September 17, 2016: Pretty level day as we plod along enjoying the company of Alabama John (Hence, the video song choice) and Blair today. Poor Blair’s blisters are becoming quite a struggle, but she is one tough cookie.
Blair, Joan and I are staying in Ledigos tonight while Alabama John continues on to the next town meaning we, most likely, will not see him again. Thank you being a part of our journey. Buen Camino, John!
We take a stroll around this quaint little village of Ledigos with its interesting buildings constructed with mud and straw. We walk up a hill to the church and discover a woman just finishing up preparing for Sunday service tomorrow. She allows us in and gives us a little tour.
September 14, 2016: Having survived the horrendous dust storm coming into Hornillos yesterday, we appreciate the weather today as we leave town. However, the temps have dropped considerably, Joan’s legs are getting cold, and she is enviously eyeing long pants on the other pilgrims.
We walk a while with Linda, from Ireland, who excitedly relates her experience of staying at the albergue run by the in-laws of Emilio Esteves’ son. Pretty cool.
We check into Albergue Ultrea in Castrojeriz and are greeted by a warm, gregarious gentleman who makes his guests feel welcome.We stroll around town and up the hill to view the castle ruins high above… …along with bodegas built into the hillsides.
Coming back from our exploration we bump into an Australian pair and receive a nice hug they deliver from Randy. Little did we know, Randy ran into these friends (as he sadly made his way to the bus station in Burgos) upon leaving the Camino and us behind. Another shout-out to Sinaed from Ireland who has also become part of our Camino family. Buen Camino!Unusual decor ~ Looking up, we see a wine-press which is demonstrated in an animated fashion (See video) followed by a tour of the bodega down below the albergue.
9-12-2016: Today we are tourists exploring the city of Burgos, Spain. Click on the link below for a short highlight video :
Construction on the Cathedral began in 1221 and was completed in 1567 which included a hiatus of nearly 200 years with the work resuming on the Burgos Cathedral towards the middle of the 15th century and would continue for more than 100 years. The work done during this time consisted of embellishments of great splendour, assuring the Cathedral’s continued world-renown status. ~unesco.org Audio tour is full of historical facts and I find it difficult to absorb all of the grandeur and history. Truly immense and I’m in awe.
We are seeing more beggars in the tourist areas of town. Scam artists? Hmmm…
We climb the hill and explore massive fortifications of the rebuilt Castillo de Burgos. Dating from the 9th century, the castle has a turbulent history, suffering a fire in 1736 and blown up by Napoleon’s troops in 1813. There’s a small museum featuring the history of Burgos.
The impressive view from the castle reveals an aerial view of our hike yesterday and we can see why the Camino path into Burgos seemed endless. We also view the route we will take out-of-town tomorrow as we face the meseta.
A special happy hour tonight since it’s Randy’s last night with us. We improvise by making a tablecloth from a disposable sheet Randy saved from a previous albergue. This will aid clean-up since we aren’t suppose to eat in the room.( Sh-h-h-h… don’t tell!) Add bread from a local bakery washed down with very cheap (0.62 euro?) box wine and life is good. Don’t judge…
We meet Jim and Mary Ann (Leascomadventures.com) for the evening meal. Last time we see this lovely pair as they will proceed down the path ahead of us from now on. Buen Camino!
September 10, 2016: Belorado to Ages ~ 28 kilometersOver-achievers today as we go a few kilometers past the elevation map above.
We find beds in the Ages Municipal Albergue and wander the streets exploring the village.While exploring Ages we stumble upon a small museum of miniatures that Marcial Palacios creates of regional sites, as well as historical methods of labor in the village and on the farm. The passion that Marcial puts into his works and animated explanation of each miniature is interesting as I try to comprehend with my limited Spanish skills along with gestures. Best salesman ever as we purchase a small, lightweight toy.Junk sculptures line stone fences and fill the yards of this unique street in Ages. I couldn’t find info about these displays so your guess is as good as mine.Shout out and buen camino to Jim and MaryAnne Leas of leascomadventures.com.
