Day 1- 25.06.2020- Pamplona, Spain

Where were we? Ah yes, after too many hours on the bus, one day in Zaragoza and again on the bus, to Pamplona now, ​​we officially became pilgrims after obtaining the first stamp on the credencial in the cathedral of Pamplona.

Credencial-Pamplona

    So many feelings! God, I relive that moment every day and I wonder how have we succeeded to make it to that day. But let's move on with our story, after receiving the stamp we decided not to linger too long in the city and start the Camino in the same afternoon, but wait a sec!? Trying to get out of the twisted old center of Pamplona, impossible for us in that moment, ​​we lost sight of the signs of the route (the specific markings of the Camino, which I leave the picture of below), we lost precious time, but we succeed in the end. We left the city crossing parks, many streets, we passed the huge university campus and slowly, slowly we head towards Alto del Perdon, without realizing what awaits.

Specific signs of Camino

After a short break in Cizur Menor and a run to the pharmacy to get magnesium, heart and muscle support, we head to a more filled with mountains terrains that culminates with Alto del Perdon itself, without knowing and without anyone telling us that we will meet a rocky road, so of course we hardly advance on the stony road that crosses the vast fields of cereals.

    But it seems that nature opposed us from the beginning: a monstrous storm coming out of nowhere caught us close to the summit. Three hours under a walnut tree without the possibility of advancing or return, wet, cold and scared of course, we advance to Zariquiegui to spend the night, but unfortunately the 2 albergue (shelters for pilgrims) were closed due to Covid -19. Without the possibility of a roof above our heads, we look for a place in the following villages, we a sigh with relief when we find an open hostel in Uterga. The problem was the 5 km we had to travel to get there, you have to keep in mind that it was still raining and it was already 9 in the evening, but salvation came to us, the host, the owner of the hostel that would welcome us had called us a taxi. And so, dear readers, we ended the first day of the Camino, a hard day, full of adventures and emotions, I can not tell you how many times we wondered what we actually got into and if it makes any sense to continue. One thing I noticed from the first day of the Camino, from the perspective of 2 people with not much exercise, is to listen to your body and heart, can it handle more? To pay attention to the advice received from the locals (we had received warnings from the village elders that a storm was coming, but the signs were contradictory so we ignored the warnings) and certainly the more water, the better.

    From the perspective pf a person with disabilities, although I used a hand bike and prepared myself somewhat mentally and physically for exercise, it does not compare to what you encounter in the day-to-day life, every stone was against me and of course climbing a mountain exceeded my physical exercises at home, but if I learned something that day, it certainly was to never give up.

    So darlings, we will soon continue with the second day of our adventure. Until next time, peace of mind and body!

Y buen camino, peregrino!

Pamplona Cathedral

Pamplona

Sweet Christmas

       It's monday and I woke up blinded by white. While sleeping, a fine layer of fluffy snow laid itself quite majestically on the, until then, green field. Christmas is around the corner and I can't stop myself thinking about distinct dishes, sweet bread and mulled wine or for those who want something stronger, palinka.

The loudness is unbelievable this morning in our house, our children's excitement making them especially loud and my husband's patience ran thin but even so I couldn't stop my mind from savoring memories of my favourites: cookies and chocolate.


And if we are already talking about Christmas let me tell you more about our habits of this holiday, here in this Transylvania Land and maybe you will think  about joining us.

From every house are not missed some soupe or borsch (for the quests who mind their calories), aperitives whith bacon and home-made sausages, sarmale and all sorts a meat delicacies and if you are vegan, fear not, as we already dropped the idea of meat.

To our home now it begins with salads and different sea-food, fish and other numerous ingredients I don't remember.

Cake and sweet bread whith nuts, cinnamon and vanilla, hazelnut and almonds, these are my favourite part of my Christmas, oh and the fruits also, of course!

On every small street in the villages waits are wishing you a Merry Christmas with their charols.

So as they say :

 Hai la Maramu!

Helplessness

       Fallen on the humid ground, I remember looking at the sky and thinking that it was a nice warm autumn day, the sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue.
       Even to this day I hear the drumming of hooves and the sound of the chariot’s wheels drifting into nothing. My husband’s roar of despair and the darkness in his gaze, the fear and the groans of utterly pain, it shook me out of my stupor, I almost came alive, he was trying to take me in his arms, to embrace me as close as he could, he was raising slowly my head.

‘Don’t…please, I can’t move my legs…I have spine trauma’ he could hear me barely whisper. Agonizing flashes that I barely remember go on: the ambulance came with a young nurse, who was more panicked than me, she didn’t really know what to do, she barely got my neck brace on and we go to the hospital.
       Between salons and doors at which I needed to wait the doctors finally decide to keep me at a hospital a night to see if I survive.  A single nurse approaches me all night trying to keep me calm, trying to encourage me ‘remember what you need to live for’.

 The next day my husband appears threatening trying to rationalize with the doctors, pleading for me to go to a better hospital, to Cluj Napoca. I was supposed to go with a helicopter, the situation was a critic one, but in my place goes an 80 year old man with a broken femur ( apparently it was more critical, he was the father of a senator). I wish to say my trip on the ambulance approximately 125 miles, and maybe it appears that it was made quick and easy but let’s remember we are in Romania, so the trip wasn’t slick and nice at all. In fact it was hell for me, the inflatable mattress that was supposed to keep me from feeling the bumps of the road was punctured so it staid deflated all trip. Next up awaits me hellish days that sometimes I wish I could forget, because of lack of cash, the hospital decides that until I have 3800 Ron cash to pay for the titan system that I needed, I won’t be put under surgery. My mum manages to arrive from Spain with the money, Saturday night, but the surgery won’t happen until Wednesday.

Days and nights of despair, hopelessness and trembling fear pass.

 I know what will happen, but do you want to?