Date line 30 Sept.

Today has been what the camino should be about.

We walked 20 km from Burgos in what turned out to be a hot day.

On the way we met friends old and new and ended up in the same accommodation.

We shared the preparation of the evening meal and the meal itself. It was such fun and enjoyment, filled with fun and laughter and shared stories of the journey.

For the first time we are in  a room of nine people, 5 of whom are committed Christians and not afraid to share their story.

It has been one of the best experiences on our camino to date.

It is very like a marae experience from NZ.

Much love to all,

Alan,

Hornillos del Camino,

Spain.

Date line 29th Sept.

Alan with tapas and wine.

I’m taking a risk tonight as the connection is not good, so this post will be short.

I will try and add a photo tonight. It will be one of me with tonights dinner. Tapas at their best! We had morcilla (spelling ?) Which is a specialty of the Burgos region – a type of black pudding, but with spices and rice. Really nice! We also had a local meatball dish, and a tuna and tomato dish! With the inevitable red wine and bread! Note the 16 days growth of facial hair!

We then went to a pilgrm mass in the cathedral. We went into one service which had already started, but it appeared to be the wrong one and so we went to one in another chapel. That appeared to be right, but was all in French!

Alan,

Burgos, Spain.

Ps -sorry, tried to add a photo, but it didn’t want to do it.

PPS. Have arrived n Hornillos del Camino and connection is much better here. Tuesday 30 Sept.

Alan and Gay,

Hornillos, Spain.

Dateline Sept 25

The main street – also The Way of St James.

Relaxing after a hard day – Granon

A few days ago a young woman walking with us said that she thought this walk was not a religious experience.

There is no doubt that it is a religious experience.  Right from those days over 1000 years ago, people were walking precisely because it was a religious experience. They were walking because they had been sentenced to do so, or desired to do so to earn favour with God. The reason was because St James was reputedly buried there – and that’s religious too. The whole pilgrimage thing was under the control of the church, and so there was no escaping the religious thing.

Today, with all that history, this is still religious walk. Just witness the number of crosses on the route – official or otherwise. But people’s motivations are different. These days, people may use this religious walk in the same way as people have done in the last 1000 years, or even for religious reasons that are not necessarily Christian, but nonetheless aimed at enriching a relationship with their own deity. Others, who may even deny any overt religious affiliations, will still be using the walk for some purpose that is to do with peace, contentment, restoring relationships or finding oneself.

In the end, this is a religious walk but individuals are using it for their own spiritual purposes, whether they are believers or not. And it is interesting to see the crosses. So far we have seen three as memorials to people who have died on the track and in two places, wire mesh fences have been used to hold twigs and sticks in the form of crosses. There were hundreds of these crosses, once at least at a place where we were thankful to have succesfully climbed a steep hill!

It has been said that this walk is in three stages. The first is physcal, where the body works through the pain of sore feet and muscles; the second is mental, where you have to keep reminding yourself to keep going; the third is spiritual, which is where you meet God, however you conceive that to be.

Alan

Granon, Spain.

Dateline Sept 24. Azofra, Spain.

We arrived in Azofra about 12:30pm today and found ourselves a bed in the local albergue. This one is a little different as all the rooms are for two people only and have beds rather than bunks. It will be different not to have to clamber up the the top bunk tonight. This place is quite new and still appears quite fresh.

Tomorrow we start the climb onto the mesata. The climb is not onerous yet, but will be the day after when we will get up towards 1200m asl. Once on the mesata, we will be at an average of 900m for the next two weeks. Then it is another range before the drop down towards Santiago.

Yesterday we marked a milestone of sorts – 100 days since we left home. Today we passed the first quarter of the camino and today we saw a sign that told us we had 578km to go! Tomorrow we pass the 200km mark! That’s 200km completed!

I shared some of the things we have seen. Today I will share some more. We have been past loads of grape vines. Today we saw the first signs that the harvest was beginning. Mostly the grapes are red/purple ones, but there are some green ones. The harvest was starting with the green ones!

We have past several stacks of straw bales. They look to us to be straw from wheat threshing but the stacks are huge. They are using big rectangular bales and it is common to see stacks 11 or 12 bales high, 5 or 6 bales deep and anything up to 35 bales long! We have a number of photos (in the midst of the 3000 times I have pressed the shutter) of insects and flowers and bugs of all sorts. Large slugs that would measure about 150 to 200mm long and so fat that my thumb would look thin! We passed through a town called Najera and couldn’t understand why we could hear explosions. We put it down to quarrying activities until we walked into the town and we confronted by young folks in camo ger or uniforms who seemed to be collecting cash. It appeared that it was a festival of some sort (wine again?) and the collections were to buy fireworks! That was the source of the explosions we heard, and continued to hear as we climbed the hill out of the town!

