LIVE from the Camino Camino home to home, 2019 & 2021, 2022

[JabbaPapa]

Day 118 -- Belorado

I love this place, and not even the sometimes annoying Swiss Protestantism of the Parochial hospitaleros can change that, because they are very pleasant, good people with excellent intention.

There is a Rome pilgrim, from Lisbon, and with the hospitalero couple plus this pilgrim and myself, that makes four of us.

Walking this morning was 7AM to 10:30, and whilst I certainly could have walked further, I never will on any day that I come to this beautiful place.

Still, 9K in 3½ hours is a slight improvement, so hooray !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Pilgrims in Belorado are a weird and eclectic bunch of those who still haven't a clue after 300K, those plugged in to the main electric line, and all and anything in-between.

And then the fantastically beautiful plaza mayor, a tangible mass of tranquillity and peace, where even the most crass failures become simplicity and aesthetic. I hope.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 120 -- Villambistia

Yesterday began with a bit of a hangover, then went on to a tired walk in increasing heat to Tosantos, where I slept at the Parrochial.

Mattresses on the floor, which is fine, excellent hospitaleros which is better, and even the veggie food was mainly fresh from their own garden which is pretty much the only kind not directly bad for me, plus lentils which are one of the few exceptions.

And yesterday was a great day ; after needing to cut yet another new hole in my belt, I found that I can finally fit into the smaller pair of trousers that I had in my backpack, so I dumped the larger pair, no longer have to carry this one in my pack, and now have officially lost a meaningful degree of weight. Hooray.!!

It's easier to pack now too from the lower volume of the kit inside, and is now that much lower in basic weight than it was, which was not too far below my absolute carryable max.

Just another short day to Villafranca Montes de Oca.

I'm considering from there maybe taking the more roundabout route through the more northerly pueblos, but not decided yet.

 

[VNwalking]

I'm considering from there maybe taking the more roundabout route through the more northerly pueblos, but not decided yet.

If you go due North you'll intersect the Via de Bayona. The first albergue is in Quintanavides, 18km, but mostly a gradual downhill. Then Monasterio de Rodilla also has an albergue, another 5km or so along. Nothing is open in the latter on Tuesdays, but you'd be clear of it by then. It's a really pleasant way into Burgos, unlike the Frances.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Interesting -- though I was not considering going so far north.

The downhill sounds attractive, and I had noticed earlier that the Oca flows northward. Though I find the walk into Burgos perhaps less unattractive than others might.

But it's nice to have more options than the four I already have, including the straightforward way from here.

Given how my knee was behaving, one or other detour away from the Francès does seem likely.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 120 -- Villafranca Montes de Oca

Well, this place has certainly changed.

The large bar-restaurant is permanently closed, as announced for retirement, but I would suspect Covid. The little shop anyway is permanently shut for that reason.

No idea about the Albergue, but I'm sleeping out regardless. No pilgrims have turned up since 11AM, and I don't blame them in this scorcher, though a wind is picking up. Most of those I saw here earlier were French or French-speaking long-distancers.

I am definitely taking the northern detour, though I'm told there are no little shops there either, though the ladies in the bar that is open admit to not being completely familiar with all of those places, though I'm sure they're right about the closest two.

I guess I'll sleep near the church and the Albergue like last time, albeit for different reasons.

I suspect many pilgrims in buses to pass this stretch, made more visible by so few pilgrims in the first place.

If the weather were to radically cool down overnight I might go direct, and whilst something does seem to be shifting, we'll see.

Once again, last time I was the only pilgrim in the pueblo was early 1990s.

Some of the similarities are uncanny.

 

[VNwalking]

There's one relatively short and not too intense uphill section past Monasterio de Rodilla, and then downhill or flat into Burgos, entering the city near the train station, and then you can continue on a via verde right into the center of town. After MdR, there's a watering hole right on the way (a hotel, also) at la Brujala, and then off the camino a bit at Hurones.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Don't need to go to MdR, and can head back to the Francès up the next valley.

There are many options.

And the weather might be changing.

 

[JabbaPapa]

OK I gave in and went to the Albergue which was FAR too expensive last time, and honestly this time as well.

It's full of younger pilgrims.

Just not really prepared yet to sleep out again without being forced to.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 121 -- Quintanavides

I am on the Camino Vasco Interior / Via de Bayona !!

If you go due North you'll intersect the Via de Bayona. The first albergue is in Quintanavides, 18km, but mostly a gradual downhill. Then Monasterio de Rodilla also has an albergue, another 5km or so along. Nothing is open in the latter on Tuesdays, but you'd be clear of it by then. It's a really pleasant way into Burgos, unlike the Frances.
View attachment 105416 View attachment 105417

This is hands down THE most helpful post I have ever had on this forum.

Thank you so much !!

It's tarmac all the way, but the Oca valley is very beautiful, with pueblos and hamlets all along, resting places and so on. I was lucky to put my hands on some cerveza on the way out of Villafeanca, enough to keep the pain at bay, then the start of the gorgeous walk up the valley.

At Villalómez, a kind local lady offered me breakfast whilst I was waiting for the bar to open, then two large cervezas calmed my knee down.

Then continue the walk down the easy and beautiful tarmac valley route, pausing from time to time in pueblos where they were insistent that I should go either to Villafranca or to Cerratón.

My guess is that occasionally, some pilgrims take this route by mistake, and are directed towards that variant route to San Juan de Ortega.

But the most amazing thing was at Cueva Cardiel -- they had NEVER seen a pilgrim walk through their pueblo, not even the local grandfather.

Hooray !! First !! ... of course, and that hadn't happened to me since the 1994, but I am still astonished that it could happen in the 2020s and so close to Burgos !!

This will nevertheless remain forever as one of my all-time best Camino days, not least because apart from the free cervezas and the paid ones, unavailable up in those ghastly hills, I was also fed with beautiful fried pork and wine in Castil de Peones.

Also, it took me 'til 7PM to get here, i.e. temps suddenly dropped by 10°C and I have finally been able to walk in the afternoon and evening, even though I think this hike was closer to being a 16K rather than the estimated 18.

Albergue status : CERRADO

No idea about tomorrow's route, options again, though this is one that I really need to work out on my own -- though not 'til the next pueblo, in the morning.

 

[SabineP]

So tomorrow in Santa Olalla de Bureba you will find a small community bar, right across the church. And in Monasterio de Rodilla there is a resto and a bar that were both closed on a Tuesday when we passed by there, but being a Sunday they might be open.