September 9, 2016: As we put our boots on this morning we share a moment with a forlorn Damion from the UK as he contemplates whether to continue his Camino with very sore blisters or call it quits. We’ve enjoyed his wit, humor and banter, so are hoping he continues. Final answer…? A very somber ending as he makes plans for catching a flight back home. Camino hearts are breaking for this well liked and kind gentleman as we all know how hard it is to accept defeat. Safe journeys, Damion.
Today should be close to a 25 kilometer day so we leave the albergue early, making our way down the dark streets of Santo Domingo.
We enjoy the company of Roger and Nancy from Colorado and interesting conversation makes the day click by so much faster. Thank you for sharing your day with us and we are curious as to your Camino experiences after we parted ways.
What… am I hallucinating? A huge stuffed animal is hiking towards me! Following is a link to a short video explaining their project: osoperigroso
Smiles on the Way is a site that has information about these two and their walk.
We arrive in Belorado finding only top bunks with no bed rails available, so Joan will face her ultimate challenge tonight. The room is very tiny and there is no room to throw her mattress on the floor for sleeping. Will she sleep walk and fall out of bed or not sleep at all?We will see…
A bonus tonight is meeting and spending meal time with charming Alexandra who lives and works in Malega. I am so tired that I can hardly speak, but the table conversation still flows freely. Buen Camino, Alexandra!
September 7, 2016: Scroll down for a short video of the day.
We stock up on water and food because for the next few hours of the journey we will not have much for shops until the town of Navarrete 13 km away. This will be a thirty kilometer day, so we get an early start to beat some of the heat.Randy finds a little store in Navarette with everything under the sun crammed inside and he needs a bandana to protect his ears and neck from the scorching sun. Hanging around the counter, he takes forever to make a decision… could it be the posters below the counter that distract him? (Click on the image for a larger viewing window.) Plump grapes are plentiful and tempting as we pass through numerous vineyards and hear recordings of birds in distress and canon explosions to keep birds away from the ripened fruit. We have seen many small tractors with spray tanks behind heading out to the vineyards. No wonder there are no flies or bugs of any kind on the grapes. It’s not very healthy to be eating unwashed grapes that have been in contact with a pesticide besides the fact that it would be stealing. Enough said.Interesting “bee hive” hut along the trail would provide shelter, if necessary. It appears to be of modern construction and quite messy inside from garbage left by people. The mom in me wants to lecture… Pick up after yourselves!Randy and Joan are strategizing in the cute little Vino y Camino apartment that Joan found in Najera. We are in heaven with kitchen facilities, washer/dryer provided, our own bathroom/shower and they even provided us with a bottle of delicious red wine. (Hence, the name.) All in all a good value.
September 6, 2016: Scroll down for a short video with some Creedence Clearwater Revival plus proof that Joan can still stop traffic!
As you can see by the elevation map, we start the day with a hill work-out while the rest of the day appears to level out a little. However, the heat continues to sap our energy as we plod down the path.
We meet a friendly, interesting young man named Julio from California sitting by the side of the road switching out socks due to blisters. Conversations flow throughout the day about observations and plans while on the Camino, as well as life, taking our minds off the heat. We often wonder about the rest of his journey to Santiago as we lose track due to a different pace as we do with many people we meet. A good lesson learned: Live in the moment and make the best of it while you can.
We also meet a new friend, Julius, today and have been in touch with this talented photographer/animation artist from Poland living in Dublin. It was great to talk about photography with someone who understands me. Graffiti in the tunnels plus the shade provide a little respite from the heat.
We find beds tonight in the Apostol Hostel in Logrono with a familiar scene on the wall of our room. I don’t think this means I can cross the Statue of Liberty off of my Bucket List.
We take our time getting started since I (Joyce) added kilometers in my head incorrectly and we have a short day of only about 8 kilometers. It’s tricky finding beds these days even though it’s beyond the summer rush. It’s still unseasonably hot and challenging to beat the speedier Pilgrims for the Municipal beds in Viana while Logrono would be a long haul in this heat. We need an easy day anyway, right? Divine intervention, for sure.Oh, well… on the plus side we stayed in a small apartment last night that was very nice and we even heated up paella from the grocery store in our cute little kitchen. Not bad at all and easy on the budget.
Survival of the fittest in arid, dry conditions; snails crawl up a live plant stem to obtain moisture. Hey!! It’s the brother/sister pair from Israel! We last saw them in Estella.
