Spania
Villafranca-Montes de Oca

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  • Dag 14

    The universe always has a plan for us

    24. oktober 2024, Spania ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    The first sound of life in the albergue was 4am as Caesar was up early. He motioned to me as he passed by my bed...my reply a simple 'No' crazily he planned walking a 27 mile day stopping in Burgos. He is such a lovely gentle soul from Columbia. A real privilege to have spent time which such a warm young man.
    For so many people the excitement of Burgos is a pull. I'm not a city kinda girl and never will be. I will pass through tomorrow, allowing some sightseeing time.
    My alarm went at 5.45. For the first time, today I really wasnt feeling it. I simply did not want to walk, but rather go back to sleep. Physically I felt good, but today is the 13th consecutive day of walking. It was not helped by looking last night at the profile for today with a horrible hill climb straight away. I am grateful I did it in the dark! What you can't see can't hurt you and all that...
    It never ceases to amaze me just how resilient we become. How quickly our body becomes conditioned. My feet remain blister free. A tad sore today as there was a fair bit of road walking. My knee? It felt every step today.
    The climb to the top of the hill started me off coughing one of those coughs that spasms. My saviour? Viktor a young Ukrainian man with a hard boiled lozenge. We passed a couple of hours chatting as we talked. I practised some of my ukrainian, and he his English. He escaped to Poland 2 yrs ago. A young man with impeccable manners
    After the horrible hill, the walk was easier, through gentle forest, and down hill. The first coffee stop aka as breakfast was 7miles in, and much needed sustenance.
    From here the trail became rocky and more exposed, and uphill. It was purely signed in part because it had been diverted- signs indicated no entry for military reasons. So was the first lengthy diversion of the day, adding distance.
    It was certainly easier going on for than for Vanessa, a Spanish cyclist I met last night. She had to dismount and struggled to get her bike up the path.
    Today's walk was supposed to be 17 ish miles. It ended up 24.5 miles! (39.42 km)
    I arrived at my destination, only to find the albergue closed! I ranted a little, and headed back to the previous town to find accommodation for the night. It added extra distance that I will again cover tomorrow.
    The thing that strikes me the most? 3 weeks ago, I would still have several hours later be holding on to this and peed off. Tonight? I am sat here enjoying the company of my fellow pilgrims wondering just what lesson the universe wishes to impart today.

    The Camino has renewed my patience. I feel at peace. I feel happy, and relaxed despite the long miles. May the Camino forever be my happy thing, for I am already planning for the next part of the journey.....

    Miles today 24.51
    Total miles 256.95miles. (413.5 km)
    Steps today 51017
    Les mer

  • Dag 7

    Dämmung

    22. oktober 2024, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Ich habe super geschlafen. Aber leider viel zu lange. Heute ist eine 40km Tour geplant und ich wollte früh los. Das ging schon mal daneben, weil ich so lange geschlafen habe (8:20 Stunden Schlaf). Muss wohl daran liegen, dass hier sonst niemand ist. Als ich gerade losgehen wollte und alle Sachen bereits gepackt hatte, habe ich die Kopfhörer aufgesetzt, wollte sie einschalten und hörte das Geräusch, das sie machen, wenn sie ausgehen. Sie waren die ganze Nacht über an und hatten nur noch 20%. Das ist einfach ein Designfehler, dass sie nicht automatisch ausgehen nach ein paar Stunden. Jedenfalls muss ich jetzt noch warten, da ich nicht ohne gehen will. Zum Glück laden die Kopfhörer sehr schnell, aber trotzdem fing der Tag deshalb schon nicht so gut an. In diesem Ort gibt es zwei Herbergen, die auch beide geöffnet haben. Letztes Mal war ich in der anderen Herberge. Hier ist kein Ort zum Einkaufen, was bedeutet, dass man sich etwas mitgebracht haben musste oder dass man das Pilgermenü nimmt. Herberge A, wo ich letztes Jahr war, habe ich als sehr angenehm in Erinnerung gehabt. Übernachtung 15 €, Essen 12 € + 2 € für kleines Frühstück. Es ist eine Privatperson, und dass da auch wirklich Leute wohnen, hat den Vorteil, dass es sehr sauber ist und warmes Wasser, Waschmaschine und Trockner vorhanden sind. Herberge B, in der ich heute war, hatte dagegen nichts. Eine Küche mit Gasherd, ohne Gas, ein Wasserboiler, der defekt war, beide Duschen waren in einem schäbigen Zustand und tropften permanent. Und das nicht gerade leise. Leider gab es keinerlei Küchengeräte wie einen Wasserkocher oder eine Mikrowelle. Dafür hat das Essen hier allerdings sehr gut geschmeckt, und für 8 € war ich von der Menge sehr überrascht. Wenn ich das nächste Mal wieder hierher kommen sollte, wüsste ich nur noch nicht, ob ich A oder B wählen würde.

    Ach so, die Schuhe wären eine 1/2 Nummer größer vermutlich besser gewesen. Aber das kann man vorher eben nicht so genau wissen.