Briviesca - Monasterio de Rodilla | Camino Vasco del Interior | Gronze.com

Etapa corta y básicamente llana, íntegramente por la comarca de La Bureba, y algo menos agradable que las precedentes por el contacto permanente con tres grandes ejes de comunicación: la autopista A-1, la nacional N-I y la línea de ferrocarril Madrid-Irún. Las pequeñas poblaciones intermedias de...

www.gronze.com

Monasterio de Rodilla has a albergue municipal and the wife of the mayor has the keys.
There is also a swimming pool with a camping site.

CAMPING

www.picondelconde.com

Briviesca - Monasterio de Rodilla | Camino Vasco del Interior | Gronze.com

Etapa corta y básicamente llana, íntegramente por la comarca de La Bureba, y algo menos agradable que las precedentes por el contacto permanente con tres grandes ejes de comunicación: la autopista A-1, la nacional N-I y la línea de ferrocarril Madrid-Irún. Las pequeñas poblaciones intermedias de...

www.gronze.com

After Monasterio de Rodilla is the gorgeous Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Valle!

 

[VNwalking]

I am on the Camino Vasco Interior / Via de Bayona !!

Wonderful!

Albergue status : CERRADO

This will nevertheless remain forever as one of my all-time best Camino days, not least because apart from the free cervezas and the paid ones, unavailable up in those ghastly hills, I was also fed with beautiful fried pork and wine in Castil de Peones.

So glad it's working out!

There is only a Calzada Romana between La Brujula and Burgos. Downhill or flat all the way. Edit...but long stretches with little or no shade. We got an early start from there and were in Burgos by midday.
The only uphill ahead is after Monasterio de Rodilla - especially after the Ermita.
I have to say, if one had to sleep out, that'd be a gorgeous place. There is shelter and water both.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 122 -- Monasterio de Rodilla

It's beautiful, but I may have walked myself into a dead end, from the inability to resupply, especially in the cerveza without which the pain is overly bad, and slows me down so much as to seriously hinder advancement.

Albergue status : CERRADO.

The village shops are all shut or non-existent from people buying everything in town.

There may I guess be a small shop at the petrol station down the road, and the Camino does pass next to it.

The Santa Maria de Invierno option is a bust, no shop there either, and the non-acceptance of credit cards in these pueblos doesn't help at all.

Sleeping out anyway, then I have to decide if I want to get to the petrol station, or it's unfeasible for me in these conditions (which is how I feel this evening), and bus it, which would definitely be a failure.

Petrol station isn't that far though, and I can skip part of the climbing by going on the tarmac. hmmmmm

 

[C clearly]

Petrol station isn't that far though, and I can skip part of the climbing by going on the tarmac.

The petrol station and its store would surely be open - I assume you are referring to the major truck stop with Hostal-Restaurant Hermanos Gutierrez.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I've just asked, and yes there's a little shop there ; and those places do take cards. Closed this evening clearly, but not moving anyway 'til the morning.

This will save me from the bus, and the tarmac looks feasible.

Not letting one lone pilgrim sleep in the Albergue because of Covid seems not to make much sense, but that's the reason given by one of those in charge here.

 

[SabineP]

I've just asked, and yes there's a little shop there ; and those places do take cards. Closed this evening clearly, but not moving anyway 'til the morning.

This will save me from the bus, and the tarmac looks feasible.

Not letting one lone pilgrim sleep in the Albergue because of Covid seems not to make much sense, but that's the reason given by one of those in charge here.

The bar at the hostal , next to the petrol station sells some items too if I am correct.
And the hostal accepts creditcards I remember.

 

[JabbaPapa]

And the hostal accepts creditcards I remember.

Sure, but it's getting towards the time of month when I have to start counting the pennies more carefully, and can manage few such extras.

 

[VNwalking]

Good morning, JP.
I know you're not looking for advice, but here's what I'd do, in your shoes - having walked that way before.

I'd take my time today, walking via the Ermita to La Brujula. That Ermita is s a very special place, with shade and water. Then to La Brujula. It's a place the truckies stop, with a hotel, bar, and cafes. If you don't sleep there, there's a big grove of pines before it, and another not long after it. About 15km to the Burgos from LB, coming to the city near the train station.

You've got an uphill all the way to LB, but after that it's downhill or flat all the way to Burgos, with one potential place to stop for refreshment a little off the camino at Hurones - there's a signpost. ( That's not counting the clubhouse of the golf course a bit before that. )

Forcast is a wee bit cooler today than tomorrow. Afternoons will be a tad toasty, but of course there's no shortage of cerveza at LB.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 123 -- La Brújula

Wow, this place has been devastated. 2 of the 3 hotel-restaurants are permanently closed, as is the larger of the two bars.

But -- cerveza !!

Walk up here was a bit of a tough one without it, and it would have been murder on the trail, and have taken me 60-90 minutes extra easily.

And except on a Sunday, such as yesterday, I think this would have been the better place for me to sleep, in my condition, for the greater supply to my needs than is found in the pueblos or in more beautiful outdoor sleeping locations.

Increasingly, I think this frequent closure of the Albergues "because of covid" is insane ; basically, every single thing is open except for the pilgrim refuge. What, are we all plague carriers or something ? Perhaps a leper's bell should be standard pilgrim kit ...

Thanks VN, but this time I really did need to base my choice and method of advancement on the local knowledge, current situation here, and my medical needs.

The latter is my anti-inflammatories of course, plus 2L of cerveza for my pack, +1 for me to get going, though given how fast it's going down that may need to be +2.

Thanks to these, I don't anticipate excessive difficulty to the rest of the day -- contrary to, well, FIVE DAYS since last time I was able to purchase the basic el cheapo cerveza that my good health and good enough hiking require.

 

[VNwalking]

You got there, which is what matters.
A real pity about all the closures!

Downhill all the way to Burgos now.
Buen camino, JP, one step at a time.

 

[JabbaPapa]

It's uphill all the way from La Brújula up to the wind farm ridge. You may have misremembered as it's a fairly gentle climb.

Menú del dia BTW at the petrol station bar is €11, or 12 with coffee, I asked though it's closed on Mondays.

 

[VNwalking]

You may have misremembered as it's a fairly gentle climb.

Well, here's a photo. Not a pancake. But not anything I felt as a climb. YMMV.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 123 -- Quintanapalla

Technically, I am on the Camino Francès ...

There was no way I could do the 25K or so to Burgos, including because the weather felt hotter than the temps suggested.

So I came here, as the least bad option. Siesta.

Managed to scrounge a small piece of food, and am going to turn in soon, sleeping in the remains of a small house with no more roof.

