Author: Michelle Heiser

It seems like ages since we were in Ethiopia. Our time there was amazing. Ethiopia had been on my list of places I had hoped to visit for many years. Being the birth place of coffee for one but more because of the people I had met from there. I have friends, and students whose families come from Ethiopia and I also have several teaching colleagues I am privileged to work with from there. Seattle has a significant Ethiopian population and I had heard about it from others and now we were able to go and see for ourselves. Our plan was pretty loose for our 15 day visit. We had some emails and phone numbers and a hotel booked for the first two nights. We landed on March 1st and were met by Wass, a friend Jim got know during a mission trip in 2012 with All God’s Children (more info at the end). It was great to see and be with Wass. He became our personal tour guide in Addis Ababa as well our 5 day journey to Northern Ethiopia. He also answered an endless number of questions I had about Ethiopia. Most of his answers included the statement “_____ started in Ethiopia.” So if you ask me all things started in Ethiopia…according to Wass.

We didn’t realize we arrived on a national holiday. So our introduction to Ethiopia was on Adwa Victory Day, a great day of national pride. This is the day Ethiopians celebrate the victory of Emperor Menelik over the Italian army on March 2, 1896. We joined the celebration in the city center for a few hours watching the singing and dancing that continued into the night. We got an immediate introduction into how proud Ethiopians are of their country and their independence.

The next few days I spent at one of the government elementary schools in Southwestern Addis. Jim had helped create a library, soccer field and basketball court when he was here in 2012. It is a school that has students from Kindergarten to grade 8. English is taught as a subject until 6th grade and then all subjects are taught in English. I thought I would be observing and helping in a few English classrooms. Here is what the introduction looked like I wrote it in an email that night to a teaching friend:

You might appreciate my crazy day. We went to visit a government school that our friend is connected to through a NGO child sponsorship program. I just wanted to visit some classes, hopefully English classes and meet some teachers and be helpful if I could. BUT when we showed up, the director took me up to a classroom of grade 3 kids, he handed me the English textbook, and a piece of chalk and told me the English teacher was in the hospital and i would be teaching all week!🤪 Oh and the kids will tell you where they are in the book. Then he left. It was me staring at 40-50 kids! They spoke very little English and I speak even less Amharic, like none. So I started with a get to know you activity which included me asking a question and them answering. I wrote it on the board. What is your favorite ______? My favorite ______ is _____. I started with food, everyone likes food. It took a few minutes and a lot of giggling, then one brave student was willing to speak and eventually we were all into it. After about 30 min (seemed like eternity) the kids start saying “Sport”. No one told me how long the class was supposed to be or if they would come and get the kids at the end. So I asked, “Do you have sport now?” They said yes. So I asked, do you go by yourself? No answer, so I tried to dismiss them but they wouldn’t leave and there were no teachers around in the halls to ask. So I kept teaching until eventually someone came to dismiss the class. It was kind of crazy!

Second class after lunch went much, much better!

By the end of my three days I had taught all 5 sections of the 3rd grade classes that same English lesson and a couple other lessons as well. I did get to observe some other teachers and classrooms and managed to play jump rope with the kids at recess. I realized again I love and miss teaching! While I has teaching Jim and Wass were making improvements to electrical panels in the school and dreaming together with the director about future improvements to the bathrooms for the school.

After three days of teaching we left for a short journey up north to Bahir Dar and Lalibela with Wass. Part of our excitement was the fact that this trip would be the first time Wass stepped onto an airplane. Our first two days took us to Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region and a large town on Lake Tana. This is the collecting point of the tributaries that create the source of the Blue Nile.  Turns out the Blue Nile is anything but blue.

During our time there we had the opportunity to visit active Ethiopian Othordox Monestaries founded in the 12th and 13th Century and learn about what makes their church different from other Christian churches around the world. According to what we learned it is believed that Christianity originated in Ethiopia and the Ark of the Covenant is being protected in Ethiopia, although the exact location is also being protected. In order to visit we took a boat trip on Lake Tana where we saw traditional reed fishing boats that have been used for centuries but have to be replaced every 3-4 months.

