Spain
Castrojeriz

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    • Day 5

      Castrojeriz

      March 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

      روز دوم پیاده‌روی
      امروز صبح رو با یه هوای ابری شروع کردم. تو مسیر برای چند دقیقه‌ای بارون هم نم نم بارید. تو مسیر به غیر از یه روستای کوچیک که برای خوردن ناهار توقف کردم شهر یا روستای دیگه‌ای نبود. قبل از شروع حرکت فکر میکردم که تو همون روستا شب رو بمونم ولی وقتی ساعت حدود ۱۱ به اون روستا رسیدم دیدم هنوز انرژی و زمان کافی برای رسیدن به روستای بعدی که تو هشت کیلومتری اون بود دارم. برای همین بعد از توقف ناهار مسیر رو ادامه دادم. دو کیلومتر پایانی ولی برام سخت بود و کمر درد و پا درد رو داشتم کم‌کم احساس میکردم. ولی از دور روستا دیده میشد و همین باعث امیدواری بود. ابتدای روستا که از روستای قبلی بزرگتر بود یه کلیسای مربوط به قرون وسطا قرار داشت. شهر حالت درازی داشت و اون خوابگاهی که میخواستم برم تقریبا آخر شهر بود. هم خوابگاه‌های دولتی مربوط به شهرداری هستند و هم خوابگاه‌های خصوصی. ازونجایی که خوابگاه های دولتی کیفیت خوبی دارند و همینطور ارزونتر هستند گزینه اول من محسوب میشن. بعضی ازین خوابگاه‌ها حالت خیریه دارند و هر مبلغی رو که بخوایی بهشون اهدا میکنی.
      تنها دو روز از سفر گذشته و کم کم داره دردهای فیزیکی کمر درد و پادرد خودش رو نشون میده. وقتی با کسایی صحبت میکنم که زودتر از من مسیررو شروع کردن میگن بعد از چهار روز دیگه عادت میکنی... باید دید...
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    • Day 18

      Tag 17 von hornillos del camino nach cas

      May 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Hola a todas, heute stand eigentlich die Etappe von hornillos del camino nach castrojeriz an. Ich habe mich dazu entschlossen, diese und auch die nächste Etappe aus den schon genannten Gründen nicht zu gehen und mich zu schonen. In castrojeriz angekommen, habe ich eine wunderschöne Kirche besucht, bei der Gestaltung dieser Kirche wurden auch deutsche Künstler und Handwerker eingesetzt. Zb die Runde Bleiverglasung und ein Altarbild. Schon sehr beeindruckend, was spanische Kirchen zu bieten haben. Erkenntnis des Tages: Vorsicht ist besser als Nachsicht. Hasta luego.Read more

    • Day 30

      29. Etappe: Fromista (25 km)

      November 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

      Um 6 Uhr war heute die Nacht zu Ende, plötzlich ging das Licht an 🙈- viel zu früh für mich! Trotzdem ging es erst spät los, entspannt bei Sonnenschein. Zu Beginn rin kleiner Aufstieg, danach flach und am Ende entlang eines Kanals. Heute liefen Luiz, Clemens und ich den ganzen Tag entspannt gemeinsam und trafen ab und zu einige andere Pilger auf dem Weg. Dank der Empfehlung des Hospitalieros kehrten wir in der sehr gemütlichen kleinen Unterkunft Betania ein. Nach einen leckeren italienisch-französischem Abendessen freuen wir uns alle auf eine entspannte Nacht 😊Read more

    • Day 15

      Day 12 - Leon

      October 10, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

      The thing about Spain is there are no screens on the windows. Even the fanciest hotels sometimes don’t have air conditioning. Evidently we did not learn from our prior bug infestation, and when we returned to our room last night we were overwhelmed with flying insects. Joan jumped into action and got them all. A Pilgrim is always working.

      So no air all night, this led to a poor nights sleep for Joan, (Julie slept like a baby). Joan awoke with a hip issue and immediately began stretching. Good thing we are at a spa, as Joan was able to go to the massage chair, Turkish bath, all to help her aching joints and muscles. Julie went to an amazing breakfast.

      Our cab arrived promptly at 10 am for a quick jaunt to Palencia. One look at the big hill outside of the spa, led to our decision to take a rest day and take a quick cab and then train to Leon.

