tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72079554642287141232024-03-07T06:51:12.357+01:00Travel Photo BloggingTravel Photo Blogging offers tips on travelling and takes you to places you always wanted to visit. It is the place to discover your next vacation destination.Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.comBlogger463125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-66260142888371386512015-02-10T07:38:00.000+01:002015-02-10T16:37:28.758+01:00When to visit Uffizi gallery?<p>I have been to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence">Florence</a>, <b>Italy</b> quite a few times before. I like it there, but M. absolutely loves it. Actually it is definitely one of her favourite cities, if not the favourite one.<br />
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<p>We know the city quite well and we have visited the majority of its many sights before. The city has many museums worth visiting, but the most famous of them all is definitely the <b>Uffizi museum</b>. Apart from the <b>Vatican museums</b> (well, technically <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Vatican">Vatican</a> is not Italy), I suppose Uffizi is the most important Italian museum.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Lcaw0bUCmJdTCcMD1qi5A6cAFAOXVrlDbwA2pPbYzdzAvJQcyHDpd0HCaB65r1m8DQHWBAF3G_YYEksgVIrMxZi_aGqN41spCLpxI6pCpnsb3ofl6nCJZES67cq8wTTTB421H97tnYk/s1600/Galleria-Uffizi-poster.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Lcaw0bUCmJdTCcMD1qi5A6cAFAOXVrlDbwA2pPbYzdzAvJQcyHDpd0HCaB65r1m8DQHWBAF3G_YYEksgVIrMxZi_aGqN41spCLpxI6pCpnsb3ofl6nCJZES67cq8wTTTB421H97tnYk/s555/Galleria-Uffizi-poster.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>No matter how strange this might sound, we never got to visit the Uffizi museum before. On some occasions we did not have enough time (it can take most of an afternoon to slowly walk through it) and on other occasions we just did not feel like queuing in front of the entrance for hours.<br />
If you are really into art or if you plan your visit in a company of a knowledgeable guide, many hours might pass before you find yourself on the streets of Florence again.<br />
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<p>No matter what, it is always good to plan your visit ahead of time. This is even more essential if you happen to be in Florence in peak tourist season - i.e. spring and summer months. You can expect fewer crowds in winter months. In any case I suggest you book your tickets on-line directly through the <a href="http://www.uffizi.com/">Uffizi museum homepage</a> or if you plan to hire a guide, it is probably even better to book through one of many tour agencies. Some even offer <i>skip the line</i> option that is well worth considering.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FWp5uYkKacGG8f6AP_sa92m2Huts2fGQfEBwIT9wxPJPvITd3kfncGMipSzUc846kFLKAPRg0fAqPY0cxi39CPTC9ZdX-aEeHbJPQU_jy6S3WdtKrWlR0RognORBFg2QOJCk7Aurbb4/s1600/City-Wonders-tour.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FWp5uYkKacGG8f6AP_sa92m2Huts2fGQfEBwIT9wxPJPvITd3kfncGMipSzUc846kFLKAPRg0fAqPY0cxi39CPTC9ZdX-aEeHbJPQU_jy6S3WdtKrWlR0RognORBFg2QOJCk7Aurbb4/s555/City-Wonders-tour.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>This time we were in the city just during the <b>Firenze Marathon</b> weekend and we did not know how many people to expect queueing in front of the entrance of the museum. Usually we explore museums on our own, but since we were really happy with a <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/2013/05/frascati-wine-tasting-from-rome.html">guided tour we did in Rome</a>, we decided to look for a similar tour company in Florence. Luckily we found out <a href="http://www.citywonders.com/en/italy/florence/florence-tours/uffizi-tickets">Skip the Line: Uffizi Gallery Tour</a> is on offer by <b>City Wonders</b> tour company.<br />
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<blockquote>Simply put, if you choose one of the <b>Skip the Line</b> options, it is always the right time to visit Uffizi!</blockquote><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQnH6TQQI0AqnbuTqMmXrBMY2JL_EqYZ4gBnVZcPq_AUEx29ANyy_MdA8POZaABzHDsAqu7PcqSkBh0jwliERCWMVugLXbMbUqtDMvyvX4vVh2jBztH_nCap1ITcTYrt8mEII2LntMrg/s1600/Uffizi-corridor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQnH6TQQI0AqnbuTqMmXrBMY2JL_EqYZ4gBnVZcPq_AUEx29ANyy_MdA8POZaABzHDsAqu7PcqSkBh0jwliERCWMVugLXbMbUqtDMvyvX4vVh2jBztH_nCap1ITcTYrt8mEII2LntMrg/s555/Uffizi-corridor.JPG" /></a></div><br />
This is why we booked our Uffizi tour through them and were not disappointed. Chiara, our guide, took excellent care of the small group. Her knowledge on the extensive collection of artefacts housed in the museum is admirable. It was quickly evident she enjoys every aspect of her work and also knows many interesting stories about numerous museum pieces. With sharing many details from the lives of artists as well as the people depicted in various works Chiara helped us see the exhibition from a much wider perspective.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqku8vgA8MlpqQx7crECjx2iSN57YOWCVhLWm1JylWvXbGEBgCrmRmYsyixFN9LFqOzrLpqjoe2InX-H3VgknIOZpQ-blcgjEMHtxhSfuD-MMk9cmS-g5F3rm9A_XzBgnYmrKEGEnL-tk/s1600/Birth-Venus-Uffizi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqku8vgA8MlpqQx7crECjx2iSN57YOWCVhLWm1JylWvXbGEBgCrmRmYsyixFN9LFqOzrLpqjoe2InX-H3VgknIOZpQ-blcgjEMHtxhSfuD-MMk9cmS-g5F3rm9A_XzBgnYmrKEGEnL-tk/s555/Birth-Venus-Uffizi.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>I think it is fair to say that after 2 hours everyone in our group was really satisfied with the result of the tour. Although our brains were already overflowing with information, M. and I decided to stay in the museum for a bit longer and stroll through the parts we enjoyed the most for the second time. We also seized the opportunity to take another look at a stunning view of the <b>Ponte Vecchio</b> from the top floor of the gallery.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt55MIgfqJlzBAOZyNqME6__n_kchspuBJDQqFA-E6IoBSAS9cG-4OXV-9RuPD3UZPkmrMEKi4kP9rIrnu4yluKfqhG71tpoEJE_o0fpCW1cl_vgk3IhGU_Z70jWM0fTmOSEKvii311OI/s1600/Ponte-Vecchio-Uffizi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt55MIgfqJlzBAOZyNqME6__n_kchspuBJDQqFA-E6IoBSAS9cG-4OXV-9RuPD3UZPkmrMEKi4kP9rIrnu4yluKfqhG71tpoEJE_o0fpCW1cl_vgk3IhGU_Z70jWM0fTmOSEKvii311OI/s555/Ponte-Vecchio-Uffizi.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>If it has been a while since your last visit to the Uffizi, there is another thing worth noting... At the moment they allow use of all kinds of cameras inside the gallery (as long as you do not use flash). So if your camera was the only thing you were missing during your last visit, maybe it is time to pay them another visit.<br />
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<p>We were glad we opted for this tour and can easily recommend it to anyone. If we visited Uffizi on our own we could hardly get so much out of it.<br />
Thanks again, Chiara!<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>Clicking on any one of above photos will reveal them all in a much more flattering resolution.</i><br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com0Uffizi Gallery, Piazzale degli Uffizi, 6, 50122 Firenze, Italy43.7677856 11.25531079999996118.245751100000003 -30.053283200000038 69.2898201 52.56390479999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-22543528058594071322014-12-15T07:15:00.000+01:002014-12-17T12:41:19.014+01:00The return of a backpack<p>We woke up well rested but my <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/2014/10/tendinitis-my-new-hiking-companion.html">tendinitis problems</a> were far from gone. Again, it was just a little bit better.<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>This was day 13 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<p>I was glad we managed to hike 34 kilometres on the previous day. I could have never made it with my backpack (we got it transferred to the place we were staying at). This morning... the backpack was back. Just as heavy as two days ago.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57DAa9bMJMm-8bhzUoUaJ5LF3aP-5m4gBcDth7AjXvolgAjNogyuszWBsfmFsUbDqAUa-fNdbTCnQ-SeDGctkqU0v4xk0oHVbmbaIqVPsOBQ6bz7CVninG9NgyH0d8BnXLdloZJ2lnJU/s1600/Fromista-church.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57DAa9bMJMm-8bhzUoUaJ5LF3aP-5m4gBcDth7AjXvolgAjNogyuszWBsfmFsUbDqAUa-fNdbTCnQ-SeDGctkqU0v4xk0oHVbmbaIqVPsOBQ6bz7CVninG9NgyH0d8BnXLdloZJ2lnJU/s555/Fromista-church.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>The way lead us through the centre of <a href="https://www.google.si/maps/place/Albergue+Canal+De+Castilla/@42.2775858,-4.3688043,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd47ccd519d3e39b:0xebd28c40a812c612?hl=en">Fromista</a> and on towards Población de Campos, Revenga de Campos, Carrión de los Condes and finally <a href="https://www.google.si/maps/place/34309+Calzadilla+de+la+Cueza,+Palencia,+Spain/@42.2897614,-4.6810007,11z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0d47e67c107eabcb:0x13997fdbd1099016?hl=en">Calzadilla de la Cueza</a> - our destination for the day. It was quite an ambitious plan. Since the distance between the last two towns is 17 kilometres, it was either 19 or 36 kilometres. Obviously we aimed for 36.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRharoV7oP6DpkzHwxQSx8K4Ekb8AnKb0v8nwqXQupFz-kvrSa9mqkRf7WYCjRwzr7MJQcsXPgWfpGx1kHPphM60U4CKjW6rtwJIvwD9ReMuNwyNHMyiiFo3_SL_azMF-1dI7ZcXtQXew/s1600/Pilgrim-resting.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRharoV7oP6DpkzHwxQSx8K4Ekb8AnKb0v8nwqXQupFz-kvrSa9mqkRf7WYCjRwzr7MJQcsXPgWfpGx1kHPphM60U4CKjW6rtwJIvwD9ReMuNwyNHMyiiFo3_SL_azMF-1dI7ZcXtQXew/s555/Pilgrim-resting.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>The start was quite hard and not too promising. Our bodies got used to walking with minimum weight throughout the previous day and were complaining about the change.<br />
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<p>I was not the only one with problems. Despite those new silicon heel pads M. was also experiencing some pain. Nevertheless they did make the pain appear a couple of hours later then usually.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFvxV3DrpHcriwgmaBvvMYuTcy4sndrA-CvY9b_IyYPALOH-jDGj16KiunE8PYhvlHe1Q7C-v2u_1LVFrB3x_nul3SLugkfzfVi4262TzC5Af0jJJGbk-WdZatVwgIk3dFCaj3j-GGCU/s1600/Calzadilla-de-la-Cueza.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFvxV3DrpHcriwgmaBvvMYuTcy4sndrA-CvY9b_IyYPALOH-jDGj16KiunE8PYhvlHe1Q7C-v2u_1LVFrB3x_nul3SLugkfzfVi4262TzC5Af0jJJGbk-WdZatVwgIk3dFCaj3j-GGCU/s555/Calzadilla-de-la-Cueza.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We pushed on and after another long day of pretty much uneventful scenery we made it to the recently renovated <b>Albergue Municipal de peregrinos</b> in <b>Calzadilla de la Cueza</b>. Just next door to it there is another good looking (and a couple of Euro more expensive) private albergue. The private one even has a pool but since it was not too hot and quite windy we did not care about it and opted for the cheaper one. We were satisfied with our choice.<br />
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<p>Once again we saw quite a few familiar faces at dinner. Most pilgrims spending the night in the small village gathered at the only place serving <i>Menú peregrino</i>. We washed down a mediocre meal with a few glasses of OK red wine. We were starting to miss the good wines of Rioja.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghk9TeoSJFiC96M49c9ml5t2Bh70Ze0Aezb2tZwMbErSZjrPM0LMsJDjao6v5ZG-d5y4jZXy7EPAaCAkWF6xFON0gyq2-KhGIrxQ0o4o9HKT46zNZzs7XHg9Sp9Bih5lqQ1rQ8m2DjAFQ/s1600/Pilgrim-dinner.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghk9TeoSJFiC96M49c9ml5t2Bh70Ze0Aezb2tZwMbErSZjrPM0LMsJDjao6v5ZG-d5y4jZXy7EPAaCAkWF6xFON0gyq2-KhGIrxQ0o4o9HKT46zNZzs7XHg9Sp9Bih5lqQ1rQ8m2DjAFQ/s555/Pilgrim-dinner.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We shared our plans with a few fellow pilgrims and despite some communication difficulties we were happy to discover we will probably run into eachother again.<br />
</p><br />
<p>After dinner and an extra glass of <i>vino tinto</i> it was time for some well deserved rest.<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com034309 Calzadilla de la Cueza, Palencia, Spain42.3287562 -4.804442699999981442.3228867 -4.8145276999999815 42.334625700000004 -4.7943576999999813tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-61612014829859802382014-11-12T07:18:00.000+01:002014-11-12T07:18:00.034+01:00Blood-red poppy of the Camino<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yeLnHAP2g93YobW2PaIM8n-kK2T14jhXW1DSkgysvukAAF3GZDqIGPsIpnoHBRWCeMmUkAISXaT1tcWgBh1Oq76jHwJJCmu5k6_NTX-FYWRpa0Y7TZmmVT3xb2eTI4clxY2IA8dYvFg/s1600/poppy-in-bloom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yeLnHAP2g93YobW2PaIM8n-kK2T14jhXW1DSkgysvukAAF3GZDqIGPsIpnoHBRWCeMmUkAISXaT1tcWgBh1Oq76jHwJJCmu5k6_NTX-FYWRpa0Y7TZmmVT3xb2eTI4clxY2IA8dYvFg/s555/poppy-in-bloom.JPG" /></a></div></p><br />
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXRDZs9YQC2q-KBjCh5_aM5zCl7TK2Za6SlE_cWPUhKjrAMinRNSNUvwd2qce1M-vIgnpMtCJItOCpaF1nQqXMUkKed03sDsQBhbQDuwoUccLv45V6dkwO_t-HSUiMqvNJQSBNGJYmVM/s1600/poppy-in-bloom-Camino.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXRDZs9YQC2q-KBjCh5_aM5zCl7TK2Za6SlE_cWPUhKjrAMinRNSNUvwd2qce1M-vIgnpMtCJItOCpaF1nQqXMUkKed03sDsQBhbQDuwoUccLv45V6dkwO_t-HSUiMqvNJQSBNGJYmVM/s555/poppy-in-bloom-Camino.JPG" /></a></div></p><br />
<p><i>Clicking on any one of above photos will reveal them both in a much more flattering resolution.</i><br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com209110 Castrojeriz, Burgos, Spain42.2884823 -4.1424199000000542.2767358 -4.16258990000005 42.3002288 -4.12224990000005tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-40303267049817722582014-11-06T10:27:00.000+01:002014-11-06T11:14:06.130+01:00Lightweight hiking for a day<p>It was another cold morning on the Camino. After breakfast at the albergue we left Hontanas behind and ventured into the cold. At half past seven it was a mere 5 degrees Celsius (41 ºF). We were not expecting such cold mornings at the end of May. Actually we were at approximately 870 metres above sea level at that time and such temperatures are probably pretty usual for the time of year.<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>This was day 12 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2Vb_-GUGTkYKMbsyTbBqIBj5RO2LHpaWpr2cbqDhS-LkbiGuK3OEvd0XTan5fb_TY_Da7NDXzrgxEEc2qeMSfuQb1IvG_pjwn1zVsfkMwjcG8AFhZNlX-2wUDiQyCcoB4WaTQ1T_JTE/s1600/camino-without-backpack.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2Vb_-GUGTkYKMbsyTbBqIBj5RO2LHpaWpr2cbqDhS-LkbiGuK3OEvd0XTan5fb_TY_Da7NDXzrgxEEc2qeMSfuQb1IvG_pjwn1zVsfkMwjcG8AFhZNlX-2wUDiQyCcoB4WaTQ1T_JTE/s555/camino-without-backpack.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Luckily when sun got up we felt its warmth pretty quickly. It did not take long for air to warm up and we were forced to loose a few layers in a matter of minutes.<br />
</p><br />
<p>I had high hopes for this day. Despite my tendinitis problems I was expecting a relatively easy day without the weight of my almost 10 kilogram backpack. As I already mentioned we decided to fill my backpack with all our heavy stuff (obviously not counting my camera) and send it from the albergue in <a href="https://www.google.si/maps/place/09227+Hontanas,+Burgos,+Spain/@42.3263412,-3.8869053,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd4617920e50b129:0x96506975f3838171?hl=en">Hontanas</a>, 34 kilometres ahead to <a href="https://www.google.si/maps/place/Albergue+Canal+De+Castilla/@42.2775858,-4.3688043,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd47ccd519d3e39b:0xebd28c40a812c612?hl=en">Fromista</a>.<br />
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<p>I have to say I was a bit disappointed at the beginning of our daily hike. I hardly felt any difference despite the lack of my heavy backpack. My leg was still far from OK and I felt a sharp pain with every step I took.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNs91IK9qlCVHdVkn36Vz6GHlS65uwXS8luhDLOLC7VBlPFz4bt9OpCukqQJgLhwC7BdpSqYuztVg5xR9bK_8f2V6D-iaMLvcJ9Sz50HZqjqfzN4_LWHdUfWcMB9NjynwfY7Zgx3urBK0/s1600/Convento-san-Anton.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNs91IK9qlCVHdVkn36Vz6GHlS65uwXS8luhDLOLC7VBlPFz4bt9OpCukqQJgLhwC7BdpSqYuztVg5xR9bK_8f2V6D-iaMLvcJ9Sz50HZqjqfzN4_LWHdUfWcMB9NjynwfY7Zgx3urBK0/s555/Convento-san-Anton.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Our first stop was at the ruins of the fifteenth century monastery dedicated to Saint Anthony (<b>Convento de San Antón</b>). It was one of the first pilgrim hospitals. It had to be a magnificent building at that time.<br />
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<p>Flat landscape with endless wheat fields continued for the most of the day. From time to time bright red poppy patches could be seen in the distance.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9nidPIJ_GqBmWbEeKRplxkWxG8H5dL80HLPNfOd0CflisMo62CZ1tXtkw3GWWP58E3pS4QDGHcSM4a8ZdijW-fNqvOtimYCLW1ZDAqhxowsxOwr17T46r2qupgfai7z6TfUp-7NyG5tg/s1600/Castrojeriz-in-distance.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9nidPIJ_GqBmWbEeKRplxkWxG8H5dL80HLPNfOd0CflisMo62CZ1tXtkw3GWWP58E3pS4QDGHcSM4a8ZdijW-fNqvOtimYCLW1ZDAqhxowsxOwr17T46r2qupgfai7z6TfUp-7NyG5tg/s555/Castrojeriz-in-distance.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>The only exception were a few lonely hills just after the town of <b>Castrojeriz</b>. The road lead us right over them. Surprisingly going up and down was a nice variegation after a few monotonous days.<br />
We both enjoyed climbing up the hill and loved the view from the top. I did however have a few problems going downhill. My leg was killing me and I tried everything to make it better. After zigzagging down the hill I even tried walking backwards for a while. It helped a bit but it still hurt. It was pretty funny though.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Most of the afternoon we walked along an old channel (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_de_Castilla">Canal de Castilla</a>). It was built at the end of 18th century to ease the wheat grain transport from the province of Castilla to the northern harbours and to transport other cargo inland from the coast. It had to be a huge project back then.<br />
