tricastela, ponferrada pics...

villafranca view

we made it to galicia (after the mountain day)- Ocebriero

the templar castle in ponferrada
a view from the castle of the templars
the same

hey everyone,

last night we had dinner in tricastela and went to sleep early with the chorus of snores accompanying our slumber in the albergue. It was actually the nicest albergue that we have stayed in to this point. Today we walked 11 miles to sarria where we have had time to research for our projects and get ready for the rigorous interviews which are scheduled for the next day or two. The walk today was great. It was through the mountains and clouds. We passed through several small rural villages and stopped for coffee with some locals. once we got here we met our hospitalero jose from Barcelona. He is a great guy, and he also served us dinner at the bar next door. The specialty of the house is called aguardiente, and we enjoyed it tonight. We had the pleasure of meeting a celebrity at dinner tonight. Grace and I had a wager that a random British guy was in the movie Hot Fuzz, and so I asked him if he had ever heard of the movie. He reluctantly told us that he was actually in the movie! I couldn´t believe my ears. I got to meet a belgian guy yesterday named francis, and we talked about all kinds of things from politics, eco

nomics, culture, and even food. The people on the camino are the best part. I do not have too much time as the internet café is about to close its doors. I hope all is going well.

o cebreiro lo magnífico

we stayed in ponferrada two nights ago and left for the longest day yet -31 km (18miles) yesterday morning at 7:30 AM. We spent the first ten kilometers underneath a huge highway overpass through the mountains. after lunch we started the infamous final ten km up 2000 feet in the rain and mud. The views were incredible. As we were hiking we could see for miles and miles across the mountain. It was definitely a moving experience. after we finally made it we crashed in our rooms, and I made my way to a bar where I met some interesting characters. the first was a lady from london who definitely had the thickest accent I have ever heard. truth be told her parents were iraqi, but she was born in london. After we talked politics and culture for a while an Irish lady named Noel from Dublin joined in with Lynette and me. It was nice to have a break from the hiking and the weather. The little city was definitely a tourist trap as there were many buses with German, English, and Belgium tourists everywhere. There were all kinds of little shops with all kinds of junk for sale that had to do with the camino. We ate dinner together Galician style with octupus (pulpo), torilla española(spanish omlette), jamón(ham), ensalda griega(greek salad), y pan(bread). I don´t have much more time, but after dinner we enjoyed some good ol´ aggie dominoes and some warm colacao. The city was actually in the clouds, and as we walked back to our hotel the eerie glow of the street lights made us think of the locals´ghost stories that had been told after dinner. this morning we walked to tricastela where we are now staying in the albergue. It has been nice to have a little bit of free time to relax and reccuperate. We had a day today of only 12 miles (22 km). It has rained most of the afternoon, and sadly the computer won´t allow me to get pictures for today, so I will have to do more next time I can. I hope everything is going well, and there should be more soon!

from ponferrada to villafranca del bierzo

last night was quite an interesting evening. a couple of guys with us had some injuries that had to get taken care of while we went around ponferrada. We had a good time in a more urban (sketchy) spanish city. there were definitely some loud pollos in the street that were turning some heads and even scaring dogs. we had a great dinner last night and I have a new favorite dish- arroz a la cubana- this is rice (arroz) covered in two fried eggs (huevos fritos) and a red sauce (salsa roja). It was an incredible first dish. In Spain they typically serve you the menú del día which consists of two courses (separate from each other) and a dessert. Last night we were lucky enough to try the famous honey from the region (el bierzo). It was incredible.So far the best desserts have been fresh fruit (somehow it tastes better here) and arroz con leche (a type of tapioca that is great. The most interesting desert we have tried is called cuajada (sometimes guajada). It is a basque favorite that is pretty much cottage cheese (It didn´t bode to well for me so I refer to it as leche vieja (old milk)).



