we spend the next hour looking for our victims. There they are. An innocent group of people walking home after a long night. The four of us yell out the window and turn around as fast as we can and bend over. It was so much fun that we did it a few more times but it turns out that there are cops cruising the streets of Budapest. Who would have thought. The next thing we hear are sirens and our bus has stopped. Jamie and I start to get a very worried because we are without our passports and have just mooned a good part of the Pest side. Luckily, the cops didn't investigate any further and we went on our merry way.
And now tonight is Piroska's performance and Tamas' birthday. What could possibly happen tonight?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
I F-ING MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!
Finally! After 32 days of walking I have finally made it to Finisterre!!!!!! I can not wrap my mind around it. Well, I haven´t actually made it yet. I still have 3k´s to walk to the lighthouse to watch the sunset and burn my socks, then I will be done. It is such an amazing feeling, I think. I do have to admit that I am one massive beer and a shot into my celebration with the Camino Family so I´m not really feeling anything but drunk.
To the lighthouse!
To the lighthouse!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Sprinters and Bed Bugs
I am over my beef with the bikers and I have now focused my attention on the Sprinters. The sprinters are the people that start the Camino at the 100k mark. The reason for this is that you must do 100k´s in order to get the certificate at the end and they pretty much suck. They are the most unfriendly people and are extremely rude. It is just a long weekend for them and they don´t understand what it is all about. They come in late and loud, are constantly on their phones (in the rooma and on the Camino), they yell to speak, carry radios (!!!!) and listen to them while they walk so we can all enjoy their shitty music, and there are hundreds of them so they take all the beds. That last one really got us today. After walking 33 k´s to day (and 40 the day before), the place we were going to stay was full so we pretty much ran the next 3k´s to get to the next albergue where there was just one bed left and 4 of us. We must have done something good at some point because the hospialiro call the 3 of us back and gave us our OWN ROOM! I know you can´t understand the excitement, but we were squealing! For the past 30 days we have been sharing a room with 100 other people and to have 3 of us in one room is heaven!
Oh, speaking of sharing rooms. One of the many joys of this is that at some places, I don´t know how it happens, but people bring bed bugs. Up until now I have been very luck and have not encountered this but it finally happened about 3 days ago. Rike had seen one in her bed and didn´t think anything of it. Well, the next day she was covered in bites. They got into her bag, where she carried them to the next place and oh-so-kindly shared them with me. On my right arm alone I have 18 bites. I was so close! If they were just bites I wouldn´t care, but they itch like hell! It´s like having poison oak all over your body. And the best part is that I have 3 bites on my butt. I think I have rid my things of them, but the only way to find out is if I have more tomorrow...
Oh, speaking of sharing rooms. One of the many joys of this is that at some places, I don´t know how it happens, but people bring bed bugs. Up until now I have been very luck and have not encountered this but it finally happened about 3 days ago. Rike had seen one in her bed and didn´t think anything of it. Well, the next day she was covered in bites. They got into her bag, where she carried them to the next place and oh-so-kindly shared them with me. On my right arm alone I have 18 bites. I was so close! If they were just bites I wouldn´t care, but they itch like hell! It´s like having poison oak all over your body. And the best part is that I have 3 bites on my butt. I think I have rid my things of them, but the only way to find out is if I have more tomorrow...
Tomorrow is the big day
It´s finally here. Tomorrow we walk into Santiago. I guess I shouldn´t say finally, because it has come too quick. After 30 days of just walking, the thought of not doing it is a little scary. Thankfully we still have Finisterre to walk to. Speaking of Finisterre, I can not wait! All the way to Santiago it is very religious. Crosses everywhere, no booze aloud in the albergues, god this, god that. But Finisterre. Ah Finisterre. This is the Pagan side of things so let the debauchery begin!
Finisterre was believed to be the end of the earth a few years ago and there are some legends that I can´t really recall at the moment. It´s a 3 day walk and once you get there you are to burn your socks or all your clothes or your boots, little things you brought from home (which I was unaware of) or pretty much anything. I will be burning my socks and possibly my shoes. But the best part is that, from what I have heard, after you burn everything, everyone runs into the ocean naked! Yes, it is a group skinny dip (a chuncky dunk for a few...)!!! Sorry Mom and Dad, but yes I will be partaking in this event. Try not to think about it. From what I understand it cleanse you and you become a pure pilgirm.
This has been quite the adventure. Sunburns, blisters - oh the blisters. I managed to get one blister twice! Put that in you pipe. So, sunburns, blisters, food poisoning, bikers, sprinters, torn meniscus (possibly), bed bugs, and amazing people. I could ask for anything better.
Finisterre was believed to be the end of the earth a few years ago and there are some legends that I can´t really recall at the moment. It´s a 3 day walk and once you get there you are to burn your socks or all your clothes or your boots, little things you brought from home (which I was unaware of) or pretty much anything. I will be burning my socks and possibly my shoes. But the best part is that, from what I have heard, after you burn everything, everyone runs into the ocean naked! Yes, it is a group skinny dip (a chuncky dunk for a few...)!!! Sorry Mom and Dad, but yes I will be partaking in this event. Try not to think about it. From what I understand it cleanse you and you become a pure pilgirm.
