Friday, May 29, 2015

Paris

Left Santiago this morning, glad to be starting the homeward trek. All went without a hitch till the train from Cdg stopped at Gard du Nord, and all passengers were left to fend for themselves. Looked like something had gone seriously wrong with the Paris train system, as there were people everywhere. A nice man emptying the rubbish bins sent me in the right direction and a packed train eventually appeared, which i managed to squeeze onto, which took me one stop in the right direction before we had to get off. Found another nice man, a cleaner, who led me through a maze of platforms and pointed me to my third train which, despite skipping a station without any announcement i was aware of, brought me to the station I wanted. Took nearly three hours to get from CDG to here, which wasn't quite what I had in mind for the relaxing stopover.
Paris is quite confronting after a month or so of mostly rural spain . It is incredibly expensive - i spent as much on dinner tonight as i have on 5 dinners in Spain. It was a nice dinner, but not 5 times as nice. There seem to be lots of desperate looking homeless people, all the more distressing because of the contrast with the elegant, well heeled crowds of people who seem to effortlessly ignore them. All in all a bit noisy and busy for me at the moment. I wont be sorry to get On the plane tomorrow.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Santiago de Compostella -last day

Another glorious blue sky sunny day. I don't understand how it all stays so lush and green, but it does.

I managed to wind up a long way from the museum i was looking for, but it was lucky as I met a fellow pilgrim I knew from Ponferrada walking from the bus stop, after walking to Finisterre. It was nice to be able to use my knowledge of the city to guide them first to the Cathedral, then to an albergue. We arranged to catch up for dinner, then I found the museum, actually very close to the albergue I had just led the pilgrim to.

The museo of perigrinations' collection has an interesting display relating to the genealogy of St James, the whole strange story of St Anne and the holy kindred. St Anne, according to the story, had three husbands, gave birth to three daughters, one by each husband, each daughter being called, confusingly I would have thought, Mary. She is in effect grandmother to about 7 thirteenths of the early church.
Puzzling over this, I branched out on a new lunch spot, very nice indeed, back to the pension for a siesta, then back to town to explore the Museum of Terra Santa and its strangely eclectic collection of objects relating to Jerusalem, including a large scale model of the church of the holy sepulchre, a copy of the shroud of Turin, stone age flints and stone tools, world war 1british army helmets and many pots. I must confess I struggled a bit with that museum but i am sure it means well.
My last dinner was a bit strange, as the place we chose had a limited offering before 8, so we dined on pulpo and potatoes and smoked salmon and cheese and bread and chicharrones, a sort of pork dish. With apple tart and spanish cheese cake to finish. It was actually a very nice last meal in spain, and the young woman serving was really hospitable and friendly. So, tomorrow, the journey home begins.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Santiago de Compostella - gardens day

The map that the tourist office hands out has a suggested walk which more or less circumnavigates the city and takes in both most of the parks and gardens, and a fair few of the buildings of historic significance, los Edificios Historicos.
First off though I spent an hour just sitting in the Praza do Obradoiro watching the pilgroms come in, and acting as impromptu welcome committe and photographer for a few who had arrived by themselves.
The walk itself took about 4 mostly pleasant hours with stops for coffee aand tarta santiago, and lunch, along the way. Santiago is a university town, a fair proportion of the student population seemed to be out in the parks sunning themselves. It really is a beautiful city. The end point of the walk is Colexiata de Santa Maria do Sar, a 12th century church that has the most massive buttresses relative to the size of the church that I've seen, though when you see the angle of lean on the side walls I guess I can understand why. Unfortunately it was shut.

You would not know Spain was a country in the midst of an economic crisis looking at Santiago. The people all seem prosperous, the civic infrastructure is great and well maintained. It is about the same population as geelong, but feels cleaner, cooler, and richer.  As a liveable place, it would have to score way higher.

Anyway, last day tomorrow ....

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Santiago de Compostella Rest Day

Today I didn't do much. A load of washing to the pilgrim centre - with luck they might let me on the plane now - caught up for a coffee and goodbye with a friend from the very first day,  collected my backpack bag, a nap, a coffee, a glass of wine in the sun in the Praza da Quintana Ventos, delicious dinner with three respectable courses, wine and coffee for 12 euros with another walker from the Meseta days - I have established favoured customer status at the restaurant where I eat on the basis that I've brought in a fair bit of trade for them- then a lovely stroll through the twilight back to my pension. Not too bad really. I wonder if I have lost the skills to do things like cook, wash dishes, shop, or house work. All this sitting around being taken care of is dangerously easy.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Finisterre

I got down to the bus station early, got my return ticket and caught the bus to Finisterre. Two hours each way, and a lot of it is along spectacular coastline, the Costa del Morte, the coast of death. Looking at the reefs visible above the waterline i can guess something of why it gets its name. But in mild spring sunshine it was all extremely picturesque, little fishing villages with brightly painted boats, walled harbors, little sandy coves, fields surrounded with stone walls that look like they have been there for centuries or longer. The landscape in places is reminiscent of the East coast of Tasmania or Wilsons Prom, with large volcanic mountains and lots of granite boulders.