Nowadays the channel is used for irrigation of nearby fields.<br />
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<p>There are even remains of a system of water lock gates between different water levels near the town of Fromista.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeR46hHqSGZ_6VGSfLGgVRmMVij4418fEo6SNm-yQCo7KipodVlZGM9NIQXMBmgx-JK7f3pyfKItSyQ41mDhyphenhyphenbDwxwK1owTfnjmtYvvsBYTGtCl4pJZKl4eG9U21jGqLLIvXg8KdDH2NU/s1600/water-lock-canal-castilla.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeR46hHqSGZ_6VGSfLGgVRmMVij4418fEo6SNm-yQCo7KipodVlZGM9NIQXMBmgx-JK7f3pyfKItSyQ41mDhyphenhyphenbDwxwK1owTfnjmtYvvsBYTGtCl4pJZKl4eG9U21jGqLLIvXg8KdDH2NU/s555/water-lock-canal-castilla.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>When we were closing in on our destination for the day we were getting pretty tired. The lack of a heavy backpack proved to be a great advantage especially towards the end of our walk. With a little additional help from anti-inflammatory medications it made the 34 kilometres just doable.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Towards the end of the day I was not the only one in pain. M. also began to feel pain in her heels. She had to take a few short breaks, while I kept slowly limping forward. For me it was easier keeping a slow, steady pace. My pace was really slow and it did not take long for her to catch up.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RNoNMUT7L01oq_v6TNwlDF__OyYkG9s8dPsOdvtVqhWIRDZCUkkHIS4Eo7bbZUVd8JVLz9J535NroPnwZsfgTVmLYwCt1U1WoXxrDRV0m3EaOB3lwq2lzxjZZvUq5PCXqwn1dg5JTgA/s1600/camino-hiking-break.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RNoNMUT7L01oq_v6TNwlDF__OyYkG9s8dPsOdvtVqhWIRDZCUkkHIS4Eo7bbZUVd8JVLz9J535NroPnwZsfgTVmLYwCt1U1WoXxrDRV0m3EaOB3lwq2lzxjZZvUq5PCXqwn1dg5JTgA/s555/camino-hiking-break.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>When we got to the albergue (Albergue Canal de Castilla) in <b>Fromista</b> where my backpack was waiting for us, we realised it was situated right next to the train station.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We were not impressed by the looks of it. I guess those bunk beds have seen better days. In spite of everything we were just too tired to go searching for another place. The food however was pretty good and it came in generous portions.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMGO4fzgpt6jurM9y_ABGwDC1xJEN6YXIRWv3bJX5ypMazWOcC-bwmtlm8mJ4JPfPoE2NZwXsg45NpsvKp9L2yN951LbiWrxb8rC8UudlnuyYgpuOH4oJtFZwxAibU7Uu45djDhgKw7k/s1600/Albergue-Canal-de-Castilla.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMGO4fzgpt6jurM9y_ABGwDC1xJEN6YXIRWv3bJX5ypMazWOcC-bwmtlm8mJ4JPfPoE2NZwXsg45NpsvKp9L2yN951LbiWrxb8rC8UudlnuyYgpuOH4oJtFZwxAibU7Uu45djDhgKw7k/s555/Albergue-Canal-de-Castilla.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We decided to check out the centre of the town despite the sorry state we were in. It was pretty nice - definitely way better compared to the train station area we were spending the night in.<br />
We also took the opportunity to look for a pair of silicon-gel shoe heel pads for M. Luckily the local pharmacy was very well stocked. Obviously M. was not the first (nor the last) pilgrim with similar problems.<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com034440 Frómista, Palencia, Spain42.2644665695048 -4.403135776519775442.2629975695048 -4.4056572765197757 42.2659355695048 -4.4006142765197751tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-9287268973299858992014-10-27T08:08:00.000+01:002014-10-27T08:43:47.429+01:00Marvellous Menorca: Less Known Balearic Beauty<p>The <b>Balearic islands</b> of Majorca and Ibiza are some of the most famous resort destinations in Europe and host a significant number of Spain’s tourists each year. However for those looking for something slightly less intense, the lesser known Balearic beauty of <a href="https://www.google.si/maps/place/Minorca,+Balearic+Islands,+Spain/@39.8277455,15.132131,5z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x12be1f9d2cb820e9:0x529ac484178e77c9?hl=en">Menorca</a> is the perfect getaway.<br />
</p><br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://korzika.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/p9050364.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 555px;" src="http://korzika.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/p9050364.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614664779727620466" /></a><br />
<p><a href="http://www.thomson.co.uk/flights/destinations/europe/spain/menorca/menorca-flights.html">Departing regularly from many major airports</a> throughout Europe, flights to <b>Menorca</b> are frequent and flexible. Visitors will be nothing short of mesmerised after landing, eager to explore the 270 square mile island, all of which is a UNESCO biosphere. Here are a few of the island’s very best activities for visitors to magical Menorca.<br />
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<p><b>Flora and fauna</b><br />
The island was designated <a href="http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?mode=all&code=SPA+13">a UNESCO biosphere</a> in 1993 thanks to its wildlife and landscapes. The forests, gorges, salt marshes, wetlands, lush rolling hills and of course pristine beaches all serve as important habitats for all variety of wild things. Much of the island is accessible by foot if not by single track roads with the piece de resistance of landscapes (or its Spanish equivalent) being Mount Toro, situated in the heart of the island and reaching some 258 meters above sea level. The peak reveals staggering panoramas of the island, views which extend all the way across the sea to Majorca on a clear day. <br />
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<p><b>Culture</b> <br />
Menorca has been shaped over the years by a series of visiting colonisers ranging from Roman to North African to Turkish, British, French and of course, Spanish. As a result the island’s culture includes everything from prehistoric sites to Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture. Once more, UNESCO recognized the importance of Menorca’s cultural history in 2004 when it extended a protective reach over historic sites, in effect prohibiting the development of any large-scale high-rise resort development. This allowed locals to establish rural hotels known as agroturismos which are the accommodation option of choice for travellers looking to experience authentic Menorca. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvPuj6SRUnLT8m16KgkBEalAvLLSatKafj6UKFKSn8k3Vl03dlXdw3jls0N6ZnhPKL3A_QAeCokyWrY-ulJXPASecFVHZzqfcAsPoHX-oIrCe8O2j5mt1RXOXN6MVLHesf52AKVkG6A0y/s1600/Sunset-fishermen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="644" width="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvPuj6SRUnLT8m16KgkBEalAvLLSatKafj6UKFKSn8k3Vl03dlXdw3jls0N6ZnhPKL3A_QAeCokyWrY-ulJXPASecFVHZzqfcAsPoHX-oIrCe8O2j5mt1RXOXN6MVLHesf52AKVkG6A0y/s644/Sunset-fishermen.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p><b>Idyllic island perks</b><br />
While Majorca and Ibiza have beaches packed with tourists, Menorca’s shores are significantly less crowded but boast more beaches than its busy neighbouring islands combined. The shores of the island feature a seemingly endless series of gorgeous small bays and coves away from the main resorts that range in size from tiny to sprawling. Some visitors may wish to undertake unmarked trails to arrive at a deserted beach while others may choose to explore the coast by boat, taking in the terrain from the surrounding waters. There are sea caves to explore, sea creatures to observe and endless Spanish sunshine to soak up. <br />
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<p>Menorca is a well-preserved colonial gem in a sea of highly developed resort tourism. Majorca and Ibiza may have gained international reputations for the club-loving jet-set, but Menorca flies blissfully under the radar of major Mediterranean resort development. The island’s various cultural influences and natural beauty make it truly one of a kind for those seeking a peaceful, authentic getaway.<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com0Minorca, Balearic Islands, Spain39.9496287 4.110444899999947739.560099699999995 3.4649978999999478 40.3391577 4.7558918999999475tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-39814724351149841812014-10-24T13:22:00.000+02:002014-10-24T13:22:21.930+02:00Camino Portraits: Slava & Irena<p>There were not many Slovenes we met on our way to <b>Santiago</b>. Only three of them to be exact. Actually since <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Slovenia">Slovenia</a> is a pretty small country with a total population of only 2 million people, we were not expecting to run into many Slovene pilgrims anyway.<br />
</p><br />
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodXm2tOYPy9QWqDKGrSndu7sMWh7amQGGOg2wmKMNwd1hWnXrtM_fUfyWaKGkY1ejg7Ijns9BAvs0xEJQuCUjvGhEWtd3N4EleQvXjXmtVmiWwQDsfsjwDd2TxCwfTgSVVP1nrSwoc0I/s1600/romarki.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodXm2tOYPy9QWqDKGrSndu7sMWh7amQGGOg2wmKMNwd1hWnXrtM_fUfyWaKGkY1ejg7Ijns9BAvs0xEJQuCUjvGhEWtd3N4EleQvXjXmtVmiWwQDsfsjwDd2TxCwfTgSVVP1nrSwoc0I/s555/romarki.JPG" /></a></div></p><br />
<p>Slava and Irena are two friends who felt <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino</a> might bring some variety into their retirement. They were also quite amused by responses from their loved ones. Everyone back home thought they have gone crazy and will not be able to make it to Santiago. This only fired them up more and off they went...<br />
</p><br />
<p>Apart from coming from Slovenia, there was one more thing we had in common - tendinitis. None of us was willing to quit the trip because of it and we just kept limping towards Santiago.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We ran into each-other for a few times within our second week and were always glad to hear our native language. Hopefully they were able to enjoy the rest of the way at least as much as we did.<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com0Burgos, Burgos, Spain42.3439925 -3.696906000000012742.2501035 -3.8582675000000126 42.437881499999996 -3.5355445000000127tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-64059712749040147922014-10-22T07:26:00.000+02:002014-10-22T07:26:00.117+02:00The hardest day of the Camino<p>Actually I do not remember much of this day. It is probably better this way... it was pretty much all suffering.<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>This was day 11 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<p>The day began with moderate pain in my right leg. It seemed pretty much the same as the day before. A long evening walk we did around the centre of <a href="https://www.google.si/maps/place/Burgos+Cathedral/@42.3680076,-3.5637631,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd45fd29b90635d5:0xd023a595390d9a0d?hl=en">Burgos</a> did not seem like such a good idea any more.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Since getting into the centre of <b>Burgos</b> took us forever the day before, we were expecting a similar exercise on the way out of the city. Luckily the suburban area on the western side of the city was not so huge. We were out in the countryside pretty quickly.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We definitely preferred walking down a country road when compared to hard asphalt surfaces of Burgos' suburbs. It is interesting how you start noticing different hardness levels of surfaces after a week of constant walking.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Once we got into the flat countryside the views stayed pretty much the same for the whole day. All was flat, with wheat fields all around us as far as we could see.<br />
</p><br />
<p>As kilometres went by my tendinitis problem was also getting worse with every step and soon enough all I was thinking about was: "Left, right, left and right again". I just kept repeating it... till the late afternoon. It seemed like forever.<br />
</p><br />
<p>I was walking pretty slow and stopping did not help either. It only made me suffer more once I started walking again. The whole walking procedure was draining so much energy I totally lost interest in taking photos. Visualizing a photo and taking it seemed pretty much impossible. The result is no photos from the walk.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Our plan for the day was to walk from <b>Burgos</b> to <a href="https://www.google.si/maps/place/09227+Hontanas,+Burgos,+Spain/@42.3263412,-3.8869053,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd4617920e50b129:0x96506975f3838171?hl=en">Hontanas</a>. That makes just over <b>33 kilometres</b> and for me it was one of the hardest hikes I have ever did. It was almost totally flat but it did not help a bit.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLBhFjMlI1x5Oy0b_O_hHpPYl3SFDmq-_UPcU-AJbiKBo-Pv94O2X8x7P62bjNFUQoT-sYdbH_I8Ru1Fpam-Lu4MkTszzwmbqLK2sC6gF3tZdOWHz5cB1vTgFBFILq3ctM9OPCdG-zFg/s1600/near-Hontanas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLBhFjMlI1x5Oy0b_O_hHpPYl3SFDmq-_UPcU-AJbiKBo-Pv94O2X8x7P62bjNFUQoT-sYdbH_I8Ru1Fpam-Lu4MkTszzwmbqLK2sC6gF3tZdOWHz5cB1vTgFBFILq3ctM9OPCdG-zFg/s555/near-Hontanas.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>The final kilometres were really devastating. Since the landscape was pretty flat we could see really far. At some point we even started wondering if we were on the right track. When we came close to some traffic signs we just looked in disbelief. On one of the signs it was written: Hontanas 0,5.<br />
</p><br />
<p>No matter how hard we looked around us, we could see no sign of a town or even a building. Since it is pretty obvious one should see a town from half a kilometre away we did not know what to think. After a while we just kept walking and 200 metres down the road a basin with a small village appeared right in front of us. Hontanas does not look like much but for us at that moment it was the most beautiful place on the planet.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnw-y1fD1bDiQ_LqSAn8SeNh-x_PrFFR9e9qNOqDJkVQW883AwIwHf2oWyz2-4c7RCsk_kMNXwvIm81W_eO75TiASTZa1vA4lNQ0yvBk2DV91Hb8LXKwbkKSXIGiA2VIOe8JEXa5XUOU/s1600/view-of-Hontanas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnw-y1fD1bDiQ_LqSAn8SeNh-x_PrFFR9e9qNOqDJkVQW883AwIwHf2oWyz2-4c7RCsk_kMNXwvIm81W_eO75TiASTZa1vA4lNQ0yvBk2DV91Hb8LXKwbkKSXIGiA2VIOe8JEXa5XUOU/s555/view-of-Hontanas.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>After we found a place to sleep in the first albergue in the village of <b>Hontanas</b>, we took even more time than usually for our daily stretching-shower-massage-laundry routine. I further extended it with a half an hour of ice massage. Massaging my leg with ice was quite painful but since I knew it would help, it was a no-brainer.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Before dinner I even found enough energy to snap a photo of the village church from outside of our room.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBqCzUX630KeTOpH-Esbtm5DUATfcpdoWYpEW2MuH6JtcQa_2UVaOaQFiUdg8YebJMO0o_jty13GNU-JVFJxxz09s2OjvvUUG3JsPL2TkJE34bHW5W_K6Sb9nyfH5XHauF8kNUHSy9MU/s1600/Iglesia-Hontanas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBqCzUX630KeTOpH-Esbtm5DUATfcpdoWYpEW2MuH6JtcQa_2UVaOaQFiUdg8YebJMO0o_jty13GNU-JVFJxxz09s2OjvvUUG3JsPL2TkJE34bHW5W_K6Sb9nyfH5XHauF8kNUHSy9MU/s555/Iglesia-Hontanas.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>During a talk with one of the pilgrims we kept running into we found out arranging <b>backpack transportation</b> was really easy. All you have to do is ask the hospitalero at the albergue you are staying in about it and they will arrange everything. <br />
</p><br />
<p>You get an empty envelope, on which you write your information and the destination where you would like to pick up the backpack on the following day. You need to put 7 Euro inside the envelope and attach it to your backpack. The hospitalero in our case arranged everything else i.e. called the company and arranged the pick-up early next morning.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOS2_eKgtOfNKaSmkHqaw5cYCrZVt-sJTtwTJYsoNV4hAUObV6kLTxBpE3OvtAQvfpWfrmjrKGg7C_AcFhm1k1G1GugPpU5hDfK7H85HF357H6In595jGr7w3wapBTnGwZgXdTfNOAlaM/s1600/transporte-de-mochilas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOS2_eKgtOfNKaSmkHqaw5cYCrZVt-sJTtwTJYsoNV4hAUObV6kLTxBpE3OvtAQvfpWfrmjrKGg7C_AcFhm1k1G1GugPpU5hDfK7H85HF357H6In595jGr7w3wapBTnGwZgXdTfNOAlaM/s555/transporte-de-mochilas.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We were hoping this would help my leg recover a bit faster. At the same time we could both put all our heavy stuff inside my to-be-transported backpack and have an easier walk in the morning.<br />
</p><br />
<p>It seems like a bunch of companies offer this kind of service. Obviously there is quite a demand for it.<br />
After I used the service for a day, I started noticing many pilgrims with suspiciously small backpacks. Some might even call it cheating but in the end it is all about how you see your own Camino.<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com009227 Hontanas, Burgos, Spain42.3122534 -4.044637999999963542.306382400000004 -4.0547229999999637 42.3181244 -4.0345529999999634tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-76113093685627441532014-10-20T10:23:00.000+02:002014-10-20T10:25:26.736+02:00Endless suburbs of Burgos<p><i>This was day 10 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<p>I got out of bed with a feeling of anticipation and also a little bit of fear. The first few steps were accompanied with "Ouch, ouch, ouch..." whispered through my teeth. After a while it got better and I had to admit the pain was just a little bit more bearable compared to the previous day.<br />
