It is still raining in Santiago. I see on the news that it is also raining in Barcelona. It seems that the rain in Spain is much more than a line in a song. Everything is wet. Even our dry clothes get damp just sitting in our packs!!! Danielle´s cold has not improved, and it is dragging her down making her susceptable to other infections. Today we went to the train station and bought tickets for Vigo for tomorrow. We will go to the Air France counter and change our tickets to get home early. It sounds like a wet and damp ending for such an adventure, but it was always about the journey not the destination.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
27 May 2008
This is our final day on the Camino. It is still raining, but not too cold. Danielle has been unable to shake off the cold that she has had for days, and it is beginning to wear her down. We are all thankful that this odessy has come to an end. This morning we strapped ourselves into our harnesses as usual put on our grimy shoes and for the last 10 kms set off down the road to the Cathedral of Santiago. Most of the way was through an urban landscape, and it seemed as if hundreds of pilgrims were converging into the narrow streets leading to the Portal de Compostella. It turns out that they were, all the various Caminos converge here, so those doing the Portugese, the Northern and other less well known routes all converge here in Santiago. When we finally entered the Cathedral grounds, we were greeted by a friend with whom we had walked many miles. She had arrived in Santiago a couple of days ago and was spending some time in the town. She showed us to her pension where we were lucky to get a room, as it was very close to the Cathedral. After checking in, we went to the office of the Perigrinos and stood in line to get our Compostella. Well we are now certified pilgrims, so we attended the pilgrim mass, and saw the huge boit a fumero being swung across the entire church. It was a sight to behold. Our completion of the Camino will be read out at the pilgrim mass tomorrow where we will be listed as ´two Canadians starting from St. Jean Pied de Port´. Tonight we will go out to dinner with a friend, or friends and decide what we will do with our remaining time we have in Spain.
26 May 2008
It rained all day, so we were thankful for the 15 km walk into Lavacolla. The walk was easy and uneventful. Even the scenery has turned to drab. Fields and fields of weeds through which the Camino winds quite often through shady canopies of trees which provide some protection from the rain. The total feel of the Camino has changed in the last few days. There has been an influx of new walkers, and also during the weekend bus loads of Camino´tourists´have joined the walk for short stints with small day packs. Needless to say the camaradrie felt by those that walked long distances is no longer. Also it seems as if the businesses which the pilgrims frequent such as bars and restaurants don´t seem to be well disposed to pilgrims. It seems as if they depend on them less, than those higher up the Camino. Anyway all that to say that we are glad it is almost over. We did the 15 kms in about 3 hours and checked into a little pension in Lavacolla about 10 kms from Santiago. Dinner was terrible and we went to bed early and hungry. What I wouldn´t give for a good plate of rice and curry!
Monday, May 26, 2008
25 May 2008
Finally a good day. It is not bright and sunny, but it is not raining and it is quite cool, perfect weather for walking.Our walk today crossed numerous small river valleys, and involved a lot of ups and downs all day. The villages are no longer as pretty as the ones during the early part of the walk, They are usually small dairy farming places with few houses and virtually no facilities. We try to get past them as quickly as possible. We had expected to slow down as we got closer to Santiago, mainly because of the lack of lodgings along the way. Unfortunately two short days left us with a long 20+ walk on our final day. In order to fix that, we decided to do a very long 30+ km day an make all the way from Melide into Brea. We were not the only ones with that plan, so when we got into Brea, in the rain, the one and only hostel was full. They assigned a couple of beds to us in a dormatory, and we were resigned to living refugio style again. Fortunately a Canadian girl we had met further up the road found that she had no use for the two bed room she had reserved, so they gave it to us. In the end it was a pleasant evening with a German couple we met at the hostal. Tomorrow it will be a short day into Lavacolla only 15 kms away.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
24 May 2008
Just a word about yesterday´s dinner. We had not fully understood what the young woman was offering us. She did ask us if we wanted the ¨especiale¨. It was a chulettón and not a chuletta. Whatever... In fact it was a 970 gram steak covering our whole plate with not an inch to spare for anything else not even for cutting the humongous thing. It was quite tasty since it was fried in garlic and even had been salted, unheard of though more common here in Galicia. Pepper never makes it into anything not even on the table. We dragged ourselves away from the table not having had this much meat in the whole month put together. It turns out that the 18 Euro price which we though was for two was in fact for each of us. We had a good laugh and fell into bed like rocks.
We hit the road once again this morning under a cloud covered sky. We stopped for cafe con leche which is now a must for Bernie who never had anything but tea at home. He is now a convert to Spanish coffee which is consistently excellent. The road was good and the walk fairly easy today. Whenever we got too warm and decided to take our raincoats off, it started to rain. So we put them back on and minutes later, it was nice. This went on all morning. At one point, we got to a place called Furelos. It had a very old church with a most unique crucifix. Only one of Christ´s hands was nailed to the cross which left his other arm hanging by his side. Even the stamp (sello) provided by the church for our credentials, depicted this unique crucifix. We will have a picture in our album. We are now checked into a nice Hostel in a town called Melide and we have already had a rest and a great lunch with vino tinto, salad and great meats. It was a short walk today since it is becoming difficult to break up the remaining distance into pieces that would lead to decent accomodation at the end of the day. We either have to make them too short or much too long. We are opting for short. We will now go see the town and, if anything interesting comes up, we will report later on.
