We had an interesting experience last evening while we were eating a picnic dinner outside the 16 bed albergue in C-U. The police arrived and asked us if we paid 5E for the bed and we said yes. Then there was lot of fuss with the hospitalero, poor guy who is a volunteer and following directions from someone else. Turns out the beds are supposed to be gratis so we all got our money back and then spent the rest of the evening talking with the hospitaleros who are wonderful young men volunteering because they love to meet people from around the world. At this alberque, there were 4 tents set up at the back which were full by the time we went to bed. There was a revenue of E100 per night coming into the alberque supposedly to provide upgrades to the place:
The next morning we left early which is always good thing to do. The path led us up and away from the town and then over to the sea again. It was wonderful to have a rest break at a bench which was positioned over the cliffs. The weather has continued to be wonderful, warm and calm and so lovely with the colors of the blue green sea and the lush of the green landscape. This place we did not want to leave. Then, even though it was Sunday morning, we came across a wonderful little cafe which served delicious cafe con leche so the morning was complete. We are a little rolling family of people now and have made some good friends who we continue to pick up at the break times and evening meals.
The day was very hot and a good climb waited for us after La Magdelena. Once we started this climb, it was hard not to just breath in the goodness of the eucalyptus forest and the solitude of the steep gravel road that we travelled. We have a different pace, each of us, Kirsten races ahead up the hills like a deer, Alvina plods along slow but sure and I am somewhere in the middle. It means that we eventually spread out and are walking alone, until we need to use a whistle to signal Kirsten to stop for a rest. Sometimes we come around a corner and there she is waiting like a Danish princess for her followers to catch up. She is slower on the down parts because of her ankle and Alvina goes down hills like a mountain goat so we change places sometimes, always looking out for each other, yet with plenty of time for solitude.
The climb up from La Magdelena was glorious, fragrant and beautiful and only surpassed by the vistas that awaited us when we got to the top and began our descent. By this time it was very hot and so we took our time going down into the litle town of Liendo/Hazas. It was somewhat worrisome that the place seemed deserted when we got there, nothing of what we expected in the town square and I was alarmed at the thought of having to walk another 10kms. However, we decided to proceed and in a few kms more, we came into the next village, small but quaint where the key to the alberque was at the local bar and the alberque with only 10 beds was beautiful and empty. It was not long before the rest of our crew came along behind us and we filled up the place quickly. Some of these small places are incredible as to how they support the pilgrims. This was a new building specifically designed for the pilgrim and the cost was only E4 for each of us. We ate at the local bar and probably gave some good business to the owner that evening.
Being in the country is so preferred to the cities as it is deadly quiet and so beautiful to hear only the sounds of the animals at night and in the early morning. The roosters have quite a variety of sounds and seem to have been trained differently for their typical early morning sound.
During the day, I was thinking about how different this camino is from 2008 on the Camino Frances. I am stronger, my feet are good and I am comfortable with the way it goes each day. There is nothing to get used to as I have done it all before, so I can concentrate on what I am experienceing and feeling along the way.
The thought that I had yesterday was a feeling of complete freedom, freedom to experience the moment without worrying about the past or the future and freedom just to be still and breath in the environment and take in the wonderful sights and sounds all around me. This is new for me, as I usually don´t let myself calm down or slow down enough to be in the present, so I am cherishing the experience of this in order to make it a larger part of my life.
I also think about my cousin Neil who died in Feb. He was such a giver and a lover of travel or adventure, but not one to take the time to do this himself. When I told him I was doing this walk for him way back in December, he just said - good, do it well and enjoy it - so this is what I am doing and thinking about as I walk each day.
Maggee
Monday, September 6, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Probena to Castro-Urdiales (2okms) September 4, 2010
We are back at the sea after a few days of walking through the mountains and the pine forests. We start the day with a long climb up a few hundred steps and then a very long walk around the headland and above the sea. There are a few sail boats in the distance so it is very peaceful.