From Bahir Dar we flew to Lalibela, the capital of Ethiopia in the 13th Century. Lalibela is the name of a beloved and benevelant king who over a period of 23 years commissioned and supervised the building of around 12 churches out of a single piece of stone, a mountain really. The Lonely Planet claims these structures rival or even surpass Ankor Wat and Machu Piccho. What struck me was that these churches are still in active use, which makes it feel very different from Ankor Wat in Cambodia. On our last day we set out to climb to another church on a mountain that Wass had been to before. Once we were 1/2 way we changed our minds and decided to go to another peak. We hired a local who knew a short cut route and he took us up and up to a lodge, just under 11,000 ft., with incredible views. I was very humbled by all the people who make this trek weekly to go to town for provisions or to attend schools. People of all ages and with heavy loads of wood or other goods they are carrying. At the end of our 6 hours of hiking I could barely stand but I was thankful for the support and encouragement I had to make it.

We returned to Addis for our final four days. They were packed full of visits and meeting new friends. We were able to meet with two of my teaching colleagues families. First we met with the family of Mr. Kassa, a teacher I have shared an office with for a few years. I have had many conversations with Mr. Kassa about Ethiopia and I remember telling him my plans to visit back in fall of 2017. So to finally be here and meet his daughters and sister was very special. I had coffee with his youngest daughter, who then invited us to their house for dinner so I could meet more of the family. It was one of the best meals we ate our whole time in Ethiopia. We were also treated to dinner by the brother of another teacher I have worked with for about 9 years, Mr. Lulu. These meetings were such an honor and very meaningful to me. To make these connections made the world seem much smaller to me again. I also visited a couple more schools. One that friends of friends of ours in Seattle are teaching at and another that we heard about through a restaurant owner we got to know, we ate at his restaurant at least 4 times. I learned a lot about the different types of schools and was inspired by what I saw educators doing.

Fifteen days were not enough! Leaving was a little bitter sweet as we knew we had just scratched the surface of this beautiful country with all its history, natural beauty and great coffee. But we are so thankful for our time here and the people we met, connections we made and the things we got to see and experience.

All Gods’s Children, which I mentioned earlier, is a Washington State non-profit that supports both children from poor families and orphans who are transitioning from the orphanage to the big city life beyond the orphanage walls. They accomplish this nearly impossible task by working with the local government, who identifies the children, and US families that financially sponsor the selected children. They current provide support for 400 children and hope to expand this to 1000 children within the next two years. Many thanks for the work they are doing in Ethiopia.  I have included a link to their website if you would like to learn more. 

https://allgodschildren.org/

.

We spent the month of February in Uganda. We traveled over 3600 kilometers and covered most of the country (except the northwest corner). Uganda is known as the “Pearl of Africa” and also the “Banana Republic”, by locals. Fast facts: population about 45 million and 84% live in rural areas. Uganda is a landlocked country and about the size of Arizona. Biggest city: Kampala with about 1.3 million people. Uganda has almost everything: mountains (with snow), forests, jungles, rivers and lakes including Lake Victoria (largest lake in Africa and it has many islands). Fun fact: It is the second largest producer of bananas in the world with 84 unique varieties. The average Ugandan adult eats 550 lbs. of bananas a year. Most of that is matoke, like a plantain but different (google it). They also grow cassava, pineapples, jackfruit (one almost fell on my head), avocados (they are like blackberries to us-everywhere), maize, millet, sorghum, sugarcane and of course coffee and tea.

We were able to visit 6 of the national parks in the country, all very different from each other. We saw hippos, buffalo, elephants, giraffes, several types of antelope, crocodiles (on the Nile), baboons, warthogs (even baby Pumbaas), and finally 3 lion sightings and gorillas. It was incredible.

The day we trekked into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to see the mountain gorillas was unforgettable. We arrived in the morning and they explain that the trackers have been out since dawn looking for the 10 habituated family groups. There are 27 total family groups in the forest and each family has 8-15 gorillas. They nest in a new spot every night. We got put into groups of 8 tourists with one guide and one ranger who carries a gun in case we come upon elephants who also live in the forest. We hiked for two hours gaining about 1000 feet in elevation. Our group was unique in that one traveler was carried the whole way on a gurney of sorts (a car seat that was welded to two bars and carried by 4 extra guides. He was humbled and thankful to get to experience the gorillas as well. When we got close we heard the trackers whistle to our guide to prepare us. We left our bags, water, food, etc. and only carried our cameras and followed the trackers. We were no longer on a trail so they used machetes to make a way. We could see the bushes moving and first saw an adolescent, then another, then two females with two babies and finally the silverback. There were a total of 14 gorillas in this family. We spent just over an hour with them. Mostly they ate and the babies played. We were told to stay at least 7 meters distance from them but one adolescent gorilla didn’t know that rule and almost stepped on Jim’s toe walking by him. Our guide was next to him and said, “Stay calm and don’t move.” It was an unreal and beautiful experience.

