Spain
La Portela de Valcarce

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    • Day 35

      Las Herrerias

      October 22, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

      Today we walked around 15 miles steadily uphill. It was very gradual and felt pretty flat! We walked alongside either a river or creek all day. Today’s walk was almost entirely on the side of the road. We stopped in two small churches. He we got stamps for our pilgrims, credential, and each of the churches, which is kind of unusual, because a lot of times there’s no stamp in churches. Beginning in Sarria in a few days, we have to be sure to get at least two stamps with dates per day to qualify for our Compostela, which is a certificate showing that we have completed the Camino. No rain today but it’s supposed to rain every day except one for the rest if the trip.

      We are in a little hostel right now that has cows right outside the window that have large bells on their collars that go donka donka donka!

      David’s back feels great as long as he doesn’t have to carry a backpack. My blister on my feet from my poorly fitting shoes is slowly disappearing. At this point in the walk, my legs and feet are very sore. I don’t think anything’s wrong, I think I’ve just walked almost 500 miles over the last month!

      We were sad to say goodbye to our friends, Lisa and Lisa, but they texted us that they made it up to the top of the mountain we are climbing tomorrow. In one of the little churches, we stopped into. We saw our friend Sandra from our first three or four days of the Camino! What a surprise to see her after all this time!
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    • Day 42

      Linares

      September 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

      Mieliśmy bardzo dobry nocleg, pokój i prysznic były super doskonałe, spało się po wędrówce wyśmienicie.
      Rano pobudka i rutyna, toaleta, pakowanie plecaka i opatrywanie ran, a potem śniadanko.
      Ranki są dość chłodne ale temperatura podnosi się dość szybko. Zupełnie inaczej niż w zeszłym roku kiedy było zimno i deszczowo. Pamiętam jak pot zamarzał mi na ubraniu także można było na nim pisać. Tym razem słońce i wysoka temperatura dominowały przez większość dnia. Że słońce to super, ale temperatura mogłaby być niższa, odczuwalna w górach bez zachmurzenia to ok 30 c.
      Cóż, dzisiejszy dzień był pod znakiem góry, która się nie kończyła. Generalnie jak mówi się o górze to może to mieć wiele intonacji no górka, góreczka, góra albo może np. ściana. Próbowaliśmy rozmawiać z górą ,ale każde podejście do rozmowy kończyło się większym przewyższeniem i tyle, także był to głównie monolog. Chciałoby się rozpędzić i pokonać górę szybko, ale tak naprawdę to góra wydawała się nie mieć końca. Droga dodatkowo do stromości i kamiennosci urozmaicona była duża ilością końskich odchodów, bo bardzo popularna jest tutaj wspinaczka na koniu, przez co piesi muszą nauczyć się lawirować pomiędzy dość obfitymi kupami. Z dwoma przystankami po drodze, w końcu dotarliśmy do O Cebreiro czyli punktu kulminacyjnego. Kasi zegarek pokazał, że weszliśmy na 140 pięter. Potem już tylko dość strome górki i zejścia ale krótkie. Mieliśmy nadzieję zobaczyć kościół w O Cebreiro ale niestety się spóźniliśmy, był zamknięty do późno popołudniowych godzin, na szczęście w ubiegłym roku udało nam się go odwiedzić w środku. Jest to najstarszy kościół na Camino prawdopodobnie z X albo XI wieku ale jego sława jest głównie dzięki cudowi , który dokonał się tutaj w 1400 roku. Podczas nabożeństwa w bardzo ciężkiej pogodzie(śnieg, wichura, zimno, itd) na mszę przybyła tylko jedna osoba i benedyktyński mnich, który charakteryzował się słabą wiarą w przeistoczenie zachodzące na ołtarzu i nie dał całego swojego serca w sprawowanie mszy, uważając że to, że ktokolwiek się pokazał, to był słaby pomysł, no i wtedy stał się cud, w czasie podniesienia wino zamieniło się w krew a hostia w ciało. Krew rozlała się na ołtarz i figurę Maryii i ksiądz musiał wszystko na nowo przemyśleć.
      Zachowano krew i kielich jako relikwie, i późniejsze wielokrotne badania DNA potwierdziły autentyczność krwi.

      Dzisiaj śpimy w Albergue w pokoju cztero osobowym z dwoma paniami ( mama i córką) z Danii. Uprzedziłem je lojalnie, że zazwyczaj mocno chrapię...
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    • Day 31

      Rest day today

      June 3, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Heading to Balboa for lunch. Not doing much more than that. Big climb tomorrow to O Cebriero. Had a great night last night. Went to a local bar after dinner and ended up playing pool with the locals. Learned all the pool words in Spanish 😁Read more

    • Day 12

      Hospital de la Condesa from Trabadelo

      October 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

      A beautiful morning with this strange glowing orb in the sky! It has been a gradual ascent the last half of yesterday and all of today. I walked to Las Herrerias where the gradual grade changes to a steep, reportedly muddy 8 k climb up to O Cebreiro. I took the route of discretion and shared a cab with one of my dinner partners from last night.

