Sarria

I haven´t had much time to blog since Hospital ´de Orbigo but have to tell you it has been fantastic.  We are now in Sarria the starting point of the last 100 km. before Santiago.  We have had so many wonderful things happen since Hospital,  they might seem small to some but were wonderful experiences for us.  We started out from Hospital a few days ago. To be frank, all the places we have stayed are starting to run into one another so that it is hard to remember when things happened unless one can blog regularly.  Our walk out of Hospital had us walking through some wonderful farm country, right through farmyards.  We saw cows and chickens, farmers planting their crops and the wild lavender that grows on the side of the road is something to behold. We picked lots to place in our hats and on our pillows at night to help us sleep, not that we need much help after all the walking we have been doing.  On our way from Hospital to Astorga we came upon a lovely, very much needed oasis.  It was a little cantina in the middle of nowhere that was run by a lovely young man named David.  He offered  -just for a donation, dried figs, nuts, muesli, milk, herb teas, fruit, coffee, you name it, he had it. All organic and also a lovely place to rest and listen to a fellow pilgrim play the ukelele.  We sat down, ate our fill and listened to the music and then we were on our way.  It had been very hot during those days so it was nice find a place rest for awhile.  He even hung up a hammock for us to rest in, but we had to be on our way to the next Alburgue.

A few days later we made the climb up to cruz de Faro.  It was a spectacular walk.  Beautiful scenary.  We found it to be one of our favourite walks, high up into the mountains of the highest point of the Camino. 1800 feet.  The view below was spectacular.  Cruz De Faro is a very special place, very spiritual for some, religious for others.  It is a place where one usually takes a rock or some other momento to place at the cross, all for very personal reasons. 

Another of our favourite places was Ruitilan.  We stayed in a great Albergue. Were fed Spaghetti Carbonera and a wonderful squash soup for supper  and also woken in the morning to Ava Marie along with a lovely  breakfast and our room  all for the princely sum of 15 euros.  It was a hot day 30 degrees so we donned our shorts and went down to the ¨beach¨¨.  A little place to paddle by the river than ran down from the mountains, all the while being entertained by a beautifully coloured rooster and his harum of hens.  Running back and forth across the little bridge that crossed the river.  After our wonderful supper it was bed time and ready to climb another mountain  - O Cebriero.  Again, another wonderful walk. The scenary changed drastically once we were over the mountain. We could be in Ireland.  It is much cooler on this side of the mountain, it is celtic country.  We are in Galicia.  The food has changed and they even play music reminiscent of Scottish or Irish roots.  Where we are now is Sarria. We arrived this afternoon.  Lovely walk through little hamlets.  We went up to the market recommended by our hospitalaro where we tried pulpo for the very first time. Octopus boiled and sprinkled with salt, olive oil and paprika, washed down with vino tinto.  I cannot begin to describe how delicious this is.  We are just relaxing now, doing what pilgrims do when they arrive at the next Albergue, hand washing, deciding where we will stay tomorrow, mingling with our Camino friends.  Tomorrow is another day, with what  I am sure will be lots of more new things to experience. 

Leon

Cathy, Shelagh and myself stayed in a hostal in Leon last night.  Natalie, said she has seen Leon before and wanted to stay in the suburbs, so we had arranged to meet her in San Miguel Alburgue today.  We had the most fantastic time in Leon.  We met up with a large number of our ¨Camino family¨, including Russell aka Dennis the Mennis whom I thought I would never see again. It seems a lot of the pilgrims decided to spend the day and night in Leon and explore and just take in the wonderful atmosphere. We made our way to the main square where there was a farmer´s market going on.  We bought the most tasty cheese, Cherries, oranges, then we just sat around in the various bars, people watching.  It is quite an experience to be in a strange city and know so many people. As we sat at our table, pilgrim, after pilgrim, came by, these are people we have met over the past weeks and who are now our friends.  Every corner we turned we would see someone else we knew.  You see, when one is on the Camino and says Buen Camino to a fellow Pilgrim, one never really knows if they will see that person again, so when we do, it is the greatest feeling.   

