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Almería to Santiago
  • Norman Graham
mai – juil. 2024

Almería to Santiago

Stravagin in the land of barking dogs. En savoir plus
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  • Début du voyage
    1 mai 2024
    Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Belfast to Malaga to Almería

    1 mai 2024, Irlande du Nord ⋅ ☁️ 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. It was my second flight in two days, having flown over from Edinburgh the day before. It reminded me of a passage in missiologist Michael Frost's book Incarnate: the body of Christ in an age of disengagement, in regard to airports, he writes:

    "Cultural commentator Richard Sennett has claimed that the primary architectural emblem of contemporary life is the airport departure lounge. It’s a telling symbol and reveals something of the excarnate nature of things. The departure lounge is full of people who don’t belong where they currently find themselves and whose interactions with others are fleeting, perfunctory and trivial. Airport lounges are highly depersonalized spaces. Even those of us who travel a lot have difficulty telling one airport lounge from another. They are bland, liminal places, and their lack of specificity makes us yearn for somewhere real, for our destination. Nobody belongs in an airport lounge. Most people make the experience bearable by focusing on their mobile devices, thanks to the recent innovation of airports providing free Wi-Fi access (even airports don’t want you to belong in their lounges). Travelers’ heads are elsewhere, checking email or social media, listening to music or watching films or television programs on tablets or phones. There is also a very obvious, yet unspoken, etiquette in airport lounges. There’s no yelling and screaming, even when passengers become frustrated with airline service. No one even talks loudly. There is a quiet order to the environment. But none of this behavior is enforced by signs that say “Don’t talk too loudly,” “Don’t move the chairs,” “Don’t occupy more than one seat.” These things happen due to an invisible hand of design. The environment has been manipulated to elicit certain behavior. The seats are arranged so that people talk to those who are close, and they don’t shout across the room. This makes the departure lounge a non-world of individual choice and endless mobility, and we reach it by undertaking an arduous assembly-line process of check-ins, security screenings, moving walkways and internal skyrail trips. In a sense the airport departure lounge is the end point in our disassembly line, as we move endlessly, lining up in zigzagged queues, each stage stripping back our sense of belonging, our sense of rootedness in place and culture. This is even symbolized in the removal of various items of clothing, wristwatches and laptops during security screening. By the time we reach our gate lounge we have become less truly present in our own space. But of course, I speak of this not merely as a problem for air travelers. Richard Sennett sees the gate lounge as a symbol for all contemporary life."

    I think that is a fairly accurate description of modern airports and modern life.

    In the depersonalised space of Belfast Airport, we treated ourselves to an Ulster fry and bought some sandwiches for the bus journey to Almería. The flight to Malaga 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, and to be fair, he is a lot older than me, he needs his afternoon nap.

    The sun was shining in Malaga, and we were on time... until we got to the hall for passport control. Malaga is a popular holiday destination and transport hub for other resorts. There were hundreds of people in front of us queuing to get their passports stamped - thank you to everyone who voted for Brexit. However, the Spanish border staff did an excellent job and the queue moved steadily. It actually took a lot less time than we thought it would have, but it did eat into the time safety net between arriving and getting the bus to Almería.

    It was easy to find our bags on the carousel. Our backpacks were in 'glow in the dark' brightly coloured travel bags. By now we had about an hour to get to the bus station, buy our tickets and find the right bus platform. A guy on the flight 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 by the time we were walking over them in the coming weeks.

    When we arrived in Almería we immediately encountered a problem. The albergue we had planned to stay in was closed. We phoned the hospitalera, who gently reminded us of the need to book a bed (someone had been tasked with that but...). In most caminos there is little need to reserve a bed, except in high season and even then only occasionally, but not many people walk the Mozárabe and so the albergues have fewer beds. In addition, they are not staffed and so they need to know you are coming so they can open up etc.

    The hospitalera (Nely) recommended another one, so we set off using Google maps (helpful about 50% of the time), and 30 minutes later we arrived there to be told they were full. The hospitalera there recommended another one about a 30-minute walk away, and so we set off again. We had only been walking for about 10 minutes when Nely phoned to see how we had got on, and when she realised our situation she very kindly started phoning around places to see if anyone had room. In the meantime, we continued on to the one that was recommended., and we managed to get the last two beds. It was just as well as Nely phoned back to say that she hadn't been able to get a room for us, but she was glad we were sorted. We confirmed that we would stay with her tomorrow night, and that turned out to be a great decision.

    The albergue was ok but not great, but it did have a decent shower. If you have never been on a camino before, one of the most important grading factors in the quality of an albergue is the shower. Once we got our stuff sorted we went out for dinner, and it was ok, but to be honest we had spent so long travelling and then trying to find a bed for the night, having eaten nothing but a sandwich on the bus, we were very hungry and if there had been a McDonalds, I think we would even have gone there - it is my least favourite eating establishment, but I am not a fan of fast food generally.

    We went to bed tired, but glad to be there, and to know that our bed for tomorrow night was organised.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    A day in Almería

    2 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We slept ok in the hostel, there were a couple of other people in the room, and English guy and a French girl who was a bit noisy but she quietened down before it got too late. As noted in the previous footprint, the all-important showers were good, however, the WiFi was dodgy, as in Google warned me that I shouldn't join it, but that was ok, I have a great mobile contract, and had no worries about using data while in Spain, and we had 5G coverage in the albergue. It is surprising how many people come to Spain to walk a camino who don't make sure that they have suitable mobile coverage. On my last camino I met an American who had thought his phone would 'just work' in Europe. Due to the number of camino apps now available, giving a gps trail of the camino, a mobile phone has become one of the most important pieces of equipment on any camino.

    We didn't have to check out until 11 am, but there was no reason to stay, and just like airports, most albergues are designed as transitory spaces, but we both also wanted breakfast, so we checked out about 8 am. The sun was shining, and the city was waking up, slowly coming to life, a bit like us really. 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, and it was good. I have never had a bad coffee in Spain (unlike Berlin where I never had a good one), and the average cost of a cup of coffee here is €1.30 compared to £3-£4 in Scotland.

    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. So, 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, knowing that churches would have items of gold and silver if they saw the cupola they would attack the church, and so the cathedral was remodelled to counter that threat. 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 past as by its Christian one and so 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, Ken wasn't too keen but we had nothing else to do, so off we went.

    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 with a steady flow of tourists going up and down the hill. The architecture and history of the fort was fascinating, and the views were amazing, but surprisingly, there was no gift shop. The toilets, however, were terrible, not just bad, they were truly terrible. To be fair to the cleaners, there was just one male toilet and one female toilet for one of the busiest tourist attractions in Almería, and there was queue that never seemed to get smaller.

    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 Nely, the hospitalera from Albergue, messaged us to say we could drop off our backpacks if we wanted to, and boy, did we want to.

    We met Nely, and my first impression was that she was a joyful person, the kind of person you warm to instantly. She also turned out to be a goldmine of information about the Mozárabe. She confirmed that booking albergues is essential in some places on the route. Not all are manned, and for some of them if we didn't book for saturday and sunday before 3pm on the Friday, we wouldn't get in. Some albergues needed to be booked as much as two weeks in advance, and fortunately for us Nely, very kindly called some and booked them for us. I should say that we had a very detailed route plan worked out and so we knew when we would be in a particular town. 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. It also gave me opportunity to reflect on religious prejudice. Many Christians from Protestant traditions, especially the so-called evangelical traditions, are very negative about Roman catholicism. In his homily, the priest spoke about people's perception of Jesus as a good man who said and did good things, and he acknowledged the truth of that. However, he said, Jesus was more than just a good man who said and did good things, for he is the saviour, the only saviour and we can only be saved because of his blood shed for us on the cross. I doubt very much that any evangelical Christian would disagree with that statement, but I think they would be shocked to know that it was a Roman Catholic priest who said it. Of course, I doubt very much if those same evangelical Christians have ever been to a Roman Catholic service, or have any Roman Catholic friends. Prejudice thrives in ignorance. I personally know several Roman Catholics who are more Christ-like than some of the so-called born-again evangelicals whom I know.

    After the service we all had our Compostelas stamped by the priest and would begin the camino in the morning, and so we went to bed, it had been a long day, but a good one.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Almería to Rioja 15km

    3 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 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 today 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 us and bring us safely home at our journey's end.

    She was quite moved by that and held onto us tightly 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 mostly crushed gravel but quite deep in places. It was a lot like walking on a sandy beach, and was very tiring, so, we were quite exhausted by the time we got to Rioja and 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, (shower, washing, etc) then went to the bar for dinner, which wasn't terrible, and then back to the albergue for an early night.
    Earlier in the day two French peregrinos arrived, both of whom were experienced caminoists having walked a number of caminos over the years.

