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  • Caroline Kerr
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    23 maja 2023
    Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    On y va!

    23 maja 2023, Francja ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    The adventure begins! Set out from St Pancras at 7am and arrived at St Jean Pied de Port at 6.15pm, right on schedule. We loved our first evening at Alberge Beilari where Joseph, our multi-lingual and quietly amazing host calmed our nerves and helped a group of strangers to bond. After a delicious dinner F & I explored the medieval town before the hostel locked its doors at 10pm. Silence imposed from 10.30pm - 6.15am to ensure everyone had a chance to sleep. Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 1, St Jean to Orisson

    24 maja 2023, Francja ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The climb to Orisson wasn’t easy but nothing like as gruelling as I’d feared. Sadly the mountains were only sporadically visible through layers of cloud. Still beautiful and mysterious though - much more so than my photos suggest! We finished walking early and shivered outside our alberge until we were allowed in at 2.30. Perhaps we should have just walked on….
    Once again Fiona and I met lovely people from all over at dinner. Two Canadian women, a South Korean couple, Tricia from Texas, Dominique from France, Daniel from Brazil, an Israeli couple, Julie from California and an Austrian couple who had walked 1600k from Austria.
    We ate well and despite finding our host, Lorenzo, to be a somewhat lacking in charm, we agreed he ran a very professional operation. After dinner Julie kindly shared some of her photos which were much more appealing than mine.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 2, Orisson to Roncesvalles

    25 maja 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We were delighted to wake up to a clearer sky and charmed by the view (more visible this morning than any time yesterday). After breakfast we set out (at 8.15) for Roncevalles, a 17k walk through the Pyrenees - uphill for about 11 and downhill for the rest. The weather was pretty cold and my weight-conscious packing didn’t seem quite so smart as I got progressively colder and eventually found that my fingers had stopped fully functioning. However, this was one of the most amazing walks I’ve ever done. Utterly stunning and once again beyond the scope of my photographic skills to capture.
    Walking the Camino is beginning to feel like living in a village since we already seem to know so many of the people we meet. Today we added an Irish couple to our list. Had a long conversation about whether you can be Irish if you’re second generation and about the horrors of Brexit. Whiled away the last kilometre or two with ease.
    Right now I’m mildly depressed to face dinner wearing the same clothes I’ve been relying on constantly for the past couple days. Hoping for warmer weather and the possibility of changing into a dress in the evening.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 3, Roncesvalles to Zubiri

    26 maja 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    It was wonderful to set out today with clear blue skies above and sun beaming down on us. Even at 7.45, with the temperature at 6 degrees, the chill had gone. As we left Roncevalles, we exchanged contact details and said goodbye to Dominique, a Parisian great-grandmother on her way to Bordeaux to see her great-grandchild.
    The walking for much of the day was level and easy, through verdant countryside, forests where they used to burn witches in the 16th century and medieval villages which provided today’s pilgrims with coffee, tortilla and delicious cherries and apricots.
    The final 3-4 kilometres were steeply downhill on uneven bedrock and made for a pretty tough end to walk.

    We were extremely relieved to enter Zubiri and then disappointed to discover our accommodation was at the far end of the town. Our 21.8 km walk ended up being 23.6 km ( not sure why that always happens). However, our lovely host, Sara, made us feel extremely welcome and the place, Suseia, appears to be lovely. Fiona and I are both tired and delighted dinner is at 6.30! It should be a jolly night - 6 of the guests are Irish and we’ve met them all already. There’s an English guy called James and one Spaniard and Sara has a reputation for providing good food. Let’s hope so because we are HUNGRY!     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 4, Zubrini to Pamplona

    27 maja 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    The day began with a birthday present from Fiona - a silver chain with a shell pendant. The perfect gift for the Camino.
    For most of the day we skirted the Arga River and for some of time were within earshot of the N135 highway. Fiona was of course tempted to take a dip at the site of cold water but, with a long trek ahead of us, she resisted.
    This felt like a tough day. On the plus side, we met up with Mel and Rachel from England and enjoyed their company during the morning, but it was 11 kilometres before we hit Zuriain and a chance of breakfast.
    Later, we enjoyed bumping into a local festival at Villava but found the final few kilometres to Pamplona extremely exhausting. Fiona and I were both pretty knackered by the time we’d pushed through the crowded streets of the old city and found our way to Aloha Hostel.
    On arrival we sat on the terrace and savoured a can of beer from the vending machine. The place was lovely and our room very comfortable. We forced ourselves out (thank you Fiona for accompanying me) to find Decathlon where I bought a new pair of trainers (which don’t pinch) and then I took pictures of Fiona in her Marsden tee shirt in front of the cathedral and the bulls sculpture. She scowled at both locations but felt she could dump the tee shirt once the charity photos had been done.
    We were delighted to bump into our Canadian friends, Cheryl and Janice, as they arrived at the hostel. They agreed to meet us for dinner to celebrate my birthday.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 5, Pamplona to Puente la Reina

