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Camino 2018
  • Jill Hill
  • Jill Hill

Camino 2018

Une aventure de 51 jours par Jill En savoir plus
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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    11

    The morning after

    13 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    I think there will be some sore heads! Short video under.

    My night was interesting. I headed back to the albergue early. It’s a lovely place run by a young couple with two small children. Good facilities - I should take photos for those unfamiliar with albergues. My friends had arrived before me and were allocated a small room which they filled.

    I was in a huge room, with lots of bunks but only two older men. I don’t know why they took the adjoining bunks and not ones further away!

    A night full of snoring, interesting noises, and no sleep for me! Ah well, albergue living.

    Now I am in Grimaldo which does not really qualify as a stage but I’m catching a bus from here to Salamanca tomorrow- to catch up with a friend. And to buy a replacement wind jacket - having left mine behind somewhere. And it’s cold! Snow further north. Then I’ll bus back south to continue the walk.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur

    Baños en fiesta

    16 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    A quick holiday from the holiday while I visited Salamanca by bus, to meet up with a friend. More of Salamanca when I walk there, in a couple of days.

    So from Salamanca I bused back to the Camino and to Baños. A thermal spa town that also happened to be having a fiesta. With everything closed. And the thermal baths “completo”. But free beer and alcoholic punch and cheese and jamón and beef with paprika stew and dulces and loud music and dancing and very friendly locals. One of whom was playing a saxophone made out of plumbing pipes - there’s an idea for you Ian. So here are some videos and photos of Baños.En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur

    The hills

    16 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    I’m in them. A beautiful walk from Baños to Calzada. A steep climb out of Baños, a pretty shady path, walking alongside a babbling river, over a Roman bridge and road, with the sun shining but a cool wind blowing, wildflowers, cows, calves, the occasional horse, an eagle soaring high above and snow covered mountains visible nearby. What’s not to like? Now in Calzada, tiny little village in which time has stood still.En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    1

    Will it rain?

    18 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    28 km today with nothing in between, no villages, no water, no services, and rain and thunderstorms are forecast. There are also lots of ups and downs. I have a plan B - the hosts at our next accommodation will pick us up at the 19km mark if we ring. Good to know. I am at the highest of the Via de la Plata. Some images from yesterday.En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    1

    Almost half-way

    18 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    A good day of walking. The threatened rain held off, but cloud cover provided relief from a hot sun. It is hard to keep coming up with superlatives but it really was another beautiful day of walking. First along kilometres of Roman road between wide green paddocks, the Roman road marked by many “militaries” (1,000 paces apart - many still surviving), old stone walls, then a steepish climb up the Dehesa Dueña to the high point of the Plata and a fabulous view for miles on a hill topped by wind turbines. Down, down, down (a toboggan would have been fun) to more wide green paddocks and an enormous ranch on which are bred the famous fighting bulls (all behind fences thank you. A stop at the main homestead where I was being picked up by my kind host from the next village. Lots of very healthy free range chooks kept me happy while I waited for my lift, as well as the wonderful sight of a herd of cattle being moved from one paddock to another by three caballeros on horseback - too far away to capture on the camera except for the one who dropped into the house.
    Now happily in the Albergue de Elena and her husband, truly delightful hosts, in San Pedro, one day before Salamanca. A bed, not a bunk!    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur

    Salamanca - revisit

    19 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Last week I interrupted my walk to catch up with two friends in Salamanca. I was there again today after a short walk from San Pedro but did not stay, having had a few visits there in the last 12 months. It also seems to be full - and expensive except for the albergue that I’m not in love with. And I did not fancy a repeat of last year’s despair between Salamanca and Zamora. So I’ve skipped a couple of days and bused to Zamora, where there is an excellent donativo albergue. I now have enough time to walk the whole of the Sanabrés.

    Some photos of the mornings walk, Salamanca, and the view from the albergue window in Zamora.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    Zamora - beautiful church
    The walls of ZamoraStork hotel - completo!PoppiesIm this fastPretty flat

    Zamora to Montamarta

    20 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Not a lot happening on today’s walk but it was pleasant - sun but a cool breeze, flat, and a good distance of 18km. Poppies, poppies, new green wheat, ploughed fields and a gravel path.