    As I drifted off to sleep I thought that it had been a good start to our camino, of course I had no idea that the next day would prove more challenging than we could have imagined.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Rioja to Alboloduy 22km

    4 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We had 23km to walk today, but as on any hike, the distance is only one factor to be considered, the terrain is also very important. It is easier to walk a long distance on a flat path than a short distance over rough and/or steep terrain. The camino today was split into three clear sections of about 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. We also met the young Dutch couple (Jaap and Helen) who had been at the service in Almería Cathedral. Whilst we had given ourselves a short day for our first day on the camino, they had walked on and stayed in Santa Fe.

    The second section was always going to be the most difficult, as there were three mountain peaks to go over, but before we reached them we paused for a selfie with Don Quixote. The steep climb began almost immediately, 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, and eventually, the tarmac became gravel, a bit looser, and more difficult to walk on. Ken worked out a system he found helpful, he would walk 100 steps up the path and then stop for 10 deep breaths, then do another 100 steps. It was slower but it worked, pocco a pocco as we say on the camino.

    The path levelled out briefly and then started to ascend to the next peak, and it was even more difficult. I was concerned about Ken, just a year earlier he had been very seriously ill in hospital and had gone through major surgery, the camino would be a real test of his recovery. I thought that these ascents would be a particular challenge for him, but he was doing very well, especially considering it was the most strenuous thing he had done since being in hospital last year.

    We both made it to the top and there we found that what goes up must come down - there was an extremely steep descent and it was mostly gravel and loose stones, and quite treacherous. We got down by zig-zagging across the trail, and I was surprised that neither of us was injured. We then had another shorter but equally steep climb with a longer, steeper descent into the town of Alhabia. We were very glad to stop at the café for half an hour to recover. The section from Santa Fe to Alhabia was the same distance as the section from Rioja to Santa Fe, but it took us twice as long to do it.

    The final section was a lot easier, it was flat and on a tarmac path, following the course of another dried up river, but we didn't get to Alboloduy until 3pm by which time the temperature was in the 30s. We were both jiggered but got on with the daily tasks of the camino, then went to the only bar that was open to get some dinner.

    Back in the albergue we were able to chat to Japp and Helen, who turned out to be lovely. Jaap was a physiotherapist and Helen had volunteered him to assist any pilgrims who had pain, so he gave me good advice about the pain I had in my legs and I followed his advice over the next week, with great success.

    We went to bed very tired, but I found it difficult to sleep as there was some sort of local fiesta going on, it was very noisy and kept waking me up whenever I drifted off. Ken seemed un-bothered by it and was snoring happily.

    I was glad that we had split tomorrow's stage over two days.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Alboloduy to Nacimiento 12km

    5 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    The fiesta in Alboloduy went on until about 4am but in the end I slept surprisingly well, and woke up feeling refreshed. So, I was up dressed well before the alarm, and well before Ken.

    Our plan was to walk the main road rather than the camino path, which had a ridiculously steep ascent about halfway. It was, I think, the right choice but that is not to say that it was easy. We walked very steadily uphill for just over 5 km, and although I think that was considerably easier than doing the hill climb, it did sap our energy somewhat.

    Eventually, near the top of the mountain, we saw where the hill climb came out into the road. Just up ahead, we saw Helen and Jaap, they are about half our age and had left about 20 minutes before us only carrying small day packs. The fact that we almost caught up with them was testimony to the fact that we are incredibly fit for our age...or maybe that taking the road was the best choice.

    Eventually we came to the point where we would have to make a decision to continue on the road which would mean extra 5 km on the walk today or we could return to the hiking the camino trail down the mountain.

    We sat down on a very uncomfortable rock beside the road for some water and fruit and decided to go via the camino path as it looked quite wide and wasn't too uneven. As we set off, we had only gone a few metres when we saw a covered shelter with picnic tables and benches...if only we had looked around!

    The path down the mountain was wide and flat but quite steep in places, and so it zig-zagged its way down to the valley floor. The further we went, the less steep it got, and it seemed like in no time at all, we were at the bottom of the mountain.

    Needless to say, waiting for us there was another dried up river bed, but it was unlike the others we had been on. It was much more hard packed and easier to walk on. It wasn't ideal, but the only way was forward, and so forward we went. It is one of the lessons that the camino teaches you. You have to live with your choices. We very rarely get the chance to redo or indeed to undo the choices we have made.

    The river bed was hard going, but mainly because of the heat. We were very glad to get into Nacimiento, we stopped at the bar and discovered that the bar owner also ran the albergue, and so before going into the albergue we had some drinks and tapas which was great. Once we got in, due to his advanced years, Ken immediately went for a nap, though not before banging his head several times on the bunk bed. I went for my shower to discover that the choice available was cold water or very cold water. I also discovered that there was no electricity.

    I roused Ken to go speak to the owner, as I thought the conversation would require more than my camino level Spanish. It was an easy fix, it turned out that he had forgotten to turn the power on, I guess not too many peregrinos stay here.

    I suggested to Ken that we move our stuff to the room at the back of the albergue as by this time it was clear that the front room would be noisy due to its proximity to the bar. The room at the back of the albergue also had a single bed in it so Ken wouldn't keep banging his head off a top bunk!

    We went for coffee and were surprised to be offered the menu, normally the kitchens don't open between 3pm and 8pm. I think they actually opened so that Ken and I could get some dinner.

    The forecast for tomorrow is that it is to be very hot so we agreed to leave early, and we also expect similar terrain to today as we had yesterday. With nothing else to do in Nacimiento we went back to the albergue, packed our rucksacks and went to bed.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Nacimiento to Abla 17km

    6 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    I had a bad night in the albergue, whilst it was good to have the place to ourselves, Nacimiento was one of those towns in Spain where the church/town hall clock struck the hour, every hour 24 hours a day. It goes back to the days when people didn't have watches, or mobiles, days long gone. The constant ringing of the bell was therefore totally unnecessary, though doubtless the locals were so used to it they had stopped hearing it.

    Somehow, we managed to get some sleep but we were both awake well before our alarm went off. So, we just got ready and left the albergue. The shop next door was open so we got some fruit for our snack on the way. As we got to the edge of town it quickly became clear that we would need our head-torches as it was still quite dark. It would be another 30 minutes before sunrise. When it got light we could see that the sky was overcast and it stayed that way for the rest of the walk.

    The walk was good with a light breeze blowing almost the whole time, it was the first time we had walked without the sun beating down on us, and we were happy for the change. The first 8km was more or less on a dried up riverbed but it was quite hard packed with lots of tyre grooves, so the locals must use it as a road in the dry season. After a couple of hours we came to a village called Doña María and the was a cafe and wonder of wonders, it was open. So, since they had gone to the bother of being open we felt it was only right that we stop for coffee and toastada. It was good to be able to sit down and relax for 30 mins and the coffee was good.

    Once we left, the walking became much more difficult as we continued on the riverbed, it had shifted from being hard packed to being a mixture of shale and pebbles and stones of all sizes. It was very uneven, and very difficult to walk on, and so it slowed us down considerably. To make matters worse, we were followed closely by a stray dog for about 6km. Dogs can be a problem on the camino, generally speaking they are either chained up or are behind a fence, and they just bark a lot. However, sometimes they are loose, but if you raise your walking pole in a threatening way they back off. This one was not aggressive but I was conscious that could change. I have had a few nasty encounters with dogs when out walking - the owners, who have obviously never heard of dog leads - always shout assurance that their lovely pet wouldn't hurt anyone, usually just before it does.

    Fortunately, as we came closer to the town of Abla, we passed a house with a very big wire fence and three of the biggest most ferocious dogs I have ever seen. When they heard Ken and I approaching they attacked the fence trying to get to us barking angrily and loudly, and the stray dog that had followed us took off and we never saw it again.

    We continued on towards Abla which we could see it just ahead, as we came into the outskirts we stopped at a garage for a drink and a seat. Our legs were very sore, it is hard to describe how difficult it was walking on those pebbles and stones for a couple of hours, our legs and our feet were aching.

    The albergue was, of course, at the top of the highest hill in the town but we made our way there only to find that it didn't open for another couple of hours. Fortunately, the hospitalera saw us and let us in to pick our beds and leave our backpacks. We went down the hill to a cafe for coffee and some tapas, and while we were there it started to rain, but we had nowhere to go anyway.

    Three o'clock is quite late for an albergue to open, it meant there was little point in doing our washing as we would not be able to get it dry. Some Spanish peregrinos arrived, and very obviously hoped that we would give up our bottom bunks for them, but it's first come first served. One of them Jorge, turned out to be a grand roncador, one of the loudest and most persistent snorers that I have ever heard. When he introduced himself he apologised about his snoring in advance. We would be hearing a lot more of Jorge over the next week!

