Blogs from Castile & León, Spain, Europe - page 4

Tag 7 – Paradieso de Burro & Nachtzug nach Lissabon Heute frühstückten wir wieder um neun. Statt Porridge gab es Birchermüsli mit Joghurt und Mango, yummi. :p Dann arbeiteten wir noch ein bisschen. Namid und Lonneke brachten mit dem Auto den alten Kühlschrank zum Schrottplatz in Bania de Onis. Ich stapelte derweil das Holz sortiert nac h trocken und frisch in den Schuppen, und sägte dann die Äste klein, die ich aus dem Wald geholt hatte. Namid pflanze Majoran, Dill und Pfeffer ins Beet. Danach übernahm er das Sägen, und ich schlug jeweils vier Hölzer in die Ecken der neu angelegten Beete und spannte Band als Begrenzung herum. Das war gar nicht so einfach, weil die Katzen die ganze Zeit versuchten, mit dem Band zu spielen. Als ich damit fertig war, half ich Lonneke, die kurzen ... read more

Late yesterday I wandered the village of Foncebadón, and caught up with people I hadn’t seen for a few days. The German woman I walked to Fromista reappeared, and we considered a trip to the Cross that afternoon in order to avoid the rain tomorrow. Four kilometres round trip and it would be done. In hindsight it was a good plan, never executed. Dinner was at 7pm and I was seated with a young German named Michael, and Darryl from London. Darryl had that unique London accent that was a bit Arthur Dailey , if you know wot I mean like. His mother passed away a year ago, and his dad wanted to walk the Camino in her honour. He became ill, was never going to walk it, so Darryl offered to walk in his place; ... read more

I don’t know what day it is. I know it’s the 12th, but what day? No idea. I’ve lost track and no one I’m with can remember. The days just roll into each other and it’s hard to look back and pinpoint an occasion on a day. It seems to be a Camino thing and does discriminate with age or sex. It’s a public holiday in Astorga and the main square is crowded, noisy, and many people are dressed in period costumes; men carrying swords, women in colourful, puffy dresses, with bonnets on their heads. I’m having lunch with Anton and Jesper, two 19year old Swedes who have finished school and are having a break, before confronting reality and working out what comes next. The Camino is giving them plenty of reality. They are lively, sensible, ... read more

My lazy day in León started with another attempt at making the pack lighter. I threw out a small torch, some irrelevant paperwork, and donated the charger given to me by the hotel in Burgos, to this hotel in León. It might total 500gms. I turned on the TV to the news that Barcelona has major floods, and the rain is due here tomorrow. It was always just a matter of when. I decided this morning my boots were probably not going to survive the rest of the Camino, as I thought they would. The black vibram soles were worn thin on the heals, and I was now walking on the next layer of soft grey rubber. This is not made for walking, just cushioning your steps. I know you are meant to ‘walk in’ a ... read more

I was welcomed today by 0°c. I had all my warm clothes on, a vest and windbreaker, but it was not working. I started at 7.30, later than planned, because I was not walking 18kms without a coffee. That was breakfast; coffee, a pear, some broken biscuits, and some ibuprofen. I swear that drug is performance enhancing. In Spain you can buy the turbo 600gm tabs but I’m just occasionally dropping some Australian 200gm kiddies tabs. Mark, the German guy, left early but when I left an hour later, he looked pretty lonely sitting at the bus stop on the edge of town. He took off down a path that followed the road and after a kilometre, reached a dead end. If the arrows are on the road, you walk on the road. I told him ... read more