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On the Camino: One Day at a Time, one Photo at a Time 7.0

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Not everything along the Camino is beautiful, although I do like all of the angles of the bridge, tracks, and overpass. On the day between Tui and Redondela, I learned that I wish to never walk this section of the way again.

CP, Oct 2019

I love how everyone has a different perspective. One of my husband's favourite bits of the (otherwise truly spectacularly beautiful) walk along the Norte was past the massive steel production plant out of Gijon!
 
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Hontanas
private albergue dorm

photo taken November 9, 2014


Mud prevailed the last time I followed the CF across the vast open space west of Burgos known as the Meseta; it was a solitary/slippery/cold trudge.

Hontanas, 2014.webp

In Hontanas luckily the private El Puntido albergue was open. After their copious/delicious lunch I was alone in this comfy, well heated dorm. The adjacent spotless showers had marble floors and limitless hot water; after a shower I took a siesta and slept until breakfast!...True bliss.
 
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Ponte Maceira.jpg

Another angle of the Ponte Maceira. On the way to Finisterre 2016.
The luxury of a direct flight from Brussels to Santiago de Compostela to start this mini Camino.

 
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Usually when I am on my travels I eat the food of the country. But being British the oportunity of a nice, fresh, tasty curry is hard to turn down, with a glass of local Cidre. Bar Pension El Puente Peregrino, Trabadelo. CF May 2019. Also a very nice comfy place to stay.

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Second to last day on the Primitivo, Oct 2015. A cluster of postboxes. The village, I guess, was too remote and scattered for the post office to visit every house so they put all the mailboxes together. Some of them don't look like they've been used for years. Rural Spain has been depopulated for decades. The process may be in reverse, thanks to distance working and high house prices in the cities. Who knows?DSC00324 (2).webp
 
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Navarrete
memorial

photo taken January 28, 2008

Navarrete, memorial .webp

These poignant plaques at the cemetery entrance memorialize a Belgian woman hit/killed by a car while cycling in 1986 on the CF/N120 east of Navarrete.
 
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Second to last day on the Primitivo, 14th Oct 2015. Many of you will have seen this building, some might even recognise it. For me, it evokes Galicia: the traditional stone building patched up with corrugated iron and cheap bricks, the overcast sky, the general air of abandonment, and the camino arrow and the camino plaque on the side. Don't get me wrong, I find it very beautiful but with a tinge of melancholy.

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I'm not sure that we'll ever go back to Santiago. We'll walk more caminos but maybe not finishing in Compostella. We remember the city from the 80's when we'd leave work on a Friday night after work in Oporto and make it to Santiago where our friend Isabel lived, just as things were starting to liven up (and that was in a very old car and over atrocious roads). I loved the arcades, the silver grey granite and the streets filled at night with carousing, noisy students. This reminds me of the city I first got to know. By the way, there is an excellent pulpería just down the road there, on the right. 14th October 2019.

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A few hundred meters deviation on the Primitivo, the 12th century church of San Miguel de Bacurin, it’s bi-lobed door was (according to my guidebook) patterned after the north door at Santa Maria Cathedral in Lugo and carved by one of the cathedral’s craftsmen. I think they are as dissimilar as they are similar but what do I know…
Details of corbel, door (sorry over limit but did I mention 12th cent church?—they were everywhere that stage…you’ve been warned 😉)
FA43337C-FE17-491B-99C7-1CC996914F1E.jpeg7592C620-E93C-4F9E-8AEA-A1624BB58781.jpeg

Door in Lugo’s Cathedral 3D858955-709A-4BBC-B9A6-A888FEC028B7.jpeg
 
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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.
It's been a while since I last posted this on the Forum. SDC Cathedral October 1964. My first visit, not walking, ship to Vigo and then bus. It is a copy from a transparency, so the quality is not that great, after 57 years it is not surprising.
SDC Cathedral 1964.webp
 
It's been a while since I last posted this on the Forum. SDC Cathedral October 1964. My first visit, not walking, ship to Vigo and then bus. It is a copy from a transparency, so the quality is not that great, after 57 years it is not surprising.
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Always in awe when I see your pictures from that year popping up!
 
