Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Things Spanish from the VDLP.
1. The Bars. In villages,outdoor chairs, tables and brollies usually advertise the local brew, Estrella, Mahou, Cruzcampo to name a few. Occasionally the brollies advertise coke or fanta.
2. The Buses. Even if you are not using them, it is impossible not to notice their transit through small towns and villages and a lifeline for many........is it ALSA, MONBUS, VESQUES or PESA?
3.Allotments. Most country people grow their own fruit and vegetables, and we see them all at work as we walk by, especially memorable in Banos de Montemayor, where Chris and I watched mesmerised while one elderly chap channelled water through his vege patch via a series of little dams.
4. Long Life Milk. There are plenty of cows to produce milk but we didn´t see fresh milk sold in supermercados.
5.Oficina de Turismo. The pilgrim´s best friend in any town! How many times each day did they produce a mapa and circle the must see monuments. And how often did they ask ¨and what country are you from¨?
6.The supermercados.....well stocked. DIA, FROIZ, EROSKI and CARREFOUR. Very well stocked and service generally good, but elderly ladies slowed up the deli counter as they took their time to decide on quesos and carnes.
7. Wind power.
8.REPSOL and other fuel suppliers. These sometimes held the albergue key if nearby, always gave directions and in isolated spots near motorway crossovers, provided a much needed coffee.
9. TVs Blaring in every bar. Some bars had three sets, so no excuse to miss the soccer.
10.Big Bins in streets....shared by householders.
11.Cafe con leche grande for thirsty pilgrims!
12.Lots of sockets for recharging. In one albergue, an ingenious pilgrim pulled out the plug to the hand drier and left his phone on the drier all night.
13.Free wifi in many cafes and restaurants and in some casas. In future, pilgrims will use this facility as more guide books go online.
14. Women wearing the checked pinafore.....to run their casas, to clean, to cook and to garden.
15.Vines in many gardens.
16.Ourense took first prize for the best Estacion de Autobuses.
17.Big Cities. Paseos and ladies who lunch looking ever so smart, ditto babies in smart prams.
18.Isolated communities and basic farming methods. Cows and goats hered into ground floor of houses overnight, right in the middle of a village.
19. Favourite pilgrim picnic. At Oseira Monastery. Sitting outside the albegue after evening vespers with the monks. Sun still shining at 9pm as we enjoy fresh pan with queso and membrillo (quince paste).
20. Favourite conversation with a local tending his fruit and vegetables. It was a conversation about his walnut and quince trees and he was hoping for a good crop this year.
21.Favourite SOUNDS. Cow and goat bells. Ave Maria at dusk at Oseira Monastery church bells. Chanting at vespers Oseira. Seagulls at Finisterre. Very gentle chanting at Santiago as botofumeiro is starting to swing.
Frogs croaking loudly. Water falling.
22. Favourite SIGHTS. Roman Aqueduct at dawn...Merida. Salamanca Plaza Mayor. Ventas near Campobecerras (high on ridge), abundant wildflowers especially lavender and poppies, early morning light, sunrise at Finisterre, sunset at Muxia at the little church on the granite headland.
23. Favourite SMELLS. Wild mint, thyme and lavender, cistus bushes, food smells especially pan y pescada, cut hay, the sea, the sardine grill at Finisterre.
Santiago de Compostella
However you view it Santiago will always be a challenge. It is of course
a marvellous, bustling and attractive city blessed with so many significant
architectural treasures. But it is also the end point of the various 'caminos'.
These are by definition pilgrim routes that require planning, perseverance and
above all strong feet! So it is a challenge to get here and then after days or weeks
on the road alone or in limited company out in the country, it is a challenge to retain focus amidst the crowds of sightseers, tourists, locals and fellow
pilgrims, who, now freed from the routine discipline of the road, are keen to
seize the day and the night as soon as they arrive!
