18 km to go ON THE WAY

Just 18 km left to walk, and Julie and Acel will have competed the Camino.  

Julie says it was a difficult walk for her today .. 19 km felt more like 27 km... I would think that If I walked 19km it would feel more like 37 km... and I have not been walking for 35 days strait

but they are down to the wire now.  The are scheduled to be at the Cathedral by Friday morning  so they are doing great .

Back in Kyrgyzstan 

I knew that the nights were getting colder, and the snow is starting to move down the mountains, but I did not realises just how cold .  When we got out to the farm today we found that leaves of all the vine crops had frozen.  So it was time to pull the plants and pick all the remaining zucchini and squash. 

We thought that we pretty much had it all last week, but apparently there was still a lot left out there .  We will have to work over the next couple days to get the rest of the tomatoes and peppers in. 

We got a call this morning from one of the orphanages asking if we could take another boy.  We told them to put him on a bus and that we would meat him in Tokmok .. They called back a few minutes later to say that he was to afraid to get on a bus .  so we drove out to get him.  .. 

We got him a sandwich and chocolate bar on the way to the farm, and as soon as we got there the guys were just sitting down to lunch , he had no difficulty joining them for that two.  He was happy to see the others and they knew him from the orphanage.  After lunch all went off to work in the garden together .. He is the one standing beside Aigoola ..

 everything he owns is in his back or in plastic bag the size of a sandwich bag.

Wed, Thurs, then Friday they are there .. ON THE WAY

With just 37 km , you an even begin to see landmarks on their route map , like the airport on the edge of the city .  

They are excited to be coming to the end of the journey .  They have met lots of interesting Pilgrims along the way , and today they were please to meat up with another walker Fabio from Italy that they last saw about 3 weeks ago ..   Can you imagine .. they kept up with him !

Back in Kyrgyzstan it was another Busy day . We began with a trip to the Baby orphanage , then decided to take a quick trip to the Bazaar and pick up about 150 lbs of apples and a case of banana's .  then after delivering them , we brought a big case of Strawberries to the nurses at the Baby Hospital .. just because .. they were thrilled .  Then it was out to the farm for lunch and to pay the construction workers and pick up a material list .  We then went to Ivanofka Childrens treatment centre and brought them a couple months supply of Vitamins .  Tonight we brought more Vitamins along with Hats mits scarves and sweaters to the kids at Bacute orphanage, then took them all out for supper ..

4 days to go ON THE WAY

Now that the girls are down to the wire ,  the Camino has markers every 500m guiding them in ,, This is marker 54.5 .. just happens to be Julies age .. with over 700km under her belt, NOT BAD FOR AN OLD GIRL ..

Today for lunch they stoped at a famous spot along the way .. famous for what you might ask .. For its Boiled octopus 

It actually looks pretty good I think . 

Back in Kyrgyzstan , we picked up some friends at the airport at $:20 this morning.  They brought with them about 150 lbs of Vitamins , and some tin foil pie plates for us to make pumpkin pie 

Our first stop of the day was out to the farm to pick up a mixture of canned goods for the seniors for home for Seniors day .  

We had put word out that we were looking for a commercial grinder that we could use to mill our own grain , as well as a chopper to chop the corn stocks and sunflower stocks to use as food .. we found this great one , and even got to take it for a test drive .. This is going to save us a fortune in expenses of grinding flour.  

 We then headed to Kemin to an orphanage for disabled Kids , and brought them Vitamins as well as a new walker and a snickers bar for each child 

timming was perfect , we got there just before afternoon snack .  milk cookies and a snickers bar 

Then it was over to the seniors home with a care package for them for seniors day ..Samples of all the canning from the farm, 5 litres of honey and a new knit woll hat for each of them 

Then after a long day we came home to have a special treat flown in fresh this morning 

Today Jengish was sent a couple car adds .. Something has happend to the car market here .. Lots of people baught high end cars thinking that the Russian trade pact was going to drive car prices up.. but instead the market was flooded ,, the low end cars are still  holding their value, but the high end cars have plumited ..   Jengish asked me If I had an extra $2500 for this ...

Nisan Primara low millage fully loaded stationwagon 

I told him he would have to keep dreaming .. he said .. lets pray about it .. 

final 6 days ON THE WAY

Just 79 km to go and the girls will reach their goal of Santiago de Compostela 

As they have been waking , we have been making great strides with the shelter and the small business centre .   Aigoola  giving an inspection  as the men are pouring the cement floors and the kids are painting the outside .

Our friend Sidula did a great job on the washroom .. Water heater, shower, and toilet , and place for several washing machines as the need grows. 

The boys cam up with an ingenious way to move the weeds off the garden 

634 walked , 99 km to go ON THE WAY

With just 99 km to go, the girls could really use your suport.  Not only will your donation NOW help with many women in need , but it will be a great incouragemnet Julie and Acel  as well .. 

