• Steven Dromgool
  • Steven Dromgool

100 Skies without You

A personal pilgrimage Weiterlesen
  • Cape Finisterre

    15. Juni 2022 in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Cape Finnesterre was a shock I had this vision of being at the ocean and bering able to stop off and go into the sea but it's a lighthouse on a cliff that was like a tourist attraction. I felt really disappointed and angry and I walked down through the buildings and into the rocks and bushes that lined the steep hillside. I contemplated making my way down the hill which would have been a serious ordeal and after I started I realised it didn't seem rightWeiterlesen

  • Bathing in the ocean

    15. Juni 2022 in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Coming back from Cape Finnesterre i walked in the sand and the shallows I had a sense to go and bathe in the sea 7 times.

    I walked in - it was so cold
    I plunged deeper 4 times each time the water being deeper and experienced almost a rising sense of fear that I had to calm each time. Then I turned back for the last 3 and my sense of ease and peace and freedom grew.

    Then walking back I saw a sign for a grilled fished dinner and that seemed right too
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  • Expensive Santiago

    16. Juni 2022 in Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Prices for accommodation in Santiago were eye wateringly high apparently there is a big festival this weekend that started yesterday and 45000 new tourists are in town.

    I finally got hereafter a 3 hour bus trip back and found a 'hotel' on the outskirts of town - which appeared to be repurposed shipping containers after a bit and scratch night I found new accommodation at an Albergue paying 45 euros per night a bargain.Weiterlesen

  • A pilgrim no more

    17. Juni 2022 in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    After waking back into town I found the Albergue with a lovely Italian guy called Lukas running it- he let me check in early and I made breakfast then heated down to get my bag from the post office and send off a memento and little treat for Eva. I was glad for a sturdy bag and wheels as it was a km back to the Albergue.

    After a shower and a shave I washed all my pilgrim clothes in the washing machine (shock horror) changed in to tourist clothes and headed back into town.

    I saw a sign for a massage place right in St James Square and they had a space in a couple of hours so after enjoying a coffee and paella I was led down into this old stone basement to the massage area which was fantastic.

    I then settled sleepily back to the Albergue to find Lucas had put the clothes through the dryer.

    Hopefully going dancing tonight and checking out the festival.
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  • Last night in Santiago

    18. Juni 2022 in Spanien ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    After an unsuccessful night trying to go dancing on Friday ( people started arriving at 11:45) but I just couldn't stay awake I went for a wander in town after a siesta about sunset (10 pm in Spain)

    Funny story apparently General Franco made Spain change its timezone to match Nazi Germany as a show of support 75 years later they are still trying to change it back.

    Anyway everything was dead so I was wandering about looking for festival music finding a few funny dressed people and one not particularly great music group( the first group pictured)

    I arrived at the square and saw another dressed up group about to start so I joined the small group of watchers and then saw a woman from the Albergue who I had been chatting with earlier.

    This go was pretty good a nice mix of songs and gallic bagpipes, operatic performances and we were at the front with the dancers so that was fun.
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  • Bye bye hat

    19. Juni 2022 in Spanien ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    I was really pleased I brought this hat on the camino but it had already stretched by the time I left for Spain and although that worked great on the camino as I tended to have a towel over my head and shoulders under the hat it looks a bit ridiculous now - so I left it in Sofia and hopefully someone with a big head can adopt it.Weiterlesen

  • Beautiful Sofia

    20. Juni 2022 in Bulgarien ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    So arrived in Sofia after a fairly long day of traveling and waiting in airports.

    My welcome taxi driver was there name sign and all. Getting into the Airbnb was a little challenging as it was more nearly 11:30 and lugging 35kg of bags up 5 flights of stairs helped make up for any loss of exercise.

    Walking around town is a mixture of awe and sadness, many of the buildings are just beautiful but there are lots of signs of neglect .
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  • I'm in a tiny house 🏠 🙃

    21. Juni 2022 in Bulgarien ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    My apartment here is very cool, it's fennel set up like a tiny house with lots of space saving stuff. The bed folds down so the office, bedroom, lounge area is all multipurpose.

    He has this cool little suspended clothes line and I rigged up my computer to the T.V. for a second screen. Yup that's the ironing board aka height adjustable desk (totally OSH approved)

    Even the sofa is a fold out double bed not that there would be much room if you extended that as well.

    It's got me thinking about my office in Auckland ...
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  • Dancing in Sofia

    21. Juni 2022 in Bulgarien ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    I was looking for dance classes in Sofia and found a studio that does multiple classes in multiple locations two of which are close to me.

    Learning a dance in another language is fun but it seemed to go OK. Fortunately ceroc had helped me learn or know the more complicated moves so it's mostly the footwork I have to concentrate on. So basically I'll be dancing every night here until I go to London for the Ceroc dance weekend. 💃 🎶 🕺Weiterlesen

  • Drama in Sofia

    21. Juni 2022 in Bulgarien ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    I was walking in town last the presidential residence complete with their own guards (Trump must be so jealous).

    There was some kind of demonstration (apparently it was a pro government which is a first for me) in town and a lot, a lot, a lot of police anyway a little fun to walk past that but I was late for Crossfit.Weiterlesen

  • Beware British Airlines

    24. Juni 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    well I was wandering back from crossfit yesterday cursing that b#^ch Karen (150 wallballs for time (7:58 with a 6 kg med ball) and I noticed a notification that British Airlines had cancelled my flight to London.

    Now what makes this annoying is that my original flight was canceled last week and so I had rebooked and paid a little more to fly BA and it was a real passion because they wanted to verify my card with a text which I couldn't receive while in Bulgaria. Anyway to be canceling it less than 48 hours later was pretty annoying.

    I liked online to see what was happening and it turns out that BA is in big trouble with massive staff shortages, strike action and there is also a bus and train strike and the new flight time meant if be too late to catch the last bus to get me to my dance weekend.

    However there was a silver lining I went back and found a flight with Bulgarian Airlines, found another dance weekend closer to London, called the insurance company and basically I pay the $100 excess, they refund the fee difference on the flight, pay for Ubers top and from the airport on Sunday, pay the price difference been the two dance weekends (this one is considerably more expensive) and best of all pay for accommodation for 4 nights with breakfast included in a private room , which will be a step up from the share a beach cabin with 4 strangers on the original weekend.

    So that feels nice 😌
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  • Late not never, not sure if it's better

    29. Juni 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    So after emerging untouched by covid through pandemic peaks in Sydney and NZ I finally succumbed in London. I had a runny nose and scratchy cough for my flight to Thailand but not feeling terrible and then with Abby due to arrive I got a RAT test and 2 clear lines. Which is annoying as we have such a short break together. But we are in singing rooms with balconies and fresh air and loads of sanitiser and masks etc and I don't feel that bad just a little sleepy.Weiterlesen