Monday, May 31, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
20 km to go
Hi Everyone, we appreciate all the emails, sms and phonecalls checking to make sure we´re ok....sorry haven´t posted on the blog for a few days, a week?, perhaps longer. we´ve been walking and walking and walking on the Camino and tomorrow we reach Santiago de Compostela. it is incredible that we have almost reached our destination. the last two days were hard, 26 and 28 kilometres respectively in heat, ´muy calor´, the locals would say as we passed them. Very hot. We were on the road for around 12 hours, Rosa and Luna are now famous for their stamina and smiles in the evening after such long days. After Astorga (perhaps my last post?) we found our amorphous caravan of pilgrims, the people who are on the same path at about the same speed. we catch them here and there, have a coffee, swap notes about places to stay and body pains and perhaps share a dormitory with in the evening. the girls love walking with other people, especially Rosa Chat-a-long, and the kilometres do tick over more quickly if you are in conversation, connecting and learning about other people and places.
Our fellow travellers include Canadians, Brazilians, Danish, Korean, Italians, Spanish and...Australians: Emily and Brian, 20 something backpackers from Tasmania who we´ve been crossing for the last ten days and today we met three people from Narooma who are taking a marionette called ´Flem´on a tour of Europe. have to check Flem´´s blog.
I´m sitting in an Albergue in ARCA, people are shouting at some cyclists going by. Everyone is relaxed because we only had 20 kilometres today and we have 20 tomorrow. The girls and I have a private room - pink - tonight so we can set our alarm in the morning. After been woken up by a Kraftwerk synthesis of an ambulance siren next to my head at Rabanal del Camino in the mountains because some guy wouldn´t wake up to turn it off, I fastidiously avoid setting my own alarm. Luna wants to leave at 6 so we get into town early with everyone else.
Will try to post again later. have to get to the pharmacy before it closes because the heat brought on the blisters for most of us and I need to get a sterile needle.
oh yes, i did a rough calculation - about 428 kms since we left St Jean Pied de Port.
hasta luego and love, Josephine, Luna y Rosa
Our fellow travellers include Canadians, Brazilians, Danish, Korean, Italians, Spanish and...Australians: Emily and Brian, 20 something backpackers from Tasmania who we´ve been crossing for the last ten days and today we met three people from Narooma who are taking a marionette called ´Flem´on a tour of Europe. have to check Flem´´s blog.
I´m sitting in an Albergue in ARCA, people are shouting at some cyclists going by. Everyone is relaxed because we only had 20 kilometres today and we have 20 tomorrow. The girls and I have a private room - pink - tonight so we can set our alarm in the morning. After been woken up by a Kraftwerk synthesis of an ambulance siren next to my head at Rabanal del Camino in the mountains because some guy wouldn´t wake up to turn it off, I fastidiously avoid setting my own alarm. Luna wants to leave at 6 so we get into town early with everyone else.
Will try to post again later. have to get to the pharmacy before it closes because the heat brought on the blisters for most of us and I need to get a sterile needle.
oh yes, i did a rough calculation - about 428 kms since we left St Jean Pied de Port.
hasta luego and love, Josephine, Luna y Rosa
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The Day of the Third Mountain
One of the reasons I haven´t posted on our blog for the last few days is that we´ve finally joined up with our caravan. We are walking from one place to the next at the same pace - more or less - as a group of other pilgrims and while we don´t walk together our paths cross and we often eat in the same restaurants or town squares in the evening.
Today we climbed our third mountain range to O Cebreiro, the ´mythic´village on the Camino, just over the border between Castilla-Leon and Galicia where some miracle associated with the Holy Grail happened in the middle ages. Luna and Rosa who are one quarter Galician are coming home. From now on, we have a gentle descent towards Santiago, about five or six days away.
The road is busier except that we leave around ten in the morning so we miss the pilgrim peak hour. Most people in the Albergues are in bed at nine and leave at six in the morning. We tried that one day but it didn´t suit Rosa so we have a more leisurely time. Since Astorga we´ve been trailing a couple of Brazilian guys who have more or less the same rhythym. Perhaps it´s coming from the southern hemispere but whyrush?
The problem is that when we come back to the Albergue after dinner all the lights are out, and everyone is asleep so that we bumble around looking for a headtorch and toothbrush. Tonight Luna growled at me as I approached our bunk bed. ´Mum you forgot to put the sleeping bags out before we left.´ There is no way that I could extricate the bags from my superlight, supertight pack without scrunching some plastic and scraping the zips and possibly annoying the neighbour. Earplugs are possibly the most important equipment on the camino.
Walking along today Rosa concluded that it was OK to do a few bad things before we get to Santiago because all will be forgiven in this Holy Year. ´´I don´t think you should do too many bad things Rosa!´ Coming down from O Cebreiro a scuffle broke out between the pilgrim sisters. One threw the other´s chocolate in the dirt and the other used her Leki women´s walking stick as a weapon. A jab in the left leg and a few tears and we walked on. There isn´t any other option but to keep walking.
Yesterday was the day of all days. We arrived at the base of the last mountain late afternoon and happened to meet up with Brian and Emily from Tasmania. Emily is one of Rosa´s chat-along buddies. We climbed through wet forest. My favourite flowers - daisies and forget-me-nots - were scattered in the wild amongst moss and ferns. We trod on the old stone road, part of the ancient Camino. Half-way at La Faba we stopped at one of fountains placed along the way but this one looked dodgy so I went into a neighbourhood shop to get a bottle of water and ended up tasting the local red and a slab of sheepmilk cheese.
´Better go. We have to get there tonight.´ Through heath and brush we climbed, rows of mountains, some snow-capped, receding into the distance all around us, that luscious soft light of the evening. The first building we saw a typical circular brush-roofed pighouse and all the beasts were standing around waiting to go in for the night.
Our Albergue for the night, owned by a woman called Luz Divina (Divine Light) was in a stone building in a typical rural pueblo. We are in a loft room with 8 beds and three are ready for us. There is a washing machine line and warm wind. A cow almost walks into the bar when we are having dinner. A grey dappled pony is tied up outside. Dogs everywhere. Rosa is in heaven. I love the clear skies, mountain air and rural scale. The perfect place to stay before starting the final part of our journey.
Today we climbed our third mountain range to O Cebreiro, the ´mythic´village on the Camino, just over the border between Castilla-Leon and Galicia where some miracle associated with the Holy Grail happened in the middle ages. Luna and Rosa who are one quarter Galician are coming home. From now on, we have a gentle descent towards Santiago, about five or six days away.
The road is busier except that we leave around ten in the morning so we miss the pilgrim peak hour. Most people in the Albergues are in bed at nine and leave at six in the morning. We tried that one day but it didn´t suit Rosa so we have a more leisurely time. Since Astorga we´ve been trailing a couple of Brazilian guys who have more or less the same rhythym. Perhaps it´s coming from the southern hemispere but whyrush?
