Day 20 and others of the Camino

Lunch in a grove of trees

 We are on day 20 of the Camino. It has been an intense few days of walking after Astorga because we entered the mountains. Jess and I are obviously girls who have lived too long on a flat, flat island with no elevation and vegetation. The first few days of the Spanish plains we were in awe of the green fields and wild flowers.When we entered the mountains it was like two guajiras (ie hicks) entering a city. As we ascended we kept oohhing and ahhing and pointing out to each other the green and purple covered peaks and towns tucked into the mountains. We also took way too many pictures of ourselves with either a mountain background or with wild bushes and flowers. Our mountain walk was arduous, especially with our heavy packs full of food but it was possibly the most pleasant walk I have ever taken. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was crisp with fresh mountain air scented by mountain rosemary and these bushes with white flowers that line the whole path. 

New Friends eating lunch

The first day we walked from Astorga toFoncebadon, an abandoned town on the top of a mountain. From there we walked to a large city in the mountains called Ponferrada. Yesterday, in an attempt to cut off 7km from today's walk which included walking up a mountain,  we trudged 30km to a tiny town called Pereje, where the albergue only slept 30 people and the house was built a few centuries ago, as evidenced by the original stone walls. 

Today was even harder than the last few days, but we climbed a mountain with an elevation of 900m and entered  the state of Galicia. 

Tim the South African and Jess

More important than the walking, Jess and I wanted to prove on the blog that we talk to other people on the camino and have made friends. We have walked for the last two days with a very clever and funny South African called Tim. A great part of the camino is talking in depth with people from different countries and cultures. We have been lucky to be walking at the same pace as many interesting people and finally we have pictures to prove 

it. 

Our wounds have healed for the most part. We are healthy and happy and will be in Santiago de Compostela on Sunday June 3rd. We are not sure what we are doing after that, but we will find a way to spend our time and pictures will be posted. 

For the entomologist

Hens in the city

First mountain view

Mountain rosemary

Spanish Suburbs outside of Astorga

Stork nest in Villafranca

Jess and Tim navigating out of Villafranca

View of Villafranca

Cows blocking the path in Galicia

Forest path

Day 14 and 15 on the Camino

Leon at 8am

Yesterday, Jess and I hung around Leon until 9am so we could go to mass and get into the cathedral for free and look at the famous painted glass windows in the ''purely Gothic'' cathedral. Because of our late start and various stops in Leon on the way out of the city,  we had to walk the last 10km during the hottest part of the day. At 3pm we made it to the next stop, a city whose name escapes me, but we stayed in the Albergue de Jesus. Despite the holy name, the albergue was a hopping place for both pilgrims and locals. This is the first albergue where we have stayed that actually had the same amount of locals and pilgrims in the bar. The group at the albergue was quite social and our afternoon included some guitar  and ukulele playing as well as a 5pm stretch session for tired pilgrims.

A German from Cologne playing Spanish guitar

Strectching pilgrims

The last evening activity before heading to Astorga: ripping our books in half so we don´t have to carry the half we have already read...

Today we walked 32km to Astorga, a beautiful Spanish city, where I wish I could spend a few more days. The walk to Astorga was long and hot and mostly covered a landscape that looked very similar to Texas down to the fact that there was very, very little shade.

A funny sign seen before our bee encounter

We stopped at 12pm in Villavante for lunch. We couldn´t find any benches in the shade, so Jess and I stopped in the shadow of the church to eat our tomato and chorizo sandwiches. Our location next to the church somehow disturbed an angry black bee that first buzzed around Jess´s head. She gently swatted it away and it left. It returned a few minutes later and buzzed over to me and tried to land in my hair. I, in my panic, did the opposite of what a human should do when attacked by a bee. I tried to swat it away, this made the bee more angry, I tried to get up quickly and run away but I tripped trying to stand up, scraped my barefoot and while I was trying to swat the bee away from my face, it stung me on the hand and then continued to buzz around my head. I ran down the street and around the corner yelling English curse words until the bee gave up following me. I must have made quite the commotion because an old Spanish woman opened her door and asked what was wrong. The bee, or its relatives, had a grudge against Jess and myself because we were harassed by bees until we left the city. I spent the rest of the afternoon dodging every buzzing black insect the flew my way. 

The pilgrims' rest stop on the hill

After the angry bee incident, 7km away from Astorga, we climbed a hill and at the top we encountered an unusual pilgrim rest top. It was a dilapidated house on a hill inhabited by a Spanish budhist. When I asked him if the house was his, he answered: ''my'' is suffering, this is everyone's house.  He was a man of his word; in front of his abode he had a cart loaded with cold water, fruit juices, crackers, cookies, dried figs, cracked hazelnuts, and fresh fruit. He also offered us homemade vegetable curry and yellow rice. When we asked what it costs, he answered ''donativos, si quieres.''  He called his rest stop, La Casa de los Dioses. It is difficult to explain how strange this oasis on a hill seemed at the time. When we came across it we had just walked about 5km up a deserted, brushy path and at the top of the hill we were greeted by a smiling, extremely tanned man in tiny black shorts offering us food and yelling at passing pilgrims: Que te illumines. Todo de esto es el tuyo. He told us he had been offering rest and food to pilgrims for three years. 

J&J after enjoying a bit of shade and food

Jess resting on the grass after a typical bathroom break

Day 10 through 13 of the Camino of Santiago

Entering Leon

This Wednesday will mark two weeks of walking for these two peregrinas. 

Jess and I have made it to Leon, the next major city after Burgos. We have walked 6 days over the plains of Spain and now we feel like professional pilgrims. Most of our blisters have ghealed and our backpacks no longer feel like leaden weights.

