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Norman GrahamNorman Graham
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📍 Spanje Meer informatie Falkirk, United Kingdom
  • Norman GrahamWalking: Almería to Santiago
    Dag 4

    Rioja to Alboloduy

    4 mei, Spanje ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We had 23km to walk today, but of course, it's not so much the distance that matters, it's the terrain. The day was split into three clear sections of youghly 8km each with a rest point at a café.

    We were up and away slightly later than planned at 0620, and the first section to Santa Fe was very pleasant. It was cool, and we walked the whole way in the shade. The café was open, so we had our breakfast there.

    The second section was always going to be the most difficult, as there were three mountain peaks to go over. The steep climb began before we even got out of the town. The first part was on tarmac, although it was a flat hard surface, it was very steep. Eventually, the tarmac became gravel, a bit looser, and more difficult to walk on.

    It levelled out briefly and then started to ascend to the next peak. When we reached the top, we found that there was an extremely steep descent and that it was mostly gravel and loose stones. We got down by zig-zagging across the trail. I was surprised that neither of us was injured. We then had another shorter but steep climb with a longer, steeper descent into the town of Alhabia. We were very glad to stop at the café for half sn hour to recover.

    The section from Santa Fe to Alhabia was the same distance as the section to Santa Fe, but it took us twice as long to do it.

    The final section was a lot easier, flat, and on a tarmac path, but we didn't get to Alboloduy until 3pm.

    We were both jiggered but got on with the tasks of the camino, then went to the only bar that was open to get some dinner.

    We went to bed glad that we had split tomorrow's stage over two days.    Meer informatie

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  • Norman GrahamWalking: Almería to Santiago
    Dag 3

    Almería to Rioja

    3 mei, Spanje ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We were up reasonably early despite the fact we would only be walking 15km today. Nely had made us a wonderful breakfast, and she told us that she had reserved our Albergue in Quentar for the 12th of May.

    She said that since we had been to the service at the Cathedral and our compostelas had been stamped, we didn't have to start from the Cathedral as the camino went right past her house.

    Just before we left, I invited her to join us in a prayer that we intended to pray every morning as we set out on our camino. It is based on a prayer by St Patrick of Ireland.

    May the power of God guide our steps.
    May the eyes of God watch over us.
    May the ears of God hear us when we pray.
    May the hand of God protect us.
    May the presence of God go with ys and bring us safely home at our journey's end.

    She was quite moved by that and held onto us as she prayed for us also. We set off, and she walked with us part of the way, then waved us goodbye.

    The camino was well signposted, and we had no problem following the route. The first half was actually through the city, and the only real problem we encountered was preventing Ken from stopping at every café.

    Until we reached the very edge of the city, we had been walking on tarmac, not my favourite thing, but it allowed for a good pace. We did actually stop for coffee on the edge of the city. Once we entered the countryside our problems started.

    The camino soon came off the road and entered a dried up river bed - the first of many. The walking became much more difficult as the ground became less solid underfoot. It was a lot like walking on deep sand, very tiring.

    We we were quite exhausted by the time we reached the albergue. I phoned the number we had been given and got the pin code for the key safe.

    The albergue was clean with a half decent shower. So we got on with all the daily tasks of the camino, then went to the bar for dinner, then an early night.

    We had the company of two other peregrinos from France.

    It had been a good start to our camino, but the next day was to prove more challenging than we could have imagined.    Meer informatie

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  • Norman GrahamWalking: Almería to Santiago
    Dag 2

    A day in Almería

    2 mei, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We slept OK in the hostel, there were a couple of other people in the room, the French girl was a bit noisy but she quietened down before it got too late. The showers were good, but the WiFi was dodgy, as in Google warned me that I shouldn't join it.

    We didn't have to check out until 11 a.m., but there was no reason to stay, and we both wanted breakfast, so we checked out about 8 am. The sun was shining, and the city was waking up. It didn't take long to find a café that had opened early, and so we got the classic camino breakfast of tostada and coffee.

    We would not be able to get into the albergue, La Estrella del Camino, until much later in the day, so we had a lot of time to fill.