The town of Finisterre is very laid back -  it would be a nice place to spend a few days. I bet it hops in summer. When the bus arrived it was mobbed by the crowd of people clutching bicycles, backpacks, long sticks and suitcases who struggled against the tide of people clutching bicycles, backpacks, long sticks and suitcases trying to get off. General mayhem there but being unencumbered I managed to slip through the crowd and find a bar for second breakfast. The nice man there gave me directions to the Tourist Info Office which were almost correct. He said turn left then left, when it was actually left then right. I found it eventually, got a map  and headed off to the cape, which was about an hour's pleasant walk. The end of the earth had the additional atmospheric contribution of smoke rising from still smouldering piles of stuff which perigrinos had ritually burnt the night before. Boots, some walking poles, and clothing seemed to have gone into the piles, and the smoke had a nasty burnt rubber and toxins smell.  Still I found some reasonably clear air, and sat and ate a celebratory banana, and contemplated the 270 degree view of the ocean from what was for Europeans up till Columbus, truly the end of the world.

Brisk walk back to town just in time to see the doors close for siesta of the museum of the sea, housed in a lovely old fort overlooking the port. As a consolation I walked down to the beach of the little cove below and paddled my feet in the Atlantic for a bit.

Caught the bus back at 3. Quite disconcerting and a bit motion sickness inducing to be whizzing along at up to 100 kph after an average of around 5 for so long. The other thing that struck me was just how great the distance is that you can cover in 3 days walking -which is the time it takes to walk to Finisterre from Santiago. The last thing that struck me was how odd the walking pilgrims looked when spotted from the bus. Perhaps they were just a few strange pilgrims - that guy walking along yelling into his mobile and waving his stick in the air, that woman with a fixed grimace - or do we all look a bit odd to people gliding past effortlessly in motorized comfort?

People are starting to move on, catching flights or buses out. A lot of goodbyes - the farewells stage. In a way, the Camino is a bit like life sped up. You meet people, walk and eat together, share hardships, stuffy dormitories, get to really like some of them, then they go back to their world and you go off to yours. 

Tomorrow a quiet day. Need to retrieve the carry bag for my back pack that i sent on from st Jean Pied de Port way back when.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Santiago de Compostella Day 4

Really slept in today, till 9 which was a good idea as just about everywhere was closed. The little panadaria down the road was open so I got a croissant to keep me going and headed off for the Cidada da Cultura de Galicia. It is a on one of the hills surrounding the city and is a good walk. The buildings are a series of sweeping curves, and they certainly make an impressive outline - you can see them for miles away.

I couldn't help  but wonder whether the whole thing is vastly misconceived. It is not a particularly functional design, with huge interior spaces that are very hard to use. The exhibition i saw, "The Way The Origin" solved the space problem by having the objects housed within smaller structures connected by a rather hoaky pathway - emblematic of the Camino I guess - strung with green netting. It was Sunday and admission free, in a city bursting with hard core Camino nuts, and there were about 14 people in the place, of whom 6 were staff. The objects on display and the curating were terrific, but I think the venue has all the hallmarks of an extremely expensive white elephant. The image below is from one object on display,  an illuminated manuscript which tells the tale of St James interceeding to Mary for the soul of a pilgrim who has been tricked and killed by the devil. I like the tug of war with the soul represented like a little golden baby.

Walked home in time for the last climb of the 15th stage of the Giro D'Italia followed by a siesta.

Caught up this evening with some people  I walked with early on who have just arrived, and some other faster returnees from Finisterre. Mixed reviews but  I think I'll bus there tomorrow.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Santiago de Compostella Day 3

Slept in till 7.45 today. Feels a bit decadent not to be up and out at first light. But I will find the strength to bear it.

After nice breakfast in the bar attached I went exploring, first to the main bus station to get timetables, then through a couple of the city's beautiful parks. One was a cemetery in the 19th century, a powerfully atmospheric place. Next was the Museum of Galicia, a great collection of artifacts and photos, but as with many cultural institutions world wide, the guide leaflet was completely useless as a navigational tool. I might or might not have seen all the collections on display. It did have a great little maritime collection.