    28 maja 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    It seems to me that everyday on the Camino is the same and at the same time totally different. The routine is predictable - wake up early, find the route, walk for a couple of hours and hope to find coffee and breakfast, complete walk, down a beer, rest, shower, eat, get an early night. What’s totally different is the landscapes we walk through and the people we’re meeting. Today was wonderful and the countryside we walked through quite different from previous days. Lots of wide open corn fields bordered by masses of wild flowers and occasionally interspersed with meadows of poppies. Lots of up and down and, in the last couple of hours, more heat than was comfortable but overall a joy.
    What’s more, my new shoes don’t hurt!     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik
    1

    Day 6, Puenta la Reina to Estella

    29 maja 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We set out this morning as soon as the rain stopped, did a quick tour of Puente la Reina and then got back on the path. The evidence of last night’s torrential rain made us doubly grateful that we’d missed it yesterday. (The picture of us walking though the town was taken by Julie from California).
    This was meant to be a relatively easy day - 21.6km and pretty flat. We passed through a number of lovely medieval villages - my favourite, Cirauqui, reminded me of an Umbrian hill town although our Spanish friend, Bego, said it was pretty typical of this part of Navarre.
    This was another varied day where we walked on Roman roads, crossed 12th century bridges and walked both over and under the A12 motorway. I felt confident about how I was coping with the Camino and really content for most of the walk until the moment I began to suspect a blister hotspot developing on the sole of my right foot. Peace shattered, I found a use at last for the deer tallow cream I’d ordered for blister prevention and changed into walking sandals. I’m a bit anxious that I may still have a problem tomorrow.
    I really enjoyed the company of our Camino friends Bego and Kim and their stimulating conversation kept me going for the final few kilometres. Kim and I talked about politics at local and national level and Bego told me how worried she was that young people are taught to be afraid with warnings they won’t afford a house, won’t have secure jobs because of AI and that the planet has no future. We talked too about the indigenous people in Mexico she worked with for 15 years.
    We arrived in Estella together though I’d been trailing behind. Fiona and I were relieved our hostel was on the near side of the town, we stopped there and agreed to meet the others later since this is their last night.
    After dumping rucksacks and finding our room (a 4 bed room shared with an Israeli and a Spanish woman who we have already bumped into) we found ourselves a beer and did a tour of the town. Fiona wanted cherries and we eventually tracked them down.
    Said hello to Janice and Cheryl, our Canadian Camino friends, went home and washed some clothes (not likely to dry in time for the morning), and had a healthy dinner at El Mundo.
    Estella is a beautiful town, full of magificent churches and palaces. We met Bego and Kim after dinner, had tea with them and were taken for a tour by Bego’s local friend. A memorable end to a good day.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik
    1

    Day 7, Estrella to Los Arcos

    30 maja 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    I woke at 5.45 and quietly tended to my blister prevention duties while everyone else in the room slept. We set off around 7.30 with the slight worry that today’s section of the Camino includes the longest period without access to food and drink. Fiona was a little twitchy about the possibility of walking without coffee and I was worried my supplies of dried apple, nuts and yogurt might not sustain me.
    The first treat was the wine fountain where Bodegas Irache, the local wine producers, provide free supplies to pilgrims. We suspected this only made economic sense because most pilgrims pass by around 8am! The second treat was the discovery of a cafe about 8km into our walk - probably the most universally welcome sight for any Camino pilgrim.
    Today marked the end of our first week. We’ve walked 135km and have made a wonderful start. We were blessed with another stunning day of wide skies and spectacular views. We ended with dinner at Los Arcos with Sheryl and Janice, our Canadian friends, and Denis and Bernie from Ireland, Camino veterans who are now Mammy and Daddy to us all. What’s more, I didn’t get a blister, despite yesterday’s ominous signs and, all in all, would count this as one of the best days to date.

    As we tramped along today, one of the lessons of the Camino crystallised in my mind: whenever you admire a wonderful hillside or hilltop village in the distance, factor in the 90% chance that this is your next destination. It got me thinking about what else I had learned. So here goes:
    1. Walk at your own pace. You test the patience of your companion if you are always urging them to slow down and you can’t enjoy the experience yourself if you are chasing someone else’s tail.
    2. Invest in some sponges to cushion your collarbone from the friction caused by rucksack straps. Currently we are each sporting a yellow bath sponge on one side and a flat cleaning sponge on the other. Fiona’s is blue, mine pink. They do the job! We aspire to 2 flat sponges each. They work better!
    3. Wear your sun hat
    4. Don’t think you only need heavy-duty sun cream on your left hand side (because you’re walking Westwards and the left hand side gets the brunt if the sun). Despite this clever advice, it’s my more neglected righthand side that’s a bit red tonight.
    5. Be paranoid about blisters and leap on all hot spots before the nascent little bastards have a chance to bubble up.
    6. Enjoy!     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 8, Los Arcos to Viana

    31 maja 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We decided to do a relatively short walk today - about 19km and to stop at the medieval town of Viana instead of doing the daunting 28km to Logrono which most pilgrims were doing. I think this was the right decision even if it means doing longer days later on because we were both tired and loved having the chance to nap when we got to the hotel (staying somewhere tonight where we have our own bathroom!)
    Viana is a lovely place with narrow streets, a ruined 13th church and a pretty amazing one which is still functioning. We went to a pilgrim mass there tonight at 8pm. Fiona and I and two American girls were the only pilgrims who showed up but there was a respectable local congregation.
    This was after another nice and astonishingly cheap pelegrino menu - lentils, peppers stuffed with spinach and walnuts, followed by watermelon. And accompanied by wine. All for 13 euros. We ate with Tricia who lives in Austin, Texas and Rachel from West Horsley!     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 9, Viana to Navarette

