All posts tagged: Nature

Day 11 – Villafranca de Montes de Oca to Atapuerca

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The archaeological site of Atapuerca has rich fossil remains from the earliest humans in Europe, nearly a million years ago. It’s designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but I’m on my way to the village of Atapuerca, which is about 4 km away from the site. This 18,5 km walking day begins with a light drizzle and mist, and continues like this for much of the way. The path starts going steeply uphill as soon as I leave San Antón Abad and continues to climb upwards for a long time. This is the only pilgrim I see occasionally, and the mist continues as we’re at 1000 meters now. These unpopulated forests provided perfect cover for the notorious outlaws who roamed its slopes and ambushed medieval pilgrims, something I vividly can picture today… At first the forest has a kind of eerie beauty, but the path is seemingly endless, and it’s a long, damp and lonely walk today. Endless, endless, endless. Where are all the pilgrims today? I arrive at San Juan de Ortega, a chapel and …

Day 9 – Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado

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Today is overcast and humid and it feels great to walk, because by now my body is used to walking longer distances with the backpack. It took about a week, as they say. The road today runs for large parts along the busy N-120 highway, and in one place even weaving through ongoing road works. I had to step through mud with bulldozers, trucks, and men wearing helmets and yellow safety vests! Not exactly the idyllic setting from the last few days… At one point as I approached Grañon, I hear a strange sound and look up. It’s a paraglider flying over the fields with the help of a motor, and he swings by and waves to me and this cheers me up! After an hour and a half I reach Grañon. This village is the only one that is some distance from the busy N-120 road, which gives it a peaceful setting. It’s wonderful to sit in the shade of the tree and have breakfast, and watch the other pilgrims slowly approaching on the …

Day 8 – Azofra to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

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This is a “rest day” for me, as I will only walk 15.4 km. I’ve made a conscious choice to have a few of these to explore the new place I’m coming to, wash clothes that have time to dry for the next day, and simply just to give my body a break and allow myself to rest. Leaving Azofra I’m greeted by one of the few sunrises I see this year. It was one of the highlights last year, and the reward of early mornings to escape the heat in the afternoons. Self-portrait with a mirror window, showing the sum of my kit. My backpack weighs 6 kg and with a full water bottle and my fanny pack I carry almost 7 kg. This after I have chased every last gram and only brought the bare essentials. Vines in the early morning sun. I’m out the door by 6:45 and aim to stop in Cirueña for breakfast. However, Cirueña turns out to be a ghost town and the café by the golf course is …

Day 7 – Ventosa to Azofra

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It’s a fantastic morning when I leave Ventosa, with clear blue skies and brilliant sunshine, and there is the moon still lingering in the sky. I’m the last one out of the door just before eight o’clock. The typical morning pilgrim shadow, where each pebble is magnified by the low-lying sun. Leaving Ventosa behind, I stop and look back. Suddenly the path changes character and looks more like the bottom of a riverbed than a path made for walking. But yes, the yellow arrow is there. Can you spot it? Here I catch up with Kristine and Rachel. Poor Kristine must have been battling with this awful, stony stretch for quite some time. The children Amalia and Ava walk when the path gets challenging, in fact Amalia walks a lot and even pushes the cart herself. We spend some time walking together into the next town Nájera. The cliffs made of the rich, red clay soil of La Rioja, acts as a backdrop to the old part of Nájera and the river Río Nájerilla runs …

Day 4 – Villamayor de Monjardín to Sansol

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Today, believe it or not, I actually got lost! I didn’t think it was possible, as the trails are generally well marked. Also, I sat on the balcony yesterday and watched pilgrims walk by on the street below. So what made me go up into the village and start walking on an unmarked dirt road, at the top of the village? Happily leaving Villamayor de Monjardín behind me early in the morning. I follow my app Organic Maps which usually is reliable. I’m full of energy, and feel like I’m flying along the trail at the top of the ridge. Eventually I come to the conclusion that I must be on an unmarked cycle path. I’m not too worried, despite the lack of the yellow arrows that usually show the way. During the previous days, the paths for pilgrims on foot and pilgrims on bicycles often crossed each other. Sooner or later this road will cross the camino, I think optimistically. It doesn’t. It ends on a paved road for cars with no edge to …