</p><br />
<p>It seemed like this new friend of mine called Tendinitis would not go away easily. I knew that if it was going to get at least a bit better every day, I would be able to get through it. I was just hoping it would keep getting better.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmFNLOzzA3CeWvhq9Dx1uNXmacWltz-VICbM2-_HynecJ9p_0tz8tN6eh0UNx4JH4EYWBo9KOtF1BmTcIojCo7QPAocmGljN9mGslvQdJpEEsiC-w7wc1WDzms3T4d8j_gbRQVkMJyPs/s1600/hiking-in-fog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmFNLOzzA3CeWvhq9Dx1uNXmacWltz-VICbM2-_HynecJ9p_0tz8tN6eh0UNx4JH4EYWBo9KOtF1BmTcIojCo7QPAocmGljN9mGslvQdJpEEsiC-w7wc1WDzms3T4d8j_gbRQVkMJyPs/s555/hiking-in-fog.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We ventured into another cold and cloudy day pretty early. The winding path soon started climbing up a hill and into the fog. I started raining again.<br />
</p><br />
<p>For a while we were walking next to a barb wire fence that seemed to be built around an army base of some kind.<br />
</p><br />
<p>The walk was pretty uneventful and because of the steady rain I kept my photo gear dry inside my backpack. When we got closer to Burgos the scenery turned from bad to worse. Endless suburbs with many industrial complexes. Gloomy weather also did not help and dull shades of grey seemed even greyer.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Our hiking boots were letting moisture in again. Nevertheless it was not as bad as on the second day. We were glad we have bought ourselves quality hiking <a href="http://www.tesco.com/direct/sports-leisure/hiking-boots/cat3375516.cat">boots that did not cause blister</a> problems even when wet. Nowadays you can get quality hiking boots almost in any supermarket as well as in specialised sport stores.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Considering the situation we decided to do another short walking day and give my leg an opportunity to recover faster. This also meant we will be able to spend more time in Burgos. Stopping there for the night gave us a whole afternoon to check out the city centre. We could have easily spent a few days there but unfortunately our tight schedule did not allow it.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzPJieVy40uinDJz6ftOT3k9egyCyvLZi3g6bnT80Yun4pyRTT4xj9f6ah_kBmlZpqSIguQD8HP2NrW9o2EbUxYmqHYqD2xWYV2ELAfrpwsztqJoO9KlDC8ZZl9ahglbpmqg3aquKmrRk/s1600/Burgos-Cathedral.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzPJieVy40uinDJz6ftOT3k9egyCyvLZi3g6bnT80Yun4pyRTT4xj9f6ah_kBmlZpqSIguQD8HP2NrW9o2EbUxYmqHYqD2xWYV2ELAfrpwsztqJoO9KlDC8ZZl9ahglbpmqg3aquKmrRk/s600/Burgos-Cathedral.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>It is only <b>24 kilometres</b> from <a href="https://www.google.si/maps/place/09199+Ag%C3%A9s,+Burgos,+Spain/@42.3693123,-3.5963162,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd45f247ed70cf37:0xe5fd4c216333563a?hl=en">Agés</a> to <a href="https://www.google.si/maps/place/Burgos+Cathedral/@42.3680076,-3.5637631,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd45fd29b90635d5:0xd023a595390d9a0d?hl=en">Burgos</a>, but bad weather and endless suburbs of Burgos in addition to my leg problems, resulted in another long and tiring day.<br />
</p><br />
<p>It was a long walk to the historic centre but the good thing was that once we got there the rain stopped and we were able to search for an albergue without our rain ponchos. For a change we were still early and at first we tried our luck with a couple of smaller options. Since they were both already fully booked, we went for the newly opened <b>Albergue Municipal de Peregrinos de Burgos</b> with 150 posts. It is located just a stone-throw from the cathedral and costs only 5 Euro.<br />
The only thing it lacks is a bit of character, but I guess that was not the main thing they had in mind during the construction.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We were happy to finally get out of our wet hiking shoes. As we learned during many previous wet days our Goretex hiking shoes endured 2-3 hours of rain, after that water started leaking through.<br />
</p><br />
<p>After settling in, our daily routine followed. When we were finished with our stretching-shower-massage-laundry procedure we went exploring the city. In our sandals, as usually. <br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGp0t5XeyInaD178J1IdFKsxnlbbm2l2bpM-ythMfnfqPYy4BZfk-Ra1hlvyAaeJQjArxhaeRXmXfYQGuw446JrpZs7r3btyETOYaHj4DjJWvWO9UWef-o9Z5loUxbxR_cn6KE7Uv8O_M/s1600/Burgos-Cathedral-plaza.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGp0t5XeyInaD178J1IdFKsxnlbbm2l2bpM-ythMfnfqPYy4BZfk-Ra1hlvyAaeJQjArxhaeRXmXfYQGuw446JrpZs7r3btyETOYaHj4DjJWvWO9UWef-o9Z5loUxbxR_cn6KE7Uv8O_M/s555/Burgos-Cathedral-plaza.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We took time to admire the magnificent cathedral but decided to skip the tour of interior due to the entrance fee. Nevertheless we managed to take a quick peek inside and liked what we saw.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkM6ka2xlhyphenhyphen2f0NiOvu9YKh2OJcw1wxvbfMlhDPn0bW24lQdIBip5zo_4PyChF4pAad7XeNqIPwxNIHHUJcDTgNXVWhJouhef2pNCuuURmOEThrieJ7xMWvBc8SQtBzHLuS4tmxLMJuo/s1600/Burgos-cathedral-details.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkM6ka2xlhyphenhyphen2f0NiOvu9YKh2OJcw1wxvbfMlhDPn0bW24lQdIBip5zo_4PyChF4pAad7XeNqIPwxNIHHUJcDTgNXVWhJouhef2pNCuuURmOEThrieJ7xMWvBc8SQtBzHLuS4tmxLMJuo/s555/Burgos-cathedral-details.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We decided to take a slow stroll around the centre and look for a place to eat. We found a perfect place with great food. We did pay 2 Euro more for the pilgrim menu than usually, but it was well worth it. You can feast your eyes on the below photo of the delicious dessert.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ho0a5T6ztHqcwbEo6YzwPPPASLqMIGp-7csLAoHNWIG90_zBEqmPTaenSis8EVxDxK1ilREZNQNaAHDi6R2b_jN9F0yv4Ow_1nFULdkEE3WWmRXG7pvimHFvKcHYOKg3V1cTMbFKPn0/s1600/Spanish-dessert.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ho0a5T6ztHqcwbEo6YzwPPPASLqMIGp-7csLAoHNWIG90_zBEqmPTaenSis8EVxDxK1ilREZNQNaAHDi6R2b_jN9F0yv4Ow_1nFULdkEE3WWmRXG7pvimHFvKcHYOKg3V1cTMbFKPn0/s555/Spanish-dessert.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We would love to explore the centre some more but were already pretty tired when we were finished with our dinner. I was positively surprised that the pain in my leg was perfectly bearable when I carried no backpack.<br />
However, instead of wandering the streets some more, we went back to the albergue to chat with our 3 Slovene room mates. These three pilgrims were the only Slovenes we met on the Camino.<br />
</p><br />
<p><b>Burgos</b> is definitely another one of the places on the <b>Camino Francés</b> where we could easily spend a couple of extra days. Unfortunately due to our tight schedule we had to move on.<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>Clicking on any one of above photos will reveal them all in a much more flattering resolution.</i><br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com0Burgos, Burgos, Spain42.3439925 -3.696906000000012742.2501035 -3.8582675000000126 42.437881499999996 -3.5355445000000127tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-83870048954163891092014-10-13T07:56:00.000+02:002014-10-13T07:56:00.091+02:00Tendinitis - My new hiking companion<p><i>This was day 9 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<p>In the morning when I climbed down from my bunk bed I almost lost my balance. My leg still hurt like hell. I knew it would probably get a bit better after the first few steps, but I did not know how much better. It really did. A little bit.<br />
Despite all that I was already determined to try walking and see how it went. I was not going down without a fight!<br />
</p><br />
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tendinitis">Tendinitis</a> (also tendonitis) is an inflammation of a tendon, which attaches the muscle to the bone. Usually it appears after muscles already got adapted to harder workout, because tendons need more time for adaptation. With use of anti-inflammatory medications and conservative treatment (mostly rest) the condition usually starts getting better after 2-3 days.<br />
We did not have those 2-3 days of rest planned and if we went for it, it meant we would have to turn to alternative means of transportation in order to get to Santiago in time for our flight home. We obviously did not want that to happen.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kwjQTuLF08ddLw-g4LSEephQ45ptlku9_B1hKXiOxnE6l7w1-EYyiOEQtTNbSP5Fb004aYZ8YiJ2nFuWVU5vMQZDGNSE0xrGKMldU-mrYFRr9mUAnmh93TyaDjAn5da762llJ1lVD1w/s1600/Albergue-peregrinos-Caminante-Belorado.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kwjQTuLF08ddLw-g4LSEephQ45ptlku9_B1hKXiOxnE6l7w1-EYyiOEQtTNbSP5Fb004aYZ8YiJ2nFuWVU5vMQZDGNSE0xrGKMldU-mrYFRr9mUAnmh93TyaDjAn5da762llJ1lVD1w/s555/Albergue-peregrinos-Caminante-Belorado.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We had a simple breakfast in the albergue. Although this time it was an all-you-can-eat type of breakfast we figured out that breakfasts in albergues were usually not worth the price. It was much better to stop somewhere along the way and have a proper <i>bocadillo</i> (that's a sandwich) for more or less the same price.<br />
</p><br />
<p>After breakfast M. helped me put a compression bandage on my sore leg. Up until that point she had been using both our bandages under socks to prevent direct contact of socks with her skin. By then cheap cotton socks from the Chinese shop were thoroughly tested and seemed to be working fine.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLLfqmwUJFCVARGjCouoBzoheyaOcXYOsY84Gj_Hio7ll5SSusyH4hGYqXUxcTHe0e_yn7I3Mx70375zvg46t_NyED-HOFEXMZozM3hSJ2_qpa1qMXH3nBvjEAdEFhQwnhveHVYK2gik/s1600/bandage-application-tendinitis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLLfqmwUJFCVARGjCouoBzoheyaOcXYOsY84Gj_Hio7ll5SSusyH4hGYqXUxcTHe0e_yn7I3Mx70375zvg46t_NyED-HOFEXMZozM3hSJ2_qpa1qMXH3nBvjEAdEFhQwnhveHVYK2gik/s600/bandage-application-tendinitis.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>When we started walking it definitely felt a little better when compared to the previous day. So we kept walking. Slowly. This time M. had to seriously slow down so that I could keep up with her. I learned that stopping and taking a break is much worse compared to keeping a slow and steady pace.<br />
Obviously we had to stop for food at some point and used the opportunity for another ice massage. It helped ease the pain for a while and it also brought down the small swelling.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOtB8yC2THZrtb6SIYs-R71L7sWl5_tH0il5gSE49W2LzEAg7S48DvFvZBEBjDYJGU6x5cqHaA7XLD9UZd4o2d6kByskbCDazp4WUfu7EZsv_SDphDFS5bXvtDBSOw0D-AGj8ZE9Dqp4/s1600/camino-arrow-on-stone.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOtB8yC2THZrtb6SIYs-R71L7sWl5_tH0il5gSE49W2LzEAg7S48DvFvZBEBjDYJGU6x5cqHaA7XLD9UZd4o2d6kByskbCDazp4WUfu7EZsv_SDphDFS5bXvtDBSOw0D-AGj8ZE9Dqp4/s555/camino-arrow-on-stone.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We walked through some charming old villages and after a while endless wheat fields were replaced by young pine tree forest. A strong smell of pine trees mixed with blooming yellow bushes called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartium">Spanish broom</a> was in the air. The views were great but the smells were even better. If only I could appreciate the beauty. I mainly focused on walking - it is interesting how much effort one has to put into a simple task like walking in extreme situations like this.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbuQZTup3WybRRYHmVFe9SCMhp1kfAvnXlTZrF_gQgj-NlWsizwhqlceUwFBDwn3QO0yvYH5qT9-35uvdoI81dFA8ymuP-cJmdJsAG_3UxIiBO7ZVZccMYEqSoSI1ckcNLNI99tQurU0/s1600/pines-spanish-broom-camino.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbuQZTup3WybRRYHmVFe9SCMhp1kfAvnXlTZrF_gQgj-NlWsizwhqlceUwFBDwn3QO0yvYH5qT9-35uvdoI81dFA8ymuP-cJmdJsAG_3UxIiBO7ZVZccMYEqSoSI1ckcNLNI99tQurU0/s555/pines-spanish-broom-camino.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>A section of the way we walked together with Mr. Sever (a typical Slovenian surname) and his wife. We learned they were a retired couple from the States, with ancestors in Slovenia. They did not know much more than that.<br />
It was great talking to them - it helped me take the pain off my mind for a while and kilometres just flew by during that time.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zmxJCl7X3xGK6qO3QN1XqeqHd0iEYjpsIOdeaovtip9L_JN4nKwWEH5QFIFCv4DIjWKJAle_snscyiK69PCec2S7kI9Lw_vrBIZcMnlApmLXOG3JcafXr1ZvAXWNL-GEPTQN-QYJX1g/s1600/walking-with-severs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zmxJCl7X3xGK6qO3QN1XqeqHd0iEYjpsIOdeaovtip9L_JN4nKwWEH5QFIFCv4DIjWKJAle_snscyiK69PCec2S7kI9Lw_vrBIZcMnlApmLXOG3JcafXr1ZvAXWNL-GEPTQN-QYJX1g/s555/walking-with-severs.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Despite some Votaren anti-inflammatory gel and a pill of Ibuprofen (a pain reliever with anti-inflammatory effects) the pain got worse with every kilometre and we decided to call it a day a bit earlier than planned.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We stopped at <a href="https://www.google.si/maps/place/09199+Ag%C3%A9s,+Burgos,+Spain/@42.3682088,-3.3484978,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd45f247ed70cf37:0xe5fd4c216333563a?hl=en">Agés</a> after walking <b>27 kilometres</b> from <a href="https://www.google.si/maps/place/09250+Belorado,+Burgos,+Spain/@42.4294551,-3.3743893,11z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd45841ae2e08cdb:0x96ecdaeb91fda59d?hl=en">Belorado</a>. Our initial plan was to do a few more kilometres but regarding the situation we were more than happy with the achieved result.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-0obFIZin2uDJRXjFWcl3vKdsbYtVuYiaEzQRFIYlTFMBOXf2mIHbMpNgZpiAE888_usj-f6RFxb3S3lcFprpUToPB4thkiFDyjehEiMHRzR3EfYmKwP3DYiH5kKUV59_5o7cpU7c7M4/s1600/ages-in-distance.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-0obFIZin2uDJRXjFWcl3vKdsbYtVuYiaEzQRFIYlTFMBOXf2mIHbMpNgZpiAE888_usj-f6RFxb3S3lcFprpUToPB4thkiFDyjehEiMHRzR3EfYmKwP3DYiH5kKUV59_5o7cpU7c7M4/s555/ages-in-distance.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p><b>Agés</b> seemed like a cute little village from the distance, but I was just too tired to go exploring before dinner. We stayed at the <b>Albergue municipal de Agés</b>. In addition to many new acquaintances we also recognized some familiar faces. The rest of the evening was spent over a glass (or three) of wine, exchanging experiences with fellow pilgrims.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We also seized the opportunity to share a washing machine with a Hungarian guy. Even though we did not have many dirty clothes it was nice to skip manual laundry work for a day.<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>Clicking on any one of above photos will reveal them all in a much more flattering resolution.</i><br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com009199 Agés, Burgos, Spain42.3700787 -3.479503499999964342.3671457 -3.4845459999999644 42.3730117 -3.4744609999999643tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-41526905816662485212014-10-08T07:48:00.000+02:002014-10-08T10:34:50.246+02:00Wheat fields of Castilla y León<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMMOShVlHa_h8wzqmNcCoL2y2pTTeyG8QCN7tolSA9jjVY91YHAycxMTbcxDUbWqRTb6edbu6uL6iz2FqAt3mykN6s1xcBNnCToyLeecJoy9ZvjtbEMUJxWlrysczQEpo9eechIfHWZI/s1600/wheat-fields-castilla-y-leon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMMOShVlHa_h8wzqmNcCoL2y2pTTeyG8QCN7tolSA9jjVY91YHAycxMTbcxDUbWqRTb6edbu6uL6iz2FqAt3mykN6s1xcBNnCToyLeecJoy9ZvjtbEMUJxWlrysczQEpo9eechIfHWZI/s555/wheat-fields-castilla-y-leon.JPG" /></a></div></p><br />
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYrv5AkNv-qMmDFzc6HmQ8sMztKwV4oLUNlxxyUB7_yyla8WLTmUkdGIx0idl-qIK6vtauFKKXGMygPd2vhhFSm4oc3SpZJllTkqEfmndt4fgymaXCAEr95aIqVyb3r6L8So6fR2cF58/s1600/wheat-fields-Belorado.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYrv5AkNv-qMmDFzc6HmQ8sMztKwV4oLUNlxxyUB7_yyla8WLTmUkdGIx0idl-qIK6vtauFKKXGMygPd2vhhFSm4oc3SpZJllTkqEfmndt4fgymaXCAEr95aIqVyb3r6L8So6fR2cF58/s555/wheat-fields-Belorado.JPG" /></a></div></p><br />
<p><i>Clicking on any one of above photos will reveal them both in a much more flattering resolution.</i><br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com4Montes de Oca, Burgos, Spain42.414084965584465 -3.113497261523434642.367200465584467 -3.1941782615234349 42.460969465584462 -3.0328162615234344tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-8927017729203536882014-10-03T07:18:00.000+02:002014-10-03T09:03:17.369+02:00The legend of Santo Domingo de la Calzada<p>This was day 8 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.<br />
</p><br />
<p>It was the first night on the Camino without earplugs. The luxury of a private room for a price of a dorm bed is always a good thing.<br />
The bad thing on the other hand was damp and moldy air in our small room. Our wet laundry drying inside the room probably also had something to do with the stench.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We quickly put our stuff together, hung our still damp socks on the outside of our backpacks and in a couple of minutes we were ready for breakfast. Homemade jam from blackberries and figs on a hot toast was exactly what we needed.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KWCqISOZo8fMwrvIm_-nbyP9QckHCSmVnLU8YC1K0FkabfAlHSklK0dUo6MpHQBObWGloNzqbJG81bUlvyTbwfWm1sNU8OwJTDEo6w7hNEsS4YJNE8V4hE5SJI7_vglqrU3AmwJdwUM/s1600/wheat-fields-santo-domingo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KWCqISOZo8fMwrvIm_-nbyP9QckHCSmVnLU8YC1K0FkabfAlHSklK0dUo6MpHQBObWGloNzqbJG81bUlvyTbwfWm1sNU8OwJTDEo6w7hNEsS4YJNE8V4hE5SJI7_vglqrU3AmwJdwUM/s555/wheat-fields-santo-domingo.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Santo+Domingo+de+la+Calzada,+La+Rioja,+Spain/@42.43113,-2.9224817,13z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd457ca8cb2d0a1f:0x984337ccc41157d5">Santo Domingo de la Calzada</a> was the first in a series of beautiful old towns on our way. We made a short stop but the Cathedral was still closed. We were too early again. Obviously the famous cock and hen sleep late into the morning. If you were wondering... Yes, they do keep a live cock and a hen inside the church.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsKiy2SDgVcDiYhZdyhSA_UP-n_91M912oma1O1nk3Pt426fdZwh_NbVetVRikgd-i65JTJX0-T_Km_I4sfcBZMCVk2IneT1gQLoLEoXM7SauOcYmql14EqIxsQNwxInuHv0AR8Z5Qqc/s1600/Santo-Domingo-de-la-Calzada.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsKiy2SDgVcDiYhZdyhSA_UP-n_91M912oma1O1nk3Pt426fdZwh_NbVetVRikgd-i65JTJX0-T_Km_I4sfcBZMCVk2IneT1gQLoLEoXM7SauOcYmql14EqIxsQNwxInuHv0AR8Z5Qqc/s555/Santo-Domingo-de-la-Calzada.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>This is one of the most famous legends on the Camino - <b>The legend of Santo Domingo de la Calzada</b>. There are many variations of the same story... here is one of them:<br />