I continued my sweep through the parks, passing two black Australian swans paddling along an ornamental pond,  and two massive gum trees, bigger round the trunk than just about any I've seen in Australia. The climate obviously agrees with them. To round out the day I visited the Cathedral museo,  which has some very beautiful, and some very strange, pieces of medieval sculpture. Bumped into a few more people from the early days. Some, a real hard core, are heading onto Finisterre. While I was standing waiting in the tourist office I was looking at a map of the camino, and all the places I've walked through. I am afraid, try as I might, i just couldn't conjure up any mental image of quite a few. So I think definitely time to slow down and digest a bit. I am a bit envious of the Finisterrians - walking actually makes everything simpler in a way - but I think I've made a good call for me.

Tomorrow i plan to walk to an exhibition on the Camino in a fancy newish building the Cidade da Cultura de Galicia, which sits up on one of the hills surrounding the city, about 10k walk there and back.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Santiago de Compostella Day 2

Slept in till at least 7.30 this morning then after a classic Spanish breakfast of churros and coffee in a little bar round the corner I packed my pack and headed onto my next lodging, which is outside the old town, past the university campus. The people are lovely, it is comfortable and a pleasant walk into town. I will prop here till I go if I can.
Having shed my back pack I headed in for the midday pilgrim's mass. It was a nice service, and my spanish must be improving as I sort of understood the gospel reading - Peter denying Christ three times. The priest read it very slowly and dramatically, and it helps when you know the story. No botifumerio but I came away feeling blessed.
In the afternoon I went searching for a laundromat. After exploring a good part of the town, bumping into various people, accidentally ordering and so having to drink a large glass of whisky, and generally getting fairly befuddled, I was directed to The Pilgrim support office, where the kind and gracious young women who volunteer to work there took my clothes and for 5 euros donation washed and dried them. My faith in a benificent universe restored, i had a cerveza in the sun om the Praza de Quintana Ventos, a sustaining pasta with a fellow co pilgrim from my first albergue back in st jean, and traded news about mutual friends from along the way.

All in all a really good day. I did call in at Galician Tourist Office to get the map and info sheet for the walk to Finisterre, but I feel like I have walked enough for a while, and that it is time to stay in one place for a while. So, tomorrow, Santiago de Compostella.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Santiago de Compostella

Got on the road early and enjoyed the crisp start to what was a glorious day. I was thinking as I was walking, what will I miss about the Camino, and concluded the top thing will be the early mornings, watching the dawn turn into day across the countryside, up to the glorious moment when the sun hits you and you throw an enormously long shadow on the trail ahead.

The way out of Arzua is very pretty without being spectacular. In the bar in the first village was a Canadian lady who had fallen face first a short while before, with a painful looking graze on her nose and forehead. One wrong step or moment of inattention and things can come unstuck, even on the last days. I was extra attentive for the rest of the day.
My plan was to get to Lavacolla for lunch, and see how I felt. Lavacolla is around 9 k to go. I thought I could either find somewhere round there, or head onto Monte de Gozo , but I knew it would be hard to stop so close, and so it proved to be. So I kept going and got here round 3.30, to be greeted by the three Korean girls who started the same day as I did, back in St Jean, 30 days ago. They were really nice - I could not have asked for a better welcome.

A couple of senoras with habitacions to rent were hovering in the wings of the square and I got a nice room a few minutes from the square for 25 Euros which is an alright deal I think. The main challenge is finding the building as it is located down a little street off a little street and the old town is a bewildering maze of little streets.

Had a cerveza sitting in the sun in the square then queued for a ridiculously long time to get my Compostella at the Officina de peregrinos. The queue stretched out into the street, but the office had only 3 of a possible 9 service desks operating. But I got it, then had a slightly up market dinner to celebrate safe completion of this phase of the trip, then managed to find my way back to my room.

So tomorrow, sleep in!

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Arzua

The street through the little village where I stayed last night was like Bourke Street at rush hour this morning when I ventured forth after breakfast. A whole new cast of faces, and some lovely people to chat to to help while away the not super interesting or scenic kilometres. There are some nice bits and some plantations of eucalypts to kick off some olfactory nostalgia. Speaking of matters olfactory, the incidence of patches of overpoweringly bad smells seems much higher in Galicia this time round. I guess it is the animal husbandry practices. I fell sorry for the people with houses down wind.

Just outside Melide it started to drizzle so I ducked into a lovely cafe just before the medieval bridge that leads into the town and watched the new pilgrims struggling into their ponchos while I enjoyed second breakfast.

