Boog's Blog

Adding pictures that did not appear in the previous blog entry. Still trying to figure out this update.

1 October sunny, cool, nice day for a ride; too hot in afternoon for comfortable walking
Boogs left Puente la Reina by the puente.

QB walked and KB rode but made a poor choice of roads. Decided to try riding the camino. Big mistake. Roman road in poor condition with no exit until a 130 meter climb that could not be cycled and required a very hard and difficult push due to the steepness and rocky road. Could not have been fun for the walkers either. For once, walkers were faster than cyclists. QB trudged the Roman roads and believes the Empire does a far worse job of maintaining roads than CalTrans. Very hard on feet. Watched as a couple of people tried to haul a bike up some dirt after a Roman bridge. Some nasty climbs for walkers and 12 miles mysteriously became 16.5.

KB abandoned Chemin quickly as I could and rode on the deserted road which parallels the autoroute and is basically not used except for local very very small hilltop village entry. Nice to ride on a private bike road. One car in an hour or so.

In Estella a museum was next to the tourist office. A museum of Basque art featuring Gustavo de Maeztu y Whitney. Also a church with some interesting sculptures on the front, possibly saints, one holding what appears to be a stack of pancakes and another seems to have a small pig attached to the column next to him.

http://www.euskomedia.org/aunamendi/90969

Some very interesting work, better than as shown on the above URL.

Off to see two locked 12th century churches – a lot of locked ones in Spain and then met up with QB charging in after a 16 mile (so gps said) walk. More red peppers in olive oil for lunch, with excellent frites. Extra large cervezas. Dinner not until 8:30.

one

30 September slightly overcast and a good temp though a bit of humidity

Day started with an outstanding breakfast at the NH hotel. Fruit and more fruit. For two days in Pamplona I have been eating fruit and veggies, much more prevalent in this part of Spain then they were in France. That and roasted red peppers everywhere and in most dishes. And roasted green peppers. Like the roasted red ones in olive oil almost as much as I like the tomatoes with garlic to put on the toast. My kind of place.

The KB is gorging himself on tapas/pintxos. He sits at lunch and dinner surrounded by tiny plates of ham, sausage, sardines, cheese, etc., all soaked in oil and tomatoes. I watch them each disappear, and the plates stack up. He is very happy.

QB took a taxi from Pamplona to Uterga to avoid the tender mercies of El Perdon, a pointlessly high peak on the Camino. Toes are numb from the Pyrenees and the long schlep to Pamplona. Short but lovely and well waymarked hike to Puente la Reina. Aspect of the land is changing again.

Pimiento market in Puente la Reina today. More shapes and styles of peppers than I’ve ever seen. Guy had industrial drums with hoppers and cranks and were roasting peppers in bulk.

KB’s skills, all of them, at navigating were taxed today. Written instructions wrong from book and provided maps, roads ended in dead ends that required walking across fields to find a paved road and then asking directions from bikers who, like me, were lost. Finally found a “local” who gave us (a fellow cyclist from Venice who spoke less Spanish than I did) directions and rode with us a bit to make sure we got started ok.

GPS maps had to be used and supplemented with regional maps.

Above difficulties due to a new high speed motor way (no bikes allowed) built along the very high ridge that we needed to cross ( at 770 meters while were were at 400 meters) and the roads around it were either incomplete or in some cases, not even started, however, the road signs had been installed. Hence the dead ends!

After an 8% grade climb and a similar descent ( down more than up – I hate these fast descents as I am too cautious to gain any real speed ) arrived at the 12th century octagonal church in Eunate, probably built by the knights Templar before their demise. Small cloister surrounding it as well as a low wall. Very different and clearly Roman in style.

Two observations from discussions between the QB and the KB: the gothic period must have gotten to Spain much later (150 years?) than to Northern Europe; Roman design lasted over a thousand years, maybe 1200. We always read about how Aristotle’s science impeded new development for 1000 years and now we see perhaps it was also true for architecture.

Puenta la Reina is named after a Queen, of unknown name, who financed the bridge in 1140’s to foil the dishonest ferries up and down the river, and to get the city to grow. Nice old street remains with lower original houses with later additions built on top.

29 September Very cool morning warming up to nice afternoon

A day in the suburbs.

Slept in this am and then ate an excellent breakfast at the hotel. I had unlimited fruit, melons of several types, cheeses, local as well as camembert and other hard ones, several types of ham (was able to compare and contrast with the prosciutto), some different sausages, potato torta, toast of course but a container of puree tomatoes with garlic to make pan tomate – one of the locals added sugar to his topping, many pastries sampled. No lunch needed!

Walked the ‘hood for several hours. We are near the University and hospitals, many people out and most shops open even thought today is a general strike, Huelga Generale. The pastry in the shops are very similar to the ones in Italy. One goes in, orders pastry and coffee (we had a cannel, and a choc chip roll), or buys bread, or wine or other goods. Almost all forbid smoking. The tapas and pintxos bars all seem to allow smoking.