<blockquote>Once upon the time a German pilgrim family stayed in a local inn for the night. A young Spanish girl named Beatriz working at the inn fell in love with their 18 year old son but he was fairly indifferent to her advances.<br />
Offended by the lack of attention, the girl decided to hide a silver cup, belonging to the innkeeper, inside the young German’s cloth sack.<br />
The following morning, when the German family unsuspectingly continued their march towards Santiago, she denounced the arranged theft to the authorities.<br />
The laws of the time, the Jurisdiction of Alfonso X El Sabio, punished the crime of theft with death and, once caught and judged, the young German was hanged without mercy in the gallows outside the town wall. Burdened with grief his parents had to continue the journey to the grave of the Holy James alone.<br />
Several months later, while returning from Santiago de Compostela, the German couple went past the place of execution - when suddenly they heard their son talking to them from the gallows above: ’I am not dead, Santo Domingo de la Calzada has saved my life by supporting my feet.’<br />
The parents immediately hurried to the house of the city’s judge with the news of the miracle. The judge was sitting at the dinner-table with a well-cooked cock and hen on a dish in front of him. He was just about to begin the feasting on this appetizing meal, when the German couple bursted into the dining room and breathlessly reported what had happened.<br />
Incredulous, – and irritated about the interruption - the judge answered that their son was about as alive as the cock and hen he had on the table in front of him. But… just as he said these words, cock and hen both leaped from the plate and began to crow!<br />
<br />
Since then – and this is true – the traveller will find a cage in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo, with a live hen and a cock, always white, in memory of the great miracle of Santo Domingo.<br />
</blockquote></p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6o9-bEJFKemK8KY-P7FGIezf13ONWpzFzIc7UYfU_35-Jnh5ue0I6FLnvZtorUK7rlbjcSrdgzbJVirahdPbdokh190BoHlF7Qf5758kxDc4pRGI_Hp21cwkwndcXiSE0-ZWc7PZcCI/s1600/Santo-Domingo-de-la-Calzada-cathedral.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6o9-bEJFKemK8KY-P7FGIezf13ONWpzFzIc7UYfU_35-Jnh5ue0I6FLnvZtorUK7rlbjcSrdgzbJVirahdPbdokh190BoHlF7Qf5758kxDc4pRGI_Hp21cwkwndcXiSE0-ZWc7PZcCI/s555/Santo-Domingo-de-la-Calzada-cathedral.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Soon after the town we crossed from the province of <b>Rioja</b> to <b>Castilla y León</b>. Pretty quickly endless vineyards were replaced by wheat fields.<br />
</p><br />
<p>As we were closing in on <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/09250+Belorado,+Burgos,+Spain/@42.4184214,-3.0093064,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd45841ae2e08cdb:0x96ecdaeb91fda59d">Belorado</a> I started feeling a sharp pain next to the shin bone of my right leg. It was getting worse by every step.<br />
When I complained about it to M. she said with a worried look on her face: <i>'Say hello to tendinitis - one of the top reasons for not finishing the Camino in the first attempt!'</i><br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9KDggkZN4DZ_2nFsQj6l2BIQ3zveQSqWgUzpERoyw_QGowYo_hR9H7O24NIA88-gKRqcfiU5UWPSV3cRZPhx26-XtDVRI69gU06zQssbkZFdjz6069-iPLrxkiqon99QwctSy-mEGIc/s1600/castilla-y-leon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9KDggkZN4DZ_2nFsQj6l2BIQ3zveQSqWgUzpERoyw_QGowYo_hR9H7O24NIA88-gKRqcfiU5UWPSV3cRZPhx26-XtDVRI69gU06zQssbkZFdjz6069-iPLrxkiqon99QwctSy-mEGIc/s600/castilla-y-leon.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>When we got to Belorado we were aiming for the Albergue parroquial - it is a part of a monastery and built partly into a cliff (look for the windows on the face of the cliff to the left of the church in the photo below). The building looks really interesting and also has a charming church with storks nesting on its bell tower. Too bad it was already full.<br />
</p><br />
<p>When we finally found a place in one of the other nearby albergues (<b>Albergue de peregrinos Caminante</b>) I was already pretty exhausted. Even though we walked only 29 kilometres this day from <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cirue%C3%B1a,+La+Rioja,+Spain/@42.416517,-3.0561287,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd45645f2c0bd749:0xc43d77c31d84df47">Cirueña</a> to <b>Belorado</b> I would not be able to walk much further.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlst25PW0StQ0EAwT5l6wvmG_cNFn4cydNOlyKcQbXpKTITo_ltfO6YT2d3rDdJiFANi5AlL4DClQqe7Upebb2LqmgegETcNobL3PfMJONLPG_dJCrYVKZDKD85hYGQdZm9wd-7L2TSQ/s1600/albergue-parroquial-belorado.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlst25PW0StQ0EAwT5l6wvmG_cNFn4cydNOlyKcQbXpKTITo_ltfO6YT2d3rDdJiFANi5AlL4DClQqe7Upebb2LqmgegETcNobL3PfMJONLPG_dJCrYVKZDKD85hYGQdZm9wd-7L2TSQ/s555/albergue-parroquial-belorado.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>After the usual daily stretching-shower-laundry-massage routine we spent the evening in the main town's square. We had a few drinks and tasted a few varieties of local <i>tapas</i>... or maybe it was <i>pinchos</i> - I still can't tell the difference. The most interesting was probably their variety of a <b>blood sausage</b>. We washed it down with some good local wine for a bargain price.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We looked for some decent hiking socks (without wool) for M. in the nearby shops. Her allergy seemed to be slowly getting better. We also needed to work something out about her rain poncho - since we went for light-weight instead of quality, it started to tear in many places. We fixed it with some electrical insulating tape from a nearby shop. Hopefully a proper rain field test will not come too quickly.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6s0fUQ2CFnFLk3BbrgjxePWyXEEZIZU5DbRTT9I8texGYQBKgoUw-86UWUvIUHU84MtACZWVyeXT3AuqlNqXO3s2tPlM3Nu7aDqpAMp5-d8vUj4qcGnpHb3NdLzuxHUMrki51l7ehQp4/s1600/blood-sausage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6s0fUQ2CFnFLk3BbrgjxePWyXEEZIZU5DbRTT9I8texGYQBKgoUw-86UWUvIUHU84MtACZWVyeXT3AuqlNqXO3s2tPlM3Nu7aDqpAMp5-d8vUj4qcGnpHb3NdLzuxHUMrki51l7ehQp4/s600/blood-sausage.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>M. tried to ease my leg pain with some ice massage. It helped a bit but after we finished our dinner, I still barely limped back to our albergue. <br />
</p><br />
<p>I was afraid what morning might bring. If the pain was the same or worse for the whole next day, I would be forced to stop for a few days. It would be just too much to bare...<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>Clicking on any one of above photos will reveal them all in a much more flattering resolution.</i><br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com009250 Belorado, Burgos, Spain42.419567699999988 -3.191774699999996342.419567699999988 -3.1917746999999963 42.419567699999988 -3.1917746999999963tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-71705680957019861022014-10-01T07:51:00.000+02:002014-10-01T07:51:00.465+02:00Camino Portraits: Pedro<p>You have already been introduced to Pedro in my <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/2014/09/hard-drugs-pilgrim-style.html">previous post</a>. He is the hospitalero at the <b>Albergue Virgen de Guadalupe</b> - a small albergue on the outskirts of the small village of <b>Cirueña</b>.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Hh_W9Lsk7D1Y7fkipz4qEunjQLoSe33oXl6Fvtw7HM-jYAvs3nBAjmNW4ZZQr-Jd8bmxvwqag11LkFMhjoARquArVdSL3hOlR94NV408D0SXaPYfUgzPoMhxE2djo-tv2Eo4dXKRzHE/s1600/Pedro-Virgen-de-Guadalupe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Hh_W9Lsk7D1Y7fkipz4qEunjQLoSe33oXl6Fvtw7HM-jYAvs3nBAjmNW4ZZQr-Jd8bmxvwqag11LkFMhjoARquArVdSL3hOlR94NV408D0SXaPYfUgzPoMhxE2djo-tv2Eo4dXKRzHE/s600/Pedro-Virgen-de-Guadalupe.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>He is definitely a bit unusual and like no other hospitalero we have met on our way to Santiago. Although he seemed a bit wacky at first, he proved to be a very kind person.<br />
</p><br />
<p>The jam he makes from hand picked blackberries and figs is also really good. We were lucky enough to try it at breakfast on hot toast. Delicious!<br />
</p><br />
<p>The albergue he runs is pretty basic and like its owner it comes with lots of character. As far as comfort is concerned I could hardly say it was one of the better ones we have stayed at. Nevertheless, I am sure we will remember it (and Pedro) for a very long time.<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com0Cirueña, La Rioja, Spain42.4117443 -2.89606559999992942.4058823 -2.9061505999999291 42.4176063 -2.8859805999999288tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-1090564623826961102014-09-29T07:13:00.000+02:002014-09-29T10:05:04.581+02:00Hard drugs, pilgrim style<p><i>This was day 7 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<p>When we got on the way we were surprised again by how cold it can get in these parts during early mornings at the end of May. Skies were cloudy once again. This was great for walking but we were definitely hoping it would stay dry.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tAswMoexsr4G-IX_E86_S67WDXQ-qZ02uxi2evU2SOun46WYIc0M9ISmg6XKWF5byIy6fVTOPuUhBvuD_k2wc2Sktj8OX54lF3TbeJmxS2gVxSXYDNKxw-kYCcZcMaqw9H9Ot8WKMDc/s1600/Vineyards-Rioja.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tAswMoexsr4G-IX_E86_S67WDXQ-qZ02uxi2evU2SOun46WYIc0M9ISmg6XKWF5byIy6fVTOPuUhBvuD_k2wc2Sktj8OX54lF3TbeJmxS2gVxSXYDNKxw-kYCcZcMaqw9H9Ot8WKMDc/s555/Vineyards-Rioja.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>By this time we were already deep in the wine region of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Rioja_%28Spain%29">Rioja</a>. The main feature of daily beautiful vistas were endless vineyards. The winding road led us literally through them.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Unfortunately, there were not many opportunities to stop and sample local liquid products.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK3UdL8Tn9wmdSWol6ETO3SOuoJJ13QlAkAfbpe5aUkdjO6CwhjjPlmp3kQCBaGo2RDXbKNF2KTkujQA6-3z-Z0PjT7WQnZnbYSIZA48ho38QcR9Z16Ay2bF3ueY4WpUEuiCXPAoCXjho/s1600/Vineyards-Rioja-Camino.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK3UdL8Tn9wmdSWol6ETO3SOuoJJ13QlAkAfbpe5aUkdjO6CwhjjPlmp3kQCBaGo2RDXbKNF2KTkujQA6-3z-Z0PjT7WQnZnbYSIZA48ho38QcR9Z16Ay2bF3ueY4WpUEuiCXPAoCXjho/s555/Vineyards-Rioja-Camino.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>It felt strange walking without company again (we parted our ways with our Italian friends the day before). We hardly saw any pilgrims during the day. I guess this added to the feel of a really looong day. During the last stretch of the walk M. felt pretty much without energy. <br />
I guess most people on the Camino have at least a few of "What was I thinking? What am I doing here?" moments. Well, for her this was one of those moments. The wool allergy on her feet did not help either. I on the other hand was doing pretty good and tried to encourage her when the road started climbing up a steep hill.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFf9BBT8jFCHP-DGvzrT_IvMmzywcFMqIht8D3VZn6PtcScBy_D1K9bjj3lez6OJCAgF7RPu_AyhUwIPI81ajzi39ATLzy4HctD3yhyeZsU-m9dFVsVOgZBcn7wK5qbLY1MpHlkKRAsgg/s1600/Camino-yellow-arrow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFf9BBT8jFCHP-DGvzrT_IvMmzywcFMqIht8D3VZn6PtcScBy_D1K9bjj3lez6OJCAgF7RPu_AyhUwIPI81ajzi39ATLzy4HctD3yhyeZsU-m9dFVsVOgZBcn7wK5qbLY1MpHlkKRAsgg/s555/Camino-yellow-arrow.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Our walking pace was getting slower by the minute and just before I suggested another short stop M. found a cure for the situation. She turned to hard drugs - Bon Jovi music. She put on her headphones and pumped up the volume.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We picked up our pace almost immediately and before I could comment on the terrible music choice, she was already jumping uphill and singing the tunes out loud. She would not have heard my comments anyway...<br />
</p><br />
<p>After a few minutes I could hardly keep up the pace. We were literally flying uphill! A small group of pilgrims just taking a short break at the top of the hill looked at us with disbelief as we flew by.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWncTnIWbYIp-xu0o0IfF0LmZlOcqSL4ncBb-I-3wjl3kvuZ-skVccPLQf1YiED54Oe2Oe8zqtzejizE5CLDsz4eKtwFTP0aJz9LwCbrVWisyCSEB6Sxu-vQ1827A1IdDxTrA6Q-a8yg/s1600/albergue-Virgen-de-Guadalupe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWncTnIWbYIp-xu0o0IfF0LmZlOcqSL4ncBb-I-3wjl3kvuZ-skVccPLQf1YiED54Oe2Oe8zqtzejizE5CLDsz4eKtwFTP0aJz9LwCbrVWisyCSEB6Sxu-vQ1827A1IdDxTrA6Q-a8yg/s555/albergue-Virgen-de-Guadalupe.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>When the music drug effects started wearing off, we were already near our destination for the day - <b>Albergue Virgen de Guadalupe</b>. <br />
It is a small private albergue on the outskirts of <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cirue%C3%B1a,+La+Rioja,+Spain/@42.4205723,-2.7608711,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd45645f2c0bd749:0xc43d77c31d84df47">Cirueña</a>. It was a long walk from <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/26370+Navarrete,+La+Rioja,+Spain/@42.4675585,-2.4385167,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd45513f2e99cb57:0x65b5716e30e2aafb">Navarette</a> - just over <b>33 kilometres</b> for the second day in a row.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Since the albergue in <b>Cirueña</b> is rather small (only 23 beds) and the next option is roughly 10 kilometres further down the road, we made a reservation for two in advance. <br />
</p><br />
<p>When we got greeted by the owner it seemed like he did not remember anything about our reservation. Nevertheless he quickly found a solution, a small extra room in the attic. For once we did not mind an extra flight of stairs - we got our own private room! Just outside our room there was also a small chapel.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSl8fnTLS8ERlEqmb9VAzMgY8F_qKwtdy803b2q0tW2Imx3zhhHiucKj1V0yt_Uf7wpWI_g0KkZF7WOAaHfgSeoQlLLH67zaGrl3Z5GB-kwNX5naxzM9Bsu2kguKo5m5Y_HqfIHRYwg8s/s1600/Pedro-hospitalero.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSl8fnTLS8ERlEqmb9VAzMgY8F_qKwtdy803b2q0tW2Imx3zhhHiucKj1V0yt_Uf7wpWI_g0KkZF7WOAaHfgSeoQlLLH67zaGrl3Z5GB-kwNX5naxzM9Bsu2kguKo5m5Y_HqfIHRYwg8s/s555/Pedro-hospitalero.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Pedro, the owner and hospitalero in one person is quite a character. He reminded us both of <i>Ramón</i> - a character in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_%28film%29">film The Way</a>. He is not crazy as the guy in the film and his place is not as creepy. Both him and his place are however a bit unusual and the albergue has lots of genuine character.<br />
We definitely had a few laughs before we went to bed that day.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Since Cirueña is not very interesting and the nearest place with food is quite a bit away, we decided to have dinner in the albergue. So did everybody else staying there for the night. It also started raining pretty soon after we hung our laundry outside.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3aFZh2yq8ewAl5SaQYqruZvgZdvPSZAx-M_OaTvSnMDIbTySslJb9Q77RTfVwhuoMpCZz-6D7tEBOsEp4NF6MewB1RBoBpFMOPJ3op_l7bNvIKPpwdoDIfZ_hZbnMZ8FYzq47R0BbvU0/s1600/lentil-stew-olive-bowl.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3aFZh2yq8ewAl5SaQYqruZvgZdvPSZAx-M_OaTvSnMDIbTySslJb9Q77RTfVwhuoMpCZz-6D7tEBOsEp4NF6MewB1RBoBpFMOPJ3op_l7bNvIKPpwdoDIfZ_hZbnMZ8FYzq47R0BbvU0/s555/lentil-stew-olive-bowl.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Dinner was pretty simple but quite tasty and there was plenty of food to feed a bunch of hungry pilgrims. Lentil stew was served in olive wooden bowls.<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>Clicking on any one of above photos will reveal them all in a much more flattering resolution.</i><br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com0Cirueña, La Rioja, Spain42.4117443 -2.89606559999992942.4058823 -2.9061505999999291 42.4176063 -2.8859805999999288tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-72292266860986256882014-09-01T08:00:00.000+02:002014-09-01T19:47:47.111+02:00Until we meet again...<p><i>This was day 6 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<p>It was kind of funny listening to other pilgrims moan when they got out of their beds and took the first steps. That is only until I joined them a few moments later. Is this ever going to get any easier? It can not get much worse... or can it?<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JhvdfWOnCYL3q2afHxVkUSMt4AakvAMMV35ikkHgIGbXyhrXf-YKFn7zl9YnhDcwu39umNXJiiaV5kpz3dfJ0qoNMeQ6QRk0NMD2Gq-yowemL86xB6e3HX2ZWlOF9S0HUlMoglKL-L0/s1600/DSC_1306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JhvdfWOnCYL3q2afHxVkUSMt4AakvAMMV35ikkHgIGbXyhrXf-YKFn7zl9YnhDcwu39umNXJiiaV5kpz3dfJ0qoNMeQ6QRk0NMD2Gq-yowemL86xB6e3HX2ZWlOF9S0HUlMoglKL-L0/s555/DSC_1306.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Like during most other mornings, after a few minutes things got better as we stretched our legs and blood started circulating again.<br />
