Portuguese Camino and Spanish Holiday
Peter and Barbara Giddy
April 2018
Peter is a qualified and experienced Tourist Guide in South Africa
Contact Peter at peter.giddy@gmail.com
To arrange tours and adventures --- Port Elizabeth; Garden Route and Cape Town.
Addo Elephant Park and other wildlife Reserves.
The fact that we are doing this Camino is due to the influence of a number of people. Primarily Almarie J v Rensburg and Paul from the Wednesday Hiking group. They have both done it twice and both have offered a wealth of knowledge and experience to assist us in our planning.
Pastor Peter Woods writes, in a newspaper article; in the Weekend Post, Port Elizabeth on 28.7.2018:
Wednesday 25th July is the Christian Feast of St James. St James did not feature much in the gospels and did not cover himself in Glory. He was the brother of St John and also a fisherman. St James was the first apostle to Martyred. He was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa. He was buried in Jerusalem. In the 9th Century the remains of St James were sent to the North Western Community of Spain (Galicia) where he was buried. In 813 a bright star guided a shepherd to the burial site at Santiago de Compostela. Bishop Teodomiro declared that these were the remains of St James and he notified King Alfonso 11 and in his honour a Cathedral was built over the site of the burial.
This led to the growth and development of the city of Santiago (St James) de Compostela as the greatest pilgrimage centre in Western Europe. Seems our modern tourist industry began with Pilgrimages.
Wikipedia identifies James as follows:
James died 44 AD was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and traditionally considered the first apostle to be martyred. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle.
He is also called James the Greater or James the Great to distinguish him from James, son of Alphaeus (James the Less) and James the brother of Jesus (James the Just).
James the son of Zebedee is the patron saint of Spaniards and Portuguese, and as such is often identified as Santiago or São Tiago.
James is described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels state that James and John were with their father by the seashore when Jesus called them to follow him
Katherine Neville, Thriller writer, in her short story: The Tuesday Club.
In this song she writes that Franklin claims that Jacques is Brother James -- James the Greater, brother of Jesus in Holy Scripture, who founded the first Celtic Church in Spain as well as ancient parish churches of the French Pyrenees.
Frere Jacques; Frere Jacques
Dormez-Vous? Dormez-Vous?
Sonnez les Matines, Sonnez les Matinez
Din-Dan-Don; Din-Dan-Don
Are you sleeping brother John?
Morning bells are ringing
Ding Dang Dong
We are using Paul's Camino Book as a guide for the daily walking, distances, routes and overnight stays.
We made the Flight Reservations on line in November 2017.
We started to make the Hotel and Train bookings in March 2018.
We did a little training -- Walking around our home, during March.
We bought our Backpacks in February.
On the advice of Paul and Rose -- we join the Confraternity of Pilgrims of South Africa. They send us a little booklet and certificate to show that we are bona fide Pilgrims.
Barbara buys us each a travel wallet
We had traveled to Cape Town in January to apply for our Shengen Visas.
We receive our passports with the applicable visas
March -- We purchase some Euros at, what turns out later to be, the best possible time and exchange rate.
On Thursday 29th March we drove to Cape Town, I stayed over at Patrick on Friday 30th and ran my 10th Two Oceans 21k on the Saturday. That afternoon we had a Smash Burger Braai with Nicky and Werner, their friend Andre and Werners parents; Chris and Estelle.
April 1st. Sunday morning -- we do our final packing. We are taking a small backpack each plus a small suitcase which will be sent via post from Porto to Santiago.
Barbara is all very cool and relaxed about this trip overseas. She travels to see family at least once a year. My last overseas trip must have been three or four years ago when we went to Israel to visit Jacqui. So I am excited, nervous, apprehensive and yet cannot wait for the adventure to start.
Cricket drama continues as the match between SA and Australia at the Wanderers resumes.
Friday
We are at Nicky for the day
I stay over at Patrick. Ally joins me
Saturday 31st March
Two Oceans
Chris and Estelle and Andre are at Nicky for smash burgers
On day three of the fourth test ... SA Proteas scored 488, put Australia in to bat and they are all out for 221
SA does not take a follow on and opts to bat.
By the end of today we are ahead by 400 runs with 7 wickets remaining. Elgar and Faf Du Plessis are steady at 30 something each.
Oh Lord my God
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the world displayed
Then sings my soul my saviour God to thee
How great thou art, how great thou art
When through the wood and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees
When I look down from lofty mountains grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze
When I think God, his son not sparing
Sent him to die I scarce can take it in
That on the cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin
When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, my God how great thou art
Sunday 1st April
Ally drops us at the airport
Problems with our flight booking at 2pm CT to Jhb.
So Barbara is able to sort it out and we get onto a 3pm flight to Jhb
We have plenty of time in Jhb to find our check in, go through passport and security checks
Our flight to Zurich leaves 7;30pm
We are on an Airbus 300/340 In the middle four seats. Barbara has an aisle seat. Very squashy. Don't think we will willingly fly Swiss again.
Monday 2nd
We arrive in Zurich at 6;15 and by 7;00am we are sitting down in the passenger areas. We have to take an underground train (3minutes), to our area for departure. A big airport. Very modern.
We buy an coffee, croissant and juice for around R250. Ouch! Of course I pay in Euro and am given change in CHF coins. I see now how European visitors find SA such a cheap holiday destination.