We hit the road once again this morning under a cloud covered sky. We stopped for cafe con leche which is now a must for Bernie who never had anything but tea at home. He is now a convert to Spanish coffee which is consistently excellent. The road was good and the walk fairly easy today. Whenever we got too warm and decided to take our raincoats off, it started to rain. So we put them back on and minutes later, it was nice. This went on all morning. At one point, we got to a place called Furelos. It had a very old church with a most unique crucifix. Only one of Christ´s hands was nailed to the cross which left his other arm hanging by his side. Even the stamp (sello) provided by the church for our credentials, depicted this unique crucifix. We will have a picture in our album. We are now checked into a nice Hostel in a town called Melide and we have already had a rest and a great lunch with vino tinto, salad and great meats. It was a short walk today since it is becoming difficult to break up the remaining distance into pieces that would lead to decent accomodation at the end of the day. We either have to make them too short or much too long. We are opting for short. We will now go see the town and, if anything interesting comes up, we will report later on.
Friday, May 23, 2008
23 May 2008
Well today it rained off and on all day sometimes a torrential downpour but mostly a drizzle. The path however was very pleasant and sometimes downright beautiful as it went through a forest canopy. We passed through a few small towns, nothing extraordinary and generally not too smelly, an improvement. We walked for over 7 hours and covered a distance of 24 kms. By the time we arrive at our destination, we were quite wet but still in good spirits. As has become our custom these days, we checked into an inexpensive pension which is a bit more expensive than an Albergue but much better value for our money. We should be in Santiago by the beginning of next week. There is not much more to say for today. It was an uneventful day except for the incessant rain. We have already arranged to have dinner at our Pension. On the menu is chuletta de lomo, just more drab Peregrino food but the desert here is really good. They make a really great cake called Tarta de Santiago, a beautiful almond cake served all over the place, a nice change from Flan. We are now off to dry all of our clothes because more rain is in the forecast tomorrow and the following days. Our shoes will be in the garbage as soon as we get home.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
22 May 2008
Our Albergue was comfortable but the evening meal was not the greatest. We went for a walk after diner, for a change, and realized how big a city we were in. It had a downtown with lots of shop. Too bad we can´t put one more thing in our packs.
After a decent night´s sleep, we started off at about 7:30 this morning, destined for Portomarin, about 24 kms away. It was a beautiful sunny day and we very quickly shed our excess clothing. The walk was generally very pleasant and quite often on a shady pathway but on occasion it got muddy and we even had to walk along the bed of a fast flowing stream. The Camino went through a number of picturesque but smelly villages. We climbed from the first moment we started, decended and climbed again for the rest of the day until we finally had a great downhill to master. That has to be the hardest thing on our knees. The highlight of the day was crossing the 100 km marker which means we are now within a 5 day walk to Santiago. We are now in the village after doing our daily laundry and having our shower and it is pouring rain. The forecast seems to be more of the same for tomorrow. During the day while stopped for our usual cafe con leche, we met some people who had just started in Sarria. They were all full of vim and vigor but when we finally got to Portomarin around 2 p.m., they were nowhere to be seen.
Portomarin is on a river and as we entered the town today, we were faced with crossing the bridge over that river and, from afar, we could see a staircase leading up to the town, a very long and steep staircase. (remember, we had just made it down). You have no idea how discouraging that is when you have been walking for almost 6 hours, in mud, water, and more... Once at the top of the stairs, we were faced with a long steep hill leading us to the town itself.
We have not been to dinner as yet and we are not looking forward to having to make it back to our Albergue in this torrential rain. I hope tomorrow is not as bad as this. We´ll let you know next time we find an internet cafe.
After a decent night´s sleep, we started off at about 7:30 this morning, destined for Portomarin, about 24 kms away. It was a beautiful sunny day and we very quickly shed our excess clothing. The walk was generally very pleasant and quite often on a shady pathway but on occasion it got muddy and we even had to walk along the bed of a fast flowing stream. The Camino went through a number of picturesque but smelly villages. We climbed from the first moment we started, decended and climbed again for the rest of the day until we finally had a great downhill to master. That has to be the hardest thing on our knees. The highlight of the day was crossing the 100 km marker which means we are now within a 5 day walk to Santiago. We are now in the village after doing our daily laundry and having our shower and it is pouring rain. The forecast seems to be more of the same for tomorrow. During the day while stopped for our usual cafe con leche, we met some people who had just started in Sarria. They were all full of vim and vigor but when we finally got to Portomarin around 2 p.m., they were nowhere to be seen.
Portomarin is on a river and as we entered the town today, we were faced with crossing the bridge over that river and, from afar, we could see a staircase leading up to the town, a very long and steep staircase. (remember, we had just made it down). You have no idea how discouraging that is when you have been walking for almost 6 hours, in mud, water, and more... Once at the top of the stairs, we were faced with a long steep hill leading us to the town itself.
