Well, I've finally decided to close out my blog. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to finish it, maybe in my mind if I didn't finish the blog I wouldn't have to finish my Camino. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my 33 days of walking across Spain, I truly was a journey of discovery, by that I mean the people I met, both Spaniards and other pilgrims like myself, the country of Spain, in particular the areas such as Galicia, which I felt was the most beautiful of all the areas I traveled.
As I think I've said before, Galicia, it was so beautiful. The climb into the mountains was unlike any other part of the Camino. There was a long climb up to the village of La Faba, initially I had not planned on staying here but it had been raining, I got here about 11 AM, there is a fantastic alburgue which is maintained by a German organization, they didn't open for a couple of hours and I was the first one here, I planted myself for a while, got out of the rain and looked over my options. The next alburgue was O'cebriero where I had planned on getting to, mental debate gong big time, I was just getting ready to head out when some friends showed up, it would be nice to spend some time with them so I decided to stay, I left my backpack at the front of the queue and went up to the village, I ran into other friends and they were heading on up the mountain, I started back to the alburgue to get my pack and go with them, but once there decided agains't it. Finally my mind was made up when the alburgue opened I got first choice on a bunk (first time this had ever happened), got cleaned and organized, someone asked if I wanted to go to the bar and watch the first round match of the World Cup, Switzerland vs Spain, how could I resist! The bar was tiny, about the size of an average living room the TV was a 13 inch, but it was fun, and Switzerland beat Spain! Surprisingly the Spaniards weren't too upset. The next day the climb up to O'cebriero was easier than I had anticipated, everything I had read or heard about this leg spelled suffering. It only took about an hour of uphill, but after walking for a month whats one hour! The village was enclosed by fog which made it mystical and haunting looking. The buildings were made of stone which added to the beauty. After this village it was a walk through the forest then downhill for quite a while.
During this part of the Camino with the World Cup in full swing, it was sometimes a race to the next village for the pilgrims who home country team was playing that day. It was always a party be it Leon, Astorga, never knew I would enjoy soccer so much.
Once we got through the mountains the weather turned warmer during the day but still stayed cold at night. The Camino was more crowded, when I arrived in Portomarin I arrived at a nice private alburgue, checked in and did my chores, about an hour later some German friends arrived, they went to get a bed but it had already filled to capacity. They ended up at the municipal alburgue with a bunch of Spanish teens, noisy is what I was told.
Many of the Spaniards seeking their Compostela walk this leg of the Camino, however for the most part they don't carry their gear, they simply send it ahead by taxi. We learned very quickly to secure accomodations in the future, an Aussie girl who was working in England had a phone so we made reservations for the next night. We thought we would have to be doing this for the remainder of the way, but this was the only time (or maybe one other)we did this. The Spaniards seemed to have specific alburgues they wanted to stay in so we just found others. If one only walks the final 100 km to Santiago the pilgrim needs to get 2 sellos or stamps per day in their passport, but me and my friends that wasn't the case, though we would usually get one because they were so unique, each and every one.
The final day of walking to Santiago really felt strange, it was within reach but at the same time I didn't want it to end, but on the other hand I had accomplished my goal so that was exciting. We started out in the dark and had to walk through a forest, it finally got light when we hit the city limits, Santiago is a big city so it was strange to see it. It was always a treat to run into people you knew, one friend Claire from Scotland I had seen the day bofore, but she kept walking because her and a friend wanted to stop just before Santiago. I thought I wouldn't see her again, but surprise about 5 km before the cathedral there she was! But the biggest surprise was still to come, while waiting to cross the street at a traffic light, the first one I had seen for weeks the Brazilian I had met on day 3 (he with the very bad blisters and had doctors orders to stay in Zubriri to heal) was standing there! At first I didn't recognize him, but I noticed the shirt, Brazil soccer, then glanced at his face, I couldn't believe, he had made it! We all continued on to the cathedral, it is so huge! Everyone was so emotional, smiles, tears, hugs, it all came out. We realizing we made it we headed over to the Compostela office for our certificates, we had walked the Camino de Santiago! I was expecting a huge line but it only took a couple of minutes. The next thing on the agenda was to attend the pilgrims mass at noon, we all wanted to see the swinging of the Botafumerio which is a very large insense burner that is swung inside the cathedral, legend has it, it was designed to hide the odor of the pilgrims arrivng there. But they didn't do it! After mass it was time to search out an alburgue, we had seen some coming into town, we walked back a couple of km and ended up in a brand new facility. we were some of the very few that stayed there. If I have the opportunity to do it again I will stay in the city center, there are older Spanish ladies who rent rooms out of their homes, this would have been a better alternative, it got old walking the half hour back and forth to the alburgue, I stayed in Santiago for 3 days before heading to Madrid then on to Germany
The last leg into Santiago was bittersweet. On one hand I was looking forward to finishing, I had walked 790 kilometers! Not an easy feat! Life on the camino was simple, get up, start walking, rest a bit, walk some more, rest, walk and arrive in another village, check into the alburgue, rest and spend time with friends, sleep, get up and do it all over again. After 33 days I looked forward to the reward of arriving and getting to enjoy the shared joy of accomplishment with the friends I had walked with, talked with, suffered with, laughed with, sweated with, you name it with. Thats the part I didn't want to end, the friendships of the camino are special in that it is such a unique journey, nothing else in the world compares. Not a day goes by that I don't have a special memory come to mind of someone I walked with, I would name them here but there are so many, most have been mentioned before but I don't want to miss someones name so I will keep those as memories, plus we all have Facebook!