My Spanish has become fearless and generally cannot be understood except in concept. Everyone seems to put up with my butchered attempt at the Castilian pronunciation, not that my Latino pronunciation would be understood but I expect I am much closer. My goal is that in six weeks when I say Hola or Buenas Dias they will stream a long amount of Spanish as if I were a native. A goal. Not all are achievable.

Visited a supermarket. Wonderful hams at fab prices. QB at her tourist best as all our clothes are at the laundry. Apparently no self service place in all of Pamplona; had to pack it up and leave it for 24 hours. KB tourist outfit is not pictured out of courtesy to our gentle readers.

Also pictured, a shout out to those in choirs or who enjoy the recitals, is a hymn book, about one meter high, in the cloister at the main cathedral; pic from yesterday’s visit.

28 September

QB did a long walk and somewhat difficult hilly walk today. First into Pamplona, finishing with a walk over the Magdelana bridge and then up to the bastido. After that hours of touristing around the city and finally and exhausted rest required – dinner had to be skipped but …. fear not gentle readers food was obtained earlier.

Pamplona was founded in 74 BC by Pompey. He found it the perfect place to defend with the large plain of Magdelena below and then the mountains. Became his base camp. Long history of others wanting the wonderful views from the high points.

Navarre area: Buffer area between the Franks and Islam – Charlemagne came by and sacked it to keep it from getting too strong. The Basques defied both the Franks and Moors – succession of rulers too long and complicated to research let alone write about.

See also NYT article with the words “Basque Country Wines”

KB’s bike ride was the easiest day of the trip. 22 km downhill with a gentle grade. Had to put on socks for the early am ride, and somewhat confusing bike entrance but arrived around 9:30 am. Lots of time for looking around, figuring out the city layout, and seeing the cathedral.

The cathedral has an excellent cloister with very fine filigree work surrounding the open area. Doors and high craftsman level carvings are highlites. The church, under much scaffolding, has been rebuilt many many many times due to the history of conflicts not summarized above.

Walked out over the path to meet QB and enter the now explored city together. First off to eat – eat Pintxos (the high end Tapas) at a Bar. Had found this bar earlier and the wait was worth it. We entered hungry and just ordered one of almost everything, two of somethings. Ten plates of food as well as a potato and egg and cheese sandwich (QB sent a pic calling it a chip buttie ). That, two beers, tea and coffee. Might have picked a special place (lots of commendations on the wall but these are possibly easy to obtain) as food was excellent. Walked around and found at least a million similar places each with different choices. When we finally headed to the hotel around six we looked into the bars and saw the even Pintxos and Tapas – more and more.

QB’s leg hurt too much to go out to eat and turned down room service. I went to restaurant and had a full vegetarian dinner with veggie soup and wok prepared veggies. Nice for a change.

We will stay two nights in Pamplona.

27 September Cool and sunny. Morning quite cool, almost cold

Hilly ride to this small town which appears to be a commuting village for Pamplona. Now descending (with a number of challenging ascents) the Spanish foothills. Pamplona is close at about 22 km away. The only distinguishing feature of this town is the Roman bridge. Supposedly walking over the bridge three times (method used until the early 20th century) prevented rabies in animals. Many cows have crossed.

Still working on traveling Spanish. Able to get the food asked for, mostly as well as the common usage word for password: clave. Several other words have been suggested to me but the person who gave me this word seemed to be an IT guy.

Met a Juan Viñas from Santiago. He was biking the trail, the actual trail. Very difficult. Took the train to Roncesvalles and is now biking home. Nice conversation ended with him suggesting we call him when we arrive in Santiago. He will show us the non-tourist part of the city. He works very close to the hotel we are at, the Parador. His business is building hotels so he knows the manager.

Pamplona (also called Iruña ) will be, at 200K population, by far the largest city so far on the adventure; none have even reached 10K and many not even 1K.

26 September Perfect day for walking and riding, both being done.

A month of hills through France, we hoped, would put us in shape for the climb over the Pyrenees. It did.

QB stuffed herself with Aleve, then walked up and up. Arrived before her so I went into the town and then walked back to meet her at the top of the pass.

Upon arriving at the top of the pass, I (QB) staggered into the bird migration station. Freezing, both building and me, so bought the t-shirt and pulled it on to add a fourth layer. Then went for cheese and stale bread hoarded in my pack.

Spent five minutes emailing a rebuttal to Bob’s latest abuse; looked up and there was the KB looming. More photo ops.

Roland had his special named sword: Durandarte

KB now has a special named gear: Pyrenees Fixe.

I put the bike into this now appropriately named gear and, without stopping, climbed the 700 meters to Ibañeta. Not the highest point of this trip (Col de Aubrac was at 1306 m ) but certainly the longest single climb. One gear, no stops. Maybe in the strongest biking shape in my biking history.

When I met QB at the top she was flopped on the chapel porch eating a pre-lunch. Some pics taken and then we strolled into town. While I was waiting for her, apart from a coffee, I went to the tourist office. Collected good info on eating in Spain – had been confusing watching others eat at various times while sitting in bars.

Times indicated are for Northern Spain, this region (Navarra). All the way to the coast.

