- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2023 Vasco, Meseta, Portugues Coastal
Hi to all my friends here on the forum. I have been gone awhile.
Every time I start writing about my Via De La Plata experience my mind fogs over.
Let me start this time by adding caveats that will help I hope.
Most importantly I think my experience because of Covid and the number of places that were closed and the number of kitchens that we had no access to and it being hotter at the beginning than I thought it would be may signal that my camino would have been different in some respects if I had walked during a non "Covid" time. However that may be defined in the future.
I started with my friend Anya in mid October from Sevilla. The walk out of the beautiful city of Sevilla was anything but beautiful but that is how things go leaving big cities. We walked to Guillena and stayed at Albergue Luz del Camino and it was clean and comfortable and the kitchen was open and Anya made us a nice dinner. I thought this is good, the municipals look like they are mostly closed but the private albergues are open and so are the kitchens. The open kitchens would turn out to be the exception not the rule. So it added a little stress for me that as I walk on a budget I found in many places I had to stay in hostels or pensions that often at least doubled what I would normally pay for my sleeping.
I also had major stomach issues that were misdiagnosed before I left from home in Mexico. I was taking antibiotics for what was thought to be a parasite or infection. Literally the day before I left I received word that it wasn't either of those things and was told to go to a Gastroenterologist. Too late for that and I said I will figure it out when I am in Spain. I can tell you the first 10 days or so I fertilized more than a few olive trees. I went to two doctors in hospital in Monesterio and they couldn't have been bigger jerks. Neither one would even examine me let alone offer a diagnosis or treatment. In Zafra I was misdiagnosed again. In Merida I saw a wonderful young doctor who put me through a battery of tests, and when he called me into his office he told me I needed to go on a strict diet for a week. RIce, chicken breast, white fish, apples, bananas etc. He basically said that the diet the doctor the Zafra doctor wanted me to be on was fine for an 80 year old who only walks to the bathroom. So from the beginning of the Camino I was carrying about 5 extra pounds between the water and the food as there were so few towns on the stages we walked. As you know sometimes none. No place to sit except on my backpack which was uncomfortable to say the least especially given my delicate condition, haha. I had to find places that would let me at least cook some rice which often the people in the hostel or albergue would oblige but I had to carry even more weight from Zafra because I had a really large tupperware container with my food. That pretty much doubled my weight to about 10 pounds. I just ate the food I cooked from Zafra for another 10 days or so. Rice, apples and bananas can get pretty heavy along with your water.
It was difficult getting into a rhythm when i walked carrying a large cloth Decathlon bag filled with all that stuff.
Anya and I used to marvel that we never saw anyone on the Camino but some days early on the albergues or a pension we tried to stay at would be full. Is it the bed limits? No we discovered for some reason there would be these minivans full of 10-15 people walking short stretches and getting back on their buses only to have reservations at the albergue we tried to stay at. If things were open as normal I am sure this would not have been an issue and we would not have even noticed the part time holiday walkers.
Walking early on in the heat was tough for me as I had to drink alot of water because of my stomach and the heat to avoid dehydration. It also seemed like every time I wanted to take a break there would be no shade or comfortable resting place anywhere.
I did have many wonderful stretches during the day of complete quiet and solitude which I love. Even though the countryside is often monotonous early on I didn't mind that at all. It is what the VDLP is all about and what I was looking for. But day after day things would come up from my past experiences and pains that of course can effect all pilgrims. I try to let those things pass and not dwell on them on other caminos. I have always had the philosophy that many of the troubles and conflicts we have in life, especially after 67 years are best dealt with by just letting them go and forgiving yourself or others or both. This time, and I do not know why I held on to my sh*t too long and couldn't see to let things go. I am still struggling some even though It is now 6 weeks since I am back.
Of course the Spanish people I met who owned or worked in albergues or some of the restaurants and bars were warm and generous to us pilgrims. But generally speaking outside of "pilgrim" settings for the most part shop owners, bar owners and generally people didn't really care one way or the other for pilgrims. I do not know if this was because of the pandemic, or because so few pilgrims walk this route we have no economic significance or it was just me. The few pilgrims I met for more than a chance meeting along the camino or in a bed in an albergue seemed to agree with this assessment.
After the weather cooled off and we were getting into November
In Salamanca we talked to the hospitaleria in the donativo. We were asking if the albergue and donativo situation on the Sanabria was going to be any better or as we were in November would it get worse. She said it would get worse. Anja decided that she didn't want to stay and walk the Sanabria and we got to Zamora she would go to Ponferrada where she had to stop her last camino because of illness. I was going to continue on but I knew my costs would be lower and things would be alot easier infrastructure wise so I walked on to Astorga. We never saw each other after Zamora but she gave me some great albergue recommendations! I really liked walking with her.
