Necessities

While walking the Camino one falls into a rhythm: wake up early, dress, walk, stop in nearest town for breakfast, walk, stop in a town for lunch, walk, reach day's destination, find hotel, wash clothes, eat, sleep.  Pretty much the entire day is consumed with the basics: eat, walk, sleep. There really isn't anything more important than a good nights sleep, hot shower, dry clothes, food & healthy body/feet. A bonus is  the pleasure of companionship along the way. Is there really ever anything more important than these things?

Maslow and his famous hierarchy of human needs suggested that the physical needs must always be met before we can begin to contemplate ascending to higher levels of self actualization. On a more practical level, one of Napoleon's military maxims was that a soldier must never be without his knapsack and that this should be reduced to the smallest possible size. Good advice for pilgrims as well! It turns out that one doesn't really need very much, although as mentioned in an earlier post, style must be sacrificed for comfort.

Many have told me that the Camino us addictive and perhaps one of the reasons for this is the opportunity to shed the superfluous worries such as mortgage payments, bills, home repair, shopping, newspaper headlines, entertaining and so on that fill so much of our time.  I hope that you are all able to take some time today to look outside, take a deep breath and enjoy!

Pictures are of ruins of a pilgrims hospital, a hermito (hermit's dwelling) outside Villafranca, and an ancient cross by the side of the road in Redecilla Del Camino.

Waiting

Waiting. Always a part of life and so well characterized in the Dr. Seuss book 'The Places You'll Go'.  I have been waiting quite some time for a good internet connection combined with the energy and time to update my blog and finally, on a rainy day in the small town of Ledigos, that time has arrived.

Two days spent in Burgos were quite a treat. It is an incredibly lovely city with one of the largest and most beautiful/opulent cathederals in Spain.  Itis also very lively with many statues, restaurants and well-dressed people. It's not difficult to spot pilgrims in Burgos as even the best dressed of us are likely sporting walking shoes/sandals and hiking pants possibly topped off by a well worn sun hat.

Last Saturday afternoon the streets were filled with women, men and children  dressed equisitely and strolling around the the town visiting, dining on patios and just looking good. We thought perhaps that it was a holiday or special celebration but no, just a sunny Saturday afternoon in Spain.

We ended up with more time in Burgos than anticipated because poor weather made the mountain pass to St. Juan de Ortega potentially dangerous so we took a bus from Villafranca where we and many others had sought refuge from the storm.

Waiting for internet in Villafranca which never arrived and therefore was unable to use my credit card for the hotel leaving me with no cash, not even enough for the bus to Burgos. Friendly hotel staff provided a bottle of water and bus fare and I was on my way.

Waiting for the bus which, we were advised, could arrive anytime after 9:30.  Anytime turned out to be an hour later by which time so many people had arrived it seemed there wouldnt be enough seats. Boarding seems to be on a LIFO ( last in line first on bus) basis which meant that my very punctual group was going to have to wait for another several hours. Raised voices, lots of hand gesturing, a seat recount and we all boarded. I may not complain about city transit in Winnipeg and Victoria for quite some time.

Pictures of Burgos follow including cathedral & busy Saturday streets.

Pamplona redux

Back in Pamplona after bidding adios to Corinne in Bilbao.  She is flying to Paris tonight and then home to Winnipeg and I'm resuming my walk on the Camino tomorrow morning. Safe travels, Corinne, I will miss your companionship.

Both Pamplona and Bilbao are lovely, lively cities featuring the original older sections with their glorious churches, narrow cobbled streets and traditional restaurants. I'd definitely recommend a visit if the opportunity presents itself. Although I'm not religious, it is hard not to appreciate the lavish, ornate interiors and beautiful architecture. Picture follows of the Iglesia de San Cernin in Pamplona.

Bilboa also contains some incredible modern architecture including our own hotel and, most notably, the Guggenheim museum. I'm sure you've all seen pictures of the Guggenheim and the famous sculptures on it's grounds, but I can't resist including the Anish Kapoor which reminds me of his wonderful Cloud Gate in Millenium Park, Chicago, near my old stomping grounds (many years ago).  Plus it's a great contrast with the church interior.  Wonder what sculpture developments there will be in the next 500 years?

Tomorrow's destination is the tiny town of Puente la Reina, about 24km away .

By the way, I am happy to answer any questions you may have about the Camino, or at least answer based on my experiences.  I really appreciate your interest in my journey and it feels good knowing that I'm not alone ( at least in spirit ).

A brief update

We've finished our first 3 days of walking & in addition to the fact that I've been absolutely exhausted every evening, we've not had good enough internet until today for me to make any posts. This one will need to be brief as we need to check out of our hotel shortly.

St. Jean Pied de Port was our starting point for the Camino & is a charming little village that manages to support the swarms of Camino pilgrims & numerous French vacationers without turning into a postcard and ice cream selling tourist trap. The old, walled city is a UNESCO heritage site and houses the pilgrims office where we received our 'credentials' that will be stamped in towns that we visit along our journey.

Alas, I am out of time now but will post this in case I need to wait several more days for a good connection.

In brief: we made it to Pamplona. The walk over the Pyrenees was brutal but incredibly beautiful as has been much if the scenery along the way.

We are off today by bus to Bilbao and I'll resume the walk in Pamplona on my own in 2 days.

Pictures follow of St Jean, Corinne & I on day 2 of the walk ( smiles or grimaces? You decide) and a beautiful bridge over the Rio Arga, one if many we crossed on day 3.

Bordeaux, Medoc and Biarritz

Don't all these places sound exotic? They do to me and now I can report that Corinne and I have now visited them all. True, our visit to Bordeaux comprised lunch, the train station & picking up our rental car but one should never underestimate lunch. Especially in France.

We stayed in a beautiful chateau in the Medoc, savoured the most wonderful meal ever at Le Savoie, ate a delicious 4 course meal with wine for €15 at an adorable family owned restsurant, drove through miles of glorious vineyards and bumbled into an amazing tour of a Haut Medoc winery.

Bumbled? Well, we were probably less than graceful when we barged into the vineyard offices by mistake. Nonetheless the charming and knowledgable Vincente gave us a wonderful tour and shared a couple of glasses of his fantastic wine with us. Tip for those of you who didn't know: 2010 is a fantastic year for Medoc wine and 2013 will be pretty poor. Now go and impress your friends.

After a lovely drive chauffered by the calm and capable Corinne down the west coast of France we're now relaxing in beautiful Biarritz. Off to St. Jean Pied-de-Port tomorrow, our last stop before we begin the Camino.

Pictures below are of our chateau hotel (which also happens to be as winery), the tasting deck at 'Vincent's vineyard' and the beach at Biarritz.

Paris: wine, men and art

Besides the metro, the best value in Paris is wine.  It's about the only item that seems to be less expensive than in Canada & the quality is, of course, excellent. Corinne & I have been trying to rack up our savings by drinking as much as possible.

We also couldn't help but notice the French men & I've included two fine examples: one viewing the Eiffel Tower in the buff from Jardins du Trocadero & the other sunning in the gardens of the Musee Rodin ( which, by the way, I loved).

OK, yes they are statues which brings me to the incredible art in Paris  . We enjoyed visiting 2 galleries and a contemporary art show and although we didn't have time to visit the works inside The Louvre, the exterior of the building at sunset was a work of art itself. Photo below captures the reflection of The Louvre in a still pond with the corner of the famous glass pyramid.

Is there anything in Paris that isn't beautiful?