Still no job to report. The economy here is taking quite a hit as well, with several major retailers going bankrupt recently. I'm remaining optimistic.
Before Christmas, I met a new friend and we visited some London sights - we went to the Babylon exhibit at the British Museum, and to the London Transport Museum. We also went to a pub that was rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666, so it has been around for awhile, and has had visitors such as Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
I have posted all of my photos from Spain, France and Portugal - they are available here.
Hope everyone had a good Christmas, and Happy New Year!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
More London
Life goes on in London.
Acquired more clothing, and I've been exploring the neighbourhood. Lots of ethnic shops where I can get all different kinds of food (including a Lithuanian shop that sells a variety of Latvian food as well). And the regular supermarkets also have great selections of food.
One thing that has surprised me here is the price of food - everyone says London is very expensive, but the food here in grocery stores is actually fairly cheap. The cheese in particular seems to be about half the price I'd pay for it in Canada, even considering the exchange rate. I found one cheese specifically that is also available in Canada - same brand and everything - that sells for one pound here (so about two Canadian dollars), that in Canada would cost upwards of five dollars.
Public transit is also fairly cheap if you work it properly. Taking the Underground everywhere would be very pricey, but buses are not. Buses are only 90p, and they go everywhere, and the zone pricing system that applies to the Underground doesn't apply to buses. If I wanted to take the Underground downtown, it would involve a 20 minute walk to the station plus 30 minutes on the Tube, and that would cost 2 pounds. Or, taking the bus, I have a 30 second walk to the bus stop, 30 minutes downtown on the bus, and it only costs 90p. I'm not adverse to walking long distances since doing the Camino, but in this situation, why would I do that to just end up spending more money? There are three buses a 30-second walk away that all go to different parts of downtown, and they all come every 5-10 minutes, so it is a decent system.
And oh, all prices quoted are using Oystercard. It is more expensive if you don't use Oystercard, but really, why would you not use it? Oystercard is a reloadable card that you can use both for pay-as-you-go (the prices quoted above) as well as a card on which you can put Travelcards and bus passes. There is a 3-pound deposit to get the card, but that pays for itself very quickly (without Oyster, a cash fare on a bus is 2 pounds, so you'd only have to make three bus trips to make it worth it).
Still looking for work, as well as interview/work-appropriate shoes. However, it appears that shoe stores don't want to stock anything besides shoes that belong in a red light district, so it might take awhile before I find something that is appropriate. I'll keep looking.
Hopefully I can acquire at least some temporary employment by the end of the week. Ciao for now!
Acquired more clothing, and I've been exploring the neighbourhood. Lots of ethnic shops where I can get all different kinds of food (including a Lithuanian shop that sells a variety of Latvian food as well). And the regular supermarkets also have great selections of food.
One thing that has surprised me here is the price of food - everyone says London is very expensive, but the food here in grocery stores is actually fairly cheap. The cheese in particular seems to be about half the price I'd pay for it in Canada, even considering the exchange rate. I found one cheese specifically that is also available in Canada - same brand and everything - that sells for one pound here (so about two Canadian dollars), that in Canada would cost upwards of five dollars.
Public transit is also fairly cheap if you work it properly. Taking the Underground everywhere would be very pricey, but buses are not. Buses are only 90p, and they go everywhere, and the zone pricing system that applies to the Underground doesn't apply to buses. If I wanted to take the Underground downtown, it would involve a 20 minute walk to the station plus 30 minutes on the Tube, and that would cost 2 pounds. Or, taking the bus, I have a 30 second walk to the bus stop, 30 minutes downtown on the bus, and it only costs 90p. I'm not adverse to walking long distances since doing the Camino, but in this situation, why would I do that to just end up spending more money? There are three buses a 30-second walk away that all go to different parts of downtown, and they all come every 5-10 minutes, so it is a decent system.
And oh, all prices quoted are using Oystercard. It is more expensive if you don't use Oystercard, but really, why would you not use it? Oystercard is a reloadable card that you can use both for pay-as-you-go (the prices quoted above) as well as a card on which you can put Travelcards and bus passes. There is a 3-pound deposit to get the card, but that pays for itself very quickly (without Oyster, a cash fare on a bus is 2 pounds, so you'd only have to make three bus trips to make it worth it).
Still looking for work, as well as interview/work-appropriate shoes. However, it appears that shoe stores don't want to stock anything besides shoes that belong in a red light district, so it might take awhile before I find something that is appropriate. I'll keep looking.
Hopefully I can acquire at least some temporary employment by the end of the week. Ciao for now!
Friday, November 28, 2008
London!
I arrived in London Wednesday evening. I survived the plane trip, and am glad I don't have any more planned for the near future. I don't like flying.
Wednesday I arrived, made my way to my new flatmate's, and fell into bed since I was very tired (as anyone would be after taking two subways, a plane, a train, a bus and walking a bit on either end) and had a terrible headache from the plane.
Thursday, the two of us went grocery shopping, and she showed me some other places nearby. I also acquired a winter coat. I learned that it gets dark really early here – it was almost completely dark by 5pm. Then we returned home and cooked quesadillas and fajitas for dinner.
Today, I went into the city centre for my orientation (organized by the agency that I got my working holiday visa through), and then braved the crowds of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road to acquire my mobile phone and my computer.
So now I am at home, enjoying being connected to the world again. This weekend I will relax and explore the area, as well as acquire some more professional clothes for job-hunting, and then on Monday, the job search begins.
Now that I am somewhat settled here for the foreseeable future, updates on this blog will be less frequent, since there won't always be something interesting to report, but I will try to give updates weekly at least as to how things are going, what my future plans are, and so on. When I start travelling again, then there will be more frequent updates again.
Bye for now!
Wednesday I arrived, made my way to my new flatmate's, and fell into bed since I was very tired (as anyone would be after taking two subways, a plane, a train, a bus and walking a bit on either end) and had a terrible headache from the plane.
Thursday, the two of us went grocery shopping, and she showed me some other places nearby. I also acquired a winter coat. I learned that it gets dark really early here – it was almost completely dark by 5pm. Then we returned home and cooked quesadillas and fajitas for dinner.
Today, I went into the city centre for my orientation (organized by the agency that I got my working holiday visa through), and then braved the crowds of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road to acquire my mobile phone and my computer.
So now I am at home, enjoying being connected to the world again. This weekend I will relax and explore the area, as well as acquire some more professional clothes for job-hunting, and then on Monday, the job search begins.
Now that I am somewhat settled here for the foreseeable future, updates on this blog will be less frequent, since there won't always be something interesting to report, but I will try to give updates weekly at least as to how things are going, what my future plans are, and so on. When I start travelling again, then there will be more frequent updates again.
Bye for now!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
More Porto
This morning, my host, a friend of hers and I went on a wine cellar tour and tasting (since Porto is known for Porto wines). It was interesting, and I learned about the different Porto wines and how they are classified and made.
After lunch, they went to class and I went up in the Torres dos Clerigos, the highest tower in Portugal. The views of the city from the top were stunning, but I was afraid I would fall off, because there were large gaps in the walls and it was windy. But I made it down safely.
I acquired my Portuguese Harry Potter book, and another book to read on the plane tomorrow (in English), and went back to my host´s flat, where I was soon met by her, another Couchsurfer (this one from Switzerland) and my host´s boyfriend, and then we all went out for dinner (along with her roommate), and then dessert somewhere else. Talking to them all was fun.
Not quite sure yet what I am doing tomorrow morning, it may just end up being repacking my bags for the flight, and then getting to the airport in the early afternoon.
Tomorrow evening I arrive in London! Hopefully the next post I write will be from my own computer, to be acquired in London in the next couple of days.
Até logo!
After lunch, they went to class and I went up in the Torres dos Clerigos, the highest tower in Portugal. The views of the city from the top were stunning, but I was afraid I would fall off, because there were large gaps in the walls and it was windy. But I made it down safely.
I acquired my Portuguese Harry Potter book, and another book to read on the plane tomorrow (in English), and went back to my host´s flat, where I was soon met by her, another Couchsurfer (this one from Switzerland) and my host´s boyfriend, and then we all went out for dinner (along with her roommate), and then dessert somewhere else. Talking to them all was fun.
Not quite sure yet what I am doing tomorrow morning, it may just end up being repacking my bags for the flight, and then getting to the airport in the early afternoon.
Tomorrow evening I arrive in London! Hopefully the next post I write will be from my own computer, to be acquired in London in the next couple of days.
Até logo!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Porto!
I have successfully arrived in Porto, Portugal!
It was mostly easy, though I didn´t know that Portugal is an hour behind Spain in terms of the time, and hence in the same time zone as the UK.
Was met by my Couchsurfing host, and am currently at her apartment. This afternoon while she was in class, I wandered about the main shopping street trying to acquire some new clothes, as I am absolutely sick of the ones I´ve been wearing for the past month, and prices here are better than they will be in the UK.
I found some pants, a shirt, socks and winter gloves, but was not able to find a winter coat like I wanted - sizes here seem to run really small for them, but other things fit without problem. Strange.
Tomorrow I will explore the city some more, and in the evening, another Couchsurfer will be arriving here as well. Then Wednesday, it is on to London!
It was mostly easy, though I didn´t know that Portugal is an hour behind Spain in terms of the time, and hence in the same time zone as the UK.
Was met by my Couchsurfing host, and am currently at her apartment. This afternoon while she was in class, I wandered about the main shopping street trying to acquire some new clothes, as I am absolutely sick of the ones I´ve been wearing for the past month, and prices here are better than they will be in the UK.
I found some pants, a shirt, socks and winter gloves, but was not able to find a winter coat like I wanted - sizes here seem to run really small for them, but other things fit without problem. Strange.
Tomorrow I will explore the city some more, and in the evening, another Couchsurfer will be arriving here as well. Then Wednesday, it is on to London!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Santiago/A Coruna
So Thursday and Friday were spent in Santiago, doing a variety of things, mostly in the company of the German guy.
Later on Friday night, after he had to head back to the family that was hosting him here in Santiago, I went back to my room at the pension (cheap hotel), and there in the pension I met a group of architecture students studying in the UK, and they invited me to come out to dinner with them and the rest of their group.
There was a group of about 28 of them from their program (students from all around the world studying in London), and they´d walked about a week of the Spanish part of the Portuguese Camino route (the route I walked was the French route, there are many different ones), since they´re working on a project about the pilgrim hostels, and ¨how to build a better pilgrim hostel¨.
The four that were staying in the same place with me consisted of two girls, one from Sweden and one from Poland, and two guys, one from New Zealand and one from Latvia! So now I´ve been able to use all of the languages I know or have studied on the Camino - Latvian was the last one I was waiting to use.
During the dinner, I was introduced to others from the program, and their supervisor, and they were all very impressed with the amount of walking that I had done. I got contact information for some of them, so I might meet up with them again when I get to London. I told them more about the pilgrim hostels I´d stayed in, and what was good and bad about them, to help them with their projects.
Saturday, the German guy and I made a spontaneous visit to A Coruna, on the northern coast of Spain - round-trip train tickets were only 8 euros, and the train took only an hour each way (unlike the bus to Finisterre, which takes three hours each way).
We walked around the city, visited the Tower of Hercules (the oldest working Roman lighthouse in the world, though it has been restored many times), walked along the beach, and walked a few kilometres of the English Camino (medieval English pilgrims to Santiago would take a ship to A Coruna and walk from there, and some people still do it today). Learned that the English Camino is terribly marked - the tourist office drew the route in on a map for us, but we only saw about three markings the entire way.
Then we returned to Santiago in the evening (almost missing the stop, since we both fell asleep on the train), and then it came time to part, since he was flying back to Germany early this morning. He has some things to do in Germany before he can continue his walking around the world. I hope to see him again at some point in time when we´re on the same continent, but I don´t know when that will be.
Today I´m wandering Santiago on my own, since everyone I know has headed home. And tomorrow morning I leave for Porto!
Hasta luego, for what is probably my last post in Spain!