    I was planning to stay at the albergue at Montamarta, recently refurbished. Just as I was walking towards it I received a text from Guido, a nice Italian pelegrino slightly ahead, warning me that it had not been cleaned and was filthy. He was looking for a casa rural and suggested I do the same. The obvious choice has a proprietor with a poor reputation for his behaviour with women (verified by the locals) so that was out - even at my advanced age it’s a situation I’d prefer not to contemplate!

    But instead, opposite the best restaurant in town, a lovely Casa Rural with a friendly and helpful female owner. My own room, ensuite bathroom, lounge, washing machine, sunny garden, sheets and, oh joy! Towels! Hate the little plastic sponge thing I’m carrying. All for £20. And in the room next door I ran into Jo - an Aussie girl with whom I was previously walking but who had got ahead doing 40km days. What a nice surprise and she seemed pleased to see me too.

    Photos - lovely Zamora, walls and church, a stork apartment house on a church tower with every spot filled (the babies have hatched but without a telephoto lens they just look like white blobs - imagination needed!) And flowers, flat fields, the path and my Casa Rural lounge room.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    Wild deer
    First light, leaving MontamartaChurch overlooking the damWhere does the reflection start?BodegaMy lodging for tonight

    One horse town and definitely no fiesta

    21 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Granja de Moreruela is waiting. For something to happen. I sat in the main street for half an hour, and one car went past. Despite that it has a resident English speaker, a widow whose husband was English. And a nice pharmacist who does not speak English. We all compared grand baby photos, the universal language.

    The walk to get here had two definite halves - the first beautiful and interesting, with a church on a dam, water, flowers, two deer flashing across my path, a ruined walled town with another deer just below on a ploughed field - and the second long, tedious and hot. Enlivened only by a little snake crossing my path.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    1

    On the Sanabrés

    22 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    At Granja, the Via de la Plata splits. One can continue on the VdlP to Astorga and join the Camino Francés, or do as I have and head west to Santiago via the Camino Sanabrés.

    A good days walk although for some reason my feet are very sore this evening, and my ankles puffy. It may be time for a rest day with feet up instead of down. I’m in Tábara which is a pleasant little pueblo and in a room in El Roble Hotel for €20 - I stayed in the municipal albergue last year and it is fine - but for the small amount extra I do love a big towel, a bed instead of bunks, my own bathroom, a tv, air conditioning...,En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur

    Grace before dinner

    25 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    A beautiful municipal albergue last night, at Santa Marta de Tera, clean, modern and well designed. We saw and admired it last year. It only takes 12 pilgrims but I set out yesterday at first light and without too much effort was at my destination in time to be among the lucky ones. It is also next to a lovely Romanesque church that boast the oldest known statue of Santiago. A good place to light a few candles.

    After breakfast at the local bar, obligingly opened early by the owner, I set out alone but was shortly joined by two other pilgrims who walked at my pace. James, a 70 year old athlete who has walked from Gibraltar! James has also travelled extensively in Australia - probably seen more of it than me. And Annette, a young judge from Germany. With plenty to talk about among the three of us the 24 kilometres slipped by easily.

    Tonight we are staying in a tiny four person albergue. It is run by an evangelical family, a South African couple who were missionaries in India and Namibia before they came here. They have spent 8 years renovating and restoring this wonderful adobe farmhouse complex - doing all the work themselves. An interesting evening with plenty of religious discussion.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    Wild orchids1Hi speed train line construction

    Old stone walls

    26 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    A 28km hike today, up hill and down dale. I must be getting fitter. We passed through several very picturesque hamlets with lots of old stone walls and roses tumbling over them in wild profusion. Also across another swampy meadow with masses of tiny orchids. At the end of our walk we arrived at an exceptionally nice looking Casa Rural, where I am sharing a room with Annette, from Germany. She, I and Robert from the USA walk at the same pace and the conversation helps ease the last few kilometres.En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    Slate roofs
    1Amazing wild mushrooms for saleStone boatHeath and heather11

    Castles, stone boats and wolves

    27 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    I’m in Pueblo de Sanabria, a small tourist town with a 13th century church, a 15th century castle, and a wolf sanctuary nearby. At the foot of the path over the mountains into Galicia - Santiago is getting closer.

    Getting here was a fairly painless 18km hike, with rain holding off until the last 20 minutes. Along paths that remind me of Galicia, culverts between moss covered stone walls, and then stretches of gorse and heather covered heath.