It's been a while since I last posted this on the Forum. SDC Cathedral October 1964. My first visit, not walking, ship to Vigo and then bus. It is a copy from a transparency, so the quality is not that great, after 57 years it is not surprising.
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Wow! Such a magnificent photo! You are the same age as me. In 1964 I was still at school...and it was decades before I became aware of the Camino. I doff my hat.
 
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It's been a while since I last posted this on the Forum. SDC Cathedral October 1964.
Lovely to see this photo - thank you for posting it! Always so nice to see photos of the cathedral with the front facade doors open and welcoming. I was able to enter the cathedral that way when I first walked in 2012, but not since. Wonder if that will ever be an entrance open to the public again?
 
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Trinidad de Arre
Marist monastery
garden dòor

photo taken October 19, 2014

Trinidad de Arre.webp

Drinking tea in the monastery garden I pondered how it might have changed over the years and those who had used this small door. Yet as the shadows lengthened I was thankful to simply relax and be once again in this pleasant, almost timeless, place.
 
Trinidad de Arre
Marist monastery
garden dòor
Drinking tea in the monastery garden I pondered how it might have changed over the years and those who had used this small door. Yet as the shadows lengthened I was thankful to simply relax and be once again in this pleasant, almost timeless, place.
@mspath A lovely photo. I will always remember clearly my late afternoon and evening in this beautiful garden, on my own and with some nice company. I think the door in your photo is in the upper right wall in this photo, taken September 8, 2012.

garden.webp
 
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As long as we’ve wandered 500 meters off the Primitivo to see San Miguel, may as well make it 3km and see Santa Eulalia de Boveda. I posted a picture before but this is a detail of the mural, and bonus: the link will let you “walk” around inside via google maps

E568D942-637C-496F-9F03-A569CB3A0CA4.jpeg I don’t know why everyone on the Primitivo doesn’t make the detour…pagan temple turned Pre-Romanesque Christian church…


 
Farmacia.jpg

San Justo de la Vega.CF 2011. When you are somewhat bored in your hostal that afternoon and you start making pictures from out of the window.The Farmacia that missed some letters ;) .


Hostal El Juli is a nice place and has a decent restaurant. For those who prefer not to stay the night in Astorga. .
Some years later I saw they were renovating the hostal.

 
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Overlooking the Praça Cervantes is the church of S. Bento. Inside are these two beautiful, unattributed and probably generally overlooked artworks. If anyone knows anything about them, I'd love to hear. 15th Oct 2018.

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dick bird,
Thanks for taking/posting these handsome photos taken exactly three years ago.
Perhaps the references cited here
and also here might help in your research.
 
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dick bird,
Thanks for taking/posting these handsome photos taken exactly three years ago.
Perhaps the references cited here
and also here might help in your research.
Thank you. The second picture is obviously the gothic altar from the earlier church that both sites refer to, but the author of the painting is still a mystery. I'm OK with that. It is such a poignant picture, what does it matter?
 
Thank you. The second picture is obviously the gothic altar from the earlier church that both sites refer to, but the author of the painting is still a mystery. I'm OK with that. It is such a poignant picture, what does it matter?
Indeed it is very poignant. Perhaps if you search for other occurances of the same picture you might find more info.
 
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
@dick bird, the other think you can try is a reverse image search. You never know what you might find.

and bonus: the link will let you “walk” around inside via google maps
That was fun! a very nice bonus indeed. What are the things that look like wires overhead before going into the enclosed part of the building?

