Sarria

The Benedictine monastery at Samos.


A typical farm cart that was pulled by oxen. These are all over Galicia at most farms. Of course, they are not used anymore, just on display as yard art.

I did take the longer more country route of 15.5 miles today. The optional route is closer to the original pilgrim route, but also right alongside the modern highway. The route I took is along country trails and small farm roads. There were other hiking trails in the area which made for a cofusing day to keep on the right track, but I managed to do it without backtracking. There were no small villages as on previous days. Instead there were groups of three or four farmhouses often with a very small church. These are typical of the Galician hill country and they are called caserios. I arrived in Sarria about 1:30 pm. It is getting cooler here at night now, down into the mid 40's. But daytime temps are still in the low 70's. And clear skies. I just checked the forecast and it is supposed to be no rain in Santiago through at least next Sunday, which is when I hope to arrive. That much nice weather is almost unheard of here.

It will be interesting to see if we get a bunch of new pilgrims on the camino tomorrow. Sarria to Santiago is the minimum required walk to receive a Compostela (the certificate the diocese in Santiago issues for completing the pilgrimage). But already this late in the season the albergues seem less crowded. with many open bunk beds. Hopefully for that reason the pilgrim traffic may be lessening. We will see.

Triacastela

On the way up to O Cebreiro.


And we walked into Galicia.


More mountain ranges in the vicinity of O Cebreiro.


Lots of small scale cattle farms here in the hilly part of Galicia. This herd passed by as we were eating our lunch at the village fuente (fountain).


It does seem greener here in Galicia.

This is the real post for 12 Oct.

Galicia! A 5 km uphill climb (1300 foot elevation gain in 3 miles) put us over the summit at O'Cebreiro and into the province of Galicia. There was a bit more up and down before this afternoon´s final steep descent into Triacastela, a drop of 2000 feet in the last 6 miles. Altogether another 15.6 miles total walking today. We are out of the steepest mountains now. Even though there will be more up and downhill the next few days, the hardest part is over. As of tonight, there are abut 80 mles left to Santiago. The weather again today was gorgeous, around 70 degrees with the wind blowing during the day. Down here in Triacastela it must be close to 80 degrees this afternon, no wind. The mountains are all green from the recent rains. I walked today mostly with Erik and Greg, and saw Markos and many other people at various times during the day. We enjoyed some wine and beer at the local cafe after the shower and clothes washing chores. I also went to the tienda to buy some food for tomorrw, visited the local church, and will meet up with the others at 7 for our evening peregrino menu. Even though it is Monday, many shops are closed today as it is Christopher Columbus day, a national holiday in Spain. I think they will take any excuse for another national holiday!

Tomorrow it is on to Sarria, but need to decide about taking the longer scenic route or the highway route. I don´t think it will be a hard decision.

Later on: Shared peregino menu with Erik, Greg, Markos, Ian from Canada, and Klaus from Germany. Markos distills 200 liters of apple schnapps every year from his family´s orchard in Germany. He carried a flask of schnapps with him for the past month and tonight he shared it with all of us after dinner. It was very good and we appreciated the fact that he carried with him all these days!

La Faba

You can see what a steep climb that it was out of Villafranca del Bierzo, which is in the background.


The steep hills around here were covered with chestnut trees. The chestnuts were being harvested as we passed by.


Our morning cafe con leche break at a village bar. I am eating my canned albdonigas (meatballs) for my breakfast. Markos is next to me.


Greg buying a walking stick after his trekking poles were stolen. The woman selling them would not budge on her price. Later, Greg found his poles and the person who had them readily gave them up-a long story.


Resting after a hard day's walk. From left to right, me, Erik from Denmark, Greg from Canada, and Markos from Germany.


It is a good life for dogs in this village. Actually, most of the larger dogs like these are used in herding cattle or sheep.


And the cats were just as excited to be here.

This post is for Oct. 11-I was not able to access the internet in the small village last night. Not much for a tienda, either, but we stocked up in a larger town this afternoon. At least there is a bar/restaurant for tonight's meal.

