- Time of past OR future Camino
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Apparently the Barcelona-Granada sleeper has gone the same way, happy memories of that pre- VdlP in 2012.Night train/ Paris to Bayonne
photo taken October 14, 2014
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To begin past CFs I often took the train de nuit/ overnight train with couchettes/sleepers
from Paris/ Austerlitz to Bayonne. Since I bought a senior ticket well in advance the 30€ price was a bargain for a slow voyage of roughly 1000 km.
I liked to imagine these night trains as humble versions of the famed Orient Express. It was magical to fall asleep in Paris at 11pm, hear/feel the carriages move through the night and awaken in Bayonne at 7am.
However this night train is no longer in service; only swft daytime TGVs now go from Paris/Montparnasse to Bayonne in 4 hours.
...Alas the "romance" of such night train travel as a camino preface is gone.
RIP trenhotelApparently the Barcelona-Granada sleeper has gone the same way, happy memories of that pre- VdlP in 2012.
We trained from Paris to Hendaye by TGV, then walked across the station into Irun, Spain and caught the night train to Lisbon in April, 2016 to commence the Caminho Portuguese from Lisbon.Night train/ Paris to Bayonne
photo taken October 14, 2014
View attachment 110683
To begin past CFs I often took the train de nuit/ overnight train with couchettes/sleepers
from Paris/ Austerlitz to Bayonne. Since I bought a senior ticket well in advance the 30€ price was a bargain for a slow voyage of roughly 1000 km.
I liked to imagine these night trains as humble versions of the famed Orient Express. It was magical to fall asleep in Paris at 11pm, hear/feel the carriages move through the night and awaken in Bayonne at 7am.
However this night train is no longer in service; only swft daytime TGVs now go from Paris/Montparnasse to Bayonne in 4 hours.
...Alas the "romance" of such night train travel as a camino preface is gone.
Trying to get a picture of the countryside I instead got the reflection of the dining car. Linens, heavy cutlery, sparkling glasses…sadly all gone (so glad I decided to do it then)We trained from Paris to Hendaye by TGV, then walked across the station into Irun, Spain and caught the night train to Lisbon in April, 2016 to commence the Caminho Portuguese from Lisbon.
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We also pretended we were on the Orient Express but unfortunately we weren't prepared with cash to buy any food from the very minimalist buffet car and they didn't accept card. Luckily we had some snacks with us. We both slept incredibly well on the very comfortable beds which you can't see as they are hidden behind me. We had our own ensuite, shower/toilet but the cabin was so small when we put the beds down there was no room for our luggage, so we had to put it in the shower room! Don't know if this night train is still running but would recommend it.
I did a contract in London during the 80's for the company that owned the Orient Express (amongst many other things). I managed to score two tickets at discounted staff prices.Trying to get a picture of the countryside I instead got the reflection of the dining car. Linens, heavy cutlery, sparkling glasses…sadly all gone (so glad I decided to do it then)
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But for real Orient Express experience there’s the tren trancantabrico gran Lugo
(I took some pictures in waiting for my train in O Coruna but I’m already way over my picture limit today
El Tren Transcantábrico Gran Lujo - Trenes Deluxe
Le presentamos el Tren Transcantábrico Gran Lujo ¡un viaje a bordo de vagones originales de los años 20 que recorre las principales ciudades del norte!eltrentranscantabrico.com
Only the most peripheral connection to the camino, but a cultural link some of us might be old enough to remember: when we did the Plata in 2012, our plan B was to get on a plane and go to Morocco. Neither of us broke a leg or developed a violent aversion to walking all day across Spain, so we didn't go to Morocco. So when we came back to Spain to walk the Norte/Primitivo in 2015, we added on a trip to Morocco anyway and while there, took the train. Yes, my fellow baby-boomers, this is taken from the window (with Crosby, Stills and Nash blasting through my iPod) of the genuine and actual Marakech Express.Good news in a SNCF update to # 5 above!
Yesterday the French rr system
SNCF announced that as of December 13, 2021 new night trains will be running again.
One night train will run from Paris to Vienna, Austria.
Another night train will run from Paris to Lourdes with an extension planned for summer 2022 from Lourdes to Hendaye with a stop in Bayonne!!
