Santiago de Compostela: The Beautiful City!

July 27th.  We arrived in Santiago today as planned.  It really is a beautiful city - much nicer than I had expected.  The cathedral, of course, is the central attraction but the small streets lined with restaurants and boutiques are also very lovely.  Our little hotel, the MV Algalia, is delightful.  Nonetheless, the atmosphere here is somewhat odd - as is to be expected with so many peregrinos crowding into the city. 

July 30th.  I have left Santiago and am now in the business lounge at Barcelona airport updating this blog and waiting for my flight to Palma de Mallorca.  I will stay there for a few days before heading back to Paris and eventually to Canada. 

What have I to say about the Camino?  It was a wonderful walk - which is what I came for - nothing more, nothing less!

WQG, 30 July, 2012.

Triacastela to Sarria and on to Santiago: The Final Days

July 22nd.  The walk today took us through mountains, farmers’ fields, farm yards and dilapidated villages.  We took the long way around through Samos to enjoy the river which snaked along beside the path for much of the way.  Once in Sarria, however, everything changed.  Now the trails are much busier with hundreds of new peregrinos stretched out for as far as the eye can see.  Gone are the peaceful days of the last four and a half weeks!

 July 24th.  Today I walked almost 27 kms in under five hours, up and down, up and down, in the blasting heat - but I felt really strong at the end of it.  Because of my pace I passed dozens and dozens of people - mostly new peregrinos (I could tell because their clothes were clean and their boots and backpacks were bright and new) - struggling along the trail or collapsed by the roadside.  It seems that many of the people who set out from Sarria are not as fit as they might be to undertake such a walk.  We spoke to one Spanish couple during lunch at the hotel who had arrived totally exhausted and who told us that they had never done anything like this before - not even short hikes.

July 25th.  In two days, we’ll be in Santiago and Roxanne and I will part ways - she to go to London with her daughter and me to go to Palma de Mallorca to work on my paper for the Inclusive Museums conference next month.  Before that, though, I think I’ll take the bus to Finisterre - not to burn my clothes on the beach as tradition demands but simply to spend a few hours beside the Atlantic Ocean.  I’ll be back in Paris on July 2nd and travelling back to Canada on July 4th.

 I’ll do a final update to the blog from Santiago

O Cebriero to Triacastela: High Above the Clouds

July 21st.  At the risk of being repetitive - and oh so boring - I have to say that, today, I had another beautiful walk - this time in the Montes de Galicia.  Early this morning when we left O Cebreiro we were high above the clouds.  We began with a short trek down the valley to Linares and then continued on through Hospital de la Condesa and up to the Alto San Rogue at 1270m.  This was an unexpectedly steep climb but well worth the effort as the view from the top was spectacular.  We had one more steep climb to the Alto de Polo, slightly higher at 1335m (4380ft), also offering us spectacular views.  The rest of our 22kms walk wound around the mountains both up and down (mostly down) to the lovely town of Triacastela, where we are staying tonight in the Casa David!  I feel so privileged to be able to walk this walk and every day I think to myself that there is really nowhere else I would rather be right now...

We have noticed that the food in Galicia is quite different from the food we were often offered earlier on our walk.  Today I had wonderful vegetable soup with potatoes and kale followed by a lovely warm green bean (i.e. kidney bean) salad - a very welcome change from some of the tasteless food we had been served earlier.  If I seem obsessed with food it is because so often I arrive in a place, hungry, after a long walk, only to find there is simply nothing on the menu that I can eat!  Spain is a very meat/fish-oriented society - quite often offering things like pig’s trotters, tripe, brain, tongue, and so on - food that even Roxanne will not try!  Even something as simple as a mixed salad always comes with tuna - which I have been told many times is not meat (sin carne) and not fish (sin pescada).  I am not sure what it is, then, but I will not eat it!

Tomorrow we head for Sarria, the place where hundreds, maybe thousands, of people begin the Camino in order to walk the 100kms required to receive the Compostela (certificate)!  I think our peaceful walk is about to end!

Rabinal del Camino to Molinaseca: A Feast for the Eyes

July 17th.  We left Rabinal del Camino and immediately began a steep climb up to the Cruz de Ferro passing through Foncebaden and Manjarin (both no-where places) on the way.  The Cruz de Ferro is the highest point on the entire journey (1505 m - 4940 ft.).  From the start I knew that this would be one of the best walks of the entire trip.  The scenery was spectacular - we were surrounded by mountains for as far as we could see.  I was ready for the challenge of the climb after so many days on the flat.  Rabinal itself is a beautiful little town with a very old church and some other lovely buildings.  A large number of peregrinos left Rabinal at the same time as we did.  For a while it felt like hiking up to the Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington to ski on the Headwall or Herman’s Highway on the May 24 long weekend!  We soon got strung out, however, some people dropping behind and others rushing ahead.  It still amazes me how few people we actually see on the trail. 

