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Laurie Reynolds
Laurie Reynolds

Laurie Reynolds

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  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    When 38 is only 36

    April 28, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    The guides all say that this stage is 38 km. Well, when you are prepared for 38 and the town magically appears a few kms before it’s supposed to, it is a cause for rejoicing!

    Today’s walk was wonderful. Far from cars, through scrub oaks and Jara plants. Once again it looked to me like rain for the first few hours, but none fell. A few water amenities, but I only had to take my boots off once. Late morning, the sun came out, but with a gorgeous cool breeze. To give you an idea of the beautiful temps— my water at 10 am was much colder than when I left the albergue. And even around 1 pm it was still cool!

    There’s a little fiesta in the pueblo. It’s called cruzes de mayo, in which many towns in Andalucia put up a colorful cross in the square, with some decorations all around. Seems like a good opportunity for gathering in the square and drinking more than anything else.

    We are definitely leaving Andalucía behind. More animals (pigs, sheep, cows), more scrub oak. I walked down paths lined on both sides with Jara bushes. In s few days it will be endless explosions of white flowers. Today just some early bloomers were there to welcome me.

    I’ve enjoyed lunch with two Spaniards and one Italian. It’s fun to be back in pilgrim-landia.

    Tomorrow the choices are 20 km or 53 km so I will have a short day. I may be crazy, but I will not try 50+ km!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    40 km again!

    April 27, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Hi from the little village of Villaharta. I had two choices for today—Cerro Muriano at 19 km or Villaharta at 40 ( my GPS read 40.7 but that’s because I got lost when trying to find Córdoba’s Roman bridge.)

    I left early since it was going to be a long day of walking. The exit from Córdoba, just like the entrance, avoided the ugly parts and once over the bridge I was out in countryside. Near a lot of highways but still, on dirt and out of traffic.

    The walk had some very nice parts— an ascent through rocky hills with scrub oaks and lots of wildflowers, and lots of off-road paths through woods. It was interesting to walk by an army base that must have been 2-3 km long —tons of tanks, trucks, barracks, and who knows what else.

    So here I am in the tiny village of Villaharta, where the very kind owners of the local bar have offered to take in pilgrims. Since I walked two stages, I have finally found some others!! The little place is bursting at the seams. Luckily I called and got the last bed— in a corner of their garage!

    Dinner beckons—as another bit of evidence of the owners’ kindness, they are opening the kitchen at 5:30 pm!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    In lovely (but very touristy) Cordoba

    April 26, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Yesterday afternoon I was delighted to go down to the bar next to my hostal and see three women, obviously walkers, sitting there. Thinking that my days of walking alone might be coming to an end, we started talking. How bummed was I to learn that the single Spanish woman had been injured and was taking a bus tomorrow, and that the two Finnish women were stopping today in Córdoba. Maybe I’m destined to walk alone for a while.

    The 27 km into Córdoba—did someone say olives? But wait, there were also gorgeous green fields and wildflowers. And when I was about 10 km from the city, the olive trees disappeared altogether. Oh but the walk into town. I saw the city at least 10 km away—HUGE and sprawling. But the agricultural track was serpentine, weaving around with no clear direction into town. But finally when I got really close I was very happy to find that the camino deposited us in a residential section very close to the mosque. I going my cheap hotel, showered and washed clothes, and found a non-touristy highly rated Italian restaurant. Splurged a little and had an excellent meal.

    By 3:30 I was back in tourist central, eager to visit the mosque. The guy in the ticket office told me that things would be much quieter if I came back around 5:30. So I did my grocery shopping and wandered around bumping into a first century Roman temple and a very nice plaza.

    Then back to the mezquita. Though the superimposition of Catholic renaissance architecture is kind of jarring, at least they left stuff standing. Unlike the Moors, who tore down the Visigothic temples, or the Visigoths, who tore down the Roman temples. All here in many layers. Once the groups are all gone, it’s an amazingly lovely place to sit and contemplate.

    Long walk tomorrow so I should go rest up!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds
    A Roman bridge maybe?

