The path was lined with fruit trees, most of the fruit dropping off onto the ground

Today's walk was completely different to our hike in the mountains yesterday. We left Ponferrada at about 6h45 and once we were past the city limits we followed the yellow arrows onto flat, straight farm paths through acres of vegetable. There were gigantic pumpkins, red bell peppers, huge tomatoes, runner beans, cabbages etc. The path was lined with fruit trees, most of the fruit dropping off onto the ground- figs, apples, quince, pears, walnuts, plums etc. Once we left the flat vegetable farms we passed into the Bierzo valley, which is vineyards and Bodegas as far as the eyes could see. The mountains we crossed a couple of days ago and will climb again when we head towards O'Cebreiro tomorrow surround the valley.

We arrived at Villafranca del Bierzo at about 12h45 and I felt quite emotional when I walked into the Ave Fenix refuge. I hugged Senora Jato as though she was an old family member and told her that I had slept here in 2002. There is a much smarter, municipal refuge in Villafranca, but the Jato family are famous on the camino for their devotion to the care of pilgrims in these hills.

After the usual settling in - choosing a bed, showering, washing clothes - we walked into the village but all the shops were closed, only to open at 5pm. Marion and I visited the Church of Santiago, which is just behind the albergue. It is Romanesque and has a famous door called the Puerta del Perdon. In the middle ages, pilgrims who made it this far and passed through that door would have the same indulgences and remission of sins as those continuing to Santiago. Today the door is closed so these weary pilgrims have no choice but to continue on to Santiago!

As we were leaving the church we greeted Jesus Jato (owner of the Ave Fenix) and he kindly guided us around the church, pointing out the parts that are Romanesque and those that are 12thC and 14th C additions. He also pointed out the many stones that have been used to build his albergue. Some were donated by churches at Eunate, the cathedral in Leon, Fromista and even from Germany, Switzerland and Brazil.

We have booked to have a communal dinner tonight and hope that Jesus will perform his magical ritual with the flaming alcohol and honey for which he is famous.

It is 18h40 now and we will have dinner at 8pm. Will have to let you know in the next post how the evening went!

Love to all
S A M

The closest thing one could get to a medieval pilgrim refuge

The refuge in Astorga was in a 16thC stone and wood building so everything creaked! When someone walked on the upstairs floors it sounded as though there were workmen up there and even the wooden beds creaked whenever someone turned over. We left the refuge at 6h45 and used my head-waist flashlight to see the way to the next town. Sunrise is closer to 8am now and we walk under brilliant stars for about an hour. After having a cafe at the next village we walked on to Santa Catlina where we had planned to spend the night but it was quite early so we decided to walk on to the next village. Santa Catalina had about 4 different cafe-bars to choose from and a pretty main street starting at one end and exiting the other. As we were leaving we saw the albergue sign and decided to have a look. It was up a short alley and as we entered the garden I had another deja-vu moment. Clare and Georgette will remember the strange little town we arrived at where we sat on the pavement waiting for the refuge to open. There was nobody about and even the only bar in town couldn't tell us when the refuge would open. Eventually a kid on a bike arrived and opened the albergue. The yard was in a real mess so we and a couple of other pilgrims picked up all the garbage and tidied up a bit. There was no food to be had in the village so we sat under a little overhang and boiled water for our packet soup. What a change in 5 years - the growth in popularity of the camino has resulted in the regeneration of many villages along the way.

From Santa Catlina we walked on to El Ganso where we were expecting to sleep on the floor in a very primitive albergue but a new refuge has opened this year and we were the first three pilgrims to arrive on her doorstep. We had a three-bed room to ourselves with an en suit shower and toilet. What a pleasure! El Ganso has the most photographed bar on the whole camino - it is called the Cowboy Bar and even plays country and western music.

Sunday:
We only had 17kms to walk so we left a little later than usual. Our first stop was at Rabanal - a well-known and popular place for pilgrims to stay. Then we walked on to Foncebadon, the abandoned village which in 2002 looked like something from a Western movie set with dilapidated houses falling down, the wind moaning through broken rafters and tumbleweed rolling through the dust. It now sports two albergues a cafe bar and a restaurant! I couldn't believe it and was horrified by all the electricity poles with wires hanging everywhere.