Below are the sufers already out to catch the morning waves and the sun is rising over the mountains in the distance, so the sky is a bright pink. This is a beautiful walk as we have about 5 kms along the flat walkway that follows the shore all the way around the headland. You can look out to the distance and see forever and the wind is calm so the air is fresh and the weather warm and the sounds from the waves crashing below is heavenly. It is a pretty easy walk today, shorter than normal and not so hilly. However, there are some tough hills still and even though we take a shorter route along the coastal road, we still climb.
At one point, we are advised by two old women to take a route to the left. When we get to the junction, we see the arrows going right and so being addicted to the yellow arrows, we ignore their advice and go right - bad move. We end up at a position of having to climb many many stairs to the top of the cliff and then scramble up a steep incline with our heavy packs on. At the top, we decide to always listen to the old women!
We are again in a wonderful small alberque in such a beautiful beach town. So many beautiful resort type towns along this coast. Because the weather is so warm still, the beaches are loaded with people. I cannot get over the way in which they all seem to love to lie in the sun and will crowd onto small stretches of beach, or stones or sand just to lie there and read or sunbathe. And the children do not wear hats as we are addicted to in our country!
The people are dressed beautifully and the children especially are dressed in adorabel clothing. It is a really impressive family oriented culture here.
Feet are still great and I am realy loving the way we are walking now. The hills don´t bother me at all and I experience such a strong feeling of wellness to be able to walk like this.
I have been thinking that I would like to top 1000 kms this trip. We are at 170kms now and the days are passing quickly. I have calculated that I spend on average E20 per day and this includes even the expensive days when we had to stay in pensionnes. I figure that it is cheaper to travel like this than it is to live my regular life and can see why the young people choose to do this for months at a time. Don´t worry Mom, I will come home as planned!
Anyway, so far so good and I will see how it goes from here.
Walk slowly, don´t rush. Each step brings you to the best moment of your life, the present moment.
Maggee
Below are the sufers already out to catch the morning waves and the sun is rising over the mountains in the distance, so the sky is a bright pink. This is a beautiful walk as we have about 5 kms along the flat walkway that follows the shore all the way around the headland. You can look out to the distance and see forever and the wind is calm so the air is fresh and the weather warm and the sounds from the waves crashing below is heavenly. It is a pretty easy walk today, shorter than normal and not so hilly. However, there are some tough hills still and even though we take a shorter route along the coastal road, we still climb.
At one point, we are advised by two old women to take a route to the left. When we get to the junction, we see the arrows going right and so being addicted to the yellow arrows, we ignore their advice and go right - bad move. We end up at a position of having to climb many many stairs to the top of the cliff and then scramble up a steep incline with our heavy packs on. At the top, we decide to always listen to the old women!
We are again in a wonderful small alberque in such a beautiful beach town. So many beautiful resort type towns along this coast. Because the weather is so warm still, the beaches are loaded with people. I cannot get over the way in which they all seem to love to lie in the sun and will crowd onto small stretches of beach, or stones or sand just to lie there and read or sunbathe. And the children do not wear hats as we are addicted to in our country!
The people are dressed beautifully and the children especially are dressed in adorabel clothing. It is a really impressive family oriented culture here.
Feet are still great and I am realy loving the way we are walking now. The hills don´t bother me at all and I experience such a strong feeling of wellness to be able to walk like this.
I have been thinking that I would like to top 1000 kms this trip. We are at 170kms now and the days are passing quickly. I have calculated that I spend on average E20 per day and this includes even the expensive days when we had to stay in pensionnes. I figure that it is cheaper to travel like this than it is to live my regular life and can see why the young people choose to do this for months at a time. Don´t worry Mom, I will come home as planned!
Anyway, so far so good and I will see how it goes from here.
Walk slowly, don´t rush. Each step brings you to the best moment of your life, the present moment.
Maggee
Lezama to Probena (bus, metro 35kms! 3 hours)
We had decided a few days ago that we were not interested in walking through the big cities and the walk across Bilbao which is a major city would have taken 2 days to get to the other side. So when we arrived in Lezama, we waited at the bus stop for the next bus into the city. Here our adventure began in earnest.
