We have now been parked up in our little campground for nearly five weeks. In a million years I never would have guessed we would be here this long and that we would have many more weeks to go before we might even think of traveling again.
Like most of you, we’ve had our ups and downs with this reality. I can only speak for myself when I say that I am not unhappy to be where we are, but there are days when I am very sad. Our lifestyle is one of travel and in the nearly six years we have been on the road, we moved often and we rarely slowed down. I am grieving the loss of our lifestyle. We are used to being on the move, so to suddenly find ourselves off the road and locked down is quite a shock. To be off the road and locked down in a foreign country so far away from our family and friends is even more of a shock, but here we are.
Over the past few days I have found that I get very teary at the slightest thing. Steven is suffering greatly from allergies, but my tears are coming from somewhere else and it surprises me when my eyes fill with tears for no discernible reason. And then it dawned on me. Memories of our preparations for our walk on the Camino de Santiago are starting to pop up on Facebook.
On April 21st last year, Easter Sunday, we began our Camino journey. It took us 43 days. I cried for days before we arrived in Santiago de Compostela and for weeks afterward. Now it appears I am going to cry my way through the anniversary of this life-changing experience. One of the things we loved most about walking was the simplicity of our daily routine. We got up, we walked, we ate, we slept. Then we did it again the next day. What could be simpler?
Steven and I talk often about how glad we are that we planned and completed our Camino journey last year. Thousands of people have had to postpone their walk this year. I know borders will eventually open and pilgrims will once again come as they have done for thousands of years, but I don’t think it will be the same Camino that I know. I feel utterly privileged to have completed this amazing journey and I hope I cry every single year to celebrate the anniversary. I never want to forget the thrill, the hardship and the accomplishment of being a pilgrim.
I am not overwhelmed by my feelings and certainly I don’t feel sad all the time. It comes in pockets. What I am overwhelmed with is my craving for a good chocolate cake. I know, first world problems, right? I don’t even eat desserts much but, for some reason, I have an unshakeable desire for a rich, dense chocolate cake.
But, we have no flour. I did buy a box the other day at Lidl, but it turned out to be corn starch. Having no flour is not the worst of it, though, because I could make a flourless cake, in fact, it would be my preference. But you may recall we have a strict propane rations and therefore are not using our oven. Bummer. It’s hard to make a cake without an oven.
But hang on, all is not lost! You know how one day you are thinking about something and the next day your Facebook wall is flooded with that very thing? Yeah, it happened with chocolate cake. And what did FB give me? A chocolate mug cake from none other than the New York Times Cooking section complete with over 1,100 reviews and a four start rating. Not only does it not require flour of any kind, it is cooked in the microwave. How perfect is that? And you figure, with that many reviews and a good rating, well, it had to at least be edible. Enough to satisfy my craving, I hoped.
I mulled over that recipe for a few days, lacking the energy to actually make it. Then Steven and I got into an argument over who was going to cook the rice for dinner (neither one of us, as it turns out…) and so I finally decided to make it as a peace offering. Since lemon and chocolate are my favorite flavor combo, I made a lemon mascarpone topping to go on the cake.
Well, I am happy to report that peace has been fully restored and my craving has been satisfied. In my experience, mug cakes are usually disappointing, but not this one! I’m providing the link, though it might be behind a paywall. I don’t subscribe to NYT Cooking and I am still able to see it. If you are craving a chocolate sweet, maybe you can, too. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020085-chocolate-mug-cake
UP NEXT: Something riveting, I’m sure.
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The contrast between; one day having the whole wide-open sky open to you on your pilgrim journey to the chains holding you down during this lock-down is certainly surreal. I understand the emotions you must be feeling. Even though we are hunkered down in our camping spot, we are allowed to at least go for a drive to see some of the countryside (which we did today for the first time in a month). Unlike you two, where you need a permission slip to visit the grocery store. Hang in there Linda & Steven, “this too shall pass”. We appreciate you keeping up the blog giving all of us something to look forward to.