As we approached the Cruz de Ferro, a large pile of stones and a cross on the top of the pass de Irago, I was reminded of the many chortens we saw in Nepal on the way to Mount Everest.  People had hung coloured cloth or discarded clothes on the cross and for a moment I thought they were Buddhist prayer flags.

As we continued our walk towards Molinaseca we were treated to wonderful colours - bright purple heather, yellow gorse, yellow star flowers and bright pink foxgloves.  From time to time there were pine trees or oak trees to provide a little shade as we walked along the sandy paths!  Later these sandy paths gave way to steep pebble/rock-strewn trails that led us down, and down, to the village of Acebe.

We are now at our hotel in Molinaseca - a very lively little town about 8kms from Ponferrada.  Our hotel, grandly called El Palicio, is beside the river and the local swimming hole so there are a great number of Spanish people out enjoying the beautiful summer afternoon - as well as many tired peregrinos staggering in.

Tomorrow we head for Villafranco del Bierzo.  We will soon be leaving Castilla y Leon and passing into Galicia - our final geographic/political region of the trip.

A Word on the Spanish Villages Along the Camino  As we walk along the Camino we pass through many Spanish villages.  For the most part they leave us baffled.  No matter what time we pass through - 7am, 2pm, 7pm - they seem deserted.  Many of them are poor and run-down - although earlier in the walk they were more affluent and pristine.  We almost never see children in these villages and rarely see women - unless they are out cleaning the street in front of their houses or scrubbing the steps.  When we do see people enjoying themselves they are almost always men.  In Villadangos, for example, we saw men in the cafe drinking coffee in the morning, men in the cafe playing cards in the afternoon (all afternoon) and men in the cafe drinking beer in the evening.  This is still a very male-oriented society - at least here in the villages of northern Spain.

Molinaseca to Villafranco del Bierzo: Vineyards and Window Boxes.  July 18th. Our journey today took us from Molinaseca to Villafranco del Bierzo passing through the lovely city of Ponferrada and the beautiful village of Cacabelos.  What I love about these cities/towns/villages are the window boxes, spilling over with brightly coloured petunias and bright red geraniums.  They are everywhere and they remind me of the small towns of the Black Forest in Germany where I lived in the early 1980s. 

Most of our walk today was though vineyards - beautiful but not spectacular like yesterday’s walk.  Outside of Pieres we took an alternative (country-side) walk to Villafranca and passed through the almost ghost town of Valtuille de Arriba.  I say almost ghost town because although most of the houses were very run-down or abandoned there were signs of renewal at the same time. 

Villafranca is a curious mix of old and new.  Our hotel is right on the main road out of town so it is very noisy!

Villafranca to Herrerias: Spanish Rounds and Babbling Brooks.  I was rather disappointed today as I wanted to take the cross-country trail to Herrerias but missed it coming out of Villafranca and ended up on the highway with everyone else!  There is also a wilderness trail that I would have loved to have taken if I had been with some of my more experienced hiking friends - maybe another time!  As it was two things made up for the missed route - first, we were serenaded by two lovely young Spanish boys singing rounds and duets to amuse themselves on the trail ahead of us and second by the sounds of a babbling brook (aka the Rio Pereie) rushing down the mountain beside the highway.

We saw our first goats and lovely little kids today and a few sheep with tiny lambs.  They were all being guarded by an enormous dog, which seemed to be taking its job very seriously!

 Our hotel today is in an old butter factory and is really quite luxurious!

Next Day.  July 20th - On to O Cebreiro
We left early this morning to beat the heat, but we didn’t need to as it stayed cool.  Our walk (climb) today took us to the little settlement of O Cebreiro (1310m - 4297ft).  This has been one of my main points of interest on the entire trip as the name seems to have some magical quality for me and the idea of a steep climb was very appealing.  As it was, although the climb was the steepest yet, it didn’t seem very challenging - so I amused myself by running or walking very fast up the trail to try to increase my cardio-vascular strength.  Each day now I get to the end of our walk feeling as if I haven’t really done anything ...

Before we know it we will be in Santiago and our journey will be over

Hospìtal de Orbiga to Astorga: The End Of The Meseta

July 15th.  Today we began our walk in Hospital de Orbiga, a lovely little town far into the Meseta.  We entered the town over a magnificent stone bridge (cobble stones and pebbles set in concrete) and continued on to the countryside beyond.  We are still on the Meseta but the middle kilometres, which were so ugly (yes, those writers mentioned earlier were right about some parts of the Meseta being ugly – but not all of it), have given way to a more beautiful landscape once again. 