    The hospitalera was very nice and friendly and she set out breakfast for us for the next day, in return I helped her set up a new sim card on her mobile, one good turn etc.

    It turned out to be a long night, Jorge wasn't kidding about being a loud snorer, and he wasn't the only one, a French lady shouted at another pilgrim to turn over and stop snoring, which, surprisingly, they did, but it didn't last. It is one of the things that you have to get used to on the camino, but I think that it might take me a while.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Abla to Huéneja 21km

    7 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    I got up very quietly, having packed my bag the night before, I just had to lift it out to the lounge then get my sleeping bag and a few things off the bed. the hospitalera was up and organising breakfast for us, we had the choice of toast, cheese, jam and coffee and tea. She asked if it was ok and I said in my best Spanish that it was just like being at home, she seemed very pleased at that response.

    We set off in the darkness, our way illuminated by the street lighting until we reached the edge of town. The path was tarmac and easy to follow but we still used our head torches until it began to get light. After a couple of hours we reached a small town called Fińana and were delighted to discover that there was a cafe and that it was open. So, like good hobbits, we had a second breakfast of coffee and toastada.

    We didn't stay too long, it is good to stop roughly every couple of hours for 5 or 10 minutes but the longer you sit down the harder it is to get going again, and you begin to stiffen up a bit. The next section of this stage was about 7km and we walked it reasonably quickly, this time it was mostly dirt/gravel paths through farmland and open countryside. We had to step off the path for 10 minutes whilst a herd of goats were being driven along the path. The landscape looked very much like the backdrop to a western movie of the kind I watched when I was a boy. I half expected a stagecoach to come along any minute.

    We stopped at a pilgrim shelter for water and snacks - not the jelly babies alas, sadly, they were no longer with us...they had melted, there are pilgrim shelters at random locations along the camino. Basically it is a picnic table and benches with a canopy to provide shade from the sun, usually a wooden construction. Although there are not many of them, they are very welcome we you find one. On some stages of the camino there is not so much as a rock to sit on. Refreshed, we set off once more, the view as amazing, on the one hand it looked like we were walking through a desert, and yet there was snow on the mountains.

    Eventually, we arrived in Huéneja, the albergue was an apartment in a building that was part of a school, naturally, it was at the top of a hill. We had to telephone for the code for the key safe but were soon in and sorting our stuff. Despite the fact that we were not the first to arrive, no one had claimed the room with just two beds in it so Ken and I bagged it. The main thing was that we would not have to be in the same room as Jorge, to be fair to him, although he was a very loud and persistent snorer, he was a nice guy and good company.

    The albergue was quite small, there were three bedrooms, a lounge area and a bathroom, with a small balcony with a washing machine, the shower was the smallest shower I have ever been in.

    Normally on the camino, if someone is using the washing machine, you just put your stuff on top of it to show that you are next, but one of the Italian ladies was presumably ignorant of this unwritten rule and put her stuff in before mine. I let it go.

    By the time Ken and I got our washing done the washing line was full. However, this was not our first rodeo, we had both brought a length of paracord with us, so using our superior knot tying skills we made our own washing line at a corner of the school fence. We then went down the hill into the town to get some supplies and the menu del dia, and by the time we got back our washing was dry. The Italian lady's clothes were not.

    It had been a good day for walking, it was only 21 km and the even the dried up river bed had been ok to walk on. Tomorrow's stage is graded as easy by Gronze, so that will make a nice change.

    Two of the pilgrims are from Malaga, and they said that it was unseasonably hot, they would normally have been wearing a fleece or jacket at this time of year but were in shorts and t-shirts. The temperatures have been up to 39° so far, it has also been very hot through the night, no one is using their sleeping bags. Everyone seems to be planning on an early rise to try and keep ahead of the heat, it is expected to be in the 30s by 10am tomorrow. So, once again we were all in bed by 9pm.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Huénejca to Alquife 20km

    8 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Last night I had the best sleep since arriving in Spain, for a change it was cold and instead of lying on my sleeping bag, I actually got into it! I woke early, about 0530 and I could hear Jorge snoring in the next room...then I remembered that the next room was the lounge with the two sofas. Apparently the other pilgrims had kicked him out of the bedroom because his snoring was so bad. Ken was up at 0600, so we were able to get on the road within 30 minutes.

    It was blissfully cool, and not at all what we expected or had become used to. Using one of the camino apps we quickly navigated our way out of Huéneja, confirming every turn with the yellow arrows lit by our head-torches.

    It did not take us long to reach the countryside, and we soon entered what the poet/activist/farmer Wendell Berry calls the peace of wild things:

    When despair for the world grows in me
    and I wake in the night at the least sound
    in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
    I go and lie down where the wood drake
    rests in his beauty on the water,
    and the great heron feeds.
    I come into the peace of wild things
    who do not tax their lives with forethought
    of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
    And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time
    I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

    Almost the entire walk was spent off-road walking through olive groves and woodland. The only sounds were our footsteps on the path and birdsong, the peace of wild things indeed.

    We had planned to stop at a town called Dólar about 5km away, for water and a magdalena cake and then carry on another 5km to the town of Ferreira where there was a café where we could get a proper breakfast. We made good time despite some of the trail being very rocky, narrow, and uneven, with quite a few ascents and descents. We were very disappointed however, to find that the cafe in Ferreira was closed and so we had to carry on another 4km to La Calahorra where there was another cafe and a supermarket.

    Ken was very excited about going to La Calahorra because it had been a location for the spaghetti western The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Apparently on the edge of town there was a statue of Clint Eastwood, the star of the movie. It was in fact just outside a cemetery that had played an important part in the movie.

    When we got there I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The 'statue' turned out to be made of plastic, it was at least a foot shorter than Clint Eastwood, and looked absolutely nothing like him, In fact, I would go so far as to say that Ken looked more like Clint Eastwood than the statue did. Nonetheless, undeterred, we took some photographs of Ken posing with the statue, it was an unforgettable moment, though perhaps for all the wrong reasons!

    As if to make up for the disappointment re Clint Eastwood, the café in La Calahorra was open, as was the supermarket, and so, somewhat later than anticipated, we got our much deserved breakfast and Ken was able to drown his sorrows in a hot cup of coffee. We still had about 6 km to go and although the paths were smooth enough, there were a few ascents that slowed up down a bit, but we eventually arrived in Alquife after what had been a quite pleasant walk.

    True to form, the albergue was at the far end of town and at the top of a hill. It was a private albergue and the owner wasn't there but a couple of other pilgrims were and they said to pick our beds and the owner would come around later. So, we got on with the daily tasks of the camino, and the showers were great, spacious and clean with plenty of piping hot water. We got our clothes washed and on the line then went to the bar for the menu del dia. After which there was nothing to do but read, have a siesta, and read some more. In case you are wondering, I was reading Persian Fire by historian Tom Holland, and very good it was too.

    Tomorrow we will have a longer walk with quite a few steep ascents and descents in the first 8km, so it will be an early bed and an early rise for us.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Alquife to Guadix 24km

    9 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We got up on time at 0600 but for some reason, it took longer than usual to get ready, I spent too much time looking for stuff, making sure that I wouldn't leave anything behind. Invariably, everyone loses something on the camino, you try to make sure everything is packed but somehow things get left behind, hopefully nothing too important. In the end we never left until almost 0700.

    It was quite cool and so for the first time on this camino I wore my fleece, but of course it didn't take too long for us to warm up as we walked in the rising sun. Today's section is described by the camino website Gronze.com as easy and so it proved to be, and so we managed to keep up a decent pace.

    Just before the town of Jérez del Marquesado there was a steep but short descent but the path was wide and flat so it did not present any difficulty. However, on the camino, what goes down inevitably also goes up. Once we crossed a small bridge over a river and navigated our way around a flooded section of the path. We then began a long and steep ascent into the next town. The path had been a tarmac path about 50 years ago, it was now largely broken up, but still relatively flat so it wasn't too bad. Still, we were glad to reach the top, not least because there at the very top of the hill was a bench placed there specifically for pilgrims needing a rest after the climb up the hill, there was also a fountain of cold water and so Ken filled his hat, no, really, he filled his hat. We sat for a few minutes catching our breath and taking in the fantastic view.

    As we walked further into the town we found a café that was open and so treated ourselves to our usual camino breakfast of coffee and toast. While we were there the unfriendly French lady came in and ignored us, then ten minutes later Jorge came in and didn't ignore us.