Walked 15.6 miles today (Oct 11), but there was a 1600 ft elevation gain and then a loss of the same amount within the first 6 miles. Also at the there was another 800 ft elevation gain in the last 3 miles. The walk was rather strenuous. Originally I had not planned to walk so far, but it felt pretty good except for the last 2 miles. Instead of walking solo, I walked with a group of three other guys the entire route. And even though it was strenuous, we did not cover the ground as quickly arriving at the albergue close to 3 pm. We did decide not to go all the way to O'Cebreiro, which would have been another 5 km of very strenuous climbing. The weather was about 80 degrees in late afternoon, almost too hot for walking. The hospitalero said it had rained the previous four days, but we had glorious weather today.

The people I walked with:
Erik (58 years old) from Denmark, who is on the camino to as he says decide if he wants to continue in his current relationship.
Markos (33 years old) from Germany, who graduated from the University of Munich in May with a Phd in mechanical engineering. He will start a job with MAN Industries in November working on a project designing Diesel engines for use in large scale portable power plants.
Greg (67 years old) from Canada, who is retired and an avid backpacker. He is on the camino to see if he can do it, is having no major problems, and, like me, is just happy to be alive and healthy enough to be doing the camino.

The albergue is run by a German group and the hospitalero is a German who speaks little English or Spanish. But he definitely communicated to us the fact that before we entered his building, we were to remove our boots and wash them with water and scrub them with a brush. And for good reason. We are in mountainous country with lots of cattle on the same trails, so there was a good reason for the shoe bath!

I am finding staying in the albergues to be no problem and there are some advantages. After a while one gets used to not having so much privacy. Sleeping has turned out to be no problem as the combination of a tired body, ear plugs, and tylenol pm solves any sleeping problems. Any lack of privacy is more than made up for by meeting interesting people from all over the world, simple things like a shared conversation, bottle of wine, cheese and olives, and so on. Most other peregrinos are very easy to talk to and get along with, generally with no complaints are are happy to be on the camino, even with sore feet, aching muscles, and the occasional bedbug bite (luckily I have not had any bed bug bites yet!) By the way, we've discovered Don Simon Vino Tinto, normally about 0.95 Euro ($1.40) sold in a box of 1 liter size!

Villafranca del Bierzo

Two views of the camino path through the Bierzo wine growing area.


Villafranca del Bierzo has a lot of steep hills.

I decided to keep today's walk at 14 miles. My legs are still bit sore from yesterday's large amount of downhill walking. It may not seem like it, downhill walking is much harder on joints and muscles than uphill. Today's walk was some up and downhill, but we are still at a fairly low elevation. Tomorrow is the start of the climb to O'Cereibrio. I decided not to walk all the way to the top in one day. I will probably spread the next two stages into three days of walking instead of two.

Villafranca is a picturesque town built on steep hills. If one lived here, there would be no need for a gym workout. I saw the inside of three of the five churches. This was an important pilgrim town over the last ten centuries. Those who were too weak to continue on to Santiago were allowed to get their blessing here. There is also a thriving taxi business here that shuttles those modern day pilgrims who want to skip the hike up the hill. Or if you feel guilty about not walking, you can still walk, but the taxi will ferry your backpack so you don't have to carry it. But don't worry, I plan to walk the entire way with my backpack on my back the whole way.

Ponferrada

Last night's shrimp paella.


A photo of me at the Cruz de Ferro. It was cool and foggy.


The Cantabrian mountains.


Greg from Canada in the fortress.


The Templar fortress in Ponferrada.

Today there was a short climb to Cruz de Ferro, the highest point on the camino at 1505 m. From there it was mostly downhill for 17 miles to a low of 500 m. So today's walk was an elevation drop of about 3200 ft., more if you figure in the uphill parts which meant even more elevation drop. Tonight I am in Ponferrada, which is in a beautiful mountain valley in the Cantabrian range that separates the provinces of Castilla y Leon from Galicia. Still in Castilla y Leon, but tomorrow, I begin the ascent of the next mountain and two days later hope to be in O'Cerebrio, another summit of close to 1500 m, which is just inside Galicia. From Ponferrada it is 202 km to Santiago, so I have reached the 3/4 point.

Ponferrada is the hub of the Bierzo valley, which is renowned for its temperate microclimate in this mountain region. It is famous for the wines that are produced here.

