day 13-15 Coasting through Castille Days

Well, not exactly coasting as we have been blown by wind and rain into the city of Burgos today. It is the 300km walking mark as such, and also where we will leave the walking and bus it over the wide plains of the Meseta , 180km, to Leon where we will start the last 300km into Santiago.

Day 13.
We left the fowls crowing at Santo Domingo after a beautiful evening mass and a memorable pilgrim blessing from a very passionate priest.
Not so memorable was the loss of betty´s reading glasses which were mislaid, handed into reception and then not able to be found. Maybe put away somewhere but we have asked them to keep an eye out on anyone with glasses in the Albergue walking into walls( LOL joking ...)

The day was along a busy highway for most part but still good. We were again joined at times by Julie from South Africa who was very good company. She has called us the Duracells as we seem to her to just keep on going as in the battery ads commercials of the toys....anyway we are still keeping on going steady but sure.

Belorado was a good destination for the day. We again indulged in LUXURY as we stayed at El Caminate Albergue in our own room and ensuite...the night before I had little sleep because I was trapped on the top bunk between an exit light which shone like the moon and two people in the next bunks who ran tandem snoring sessions....."and let he who is without snore throw the first pillow"... I think I must snore at times eh
The church here was built into the cliffs where former hermits lived and betty thought it would be good to visit...not.

DAY 14
A big 25 km day over a mountain range and three peaks. It was interesting walking through pine and oak forests and good views below. Soon the forest closed in and we journeyed on what seemed an endless road ribboning through into the distance.
We collapsed on the side of the road at one stage and devoured apples and cheese and bread.
Later afternoon was the sudden emergence of San Juan de ortega which was in a valley and not on a hill. The parish Albergue was charming and atmospheric...some also said unhygenic and run down... it hard a lovely courtyard. The tradition of the former, now deceased parish priest was to provide garlic soup and after the mass... getting a lot of masses and blessings here...., we had delicious hot garlic soup.
The church in this pueblo was quite extraordinary as well..kind of white stone with the usual large arches...amazing.

DAY 15
We headed off with julie to get into Burgos as fast as possible to arrange transport. She is going to Saria about 100km from Santiago tomorrow.
There was one big climb and at the top there was a huge concentic circles of stones placed by pilgrims. Large eagles also soared in the thermals above us.
The wind became quite ferocious .
Down into the first town we struck rain and wind and it made it harder even though we were fortified by hot tea and chocolate at a bar where pilgrims had crowded.
A Canadian girl there showed some horrific blisters..her ankles and toes were raw.. I really admired her courage to continue. She was going with her mother and was going to stayover in Burgos. I have seen some pilgrims really struggling with knees the size of footballs and badly blistered.
So far so good.... I am wearing Narelle Ash´s Injinjii socks which are an inner sock made like a glove to fit each toe. Then I have the outer sock.
If any one sees Narelle tell her they are the best product on the Camino.

We became quite wet and bedraggled and fluked it by picking up a bus 9km out of burgos which saved a dreary walk through the burbs.

The Albegue here is a renovated monastery I think and is really great.
I am so tired now I am just prattling on...we did a tour through the Burgos Cathedral which would rival any Cathedral in the world......simply mind boggling....
We have been taking each day as it comes and each day is a bonus.. Pleased that we have made it this far and shared some good times with many peregrinos...BUEN CAMINO

Day 12 Out of the Red Wine of Rioja

Our lovely añbergue..single rooms at Arzofa

Baroque interior of Los Archos Church

The Long and winding road...mmm this one is dead straight

The signs that tell you youre not lost just a little confused and so go this way. Most of the way has painted yellow arrows. The Rioja shell has a different style to it

There are many piles of pilgrim stones on the way. Usually I haven´t the energy to stoop but Betty found this enormous pile and coudn´t help it.

Into another village which is usually up because of the hilltop

A pilgrim today with most of his pack on the outside. The last of the Rioja vineyards

This town is further away than you think.. in fact it often seems to be further

Some of the younger pilgrims enjoyed the free flowing red wine at Azorfa great Albergue. We had clearer heads as we walked out soon leaving vineyards behind us.

It was a short 15km walk to Santo Dominigo de Calzado dedicated to the 11th century monk who heroically built pilgrim bridges, roads and refuges in a lifetime effort.