Leon is a beautiful City. I am so glad we visited.  The Cathederal is beautiful and the people of Leon very, friendly.  This is another thing we have noticed about the Camino.  When we are in small villages and there is only one shop to buy from, we are never gouged.  A coffee is still only 1.20, no matter where you are.  You can have a  piece of tortilla  (Spanish omelette)and a coffee for 3.00 euros.  Our cherries were 1.99 a kg. 3 huge oranges for 50 cents.  Everything in Spain is so inexpensive and everyone seems so happy.

Tonight we are in Albergue San Miguel.  This is an absolutely beautiful Albergue. We were greeted at the door with a glass of wine. It is a very artsy place. The walls are covered with artwork of fellow pilgrims who have stayed here in the past. I too could paint a picture, but do not think I could even come close to some of the artwork on these walls.   It is such a welcoming place, lovely wood stove, beautiful patio and we all got a bottom bunk! Yeah!!!! As it is getting a bit hard for someone my age to get in and out of bed at night to go to the washroom when I am on the top bunk. I told Natalie if there is only one bunkbed, then I will always let her have the bottom. Age has to have some benefit. lol.  

We will be moving out of the Meseta the day after tomorrow. The scenery will change again. It is all beautiful in it´s own way .  I have really enjoyed it.  We walked roughly 24 k today and I must admit towards the end of our daily walk it can sometimes be a bit hard, but we have realized as long as we take frequent breaks - as per Darlene´s instructions, it makes it so much easier.  Chocolate also helps.  Darlene told me about that too. Well we are off to take the washing off the line and look for something to eat, will post again soon.

Albergue Los Templarios in Terradillos de Templarios

We are staying in an absolutely lovely Albergue on the Mesete.  Yesterday we walked a long way and by the end of the 26 km. walk my knees and Shelagh´s hips were killing us.  My right knee is swollen and I didn´t think I would be doing myself any favour by walking today.  Shelagh, Cathy and myself  decided to take a day off and took the bus the 26 km to where we are now. Natalie said she would walk alone.  Our bus did not leave until 12:50 which gave us time to explore the town of Carrion los Cabos where we stayed last  night.  This is a lovely town, bathed in history of the Knights Templar.  We just wandered around all day, something we don´t usually have time to do on the days we are walking.

The highlight of our day was a exploring David´s supermarcado.  We had so much fun.  It was Cathy´s job to line up in the fresh produce department to buy our oranges and bananas.  She had to pick a number and wait.  It took forever but she told us that just watching the goings on between the customers and servers was really quite interesting.  The other customers in the store were so helpful to us ¨ perigrinas¨.  One gentleman told us about all the different olives that one can buy. We took wonderful pics of the huge hams hanging on the wall and the different spices.  What an experience it was.

We then quickly went to a pizzeria, had a pizza then went to wait for our bus outside the local bar-cafe which is also the bus station.  You know, sitting outside drinking our cafe con leche was such an enlightening experience.  Watching the comings and goings of this lovely little town was so entertaining.  I think there must have been a lot of hurting perigrinos today as our bus quickly filled up with Pilgrims who did not think they were fit enough to make the 26 km walk. A lot of them were knees, some were injuries to the feet. I even heard of a lady who fell off the top bunk in her hostal the other day.  All in all our day of rest made for a very interesting day. 

The Camino isn´t about rushing from one Albergue to the other. It is about stopping to smell the flowers, just like Ferdinand the bull, and today I think our flower was a rose.  I am really starting to get the hang of it.  Tomorrow is another day, 23 km. and  we will take it slow.

Burgos

Natalie and I met up with Shelagh and Cathy on Friday morning in Burgos.  We decided that after all the walking we have been doing we both deserved a bubble bath so surprised Shelagh and Cathy by booking into their hotel for the night.  It was heaven and they were both surprised to see us.  We had a lovely day touring around the city. The Cathedral is beautiful and we also took a little sauna train around the city for a tour.  Now let me explain the Sauna train.  We bought our tickets, ( it was 30 degrees) the driver put us and the rest of the our group on the train and locked the doors and left us for about 15 minutes.  On the good side, some people actually pay a lot more  for this service and we got the  sauna for free.