I have to tell you about the pilgrim meal we had at the albergue in Foncebaden last night. The best meals seem to be in the smallest villages. This village had more goats, cats, dogs, and donkeys rambling though the unpaved streets than people. But the owners of the albergue cooked a paella topped with shrimp and the pan had to be three feet across. Along with the ensalada mixta, cheese and sausage plate, dessert, and wine, it was a heavenly treat for only 9 euro.

Julia, I met a German girl (31 yhears old) from Munich, who just completed her doctorate in biology and she is on the camino to try to decide what direction her career should take from here.

This afternoon I walked over to the Templar fortress here in town. It has been more than partially restored and quite interesting to visit. From the top of the fortress there is a 360 degree view of the entire valley and surrounding hills.

Foncebadon

Out of the meseta and up into the Cantabrian mountain range.

A 17 mile walk today. Astorga was the last of the meseta, the high plains, fertile farming area of Castilla y Leon. From here on, it is mountains into the province of Galicia, where Santiago is located. The first part of the walk was relatively flat, but the second half was a steady climb. Astorga is at 900 m ( 2800 ft) but Foncebaden is 1450 m (4500 ft) elevation. Tomorrow, Cruz de Ferro ( Iron Cross) is the high point of the entire camino at 1505 m (4934 ft). Cruz de Ferro is the place where people bring stones from wherever they start and leave them. The idea is the stones represent their sins and they are forgiven as they leave them behind.

Foncebaden is a small village of less than 100 people. There are roving goats and a donkey in the streets. Lots of ruins, but the peregrino business seems to be reviving the town and there are three albergues located here. I checked into the parish run albergue and was the first one there today. The hospitalero asked if I would like to join him for his midday meal. By the time he was finished, a French Canadian women had also checked in, so we had a simple shared meal of cooked potatoes and onions, sausage, bread, and red wine. It was very nice. Tonight, I will have a peregrino dinner at one of the other albergues in the village. There is not a restaurant here. In fact, I am using the slow 1980´s computer at that other albergue as it is the only internet in town. One is grateful for any little convenience in such out of the way palaces. There is someone in the dining room playing a guitar and other pilgrim´s are singling all the old classics everyone can think of.

The walk today was beautiful up through the foothills and into the mountains. It threatened rain a few times and it alternately cloudy and sunny, but the scenery is just so beautiful. From here on, there are supposed to be a few good days of weather, which will be nice as there are more mountains to cross yet.

Astorga

Honest to God, this was the view I had after the rain first started. At this point it was pouring rain and pitch dark, except for my flashlight and the flashes of lightning.


The view an hour later after daylight arrived.


After several km. of walking in pouring rain, I finally found this shelter.


The stunningly Gothic Gaudi designed Bishop's Palace in Astorga. It was built around 1900.




Two views of the beautiful interior of the Bishop's Palace.


Here is a typical pose for me-this is the spot in Astorga where I found a wi-fi signal to hop onto and I am posting to my blog from here.

I got an early start because I wanted to cover the 18.5 miles to Astorga with enough time to view the Cathedral and the Gaudi designed bishop´s house. Less than ten minutes after I started walking it started raining. And Spain has done something strange with their time zones so that it is not fully daylight until almost 9 am (it stays light fairly late at night). So after I walked out of the little village onto the country road, it is pitch black except for the feeble beam of my mini mag flashlight. That and the pouring rain were not much fun. At least there was also thunder and lightning to light the way now and then. It rained at least 4 1/2 of the 6 hours that I walked. I found an overhang in another village to eat my breakfast and change my soaked socks. When there is an optional route, I have always taken the one that is on the quiet countryside dirt and gravel roads. Today there was an option and for the first time, I chose the one along the highway. Gravel and dirt roads full of mud puddles and flowing water were not what I wanted today.

Anyway, here I am in Astorga, chores done, and waiting for siesta to be over so I can see the cathedral and the Gaudi house, rain or shine. There was some sunshine for about 10 minutes a bit ago, but it looks to be clouding up again. Weather forecast is 90% chance of rain tomorrow and 20% chance the next day, followed by a few partly cloudy days. Whatever, I am ready for anything but snow.

At the albergue I am staying in, there is a father/daughter couple from Texas and two women from Oakland and Napa. I haven´t seen this many Americans in one place since I started. The father and daughter walked the Via la Plata, which is the route from Sevilla to Astorga and they will now continue on to Santiago. The route from Sevilla is a couple hundred km. farther and they've been walking almost 5 weeks. And I see Sean the Australian just walked in out of the rain, too.