To finish off today,  I want to include a photo of our shadows-distorted due to the low angle of the sun at the time, and with a Beartitude of the Pilgrims, one of 10 I have ……

Blessed are you pilgrim, if what concerns you most is not to arrive, as to arrive with others.

Tonight Gay and I will share dinner with a chap from the USA and a woman from Germany, and who knows who else?

Alan.

Guess who is who? I’m the one with the camera?

Dateline – 23 September, Ventosa, Spain.

The camino for seven weeks was never expected to be easy. Yesterday we left Torres del Rio at 7am in steady rain and that was not easy. We walked for the first half hour in the dark, our way lit by Gay’s torch, and there were several other pilgrims tagging along for the  “ride”. After bout 45 minutes we were able to see without artificial light, but it was three hours before we could put away the rain gear.

And then Logrono last night the challenge was of a different nature. The city was in the midst of their annual wine festival. The fireworks went off at midnight and the last planned event for the day started at 1am! I heard the last of the partygoers wander past the window at 4:30am! Our curfew in the hostel was 10pm – doors locked then, and lightsout at 11pm, and we were all up at 6am!

But the beauty of it all! Picking blackberries and figs from the road side, enjoying thefountain of wine, continuing a Benedictine tradition, being met with a glass of water at a strategic time, seeing wonderful views, walking through intriging little Spanish villages, enjoying the local food – white asparagus, chorizo, peppers barbecued over an open fire, fresh bread, tapas, (or pintxos depending on which part of the country you are in!), meeting all these people, pilgrims and locals.

As we walk, local people will invariably greet us with buen dias, or hola, or buen camino and a smile. People are welcoming and smiling in many of the places we go and that is a real joy. It helps to take away the feelings of hardship, of aches and pains and of sore feet.

Incidentally, neither Gay nor I have any blisters as yet! Largely thanks to the donation of magical Spanish stuff from Bilboa. It works a treat!

Alan,

Ventosa, Spain. 20km west of Logono.

Pilgrim’s meals

The way the “system” works is that many of the albergues will offer either  dinner or a breakfast with the bed for the night. Also, in the towns and villages, the local cafes and bars will offer a “Pilgrims menu”.

Dinner at an albergue or the Pilgrims menu at a cafe will be a three course meal with mostly a set menu. The first course is often a soup or green salad or pasta and the second course will be either meat or fish. The meat is usually either pork or chicken, though last night we were also offered lamb or beef steak. The third course is a small sweet dish or a piece of fruit – oranges usually. The menu is always accompanied by red wine, water and bread. Often, the wine is replaced as soon as it is finished, but sometimes is limited to the glass you get at the start of the meal. The meal is a set price and is mostly 10€.

The Pilgrim breakfast, which we took only once, was a bowl of tea or coffee or hot chocolate, a drink of orange juice and bread with spreads. Most of the time we have chosen to find our own breakfast because Gay can’t eat the bread. We will end up with Spanish omelete made with potato, or with a fruit selection.

The meals are very satisfying and have always been prepared well. We are enjoying them.

Alan.

A day in the life of a pilgrim!

Day starts while it is still dark. People start moving around about 5:30am, washing, packing and generally getting ready. If the albergue serves breakfast, that is usually on from 6:30am. We are expected to leave the albergue (hostal) by 8am.

Mostly we are on the road by 7:30am. Today we were late and it was 8:15am, but we had been offered a great breakfast. We walk all morning. If we come to a village, or a town,or some water fountain, we generally stop and rest briefy, sharing stories with others, new friends and old. (Old meaning we have met before!)

We will eat lunch on the road or in a village, if it is appropriate. The villages are most often quite empty – either the people are resting for siesta or at at work in the larger towns.

Lunch is some fruit, or a bread bun ( for me) or a hard boiled egg and some cheese. Then it’s walking again. When we get to an albergue, we register and get our pilgrim passport stamped. If there is no room, we move on to the next one.

When we have a bed, we shower, change into the second set of clothes and wash the clothes we were wearing, ready for tomorrow’s change. Then we find a meal. If the albergue provides one that’s great, search over, but cafes and bars in town often will advertise a pilgrim menu – more about that later. Often the evening meal is 6:30 or 7:30. After the meal, its back to the albergue, where it is usual to have everyone in bed by 9:30ish. Lights out at 10pm. Several times now that has been done by the owners! And the round begins again at 5:30am!

We are in Villamayor de Monjardin. (population 118). We arrived here about 12:30pm after a deIlberately short day, for Day 7 of our camino. All great so far!

Alan.

Day 5 on the Camino.