    Enjoying a long day of walking

    April 25, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    My GPS registered 42.8 km when I walked into the hostal where I am going to spend the night, in the dusty little town of Santa Cruz. There was a method to my madness. First, I just don’t enjoy 19 km days to towns with nothing to do. Second, I could have walked a shorter stage today and a longer one tomorrow but that would have taken away from my precious time to visit Córdoba. So it all made sense to me.

    I was surprised to see that it took me about 9 hours, which included one short and one long break, a detour to avoid flooding, and one stream crossing where I had to take off my shoes and walk carefully. But I am in my little 23€ hostal room, having finished a decent lunch. How lucky was I that the kitchen stayed open till 4pm!

    The first part of the walk had one thing on offer — olives. After the little town of Espejo, with its pretty privately owned castle on top, the scenery got more varied. Lots of wildflowers and lots of huge fields of brilliant green grain. Tomorrow will be only 26 into Cordoba and I don’t think the terrain is too challenging. So happy to have all this time alone to clear the cobwebs of my brain!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    Into the big town of Baena

    April 24, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    I left Alcaudete around 7:15, which is a good time for me to get going. Time for a cafe con leche (of sorts) made by me with my electric coil, packing up, doing email, etc. I had heard a lot of thunder in the night but the sky was clear when I set out.

    25 km of dirt roads through olive groves, with cool temps, lots of wildflowers and white towns sprinkled among the hills. Some have described these last few stages as boring, but I find them energizing and glorious. I came across my first peregrino since leaving Granada. A Spanish guy who was having a hard time and debating whether to pack it in. He was planning to go to the small albergue in town and I just had a hunch he would be a snorer. Time to go to Plan B.

    Just as I entered town there was a sign for Hotel/Restaurante. Peeking around the corner, a 3*** Hotel appeared. You never know, so I went into check on pilgrim prices and sure enough, one hour and a long shower and clothes washing session later, I am a happy camper, paying 25€ for a very comfortable room!

    After a nice lunch and walk around the old town and through the quiet municipal park, I am heading back to the room for s good sleep before my very early departure tomorrow. I may be crazy but I am hoping to walk 42 km more or less!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    Another castle town

    April 23, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today’s walk was great walking even if the scenery was a bit monotonous. 99% through olive groves, on a wide dirt tracks used by the aceituneros (people working in the olive groves). There was one tricky part through a culvert under a highway and across a stream but I survived it.

    I walked 25 km but my body didn’t register that many. It seemed a lot shorter. I arrived around noon in the town of Alcaudete, another town of Arabic origin with a castle on top. This was the Moorish/Christian frontier during the 13-15 C. Lots of battles and intrigue.

    Since it’s Monday the castle is closed, but I was able to hike up and walk around the walls and also able to get between the inner and outer walls.

    So many castles!!

    Tomorrow will be another short day like today but then I may tackle a long stage to get me close to Cordoba.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds
    1

    Short day to Alcala la Real

    April 22, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    I knew it would be a short day so I left after 8– almost unheard of for me. It was cloudy most of the day but the views were still good. As I left the castle behind I passed three or four atalayas (watch towers) on nearby hills, all from the same ancient time of the Arab castle.

    Today’s walk wasn’t spectacular but it was very pleasant. Off road a lot of the tine, either through olive groves or other agricultural operations. I had seen people out and all bent over and seeming to pick something and put it in a bag they carried. But the fields seemed to not have much growing. Finally I saw a man leaving the fields and loading up the car, so I stopped. Turns out they were picking asparagus. Very hard work and not very remunerative. They sell theirs to a coop and get 2€ for the bunch.

    I also had a nice long chat with a young male cyclist who must have told me a hundred times how valiente I am. He just couldn’t imagine how I was doing this. But by the end of our conversation, he was starting to think he might like it!

    Alcala has a big Moorish fortress up on the hill, a great post-prandial destination. The restaurant attached to my pension makes paella on Sundays, and it was a treat.