    Leaving the town we found ourselves once again in the peace and quiet of the countryside, listening to the singing of the birds and the relentless sound of our footsteps on the path. We had to navigate around more sections of the path that were flooded, sometimes we had to cross where streams of water were flowing over the path but it wasn't too difficult. In Collogos de Gaudix we stopped for what turned out to be probably the best coffee of our camino so far. We had to stop for a Roman Catholic procession carrying a statue of a saint, and making lots of noise., but we were soon once more in the peace of the (empty) countryside. It was very hot by this time with little to no (mostly no) shade, and also very tedious walking along a tarmac road with the same flat landscape on every side, all the way to Gaudix. It was so tediously flat it seemed to go on forever. However, as so often happens on the camino, we turned a corner and suddenly the town was right there in front of us. It was of course, up a hill, it seems that every town in Spain is at the top of a hill.

    We got to what we thought was the albergue but it turned out to be the bar owned by the same guy that owned the albergue. After all the usual formalities, his daughter drove us to the albergue, along with the two Italian ladies. The albergue turned out to be a cave house, of which there are many in this area, some going back hundreds of years. Despite the fact that it was boiling hot outside, it was quite cool inside the albergue. The shower was good, and the place was clean. We went back to the bar for dinner only to find that they were not doing food today. The owner recommended another place but it turned out to be closed, so we went back to the bar for drinks, there were no shops open so it looked like we were going to have a hungry night. However, when the bar owner realised our situation, he made dinner for us, lentil soup and grilled chicken and chips, it was fab. Once again, we were blessed by the kindness of strangers.

    Later we went to the Cathedral so I could light some candles and then went to the Dia supermarket which had opened after siesta to get supplies for tomorrow. Apparently there is a three day fiesta starting tonight and everything is closing for the three days. I was glad we weren't arriving tomorrow, and I felt a bit sorry for any pilgrims who were a day or two behind us. With all our tasks done, it was time to get back to the albergue and get to bed, early rise tomorrow.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Gaudix to La Peza 23km

    10 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    I had a great nights sleep and woke feeling really refreshed. It was a real treat to sleep in a bed with sheets and covers rather than on a bunkbed in a sleeping bag. I woke up before the alarm and woke Ken up 10 minutes later. Despite having packed our bags the night before it took us 35 minutes to get ready, having sneaked past the two Italian ladies in the other rooms. The building was sort of open plan with each room opening into another, there were no doors between the bedrooms and we had to walk through their to get to the lounge/kitchen/exit.

    From last night's excursion, we knew that the camino went right past the cathedral, if there is a cathedral in the town it is usually the camino starting point. We had 23 km to walk today plus the 2 km to the cathedral. At least we knew the way in the dim light. On the way we met Raffa and his dad, they were heading in the opposite direction to an ermita, presumably to make an offering or to pray.

    When we left the albergue the sun was just beginning to come up and the town looked quite beautiful in the early morning glow. We walked in the shade for most of the first couple of hours, it was cool when we set off and we warmed up with the day. The landscape was very beautiful, I especially liked walking through the woodland, the path was quite flat and easy to walk on, though that would change later. The badlands, as they are known were very reminiscent of the landscape in countless western movies that I saw growing up. It was not difficult to understand why the Spanish loved the American continent, it must have reminded them very much of home. As we get closer to Merida we will walk through the birthplace of Hernán Cortés, more about him later.

    We stopped for breakfast after 8 km in a small town called Purullenna. By the time we got there almost everyone else on our stage had already overtaken us. The rude French lady and Jorge were already in the bar, so we dumped our backpacks and Ken went up to the bar to order our breakfast . Meanwhile the Italian ladies arrived and as Ken was speaking to the barman, ordering our breakfast, as he was doing that, one of the Italian ladies leaned past him, interrupted him and tried to give the barman her order. So rude.

    I have written elsewhere that when I am abroad I am very aware that I might be the only Scottish person that someone meets, and that they might judge my country based on their interactions with me. So, I do my best to be friendly, polite, helpful and kind.

    After breakfast we set off once more, we stopped in another 6 km in Graena hoping to get another coffee, although we had just had one, this would be the last place to get a coffee before La Peza which was about two and a half to three hours walking beyond that point. Sadly, when we got there all of the cafés were closed. We had no option but to walk on, we got to the top of a hill and found some benches in the shade and so we took off our packs and sat down to have a snack and some water. From there the road was good for about 3 km then we found ourselves once more on a dried-up riverbed, and so it got a lot more difficult, and felt never ending.

    We came off that path onto a good wide flat tarmac road and so we managed to pick up the pace a bit and make up for time lost trolling along the riverbed. However, it did not take long for the road to began ascending, and it went up, and up, and up, and up, snaking its way over the mountains. It went steadily and increasingly steeply uphill for over 2 km before we turned off onto another gravel path taking us down into the town. It was also very steep and very slippy, and I almost fell several times, despite using my walking pole as a brake.

    It was good to get into the albergue, which was very nice, although, as is common in many albergues, there were no locks on the toilet and shower doors, but at least the showers worked. The church bells seemed to strike every 15 minutes so I was hoping that they will not continue through the night.

    There was not much in the way of food as the bars seemed to just do tapas and sandwiches. However, the albergue provided a communal meal prepared by the hospitalero, and it was excellent. A lentil and veg stew, salad, hot sausage and black pudding - though not, alas, Stornoway Black Pudding - with bread and wine.

    Tonight we would be saying goodbye to some of the folks who had been walking the same stages as us over the last week, some we would be sorry to see go, and others...

    We had two shorter walks over the next couple of days so there's no great rush in the morning, but it had been a long day and bed was definitely calling.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    La Peza to Tocón de Quentar 15km

    11 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We had thought that we could get up a bit later than usual today as we were only doing about 15km, but in fact everyone else made such a lot of noise getting up that staying in bed was pointless.

    By the time we got dressed and finished packing our backpacks, almost everyone else had left already, but the remnants of the breakfast provided by the hospitalero was waiting for us downstairs. Jorge was still there finishing his breakfast and left just before us, but it wasn't long before we also set off.

    Yesterday we had a steep descent into the town so I was expecting a steep ascent out of the town today and I was not wrong. Almost from the minute we left the albergue, the path started going uphill, and it kept on going up and up and up. Every so often the gradient would lessen or even level out, but it was always short lived before the next steep section. We walked steadily, if slowly, uphill for the next two hours, it was quite exhausting, but the views were great. We were very relieved when it started to level out and then gently descend.

    We finally reached the main road (GR3201), and were supposed to walk alongside the water/river channel alongside the road. The camino associations generally direct pilgrims off the road for safety reasons, even though in most cases there is actually very little traffic outside of the towns. However, the channel was filled with deepish sand, and stones, it was very uneven and both Ken and I stumbled several times within a few minutes. Apart from the slow progress, we decided that walking on the the track beside the road was probably a greater risk to our health and safety than walking on the road. So, it was an easy decision to turn back to a point where we could get up onto the road, and from there on the going was a lot easier and a lot quicker, even going uphill. In fact, in the hour or so that we walked on the road only four cars passed us.

    A few hundred metres later we came to the turnoff for Tocón de Quentar and were off-road once more, but the path was much more level and easier to walk on. That said, we were surprised by a couple of cyclists coming along the path behind us, that path was quite rocky in places but they managed. Twenty minutes later we were sitting in the bar having ice cold drinks.

    The albergue turned out to be rather nice, with two bathrooms and two showers - and a bath! The shower was one of the best so far, plenty of hot water and good water pressure, trust me, these things matter. We chose our beds and then got on with he daily camino tasks of washing, and getting food etc. The food in the bar was more expensive than average but it was very good. we returned to the albergue for the siesta and for the first time in Spain, I slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

    Jorje did his washing in the machine but the door jammed, after a bit of effort `i managed to get it open, the couple after him were not so lucky, they didn't know each other but time was passing and they decided to share the machine. You guessed it the door got stuck again and would not open no matter how hard we tried. Eventually they went and spoke to the owner of the bar who also looked after the albergue, and, long story short, their wet washing had to stay in the machine until the next day when an engineer would come out and look at it. They had to move on to Quentar with no clean clothes, though in fairness to the bar owner he arranged to have their clothes delivered to them later the next day. Ken and I washed our stuff in the sink., and by the time we had come back from dinner they were dry.

    There were six of us in the albergue, a Dutch cyclist turned up a bit later, it was just as well some of the folk from yesterday went on to Quentar today. The guidebook said that there was no mobile signal here but we had no problem getting connected. There is generally wifi in the bars and cafes but not in the albergues, so having a data signal is quite important.

    I am sure that we made the right choice in splitting this stage in half. we had a difficult time coming over the mountain and it will be more of the same tomorrow.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Tocón de Quentar to Quentar 15km

    12 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today was to be another short day so I was not too quick to get up when the alarm went off at 0600. However, it did not take long for everyone else to get up, and start getting ready, moving about and making noise. So, Ken and I got up as well, when I went to the bathroom I noted that the other pilgrim's washing was still in the machine, I hoped that they would get it sorted today.