    We decided to go and find where the cathedral was, as that would be the starting point for the camino tomorrow. It is quite an impressive building, much more like a fortress than a cathedral. It is the only cathedral in España that doesn't have a cupola. The flat roof was designed to help hide it from pirates sailing by.
    Any pirate would have been mad to try, as I said it's built like a fortress.

    The history and culture of modern España have been shaped as much by its Muslim part as by its Christian one. Moorish names and architecture are everywhere in the city. I wanted to visit the moorish Fort (The Alcazaba) at the top of the hill above the city.

    It was a bit of a climb, especially with our heavy backpacks, but it was worth it. Entry was free, and it was quite busy. The architecture and history were fascinating, and the views were amazing, but surprisingly, there was no gift shop. The toilets, however, were terrible, not bad, terrible.

    We wandered back into town, heading for the seafront, thinking we could find a bench to sit at and get our towels dry in the fierce heat of the sun. Instead, we stopped at an outdoor cafe and had a fabulous lunch. Afterwards, we were almost at the seafront when the hospitalera from Albergue messaged us to say we could drop off our backpacks is we wanted to, and boy, did we want to.

    We met the hospitalera, whose name was Nely, and she turned out to be a mine of information about the Mozárabe. It turns out that booking albergues is essential in some places on the route. Not all are manned, and if we didn't book for Saturday and sunday before 2 pm on the Friday, we wouldn't get in. Some needed to be booked 2 weeks in advance. She even called some and booked them for us. We were so glad that we had decided to stay with her.

    She took us to the cathedral for the pilgrim blessing service that evening. It was a lovely service, and I found it quite moving when the priest prayed for the six people about to embark on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, with a response from the congregation.

    It was very different from my faith tradition, but it made me wonder if we are missing something of the mystery of Christ and the glory of God in our services.

    We all had our Compostelas stamped by the priest and would begin the camino in the morning.    Meer informatie

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  • Norman GrahamWalking: Almería to Santiago
    Dag 1

    Belfast to Malaga to Almería

    1 mei, Noord-Ierland ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Ken and I had to be at Belfast International Airport for 0630, so it was an early rise at 0400 for us. Patricia got us there in good time, and we got our bags checked and were through security in no time at all.

    We treated ourselves to an Ulster fry and bought some sandwiches for the bus journey to Almería.

    The flight was exactly the kind of flight you want to be on...uneventful. we had the bonus of extra legroom because we were sitting at an emergency exit. I was really looking forward to this trip, but as you can see from the pictures, the excitement was too much for Ken.

    The sun was shining in Malaga, and we were on time... until we got to the hall for passport control. Malaga is, of course, a popular holiday destination and transport hub. There were hundreds of people in front of us queuing to get their passports stamped. Thank you to everyone who voted for Brexit.

    It was easy to find our bags on the carousel. Our backpacks were in glow in the dark bright travel bags. By now we had about an hour to get to the bus station, buy our tickets and find the right bus stance. A guy on the glight had kindly told us how to get there by public transport but there just wasn't time.

    So, we took a taxi, and that was the right choice. We got there with 30 mins to spare, so, no stress running for a bus. In fact, we had time to eat our sandwiches.

    The bus journey was as eventful as the flight. We could see the Sierra Nevadas in the distance and noticed snow on the peaks, hoping it would be gone in a few weeks when we get there.

    Once in Almería we encountered a problem. The albergue we planned to stay in was closed. We phoned the hospitalera, who reminded us of the need to book. She recommended another one, so we set off using Google maps (helpful about 50% of the time), and 30 minutes later... we were told they were full. He recommended another one about a 30-minute walk away, and so we set off again.

    Just then, the Hospitalera from our preferred albergue phoned to see how we got on. She started phoning around places to see if anyone had room. In the meantime, we continued on to the one that was recommended. The hospitalera phoned back, she hadn't been able to get a room for us, but was glad we were sorted. We confirmed that we would stay with her tomorrow night, and that turned out to be a great decision.    Meer informatie

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  • Norman GrahamCalifornia
    Dag 12

    Home

    13 augustus 2023, Schotland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We landed in Dublin and I made my way to the departure area knowing I had a long wait ahead, there's not much to say about it other than it was incredibly boring...mostly. I would get a coffee and then read for a while and then get another coffee and then read for a while and on it went.