</p><br />
<p>After a quick breakfast and some attending to painful parts of our bodies we were on our way again. This was to be our last day together as group of 7. We already knew we were going to miss the good company in the next days.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_cyZwXkNBn4x9w82Don5v2g7kZIhS_icbn9cOOSep0hKV6TQIInsAYbkXsR_jT2jmTLruciY9WGHzHq_FruZPxehkZFFLpqhWUbxzLQJV5kRk-iwb_9pxBNKoFHm6QtSc5arYXBaGtg/s1600/Pilgrim-with-cart-Viana.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_cyZwXkNBn4x9w82Don5v2g7kZIhS_icbn9cOOSep0hKV6TQIInsAYbkXsR_jT2jmTLruciY9WGHzHq_FruZPxehkZFFLpqhWUbxzLQJV5kRk-iwb_9pxBNKoFHm6QtSc5arYXBaGtg/s555/Pilgrim-with-cart-Viana.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We walked together from <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/31229+Torres+del+R%C3%ADo,+Navarra,+Spain/@42.5955122,-2.1739105,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd5008461f2b780d:0x5258fa3d2bb6ff53">Torres del Río</a> to <b>Viana</b>, where we stopped for coffee and <i>bocadillos</i>. After a quite a long break we continued to <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Logro%C3%B1o,+La+Rioja,+Spain/@42.5051082,-2.3975509,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd5aab4130b390b1:0xf98252918a168870">Logroño</a> where we said our goodbyes and agreed to meet again as soon as possible after the Camino.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAQSiiWw7jvewqR3NOwPTOFL1QbRpibq23bzNi3V1ajjvnxZY4rBxOmmrdOae4hWKGb5l3OfT1mHZgNEvN5CyEkw7VBCJ1vAwuUwkyoftCVA1TGs567nbv1E2jr4YYIcym5yGZwyLLR4/s1600/Camino-sign-Logrono.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAQSiiWw7jvewqR3NOwPTOFL1QbRpibq23bzNi3V1ajjvnxZY4rBxOmmrdOae4hWKGb5l3OfT1mHZgNEvN5CyEkw7VBCJ1vAwuUwkyoftCVA1TGs567nbv1E2jr4YYIcym5yGZwyLLR4/s555/Camino-sign-Logrono.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Roberto and Jolanda went home from <b>Logroño</b> but agreed to continue the Camino next year. Others were happy to use an easy day in Logroño to rest and take in the city.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We would also love to do the same but got to keep going if we wanted to reach Santiago in time for our flight home. We took a walk through the centre of town and took advantage of the delicious paella they served in the main square in front of the Santa María de la Redonda Cathedral. A portion costed only 2 Euro and it came with a glass of wine. We ate 2 portions each.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGiqGZR-bZXGyEeh7B1GzGm1-hQQKDm3NpOmNwQNZeNlofi-Xd3n3CgpGUu2YMlnYlBHSbivJY2JPFoKoTk7r0IpnibO7aCJvgklLFzYEGvIacxsTLowVPAqchRafgrYo8AHYI_JL7GU/s1600/Paella-Logrono.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGiqGZR-bZXGyEeh7B1GzGm1-hQQKDm3NpOmNwQNZeNlofi-Xd3n3CgpGUu2YMlnYlBHSbivJY2JPFoKoTk7r0IpnibO7aCJvgklLFzYEGvIacxsTLowVPAqchRafgrYo8AHYI_JL7GU/s555/Paella-Logrono.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>As much as we would loved to, unfortunately we did not have time to stay around longer. Our destination for the day was <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/26370+Navarrete,+La+Rioja,+Spain/@42.4675585,-2.4385167,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd45513f2e99cb57:0x65b5716e30e2aafb">Navarette</a>. From Torres del Rio we walked 33 kilometres and we were already pretty late when we found a place for the night.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_0ySVLtRqgV8_eJ4rVaDyVdNymudD8DEHbLgWTUFZwzkRktfRqH59OQHrVAzK_1FgIgLJj1vlj7pC1GGUMI-t1ozjNpPQ3i03cpOMiwPipycFs4irKTjr6tFAPekajM2IeR477LCzs0/s1600/the-bull-rioja.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_0ySVLtRqgV8_eJ4rVaDyVdNymudD8DEHbLgWTUFZwzkRktfRqH59OQHrVAzK_1FgIgLJj1vlj7pC1GGUMI-t1ozjNpPQ3i03cpOMiwPipycFs4irKTjr6tFAPekajM2IeR477LCzs0/s555/the-bull-rioja.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>For the last couple of days M. had a nasty rash on her feet and she finally figured out it could be related to some kind of allergy. Never before she has noticed she was allergic to wool. Obviously her skin needed several consecutive days of exposure to wool for the allergy to manifest in a form of a nasty rash. Unfortunately all of her walking socks were made out of wool. She was really pissed off when she thought about all the effort she put into finding just the right ones during the preparation period.<br />
To improve the situation we visited a Chinese shop with heaps of cheap stuff we never knew we needed and bought a cheap package of ordinary white cotton socks.<br />
</p><br />
<p>It was the day of the final match in the Football Champions League 2014 and since it was a match between two Spanish teams (Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid), it was a special evening for all Spanish fans.<br />
During check-in the hospitalero at the <b>Albergue Pigrim's</b> stressed that because of the extreme situation the door of the albergue will stay open for at least an extra hour into the night. In Spain <i>fútbol</i> and <i>fiesta</i> are always convenient excuses for bending the rules a little bit. <br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uSo15L54ViOVAMtqknQxFmzi5-X-OaPFW8o42Nfc11j7f5-L8L7SSD2npPh3DqD9_fNFImD1huhxrGm4K5U30upUoPvum_Ne-Wc46yVwiF2BgR-EUkbSysmpKuqn0S1uj3baZIyLDlU/s1600/Navarette.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uSo15L54ViOVAMtqknQxFmzi5-X-OaPFW8o42Nfc11j7f5-L8L7SSD2npPh3DqD9_fNFImD1huhxrGm4K5U30upUoPvum_Ne-Wc46yVwiF2BgR-EUkbSysmpKuqn0S1uj3baZIyLDlU/s555/Navarette.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Unfortunately after daily laundry was done and another couple of pilgrim menus were eaten, we were just too tired to go out and enjoy the genuine atmosphere in the main town square. I am still kicking myself for not going.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Even though the main square was quite a few streets away we felt an earthquake like tremble and roar every time something interesting happened on the court. Since Real Madrid won 4 to 1, there were obviously quite a few loud moments before the match was over. No matter how loud it got, I think I slept through the most of the second half.<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>Clicking on any one of above photos will reveal them all in a much more flattering resolution.</i><br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com0Logroño, La Rioja, Spain42.4627195 -2.444985200000019242.4627195 -2.4449852000000192 42.4627195 -2.4449852000000192tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-55355717300494045332014-08-29T10:40:00.002+02:002014-09-22T19:36:29.791+02:00Camino Portraits: Cesare<p>Cesare is one of the Italian guys we kept running into along the first third of the way towards <b>Santiago de Compostela</b>. We only walked together for a short while but he often appeared out of nowhere in the late afternoon and joined us for dinner.<br />
</p><br />
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9dLWeJmQsXXE8NEt51lrQepxvQZfSruQjL8D3hk91nEISCpLTBDHdel22yeVXEXvjF1AuXfjpx6oo-MU5cQCJBOs8rVcAAWKh8R7iRuNprACH7zC2DHfZBaRsyyPF1qcdEWhH2q69UU/s1600/DSC_1281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9dLWeJmQsXXE8NEt51lrQepxvQZfSruQjL8D3hk91nEISCpLTBDHdel22yeVXEXvjF1AuXfjpx6oo-MU5cQCJBOs8rVcAAWKh8R7iRuNprACH7zC2DHfZBaRsyyPF1qcdEWhH2q69UU/s555/DSC_1281.JPG" /></a></div></p><br />
<p>He is a funny character and when he was around we were usually laughing our heads off in a matter of minutes. It was always funny to listen to his interpretation of events. He was able to make a hilarious story from any of his many everyday mishaps.<br />
</p><br />
<p>He also had a rather special attitude towards the <b>Camino</b>. Whenever he felt it was more convenient, he simply took a bus (usually this is the last resort for an ordinary pilgrim and most consider it cheating). He never felt bad about it and willingly shared it with everybody. I think he really enjoyed the look of disbelief on faces of other pilgrims.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Obviously he was on the Camino to above all enjoy the experience without the suffering that usually comes within the package. I really hope everything worked out for him and he was able to enjoy it to the very end.<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com031229 Torres del Río, Navarre, Spain42.5524022 -2.272272199999974942.546553700000004 -2.282357199999975 42.5582507 -2.2621871999999748tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-35694029282386951232014-08-05T10:15:00.001+02:002014-08-28T21:27:25.791+02:00Days go by quickly in good company<p><i>This was day 5 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<p>Even with a pretty basic comfort level at the albergue, we slept well during the night. Floor mattress I had to use did not have any effect on my sleep whatsoever. Actually, I would choose it over a too soft, overused, wrapped-in-plastic top bunk bed any-time. Well, that was exactly what M. got last night but she also did not complain - she was just too tired to bother with details.<br />
</p><br />
<p>After a simple breakfast at the albergue (coffee with some cookies and toast) we left our donation for the stay and prepared our backpacks for the road. As I already mentioned in the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/2014/07/over-alto-de-perdon-to-estella.html">previous post</a>, the albergue we stayed in operates on donation basis. Bed, hot shower, breakfast and use of other services are available free of charge. In return pilgrims are asked to leave a donation in the morning before they leave. I am pretty sure the <i>hospitalero</i> collects a very decent amount every day.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzb68ckHoDF0D91xKPJZaFLlWo47dhdDOLOA75547olYEvwRvxuz9fVVRAuU6LThzd1wc17RL9DIjLLrqhFzafQLAWuqyPVDmLMYKMSsfXyY20N_W9-8VSLxVw7P7tNK3VTVfnom8Cmwo/s1600/bodegas-irache.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzb68ckHoDF0D91xKPJZaFLlWo47dhdDOLOA75547olYEvwRvxuz9fVVRAuU6LThzd1wc17RL9DIjLLrqhFzafQLAWuqyPVDmLMYKMSsfXyY20N_W9-8VSLxVw7P7tNK3VTVfnom8Cmwo/s600/bodegas-irache.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Again the weather did not look too promising. There was a light drizzle when we met our Italian friends on the outskirts of <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/31200+Estella,+Navarra,+Spain/@42.7066644,-1.9174699,10z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd5071c5f64631a5:0x41cd3f689131a9b">Estella</a>. A few meters after the Way turned from urban area into vineyard country, we just had to stop by the famous wine-fountain (<i>fuente del vino</i>) belonging to <b>Bodegas Irache</b>. Technically it is in <b>Ayegui</b>, the village just next to <b>Estella</b>.<br />
</p><br />
<p>On one of the outside walls of their huge cellar they have built a fountain from which, besides of water, also flows red wine. Unfortunately during our visit, the fountain was dry. This might have something to do with the fact we arrived pretty early in the morning.<br />
Nonetheless I still managed to squeeze a few drops out of it. It seemed to be pretty low-quality stuff and I doubt I would have filled my water bottle with it anyway. An admirable marketing approach nonetheless.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVf6_BPjTlnhz9zbsCvbcQoqpCZljdPNm3FhSx1pc07IgV-saIiCOu5f9ONgU5aeu5Fdjg0_WJlnzc6K55bFT83yuPOgcj__EbCe25TfuaP7twjdNY3H_fEej5s3dwj1JgbGGN6SES9_0/s1600/DSC_1234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVf6_BPjTlnhz9zbsCvbcQoqpCZljdPNm3FhSx1pc07IgV-saIiCOu5f9ONgU5aeu5Fdjg0_WJlnzc6K55bFT83yuPOgcj__EbCe25TfuaP7twjdNY3H_fEej5s3dwj1JgbGGN6SES9_0/s555/DSC_1234.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We were happy to walk with the Italian group again - it was so much more fun and kilometres went by pretty quickly. Regardless of some age difference we have soon realised we had quite a few things in common.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Even the weather got better after a while and it turned out to be the second day in a row with only some light rain. We liked it that way.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvHWTUXOXuOkg4cDBi30E990-V_E3Dbm1sOAdHvsi2JOH_YPnx7Z-U4FTwSoxiF4hf9pynOjS0d65d8uDbM30KEMkyCOECtlaRmdAOglCoyrMpPLiGJGptTzqpq3qJtx-QkRw1DTU0h8/s1600/DSC_1237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvHWTUXOXuOkg4cDBi30E990-V_E3Dbm1sOAdHvsi2JOH_YPnx7Z-U4FTwSoxiF4hf9pynOjS0d65d8uDbM30KEMkyCOECtlaRmdAOglCoyrMpPLiGJGptTzqpq3qJtx-QkRw1DTU0h8/s555/DSC_1237.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Once again we mostly walked on a gravel road that led us through wide fields with huge stacks of hay bales. We began to appreciate gravel sections opposed to concrete and asphalt. It is interesting how on such a trip ones body can instantly feel the difference between soft and hard walking surfaces.<br />
</p><br />
<p>At midday we stopped at a refreshment stand by the road. It was just a simple trailer with some plastic tables and chairs set in front of it. It was sandwiches and beer for most of our group. I decided to go for a Spanish tortilla (<i>Tortilla Española</i>) and some freshly squeezed orange juice (<i>Zumo de naranja natural</i>).<br />
A Spanish tortilla is quite different compared to its Mexican relative with the same name. It is a simple egg and potato omelette with some onions and sometimes also red pepper.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpoztYXUp0UT70136lT4VTsltsXW4v4NpIZwWRFxoJL13EYEIlRubWwg8rAuu0QaPf2RY_qf2KwrefpPQeYcn_KlQWWnMv4XrgtOVb7N_YRfOKX5vF06wiJwZNW91rckUPymEE5tt4cc/s1600/DSC_1244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpoztYXUp0UT70136lT4VTsltsXW4v4NpIZwWRFxoJL13EYEIlRubWwg8rAuu0QaPf2RY_qf2KwrefpPQeYcn_KlQWWnMv4XrgtOVb7N_YRfOKX5vF06wiJwZNW91rckUPymEE5tt4cc/s555/DSC_1244.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>It seemed like none of us would mind sitting in the sun for an extra hour or so but we had to move on. Since we experienced some problems the day before with accommodation availability, we decided to place a reservation for the seven of us. After a hilarious (yet unsuccessful) try in Italian, we finally succeeded in English.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqsouiyzGgcVENOSKV5uafSXKEWUa48In5EIHOz0n-ZzHcWVucSaAD43efkrDfWyCvPaMqMDBuxQS9O-LP-0HQ9M9crLCV7Iuc2JHYyAgXUePxHiaTjdTeA1TbWiMjr6-O6ewd5Nz2OI/s1600/DSC_1271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqsouiyzGgcVENOSKV5uafSXKEWUa48In5EIHOz0n-ZzHcWVucSaAD43efkrDfWyCvPaMqMDBuxQS9O-LP-0HQ9M9crLCV7Iuc2JHYyAgXUePxHiaTjdTeA1TbWiMjr6-O6ewd5Nz2OI/s555/DSC_1271.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Even though we did not walk as far as the day before, we still managed to reach <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/31229+Torres+del+R%C3%ADo,+Navarra,+Spain/@42.5955122,-2.1739105,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd5008461f2b780d:0x5258fa3d2bb6ff53">Torres del Rio</a>. We walked 29 kilometres. The last hundred metre climb into the village proved to be quite a challenge for a part of our group.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Stretching and massage was something we could not afford to skip. Only after a glass of good red wine, of course.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSZuhjis62qFUc-qVbxTajNGt1dnJTBer3VRxjFMSOzOV4hWNstu17RZpkn6IDsojzbSbY0-cyBw0JSQdowU20Y3IjCqxcg3cgdgEVt6xU9lI4nn3_EczYLe3j_l6cwZDkCgO64QvQHY/s1600/DSC_1279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSZuhjis62qFUc-qVbxTajNGt1dnJTBer3VRxjFMSOzOV4hWNstu17RZpkn6IDsojzbSbY0-cyBw0JSQdowU20Y3IjCqxcg3cgdgEVt6xU9lI4nn3_EczYLe3j_l6cwZDkCgO64QvQHY/s555/DSC_1279.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>By this time we were still in Navarra region, but also getting closer to Rioja. Good wine for a really low price was easy to come by. I tried quite a few wines and soon learned the meaning of <i>Crianza</i>. A Rioja Crianza is wine aged for at least two years, at least one of which it was inside an oak barrel. Usually Rioja Crianza is an indication of a fairly good wine and it often costed just over an Euro per glass. Now this is definitely a bargain in my book.<br />
As I learned later on, I hardly took advantage of this enough while we were in and near Rioja.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Apart from good wine, dinner was also delicious. For the main dish within the <i>Menú peregrino</i> I choose a beef steak and really enjoyed it. For me it was one of the best steaks on the whole trip.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHPgNAETtVChqo51Xwcge4SdtW7-YvgSMAxCRDo8DIqZ1y8qKgfooVBlH112IFw7SN47zFYUWvviqxsjy6dpcosMUdXPE_5U6X3c0xL50W8B6-iaCqzqSHIPGUCqTkYeQsM9mXjcmVCg/s1600/DSC_1290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHPgNAETtVChqo51Xwcge4SdtW7-YvgSMAxCRDo8DIqZ1y8qKgfooVBlH112IFw7SN47zFYUWvviqxsjy6dpcosMUdXPE_5U6X3c0xL50W8B6-iaCqzqSHIPGUCqTkYeQsM9mXjcmVCg/s555/DSC_1290.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We started noticing familiar faces during dinner time. Even if we could not find a common language with some fellow pilgrims, this did not stop us from having some conversation during main daily meals. These large dining halls often felt like they were set inside the tower of Babylon. Fifteen different nationalities in a room of forty people was not an uncommon thing at all. Add some wine into the mix and you get one loud bunch of pilgrims.<br />
</p><br />