We all crashed last night after doing some good ol´laundry in the sink and woke up this morning to hit the road again. We took the scenic route around town and ended up following the highway for the first few hours accidentally (Rather than following the camino through the countryside). It ended up being a blessing because it knocked off 3 or 4 kilometers off our day. We stopped in several small towns to enjoy the coffee, juice, or just to rest our feet. We met up for our mid-day meal near Rieros which was about an hour or two from our destination. The last several miles were through vineyards and cool rain. It was a nice change from the musty overcast days that we have been experiencing the last day or two. By the time we reached the valley and quaint village that is villafranca the sun was beating down on us and we were incredibly thankful for anyplace to sit. Luckily for us we were able to visit the puerta del perdon when we arrived which was used in the middle ages for pilgrims who wouldn´t be able to finish the trip to santiago (sins forgiven as you pass through).



I haven´t had much of a chance to take pictures since yesterday and this computer will not accept my converter, so that will have to wait. This is a great little town that was historically settled by the French (villa de Francs- villafranca). We are staying in an old church that was once inhabited by monks. It is called hospedería de san nicolas. We have a crazy and infamous day tomorrow as we will go about 34 kilometers through mountains and valleys. I hope things are going well for everyone, and I will be sure to keep the trip details coming. feel free to pop me an email if you have any questions or anything... spjones268@gmail.com



Thanks and gig ´em

de astorga hasta siempre

the albergue last night

our group on top of the castillo
mario y yo
acebo...
head in the clouds....

castle of the knight´s templar today in ponferrada- 11th century structure
enjoying a nice coffee after a long day on the camino
a view of a cold and wet mountain man at the highest point on the camino
a rest stop with kilometers to major areas included...jerusalem anyone?

view from the start this morning...

hey everyone,

we started in astorga two days ago and walked all day passing through some small villages along the way. I don´t have too much time on this today so I´ll try to give yáll a brief view. By the way I have been using poor grammar-punctuation due to the differences between the keyboards in Spain and the United States. Also, when you speak Spanish all day words can be melded together sometimes, so I will apologize ahead of time. We stopped and had snacks along the way, and the views have been incredible. Yesterday we went over the highest point on the camino de santiago at around 5,000 ft. It was an incredible view and we literally walked through the clouds for part of yesterday and also today. We arrived in Acebo yesterday in the afternoon. This village is little more than 200 ft of a main street with an albergue and a hostal. The guys stayed in an albergue with 18 other people while the girls got separate rooms. It was one of the most interesting stays that we have had up to this point. We really enjoyed the atmosphere of the albergue which included a bar and a dining room. It was definitely a packed house. Snoring was incredible-almost like a choir! I met several other peregrinos yesterday including a canadian woman, an irish man, and several spainards all with fascinating stories and experiences. The woman averages 32 km a day, while one the spainards was a man 68 years old! the weather yesterday was incrediblely cold. We had ice on our clothes from our sweat, and the mountain passes were incredible. Two days ago we stayed in another aldea that exhibited an incredible comunal feel. The greatest strength of the European culture (spain in particular) in my mind would have to be the emphasis on people and life rather than work and money. Today we started off early and were walking through clouds as we descended from the mountains until ponferrada. We got here round lunch time and have been site-seeing for several hours. tonight we are having a small class session then dinner (by the way, spain lunch is at 2 while dinner is at 9- not the best schedule for the peregrino who starts at 7 each morning). Every medium sized city that we have stayed in has been simply incredible. by the way- if you have any interest in doing this let me know! You don´t have to be young. We have been seeing pilgrims of all walks of life on the road...Overall the last few days have been fewer in the way of mileage with more severe changes in altitude. Sunday was around 14 miles, while yesterday was 10 and today was 12. Tomorrow we have a full day ahead of us and the day after will be another 19 mile day. the homeade orange juice is something that I have been drinking at every chance. Also as far as beverages the coffee here is truly incredible. I have to admit I have never liked coffee until I tried it in spain this summer. I´m going to have to buy myself a zumex machine to juice me some oranges every morning... feel free to pop me an email also to let me know how things are going on your end...

de león hasta siempre!

