Boog's Blog

26 October another absolutely perfect day; cold morning and nice afternoon

Visited Disneyland today. Well, almost as it closed when we got there and we did not hang around for their two hour lunch. It certainly looked just like a piece at disneyland.

The Knights Templar castle is, or so they said, the most complete castle left in Spain. If you go to the flickr site you will see more pictures from the outside. Naturally need to look at flickr site of this date.

There are eight photos, one is a panorama which will not show on flickr.

A nice short summary of the history of the Knights, originally commissioned to protect pilgrims on route to Jerusalem, can be found at

http://www.knight-templars-in-spain.com/history.htm

Ponferrada was advertised as a boring mining and industrial city; we found it a nice small city with an old quarter fun to explore. See the pic below for some of the “sights”.

Lunch was a very uninspiring collection of Empanadas. Dinner will be an excellent collection of ham, cheese, sardines, bread, fruit and Gazpacho soup from a container. Picnic in the room as we are in a good hotel. Mini-bar is free. Just help yourself. Have not seen this since Vienna. Wi-Fi in the room is 12 euro; here in the lobby free.

The other bottom picture is an early morning shot of Molinaseca. We waited until the sun came up before setting forth. As it was a short distance KB and QB kept together for a change.

Entry to Ponferrada

Molinaseca early morning

25 October Beautiful day, perfect in all respects. Shimmering light in the mountains.

Clean socks!

Taxi today for both Boogs and bike. QBoog knee especially painful and reasonably swollen in places; definitely not up to climbing up and down anything. The dangerous descent especially not recommended for cyclists or for anyone with acrophobia (even a little) or common sense. Great for adrenaline junkies, maybe. Books we have speak of cyclists getting killed on this road and after the taxi ride it is easy to see why. Do not have the bike for this type of road or the Camino.

Almost 1000 meter descent on a narrow windy road with no shoulder and little to separate the rider or walker from the precipice. In places the Camino goes off road and looks safer but only in places and not on a surface suitable for my bike.

Arrived in the lovely Molinaseca, about 1000 meters down from the top of the pass; Mont Leon. Drove through stone villages, some with still cobbled streets. Molinaseca is another of the towns that prospered as a control point from the gold road. It is located in a valley between a bunch of mountains and presumably has its own microclimate as we saw palm and olive trees growing. Also has a quite acceptable Roman pont. Jeff attempted to visit the church (closed). The river is dammed in the summer to create a swimming pool. Had tapas/pinchos/pinxos/raciones for lunch (or whichever meal it is here): pimientos, calamari, ewe’s cheese. Doing laundry (manually, of course); heaters are on, so can roast wet sock and undies after washing. Resting knee in pretty good Posada.

Belated notes from sacking team on foot. Was too late to see a pile of sheep driven down a street in some small town on the Camino. Managed to see sheep butts, sheep dog and shepherd. Sheeps were not even out of sight before two women were out in front of their homes sweeping the street.

Above is QB in front of nice wall in restaurant in Rabanal. Fine Gazpacho soup here.

Below is a street in Molniaseca and the old bridge

and the bridge

24 October.  Nice departure but increasing chilly climbing.

Imagine the Meseta if you can. Then, tip it upwards. Flattish becomes a 300 meter climb. Wind and chill factor makes it a bit harder.

QB again walked the walk.  Road quality generally good for walkers and bikers and generally parallel. 

We are now in the Maragatos, a collection of 44 villages on the sides of this mountain.  Picture is of a cobbled entre to one of them. QB will have pictures of some villages. Cobbles are not my idea of biking. 

The Maragatos used to be muleteers and have their own customs and lifestyle that apparently set them appart from the Spaniards.  They consider themselves a separate race descended from Berbers or Phoenicians. 

The Confraternity runs a pilgramage here. Only one in Spain run directly by the English. Met the couple running it for a fortnight, they waited a year to be able to volunteer to run it. Nice couple from English northcountry. Thirty four beds and a separate area for those with bedbugs. Only place that will do a hot wash of all cloths and then a shower and full spraying of possessions before putting you in a separate building.  They provide manditory disposible sheets for all pilgrams.