<p>After dinner we were off to bed pretty quickly again. A perfect end of another beautiful day.<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>Clicking on any one of above photos will reveal them all in a much more flattering resolution.</i><br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com131200 Estella, Navarre, Spain42.6720856 -2.03245240000001142.6253861 -2.1131334000000113 42.718785100000005 -1.951771400000011tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-86781592669712660252014-07-23T19:40:00.000+02:002014-08-28T21:27:16.079+02:00Over Alto de Perdón to Estella<p><i>This was day 4 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<p>The ability of our bodies to recover overnight is simply remarkable. Every evening I felt tired and muscles were aching, but in the mornings I was continuously waking up pretty fresh and full of energy.<br />
</p><br />
<p>What was even more remarkable, M. did not have problems waking up before 6 AM every morning. Actually she had the alarm set for every morning and was the one usually waking me up. Miracles really do happen on the Camino!<br />
</p><br />
<p>This whole waking up to an alarm, set on a wrist watch, thing is a bit funny. Since we were using earplugs almost every night, the alarm was usually beeping for someone else - we often did not hear it. However, if not before, we did wake up ten minutes after it stopped beeping. No one seemed to mind.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3fQwtY9YTpGMGVU9zbVxQbPXq4ZBi4tiW3_Pr-HMghu4lw-adsd5UpzwkI59r7jpaNWbVoHjbRrlxkGhdA8kFZ8QtD-BKf3V9ZJtEfhn-6NkmTMZC7pBWSJiCOCSrJTxDzuSXr_6EOA/s1600/DSC_1122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3fQwtY9YTpGMGVU9zbVxQbPXq4ZBi4tiW3_Pr-HMghu4lw-adsd5UpzwkI59r7jpaNWbVoHjbRrlxkGhdA8kFZ8QtD-BKf3V9ZJtEfhn-6NkmTMZC7pBWSJiCOCSrJTxDzuSXr_6EOA/s555/DSC_1122.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>A sunny but quite fresh morning was a nice change. Before we left we took the opportunity for a quick breakfast. Good supper, freshly squeezed orange juice and a large selection of tea they offered at the bar made our stay in this albergue even more enjoyable.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0A4xiPZyMRZoUjhIDbl37zxwxhgohzei0aAyGmJqiZpcOFwBZQxZ1ItzwAWYj1yy8UW_I6R0dG6w_pnftshmYnBym0tfskZMR1sEnKggeZoaIUTCwt3pLL6rKMGg8DWkk619PTpOljUA/s1600/DSC_1141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0A4xiPZyMRZoUjhIDbl37zxwxhgohzei0aAyGmJqiZpcOFwBZQxZ1ItzwAWYj1yy8UW_I6R0dG6w_pnftshmYnBym0tfskZMR1sEnKggeZoaIUTCwt3pLL6rKMGg8DWkk619PTpOljUA/s555/DSC_1141.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>The first part of hike included climbing up the only hill of the day. It is called <b>Alto de Perdón</b> (Mountain of Forgiveness) and is one of the famous landmarks on the Camino.<br />
Actually it is more of a small hill than a mountain. Since it was still early and we were quite fresh and full of energy, we did not have any problems with the little climb. At the top there are metal sculptures dedicated to pilgrims and a nice view over nearby wind farms.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We stopped for a while to take a few photos. Since the wind was blowing really hard we did not linger around for too long. We continued downhill.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbY9i0x_Yq_qowQk2dquDtQl9ZzKwWY9QF3wPtDdbyI_AjojAXIY-SeJnzvu6udBnW4DT-eJqZ4eW3O1rtLqv6Wg9eux9E2HNmvfhGutWgyRbnLE1Umzqmch3IXb9RXedd_mKGyHXtfU/s1600/DSC_1145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbY9i0x_Yq_qowQk2dquDtQl9ZzKwWY9QF3wPtDdbyI_AjojAXIY-SeJnzvu6udBnW4DT-eJqZ4eW3O1rtLqv6Wg9eux9E2HNmvfhGutWgyRbnLE1Umzqmch3IXb9RXedd_mKGyHXtfU/s555/DSC_1145.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/31100+Puente+la+Reina,+Navarra,+Spain/@42.6852033,-1.7141875,11z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd50879512bb724d:0x689d5755efe787f6">Puente la Reina</a> was the most interesting town we went through during the day. It was named after Doña Mayor, wife of King Sancho III. She built the <b>famous six-arched bridge</b> over the Río Arga for the use of pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. It still stands today. Puente la Reina is the first town after the Aragonese Way (<i>Camino Aragonés</i>) joins with the French Way (<i>Camino Francés</i>). This means we will be seeing even more pilgrims from here on.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7WWmyS1TBmF5mY7DWQUFPSDPaeSmO4k9z_ugVwPBBwpM4z2Mui0xLGFx7Uzt7ehYhpCF4wpAU7_2PvXtcb6uEBX68xozXOkyaCfMpOgKMZ9WU8bIrJvnA1EPC1kP1I2k7hGesj8vU2I/s1600/Puente-la-Reina-bridge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7WWmyS1TBmF5mY7DWQUFPSDPaeSmO4k9z_ugVwPBBwpM4z2Mui0xLGFx7Uzt7ehYhpCF4wpAU7_2PvXtcb6uEBX68xozXOkyaCfMpOgKMZ9WU8bIrJvnA1EPC1kP1I2k7hGesj8vU2I/s555/Puente-la-Reina-bridge.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Our destination for the day was <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/31200+Estella,+Navarra,+Spain/@42.7066644,-1.9174699,10z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd5071c5f64631a5:0x41cd3f689131a9b">Estella</a>. We were hoping to reach it in time to still get enough free space in one of the albergues. We were still travelling as a group and getting seven beds late in the afternoon was not to be taken for granted.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sOC-nWR3c6JjTV-Pn49EJn0bfYOR_PQfU2KbqzXFKyVKU-0ZOiEfYXGPpXHQp-SvSEh1f72V5myQXgSgHlvMQV_Py25TLESpdl2rcUUdRXI9vOBPZ-33aEqWpHe8wlXjch72y75a2gk/s1600/DSC_1189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sOC-nWR3c6JjTV-Pn49EJn0bfYOR_PQfU2KbqzXFKyVKU-0ZOiEfYXGPpXHQp-SvSEh1f72V5myQXgSgHlvMQV_Py25TLESpdl2rcUUdRXI9vOBPZ-33aEqWpHe8wlXjch72y75a2gk/s555/DSC_1189.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Since we had 35 kilometres planned for the day, we planned to arrive around 5 PM, which is pretty late. As we learned so far, most pilgrims seem to walk shorter distances and consequently they arrive at their daily destinations a few hours before us.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We had been lucky so far, so we had hoped our lucky streak would continue. It did not look too good when we tried our luck at the first albergue. When they turned us down in the second one, we were getting a bit worried.<br />
</p><br />
<p>The third albergue had just two spaces left and we asked the <i>hospitalero</i> (a guy taking care of an albergue) to call the last remaining albergue in town and inquire about the situation. He said there are just 5 places left and placed a reservation for a part of our group. I had a feeling he was taking advantage of the situation and simply wanted to fill the last two of his beds. In my opinion there were still seven or more beds available in the last albergue but since we were all already very tired I did not want to take chances and insult the guy.<br />
</p><br />
<p>So we split up and agreed to meet up again in the morning. M. and I stayed in <b>Albergue Paroquial San Miguel</b>. It operates as an <i>albergue donativo</i> - you donate as much as you feel it is suitable.<br />
</p><br />
<p>After the check-in formalities we were showed to our beds - a top bunk bed and a mattress on the floor. Beds were pretty basic - old mattresses with (not very clean) plastic sheets. They were all out of blankets. This is why a sleeping bag on the Camino is a must.<br />
Bathroom looked nice and clean and there was plenty of hot water. It was all we really needed.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yOTgPjIfyBjlZISqW_IT36qwkW2C4IKiGNMreaWgOEXBudH1YfoZSMTkj7pRKYcwiHy87gAR-ecwaLdSgZr6ICod0BZk7ebFHJCUKECHSsCPJ8ys6MoBSPWrei11ku_1t2Stuc4YTdI/s1600/Estella.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yOTgPjIfyBjlZISqW_IT36qwkW2C4IKiGNMreaWgOEXBudH1YfoZSMTkj7pRKYcwiHy87gAR-ecwaLdSgZr6ICod0BZk7ebFHJCUKECHSsCPJ8ys6MoBSPWrei11ku_1t2Stuc4YTdI/s600/Estella.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Apart from another "lost in translation" moment during dinner the evening was pretty uneventful - we chose Maracaibo Restaurante in a corner of the main town's square.<br />
After dinner M. was really tired and just wanted to go to bed. Unfortunately it started raining cats and dogs just as we were finishing our meal. We decided to wait for it to pass before returning to our albergue. A very long half of an hour later we were finally off to bed.<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>Clicking on any one of above photos will reveal them all in a much more flattering resolution.</i><br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com031698 Larrasoaña, Navarre, Spain42.9011096 -1.542950900000050842.8952941 -1.5530359000000507 42.906925099999995 -1.5328659000000509tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-58677735449504992162014-07-21T07:30:00.000+02:002014-07-21T10:37:44.680+02:00Camino Portraits: A pilgrim and his dog<p>This is the first post in a series of Camino Portraits. It is a portrait of a pilgrim with his dog.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbgYKif3I1vaom_NPbFeUY3C3vXNHR-s2g63k7e4j4yi-t_TdjZK5dYqw22QBxr45h8PtmQqa6lHGaehhaY5y8YvIqHqK2VQPACZ5kqqITOJJiAaDrEfxq-wVVova2HUdNJ57lvQgoag/s1600/Pilgrim-and-his-dog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbgYKif3I1vaom_NPbFeUY3C3vXNHR-s2g63k7e4j4yi-t_TdjZK5dYqw22QBxr45h8PtmQqa6lHGaehhaY5y8YvIqHqK2VQPACZ5kqqITOJJiAaDrEfxq-wVVova2HUdNJ57lvQgoag/s555/Pilgrim-and-his-dog.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We met them on our way to Zariquiegui. We never took time to talk, so their names will remain a mystery. We just wished "<i>Buen Camino!</i>" to each-other and after a I snapped this photo we were on our ways. Since they were walking in the opposite direction, they were obviously already returning home from Santiago. On foot. Yes, even some modern-day pilgrims do that.<br />
</p><br />
<p>If you look closely you can see each of them carrying their own backpacks.<br />
</p><br />
<p><i>Clicking on the above photo will reveal it in a much more flattering resolution.</i><br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com0Cizur, Navarre, Spain42.755857481954884 -1.71577465285645342.750027981954887 -1.7258596528564529 42.761686981954881 -1.7056896528564531tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-30728907752398578492014-07-17T07:15:00.000+02:002014-08-28T21:27:01.483+02:00Another rainy day<p><i>This was day 3 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<p>We woke up into a cloudy morning. Our shoes and clothes were still a little damp, so we did not really enjoy putting them on. We were out of the albergue door just as it started raining again. Not very encouraging, to say the least.<br />
</p><br />
<p>When we started walking our legs felt a bit tired from previous days but it was not to bad. No real problems, just moderate muscle pain. Fortunately we had no blisters. Well actually we had a small blister each, but they were not bothering us. Compeed works wonders!<br />
</p><br />
<p>Rain was not so strong as on the previous day and we also got used to it. It was bothering us quite a bit at first but on the second day we kind of accepted it and just walked on. What bothered me the most was the fact I had the camera tucked inside my backpack. It was also just too complicated and time consuming taking it out for a photo and putting it back in. Result - no proper rainy photos.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zyaHgbWvimMMHREt2R_HmrSHHNY6AGkpfU9qRicza78HB2x-GYtHOa5KidrCr4b5_a5DnbwCk2qNRpd4lAdWRiBFR0ySxPB32bowB_DdN26uFQXXt5qEwtQmiZXYK1mU8pKJpcuAiao/s1600/Magdalena-bridge-Pamplona.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zyaHgbWvimMMHREt2R_HmrSHHNY6AGkpfU9qRicza78HB2x-GYtHOa5KidrCr4b5_a5DnbwCk2qNRpd4lAdWRiBFR0ySxPB32bowB_DdN26uFQXXt5qEwtQmiZXYK1mU8pKJpcuAiao/s600/Magdalena-bridge-Pamplona.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Breakfast was our first excuse to get away from rain for a while. <i>Bocadillos con jamón</i> (sandwiches with cured ham) and <i>café con leche</i> (coffee with milk) were enough to get us running. Shoes started leaking again but it was nowhere near the experience form the previous day. After another few hours of walking clouds started tearing up and we were able to see patches of blue sky again. We felt better.<br />
</p><br />
<p>There are quite a few interesting old stone bridges in the area. One of them is also the one Martin Sheen drops his backpack from in the movie The Way. Just before entering the city of Pamplona we crossed the Arga river. We used the Magdalena bridge you can see on the above photo.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QRk9PH_lWlCMaGkDLolqtceELZYFhuwqGpn8kKhgBP9jFI5nF3q83Y-rFp18n9D_19eAump1Gb0EgZRfbK6tFe1fxGndBF5f6GkGow5nP70wIoVIrGx-zbaM3k3tS9jMUGm7c1Dgm5A/s1600/Pamplona-city-walls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QRk9PH_lWlCMaGkDLolqtceELZYFhuwqGpn8kKhgBP9jFI5nF3q83Y-rFp18n9D_19eAump1Gb0EgZRfbK6tFe1fxGndBF5f6GkGow5nP70wIoVIrGx-zbaM3k3tS9jMUGm7c1Dgm5A/s600/Pamplona-city-walls.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>The highlight of the day was the city of Pamplona - the first larger city on the way with a population of 200.000. Most pilgrims make plans in a way to spend at least one night there. Unfortunately our schedule did not allow us to do the same. We wouldn't mind stopping for a few days and if we ever have a chance to go back, we will try to do it in time to enjoy the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ferm%C3%ADn">San Fermín</a> festival (and maybe even get a taste of running with the bulls).<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKPO3122n4IEi6CCqLtCiabQqpXWxWT828i8O9nvTyTLMVeXJWIEAMtRKxAt9ri4iEHARNeGTmdWgIIyc5mcpjJKeJxxJwTIyzSeCDf-E2JEWqS5hmCf034NZrUEm3gkuTqNR2eTxXow/s1600/Pamplona-cathedral.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKPO3122n4IEi6CCqLtCiabQqpXWxWT828i8O9nvTyTLMVeXJWIEAMtRKxAt9ri4iEHARNeGTmdWgIIyc5mcpjJKeJxxJwTIyzSeCDf-E2JEWqS5hmCf034NZrUEm3gkuTqNR2eTxXow/s600/Pamplona-cathedral.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>When in Pamplona we took time to explore the beautiful cathedral with a museum. We did not like the entrance fee but in the end this stop came at a perfect time to let another thunderstorm roll by.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzy9uZYJo9_iuy55j2KuDguyYJ5CmysnFhxGcThZlDQr2hFaP4Stuu_0qcaEScDuHVi69EBN4IkYHijmERU-ud13c9c8VtLE1k-8dfirQBVKgkAKJLqbMtXV7pmVvaszXXxw7bvCdnTvo/s1600/Pamplona-cathedral-inside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzy9uZYJo9_iuy55j2KuDguyYJ5CmysnFhxGcThZlDQr2hFaP4Stuu_0qcaEScDuHVi69EBN4IkYHijmERU-ud13c9c8VtLE1k-8dfirQBVKgkAKJLqbMtXV7pmVvaszXXxw7bvCdnTvo/s555/Pamplona-cathedral-inside.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>When walking through the city centre there were moments when we felt a bit lost. For the first time bright yellow arrows and shell signs were not visible enough. Thanks to friendly locals we stayed on the right way.<br />
</p><br />
<p>On the way out of the city we ran into the group of Italians from the night before. We all had same plans for the day and agreed to walk together. Good company helped a long walk through suburbs of Pamplona pass quickly.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Our destination on that day was a small town of <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/31190+Zariquiegui,+Navarra,+Spain/@42.77232,-1.6536179,13z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd508ef19aa086b5:0xa018c67a2b535f0">Zariquiegui</a>. It was a 27 kilometre walk from <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/31698+Larrasoa%C3%B1a/@42.8839511,-1.502377,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd50ea5c9787eca7:0x111b208e324ed8fa">Larrasoaña</a>.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Since at that time we were travelling as a group of 7 and La Posada de Ardogi was supposedly the only albergue in town (with only 16 beds), we decided to make a booking in advance. Since this is a private albergue booking was easily arranged by one of the Italians.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Walking through open fields with huge stacks of hay bales was really enjoyable. We took the opportunity to practise our Italian and got to know Roberto, Andrea, Alessandro, Antonio and Jolanda (who is actually Dutch) a little better.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Upon arrival standard routine followed. Stretching, shower, washing clothes and some relaxing before dinner. As a group we took advantage of the laundry machine and just threw all our dirty clothes in.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv44Zk-0epgTq42zBLPUPoxUM0M5_NqY30B3GE5Bt7xjLjHUgPHr6TAElZ4ttztmv6nts-pcYsiSj1kvzlliQySeMEjypTJ7PJWIopRVIMUj1gdl0a7XTwzvX7gTMLmBDzqSsbHOKybl8/s1600/Zariquiegui.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv44Zk-0epgTq42zBLPUPoxUM0M5_NqY30B3GE5Bt7xjLjHUgPHr6TAElZ4ttztmv6nts-pcYsiSj1kvzlliQySeMEjypTJ7PJWIopRVIMUj1gdl0a7XTwzvX7gTMLmBDzqSsbHOKybl8/s555/Zariquiegui.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>During stretching and massage I felt heavy pain in muscles running down on the outside of shin (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibialis_anterior_muscle">Tibialis anterior</a> muscle) and also in tendons connecting these muscles to bones. I knew muscle pain will go away in a few days. I was more afraid of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tendinitis">tendinitis</a> - known as one of the common show-stoppers on the Camino. I was hoping for the best.<br />
</p><br />