the view from the camino yesterday (friday)

our truckstop hotel in hospital de órbigo
the beginning of the walk this morning (famous bridge at órbigo)
near the end of this morning´s walk (you can see astorga in the background with its famous cathedral)

Our last day in Astorga we ended up going to the corte ingles which is a huge department store that can be found all throughout Spain (6 floors and a parking garage). It is truly a mall in itself. After this we went back and ate dinner prepared by the nuns again (incredible food). It was sad to leave león for the camino once again after such an incredible two day stay.
yesterday we began what is considered the longest stretch of the camino de santiago. We left leon in the morning and hiked all day through fields of wheat, corn, cattle, and mud. It was an incredibly straight route which was made tricky by thick mud coating the road. The views were incredible. For most of the time it was possible to see for miles and miles. The wind was incredible, and it definitely made it difficult to continue sometimes. We passed through several small towns that are still rural farming centers. For the first part of the day we traveled in two distinct grops (one 2km ahead of the other), but we all ended up meeting up at lunch and ate sandwiches together. For the second half of the day I stayed back with the main group and was able to help keep everyone going. In total we walked about 30 km (18 miles) for the day. The truckstop-hostal that we stayed in was more than sufficient for our level of fatigue. We were fed seafood for dinner, and we were all able to sleep incredibly soundly. This morning we got up and left orbigo by way of the famous bridge which has been cited in legends involving a young man and a reluctant woman who he attempts to woo by defeating all of the worthy knights in Europe in a grand tournament of jousting. Too bad for this fellow- she still didn´t muzzle up to him. today our walk was through some small villages and over some incredible hills. We made it to Astorga despite the cold atlantic storm that we encountered (10 degrees C). After dropping our stuff of a the hotel we walked around the city for a bit before eating lunch together in a plaza in between rain showers. This afternoon we toured the cathdral of astorga and a Gaudi designed museum. We have another full day of hiking tomorrow, and I look forward to sharing more with you guys! God Bless!

León- El segundo día

we have had a day to site see and spend free time all around leon. we went to the original roman wall and we were able to see some truly incredible romanesque artwork with frescos still intact. We toured the cathedral (including a rooftop tour that was incredible). The cathedral in leon has the second most amount of medieval stained glass in all of Spain. There has been a bit of political turmoil going on (deja vú) between the basque separtist movement and the socialist ruling party. Things are going well as usual. the monastery that we are staying at is incredibly nice, and all of our food is prepared by the nuns by hand! they even make their own bread! This has definitely been the best place that we have stayed on the camino. the weather in spain is incredibly bipolar. One moment we enjoy a warm sunny day and the next we drop into a chilly rain remenescant of late january and early february in college station. If anyone needs a nice medium sized town to live in I can definitely recommend a few in northern spain that I wouldn´t hesitate moving to. We have been all around león today, and tomorrow we start the second half of the camino all on foot (we drove in some areas to Leon in an effort to see some out of the way things). I´m looking forward to getting back on the road again, but it has definitely been nice to get some rest in the monastery. The sheer amount of history in this city alone is enough to fill libraries. Today we also visited the roman wall that served the seventh legion of the roman army (hence the name legión in castellano)...here are some more photo updates...


our group in burgos with our guide carlota
los hombres- burgos lunch
what can I say, they know how to eat well in Spain!
a medieval tunnel between a hospital and church- eerie (bones included)
the cathedral in leon

El camino a león

hello everyone,
we are already on day ten of this extensive pilgrimage! yesterday we drove to a remote village where the monks are famouns (platinum selling artists- I kid you not) for their gregorian chanting. It was a great village to spend the night, and we went for a hike to see the village from a far (about 3 kilometers). We dined in the restaurant next to the hostal. this morning we left for leon passing through several incredible little villages along the way. I made a stop for the observation of some 9th century architechture for my project over the mosarárabes (spanish christians living under muslim rule before the middle ages). tonight and tomorrow we are staying in an old monestary in the heart of León (originally a roman settlement of the 7th legion dating back to the time of Christ- spanish adjusted it to just León). From here we have a solid two weeks walk to santiago. It is shaping up to be quite a trek even halfway through. I´ve been learning plenty and been experiencing quite a range of group dynamics. More soon to come. Hasta luego.