We have not been to dinner as yet and we are not looking forward to having to make it back to our Albergue in this torrential rain. I hope tomorrow is not as bad as this. We´ll let you know next time we find an internet cafe.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
21 May 2008
The Albergue where we stayed yesterday was quite comfortable and we took full advantage of it by being the first ones in and the last ones out this morning. We had originally planned to go to Sarria via Samos to see the huge and old Benedictine Monastary but because of our late start, we opted to take the direct route and reduce our walk by 4 kms. The distance to Sarria was now 18kms. It was definitely the more scenic route. It was sort of cloudy when we left but quite pleasant to walk. The path took us through a few small villages, some of them rather smelly but generally very scenic. We climbed upwards for part of the day, spent the rest of the time going down, nothing is ever easy. At one point, the path was a river bed which was still flowing so we were either going through water or mud. At other times, we shared the path with cows who dropped their calling cards all over the place. All in all, it was a great day even when the skies opened up and we got soaked in a heavy downpour and that, just as we were about to enter the city. As usual, the Albergue was at the top of the hill in the old section. One could take a street up or the steps, about 70 of them. We took the steps nice and easy and made it to Caille Major where we found a place to stay. We opted for a double room for an extra 5Euros. We have just been walking through the town after having had our daily shower but there doesn´t seem to be very much to look at. There seems to be a lot of refugios in Sarria since this is the starting place for many a pilgrim who want to do the minimum 100kms to qualify for a Compostella. By the weekend, we have heard that there should be a huge influx of Peregrinos mostly from Europe followed by those from North America, somewhat later in the week. We don´t think it should be much more than 5 or 6 days for us to reach Santiago. Hopefully, our luck will hold and we will stay in relatively good shape as nothing hurts anymore. Perhaps we are just numb but it feels good. We will be having dinner early at our Albergue but now we are off for a Cerveza and Coca Cola. Hasta Luego everyone.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
20 May 2008
The day started out bright and beautiful with not a cloud in the sky. The beds were probably the best on the Camino so far though really crowded. Since we had checked in much later than usual, we did not have the best of places. Our beds were right by the door so, everytime somebody entered or left, they would walk past us. In spite of that, we still had a good night´s sleep. Today´s walk was to be fairly short into Triacastela, only 12 kms away. The thing about this walk which made it quite difficult, was that it was a steep decline on a very rocky and often muddy path, littered with cow patties. Yea, my nose is plugged and I can´t smell a thing. We got into Triacastela quite early, about 11 a.m. after passing through a few small dairy villages. I am not feeling so great so stopping early is a plus for many reasons. We hope to catch up on our emails and laundry and now, we have the best beds in the room. The Albergue is fairly new, bright and spacious, well equipped with laundry machines and internet facilities. Let´s see what the rest of the day brings. We are now 137 kms from Santiago. Sarria is the starting point for all those people who want to do the minimum 100 kms to qualify for a Compostella or a certificate of completion. Therefore, we expect to encounter many more people on the road and in the Albergues. People that we have been traveling with plan to be in Santiago by next Sunday. We have not planned that far ahead.
19 May 2008
We didn´t get that early a start, as we were told the night before that nobody could move until the music started at 6:30 a.m. We were woken up with the Ave Maria, it was really beautiful. As most dawdled over breakfast which consisted of the great Spanish pane cut into rough slices and toasted, together with butter and honey or one of any number of jams, we were not out until 7:30. By-the-way Tim Horton´s has nothing on Spanish coffee. It is consistently good wherever one has it. All the restaurants have elaborate machines not only for making the coffee, but also for despensing it and packing it. I have become a convert to Spanish coffee, which means that I will have to revert to tea back in Canada. Anyway all that to say that we got off to a slow start. It was drizzling slightly so we water-proofed ourselves and set out with our packs, even though we had talked about having them sent. For the most part, the climb was not that difficult for us and the scenery was breathtaking. One must describe a part of the path later on that morning. Enormous cow patties littered the path, they were really smelly and disgusting. Because of the rain or because of a rather sick herd, the stuff was glistening. As we moved on, again because of the rain of previous days, we had to trudge through this smelly mud in which I could see the mixture of glistening cow dung. It did not seem to bother very many people but it did me. I was heaving every now and then but we made it past this maybe 500 metres and the rest of the road was beautiful. We were so pleased with ourselves when we got to Cebreiro, which was packed with busloads of tourists "pilgrims". We had heard so much about this climb and it had turned out to be fairly easy for us but, it was not finished. After descending for a while, we climbed again to the same altitude as Cebreiro but in a much shorter distance. That was the difficult part people must have been talking about. Up at the altitude of 1500 metres, it was quite cold and since we were already sweating, it was quite uncomfortable. The descent to Fonfria was long and tedious and, by then, we had walked 22 kms, so it was time to stop. The Albergue was run by a Portugese couple and, again, was really full. The dinner wss, like the previous day, a communal meal, serve in a most unusual but very nice round building made of stone with a straw roof. Just before getting to Cebreiro, we entered the province of Galicia. Maybe it is our imagination but we all noticed that the food was a lot tastier. They seemed to not be afraid to use salt and some spices. Dinner was enjoyed by all and again, a bottomless jug of wine made everyone quite jolly. We were in bed by 10 p.m. I (Danielle) seem to now have quite the head cold. My theory is that dog suffer from Kennel cough and Peregrinos suffer with a Peregrino cough.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
18 May 2008
17 May 2008
We had a great night in our own private room at the Albergue. Bernie got up at 5 am to beat everyone to the sink and shave. We were ready to leave by 5:30 only to find out that the gate at the entrance of our compound gets locked at night and does not reopen before 6 the next morning. Having 30 minutes to kill, we went to the coffee machine for cafe con leche and hot chocolate. Promptly at 6, we hit the pavement and started to walk with Melanie or Jon´s headlight strapped to Bernie´s head. He looked like a miner. The road was following the highway but being Saturday, no one was on it. After a while, we got across and onto the Camino path which went through vineyards, up hills and back into valleys and finally, into Villafranca del Bierzo, the center of this wine district. The town was of course as high as possible but very picturesque and one of the most attractive on the Camino. The romanesque church of Santiago has a Puerta del Perdón. Pilgrims having made it this far but to sick to continue had only to pass the door of forgiveness to be granted the same benefits and indulgences as if the had completed the pilgrimmage. From here on, the Camino followed the highway separated by concrete barriers. It was a difficult walk because of the continuous slant of the road towards the curb and, after about 20 kms of walking, the skies open and it started to pour. We called it a day at that time and checked into a roadside hotel for the night. We got a chance to have leisurely baths in hot water and to do our daily wash. There was a restaurant in that place where we got the usual Spanish fare, overcooked vegetables but great fish. The surrounding villages have no nightlife so, being Saturday, the place filled up to the gunnels with young couples, their children and even the grand-parents. It seems like everyone was having a good time. We rushed out of the smoked filled room and went to ours. Tomorrow, we don´t plan much of a walk perhaps just 10kms to the base of El Cebreiro.
