20 Weeks

20 semanas !!!

E muito engraçado imaginar eles assim.
Os bebês estão ótimos, a diferença de tamanho entre eles e de apenas 1%, eles estao com o peso e o tamanho medio de um bebê de 20 semanas em uma gestacao de 1 bebê apenas.

The "Camino de Santiago" was one of the most amazing and unforgettable experiences that I had in my life...the places, the people, everything was just incredible. Unfortunately I'm having a hard time writing about it because there are so many memories, so I just need some time to organize my thoughts...

I will post more information about the "Camino'" in my blog, but for now I just can say that I am extremely happy to have done it and that it has given me a great sense of accomplishment that is worth more than all the pain, fatigue, discomfort and even the stress fracture I have in my left foot...

You can see my pictures at here: http://picasaweb.google.com/dayse.n.black/2007ElCaminoDeSantiago?authkey=I79z85T9V0Y

I am also very happy to say that I have raised $22,246.00 with your help! Thank you very much for your support; I also wanted to remind you that the website will be on line just until July 6 - if you know someone that may still like to donate, please forward my site to them: http://www.firstgiving.com/dayseblack

Queridos amigos, como a maioria de vocês já sabem, terminei o Caminho de Santiago no dia 08 de junho, foi emocionante ver o Joe esperando por mim na frente da Catedral de Santiago, esse momento com certeza foi um dos mais emocionantes de toda a viagem; Infelizmente o cansaço e a dor me impediram de comemorar a chegada com samba e tudo mais que eu tinha direito. Depois dos primeiros 550 km, eu comecei a ter dores no pé esquerdo, eu e mais cem peregrinos diagnosticamos o caso como tendinite, mas mesmo assim decidi ir ao medico em Leon, e mesmo sem tocar no meu pé, sem raio x e sem nenhum outro teste, o medico concordou com o 'nosso' diagnostico, mas o que ele recomendou estava absolutamente fora de questão..."Repouso??? Como assim??". Enfim, praticamente me arrastei nos últimos 100 quilômetros e só quando cheguei a Londres, depois de fazer uma ressonância magnética é que o medico descobriu que na verdade, além da tendinite, eu ainda tive 'fratura por estresse' no pé esquerdo, e acumulo de fluido nos dois pés, e no meu "pé bom" (o direito) a inflamação foi muito mais seria do que pensávamos, agora tenho os dois pés imobilizados e vou ter que usar muletas por 6 semanas e andar o mínimo possível, um pouco além do que eu esperava...
Para compensar, o 'caminho' foi com certeza uma das experiências mais incríveis e inesquecíveis que tive em minha vida. Por alguma razão, tenho tido muita dificuldade de escrever sobre essa experiência, são tantas memórias (ainda desorganizadas), lembrancas, rostos, historias... enfim, li muito pouco sobre o Caminho de Santiago, e o pouco que li confesso ter achado piegas e fantasioso, mas já que fui, vi e senti, devo admitir que o Caminho de Santiago é realmente especial, mas não da para descrever, nem explicar , tem que ser vivido, experimentado. De qualquer maneira depois quero fazer um pequeno resumo com a rotina no 'caminho', as pessoas que conheci, as paisagens (numa extensão de 780km), as historias que motivaram cada um a fazer o caminho, enfim um pouquinho de tudo que vi e ouvi.
As fotos já estão no blog, eu tive muita dificuldade de escolhe-las, inicialmente eram mais de 1000 fotos, e com muito trabalho conseguir reduzir para menos de 500, todas tem um significado diferente, todas são especiais por alguma razão e eu espero que gostem.
E se algum dia vocês tiverem oportunidade de fazer o caminho, por favor não deixem de ir, eu já estou planejando voltar...

Photos - EL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

I've tried to select the best pictures of my experience of El Camino de Santiago; I have over 1,000 photos and each one represents a special moment to which I have an emotional attachment. It has taken me many days, but I have finally managed to reduce the number of pictures to under 500. I have presented theses pictures in chronological order, from London to Finisterra. I strongly recommend that you use the slide show to view the pictures.

I hope you enjoy seeing this visual tour of my Camino and if you have the chance to walk the Camino, please do it, because this magical journey will be with you forever.

Here is the link

The Sacred Journey Begins - Days 1 and 2 (May 6th and 7th)

So Dayse's first two days were filled with adventure. Dayse left around 8:30 am via Taxi from London Bridge Station to Liverpool Street Station, where she took a train to Stansted Airport, north of London.

First though, while trying to purchase a train ticket from an automat machine, she had a technical problem, i.e. the machine took her money, but did not produce the ticket. As she stood there, trying figure out the problem, a "stranger" came up and explained to her that she needed to go to the nearby ticket office for a refund. As Dayse walked over, she noticed the stranger was at the automat and that it produced her £20 note and he proceeded to walk away with it...

