Spain
Ayuntamiento Viejo

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  • Day 6

    Visigothic marvel and El Cid church

    October 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Today we took a quick trip out of Zamora to visit San Pedro de la Nave. It’s a Visigothic church, moved piece by piece to escape being submerged by construction of a dam. I had been here once before —when the hospitalero in the Zamora albergue offered to drive me out (and I walked back) but this time it was car all the way. Just as beautiful as I remembered it. It’s always awe-inspiring to be in a building from the 7C.

    From there we went back to Zamora to two Romanesque churches right outside the cathedral walls. My favorite church in Zamora—Santiago de los Caballeros, where El Cid is reported to have spent the night in prayer before being knighted. It’s extremely simple and beautiful with capitals choc full of figures and pictoral lectures about sinning, which makes for some explicit capitals.

    Yesterday in the Zamora museum I had seen a capital recovered fromn the ruined Monasterio de Moreruela. I remembered the (luckily in tact) apse of the church as the most stunning I had ever seen. I walked there on my third (?) Vdlp from Granja de Moreruela, where today we stopped for a coffee right outside the albergue. On to the monastery in car. Joe enjoyed it a lot and I think he understands my addiction to walking Caminos a little better.

    On the way back to Zamora it occurred to me to stop in a town where Dana and I had stayed on my second Vdlp. We had had a great meal in Rosamari, where the owner had regaled us with stories about how hard it had been for two women to start a business in Franco years. Banks wouldn’t lend without the husband’s signature, etc. Today the restaurant is run by the third generation, and she assured me that her mom and grandma had taught her to be strong and independent. I was shocked that I was able to find a picture of one of the owners outside in 2010 and was happy to send it on to the current owner. The food is still excellent, btw! Joe had a cocido (too heavy for my taste, though I had a few bites), and I just had an ensalada mixta. I am very sad to report, though, that despite my very clear 2010 memory of the first salad since Cáceres without iceberg lettuce, even the Rosamari has succumbed!
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  • Day 46

    Zamora

    October 16, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Das Städtchen lässt uns Bummeln und das erste spanische Frühstück, Café Con leche ☕☕ Toast "Queso de Cobra (Ziegenkäse & und Schinken) und Sandwich"Mixto Huevo" (Käse, Kartoffel, Spiegelei). Sehr schmackhaft und der Kaffee super gut. Ein wenig shoppen und die Altstadt beschauen, hier gibt es wieder viel Kultur 🕍 zu sehen.Read more

  • Day 43

    El Cubo to Zamora

    June 12, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    In what was to become a feature of this camino, I found out last night that the albergue I had planned to stay in tonight had closed unexpectedly, which meant a 31 km walk to Zamora. On the positive side, it was still slightly cooler than it has been over the past few weeks, still it was going to be a long walk so I had no time to dawdle taking pictures or long breaks, I wanted to get there before it did get too hot.. and it did get hot.

    Zamora is another beautiful city, I spent the day walking around here with the very lovely Anita from Brisbane, I sat where we had our lunch last time, near the albergue with an amazing view, but it wasn't the same, she wasn't there. So I went to find a cafe, which was not a problem. Although I didn't want to walk around the city, I ended up doing another 10 km by the end of the day. I went into the church to light the candles and ended up doing the tour, it was very interesting. The altar cloth was very moving, it was a beautifully rendered image of an ancient Christian symbol of the Lamb, and i was suddenly reminded that in the end the Lamb wins. Despite all that we have to endure, and all that we suffer, in the end all will be well because the Lamb wins.

    Jan and an italian guy called Joelo, whose pack was way too big - he had far too much stuff - arrived in the albergue, along with a guy from New Zealand
    The albergue is big but clean with decent toilets/showers, and although the drying line is too small, it has a centrifuge to spin the clothes. It also has a fully stocked fridge, and friendly staff.

    Tomorrow, we head to Montamarta, 21 km, it is a nice walk but a lot of it is quite exposed with little shade. I remember being so tired last time, really done in, but this time I felt fitter and my pack was lighter and better fitting. I feel that once you are past Zamora the camino seems to go in very quickly.
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  • Zamora und Nationalpark Lagunas de Villa

    October 1, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Zwei Tage in León sind genug, deshalb ziehe ich heute weiter nach Süden. Mein Ziel ist Zamora, aber nicht direkt. Ich steuere vorher den Nationalpark Lagunas de Villafáfila an. Schon auf der Karte kann man die Seen erkennen um die es hier geht. Das besondere an diesem Gebiet ist das Wasser und die Fauna, insbesondere verschiedenste Vogelarten, wie Gänse, Enten, diverse Raubvögel, Störche usw. Zum Teil machen sie hier Rast auf ihrem Zug nach Norden oder Süden, andere überwintern hier. Als ich hier ankomme sind nur wenige Besucher dort und der Ranger nimmt sich etwas Zeit mir den park zu erklären.
    Auf Grund der großen Trockenheit in diesem Jahr sind hier einige der Seen komplett ausgetrocknet. Ich mache eine große Runde durch den Park in dem es einige Observatorien gibt, von denen ich die Vögel beobachten kann. Ich nehme mir Zeit für den Park, genieße die Sonne die heute wieder kräftig scheint. Nur die Fliegen und Mücken, die ebenso das Wasser mögen werden mir langsam lästig. Nach zwei Stunden verlasse ich den Park.
    Nach Zamora sind es ca. 50 Kilometer durch komplette Einöde in der vorwiegend Ackerbau (über riesige Flächen) und Viehzucht auf trockenem Boden betrieben wird. Ich sehe viele der für diese Gegend typischen Taubenschläge, mal total zerfallen, manchmal ganz neu. Zamora soll für mich eigentlich nur ein Zwischenstopp auf dem Weg nach Salamanca sein. Aber mir gefällt es hier so gut, dass ich noch einen weiteren Tag bleibe. Die Stadt mit ihrer Burg überrascht mich. Die Stadt ist tiptop in Schuss, Gastronomie ist zahlreich vorhanden. An Tagen wie diesen, heute sind 25 °C, genieße ich die Zeit vor einem der Restaurant, genieße leckere Tapas und erfreue mich der Live Musik. ¡Que bonito!

    Und damit ich mich zukünftig noch besser in Spanien verständigen kann, buche ich heute einen zweiwöchigen Sprachkurs in Nerja. Das war für mich ohnehin ein to-do für diese Reise. Meine Eltern kommen nach Faro, wo ich sie in einigen Wochen treffen werden. Linda kommt mit den Kindern Ende Oktober nach Málaga. Sieht so aus, als hätte mein Einsiedlerleben langsam ein Ende und meine Resozialisierung einen Anfang. Schön!
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Ayuntamiento Viejo

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