Spain
Bértola

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    • Day 15

      Top of yet another climb!

      July 3, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

      It’s another pleasant day to walk! Feeling much better today! On the way out of Redondela, we met Andrea from Portland who is also a teacher! 😄 I loved the walk through Arcade… although very hilly! And it’s been a steady climb ever since! Love the shaded trail that goes by creeks and has old Roman road stones still in place! Stopped at the top at a vendor for pilgrims and got a fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade! Letting the feet get some air and then we start a steady descent.Read more

    • Day 14

      im Regen nach Pontevedra

      April 26 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      Heute war es nicht nur voll, sondern auch nass von oben. Die Wege entsprechend schwierig zu laufen. Einige Pilger haben extrem genervt. Gerade die „Mountainbike Pilger“! Ohne Rücksicht wird auf den Wegen gerast, als wären sie alleine. Bei den schmalen und rutschigen Waldwegen sehr unangenehm. Trotzdem eine schöne Wanderung durch den Wald.Read more

    • Day 11

      Entlang der Via Romana XIX

      May 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

      Heute ging der Weg bergauf und bergab über schmale Gassen und Straßen vorbei an einigen schönen Kornspeichern durch kleine Ortschaften. Mal wieder auf den Spuren der Römer, auf der Via Romana XIX kann man stellenweise die Fahrspuren der alten Fuhrwerke erkennen.Read more

    • Day 11

      Capela de Santa Marta

      May 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

      Die Kapelle aus dem Jahr 1617 ist offen und lädt zu einer kleinen Pause ein. Anschließend gibt es zwei Wegstrecken zur Auswahl , Moni & ich entscheiden uns für die längere Variante und laufen den Camino Complementario weiter nach Pontevedra. Wir laufen auf einem idyllischen Fußweg neben windungsreichen Bächlein.
      Wie beruhigend und erholsam dieser Weg heute war 💚 einfach Seelenbalsam ☺️
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    • Day 12

      Ganderon Santa Marta

      October 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

      Piccolo has moved on to his dream life as a stray doge on the Camino taking jamón from the pilgrims that pass. He was a good walking friend, I will miss him. But I ran into some old friends this morning! You can see it on Pasquale’s face when he notices me taking their picture 😂 Nice to have a few friends to walk with for a few kilometers again but I miss sweet Armi.Read more

    • Day 27

      Etappe 25

      June 3, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      SALI MITÄNAND!
      Heute starteten wir nicht so früh, dafür ausgeschlafen und gestärkt auf den unterdessen recht gut frequentierten Pilgerweg! Der überwiegende Teil dieser Etappe führte uns durch extrem schöne Waldlandschaften. Diese waren so faszinierend, dass ich den ganzen Tag, immer wieder, hin und her hätte gehen können! Unterwegs trafen wir unentwegt auf bekannte Gesichter, was jedesmal zu einem grossen HALLO führte!  Schade, dass diese Zeit bald der Vergangenheit angehören wird!
      Es ist aber auch spannend, neue Bekannschaften zu machen. Heute sprach uns zum ersten Mal eine Schweizerin (TG) an. Ich empfand es als sehr angenehm, wieder einmal sprechen zu können, ohne gross nachdenken zu müssen.
      Um unsere heutige Unterkunft zu finden, mussten wir uns ganz schön anstrengen! Zuerst sind wir an der Herberge vorbei gelaufen. Dann gingen wir den Weg zurück um anschliessend die Unterkunft beinahe wieder zu übersehen....Nun, sie ist auch etwas unscheinbar und liegt dazu gut versteckt im Grünen! Wer aber nicht unscheinbar ist,  ist der "Herr des Hauses"! Ich würde ihn als "der Mann mit der besonderen Frisur" bezeichnen.
      Dass diese Unterkunft nicht für jedermann geeignet ist, steht für mich fest! Dafür ist sie zu speziell... Da der "Mann mit der besonderen Frisur" für alle ein Nachtessen ankündigte, versammelte sich die ganze "Pilgerfamilie" (10 verschiedene Nationen) zum Essen in der Küche am schön gedeckten Tisch! MENUE: Eine grüne Suppe, Brot und gekochte Eier. Dazu Rot- oder Weisswein. Meinem Tischnachbarn (nice Engländer) schmeckte der Rotwein wohl besser als die etwas dünne Suppe. Denn von dem Wein hat er sich mehrfach nachgeschenkt, von der Suppe hingegen nicht! Er unterhielt sich, ohne dass ich grossartig etwas verstand, sehr intensiv mit mir! Irgendwann legte er mir ans Herz, dass ich im Oktober nach Nepal reisen soll, um dort im Himalaya Wanderferien zu machen! Ich glaube, mir ist das dort zu kalt!
      Wir schlafen heute zur Abwechslung in einem eher kleinen Schlafsaal mit 16 belegten Betten! (Die Ohrstöpsel selbstverständlich griffbereit!)  Da die unteren Etagen bei unserer Ankunft bereits vergeben waren, versuchen wir nun diese Nacht in den oberen Stockwerken den verdienten Schlaf zu finden. Die Leiter habe ich bereits erkommen....hochzukommen war kein Problem! Doch ich fürchte, morgen in der Früh beim Abstieg werde ich ein Blickfang sein! 
      So...das war es wieder, hebeds und macheds guet...
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    • Day 4

      Stamp

      March 25 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

      This section of the Camino is so beautiful. There are slight hills and I'm surrounded by moss covered trees. This route is different than what's mapped out on my app. I've read that the Camino keeps getting updated as the original way now is built up with highways and other undesirable areas for walking.