Barbara tries, with little success, to sleep.
In Lisbon we immediately find the train station. We take to Metro to .... from here we take the train to Porto. We have to get used to the difference between the Metro and the Train. A comfortable train ride of about three hours for the 300km to Porto. I make a mistake as to where we must get off the train and we get off one station too early. So have to wait on the platform for the next train which eventually takes us to Porto. I have made a booking at a Pension for two nights. As far as I can make out this is right in the center of Porto and near to the station. But it is late at night, raining and we are confused. So we take a taxi. I show the driver the print out with the name of the hotel and off he goes. Driving a long way before he finally drops us off. But it is the wrong hotel. Fortunately Barbara is able to stop him before he drives off and he takes us to the correct hotel which is about 500m from the train station.
At last we are able to settle in after two days of travel. I find a little cafe nearby and buy us some soup and something to eat.
Tuesday. We walk to the center and orientate ourselves. Looking at the church in the center of town. We buy a tour bus ticket and do a tour of the town which is a hop on and hop off bus. A good choice as it gives us a perspective of the City and the history.
Camino.
Wednesday 3rd
Porto. A wonderful old city with narrow cobbled streets. Cafes everywhere. Churches, forts, old adandonded buildings all make up this really interesting city. We are able to see a fair amount of the city with the bus tours despite the cold wet weather.
We have stayed two nights in the city center or old part. This morning we pack up our suitcase and send it on to Santiago.
We find the Metro and after some difficulty and paying too much, we buy tickets to Matoshinos. We make the mistake of not consulting our book and walk an additional three Kay to finally get onto the boardwalk that runs along the beachfront.
We have opted for the coastal route for our first day. And are delighted when we find our first real confirmation that we are on the Camino..... The shell is what we have been looking for.
We stop twice on the way for eats and tea. The day turns out to be longer than we anticipated.
We walk as far as Vila Cha and then onwards for a few Kay until we realize we still have a fair distance, about 6km, to go.
So when we ask directions and these two kind ladies offer to take us to the Metro, we accept. We take the Metro, again paying too much. But we make the mistake of getting off at the wrong station, so have to backtrack before we finally arrive in Vila do Conde.
We walk to our hotel Bellamar and settle down for the night.
In contrast from the first two days in Porto, today was warm and sunny.
We have, with a couple of detours and mistakes, walked 18km today.
It's our plan to walk not much more than 15k each day.
We take the Metro to Mathosinos. Here we disembark and start walking. And take the wrong route. I should have looked more carefully at the book which we will use every day from here on to find our way. We walk across the Bridge and make our way towards to sea. Our route today is planned to be about 15km to Vila de Conde. Finally we find the boardwalk and our first Shell and Arrow showing us that we are on the right path. Today we walk all along the beach front and on boardwalks. We arrive at a village and we can see Vila De Conde in the distance but this seems far off so we ask someone who then tells us that they will give us a lift to the Metro Station which will take us directly there. They take us for a long drive (which we had considered walking) and finally go to the new shopping mall (Outlet) and there we take the Metro. Making mistakes in buying the ticket. And we get off. But these two ladies had said the next town so we jump back on the Metro to the next town where we wander around looking for Placa Republica.
It turns out we ARE in the wrong town which also has a Placa Republica. So back onto the Metro and finally we find Vila de Conde and walk to our Pension for the night. Today we probably walked about 20k which was too much for our first day.
Thursday 5 April 2018
Our morning begins with breakfast of sandwich, big glass of tea, eclair and coffee.
We have reserved our overnight at Antonio ... This is a 20km walk.
Leaving Vila do Conde turns out to be a little problematic as we try to follow our guide book but find the instructions difficult to follow at times. So again we ask directions and this is successful as, after 10km we are at Arcos where we stop for a tea break. The route has become quite hilly and Barbara is beginning to tire.
We now join the main or central route which is way marked with the shell and yellow arrows.
There is quite a bit of dirt track which is muddy and not easy underfoot. We pass Courel and see a sign 2.7k to Antonio. Here we meet Steve who tells me he is walking 55km today. He is a seasoned hiker. We walk I into Pedra Fudara and find Antonio. There are 6 of us for a supper of soup, fish balls and rice with a Creme Brûlée dessert. And fun conversation Dutch, French, Portuguese and English.
Friday 6th April. Pedra Furada to Barcelos (And Braga).
We are up and ready for another day. The weariness of yesterday has been slept and fed well so we feel good about the day. Also we have a short day planned. We will walk as far as Barcelos and then spend the day relaxing. We also plan to find a better accommodation with a bath.
We start in the rain and are soon on the road and into the walk. While we did say we would have an easier day, the weather does not make it that easy. We walk around 15kay to Barcelos.
It is raining when we get into the town so we stop as soon as we are able for a coffee break. Then continue where we find a Pharmacy. The lady who helps us speaks English and is a Runner. She gives Barbara the necessary for her Blisters. Barbara fixes her toes and we walk across the river and into the Historical area of the town. The Auberg we had planned for our overnight stay is closed so we find a hotel on the route. Great -- it has everything we need and the price includes breakfast.
