To Castilblanco de los Arroyos

There are a few days on Camino that have all the right stuff. This day had:
Sunshine
Cool  breeze
Flowers blooming
Seemingly invisible birds (hiding in the olive orchards) competing for the most beautiful song
Lots of dry dirt track, with just enough up and down to provide variety
Not too much distance
A wonderful place to stay for the evening
With warm showers
And a friendly Spanish host (of course, with the name Manuel)
Just enough other pilgrims to provide company.

I still have a little sniffle and cough, but not feeling weak. Tomorrow is described in the guide book as "the stage from hell", so it was good to have a 'easy' day today.  I got a little nap, and plan to fix a big pot of pasta for supper (if I can stagger back to the albergue after the glass of wine. I swear I didn't think I said "grande").

The theme for today was the vegetation. While preparing for this trip, I read that Spain has the greatest variety of plant life of all the European countries. The middle half of todays walk felt like a tour through the Denver Botanical Gardens. The only thing missing were the little tags telling me the Latin name for each species!

Meditation for today: Dona nobis pasem

Weather: Low 46F High 64F
Distance: 18 km
Route hints: The river just after Guillena could easily be too deep after rain. There is a road just to the left if needed, and the camino crosses the road after a few hundred meters anyway.
Albergue and town: The municiple albergue is great here, with shops, and places to eat nearby. Bar Isidoro was the source of the vino tinto in the picture.

The very slow moving 'river' near Guillena

This cactus row was impressive

Apple trees ? In bloom

Cheer up, only 900+ kilometers to go . . .

I love the way they serve wine here!!!

To Guillena

I once read that J. R. R. Tolkien believed one of the reasons we enjoy a good tale is that the characters do not know how it ends, even if we do. It seems important that you realize, I don't know how this tale ends, even if you do. If you're following along then we are in the same boat, but if you come to the blog later, you may well have seen the end.  I hope you enjoy it either way.

The highlight of the travel from the U.S.A. to Spain was the high speed train from Madrid to Seville. Wow. When they say high speed, they mean it. At nearly 300 km/hrs it was by far the fastest I've ever traveled on land.

The highlight of today's walk was Italica. It is the ruins of a Roman town which has the distinction of being the birthplace of two Roman emperors, Hadrian and Trajan. Hadrian is best known for the wall which bears his name in Great Britian. It marked the northern most border of the empire during his time. I think Trajan is best known for having one of our nephews named the same! (I just don't know anything else about Trajan the emporer). If you are walking this route, I would recommend skipping this site, and spending an extra day in Merida, where the Roman ruins are much better preserved. The entrance fee at Italica is less, only 1.5 Euro (about $1.75).

I started this Camino with a bit of a head cold, I got a single room tonight at Luz del Camino Albergue, so hopefully I won't share my illness.

Peace meditation of the day: "There is no time like the present."

Distance: 23km + at least 2 extras (went to municiple albergue first, then went for groceries later).
Weather: low 50F high 68F Clear and sunny.
Route hints: I made it without GPS, but you need to be very alert for some of the smallest yellow arrows I've ever seen on any Camino.
Albergue: Luz del Camino in Gullena is great, on the left just as you enter town. The municiple albergue i6n Guillena is temporarily closed.

Current speed and temperature on the train

The first Camino sign, across from the NW corner of the cathedral in Seville.

I am always amazed at the warm climate here, palm trees and oranges.

The walls of the amphatheater at Italica.

My home for the night, shared by 6 other pilgrims.

What is the "Via de la Plata"?

When folks refer to 'The Camino' , they are usually talking about the Camino Frances. It goes almost directly east to west across northern Spain, ending in the city of Santiago de Compostela.

It is only one of the many pilgrimage routes that come into this city. There is also a route from Portugal, one along the coast, one from Madrid, and several others. On our previous walks we met two young women who had walked all the way from Geneva, Switzerland. We also met a woman walking back to her home in Slovenia, after spending 5 months to get to Santiago!  So you see there is quite a variety of choices.

