Blogs from Roncesvalles, Navarre, Spain, Europe - page 2

Hi, Well the difference between Tapas and Pinchos are Tapas are free. Need I say what I eat. Tapas are finger foods. Mostly olives, cheese, bread. Our day starts early 5 and we are out by 6 on the road. We see the sun rise every morning becuase by 2 pm its hot. Very hot. We have been walking the mountians through wine vineyards and olive tree plantations. A lot of churches and old ruins. During the day we pick and eat fresh figs, blackberries, grapes, from the wineries amoung other things. The views are breathtaking. By 2 pm we have to look for a place to stay. We stay in Albeguers. These are hostels, so we sleep in a commune type place. Bunkbeds. We have to wash our cloths each day by hand and hang ... read more

Após essa breve passagem pelo país basco, finalmente chegamos ao momento que tanto aguardávamos: o início do Caminho de Santiago. Esse seria o verdadeiro início de nossa viagem, mergulhando mais a fundo em uma experiência realmente diferente e transformadora. O flerte com o caminho já existe há muito tempo, principalmente pela origem galega de um de nós (Fe). Todo o desafio físico, mental e até espiritual que uma peregrinação dessa duração representa, sempre foi um estímulo muito grande para nosso imaginário. Principalmente nesse caso, podendo ser uma verdadeira virada de página para nossa nova fase de vida. O caminho de Santiago nasceu como uma peregrinação religiosa por volta do século IX. Segundo se conta, após a ressureição de Cristo, os apóstolos começaram a espalhar suas palavras em terras desconhecidas e Tiago seguiu até Finisterrae, ponto ... read more

Well, we finally got here on Wednesday! John dropped us off at Standsted and we got to Biarritz at 3 o´clock in the afternoon. We took a taxi to St Jean Pied de Port and checked in to our hostel L´Esprit du Chemin. It was very nice and Huberta and her husband were very welcoming. They provided dinner plus apperitifs and wine for a very small charge! We met a whole selection of people there, all of whom had different reasons for doing the Camino. We had our pilgrim passports issued and stamped and were advised not to go to Roncevalles via Orisson because the weather was too bad and there was too much snow. Day 1 St Jean to Valcarlos. Set off early and had a very pleasant and gentle walk through the old town ... 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

"Buen Camino" Happy Saint Patricks Day: Searching For Some Ibuprofin And A Green Beer In No Particular Order. Linsey and I hit the road on Tuesday morning determined to make it to Puente de la Reina, the small town that evaded us the day before due to the imposibility of the metric system. Kilometers? We made the 4 mile trek into town and toured the local church which was built in the 12th century. It was quite a spectacle but unfortunately we only had 5 minutes to tour the town, grab some bread, and start a return hike back to Pamplona to catch a bus. We had 5 hours to hike 12 miles back up and over a mountain and into Pamplona. Linsey seemed optomistic but I asked the Priest for a little spiritual assistance. The ... read more