Hi everyone,
The following is a brief sort of summary of the first half of the Camino -- I've just written a few lines whenever I've had email access, which is fairly often as most places we stay have internet kiosks.
Pre-day 1: arrived in St. Jean Pied de Port in very south-western France around 5pm after a bus from Madrid to Pamplona and a taxi over the border, which we shared with a lovely older couple from Korea who, as it turned out, have golfed in Kimberley...small world. Town was lovely, and just like I would imagine a small French village to look. We got our pilgrim passports and checked into an albergue -- which are like hostels specifically for pilgrims...very cheap and very basic. Bunk beds, a small kitchen, and somewhere to do laundry by hand. That's about it.
Day 1: up very early after a bad sleep because of three snorers/loud talkers in the room. Quick breakfast of bread and tea and were on our way at 6:43am...before sunrise so was still pitch black. Tough hike with an elevation gain of 1300 metres, but so absolutely gorgeous...pastoral green hills, sheep, stunning mountain views. They say this is the single hardest day on the whole Camino, as you basically have to commit to 27Km and there are only two water stops along the way. We crossed into Spain around noon. Last 3Km was the hardest because it was steep downhill. The albergue was in an old monastery and was like a giant room filled with as many bunk beds as they could cram in...the snoring was legendary. Thank god for earplugs. Met an Irish couple and two guys from Ireland and England who we had dinner and drinks with -- awesome people and so much fun.
Day 2: much flatter terrain today, but not as interesting, did about 21 Km. Met up with the English/Irish folk for dinner and more drink. Attempted to go pub-hopping but the only other pub in town closed at 8:30. Returned to first pub and partied with some Spanish cops (who were off-duty) and closed the place down. Returned to the albergue just after midnight, which was two hours past our curfew but fortunately the place was very loosely managed and no one was there to scold us -- or to lock us out.
Day 3: A long, slow, slog of a day, for obvious reasons... Were still an hour outside of Pamplona at 2pm. Much more mellow night with the crew, sat in the main open square and nursed a single drink until curfew. Most albergues have a curfew of 10pm, and lights off is usually a half hour or an hour later. The Camino is not a party oriented holiday:) Said goodbye to the Irish/English crew. Will really miss them -- awesome, awesome people.
Day 4: finished our day in Puerta de la Raina, approx a 21Km day.
Day 5: Made it to Estella. Feet are generally in pain, very inflamed. Robin diagnosed me with needing new shoes -- my running shoes are dead. As much as I think it's crazy to get new shoes in the early days of a long distance walk, the potential breaking in pain seems worth it compared to the guaranteed pain of continuing in my current shoes. Visited the Red Cross clinic to take care of a blister and was so overwhelmed at how gentle and kind and wonderful the staff were it brought me to tears. Think am exhausted.
Day 6: Day off in Estella. Heavenly. Slept in till 8am -- a real luxury as we are usually up no later than 6 -- had a leisurely breakfast of Spanish omelette and coffee/tea. Lazed around and did nothing all day in an attempt to give our feet a break. Drank some wine. Read our books. Soaked our feet. Good day.
Day 7: Back on the trail. Another 21Km.The mountainous terrain has given way to rolling hills of wheat fields, vineyards (grapes make for good snacking!), and various other crops. Very different but so gorgeous...the kind of landscape I was imagining we'd see on the trail.
Day 8: Sent my pack ahead for a 29Km day in order to give my feet a bit more easing in time. Carried a cloth shoulder bag in which a container of yogurt broke and drenched everything, including my phone. Lost my long-sleeved shirt. Kind of a bad day.
Day 9: Very long day, feet were hurting after 31Km. Then we couldn't find the albergue...crossed the river three times before we found it. Fortunately was able to soak feet in said river, which helped. Note: you know you are Canadian when you are on a pilgrimage and you spend your spare time searching every supermercato for peanut butter, and when you find it, you carry half a kilo of it for over 100Km just so you can have peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch...
Day 10: Worst snorer EVER last night. As Bob the British guy said this morning, "I don't know how he got that wild boar to make love to him all night long." Seriously. Arrived in Santo Domingo around noon ...poshest albergue ever -- huge bathrooms, big kitchen, leather couches and a tv, cheap internet, lovely outdoor space with picnic tables, all for the price of a donation. The church here has a chicken living in it. Long story.
Day 11: My feet are wrecked. But everyone's feet are wrecked...except Robin's. Annoying. The other night I was lying on my top bunk during siesta and I could see everyone's feet...all covered in Compeed and bandages. It's amazing to me that people are really sustaining so much damage -- horrible blisters, knee injuries, tendonitis, even one woman with a blood clot in her leg -- and every morning everyone just gets up and puts their feet back in the boots that are causing all the pain and trouble, and walks another 25 - 30Km.