Friday, May 16, 2008
16 May 2008
We want to start by wishing Francois a belated Happy Birthday. We know it was yesterday but we had no internet facilities then.
Also very important, all the very best of wishes to Teresa and Sean on their upcoming wedding day. May it be the most beautiful in every way and may it bring you both, health, wealth and happiness.
We got up later than usual and decided to take our time since Danielle had not been to well during the night. Our stuff was scattered all over the room so by the time we finished getting ready, it was about 8:30. We had breakfast and hit the road by 9:oo. It was not clear as to where we had to pick up the Camino so, after going around in circles for a while, we asked a few people and they all steered us in the same direction. The long straight road leaving Ponferrada went on for miles and miles, always on sidewalks which hurt Bernie´s shins, up to Fuentes Nuevas a distance of 8 kms. It then started to improve passing through vineyards (we are back in wine country) all the way to Camponaraya and finally Cacabellos, a further distance of 8 kms. We decided to stop eventhough 18 kms was not a full day but by now, it was already 1:30 and to go on, we would have had to walk for another 2 hours making it too long a day. The Albergue we stopped in is quite interesting. It is built like a long curved motel with many two- bed rooms. The washing and drying facilities are good and the showers with hot water and toilets very clean. The town is quite interesting and a lot of effort seems to be made to renovate a lot of the older buildings and even build new facilities. There are lots of storks in the area and they occupy all the belfries and every other high point available. Today, getting here, we even saw a stork nesting on a crane that was in use at a construction site! Needless to say, that was another picture in our collection of stork pictures. The villagers here like having them around for good luck. In another day or so, we will be faced with the extremely steep climb of El Cebreiro which goes from 600 to 1400 metres. It is suggested to have your bag transported during that leg. We are getting quite close now to the end of this odessy, less than 200 kms of the 800, to our destination of Santiago. Our feet are looking forward to finishing. A demain tout le monde.
Also very important, all the very best of wishes to Teresa and Sean on their upcoming wedding day. May it be the most beautiful in every way and may it bring you both, health, wealth and happiness.
We got up later than usual and decided to take our time since Danielle had not been to well during the night. Our stuff was scattered all over the room so by the time we finished getting ready, it was about 8:30. We had breakfast and hit the road by 9:oo. It was not clear as to where we had to pick up the Camino so, after going around in circles for a while, we asked a few people and they all steered us in the same direction. The long straight road leaving Ponferrada went on for miles and miles, always on sidewalks which hurt Bernie´s shins, up to Fuentes Nuevas a distance of 8 kms. It then started to improve passing through vineyards (we are back in wine country) all the way to Camponaraya and finally Cacabellos, a further distance of 8 kms. We decided to stop eventhough 18 kms was not a full day but by now, it was already 1:30 and to go on, we would have had to walk for another 2 hours making it too long a day. The Albergue we stopped in is quite interesting. It is built like a long curved motel with many two- bed rooms. The washing and drying facilities are good and the showers with hot water and toilets very clean. The town is quite interesting and a lot of effort seems to be made to renovate a lot of the older buildings and even build new facilities. There are lots of storks in the area and they occupy all the belfries and every other high point available. Today, getting here, we even saw a stork nesting on a crane that was in use at a construction site! Needless to say, that was another picture in our collection of stork pictures. The villagers here like having them around for good luck. In another day or so, we will be faced with the extremely steep climb of El Cebreiro which goes from 600 to 1400 metres. It is suggested to have your bag transported during that leg. We are getting quite close now to the end of this odessy, less than 200 kms of the 800, to our destination of Santiago. Our feet are looking forward to finishing. A demain tout le monde.
15 May 2008
This morning we got us a bit later than usual because last evening we were asked to do a reading at Vespers at 7:00 p.m. The Monks did the ceremony in Gregorian chant and at the appropriate time, a reading was done in Spanish, English, French and German. The reason we were asked was that we could not get in to the Albergue run by the Confraternity of St.James, a British based organization. The hospitaliero came to find us at the refugio where we had checked in and, trying to be nice to us, offered Bernie the reading part and Bernie immediately said "Danielle can do the French reading" and so it was. All our friends were at that Albergue and made sure they attended Vespers to hear us read. Not one of them understand French but they all said both of us had read well. So much for that compliment. We then went out to dinner with everyone. Here I am back to why we got up late. When we came back to our place, all lights were out and we could not get ourselves ready for the next day. At 4:00 am, some of the guests started to get up and pack and they were out by 4:30. Can´t understand that because it is really dark at that time.