8 more days to go ON THE WAY

After 583 km in 27 days  ( averaging a half marathon every single day )  in the mountain village of O Cebreiro,  Julies feet are starting to fight back , and she is getting blisters on her blisters .. the mountains they are in now are not helping much , so they have had to take some breaks along the way, and at the same time , if they don't keep up the pace, there will be no room in the hostels when they get in for the day . 

But she is still smiling 

The beautiful scenery helps I am sure.  But they are driven, not buy the scenery, but by knowing the needs that they leave behind in Kyrgyzstan... Please take a moment now and make a donation to suport them on THE WAY .. because for many that they are trying to help, YOU ARE THE WAY.  

Back in Kyrgyzstan  

A couple days ago I shared a picture of the new house that we wanted to turn into a sewing room, and spare room for a couple young girls or a single mom with kids , 

That was a couple days ago , Today the house is almost finished, We just have about an hour of painting to do on the house , and the shutters to paint.    The walls have all been patched in and out, and the new flooring is down, and a bit of electrical work done.  We have most of the yard work done, and all but 10 meters of fence up so that the side yard is closed in for the ducks and geese.  

We also have a single mom , sort of ,  living there now.  Her husband has gone to Russia to find work and get a place for them then she will join him, but she had to stay behind because her mother is sick and she has to care for her .  The hospital is right behind, attached to this property, so this is a perfect spot for her and her 2 year old.  But then when  you are suddenly homeless and alone, almost any place would be perfect.  

Tomorrow we will finish the foundation, and paint the shutters and door.  

Inside, the room is almost finished.  We have three peddle sewing machines for kids to learn on, and for when there is no power, and tomorrow we will bring over Aigula's commercial sewing machine as well .  Then as soon as a bit more money comes in we will take Aigoola to Bishkek to the big bazaar to purchase the material and the stuffing for mattresses and blankets.  Our hope is to get ahead by about a dozen of each so that when we have people interested they can buy them right away and not have to wait for them to be made , and then they can make more to replace them.  Its also a good time to get the material and stuffing right now, in a few weeks the prices will start going up when it gets cold. 

Beautiful big bright room for them to work , and has a big coal heater right in the room as well 

this big wardrobe will hold about 20 new blankets

Between that house and the shelter house, there is a small building that was a banys ( Sauna) .. the entrance to the banya had a good size room in it that we are renovating to put in a flush toilet,  a shower, as well as the laundry facilities for the farm .  There will be room for 2 washing machines .. we just have one for now, but we have room to grow.   Our friend Sidoola is doing a great job here.  

Aigoola and goosey are busy here making lunch for every one.  Like I have said before , Lunch has become one of my favourite times of the day .  Every on on the farm sits down together, the kids , the guests and who ever is there working for the day .. even one day the guy in charge of the water in the village was walking past so came in to join us for lunch . 

Of course Goosey keeps a close eye on Aigoola hoping for her discards ..

Todays lunch was pasta with a fresh from the garden zesty aribiata sauce, and for desert we had crepes with fresh raspberry puree and sweet pear sauce ...

After lunch, Jengishes dad and uncle came out for a visit with his cousin, so we decided to load every one up and take them all to the mountains for a nice walk around the village, then a swim at the hot springs ..

A beautiful Drive.   I would like Emma to paint this for me .

   All grown in and back in the bush we came across this old Lennon statue . 

If you stand in just the right spot you can see him from the main path 

It was nice to have Bekah and Kolya back from school today since it was a holiday here .. Aigoola enjoyed a nice walk with a couple of her boys 

The sisters got to spend a little time together as well .. funny in some ways I look at them and see them as my vulnerable  3 and 5 year olds , yet  they are not those little girls any more.  They are full of  conviction , and powerful defenders of those that are week and vulnerable .. I can just imagine where they will be in another 20 years ... 

10 more days ON THE WAY

Maybe you have been thinking about making a donation to support Julie and Acel in their desire to help with women's issues in Kyrgyzstan .. Please don't wait to much longer.  while you have been thinking , they have been walking , and walking , in fact they have walked over 450 km already 

At the end of a long day , Julies shoes are taking a little rest as she tries to nurse the blisters on her heals .. the mountains are hard on her feet.  

but the view is still beautiful 

As they approach the final haul , maybe its time to stay showing the rout in as well as where they have travelled .. Just 185 km to go , and with the 18 km a day they are averaging, that will have them arriving in Santiago on Oct 2 .. that just happens to be the day that they have a reservation already in Santiago ..  that in itself has got to be worth something .. walking almost 800 km and arriving right on time .. no excuses for those of you who drive 10 km to church and arrive late ... just saying !