      Oh and Julie was bit by a bee/wasp on her arm and had growing red reaction around the sting. Dr Joan was a big help and our first stop in Palencia was a Pharmacia for some bug lotion and a new knee brace for Joan. We had time to see some of the interesting sights in their old town and off to the train to Leon (45 min). We walked to our hotel in old town and then to out to explore. No time to see the sights, Julie needed new Hoka shoes and Joan some rain pants. However most/all stores closed 1- 5 pm for siesta. We found a great spot for some cocktails and a rousing game of uno. We were successful finding our new gear and off to search for dinner. We both had a hankering for pasta and found a great outdoor Italian cafe with beautiful views of the Cathedral.

      Tomorrow is a national holiday in Spain as they celebrate- National Day of Spain. They celebrate Christopher Columbus sailing to the new world- October 12, 1492. All shops closed, bars and restaurants are open. We will celebrate appropriately as we will be in Leon another day.

      Buen Camino!
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    • Day 21

      Into Frómista

      October 8, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 48 °F

      Today we got up early and started our walk to Frómista in the dark. In fact the first hour or so wasn’t the light of headlamps! We had a big uphill in the dark. Then we began being able to see.

      We’re on La Meseta, a relatively flat agricultural area that is isolated. La Meseta has a reputation as a boring, monotonous weeklong stretch, and many people skip it because “it’s boring.” We have both found this whole area lovely! It’s quiet and pretty, and the agricultural fields are interesting. Today we saw dry agriculture as well as irrigated fields. We saw many different crops, and there were several we couldn’t identify. The weirdest thing we saw was when we could see a rise ahead and saw what looked like a white bus. “What IS that?” we kept asking each other. Turns out it was a boat in a canal. We walked along side the canal for about two miles.

      So having mostly recovered from COVID we have been feeling good. And it was all fun and games until about the last three or four miles today when all of a sudden David started to tilt. Like his body is leaning to one side! Because of his cognitive issues it was hard to get a straight answer out of him about what was going on. (Just as an aside, not giving information in a straightforward way seems to be one of the big things that has changed about David’s day to day personality. He kind of talks circles around whatever he’s trying to say. It’s quite frustrating for the listener, usually me. Maybe it’s frustrating to him, too? It’s hard to say.) It seems that somehow he hurt his lower back and that’s made him lean? He looks a little like a banana or a boomerang when he normally would be standing straight up and down. We made it to the hotel and he’s konked out and I gave him three ibuprofen. Not sure what we’ll do tomorrow. I carried David’s backpack and my own the last two miles or so. And we can ship his backpack ahead and I can carry both of our water and sweaters, etc. Some kindhearted people on the trail were telling me he was very badly injured and needed to go to the hospital. But I’m not sure kindhearted trail passersby are the best source of medical information! Obviously I’ll let you know how we dealt with this tomorrow once we figure it out ourselves.
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    • Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz

      September 30, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

      Tonight we sleep in Castrojeriz on the Spanish Meseta, a town which has had some human presence for 4000 years. A beautiful ancient town built on the slopes of a hill topped by a castle. See the photo.

      Todays walk was in two halves, each equally beautiful. We left Hornillos at first light and walked the first 11km on an easy gravel path across a classic featureless Meseta landscape under a cool cloudy sky. Perfect walking conditions. Contemplative. We lunched in Hontanas, a classic Camino village at the halfway mark. Hontanas is 700+ years old and in a tiny valley in the Meseta landscape. The cloud cleared after lunch and we walked most of the way to Castrojeriz through the valley of the river called Arroyo del Garbanzuelo. It is a completely different landscape to the high plains. Many trees both conifer and deciduous. We stopped for a rest and drink just short of Castrojeriz at the long abandoned Convento de San Antón.

      We have encountered a three generation group of New Zealanders comprising grandparents, married children and a couple of toddlers over the last few days and are staying at the same hotel tonight. Very nice people and coping well with the needs of travelling the Camino with little ones.

      After 2 weeks plus walking 20km+ most days our bodies seem to have become somewhat accustomed to the rigours of the Camino. Kevin’s knees are now doing their job better than before leaving Boston and my (J) dodgy feet are cooperating as long as I do my post walk stretches. I must admit to including anti inflammatory meds as an essential food group for the next few weeks.
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    • Day 13

      13. DAY | 10 km

      May 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      Folge deinem Herzen immer...

