October 13 DAY 8. BE STILL

 Words for the day:  BE STILL! (It was advice from my daughter when I awoke around noon!!!!)     So, by taking off on my birthday, I am now in line with the days of the Camino in our Route.         

LaGuardia to Barcelona! 500 Km!  Probably fastest pilgrim Ever!   Missed yesterday because I was too busy celebrating my birthday 🥳.  And what a birthday celebration it was!

It’s the children who keep my spirits alive with hope for a better world for us all.
And here’s me and Chris!  As a kid, I was so proud of myself for having a holiday on my birthday 🎂. It definitely made me feel special!  But today, I cringe that we in the US continue to honor a person and a system that nearly destroyed our indigenous populations.   And we all know it did not stop with Columbus.  It continued with president slave holders and presidents (and again, our SYSTEM ) that continued to expand due to greed and racism.  I believe changing the name to Indigenous People’s Day does little to compensate the harm we have done to Native populations.  Same with a holiday for Juneteenth.  
Perhaps it’s a start, but we all have to be committed to changing our views to be inclusive of otherrness.

In Spokane, a battle is raging to close a 600 person homeless camp.  Having homeless in our midst is absolutely too uncomfortable.  http://www.krem.com/article/news/local/homeless/spokane-homeless-camp-spd-letter/293-8476515a-bdce-42b0-b0a2-6805e85689a6
Soooo uncomfortable, that my narcissistic self wants to get back to my birthday celebration!

birthday 🎉 celebration!?  Spent the whole night coughing again! Woke up from fits of 15-20 minute stints throughout the night, to an angel sent message from my daughter Eileen.  She had left Barcelona at 5am to get me and would arrive at 11am.
So, the morning was lovely.  We stayed in a hotel right outside the walled medieval city of Laguardia, population about 1500.  
A view of the walled city from our small deck off our hotel room.   We weren’t able to use the deck because it rained all night!  But we awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the wine growing region of Spain, La Rioja.




Jane from Australia and I share a birthday, along with
  Columbus Day in USA.  I did not realize that Spain and Italy also celebrate Columbus day.  In Spain the holiday is known as Fiesta Nacional de Espana!
Religious holidays on the 12th include the Feast of the Virgin of Pillar, and Our Lady of Guadalupe.  

Here is what Wikepedia has to say about the Virgin of Pillar:  “That January day the Blessed Virgin Mary, still living in Palestine, appeared to James atop a column or pillar of stone. With encouraging words, she assured him that the people of Hispania would become Christians and that their faith would be as strong and durable as the pillar on which she stood.”  So, now I am beginning to understand why so many embark on Camino de Santiago.  Wikepedia again: “In the Catholic tradition, Saint James is the patron saint of Spain and, according to legend, his remains are held in Santiago de Compostelain Galicia.” So pilgrims end this walk at his burial site.  Hard to fathom this tradition goes back to AD 44.  He was beheaded in Jerusalem that year, and his remains were “boated” to Spain at some point. It seems that St. James the Greater, went to Spain to evangelize and speak the truths of Jesus.  
 
I am impressed with how much the Spanish churches have honored Mary.  In some churches, she has been front and center!  With the crucified Christ on the side.  I like the idea of focusing church on birth and perhaps rebirth, rather than persecution and sin!  Perhaps there’s a lesson for “Holy Fathers” in Rome!

Inside the church at LaGuardia.  Gaudy and Godly!   Time for a rest, and the more birthday observations!
                        Jeez Louise!

     🎂 BIRTHDAY 🥳 CELEBRATION🍾:  Part 2

After attending the audio on the making of altar of the Virgin of Pillar, it’s only fitting that we ended our stay in La Roija country with a visit to a winery! 🍷 
       Not like the old days of stomping grapes 🍇


                      The grape grinder!

 
The wine cellar in the basement with barrels of wine 
Being aged to perfection!  
Like all of us as we age!
We ended the tour with wine tasting! Great place to wine taste.  Good thing I got my birthday 🥳 wine 🍷 drunk here, because part 3 of my birthday celebration is even more tantalizing!

          BIRTHDAY 🎉 CELEBRATION:  Part 3🥂
Eileen did a solitary tour of the walled city while I drank wine!🍷.  We pilgrims were just following in the tradition of Jesus and his disciples!  


We left the walled city and it’s tiny alleys for our 5 be journey back to Barcelona.  It was smooth sailing.  We did not hit 5 o’clock rush hour, because in Spain it is at 
7.  Then we headed to the public hospital ER, Hospital
Del Mar, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  I wonder when private enterprise will attempt to buy them out for more fancy hotels, which are located nearby.  
I was very impressed with their system!  Unlike Sacred Heart in Spokane; (Pop. 200,000), where there is chaos and lots of people sitting and waiting; this public hospital (Pop. 3 million!), was quiet and organized.  They had different waiting rooms, with no more than 
4-6 folks in each area.  At one point, a doctor came and told us the wait would be longer, as they had only 2 Covid rooms, which were both occupied!  And it was a holiday, so I am sure they were short staffed. E wry one was respectful and kind.  It made me realize how much better our system would be if we had universal coverage. Our “universal coverage” is highlighted in every emergency department throughout the US.  A Jesuit at Gonzaga University once told me that we are one of just a few countries in the world that does not include a provision for the COMMON GOOD!

St. Ignatius was very concerned for the poor and worked in Mary Magdalene hospital in Loyola. This was one of the few places which served lepers.  
                Look how small the beds were!
                 Mary Magdalene Hospital!
             A place to tie up your horse or mule or ass!
A beautiful view of the flowers 💐overlooking the Ebro (meaning iron) River which flows all the way to  Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea.  
It is the longest River in 🇪🇸!  Fading out due to my wild and wooly birthday 🎉 celebration.  

         From the chair in the ER…,,,
          To the bed!  That wine 🍷 really did me in!

                             jeez Louise!

Comments

  1. So glad you in Barcelona and having a chance to recuperate and get well. Take good care of yourself! Love you, Susan

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  2. Been a few days since I checked in. So much has happened! I hope you're feeling better. And a belated Happy Birthday to you!

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  3. Great read here and great photos too…. Glad our daughter told you to be still…. Get healthy….I love you…. Yer deara

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  4. Hi Louise...I finally caught up with all your entries in your Jeez Louise on the Camino Blog! Please take care, first of all. Thank God that Eileen came to the rescue. Also, true to form, I am late with my Happy Birthday greetings. I LOVE this adventure that you're on. I love Espana - so great to have a daughter who lives there. So neat that your Mom is inspiring you and you're seeing her butterfly spirit. So be well and carry on hardy Friend. Love, Barbara

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