This has been quite the adventure. Sunburns, blisters - oh the blisters. I managed to get one blister twice! Put that in you pipe. So, sunburns, blisters, food poisoning, bikers, sprinters, torn meniscus (possibly), bed bugs, and amazing people. I could ask for anything better.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Pain and Suffering, Emotions, Spiritual
This is what I have heard about the Camino. It comes in three stages. The first: Pain and Suffering. This couldn´t be closer to the truth. Your body is aching in places you didn´t even know existed, blisters have started forming, you are stuck sharing a room with 109 other people who all don´t have the same view on personal hygiene as you do and you find that walking is hard! I know you are laughing at me because I keep saying that walking is tough, but give it a shot. And I´m not even suggesting that you put a 20 pound pack on. Walk down to the store or maybe even just a mile down the road and back and tell me how you feel. But the main problem with the walking being hard is that when doing my research on the Camino and everyone was stressing that you should train, I laughed just like you are.
After you have gotten over how bad your feet and shoulders ache and you have quit giving so much attention to that one blister between your big toe and the one next to it and how bad it hurts and how you wish that amputation was an option, then the emotions start rolling in. These aren´t your everyday, run-of-the-mill emotions, these are the one´s you have put away for a rainy day. You are all over the place. My mom was sure that I was going through the change at 24. But there is a reason that this is the time for all the emotions. You are on the f-ing meseta and are bored out of your mind! A week and a half of wheat. It´s flat and there is wheat. Nothing else. Just wheat. Your brain has no way of dealing with all the wheat, so instead it takes you on an emotional rollercoaster to save you from how bored you are.
Now that you have experienced every emotion known to man, you finally arrive in Galicia. I´m not sure if it is really as beautiful as I think it is or if I am just happy to be off of the damn meseta, but it is amazing. Everything is so green and there are birds. You didn´t hear birds on the meseta, at least I didn´t. I don´t think there has been any spiritual movement inside of me but life is much better. Give me 3 days and I´ll let you know. That´s when I should be arriving in Santiago!
After you have gotten over how bad your feet and shoulders ache and you have quit giving so much attention to that one blister between your big toe and the one next to it and how bad it hurts and how you wish that amputation was an option, then the emotions start rolling in. These aren´t your everyday, run-of-the-mill emotions, these are the one´s you have put away for a rainy day. You are all over the place. My mom was sure that I was going through the change at 24. But there is a reason that this is the time for all the emotions. You are on the f-ing meseta and are bored out of your mind! A week and a half of wheat. It´s flat and there is wheat. Nothing else. Just wheat. Your brain has no way of dealing with all the wheat, so instead it takes you on an emotional rollercoaster to save you from how bored you are.
Now that you have experienced every emotion known to man, you finally arrive in Galicia. I´m not sure if it is really as beautiful as I think it is or if I am just happy to be off of the damn meseta, but it is amazing. Everything is so green and there are birds. You didn´t hear birds on the meseta, at least I didn´t. I don´t think there has been any spiritual movement inside of me but life is much better. Give me 3 days and I´ll let you know. That´s when I should be arriving in Santiago!
700k down, 100 to go!
Yep, that´s right. I just passed the 100k mark. I can´t even comprehend it.
It´s been awhile since my last update so I´ll try to keep it short and to the point. Three days after my last post we (i´m not sure if i told you about the big group I fell into. If I haven´t then I will let you know that there are 6 people) stayed at this amazing little place by the name of Manjarín. This is a place that will always have a special place my heart and my immune system. Manjarín had no running water, no electricity and mats that we slept on in the attic of this house. We roughed it. They were kind enough to provide us with dinner, breakfast (!) and a great time. What they also sent us on our way with was a huge dose of food poisoning. Slowly, one by one, it took us down. First it was Tim. He spent that entire night running downstairs (and remember, no electricity). Then in the morning Jamie starts speaking of an upset stomach which caused me to turn my attention to my stomach that was also not feeling up to par.
After a nice siesta by the river in an unknown town, I run into Jamie looking quite dazed. I had stopped in an albergue to use the bathroom and almost took him out. It turns out that 2 Spanish men found him in a ditch throwing up and took him to the hospital. I got him settled in and went on my way. I´d say about 3 hours later, in the middle of nowhere, 5k from the next village, there I was puking, again. Luckily, Tim had stayed with me and that kept me from bursting into tears pleding with the heavens to send my mom to me. Little did I know that one of the Hungarian girls was doing the same thing 2k´s ahead of me. Then about 4 hours after that it took the German girl down. So, 4 out of our 7. Not bad. We ran into some other people that had stayed there that night and they were all sick also. I tip my hat to you, Manjarín.
It´s been awhile since my last update so I´ll try to keep it short and to the point. Three days after my last post we (i´m not sure if i told you about the big group I fell into. If I haven´t then I will let you know that there are 6 people) stayed at this amazing little place by the name of Manjarín. This is a place that will always have a special place my heart and my immune system. Manjarín had no running water, no electricity and mats that we slept on in the attic of this house. We roughed it. They were kind enough to provide us with dinner, breakfast (!) and a great time. What they also sent us on our way with was a huge dose of food poisoning. Slowly, one by one, it took us down. First it was Tim. He spent that entire night running downstairs (and remember, no electricity). Then in the morning Jamie starts speaking of an upset stomach which caused me to turn my attention to my stomach that was also not feeling up to par.
After a nice siesta by the river in an unknown town, I run into Jamie looking quite dazed. I had stopped in an albergue to use the bathroom and almost took him out. It turns out that 2 Spanish men found him in a ditch throwing up and took him to the hospital. I got him settled in and went on my way. I´d say about 3 hours later, in the middle of nowhere, 5k from the next village, there I was puking, again. Luckily, Tim had stayed with me and that kept me from bursting into tears pleding with the heavens to send my mom to me. Little did I know that one of the Hungarian girls was doing the same thing 2k´s ahead of me. Then about 4 hours after that it took the German girl down. So, 4 out of our 7. Not bad. We ran into some other people that had stayed there that night and they were all sick also. I tip my hat to you, Manjarín.
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