    1 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    It all started so well. We were out the door and on our way just after 7am and made good progress to our first stop, 10 km on, at the city of Logrono. The weather was cloudy and the walk there boring rather then unpleasant but we were happy (verging on smug) as we congratulated ourselves on the decision not to press on to Logrono the previous afternoon (which is what most Camino guidebooks recommend). We imagined how the final 10km would have felt at the end of a long day.
    By 9am we had visited the Church of Santiago el Real and were searching out a good spot for breakfast. First stop wasn’t great but we had coffee and sat outside where we felt free to eat the yogurts we’d bought the day before. We did a quick scout of the nearby supermarket and stocked up on toothpaste and fruit for the journey. Then we found a wonderful bakery/cafe where we bought more coffee and I had an enormous slice of wonderful orange cake. All was well with the world.
    Leaving Logrono, after an enjoyable 2-hour break, I began to have blister panic. I taped up the heel of my left foot with KT tape (bought yesterday) but half an hour later stopped again because it was coming off and it looks like my first Camino blister had appeared. I used a precious bit of Leukotape (wishing I had brought more with me) and walked on slightly depressed. Fiona meanwhile was entranced by the sight of a red squirrel. This was a 12 km stretch that mysteriously lasted for 13 km and my feet felt pretty upset for much of it.
    We did eventually reach Navarette and are staying at a beautiful medieval albergue called Ignatius. We had a beer and a very quick look round. The town is enchanting with another wonderful church and a maze of narrow medieval streets. Then it was time for a nap.
    Our first attempt at dinner was comically bad. Fiona had done a recce and spoken to the owner about our vegetarian preferences and been assured he could provide fish at the least. When we got there he seemed to have no memory of that promise. He was a Romanian who spoke little English but seemed to promise a vegetarian meal of vegetables ( never a good sign) and then was heard arguing with his partner who was also the cook. While we were waiting, without much confidence, he told us there would be a problem with the starter if we didn’t eat ham, then dragged a large gas cylinder across the restaurant and offered us some chocolates. All our instincts told us to escape. We fled, leaving a generous 10 euros for the glass of wine we’d hardly touched and joined Rachel who’d spent most of the afternoon at a wonderful place called Bar Deportivo. There we ate and drank really well and enjoyed the company of Rachel, Ros from Glasgow, Nick, Mike and Paul. A great escape!
    Going to bed thankful for a mostly lovely day but hoping the blister doesn’t make tomorrow miserable.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 10, Navarette to Najera

    2 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We left last night’s rather splendid posada around 7.30 and began the day with coffee at a bar in Navarette where we met an Australian woman who was catching the bus to Santo Domingo in the hope of resting an injury. Leaving town, we bumped into the lovely Australian father and son we met on our first night. David and Noah were also both injured, were aiming for the same bus and seemed pretty low about it.
    I recognised the two little blisters which have developed on my left heel were pretty trivial in the scheme of things but this didn’t stop me worrying about them! Luckily we weren’t doing big mileage today.
    We were happily distracted for the first 6km by conversation with an American couple who set off at the same time as us. They told us they were on a 5 month mid-life break. They had taken a cruise to Europe and were planning a long trip to Paris afterwards to revisit Disneyland Paris which they loved but also, for the first time, to see the city itself and visit some museums. They were then taking a Disney cruise to see other European capitals. I was quietly assuming I had their measure when they revealed they were professional clowns who had spent 19 years living in a camper van as part of a circus.
    This I hadn’t expected. I decided their Disney obsession was professionally motivated and recalibrated my thinking.
    We are now in the Rioja region and, unsurprisingly, we are surrounded by vineyards. I was also taken by an odd beehive building commemorating a battle between the knight Roldan on his way to Santiago and a Syrian giant. It reminded me of the Gallarus Oratory in Kerry.
    Our destination today was Najera where we visited a monastery that was originally founded in the 11th century and full of treasures. Like most of the major churches we’ve seen (often in minor places) everything was on a massive scale and the altar full of baroque gold.
    Dinner wasn’t great but we met Janice and Sheryl and had an extra plate of chips at their restaurant before setting off for bed.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 11, Najera to Santo Domingo