    Eventually I got so bored I walked around for a while and then went to my departure gate once it was announced. I had only been sitting for a short time when an American couple sat beside me. I made the mistake of being polite and saying hello.

    I was then subjected to an hour-long monologue about why Donald Trump was the greatest President in America's history, how he tried to clean out the swamp, how he was the only one who tried to stop all the illegals from taking over the country (this was I think ironic as she was from somewhere 'south of the border'). She went on and on about how dishonest Joe Biden stole the election from the American people, how they were trying to stop the great Donald Trump from running for President again. Even covid got a mention, although I did notice she didn't say anything about bleach.

    I'm trying to be a better person, and when you have been shown grace by others and you know it, how can you not show grace back? So, in what I like to think was a superhuman effort, I refrained from correcting her with some actual facts, and just went to my happy place while she droned on. Besides, you can't argue with crazy.

    I was saved by the call to start boarding. It's just a short flight to Edinburgh and so about an hour later I was standing on home soil once more. I love this land, it's here my heart lies, and though I have been to some amazing places with amazing people, there's no place like home.    Meer informatie

  • Norman GrahamCalifornia
    Dag 11

    The Last Goodbye

    12 augustus 2023, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Today was my last day in California. Although I was glad to be going home I was also sad to be leaving. Today's plans were to finish packing, I wanted to take Chris and Meg out for lunch, but first, I was going to church. Chris and Meg attend St Andrew Presbyterian Church just a short drive away, I was looking forward to it, they spoke highly of the minister and the congregation. The building was set in nice gardens, with plenty of grass and trees to one side and a kind of zen type garden and more trees to the other.

    Meg forewarned me that there might not be many people out today but I was already prepared for that, attendance at most churches drops over the summer in an ebb and flow of people going and returning from holidays. I was given a warm welcome, everyone seemed friendly. I was pleased to see that there was a full program of the liturgy, I think that approach is really helpful for visitors, and something my own faith tradition could learn from. I loved the fact that the first thing on the service programme was a quote from Robert Heinlein. I didn't know many of the hymns but the music and singing were good(the pianist was Lara Garner, she was excellent), and during the service, The Summer Handbell Ensemble played Amazing Grace, it was lovely. The Minister, Rev Brian Camara, was young, joyful, and very easy to listen to, he got a little bit flustered when he realised he had lost the last page of his sermon but he handled it with grace and humour. I knew how he was feeling as the same thing had happened to me. After the service there was tea/coffee and biscuits and a chance to chat, and again, people made the effort to speak to me, a stranger among them. I genuinely enjoyed the service and if you are reading this and you're going to be in Pacifica on a Sunday, you could do worse than go along. You can find out more at https://www.standrewpacifica.org/

    After the service we went for lunch to a place just a short drive away, I had pizza and it was very, good, I was grateful that Meg and Chris let me pay this time! I needed a bit of help with the protocol for paying, in the UK tipping is not a big thing, and you never let anyone take your card away, but they steered me in the right direction.

    As we finished lunch I gave them a gift that I had brought with me from Scotland, a pewter quaich with a line from Auld Lang Syne inscribed on it. It is also known as the cup of friendship. I had the most amazing time in California, and that was almost entirely due to the hospitality, kindness and generosity of Meg and Chris. I will never be able to repay them for all they have done for me, and I guess that only magnifies the grace of it.

    When we got back to the house, Chris poured some whisky into the quaich and we drank from it thereby ensuring that there will always be peace between my house and theirs. It was actually a very moving moment. I said that I felt if I lived in Pacifica, Chris and I would be in a band together, and I really meant it.