Two kms further on was the Cruz de Ferro - a very tall iron cross with an enormous pile of stones at its base which is said to have started in the middle ages as a pagan stake with a stone pile to show travellers the way. In 2002 we left stones there for Hansie Cronje who had died in the planes crash the day before. This time we climbed the huge pile and I left my stone, brought from the Durban beachfront.

We then walked on to Manjarin, another abandoned village occupied about 20 years by Tomas Martinez le Paz who was visited in a dream by the angel Michael, left his job and home and founded a pilgrim refuge in a broken down building on the side of the road. There were storm clouds brewing on our way there and when we arrived, two adult men were having a violent fisty-cuff in the outside courtyard. We were a bit taken aback and sat quietly waiting for the hospitalero to attend to us. We learned that Tomas's aunt had died and he was away attending the funeral. A young man showed us where we would sleep - in a disused barn with mattresses on the floor - two people to a mattress. There were cats, dogs, turkeys gobbling, chickens crowing and even a cow penned across the road. There is no running water, no WC and no electricity so it was the closest thing one could get to a medieval pilgrim refuge. Tomas arrived back in the afternoon and we helped carry things inside as the rain came down. I gave him the painting and the photo album and he was really chuffed with both. The young people there cooked our dinner and we all sat at a long table - about 10 of us - eating in lamplight. I helped wash up and then we found our way to bed.

Monday:
We had a good sleep in Tomas's barn last night and we were on the road by 7h15 this morning. The scenery was spectacular - the best on the whole camino says the guidebook. We reached the highest point of the camino at 1500m and stood singing the 'Hills are alive with the sound of music' while I took a short video of the scenery. The hills are covered in Heather and Erica and lots of broom and other fynbos type plants. From the highest point we started coming down on a very rough shale path all the way to el Acebo, a village tucked into the lee of the mountain. There is a bicycle fixed to a pedestal outside El Acebo, which is in honour of a woman who died there in 2005.

From El Acebo we walked on to Molinaseca and had a lovely hot chocolate at a cafe bar. On the way out we peeped into the albergue where Georgette, Clare and I slept on mattresses in the kitchen in 2002!

We arrived in Ponferrada at about 2:30pm and booked into the albergue here. It is a huge albergue and sleeps almost 200 people. The whole place is run on a donation basis. A Swedish religious group sponsors it. Marion and I walked into town to have a look at the castle (Joy-belle, you will remember the castle from 2004) and also to buy food for supper, which we made in the refuge kitchen. It had started to rain again but we were able to have our washing dried in a tumble dryer for 3 euro, which is a great help.

Tomorrow we will walk to Villafranca del Bierzo where I want us to stay at Ave Fenix, another rather basic refuge with Jesus Jato and his family. We just hope that it doesn't rain as our plastic ponchos are already coming apart at the seams.

Only three more days walking till Finn arrives and then we will stretch the last week out as much as possible.

Love to all,
S A M

God took all the rocks in the world and scattered them across the camino

We are now in Astorga - about 11kms ahead of our schedule - having passed through the little village of Santabinaz at about 11am, which is where we had planned to stay. The path followed the road again for a while until we reached Hospital de Orbigo. This little village boasts one of the oldest (and longest) bridges in Spain. It is a low stone bridge with 20 arches spanning the Orbigo River. In 2002 when Georgie, Clare and I arrived there we had been walking all day and suddenly heard music and pipes, saw horses attired in full medieval costume, men in armour and ladies in long flowing medieval dresses. As we approached the bridge we could see hundreds of colourful tents with flags flying and a jousting field on one side of the river where horsemen were charging each other. We thought that we were hallucinating but it was the day of the fiesta commemorating the legend of a knight who was challenged for the hand of his lady and offered to defend the bridge against all comers - which he did, successfully, for a whole month - thereby winning the hand of his lady. This morning all was quiet and we stopped for a coffee and toast at the Cafe-Bar next to the bridge.