    3 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Najera had seemed a slightly depressed town last night but as we left today its red cliffs and it’s iconic buildings positively glowed in the early morning sunshine and you had a better sense of its past glory. We managed to get out by 7 (unusually good for us) but were by no means the earliest on the road. Along with the other early risers, we were rewarded with wonderful clear light and wide open views.
    I was preoccupied by the sad state of my heel and irritated by feeling a bit of pain but today’s countryside was some consolation. It was one of those walks where there was something breathtaking to see in all directions. This was in many ways a wonderful day - a 22km walk and a mixture of flat and pleasantly undulating terrain. But I would have loved it more if I wasn’t bothered by blisters.
    As we arrived in the central square in Santo Domingo we bumped into Cherie and Dave, the clowns we met yesterday. They were having lunch before walking on another few kilometres and we just joined them for a drink. I got a chance to ask them questions I wished I asked yesterday. I discovered they’d met auditioning for clown school 30 years ago. Dave had been planning a career as an aerospace engineer but got lured into clowning by his father who was already in the business. They told us about Dave’s illness (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) and how they’d decided to seize the day and make this trip. They explained why they loved attending Disney events - they felt the standard was so high that they always learned something. And they talked affectionately about life in a travelling circus, which they described as living in a town without a zip code. After their lunch we wished them well and went off to find our hostel.
    There, I had a long conversation with a woman trying to extricate herself from a difficult marriage. I hope she finds the courage to do it when she gets home.
    By the time we visited the cathedral I was exhausted and hungry. It was magnificent but I was an unresponsive visitor. Dinner was much better than last night - beans with clams followed by cod. Now I am tired and looking forward to sleeping. It’s 9.15pm.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 12, Santo Domingo to Belorado

    4 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    This morning began chilly and misty. When we set out at 7am there was still a little rain in the air and I wore my poncho for the first 5km. Fiona walked ahead with Rachel, our English friend who sets a cracking pace and I dawdled with Janice from Winnipeg who told me how her 85 year old mother walks 3 miles every morning and cycles 6 every evening. Before she goes to bed she phones her best friend, a 100 year old in the same apartment block, so they can check up on each other.
    We stopped at a disappointing refreshment van about 6 km in but Fiona’s craving for caffeine wasn’t satisfied by the coffee we drank there. Today there were precious few opportunities for food and drink so we were grateful for a most unscenic bar by the side of a busy road where we eventually found breakfast. Today we entered Castile, leaving Rioja behind us. Despite walking alongside roads for some of morning, this was another day of spectacular views, intersected by tiny medieval villages which looked as though they had seen better days. And, as always, there were wonderful churches in the midst of lifeless streets.
    Near the end of our walk we stopped in a shady picnic area to eat some cherries and drink some water. However, we were so bullied by a local cat who was determined to eat whatever food we had that we we had to eat our cherries standing up!
    Our destination this afternoon is Beldorado and today is a local festival with lots of life in the main plaza. We found a quiet if quirky garden for our celebratory beer/wine to mark the end of the day’s walk. From there we could see a stork’s nest on the roof of the church - this seems to be a very common sight in these parts.
    We’re staying in a hostel which boasts a small pool in a greenhouse! Contemplating a dip as I write.
    The task I’m dreading but hoping will help with blister pain is the threading of small piece of thread through the two blisters on my heel which I have been advised should ease the pain. Am both hopeful and slightly alarmed by the prospect of this procedure but tomorrow is our longest walk to date and I would love to do it without flinching.
    Since writing this have carried out the threading procedure - so far no discernible improvement.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 13, Belorado to Ages

    5 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    At 28km, this was our longest walk to date and I had been trepidatious about it for days. We were on the road at 6.05am, long before sunrise, in an effort to avoid too many hours of full sunshine later on. Most of the people in our dorm had the same idea so we could hardly have slept beyond 5.30 even if we’d wanted to.
    We knew the first 12km to Villafranca were pretty flat and easy and decided to wait for breakfast until we got there. The early morning walking was a pleasure, cool and comfortable. Fiona, as always, was using the Merlin app to identify birdsong as she walked. We missed a Camino sign in Tosantos, the first village we passed through, and added a few hundred unnecessary kilometres to our day’s tally (the first time this has happened). I think I was distracted by the discrepancy between the name Plaza Real and the rundown reality of the main drag. The next village offered another beautiful church but we pressed on without stopping. Despite our little mishap we were sitting down to breakfast just after 8.30. As we tucked into tortilla and coffee in the sun, we met up with our extended Camino family, Rachel, Nick and Pablo.
    The next stage involved an hour and half of uphill walking, much of it through forest. I put my headphones in and listened to The Mirror and the Light to distract me from the effort of this section and that part of the Camino is now connected in my brain with Henry VIII disputing the issue of transubstantiation with an ill-fated Anabaptist.
    Fiona pointed out the butterfly activity I was missing and I turned off audible. We were surprised by a field of goats wearing bells (we’ve now seen ‘cow bells’ on cows, goats and horses’). We agreed the countryside was beginning to look like England - we could even be in Surrey.
    Eventually we reached the pretty village of San Juan where we would have preferred to stay but couldn’t get accommodation. Had a fizzy water there and set off for the final 3.5km.
    Our destination was Ages, the first small village we have stayed in overnight. Once again there was a lovely church (which we visited with Sheryl and Janice to get our Camino passports stamped) and a plethora of amazing timbered medieval buildings that had seen better days. Happily there were also nice places to eat.
    In the evening we had a lovely Camino dinner with Rachel, Nick, Paul and Roz. I gave up on
    vegetarianism entirely tonight and ate chicken - the veggie alternative was tortilla which I’d eaten for breakfast today and would, no doubt, eat again tomorrow morning.
    All in all, this was a special day. Felt I’d managed better then I feared and had actually enjoyed the walking, despite the distance.
    As for the blisters, the piercing last night did help and though they are still a problem, they didn’t seem so bad today.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 14, Ages to Burgos