    Sanabria itself is lovely - steep narrow streets, stone houses with overhanging wooden balconies and slate roofs. A castle complete with stone boat. Legend has it that Jesus visited Sanabria dressed as a pilgrim and sought food from the locals. All refused him except some kindly women in the panadería (bakery). In anger, he struck the ground with his staff, whereupon Lake Sanabria sprang forth and drowned all except the kind women who climbed into the stone boat which was pushed by the river up to the high point beside the castle, where it still rests today.

    We are staying in a charming small hotel slap bang in the middle of town and opposite the best tapas bar. The albergue is across the river and out of town and is run by a rather dour couple. We like albergues but are selective! By sharing a room there is little difference in price. With the advantage you get your own sheets, towels and a good hot shower.

    Tomorrow looks a challenge. A very steep climb to 1350 metres. Let’s hope we are safe from the wolves.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    Wet and Forget needed?Rain and mistWeird beetles

    Climbing mountains

    29 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Whew! Yesterday was misty, cold and rainy and I was very glad to reach the little hotel in Padornelo just before the water really started to bucket down! It must be one of the best feelings in the world to sit in a warm restaurant looking out through plate glass windows at the rain, knowing you have walked 24km and are done for the day. The hotel was heavily booked with construction workers from the high speed Ave works (train). It must be an economic boon for this area, albeit temporary.

    From Padornelo I set forth this morning not really prepared for the strenuous ups and downs along the mountain path. Up, down, then up, up it seemed to go. Real scrambling in places and twice I lost my footing in mud and heavily decorated myself with Mother Earth. No damage to anything except my dignity.

    Some beautiful scenery, and the sound of water in streams beside the path, and waterfalls. Wading through water at times - when there is a rocky bottom it’s fine - it’s only mud I dislike!

    So eventually I made it to the pass at altitude 1,260 metres, and into Galicia. Then a few more kilometres to my accommodation, a little hotel in Vilavella.

    I think today was only about 20km. But steep. I am looking forward to dinner.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    Ave tunnel1The line around the mountain is our path

    Soaring high

    31 mai 2018, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Two days of mountains. Incredible views. Big climbs. Then amazing wonderful walking along long ridge lines - up above the tree line. Really exhilarating. Spain really is a land of mountains.

    It’s been very cold, though mercifully no rain (or only sprinkles) while walking. Last night we were lucky enough to find a restored house in a tiny dot of a mountain village, with roaring wood stove and triple glazing on the windows.

    Today it has been all downhill, back to earth, and staying in an albergue. Where some very kind Italian gentleman insisted I take a bottom bunk. People are so kind. I’m in Laza, in a cozy bar while the rain tumbles on my clean clothes, hanging on a line back at the albergue - too bad, I’m not leaving here to rescue them! And with very sore feet, sore ankles, and sore hips. A few injuries to my feet. I think a rest day is in order.

    Glimpses for the last week of the extraordinary work being done on the high speed rail line. The tunnelling is hard to believe. I can’t imagine how many billions of euros. Yesterday, on a tiny winding narrow mountain road, 7 cement mixer trucks passed us, one after another (with cheerful toots and waves), and lots of other heavy equipment.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    It is a long way downIs this the top?

    Once more unto the breach...

    1 juin 2018, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    As I struggled up the 560 metre steep incline I did question my sanity. And contemplate a taxi. But there was no way a car could get onto the narrow shale track - it could only be a helicopter rescue. At which point I ate some chocolate from my secret stash. I do think the Kissing Point Road hill will be a piece of cake after this.

    As always once I reach the top it feels awesome. Today’s peak was marked by a quite famous bar, where pilgrims write their details on a shell which is hung or pasted somewhere in the room. Photo under - me and my gang.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    1

    Ah, Galicia, land of delights

    2 juin 2018, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    A lovely very short 14km walk today. Down into the valleys, along typical Galician lanes, through close settled villages where life is so much softer than up in the mountains. Today I saw roses everywhere and was reminded of my dear friend Catherine, who loved them. The rose photos are for her.

    I and my walking companions could not go past this extraordinary house for tonight’s accommodation - it is like sleeping in a museum. Built in 1776 it stayed in the same family, none of whom ever threw anything away, and one of whom became a minister under Franco. He restored the house luxuriously and collected even more extraordinary objects. Eventually it passed out of that family. It is now owned by a man from Philadelphia who fell in love with it while walking the Camino and bought it lock stock and barrel (and tortoise shells, and masks from Guatemala, chess sets from China, elephant tusks, knives from Borneo, carvings from Japan, etc, etc). The wine collection alone is huge - I only got a glimpse of the cellar - with racks and racks of dust covered bottles.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur

    First pulpo on Corpus Christi

    3 juin 2018, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Flowers and coloured sand patterns outside the churches for Corpus Christi (don’t ask) and. —- pulpo! Delicious.