The problem is that when we come back to the Albergue after dinner all the lights are out, and everyone is asleep so that we bumble around looking for a headtorch and toothbrush. Tonight Luna growled at me as I approached our bunk bed. ´Mum you forgot to put the sleeping bags out before we left.´ There is no way that I could extricate the bags from my superlight, supertight pack without scrunching some plastic and scraping the zips and possibly annoying the neighbour. Earplugs are possibly the most important equipment on the camino.
Walking along today Rosa concluded that it was OK to do a few bad things before we get to Santiago because all will be forgiven in this Holy Year. ´´I don´t think you should do too many bad things Rosa!´ Coming down from O Cebreiro a scuffle broke out between the pilgrim sisters. One threw the other´s chocolate in the dirt and the other used her Leki women´s walking stick as a weapon. A jab in the left leg and a few tears and we walked on. There isn´t any other option but to keep walking.
Yesterday was the day of all days. We arrived at the base of the last mountain late afternoon and happened to meet up with Brian and Emily from Tasmania. Emily is one of Rosa´s chat-along buddies. We climbed through wet forest. My favourite flowers - daisies and forget-me-nots - were scattered in the wild amongst moss and ferns. We trod on the old stone road, part of the ancient Camino. Half-way at La Faba we stopped at one of fountains placed along the way but this one looked dodgy so I went into a neighbourhood shop to get a bottle of water and ended up tasting the local red and a slab of sheepmilk cheese.
´Better go. We have to get there tonight.´ Through heath and brush we climbed, rows of mountains, some snow-capped, receding into the distance all around us, that luscious soft light of the evening. The first building we saw a typical circular brush-roofed pighouse and all the beasts were standing around waiting to go in for the night.
Our Albergue for the night, owned by a woman called Luz Divina (Divine Light) was in a stone building in a typical rural pueblo. We are in a loft room with 8 beds and three are ready for us. There is a washing machine line and warm wind. A cow almost walks into the bar when we are having dinner. A grey dappled pony is tied up outside. Dogs everywhere. Rosa is in heaven. I love the clear skies, mountain air and rural scale. The perfect place to stay before starting the final part of our journey.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Astorga
I woke with a start. People were moving around me. It must be after 6. I´d better get up and wake the girls. We were walking to Rabanal de Camino, 21.4 kms away up a steep mountain and I wondered whether Rosa was up to it. It had taken me ages to go to sleep. I had thought it was lucky there that were four free bunks together when we arrived until the man next to us started snoring. No coincidence. Checked the time and it was 2.39.
By 7, Luna was ready to go. A beautiful sunny morning with a snowy bite. There were more people on the road than we were used to which suits Rosa-chat-along I think she could walk hundreds of kms without realising provided that she has someone to swap information and experience with.
´The weather is going to get better and better over the next ten days´an American woman said.
´It´s still cold. I don´t have my gloves´, Rosa said.
We made it to Rabanal and it´s time to post this blog because the girl´s want to move.
Hasta manyana.
14 MAY - THE DAY OF FEVER AND REST
Look at that rain! It´s because you´re sick Rosa that we don´t have to walk in the rain today,´I say as we drive from from Leon to Astorga in an ALSA bus.
In Leon the night before, Rosa´s temperature had soared with no obvious cause. She was probably fighting off something we´d come across along the way. Luckily I´d found us a deal for 2 nights at the phenomenal San Marcos Hostel, a pilgrim hospital and headquaters of the Knights of Santiago that was renovated in the 16th century at the height of the Spanish Renaissance. Rosa could sweat out the fever in luxury while keeping an eye on the pair storks who were tending their babies in a gigantic nest outside our window.
By the morning the fever had subsided. I off-loaded some clothes and books at the local Post Office near our hotel, thinning down and getting ready for the second stage of our journey...and rather than walking we to Astorga we took the bus through the rain. As soon as I saw the intact Roman walls at the base of a rose-stone Cathedral and greyish Gaudi neo-Gothic palace I knew that we were driving into Astorga.
You should stay at the Albergue San Javier,´´´the Spanish woman in the bus-seat in front of us said in perfect English´. I had planned to go to another Albergue but thought these directions were too clear to ignore. And Marc Grossman, the Australian expert on the Camino (see his website www.caminodownunder.com) also recommends the San Javier and lunch at the Hotel Gaudi.
Marlies sat at a round table at the Albergue San Javier looking at the Credential´s of three other pilgrims. She was handing out cards for lunch at the Gaudi Hotel on the square opposite the architect´s Bishop´s Palace.
´That´s where we´re going for lunch. We´re starving´, I said.
´Give me your Credentials, leave your packs here and go now´ she said in English with a soft German accent looking at the clock. It´s twenty to three...
An Albergue is a place to stay at low cost that follow the tradition of hospitalityfor pìlgrims that is older than a millennium. Some are run by religious organisations, others by public organisations like the local municipal council and there are networks of private albergues. For the rest of our journey to Santiago we will stay mostly in Albergues.
The girls didn´t want to leave the cosy atmosphere at the San Javier in Astorga - even to visit the Museum of Chocolate. They love sitting round talking to other pilgrims about where they come from and where they are going to.
´This is the best part of the day for me,´Marlies said placing a big log in the fire.
Around 7, the masseur arrived, put his table in the middle of the triangular area around the fire and he worked on tired bodies one after the other until about ten.
By 7, Luna was ready to go. A beautiful sunny morning with a snowy bite. There were more people on the road than we were used to which suits Rosa-chat-along I think she could walk hundreds of kms without realising provided that she has someone to swap information and experience with.
´The weather is going to get better and better over the next ten days´an American woman said.
´It´s still cold. I don´t have my gloves´, Rosa said.
We made it to Rabanal and it´s time to post this blog because the girl´s want to move.
Hasta manyana.
14 MAY - THE DAY OF FEVER AND REST
Look at that rain! It´s because you´re sick Rosa that we don´t have to walk in the rain today,´I say as we drive from from Leon to Astorga in an ALSA bus.
In Leon the night before, Rosa´s temperature had soared with no obvious cause. She was probably fighting off something we´d come across along the way. Luckily I´d found us a deal for 2 nights at the phenomenal San Marcos Hostel, a pilgrim hospital and headquaters of the Knights of Santiago that was renovated in the 16th century at the height of the Spanish Renaissance. Rosa could sweat out the fever in luxury while keeping an eye on the pair storks who were tending their babies in a gigantic nest outside our window.
By the morning the fever had subsided. I off-loaded some clothes and books at the local Post Office near our hotel, thinning down and getting ready for the second stage of our journey...and rather than walking we to Astorga we took the bus through the rain. As soon as I saw the intact Roman walls at the base of a rose-stone Cathedral and greyish Gaudi neo-Gothic palace I knew that we were driving into Astorga.
You should stay at the Albergue San Javier,´´´the Spanish woman in the bus-seat in front of us said in perfect English´. I had planned to go to another Albergue but thought these directions were too clear to ignore. And Marc Grossman, the Australian expert on the Camino (see his website www.caminodownunder.com) also recommends the San Javier and lunch at the Hotel Gaudi.