      While having a juice outside a bar, waiting for transportation I was talking with another walker and mentioned my hip was bugging me. He asked if I would like him to fix it. Turns out he is a retired acupuncturist on his Camino and he carried a bag full of treatment gear. He opened up sterile packs and gave me a treatment that was amazingly effective right there at the table!

      I still took the cab to the top of the hill. Then I walked another 6 k to my stop for the night. It’s a really nice new albergue run by the Region of Galicia (like a state). Only one other person in the whole place. The only bar in town closed down earlier than posted, but I banged on the door and was able to get some food to take back to the albergue. Will do laundry in the morning before I walk.
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    • Day 35 - Cacabelos to La Portela- 23km

      October 3, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

      I have stopped at a lovely albergue in La Portela de Valcarce. My plan was to do a 26km day but as I was walking by this albergue, I saw a couple ladies outside looking relaxed and drinking wine. I yelled across the street “is it good there?” but I couldn’t hear the reply. I crossed the highway and one of the ladies was the owner and said there was only one bed left. She talked about the meal being all together with salad, and I cut her off and said “I’m in”.

      I started off around 7:30 this morning. I was ready by 7:15 but had to take some last pictures of the albergue and say goodbye to my special room. It was still dark but I had read last night that the walk was beside the highway, so I thought it was ok to walk a little in the dark. As usual, the sunrise was nice and the golden hour always brings out brilliant colours. It was such a beautiful walk to Villafranca through the rolling hills and vineyards. After that, it was mostly beside the highway so easy walking. In fact, it was a little cloudy so it was perfect for walking an extra long day.

      It is 8:15pm now and I am writing this blog from bed. There are only 4 beds at this albergue, 2 bunk beds in a little room. It is all women tonight and we had a nice dinner with salad and pizza and ice cream. We stayed out talking quite a bit after dinner. I told my bunk mates I would only type for about 15 mins, so I better break now. I won’t start until 8am tomorrow as it is only a 14km hike, but it is all up hill, so should be interesting. I am very excited as I will be staying on top of the mountain tomorrow.

      TTYL

      Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

      After dinner, Joerg and I talked more about writing the book. I said we need to do it soon after the camino so our memories are fresh. He said we needed a place by the ocean that is warm and with wind. I think he likes the idea of writing a book. At one point he said “It is also a love story”. Those words have been echoing in my head ever since.
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    • Day 25

      25. DAY | 22 km

      May 23, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

      Wir sind hier nicht aus Zufall...

      Dies war der Satz den mir eine Italienerin aus der Gruppe die ich gestern kennengelernt habe, heute mit auf den Weg gegeben hat. Sie sagte auch, ich wäre heute morgen ihr erster Gedanke gewesen (wie gesagt, ich denke hier zieht man aus jedem Menschen das wichtigste raus). Nicht viele Meter danach, habe ich auf die ganze Gruppe getroffen die mich dann mit Küssen begrüßt hat (wie wir halt so sind) unsere Managerin ist da, sagten sie. Der Hintergrund? Gestern Abend habe ich alle für die Compostela angemeldet, weil dieses Jahr anscheinend durch das Digitalisieren eine lange Schlange an Wartezeit in Santiago vermieden werden kann. Was ein toller Weg heute, begleitet von meiner Muttersprache und vielen lustigen und wunderschönen Momenten. Als wir alle von der Straße so genervt waren, sagte Giancarlo "ich möchte endlich durch den Wald" und ich gab ihm als Antwort "Weißt du es ist wie im Leben, nicht alle Wege sind schön und dennoch müssen wir sie gehen". Hier kannst du so einen Satz nicht aussprechen, denn sobald du dies tust, beginnen alle mit dem hinterfragen und reflektieren. Nun kamen wir zu dem Ergebnis, dass die Autobahn neben uns aufzeigte, dass wir oftmals zu schnell gehen und manchmal lieber eine Pause einlegen sollten um zu verstehen: Wo wollen wir denn eigentlich so schnell hin warum rennen wir überhaupt?

      Nun liege ich in meinem Bett, habe etwas an organisatorisches erledigt und gehe schlafen.

      Ach dass Leben ist einfach so schön!

      Elli

      Non siamo qui per caso....

      Questa è la frase che una donna italiana del gruppo che ho incontrato ieri mi ha detto stamattina. Mi ha anche detto che ero il suo primo pensiero all mattino (come ho detto, credo che qui si tragga il massimo da ogni persona). Non molti metri dopo, ho incontrato tutto il gruppo che mi ha salutato con dei baci (siamo fatti così): è arrivata la nostra Manager, mi hanno detto. Il perché? Ieri sera ho iscritto tutti alla Compostela, perché a quanto pare quest'anno, andando con il codice digitale, possiamo evitare una lunga coda di attesa a Santiago. Che bel cammino oggi, accompagnato dalla mia lingua madre e da tanti momenti divertenti e incredibili. Quando eravamo tutti così infastiditi dalla strada, Giancarlo ha detto "voglio passare finalmente per il bosco" e io gli ho risposto "Sai è come nella vita, non tutte le strade sono belle eppure dobbiamo passarci". Qui non si può dire una frase del genere, perché appena la si dice, tutti iniziano a interrogarsi e a riflettere. Ora siamo giunti alla conclusione che l'autostrada accanto a noi dimostra che spesso andiamo troppo veloci e che a volte dovremmo fare una pausa per capire: Dove stiamo andando così veloci, perché stiamo correndo?