The walls and streets of these Maragatos area are lined with stone walls of high quality and durability. Many without motor. Similar to those in France.

This village has a winter population of 30 and swells to 300 ( some people from Madrid have summer houses here at almost 1200 meters) .  The 30 are feuding. The small monastery took or move paintings or relics from the church, or the other way around. Demonstrations in the street occurred.  Priest was reassigned. All very hush hush in the telling by the confraternity innkeepers. 

Romanesque church of great simplicity and charm is pictured.  No net connection here but wonderful old stone building at top of village.

23 October a perfect day for banana fish

A bit of catching up today as, for the first time since before Leon, we have a good net connection. Nice hotel in the center of Astorga, an old town of Roman heritage situated on major East-West and North-South Roman crossroads.

In Roman times it guarded the mountain roads to the mines. Pliny lauded it as Urbs Magnifica. It has had a Bishopric since at least the 3rd century. Many conquests and finally the reconquest around 850. Blossomed in the 11th century with the growth of the Pilgrimage. There were even two Jewish neighborhoods here until they were expelled in 1492. The synagogue dates back to 1072.

Another in a long line of hilltop cities with walls, the wall here is much intact. Central squares still have their clean lined arcades. Steep climb up to get to the main part of the old city.

In addition to an old wall it has a chocolate museum. Seems as though there is a long history of chocolate production – leading later to equipment for chocolate items.

Apparently the food dish to have here is Cocida Maragato, a reverse meal. First a large pot of meats, maybe six types, all cooked together. Then the tomatoes are served, followed by veggies, mostly cabbages, and then the soup using the broth from the meat dish. Finally desert. One story has it that the order was dictated by eating the best parts in case outlaws or others attacked and meals not consumed.

On the way here one passes through Hospital de Orbigo site of the historically preserved XII or XIII century bridge. One of the oldest preserved bridges in all of Spain. Pic included

Shout out to Randy – interesting article on gadgets and traveling but note that I am using the WordPress App on the iPad; buggy but still quite usable. He complains too much – and is writing about use in the USA where all things net are easier.

Shout out to Bill Park for his wonderful comments on a picture of QB in one of the blog posts. Bill points out that two items are missing: car chases and ‘splosions!

Gripe of the day, smoking. Have avoided discussing this for a while but this morning it just became too much. Woke up with smokers cough. QB has as well. Traveling here is like working in a restaurant where everyone smokes. Invades the rooms in the hotels. Have to sit outside in the wind to avoid wheezing. We will not miss this aspect of Spain. Next year is the vote on whether to adopt more EU minded smoking rules.

Finally for the Medievalists: pictures put on on Flickr, this date. Usual location. In the order you will see them.

Flickr pics loaded on 23 Oct.

In order from the top of the photo stream
– four shots of Leon cathedral

-two shots of San Isadoro

-One shot of Leon

-Gaudi Palace in Astorga

-QB outside San Isadora

-Six pics of Astorga cathedral and Gaudi palace

Above find boogs getting ready to set forth for the day.

Above a piece of the road QB found and walked on – big rocks abound.

And finally an attempt at a picture of the old bridge. Morning light and construction both hamper the view. Could not get a shot of the 20 arches.

22 October cool but not frigid partly overcast

A nothing walk and a nothing bike ride. Easy but of no interest.  Nothing on the way except a highway – the Camino runs right along the N120- and a boring one at that.  

Arriving in this nothing town found, as expected, nothing except this Hostel we are at.

In theory it has a net connection but the signal is everywhere so poor that it is on just a few percent of the time.

Tomorrow in Astorga which promises to be an interesting small city of 14000.

It has the Gaudi designed bishops palace as well as one of the oldest bridges in Spain.

The bridge was the site, mid 15th century, of a month long jousting tournament.  Victors went onto Santiago with some trophy.