Once we have warmed up a bit we decide to take the train to Braga which the book tells us is a good place for a day visit. Cold on the station but we brave this and continue our plan. When we arrive in Braga, Barbara is Freeeeezing cooooold. And it is Raining and Raining. So first thing we do is to find a Chinese shop and buy a big warm (semi waterproof) jacket for her. She is still cold but is now able to cope. We walk around a bit pretending we dont mind the weather and are interested in the old buildings. But actually we are getting wetter and colder so are only enjoying it when we find a cafe. Owned and run by Suzanne. Her father was a restauranteur, her brothers messed the business up. Suzanne used to work for her father and then for other people but realised that she was going nowhere. So just five weeks ago she opened this cafe. Its tiny but has character. And she is the life of the business as people pop in and out for a coffee and Crouisant.
So after the coffee and a bite to eat we continue down the streets, we buy a green umbrella which I use or carry for the rest of the Camino and into Barcelona where I eventually leave it.
And take the train back to Barcelos. The hotel is ideal for us with this cold and wet. I find a cafe with Soup and a Pizza with a couple of beers for supper.
Saturday 7th
Heavy rain all night.
But when we were ready to, after a breakfast at the hotel of Barcelos, there were clear skies and it was not as cold as we had anticipated.
So we set off in a northerly direction again. The breeze has been more or less in our favor from the beginning of the walk. We find our way out of the town. Asking directions is always a fun activity. People are generally helpful, but in Portuguese. We soon find our friendly yellow arrows , past a church and cemetery that is so neat and well kept that I wonder if this could be a business opportunity at home. Our cemeteries are poorly maintained, vandalized and not attended to by the families of people who are buried there.
We have not seen much cattle, so seeing these animals with huge horns is interesting. We start our climb out the town. At one point we meet a small group of pilgrims at a cafe. Barbara stops to fix her feet. Up and up we continue until we are at last at the top. A couple of steep downs follow. Dirt roads and water flowing strongly in field and ditches everywhere. The recent steady rains soak the fields and often make our trucks muddy.
We have some bananas and strawberries as a snack. Barbara soaks her feet in a cool stream before we press on. This morning we have seen a number of people passing us. At one time we find a man building a Huge structure which is going to be used in a religious festival and parade. Again he tries to explain, we get the gist of it.
Walking on we realize that we are now fairly close to Casa de Rio where we will spend the night. First we stop for a coffee and sandwich. Then make our way to this hotel. A huge door confronts us. A hanging door bell is how we attract attention. We are greeted by what appears to be children. This is a private home with a couple of really fancy rooms. The house has been smartened up. This walls surround the home. I would not recommend this place. It is supposed to be half way to Ponte de Lima but to us it looks like there is still about 20km to go.
I walk back to the village and buy a bit of supper. Tinned muscles and snack biscuits, juice and bananas. The wifi is poor. Barbara enjoys a deep batch for the fist time. It is nice for us to be able ton take long showers as this has not been possible at home with the water shortages we are experiencing.
We both try a bit of reading but sleep hits us early this evening. Despite being a reasonably short walk, we are both pretty much leg and feet weary.
Sunday 8th
We spent the night in a home come fortress come hotel ... Casa de Rio (home on the river)
Fancy but not at inviting or warm.
Greeted by overconfident "children" of the owner
A bit off the track made getting there tiresome. And when I wanted to buy some fruit and eats, I had to walk back to the village
Again it had been raining most of the night but this morning we were able to set off without immediate rainfall.
Today was a mixed bag of road, cobblestone pathways, and muddy dirt tracks near to farms and in the forest.
Plenty of up and down hills.
We had two breaks at cafes ... The first was at the top of a hill at about 8km. It was raining and we needed to thaw out. The second was with about five Kay's before Ponte de Lima (bridge over the river Lima). Today we walked 20km. We seemed to walk at a reasonably easy pace. Not pushing it at all. Starting at 8 we walked for about 7 hours before finding our accommodation... A quite adequate room, 40 steps, with own bathroom.
We had a light supper of sandwich and coffee.
I then walked around and found a fruit vendor where I bought our standard strawberries and bananas. Also a couple of beers,..
Barbara and I read and watched online movies till late.
Monday 9th
We had slept over in Ponte de Lima in the tiny Bnb above a restaurant.
Left the door open so our room was cold
Rained most of the night
We had a planned rest day but our day turned out to be busy even though our walking was only 8k
I walk around trying to find the info office. There is an I sign but no office until I finally ask and this man explains that the office is in the castle
The lady in the office shows me a bus timetable which I the take back to our room with coffee.
The bus leaves at 11am so we need to get going.
Something that surely must be unique is the classical music playing from the lamp Poles?
We walk around searching for the bus stop. Asking directions.. Sent the wrong way. Until Barbara asks a furniture salesman who cannot speak English at all. Somehow Barbara understands that we must go back the way we came and hail the bus down. I am becoming quite frantic while Barbara retains her cool.
It is a few minutes to 11 and I see a bus. I run. Not this one ... The next bus.
So we found and boarded the bus on time
We are on our way to Valenca which is on the border of Portugal.
We leave p Lima and begin our windy windy climb up and up. We see way signs and earlier on I had seen people, who we had met the previous day ( the elderly American couple, the Canadian group, Ken the Lutheran pastor and the young German girls)
There is a change of bus and then we continue to Valenca.
Ken had made a very good comment the previous day ... That there are no rules. We can do this Camino as we wish.
We arrive in Valenca and find the way signs and begin our walk to Spain. Stopping on the route for a wholesome lunch of omelette, salad, chips and orange juice. They also give us a huge roll each which we cannot eat.