Last night the village I stayed at was on the less travelled option route, plus there were 3 albergues in the village, so I did not know anyone in my albergue from previously.

Later: I just got back from the Gaudi designed bishop's house. Fantastic. It is done in Gothic 12th century style, but was a new building completed about 100 years ago. Stained glass and gothic style arches all over, it is an unbelievably beautiful building. I will definitely make another stop here with Kathy when she is here a few weeks from now.

Had dinner at a good restaurant with Sean the Australian, Eric, a Danish man, and an Irish woman. I had some good salmon!

Vilar de Mazarife

There is a lot of Pilgrim related public art along the camino.


Walking out through the suburbs of Leon. Note the yellow arrow on the post. One must be alert to make sure to stay on the right path.


Ah!! It's nice to be walking out in the country again.

14.5 miles for today, but I got a late 9 am start out of Leòn this morning. After I got back to the pension last night, I discovered that an Australian couple, David and Leslie ( that I had dinner with a few times), and a German couple, Meiner and his wife (who I also had dinner with the other night), were all there at the pension, too. So we got together for breakfast this morning before I started walking. The Australians stayed behind to buy shoes and the Germans stayed behind because his feet needed medical attention.

The first half of the walk was through the once again dreary suburbs of León, but the rest was through quiet countryside, mostly rolling hills of nice farmland. There were some rain sprinkles off an on during the day, but not much, just enough to get out the rain poncho, then watch the rain stop a short time later. The forecast is for the same weather the next three days. As of tonight, I have about 190 miles left to Santiago. I am starting to see pulpo (octopus), a Galician delicacy, in the grocery stores and restaurants now.

León

A Home Depeot on the outskirts of Leon.


One of the stained glass windows in the Leon cathedral.


A Gaudi designed building in Leon.


The Festival of San Frolian in Leon.

It was a deliberately short walk of 12 miles into the large city of León today. But kind of ugly through the outskirts with it's industrial suburbs. I had a pension already in mind from the guidebook so I went there first. It is right on the edge of the old part of the city. I got a very nice room for 20 euros. After shower and a little lunch, it was off to the old quarter and the cathedral.

I was surprised how different the León cathedral is from the one in Burgos. The one in Burgos has a lot of Rennaisance and Baroque touches added later, but the León cathedral has kept more of the simplicity of the Gothic design. What sets it apart is the immense amount of stained glass. Due to the lighter, more open construction, there are much larger openings that allow for more stained glass.

The San Frolián festival started here today. The streets of the old city are packed with parades, vendors, and lots of people. Unfortunately, all the regular stores, except for the bars, are closed, so it may be tough to find groceries for tomorrow. And this festival is a week long here in León, so I will be walking on down the road tomorrow.

At least the predicted rain held off till this afternoon and so far it has been only occaisional light showers. I need to check the forecast, but hope this might be the worst of the weather for a while.

Later after dinner: It is interesting to keep running across other pilgrims after not seeing them for days, either figuring they are way ahead or way behind you. I saw several today in Leon, including a French Canadian and an Australian couple that I thought were far behind. Pls I also ran into Sean the Australian who was supposed to have been ahead by a day.

Calzadilla de los Hermanillos - Mansillas de las Mullas

Luckily there was a little tienda in Calzadilla for our grocery shopping. It was so small only the store owner and one or two customers could fit in at one time.


The ceiling in the little tienda was pretty low.


David cutting my hair.


What to do after you finish washing the clothes, showering, and cutting hair? Relax in the town square with more tractors than cars. Enjoy the wine and beer from the little tienda, because it is still several hours until the only restaurant opens. David and Leslie from Australia and a young woman from Germany.


The walk out of Calzadilla, early morning. It looked like rain, but didn't.




The Roman Road (Calzada Romana) - straight for miles


On the road to Mansilla-how about this view for listening to Neil Young?

Sorry, no internet access in the small farm village we were in yesterday. There were actually more tractors parked in the village square than cars! The town Calzadilla de los Hermanillos translates as Small Road of the Small Brothers. Today´s town Mansillas de las Mullas translates as Hand on the Saddle of the Mules.