<p>All seven of us slept in one small room. It may sound strange but this was a definite improvement compared to the last two days. Beds were comfortable, with clean cotton sheets.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We agreed to continue walking together on the following morning.<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com231698 Larrasoaña, Navarre, Spain42.9011096 -1.542950900000050842.8952941 -1.5530359000000507 42.906925099999995 -1.5328659000000509tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-4098976055482559212014-07-10T13:13:00.000+02:002014-08-28T21:26:46.427+02:00A taste of rain on the Camino<p><i>This was day 2 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<p>We were really happy about dry weather on our first day of walking over the Pyrenees. We had our wet gear with us but would not mind if it remained in our backpacks throughout the trip.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Unfortunately 20 minutes after leaving <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/31650+Roncesvalles/@43.081314,-1.4523105,10z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd50ce28f705148b:0x61e83118380eaefe">Roncesvalles</a> it started raining. We had to stop at the edge of a forest, next to a cross, just before we got to the first village. At that point I decided to put my camera away and we prepared our raincoats for the first field test. They performed quite well.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssnO9gSW1qLkHkmXS_1sUJqO9euu5usRdZK_IPd6FuyJuHjKCfv3bTY0grtnzC4k4nBiZpCa2lB0P7pljDlBu2hkVmmbVvwbOZ8Jw7XrembovUaB3DSwtcuSqIBtSNQYMgGcjK8N5B8s/s1600/DSC_0968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssnO9gSW1qLkHkmXS_1sUJqO9euu5usRdZK_IPd6FuyJuHjKCfv3bTY0grtnzC4k4nBiZpCa2lB0P7pljDlBu2hkVmmbVvwbOZ8Jw7XrembovUaB3DSwtcuSqIBtSNQYMgGcjK8N5B8s/s555/DSC_0968.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Heavy rain started around 7 o'clock in the morning and since we were hoping it to stop, we decided to take a long breakfast break at the first opportunity. When we saw the first opened bar we were already a bit wet.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We ordered "tostadas" and expected to get some kind of toast with ham and cheese. After a while we realised we had actually ordered toasted bread with butter and jam.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We laughed about our first Spanish language lesson over a not too filling breakfast.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We learned how important it is to have a raincoat of proper length. Mine started to curl up over my knees while walking. It did not help even if I took shorter steps. I used one of my walking sticks to weigh down the front part of it. It worked well but at by the time I put the improvement into practise my trousers were already pretty wet from the knees down.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Rain continued throughout the most part of the day. When we already thought we have seen the worst of it, it turned to hail. We could not decide if it was better or worse compared to rain.<br />
</p><br />
<p>I first felt water in my shoes after 3 hours of constant walking in rain. At the worst point I am pretty sure I had half a decilitre of water in each shoe. Since we were worried of having blister problems we were thinking of stopping and changing into dry socks but after a while we both agreed there is probably no point in doing it.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Walking up and down small hills seemed to go on forever. We started the day at 900 metres above sea level and walked to Larrasoana, which lies at 540 metres. We walked 27 kilometres, most of them in heavy rain.<br />
</p><br />
<p>About half an hour before we reached our destination for the day, the rain stopped.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We were surprised how quickly our shoes dried up again after it stopped raining. All that water evaporated pretty quickly - just like sweat. I suppose this was an indication we had bought good shoes.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIhcH7aM-aFL31RKY_wDoK-0VkrwwFWntslF7Udi0TBgZu79ZTf2MVeuEexXjshjw0TnEseFYnKrXrs4EAdmvsUWCfUcJ16mHhUMIzJWjiFyD_OZhxmlKi_1yoWnLE1AL7Jy9Gw-vab4/s1600/Albergue-municipal-Larrasoana.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIhcH7aM-aFL31RKY_wDoK-0VkrwwFWntslF7Udi0TBgZu79ZTf2MVeuEexXjshjw0TnEseFYnKrXrs4EAdmvsUWCfUcJ16mHhUMIzJWjiFyD_OZhxmlKi_1yoWnLE1AL7Jy9Gw-vab4/s555/Albergue-municipal-Larrasoana.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>In <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/31698+Larrasoa%C3%B1a/@42.8839511,-1.502377,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd50ea5c9787eca7:0x111b208e324ed8fa">Larrasoaña</a> we checked into <b>Albergue Municipal</b>. It is pretty basic and the hospitalero was not all that friendly. Nonetheless we were happy we found a place to sleep and that the wet day was finally behind us. <br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5t9YefBdFq-zdIbTVZc1I1kadsKqrh6seX0BK5CnX9PJFewFij6EOAd1w4PXSdbY_4plZe_Op254IYK8uKKUjnazzkIemxWTuc3YOq9fdZQQP19NTgrFmiRLGs98BNW3f-e68yKPa4Q/s1600/Larrasoana-street.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5t9YefBdFq-zdIbTVZc1I1kadsKqrh6seX0BK5CnX9PJFewFij6EOAd1w4PXSdbY_4plZe_Op254IYK8uKKUjnazzkIemxWTuc3YOq9fdZQQP19NTgrFmiRLGs98BNW3f-e68yKPa4Q/s555/Larrasoana-street.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>A hot shower was followed by hand washing of our muddy clothes. Afterwards we tried our best to dry our gear - we stuffed our wet shoes with newspapers and hung our clothes outside. Unfortunately nice weather did not last and we had to move our clothes inside.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We still had enough energy to take a walk around the cute little village. Apart from a few interesting old buildings there is not much to see.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSU3YtQ28CEONbQszokKn8Adw44gy4WVitILQbMhk11zyvJG27Wj8huQmL_PeR6qx-xeLUVfb4hnsxr6R6YibM2_kp0xSBRAfr1pepZ0HkWbXWAueNLDH03yxWv4oevhE3XJQDWTRqPZU/s1600/Larrasoana-dinner-Taberna-Pervtxena.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSU3YtQ28CEONbQszokKn8Adw44gy4WVitILQbMhk11zyvJG27Wj8huQmL_PeR6qx-xeLUVfb4hnsxr6R6YibM2_kp0xSBRAfr1pepZ0HkWbXWAueNLDH03yxWv4oevhE3XJQDWTRqPZU/s555/Larrasoana-dinner-Taberna-Pervtxena.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Dinner was quite tasty and fun - we enjoyed it with a group of Italians. They met on the way and decided to walk together.<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com031650 Roncesvalles, Navarre, Spain43.0091774 -1.319510000000036643.006274399999995 -1.3245525000000367 43.0120804 -1.3144675000000365tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-79689583312687672282014-07-07T07:54:00.000+02:002014-08-28T21:26:31.192+02:00Over the Pyrenees<p><i>This was day 1 of our almost one month long <b>Camino de Santiago</b> adventure. Click on the <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Camino%20de%20Santiago">Camino de Santiago</a> label to see all related posts.</i><br />
</p><br />
<p>As I have already mentioned in my opening post on <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/2014/06/el-camino-de-santiago.html">Camino de Santiago</a>, we chose to walk along the <b>Camino Francés</b> branch of the way. We flew in to the nearby Biarritz airport and arrived to <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/64220+Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port/@42.5607864,-3.5114763,7z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd50d5616cb5d49f:0x27d43cc64a91e1c7">Saint Jean Pied de Port</a> on a sunny Sunday afternoon of May 18th, 2014.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAM4zUevwl0SF6jsUyAxsnCNsL34hka7l6V3cqrldz638PHaSfd5dMNAnblhrXVIHmaKHK3m7cVPAIDxhYNcpKJTTJImuDryYx8k8Wx2PK-4KL0IYESMmo22zCughSBPgxe30kmnDVUA/s1600/SJPdP-street.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAM4zUevwl0SF6jsUyAxsnCNsL34hka7l6V3cqrldz638PHaSfd5dMNAnblhrXVIHmaKHK3m7cVPAIDxhYNcpKJTTJImuDryYx8k8Wx2PK-4KL0IYESMmo22zCughSBPgxe30kmnDVUA/s555/SJPdP-street.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>We started our Camino in France mainly because we wanted to experience the Pyrenees. Another reason was that we had thought we could just squeeze those 800 kilometres into 26 days we had for walking.<br />
</p><br />
<p>The first thing we did upon arrival was stamp our pilgrim credentials. First impressions of SJPdP were not all that great. Prices in the town were quite a bit higher than we had expected. We had one of the worst pizzas ever and it was not cheap either.<br />
We were just hoping this had something to do with the fact we were in France.<br />
Apart from that we liked the look of the little town. It is tucked amongst small hills with Pyrenees already visible to the west.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCcZDE8bcQr7aPfiSa1PdOuN12yPITb_dMUg8T2kQe5tU4cWDBR4Wi2ULE6AT08RtGHJsgSi-y9F6A0q9KINMF2c3-FBbT63SuRs46Dbu4Qp0-fYL3DxBGZmjzJkMpZpaOIWLIByiD48/s1600/SJPdP-old-bridge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCcZDE8bcQr7aPfiSa1PdOuN12yPITb_dMUg8T2kQe5tU4cWDBR4Wi2ULE6AT08RtGHJsgSi-y9F6A0q9KINMF2c3-FBbT63SuRs46Dbu4Qp0-fYL3DxBGZmjzJkMpZpaOIWLIByiD48/s555/SJPdP-old-bridge.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Pilgrim menus were on offer for 12 Euro. A bed in an albergue dorm room costed the same.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Since the weather can get really nasty in the Pyrenees, we had been hoping for good weather on our initial day. We have heard quite a few stories of recently injured pilgrims on this part of the way. A few people also die on this part of the Camino almost every year.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWcK-6Nc0Xfl-_31dxB7E-bXHPGfTGSfn5x14SrwugG_OluuhSw-K_0wYIryxExUIXLa1mFP_ZQanfEk6c5NI1rxwrMNtw6Nu0ey4VTU5xM6BfWjxQPUxIpt8VcIldBT2-ydhLe4eu3A/s1600/sheep-on-road.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWcK-6Nc0Xfl-_31dxB7E-bXHPGfTGSfn5x14SrwugG_OluuhSw-K_0wYIryxExUIXLa1mFP_ZQanfEk6c5NI1rxwrMNtw6Nu0ey4VTU5xM6BfWjxQPUxIpt8VcIldBT2-ydhLe4eu3A/s555/sheep-on-road.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Luckily at 6 in the morning we woke up into a beautiful morning, had some fruit for breakfast and just before 7 we headed for the hills. Views were getting better and better as we were climbing higher. The steep path got us huffing and puffing at some points but we were able to keep quite a good pace. It seemed like we were well prepared.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We started our day at 180 metres above sea level and reached <b>Col Lepoeder</b> mountain pass at 1.430 metres (the highest point of Camino Francés) before descending again. <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/31650+Roncesvalles/@43.081314,-1.4523105,10z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd50ce28f705148b:0x61e83118380eaefe">Roncesvalles</a>, our destination for the first day, lies at 900 metres and is already in Spain.<br />
The total walking distance planned for the day was 26 kilometres.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLyuB8U3-cvhdYaxpODp7FmmEjzMvkb7m0QG-fJiroaVfZbrF9VLgCx_vntuEEZRzyI2PXLJUYebU6D2G3uWkld875Wc4e5DdH8B5ZtpZbsrMuqR5rtIvJ1-PhrPcX11iV84KibBVEHs/s1600/refuge-orisson.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLyuB8U3-cvhdYaxpODp7FmmEjzMvkb7m0QG-fJiroaVfZbrF9VLgCx_vntuEEZRzyI2PXLJUYebU6D2G3uWkld875Wc4e5DdH8B5ZtpZbsrMuqR5rtIvJ1-PhrPcX11iV84KibBVEHs/s555/refuge-orisson.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Roughly after 8 kilometres of walking and a half of the total vertical gain in elevation planned for the day we stopped at <b>Refuge Orisson</b>. Many pilgrims choose to spend a night there and continue in the morning. We were still quite fresh and after a sandwich, Basque cake and a glass of orange juice, we were on our way again. It was quite a break - one and a half hour long.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Apart from a few clouds the sky was mostly clear. The wind however was picking up and at some points it was very strong (gusts of over 90 km/h as we learned later).<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEIPRMhk_uMNwcPOw7Lpec6Gis-7XIEqb9PjHu4tNB1_eC5UV05KWkRMOawJhHSgIaHH4wp2tSpmQEAoqCIFc5Fl8HHqFrQRK5y9IXqOCsJJzWuLUNuWPygkkZ1ffNsH-_dfsJv9SN4k/s1600/col-lepoeder.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEIPRMhk_uMNwcPOw7Lpec6Gis-7XIEqb9PjHu4tNB1_eC5UV05KWkRMOawJhHSgIaHH4wp2tSpmQEAoqCIFc5Fl8HHqFrQRK5y9IXqOCsJJzWuLUNuWPygkkZ1ffNsH-_dfsJv9SN4k/s555/col-lepoeder.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Somewhere near the top I had to take care of my first blister. It was a really small one and the smallest of Compeed plasters took care of it. We both took the opportunity to dry our feet and change into fresh socks. <br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Kv-kh9csXtXy6x7KpBgvgwzsxoK8HuvaOqVTdPupXdzNbc43yxPbYjDHIJ3UlEHaYcdKSQSXrx0u15s70YOq9NNtLVwxOoP5-Dt0oEH8SH44-B78LMLlvb1x-Tk4IVmQPZnfFEVHHVE/s1600/descending-to-roncesvalles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Kv-kh9csXtXy6x7KpBgvgwzsxoK8HuvaOqVTdPupXdzNbc43yxPbYjDHIJ3UlEHaYcdKSQSXrx0u15s70YOq9NNtLVwxOoP5-Dt0oEH8SH44-B78LMLlvb1x-Tk4IVmQPZnfFEVHHVE/s555/descending-to-roncesvalles.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>On the way down we kept thinking about a dangerous stretch of the path we were told to avoid. There was a bit steeper section which we think was the "dangerous stretch" but it did not seem like anything special to us. Maybe in bad weather it is a different thing.<br />
</p><br />
<p>At 14:30 we already reached the imposing monastery at Roncesvalles (Orreaga in Basque). Check-in procedure was followed by a thorough stretching session. We were feeling good.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWLMe2amYmQ9caUcIzyKW1-KzrW7sw_hiF1SAbQIHrmjZQ8I0LzuzRSpiVUz3Sb51na5fldISNLTrQ1SD7ZFNbCJMAuVFiemQrvtX7Hq5TqCJWqnKMZu5aXBAyhTvRAf8TYLUULbLlgo/s1600/roncesvalles-monastery.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWLMe2amYmQ9caUcIzyKW1-KzrW7sw_hiF1SAbQIHrmjZQ8I0LzuzRSpiVUz3Sb51na5fldISNLTrQ1SD7ZFNbCJMAuVFiemQrvtX7Hq5TqCJWqnKMZu5aXBAyhTvRAf8TYLUULbLlgo/s555/roncesvalles-monastery.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>The monastery albergue is really huge (183 beds), well kept and very well organised. A hot shower that felt really good was followed by a relaxing afternoon and a good supper at a nearby La Posada restaurant. We enjoyed supper with other pilgrims and shared a few laughs. Spirits were high.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirC3JCXrwKXny9EbZZsBvPZ7EQ0927AlfnDKBlPhAJCD-y4ubOc_2EVevzHMAaT2sZPJyTToBq47E_VYwF_ZKpYPmagkQY6qfXrVSr-Yv4uw3oxyAaQ1rPHnmHX42I3zK2wT5TJV79cGQ/s1600/roncesvalles-monastery-mass.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirC3JCXrwKXny9EbZZsBvPZ7EQ0927AlfnDKBlPhAJCD-y4ubOc_2EVevzHMAaT2sZPJyTToBq47E_VYwF_ZKpYPmagkQY6qfXrVSr-Yv4uw3oxyAaQ1rPHnmHX42I3zK2wT5TJV79cGQ/s555/roncesvalles-monastery-mass.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>After supper we got back to monastery just in time to see the end of evening mass. From there we went straight to our room. We were already pleasantly tired and lights out policy at 22:00 made perfect sense. We set our alarm for 5:30, put in our earplugs and drifted away...<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com064220 Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France43.163141 -1.23811000000000643.116808000000006 -1.318791000000006 43.209474 -1.157429000000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-77867715834273535422014-07-04T07:37:00.000+02:002014-07-04T08:31:13.412+02:00Smartphone app for the Camino<p>As I have already mentioned in my post about <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/2014/07/packing-for-camino.html">packing for the Camino</a>, you can loose some of your backpack's weight by using a digital guidebook instead of a paper one.<br />
</p><br />
<p>It can work out great if you use it together with one of many available Camino smartphone apps. I looked at quite a few of them and in the end I chose <b>Camino Pilgrim</b>.<br />
It is a free application you can easily download through Google Play. It covers Camino Frances and Camino Finisterre branches of El Camino de Santiago. I was using version 1.4.0. You can see the app's icon on the photo below.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ofy7SMB3WKJr6rHRx7od6FPnPRikhVX3X1h7eBXPEWWUO8SiijSbf0K_aNnr_9A4ckplTttcWmadfaFVhq20i_KshW83oDXq8xUoGnIBPvcQcng6MW5MHNnIQ4wC5wT1ivdAoLzUSFg/s1600/DSC_3132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ofy7SMB3WKJr6rHRx7od6FPnPRikhVX3X1h7eBXPEWWUO8SiijSbf0K_aNnr_9A4ckplTttcWmadfaFVhq20i_KshW83oDXq8xUoGnIBPvcQcng6MW5MHNnIQ4wC5wT1ivdAoLzUSFg/s555/DSC_3132.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>It has all the towns and villages listed in the same order as they appear on the Camino with distances from one to the next. Under the name of each town there are icons representing available pilgrim facilities (albergues, ATM, water fountain, pharmacy etc.).<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1yA7Lbh2Q-R6dDq_bbN1-J_96fJaZEe9hZDK_eC0rHHS3xrIRZ7_40u1Y139BmrRFWCLPMNCBFzDpCqIdK_iQbneyAHV6Gz11Kx1PxvprJGjaIGfL1UQNOBNJ2fsHUrzKc3ev0xN7Vrs/s1600/Camino-Pilgrim-towns.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1yA7Lbh2Q-R6dDq_bbN1-J_96fJaZEe9hZDK_eC0rHHS3xrIRZ7_40u1Y139BmrRFWCLPMNCBFzDpCqIdK_iQbneyAHV6Gz11Kx1PxvprJGjaIGfL1UQNOBNJ2fsHUrzKc3ev0xN7Vrs/s500/Camino-Pilgrim-towns.png" /></a></div><br />
<p>By tapping on a town's name a list of available albergues opens up. Apart from basic info (address, phone, webpage, email address and opening hours) there is also other information available.<br />
Albergues are arranged into three groups: Municipal, Parroquial and Private. There is another set of icons on this level. They represent facilities available in a specific albergue (kitchen, washing machine, wifi etc.). There is also information about price and total number of beds. <br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDI-ww_LWqyOoRhKCtcxX-AWcfBZnGHwQLIyNgZs0-n9vTgR8E-mzHIRnuGfmq9mVNT8Y7KKmlPMMStm0jp8i-PnWnR_vmlnI10WYMjfDfWLvLn5iXc9aN-nPfP1IhUyhO_uUoXk6Mky4/s1600/Camino-Pilgrim-albergues.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDI-ww_LWqyOoRhKCtcxX-AWcfBZnGHwQLIyNgZs0-n9vTgR8E-mzHIRnuGfmq9mVNT8Y7KKmlPMMStm0jp8i-PnWnR_vmlnI10WYMjfDfWLvLn5iXc9aN-nPfP1IhUyhO_uUoXk6Mky4/s500/Camino-Pilgrim-albergues.png" /></a></div><br />