The next day we left with Shelagh and Cathy  for their first day of hiking.  We were walking 18 km to Hornillos del Camino.  Now let me explain to you how our day on the Camino usually works. We get up in the morning, have a little something to eat, in my case yogurt and banana and water and then we walk to the first coffee bar on our trail.  This is usually in about 2 hours and then we relax and have the heavenly cafe con leche.  The first day we stopped in Taradajos.   We had egg, potato and meat tortillas with our cafe con leche.   Just before we left we all had to take our bathroom break.  Natalie and Shelagh were first.  They came out of the bathroom with a look of horror on their faces.  Natalie said " do not use the left cubicle only use the right, there is a black widow spider in there".  Cathy and I tentatively made our way to the bathroom.  Cathy went into the right cubicle and Julie, as inquisitive as ever, slowly opened the door of the left cubicle. There was the  poor spider in the toilet bowl.  Neither Cathy or I wanted him to drown.  But he seemed to be doing a very good job of staying above the water line.   I looked closely and it soon became apparent that it was a spider decal pee target.  Cathy and I could not stop laughing, presumed the other two were taking the Micky out of us, which to our amazement they were not.  You should have seen the look on their faces when we told them.

We stayed at a  lovely Alburgue last night.  It was located at the beginning of the Meseta.  The Meseta is the equivilant of our Canadian prairies.   Not everyone walks the 7 days through the Meseta as it can be a long walk, with not much to look at.  I believe the pilgrims that walk the Meseta are a different type of pilgrim. They tend to be more spiritual, as the time on the Meseta gives one time to reflect.  I have to tell you that last night at the Alburgue has to be one of my most memorable.  Two of the German pilgrims brought musical instruments, a flute and another instrument, a kind of harp, but very small, medieval I believe.  They were playing it and singing outside our window.  I cannot begin to tell you how beautiful it was.  Sitting on the wall, looking out over the Meseta, watching the swallows in the air and listening to this music.  I don´t think I have ever felt this way before.  It was heavenly.

Today Natalie and I  walked another 18 km. with Shelagh and Cathy and we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves. We are staying in another lovely Alburgue 7 euros with the added bonus that the owner does our washing.  So it is off for a Pilgrims lunch, a nap, a wander and chatting with other Pilgrims. With luck, our German friends will be staying in the same town.   Such is life on the Camino.

The Pilgrim Shuffle

It was a hard slog today, probably the hardest day yet.  Both Natalie and I felt quite uncomfortable.  Uncomfortable is a medical term, which means painful.  You know when the doctor is about to give you a needle and says "this might be a little uncomfortable". This is what we are feeling - pain.  From the waist down.  We walked 23 km today from Santo Domingo to Belorado.  We walked in the rain, against the wind the whole way.  Quite tiring.  I am now doing the Pilgrim Shuffle.  A term I have coined for the way we all seem to be walking today, obviously in pain.

I haven´t blogged for few days due to the fact I could not access my blog.  So let me tell you what we have been up to.  A few days ago we stayed in a lovely little place called Azorfa.  This was the most beautiful Albergue yet.  I will call it Camp Azorfa from here on in.  This place had a beautiful self contained courtyard, in a lovely little village in the middle of the Spanish countryside.  We had a huge communal eating area with room for 200 pilgrims, 2 to a room.  Yes! Natalie and I got our own room.  We also had a lovely meal with our friends from Calgary and we invited Russell AKA Dennis the Mennis too.  We made Chorizo sausage stew and salad with blue cheese washed down with copious amounts of vino tinto.  It was such a lovely evening. 

The next day we left to walk to Santo Domingo.  Along the way we stopped for coffee at a golf course coffee shop.  This had to be one of the saddest places I have ever been to.  We walked through a purpose built town that was now a virtual ghost town.  Nearly every home was empty with a sign that said A Vende - For Sale. The only people who came here were pilgrims and golfers. 