In the seven weeks that we have taken to make our way from Seville, we
have learned to value the cool, stillness of the early morning. Sunrise and
filtered, soft early morning sunlight have created some of our most special
memories. The ´Milagros Aqueduct` in Merida is recommended for a sunset
photo, but at sunrise with its reflection among the reeds of the Rio Albarregas it is simply spellbinding. So it was that we began each of our final days from
Orense to Santiago in predawn darkness. We had the best of walking conditions,
albeit sometimes along the road, the delight of early morning birdsong, in which
the chaffinches stood out, the clarity of the various shades of green from the
oaks, birches, bracken and brambles, all set off against the purple foxgloves and
remaining yellow daisies. These last 110 kms in four days still meant time on the
´road`, for no day ends until you get there, however much you long for the early
mark! Even with an early start the heat is already building before your seven
hours walking are done; so when new road building upsets the camino markers,
you need all the memories of the early morning to support you through those
extra unexpected, if not infuriating, kms of a detour. Santiago is never an easy
place to reach on foot.
The first challenge is to arrive, to complete your journey; the second is to
adapt to the throng of others more or less dusty, limping more or limping less,
but all keen to seek a 'compostella' and to celebrate. In a flash a personal journey
becomes a public one. The change is so sudden that you can feel lost and time on
the road seems to have been more meaningful that the arrival. Our night at
Oseira with a monastery tour and the opportunity to attend vespers with twelve
of the remaining fourteen monks made an impression more lasting than our
feelings on reaching the Plaza del Obradoiro and gazing on the Portico de la
Gloria amidst the tour groups, the traders, the travellers and the exhausted. At
that moment it was a challenge not to see Santiago as just another tourist
destination and a very popular one. That was until a pilgrim mass that
culminated in the swinging of the ´Botafumeiro´, courtesy of pilgrims from
Santander, perfumed the world and clarified our thoughts and in doing so
reconfirmed the city of St James as the goal and focus of our journey along the
Via de la Plata and the Camino Sanabrese.
Hospitaleras, Heather & Hydrangeas, Hamlets and Horreós
Hospitaleras, Heather and Hydrangeas, Hamlets and Horreós
Galicia is different. It is green and rocky; it is incised valleys and upland meadows; it is historical and hospitable; it is fishing ports and sandy beaches; it is the end of all 'caminos' as it holds the shrine of Saint James. With its oaks and chestnuts, muddy lanes and windswept moorland, trickling streams and flowing rivers, lush gardens and barren hillsides Galicia presents many faces to the traveller, and to the weary and footsore they are all refreshing faces. Among these it is the 'Hospitaleras', the heather and hydrangeas, the hamlets and the 'horreós' that stand out most clearly.
The 'albergues' of the ´Camino Sanabrese' were clean and modern. Some were glass walled, several had complex electronic lighting systems and one had an almost unfathomable automatic electric cooker. Often they were popular and full as they lay at the end of recognised stages, but always there was a 'hospitalera' ready to record details. Then for a princely 5 euros she would issue a disposable sheet and pillowcase that ensured the modern mattresses were respected and of course clean. These were cheerful ladies happy to contribute advice and local directions but determined also to fulfil a sometimes thankless task when late arrivals became extra demanding. They are certainly a significant part of the 'camino' in Galicia.
Between the mountain pass of 'A Canda' and the wooden crosses above Portocambo and on Monte Talariño, crosses set up to mark the route travelled by Galician reapers on their way to work the cornfields of Castille, wild flowers made way for heather. Here were puddles of pinkish purple where exposed rocks left little shelter, taller stems of deeper purple where conditions supported growth and finally straggly stands of blown flowers where better soil had favoured early blossoms, now bleached and dried by sun and wind. In all they offered colour enough to ease even the harsher moments and brighten the long ridge walk betweeen the 'Ventas' of the 'Sierra Seca' that marks the route between A Gudiña and Campocerros de Santiago. When further on the 'camino' moved into lower ground, wild hydrangeas appeared. First they were white, then blue and finally nearer the coast more luxuriant purples and pinks arrived. Their bright banks of colour decorated walls and paths and then reappeared in gardens. Where spindly heather had battled to survive and in doing so had offered a background 'colour wash', these leafy hydrangeas simply stole the scene by splashing their colours freely to create another face of Galicia.
