Refuge, refugio, albergue (del peregrino), pilgrim hostel (click here to view video)

Refuge, refugio, albergue (del peregrino), pilgrim hostel – these are all terms for the pilgrim shelters along the various camino routes in Spain. If you can spare 10 minutes to watch the Youtube video of the DVD "Welcome", you will get a sense of what the pilgrim albergues are all about.

What are they? Where are they? What are they like? Are they all huge, noisy, crammed dormitories with snoring, snuffling pilgrims? What are the beds like, and the showers? Do they give you meals?

Pilgrim shelters - albergues - are places for pilgrims (not tourists) to sleep overnight while on their pilgrimage. Found in almost every town and village, they follow in the thousand year tradition of providing shelter to pilgrims on their way to the tomb of Saint James in Compostela.

They are found in restored churches, halls, renovated barns, private homes and many other structures. Some are open all year, others only in summer so always check your guide book before deciding on where to stay.

In Ribadiso do Baixo, also known by pilgrims as Puente Paradiso, there is an award winning albergue in the restored hospice of San Anton on the banks of the Rio Isa , which dates from the fourteenth century. It has modern ablutions, a washroom for clothes, kitchen, and in 2007 we found a new bar and restaurant right next door - business must be booming!

In Leon, one of the most cramped shelters but also one of the few that separates men and women, your hosts are the nuns of the Convento Santa Maria de las Carabjalas. You can attend a mass at 8pm and will have a blessing and breakfast before you leave in the morning. There is no kitchen but you can make tea or coffee in the common room.

In Manjarin, a donativo albergue, 10 people sleep in a small stone barn on mattresses laid out on a wooden platform. There is no running water, toilet or electricity. Tomas Le Paz is a Knight Templar who conducts a Templarios ceremony every morning at 11am (when it is 12pm in Jersualem). He provides an evening meal -cooked on a gas stove - and a breakfast. He also provides tea or coffee to passing and visiting pilgrims throughout the day.

In Hospital de San Nicolas, 10 people sleep on mattresses in the loft of a restored hermitage church. The monks wash the pilgrims' feet - following the tradition of Maundy Thursday when Christ washed the feet of his disciples - you have a pilgrim blessing and sing pilgrim songs at dinner by lamplight.

Some modern albergues are like university campus digs with all mod-cons including vending machines, cafeteria, bar and computer room for internet. Not much atmosphere and little camaraderie with other pilgrims.

There are over 120 pilgrim albergues (refuges) on the Camino Frances. Some are provided by the church, some by the local government or municipality; others are owned and run by volunteers from different Confraternities of St James around the world such as the 'donativo' Gaucelmo albergue in Rabanal which is owned and run by the CSJ - UK.

There are albergues that are owned by individuals or families who have devoted their lives to providing shelter to pilgrims, such as the refuge at Manjarin which is run by Tomas Martinez Le Paz, and Ave Fenix at Villafranca del Bierzo which Jesus Jato and his family have been running almost all their lives.

Most of the church, municipal and confraternity owned albergues are ‘donativo’ – donation. However, from 1 January 2008, all the municipal or church sponsored albergues in the Province of Galicia started levying a charge of 3€.

You cannot book a bed ahead at a church, municipal or CSJ owned albergue. These are run on a first come, first served basis. Most of these also don’t accept pilgrims with vehicle back-up, those who have sent their backpacks on ahead, or who have arrived by bus, train or taxi, and many do not accept large groups.
These albergues also have a ‘pecking order’ in that walking pilgrims take priority and pilgrims on bicycles often have to wait until evening before being told whether or not they have a bed for the night.

Many of the privately owned albergues have come together under the umbrella of an organisation called Red de Albergues Camino de Santiago. They publish an annually updated fold out list of all the albergues along the Camino Frances ‘donde el camino se hace reposo’ (where the camino sleeps) with the mileage between villages and towns, and symbols indicating whether the establishment has internet, a kitchen, laundry facilities, a bar or restaurant etc.

Their ‘Rules of Use’ are that the albergues are for the exclusive use of pilgrims on foot, bicycle or horseback who have the pilgrims’ credential. However, they also provide contact details for pilgrims wanting to send their backpacks on ahead. You can download a brochure from their website:
(Redalberguessantiago.com)

Some of the newer albergues offer single and double rooms, rooms for 4 people in 2 bunk beds with en suite bathroom, rooms for 10 people and dormitories that sleep up to 80 pilgrims. The charges vary from 5€ for a general dormitory to 9€ for a private room.

Few albergues offer any meals but some, in the more remote areas, offer a communal evening meal and, perhaps, bread, biscuits, tea and coffee for breakfast. These are either ‘donativo’ or for a few euros. Some that come to mind are Eunate, Villa Mayor Monjardin, Granón, Tosantos, Arroyo San Bol and Manjarin. Pilgrims might be asked to help prepare the evening meal and to wash the dishes afterwards.

Some albergues have kitchens although most of these are usually poorly equipped with shortages of pots and pans, crockery and cutlery. Most albergues have electricity and those that don’t, cook on gas stoves and eat by lamplight.

There are very few albergues that have single beds. Villadangos is an exception with beds in one large room and bunks in smaller rooms: Bercianos also has a room with beds and in Azofra - a large modern albergue - there are two beds per cubicle.

Most provide bunk beds in dormitories or rooms that sleep from 10 people to 200 people. None provide linen so sleeping bags or liners are essential. The majority offer blankets and some even provide a pillow.

There are a number of albergues where pilgrims sleep on mattresses on the floor. This, in my opinion, is often more comfortable than sleeping on a bunk bed especially if the mattress is soft or lumpy or if the bunk is a triple deck bunk!

All but the most basic albergues have showers, basins, toilets and wash tubs for washing clothes. Some provide washing machines and dryers. There are a minimal number of albergues that do not have electricity, running water or even toilets. (Manjarin, San Bol, Hospital San Nicholas, Convento San Anton). These, almost medieval refuges, are often the most spiritual, atmospheric places to stay.

Itzandegia at Roncesvalles is the first albergue a pilgrim will stay in along the Camino Frances in Spain. It is a large restored 12th century stone building with a vaulted ceiling that has 100 bunk beds, a heating system and hot water for the showers. It is necessary to show the Pilgrims' Credential and the inscription ticket at the entrance. Price: 5 euros. (They do not have blankets).

In Larrasoana the beds are in the old municipal hall as well as a second building not far away that caters for overflow numbers. The ablutions are in a pre-fab hut alongside the building.

There are two albergues in Pamplona – Paderbon which is run by the German St Jakob Association and for 4€ you can stay in a large modern albergue in the newly restored church of Maria y Jesus.

The albergue ANFAS outside Estella is run by people with special needs.

In Granón you climb a spiral stairway up a tall bell tower of the church and sleep on mattresses on the floor. The donativo albergue has a box with an inscription – “Give what you can – take what you need’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEkftcdOmjk

Yellow Arrows lead the way along the camino paths and also in the towns and villages to the albergues.
Albergues close for most of the day so that volunteers can clean up and get it ready for the daily influx of new pilgrims. Most only open at about 2pm and you have to leave by 8am or 8h30 the next morning.
If you arrive at an albergue that is still closed, you put your backpack down on the ground in line and wait for the volunteer 'hospitalero' to arrive. Some hospitaleros ask you to take your boots off before entering the dormitories. You might also be asked to leave your walking sticks in a predetermined place.
You usually have to sign in by writing your name, age, nationality, starting place, whether you are walking, cycling etc. into a register. Your credential is stamped and you give a donation or pay the required amount.
You might be shown where the bedrooms and ablutions are, and you might also be told the rules of the house - lights out, time to vacate in the morning etc.
You mark your bed by unrolling your sleeping bag onto it. You leave your backpack next to the bed and go off to shower, wash clothes, find food or sightsee.
Shower and bathrooms are usually uni-sex. Two places I've stayed in did not have shower curtains or doors.
Most albergues have a curfew - 10h30pm or 11pm when lights are switched off and doors are locked. Pilgrims may only stay one night and the only exception might be if you are injured and cannot walk the next day.
Pilgrims staying in the albergues will have free medical treatment for minor injuries such as blisters, tendinitis or pulled muscles.

In most towns you have the option of staying in alternative accommodations such as small hotels, hostales, fondas (inns) or even up-market paradors. A single room in a small inn can cost from 20 - 30 euro: hotales from 30 - 45 euro: hotels from 45 - 60 euro.

Paradors are the state-run hotels that are found throughout Spain. In 2008, they range from 100€ a room to 500€ a suite. Many are restored medieval castles, Arab fortresses, palaces, monasteries and convents.

The Hostal de los Reyes Catolicos in Santiago was built in 1499 as a pilgrim hospice and hospital. It became a hotel in 1953 and is one of Spain’s most sumptuous state run Paradors. The cost of the rooms range from 210E to 525E per night. It retains the tradition of providing a free meal to at least 10 pilgrims each day.

Stone barn at Manjarin. Pilgrims sleep on mattresses on the floor

Modern albergue in Azofra: Kitchen, 2 beds to a cubicle, splash pool.

Albergue Vegetariano in La Faba run by a German 'hippie'.

El Parral - huts in the park in Burgos (A new albergue will open in the city in September 2008)

Albergue de Atapuerca. Small kitchen/no cooking/8 to a room: www.albergueatapuerca.com

Albergue San Javier in Astorga - noisy, wooden floors, nice courtyard, equipped kitchen, friendly hospitaleros

New, private albergue in el Ganso. Friendly owner, use of kitchen, 3 bed room downstairs, bunk beds upstairs, use of washing machine

Beautiful gardens - Boadilla - bunk beds or on mattresses in the loft: family run

http://www.boadilladelcamino.com/

Arroyo San Bol - very basic, bunk beds, no running water, medicinal spring, gas stove (no electricity) no toilet. New Knight Templar took over in 2008

New Terradillos de los Templarios albergue: Cafeteria, bar: 4 bed ensuite rooms cost 9 E: general dorm 5 E: www.terradillos-jdemolay.com

My favourite albergues? (Not the 'best' most upmarket, clean, modern, but the best for atmosphere, caring and spirituality.

*Eunate – meal by candlelight – walk around the church in the moonlight (Check opening times – sometimes is closed if there is no hospitalero)

*Granon – sleep on mattresses in the bell tower of a church – sing for your supper (Open all year)

*Tosantos – sleep on mattresses - pilgrim blessing in the attic chapel – pray for pilgrims who have left a prayer request (not sure of opening times)

*Arroyo San Bol - Run by Francisco, a Knight Templar – no running water, 1000yr old medicinal spring at the back, no electricity, no toilet –.(Open April – mid October)

*Convento San Anton – magical, basic albergue in the ruins of the San Anton convent (Open to end of September)

*San Nicolas - – sleep on mattresses in the loft of a restored church – communal meal cooked by Italian hospitaleros, pilgrim blessing includes washing of pilgrims feet (late June to mid-September)

*Bercianos – ancient straw and mud house, watch the sunset before being allowed to have a communal dinner
*Manjarin – Atmospheric albergue run by Tomas the Templar - basic, no running water, electricity or toilet. Sleep in a stone barn on mattresses – stay for the Templario blessing and ceremony at 11am. (Open all year)
*Villafranca del Bierzo - Ave Fenix run by the Jato family for almost 30 years – Jesus Jato is a healer. (Open all year)
*La Faba – Albergue Vegetariano run by a German hippie who sells incense and Eastern jewellery: pick the vegetables in the field next door and help cook the dinner.

WEIGHT WATCHERS - FOR BACKPACKS

Travel light ......don’t take too much stuff.........your backpack should not weigh more than 10 – 15% of your bodyweight……. a too heavy backpack will spoil your pilgrimage .....
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! We all hear this, over and over again, at workshops, on Forums, in Guidebooks and from experienced pilgrims. But it just doesn’t sink in.

How on earth can you travel for 4 – 6 weeks with only 3 pairs of knickers? How can you manage with only 2 pairs of shorts – come on!
2 T-shirts, 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 warm jacket, a raincoat and no pajamas – give me a break!
What do I sleep in? What do I wear when we go out to a restaurant? (** See answers at the end of this post.)
What about when I come out of the showers – surely a light sarong can’t weigh much, or a little black jacket, or a flimsy nightdress? Surely an extra two pairs of lacy panties weigh nothing at all and an extra bra or two can’t overload the backpack? If I take those lightweight, two-in-one trousers – that will give me an extra pair of long trousers and a pair of shorts – clever me! If I take these trousers I could slip in a pair of lightweight matching shoes to wear in the evenings. After all, I can’t go out with boots, or flip-flop sandals. And so on, and so on, and so on.

Don't be fooled – EVERYTHING WEIGHS SOMETHING.
And, when you add all those somethings up, you find that instead of a 7kg pack, you have a 12kg pack: and, if you start off with a 12kg pack – before adding water, food and perhaps a guide book – your pack will grow to 15kgs, and then you WILL be in trouble. Put your backpack on Weight-Watchers or a Weigh-Less program. Treat it like an overweight friend who you will have to carry for 800km. Weigh it empty and weigh EVERYTHING that goes into it's mouth!

So, the first thing you need to buy is a good digital scale that will weigh articles up to 5kg and take it shopping with you. Weigh everything you buy and if one t-shirt weighs less than another, buy the lighter one: remember - every ounce, every gram - counts.


Start off by weighing your friend - does your pack weigh too much to begin with? 1kg to 2kg is too heavy.
Because most backpacks are made for people who climb mountains, or go on long camping trips they are made of heavy duty, rip-proof fabrics to cater for stoves, cooking gear, tents, pins and food. Some have facilities for snow hooks and poles. They invariably have inner frames to help stabilize the loaded pack and they come with wide, padded hip belts to take the weight off the shoulders and onto the hips.

The Mountain Backpackers of SA will tell you that you don't need any of this reinforcing if you intend carrying less than 8kg of 'soft' contents, consisting mainly of clothing. Unfortunately, few outdoor centres have even heard of the camino and when they hear "... I'm going on an 800km hike..." they will obviously try to sell you a heavyweight, sturdy, endurance model that probably weighs up to 2kg empty. Don't buy it!!
Most backpacks that are sold in the outdoor shops today are of the "internal frame" variety. This means that there are metal strips embedded in the backpack on the side which will be next to your back to help make the pack more rigid and therefore more comfortable to wear. These strips can be bent so that the pack fits more snugly against the body.
If you keep your pack weight down to under 10kg you don't need an internal frame.

New generation backpacks are made with ultra-lightweight, rip-stop fabrics with features like thermarest backing for comfort and rigidity, detachable hip belts, shoulder pockets to stuff with socks or camping towels for extra padding and so on.

EG: The Gossamer Gear Murmur ultralight pack is for loads of 9 kg (20 lbs) or less and for trips of 1,000 miles/50 trail days or less. It sports a webbing only hip belt, is a one size fits most pack and weighs in at a paltry 212g (7.5 oz) fully loaded with all its features. The Murmur has side pockets, side compression straps, a pad holder pocket, an adjustable sternum strap and a minimal hydration bladder shelf. http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/Murmur

Or you could try the OMM 32L that weighs 575g lean weight and 77gg with all fixtures: This pack can do it all. It's been on the top of Everest and on a major new route in Peru. And of course help people win numerous marathons. It has the Lean-weight chassis system for a comfortable and stable carry. The unique UGR enables skis and ice axes to be carried. It's covered in mesh pouches for extra storage (big enough for a helmet) and has zipped waist band pockets. Compression straps give a stable carry when your not fully loaded. Tow loop. This bag can be used for any sport where a rucksack is required.
If you want something a little more substantial, the GoLite range have packs like the GoLite Gust that weighs as little as 570g (1lb 4oz).

It is a good idea to try on several backpacks before choosing one to purchase. If in doubt, take along an experienced backpacker to help you with your choice. (Don't buy a backpack that is too large for you with the idea that you might at some time need the extra capacity.)

What about clothing? Make a list based on experienced pilgrims' list and stick to it - no extras! These days you are spoiled for choice. Even chain stores like Mr. Price Sports stock ultralight underwear, shirts and shorts made of wicking fabrics that wick the sweat away from the body. They wash well and dry quickly. Weigh the clothing - you might have a choice of 2 pairs of shorts, or trousers, don't buy on colour preference - buy the pair that weighs less. If you are a short person and the t-shirts are all mid-thigh in length, cut a few inches of the bottom of the shirt. Every gram/ounce counts!

If you are walking in summer, you won't need a -10oC sleeping bag that weighs over 1kg (2.2lbs). Buy a sleeping bag liner instead. Silk liners weigh about 230g and a polyester liner only a few grams more. (Most pilgrim refuges have blankets so you won't freeze. If it is very cold, wear all your clothes to keep warm.

