Pilgrims
Calzadilla-Mansilla Day 20
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We had such a great night at the casa rural, that we decided to sleep in till 6:45! What a treat, no really it was. We had a full day ahead of us, 24 km with no towns in between so I made sure and charged up my iPhone the night before just in case I needed some musical assistance to get through the day.
It was another long day on the long Roman dirt roads, but at least this time there were a few hills, twists, and turns to make the hike a little more eventful. The most eventful part of the hike was towards the end. About 6 km outside of Mansilla was a small town called Reliegos. The only thing I remember about this town was the bar we stopped at for lunch, Bar Elvis, which was featured in the movie “The Way.” It is nearly impossible to miss this building because the entire outside is covered in Pilgrim graffiti. But, it was the food, drink, and atmosphere inside which made this place a real treasure. We walked in and grabbed a stool at the counter. The owner had his iPod playing a mixture American oldies music. The only artist I can remember that stuck out to me was Johnny Cash, my favorite. The owner wore a beret and had a well trimmed go-tee and was fun to talk to. All over the walls, ceiling, beams, floor, and furniture were messages written by pilgrims from all around the world in all different languages. Some of the messages were poems, some were encouraging words, and some were friends writing taunting messages to their friends who had slowed down to hurry and catch up. This was the kind of bar where the locals would come in and walk behind the bar and serve themselves then place their money on the counter and sit down. This place was amazing! You absolutely have to stop at this bar!
We got the owners attention and ordered our lunch. I ordered my usual jamon y queso bocadillo (ham and cheese sandwich) and a small beer. He then stepped over to the far side of the counter and cut off strips of smoked ham right off the bone, and cut fresh cheese from a cheese wheel. Then, he pulled a loaf of bread out of a burlap sack and place the slices of fresh meat and cheese on the bread. It was the most raw sandwich I’d ever seen made in front of me. He didn’t take cheese out of a plastic wrapper or reach into a plastic container to fumble around and pull out single slices of ham, this was all fresh. To this day, I still think it was the best ham and cheese sandwich I’ve ever eaten.
After a satisfying meal, we eventually made our way to the municipal albergue on the far edge of town. The albergue was actually a group of buildings that surround an inner courtyard covered in cobblestone (if memory serves me). The albergue had wi-fi, full kitchen, and a laundry service and a space to hand wash your clothes for free.
We checked in and joined the others sitting in the courtyard, kicking back and reading, rubbing our feet, and having a cervesa or 2. I asked an Australian pilgrim sitting next to me where he got his beer, and he told me that I could just walk to the bar next door, order the beer, and bring it back to the albergue with me. I just had to promise the barkeep that I’d bring back the glass. It worked and soon other pilgrims followed suit.
The hospitalero was great as well. She was more than happy to sit down and work on people’s feet, fixing blisters, toenails, and giving advice. She jokingly offered a stick for a man to bite down on while she asked if he wanted her to chop of his foot at the ankle or knee because his feet were in such bad shape. 2 offers for amputation in 2 days, what are the odds? The hospitalero actually ended up taking care of several peoples feet, one after the other. She had been well trained and gave great advice to those who had other aches and pains common with pilgrims on the Camino.
For the rest of the day, we piddled around the town getting a few supplies, and taking naps till it was time for dinner. A large group of us, who’d been running into each other the last week or so, decided to all go to dinner together while others stayed at the albergue and made family style meals. It was the kind of dinner I’d been waiting for since I started on the trail day 1. There were at least a dozen of us and we all sat together at this long wooden table. If memory serves me, sitting at the table were Americans, British, French, Australian, and Dutch all sitting together. Wine was brought out, orders were taken, stories were shared. I’m damn near to tears just thinking about this dinner. Ask yourself, how many times do you get the chance to sit down at a large table, eat dinner, and listen to conversations in at least 4 different languages at the same time? It didn’t matter that I didn’t speak Spanish or if Caroline could speak French, there was almost always someone around to translate, like our friend Dom.
