Sorry this is a bit late but the internet, last night, wasn't strong enough to upload my photos.
16.9 miles: 38,844 Steps.
Hola! What weather I had today!
Now this is what I call a breakfast spread. One of my favorite things is Spain is the Sweet Valencia Orange. And they are usually served peeled and sliced. I love me some oranges as long as you will peel them for me.
I see this quite often. Look a special green light for bicycles.and it turns into a red bicycle. It is my understanding that, bikers will get a ticket if they don't wait for the light to change.
It was cold, see your breath chilly all day and it rained, not buckets but enough to to be good and sloppy. And the mud…holy cow…it was book sucking, nasty, slopping over the top of my boots, kinda mud. I must be getting my Camino legs because when I realized I had to climb up a very steep mountain, I rolled my eyes, took a deep breath and just climbed it. Not too bad. The first three days always make me wonder why I am doing this and today, in spite of the rain, it was fun. I am not quite up to meditative walking but soon. Meditative walking is my pace and I don't even notice that I am working.
The scenery was beautiful, even peering out from my rain poncho.
This is probably the most photographed spot on the entire Camino. It is a 750 meters (2461 feet) climb. (Pant Pant Gasp Gasp) It is called the "El Perdón Mountain Range Monument to the Pilgrims way to Compostela." It is a tribute to all of the different types of pilgrims. And yes, you can ride a horse but you have to arrange for feed and lodging every night for the horse so I have seen only a couple of pilgrims on horseback in my six trips.
Here I am in all my wet and muddy glory.
Approaching one of the many villages that I walked through. The villages all smell of wood fire places and make me think that inside must be cozy and warm. Probably a cat or two lazing by the fireplace. Our cities never have that inviting smell, only ski resorts in the winter.
This statue is of the Virgin of Arunbidea. There is a quote from Isaiah 40:31 at her feet,
They that wait upon the Lord
Shall renew there strength;
They shall mount up with wings
As eagles;
They shall run and not grow weary;
They shall walk and will not faint.
The spring colored hill and mountains in Northern Spain are as green as Ireland and ever so fresh smelling.
Flowers are everywhere.
Look at this funny pilgrim. By this time the weather was clearing a little bit.
Crosses always remind me of the true purpose of a pilgrim...it is a spiritual journey.
More tributes to pilgrims. So many of them are wonderful art. The one on the right is, of course, Saint James or Santiago.
Okay admittedly, after I have hiked so many miles, I can get a little silly. I wondered if this office treated foot in mouth. If so I need to make an appointment.
I had a wonderful dinner that began with a salad of real tomatoes, not to be confused with those hot house things we call tomatoes in the US. It was topped with thick slice goat(?) cheese that had been treated like a toasted marshmellow. I can't begin to describe the flavor but it was yummy!
I then had Bifsteak (beefsteak) that had a lovely flavor. However, we Americans rule in the steak area and always will.
I wasn’t even considering a major whine today but as I was sitting at dinner I met Twan from Holland. He was sitting at the next table. He told me that he was married for many years and his wife died of cancer. He was devastated then he met Myrian and they were together for a year and a half and then she died of cancer. He and Myrian were planning to walk the Camino together. He was carrying a photo of each of them, one on each side of his backpack.. He was walking the Camino in their honor. When he got to Santiago he was going to walk the last bit backward so they saw the Cathedral first. His eyes were watering and mine were too. I was humbled by his admission and decided to visit the church afterwards for some prayers for him and for all of you.
This is the Inglesia de Santiago, a Gothic church built in the 12th century.
The main altar.
All pilgrims love to find images of Santiago and this was was especially beautiful.
This is the street of my hotel. It was so cold near the hotel. These stone buildings with the cobblestone streets hold in the cold. I was shivering as I walked back to my hotel to call it a night.
No comments:
Post a Comment