The Camino to here was fairly non-stop uphill -- not difficult at all in itself, and close to flat over much of it, but my knees and ankles could tell the difference.

Tomorrow, dunno, but I'll likely take the "historic route" at start AKA the main road. Might just take it all the way, though more likely I'll go by the river.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 124 -- Rubena

It's a 15K on the "historic route" straight into town, so I doubt I'll be adding any extra K by switching to another route, especially as it is already 10AM.

Bar here doesn't open 'til midday, so onwards to the next gasolinera (which is where I'll have to make my final choice of route)
.
Some villagers kindly offered some food last night, which was enough to serve also as breakfast, so just cerveza and hiking needed now.

Ultreia and all that ...

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 124 -- Burgos

The first part of this tarmac day was unfortunately characterised by my getting angry and having an argument with a gasolinera employee who decided to rip me off over a petty €1 or so.

Oh well, at least that gave me a good adrenaline boost for the rest of the tarmac.

The "historic route" into town is a lot better, or at least less bad, than I remember it. There's a pavement/sidewalk now all the way, a bus lane to act as a buffer between you and the traffic, plus a 50 kph speed limit ; somewhat different from walking on a thin grass verge on the side, and just the metal barrier separating you from the greatly speeding lorries / trucks.

Made a few cerveza halts when I reached town, necessary though they slowed me down a little.

Then as I reached the centre of Burgos finally, a great big smile came over me ; and though I supposed nobody noticed, one elderly man did and stopped me for a pilgrim chat.

And as it turned out, this lovely gentleman in his late 90s is a priest who walked his first Camino in 1948.

Cash is getting scarce again which is an annoyance ; but in such encounters is the true wealth of the Way of Saint James.

Had a vague superficial semi- non-blister, which was weird. It bothered me for at least 15 minutes !!

 

[VNwalking]

as I reached the centre of Burgos finally, a great big smile came over me ; and though I supposed nobody noticed, one elderly man did and stopped me for a pilgrim chat.

You're there! Fantastic.
Buen camino, peregrino.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 125 -- Tardajos

Albergue status : ABIERTO

It went fairly well today 'til a couple K before Tardajos, then my legs wanted to just shut down. I spent a pleasant moment reminiscing though about how we pilgrims used to have to cross the motorway on foot.

Aaaaaah those were the days, they've taken all the fun out of it.

Could likely have continued to Rabé, but then when I got here I remembered this place, checked it out and it's open, and it's both a Municipal and a donativo, and BTW one of the quietest and most relaxing places on the Francès.

There's also a good bar on the main road, though I won't visit today, a small shop, which I will, and the bar and the baker also sell some foodstuffs etc, whereas on my 2014 here, an American pilgrim invited three of us to dinner, so that I can confirm that the restaurant here is very good too.

Burgos was OK, though I got in late so basically just showered, washed a t-shirt etc and went to bed, after some chatting with others.

Here will be better rest from those nights outdoors.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 126 -- Hornillos del Camino

Good walking today mostly, though I ended up starting a little late, so that the heat of the day was up for the last 2K or so, which tired me out.

Temps are up in the low 30s, and too hot for me to have wanted to hang about outdoors for hours then sleep out, so I spent the cash for the Albergue Municipal.

A fairly standard Camino day on this meseta really, though I do far prefer it if the temps stay in the 20s. It's as beautiful as always.

 

[VNwalking]

Moving right along, @JabbaPapa .
Buen camino!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 128 -- Hontanas

Another meseta day, short one, and I put my remaining cash into a bed in the Albergue and a menú del peregrino ; OK, though the vino tinto is I think the second worse I've ever tasted, after an even worse one in Galicia on the 1993.

Both are what the French call piquette, which is wine made from grapes that are incapable of fully fermenting, so it gets stuck somewhere between grape juice and wine.

Would honestly have carried on to Castrojériz if not for the heat. Cooler today though. Also, I've basically been in bed since 2PM, after lunch.

The Albergue/Bar/Restaurant here has unfortunately closed the little shop it had, likely from too few pilgrims for it to be viable in these circumstances.

Might hopefully get a longer hike today, including because of that fact it will be much cooler, possibly even some rain.

Having a small amount of depression, which is likely given my history to be more from dietary compromises than anything else.

Next cash Friday, not as bad as it was last month as far as waiting for it happened.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 129 -- Boadillo del Camino

These stages on the heart of the meseta do not lead me to share much, except with some other pilgrims also here.

I shortened my hike yesterday, partly from precaution, partly because I really like Castrojériz. Even though my stay there was another marathon 5PM - 7:30AM session in blankets.

The Municipal is now an ex-donativo, but still a great Albergue, though I was sad to learn that the other, older, old school Municipal was closed permanently some years ago.

The situation in Itero de la Vega is more preoccupying, although the Italian hospitaleros on the Burgos side of the river are faithful to their post. The Municipal is closed, leaving only the overpriced private one, with an owner so beloved that the locals advise you to walk on to the next pueblo.

Boadillo -- where the Municipal is cerrado too, but the private one is inexpensive enough, straightforwardly friendly, simple, and comes with a swimming pool.

Plus today was a decent 15-20 K, and I think closer to the larger number than the former ; and I'm not to be spending 14-17 hours in bed either !! Likely from this being a fasting rather than feasting day.

No idea about tomorrow as usual, I'll find out then.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 130 -- Frómista

Well, the combination of the close to 20K, including that climb up into that beautiful stretch after Castrojériz, plus nowhere near having enough cerveza to start with this morning, has led to too much pain to go further than these few small K to Frómista.

The sheer and easy flat of the canal-side Camino, with its several sitting spots, the cool and slightly rainy weather, copious quantity of cerveza upon reaching town, nope, knees and ankles are still in demonstration and rebellion against any plan to get onward any further.

The other pilgrims have been quite helpful towards my trouble cash-wise this week, and this anyway is a blessing for which I am most ingratiated, and overall it's much easier than last month, though of course that month included the train & bus fares extra.

I suppose today I shall have to make a little more effort than usual with the el cheapo cerveza in an effort to try and beat down the pain, as the anti-inflammatory seems to be less up to the task than usual.

The weather is gorgeous, and blimey -- without this bloody handicap nonsense I would have made many Ks of it today with pleasure.

But still.

It's August, and I am on the meseta, on the Camino Francès, of the Way of Saint James.

Lovely of course, though August here is seeming after all these times the same to be almost magnetically unavoidable for me. 5/5 times now LOL.

The meseta in August just IS the Camino for me, despite all of my other experiences on these Pilgrim Ways over the decades, and that's fine, though it's still a little bit odd that it's every time. Though I guess it's a change at least to have been in it in July as well this time, not just August or September ...

