I now have five blogs on some of the lesser traveled Caminos. So I thought I would link them all together in case you are looking for some suggestions. Each of these Caminos is special in its own way, and I would happily walk any of them again. If I am really lucky, I will!
2010: Via de la Plata http://laurie-ontheviadelaplata.blogspot.com/
2011: Madrid to Sahagun (Camino de Madrid) - Sahagun to Ponferrada (Camino Frances) - Ponferrada to Santiago (Camino de Invierno) http://peregrina2000.blogspot.com/
2012: Santander to San Vicente (Norte) - San Vicente to Potes (Camino Lebaniego) - Potes to Leon (Camino Vadiniense) - Leon to Oviedo (Camino de Salvador) - Oviedo to Santiago (Camino Primitivo) http://caminovadiniense.blogspot.com/
2013: Camino de Levante (Valencia to Zamora) - Camino Sanabres (Zamora to Santiago)
http://levante2013.blogspot.com/
2014: Camino Olvidado (Bilbao to Ponferrada) and then onto the Francés into Santiago
http://caminoolvidado.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Monday, July 2, 2012
Back in Santiago
My last two days of walking were sad-happy days. So sad to be ending the walk, but to tell the truth, my feet greatly appreciate the gesture. Both Muxía and Finisterre are kind of iconic camino places, where you see hundreds of other peregrinos and wonder where they all came from. On the way into Finisterre, I took a detour off the camino and sat for a while on a sand dune overlooking a huge deserted beach with waves crashing on rocks.
I then proceeded to get lost and wound up walking about 5 extra kms into Finisterre. Luckily I ran into people happy to help point me in the right direction and fill my water bottle.
Last night, Spain played Italy for the Eurocopa championship at 8:45 p.m. Now that´s problematic for anyone interested in walking up the 3.5 km to the lighthouse at the tip of the end of the world to see the sunset. Two Spaniards I met had done their homework, though, and suggested we walk up to the lighthouse, watch the game in the little bar inside the hotel right next door, and then duck out to see the sunset at 10:30. Yes, the sun sets in Spain at 10:30.
It was a great plan, but the sunset viewing was not to be. The previous night I had also been sitting up on a terrace, waiting patiently for a big red sunset, but all of a sudden clouds swooped in and that was that. But the two nights in a row without sunset were compensated by Spain´s 4-0 victory. Though I watched hundreds of soccer games as a mom, I never really learned the rules, but I got a nice tutorial as Spain sailed to an easy victory. The Italians never showed up to play, they all said. There were three Italian peregrinos in the room and everyone was very nice to them, buying them drinks all night to help kill their pain.
On the walk back to town after the game, it occurred to me that it was likely to be a noisy night. And I was right, nothing quieted down till after 4 am. At 7, it was up and out to catch this morning´s bus back to Santiago. And here I am, the Camino done and done again. I will spend tomorrow and Wednesday here in Santiago, just walking around feeling deflated I guess, then off to Madrid to spend Thursday there, and Friday home. My one consolation will be meeting up with my Primitivo family and maybe even Yolanda, a madrilena I walked with in 2011!
The prize at the end of all this travel is a week in Atlanta to be with Oliver while Katy heads back to work!
I then proceeded to get lost and wound up walking about 5 extra kms into Finisterre. Luckily I ran into people happy to help point me in the right direction and fill my water bottle.
Last night, Spain played Italy for the Eurocopa championship at 8:45 p.m. Now that´s problematic for anyone interested in walking up the 3.5 km to the lighthouse at the tip of the end of the world to see the sunset. Two Spaniards I met had done their homework, though, and suggested we walk up to the lighthouse, watch the game in the little bar inside the hotel right next door, and then duck out to see the sunset at 10:30. Yes, the sun sets in Spain at 10:30.
It was a great plan, but the sunset viewing was not to be. The previous night I had also been sitting up on a terrace, waiting patiently for a big red sunset, but all of a sudden clouds swooped in and that was that. But the two nights in a row without sunset were compensated by Spain´s 4-0 victory. Though I watched hundreds of soccer games as a mom, I never really learned the rules, but I got a nice tutorial as Spain sailed to an easy victory. The Italians never showed up to play, they all said. There were three Italian peregrinos in the room and everyone was very nice to them, buying them drinks all night to help kill their pain.