After dinner, we went back to the albergue and in the courtyard there were several people sitting around sharing bottles of wine and beer and cheese and having a great time. A few of us joined in the festivities until late in the night and had a great time telling jokes and sharing stories from back home. What a great night.
Destination: Mansilla
Distance: 24.5 km
Accomodation: Municipal Albergue- Albergue description above.
Burgos-Hornillos Day 14
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The next morning, I decided to leave later by myself rather than with my friends whom I’d traveled with for the past 14 day. This meant that this would be the first time I would hike by myself on the trail since day 1. I was a little nervous, but like I said before, the Camino is so well marked that it’s hard to get lost; or so I thought. I decided to stay behind because I wanted to check with the post office to see if my mail had arrived from back home, and to mail some post cards back home as well. After waving so long to my friends whom I would see later on in the day, I went and sat in front of the post office until it opened. The mission was a success and I got my first letter from my father and sent some letters back home. I decided to save the letter for reading until I reached Hornillos at the end of the day, like a treat.
The first 10 km or so I navigated my way around fairly well. But, once I got outside of the city a little bit, I came to a fork in the road and took a wrong turn, which I thought was a secondary route you could take. Rather than backtrack, I pulled out my iPhone and looked to see where I was in relation to the next town (thank God I bought that overseas plan). I was still headed the right way, just not on the same path as the rest of the pilgrims, so no problem right? Wrong again. I ran into some major intersections on some very busy highways, and wouldn’t you know it, I saw pilgrims walking on the trail just on the other side. So, I took my time waiting for the cars to clear with just enough time for me to run across. After a hop over a construction fence and a rip in the crotch of my pants, I was back on track. It was reassuring to once again see other pilgrims walking in the same direction I was.
Later on that day, I even caught up with Xavier and his mother. I walked up to Xavier, said hi, and gave him a high five while his mother looked at me questionably. It didn’t occur to me at the time how weird it was for some strange thick-bearded man to walk up and start talking to her son. So, I introduced myself and told her where we’d met and we actually ended up talking the rest of the way into Hornillos. Xavier’s mother was originally from Spain, but married an American and had been living in America for the last 25 years as a Spanish teacher in Wisconsin. She and her son were hiking the Camion to visit her relatives in the Basque country and to pay tribute to her relatives who had passed away. As I had been learning over the past several days, everyone walks the Camino for their own personal reasons. It was nice to have some new company on the trail for a change.
When we finally got to Hornillos, we made our way to the cathedral to meet up with the rest of my group. Hornillos, by the way, was another hole-in-the-wall town, in a good way that is. But, blink and you’ll walk right through it. After greeting Dom, Caroline, and Mel, Xavier, his mother and I sat down and had a little bite to eat. Xavier and his mom shared some of her cousin’s homemade ham and cheese to make sandwiches with the bread I had bought. This was the ham that Xavier’s mother’s cousin had butchered and cured himself, it doesn’t get any more fresh than that. When we had finished the sandwiches, Xavier and his mom decided to continue on to the next town while my friends and I stayed behind.
We had to wait nearly an hour on the steps of the church for the hospitalero to come open up the hostel for us to check in. We claimed our beds and immediately I laid down and pulled out my dad’s letter as a reward for my hard days hike. It was refreshing to hear from someone back home, but even better to hear words of encouragement from my dad. After reading the note, I relaxed and took a quick cat nap.
About a half hour later, pilgrim’s snoring woke me up from across the room, so I decided walk around a bit and check out where my friends had wandered off to. I found them on the veranda next to the church which had this amazing view of the countryside. The three of them had beers in hand and I asked where I could go grab one. Caroline pulled a cold one out of her bag for me. That’s a good friend right there. And wouldn’t you know it, the sun was starting to go down so it made the view that much more enjoyable.