Jim’s addition…After communing with the Gorillas, Gerald took us to Lake Bunyonyi, one of the deepest lakes in Africa, on the border of Rwanda. The lodge where we stayed had an incredible view of both the lake and the series of the 4 volcanic mountains of Uganda, Rwanda and The Congo (DRC) of which the Congolese one is still active.

Now to the Safari, with the help of Gerald’s friends we were able to put together a remarkable 5 day Safari to 4 National Parks. Murchison is the largest in Uganda. Its vastness and number and diversity of animals is overwhelming. From there we journeyed to Kidepo in a remote area on the border with South Sudan. The incredible natural beauty of this park has won my heart and I now consider it the most inviting region I have visited in Africa. The wildlife is stunning and we had the uncommon experience of greeting a herd of several hundred buffalo settling down for the the night on either side and in the middle of the road. Our quide carefully and gingerly maneuvered our vehicle through the herd as these animals are one of the most dangerous and unpredictable ones in Africa.

The next day we headed to Mt Elgon and Sipi Falls, an area I know well as it is one of the best coffee growing areas of Uganda. As Michelle mentioned each area of Uganda has its own special character and this one did not dissapoint.

Our last stop was in Jinja, home of the source of the White Nile. I had crossed the Nile at least 4 times prior to this visit and my coffee colleagues would point in the direction of Lake Victoria and say, “there is the source of the Nile”. I had always acknowledged and accepted their answer until now that we really did see it. Yes, water does empty out of Lake Victoria, particularly in the rainy season, but the unending source comes welling up from beneath lake bed and is the real eternal source of the Nile.

The other gift in our time in Uganda were the people we met, stayed with and learned from. A friend of ours from Seattle lives in Uganda and organizes adult literacy classes around Mbale, which is in Eastern Uganda. He was still in Seattle visiting family but let us stay in his home. He shares his home with several students who welcomed us. These three young men, who just finished a degree in hospitality, took great care of us. They showed us around Kampala, took us to a movie, cooked for us and taught me how to make my first Ugandan dish. Ugandan Smoked Fish Stew (they called it “Fish Daga”). It was great. We were able to come back at the end of the month and celebrate their graduation. These three are great examples of many of the people we met throughout our time. They are incredibly optimistic and hopeful even though they have overcome many hardships. They love Uganda and feel very positive about their futures. In Uganda many people are still affected by the HIV virus, TB or other life threatening illnesses. Many have lost parents or other loved ones and have had to work extra hard to pursue their dreams.

Another gift to me were three women we lived with in Kanungu (southwestern Uganda). Rabecca, Jane and Caro are the definition of joy, kindness, and generosity. At first they weren’t really sure what to think of me. They were probably wondering why is this Mzungu (white person) coming to live with us in this remote village for 10 days? I asked a lot of questions and I walked around taking random pictures of flowers and banana trees. We used google images to help understand each other when language wasn’t working. Then Jim and Gerald, the coffee farmer friend that is mentioned earlier, went to Rwanda for a coffee conference for 4 days, so it was just the girls! We laughed (mostly at me), we turned up the music and sang and danced, which led to more laughing. We cooked and ate. They taught me to make a traditional chicken dinner wrapped in banana leaves (chicken luwombo) and chapati and g-nut sauce. One night a matatu (motorbike) showed up at the house with a box of four bottles of wine, from Gerald. We opened one to go with our fancy chicken dinner. A night to remember! It is remarkable how quickly friendships bond. I will return to visit again.