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 130 -- Frómista

There is a donativo here, called Albergue Vicus, or something. It was suggested to me when I was missing 2€ for the Municipal.

First person there when the guy opened the door.

Do you have a reservation ?
No ?
Sorry, completo.

That is not how donativo is supposed to work.

Oh well, got hold of a couple € and here I am, and BTW I realised cerveza was insufficient to the task so I now have some el cheapo tinto, but cripes do I miss that 1990s Parochial where you were treated like a person, not just the latest piece of walking meat with cash dropping out.

Not that there's anything wrong with the Municipal, apart from its lack of kitchen, just that something here has somehow been lost along the way.

 

[wayfarer]

Albergue Vicus is private....

 

[henrythedog]

Probably one of the finest examples of a long-started thread running and running. Keep it going Jabba.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Albergue Vicus is private....

As are several donativo Albergues.

 

[VNwalking]

Do you have a reservation ?
No ?
Sorry, completo.

That is not how donativo is supposed to work.

There is a distinction between being donativo and being able to reserve a bed. They are not the same thing.

And in this case it may simply be a result of capacity - they only have 6 beds.
Just for context, here is the situation up-camino in Roncesvalles right now; note the recommendation. It's not about money.

There certainly is a need for making reservations at the moment. The albergue at Roncesvalles was totally full last Sunday with 140 beds occupied, even the winter albergue was full. The last weeks we regularly filled up to nearly the maximum capacity (which is 91 beds now due to the Covid regulations) and last Sunday we filled up to much more than this maximum because there were groups and families who did not have to keep the required distance, so we could use more beds. Then we opened the winter albergue with 20 beds, some people went to the hotel and even then pilgrims had to be taken by car to Espinal! It is unexpected crowded at the moment, so please make reservations for a bed!

We don't usually like it, but change is unavoidable in life - so the choice is to either adapt or suffer. Wishing you a minimum of the latter, @JabbaPapa !
And may you have as pain-free a day as possible today, going to wherever your steps take you. In 2019 I heard very good things about the caritas at the albergue in Villalcazar de Sirga. I didn't stay there, but had it from the hospis at San Anton and San Nicolas.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 131 -- Revenga de Campos

Looks like I twisted my ankle on my way from Castrojériz to Boadillo, so that the difficult day yesterday was followed by another today ; in any case I must really go no further, I need the ankle to settle down ; it made the walking rather difficult anyway, less from pain which I could mostly control than from fatigue which I couldn't.

Spent the afternoon here anyway in the bar, nursing three cervezas to avoid a wait in the afternoon heat.

As for going onwards, I can see that the 17K one from Carrión de los Condes is incoming, which I really will need to tackle in better conditions and with this month's cash, so that I may take things very slowly indeed 'til the weekend, maybe even a full R&R day in Carrión, on Friday and with that cash for a proper menú and so on.

It's infrequent for the handicap to hit me this bad, but when it does, I really do need to be careful with it.

Sleeping somewhere outside here anyway, and walking very low K in the morning, ones that otherwise I would already have done.

No huge problem -- in 130 days, there are bound to be some bad ones, so here I am.

Otherwise, I have come to the conclusion that the alternative route here through the fields is a less attractive one overall than the official pathway along the roadside.

Not just because the latter is shorter and quicker, but also because it's closer to people, pueblos, and pilgrimage.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 133 - Carrión de los Condes

My plan for these days was clearly the right one.

The 132 from Revenga to Villalcázar de Sirga had no physical difficulty on the outside, but my joints were in outright revolt.

The donativo Municipal is : CERRADO.

But I did make a bit more effort to ask for assistance than I have been, so that I eventually gathered enough for the private Albergue, some tinto, and &c.

The afternoon was better than the morning.

Villalcázar is anyway a special place for me, as Camino legend, and Mesonero Mayor, Pablo Payo in 1994 gave me the scallop shell that I've been using to this day. His son was clearly emotional when he stamped my credencial after I told him that my shell was his father's.

I did also have some social life with fellow peregrinos, which was lovely, and I generally miss this sort of thing from handicap and slowness. Although to some extent also from "been there, done that".

The private Albergue there is anyway OK, though I did need to ask quite insistently to get the funding for it.

From there on the 133 was easier, except that the pain is persistent. Also, the pilgrims this morning were more easily generous, so that my day was financed.

God bless the Pilgrims of the Way of Saint James !!

Pain however is worse than usual.

Carrión is of course quintessentially the Camino, but I decided this time to stay at Santa Clara instead of with the nuns. And I think, each in its way, the two Albergues are each as good as the other.

I really like the old school feeling in Santa Clara though.

---

I am staying an extra day here tomorrow to rest, as the cumulative pain is clearly beyond what I can suffer over 17K. And they are letting me stay the extra night.

I did get a menú del dia today, at the Muralla bar (that I warmly recommend to all readers), and I expect to also eat there tomorrow.

I cannot walk 17K tomorrow.

As for this evening, I have cervezas to at least attempt to control the pain.

And I will walk 17K on Saturday.

Sus Eia and so on ...

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 133 -- Carrión de los Condes

August cash has arrived. Hooray !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 134 -- Carrión de los Condes

Yep, this rest day plan was definitely the right choice. Clearly not ready for the 17K.

I do like the Santa Clara Albergue, though probably I still prefer the one that's kept by the other nuns -- I was nevertheless very pleased to meet one of the Santa Clara nuns this morning.

It is most unusual to have a choice on this Francès between which nuns will shelter you.

Looking forward to lunch ...

 

[VNwalking]

May your walk today go smoothly, @JabbaPapa .
Onward and onward and onward....

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 136 -- Calzadilla de la Cueva -- another rest day

I made what turned out to be a huge mistake on Friday, by having another menú del día after the first on Thursday.

But my ordinarily 80% carnivore diet has overall seriously reduced how much food I need ; but also how much my gut can manage, so that a few hours later much of it came right out again, and I'm still not better from it even 36 hours later. Though I did manage to get down some breakfast.

And I did also manage to do those 17K yesterday, though it was blue murder, and my legs are killing me bad enough that I have to stay here 'til tomorrow. Hip joints mainly this time, which at least adds some variety to it.

And I did have some good conversation in Carrión with a PCT thru-hiker who really "gets" what thru-hikes and the Camino have in common, and some discussion about the differences between a really long Camino and a PCT/AT/CDT, and those between the American wilderness hikes and the European ones.

Oh, and about computer programming too.

Good stuff.