We follow the path through this enormous fort where we also find narrow streets with tiny shops, in particular, linen.
And then over the bridge to Spain. And into Tui. Where we again ask directions ... For the train station. We continue walking, following the shells, and find a couple a smart policemen. They explain that it is probably better to take the bus to Porino. So we find the bus station. We still have an hour and find a coffee shop in this square where it appears there is a festival on the go
Then we see a bus pass by and only. At that moment do I realize that the town clock is correct and that we should have adjusted our phone time by an hour. So we miss the bus and have another hour wait. Watching the people and the teenage drama keeps us entertained.
The bus arrives at 17;40 and we continue on to Porino.
In Porino we get off in the main road of this huge city with no clue where we are. But amazingly we find the "way signs" and see a sign for an Albergue. We had planned to spend at least one night in an Albergue so this is it. It turns out we have our own room at the same price as a hotel. I buy a few supplies and we settle down for another very rainy night. It is only dark after 9pm so we sleep late. We are next to a highway so on Tuesday morning we wake up to the sound of heavy traffic. And more rain
Tuesday 10th
Porino to Redondela. 16km
We had slept the night in an Albergue. A hostel for Pilgrims
Upstairs. A single room with a bunk bed. Shared bathrooms and kitchen. Although we did not do any cooking as we did not carry food with us at all. Just a few bananas and biscuits This morning we had a bereakfast of crackers and sardines.
We left at 9am in the rain. Barbara found an optician who repaired the broken arm of her glasses and then we quickly picked up the way. Leaving Porrino took a little while but then we started to climb fairly soon. As we climb we need to take off our jackets. But then it starts to rain again so there was a period when we would alternate between jacket and over heating.
We stop for a coffee or orange juice break at about 6km. When I want my stamp he tells me to go next door.
Next door is a Camino equipment and souvenir shop
An amazing marketing ploy
Barbara buys two walking sticks, a cover for her bag and two momentos
Tuesday 10th continued
With Barbara now fully equipped we continue up hill. It is a bit of a long Slog but eventually me reach the top
And now for the steep downhill. This is tough on the legs and knees.
Stop for lunch at this busy restaurant. And it is pouring with rain as we recover
We reach Redondela at about 3pm....16km
We find Rosa's Albergue and an upstairs room with a bunk bed.
This is okay for us. Sun in our window and balcony.
We have leftovers from our salad and calamari lunch
And Rosa makes some ginger tea.
Good internet and we are happy
Wednesday 11th
We leave Rosa at 9
She provides a good breakfast but it is more than either of us can eat. Bacon, boiled egg, bread and jam, bananas, tinkles, coffee
I give Rosa the flag painted stone and we are on our way.
Walk through the town of Redondela and immediately start to climb. Cross the old bridge and then some steep climbs through narrow lanes, up and up we go. Slowly but making progress,
We see some of the people from previous days.
Eventually we reach the top and then some sharp downs.
We come across a vendor offering coffee and breakfast.
But we are not at all hungry
So on we go and start the second climb of the day through forests. Again a slow climb
And again steep downhill
Thursday 12th
We stayed over in the Hotel Madrid in Ponteverda
Quite comfortable with bath and creature comforts.
I had bought the most miserable hamburger imaginable.... Burger King
A pattie that was wafer thin, one Slice of Gerkin and tomato sauce
Also some excellent bananas and naartjies.
Thursday morning we plan an easy short day, made a booking at about 12k. So we relax, take our time and leave the hotel at 10, knowing we have only 3 hours of walking.
We find a great breakfast cafe, tiny but just what we want .... A Totilla Omlete with Pattatas and fresh squeezed orange juice.
It is raining and we set out crossing the old Pontevedera bridge and soon making our way out of town and into forest
The rain does not worry us except our shoes, socks and feet are soggy and drenched. And we heat up as we start to climb.
At about 10k we find this Cafe and stop again for a sandwich and juice. Taking our time.
When we get going again the rain has stopped and we walk the rest of the day in slight drizzle or no rain.
The trouble is that we somehow miss the turn to our overnight Meli hotel. So on and on we go.
The second half of the day becomes a real slog. There are Albergues but it is not what we want. We end up walking, at our slow pace, 23km. As we get closer I become confused as to how far it is to go and anticipate finishing earlier. In the end, as we approach Caldas de Reis, we meet two chaps and they point out their hotel which is where we book in. Hotel Cruserio. (Stone cross)
Right opposite a Froize Supermarket so we can have something to eat.
The best for Barbara is to have a deep bath.
These hotels have central heating so I am able to wash clothing and it dries out on the heater. It is essential to keep a window open otherwise it becomes just too stuffy. And prevents a peaceful sleep
This evening we are both exhausted, legs, feet and body. It's not easy to get a really good nights rest when you body aches like that. I get these spasms in my knee and leg so toss and turn quite a bit during the nights.
Almost every night it rains non stop. So we never know quite what to expect for the next mornings hike.
Friday 13th.
We spent the night in a hotel Cruserio in Caldas de Reis. It was opposite the Froize supermarket and on the Way.
Barbara wakes up with an infection and fever. We decide to bus most of the way to our planned next overnight in Padron. I talk to the Concierge who tells me that there is a bus leaving at 12 from the town center.
