Ruta del Ebro: pictures.

[Stephen Nicholls]

I completed the Ruta del Ebro in late May 2015 - a beautiful but very lonely camino. I met one other pilgrim traveling the same way as myself in THREE WEEKS. I stayed in four albergues - and was totally alone in three of them.
My diary of each stage, and links to photo's are now on my web site:
http://snicholl5.wix.com/home-site#!santiago/c165l
.... enjoy ..... and, buen camino!

 

[Gailsie]

Wow Stephen, quite the journey. Love your writing style and the photos. I would not even try the Ebro route myself but love to read about the other routes and see photos. Thank you for posting. I have to finish the Ebro diary and then start to read about your other caminos. I hope you are able to make another camino.

 

[susanawee]

Hi Stephen....I have read through all your diary entries.....wonderful reading. Would it be possible for me to share your Ruta del Ebro to my Australian Pilgrims face book group please. Kind regards...Susanawee

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Hi Stephen....I have read through all your diary entries.....wonderful reading. Would it be possible for me to share your Ruta del Ebro to my Australian Pilgrims face book group please. Kind regards...Susanawee

Absolutely.
Everyone is welcome to share.
If my photos are used in publications, I ask for acknowledgment, but sharing with friends - no problem!
Blessings, Susana!

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Wow Stephen, quite the journey. Love your writing style and the photos. I would not even try the Ebro route myself but love to read about the other routes and see photos. Thank you for posting. I have to finish the Ebro diary and then start to read about your other caminos. I hope you are able to make another camino.

Well, Gailsie, I intended this to be my last camino ..... but am just thinking about the Primitivo now ..... just thinking .... maybe next May?
Does this camino 'bug' never go away?!

 

[susanawee]

Absolutely.
Everyone is welcome to share.
If my photos are used in publications, I ask for acknowledgment, but sharing with friends - no problem!
Blessings, Susana!

Thankyou....and Blessings back.

 

[Gailsie]

Stephen, I too would like to do another camino but have to lose weight and be much more fit before I attempt another one. It will have to be the Frances, or bits of it. I cannot walk long distances and steep inclines are really hard of me. I need somewhere with more pilgrims and facilities closer together now in my old age. I did try the CP last year and lasted four days. My ankle could not handle the setts and I hated the road walking. Here's hoping I can get my fitness level up and my weight down, I am walking three days a week this summer.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Stephen, I too would like to do another camino but have to lose weight and be much more fit before I attempt another one. It will have to be the Frances, or bits of it. I cannot walk long distances and steep inclines are really hard of me. I need somewhere with more pilgrims and facilities closer together now in my old age. I did try the CP last year and lasted four days. My ankle could not handle the setts and I hated the road walking. Here's hoping I can get my fitness level up and my weight down, I am walking three days a week this summer.

Oh, Gailsie, I know the feeling well!
The Portuguese 'setts' [road stones] can make walking difficult. There are alternatives to the Frances, but no others with such large numbers of peregrinos. You might try the Ingles. I sympathise 100% with your comments re distances: I make 20 kms my maximum, and often only walk 10 kms to 15 kms. If I find myself getting weary, I take a bus! There is no harm or shame in that. We are, after all, doing this for pleasure, not walking for the pleasure of pain.
I've no idea how old you are: I'm 76 and I reckon I'll be approaching old age in about ten years time . I'm also overweight at 95 kgms and am fighting to keep it down.
So rest assured you are not alone in your concern: whatever you decide, I sincerely wish you ...
.... buen camino!

 

[Gailsie]

You've got 10 years on me Stephen. If I go again, I won't care about a compostela, I'll just pick my favourite sections and end in Sarria but bus to SdC as I love that city.

 

[Thornley]

You've got 10 years on me Stephen. If I go again, I won't care about a compostela, I'll just pick my favourite sections and end in Sarria but bus to SdC as I love that city.

Get off the bus , send your luggage ahead to the next town and walk to Muxia taking 4 days , stay there in this beautiful village and return to SDC for a few days rest.
Hope this gets you thinking Gailsie,
Buen camino when next on the paths.

