Walking the Camino de Santiago
The Felisa stamp has been described as “one of the most sought after on the camino“. What’s odd about it is that Felisa isn’t a place. Felisa is a person. Or, rather, Felisa was a person; she died in October 2002. She sat for many years at a weatherbeaten desk beside the Camino just before Logroño, offering water, figs, a […]
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The three of us, Eamon, Viola, and myself, approach the quasi-industrial suburbs of Burgos. At this point, I think we still believe ourselves to be on the Camino. We are not. Or, at lease, we’re not on any of the common paths. What this tower actually is, I’ve no idea. Grain silo? Watchtower? Flight control? Date: 12 April 2013Place: vaguely […]
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Although it’s difficult to tell, that’s the Burgos airport off to our right. This section was the beginning of our long trudge into Burgos. In my journal, I refer to it as a “deathmarch”. Perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but less so than you might think. More on that next week! The fact that the airport is on […]
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For whatever reason, I love old rusty farm equipment. There are any number of photos of this sort from my Camino albums. What is this thing? No idea what it started out as, but so far as I’m concerned, now it’s art. This section of the Camino involved a lot of road walking, but I’m not entirely certain where this […]
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This is the entrance to the tiny Ermita de la Inmaculada in the village of Orbaneja Riopico. Why these doors are designed the way they are, I’ve no idea. My cultural guidebook, usually the final word in such matters, does not deign to mention the place. Most of my guidebooks only mention the village in passing, if at all. None […]
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The church in question is the tiny Ermita de la Inmaculada in the village of Orbaneja Riopico. The dog in question was a friendly local who completely failed to give us directions to the nearest café. I don’t know his name. I’ll have a closeup of the doors (not the dog, sadly) tomorrow. Date: 12 April 2013Place: Orbaneja Riopico (Province […]
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Nope. I can’t explain this, but I kind of love it. It’s out in somebody’s front yard in the suburbia on the way to Burgos. Date: 12 April 2013Place: between Cardeñuela Riopico and Orbaneja Riopico (Province of Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain)Today started: San Juan de Ortega (Province of Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain)
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Back on the road to Burgos after lunch, and there’s more road walking – despite what the map below indicates. Just past the edge of the village, somebody has painted this encouraging sign on their driveway. The villages here as we get closer to the city definitely have a more suburban feel to them, and it’s difficult sometimes to tell […]
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Sometimes Francine refers to the Camino as “eating your way across Spain”. It’s only partly a joke. Since you’re walking 20 to 30 kilometers on any given day, you quickly develop an appetite well out of the bounds of your usual eating habits. Couple with that the amazing regional varieties of cuisine, and even the lowly menu del día or […]
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Knowing that you’ll be carrying everything with you for a month, you try to pack light. It’s never light enough, as a long string of “free to take” boxes in the albergues along the Camino will attest. We pack our fears. Still, I don’t know of anyone who brought a clothes iron. Now a coffee machine… You’ll notice that this […]
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