The next 3 days were spent resting, saying hello and goodbye to amigos and amigas of the camino. We watched the World Cup soccer matches, took photos, attended a street party, I guess in some ways we were trying to hang onto each other and at the same time looking forward to getting on with our lives. I made plans to visit friends in Germany, I went to Bingen near Frankfurt and spent time with Sylvia and her family then went on to Rosenheim to visit Roland and also went to Munich to visit Judith. I finally returned At this point I was ready to return home, I had had enough of not sleeping in the same place for more than a couple of nights in row, of living out of a backpack, wearing the same clothes for 2 months. I also felt a bit lonely because of the special bond I had made with so many people on my Camino, I missed that and longed to just get back to a somewhat normal routine.
So if anyone reads this, I hope you enjoy it, it was fun to do and if you ever get a chance to do something unique I highly recommend keeping a blog, you'll be glad you did!
Buen Camino and Adios amigos!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Monday, June 14, 2010
Into Galacia
Wow, what a difference a couple of days make, in the past 2 days I´ve experienced my worst day on the Camino and my best. I´ve left the flat land of the maseta and now in the mountains of the Provence of eastern Galacia, and it couldn´t be any different. Also today I past under the 200 kilometer mark of my journey. I estimate to be in Santiago around the 23rd, we´ll see how that goes.
OK, the worst, how do I explain this other than the term daywalkers or a better term I came up with daytalkers. We left Astorga yesterday morning and started the uphill climb into the foothills. About 2 hours into our walk we started seeing buses pulling up along side the Camino and discharging dozens and dozens of people. In fact we got swallowed up in a group and had to kick it up a knoch to get away from them, they all had on their little baby backpacks for their walk. Now they obviously have every right in the world to walk the Camino too but what made it difficult was their nonstop talking, Every couple of minutes I would hear another group coming up on me so I would let them pass, didn´t do much good since another group would show up in a few minutes. Today I met a woman from Puerto Rico, we were talking and she all of the sudden mentioned how she hated yesterday, I asked why and she had the same exact feelings I did! It literally looked like we were all leaving the stadium after a game there were so many of them.
Now, the best, I am now in the mountain of Galacia, it is so beautiful. When we arrived in Rabinal del Camino it didn´t give away the surprise we would have today. When we started out it was foggy, the kink you only see in the mountains. We started a slow incline walk up and up and up, but the great part it was gradual. We arrived in the next village and the Camino provided. Yesterday I mentioned to my friends how I would like an old fashioned western or American breakfast, the Bocadillas and pastries are getting a little old, well to my surprise the bar we stopped in had Muesli and Cornflakes! And on top of that they had large cups for coffee! The day was starting off great. After leaving the bar we had a 20 minute walk to Cruz de Ferro, one of the waymarkers of the Camino, people bring stones from home or leave a note, I left a note for a special person, a person I never met but has touched my life. We continued on through the mountains and were rewarded with unbelievable views and moments. This part of the Camino was also the most techincal in that the trail was very rocking on the decents and there were a lot of them. Time wise this was my longest day, 9 hours on the Camino, but went 27 km. I feel like I´m in a true mountain hideaway, the village is called Molinaseca.