Looking out on the meseta

Iglesia de la Trinidad converted to an albergue

We have had a few notable experiences in the last week. We stayed at a convent in Carrion de los Condes where we were greeted and escorted around the place by very enthusiastic nuns. Two days later in Sahagùn, we stayed in a church that was converted to an albergue .

Jess occupying herself with the ukulele at the albergue on a rainy day

So far on the camino, we have experienced two acts of kindness. On our way to Carrion, Jess and I were suffering serious hunger pangs when an old man stopped us on the street to tell us not to take the modern pilgrims' path along the road, but to take the ancient, shaded one along the river. The old man was kind enough to give us a piece of candy, some crackers, and two handfuls of almonds in their shells. Both Jess and I temporarily thought of the age old lesson of not accepting candy from strangers, but then we thought, who would want to poison 2 lovely girls on the camino. So we ate the candy, crackers, and saved the almonds for lunch because we had to use a rock to crack the shells. 

A few almonds from the old Spaniard

The second act of kindness happened yesterday. We lost our opinel pocket knife at the albergue in Sahagùn. The pocket knife is the only utensil we carry, and without it, the usually peaceful lunch of cheese and chorizo sandwiches would be reduced to passing back and forth the cheese, chorizo, and bread to tear off hunks with our teeth. Yesterday we had a long, cold, windy 32km walk. I think this description will explain the extent of the cold: Even though Jess and I were already dressed in ALL our clothing, we put wool socks on our hands, and even then we were still freezing. There are no pictures of sockhands, but it´s the only way to explain that we were freezing even after walking 10km at a brisk pace. 

 After 14km we stopped at the only cafe along the way to warm up and drink cafe con leche. While I was paying for our coffee I asked the owner if he knew where we could buy a pocket knife. He responded that the closest place was Leon, 50km away. I must have looked concerned because he gave me my change and walked over to a drawer, dug around and pulled out a pocket knife. He simply handed it to me and said that we needed it more than him. 

Many storks in northen Spain

The storks only nest on church rooftops

The main door of the cathedral in Leon

Day 6,7,8 of the Camino

Jess with cows at 7am: leaving San Juan Ortega

 It has been a long few days without any internet. Jess and I have entered very, very rural Spain where there are no shops, only one computer per town, and really the pilgrims are the only things moving at all quickly. We stopped in Burgos and stayed all afternoon to sightsee, then we walked 10km to the neighboring town. We consider this our rest day. We have now traveled another 50 km, not all in one day of course, to Boadilla del Camino. We are on the Spanish meseta, which is wheat, wheat, and more wheat everywhere. It is mostly flat plains, with a few hills because this is Europe and not Nebraska.  Most pilgrims bus across the meseta because it lacks interesting landscape and the next big city is Leon. Jess and I have been living in Texas for a year, so we consider the ample, verdant landscape interesting enough. We are doing lots of soul searching...whatever that means. This post is short because there are five people lined up behind me to use the one laptop in the town. Important updates so far: Jess and I have successfully eaten 1kg of chorizo and we will probably have eat 2kg by the time the week ends. Jess has also invested in silicon earplugs to block out the loud snores of old men. Last important update, I turned 24 yesterday on the camino. Jess bought me a piece of cake, bought all of my coffee and beer for the day, and wished me happy birthday early in the morning. I couldn´t have had a better day. I really proved my 24 years by walking 20km on the actual day and then waking up and walking 30km the next day. Life is quite wonderful.

View of Burgos from the hill with the Castle: this sight seeing was done before any of the cafes had opened in Burgos.

Eating Sopa Castellana to warm up in Burgos.

Walking to Hontana, entering the plains

Afternoon in Hontana

More wandering in Hontana

Walking on the meseta

After lunch at St. Nicholas Hermitage. A lovely old albergue surrounded by rosemary

This picture is for the lover of all things bikes.

Day 4 of the Camino de Santiago

What happened today: We walked 24.5km or 15 miles. Jess had the camera so more pictures of Jacqueline today. Today was a trudge. Especially the 12km walk from small unnamed mountain town to San Juan de Ortega, who was a disciple of Santo Domingo. We barely made it. Jess and I took two breaks along the 12km path and we both managed to sit in ant piles. However we made it to a traditional albergue that is attached to a church that was constructed in the 12 century, added on throughout the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. It is simple and Gothic.

 The landscape changed from wheat fields to mountainous, with lots of pine trees, and scrubby bushes. Some with flowers, some with brilliant green leaves. The path was either red dirt or white gravel.

Bunk beds in our albergue. 

 I think it is also worth mentioning that last night we ran into another ukulele player at our albergue. It was a mid-30s German man who works in Singapore, where apparently the ukulele is quite popular and they offer lessons in many music schools. The three of us put on a short concert for the other pilgrims, so now we are known for our ukulele by some of the pilgrims. Jess and I sang our classic: Unchained Melody and also Stand by Me. Also worth mentioning, last night was the first night that either of us slept properly for more than 5 hours. Jess picked our albergue and managed to choose the one with the least amount of snoring. Thankfully we both have earplugs, and the snoring was at just the right frequency to be blocked by our foam earplugs.  The snoring in most albergues is INTOLERABLE. Many of the pilgrims are large men and older women. They all snore, the men snore especially loudly and if you wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, then all bets are off when it comes to falling back to sleep because by 3am the snores are at their loudest and by 5:30am the most ambitious of the pilgrims are staring to wake, use the bathroom, pack their bags and hit the camino. Those pilgrims who wake up at 5:30am may think they are being quiet, but in a dorms style rooms the first people who wake up act as the alarm clock for all of us. Thus Jess and I have been waking up by 6am and start our walk between 6:30 or 7am.