Baguettes and Vegemite

2020

Hunkering Down: Days 3 – 5

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Meet Evie  the Unicorn and Thomas the Bear. They belong to my grandchildren but live at Grandma and Grandpa Bear’s house. In between visits they are put away on a shelf in the WIR but after the last visit they were very sad because they don’t know how long it will be until they see their family again,  so we let them come and and sit in the dining room. I talk to them about all the fun they had during the last visit and it makes them feel better.

And now for something completely different. This is not a political blog. There’s enough people out there giving opinions and debating the actions and decisions of the government and medical authorities. I just want to share how life is for me and my family in these strange times. I want my grandkids and great grandkids to know what daily life was all about during the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope they read it some day.

However I’d just like to say that if I lose this, even if there is sometimes  lots of seaweed,

and I don’t get to do this

because people  think the rules of social distancing don’t  apply to them or the beaches, I will be mighty pissed off. Just saying!!

Work wasn’t too bad for the rest of the week, in Spanish I’ve learnt to say “La niña no tiene una boligrafo” which means “The girl doesn’t have a pen”. I’m sure this is going to be very useful when I next do the Camino. I did some writing, tidied a bit more of my office, practised doing different fonts so my Bullet Journal is Insta-worthy and planted more vegetable seeds. I’m up to level 711 on Candy Crush Saga.

Papa Bear couldn’t get the barbecue on the Costa del Balconia working, despite long phone calls with the experts (his brother-in-law and his mate)

so was forced to use the one down at Porto Gardenas. Just as well we have 2 barbecues, a weber and a smoker to choose from! As always Papa Bear produced a culinary masterpiece from his barbecue, salmon cooked on a piece of cedar plank which gave it a deliciously smoky flavour

 

My artfully arranged lettuce leaves and chunks of potato and pumpkin barely did the salmon justice

And to finish off,  this pilgrim is grateful for the living art  that graces her casa every single day!

Keep healthy folks.

Hunkering Down Days 1 & 2

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I didn’t have a very good start to Day 1. I was late for work, thank goodness I have a good relationship with my boss (me)  so I got away with a good talking to and reminder that I was lucky to have a job in these times. No excuse I’m afraid, I took a cup of tea into Papa Bear, who has no employment at this stage, and he looked so comfy tucked up in bed reading his iPad that I joined him.

Tuesday was hot so I negotiated a later start time  so I could go for my walk and swim before work. It was magnificent! In these times when our lives are bombarded with germs and unhealthy practices, to be out in the open air, the sun warming your face and the wind ruffling  your hair, makes your soul sing. And there’s something so normal about splashing through the shallows, even if it is to take a wide berth around a young family making sandcastles in the sand.

I haven’t done all that much, I tried tidying my office, it needs a good Marie Kondo. It doesn’t look too bad in the photo but its a bit overwhelming in reality. And yes,  20 or so blank exercise and notebooks  does spark joy in my heart. I did some Spanish, I will be fluent by the time I do my next Camino….. but I say that every time!!

We are keeping healthy, we’ve had some delish vegetable soup, sprinkled with green and red capsicum crisps,  fresh from the dehydrator.

 

Thanks to a friend via Facebook (everything is via FB now!)  I have renamed the rooms of our house. I’m sure you’ll get the drift.

Our afternoons have been spent down  in Porto Gardenas, cerveza (Spanish for beer, I want you to remember this)  in hand,  where we plan our vegetable garden.

Once we the sun goes down we adjourn to Costa del Balconia for our dinner.

Note – A pilgrim is grateful and I am so grateful for balmy Geraldton evenings watching the sunset over the ocean.

 

 

Hunkering Down: 22nd March 2020 – the decision made

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On Saturday we got an msg from D3 “……it’s time for you guys to hunker down……” So that’s what we are going to do. Since I won’t be doing any travelling this year I thought I’d record the experience, as much as for future Andersons as anything. But I hope ya’ll follow along, I’d love to hear your experiences .

Five weeks ago I was in Melbourne. I’d spent the weekend doing a volunteer course, I was going to go to Spain, do some walking and help out at one of the albergues on the Camino. All planned! And here it is just a few weeks later and Papa Bear and I have made the decision to self-isolate, mostly because the years of smoking  have stuffed PapaBear’s lungs. As soon as the great toilet paper saga began I started getting ready – buying a few bits and bobs here and there, stocking the freezer and pantry.