    We had a light breakfast of toast and jam that had been provided in the albergue, but we could not find the box for our donativo and so we had to leave without paying for our stay. We set off following the arrows that brought us back to the main road, then stopped to have a look at the map and noted that the main road was quite a bit shorter than the camino path, and the camino went up and over the mountain whereas the road, as it turned out was almost entirely downhill. We quickly decided to walk on the road, there was a decent verge and it was also a Sunday, and so we guessed that there would be little to no traffic on the road and this turned out to be the case. By doing so we actually bypassed all of the steep ascents on the camino path and walking on the road was much quicker and easier. The wisdom of our decision was confirmed quite quickly when we saw Jorge coming along the road behind us. He had started on the camino but after about 10 minutes had turned back to the road. He said that the camino path was very steep and uneven terrain.

    So, we ended up in Quentar in just over three hours. The guest house was easy to find but we couldn't check in until 1400hrs but they let us leave our backpacks. So we did that and then went off to the cafe bar for refreshments. Once we got checked in, and showered, etc. we went back to the bar for dinner and phoned to reserve beds in Granada for tomorrow night. The albergue we had hoped to stay in had closed for renovations and so we booked a room at a monastery run by nuns, it had good reports and was possibly less busy than some of the other albergues. Granada is a tourist hotspot, so whilst there is plenty of accommodation to chose from, it tends to be a bit more expensive and busy. The plan for tomorrow is to leave quite early, it is only about 20 km to the city but a lot of that is over some long ascents,. Today has been good though, it was a short and pleasant walk.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham
    1

    Quentar to Granada 20km

    13 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    I had slept really well, it was a real treat not to be in a bunk bed, and to have real sheets and a duvet, it's always the little things that matter the most! It was a strange place though. The garden was full of Buddhist statues, and for a fee we could have had our auras scanned and repaired with hot volcanic stones. I find it ironic that many people who reject Christianity as nonsense are equally willing to believe that putting warm stones on your body will heal your aura.

    Most of the other people staying here seemed to be foreign students studying at Granada University, a lot of them were American. Ken and I had a room to ourselves, on the plus side the toilets/shower room was just across the hallway (Ken was excited to note that there was a hairdryer in the shower room), but we were also next to the garden and some of the students sat late into the night chatting loudly.

    We were up at 0600 and ready to go within 10 minutes, and so we set off in the semi-darkness following the yellow arrows that marked the path out of the town. We had about 3km to go to the next village/town and it was a fairly easy and pleasant walk, although some parts of it were quite narrow and overgrown with bushes and grass. It felt like we were walking through the bushes rather than past them. The town had a cafe and so we were looking forward to having some breakfast. True to form, the cafe was closed on Mondays.

    We came to the point where we left the GR3201 road and followed the path through the countryside on the ancient camino path. Ken was keen to stay on the road, although it was slightly longer it was flat and had fewer inclines. However, I was concerned about the fact that there was no verge for us to walk on if there was a lot of traffic. We debated our options, to be fair we were standing looking at yet another epic uphill climb over a mountain range, but we had managed to cross every other mountain. So, for safety's sake, we stuck to the camino path off the road. It did take us quite a while to get to the top, some parts were very steep and it wound its way around the side of the mountain, so just when you thought you were at the top, you turned a corner to find it still going uphill.

    Eventually, it began to level out and then the path undulated across the mountain ridge. the views were spectacular, although I took some photographs, they didn't do it justice. It didn't take too long for the path to begin going down, we had seen Granada in the distance, it is a very large city, but it was still two to three hours walk away.

    The walk was pleasant enough, though some of the descents were quite steep and slippery, but we arrived in the outskirts of the city, in Sacremonte, which seemed to be a very popular tourist spot. It was a small suburb on the hill just across from the Alhambra Palace and around a monastery. In a matter of minutes we had superb views of the Alhambra, and stopped to take some photographs, and coffee of course. It was interesting to note that the cafe menu was entirely in English, and to be fair we heard more English and American voices than Spanish.

    Although we were only 15 minutes walk from the albergue, it was not easy to find, but the CityMapper App got us there eventually. The gateway entrance to the albergue was very impressive, but I was a bit apprehensive about staying in a monastery. The last time I had stayed in a monastery, it was not a good experience, it was basic and a bit dilapidated, hot with no air con and terrible showers. However, once we got inside, my concerns vanished. The convent was beautiful, spotlessly clean and the room was fantastic. We had crisp white linen sheets and blankets, a great shower, and a tall window facing the gardens. The nuns were all business, and quickly got us booked in, and showed us to our room. It was well worth the 25 Euros each, and the best albergue we had stayed in so far. I noticed that the nuns were all Asian, it probably says something about the situation in the Roman Catholic Church that is in decline in the West, just as the historic Protestant denominations are also.

    We went out for dinner but first I had to go to the Cathedral to light some candles. As we guessed, there were plenty of cafe bars nearby to get some dinner. We also did a bit of resupply shopping since we were in a city. I bought a hiking shirt from Decathlon, and some lens cleaner for my glasses, and fruit for tomorrow.

    With our stomachs full and our shopping done, we went back to the albergue and packed our stuff for tomorrow, and then fell asleep in our lovely, clean and comfortable beds in Casa de Espiritualidad Comendadoras de Santiago.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham
    11

    Granada to Pinos Puente 22km

    14 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We had a good night's sleep, although I woke up about 0400, we had left the balcony door open slightly because it was so hot, and the room had cooled down. Rather than get up to close it, I just pulled the blankets up, as I had been sleeping under just the sheet. Our 25 euros included breakfast, which the nuns had left for us in the dining room, and so we sat with some other pilgrims and enjoyed coffee, toast and fruit.

    The convent was on the southern edge of the city and we were heading north, so we thought about getting a bus to the edge of town, but it was a nice morning and so we decided to walk it. In many ways it was a dull walk going through the city streets but it also gave us a sense of what a beautiful city Granada is, especially as the streets were mostly empty, it was just beginning to awake.

    It took an hour to cross the city, there was a park and then the pavement ended, so we sat on a bench and ate our bananas and had some water. Another pilgrim came along, his name was Hector, I think he was from Barcelona, he had left the albergue later than us but he was half our age, and his backpack was tiny so he was always going to pass us. We chatted for a few minutes and then he headed on.

    The walk to the next town Atarfe, was easy going, mostly on tarmac, which is quick but eventually is sore on the feet and knees. Hiking boots are not really made to walk on tarmac for long, and there was little shade so by the time we got there we were beginning to feel the heat of the sun. Atarfe was about 10km from Granada, with Pinos Puente another 9km from there. Naturally, we stopped in Atarfe and like proper hobbits, we had 2nd breakfast (though technically it was our 3rd breakfast as we had stopped on the edge of Granada for a snack).

    The walk to Pinos Puente was unremarkable and uneventful, the road was as straight as an arrow from Atarfe, the only snag was that there was zero shade, and by this time it was really quite hot. We were quite glad to finally arrive. Using the Gronze app we headed off to the albergue. we had not gone far when we saw Hector walking towards us, he had also followed the app but could not find the albergue. As we stood together on the side of the road looking at street maps, a guy pulled up beside us in a tractor. He said he was the hospitalero and that the albergue was closed for repairs. The next town was another 4-5 hours walk away with an incredibly steep (and long) ascent right at the end. Hector decided to head there, but Ken and I both felt that was too much for us.

    We went back down the hill to the hotel that was on the main street, we booked a room, and then got on with all the daily tasks of the camino. The room was ok, not luxurious, but it was another night not having to sleep in a sleeping bag and the toilet/shower was good. The hotel had a restaurant and so we went down for dinner, the food was excellent, we had two beers + 1 coke, with 2 free tapas, two generous main courses, 2 coffees and 3 bottles of water for 44 euros.

    We had washed our clothes but there was nowhere to dry them, fortunately the technical fabrics dry quickly, and the sign for the hotel was right outside our window, so we laid our socks out on that to dry in the heat of the sun. Once we got our stuff packed, there was nothing more to do other than head off to bed.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Pinos Puente to Moclin 19km

    15 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    I got up after a surprisingly good sleep, surprising because the guy in the room next door was on the phone for hours, and the walls were so thin, not only could I hear him talking but also the person he was talking to!

    When I got up I was glad to see that the socks I had washed yesterday were now dry, and so after finalising our packing, Ken and I went downstairs to the restaurant to hand in our key. Since it was a relatively short walk of 15km we decided to treat ourselves to a cooked breakfast , it was a nice change from a piece of fruit.

    The walk from Pinos Puente was uneventful but quite pleasant. Initially we were on the main road for the first few km before the path veered off into the countryside. It was fairly level ground for most of the way. Since we had a very steep climb, I think the steepest on this camino, we had decided that we would stop at the village of Olivares (11km) for a decent break and a second breakfast before attempting the climb up to Moclin.