    6 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    I found today quite a challenge. The early morning walking was a joy, as it always seems to be. It was a sharp, bright start with wild flowers galore in the hedgerows. As Roz, one of our Camino group put it, how are we expected to walk with all this natural beauty to photograph?
    However, I found the second half of the walk harder. It wasn’t difficult in terms of gradient but the approach to cities seems to be the hardest part of the Camino. There were two routes into Burgos and we took the better one which skirts the river, but it still seemed to take forever. And my blisters remain a bit of a nuisance. However, entering the city by the Santa Maria arch was stupendous and the cathedral breathtaking. We stopped for fizzy water opposite the cathedral with Roz and met Rachel, Clint and Jo (Rachel’s walking companion).
    Fiona and I checked into our hotel. On the plus side, it is in a wonderful location and our room has a great view of the cathedral. However, it was unbearably hot and impossible to relax in. I also discovered that my sketchers flip flops were missing and, despite calling last night’s albergue, they appear to have disappeared. Given the fragile state of my feet I was a bit distraught to have lost them and extremely unrelaxed by the sauna-level of heat in our room.
    We found a vegetarian restaurant which did lovely vegan food. Despite eating well, I was still feeling a bit miserable. An evening out with a jolly group of fellow pilgrims helped considerably and I came back to the (slightly) cooler room a lot happier than I’d left it. Tomorrow we plan to visit the cathedral and I would like to go to the Museum of Human Evolution. I gather this was established following the discovery of the earliest humanoid life in one of the villages we walked through this morning.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 15, Burgos rest day

    7 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Annoyingly I woke up at 6am this morning when I should have been having a big lie-in but it was good to have a quiet day and Burgos was a great place to spend it. However, I was glad to have seen Burgos in yesterday’s sunshine because today was cloudy and cool.
    I went to the post office and sent off my On trainers to the hotel where we will stay in Santiago. All managed remarkably efficiently with the post office assistant despite our limited common ground linguistically. Getting rid of the old trainers should make it a lot easier to pack my rucksack every morning and must make it lighter. My other practical task was to replace my fit flops and buy a day rucksack.
    Four of us (all resting) had lunch in the vegan restaurant where Fiona and I had eaten yesterday then we spent a good hour looking around Burgos’s magnificent cathedral.
    We also visited the Museum of Human Evolution which explains the recent remarkable archeological finds at Atapuerca, a village we passed through yesterday. They have found the remains there of Homo Antecessor, a predecessor of the Neanderthals, dating back 1.3 million years. It’s believed to be the earliest evidence of humanoid existence in Europe. They believe they were similar in height to us but broader and stronger. They were thought to be cannibals who particularly targeted children and teenagers. I hoped this information wasn’t being conveyed to the primary school children who were trooping through the museum at the same time as us.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik
    12

    Day 16, Burgos to Hornillos

    8 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Today has felt like a significant day and not just because I had no blister pain for the first time in a week though that was wonderful! We were back on the road at 6.40 this morning, setting out from Burgos with the moon still visible in the sky, in the company of Rachel, our English friend who we’ve shared a room with for the last few days. She walks even faster than Fiona and is described by some of the other pilgrims as a Amazon. Before long she strode on ahead of us, and was on her way to a destination some kilometres beyond ours. We expect to see her next in Leon.
    This morning marked the beginning the Meseta, the section of the Camino many people avoid. It is a high, flat plain with little shade which is often very hot and some say deeply monotonous, though others claim it as their favourite part of the journey.
    Early on we faced the usual issues leaving a city - crossing motorways and searching for the Camino’s yellow arrows.
    11 km on we stopped for breakfast at the sad little town of Tardajos, which last night Rachel christened ‘Tired Horse’ in response to my attempts to pronounce it authentically. It had the usual storks on the church roof (one nest for each of the four corners of the bell tower) and some lovely roses in an otherwise down-at-heel town.
    A few kilometres along the road we stopped at what my guidebook described as ‘the unremarkable Ermita de la Virgen’. I found it a really special place of great serenity. It was very simple and of no architectural merit but I sat in a pew and felt deeply moved. I think this was my first spiritual experience of the Camino. Afterwards I turned my attention to the 70 year old woman at the back of the church called Teresa who was issuing stamps to pilgrims. I think she was a nun but can’t be sure. She only spoke Spanish but seemed to have an instinct for those most in need and spoke to them at length, whether they shared her language or not. She touched each person and wished them a happy arrival in Santiago, told us to be kind to each other, to embrace the dispossessed and to keep the Camino in our hearts when we went home. She took her time but people queued to receive her blessing. She gave us all a medal and stamped our Camino passports. I think for many of us, this was an important encounter.
    We walked on, marvelling at the big skies (which threatened rain) and the wild flower verges which proliferated in poppies.
    We did encounter our first Camino rain (we have had rain before but it has always fallen after our arrival), I got a chance to put my yellow poncho to use but we were almost at Hornillos before it began so we have hardly been tested yet for rain resilience.
    At tonight’s communal dinner I spoke to Gregory, a 36 year from Poland who is walking with a prosthetic leg. He spent two weeks in hospital in Estella with an infection and is clearly in some pain. He told me he had suffered badly from Covid and spent a month in hospital in a coma. When he recovered consciousness he had lost the sight in one eye and now has failing sight in the other eye. Doing the Camino was his dream and he is determined to reach Santiago even though his progress is slow. He was religiously inspired and asked our names so he could pray for us. He said he added the names every day of those he spoke to and asked them to reciprocate. It was a very Camino encounter and encapsulated the special nature of this experience.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik
    1
    12