It is also the place of the fabulous myth of the miracle of the cock. If you have heard it before this is a potted version of the story.

Apparently a young handsome lad and his pilgrim parents stayed here. The young lad resisted the attentions of the comely barmaid who in revenge secreted a golden goblet. Unbeknown to this parents who had moved on the theft was discovered and the lad was summarily hanged.

On their pilgrimmage return the parents found their son hanging in the plaza but somehow miraculously alive.

They went to the sheriff as he ate his lunch of cooked chicken and he dismissed their news with the statement that this was as absurd as the chicken on his plate coming alive. At which his meal did become alive and started crowing. The lad was released and the miracle attributed to St Dominic.

Anyway his tomb is in the Church as well as two fowl in a coop at the back of the church and there are more fowl in the garden out the back. you can´t beat a good story and it does add to the mystique of the town...and there were more tourists here today than ever.

We leave La Rioja region tomorrow and enter Castilla y Leon. Just as well. We asked for a glass of wine at the restaurant last night and they brought out a bottle.

No , no" we said " just uno glass por fabor" There was much confusion and my spanish which has held up pretty well so far was no good. Until of course we realised that they just keep filling the bottles all the time and you don´t have to drink it all at all.

We did meet two entertaining Irishmen though who are about to go home and I think they really liked the bottle idea and religiously drank all before them.

Julie the South African lady has just come in after a side detour to a Cistercian Monastery. I would have liked to go but it seemed to me to be pushing our luck to get off the beaten track....hard beating the footsteps as it is.

This blog is pretty self focussed I realise and there is another world out there.

My thoughts were with St James college in going back to school today. Not in a " ha ha " way but in the many hours of quiet walking you get to think a lot and I thought about what the school was about and the people who work so hard for the students.

Then I thought today a lot about the spirit of St James , the school namesake,the one who started all this.

You may wish to stop reading now as this is just random thoughts but it was part of my original camino to look for the spirit of St James

I have begun to think that James was a pretty spirited fellow. He and his brother weren´t called the "sons of thunder"for no reason . Rather quick tempered, impetuous but in these days we could say he was pretty passionate about things.

On record he did journey to the then rather furtherest part of the Roman Empire to Northern Spain. Pretty adventurous I would think to go so far in those days.That´s right across the Mediterranean

Then to top it off he rushes back to jerusalem when he hears there is a bit of trouble there... he liked to be in the thick of it... and loses his head to boot... the first Christian Martyr... again this is a pretty potted version of history.

I thought today of all this and it seemed that he was a guy who was always prepared to have a go, maybe to do his best... and he seemed to throw himself into helping others.

So where is this spirit on the camino?

Is it in the many churches we have visited and religious ceremonies, masses, rosaries and even a beautiful rendition sung of " Regina Coeli" ( Queen of Heaven)

It definitely is in the symbols and rituals.

However, At this short stage of the journey I have probably found the spirit of St James in the fellow Pilgrims.

Don´t cringe please at this.

But you know, I thought, " They are all a bit like St james.. they are having a go...they have a purpose" Why else would you walk 800km across a country to a supposed tomb of a heroic figure? don´t answer that...

I know all pilgrims have different motives for the walk and that is Ok and there is no one reason...but they have all been drawn in some way by the James thing...whatever that is to everyone.

At the college there are " Spirit of St james Awards" given to students who have done their personal best in some area... it is really a very special award as I think of it now...

Anyway enough for the wandering thoughts. My best wishes to all at the coal face of St James and to all the pilgrims who walk this way.

BUEN CAMINO

Days 9-11 Logrono Linger Longer and days of wine and...

Day 11.. we have walked over 200 km
On day 9 we left the beautiful Navarre Region and came into the wine growing region of Rioja and its capital Longrono.
A few snaphots ( sorry can´t post photos here)
*** An Englishman sits in the awning of his white van next to the Camino track just outside Longrono.He runs a pilgrim support service, very friendly, helpful, and we have a chat and move on. I have heard of his kindly presence on the Camino in discussion groups.

***Terribly geographically embarassed in Longrono City despite masses of phampletts and directions from the couteous tourist information. We have trouble finding the out of city centre albergue but we come across other pigrims later standing lost on corners looking for signs and wonders.