We spend a relaxed morning preparing for the day, find a Farmacia where we are able to buy ab anti biotic solution. Barbara takes one immediately and we wait in a coffee shop next to the Bus Stop. Here we meet young Lea from Germany, we suggest she joins us. After coffee and a donut we join the others waiting, we also meet Almarie who turns out to be a bit of a negative S African from Pretoria.
We all board the bus, Lea is off first then Barbara and I are off at Pontecurces .. It's raining at this time,
We cross the bridge and walk the short distance almost along the riverside to Padron.
Here I make the mistake of following two unhelpful French ladies. And instead of checking the book, we are now walking out of Padron and only realize it later.
We see a sign for accommodation and wind our way through some narrow roads and knock on the door. Barbara is feeling miserable so when a neighbour explains there is no one there and we now have to continue to the next hotel or else backtrack, she becomes a bit desperate. The neighbour must have seen this because he turns around and offers us to stay in his home for the night.
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| The Cemetery is a well kept place in both Portugal and Spain. |
Padron Friday 13th continued
Eduardo and Carmen have offered us to stay in their home.
They quickly make up a bed and put us in their spare room. What a relief for us. Carmen makes some tea for Barbara while Eduardo and I try to communicate. Carmen speaks no English.
Eduardo shows me his chickens, ducks, cats and dog in his backyard. We go to the shops in his car and then he offers to take us to see a waterfall.
We drive back to Padron and find this amazing waterfall which is seldom visited. He then takes us to see another one near to Pontevedra. On our way back we stop in Padron to see the Cathedral of Santiago where Jacobean Tradition tells us that the body of the Apostle James was brought from Haffa, Palestine. Incredibly ornate inside.
We also stop for a coffee, wine and beer at a cafe. And a church, where we again see graves that are well kept and attended to.
Back at their home, Eduardo teaches me to make Tortillas and we have a supper of Lentils, meat and veg. Followed by the Tortillas (fry 5 sliced potatoes in oil, scramble 9 eggs, fry chopped onion, add a tin of tuna, the potato and onion to the eggs. Pan cook the mixture. Put a lid on and flip the tortilla and fry for a further five minutes, there is enough to feed a big family. Or to keep for another day.
This is followed by a small yoghurt, we each have glass of red wine from a jug and end the evening with home made raspberry Witblitz
Padron to Santiago Saturday 14th
This morning, after tea we leave Flavia, Eduardo and Carmen, at 9am. We planned to walk about 12 km, sleep over, and then into Santiago on Sunday.
It's A good clear day and we walk at an easy pace. We pass the fist cafe as it is still too early for a beak at 3km.
We continue walking to about 8k before stopping for a breakfast. We have found that regular and substantial breaks is a good way for us to cover distance and recover.
Today is a continuous climb up to 260m so we walk at slower pace and eventually we reach to Casa mentioned on in the book.
We continue up to the town of Melodorio where we have a Albergue booked. Here we stop for a second break.
Looking around this modern city of high rise flats and smart shops, it is to us, most unnactractive. So when we realize we have missed our Albergue and we cannot find an alternative accommodation, we decide to press on. It seems we have 7:5km to go from here.
Through a short forest walk, under a freeway and up the other side, we realize we are lost. We can see the church spirals but are clearly not on the correct road. We see other pilgrims who are also lost. And ask directions. Carry on straight on this road we are advised. So we walk on this busy road with dangerous crossings. Fortunately it is Saturday afternoon and not too busy.
And we walk into town in the general direction of the church.
And then we see the sign , Santiago. Yay. We have arrived. And shortly after that we see a way marker 2km to go.
We walk up this road to the first hotel we can find and check in. It is our most expensive hotel yet but we feel that we have earned it.
Shower, wash clothes and relax for a while before going out for supper. We find a small cafe, order drinks to celebrate and a supper is just what we need.
It has started to rain and there is a cold esouth wind
Back to the hotel and sleep. Today we walked 20k and in the past 11 days we have walked 200k,
Together with busses we have covered a total of 250km.
Santiago. Sunday 15th April
Overnight end at the NH hotel. A smart comfortable hotel. It had been the first we saw as we walked into Santiago
This morning our first objective is to sort out our train ride to TarraGona. It's raining. We walk to the station where we find some demonstration going on.
The ticket officer is English speaking and helpfUl. We request a sleeper cabin and he explains everything we need to know.
Our next objective is to attend the 12pm service in the cathedral
We rake a taxi right to the historical central area. Full of activity, tourists and locals milling around. Cyclists and walkers. Groups and individuals ... In awe of the surround
Ding artiste third.
We find the entrance to the building , we are not allowed to take our backpacks, so leave them in a local office. In the cathedral we realize we should have arrived earlier to find a seat. It is full to overflowing.
The pastor welcomes pilgrims from all routes. But as everything is in Spanish, and we cannot really see what is going on, we leave early.
The central part of Santiago continued Sunday 15
Having left the cathedral, while we are collecting our bags and finding directions, we see a demonstration taking place in front of the cathedral. It appears to be political.
We walk to the place where certificates are issued. And having produced our card .... Which must have at least two stamps per day for rage last 100kmbefore Santiago... Certificates are quickly issued, with minimum fuss and no waiting in line.
Two things we now know ....