As ever, undaunted, Dayse runs up to the guy, and says "Is THAT my MONEY"? The man gives Dayse a puzzled and guilty look, hands it over and runs away...mulher loca...

Anyways, our traveller's journey continues. Dayse gets her ticket, makes it to Stansted Airport, and catches her Ryan Air flight to Biarritz. From the airport, where she bought a ticket from Biarritz to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port for €8, Dayse took a short Taxi ride to the train station, but there was a small problem; the next train left at 21:15 and she needed to be in Saint-Jean much earlier to get a room and a meal at one of the Auberges. Fortunately, Dayse met a couple who were also Pilgrims in the same predicament and for €50 they shared a taxi ride to Saint-Jean.

Once in Saint-Jean, Dayse checks in to the Pilgrim’s Office, where she gets her special Pilgrim’s Passport and notices “Stinky”; another Pilgrim in need of a bath…more about him later.

After a short meal and meeting several other Pilgrims (including a few Brazilians…) Dayse prepares for the night at her first Auberge. She is in a room with three bunk beds, and one single (seven beds in total) and, taking a top bunk, gets ready for a good sleep…but then she smells something…ah, her neighbour is Stinky!

After a while, Dayse decides to see if there is a free bed in another part of the Auberge. The proprietor is a woman, who speaks no English or Portuguese (French only), but somehow indicates that there is a free bed in another room. Dayse goes there, but it is totally full, and unable to find the proprietor again, Dayse goes back to her original bed, next to Stinky…it is now about 21:00

Shortly after Midnight she is awoken to yelling in French, which she does not understand and occasional interjected “”f*** you!” directed at her by the proprietor! A semi-sober Auberge employee, also staying in the same room, explains in broken English that Dayse must leave immediately…eventually the drunkard goes back to sleep and the crazy French lady leaves…

Dayse surmised that the woman must have thought there was a free bed, given that Dayse moved to the other room and that another Pilgrim showed up; whatever, the lady, besides being a rude disservice to her country and the sacred El Camino, obviously needs some help with her math and business management skills…

Well, suffice to say, Dayse did not sleep real well after that; between Stinky and Drunkard, she was more than a bit annoyed and disturbed. Plus, what about the rest of the jerks in the room who acted like they were asleep during this whole episode?

Dayse was up and out at 6:00, grabbed a quick baguette at the local market and began her perhaps hardest day…a 9.5 hour hike, with her 20 pound pack, uphill, over the Pyrenees Mountains. Dayse’s record to date had been a 6 hour hike, with 15 pounds, all flat terrain. Did I mention that it was pouring down rain as well? Nonetheless, the Trooper made it to Spain around 17:00, had a hot meal, met some Pilgrims (there were plenty along the way, but Dayse, who is VERY grumpy when she is tired, was in no mood for idle chit-chat) and had, I am sure a great sleep at what seems to be a much better Refugio, as Auberges are called in Spain along El Camino.

TUDO PRONTO

Sábado à tarde, céu nublado, um dia perfeito para um bom e merecido descanso, ate porque não sei como e nem onde irei descansar nos próximo 30 dias.

Meu vôo sai amanhã ao meio dia (6 de maio) de Londres para Biarritz e de Biarritz para St. Jean-Pied-de-Port de trem (apenas 44 km).

Espero chegar ao hotel em torno das 4 horas da tarde, e espero ainda ter tempo suficiente para ir ao escritório de peregrinação, que é tipo uma base de apoio ao peregrinos, lá eles fornecem mapas, listas de albergues e informações em geral e é também o local para a aquisição da credencial (um tipo de passaporte para o peregrino que permite a estadia nos albergues e refúgios ao longo do caminho).

Pretendo iniciar minha caminhada na segunda-feira mesmo (dia 7), me desejem sorte, estarei atualizando meu blog sempre que possível, caso queiram informações sobre a viagem, fotos etc. por favor confira aqui.
Então, um abraço e ate junho!!!

HOMEPAGE FOR DONATIONS

As you probably already know, Joe has been fighting a very specialized form of gastrointestinal cancer since November 2005 and now, after 16 long months, he is finally cancer free.

As a way to give thanks, I've decide to walk the Saint James' Way (El Camino de Santiago), a 485 mile pilgrimage in Spain, to raise funds for gastrointestinal cancer research. I will begin my journey on May, 6th and I hope reach Santiago de Compostela around June, 8th.

I am trying to raise $50,000 for the Foundation for Applied Research in Gastrointestinal Oncology (FARGO), a non-profit organization that promotes research, education and patient care in gastrointestinal oncology worldwide. If you are interested to help this cause, we have set up a website that makes it simple and secure to donate directly to FARGO at http://www.firstgiving.com/dayseblack

Your donation is tax deductible and I hope that many people can be helped though your goodwill.

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!