Later on Friday night, after he had to head back to the family that was hosting him here in Santiago, I went back to my room at the pension (cheap hotel), and there in the pension I met a group of architecture students studying in the UK, and they invited me to come out to dinner with them and the rest of their group.
There was a group of about 28 of them from their program (students from all around the world studying in London), and they´d walked about a week of the Spanish part of the Portuguese Camino route (the route I walked was the French route, there are many different ones), since they´re working on a project about the pilgrim hostels, and ¨how to build a better pilgrim hostel¨.
The four that were staying in the same place with me consisted of two girls, one from Sweden and one from Poland, and two guys, one from New Zealand and one from Latvia! So now I´ve been able to use all of the languages I know or have studied on the Camino - Latvian was the last one I was waiting to use.
During the dinner, I was introduced to others from the program, and their supervisor, and they were all very impressed with the amount of walking that I had done. I got contact information for some of them, so I might meet up with them again when I get to London. I told them more about the pilgrim hostels I´d stayed in, and what was good and bad about them, to help them with their projects.
Saturday, the German guy and I made a spontaneous visit to A Coruna, on the northern coast of Spain - round-trip train tickets were only 8 euros, and the train took only an hour each way (unlike the bus to Finisterre, which takes three hours each way).
We walked around the city, visited the Tower of Hercules (the oldest working Roman lighthouse in the world, though it has been restored many times), walked along the beach, and walked a few kilometres of the English Camino (medieval English pilgrims to Santiago would take a ship to A Coruna and walk from there, and some people still do it today). Learned that the English Camino is terribly marked - the tourist office drew the route in on a map for us, but we only saw about three markings the entire way.
Then we returned to Santiago in the evening (almost missing the stop, since we both fell asleep on the train), and then it came time to part, since he was flying back to Germany early this morning. He has some things to do in Germany before he can continue his walking around the world. I hope to see him again at some point in time when we´re on the same continent, but I don´t know when that will be.
Today I´m wandering Santiago on my own, since everyone I know has headed home. And tomorrow morning I leave for Porto!
Hasta luego, for what is probably my last post in Spain!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Santiago!
Arrived in Santiago at the Cathedral yesterday around 5:30pm in the company of the German guy, and we met back up with the Italian not long after we arrived.
Got our Compostelas, and the Italian had already found a good place to stay - 13 euros a night, single rooms, and just around the corner from the Cathedral.
After the evening mass (where they swung the botafumeiro, a gigantic incense burner that requires several men to power the ropes), a celebratory dinner, which continuing in the trend of the past month, was twice as expensive as the place to sleep (most pilgrim hostels were 3 to 5 euros). A huge pile of seafood - crab, scallops, and so on. Yum yum.
Anyways, lots to do in Santiago today, so I must be going. Not sure of my plans for the next few days, I´ll let you all know when I do.
Hasta luego!
Got our Compostelas, and the Italian had already found a good place to stay - 13 euros a night, single rooms, and just around the corner from the Cathedral.
After the evening mass (where they swung the botafumeiro, a gigantic incense burner that requires several men to power the ropes), a celebratory dinner, which continuing in the trend of the past month, was twice as expensive as the place to sleep (most pilgrim hostels were 3 to 5 euros). A huge pile of seafood - crab, scallops, and so on. Yum yum.
Anyways, lots to do in Santiago today, so I must be going. Not sure of my plans for the next few days, I´ll let you all know when I do.
Hasta luego!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Arca!
Arrived in Arca today, 19km or so. Spent most of the walk chatting with the German guy I mentioned yesterday.
Now we are in a private pilgrim hostel here - more expensive, but so much nicer. It has Internet (unlike the public hostels run by the Galician government), and lots of space, and since most people seem to be going to the public one, it is quieter as well. There are only six of us here right now, but more people might come.
There is also a pastry shop across the street. This could be a problem, because I love Spanish pastries, and will eat them as often as I can. I´ll try not to be tempted too much today, but since I haven´t had a bocadillo (Spanish sandwich) today, I might get lured in by the chocolate eclairs and other assorted pastries.
Tomorrow - Santiago! About another 18km I think.
Mixed feelings on it - on the one hand, that means the Camino is over and I don´t have to carry my bag for 20km or so everyday. On the other hand, there comes the uncertainty of what comes next. I´ve arranged things with a Couchsurfer in Porto, but nothing is clear for the UK yet. Nor is what I will be doing between Thursday morning and Monday morning, when I leave for Porto. I will take the bus to Finisterre at some point, but I don´t know for how long I´ll stay there. I´m sure everything will work out.
Hasta luego!
Now we are in a private pilgrim hostel here - more expensive, but so much nicer. It has Internet (unlike the public hostels run by the Galician government), and lots of space, and since most people seem to be going to the public one, it is quieter as well. There are only six of us here right now, but more people might come.
There is also a pastry shop across the street. This could be a problem, because I love Spanish pastries, and will eat them as often as I can. I´ll try not to be tempted too much today, but since I haven´t had a bocadillo (Spanish sandwich) today, I might get lured in by the chocolate eclairs and other assorted pastries.
Tomorrow - Santiago! About another 18km I think.
Mixed feelings on it - on the one hand, that means the Camino is over and I don´t have to carry my bag for 20km or so everyday. On the other hand, there comes the uncertainty of what comes next. I´ve arranged things with a Couchsurfer in Porto, but nothing is clear for the UK yet. Nor is what I will be doing between Thursday morning and Monday morning, when I leave for Porto. I will take the bus to Finisterre at some point, but I don´t know for how long I´ll stay there. I´m sure everything will work out.
Hasta luego!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Arzua
In Arzua now, another 15km or so.
Walk was pretty uneventful, the path was exactly like the guidebook said, up and down, up and down.
Had my octopus yesterday. It was good, but not something I particularly want to eat again. Shared it with a German guy who wants to walk around the world - the Camino is just the beginning. Very ambitious project. Exchanged contact information so we can share information in the future about our travels.
Tomorrow - Arca. Then Wednesday we arrive in Santiago!
Hasta luego!
Walk was pretty uneventful, the path was exactly like the guidebook said, up and down, up and down.
Had my octopus yesterday. It was good, but not something I particularly want to eat again. Shared it with a German guy who wants to walk around the world - the Camino is just the beginning. Very ambitious project. Exchanged contact information so we can share information in the future about our travels.
Tomorrow - Arca. Then Wednesday we arrive in Santiago!
Hasta luego!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Melide
Relatively calm 15km to Melide today. I say ¨relatively¨, because while the walk itself was calm, the leaving the pilgrim hostel wasn´t, because before we could leave, we had to unpack our entire bags in the reception area for the police, because someone´s camera had gone missing. So that delayed our departure somewhat.
Once that was finished, came the rolling hills as per usual, and eventually we arrived in Melide. I had a nap, and now went out in the town to find Internet. No octopus yet, that comes later.
Tomorrow on to Arzua. Hasta luego!
Once that was finished, came the rolling hills as per usual, and eventually we arrived in Melide. I had a nap, and now went out in the town to find Internet. No octopus yet, that comes later.
Tomorrow on to Arzua. Hasta luego!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Portomarin/Palas del Rei
Yesterday went to Portomarin, about 22km or so I think. The last 9km was a lot faster paced than usual, since it was getting late, but it was okay since we made some new friends, two Venezuelan men, a Swiss German girl and a Brazilian girl (who lives and works in Mozambique), and all of us pretty much raced into Portomarin together.
Portomarin is an interesting town, in that it has only existed in its current place since the 1960s, when Franco decided the river needed to be widened so it could be dammed and made into a lake or something, so the town was flooded and moved up the hill. You could see a bit of the remains of the old town, but not much, and nothing good enough to get a photo of.
Today was up and down and up and down, as per usual, across to Palas del Rei, which was again one of those towns hidden out of view until you stumble upon it. About 24km, depending on which guidebook and which guideposts you pay attention to (everything seems to say something different).
Tomorrow is a short day of about 15km to Melide, which is a town that is very much known for its pulperias - restaurants that serve pulpo (octopus) as a specialty. One of the things on my list of things to do in Europe is eat pulpo in Melide, so that shall be done tomorrow night. I´ve eaten squid ink already, I can eat octopus too!
Just a few days away from Santiago now. From Melide is Arzua, then Arca, and then Monte de Gozo, and then Santiago!
Hasta luego!
Portomarin is an interesting town, in that it has only existed in its current place since the 1960s, when Franco decided the river needed to be widened so it could be dammed and made into a lake or something, so the town was flooded and moved up the hill. You could see a bit of the remains of the old town, but not much, and nothing good enough to get a photo of.
Today was up and down and up and down, as per usual, across to Palas del Rei, which was again one of those towns hidden out of view until you stumble upon it. About 24km, depending on which guidebook and which guideposts you pay attention to (everything seems to say something different).
Tomorrow is a short day of about 15km to Melide, which is a town that is very much known for its pulperias - restaurants that serve pulpo (octopus) as a specialty. One of the things on my list of things to do in Europe is eat pulpo in Melide, so that shall be done tomorrow night. I´ve eaten squid ink already, I can eat octopus too!
Just a few days away from Santiago now. From Melide is Arzua, then Arca, and then Monte de Gozo, and then Santiago!
Hasta luego!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Sarria!
Got to Sarria today, taking the long road via Samos, so around 24km I think.
Along with hiding towns in little crevices that can´t even be called valleys, Spain also somehow manages to magically create mountains or hills out of thin air. You´ll be walking up one, and see the top, and then upon reaching the top, find that there is an even bigger mountain or hill behind it. Today was full of quite a few of those.
Sarria is an important place to reach, because it is the last major urban centre before Santiago de Compostela, and also the last big place from which someone could start the pilgrimage to qualify for the ¨Compostela¨ (certificate of completion of the pilgrimage), because you have to walk at least 100km to qualify, and Sarria is about 110km from Santiago.
I don´t really qualify to get a Compostela, because you have to have religious or spiritual reasons for doing the pilgrimage to do so, and I don´t really think that I do. But apparently there is an alternate certificate they grant to non-religiously-motivated pilgrims, so we´ll see what happens.
Hasta luego!
Along with hiding towns in little crevices that can´t even be called valleys, Spain also somehow manages to magically create mountains or hills out of thin air. You´ll be walking up one, and see the top, and then upon reaching the top, find that there is an even bigger mountain or hill behind it. Today was full of quite a few of those.
Sarria is an important place to reach, because it is the last major urban centre before Santiago de Compostela, and also the last big place from which someone could start the pilgrimage to qualify for the ¨Compostela¨ (certificate of completion of the pilgrimage), because you have to walk at least 100km to qualify, and Sarria is about 110km from Santiago.
I don´t really qualify to get a Compostela, because you have to have religious or spiritual reasons for doing the pilgrimage to do so, and I don´t really think that I do. But apparently there is an alternate certificate they grant to non-religiously-motivated pilgrims, so we´ll see what happens.
Hasta luego!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
O, O, O Cebreiro
Made it to O Cebreiro yesterday, and onwards to Triacastela today. Rained both days. Welcome to Galicia, indeed - Galicia, Spain´s most northwestern province, is the rainiest province in Spain, with, according to my guidebook, rain at least once every three days.
The trip up O Cebreiro was mostly okay (only about 10km), until the last part which was cold and rainy and very windy - about what you would expect going up a mountain in Galicia. The hostel was the first experience with Galicia´s pilgrim hostel network. Unlike most other provinces in Spain where the pilgrim hostels are operated by local governments, here in Galicia they are centrally managed by the province, since Galicia is very proud of the Camino (and probably all the tourist dollars it brings in, since Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre, the end points of the pilgrimage routes, are both in Galicia). The accomodations were decent enough, and warm, but no Internet, which appears to be the norm for government-run pilgrim hostels in Galicia.
So today, several of us (the Italian, as well as a Canadian girl, Australian guy and German man that we´ve sort of travelled with today, and two of the Italian guys from earlier, though the Canadian and American girls aren´t staying here) checked into a private pilgrim hostel, which costs a bit more, but is smaller and has Internet, along with other amenities such as cheaper laundry, so it works out about the same. Since I don´t know how many public vs. private pilgrim hostels I´ll be staying in over the next week, updates could be sparse.