Marlies sat at a round table at the Albergue San Javier looking at the Credential´s of three other pilgrims. She was handing out cards for lunch at the Gaudi Hotel on the square opposite the architect´s Bishop´s Palace.
´That´s where we´re going for lunch. We´re starving´, I said.
´Give me your Credentials, leave your packs here and go now´ she said in English with a soft German accent looking at the clock. It´s twenty to three...
An Albergue is a place to stay at low cost that follow the tradition of hospitalityfor pìlgrims that is older than a millennium. Some are run by religious organisations, others by public organisations like the local municipal council and there are networks of private albergues. For the rest of our journey to Santiago we will stay mostly in Albergues.
The girls didn´t want to leave the cosy atmosphere at the San Javier in Astorga - even to visit the Museum of Chocolate. They love sitting round talking to other pilgrims about where they come from and where they are going to.
´This is the best part of the day for me,´Marlies said placing a big log in the fire.
Around 7, the masseur arrived, put his table in the middle of the triangular area around the fire and he worked on tired bodies one after the other until about ten.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
12 May, Logrono to Leon, The Day of Disorientation
Is it true that you only really appreciate something when you lose it ? Today we left the Camino de Santiago for a few hours to take a bus from Logrono to Leon. This had always been the plan because we have only three weeks and at our pace it would take 6 or 7 weeks to complete the 796 km walk from St Jean Pied de Port. We had wanted to start in France at the traditional beginning of the ´Camino Frances´Pyrenees and to end in Galicia so that we could visit Felipe´s family there again. When I read the _Camino Footsteps_ by Kim and Malcolm Wells, I came across the idea of jumping across the meseta - the long, flat unsheltered section between Logrono and Leon.
Other people I talked to suggested that it might be better to start the walk closer to Santiago to do it in one go because in that way you end up moving in a loose caravan of people, such camaraderie being part of the experience. One woman with a lot of experience warned that everyone meets a special person on the Camino and that if you jump around you might literally mess up the timing of that opportunity.
After 9 days on the path and a lovely morning strolling along the arcades of Logrono - a bit like Rue de Rivoli in Paris - and a tortilla sandwich at the Cafe Moderne, we headed for the ALSA bus depot. As we waited in line I discussed our destination with the girls and realised that rather than going to Burgos, described as a ´´veritable architectural jewel´´as planned, it might be better to go all the way to Leon so that would have two nights in one place...
´Mum, we´ve already seen a lot of churches!´´
´But this one is extraordinary, the finest Gothic...
´´Mum,
´So look out the window as we go, don´t play on my iPhone so you see the countryside we are passing through¨.
Burgos was the one town I wanted to visit but we did pass the Cathedral when we drove through. I or we can come back another time to walk the middle section ofthe Camino Frances. Most Spaniards do it in stages over a number of years, often just a week at a time. And a German man we met in Orisson, Werner, had been doing 3 week stages from Germany for a couple of year. He told us that he would finish in Logrono this time and come back in the European Autumn to finally reach Santiago.
Even though I read my guide by John Brierley as we drove across 10-12 days of walking in 4 hours, I had a visceral sense that I was losing my way: losing the yellow shell markers and the notion of being in an amorphous flow of people heading over time and space to the same destination. This is the experience of pilgrimage and whether one is doing it for religious reasons or not, it is an intensely human experience: the goodwill encountered along the way, the connection with nature and learning that it is possible to cross large distances on foot by taking a section every day, step by step. My legs were remembering my childhood on the Northern beaches of Sydney where the public transport was minimal and we walked alot especially in the holidays: the 8-10 km from Newport to Palm Beach and back in a day was not unusual.
Luna and Rosa can´t quite believe when we look at the map of Europe that they have walked so far : from France through Pamplona to Logrono, the red line is about 4 cm long!
As Luna and I walked from Irache to Los Arcos the day before, Luna told me that she´d read in a book that Australians are known for just jumping in and doing things...she found that interesting. We are meeting people from all over the world every day and play geography games as we go. Rosa´s current favourite is the capital city game. She is becoming adept with European and Asian countries so we have to imagine African and South American boundaries. Conceptually a border is one thing but when you actually walk along the barbed wire fence and cross a cattle grid from France to Spain it takes on a material significance. In Spain, there are the autonomous regions (14 I think) and we have walked through Navarra and part of Rioja, will bus across most of Castilla y Leon and walk through Galicia. In the mornings we find a nice ambulatory rhythym as we go through the times tables: moving ahead for Rosa and timely revision for Luna.
In Leon, Luna and I are returning to the hotel we stayed in with Felipe in 2000 - they had a special offerta on the Internet and it was too good to resist - from the memories of two year old Luna playing in the fountain to the discovery that it was originally built as a hospital for pilgrims in the 12th century. We arrive 1,000 years later for 2 nights of rest and respite to prepare for the 2nd stage of our journey: the 11 day walk to Santiago from Astorga. In Leon, we ffind and follow the bronze shells embedded in the footpath through the city, past the extraordinary cathedral and Gaudi extravaganza - even Luna admits that the stained glass in the ´´high gothic´´ Cathedral is beyond anything she could have imagined. Again despite themselves, the girls are over-awed in the shaded silence of San Isidoro, the 11th century Basilica church.
All afternoon, Rosa has been complaining about a headache but we don´t take much notice. I thought it was probably just an allergy to cultural history but as we start looking for a Tapas bar for dinner, I put my hand on her forehead. She´s on fire.
Other people I talked to suggested that it might be better to start the walk closer to Santiago to do it in one go because in that way you end up moving in a loose caravan of people, such camaraderie being part of the experience. One woman with a lot of experience warned that everyone meets a special person on the Camino and that if you jump around you might literally mess up the timing of that opportunity.
After 9 days on the path and a lovely morning strolling along the arcades of Logrono - a bit like Rue de Rivoli in Paris - and a tortilla sandwich at the Cafe Moderne, we headed for the ALSA bus depot. As we waited in line I discussed our destination with the girls and realised that rather than going to Burgos, described as a ´´veritable architectural jewel´´as planned, it might be better to go all the way to Leon so that would have two nights in one place...
´Mum, we´ve already seen a lot of churches!´´
´But this one is extraordinary, the finest Gothic...
´´Mum,
´So look out the window as we go, don´t play on my iPhone so you see the countryside we are passing through¨.
Burgos was the one town I wanted to visit but we did pass the Cathedral when we drove through. I or we can come back another time to walk the middle section ofthe Camino Frances. Most Spaniards do it in stages over a number of years, often just a week at a time. And a German man we met in Orisson, Werner, had been doing 3 week stages from Germany for a couple of year. He told us that he would finish in Logrono this time and come back in the European Autumn to finally reach Santiago.