    So here I am after two hours walking around the castle, with more excavations of the city inside the walls than I’ve ever seen. Really a nice way to walk off the paella. Sleep is about all that’s in my future today. Tomorrow is another short day.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    38 long kms to Moclin

    April 21, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    But I’m here in time to go visit the gorgeous castle!!!

    Today was much longer than I had planned. My first choice was to try the new alternative that goes through a town called Abolote. Missed that somehow so I knew I’d have a longer day. Then I managed to get on the longer (but nicer I’m sure) off road route through olive groves up and up and then down and down before the last, and biggest, ascent. Gorgeous and not too tough but I was dragging a bit by then. And the snow covered Sierra Nevada are still in view!

    The way out of Granada was the typical city exit. 5 kms on asphalt past warehouses, dumped junk, unfinished subdivisions, etc. After the town of Pinos Puente, the landscape changed dramatically and I walked for kms and kms through olive groves. And 9 hours later I arrived in Moclin. I’m staying in a Casa rural—no Albergue here—and have a decent room for25€.

    I lucked out by being here on a weekend, because the castle is only open on Saturday and Sunday. It is really impressive. I’m glad I had enough energy I go up and visit it. Tomorrow’s 24 km will seem like a walk in the park. That is tempting fate I know.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    Afternoon in Granada

    April 20, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    First task after the stroll up to the Alhambra was to try to replace my fanny pack. The zipper keeps opening while I walk. The guy in the North Face store said —why replace it, why not fix it? He sent me to an upholsterer who with a few twists of a tool, got the zipper back to perfect condition. When I asked him how much it would be, he laughed and told me he was having a special sale today. So happy that this happened here and not at home, where I’m sure there is no one who would fix a fanny pack zipper!

    From there to meet a camino friend Amancio, who took me to the old Moorish madrasah from the 14th C. The beautiful prayer room had been covered with wood panels for three centuries and is in perfect condition, as is the antechamber for washing feet.

    After a great ice cream cone in Italianos, the last stop was the Santo Domingo church for a look at its last supper statuary. We weren’t sure which was santiago though.

    A final goodbye to Alun and time for an early bed. Tomorrow our on my own again.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    In Granada

    April 20, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Today’s walk was perfect, except that it was way too short. We were sitting in a cafe in Granada having a coffee by 10:30. Almost all off road, some wide open ridge walks with views of the Sierra Nevada, then a descent to walk along a stream and past an old monastery in ruins. The final part took us through Sacramonte, where the many gypsy caves have been turned into tourist attractions.

    This is the end of the first 200 kms. It’s also where Alun leaves, and Herminia and Rupert, my Austrian pals, keep on walking. So tomorrow I start out alone, knowing I will meet up with a new batch of peregrinos.

    We are staying in a convent of the Sisters of some order of Santiago. There are 22 of them in charge of this huge place, and they are all always scurrying around cleaning and washing and sweeping. None of the nuns are Spanish. Our individual rooms with private bath are spotless, a great deal at 20€.

    Most important event of the day —buying a new good hiking hat!!!

    This afternoon we hoofed it up to the Alhambra grounds. No tickets available but we had a nice shady walk up and around the walls. Last time I visited the Alhambra was 1995 and it has only gotten more popular. It is beautiful, no doubt about it.

    Tonight I will meet up with a Santiago friend who lives here in Granada. It will have to be an early night because I am hoping to start walking tomorrow before 7 am.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    About 30 mountain kms to Quentar

    April 19, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today’s walk was spectacular, except for a short one or two kms along the road at the end of the first mountain ascent and before the beginning of the next. Snow covered mountains along the left, olive groves, almond trees. Just wonderful. It was tough though. This is probably the hardest camino I’ve walked, and that’s not just because I am getting old!

    There are about ten people in our “bubble”. Two Austrians, an Australian, two Dutch, a Spaniard, two Brits, and one guy from Puerto Rico. Many will spend a day in Granada. My pal Alun will leave the camino in Granada also. So I will start over and hope to find other peregrinos. I am very glad to have the tracks on GPS, that’s for sure.