We set out around 7:30, in the rain, and we were in Foncebadón in a little over an hour. It was definitely not the highest point. We kept climbing pretty much all day, in the pouring rain and on trails that were getting quite muddy, slippery and rather dangerous at times. There were times when we would opt to take the road instead but reverting back to the Camino when it seemed that the road route appeared much longer. We finally got to the place where there is a huge rock cairn at the food of a large metal cross. It is here that people finally deposit the rock or rocks they have brought from home and over the years, it has grown to be a huge pile. Most people have written something on their stone and for some of them, it is a very profound and religious experience. They see it as leaving their troubles behind. Amanda and Stephanie, our friends from Australia, had brought a stone for their life long friend who had just died of breast cancer. For them, it was emotional. Leaving the rock cairn, we continued to climb and it continued to pour. Reaching a town called Riejo de Ambrós, we stepped into the only cafe so far which was packed with people in wet clothing. It was virtually impossible to get anything ordered. We sat at a table at which Amanda and Stephanie had been eating and when they left, a British couple joined us. He had been a Vicar at St James parish in England. They had just ordered a taxi to get down the mountain, about 12 kms to Ponferrada, the temptation was too great and we accepted. Once there, we checked into a little Hostal near the downtown (Bernie had to shave with cold water two mornings in a row, enough already). Since it was still quite rainy, we did not get much of a chance to see the place except for the huge Templar fortress. It was a huge job trying to find a place for dinner since a lot of the bars that do serve meal do lunch but not dinner and the restaurant don´t serve dinner till 9 o clock. By the time we had dinner in the dining room of the Hotel Madrid (a grand hotel in its time), neither of us were in much of a mood to eat. It was quite funny to see the waiter with a crisp white tea towel around his arm, a nice bread basket and tongs place our bread squarely on the tablecloth, no plate no nothing. This town was quite interesting and we would have needed another day to see properly. See you tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
14 May 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
13 May 2008
12 May 2008
11 May 2008
10 May 2008
Getting back to the last blog where we checked into this large warehouse type Albergue in Sahagún, we need to tell you that it was a terrible place eventhough the owner was very nice. The place was damp and cold and Danielle decided to sleep fully dressed, with many layers. It poured all night and into the next day making the cold now wet. It was quite miserable and, on the Camino, that means mud paths everywhere. Since the train station was just around the corner from us, we decided to walk there and check the timetable. As it was, a train was due within 20 minutes and, on the spur of the moment, we decided to take it to Leon. That saved us two days of walking, about 40 kms and allowed us to take a day off in Leon. Once again we ended up in a big city on a weekend and we expected to have some difficulty finding accomodations. After asking a few elderly
Friday, May 9, 2008
9 May 2008
The total distance covered today was 22.5kms. We are now 2 or 3 days away from Leon where we plan to take our third day off. The albergue we checked in is like a big concrete warehouse with all kinds of antiques all over the place. Because of the large area, it is very popular with bikers, but does not seem to be too popular with the walkers, though it is still early in the afternoon. We haven´t worked out a destination for tomorrow yet, but will walk into the Centro to take a look around, and perhaps have supper there. Hasta mañana.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
8 May 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
7 May 2008
We were on the road at 6 am. We are so pleased but, it is quite dark. We are navigating by flashlight because we need to find the Camino markers so we don´t walk in the wrong direction. It is so nice and cool. I love it. The frogs are serenading us and it is a song neither one of us have ever heard. It must be mating season for frogs here. The cacophony is loud and so unusual. The birds are just as loud. What a great start to our day which will be very long and most probably very hard. By 6:15, there is enough light to navigate without our flashlight. We are already taking our coats off and we are walking at a very good clip and, we are in Fromista by 7:30. That whole walk followed a beautiful river and ended at the locks where we had to turn to enter the town. At the first intersection, who do we see sitting at a little sidewalk cafe, our friends Amanda and Stephanie. They have just had breakfast and are on their way. They left after a little chat and Bernie had his usual cafe con leche and little cakes. The rest of the walk was long straight stretches, as far as the eye could see. At one point we had the choice of taking the highway or following the aqueduct. We chose to follow the aqueduct which had a few shady stretches along it and, again the frog were at it. Bernie decided to record their songs. By 9 it was blistering hot and we were starting to wilt. It got worse as the day progressed. After 6 hours of walking, we took a break in a small town called Villacaza de Sirga where we met San, a South African woman who spoke to us at length about the sad state of her country. It was all very depressing. Our last 6kms were absolute hell, with the sun beating down on us, sweat dripping down our faces and burning our eyes and, that is when Bernie ran out of water and started imagining himself crawling the last few meters into town with the condors circling overhead. We were after all entering Carrion de los Condes. Later that evening we met up with our friends from Australia, some of them had taken the bus in Fromista. We had a good afternoon visit of the town with them, had dinner and completed our blog. We are keeping the internet guy past his 10 o clock closing time so we have to rush and let him go home. Goodnight all.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
6 May 2008
Finally, we got of to an early start. We were on the road by 6:30 because we did not take time to have breakfast. About 15 minutes into our walk, we were faced with the biggest and steepest climb ever. Thank God it was early and still sort of cool. By the time we made it up there, about 150 meters, we were both sweating and half dead and so were everyone else. It would have been impossible to muster up the energy to do that later on when the sun got up. The view from the top was of course fabulous with the sun rising in the distance and the mist lifting off the green fields. The top was flat for a little while and then, low and behold, we had to get down on the other side of the mountain. All we gained was now lost. For the most part, the Camino consisted of long straight stretches of yellowish, grayish earth. Since the road was built years ago, the rain has washed away the soft earth so that now the surface consists of extremely hard packed earth with all sizes of rocks so that one never walks on a flat surface. It is very hard on the feet. It is impossible to plant your walking poles in that earth. The scenery on either side of the road consist of rolling fields carpeted in green as far as the eye can see. Every now and then, an outcrop of rocks sticks out to add a feature to the green fields. As we walk, we see towns in the distance which get larger as we approach. The silhouette of these towns are always dominated by that of a church. The first town we came upon was Puente Fitero and Itero de la Vega