Even though I read my guide by John Brierley as we drove across 10-12 days of walking in 4 hours, I had a visceral sense that I was losing my way: losing the yellow shell markers and the notion of being in an amorphous flow of people heading over time and space to the same destination. This is the experience of pilgrimage and whether one is doing it for religious reasons or not, it is an intensely human experience: the goodwill encountered along the way, the connection with nature and learning that it is possible to cross large distances on foot by taking a section every day, step by step. My legs were remembering my childhood on the Northern beaches of Sydney where the public transport was minimal and we walked alot especially in the holidays: the 8-10 km from Newport to Palm Beach and back in a day was not unusual.
Luna and Rosa can´t quite believe when we look at the map of Europe that they have walked so far : from France through Pamplona to Logrono, the red line is about 4 cm long!
As Luna and I walked from Irache to Los Arcos the day before, Luna told me that she´d read in a book that Australians are known for just jumping in and doing things...she found that interesting. We are meeting people from all over the world every day and play geography games as we go. Rosa´s current favourite is the capital city game. She is becoming adept with European and Asian countries so we have to imagine African and South American boundaries. Conceptually a border is one thing but when you actually walk along the barbed wire fence and cross a cattle grid from France to Spain it takes on a material significance. In Spain, there are the autonomous regions (14 I think) and we have walked through Navarra and part of Rioja, will bus across most of Castilla y Leon and walk through Galicia. In the mornings we find a nice ambulatory rhythym as we go through the times tables: moving ahead for Rosa and timely revision for Luna.
In Leon, Luna and I are returning to the hotel we stayed in with Felipe in 2000 - they had a special offerta on the Internet and it was too good to resist - from the memories of two year old Luna playing in the fountain to the discovery that it was originally built as a hospital for pilgrims in the 12th century. We arrive 1,000 years later for 2 nights of rest and respite to prepare for the 2nd stage of our journey: the 11 day walk to Santiago from Astorga. In Leon, we ffind and follow the bronze shells embedded in the footpath through the city, past the extraordinary cathedral and Gaudi extravaganza - even Luna admits that the stained glass in the ´´high gothic´´ Cathedral is beyond anything she could have imagined. Again despite themselves, the girls are over-awed in the shaded silence of San Isidoro, the 11th century Basilica church.
All afternoon, Rosa has been complaining about a headache but we don´t take much notice. I thought it was probably just an allergy to cultural history but as we start looking for a Tapas bar for dinner, I put my hand on her forehead. She´s on fire.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Random Notes from Logrono
Sometimes, I upload a blog post before I´ve had time to edit it in order to maintain the chronology because being on the road, or rather being on the Camino by foot, it´s not always possible to post everyday. Especially when the Tapas bars of Logrono are on our doorstep.
Some notes from my diary which I will probably come back to again.
May 10 The Day of Felipe and Sunshine
Our first day in full sun! We think and talk about Felipe all the time but today was special because Rosa was telling me about helping the nurses in Amsterdam as we walked along in the morning. How she helps to wash her Dad in the morning and to give him the fruit drink which Nelletje and Jo make for him. Ít´s yummy, I like it too,´she said. We were approaching a large white advertising board sign on a hill. ´Look Mum, that says Felipe.´Spray painted on in black in capital letters, perfectly, FELIPE.
11 May
After a 19 km walk from Los Arcos to Viana on the 10th May, the girls and I arrived at our hotel exhausted. The last 9 kms seem to have taken an eternity. As we came over a peak marked by the ruin of a pilgrim refuge from the middle ages, we encountered spectacular views of the vineyards of Rioja, the city of Logrono and mountains beyond but we hardly noticed them because there was also a sign indicating that we had another 3.8 kms to go. It didn´t seem possible. We had been convinced that our destination, Viana, was around the corner. The metatarsal bones of right foot had been killing me all day, the blister on my left heel was throbbing and Luna´s leg was aching again. When the linear forms of the town finally appeared as Rosa and I propelled ourselves along with our walking poles I feared that I was seeing a mirage. Not the oasis of a desert but the bell-shaped form of the the 12th century Iglesia de San Pedro.
I had booked the only hotel in town, the Palacio de Pujadas with a reknowned Pilgrim´s Menu for lunch and dinner at (3 courses for 9 Euros). Luna and Rosa asked if we could have a slow morning as Logrono, our destination for the following day was only! 9.5 kms. Simultaneously, we saw the sign on the polished mahogany reception desk, ´Massage for Pilgrims´. I didn´t hesitate and within a couple of minutes Veronica was booked for the next morning for the three of us.
There was a sense of distinguished desolation in the ruin of San Pedro, twenty or thirty metres from our hotel window. Behind the facade and entrance - built on the cusp of Romanesque and Renaissance - only emptiness.
That day walking two butterflies had followed us for a few kilometres: one, tiny and turquoise jumped around the dried mud track and the other with spotted orange wings smelled the flowers. After our massage with Veronica who was trained by a doctor7osteopath and is highly skilled - we were relieved of all our pains and ready for another day.
Note, 10 May:
Anyone who wants to do the Camino needs to do the necessary preparation and take responsibility for the journey themselves.
Some notes from my diary which I will probably come back to again.
May 10 The Day of Felipe and Sunshine
Our first day in full sun! We think and talk about Felipe all the time but today was special because Rosa was telling me about helping the nurses in Amsterdam as we walked along in the morning. How she helps to wash her Dad in the morning and to give him the fruit drink which Nelletje and Jo make for him. Ít´s yummy, I like it too,´she said. We were approaching a large white advertising board sign on a hill. ´Look Mum, that says Felipe.´Spray painted on in black in capital letters, perfectly, FELIPE.
11 May
After a 19 km walk from Los Arcos to Viana on the 10th May, the girls and I arrived at our hotel exhausted. The last 9 kms seem to have taken an eternity. As we came over a peak marked by the ruin of a pilgrim refuge from the middle ages, we encountered spectacular views of the vineyards of Rioja, the city of Logrono and mountains beyond but we hardly noticed them because there was also a sign indicating that we had another 3.8 kms to go. It didn´t seem possible. We had been convinced that our destination, Viana, was around the corner. The metatarsal bones of right foot had been killing me all day, the blister on my left heel was throbbing and Luna´s leg was aching again. When the linear forms of the town finally appeared as Rosa and I propelled ourselves along with our walking poles I feared that I was seeing a mirage. Not the oasis of a desert but the bell-shaped form of the the 12th century Iglesia de San Pedro.
I had booked the only hotel in town, the Palacio de Pujadas with a reknowned Pilgrim´s Menu for lunch and dinner at (3 courses for 9 Euros). Luna and Rosa asked if we could have a slow morning as Logrono, our destination for the following day was only! 9.5 kms. Simultaneously, we saw the sign on the polished mahogany reception desk, ´Massage for Pilgrims´. I didn´t hesitate and within a couple of minutes Veronica was booked for the next morning for the three of us.
There was a sense of distinguished desolation in the ruin of San Pedro, twenty or thirty metres from our hotel window. Behind the facade and entrance - built on the cusp of Romanesque and Renaissance - only emptiness.