Today´s hike was about 20km, and it was cold and rainy most of the way. The rain finally let up in the half hour before we got here. I even saw the sun peek through the clouds in the distance, though not anywhere nearby. Maybe tomorrow there will be sun?
Tomorrow, on to Sarria. About 130km left to go to Santiago. Hasta luego!
The trip up O Cebreiro was mostly okay (only about 10km), until the last part which was cold and rainy and very windy - about what you would expect going up a mountain in Galicia. The hostel was the first experience with Galicia´s pilgrim hostel network. Unlike most other provinces in Spain where the pilgrim hostels are operated by local governments, here in Galicia they are centrally managed by the province, since Galicia is very proud of the Camino (and probably all the tourist dollars it brings in, since Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre, the end points of the pilgrimage routes, are both in Galicia). The accomodations were decent enough, and warm, but no Internet, which appears to be the norm for government-run pilgrim hostels in Galicia.
So today, several of us (the Italian, as well as a Canadian girl, Australian guy and German man that we´ve sort of travelled with today, and two of the Italian guys from earlier, though the Canadian and American girls aren´t staying here) checked into a private pilgrim hostel, which costs a bit more, but is smaller and has Internet, along with other amenities such as cheaper laundry, so it works out about the same. Since I don´t know how many public vs. private pilgrim hostels I´ll be staying in over the next week, updates could be sparse.
Today´s hike was about 20km, and it was cold and rainy most of the way. The rain finally let up in the half hour before we got here. I even saw the sun peek through the clouds in the distance, though not anywhere nearby. Maybe tomorrow there will be sun?
Tomorrow, on to Sarria. About 130km left to go to Santiago. Hasta luego!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Ruitelan
Made it to Ruitelan. 19km have never taken so long.
Well, it was probably longer than 19km in the end - instead of taking the route along the road, the Italian man and a Brazilian girl who had joined us this morning (though she has gone on to O Cebreiro) and I took the scenic route over the mountains.
That is plural on the mountains. Though it was mostly just up one, and then around the sides and up a bit on the others. And down, can´t forget the down - down is harder than up, actually.
Ow that was painful - mostly in my back, it feels like my pack has gotten heavier for some reason, even though there isn´t anything new in it. I even got rid of some things.
Maybe it was because I was carrying a variety of clothes instead of wearing them - today was uncharacteristically warm, compared to the past two weeks. Today I was only wearing three layers as opposed to the usual six.
So far it is only the Italian man and I in the hostel here, but we will more than likely be joined by five French (four women, one man), because three of them send their packs on with a delivery service rather than carrying them, and their packs are here, so they should be as well. Whether the Canadian and American girls and their Italian boys end up here as well probably depends on which road they took - they were still in Villafranca del Bierzo when we left, but if they took the road route, they could be miles ahead of us by now. I guess we´ll see.
Now it is time to go rest and have a little snack. Dinner here in the hostel tonight, so no need to search for a restaurant. Hasta luego!
Well, it was probably longer than 19km in the end - instead of taking the route along the road, the Italian man and a Brazilian girl who had joined us this morning (though she has gone on to O Cebreiro) and I took the scenic route over the mountains.
That is plural on the mountains. Though it was mostly just up one, and then around the sides and up a bit on the others. And down, can´t forget the down - down is harder than up, actually.
Ow that was painful - mostly in my back, it feels like my pack has gotten heavier for some reason, even though there isn´t anything new in it. I even got rid of some things.
Maybe it was because I was carrying a variety of clothes instead of wearing them - today was uncharacteristically warm, compared to the past two weeks. Today I was only wearing three layers as opposed to the usual six.
So far it is only the Italian man and I in the hostel here, but we will more than likely be joined by five French (four women, one man), because three of them send their packs on with a delivery service rather than carrying them, and their packs are here, so they should be as well. Whether the Canadian and American girls and their Italian boys end up here as well probably depends on which road they took - they were still in Villafranca del Bierzo when we left, but if they took the road route, they could be miles ahead of us by now. I guess we´ll see.
Now it is time to go rest and have a little snack. Dinner here in the hostel tonight, so no need to search for a restaurant. Hasta luego!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Villafranca del Bierzo
Made it to Villafranca del Bierzo today. 23km or so.
Spain has a habit of tucking towns into random little valleys, where you don´t see them until you´re in them. Sometimes this is nice, because you happen upon the next town before you expect to, but a lot of the time it can be annoying, because you think you can see the next town you are going to, only to find out that it isn´t the town, and the one you want is actually over three hills and to the right of what you were looking at.
This was the case today. I thought I saw the town, but then the path ended up heading off to the right and over a bunch of hills before reaching a completely different town. I´m not sure what the town I saw was. I´ll look at a map later and see.
Tomorrow begins the journey towards the last set of mountains to cross. After that, the landscape levels out somewhat through Galicia. And in Galicia the mad seafood-eating begins!
Hasta luego!
Spain has a habit of tucking towns into random little valleys, where you don´t see them until you´re in them. Sometimes this is nice, because you happen upon the next town before you expect to, but a lot of the time it can be annoying, because you think you can see the next town you are going to, only to find out that it isn´t the town, and the one you want is actually over three hills and to the right of what you were looking at.
This was the case today. I thought I saw the town, but then the path ended up heading off to the right and over a bunch of hills before reaching a completely different town. I´m not sure what the town I saw was. I´ll look at a map later and see.
Tomorrow begins the journey towards the last set of mountains to cross. After that, the landscape levels out somewhat through Galicia. And in Galicia the mad seafood-eating begins!
Hasta luego!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Rabanal, Acebo, Ponferrada
In Ponferrada today.
Where were we? Ah, last post was in Astorga. That day, after I made my post, I met back up with the Italian man I was travelling with earlier. I also saw the British teenagers that I´d travelled with the first two days of the Camino, as well as the Belgian priest I´d seen often at the beginning. They´ve all headed on further at this point though, since they move a lot faster.
However, since Astorga, I have been seeing a lot of this pair of Canadian girls travelling with a pair of American girls, with a trio of Italian boys thrown in for good measure. They like to drink a lot, which makes things loud sometimes, but they are good to chat with.
So anyways, after Astorga, we headed to Rabanal del Camino. The pilgrim hostel there was nice enough, and I also saw the American that I´d seen in Pamplona. They had Internet there, but it was outside in the entryway, so I didn´t come online, because it was cold.
The next day was up and over the mountains to El Acebo, where the downhill part was especially painful - walking steeply downhill on rocks is not fun.
Today was generally more mellow, but there were some steep downhill parts on slate rock which weren´t fun - I´m just happy it wasn´t raining.
Now in Ponferrada, where it took a bit of a hike and asking a lot of people to finally find an Internet cafe. But I found it, and am posting now, so everyone can know what has been going on. Also visited an old castle that was built by Templar knights.
Tomorrow, on to Villafranca del Bierzo. Hasta luego!
Where were we? Ah, last post was in Astorga. That day, after I made my post, I met back up with the Italian man I was travelling with earlier. I also saw the British teenagers that I´d travelled with the first two days of the Camino, as well as the Belgian priest I´d seen often at the beginning. They´ve all headed on further at this point though, since they move a lot faster.
However, since Astorga, I have been seeing a lot of this pair of Canadian girls travelling with a pair of American girls, with a trio of Italian boys thrown in for good measure. They like to drink a lot, which makes things loud sometimes, but they are good to chat with.
So anyways, after Astorga, we headed to Rabanal del Camino. The pilgrim hostel there was nice enough, and I also saw the American that I´d seen in Pamplona. They had Internet there, but it was outside in the entryway, so I didn´t come online, because it was cold.
The next day was up and over the mountains to El Acebo, where the downhill part was especially painful - walking steeply downhill on rocks is not fun.
Today was generally more mellow, but there were some steep downhill parts on slate rock which weren´t fun - I´m just happy it wasn´t raining.
Now in Ponferrada, where it took a bit of a hike and asking a lot of people to finally find an Internet cafe. But I found it, and am posting now, so everyone can know what has been going on. Also visited an old castle that was built by Templar knights.
Tomorrow, on to Villafranca del Bierzo. Hasta luego!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Still in Astorga
I decided to stay another day here in Astorga, because the albergue is wonderful and warm and I really need something like that to get better from this cold.
On to Rabanal or Santa Catalina tomorrow, where somewhere along the way I will probably also meet up with the Italian man again, because he also decided to take the bus to Leon and is in the area now.
When it gets warmer in the day I´ll probably head out to a few museums, but for now, I´m going to curl up in front of the fire with a book. Hasta luego!
On to Rabanal or Santa Catalina tomorrow, where somewhere along the way I will probably also meet up with the Italian man again, because he also decided to take the bus to Leon and is in the area now.
When it gets warmer in the day I´ll probably head out to a few museums, but for now, I´m going to curl up in front of the fire with a book. Hasta luego!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Hospital de Obrigo/Sant Ibanez de Valdeiglesias and Astorga
What a couple of days.
I was the only person in the pilgrim hostel in Villar de Mazarife. It was chilly and lonely.
Then yesterday, I headed into Hospital de Obrigo optimistically, even though I didn´t see any other pilgrims along the way and even though I still wasn´t feeling the best.
Got to Hospital de Obrigo. All three of the pilgrim hostels were closed, even though one of them is supposed to be open year-round. Was not happy. The priest that ran the parish pilgrim hostel took pity on me and let me rest there for a few hours and gave me hot cereal and milk, and then drove me the 5km to Sant Ibanez de Valdeiglesias.
Which was a tiny town, with another chilly pilgrim hostel, that I was the only pilgrim staying at.
However, it was made better by the fact that unlike the previous one, the hospitalero cared, and tried to make things warmer. Also, part of the fee included dinner, which, since I was the only one there, the hospitalero made just for me, which was nice (unlike the people the previous night, who, when seeing that I was the only pilgrim there, decided to only serve sandwiches instead of a pilgrim menu). Hot soup with rice (with the stock made from scratch), eggs with fried potatoes and chamomile tea.
Today I made the relatively short (11km) trek into Astorga, and the pilgrim hostel here is wonderful. Warm, even has a fireplace downstairs, and I have met other pilgrims again (after two days of sleeping alone, I was starting to wonder if I was the only pilgrim left). Went to the Museum of Chocolate with another Canadian. I think Canadians are actually the largest group of people that I´ve met on the Camino, save for Spanish and French.
Had a nice warm shower. Tonight I want to find a good restaurant for dinner, and being as Astorga is a decent-sized city, that should be easily done. Unlike the small towns that only have one or two places to eat at - some have been good, but others, not so much.
And I need more chocolate. Chocolate gives me energy throughout the day, and Astorga is the chocolate capital of the region, so I shouldn´t pass up an opportunity to acquire more here.
Tomorrow I head into the beginning of the new set of mountains. Internet could be touch and go, so if there are a few days between posts, that is why. Hasta luego!
I was the only person in the pilgrim hostel in Villar de Mazarife. It was chilly and lonely.
Then yesterday, I headed into Hospital de Obrigo optimistically, even though I didn´t see any other pilgrims along the way and even though I still wasn´t feeling the best.
Got to Hospital de Obrigo. All three of the pilgrim hostels were closed, even though one of them is supposed to be open year-round. Was not happy. The priest that ran the parish pilgrim hostel took pity on me and let me rest there for a few hours and gave me hot cereal and milk, and then drove me the 5km to Sant Ibanez de Valdeiglesias.
Which was a tiny town, with another chilly pilgrim hostel, that I was the only pilgrim staying at.
However, it was made better by the fact that unlike the previous one, the hospitalero cared, and tried to make things warmer. Also, part of the fee included dinner, which, since I was the only one there, the hospitalero made just for me, which was nice (unlike the people the previous night, who, when seeing that I was the only pilgrim there, decided to only serve sandwiches instead of a pilgrim menu). Hot soup with rice (with the stock made from scratch), eggs with fried potatoes and chamomile tea.