Note on the Ugly Meseta. One problem for us was that we were often required to take an alternative route that ran beside the busy N120, a major highway that snakes across northern Spain and passes through several deserted villages and run-down industrial areas.  Still, even amongst all that ugliness, I saw many beautiful birds - which rather made up for it.

Our Walk Continued.  As soon as we left Hospital de Orbiga we found ourselves in beautiful farmland, with hectares of maize (aka corn in N. America - here grown only to feed the farm animals) and potatoes.  Later, as we wound our way up several small hills we saw blackberry brambles and rosehips at the side of the trail.  Rosehips - another great childhood memory: picking baskets and baskets full of rosehips and selling them for sixpence a pound to I don’t remember who!  They were used to make that wonderful rosehip syrup (so full of Vitamin C) that we were given as a reward for taking the oh so horrid cod-liver oil!

Later we saw hazel nuts and apple trees - not the carefully groomed apple trees we see in southern Ontario but gnarly old trees laden with apples that will almost certainly be eaten by worms or wasps before they can be harvested.

One of my favourite sounds on this walk - and one not often heard in Canada - is the sound of roosters crowing.  We hear them in almost every village.  They always make me think of Chanticleer in The Canterbury Tales and, to be truthful, some peregrinos make me think of him too.  One in particular, who was on the same schedule as us for a couple of days, was constantly preening himself and prancing around in front of all the women.  I told Roxanne we should add another story to Chaucer's famous poem - we could call it The Rake’s Tale!

Later same day we saw beautiful black and white Friesian cows and heard lambs bleating from a large barn.  Today was such a wonderful contrast to the three or four previous days.  The predominant colours of the landscape were pale gold, burnt orange, red ochre and dark olive green - beautiful!

 Now we are in the lovely old town of Astorga, staying in the Gaudi Hotel right across from the Gaudi Palace (a great example of Gaudi’s work) and kitty-corner from the cathedral - life does not get much better than this!

Tomorrow we head for Rabinal del Camino and the day after that we begin our climb to the pass of Irago and the Cruz de Farro - the highest point on the entire walk.  I am very much looking forward to the view from the top which, I have read, is wonderful (actually there was no view from the top but great views on the climb up).

Next Day (July 16th).  Since we did not find an Internet Cafe yesterday, I am updating these last two days together.  Today we went from Astorga to Rabinal.  We walked towards, and into, the foothills of the Montes de Leon.  The countryside was lovely - mostly scrub grass and very tall gorse bushes.  Later the gorse bushes were replaced with rosehips again and then with small bushy trees with waxy leaves.  Later we saw more wheat fields and had a great view of the mountains up ahead and off to the south.  Of course, as usual, the mountains were dotted with the ubiquitous windmills.

Several friends have written to ask if it was not a little sad to meet people on the trail only to see them disappear a few weeks, or even a few days, later.  I think one could see it that way, but I prefer to think how wonderful it was to meet them at all and to spend time with them during our short stops or over a glass of wine or a meal.  We cannot physically hold on to people but we can keep them in our memories.  We’ll always remember our Camino friends and our brief encounters with them on this amazing walk!

Sahagun and Beyond: Fast Forward to Leon

July 10 - 14.  The route between Sahagun and Leon, passing through El Burgo Ranero and Mansilla de las Mulas, looked long and boring.  It was senda pretty much all the way, running for the most part beside some major highways (we were scheduled on an alternative route because of the location of our hotel in El Burgo Ranero) and passing through some grubby towns and industrial areas.  So, we decided to change our reservations and fast forward to Leon.  This was a great decision as we met up with several of our Camino friends (Jennie and Julia, Carsten and his son Kieran, and a few others).  We had a lovely (this time for real) farewell dinner with Carsten and Jennie and Julia.  We may see Jennie in Santiago but Carsten and Kieran will be back in Germany by the time we get there on the 27th of July.  We are not sure about Julia.  It’s funny how we get attached to people we have never seen before and probably will never see again ...

Leon is a great surprise.  It is a really lovely city with lots of interesting ambiance in the old town.  It has a Visigoth, a Moor and a Roman history, with lots of Roman ruins.  The cathedral is one of the loveliest I have ever seen - not vast and sprawling like the one in Burgos, but decidedly more impressive (for me!).  Its straight, strong structure and its almost austere interior somehow accentuate the beauty of its magnificent stained glass windows. 

We have discovered that to get a really good meal here in northern Spain we must go out rather late.  The peregrino menus that are offered early continue to be mediocre at best.  After 9pm, however, the menus change as the local Spanish people begin to fill the restaurants for dinner.  Here in Leon, though, we have found a lovely Italian restaurant called Rocco (recommended by a receptionist from one of the hotels) that serves great food at any time of the day!

