Epilogue

This post is long overdue. Finally, I've compiled the statistics of
the walk and posted some photos on a website. A spreadsheet with more detailed information on lodging and meals is available by CLICKING HERE.

In a nutshell:

Total distance on route, excluding side trips:
Kilometers: 1048
Miles: 628

Start Date: March 19, 2007
End Date: May 19, 2007
Number of days walking: 51
Average Km per day: 20.55
Average miles per day: 12.77

Total Cost for Lodging: 1,256 Euros (for both of us, not each)
Average cost per night: 22.84 Euros ($30.83 at the average exchange
rate of $1.35/euro)

Photos of our journey can be viewed by clicking HERE.

We're always happy to hear from you with comments or questions.

Buen Camino!

Nick & Conchi

92 km Santiago to Finisterre

The Final Four - May 16 - 19, 2007

 

From the Confraternity of St. James Website:

 

Finisterre (Fisterra in Galician) was both the end of the known world until Columbus altered things and the final destination of many of the pilgrims who made the journey to Santiago in past centuries.  There are various explanations as to how this continuation came about (one such is that is was based on a pre-Christian route to the pagan temple of Ara Solis in Finisterre, erected to honour the sun) but is it also known that a pilgrim infrastructure existed, with hospitals in Cée, Corcubión, Finisterre itself and elsewhere. 

 

It was always our intention to continue to Finisterre, assuming our legs held out and the weather wasn´t just awful.  We were lucky on both counts, so after a rest day in Santiago we began the 4-day walk to Finisterre; Land's End; the End of the Earth. The walk itself was not one of the most scenic stretches of el camino, but the the payoff was great.  Nothing quite like finishing a walk where the trail disappears into the ocean, and at the westernmost point of Europe as well.

 

22km Santiago to Negreira

May 16, 2007

 

Over the course of our two-day stop in Santiago, we ran into a number of peregrinos that we'd met and walked with along the way.  Such a chance meeting occurred as we were leaving Santiago for Finisterre.  We ran into Gerrit and Keiko from Amsterdam, who we'd met during the first half of the walk.  We had entered Salamanca, the half-way point, on the same day.  On our last night with them, we shared a room in an albergue, and reports have it that I snored rather loudly all night. I always suspected that they ditched us after that. We took a rest day in Salamanca but they pushed on, putting them a day ahead of us for the rest of the trip.  We kept running into their names in the guest registers of the albergues, but never caught up to them.  Until now. We chatted for a bit, but it was already after noon and we had a long walk ahead.  They were waiting for a bus to take them to Muxia on the coast.  We bid farewell and pushed on.

 

Getting such a late start meant we were one of the last to arrive at the albergue in Negreira.  This stretch of the camino picks up peregrinos from all of the other paths that converge in Santiago, something we hadn´t considered.  It meant that there was significantly more competition for bed space.  The albergue was at official capacity when we arrived at about 6:30 pm.  The hospitalera told us that at 8 pm they would open up the room reserved for disabled pilgrims, assuming no disabled pilgrims arrived first. We listed ourselves third and fourth in line for the four handicapped spots, took showers, washed clothes and left for dinner, hoping for the best.  Our luck held out -- kind of.  The handicapped room was separate from the rest with its own bathroom, which was nice.  But it was comprised of 2 bunk beds without ladders or any means we could figure out for getting onto the top bunks. How the handicapped were expected to overcome this remains a mystery.  We decided instead to take some portable mattresses outside and sleep under the covered porch.  I had one of the best nights ever in an albergue, sleeping in the fresh air. Sleeping in a dorm situation where all of the doors and windows are shut up tight was always the hardest part of the albergue experience for me, so this was a welcome relief.

 

34km Negreira to Olveiroa

May 17

 

This day was longer than we would have liked and we hoped we'd get lucky and find a room for rent at the midpoint, though the guidebooks pointed out that there were no accommodations along the way.  There were a couple of bars, though, at just about the 20km point so we stopped in and asked. We'd gotten lucky in the past finding "unregistered" rooms, usually affiliated with bars.  They don't want to go through the hassle of registering as a hotel, but rent rooms on the side anyway to bring in some extra cash.  When we asked the barkeep if she knew of any rooms in the area she replied definitively "Nada".  I made the comment that a small hotel could do quite well at that location because it was 20km from the last lodging and that is most peoples' threshold for comfort. She replied "Well, nobody ever asks."  I pointed out that they don't ask because the guidebooks make it clear that there aren't any facilities. Once the word got out that there were rooms available at the half-way point, they'd be booked every night.  She wasn't convinced.  Nobody ever asks.

 

Being the last ones in worked in our favor once again.  We arrived just before the albergue released its handicapped beds.  The hospitalera pointed out to us that since the only others waiting for space were automobile pilgrims (which she spat out) she was going to give the space to us.  This was a real gift.  Not just a separate area in the albergue, but a separate newly refurbished stone cottage with two levels and room for 5, with its own bathroom. In any other setting, you'd consider 150 € per night to be a bargain for such a place.  We had it to ourselves for the price of a donation. Once again, we were left scratching our heads as to how a handicapped person would deal with the place.  Actually, one could, but the other 4 would be out of luck.  There was a bunk bed down, and another bunk and a single on the second floor, up a narrow, steep staircase.  The bathroom was handicap accessible in most ways, but the shower would have been impossible.  My guess is that they have yet to accommodate the intended user.

 

There was a new restaurant in town where we had one of the best meals of the trip.  There are small gardens in nearly every yard, and the salad fixings had been bought fresh just hours before dinner.

 

19km Olveiroa to Cee

May 18

 

Towards the end of today's walk, we got our first glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean.  The trail stayed high on a ridge line most of the way, and this turned out to be the nicest walk of the four days to Finisterre.

 

Cee is on the coast and we had the kind of weather you'd expect from a coastal community.  Not rain, but heavier than fog.  It wasn't unpleasant because it kept things cool.  And it cleared off just as we got to the viewpoint of the ocean.  The stop in Cee also left us with just a short walk into Finisterre the next day.

 

18km Cee to Finisterre

May 19, 2007

 

Now we were finished.  I wasn't looking forward to the end of this trip, but I felt satisfied.  A nice walk in clear weather along the beach capped the pilgrimage.  We collected a few of the pilgrims' trademark "Cocquille St Jacques" scallop shells on our way in.  We found a wonderful little room with an ocean view for 20€ and were tempted to stay two nights instead of one.  After lunch, we walked out to the lighthouse on the point, just about as far as you could get without dropping into the water. It felt great to be done, and a bit surreal as well.

 

We went to the albergue to get our credentials stamped and to obtain our "Fisterrana", Finisterre's answer to the Compostela we'd received in Santiago. One of the hospitaleras there was from Eugene Oregon of all places. Apart from the tidal wave of students we ran into out of Ourense, she was the only other American we'd met.  We arrived at the albergue about 4:30pm and there was a line outside waiting to get in. They didn't open the doors until 5:00.  I wondered why someone would walk many hundreds of kilometers and still choose to sleep in a dormitory to celebrate the accomplishment.  Along the French Route, where there are many albergues to choose from, and rather nice one's too, it is a point of honor to stay in them.  Pilgrims who defect to hotels are held in the same contempt as those who send their luggage and scouts ahead in taxis.  The Via de la Plata doesn´t suffer from this ethos because there simple isn´t an infrastructure of albergues to justify it.  I didn't mind the albergues, but I didn't swear allegiance to them, either.  And the end of an 1100km pilgrimage seemed justification to me of something a little nicer.

 

The next day we took a bus to the northern port city of La Coruna, a place I'd wanted to visit for may years.  It was much bigger than I´d imagined, with lots of hotels to cater to the summer crowd who come for the city's beaches. We checked into a hotel that had been recommended to us by our hotel Santiago.  We were chatting with the receptionist, who immediately recognized us as peregrinos, when she mentioned that there was another couple in the hotel who had also just completed the Via de la Plata.  A Japanese woman and her husband.  It could of course only be Keiko and Gerrit.  Not only did they land in the same hotel, they were checked into the room right next to us.  We knocked around with them for the next few days before heading back to Sevilla. They never complained about any snoring.

 

Speaking of surreal, the one-hour flight from La Coruna to Sevilla seemed a bit impossible after spending 51 days walking to cover the same ground.

 

20km SANTIAGO!

The cathedral bells rang 4:00pm just as we arrived. At 4:24 we gave the apostle the traditional hug. We lit a few candles; not candles really but modified christmas lights that go on when you drop in a coin. We remembered those in need of special intentions, such as my sister-in-law MaryJo, who has been married to my brother Greg for 30 years as of today.