That day walking two butterflies had followed us for a few kilometres: one, tiny and turquoise jumped around the dried mud track and the other with spotted orange wings smelled the flowers. After our massage with Veronica who was trained by a doctor7osteopath and is highly skilled - we were relieved of all our pains and ready for another day.
Note, 10 May:
Anyone who wants to do the Camino needs to do the necessary preparation and take responsibility for the journey themselves.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Sunday 9 May The Day of Wine and Thunder
´When can we go to the wine fountain?´, Rosa and Feline kept asking from the moment we woke up. Last night we arrived in Irache next to the Monastery and Irache vineyards with the fountain with two spouts: AGUA and VINO.
It was pouring with rain but the two blonde 7 year olds ran down the Camino path to the fountain, stainless steel cups grasped tightly in their pink hands. Feline spat out the first taste and asked her mother why anyone would drink something so disgusting. Rosa who remembered her wine tasting lesson at the Sesti vineyard in Montalcino tried to smell it first and then tasted the young fresh wine that poured out of the spout when she lifted the chrome lever. She wasn´t too happy with it and I have a photo of her with wine dribbling out of her mouth (won´t upload that one as it might be used as evidence). Feline joined in again until the novelty wore off and water fights became more fun.
Lisette wanted to visit the 12th Century Cistercian Monastery because she had studied in one in the South of the Netherlands when she was young. The children ran through the cloisters despite being told the monks like silence but settled down once we reached the church: its blonde stone and austere lines with scall op shells at each corner of the dome high in the ceiling signifying its connection with the Camino de Santiago.
Luna and I set off in what we thought was going to be endless rain but it quickly cleared and we had a lovely day walking through vineyards and wheat past a 13th century bathhouse called Fuente de los Moros because of its Moorish design. The medieval town of Villamayor de Monjardin sits at the base of the Mount of Monjardin which is capped by a castle built into the rock.
We were entering Rioja country, as the sky darkened and thunder rumbled in the west and south. We wondered whether to continue on the Camino but ahead I saw a patch of blue sky and light. Luna put on her rain pants and after a few minutes of rain we walked towards the light and by the time we reached Los Arcos it was sunny. Walking into a town, after 19 kilometres on the trail, sticks dragging, all muddy and tired is an experience in itself. People, locals and other pilgrims, greet you with ,Hola, and Bravas! In Los Arcos, the afternoon gathering place is the assymetrical sqaure with no roads running through it, next to the church which was golden in the dusk light. We recognised other pilgrims enjoying an aperitif next to a fountai here children played.
It was pouring with rain but the two blonde 7 year olds ran down the Camino path to the fountain, stainless steel cups grasped tightly in their pink hands. Feline spat out the first taste and asked her mother why anyone would drink something so disgusting. Rosa who remembered her wine tasting lesson at the Sesti vineyard in Montalcino tried to smell it first and then tasted the young fresh wine that poured out of the spout when she lifted the chrome lever. She wasn´t too happy with it and I have a photo of her with wine dribbling out of her mouth (won´t upload that one as it might be used as evidence). Feline joined in again until the novelty wore off and water fights became more fun.
Lisette wanted to visit the 12th Century Cistercian Monastery because she had studied in one in the South of the Netherlands when she was young. The children ran through the cloisters despite being told the monks like silence but settled down once we reached the church: its blonde stone and austere lines with scall op shells at each corner of the dome high in the ceiling signifying its connection with the Camino de Santiago.
Luna and I set off in what we thought was going to be endless rain but it quickly cleared and we had a lovely day walking through vineyards and wheat past a 13th century bathhouse called Fuente de los Moros because of its Moorish design. The medieval town of Villamayor de Monjardin sits at the base of the Mount of Monjardin which is capped by a castle built into the rock.
We were entering Rioja country, as the sky darkened and thunder rumbled in the west and south. We wondered whether to continue on the Camino but ahead I saw a patch of blue sky and light. Luna put on her rain pants and after a few minutes of rain we walked towards the light and by the time we reached Los Arcos it was sunny. Walking into a town, after 19 kilometres on the trail, sticks dragging, all muddy and tired is an experience in itself. People, locals and other pilgrims, greet you with ,Hola, and Bravas! In Los Arcos, the afternoon gathering place is the assymetrical sqaure with no roads running through it, next to the church which was golden in the dusk light. We recognised other pilgrims enjoying an aperitif next to a fountai here children played.
Saturday 8 May The Day of Snails, Bridges and Three Weddings
Rosa always sees the animals. When we were sliding around the muddy track along the Arga River on Friday she saw the dark grey squirrel scrambling up a tree in fright. Yesterday she saw the snails on a dried read.
'Mummy, stop. Look at those.'
Two big light brown and beige snails and three smaller ones arranged around a dried-up stalk of tall grass.
'It's no coincidence we've seen those snails' I said. 'Because we're going along like snails today.'
Luna woke me up at 6 in the morning in agony with a muscle spasm in her leg because the night before she had gone out for a stroll in the cold air in shorts straight after 6 hours of walking. After a hot bath, massage and a morning of reading she was better by lunch time.
I walked back to visit the spectacular Eunate church, a Romanesque jewel located in the middle of fields and forest and reputedly a former base of the Templar knights. It was a bit crazy to do a ten km walk before we started for the day but it was worth it. The French couple who are guardians of the church and live next door told me that it was very beautiful today because there would be a wedding there in the afternoon. And they were right. Columns of white lily's, roses and ivy brought the austere rose stone interior to life. High up, Circular windows of ochre marble diffused the light as it entered Eunate's octagonal space.
Later as we rejoined the Camino in the main street of Puente La Reina (the Queen's Bridge), thunderous fireworks were going off. It was 12.30 on a Saturday. In the Tapas bar of the Hotel Bidean, I asked a man what was going on and he pointed at his ring finger and put his arm around me. I understood. Susie rushed out to video it and came back with reports of crowds of people gathering around the explosive scene, confetti and couscous being thrown and dancing. She could barely see the bride and groom because of the crowds.
In the Bidean we had their famous tomato salad, our favourite pimientos (green peppers cooked in olive oil and salt), and tortilla. A two year old girl called Paola with big black eyes and a navy dress joined us and then ran off to her mother to get lollies for Luna and Rosa.
We stopped to take photos on the 11th century bridge spanning the River Arga and began our days walk at something like 13h00 when most pilgrims are finishing for the day...our destinations were other bridges, the medieval bridge near Lorca, the Roman bridge near Ciraquai where we wanted to take a group photograph for MS Research Australia in their lime green t-shirts. It was slow going and we realised that we wouldn't get to Estella until about nine in the evening. Miraculously, our friend Lisette sent a text message to say that she was in the area and would love to pick up the girls if they felt like a break. Susie and I walked on to Lorca through vineyards - Rioja is not far away - and over bridges.
'Mummy, stop. Look at those.'
Two big light brown and beige snails and three smaller ones arranged around a dried-up stalk of tall grass.
'It's no coincidence we've seen those snails' I said. 'Because we're going along like snails today.'