Today I made the relatively short (11km) trek into Astorga, and the pilgrim hostel here is wonderful. Warm, even has a fireplace downstairs, and I have met other pilgrims again (after two days of sleeping alone, I was starting to wonder if I was the only pilgrim left). Went to the Museum of Chocolate with another Canadian. I think Canadians are actually the largest group of people that I´ve met on the Camino, save for Spanish and French.
Had a nice warm shower. Tonight I want to find a good restaurant for dinner, and being as Astorga is a decent-sized city, that should be easily done. Unlike the small towns that only have one or two places to eat at - some have been good, but others, not so much.
And I need more chocolate. Chocolate gives me energy throughout the day, and Astorga is the chocolate capital of the region, so I shouldn´t pass up an opportunity to acquire more here.
Tomorrow I head into the beginning of the new set of mountains. Internet could be touch and go, so if there are a few days between posts, that is why. Hasta luego!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Leon and Villar de Mazarife
Made it to Leon yesterday, but since the hostel didn´t have Internet, and it was a holiday so most Internet places in the city were closed, I didn´t get to post.
The bus trip was pretty uneventful. It took a similar route to the Camino, so sometimes I saw pilgrims (twice even people that I knew), and it got me to Leon in three hours.
Being on the Camino, and hence walking pretty much everywhere, really distorts your sense of time and space. The idea of taking the bus for 180km seemed so long, because walking that would be about eight or nine days, but three hours in a bus and you´re there. 20 or 30km seems like a great distance when you´re walking, because it is essentially a whole day´s walk.
Upon arrival at the hostel in Leon (which was in a monastery), the first person I saw was one of the people I´d started out with in Saint Jean Pied de Port (one of the Dutchmen that had been walking since the Netherlands). Seeing someone familiar was nice, and we wandered about the city for awhile and spent some time in a cafe chatting. He´s pretty fast though, so most of the people we started with are still behind him, so I´ll probably end up seeing them in the next couple of days.
Today was about 21km to Villar de Mazarife. Finding the Camino out of Leon was a bit difficult, but together with a French-Canadian couple I found my way. We parted ways about 7km after we started, since they took the main route that followed the highway, and hence the ¨pilgrim treadmill¨, while I opted for a more scenic route to Villar de Mazarife.
So far I´m the only person here at this hostel, but since there are at least three in town, it could be that there are other pilgrims staying in town, but I haven´t seen them (most people are probably in Villadangos, on the main route rather than the scenic route). The hostel also has a bar-restaurant that will serve a pilgrim menu at 7pm, so I can eat without having to leave the hostel, which is nice because it is cold (though not as cold as Burgos - it appears the snow I thought was in Leon is actually further south along the Via De La Plata, the pilgrim route that comes up from Sevilla).
Tomorrow is a relatively short day (14km) to Hospital de Obrigo, where I will spend the night so that I can take another short day of 16km to Astorga on Tuesday. Then the days get a bit longer again as I cross another mountain range, though apparently not one as difficult as the Pyrenees. We´ll see how that goes.
My feet are doing a lot better, and I could´ve gone on for a few more kilometres today, but being as the next place with a pilgrim hostel is Hospital de Obrigo, that wasn´t possible, since a 36km day is not quite what I had in mind. And Vicks Vaporub isn´t just for colds - it was suggested to me to rub it on my feet before walking, and it does seem to have made a good difference in terms of relieving aches and pains around my heels, so that is good news.
Time to sign off and go read about the route for tomorrow. Hasta luego!
P.S. The person ¨i¨ who has been commenting - do I know you? You haven´t mentioned who you are.
The bus trip was pretty uneventful. It took a similar route to the Camino, so sometimes I saw pilgrims (twice even people that I knew), and it got me to Leon in three hours.
Being on the Camino, and hence walking pretty much everywhere, really distorts your sense of time and space. The idea of taking the bus for 180km seemed so long, because walking that would be about eight or nine days, but three hours in a bus and you´re there. 20 or 30km seems like a great distance when you´re walking, because it is essentially a whole day´s walk.
Upon arrival at the hostel in Leon (which was in a monastery), the first person I saw was one of the people I´d started out with in Saint Jean Pied de Port (one of the Dutchmen that had been walking since the Netherlands). Seeing someone familiar was nice, and we wandered about the city for awhile and spent some time in a cafe chatting. He´s pretty fast though, so most of the people we started with are still behind him, so I´ll probably end up seeing them in the next couple of days.
Today was about 21km to Villar de Mazarife. Finding the Camino out of Leon was a bit difficult, but together with a French-Canadian couple I found my way. We parted ways about 7km after we started, since they took the main route that followed the highway, and hence the ¨pilgrim treadmill¨, while I opted for a more scenic route to Villar de Mazarife.
So far I´m the only person here at this hostel, but since there are at least three in town, it could be that there are other pilgrims staying in town, but I haven´t seen them (most people are probably in Villadangos, on the main route rather than the scenic route). The hostel also has a bar-restaurant that will serve a pilgrim menu at 7pm, so I can eat without having to leave the hostel, which is nice because it is cold (though not as cold as Burgos - it appears the snow I thought was in Leon is actually further south along the Via De La Plata, the pilgrim route that comes up from Sevilla).
Tomorrow is a relatively short day (14km) to Hospital de Obrigo, where I will spend the night so that I can take another short day of 16km to Astorga on Tuesday. Then the days get a bit longer again as I cross another mountain range, though apparently not one as difficult as the Pyrenees. We´ll see how that goes.
My feet are doing a lot better, and I could´ve gone on for a few more kilometres today, but being as the next place with a pilgrim hostel is Hospital de Obrigo, that wasn´t possible, since a 36km day is not quite what I had in mind. And Vicks Vaporub isn´t just for colds - it was suggested to me to rub it on my feet before walking, and it does seem to have made a good difference in terms of relieving aches and pains around my heels, so that is good news.
Time to sign off and go read about the route for tomorrow. Hasta luego!
P.S. The person ¨i¨ who has been commenting - do I know you? You haven´t mentioned who you are.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Still in Burgos
Still in Burgos. Relaxing, buying some necessities, mailing some stuff, etc.
Also uploaded some of my photos to the web albums offered by Google/Blogger. You can view the album here. I have more photos, but it would take a long time to upload them all right now, so that´s a start at least.
Tomorrow, I catch the bus to Leon. Sunday, the walking begins again!
Hasta luego!
Also uploaded some of my photos to the web albums offered by Google/Blogger. You can view the album here. I have more photos, but it would take a long time to upload them all right now, so that´s a start at least.
Tomorrow, I catch the bus to Leon. Sunday, the walking begins again!
Hasta luego!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Addendum
Forgot to mention in my Burgos post-
Pilgrims were on TV yesterday! Not me or anyone I knew, but people about ten days ahead or so.
When we were in the bar having dinner last night, the TV was on with the news, and they were talking about the snow that had struck north-central Spain (which is where I am right now). Apparently it is unusual (which hopefully means it will go away soon), and they had a segment on pilgrims and the adventures in the snow. Further on near Leon, rather than here, where the snow is actually staying on the ground (which it hasn´t been here yet). I didn´t recognize any of the pilgrims they talked to, but I know some of the people I started with can´t be that far off from where they are, so I hope they are doing all right.
I´ll also be in Leon in a few days, due to the bus I´ll be taking - I might have to buy a winter jacket when I get there, we´ll see. I´ll wait for now until I see what it is like and if the clothes from my package will suffice.
Hasta luego!
Pilgrims were on TV yesterday! Not me or anyone I knew, but people about ten days ahead or so.
When we were in the bar having dinner last night, the TV was on with the news, and they were talking about the snow that had struck north-central Spain (which is where I am right now). Apparently it is unusual (which hopefully means it will go away soon), and they had a segment on pilgrims and the adventures in the snow. Further on near Leon, rather than here, where the snow is actually staying on the ground (which it hasn´t been here yet). I didn´t recognize any of the pilgrims they talked to, but I know some of the people I started with can´t be that far off from where they are, so I hope they are doing all right.
I´ll also be in Leon in a few days, due to the bus I´ll be taking - I might have to buy a winter jacket when I get there, we´ll see. I´ll wait for now until I see what it is like and if the clothes from my package will suffice.
Hasta luego!
Burgos!
Made it to Burgos.
It was a half and half trip - half of it was absolutely miserable in cold rain and wind walking over a mountain and along an airport (that is, an empty field with no trees or anything to block the wind and rain), half of it was better in a bus - my guidebook said that when you reach Villafria, which is a suburb of Burgos, you can catch the bus straight to the centre, cutting out 8km of unpleasant suburban walking, so that is what we did, along with an Australian, German and Korean we found while waiting for the bus, and who didn´t know about the bus, but when hearing about it, decided it was a very nice option.
The hostel here seems pretty nice - it is very new. Internet downstairs, dormitories several floors above, where there are four-bed sections kind of separated off rather than completely open space with beds. Not that that will do anything in terms of protection from loud snorers, but not having completely open space is nice for a change. And there are lockers where you can put your stuff, that not only lock, but also have room for a big backpack plus more. I like that part, since most lockers I´ve encountered don´t have room for my pack.
Since the hostel only opened at 2, and we got into Burgos around 12:30, the Australian had a map of the city that showed the place where I needed to go to pick up my package, so we did that.
When we got to the hostel, I opened it, and it was like Christmas! Socks! Sweater! Books! Well, the books I will be sending back to Canada tomorrow (save for the Portuguese dictionary, but that is tiny), but I´ll be keeping the clothes. I´d been wondering where that third pair of socks went, and I thought I´d sent it back to Canada already, but thankfully they were in this package rather than the other one.
I thought the clothes might have a bit of trouble fitting in my pack, but then considering how cold it is, and how today I was wearing everything except for my pyjama top and my second pair of pants and was still somewhat chilly, I don´t think it´ll be a problem since I´ll be wearing them most of the time instead of carrying them.
This albergue lets you stay an extra day, so I will be doing that, and spend the day tomorrow seeing Burgos, mailing the things that need mailing, and checking out bus schedules. Buses to Leon might not run on Saturday, since it is a national holiday, in which case I´ll see about booking myself into a cheap hotel for the night and catch a bus to Leon on Sunday.
Actually, I may find out the bus schedules now, just to be safe. Hasta luego!
It was a half and half trip - half of it was absolutely miserable in cold rain and wind walking over a mountain and along an airport (that is, an empty field with no trees or anything to block the wind and rain), half of it was better in a bus - my guidebook said that when you reach Villafria, which is a suburb of Burgos, you can catch the bus straight to the centre, cutting out 8km of unpleasant suburban walking, so that is what we did, along with an Australian, German and Korean we found while waiting for the bus, and who didn´t know about the bus, but when hearing about it, decided it was a very nice option.
The hostel here seems pretty nice - it is very new. Internet downstairs, dormitories several floors above, where there are four-bed sections kind of separated off rather than completely open space with beds. Not that that will do anything in terms of protection from loud snorers, but not having completely open space is nice for a change. And there are lockers where you can put your stuff, that not only lock, but also have room for a big backpack plus more. I like that part, since most lockers I´ve encountered don´t have room for my pack.
Since the hostel only opened at 2, and we got into Burgos around 12:30, the Australian had a map of the city that showed the place where I needed to go to pick up my package, so we did that.
When we got to the hostel, I opened it, and it was like Christmas! Socks! Sweater! Books! Well, the books I will be sending back to Canada tomorrow (save for the Portuguese dictionary, but that is tiny), but I´ll be keeping the clothes. I´d been wondering where that third pair of socks went, and I thought I´d sent it back to Canada already, but thankfully they were in this package rather than the other one.
I thought the clothes might have a bit of trouble fitting in my pack, but then considering how cold it is, and how today I was wearing everything except for my pyjama top and my second pair of pants and was still somewhat chilly, I don´t think it´ll be a problem since I´ll be wearing them most of the time instead of carrying them.
