Signs

All kinds of signs direct the Camino pilgrim along the way. Some are easy to see; others…well, not so much. The ones lurking on the vertical face of sidewalk curbs and the little ones painted on the side of a brown building (“Where? Which building did you see the arrow on?”) are especially tough to spot. And some are just kilometer markers that let you at least know you’re not lost.

Here are some examples of what you’ll find when you walk the Camino.














See what I mean?

Sign of the Times

Walking down the hill from Stirling Castle to the train, I was a bit taken aback.


Mus be awl dose cheezburgers.

Wanted: Raptor to Watch One Human and 3 Cats

It's a hermit weekend to stay away from people and rest up. I've had a generic jail cold all week. I was sick five months out of the first year I worked in the jail, but like the rest of us that work there you just keep going to work. They say to expect it until your body builds up some resistance to the stuff that lives in an old jail housing 800 prisoners. It's not like inmates can stay home and keep from spreading crud around to others. So you just try to keep your immunity up to fight it off. I've learned the number one resistance fighter is get enough sleep. Stop trying to fight mother nature.


Patty and I came across this sign walking up to the Raptor Center in Sitka, Alaska. Sometimes, I could use my own raptor.

Mr. Obama, President-elect, Sir:

Your winning platform included talking with our "enemies" without preconditions. Could we begin with our Cuban neighbors just off our shore? Almost fifty years of economic blockade is enough! If our objective has been to squeeze Castro out of power and bring democracy and human rights to Cuba, it hasn't worked. Perhaps open trade and communication between Cuba the US would have hastened both these objectives. Instead we saw the old "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" as the Cuban government turned to Russia for support.

In 2005, a group of 15 Americans with It's Just the Kids went to Havana -- with a license from the US government -- and built four playgrounds for the Cuban children. We had to work every day in order to ensure we would not have time for sightseeing or travel into the countryside and we could not buy souvenirs other than art to make sure we weren't putting money into the Cuban economy. We saw this large sign erected by Castro on the waterfront Malecon, facing across the straits toward Florida.


Translated, it says "Senor Imperialists, we are absolutely not afraid of you!

Another translation: US policy has not worked.

If this tiny country can defiantly hold out for 50 years, imagine the outcome with Sarah Palin's suggestion that the US sanction Russia if they don't fall in line.

In 2006 as the hostile Bush administration tightened restrictions even further, the US government refused to issue a workable license for us to return to Cuba to build more playgrounds. As Patty would say, go figure! How were a bunch of playground building Americans in Cuba going to threaten US security? The huge amount of good will was not going to cost the government a penny -- Bill Hauf, a Republican, mind you, raised the money for the equipment himself. Not only that, he came back from the 2005 trip and ran for Congress. Not exactly what I'd call a bleeding heart liberal.

Mr. President-elect, consider this small step toward improving American relations with the world. Open up trade. Allow Americans free travel to Cuba as should be their right. We had a good start with the Clinton administration. After 8 years of a regressive administration, could we get back on track? We are waiting to build those playgrounds in Cuba.

Yours truly,
A left-leaning Republican in California.

Edinburgh: Changed Priorities Ahead

So I have gathered unto myself
All the loose ends of Scotland,
And by naming them and accepting them,
Loving them and identifying myself with them,
Attempt to express the whole.
Hugh MacDiarmid, "Scotland" Selected Poems (1992)

Patty and I walked our feet down to stubs the last two days in Edinburgh. Good thing we were conditioned from our walk across England.

We toured the inside of Edinburgh Castle, built on that rock that has been inhabited by some people or another for the last 8000 years. The Abbey ruins and palace at Holyrood. The Museum of Scotland where we checked out the history of the Jacobite rebellion and learned Scotland had once been close to the South Pole. The National Gallery of Art. We went back to Clarinda's, our favorite tea spot.

We took a gazillion pictures of the castle inside,


and out.


Another gazillion of the abbey ruins at Holyrood, inside...


and out.


In the evening we took in another view from our hotel window, this time from a little inn, Melvin House, off the beaten path.


On the last morning before catching our flight back home, I took a walk by myself to say goodbye to the bit of the city that had given us much to think about. It was one of those overcast, off and on drizzly Edinburgh days we had known and grown to love. I walked again through Princes Garden and took one last photo of the castle.


Along Princes Street to take in the skyline of the Old Town.


Walking back in the direction of Melvin House, I was a wee bit lost. Well, I was verra lost until I came across a street sign we had puzzled over the day before.


Looking around, there is no clear meaning of the sign, no construction, no clear traffic changes. Hm-m-m. Might it have some philosophical implications?

Back home, I mulled over the changed priorities thing. I needed to make some change, and finally Patty gave me an idea. Now, every night at 7:00 I put down whatever I'm doing and go to my cozy chair and read. Not just that 10-15 minutes before one falls asleep or those few hours on a flight. I'm on the fifth volume of the Outlander series, and working my way down that stack of books waiting to be finished.

This is the last of our Hadrian's Wall Walk and Edinburgh stories. I finish with the same sadness with which I left Edinburgh. To those who have read these stories, I would say,

Travel, even if just to a nearby burgh.
Look for adventure, even going to the Farmer's Market.
Meet new peoples.
Get out of the car or tour bus and onto your feet.
Learn the history of what you see.
Change a priority.