On leaving Hospital de Orbigo one can take a 15km road route or 17km walker's route to Astorga. The road route is along the original way between the two towns and the walker's route is a fairly modern path over the hills and through some unspoilt shrub land. We were tired of the road so took the walker's route. It was through truly beautiful countryside but, as Anneliese commented, she thinks God took all the rocks in the world and scattered them across the camino because the paths were, at times, like walking through dry river beds. Marion didn't mind them but Anneliese and I rocked and rolled our way along the paths trying to find the route of least pebbles and rocks. At times the path became sandy and you would not believe what our socks look like when we arrive at a refuge at the end of a walk!

Astorga is a charming little town with a beautiful cathedral right next to a Gaudi Palace. It is all circular corners, with Walt Disney like towers ending in pointed clown hat tops, turrets, crenulated walls and pretty little windows. People either love it or hate it! Everything in Astirga is closed until 5pm so we will visit the cathedral and, perhaps the chocolate museum just now. Whilst Annaliese rested we went looking for a post office (closed at 2h30pm) then we looked for an Information office (also closed) then we looked for a supermarket to buy food and, hey presto! we found a little general dealer still open! On our way back to the refuge we came down a side road and in front of us was a schoolyard. Joy-belle, I'm sure it was where we had lunch three years ago! I can remember us sitting watching the grannies coming to fetch the little children from school.

Now that we are a bit ahead of our planned schedule, we will do shorter distances the next two days. This is OK because we are now heading into the mountains of Leon. The guide says: As you leave Astorga you are heading into the mountains, a welcome relief from the Meseta. The stretch between Astorga and Ponferrada is one of the most interesting and beautiful of the whole camino. It is a long hard 50km across the mountains and the route goes up to 1500m. It is virtually uphill for 30km and then steeply downhill thereafter.

So, we will be spending the next two nights in very basic albergues (no WC and no water) and, I am sure, no internet. We will let you know how that all went when we come back to civilisation. Tomorrow night we will stay in El Ganso and then on Sunday night we stay with Tomas the Templar of Manjarin. I will give him Sandi's painting and the brag book of photos collected from the internet.

Love to all,
S A M

And .... well, nothing really much after that

We are now in Villadangos del Paramo. Yeah, I know it sounds like a swear word and it could well be as the rocky, dusty, noisy path to here from Leon was all along the side of a busy main road. They have tried to keep pilgrims off the road my creating narrow, stony paths alongside the road - sometimes crossing over, sometimes passing through a tunnel under a spaghetti junction type overpass and sometimes short cutting through overgrown fields. Always the rocks which makes one mutter under one's breath - Villa-dang-gos!

Last night we tried to find a place in Leon to have an early dinner. Now Leon is a lovely city with a wide main boulevard (a la Paris) with shops, sidewalk cafes etc. but - a la Paris - nobody serves meals until after 9pm. We eventually found a Burger-King type place, full of noisy young people, and sat there eating salad and fritas (Anneliese had a burger). We decided to go to bed at about 9pm and asked the receptionist to wake us at 11:30pm. Three sleepy, shivering pilgrims (it is cold in the mornings and during the night) were about the only people - besides the street cleaner with his hosepipe) waiting in the plaza for the stroke of midnight for the magical stained-glass window 'luminair' to begin. The bells rang four times. (To mark the hour). Then a deeper bell rang 12 times. All the streetlights and spotlights on the cathedral switched off. And .... well, nothing really much after that. We couldn't see any lights on behind the rose window or the other stained glass windows in the front of the cathedral so we walked around the side where we could see that there were indeed lights on inside but not enough to show the ground floor windows or even make much illumination through the upper stained glass windows. It was all rather disappointing. We went back to the hotel at about 12:15am and we were on the road again by 6h30am this morning.

We were the first pilgrims at this refuge and caught the hospitalero as she was leaving. "This is your casa" she said, "until I return at half five." So we chose a bed each, had a shower, washed our clothes and will make a foray into the town to find food. Tomorrow we should walk about 21kms to Santibanez but one guide says that it is 15kms and the other says 20.7kms. If it is 15kms we will continue to the next town 8kms further on. This is day 22 and next week we will meet Finn at Sarria. We can't believe that we only have 2 weeks walking left. We are hoping that the wonderful weather holds - cool in the mornings and evenings but hot during the day - it was 30oC in Leon yesterday.