This albergue lets you stay an extra day, so I will be doing that, and spend the day tomorrow seeing Burgos, mailing the things that need mailing, and checking out bus schedules. Buses to Leon might not run on Saturday, since it is a national holiday, in which case I´ll see about booking myself into a cheap hotel for the night and catch a bus to Leon on Sunday.
Actually, I may find out the bus schedules now, just to be safe. Hasta luego!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Villafranca Montes de Oca and Atapuerca
No Internet yesterday, so today you get a double feature of updates.
The trip from Belorado to Villafranca Montes de Oca was only about 12km yesterday, but it was totally miserable. It was cold and it was raining. The pilgrim hostel in Villafranca was also pretty chilly, so I spent almost the entire afternoon and evening, save for dinner, curled up in bed where it was warm. Got a good amount of sleep though.
Today, the trip here to Atapuerca was about 18km, a good amount of it through some mountains.
And it SNOWED. At first the stuff I saw on the trees and plants I thought was just frost, but no, when the snow started coming down by the time we (we being myself and the Italian man from earlier) reached the monument to victims of the Spanish Civil War, it was actually snowing.
I prefer snow to rain, so it wasn´t that bad, but I´ll be glad to get into Burgos tomorrow and pick up the package I forwarded to myself, since it has gloves in it. And an extra sweater, which I think I´ll find very useful, because it is getting colder and colder.
It is still snowing a bit outside, but the pilgrim hostel here promises to be a bit warmer than the last one. No Internet, for that we had to come down to the tourist office, but it is free. There is a tourist office here because Atapuerca is known for being a place with several archealogical digs and finds of ancient human remains and such.
Tomorrow it is on to Burgos. In Burgos, I pick up my package that I forwarded to myself, find out the times for the bus to Leon, buy a ticket, repack my bag and send more stuff home. I´m considering staying an extra day in Burgos to take care of all of that stuff, we´ll see.
I´ve been on the Camino for fifteen days now. Who knows how many more!
For now, I need to go find food, since I´m very hungry. Hasta luego!
The trip from Belorado to Villafranca Montes de Oca was only about 12km yesterday, but it was totally miserable. It was cold and it was raining. The pilgrim hostel in Villafranca was also pretty chilly, so I spent almost the entire afternoon and evening, save for dinner, curled up in bed where it was warm. Got a good amount of sleep though.
Today, the trip here to Atapuerca was about 18km, a good amount of it through some mountains.
And it SNOWED. At first the stuff I saw on the trees and plants I thought was just frost, but no, when the snow started coming down by the time we (we being myself and the Italian man from earlier) reached the monument to victims of the Spanish Civil War, it was actually snowing.
I prefer snow to rain, so it wasn´t that bad, but I´ll be glad to get into Burgos tomorrow and pick up the package I forwarded to myself, since it has gloves in it. And an extra sweater, which I think I´ll find very useful, because it is getting colder and colder.
It is still snowing a bit outside, but the pilgrim hostel here promises to be a bit warmer than the last one. No Internet, for that we had to come down to the tourist office, but it is free. There is a tourist office here because Atapuerca is known for being a place with several archealogical digs and finds of ancient human remains and such.
Tomorrow it is on to Burgos. In Burgos, I pick up my package that I forwarded to myself, find out the times for the bus to Leon, buy a ticket, repack my bag and send more stuff home. I´m considering staying an extra day in Burgos to take care of all of that stuff, we´ll see.
I´ve been on the Camino for fifteen days now. Who knows how many more!
For now, I need to go find food, since I´m very hungry. Hasta luego!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Belorado!
Made it to Belorado, 23km or so.
I´d have to say that today was probably my best day on the Camino. My feet didn´t hurt that much, and the blisters are pretty much gone now, so it was just the regular foot pain of walking 23km with a 10kg or so backpack.
I have a feeling I´ll be heading into an Internet-less abyss for a few days, until I get to Burgos on Thursday. But you never know, tiny towns with nothing but a pilgrim hostel might end up having Internet anyways. We´ll see.
From Burgos, I will be taking a bus to Leon, cutting out approximately 180km. The reason I´m doing this is because I´ve recalculated the time that I would need to get to Santiago, and it is cutting it so close that I wouldn´t be able to get to Finisterre (which is actually more important to me than Santiago), nor would I have time to spend in Porto before leaving for London. So by cutting out those nine days of walking, I give myself more room to get done the things I want to do.
The part between Burgos and Leon is essentially a ¨pilgrim treadmill¨as my guidebook puts it anyways, mostly flat and fairly boring expanses of nothingness. So I wouldn´t be missing much, and if I want, I´ll come back to do that portion next summer.
So that´s that! Maybe updates tomorrow, maybe only Thursday. We´ll see the status of things as they come. Hasta luego!
I´d have to say that today was probably my best day on the Camino. My feet didn´t hurt that much, and the blisters are pretty much gone now, so it was just the regular foot pain of walking 23km with a 10kg or so backpack.
I have a feeling I´ll be heading into an Internet-less abyss for a few days, until I get to Burgos on Thursday. But you never know, tiny towns with nothing but a pilgrim hostel might end up having Internet anyways. We´ll see.
From Burgos, I will be taking a bus to Leon, cutting out approximately 180km. The reason I´m doing this is because I´ve recalculated the time that I would need to get to Santiago, and it is cutting it so close that I wouldn´t be able to get to Finisterre (which is actually more important to me than Santiago), nor would I have time to spend in Porto before leaving for London. So by cutting out those nine days of walking, I give myself more room to get done the things I want to do.
The part between Burgos and Leon is essentially a ¨pilgrim treadmill¨as my guidebook puts it anyways, mostly flat and fairly boring expanses of nothingness. So I wouldn´t be missing much, and if I want, I´ll come back to do that portion next summer.
So that´s that! Maybe updates tomorrow, maybe only Thursday. We´ll see the status of things as they come. Hasta luego!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Santo Domingo de la Calzada
I arrived! 21km or so. It was a tough slog, but I made it. The last few kilometres are always the worst, because you can *see* the town, but it is still a question of reaching it.
Dinner last night after Mass with some older Australians. They and the Italian man have been great support when things don´t seem to be going so well. No new blisters at least, but I do need to find some heel inserts for my shoes to take the pressure off my heels when walking, because it becomes almost unbearable by the end of the day. But when I take my pack off, they´re better.
I bought new boots in Logrono, and walking in them for the past three days, and they´re working great. I´ll be leaving my old boots behind here in Santo Domingo, as I´ve still been carrying them just until I´m sure that the new ones are good. And here in the hostels, there are often places to leave things and take things that others have left if you need them.
No Internet at the hostel again, but the hospitaleros (the volunteers who run the pilgrim hostels) pointed us down a block to the library where the Internet is for pilgrim use only. And oh - these hospitaleros are from Canada, so checking in and finding answers to questions was a lot easier than some occasions where I haven´t had the Spanish vocabulary necessary for a question and the hospitalero didn´t speak much English.
This hostel is wonderful - single beds for once, instead of bunk beds. I can´t remember the last time I slept in a bed that wasn´t a bunk bed (okay, I can, it was in Bayonne when I was staying with the Couchsurfer, but that was two weeks ago, so it has been awhile). Also blankets are available, so that helps with warmth on some colder nights.
Today I spent a bit of time walking with a Frenchman and his daughter, who couldn´t be more than twelve years old. In a combination of French and English, I learned that they have been walking 15-day stages (starting from the French Alps a few years ago) every year, and in next year´s stretch hope to reach Santiago. First child I´ve seen walking the Camino, and she seems to be holding up well.
Tomorrow - Belorado. Hasta luego!
Dinner last night after Mass with some older Australians. They and the Italian man have been great support when things don´t seem to be going so well. No new blisters at least, but I do need to find some heel inserts for my shoes to take the pressure off my heels when walking, because it becomes almost unbearable by the end of the day. But when I take my pack off, they´re better.
I bought new boots in Logrono, and walking in them for the past three days, and they´re working great. I´ll be leaving my old boots behind here in Santo Domingo, as I´ve still been carrying them just until I´m sure that the new ones are good. And here in the hostels, there are often places to leave things and take things that others have left if you need them.
No Internet at the hostel again, but the hospitaleros (the volunteers who run the pilgrim hostels) pointed us down a block to the library where the Internet is for pilgrim use only. And oh - these hospitaleros are from Canada, so checking in and finding answers to questions was a lot easier than some occasions where I haven´t had the Spanish vocabulary necessary for a question and the hospitalero didn´t speak much English.
This hostel is wonderful - single beds for once, instead of bunk beds. I can´t remember the last time I slept in a bed that wasn´t a bunk bed (okay, I can, it was in Bayonne when I was staying with the Couchsurfer, but that was two weeks ago, so it has been awhile). Also blankets are available, so that helps with warmth on some colder nights.
Today I spent a bit of time walking with a Frenchman and his daughter, who couldn´t be more than twelve years old. In a combination of French and English, I learned that they have been walking 15-day stages (starting from the French Alps a few years ago) every year, and in next year´s stretch hope to reach Santiago. First child I´ve seen walking the Camino, and she seems to be holding up well.
Tomorrow - Belorado. Hasta luego!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Najera
Made it to Najera today - about 16km or so. Tomorrow is 20km or thereabouts to Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
Last night I had dinner with two German couples and an older Italian man. The dinner was divine - most pilgrim menus are fairly basic and no frills, just hearty food, but this meal was fancy. First course was spaghetti tossed with garlic, oil and apparently some flavour of ground pepper (it was a bit spicy, but I couldn´t see what was making it so). Second course was peppers stuffed with fish and cheese, and in a sauce of... I´m not sure what. It was black. The Germans said it was squid ink, but they could´ve been pulling my leg. The English menu said something to do with leeks, but it was a shoddy translation and I didn´t see the Spanish one, so I really have no clue, and I don´t know if leeks would make such a deep black sauce. It was delicious whatever it was. And dessert was chocolate cake.
I seem to have been temporarily adopted by the older Italian gentleman, as we walked together today and he made sure I was doing all right. Told me various stories about his life in northern Italy, his dogs, his wife, politics, and a variety of other things. And sometimes we walked quietly. He speaks many languages - Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, and those are just the ones I´ve heard him speak, there could be more.
Today was a varied landscape - the beginning was nice through vineyards and rolling hills, but the approach into Najera was dreadful with highways and industrial plants of various sorts. But we made it in, and now I´m starving.
And oh - when we stopped for breakfast in Ventosa (6km from Navarette), I finally tried the Spanish ¨tortilla¨- a round baked thing with potatoes (and maybe eggs?), that is then cooled, and slices of it are served on bread. It was quite good.
Prices are fairly reasonable for things here, moreso than I expected in the eurozone. My most expensive expense tends to be the pilgrim´s menu for dinner, but 8-10 euros for a filling three-course meal is decent, considering some nights when I´ve self-catered I´ve paid 5 euros for dinner supplies for a dinner that is less satisfying.
Now it is time to rest some more, and then find dinner. I´m not sure if anything can top last night´s meal, but I´ll settle for anything filling and satisfying. Hasta luego!
Last night I had dinner with two German couples and an older Italian man. The dinner was divine - most pilgrim menus are fairly basic and no frills, just hearty food, but this meal was fancy. First course was spaghetti tossed with garlic, oil and apparently some flavour of ground pepper (it was a bit spicy, but I couldn´t see what was making it so). Second course was peppers stuffed with fish and cheese, and in a sauce of... I´m not sure what. It was black. The Germans said it was squid ink, but they could´ve been pulling my leg. The English menu said something to do with leeks, but it was a shoddy translation and I didn´t see the Spanish one, so I really have no clue, and I don´t know if leeks would make such a deep black sauce. It was delicious whatever it was. And dessert was chocolate cake.
I seem to have been temporarily adopted by the older Italian gentleman, as we walked together today and he made sure I was doing all right. Told me various stories about his life in northern Italy, his dogs, his wife, politics, and a variety of other things. And sometimes we walked quietly. He speaks many languages - Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, and those are just the ones I´ve heard him speak, there could be more.