This night was also the last night Mel was going to be hiking with us. Caroline and Mel were really close, so it was going to be hard to say goodbye after hiking together for so long. We’d already had a farewell dinner in Burgos the night before, but we had our last dinner together in the bar across the street from the albergue, which happened to be owned by the same lady (good food by the way). It was another day done on the Camino de Santiago.
Destination: Hornillos
Distance: 21 km
Accomodation: Municipal Albergue- I stayed at the municipal albergue next to the cathedral and across from the local bar. There wasn’t a laundry services, but there was an area designated to wash and hang your clothes. Also available was a large kitchen. The host of the albergue also ran the bar across the street I believe. Word to the wise, be sure to pay her and sign up for your bed in person or she’ll give your bed up to the next person in line. The bar across the street had a decent pilgrim menu and there is also a small market to buy more food and supplies for the next day’s trip. You can even purchase some cold beers and sit on the overlook next to the church and enjoy a sunset like my friends and I did.
St. Juan de Ortega-Burgos Day 12 & 13
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Day 12
I was looking forward to the hike to Burgos because it meant we would get to stay in our 2nd large city. We had also decided to stay there for 2 days, giving us a little more time to rest and explore some more of the city. The hardest part of the hike to Burgos was walking on blacktop and concrete in boots. It was fairly uncomfortable and hard surface was taking a toll on Caroline’s knee which had been bothering her for a couple of days now. To fix this, when we arrived at the outskirts of the large city, Dom, Caroline, Mel, and I opted to take the bus to the older part of the city where the albergues were.
Since we were staying in Burgos for a couple of days, we had to stay at 2 different places since albergues usually don’t allow pilgrims to stay for more than one day. We decided to spoil ourselves after 11 days of hiking and 1 weeks worth of food poisoning by staying in Hotel Silken, a 4 star hotel. Call it cheating, but every now and again you begin to miss the simple things like a real towel, not wearing shower sandals, and clean sheets and beds. It was definitely pricier than staying in an albergue, especially since we were so close to the old part of town where several tourists like to stay. There weren’t any rooms available when we got there because they hadn’t finished cleaning the rooms, so we left our bags with the front desk and decided to go grab a bite while we waited to check in. We wandered around and finally settled on a small restaurant next to the river to have a couple of beers and a late lunch. We enjoyed our own little slice of heaven kicking our feet up and greeting other pilgrims as they entered the city a little behind us.
After a little respite, we checked into our hotel, grabbed luxurious showers, and had a nap time. We all agreed to meet up in Caroline and Mel’s room later before we went exploring the city together and grabbing a nice dinner. While everyone else rested, I got busy trying to find the post office because Burgos was the first town I came to where I had mail waiting for me from back home. In larger cities, you can forward packages to yourself with supplies or have people send you mail from back home. I gave several post office addresses to friends and families to send me letters while I was also sending back post cards, most of which apparently never reached their destination. Unfortunately, the post office had closed for the day (it was Saturday) and I would have to wait until Monday morning to get my mail. Oh well, more time to write post cards.
I rejoined my friends at the hotel, and from there we took advantage of our extra time by looking around a bit, resupplying anything we might need, and hanging out with other friends we ran into. My favorite site was the cathedral and it is definitely worth checking out.
We ended the day at a very nice restaurant where I enjoyed paella for the first time, and we paired it with a very nice wine that Dom picked out. It was a special occasion because it was one of the last night that Mel would be traveling with us before she had to go home. She had other responsibilities to take care of like most other pilgrims on the trail. I met several pilgrims that had only done sections of the trail at a time as their jobs would allow them.
Day 13
I’m pretty sure this was the first night I actually slept the whole night through! And, Dom didn’t even snore that night! I celebrated by spending my first morning in Burgos alone, sitting at a bar eating my breakfast next to the river and watched some of the other pilgrims leave. It was good to have a rest day and just relax. The 2 days we spent in Burgos were also the first 2 days in about a week where it wasn’t windy and a little chilly. It had warmed up to about 75 degrees with sunny skies! I was so happy that I decided to wear my blue jeans around town (bad idea bringing those heavy pants in my pack by the way).