    Ken had been quite anxious about the climb. Just a year earlier he had been seriously ill, like death's door ill, and had gone through a major operation. The camino was a real test of his recovery, and he had been doing very well, but found the steep ascents challenging. I reminded him of Psalm 121 - I look to the hills, where does my help come from, it comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth. I reminded him how on a previous camino I too had been anxious, but the words of that psalm helped me to trust in God rather than trust my anxiety. Each time I needed help, God brought someone along who was an expert in the area in which I needed help. I was sure that God would not only go with us but go before us, and that with his help we would find a way up this incredibly steep mountain. To be honest I was reminding myself as much as I was telling Ken, I was a bit anxious about that climb as well

    Our normal practice was to stop at the first cafe, and the first cafe in Olivares happened to be right at the entrance of the village, but it looked a bit dodgy, so we walked on as there were, unbelievably, three other cafes in the village. Within 10 minutes we had returned to the first cafe because all three other cafes were closed that day. So, we sat at a table outside, placed our order and, looking at the mountain ahead of us we contemplated our life choices. Just then, a Spanish guy ( we found out his name was José), came out of the cafe and over to our table. We had seen him in the albergue and so we knew that he was walking the camino. He spoke almost no English but asked us if we were going to Moclin, to which we said yes, he then made a gesture indicating the incredible steepness of the climb and how difficult it would be. I thought, o great, I was trying to calm Ken's anxiety and this guy has just made it worse.

    However, he leaned closer and said, "there is another way." In the ensuing half Spanish, half English conversation, we learned that there was a local camino, the Ruta de Gollizno, that went around the mountain rather than straight up. It was apparently a beautiful walk, and whilst it was a little bit longer, it was not as steep. Ken and I agreed that we would go that way if we could find it. José went back to the bar and returned a few minutes later with a pen and piece of paper and he drew us a map.

    After our 2nd breakfast we set off to find it. We reached the point where the tarmac road literally came to an end and then encountered a problem. The map José had drawn showed two paths but there were three in front of us. Just then, a car pulled up, and the driver put down his window and asked if we needed help. We said we were looking for the Ruta de Gollizno, and he pointed to the right and said that's it there.

    Coincidence? We didn't think so either. To me it was yet another confirmation of God's watchful care for us on our journey, and a reminder that our anxieties often come to nothing and only serve to rob us of the joy of the journey in that moment.

    We set of in the direction he had indicated and it turned out to be a lovely walk, on an undulating path with lots of wildflowers, and a river crossing after which the path noticeably started going uphill, but not too steeply. It did eventually begin to get a bit steep but there were steps and a handrail. Just as I was wondering how steep it was going to get and how difficult it would become, we encountered a large group of elderly people out for a stroll, and I thought that maybe it wasn't going to be that hard after all. We had to cross another river via a suspension bridge, and the further on the bridge you went, the more it swung from side to side, but we made it. We then encountered another group of elderly people out for a stroll. Ken asked one couple if it was far to Moclin, in exactly the same instant, she said yes and he said no. As it turned out we were only about another 3km away from the town, though I must say the last 1.5km was the longest and hardest 1.5km that I have ever walked, but we made it. The views were tremendous, and we got to the albergue without either of us having a heart attack. José was already there and he told us the hospitalero would be along later to book us in. He also informed us that the only shop would be closed at 1300, and so we dropped off our backpacks and went to get supplies for the next day.

    The albergue was very nice but the hospitalera was a bit shirty with us, apparently we were supposed to phone when we arrived, but we didn't know that. The room was nice, 18€ each, the showers were decent enough except that the shower head hook was broken - a black mark in my book. We got our washing done in the sink asap and hung it out on the wash line in the garden. We went to the bar and had an excellent dinner and by the time we returned to the albergue, most of our washing was dry.

    We had no trouble getting to sleep, though I woke up cold in the night, the temperature had dropped but then we are quite high up.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Moclin to Alcalá la Real 25km

    16 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Although I woke up about an hour before the alarm was due to go off, I had a really good night's sleep, I was warm and comfortable underneath the duvet. We got up and got ready and were on the road by 0630. Today's stage was 25km, but the first section was all downhill. For once it did not take a long time for us to get out of the town - Moclin is a very small place. As soon as we reached the edge of the town we found ourselves on a very steep descent on a gravel path, we both slipped a couple of times but managed not to fall. The walk was pleasant enough once we got to the bottom of the hill, the path was a mixture of tarmac, gravel and earth, and fairly level. The yellow arrows were easy to follow and we didn't need to consult the map very much. At roughly the halfway point, we stopped at a little village that had a cafe, and had some breakfast, we were ready for it by then having walked for about 3 hours.

    I started to get a severe pain in my lower right leg, every step was agony, but we were only halfway and so there was no option but to keep on going. Ken reminded me that according to research by the SAS, when you get to the point you feel like you can't go on, and that you have nothing left to give, you have reached the end of your rope, you are actually only at 40%. Unfortunately I wasn't in the SAS. The path had one steep ascent and a few quite steep ones, but for the most part it was level. Still, I was very glad when we arrived in Alcalá la Real.

    After all the usual camino/albergue tasks were done, I spent some time on WhatsApp booking beds for the next few days, my leg was too sore to wander about the town. According to the guidebook, the next stage has no major ascents or descents so hopefully it will be a straightforward walk. I messaged Jaap about the pain in my leg in case there was something I could be doing about it. He thought it was just strain from muscles, ligaments etc being used to an extent and in ways that I was not used to, and it would get better over the next few days. I also thought that I might have to buy new shoes when we got to Córdoba. The ones I brought with me were not new, I had bought them for my trip to Yosemite, but the tread was now worn almost to nothing, my feet were very sore, it occurred to me that might be contributing to the pain in my leg.

    Ken got some news from home and has said that he might have to return once we got to Merida.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Alcalá la Real to Alcaudete 25km

    17 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Once again I was awake before the alarm, having had another good night's sleep, and once again we were on the road by 0630. Like yesterday, this stage was about 25km, the guidebook was more or less correct in that there were no steep ascents or descents, but as we set off there was one long but shallow ascent and we only stopped once on the way up, just to take a photo. The guidebook had described the stage as monotonous and it was - it was just mile and miles of dirt tracks though field after field of olive trees. The view never really changed despite walking for hours, the psychological effect was quite negative as we felt like we were not really getting anywhere, despite having walked for hours.

    When we eventually arrived in Alcaudete, I discovered that I had developed a couple of small blisters, Ken immediately got out his Swiss army knife and offered to amputate but I persuaded him that wouldn't be necessary. On the camino everyone has their own (often mad) method of treating blisters, one of the most common is to use a needle to draw some thread through the blister and leave the thread in it to drain the blister. My own view on that one is that it is an infection risk. So, I followed the instructions I had been given by an actual podiatrist on the camino two years ago (drain it, put on some iodine and a dressing to keep it clean, repeat daily), so I was confident that they wouldn't be a problem.

    Japp messaged me to see how the pain in my leg was doing, he also warned us about a lack of accommodation over the next stage (he was a day ahead of us), so I spent some time in the evening to get beds booked.

    We had a proper menu del dia in the Pension Hildago where we were staying, three courses for €14 and it was very good. we have been walking for just over two weeks now, and it has been very difficult, in fact it has been the most difficult thing I have ever done. We are both tired and beginning to feel the strain of the camino, yet it has also been a great experience, it has tested us but we have risen to every challenge, we have met some lovely people, and seen some amazing things. Tired as we are, I think we would both say it has been worthwhile...but there is still a long way to go.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham
    1

    Alcaudete to Baena 30km

    18 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I woke up a few times through the night to the steady rhythmic tones of Ken's snoring, but I got back to sleep each time and when it was time to get up I felt quite refreshed. We left at 0640, a bit later than I would have liked given that we were doing nearly 30km today. However, using the camino apps we took a shortcut out of the town (the Buen Camino app is excellent but it does seem to route you past every church in town rather than the most direct route).

    The first half of the walk was very good and uneventful, it was mostly on tarmac and always downhill. However, at one point the yellow arrows became very confusing, giving us several options, sometimes the camino shifts and new arrows are painted but normally the old arrows are painted over, but we had several sets pointing in different directions. We decided to follow the camino app instead of the arrows, and before long we found ourselves walking on a vaguely identifiable path that ran parallel to the fence of an enormous solar panel farm. We reached a point where the path became very overgrown, and we could no longer tell by eyesight if we were still on the path, but I continued to follow the gps trail on the app and it led us true.