Toiletries: Take sample or hotel sizes bottles of shampoo/soap/toothpaste etc: Spain is a first world country with more Farmacias than bottle stores! You can top up all your toiletries along the way. Take a large lightweight camp towel: 8 plastic pegs: a mesh laundry bag.
Medication: Take tablets out of the boxes and pack them in small zip-lock bags.

This is my summer pack list for the camino - broken down into what goes in the pack, what I wear and what I carry in a waist bag/shoes/poles etc. My pack never weighs more than 5kg to start and about 6kg with food and extra water.

/Back%20Pack%20list%20for%20the%20Camino.xls

Remember, if you intend taking your backpack into the cabin when you fly, it will have to comply with weight and dimension restrictions.

To read more about the advantages of ultra-light backpacking, visit this site:
http://www.the-ultralight-site.com/backpacking.html

PS:
* You wear one - wash one - wear one - wash one... day after day after day!
* If you buy shorts with built in undies you won't need more than 2 extra panties to wear with the long trousers.
* You sleep in the clothes you are going to wear the next day.
* You wear your boots or sandals to the restaurant - like all the other pilgrims do.
* You wear the same long trousers and jacket to every restaurant you go to.

When you get to Finisterre you might want to burn the lot - just like the medieval pilgrims did!

Buen Camino!

el Camino de Santiago - 2002

El Camino de Santiago

We trained for months to walk the trail.
Got all the guide books in the mail
We knew that we would never fail
el Camino de Santiago

We caught the bus on our first day
to Roncesvalles, and I must say
that the twisting roads blew me away
el Camino de Santiago

Men and women in one dorm
In every single shape and form
Undressing in situ is the norm on
el Camino de Santiago

Thirty-nine years I have been wed
And no other man has shared my bed
But the man on top made my face turn red
el Camino de Santiago.

When the lights went out I prayed for morning
But I couldn’t sleep because of the snoring
And the bare-arsed man? I tried to ignore him
el Camino de Santiago.

When we reached Larrasoana the beds were full
“You can sleep on the floor,” said the mayor “if you will”.
The man in middle back-fired all night.
el Camino de Santiago.

By the third day we’d learned a thing or two.
If you wanted the laundry, shower or loo
You had to hurry to get into the queue
el Camino de Santiago

Some shower cubicles didn’t have any doors and
no hooks to hang clothes so they went on the floor
the water was freezing, my body felt raw.
el Camino de Santiago

On day number four, at last some sunshine
The Irache fuente offers water or wine
I think I’ll like the Camino just fine!
el Camino de Santiago

We’re now in wine country – in La Rioja
A ninety year-old woman offers figs, love & water
Saw Santiago Matamoros in the church of St James
El Camino de Santiago

Long shadows at daybreak, white trails in the sky,
Red poppies, green fields, and stork nests on high
And sunsets so beautiful they make you cry
el Camino de Santiago

Yellow arrows to follow day after day
Concrete stele with scallop shells showing the way
Vineyards, cherries, fields full of hay
el Camino de Santiago.

We met Germans, Italians, Carlos from Brazil
(the lady from Chile was awfully shrill)
Yanks, the French, a priest from Seville
el Camino de Santiago

Queso and pan and bocadillos too
This is the regular pilgrim’s food
A Menu del Peregrino is waiting for you
On el Camino de Santiago.

At days end I’m tired and just want to sleep
But first I have to attend to my feet
Blisters and plasters, a rub with Deep-Heat
el Camino de Santiago.

I have hair like straw and a pilgrim tan
Brown face, brown legs, brown arms and hands
We all look the same, each woman and man
el Camino de Santiago

I am sick of mud. I am tired of rocks.
I’m fed up with Compeed stuck to my socks.
Churches all look the same, Romanesque or Baroque
el Camino de Santiago

In Burgos the albergue’s in cabins - quite rough
But worse are the trees that shed thick, white fluff
I sneeze through the night – my sinuses stuffed
el Camino de Santiago

It is four in the morning; what is that racket?
A pilgrim is rustling a plastic packet
If I knew who it was I would give him a wack!
el Camino de Santiago.

At Hospital de Orbigo they abandon siesta
to celebrate an annual Medieval Fiesta
Then after Astorga the Marageteria
el camino de Santiago

Four days of flat walking on the meseta
with horizons that go on forever and ever
It’s raining and the path is getting wetter
el Camino de Santiago

It rained in the night and the path was slush
The pilgrims’ language made me blush!
One slipped and fell and said “Oh Fuck”
el Camino de Santiago.

At Manjarin the views are vast
and from Tomas the Templar a Gregorian chant
and the Cruz de Ferro, a famous landmark
el Camino de Santiago

Logrono, Najera, San Juan de Ortega,
San Anton, Fromista and Mansilla Mayor
Orbigo, Astorga, Villafranca del Bierzo
el Camino de Santiago

My mind switches off and I’m walking quite fast
I am part of the landscape, of present and past
Have I been here before - in a previous life?
el camino de Santiago

We meet different pilgrims everyday
My memories of those met before fade away
Are they ahead or behind? Who can say?
el Camino de Santiago

We entered Galicia at O’Cebreiro
The mist was so thick that it hid all the arrows
The first thing we saw was a Celtic Palloza
el Camino de Santiago

Past barnyards and farm yards, ankle deep in cow-shit.
Small hamlets, quaint houses and churches quite rustic
Corriedors through forests of Eucalyptus and oak
el Camino de Santiago

Got a sello at the barracks-like complex of Mont de Gozo
Everyone agreed that it was a real eyesore.
Then highways and traffic, the forests no more
el Camino de Santiago

No bagpipes to meet us, no cheering, no medal
We looked up in awe at St James’ Cathedral
We’d made it! We’d done it! We all felt the thrill.
el Camino de Santiago.

Climbed stairs to hug the saint above the altar
Touched the Tree of Jesse carved by Mateo the master
Entered the crypt to look at Saint James’ casket
el Camino de Santiago

A Santiago cross, a certificate, a book fill of sellos,
Souvenirs of the journey - Ultreya e sus eia
But memories remain my most valuable mementos
of El Camino de Santiago.

The lessons I learned are with me still.
Let go, be kind, don’t be critical.
We’re all pilgrims on our journey to heaven
along el Camino de Santiago.

2002

A PILGRIM CALLED 'SELF'

There will be two pilgrims on your pilgrimage path - you and a pilgrim called 'self'.
You will be the one putting on the brakes, setting limits, telling 'self' that you can't do this, or can't carry on. 'Self' will want to soar - to be free! Free the pilgrim called 'self' and allow her to transform into a creature of courage and strength.

In the film Me, Myself & Irene, Jim Carrey has an alto-ego who is totally different from 'himself'. We all have a bit of that in us.

When someone achieves something great you'll often hear them say."I really surprised myself!"
You might also hear, "I feel that I've let myself down" when they don't achieve what they set out to do.
There is an inner person in all of us who dreams of doing extraordinary things, of ballroom dancing , playing a musical instrument, of becoming an artist, or going on adventure trails."
The outer person is the one who applies the brakes, who sets the limits, who says, "No, I can't see myself doing that."
Do you know yourself? Really know your inner 'self'?
Who you are. What you are made of. What you are capable of. Do you underestimate yourself?
When you embark on a long-distance hike like the camino you have to give your 'self' the opportunity to try. Free the inner 'self' who would like to be adventurous, try new things, achieve the unimaginable.
The person who plans to walk the camino is often not the same person who returns home. It can be a life changing experience in many imperceptible ways. You have pushed the boundaries and have gained a new sense of what you are truly capable of. You have a sense of achievement that will make you a more confident, braver person than you were before.
In the camino film "Within the Way Without" the young pilgrim from Brazil writes daily diary entries to her 'self', knowing that she is changing as she walks the camino, not sure if she will ever meet her old 'self' again.
When she has to catch a bus in the end because she is burned out and has tendonitis, she apologises to her 'self' for not training enough and for not being strong enough to continue to the end. She is sad and remorseful because she feels that she has let her 'self' down.
Some people say that they are walking the camino to 'find themselves'. We lead such busy lives that we often lose touch with who we are; no time for quiet contemplation or for meditation. Walking the camino gives us space and time - away from home, commitments, daily chores - to challenge the body, mind and soul. Walking a long distance pilgrimage is a multi-level journey. Its like a crash course in finding your physical, emotional, spiritual and mental 'self'.
On a ± 800km walk like the Camino Frances you have to physically take over a million steps to get from your starting point to your destination. That is a lot of physical energy! Sitting at home and contemplating taking 1 million steps can be overwhelming and unless you have the will and motivation to keep lifting one foot after the other, you will not reach your destination – no matter how fit you are.
Strength of will does not come from strong muscles, eating energy foods, taking supplements, or multivitamins. It comes from within. You will be walking the way 'within' and this journey will be just as difficult, if not more so, than the outward journey.
On such a journey you don’t only learn what your body is capable of but also how strong you are mentally. You have to have the mental strength to carry on going even when you are exhausted or in pain. “Mind over matter” really means something when you constantly have to draw on sheer mental strength to keep the body going.
The Paralympic logo is "The Triumph of the Human Spirit". The competing athletes all have various degrees of physical disability that would make many of us stay at home and never do anything physical, but these brave souls all triumph through their strength of spirit.
A few years ago, the logo of the South African Paralympic team was the Butterfly and these words were written to describe the logo:
"Through its metamorphosis the butterfly epitomises nature's ultimate miracle, transforming into a creature of courage, strength and extreme beauty. In the pursuit of the triumph of the human spirit so too do disabled athletes emerge, thereby attaining their freedom."
Prepare to free your 'self'. Just as you prepare to limit your material needs so that you don't have needless baggage to carry with you, slough off your psychological baggage that weighs you down just as heavily.
To prepare your 'self' mentally, read a few inspirational stories of ordinary people's achievements against difficult odds. There are hundreds of these. Find a role model, someone who has really inspired you and when the going gets tough, use that person as your inspiration to keep going. Make a pact with your 'self' that you will do your very best to allow your spirit to triumph so that you don't let your 'self' down.

PREPARING FOR YOUR PILGRIMAGE

"This is a great moment, when you see, however distant, the goal of your wandering, the thing which has been living in your imagination, suddenly become part of the tangible world. It matters not how many ranges, rivers or parching dusty ways may lie between you; it is yours now for ever." Freya Stark

Time magazine described the camino as the "Himalaya of Hiking trails". (July 5, 2004) Although it cannot be even remotely compared to climbing Mt. Everest, most camino trails are pretty long hikes as hiking trails go being ± 500 miles or 800km on the Camino Frances - 600 miles on the Via de la Plata - and, if you plan on walking from Paris, Le Puy or Vezelay, you'll walk double that distance.
(By comparison the linear distance between the Himalayan camps to Everest is not great - just over 8.5 miles or 10k - but it is the altitude gain in the mountains that is the most difficult).

Just as dozens of climbers don’t reach the summit of Everest, each year hundreds - if not thousands - of pilgrims do not achieve their goals of walking the entire route, from their chosen starting place, to Santiago de Compostela.

Many pilgrims underestimate the physical challenge of walking for between 5 and 10 hours every day for 4 to 6 weeks with a backpack on and are unable to maintain the pace they set for themselves. They have to resort to catching buses or trains in order to keep to their schedule.

Others suffer blisters, tendonitis, cellulites, strained muscles, shin splints, stress fractures, twisted ankles or knees, broken limbs, colds, flu or sheer exhaustion on the trail. Many have to stop walking, rest up for a few days or go home.

Some just give up when they realise that they are not enjoying the self-inflicted regime of rising early, eating frugally, walking in rain and mud one day and in dusty, blistering heat the next. They can’t adjust to walking in a foreign country, eating different food or sleeping in cramped, noisy dormitories.

On one of the camino Forums a young woman who started in St Jean Pied de Port gave up three days later in Pamplona. “It was just too big for me” she wrote “I struggled on the mountain. I didn’t like the refuges. I didn’t like the food. I just forgot why I wanted to do it in the first place so I have stopped walking but I will visit some of the towns along the way and then go home.”

Nobody in their right mind would attempt to climb the Himalaya without serious training and preparation. Besides collecting and testing the necessary clothing and equipment, and doing lots of physical training, mountaineers and long distance hikers should be mentally and psychologically prepared.

Although hundreds of reasonably fit people walk the camino every year without a heavy regime of training beforehand, the majority of us need to develop our fitness, to be physically strong and to be mentally, psychologically and spiritually prepared. You’ll have a much better chance of enjoying your pilgrimage, of coping with the crossing of two or three mountain ranges, of withstanding the extremes of climate, the change of food and water and of maintaining your focus if you are walking fit, mentally strong and spiritually prepared to accept all the gifts the camino has to offer.

►Physically:
You wouldn't leave by car on a 1000km journey without having a service or at least checking the oil, water, tyre pressure and filling up the tank. Make sure that you are in top physical shape for the long walk. Ensure good health by eating a balanced diet, lots of fruit and vegetable and increase your protein intake to build more muscle, and calcium to strengthen bones. This is not a sprint or a marathon where you need to bulk on carbohydrates. A course of multi-vitamins might balance what your body is lacking. Try to regularly get a good night sleep. Your body recovers while you are sleeping and depriving it of sleep will result in exhaustion and sluggish muscles.
Besides your daily walking training, do specific exercises to strengthen back and shoulder muscles. Whilst watching television, lift weights – perhaps leg lifts with a heavy towel across both feet - to strengthen tummy and torso. For shoulders and arms, hold a 450g tin in each hand and do weight training for arms and shoulders. With arms outstretched on either side of the body rotate the tins to the count of ten; then bring hands to shoulders to the count of ten; bend your arms and bring elbows and hands together, level with shoulders – open and close to the count of ten. Before you go treat your feet to a pedicure so that toenails are short and problem spots are dealt.

Here is an article on multi-day walking that might be useful:

Multi-Day Walking Tactics - Dave Spence
It is one thing to walk a marathon or half marathon for a single day - blisters can be endured to the finish. But to pick yourself up and do it again day after day requires more training and planning to be able to finish each day in good enough shape to keep going.
• Do not skimp on building up your mileage to be able to complete the required distance.
• Walk your long distance workout (3/4 of the longest distance you will be walking), have a rest day and walk it again. Observe any new problems that may develop.
• A month before the you go, try walking your long distance workout on back-to-back days and see what problems you may develop.
• Test your clothing, shoes, pack, diet, snacks and fluids thoroughly on your long distance training days in advance of the event. Do not use anything new or different during the walk.
• When you're on a multi-day walk, you have to carry everything with you on your back - and a common cause of suffering and lack of enjoyment is simply that people carry too much. So, the basic rule is: accustom yourself to modest needs, and travel light. If in doubt, leave it out. Total packed weight therefore, ca 5kg (7kg with sleeping-bag), which, together with the weight of your sack, should just squeeze into airline hand-baggage. To this must be added when walking any food and drink; 1 litre of water weighs ca 1kg but is essential in hot weather.
• Pay careful attention to foot problems. These are the stoppers. Learn how to prepare your feet to ward off the blisters.
• Many long distance walkers have to stop because of overuse injuries. The most common injuries seem to be stress fractures of the feet and or lower leg. Consuming a diet high in calcium both before the trip and during the trip will help reduce the incidence of these types of injuries.
• The focus of a well-designed walking training programme must include a great amount of "impact" activities, like walking, running or skipping. Forget cycling and swimming except to add some variety, these non-weight-bearing activities will not help to significantly develop bone density. 3-4 days a week should be spent engaged in vigorous weight bearing activities. The principal of specificity states that the adaptations to training will be specific to the imposed demands. That means if you want to get the best results you need to do activities that are most similar to the activity you want to increase your performance in.
• In addition, weight-bearing activities used, as training will stimulate specialised cells called osteoblasts to lay down stronger bone. This increase in bone density in the lower leg = decreased risk for stress fractures.

►MENTALLY:
Are you mentally prepared for a multi-day pilgrimage walk and all it entails? Can you ‘switch off’ from your regular life for 30 days or more and forget about the responsibilities of work and home? Are you prepared to live out of your comfort zone? Are there certain characteristics in people that irritate you – that make you say, “I can’t accept it when people……?” Can you overlook your companion’s frailties or habits? What are your hopes, fears or expectations? Just as with the physical preparation you will need to prepare mentally for walking day after day in all weathers, all terrains in a different country even when you are feeling below par or when you start to question why you are doing this journey. You will have to be prepared to accept the hospitality of your host country without criticism or complaint. Some of your overnight accommodation might not fulfil your expectations. How will you react to cramped dormitories, lumpy beds, unhygienic ablutions and rowdy tourists? Restaurants, shops and other public facilities might not live up to your standards. “Pilgrimage” is a metaphor for life and there will be good and bad days, unplanned for difficulties, upsetting and distressful times – just as there are in ‘normal’ life. If your expectation is that the walk is going to be a constantly happy traipse through picturesque countryside, enchanting villages, quaint towns, ancient cities with exotic locals and charming little bistros and restaurants – you are quite right. But there will also be busy, dirty highways, uncaring motorists and surly innkeepers, industrial approaches to cities, churlish waiters and poor food. Can you accept the good with the bad? Turn these negatives into positive lessons. They will give you an opportunity to consider the privileged life you have back home, how good our roads are, our standards of accommodation, our friendly waiters and shop assistants. Make a pledge to be a good pilgrim. Sign a contract with yourself before you go:

I undertake to be a good and supportive companion; a grateful visitor, a thankful pilgrim passing through foreign lands. I will be friendly and kind to all I meet and will be a good ambassador for my country. I cannot control the places, events, people or experiences I encounter but I can control the way I react and interact in these circumstances. I will not criticise or complain if things are not up to my expectations. I will endeavour to walk this ancient pilgrimage trail with appreciation and joy, always mindful of the millions who have walked before me and of the multitudes that are still to follow. I will walk this way with integrity and will keep an open mind to all the lessons it can teach me. Signed:…………………….