where we stopped and had some breakfast. A lot of our Camino companions planned to go on to Fromista, a distance of 26kms but we planned to stop at Boadilla del Camino, 20 kms away. In Itero we came face to face with two Australian ladies that we have spent a lot of time with. We like them very much and they like us also. We all were so happy to meet and, since they were done with their breakfast, they asked if we could meet for lunch whenever there was a bar or cafe in a few hours time. By the time we got to Boadilla, we were so hot and tired, we checked into an albergue. At first sight, the place looked really ramshackle with its old barnwood door, held together by rusted hinges. However, the door opened on the most beautiful garden with sculptures, a pool, flower beds packed with colourful flowers, lilac trees, all in bloom and of different colours. There was even a pool. In a corner of the yard, there were plenty of clothes lines with clothes pegs, almost an unheard commodity here. A really friendly Portugese young man greeted us, showed us around and left us to shower and do our laundry. After all that, I suddenly remembered our good friends Stephanie and Amanda who were probably sitting somewhere waiting for us. I went to look for them and found them in the bar, another facility of our albergue. They had had their lunch but decided to stay around with us for a while before leaving for Fromista like the others. Amanda really wanted to stay but Stephanie thought they should go on a while longer. The reason everyone so wanted to get to Fromista is because in another 2 days, there is an 18km stretch of Camino which is barren, with no place to stop or sleep and they all wanted to start that distance first thing in the morning. It meant that tomorrow, they would just have to walk 20km followed by that difficult 18km. That evening, we had a communal meal with all the other guests which included a couple that we met some days ago. We get along well with them and have been keeping tabs on each other wherever we get into town. The meal was quite good probably one of the best of our trip. After dinner, we went through the usual routine of collecting our washing, filling up our water bladder in our packs and getting all our things ready for the next day. We were in bed by 10 p.m. and the snoring had already started. One gets used to everything so it doesn´t bother us much anymore. Tomorrow we plan a very early start to make up the 6km to Fromista and then the 20 to Carrion de los Condes.
5 May 2008
First things first. Happy Birthday Suresh.
Well, as we said yesterday, we got an early start heading to Castrojeritz, not as early as we had hoped but still early. The day got of to a good start with a cool morning and a decent road. We walked about 5 kms before reaching the isolated Arroyo de San Bol which comprises one Auberge. It seemed pretty spartan so we walked by it without even checking out. Another 5 kms later, we came upon the village of Hontanas where there was 2 cafes one across from each other. A number of our Camino friends were already sitting at one having cafe con leche and bread so we sat ourselves down and did the same (no cafe for moi). I took the opportunity to lather on the sunblock lotion because, for the first time, I took the lower part of my slacks off. It starts off quite cool in the morning but by 10 o clock, it is scorching hot. It makes the trek quite hard for me the winter person. After a quick stop, we left and when we finally pulled into Castrojeriz, we crossed what we thought was the town and found nothing there remotely resembling a auberge. A few minutes later, the town start again and at the end of a very long street, there we were, in front of the Albergue we had been looking for. By then, we are exhausted, close to the end of our rope and the albergue in question is at the top of the longest flight of broken down stone steps. Where all of us found the strength to climb up there is a mystery to me. The place was really nice, the hospitaliero was the most welcoming little Japanese guy. He had previously worked in Calcutta, India at the Mother Teresa place. He was quite happy to share these experiences with Bernie. The dorm was one large, high ceiling room, very airy and clean with a number of bunks and also mattresses on the floor with great facilities. Soon after getting there, I did laundry and took of my watch and ring. When I went to put them back on, I could not find my ring. Bernie went to see if it was with the stuff he had put on the line and I proceeded to empty my pack, pockets, ziplock bags and more. No ring. Just then, a lady walked in showing me her finger. It turns out I had put it on a table at the cafe in Hontanas when I creamed myself. She was sitting there and we had been talking to her, her husband and son. She was so happy to see me and I was very glad to get my ring back. We are now great friends. Later that night, we had dinner with them and a bunch of other people we have been with for many days now. It was most enjoyable and the food and wine were great. That was a fine ending to a good day. Tomorrow it will be Boadilla del Camino, about 20 kms again. This walking in the heat is a real killer. Someone, rescue me.
Well, as we said yesterday, we got an early start heading to Castrojeritz, not as early as we had hoped but still early. The day got of to a good start with a cool morning and a decent road. We walked about 5 kms before reaching the isolated Arroyo de San Bol which comprises one Auberge. It seemed pretty spartan so we walked by it without even checking out. Another 5 kms later, we came upon the village of Hontanas where there was 2 cafes one across from each other. A number of our Camino friends were already sitting at one having cafe con leche and bread so we sat ourselves down and did the same (no cafe for moi). I took the opportunity to lather on the sunblock lotion because, for the first time, I took the lower part of my slacks off. It starts off quite cool in the morning but by 10 o clock, it is scorching hot. It makes the trek quite hard for me the winter person. After a quick stop, we left and when we finally pulled into Castrojeriz, we crossed what we thought was the town and found nothing there remotely resembling a auberge. A few minutes later, the town start again and at the end of a very long street, there we were, in front of the Albergue we had been looking for. By then, we are exhausted, close to the end of our rope and the albergue in question is at the top of the longest flight of broken down stone steps. Where all of us found the strength to climb up there is a mystery to me. The place was really nice, the hospitaliero was the most welcoming little Japanese guy. He had previously worked in Calcutta, India at the Mother Teresa place. He was quite happy to share these experiences with Bernie. The dorm was one large, high ceiling room, very airy and clean with a number of bunks and also mattresses on the floor with great facilities. Soon after getting there, I did laundry and took of my watch and ring. When I went to put them back on, I could not find my ring. Bernie went to see if it was with the stuff he had put on the line and I proceeded to empty my pack, pockets, ziplock bags and more. No ring. Just then, a lady walked in showing me her finger. It turns out I had put it on a table at the cafe in Hontanas when I creamed myself. She was sitting there and we had been talking to her, her husband and son. She was so happy to see me and I was very glad to get my ring back. We are now great friends. Later that night, we had dinner with them and a bunch of other people we have been with for many days now. It was most enjoyable and the food and wine were great. That was a fine ending to a good day. Tomorrow it will be Boadilla del Camino, about 20 kms again. This walking in the heat is a real killer. Someone, rescue me.