It´s always unbelieveable how your day goes, one thing that stands out is that someone you´ve met weeks ago and hadn´t seen in over a week all of a sudden shows up in the same spot. Mittu the Finnish girl I gave my poncho to walked into the bar we were taking a break in and I hadn´t seen her since Friday or Saturday, the days kind of run together. But the Camino provides.
Well folks time to sign off, I will post some photos when I have more time, thanks for the support!
Buen Camino!!!
OK, the worst, how do I explain this other than the term daywalkers or a better term I came up with daytalkers. We left Astorga yesterday morning and started the uphill climb into the foothills. About 2 hours into our walk we started seeing buses pulling up along side the Camino and discharging dozens and dozens of people. In fact we got swallowed up in a group and had to kick it up a knoch to get away from them, they all had on their little baby backpacks for their walk. Now they obviously have every right in the world to walk the Camino too but what made it difficult was their nonstop talking, Every couple of minutes I would hear another group coming up on me so I would let them pass, didn´t do much good since another group would show up in a few minutes. Today I met a woman from Puerto Rico, we were talking and she all of the sudden mentioned how she hated yesterday, I asked why and she had the same exact feelings I did! It literally looked like we were all leaving the stadium after a game there were so many of them.
Now, the best, I am now in the mountain of Galacia, it is so beautiful. When we arrived in Rabinal del Camino it didn´t give away the surprise we would have today. When we started out it was foggy, the kink you only see in the mountains. We started a slow incline walk up and up and up, but the great part it was gradual. We arrived in the next village and the Camino provided. Yesterday I mentioned to my friends how I would like an old fashioned western or American breakfast, the Bocadillas and pastries are getting a little old, well to my surprise the bar we stopped in had Muesli and Cornflakes! And on top of that they had large cups for coffee! The day was starting off great. After leaving the bar we had a 20 minute walk to Cruz de Ferro, one of the waymarkers of the Camino, people bring stones from home or leave a note, I left a note for a special person, a person I never met but has touched my life. We continued on through the mountains and were rewarded with unbelievable views and moments. This part of the Camino was also the most techincal in that the trail was very rocking on the decents and there were a lot of them. Time wise this was my longest day, 9 hours on the Camino, but went 27 km. I feel like I´m in a true mountain hideaway, the village is called Molinaseca.
It´s always unbelieveable how your day goes, one thing that stands out is that someone you´ve met weeks ago and hadn´t seen in over a week all of a sudden shows up in the same spot. Mittu the Finnish girl I gave my poncho to walked into the bar we were taking a break in and I hadn´t seen her since Friday or Saturday, the days kind of run together. But the Camino provides.
Well folks time to sign off, I will post some photos when I have more time, thanks for the support!
Buen Camino!!!
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Rain in Spain is Mainly on the Plain
You all know the term, ´Be careful what you wish for, you may get it¨, well after Sundays day of 80 degree weather it has been raining on the Maseta, on top of that the temperature drop to about 45-50 degrees and yesterday I walked 20 kilometers in rain and about a 30-40`mph wind! My have things have changed! But hey, if you´re going to do the Camino you should get everything it has to offer. On Tuesday I passed my halfway point to Santiago, I now have about 330 km to go, at the pace I´m at I´m looking at arriving around the 23rd. Sometimes it´s hard to believe that I´ve walked almost 500 km or over 300 miles, but then at the end of the day I can feel it. Two days ago I stayed in a village with no services so the people that run the Alburgue provide dinner, after a day of cold wind and rain pasta was on the menu, and what made it unique one of the Pilgrims was Italian, so he was assigned as cook.
Yesterday was the most trying day of all so far. Now I´ve done my fair share of outdoor activities with all my trips to Canada but nothing compared to that. I was in an area that had no protection from the rain and wind and the rain was coming from a right angle, my left side was soaked but right less so. My main thought was something from my favorite movie/series whatever you want to call it, Band of Brothers, Major Winters would always be on his men to ¨KEEP MOVING´whenever they were under fire, so my inspiration for the day was the men of the 101st Airborne Division, 506 Regiment, Easy Company, anything I encountered was nothing compared to what they faced.