    But a long walk into Ourense - or at least it felt long - and my feet do not look objects of beauty. Or feel good. Cracked heels. My own fault, not paying them enough attention and not moisturising. Tomorrow I might look for a podiatrist to patch me up so I can make the final push to Santiago. Only 100km to go.

    How do you tell a pilgrim? She puts beauty cream on her feet before her face.

    In Ourense we traipsed down to the thermal baths and soaked for an hour. Bliss! And it is free.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur

    The last 100km!

    5 juin 2018, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    I spent two days in Ourense. A spa town since Roman times. Ostensibly to give some injuries time to heel - but also to lie languorously in thermal pools. And - wow! - soak the ingrained dirt out of my feet. Dirty feet are the price paid for walking in sandals through mud and slush. Ourense also has some rather good confiterías. Which required my attention.

    Today I left Ourense and braved the constant rain and climbed out of the valley of the River Miño. A 19% slope for 2km (corrected from 5!). Then it was all soft paths and lush green forests. But still very very wet. A stop for coffee with Cesar - a retired lorry driver who offers pilgrims hot soup (much appreciated) and home made cakes.

    I am now ensconced in a little room with private bathroom - for €10. Too good to miss.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur
    10th century water pipes

    A monastery followed by - cold rain

    6 juin 2018, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Today started with a tour of the Monastery of Oseira- a huge pile currently under restoration. From the outside it looks dark, dank and foreboding but the interior has a few beautiful surprises. My favourites were the lovely statute - the Virgen of the Milk (no surprise what she is doing) and the palm tree room - four wonderful slender twisted columns supporting the roof; full of movement. I don’t know the date of the room (the monastery was built in 1137 but it was enlarged and partly rebuilt following a fire in 1552). The room reminded me very strongly of Gaudí, who apparently visited and was impressed.

    Following a taxi ride back to the Camino it was a day of head down and trudge through rain, mud, cold and overhanging wet vegetation. When I hit the main road, up popped a bus with bus just arriving. When St James offers, I accept!    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur

    Albariño at the fair

    7 juin 2018, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    I am within 38km of Santiago, in deep Galicia, land of mystic woods, deep green valleys, legends, stories and Celtic music. And pulpo, and fiestas and fairs. Of which there is one tonight where I am staying, in Silleda. We shall eat pulpo and drink Albariño - glorious local white wine.

    So close to the end of my long walk. Below are assorted photos which show today - including some from a little jewel of a 10th century church. Always I pass beautiful vegetable gardens and especially in Galicia. Lots of “grelos”, a green vegetable from the brassica family used to make Caldo Gallega- vegetable soup. Breakfast in the truckies stop to start my day. And an advertising sign, just for Ian (who does not like to walk). I think he’ll be able to work out the meaning.    En savoir plus

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  • Jill HillCamino 2018Voyageur

    Santiago de Compostela

    11 juin 2018, Espagne ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Such an overwhelming mix of emotions as I first glimpse the spires of the cathedral through the mist. Joy, sorrow, relief. This was a hard camino - duro. I struggled. But it was very, very beautiful. The landscape, the flowers, the loveliest of cities, Sevilla, Mérida, Cáceres, Salamanca, Zamora. Such a journey.

    And the people. Those with whom I formed bonds of friendship and who I will see again, and those I met briefly but who showed this stranger great kindness. They touched my heart.

    Walking into Santiago on the Via de la Plata route is different to the entrance to many cities. No tramping through horrible industrial areas or endless suburbs. Instead it is a soft dirt path through farmland, then a typical Galician green lane alongside streams and waterfalls and suddenly you pop out with the view of the cathedral straight ahead. Wonderful.

    The whole of the last day of walking I found so beautiful. It is hard to believe Galicia was once (is?) the poorest province in Spain. Solid, well built, large houses, with late model cars in the drives, manicured gardens and well tended vegetable patches - all looking prosperous and well maintained. And forests and fields and - flowers.

    And so now after prayers at the sanctuary of St James, two days of reunions, fabulous seafood feasts, and far too much shopping, I start my journey home.

    Ulteía y sustraía.    En savoir plus

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    Fin du voyage
    11 juin 2018