{"id":83927,"date":"2014-04-11T08:38:31","date_gmt":"2014-04-11T15:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/one-year-ago-rain-blood-sausage-and-wine\/"},"modified":"2014-04-21T12:45:06","modified_gmt":"2014-04-21T19:45:06","slug":"one-year-ago-rain-blood-sausage-and-wine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/one-year-ago-rain-blood-sausage-and-wine\/","title":{"rendered":"One Year Ago: Rain, Blood Sausage, and Wine"},"content":{"rendered":"

(from my journal)<\/p>\n

Iglesia San Juan de Ortega
\n1<\/span>1 April 4:20PM<\/p>\n

Felt much better after a good sleep and three boxes of orange juice. We left Belorado in good form and breakfasted in Tosantos. It was a sunny, if breezy, walk through the countryside we’ve come to expect – brilliant green farm fields in bowl-shaped valleys.<\/p>\n

\"Belorado\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Belorado<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"8732148829_a432736242_b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"8732151845_f397ef52a1_b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"8732152769_d6eaebc508_b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"8732154241_66efd8ccd3_b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"8732156343_5bdcb25191_b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Ermita<\/a><\/p>\n

Ermita de Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de Pena, built into the cliffside<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Villambistia\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Villambistia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"What<\/a><\/p>\n

What remains of the once great Monasterio San Felices de Oca<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

We lunched in a picturesque truck stop in Villafranca Montes de Oca. It was chilly but still sunny, and we ate outside. Easily some of the best food I’ve had in Spain so far, and stupid cheap.<\/p>\n

Based on a hat and certificate on the walls, the owner in his youth was a member of the Guarda Civil. The portrait of Franco on the wall was also a pretty big hint of the owner’s allegiance.<\/p>\n

\"Great<\/a><\/p>\n

Great food!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Mia<\/a><\/p>\n

Mia at Villafranca de Montes de Oca<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Mementos<\/a><\/p>\n

Mementos of Days Passed at Villafranca de Montes de Oca<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As we made the steep climb up the Montes de Orca, the wind picked up noticeably. The forest we entered was eerie – all the trees still black and bare, awaiting their spring colours. A note on my map says:<\/p>\n

\n

In medieval times, dense forest, wolves, and bandits made this one of the most difficult stretches of the Camino.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I could well believe it. Instead of wolves and bandits, we got wind and rain. And what rain! It poured upon us, and when the wind kicked up, it was like rubber-bands shot into your skin. Eamon had predictably gotten far ahead of Viola and myself, so the two of us struggled on down the forest road in the deluge as best we could. It was cold and miserable, but we certainly made good time.<\/p>\n

\"8732182489_ed3c4f2b45_b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Monumentos<\/a><\/p>\n

Monumentos de los Caidos, a memorial to the victims of the Spanish Civil war<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"8733306402_09115da221_b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Upon arriving in San Juan de Ortega, we all settled into the only albergue, which has the only bar on one side, and the Romanesque beauty of the Iglesia San Juan on the other. After a hot chocolate in the bar, I came to the church, where now I sit, writing in the pew in front of the saint’s tomb.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Hamlet of San Juan de Ortega<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Tomb<\/a><\/p>\n

Tomb of San Juan de Ortega<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I can see my breath, but it’s worth it to be in the quiet here. I will pray a while, light a candle in thanksgiving, and rejoin the raucous crowd of pilgrims in the bar anon.<\/p>\n

\n

San Juan de Ortega
\nEvening<\/p>\n

We learned today the the winds we fought on the 9th coming into Santo Domingo were clocked at 45kph. Patrick was right.<\/p>\n

\n

No wifi, no internet. Many soldiers, though. We think they might be on exercises. Saw several trucks at lunch, too.<\/p>\n

\"8732207611_3eb6e1499b_b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Wonderful dinner with a table full of Germans, an old Englishman named George, and Eamon and Viola. Met Radek from Poland, who is travelling with two Canadians, David and Lana. <\/p>\n

Blood sausage out of this world – our investigations to date indicate that the food throughout this region is the best in Spain – and more bottles of wine than could be counted.<\/p>\n

Dingsbums.<\/p>\n

\"First<\/a><\/p>\n

First Meetings: Radek on the left, David and Lana on the right<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

All the photos: Day 10<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(from my journal) Iglesia San Juan de Ortega 11 April 4:20PM Felt much better after a good sleep and three boxes of orange juice. We left Belorado in good form and breakfasted in Tosantos. It was a sunny, if breezy, walk through the countryside we’ve come to expect – brilliant green farm fields in bowl-shaped valleys. Belorado Ermita de Nuestra […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-camino"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-lPF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":83923,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/one-year-ago-chickens\/","url_meta":{"origin":83927,"position":0},"title":"One Year Ago: Chickens","author":"Thom","date":"10 April 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"(from my journal) Belorado 10 April After the severe physical trial of yesterday, we were determined to take it easy, starting late and perhaps only going as far as Gra\u00f1\u00f3n or (at the most) Redicilla del Camino, some 11km distant. Before setting out, we explored the Cathedral. Santo Domingo himself\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Waiting to get into the Cathedral shop. What 9:30 actually means is \"some time before ten\".","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/8733050580_ed13c8a652_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/8733050580_ed13c8a652_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/8733050580_ed13c8a652_b.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/8733050580_ed13c8a652_b.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":58164,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/santo-domingo-and-his-chickens\/","url_meta":{"origin":83927,"position":1},"title":"Santo Domingo and His Chickens","author":"Thom","date":"10 April 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"10 April 2013 After the severe physical trail of yesterday, we were determined to take it easy, starting late and perhaps only going as far as Granon, or maybe Redecilla del Camino, some 11 km distant. Before setting out, we explored the Cathedral. Santo Domingo himself is buried in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58695,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/swimming-to-san-juan\/","url_meta":{"origin":83927,"position":2},"title":"Swimming to San Juan","author":"Thom","date":"12 April 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"11 April 2013 Felt much better after a good sleep and three boxes of orange juice. We left Belorado in good form and breakfasted in Tosantos. It was a sunny, if breezy still, walk through the countryside we\u00b4d come to expect \u2013 brilliant green farm fields in bowl-shaped valleys. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":107941,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/tentative-itinerary-for-my-long-camino\/","url_meta":{"origin":83927,"position":3},"title":"Tentative Itinerary for my Long Camino","author":"Thom","date":"09 July 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"is said that no plan survives contact with the enemy. To this I would add that no plan survives contact with the Camino. Nevertheless, and with some sense of trepidation, I offer here my plan for my \"long Camino\". This is a total of 65 days walking (plus a scheduled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/VP-route-v5-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/VP-route-v5-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/VP-route-v5-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/VP-route-v5-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/VP-route-v5-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83927"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83928,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83927\/revisions\/83928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}