To Monesterio

Monesterio is a town of about 4500, but seems much larger. I'm not sure why. It's claim to fame is a Museo del Jamon (Museum of Ham). I don't do museums when I'm on Camino, so someone else will need to tell you about it! This region is famous for pigs.

I had a crazy thing happen with pigs yesterday morning. Just before I caught Peter and Albert, there was a group of about 30 pigs ahead, just to my right. I started talking to them, not really thinking much about it, it's just what one does when he is by himself and comes upon any animal. You know, offer a friendly greeting. Normally there is minimal reaction.  But this time they ran for me. It was a bit unnerving. About half of them were smallish, but several were full grown, and a couple of them were the extra large 600 pound variety. They immediately had me surrounded, like with snouts a few inches from my legs. I was trapped. The farmer quickly appeared, and opened the gate at which they had been waiting. It seems that it was breakfast time, and any human looked to them like a potetial source a food pellets. They hurried to his call, and I was on my way. My camera was tucked away due to the rain, so no picture. Sorry.

The internet says group of pigs is called a "sounder of swine". Who makes this stuff up? I'll try to get a picture of the next "sounder" I see.

The walk today was mostly through beautiful ranch country. A very light mist persisted all day, and continues into the evening.  The only other noteworthy event was meeting Dennis and Jeanie from Kentucky, USA. We hop-skotched most of the day. They are the first native english speaking folks I've talked to all week!

Meditation: Ven Espiritu Santos (Come Holy Spirit)
Distance: 20 km
Weather: Low 45F High 55 Cloudy and very light mist, just enough for a rain jacket, but no rain pants needed.
Route hints: Really quite simple, head north and cross the highway a couple of times late in the walk.
Albergue: I'm in the parachial albergue, on the left side of the main street. Very nice, and if tonight is any indication, you might get the whole place to yourself. It is 10 Euros, which isn't bad, it's just different for a parochial to charge a fixed price.

Only one picture for today, but this what most of the day looked like.

Lots of cork oak, a few cattle, a few sheep, a few pigs.

I needed to keep the camera dry.

To Real De La Jara

Today's start was unique. At 11:05, it was the latest I've ever begun a Camino day. We woke up to rain and the weather radar indicated it might clear midday, or it might not!  One by one, throughout the morning, folks ventured out. I was last to leave, caught up with Alfred and Peter along the way, and slowed my pace to talk with them for a bit. It was nice to have a little company after 3 days of walking alone, especially as the rain continued until about one o'clock.

A little more about them: Alfred is age 81 and reminds me of Stuart Goldie, who we met on our 2012 Camino, with a slight build, but impressively strong. Peter once walked to Santiago from his home in the Netherlands, 2500 km!!! But that was 14 years ago. On this walk, he has already injured his left foot, so his pace is very slow right now. He obtained some boot inserts that he hopes will help.

After a couple of hours of walking, we helped each other cross a stream that had swollen over it's banks. They stopped to remove raingear, and I didn't see them the rest of the day.

The sky has begun to clear, and my laundry is hanging on the rooftop patio in a late afternoon sun.  I'll post this with just a few more comments along with the photos.

Meditation: I walk because I can
Distance: 14 km. If I stay healthy, this will be one of the shortest days of this journey.
Weather: Low 46 High 60
Route notes: This stage is 100% dirt track, very nice. It does have one tough climb, with several false summits that mess with your mind, and more hills than I expected.
Albergue and town: I'm in Albergue del Peregrinos, on the left about 100 meters past entering town. Quite satisfactory, with a good kitchen and excellent wifi. The castle on the hill is surely worth a visit, but it looks to be at least 1.5 km from the albergues, so I didn't make it out there due to my late arrival here.

Leaving Almaden de la Plata. The steep dirt road where the Camino

enters town can be seen coming out of the clouds across the village.

Peter, Alfred, and Martin (he is a young man from Germany and walks long days)

After the big hill on this stage, I was surprised to still have 4.6 km to go???

This large Spanish estate on one hill, and . . .

the nearby castle on the next hill, make the town feel like part of a fantasy land movie...

"My name is Indigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die"

What is this animal, and is there something next to it's front feet?

You will have to look closely, Lillian.

To Almaden De La Plata

First, about last night. I offered to share my pasta and meatballs dinner with Peter and Albert, and they were eager to NOT need to go for an evening walk to find a cafe, so they joined me. Peter provided cookies and chocolate for dessert, and he did the dishes too, so that was great. Dinner for 3 hungry men, leftovers for me to take on the trail, all for about $2.50. They live in France, but are from Holland, so they speak english quite good.

There were eight in the albergue last night. The six smart ones took a taxi for at least half way today. Me and a French guy, whose name I have not learned yet, walked the whole way. About 10 miles of asphalt, although the highway was not busy, so that was nice. The second half of the nearly 20 miles was through a beautiful wooded area on nice dirt roads. They call it a "natural park", but there is very little nature involved. The pine trees are in rows, on terraced hillsides, with all branches below 10 feet pruned. The cork-oak trees are surrounded by grassy lawns mowed by grazing cattle. It was a nice area, just not natural.

I walked fast today in an effort to beat the rain. It didn't work. The last three hours varied between a good shower and heavy downpour. I got one little blister, so I think tomorrow will need to be a short day. The two choices are 15 km and 34 km.

Meditation: All shall be well
Distance: 30km
Weather: Low 42 (during a cold afternnoon rain) High 52 (before the rain)
Route hints: You need to be confident in your body to walk this whole stage. I don't want to over dramatize it, but it is quite difficult. Last September a man died, on a hot day, only about 2 miles from the end of this day's walk. We also know a strong hiker who broke his ankle on this stage and required rescue. It is well marked, but once again, you need to be alert for the way markings. Missing a turn would not be wise. There are no resources for food or water along the way.
Albergue and town: The municiple albergue in Almaden is a long way through town, just saying you "aren't there yet" when you enter the village. Some of us are planning to find dinner, so maybe I'll have a comment later about that.

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