The last experience that stuck with me was a day we spent with Gerald visiting the village where his mom grew up. He is very proud of his country and has an incredible heart for his local community. He helps support the local schools and sponsors several children for their school fees in the community because he cares. So he took us to meet a shop keeper, Gideon, who trades coffee for food and other household necessities in his village. The village is very poor by the worlds standards. I don’t know if anyone makes money there but they have everything they need and so much more. Everyone has coffee trees. So when they need beans or rice or sugar they bring Gideon a kilo of red cherries, the fruit of the coffee plant, and trade him for what they need. He then dries it outside his shop and when he has a truckload he calls Gerald to come and get it for processing. Gideon took us around to meet the neighbors. We met a single mom with two little kids and 6 acres of coffee trees. We also met a grandmother who stopped building her house so she could pay for school fees for her grandchildren. And finally we met the “original” coffee farmer in the area (about 70 years old) who raised Gideon when he lost both his parents. He told us the story of burying the original trees in a hole when the government was trying to get control of all the coffee production. He dug them up when it was safe to start planting again and now those trees are supporting the whole village. There was a richness and sacrificial support of one another in that community that was very striking to me. It’s what I think we need more examples of in our world.

We remain grateful for this time and hold all of you close in our hearts and talk of you often.

Peace

Michelle and Jim

Hello from Kenya! We have been here for almost three weeks already. Last time we wrote we were in Vietnam, then we flew home for a short but wonderful visit. That completed a full circle around the globe. But we are not done yet, in fact today is our half way mark on the year of travel.

Let me back up for a minute. We finished our visit in Vietnam in one of the most beautiful spots in our opinion. Northwest of Hanoi is SaPa, which is up in the mountains and filled with rice farms. We spent 3 days trekking with a guide in the valley through beautiful scenery. We stayed in home stays in small villages and met wonderful people along the way. It was definitely a highlight of our trip. We spent Christmas in Hanoi and then flew home.

Home was a much needed reset of our batteries. We loved seeing everyone and going to some of our favorite places. One highlight for sure was meeting the newest family member Hank (Ben and Keisha’s baby). Sometimes it’s good to go away and realize how much you love your home.

Our transition to Kenya has been a bit rough. We had a couple logistical bumps as well as tryin to emotionally gear up for 6 more months of travel. Let’s face it we are not your typical gap year people. We spent 5 days in Nairobi which mostly consisted of Jim connecting with coffee colleagues and getting caught up with work. I got to meet some of his coffee friends and see an impressive third generation estate coffee farm. And we have eaten some great Kenyan food.

After getting settled we drove to Elderet with a one night stop at Lake Elementaita to see the pink flamingoes. In Elderet, we met and stayed with some family of our good friend Patrick from Seattle. His aunt runs a daycare/primary school next to her home for kids age 1-grade 2. I spent about a week and a half hanging out, learning and teaching at the school. It’s remarkable how quickly I got attached. This small school of about 30 kids and 6 teachers is so dynamic. With a very small budget and basic supplies, they make incredible teaching happen. The students are engaged, curious and very happy. The teachers work hard, and have to be so creative with the few supplies they have and I never heard one complaint. Straight edge blades to sharpen pencils (that was new), tires and ropes to play with at recess and lots of singing and laughter. Environmental science lessons, math, geography, English, Swahili… it was a full day! I loved it and was so appreciative of being welcomed in, even for such a short time. It was hard to leave…a few tears were shed.

One funny story, I was teaching an English class on day two and a student was testing me (not following my direction). Another student handed me a stick “a cane” and said use this! I looked confused and said “for what”? I wasn’t comfortable with that form of discipline. He eventually came back to his seat, thankfully. There are many differences in culture and practice but the kids are the same. They are creative, curious, eager to learn new things and fun to be with!

We are back in Nairobi for a couple days then off to Uganda to explore more schools and more coffee. The slower pace of travel is nice because it gives us more of a chance to experience local life in a deeper way.

On a side note, many of you know about the trial that my daughter Madeline is going through from her work with No More Deaths. I want to thank you for your support of her and the others who are waiting to hear about sentencing. I appreciate all your prayers and kind words as we wait to see the result. It’s been hard to be far away during all of this, but again I am so thankful for our family and community that surround us and support us.

Here is the link to CNN article

https://edition-m.cnn.com/2019/01/22/us/arizona-aid-volunteers-guilty-trespassing-trnd/index.html?r=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com#%7CgigyaMobileDialog

Peace to you all,

I post pictures more often on Instagram if you want to follow: m_heiser_

Michelle and Jim

It’s been over a month and three countries ago that I last updated the blog. We were in Thailand when I last wrote and since then we visited Laos, Cambodia and are now in Vietnam. And it’s hard to believe, it has been 4 1/2 months since we left Seattle, which also explains why many of the details and timelines are feeling blurry to us.