By being physically and mentally prepared, you will be more receptive to the spiritual gifts of the trail. It is difficult to appreciate a stunningly panoramic view if your back aches, you have a stinging blister on your heel and you are still smarting from the rude remarks of a waiter or shop assistant. All your energy will be focussed inward, to the physicality of your situation.

► SPIRITUALLY Spirit (n) L. spiritus - breath, courage, vigour, the soul of life. There is spirituality on any trail, especially those that take you into wilderness areas. People talk about feeling energised when they are in the mountains or on the seashore. Bracing mountain air literally fills one with vigour (the soul of life). Are you ready for the spirituality of the pilgrimage? Television has brought many of the beauties of the world into our living rooms so we might feel that they are familiar, commonplace. Can we look at the view through the eyes of medieval pilgrims who had never seen such sights as mountain ranges, waterfalls, hills covered in poppies? Look for the beauty in everything you see. Not only the natural sights like mountains, misty forests and vineyards but also in the faces of the people we meet, voices, cowbells, church spires, Roman bridges and walls. The beauty will balance out all the ugly sights we see – rubbish tips, car graveyards, congested traffic.
Spirituality has religious connotations. One can feel it in the Pyramids of Giza, in Inca temples, in Buddhist Tibet and in the Christian churches and temples of Europe. Medieval pilgrimage trails in Europe are based on the faith and belief of millions of people who were seeking absolution for their sins and the intercession of saints so that they would be assured of a place in their heavenly home. The churches, cathedrals, abbeys, monasteries and convents are not tourist attractions but holy structures, witnesses to the 2000 year old faith of the Catholic (universal) church. Even if you are not a part of the Catholic church or do not adhere to any organised religion, open your mind to the spiritual experience of the churches and cathedrals. Be open to the prayers and blessing of others. A 1000-year old pilgrim blessing in the monastery at Roncesvalles, Spain, states:
“The door is open to all, sick or well; not only Catholics, but pagans also. To Jews heretics, idlers, the vain, and as I shall briefly note, the good and the worldly too.”

The idea of your walk started as a seed – planted and waiting for germination. All the preparation has helped it to grow. Now is the time to nurture it and feed it so that it evolves into a strong and beautiful experience. The way we experience it can bear fruit, not only for ourselves in the lessons we will learn but for what we will pass on to others who want to follow. We have a responsibility to ourselves and our companions to be prepared, to step out of our comfort zones, to walk with an open mind, to embrace the beauty, to turn negatives into positives, to have a sense of humour, to be kind to each other and to strangers and allow them to be kind to us.

WALKING IN THE RAIN
One thing is certain on any long hike you will be walking in the sun and in the rain. Chances are it could be cold and wet on the occasional rainy day and if the contents of your pack and your rain gear are not waterproofed, everything you possess might end up soaked. With careful planning and packing, walking in the rain can be an invigorating rather than a miserable experience.

· Pack everything into plastic zip-lock bags, even the little things like medicines and cosmetics etc.,
· Have a waterproof inner liner to keep all your goods dry.
· Make sure that your backpack cover is large enough to wrap around the whole pack.
· Gaiters, ankle or knee high, will keep the water out of the top of your shoes.
· A rainproof, sweat-proof jacket and over trousers or a good hiking raincoat that covers your backpack are essential.
· Most rain jackets and ponchos have hoods but a wide-brimmed rain hat will also keep the rain off your face.
· If you stop whilst walking, be careful not to put your pack down on a wet patch of ground. Water can easily soak into your pack.
· If you have no option but to walk in the rain, change your attitude towards rain and concentrate on the good things.
Be aware of the changing tapestry of the landscape; the deeper colours of the hills and the trees, soaked clean by the rain. Everything is greener, more lush and alive. Crops stand taller, trees no longer droop; rivers and waterfalls change from sedate to spectacular. Take deep breaths of the cleaner, washed air. You will feel revitalized and more energetic walking in the cool rain. Do you remember playing in the rain as a child? There was nothing better than skipping and dancing while raindrops spattered on your face making your skin glow and eyelids flutter. And what joy to stomp in the puddles – exhilarating!

HOLY YEARS IN SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

What is a Holy (or Jubilee) Year?

The origin of the Christian Jubilee goes back to Biblical times. The Law of Moses prescribed a special year for the Jewish people: "You shall hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim the liberty throughout the land, to all its inhabitants; it shall be a jubilee for you when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his family. This fiftieth year is to be a jubilee year for you: you will not sow, you will not harvest the un-gathered corn; you will not gather the untrimmed vine. The jubilee is to be a holy thing to you; you will eat what comes from the fields."(The Book of Leviticus 25, 10-14)

The trumpet with which this particular year was announced was a goat's horn called Yobel in Hebrew, and the origin of the word jubilee. The celebration of this year also included the restitution of land to the original owners, the remission of debts, the liberation of slaves and the land was left fallow. In the New Testament, Jesus presents himself as the One who brings the old Jubilee to completion, because he has come to "preach the year of the Lord's favour" (Isaiah 61: 1-2).

ST JAMES’ FEAST DAYS
In the early Middle Ages the 30 December was St James’ Feast day, based on the old Hispanic (Mozarabic) rite. In the 11th century King Alfonso VI abolished the Hispanic rite in favour of the Roman rite and 25 July became the principal feast day to commemorate the martyrdom of St. James. December 30 was incorporated into the present liturgical calendar as the Feast of the Translation of his relics. And, just to confuse matters more, although we celebrate his Feast Day on 25th July using the Roman Rite calendar, it was formerly on the 5th August on the Tridentine Rite calendar.

HOLY YEARS IN SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

Watch a video of the 1915 Holy Year here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsnB1mLZwlQ

Whenever St James's day - 25th July - falls on a Sunday, the cathedral declares a Holy or Jubilee Year. Holy Years fall every 6, 5, 6, and 11 years: the most recent ones were 1982, 1993, 1999 and 2004. The next Holy Year will be 2010. This will be the 119th Jubilee Year and the 2nd of this century.

The Puerta Santa (Holy Door), which gives access to the Cathedral from the Plaza de la Quintana is opened on 31st December on the eve of each Holy Year, and walled up again a year later. As in the past, pilgrims reaching Santiago during a Holy Year, and fulfilling the conditions for it, are granted a plenary indulgence. (This means that you can get remission for all of your worldy sins). The plenary indulgence is given, not only in Holy Years, but also in ordinary years on Easter Sunday; 21st April (the anniversary of the consecration of the cathedral); and on St James's three feast days. (25th July, 30 December and 23 May).
On the eve of St. James' Day (the 24 July) a magnificent firework display is held on the Orbradoiro facade of the cathedral called the "Fuego Del Apostol”. An impressive statue of St. James as a warrior is taken from the cathedral and carried through the streets. Further celebrations are held to commemorate the removal of the remains to Spain on 30 December. You can read accounts of Holy Years in 1951 and 1965 here:

/Holy%20Year%201951.pdf

/Holy%20year%201965.pdf

This is a list of Holy Years from 1604 as supplied by the Archdioces in Santiago:

1604 1700 1802 1909 2004 2100 2202
1610 1706 1813 1915 2010 2106 2213
1621 1717 1819 1920 2021 2117 2219
1627 1723 1824 1926 2027 2123 2224
1632 1728 1830 1937 2032 2128 2230
1638 1734 1841 1943 2038 2134 2241
1649 1745 1847 1948 2049 2145 2247
1655 1751 1852 1954 2055 2151 2252
1660 1756 1858 1965 2060 2156 2258
1666 1762 1869 1971 2066 2162 2269
1677 1773 1875 1976 2077 2173 2275
1683 1779 1880 1982 2083 2179 2280
1688 1784 1886 1993 2088 2184 2286
1694 1790 1897 1999 2094 2190 2297

Over 10 million pilgrims are expected to visit Santiago in 2010.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are expected to walk to Santiago in 2010 - not only because it is a Holy Year but because the next Holy Year will be eleven years later.

The relics of St James in the crypt of the cathedral in Santiago.

Hugging the saint after walking to Santiago in the 2004 Holy Year.

This list shows the growth of numbers of pilgrims who received the compostela in Santiago. These numbers do not include pilgrims who walk sections of the various caminos, or who do not apply for the compostela.

1985/6 2.491
1987 2.905
1988 3.501
1989 5.760
1990 4.918
1991 7.274
1992 9.764
1993 99.436
1994 15.863
1995 19.821
1996 23.218
1997 25.179
1998 30.126
1999 154.613
2000 55.004
2001 61.418
2002 68.952
2003 74.614
2004 179.944
2005 93.924
2006 100.377
2007 114.026

WONDERFUL VIDEO FROM JOHAN

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUbhlh1p0WM

Pilgrim Memorials

This week a 60 year-old pilgrim, Paul Anthony Warsop, from Nottinghamshire in England had a heart attack and died whilst crossing the Pyrenees from St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles. The report says that he was just 7km from Roncesvalles when he told his friend that he wasn't feeling well. He collapsed on the side of the road and although paramedics tried CPR for over half an hour he was pronounce dead.
Last year in April another Englishman died when crossing from St Jean. He was caught in a snow storm and although he was found a mere 50m from a road, he was suffering from hypothermia and died in the hospital in Pamplona.
There are many memorial plaques, statues and crosses to pilgrims who have died on the camino. If you scroll down a few posts on this blog you will a post on Memorials with
photographs of some of the memorials to pilgrims who died on the Camino Frances.
In medieval times, the pilgrim who died whilst on pilgrimage would have a safe passage to heaven, bypassing purgatory altogether.
RIP

ANSWERING THE CALL - PLANNING THE NEXT GROOT TREK!!!

Here begins the journey
now begins the day
with one step upon the path
my soul is on its way!
© JS Selfe

Chemin du Piemont Pyreneen
http://vppyr.free.fr/vpp_cartes.php
http://www.ariege.com/cheminstjacques/etapes/index.html
http://vppyr.free.fr/vpp-index-etapes.php3
http://www.chemins-compostelle.com/voie-du-piemont.html
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/vtt.compostelle/piemont.htm
http://www.pyrenees-pireneus.com/RANDO-CheminPiemont-Etapes.htm

Decisions, decisions.
el camino calls and we dream about returning but we are like curious, sentient beings searching, trying different paths, different routes, all to the same destination - ourselves?? I couldn't resit the call and am planning to walk the Chemin du Piemont Pyreneen from Narbonne - on the Mediterranean coast - to Pamplona in Spain via Lourdes and St Jean Pied de Port. Well, maybe that route - maybe not!

Perhaps I will walk the first half of the Piemont and then swing left at Oloron St Marie to the Somport Pass and over the Pyrenees onto the Aragones route which joins the camino frances at Puente la Reina.

This is, by all accounts, a stunningly beautiful route and it would be a pity to miss it. After the Somport Pass and Jaca, we will visit the monastery of San Juan de la Péna with it's massive overhanging rock (that gives it its name). Here is a legend about San Jaun.

"One day in about 732 a noble Mozarabic youth from Saragossa went hunting deer in these mountains and he chased a steer until it fell over the cliff. The young man almost fell over as well but he was able to rein in his animal. Looking over the edge he saw the dead steer lying next to the entrance of a deep cave. Inside the cave was a tiny shrine and on the ground, lying dead with his head on a stone was the venerable hermit Juan de Atarés. The youth buried the hermit, sold all his own wordly goods and with his brother came to live in the cave. Before they diedm, they handed over the hermitage to two disciples and thus the fame of this saintly place reached the outer world. In this tiny sanctuary was born the Kingdom of Sobarbe which gave birth to the Kingdom of Aragon." (Walter Starkie - The Road to Santiago)

http://www.monasteriosanjuan.com/monasterio-san-juan-de-la-pena.php?L=en

As there are no English guide books for the Piemont section, I have bought the French Guide - Le Chemin du Piemont Pyreneen: de la Mediterranee a Roncevaux.
I have also downloaded about 32 Google Maps as well as a couple of profile and stage maps. I have received the brochures I sent off for the Languedoc Roussillo region and also for the Midi-Pyrenees.

EARLY STAGES OF PLANNING
For now, it is my two old walking buddies Val and Marion who will be joining me and perhaps Linda, who hasn't done any long distance walks but is a good walker and who we have known for many years.
In 2001 Val, Marion and I walked the Wainwright's Coast to Coast in England. In 2006 we walked the Via Francigena from Switzerland to Rome.. Marion and I walked the Camino Frances from Roncesvalles to Santiago in 2007.

The Spiritual Path

"You cannot travel the path until you have become the path."

Gautam Buddha

"It is not the road ahead that wears you out. It is the grain of sand in your shoe". Arabian proverb."My turning point was my pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. It was then that I, who had dedicated most of my life to penetrate the 'secrets' of the universe, realized that there are no secrets. Life is and will always be a mystery." Paulo Coelho "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes." Marcel Proust "There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign." Robert Louis Stevenson
"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home." James A. Michener "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." Helen Keller

"It is the people on the camino that make it so special....."

House by the side of the road - Samual Walter Foss

THERE are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the place of their self-content;
There are souls like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze the paths
Where highways never ran-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner's seat
Nor hurl the cynic's ban-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I see from my house by the side of the road
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife,
But I turn not away from their smiles and tears,
Both parts of an infinite plan-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead,
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
And still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish - so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat,
Or hurl the cynic's ban?
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

LESSONS LEARNED

There are many lessons to be learned on long distance walks, especially historic pilgrimage trails. Here are a few lessons that I have learned on my walks.
You need very little to be happy - and even less to survive!
On my first camino everyone told me - "Don't take too much stuff." I was determined to carry less than 8kg but, oh dear! you just have to have those nice trousers that have zip-off shorts: and a little black jacket for evening: and pajamas: and a sarong (after all, it doesn't weigh much): and a book to read: and ........ the list goes on. After three days of walking in the Pyrenees I thought my tibias were going to push out through the bottom of my feet! And, the shoulders and back! Ouch!! We took everything out of our backpacks, sorted them into essentials and definitely don't want to carry anymore piles and visited the first 'correos' we came to. I posted 3kg to myself in Santiago. I have bought a new backpack for each long walk I've done and think I will stick to this Pro-Lite, 30L that weighs 630gr and weighs 5.8kg fully packed and 6.8kg with a Litre of water.
Homelessness: You have no base, no space to call your own, and you learn what it is to be homeless. You don't mind sitting on a pavement, or on a park bench like a homeless tramp eating yesterday's bread and dried out cheese. Some times shop owners eye you with suspicion, as though you are a homeless Romany gypsy! I now smile at homeless people instead of avoiding make eye contact.
Hunger: You learn what it is to be hungry when there is nowhere to buy food and you have to go to bed and start the next day without having eaten. You are grateful for whatever nature provides - berries on the brambles, a fallen apple, ripe figs on the side of a road, an abandoned vineyard provides a welcome bounty! You talk about food and what you would really like to have at the end of the day. But, you are always grateful for the soup, chips, salad and flan that the menu del peregrino dishes up! Some of the most joyful moments were when I found a menu with vegetables on it!
Small Comforts: A bed with sheets is a luxury and being given a pillow is like winning the lottery! When you do book into a small hotel, you feel like a millionaire sleeping in a bed, with sheets, and a pillow! And little sachets of shampoo are gold nuggets!
Water: You have no kitchen to replenish your water so finding water 'fuentes' with potable water is such a blessing, especially on a hot day. Where there are no 'fuentes' a spring with fresh water is a bonus. And a river where you can paddle your feet is just bliss! You are grateful to the stranger who placed large stepping stones across a stream so that you don't get your feet wet. You are also grateful for the way marks and signs that show you the way. They become your best friends and you feel panicky if you don't see one for a while.
The roof over your head: You walk in the rain, in the sun, in the wind, sometimes in the snow or in hail. You are so grateful for a bed in a refuge. To be able to wash your clothes, have a shower, lie down on a bed. "Little things mean a lot" takes on a whole new meaning!
To be a stranger:You know what its like to be a stranger in a foreign land - sometimes viewed with suspicion, sometimes ignored, but many times treated with kindness and generosity.
Each day is a new beginning:
You learn to enjoy each new day - to put yesterday behind you - not even thinking of tomorrow. Some days you can't remember where you were the day before! Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is too far away to care about. Each day is new and exciting - walking through new landscapes, seeing different places, meeting new people.
Meeting angels on the way:
Many pilgrims say, "The best thing about walking the camino was the people I met and shared with".
"It is an exhilarating paradox. You make your discovery of self in the company of others. Through someone else’s belief that you exist, and have a right to exist in your own way, you begin to find your solid ground within. From that place of inner reality you are able to reach out - perhaps even to forget yourself temporarily - to make contact with others. Being with others allows you to go on learning who you are. Feeling safe about who you are, you can afford to appreciate others’ differences, as well as the ways in which you are alike." (Stephanie Dowrick - an ordained Interfaith Minister)
Amen!!