We have also discovered that there is a running of the bulls in Leon during the summer festivals in June!

Now I am off to find the art gallery and will post again in a few days.

Later same day.  I went to the art gallery - which is more of a history gallery than a traditional art gallery.  It tells the story of Leon in beautiful stylised pictures and texts - beginning in the year 711.  The gallery building itself is exquisite.  It is a wonderful mixture of old and new.  The old city wall (the oldest in Spain, I have since learned) forms the basis of a new glass structure, which is light and airy and intermingled with some older stone structures.  This produces a very interesting and aesthetically pleasing environment.

I am liking this city more and more.  The Spanish poet, Victoriano Cremer, has written: 

“Here in Leon, what matters is not so much what people do or achieve as what they plan or dream.”

I rather like this!

Fromista to Carrion de los Condes: Frogs and Monks

July 7th.  The first part of today´s walk was beside the Rio Uciera.  We took this alternative route to avoid walking on the senda - a pilgrim autopiste that runs along beside the highway.  These paths are long and straight and made mostly from concrete, which is very hard on the body.  Our route through the fields was much preferable - although we noticed that most people were walking beside the highway.  We heard very strange noises coming from the river and at first thought it was an unusual bird but later decided that it must have been the frogs.  They were calling out to, and answering, each other and at times they almost sounded like humans talking. 

Our hotel today is (another) former monastery - but this one is also a three-star hotel.  When we arrived we heard Gregorian chanting in the lobby and at first thought the monks were really there to greet us.  Of course, it was just a recording but it provided a very nice ambiance.  The hotel is huge and has lovely grounds with beautiful trees and a large golf-green standard lawn.  There was a very classy Spanish wedding taking place at the hotel while we were there, with all the guests in long gowns and tuxedos.  In the evening they had a riotous party in one of the courtyards just below our window with lots of huddling in corners and shouting and singing.  It was interesting to watch these different customs.

July 8th.  Today we walked from Carrion de los Condes to Caladrilla de la Cueza.  There was nothing much to say about this part of the trail except that at times we were walking between 8ft high purple thistle “hedges”.  Very unnerving as the path was rather narrow in places.

This morning, July 9th, was the running of the bulls in Pamplona.  We watched the entire event on TV during breakfast.  It was such a spectacle, with hundreds of people gathered in the streets or hanging from balconies all along the route.  The runners were lined up in their white suits and red kerchiefs.  There was a lot of pacing and stretching and praying, and praying, and praying ... and suddenly the bulls were loose.  Most of them ran straight through the streets, bumping into the runners and knocking some of them over.  However, there was one large black bull that was obviously very angry.  He was frothing at the mouth and kept turning in circles and attempting to charge the crowd.  Luckily the bull-handlers were there to prevent any serious damage.  Once in the ring our bull-hero for the day was kept performing by the picadors with their lovely yellow and pink capes.  We didn´t stay to watch the rest!  The entire bull-running event took fewer than 4 minutes but was quite amazing to watch!

We are now in Sahagun - a grubby little town with nothing much to recommend it.  We move on to El Burgo Ranero tomorrow!

Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz and Beyond: The Wonderful Meseta

July 5th.  The walk today from Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz was wonderful.  I think I am going to become a Champion for the Meseta.  I really don’t understand why so many people have written or spoken about it in such negative ways.  For me, this is the perfect landscape.  What I love about it is how open it is.  We can see so far in every direction.  It reminds me of hiking on Exmoor or walking in the Quantock Hills in Somerset.  The terrain is extremely varied and in some places the path circles around the side of the hill giving it a decidedly alpine feeling.  We saw new wild flowers today including a lovely yellow thistle that I have never seen before.  We also discovered that the crackling sound we always hear in the wheat fields is made by hundreds of tiny bird - obviously having the feast of their lives!

We are now in Castrojeriz - a very old town with a long and varied history.  Its origins are pre-historic but it also has an interesting Roman past as well as a Moorish one.  The entire village, much of which is in very bad repair, is currently being renovated.  All of its old buildings are being restored to their original state (we later discovered that Castrojeriz is a World Heritage site, which explains the frantic building activity).  Our hotel is in one such (already renovated) building and it is quite lovely.

July 6th.  Today, walking from Castrojeriz to Fromista was also very beautiful.  About 4kms of the walk were beside the Canal de Castilla and we saw bulrushes and teasels as well as more yellow thistles and white periwinkles.  The town of Fromista is quite modern and has a central market and lots of restaurants and outdoor cafes.  That said, it also has a very old (looking as if it is about to fall down) church.  Our hotel is very modern and has some interesting designer furniture in the lobby - quite different from yesterday where the hotel in Castrojeriz was furnished in the traditional Spanish style.