I will recap some of the highlights from the last month.

Thailand: After leaving Bangkok, we split our time between a preschool in Chiang Mai and exploring coffee in Chiang Rai. We spent some of our time volunteering and getting to know the staff and directors of a village preschool where they teach a bilingual program (English/Thai). It is an amazing and happy place for students, staff and families in the community. They let us hang out and learn about the culture, learn to make yummy snacks, learn to play chair ball and try and help where we could. I had the opportunity to teach a phonics lesson to the teachers and some of the parents from the school and Jim worked on many stage props with Tom (one of the directors) to get ready for the holiday celebration. It was such a privilege to be part of the Good Kids Preschool community. We also went to Chiang Rai to visit 3 coffee farms and meet a few farmers who are very committed to growing and developing excellent coffee in Thailand. Western coffee houses are becoming very popular everywhere in Thailand, so the local market is growing. It was fun to meet young farmers who are excited and hopeful about their business and how it’s growing and changing their communities in positive ways.

After Thailand we went to Laos (I’ll come back to this)

Cambodia: Here we were mostly tourists. We were only in Cambodia for 6 days. We visited Phnom Penh, and happened to be there during the water festival which is a huge party. Imagine Fourth of July, seafair and Christmas ships all mixed into one big celebration. It was very fun to experience and about one million local tourists enjoyed it with us. We also visited Siem Reap and Angkor Wat for a couple days. We tried to fill up on great street food and ancient culture. The resilience and joy in the people we met from Cambodia and the stories we heard were very inspiring. We went to a theatre which was started by a man who had lived through the Khmer Rouge era as a child. He had escaped as a refugee and years later decided to return to Cambodia with the hope of teaching the traditional musical culture that was being lost to the younger generations. He dreams of a country (and world) where students carry instruments not weapons.

Laos: I really loved Laos. We were in Luang Prabang for 4 days, which is a beautiful old city on the Mekong river. We stayed next to an organization which pairs tourists with locals who want to practice speaking English. Brilliant idea! It was packed everyday. Many people we met were interested in learning English because it promises them more work opportunities. We tried to learn a little Laos as well (mostly I learned farm animal names). The next 72 hours we had a very local, rural Laos experience which started with 3 bus trips to get to a small village outside of Xamtai in the mountains of northeastern Laos. The bus rides included live chickens, smells of dried fermented fish (I thought it was durian), many more people than seats on the bus (just add a stool to the aisle) luggage that got piled twice as high as the bus, and honking every 5 minutes as we passed a motorbike or truck or group of children walking on the road. It took about 22 hours to get there, but it was so worth it! We stayed one night with Jim’s coffee colleagues family. They live in a village of 60 families. The women weave beautiful clothes, they grow rice and farm coffee. I walked with Hannah to take her boys to school and we stopped to say hi to everyone we met. They were curious about this visitor and many invited us to come sit with them. We stopped on our way home to visit her “village mama” so I could watch her weave. A few women were sitting around talking with a couple little children playing. They offered me bananas and jicama and smiled and talked with me (through Hannah’s translation) for a long time. They grow or raise most of their food and rarely go to town to buy anything at the market. When their is a wedding or funeral or birth in the village everyone stops their regular routine to support the family in need. This might mean the rice or coffee cherries don’t get picked right away, but that is part of communal life together. They share each other’s joys and burdens. I also visited the village school, two classrooms, and I tried to teach the kids “Head, shoulders, knees and toes.” And they laughed as I tried to learn the words in Laos and Tai Daeng (local language). Everyday the kids go home from 11:30-1:00 to have lunch with their families and then come back to school until 4:30. I was so thankful we got to spend the day visiting this beautiful community of people and seeing a very different example of how people live life.

In Laos we also learned about the UXOs (unexploded ordinances) left over fro the Vietnam War which have devastated much of the countryside. We visited some of the caves where the villagers lived for nine years during the war. There are still 80 million unexploded bombs left in the countryside that injure people, many of them children, regularly in Laos and Cambodia. While we were in the country a coffee farmer in the south was killed on his farm when one exploded. Seeing and hearing these stories was hard and I was often surprised that we, as Americans, were welcomed by anyone who lived through this history. The people in Laos we met were very kind and gentle.

