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On the Camino: One Day at a Time, one Photo at a Time 5.0

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Ponte Maceira

photo taken March 29, 2007



On the Camino Finisterre at Ponte Maceira beneath the old stone bridge the Tambre river moved swiftly; crossing was rather frightening.

Nevertheless it was pleasant to be in the more relaxed countryside where most residents took the time to say Hola, point out the route, and wish Buen Camino to passing pilgrims.
 
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Iglesia San Roman de Tours in Ezkerekotxa. Camino Vasco Interior 2019.
Unfortuntately closed when we walked by but this website gives a wealth of information.

The church of Saint Romanus, Ezkerekotxa - Álava Medieval / Erdi Aroko Araba

Ezkerekotxa is a village located in the heart of the Alavese Plains and crossed by the Camino de Santiago. In the church of Saint Romanus we find a good summary of all the different historical periods that the population has gone through.
alavamedieval.com
 
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Cruz de Ferro - although I am aware of the tradition of carrying a "stone" from your home and leaving it at the Cruz de Ferro, when I saw the size of some of those stones, and the weight they would represent, I had to suspend my belief that all were carried there by pilgrims! If they were carried by pilgrims, then there are some pilgrims out there with really big problems, and really strong backs!

 
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Olveiroa
Xunta albergue

photos taken March 30, 2007



Rain continued on the Camino Finisterre.
Soaked and muddy I arrived at the Xunta albergue in Olveiroa; the kind hospitalera remembered me.

Here adjacent stone buildings have been handsomely repurposed; dining/commons room and dorms are separated by a path. Bright plaid blankets cover bunks; tiled bathrooms have hot water and good showers. Bliss!

Pilgrims ate together in the commons room. The hospitalera cooked/served bowls of tasty stew, slices of country bread with local honey, pitchers of red wine, plus yogurt and fruit. Delicious!

...How wonderful it was that wet March night to be clean, well fed, and comfortable!
 
No, you do not have to adjust your computer. What you are seeing is a photo of a printing plate for chocolate wrappers, taken at the Museo del Chocolate in Astorga. Imagine that! A museum about chocolate, complete with free samples! Now all we need to complete the experience is a museum about the red wines of Rioja!

 
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Bill905 said:
Now all we need to complete the experience is a museum about the red wines of Rioja!
Click to expand...
You are in luck, Bill.
Much closer at hand to Astorga is Monforte de Lemos, with its museum about the long history of viniculture in the Ribiera Sacra. So when you get to Ponferrada, take a left and walk the Invierno...that'll take you there.
 
Life's full of choices ... this time on the Camino Portuguese, May 2017. Simple really. Big one or little one?
 

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The choice of accommodation in Tui was simple. The beautiful girls at Ideas Peregrinas Hostel in Tui were welcoming, charming ... and ran a fantastic hostel. They were amused by the extent of my travels and my own "teddy bear" passport. I hope they are faring well in these testing times.
 

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Camino wristwatch
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Foncebadon
Monte Irago albergue
blizzard

photo taken March 5, 2009



I took this photo through the icy Monte Irago albergue window as proof positive of the 2009 blizzard while waiting two days for clearer skies when the nearby CF landscape was obliterated by deep snow

Earlier from Rabanal de Camino seven pilgrims and I had set off. Snow began to fall; pretty at first, then stinging and very cold with an incessant wind.

Our narrow camino path grew slippery; we moved to the broader but snow-covered route LE-142. After 6 km in white-out conditions we 8 arrived at the tiny village of Foncebadon which during my first Camino had been in ruin.

Luckily a private albergue, Monte Irago, had been created and was OPEN.
With great relief we could and did stay in this warm and friendly spot.

....Now in 2021 I still remember this storm.
“Mais où sont les neiges d’anten?/Where are the snows of yesteryear?”
 
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The photo today shows a platform with a wide view. It was what greeted us after a climb through a slightly hilly path through trees. I was waiting to see how our French friend would manage with his home made trailer - no problem at all!

 
The great Castillo de los Templarios in Ponferrada on the French way.

Do not miss the archives and the Templar library with hand drawn and gilded manuscripts. Some from as far back as 900 AD and some more modern beautiful Salvador Dali illustrations for a Don Quixote folio. You have to plan to hit opening times if you aren't staying in Ponferrada.