Tomorrow we walk to Carrion de los Condes - about 23 kms (Stage 16 on the Camino map!).  We have now covered over 300kms and will soon be getting to the half-way mark!

Burgos to Hornillas del Camino: The Dreaded Meseta

July 4th.  Today we left the hotel around 6:15 am and headed for Hornillos del Camino.  We are about to begin walking across the dreaded Meseta.  So many people have written about it being flat, hot and boring but they have forgotten to mention how beautiful it is.  First, it isn´t flat at all but a series of rolling hills as far as the eye can see.  Comprised mostly of wheat fields, grassy stretches and stark rocky hillocks, it is a glorious patchwork of green, gold and black with brilliant splashes of red from the poppies dotted throughout.  There are even a few trees!  The small houses with their light-coloured walls and dark-red Spanish tiles provide a beautiful relief in this curious landscape.  Personally, I am looking forward to walking across this Meseta.

I think we are going to lose our German friends as they are going ahead to Hontanas today while we go back to Burgos (by taxi).  We will return to Hornillos del Camino tomorrow morning (also by taxi) to continue our walk.  We are already out of sync with several other people due to our extra day in Burgos.  Such is the Camino!

An Observation: While it is important to be physically fit to walk this Camino, I think the real secret is mental toughness - that is the ability to put one foot in front of the other for hour after hour and kilometre after kilometre for the bigger goal - even when one feels like stopping!

A Comment on the Auberges: Auberges - Camino-type hostels - can be found in almost every town along the way.  Most people walking this Camino choose to stay in them as they are very inexpensive (5 - 10 euros a night on average) and readily available.  That said, I have heard that they are very crowded with 50 or even 100 people in a room - although if one is lucky, there may be smaller rooms with 4, 8 or 12 people.  I think one of the main advantages of staying in an auberge (other than the cost) must be the camaraderie and friendships people make staying together night after night.  However, a few days ago we were sitting in a cafe listening to a group of peregrinos discussing and comparing their many bites from the bed bugs that often infect these places.  On hearing this, I felt very relieved to know that I would have a clean and bed-bug-free hotel room waiting for me at the end of every day!

That is all for now - more later!  Thanks to all of you who have sent comments/messages.  They are very encouraging

Atapuerta to Burgos: Sheep, Sheep and More Sheep

July 2nd.  We left Atapuerta early and immediately began our steep climb up the Sierra Atapuerta.  We were soon slowed down, however, by hundreds of sheep that were being moved from one pasture to another.  This produced a cacophony of sounds - sheep bleating, sheep bells ringing, sheep dogs barking, shepherds shouting and even a distant train chugging its way across the plain below.  At the top of the plateau we were rewarded with a magnificent vista in all directions.  There was a large labyrinth on the plateau - the second one we have seen on this walk.  Roxanne took some time to walk through it to the centre.

We are now in Burgos - a beautiful city with an enormous Gothic cathedral.  The streets are narrow and very clean (they are washed every morning) and we have found a wonderful restaurant that does amazing things with vegetables (eggplant, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, pimentos) and goat´s cheese.  Also the vino tinto de la casa (red house wine) is exceptionally good - and at 11 euros a bottle we can´t go wrong.

One great thing about this and other Spanish cities is that everything opens up at about 6pm.  The local people come out and mingle with the tourists and the peregrinos - even the children are out in the plazas playing and running around until quite late at night - no baby sitters for them!  There is a very communal atmosphere here.

We are here in Burgos for three nights although we will walk our 20 kms to Hornillos tomorrow.  Because there is no accommodation there for us we will be transferred back here and then taken back to Hornillos the following morning to continue our journey.  Our hotel is splendid.  We have a very large bedroom with a small sitting room off to one side and an enormous bathroom.  We even have a balcony and we can watch the tired peregrinos arriving with their heavy backpacks as they walk right past us on their way to the auberge further up the street.

There was much rejoicing here two nights ago when Spain won the Euro-cup.  We stumbled on the debris of what looked like an enormous party when we arrived yesterday.  The clean-up crew was soon out in force, however, and by mid-afternoon there was no sign of it.  I can´t help thinking that the joy of the soccer triumph must be somewhat dampened by Raffa´s early elimination from Wimbledon, though.  Such is life!

There are beautiful statues all over this city - not of historical figures but of ordinary people.  It really is quite unique.