    Day 17, Hornillos to Castrojeriz

    9 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    I hardly dare say it, but we continue to be incredibly lucky weather-wise. We walked today’s 22km in pretty perfect conditions - cool, dry until the last 20 minutes and with a mixture of cloud and sun that made for fascinating and constantly changing skies. I’m scared to say this too, but so far I’ve loved the Meseta. Like yesterday, we stopped a lot to photograph vast skies, layers of colour and abundant hedgerows.
    Travelling with Fiona has made me more aware of birdsong, Before we went to sleep last night we heard a nightingale sing; this morning we woke up to a cuckoo. We hear cuckoos almost every day - I’m not sure I’ve heard one at home more then a couple times ever.
    We bumped into Sheryl and Janice from Canada at Hontanas (pop 73) where we stopped for coffee about halfway through today’s walk. I really liked our stop at the 14th century Church of the Immaculate Conception there - once again I was moved and Fiona and I both lit a candle.
    We walked on to the evocative and stupidly photogenic ruins of Monasterio de San Anton. It had once been a hospital for people suffering from ‘St Antony’s fire’ an illness caused by eating infected flour. Apparently the order of San Anton was set up to cure this illness across Europe - and the treatment they offered was good food and wine. All in all, my sort of medieval hospital! Built into the ruins of the monastery is a tiny donativo albergue which offers accommodation to 12 pilgrims overnight. There were two beds left and we would have taken them if we hadn’t already committed to a place 3km down the road in Castrojeriz. Fiona has pledged to return and stay at San Anton. We walked on another 3 or 4 km and it began to rain lightly just as we entered Castrojeriz, our destination today. Our hostel turned out to be more than a kilometre away at the far end of the town. This did not feel like good news at the end of our walk but where we are staying is nice and quite upmarket for us - and besides, it means a slighter shorter walk tomorrow when we are set to do 25km.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 17, Hornillos to Castrojeriz

    9 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    I hardly dare say it, but we continue to be incredibly lucky weather-wise. We walked today’s 22km in pretty perfect conditions - cool, dry until the last 20 minutes and with a mixture of cloud and sun that made for fascinating and constantly changing skies. I’m scared to say this too, but so far I’ve loved the Meseta. Like yesterday, we stopped a lot to photograph vast skies, layers of colour and abundant hedgerows.
    Travelling with Fiona has made me more aware of birdsong, Before we went to sleep last night we heard a nightingale sing; this morning we woke up to a cuckoo. We hear cuckoos almost every day - I’m not sure I’ve heard one at home more then a couple times ever.
    We bumped into Sheryl and Janice from Canada at Hontanas (pop 73) where we stopped for coffee about halfway through today’s walk. I really liked our stop at the 14th century Church of the Immaculate Conception there - once again I was moved and Fiona and I both lit a candle.
    We walked on to the evocative and stupidly photogenic ruins of Monasterio de San Anton. It had once been a hospital for people suffering from ‘St Antony’s fire’ an illness caused by eating infected flour. Apparently the order of San Anton was set up to cure this illness across Europe - and the treatment they offered good food and wine. All in all, my sort of medieval hospital! Built into the ruins of the monastery is a tiny donativo albergue which offers accommodation to 12 pilgrims overnight. There were two beds left and we would have taken them if we hadn’t already committed to a place 3km down the road in Castrojeriz. Fiona has pledged to return and stay at San Anton. We walked on another 3 or 4 km and it began to rain lightly just as we entered Castrojeriz, our destination today. Our hostel turned out to be more than a kilometre away at the far end of the town. This did not feel like good news at the end of our walk but where we are staying is nice and quite upmarket for us - and besides, it means a slighter shorter walk tomorrow when we are set to do 25km.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik
    11