Day 12: Arrived in Ages this afternoon after about 27Km and relaxed in the sun with some 50cent glasses of wine. I do love Spain. We are officially one-third of the way there, since we're on a 33-ish-day schedule. We stayed in an albergue next to a church and went next door at 8:30 for the pilgrim's blessing, which was so lovely. The priest led the blessing and asked members of the audience to read passages in four different languages. Made me get all choked up.
Day 13: Made it to Burgos, which is sort of the end of the first stage of the trail. Lots of people are stopping here, or are skipping the next section of about 150Km to get to Leon and continue from there. It's neat to see the familiar faces that we've gotten to know along the way...I think of them as our Camino family...the hilarious Swiss-Italian guys who we always have a "cupo do vino blanco" with when we roll into town. The awesome Kiwi sisters who so lovingly bandaged my feet one night. The "intense Canadians" who set such a rapid pace I can only keep up with them for about half a day -- and they're retired. The trio of Aussie women whose twangy accents can carry across an entire compound. The Slovenian woman whose name is Barbie, though I can't bring myself to call her that. Alfredo the Italian pilot, who laughs every time he sees me soaking my feet. They are all such great people, and every day there are new ones to meet.
Day 14: The stretch of land between Burgos and Leon is called the meseta, and is basically an featureless, arid, dry dustbowl. This is when we stare at the ground and call on some meditative mantra to help us get through the day. "The pilgrim's treadmill" they say. And it is somewhat desolate, and depressing, but it's also starkly beautiful in its own way. Endless stretches of gold fields against pure blue skies.
Day 15: Took a day off today, to rest the feet. Stayed in a little place in the middle of nowhere called Boadillo. It was the loveliest oasis of green grass and flowers, with a tiny little pool that we all dangled our feet in...such a nice way to while away the afternoon. The guy who ran the place asked me where I was from and when I said Canada he asked me if I wanted a "double double." Turns out he lived in London, ON for a while, which explains it...so weird to hear a Tim Horton's reference in the middle of nothern Spain!
Day 16: Our albergue tonight was in a convent (many are in monasteries) and we all had our own beds -- meaning there were no bunk beds. We were all inordinately excited about this. I hope I never see another bunk bed again after this trip.
Day 17: The halfway point in our 32-day plan -- yay! We started the day out with some rain, but it was mostly a dry and sunny walk. We have three more days of this nothingness...and probably more to come!
That's all for now.
Love, me.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
On the road again
Hola amigos y familia,
We have free internet at our hotel, so am taking advantage, as I'm not anticipating having much access in the next month or so. Thought I'd catch you all up on my last month of travel and adventure and drama...and there was a lot of all of it in August.
I spent the first 5 days of the month in Rome, which I absolutely loved. I spent every day prowling the city from early in the morning till late at night, seeing all the great sights -- the Colloseum, the Pantheon, St. Peter's square and church, the Vatican museums. It was so amazing to see these centuries old buildings and sites, to feel the weight of the city`s history. They were marathon days, but totally worth it. One of the main reasons I was interested in seeing Rome is because of the book "Eat, Pray, Love", for those of you who have read it. It was and continues to be a real inspiration for me, and walking the streets and seeing all the places Elizabeth Gilbert describes in her pursuit of pleasure (in the form of pasta and mucho gelato) was a really special experience for me.
After Rome I met Robin in Pisa, and we continued back to the farm together. A woman named Astrid, from Holland, was also joining us at the farm as a wwoofer, and meeting her was a definite highlight of my time in Tuscany. She speaks 5 languages (count 'em!) and is just a totally straightforward and relaxed person who really kind of evened out the vibe on the farm, and is just a pleasure to be around.
Another wonderful thing that happened in August was my aunt and uncle, Rita and Earl, came to Tuscany and rented a house in a little town called Monzone, which was only a 20 minute drive from the farm. I chose Tuscany as a wwoofing destination because I knew they were coming there, but I had no idea where they would be, so it was just good luck that we turned out to be so close! I spent a couple of my days off with them, and we visited a nearby town called Carrara, which is framed by a stunning backdrop of several marble quarries. We drove up and among them and had lunch at the foot of one of the snowy mountains...too cool. Other days we just spent chilling at their lovely rental house, which was situated on a river and had lots of shade for us to sit in and read and drink wine -- heavenly!
On some of our other days off, Astrid and Robin and I visited Cinque Terre (Five Villages), which is one of the most charming and scenic places I've been to in Italy. The five villages in question are strung out along the coast of the Ligurian sea, and are a literal jumble of colorful houses stacked on top of one another, tiny stone streets, and lovely little cafes overlooking the water. You can walk from the first town to the last, north to south or vice versa, in a few hours, depending on how often you stop for gelato -- it's about 12 Km. The beaches vary widely, anything from huge boulders that people dive off (the lifeguard in me cringed every time) to umbrellas you have to pay to lie under on the only real sandy beach we encountered. We did go for a quick dip at the end of the day, but we didn't pay for the umbrella privileges.
