Day 25. Walking with Yomayra Puentes

Today is a special day. There are two conjunctions in the sky and I will pass the two hours after sunset trying to see them. There is a conjunction of Moon and Venus, the Moon passing within about half of a degree from the planet of Venus in the early evening sky. At the same time, Venus and Saturn are within 3 degrees of each other. More about this event here: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2013.html

Yomayra, with whom I am walking today, asked me to join her after sunset. I don't know where she is at this moment and if her sunset happens at the same moment it does for me but that doesn't matter. If I can find an internet connection today, I will ask other people to join us.

If only the sky will be clear ...... The skygazing has been amazing in the last weeks, so many stars, but it has been cloudy for the last two days. We'll see.

She wrote to me this morning. Making a conjunction in my walking schedule. She had read the quote Albert had given me on my first walking day, a quote from the Spanish poet Antonio Machado (1875 - 1939). Son tus huellas el camino. Your footsteps are the road. She gave me the text to a song she heard a lot when she was a kid. Machado's words put on music by Joan Manuel Serrat. It is the same poem. She gave me a link to YouTube as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6IGhwFDn-I (Barcelona-grec,05 Joan Manuel Serrat - cantares)

Antonio Machado - Cantares


Todo pasa y todo queda,           Everything passes and everything stays,
pero lo nuestro es pasar,   but our fate is to pass,
pasar haciendo caminos,           to pass making paths,
caminos sobre el mar.    paths on the sea.
 
Nunca persequí la gloria,        I never looked for glory,
ni dejar en la memoria                 nor to leave in the memory
de los hombres mi canción;           of mankind my song;
yo amo los mundos sutiles,           I love subtle worlds,
ingrávidos y gentiles,         lightnessful and gentile,
como pompas de jabón.         like soap bubbles.

Me gusta verlos pintarse   I like to watch them painting
de sol y grana, volar   of sun and garnet, to fly
bajo el cielo azul, temblar           under the blue sky, tremble

súbitamente y quebrarse...          suddenly and break...
 
Nunca perseguí la gloria.            I never looked for glory.

Caminante, son tus huellas             Walker, your treads are
el camino y nada más;          the path and nothing more;
caminante, no hay camino,            walker, there is no path,
se hace camino al andar.      the path is made when walking.
 
Al andar se hace camino               When walking the path is made
y al volver la vista atrás                 and when looking back
se ve la senda que nunca               you see the path that never
se ha de volver a pisar.                   has to be walked again.

Caminante no hay camino   Walker, there is no path,
sino estelas en la mar...                  but trails in the sea...
 
Hace algún tiempo en ese lugar        Some time ago in that place
donde hoy los bosques se visten       where woods dress with hawthorn today
de espinos
se oyó la voz de un poeta gritar        the voice of a poet was heard, screaming
"Caminante no hay camino,            'Walker, there is no path,
se hace camino al andar..."               the path is made when walking...'
 
Golpe a golpe, verso a verso...   Stroke by stroke, verse by verse...

Murió el poeta lejos del hogar. The poet died far away from home.
Le cubre el polvo de un país          He's covered by dust of a neighboring
vecino. country.
Al alejarse le vieron llorar.     When going away, they saw him crying.
"Caminante no hay camino,              'Walker, there is no path,
se hace camino al andar..." the path is made when walking...'
 
Golpe a golpe, verso a verso...  Stroke by stroke, verse by verse...
 
Cuando el jilguero no puede cantar. When the goldfinch cannot sing.
Cuando el poeta es un peregrino, When the poet is a pilgrim,
cuando de nada nos sirve rezar.         when praying has no use.
"Caminante no hay camino,  'Walker, there is no path,
se hace camino al andar..."                 the path is made when walking...'
 
Golpe a golpe, verso a verso. Stroke by stroke, verse by verse.


(And special thanks to Caroline and the Camping Municipale at Anost where I am posting this. I had planned to stay here but because life in a 50 cm high tent shaped like a coffin isn't easy when it is raining, I decided to stay in a gite d'etappe in town. But since the campsite is the only place in town with good internet, I asked her if I could work here. No problem, she even offered me some wine. People are so nice here.)