Luna woke me up at 6 in the morning in agony with a muscle spasm in her leg because the night before she had gone out for a stroll in the cold air in shorts straight after 6 hours of walking. After a hot bath, massage and a morning of reading she was better by lunch time.
I walked back to visit the spectacular Eunate church, a Romanesque jewel located in the middle of fields and forest and reputedly a former base of the Templar knights. It was a bit crazy to do a ten km walk before we started for the day but it was worth it. The French couple who are guardians of the church and live next door told me that it was very beautiful today because there would be a wedding there in the afternoon. And they were right. Columns of white lily's, roses and ivy brought the austere rose stone interior to life. High up, Circular windows of ochre marble diffused the light as it entered Eunate's octagonal space.
Later as we rejoined the Camino in the main street of Puente La Reina (the Queen's Bridge), thunderous fireworks were going off. It was 12.30 on a Saturday. In the Tapas bar of the Hotel Bidean, I asked a man what was going on and he pointed at his ring finger and put his arm around me. I understood. Susie rushed out to video it and came back with reports of crowds of people gathering around the explosive scene, confetti and couscous being thrown and dancing. She could barely see the bride and groom because of the crowds.
In the Bidean we had their famous tomato salad, our favourite pimientos (green peppers cooked in olive oil and salt), and tortilla. A two year old girl called Paola with big black eyes and a navy dress joined us and then ran off to her mother to get lollies for Luna and Rosa.
We stopped to take photos on the 11th century bridge spanning the River Arga and began our days walk at something like 13h00 when most pilgrims are finishing for the day...our destinations were other bridges, the medieval bridge near Lorca, the Roman bridge near Ciraquai where we wanted to take a group photograph for MS Research Australia in their lime green t-shirts. It was slow going and we realised that we wouldn't get to Estella until about nine in the evening. Miraculously, our friend Lisette sent a text message to say that she was in the area and would love to pick up the girls if they felt like a break. Susie and I walked on to Lorca through vineyards - Rioja is not far away - and over bridges.
Friday, May 7, 2010
The Day of Light and Wheat
Last night after a few plates of tapas in the Bar Txoko on the Placa del Castillo in Pamplona, I was walking down the street called Nueva heading towards our hotel, talking on my iPhone to Felipe´s cousin Emilio, in Galicia, about our impending arrival when a taxi pulled up next to me and inside waving was Susie Lindeman, our friend from Sydney. She had just flown in from Paris to join us for four days. Luna and Rosa were so excited they hadn´t realised they´d been watching the news about the English elections while they waited. We went upstairs to have dinner looking next to the illuminated romanesque San Nicolo church and couldn´t wait to get up to explore Pamplona in the morning. Then the girls and I had the best sleep we´ve had since we started our journey and didn´t wake until eight. then we had to have churros and hot chocolate for breakfast, go to the Pilgrim´s Office to get Susie a credential and stamps for ours and on the way to the Camino de Santiago, a little bit of window shopping. Girls will be girls.
We stayed at the Hotel Maisonnave in the centre of town just near the path for the Running of the Bulls. Even though it is a normal hotel, they gave a huge discount because we arè ´´peregrinos´´ , organised two connecting rooms for us that were newly renovated and this morning they had prepared picnic bags for us to take away. Their cafe/bar on the street with its Hemingway atmosphere was obviously popular with locals. The hotel has even self-published a book on Hemingway... is this beginning to sound like a travel brochure? it´s late here in Puente de la Reina but I just want to write about two new experiences we had today;
1, the light projections from the stained glass windows onto the massive stone tiles of the Pamplona cathedral. Our first sunny morning and we visited the monumental Cathedral at just the right time because the sun was streaming through its celestial array of jewel coloured windows. Susie, Rosa and I walked around quickly - we had to get out of town to start our day´s walk - but the patterns of ephemerial hues were irresistable and I stopped to take a few photos...I thought of the impressionist painters in France wondered if they had also been mesmerised by this effect, for example in the Chartres Cathedral. It also reminded me of new media works like the video installations of Bill Viola.
2. Walking through wheat fields in the hills beyond Cizur Minor : It was so late when we left Pamplona - we all loved it and want to return - that after an hour or two it began to rain and before long we were back in the mud. The consolation was that we were walking through wheat fields leading up to the Alto del Perdon (I think it means the ´´height of pardon´´) a climb of 300 metres in 7 km and leading down into the Obanos valley. I realised I´d never seen the new shoots of wheat in spring when the plants are still short and emerald green. As we went along, Luna and I began to talk about the grains that feed the world and how wheat is the staple of much of Europe along with rye, barley, oats, rice and potatoes.
The things we´re loving as we walk;
- our Icebreaker fine merino layers of singlets, tanks, t-shirts, leggings, socks and underwear. Icebreaker is amazing because it keeps us warm and dry in all conditions from the blizzard to a sunny day. I´ve been surprised to see so many hikers wearing Icebreaker: it´s from New Zealand but in the last year or two it´s gone global.
- our hiking boots, we couldn´t do this without our Scarpa (Luna and I) and Meindl (Rosa) boots. they keep our feet dry and supported
- our technical fast drying hiking pants that are lightweight yet keep the water and snow out
- technical lightweight hardshell jackets
- my twisted stretch washing line !! becoming an expert surreptitious hanger
- tortilla anytime, hot chocolate (girls) and red wine at the end of the day. Hasta manyana.
We stayed at the Hotel Maisonnave in the centre of town just near the path for the Running of the Bulls. Even though it is a normal hotel, they gave a huge discount because we arè ´´peregrinos´´ , organised two connecting rooms for us that were newly renovated and this morning they had prepared picnic bags for us to take away. Their cafe/bar on the street with its Hemingway atmosphere was obviously popular with locals. The hotel has even self-published a book on Hemingway... is this beginning to sound like a travel brochure? it´s late here in Puente de la Reina but I just want to write about two new experiences we had today;
1, the light projections from the stained glass windows onto the massive stone tiles of the Pamplona cathedral. Our first sunny morning and we visited the monumental Cathedral at just the right time because the sun was streaming through its celestial array of jewel coloured windows. Susie, Rosa and I walked around quickly - we had to get out of town to start our day´s walk - but the patterns of ephemerial hues were irresistable and I stopped to take a few photos...I thought of the impressionist painters in France wondered if they had also been mesmerised by this effect, for example in the Chartres Cathedral. It also reminded me of new media works like the video installations of Bill Viola.
2. Walking through wheat fields in the hills beyond Cizur Minor : It was so late when we left Pamplona - we all loved it and want to return - that after an hour or two it began to rain and before long we were back in the mud. The consolation was that we were walking through wheat fields leading up to the Alto del Perdon (I think it means the ´´height of pardon´´) a climb of 300 metres in 7 km and leading down into the Obanos valley. I realised I´d never seen the new shoots of wheat in spring when the plants are still short and emerald green. As we went along, Luna and I began to talk about the grains that feed the world and how wheat is the staple of much of Europe along with rye, barley, oats, rice and potatoes.