What? We are here already? Cross the river right after leaving Sansol and we find our home for tonight at the San Andres Hostel.
Wikipedia imageGoogle images
This village is best known for its 12th century church, Iglesia de Santo sepulchre (Church of the Holy Sepulchre) linked with the Knights Templar and based on the octagonal church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The cupola with its cross-ribbed vault forming an 8 sided star, is particularly notable and emblematic of the Knights. ~ Brierley guidebook (Its locked so are unable to tour the interior.)
Time for the Pilgrim Menu and we are lucky enough to share a table with a delightful couple from Italy. Thanks to Google Translate we are able to communicate, but I think their smiles say it all… Chow!
We leave at the crack of dawn to beat the heat today and find the path surrounded by tall plants that look and smell like dill. As we proceed down our path we hear the hum of paragliders as they entertain us with dips and swerves making the moment seem surreal. (Included in the video at the bottom of this post.)Delicious wild black raspberries are a treat along the trail.
The Romanesque 11th century bridge at Puenta la Reina (The Queen’s Bridge) owes its foundation to Queen Doña Mayor who had the bridge built over the river Arga.This old Roman road is said to be the most important stretch of Roman road left on the French Way. My mind wanders imagining centuries of use and here I am in this moment, right here, right now. Mind boggling… We take a lunch break next to a water fountain and enjoy the entertaining company of a group from Italy as we communicate using charades and the English skills of the young woman on the right. Why are Italians always so much fun? I may need to go to Italy some day to discover this phenomenon.The final leg of the day proves to be challenging as the high temps and lack of shade takes its toll. Our survival strategy is shade hopping as we slog our way under the hot sun and take short breaks under the shade of the occasional small tree.
Aa-a-a-r-r-r-g-g-g-h-h-h… So hot!
We are too slow today and there are no beds for us in Lorca, but an outgoing character from Amsterdam is at the bar highly recommending Oceana Youth Hostel in Estella. Better pick up the pace so we can find nice cozy beds. At this point, cozy isn’t even necessary… just a bed will do.
September 2, 2016: We (Joan, Randy & Joyce) leave Pamplona shortly after sunrise and find the early morning streets fairly quiet. (Short video of the day at the bottom of this post)
ALERT!!! Joan and Randy possibly witness an ATM scammer at work this morning with a Camino bicyclist as his victim and it reminds us to always be aware of people nearby when using these technologies and don’t use a machine if you view anything suspicious. Click on this link: How to avoid ATM fraud while traveling for some useful information when withdrawing cash. Also, be sure to alert your bank as to where you will be traveling so they are aware of your activity. Shout out to the fabulous customer service, while we are traveling, from our local DNB National Bank in Clear Lake/Gary, South Dakota. You are definitely an important part of our adventures.So much history… It was in this area that Charlemagne’s Christian forces defeated Aigolando’s Muslim army in the 8th century. Ruins of Guendulain palace are visible from the path, but I am having trouble finding historical background of the palace. There is a hotel in Pamplona by that name – Palacio Guendulain. If someone has a link to its history, please leave a comment The plowed field in the foreground is interesting as it is almost totally made up of rocks which must be hard on equipment. As we approach the summit of Alto del Perdon (Hill of Forgiveness), we discover that there is ambulance service on the mountain and feel fortunate to not need their services. The high temperatures combined with the climb and lack of shade are certainly taking a toll on pilgrims.Check this off the “Bucket List”: On the summit of Alto del Perdon is an iconic sculpture dedicated to all the pilgrims who walk the Camino de Santiago. The long metal sculpture representing pilgrims on foot and on horse reflects the historical and eternal nature of the walk. There is a Spanish inscription on it “donde se cruza el camino del viento con el de las estrellas” meaning “Where the path of the wind crosses that of the stars.” ~caminodesantiago.com
Beautiful views as we look back towards Pamplona, but what goes up must go down, and we carefully make our way down the steep descent. One wrong move and the hike is done. The unfortunate and injured pilgrim would need to be picked up after rolling down to the bottom. It wouldn’t be pretty and I’m sure tears would be involved.
RJMeyerArts 