So, things at the farm took a turn for the weird in the last week we were there...it got very strange with Valeria as she became very suddenly unfriendly and grumpy and acted like we were a big nuisance for her. We asked her a couple of times if she was unhappy with us and if she wanted us to leave, but she said no. But things came to a head and there was a bit of a blow out, so we packed our things and left a couple of days early. It's a long story that I won't go into here, and anyway it's over now. The three of us have written letters of complaint to wwoof Italia and hopefully they will take action as we feel pretty strongly that no other wwoofers should go to that farm. It was unfortunate on a lot of levels, as both Astrid and Robin had never been wwoofing before and have been turned off it now. All of my experiences in Ireland were so positive it was a disappointment for me to end on such a negative note, especially because it started out in a positive way. But anyway, Robin and I stayed with Rita and Earl for a couple of days and had a wonderful time just relaxing by the river, so it was a nice contrast and a nice way to put the experience behind us.
We left Tuscany and went to Venice for a couple of nights, which was awesome. The city is so perfectly preserved...no ugly modern buildings, no fast food joints on the island, and NO CARS. What a treat. I loved the canals and the millions of bridges, the vaporettos, the gondaliers. Just so beautiful. Weird, but beautiful.
After Venice we travelled up to Trieste, which is barely in Italy as it's so close to, and is completely surrounded by, Slovenia. We stayed with my friend Jen, who I have known for as long as I can remember, as we went to kindergarten and grades 1&2 together, and lived just a few minutes away from each other in the Kimberley suburb of Meadowbrook, where we both grew up. It's so neat, I think, to keep in touch with people who you've known for such a long time, and even though Jen and I were out of touch for several years, it was very comfortable and easy to be around her and her family. Her husband's name is Josh and they are both physicists -- PhDs in physics. Can you say "scary smart people"? They have post doc positions at the university in Trieste and should be there for another year or so, perhaps more. They took us to their workplace, the "Synchroton," which was a large circular building that has electrons going around and around at some speed that allows them to measure things...I don't know, it was a bit beyond me as I barely made it through physics 11 in high school. But very cool to see.
Jen and Josh have a little boy called Tycho, who is one of the cutest kids I've ever seen -- second only to Jeremiah of course:) He reminded me a lot of my friend Kristine's little boy Cole, as they're close in age and have that coy, mischevious smile perfected. Tycho took a huge liking to me -- ironic, for obvious reasons. He often wanted to be carried by me and I felt strangely flattered that this little boy liked me so much...there's something very pure and gratifying about a toddler's affection.
We went for several walks in Trieste, which is a lovely city. It's a port town, and has wonderful walking trails that have fantastic views of the water and the coastline. Jen and Josh live in a little village that's much higher in elevation so it was blessedly cool at night! I must admit, I think I've had enough of the sun. I am ready for some cooler temperatures...however, I don't think Spain will be much cooler for a while yet.
Robin and I are in Madrid right now, and are leaving for Pamplona tomorrow. We will start the Camino on Monday, the 31st. I have booked my flight back to Dublin on October 7th, so we have to complete it in that timeframe. I'm quite excited, but am wondering how my feet will hold up:) I will be booking my flight back to Vancouver in the next couple of days, and am looking at sometime on Thanksgiving weekend...probably the Sunday. I don't know how long I'll be in Vancouver/BC/Canada for, but it will be a longer and more relaxed visit than last time!
I think that's all for now. I have no new photos as I haven't had enough internet time to sort and post any.
Adios for now!
Love Tessa
We have free internet at our hotel, so am taking advantage, as I'm not anticipating having much access in the next month or so. Thought I'd catch you all up on my last month of travel and adventure and drama...and there was a lot of all of it in August.
I spent the first 5 days of the month in Rome, which I absolutely loved. I spent every day prowling the city from early in the morning till late at night, seeing all the great sights -- the Colloseum, the Pantheon, St. Peter's square and church, the Vatican museums. It was so amazing to see these centuries old buildings and sites, to feel the weight of the city`s history. They were marathon days, but totally worth it. One of the main reasons I was interested in seeing Rome is because of the book "Eat, Pray, Love", for those of you who have read it. It was and continues to be a real inspiration for me, and walking the streets and seeing all the places Elizabeth Gilbert describes in her pursuit of pleasure (in the form of pasta and mucho gelato) was a really special experience for me.
After Rome I met Robin in Pisa, and we continued back to the farm together. A woman named Astrid, from Holland, was also joining us at the farm as a wwoofer, and meeting her was a definite highlight of my time in Tuscany. She speaks 5 languages (count 'em!) and is just a totally straightforward and relaxed person who really kind of evened out the vibe on the farm, and is just a pleasure to be around.