Burgos Pt II

We had a great time last night in Burgos. We dined in a small place right outside of town. The people in Spain have been incredibly friendly, and today we are taking a detour by bus to a remote monestary where some of the first Gregorian chants were written and sung. We have a bit of free time so I went to the post office with Bree, and we decided to walk around the University of Burgos (castilla leon), and we found a public computer lab free for students. Mis habilidades en español todavía están mejorando, y me vale mucho la experienca del camino. Mil gracias, que les vayan bien!

la rioja, y castilla leon

yesterday we left estella and headed to burgos. on the way we visited several monestaries including some where the first instance of written spanish occurred. it was around 40 degrees and raining in the mountains where we visited in san millán de la cogolla. after this we descended to santo domingo de la calzada and los famosos gallos. this is the life! we made it to burgos last night where we went to the centro and the catedral that took over 500 years to finish. burgos is where the famous¨el cid¨ is from. the political climate here is one of constant disagreement and problems. in the northern area of spain- including navarra- the basque people (vascos en español) have been resisting their inclusion in the nation of spain since the early 1800s. Speaking with Spainards, it is difficult for them to understand the idea of only one national identity- their prefer to find their identities in whichever province that they were born. There is a strong sense of counternationalism in el país vasco, catalunya (which includes barcelona), and los gallegos. IT has been incredible to meet people from all over the world doing the pilgrimage for their own reasons. Here are a few pictures for now... our group the day before we began in the pyrenes where charlamenge´s nephew roland was slain by the first muslim invasion.
the view from our basque hostal in in the middle of navarra
this is the famous puente de la reina- in where else but the city puente de la reina!
this is an incredible old church from the 13th century in estella

this is a picture from our trek through basque country (northern spain near the border of france)

Pamplona and beginnings

After around 26 hours of traveling I made it to Pamplona. From our hostal we took a private tour of the University of Navarra from a dinstinguished professor, and we went all over Pamplona to see the sites before we begin the hike. The next day we drove to Roncesvalles ( a small town near the French border in the the heart of the pyrenes (pirenías) to start the hiking. Yesterday we hiked around 16 miles (30 km) in weather ranging from 40 degrees with constant rain to 75 degrees with sun. It has been incredible thus far. The pyrenes are breathtaking and we have met people from all over the world along the way. We maintain a Spanish only policy, so it has been a good challenge have to use it. Today we started in a small basque town (incredible view from the hostal) and hiked 10 miles to Pamplona. We then visited various sites around the Pamplona area, and this evening we are staying in Estella. Hopefully I will be able to put pictures of these sites up soon, but as of now there are no computers with compatible parts. Northern Spain is definitely at the top of my list of most incredible places that I have seen as far as the landscape´s ability to leave you absolutely speechless. The food is great also. The Euro is killing us! The cost of living in Europe in general has overtaken that of the United States. For simply a third liter bottle of water you will pay anything from 2-3 euroes which is equivocal to 3-4 dollars. Luckily the food is rich and doesn´t take much to fill you up. We have been visiting 12th century churches, and we even visited one built by the knights templar today in Eunate. We have walked past fields full of grain, vineyards, flowers, and even over mountain. We have much more ground to cover and places to see. For now I will call it a night! ¡que vayan bien!

Preparations

Two days until lift-off. There is currently a buzz of of preparation thoughts of assailing my mind. Monday finally seems to be approaching without hesitation. I will be traveling from Houston to Paris on Monday, Paris to Madrid on Tuesday morning (Spain time), and finally I should arrive in Pamplona (see map) around 4:45 PM Spanish time (9:45 AM CST). I'll give this site my honest effort to keep everyone posted on my experience, and hopefully I will post pictures as they are taken to give y'all a better understanding of the places we are hiking to.