More training and a few distractions.

New Farm sunrise

City skyline.

More training and a few distractions!

In the last week we have had family arrive from the UK bringing our grandson of 6 months for his first Aussie visit, AND a new grandchild born in Brisbane, so rather too much excitement for long walks.
However, we have still managed 7 good training mornings since the last blog.
       In the early morning light  hot air balloonists look down on 2 'older' backpackers in boots,  sharing the paths and river with bike riders, commuter bikers (going too fast and too near us on shared paths) runners, dog runners and walkers, boot campers, walking and jogging pram pushers, yoga posers, rowers, paddlers, dragon boaters, meditaters,  boxercisers, outdoor gym workouters, spin classes in the park, skaters, bladers, scooters, kick bikers, or those just enjoying the Storey Bridge climb as the sun rises.

The city reach.

Morning light New Farm

 








 

 

Storey Bridge.

Our new Kurilpa Bridge.

Thoughts have turned to packing and walking needs; we have enough goodies to set up our own Kathmandu franchise (it's their 'permanent' sale that entices us in to buy that last little towel,  boot liner or head torch)! Now for packing decisions.............


 

city cat.

Our pilgrim passports have arrived from the Confraternity of St James in London, so we are ready for our first sellos (stamps), collected at cathedrals, churches and albergues along the way. Without a passport, we would not be admitted to an albergue, nor would we qualify for a pilgrim Credencial in Santiago de Compostela. A few other travel details completed: Easyjet from Bilbao back to Stansted booked, ditto accommodation in Bilbao.





In case you haven't realized, the 3 big elements for the modern day pilgrim are WALKING, SLEEPING and EATING! The first two are taken care of, so now a little on food!
    I've been having a bit of fun researching food and specialties along the route.....my excuse is that it is helping my Spanish!
Is it coincidental that Spanish tapas bars are popping up all over Brisbane at the moment? It really is the flavour of the month! 
    SPANISH CHEESES.
Creamy Curds are very common in farm kitchens all over Spain.
Queso Fresco is delicious with honey or served with Pimenton de la Vera, olive oil and oregano for savoury flavours. 
Manchego is a hard sheep's milk cheese.
Torta del Casar is a delicious, oozing soft cheese made from Merino milk. It is made in Extramadura and its supply is limited, but it comes highly recommended!
Zamorana is a special sheep's cheese made in Zamora. Its rind is made by regular dipping in E.V.O.O.

SPANISH HAM.
Spain probably produces the best air-dried ham in the world.
Jamon Iberico. Made from the black-hoofed Iberian pig, reared in Extramadura, and a descendant of the Mediterranean wild boar. It is graded according to amount of bellota (acorns) in their diet. They are often seen in the dehesa (wooded pastures) in November and December, searching for acorns.  
Jamon Serrano. Made from the modern breed of white pig. The best pigs come from the mountains, hence the name.

PIMENTON de la VERA.
Pimenton is the Spanish word for paprika, which came originally from Mexico as a gift to the King and Queen of Spain.       
The monasteries in Extramadura were given the responsibility to grow the peppers with the monks at Yuste in the La Vera valley producing the best paprika.
Dotted around the fields of peppers are the two-storey smoke houses. Peppers hang from the rafters and are smoked by the holm oak fires from the fires below.
The smoked paprika is commonly used in chorizo, and the powder spice is a must for Spanish cooking. Three types are used: dulce (sweet and mild), agridulce (bittersweet and medium hot) and picante (hot). 

READY TO WALK.

When we discovered 2010 was a Holy Year (any year when St James' Day falls on a Sunday), we were quite pleased to be planning our walk on one of the less busy routes as numbers swell in Holy Years and accommodation can become very crowded.

We then applied for our Pilgrim Passport through CSJ in London, so we will be ready for our first pilgrim stamp (sello) in Seville. All albergues have their own stamp, as do many of the smaller shops and hostals in villages along the way. As for our last pilgrimage, we will show our multi-stamped pilgrim passport at the cathedral office on arrival in Santiago, so that we can be presented with our official Compostela certificate before we attend the Pilgrim Mass in the cathedral. This year we are hoping to witness the swinging of the huge botafumeiro (incense burner weighing 80 kgs and requiring 8 men to hold the pulleys), which is more likely in a Holy Year. In Ferdinand and Isabella's time, it is said to have come loose from its ropes and 'fair flung out of the window!

During a Holy Year there is a special entrance into the Cathedral, which is then closed again at the end of the year.

What are our aids to keep us on the right track?

We have 2 very good guide books.....one by Alison Raju and one by Ben Cole and Bethan Davis. One seems to complement the other with daily maps, gradients and points of interest, so I presume we will carry one each.

The way is marked with fairly regular yellow arrows and the old Roman Milarios (stone markers) are still in evidence intermittently. We are in the process of photocopying, marking and laminating relevant sections of maps which we will also take with us.

Added to this, locals are generally very supportive and helpful to pilgrims, as are fellow walkers. One of the biggest problems is roadworks which tend to block or remove established markers and in some cases, pilgrims are often sent on big detours especially for major works such as autopistas (motorways).