    Weißt du eigentlich, was das für ein Gefühl ist, wenn man nach 5 Stunden Laufen sich hinsetzt, weiß, dass man schon 20 km hinter sich hat und man dann realisiert, dass es jetzt erst die Hälfte war? Als ich die erste Pause gemacht habe, dachte ich mir, das schaffe ich heute nicht. Meine Füße haben schon stark geschmerzt beim Laufen und ich wollte einfach nicht aufstehen. Direkt 100 m von dem Ort entfernt war auch schon die nächste Herberge, sodass ich einfach hätte hingehen können und Schluss machen für heute. Aber ich war so blöd und bin weitergelaufen. Den Weg von Pamplona bis Burgos bin ich nun schon zweimal gelaufen, 2017 und 2019. Man sollte also meinen, dass mir der Weg bekannt vorkommt. Aber überraschenderweise kann ich mich an fast nichts erinnern. Mag eventuell daran liegen, dass die Landschaft hier immer irgendwie gleich für mich aussieht und weil ich den Blick meist gesenkt auf den Boden habe, um nicht auf einen Stein oder so zu treten, da das mit den Blasen schon echt extrem schmerzen kann, wenn man genau darauf tritt. Jedoch als ich in Villafranca angekommen war, wusste ich überraschend genau, wo ich war und was jetzt gleich kommen wird. Berge und Wald. Warum ich das so klar vor Augen hatte, war mir in dem Moment noch nicht so bewusst, aber ich erinnerte mich auch noch genau an die Herberge, die eigentlich „All Year“ offen haben sollte, aber einfach zu war, beide Male. Ich bin ein Stück durch den Ort gelaufen und bin zu einem Wasserspender, der dort stand. Dann dämmerte es. Ich erinnerte mich so gut an diesen Ort, weil es genau hier angefangen hat, dunkel zu werden bei den letzten beiden Malen. Einer der wenigen Vorteile, um diese Jahreszeit zu laufen, ist definitiv die Tageslänge. Denn sonst bin ich im Dunkeln losgelaufen und im Dunkeln angekommen. Und vor mir lagen 12 km Wald. Im Dunkeln durch einen Wald laufen, den man nicht kennt, macht wenig Spaß. Aber das hat mich nicht davon abgehalten, es trotzdem einfach zu machen. Diesmal hatte ich zum Glück Tageslicht. Die Herberge, die „All Year“ offen hat, war diesmal tatsächlich offen. Aber ich habe mich dazu entschieden, noch einen Ort weiter zu gehen. Erstens, weil ich dann die 40 km voll habe, und zweitens, weil ich die Hoffnung hatte, in der Herberge hier auf weniger Menschen zu treffen nach dem Auf- und Abstieg. Leider ist es hier wieder sehr voll.
    Les mer

  • Dag 15

    Santo Domingo de la Calzeda to Belorado

    15. september 2024, Spania ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Today Robbie and I walked alone after our date night in Ezcaray as it is off the path. We had great convos, but it was so very hot and because it's Sunday, everything was closed. Halfway through the 20km we finally found a place that sold hard boiled eggs, bananas and beers by donation. It all tasted heavenly!
    At the end of the long walk, our hostel was awesome and it even had a pool.... 6 degree cold plunge but so good. Today's Camino was brought to you by hot dusty roads, cold plunges, blister care vending machines, beard clippers, New York Damien, laundry that doesn't dry and sore knees.
    Les mer

  • Dag 12

    Belorado to Ages

    13. september 2024, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    A beautiful walk through pretty villages and forest today. 28 km, so I’m a bit footsore! Ages is a beautiful little place and the Albergue has proper sheets (bonus!). Met up with Betty from 🇲🇽 now living in Chicago. She knew the other Irena from Slovenia, so I’m sending her a photo!Les mer

  • Dag 11

    Espinosa del Camino to Cardenuela. 29km.

    8. september 2024, Spania ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    A pleasant 7 hour Camino through pine and maple forests that intersect small towns with their ever present and dominant Catholic Church. We started out in cooler conditions, but the sun came out in full force in the afternoon, which didn’t help the grind over the hill and then the road walk to reach our final town - Cardenuela Riopico. The albergue has a cold pool that helped soothe our aching feet. That saying, our bodies are certainly stronger and recovery time has considerably reduced.

    According to Camino folk lore, the first third - 250km - is about physical preparation, second third - 500 km - is all about the mind as we are walking the long, barren paths in the Misetta, and last third - 750km - is about soul as we go through Galicia where it’s wetter and greener and about new life and beginnings.

    I was thinking of a NZ tramping analogy. We have just walked through the low Canterbury foothills for the first 250km for fitness; now we’re moving into Central Otago (without any lake or mountain vistas; just barren walking) for the next 250km; until we end up in the West Coast for the final 250 km.

    Hokitika as the NZ version of Santiago de Compostela!

    We have some concerns about this progression of body, mind, soul. Small Paul doubts he has something resembling a mind and we both doubt the concept of soul. So as we approach the end of the physical juncture in Burgos, we talked about tapping out of the Camino and staying with the physical - hitting the white sand beaches of the Algrave in southern Portugal….or even go full physical climbing in the Pyrenees.