If the 'Ventas' of the 'Sierra Seca' were now abandoned by all by the most hardy of their elderly residents, the villages and hamlets in other parts still add life and colour to the 'camino'. These are places largely untouched by modern road building and where the concrete main street still threads its narrow way between what were once finely dressed stone walls, outside stone steps and timber balconies, all now reflecting the crumbling dated elegance of former years. But they are still places to sit and watch the residents at work, at home, in the street or in their nearby vegetable patch; here the cows and sheep still amble past, for the street is the focus of village life. These are then communities built close together for shelter from both heat and chill, where stone and tile reflect techniques now disappearing as technology and convenience demand more modern solutions. But here at least the traditions of of the countryside can still be seen and this most obviously in the preference for 'horreós' to store the winter maize.These are tiled, stone framed sheds set up on overhanging stone feet to deny access to foraging rats and mice. Decked appropriately with a cross at one end of the roof, some had slatted wooden sides, others gapped stone sides; some were short, some longer, some single tiered and a few double storied. They come as singles, in pairs and occasionally in clusters of three or more. Like the 'Hospitaleras', the heather and hydrangeas, and the hamlets, the 'horreós' belong to Galicia and remain a splendid icon of rural life.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The Meseta, Cordillera Cantabrica and into Galicia!
Some days have been very demanding as we climbed up and over mountain passes, but so worthwhile to be ´on top of the world´!!!
WHERE WE STAYED.
It coincided with some outstanding stays in albergue turisticos and Casa Rurales, with warm friendly families running these establishments and extending their warmth and concern to tired pilgrims!
The public albergues at A Gudina,Laza, Vilar de Barrio and A Laxe are absolutely outstanding, with modern facilities, welcoming hostitaleros handing out smiles with bags of disposable mattress covers and pillowcases to all arriving peregrinos and then staying on to hand out advice and extra blankets for those travelling too light!. Walls of glass meant sunshine inside until 9pm which was very pleasant after other nights in slightly musty unkept rooms!
In Laza the hob top was so high tech that it was a challenge to heat some milk for our night cap......press and hold for 4 secs etc, sometimes working and sometimes not! Luckily a lively German girl had worked it out so came to our rescue (mind you their problem was a pizza they had bought in the supermarket but no oven to heat it), so I suggested a flip over or two in the pan (I noticed leftovers the next morn so it can´t have been that tasty sin oven)!
Casa Anita at Santa Croya was a very welcoming family establishment with everything a pilgrim could want and need including patio courtyard to relax while the washing machine spun the ´ropas' clean and dry, internet with mike for skype, drink and food machines and lots of VDLP memorabilia AND chatter.
Casa Teresa at Palacios de Sanabria was another good choice which we shared with 4 females travelling together and a Spanish bike pilgrim arriving late. This was a somewhat quirky place run by kind and homely Teresa, who fed us well, but also needed to attend to big drips on the unfinished patio (balustrade not attached) and dripping radiator in our room (buckets of varying sizes were useful!!! It had been raining heavily that day and despite leaking roof, we still managed to dry clothes and have a warm night with Teresa! It was mnetioned in one of the guides as a hotel in a previous life, but the huge marble slab and old scales and cold room downstairs suggested a butcher´s shop, so maybe the ´Cow and Goat´!
Whatever, Teresa arrived back at 9pm with a hot drink for C and I and then at 7am the following morning with our breakfast, somehow appearing from next to the cold room. We were asked to deposit the key in a little gap in the bricks and wedge a stone in behind it as we left, so I am guessing it was left ready for the next lucky pilgrim.
Our next wonderful Casa experience was Casa Luz in Puebla de Sanabria. This was run by a husband, wife and daughter, but it was the husband who welcomed us and delighted to show me the bathroom for senoras which was an amazing almost luxury bathroom with cane chair and spacious! We shared a bunk room with lots of others by the time all the stragglers (bike riders) arrived by about 8pm coming in through the back yard and the vegetable patch. It was all so well equipped with new modern showers and loos for the gents and large boot and bike racks, washing machine and drier and outdoor seating under cover by drink and food machines. The kitchen was well equipped to cook a decent meal if you wished (the bikers cooked up a storm and drank late into the night so noisy kitchen and then snorers slightly took the edge of such a great albergue!