    Way too soon it was time to head to the airport. I like to be there early to avoid stress and anxiety. The airport is well laid out with clear signage as to which area to stop at for each airline. I said my all-too brief goodbye to Chris and headed in with Meg, who, knowing I'm an anxious traveller, came in with me which helped me relax considerably. Airports are confusing places and suffer greatly from too much signage but we were right at the check in, and before I knew it my bag was check in, I had my boarding pass and was standing at the security gate. It felt like I had just abandoned Meg as we reached security, but to paraphrase Loudon Wainwright III, I didn't want to hold her because I knew I would have to let her go. When I think about Meg and the camino ladies, and all that I have experienced with and through them, I realise that I am one of the most blessed people on the planet. Who am I to have known such beauty and kindness?

    I wondered if this was our last goodbye. God I hope not.

    After the usual hanging around, we boarded and set off, homeward bound. The flight was uneventful except for the fact that they had forgotten to load the allergens information book so they couldn't tell me the ingredients of any of the food except for a chocolate dessert. I didn't fancy having an anaphylactic reaction at 30,000 feet (or anywhere actually) so I opted to skip the meal. The staff found me some apple juice and a piece of fruit and I had two chocolate desserts, one courtesy of the passenger beside me who didn't want hers. Still, It was going to be a long day, when I arrived in Dublin I would have almost 7 hours to wait for my connecting flight to Edinburgh (bad planning on my part).

    It was time to get the Kindle out    Meer informatie

  • Norman GrahamCalifornia
    Dag 10

    Golden Gate Bridge

    11 augustus 2023, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Chris made us all another great breakfast, I think Meg is a lucky woman, and then I started packing my stuff. Before I came to California Meg asked me if there was anything that I especially wanted to do (not including Yosemite of course), and there were only two things. Firstly, coming to America was mostly about seeing Meg again, our camino adventure felt like a lifetime ago and I missed her very much. The only other thing I wanted to do was to get the classic tourist photograph of the Golden Gate Bridge with me in the foreground. So that was the plan for today.

    It was another beautiful, sunny day in San Francisco, until we got to the bridge, i had forgotten that a lot of the images of the bridge that i had seen were of the towers poking through the fog, and true to form it was very foggy. when we got to the other side it was clear and so we drove on round to Fort Baker. It had been an Army Post up until the late 1990's but was now a swanky park with what I imagine were extremely expensive homes (probably former officer's quarters) and a very expensive hotel. Architecturally the buildings were very 1930's style and there was no difficulty in imagining what it must have been like in the years leading up to WW2.

    Chris and I went into the hotel whilst Meg parked the car, we thought maybe we could have a cocktail, but then we saw the prices, neither of us wanted to sell a kidney so we headed for the exit.

    We did manage to get the iconic picture as the fog cleared. It was a lovely space, and the view of the bridge, even with the fog was amazing. We headed back into the city, and went for a coffee and cake, it was excellent. we also saw the Hidden Garden Steps, which were as you would expect for San Francisco, very steep, but covered in beautifully illustrated tiles.

    After that it was back to the house for a relaxing afternoon. I got the chance to play Chris' Taylor guitar, it sounded great, even with me playing it. I got to meet Meg and Chris' daughter Brae, named after Scara Brae in Orkney, she was lovely and reminded me of my own daughter Ruth, who also has tattoos, loves Lord of the Rings and loves Orkney.

    Chris made us all one of the best steak dinners I have ever had, and then I spent some more time sorting out my packing. I was sad to think that my trip was coming to an end. Tomorrow was my last day, the only thing planned was going to church with Meg and Chris. My flight wasn't until 1745, so at least i had most of the day to spend with them.    Meer informatie

  • Norman GrahamCalifornia
    1
    Dag 9

    San Francisco

    10 augustus 2023, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    It was nice to wake up in a bed rather than on a sleep pad, and to know that I didn't have to pack up a tent...and to get a hot shower! Chris made us a great breakfast and then we had to decide what to do with the rest of the day.

    With Yosemite now behind us, the next two days would be spent in and around San Francisco. Meg was keen to take us to the Mission District in the city to see an alley where all the garage doors /walls were painted with murals and so we set off.

