THERE´S A LONG ROAD AWINDING...

Tuesday, 4 August 2009

Day 18 - Photos

The Via Trajana - long, hot and straight

A nice shady stop at the refreshment caravan

The shepherd and his dogs waiting for the flock to gather

Eye-level view of sheep from the pavement

Day 18 - Carrión to Terradillos de Templarios - 27km

I made sure I had something to eat and drink and food and water to take with me and left before 7 ready to face the first stretch of 17.5km with no villages and unreliable water fonts (my map book said they were dry). It was nice and cool initially and I walked briskly to try and cover as much ground as possible before it became too hot. Nola had decided to stay behind and rest as her leg was too painful and Marcel, who had been taken to the doctor by a nun, had been ordered to rest up for a couple days after having his feet seen to.

The path was reasonable if a little pebbly and fairly level. There was no shade as usual, the occasional trees being separated from the path by ditches on either side. It was also quite straight as it formed part of the old paved Roman road, the Via Trajana. The heat slowly increased to the point where it felt as if it were physically hammering down on you. I don´t know what the temperature was but on days like these pilgrims who were unused to such heat suffered from heat exhaustion and sunburn. The secret, apart from a hat and sunblock cream, is to walk slowly and steadily, keep to shady bits if there are any, take frequent short breaks and drink plenty of water. I used to feel the heat, naturally, but never suffered any ill-effects from it because living in a tropical country I am accustomed to high temperatures.

I was surprised to come across a caravan serving refreshments further on, it hadn´t been indicated on my map but was certainly a very welcome sight. There were tables with shady umbrellas where I sat and had a snack, but unfortunately no loos. John the Australian also stopped there but no other familiar faces. After that break there was nowhere else to stop and it was a long long walk to Calzadilla de la Cueza, a tiny hamlet with a basic albergue and not much else. The only spot with any shade was a pavement covered in straw and droppings but I was so bushed by then and dying to get out of the sun that I just plonked myself down anyway. Shortly after a shephard passed by with his flock and I was surrounded by dogs and sheep while I sat there. My back had become quite uncomfortable over the last few kilometres to the extent that I´d had to take my rucksack off and just stand (in the sun) until the discomfort wore off and I could carry on, so the rest on the pavement was even more welcome.

I carried on to Ledigos, mostly following an undulating road now, where there was another albergue where I stopped for a refreshing tonic water. I had a few words with Ursula who was staying there, she was finishing her Camino in the next town and we wouldn´t see each other again. I had decided to carry on to the next village and albergue as I felt there were still a few kilometres left in my legs and I was attracted by the name - Terradillos de Templarios. There are many Templar and Crusader places along the Camino and I thought this sounded interesting. Actually it turned out to be no different from the other villages as far as I could see, but the albergue was comfortable. It had three-bedded rooms and I shared one with Luis and another woman. The albergue also offered pilgrim meals and I enjoyed a good meal in the restaurant there. Once again it was strange to sleep in a bed, especially one with bedding.

Monday, 3 August 2009

Day 17 - Photos

Setting off for a long hot roadside walk

Statue of Saint James

The parochial albergue in Carrión

Day 17 - Fromista to Carrión de los Condes - 20km

There are two parallel routes most of the way to Carrión from Fromista, one along the road and one following the river. I meant to take the second option as it would have been pleasanter but somehow I missed the yellow arrows and ended up on the road. The track by the road is what is known as a "senda" or "pilgrim autopista". They are usually pebbly underfoot, with no shade and rather boring, and of course you have traffic passing you all the time. What could have been a nice easy day´s walk was just a long very hot trudge. I stopped in a rest area to eat a bag of cherries for breakfast and later took another couple of breaks in what little shade there was just to try and cool off a bit.

The last time I stopped I was standing under a tree as there was nowhere to sit. I was drinking some water when I suddenly noticed dozens of little caterpillars were abseiling down from the tree onto me and my rucksack which was lying up against the trunk. My presence must have triggered something off as there were loads of them all hanging from fine silken threads. It took ages to makes sure I didn´t have any stowaways before I set off again.

The albergue in Carrión was a parochial one and I was received by a nun who gave me some refreshing tea when I arrived just after midday. I went out for a bite to eat and was lucky enough to find a good little photographers shop just over the road from the albergue. I had been worrying about where to buy a memory stick for my camera as I was running out of space and having to ration the number of photos I took. I thought I´d have to wait until I reached a larger town or city as I never expected to find a shop with such a knowledgeable owner in such a small place.