On the walk back to town after the game, it occurred to me that it was likely to be a noisy night. And I was right, nothing quieted down till after 4 am. At 7, it was up and out to catch this morning´s bus back to Santiago. And here I am, the Camino done and done again. I will spend tomorrow and Wednesday here in Santiago, just walking around feeling deflated I guess, then off to Madrid to spend Thursday there, and Friday home. My one consolation will be meeting up with my Primitivo family and maybe even Yolanda, a madrilena I walked with in 2011!
The prize at the end of all this travel is a week in Atlanta to be with Oliver while Katy heads back to work!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
In Muxía, site of Prestige oil spill
Last night I was all alone in the amazing though somewhat bizarre albergue of Dumbría. All alone. It was kind of weird, but they locked me in at 10 pm., reminding me that the emergency exit was always functional. Here I was all alone in an albergue, so I didn´t bother to put in ear plugs. But then around midnight, I was awakened by incessant mosquito buzzing near my ears. So there you go, earplugs but no snorers. There was a LOT of rain falling all night and I was kind of apprehensive. Then when I woke at 6 am, there was water pounding against the window. Aargh. When I got up and opened the window, though, I saw that the water wasn´t rain, but sprinklers. What? Sprinklers in Galicia? Where it rains every day? Oh well. The day started cloudy, but turned just beautiful -- cool and sunny.
Today´s walk was about 24 km, very pleasant and mostly off road. There were endless kilometers through eucalyptus forests, and lots of little villages along the way.
I found a café around 9:30 and as I was sitting there having my café con leche, the skies opened and it poured for about 10 minutes. That was the last I saw of the rain.
One of the bonuses that came from my decision to walk on this pretty untraveled route was that I could see the beautiful romanesque church of Moraime. It wasn't open, but the outside is prety spectacular, and there was a gated door that we could peek through. Very nice!
I am now on the coast, in the Muxia albergue, where the sea ranges from turquoise to deep blue, there are tons of boulders, and lots of huge crashing waves that are just spectacular.
Tomorrow I walk to Finisterre, then it´s done. Can´t believe it, it´s always very hard to stop walking.
Today´s walk was about 24 km, very pleasant and mostly off road. There were endless kilometers through eucalyptus forests, and lots of little villages along the way.
I found a café around 9:30 and as I was sitting there having my café con leche, the skies opened and it poured for about 10 minutes. That was the last I saw of the rain.
One of the bonuses that came from my decision to walk on this pretty untraveled route was that I could see the beautiful romanesque church of Moraime. It wasn't open, but the outside is prety spectacular, and there was a gated door that we could peek through. Very nice!
I am now on the coast, in the Muxia albergue, where the sea ranges from turquoise to deep blue, there are tons of boulders, and lots of huge crashing waves that are just spectacular.
Tomorrow I walk to Finisterre, then it´s done. Can´t believe it, it´s always very hard to stop walking.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Halfway to Finisterre
Two days walking from Santiago, both about 32 kms, and now two more days to Finisterre. Tomorrow I will walk into Muxía, which is the town on the coast closest to where the Prestige oil spill took place. It´s also the place where Martin Sheen and his friends in The Way ended their Camino. I, however, will take one more day to walk to Finisterre.
I said goodbye to the last three of my camino family last night.
I debated staying with them and walking their route for the next few days, but it seemed like I had already "peeled off" from the group and that I should keep with my original plans. It was really quite a wonderful group, and these three young-uns (late twenties, one from San Francisco, one from Vancouver, BC, one Quebecois) will continue together for a few more days.
I am in an albergue tonight in the town of Dumbría, and it is the most incredible albergue I´ve ever stayed in. It is ultra-modern, huge, all amenities, and no people (so far I´m all alone, just like I started the Camino). Most of the money to build this place was donated by the man who owns Zara, who apparently loves the Camino (or wants people to think he loves the Camino).
So, on Sunday I´ll be up at the lighthouse in Finisterre, which is now a hotel/restaurant/bar. This is actually quite convenient because it means that I can both see the sunset and watch the finals of the Eurocup, which will pit Italy versus Spain.