A waymarker on the lonely but lovely San Olav, between Covarrubias and Burgos.
20160324_145017.webp
 
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What are the things that look like wires overhead before going into the enclosed part of the building?
I don’t know. I got distracted trying to keep up with the Spanish from the extremely nice gentleman from the office and forgot to ask once I stepped into the temple itself. My mind was busy with the Spanish (he was as excited to tell me about Santa Eulalia as the wonderful woman from House No. 7 was to tell me about Santo Tomas), in wonder over how good the mural looked, and alarmed about the moss growing everywhere. My best guess is it keeps out undesired visitors (2 or 4 legged) since the place is unattended most of the time (also alarming to me)
3B8F097E-46F4-43AC-9A6C-1377D2115160.jpeg

My pictures didn’t turn out but if you “step” inside the little courtyard between the door and the temple and look on the right (as you face the temple) outside wall you can see carved dancing figures.
 
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Overlooking the Praça Cervantes is the church of S. Bento. Inside are these two beautiful, unattributed and probably generally overlooked artworks. If anyone knows anything about them, I'd love to hear. 15th Oct 2018.

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They are beautiful. I don’t know about the artists but have a guess who is portrayed if that helps—although you probably do also. I think the two females in the carving are Elizabeth greeting Mary, in the painting of course Mary and Christ, and in my mind the Beloved Disciple but I could also see it being Joseph of Arimathea
 
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San Nicolas del Real Camino
Casa Barrunta
interior

photo taken November 15, 2014

San Nicolas de Camino, restaurant.webp

Casa Barrunta is a very pleasant bar/restaurante at Calle Otero 11, in San Nicolas del Real Camino, roughly 7 km east of Sahagun on the CF.

I've happily eaten there on all my caminos.
Their daily menu was always delicious and a great value. An eclectic mix of varied mementos provided the background ambiance while tbe staff were VERY pilgrim friendly.
 
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San Nicolas del Real Camino
Casa Barrunta
interior

photo taken November 15, 2014

View attachment 111328

Casa Barrunta is a very pleasant bar/restaurante at Calle Otero 11, in San Nicolas del Real Camino, roughly 7 km east of Sahagun on the CF.

I've happily eaten there on all my caminos.
Their daily menu was always delicious and a great value. An eclectic mix of varied mementos provided the background ambiance while tbe staff were VERY pilgrim friendly.


In 2017 in March I stayed here for half an hour nurturing a cafe con leche and some tortilla.That day I walked from Ledigos to Bercianos del Real Camino and the weather was horrendous. Rain, hail and a very nasty wind making me feel much colder than it really was. So after Moratinos it started raining even harder. I felt rather grumpy and a bit alone ( the four other pilgrims that stayed in Ledigos that night were all out of sight ) So I was so excited to see Casa Barrunta open and very welcoming indeed. And there was another pilgrim! A nice gentleman from Japan who did not interact much with the barman or me but we all know how these quiet conversations on a Camino can be meaningful too.
 
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We're just off for an overnight camp as we are now allowed to go beyond a 5km radius of our home so a double helping. First is looking West from just below the Plaza Obrodoiro. One of my favourites of Santiago because of the light. Second is day one on the Inglés, next day, early morning in Ferrol walking around the ria.

DSC04864(1).webpDSC04876.webp
 
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It's been a while since I last posted this on the Forum. SDC Cathedral October 1964. My first visit, not walking, ship to Vigo and then bus. It is a copy from a transparency, so the quality is not that great, after 57 years it is not surprising.
View attachment 111225
It is remarkable how much detail you can get from old 35 mm slides. I've had some scanned and digitalised and the detail is as sharp as many of my hi-tech digital photos.
 
What this chapel looks like from the inside I have no idea. But from the outside....well, let's just say it was an astonishing surprise, a "What were they thinking?!" moment.
On the Camino San Olav, near Covarrubias.
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I think there's a thread about this on the forum somewhere. It is, shall we say, controversial?
 