Yesterday I was in the large city of Leon, the bigger cities do have their advantages but the noise and crowds are a drawback. Today I took the Road Less Traveled and I´m glad I did. The people I´ve been walking with and most all other Pilgrims decided to take a route that was next to the main road. I took a secondary route and experienced something unique in this day and age of the Camino. I pretty much had it to myself. When I turned left and said Buen Camino to the others I only encountered one other Pilgrim, he passed my on the road but stopped in the next village. I only rested a couple of minutes and the Camino was my own! I walked for almost 2 hours to the next village, occasionally stopping to look behind to see if anyone was behind me, not a soul, in front only the rolling hills of the western maseta and rain clouds that were theatening but never really delivered like yesterday. When I arrived in the village the only other Pilgrims there were 3 Canadian women, for first people I saw for about 2 hours. It was a gift from Santiago. The Alburgue I´m in tonight is very quiet since not many have come this way, another nice gift, it´s nice not hearing the constance chatter of people talking and tonight maybe no snoring! There were only 6 people checked in when I arrived but a couple more have shown up.
If one believes in the term ¨the Camino provides¨ I did my bit yesterday. After walking for 4 hours in that rain and wind I finally arrived in a pueblo, I went into the local bar (main place of sustanance) and ran into one of my favorite people I´ve met so far! Mittu from Finland, she and a German girl was hanging out hoping the rain would subside, it wasn´t going to, finally they started to get ready and I saw that the only protection she had was a thin piece of plastic, I couldn´t let her go like that, out here we have to care for each other, so I gave her my rain poncho, I only had about 6 km to go yesterday and knew I could survive without it. I told her I would get it from her in Leon, but when I got there I bought a new one, they were only about 8 dollars, she and her friend made arrived at the Alburgue about 5 and she started to give it back but I told her it was hers.
Well enough for today, I´m downloading photos to Facebook for your enjoyment, I can hog the computer since there are 2 here and no one else has set down at the other
Yesterday was the most trying day of all so far. Now I´ve done my fair share of outdoor activities with all my trips to Canada but nothing compared to that. I was in an area that had no protection from the rain and wind and the rain was coming from a right angle, my left side was soaked but right less so. My main thought was something from my favorite movie/series whatever you want to call it, Band of Brothers, Major Winters would always be on his men to ¨KEEP MOVING´whenever they were under fire, so my inspiration for the day was the men of the 101st Airborne Division, 506 Regiment, Easy Company, anything I encountered was nothing compared to what they faced.
Yesterday I was in the large city of Leon, the bigger cities do have their advantages but the noise and crowds are a drawback. Today I took the Road Less Traveled and I´m glad I did. The people I´ve been walking with and most all other Pilgrims decided to take a route that was next to the main road. I took a secondary route and experienced something unique in this day and age of the Camino. I pretty much had it to myself. When I turned left and said Buen Camino to the others I only encountered one other Pilgrim, he passed my on the road but stopped in the next village. I only rested a couple of minutes and the Camino was my own! I walked for almost 2 hours to the next village, occasionally stopping to look behind to see if anyone was behind me, not a soul, in front only the rolling hills of the western maseta and rain clouds that were theatening but never really delivered like yesterday. When I arrived in the village the only other Pilgrims there were 3 Canadian women, for first people I saw for about 2 hours. It was a gift from Santiago. The Alburgue I´m in tonight is very quiet since not many have come this way, another nice gift, it´s nice not hearing the constance chatter of people talking and tonight maybe no snoring! There were only 6 people checked in when I arrived but a couple more have shown up.
If one believes in the term ¨the Camino provides¨ I did my bit yesterday. After walking for 4 hours in that rain and wind I finally arrived in a pueblo, I went into the local bar (main place of sustanance) and ran into one of my favorite people I´ve met so far! Mittu from Finland, she and a German girl was hanging out hoping the rain would subside, it wasn´t going to, finally they started to get ready and I saw that the only protection she had was a thin piece of plastic, I couldn´t let her go like that, out here we have to care for each other, so I gave her my rain poncho, I only had about 6 km to go yesterday and knew I could survive without it. I told her I would get it from her in Leon, but when I got there I bought a new one, they were only about 8 dollars, she and her friend made arrived at the Alburgue about 5 and she started to give it back but I told her it was hers.
