Greg's Wanderings

Author: Greg H

  • Day 28 – Santiago

    Day 28 – Santiago

    Oct 8

    I started my morning by finalizing the remainder of my time on the Iberian Peninsula.  I had previously scheduled an overnight trip to Finistere starting tomorrow and then back to Porto on Friday.  

    My parents generously gifted me a day trip up the Douro Valley, so I booked that for Saturday along with another night in the hostel in Porto. 

    I now have train tickets back to Lisbon and a hostel in the historic city center for Sunday & Monday nights.  I’ll then move to an airport-adjacent hotel Tuesday in preparation for my early Wednesday flight home. 

    Santiago is by far the most expensive place on this trip.  It’s fairly easy to blow 70-80 Euro a day on meals and drinks.  I was getting beer or wine in the countryside for €2. It’s €5.50 here. Dinner entrees that are under 10 elsewhere are closer to 20 and more.  

    Since I’m on my own today, I’m going to try and go frugal.  I’m starting my day at Cafe Paradiso, which was listed in Trip Advisor as one of the best cheap places to eat.  That said, my Spanish tortilla was still €8.  But it was hearty and tasty and will hold me for many hours.  

    After breakfast, I decided to walk over to the Pilgrim Office and see about getting a Compostela.  I had heard that rules changed this year and any 100km segment of a Camino qualified you for the certificate.  

    When my number was called, a volunteer from the UK greeted me.  She asked when and where I started, and I told her Lisbon on September 11.  She said, “oh, you walked 630 kilometers.”   Had I kept my mouth shut I would have been issued the certificate, but I said, “no, I injured myself and stopped walking at Redondela.”   It was her first day working, so she summoned a supervisor who asked me if I had walked into Santiago.  When I said “from the train station,” she shook her head and said that didn’t qualify.  

    I was issued a certificate showing that I had visited Santiago and the cathedral.  No worries, for me the most important document is my Pilgrim Passport with all the places I’ve visited on this journey. 

    I learned that Ruth & Thea, the mother/daughter duo from Vancouver BC were still in town and we got together for one final dinner.  Ruth found a really authentic place with a pilgrim menu (starter, entree, bread, dessert & wine or beer) for a fixed price of €14.  They had several options for each course, so we decided to each order something different and then eat family still.  Our feast included roasted Padron peppers, muscles, green salad, paella, grilled squid, an omelette, almond cake, flan & rice pudding.  

    A tortilla in Spain is like an omelette with chunks of potatoes added to make it hardy
    Back side of my pilgrim credential with stamps from various places visited
    Front side.
    My certificate of visitation
    I spotted this very interesting looking building on a hill. Turns out to be the City of Culture of Galicia. Their website says nearly every window is a different shape. 
    My leg injury has put a damper on my daily steps. Apple Health was nagging me this morning
  • Remembering Shirley

    Remembering Shirley

    October 8, 2025

    Today marks the one year anniversary of the passing of Shirley Hauge – my partner for over 19 years and wife for 310 days.  

    Shirley was a fighter.  She could be (very) stubborn and set in her ways.  When told in her early 30’s that she had a genetic lung disease and had about 5 years to live, she would have none of that and lived another 30+ years. 

    When told she qualified for a lung transplant, but would need to improve her strength, she joined a gym and began swimming.  Mind you, she was on oxygen at the time, so this meant me or one of the kids would go with her and walk a portable tank back and forth while she slowly swam a mile of laps.  We called this walking the fish. 

    The three things that brought Shirley the most joy in life were kids, animals and entertaining.  

    Once she discovered her genetic condition she decided not to have any siblings for her daughter, Jessica.  But she embraced my kids as if they were her own, was a generous and loving aunt to 20 nieces & nephews and always kept a toy box in the living room for any child who visited.  

    Once we became empty nesters, she began being a second mom to international students attended Valley Catholic High School. We hosted numerous kids from Japan, China, South Korea and Thailand.  Two of them lived with us for multiple years and I will always look at them as my bonus daughters (now living in LA and NYC).  

    Shirley loved animals of all kinds.  We always had multiple pets in the house – and of course they all slept in bed with us.  As a kid she had horses and ponies and was a successful competitive horse jumper.   She was notorious for giving food to pets when we visited friends – even if their owners would prefer she she not (see above for stubborn streak). 

    She was an animal whisper and could coax wildlife to her.  Deer, birds and squirrels would come right up to her.  I remember a trip to Central Oregon when she sat down and squirrels crawled right into her lap.  

    Entertaining and cooking for a crowd was what brought the most pleasure to Shirley.  She didn’t know how to cook for less than 8 or 10.  I attribute that to growing up in a big family.  

    Her annual Christmas party was an epic event.  At its peak, we’d have 150-200 guests and Shirley would prepare dinner for everyone.  By the time I came around, the party had  been an annual ritual for over 20 years and it had tamed down a bit and the house would be clear by 2 or 3 am.  But I heard stories about the early years when breakfast the next day was served to the stragglers. 

    When Shirley got her lung transplant in 2013, we had hoped that it would usher in a period of more energy and the ability to do more active things.  But a postoperative infection nearly killed her and kept her hospitalized for six months.  She never fully recovered from that but her stubborn determination kept her going.  

    Aside from the infection in 2013, her last 12 months were the most challenging.  In late 2023, we took our second trip to SE Asia.  This time to attend the wedding of our bonus daughter, Joy.  But Shirley got Covid and by day 5 of our month-long trip, she was in an ICU in Cambodia.  