Saints on the Camino

MANY MORE PHOTOS ON THE CAMINO PATHS - NEXT POST DOWN


There are many saints along the camino. One you will find regularly, in France and in Spain, is Saint Roch. He is depicted as a pilgrim, with a wound on his leg (sometimes the left, sometimes the right - sometimes the shin and sometimes the thigh) with a dog offering him food. This is his story:

St. Roch was born at Montpellier France. His father was governor of that city. At his birth St. Roch is said to have been found miraculously marked on the breast with a red cross. When he was twenty years old, his parents were killed. Although left with their fortune and the government of Montpellier, he renounced his riches giving all the money to the poor. He handed over the governmental duties to an uncle. He felt an inner calling to proceed toward Italy. Disguised as a mendicant pilgrim (a beggar), he set out on foot. Along the way, he encountered village after village stricken by the plague. Knowing then what his inner calling was about he began travelling from village to village staying in each for weeks at a time devoting himself to the plague-stricken and curing them with the healing power in his hands. He never feared for his own health or safety but lay his hands upon all he met and they were healed. He healed ailing cattle and other animals as well.
After a few years he himself was stricken with the plague. Not wanting to be a burden on society he withdrew to a wooded area outside of a village called Peacenza and waited for death to overtake him. As he lay at the brink of death a dog appeared and lay down beside him licking his wounds. The dog would periodically disappear and return with a morsel of food that he had collected from near by Peacenza. Although the dog was himself thin from starvation, he always lay the food gently on St. Rock's chest for him to eat. St. Rock soon recovered and was found by the dog's master who took him to a place of shelter. St. Roch then resumed healing the people in the plague stricken villages. Returning to his home in Montpellier, St. Roch, still wearing his pilgrim clothing and physically changed because of his ordeal was thrown into jail by his own uncle where a few years later he died. After his death the cross on his chest that had been their since childhood and some documents found in his possession served to identify him. He was given a public funeral and the miracles continued long after his death.

If you walk the Via Turonensis you will pass through Le Muret. This little pilgrimage chapel in the woods was mentioned in the 12th Century. It has a wooden bass relief of the Saint as well as scallop shells carvings in the wood.

STAGES AND PATHS OF THE CAMINO FRANCES

August/September 2007:
Anneliese, my companion on the Camino last year (a Dominican nun) said:
"I think God collected all the stones and rocks in Spain and scattered them along the camino to test us."
Many of the paths consist of rocks, or river boulders, gravel pits, torrent courses, pebbles or shale. Others are mud, dirt, clay or stone.
Using the Brierley guide for the Camino Frances, which splits the miles for each day into “paths: quiet roads: main roads” the 798kms from St Jean works out like this:
505 km on paths/tracks
202.6km on quiet roads (mostly through small villages)
90.6km on main roads

1. The first 50kms, starting in the Pyrenees, comprise a difficult start straight up to the Ibaneta Pass, a severe downhill to Roncesvalles and then an undulating roller coaster path through woodland until you reach Pamplona. " From Najera we climbed very steeply into the hills and were accompanied by dozens - perhaps hundreds - of vultures flying overhead. Someone said that they circle the pilgrim road waiting for one to fall!

2. The next 200 + km are varied - across Navarra and the La Rioja vineyards with several hill ranges to cross.

3. For ±230 km between Burgos and Astorga you are on the meseta – hot in summer and bitterly cold in the winter with fewer villages and therefore, fewer monuments along the way.
4. The mountains of León take you up to 1,500 metres over 2 days to the highest point on the camino just after Manjarin, then very steeply down to the Bierzo plain. Two days later you have the Cebreiro range, again reaching 1,400 metres. Neither of these is as severe as the day from St Jean, because you start higher up

5. From Astorga to Sarria – 145kms takes you to the highest point at 1500m close to Manjarin. Then, after Ponferrada, you climb again to O'Cebreiro which is at 1400m.

6. The last 115 kms from Sarria are surprisingly arduous with sharp up hills and steep descents.

As you leave Mont de Gozo, these statues point the way to Santiago and to the cathedral.

Ultreïa ! Ultreïa ! E sus eia Deus adjuva nos !

Ultreïa
Tous les matins nous prenons le chemin,
Tous les matins nous allons plus loin.
Jour après jour, St Jacques nous appelle,
C’est la voix de Compostelle.

Ultreïa ! Ultreïa ! E sus eia Deus adjuva nos !

Chemin de terre et chemin de Foi,
Voie millénaire de l’Europe,
La voie lactée de Charlemagne,
C’est le chemin de tous mes jacquets.

Ultreïa ! Ultreïa ! E sus eia Deus adjuva nos !

Et tout là-bas au bout du continent,
Messire Jacques nous attend,
Depuis toujours son sourire fixe,
Le soleil qui meurt au Finistère.

Ultreïa ! Ultreïa ! E sus eia Deus adjuva nos !

A chaque pas, nous devenons des frères
Patron St Jacques, la main dans la main
Chemin de Foi, chemin de lumière
Voie millénaire des pèlerins.

Ultreïa ! Ultreïa ! E sus eia Deus adjuva nos !

Mr St Jacques écoutez notre appel
Des Pyrénées à Compostelle,
Dirigez nous du pied de cet autel, I
ci-bas et jusqu’au Ciel. Ultreïa !

Ultreïa ! E sus eia Deus adjuva nos !

Paroles et musique Jean-Claude Benazet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhW5orZIe4w&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgvxryPGOQE

/FranzPilgerlied.WAV

BRUSH YOUR TEETH WITH WINE

A report in a Welsh journal recently claimed that:
IT WAS once up there with coffee on the banned list of substances for those who wanted to maintain a healthy smile with shiny white teeth.
But now it seems there is a good excuse for lovers of red wine to pour themselves a glass, with researchers claiming it is actually beneficial for the bite.
Compounds known as polyphenols in red wine have been found to stave off periodontal diseases which affect the gums and bone around the teeth, often leading to permanent tooth loss. Periodontitis affects 65% of adults over 50 and 15% of adults aged between 21 and 50.
Scientists from Universite Laval in Quebec, Canada, found that red wine polyphenols help reduce the inflammation that arises from periodontitis. They presented their findings at the 35th annual meeting of the American Association for Dental Research in Orlando, Florida, and published them in the US Journal of Dental Research.
It is yet another shot in the arm for wine-lovers who claim it is fine to enjoy a glass in moderation for its numerous reported health benefits.

However, if you don't trust this report you can always try the water.
There are water taps and fountains all along the camino where pilgrims and travellers can drink or top up their water bottles. Some are very simple 'tap in the wall' type fuentes but others are architecturally beautiful with historic value. Most have a sign whether the water is 'potable' (drinkable) or not. There is even one famous fountain at Bodegas Irache that offers wine and water!
The water is safe (promise!) but if you don't trust it, you can buy bottled water in cafes and bars - and boost the local economy! Click on the photo for a higher resolution view of the fountain.

Follow the yellow arrows along the Ancient Paths

Jeremiah 6-16:

Thus says the Lord:
Stand at the crossroads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies, and walk in it and find rest for your souls.

Follow the yellow arrows and the scallop shells

Pilgrimage Mantras and Prayers

Here begins the Journey Now begins the Day. With one step upon the Road My soul is on its Way. © JS Selfe

Ancient Hasidic Saying: “When you walk across the fields with your mind pure, then from all the stones and all growing things, and all animals, the sparks of their soul come out and cling to you and become a holy fire in you”.


Buddhist prayer: "Simply looking ahead without looking down at our feet, we shall stumble. To look at others and not look at our own self is a horrible thing."





St Anthony's messenger:
1. Blessed are you, pilgrim, if you find that the camino opens your eyes to the unseen.
2. Blessed are you, pilgrim, if what concerns you most is not arriving, but arriving with the others.
3. Blessed are you, pilgrim, when you contemplate the sights of the camino and find them full of names and of new dawns.
4. Blessed are you, pilgrim, because you have discovered that the true camino begins at its end.
5. Blessed are you, pilgrim, if your backpack empties of things as your heart doesn't know where to fit so many emotions.
6. Blessed are you, pilgrim, if you discover that a step backwards to help another is more valuable than one hundred forward without awareness of those at your sides.
7. Blessed are you, pilgrim, when you have no words to give thanks for all the wonders in every nook of the camino.
8. Blessed are you, pilgrim, if you search the truth and make of your camino a life and of your life a camino, after Him who is the Way, the Life, and the Truth.
9. Blessed are you, pilgrim, if in the camino you meet yourself and make yourself a gift of time without hurry so that you may not neglect the image of your heart.
10. Blessed are you, pilgrim, if you find that the camino is rich with silence, and the silence is rich with prayers, and the prayers are encounters with the Father that awaits you.

"Not all who wander are lost." JRR Tolkien

Thomas Merton : “Sitting at home and meditating on the divine presence is not enough for our time. We must come to the end of a long journey and see that the stranger we meet there is no other than ourselves - which is the same as saying we find Christ in him."

The journey of one thousand miles begins with one step.

Always aim for the ultimate.Never look back.Be forever mindful of others.Keep your eyes always set on the Way.

What is important is not the destination,but the act of getting there.The Path itself is the goal.


St. Gildas - 5thC
In health may I and all of my companions
Safely arrive with no harm or injury –
May my boat be safe in the waves of the ocean,
My horses safe on the highways of the earth,
Our money safe as we carry it with us
To pay due heed to our poor necessities.
May our enemies fail to do harm to us,
However evil the counsels which inspire them,
In the eternal name of Christ our Master,
May my roads all lie plain before me,
Whether I climb the rugged heights of mountains,
Or descend the hollow depths of valleys,
Or trudge the lengthy roads on open country,
Or struggle through the thickets of dense forest:
May I walk always in straight ways and shining
To longed-for places . . .”
Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” James A. Michener

Jewish Prayer: May it be your will, Lord my God, to lead me on the way of peace and guide and direct my steps in peace, so that you will bring me happily to my destination, safe and sound. Save me from danger on the way. Give me good grace, kindness and favour in both your eyes and in the eyes of all whom I may meet. Hear this my prayer, for you are a God who hears to the heart's supplication and communion. Blessed are You, Lord our God, who hears prayer

Where will yon lonely pilgrim wander,
Where will my ancient pigrim roam?
Away on the road to Compostella.
Who know when he’ll reach his goal?
His weary feet are stained with gore
And he can tramp no more.

Pilgrim Blessing (1078): In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, shoulder these rucksacks which will help you during your pilgrimage. May the fatigue of carrying them be expiation for your sins, so that when you have been forgiven you may reach the shrine of St. James full of courage, and when your pilgrimage is over, return home full of joy. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

O Lord whose word makes all things holy, bless we beseech you these emblems, rucksacks and staffs to be used on this pilgrimage. May all those who carry them arrive safely at the shrine of St. James the Apostle, the objective of their journey. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." Helen Keller.

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep;When in the morning light I wake,Teach me the path of love to take.

THE SIGNS IN THE STONES

It was customary in the middle ages for stone masons to place their marks in stones. These marks identified the work of a particular mason for payment of wages, and indicated that the stone was acceptable for use. Other marks specified where a particular stone should be placed within the structure. Marks have been found on stones used in Ancient Egypt and elsewhere, including castles, churches and cathedrals of Europe. A register of marks became necessary to identify the personal mark of each mason. The first written reference to mason's marks occurred in Scotland, in the Schaw Statutes of 1598, where it was stated that on the admission of a Fellow of Craft, his name and mark were to be registered.
One can follow a mason by identifying his mark on monuments, churches and cathedrals - some that would have taken many years to build. It is presumed that the stone with the large sign on the wall of the collegiate church in Roncesvalles was recycled from an earlier structure, possibly the 10th C hospice which was demolished in the 1600's.
Eunate Santa Maria is almost covered in mason marks and at Villafranca del Bierzo, Jesus Jato showed me many stones that were donated from all over Europe - and even Brazil - to rebuild Ave Fenix after it was burned down.
When you look at a monument, church or cathedral, look closely and you will see many signs in the stones.

Crosses on the camino

There are thousands of crosses on the caminos through Spain - here are a few.

Sant'Iago Killer of Spaniards!!

Santiago Mataespanois (Killer of Spaniards)

There have been recent reports of Muslims obejcting to scupltures, paintings and carvings of Santiago Matamoros (killer of Moors). Someone should tell them that the very same imaginary figure, was also the killer of the Spaniards!

Jacobus, brother of John, son of Zebedee was a fisherman who evolved into the archetypal hero of Western culture. From Sant’ Iago Peregrino to Sant'Iago Matamoros - killer of the Moors: to Sant’ Iago Mataindios - killer of Indians: to Sant’ Iago Mataespañois - killer of Spaniards - everyone wanted him as their hero!
In Mexico City there is a carving from the altarpiece of the Church of Santiago Tlatelolco showing him as Santiago Mataindios - the Indian-slayer.
And although Christianity and the Catholic religion were taken to the Americas by the Spaniards, when Mexico fought to obtain its independence from Spain in 1810, Sant’ Iago was exalted as Santiago Mataespañois - the slayer of Spaniards!
In Peru, during an indigenous uprising in 19th-century they adopted Santiagoas its champion, using the "Matamoros" iconography of “Santiago Mataespañois” that in Peru had come to be associated with a pre-Columbian deity who drove out evil forces. There is a mid-19thC silver statue of Santiago Mataespañois in the Museum of Pilgrimages in Santiago de Compostela.

http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/spain2005/mataespanoisSantiago.html
and another one – scroll down to under Ano 1998 - (as well as pictures of items from the museum) here:
http://www.mdperegrinacions.com/paxinas/historia.html
You can see the altarpiece of Santiago Mataindios here (click on the photo to enlarge it)

http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/Art454L-03-TlatelolcoXochimilc/I00004.html

You can see paintings of Santiago Matamoros and Mataindios together here:

http://www.huancainos.com/literatura/babelandes.htm

Of slugs and sundials - weasels and weathervanes

I took photographs of all sorts of things on the camino - from giant slugs to 400 year-old sundials, weasels to weathervanes. Here are just a few.

Precious memories on the camino

We met a delightful Irish girl on the camino who, for various physical reasons, could not carry a heavy pack and who chose not to sleep in the albergues. She started at St Jean Pied de Port and walked to Santiago staying at small hostals or pensions having her luggage transported from place to place by taxi. Some people seemed to disapprove of this kind of pilgrimage but I am of the opinion that where you sleep or what you carry has no bearing whatsoever on your spiritual status as a pilgrim. She walked the same paths, through the same villages and towns and visited the same churches and cathedrals and monuments. She walked the camino and has a Compostela to prove it.