    Day 18, Castrojeriz to Fromistra

    10 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    I was a bit daunted by the length of today’s walk - it was supposed to be 25km but turned out to be 26 - nonetheless it was a joy. It began with a steep climb up
    the Alto de Mostelares but we coped with our early morning workout and enjoyed the views at the top across the Meseta. (Our photos don’t capture the effort involved in the ascent). We were both hungry before we reached our first town (about 11km in) so we took an earlier break at a picnic stop and ate our yogurts, spreading out our nuts, seeds, fresh and dried fruit without the worry we feel when we try to eat our own (healthier) food at a cafe when we buy coffee. The view was sublime - we ate and marvelled at the cloud formations in front of us.
    Everyday I’m struck by how varied the countryside is. Today we had bouts of bright sunshine with brilliant blue skies, and moments of muted light and Eric Ravillous-like landscapes. There was even a forest! We both wish we could draw or paint pretty much every day.
    Coffee stops were enlivened by encounters with Camino friends - and Fiona was delighted to find a bowl of vegetable soup - a rare vegan treat!
    We walked today for about 7 and a half hours, including 3 breaks, but there was never a moment when it felt too much. This might be because we are now so fit - but more likely because the majority of the walk was flat and the weather, once more, was blessedly cool.
    I’m hugely grateful my feet are holding up though I remain paranoid and change into a very attractive pair of Jesus sandals with socks in the course of every walk.
    The approach to Fromista where we’re staying tonight ran by the side of a canal, built in the 18th century to facilitate the transportation of grain from this region. It added a last touch of variety to the final kilometres.
    There’s a church here built in 1066 - I found it’s simplicity rather beautiful and loved the carvings on the capitals.
    Dinner tonight was with our Canadian friends, Sheryl and Janice who only have two days walking left. They hope to return to complete the Camino another year.
    One last thought. Tonight we caught a glimpse of a rare sight on our Camino travels - children. I’ve been missing them. Fromista is a proper town where families live but I’ve been fretting about the absence of children in the little medieval villages we’ve passed through in the last two and a half weeks. Seems sad to me.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik
    21

    Day 19, Fromista to Carrion de los Conde

    11 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    This morning we fell in with Sheryl and Janice who have only one more day on the Camino. It was good to have their company and discuss the Canadian health service, the danger of meeting a coyote on your morning walk to the coffee shop and what Janice might do in retirement. We chose a slightly longer but much gentler route which allowed us to skirt a river rather than a major road.
    My feet are doing well but in the interest of full disclosure I thought I’d share photographic evidence of my daily routine to prevent toe blisters. My toes start the morning looking normal and then each one is bound up in a tedious and time-consuming process which so far has kept toe blisters at bay.
    We separated from our friends at Villalcazar de Sirga where we stopped at the fortress-like church of the White Virgin (who bestows blessings on passing pilgrims). After pondering the artwork on the altarpiece we resolved to study it in more detail later (though this may never happen).
    The final 6km were today’s hardest. It was hot, the landscape flat and a bit monotonous and our path ran alongside the road. Maybe this is why people struggle on the Meseta. I was wholeheartedly thankful for clouds - most importantly for shade but also for visual interest.
    We reached Carrion de los Condes just as a Corpus Christi procession was passing through. The children who’d taken their first communion 40 days ago were the central attraction, walking on streets decorated with cut grass, rose petals and (we thought) dyed sawdust. The whole town seemed to be celebrating.
    Soon afterwards we reached our hotel, a rather lovely former Cluny monastery, with its own splendid cloisters and church. When the heavens opened we were hugely grateful to be indoors. Before dinner, the sun reappeared and we returned to the town to hear a small group of nuns lead some hymn singing. Each pilgrim was asked to introduce him or herself and explain why they were doing the Camino. The singing itself was nothing special but the whole experience was affecting, like so many things on the Camino. Fiona and I went to mass and then returned to the hotel for dinner.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 19, Fromista to Carrion de los Conde

    11 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    This morning we fell in with Sheryl and Janice who have only one more day on the Camino. It was good to have their company and discuss the Canadian health service, the danger of meeting a coyote on your morning walk to the coffee shop and what Janice might do in retirement. We chose a slightly longer but much gentler route which allowed us to skirt a river rather than a major road.
    My feet are doing well but in the interest of full disclosure I thought I’d share photographic evidence of my daily routine to prevent toe blisters. My toes start the morning looking normal and then each one is bound up in a tedious and time-consuming process which so far has kept toe blisters at bay.
    We separated from our friends at Villalcazar de Sirga where we stopped at the fortress-like church of the White Virgin (who bestows blessings on passing pilgrims). After pondering the artwork on the altarpiece we resolved to study it in more detail later (though this may never happen).
    The final 6km were today’s hardest. It was hot, the landscape flat and a bit monotonous and our path ran alongside the road. Maybe this is why people struggle on the Meseta. I was wholeheartedly thankful for clouds - most importantly for shade but also for visual interest.
    We reached Carrion de los Condes just as a Corpus Christi procession was passing through. The children who’d taken their first communion 40 days ago were the central attraction, walking on streets decorated with cut grass, rose petals and (we thought) dyed sawdust. The whole town seemed to be celebrating.
    Soon afterwards we reached our hotel, a rather lovely former Cluny monastery, with its own splendid cloisters and church. When the heavens opened we were hugely grateful to be indoors. Before dinner, the sun reappeared and we returned to the town to hear a small group of nuns lead some hymn singing. Each pilgrim was asked to introduce him or herself and explain why they were doing the Camino. The singing itself was nothing special but the whole experience was affecting, like so many things on the Camino. Fiona and I went to mass and then returned to the hotel for dinner.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 20, Carrion to Terradilos