...Perhaps I'll book a ticket now!!
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Avila, this day (10/09) in 2014, along the Camino de Levante.
I used to do this too. Getting from Scotland to Paris in one day, the night train was better than trying to zip across Paris to catch a train South. I never managed to go further than Bordeaux using daytime trains. I loved the night trains.Night train/ Paris to Bayonne
photo taken October 14, 2014
View attachment 110683
To begin past CFs I often took the train de nuit/ overnight train with couchettes/sleepers
from Paris/ Austerlitz to Bayonne. Since I bought a senior ticket well in advance the 30€ price was a bargain for a slow voyage of roughly 1000 km.
I liked to imagine these night trains as humble versions of the famed Orient Express. It was magical to fall asleep in Paris at 11pm, hear/feel the carriages move through the night and awaken in Bayonne at 7am.
However this night train is no longer in service; only swft daytime TGVs now go from Paris/Montparnasse to Bayonne in 4 hours.
...Alas the "romance" of such night train travel as a camino preface is gone.
I rode the same train on my first Camino in Feb 2014. My walking partner and I ended up on 3rd tier bunks. We slept past the stop in Bayonne and had to continue to Barritz. There were no trains back to Bayonne for quite some time.Night train/ Paris to Bayonne
photo taken October 14, 2014
View attachment 110683
To begin past CFs I often took the train de nuit/ overnight train with couchettes/sleepers
from Paris/ Austerlitz to Bayonne. Since I bought a senior ticket well in advance the 30€ price was a bargain for a slow voyage of roughly 1000 km.
I liked to imagine these night trains as humble versions of the famed Orient Express. It was magical to fall asleep in Paris at 11pm, hear/feel the carriages move through the night and awaken in Bayonne at 7am.
However this night train is no longer in service; only swft daytime TGVs now go from Paris/Montparnasse to Bayonne in 4 hours.
...Alas the "romance" of such night train travel as a camino preface is gone.
Used it myself 4 times and it was the perfect way to start my Camino.Night train/ Paris to Bayonne
photo taken October 14, 2014
View attachment 110683
To begin past CFs I often took the train de nuit/ overnight train with couchettes/sleepers
from Paris/ Austerlitz to Bayonne. Since I bought a senior ticket well in advance the 30€ price was a bargain for a slow voyage of roughly 1000 km.
I liked to imagine these night trains as humble versions of the famed Orient Express. It was magical to fall asleep in Paris at 11pm, hear/feel the carriages move through the night and awaken in Bayonne at 7am.
However this night train is no longer in service; only swft daytime TGVs now go from Paris/Montparnasse to Bayonne in 4 hours.
...Alas the "romance" of such night train travel as a camino preface is gone.
A 17-year-old was on a class trip, and died on the Camino more than 5 years ago. This year, Michael would have been 21 years old, perhaps out of a college, perhaps in love, perhaps looking forward to staring a new job. Or he is on the Camino again this day because someone broke his heart, or simply feeling the joy of being alive because "[t]he boat is safer anchored at the port but that's not the aim of boats." Those of us who are fortunate enough to grow older than Michael must make the best out of the time we have: "one day at a time". Thus, I am embarking on another Camino in memory of this young man that I have never met, but who forever lives on in my heart.Welcome, everyone!
Continuing our daily dose of camino magic.
Some of us are already walking, while others of us are still long from being able to put our shoes on an actual camino.
Until we can all walk in person, please join us in the fun of sharing a single daily photographic memory of the camino. It's been a real joy to see the camino through so many eyes!
(Please post thumbnails, so people with slow connections can still see the thread. Gracias!)
Somewhere between Miranda de Ebro and Pancorbo on the Via de Bayona.
I loved the poppies and the silent drama of the crushed wheat plants.
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This dam has a rather dark history. The buildings you see here were mainly accommodation for the workers, many of whom were political prisoners of the Franco regime. The death and accident rate was very high.reaching Grandas de Salime in time for second breakfast, Primitivo June
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not here, of course, breakfast in town....
Welcome, everyone!
Continuing our daily dose of camino magic.
Some of us are already walking, while others of us are still long from being able to put our shoes on an actual camino.