    The trail led us to what should have be a lake and beauty spot, however, it was completely dried up and had grass and shrubs growing in it. There was a picnic spot on the far side of the 'lake' with proper benches and tables and even a roof to shade us from the sun. We took off our backpacks and boots and sat for half an hour, and I ate my pasta salad and some fruit and had some water. José was also there, and we chatted as best we could, though tbf Ken's Spanish is great.

    The second half of the walk was much more difficult than the first, it was mostly uphill but not too steep, but it was also on fresh white gravel that caused the sunlight to bounce back up towards us, and it was quite hard to walk on. The landscape never changed hour after hour and we had no sense of advancing anywhere, so it was a great relief when Baena came into view, it gave us hope that we would soon be there.

    It was getting into the afternoon and we were getting concerned about arriving in time to go to the shops before they closed. The next day was Sunday and it was very likely that the shops in Castro del Rio would be closed for the day, so we needed to get extra supplies today. I checked google (quite often unreliable for this kind of information) and it showed a Lidl in Baena that, with a slight detour, we could pass on the way to the albergue. We found it no problem and were able to get a good range of supplies for breakfast and snacks for the journey tomorrow, we also got some of the pasta meals that we could keep for dinner if necessary.

    The walk to the albergue was torture, it was of course, at the very top of the steepest hill in the town, but it was very beautiful, we had the choice of paying 20€ each for a bunk bed in a dormitory, or 50€ for a twin room with en-suite bathroom and shower. It was a no-brainer, and the room was great.

    By the time we had showered and changed and done our washing etc, the kitchen in the restaurant downstairs had closed and so we would have to wait for our dinner, since we were so far up a steep hill that we had no desire to walk down into town to find a bar, we were too tired to walk back up. Dinner would have to wait until the kitchen opened and there was nothing else to do but have a siesta... when in Spain.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Baena to Castro del Rio 23km

    19 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The albergue in Baena was very nice, the only problems with it were that the very heavy metal front door was on a powerful spring and every time someone went in or out they just let it swing shut, which it did with an almighty ban. Then at 0200 the bin lorries arrived with flashing orange lights and beep beep beep reversing alarms .... right outside the window of our room... Ken slept through it.

    Leaving the albergue was a lot easier than arriving as it was all downhill. Ken was concerned that we were going in the wrong direction, and it is easy to get disoriented in the towns, there is often a lack of way-markers, and the gps on a mobile sometimes struggles for a signal. However, I trusted the tech and my own sense of direction and we soon found ourselves on the far side of town. On the way we passed The Winery of Jesus of Nazareth, I pictured truckloads of water being changed into truckloads of wine.

    According to the guidebook we had three long hills to go up, though they were not very steep, and once we were over the third hill it was downhill almost all the way to Castro del Rio. The walk was pleasant enough there was a fair bit of tarmac and it was hot, my feet were quite sore by the time we got there. It turned out I had another blister, the tread on my shoes has almost worn flat. In a couple of days we will be in Cordóba and I will have the chance to buy a new pair. I wasn't expecting to do that on this trip, hopefully I will get a decent pair though wearing them in whilst on the camino is not going to be fun.

    The albergue in Castro turned out to be open, and very, very basic. It looked like it had not been cleaned in a long time. The floors were filthy, the mattresses were all stained, and in our room there were two tall windows, one wouldn't shut because the frame was misaligned, and the other one had broken panes of glass, with large, sharp bits of glass still in the frame. The shower was terrible. On the plus side, it had a washing machine and a good drying area.

    The town, of course, was more or less closed because it was a Sunday, but we managed to find a bar where we got a cold drink and the owner gave us directions to a restaurant that was open so we were able to get a meal, and it was good. We also found a tiny grocery store that was open as we were able to get provisions for the next day.

    We spent some time talking about the route into Santa Cruz and decided that rather than make our planned detour to a village with a cafe, we would go directly to Santa Cruz as the detour would add another 30+ minutes of walking, plus the time spent in the cafe, and there was every chance we would get there to find it closed anyway. I must admit, I will not be sorry to leave this place.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Castro del Rio to Santa Cruz 25km

    20 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    I got a message from Helen early in the morning , she was concerned about their walk today they had 38km to do in order to reach Cordóba. It would be the further than she and Jaap had ever walked, she asked us to pray for them and I said I would.

    I had slept not too badly considering it was my first night in a sleeping bag for about a week. I was glad to be leaving, the albergue in Castro del Rio was one of the worst we have stayed in so far. Most people who walk a camino are not expecting luxury but when albergues can't even get the basics right, its not good. All we really ask is that it would be clean with a decent shower and toilet, I don't think that is unreasonable.

    We had only walked a couple of km when we saw a sign on the road to Espejo saying it was 6km, that was 5km shorter than the camino route. So, we decided to stay on the road and have breakfast there. The downside was that it was the main road so there was plenty of traffic, but fortunately because it was a main road there was also a wide verge so the risk factor from traffic was very small. By the time we found our way into the town we had added another 2km but it was good to get breakfast, but even with that stop, we arrived in Santa Cruz a lot earlier than expected.

    My feet were very sore, it was not the blisters but my feet generally, the degradation of my shoes was beginning to be a real problem. I will do some online searching tonight to see if there are any independent outdoor shops in Cordóba, I know there is a Decathlon but they only seem to have their own brands, and I need to make sure I get a really good pair that will be up to the job, not just for this camino, but for the next one as well. I will also be able to post home my coat I have never used and a few other things that will lighten my pack as there is a post office in Cordóba.

    We are staying the night in a hostal again, it is a bit more expensive than an albergue (48 euros) but there are no albergues in Santa Cruz. The Hostal was ok, we got our washing done and dried, but the food was not great.

    We have also decided to get the bus into Cordóba tomorrow due to time pressure. Not only do I need to go and get new shoes, it may be the only time I will be in the city and I have wanted to go and see the Mesquita for a very long time. So we will call it a rest day and be tourists.

    Ken has made the decision to only go as far as Merida, which is unfortunate, but that's the way it is. I will continue on the Santiago on my own from there.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Santa Cruz to Córdoba 22km

    21 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    I was awake early, long beofre the bar downstairs was open. It seems to be a popular stopping place for folk to get some breakfast on their way to work. We got up slightly later than normal, there was no need to rush as we were going to get the bus into Cordóba, and we had plenty of time, so we went downstairs for breakfast.

    The bus was late but the bus stop was practically right outside the bar. It didn't take long for a queue to form, some people going to work in the city and some who looked like they were on a shopping trip. The bus was incredibly cheap €2.10 for a journey over 20km, it would have cost significantly more for the same length of journey back home. It felt like we had only been on the bus for 15 minutes when we arrived in the city.

    The Post Office was just 10 minutes walk from the bus station, but it took a while to get all the paperwork done. If you are sending an international parcel they need a sender's address in Spain, of course I didn't have one, and I was staying in a different place each day. So they put the address of the Post Office in Cordóba and the computerised system was happy with that. It cost me €37 but it also took almost 2kilos out of my bag.

    We walked through the city to our hostal, stopping at a cash machine on the way. Google Maps is quite useless at times but we got there eventually. The owner greeted us with a cold glass of very freshly squeezed orange juice. I am allergic to orange, it makes me itch but it would have been rude to refuse, so I drank it all and made a note to take an extra antihistamine as soon as I could.

    The room was ok, but not really worth the €70 we paid for it, but it was all about location. we were only 2 minutes walk from the Mezquita, and there were plenty of taxis. I had found an independent outdoor store, but it was on the opposite side of the city and we did not have time to work out the public transport if we were going to visit the Mezquita as well. So, I splashed the cash on a taxi. The shop was small but very well stocked, they had Scarpa, Salomon, LaSportiva and Merrell as well as other top brands - never buy cheap hiking shoes for a camino. I had read some positive reviews of the Merrell Moab3, and they had a pair in my size, The staff were really great, and made sure that they fit me properly, and the bonus was they cost about £50 less than I could have bought them for in the UK. The only problem was that I would have to wear them in live on the camino - with the expectation of blisters as a result. However, I believe that acceptance is the key to happiness and I had a full blister kit in my first aid pack. The owner called for a taxi for us, and we were soon back at the Hostal with plenty of time to visit the Mesquita.

    You had to book tickets online, so Ken did that on his phone, and in we went. It was amazing, everything I had hoped it would be and more. I was astounded to be able to get quite a few pictures with no people in them, it was very busy - there was also a festival of some kind on all week. As well as being a major tourist attraction, it is also a working church, and in fact there was a service on whilst we were there. It was a bucket list moment for me. I had wanted to visit it for most of my adult life and I never imagined that I ever would, and I was so glad we did. I was glad to to be able to share the moment with my friend Ken.