Will mail again soon,
Love to all
S A M

It was bliss to find beds! Real beds! With sheets! And with pillows!

We are in Leon - one of the largest cities along the camino (there are only four) and we have booked into a hotel so that we can see the lights being switched on in the cathedral at midnight. They switch all the lights off in the square and all the lights on in the cathedral. Leon cathedral has the most magnificent stained glass windows - reputed to be the best in Europe - so it should be a magnificent sight.

Last night we made our own supper in the kitchen at the refuge - salad with a bottle of mixed veggies added, cheese and tomato and fresh bread. It was delicious. We had a good sleep and found the 20km walk to Leon quite un-inspiring - a bit like walking through Pinetown into Durban, with lots of panel beaters, scrap yards and heavy morning traffic most of the way. For the past week we have been walking through the Meseta, the high open food plains. Some people skip this section because it is flat and can be monotonous. I think it is beautiful in Spring when the winds ripple the waist high wheat fields that spread from horizon to horizon. This time the wheat has been harvested and huge acres of bristly blond stalks remain with the occasional ochre, ploughed fields breaking the blond. We have passed a few cornfields but they too are ready for harvesting and soon the Meseta will look like a wasteland with no cereals or corns to break the landscape. It is quite disconcerting to leave the fields and walk next to highways and the usual conglomeration of civilisation on the outskirts of cities.

The Hotel Albany is very close to the cathedral and it was bliss to find beds! Real beds! With sheets! And with pillows! And - an en suite bathroom with a private loo and a large shower. And - guess what? Little soaps and shower gels and even a comb each! When you wash hair, body and clothes with the same soap, little things like a small body soap mean a lot!!

We unpacked and took stock of our backpacks, not something you can do very easily in a crowded dorm with no space to spare. Marion and I walked into the new town to find the main Post Office where I collected the painting of Tomas the Templar Sandi Beukes did for me before we left. I had posted it onto myself from Pamplona rather than carry it the last 450kms. They had a bit of a search but eventually found it and I have managed to get it into my backpack and will carry it for the next 4 days until we reach Tomas's refuge at Manjarin in the Irago mountains. I also have a brag book of photos to give to Tomas so hope that he is there when we get there. Tomas was a businessman in Madrid until 20 years ago when he had a dream that the Archangel Michael visited him and told him that he was the last of the Knight Templars and that he should be caring for pilgrims on the camino. He left his job, moved onto the camino (500kms north of Madrid) and set up a ramshackle refuge close to the abandoned village of Foncebadon and the Cruz de Ferro (the Iron Cross) in the Irago mountains. He has been offering love, Gregorian chants and care to pilgrims ever since. He is one of the few precious personalities on the camino and his refuge has no running water, electricity or toilets and pilgrims sleep on the floor - I can´t wait!!

We have about 320kms left to walk. We passed the halfway mark a few days ago when we walked through Ledigos. It was quite daunting to think that you have walked over 380kms and have to start all over again! Anneliese´s blisters on her heels are quite painful. Mine keeps filling up even though I drain it each night so we are both walking on our toes on our left foot! Marion has a tiny blister on her heel so she has now joined the club!

It is the same time in Spain as in South Africa so at 17h45 we are ready to start looking for somewhere to have dinner. It will only get dark at about 20h30 so we can do some window shopping and then we wait for the cathedral lights.

Thank you to those of you who have posted comments on the Blog (http://ama-walker-walker.theboys.co.za/) or who have sent messages. It is great to hear from home.

Love to all,
S A M

They had seen my SA Flag shorts fluttering on the wash line!

We are in Mansilla de las Mulas about 18kms from Leon - the next big city on our route to Santiago. The 27kms seemed to fly this morning after starting at about 6h40 from Bercianos in pitch darkness but a sky brilliant with stars. There are few street lights in Bercianos and no road lights once you leave the village. We walked into a market so registered at the refuge and then went shopping, buying salad ingredients, cheese and breakfast for tomorrow.