We walked through showers most of the day, but arrived in Santiago under sunny and warm skies. Good thing. I really didn't want to enter the cathedral in a dripping wet poncho.

We are now the proud owners of a registered "Compostela", which is issued by the Canonicus Deputatus pro Peregrinis and is written entirely in latin, so it must be official. I think it is kind of like a get-out-of-purgatory-free card. I'm actually going to lock in the indulgences by going to the Pilgrim Mass at noon tomorrow.

Compostelas are issued to those who make the pilgrimage to Santiago, although I think the standards have slipped some in the past few centuries. Now it can be obtained by anyone walking the last 100km on foot or horseback, or 200km by bike. Seems like different benefits should be conferred on those who walk further. Maybe give a compostela for each hundred kilometers walked, somthing like that. Oh well. We've got it and we feel like we earned it.

20km Silleda to Ponte Ulla

May 13,2007

The weather that was forecast for yesterday arrived early this morning, with thunderstorms, high wind and LOTS of rain. We stalled our departure until check-out time. We hadn't gone 50 yards before the wind lifted our ponchos over our heads. I pulled out some extra shoe laces and fashioned a belt.

The weather improved as the day went on but was never nice. The showers decreased in frequency and intensity, and the wind died off, but we never took off our ponchos.

A correction to a previous entry: Pontevedra was not our last province. Today we crossed the Ulla River to enter Ponte Ulla and crossed into the province of La Coruna, our final stop.

30km Castro Dozon to Silleda

May 12, 2007

Last night making our way back to the hostel from the store in a beach-mist-type fog, I was dreading today's walk. A lot of kilometers lay ahead and the clouds to the west looked laden with rain. The forecast called for showers and cooler temperatures. We got the cooler weather, but the rain never materialized. Instead of putting on the ponchos I'd anticipated, we put on sunscreen. Even the terrain changed in our favor, with smooth dry paths and gentler climbs. We felt better today after 30km than we did after far shorter walks the previous 2 days.

We nearly got skunked on a room,though, when we got here. The town is full this weekend because of some sort oftesting convention. We finally scored after four tries.

It is really clear now that we are in Galicia. The spanish sounds like portuguese, the houses look different and the towns are now closer together. We no longer need to carry extra food and water because we can find everything we need on the trail.

We've got two reasonably easy days left till Santiago. A bit surreal.

17km Cea to Castro Dozon

May 11, 2007

Under most circumstances, I'd consider 17km a short day. This terrain really makes it tough, though.

We entered Pontevedra today, the final province of our trip. We're 68km from Santiago, which we intend to cover in the next 3 days.

We visited the Cistercian monastery in Oseira today on our way to Castro Dozon. We took a one-hour guided tour that was very interesting. Most of what exists today was built after a fire in 1552 burned everything but the church. More recently, it went through a 90-year period of abandonment. It has been a National Monument since 1923 and is undergoing restoration. The dozen or so monks currently living there occupy a fraction of the space.

Up until yesterday we hadn't seen a single north american on the trip. When we got to the albrgue in Cea, there were 14 US college students registered. They are studlying in Alicante and came with a guide who is taking them from Ourense to Santiago. I don't think these kids had a clue of what was coming when they signed up. They are hiking in tennis shoes! He marched them 40 kilometers today, through some tough terrain.

We ran into Martin, the Brit we met 10 days ago just before Dean & Marian arrived. I thought he'd gotten well ahead of us because he walks long days. Apparently those long days took a toll and he spent 3 days recovering in Ourense.

21km Ourense to Cea

May 10, 2007

Today at our lunch stop we passed the 900km mark. We're down to double-digits and counting.

I had originally planned to walk 31km to the Cistercian monastery at Osiera which has lodging. I constructed that itinerary several weeks ago when we were walking through the relative flat lands of Badajoz and Caceres. The climb out of Ourense today was far more strenous than I'd imagined. It ranged from steep to stair-like. There is a nice albergue here in Cea and we can re-arrange the next few days to accommodate the shortfall. We'll probably arrange to visit the monastery at lunch time tomorrow. It sounds like quite a monument. This probably works out better. Had we pushed on, we would have arrived late and exhausted, without time to look around.

Ourense was a nice town. I was sorry to have to leave after such a short visit. The route into Ourense was through an industrial area, but the walk out was through small business and residential areas with lots of bars and shops. We were barely out of the city center when we started seeing vegetable gardens again. The percentage of homes with gardens the past several days has been astounding, and all very well kept.

25km Vilar de Barrio to Ourense (kind of)

May 9, 2007

 

Dean and Marian caught the early bus out of town this morning with the intention of spending the day in Santiago de Compostela before heading to Madrid and home tomorrow. We had a lot of fun while they were here and will miss them. The rain-hail shower that greeted them on their arrival was essentially all the rain they saw.  How lucky is that? I'll post some of Dean's photos on the site when we get back to Portland.

 

We intended to go only 15km, as far as Xunqueira de Ambia, but we got there about noon and decided to push on to Ourense.  We planned to walk as far as the industrial suburbs and then catch a bus to the city center.  We were about 10km from there when Conchi cut her finger and kind of fainted at the site of blood. Fortunately, we were within a few blocks of a bar in Pinela, so I carried the packs there and called a cab, then went back for her.  She felt better after a soft drink and a sit in the shade.

 

Now we're in Ourense, a town of about 90,000. Feels huge after the pueblos we've been in for the past few weeks.  Another nice albergue here and last night in Laza as well.  But we got in late and we've got a lot to do before the 10pm lockdown. That is new to us.  We usually get a key, but here they just close the gate at 10 and if you're not inside, tough.

20km Laza to Vilar del Barrios

March 8, 2007

 

Today was the big test for Dean & Marian, and their last day of walking as well.  We started climbing shortly after setting out. The countryside was beautiful, but the climb was relentless. The views from on top made it worth it. We stopped at the top for a picnic lunch and glass (or 2) of wine before continuing.

 

Just past the summit was the town of Albergueria, which contrary to what the name suggests, does not have an albergue.  It does have a very cool bar, though, called Rincon del Peregrino with shells hanging from the walls and ceiling with the names of visiting pilgrims. Ours is now officially attached to the ceiling.

 

Since entering Galicia, the towns have been closer together.  Nearly every town has a fountain with fresh water, which is a huge relief on these warm days. Funny that we went from the threat of snow to sweaty-hot within one week.

14km Campobecerros to Laza

May 7, 2007

 

Another great walk through the mountains.  It is amazing how similar the terrain and vegetation is to the foothills of the Cscades.

 

Since entering Galicia, the albergues have improved dramatically.  It is a pleasure to stay in them.  As I look at the map, we'll have albergues like this for most of the rest of the walk, which isn't much longer now.  We're down to single digits in the number of days left.  I'm guessing around 8 days to Santiago, then another 4 if we continue to Finesterre on the coast.

 

Dean and Marian walk with us tomorrow, then begin their return. Since they won't be walking with us to Santiago, they are going to skip ahead on a bus and spend a night in Santiago, then fly back to the states on Friday.  Its been a lot of fun having them along and a shame that their visit didn't coincide with our arrival in Santiago.  Next time.

 

 

20km A Gudina to Campobecerros

May 6, 2007

 

We're back in the mountains.  A bit of climb for the first few hours, then a long walk along a ridgetop at about 1000 meters.  Great walking weather and great scenery.  We ended up at a town without an albergue, so we stayed in the only hostal in town.  We were fortunate to get the last 2 rooms available.  They made dinner for us, a plate of different boiled meats with garbanzos, boiled cabbage and potato.  Just before dinner, a group marched into town led by 2 bagpipes and 2 drummers.  Just some people out on a Sunday afternoon dancing and having some fun. It is surprising how similar this terrain is to Oregon.  Green and mountainous.

12km Vilavella to A Gudina

May 5, 2007

Yesterday's cab ride made for a short day today. There really wasn't any way to continue on from here without making this a 35 km day. Just as well, as the walking in these mountains is more demanding.

We've crossed out of Castille-Leon and into Galicia, the last of the autonomous regions we'll visit. At the same time we left the province of Zamora and entered the province of Ourense. Most everything is written in gallego as well as spanish. It looks a lot like portuguese, which isn't surprising considering we are only about 20km from the Portuguese border.

Galicia is known for its high quality albergues, and tonight's stop reinforces that reputation. Everybody was happy to stay here. No rebellions.

21km Requejo to Lubian

The weather cleared, we crossed the pass without trouble, and arrived at Lubian just as the first drops of the afternoon showers fell. All in all, a very nice walk.