The church bell has just rung for 6:15pm. Apart from feeling great about where I am and about the special nature of that church bell, I can’t help being a little concerned. Will the bell continue to the quarter hours all night? My bed for the night is about 60m from the bell tower!

We are in the small Spanish (some would say Basque)village of Obanos. It is about 20k m southwest of Pamplona (of running the bulls fame) and we arrived here at about 4pm hot and tired from walking from the hostal (albergue) in Pamplona, where we stayed last night.

We shared that hostal with about 140 other pilgrims but tonight there will be no more than 36 of us, if it fills up. We have been surprised at just how many people are on the pilgrimage. Most are on foot, but there are a number of cyclists as well.

The bells are ringing again. Sounds like a call to worship this time as it is going on and on!

The nearby playground is full of kids all having a great time. Parents are there, and the shop behind me is starting to get some customers. When we arrived here at about 4pm, the place was very quiet like all the villages we walked through in the middle of the day. The local restaurant closed at 3pm and opens again at 7:30. Siesta time in the heat of the day!

It is usual to see lots of people out and about in the cooler part of the day and this square (plaza) I am in right now may well be quite popular in the next couple of hours! It is a different culture!  Gay and stopped at a small village this morning for breakfast. While we we enjoying an omelette and cups of tea, a group of workers came in and had bread rolls with bacon, accompanied by a glass of red wine!

Having a great time, meeting lots of people from all around tge world. Tomorrow, we will head from a small place called Villatuerta -another 20 odd km away. That will mean we will break the first 100.  Will keep in touch.

Alan.

Camino Days 1 and 2!

I want to bring anyone who is reading this up to date. I have a number of other topics to cover about Austria and Bilbao but you all deserve to know about our camino.

We are in our accommodation at the end of the second day of the walk. Thisis a monastery and we are here with about 200 others. They have been flooding in all afternoon!

We left from St Jean Pier de Port yesterday  just before midday and reached the alberque at about 3. This was a very hot climb up into the Pyrenees and the sun gave us no respite.  However the view from the deck of the albergue was well worth it.

We shared a pilgrims meal last night and a pilgrims breakfast this morning.

Our pilgrimage ever since we left home has been about people. Yesterday we met three ladies from Ireland, two singles girls from Australia and two couples from Australia. There is also Noah from the USA and three girls from Austria. And that doesn’t allowfor the locals frlm France and Spain, but mostly from the Basque Country.  Our circles expand!

I want to share a prayer with you. It is fitting for our journey – maybe yours as well?

Lord of the years, you see the path of our lives we are walking, the twists and turns it will take.

Please make us thankful travellers, appreciating each place and person we encounter.

Help us to gather treasure along the way, so we get richer in the things that reallymatter and become more knowledgeable in the generosity and blesings You give us.

As we journey we pray your hand and guidance upon us.

Amen.

I am indebted to Joyce Frost and the good folk of West Hallam and Stanley, Derbyshire, England for these words.

May blessings shower upon you,

Alan

PS. This did not go when I tried yesterday and am trying again today. Day 3 and we are Zubari, Spain, having walked another 21km today.

Will try to send pictures tomorrow.

Alan.

Music and Vienna

I couldn’t imagine returning home from Vienna not having experienced music of some sort. In the end, when we left we had enjoyed music on at least six or seven different occasions and several different ways.

The first was a little unusual. We were invited to a country area south of the city on a Sunday afternoon. We ended up at a summer cottage on a small farm and in that environment, were treated to classical music from a string quartet. Well, the programme said quartet, but there were five of them – cello, viola and three violins. Classical-? – they played two or three pieces from the classics, but the rest were Beatles songs arranged for strings. The audience was about 20 people – family and friends- and we were there as Nani’s step father was the viola player (and leader?) and her mother read some poetry. In between the pieces there was some banter (which had been rehearsed) between the players which was funny,  even though we couldn’t understand it. In this atmosphere, this was truly delightful.

Our second experience of a similar music was more formal where we went to a summer concert held at the Schonbrunn Palace  one evening. The orchestra played pieces from Mozart and the Brahms family and the performance included two soloists, a tenor and a soprano, and two dancers. This was really special and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Other experiences were with church music where four times we were able to participate in sung eucharists and two of these were in English. To be present in a large congregation, accompanied by an organ and to be able to join in was great.

One of these services was the wedding and that was a festival of music in itself. From the choir, with Luki’s mother, to a solo by his cousin, guitar playing and singing from his brother-law and congregational singing, not to mention Nani’s half-brother on a french horn and her step father and viola at the reception, the family is a veritable nest of talent and it wss a real pleasure to be able to be part of all that.

We will certainly be able to say that we experienced music in Vienna!

Alan