For our second night in Burgos, we opted to stay in the municipal albergue next to the cathedral. The municipal is a very modern facility with nice bunk beds put in groups of 4 to an area with a personal sink and shower. Laundry services are available as well. Unfortunately, there was no Wi-Fi available, but computers were set up (which you paid for) to use if you needed. What are you doing on the internet? You’re hiking through Spain, go enjoy a new country! If you plan on staying there, arrive as soon as possible because this is a very popular albergue. There were also some great tapas bars nearby, which served some amazing sangria.
After checking into the albergue, we split our ways and had some time to ourselves exploring the city in our own ways. I took a tour of the cathedral (one of my favorite things to do in the larger cities), and finally purchased a pair of sunglasses and some sunscreen because the days were getting a bit warmer and the sun was beaming down towards the end of our hikes.
We ended our last night in Burgos at a nice tapas bar near the albergue. If I could remember the name of the place I’d tell you because they had amazing tapas and even better sangria. As an added bonus, our friend Jo wandered up and joined us. Jo was a woman that I’d met day 1 on the trail and we had continued to run into each other at random times. I’m pretty sure that when you mentioned Jo’s name to anyone on the trail, the next phrase you would hear would be “Jo! I love her!”. She was one of the nicest and most generous people I met on the trail.
The next day, we would tackle Hornillow, but separately.
Destination: Burgos
Distance: 25.6 km
Accommodation: Day 12-Hotel Silken-Expensive, but if you split it with a friend it isn’t so bad. This place is well worth the stay! Even the cheaper rooms were really nice. 4 star hotel, need I say more? Day 13-Municipal Albergue- This was a very nice and modern albergue. Bunk beds were in groups of 4 to an area with a personal sink and shower. Laundry services are available as well. Unfortunately, there was no Wi-Fi available, but computers were set up (which you paid for) to use if you needed.
Lesson learned for staying in larger cities: the longer you stay in the larger cities, the more money you spend.
Los Arcos-Logrono Day 7
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This post will be a bit different from the others due to the fact that I spent most of this day in bed. But, there are still a few things to be said for the journey to Logrono.
Mel and I woke up to feelings of nausea on this morning. It took me nearly half an hour just to pack up my pack. I’d put in my sleeping bag, then lean up against the bed. Load up my toiletries, then lean against the bed. After finally getting my things together, I walked downstairs to grab something easy to eat, like a banana, toast, or tea. As soon as the door to the kitchen opened I smelled a strong pot of coffee that had already been made and I knew it was time. I dropped my pack, ran upstairs, pushed Mel out of the way and made it to the bathroom just in time to empty the contents of my stomach into the nearest toilet. I mean, there really wasn’t anything left. I cleaned myself up, apologized to Mel, who didn’t look like she was doing so well either, and ate some dry cereal before stepping onto the trail.
There wasn’t a bus stop for us to get to Logrono from Los Arcos, so we had to hike to the next town in order to catch a bus. Those 5 km to the next town were the hardest steps I took the entire month on the Camino. To keep my mind off of how terrible I felt, I counted how many times I could sing a song to myself before we reached the next town. I wish I could remember what song it was.
After Dom talked to some locals and found out the bus schedule, Mel and I sat down and waited for the bus to Logrono while Dom and Caroline hiked on for the day. We sat and waited for at least an hour and a half for the bus that wouldn’t come. Eventually, a couple of police officers parked nearby us and appeared to be waiting for someone. In my broken Spanish, and with the help of my iPhone translator, they eventually understood that Mel and I were sick and trying to get to Logrono. They then proceeded to take us in their vehicle to the nearest clinic where the officers ushered us past 2 other people in the waiting room and directly to the doctor. After communicating with the doctor through google translator for about 20 minutes, he gave us a prescription and called a cab to take us the 20 some odd kilometers to Logrono. At this point, I didn’t care how much it cost, I just needed a bed.