The albergue was essentially like the previous night, but a bit smaller. The beds had pillows and a blanket and there was a small kitchen. Unfortunately, I was the only one willing to stay there. The alternatives were either full or overpriced. Before I knew it, the crew mutinied and we were in a cab to a town 10km away where there as another hotel. This was a nearly intollerable concession for me to make, as it moved us from the category of peregrino to "taxi tourist", an unpardonable offense in the eyes of the pilgrim purist. Not that I'm a purist, but I like to play by the rules if at all possible.

12km Puebla de Sanabria to Requejo de Sanabria

May 3, 2007

A short day today to break in Dean & Marion.

We met them at the bus stop yesterday afternoon and started the one-kilometer walk to the hotel. We saw the first lightening bolts as we left the bus stop, and five minutes later we were drenched. We ducked into the first bar for cover, but by then we were soaked. The deluge and hail moved on, leaving a light but steady rain in its wake. D&M earned their pilgrim cred even before we got to the hotel.

It is hard under the best of circumstances to get started again after a rest day. Last night I feared we'd be walking in a kcold rain. It was a huge relief to see a sunny sky when we woke up this morning. The ground was still saturated, however, so we opted to walk along the highway. Much of today's route was on the highway anyway, so we didn't give up much. The new freeway has siphoned off nearly all the traffic, too, so the walk was quite pleasant. By 11am we were hiking in t-shirts.

We reached our destination before 1pm and staked our claim at the albergue. I had warned D&M that albergue-life was akin to camping indoors. They were still a bit taken aback. This albergue is spartan but not atypical. It is a large room with 10 sets of bunks and one bathroom with shower. It qualifies as spartan because of the lack of blankets, pillows or a heat source.
It has taken a few words of encouragement to keep D&M from checking into the hotel across the street.

We had the "menu del dia" at the meson across the street. A wood stove next to our table and a bottle of white wine made the meal very cozy. The albergue feels cold by comparison, so the other 3 are napping in their bags. The predictable afternoon cloud cover has rolled in, bringing the temperature down and the threat of showers.

We're a bit higher than last night, just about 1000 meters, so I imagine it will be cold tonight. There was fresh snow again this morning on the hilltops.

I saw a satellite image on the newscast this morning and it looks as though the worst of this system has moved east. Tomorrow will be a good day to cross the pass.

25km Cernadilla to Puebla de Sanabria

May 1,2007

At kilometer post 745, Puebla de Sanabria marks the three-quarter-way point. We're going to take a rest day here, our first since Salamanca 11 days ago. Dean & Mariana Larkin spend tomorrow night with us here and then walk with us for the following 6 days. Mariana and I were in the same student exchange program in Sevilla in 1978-79. She and Dean live in Pewuakee, WI. They flew into Madrid yesterday, smack in the middle of a four day weekend, and they are finding most everything closed. Today is May Day, the international labor day. Tomorrow is a holiday in the city of Madrid. Don't ask me what for.

Spring is just arriving in these parts. We've come quite a way north from sunny Sevilla. Plus, we're at 960 meters altitude, or about 3200 feet, roughly the same as Government Camp on the flanks of Mt. Hood. There was fresh snow on the hills above us this morning. I hope this weather system blows through before we cross the 4385-ft pass at Padornelo on Thursday.

Today started out clear and cold. It stayed cold with a disagreable headwind all day. I don't think the temperature got above 50F, and it felt a lot colder in the wind. With one kilometer between us and our hotel, it started to rain. A nuisance, but fortunately it came late. We knew we we'd be running that risk when we stopped for lunch. Oh, well.

We had been walking with the same group for the past 4 days, but they pulled ahead of us when we stopped here. It is always a bit sad to part company. We'd been walking with Jurgen from Germany, Josef from Holland, and a couple from Austria, Sepp & Grete.

17km Rionegro del Puente to Cernadilla

This town has about 120 residents and they have developed a small albergue de peregrinos. They have refurbished an old blacksmith shed. It is nothing more than a stone building measuring 12'X 30' that has 4 beds, a small kitchen and bath. Very cozy. Conchi and I were the first to arrive. Later a group of 3 arrived, but decided to continue on because there weren't enough beds. Then a young German arrived who decided to stay. He's 24, the same age as our son Albert and is studying in Sevilla. He's on a break between terms. Right now he's cooking up some pasta that smells delicious.

It turned cold again today. It was raining when we got up but it had stopped by the time we left at 9am. Still, there was a cold wind blowing all day and it looks like it could start raining at any minute.

28km Santa Croya de Tera to Rionegro del Puente

April 29, 2007

Another long day, and another curve ball to make it longer. The guidebook we're using is quite good overall, but any printed guide will be out of date almost immediately because of changes due to road construction and the like. Such was the case today, and it ended up costing us about an hour. We weren't the only ones to get lost. There's a delegation of the Friends of the Camino from Sevilla, which has published a guide in Spanish that we see around a lot. Even they got lost following their own directions.

We left this morning without a really proper breakfast. In particular, I missed my orange. We'd arrived too late the previous night to make a grocery run. As we left town this morning, we took a slight detour to an 11th century church with a figure of Santiago as Peregrino carved into the portal. It is one of the earliest depictions of St. James as a Pilgrim, and the most recognizeable icon on the route. When we picked up the trail again a few minutes later, a young woman opened her door, stepped out and offered us a bag of oranges. There were too many to carry, so we took four and thanked her repeatedly. A superstitious person might be tempted to read something more into that. We were just grateful to be in the way of a random act of kindness.

The camino took a turn to the west a few days ago. Instead of walking north along the eastern border of Portugal, we are now walking west along Portugal's northern border. We crossed the 700-kilometer mark when we entered Rionegro today.

29km Tabara to Santa Croya de Tera

This should have been a 20km day, but we deviated from the route to avoid some serious mud and ended up adding some serious kilometers.  The albergue is wonderful, though.  The best we've encountered so far.  Family run and exquisitely appointed.  They also made dinner, and I'm hoping breakfast, too.

The family owns a bodega near by, as do most families in the area.  They are carved into the limestone and are completely subterranean.  We went for a visit and a glass of wine, and I've never seen anything like it. Private caves carved into the earth to ferment and store your own personal vintages.

Tomorrow should be a short day.  We need one, especially after adding about 9 unnecessary km to today's walk.  Once again, we had to walk for a few hours in the rain, but the afternoon turned out quite nice.

29km Riego del Camino to Tabara

April 27, 2007

The worst of this weather system seems to be behind us. Today we had to duck under our ponchos for a few brief showers, but all things considered, it was a nice walk. The first half was on dirt farm roads that were still pretty soggy. We were then forced on to a small secondary paved road in order to cross a bridge over the Esla River. There was so little traffic that we decided to follow it to Tabara instead of taking the official route through the still-muddy farm lands. The road probably saved us a few kilometers, but even still it was a long day.

Last night we ate in the only bar in Riego del Camino. We had to advise them ahead of time so that they would stay open for us. Turns out we were the only ones eating last night. All the locals know better, I think. The people were nice enough, and they did their best, but they simply weren't cut out to be restauranteurs. They only survive because they are the only show in town. Just about anybody could show them up. Bar Pepe was run by, presumably, Pepe, and his wife and 2 children. The wife clearly gave the orders and did most of the work. They served dinner at 8pm, way early for most spaniards. By 9:15 we began to see signs that they were done with us. First the senora turned off the space heater. At first I thought it was just because she was warm enough. A few minutes later, she started to clear the table, taking the half-full glasses of wine without asking if we were finished. When she rolled everything else on the table up into the paper tablecloth, it was clear th!
e party was over. She looked like she was asleep on her feet. She was a bit cranky, snapping at Pepe and her daughter. I left her a larger than customary tip, primarily because we were relying on her to make us sandwiches for today's walk. At breakfast this morning, if you can call it that, she was back to her cheery self. And the tortilla sandwiches were quite good.

16km Montamarta to Riego del Camino

Yesterday was a cakewalk compared with today. It wasn't raining when we woke up, but it was much colder with a steady breeze. Being a short day we felt no urgency to leave. Within 15 minutes of leaving town, it started to rain. It rained steadily all day. We took cover in a haybarn for a late lunch and then tackled the last 4 kilometers in a punishing headwind. Within 10 minutes after arriving at the albergue, the rain stopped.

There are seven of us here tonight. All new faces to us. We're all headed to the only bar in town for dinner.

The albergue is the only place in town to stay. Seven seems to be about the average number of people we encounter each night. There are about 60 towns along the route with accomodations, so a snapshot would suggest that there are approximately 430 people on the route
right now.