The Municipal here in Calzadilla is CERRADO, as are both of the little shops, both the one attached to this private Albergue, and the little one in the pueblo.

Not that it makes much difference in my current condition, as I doubt that I'll be eating more than that breakfast until tomorrow at earliest.

The private Albergue isn't that bad, including thanks to the swimming pool that I wasn't up for using yesterday, but most certainly will today.

I think that's the final time I'll hike that 17K stretch, even though it's better than it was, with a lot more shade plus resting places, but I would take the more roundabout way through the pueblos.

This is by far the toughest Camino I have ever attempted.

 

[VNwalking]

This is by far the toughest Camino I have ever

Are you still with us, @JabbaPapa?
Hope your stomach is and legs are recovering.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 139 -- Terradillos de los Templarios

This is going to be a difficult number of posts, but bottom line : my handicap is going to force me to take another break and go home, and it's the dietary restrictions part of it doing so, as the inability to follow the carnivore diet that I need has massively increased my inflammation and so my pain plus my tendency to depression.

Which all adds up to much more pain and far fewer K.

Too few K daily to make continuing viable.

Realising this morning morning that 2K to Moratinos was too much for me, after an 11AM - 8AM session in bed at Ledigos +3K was the end of it -- and it's clear that it's the food that's doing this.

I need to get back to somewhere I can just eat the meat and fat that I need.

As to right here and right now, the knees are killing me, and none of my workarounds are working.

I hate it of course, but I need to go home.

 

[VNwalking]

I hate it of course, but I need to go home.

Oh, I can well imagine.
So sorry....

If you could reliably cook for yourself, that would help, but in small pueblos I guess that isn't an easy option.

 

[C clearly]

I'm sorry to hear this, but you are wise to recognize when you have reached your limits. I hope you can rest and recover well!

 

[Bala]

I'm sorry to read this. But I send my hope and wishes that all will improve when you are home and in control of your food.

 

[nycwalking]

I so enjoyed your log.

Sad to see it end.

Vaya con Dios.

 

[mspath]

I am sorry to read of your new difficulties. Please do take of yourself.
Looking forward to reading future posts when you are feeling better.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I so enjoyed your log.

Sad to see it end.

Oh, this is most certainly NOT the end -- I am most certainly still walking home to home.

This is just the end of stage 3, and even then I'm still walking tomorrow at least.

Don't know if I'll be able to continue this year though I doubt it, but certainly in 2022 !!

 

[David Tallan]

Sorry to hear of this. Hoping that access to the food you need brings a speedy recovery. Looking forward to a future continuation of this journey that is sustainable.

 

[VNwalking]

Take care, @JabbaPapa.
I hope you managed to at least get to Moratinos or even Sahagun, which would be an easy place to get to in starting your 4th leg. You've come quite a way, so there's that.

 

[VNwalking]

BTW...with this tormenting heat, you'd be wise to not push through, even if everything else weren't an issue. Which it surely is. May you stay cool, peregrino!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day 140 -- Moratinos -- Peaceable Kingdom

(140 was yesterday, but today's not 141)

Took two hours to walk the 3K from Terradillos, and Rebekah said I looked exhausted on arrival.

But there are few places as good as here to end this part of my Way, even though it will technically be ending at Sahagún later, from where I'll be starting the return trip this afternoon. Rebekah was brilliant about finding travel possibilities, so with her help I have a train ticket to Palencia, and from there bus to Irún. Cross the bridge on foot, then I'll sleep out somewhere near the station in Hendaye.

Annoyingly with the restrictions I'll need to cross France on local trains only, though truth be told I quite like those sorts of trains, as I can just choose wherever I want to rest tomorrow evening, hopefully somewhere with pilgrim lodging on the Arles Way or something.

I am more a friend of Paddy's than Rebekah's, of course it's lovely to see both of them, and the welcome was as brilliant as last time. There are two Pauls here as well, one more of a pilgrim the other more a hospitalero type I think, helping out and whatnot (there's a house painting project).

As to Moratinos itself, first time I slept here in 1993, one of our company had developed a foot or ankle problem so we couldn't go on and were planning on sleeping out somewhere, 'til one of the locals offered us shelter in one of those "hobbit hole" bodegas, so we spent the evening and early night in this exact same period of the year out up there with the locals watching the meteor shower with clarete and snacks, then when we were sleepy, into the bodega and our host said feel free to drink as much wine as you like.

Memorable.

Last time on the 2014, the Italian Albergue had just opened and it was uncertain at the time it would survive, but it seems now to be doing well ; and there's also now the larger hostal/bar/restaurant at the start of the village, where we had a quick lunch yesterday, the five of us including the Pauls, nothing to shout about but very decent indeed -- though most of the vegetarian options (sadly for one of the Pauls) are temporarily off the menu for the time being from insufficiency in pilgrim numbers ; else there's a greater choice of foods there than is typical for one of these places. It's lucky too for them that many of the locals have adopted the place for their ordinary watering hole, so that even with fewer pilgrims they're getting the business they need.

So things do keep on changing in this little pueblo, which through the simplest ways has become one of the better and easier, quieter places along this meseta. But really, that's already how it was in the early 1990s, and all that has been done since is just build on those basics and foundations, although I do gather that the pueblo does empty out in the colder season.

------------

As to future plans, well given that technically I'm finishing this stage at Sahagún, I'll start stage 4 from there, eventually, though regardless any future Covid restrictions I need to stay at home 'til the end of the year anyway to sort some stuff out at my end, so that even if the current and somewhat unseasonal spread of the virus in even a younger population were the harbinger of herd immunity, and this SARS becoming an endemic background disease, my Stage 4 will not be 'til 2022 at earliest.

Stage 1 was 4 weeks 'til I was stopped by injury, Stage 2 was 7 weeks 'til the heatwave stopped me, Stage 3 now 9 weeks 'til handicap and dietary problems did.

I did about 800K I suppose this year, so I'm now up to about 2,000K so far on this Camino, and though that's quite good and is starting to be a respectable distance, it's still a few hundred K short of half way. It also means that the whole thing will be more than 4,500K, and so the whole thing is longer than my previous estimate.

And so clearly no idea how long this is going to take me ; though I did realise a couple of things about the final few 100K I'll be doing after Lourdes, which is that the dietary stuff will be easier to satisfy from being in France, but also that it will become psychologically easier the closer I get to home and the end of it, just as it becomes psychologically easier the closer you get to Compostela.

Well ; we'll see ...

 

[JabbaPapa]

BTW...with this tormenting heat

There's actually been good breeze over the meseta in these past weeks, so that with some exceptions, the heat has been more tolerable generally than the temps would indicate.