Well enough for today, I´m downloading photos to Facebook for your enjoyment, I can hog the computer since there are 2 here and no one else has set down at the other
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The Meseta
The meseta, ah the meseta, think about San Diego August and September weather with a little Santa Ana wind thrown in for good measure and you have the meseta. I´m in the Spanish farming area, nothing but fields as far as the eye can see, wheat and barley to be exact and not a tree for shade or sombra as we say on the Camino. I will be in this area for the next week or so, so it will be up early to get as many kilometers behind before the sun kicks in. We are averaging about 25 km a day, today we did 30 and tomorrow we will do a pinch over 29. The one good thing is there are no hills, but at this point when we see a hill it´s not like it was a week or so ago, then it was a bit of dread, now it´s just OK, it´s not that big. The temperature can be so different from day to day, 3 days ago in the tiny tiny village of San Juan de Ortega it got so cold in the evening, jackets were broke out and blankets used on top of sleeping bags. Burgos was a bit of a culture shock after the tiny villages, big city with big city noise, the Spanish culture is partying all night long, when we were heading out of the last bigger city of Lognoño last Sunday morning, the locals were calling it a night but sang for us ¨Peregriño, Peregriño, it was quite a sight, this morning the locals talked to us in their best inebriated spanish, we don´t know what they were saying but it was funny. I went to a Pilgrims mass in San Juan and afterward they serve Garlic soup, they have been doing that for 100´s of years so it was quite the treat to see that. The village we´re in tonight is truly a one horse town, really, it was outside the bar when we walked into town! It looks like something out of one of the old spagetti westerns that Clint Eastwood did in the 70´s, any moment I expect that classic ¨The Good, the Bad and the Ugly¨music to kick in. The computer I´m using is like being back in the mid 90´s slow, slow and then slow.
Often time in the morning I walk along thinking how blessed I am to do this, I know I´ve mentioned that before, it´s something I don´t want to forget.
This was my first day back on the Camino after a dia de descanso (day of rest) in the city of Burgos, it was as large as Pamplona but didn´t have the ambiance of the Ciudad of Corrida de los Toros. I took a break there for a couple of reason, first I´ve put over 300 kilometers behind me or about 180-190 miles in 2 weeks, but more importantly some of the people I´ve been walking with had to go home and back to reality. We had a group of 7 for a while, 4 Germans, Judith who left us last Monday had to go back to Munich and start her new job with the German Railway System, Sylvia had to get back to her children, Roland had to leave last night for his home near Munich for school that starts again on Monday, Ruggero our Italian Naval Officer pushed on up the Camino due to time constraints, Petr our Czech engineer stayed in the last village so he could visit some ruins along the way he couldn´t catch today. So now it´s down to me and Isabella, my German walking partner, I couldn´t ask for a better one. It was kind of sad for the group to break up last night but the real world calls some of us back.
I would post some photos but this computer couldn´t handle it so I will have to do that down the Camino in a few days. Hope all of you are doing well and I think of you when I´m walking along my Camino.
Buen Camino.
Often time in the morning I walk along thinking how blessed I am to do this, I know I´ve mentioned that before, it´s something I don´t want to forget.
This was my first day back on the Camino after a dia de descanso (day of rest) in the city of Burgos, it was as large as Pamplona but didn´t have the ambiance of the Ciudad of Corrida de los Toros. I took a break there for a couple of reason, first I´ve put over 300 kilometers behind me or about 180-190 miles in 2 weeks, but more importantly some of the people I´ve been walking with had to go home and back to reality. We had a group of 7 for a while, 4 Germans, Judith who left us last Monday had to go back to Munich and start her new job with the German Railway System, Sylvia had to get back to her children, Roland had to leave last night for his home near Munich for school that starts again on Monday, Ruggero our Italian Naval Officer pushed on up the Camino due to time constraints, Petr our Czech engineer stayed in the last village so he could visit some ruins along the way he couldn´t catch today. So now it´s down to me and Isabella, my German walking partner, I couldn´t ask for a better one. It was kind of sad for the group to break up last night but the real world calls some of us back.
I would post some photos but this computer couldn´t handle it so I will have to do that down the Camino in a few days. Hope all of you are doing well and I think of you when I´m walking along my Camino.
Buen Camino.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Navarra to La Rioja/Living the Alburgue Life
Ever think about living with 30-100 people you don´t know? Thats the Alburgue life, some days it´s good, some it´s bad, the place I stayed last night left a lot to be desired, 100 people crammed into one room, but it was free, today I´m living the dream, the Alburgue in Santo Domingo is the best by far, the rooms only have about 10 beds, the place was recently renovated with a new cocina, large living room with sofas, vending machines that dispense beer for a dollar and wine. One thing you have to get used to is at times is the sharing of facilities, for example in Pamplona the men and woman both used the same bathroom , the showers were a bit larger to accomodate that unique aspect, maybe it´s a European thing. The people that you meet make it worthwhile and make the experience fun. Some people opt for the hotels, so far I haven´t felt the need.