Vietnam:

So from Laos we went to Cambodia then we flew into Ho Chi Minh City. It was a little shocking to be in such a huge city again. We spent 2 days taking in the sights and sounds and trying to get used to another currency. We started traveling North, up the country and the weather started getting cooler. Someone pointed out that traveling through Vietnam is like going from Florida to New York (now it made sense to me). We have visited coastal cities on the China sea and mountain towns where more good coffee is being produced. One of our favorite stops was in Hoi An. I believe it was the first place the French settled. The architecture, narrow streets of shops and beautiful silk lanterns made the city along the river very picturesque. We also experienced our first real weather there. After two days of solid rain many of the roads were mid-calf deep in water and all the taxis were helping families on the river move to higher ground (more rain was predicted). This isn’t even monsoon season and the locals didn’t seem bothered at all. We continued north to Hue and Ninh Binh and are currently in Halong Bay, on a rare sunny winter day.

We will be home in 9 days and both of us are looking forward to spending time with family and friends and being in one spot for a little while (17 days) before we take off for Kenya!

Merry Christmas to all

With all our love,

Michelle and Jim

When we last updated, one month ago, we were in Lisbon, Portugal. Since then we have been to Morocco, Germany, and now we are in Thailand. Each of these places are so very different in many ways. The food, the pace, the culture and dress, the climate, the language, etc but we are finding one common theme as we travel from place to place. Everywhere we have gone we have found amazing hospitality. We have been welcomed into over 100 homes, hostels, albergues, hotels, and riads since we left Seattle. Most of the time by strangers who have treated us like friends.

Some of the highlights:

Morocco- We loved Morocco! Everyone told us we would, but we had also read many warnings to be careful, so we went with some concerns. We stayed within the walls of the city in Marrakech in a Riad (which is like a small hotel). We were warmly welcomed by our host Mohamed who made us feel at home. We took a three day trip to the desert, and rode camels and slept under the stars. When we came back Mohamed (who was on his day off) went out of his way to make sure we returned safely and had a good trip. He made our time in Morocco very memorable. World Cup 2026!

Germany- We left Morocco to meet my family in Germany for a reunion. My mom grew up in Bonn and her older sister still lives there as do all of my cousins and their families. We spent 8 days with family (including my brother, his wife and my niece, her husband and their adorable daughter) which was wonderful. My Tante Gilla (aunt) has the gift of hospitality! Her generosity to make sure everyone was comfortable and enjoying themselves was humbling. I don’t think she slept much the whole week. It was so wonderful to spend time with my cousins and get to know them and their families better. I loved getting to see the home my mom grew up in and the Catholic boarding school she went to and meeting some of her childhood friends. We even met one of nuns who taught her, she is now 106 years old! We loved our time in Germany and it was a bonus that Madeline and Jordan made the extra effort to join us for a couple of days in Bonn.

Thailand- We arrived in Bangkok and were warmly greeted by some new friends, the Hauptman family. Jim had met Iven once or twice briefly at our church but he didn’t know him well. I had never met them. They live in Bangkok and work with YWAM loving their neighbors and sharing life with them. They have 6 beautiful, expressive children who are fully engaged in Thai life with their parents. For 5 days we were invited in to be part of the family! We played games, read books, listened to stories of stitches and other close calls. We watched acrobatic shows, went to Thai church and played in the park. We ate food and talked about common friendships. It was delightful. In 5 days we went from strangers to family because they welcomed us into their lives.

We then came to Chiang Mai where we were welcomed again. This time it was parents of our friends from Seattle. They have become friends now too. Chaiyun and Margaret have welcomed us into their home, generously fed us (even homemade bread and granola) and helped us get around the city. In addition, they have taken time to visit with us and we have enjoyed several long evenings of conversation with them both.

These are only some of the ways and places we have experienced people’s hospitality toward us. We are both incredibly thankful and humbled by the ways we have been taken care of in these 3 1/2 months. We have extended the invitation to come to Seattle to all we have met and we hope to be able to offer to others what we have experienced here.

Filled with thanksgiving for all of you at home.

Peace

Michelle and Jim

We officially walked into Santiago on Monday, September 24 which completed our Camino goal. But oddly enough we didn’t quite feel finished walking.