Last night we stayed in a municipal Alburgue in Santa Domingo.  This contained 200 pilgrims too.  28 to a room and I slept on the top bunk, 2 feet away from a man I had never met in my life and... no it was not Johnny Depp.  The only saving Grace was that he did not snore.  Not a good night as we had a room full of people who thought they would get up a 5 am. to start their walk.  Thank goodness for my earplugs which  I wisely bought in the gun department of my local Sail Store.  All in all I would be telling a fib if I told you it was an easy day today. But this is the Camino.  It isn´t always easy, neither is life.  And when talks to the various Pilgrims along the route,  one realizes we are all walking the same path, whether it be the Camino or the Path of Life.

The rhythm of the Camino

I have noticed during the past week, that when one is walking the Camino, one has their own rhythm.  It isn´t something you notice at the beginning, but after a few days you realize that you walk at your own rate, in your own way.  Sometimes Natalie will ask me to stop and look at something and it is really hard to stop and lose your rhythm.  I am sure it is the same for her.  It is just a slow, plod, plod, plod looking around, getting into the feeling of the Camino. One´s rhythm is a very personal thing.

Today, I saw another blind man, except this man  was totally blind.  He was holding onto the the backpack of a lady in front of him.  There were three of them.  The lady, with the blind man holding onto her backpack and another man walking with them. I caught up with them and chatted for awhile.  They were a dutch couple and the blind man was their nephew.  We had such a jolly time chatting, Mike their nephew  spoke English very well.  Very funny, thought I was a young woman, said he was looking for a young woman  and I told him I hated to disappoint him but I was not, I just had a young voice and I have been married for 39  years.

I have met some very interesting people on the Camino, all with different stories, all with different reasons for walking the Camino.  Yesterday I met a young Korean girl Ji Ni who was walking the Camino balancing a large water bottle on her head.  She was amazing really.  She had become separated from  her friend who had hooked up with an American man and she was now walking the Camino alone.

 Today Natalie and I  walked from Logrono to Ventosa which was a short walk by Camino standards -18 km. We are staying in a lovely Alburgue and sat in the garden all afternoon, drinking wine with our new  Canadian friends.  Tomorrow we leave for Azorfa.  

You know meeting Mike and his aunt made me think about the rhythm of the Camino.  These are two people who are different by Camino standards -  They are walking  the Camino together as one.  This is the magic of the Camino.  

  

Los Arcos to Lograno

Well, Natalie and I have moved up in the World.  We have gone from spending the night on a mattress on the gym floor in Zuberi to spending last night in the most lovely Alburgue yet.  We had a private room, well.... almost private.  It was the Canadian Contingent.  Me and Nat, Hope and Gail from Calgary and Margaret and Miriam from Owen Sound Ontario.  We cooked a communal dinner of rice, shrimp and salad followed by flan, or as I know it creme caramel, followed by nice glass of wine.  Then... off to bed only to awaken at 6 for a lovely breakfast supplied by our hosts. Off we went 28 km to Lograno.  It was a lovely walk, through vineyards, olive groves and wheat fields.  On the way we bumped into Russell, or as I have named him. Dennis.  Now let me tell you about Russell. We met him on our first night in Zuberi. He is a legally blind chap, originally from Glasgow who now lives near Victoria Station in London.  He is travelling the Camino, by himself on an extremely limited budget.  The reason I named him Dennis is due to his black and red sweater his mother had knit him. For those of you who are not from the UK, a cartoon character named Dennis the Mennis wears this sweater. Russell is 46 and used to be a scaffolder but due to his becoming blind is now on disability.  We couldn´´t believe that Russell had made it this far. He was not properly equipped, was sleeping rough most of the time, not in an albergue, he would just find shelter on the side of the road.  He is a lovely man and it was so nice to bump into him again.  We contined on our way.  We tend to be travelling most of the time with Hope and Gail, the two sisters from Calgary. Natalie bless her heart is booking our Alburgues ahead of time as she can speak Spanish very well and knows how to use the phone.  We have arrived in Lagrono and our Alburgue is in an apartment complex with no cooking facilities so it will be a pilgrim´´s special for us tonight.  This consists of 4 courses for around 8 euros.  Great food.  Our accomodation price is a bit high today. 10.50 euros.  This is such a fantastic experience.  I can feel my legs getting stronger daily and my mind is becoming clearer.  If possible, I will try and blog again tomorrow.  Adios Amigos