The things we´re loving as we walk;
- our Icebreaker fine merino layers of singlets, tanks, t-shirts, leggings, socks and underwear. Icebreaker is amazing because it keeps us warm and dry in all conditions from the blizzard to a sunny day. I´ve been surprised to see so many hikers wearing Icebreaker: it´s from New Zealand but in the last year or two it´s gone global.
- our hiking boots, we couldn´t do this without our Scarpa (Luna and I) and Meindl (Rosa) boots. they keep our feet dry and supported
- our technical fast drying hiking pants that are lightweight yet keep the water and snow out
- technical lightweight hardshell jackets
- my twisted stretch washing line !! becoming an expert surreptitious hanger
- tortilla anytime, hot chocolate (girls) and red wine at the end of the day. Hasta manyana.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
We´re on the front page of the Diario de Navarra!
Yesterday, as we struggled against the snow and the wind crossing the Franco-Spanish border and the Cize Pass, a man split from our group and walked off the path into the snow. I wondered what he was doing until he reappeared around a hairpin bend with a massive telefoto lense. An English woman in our group, Beth, told me that she´d heard he was from EFE, the Spanish equivalent of Reuters and he was covering our crossing...and then in Roncesvalles as we walked in, there were TV crews. That was the moment that we, the group of 39, began to understand that we had done something out of the ordinary. It wasn´t reckless because we had an seriously experienced guide, Jean Jacques Etchandy from the Orisson Refuge, but it was tough.
When we stopped in front of the finely articulated doors of the 13th century church to regroup, I congratulated Luna and Rosa ´Do you realise you´ve just done an amazing thing - you´ve crossed the Pyrenees on foot in a snowstorm and you´re only 12 and 7 years old. Íf you can do that, you can do anything´. Rosa ínstantly wanted me to elaborate on what I meant´by ýou can do anything. I could have said ´like Charlemagne, Roland and Napoleon´ but that would have lead to more questions and all I wanted was a cup of tea.
Today when I arrived in Zubiri after a solo walk of 22 kms from Roncesvalles through wet snow, mud - and verdant beech forests - Lisette (our friend who joined us for 2 days with her daughter Feline) and the girls met me with the daily newspaper _Diario de Navarra_ in their hands. Rosa and I are walking across the front page with our poles, my hand on her shoulder, followed by three others in our group. The headline : Pilgrims come down from Ibaneta on the coldest day in May in 130 years.
When we stopped in front of the finely articulated doors of the 13th century church to regroup, I congratulated Luna and Rosa ´Do you realise you´ve just done an amazing thing - you´ve crossed the Pyrenees on foot in a snowstorm and you´re only 12 and 7 years old. Íf you can do that, you can do anything´. Rosa ínstantly wanted me to elaborate on what I meant´by ýou can do anything. I could have said ´like Charlemagne, Roland and Napoleon´ but that would have lead to more questions and all I wanted was a cup of tea.
Today when I arrived in Zubiri after a solo walk of 22 kms from Roncesvalles through wet snow, mud - and verdant beech forests - Lisette (our friend who joined us for 2 days with her daughter Feline) and the girls met me with the daily newspaper _Diario de Navarra_ in their hands. Rosa and I are walking across the front page with our poles, my hand on her shoulder, followed by three others in our group. The headline : Pilgrims come down from Ibaneta on the coldest day in May in 130 years.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
La Posada in Roncesvalles
Day 2 : Orisson to Roncesvalles
Tonight we're in Roncesvalles staying at La Posada, a restaurant and simple hotel for pilgrims who have just crossed the Pyrenees - the main building in the village is a monastery with a 13th century church. There is also an albergue for pilgrims and two small hotels, Casa La Posada and Casa Sabina.
People are standing around the fire drinking hot tea with rum, as we shake the snow off our legs and enter the bar. Luna and Rosa have apricot juice, tortilla, olives, chicken bouillon, cheese sandwich, cake and hot chocolate. I'm surprised to find that there are 2 computer terminals in the bar with internet access at 1 Euro for 20 minutes and open Wifi. I sit down to check my email and think about filing my blog, have a cup of tea and then a coffee. In the meantime, a succession of retired couples from Quebec and France sit down at the adjacent terminal to file stories on their blogs and upload photos about their morning's journey to Roncesvalles. Most came along the low road from St Jean Pied de Port because the Cize Pass was closed but one couple were in our group - the 39 people who had stayed at the Orisson Refuge the night before.
Day 1 : St Jean Pied de Port to Orisson
At 770 metres above sea level, the Orisson Refuge is the half way point for those who want to take the more spectacular Route de Napoleon. Normally, it is a 2 or 3 hour walk from St Jean but Luna, Rosa and I had arrived exhausted on our first day because we had taken nearly 5 hours to get there. As we walked out of St Jean at 12.30 pm, we were busy talking to three Korean girls in bubble-gum coloured ponchos and we all missed the easy-to-find turn to Orisson. After realising our mistake the Korean girls turned back to retrace their steps and I decided to go on and rejoin the route further on. If only I'd been reading the map correctly...with a certain amount of luck and a lot of help from some local farmers, I discovered that I was totally off track. We spent an hour or two walking along country lanes, in the rolling verdant slopes of the Pyrenees with only sheep for company and the odd house white, with blood red roofs and window shutters. 'You're a long way from Orisson but you can get there this way. Just keep climbing,' the farmer with grey hair and a large timber door said. 'Take that road and then the first left and keep climbing. Then ask someone else.' He forgot to mention that there was a fork before the left turn and that the houses are few and far between. I had to centre myself and get in touch with my instinct rather than give in to the sense of despair as the girls became tired and it was past three o'clock. Did I mention in my last blog that I hadn't done much 'internal' preparation for the Camino? Our first two days turn out to be mid-week tests...and at this point I'm failing miserably.
To get back to Orisson: it is 'demi-pension' so after the hearty dinner of vegetable soup, roast lamb with baked beans and warm Basque cake, the owner of the refuge, Jean Jacques Etchandy the owner and experienced mountain guide, told his guests who were sitting around two long tables that rather than sending us back to walk on the low road he would guide us over the mountains and bring us to Roncesvalles.
Luna has written about the Crossing on Day 2 in her blog entry and I'll perhaps write another version tomorrow
Tonight we're in Roncesvalles staying at La Posada, a restaurant and simple hotel for pilgrims who have just crossed the Pyrenees - the main building in the village is a monastery with a 13th century church. There is also an albergue for pilgrims and two small hotels, Casa La Posada and Casa Sabina.
People are standing around the fire drinking hot tea with rum, as we shake the snow off our legs and enter the bar. Luna and Rosa have apricot juice, tortilla, olives, chicken bouillon, cheese sandwich, cake and hot chocolate. I'm surprised to find that there are 2 computer terminals in the bar with internet access at 1 Euro for 20 minutes and open Wifi. I sit down to check my email and think about filing my blog, have a cup of tea and then a coffee. In the meantime, a succession of retired couples from Quebec and France sit down at the adjacent terminal to file stories on their blogs and upload photos about their morning's journey to Roncesvalles. Most came along the low road from St Jean Pied de Port because the Cize Pass was closed but one couple were in our group - the 39 people who had stayed at the Orisson Refuge the night before.