Coming into Santiago the first time felt overwhelming. We saw friends who we had met along the way which was wonderful. We wondered where to go and get our certificate, where our hotel was, how to help get Brian, our now good friend and traveling companion, to the airport. This had been our goal and something we had anticipated and thought about everyday for 40 days and it was hard to take it all in. So we decided the next day to keep walking because we knew how to do that by now. It felt good to leave Santiago the same way we had come in with our feet. We walked the first day toward Finisterre then decided to take a bus the next day. We went to Muxía, a coastal fishing village and walked the coast to Finisterre the following day, which turned out to be our longest walking day of the Camino. Somehow that seemed a fitting end on our journey to the “end of the world”. Finisterre is called “the end of the world” and it felt like it when we reached the lighthouse. The next day we took the bus back to Santiago and this time we fully soaked in the scene around the plaza facing the cathedral.

Curiously we thought we still wanted to keep walking and had time, so we got on a bus and took it to A Guarda, the most southern coastal town in Spain. We spent the night and in the morning walked into Portugal and planned on walking to Porto, another five days, but that turned out to be our last day of long distance walking. We both felt a little sick, maybe some seafood we ate, but mostly we just felt done.

We rented a car in Porto and went to Aviero and rested on the beach for 3 days. It was wonderful! It was the first time we had spent 3 nights in one place since we left Seattle.

So that was our Camino experience. We are still reflecting on it and on all that we learned and experienced.

One of the most significant gifts we received on the Camino was all the people we met. I call some of them trail angels because they seemed to appear at exactly the right time and provide the words, encouragement or support we needed in that moment.

Another huge gift of the Camino feels like time. When you walk for an extended period on a path that is clearly marked out for you, (in most places) you have a lot of time to think. Your mind is free to wander and dream and rest from planning and organizing. That was a gift and something we hope to try to remember and incorporate into our lives.

A lot has changed since I last wrote from the rain of Santander. We finished our portion of the coastal route and joined the Primitivo. This meant the terrain changed from the sweeping coastal views to more rolling countryside. Something in both of us shifted from “when will this end” to “we don’t want this to end”. I’m not sure exactly how or when it happened but part of it is I’m reminded of how much I love fall!

The weather has started to change. We start walking in the dark most mornings now and the mornings are cooler and foggier. Everyday we are out from 6-8 hours, walking or resting and we get to notice things we are often moving too fast to notice: Spider webs in the morning, slugs, snails and lizards, fog lifting and the sounds of the birds and wind moving through the trees. What I have loved the most are the farms. The fields filled with harvest. We have seen trees filled with figs, apples, pears, and chestnuts, and full grapevines. The farmers out hand picking potatoes or gathering kale. Others moving the cows from one field to another. We even saw sheepdogs herding sheep to another pasture. Beans and corn are being dried for storage. The smells of mint and eucalyptus along the road. We have even gotten used to the smell of silage.

We’re reminded of the importance of slowing down and taking notice of life all around us. Even the act of sitting down to have a cup of coffee rather than taking it to go. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to incorporate that one at home but I can try.

Enjoy the changing of seasons at home for us! We love you and miss you.

Today it is raining so we are taking the morning to pause, rest, regroup and reflect. We have walked something like 200 miles so far (most of those Camino miles but some around town). We are on day 15. I have never walked this many days in a row and definitely not this far before and I’m not sure I want to again. It is remarkable the number of people we have met that are on there second or third plus Caminos! We are in the minority as first timers.

My Cousin in Germany’s 15 year old son asked me in all honesty, trying to understand why. The day we were leaving he asked, “Is this fun for you?” Those words keep ringing in my head. The answer so far is…well it depends.

When we are getting started in the morning and stuffing our things in our packs and walking that first two km. No

Once we’ve warmed up and come to some amazing views of the countryside or cobble street roads or views of the coast. Yes

Walking along highway stretches of tarmac with no shade or breeze and cars going by fast. No

When we make it to the albergue and see the new friends we are making and sit and share stories and have a beer. Yes

I still can’t say I know why I am walking this. And I have had moments when I want to quit because it feels too hard. But then something changes and the next day I want to keep going. I have heard it compared to childbirth and that you forget the pain only to remember it the next time around, in this case – every morning. I do have three children so that was true for me.

One step at a time, one day at a time, we will see where we end up.