We already knew that the Spannish people are warm and friendly, but along comes a very old man with a cane,also waiting for the bus. I will call him Camino Angel #1 (CA1) He chats away to us and we try to understand and ask some questions, but soon give up as he just talks so fast. He does not stop talking for the 20 minutes that it takes the bus to come. So we all get on together and ride the 13kms into the city, while he points out areas of interest to us along the way. It is quite a place, Bilbao. We came right into the centre of the city, past the magnificent Gugenheim Museum which is a splendid work of art in itself, situated on the river and visible for quite a distance all around it. At the city centre, we asked the bus driver for the directions for the bus to our next destination which was Portugaleta. A few people have a conversation and then our CA#1 steps in to tell everyone that he will take us to the Metro which is what we have to get to Portugaleta.
So we walk along for 5 minutes and meet a woman who turns out to be CA#1´s wife. Now we are a gang of 5 going to the metro. CA#1´s wife take us all the way into the metro station, shows us which train track to go on and set us up to purchase tickets, when another younger guy steps in to do this for us. So in no time we are in the metro station in the right place at the right time, in a way we never could have done on our own. Such kind people.
The metro took about 30 minutes or more to get to our stop. We had foolishly thought that we would emerge into a nice little village by the sea, but not so. We came up into another teeming city, which is actually an extension of Bilboa. So now we are trying to find our way to the Camino and the yellow arrows as we think there is an alberque here. We walk back and forth, asking people and getting a mix of directions and finally decide to take another bus to the next town, just to get out of the city again.
Well, no sooner do we have this all decided, (remember we are 3 strong personalities and have 3 different books we are using for directions), when along comes Camino Angel #2 (CA#2) BUT disguised as a very very loud, very short and wide man with a large head and a very loud voice. He has in two, a Danish woman and her son who are more lost than us and is yelling to us ámigas, amigas, peregrinos, pergrinos´and a LOT more Spannish than this. He is insisting that we follow him and being quite agressive about it and we are not so happy to be in this situation. Eventually, we all cross back to the other side of the street and with the Danish two, decide we are going to the next town on the bus, as it is the easiest way to get rid of this little man. CA#2 is not at all happy about this and is loudly talking to us and the other people on the street about something we do not understand. Eventually we realize that he is telling us the alberque in Muskiz is closed and we must go to Probena, which we agree. We feel we must get on any bus now just to get away from this little man.
The bus comes along and we all jump on and so does he!! Now we are alarmed at him. He talks to us all the way to the end of this bus line in Muskiz AND he talks to the driver and everyone else on the bus about us and we have no idea what he is saying. We get off the bus at a beach town and he is now herding us quite aggressively across the parking lot and towards the beach. We are in dissarray, not knowing what to do, but because the Danes are following, we decide we have nothing to lose to see where he takes us now.
So we all trot after him, down the sea wall and then onto the sand, through the sunbathers who are all partially dressed and lying in the sun - did I mention my observation that there seems to be no concern about skin cancer in this country as they all love to lie in the sun. Well, 5 pilgrims with heavy packs and a small man talking very loudly to us and everyone else was quite a spectacle. After 2 kms we arrive in Probena and he takes us right into a beautiful alberque, hands us over to the hospitalero and much to our chagrin, we discover that he is a member of the Alberque Assocation and does this all the time - leads the lost pilgrims to the alberque in Probena.He would take nothing from us for his effort and left shortly after he had made sure we were all settled into this wonderful little place.
We talked about this for a long time afterwards and felt that it was quite a learning in life to see how many people keep showing up to help us and even this little man, with his very different way of providing guidance, was a genuinely kind and helpful person who went way out of his way to make sure we got where we needed to be.
Many lessons to be learned along this way about the core value of goodness and kindness that can show up when it is needed and not look like what you would expect it to.
Maggee
Gernika to Lezama September 3, 2010 (22 kms)
What a day this was. It started with a pretty good climb up a steep hill - which is beginning to be the normal warm up to the day for this route. We had been guided out of the town by several people who stopped their car or left what they were doing to come and point out the way to us. These people are incredibly friendly and helpful and we hear this is typical of the Basque area.