There are very many hotels and pensions in the immediate area of central Santiago
And there is a bag deposit facility at this office as well
Next we want to find the place where our suitcase was sent. Barbara has the address at hand so we explore the general area before Barbara asked a really helpful man who walks us right there. But there is no reply to the bell and we realize that he only opens for a short while on a Sunday
We then have to find something to eat... Barbara is keen for a sandwich and as the menus in the immediate area are All seafood, we move on to where we saw a sandwich menus on display. A cheese and ham baguette with wine is our lunch. Fortunately there is wifi in he restaurant and I am able to email ivar with our details for the suitcase. We receive an almost immediate reply that he will be there at four. So we take our time without lunch and wander off to his office just before four.
Our last few hours in Santiago
After lunch we walk tot the office of Ivar and there by chance we meet the Irish mother, Linda and son Orhan and join them for a beer.
Barbara waits to collect the suitcase while I have a beer with them. T
hey started at Vigor on the coast We had met up with them on a couple of occasions as we had with other people. We also see Lea ... Another young pilgrim who we met a couple of times.
We take a taxi to the station just to make sure we don't miss the train. We find the cafeteria, have something to drink, and buy ourselves some supper of sandwich, salad and wine.
We board our train just in time. It leaves silently, exactly at 5;25pm. Our first stop is Courense where we change trains.
There is a short 30 minute wait and then we are on our overnight train to Tarragona
We are completely blown away by our train cabin. It is first class with a capital F
A large room with comfortable seats, TV, huge bathroom with shower, complementary wash bags and at 10pm the lady on duty comes to set our beds down.
We have our supper while watching TV. Unfortunately no Wifi on trains in Spain. We had wifi on our Portuguese train.
This has turned out to be something special for us. And the cost, to cross Spain in comfort has not been exorbitant
We have a reasonably comfortable sleep with the rocking of the train and frequent stops.
Tarragona Monday 16
We spent the night in this luxurious train cabin Trenhotel Renfe. Leaving Santiago at 17;30. We arrived in Tarragona at 8am. Margaret and Jordi were at the station to meet us.
We drive to their home, have some breakfast and then Barbara and I have a sleep. Later Jordi and I pick up his grandson Jordi from school.
We take him to music classes, walk around the city of Reus, fetch him, take him to his mothers estate agency, have a beer, fetch little Nuria, take her to music lessons. Watch Jordi practicing the drums, take him to his home, a very smart modern home. We then play a bit of soccer, pick some oranges. Mother Nuria and daughter return home, by now it is 8pm. We take their domestic, Julia, home to Reus, back to Tarragona tennis club which is busy with players of all ages, fetch Margaret from her Line Dancing and back home foe a late supper.
Meanwhile Barbara has been sorting out our suitcase and bathing and reading.
It's well after ten by the time we get to bed
Ardevol country house Tuesday 17
Tuesday morning. Breakfast at Tarragona then leave for the Ardevol country house.
Our first stop is in Montblank where we visit the St George Castle, here a festival will be taking place over the next two weeks.
There is a lovely old village inside the castle. We visit the church of Santa Maria. We climb to the top of the church and walk around enjoying the views when we see the church bells. While I am trying to read the inscription on one of them, it suddenly rings and I get a huge fright, nearly jumping out of my skin.
We walk back down and are allowed to see the ancient excavations and foundations of the original building,
This was a very interesting morning, the castle, the lovely village and the church.
Cardona Tuesday 17th
We stop off at a pitch and put golf course and restaurant, Bon Area. We have a big buffet lunch here. I have too much to eat, not knowing how to decide on portions.
We left Ardevol and drove through a mountainous and hilly narrow road to Cardona, which has many modern buildings as a result of a salt mine which used to be operational right next to this town
But the real feature is the Castle and tower which dominates the view on the east side of this town.
We climb the 41 steps up the tower, from here we have great views of the town of Ardevol below. We are also able to see, in the far distance, the towering mountains of Montserrat,
where we will be going the next day. Jordi is able to obtain the key to the church.
This is a huge ancient building, empty unless a wedding is held here, we see the Crypt below and some roof paintings that are probably hundreds of years old.
We drive this very hilly town to the square where Jordi grew up. It is filled with people and children playing. We also see a smart hotel which used to be the school which Jordi attended until he was 10.
We visit Usumcio and Tom who are neighbours and tenants at Ardevol. They farm barley, wheat and canola.
The lights are out, we start a fire and the power is restored before we are in bed
Montserrat Mountain village and Monastery Wednesday 18th
Wednesday morning in Ardevol. We had a good solid sleep with the shutters closing off any possibility of light.
We walk a few meters from the house to meet the bus, but just before doing this I visit the next door school.
The bus takes us past the local villages of Tora and .... Where we pick up more locals, in total we are now 57 taking part in this outing. The organizing lady is Asumscio who is also Jodi's tenant. She takes charge and assumes responsibility for the smooth running of the outing. The Guide is a priest and he talks a lot about the monastery and the way it is run.
At Montserrat we skip the fist part which is an audio visual presentation and wander around the square watching the people as the pass us by.
Later we catch up with the group and go into the Monastery itself. Jordi does some translations and explanations and this helps us to understand the overall set up. We go into the room where the new Monks are accepted and the the Abbot is chosen. Also here there are daily prayers as well as weekly meetings to decide on procedures and other operational matters.
After this we listen the choir singing a traditional song.
We enjoy a delicious lunch and wine tasting before moving to the museum which contains a number of interesting artifact and paintings.