14km Zamora to Montemarta

April 25, 2007

What a difference from yesterday. There were times yesterday when Conch was complaining about the heat. The locals even commented on how warm it was. Last night we walked back to our hostal after 11pm without coats.

About 4am I heard rain on the window. It was still raining when we got up at 7:30. In the past stalling over breakfast served us well, so we headed out for churros and a visit to the tourist office, pretty much stalling until checkout time. All for naught. The actual distance today was 19 km, but the first 5 was on the shoulder of the main north-south highway. It would have been bad enough on a nice day, but it would have been perilous in today's wind and rain. We took a bus the first 5 miles to the point where the trail left the highway.

For the next 2 hours we saw nothing taller than knee-high wheat. No trees or buidings. No escape from the rain, or even a mud-free place to take off our packs. At the entrance to the pueblo there was a Bar-Restaurante with rooms upstairs. The parking lot was full of long haul trucks, always a good endorsement for a restaurant. Since it had been too wet to stop and eat the sandwiches we packed, we went in to eat. Although the albergue was reported to be nice, we decided to get a room here instead. We felt like we'd earned a bit of pampering. With the weather the way it was, we didn't want to be cooped up in a dorm with a bunch of other wet pilgrims. Both lunch and the room exceeded our expectations, and at a very fair price.

It looks like more of the same tomorrow.

20km from Villanueva to Zamora

April 24, 2007

 

Today's walk was pleasant but not particularly scenic.  We're still in gently rolling fields of crops, but at least we're walking between the fields instead of on the highways.  Zamora was visible from a long way off, which made navigating fairly easy.  The bar where we ate last night was good enough to store Conchi's leftover pork chop and put it into a tortilla sandwich for my lunch.  The nicest part of today's walk was our picnic out in the fields.

 

The town isn't much to look at from a distance, but is really quite pretty once inside the city walls.  There's no refugio or albergue for peregrinos here, so we gladly checked into a hostal with our own bath.  And without a doubt the nicest bath we've seen in any or our accommodations.  (I just have to take this opportunity to describe the toilet in the parish albergue in El Cubo.  The seat was broken in half. Completely broken in half.  the back part still lifted up, but the front half was resting on the ground next to the toilet.  If you wanted to sit down, you could either balance on the back half of the seat, or try to set the front half on the rim and risk pinching your nether parts.)

 

We got into Zamora early enough to find a church open where we could obtain a stamp for our credentials.  Most of the stamps up to now have been from bars, albergues or hostals, mostly because its nearly impossible to find a church that is open apart from mass time.

 

The previous two entries were made from the pocketmail device.  It worked flawlessly and several times in a row from the phone booth in El Cubo, but today it has failed to connect from at least 5 different phones. So I found Internet access in an arcade parlour.

 

I've walked over 500 kilometers on this trip and I don't think I've lost an ounce.  Short of wiring one's mouth shut, I don't think it is possible to loose weight in Spain.  I know I'm burning more calories, but I'm taking in way too many empty calories with the additional beer and wine that is ever present in the menus.

 

 

 

 

13km El Cubo to Villanueva de Campean

April 23, 2007

 

It turns out that today is a holiday in the region of Castilla-Leon.  Both El Cubo andVillanueva ar tiny two-bar towns.  Neither of the bars in El Cubo opened this morning.  We knew that would be the case, so we made arrangements last night to eat breakfast at the private alebergue.  We spent the night in the competing parish albergue.  When we showed up at Casa Carmen everything was locked up tight.  We rang several times, but she must have decided that if we'd wanted breakfast badly enough we'd have stayed there in the first place.  So we had an orange and a handful of nuts and hit the trail, not knowing what we'd find open in Villanueva.  Fortunately, we had ordered a few sandwiches "to-go" at dinner last night, so we had lunch covered.

 

Villanueva is a 2-bar town with one of the bars permanently closed.  The other is open and will fix dinner and pack a lunch for tomorrow.  Good thing, because there isn't even a store in this pueblo.

 

The albergue here is one of the nicest we've found.  It is sponsored by the town, and they've put a matron in charge of collecting the donation and keeping an eye on things. The men's shower is something to behold.  There is what looks like a closet door in the bathroom that opens to what looks like a closet with a drain the floor.  No shower pan or threshold to prevent the water from running out.  In fact it appears as though the low point in the floor is somewhere out by the sink.  I saw the problem coming and tried to fashion a dam with a pair of pants I was going to wash.  Even that wasn't enough to stem the tide.  Rather than correcting the problem, they just leave a mop in the bathroom.  we asked the matron about it later, and she told us that it was built that way to comply with the equivalent Spaniards with Disabilities Act.  That was her story and she was sticking to it.  The image of wheelchairs negotiating these trails is something straight from Monte Python (The Paraplegic Pilgrims).  More likely someone will be left in a wheelchair after slipping on the wet tile.

 

Three Germans showed up late yesterday after walking a torturous 34km from Salamanca.  It was their first day on the camino, and it couldn't have been uglier.  They were pretty beat up this morning, so they decided to make this a short day.  The arrived here a little after us.  They must have gotten lost, because they left half an hour ahead of us and we stopped for lunch, too.  They had lunch in the bar, then arranged with the bar owner to give them a lift into Zamora.  Must be on a tight schedule.

20km Valdunciel to El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino

April 22, 2007

Today's walk was awful. Almost entirely on the shoulder of a major highway. A large part of the route has been obliterated by a new freeway that is under construction and parallels the highway. Being Sunday, there was no construction activity, so we walked part of the way on the graded bare dirt of the new freeway. We were happy to get the walk over with.

The old main highway used to pass through the center of this town, but the newer N-630 bypasses it by a kilometer. Though you can hear the highway in the distance, the town itself is almost dead. When the new freeway is completed, there will be even less reason to detour into town. Maybe by then the pilgrim trade will start infusing some serious cash. Tonight there are already 10 pilgrims in town. We've all got to eat somewhere.

16km Salamanca to Calzada de Valdunciel

April 21, 2007

A short day today allowed for a bit more time in Salamanca this morning. We found churros for breakfast, then did some more housekeeping before checking out of the hotel.

We spent 2 nights in Salamanca, partly because we needed a rest day but mostly because we wanted to do some sightseeing. It merits a much longer visit. When I came to Spain to study in 1978, I had to choose between Pamplona, Salamanca or Sevilla. The weather in Pamplona was too similar to Portland, so it was out of the running. It came down to a coin toss between Sevilla and Salamanca, but the weather gave Sevilla the edge. I've wanted to see Salamanca ever since.

Nearly half of today's walk was in city congestion and on busy highways. The other half couldn't have been more different. Dirt farm roads between fields of wheat.

The albergue is quite nice, and we are sharing it with just 2 others. Ansgal and Christoff from Germany. They arrived on bicycles late in the afternoon. I borrowed Ansgal's bike to make a run to the store. It felt like I was moving at lightspeed.

San Pedro de Rozados to Salamanca

April 19, 2007

A few milestones today. First, we crossed the halfway point - 518km behind us and 492km to go. A few days ago we left the province of Caceres and the autonomous region of Extremadura and entered the province of Salamanca and the autonomous region of Castilla-Leon.

Second, today is our 28th wedding anniversary. We passed on the albergue in Salamanca, even though it was by far the nicest we've seen, in favor of a proper hotel. We ran into Alie, the woman from England who we'd met about a week ago. She had gotten a day ahead of us, but was taking a rest day in Salamanca and we caught up. She just happened to be in a hotel on the same street as ours. She joined us for a celebratory bottle of champagne and tapas in the Plaza Mayor. We had a very nice evening.

It has taken 24 walking-days to reach here. I figure it will take 24 more to reach Santiago. We could do it in less time, and most people do, but we're in no hurry.

20km Fuenterroble to San Pedro de Rozados

Today we crossed the Pico de la Dueña, the highest point on the route between Sevilla and Astorga at 1140m.  It was a perfect day and the views were amazing.  There really was no need to take the camino to the peak, though, other than to add a little to the suffering of the peregrinos.  But I guess pigrimages are about suffering, so I got what I asked for.

 

We dropped off the peak into terrain that looked like the Willamette Valley, with many of the same crops under cultivation.  Its hard to imagine being able to walk like this in Oregon, though.  I'm not sure that there is access to lanes between fields like this.  We're hardly ever on pavement, and when we are, they are mostly one-lane farm roads.  Perfect for cycling.

 

Another privately run albergue tonight, and quite nice.  The owner runs the bar next door. We had dinner there, and then breakfast the next morning.