 

[Ezemeen]

Hey Stephen, I am reading your Ebro-diary now because my friends and I want to walk six or seven days of the Camino del Ebro. I want to thank you for sharing your information. Very helpful and pleasant reading.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Hey Stephen, I am reading your Ebro-diary now because my friends and I want to walk six or seven days of the Camino del Ebro. I want to thank you for sharing your information. Very helpful and pleasant reading.

If you have any questions, e-mail me. s.nicholls@gmx.co.uk I very rarely get on the forum these days, as my camino days are over. Blessings from sunny but cold England .... Steve.

 

[bjorgts]

I will be on Camino del Ebro in a month. Now I have read your blog. Thank you very much for writing it! It was a pleasure to read!

 

[eobennett4]

Hi Bjorgts,

I'm beginning my first Camino from Riumar on April 20, 2022. Maybe we'll cross paths?

 

[eobennett4]

Hey Stephen, I am reading your Ebro-diary now because my friends and I want to walk six or seven days of the Camino del Ebro. I want to thank you for sharing your information. Very helpful and pleasant reading.

Ezemeen,

Hi. When do you plan to be on the Camino feel Ebro this year. I'm starting April 20th. My first Camino!

 

[bjorgts]

Hi Bjorgts,

I'm beginning my first Camino from Riumar on April 20, 2022. Maybe we'll cross paths?

Then I think we will be some days behind you, but we will see. Your first camino! Good luck! All the best wishes! We are 70 years old now and started 20 years ago. Never been able to stop.

 

[eobennett4]

Then I think we will be some days behind you, but we will see. Your first camino! Good luck! All the best wishes! We are 70 years old now and started 20 years ago. Never been able to stop.

Thank you! The Basilica de Pilar in Zaragoza is what drew me to this route. Certainly not the most popular but definitely intriguing. I'm very excited. This is something I've wanted to do my entire life. I'm 59 now. I've heard that I will want to return. I plan to stay in the moment for now.
~Buen Camino

 

[Ezemeen]

Ezemeen,

Hi. When do you plan to be on the Camino feel Ebro this year. I'm starting April 20th. My first Camino!

I’m sorry eobennet, we changed our plans. We are not walking the Ebro, but a part of the Sureste, (Toledo-Avila). I wish you a good Camino. The first one is allways the best.

 

[eobennett4]

I’m sorry eobennet, we changed our plans. We are not walking the Ebro, but a part of the Sureste, (Toledo-Avila). I wish you a good Camino. The first one is allways the best.

Gracias! I'm very excited for my Camino. I'm curious about what it may hold for me. Buen Camino a tí!

 

[Ezemeen]

If you have any questions, e-mail me. s.nicholls@gmx.co.uk I very rarely get on the forum these days, as my camino days are over. Blessings from sunny but cold England .... Steve.

Too bad your Camino days are over…

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

It makes me sad, too, Eemeen, but at 83 there is a limit to my walking capability. I walk between 3 and 8 kms every day just to keep fit, but camino distances are now too far. I wrote this a couple of years ago:

O I would go
How gladly I would go
Were feet and limbs not aching with old age.

O I would go
Relive those times now past
When walking on the old, well trodden paths
Gave me such joy

O I would go
Meet up again with fellow travelers
Enjoy their company – their love – whilst on the road
Leading me onward to that golden shrine
Of Santiago.

O I would go
To walk again those quiet ways
Beside the rivers, over Roman paths
Under the welcome sun of northern Spain
To Santiago.

O I would go
But now the years have come
When pain prevents the onward path
To Santiago.

Yet even now, I bless those travelers
Still in their young or middle years
Who walk the paths pre-trodden by a million feet
To Santiago.

© Stephen Nicholls

 

[mspath]

Stephen Nicholls,

Thank you for writing and sharing your poignant heartfelt poem.

I, too, am 83 and like you can hike long distance now only in memory. .. How lucky we are to be able to remember those easier, happier times.