Last night a German pilgrim ordered a shot of some drink I couldn´t tolerate to celebrate the birth of his 6th grandson. It was a nice Camino moment, even though most of us never laid eyes on each other because we all walked into Santiago on different routes and have all decided to walk these days out to the coast.
Tomorrow I reach the ocean!
I said goodbye to the last three of my camino family last night.
I debated staying with them and walking their route for the next few days, but it seemed like I had already "peeled off" from the group and that I should keep with my original plans. It was really quite a wonderful group, and these three young-uns (late twenties, one from San Francisco, one from Vancouver, BC, one Quebecois) will continue together for a few more days.
I am in an albergue tonight in the town of Dumbría, and it is the most incredible albergue I´ve ever stayed in. It is ultra-modern, huge, all amenities, and no people (so far I´m all alone, just like I started the Camino). Most of the money to build this place was donated by the man who owns Zara, who apparently loves the Camino (or wants people to think he loves the Camino).
So, on Sunday I´ll be up at the lighthouse in Finisterre, which is now a hotel/restaurant/bar. This is actually quite convenient because it means that I can both see the sunset and watch the finals of the Eurocup, which will pit Italy versus Spain.
Last night a German pilgrim ordered a shot of some drink I couldn´t tolerate to celebrate the birth of his 6th grandson. It was a nice Camino moment, even though most of us never laid eyes on each other because we all walked into Santiago on different routes and have all decided to walk these days out to the coast.
Tomorrow I reach the ocean!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Rest Day in Santiago
I have only a few minutes in between goodbyes and getting ready for tomorrow´s walk to Finisterre. Just to say that I am in Santiago, having arrived yesterday, thankfully early on a day where temps went well into the 90s. It is now cool and partly sunny, much more enjoyable weather.
It´s not every year that I arrive in Santiago with a Camino family. This year there were 7 of us. We met each other at the first albergue on the Camino Primitivo and spent the next 12 days as a loosely knit group. We walked the same stages, stayed in the same places, ate dinner together, and sometimes walked together. Yesterday I was the first to arrive in Santiago (not because I´m the fastest, but because I was the one who was the most scared about having to walk in 90 degree temperatures and as a result left very early). I was in Santiago by 10:45 or so, and spend the next hour and a half as one by one the other six arrived.
Lots of hugging, laughing, followed by a big group meal, and a couple of strong shots of something for the more intrepid.
Then the teary goodbyes started. Two of the madrileños (well, actually one Salvadorano and a madrileño) had to leave last night, the third one this morning. And then there were four of us, all of whom will start for Finisterre/Muxía tomorrow. I expect that when I come back to Santiago, though, I will be alone.
So ends another camino. I´ve probably written this before on my other camino blogs, but every year when I walk into Santiago, I wonder if I will say -- ok, I´m done, this is the last Camino. This year was lining up to be a pretty good year for that to happen, because it was rough at the beginning, both physically and mentally. But the last two weeks have been amazing, and I´m still hooked and starting to wonder which Camino I will walk next year.
But first, there is a Spain-Portugal soccer game to watch (semi-finals of the Eurocup 2012), a four day walk to Finisterre, another day in Santiago, and a reunion with the three madrileños next Thursday in Madrid before I get back on the plane.
It´s not every year that I arrive in Santiago with a Camino family. This year there were 7 of us. We met each other at the first albergue on the Camino Primitivo and spent the next 12 days as a loosely knit group. We walked the same stages, stayed in the same places, ate dinner together, and sometimes walked together. Yesterday I was the first to arrive in Santiago (not because I´m the fastest, but because I was the one who was the most scared about having to walk in 90 degree temperatures and as a result left very early). I was in Santiago by 10:45 or so, and spend the next hour and a half as one by one the other six arrived.
Lots of hugging, laughing, followed by a big group meal, and a couple of strong shots of something for the more intrepid.
Then the teary goodbyes started. Two of the madrileños (well, actually one Salvadorano and a madrileño) had to leave last night, the third one this morning. And then there were four of us, all of whom will start for Finisterre/Muxía tomorrow. I expect that when I come back to Santiago, though, I will be alone.