    Short 20 km day to Granada tomorrow, where we hope to sleep in the convent of the sisters of Santiago. I will probably not get back to the Alhambra but if the stars align I could take a quick trip.

    And I will buy a new hat!!!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    Short day to La Peza

    April 18, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    This was one of those perfect camino days, except for the 3 km slog on asphalt at the end and getting lost for a half hour or so. Almost all off road, trails up and down through pine forests, cloudless blue skies, nice small towns, views of snow covered mountains, and fewer than 25 km. Lots of homes, hotels, and businesses built into the caves that’ll expand this path.

    I lost my hat, grrr, but was able to buy a 2€ straw hat lookalike, which is undoubtedly plastic. It will get me to Granada, where I will buy another one.

    Tomorrow’s walk is long, about 30 km but with no services. So we will make sandwiches and stock up on water. Two days to Granada where companion number two will probably exit, and I will be on my own again. There are others walking this route, though so I won’t be alone.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    In Guadix

    April 17, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Today’s walk was very nice. 28 km, a few ups and downs but nothing really strenuous. The landscape has become much less desert-like, with green fields and almond groves.

    But it was overall one of those flat camino days. I My pal Percy is cutting his camino short because of a family medical emergency in China. I am very sad to see him leave but of course understand. It just made for a down day.

    Because we have collapsed three standard stages into two, we have jumped ahead and find ourselves in a bubble of 12 people. The next Albergue has only 8 beds, and usually it is not a problem. For some reason there has been a burst of popularity on this branch of the Mozárabe. Luckily I have found a casa rural and we have reserved two rooms there.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    35 km to La Calahorra

    April 16, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Yesterday in Abla, my two buddies and I decided that a 20 km walk was likely too short. So we planned an alternative. If we felt good after 20 km we would continue on another 15 km to this little town with a privately owned castle.

    The walk was beautiful and with lots of bar stops. For me it’s the perfect day. A challenge but not so hard as to leave you wiped out.

    We have showered and washed clothes, eaten a good menu del dia, and are ready to go climb around the town.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    To Abla

    April 15, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    This was a 29 km walk but it was a LONG 29 km walk. We left at 8 after a leisurely breakfast and then after 3 km had a very steep but very invigorating ascent. Of course that was followed by a very long steep descent but that wasn’t the worst of it. We then had km after km walking on rocks in a dry river bed.

    We were lucky when we got to Abla that the restaurant owner would serve us a meal, too late for lunch and too early for dinner.

    All in all a great day.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    Walk to Alboloduy

    April 14, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Only 24 km today but it was a long day. Not sure what made it so hard, but there were a couple of killer descents. And the landscape is pretty punishing.

    We arrived at our destination in time for a menu del dia in a decent restaurant. Then after shower and washing clothes we walked above the town to see the whitewashed church (which must have been a mosque originally, given its dome) and take in the views.

    No dinner for this pilgrim, I am headed to bed.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    Civil War Shelters

    April 14, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    The Spanish Civil War is one of those wars that is wrapped in mystique — it is still the subject of public debate, and a lot of its wounds are still close to the surface. As the last city in Spain to surrender (two days before the end of the Civil War), Almeria has monuments to the resistance in several places.

    Almería has a 4 km web of bomb shelters built after the Germans bombed Almeria in 1937 in retaliation for the Republicans attack on a German warship that was on the mediterranean coast. The town mobilized and built these underground shelters (500 workers and thousands of local volunteers over 14 months). They had been closed off until a few years ago. The regional government has opened them for visits.

    A member of our Mozárabe group who lives in Spain was kind enough to buy us tickets ahead of time. These tours routinely sell out, and now that I’ve been through I understand why.

    It was fascinating —a video explaining the history and with interviews of survivors, followed by a tour through the underground tunnels. More than 30,000 routinely took shelter there, and as you might imagine the memories of the survivors were still vivid. The hospital room was still in tact, and the guide told us that fortunately that room’s primary function turned out to be to deliver babies of the many women who went into labor during the bombings. Graffiti on the walls is preserved, and the entrances to the shelters remain hidden in kiosks up and down one of the main avenues.