Casa Cervino at Requejo is next on the list......another really spacious and clean private albergue ran by an extremely kind young couple.....again really well equipped with towels and foot massage cream given to us on arrival! There was food for sale behind the bar and we were just asked to leave the approp`riate money if we needed supplies. A drink vending machine gave us a very acceptable can of vino tinto to enjoy outside in the sun at 830pm with some of our cheese and meat nibbles. A washing machine was available and a library of camino related literature for those half bored moments before bedtime knowing that your pack doesn´t have your latest novel!
At Lubian we stayed at Casa Pachaca and can´t recommend this highly enough! it is a truly wonderful house full of family memorabilia and owned and run by a very special lady, who accompanied us to Mass at the little hermita church 2 ks out of the village in the woods. After the service, she identified some wildflowers for us (including cuckoo´s shoes) and then took us for a round trip to show us some of the better camino options for us the following day. Some people are so kind and really add so many extra shared experiences for us. We ate well at Pachaca and yes ther was a bath for sore aching feet after a day of climbing up and over!
The last one comes highly commended as well and this is Casa Nunez at Campobecerros, but a word of warning for those planning this route, do ring and book this one as there are only 4 rooms and all have en suite (several people arrived after us and were disappointed). This is another family establishment and is attached to a bar. On arrival Granny (babysitting an infant and toddler) mad us the largest cafe con leche yet and plonked us down on chairs as the rooms weren´t ready! Soon several couples were waiting and nothing seemed to be happening, but as there was work to be done and children to be looked after, things happened slowly. It was quite hilarious as men arrived for drinks at the bar, dodging bikes and prams and Granny all the time talking in a very loud voice and no-one seemingly listening to her!
Eventually our room was ready, and surprisingly very nice, with balcony and wonderful mountain views (out the back entrance form the bar patio, which was the smoking area, so bar was clean air for the littlies which I approved of!
The next wait was for lunch. Granny escorted in two at a time for delicious family roast dinner, with kid´s mum as waitress AND bar person ,so Gran could have lunch with the men at the next table.
Later that evening we returned to the bar with Gran on duty again.....barmaid, granny and Crochet in between, so busy abuela!
Gents came and went, football world cup in South Africa was enjoyed between card games and they all showed community fondness to the two tiny children who were up all evening.
One last special mention was our night with the Cistercian monks at Oseira. The Tourist Office in Ourense tried to convey less than basic conditions in the monastery albergue, but we were still keen on the overall experience, so a decision was made.
Yes, the albergue was damp, musty and not very clean, with toilets not funcioning, but we were warned!
The plus side was the welcome we received from a very friendly girl in the monastery shop, who escorted us to hot showers at 330pm, took us on an amazing guided tour of the monastery and then allowed us to accompany the resident monks at Vespers in their upper chapel. This was followed by a very friendly monk ushering us out after the service and giving us each one of his little paintings as a gift ......a truly memorable experience.
THE LANDSCAPE.
At first windfarms were a novelty on distant hills, then came magical views of distant Galician mountains as we climbed higher and higher over mountain passes and saddles.
At first we passed by many ruins of adobe houses and of lives no longer tenable in some of these inhospitable areas of cantabria and Galicia.
Huge dams (embalses)provided plentiful water supplies to these areas,and which we seemed to skirt around for hours along tracks full of cistus, lichen covered oaks and the ubiquitous wild lavender.
Other days we enjoyed lanes of broom, holm oaks and flowering chestnuts.
One of the joys was discovering tiny hermitas almost lost along country lanes but many still used for special festivals from the nearby village. We often stopped and took shelter from the sun in their tiny porches.