The Sarria starters seem full of energy, and perhaps unworthily I find myself eyeing people like the overweight guy with the pack the size of a small fridge who bounds past me as I trudge up yet another hill. Did he just pop out of a taxi round the last corner? Yesterday, on the quiet rural  roads before Palas de Rei, taxis were more than half of the motor traffic, with the pack transport services making up a good part of the rest.

Anyway, to each their own. Today another milestone, passed the 50 k to go mark, though I couldn't actually spot the stone itself. 49.5 K to go will have to do.

Tomorrow I might push on to Monte de Gozo, about 35 k from Azura where I am tonight, and stay in the industrial scale albergue there, to see what it is like. It is only 4.5 k into Santiago so I should be able to saunter in Friday morning, all going well.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

San Xulian

A cold grey morning but I was on the trail out of Portomarin by 7. Seemed to be rush hour, but eventually the pack thinned out a bit and by walking quickly I managed to get out of earshot of the spanish man yelling importantly into his mobile. The countryside is a bit dull after some of the splendid stretches before. So today into Palas de Rei was about engaging autopilot and getting the kilometres down. Had a nice lunch in Palas de Rei, then pottered on through some pretty tree lined paths to the little village of San Xulian where I got the last bed in the nice little albergue.

Tomorrow about 26.5 into Azura.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Portomarin

Perhaps a little too much wine last night, as I felt about as foggy as the countryside around Sarria this morning as I set out. It was chilly, damp and not much of a view. It was like that last time as well. So I have walked out of Sarria twice and I still have no idea what it looks like. I do like Sarria though.

The trail was a lot busier today. Some big groups perhaps Koreans, Spanish family groups, and young Spanish guys with enormous back packs and wearing running shoes.

I guess you have to have a not so great day every now and then, and today was that day for me. But I've advanced to 88 ks to go, which means I've walked around 700 k - certainly more, given my propensity for wandering off the trail.

At the church in Sarria there is a notice to the effect it is recommended that one should get a minimum of two stamps from here on. They even give a leaflet with preferred sello locations. It is supposed to prevent people bussing or taxiing between towns.   When they guy who stamped my credencial stopped yacking to his colleague, I protested:"that (the two stamp thing)is silly". "Yes yes" he replied, the archetypical beaucratic response.  I got three stamps today, but one from a bar and it is upside down as a protest. Not really, i just couldn't work out the right way.

Portomarin is unlike the other towns the Camino passes through. The original town was flooded by the reservoir in  the valley below, and the fortified church of St Nicolas was dismantled and reassembled where it stands today in the new town's main square.  With the exception of the church and the steep stairs at the entrance, all the buildings are relatively recent, so you don't get the mix of collapsed collapsing fixed up that you get in other towns.

Tomorrow onto Palas del Rey, another shortish day.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Sarria

Another beautiful morning and I was feeling ok after a good night's sleep so I turned left at the end of town for the longer option via Samos. The first part was along a valley which shadowed the morning sun. It was chilly but good for some brisk early kilometres.

The path winds through a couple of stone villages that look like not much has changed since medieval times. Not much maintenance done since either. One was enlivened by two signs using little human figures. One conveyed the message "no littering", the other "no pooing." Fair enough I suppose.  Lots of the walk was beside beautiful rivers. It seems to make it easier to walk when you can see or hear running water. Nothing like that for the last stretch onto Sarria, dry and dusty. The street signs and street names are in Galician which confused me and google maps  so i wound up walking a few extra k around town at the end of the day looling for the place i had booked.

Today to Portomarin. cross the 100 k to go mark today

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Triacastela

It was cold up on the mountain this morning but a glorious clear dawn made it well worth the effort to get up and out. The panorama is spectacular, and everything so beautiful that I was almost in a trance, and managed to take a wrong turn not once, but twice. Each time was down hill, of course, so I added a bit of climbing to the day as I corrected my mistakes and regained the path. The GPS has definitely earned its place.

The day lived up to the promise of the morning. Definitely Galicia - the path winding through stone villages surrounded by fields of lush pasture and the roads liberally splattered with cow poo.

Triacastela is a nice town. After a pleasant lunch I found a room, had a nap, ventured out to find the supermercados closed for the day, and after visiting the church, retired for the day.

Tomorrow to Sarria either via Samos or direct.