Desayuno 06:00 – 10:00 breakfast

Almuerzo 10:00 – 12:00 usually eaten in the bar

Tapeo or Pintxos (high end gourmet tapas) 12:30 – 14:00 usually eaten in the bar

Comida 14:00 – 16:00 lunch but in a restaurant

Merienda 17:00 -19:00 generally eaten at home

Cena ( also with Pintxos) 20:30 -23:00 in a restaurant

After meeting QB we decided to eat a bit – appropriate after the walk. Went to a restaurant and were politely told that we could eat either in the sit down restaurant, off the prix fixe menu, or in the bar where many were congregated and smoking. In the bar we could have al la carte plates. As we were hungry opted for the full “comida”.

Comida took a bit of menu research and explanations of dishes. Ended up with a good lunch of pork stew, a red bean and sausage soup and a flan as well as coffee. No veggies on the menu or offered. I asked a few times about a desert that the table next to us was having. She called it yogurt but I knew it was not. I asked again for the name, which is cuajada. By way of explanation, she gave us a free one. Cuajada is from sheep’s milk, looks like yogurt but tastes like it has not been cultured. Served in attractive earthenware jar with honey to mix in. Excellent. We will order it repeatedly for research purposes.

Shout out to Bob: To make this cheese, 1) have Hugo bring in a sheep, 2) feed sheep well, 3) milk the sheep, 4) add other stuff until complete, 5)serve to friends and family.

The hotel we are at is outstanding. Real three star hotel – converted old building retaining its architectural charm but with modern facilities. Shower only leaked a little.

25 September rain lots of it

Nice way to start climbing over the Pyrenees. Rain and much poorer quality roads. On the N235 a national road that is two lanes of very eroded asphalt. 

First stop a bar to order a coffee and see how my few words of Spanish will fare. Got the coffee, cafe solo, without milk.  The bar has CNN in Spanish.  We saw little of CNN in the parts of France we visited.

QB made the mistake of asking me to carry her long rain pants. Twenty minutes later it started to rain hard. At least I got to wear them. She has a very good poncho and it is not so hot today so she should fare ok. I am writing this while she is still walking. 

At hotel explained I wanted to speak Spanish and not French – this is very much a border town. After negotiating room, passport paperwork, seems like Spain still hand copies all the info from your passport or identity card to a ficha (fiche in French ) dinner hour, weather, and travel plans I said that this was my first hours of Spanish. She replied that I have a lot of time until Santiago to learn.   They offered us dinner at 7 pm. Very friendly hotel. No internet will try 3G.

The town has several shops all basically the same. The French come here for shopping. Canned  goods, four liter wine and whisky, household goods, furniture, cooking items, etc.  Discussed the shopping frenzy with an English couple that live in France :  everything is much cheaper here. They were treating Valcarlos like one big Costco.  

Everything is new again. Food and customs and bars and hours and of course language. Lots to see and figure out.  Great fun!

23 September Overcast and humid but no rain until late evening thunderstorm

Well, we made it through France to the portal for Spain. Now at the foot of the Pyrenees, with the next forward going day climbing the Roncesvalles pass. Yes, this is the Roncesvalles of the Song of Roland. Maybe we will be able to hear the echo of the horn.

[If you are not up on your medieval stuff and have any interest suggest you look up Song of Roland].

We will stay here two nights to better gain our legs. That and eating some more of the wonderful Brebis cheese (ewe’s milk). Had some for a snack before the final assault into the Porte of St. Jacques, the Unesco portal to this very beautiful village.

The Citadel sits on top of a large hill overlooking the Pyrenees and is now a college. Its walls are thick and serve as the last of what must have been impenetrable entry after passing the Spanish gate (two meters thick) and then the St. Jacques gate and wall. Arrow slit openings all the way down.

Among our celebratory actions: going to the official Camino office and getting our passports stamped, having two Pastis (actually Richard), buying a final camembert, having a crepe, and putting out the saved Armanac.

Tried a local Appellation Controlle called Irouleguy. Have not seen it exported. Decent but not as good as some other regions.

Question about veggies. They seem to be absent in the restaurants. Managed to get some green beans but they were not fresh. Everything else we ate was excellent ( soup de poisson, basque poulet, salade) but not the veggies. Over the past month we have seen almost no veggies in the restaurants. Tomatoes and an occasional carrot.

Speaking of tomatoes. I am in love with the Basque area. They seem to use tomatoes for every dish. Piperade, bread, salad, poulet sauce (had bits of ham).

22 September another hot sunny day

Picture this:  after the morning fog has lifted from the foothills and valleys of the Pyrenees a clear hot sunny day emerges.  One has biked (QB walked ) with a few side trips such as Ostabat and is now resting in the shade of another closed church. Bread, cheese, apples and a pain au raisin has been consumed and I have now moved to a bar for a Grande cafe.

The ride today was fast as most of the road was very well paved and with the first cycle lane I have seen on a big road. Noticed how much faster I am riding on good roads.

Ostabat used to me a major stopping point for pelerins.  In its heyday it could accommodate 5000 of them, not a typo. Today the church was closed as was the bar. A few agricultural workers were hanging about.

The morning sidetrip was to the Stella that marks the intersection of many routes.  St. Jean, tomorrow being the current major intersection and entry to the pass.