    Since we were in the city we decided not have a menu del dia and went for an Italian meal. It was without doubt the worst Italian meal I have ever eaten. In fact, it was so bad that I promised Ken that on our last night together in Merida, I would buy him an Italian meal at a proper Italian restaurant. After dinner we went in search of supplies for tomorrow, and then it was time for bed.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Córdoba to Cerro Muriano 22km

    22 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    I slept surprisingly well considering I had a two hour siesta yesterday afternoon. The albergue was ok but not worth the cost. We left a little later than usual today but the first hour walking through the city was quite quick. There is something about walking through a city that is just beginning to wake up. It took us a full hour to walk from the albergue to the edge of the city, and that was with a short cut, courtesy of CityMapper. we had hoped to get a coffee in a new urban development a few km outside of Córdoba but one cafe seemed ot have closed permanently and nothing else was open yet, so we carried on. It was at this point that the path started to go uphill, reasonably steeply but for a long distance. The first 8-10km of today's stage had been quite flat but it was now more or less uphill all the way to Cerro Muriano, with one steep ascent of 450m.

    The guide book told us the distance and elevation but not how difficult the path would be, and the path was horrible - steep, stony and uneven. Ken slipped a couple of times and dinged his knee, he put a brave face on it but I think he really hurt himself.

    We climbed and climbed and finally reached the summit, from where we could see the town, we could also see that the path widened and flattened and went downhill. We stopped when we reached the edge of the town, although the albergue was not very far away, there was a cafe opened, and we both were in need of a good coffee and something to eat. It seemed quite a posh place but it was no more expensive than anywhere else, and the coffee was good and very welcome.

    We arrived at the albergue/hostal and got booked in. It was much nicer than the one in Córdoba and much cheaper, and the shower was one of the best so far. We got our clothes washed in the bathroom sink but one of the problems of staying in hostals is that they don't usually have anywhere to hang the clothes up to dry. So we went downstairs and asked one of the staff if there was somewhere we could dry our clothes. He said yes and asked us to follow him, he went out the hostal, crossed the road and walked to a house down the street, up the driveway and around the back of a house. There was an extendable drying rack bolted onto the wall of the house, which he said we could use. It turned out it was his parent's house. It was yet another example of the kindness of strangers that you encounter on the camino.

    Our room in the alberge was decorated by photographs which I recognised as the work of Robert Capa, the famous photojournalist, in fact he is credited with being the first war photojournalist. Most of the pictures were from the Spanish civil war.

    When Ken and I were sitting at a table out front having more refreshments the owner came by and asked if we had settled in ok and if we had enjoyed our dinner (which we had). I mentioned the pictures to him and he spoke a little bit about Capa, then went away, returning a few minutes later with a folder of photos taken by Capa. It turned out that his father had met Capa, and that he had stayed here. So for the next hour or so he told us stories about Capa and his companions, and the refugees escaping the fighting who walked along the railway line to safety. His most famous photograph from the Spanish civil war, that of a soldier at the exact moment he was shot by the fascists, the one that really made his name, was taken on a hill we had crossed earlier in the day. The town of Espejo had a statue of it to commemorate the war. Tomorrow we will walk the very path those refugees took, as did Capa to photograph them. It turned out to be a really interesting evening. The owner asked Ken, whose Spanish is excellent, if he could help his granddaughter with her English homework, which, of course, he did.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham
    11

    Cerro Muriano to Villaharta 22km

    23 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We had a good night's sleep, the room was very comfortable. We woke up to an overcast sky, and there was a cold wind blowing when we set off, but we weren't complaining, it was a nice change from the heat of the past few days.

    The guidebook described this stage as 'unremarkable', in other words, dull and boring, and it was not wrong. The path was a mixture of tarmac sections and dirt tracks, we followed a cycle path then what probably used to be the main road a long time ago, and then through some woodland. There was not much to photograph.

    I had decided that I needed to start wearing my new hiking shoes, even though I would probably end up with blisters, the old ones were killing my feet, and crucially gave me no grip on the path.

    The final section was up a very steep hell and we were glad to reach the top. I could feel blisters on both feet, so I was glad to get to what turned out to be a very nice albergue. As soon as we arrived, we got on with the tasks of showering, sorting our clothes etc, trying to find a shop and a place to eat. I had 4 blisters that would make tomorrow's walk a more painful experience, all the more so because we were expecting the terrain to be quite difficult, with ascents of 840m and descents of 800m. We tried not to worry about it, tomorrow is tomorrow. I learned on my previous camino not to get anxious about the next day and what might or might not happen, and I doubted that tomorrow would be any worse than what we had already done.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    Villaharta to El Calatreveño 18km

    25 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    I had a restless night, i wasn't cold but I wasn't warm either, Ken was also very restless and shouted a few time in his sleep. Despite our worries about the walk today, as it turned out, most of it was quite pleasant. We did have some long but not steep ascent, and one or two steep but short ones. The last few km were more difficult because of the terrain, the path was mostly uneven, and covered in loose stones. However, I didn't think it was any more difficult that some of the dried up riverbeds we walked on in the first week.

    We had planned to stay in an albergue that had only opened up the previous year - that did not mean that it was brand new, rather it was more likely that the owners of a house were cashing in on the fact that the only alternative was to walk, not 18km but 38km. Unfortunately, that turned out to be true.

    The albergue was in an old farmhouse that was slowly being renovated following a fire in 2021, two brand new cabins for pilgrims were also being built on the land, but sadly not yet finished. The called the number we were given and were told where to get the key, the hosplitalero would be along later to take our money etc.

    When we got in, we were quite shocked and disgusted at the state of the place, there was a layer of grime over everything, it was unbelievably filthy and dark. twe had been told which bedroom to use and fortunately it was a little bit better. The shower was upstairs and there was a small dining area and another modern and brand new bedroom, I guess that's where the renovation effort, and money went. We checked the fridge and it was full of out of date food, like the cream cheese that had expired 10 months previously.

    Another disturbing feature was the three dogs, two of them were alsatian type breed and the other, which was clearly the leader of the pack, was a mongrel, muscular and vicious looking. Although they were not aggressive, I don't like dogs, I have been attacked several times, and actually I am allergic to them. It was also obvious that they had the run of the house.

    We got our washing done and hung out on the line and waited for the owner to arrive, which he did a few hours later. As the house was in the middle of nowhere we had to pay an extra 10€ each for dinner, which turned out to be a bowl of watery soup and a pan of fried sausages, that was it. It was one of the worst dinners we have ever had, on grimy dinner plates, and the dining tablecloth was so dirty it looked like it had not been cleaned in years.

    We were astounded to discover that the owner and his wife actually lived there, although as soon as we have finished our dinner the guy left and never came back.

    When we got up in the morning all the dirty dishes were still on the table, we could not wait to leave, it was the worst albergue we have ever been in and at 25€ each for the night plus dinner, it was daylight robbery.    En savoir plus

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  • Norman GrahamAlmería to SantiagoNorman Graham

    El Calatraveño to Alcaracejos 20km

    25 mai 2024, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We left early, desperate to get away from the place and get to the next town for a shower, we didn't even eat any of our own food for breakfast, we thought that it was safer to eat it somewhere else, since it was clean in our bags it would be more pleasant to eat it somewhere on the camino path.

    The path was good for walking, mostly hard packed gravel, and as the guidebook stated, the first 9km were mostly downhill. It also said it was only 16.5km to Alcaracejos, and not far from the albergue there was a sign to that effect but after we had walked for a few km we came across a sign that said it was 18km. When we got there my fitbit had logged 20km, either way it was definitely more than 16.5.

    The more downhill we went the more the path degraded, and it turned out that whilst the overall trend was downhill there were quite a few ascents. The quality of the path varied the more we walked, the last 4km were on a fairly level but uphill section. By the time we got the the town my blisters were making their presence felt, I was desperate to sit down in a cafe or a bed!

    Naturally, when we arrived in the town we stopped at the fist cafe that was open and had a coffee - sadly, they didn't do any food. as we carried on through the town we found another cafe but their kitchen was closed, so we had some cold drinks and found out what time the kitchen opened.

    As it was a Saturday, we assumed correctly that the supermarket would close at 2pm, so we went there next to get some supplies, we had a good chat with the owners, who gave us directions to the albergue. we walked down to the albergue and got the phone number to call the hospitalera who arrived within 20 minutes, she got us settled in. the municipal albergue is only €10 , it was very clean and had a great shower, a decent kitchen and a washing machine with a good drying area out the back. We quickly showered and got our washing done, the kitchen opened at 4pm and we were hungry. Just as we were about to leave, an Austrian lady with a much younger Italian man in tow arrived, we gave them all the info about the hospitalera and the cafe meal times and then left. We had a really terrific dinner and then returned to the albergue to escape the 37° heat. It was great to be in a clean albergue having had a good meal... it's the simple things that make a difference, and so we went to bed happy.    En savoir plus

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