    As we drove through the city it was interesting to see the wide variety of architecture, and to think that many of these houses, that would have been poorer districts 100 years ago are now valued in the millions. San Francisco is one of the most expensive places in the USA to live and so it is not surprise that it is in the midst of a housing crisis. It is also a very busy city, lots of traffic.

    At the start of my trip, Chris had told me about the epidemic of car crime in the city, apparently it is so bad that the police don't even investigate car crimes anymore. When we got to the mission district we saw an example fo this right away. Parked on the street just a few spaces behind where we parked was a newish rental car, but it was missing its front and rear bumpers and lights. There was a notice on it saying the police were aware of it. Chris reckoned that it had been targeted because it was a rental. It would sit there until the insurance company sent someone to collect it...if there was anything left to collect.

    The alley was amazing, with a very wide variety of artistic styles, but all vibrantly colourful, many of them represented something or someone that the artist loved, like an old movie star. Most however, were political statements, or rather human statements of racism, oppression, social inequality, and the triumph of people working together in community unbowed and unbeaten by the hardships they have faced. It was quite moving.

    It was time for lunch, and I was happy to leave that to the foodies. On the way to find a restaurant we spotted some of the new driverless taxis driving around, apparently just a few days earlier the licence had been granted to allow them to operate in the city. I think they were not yet picking up passengers but were simply driving around so that people could get used to them being there. We all agreed that the idea of being in a driverless taxi was not appealing, it was interesting that some young people (late teens) who asked us if we knew what they were, when we told them they were driverless taxis, their immediate reaction was, cool! I guess there might be a generational divide on that one. It was another reminder of the incredible pace of change, the world that I grew up in has long gone and i can't help but wonder what's ahead of us. The rise of AI will change our world in ways that we cannot yet imagine, and not necessarily for the better.

    We settled on a Peruvian restaurant for lunch, another first for me. Meg was, as always, great and she spoke to the waiter about my food allergy. He came back and told us that there was no sesame in the food. Unfortunately for him, a few minutes later Meg noticed two dishes on the menu that included sesame in the ingredients. She called him back over for a word. I felt sorry for him.

    I have to say that the food was outstanding, delicious, beautifully presented. I am sure it was very expensive, I don't know as, once more, Meg and Chris insisted on paying the bill.

    We headed back to Meg and Chris' as today we would be saying goodbye to Laura who was flying home this evening. Goodbye is the hardest part of these trips - I will never forget the sense of loss saying goodby to Mirjam in Santiago bus station. Although I have only known Laura for a week, I have become very fond of her, she is smart and kind, funny, generous with her time and knowledge. I've learned a lot from her this past week. I hope that today will not be a final goodbye, and that we will keep in touch, she strikes me as someone worth taking the time to get to know.

    Meg took Laura to the airport and when she got back, Chris made us a nice dinner and we spent the evening in the snug watching a movie, it was nice not to do very much. Tomorrow, we would be going across the Golden Gate bridge like proper tourists.    Meer informatie

  • Norman GrahamCalifornia
    Dag 8

    Little Yosemite to the Valley

    9 augustus 2023, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today would be our last day in Yosemite. It felt a bit sad packing up the tent for the last time, though I was a little bit pleased with myself with the speed and efficiency with which I packed everything away. With the exception of one short section this side of Nevada Falls today's hike would be entirely downhill, as we returned to Yosemite Valley where Meg's car was waiting for us.

    We set off at a decent pace and were quickly at the falls. In theory we had a choice of trail at this point, however, we had been advised that one of them was closed (despite people coming up that trail, but they may have tried to go that way and found it closed and had to do a U-turn). So our only option was to go down to the valley via the John Muir Trail. I was very happy about this. John Muir was a Scotsman, who emigrated to the USA and was, among other things, a mountaineer, botanist, environmentalist and was an early advocate for the preservation of wilderness spaces in the United States of America. He also co-founded the Sierra Club. It was Muir who in 1903 met with President Roosevelt in Yosemite and persuaded him to create a national park, thereby protecting the site from 'development' and preserving it for future generations. April the 21st in John Muir Day in California. So, all in all it felt right to be leaving the mountains on the John Muir Trail.

