The King: Honey I’ve lost my sense of smell, I must have Covid! The Queen: No you’ve lost your nose. If you have to be ill anywhere in the world, Spain is a good place to be. Our hosts have been checking in with us, and offering to get a doctor or anything else that we need. One of our hosts is a teacher and ...
It was only 1 degree Celsius when we set off this morning. The first rest in the sun is important A few days ago we made the left turn off the historical Via de la Plata onto the variant known as the Camino Sanabres. As we move towards the mountains of Galicia, the natural environment is changing. The forests are getting thicker, with more abundant wildlife. Today, for ...
Leaving Montemarta It's raining cats dogs and elephants at the moment, and I’m stalling. Gord and Denys headed out about an hour ago and I’m hoping for a little break to start my ride. It’s always easier to start the ride when it’s not raining, even if it pours later. I’m not sure I will get that window but I will delay things for a ...
Zamora is a beautiful town that deserved a longer visit than we gave it. Although it has somehow avoided UNESCO designation, Zamora has 24 Romanesque churches, the largest number of any city in Europe. There is also a dramatically situated castle with an impressive moat. Like many cities that preserve a particular architectural period, Zamora was important for a period of time (the 12th and ...
Gordon: We arrived in the city of Salamanca on Saturday afternoon, the day before Easter. All of the cities in this region have special activities during Semana Santa, and we hoped to have the opportunity to observe some of them in Salamanca. The most prominent religious celebration during Holy Week is the procession. We had seen images of these, but we had not actually previously seen one. Luck was ...
Total Distance walked by Gordon: 439 kms Total Distance cycled by Ruth: 468 kms When I am planning to travel on a Camino I admit to doing minimal preparation. I check the average weather in the area, buy the plane tickets and a guidebook, pack a 45 litre backpack and off we go. Since we will be on a Camino route I assume there will be adequate ...
I love cycle touring and Spain would be a perfect place for it. This trip, however, is not a bike tour but rather a Camino with my bike and trailer. I see other cyclists almost every day, but only once. They are moving much faster than I am, especially if they are staying on the road. The Eurovelo 1 follows the Via de la Plata route ...
A medieval pilgrim ( and I worry about proportion)! Gordon: Last night we stayed in the latest jewel in the UNESCO chain that we are following up the Via de la Plata: Cáceres. There are layers of history in Cáceres, starting with the oldest known cave paintings. The paintings formed by blowing pigment over hands in the Maltravieso Cave have been dated to 65,000 years before the present, ...
Enrique helping me with my tire. I have travelled on several long trips without a single flat tire, but on this trip I am honing my skills at puncture repair. Perhaps this route is called the Via de la Plata, not for the silver mined or the relatively flat terrain, but the flat tires created by the pesky little thorns along the way. So far I ...
Gordon: It was a cold, wet, windy but mercifully short (15 kms) slog into Mérida today. Southern Spain is having it’s coolest April in decades, so we have had a series of very brisk days. Several mornings it was only 3 or 4 degrees, and with strong, fatiguing winds. I’m glad that Ruth convinced me to throw in another warm layer when I was packing for the trip. The good ...