Today was a varied landscape - the beginning was nice through vineyards and rolling hills, but the approach into Najera was dreadful with highways and industrial plants of various sorts. But we made it in, and now I´m starving.
And oh - when we stopped for breakfast in Ventosa (6km from Navarette), I finally tried the Spanish ¨tortilla¨- a round baked thing with potatoes (and maybe eggs?), that is then cooled, and slices of it are served on bread. It was quite good.
Prices are fairly reasonable for things here, moreso than I expected in the eurozone. My most expensive expense tends to be the pilgrim´s menu for dinner, but 8-10 euros for a filling three-course meal is decent, considering some nights when I´ve self-catered I´ve paid 5 euros for dinner supplies for a dinner that is less satisfying.
Now it is time to rest some more, and then find dinner. I´m not sure if anything can top last night´s meal, but I´ll settle for anything filling and satisfying. Hasta luego!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Navarette
Made it to Navarette today. About 13km, mostly through a pretty park and conservation area. Saw and heard a variety of birds. Tomorrow is 16km to Najera.
This is the first pilgrim hostel without Internet, so I had to go searching for it in town. I´ll warn now that I won´t always be able to find Internet, so posts will not be taking place every day. They have been pretty much thus far, but it won´t always be possible.
Had dinner last night with an interesting group of people - a Swiss cyclist, two German guys, a Brazilian guy and an English girl. We had fun and slipped back into the hostel just in time for curfew.
Sleep didn´t go so well, because the guy in the next bed was snoring up a storm that could be heard even in the bathrooms down the hall. I´m hoping tonight will be calmer and that I´ll be able to sleep. I did just wake up from a nap, so being able to have that was good at least.
Walking 16km to Najera tomorrow, and then hopefully longer distances from there. I need to plan out my remaining time on the Camino very carefully, because otherwise I will run short of days. My feet are feeling better, little by little, so slowly increasing the distances will hopefully be okay.
Onwards to search out a good place for dinner! Adios!
This is the first pilgrim hostel without Internet, so I had to go searching for it in town. I´ll warn now that I won´t always be able to find Internet, so posts will not be taking place every day. They have been pretty much thus far, but it won´t always be possible.
Had dinner last night with an interesting group of people - a Swiss cyclist, two German guys, a Brazilian guy and an English girl. We had fun and slipped back into the hostel just in time for curfew.
Sleep didn´t go so well, because the guy in the next bed was snoring up a storm that could be heard even in the bathrooms down the hall. I´m hoping tonight will be calmer and that I´ll be able to sleep. I did just wake up from a nap, so being able to have that was good at least.
Walking 16km to Najera tomorrow, and then hopefully longer distances from there. I need to plan out my remaining time on the Camino very carefully, because otherwise I will run short of days. My feet are feeling better, little by little, so slowly increasing the distances will hopefully be okay.
Onwards to search out a good place for dinner! Adios!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Logrono
I am in Logrono. It was a pretty boring trip getting here, but I made it. Only about 10km. I´ll probably do a similar length tomorrow, to let my feet rest some more.
Feet feel better off and on. I´m hoping they´ll continue to feel even better so that I can take fewer rest days the rest of the Camino, because I´m going to run out of time otherwise.
New group of people today, since everyone I know has gone onwards at this point. We´ll see how it all works out.
Hasta luego!
Feet feel better off and on. I´m hoping they´ll continue to feel even better so that I can take fewer rest days the rest of the Camino, because I´m going to run out of time otherwise.
New group of people today, since everyone I know has gone onwards at this point. We´ll see how it all works out.
Hasta luego!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
And since I have a few minutes...
I have a few spare minutes, so I´ll talk a bit about some other things besides a general update.
Weather: Has been mostly cloudy, today it rained, yesterday it rained, and it rained a few days ago as well. Temperature I guess I´d say would be usually around 10 or 15 degrees (Celsius), but since I´m always moving and I have a backpack on, I warm up pretty quickly, so the cold is only a concern in the evening when it is time to go out for dinner or something. But that is what my reliable green fleece sweater is for.
Terrain: After the Pyrenees, which were huge, it has mostly been rolling countryside. Small hills, lots of farmland, today was full of grapevine fields in particular. Others have farm animals - sheep, donkeys, horses, cows, etc. Usually there are villages scattered about at least every 5km or so, but today they were more widely spaced, and when I get to the meseta, they´ll be even further spaced. But bring water and snacks, and it is okay.
Food: Has sometimes been self-catering, sometimes restaurants. Restaurants in the vicinity of pilgrim hostels usually have a ¨pilgrim´s menu¨ for a price ranging from 8 to 11 euros, which can sometimes be really good, and sometimes fairly terrible. Has a starter dish, the main course, and a dessert, and is quite filling. Yesterday´s was great, the first one in Saint Jean Pied de Port wasn´t. Hopefully tonight´s will be good, since I don´t feel like cooking.
Languages: This has been the interesting part for me. I´ve had to draw on almost every language that I´ve learned bits of. The only language that I can think of that I know that I haven´t used yet is Latvian. I´ve used English, French, Spanish, Basque, Dutch, Korean, German, Portuguese, and even Russian (though that was only once at the Barcelona train station). Yesterday at dinner, the main languages that were spoken by the nine people at the table were English, French and German, but only one person spoke all of them. That lady (from Switzerland) also spoke the best Spanish, and was able to translate the menu for us (more or less). Usually the pilgrim menu is available in at least four languages (usually Spanish, French, English and German, but I´ve also seen Portuguese, Italian and Basque make appearances).
I´ve met four other Canadians - two French-Canadians from Montreal (travelling separately), and a couple that lives only half an hour away from my home in Canada. Reportedly there is also a young Canadian couple travelling the Camino with a baby, but I have yet to see them.
Right now, I want to go rest, but we´ll see how possible that is with the construction noise going on outside. Hasta luego!
Weather: Has been mostly cloudy, today it rained, yesterday it rained, and it rained a few days ago as well. Temperature I guess I´d say would be usually around 10 or 15 degrees (Celsius), but since I´m always moving and I have a backpack on, I warm up pretty quickly, so the cold is only a concern in the evening when it is time to go out for dinner or something. But that is what my reliable green fleece sweater is for.
Terrain: After the Pyrenees, which were huge, it has mostly been rolling countryside. Small hills, lots of farmland, today was full of grapevine fields in particular. Others have farm animals - sheep, donkeys, horses, cows, etc. Usually there are villages scattered about at least every 5km or so, but today they were more widely spaced, and when I get to the meseta, they´ll be even further spaced. But bring water and snacks, and it is okay.
Food: Has sometimes been self-catering, sometimes restaurants. Restaurants in the vicinity of pilgrim hostels usually have a ¨pilgrim´s menu¨ for a price ranging from 8 to 11 euros, which can sometimes be really good, and sometimes fairly terrible. Has a starter dish, the main course, and a dessert, and is quite filling. Yesterday´s was great, the first one in Saint Jean Pied de Port wasn´t. Hopefully tonight´s will be good, since I don´t feel like cooking.
Languages: This has been the interesting part for me. I´ve had to draw on almost every language that I´ve learned bits of. The only language that I can think of that I know that I haven´t used yet is Latvian. I´ve used English, French, Spanish, Basque, Dutch, Korean, German, Portuguese, and even Russian (though that was only once at the Barcelona train station). Yesterday at dinner, the main languages that were spoken by the nine people at the table were English, French and German, but only one person spoke all of them. That lady (from Switzerland) also spoke the best Spanish, and was able to translate the menu for us (more or less). Usually the pilgrim menu is available in at least four languages (usually Spanish, French, English and German, but I´ve also seen Portuguese, Italian and Basque make appearances).
I´ve met four other Canadians - two French-Canadians from Montreal (travelling separately), and a couple that lives only half an hour away from my home in Canada. Reportedly there is also a young Canadian couple travelling the Camino with a baby, but I have yet to see them.
Right now, I want to go rest, but we´ll see how possible that is with the construction noise going on outside. Hasta luego!
Viana!
My feet felt quite good when I woke up this morning, so I ended up going further than I had planned. Good thing too, since Torres del Rio, where I had originally planned on staying, didn´t look so good.
This hostel has triple bunks, but I´ve got the bottom one and since most people I know seem to be going on to Logrono today instead of staying here (there are only three of us here right now), I don´t predict there will be a problem being in cramped quarters or anything. This is also the first hostel to offer lockers with keys, which is nice.
Today´s path was very winding, if it had been straight it would´ve cut off about half of the journey time easily. Mostly through vineyards, and for the first 8km or so, I was all alone in all directions that I could see. It was both cool and unsettling.
Having your only task for the day be walking to a new city is both calming and maddening at the same time. Calming, because you don´t have other responsibilities, maddening because you need to *get* to that next town, and it is up to the power of your own feet to do it.
Tomorrow will be the short day to Logrono. Rest up a bit in a bigger city, buy some things I need (if I can´t find them here, for now I need to wait for siesta to be over), and then spend the rest of the day relaxing.
And since I believe this is my last post from Basque Country, I´ll say bye in Basque today - agur!
This hostel has triple bunks, but I´ve got the bottom one and since most people I know seem to be going on to Logrono today instead of staying here (there are only three of us here right now), I don´t predict there will be a problem being in cramped quarters or anything. This is also the first hostel to offer lockers with keys, which is nice.
Today´s path was very winding, if it had been straight it would´ve cut off about half of the journey time easily. Mostly through vineyards, and for the first 8km or so, I was all alone in all directions that I could see. It was both cool and unsettling.
Having your only task for the day be walking to a new city is both calming and maddening at the same time. Calming, because you don´t have other responsibilities, maddening because you need to *get* to that next town, and it is up to the power of your own feet to do it.
Tomorrow will be the short day to Logrono. Rest up a bit in a bigger city, buy some things I need (if I can´t find them here, for now I need to wait for siesta to be over), and then spend the rest of the day relaxing.
And since I believe this is my last post from Basque Country, I´ll say bye in Basque today - agur!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Los Arcos
21km today. The last two were absolutely dreadful, because it started raining heavily. Luckily I had my raincoat close at hand, and I always keep my raincover on my pack just to keep everything nicely contained, but it was still unpleasant and my pants got soaked because my rainpants were buried in the depths of my pack, since it didn´t look like it was going to rain this morning.
Compared to last night´s hostel, tonight´s is paradise. Last night, beds were so close together there was barely room to turn around, and the accomodations were generally unpleasant. Not as bad as the night train, but very very close.
I need to do some serious foot care tonight. I have a large collection of blister pads now. They´re expensive, but worth it.
Short day tomorrow, so my feet can recover a bit more. Adios!
Compared to last night´s hostel, tonight´s is paradise. Last night, beds were so close together there was barely room to turn around, and the accomodations were generally unpleasant. Not as bad as the night train, but very very close.
I need to do some serious foot care tonight. I have a large collection of blister pads now. They´re expensive, but worth it.
Short day tomorrow, so my feet can recover a bit more. Adios!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Estella
Feet hurt. Long day.
Even longer waiting for the washing machine to be free instead of taking a nap or a shower. I guess shower will wait until after dinner.
Today´s hiking was only 22km, but felt like forever. Like usual, started out well, and then went downhill from there. I haven´t taken my boots off yet, and I´m somewhat afraid to, because I think I will have more aches and pains and maybe even more blisters on them. And it´ll probably be difficult to get them back on again.
Good part is, my toes don´t hurt so much anymore. However, the bottoms of my feet feel like they´re on fire.
I´ve walked about 100km in the last six days. Wow. No wonder my feet hurt.
Only about 700km more to go.
Even longer waiting for the washing machine to be free instead of taking a nap or a shower. I guess shower will wait until after dinner.
Today´s hiking was only 22km, but felt like forever. Like usual, started out well, and then went downhill from there. I haven´t taken my boots off yet, and I´m somewhat afraid to, because I think I will have more aches and pains and maybe even more blisters on them. And it´ll probably be difficult to get them back on again.