Monday, May 5, 2008
4 May 2008
Got an early start today as we were already at the edge of Burgos and close to the Camino. The path was quite good, and there was a cool wind blowing for most of the day. The Camino here passes through a number of small towns such as Villabilla, Tardajos, Rabe de las Calzadas. Most of the towns were in various stages of disrepair, though it seems that a lot of money is being invested in to some. It seems that there may be a lot of money to be made if interest in the Camino continues to grow. This year even though we are early in the season we have encountered Albergues that are full by the time we get there. It is only going to get worse as the season advances. The Albergue in Hornillos del Camino was fairly cramped with limited facilities. We were assigned a two tier bunk bed with no place to put our stuff, so I had to sleep with my pack on my bed. All in all it was fun, especially dinner where the owner, and the person serving us had a real dry sense of humor, and kept everyone laughing throughout our three courses. After dinner it was a rush for the facilities, early to bed with plans to be up at six for an early start for Castrojeriz another 20 km day.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
3 May 2008
We want to start this blog by wishing Chloe a very Happy Birthday as we may not find Internet access later on. Better early than late.
We are in Burgos again today, met some pilgrims we already know who said they had to walk 34 kms yesterday to finally find accomodation. They have also decided to take the day off today. We will all meet each other tomorrow somewhere along the Camino. Hopefully, the weather will not be too hot as we are told that on the Meseta, it gets very hot. I (Danielle) am not looking forward to hotter since I am finding it quite warm already. My feet seem better today.
The Meseta is an elevated plain, apparently very flat and featureless, a section of the Camino that a lot of people bypass. We will get back to this later on after seeing a bit more of the place.
We ended the blog rather abruptly as some camino friends came into the bar to chat with us, and messed up our concentration. We had drinks and tapas with them at an outdoor cafe and later wandered around the town which was quite crowded as it was a long weekend in Spain. Later we found a nice restaurant and the four of us (Jennifer and Bob from Australia) had a good dinner. They will be taking another bus tomorrow, as they are on a six month tour of the world, and have a limited time to walk the Camino, so they will be skipping the Maseta. Tomorrow we hit the road again this time destined for Hornillos del Camino about 21kms from Burgos. The funny thing about the Camino is that as one goes down the road, you meet different people and hang around with them for a few days, and then they are gone for one reason or another, and you meet new people that you hang around with. Then out of the blue you arrive in a town and see the people that you had met several days ago, and it is a happy reunion for all.
We are in Burgos again today, met some pilgrims we already know who said they had to walk 34 kms yesterday to finally find accomodation. They have also decided to take the day off today. We will all meet each other tomorrow somewhere along the Camino. Hopefully, the weather will not be too hot as we are told that on the Meseta, it gets very hot. I (Danielle) am not looking forward to hotter since I am finding it quite warm already. My feet seem better today.
The Meseta is an elevated plain, apparently very flat and featureless, a section of the Camino that a lot of people bypass. We will get back to this later on after seeing a bit more of the place.
We ended the blog rather abruptly as some camino friends came into the bar to chat with us, and messed up our concentration. We had drinks and tapas with them at an outdoor cafe and later wandered around the town which was quite crowded as it was a long weekend in Spain. Later we found a nice restaurant and the four of us (Jennifer and Bob from Australia) had a good dinner. They will be taking another bus tomorrow, as they are on a six month tour of the world, and have a limited time to walk the Camino, so they will be skipping the Maseta. Tomorrow we hit the road again this time destined for Hornillos del Camino about 21kms from Burgos. The funny thing about the Camino is that as one goes down the road, you meet different people and hang around with them for a few days, and then they are gone for one reason or another, and you meet new people that you hang around with. Then out of the blue you arrive in a town and see the people that you had met several days ago, and it is a happy reunion for all.
2 May 2008
Burgos is a large city with a lot of run down sections dominated by a magnificent Gothic cathedral (pictures to come). Since it is a long weekend here, there are mobs of people, tourists and pilgrims. A lot of Spaniards take holidays at this time so we had difficulty finding a place downtown and ended up 20 minutes away from Centro, near the University and on the Camino as it leaves Burgos. Walking that distance without our pack is a breeze.
We spent some time in the Plaza Major in front of the Cathedral, sipping on a Cerveza and Coke and munching on a bowl of olives. We found a place that offered the Menu de Perigrinos. This is a 3 course meal that is offered in all of the towns through which the Camino passes. It is usually offered earlier than the local Cena (dinner) and is priced in the 10Euro range. It is often quite good and often quite mediocre. In this case, it was quite mediocre. Strangely enough, it is better in the small villages. They probably need the Pilgrim`s business more than a city like Burgos does. We have also planned to take the day off tomorrow and, guess what, see the city on foot.