Belorado to San Juan de Ortego and Beyond: Grey Skies and Cool Breezes

July 1st.  The temperature has dropped and it is now almost cold.  Today, Canada Day, we walked from Villafranca Montes de Oca through San Juan de Ortega and on to Atapuerta - a distance of 22kms.  This walk was a great improvement on some of our previous walks - not only because of the weather but also because of the scenery.  We crossed three small mountain peaks, walking first through a magnificent conifer forest and then a lovely oak forest.  Part of this walk was rather spooky - a large man in a Range Rover came up behind us and looked us over.  He did not stop, though, so I said thank heavens for wrinkles and frizzy hair!

Atapuerta is a very interesting place because the oldest human remains in Europe were found here (Homo-Antecessor, 900,000 years old).  The dig is still going on in the prehistoric caves that dot this area.  Because of this it is a UNESCO heritage site. 

Here, too, we had our best meal in Spain so far.  A lovely Eggplant dish which I know as the Moorish Imam´s Secret but is simply called baked Aubergine here.  It is made not only with eggplant but also with a variety of other vegetables and spices and topped with béchamel sauce.  Delicious!  We ate it for both lunch and dinner.  After being hungry for almost two weeks it was quite a treat.

Today we are in Burgos, a large city of 190,000 people.  I will write more about this tomorrow when I find a better computer.  This one is old and eats euros like there is no tomorrow!!!!

Santa Domingo de Calzada to Belorada: Much of the Same

June 30th.  Today´s walk was much the same as yesterday´s - mostly through wheat fields and potato patches!  We did see a rabbit - our first wild animal.  We also saw enormous storks and enormous stork nests perched precariously on the edge of the church tower in Belorada.  Not too much else to say about this day!

Najara to Santa Domingo de Calzada: Red Poppies and Emerald Green Frogs

June 29th.  Today´s walk from Najara to Santa Domingo de Calzada was completely uninspiring - with two exceptions: First the beautiful red poppies scattered throughout the wheat fields and second a pond full of enormous emerald green frogs jumping around in the sun.  The poppies were everywhere and hard to miss.  I found the frogs because I heard them croaking and followed the sound slightly off the trail.  They were a sight to see!

Santa Domingo de Calzada is another lovely old Spanish city with a cathedral in the centre.  Also, I found a supermarket and was able to buy cheese and cucumber and peaches - a welcome change from the restaurant fare!  Nonetheless, we ate dinner in the central square with some Camino friends - very nice!

So, who are we meeting on this Camino journey?  Well, quite a few Americans - mostly from California, a very sweet and friendly German man walking with his 16-year-old son, a lovely Swedish couple from Stockholm who assured us that Sweden was the best country in the world in which to live, a rather aloof French man from Lyon and a "crazy" man from Belgium with whom I had an intense conversation about GM wheat (I think I see it everywhere but he assured me that it was impossible because Europe has banned all GM foods - I am still not convinced!).

Logrono to Najara: Waiting for the Sunrise

June 28th: We left Logrono early to beat the heat but found ourselves sitting on the side of the road waiting for it to get light.  As much as we had disparaged the sun during the heat of the day, we could not do without it.  Finally around 6:15 we were able to start walking.  The walk through the vineyards and wheat fields was lovely with the green of the vines and the pale yellow of the wheat set off by the beautiful red clay soil of the Rioja.  The smell of the growing wheat was sweet and strong and sometimes heady and overpowering. 

Najara is a beautiful old town located between the Rio Narjarillo and some extraordinary red clay mountains.  These mountains, which are not really very high, are dotted with square caves that look identical to the ones in Petra, Jordon.  Most peculiar!

It is very hard to know what the local Spanish people think of the peregrinos.  Some think us foolish, some are charming and some seem to resent us - despite the extra euros we bring into their regions.

Tomorrow, our ninth day, we head towards Santa Domingo de Calzada - oh, there is so much music in these Spanish names!

Los Argos to Logrono: A Welcome Day Off!

June 27th. We did not walk today. The forecast was for 38 degrees and the section was long (over 30 kms) and very hilly. On a normal day it would have been doable but in this heat we decided it would be foolish to subject our bodies to such torture. So, we took a taxi and arrived in Logrono around 11am. This brought us completely out of the Navarre into La Riojo. Logrono is a university town with a population of 130,000. Being here is something of a shock after the quite villages we have become accustomed to. We entered the city over the Puente de Piedra and headed for the main square and the cathedral - a Gothic building which is both austere and ornate inside and quite unlike the cathedrals of England or Northern Europe - it is a curious blend of medieval and modern.

One nice surprise on this Camino is the number of young (late teens/early twenties) people here. They are lovely - so full of life, so friendly and so curious. It´s so great to see!