Good part is, my toes don´t hurt so much anymore. However, the bottoms of my feet feel like they´re on fire.
I´ve walked about 100km in the last six days. Wow. No wonder my feet hurt.
Only about 700km more to go.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Puenta La Reina!
Today was both painful and anticlimatic.
Felt awesome setting off. Spent much of the first part walking near the French guys I´ve known since the beginning, and a Korean girl who has much of the same problem that I did - too much stuff. Her pack is way heavier than mine was, and she is smaller than me, so I don´t know how she got up the Pyrenees with all that. But we all made it here, and I helped her carry the pack to the room from the reception area when she arrived.
Today also involved a mountain, but when I got to the top of it, it seemed anticlimatic compared to the Pyrenees, since it was only 500m and when I got to the top I felt I could keep going up.
But maybe that was a reaction to the fact that once I got to the top of it (where there were a huge row of electricity-generating wind turbines/windmills, so it was interesting to see them up close), I had to go all the way back down again. Going down is harder than going up, since it bumps your toes against the front of your boots, and when your toes are covered in blisters, this hurts. This part of the journey I spent more in the company of a older lady from New Zealand, an Australian girl, two other Korean girls and an Italian lady. I also ran into one of the men from the Netherlands that I´d met in Saint Jean Pied de Port, but who had stayed there an extra day to have a break (since he´d already been walking from the Netherlands).
Almost got lost just after Obanos, but found my way and eventually got here and checked in. Had a bit of a nap, and now it is time to find food.
Providing the restaurants in Puente La Reina are open today, I´d like to eat in one of them, since I´ve self-catered the past two days and I want a bit of a break from that. I´m hungry, so I should probably look into that soon, and pick up more granola bars, since I´ve exhausted my stash that I picked up in Barcelona. Some more of that mackerel in mustard wouldn´t be amiss either, but that and the granola bars may have to wait until tomorrow, since I don´t know if the shops are open on Sunday.
I will be signing off now. And this appears to be yet another albergue without a telephone, so seit es novelesu Nanai priecigu dzimsanas dienu, un daudzas bucas!
Ciao!
Felt awesome setting off. Spent much of the first part walking near the French guys I´ve known since the beginning, and a Korean girl who has much of the same problem that I did - too much stuff. Her pack is way heavier than mine was, and she is smaller than me, so I don´t know how she got up the Pyrenees with all that. But we all made it here, and I helped her carry the pack to the room from the reception area when she arrived.
Today also involved a mountain, but when I got to the top of it, it seemed anticlimatic compared to the Pyrenees, since it was only 500m and when I got to the top I felt I could keep going up.
But maybe that was a reaction to the fact that once I got to the top of it (where there were a huge row of electricity-generating wind turbines/windmills, so it was interesting to see them up close), I had to go all the way back down again. Going down is harder than going up, since it bumps your toes against the front of your boots, and when your toes are covered in blisters, this hurts. This part of the journey I spent more in the company of a older lady from New Zealand, an Australian girl, two other Korean girls and an Italian lady. I also ran into one of the men from the Netherlands that I´d met in Saint Jean Pied de Port, but who had stayed there an extra day to have a break (since he´d already been walking from the Netherlands).
Almost got lost just after Obanos, but found my way and eventually got here and checked in. Had a bit of a nap, and now it is time to find food.
Providing the restaurants in Puente La Reina are open today, I´d like to eat in one of them, since I´ve self-catered the past two days and I want a bit of a break from that. I´m hungry, so I should probably look into that soon, and pick up more granola bars, since I´ve exhausted my stash that I picked up in Barcelona. Some more of that mackerel in mustard wouldn´t be amiss either, but that and the granola bars may have to wait until tomorrow, since I don´t know if the shops are open on Sunday.
I will be signing off now. And this appears to be yet another albergue without a telephone, so seit es novelesu Nanai priecigu dzimsanas dienu, un daudzas bucas!
Ciao!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
In Cizur Minor
Title about sums it up.
Made dinner last night. It was tasty, and fed me, a German man, the Dutchman from before, a Hungarian lady, two Australian girls and an American man. We had a great time eating and chatting, such that we almost got caught by curfew (we were just washing up when the lady in charge was telling us that we needed to be out of the kitchen in ten minutes). All of the pilgrim hostels have curfews - usually 10 or 10:30pm - and times they kick you out, usually around 8 or 8:30am. So you can rest up for the next day ahead.
This morning, since the Australian girls and I had things to mail off, we had to wait around in Pamplona until 9:30am, and the American man (it was his first day on the Camino) joined us in waiting, since picking up the trail of the Camino in the city if you haven´t already been following it can be a bit tricky.
We finally got out of the city around 11am, which wasn´t a problem for me, since I was only coming to Cizur Minor but I´m not sure how it worked out for them since the next hostel after Cizur Minor is at least 12km away, where we arrived around noon and they went onwards to Puente de la Reina. Sat around waiting for the hostel to open (which it did around 1pm), chatted with a French guy I knew from earlier in the journey. Got into the hostel, took care of my feet, and then had a nap.
Just woke up, so it is off to see who else has checked in since I went to sleep (seems like there are more people here than I thought there would be), and then find dinner.
Tomorrow, it is hiking up another mountain (but a smaller one this time) to Puente de la Reina. Au revoir!
Made dinner last night. It was tasty, and fed me, a German man, the Dutchman from before, a Hungarian lady, two Australian girls and an American man. We had a great time eating and chatting, such that we almost got caught by curfew (we were just washing up when the lady in charge was telling us that we needed to be out of the kitchen in ten minutes). All of the pilgrim hostels have curfews - usually 10 or 10:30pm - and times they kick you out, usually around 8 or 8:30am. So you can rest up for the next day ahead.
This morning, since the Australian girls and I had things to mail off, we had to wait around in Pamplona until 9:30am, and the American man (it was his first day on the Camino) joined us in waiting, since picking up the trail of the Camino in the city if you haven´t already been following it can be a bit tricky.
We finally got out of the city around 11am, which wasn´t a problem for me, since I was only coming to Cizur Minor but I´m not sure how it worked out for them since the next hostel after Cizur Minor is at least 12km away, where we arrived around noon and they went onwards to Puente de la Reina. Sat around waiting for the hostel to open (which it did around 1pm), chatted with a French guy I knew from earlier in the journey. Got into the hostel, took care of my feet, and then had a nap.
Just woke up, so it is off to see who else has checked in since I went to sleep (seems like there are more people here than I thought there would be), and then find dinner.
Tomorrow, it is hiking up another mountain (but a smaller one this time) to Puente de la Reina. Au revoir!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Pamplona
I have arrived in Pamplona!
But I cheated. I took the bus from Larrasoana, where I stayed last night, because my feet still hurt a lot, and I have a cold. Tomorrow I am just doing 5km to Cizur Menor and resting some more.
So today consisted of hopping the bus to Pamplona, then waiting by the gate of the city, or elsewhere along the Camino route, to wait for other people that I knew. Eventually one of the Dutchmen and one of the Belgians I´ve been talking to arrived, and while the Belgian headed onwards to stay with the religious group he´s a part of, the Dutchman and I went to find the hostel, and were the first people to sign in.
Compared to the other hostels we´ve been to, this place is heavenly. Bunk beds that have guards on the top bunks so you don´t fall out, lots of showers and sinks, washing machines and dryers, and a kitchen, in which I will be cooking for some of us tonight.
Haven´t seen the Brits today since they set off. Maybe they continued on to Cizur Menor? They´d be here by now if they were staying here.
Packaged up a bunch of stuff to send home, will be dropping it by the post office on my way out tomorrow (Mamma un Papa: ataisiet kasti vala kad pienak, jo tur ari bus pastkartinas jums). Couldn´t find that much stuff to take out though.
No luck finding a place to call home from here, unfortunately. Maybe the next villages will have something.
That reminds me - I need to head out again, because I need light sandals, since my water shoes are way too heavy to carry.
Until later then!
But I cheated. I took the bus from Larrasoana, where I stayed last night, because my feet still hurt a lot, and I have a cold. Tomorrow I am just doing 5km to Cizur Menor and resting some more.
So today consisted of hopping the bus to Pamplona, then waiting by the gate of the city, or elsewhere along the Camino route, to wait for other people that I knew. Eventually one of the Dutchmen and one of the Belgians I´ve been talking to arrived, and while the Belgian headed onwards to stay with the religious group he´s a part of, the Dutchman and I went to find the hostel, and were the first people to sign in.
Compared to the other hostels we´ve been to, this place is heavenly. Bunk beds that have guards on the top bunks so you don´t fall out, lots of showers and sinks, washing machines and dryers, and a kitchen, in which I will be cooking for some of us tonight.
Haven´t seen the Brits today since they set off. Maybe they continued on to Cizur Menor? They´d be here by now if they were staying here.
Packaged up a bunch of stuff to send home, will be dropping it by the post office on my way out tomorrow (Mamma un Papa: ataisiet kasti vala kad pienak, jo tur ari bus pastkartinas jums). Couldn´t find that much stuff to take out though.
No luck finding a place to call home from here, unfortunately. Maybe the next villages will have something.
That reminds me - I need to head out again, because I need light sandals, since my water shoes are way too heavy to carry.
Until later then!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Cows.
Today was another 27km. My feet hurt a lot. But I carried my own bag today!
But today is more accurately summed up by cows.
About 8km in or so, the Brits and I were walking down a narrow trail when we encountered a herd of cows. Also occupying the narrow trail. Occasionally they would go up onto the sides of the trail so that we could get by, for other parts we were both herding cows ahead, and being hearded from behind by other cows. It was very odd.
Then, about 20km in, we stopped for lunch, with a Pole and a German. The place where we happened to stop was next to an old abandoned building that was inhabited by bulls. Thankfully they didn´t charge us, but they did wander about pretty closely and make us all nervous.
Tomorrow: Pamplona. Sending more stuff onwards or home, because my bag is way too heavy. Adios!
But today is more accurately summed up by cows.
About 8km in or so, the Brits and I were walking down a narrow trail when we encountered a herd of cows. Also occupying the narrow trail. Occasionally they would go up onto the sides of the trail so that we could get by, for other parts we were both herding cows ahead, and being hearded from behind by other cows. It was very odd.
Then, about 20km in, we stopped for lunch, with a Pole and a German. The place where we happened to stop was next to an old abandoned building that was inhabited by bulls. Thankfully they didn´t charge us, but they did wander about pretty closely and make us all nervous.
Tomorrow: Pamplona. Sending more stuff onwards or home, because my bag is way too heavy. Adios!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
In Roncesvalles!
I am in Roncesvalles. Ow, my feet hurt.
But then, look at it this way: I just walked across the Pyrenees mountains.
27km from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles. Most of it uphill - Saint Jean was at about 200m, the highest point we went up to was 1400m. Then downhill about 500m. But spread out over the 27km, though the downhill was all in 4km.
I started out walking with the Koreans, but slowed down considerably and they went on ahead after just about 5km or so. The next 3km or so were a lonely, painful and misty slog by myself, until through some sort of miracle two Brits (a guy and a girl) materialized out of thin air. So we spent the rest of the journey to Roncesvalles together - at about the 12km mark the guy even switched my pack for his, which was very nice of him.
We ate lunch at the halfway point by the Virgin of Orisson statue - canned mackerel in mustard on bread, provided by me, and some chocolate, provided by them. Then we trekked on.
There were many points when I thought I couldn´t go any further, but I continued, perservered and made it. This was easily the hardest thing I´ve ever done in my life - though granted, I don´t have that high of a benchmark for that (until now). Every other tough experience will have to compare to it.
The bottoms of my pants are covered in mud, cow and sheep dung, and gods know what else. It is also amazing how much this trek has done already for helping me deal with OCD - lunch I ate today without having washed my hands at all, after having handled packs that had been on the ground and so on.
