Friday, June 1 -- Salamanca and Madrid -- by bus
In case you were wondering, Santiago de Compostela is in the far northwest of Spain, not far from the Atlantic Ocean and directly north of Portugal. Our travels today take us all the way back to Madrid by bus, with a planned stop in Salamanca. To be back to Madrid in time, we needed to leave Santiago de Compostela by 8:00, that would allow Ricardo to park the bus along the side of the road to load us and our luggage. So, an 6:45 wake-up call gave us time to pack and get a lovely breakfast of zumo naranja, cafe con leche, and a napolitan (pain au chocolate). We were surprised, however, by a short rain shower but it kept things cool as we loaded the bus.
The rain continued on and off for a while as we were leaving Santiago de Compostela, Ricardo told is that Galicia was crying because we were leaving :-). We drove southeast through Galicia, enjoying the lush rolling hills and valleys and repeatedly noting the windmills along the high ridges. We made our first stop about 10:15, near A Guidia, for about 15 minutes. At this point we were quite close to Portugal and we decided that we could see in the distance.
About 10:45 we left the province of Galicia and entered into Castille-Leon. Very quickly, the terrain became more flat and looked more dry. Even the hilltops with windmills became less common. After a while, we saw some widely-spaced and pruned trees with the soil below that had been cultivated. I was puzzled by that this could be, but Ricardo told us that there were the special oak trees, encinas, that are grown for their acorns. These special acorns are fed to the black pigs that are grown for the prized jamon iberico. I'll have to keep watching to see if I see any of these special "piggies."
Well, I had a little nap instead of looking for "piggies" but I did meet one later at lunch. We arrived in Salamanca about 1:15 and found it to be about 90 degrees. But our first stop was the famous Gothic cathedral which was built next to, instead of on top of, the original Romanesque cathedral and it was very cool inside the cathedral. The Gothic cathedral is free to visit but we chose to also pay the admission to the Romanesque church and adjoining cloister. We probably spent a good hour there and then walked to the Plaza Mayor for a lovely lunch of beer, bread, salad, manchego cheese and mixed iberico charcuterie--jamon, salchichon, chorizo, and lomo. We finished with a lovely gelato from the nearby stand.
Ricardo picked us up at 3:45 for the 3-hour trip to Madrid. The countryside is largely the same mixed agricultural use. We have driven through the provinces of Avila and Segovia. We continue, also, to see the windmills on the ridgetops. In today's light breeze, there is a graceful elegance as the move in unison.l They really a beautiful sight and one I wish we could see more of in Michgan.
We arrived in Madrid about 6:30 and got settled into the hotel. We decided to meet at 8:30 to go out for dinner to celebrate our last night together. So, Cynthia and Roy and I made reservations at a little place right around the corner and then and went off to El Corte Ingles to do a little grocery shopping and pick up a few things to take home. The streets were packed and it was hot, but not scorching, as the sun was behind the buildings so there was some shade.
We got back to the hotel and met most of the rest of the group and went for a wonderful dinner of tapas and sangria. They were toasts to Roy and Cynthia for their great organization and leadership and a special toast to Ricardo, our wonderful bus driver and new friend. We finished dinner early by Spanish standards, just about 10:00, but some of us are leaving for the airport at 8:00 tomorrow morning and need to repack our suitcases. Others are staying a bit longer and are off to Toledo, or Barcelona or staying in Madrid.
All in all, this trip lived up splendidly to the promise that Roy made to us in our first group meeting last December, "It will be an adventure" and it certainly was.
Hasta luego.
Friday, June 1, 2012
The End is in Sight...
Thursday, May 31 -- Lavacolla to Santiago de Compostela -- 10 km / 6 mi
Although the remaining distance to Santiago was short for some of us, there was a deadline of arriving at the cathedral by noon for the pilgrim mass. And, because part of the group had stopped earlier on Wednesday at Amenal, we chose to leave A Painza at 6:45 on the bus to drop that group off. The bus took the rest of us to Lavacolla. Our first activity was to have our breakfast of cafe con leche and tostada (toasted bread). The other interesting thing about yesterday was that it took the bus about 40 minutes to drive, on a pretty direct route, the distance that we had hiked the day before. On foot, it didn't seem that far. On the other hand, in just 7 days we had walked a total of about 155 km / 96 miles.
Unlike the three previous mornings, there was very little fog or mist when we started walking. The temperature was just a little warmer, in the mid 50s, but the sky was clear blue. The walk into Santiago was quick, the first hour was largely in the suburbs along tree-lined roads but the second hour was mostly along city sidewalks and we had to watch for traffic and traffic lights and crossing indicators. Just before entering the city proper you climb to the top of Monto Gioso (Mount Joy) a high point east of the city from which the medeival pilgrims could first see the spires of the cathedral. Today, it hosts a large statue which commemorates the visit of Pope John Paul II during a previous "Ano Jacobeo" -- a year in which the feast day of Santiago falls on a Sunday. That conveys special value to the pilgrimage in that year.