Our first climb up and over the Pass was Padornello, in very good weather after heavy rain so quite lucky and views were good (despite spaghetti junctions of roads and railway passes and tunnels!
After reaching the top and enjoying a coffee break at Bar Silvo, we really enjoyed the delightful shady lanes, cobblestones, chestnuts, wildflowers, water and old stone bridges leading down to Lubian, nestled into the hillside.
The following day we climbed to A Canda with lovely stretches of broom and raised stepping stones by a stream to follow, but it was a long afternoon to A Gudina (beautiful but quite a demanding section).
Next day we were right up on top, walking along a ridge in very strong winds but at least it was dry. We passed through 3 tiny little hamlets mostly uninhabited nowadays because of their isolation, but this was nevertheless one of the most spectacular days along the route. The views amazing, the sun shining, barren and windswept but lone farmers moving their goatherds and wild strawberries along the roadside.
In these tiny villages, one or 2 people were tending their vegetables and scything weeds around their plots.
Originally, these little isolated villages had a tiny inn (venta) to welcome travellers along the route, some of whom were the itinerant farm workers (segadores or reapers) moving from job to job, others were pilgrims seeking shelter from the harsh climate.
This area had some of the 100 rail tunnels built in this area, and which gave the locals access to public transport.
THE VILLAGES.
Santa Croya....A friendly little village with one of the best butchers´shops on the camino. Very spacious park and casa Anita at end of village.
Olleros de Terra......try La Trucha for a very good coffee and friendly people.
Rio Negro....stayed in Municipal Albergue.....good and spacious. bar Palacio opposite provided very good meals for us and opened early next morning for breakfast. No longer a shop in town, but bar will sell you items such as yoghurt and milk.
Palacios has tiny shop which opens when it feels like it (notice on door said back in 5)......who knows whether it was minutes, hours or days. In fact bar next door rang for us and young mum arrived with two young children who were sent to the bar while she opened the tiny shop.
Not much else going on in P, apart from bar Mirador, where patrons follow most locals in Spain and just drop everything on the floor, whether it is sugar wrappers or peanut shells!
We sought out eateries that were inexpensive but well used by the locals, and were never disappointed. In Puebla de sanabria, Meson Remate came up trumps for late lunch and can be highly recommended. Local cafe also has free internet!
Requejo has delightful bar cum shop and is well worth a visit for the wonderful friendly people who run it and love pilgs.
Lunch at TU Casa also comes highly recommended.
Bar Peregrino at A Gudino (near Albergue) is a very good choice.
Bar Picota at Laza was a 5 star family run establishment and they did a very good lunch for pilgrims.
Alburgueria el rincon bar MUST be visited to meet the quirky patron who has 1000s of scallop shells whith pilgrim signatures.....he delighted in showing us where he had placed our shell before we left!
Vilar de Barrio... Ruta de La Plata gave us a good lunch (another very nice family).
A Laxe.....if you stay in this wonderful albergue, you must eat at Ma Jose.....another delightful family and very good food.
Our last recommendation if to stay at restaurante Rio right at the old bridge at Puente Ulla, where the baby calamares are the best yet and the lady running this place will give you a very nice clean room for the night.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Apologies for errors etc!
Just a little word about photos......all of them so far were quick snap shots taken on my phone, so wait until we post some of Chris´best shots after we finish walking. He has some stunning photos of birds etc. Watch this space!
Monday, June 7, 2010
SALAMANCA and THE PLAZA MAYOR.
The Plaza is indeed the meeting place of the city and it is not difficult to imagine former times and bullfighting arenas.Medallions on each pillar of the arcades are of important people in Spain´s history. The medallion of Franco is ,not surprisingly frequently vandalised!
What a view from the 240 private balconies on the first and second floors, on three sides of the square. We could take a peek at the sumptuous decorations behind some of these balconies after dark.
The Ayuntamiento is on the 4th side of the square and it has the most elaborate balconies, which provide a perfect location to parade after a wedding ceremony. We saw this on Friday night and it was a little like a royal occasion with hundreds of us in the square waving and cheering at the happy couple!