One moment that made us both laugh hysterically and confirmed to us that yes pilgrims aren't a priority was when we were leaving Salamanca it started to rain really hard. We ran across the street on this big boulevard to duck into a bar and have coffee and tostada. (Oh yea lots of bars on the way had nothing to eat in the morning except pan tostada or some pretty weak looking day old tapas) When we were finished we weren't sure which way to walk. I asked the owner and 2 men sitting next to him, then extended my question to the 4 or 5 others at the bar. When I asked El Camino es izquierda o directo? Que Camino? Camino Via de La Plata. We were met by shrugs and grunts!!!! Gotta love that moment.
I often had problems getting into my groove because of my physical struggles and often a lack of being able to rest properly during the day. This was my 6th camino and in so many ways it was the greatest struggle for me even though it is not a very difficult camino to walk. It was the lack of companionship at night as often I was in a single tiny room. I know many like their privacy but I would much rather be in an albergue or donativo and feel and share the energy and happiness or pain or other pilgrims, have interesting conversations, laugh and meet interesting people and share a dinner in the albergue or a beer or coke. I would get depressed in those little rooms.
Once again I think my camino is by far the exception and not the rule. I believe those who have walked in the past or those who walk in the future would have or will have a very different experience than I had.
Anja really did not like her VDLP experience. i tried to look at it as unique and just added to my collective camino conscientiousness. I am not sorry I walked and would not have changed anything about it except the many extra trips to the cajero to get money. I am also convinced that one thing that makes the camino so unique is that starting a camino 2 or 3 days before or after your real start date can mean a very different camino experience. In the people you meet, in the amount of people walking in the general geographic area close to you and the weather. It is just one of those things.
When I got to the CF the more familiar camino experience quickly engulfed me.
I was looking for a more solitude and personal experience and the Camino delivered that for me on the VDLP. I never have expectations but the experience was so unique and so different I still do not know what to make of it.
It also gave me an appreciation of what i tended to forget about the CF. It may be alot more crowded especially after Sarria but you do have at your fingertips and hugs the best opportunity to meet some of the most wonderful people on earth. We need people like pilgrims especially in these times of chaos and madness.
I did walk to Muxia and and on to Fisterra. It was a wonderful close to my camino and I must say it was my first time walking to Muxia and third time in Fisterra and I would highly recommend walking to Muxia. It is beautiful also and I really liked the town of Muxia more. Go to both and see for yourself. Good to be back with you and thanks for listening or reading my ramblings.
If you want to go on the VDLP I would say do it and have your own experience and make your own memories.
Every time I start writing about my Via De La Plata experience my mind fogs over.
Let me start this time by adding caveats that will help I hope.
Most importantly I think my experience because of Covid and the number of places that were closed and the number of kitchens that we had no access to and it being hotter at the beginning than I thought it would be may signal that my camino would have been different in some respects if I had walked during a non "Covid" time. However that may be defined in the future.
I started with my friend Anya in mid October from Sevilla. The walk out of the beautiful city of Sevilla was anything but beautiful but that is how things go leaving big cities. We walked to Guillena and stayed at Albergue Luz del Camino and it was clean and comfortable and the kitchen was open and Anya made us a nice dinner. I thought this is good, the municipals look like they are mostly closed but the private albergues are open and so are the kitchens. The open kitchens would turn out to be the exception not the rule. So it added a little stress for me that as I walk on a budget I found in many places I had to stay in hostels or pensions that often at least doubled what I would normally pay for my sleeping.
I also had major stomach issues that were misdiagnosed before I left from home in Mexico. I was taking antibiotics for what was thought to be a parasite or infection. Literally the day before I left I received word that it wasn't either of those things and was told to go to a Gastroenterologist. Too late for that and I said I will figure it out when I am in Spain. I can tell you the first 10 days or so I fertilized more than a few olive trees. I went to two doctors in hospital in Monesterio and they couldn't have been bigger jerks. Neither one would even examine me let alone offer a diagnosis or treatment. In Zafra I was misdiagnosed again. In Merida I saw a wonderful young doctor who put me through a battery of tests, and when he called me into his office he told me I needed to go on a strict diet for a week. RIce, chicken breast, white fish, apples, bananas etc. He basically said that the diet the doctor the Zafra doctor wanted me to be on was fine for an 80 year old who only walks to the bathroom. So from the beginning of the Camino I was carrying about 5 extra pounds between the water and the food as there were so few towns on the stages we walked. As you know sometimes none. No place to sit except on my backpack which was uncomfortable to say the least especially given my delicate condition, haha. I had to find places that would let me at least cook some rice which often the people in the hostel or albergue would oblige but I had to carry even more weight from Zafra because I had a really large tupperware container with my food. That pretty much doubled my weight to about 10 pounds. I just ate the food I cooked from Zafra for another 10 days or so. Rice, apples and bananas can get pretty heavy along with your water.
