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Haley Camino 2019
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Haley Camino 2019

Camino Del Norte, Spain Lue lisää
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    28. toukokuuta 2019
    Haley Camino 2018Haley Camino 2019Matkaaja

    Ready for the Camino del Norte!

    16. toukokuuta 2019, Yhdysvallat ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Hello again, Friends and Family!

    We weren’t home very long after last year’s Camino before John started asking me, “Aren’t there other caminos besides the Frances?” So we started looking at maps and descriptions. We settled on the Le Puy route in France, ending in the Pyrenees, and started making plans. But we soon realized both of us just wanted to be back in Spain — to walk into a little town and see those welcoming red and green plastic chairs in front of the local bar, to rest our weary bones and have a coffee and chocolate croissant, or a fresh orange juice, where we’d hear “Buen Camino!” many times a day, enjoy Spanish food and hospitality... and of course, to walk again into Santiago.

    We decided to walk the Camino del Norte, which begins at the French border in Irun, Spain, and ends 500 miles later in Santiago de Compostela. It’s another of the old pilgrim paths, but because it follows the northern coastline of Spain, it’s also popular with tourists. With fewer pilgrims, the flavor might be a bit different. But I’ve promised John we’ll still stay in a few albergues so he still feels like he’s a pilgrim!

    Our training is done, our gear is spread out all over the guest bed... we’ll start walking two weeks from today!    Lue lisää

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    Things are looking up!

    28. toukokuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We’ve had a tough few days. Our flights into Paris were smooth, had a 4-hour layover before our train, then almost missed our connection in Bordeaux. Had to run for the train! Arrived in Hendaye, France, and walked into Irun, Spain.

    Our first day’s walk on Thursday started out well. We had a tough climb up Mt. Jazkibel, but we were rewarded with great views and a beautiful walk through quiet pastures.

    Halfway down the mountain, we ran into 2 Frenchwomen who raved about the “breathtaking” alternate route along the coastline. They convinced us to take it. Well, it was breathtaking, all right — but we thought it was our last breaths we were taking! We ended up climbing on a rocky path just wide enough for our feet, with huge rocks on one side and a sheer drop on the other. In several places we had to hold onto wire cables attached to the rocks. A couple of hours later (seemed like a week), we finally got down to the road. John wanted to hunt down those two Frenchwomen and give them hell!

    If you look at the last photo, we were waaaaay up there by the brown rocks. Wish I’d taken a pic of the path itself, but we were just trying to keep from going over the side!    Lue lisää

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    Dick, you can come and play golf!1Our first chocolate croissant

    Things are looking up, cont'd

    1. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Needless to say, we slept well in San Sebastián on Thursday night. Friday’s walk included a few climbs through shady paths and would have been much more enjoyable if we hadn’t been wiped out from the day before. Met some nice American folks from CA and MT — most others we’ve met have been French, German or Dutch. The last couple of miles (photo #1) were on a rocky path we guessed was an old Roman road — the Romans settled a lot of this area and mined extensively.

    Spent Friday night in a comfortable hotel in the little town of Orio, looked after by the nice folks in photo #3.

    So today is Saturday, and we’re in Zumaia after a great walk along the coast. We passed through two lovely fishing villages and even enjoyed our first chocolate croissants! The walk from Zauratz to Getaria was along a 2.17-mile seaside promenade (you can just make it out in photo #8).

    Looking forward to a good meal, another good night’s sleep, and a short walk tomorrow to Deba (where we’ll sleep in an Albergue in an old train station — John is quite excited about that).    Lue lisää

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    House in Getaria
    Sign in Basque languageOn the way to MarkinaTypical Basque houseUps and downs

    Basque Country

    4. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    No WiFi for a couple of days — sorry!

    We’ve been traveling in Basque Country these 6 days. It’s an autonomous part of Spain with very strong cultural ties. The Basque language isn’t related to any other linguistic group, so many of the signs here are in Basque and Spanish.

    It’s a mountainous region of cattle and sheep farms, pine forestry and eucalyptus forests. Our daily stages have been pretty tough, with lots of climbs and descents each day over a variety of surfaces — cobbles, clay, gravel, and soft forest paths. The houses are beautiful (see photos), with window boxes of geraniums and colorful yards — very prosperous.