      Wir sind nicht geboren um alleine zu sein und auch wenn ich bisher an dieser Aussage Zweifel hatte, dann nur weil ich bisher nie so (alleine) war wie jetzt. Heute wo ich hier bin, weiß ich dass unser einziges Zuhause dort ist wo unsere Herzensmenschen sind. Morgens möchte ich hier alleine sein, was heißt alleine Gott ist immer dabei, aber er ist ganz leise und macht sich nur durch die Natur und der Bibel in meinen Ohren bemerkbar. Abends ist es dann schön jemanden hier zu haben, der dir so nah ist obwohl man sich kaum kennt. Ich möchte hier kein Wettrennen starten, mir ist es nicht wichtig vorne dabei zu sein, mir ist es wichtig meinem Herzen zu folgen und das wichtigste vom Camino zu genießen, denn der Weg ist das Ziel und nichts anderes, auch ein Satz was ich zuvor nicht verstanden hatte. Vor einigen Tagen sagte ein Einheimischer zu mir "Elli weißt du was das wichtigste hier ist ? Der Austausch mit den Menschen" ich antwortet ihm " Mit Sicherheit aber auch der Austausch mit Gott" und er sagte WOW du bist also ein Teil der 20% die für den Glauben kommen (eigentlich traurig).

      So und während ich diese Zeilen schrieb näherte sich ein Mann Namens Juan Pierre und sagte " Was hast du denn für einen guten Gang drauf, ich war beeindruckt" ich tanze und singe meistens meinen Weg. Wenige Minuten später kam Tom dazu, erinnert ihr euch an den der alle überholt? Was dann geschah bewahre ich für den Rest meines Lebens in meinem Herzen! Es gibt hierfür keine Worte und dass ist auch okay.

      Elli

      Segui sempre il tuo cuore...

      Non siamo nati per essere soli e anche se finora ho avuto dei dubbi su questa affermazione, è solo perché non sono mai stata così (sola) come ora. Oggi che sono qui, so che la nostra unica casa è dove si trovano le nostre Persone dell cuore. Al mattino voglio starmene da sola, il che significa che Dio è sempre con me, ma è molto silenzioso e si fa sentire solo attraverso la natura e la Bibbia nelle mie orecchie. La sera è bello avere qui qualcuno che ti è così vicino anche se ci si conosciamo appena. Non voglio fare una gara, non è importante per me essere una delle prime, è importante per me seguire il mio cuore e godermi la parte più importante del Camino, perché il cammino è la meta e nient'altro, un'altra frase che non avevo capito finora. Qualche giorno fa un abitante del luogo mi ha detto: "Elli sai qual è la cosa più importante qui? Lo scambio con la gente" Gli ho risposto "Sicuramente, ma anche lo scambio con Dio" e lui mi ha detto WOW tu fai parte di quel 20% che viene per la fede (in realtà triste).

      Oggi, mentre scrivevo queste righe, un uomo di nome Juan Pierre si è avvicinato e mi ha detto "Che bella camminata decisa che hai, sono rimasto impressionato". Pochi minuti dopo è arrivato anche Tom, vi ricordate quello che supera tutti? Quello che è successo dopo lo conserverò nel mio cuore per il resto della mia vita! Non ci sono parole per tutto questo.

      Elli
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    • Day 26

      Castrojeriz to Fromista

      September 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      Unfortunately we were not successful in locating a bar last night that was going to play the rugby, in fact I don't think much happens in Castrojeriz. However we did have a great pilgrim dinner and they were serving garlic soup so the boys were very happy as photo will show. Note the glasses our darling waiter is wearing! We got back to our wonderful roomy bedrooms and listened to the rugby on the RWC app which was pretty good and much healthier than propping up a bar. Great win so went to sleep happy.
      We got up at 530 and were on the road by 6.15 knowing the day was going to be hot. The mornings as usual was just beautiful with a nearly full moon lighting up the way although we did need our torches. We had quite a climb of 150 metres ascent but luckily it was nice and cool. When we got to the top the views of the surrounding valleys were stunning with the moon still up and the sun rising in the east. One thing we miss is the dawn chorus and all we heard was one lonely crow.
      Down we trekked into a valley leading us to Fromista. We crossed over a beautiful old bridge with mist coming off the river and the sun rising behind us. By the time we had walked 11 km with not much food inside us we were desperately hoping a cafe would be open and luckily Brian found a bar/ cafe . It was full of the local hombres who were enjoying some sort of liqueur drink. This was at 10 am but it was a Saturday and who are we to judge!
      We rested awhile over coffees and big bread rolls of pastrami and cheese, called bocadillos. That totally revived us so on we went for 14 more km with the day getting hotter and hotter. We passed fields of fresh cut hay( love the smell of that) and dying sunflowers. It was the first irrigation we had seen so there was a bit of greenery and a few old castle ruins. Not unsimiliar to walking through Central Otago minus the sunflowers.
      5 km from Fromista we came across another village and nothing was happening here at all . It was like walking into one of those deserted towns in a western. What we wouldn't have done for a cold drink there!
      On we walked, although my walk becomes a plod after about 20 km. Luckily we walked along a canal and even had some trees to give a bit of shade. We do have lots of chats as we walk but usually that has tapered off in the last few km! I walked and talked for a few km with Gail from North Carolina who dined with us last night and was a great person to while away a few km with.
      Finally in the heat of the midday sun we arrived at Fromista with a declining population of 840 and for a Spanish village on a Saturday it seems quite lively.
      Our hotel is quaint and our bedroom overlooks the stunning Iglesias de Martin X1 C for which Fromista is famous for. But as beautiful as the sight of this amazing church was, a more appealing view was that of the bar serving cold beers. It too had lots of locals lazily sipping the afternoon away.
      Now it's siesta time before we venture out to explore ,but as it's 30 outside it won't be for awhile.
      Just a note on the team of eight ( our feet) . None of our feet have let the team down to date and no blisters so we are very pleased as we come across so many pilgrims in terrible distress that can hardly walk, often young ones but no,
      our team are soldiering on. Long may it last.
      Siesta time
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    • Day 16