20km Calzada de Bejar to Fuenterroble de Salvatierra

Another small town without a bank.  I bailed out a fellow peregrino who hadn't noticed the lack of ATMs at this point on the route.  He had to hitch a ride to a town about 5km away to get to an ATM.  That doesn't sound like very far, but on foot, a 10km round trip and the downtime looking for the bank will easily eat up 2 hours, and that's at a brisk walking pace without stops.

 

The refugio here is connected with the local church.  The priest is very helpful and friendly, but too busy to give much time to the refugio and the hospitalero that runs the place is not doing his job.  Too bad, because it has such potential.

 

Everything was closed when we got to town, so we made a visit to the restored church.  One of its icons is a statue of Christ carved from an Oregon pine.  I mentioned to Don Blas, the priest, that we were from Oregon, and he said, "Oh, in Canada?"  I gave him a brief geography lesson.

 

Here again, we felt fortunate to find a bar opened to feed us.  Turns out the previous night they had decided not to open because of some fiesta, and they are the only bar in town.  For those of you who have never been to Spain, bars are the lifeblood of social life.  They serve as restaurants, coffee shops, public living rooms, and of course, bars. A lot of these towns don't even have restaurants so the bar becomes the lifeline.

13km Baños to Calzada de Bejar

April 16, 2007

 

We sorted out the cash situation and hit the trail by 9:30am.  Quite a bit of elevation gain and loss today.  We left Baños, at 708 meters elevation, and climbed to a pass at 870m.  We gave all that back and then some to cross the Rio Cuerpo de Hombre at 650m, then climbed to Calzada de Bejar at 796m.  The view from the albergue is magnificent.  Nice albergue, too. The owner served us lunch, dinner, breakfast the following morning and made us sandwiches for the trail.  Good thing, too, because this town has only 40 permanent residents and doesn't even have its own store.

 

I'm still not clear on how these different lodgings operate.  There are refugios, albergues, albergues touristicas and albergues privadas.  And on top of that a seemingly endless list of hotel-like accommodations with hostels, pensiones, apartamentos, casa rurales and star-rated hotels.  Some of the refugios and albergues are sponsored by the locale and quality varies widely.  This one is privately owned.

10km Aldeanueva to Baños de Montemayor

April 15, 2007

 

We woke up feeling pretty beat up from yesterday's 38km walk and questioned our original intention to walk the 23km to Calzada de Bejar.  We set out mid-morning having decided to make the call when we reached Baños de Montemayor, the next town.  Once underway and limbered up, we felt pretty good.  By the time we hit Baños, we were torn between pushing on or staying.  Since I was down to 20€, I went to the ATM for cash and it was out of service.  Turns out it was the only ATM in town and it was Sunday afternoon, so we were stuck.  We wouldn't be passing through another town with an ATM until Salamanca four days later.  So the decision to stay put was made for us.  We found a hotel and restaurant that accepted VISA and hunkered down until the bank opened the next morning.  Not a bad place to be stuck, and we got a mess of laundry done.

38km Carcaboso to Aldeanueva del Camino

April 14, 2007

 

We know what our limit is now.  We left at 8am and arrived at 8:30pm, just as the sun was setting.  We even kept the breaks short and to a minimum, and took less than an hour for lunch.  This was a forced march.  There were no towns along the way.  We each carried an extra 1.5 liters of water and we went through it all.

 

The route itself was spectacular, passing at the midpoint through the remains of the Roman settlement of Caparra and under the Triumphal Arch.  Much of the route was on the still recognizable Roman calzada. 

 

http://www.godesalco.com/imagen/plata/caparra_arco

 

Part of the reason it took so long was that the stream beds were full and the trail was boggy from all of the rain recently.  Two of the rivers had risen to the point of covering the stepping stones, requiring us to change into our sandals to wade across.  Fortunately, it was the first day since Tuesday that it hadn't rained at some point.

 

We made it into Aldeanueava and passed up the refugio in favor of a hotel inasmuch as it was Conchi's birthday.  We were exhausted but triumphant.  No major damage to our feet.  Just the expected tiredness.  We went straight to the dining room for Conchi's birthday dinner and then invited the peregrinos at the table next to us to a celebratory brandy.

11km Galisteo to Carcaboso

April 13, 2007

 

Today was the short day between 2 long stages - 28km yesterday and 38km tomorrow.  The weather remains unsettled, with afternoon thundershowers.

 

It was quite warm right from the time we left Galisteo. Midway to Carcaboso in Aldeahuela del Jerte, we stopped for a rest and everyone in the main plaza was wearing straw hats.  We asked where we could buy a couple and one of the girls ran to her house and got one for each of us.  We tried to pay for them but she insisted we take them.  They've been part of our attire since then.

 

We got into Carcaboso fairly early and took the opportunity to wash our accumulated laundry and hang it to dry before heading to lunch.  Just as we were starting our dessert, the lights went out and we heard a peal of thunder.  By the time we got to the door, it was pouring.  Fortunately, the señora at the hostal had moved all of our stuff under cover.  She warmed to us as soon as she found out Conchi was from Sevilla.  Turns out she grew up in Sevilla as well, less than a kilometer from where Conchi lived.  We got the royal treatment the rest of our stay.

 

Later that afternoon, we met a Spaniard leading his horse down the street in Carcaboso.  He's from Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, and he and his horse started the pilgrimage in Tarifa, the southernmost tip of Spain.  Later we saw him on the side of the road cutting grass for his horse.  Sometimes its tough for us to find someplace to eat and sleep.  I can't imagine what it would be like with a horse in tow.

Technical Note

I've been using a Pocketmail device to send these entries until recently (see pocketmail.com).  It has been misbehaving recently and I've had to wait until we arrived here in Salamanca andI could find internet access to send in the following updates.

 

Pocketmail was working nicely until we hit Zafra.  While sitting at an outdoor cafe composing that day's recap, Conchi knocked a full glass of red wine onto the device.  I don't think any wine hit the ground.  Between the clean clothes I´d just put on and the pocketmail device, all of it was absorbed.  It kind of shorted out, so I gave it a day to dry.  I was amazed when it fired up the next day, but dismayed when it refused to transmit over the phone.  I borrowed a hair dryer and baked it to the point of deforming some of the plastic casing and it worked again.  But ever since then, it has been finicky.  Over the last week, I've only been able to connect on one in 5 attempts, so I gave up on it.  Here's a recap of events since Galisteo, as best as I can recall.

28 km Canaveral to Galisteo

April 12, 2007

Today's walk was a bit long, though quite nice. It rained hard last night but had stopped by the time we set out at 9 am. At half past noon we stopped for lunch under clear warm skies. By 3 pm wre could hear thunder in the distance. By 4 we had our ponchos on, but the thunder shower missed us and we had about half an hour of light sprinkle.

Dinner at the hostal drew out all of the peregrinos we've met in the past few days. A mini reunion of sorts. For any peregrinos that are behind us on el camino, you'll find great meals at the Bar Los Emigrantes. They also have reasonable, if sparse, rooms.

Galisteo is comletely surrounded by walls with only three arched entries. Photos can be found on the blog. Drill to the interactive map and click on Galisteo.

14 Embalse to Canaveral

April 11, 2007

It was raining when we woke up, so we lingered a little longer over breakfast until things blew over. We did get a few light showers along the way. Not enough to make things unpleasant, though. We made Canaveral before 1pm and had the typical "menu del dia." You get your choice of a first plate, a second plate and dessert, along with bread and a bottle of wine. Prices vary from 5-9 euros. Today's lunch was 7. We both started with soup as our first plate. For the main plate, Conchi had pork cutlets and I had lamb. Alfredo and Nieves got there a bit before us. They had originally planned to stop for the night in Canaveral, but decided to walk 9 km to the next town. We'd only intended to walk as far as Canaveral, and the bottle of wine with lunch only reinforced that decision. Apparently the wine didn't faze them. It turns out the refugio here is a lot nicer than some of the reports had suggested. It is a 3-bedroom sparsely furnished apartment, and we were the first there so!
we got our own room. A German couple, Wolf and Lena, arrived later. The four of us had the run of the place.

20 km Casar to Embalse de Alcantara

Fourteen of the 20 bed in the refugio last night in Casar de Caceres were occupied.  By the time we rolled in (2:30 pm, early for us) all of the lower bunks were already taken.  The refugio itself was pretty nice, as far as refugios go.  Four showers with hot water, a kitchen with microwave, but only one working bathroom.  Better than most we've seen and free, too.  So tonight we're splurging in a little hotel overlooking a reservoir.  Our guide book listed this as closed, but it has been re-opened and re-named.  A bit on the pricey side, but sometimes a private room with a bath is a bargain at any price.  Even still, the room with dinner and breakfast came to 77 euros.  The alberge just down the road is very nice, too, but a dorm arrangement.