We seemed to climb and climb and climb again this day. Early in the morning we soon found ourselves above the mist that was rising from the forests in the early morning sun rise. The colors were golden through the forest, You could look down and see the clouds below and the mountains in the distance and it was a feeling of being in another world. In the distance, we could hear the chain saws occassionally as the wood cutters felled trees in the lower areas. And in the upper pastures, again we came across cows and goats and sheep with their bells ringing in the distance. The silence at these times is profound and it is actually a truly meditative and spiritual experience to walk like this, espeically in the early morning.
The weather continues to be warm and sunny, pretty hot actually, so we are drinking lots of water and stopping to rest frequently. By afternoon it is about 28C. The ground is dry and so easy to walk across the difficult area. I cannot imagine this walk in the heavy rain.
We are quite a group of pilgrims now and as usually happens, we are making friends from so many different countries. The main language seems to be French, as that is the common denominator. So when I find an english speaking person, it is quite a heady experience. It makes me realize how limited I am in speaking one language with a smattering of French here and there.
We arrived in Lezamo in good time, by 1 pm actually, and then proceeded with our next phase for the day which I will write about in another post as it was such an adventure.
We have been walking for close to one week now and the kms are piling up. I have been thinking about the walk as I go and it seems much more challenging to be pensive as I am concentrating so hard on the difficulty of the pathways for most of the time. I do feel more relaxed as a result of the simple life though and am quite into the rythm of the pilgrim life, much earlier than on the 2008 camino.
Maggee
We seemed to climb and climb and climb again this day. Early in the morning we soon found ourselves above the mist that was rising from the forests in the early morning sun rise. The colors were golden through the forest, You could look down and see the clouds below and the mountains in the distance and it was a feeling of being in another world. In the distance, we could hear the chain saws occassionally as the wood cutters felled trees in the lower areas. And in the upper pastures, again we came across cows and goats and sheep with their bells ringing in the distance. The silence at these times is profound and it is actually a truly meditative and spiritual experience to walk like this, espeically in the early morning.
The weather continues to be warm and sunny, pretty hot actually, so we are drinking lots of water and stopping to rest frequently. By afternoon it is about 28C. The ground is dry and so easy to walk across the difficult area. I cannot imagine this walk in the heavy rain.
We are quite a group of pilgrims now and as usually happens, we are making friends from so many different countries. The main language seems to be French, as that is the common denominator. So when I find an english speaking person, it is quite a heady experience. It makes me realize how limited I am in speaking one language with a smattering of French here and there.
We arrived in Lezamo in good time, by 1 pm actually, and then proceeded with our next phase for the day which I will write about in another post as it was such an adventure.
We have been walking for close to one week now and the kms are piling up. I have been thinking about the walk as I go and it seems much more challenging to be pensive as I am concentrating so hard on the difficulty of the pathways for most of the time. I do feel more relaxed as a result of the simple life though and am quite into the rythm of the pilgrim life, much earlier than on the 2008 camino.
Maggee
Gernika Accomodation
Just to follow up on the situation in Gernika. It is a very nice town and a wonderful place to visit. While we had a good place to stay, it was very expensive for the location. The other option we learned the following day from some Norwegian boys who did go off to the free accomodation in another part of town, was actually an open sports field with a partial roof over it. There were showers and toilets, but they spend the night on the artificial turf in the open air - no mats or anything provided. We leared the following day at another alberque that the associtation is trying to get a municipal albergue set up in Gernika, because some hostel business is making a killing from the poor pilgrims by charging 20E a night for not much more than what we pay 3 - 5 E for in the others which have volunteers supporting them.
M
M
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Markina to Gernika (30kms) Sept 2, 2010
Well, we found all of the long routes today and without even trying. We walked the first 12kms up the asphalt road to save Kirsten some hill climbing. We were warned that the hills from Markina were very steep and not necessary if you walked up the highway for about 5 kms. This turned out to be 12 kms for us which was fine as the smaller road was lovely up through the pine forests and not much traffic. Today we walked so many hills, I lost count. It is quite spectacular to walk in the forests, often climbing up pathways that are beds of pine needles and so the scent is intoxicating. We were directed along a variety of pathways, sometimes they are tractor routes, other times narrow trails through the woods. For awhile this morning we walked along a small stream for quite a long ways. It felt like a meditation experience to be in the woods with the animals´ bells sounding in the distance and the stream nearby.