Friday, May 15, 2015

O Cebriero

The hostel provided a thermos of coffee and do it yourself breakfast on a tray so I was fed and on the road by 6.45. I headed up the road less traveled, the high road via Pradela to Trabadelo which lived up to its reputation of being both very beautiful and very hard going.  I passed only one person, a perigrina  toiling away head down up the slope. Apart from her it was wild, desolate and cold, but covered in wild flowers and spectacular views. Before I left home I'd downloaded all the tracks to Santiago onto my GPS, and at one point it was telling me I'd missed a turn. I retraced my steps but could see nothing to suggest that the faint footpad heading off through the chestnuts was the right path, but I trusted the GPS and after a lot of twists and turns I arrived at the village back on the main trail. I don't know what happened to the perigrina behind me. Maybe she is still up there somewhere.

The way goes through the Valcarse valley, the upper reaches of which are in my opinion some of the most beautiful on the Camino. Trouble is everyone is too stuffed to notice. There were a lot of tired looking people out there today, especially along the last 8 k when the grade kicks up. I was one of them.

After visiting the beautiful church of Santa Maria with its 12th century statue of Madonna and child,  and after lighting a couple of candles, I retired for a bit of a lie down,  and passed out till 6.
Being in Galicia now I thought I should sample the local delicacy Pulpo, steamed octopus. Perhaps not the greatest dinner idea and a bit of a struggle to finish the specially heaped wooden platter the senora proudly presented to me. But it is all very colourful and relaxed here. The guy who runs the bar is sitting out in the last of the afternoon sun playing Galician bagpipes - or trying to. The patron sent me a glass of grapa as a nightcap, a nice gesture. I am crossing paths with some of the people from the early days today - nice to see familiar faces. I also met a fellow allergy sufferer who agreed that is the broom or cotton wood plants that are the culprit


Tomorrow a shortish day maybe, to Triacastela. Short but steep down hill which is hard work and can be tricky.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Villafranca rest day

I did as little as possible today. A nice breakfast, a shuffle over the bridge into town to visit the farmacia and the ATM, a bit of foot care, a nice lunch, an afternoon nap, a nice dinner and that was just about it.  Did get a chance to plan the next few days and psych myself up for the next phase. It has been lovely to stop for a bit.

Tomorrow O Cebriero a steep climb up to 1400 metres. I am going to take the alternative route out of Villafranca which is a bit longer and steeper but said to be prettier than the road route.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Villafranca

An unseasonably hot day today so I left early. Didn't sleep all that well, and had to push myself to keep moving. But an interesting day's  walk. Almost medieval scenes of people planting out seedlings, tending young vines, or just resting in the shade. Less of the broom plant that I am alergic to, so I breathed easier. Walking into Villafranca you pass the wonderful Puerte de Pardon. Pilgrims to ill to continue could achieve the same Santiago indulgences by walking through that door. Unfortunately, as with the last time I visited, it was locked. No pardon for me I guess. I was hot, tired and footsore by the time I hit Villafranca, so I am going to have a rest day tomorrow. Nearly 600 kilometres walked, 187 to go, which all being well should take about 8 more days.
But tomorrow sleep in till 7.15. In clean white sheets in a real bed. Whoohooo!

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Ponferrada

I moved to smaller nicer albergue and as a consequence had a good night's sleep and was on the road by 7.  A beautiful walk in the early dawn up the mountain through masses of wildflowers, in particular a white broom, spectacular to look at but unfortunately it caused an alergic hay fever type reaction in me so I climbed while sneezing and coughing. The big highlight of the climb is the Cruz de Ferro. Traditionally each pilgrim adds a stone brought from home to the cairn, a gesture which symbolizes letting go of some aspect of one's past. That meaning has collided with the selfie generation appetite for having your own image recorded in iconic locations. To actually get onto the cairn today there was a long queue while perginas x, y and z posed, worked through all possible combinations of their group, to be replaced by the next lot who did exactly the same thing. By the time I got up there I am afraid I was burdened by some very uncharitable, unpilgrim like thoughts, and came away feeling rather worse, not better. Oh well.
The mountains are spectacular and the stone villages you pass through coming down very pretty. Looks like there is some rebuilding going on, rather than deterioration only. I stopped in a little bar a few kilometres outside Molinaseca. It felt like being in someone's home. Sitting on the terrace were three generations, granma, the senora running the show, and two teenage daughters,  plus a few generations of german shepherds and a beautiful blue eyed cat who sat on my knee while I ate my bocadillo.

I slogged on to Ponferrada through a very hot afternoon, feeling the heat from the road radiating up through my boots, checked in to the lovely municipal albergue, washed self and clothes, rehydrated with a few cervezas talking with some other peregrinos, including the lady paralyzed down one side who is completing the Camino with incredible patience and slowness.  Now to find some dinner.