While I was out I came across my tall friend Ursula who was looking for the albergue so I showed her the way there. I still hadn´t eaten so I went out again then came back and shared a washing machine with Ursula. You don´t usually have enough washing to fill a machine on your own and this is a good way to keep down costs. All this faffing about meant a lot of other people had arrived in the meantime and when I went for my shower all the hot water had gone. Even though it was a hot day I didn´t enjoy my cold wash and was in and out very quickly!

Among the pilgrims who had arrived was Nola from New Zealand, a woman about my age, who was limping badly due to a painful leg and whom I´d met in Hontanas. We later went shopping and had dinner together in the kitchen, also joined by an Australian called John who was on his third Camino. Marcel, the German chap with bad feet turned up too so we were quite an international little group. Later in the evening three nuns held a pilgrim blessing which was very lovely and moving. All the pilgrims gathered and sat on the floor or stairs while one of the nuns addressed us in Spanish about the history and meaning of the pilgrimage while a Peruvian nun translated into English. Then the third nun played a guitar and sang and we all joined in. The singer had a sweet face and voice and was one of those people whose goodness shines out of them. We were then each given a paper star and blessed individually. I think it made the evening very special to all those present and gave some meaning to what we were doing.

Saturday, 1 August 2009

Day 16 - Photos

Early morning mist setting off from Fromista

View of the valley and Castrojeriz hill after a long climb up to the meseta

Donativo coffee break at Fuente del Piojos

Pilgrim trying to drink from the water wheel fountain

A shepherd and his flock in Boadilla

"Snow" by the side of the path

The canal lock into Fromista - very narrow crossing, very low rail

San Martin church with the carved figures behind its fence

Day 16 - Castrojeriz to Fromista - 26km

I was on my way before 7 and out of the town very quickly. It was not as cold as yesterday and the surrounding countryside looked lovely through the low-lying mist. The track soon led up on to the meseta again with a very long and very steep climb. I was really pleased with how my body coped with this strenuous start to the day, a few weeks ago it would have finished me off.

At the top there was a rest area where I stopped for some water and a snack and to admire the view back over the valley floor. The path from then on was rather rough and stony and it was about 8km to the first coffee. This was served for a donation by a man in a picnic area at a fountain called Fuente del Piojo (Fountain of the Lice). The name intrigued me, did lousy pilgrims bathe here?

I stopped for another coffee in the next village and to stock up with water as the following 10km were through an isolated area with no fountains or houses. It was a long hot walk to Boadilla where I rested in the shade and watched people using the water fountain. This was apparently the only water supply in the village and in order to get the water up from underground a wheel had to be spun very quickly. The pilgrims who came to get water were giving the wheel a few feeble turns and wondering why nothing came out until someone showed them how to do it properly.

After Boadilla it was another long hot walk mostly along a canal and then across a deep lock and into Fromista. Falling from some trees near the lock were what looked like wisps of cotton wool. It was like walking through a snow-storm and the illusion was perpetuated by the drifts of "snow" on the ground. In town it was very confusing as there were yellow arrows pointing off in several directions. Some private albergues were trying to sidetrack pilgrims to their doors so it was rather confusing trying to find municipal albergue and I had to ask the way.

After registering and leaving my things I went for a drink and saw Luis, the Brazilian who had been laid up with a badly twisted ankle. He had recovered well and was covering long distances as he was behind schedule. I decided to go out for a pilgrim menu that night and was given an enormous meal. I was the only customer in the restaurant so I felt a bit uncomfortable and didn´t dawdle. Back at the albergue I chatted to a Dutch lady in the next bunk. She and her husband were cycling the Camino and they had started in Holland. They had been on the road for about two months. I had to admire her as she must have been about 65 years of age if not older.

Most cyclists were rather a nuisance when you are walking along. You don´t hear them coming until they are right behind you when you suddenly hear a "Buen Camino" or the tinkling of a bell. You have to move to the side of the path rather sharpish as they swoop impatiently past and then make sure how many there are as they tend to travel in flocks and the ones behind assume you know they are there.

In Fromista there is the church of San Martin, built in 1066. It is supposed to be one of the most perfect Romanesque churches in Spain and has hundreds of carved figures around the outside at roof level. I tried to photograph it but unfortunately there was a wire barricade all around and I couldn´t get close enough which was very frustrating. Instead I went and sat in the shade (it was still very hot) in a lovely arbour in a square until it was time for bed.