Wednesday 18th Montserrat continued
Barbara and I decide to skip the next activity and walk up the hill to a look out point. It's a good walk and we have one brief scare when we hear a rock slide above us.
The view from up here is just amazing and we are now looking down onto the buildings below.
We are also able to see both Finicular rail lines, the cable car and the various pathways that it is possible to use.
On the way down we meet Margaret and Jordi, they too walk up the hill while Barbara and I wait at the bottom and then board the bus to return home.
This has been a fun and interesting day and we end off with a beer and light supper.
History and facts
Napoleonic wars in 1811 destroyed most of the original monastery and artifacts
A few remnants were salvaged and are on display
Estimated 50 monks live in the monastery
There is an hotel on the square. And we saw tents, we think this could be climbers or hikers or maybe Pilgrims as there is clear indication, by means of way markers, arrows and shells, that this is one of the routes to Santiago.
Jordi bought a book showing 50 pathways and hiking routes around the many rocks and mountain pathways.
We saw, from the lookout point, a number of steps and pathways, which we think, may lead from the bottom of the mountains up to the lookout areas.
Ardevol to Tarragona Thursday 19th
We leave the country house in Ardevol, Breakfast at the Sanctuary on the hill. This is where the "oldest restaurant in Catalunya is" and we breakfast here with a number of local men, probably mainly farmers who will gather here in the morning for a social meeting. We meet Jesus, the man who is employed to take care of the vegetable garden.
Back in Tarragona, Jordi goes to the Clinic. Barbara is absorbed in her book while Margaret and I walk to the beach and I have my first Mediterranean swim in over five years. Barbara and I spend the afternoon in the sun room relaxing and reading.
Stories and anecdotes..... The picnicking on the steps of Montserrat, sitting on the wall and being chased off by the policeman, the SA lady with the posing for pics and selfies, the story of St George and the roses and books and the statue whose eyes never leave you.
In Tui where there was the screaming teenage girl who had been sprayed and would not let up on how upset she was.
Friday 20th in Tarragona. .... Tarraco Latin word for field
We join Margaret and Jordi for a beach walk. About 7k ... Barbara and I have our last swim in the Mediterranean Sea. There is a fairly long shallow shelf and no waves so getting wet is not what we are used to where we dive into waves. There is a slight chill in the water but it is quite swimmable
Later, while they attend a book signing, Barbara and I explore Tarragona historical center. The old Roman ruins of their coloseum, the Amphitheater, the Balustrade overlooking the harbour and the central walkways where the coffee shops and restaurants can be found. We find the Cathedral before returning to Boscos Tarragona. On three different occasions we are helped by really nice people to find directions. The last is on the bus where we meet David who has just completed an assignment on SA history. From Boscos we walk downhill to meet the family at the tennis club, Jordi and his two children, Nuria (12) and Jordi (7). They meet here every Friday afternoon for tennis lessons. This club is well used as a tennis venue and by Margaret and Jordi for Country Dance, fitness, showering, Tennis and Paddle (a game similar to tennis and squash) in a small court where the wall is used.
Catalunya...Saturday and Sunday in Barcelona
Saturday morning 21t
In Spain at present, the people from the North East of Spain, the province or Community of Catalunya or Catalonia, are campaigning for a kind of independent governance. It is not clear to me exactly what they expect to achieve, but they held an illegal referendum to establish if this is the general feeling of the people of Catalunya.
Of course when you have emotional and powerful speakers, the tendency is to go with the political leaders. And as was the case in the vote for Britain to separate from the EU, and in our own country of RSA, we had a referendum to end apartheid, and the white voting population voted to retain apartheid. In both the UK and RSA, the decision of the popular vote, following politicians and strong orators was probably, in hindsight, wrong.
Nevertheless, the Catalonian leadership of 6 men, were arrested and are currently being held as political prisoners. This process of holding political prisoners, proved, in RSA, to be a mistake as well. It tends to strengthen the power of the prisoners and people throw reason to the winds as emotions run high.
In Catalonia, where Barbara and I have learned, a separate dialect called Catalunya, is spoken, the people have a symbol of a yellow ribbon in support of freeing their leaders. They display this and banners in the streets, wearing the ribbon, and in fact, almost anything yellow is considered to be support for these leaders This is evident when there is a soccer match and spectators are forced to discard all yellow clothing before being allowed into the stadium.
Saturday 21 in Barcelona
Saturday morning Barbara and I pack up and after Jordi has been to the clinic for a check up, we leave, by train, for Barcelona. In Barcelona we take a very crowded number 24 bus to their flat. Jordi spends time showing us the ropes and even a list of local amenities and must do's. My phone is giving trouble and will not connect to Wifi networks. Saturday afternoon... Shops are closed so we cannot find someone to assist.. We have a lunch and the Margaret and Jordi leave for Tarragona.
Barbara and I do a bit of exploring and then later this evening we have a drink at a busy restaurant at a square nearby. For us it is so much fun and exciting to spend some time doing what locals do.
Through sheer persistence I am able to get my phone to connect. A relief as I would hate to miss requests for tours at home. What I have been doing for both Dole and Tours, is to cut calls off and then send messages to home for others to take over for me. It is very expensive for me to accept calls overseas.
Sunday 22 in Barcelona
Our first day when we wake up in Barcelona. It's Sunday and we take our time to get mobile. The flat is noisy with bin collection, cars and motor bikes, people having fun and even firecrackers. But we sleep well.