Until we can all walk in person, please join us in the fun of sharing a single daily photographic memory of the camino. It's been a real joy to see the camino through so many eyes!
(Please post thumbnails, so people with slow connections can still see the thread. Gracias!)
Somewhere between Miranda de Ebro and Pancorbo on the Via de Bayona.
I loved the poppies and the silent drama of the crushed wheat plants.
View attachment 110678
Great shot!
A true and urgent reminder.we have: "one day at a time".
Hopefully, in 2022, we will go!In June, 2018 we went to the left. Hopefully in 2022, we will go to the right!
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Thank you for posting this. I SOOOOOO wanted to see this chapel and was more aggravated at myself that my wrong turn made me miss this than the fact I was on a rather steep descent in a snow storm.Ibaneta pass
chapel
interior
photo taken 17 October, 2012
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Hidden colors
After a 5 hour climb up from Valcarlos to the 1060 m. Ibaneta pass I peered exhausted into a tiny window on the locked wayside chapel door and "discovered" these hidden glass panes. Their bright colors provided an immediate aesthetic pick-me-up.
Re-energized I could then descend towards Roncesvalles monastery to offer thanks for my journey and to rest myI very weary bones.
in the US alone, they kill 681,000 birds per year so.....
not disputing a dark history but the buildings here are the remains of the building factory for the dam where the materials were made, the abandoned homes are lower down I believe.This dam has a rather dark history. The buildings you see here were mainly accommodation for the workers, many of whom were political prisoners of the Franco regime. The death and accident rate was very high.
Smallest_Sparrow,Thank you for posting this. I SOOOOOO wanted to see this chapel and was more aggravated at myself that my wrong turn made me miss this than the fact I was on a rather steep descent in a snow storm.
in the US alone, they kill 681,000 birds per year so.....
Your photo we like, not so fond of wind turbines. We have many near us, on a beautiful part of the south west coast of Victoria, which spoil the coastline. Very frustrating, especially when on some windy days they are not working!! They are operated, so as to sell into the energy market at the highest price and switched off when demand is low.
Controversial, certainly. I am not sure about them myself but I think what harm they do could be mitigated by siting them more thoughtfully, and they have to be judged in context, i.e. comparison with the alternatives e.g. solar power, of which Australia has a lot (obviously but underused) and so does Morocco, which they are trying to export to Spain, and fossil fuels - of which enough said.in the US alone, they kill 681,000 birds per year so.....
In the Netherlands they started with the following ,in the US alone, they kill 681,000 birds per year so.....
Whose job is it to monitor the park for birds?Krammer is the first park in the Netherlands to actively shut down windmills to prevent animals from being hit by the deadly blades
I've only had it twice, out of desperation - and have no idea about the filtration but can report the coffee had notes of burnt tire and charcoal.Must admit I only tried a coffee twice on any of my Caminos from one of these machines. Am never sure enough if the water and filteringsystem are checked regularly.
As do I. If not for this thread I would likely go long periods of time between forum visits.One of the (many) things I love about this wonderful continuing thread is how it's led me to examine details of the thousands of images I've taken during my caminos. I notice things that I didn't when I took the photo, that have led me to learning in a much fuller way, the places where my feet led me.
I'm so glad you do, @Phoenix. Your photos are so evocative. In your pic just now, I can feel that 'first steps of the morning' feeling.It has become a routine of sorts: that first cup of coffee while scanning photos to find the one that strikes a note in my memory then sharing what my eyes have seen with others.
I love the Dutch, they are the social conscience of the world (in addition to making the best ice cream). I'm so grateful for my three years in the NL.In the Netherlands they started with the following ,
Krammer Wind Farm annually spends 120,000 to 180,000 euros to shut down the wind turbines for birds and bats that fly too close. Krammer is the first park in the Netherlands to actively shut down windmills to prevent animals from being hit by the deadly blades. "That is a considerable amount. But we would like the birds, and in particular the great white-tailed eagle, to continue to fly here," says project manager Gijs van Hout of the wind farm.
It's a small part off a langer article.
Me too. Whilst in lockdown, the forum, and this thread in particular have helped me get through a long and intense lockdown. There is now light at the end of the tunnel (and I am fairly sure it is not an oncoming train).As do I. If not for this thread I would likely go long periods of time between forum visits.