    Fewer pilgrims than on the Camino Frances, but still a United Nations of folks: French, Dutch, Icelandic, Czech, German, American. Tonight there are 8 people we’ve met on the trail, all staying at this same hotel.

    Weather has been gorgeous, warmest day 82, mist days in the 60’s, a nice cool wind blowing. But looks like rain tomorrow.    Lue lisää

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    Last night's dinner
    Fish soup and a nice Basque redA bit of mud to take alongAhhhh! Nice place tonight!

    Mud and More Mud

    5. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    We walked out of Gernika this morning in a light drizzle— a shame, because it’s a beautiful city and quite meaningful to the Basques. During WW2, General Franco called on the Nazi Luftwaffe to bomb the town, which was a stronghold of Basque Republicans. More than 1600 civilians died, a scene memorialized by Picasso in his painting “Guernica.”

    The light drizzle stayed with us all morning, sometimes turning into a pretty good rain. We climbed 300 meters outside of town, and the way turned into muddy, clay-ey logging roads that seemed to go on forever. More ups and downs, another 300 m climb and then the nastiest, slickest muddy descent I’ve seen on Camino. I fell once and couldn’t get up! (See lovely photo below). After 9 miles with no coffee or food, we arrived in a little Basque town where a local lady told John, “In this town we only speak Basque.” He told her, “Well, in this town I only speak English!”

    Late lunch of fish soup, beef stew and local wine. And only 6 miles to Bilbao tomorrow! Everyone says the Norte gets easier after Bilbao. We hope Everyone is right.    Lue lisää

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    1Basque festival, Getaria
    Serenade below our room, Zumaia

    Videos from Zumaia

    5. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    A couple of videos for you—

  • Haley Camino 2018Haley Camino 2019Matkaaja
    Laurie's Dinner
    2John's DinnerGuggenheim BilbaoViscaya Bridge, PortugaleteHappy John, lunch in Portugalete

    Short Days

    7. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Thursday and Friday turned sunny again, and we had short walks of about 7 and 8 miles. That gave us time to have lunch, shower and nap, which helps us to recover.

    Bilbao was our favorite town so far. With over 1 million people, it’s the largest city in the Basque Country, a combination of vintage buildings and cutting-edge modern architecture. Its crown jewel is the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, opened in 1997 and financed by the citizens of Bilbao (photos below).

    John was thrilled to find a KFC while I was thrilled to find tapas and a nice red wine. Our pension room was located on a narrow street with a couple of bars. They closed at midnight, but folks carried on talking and singing for a couple more hours. Then around 3:30, the street cleaning machine fired up below our window and proceeded to hose down the street. So we were already awake when Ronny texted us that our pecan tree was pretty well destroyed, along with other tree damage, on a storm that moved through San Antonio yesterday. Messy, but looks like no structural damage.

    Tonight we’re in Portugalete, a port town near Bilbao, in a very comfortable hotel. We crossed the river into town via the Viscaya Bridge, an iron and steel cable bridge built in 1893 (photos below). A shuttle that hangs from the bridge frame can hold 6 vehicles and several dozen people. Cost to cross was €0.45. Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” was playing on the way over — how appropriate!    Lue lisää

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    John likes this camino!And espresso to go! Love this townBack to the beachScallops, deliciousCalamari (we thought it would be fried)Bull ring in Castro Urdiales2

    Too Much Highway

    8. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    From Portugalete we first stayed in Castro Urdiales, and tonight in Laredo (obviously not the one in Texas). In order to save some miles, we had to walk these two days alongside the N-634 national highway. That’s a lot of asphalt, and too many cars whizzing by. We seem to be past that now (we hope).

    We’re back near the sea, so we’ve had some nice scenery along the way, too, as you can see from the photos. But being in a Spanish beach town on a Saturday night also means a lot of noisemaking — all night! The streets finally quieted down about 6:30 a.m., just as we were waking up!

    One last note about Portugalete: The streets leading into town from the river are so steep, there are a series of people movers on the sidewalks! Maybe the is the future of Camino?    Lue lisää

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    Saint James is with usWhere IS that ferry?Everyone made it onboardFried hake. Beautiful fish. Why none in the USA?1

    ...and some days it rains

    11. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    And the wind blows 20 miles an hour, and it hails a little bit... but yesterday was still another day on the Camino. When we woke up in San Miguel to steady rain, I’ll admit I thought about asking around for a bus schedule, but John shamed me into putting on my poncho and toughing it out. We fast-walked to Somo with one lovely breakfast break, then rode a ferry into Santander.