***There is a single occupant in the albergue and he is snoring at 2pm like a chain saw with a faulty motor.. Honestly there were vibrations all around. Pilgrims had scattered to the four walls of the large open spaced double bunk beds area. Someone said later that he had the flu s

*** We have decided to lighten our load and send on luggage 350 km to leon. What followed was a comic international exchange in the Post Office but the assistants were very kind and we came out 7kg lighter.

*** Well the packs felt a bit lighter the next day but still heavy ( I kept thinking about the weight of the two apples in my pack for dinner..)

****And yes the chain snorer did not appear again but we were ambushed by a snorere next to us. All part of communal living and we have had some really good experiences so far.

After a 19 km walk on day 10 we came to ventosa set in the wine fields...yes on a hill...The Albergue was so really homely...new,clean,Bach playing, incense smoke drifting through the reception, small rooms,large patio and garden, and large lounge....home away from home.

**** We had tea with Julie a pyschologist from South Africa. We had crossed trails many times in the last few days...It was a delightful three course Peregrino meal in a local restaurant....I had hardly eaten during the day and eating a large meal at 8pm is a Spanish Cultural happening.

*** On Saturday we moved through more vineyards and saw many whole families out working there picking. There have been many tractors with trailers laden with grapes sharing our tracks

Today at Azofora a short 15km walk we have our own two bed room in a designed Pilgrim Albergue...it is LUXURY ... big garden.
We arrived here at 1pm and have had a three course meall in the middle of the day.
Walking does become quite a self pre occupation... However in the churches it has been good to reflect quietly on life and people so our thoughts are often with loved ones, friends, acquaintances, work friends etc.

HILL TOWN ON THE NAVARRA

This was a spectacular town perched high on a hill.

One of the first sights you see is the church steeple and bell tower and often the bells can be heard way out on the fields.

Each town is a little community in itself although in walking through them you could think

that no one lives there they are so quiet and deserted... except the bar for coffee... the church is always open.

NAVARRE PHOTOS

PYRANEES PHOTOS

Some photos of the days on the Pyranees. Green fields with livestock right the way to the top. The animals must be moved in the winter below the snow line.

I have tried to add more photos but the blogger is very slow and excruciatingly frustrating.

Walking over the Pyranees has been the most memorable part of the trip so far.

Day 7-8 Across the fields and vineyards days

These have been two good days of walking even though the 28+ degree heat has made the afternoons harder.
We left Estella a very pretty historic city and soon came to the Monasterie Irache where there was a fountain tap where you could fill your bottles with vino tinto. Since it was about 8am we resisited but there were a couple of young Irish lads there and I suspect they may have taken the opportunity.
There was a major climb in the day up to a small hilltop village Villamayor de Monjardin which had an unusual castle overlooking it.
Los Arcos was the overnight stay and we stayed at the Municipal Albergue. It was a bit crowded but OK.
We went to 8pm mass in the main church of St Mary of the Arches. This church has a magnificent Renaissance Bell Tower which we could hear ringing out as we approached acroos the fields.. The baroque interior was quite spectacular and the mass very devotional. At the end the priest called up all the pilgrims for a blessing and gave out pilgrim prayers. He was quite a charasmatic character and full of life.
It was interesting that there was quite a big congregation and they recited the rosary before mass and there was a litany said. The whole church was glittering alight in the gold and embellishments and with many iconic figures and saints.
" More devotion and less devotions" used to be a mantra after Vatican II. To be honest though, there was a real sense of devotion in the prayers and while there is the traditional symbol and ritual there was an underlying spirituality in the atmosphere of the church........
Viana is on a hill top and is a walled town. The town hall clock chimes as I write.and we have walked so fast today we have beaten our bag carrier and Betty is waiting patiently, not, to arrive so that we can have a shower and freshen up.
Betty says
"The whole region of the Navarre which we leave tomorrow has been exceptionally beautiful. There are not many animals but lots of birds and insects, centipedes and ants and amazingly what looked like wild blue daisies. There are many green olives on the trees not yet ripe to eat. The grapes along the way have been very sweet although we have only sampled a few. "