Day 1 : St Jean Pied de Port to Orisson
At 770 metres above sea level, the Orisson Refuge is the half way point for those who want to take the more spectacular Route de Napoleon. Normally, it is a 2 or 3 hour walk from St Jean but Luna, Rosa and I had arrived exhausted on our first day because we had taken nearly 5 hours to get there. As we walked out of St Jean at 12.30 pm, we were busy talking to three Korean girls in bubble-gum coloured ponchos and we all missed the easy-to-find turn to Orisson. After realising our mistake the Korean girls turned back to retrace their steps and I decided to go on and rejoin the route further on. If only I'd been reading the map correctly...with a certain amount of luck and a lot of help from some local farmers, I discovered that I was totally off track. We spent an hour or two walking along country lanes, in the rolling verdant slopes of the Pyrenees with only sheep for company and the odd house white, with blood red roofs and window shutters. 'You're a long way from Orisson but you can get there this way. Just keep climbing,' the farmer with grey hair and a large timber door said. 'Take that road and then the first left and keep climbing. Then ask someone else.' He forgot to mention that there was a fork before the left turn and that the houses are few and far between. I had to centre myself and get in touch with my instinct rather than give in to the sense of despair as the girls became tired and it was past three o'clock. Did I mention in my last blog that I hadn't done much 'internal' preparation for the Camino? Our first two days turn out to be mid-week tests...and at this point I'm failing miserably.
To get back to Orisson: it is 'demi-pension' so after the hearty dinner of vegetable soup, roast lamb with baked beans and warm Basque cake, the owner of the refuge, Jean Jacques Etchandy the owner and experienced mountain guide, told his guests who were sitting around two long tables that rather than sending us back to walk on the low road he would guide us over the mountains and bring us to Roncesvalles.
Luna has written about the Crossing on Day 2 in her blog entry and I'll perhaps write another version tomorrow
gee, thanks for the good luck NOT
Luna writes: let me tell you before you try to do this stupid walk, that it is TORTURE! and i'm not just saying that, i mean that it is actually torture. take today for an example: we had to walk 20 km (5 hrs) up the pyrenees mountains (which are REALLY steep) and just to make it worse it was snowing and we just happened to only have summer walking gear on AND NO GLOVES!!! well 5 mins into the pyrenees i realised that i was freezing (gee, what a suprise IT WAS ONLY -2), after an hour i realised that my whole body ached, after 5 hrs i couldn't walk (literally). my arms felt like they were going to fall off (and i wasn't even using them, they were stuffed into my pockets/which was one of my many attempts to get them warm/DIDN'T HAPPEN), my legs, well don't even get me started on my legs, you know that feeling that you get when you've just finished the cross country and your boiling hot and you can barely breathe and your legs are killing you? well multiply that by 1000000000 times and take away the boiling bit, add the ABSOLUTELY FREEZING bit, add the your whole body feels like it has exploded bit, add the your walking up an ever ending mountain bit and keep all the rest. and just to make everything better NOT a blizzard started when we were at the bottom of the mountain and you had to DEAL WITH IT!!!!!
thnx every1 i have to eat now (thank god) so bye
xox
Monday, May 3, 2010
Risque de Neige
The day that has involved so much preparation has arrived...we leave St Jean Pied de Port (175 metres)this morning for Orisson where we will stay in a refuge and then continue the next day over the Cize pass - the opening between France and Spain which has been used for millennia by travellors including the Romans, Visigoths, Charlemagne's armies, and millions of pilgrims in the middle ages - to Roncesvalles (1430 metes). Today, we're taking the path called the Route de Napoleon because he took his troops through it one cold and wintry day. It is the harder of the two paths across the border but of cours the more beautiful one. If the weather is really bad tomorrow, we'll have to change plans:
I just checked the French 'Meteo': Col de Lepoeder avant Roncesvalles ; 'Risque de Neiges a Certain Epoques' in a bright yellow bar; = Risk of Snow at certain Stages. Snow in itself is fnot the problem if we had the gear for serious snow and ... but the path iself and especially the descent become more dangerous.
I don't know whether i've done the internal preparation,seem to be finding other things that need doing. Guess i will only know once we start walking. I haven't answered the question; why am i doing this ? but I did have a glimpse
last night over diner with the girls. Will wrte later when I dot ha to use a klutsy Frenchkeybord which misses randm letters becase it can't keep upwith my speedy typing.
It,s 10.02 am. I'm going to wake the girls and get them ready for an 11 am departure via the Post Office where we send 2 boxes/ one to Pamplona and one to Santago. The hardest item to part with ? our blue jeans!
I just checked the French 'Meteo': Col de Lepoeder avant Roncesvalles ; 'Risque de Neiges a Certain Epoques' in a bright yellow bar; = Risk of Snow at certain Stages. Snow in itself is fnot the problem if we had the gear for serious snow and ... but the path iself and especially the descent become more dangerous.
I don't know whether i've done the internal preparation,seem to be finding other things that need doing. Guess i will only know once we start walking. I haven't answered the question; why am i doing this ? but I did have a glimpse
last night over diner with the girls. Will wrte later when I dot ha to use a klutsy Frenchkeybord which misses randm letters becase it can't keep upwith my speedy typing.
It,s 10.02 am. I'm going to wake the girls and get them ready for an 11 am departure via the Post Office where we send 2 boxes/ one to Pamplona and one to Santago. The hardest item to part with ? our blue jeans!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Fwd: Good luck girls
Begin forwarded message:
From: Josofia Bronte <josofiabronte@gmail.com>
Date: 2 May 2010 14:12:05 GMT+02:00
To: nicky <nickygrieve@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Good luck girls
deatrNicky and Bella thanks so much for donations _was great tofind them as we start the walk; arrived here last night after train fromparis. the town of st jean is fabulous - a walled town and totally basque.rosa and i went to basque mass this morning at 8.30. the singing was amazing. today we are staying in place with computer socan email; i think they have skypetoo.tomorrow we startthe walk and there is supposed tobe snow in the mountinans so that willbze interesting. rosa can't believe we are walking over the mountains around us. both girls loving basque food and eating heaps of lamb and duck. in case you didnt realise i amusing french keyboard which is quite annoying§lots of love and send so,e news about fiar etc.j.l,rOn Sat, May 1, 2010 at 10:26 AM, nicky <nickygrieve@gmail.com> wrote:
Good luck girls
Hi Jo, It was the St Caths fair today so it was a long day but I saw so many people who asked about you. Everyone was excited that you were starting today. So good luck bon voyage, happy tramping etc. Wishing we could be with you but we are with you in spirit. Lots of love Nicky
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Saturday, May 1, 2010
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