1 May 2008
We finally managed to get out by 7:30 after having a bowl of Golden Graham and yogourt. It was quite annoying to have been up so early and not be able to leave.
From Santo Domingo de la Calzada where we stopped last night, the Camino mostly followed the highway, a long rocky, dusty straight road that seemed endless. We still walk about 6 hours a day and more. The road took us through Grañon and Redecilla del Camino. May 1st is a public holiday here and just as a group of Pilgrims entered this little village, we were greeted by a 4 firecracker salute. Later on that morning, we heard from those behind us that, as they went through the town, the entire population, dressed in red and white, turned out to ser
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
30 April 2008
The Camino, now in the Rioja provence of Spain meanders through fields of hay and vineyards as far as the eye can see. The rolling hills and valleys make for a spectacular sight. For most of the day, we could see a range of snow-capped mountains in the distance. They are probably part of the Pyrenees. We went through Cirueña, a small town where we stopped for a cappucino and a zumo de naranjha for Danielle.
It is interesting how these towns appear in the distance, dominated by the church in the centre, and then get bigger as we approach. Sometimes they disappear completely in the valley and you wonder where they went! We did not make it all the way to Grañon as we had planned but stopped at noon at a fair sized town called Santo Domingo de la Calzada. The albergue here is quite nice, and we were worried that, had we gone on to Grañon, the limited number of spaces in the small town would all be gone. So here we are in Santo D de la C. The plan (such as it is) is to leave early and go on to Belorado 23kms from here tomorrow. Perhaps today is not the day to teach Danielle to tell the time as we will have to be up early.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
29 April 2008
I woke up in the night and Bernie was awake thinking about the Camino. He announced he was ready to pull the plug and that we could go to Paris and spend a few days there. He said it was far more difficult than he ever expected (his allergies are quite bad). I can´t believe it but I replied that we could continue, at least for a little while longer. He turned around and we both went back to sleep. I woke up at 6 am, woke him up and proceeded to get ready. I was all dressed and almost all packed, ready to go when he finally got up and did the same. We had a great day on this leg of the trek, even if the sun came up at 9 am., and it was a cloudless day, there was always a cool breeze and the road was never that difficult or dangerous.
Monday, April 28, 2008
28 April 2008
We left soon after 6, still dark at that time here. The temperature was perfect and remained that way most of the day. It was cloudy but still really very nice for walking. Our goal was Navarette, a town about 21 kms away and past a major town called Logroño. Walking through Logroño, we were able to buy some fruit and nuts. We also stopped for a pastry accompanied by a coffee and hot chocolate. Exiting the town, we walked along a paved path for miles and miles where the people get to do their daily walk through a very organized recreational area. The park is beautiful and equipped with barbecues, children´s play areas and nature sites. Along the river, losts of men were fishing. We expected to be in Navarette by 2pm but the roads for once were decent and we arrived shortly after l p
P.S. My (Danielle) feet are killing me even after being here for hours now. Hope I am not damaging myself for life on this HOLIDAY. Bernie is still taking lots of pictures and wishing he could download some for the blog. Hasta mañana!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
27 April 2008
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM.
We actually slept quite well last night and were up early, around 5 am. We managed to pack in the dark without making too much noise and to leave the place by 6. It was still dark but nice and cool and the road was well marked. We were on our own for a good hour before the stronger walkers caught up with us and passed us. By then, I had two very painful blisters and, we had to stop in the next town and I pierced through them and Bernie patched me up quite well. We left with me limping a bit but it all passed when Bernie realized he had left his camera on the bench where many people had arrived and put down their stuff in front of his. We turned ourselves around and rushed back. No one had even noticed it. It was about 7 o´clock by then and both of us were so hot, we had to peel of everything that could be taken off. It´s not too promising is it? Well, surprise of surprises, it turned out quite well, there was a breeze a lot of the time, we encounted some shady spots and made it into Viana by noon. There was a Fiesta on the main drag, starting in front of the church. The band was lively and we sat outside to eat our tortilla de patata, Bernie had his cafe con leche and I had water. After that, to reward ourselves, we had a nice fresh pastry. Just as we got up to leave, the band in front of the church was coming dow
n towards us, so we were leading in the front. Bernie took his walking pole and started pretenting to be guy in front of the band that sets the marching pace. A few people outside in front of their place were laughing their heads off. We have now checked into a nice hotel as Bernie has had enough of the refugios for now. We have done our laundry already, had our bath and we will be going out in search of food before everything closes. It is Sunday, the shops don´t reopen until tomorrow. We have not planned our next stop. That´s next on the agenda. Stay tuned.
We actually slept quite well last night and were up early, around 5 am. We managed to pack in the dark without making too much noise and to leave the place by 6. It was still dark but nice and cool and the road was well marked. We were on our own for a good hour before the stronger walkers caught up with us and passed us. By then, I had two very painful blisters and, we had to stop in the next town and I pierced through them and Bernie patched me up quite well. We left with me limping a bit but it all passed when Bernie realized he had left his camera on the bench where many people had arrived and put down their stuff in front of his. We turned ourselves around and rushed back. No one had even noticed it. It was about 7 o´clock by then and both of us were so hot, we had to peel of everything that could be taken off. It´s not too promising is it? Well, surprise of surprises, it turned out quite well, there was a breeze a lot of the time, we encounted some shady spots and made it into Viana by noon. There was a Fiesta on the main drag, starting in front of the church. The band was lively and we sat outside to eat our tortilla de patata, Bernie had his cafe con leche and I had water. After that, to reward ourselves, we had a nice fresh pastry. Just as we got up to leave, the band in front of the church was coming dow
26 April 2008
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