    Enough history for now, I’m off to walk!!!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    Warm-up day to Rioja

    April 13, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    After an interrupted 11hours of sound sleep, and upon some sensible reflection, I decided it would be really silly to walk 38 km on my first day. I enjoy those distances, but probably not on the first day. So I decided to walk 15 km out to a little town on the Camino and take a bus back to Almeria. Then tomorrow, it will only be 23 km to the albergue in Alboloduy.

    So at a little after 9, I went down to the cathedral to start walking. There I met Nina, another peregrina, from Denmark. She will start tomorrow. On the way out of town, I met Veronica, a member of the local association, with whom I have corresponded. She was waiting at a bus stop to take her daughter to the doctor. Magical encounters like this abound on the camino.

    The walk today was a typical first day walk out of a city. Lots of asphalt, through commercial areas, until about halfway. Then the arrows (which are excellent by the way) then took me to a stony dry riverbed. Not exactly a scenic highlight but it took me to Rioja and the bus stop. Santiago must have been looking out for me because a bus back to Almeria arrived exactly four minutes later.

    After another visit to the castle with my Norte pals, we Took a tour of the Civil War shelters. That was really something. In a span of 14 months,500 Almeria citizens built 4 km of tunnels,where more than 30,000 people could go to escape the Nazi and Franco army bombings. Almería was the last province to surrender to Franco, and today it is certainly a badge of honor.

    Then a great meet up with the Mozárabe folks anda bunch of wonderful folks I had never met in person, a few wines in a bar, and we are ready to go tomorrow!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    In Almeria

    April 12, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    The flights were all fine but i didn’t sleep. So I’m really glad I could get a few hours shuteye in the Madrid airport in the Iberia lounge’s sleeping room. A row of comfortable partitioned beds, very comfy. Much appreciated, maybe even more than the excellent coffee!

    I met another peregrino on the flight to Almeria. When we got to town we headed straight for the cathedral where we got our first stamp. And then Joe found the first arrow and hit the road. He’s walking 15 k to Rioja. I was tempted but there are people coming in for a get together tomorrow and I don’t want to miss it.

    So I climbed up and around the 9-10 C moorish castle, explored the old town a bit and at 6 pm met up with Clare. We spent more than an hour getting cards for our phones. It was complicated, but I now have a Spanish phone number. By then i was starting to fade, so I headed back to my little basic pension and picked up a takeout salad that looks pretty good. And as soon as I eat it, I will hit the hay. Not sure what I’m going to do tomorrow, except that I know that I will be joining with about 6 others who are arriving to walk. We are going to have a tour of some underground shelters built here during the Spanish Civil War.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    Chicago O'Hare

    April 11, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    So far so good. My flight from Champaign was even early, so I was able to hop on my last preemption conference call for a while. Very good stuff going on, specifically a lawsuit challenging Florida’s punitive laws against local gun regulation. Leaving that world behind now for a while. In their never-ending quest to separate the elite, AA now has two lounges—the regular Admirals Club, and a fancy flagship lounge with food and drinks galore. I got put in the fancy place, not sure why.

    I have always thought it would be a good idea to get up really early on the day of a transatlantic flight. Today I was awake at 2:20 am, and by 2:45 decided I wasn't going back to sleep. In an effort to not wake Joe, I went in the dark into the bedroom where my pack was waiting for me, only to trip over some of the bathroom fixtures that the construction guys have left there. So I now have a 3” gash and a growing bulbous bruise, which will be hugely black and blue in no time. I wasn't expecting to use my first aid kit so early in the trip.

    My next activity was to go to the gym at opening time, 6 am. I am glad I rode my bike, because as I pulled the bike lock out of the bag, I saw my GPS sitting there. I had taken it to the office yesterday so that my tech genius friend John could corroborate that he had in fact saved me from GPS failure with the instructions he gave me on the phone. My delight and relief at realizing how close I had come to leaving the GPS behind made the bruise seem trivial.