...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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What this chapel looks like from the inside I have no idea. But from the outside....well, let's just say it was an astonishing surprise, a "What were they thinking?!" moment.
On the Camino San Olav, near Covarrubias.
View attachment 111350
I’m going to be in a minority but this chapel has grown on me, especially after reading the info @VNwalking linked and seeing the pictures there. Normally I wouldn’t care for modern churches and Scandinavian interiors (although I liked the bell tower immediately ). But the explanation made it so much better (isn’t that usually the case). Designed specifically to look (inside at least, I have trouble imagining the outside) like a Viking ship in honor of St Olaf’s story and the Princess’ heritage, I like it better. Especially since she lived a short life made unhappy her last years transplanted to Spain, and her husband’s vow to build a chapel in her honor (long delayed)…it should be something to remind the Princess of the home she missed so much. I was intrigued by the architect’s explanation that steel is the modern version of granite in its use in the church. Bonus points that they specifically designed a shaded outdoor space (I imagine nice for pilgrims) and the interior has spaces for religious and secular use

Edit: I will say I could understand @VNwalking ’s comment. Looks a bit like it belongs in a Mad Max movie
 
I think the low part is the shaded area but I’m relying on the article, they didn’t post pictures. Inside the chapel is easier to believe it’s a ship. At best for the outside, if I squint I can see the low part as the ship and the tall part as the huge Viking sail.

A2E649DB-C598-41BE-A838-71DFB7765087.webp

I just want to believe it makes the princess happy when she looks down on it.
 
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Tardajos
private albergue
interior

photo taken November 8, 2014

Leaving Burgos on the CF it began to drizzle then really pour. Totally soaked/cold I stopped in Tardajos at La Fabrica, an old flour mill repurposed to be an albergue/hostal. It was a GREAT find.

Tardajos.jpg

Each heated albergue dorm room could hold 4 pilgrims with fresh linens on the bunks and a sleek toilet/shower adjacent; regular tourist accommodation was also available.

The bar/dining room was popular with locals as well as visiting hunters; meals were copious, tasty and good value.

All in all this was a pleasant stop before beginning the Meseta.
 
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€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Primitivo. August 1, 2013. Walking through La Mesa and passing the Iglesia de Santa María Magdalena.

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Theatregal,
This view captures a perfect summer camino day; clear sky, historic structure and no crowd in sight! Lucky you.
 
Playing fast an loose with the 'rules' today. 🙃
No crowds in sight: Good Friday at Santa Maria de Lara, what is left of a 7th C Pre-Romanesque church, now in the middle of not much, off the Camino San Olav. It's an incredibly special place, mute, ancient, and mysterious. I was not able to go inside as it was a holiday. But @alansykes has some very nice photos here, post #9:
IMG_1331.JPGIMG_1327.JPGIMG_1340.JPGIMG_1329.webp

Edit: Following a link in the Pre-Romanesque Architecture thread I found this link. Long, perhaps, but worth a look. It's the most complete descriptions of the decoration of this church.
 
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...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Rats. Now I want to see it. Sparrow wanders off to look for map wondering how many caminos will get glued together for the next trip.
My plans for next year's trip keep changing. Now thinking about the following:
  • CF, Meseta
  • Primitivo
  • Inglis
  • CP, beginning at Caminha this time and staying with the coast, including the Spiritual variant
  • SdC to Muxia to Finisterre
That would be appx 6 weeks of walking plus rest/travel/exploring days making it 7+ weeks total. I think it's too ambitious, so it will continue to evolve...
 
Hard to follow the one photo rule, Porto was so magnificent!
This day, two years ago, was my first day on the Camino Portugués, from Porto along the coast to Vila do Conde, then across to Rates to follow the central route, including the Variante Espiritual.
Phoenix, what date did you start?
So now for a photo…it took a while to choose.

4433151E-3CDC-420D-A8BC-F2A486C0AF75.webp
 
Hard to follow the one photo rule, Porto was so magnificent!
This day, two years ago, was my first day on the Camino Portugués, from Porto along the coast to Vila do Conde, then across to Rates to follow the central route, including the Variante Espiritual.
Phoenix, what date did you start?
So now for a photo…it took a while to choose.

View attachment 111494
5 Oct 2019

I've already chosen another Porto photo for tomorrow.