Both days walks were about 17 miles long, but mostly pretty flat country. This the Tierra del Campo region of very good farmland, much of it irrigated. Yesterday, after the city of Sahagun, the pilgrimage road split into one of two options, one was the original pilgrimage road, but followed right alongside some major highways. The other option, which I took, is the original Roman road that went to the Galician gold mines. It passed through countryside that is intensively farmed, but no houses, no farmyards, few trees, no water fountains, no villages, in other words very isolated. I walked for at least two hours both today and yesterday without seeing another pilgrim, and very few other people. This stretch is said to be the longest extant Roman road still existing. I really enjoyed the solitude. Today I listened to the entire Neil Young Heart of Gold concert of his Prarie Wind album. For those of you who are not familiar with it, it is a good reflection for us "starting to age baby boomers" on where our lives have been and are going at this point in our lives. It was a wonderful accompaniment to my thoughts as I walked.

By the way, I solved the haircut and beard trim problem that I was worried about. After three weeks of no trim I was getting pretty shaggy. The Australian couple I have been parallel travelling with the last few days mentioned they had a rechargable hair clipper and were willing to loan it to me. So, I trimmed my beard, my neck hair, and David shaved my head 1/4 " long. Perfect- it may last me another four weeks or I may luck out one more time. The Australian couple took the bus to Leon, so I may not see them again.

Tomorrow is the big city of Leon and the dreaded walk though its industrial suburbs to get there. It is only 12 miles, so I hope to be there by 11 am, so to halve enough time to view the cathedral and other sights. I will probably not stay two nights as I do not feel the need for a rest day and Kathy and I will return to Leon a few weeks from now, anyway.

Teradillos de los Templarios

Here is a good look at some of the nice wheat farmland-not too many rocks. In fact, in this area, most of the building is done either with adobe (clayey mud with straw) or bricks, as can be seen in this adobe wall and the Templar church in Terradillos, which has a lot of brick.


A 17 mile walk today, but I am feeling stronger and not as many toes bandaged anymore, so I did okay, getting in about 1 pm. This is a small village of less than 200 people, so not much here in town. There is a Templar church as this area was once in the Templar domain. It should be interesting to check it out later. NO wi fi, but this albergue has free internet, so I am in luck. Nice newer place on the edge of town, and it has a bar and restaurant with pergrino menu, so I am all set since I have enough groceries to last me through tomorrow.

By the way, I am approximately halfway done with my camino. There are about 400 km (250 miles) left to Santiago.

Sometimes the afternoons can be a bit long and boring once my shower and clothes washing chores are done and nothing in the towns is open from 2 to 5 pm. A lot of people take naps, I usually try to catch up on email and blog and then do some reading, both in the guidebooks about the upcoming walk or the novels that I have downloaded to the Kindle reader on my ITouch. Right now I am reading Dan Brown´s latest, The Lost Symbol, which is kind of preposterous and not all that good. Around 5 pm, many of the fellow pergrinos starting congregating in whatever local bar is most convenient to drink vino tinto or cerveza until the dinner hours.

Yesterday in Carrion, I shared some wine with a group of kids, all of them young enough for me to be their father. One from Australia, Germany, Scotland, Brazil, and two more, I am not sure where they are from. Of course the subject got around to the United States and their image of Americans. They were surprised to even find Americans who wanted to make the camino, so I hope I was a good ambassador for us.

Most restaurants that cater to pergrinos start serving an earlier dinner than in most parts of Spain, in order to accomodate the pilgrims, who usually make the bulk of their business. The usual start time for dinner is 7 pm, but some even serve at 6 pm, unheard of early for Spain.

Carrión

This morning I walked the alternate route along the river. Very few other pilgrims as most of them were along the highway route. Very peaceful and lovely.


The sign says it, but the camino route to Santiago was actually a bit shorter than the highway route.

12.5 easy miles to Carriòn. I did take the longer route along the river. Most pilgrims took the route along the highway, so I had almost an hour and a half by myself. I am being careful with the sore big toe and have had no further problems. The next two days will be 16 and 17 mile days with small towns and lots of farmland. I just walked around town, but it is 3 pm and most everything will be closed till 5 or 6 pm.

Last nights dinner was shared with the Finnish couple, one of the Australian couples, and Rudy from Switzerland.