The night we arrived, it was the perfect venue for a Chilean Circus Troupe to entertain us to a trapeze show after dark (10pm)with live music and spectacular lighting (we were lucky enough to arrive in the middle of one of Salamanca´s many arts festivals).
At other times of the day, it is the perfect spot for people watching and a popular place for families to bring children to play at any time if the day and night.
Another day we saw a lady arrive in the Plaza with a large fishing rod with silver helium balloons attached. She cast out and pulled in her line to the delight of all onlookers and apparently had little video cameras on the balloon strings.
On our last morning a huge hot air balloon arrived in the square,so never a dull moment.
Not far away, a raucous stag party was in full swing on Saturday afternoon with the 'groom' dressed as a buxom bride and attracting buskers to provide entertainment.
Shortly afterwards a family appeared with a daughter dressed up in a long white dress, celebrating her first Communion, and a graduation group from the University were celebrating success!
Yes, it's a beautiful city boasting 2 Cathedrals and historic university buildings, and people who know how to enjoy themselves.
We sat next to a young undergrad from Burgos who has studied here for 4 years and loved every minute of it.
It is not surprising to be told there were 10,000 students here in the 16th century.....we saw graduation ceremonies happening on Friday and Saturday!
Its back to the vdlp this pm....what a complete change after the bustle of Salamanca.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
GRIMALDO, PLASENCIA, OLIVA de PLASENCIA, ARCO de CAPARRA, HERVAS
A little later on 3 Germans arrived and then Chris (chris had already met Antonio at another albergue, so it was quite a jolly evening with Adela feeding us well in the bar with her home made bean soup and meat dish)!
One of the germans (a social worker in a school for difficult boys) had a really hughe blister on his foot and was suffering. We didnt know how he could walk on with the others, so gave him bus timetables just in case. The countryside around here was just spectacular with lots of holm oaks and wild flowers.
We then hailed the bnus again and had 24 hours in Plasencia, which was a fascinating old city founded in 1178 and still retaining much of its defensive city wall. On our way into the centre of the old town from the bus station we passed the weekly market, so had to buy some luscious looking tomatoes, apricots and what looked like squashed peaches but we now know are called paraguayia (quite delicious and almost tastier than peaches).
From Plasencia we used Mr Alsa and his bus line again as we need to get to Oliva de Plasencia, but discovered that the bus stop was on a roundabout and then we had to walk 4 ks into the village. This was fine and a beautiful sleepy little place, but with a little Ayuntimiento (town hall), library, medico, farmacia, local grocery shop and 2 bars and a church with a huge mulberry tree in front, shetland ponies, cats dogs and chooks! (did you know that delicacies in these parts include deep fried rooster comb and pigs ear). We have tried and enjoyed pigs ear but rooster comb has eluded us so far.
We didnt take long to find the lovely Monica, a mum with 3 young children, who also runs the albergue turistico. She settled us in to this very attractive old converted building which was most comfortable and we had our own room with ensuite. She gave us the run of the place and said she would be back at 730pm to cook us the evening meal. She arrived with her dear little 5 year old daughter Claudia and fed us well on the soup to flan deal via pescado, which is on the regular Menu del dia for peregrinos!
At 930 4 pilgrims arrived and Monica welcomed them warmly and fed them, which we thought was very kind as she only usually does meals for people who book in advance. Anyway, they were a chatty, friendly group but almost finished all the breakfast on offer before we arrived at the table! One of them, an air traffic controller from Seville felt a little guilty so stayed on and chatted to us and helped with the washing up. They agreed to a photo shoot for the blog and the air traffic contr. actually allowed a photo of his bike shirt on the camino when he caught up with us as it was covered with John Deere Tractors!!! (I had seen the same design on ebay last year,and wanted some fabric for the grandsons to make cushions, but it sold before I could get hold of it. Likewise he said he had found the tractor shirt on ebay, so we had a laugh about that, and it made me think I will still need to hunt down the fabric for the boys!