So ends another camino. I´ve probably written this before on my other camino blogs, but every year when I walk into Santiago, I wonder if I will say -- ok, I´m done, this is the last Camino. This year was lining up to be a pretty good year for that to happen, because it was rough at the beginning, both physically and mentally. But the last two weeks have been amazing, and I´m still hooked and starting to wonder which Camino I will walk next year.
But first, there is a Spain-Portugal soccer game to watch (semi-finals of the Eurocup 2012), a four day walk to Finisterre, another day in Santiago, and a reunion with the three madrileños next Thursday in Madrid before I get back on the plane.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
A wonderful day on the Camino
Well, I am now two days from Santiago. This morning, I left around 7, knowing where I was going but not knowing whether my Camino friends would be coming with me. I told them where I was going and said goodbye. By about 11:30, I was in Melide, octopus capital of Spain. There was a huge weekly Sunday market.
After my market visit, being careful not to overload my pack, I spent two hours in one of the "pulperías", octopus houses, waiting with some other peregrinos for my friends to arrive. I had some pulpo (yum) and decided to walk on, thinking that perhaps they had changed plans.
Today´s walk was wonderful. Though the elevation maps show it as flat, there are innumerable ups and downs of 100 - 200 feet, which are noticeable when you are carrying a pack of 15-20 pounds. Even though it was Sunday, in every town there were people up and about, milking their cows, or working in the fields. I talked with lots of them, trying to imagine life in their little pueblos. Glorious.
This was the day we merged with the Camino Francés. It was incredible, during the 5 kms from Melide to the tiny town of Boente, where I am, I saw more people than I have seen in total in the past two weeks. I got to the albergue in the mid afternoon and saw no one I knew. A few hours later, all my friends arrived and all was well again.
Emergency medical care in the TERRIFIC albergue in Boente.
So, we now have two days to Santiago. There are all sorts of people on the Camino. I was talking this afternoon with a Korean girl of 14 who speaks English fairly well. She is with a group of eight friends and a teacher who is a few days back unable to walk with a swollen foot. So here is this group of kids walking through Spain unattended, unable to speak Spanish, but not a care in the world.
I will arrive in Santiago on Tuesday and spend two nights there. Then on Thursday, my last little jaunt to Finisterre. It´s all ending, I am so sorry to say. But first we will have a birthday party tomorrow night, because one of our group has a birthday. Can´t wait!
After my market visit, being careful not to overload my pack, I spent two hours in one of the "pulperías", octopus houses, waiting with some other peregrinos for my friends to arrive. I had some pulpo (yum) and decided to walk on, thinking that perhaps they had changed plans.
Today´s walk was wonderful. Though the elevation maps show it as flat, there are innumerable ups and downs of 100 - 200 feet, which are noticeable when you are carrying a pack of 15-20 pounds. Even though it was Sunday, in every town there were people up and about, milking their cows, or working in the fields. I talked with lots of them, trying to imagine life in their little pueblos. Glorious.
This was the day we merged with the Camino Francés. It was incredible, during the 5 kms from Melide to the tiny town of Boente, where I am, I saw more people than I have seen in total in the past two weeks. I got to the albergue in the mid afternoon and saw no one I knew. A few hours later, all my friends arrived and all was well again.
So, we now have two days to Santiago. There are all sorts of people on the Camino. I was talking this afternoon with a Korean girl of 14 who speaks English fairly well. She is with a group of eight friends and a teacher who is a few days back unable to walk with a swollen foot. So here is this group of kids walking through Spain unattended, unable to speak Spanish, but not a care in the world.
I will arrive in Santiago on Tuesday and spend two nights there. Then on Thursday, my last little jaunt to Finisterre. It´s all ending, I am so sorry to say. But first we will have a birthday party tomorrow night, because one of our group has a birthday. Can´t wait!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
In Ponte Ferreira, one day from the Camino Francés
I think that as soon as I finished my last post, it started to pour. It rained all Wed. afternoon, evening, and through the night. Two Spaniards got up at 4 to start to walk and they woke up the whole albergue with their noise. I got up, looked outside at the horrible weather and curled back up in my bag. A few hours later, we packed up and wet outside, and though it was grey it was not raining. When we got to the little hamlet of Paradavella, a bar was open for coffee and toast. Everyone stop there, and the owner warned us over and over about how we should not continue on the Camino (because of last night's rain) but rather stick to the highway. As a result, the many pilgrims who listened to him missed out on one of the most beautiful stages of the Primitivo, with ups and downs through woods and green pastures, through little hamlets with rivers running through, just simply beautiful.