The camino has many levels - something for everybody. It is a physical journey and a spiritual journey. It offers religion and science, art and architecture, history and legend, fauna and flora, music, literature and much more. For me its richest blessings are the pilgrims who walk it and the people who care for them. I do feel that staying only in hotels deprives one of experiencing the wonderful camaraderie and social interaction pilgrims have with hospitaleros and other pilgrims which you only find in the pilgrim refuges. Sure, you can chat to fellow pilgrims on the road and at café bars but it is usually at the end of the day when most pilgrims are relaxing that you meet and befriend so many different people and have the most amazing encounters.
After arriving at a refuge most pilgrims attend to their daily chores of washing clothes, finding food and preparing for the next day. This is never done in isolation, but by patiently waiting your turn at the washtub, chatting with the people around you or sharing your food. Everyone shares, not only food and wine but information, medication, blister products. You break bread every day. Friendships are formed. Distrust among pilgrims disappears. One keeps meeting the same pilgrims in different refuges and if separated for a few days, familiar faces are greeted like long-lost relatives.
The scenes around a modern albergue can’t be too different from a medieval hospice. Pilgrims relaxing together in a meadow sharing food and wine, tending to each other’s feet or massaging aching shoulders. An ethic develops where those pilgrims who need to be alone are left alone and those who need a shoulder are treated with empathy and compassion. Pilgrims develop an open mind and a culture of acceptance, compassion and caring rarely seen amongst strangers. And, many hospitaleros display these same attributes.
In Villamayor de Monjardin the hospitalero took one look at my raw heels and insisted on treating them from her first aid box. In Granon, we had to sing for our supper and had a special blessing before bedtime. In Tosantos, after dinner we climbed into the attic to find a delightful makeshift chapel where we were asked to take a piece of paper out of a box containing the requests for prayers written by other pilgrims. Mine was written by a woman who asked that we pray for her son who had been diagnosed with a kidney disease. In Logrono we could take a prayer from a box (written by children) to present at the altar of St James in Santiago. In Bercianos we all had to watch the sunset over a hill before we were allowed back in to the refuge for our communal meal. At Arroyo San Bol, a young Italian Rastafarian chef cooked us the most amazing meal. At Villafranca del Bierzo, Jesus Jato performed his healing Reiki on pilgrims who were in pain and at Manjarin, a young man with a Mohawk hairstyle and studs in his face cooked us lunch and dinner in between gently caring for a mother cat and her kittens.
These are the jewels of the camino and my most precious memories are not of a soaring cathedral or of stunning stained glass but of the kindness of strangers, the astounding generosity of the Spanish people and the many humble refuges that brought us all together.

The last post

This will be our last post from Spain - Anneliese left for Germany at 11h30 this morning and we will be leaving Pamplona at 9pm for Madrid where we get our flight home at 12h35am. It has been a restful 2 days in Pamplona. We did a 5km self-guided walk around the walls of Pamplona yesterday morning, which took us almost 2 hours with all the stops and photo opportunities. Pamploná was a strategic defense town close to the border with France. The walls were considered an engineering masterpiece and many cities sent their engineers to examine it and suggest new architecural designs for its fortification. The walk ended at the Citadel - constructed in the 1500’s but breached by the French in the 1800’s. It forms a green lung in the centre of Pamplona and yesterday the parks and gardens were filled with children, jumping castles, athletic events, joggers and families out strolling in the sunshine.
After lunch we had a siesta and then walked to the new town to have a look at the large Stuttafords type department store, which covers 5 floors. We were a bit overwhelmed so didn’t stay long. On the way back into the old city we came upon a marching crowd, shouting slogans and tried to avoid them by going down a side street. Then we heard police sirens and the crowd began to disperse and people ran in all directions. The police vehicles disgorged riot police with batons and shields who charged at the running people. Finn and I got caught between two teenage girls and charging police who brutally smashed the girls with their batons. One girl sprawled on the floor and they hit her whilst she lay on the ground. Finn put his back to a pillar and held me. The police changed direction and started chasing other running people. It was like the Running of the Bulls but with police and ordinary citizens instead of bulls and young men. We were quite shaken and Marion was almost ill with shock. We went back to our little street and Finn found an Irish pub that was broadcasting the Australia-vs-England rugby match. That was him done for the day! In the evening we walked back to the Plaza and around the corner found windows smashed, large garbage tips overturned and on fire - remains of a barricade. Later on, in the hotel room, we saw news items showing the police baton charging demonstrators in many cities in Spain including Pamplona. (We think it was an ETA demonstration.)
We have had a very quiet day today as we had to vacate our room at mid-day and could not leave our luggage at the hotel as the concierge was going off duty at 12h30. So, we carried it to the square, sat in the sun for a while watching the people go past and then sat for another hour and half having lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Finn has now gone off to watch the SA vs Fiji match at the Irish pub (The Harp) and Marion is watching the luggage whilst I am in this little internet place.
We will arrive in JHB at 10h30am tomorrow and will be in Durban at 13h30. Marion and I have been away from home for almost 7 weeks - a very long time - and Finn for almost 2 weeks. It is time to go home.
Thank you all for sharing this journey with us. There is so much to absorb, so many thoughts, experiences, sights and sounds to sort through and put into perspective. I have taken almost 1000 photographs and am sure that many will evoke all sorts of memories.

Love to all - from a sunny and warm Pamplona,
S M and Finn

None of us can believe that our walks are over

We are now in Pamplona and have just walked down the street where the bulls run during the St Fermin running of the bulls. At Santo Domingo do Silos, we attended the 13h45 session of the Gregorian chants and Finn was a little disappointed because it only lasted 15 minutes. However, we went to Vespers at 19h30 and heard a full session of prayers in Gregorian chants. Now we know why the monks at Silos are famous for their chants - it was absolutely beautiful. We decided to stay for the 9am mass as well and that too was a special treat. The Benedictine church has amazing acoustics and the gentle chanting echos through the aisle into the vault of the church. There is no ornamentation at all in the church. One large wooden Christ on the cross behind the altar is all that breaks the stonewalls. The altar is a grey granite with a simple white cloth cover. There were no chalices, cups or jugs on the altar. During the mass one of the monks collected the cups used for mass from a side granite server and these were returned straight after communion. There were about 24 monks at mass - 12 in white robes and 11 in black robes with one ‘new recruit’ in civvies. Finn and I decided to visit the museum and the cloisters - the most amazing 'narrative pillars' with biblical stories in stone on every pillar. One set of pillars are curved and when I asked the guy in the museum why he could not answer. The floors are a mosaci of pebbles and the ceilings beautifully pained. It is also a double storied cloister with a later structure built over the earlier one. We left Santo Domingo at about 10h15 and drove mostly along the N120 - the Camino road route - towards Pamplona. It was quite exciting to see peregrinos walking alongside the road on the asphalt trail and also when we stopped at Los Arcos we felt quite envious of the pilgrims walking through. We then followed the main roads up to Roncesvalles where we spent the night at the Casa Sabina Inn. The sun was shining, there were only 19 pilgrims registered at the albergue when we visited it to show Finn where we had slept the first night. The Dutch hospitalera told us that the refuge is closed from the end of October until May. We had a pilgrim menu at the Inn and then attended the pilgrim mass. We all went up to the altar for the peregrino blessing. It rained during the night and was very misty when we awoke this morning. We felt quite sorry for the pilgrims that were setting off down the trail in the rain. By the time we left the mist had cleared and the sun broke through. We drove over the Ibenta Pass to St Jean Pied de Port where we walked up a rather quiet and deserted Rue da Citadelle, visiting the pilgrim centre and having coffee at a restaurant next to the river. We did some sightseeing and left St Jean at mid-day.

We stopped once more in Roncesvalles (Finn can’t pronounce it properly so he calls it Rondebosch!) before driving on to Pamplona where we dropped off the car and checked into our hotel in San Nicolas, just around the corner from Plaza del Castillo. We walked around Pamplona for a couple of hours before having a picnic dinner in the hotel’s sitting room. We have tomorrow and Sunday free in Pamplona before we head off for the airport at about 6pm. None of us can believe that our walks are over - the last 7 weeks seem to have flown by so quickly. We will return to this internet cafe before we leave to give you the ‘last post’ from Spain.

Love to all,
S A M & Finn

Nostalgia

We whizzed along calmly in the car today - me driving again - through spectacular scenery. The lake district enlarged, lots of stony hills, forests and lakes. The roads are excellent with extremely high bridges spanning across deep ravines built on impossibly tall, thin spindle legs. We have also been through some pretty long tunnels through the mountains. We decided to skip Leon (big City blues) and headed straight for the camino road instead. We felt quite nostalgic watching peregrinos walking along the asphalt next to the road with trees planted every 9m. We arrived at Castrojeriz just before lunch and checked into the Puerta de Monte, a very nice hotel overlooking the plains. We explored the little town for a while before retiring for a siesta. We are now in the La Taberna and have bought some excellent olive oil from Antonio (shhh... don’t tell anyone because it is a private oil not for sale and he would be up the creek if anyone found out!) The bar is filled with pilgrims but we are attuned to the ‘camino lingua’ of part German, part French, part Spanish part English. Finn, poor thing, is a bit lost as he only had 7 days induction into pilgrim communication. Tomorrow we will have a short drive to Santo Domingo de Silas where we hope to hear the Gregorian Chants sung at mass in the cathedral. I have a feeling that I will be driving again and we will stick to the camino road.

Its getting darker earlier now and sunrise is also later - about 8h15. We met pilgrims in the square and although I am missing the walking and would love to do a bit of exploring around her, I almost felt sorry for them - such a long way still to go!

Cheers from Castrojeriz!
S A M & Finn

Then we got lost

The saga of our car continued this morning when we checked out of the hotel and walked to the car park. The electronic lock would just not open. The garage attendant told us that the lights had been on all night so, guess who made a boo-boo and left the lights on when she parked the car! We went back to the hotel and the concierge very kindly phoned the Road Assist who came and charged the battery. We finally left Lugo at 11:15 so went straight onto the National road and instead of going south headed up north to to Oviedo - about 300kms away. No problems! Easy-peasy with the Michelen maps I'd downloaded before we left home and posted ahead to myself in Santiago. We arrived, headed into town and - then we got lost. We drove around and around looking for our hotel but could not find the road even though I stopped to ask a number of different people for the way. I finally hit on the idea to put Marion and Anneliese in a taxi and follow them to the hotel. It was such a short distance that the first taxi driver refused but luckily the next one agreed and so we followed them around the corner to the hotel. It actually wasn't a proper road - almost like a passage where cars can come down, off load and then have to drive off again. But that wasn't the end of the saga because Finn and I then got lost again for over an hour trying to find the parking garage, which was actually just around the corner. After shouting at each other and building up a bit of road rage I spotted the garage name and drove in through a one-way and parked the car. We spent the rest of the afternoon sightseeing and visiting the Sudarium in the Camara Santa at the Oviedo Cathedral. The Sudarium is a dishcloth sized piece of fabric and is the 2nd most important Christian relic and is one of the most tested of all relics after the shroud of Turin. This relic was the cloth used to wipe Christ's face when he was on the cross and after he was placed in the tomb. Recent studies have shown that the blood on the Sudarium and the Shroud are the same type. It has been kept in a rather modest underground chapel called the Camara Santa - Holy Chamber - since the 11th Century. We were all quite awed in it's presence. We then walked up and down the boulevard with all the smartly dressed Spanish ladies and gents and had dinner in a little restaurant off the boulevard. Most restaurants have 3 prices next to the list of dishes - the cheapest being if you eat at the bar, the 2nd one if you eat at a table inside and the most expensive if you eat outside. The difference can be as much as R15 so we ate inside at a table. Tomorrow we drive down south to Leon and then to Castrojeriz where we will spend the night. I think I will drive the car out of town and then Finn will take over on the highway. The weather has been great - sunny skies and warm sunshine. Hope it continues till we leave for home on Sunday.

Love to all,
S A M and Finn

We are no longer peregrinos - Just tourists

We are no longer peregrinos - just tourists - and we had our first tourist upset this morning. When we arrived at Santiago’s airport none of our credit cards (all four of us tried the Visa Cards and I tried a Visa and a Master Card) would not work as the banks would not accept any of them. This meant that we could not pay for our hired car. As you know, car hire companies don’t accept cash (in case you crash the car and they need to charge you). Then an ‘angel moment’ when Marion B and Fran, who were waiting for their flight to London, saw us in the airport lobby and came to say goodbye. We explained our predicament and Fran very kindly offered to use her credit card and we were able to complete the hire process. (We have an automatic, diesel Citroen with a great big boot for all our baggage.)
But back to Santiago. Yesterday morning we spent a couple of hours in the cathedral museum, the Bishop’s Palace and the cloisters - very beautiful - whilst Anneliese attended the pilgrim’s mass in the cathedral. In the evening, after a good meal with Marion B and Fran, we did a ‘nocturnal walking tour’ of the city which started at 10:30pm and finished at 12:30am. The rain held off and it was a lovely evening for walking through the old city of Santiago including a visit to the cloisters and inner courtyards of the old pilgrim hospice which is now a Parador - a 5 star hotel. The evening ended with a ‘quemada’ (fire water ceremony) at a local bar. Very strong stuff - 50% alcohol - orange and lemon rinds, sugar and coffee beans all set alight until blue flames leap up the ladle. We all had to sample the fire water and the fumes got up Fran’s nose so much so that she had to leave the bar and catch her breathe outside!

We could hear the rain during the early hours of the morning and decided to get a taxi to the airport. After the initial hassles with our credit cards we drove off in our beige Citroen, heading west to Finisterre - the ‘End of the World’. The weather improved and the mist cleared so that we had a beautiful view of the ocean (our first sighting of the sea for 7 weeks) and a gorgeous view of the headland which is very similar to Cape Point in South Africa. We had lunch in the restaurant at the top of the hill and after having our photographs taken at the very last camino bollard - it reads 0.00kms - we headed east towards Lugo, a city with the best-preserved Roman walls in all of Spain. It was entering the city that we had our second 'angel moment'. Finn decided in Santiago that I should drive first as I had an idea of where we should be heading. So I had to drive a left-hand drive car on the right (wrong) side of the road with Finn cringing every time a vehicle overtook us and I edged away from the centre lane. (Okay Joy - now I know what it was like for you!!) By the time we got to Lugo I was whizzing around the round-abouts like an old pro but I whizzed the wrong way and took us away from the old city. We stopped and an old fellow told us to go back up the hill. I drove back up the hill, decided to take a right turn at the last minute and ended up driving through one of the 10 puertas – ‘gates’ - into the walled city. There in front of us was a sign for our hotel and about 200m later we pulled up outside. What luck! Any other entrance and we would have been driving around all afternoon trying to find the hotel.
We checked in and then took a walk along the top of the over 2km wall that was built in the 3rd C by the Romans. Greg, you would love it! Many of the buildings inside the walls resemble Dickens-like crofts, with ramshackle walls, shingle roofs, dormer windows and two or three chimneys squashed between modern, high-rise apartments and offices. Some of the houses can only be 2 or 2 ½ m wide but go up three floors so they appear to be squashed into tall structures. Very quaint and medieval. We had dinner in the main square and marvelled at how smartly dressed the locals were who took their walks around the square dressed in their Sunday best with ties and jackets, ladies in high heels - many with designer doggies tripling alongside them! Tomorrow we will drive back down to Sarria (where Finn started his walk) and drive as closely to the camino as possible all the way to Hospital dÓrbigo (the place with the longest bridge in Spain) before turning north to Oviedo where we will spend the night. Oviedo is famous for a very old relic, a shroud that covered Christ’s face before the Turin shroud was used to cover him completely. Recent tests have shown that the blood type on both shrouds are the same. There is a Spanish saying that says one should not visit the servant (Sant’Iago) without visiting the Master (meaning the relic of the shroud.) So, having visited the servant at his resting place in Compostela we will now visit the Master in Oviedo. Will let you know more about that in our next post.

Love to all,
S A M & Finn

There are as many reasons for walking el camino

We are only 4.5kms from Santiago and can almost smell the incense wafting from the Botafumeiro! But, we have curbed our enthusiasm to rush the last day and will stay here at the huge complex of Monte do Gozo tonight. We arrived at about 12h30 but couldn't check in until 13h30 so we had a sandwich and a drink before checking in. This complex will provide a free bed for one night to 800 pilgrims (they never have that many though) and still has beds for 2000 more people at 7 euro a bed. It looks like a military barracks with rows and rows of dormitories, a cafeteria, self-service restaurant and a few shops. One of the statues is of pilgrims pointing the way to the city. This is the only spot left on the Mount of Joy where you can actually see the steeples of the cathedral. Right now we are waiting for our washing cycle to finish. It costs 3 euro for a wash (E1.80 for the powder blocks) and 2 euro for the dryer. Sharing between 4 people makes it worthwhile - especially if your accommodation is for free. After a surprisingly good sleep on Wednesday Finn really got into his stride! It was his 5th day of walking and his competitive spirit kicked in - passing poor struggling peregrinos and chalking them off as successes - 43 pilgrims so far! He even counts those who dare stop to take a photograph, looking back at us with a triumphant smile. On Wednesday we decided not to stay in Santa Irene as we arrived early and read that the albergue only opens at 2pm. So we decided to walk 4kms further on to Arca. (Joy-belle, that is where we made a meal for Elsabet and sat waiting for the albergue to open whilst the backpacks piled up to the top of the driveway). When we arrived at the albergue we saw that it was similar to the one in Melide - a huge municipal albergue with no doors on the showers and reported to be in a poor state in 2006. We decided to find a Pension instead and Finn and I left Marion and Anneliese in the line whilst we walked into the small, one road town to find rooms. Eventually, at the far end of the town, we found a beautiful place that gave us two rooms for 30 euro per room. The owner very kindly drove me back to the albergue to fetch Marion and Anneliese and we were soon checked into lovely clean rooms with a shared en suite bathroom. Only a pleasure! There was a cafe-bar downstairs (owned by the same person). We had lunch there and bought rolls, ham, cheese, tomato and lettuce to make our own supper in the sitting room provided for guests. Today's walk was mainly up steep, short inclines which somewhat curbed Finn's need to pass every backpack in front of him! Marion's shin splint has crept up her shin and she groans at every downhill while Finn moans, "Bugger me!" at every uphill. We will leave at about 8am tomorrow so that we arrive in Santiago just after 9am. Hopefully Marion Bowles will be waiting for us and will take a short video of the intrepid four walking into the Obradoiro Square up to the cathedral. I have fallen in love with the Horreos - little structures on stilts used to store corn. They are now protected and many have been restored and preserved.