    Our ferry ride from Laredo to Santoña a couple of days ago was quite different. We followed the Camino to a beach where we expected to board a 9:00 am ferry. But there was no sign, no dock, nada! Soon there were perhaps 20 of us, some with bicycles, waited anxiously hoping to see a ferry. At about 8:50, a local woman walked up to the beach, wearing nice shoes, and John said, “That’s a good sign!” Indeed, just after 9:00, a small ferry pulled right up to the beach and we walked up the gangway. Sometimes you just have to trust the universe.

    We’re still walking on asphalt, but the N-634 has given was to quiet country lanes a small roads through green valleys with prosperous-looking homes and farms. In the coming days we should see more of the coast.    Lue lisää

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    John's prehistoric fish
    Albergue Piedad, Boo de PielagosPrivate room 👍Camino the Cat at the albergueWe see the sea againA few minutes of sunshineWindowless church -- very mysteriousLunch break (no fish)Santillana del Mar, a medieval town now overrun by tourists

    You'd think we would have learned?!

    13. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    After 2 nights in Santander (big city, 1 million people), we had a short walk yesterday to Boo de Pielagos, arriving about noon. We were staying in an adorable little albergue — maybe the nicest we’ve seen — and the owners were still busy cleaning and preparing for guests. We dropped off our packs and sauntered up the street to the local restaurant.

    Many Spanish restaurants offer a “menú del día,” menú of the day — 2 courses plus dessert and wine or water, for somewhere between €9-15. This is the kind of food the Spanish eat, not really geared to pilgrims. And after about 3:00 pm, the menu is finished and there’s not much available till 8:00 or later (when we want to sleep). So we were feeling pretty proud of ourselves for having timed our lunch just right.

    We chose our first courses (lentils for me, leeks with ham and sauce for John). The waiter then gave us choices for the main course: stuffed chicken breast, pork with potatoes, or fried fish. Ah, fried fish for John!! But just like the “calamare,” we didn’t ask any follow-up questions. So when the waiter brought John’s fish, well... see the photo below. Whole fish, all curled up and looking like something in a natural history museum. But John was a trouper, said it really wasn’t bad, and he ate most of it. Oh well, another lesson learned!

    Nice walking the last 2 days, but still unseasonably chilly and spitting rain occasionally. We’re feeling fine physically, but I think I’m getting a cold from walking in the rain. I get no sympathy, of course!    Lue lisää

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    The sea againChurch of St. Peter1Our shellsCistercian abbey, CobrecesLuaña BeachSunshine!!!!!!

    Beautiful day on the Camino

    15. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The sun shined on us all day!! And we walked through beautiful countryside, smell of fresh cut hay and eucalyptus, sounds of the bells on cows, goats and sheep. We had a few climbs that left us puffing, but nothing compared to what we’ve already done. And we had many views of the sea, as well as the Picos de Europe mountains in the distance.

    Just outside of Oruña, we passed the Church of San Pedro. Like most country churches, the entrance was locked. But just as we were about to walk away, a young man hurried up and asked us to come inside. In the shade of the portico, he offered us lemonade, an orange and a banana, “for strength.” Then he gave us a brief tour of the church.

    He asked if we were married. Then he picked up a clamshell from a small table. The two sides were decorated outside and inside, with a small painting of the church. The young man said the two halves were like the two sides of marriage, “ups and downs.” He broke the two halves apart, threaded one with green cord and one with red, the colors of St. Peter, and told us to place them around each others’ necks. It was a nice moment, and if we had arrived 5 minutes earlier, it would never have happened.

    Soon after that we arrived in Cobreces, had a nice brunch of eggs and toast, and continued walking toward the sea. We passed a nice beach, climbed a few more hills and finally arrived in Comillas. It’s also a tourist town, once favored by the Spanish nobility, and graced by several creations of Gaudí.