    After our return home, she began having issues with both her heart and kidneys.  It seemed that medication necessary for one had negative consequences for the other.   She was hospitalized 12 times in 2024, each lasting 5-9 days.  

    With her health conditions, we always realized that barring a sudden accident I would outlive Shirley.   Talking about death isn’t easy, but we were able to have long conversations on the subject.  Shirley recognized that her physical limitations put a damper and things that I liked to do.  She encouraged me to rediscover these activities after she passed away.  

    My Camino journey is in part to commemorate Shirley and to rediscover activities I had put aside while partnering with someone unable to take them on.

    A Camino ritual is to leave a stone along the trail, symbolizing removal of a burden carried through life.   Since I left home, I’ve been carrying a stone that was given to Shirley that has the word “strength” inscribed on it.  Shirley was the eptiome of strength.   And in her honor I will cast that stone into the water at Finistere.   

  • Day 27 – Santiago, part 2

    Day 27 – Santiago, part 2

    Oct 7

    After our marathon session at the tattoo parlor (four clients, one artist) Ana, Ruth and I headed to a cafe.  We shared a plate of grilled Padron peppers.  Most of which are very mild, but occasionally one will bite you.  

    When we finished, Ruth headed back to her hotel to catch up with her daughter Thea who was hiking in. Ana and I decided to go see the cathedral museum.  

    Ana is a professional tour guide back in Croatia and really was absorbed by some of the exhibits in the museum. While it was inside the cathedral, most of the things on display were giant tapestries, along with a few chambers full of religious relics.

    While we were at the museum, we were joined by Nick, a guy from Vancouver, Washington. He was part of the group that Ana had met two days prior. 

    The Casa de Fernanda Camino family planned to get together for dinner that evening. We had staked out at a restaurant that sounded good but when we got there when it opened at 8 PM, there was a line out the door and we discovered that we had needed reservations. Fortunately, there was an intriguing place right across the street and so we tucked in there. There ended up being 12 of us for dinner.  I had been craving vegetables which seemed to be in short supply in this country so I had a green salad to go with my octopus.

    Ana, Nick, Nuom, and Inga had attended the pilgrims mass at the cathedral. The Botafumeiro  which normally is only used on five religious holidays was actually used today. We believe this was because  they’re filming the sequel to the movie “The Way” right now and it was probably done and paid for by the movie company.

    As the meal was wrapping up, we came to the realization that our Camino family was going to be breaking up. Dave, Tory, Frank and Hailey were flying out in the morning for Boston. Nuom was catching a train to Madrid and Ana was catching a bus back to Porto and flying home to Croatia from there.  Ruth and Thea we’re heading for Finistere after getting their tattoos in the morning. Only Brenda, who had just arrived that evening and I were still going to be around come Thursday.

    We all said our goodbyes and hugged everyone and promised to keep in touch. Although I’ve only known these people for two weeks, they’ve become dear friends, and I do hope to see them whether they visit me Portland or I visit them in Boston or Vancouver or Croatia or Germany or Israel. 

    If you leave a few crumbs on the table, they are quickly consumed by vigilant pigeons.
    Alter inside the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
    Royal tombs from the 12th century
    The Botofumeiro. In olden times, this was filled with incense and swung in the sanctuary-to mask the stench of the pilgrims
    My daughter has a King Charles Spaniel, so I had to send her this shot of King Charles’ spaniel on a tapestry
    The museum gives you access to the balcony overlooking the square where all the pilgrims arrive
    Many of the tapestries showed typical scenes from centuries ago.
    This tomb cover seemed to be missing a tomb
    Galician Octopus (pulpo). It was really yummy
    Our last group meal. From left: Ruth, Thea, Ana, Nick, Tory, Dave, Frank, Hailey, Nuom, Inga, me, Brenda
  • Day 27 – Tattoo Day

    Day 27 – Tattoo Day

    Oct 7

    Full disclosure: I did drink too much wine last night, but my decision to get a tattoo wasn’t some drunken impulsive idea.  Even before leaving I had thought that if the trip turned out to be as amazing as I had hoped, a tattoo might be a good way to commemorate it. 

    The deal was sealed about a week into the trip when I saw a guy walking with the yellow Camino arrow pointing ahead on his calf. I thought it looked great and then got me thinking about what I’d like to get. 

    I decided to get the camino shell and below it an upward pointing arrow – since I’ve been walking north.  Inside the arrow is 547, representing the number of kilometers walked.  To the right of the arrow is the year 2025 written in Roman numbers since much of the Camino followed old Roman military roads.  

    Dave & Tory had walked the French Camino in 2023 and knew of a parlor they used last time.  They were going back for more and Ana wanted one too.  Yesterday, I made appointments for the four of us and discussed my design with Jose, the artist.  

    When I arrived this morning, he had a few renderings on his computer and asked my preference.  Since I was the first to arrive and the only tattoo virgin in the group, I went first.   The process was faster and less painful than I was expecting. 

    While in the chair, I got a message that Ruth had arrived by bus Thea, Inga and Noum would be arriving this afternoon. Our little group that bonded at Casa da Fernanda alberge is almost all here.  

    Balinese Tattoo. If you are ever in Santiago and need a tattoo, Jose is your guy
    Frank’s cross of St. James
    Haley’s spiritual variant scallop
    Barney is nearly covered neck to toes with tattoos but found a spot on his thumb
    Tory added Buen Camino to complement her 2023 Tattoo
    Dave added the cross of St. James
    Dave’s 2023 ink
    Ana got a pilgrim with the scallop as their backpack
    Hard to read from this photo, but my distance traveled is in the arrow.
    Jen’s wandering shell