We walk to the Metro and take the green line to the Ramblas. This is the eve use where locals and tourists walk, shop, eat and generally enjoy the streets of the city. We find a tourist information office but they do not seem to have a program of events for the weekend. Tomorrow is St Georges or St Jordi. The tale of St George and the Dragon, handing of a rose to your loved one, the woman giving a book to her man are all traditional in this area and so the street is lined with florists preparing for this. However we cannot find any books for sale. There is apparently a book store called Come In but we cannot find how to get to it.
We walk up and down the Ramblas, as far down as the harbour / waterfront area.
We explore the old buildings, squares, Cathedral and ancient Roman pillars.
Every time we see structures dating back 2000 or more years it is a special time for us.
We stop a couple of times to rest and have a drink but basically spend the day on our feet. Barbara has sandals which are not suitable for long distance walking and is exhausted and foot sore by the end of the day.
This evening we again visit our local tavern, Cafe Flanders. Barbara is able to catch up on home news, my phone will not connect.
Today was a long and tiring day. But quite special in our explorations.
St Jordi is the patron saint for Catalunya. On this day, the legend is that he killed the dragon and gave his lover a rose. Today is not only lithe day to give the woman you love a rose, but also for the woman to give a man a book.
We have been looking for books to read. And this is an ideal opportunity for us to buy a book. We take the Metro to the Ramblas where the treats are lined with throngs of people. How many we cannot estimate but is surely must be thousands of people walking the tweets of Barcelona, not only the main streets but every side street and Alleyway has roses and books for sale.
There is an amazing vibe in the city today.
We find a book store ... FNAC where, on the second floor, are some English books for sale. And here we buy our two books
We hop on and off this bus a couple of times until we are back at the Placa Catalunya where we take Metro back home.
Walking the trees near to Jordi's flat we find more and more books and roses for sale as well as streets lined with people enjoying the festivities.
Later we have a drink and snack at our local pub, Cafe Flanders.
Amazingly we are again able to stay up until after 10pm.
Tuesday 24 Barcelona
During our bus tour on Monday, yesterday, I saw a Huewei service center shop. So, as my phone has not been able to connect to Wifi, I determined to try to find this place again and see if they could help in resolving the issue.
We spent much of the morning reading our books that we had bought on St Jordi's day at the FNAC shop. Then we set out by means of the Metro, to find this shop.
I had the right area and street but somehow walked right past it and all the way to the Sagrada Familia. Here we found a cafe and Barbara was able to do a search and establish exactly where it is located.
We retraced our steps and found it easily enough.
At the Huawei shop the service technician examined and tested the phone. He informed us that this is a hardware issue and that we will have to take it to the SA dealer for repairs.
So back home, more reading and supper at a small cafe near to our home.
Sleeping is not always that easy as the streets are noisy during the night and from early morning as well.
Barcelona Wednesday 25
We have now seen as many old buildings and churches as we can. So we start today with a visit to the beach.
Metro to the Ramblas and the we take a Rickshaw ride from the bottom of the Ramblas to the beach. Once there we spend some time reading, watching the people, avoiding the vendors and I have a swim. The water is cold but refreshing.
We walk back to the Ramblas, past the restaurants, vendors who our Rickshaw driver told us are illegal Africans who the Police like to disrupt and check up on illegal copycat merchandise and then past the very super rich Yacht basin.
The afternoon is spent walking, enjoying coffee shops and reading. This evening we are really just too tired to go out so we have a salad with a couple of beers and wine, at home.
Final day in Spain. Thursday 26th
We spend the morning cleaning the flat before taking the Metro to Pg de Galacia where we have arranged to meet Jordi and Margaret.
We hand over their keys and they show us how to catch the Renfe train the airport. We say our goodbyes and get on board the train.
Barbara and I are both deeply into the books we are reading. During the week we swapped books after Monday's book sale when we bought them at FNAC.
We find our way around the airport, Jordi had advised we take the green bus to Terminal one. He was correct. We find the Swiss Air check in and are surprised to learn that we should collect our boarding pass for Zurich to CT in Zurich.
While sitting at a cafe in the airport I receive an email to say that the flight from Zurich is no longer this evening but at 8am. We presume 8am on Friday, but cannot find the connecting flight details.
So we take the 8pm flight to Zurich not knowing if we are going to be flying home on Monday or not?
Once in Zurich we are able to find the "Ground Staff" but the help they give is so confusing, "go to Terminal Always, 100m past the taxis. We run. but this is meaningless to us. We ask the bus driver and he says ask information. We ask information and we are told to go upstairs. Upstairs is empty and no one there. We go back downstairs and ask again and eventually find out where to go. We are given vouchers for a taxi and an Hotel. The taxi driver spends his time on his phone and our voucher and hardly glances at the road. Takes forever to get to the hotel and finally we get to the hotel after midnight. We have a few hours sleep and have to be on the bus back to the airport at 5.30 for the 8am flight. We get boarding passes and eventually get through all the formalities to board at 8am. The flight is Edelweiss not swissair. We have great seats with lots of leg room and have an easy flight to Cape Town. 11.5 hours we arrive at 7.30pm and Ally meets us there to take us to Nicky's house where we stay Friday 27th and Saturday 28th before driving home on Sunday 29th.
Monday 30th I have an Addo Tour for One with Bianca.
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