Also, this is nothing compared to what 2019 was like. Stretches of some days of high heat, not weeks and months.

 

[VNwalking]

France and Italy have it worse at the moment, with oppressive stillness, friends tell me. So I'm glad there is some breeze out there...
Hopefully by the time you get home, the furnace will have cooled down a bit.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I am in France !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Got home last night -- tired and hungry.

Slept out on a handy grass verge beneath the trees near the border in Hendaye, and at a children's playground in Nimes.

Hips to knees were painful when I woke up yesterday, so sadly this was indeed the right decision.

It will take a month or two for my gut and digestive system to start working normally again.

Was nice though to see my next door neighbour last night ...

 

[JabbaPapa]

Day106 -- Logroño

I had an unfortunate accident near the start, skipping as I crossed a small river, and the hand-held device I've been using as a mini-tablet got soaked and now won't switch on.

It's working again -- seems it needed a few weeks to get completely dried out again.

Digestion still dodgy though.

 

[VNwalking]

It's working again -- seems it needed a few weeks to get completely dried out again.

I hope your joints will soon be working again, Jabbapapa.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Good things have come from this latest stage of my current Camino, even though I was forced (again) to cut my Way short.

I have lost a significant degree of weight for one thing, but I am happiest so far that not only did it not end in injury, but my legs have proven today at church to be stronger than they have been in years, so that I could attend a social function there without being forced to grab a chair and sit.

Weather here at this end of the Way has also cooled down to be not simply pleasant, but beautiful.



(view from home 5 minutes ago of where the coastal Via Romea/Francigena crosses from France to Italy, or vice-versa on the Camino)

The administrative stuff that I have to deal with this year has also come in earlier than I expected it, so that this latest stoppage may be a good thing.

Weather has now anyway cooled down enough that in conjunction with the stronger legs, I should be able to start my training hikes again -- and in the direction shown in this photo, but up-to-down, I'm not crazy !!

Otherwise -- here's a photo from the meseta :

 

[JabbaPapa]

Off-topic -- nevertheless HOORAY !! -- I'm getting ultra-fast fibre internet next week !!

 

[mspath]

I have been thinking of your recent walk, and how you had to sleep outside several times. I have had huge problems trying to find accommodations on the Levante, finally culminating this afternoon in a telephone conversation with the reservation person at the Posada in Higueruela. She informed me that there will not be any available accommodation there tomorrow and there's nothing else in town, with the albergue closed. I can't stay here, so my options are to sleep outside or to try to find a bus to take me on to some less busy place, where I can relax a bit and hopefully book far enough ahead to not need to sleep outside.

Albertagirl,
I am sorry to read of your predicament.
When checking on the map to locate Higueruela I spotted this nearby camping reference . Perhaps you might call them for assistance.

Vivir en una tienda de campaña

Es posible vivir en una tienda de campaña y en CampingLife nos apasiona la idea, por eso te mostramos todo lo necesario que debes saber, tener y prever para

tentlife.es

Good luck and do please write what you eventually do.

Update;
Have you telephoned any church office in town? Such as
Parroquia Santa Quiteria
Pl. Iglesia, 3, 02694 Higueruela, Albacete, Spain
+34 967 28 72 46

 

[JabbaPapa]

I have been thinking of your recent walk, and how you had to sleep outside several times. I have had huge problems trying to find accommodations on the Levante, finally culminating this afternoon in a telephone conversation with the reservation person at the Posada in Higueruela. She informed me that there will not be any available accommodation there tomorrow and there's nothing else in town, with the albergue closed. I can't stay here, so my options are to sleep outside or to try to find a bus to take me on to some less busy place, where I can relax a bit and hopefully book far enough ahead to not need to sleep outside.

Sleeping outside is simply a necessity on many of these less-travelled/more remote Camino Ways, but it does take some getting used to, particularly if you've not really done it before. And busing this section or that really is just to kick the can down the road instead of facing the problem head on.

The only time when indoors and a bed become necessaries are when you've spent 2-3 nights out, and you really do need a shower and a more comfortable rest. Though really bad weather can do the trick as well, unless you find a pretty much perfect outdoor location.

The things to look for in an outdoor place to sleep, in no particular order :

Not too rough ground -- no matter how good of an inflatable mattress you have, sleeping on rocks and roots is no good.

Lawns are tempting -- but look out for sprinklers, especially the hidden ones hard to see.

Somewhere sheltered is better than open sky in most circumstances -- though under the stars can be cool ; look out for weather.

Somewhere out of the way.

Somewhere dark. The last two are especially important on pilgrimage in Italy, as the country is full of thieves. But generally one sleeps more comfortably in more isolated surroundings than less.

Good luck, and Buen Camino !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Off-topic -- nevertheless HOORAY !! -- I'm getting ultra-fast fibre internet next week !!

Got it

 

[mspath]

Got it

JabbaPapa,
Lucky you! Here in the Aisne we are still waiting.

 

[JabbaPapa]

The mortal remains of the beautiful pine grove before my home :



-----------

Before :

 

[JabbaPapa]

The mortal remains of the beautiful pine grove before my home :

View attachment 110528

What they're doing here is horrid.

Here is the secular starting point and end point of my current Camino, though the Parish altar where it more properly starts and ends is somewhat downhill.

I have become the last person to sit in the remains of the beautiful pine grove.

I will continue to be so, beneath the surviving pine, as I can.

Remembrance of better hope, beneath the same tree :

 

[VNwalking]

I'm sorry, Jabbapapa.
Sometimes human beings treat all creation as inanimate objects, to be axed at our whim. It's very sad.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I'm starting to work out the next steps.



(photo Bill Bennett)

I think I'll head South from Sahagún, which means I've passed the half way point on this current Camino HOORAY !!

Location of this great photo is BTW just down here where I live.

Not even wearing my big black plgrim cape LOL !!!

 

[VNwalking]

NIce photo!

Not even wearing my big black plgrim cape LOL !!!

The cape does not make the pilgrim.

 

[JabbaPapa]

This is one of my better ones from last year :

 

[mspath]

This is one of my better ones from last year :

View attachment 117438

Jabbapapa,
Agreed. Your view of Castrojeriz is a great example of "postcard Spain"! Those of us who have trudged that way remember it well. Thanks for posting.

 

[Turga]

Those of us who have trudged that way remember it well.