Tomorrow Villafranca maybe. Tomorrow should pass the 200 kilometres to go mark.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Rabanal

After a bit of albergue rage last night - I told a guy to shut up  who was talking loudly when every one in the room was asleep or trying to sleep - this morning I took the road route out of Hospital del Orbigo. It is a bit shorter and the gradients kinder than the scenic route Anne and I took last time. If you ignore the traffic on the N 120 whizzing by some 30 metres off to the right, it was quite pretty, with fields of poppies and lavender, and lots of little birds chirping and flitting around. Be there no plot so narrow/ But may well employ each faculty of sense/ And keep the heart awake/ To beauty and to love. As Coleridge might have said.

I got to Astorga way too early to stop for the day so after an indigestible tortilla on the plaza
- just like last time - when will I learn? -   I kept on going. Lovely to be walking in the mountains again after the Meseta, with splendid views across to peaks with plenty of snow still on them and quaint stone villages. I swear the same old geezer was sitting on the same stone bench outside El Ganso as when we passed last time, rolling what was probably not the same fag. After a warm afternoon's slog, I wound up here in Rabanal.  It is such a pretty, laid back village and great to be here again. The church of Santa Maria in Rabanal, which is my favourite on the whole Camino  - I can say that with authority now - has deteriorated significantly since I was last here. There are ominous cracks in the arches that support the central body of the chuch, and a truly nasty bulge in the side wall. If it was in Australia, I think it would be closed as a safety hazard. I sat in there for a while but a strong instinct for personal survival told me to leave. I don't think i will be getting on down there for mass tonight.

I am staying in an albergue that redefines personal space and breaks all records for the number of bunks squeezed into a given space. Also the lowest number of toilets for the greatest number of people. The worst so far but it is a bed and I did not have to walk on to the next village. I found a friendly bar, on the road into town,  serving food early bless them, so all is well with the world at the moment.  I seem to have obsessive compulsive walking disorder at the moment. I enjoy the walking most of all, so I seem to be putting in some long days. I bumped into one of the people I met on the very first day, up over the Pyrenees. I asked how she was going. Her response: "I have an empty head and a happy heart". I was hoping for something like that but I can't really say I've got there yet.  I'm not sure she has either, to be honest, but it is a good aspiration for the rest of the walk.

Tomorrow, maybe Ponferrada, or Molineseca if I can persuade myself to stop walking.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Hospital de Orbigo

I was thinking of a rest day in Leon, but after a refreshing night's sleep and a sleep in till 7.30 I woke up feeling that I should move on. Some sort of migratory instinct is telling me to join the herd moving Westwards, and like a caribou, off I go. The road out of Leon is about as inspiring as the road in. At least it is clearly marked. My walk was much improved by a nice man in a van selling crepes. Great Spanish entrepreneurship, he was set up at the top of a long hill, and just out of sight of the row of bars just round the corner. Last time we were here, we walked the scenic option. This time I chose the road route, mostly because that is the one on my gps. Putting a large busy road through a village doesn't do a lot for it, but there were still lots of lovely sights along the way - fields of lavender, rosemary and wilds flowers, church towers with multiple stork nests, each with some baby stork heads peeking over the top of the nests, and each nest watched over by an attentive parent stork.

As the day got hotter the sights got stranger. I passed two seemingly identical spanish gents each impeccably turned out with dark suit, hat and walking stick. But strangest was the tall grey haired skinny gringo in shorts and tshirt I passed kilometres from anywhere,  heading in the wrong direction, carrying plastic shopping bags filled with what looked like orange juice bottles, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Clint Eastwood. What on earth was he doing out there going that way? Where had he come from? I had to look around after he had passed to make sure I had really seen him. It was hot out there today.

But now I have reached the nice little town of Hospital de Orbigo with its wonderful bridge, and I am kicking back watching the local families enjoying their Sunday, and the occasional hot tired looking peregrinos straggle in.

Nearly across the Meseta and feeling pretty good. My ankle as resumed its normal proportions and has stopped hurting, in good time for the next big climb up past Rabanal. Good weather forecasts for the next few days as well. Tomorrow I will get to Astorga then work out what next.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Leon

A reasonably easy 24 ks into Leon. Great breakfast at a funny bar near Puente Villarente - strauss waltzes playing and the waiter with swept back hairdo dancing as he made the coffees. Best tortela ever sitting in the sun. The outskirts of Leon are a bit discouraging not helped by overflowing rubbish bins ripening in the warm sun. Either a garbage strike or they need to lift their game on the collection side.