As a side note, I've already written an important scene in my book-in-progress that's in the same spot of your photo. :)
 
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.
I just assume you all don’t pay enough attention to what I post to realize I’ve already posted one of the area 🙂
As a side note, I've already written an important scene in my book-in-progress that's in the same spot of your photo.
a short excerpt please, or it didn’t happen 😀 …or at least an estimated release date??
 
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near Montes de la Valdueza.
photo taken November 25, 2014

near Montes de Valdueza.jpg

Another pilgrim and I shared a taxi from Campo via Salas de los Barrios to Montes de la Valdueza to see a bit of the mountainous countryside south of Ponferrada.
 
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When Spain joined the EU, they suddenly had money to invest in massive infrastructure projects. That's why you'll be plodding along through a forest or a boggy bit of wasteland and suddenly these huge concrete piers with a motorway or an AVE on top loom up above you. Even stranger is that somebody, several somebodies it would seem, consider it worth their while to tramp all the way down there with I don't know how many spray cans and start executing these intricate pieces of street art/murals where only a handful of people are ever going to see them. impressive, but I have no idea what it means. Inglés, Oct 18 2018.

DSC04907.webpDSC04905.webp
 
Primitivo. August 1, 2013. Walking through La Mesa and passing the Iglesia de Santa María Magdalena.

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One of the things I love about this thread is seeing places I recognise. Even better when I've got a shot of the same place from a different viewpoint. Sept 2018

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I believe it's a hop, step and jump off the Lana (or it'd better be because that's where we intend to be come next spring).
It's one valley over, but not far. From Covarrubias you have a choice: go over the ridge to Santa Maria de Lara, on the San Olav, or stay on the Lana and head to Mecerreyes. Either way you end up in Burgos.
Check this thread post 202 et seq.

There is another possible (longer but wonderful) off piste option direct to Mambrillas (a bit before SMdL on the San Olav) from Santo Domingo de Silos, missing Covarrubias, post 223.
Either way, you'll love it, @dick bird .
 
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What an astonishing color.
I think it must be the calm shallowness in place (hoping not some toxic brew 😱)…there’s a place in Castro Urdiales with bronze statues of divers on some rocks are that are this color. Since usually I walked in heavy rain most of my seas are grey and white and blurry
 
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It feels like food time again. I love Arroz con Leche. I don't know why. It isn't complex, or any thing out of the ordinary. But properly made it hits the spot every time, for me. I dont think of it the way I would a British Rice Pudding. i.e comfort food. I just love it. Camino Ingles, June 2019.

IMG_20190604_134503371.webp
 
The wayside cross, where you come off the road onto the rough grass track that cuts through the gap in the ridge ahead between Pic de Leizar and the Col de Bentarte, about 7.4kms after Orisson. August, 2014.
If we had walked on to Roncesvalles the day before we would have had to walk through an almighty thunderstorm and very heavy rain in the afternoon and evening, whereas we had beautiful weather the next day!
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Peñabla de Santiago
monastery door

photo taken November 25, 2014

door, Penalba de Santiago 25 11 2014.jpg

At Peñalba de Santiago, located roughly 22km south of Ponferrada night was falling as I quickly saw/shot the doorway of this remote 10th century church, Santiago de Peñalba. Originally part of a monastery it is a Mozarabic gem and a protected Spanish landmark. Unfortunately the interior was closed.
 
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
1634635618757.webp

We had the first spat of snow where I live last week. Since then, I've thought often about those days of my life I spent walking the Portuguese coast.

Between Vila do Conde and Esposende just south of the golf course along the beach.
CP, Oct 2019
 
Church of San Francisco in Betanzos, Camino Inglés, 19 Oct 2018. The albergue is in the old fish merchants' hall (they have got rid of the smell), a 15th cent. building with a massive stone fireplace to match. A lovely little town with its own form of omelette - no onions, no chorizo and very runny inside. Like mine, except in my case it's because I don't cook them properly.

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