Blogs from La Rioja, Spain, Europe - page 8

Day 20 April 25, 2014 A day in the Rioja Bodegas We wake up Kirsten excited about seeing the Bodegas (Vineyards in Spain) We visit the first, very nice looking we order a tasting, the high end and the low end. We walk to the second and have a tasting. High & Low We walk to the third and have tasting. High & low, they have a cave, very cool. We then load up and head toward two monasteries. The names were YUSO & SUSO. We then walked around and checked everything out, very old but maintained. We drove back to HARO through the vineyards as far and we could see. Nice day, sunny but cold. We get back to our hotel and take a nap. We then get up and go downtown looking for dinner. ... read more

Geo: 42.4307, -2.56467Apologies for the absence of postings but after several months of sunshine the weather took a serious turn for the worse. Friday and Saturday in central Portugal were very wet and at times windy (olives falling on the caravan roof) but after four months without rain they needed it, however not when we were in town! We got out and about for provisions, that is Lidl (Portalegre) and the local Saturday market for local fruit, veg and cheese in Santo Antonio but cabin fever kicked in when conditions prevented us from exploring on foot or bike. During a few hours without rain on Sunday, David took down the awning ahead of us sadly leaving Camping Asseiceira on Monday morning. But we intend to be back to this calm, peaceful oasis in Portugal in the ... read more

We set the alarm off for 7.00 giving us time to have a quick breakfast, clear away and be on the road for Spain for 8.00. The border came quickly and surprisingly. There was no EU blue sign stating we were entering Spain just a toll station which we recognised as not being French. I wonder if in this part of France they dont quite know what they feel and in the Basque country they don’t want to recognise their Spanishness and prefer to ignore it and be just Basques. I can understand that coming from one of the smallest nations in the world. Being Welsh you understand the need to maintain your own customs, your own language and your own identity. Seeing the road signs in two languages reinforced the difference between this part of ... read more

Empowered to Receive Love - Abba means much the same as daddy. Thus the word Abba expresses trust, safely, confidence, belonging, and most of all intimacy. Abba implies an embracing and nurturing love which transcends all love that may come from elsewhere. Complements of Henri Nowen as translated by ME! I have been walking with Abba father - my daddy - quite a bit. Today I walked 18 miles almost non-stop, except to watch a herd of sheep grazing with its shepard (yes a real shephard - complete with staff and dog!) watching over them. And yes I recited the 23rd Pslam to myself. Anyway I walked that 18 miles for the most part alone. Many of my friends left ahead of me and then stopped in Viana. I chose to keep going as I was ... read more

On our way to Azofra which is 23.3km down the road, well path actually. Fiona headed off this morning with a vengeance arriving in Ventosa for morning tea ahead of me. Fiona leaves in the morning while I pack and pay the bill. She likes to see how long it takes for me to catch up while I try to catch her as soon as possible - yip the sun has got to us. We generally only spend about half the day if that walking together, the rest is wandering along chatting to others or walking alone. Both are great, it's nice to have time on you own as well as meeting new walkers to chat to and learn about their lives. Everyone is so open as we all have the Camino in common. We have ... read more