Day 2 – Puente la Reina to Estella

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I leave Puente la Reina for this hike of 22 km, under lightning and thunder. The rain continues to pour down for most of the day, causing the roads and paths to quickly turn into rivers and small lakes. At first I walk on the edges as much as I can to avoid the water. I need to keep my feet as dry as possible, to avoid getting blisters. But as the day progresses and the rain continues, I give up. Nevertheless, I appreciate today’s stage. The landscape is beautiful and the forces of the weather do not make it any less so. Approaching the medieval hilltop village of Cirauqui. I didn’t run into many pilgrims today except Leonardo from Italy, who I bumped into now and then, whose cheerful yellow rucksack cover was the only reminder of the absent sun. Waterfalls in the steep alleyways of Cirauqui! Today’s outfit. The sun hat I bought also turned out to be a perfect rain hat, as it held the hood of the rain poncho in place …

Day 11 Camino to Santiago de Compostela – O Castro

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In the morning I make the decision to take a day of rest. It’s not so much my bad knee that has swollen up and still hurts that is crucial. After many intense days of walking in wonderful company, surrounded by the extraordinary spirit of community that the Camino so generously provides, I feel the need to pause and wait for my soul to catch up and reconnect with my own Camino, because in tomorrow is the day I arrive in Santiago de Compostela, and it is an important day for me. I’m pleased to have come to this conclusion and head across the road to see if there is any breakfast to be had. Here I find Tine, who is trying to find plane tickets home, and after a while Suzanne arrives, who also has problems with her feet and is now taking shorter day stages. Eventually I gather my belongings and head to O Castro. It turns out to be an excellent decision. My new ‘home’ is a very nice little room in …

Day 10 Camino to Santiago de Compostela – from Palaís de Rey to Ribadiso

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When I left the house this morning at 6.30 AM, I notice that my left knee is hurting, making me almost limp. Oh no, am I not going to be able to walk today!? This is going to be another long walking day, as it’s 26 km to Ribadiso. Just as I’m leaving town, Melek joins me and I’m pleased to see him, because today I’ve brought with me Frankincense, the essential oil that helps with aches and pains, and he told me his neck is hurting.  We walk till we see a tiny café on the outskirts of the town, and enter. The place looks brand new and is very sweet, with lots and lots of lovely cakes, but it isn’t something you would want the first thing in the morning, so I just have a coffee. Anyway, it serves our purpose, and we sneak behind a corner. The essential oil is not supposed to go directly on the skin, so I’ve also brought a cream based on other essential oils, and we blend …

Day 8 Camino to Santiago de Compostela – from Sarria to Portomarín

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I leave Sarriá behind me not long after 6 AM when it’s still dark. The first thing I meet is an express train rushing past me just by the trail! If I wasn’t fully awake before, I am now. The sunrise is particularly beautiful today, and I’m enjoying my walk. The first 10 km feels easy enough, and I rest for the first time at a café after two hours, where I have my breakfast, a coffee and a French omelette. I ponder again the difference walking the Camino from the last time, and the community spirit I’m missing when Wilfried catches up, and we continue to walk together. At A Pena we come cross the 100 km milestone! It has a huge significance, especially to those pilgrims who have hiked about 688 km up till now all the way from St. Jean Pied de Port. But, wait a minute! This isn’t how I remember this milestone from the last time! Yes, they have made changes since then, such as making new milestones and moving …

Day 7 Camino to Santiago de Compostela – from Tricastela to Sarria

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Today’s hike goes through the glorious Gallic landscape, that I love. There are two routes to choose from, the one via Samos and the other San Xil. I choose the San Xil route, because it’s the one I hiked last in 2012, and would like to re-experience it.  It is just as beautiful as I remembered if not more, as the sunshine makes the scenery even more attractive. Higher up on the mountain it is pleasantly cool, and a large part of the trail is shaded by trees. I absolutely love walking these appealing sheltered trails. In 2012, people made their way mainly by following the hand-painted yellow arrows and milestones. Today, the routes are clearly marked, so it’s quite impossible to get lost. I see many more pilgrims now, but no more than I can walk alone for many stretches. From time to time, I keep company with a Spanish mother and her daughter, and several times I bump into a German pilgrim, Wilfried, and we chat. Me in 2012 and 2023 in the …