Yesterday started off as an 'out-of-sorts' day for me but ended up magically. Two days ago I hurt my rib cage trying to get off the top bunk without putting my feet on the bottom bed where someone was sleeping. I didn't realise that there was a chipboard under the mattress and the bottom ribs caught on the board. It didn't bother me too much until the night before last when I tried to pull myself onto another top bunk and felt as though the rib was cracked. So, I didn't sleep very well. Also, I have stopped using the sponges on my heels and the day before yesterday decided to wear the thinner sock liners rather than the thick hiking socks. There is a little ridge at the back of my sandals and this must have rubbed on my heel because when I had a shower I felt a bubble blister about the size of a 10c. Bugger!

So, We started off yesterday with me limping along with a blister. I was to deliver 3 Amarula dinkey bottles to a friend in Moratinos - a tiny non-place with only one main street and I couldn't find the flipping house because the numbers started with 2 then jumped to 5 then showed 3 and 6 further on. Anyway, I eventually found the house and left the bottles on top of a car parked next to the house. The strap on Anneliese's sandal broke and we waited in Sahagun for a sport shop to open so that she could buy new sandals.

The walk to Sahagun was on a rocky little path next to a busy road so it was not conducive to camino-magic having car carriers and panetchnikons hurtling past you. Sahagun is a grey, dusty, tired town that had a more illustrious past but is now a graffiti covered, weary looking place.

When we arrived in Bercianos we were less than impressed with the look of the refuge. It was a large square barn constructed, like many of the buildings in these villages, of straw and mud. A wooden floor and staircase has been added to turn it into a refuge. The beds and bunks were old iron and springs and the mattresses were compacted foam with no covers on them. A pilgrim told us that the place had to be closed two weeks ago as it was infected with bed bugs. We were just too tired to walk on so covered ourselves in my musk oil and hoped for the best.

While Anneliese slept, Marion and I sat outside while I treated my blisters. A couple of cyclists arrived and asked if we were the South Africans. They were from Cape Town and having walked the camino last year to Santiago, are cycling it in reverse this year. They had seen my SA Flag shorts fluttering on the wash line! They told us that this refuge was the best and most memorable of their whole camino last year.

Marion and I just stared at them and we had another look inside to see what we had missed. Actually, it was the kindness and generous hospitaleros that have given it its reputation. At about 8:15pm they asked us all (about 50 pilgrims) to walk outside and sit on the bank at the back of the building to watch the sunset. The French pilgrims were humming tunes so I asked them to sing the Chant de Compostelle and soon the fields were ringing with the harmonious sounds of the old pilgrim song - Ültreya, ultreya, e sus seisa...¨. Everyone clapped and then we were ushered into the dining room where two long tables had been set for dinner. Amor, the lady of the house, had cooked an enormous pot of lentil soup, served with bread, salad and freshly cut red melon for desert. Water and wine was put on the table. All of this was gratis - or for a donation only. Marion and I are constantly amazed at the generosity of the local Spanish people who provide these places of refuge for the pilgrims - strangers from all over the world - and provide food, dinner and breakfast. So, a rather poor start for me ended on a special note.

Tomorrow we will walk 18kms to Leon where we have pre-booked a hotel so that we can stay up until mid-night to see the lights being switched on in the cathedral. More about that in a days time. All well, loving every minute of this camino. Marion and I sing a lot and marvel at everything around us. Anneliese is less expressive but I'm sure she is also having a good 'camino' experience.

Love to all,
S A M

The scenery along the way is beautiful.

We had a good night at the Convent of Santa Clara and left at about 7am this morning, walking through quiet, sleepy streets - only the local Panaderia with lights on and a corner Cafe-Bar doing a brisk trade with pilgrims in cafe-con-leche and pastries. We walked over the river Carrion and past the Benedictine monastery of San Zoilo that is now a hotel and museum. I saluted when we passed Don Trigo´s poster and pile of stones and picked one up that I will post to Pieter for him to lay on Trigo´s grave.