Leon is even livelier than I remember. Beautifully dressed children, and the populace as a whole puts a lot of energy and attention into presentation. The peregrinos stand out like sore thumbs in the flood of elegantly dressed people.

I am feeling a bit restless and discover I can only stay one night in the hostal i am staying in. But at least for tonight I have a room to myself, and my own bathroom. Bliss!

Tomorrow I will head on then, perhaps to Villar de Mazarife.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Reliegos

Refreshed by a delicious dinner andj a great sleep, walked about 38 k today to get to Reliegos, a little pueblo whose main claim to fame is that it was hit by a 17.3 kilo meteor in 1947.  On the basis that meteors seldom hit twice in the same place I should be able to sleep safe from that at least.

The walk took us past a lovely little church out in the middle of fields, the Ermita Virgen del Puente, and through the city of Sahagun, where a lovely elderly spanish man led me through the little streets to an ATM, sensing correctly that my spanish was too limited to grasp the necessary directions. A pretty town with some impressive ruins. The walk was flat but with impressive views across the plain to a ring of snow capped mountains stretching from the north to the West. Could they be the Montes de Leon I wonder?

Coming down the valley into the village Leon, and the spire of its wonderful Cathedral, was visible over on the plain to the West. About 24 ks into Leon tomorrow. As I've caught up a couple of days I might have a rest day in Leon, maybe even spring for a hotel so I can sleep in. Will see.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

San Nicolas del Real Camino

Got woken at about 5.30 by a group of guys noisely packing, loudly whispering and shining their head torches randomly in my eyes.  Thanks guys. On the basis that I could either get up or get angry, i got up and hopefully more quietly gathered my stuff, and headed out a bit after 6.30. Found a bar open for a much needed coffee then out into the meseta. Really is getting a bit featureless though a beautiful morning and great to be out walking. As the Camino heads almost due west the sun roses behind you, making for nice long shadows.

A bit of a slog to the first town 17.5 k down the road, but the reward was a great Tortilla. Pushed on a bit past the stop in the guidebook, and a  good thing too as I saw my noisy friends from the last albergue trooping in there as I left.

Passed through a few tiny villages with clear mozarabic influence in the architecture, to hit San Nicolas del Real Camino about 2. Around 33k today. Staying in a nice bar restaurant albergue in a little pueblo that sets a new benchmark for sleepy.

Tomorrow if the legs are good and the ankle holds up, i will try for Reliegos, about 38 k down the road. These towns are not in the optimal places unfortunately! If I can make that, a shortish 24k day into Leon the next day. Saturday night in Leon, whoo hooo.

Anyway, I am better than half way to Santiago de Compostella - only 374 k to go!

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Carrion de los Condes

A wonderfully clear morning and brilliant sunshine and blue skies all day. A short flat walk so I chugged along at average 5.3 ks per hour and arrived in Carrion de los Condes a few minutes before the Albergue opened. A nice welcome, with tea and a biscuit as you stumble through the door. Only seems to be two showers in the whole place though.

The portal of the church of Santa Maria del Camino is said to depict a scene from a time before the Reconquista when the local population had to send 100 virgins to the Moorish overlords - but i don't know I would have picked that without the guidebook. Like so many of the churches through here San Maria is decaying away.

The cast of the Camino keeps changing - quite a few people walking the Camino in stages seem to stop here. Some others I suspect might be giving it away altogether. The next section to Leon,  hopefully four days walk, looks pretty sparse, so I found the supermercado and stocked up. Found a shop and bought another recharger - my second so far. Hopefully the last for this trip.

Tomorrow to Terradillos de los Templarios, about 27 kilometres but mostly flat.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Fromista

A longish day today. Slept well despite crowded albergue and headed out of Castrojeriz past the church with its two life size skull and cross bone carvings set in the wall at eye level in the narrow street. One is inscribed "death" mori, the other "eternity" eternitas.

With that cheerful message absorbed, headed off into chilly early morning country side, up the steep climb out of the valley. The grade was 12 percent going up one side and 18 percent coming down the other. A heart starter going up and a knee test going down.

The wind kicked up and it seemed a long cold way to the next village. The albergue had a nice young lady with three nice dogs stationed on the outskirts handing out leaflets advertizing "desayuno completo" basically English breakfast with orange juice and coffee, all for 5 euros, which is what I had sitting in the sun when I got into the village. Hard to see how they make much profit on that.