Lil Parker asked the other day, "Why do you do it?

There are as many reasons for walking el camino as there are pilgrims, and over 100 000 will earn the compostela this year. Although the Santiago pilgrimage is a Christian one, many pilgrims profess to walking it for spiritual reasons rather than religious. Many say that they don't know why they walk it, that it 'called to them'. You would think that any sane person would have a really good reason to leave their comfort zone, their family, friends and home (and their country) to go and walk 800kms across a foreign land, staying in humble, shared accommodation, eating strange food and struggling with a foreign language. They do all this with a backpack containing everything they posses for a month and will continue walking with blisters, tendinitis, cellulitis, shin splints etc. It is amazing! Perhaps the common denominator for all pilgrims is their 'humanness' - we are all pilgrims journeying through this life and when millions of fellow humans follow a particular path, we feel the urge to join the stream. The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela was the most walked path in medieval times (even more popular than to Rome or Jerusalem) and today it has almost reached the same levels of popularity as the 14th and 15th centuries. It is said that pilgrimage is a metaphor for life and perhaps the camino is life in microcosm. One experiences joy and sadness, ups and downs, easy days, difficult days, sunshine and rain, weariness and wonder, hunger and compassion. When we reach Santiago we have learned what we are really capable of. Some pilgrims succumb to injuries, or to tiredness whilst others find it impossible to keep to their planned schedule and end up catching a bus or taxi to stay on track. Those who persevere on foot to the end will have the joy and sense of achievement that all the millions of pilgrims before them have experienced through the ages. Tomorrow we will join those pilgrims when we walk into the square and see the cathedral for the first time. Tomorrow we will feel the souls of pilgrims past through the soles of our feet. I will let you know about our time in Santiago in another post. Till then, love to all.
S A M and Finn

PACKING LIGHT

Here are my tips for packing a really light backpack.

Backpackers Rule No 1: Your backpack should weigh about 10-15% of your bodyweight.

(Yeah - well, no-body listens to this one!)

My fully packed backpack weighs just under 5kg but when I start walking I will have to add another 500mls water and perhaps another 500gr for fruit, nuts, bread etc. So along the trail it will vary between 5kg and 6 kg. So, how can you keep your pack down to between 5kg and 7 kg?

The big secret is to Weigh everything! Use a digital kitchen scale to weigh everything - including the backpack you buy. You don't need a 75L backpack to walk the camino. My recommendation is a 30L backpack for women and a 35L pack for men. (OK - if you are walking in winter you might need 5L extra space to cater for warm jackets, gloves, woolen hats etc., but in summer you will need less, lightweight clothing.) My 30L Pro-lite back pack weighs about 650gr - 23 ounces. A canvas type backpack will weigh twice that much. If you carry only 5 - 7 kg you do not need a thickly padded hip belt - a comfortable strap will hold the backpack in position. Some backpacks are for short people whilst others are for people with long torsos. It is important that you try the pack on, adjust the straps in the shop, ensure that the waist belt fits comfortably.

What is in my backpack?

2 t-shirts, 1 vest top, 1 long sleeve top, 1 fleece jacket, a parachute jacket.

2 shorts, 1 long pants, parachute pants, a rain suit.

3 lycra panties, 2 bikini tops, 3 pairs socks, 2 sock liners.

Croc sandals.

Clothing:
Everything should be multi purpose - this means don't pack sleeping shorts that can't be worn for walking, or nighties that can't double up as a shirt. Ladies - black lycra pants and bra tops can double as swim wear. Choose the lightest shorts you can buy. Running shorts from a sports shop are good. Jeep make lightweight shorts that can fold up into their back pocket. Find lightweight, wicking t-shirts and if this means taking your scale into a store when buying stuff, so be it. If your t-shirts are unnecessarily long, cut them shorter. This will reduce their weight even further. Cut the labels off your clothes - I'm serious - they will only irritate you anyway. An ultra-light fleece pullover can double up as a jacket if you convert it by putting a plastic zip into it. I use a black rainsuit rather than a poncho. The trousers can be used as over trousers in the mornings if it is cold and in the evenings when I go out. The jacket can also be worn when it is cold. Parachute jackets - the ones runners wear - are an excellent chill cheater and fold up into a little ball. You can also have parachute 'sweat' trousers made of the same lightweight material - mine weigh 95gr - 3.35oz.

Sleeping bags: For spring to early summer a lightweight mummy bag will do. First Ascent have bags that weigh 340gr - 12.5oz. (Take your scale with you to the store just in case they don't have the weight listed on them). In summer you can get by with an inner liner or silk liner. Mine was from the Silk Sleeping Bag Company in the UK and weighs 230gr - 8.2oz and cost £23. So, the combined weight of my backpack and sleeping bag is 880gr - 31 oz.

Take a pair of lightweight sandals - Crocs are excellent - to wear in the shower and when relaxing in the refuge. I wear socks with my Nile Crocs and can wear them all day and they only weigh 210gr - 7.5oz.
Take a minimum of toiletries. You are going to a first world country where there are more farmacias than bars - so, take a sample bottle of shampoo, a tiny bar of soap, the smallest toothpaste you can find. You can replace everything and anything when it starts to run out.

I have miniature versions of everything. A child's toothbrush is smaller and weigh less than an adult's toothbrush; a travel nailbrush is a diddly little thing; a baby's face cloth is smaller than a normal face cloth; a camping towel weighs half of what a normal towel weighs. Those little plastic clips that hold a bread packet closed make excellent pegs. Collect a dozen or so and you won't have to take pegs. 8 nappy pins make ideal pegs to hang washing and can also be used to pin wet socks etc to your backpack whilst walking.

My best advice is - Don't believe anyone who suggests an item you should take and says, "..it doesn't weigh anything." Everything weighs something! You don't need that little black jacket for an evening out (wear your black rain jacket). You don't need those two-in-one shorts / trousers that zip off at the knee. You don't need that sarong from Bali that hardly weighs anything.

POSTING STUFF AHEAD

If you can't bear to leave out your favourite things and find that your pack is too heavy after all don’t despair because you can post stuff onto yourself Lista Correos (Poste Restante) to Santiago. You won't have to dump your excess stuff on the edge of the road! (The most common thing pilgrims dump on the side of the road are tents!) Most post offices sell special pilgrim boxes – some big enough to take a 20kg suitcase - and address labels to send stuff onto Santiago. The Post Office in Santiago will hold your parcel for up to two months. When you arrive in Santiago, take your parcel ticket and your ID or passport to the Post Office and collect your parcel. It is close to the Cathedral and is open until 7pm.

BUEN CAMINO!!!

6 1/2 WEEKS OR 45 MORE SLEEPS!

I have started dreaming that I am on the camino. Last night I was sitting at a white plastic table in the sunshine outside a cafe bar with lots of other pilgrims and we were all laughing. I was speaking fluent Spanish (which I can only do in my dreams!)

As the time draws nearer, the camino calls more strongly. I suppose it is like this when returning to any favourite place - one becomes a bit agitated, impatient to be off, withdrawing more and more from family and friends but at the same time, a little anxious about the separation from loved ones and all that is familiar. I am ready to go.

Everything has been weighed and packed into zip-lock bags. My backpack is ready and weighs a miraculous 5,5kg - with a 500ml bottle of water!

I have glued on the CSJ UK badge, the CSJ South Africa badge and a Camino Pilgrim badge onto the back of the pack. The new boots are wearing down at the heels so I have stopped training in them lest they wear away before I even set foot on Spanish soil. I photocopied the CSJ Guide to the Camino Frances and have shared out the pages between three of us. I also photocopied the Brierley Guide maps and had them enlarged. This is all we will take but I am sure that with the guide, the maps and the yellow arrows we will not get lost.

We will be carrying gifts for three special people on the camino.

I have compiled three 'brag books' with photographs for these three special people. One is for Maria Theodora - daughter of Felisa Rodrigues who, until she died at age 92, sat at a table outside her ramshackle home just outside Logrono offering a sello to passing pilgrims as well as 'Higos, Agua, Amor' - figs, love and water. Maria has continued the tradition. I have been able to source about 15 photographs of Felisa from the Internet and another dozen or so of Maria. I have also made up a brag book for Tomás Martínez de Paz of Manjarin. So many people have photos taken at the Manjarin refuge in the Irago mountains but I'm not sure that many send these to Tomas. I have got about 30 photos of Tomas and Manjarin to give to him as well as a wooden Tau cross which I bought from the Marianhill Monastery near Durban.

The final brag book is for Jesus Jato at Villafranca del Bierzo. He and his family have been caring for pilgrims for almost 30 years and he is a healer, historian and a legend on the camino Frances. I didn't meet Jesus when I stayed in the Ave Fenix in 2002 but hope to meet him this time.

THIS POST IS FOR THE LADIES

Check List:
√ The airtickets have been booked and paid for.
√ The car hire has been booked and paid for. (DoYouSpain - an automatic car for 6 days for 282 euro - not bad!)
√ The 'credenciales' have arrived in England.
√ The 2007 CSJ Guide and badges have arrived.
√ Marion has bought the Whizz-freedoms.
Whaaaat??
Don't know what those are?
These are portable, reusable 'female urine directors'.
Ladies, if you don’t like the idea of squatting behind a bush to pee, or if you have an aversion to public loos there are really useful alternatives. There are a number of feminine urine directors on the market that allow you to STP (Stand To Pee). Some are solid, some are flexible. Some have extension tubes for awkward loo stops. Wonderful to use on a long journey, on a hike, and especailly useful for women in wheelchairs.
You could try an American product called a Freshette from the USA http://www.freshette.com/ or a couple of British manufactured items, the Whiz Freedom at http://www.whizproducts.co.uk/en/ or the SheWee at http://www.shewee.com/ and even a disposable one called a Magic Cone. http://www.magiccone.com/
This is what some women had to say about these products:

FRESHETTE:
“This is a device that makes it possible to urinate standing up. Very easy. Very quick. Very clean. Doesn't leak. I have one and have used it for years. I'm ordering a new one for the trip because I stepped on my old one and cracked it. I love this because not only can I pee in the bushes with my back to the traffic like guys do... I don't have to sit on nasty toilet seats or squat with aching legs. It's VERY lightweight. You will only need the Freshette and direction tube. No need for the disposal bags.

SHEWEE:
“I bought a Whiz and also a Shewee which sounded similar but which was a lot cheaper and is a slightly different design. I found the latter suited me better and I used it outside for the first time today, on a cold and very windy walk in the mountains. It was wonderful not to have to crouch and perch (I find it harder to stand up again each year) and, in today’s weather, it was even more wonderful not to have to expose the nether regions. I shall buy another now as a reserve for if I lose this one.”
STP (Stand To Pee)
And for ladies who don’t know how to STP – here is a website that tells you how to stand with your back to the wind and copy the boys! http://www.ftmguide.org/bathroom.html

5 MONTHS TO GO!!

We are thrilled that Anneliese Schapers will be joining us on the camino. Anneliese has done parts of the camino with a coach/walking group before but has always wanted to walk it. Anneliese (a Catholic sister) has been a great supporter of our local Confraternity of St James functions and get-togethers. As she has sabbatical from her parish this year she will spend 6 weeks on the camino before going home to Dusseldorf to visit with her family. When I asked her if she drank beer the answer was, "Do you know any Germans who don't drink beer?" So, Finn is thrilled because he may have found his beer drinking partner!

Last week we booked all our airtickets. Durban-Johannesburg-Pamplona-Dusseldorf for Anneliese: Durban-Johannesburg-Santiago (home ex-Pamplona) for Finn; and Durban-Johannesburg-Pamplona for Marion and me.

Marion will be back for her 'caring' work in the UK at the end of May and I am planning to hold a CSJ camino workshop soon after she returns.

WHERE TO IN 2007???

YES! YOU GUESSED IT - TO SPAIN TO FOLLOW THE FLECHAS AMARILLAS ONCE AGAIN.
It has been almost 5 years since I walked the Camino Frances from Roncesvalles and 2½ years since I walked the Via Touronensis through France and to Santiago from Sarria. In August/September Marion and I will walk the Camino Frances from Roncesvalles. Marion likes to hug trees and I know that there a couple of huge, ancient trees along the camino which she will just love to hug! I found a couple of photos of big trees on the Internet just for her! This will be a whole new experience for me. I have only walked in Spring - May, June and July - and I'm looking forward to the different landscapes of the summer and autumn. Also, a HUGE plus this time is that my darling husband, Finn, will join us to walk the last 114kms from Sarria. For the past four years I have been a camino junkie and besides the little library of books, videos, DVD, maps, brochures and posters, we have also hosted the annual St James Feast Day celebrations at our home on or about the 25th July. I am SO thrilled that he will be able share a small part of the camino experience with me.
Marion and I will fly to Pamplona and get a bus/taxi to Roncesvalles. We will walk to Sarria and Finn will join us to walk Sarria to walk to Santiago. We plan on hiring a car and will drive down to Finisterre and up the coast to Muxia and across to O'Cebreiro. Then we will take 4 or 5 days driving across the Camino Frances staying at Oviedo, Castrojeriz, Santo Domingo de Silas and another night at Roncesvalles before going back to Pamplona so that Finn can see more of the old pilgrimage trail.
In 2002 we walked from Roncesvalles to Santiago in 27 days - averaging 28km per day. This time I want to take it slowly and am planning to walk ± 20km per day. I want to stay at the little refuge close to the Eunate Church: also at San Anton refuge and at Manjarin with Tomas the Templar and other small places inbetween. Can't wait!!

2004: Via Turonensis 913 kms and Camino Frances 114kms

2004
















Some of the English resources we used to plan the walk:
Paris City Guide and Paris to the Pyrenees. Available from the CSJ-UK. www.csj.org.uk (There are recent update pages for this guide on their website)
Mary Wilkie’s Book on her walk in 19984. cranleigh@northnet.com.au
http://www.philippe@doph.net/ Philippe Du Ngoc5.
http://www.federal-hotel.com/ Federal Hotels6.
http://www.logis-de-france.fr/ Logis Hotels

After walking the camino in 2002 I read a book by Constance Mary Storrs called "Jacobean Pilgrims From England to St James of Compostela - From the Early 12th to Late 15th Century". I am half Irish on my father's side and tried to imagine what it must have been like for pilgrims 500 years ago to travel across the channel to France and walk to Santiago from Paris. Then I thought, "Why not?" When I mentioned that I was thinking of walking another part of the camino to Spain Marion said she would love to do it with me. Val also wanted to come but her Chairman wouldn't give her leave. In the end it was only Joy and me. We planned a walk from Paris to Spain - then a car hire and drive from Pamplona to Lugo and then walk at least the last 100kms of the Camino Frances again so that Joy could earn her Compostela.
On the 7th May 2004 we set off - first for London where we had an appointment with John Clark, curator of the medieval gallery at the London Museum. He showed us a tray of Santiago souvenirs that had been discovered in different parts of London - mostly on the banks of the river - from the 14th Century. On the 10th May we took an Easyjet flight to Paris where we spent 2 days following the City Guide for Paris Pilgrims which we had bought from the Confraternity of St James in England. It was an exhausting few days - rushing around London and then trekking all over Paris following the City Guide itineraries in search of all things Jacobean - Rue-St-Jacques, Tour St Jacques, Notre-Dame, St-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas etc etc. We did a night tour of Paris on Segway Bikes - great fun and a different way to see a city! On the 12th May we got the first stamp in our passports at Notre Dame and walked to the Tour St Jacques, which was covered in scaffold and sacking, and then down the Rue St Jacques to the Julien de Pauvre church where pilgrims used to have their pilgrim blessings before going off to Spain. Then we walked to the station and got a train to Orleans with our full battle gear on - backpacks, walking sticks, money-belts, food packets, maps etc. where we would start our long walk to Spain. We had quite a walk from the station to the Youth Hostel and managed to get a stamp at the cathedral on our way.