We were exhausted by the time we arrived in Gernika, having followed the yellow arrows which took us up and up and around the mountain before coming down into the town. We waited with other pilgrims for the albeque to open at 4 pm and were shocked and annoyed to find that is a place that charged pilgrims a bargain price of E20 for a bed. The bonus is that the bed has sheets, but we are still in a small room with 6 others and the shower/toilet ratio is 2 to every 18 pilgrims. It feels like a real rip off! There is a place somewhere in the town in a big building where there are mats on the floor and the lodging is free. Quite frankly we were all so tired by the time we got into this place, I just could not imagine walking another 3 kms to check out the free space - so here we are in clean white sheets and an expensive night.
We are meeting very interesting people and having great conversations. Some of these pilgrims are very serious hikers, one having walked from her home in Switzerland, another from Paris and the Swiss woman walking alone, is planning to walk back again to a total of about 4 months of travel. So many people become addicted to this kind of walking and just keep on coming back for the experience of the walk and the community of international friends that is generated.
Tomorrow we will have shorte day of about 22 kms. We have covered over 125kms as of today and are getting in the swing of it now. The hills are something!! and we are actually walking over the Pyrenees, up and down all day long. But the scenery and the environments are fantastic. You can only see these things by walking and you can only meet people like this on such a pilgrimage.
I am finding this to be a much more relaxing experience than the pilgrimage that I did 2 years ago, mostly because I am confident of how to do it every day and also that I am so free of the stress that I was dealing with at that time. It is a special experience to just walk and absorb the environment, watch for the views and notice the small things along the way that are there to observe.
We are planning to take a bus right through Bilboa the day after tomorrow, not wanting to mix the experience of being a pilgrim with being a tourist and the walk through the city is tough with the industrial areas to pass.
More tomorrow
Maggee
We were exhausted by the time we arrived in Gernika, having followed the yellow arrows which took us up and up and around the mountain before coming down into the town. We waited with other pilgrims for the albeque to open at 4 pm and were shocked and annoyed to find that is a place that charged pilgrims a bargain price of E20 for a bed. The bonus is that the bed has sheets, but we are still in a small room with 6 others and the shower/toilet ratio is 2 to every 18 pilgrims. It feels like a real rip off! There is a place somewhere in the town in a big building where there are mats on the floor and the lodging is free. Quite frankly we were all so tired by the time we got into this place, I just could not imagine walking another 3 kms to check out the free space - so here we are in clean white sheets and an expensive night.
We are meeting very interesting people and having great conversations. Some of these pilgrims are very serious hikers, one having walked from her home in Switzerland, another from Paris and the Swiss woman walking alone, is planning to walk back again to a total of about 4 months of travel. So many people become addicted to this kind of walking and just keep on coming back for the experience of the walk and the community of international friends that is generated.
Tomorrow we will have shorte day of about 22 kms. We have covered over 125kms as of today and are getting in the swing of it now. The hills are something!! and we are actually walking over the Pyrenees, up and down all day long. But the scenery and the environments are fantastic. You can only see these things by walking and you can only meet people like this on such a pilgrimage.
I am finding this to be a much more relaxing experience than the pilgrimage that I did 2 years ago, mostly because I am confident of how to do it every day and also that I am so free of the stress that I was dealing with at that time. It is a special experience to just walk and absorb the environment, watch for the views and notice the small things along the way that are there to observe.
We are planning to take a bus right through Bilboa the day after tomorrow, not wanting to mix the experience of being a pilgrim with being a tourist and the walk through the city is tough with the industrial areas to pass.