    So off I go, with an 18 year old fleece and a totally new approach with shoes. In an effort to avoid the tremendously painful corns I always get between my toes, I bought some recommended Altras-widest toe box in the universe. We’ll see what my feet think in a few days. Iberia, here I come.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018Laurie Reynolds

    Getting ready to go

    April 7, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C

    Well, it’s four days till departure, and I thought I should get my penguins website going. This year, I will be starting in Almería, mediterranean coastal city in the south and east of Málaga. I had originally planned to meet up with three or four other people, since it is a very solitary route. We don’t know each other in the face to face sense, but have friends in common and have been in contact through the internet. Well, one thing led to another, and we are now a merry band of 13 or 14! We will all meet up on Friday the 13th, in the Bar Entremares in Almería, get to know each other a bit, and then set out the next day. We will probably spread out in the first couple of days since the albergues are small (usually around 8 beds), but it will be fun to start out at the same place.

    This branch of the Camino Mozárabe starts in Almería, goes through Granada and Córdoba, and joins up with the Via de la Plata in Mérida. Those are all great cities to visit, so I will have some touring time as well.

    I am not going to be able to walk into Santiago this year, unfortunately. It's 1400 km from Almería and I only have a month to walk, so I will have to stop somewhere in the middle. Not sure I like that, but oh well.

    My pre-Camino jitters have started and I have finally found my backpack and started going through my stuff, tossing out expired betadine, mangled gaiters, and hoping to find my favorite FITS socks, which have mysteriously disappeared!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsPortugal 2018Laurie Reynolds

    My last walk in old Lisbon for this year

    March 3, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    It was raining when I woke up and went to breakfast. I went to the gym after breakfast -- still raining -- did some packing -- still raining. Finally, around 1:30, it stopped. I hurried out to the metro and went to the Rato stop where my favorite walk around Lisbon begins. I had all these great little stops along the route I could take to duck out of the rain -- pastelarias, churches, an archaeological museum, cafes with views, but at 4:00 when I descended from the castle to Rossio, it was still clear!

    So I just kept walking, all the way back to my hotel. I picked up some takeout at the Corte Inglés for dinner-in-the-room, and then slogged up Combatentes for the last time this year. I arrived at the Marriott about 5:45, and the rain began about 20 minutes later.

    There are more cranes around the city than I’ve seen in years. Lots of the little old holes in the wall are being replaced by trendy shops and cafes. The most creative was a shoe store/bar combo. The sign advertized shoes & booze.

    5:00 am departure from the hotel tomorrow. LIS-MAD-ORD-CMI. It will be a long day but oh well.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsPortugal 2018Laurie Reynolds

    Last days in Lisbon

    March 3, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    This week has had lots of rain, each drop of it very welcome here in parched Portugal. Luckily for me, it was mostly a teaching week. I have managed to squeeze in a couple of camino-related get togethers -- one on Thursday in Lisbon with a couple who just walked their first Camino last year and are understandably chomping at the bit to do more! And on my way to meet them, I ran into my friend who is now on the Supreme Court of Portugal. I hadn't emailed her because I thought it would be an intrusion, but that was the wrong decision. Next year for sure, we will get together, if only for a quick visit in a cafe near the court house.

    Yesterday afternoon, I met up with my ViaLusitana pals (the Portuguese camino organization) and we went to their albergue in Alpriate. This albergue is the perfect first stage from the Lisbon cathedral, about 21 easy kms to a little town that has opened its arms to the pilgrims. There is a café there whose owner has modified her offerings to appeal to the typical pilgrim (without a corresponding rise in prices), and the women of the village have decorated all of the tree trunks with home made lace and crocheted squares. I think it is called tree-bombing, but that is a very violent word to describe a very peaceful activity.

    The albergue is undergoing some serious renovations thanks to a grant from the American Pilgrims group, but my friends are certain that they will be open and taking in pilgrims no later than April 2. I would be skeptical, but I have seen this before. Two years ago, before the albergue first opened, I was out there helping to clean a little to get the place ready. I laughed when they told me they would open within the week, but, by golly they did. The numbers are increasing almost exponentially. Last year they had 856 pilgrims stay with them and helped hundreds more find lodging when the place was full. And to think I walked this route in 2008 and there was not one albergue and I saw not one other person!