    As we were having dinner near the church square, we could hear bagpipes playing. We learned there’s a folk festival going on, so we spent some time listening in. If WIFI cooperates, there should be a video below —    Lue lisää

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  • Haley Camino 2018Haley Camino 2019Matkaaja
    Our morning serenade
    Picos de Europe getting ever closerMountains and beachBeach soccerAlways up!Many homes/businesses have these pulldown shadesEvolutionSecluded beachWe outran the rainRoadside shrine

    We're Still Truckin'!

    16. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Seems I caught a cold after walking in the rain last week, so I’ve been too tired to check back in the last few days. But we’re still trucking right along through some remote and beautiful countryside, mountains on our left and beaches on our right. The weather has been mostly kind to us, and we haven’t had to eat anything really weird!

    Here are some pics from the last few days.    Lue lisää

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  • Haley Camino 2018Haley Camino 2019Matkaaja
    Villa La Concepcion in Llanes
    Villa Rosario, now a hotel in RibadesellaNo decline for La Rosario

    Casas Indianos

    19. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Walking into Llanes the other day, we passed by this faded beauty. I somehow found some references on Google that led me to information on this Villa Concepcion and the “casas Indianos,” Indiano houses.

    In the 19th century, many Spanish from this coast — Asturians, Calabrians and Gallegos — emigrated to the Americas. Some made fabulous fortunes, and upon returning to Spain, they built fabulous homes. Their gardens included palm trees, symbolizing their adventures in the Americas.

    Villa Concepción was built by Doña Maximina Sobriño Diaz, in the late 1800s. Her 3 brothers made their fortune in textiles in Mexico, and as they died childless, Doña Maximina inherited. Her son, Sinforiano, renovated the house around 1909 infer the direction of a famous architect, Juan Miguel de la Guardia. Sinfóriano was a local legend, fond of music and a great philanthropist. He died in his “palace” in 1921, childless. Apparently the property passed to other relatives, but eventually was abandoned. It’s still beautiful, even in decline.    Lue lisää

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    How it's supposed to be doneMaybe an acquired taste. But it gives you a nice buzz!

    Sidra... and horreos

    22. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We’re in Asturias province, where the specialty drink is sidra, a cider made from crabapples. We’ve seen a lot of restaurants that advertise sidra and the foods that go with it. It’s about 6% alcohol, and the label on the bottle carries information on where it comes from and when it was bottled, just like a bottle of wine.

    What’s most unique about it is the presentation. It’s supposed to be poured from over your head, and you hold the glass down low to catch the stream from the bottle... oh well, just see the video below!

    In Asturias and Galicia, you see hórreos everywhere. They’re above-ground graneries of wood or stone, set on pillars. Many of them are in bad shape, but more are still being used for corn, grain or other storage. Here are a few pics.    Lue lisää

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    Parakeet

    22. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    While John waited at the laundromat for our clothes to finish the wash cycle this afternoon in Oviedo, I went around the corner for a beer. (I know, but John doesn’t drink beer.)

    I was sitting at a small table. Out of the blue, a blue parakeet fell onto my table! Like, out of the sky/ceiling! I gently scooped it up in my hands, snd everyone in the bar — two men, the lady behind the bar, her little girl, and another woman all gathered around. I asked if it belonged to anyone — “No!”

    So of course I put it into the hands of a very excited little girl. I went back to my beer, but moments later, the bird flew away from the little girl and landed right back into my hands! Well, this time they found a box for it. The men at the bar were quite excited about the whole scene and when they found out I’m a pilgrim, they insisted on buying my beer. What a strange scene! And John missed it!

    But at least I got a picture —    Lue lisää

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    Woody Allen statue -- he has visited the city many timesGreat breakfastBotero statue

    Oviedo

    23. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Our new favorite town... sorry our photos are so dark but we had rain most of the day.

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    The train station albergue in Deba
    Attic room above the bar, ZumaiaPrivate room at Boo de Pielagos albergueHotel Carlos in Villaviciosa, our favorite"Casa Rural," country house, Vega de Poja1

    Hotels, hostels, albergues...

    24. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    Compared to the Camino Frances, the Camino del Norte suffers from a lack of accommodation in terms of pilgrim housing. There simply aren’t many albergues on this route. So this trip we’ve ended up in a wide variety of places overnight. The cost is higher, but we’ve also had private rooms, occasionally with shared bath.

    We’ve been fortunate — some have been pretty basic, but they’ve all been spotlessly clean.