 
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Ruitelan
Pequeno Potala refugio

photo taken March 10, 2009



Miracles still occur

Near Ruitelan on the CF a car tooted; the driver was Carlos, the hospitalero at the nearby Pequeno Potala refugio. "Margaret!" he said smiling "I heard that you were coming back!" What a happy greeting!

Staying at the refugio was always a pleasure. All is very clean and tidy, Buddhist and eccumenical; on unpainted wooden walls hang a Christian cross, pictures of the Dalai Lama and a card hand-lettered Shalom, the Hebrew salutation meaning peace.

We were six drop-in pilgrims yet the ambiance was serene; Carlos is a multi-tasking host who puts guests at ease.
Questions were answered, advice offered and jitters quieted while simultaneously from a few jars, bottles, cans and boxes a modern day miracle of "the loaves and fishes" was produced to feed all with true caritas.

...Long might it be so.
 
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Sometimes I just get lost ... here amongst all the shells. Feels a little like "Where's Wally". Then a very kind woman selling shells gifted me one that fitted a walker of my size. Imagine how exciting it was to have my own shell. Then another decision: Santiago or Fatima? Just joking, I really knew I was making my way to Santiago de Compostela.
 

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Bill905 said:
Between Mansilla de las Mulas and Leon I noticed these attractive motifs on a wall surrounding a house. I thought they were very pleasing to the eye.

View attachment 103592
Click to expand...
Did you ever find out what the symbols meant? Interesting observation
 

I remember that stretch well. A little further on you get to the beautiful donativo food stop "La casa de los Dioses".
My "special photo" of the actual path is this one, near Rabé de las Calzadas, on the way between Burgos and Hornillos del Camino, taken on June 1st, 2017

 
Sorry. Breaking my own rules. Three today.
What remains of the venerable and very special VII C Santa Maria de Lara, on the Camino San Olav between Santo Domingo de Silos to Burgos. It was Good Friday, alas, so I would not be able to go inside, for which I was very sorry. It is a treasure trove in there.


I just learned this, which I found quite touching:
(from: http://www.caminodesanolav.es/es/contenido/?iddoc=43)
 
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O Cebreiro
Santa Maria Real do Camino, interior

photo taken March 11, 2009, 1pm



Traces of a medieval miracle

Hoisting my backpack I began a solitary walk up to O Cebreiro following the old N VI highway and not the camino.

Arriving after 5 hours at this tiny mountain hamlet exhausted but jubilant I entered the small church, Santa Maria Real do Camino.

As always the interior was immaculate. The magnificent silver chalice gleamed; this gift from royalty commemorates a medieval miracle of faith when a parishioner "experienced" the transformation of wine and bread.

Overcome with emotion I sat at the back of the nave and silently offered thanks for being here once again.
 
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One photo the other day showed a Roman path, and two today will fill out that section, CP, 2013. That's my story, true or not! Often, I have no clear memory of each step of the way, but the order of the photos is my prompt.
 
VNwalking said:
Not quite ready to leave Santa Maria de Lara.
What remains is a fragment of what was.
It is hard not to try to imagine what it would have looked like.
View attachment 103718
Click to expand...
VN,
Imagining like that is a constant delight. In fact that is how Prosper Mérimée and Viollet le Duc "began" the French Monuments Historiques.
 
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mspath said:
Imagining like that is a constant delight. In fact that is how Prosper Mérimée and Viollet le Duc "began" the French Monuments Historiques.
Click to expand...
Thank you, @mspath. You never fail to open doors into something hitherto unknown!

I found this, by way of introduction:

Viollet-le-Duc, le sauveur controversé des monuments français - Décoder les églises et les châteaux

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879) est probablement le plus célèbre architecte du XIXe siècle. Ses méthodes de restauration sur les cathédrales et châteaux suscitèrent des remous. Encore aujourd'hui.
decoder-eglises-chateaux.fr

(Beware: it is a fascinating site... )
 
VN,
Yes it is. For more re the V-l-D and PM association see the resumé of this publication by Françoise Bercé.
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Camino wristwatch
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O Cebreiro
stele

photo taken March 11, 2009, 5 pm



This stele commemorates the visionary work of local priest Don Elias Valiñas Sampiedro who mid-20th c. intently studied Galician history thus helping recreate a modern camino within a network of supporting albergues. Additionally with yellow paint begged from the Road Department he painted the first arrows to mark pilgrim paths; now such yellow arrows in contemporary minds have become iconic.

That March night as stars began to shine above the mountains and hamlet which Valiñas Sampiedro had so deeply loved, all was quiet and peaceful; most day-trippers had left.