      That's understandable as the way original pilgrims walked probably was the best for businesses to open up. An enterprising woman has a stand on this new way. She offers to stamp your credentials and I'm sure many pilgrims like myself feel like we should buy something in exchange. I get a 1€ coffee. It's definitely instant coffee and not great but I've got my 1st stamp of the day.
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    • Day 4

      Speed or beauty

      March 25 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

      I arrive at a place where I have to choose whether to walk the original road or divert to the woods. The new woods walk is always longer than the original route but it takes you along nature paths. This one follows a river. Its intensely beautiful in the back there. The path is super muddy in parts as well. I'm jumping over huge mud patches and navigating through the trees. I pass cows and horses grazing. As I pass them I call out to them and they look up. Its so cute, I'm sure they understand from my tone alone that I think they are beautiful and I want to stroke their hair.

      Towards the end there are a few patches of colourful graffiti. It's such a contrast from the trees and waterfalls. It starts to rain lightly and I get worried about my choice to follow the longer more beautiful path. I might get caught by the rain and have to trek through mud. Thankfully it didn't start raining hard and I made it through this gorgeous tunnel emerging out to my final destination for the day. Only thing left now is to find my albergue.
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    • Day 7

      Adaptacion- Casa Fermín

      March 28 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 50 °F

      Day 3 of hiking, and I feel like my body is adapting. My body is accepting, surrendering to the rigor I've placed on it. The Advil helped, too.

      It rained all day, never stopped. My feet got wet for the first time. I didn't realize it, though, until I took my boots off at the end of the day.

      I'm really layered up in the morning, but then I get so hot after walking, and I have to take everything off to remove a layer. Here's the layers 1) underclothes 2) long sleeve shirt and leggings 3) sweatshirt and water resistant pants 4) coat and another set of water resistant pants 5) Fanny pack and backpack 6) Poncho. These plastic bits are very hot and don't let moisture out.

      To take off my coat and sweatshirt, I have to remove the Poncho and take off the backpack... in the rain. Remove the article, stick it in my backpack, and then put everything back on.

      I was walking solo when I arrived at a little chapel. It was small and packed with about 15 people. About half were a group of men from (not sure, they didn't speak English). I saw Caroline and Kelly at the front, so I joined them. I said something about singing Ave Maria, and then one of the men walked up to me with an orange and said, "Ave Maria."

      I walked up to the podium with my orange and began singing/ humming Ave Maria, but I couldn't remember all the words. They weren't really listening. They brought me a pocket knife to cut my orange. While standing at the front of the chapel at the podium, I peeled my orange and began singing The Alpine Shepherdess in Italian. I was breathless from the walk, and it was so cold that with each exhale, I could see my breath. My hands and the podium had orange juice all over them, and I had 15 pilgrims staring at me. It was a truly horrific rendition of the aria, but everyone was impressed and cheered as I finished.

      There was a little bar around the corner, and we heard that the rest of our group was there, so we joined them for coffee, beer, and whiskey... the latter for me.

      We came to an intersection, and there were camino arrows pointing in two different directions. The locals have always been so helpful and friendly.

      We watched a whole octopus being cooked on the street at the restaurant. Video attached.
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    • Day 25

      Pontevedra, now we're talkin'

      June 16, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

      The "cast of characters" has mostly moved ahead or I left them behind. I occasionally spot one of them from a distance or in a city crowd. I saw Jared, the Canadian motorcycle mechanic, walking with what looked like a Swedish girl, so that's nice. I’m walking alone, which I relish.

      Pontevedra is a quintessential mid-sized Spanish town, set up for wandering, browsing and socializing on foot. Narrow streets opening onto broad plazas; grandparents on benches, people drinking wine and having tapas at outdoor cafes, teenagers riding bikes and scooters, toddlers chasing pigeons, wheelchair riders chatting by the fountain, a busker playing classical guitar, and not a car to be seen. Bordered by historic buildings and a cathedral with a statue on top of a Medieval woman pilgrim (you don’t see that often).

      Down another stone alley to another plaza with an ice cream vendor and a shop renting pedal go-carts, bikes with sidecars, six passenger pedal carriages. Another guy rents remote control cars that can be driven/ridden by babies as young as a year old, parents holding the remote, laughing hysterically as their toddler drivers whip around the plaza and through the crowd. People walking french bulldogs and yorkies, taking them into bars.

      This is how city life for our species is meant to be lived and I think many Americans don't even know it.

      Long walk, about 14 miles today. Through eucalyptus forests carpeted with ferns, past big gardens and across rivers.

      There were firecrackers/fireworks popping in small towns and in the village of Arcade (Ar-Cod-Eh), a little brass band marched through. Dia de San Juan? I don’t know.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Bértola, Bertola

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