One difference between Roxanne and me is that Roxanne likes to listen to music on her Nano while she is walking. She says it helps to distract her from the agony of the walk. I cannot do that. I need to listen to the birds and the crickets and the frogs and the combine harvesters (of which there are many) and even the distant hum of traffic on the auto-route. It keeps me in the moment - which is what I want.

Speaking of combine harvesters, we almost got mowed down yesterday walking through a wheat field. One such beast came hurtling down on us and we had to leap for the ditch to avoid being swept away by it.

Such is the Camino!

Estella to Los Argos - Beating the Heat with a Fellow Traveller

June 26th. The temperature is now consistently in the high 30s. By 10am the sun is as hot as fire and only keeps getting hotter as the day progresses. The cool forests of the Navarre are far behind us and now we find ourselves walking on baked mud or bright concrete paths. The heat beats down on us from above and is reflected back up from the ground below. There is no shade. There is no escape! We must now be strategic about our walking. No more than five hours a day regardless of how far we get. If we don´t reach our prescribed destination we must take a taxi!  In fact, today we took one from Estella to Villamayer de Monjardin (10kms) with a fellow peregrino who also wanted to survive the heat. Then we walked another 15kms. We must drink at least four litres of water every day. Luckily I have my Steripen Classic (ultra violet water sterilizer) so we can fill our bottles from the hotel taps and from springs and fountains along the way. Thanks, Lynda, for suggesting it. It is literally a life-saver. It also feels good to know that we are not contributing plastic bottles to the Spanish landfill!

Now, about the food! Here in Spain the food is consistently bad - just as in France it is consistently wonderful. My vegetarian (sin carne, sin pescado) and wheat-free (sin pan) diet is not appreciated. Even Roxanne, who eats almost everything, is not happy with the food. For example, something as simple as an omelette is murdered by these northern chefs. The one I ordered last evening arrived partially cooked and floating in olive oil - not at all like the delicious omelettes I remember from southern Spain! That said, the beer is good and so is the wine, so it´s not all bad!

Our walk today was once again very beautiful as we passed through wheat fields, vineyards and olive groves. Dos Arcos is a pristine little town with a lovely central plaza and several outdoor cafes. It has been here since Roman times and its eastern gate (no longer standing) was originally called the Gate of Shells (Porta de la Concha). It is a popular centre with the peregrinos. We both liked this town very much.

 

Pamplona to Puente La Reine: Interesting Juxtapositions on the Alto de Perdon

Pamplona turned out to be a rather scruffy city with indications of poverty, or impending poverty, everywhere - not surprising, I suppose, considering Spain's economy right now.  Walking into the city through a very rough area was rather spooky - many eyes were following us and I was glad not to be alone.  Evidence of Basque separatism was also very prevalent - signs, posters, graffiti and protest marches were the order of the day.  We saw the best part of the city as we were leaving; the trail went through a lovely park and on towards the university campus.  Such was Pamplona! 

The 25kms walk across the Alto de Perdon to Puente La Reine was very, very challenging.  It was extremely steep up, and extremely steep down, with gravel, rocks and boulders underfoot for most of the way.  It was also unbelievably hot - the last 10kms were out in the open with no shade at all.  The sun was unrelenting.  Nonetheless, I still had the energy to be fascinated by the juxtaposition of the medieval pilgrim sculptures on top of the Alto and the 21st Century windmills strung out across the hilltops. 

Today´s walk (June 25th) from Puente La Reine to Estella was also very difficult as it was almost all up hill (and that was a mountain-sized hill not a gentle slope!).  We arrived at our hotel completely exhausted but were soon revived by a hot shower and a cold beer.  Tomorrow´s walk promises to be equally challenging.

Today, as always, the European blackbirds (turdus merula - not seen in N. America) were singing their melodious songs in the hedgerows as we walked along.  Now I have the Beatles song “Blackbird singing in the dead of night / Take these broken wings and learn to fly” swimming around in my head and I can´t get rid of it...

I have taken lots of pictures but can´t post them because I never have access to a computer to download them from my camera.  The hotels here provide only keyboards and monitors...

Roncevalles to Akeretta - White Cows and Long-Haired Sheep

I lost two pages while trying to add pictures.  These first two posts belong at the very beginning of my blog.  Read these and then scroll down to find my June 22 entry.