<p>By tapping on an albergue a map by Google Maps with a position of the albergue opens up. When your smartphone has GPS connectivity turned on, your current position will also be shown on the map.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Camino Pilgrim application does not require an active internet connection to work. To be able to use maps off-line, you can even download them in advance. It is however advisable to open the app once in a while, when connected to internet, to allow its database to refresh.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSxrXVMowM6J6W6o8Kt4TAEjLPEWXpgC-dBuyDrx2SKjEwai2HnXl-TYlA49RexdYuxtQB6nF9S8LZn7tCxvXyB0Db3hh109VnfkctpTW-bx17DclPH_3rQ40RyqxYe3Cxk_BtOoCqnY/s1600/Camino-Pilgrim-map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSxrXVMowM6J6W6o8Kt4TAEjLPEWXpgC-dBuyDrx2SKjEwai2HnXl-TYlA49RexdYuxtQB6nF9S8LZn7tCxvXyB0Db3hh109VnfkctpTW-bx17DclPH_3rQ40RyqxYe3Cxk_BtOoCqnY/s500/Camino-Pilgrim-map.png" /></a></div><br />
<p>There is still room for improvement:<br />
<ul><li>If you are doing the Camino on a bike the map feature might not be very useful - bicycle map is not included.</li>
<li>At the moment the app is only available on the Android platform. No iOS support so far.</li>
<li>Some photos of albergues would be a welcome addition.</li>
<li>The same applies to non-existent user ratings and comments about individual albergues.</li>
</ul></p><br />
<p>There is a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.caminopilgrimapp.blogspot.com/2014/06/camino-pilgrim-app-tutorial.html">useful tutorial</a> available on-line for those in need of step-by-step instructions.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Camino Pilgrim is a simple app which proved to be very valuable on many occasions on the Camino. For instance when the path got crowded and we were walking in a group, getting a bed late in the afternoon was not a sure thing any more. Tapping on a phone number next to an albergue name in the app and placing a reservation, made our walk even more enjoyable.<br />
</p><br />
<p>I highly recommend this app. Try it out yourself - it is free. You are welcome to leave your observations in the comments section below.<br />
</p><br />
<blockquote>This review contains my own unbiased opinion which was not influenced by anyone. I also did not receive any kind of compensation.<br />
User interface photos were downloaded from Google play and therefore I do not own any rights to them.</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-87738160670392160472014-07-02T14:23:00.003+02:002014-07-03T19:00:24.618+02:00Packing for the Camino<p>What does one take with him on a month long trek? If you take into account you have to carry your stuff on your back for the whole 800 kilometres this is not an easy decision at all. <br />
</p><br />
<p>Packing of our hiking backpacks took quite some effort during the preparation period. It all started by choosing just the right hiking shoes and backpacks.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JhvdfWOnCYL3q2afHxVkUSMt4AakvAMMV35ikkHgIGbXyhrXf-YKFn7zl9YnhDcwu39umNXJiiaV5kpz3dfJ0qoNMeQ6QRk0NMD2Gq-yowemL86xB6e3HX2ZWlOF9S0HUlMoglKL-L0/s1600/DSC_1306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JhvdfWOnCYL3q2afHxVkUSMt4AakvAMMV35ikkHgIGbXyhrXf-YKFn7zl9YnhDcwu39umNXJiiaV5kpz3dfJ0qoNMeQ6QRk0NMD2Gq-yowemL86xB6e3HX2ZWlOF9S0HUlMoglKL-L0/s555/DSC_1306.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Choosing a pair of good quality, comfortable <b>hiking shoes</b> is the most important thing. My guidelines were comfort, weight, ankle support, waterproof material, durability and breathability. Also keep in mind that your feet will probably be a bit swollen after a few weeks (one size larger is better than a perfect fit). For a short while I was also thinking about light running shoes but gave up the idea because of lack of water resistance and ankle support.<br />
If you are leaning towards a lighter shoe, imagine walking on a muddy trail for 8 hours while sinking into thick mud over your ankles with every step. Without rain it is a whole different story, but unfortunately weather in May can be quite unpredictable.<br />
</p><br />
<p>It is advisable to keep the weight of the <b>backpack</b> under 10 percent of one's weight. However, if you weigh 50 kilograms (110 pounds) it is almost impossible to stay under 10 percent. In the end we both ended up with 2 kilograms over the recommended limit.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We chose one 34 litre and one 55 litre backpack. 55 litres was more than I needed, but it came in handy when we had to redistribute our stuff for airport regulations compliance.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnWax3sUA4IcjS1iBL6qpbw8z5g4-ph3k8k-VSbASFzTjH5_dkpShA2Zn-7JGTrOdZKK4e06WR6eDE_C_tO1PNuC-ap5JLnGYzHVphRZxlC69y5uPUk87Z1ot7Xl7DoBQm8ulUjXtyLM/s1600/camino-checklist.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnWax3sUA4IcjS1iBL6qpbw8z5g4-ph3k8k-VSbASFzTjH5_dkpShA2Zn-7JGTrOdZKK4e06WR6eDE_C_tO1PNuC-ap5JLnGYzHVphRZxlC69y5uPUk87Z1ot7Xl7DoBQm8ulUjXtyLM/s555/camino-checklist.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Only when we were happy with our backpacks and shoes, we started thinking about what exactly to put on the checklist. This is what I took with me:<br />
</p><br />
<p><table style="text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"><caption><em>Camino Checklist</em></caption><tbody>
<tr bgcolor="#dddddd"><th>Item</th><th>Quantity</th><th>Packed</th></tr>
<tr><td>Personal ID card<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Personal ID card paper copy<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cash (EUR)<br />
</td><td align="center">400<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Credit cards (Maestro, Visa)<br />
</td><td align="center">2<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Money belt/pouch<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Backpack<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Mobile phone & charger<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Digital camera & charger<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>MP3 Player</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">N<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Camino de Santiago Guidebook<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">N<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Hiking shoes<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Trekking sandals (e.g. Teva)<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Flip-flops<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Trekking poles<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Sleeping bag (lightweight)<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Rain-coat / poncho (lightweight)<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Goretex jacket<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Fleece jacket<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Long sleeve shirt<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Trekking zip-off pants<br />
</td><td align="center">2<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-shirts<br />
</td><td align="center">2<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Trekking socks<br />
</td><td align="center">3<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Underpants<br />
</td><td align="center">2<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Multifunction scarf (Buff)<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Hiking hat<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Towel (large lightweight)<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Towel (small lightweight)<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Medical bag (pills, bandage, anti-inflammatory gel,<br />
anti-blister accessories, rehydration pills, etc.)<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Toiletries (toothbrush & paste, toilet paper,<br />
shaving foam & razor, body & hair shampoo, etc.) <br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Laundry soap<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Body & face cream<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Sunscreen<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Lip gloss (protective)<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Water bladder (2L)<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Swiss army knife<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Sunglasses<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Head lamp<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Ear plugs<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Clothes pegs<br />
</td><td align="center">3<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cigarette lighter<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#fffafa"><td>Scallop shell<br />
</td><td align="center">1<br />
</td><td align="center">Y<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table></p><br />
<p>A few comments on the above checklist:<br />
<br />
I also took a <b>mosquito repellent</b> with me, but it proved to be useless - during the day I was walking too fast for mosquitoes and during the night there were usually many other targets in the same room.<br />
A <b>head-lamp</b> is not essential, but may come in very handy if you start walking before sunrise. A mobile phone with built-in flash can serve as an emergency replacement.<br />
A <b>music player</b> can also be easily replaced by your smart-phone. All you need is a pair of earphones and enough of free memory on your phone. I did not use it even once, but it did help M. to get over one of many steep hills on the way.<br />
I chose not to pack a paper <b>guidebook</b>. I used a digital version on my phone. I also found one of many free Camino phone applications to be very useful.<br />
My <b>medical bag</b> included: <br />
<ul><li>painkillers with anti-inflammatory effect (e.g. Ibuprofen),</li>
<li>anti-allergy pills,</li>
<li>anti-inflammatory gel (e.g. Voltaren),</li>
<li>rehydration pills,</li>
<li>magnesium & potassium powder (for muscle regeneration and cramp prevention),</li>
<li>plasters (e.g. Compeed - worth a higher price),</li>
<li>blister prevention stick-gel (e.g. Bodyglide, Compeed),</li>
<li>elastic bandage.</li>
</ul>I packed only a few of each and restocked in one of many pharmacies on the way if I ran out of anything.<br />
</p><br />
In the end my backpack weighed 9,5 kilograms (21 pounds) - that is without any water or food. This could be easily fixed by buying a lighter backpack and changing my heavy DSLR camera for a compact version. The empty backpack and my heavyweight camera weigh 4 kilograms (9 pounds).<br />
<br />
<p>If you travel to the starting point of your Camino by an airplane, be careful not to pack any prohibited items into your carry-on luggage. Since we had quite a few such items on our checklist, we decided to declare one of our backpacks as checked baggage. It is usually quite a bit cheaper if you think of this at the time of booking.<br />
</p><br />
<p>Feel free to comment on this checklist and offer a suggestion of your own if you think I left something out.<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-56115925079018537442014-06-30T16:38:00.000+02:002014-07-03T09:53:22.231+02:00El Camino de Santiago<p>Every journey begins with a single step. So did ours...<br />
</p><br />
<p>As some of you already know, about a month ago I went on a trip across Spain. We did this together with M. - my companion in travel and in life. This time we decided to do a bit more walking than usually. Actually... roughly 800 kilometres of it.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We chose a well known route across Spain known as <b>El Camino de Santiago</b>, <b>Way of Saint James</b> or simply <b>The Way</b>. It is a millennium old pilgrimage route which starts in various places around Europe and leads to <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Santiago+de+Compostela/@41.0542706,-1.2242697,6z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd2efe44e2dd71a7:0xe0146888c087e311">Santiago de Compostela</a> in Spain. That is the place where remains of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James,_son_of_Zebedee">Saint James</a> are buried.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKNwFJjQ615vpOCbEIgnGOC7dwV7i4N41Svn2LdoqtBB18Ldi5ZgQ3bS73UcHbK9CXvkCiv0vNZ2MbC-3ev6fOPk83r4pifxeXRBk9p3BXvQ5-i2ntdwCjiEogrwqjyn6lfgSZQBd8m38/s1600/Camino-de-Santiago-sign.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKNwFJjQ615vpOCbEIgnGOC7dwV7i4N41Svn2LdoqtBB18Ldi5ZgQ3bS73UcHbK9CXvkCiv0vNZ2MbC-3ev6fOPk83r4pifxeXRBk9p3BXvQ5-i2ntdwCjiEogrwqjyn6lfgSZQBd8m38/s555/Camino-de-Santiago-sign.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Since 11th century there have been pilgrims coming to Santiago from all over the world. Due to heavy publicity the Camino has become quite popular in the last years - the Hollywood movie The Way (starring Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen) is just one such example.<br />
More and more people decide to walk at least a part of the way every year and religion is not the only reason any more. Many also do it for cultural reasons or make a sports challenge out of it. Walking, biking and also horseback riding are the means of transport on the way.<br />
</p><br />
<p>We decided to begin our walk in <b>Saint Jean Pied de Port</b> on the French side of the Pyrenees. Since this route begins in France it is called <b>Camino Francés</b> or <b>The French way</b>. We chose it because it has the best infrastructure. In addition to everything else this also means there are many affordable albergues on the way. Albergues provide hostel like, budget-oriented accommodation for pilgrims.<br />
The fact this route is the most popular among all and therefore at some points also pretty crowded did not discourage us. We were however not too excited about the fact.<br />
</p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUctOlaIqiK8WVAahnHsewQiMaK6v926470ZqDNkJZCIwifMtgYv1K07Hjzruy30rkSvT6OqjQfQZyiy7siRYj8ooMEtdBwwkig1BdtoFRDC2jakVIn7prm9MbKQfH_IDIEqZfJu9Pjz8/s1600/shell-stick-pigrim-sign.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 00em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUctOlaIqiK8WVAahnHsewQiMaK6v926470ZqDNkJZCIwifMtgYv1K07Hjzruy30rkSvT6OqjQfQZyiy7siRYj8ooMEtdBwwkig1BdtoFRDC2jakVIn7prm9MbKQfH_IDIEqZfJu9Pjz8/s555/shell-stick-pigrim-sign.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>Since we only had 26 days reserved for walking, we knew this trip was going to be a little bit of a challenge. People usually have at least a week more to walk this kind of a distance.<br />
According to our plans we were supposed to walk approximately 30 kilometres per day. It might not seem like a lot if you look at a single day, but our plan meant we would have to do it every single day, no matter the weather or our daily physical condition. A shorter distance on one day would mean a longer one on the next day.<br />
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<p>After reading a few Camino related books, some on-line research and a couple of training walks we felt we were ready.<br />
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<p>... and so we went.<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com664220 Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France43.163141 -1.23811000000000643.116808000000006 -1.318791000000006 43.209474 -1.157429000000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7207955464228714123.post-68965245773615106862014-06-19T12:17:00.000+02:002014-06-19T12:17:00.416+02:00Idrija Lace Festival 2014<p>It is time again for the lace makers to take over the streets of <b>Idrija</b>, <a href="http://www.travel-pb.com/search/label/Slovenia">Slovenia</a>. This weekend (20.06. - 22.06.2014) the annual <b>Lace Festival</b> will take place again.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzuF_ithFgCtmauTMr8IKkGTUcr9tz3AIz11sn_C8YuQ4BoFbaALzeZWqmvurfc3CuY__xdyURJszJJcZlqi1ps4jfsw2cmZWJn0Uabb44tZ2hHeypn27kMeopdGwGdt_PXDSI1E0ilA/s555/Idrija-Lace-Heart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzuF_ithFgCtmauTMr8IKkGTUcr9tz3AIz11sn_C8YuQ4BoFbaALzeZWqmvurfc3CuY__xdyURJszJJcZlqi1ps4jfsw2cmZWJn0Uabb44tZ2hHeypn27kMeopdGwGdt_PXDSI1E0ilA/s555/Idrija-Lace-Heart.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>If you have the chance you should definitely take a trip to this charming old Slovenian town. The weekend will be full of events and the thread used for lace making will be carefully intertwined with rich technical heritage mostly related to half of a millennium of <b>mercury mining</b> and many <b>local culinary delights</b>.<br />
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<p>If that is still not enough to get your attention, you can also enjoy relaxing walks in <b>nature</b> just a stone-throw away from the city.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWCfU_j_kWHjv99sGCN_D3yQftrclx52kJv855vv84bLvWLqLbIDwiUwdzdfjaTH8IjPiltEH7Elk7qZZSc7xMR8XdvC8mEZvqwVEdx1TR6g2y3dCySRrdWIc0yd3Gzr8UliWzSiDZRJI/s1600/Josephs-mining-shaft-Idrija.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWCfU_j_kWHjv99sGCN_D3yQftrclx52kJv855vv84bLvWLqLbIDwiUwdzdfjaTH8IjPiltEH7Elk7qZZSc7xMR8XdvC8mEZvqwVEdx1TR6g2y3dCySRrdWIc0yd3Gzr8UliWzSiDZRJI/s555/Josephs-mining-shaft-Idrija.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<p>If you are into history, a visit to the Anthony’s mining shaft (a definite highlight) and the town's museum within the Gewerkenegg castle are a must.<br />
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<p>You should check out the official web page for the full programme of the <a href="http://festivalidrijskecipke.si/en/kategorija/15/programme-2014/">2014 Idrija Lace Festival</a>.<br />
</p><br />
<p><iframe width="555" height="312" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3eG-8Ea22Uo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
</p><br />
<p>Choose Idrija as a destination for this weekend's trip and have a great time! After the weekend is over, you will definitely want to visit the area again and again...<br />
</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This was posted as a part of <A HREF="http://www.travel-pb.com/">Travel Photo Blogging</A>.
© Copyright 2007-2014, www.travel-pb.com</div>Travel-PBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13263007493549214518noreply@blogger.com05280 Idrija, Slovenia46.002945399999987 14.02784589999998845.95882739999999 13.947164899999988 46.047063399999985 14.108526899999989