We set out in a fog so thick it collected on our hair and glasses.  By noon we stripped to t-shirts.  Rain had been forecast, but we got lucky.

We've melded into a new cohort of peregrinos and met a lot of new people already.  It is interesting that we haven't met any other "camino virgins" and we haven't met any other North Americans.  Roughly 20-25% are from Spain and the rest from central europe.  Many have done multiple pilgrimages.  Today we walked with a couple from Pamplona, Alfredo and Nieves, who walked this route about 15 years ago as part of a larger group who re-blazed the the Via de la Plata after a few centuries of non-use.  Now they are re-walking the route in stages, but from Granada instead of Sevilla.  In previous years they completed the section from Granada to Merida, and this year they resumed in Merida.  They intend to walk till the end of this week and then finish sometime after Nieves retires in July.

11 Caceres to Casar de Caceres

We're back on the trail after an 8-day break feeling healed and rested. We were in Portugal for 6 nights. Three of those at the county house of friends in the Arrabida National Park near Azetao. The weather was nice and we logged some bench-time in the sun. On Thursday we relocated to a hostal in the heart of Setubal. We spent one rather hectic afternoon playing "tourista" in Lisbon. That night from our balcony we watched the Good Friday procession. Not quite like Semana Santa in Sevilla, but you couldn't beat the seats. The next day was nice enough to spend the afternoon at the beach. Yesterday, Easter Sunday, was a travel day back to Caceres and the gracious hospitality of Bea and Boni for dinner and a place to sleep.

Since today was a short walk, we lingered over breakfast and did some shopping in Caceres before setting out. It feels good to be on the move again, but every day has its surprises. We arrived in Casar just after 2 PM with the idea of spending the rest of the afternoon over a large lunch and bottle of wine. Surprise! Today is the feast day of the town and EVERYTHING is closed. Bars included. Everone is at the "Romeria" 9 km out of town. We found one tiny store open and got a tin of sardines, a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine and had our own little party on the steps of the refugio. We'll be having leftovers for dinner. Luckily, it was a very nice wine.

28 km Alcuescar to Valdesalor

The original plan for Saturday was to walk 17 km to Aldea del Cano and spend the night. When we arrived, we were told the refugio was undergoing renovation and only 4 of the 8 beds were in use. The 4 people we had blithely allowed to pass us at lunch had already claimed them. We checked at the only hotel in town and it, too, was full. This was the first day of holy week, and everything within miles of Caceres was booked. We had an offer from friends in Caceres to stay at their house, but we hadn't anticipated arriving until the next day. Plus, it would have meant walking an additional 23 km. We decided to walk the 11 km to Valdesalor and take our chances with the refugio there. About 5km away from Valdesalor, we got a call on our cell phone from Boni, our friend in Caceres, checking on our progress. We explaied our situation and he insisted on driving the 12 km out to Valdesor to bring us back to his house. We didn't try to talk him out of it. The trail crossed into Valdes!
alor over a Roman bridge and we arranged to meet there. When we were about half a kilometer from the bridge, with the car in sight, the sky opened up gave us our first drenching. We scrambled into our ponchos just as it really started comng down, and walked to the car and our rescue.

Boni is the son-in-law of Nieves, a good friend of Conchi's. Those of you who live in Portland may have heard of the Spanish restaurant Patanegra, which is owned by Nieves' son, Ricardo Segura. Boni and Nieves' daughter, Beatrice, took us in for 2 nights and spoiled us rotten. They live in the "casco viejo", the old part of town, just a few minutes walk to all of the historic sites in Caceres.

All of the stars were aligned for a break from el camino. Lodging would be scarce for the rest of holy week up to Easter Sunday; the weather wasn't expected to improve until mid week; we were just a bus ride away from some other friends in Portugal who we wanted to visit; and we needed several days to allow our various foot ailments to heal. So today, Monday, April 2, we're on a bus to Setubal, just south of Lisbon, until Easter, at which point we'll return to Caceres and resume the perigrinaje.

21km Aljucen to Alcuescar

We passed from the province of Badajoz to the province of Caceres today, and in so doing, we passed the quarter-way mark. Sevilla is 259 km behind us, and Santiago de Compostela 741 km ahead.

The terrain today was beautiful, even moreso because it was shrouded in fog until noon. Once we left Aljucen,the path was along a dirt track through wooded pastures. Cows and sheep all over the place.

Our lodging tonight is in a home for the destitute run by the Hermanos Esclavos de Maria y Pobres. (The Slave Brothers of Mary and the Poor) They don't charge anything for dinner and lodging, but I'm happy to make a generous donation.

We're near Caceres, at which point we've decided to take a break for a few days.

17 km Merida to Aljucen

Another short day, another late start. Truth be known, I wish all days were this length. No need to hit the trail till 10:30. Pretty easy to be in by 3:30pm with leisurely breaks. Lots of sun time remaining to rinse out dirty clothes and hang them out to dry. Time enough to scout around for a store or bar and buy provisions for the next day. This town, though, is so small it doesn't have either or store or a bar. But praise be to Santiago, it does have a vending machine right in the refugio amply stocked with cold Amstel Malt for only 1 euro per can. And fortunately for me, I've got a pocket full of coins. Everyone else has left on other errands, so its up to me to sit out in the courtyard and keep an eye on the clothes while they dry and line the pockets of the vending machine operator. This refugio is a bit expensive at 10 euros, but its a nice setup. The grounds could use some attention. Its clean and well appointed inside. The kitchen, however, lacks a stove. But sinc!
e the town lacks a store, that isn't a huge problem.

I'm looking over the wall at the obviously vacant, and perhaps abandoned, building next door. It is the largest estate on the street, and was once obviously a showpiece. Its built as a fully enclosed estate, with turrrets on two corners, a huge interior courtyard and a coat of arms on the entry gate. The window glass is mostly broken out and the shutters are flung open. Doves are flying freely in and out of the second floor windows. The vegetation has grown quite thick on the tile roof. I'd love to know the story behind it.

The French couple have invited the group to the RV for dinner. "The group" has dwindled since the last entry. The diaspora had already started, unbeknownst to me, while I was composing the last report. The Vascos decided yesterday that 16 km to Merida was too wimpy, so they pushed on through to here yesterday and are now a day ahead of us. Cristof had previously planned to end in Merida, and leaves tomorrow for Lucern. Werner left early this morning to walk two stages, so he likely caught up with the Vascos. So we're down to six; 5 walkers and one driver.

About a km out of Merida this morning, we saw Michael emerge from a car and head toward us. Turns out he'd left town with both sets of keys to the RV. Fortunately, both he and Danielle have cell phones, and she was able to call him before he got out of range. Even still, he walks so fast that it wasn't long before he caught up to us, and we walked together for about an hour until Conchi and I simply had to stop to refuel.

It is now 7pm and the sun has disappeared below the roof line. Since the altitude here is about 240 meters, its cooling off quickly. We started climbing right out of Sevilla, which is practically at sea level (12 meters) and hit our peak of 752 meters at Monesterio. We've dropped some, but we're still at 270 M. The evenings have been chilly.

16 km Torremegia to Merida

Being a relatively short day, we didn't hit the trail until 10:30 and still arrived around 3 with breaks and lunch along the way. The trail, though keeping true to the buried Roman calzada, didn't pass through any interesting terrain. In fact, it was kind of a "get the job done" walk. A lot of it was either on or very close to a major highway, and then passed through the typical industrial/claptrap neighborhoods one finds coming into just about any large city. But it was all worth it to enter the town via the old Roman arch bridge that spans the Guadiana River.

The Romans originally settled here in 23 BC to provide a place for the veterans of the Iberian wars and named it Augusta Emerita, later shortened and corrupted to Merida. It contains the largest number of intact roman structures in all of Spain. We considered a layover day here to give my leg some time to heal. But it is doing quite a bit better, and the next four days are relatively short, so I hate to squander this stretch of good walking weather on a layover day. I'd prefer to continue for the next 4 days to Caceres where we have a friend who has offered lodging. Not only that, we're enjoying the company of the other peregrinos we've met up with and hate to leave the pack. About half of them are only going as far as Caceres, so we may stick with them until then.

