Thursday, June 13, 2013

Santa Irene

June 13 Santa Irene

We bid George a fair well this morning at the conclusion of breakfast. We were unable to book him a place in this most charming Alberque in Santa Irene. The Camino is very crowded with pilgrims walking the French way. We have heard from several pilgrims the albergues were full when they arrived; and, they had to walk on many more kilometers. Joan called all the suggested places and they were full. When we next see George at 1800 tomorrow for dinner, he will have a grand story to tell. You can only book ahead in the private albergues. The municipal albergues are first come first served. George was off early to ensure a bed. We dragged our feet because we had only 17k to Santa Irene which is a beautiful private albergue that we visited two years ago. You cannot arrive too early because they have to be thoroughly cleaned. The entire trip we have been up early and going fast and far. It is difficult to slow down. Lots of pilgrims on the road from all over the world. We met a young woman from Thailand who was born in Saudi Arabia and is studying in Ohio. We arrived at Santa Irene too early of course. We went into the garden and had a small lunch. This is a private albergue. It is 13€ a night and 10€ for dinner. It comes with sheets on the bed and towels for your shower. This is a stop you should not miss; but, be sure you call ahead!!! 981 511 000

Just a small portion for George.

I will always remember our many coffee stops. Thank you so much George for helping us complete this grand adventure. You will remain indelibly in our thoughts. Cheers, Joan and Stu

Where we stayed in Arzua.

Waiting to start. We don't want to arrive too early in Santa Irene.

Hey, we started in rain.

Pilgrims Alberque Arzua

Reflection on times past.

Alone with your thoughts.

Rained early now the sun has come out.

Art

We are part of the crowd.

A diet coke of course.

Cravings

Our beds

Living room where we are writing this page

 

Stu uses MotionX-GPS on the iPhone and is sharing with you the following track:

Almost Done!!!!!


Name:Santa Irene
Date:Jun 13, 2013 7:56 am
Map:
(valid until Dec 10, 2013)
View on Map
Distance:16.6 kilometers
Elapsed Time:3:58:04
Avg Speed:4.2 km/h
Max Speed:5.8 km/h
Avg Pace:14' 18" per km
Min Altitude:304 m
Max Altitude:415 m
Start Time:2013-06-13T05:56:06Z
Start Location:
Latitude:42º 55' 41" N
Longitude:8º 09' 30" W
End Location:
Latitude:42º 55' 01" N
Longitude:8º 19' 56" W

 

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Arzua

June 12. Arzua.

The northern way approaches Arzua with uphill and downhill slopes. We travel through woods and besides farmland. We pass by three churches. The last church in Sendelle is a big surprise . It is a roman church built in 1200. The nave has pictures painted from the 18 th century. We stopped there and were given a tour. Just a beautiful church with beautiful paintings. After 22k we arrived at Arzua the ending point of the Camino Norte. This is where the Northern way merges with the French way. This is where the relative solitude of the country meets the city. It is said that the northern way may have 50 pilgrims to the 500 on the French Way. We checked into Albergue Turistico Santiago Apostol. They have dorm rooms for 10 and a 3 bed room for 12€ each. We got a lovely room but it smelled like dead mice. I asked for another room which we got. Still dead mice smell a little less with windows and doors open. As we share laughter, wine, salami, cheese, fresh wheat bread, cherries and chocolate cakes we realize that in two days we will meet again for our last shared evening meal. This saddens us. Why? We three agree you have to de daft to walk the Norte. The why will never be answered.

 

.

Morning sun

Beautiful day to end with.

The Camino Norte mostly roads. .

The church in Sendelle.

Stu uses MotionX-GPS on the iPhone and is sharing with you the following track:

Name:Arzua End of Norte
Date:Jun 12, 2013 6:53 am
Map:
(valid until Dec 9, 2013)
View on Map
Distance:22.0 kilometers
Elapsed Time:4:58:55
Avg Speed:4.4 km/h
Max Speed:5.3 km/h
Avg Pace:13' 35" per km
Min Altitude:316 m
Max Altitude:571 m
Start Time:2013-06-12T04:53:26Z
Start Location:
Latitude:43º 02' 25" N
Longitude:8º 01' 25" W
End Location:
Latitude:42º 55' 45" N
Longitude:8º 09' 20" W

 

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Sobrado

June 11. Sobrado


We had a lovely breakfast at our albergue of toast and coffee. The breakfast started at 0630 which is early for an albergue but great for us. In Galicia you are suppose to be out the door by 0800. The hostileras have to clean the kitchen and bathrooms and the dorms. In this lovely place they had a bottom sheet and a pillow case on the beds as well as a warm blanket. So the hostileras have to do all the laundry for 24 beds. The other albergues in Galicia give you a paper gauze sheet and pillow case. We had 2 wonderful women one from LA in California and one from Devin in England The kitchen does not close until 2330. That makes for a long day, specially when working with pilgrims who can't find anything unless a yellow arrow is pointing at it. We started our walk and were surprised to leave the gorgeous green fields and start walking over Heath or scrub land. This barren land reminded us of the camino plata. Our first stop was a small bar in Roxica. We reentered an area of green fields and forests.
After a long stretch in which unrefined nature borders the way an enormous artificial lake appears in sight. This lake was made in the 1500's by the monks at the monastery. It was to bring water to the monetary as well as irrigate and for fish. Today it is a major ecological refuge. Dragon flies, frogs, ducks and otters live here. It is surrounded by willows, alders, birch and ash trees.
The walk was only 25 k but certainly seemed longer. We finally arrived in Sobrado. We decided to stay in a hotel rather then the Monastery.