After more than 2 weeks of walking we have fallen into a general routine. Marion, being the fastest walker is usually up ahead with me in the middle and Anneliese bringing up the rear. Every now and then Marion will slow down so that I catch up and we walk together, sometimes chatting, sometimes singing, sometimes just enjoying the scenery. Then she slows down and walks with Anneliese for a while. After a couple of kms she will pass me again and take her place up front. I hardly ever stop or even slow down and when I am in the ZONE - a part of the camino itself, I don't even hear other pilgrims passing me. I have been singing songs long forgotten - heaven knows where the words have popped out from! Ke Sera Sera: Pack up your troubles: GI Blues etc. When my heels were really painful, I sang the Open Air School song over and over again. Marion and I belted out All Things Bright and Beautiful the other day and we now have an official camino song, sung to the tune of the American ditty - I've been working on the railroad. Our words are:

"We are walking el Camino,
all the live long day.
We are walking el camino
along the ancient ways.
When we get to Santiago,
we will hug St James.
And we'll get a Compostela,
to prove we've walked the way."

The scenery along the way is beautiful. Different from the meseta in spring when the wheat fields are waist high and ripple like waves in the breeze (very similar to the sugarcane fields back home). Now all the wheat has been harvested and only a very neat stubble is left so that it looks like mowed lawns in a highveld winter. Some fields have large piles of manure - awaiting ploughing. There are the late remnants of sunflowers - Marion calls them 'Granny faces' because they are all wrinkled and brown like giant walnuts!

From Carrion to Calzadilla - a 17km stretch along a rocky, stony path, we managed to walk about 12min per km. We stopped for a cafe-Americano (large coffee cup instead of small Espresso) and then continued on to Ledigos where we had planned to stay. The albergue was closed and being Sunday, there wasn't much open so me decided to continue walking another 2.5kms to Terradillos de los Templarios. On the way, a guy on a motorbike drove up to us and handed us a brochure on a new albergue called Albergue las Templarios. We saw it on the side of the road as we approached the town and checked in. We had a hot shower, and we are now in the cafeteria using one of two Internet facilities.

I have been carrying miniature Amarulla liquer bottles and will leave 3 at the home of Rebekah Scott in Moratino tomorrow. It is only 3km away so they will probably be asleep as we pass but I will leave a message with the bottles when we pass. We now have a slightly shorter day and we will walk to Bercianos de Real Camino. We will pass through a fairly large town called Sahagun where I hope to post another package of brochures home.

Love to you all
S A M

How many people are there in the world like us?

THURSDAY: We left SanBol while it was still dark and had to follow the arrows by starlight and torchlight. The sun always rises behind us as we are walking forever westaward and it is quite beautiful to look back and see the sun rise over the hills in the distance. We had a fairly easy walk to Castrojeriz - 14.5km cross-country and then the last bit on a tree lined road. Castrojeriz is a long village that hugs the lower portion of a high 'koppie' with a ruined castle on top. We left our packs at a refuge and walked about 1.5km to the closed convent of Santa Clara to buy biscuits from the nuns. One of the nuns suddenly opened a door and we were quite surprised to see her as they are never usually seen. Annaliese explained that a few might be public nuns and can show their faces. We had a photo taken with her and walked back to the town. We had a drink at the El Meson (where Joy and I had dinner in 2004. I remembered that the refuge where we stayed in 2002 was like mattresses on cold, stone slabs, so we took our bags up to a different albergue and booked in there.

Marion and I climbed up the Camino de Castillo - the steep, winding road up to the castle on top. I wanted to fly the SA flag so I took off my shorts and we took photographs with my SA flag shorts flying proudly! Marion said, "How many people are there in the world like us?" Instead of our usual rallying reply - "Too damn few!" We shouted, "ONLY TWO!" We were the only pilgrims to climb to the castle.

We had dinner at the La Taberna and have ordered some special olive oil, which we will collect when we go back there on 2nd October. The beds are in a large room - some bunks, some mattresses on the floor. Marion and I were on top bunks and neither slept very well because the streetlights shone on our faces.

FRIDAY: We left Castrojeriz at 6h30 in the pitch darkness. I remembered from 2002 that we had to climb a very steep hill and although it was a tough climb, we felt exhilarated when we reached the top and could look back at the distant lights of Castrojeriz with the morning star and a sickle moon above the silhouette of the hill and castle.