After a 20-30 minute taxi ride, to which I was falling in and out of sleep, we arrived at the agreed upon albergue where we would meet up with Dom and Caroline. Mel and I payed and thanked the driver, got our pilgrim passports stamped, and went straight to bed. We did not leave our bed for the entire day except for when I got up to go to the restroom once. I quickly turned around and went back to bed because of the dizziness.
Something really cool happened while we were in bed for the rest of the day. People that we’d been hiking with for the past week started showing up to stay in the albergue. I don’t know how many people came by to check on us, ask us how we were doing, fill up our water bottles, and keep us company. 5 or 6 days ago theses people were strangers, and now Mel and I had people running an errand for us to go pick up our prescriptions for us! These selfless acts showed the true character of the Camino pilgrim to me.
Destination: Logrono
Distance: 28.6 km
Accommodation: Santiago Parish- As far as I know, the parish was a solid place to stay. I didn’t leave the bed except for once, but what I saw was nice. Solid showers (meaning plenty of hot water), good kitchen, I’d stay here again.
Sorry, no pictures this post. Had to concentrate on not throwing up instead of taking pictures.
St. Jean-Roncesvalles Day 1
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On April 1, 2013 I began walking the Camino Frances, just one of several routes to Santiago. I woke up early that morning to catch a train to St. Jean Pied de Port after nearly 20 hours of travel time from Nashville, TN to Bayonne, FR. I was way too tired to try and carry on to St. Jean the night before, and I needed to sleep while not sitting up for a change. By about 5:00 in the morning, I was checking out of my hotel and walking the 2 or so miles to the train station I’d walked from just the night before. The crowd waiting for the train was much larger than I expected for such an early train ride. Any hope of sleeping on the train dissipated when I sat down and saw that half the train was populated with a small mob of middle school aged kids. Oh well, I didn’t need to sleep that much anyways.
There were less than a dozen of us that got off the train carrying our packs, and not one of us knew where the trail began. One of the people that got off would later turn out to be a good friend that I would run into several times over the next month, Jo-Anne. Our small group meandered around town trying to find the Pilgrim’s office to get our passports stamped for the first time. After we all got our stamps we decided to all start off on our own. I stopped by a local outdoor store nearby and grabbed a couple of last minute items: a trekking pole, some snack bars, and a few postcards to send home. Then, I took my first step on the Camino.
For the first day of hiking the goal was Roncesvalles, some 25 km away. Even though my last name is Garmon, I have the worst sense of direction. Luckily, the trail is marked very well with yellow arrows and shells which made it hard for me to get lost. Still, I relied on staying within a few hundred yards of other pilgrims just to make sure I was going the right way. It rained off and on again that first day and I quickly learned that you don’t necessarily have to put on all your rain gear every time it starts to rain. That got old real quick.
The closer I got to Roncesvalles, the more pilgrims I kept running into like Dom, Caroline, and Mel. I ran into them as we were climbing a large hill. Dom was taking the rear and breathing heavily, and Mel and Caroline were up ahead a bit encouraging Dom. I hung with them for a bit and decided to finish the day hiking with them. We ended up hiking together for the next 3 weeks, sticking together like a family.
There’s only 1 albergue that I know of in Roncesvalles, but the place is awesome. You could tell by the staff’s attitude that they loved their jobs and were excited to see pilgrims show up every day. Dom, Caroline, Mel, and I grabbed a siesta from the days hike and headed over to the pub after for our pilgrim meal. The food was pretty good (all 3 courses), but you could have served me just about anything at that point as long as it was hot. 1 thing I loved about hiking everyday is you were always ready for a meal, and a big one at that. It’s a good thing pilgrim meals were usually 3 course meals. Day 1, complete.
Destination: Roncesvalles
Albergue: Convent
Distance covered: 25.1 km
Buen Camino, Peregrino! 