      Hornillos to Castrojeriz

      May 16, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

      Today I had the most extraordinary Camino experience and not because I spent some time praying in a beautiful church, and lingering at the ancient ruins of a monestrary, but because I met Marguarite who owns this home/hotel in the centre of Castrojeriz. I am her guest tonight.

      She and her husband purchased this ruined home of the early 19th century in the town of Castrojeriz which during the medieval ages was a capital city. They have renovated this home retaining the original structures and the essential “being” of the home. The home begins 3 stories down where originally the cattle and the horses were kept, and continues down another story to a series of tunnels that connect the houses along this street and are purported to travel to the castle on the hill ( which fell to an earthquake in the 18th century). On the upper levels are the main dining hall and kitchens ( yes…two kitchens!), and continuing up 2 more levels of bedrooms.

      Marguarite, the owner and manager, struggles to maintain this home and hotel because she works as a paediatrician in Barcelona and is now divorced, so she opens her home in May and September only. Marguarite along with a housekeeper manage the entire home and the guests. She serves breakfast, does the laundry, greets new guests and cooks an evening meal. She is 63.

      The challenge in Spain to hire workers is a problem because no one wants to work Saturday or Sunday, or during the siesta. Foreign workers do not have the requisite paper work, and the authorities routinely visit monthly for their inspections.

      I am so smitten with this place, I may abandon the next leg of the Camino and stay an extra day in this very sleepy little town in the middle of metesa. I am learning the Camino is not a hike — it may be difficult like a hike, and God knows I have the battered feet to prove it —the Camino is about “arriving”.

      “Arriving” where? That remains a mystery, but one thing about pilgrims is that they are motivated to “arrive”…the ones who are looking, the one’s whose quest is greater than themselves. The Camino every day becomes a filling of our “lostness”, a filling of a deep need to find the centre again.

      The odd thing about today is that yesterday because I focused on the “hike” and enjoyed a vigourous walk without my feet hurting any more than normal, I neglected a small stone church at the side of the Camino. If I had stopped at the stone church, a lovely nun would have given me a small necklace with a golden heart and blessed both the necklace and myself for a safe Camino.

      Today, I did not make that mistake. I slowed down, walked alone, and chose not to leave this house once I arrived. I had a lovely afternoon on a patio practicing silence and reflection and enjoying quiet conversation with a woman named Marguerite who may have changed me. Reminded me.
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    • Day 14

      Castrojeriz

      August 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      I arrived around midday, checked into albergue Rosalía shortly after, and I was hungry. I went out looking for food before having a shower, but all I could get was snacks. Real food was not available until 1.30. I wasn't very happy about that, but I did want some real food, so selected the restaurant I was going to go to, went back to the albergue to have the shower, and then had my meal in a nice terrace under the shade of a tree.
      Then, back to the albergue for laundry and siesta.
      Later, I went for a walk. I bought anti-inflam cream for my feet and some snacks to carry on the walk tomorrow.
      I had dinner at the albergue with other guests (majority of Germans today), then went out for another walk with Fréderique and Lisa, a mother and daughter from Belgium.
      Very bizarre, meeting 2 Fréderiques, it's not a common name!
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    Castrojeriz

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