27 Km Villafranca to Torremegia

Rather than characterize today's walk as monotonous, I'll call it meditative. A very large portion of the camino was on top of an impressively straight an flat section of the old roman calzada to Merida. It was big sky country planted in vineyards and olive groves. The entire route was on gravel road or dirt track. On the upside, we saw fewer than 10 cars all day. We left at 9:20 am and got into Torremegia at 5:20 pm. We took short breaks (for us - 20 min) and a short lunch (for us - 50 min) so it was just a long day of walking. I wrapped my foot, ankle and shin and it gave me very little trouble. I was careful with each footfall so as to place it on level ground, and paid closer attention to the path. The walk a few days ago was over very rocky, rutted irregular farm roads and I wasn't attentive enough to the terrain, which is what I think caused this problem. Inattention can be devasating. Helga glanced at her guide book the other day while walking, tripped and augered !
into the trail. The whole left sideof her face is now a multi-colored bruise, poor thing, but at least she's still walking. Could have sprained an ankle.

The rest of the group ended up at the alberge touristico last night. When we got to town, we used our cell phone to call Felix on his cell phone and got the scoop. He said it was a low-end dorm arrangement for 15 euros each. We opted for the hostal in town with private bath, clean sheets and towels and a restaurant below, all for 35. Best 5 euros I've spent.

20 km Zafra to Villafranca de los Barros

I woke up a few times last night to what sounded like rain, but hoped was just a noisy radiator. It was rain. At breakfast it was raining steadily, so we lingered over breakfast and by 10 am it had passed. Never saw another drop and the temperature was just right for walking.

Last night my right shin just at the top of my boot felt sore,as though it was bruised. It bothered me all day today, so I'm trying to stay off it tonight. Tomorrow's walk is 27 km, and I'm hoping it heals some overnight.

We're all in the same hotel again tonight. The lack of cheap refugios has a few people on edge. All of them have walked the Camino Frances that enters from France and traverses northern Spain to Santiago. I guess they assumed the lodging would be the same. That route has gotten quite popular over the last 25 years and there is a much more extensive system of refugios. Some towns have a few to choose from, and they only cost a few euros per night. Plus, there are more towns along the route so it is easier to taylor stages to ones liking. The Via de la Plata, though equally ancient, has only recently been revived. That is part of the reason we chose this route. The camino frances has become, as they say here, massificado or saturado. At high season, its neessary to rise before daybreak to get to your destination in time to find room at the inn. And you're competing against "Pilgrim Lites" who travel in groups and send one person ahead in a taxi with all the luggage to stake!
claims for beds. Felix said that at one departure point last year, 400 people left in a single day. I'm sure there are people in front and behind us, but there are only 9 people in our cohort. My guess is that the Via de la Plata will rise in popularity as more people flee the crowds up north. I fear the VDLP will also suffer from its own success eventually, but in the short run, a bit more traffic would spur some needed development.

26 km Fuente de Cantos to Zafra

It was a bit nippy when we set out this morning just a bit before 9. I've got photographic proof that the sun was shining when we left, but within minutes we were shrouded in a cold fog. Promises from the refuge operators of hot coffee and toast proved unfounded, so we hit the trail with the intention of eating breakfast in a bar on the way. Being Sunday, nothing was open in Fuente, so we pushed on. The next town was 6.5 km down a dirt road, which covers an old section of the Roman via. Fortunately, we found a bar opened in Calzadilla de los Barros.

At various times along the trail we crossed paths with everyone we'd dined with the night before. Cristof and Verner, from Lucern it turns out, accepted the offer of a ride in the French RV, due to blisters and knee problems. Nice weather for walking, all on quiet dirt tracks through various crop fields and vineyards.

We all ended up at the same hostal and dined together. The alberges and refuges are turning out to be either closed or as expensive as the better appointed hostals. For the same price, why sleep in a dorm and share a bath? But it does dramatically raise the overall cost of the trip. Oh, well.

22 km Monesterio to Fuente de Cantos

Another great day ofwalking. We started out in shaded rock-walled lanes and by lunchtime we'd moved into treeless wheat fields. The alberge here is a semi-restored convent. The price is high relative to pilgrim standards but otherwise reasonable.

There were 10 of us at the inn. The aforementioned Vascos, French and Germans, and two new guys from Austria. We all sat together at one table for dinner. A polyglot crowd, but the conversation never veered into english.

Someone poured a ton of money into restoring this convent, but I don't think it is meeting their income expectations. We 10 pilgrims were the only guests, and we got a discounted rate of 15 euros each. Dinner was 9 each, which was more than we've paid before. There was only one person to attend to us. The grounds had gone to seed. Pity, because it was an impressive setting.

12 Km La Jara to Monesteio (kinda)

Today's walk should have been 20 km, the distance between the two towns. The first 12 km were without a doubt the most scenic yet, winding along a dirt road between stone walls. Penned inside were the famous black Iberian hogs, grazing and munching on acorns, blissfully igorant of their destiny to hang in bars throughout Spain as Jamon Serrano. Other pastures, blanketed in miniature daisies and dandelions, held flocks of sheep with bells clanging. We saw more castles in the first 2 hours than we saw cars, and we only saw 2 castles. Other than birdsong, it was quiet most of the time.

We knew it had to end. We'd been warned that road construction had obliterated the last 8 km of trail heading into Monesterio. The trail parallels the main north-south road through the region, and a new freeway is under construction that has buried the trail. The construction crew instructed us to walk the shoulder of the existing highway for the last 8 km to town. We walked it for less than 50 yards before we realized we'd likely be killed. There was at best a 3 foot shoulder, at times shrinking to nothing. Huge trucks passed one after the other within a few feet of us at 60 mph. We found a bar nearby and started asking if anyone could give us a lift into town. We got a ride with two locals who were heading into town with a basket of eggs to sell. We climbed into the back seat with the eggs on Conchi's lap and the floorboards covered in straw. I kept glancing at the continually disappearing shoulder that we'd been spared from walking and didn't feel bad at all about fudging on this short stretch. In addition to the already heavy traffic, there was a constant stream of motorbikes heading to the cup races this weekend in Jerez de la Frontera. When they ride in packs like that, they're a menace.

Felix and Paxti got to town about the same time we did. They'd ignored the construction crew and climbed up onto the new freeway and walked in that way. Barbara and Helga did the same, but it took them considerably longer, and stragled into town just before dark.

Today marked a few important milestones. We crossed the 100 km mark. We also left the autonomous region of Andalucia and the province of Sevilla and entered the autonomous region of Extremadura and the province of Badajoz.

17 km Almaden to El Real de la Jarra

We didn't hit the road until about 10 am, but still made it to La Jarra by 2:30 pm. The refugio here is very close to where the trail enters town, but it is necessary to go all the way across town to the city hall to get a key. But city hall closes at mid-day like everything else, so we were stuck. We ended up in a private "pension" that only cost 2 euros more and was closer to the center of town as well. We washed out our socks and underwear, hung them out in the sun and headed out for lunch.

At lunch we ran into another French couple, Michele and Danielle, that we've seen off and on the past few days. He is walking the route and she is driving their motor home. He's a retired engineer and she's a retired banker. She used to walk as well, and did the Camino Frances in 2005 from their house near Nantes, about 1600 km. She's developed heart problems, though, and can't walk much anymore. He's continuing to do about 1800 km per year with her providing support. They invited us over to their motor home for a tour and a glass of wine. Frere Pierre, I almost called you to put you on speaker phone and translate. Between charades and an electronic dictionary, we managed to have a very interesting afternoon. We traded phone numbers, but then laughed at the prospect of attempting a conversation over the phone.

The route today was supposed to have been through a private estate, but it has recently been closed to the public. Michele walked it anyway, alone. I think he was lucky not to run into a herd of toros or guard dogs. We walked along the road, which was nearly deserted and very scenic as well. The weather continues sunny but cool, perfect for walking.

Conchi developed the firs blister of the trek. Came out of nowhere yesterday, even though she had covered the hotspot with moleskin. Today, she walked the last 4 km in her chacos, and wished she'd put them on earlier.

32+km Castilblanco to Almaden de la Plata

This was supposed to be a 29 km day, but we missed the turn to El Cerro del Calvario - Calvary Hill. Too bad, because I hear the view is great from there. And that is not a reference to the joke (Peter, I can see your house from here). Instead we stumbled on a luncheon of Provincial officials at the visitors center, who offered us a drink and told us how to get to our destination without backtracking. Turned out to be the nicest stretch of walking all day, but it added 4-5 km to the day.

The first 16km was a pretty constant climb on a lightly travelled back road. The trail then entered a provincial park. It was sunny but cool all day, with a stiff breeze that bordered on uncomfortable. The upside of the detour, in addition to the scenery, was that it gave us a respite from the wind.