More tomorrow
Maggee
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Deba to Markina (23kms) September 1, 2010
Wow what a day! we left early this morning, Alvina and I. Kirsten was planning to take the bus to our destination, which she did, but made the mistake of getting off at a town about one hour farther so she had to walk back which was not a bad thing for her to test out her ankle. It was an uphill climb for us a lot of the way. We are thankful that we walk at the same pace and most of the time the incline is at a degree of ascent that is comfortable to walk in our own pace. It was incredible, the beauty of the walk today, actually through the Pyrenees, over about 3 inclines and then a very steep downward walk for about 3 kms at the end.
We passed through isolated farms, with the symphony of the donkeys, cows, sheep and the roosters either their own unique sounds or the large bells tied around their necks.
We could look over vistas that were incredible for the height and the distance across the mountains. We saw the sea only in the beginning of the day and then were in the middle of the mountainous interior. We walked through forest of pine trees, eucalyptus and cedars which created an exquisite odor and a wonderful sound with the wind whistiling through the high branches. It was heavenly.
We are loving the experience of being in Spain. Last night in Deba, we decided to splurge on a dinner and sat in the local square and watched the families and the young children out for their evening socialization. So many people and quite a vibe of activity. It was actually lovely! It was also nice to have a hot meal.
We are in Markina at the moment and planning to walk to Gernika tomorrow which is about 25 kms away. It will not be so tough as today I think, but before that we will have our menu del dia at a local restaurant for E9 (including the wine) and then go to bed.
We are in an alberque that is below the residence of the sisters and it is warm and comfortable, with about 16 people in the room - hopefully no one snoring tonight.
We have decided that we like to get up at 0630 hours and then begin to walk eary around 0700 or so. It is so lovely to be in the mountains in the early morning.
It is still lovely weather for us - about 25C today and again warm this evening so it is wonderful not to worry about the weather effect on our ability to walk. I cannot imagine doing this tough journey with the wind and the rain that we read about in the earlier spring.
I think often about my cousin Neil who died in Feb and who I am doing this walk in memory of. He would just tell me to buckle down and use my Icelandic female energy to conquer the challenges and to enjoy the adventure of the travel experience. Walking is such a totally unique way to experience the country. It is interesting that this location is run by an African and there are very friendly people at the front desk area - all African - who have helped us to get on line today. (makes me think that Chris is at my back as well)
Well, the wine is waiting and the day is beginning to fade for me so I will sign off for now
Maggee
We passed through isolated farms, with the symphony of the donkeys, cows, sheep and the roosters either their own unique sounds or the large bells tied around their necks.
We could look over vistas that were incredible for the height and the distance across the mountains. We saw the sea only in the beginning of the day and then were in the middle of the mountainous interior. We walked through forest of pine trees, eucalyptus and cedars which created an exquisite odor and a wonderful sound with the wind whistiling through the high branches. It was heavenly.
We are loving the experience of being in Spain. Last night in Deba, we decided to splurge on a dinner and sat in the local square and watched the families and the young children out for their evening socialization. So many people and quite a vibe of activity. It was actually lovely! It was also nice to have a hot meal.
We are in Markina at the moment and planning to walk to Gernika tomorrow which is about 25 kms away. It will not be so tough as today I think, but before that we will have our menu del dia at a local restaurant for E9 (including the wine) and then go to bed.
We are in an alberque that is below the residence of the sisters and it is warm and comfortable, with about 16 people in the room - hopefully no one snoring tonight.
We have decided that we like to get up at 0630 hours and then begin to walk eary around 0700 or so. It is so lovely to be in the mountains in the early morning.
It is still lovely weather for us - about 25C today and again warm this evening so it is wonderful not to worry about the weather effect on our ability to walk. I cannot imagine doing this tough journey with the wind and the rain that we read about in the earlier spring.
I think often about my cousin Neil who died in Feb and who I am doing this walk in memory of. He would just tell me to buckle down and use my Icelandic female energy to conquer the challenges and to enjoy the adventure of the travel experience. Walking is such a totally unique way to experience the country. It is interesting that this location is run by an African and there are very friendly people at the front desk area - all African - who have helped us to get on line today. (makes me think that Chris is at my back as well)
Well, the wine is waiting and the day is beginning to fade for me so I will sign off for now
Maggee
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