Now that I´m 10 days into this journey the routine is setting in, up at 6 AM, pack the bag, hit the road for about 3-5 km, take a break, try to get into the next Alburgue stop before 1PM, get settled in, wash the clothes, talk to those you haven´t touched base with all day, make plans for the evening, get ready for bed and call it a day at 10PM. Some people save time by washing themselves and clothes at the same time, I tried it, it works! Suffered my first injury yesterday, my achilles tendon is a little tight, besides the blisters (which I don´t take part in) achilles injuries seem to be the most common pain, everyone walks around looking a little too old for their actual appearance. But for some strange reason by morning we are back to normal and ready to walk.
One of my early walking partners ended his Camino on Saturday and had to head back to Madrid to the real world, your world. For the past 3 days I´ve joined a German contingent, they seem to be the one country with the most Pilgrims. A German comedian wrote a book a few years back that has put the Camino on the map in Germany. One (Roland) is a teacher from near Munich, another (Isabella) is a dental tech from the south, a mother (Sylvia) of 2 from near Frankfurt, a young lady who will be working for the German railroad soon (Judith) our group also has an engineer from the Czech Republic, Petr, a female police officer (Melanie) from Switzerland and a Naval Officer from Italy. I´ve been cordially invited to visit Germany and Prague after my Camino, so more time in Europe! I´ve finally come across some other Americans on the Camino, Matt from LA, who had been studying in Madrid and a judge from St Louis, we aren´t well represented but that´s fine with me.
The scenery has really changed from the early part of the Camino, I´ve gone from high mountains to forests to farmland with little trees, I am now in the La Rioja province which is the wine region, so for the past couple of days vineyards as far as the eye can see. We soon move into the Maseta, long days with no shade, it´s going to be hard but fun. I plan on taking a rest day in the next big town of Burgos, that will be nice Well, the pueblo is calling, so I will say goodbye for today.
I´ve updated my photos on facebook, hope you like them!
Now that I´m 10 days into this journey the routine is setting in, up at 6 AM, pack the bag, hit the road for about 3-5 km, take a break, try to get into the next Alburgue stop before 1PM, get settled in, wash the clothes, talk to those you haven´t touched base with all day, make plans for the evening, get ready for bed and call it a day at 10PM. Some people save time by washing themselves and clothes at the same time, I tried it, it works! Suffered my first injury yesterday, my achilles tendon is a little tight, besides the blisters (which I don´t take part in) achilles injuries seem to be the most common pain, everyone walks around looking a little too old for their actual appearance. But for some strange reason by morning we are back to normal and ready to walk.
One of my early walking partners ended his Camino on Saturday and had to head back to Madrid to the real world, your world. For the past 3 days I´ve joined a German contingent, they seem to be the one country with the most Pilgrims. A German comedian wrote a book a few years back that has put the Camino on the map in Germany. One (Roland) is a teacher from near Munich, another (Isabella) is a dental tech from the south, a mother (Sylvia) of 2 from near Frankfurt, a young lady who will be working for the German railroad soon (Judith) our group also has an engineer from the Czech Republic, Petr, a female police officer (Melanie) from Switzerland and a Naval Officer from Italy. I´ve been cordially invited to visit Germany and Prague after my Camino, so more time in Europe! I´ve finally come across some other Americans on the Camino, Matt from LA, who had been studying in Madrid and a judge from St Louis, we aren´t well represented but that´s fine with me.
The scenery has really changed from the early part of the Camino, I´ve gone from high mountains to forests to farmland with little trees, I am now in the La Rioja province which is the wine region, so for the past couple of days vineyards as far as the eye can see. We soon move into the Maseta, long days with no shade, it´s going to be hard but fun. I plan on taking a rest day in the next big town of Burgos, that will be nice Well, the pueblo is calling, so I will say goodbye for today.