The Via de la Plata begins in Seville, the largest city in southwest Spain. It travels directly north for about 400 miles, then turns west for about 200 miles.  This path generally follows an ancient Roman road, as the Iberian peninsula was an important part of Empire at about the time of Christ. Several of the landmarks along the way are still standing from that time.

Seville is at an elevation of only 23 feet, and has a warm dry climate. The trail reaches about 4500 feet as it enters the extremely wet province of Galicia in northwest Spain.  Several days will be along straight, flat, farm roads across the wheat fields of the Meseta (plains). The last couple weeks will almost surely involve wet trails surrounded by moss on the ground and fog in the air.

The trail skirts the Spain-Portugal border as indicated by the yellow GPS track on the map:

As a frame of reference, this path is similar in distance and latitude to a trip from Raton New Mexico to Buffalo Wyoming or from Norfolk Virginia to Niagara Falls.

A Espana solo - To Spain alone

I'm excited to get back to Spain.

Ruth and I have a future trip already planned, but I'm ready for a long walk this spring. Tickets are cheap. Weather in southern Spain is warm. I am healthy.

So off I go in a few days to begin in Seville. This will be a different Camino. We've always shared our journeys together, side by side. This time we will share the journey from a distance. I will try to update this blog as I travel north along the Via de la Plata, both for her and for anyone else who might enjoy it.

We've had a great year since the last post on this blog. A big family reunion was the highlight of the summer. A few weeks ago another niece was born, and we just found out that we have another grandson due this summer. We recently enjoyed a great visit with our Virginia family.

We continue to be active in our local Camino organization, and our Tuesday walking group is going strong.  We've also cheered on friends as they walked the Camino.

You are welcome to follow along, offer encouragement, and certainly let me know if you have any suggestions for making the blog more worthwhile.

The Montana Family

A typical Tuesday walk (from October)

My Love

Random thoughts after arriving in Santiago de Compostela

We walked a full day into Santiago on Thursday. Just like any trip, the last little bit seems the longest. We entered the old city with a wonderful couple from South Africa who were on their first Camino. The conversation helped pass the last hour and the excitement was contagious.

Here are few thoughts on completion of our third Spain Camino:

● I am thankful to be able to share this experience with Ruth Ann. So thankful.
● All kinds of people snore.
● There is no such thing as "good rain gear".
● I wonder why my knee doesn't hurt while I'm on Camino.
● I wonder why so many churches are empty, yet the Santiago Cathedral is packed every day at noon.
● You might say a prayer for Beatrice, who is battling cancer. Her aunt sat beside us during the Friday evening service, after walking 500 miles in prayer. It was a special moment for the aunt, and we appreciated the chance to share in it.
● Sports is the only thing I can enjoy on Spanish TV, but that's also somewhat true of what I enjoy on Denver TV.
● The food in most Spanish restaurants continues to be uninspired.
● Both of us are craving good pizza.
● There are times when a person deserves a compostela even when they can't complete their Camino.
● It has been a good journey, I think we will remember both the joys and struggles with a smile.

On our way into Santiago we stopped by the "celebrating pilgrims"statue on Monte de Gozo

It is always great to see the botafumeiro swing.

This picture is from 2014 as I decided to just sit and take in the moment on Friday.

We were glad to have one more evening with James before he headed home.

We took a bus to the coast on Saturday and the bus stopped at the Rio Tambre where we were able to duplicate a picture from our walk in 2014.

Crowds of Pilgrims?

There's quite a lot of talk about the Camino becoming crowded, and the numbers have increased significantly over the last few years.  In 2006 almost exactly 100,000 people recieved compostelas.  That number had doubled by 2013, and it looks like more than 300,000 pilgrims will enter Santiago this year.