Leaving Miraz's Alberque.

Monestary Sobrado

Monestary Sobrado

Sobrado lake

Sobrado lake

Sobrado square

Soaking feet.

The Camino.

The Camino.


Ancient wall.

Helping George.

Stu uses MotionX-GPS on the iPhone and is sharing with you the following track:

Name:Sobrado
Date:Jun 11, 2013 6:59 am
Map:
(valid until Dec 8, 2013)
View on Map
Distance:25.4 kilometers
Elapsed Time:5:52:37
Avg Speed:4.3 km/h
Max Speed:6.0 km/h
Avg Pace:13' 53" per km
Min Altitude:456 m
Max Altitude:717 m
Start Time:2013-06-11T04:59:54Z
Start Location:
Latitude:43º 06' 49" N
Longitude:7º 50' 24" W
End Location:
Latitude:43º 02' 26" N
Longitude:8º 01' 20" W

 

Monday, June 10, 2013

Miraz

June 10. Miraz

We started early before 0600 because we had a long way about 33k to get to Miraz. There is an albergue there sponsored by the English conforternity. George had been a member for several years and wanted to look it over. He had fantasies of tea on the porch in the afternoon. We crossed two bridges and walked through woods of maple and pine and eucalyptus. We walked on country roads passing a house or two. Places to small to be called hamlets. We stopped at Baamonde for coffee and groceries. We were warned that between Baamonde and Miraz there are no grocery stores. If we wanted to have dinner we needed to carry food. Shortly after leaving Baamonde we thought we saw something moving towards us in the pedestrian lane. We could not believe what we saw. It was like a small covered wagon being pulled not by horses but by a tractor engine. An elderly Swiss couple had driven it fom France to Santiago then to Finisterre and now back to Switzerland. He told us he had bad feet; but, he wanted to make the pilgrimage. This certainly gave us renewed faith and a little bit more energy. We stopped about 6k from Miraz for coffee and a sandwich. We then soldiered on until we reached the alberque. Along the way we met a man delivering bread so we bought a loaf We arrived about 1300 and learned that the albergue did not open until 1600. We were too tired to walk on, so we went to the only bar in town for a beer. The hostileras were kind enough to open early about 1530 so we got our bunks, showered and were first in the kitchen. George made a delicious pasta and Stu and Joan made a cabbage salad. We had bread salami and olives too. All this was carried the last 12k. We had enough to feed three additional pilgrims.
We have 4 days of walking left. Each shorter than 25K. Tomorrow our last hill.

 

Bread man.

The Camino.

Side of covered wagon.

Swiss pilgrims.

The Camino.

Table set for breakfast.

Thank you hostileras

Stu uses MotionX-GPS on the iPhone and is sharing with you the following track:

Name:Miraz
Date:Jun 10, 2013 5:52 am
Map:
(valid until Dec 8, 2013)
View on Map
Distance:32.5 kilometers
Elapsed Time:7:40:11
Avg Speed:4.2 km/h
Max Speed:5.7 km/h
Avg Pace:14' 09" per km
Min Altitude:393 m
Max Altitude:532 m
Start Time:2013-06-10T03:52:48Z
Start Location:
Latitude:43º 17' 59" N
Longitude:7º 40' 43" W
End Location:
Latitude:43º 06' 50" N
Longitude:7º 50' 24" W

 

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Villalba

June 9 Villalba

We left the albergue and entered into a misty world. The albergue last night was quite comfortable. The beds were devided up into 4 bunks in a row 2 on each side. This made it much quieter. There of course is a symphony of snoring from soft purring to base drums. One gets use to it. If you go in with the expectation of rest not sleep you will survive, especially if you can get a private room now and again. Our walk today was quite short. Our choice was walk 40k or 20k. 20k won out. It was a pleasant walk although there was a lack of coffee stops. Today is Sunday so most places are closed. We walked through lots of small and large farms. Lots of cows and crops and many individual vegetable gardens. The whole way was flat land. This is one of the few plains in Galicia. We arrived in Villalba We got our rooms in a small pension called Casa Seco. A double was 40€ and a single was 25€. There are a number of hotels and pensions in town even a parador with a very impressive tower. The parador only costs 65€ for a double.

Leaving the Alberque

Church along the way.

Who is stare at whom.

Cometary.

Mostly N-634 with this offshot.

Productive gardens.

What once was....

Part of the Parador..

Church in Villalba.

 

Stu uses MotionX-GPS on the iPhone and is sharing with you the following track:

Name:Villalba
Date:Jun 9, 2013 6:31 am
Map:
(valid until Dec 6, 2013)
View on Map
Distance:19.7 kilometers
Elapsed Time:4:51:23
Avg Speed:4.1 km/h
Max Speed:8.5 km/h
Avg Pace:14' 48" per km
Min Altitude:429 m
Max Altitude:534 m
Start Time:2013-06-09T04:31:05Z
Start Location:
Latitude:43º 22' 04" N
Longitude:7º 28' 06" W
End Location:
Latitude:43º 18' 03" N
Longitude:7º 40' 43" W