Another wonderful thing that happened in August was my aunt and uncle, Rita and Earl, came to Tuscany and rented a house in a little town called Monzone, which was only a 20 minute drive from the farm. I chose Tuscany as a wwoofing destination because I knew they were coming there, but I had no idea where they would be, so it was just good luck that we turned out to be so close! I spent a couple of my days off with them, and we visited a nearby town called Carrara, which is framed by a stunning backdrop of several marble quarries. We drove up and among them and had lunch at the foot of one of the snowy mountains...too cool. Other days we just spent chilling at their lovely rental house, which was situated on a river and had lots of shade for us to sit in and read and drink wine -- heavenly!
On some of our other days off, Astrid and Robin and I visited Cinque Terre (Five Villages), which is one of the most charming and scenic places I've been to in Italy. The five villages in question are strung out along the coast of the Ligurian sea, and are a literal jumble of colorful houses stacked on top of one another, tiny stone streets, and lovely little cafes overlooking the water. You can walk from the first town to the last, north to south or vice versa, in a few hours, depending on how often you stop for gelato -- it's about 12 Km. The beaches vary widely, anything from huge boulders that people dive off (the lifeguard in me cringed every time) to umbrellas you have to pay to lie under on the only real sandy beach we encountered. We did go for a quick dip at the end of the day, but we didn't pay for the umbrella privileges.
So, things at the farm took a turn for the weird in the last week we were there...it got very strange with Valeria as she became very suddenly unfriendly and grumpy and acted like we were a big nuisance for her. We asked her a couple of times if she was unhappy with us and if she wanted us to leave, but she said no. But things came to a head and there was a bit of a blow out, so we packed our things and left a couple of days early. It's a long story that I won't go into here, and anyway it's over now. The three of us have written letters of complaint to wwoof Italia and hopefully they will take action as we feel pretty strongly that no other wwoofers should go to that farm. It was unfortunate on a lot of levels, as both Astrid and Robin had never been wwoofing before and have been turned off it now. All of my experiences in Ireland were so positive it was a disappointment for me to end on such a negative note, especially because it started out in a positive way. But anyway, Robin and I stayed with Rita and Earl for a couple of days and had a wonderful time just relaxing by the river, so it was a nice contrast and a nice way to put the experience behind us.
We left Tuscany and went to Venice for a couple of nights, which was awesome. The city is so perfectly preserved...no ugly modern buildings, no fast food joints on the island, and NO CARS. What a treat. I loved the canals and the millions of bridges, the vaporettos, the gondaliers. Just so beautiful. Weird, but beautiful.
After Venice we travelled up to Trieste, which is barely in Italy as it's so close to, and is completely surrounded by, Slovenia. We stayed with my friend Jen, who I have known for as long as I can remember, as we went to kindergarten and grades 1&2 together, and lived just a few minutes away from each other in the Kimberley suburb of Meadowbrook, where we both grew up. It's so neat, I think, to keep in touch with people who you've known for such a long time, and even though Jen and I were out of touch for several years, it was very comfortable and easy to be around her and her family. Her husband's name is Josh and they are both physicists -- PhDs in physics. Can you say "scary smart people"? They have post doc positions at the university in Trieste and should be there for another year or so, perhaps more. They took us to their workplace, the "Synchroton," which was a large circular building that has electrons going around and around at some speed that allows them to measure things...I don't know, it was a bit beyond me as I barely made it through physics 11 in high school. But very cool to see.
Jen and Josh have a little boy called Tycho, who is one of the cutest kids I've ever seen -- second only to Jeremiah of course:) He reminded me a lot of my friend Kristine's little boy Cole, as they're close in age and have that coy, mischevious smile perfected. Tycho took a huge liking to me -- ironic, for obvious reasons. He often wanted to be carried by me and I felt strangely flattered that this little boy liked me so much...there's something very pure and gratifying about a toddler's affection.
We went for several walks in Trieste, which is a lovely city. It's a port town, and has wonderful walking trails that have fantastic views of the water and the coastline. Jen and Josh live in a little village that's much higher in elevation so it was blessedly cool at night! I must admit, I think I've had enough of the sun. I am ready for some cooler temperatures...however, I don't think Spain will be much cooler for a while yet.
Robin and I are in Madrid right now, and are leaving for Pamplona tomorrow. We will start the Camino on Monday, the 31st. I have booked my flight back to Dublin on October 7th, so we have to complete it in that timeframe. I'm quite excited, but am wondering how my feet will hold up:) I will be booking my flight back to Vancouver in the next couple of days, and am looking at sometime on Thanksgiving weekend...probably the Sunday. I don't know how long I'll be in Vancouver/BC/Canada for, but it will be a longer and more relaxed visit than last time!
I think that's all for now. I have no new photos as I haven't had enough internet time to sort and post any.
Adios for now!
Love Tessa
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