Nevertheless I wondered then and continue to ponder now what might he have felt if he had seen the current hordes of casual tourists tramping carelessly along this very special age-old path?
 
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My photos from my 2018 Francés came to an end a couple of days ago, and now that pilgrims are walking the Camino again, I think that should also mark the end of my contributions to this thread.

It's been a tremendous boon to visit here every day and add my recollections to our collective memory of Caminos made in the past, for which I will always be grateful.

For that, I thank you all.

I've got a Portugués in the memory banks to sustain me too, but I think it's time to start thinking of a future Camino, and the English route may well be next.

See you on the Way.
 
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JohnLloyd said:
See you on the Way
Click to expand...
Alas not me. Not for at least another year.
Thank you for your contributions, John, and buen camino!

The Church of San Martin Obispo in Cubillejo de Lara (the next village along towards Burgos from Santa Maria de Lara on the San Olav) has a rather grandiose Renaissance entry, for such a (now) small place.
 
Las Médulas
gold mine, interior

photo taken November 26, 2014



Las Médulas a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Ponferrada, off the CF but on the Invierno, is a magnificent working gold mine dating from Roman times.

Continual curves plus added lights frame the visitors' path for an underground tunnel tour.

Although then trepidacious in retrospect I am glad I followed that path and took this shot as a permanent memento.
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
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Last photo for a week, I will be keeping a low profile this week. Sorry to be missing daily photos, but hey! who knows what I might see closer to home!
Note for this: Chorizo al Infierno, Tui. Everyone in the municipal albergue booked in for the meal in this cafe. Very expensive. € 5 a head! The owner/cocinero came to the table with his pièce de résistance, aflame and all! That was on the house.

 
Saint Jean Pied de Port,
rue de La Citadelle

photo taken October 14, 2014



On the Camino Frances in SJPdP looking west through the Port Saint Jacques towards rue de La Citadelle; nearest in view is # 55 the municipal albergue where multitudes of pilgrims have slept.

From 2004 to 2015 I was very excited to return each year; entering the red door always began a new adventure.
 
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The Osborne bull. A little bit of history.

I know that one the forumrules is that we can't discuss the running of the bulls because it always ends in pros and cons and snappy remarks/ tears.
But I'm pretty confident of us all here that we will refrain from commenting and just read the link and view the pic.

Picture taken on the Vasco Interior 2019.
On the way to Miranda de Ebro.




The Osborne Bull - Granada Insider

There is obvious irony in old billboards that advertised alcohol, ‘watching over’ the highways of Spain. Find out the Story about the most famous bull.
granadainsider.com
 
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Wordless but truly iconic; that black image "tells" the story.
 
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Ponferrada - while the Semana Santa hubbub and processional preparations were going on outside, the inside of Nuestra Senora de la Encina was peaceful and calm ... just a few souls with their thoughts and meditations.

 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
mspath said:
Theatregal,
That is quite a view; what a great place to grow and eat a salad.
Click to expand...
It was a very windy day and I remember thinking it must be a challenge sometimes to garden here. Later I read a wonderful article about sand dune agriculture and the coastal vegetable / fruit gardens of Spain and Portugal. Wished I'd saved it because I can't find it now!
 
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Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Best lightweight Camino guides
Ideal pocket guides for during & after your Camino. Each weighs only 1.4 oz (40g)!
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
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Train on the 4-day Catalina Camino
Train for your next Camino on California's Santa Catalina Island March 16-19
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
nearing Espinal
photo taken October 17, 2014

Here comes the sun



Following the CF path downhill towards Espinal was easy and my confidence returned while walking toward that glorious sunlight although the 5 hour slog up the Valcarlos route the day before to Roncesvalles had been exhausting.
 
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Puente La Reina - Gares
bridge

photo taken February 11, 2007



Optical illusion

On a cloudy winter day the still water of the Arga River reflected the double arches of the famous 11th c. bridge thus creating this optical illusion of a bridge on circular supports.
 
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Camino Preparation Guide
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2nd ed.
VNwalking said:
You are in luck, Bill.
Much closer at hand to Astorga is Monforte de Lemos, with its museum about the long history of viniculture in the Ribiera Sacra. So when you get to Ponferrada, take a left and walk the Invierno...that'll take you there.
Click to expand...
And remember, the local tipple is tinto Mencía. Bar staff are really impressed when you ask for it. So will you be when you taste it.
 
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