It was difficult getting into a rhythm when i walked carrying a large cloth Decathlon bag filled with all that stuff.
Anya and I used to marvel that we never saw anyone on the Camino but some days early on the albergues or a pension we tried to stay at would be full. Is it the bed limits? No we discovered for some reason there would be these minivans full of 10-15 people walking short stretches and getting back on their buses only to have reservations at the albergue we tried to stay at. If things were open as normal I am sure this would not have been an issue and we would not have even noticed the part time holiday walkers.
Walking early on in the heat was tough for me as I had to drink alot of water because of my stomach and the heat to avoid dehydration. It also seemed like every time I wanted to take a break there would be no shade or comfortable resting place anywhere.
I did have many wonderful stretches during the day of complete quiet and solitude which I love. Even though the countryside is often monotonous early on I didn't mind that at all. It is what the VDLP is all about and what I was looking for. But day after day things would come up from my past experiences and pains that of course can effect all pilgrims. I try to let those things pass and not dwell on them on other caminos. I have always had the philosophy that many of the troubles and conflicts we have in life, especially after 67 years are best dealt with by just letting them go and forgiving yourself or others or both. This time, and I do not know why I held on to my sh*t too long and couldn't see to let things go. I am still struggling some even though It is now 6 weeks since I am back.
Of course the Spanish people I met who owned or worked in albergues or some of the restaurants and bars were warm and generous to us pilgrims. But generally speaking outside of "pilgrim" settings for the most part shop owners, bar owners and generally people didn't really care one way or the other for pilgrims. I do not know if this was because of the pandemic, or because so few pilgrims walk this route we have no economic significance or it was just me. The few pilgrims I met for more than a chance meeting along the camino or in a bed in an albergue seemed to agree with this assessment.
After the weather cooled off and we were getting into November
In Salamanca we talked to the hospitaleria in the donativo. We were asking if the albergue and donativo situation on the Sanabria was going to be any better or as we were in November would it get worse. She said it would get worse. Anja decided that she didn't want to stay and walk the Sanabria and we got to Zamora she would go to Ponferrada where she had to stop her last camino because of illness. I was going to continue on but I knew my costs would be lower and things would be alot easier infrastructure wise so I walked on to Astorga. We never saw each other after Zamora but she gave me some great albergue recommendations! I really liked walking with her.
One moment that made us both laugh hysterically and confirmed to us that yes pilgrims aren't a priority was when we were leaving Salamanca it started to rain really hard. We ran across the street on this big boulevard to duck into a bar and have coffee and tostada. (Oh yea lots of bars on the way had nothing to eat in the morning except pan tostada or some pretty weak looking day old tapas) When we were finished we weren't sure which way to walk. I asked the owner and 2 men sitting next to him, then extended my question to the 4 or 5 others at the bar. When I asked El Camino es izquierda o directo? Que Camino? Camino Via de La Plata. We were met by shrugs and grunts!!!! Gotta love that moment.
I often had problems getting into my groove because of my physical struggles and often a lack of being able to rest properly during the day. This was my 6th camino and in so many ways it was the greatest struggle for me even though it is not a very difficult camino to walk. It was the lack of companionship at night as often I was in a single tiny room. I know many like their privacy but I would much rather be in an albergue or donativo and feel and share the energy and happiness or pain or other pilgrims, have interesting conversations, laugh and meet interesting people and share a dinner in the albergue or a beer or coke. I would get depressed in those little rooms.
Once again I think my camino is by far the exception and not the rule. I believe those who have walked in the past or those who walk in the future would have or will have a very different experience than I had.
Anja really did not like her VDLP experience. i tried to look at it as unique and just added to my collective camino conscientiousness. I am not sorry I walked and would not have changed anything about it except the many extra trips to the cajero to get money. I am also convinced that one thing that makes the camino so unique is that starting a camino 2 or 3 days before or after your real start date can mean a very different camino experience. In the people you meet, in the amount of people walking in the general geographic area close to you and the weather. It is just one of those things.
When I got to the CF the more familiar camino experience quickly engulfed me.
I was looking for a more solitude and personal experience and the Camino delivered that for me on the VDLP. I never have expectations but the experience was so unique and so different I still do not know what to make of it.
It also gave me an appreciation of what i tended to forget about the CF. It may be alot more crowded especially after Sarria but you do have at your fingertips and hugs the best opportunity to meet some of the most wonderful people on earth. We need people like pilgrims especially in these times of chaos and madness.
I did walk to Muxia and and on to Fisterra. It was a wonderful close to my camino and I must say it was my first time walking to Muxia and third time in Fisterra and I would highly recommend walking to Muxia. It is beautiful also and I really liked the town of Muxia more. Go to both and see for yourself. Good to be back with you and thanks for listening or reading my ramblings.
If you want to go on the VDLP I would say do it and have your own experience and make your own memories.