It is funny how these little towns go to the trouble of sponsoring a pilgrim refuge, then do nothing to indicate how to find it. The guide book we are using tells what street its on, but the streets themselves are rarely marked. We ended up asking six different people before we finally homed in on it. Not a bad deal, either. Six euros each and we had hot water, a toilet seat AND toilet paper. There were 8 of us in one large dorm - a French couple that we spoke to only intermittently because of the language barrier; Helga and Barbara from Germany; Pache and Felix from San Sebastian, Spain; and the two of us. Barbara is the mother of 9 and looks to be in her late 60's, as does Helga. They've both done the Camino Frances, as have Pache and Felix. Pache looks to be well into his 70's and Felix perhaps mid 60's. So Conchi and I are the "Camino Virgins" in this crowd.

19 Km Guillena to Castilblanco de los Arroyos

We were on the road 2 hours earlier than yesterday but still an hour behind all of the other trekkers.  Clearly we need some work in this area.  Tomorrow I'll have to set the alarm.  A fairly long day tomorrow - 29 km - so we need an earlier start.

Today's walk was very nice, mostly through a nature reserve.  The weather the past 2 days has been perfect for walking.  Sunny with a refreshing breeze.  Almost all points north of us have been getting rain; snow in the far north and highlands.  We climbed from about sea level this morning to almost 400 meters. ( This would be a good time to talk about units of measurement.  Everything I see here is metric, so I'm going to leave the math up to you).  Its noticeably cooler up here.  The city put in a pilgrim refuge above one of the municipal buildings and that is where we're staying.  It is a dorm setup with shared bathrooms.  But we do have a seat on the toilet, although we gave up hot water.  Its supposed to work, but... so is a lot of stuff.  No complaints though, for 2 € per night per person.  No complaints from me anyway.  Conchi refused to shower.  I would have too had I known the water was cold.

Anyway, they also provide this blazingly fast internet access for free.  On balance, I'd stay a few nights here if we had the time.  The town itself is small, but has most everything you'd need.  Fairly quiet, too.  Not congested.  There's a lot going on in Sevilla, but I prefer the pace in these pueblos.

23 km Sevilla to Guillena

Fortunately we had a short day planned, because we got an 11AM start. Not too bad considering the teary goodbyes and delivery of luggage to storage. That put us into Santiponce/Italica at 1:30 for lunch and Guillena at 6:30.

We got a little bit of everything today. Busy city streets till we got out of Sevilla, and then mostly dirt track roads and paths through fields and pastures. At one point we had to shed our boots for sandals, convert our long pants to shorts and ford a small river.

We found a roasted chicken shop near our hotel, which was a welcome break from deep-fried everything. Plus we've got lunch for tomorrow.

The refugio here is "roof and floor" only, so we checked into the only hotel in town. A hostel, really, and overpriced at 40 euros with a bathroom down the hall, (no seat on the toilet). Spain is fun, but its no bargain.

We didn't see any others on the trail, but there were 4 other peregrinos at the hostal.

The First Waymark of the Via de la Plata

 

This tile on the wall of the building just across the street from the Cathedral marks the beginning of the route. The scallop shell, the ubiquitous symbol of El Camino, is stylized to indicate the direction of the route. The head of the shell points out a left turn here. I´m sure I have walked past these tiles hundreds of times without noticing them. As they started popping off the walls along the route, I felt like I'd been initiated into a secret society.

Waymark in the sidewalk

 

Before long, these waymarks were appearing everywhere. It felt like clues materializing in The DaVinci Code. This pointed the way across the bridge of Isabel II that crosses the Guadalquivir river into Triana.

My First Wrong Turn

 
If you look carefully at the edge of the wall on either side of the top of the stairs, you´ll notice yellow arrows pointing out el camino. I was still lookin for the very cool tiles on the wall. The yellow arrows blended in with all the other grafiti. I walked on for about 10 minutes before I figured out something was wrong, and retraced my steps.

Monasterio de San Isidro

You can do a lot of walking in the USA, but you won´t come around a bend to a view like this. The Monasterio de San Isidro is in the town of Santiponce, the site of the former Roman settlement of Italica which was founded in 206 BC.

Italica was the birthplace of Roman Emperors Trajan and Hadrian. Hadrian was generous to his home town, which he made a colonia; he added temples, including a Trajaneum venerating Trajan, and rebuilt public buildings. Italica’s amphitheater seated 25,000 spectators—half as many as the Flavian Amphitheatre in Rome— and was the third largest in the Roman Empire. The city's Roman population at the time is estimated to have been only 80,000. For photos and a more detailed description of Italica,click here.

Getting Settled in Sevilla

We arrived in Sevilla ten minutes earlier than anticipated after literally spending the previous 24 hours in trains, planes and automobiles. Conchi´s sister Selene picked us up at the train station and we went straight to an outdoor bar for tapas and a few beers. It was Saturday afternoon, the weather was perfect and the bars were overflowing. This never ceases to amaze me. Life happens "in the street" here. For some reason it was necessary to eat at 2 different bars before we finally headed to Selene's apartment late in the afternoon. I was starting to fade, but was determined to stay awake until at least sundown to try to power through jet lag. We dropped off the luggage and within a few hours we were back out "en la calle" for dinner, along with substantially larger crowds. Sunday was a repeat of Saturday, but with an earlier start. Selene took us to a restaurant outside of town, across from the Roman ruins of Italica. Our first choice was full, so we settled for the place next door. It too was so full we had to wrangle our own table and umbrella and put it on the sidewalk. As we took our seats, I noticed a yellow arrow painted on the lamp post behind Conchi. A waymark. Without realizing it, we'd planted ourselves right on the Camino de Santiago, the very same Via de la Plata. Spooky.

The previous day, while in a taxi between the Madrid airport and the train station, our driver told us of his commitment to walk El Camino. He said he´d made a promise to St James, the very same Santiago and patron saint of Spain. If his brother recovered from cancer, he'd walk El Camino from the French border to Santiago de Compostela. His brother went through various treatments and had 20 centimeters of his lower intestine removed and now he's better, so in 4 years he's going to make his pilgrimage as promised. This is not a young guy. In fact, in four years he may no longer be in his 60's, so Conchi and I were a bit surprised by his determination until he added that he's got a special plan. He and another brother are going to walk with a friend they call the "andarín" or "the walker". Since the taxi driver admitted to having a 10-kilometer limit, he and his brother are going to tag team "the walker" using their car. He's convinced that St James will understand this and his promise will be considered fulfilled. OK, I guess so. But I also guess I would have given a little bit more credit to the oncologist and surgeon who saved his brother's life.

Between the time we left Portland and our train's arrival in Sevilla, the landscape of this trip had shifted beneath us. Conchi's mother had gone into the hospital for some yet undetermined heart ailment. Selene arrived at the train station to pick us up with her third sister in tow. Maria Jose had arrived that morning from Zaragoza and she and Selene had committed to a pilgrimage of their own to the Canary Islands, where their mother is hospitalized. By default, Conchi was drafted into that project. So I took them to the airport last night and I'm cooling my heels in Sevilla until they return this Saturday. Before Conchi left yesterday, we had time to walk to the Cathedral, the official start of the Via de la Plata, and obtain our pilgrim
credentials. This passport gets stamped along the way and allows us to stay in the "refugios" or refuges provided to pilgrims for free or for donations. So we're officially in the registry of "peregrinos". I asked the guy who issued them how many he had dispensed so far this year, thinking we were starting early and way ahead of the game. "Muchos" he guffawed. "I've already given out about 15 this morning. Lets see, some Germans, some Japanese. Muchos". Yikes.

This morning I put on my boots for the first time since arriving and did the first leg of el camino on my own. I walked the 8 miles out to Italica where we'd sat in the middle of the trail for lunch on Sunday.

Bienvenidos!

Conchi and I have a mission: To walk the ancient pilgrimage route from Conchi's hometown of Sevilla to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain, a distance of approximately 1000 kilometers. (620 miles). Start Date: Mid-March 2007. Estimated time required: Seven weeks.

For those interested in following our progress, we'll be posting to a discussion list and to this blog along the way. You can follow us either way. We'll be making the same posts to both the list and the blog. The advantage to the list is that you can automatically receive a summary email on any day new material is posted to the list. You can unsubscribe from the list at any time by following the link at the bottom of each message. To protect your privacy, your name and email address will not be viewable by anyone else. To keep things simple, the list is ANNOUNCE ONLY.

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We leave for Sevilla on March 9, 2007. I probably won't be posting again until we arrive, so until then....