      Ora sono sdraiato nel mio letto, ho fatto un po' di cose organizzatori e sto andando a dormire.

      La vita è così bella!

      Elli
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    • Day 51

      Another cloudless day…Ambasmestas

      May 17, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

      Today Amr beat me to this tiny town Ambasmestas. He left leisurely at about 9.20, or that’s when we parted, as I walked with him a short distance and then turned off to find my bus stop. It was only a 15.4 km distance, no huge ups and downs, and while a perfect day again, was mostly along the road winding from the Bierzo valley to the next one, along the valley floor.

      My bus wasn’t until 1.30 so I filled in the time reading, didn’t have to check out of our sweet little hotel till 12 fortunately, and when I left I found a sunny bench in the park…it still starts chilly at 6° but more and more rapidly warms up…I was hot by the time I got to the bus stop and had to shed a layer. Happy to find 3 other people also waiting for the bus, as the bus stop looked totally rundown and abandoned…I was right beside a roundabout along the “main” road - not a very busy one, as main as round here gets.

      About only 10 minutes after the due time, it actually came…a little minibus which already was almost full…so we all squeezed in…you could hardly fit down the aisle, and with backpacks etc almost impossible…but we managed. The poor elderly Dutch woman I had been chatting to had real difficulty as she had a large duffel bag as well. It cost €1.50, so not complaining!! When an American couple got off at the first stop the Dutch woman and I had to squeeze off again just to let them out…anyway, it actually stopped at all these little places along the way, and I found myself here quite quickly, arrived before 2pm and my app said Amr was 0 kms away, so I found I was beside the hotel, and he was having a snack in the bar, already checked in.

      One interesting thing - or really only interesting to us - is that the place we stayed at before is not shuttered or closed at all, I found it by accident today, on the next corner down, in fact it is the place on the corner where I took photo of Amr setting off. Happy about that!

      So not much else of interest to say today. We will have dinner here at the hotel’s dining room. All good, and tomorrow I hope to find a bus to take me to O’Cebreiro, which is the big climb for Amr (but fortunately not a long distance) and is where we meet Rachel and Richard…I think they have already started on their journey from Connecticut!
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    • Day 9

      Puerta de Valcarce

      October 10, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

      Dag dag composteleanen,

      Omg, hoe langer deze reis duurt hoe meer ik me soms afvraag: waarom deze marteling :p. Weer hebben we lekker veel gestapt en tot mijn frustratie toe eerst nog wat zitten ronddolen. Deze morgend waren we met "goede" moed vertrokken. Ik zet het tussen haakjes want zoals je ziet vertelt mijn gezicht duidelijk een ander verhaal. Dit komt allemaal door die ene ronkende rus. Zelfs mijn oordopjes hadden het op een lopen gezet! Ik werd echt helemaal gek van die mens. Dat is snurken met een geluidversterkende bas bij.

      In iederegeval begonnen we met stappen. Hoe kan het ook anders. Twas niet dat we de taxi pakten ee (soms wens ik dat wel). We begonden de wandeling helemaal aan de rechter kant van de stad. We volgde mooi alle pijlen richting het centrum... Om dan terug te gaan naar de richt van waar we vandaan kwamen. Ik voelde me wel een kieke want we hadden die pijlen de dag ervoor al gezien! Natuurlijk was papa onderweg wat slaap aan het inhalen dus voor hem was alles precies nieuw. 2 km lang heb ik mijn kas zitten opvreten.

      Nu skippen we wat door naar het laatste stuk van de dag. (ertussenin was even saai als het zien van groeien van gras, best intressant dus). We kwamen tijdens onze wandeling een vriendelijke Serviër tegenen die, na hij wist dat we belgen waren, wou vertellen over tennis en gofin (of hoe zijn naam ook is. Ik ben al blij dat ik die van mezelf kan schrijven). Het was niet dat we veel weten over tennis, we stonden daar met onze mond vol tanden, waardoor we de supermarkt waren ingedoken.

      Zoals altijd rond ik af met iets belagelijks dus dat is dan weer geslaagd als je bovenstaand teksten leest.

      In ieder geval sagriatianen, ik ga julkie een goede nachtrust toewensen en tot morgen!
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    • Day 22

      Look, there's a castle. ..

      October 1, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      I love castles.

      Yesterday in Ponferrada we walked the castle walls of the former bastion of the Knights Templar. Great medieval castle with a secret tunnel, turrets and pageantry. I could imagine knights on their mounted steeds, their horseshoes ringing out on the cobblestones, riding off out of the castle gates to fight in the Crusades.

      A boy's dream realized.
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    • Day 29

      La Portella de Valcarce

      June 15, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      Apostle Santiago

      Must buy goat cheese

      Spanish geese
      I think they were asking me for food... but I am not sure 😕

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    La Portela de Valcarce, 24524

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