Well ok, we spent about $1200 over a fortnight at the supermarket  and Bunnings,  but who knows many weeks or months this going to last.  Note – A pilgrim is grateful:I am grateful that we were able to stock up on whatever we wanted, that we don’t have to worry about losing our jobs and having to pay a mortgage. We just have to worry about keeping healthy!

I’ve been drying, fermenting and pickling.

 

Truth be told I’m pretty good at this shit –  part of me, the Earth Mother part of me, is sorta enjoying it.   I’ve got the bullet journal working, making lists – to do lists, pantry lists, I have even renamed the Things to Do When I Retire list to  Things to Do in Self-isolation. They’re sort of the same except  I crossed out the things that mean stepping out of the house.

I have enough food for about 4 months meals and by then the vegetable garden should be kicking in!

So, this is it folks. I have two goals for each day

  • Go for walk along the beach and have swim each day. Luckily our beach is long and wide enough that a walk in normal times is almost like social distancing anyway. I intend to walk the Camino along our beach
  • Each morning I am going to go to work for three hours. I am coming out of retirement, it will be job my  job, albeit unpaid.  By 9:00am I aim to be sitting in my office doing project stuff – Spanish lessons, do something with the 40 000 + photos on my computer, write the family history, finish my novel……

 

And to say goodbye to our normal  life until we meet again, here is our Sunday lunch on the balcony enjoying the glorious Geraldton weather – crumbed sardines and salad, the tomatoes are from our garden….just saying!

 

For these three pilgrims the Way has ended: Day 22:Nájera to Santo Doming

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I do not have fond memories of this day from previous Caminos. In 2017 the track looked like this, it was quite hot and there was nowhere to sit, it went on forever. In 2014 it was cold and wet and muddy.

The temperature was expected to hit 32C so Papa Bear and I decided to walk to the first town then bus it. D2 said she was going to walk. 

On the outskirts of town we came across a rather dejected looking figure on a bench. D2 just wasn’t feeling the love this morning and decided to walk and bus with us.

We headed off into the dawn together.

The hill out of town wasn’t easy,

but before too long we were over the top and the rest of the walk was easy. I was a bit sad this morning, knowing our time on the Camino was almost over and shed a few tears.

Pilgrims just love taking pictures of poppies!

Azofra and coffee!

A family emerged from the house and climbed into this car – Grandma, grandpa, Mum, dad and 4 kids!!

Far from 32C it was really chilly and I was wishing I had kept my jacket but in anticipation of the heat I had packed it in my backpack.  It was probably in the back of this carrier van, so near and yet so far!

We had two hours to wait for the bus so bar hopped down the Main Street to the bus stop.

So D2, are you glad you took the bus?

Views from the bus

And here we are in Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

D2 is fascinated with the variety of vending machines. This is the local pharmacy

The Cathedral in St Dom is one of my favourites with a rather eclectic display of art. D2 and I have become quite knowledgeable about the Spanish saints over the years.

Saint Sebastian was speared by the Romans but survived only to be clubbed to death when he tried to tell the Roman Emporer about his sins. Saint Sebastian is a long-standing gay icon.  The combination of his strong, shirtless physique, the symbolism of the arrows penetrating his body, and the look on his face of rapturous pain have intrigued artists (gay or otherwise) for centuries, and began the first explicitly gay cult in the 19th century (Thanks Wikipedia)

Saint Roche was a benefactor who was cast from his town when he became covered in sores. A dog came to his aid and lucked his wounds until he recovered.

A modern depiction of the Last Supper

A very impressive LEGO display of a village.  This is just a small part of it.

St Francis of Assisi

I think this is St John holding his own head

I couldn’t help but think ‘St Dolly’

Santo Domingo de la Calzada is the site of the miracle of the “hanged innocent” a pilgrim wrongly accused of theft. The witnesses for his successful appeal, a pair of beheaded, supposedly cooked chickens are represented by their descendants, a pair of whom are kept at all times in the choir loft of the cathedral. Other descendants are kept in the local pilgrimage refuge.

 

We had decided to splash out and stay at the local Parador, a hotel usually converted from a monastery or palace.

The view from our window, the old and the new.

I went for a wander and got a bit lost, but all you have to do is look for the spire

A farewell dinner with our American Camino family.

We were intending to walk on tomorrow and see where the day took us. But somehow once we got here we all knew our walk was done. Once a pilgrim, always a pilgrim, but for us this Camino is over.