 

St Jean Pied de Port - A Very Inauspicious Beginning

 June 19^th.  We arrived in St Jean Pied de Port after a long and circuitous journey - Ottawa - Toronto - Paris - Biarritz - Bayonne - St Jean.  The last leg up the valley by train was spectacular with thick forests, open meadows, craggy rock outcrops and a bubbling river.  When we arrived at the station in St Jean all the eager peregrinos with their large backpacks rushed off the train and scuttled up the hill to the auberge while Roxanne and I casually dragged our suitcases over the cobbled streets feeling somewhat smug as we knew we had a lovely hotel to go to.  Image our surprise and disbelief when we arrived at the hotel only to find it closed for the week!  After much deliberation we finally rang the doorbell and a reluctant inn keeper opened the door.  When we told him we had a reservation his only response was “No, no, no, no reservation - we are closed”.  Persistence played off, however, as while Roxanne stood in the street and guarded the luggage, I followed him inside and first pleaded then begged and finally insisted that he check his list of reservations.  This he did – reluctantly.  A few minutes later he bent forward, grasped his head in his hands and muttered several unrepeatable words under his breath.  Then after a few more seconds he looked up and said, “Please wait!”  Two hours later, after a great meal in a nearby restaurant, we returned to find a smiling host and a lovely room ready for us! 

June 20^th.  Next day we explored St. Jean, wandering up and down the cobbled streets, walking on the medieval wall that surrounds the city and climbing to the citadel.  From the citadel we had a magnificent view of the town, the valley and the mountains beyond.  Later we found the old bridge near the Porte d’Espagne and the 14^th century Gothic church, Notre Dame du Bout Pont.  Of course, we also made use of the many cafes and restaurants - especially for cold beers as it was ridiculously hot!  That evening brought the most violent storm I can ever remember with thunder, lightning, rain, hail and gale-force winds.  
 
Tomorrow we’ll pass through the Porte d’Espagne and cross the bridge as we head out into the mountains and up over the Col de Lepoeder at 1450m (4757ft).
 

… And On to Roncesvalles

 

 June 21^st.  Because of the storm we decided to take a taxi to Roncevalles the next morning and walk back up the Col de Lepoeder rather than attempting to cross it from St. Jean.  This we did, walking for about four hours in some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable.  The climb up to the top of the Col was rather steep but well worth the effort.  The views from the top were exquisite.  On the way down we stopped at the small chapel of San Salvador on the Pass de Ibañeta.  Originally built as a monument to Roland in the 11^th century it was rebuilt in the 20^th century as a simple chapel.
 

Now we are back in Roncevalles staying in a former monastery (the one described by Hemmingway in The Sun Also Rises) waiting for our special “peregrino dinner.”  The monastery, also built in the 11^th century, has served as a haven for pilgrims down through the ages.

June 22nd.  Today we walked from Roncevalles to Zubiri and later went on to Akeretta to find our hotel.  The first part of the walk was glorious - we started by walking along a lovely woodland path and then out into an open meadow.  Here we saw beautiful white cows and shaggy long-haired sheep.  All the cows had tiny calves and Roxanne thought this was significant because we had been talking about mothers earlier on the walk.  Not being the overly introspective type, I did not make that connection!  Roxanne makes connections all the time.  I do not.  The most I can say about connections is that walking through the meadow was an enormous deja vu for me from growing up in England.  I was surprised to find that I remembered the names of many of the wild flowers we saw along the way - buttercups, daisies, blue vetch, cow’s parsley, corn-flowers, wild orchids and deadly nightshade - not to mention the ever present duo of stinging nettles and dock leaves - stinging nettles produce a horrid and painful rash; dock leaves can be used to ease the pain.  They always grow together - isn`t nature wonderful!

 The first part of our walk from Roncevalles to Burguete followed the path taken by Jake Barnes and his friend Bill in The Sun Also Rises as they went on their famous fishing trip.  It would have been the path that Hemmingway himself used many times as he walked the same route (there is a large plaque to Hemmingway in Burguete).  What I find interesting is that although Hemmingway wrote extensively about this region, he never once mentions the Camino - even though the Englishman, Harris, walks over the mountains from St Jean Pied de Port to Roncevalles - almost certainly using the path that all the peregrinos use for the same walk.

 Later we passed through several deep, dark forests with very strange-looking and sometimes menacing trees (very Lord of the Rings!).  We finally arrived at Akerreta and at the beautiful Akerreta Hotel, built in the late 17-hundreds and lovingly restored by its present owners.  It was perfect because of its imperfections!  The owner proudly told us that it had been used extensively during the filming of the The Way and he pointed out the area of the garden where the communal feast was filmed.  It was also obvious that he had been very impressed with the actor, Martin Sheen.

 
Next day (today - June 23rd) we walked from Akerreta to Pamplona - a distance of 20kms - another beautiful walk.  Although we will not be here in Pamplona for the running of the bulls, it is still interesting to explore this charming old city.

Tomorrow we must leave early to walk to Puenta La Reina (about 25kms) over the Alto de Perdon where the famous peregrino statues dot the skyline and the wind turbines stretch for miles and miles across the horizon.