I guess many of us who have trudged that way have the same motif, at least I do and from almost the same spot, yet at a different, less fertile and barren time.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I have just finished the final book in a very long reading list that I put to myself back in 2019 (final book, War Lord, in Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories, that the TV series The Last Kingdom is based on -- though I'll keep on reading each new novel of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire + spinoffs, and each new Jack Reacher novel, as they come out)) ; except the cherry on that particular cake of a Virginia Woolf noel that I still haven't read. I love her writing so much that I prefer to keep the unread ones aside for future years. Time to eat that cherry.

Apart from that, I'm back into my Koine Greek studies, and the Nestlé-Alland New Testament, which are less time-intensive -- and some individual books, but those, each in their own time.

So now my thoughts return to the Camino.

I might aim for April, but possibly May.

But well, after a couple of months to recover from the last stretch of it ; then the covid ; post-viral syndrome ; then finishing up that reading : well, think it's time to start getting ahead again !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

I'm back onto my training hikes !! Hooray !!!

The weather is glorious, was in a t-shirt today.

Monday was tough, but I still made it to my first acceptable stop point ; today I made it to the second, though I had it in me to walk further.

I'm anyway more "in training" than I thought I'd be, which might be the steak & eggs diet starting to pay dividends.

A couple of complete strangers have recently greeted me with variations on : "Hallo Pilgrim !!", and that's always a good sign towards some incoming pilgrimming. Variants on that theme, from the great big yellow arrow on my hat, are of the "It's that-a-way !!" & "Follow the arrow !!" sort hehehe ...

Walked less though than the "full" ~15K of my basic training hike ; which, if I can do that without issues, tells me I'll have the bare minimum needed to meaningfully get myself onwards on the Way of Saint James. So it seems this will cost less than in previous years, hooray !!

--------

I realised the other day that -- next month I'll cross the threshold of having knowingly been a pilgrim for more than half of my life, and that's fun !!

Sus Eia ; and Ultreia !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

April seems dodgy, but still feasible. Got all my kit, apart from some pairs of trousers (really hope I won't need to carry three of successively diminishing sizes !!), and so that if all does fall into place (and I have encouraging signals), then it's just some vitamins I'll need (though my stock of anti-inflammorities isn't as well garnished as I'd hope for).

The issue is that my application for handicap benefit renewal suffered a three month delay from two months of covid (very mild symptoms, common cold -like) and then my GP went for her month over the holidays with her (no doubt excellent) family at home. (She's very nice anyway, in the Italian way, so her family must be too !!)

But I may be potentially back on the Camino in about six weeks' time !! (else 10)

 

[JabbaPapa]

Hooray !! The handicap benefit has been renewed 'til 2025, and so that means that I will be back on this Camino in April.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Well -- the osteo-arthritis is worse than it was pre-covid, but it seems to be getting back into some manageable state.

I have -- I *think* -- worked out how to avoid (or try to) the dietary issues that stopped me last year, and I hope I'm right about that.

It's good anyway that I can start earlier rather than later, as to the Via de la Plata heat-wise.

I have an idea that if I can get so far as back to the Pyrenees, and so a few more weeks of hiking than I managed last year, I might be able to finish this year, as walking the Camino in France is a lot easier for me physically, materially, and medically in France than Spain, as France is my country of residence -- and the supermarket food is more agreeable to my needs than the Spanish -- all that cheese and charcuterie !! Certainly, normal Spanish ham is better than all but the best of the French (or Italian or etc) ; but the variety in quality of the French saucissons and so on is rivalled by none.

And as to more weeks -- well, stage one was 4 weeks ; two 7 ; three 9. So I am hopeful.

On this Camino, I've nevertheless sadly yet to cross the threshold, as much physical, as religious, spiritual, psychological, and medical, where I can walk with my end in sight -- ironically, as the end is right here where I am sitting right now !! I am hoping that it's something that will change once I set out from Compostela to start my journey home.

The four Sanctuaries that I am walking towards are still ahead of me on my Way (though one of them is our Parish church, and yes, it's a Sanctuary) -- Fátima > Santiago de Compostela > Lourdes > Saint Joseph de Beausoleil. But so much walking just to the first of them !!

Day 141 incoming !! Hooray !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

I am really, really hoping that I will not need to delay this one 'til May -- Summer on the Via de la Plata, even though it won't be on the more southerly stretches, I'd like to avoid.

Though I am starting to think that -- yet again !! -- I'll be on the Francès in August.

It's as though August on the Francès is some sort of huge magnet, and I'm the great big lump of pilgrim iron dragged into it each and every time.

Don't really mind -- though some variety would be pleasant !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

It's likely still April, though later in the month than I was hoping.

The past few weeks with the disability benefit being suspended for Admin "stuff" have certainly been trying - - but there's a massive silver lining to it in that I'll have far more to set off with (including especially transport costs) than I had been expecting. And I *think* basics are resolved next week - - cross fingers !!

Delay that's unavoidable anyway is that I have a few purchases to make, including one online with a delivery date imponderable, so inevitably Day 141 will be later in the month rather than sooner.

And well, each day of delay is another increment in °C on La Plata ...

But overall - - Hooray !!! It's happening again !!!

 

[JabbaPapa]

This has been a very difficult month.

But I've called the relevant service, and my incoming benefit has been fully approved -- no idea when, in some days, and I will at least be getting twice the usual amount on one go, which will clearly be very helpful to get restarted on my Way. I have been told that the double lump sum payment is approved, and I can see on the website that next month's normal payment (in May) is incoming.

The most annoying thing this March purely Camino-wise, outside the obvious financials and kit etc., is that I've been put into the same situation of non-ideal food as stopped my stage 3 last year. To the extent that I had been starting to worry, between the financials and the non-ideal diet, if I need not delay Day 141 'til the Autumn !!

Having no money except through the kindness and generosity of others is without comparison -- as I have been given it from kindness and generosity, and the latter twain outweighs all difficulty, as they do on the Way of Saint James, always ; in sickness or in health, for richer or poorer, until our return home give us rest.

But then, I am a Pilgrim of the Way of Saint James -- so that this glass is not half empty, but half full.

I will be walking on the Camino de Santiago this month. HOORAY !!!

Some little bird must have whispered into my ear this morning, unbeknownst, as I had a good look at my route south from Sahagún towards 9-10 AM.

I am definitely going to Zamora !!

As to my route from Mérida to Portugal, see here : https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...for-project-linking-vdlp-and-portugues.73987/

The wonderful mapy.cz seems to have been updated with several more recorded hiking and pilgrim trails in the area of Portugal in question -- and the Way from Mérida to Portugal seems happily to have been waywarked. So, all in all, today has been a good day for the killing of doubts !! And for the kindness of strangers.