As we walked into the Cathedral Square, there was a young man playing the Galician pipes -- a relative of the Uillean pipes, the small bagpipes common in Celtic lands. Like the Celtic crosses on the horreos (corn cribs) this was one other reminder of the Celtic heritage of Galicia. We arrived at the cathedral just at 10:00 and there were already some pilgrims in the square. After a couple of quick pictures, we went to the pilgrim office to turn in our "credenciales" (pilgrim passports) and receive our compostela, the certificate that a pilgrim has walked at least the last 100 km of the Camimo. Some of our group was already in line, as well as other peregrinos with whom we had walked in the last few days -- the 5 spanish women who were medical students in Pamplona, a couple from Norway, two guys from Germany. In fact, throughout the day and evening, we continued to encounter folks who looked familiar from the past 7 days.
After the pilgrim office, we stopped directly across the street for our cafe con leche y tostada. After all, it was well past our usual break time. After coffee, a few of us walked to the hotel to meet the bus and unload the luggage. We got the luggage into the rooms, freshened up a bit and then went back to the catherdral for the pilgrim mass at noontime. Even though we arrived about 11:40, most of the 1,000 seats were already filled so many people were standing. In addition to the peregrinos who had walked the camino, there were also busloads of European tourists who had made a pilgrimage to Santiago. The pilgrim mass lasted about an hour and was conducted entirely in Spanish. There was not printed liturgy but a Spanish nun taught and led all of the songs.
After mass, I ran into our Italian friend, Enzo, in the nave. He had smile from ear-to-ear and gave me a big hug. He asked for Roy and we tried to communicate that Roy would be out in the plaza, our designated meeting place for the group to take a picture with the Calvin flag after mass. After the picture, Ricardo took some of us to the local market to the seafood buildings. He purchased a variety of mariscos from the fishmongers and then took us to a little restaurant that cooks the seafood for you and serves the meal. The restaurant provided bread, a salad of tomatoes and onions, wine and beer, and the tarta de Santiago for dessert. Here's what we ate for dinner--
-- Percebes: goose-neck barnacles
-- Navajas: razor clams
-- Mejillones: mussels
-- Almejas: clams
-- Vieiras: scallops
Each item was boiled with very simple seasoning, but was incredibly delicious.
After lunch, we walked back to the hotel and had a siesta. Even though we had walked only a short distance today, everyone expressed how tired we were. I think that the adrenalin drive that had kept us going for the last few days was starting to subside. And, the temperatures were in the high 80s with direct sun so that contributed to our fatigue -- it hot and tiring just standing around. Roy and both hit the pillow and conked out immediately. We slept solidly for about an hour and then got a shower before heading back out again about 5:30.
Our first stop was back at the cathedral to visit it more fully and better understand the art and the architecture. Unfortunately, the grand portal of the nave was under renovation and they had roped off the traditional place at the entry where the pilgrims would touch the column and bend down the touch their foreheads with the forehead of a statue of St James. We did walk up into the back of the high altar where one could embrace the statue of St James -- I did not --and we also went down into the chapel in the crypt which contains his reliquary. Finally, we spent some time viewing an art exhibition of paper icons of all of the saints who are represented in the parish churches in Santiago de Compostela. These were very elaborate icons with an explanation of each saint's life, their feast day, and the group for whom they are the patron.
After the cathedral, we did some souvenir shopping. One of the local specialities is azabache (jet), a semi-precious black stone often set in silver. We visited various little shops and poked around. By 8:30, it was too early for dinner so we stopped for a caña and tapas for a while. Roy had gone for a walk and came back about 9:00 so we found another place for dinner. After the big mariscada (assorted seafood meal) at noon, we had a simpler meal at dinner. I had just a salad and some soup, and of course, the great Galician bread. We all commented that we felt exceptionally tired, somehow reaching the end of our Camino walk left us more weary than previous nights. We were asleep by 11 with little difficulty.
Although the remaining distance to Santiago was short for some of us, there was a deadline of arriving at the cathedral by noon for the pilgrim mass. And, because part of the group had stopped earlier on Wednesday at Amenal, we chose to leave A Painza at 6:45 on the bus to drop that group off. The bus took the rest of us to Lavacolla. Our first activity was to have our breakfast of cafe con leche and tostada (toasted bread). The other interesting thing about yesterday was that it took the bus about 40 minutes to drive, on a pretty direct route, the distance that we had hiked the day before. On foot, it didn't seem that far. On the other hand, in just 7 days we had walked a total of about 155 km / 96 miles.