    Here are some pics to give you an idea —    Lue lisää

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    Some horreos have been turned into homes
    No mud, small rocks - perfect!And small country roadsA stop for coffee snd Coke before a climbThe trail NOT taken -- are you kidding? Stay on the road!One more curve under the A8 super highway, then ...A view of s beautiful beach

    One day on the Norte

    28. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    While most of Europe, and the rest of Spain, are sweltering under a deadly heat wave, were still enjoying sunny skies and temperatures in the low 60s to mid 70s. Apparently the mountains we’ve been skirting for many days are holding back the heat wave.

    We had very little elevation change in today’s walk from Cadavedo to Luarca, which was most welcome to our legs! Yesterday we went down and up 7 times, about 70-100 meters each time.

    Fans of the Camino like to say, “The Camino provides,” meaning that what a pilgrim needs (not wants!) will somehow appear. It’s become kind of a joke. But sometimes it seems to be true. This morning, as we came to a yellow arrow showing a turn off our road, an older lady appeared and motioned for us to go a different way. That way would be much shorter, less climbing, go through that overpass, turn right, follow the signs... all of which turned out to be a great trail, past an old church and cemetery.

    Here are some pics that will show you what our day was like —    Lue lisää

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    If we see this man a third time...
    We need some signs like this in Terrell HillsLeaving Asturius behind, the horreos look differentNice beach views today, in spite of cloudsAnd s very long bridge to cross into RibedeoSeafood casserole: scallops, octopus, shrimp and mussels in garlic butter

    Serendipity

    30. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Nine days and 81 or so miles ago, we stopped at a roadside bar/cafe for a Coke and coffee and croissant in the town of Vega de Sariego. A man was sitting outside the bar, having a bottle of sidra, pouring it from high up as is the custom. We exchanged hellos and he wished us a “Buen Camino!”

    This morning we stopped at a bar/cafe in the town of Tapia de Casariego, the halfway point of today’s walk, for C&c (Coke & coffee). As we were leaving the cafe, I turned around, thinking maybe I should take a picture. And there was that same man, walking out of the bar we’d just left.

    We looked at each other wide-eyed. “I saw you days ago at a bar near where I live!” he said. I asked if he was walking the camino. No, he was simply visiting the beaches near Tapia with friends this weekend. He spoke good English, and asked, “What is that word? Serendipity?”

    Later today we walked with D’Mari from Flagstaff, who grew up in College Station and Waco; she’s also lived in Beaumont, Boerne and San Marcos TX. Lots of serendipity on the camino today.    Lue lisää

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    Arrows and Signs

    30. kesäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Though we now use GPS or another app (Wise Pilgrim) to navigate, we still rely on the yellow arrows and other markings laid down for pilgrims to follow.

    They appear on homes, telephone poles, sidewalks and walls. Some are tiles, some are pretty elaborate and some are hand painted.

    Some are easy to spot, some not so much. And just when you think maybe you took a wrong turn, there’s an arrow!

    Here’s a sampling.    Lue lisää

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  • Haley Camino 2018Haley Camino 2019Matkaaja
    Young eucalyptus trees
    Mature treesBark peels off to reveal smooth, silvery trunkFerns are abundant in the eucalyptus forestsWe haven't seen many this size --

    Eucalyptus

    3. heinäkuuta 2019, Espanja ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We’ve been walking through forests of eucalyptus for weeks, but in Galicia it seems there are few trees other than eucalyptus. The leaves on the young trees are a soft jade-like green; they almost seem to glow among the older trees. As the trees mature, the leaves become long and thin, and turn a darker, duller green.

    We’ve passed many areas where swathes of eucalyptus have been clear cut, and new trees planted. Turns out these trees are very controversial on the Iberian peninsula.

    Since it was introduced in the 1860s, eucalyptus has become the most important tree in forest economy, especially for paper pulp. Insects don’t like eucalyptus, and they discourage mosquitos, but that means fewer birds in the forests. Eucalyptus grows quickly, a boon to areas that had been deforested. But they also consume great amounts of water, and they push out native species. And the development of large-scale tree farming has threatened the small-scale family farms and social bonds of communities throughout Spain and Portugal.

    Their scent is not exactly piney, maybe more like menthol, cool and refreshing, especially for tired peregrinos slogging uphill!    Lue lisää

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