Vanishing Act

The old eastern span of the Bay Bridge is in the middle of a vanishing act. Slowly but surely sections are being pulled apart and hauled away. A couple of days ago I walked on the pedestrian/bike path that makes its way under the maze of overpasses, pass the sewage plant and up to and alongside the beautiful new span. 

I received a couple of phone calls along the way and the whooshing of the cars made my callers inquire as to my whereabouts. There was some alarm when I said I was walking on the Bay Bridge before I clarified that I was on the pedestrian path.

The dismantling of the bridge reminds me of the 1989 earthquake that caused a section of it to collapse. It reminds me, as do the returning college students, of how long Berkeley has been my home and how much I have loved living here. I will miss this beautiful crazy place while I'm in France. Once again I'm leaving my "shire" and heading off on a journey which holds all manner of wonders which I can only guess at now. 

Whimsy

I laughed as I looked up at a stone turret on Rose St and saw a long yellow braid cascading from the window high above. It was decorated with pink flowers and made me wonder who lived in the house and whether a rescue was needed.

Darling miniature lending libraries also brought smiles to my face as well as the concrete slide at Cordineces Park and the carved fence posts at one residence. The names of the roses at the Rose Garden drew me in too. So many touches of art and beauty and whimsy all around, I simply need to take the time to notice them.

Berkeley Beauty

There are less than a handful of days left before I fly off to France. On a whim, I went to REI to buy a  $5 luggage tag and ended up purchasing new hiking shoes. One is not supposed to buy shoes for a big hike the week before it, but having seen forecasts for rain the first few days on the Camino I decided to inquire about whether I could waterproof the ones I already had. The sales guy said because they were mesh it was impossible, though they did carry a waterproof version of the same shoe. Wish I had known that earlier. Nevertheless, I decided to purchase the news ones and will try to walk a lot in the next few days to break them in. Actually, they feel really good and aren't stiff so I'm hopeful that I made the right call.

Berkeley feels alive right now with all of the new and returning students swarming around the campus. Having lived on North Side on Oxford St my senior year and loving that area I headed there for a walk around the hills and through the lovely neighborhoods. The architecture and the gardens are filled with whimsy and personality and charm. The brown shingle buildings, the victorians with their turrets and everything in between are so delightful. Even though it is almost fall, flowers were in bloom and the air was filled with their heady scents and vivid colors. The majority of the yards and gardens have a carefree natural appearance and decorative gates provide glimpses to interior courtyard oasis.

The weather couldn't be more perfect: 70F, sunny and blue skies with a light breeze.  My walk took me up to the Berkeley Rose Garden bringing back many fond memories of playing tennis there and enjoying walking through the roses while looking out at the sweeping vista of the bay. I paused frequently to take photos and have brief conversations with others out enjoying the day.

I'm trying to soak up the Bay Area before I leave. It's been wonderful to spend time with my dear friends and family before heading off on another big adventure. I will hold all of this beauty and love in my heart as I journey abroad. 

Images

One of the things that I love about walking is that I am moving at a pace which allows me to see and notice things that I might not have at the speed of a car. Here are a few photos that I have taken along my walks in Emeryville and Berkeley.

Preparations

Preparation for the Pilgrimage- The Second Time Around

I will be setting out to walk the Camino for the second time almost exactly a year after my first go, August 30th.  This time I will primarily be walking in France, following the Le Puy route about 750 km to where I started out last time in the Pyrenees in Roncesvalles, Spain. Doing anything the second time creates a new set of expectations. There is no doubt in my mind that this journey will be completely different than my first Camino, yet I do know what it is like to wake up every day in a different town and hostel before dawn, put on my hiking shoes and following a path for hours while meeting people from around the world.

One of the differences will be that most of the pilgrims will be French rather than the eclectic international mix that I encountered in Spain. I'm fairly sure that this will become a French language immersion experience for me and the language that people will be talking in, especially in group situations will be French, not English as it frequently was in Spain. French is the language that I studied in school and I have spent 6 months in France, but that was quite awhile ago. I'm lucky if I reach the level of "transactionally fluent" so conversing primarily in French will be a stretch for me. Hopefully the language barriers won't prevent me from bonding easily and deeply with my fellow pilgrims. One on one, I think they will likely have mercy on me and switch to English if they know it and if I can't keep up with their French.

Another difference will be the sheer number of people on this route compared to the "Camino Frances" that goes across Spain. Last year over 250,000 people walked in Spain compared to 15,000 or so on the Le Puy route. I imagine this will create more time alone on the trails, but one never knows. Resources such as hostels and restaurants/bars/cafes likewise are scaled to the smaller amount of pilgrims and we've been advised to make reservations ahead of time to ensure a bed to sleep in. Only carrying a day pack still seems my style, so I will be making reservations at least two days ahead as required by this transport service. That gives me a little less flexibility but not too difficult.

I have been trying to do a 7-10 mile walk a couple of times a week along with other shorter walks. This has allowed me to enjoy and soak in the beautiful settings here along the SF Bay as well as some of the interesting streets of Berkeley. Not surprisingly, I have neglected to do as many hills and steep uphill climbs as I should have. I might regret this when I first start out because the first section from Le Puy has lots of steep hills and elevation changes.

This summer I was blessed to lead a morning Pilgrimage retreat at church. I sent them a list of questions to think about a couple of weeks before the retreat. They might be interesting questions for some of you to ponder and maybe hold in your mind and heart while you go about your day or take walks.

Preparing for Pilgrimage

One of the reasons people go on pilgrimage is to have the opportunity to quietly reflect on deep questions of the heart. When you have a few minutes for reflection, see which of these questions speak to you.


1. What kind of encounter with God are you longing for?

2. What are your hope and dreams, your deepest longings?

3. What do you want to discover or reveal about yourself?

4.What are the places of pain in your life that you would like healing in?

5.What do you need to let go of?  What is weighing you down? What is creating clutter or distractions for you?

6. Without all of the labels of your roles at home, work and activities, who are you at your core?

7. Why would you like to go on pilgrimage? Healing, forgiveness, purpose, direction, change, break, transition, time to simply be, slow down...

8. What would going on a sacred journey mean to you?

I spoke about some of the following ideas or principles related to Pilgrimage:


Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have their hearts set on Pilgrimage."  Psalm 84:5

Pilgrimage

Preparation
Purposeful Movement
Pondering
Presence of the Holy Relic/Sacred Ground
Pausing
Postlude

Pilgrimages are both solitary and communal experiences.  No one does the journey without encountering pilgrims along the way.


Circular
Communal
Contemplative
Centering
Completion/continuation

I feel honored to share my pilgrimage experience with all of you who are reading my blog. I appreciate your love and support and prayers as I move along this journey. Feel free to email me at emeryvilleamy@gmail.com if you want to say hello or comment. I'd love to hear from you. I'm not sure how far or how long I will be gone this time. My intention is to walk all the way to Spain and then keep going in one fashion or another until I feel like I'm done. Having done the Camino once before I am acutely aware that I have no idea what the next couple of months hold for me and that likely my plans will change direction any number of times and in a multitude of ways. I will just take each day as it comes and be grateful for whatever it brings me.