13th May: After a comfortable night in a beautiful old Youth Hostel in Orleans, a fellow at the youth hostel told us we could walk along the river all the way to Beaugency rather than go on the road. It was supposed to be about 25km away. The track was a pleasant surprise as the route followed the river Loire on a small footpath. The only problem was that there were no signs, no people, no towns or villages and we didn't know how we would know when we reached Beaugency. After about 25kms we came to a no entry sign on a locked gate and had to double back to find the road. We finally reached the medieval bridge of Beaugency after walking ± 38kms.
The following day we decided to walk on the road – a supposed easy 27kms to St denis-Sur-Loire, which ended up being 32.8km after all the detours through villages etc., In St Denis-sur- Loire we stayed in the La Villa de Medicis, a B&B which was built in 1852 as a hotel.
In Amboise we stayed in a Youth Hostel again. We visited the old quarter and the Châteaux Royal Amboise, the most important Royal Castle on the Loire and the centre for French kings from the 15th and 16th C where Leonardo deVinci lived and died. The next day it was 29oC and it was a rather long, hot 27kms to the northern outskirts of the city of Tours. People were interested in our flags and our shells and some gave us thumbs up knowing that we were Santiago pilgrims. Passing through Tours we visited the Cathedral of St Gatien, an important stop for pilgrims in the Middle Ages and the first statues of St James we had seen so far. * From Sorigny to Dange St Romain the road was dead flat and straight and cut through acre after acre of wheat fields. Every now and then we could see jets streaking across the sky leaving long white smoke trails. It was very hot again and after about 30kms I decided to do something I had never done before – hitch a ride! I told Joy to put her thumb out and at first only I had my thumb out. No-body stopped. Then Joy nervously put her thumb out too and eventually an elderly man stopped and let us get in the back of his old car. The following day we had a short walk of about 20kms to Chatellerault, much of it on a cycle track next to the road, where we had booked into a Formule 1. We visited St Jacques church - the one with the famous statue of St James as a pilgrim festooned in scallop shells - where we got a lovely welcome and a ‘tampon’ (stamp) from the lady in the Cure office. The next day we walked 28 kms to Poitiers. We had to walk on the busy National road with heavy trucks rumbling down on us and when we reached the Futurescope I decided that we had to find a departmental road to walk on instead. After walking over and under the national road a few times we asked at an industrial park for directions and a very kind lady, Catherine Monet, got a map of the area and showed us how to follow the river to Poititers. (I told her that I would remember her to the Saint in Compostela and wrote her name down in my book). We then walked another 2kms around the hilly town visiting the 4th C Baptistry of St Jean, the Notre Dame Le Grand and St Peter’s cathedral. A very kind lady showed us where to wait for the bus to the hostel which was about 3km out of town.
20th May: At first the road took us through a lovely cool forest on the N11 but by 10 o’clock we were back in the open and it was as hot as ever. Every town we passed through seemed to be deserted. We found out afterwards that it was a bank holiday so they were having a long weekend. After 7 hours of walking we were relived to see the sign for Lusignan (pronounced Lucy-yawn) but the main road carried on forever through a closed and deserted town and after another 4kms we finally reached the de Chapeau Rouge (the Red Hat) hotel on the very outskirts of the south side of town. When we almost collapsed into the foyer, the owner took one look at our red faces and ushered us upstairs to our room where we fell on the beds and didn’t move for an hour. After a hot bath and a cold Coke we were able to walk around the little town to see the 12th C church of Notre Dame.
It was at least 34km to Melle and after 25 kms and we were bushed so we decided to put out our thumbs again. A nice young man gave us a lift but took us 2kms past the turnoff so we had to slog it back to Melle. The Hotel Les Glycines was half way up a hill and we were very grateful to relax once we had checked in.
22nd May: Today I got a blister (I don't get blisters!) and I limped into Aulnay after 30+kms. The Hotel Donjon was very upmarket and once we had checked in we visited the info office and the church of St Pierre, the best preserved Romanesque church in France. I bought a copy of a 1648 map of the Chemins de Santiago. We explored the donjon before going back to the hotel.
23rd May: A short day today – only 18kms to St Jean D'Angely. We found the Hotel de la Place and checked in and then joined in the Sunday mass at the Abbey for ± half an hour.
24th May: Only 18kms today but the Formule 1 we had booked in Saintes was another 4km out of town on the South side. When we asked a couple of policemen in the centre of town where the Formule 1 was they told us it was much too far to walk there – at least 3km away! So we still had to slog our way to the industrial area southwest of the town. We checked in, rested and then got a bus back into Saintes where we visited the churches and crypts of the Jacobean pilgrims as well as the amphitheatre built by the Romans.
25th May: The next day was very hot and we walked the 21kms into Pons on the N137 road. A very busy road with hardly any shoulder for walking. We booked into the Hotel Bordeaux and then went to visit the old town. Pons has a large Donjon - medieval tower - that looms above the town and an ancient strategic wall above the river. We climbed right to the top of the tower on a concrete spiral staircase that made one dizzy! We visited the old pilgrim hospice that arches over the main road into Pons. We got our stamps at the info centre and they wouldn’t let us pay to visit the museum because we were pilgrims. We watched an audio-visual, interactive presentation on the history of Pons. We were exhausted and after a dinner of cheese rolls for we were asleep by 9pm.
26th May: The lady in the Tourist office told us not to walk on the N137 to Mirambeau as it was not safe. She said to rather take the Chemins St Jacques trail which is very well marked with scallop shells on concrete 'steles' along the way. 'It is only 25kms' she told us. The first stele we came across after walking about 2km out of town said '31Kms' to Mirambeau and pointed straight onto a path between a wheat field and a vineyard. So we climbed through head high vegetation, grass so high that we had to frog march with high knees to get through, wobble along stony paths through vineyards and past farmer's barns and through a Stainbank like forest. Then we walked through hard, lumpy recently ploughed grounds, through field after field. Not one person, no villages, no signs, no shops, just ploughed fields. 33kms to Mirambeau. We were pooped when we finally arrived at about 3.30pm and for the first time were both GAT VOL of Chemins signs and fields! Our hotel, the L’Union, wasn’t going to open until 5pm so we sat at a café-bar for over an hour and a half having ‘sandwich’ and coke and shooing away the flies.

27th May: We left Mirambeau in drizzle and had to stop to put our rain suits on for the second time. Took a charming farm road that wend its way through small farms and homestead, but after about 14 kms Joy was taking strain and had no Oomph left. We decided to get a bus so we sat in a little café in St Creer having two glasses of hot chocolate and raisin croissants for an hour before catching a bus into Blaye. We walked through Blaye to the Tourist office where we got a tampon. We then discovered that the Gite we were going to stay in was 3kms out of the city - on the road we had just walked in from and so we had to walk back to St Martin Lacaussade. When we arrived there I telephoned Mme Defosse to open the Gite for us. It had a little room with two double bunks, a kitchen with stove and an en suite bathroom. It was wonderful not to be in a hotel. We were able to recharge our batteries at the Gite as we washed all our dirty clothes, made a cup of tea and sat outside in the sun airing our feet. I cooked us a dinner of pasta and vegetables. When we left we put a donation of €10 each in an envelope.
28th May: There was thick mist when we left St Martin to walk back to Blaye so I hooked the little red flicker onto Joy’s sternum strap and she led the way. While we were waiting we took off our backpacks and rested our walking sticks against the railings. My precious ‘stokkie’ clattered under the railings and slipped through a mesh cover into the river. I was so shocked to see it fall that for an instant I was ready to jump in after it. We met three men from Belgium on bicycles who were riding to St Jean with backup before starting on the camino from St Jean-Pied-de-Port. We took the 7.30am ferry across the Garronne which took about half an hour to get to the other side and walked about 25kms to the outskirts of the city of Bordeaux. We were staying in a district called Eysines, southwest of the city, so we took a bus to Eysines. We still had to walk almost 5km to our hotel the Les Alizes. The Manager there had worked in South Africa and was quite pleased to tell us about his time there. We shopped at a little Supermarket down the road and had yoghurt and chips for supper with chocolate for desert. I also bought Isotar energy drink – the first energy drink we had seen so far.
29th May: We caught the bus to Bordeaux centre and walked down to the river and saw the large passenger ships. We found an Internet cafe in Bordeaux and after typing for over an hour the whole page vanished and I had to start again. We treated ourselves to a quiche and coffee at a sidewalk café then visited the church of St Seurin, which has a carving of St Jacques, and the Cathedral of St Andre and church of St Croix. Joy found a sex shop with her name outside and we took a photo to send home. Many churches, Abbeys and other religious monuments were destroyed during the wars of religion, the 100-year wars as well as during the revolution and the 2nd World War so there are not many Jacobean monuments left. We are always thrilled to find St James in a church or signs of the scallop shell along the way. We were going to get a modern tram to Gradignan ( yeah – Graadiyawn) south of Bordeaux, but the line was faulty so we had to take three busses to get there instead. The driver of the second bus hopped out at the stop to check that we were at the right place and told us which number to catch. (I wrote his name down as “G” Bus Driver, so that I could remember him to the Saint). Waiting at the stop for the 3rd bus a man in a car stopped and mumbled to us in French about going with him to his Château for the night. Just as I was trying to tell him where to get off the bus arrived and we hopped on. When we got to the hotel Balladins, no one was there so we let ourselves in through a side-door and I went to the kitchen and found a young man to book us in. The manager then came and said that he had actually had to turn down our Internet booking but as I had a letter of confirmation, he would honour it. He put us in a room with a kitchenette. Across the road was a shop like Macro so we bought square bread, fruit and yoghurt and had a feast in our room.
30th May: We had a bad night; it was noisy and neither of us could sleep so at 10pm we got up to make hot chocolate. It rained in the night and we had to wear rain suits all the way today. Got lost leaving the hotel and ended up walking 1½ hours on the wrong road but in the right direction. It was 29kms to Le Barp and we didn’t have a room booked so we didn’t know if we would have to walk further or sleep in a bus shelter. The first hotel we came across was the Hotel Resnier. Luckily they had a room for us and we also had a very smart lunch in dining room served by young men in white jackets and black Basque berets.
31th May: The fellow at the hotel said that we could walk all the way to Le Muret on the ‘la petit’ road so we took his advice and followed the smaller roads. When the small road joined with the National road we took a forest road and followed it all the way to a truck stop on the side of the road. A young lady told us to continue on the forest road to Saugnet et Muret. We didn’t realise that these were two different places so headed for Saugnet instead of Muret. We had to double back and cross over the main road to reach Le Muret and ended up doing 30kms instead of the planned for 23km. The hotel was quite large and we had a nice room. I read in the CSJ guide that we could get the key for the St Roch Chapel from a white house in the village. The fellow in the house phoned his wife who met us on her bicycle. Another couple wanting to visit the Chapel in the woods joined us. We asked the receptionist at the hotel to call ahead to Labouheyre for us and book us a room at the Hotel Bremontier.
1st June: It was drizzling again this morning as we made our way to Labouheyre. Following the smaller roads meant that we walked 32kms instead of 25km – what’s new? (We now had about 40kms in the bank). The hotel was quite old and gloomy and the wooden floors sloped in two directions under the bed. There was a portable shower in the corner and a washbasin but the toilet was down a very dark landing with lights that switched on as you approached them. If you weren’t quick enough they would switch off before you got there! We decided to have a meal in the hotel as the Menu for the day was only €10 – salad, steak or chicken, and then an English cake with cream or ice cream.

We didn’t have a reservation for the next town so the hotel owner phoned ahead for me and booked us into a hotel in Rion-de-Landes. After dinner we went for a walk and found that there was a ‘Garre’ – a railway station just around the corner from the hotel. We decided to get a train to Morencx and then walk the last 15kms to Rion-des-Landes the next day.
2nd June: When we booked our tickets for the next station, the stationmaster was a little confused. I don’t think many people bother to catch the train to the next stop. We got the 7h30 train to Morencx. Joy was dying to use the loo so when we got off the train we tried a door at the station but found that it was actually a private home. The lady of the house came out to see who had opened the door to her lounge and we explained that we thought it was the station and that Joy needed the loo. Then her husband came and shouted to her to let Joy use their loo so Joy went inside and used their loo. Morencx was a beautiful little village. People were preparing for a market and we were quite disappointed that we couldn’t stay for it. We pushed on to Rion-des-Landes through never ending forests of pine trees. In a clearing, I saw a small deer hopping through the bracken. A squirrel scampered past us on the road and into the forest further down. The Hotel le Relais des Landes was clean and comfortable.

