Blogs from Navarre, Spain, Europe - page 18

Where's my basket Bunny?! My very first Easter without an easter basket filled with candy... April 7: Uterga to Lorca Tina and I had another great day together this day. We, like always, took our time leaving the albergue in the morning. We walked slowly but steadily. I remember exactly where we stopped for lunch. We walked down through a town where all of the people were gathered in the center having a huge cookout. There were four ladies cooking paella in the biggest paella pan I have ever seen in my life. We continued slowly through the town until we reached the outskirts. In the distance we spotted a lone bench overlooking a beautiful view of open fields with mountains in the background. We sat a long while eating and talking. After spending most of ... read more

"Noni Carry Me!" April 2: Orrison to Roncesvalles Over the mountain and through the woods to... well we certainly are not on our way to Grandmother's house... (I am just thinking about my Grandmother because I titled this blog for her). Yesterday and todays hike, which many people do in one full swoop, have been said to be the most challenging day(s) on the Camino. From St Jean to Orrison I walked straight up up up up up for 8km, and then today we hiked over the Pyrenees Mountains. It was unlike anything I have ever done or seen before in my entire life. It felt like a dream... Journal Entry-------------------- Monday April 2nd, 2012 My whole body hurts so bad! Evidently yesterday and today are the hardest days. As hard as today was, it was ... read more

You can look at photos, read books, upload Blogs and hear stories but there is nothing like the actual being there and this is certainly very true for the El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the 790 kilometre pilgrimage from St Jean Pied du Port at the foothills of the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in the Galicia region of Spain. As much as the start point for El Camino de Santiago de Compostela is St Jean Pied de Port, we started our Camino a few days earlier in Sarlat France with a pleasant pre Camino celebration. There were a few of us celebrating a friends birthday and we were all staying in a renovated 3 story home in the old town area of Sarlat, France. Here we were only a few moments walk ... read more

Early last month, we took a road trip from the bottom of Spain to the top, to Pamplona, and then onward to San Sebastian, and then into France. The first day we drove north from Malaga, stopping over night outside of Madrid. The next day we proceeded on for 6 more hours to Pamplona, arriving the afternoon before the opening ceremony of the San Fermin Festival. (which Ernest Hemingway helped make famous in the 1920s) The Festival which runs continuously for over a week features The Running of the Bulls each morning at 8. We were happy to watch the first Running of the Bulls from our seats in the Bullring. We had been advised to go to the Bullring since we would be able to watch the entire street running craziness on the large screen ... read more

The Bull Run/ El Encierro The clock strikes 8. The cannons are fired. What was a jovial atmosphere in the street immediately descends into one of concern and in some cases regret. A few nervous people, me included, hastily make futile attempts to touch their toes and stretch out their quads in the knowledge that in approximately 90 seconds six bulls will come hurtling round the bend. We are in Pamplona, the northeast of Spain, jogging on the spot at the aptly named ´Dead Man´s Corner´. We´re about to participate in the world famous Bull Run. A few minutes previously, my two companions and I were part of an international crowd chatting amicably in numerous tongues. Everybody dressed in white and following tradition by carrying that morning’s paper with various red accessories ranging from berets, bandannas, ... read more