The easiest way to avoid the crowds is to walk a less travelled route to Santiago. If you've been following us, you know that we started this year's walk on the Via de la Plata, a Camino with only 3% of the total pilgrims each year. The pilgrim numbers are less on these types of routes, but so are the number of beds in the refuges. Even though we saw few folks during the walk each day in early April, there were still times when all beds were taken at the end of the day.

After nearly 100 days of walking in Spain, we've found a few things that minimize the 'crowded' feeling, even on the Camino Frances.  First is going in the spring or fall of the year. Many Europeans vacation in July and August, so an October or April walk avoids this surge.  Starting even earlier or later is possible, but you would need to be prepared for cooler weather. Also, some of the refuges don't open until late spring, and close for the season at the end of October.  In 2014 and 2015 the number of pilgrims in September increased dramatically, and this year we've already heard that the huge albergue in Roncesvalles was full on a nightly basis before May 1st.  We would not recommend starting in St. Jean Pied de Port after April 10th in the spring, or before October 1st in the fall (if you want to avoid the crowds).

Secondly, we try to stay in smaller towns which are NOT recommended by the guide books as typical stops. Last night we stayed at Albergue Camimo das Ocas, about 5 km after the major town of Arzua. The result of this was that, in the morning, just as the big crowds were leaving Arzua, we were about an hour ahead of them. We did not see another pilgrim until we took a break, about 2 hours into our walk.

And lastly, we take alternate routes when possible. Along many stages there are two or three optional routes. The best example of this was the start of the trip in 2014.  We took two days to walk to Roncesvalles, stopping in Valcarlos on the night between.  Valcarlos is in the valley, just to the north of the more popular mountain route.  We did not see another pilgrim for nearly two days, even though about 180 folks were in Roncesvalles the night we got there.

Of course, sharing the experience is one of the joys of the Camino, so our goal is never to avoid everyone.  When we want to do that, the Colorado wilderness has some trails where few humans ever pass.

Here are a few pictures from the last couples of days (Days 34 and 35, we hope to make Santiago on Thursday afternoon)

The smell of freshly cut grass was nice.

We've passed many other 'not-so-nice' agricultural odors along the way.

This highway excavation was here in 2012, it still looks like it did then!

Lumber is an active industry here, mostly from planted forests.

These are eucalyptus logs, a tree that was brought to Spain in the early 1900s.

We don't see as many wildflowers in this part of Spain, but the cllimate is perfect for many cultivated varieties, Ruth loves the

Calla Lilies.

Days 31, 32, and 33 To Mercadoiro, Eirexe, and Melide

Leaving Sarria is always busy, and we seemed to have picked the time of a perfect storm to make it worse than normal. We started the Sarria section on a Saturday, but not just any Saturday. It was the beginning of a 3 day holiday weekend in Spain. The number of people on the trail was truly shocking, as weekenders from all over Spain clogged the path.

But the last 100 km into Satiago is beautiful. Rich pasture lands and forests of both conifers and diciduous trees. And by leaving Mercandioro early and staying in Eirexe on Sunday night, we had several hours of solitude along the trail as the folks in Portomarin and Palas de Rei were ahead of us each morning. We've sort of formed a new Camino family with Jonathon, Finn, Laurel, Melissa, and a few others.

The weather continues to be perfect, frost beside the trail in the morning, and mostly sunny all day. In 2012 we had one day below freezing, in 2014 the lowest temperature was about 40F, but this year we've had several days with frost on the fields. The next couple of days are predicted to be much warmer.

We are starting to feel that the end of our walk is nearing. It's a different kind of anticipation than I wrote about in the March post.

Quote from RA's journal: Weariness is setting in, but cannot dampen the anticipation of arriving in Santiago de Compostela.

The Portomarin bridge was still hidden in fog as we crossed early Sunday morning.

We climbed above the fog within 30 minutes, to sunny skies.

We are amazed that the spring colors are so similar to fall

Valentine (from Hungary) and his companion Nora the giraffe

'Dancing pilgrims' sculpture in Palas de Rei

These 48 high school students passed us this morning!