We found an Internet facility and sent this email home:
· We have walked over 600kms so far; an average of 28.5kms per day. Pretty hard with a heavy pack and some difficult terrain.
· We have slept in 21 different beds in 13 hotels, 2 Forumule 1;s, 4 Youth Hostels, 1 B & B and 1 Gite. The B&B was the most expensive at E64.
· We have had lunch at 3 cafe-bar-restaurants and dinner at 2 : Lunch costs ± E10 for a sandwich and dinner cost us E20 ; Coke cost E1.50 and a coffee or hot chocolate E2 ; We buy bread, cheese, fruit, yoghurt and chocolateand eat on the road or in our rooms.
· We’ve only had three rainy days the rest being bright and hot.
· The French people have been very helpful and even if they cant talk the language we manage with hand signals and my little dictionary.
· We have been picked up twice - once by a drunk man in Poitiers whoinsisted that he was a catholic and wanted us to have tea at his house (so he said !) and the other time was by a man in a car who muttered about us sleeping in a châteaux but we opted for our hotel instead. The route so far has been flat with the exception of Poitiers which itself was a hilly town.
· The wild flowers have been spectacular and the gardens are all very beautiful ; even the smallest gardens have roses and iris, delphiniums etc.
· We have seen different bird varieties and a hare hopping back to its burrow under a bridge. There have been dead hedgehogs on the roads at regular intervals and today I saw a deer in the forest on the way to Rion des Landes.
· I have used my sleeping once when I was cold in a Youth Hostel and once I stuffed it into my pillowslip to make a pillow. They give you bolsters to sleep on and its difficult to share one in a double bed!
· Joy has lost her sunglasses and her gloves and had a few near misses with Wally (her Digi Walker) I have lost a plastic fork, my sharks peak and the other day my precious walking stick with the Coast to Coast and Caminobadges on it slipped from the railings at the wharf and into the river Garonne when we took the ferry from Blaye.
· I have had blisters on my little toes, on the bump of my right foot and a big, nasty one on the heel. I think I’ve used over 20 Compeed plasters – most of them ending up sticking to my socks!
· We’ve taken 46 photo so far including one of Joy standing outside JOYS SEX SHOP in Bordeaux waiting for it to open ? · We have watched Knight Rider, the Weakest Link and Charmed in French on TV as well as some tennis and CNN when available.
· We’ve only met 4 other pilgrims so far. One Austrian with a big white beard on a bike near Orleans but he was going in the wrong direction and then 3 Belgium’s on bikes on the Ferry. They are cycling to Compostella buthave a car as back up.
· We’ve been to so many churches and cathedrals so far that we have lost count - from the grand Gothic St Andre’s in Bordeaux to a quaint little Chapel in the woods in Le Muret dedicated to St Roth and his dog. It has a 3rd Century bell tower and wooden scallop shells in the altar.
· We have 23 stamps in our credential passports including one from Notre Dame in Paris.
· We have got 5 days left walking in France and then we cross the Pyrenees into Spain at Roncesvalles. Then our Spanish adventure begins.
We still haven’t decided who is going to drive the car with it’s left hand drive on the wrong (right) side of the road !
3rd June: We agreed today that a 32km walk was going to be too far in the heat so we thought we would get a bus to Buglose, about 22kms away, and walk to Dax from there. Joy woke up with a sore neck and no oomph but the bus timetable told us that the first bus was at 1pm so we decided to walk first and get a bus later. “We’ll have breakfast at Boos”, we thought, as it was the first village we would come to. Ha! We walked into Boos and out the other side in about 10 minutes flat. No restaurant, no shop, nowhere for breakfast. We ended up walking all the way through the forests to the within 6kms of Dax. At St Vincent De Paul, on the outskirts of Dax, the timetable in the bus shelter told us that the next bus into Dax was at 2pm so we visited the complex that includes a small farmhouse where St Vincent was born as well as the huge 19th C Basilica and other religious buildings. Everything was closed, even the toilet. We sat on a bench in the shade to have the last of our drinks and some dry bread with Camembert cheese. Suddenly we saw a nun approaching. She clapped her hands and shouted, “Pelerins! Oh, pelerins.” She insisted that we stay for coffee and went off to return with a flask and two plastics cups and sugar. Sister Theresa asked us where we would spend the night and was most upset when we said in a hotel in Dax. She rushed off with Joy to find a stamp pad to stamp our passports. We had our photo taken with her and then had to leave to get our bus. (I wrote her name in my book to remember to the Saint). The bus driver was in a dreadful hurry as he had passengers on board who had to catch a train. We had a ten-minute bus trip and stopped right outside the station close to where our hotel for the night was situated. After checking in we walked into Dax centre and visited the tourism office and the cathedral and ended up walking 39km today after all. A very kind lady there phoned ahead for us and booked us a room at the Hotel Basque in Bidache. Then we visited the market, the cathedral and the old town. We had seen a Laundromat on the way into town so we collected our clothes from the hotel and spent the next two hours washing and drying nearly all of our clothes.
4th June: We didn’t sleep well because mosquitoes kept us awake and the man in the next room snored and farted all night. We had a long lie in – till 7am - and went to the station for breakfast; a very disappointing croissant and jam again. We then got the 09h30 train to Lourdes. We found the town of Lourdes to be a Mary and Bernadette Disney World with hundreds of souvenir shops selling trinkets and items with Mary or Bernadette’s faces on them. There were almost as many hotels as there were shops and a constant stream of large luxury busses bringing tourists and pilgrims jammed the narrow main street. Once we crossed the river, however, we left Disney World behind and found ourselves in the relative calm of the Lourdes complex of religious buildings and the Basilica, which was built over the grotto where Bernadette saw the vision of the Virgin Mary. We stood in the queue to enter the grotto and touched the walls as we walked through. We filled our bottles with holy water to take home. We got a stamp in our books at the administration office. We visited the church and then we went back into the village to have lunch. The owner of the restaurant had done the Camino 8 years before and he allowed us to leave our packs in the restaurant so that we could walk around the town. Our train left at 4pm and we arrived in Peyrehorade an hour later. Joy had motion sickness on the train and had a torrid 15km walk up the hills to Bidache. Our hotel was very elegant and we had a lovely bath and an early night. We went to bed with no supper.
5th June: The 28kms to St Palais the was VERY HOT - in the 30´s - and hilly. We found the Hotel du Midi in a square. It was closed but I had the code for the front door so we let ourselves in. We made a meal of pasta and veggies in the room and then I visited a pilgrim museum set up by a local doctor who has devoted his life to researching the camino in his area. There didn’t seem to be anyone else staying in the hotel besides us.
6th June: The people of St Palais partied in our square into the early hours of the morning so we woke up feeling a bit bombed. There didn’t seem to be anyone else staying in our hotel and once again we didn’t know what to do with the money for the room when we left so I put it in an envelope and hid it behind the counter in the reception. We found our way onto the right road and immediately started to climb a long gentle slope. The terrain was undulating now and some of the hills were quite steep. It was very hot again. We were supposed to stay in Ostabat the next day but it was a deserted, tired looking place with lots of flies. We stopped for a coke and met a couple of German pilgrims and a couple who were also walking Les Chemins de St Jacques but with a car back up that carried their backpacks. We decided to walk on to Larceveau and I phoned ahead to book a room at the hotel. When we arrived we walked to the first hotel we saw and a busy lady showed us up to a room. We only found out afterward that there was another hotel in the village and we were not in the one I had booked! We had lunch in the hotel and sat at the same table as a young couple with a young child. We were soon chatting and drawing pictures and I allowed the little girl to draw a tattoo on my arm. Her name was Manoe Mata and I wrote her name in my book to remember to the Saint. I walked into the little hamlet after lunch leaving Joy to watch the French Open tennis on TV. We had a much quieter night than the night before.
7th June: The following day we climbed over the mini-Pyrenees up to the Chappelle de Soyarza where we could see almost all the way to Spain. We walked to St Jean Pied de Port – hot, hot, hot - where we saw lots of other pilgrims for the first time. We had our photo taken with a group of children outside the St Jacques gate and then found our way to the the Amis St Jacques office where they tried to persuade us to walk the
Route Napoleon to Roncesvalles. We visited the museum and decided to push on to Arnegy or Valcarlos instead of tackling the long climb to Roncesvalles the next day.
Joy was worried about the difficult climb up to the Ibeneta pass (from about 160m to over 1050m in just 26kms) so we decided to go on to Valcarlos which is about a third of the way up to the pass. We battled on, finally doing 34.5kms that day. I must just say here that my feet looked a mess! I had a blister on my big toe right near the start of our walk. Then blisters under the toes next to the little toes. Then three watery buggers above the hard part of the right heel. This one was now one big blister and I had to treat it with Compeed and strapping. Up hills are not so bad but down hills seem to put pressure on the blister and make it sting like hell. Then the Compeed goes soft and sticky and sticks to my socks. There was no hotel left in Arnegy, which marks the cross over from France into Spain, but we found a Cassa Rural in Valcarlos (B&B) that cost E24 for a lovely big room and hot bath. We were able to do our washing and sit in the sun with bare feet. Went to bed without supper.
8th June: The next day we attacked the Pass. It was a misty morning and the scenery was absolutely beautiful with valleys and waterfalls and green forests all the way! Joy did extremely well and even surprised herself by reaching the top without gasping or wheezing. When we finally saw the top of the pass after about 15km we hugged each other and asked someone to take our photos. We felt as though we had done Cowies Hill, Fields Hill, Botha’s Hill, Monteseel and Polly Shorts all in one go. There is a steep 1.5km downhill to Roncesvalles and we arrived there just after mid-day.
Roncesvalles is a monastery complex, not a village or town. There is the monastery, the church and old cloisters from the original church, a funery complex, which is supposed to contain hundreds of remains of soldiers who died fighting in the battle of Roland at the pass in 778, and the old church. We decided against staying in the pilgrim refuge and booked into the inn. We visited the museum and the cloisters. We were able to recharge our batteries and had a lovely rest there. At 7pm we had a Peregrino Menu for €7 in the dining room and we attended the pilgrim mass at 8pm. We felt quite emotional when the priest read out the names of the countries from which the pilgrims had come, including Sudafrica.
9th June: We caught the Lamontanesa bus at 6h45 to Pamplona which took about 1½ hours. We booked into the La Perla Hotel. We took a walk into the new part of town to see where Europe Car was. Joy wasn’t feeling well so we went back to the hotel so that she could lie down. I found the same little Internet café that I did two years ago when I was here with Clare and Georgette. In the afternoon we sat in the square and had lunch, a proper sandwich for a change, then walked around the old town, took pictures at the Rua Antigua and at the Porta Santiago. In the evening we sat in the square and had tapas, tortilla, gherkins, pickled onions and olives and a drink. The square was very noisy that night and we could hardly sleep.
10th June: We walked downtown to the Hotel Bianco Navarre and had a hot chocolate at the hotel. We collected the car, an Ibiza, and decided that Joy should drive and I would navigate. It was quite hard to negotiate our way out of the traffic and onto the national road. Joy wrote home: “It was a bit nerve wracking but I had a good navigator. I felt a bit shattered at the end of the day because Sylvia kept screaming every time I got too close to anything on the right. Driving a left hand drive car on the right side of the road is quite hard to adjust to especially when going around circles and I had a few motorists hoot at us but nothing serious – we just kept going around until Sylvia managed to read the road signs! We didn’t get lost and we didn’t have to ask the way even once. The car is air-conditioned, which is just as well as it was 35oC today.”
We stopped at Estella and visited some of the churches but most were closed for renovations. We also stopped at Santo Domingo to see the live chickens in the church but that was also closed so we watched the storks in their nests instead. There must have been about 8 large nests and the babies sat waiting for their parents to bring them food making a clacking sound with their beaks. Our next stop was Burgos. When we got to Burgos Joy needed the loo and we were directed to a portable, public loo on the corner of the street. You have to insert 0,3E but Joy thought it was ,03 and so the door wouldn’t open. I then put in 3c and tried to pull the door open. It made a clicking sound and trapped both my hands in the door. A German fellow passing by was most concerned and shouted to his wife to call the police! He pressed on the door and tried to force it open and he tried inserting a 50c piece into the slot but the door stayed jammed on my fingers. Then I managed to get one hand free and put another 20c into the slot and the door finally opened freeing my hand and allowing Joy to have my long waited for wee! She was almost too frightened to use the thing in case the door never opened again. We had to leave Burgos in 5 o’clock traffic and if anyone had seen us whizzing around islands, crossing lanes going over the robot marks not knowing which was red they would have been proud of us!We spent that night in a little Spanish village called Castrojeriz. It is full of cobbled streets and is built on a hillside which is dominated by a ruined castle. Our room was beautiful in the "La Posada" with big 3/4 wooden beds, a full bathroom complete with a basket of goodies for the bath and - wait for it - A HAIRDRYER! What JOY for JOY! We had a meal at the Hostal el Meson which also owns the La Posada. It started raining so we couldn’t do any sightseeing but had an early night instead.11th June: We headed for the Camino road and tried to find Hospital de Orbigo but ended up on the wrong road so we went straight to Leon instead. We visited the old quarter where there was a flea-market in progress. We went inside the cathedral and then drove on to Astorga, where we had lunch close to the Gaudi museum. From there we travelled to Ponferrada. In Ponferrada we thought we were completely lost so we stopped the car and I got out to ask someone the way to our hotel. We didn’t realise it but it was just around the corner. All we had to do was reverse the car and drive up a little side street. The Hostal Santa Cruz was in a very noisy area. We visited the Templar Castle and Camino info centre for our ´Sellos´(stamps). We sat in the square for a while and then had an early night.
12th June: Today we drove on the Camino route to the mountain village of O´Cebriero where we had breakfast. It ALWAYS rains in O´Cebriero but the sun was shining and we got some nice photos. There was thick mist going back down into the valleys but Joy-Schumie took the bends like a pro.

We arrived on time in Lugo where we dropped off the little car -which we had named NODDY - and we walked the 3km back into the old city which is encircled by the most well preserved Roman walls in Spain. We had lunch at the station – a really great meal and inexpensive too. From there we took a bus to Sarria and found our hotel, the Hostal Roma quite close to the bus station. We walked into the town and got our passports stamped at the Camino office. Found a little supermarket where we bought provisions for the next day.

13th June: We were both a little apprehensive after having had 4 days rest from the back-packs but we plastered the toes and feet, re-packed the back packs and left the hotel just before sunrise and, meting up with other pilgrims, followed the Camino through green ´corriedors´ through fields and around low stonewalls surrounding subsistence farms - there is a strong Celtic influence here and it looks very much like parts of England. The route was up and down hills but the downs were worse than the ups as the paths are gravel or loose sand and one feels a little top heavy and unsteady on the feet negotiating the stony, gravel down hills. When we got to Portomarin we thought we might book into the Youth Hostel instead of the albergue but after waiting outside for almost an hour, we were told that it wasn’t open anymore. We then moved up the hill and stayed in a large modern albergue with hot showers and a large kitchen. We had lunch at a nearby café-bar and visited the church of St Nicholas which has a portal done by master Mateo. Met a young lady with tendonitis so massage one foot and leg each with Arnica. She told us we were angels. .Made ourselves cup-of-soup for supper and got to bed early.
14th June: Left at about 6h15 and walked about 30kms (over familiar ground for me) through Ligonde and Eirexe to Cassanova. We bought food in Palas del Rei. In Cassanova we stopped at a small albergue that sleeps about 40 pilgrims. Carmen came along to open for us and we washed our clothes and sat in the sun chatting to Jay and Cheryl. Had soup and bread again for supper.
15th June: The terrain was fairly hilly today with ‘Kloof’ type hills, and we arrived in Arzua at about 11h30. The albergue wasn’t open so we left our packs outside and found a little bar across the road to have a cold drink. Booked to have lunch at 1pm – I needed vegetables. The café-bar had an Internet machine so I sent a message home. We had lunch and then explored the town. I met a man in a wheelchair who was doing day number 30 of his pilgrimage from Pamplona. His wife, also disabled, was following him in a camper. They ended up parking outside the albergue so that they could use the facilities.
16th June: Left at 6h15 - only a 23km today through beautiful forests and farms. We were the first to arrive at the albergue at 10h45 so we sat on the bench and the pilgrims started arriving in a never-ending stream. There was a little supermarket next door so I bought ready to cook pasta, salad ingredients and soft rolls. Soon there were packs in a long line all the way along the front of the albergue and up the driveway. I noticed that everyone had pilgrim tans – white feet but bronzed legs and arms. Joy and I chatted to Elsabet from Denmark and Cheryl from Canada. I cooked the pasta and sauce and made a salad and we invited Elsabet to share our dinner with us. This albergue could sleep over 100 pilgrims and had stables for 8 horses. It was a very noisy night and didn’t get to sleep till after 11pm.
17th June: It was still dark when we left the albergue at about 6h15. The arrows led us down the main street and then into the forest again. We stopped for a hot chocolate and a sello at the halfway mark and then continued to Santiago. Once we were out of the forest we could see the Santiago skyline with TV masts, interchanging highways and high-rise buildings. There was a lot of road works going on and it was difficult to get excited about entering the city of the Saint whilst negotiating broken pavements and dug up roads.
Finally we entered the old part of the city and I led Joy to the Square and the front of the cathedral. We went to the Casa Dean to get our passports stamped and to get our Compostelas, certificates of completion in Latin. (My name is Silvian and Joy is Josepham) so besides all her other names she now has another new one! Then we found our Hostal Pazo Agra and settled in before going back to the cathedral to attend the 12 o’clock mass. The cathedral was packed and we had to sit on the floor. The botafemurio was swung across the aisle. We did all the traditional things like hug the saint and descend into the crypt to look at the silver casket that contains his remains. Then we left the cathedral and had lunch at a sidewalk café just off the square. Said goodbye to the father and son from Holland. Then we started shopping for souvenirs. Bought yoghurt for supper and got to bed at 10pm.
18th June: What a noisy night! People partied and shouted until 4 in the morning. We slept in until 8am. Walked around the new town and had lunch at a Pizza place. Not very efficient – they forgot Joy’s order and she had to wait almost an hour for her food. I put my photos on a disc and then we went to an exhibition in the park on the way back to the old town. Saw Cheryl and made arrangements to meet at the taxi rank in the morning and share a taxi to the airport. Had chips, chocolate, cheese and coffee for dinner.
19th June: Up at 8am and walked around the fresh food market. Checked out of the hotel and said goodbye to the owner. Met Cheryl and we got a taxi to the airport. Had lunch at the airport and then got our flight at 6pm to Barajas, Madrid. Had a boring 5hr wait at the airport and then our flight was delayed for an hour while we were on the runway.
20th June: Arrived in Jhb at 11am and was delighted to find Patty there to meet us. Had a sandwich at the airport and then we got our flight to Durban. We were both Sooooo pleased to see our families again and to hear Hip-Hop music blaring from the FM radio in a taxi parked at the loading bay outside! Home sweet home!
Highs and Lows? Always difficult to list but here are a few:
Lows:
*Sore shoulders and feet.
*Getting lost and you can't understand people's directions
*When someone says "It's not far" and they really mean by car
*Getting the wrong food 'cos you can't read the menu properly
*Long flights of stairs to climb to your room after a long, hard walk
*Noisy streets outside your bedroom at night when you are trying to sleep
*Stifling heat after mid-day when you still have two hours walking to do
*Compeed plaster going soft and sticking to your socks
Spain: *Pebble paths and uneven tracks
*Cow shit (especially those with diarrhoea)
*The sound of plastic packets at 4.30am when you are trying to sleep.
Highs:
*Walking - walking - walking, like a homeless vagabond - every day a new place.

*The wild flowers - poppies, white lace, foxgloves, yellow daisies, cornflowers, thistles etc etc etc from Paris all the way to Santiago. Just beautiful!
*Early morning sunrises and our long shadows on the road
France: *Changing scenery from following the River Loire for a week, the wheat fields for a week, vineyards for a week, three days of forests in the Landes and the mountains in the Pyrenees.
*The many people who helped us along the way especially Sister Theresa who, when seeing us St Vincent de Paul clapped her hands and called "Pelerins! Oh, pelerins! I must get you coffee. You must sleep here tonight." (We were moving on but she was a real highlight!)
*Reaching the Ibeneta Pass between France and Spain and feeling SO proud of Joy that she had made it without too much gasping or heavy breathing!
Spain: *Wide vistas from Pamplona, the wheat fields of the Meseta, the mountains of Leon and the undulating rural countryside of Galicia.
*The incredible trust people have for each other. We slept in hotels where the owners were away but they gave us the access code for the front door, told us where the key to our room would be and we left the money behind the desk for them.
Spain: *Walking the Camino and meeting so many interesting people.
*The large white stork nests on top of almost every church with babies waiting for their parents to return with food
*Being able to do a foot massage or shoulder massage for a tired pilgrim.
*Reaching Santiago and attending the Pilgrim's mass.
For Sylvia: *Joy's sense of humour. Sometimes we giggled till we cried - usually at night when we were tired anyway and everything was so much funnier.
We both borrowed our son's digital cameras and did our best to take decent photos along the way so we have a good record of our journey through France and Spain.
Some of the resources we used to plan the walk:
1 & 2 Paris City Guide and Paris to the Pyrenees. Available from the CSJ-UK. www.csj.org.uk
3. cranleigh@northnet.com.au Mary Wilkie’s Book on her walk in 1998
4. http://www.philippe@doph.net/ Philippe Du Ngoc
5. http://www.federal-hotel.com/ Federal Hotels
6. http://www.logis-de-france.fr/ Logis Hotels