I slipped a few times, and landed on the ground three times of that. Banged up my knee, and rolled my ankles twice each I think. Right now my feet hurt a lot. We´ll see how I feel tomorrow.
We´re about to head off to dinner, and then to the Pilgrim´s Mass - as luck would have it, the two Brits are also non-religious heathens like me, so we´ll all feel awkward there together.
Yesterday in the pilgrim hostel, I talked to a bunch of people from all around the world. The main group in my room were the Belgians and Dutch - who had walked all the way from their homes! Wow.
I definitely don´t have the energy for anything like that (not to mention it would be a tad difficult, being on the other side of the ocean and all).
Now time to see what the pilgrim menu is at the dinner. Hopefully it will be decent!
Catch you all later.
But then, look at it this way: I just walked across the Pyrenees mountains.
27km from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles. Most of it uphill - Saint Jean was at about 200m, the highest point we went up to was 1400m. Then downhill about 500m. But spread out over the 27km, though the downhill was all in 4km.
I started out walking with the Koreans, but slowed down considerably and they went on ahead after just about 5km or so. The next 3km or so were a lonely, painful and misty slog by myself, until through some sort of miracle two Brits (a guy and a girl) materialized out of thin air. So we spent the rest of the journey to Roncesvalles together - at about the 12km mark the guy even switched my pack for his, which was very nice of him.
We ate lunch at the halfway point by the Virgin of Orisson statue - canned mackerel in mustard on bread, provided by me, and some chocolate, provided by them. Then we trekked on.
There were many points when I thought I couldn´t go any further, but I continued, perservered and made it. This was easily the hardest thing I´ve ever done in my life - though granted, I don´t have that high of a benchmark for that (until now). Every other tough experience will have to compare to it.
The bottoms of my pants are covered in mud, cow and sheep dung, and gods know what else. It is also amazing how much this trek has done already for helping me deal with OCD - lunch I ate today without having washed my hands at all, after having handled packs that had been on the ground and so on.
I slipped a few times, and landed on the ground three times of that. Banged up my knee, and rolled my ankles twice each I think. Right now my feet hurt a lot. We´ll see how I feel tomorrow.
We´re about to head off to dinner, and then to the Pilgrim´s Mass - as luck would have it, the two Brits are also non-religious heathens like me, so we´ll all feel awkward there together.
Yesterday in the pilgrim hostel, I talked to a bunch of people from all around the world. The main group in my room were the Belgians and Dutch - who had walked all the way from their homes! Wow.
I definitely don´t have the energy for anything like that (not to mention it would be a tad difficult, being on the other side of the ocean and all).
Now time to see what the pilgrim menu is at the dinner. Hopefully it will be decent!
Catch you all later.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
In Saint Jean Pied de Port!
Egun On from Basque Country!
Well, getting here was certainly an adventure.
I haven't been able to go to my pilgrim's hostel yet, since they just opened and I wanted to go on the Internet here at the Pilgrim's Office first, but it would be very difficult for it - or any of the accomodations along the Camino - to be worse than the night train from Barcelona.
I wasn't able to get a private room on the train, so I had to get one of the "literas" - bunk beds. Three high, with very little room between the two rows to a room (barely enough room to turn around in).
Sleep was sporadic, waking up every hour or so because of the jolting of the train, and people coming in and out of the room (even though theoretically everyone in my train car was supposed to be getting on at Barcelona and off at Hendaya, practically it seemed to be only me that was doing so).
After that, got to Hendaya in good time, and then onwards to Bayonne. Upon arrival in Bayonne, I was met by my Couchsurfing host, and staying with her was wonderful. I had my own little loft room, with a mattress-bed and table, along with plenty of bannisters to hang my wet clothes on (the experience in the laundromat was another adventure).
She also had two more Couchsurfers there who left later in the afternoon, who also happened to be from Canada and were also heading on the Camino. They headed off on that this morning, though maybe I will run into them along the way. We walked around the town some, had delicious chocolate Basque-style cake, and I bought a Basque edition of Harry Potter and some other things.
Today, took the bus to Saint Jean Pied de Port - no train, since according to the salesperson at the Bayonne train station, there are rocks on the tracks right now. The bus driver got lost along the way, and I got lost upon arrival in Saint Jean Pied de Port, but eventually everything sorted itself out.
I've befriended a young guy from Korea, who helped me find the post office to mail some of my stuff onto Burgos, so I don't have to carry it right now (he was doing the same thing, which was what gave me the idea). With any luck, it'll make it there (otherwise I'll have to make a pass through Basque country again to pick up Harry Potter and other Basque books again), and then I'll take out the stuff I want to bring onwards, and trade it with stuff currently in my pack, and then send that onwards again to Santiago de Compostela (I'd probably send it on straight, if it weren't for the fact that the poste restante system only holds things for three weeks, and it'll take me more than three weeks to get to Santiago, but I should be in Burgos in about a week and a half to two weeks).
So I'm going to head off to the hostel now - hopefully the Korean guy and I can walk together tomorrow, otherwise it will be a long and lonely trek up the mountain tomorrow.
I'll hopefully write again in a few days, when I get to Pamplona I hope to find an Internet cafe that I can upload my photos at.
Agur!
Well, getting here was certainly an adventure.
I haven't been able to go to my pilgrim's hostel yet, since they just opened and I wanted to go on the Internet here at the Pilgrim's Office first, but it would be very difficult for it - or any of the accomodations along the Camino - to be worse than the night train from Barcelona.
I wasn't able to get a private room on the train, so I had to get one of the "literas" - bunk beds. Three high, with very little room between the two rows to a room (barely enough room to turn around in).
Sleep was sporadic, waking up every hour or so because of the jolting of the train, and people coming in and out of the room (even though theoretically everyone in my train car was supposed to be getting on at Barcelona and off at Hendaya, practically it seemed to be only me that was doing so).
After that, got to Hendaya in good time, and then onwards to Bayonne. Upon arrival in Bayonne, I was met by my Couchsurfing host, and staying with her was wonderful. I had my own little loft room, with a mattress-bed and table, along with plenty of bannisters to hang my wet clothes on (the experience in the laundromat was another adventure).
She also had two more Couchsurfers there who left later in the afternoon, who also happened to be from Canada and were also heading on the Camino. They headed off on that this morning, though maybe I will run into them along the way. We walked around the town some, had delicious chocolate Basque-style cake, and I bought a Basque edition of Harry Potter and some other things.
Today, took the bus to Saint Jean Pied de Port - no train, since according to the salesperson at the Bayonne train station, there are rocks on the tracks right now. The bus driver got lost along the way, and I got lost upon arrival in Saint Jean Pied de Port, but eventually everything sorted itself out.
I've befriended a young guy from Korea, who helped me find the post office to mail some of my stuff onto Burgos, so I don't have to carry it right now (he was doing the same thing, which was what gave me the idea). With any luck, it'll make it there (otherwise I'll have to make a pass through Basque country again to pick up Harry Potter and other Basque books again), and then I'll take out the stuff I want to bring onwards, and trade it with stuff currently in my pack, and then send that onwards again to Santiago de Compostela (I'd probably send it on straight, if it weren't for the fact that the poste restante system only holds things for three weeks, and it'll take me more than three weeks to get to Santiago, but I should be in Burgos in about a week and a half to two weeks).
So I'm going to head off to the hostel now - hopefully the Korean guy and I can walk together tomorrow, otherwise it will be a long and lonely trek up the mountain tomorrow.
I'll hopefully write again in a few days, when I get to Pamplona I hope to find an Internet cafe that I can upload my photos at.
Agur!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Off tonight!
Tonight I get on the night train to Hendaya, and then when I arrive there in the morning, transfer to a train to Bayonne. I should be spending the night with a Couchsurfer, and hopefully learning about the Basque language and culture.
Tuesday morning, I head off to Saint Jean Pied de Port, and Wednesday morning, I start walking!
Tuesday morning, I head off to Saint Jean Pied de Port, and Wednesday morning, I start walking!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Olèrdola!
Today Pip, her husband Florenci, his children and I headed out of Sitges to Olèrdola and the ruins of an old village on top of a mountain - both Iberian (pre-Roman) and Roman ruins.
There was an old church (that has now been restored), as well as two old graveyards (one near the church and one further along the mountain), where because of the terrain, they had to be literally carved out of the rock. It was all very interesting.
I will attempt posting pictures later, I promise!
There was an old church (that has now been restored), as well as two old graveyards (one near the church and one further along the mountain), where because of the terrain, they had to be literally carved out of the rock. It was all very interesting.
I will attempt posting pictures later, I promise!
Friday, October 10, 2008
In Sitges!
So this morning Pip and I went to the Chocolate Museum in Barcelona, and then headed to Sitges.
Chocolate Museum was yummy-looking, and then we bought more chocolate to eat at home (expensive, but oh so good).
Here in Sitges, we got zombified for the Zombie Walk. George Romero ended up cancelling (he is in Toronto of all places, filming a movie), but several cast members from the original Night of the Living Dead movie made appearances. Then we shambled and shuffled along to the beach with a crowd of many other zombies in various states of undeadness. Shambling and shuffling ends up being a lot more work than one may think.
Pictures will come eventually.
Tomorrow, we head into the countryside, and then in the evening I head back to Barcelona.
Chocolate Museum was yummy-looking, and then we bought more chocolate to eat at home (expensive, but oh so good).
Here in Sitges, we got zombified for the Zombie Walk. George Romero ended up cancelling (he is in Toronto of all places, filming a movie), but several cast members from the original Night of the Living Dead movie made appearances. Then we shambled and shuffled along to the beach with a crowd of many other zombies in various states of undeadness. Shambling and shuffling ends up being a lot more work than one may think.
Pictures will come eventually.
Tomorrow, we head into the countryside, and then in the evening I head back to Barcelona.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
In Barcelona!
I arrived yesterday afternoon.
So far:
I successfully made it to downtown Barcelona, a harrowing experience involving transferring planes at Frankfurt (which involved walking across what I believe to be the entire airport), arriving at Barcelona airport, taking the train into the centre and then the metro to my hostel)
And then:
-bought my hiking poles and headlamp
-wandered about and found natural/organic grocery stores
-chatted with people in hostel - people from England, Ireland and Colombia
-bought a train ticket to Hendaya without speaking English (go me! Though which language I bought them in, I cannot say, since all Romance languages are a jumble in my head)
Back at the hostel for a break right now, then heading off to the Maritime museum and maybe up Montjuïc, since the night walk last night (organized by the hostel) was cancelled due to weather. Right now it is a bit overcast, but not bad, so I may head up there myself.
Adeu!
So far:
I successfully made it to downtown Barcelona, a harrowing experience involving transferring planes at Frankfurt (which involved walking across what I believe to be the entire airport), arriving at Barcelona airport, taking the train into the centre and then the metro to my hostel)
And then:
-bought my hiking poles and headlamp
-wandered about and found natural/organic grocery stores
-chatted with people in hostel - people from England, Ireland and Colombia
-bought a train ticket to Hendaya without speaking English (go me! Though which language I bought them in, I cannot say, since all Romance languages are a jumble in my head)
Back at the hostel for a break right now, then heading off to the Maritime museum and maybe up Montjuïc, since the night walk last night (organized by the hostel) was cancelled due to weather. Right now it is a bit overcast, but not bad, so I may head up there myself.
Adeu!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Next Stop: Spain!
It is now less than 24 hours to departure, so I'm currently rushing to get everything done that needs doing.
Tomorrow, I finish off the last of the room tidying, repack my backpack again, and then it is time to head off to the airport!
Next stop: Spain!
I'll provide a report from Barcelona as soon as I have the opportunity.
Adios, Canada!
Tomorrow, I finish off the last of the room tidying, repack my backpack again, and then it is time to head off to the airport!
Next stop: Spain!
I'll provide a report from Barcelona as soon as I have the opportunity.
Adios, Canada!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
One Week!
One week from now, I will be on a plane that will take me from Toronto to Frankfurt, where I will change planes to fly on to Barcelona.
The adventure is about to begin!
The adventure is about to begin!
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