Catch up story:  met a South Korean woman walking alone. Shared a drink and some conversation.  Her third time walking the Spanish section.  Calms her down after the pressure of living in Seoul.  Likes the Spanish cooking and does not miss rice or Kim chee or other dishes Don has introduced me too. Walks very fast. Will do the route in 26 days. 800 kilometers. 
Second catch up. Unfortunately no picture of the power wash device found at a gas station. Was able to remove all accumulated dirt on my bike and ….. power was QB boots. Almost like new.

21 October. Cool and lovely

This is still a monastery of sorts.
Last evening dinner guests included 14 garbed priests, 8 males and six women all associated with this group.  Tour group or much more likely a research group associated with the collegiate.  Museum here has important relics.  Also we are right next to San isadora. Good story about the relics here.

Battle happens and this time Muslims lose. Have no gold to pay up for the loss. “Want some relics instead, from Damascus? ”  ok and are offered some of saint xyz.   Two Bishops sent to Damascus.  Xyz not available. How about cross fragments and saint ABC. Yes, and they leave happy debt paid. Relics here now.

Back to this monastery.  Dinner was good.  Amuse bouche was a plate of “cecina” which as best we can translate is smoked meat. I asked if beef but all I could get was that it is a specialty of Leon. 

Employees wear semi church garb. No or little heat. Towels and sugar have their insignia. 

After touring the almost perfect Romanesque Isadora, 3 naves all nicely rounded, brick work inside with fine carvings – pictures when we have a net connection we wandered the small food and shoe store streets. Spain may have the highest density of shoe stores of any place we have been.

Supermarket shopping for a picnic lunch which included Ham sliced from a leg – many types to choose from – as well as large quantities of gazpacho soup to drink I started to say Buenos Tardes at the check out.

Then I asked the checker.  Tardes or Dias? He looks at his watch.  It is 13:55.  Shakes his head indicating either or neither or both.  Difficult transition time here. I say mas o menos and he says si. 

20 October cool and perfect for walking and biking

We are in Casa de Espiritualidad an old monastery. No wifi but 3G using Bobbie’s uk sim card. Very calm and quiet here in the middle of a good sized city.

Almost impossible to tell that this is a small and charming hotel. No sign on the street.  Asked the police,they were about 20 meters from here and they had “no sabe ” 

Usually thick walls with friendly staff. Laundry?  In rapid Spanish – got needed help from another guest – we can have someone from a local laundry service come right over and have it returned tomorrow.  Service showed up before we were finished sorting out our dirty stuff.

The Cathedral.  It is clearly the big thing here as it should be. The second you see it you think French. High vaults with lots of stained glass and light and wonderful carvings. 

Two fun facts.  Largest amount of glass of any cathedral in Spain.  A two thirds scaled replica of the one at Reims.  Likely same labor force was hired. Amazing stained glass windows; lots of gothicy stuff inside.

Department store El Corte Singles. QB heaven. Hours of shopping and some successes but poor underwear. KB found needed gloves and in the fine supermarket a new cold drink. Michelle and QB will no doubt visit the main store in Madrid.

Cold drinks are a real problem if avoiding sugar is a goal. The yogurts have too much,the drinkable ones that is. Generally it is water or beer or wine, plentiful and less than a dollar a glass.

Here…..gazpacho drink or soup. Hard to tell but sold in dairy case with yogurts and with the other cold drinks. Tried two different brands,consumed close to a liter, and reeked of garlic. Excellent!                        

Ham shots on camera to be posted with cathedral.  Also a shot of a Gaudi building, 1893, possibly with George slaying the dragon, a small one. Or possibly an iguana, a big one.

Another visit to Valor.  A chain of chocolaterias we visited and sent pictures from in Burgos.  Just coffee and a churro and relaxation warmth. Many in Madrid. Sure to visit with M&G. 

19 October cold again and continued very clear

Another perfect day for walking and biking. Gentle rolling terrain and excellent paths and road.

Maps show no road exhists. Checked a few maps. Tried it anyway and found again two lane roads with only the occasional car or Ag vehicle.

No highlites today other than the walk and maybe the lowlight of this hotel.

Good shower, no bathmat on slippery floor, no extra pillows or blankets, may or may not have heat, unfriendly staff, would not let me connect to their wi-fi. We will not come back to this place.