Now a little word about the blog before we start. I tried out 3 different blog sites, and after many hours of trial and error (especially uploading photos), this one seemed the most user friendly and also allows uploads from mobile phones as and when there are free wifi hotspots. Now I know it all works, we will be ready to do our first of many blogs on the route.

BUEN CAMINO.

VIA DE LA PLATA

It is now mid March and we have started to prepare for our long walk along the VDLP at the beginning of May, a total distance of 1000k's.
This means regular walks carrying backpacks with some weight.
This week we have walked 8.42k's, 12.68k's, 19.83k's and yesterday 25.04k's.


WHY the VDLP?
It is 7 years since we walked the medieval pilgrim route from Le Puy in France to Santiago to Compostela in Spain and feel ready for our next challenge which we can combine with a visit to the historic cities of Granada, Cordoba and Seville.

WHEN By starting in early May we hope to finish the southern part before the hot summer weather is upon us and to arrive in Santiago de Compostela before the huge crowds descend at the end of July for Holy Year 2010.

WHERE We start walking from Seville and walk through Andalucia, Extramadura, the Meseta (often hot and lacking shelter) and then follow on through Galicia (often wet and cold) to reach Santiago by the end of June.

HOW We will average up to 24k's of walking per day and plan to stay in refugios (albergues) along the route. Our backpacks will carry all we need for the 8 weeks including a compact sleeping bag and bed roll for basic accommodation where there is only 'roof and floor'.
In some villages and towns we will choose small hostels, and occasional monasteries. In some of the bigger cities like Salamanca, we have pre-booked hotels so that we can refresh, explore city sights, enjoy local food and have time to meet the locals and practice our Spanish!

WHO will we meet along the route? This route is usually much quieter and more remote than the Camino Frances, but we expect lots of fellow pilgrims to be joining us this Holy Year (Walking in a Holy Year is very significant for the Spanish people and other Roman Catholics).
There is also plenty of opportunities to mix with the locals, probably more so in the smaller villages and rural communities.
Sometimes refugios are locked on arrival and so starts an often challenging hunt for the key, often with the local Mayor, but sometimes with the senora at the grocery shop (tienda de ultramarinos) which in itself can be tucked away behind someone's house.
We would also have opportunities to attend special pilgrim services and evening vespers in cathedrals and monasteries along the way, so meeting priests and monks attached to these communities.

WHAT are some of the highlights we can expect to see and do along the route?

• The Alhambra in Granada.
• The beautiful candy-striped Mesquita in Cordoba.
• The annual festival Los Patios Cordobeses begins while we are in Cordoba, so we hope to visit some of these beautiful private courtyards usually not open to the public.
• The Cathedral in Seville and the famous Giralda Tower.
  
• Roman bridges, ruins and roads.
• Roman thermal baths.
• A village which is the sausage and ham capital of Spain.
• A village which has been famous for its artisan breads for 700 years.
• A walled town which has a annual festival where women 'run with the cows' within the city walls.
• Spend a night or two with monks (one of the monasteries also looks after disabled and homeless men).
• Enjoy local sherry and tapas.
• Walk through areas of grazing pigs and plentiful vineyards.
• Walk along droving roads.
• See masses of spring flowers.
• Festivals where local dress up and are allowed to hit onlookers with sticks!
• Another village known as the cheese capital of spain.....its specialty is a very runny sheeps cheese.
• Possibility of seeing or hearing hunters of wild fox, boar or wolves.
• Villages where the townspeople serenade the bride, groom and the best man on the eve of their wedding.
• Villages with medieval humpback bridges, and famous for chestnut wood carvings.
• Villages where you will see the elderly scurrying past in their robes, heading for therapy in the thermal baths.
• A small city which has 7 city walls!
• Lots of dovecotes (palomares). Pigeons have been used for centuries to provide fertilizer and food.
• Underground wine cellars (bodegas) carved out of the mud.
• Villages with wooden carts and adobe brick houses.
• Albergues in mayoral offices where the washing is hung out on the balcony of the Town Hall next to the flags.
• Tiny churches built by Templar Knights.
• Small villages with people living on the top floor of their simple dwellings and the livestock underneath.
• Raised granaries (horreos) used for centuries for storing grain and keeping out the rats and mice.
• A small village with the best bagpipe band in Galicia.
• A monastery open to pilgrims, where the monks boast that they have bears for neighbours, and their specialty is cream cheese and hot chocolate.
• Old communal lavaderos (outdoor washing facilities in a village) which pilgrims can use.
• We plan to finish our walk at Cape Finisterre and enjoy the sunset with seafood at one of the famous open air sardine grills on the harbour.
  

ROUTEBURN TRACK

Just finished Routeburn

Back on Milford!

After leaving beautiful Milford Sound (right), some of us continued along the RT route in brilliant sunshine,
This walk links Fiordland with Mount Aspiring National Park, providing amazing alpine views along this 38k stretch of New Zealand wilderness. Highlights for us included spotting edelweiss on Conical Peak, vistas stretching out to the Tasman Sea, and an incredible sunset at Lake McKenzie lodge.