I´ve updated my photos on facebook, hope you like them!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Corrida de Toros- Zubiri Pamplona y Puente de la Riena
Prior to coming to the Camino I read everything I could find, and to finally see it in person is truly a unique expericnce. Like St Jean and the Pilgrims on horses today I encountered a Pilgrim with a donkey, chalk another up for the journey that is like no other. The morning is a great time to walk, the weather is cool, you´ve recovered from the previous day, the birds are chirping and the farm animals set the ambiance with their aroma. But thats OK, it´s all a part of the Camino.
Today I am in the pueblo of Puente de la Reina. Todays walk was one of the easiest so far for the simple fact I sent home about 12 lbs of things I don´t need. So let this be a warning for you when you do your Camino, be careful what you pack cause you gotta carry it!
Over the past couple of days my stops have been in the pueblo of Zubiri where I originally had not planned on staying, but I ran out of water about 45 minutes before I arrived and needless to say when I got there I was done. I sat down in the pueblo plaza and the Camino gave me the gift of the pueblo water fountain. A few minutes later a Spaniard I had met the previous day came into down and he directed me to the Alburgue. The Alburgue was quite a bit smaller than others but still getting used to sleeping with pèople you´ve never met is unsettling for some, I´m a little used to it from my other travels and my time in the Navy. Monday in Zubiri it was so hot! Kind of like those Santa Ana days we get in San Diego, you didn´t want to move, and that´s why the Spaniards shut down everything for a couple of hours in the afternoon, all stores close, nothing, I think they have the right idea!Since Zubiri I´ve teamed up with the Spaniard in my walk and with another Spaniard, the funny thing is they both have the same name, Augustin, makes my life a little easier. Yesterday we arrived in Pamplona, after being in the mountains, on the trails and in the little pueblos the big city was quite a change. It was nice seeing the home of the running of the bulls, too bad that isn´t till July, but I heard it´s a madhouse when it occurs. Today we walked up to a peak called Alto de Perdon. The climb on paper looked tough but we were up before I knew it.
I´ve come to find out I can do about 20-25 km a day which takes about 6 hours give the occasional breaks. The beauty of the Camino though is the people, there are so many from all part of the world. In the past couple of days besides the ones I´ve mentioned in earlier posts I´ve met a Brazilian who had to stay in Zubiri to recover from a severe blister. A young lady from Portugal who always has a smile on her face. I just met a woman from South Africa our room in the Alburgue looks like a United Nations convention. For the most part everyone walks alone on their Camino, to me this is one of the reasons it exists. Today I was thinking the blessing I have that I can do this, good health and the means to do so, so many in our world don´t. I´m often asked how long will you be here, my response I am under no timetable, that is truly a blessing. When there are couples it tends to be the older set, OK my set and older. I don´t think I´´ve seen one in their 30´s or 40´s but that group is well represented by people walking on their own. When we pass a simple ¨Buen Camino¨ is exchanged But when the day is done and we all meet at the Alburgue the friendships continue with sharing of stories of the Camino and life in general.
When you´re on the Camino you have no responsibilties other than to yourself, it´s your walk, your camino, you do it as you please, for as long or short and in pain or good health, fast or slow. I´m holding up well compared to others, probably the biggest injury is blisters, I haven´t had them yet, and from my prvious hikes I don´t tend to get them. Well enough for one day, one of the things I promised myself is I wouldn´t spend too much time on computers and such, and as you all know that´s not my cup of tea anyway. So bye for today, hope you all are all well and thanks to all for the encouragement I get in the emails!
Buen Camino,
Barry
Today I am in the pueblo of Puente de la Reina. Todays walk was one of the easiest so far for the simple fact I sent home about 12 lbs of things I don´t need. So let this be a warning for you when you do your Camino, be careful what you pack cause you gotta carry it!
Over the past couple of days my stops have been in the pueblo of Zubiri where I originally had not planned on staying, but I ran out of water about 45 minutes before I arrived and needless to say when I got there I was done. I sat down in the pueblo plaza and the Camino gave me the gift of the pueblo water fountain. A few minutes later a Spaniard I had met the previous day came into down and he directed me to the Alburgue. The Alburgue was quite a bit smaller than others but still getting used to sleeping with pèople you´ve never met is unsettling for some, I´m a little used to it from my other travels and my time in the Navy. Monday in Zubiri it was so hot! Kind of like those Santa Ana days we get in San Diego, you didn´t want to move, and that´s why the Spaniards shut down everything for a couple of hours in the afternoon, all stores close, nothing, I think they have the right idea!Since Zubiri I´ve teamed up with the Spaniard in my walk and with another Spaniard, the funny thing is they both have the same name, Augustin, makes my life a little easier. Yesterday we arrived in Pamplona, after being in the mountains, on the trails and in the little pueblos the big city was quite a change. It was nice seeing the home of the running of the bulls, too bad that isn´t till July, but I heard it´s a madhouse when it occurs. Today we walked up to a peak called Alto de Perdon. The climb on paper looked tough but we were up before I knew it.