Town named after the saddle of the mules. Seeing and chatting with many of the same pilgrims as there are almost no other places to stay.  In general the locals have been friendly and hospitable and generous at bill paying time. Easy country to like.

Food seems to be changing for the better. Had my first pasta dinner – actually I just ordered the primero and said bring it again for secondario.  Not great but I really enjoyed it. Leon, tomorrow, should have good choices. 

Shout out to George: have you been researching eating in Madrid?

18 October cold and sunny warmed up late.

With socks afoot and perfect trails we took the same excellent route. Nothing to see as is the way in the Meseta, good for meditation walking or biking.

QB’s knee held out all day. Combination of icing, voltaren,alleve, and strong will power.  Very easy bike ride.

No internet connection so posting by NexusOne.

Main sighting today were dovecotes, made of adobe at least originally.  QB calls them pigeon bunkers. Picture next time. 

The small towns, we are in one, are mostly made of adobe and are in terrible repair. Good that they do not have earthquakes here. 

Closing in on Leon and its grand cathedral and, I suspect, its many shoe stores

17 October Usual high Meseta weather, cold in the mornings warm, later in the sun. High and dry climate in the Meseta Alta (see sunrise art photo)

Massive KB illness. QB knee unstable but functional for short distances with trekking poles.

There are two blogs here. QB added a section and some editing. QB is currently resting. I need a little less now as will be revealed.

We are on different trips.

In QB’s version I am running down and need of a recharge. In my version I was attacked by Bio-Ag, a little known but powerful energy sapping agent (Judi–possibly the Cabal at work) featuring fever and exhaustion and joint aches. Just sucks the life out of you for 24-36 hours.

Bio-Ag has targeted me at least twice before. Once in Canada, while cycling to Victoria, almost exactly 10 years ago, QB’s %0th, and laid me low for a day. Symptoms are flu like (joints ache – but on this trip hard to know what is different and what is Big-Ag, low grade fever, no energy, no appetite, no cough or sneezing, just a need to sleep) and once several years ago at home. Used to think it was the Russians, then the French, but since Obama we are now friends with everyone; well, almost.

Walking across the Meseta Alta is what I imagine walking across the plains states would be, except with the occasional picnic bench, but no public toilets and not enough fluffy bushes for easy pit stops. The air is becoming very chilly as the sun rises late around 8:30. I am walking west, so the sun is at my back as it climbs, very pleasant as the world warms. No humidity at the moment so sky is brilliant and edges sharp until afternoon when clouds start to show.

Fortunately, Sahagun was a planned rest day, could not have ridden anyway, so was able to sleep for almost 36 hours except when properly forced to drink liquids. Seem to be over it today and will try the Camino tomorrow, as will the QB.

Sahagun is a very old place. Has been fought over by Muslims, Charlemagne, a big battle where reputedly 40000 Christians died, and a list of suitors too varied to summarize here. Eventually “given” to the Monastery of Cluny, yes a bit away from here, and then it prospered with wool being a big export to Europe across the Pyrenees. At one point the monastery here controlled 90 other spanish monasteries; then the Cistercians (a distinction I do not understand) became more powerful.

In the next days, we are hoping to see the cañsades, 10 meter wide roads, with walls, used for the annual sheep migration. Sometimes 40 thousand sheep at a time, although don’t know how much of this still goes on. In winter the sheep graze the harvested wheat fields, and in summer go to higher mountains while the wheat grows and they grow. Black faced merino sheep from North Africa well suited for the very variable climate.

Naturally much architecture has been destroyed because of the love of this place. The church (San Tirso) in best repair is quite interesting as it has features of both Roman and Muslim architecture. Lots of bricks (much lighter than the stone pillars, and favored even when stone was available), less ornamental, wood pillars, horse shoe shaped portals rather than simple Roman ones. The book we have has pages on the differences and preferences. Very nice to see even without the detailed knowledge. Also where large painted figures for holiday processions are stored.
Pictures of the San Tirso church, very interesting and different, at the usual flickr location of this date – as of interest to the medievalists and maybe others.