That day we walked a 14k round trip out to the Roman Arch at Caparra, a really pretty walk down a drove road filled with spring flowers. It bordered onto a huge estate with posh iron fencing and our bike riding friend said they were breeding fighting bulls (we noticed some very fine specimens)! Further along there were several dams with terrapins, so Chris got some good photos.
The Arch is in the middle of nowhere and is very impressive as it is still in one piece, and was once part of a Roman Village (much of which is being excavated at the moment). There will be a photo on the blog to show you this impressive archway which is actually on the Via de la Plata camino route.
Yesterday we walked back to the main road early so that we could catch the bus again, this time getting off at a little village called Aldeanueva, which had a beautiful little medieval humpbacked bridge in the middle of the village and where we were given cherries by an elderly lady! After clicking a few more photos of cluttered floral balconies overhanging the cobblestones, we then moved on to Hervas before it got too hot.
Hervas is quite exquisite and has one of the very best preserved Juderias (Jewish quarters) in the whole of Spain. It is a wonderful maze of tiny narrow streets opening out onto small odd shaped squares.The houses have the curved tiles on the roof and walls are made of adobe bricks covered in these tiles. The Jews lived here quite peacefully in this tiny mountainous village until the Spanish Inquisition when Ferdi and Is expelled them all or forced them to convert to Catholicism which allowed them to stay on in the village. This only half worked as they werent often believed. The first Jews arrived here in the 15th century and we are told by locals that there are a few descendents left, but not many Jewish newcomers. We have just dined at a Sephardic Jewish restaurant and had the most delicious meal (mostly vegetarian, but that was our choice). They even have pork on the menu to please the customers (could you not in this area).
We are staying at an Albergue Turistico in the converted Railway Station. It is splendidly run by Carlos, his partner and 2 year old Martina. We are the only pilgrims here at present so he has given us the run of the place, and it even has a professional coffee machine. We fused the kitchen electrics this am just making orange juice, so I didnt even consider the coffee machine! However, Carlos had left walnuts and cherries on the table for us so plenty to eat and a bowl of strawberries arrived late morning for us. They are so kind!
There is even a laundry with use of the washing machine......but U had to ask donde esta .....and you guessed it.....on the other side of the railway tracks!!!!!
Tomorrow we are walking to Banos de Montemayor, where we are likely to see elderly people scurrying along the street in their dressing gowns, heading for the thermal baths with high mineral content and very good for respiratory and muscular ailments. I dont think we need to worry about the respiratorty side of things but we will definitely take the waters in the pm!
Then it is on to Salamanca to enjoy 3 days in this fabulous city (so everyone tells us).
More soon......
Friday, May 28, 2010
Grimaldo
I was the first to arrive at the albergue, collecting the key from the delightful Adela at bar grimaldo next door! In fact Adela IS the albergue too so gave me the guided tour of this tiny little place for pilgrims, but even equipped with washing and coffee machines!
She then made me a coffee from the bar, while I waited at outside tables in the sun. 3 germans appeared and a little while later chris walked in.
Adela fed us her delicious food and indeed her bar was really all the village had (there was a restaurant opp) but our allegiance was with our gem Adela, who also looked after village pensioners who popped in for their tipple!
Chris had already met one if the Germans who had stayed with him in alcuescar with the monks and the homeless men.
Our pm walk down the village track to the communal allotments was indeed a very pretty spot and one of my elderly mates from the bar was down at his walled allotment bt the stream with his 2 cats and a dog! We wanted to have a look in his garden but couldn't make ourselves understood as he was very deaf.
then it was back to the bar. Adele was busy again cooking dinner and delivering gas to the albergue so we had hot water for the morning. She was there again at 7 this morning to give us breakfast before we left and her day doesn't finish until 1030, so she is very committed to her pilgrims and her village.
We won't now go to galisteo, which is well known for it's equivalent of Oaks day for the ladies (cows run free within the town walls fir a day, so it's not men running with bulls, but ladies running with the cows)!!!
Today we are un plasencia for a brief visit of yet another old walled city.
Tomorrow we are back on the camino.
I will blog again in Salamanca.