    12 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Today’s walk wasn’t a favourite, to be honest. It was long (26.7 km) and less than wondrous. We walked for extended stretches without much visual stimulation - the sky was overcast and the flatlands on either side of the path somewhat monotonous. Though there are always the wildflowers and the birds.
    We left our lovely monastery hotel around 7am, keen to stock up on extra water because we knew the first opportunity to refill was 17kms away. Bizarrely, the cold tap in our room was spewing warm water this morning. We asked the guy at reception if he could provide us with cold water - but he filled our bladders with warm water too. We passed a drinking water tap on the road and it was hot too. I have no idea what was going on with the local water supply!
    7km in, we were delighted to see a van selling breakfast - in my case green tea, freshly squeezed orange juice and toast with olive oil and tomatoes. All delicious. Janice and Sheryl joined us. Day after day, we set off at different times from different accommodation yet always seem to reach the food stops within 10 minutes of each other. Fiona and I had two more stops before reaching Terradilos. 3km short of our destination, on our final stop, we met up again with Rachel who has been ahead of us but is sharing a 4 person dorm with us tonight. Each bed cost 13 euros so we’ve bought the fourth one to avoid having to share with a stranger. It still seems odd to me that you could end up sharing a room with a man you’ve never seen before. And there is always the fear of the loud and erratic snorer.
    The afternoon brought the usual thunder storm - just hope this pattern of morning sun interspersed with cloud followed by afternoon rainstorms continues for us. So far, it has allowed us to finish our walk just before the downpour.
    Tomorrow Fiona and Rachel are taking a different route from me - they’ve chosen to walk the old Roman road which is described as desolate but beautiful in my guidebook. Though that sounds wonderful, I’m going to take the more commonly walked Camino path because there are lots of warnings about how hard the Roman road is on the feet and I am, of course, rather feet-obsessed. Since we’ve got a long day whichever route we choose, I’d rather not risk the tougher one. It means that tomorrow night I will be staying on my own in a dormitory and going on to Leon ahead of Fiona on Wednesday. I feel quite nervous!
    And despite all my precautions a little blister has appeared between my toes. Not the worst place for a blister but I just don’t know how it got there. Ah well, must get the sewing kit out again, I suppose.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik
    1

    Day 21, Terradillos to Bercianos

    13 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    I’m feeling a bit under the weather this evening - I’m afraid I’ve got a stomach bug - so will make this a short one. This was the day we passed the Camino’s halfway point at Sahagun, having walked 250 miles. Our only stop here, apart from a coffee shop, was the monastery which issues a certificate to say you made it halfway. We had a little look round at the monastery which contained some beautiful and moorish-inspired murals. Much has been lost but what remains is exquisite.
    Today’s walk began around 6.45 in cool, misty conditions. Rachel walked with us and although she and Fiona kept stopping for me to catch up with them, the pace they set was faster than I was comfortable with. Yesterday Rachel had tried to teach us to use our poles to do Nordic walking but my lamentable lack of coordination made this a tall order for me. I am still trying!
    After Sahagun I said goodbye to Fiona and Rachel as they set off for the Roman road. I needn’t have worried about being lonely. Nick, a former serviceman, and Paul from Derry walked with me the final 15 kilometres. Tomorrow morning they are picking me up at 6.30am.
    I’m staying in a four bed dorm but there are only currently only two of us here. Pearl, my Canadian roommate and I had dinner together, along with some of her friends. I’m worried that I began to feel quite queasy during the meal and fear my stomach isn’t right.
    I really hope I will wake up feeling better tomorrow. I was utterly shattered when I got here this afternoon and could have slept for the night when I had a nap. Fingers crossed that a really good night’s sleep will cure me. We have done a run of long walks and I am looking forward to getting to Leon tomorrow evening where I will stay 3 nights and recuperate.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Caroline KerrCaminoPodróżnik

    Day 22, Bercianos to Mansilla

    14 czerwca 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    I think this counts as my most challenging day yet. I went to sleep early but was really not well during the night and had to do a number of emergency trips to the bathroom - not ideal
    In any circumstances but especially awkward when you are sleeping in a dormitory full of strangers. One of my roommates, Pearl, told me she didn’t hear anything and I do hope she wasn’t just being polite.
    I’d arranged to meet Nick, Paul and Mike (Pearl came too) at 6.30 so was up early but threw up before I left and once, embarrassingly, on the road.
    The team were absolutely lovely and Mike, who was walking with me at the time of my embarrassment, was an absolute gentleman for the rest of the walk. His conversation kept me going. Two Italian men who were passing at the time were also extremely solicitous. They were trying to offer advice but we were struggling to understand each other. They walked on a bit and then returned with a paragraph on Google translate with their suggestions.
    Despite feeling a bit wobbly I managed to walk the 27 kms to Mansilla de las Mulas. There didn’t seem to be a lot of choice but to keep walking because we were in the middle of nowhere and I knew I didn’t want to stay there.
    I was hugely relieved to arrive in Mansilla but as soon as we got there Nick found out that there was a bus to Leon in 10 minutes (and several hours before the next one) so I didn’t have time to see Fiona before I moved on.
    Rachel joined us in taking the bus but Fiona wanted to stay to swim at Mansilla. And unlike the rest of us, she does not want to cheat by skipping the harsh walk along the highway into the city.
    In Leon I checked into my lovely room and slept for ages while half listening to the Archers omnibus. In the evening I got up, had a bath and met the others. I felt a lot better. However I decided to play it safe tonight so left them to eat without me and went to a supermarket where I got myself bread, cheese, a banana and a coke for dinner. There’s lots of life in the street below me and Leon seems a lovely city - I’m hoping to be on top form tomorrow when Fiona arrives.     Czytaj więcej

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