We thought the Camino was the simple life, but now… It may be a simpler life now, but it is way more stressful. Just going to the store is a big damn deal. 🙁 I’m glad you guys are hunkered down, seems you got to stay in one place as your reservations ahead got canceled?
All the reservations we had up to May 17th have been canceled by the parks. The park we’re in now, said they will open again on May 17th so we’ll stay here until then. We have two other reservations that haven’t been canceled, one in Cape Cod on May 19th, and the other in Nova Scotia June 30th. We’ll see what happens with those. We had tickets to see the Nova Scotia Royal Tattoo (Drum & Bugle Corp show), but that was canceled by them last month. Our plan is to stay on the East coast until September when we fly out of Boston to go to the Paris RV show. But we’ll see if they cancel the show.
My gosh, I hope Paris is open by September, but I’m not holding my breath.
What is it with FB? I was working on an outdoor lantern the other day, replacing a battery in it. A few hours later, an identically-shaped lantern shows up on my feed! I never searched for parts or anything!
We will get through this mess. At least you don’t have it as bad as those poor people in Michigan who can’t use their motorboats. 😉
They are listening to us. But in this case, it worked in my favor. YAY!
Oh my I can sympathize with you on the loss of ability to keep on moving. I can totally relate. Also so very glad you did the Camino last year. Those memories will be with you forever. I can only imagine the emotions you are experiencing now. On a lighter note, thanks for the mug cake recipe. I will have to try it. I too have been disappointed many times by mug cakes, but it you say this is different I’m up for giving it a chance. But now I have it stuck in my head that I need the mascarpone topping or it will not be the same.
I am so in love with lemon chocolate. The cake is very chocolaty, but you can control the lemon by how much you put into the frosting. Which is mascarpone cheese, I use a container which is 350 grams, a couple of tablespoons of sugar, lemon zest and juice of a large lemon. Whisk, then chill before using. Ours is the consistency of Greek yogurt, but if yours is more stiff, you can either add more lemon or a drop of cream until it is the consistency you want. Voila!
Confession – the argument over who’s cooking the rice made me laugh :-)) I’m waiting for the kiddos to return with their rice cooker because I’m just the worst at trying to make it in a pot on the stove! The mug cake looks scrumptious and all the pics should be in a cookbook.
I can only imagine the emotions that bubble up on this anniversary. Not only the extreme contrast, but the memories of such a moving experience. Still can’t believe you walked all those miles!! The lockdown is certainly a different type of endurance. I’m so happy you’re still safe in your site with access to supplies nearby.
Hugs!
I am now the Queen of Rice. I learned to make it in Fifi the Insty Pot and now it is easy. But at the time, it seemed worth the fight. And, we got cake out of the deal, so win win. 🙂
I was thinking about you this morning and wondering if you were in the same place. We signed up for another month in SC before we attempt to move back to Colorado. Much easier for us than you. I had looked up a recipe for angel food cake and lemon curd, a favorite for me too. Your pictures of the baking came out great. You must have an expert in the house.
I recommend traveling with your own photographer, it makes my method of “Point and Shoot” really stand out. I point, he shoots. 🙂 Can’t imagine being on the road anywhere, so be careful when you go!
Debr, where are you in SC? We’re in North Charleston.
Connie, I believe they are in Greenville.
That’s a little too far for an acceptable social distance hello, lol.
Hello from afar. We visited Charleston before things got crazy and road our bikes on Sullivan Island. Beautiful.
I sent up a big Yay when your blog came! Something special to read while we are holed up in our houses in Florida! Your blog is so interesting and refreshing. Keep them coming, even if you think you don’t have anything to write or take pictures about…….We need entertainment and your blogs certainly are that. I sent your blog to a friend and she had no luck getting into the NYT Cooking.
Thanks for your sweet comment, Judy! I’m glad you are staying home and being safe! We’re not doing much that is blog-worthy, but I’ll see what I can come up with!