I´ve come to find out I can do about 20-25 km a day which takes about 6 hours give the occasional breaks. The beauty of the Camino though is the people, there are so many from all part of the world. In the past couple of days besides the ones I´ve mentioned in earlier posts I´ve met a Brazilian who had to stay in Zubiri to recover from a severe blister. A young lady from Portugal who always has a smile on her face. I just met a woman from South Africa our room in the Alburgue looks like a United Nations convention. For the most part everyone walks alone on their Camino, to me this is one of the reasons it exists. Today I was thinking the blessing I have that I can do this, good health and the means to do so, so many in our world don´t. I´m often asked how long will you be here, my response I am under no timetable, that is truly a blessing. When there are couples it tends to be the older set, OK my set and older. I don´t think I´´ve seen one in their 30´s or 40´s but that group is well represented by people walking on their own. When we pass a simple ¨Buen Camino¨ is exchanged But when the day is done and we all meet at the Alburgue the friendships continue with sharing of stories of the Camino and life in general.
When you´re on the Camino you have no responsibilties other than to yourself, it´s your walk, your camino, you do it as you please, for as long or short and in pain or good health, fast or slow. I´m holding up well compared to others, probably the biggest injury is blisters, I haven´t had them yet, and from my prvious hikes I don´t tend to get them. Well enough for one day, one of the things I promised myself is I wouldn´t spend too much time on computers and such, and as you all know that´s not my cup of tea anyway. So bye for today, hope you all are all well and thanks to all for the encouragement I get in the emails!
Buen Camino,
Barry
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Le Chemin de Saint Jacques
It took 2 days but I have conquered the first stage of the adventure! Imagine doing cardio for 2 hours straight, well that´s what climbing them was like, and that was only the first day! The second on paper looked even more ominous but in actually it was easier. My first big thing to do when I get to a town with a post office is send some items home or on to Santiago. I was going to do it in St Jean but they wanted 50 euros or 75 dollars to do it. The people are amazing, I´ve walked with Swedes, French, Mexicans, Koreans, South Africans to name a few. The first night I stayed in an Alburgue on the side of the road called Orisson, I went from sharing a room with 3 people in St Jean to 6 in Orisson to over 100 tonight in Roncevalles, but for 6 euros(about 8 dollars) I can´t complain and it´s part of what I came for. They are mainly farmers with a uniique little horse, most of them had recently given birth, imagine a fold the size of a Ladrador Retriever. It took about 5 hours to walk 18 km today, pretty good pace for walking uphill for at least half of it. The Pyrenees also has vultures, they circle the sky looking for dead Pilgrims, glad to say they didn´t dine well the past 2 days. There is a German woman I met who works for Germany´s National Public Radio, she is doing a story on the Camino and will be doing live reports back to her country. Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez recently wrapped up a movie about the Camino, I believe it´s going to be called ¨The Way¨. The storyline as I understand it is the son of the character Martin Sheen plays dies on the Camino, in fact the part I just finished, he comes to retrieve his son´s ashes, he is then inspired to continue the journey his son started.
I forgot to mention earlier that I´ve yet to run into any Americans other than Jonie Miller whom I came over with. I did meet some students on the flight but they were starting from where I am now. Mountain bikers, for some reason the locals like to take their bikes for walks in the mountains, these hills are a little too steep for riding, though I will give credit to some that did, there was an Italian group of 6 cycling the Camino, they plan to do it in about a week, unlike me that will be here happily for 7 to 8.
I forgot to mention earlier that I´ve yet to run into any Americans other than Jonie Miller whom I came over with. I did meet some students on the flight but they were starting from where I am now. Mountain bikers, for some reason the locals like to take their bikes for walks in the mountains, these hills are a little too steep for riding, though I will give credit to some that did, there was an Italian group of 6 cycling the Camino, they plan to do it in about a week, unlike me that will be here happily for 7 to 8.
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