It has become a routine of sorts: that first cup of coffee while scanning photos to find the one that strikes a note in my memory then sharing what my eyes have seen with others.
They have lovely cows in Spain, mostly free range. We met a farmer on the VdlP who was looking for his lost cows. He was pretty unconcerned as he had a good idea of where they were. He walked with us for half an hour or so and gave us a long and detailed explanation of the relative merits of Limousin and Charolais cattle. These might be one of each (but there has to be at least somebody on the forum who knows a lot more about cows than me) on the Invierno, October 2018.We do not seem to have had any cows recently, so here are some pretty ones. The cheese that they helped provide, was very good as well. Fonfria CF 2019.
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Love me some early morning hikes!
Lovely docile creatures. Enjoyed my many encounters with them.They have lovely cows in Spain, mostly free range. We met a farmer on the VdlP who was looking for his lost cows. He was pretty unconcerned as he had a good idea of where they were. He walked with us for half an hour or so and gave us a long and detailed explanation of the relative merits of Limousin and Charolais cattle. These might be one of each (but there has to be at least somebody on the forum who knows a lot more about cows than me) on the Invierno, October 2018.
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Ahh...helps make the going a little less mundane. LOL!From the toilet of the albergue in Castro on the Primitivo, 8 Oct 2015. Possibly the best view from a toilet on the camino. Later that day, whilst pegging out our washing we recognised another pilgrim we had last met on the VdlP in 2012. The only other Australian we met that year, we identified him as an Australian because he was watching with evident relish the Eurovision Song Contest.
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I loved it there. The communal meal and people were beautiful; it more than made up for the most uncomfortable sleeping arrangement I've had on any Camino.Granon
parish albergue
dinner
photo taken November 3, 2014
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I have stayed ten times at the parish albergue San Juan Bautista in Granon on the CF; November 3, 2014, once again happiness and extraordinary caritas prevailed.
As always the communal dinner was cooked and served with love; twenty-two pilgrims shared food and ideas while offering personal thanks for the joy of being on the way.
All would remember the moments when the gracious priest and a young Korean pilgrim sang a duet praising the Virgin Mary; the delicate melody concluded a memorable evening of camino fellowship.
...Might it always be so.
My second favorite thing about the ongoing versions of this thread (behind the photos/stories) is the lack of complaining about Camino adventures common in other threads.Me too. Whilst in lockdown, the forum, and this thread in particular have helped me get through a long and intense lockdown. There is now light at the end of the tunnel (and I am fairly sure it is not an oncoming train).
Presumably not counting we peregrinas tortugas?of the many Spanish snails I encountered
Me too. I was surprised the night I stayed there were only 4 pilgrims. It was intimate and very sweet. And I actually like the mats on the floor, thinking them more relaxing by far than a bunk with someone above me.I loved it there. The communal meal and people were beautiful; it more than made up for the most uncomfortable sleeping arrangement I've had on any Camino
Is that an eagle?On the way to Rabanal del Camino, July2017
A feathery friend I met on the way, with a knight in chain mail who was gathering money for sick kids.
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Hawks here have spotted chests but maybe this is a Harris’s Hawk…I hope not a scam, could be someone who does Falconry as a hobby (or job) and so volunteered or was hired to raise money.I don't think so.
And I wonder. Could this be a scam? When I was first in Rabinal there was a guy who walked around with what looked like this same Buteo on his arm. He wasn't asking for money or wearing chain mail, but that was 2014 and things were a little more mellow:
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Yes me to.Whose job is it to monitor the park for birds?
I want that job!
Yes, I think it is.Hawks here have spotted chests but maybe this is a Harris’s Hawk…
Flig,Leaving Oviedo. First steps of my Camino.
Primitivo Sept 2021
Still there this September when I passed that spot.Any Camino can have monolitos
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An abandoned house as way marker (arrow lower right)…Primitivo 2012
I wondered about that when I posted this, good to know it’s hanging in there, thanks!!Still there this September when I passed that spot.
Yep.Anthony18 encountered snails, I encountered slugs, some bigger than my hand. Had never seen slugs that big before!
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