The weather was mostly sunny but cold and windy, and the country side just glorious. The edges of the fields are a mass of wild flowers - poppies, daisies, buttercups, a deep blue flower which might be a corn flower? Coming from Australia I was expecting the Meseta to be dead flat and empty, but in fact there is plenty of variety.

The last section of around six kilometres ran past the Canal de Castille,  constructed for transport rather than irrigation if the impressive lock system near town is any guide. Lovely to walk beside water.

Fromista has a couple of impressive churches. San Martin, a romanesque church  constructed 1066, has some of the strangest carvings I've seen.

Staying in a lovely private albergue with a big friendly black dog who will happily accept pats for as long as you are ready to give them.

A relatively short flat day tomorrow to Carrion los Condes, so I will sleep in till 7 unless the rustling from the early departing perigrinos becomes unbearable.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Castrojeriz

Didn't sleep so well last night, cold coming on and maybe too much  vino tinto. It was raining in annoying bursts out on the road, enough to get you damp before you got your coat on, then stop so you get steamy so take coat off, and then the rain would start again. Repeat. The first half of today's walk was through purgatorial Meseta mud. Perigrinos were floundering along with a kilo or so of clayey mud stuck to the bottom of each boot. Cleaning the mud off was fruitless as a new crust would form in a few steps. Luckily the muddy part finished before Hontanas, and the path from there was beautiful, winding along the side of a rocky valley covered in wild flowers and filled with bird song. It was like a reward for enduring the earlier section. The path then joins a minor sealed road and curves right through the ruins of the convent of San Anton, established in 12th century. The road goes through a vast arch still standing, and there is a delicately carved tympanium just sitting out there in the middle of nowhere.

Castrojeriz is a funny place. It is very old -originally Roman, and it straggles along the side of the mountain with quite a few adobe buildings, some eroding and some collapsed, and little streets winding away confusingly. Finding the pharmacia took the best part of an hour and required a few requests for assistance from the locals.

Staying in an idiosyncratic private albergue. Quite a few people packed in but i happened to get here just as the door opened and got the best bed, near the window.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Hornillos del Camino

Some pretty wild partying going on in or near the Burgos municipal Albergue last night till the early hours so didn't sleep all that well, but a shortish and flattish 20 ks to Hornillios del Camino. A bit of a one bar one horse town - though I think the horse has upped and left. Lucky the bar is open as that looks like the only dinner option. But it should be quieter than last night i hope. Lots of people pushing onto Hontas 10 ks down the road. Funny to think I may not see them again - they now inhabit a different bit of the moving foot powered conveyor belt of the camino space time continuum. Sad to see them go but also an opportunity to meet some new people.

Tomorrow to Castrojerez, another easy 20k day.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Burgos

Stayed in a lovely albergue in Ages last night. A bit chaotic but like staying in someone's home - very friendly, a great dinner cooked by the senora of the house . Up and on the road early. A cold morning and a climb up to 1200 metres past Atapuerca, a site where Neanderthal sites have been found. Cold, windy and wet up there, but very beautiful. I tried channeling my inner neanderthal getting over the mountain. The trail had lots of potato sized bits of smooth rock all nice and slippery in the drizzle, an ankle twisting opportunity at every step, and sure enough I twisted my ankle. Limped into Burgos, and up to the municipal albergue with its magnificent doorway. After washing self and clothes i headed out to find a pharmacia for remedial ankle treatments. I am applying RACE - rest, alcohol, compression and elevation, plus some tapas  _ should be RICE but no ice and 6you need to be adaptable. Hope it will do the trick. Burgos is a lovely city. I feel a bit guilty missing the cathedral, but I think I need to take it easy if I want to move tomorrow and sitting in the sun out the front of a nice tapas bar, watching the world wander by, with lovely wine at 1.50 euros is hard to beat.

I've been walking with a bunch of people for a few days now - one of the fluid mini tribes that form and evaporate on the Camino. But tomorrow some people staying in Burgos so tomorrow a new start. Tomorrow the Meseta, the much feared high flat plane that drives perigrinos crazy because it involves days of walking across a flat, featureless landscape. Tomorrow, maybe Hornillos del Camino, around 20k,  or maybe Hontanos, around 30 k.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Ages

Nearly 29 ks today, windy, rain and a couple of steep rocky climbs up to around 1200 metres - quite a hard day, but beautiful.

Staying in Ages, a small village with wood framed buildings similar to the tudor buildings in Kent, and a beautiful 16th century church with a couple of storks in residence. Staying in a friendly and cosy albergue here. Dinner options look fairly limited but I dont think we will starve.

Burgos tomorrow - the big smoke after a long stretch in smallish villages.