Day 6 To Estella and The Irish John Day

Enough about the travel highlights because I think they may be boring non camino travellers .. the camino has some really interesting people .
THE STORY OF IRISH JOHN
Remember the irishman in the kilt.
He dined with us last night at the Albergue and told his story showing an irish paper clipping.
The short version of the story.... hopefully accurate in respect to John
His father was a publican( now deceased) who at some stage in his life inherited a skull and a scallop shell...couldn´t quite work out the mysterious details... The skull somehow disappeared but he gave the scallop shell to his son Irish John and said " If you ever get a chance, take this shell back to Santiago so that th spirit of the owner can rest"
this year there was a replica ship built in Ireland which used to take pilgrims to Coruna in Northern Spain for the Camino.
Irish John seized the chance´signed up´got his camino credentials and they all started out at ST JAMES GATE in Dublin ( mentioned previously as the Guinness Brewery).
He is walking in his kilt because all the travellers were dressed up appropriately.
I touched the shell.
He is a very kind and courteous man as we have passed him and he us many times.
I hope this retelling does justice to his camino to honour his father´s request.
BUEN CAMINO
From Estella a beautiful medieval town.

Day 5 As High as the Wind Vanes Day

The kindly auberge manager supplied breakfast after a " guten morgan" at 6am. We set out in the cold following pilgrims in the mist. Pamploma had a big Saturday night it seemed because there were still revellers in the streets and the narrow streets showed all the evidence of partying.
We wended our way out and the camino icons were great guides.

We were passed again by two young French girls who we respectfully referred to quietly as Prancer and Dancer. They were so fast and effortless in their walking with their packs... and they would be far ahead and as we plodded on there they were again passing us.. It was good to see the energy and enthusiasm .

The mountain climb for the day wasn´t too bad.. steady but sure..with the Weather Vanes/Turbines whatever high on the horizon. It was getting very hot as the sun broke through the mist and no wind at all so the vanes were quite lifeless.

Being Sunday we had many Spanish runners shooting past us at a great rate as we stopped to suck in air. Then there were trail bike riders grunting through the gears as they climbed impossible altitude.
At the top there was a kind of panoramic iron crafted tableau of pilgrims.
A very slow down and down and down some more and we had a coffee fix with some Aussies.
Puenta La Reina was just an hour away and we struglled in , across the majestic bridge and the up to a Refugio on a hillside.
met the Irishman again( without the kilt..bit hard to recognise but he was wearing green..must be the midges) and the 1000km super French lady( we beat her in)

This probably chalks up the 100km mark I think give or take a few clicks.
It´s a bit hard to make this blog a little interesting at the end of a long day. We are both pretty tired but we hope that we are getting into the rhythm and we are just taking each day as it comes. Sorry can´t post photos today on this computer.
Hasta Leghos

Day 4 A Pamploma no Bulls day

Zubiri was an interesting stay at the private refugio.
There was a middle age Dutchman who had already walked 800km and was now walking 40km per day. He actually walked in one day which we had taken three. " The last 10 km today were hard" he said as we slumped on our bunks.

There was another French lady we met the day before and she had walked 100okm solo already and she looked as though she could run the whole way.

The walk today was very good and without th mini mountains of yesterday. Through peaceful rural settings with sheep grazing in the fields. We had breakfast at the first main toen and met Anne Marie and John from Canberra. They were catching a busa to Pamploma as Anne Marie had blisters... sensible option.

Not much more of interest to say except we reached Pamoloma and the long walk through the burbs. We stayed at a really great albergue by the river which was run by a German couple..friendly, helpful, clean... The Canadians and other Aussies were there.
The plazas in Pamploma were fascinating and there was a big street procession. Not sure what it was about but I think the Spaniards like to celebrate and there were huge figurines of kings and queens and music.

Decided that we would head on from Pamploma... oh yes we didn,t see any bulls but saw the bull ring!!!

St Jean pied de port glimpses

St James Gate at the entrance to the Citadel and the old town.

Day 3 Packing it to Zubiri Day

After the pilgrim blessing at Roncevalles we thought that this might be good for the trip.

"Many ups and downs" we were told and there were more ups then downs.

Made good progress at the start with the pacls. Cold weather but quite beautiful.

An Irishman in a kilt passed us " not good for midges" he said and then when he said " you look like you have irish background" I was a new friend when I said yes.

We have been walking with some Canberrians of our vintage and that has been good. There is a group of Canadian women also that we have met who have the same bag carriers. We were also hailed by some Aussies who saw our flag emblem Tasmanians .. they were really fit.

We struggled into Zubiri and after a hot shower thwe world looked better. Not such a fun day but everyone was hurting from the hills.

Pampona tomorrow