    The first part of the trail went alongside a rock overhang that ran for a good distance along the trail, and it was like walking through a shower as a fine mist or water rolled off the edge. It was a nice spot to stop and look back towards Nevada Falls, after a few pictures were taken we carried on.

    The trail was very busy, there were loads of people coming up the trail towards Nevada Falls, possibly because the other trail was closed. Chris' knee was still giving him a lot of bother so Meg said to Laura and I to go on and she would stay with Chris. So, we set off. I had become very fond of Laura so I was looking forward to a chat on the trail...but it's hard to chat when you are hiking at 200 miles an hour. She was fast, and with my short legs it felt like we were running down the hill! The path zig zagged reasonably steeply down the mountain, so, it was short stretches with tight turns. We did pause a couple of times and again the views were great, but there was a steady stream of people coming up the hill, it was like being on Princes Street in Edinburgh. We eventually arrived near the bottom of the trail where we met the young and super fit Evan and Hannah. There was an actual toilet there, apparently it was built for a visit of Queen Elizabeth II, but she never used it. Meg and Chris arrived and under Meg's expert guidance we set off on an unmarked trail (it was a pony trail I think). The really good thing about that trail, apart from the fact it was quite beautiful, was that there was no one else on it. We had a very pleasant and much more leisurely walk back into the Valley.

    We found our way to the car park, which was really busy, there were cars just driving in circles hoping someone would pull out of a space. We dumped all our stuff in Meg's car, and she, Hannah, and Chris set off to drive up to our starting point and the Mono Meadow trailhead to collect the other cars.

    The rest of us walked into the town, and it was a surprisingly long walk, the first thing we did was go into a shop and buy ice cream and a beer. It was great. We were not expecting the others to return with the cars for a while, as it was a 34-mile round trip. Fortunately that meant that I was able to go into the Ansel Adams Gallery. I remember as a young teenager seeing some of his photographs and being amazed by them. The Gallery is very well laid out with a selection of Adams' prints but nothing tacky, as well as stuff by more contemporary photographers, and artists. I really enjoyed wandering around, and I ended up buying some cards and a print.

    We then went to a standard tourist store and with a lot of help from Laura and Evan I got some souvenirs for the tribe back home. Laura wanted to post a card from the Yosemite Post Office so we headed there, she didn't have enough cash so I gave her a dollar. She wanted to give me the change but I said I wasn't taking American coins home with me, just as she was putting the coins away she noticed that a quarter in the change was a Yosemite/John Muir quarter, and they were hard to get. It was a really lovely moment.

    We met up with Meg, Chris and Hannah in the car park where Chris had charged the car earlier, redistributed our gear, and then we set off, it was going to be a long drive back.

    It wasn't long before the range anxiety kicked in. We stopped at a town where there was supposed to be a charging point, but after driving around it was clear that the only charging points were Tesla. So we had no option but to keep going.

    Some time later, we arrived in the town of Atwater where we had stopped on the way to Yosemite. The four chargers were still there and available. Chris pulled in to one then out again to another one. A large electric SUV had pulled in at the same time then out again then in to another one and then out again. It turned out that the one Chris had chosen was the only one working.

    Whilst the car was charging we went over the The Habit fast food restaurant we had visited on the way a few days earlier, and the food was, if anything, even better than before.

    We changed things around a bit for the final leg back to San Francisco. I went in Meg's car with Laura, and Meg went in Chris' car. We were using the built in SatNav but we had also opened up the navigation app on Laura's phone, whihc turned out to be a good thing as during the drive Laura made a noise laughing or something and the built in Sat Nav read it as a new set of instructions. So, we basically navigated with me holding Laura's phone with Google Maps open, and I would give directions every time we were approaching a junction of any kind. I don't think it was easy for Laura to do the driving as she wasn't totally sure where she was going and it was dark and there was a ton of traffic, and the occasional crazy driver. However, I definitely couldn't drive but between the two of us we managed not to get lost, and we arrived back at Meg's around 10pm.

    Everyone was exhausted, and we quickly unpacked the cars and headed to bed. It had been another long but wonderful day.    Meer informatie

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