    Let’s see what how we feel after our 25 km walk to and through Burgos tomorrow.

    Buen Camino!
    Les mer

  • Dag 42

    Azofra to GraĂąon to Tosantos

    7. september 2024, Spania ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    There has been some very cloudy weather. Mornings are getting cooler and the sun does not warm us up until 11 am.

    I have been walking through villages preparing for their "fete" or fiesta. Their yearly celebration of their villages patron saint. Last night I finally hit one. I am not sure if it was a good thing or not! I loved the traditional celebration...though I was left confused. We did the rosary in spanish, the carried her up a hill behind the village to a cave that had a lovely chaple in it. We all sang Adiós Maria. Then locked her in. I wondered how long she will be in there. The whole town then partied loudly until 4:30 AM It was a cultural experience.Les mer

  • Dag 10

    Day 7. Granon to Espinosa. 25km

    7. september 2024, Spania ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    A quiet day on the Comino. Almost a through day. Undulating farm country following a major highway. A few very quiet villages on the way with no cafe's so a hungry morning. Normally I can't function without breakfast but the body and head are adapting. Chatted to lots of people over the day from all parts of the world. Showed a few the correct poling technique for which they were very grateful. I'll be interested to see if they maintain the correct way when we see them tomorrow. Today's Comino story. A chap we meet first walked the Comino back in 2015. He was in a group of 5 and somehow a small dog befriended them. They would depart their hostel in the morning and this dog would be waiting outside. Eventually the dog was adopted by the group and stayed with them until Santiago. One of the group took the dog back to Germany and it has enjoyed a fine life ever since . Nice.
    The bodies are finally feeling good. Today, for the first time the legs are not sore and energy levels are good. It's taken 7 days of 25+km to get to this stage. We are well prepared physically for a dreaded section named the Meseta. 200km of flat nothing. This section is all about the mind.
    Tonight we are in a lovely pension run by an elderly German couple. A home cooked meal to be looked forward to.
    Les mer

  • Dag 17

    Day 12. Belarado to Villafranca de Orca

    3. september 2024, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Last night was interesting. They were having a fall festival in the village. We went to bed at 9:00 only to be waken at 10:00 by the town band. The entire village, hundreds of people, were marching through the narrow streets, playing music, singing and celebrating something. So fun.

    Tues, Sep 3. Today, 8 miles and 4 hours of hiking. This morning, started out in the dark at 6:50. Our day was rainy, LIGHTENING, RAIN, rain, and rain. We were prepared with ponchos but boy did the RAIN come down for about 20 minutes. The rest of the morning was a pleasant light rain or even just a mist. We made our way through the fields and fields of sun flowers. They are long past their peak with drooping heads. Our first stop was at Tosantos for the obligatory cafe con leche and chocolate croissant. No weight loss at this rate. After drying out somewhat, back on the Camino and to the village if Espinosa del Camino for a radler (lemonade + beer) and piece of carrot cake. It was a little strange drinking beer at 9:00 in the morning but all the work crew that had stopped for breakfast were also drinking beer. For a moment, I felt like one of the boys. We walked briefly with Frederick and Steve and also meet a new couple, Jerry and Arnold, from Cinncinati, OH. We have previously decided not to take full "rest days" but instead take several shorter days and this was one of them. Arrived at Hotel San Anton Abad at 10:50, our earliest arrival of any day. Just in time for another cafe con leche. The hotel is a historic building that served as a pilgrim's hospital. It's full of neat stuff and beautiful grounds. We have completed 152 miles. Happy 35th birthday David.
    Les mer

  • Dag 15

    Villa Franco montes de Oka

    31. august 2024, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    The hotel I'm in is very cool. All of the pictures I took of artifacts and that are in the hotel hall.

    I was told that this hotel was a hospital in the 15th century

    I met a German man named Frank and he always had a scowl on his face. He looks super fit like he was in the Army.. I struck up a conversation with him using his translator app on his phone and I told him you looked like he was in the Army and then he looked very strong he told me was 62. He laughed and all of a sudden became very friendly.

    He said he tried the camino in 2022 and blew out his knee.
    This time he walks for one week and then he takes 2 days off. Frankly the way I feel right now that sounds like a good plan.

    Anyhow I think I made a friend now he smiles at me in the hall.
    He has a super short haircut and Looks like he works out a lot.
    Les mer

  • Dag 16–21

    Day 13 - Castildelgado to Villafranca

    27. august 2024, Spania ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Today started a little rough for me as we had used all our ibuprofen and my achilles was pretty sore after yesterday. I gimped along until we found a pharmacy that was open. After getting some meds things improved, and the day was better.

    The landscape is all agricultural, mainly cut grain fields and sunflowers. We passed several farmers bailing straw in the fields. We aren't seeing livestock like we did in the mountain region of a Navarra. However, we did walk past a pig farm and saw several livestock trucks hauling pigs.

    It's a good feeling when you come over a hill and see a village knowing they should have a bar or cafe to get a cold drink. The simple pleasures.

    Tonight we're in a private room which is nice. Had a great dinner with our camino friends Mitch and Mira from the Netherlands, a nice couple.
    Les mer

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