Luck stayed with us the whole day, we saw some sun and it made walking through those green tunnels of mud much easier with no rain coming down. Actually it was a beautiful day -- so beautiful, that when we got to our planned destination, we decided to call 8 kms further on and book a pensión. The big elevation changes are all over now, so I don´t have to worry about losing too much steam at the end of the afternoon.
So, yesterday we arrived in Lugo, a city with Roman walls and a beautiful historic center.
It was a lovely sunny day, the start of three days of fiestas in Lugo -- called ardus luxus or something, they seem to mainly involve grown-ups and children dressing up to look like Romans or visigoths and then consuming huge quantities of alcohol. Any thought I had of spending a "rest day" in Lugo was quickly dismissed by about 3 am after we had had 3 hours of loud, drunken singing in the streets outside our window. It continued all night and by 5:30, I just decided to get up and go. The streets were still packed with people of various stages of inebriation, and the plazas were filled with bottles, garbage, etc. Just as I was leaving town, around 6:15, the poor sanitation workers arrived to start cleaning. The city will be spic and span by 8 am, just in time for Saturday´s round of partying to begin.
So, we walked out of Lugo and had a nice day through green Galicia.
We once again stopped at an albergue and decided it was too early to stop walking, so we took a rest, ate lunch, and on we went to this little town of Ponte Ferreira, whose main attraction is a 7' long Roman bridge. But we are now only 22 kms to Melide, town of octopus fame, and this is where my camino (the Camino Primitivo) joins up with the Camino Francés and the hordes that will be walking. I will have two more days into Santiago, where I´ll spend two nights and then start my last walk of the year -- four days out to Muxía and Finisterre, on the coast. Can´t believe how little is left. I´m not ready to stop walking yet, but maybe that will change when I am on the moving sidewalk of humanity that they call the Camino Francés.
Spain plays France in the Eurocopa quarter finals tonight, so the albergue has hooked up a special tv screen for all the fans to watch. Since there are both Spaniards and French here in the albergue tonight, it could be interesting.
So, yesterday we arrived in Lugo, a city with Roman walls and a beautiful historic center.
It was a lovely sunny day, the start of three days of fiestas in Lugo -- called ardus luxus or something, they seem to mainly involve grown-ups and children dressing up to look like Romans or visigoths and then consuming huge quantities of alcohol. Any thought I had of spending a "rest day" in Lugo was quickly dismissed by about 3 am after we had had 3 hours of loud, drunken singing in the streets outside our window. It continued all night and by 5:30, I just decided to get up and go. The streets were still packed with people of various stages of inebriation, and the plazas were filled with bottles, garbage, etc. Just as I was leaving town, around 6:15, the poor sanitation workers arrived to start cleaning. The city will be spic and span by 8 am, just in time for Saturday´s round of partying to begin.
So, we walked out of Lugo and had a nice day through green Galicia.
We once again stopped at an albergue and decided it was too early to stop walking, so we took a rest, ate lunch, and on we went to this little town of Ponte Ferreira, whose main attraction is a 7' long Roman bridge. But we are now only 22 kms to Melide, town of octopus fame, and this is where my camino (the Camino Primitivo) joins up with the Camino Francés and the hordes that will be walking. I will have two more days into Santiago, where I´ll spend two nights and then start my last walk of the year -- four days out to Muxía and Finisterre, on the coast. Can´t believe how little is left. I´m not ready to stop walking yet, but maybe that will change when I am on the moving sidewalk of humanity that they call the Camino Francés.
Spain plays France in the Eurocopa quarter finals tonight, so the albergue has hooked up a special tv screen for all the fans to watch. Since there are both Spaniards and French here in the albergue tonight, it could be interesting.
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