It was a lengthy hike out of the city of Leon. We left the albergue at about 6.15am, and it was hot already by 8am as we cleared the city. We passed an immaculately dressed Japanese woman near the Parador who asked for permission to take our photos as pilgrims. It was quite a delightful encounter, and she said she was going to Santiago too and might see us there..... I imagine she was going to arrive there the same day, so maybe not...... It was a hot walk, mostly not far from the highway. Someone kind left this basket of treats out for passing pilgrims though, a cheerful thing on a day Rebekah had warned me was not the most pleasant part of the Camino... There was a short section near one village where we had some respite from the main road. It was a scorching hot day.... and I had really had enough by the time we arrived in Villadangos del Paramo. But there we met an elderly Italian couple on their seventh Camino who were leaving all us sweet young things in their dust!!! They inspired me to carry on after several large ice-cold drinks. If I could reach San Martin del Camino today I would shorten the next day's distance to Astorga to something a little more manageable. The albergues in San Martin were all on the main road through the village. I bypassed the one on the outskirts. Then I also bypassed a really nice looking place, with internet, in the village itself, as I was hoping the municipal albergue still to come would be set back off the main road a bit more. It wasn't.... But it was quite pleasant staying here, as only about ten of us rattled around in a huge dorm. And the shady trees and verandah were wonderful on such a hot day. And it turned out that both the nice place and the basic municipal albergue had the beds at the back, so noise wasn't an issue at night. L&D arrived a little later in the village and were most surprised to find I had opted for the non-internet albergue: they had learned along the way that given a choice of places, I was usually to be found in the albergue that had internet!! I probably would have wandered back there if it hadn't been so very hot.... and a shower called...
When I was preparing to walk the route from Le-Puy-en-Velay to SJPP, I found there wasn't much info in English, and I hope this blog might fill the gap a little.... In 2008 I walked from Le Puy to Santiago. In 2012 I walked from Cluny to Conques, then spent three weeks in Spain, re-walking two sections of the Camino Frances. Please feel free to contact me if you wish.
Hunkered In
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The sky keeps changing colors, the wind roars all night and morning.
Sometime overnight it pulled the chicken-hut door off its hinges and
smashed it to k...
Beachscape
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I haven't blogged for a while, but here is a new poem.
*Beachscape*
*Surprising that I never knew before*
*the bright curve of this bay,*
*the way the wash...
Taranaki-born, long-time Manawatu resident and primary teacher; inveterate traveler, Camino walker, occasional cyclist, lover of sea and bush walks; getting into genealogy more; collapsed catholic; lapsed musician looking forward to doing more again in retirement
from the poem "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver.....
" I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
This quote is taken from notion900 on the Pilgrimage to Santiago forum: "Please know that although some people seem to imagine it as some appalling ordeal, the camino is a very health-giving thing - if you do simple things like healthy food, plenty of water, moisturise your feet and get plenty of sleep. Being out in nature for 5 weeks is just so life-giving: I finished the camino absolutely glowing with health and vitality. I hope you have a wonderful time."
'Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.' Goethe
"Glowing... this is the thing about pictures of people on the Camino. This light within... As if the Camino washed the soul and cleared the eyes." Claire Bangasser in a comment on Johnnie Walker's blog
It was a hot walk, mostly not far from the highway. 
Someone kind left this basket of treats out for passing pilgrims though, a cheerful thing on a day Rebekah had warned me was not the most pleasant part of the Camino...
There was a short section near one village where we had some respite from the main road.
It was a scorching hot day.... and I had really had enough by the time we arrived in Villadangos del Paramo. 
But there we met an elderly Italian couple on their seventh Camino who were leaving all us sweet young things in their dust!!! They inspired me to carry on after several large ice-cold drinks. If I could reach San Martin del Camino today I would shorten the next day's distance to Astorga to something a little more manageable. 
The albergues in San Martin were all on the main road through the village. I bypassed the one on the outskirts. Then I also bypassed a really nice looking place, with internet, in the village itself, as I was hoping the municipal albergue still to come would be set back off the main road a bit more. It wasn't.... But it was quite pleasant staying here, as only about ten of us rattled around in a huge dorm. And the shady trees and verandah were wonderful on such a hot day. And it turned out that both the nice place and the basic municipal albergue had the beds at the back, so noise wasn't an issue at night. 
L&D arrived a little later in the village and were most surprised to find I had opted for the non-internet albergue: they had learned along the way that given a choice of places, I was usually to be found in the albergue that had internet!! I probably would have wandered back there if it hadn't been so very hot.... and a shower called...
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