    One more day in Lisbon, home tomorrow. I hope I can do my traditional two hour walk through my favorite parts of the old town later today, but the weather makes me doubt that it will be much fun.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsPortugal 2018Laurie Reynolds

    Last Stop Cáceres

    February 25, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Today, on the drive back to Lisbon, we took a little detour to stop in Cáceres, a bigger city than the others we have visited on this trip. It has no big museums, churches, or other "must see" sites, but it has a Renaissance core that is extremely well preserved and just beautiful. So it was a good place for a couple of hours' walk and a quick bite to eat before heading home.

    We sat in front of the toll booth to get over the bridge back into Lisbon for at least 45 minutes, maybe more. Traffic was awful. Then to top it off, I wound up on the wrong side of Marqués de Pombal and had to get lots of help from sympathetic drivers sitting next to me at stop lights. Thank goodness the Portuguese people are so incredibly friendly and helpful. But we made it home, squeezed in a workout, and had a quick overpriced bite to eat in the hotel restaurant. Ready for week number 2 of classes to begin!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsPortugal 2018Laurie Reynolds

    In Merida where all is Roman

    February 24, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    So today we got up early and drove the 50 miles to Mérida before having coffee! Talk about tourists with a purpose. By 10, we had parked the car and were sitting in a café near the Arab Castle having our café con leche with a tostada. Boy, the coffee in Spain is SO much better than what we drink in Portugal!

    We had a really nice tourist day. From Moorish castle to Roman villa to Roman theater and Roman circus to Roman crypt to great vegetarian restaurant. After a nice long pause with really good food (in our experience, you can usually count on vegetarian restaurants in Spain to be good), we ended the day with a visit to the Roman Art museum, where you can get up close and personal with the mosaics, and then a quick trip through the visigothic art museum. The visigoths, who came in after the Romans, had a much less sophisticated but more appealing style to my uncultured taste.

    Before getting back in the car and heading home, we walked over the LONG Roman bridge. Really a beautiful bridge, still standing from Roman times. I have walked over this bridge before while walking the Via de la Plata, and hope to walk over it again this May as I walk the Camino Mozárabe from Almería, which joins up with the Via de la Plata right here in Mérida.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsPortugal 2018Laurie Reynolds

    From tiny monastery to big monastery

    February 23, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    This morning while one of us slept in a bit, the other climbed up to the castle, then had a café con leche right smack dab in the middle of Trujillo's beautiful square. Watching the sun come up and bathe the stone buildings in morning light was pretty awesome. It's hard to decide whether the early morning sun or the night illumination is prettier. We did get going a little later than usual, and had some problems with the GPS (though I am now pretty sure I can do most of the basic operations, we'll see tomorrow). So we decided that rather than a long-ish trip to Mérida and its Roman ruins, we'd hope for an earlier start tomorrow and take today to visit two relatively nearby monasteries.

    The first, Yuste, is the plain and simple place where Carlos V went to spend his last days after abdicating. Out in the middle of nowhere, very peaceful. I was sad to learn that his son, Felipe II, had violated his father's wishes to be buried here, and instead had him transported to the pompous, overbearing monastery in El Escorial.

    From Yuste, we headed to Guadalupe, the gothic monastery that is now famous because of its 12th century "Black Virgen." It's in the middle of a not too remarkable town, but the monastery itself is really nice. And the rooms of the monks' handiwork from the 14-17th centuries had some beautiful things -- the embroidery (who knew monks did embroidery?) and the hymnals were my favorites.

    We drove a circular route, which is always more fun than a direct out and back. Through some really beautiful olive grove territory, which I will soon be walking through with my own feet. Very few tourists, lovely things to see, this is a great little trip.

    Oh yes and did I mention crossing the Tajo/Tagus/Tejo River and coming upon five columns on the side of the river, the ruins of a small Roman temple?    Read more

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