Unlike the three previous mornings, there was very little fog or mist when we started walking. The temperature was just a little warmer, in the mid 50s, but the sky was clear blue. The walk into Santiago was quick, the first hour was largely in the suburbs along tree-lined roads but the second hour was mostly along city sidewalks and we had to watch for traffic and traffic lights and crossing indicators. Just before entering the city proper you climb to the top of Monto Gioso (Mount Joy) a high point east of the city from which the medeival pilgrims could first see the spires of the cathedral. Today, it hosts a large statue which commemorates the visit of Pope John Paul II during a previous "Ano Jacobeo" -- a year in which the feast day of Santiago falls on a Sunday. That conveys special value to the pilgrimage in that year.
As we walked into the Cathedral Square, there was a young man playing the Galician pipes -- a relative of the Uillean pipes, the small bagpipes common in Celtic lands. Like the Celtic crosses on the horreos (corn cribs) this was one other reminder of the Celtic heritage of Galicia. We arrived at the cathedral just at 10:00 and there were already some pilgrims in the square. After a couple of quick pictures, we went to the pilgrim office to turn in our "credenciales" (pilgrim passports) and receive our compostela, the certificate that a pilgrim has walked at least the last 100 km of the Camimo. Some of our group was already in line, as well as other peregrinos with whom we had walked in the last few days -- the 5 spanish women who were medical students in Pamplona, a couple from Norway, two guys from Germany. In fact, throughout the day and evening, we continued to encounter folks who looked familiar from the past 7 days.
After the pilgrim office, we stopped directly across the street for our cafe con leche y tostada. After all, it was well past our usual break time. After coffee, a few of us walked to the hotel to meet the bus and unload the luggage. We got the luggage into the rooms, freshened up a bit and then went back to the catherdral for the pilgrim mass at noontime. Even though we arrived about 11:40, most of the 1,000 seats were already filled so many people were standing. In addition to the peregrinos who had walked the camino, there were also busloads of European tourists who had made a pilgrimage to Santiago. The pilgrim mass lasted about an hour and was conducted entirely in Spanish. There was not printed liturgy but a Spanish nun taught and led all of the songs.
After mass, I ran into our Italian friend, Enzo, in the nave. He had smile from ear-to-ear and gave me a big hug. He asked for Roy and we tried to communicate that Roy would be out in the plaza, our designated meeting place for the group to take a picture with the Calvin flag after mass. After the picture, Ricardo took some of us to the local market to the seafood buildings. He purchased a variety of mariscos from the fishmongers and then took us to a little restaurant that cooks the seafood for you and serves the meal. The restaurant provided bread, a salad of tomatoes and onions, wine and beer, and the tarta de Santiago for dessert. Here's what we ate for dinner--
-- Percebes: goose-neck barnacles
-- Navajas: razor clams
-- Mejillones: mussels
-- Almejas: clams
-- Vieiras: scallops
Each item was boiled with very simple seasoning, but was incredibly delicious.
After lunch, we walked back to the hotel and had a siesta. Even though we had walked only a short distance today, everyone expressed how tired we were. I think that the adrenalin drive that had kept us going for the last few days was starting to subside. And, the temperatures were in the high 80s with direct sun so that contributed to our fatigue -- it hot and tiring just standing around. Roy and both hit the pillow and conked out immediately. We slept solidly for about an hour and then got a shower before heading back out again about 5:30.
Our first stop was back at the cathedral to visit it more fully and better understand the art and the architecture. Unfortunately, the grand portal of the nave was under renovation and they had roped off the traditional place at the entry where the pilgrims would touch the column and bend down the touch their foreheads with the forehead of a statue of St James. We did walk up into the back of the high altar where one could embrace the statue of St James -- I did not --and we also went down into the chapel in the crypt which contains his reliquary. Finally, we spent some time viewing an art exhibition of paper icons of all of the saints who are represented in the parish churches in Santiago de Compostela. These were very elaborate icons with an explanation of each saint's life, their feast day, and the group for whom they are the patron.
After the cathedral, we did some souvenir shopping. One of the local specialities is azabache (jet), a semi-precious black stone often set in silver. We visited various little shops and poked around. By 8:30, it was too early for dinner so we stopped for a caña and tapas for a while. Roy had gone for a walk and came back about 9:00 so we found another place for dinner. After the big mariscada (assorted seafood meal) at noon, we had a simpler meal at dinner. I had just a salad and some soup, and of course, the great Galician bread. We all commented that we felt exceptionally tired, somehow reaching the end of our Camino walk left us more weary than previous nights. We were asleep by 11 with little difficulty.
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