I do know that i think about home a lot…more than just my bed and couch…all of you. I think about school starting and all the prep that everyone is doing. I think about fall coming and the changes that will bring. I think about the fires and smoke. You are in our minds and hearts. We love you and miss you.

Don’t worry mom we are just fine and not in jail!

It wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Marcos. Let me back up a little bit. Our first night the albergue (home for pilgrims) was full so they put us in overflow housing. That’s where we met Marcos and 4 other Spanish women. We went to dinner and started out the next day with them.

After lunch the women went on and we slowed our pace and walked with Marcos. He has walked some version of the Camino every year for 20 years. At lunch someone asked him if he had ever not had a place to sleep? And he answered no it hadn’t ever happened.

WELL, because we were a little slower and stopped a couple of times when we got to the albergue, it was full. No problem, we thought, there will be overflow housing. No! So while Jim stayed at the albergue Marcos and I walked to town to find a solution. He was determined that we would have a bed.

First the Visitor center-No everything is full in town

Then the church, certainly they won’t turn away a pilgrim! No, they had a bad experience once.

Then the bar, it’s not how you picture it. In the small villages the bars are the restaurants and meeting places. No luck.

Let me explain that in each of these places Marcos did the talking all in Spanish and my job was to look desperately tired (which I was).

Also I need to explain Marcos has total faith in humanity- that someone will be kind and generous.

Ok so next stop was the bench of older people in the town square. Certainly older people will have compassion and understand. Nope not these ones.

Ok another bar…the bartender sounded promising and she made a call to her boss…but sorry no.

I was ready to give up, and get a cab to somewhere? Not sure where.

Then Marcos saw the police officer. He told her the story, something like this:

“This very kind couple need a place to sleep. They are Americans and speak no Spanish. Her husband is 68 (not true, but if it helps) and they shouldn’t sleep outside. They have no mats or tent and they have walked all day.” I think it got more exaggerated each telling.

Next thing I know Mikal (the officer) is on the phone, then Marcos is hugging her and I start crying.

She called her husband and told him she was bringing home two English people who needed a home for the night. (According to her husband, Jakes, she wants to bring home lost puppies too). They not only gave us a bed (their son’s bed) they fed us and incredible dinner, fed us an amazing breakfast, offered us a shower, dried our clothes AND made us lunch to take with us today.

Unbelievably kind, hospitable people. We sat around their table for over an hour and visited, with Jakes translating for Mikal into Euskara (language of the Basque area of Spain).

Tonight we are in an old convent set up for pilgrims who knows where we will sleep tomorrow, we will sleep somewhere, that’s a guarantee of the Camino.

And my lesson… Marcos is right there are kind, hospitable people, you sometimes just need to trust and not give up asking.

Peace

Thinking about this as a whole year seems overwhelming to both of us and can make us panic, so a wise friend said think of it as many little trips. With this idea, we have just completed part 1. We drove just over 2000 miles through parts of Germany, France and Holland. We went through cities which have existed for well over 1000 years and some which have been destroyed and rebuilt several times. We saw remnants of wars and memorials to those who fought for their rights and the rights of others. All in a matter of 11 days. And honestly some of it is a blur like the lines we passed on the roads. But what stands out in our minds are the people we met. We stayed in Airbnb’s (which I fully recommend) which allowed us to meet some locals. Regular people: a counselor, a farmer, a single mom, a retired couple, a family in a new home…all just living life in their own ways.

There are also the characters we met along the way. The shop keeper who recommended a restaurant to us and then came back to check on us a few hours later just to see if we really did heed his excellent advise. The close to 100 year old woman in the French countryside who wanted to help us find our way but spoke no English, was hard of hearing and didn’t know Guillamo (our next host…we had lost our GPS signal) I wish I videotaped this interaction. There was the Dutch couple we met at lunch and sat with for over an hour talking or the British couple we sat next to at dinner and Jim ended up trying her dessert at the end and the Irish Greek gentleman who has stood beside his cancer stricken wife for a year and multiple operations and had just learned she was 100% cancer free. The news was so fresh he was suspended between joy and disbelief, but all the time praising God for this miracle and the opportunity to live life each to their fullest.

These are the parts that will stay with us. We share stories of home and all of you.

So now we sit patiently at the airport and wait for our flight to take us to part two…the Camino. We are nervous and excited to begin. We anticipate many more souls along the way. One step and day at a time. Peace to all of you on your journeys.