Matthew :
{25:35} 'For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in;
{25:36} naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.’
{25:37} Then the just will answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when have we seen you hungry, and fed you; thirsty, and given you drink?
{25:38} And when have we seen you a stranger, and taken you in? Or naked, and covered you?
{25:39} Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit to you?’
{25:40} And in response, the King shall say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did this for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it for me.’

No longer do I ask myself "if", or "when" -- but "how". A far better question !!

Utreia. Sus Eia.

The Camino provides.

 

[JabbaPapa]

HOORAY !!!

The bloody cash is coming in tomorrow !!!

This has been another one of my weird Lents.

---

I am back on my Way to Fátima, Santiago de Compostela,, Lourdes, and Saint-Joseph de Beausoleil.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Still not sure when, exactly -- but basically, it's ASAP after Easter.

 

[JabbaPapa]

A strange day.

I visited the nuns down here, and we had kind conversation, and they gave me a couple of kilos of meat. Good stuff !!

Then, well, it seems Decathlon is discontinuing its line of 100% cotton t-shirts, which is horrid as they were to date the only ones selling them up to my size. I did manage to grab the last long-sleeved one in black my size, but hhhmmmmm ...

But then -- the cobbler down there had some leather belts on offer, and I've seriously needed one for 3 years or so, and well, got one, and it's proper Italian, so that I'm rather hopeful with it !!

But the t-shirt situation is horrid -- what, forced to buy online from Amazon or something ?

----

Otherwise, I find that too many nowadays lack even the vaguest sense of humour !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Oh !!!

But I did get my savon de Marseilles -- three lavender, two basic olive oil.

2 steps forward, one step back.

And I got about 200€ worth vitamins and supplements yesterday for the next section of the Way.


I really, really do hope the belt works out !!!

 

[JabbaPapa]

I did finally manage to obtain the last three 4XL Black 100% cotton t-shirts on the Decathlon website.

Hooray !!!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Got them in the post today.

Still need trousers -- BLACK cotton jeans of course -- and I think more importantly, a small number of training hikes to get the kinks out of my system. Oh, and some more medicine.

The Amazonification of everything is making this all more difficult than it should be.

Still -- at some point, I'll set a date for heading back to start Stage Four, and as always of course I'm hoping it will be the final one ; and if I can reach the Pyrenees on the Way back, it might be. Mainly, at some point it will just feel right, and I'll be off !!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Very much wish I could have gotten back into it in April, or failing that early May.

But oh well, travelling next week, Tuesday I hope. Had to delay for another week because of a work disaster, else I'd be there already.

I am tempted to wait another couple of days for Top Gun 2 -- I saw the trailer the other day in pretty much ideal massive big screen conditions with a perfect sound system, and WOW !!, so the film seems like it's going to at least equal James Cameron's Titanic in impact and effect.

But well -- the Camino beckons.

 

[VNwalking]

James Cameron's Titanic in impact and effect

That film caused me to swear off movies ever since. Cheer up, JP, you'll have a much better film:

But well -- the Camino beckons.

Anyway, the longer you wait the hotter it'll be, and who needs extra challenge?

Buen camino, peregrino! Glad you'll soon be on your way.

 

[JabbaPapa]

It's a matter of days in any case, though I'm not setting off tomorrow as hoped. Still some cleanup stuff at this end.

And land transport to Moratinos and to Day 141 is about three days in itself. Which is good ; old-fashioned rather than ASAP is best -- it's a journey in itself.

Regarding Top Gun I have been thinking about the very last thing I did before the 1994 start from Paris (and that was hands down my best ever Camino) -- an all-night showing of the first three Star Wars films, in what I consider to be the best cinema house in Europe, the Max Linder.

And not just any showing, but what I believe to have been the absolute last ever authorised public showing of the original pre- Special Edition versions of them anywhere ever ; and BTW absolutely gorgeous Paris Cinématèque (film history museum) prints, absent defects.

And I was in brilliant company, a lovely and clever Irish girl (nothing between us) who asked me for a memorable last night in Paris, just because we were the last two survivors from our original group of some years earlier, and we well liked each other (just not in that way), and especially after she agreed to the idea -- including because she had never seen any of them even once !! Amazing. Fresh eyes !!

I'd normally not change departure plans over a film -- at most I might divert an ongoing Camino route for one, as in go through place A rather than place B ; but for once I think I'd kick myself if I didn't see and then spent months regretting not seeing this one in optimal conditions. No matter how good my 5K/2K ultrawide screen HDR monitor may be. Still nowhere near as good as a perfect cinema screen, a pristine print (likely 8K digital), and excellent hi-fi surround sound.

And well, if occasionally I need to switch from supermarket munchies & menús de peregrinos to a great big juicy massive thick steak ; not sure how this is much different.

 

[JabbaPapa]

OK -- it's definitely a Friday morning start date for my journey back to Moratinos and towards Day 141.

It's a three day trip with my preferred land travel choices.

If all goes well, Day 1) Monaco > Perpignan ; 2) > Lleida ; 3) > (wherever) > Sahagún > Moratinos

Else, well, 4 days instead ...

I'll make it up as I go along.

EDIT -- though as I was hoping, Friday is the meeting day in the Perpignan Albergue of the local Confraternity, so that it's a good travel day.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Packing ...

2:30 AM wake up, an hour later out of the house, 5 AM + first train.

 

[JabbaPapa]

FWIW Top Gun 2 is sheer cinema spectacle. I think of it as the full potential of the first one finally realised. No spoilers, but ...

This one is definitely worth going to your absolute best local cinema screen for. I have a pretty huge 5K/2K ultrawide computer monitor, 10-bit colour full HDR. Happy to rewatch this in future on that monitor at home ; but there is no comparison with the quality of the image that you'll see at the cinema.

 

[J Willhaus]

FWIW Top Gun 2 is sheer cinema spectacle. I think of it as the full potential of the first one finally realised. No spoilers, but ...

This one is definitely worth going to your absolute best local cinema screen for. I have a pretty huge 5K/2K ultrawide computer monitor, 10-bit colour full HDR. Happy to rewatch this in future on that monitor at home ; but there is no comparison with the quality of the image that you'll see at the cinema.

Did you go to the movie before or on the way your train?

 

[JabbaPapa]

Did you go to the movie before or on the way your train?

Yesterday. My way to the train is on foot in about 6 hours' time.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I'm on the train !!

 

[mspath]

I'm on the train !!

JabbaPapa,
Now you are truly on your way.
Carpe diem and, as always, Ultreia!

 

[Bala]

I'm on the train !!

At last! As we say in the U.S, Happy trails!