Once we reached the summit of the hill we were on the Meseta - the vast flat open plains of Castille y Leon. We walked for hours on rocky paths that go on and on - something like driving through the Karoo. We spent last night at a delightful refuge with an oasis like garden. It has a swimming pool and local ancient rocks in the garden. We had almost first choice of beds and chose bunks with few other pilgrims around us. I was able to have a long chat in Afrikaans with a couple from Belgium. We had a very nice pilgrim meal there and went to bed at about 9pm.

SATURIDAY: I have been walking in sandals for the past 10 days and have been taping my heels with plasters and foam. Today I decided to try them without all the plasters etc and they seem to be fine. We had a LONG walk today - about 25kms - from Boadilla to Carrion de los Condes. We booked into the first refuge we came to in the convent of Santa Clara and, for a change, we each have a bed (instead of a bunk) in a four-bed room. It is really cold in the morning when we start walking so we have long pants over our shorts, a shirt, fleece and chill cheater. Our hands feel especially cold but once the sun comes up - around 7h45 - it warms up and by 10ish we start to moult! First off is the chill cheater, then the longs, then the fleece, and then Marion puts on her sunscreen and bandana to protect her sunburned ears and Anneliese and I put on our hats.

Marion and I walked another half hour out of town today for me to put a laminated picture of a pilgrim dog called Trigo onto a tree. In 1987 Trigo was a stray who followed a pilgrim from Holland all the way to Santiago. Piter couldn't bear to leave him so he took him home to Holland. Don Trigo de Carion delos Condes became the mascot of a web forum called Santiagobis and was quite famous around the world. Sadly, Don Trigo died last year and has a grave with head stone with scallop shell on it. Now, I have put his picture and story on a tree outside Carrion de los Condes. We collected a few stones to place at the base of the tree. I buried a little box with a shell and a photo of Don Trigo under the stones. I painted his name on a log and an arrow on the road to mark the spot. Now, all Santiagobis members can salute Don Trigo as they walk past or, they can add their own stone to the pile under the tree.

Marion and I are sitting in a crowded bar whilst I type this email. It is 7:30pm and Anneliese has gone to mass in the church of Santa Maria. There is a fiesta day today for Santa Maria so all the shops are closed. Sunset is at 20h42 and sunrise tomorrow is at 7h50. We will have a 17km walk to Calzadilla de la Cueza, the next town tomorrow before we can buy anything to eat or drink. We then walk on to Ledigos a further 6km - 23km altogether. We will email you again if we find another Internet cafe.

Ultreya!
S A M

From a hot and sunny Castrojeriz

In Burgos we decided to find a small hotel so that we could sort out our packs, have some laundry done and, perhaps get a good night's sleep. Anneliese saw a HOSTAL sign and we checked into the Hostel Acacia at 60 euro for a 3-bed room. Anneliese had the single bed and Marion and I shared the Matrimonial bed! We then found the main Post Office to send some stuff home and then off to the cathedral. I didn't want to go through it for a 3rd time so I walked around the outside practising my new hobby, looking for Mason signs in the stones. There were master masons and builders who walked all over Europe finding work on various churches and monasteries and one can find their marks in the stones if you look hard enough. I have bought a book (in Spanish) called "The Signs in the Stones" and I have been able to identify a number of master mason signs. On the way back to the Hostel we had a menu-meal at the Alibaba Cafe - a sandwich (which was a wrap) chips and a drink for 6.50 euro.

Next Day:
Yesterday was a strange day from the moment we awoke. At about 5h30 Anneliese told us that she had been killing insects in her bed all night. The tick like creepies were on the walls and crawling over our bedding!! YECH!! We don't think they were bed bugs because none of us was bitten but they made our hair crawl so we quickly packed up and left without making coffee or having our yoghurt and fruit as planned. On our way into the city Anneliese discovered that she had left her precious waist bag behind so we walked back to the hotel and had to wake the owner as the front door had locked behind us. Once Anneliese had retrieved her bag we set off again through the dark streets of Burgos trying to find the yellow arrows by the light of the moon and streetlights.

About 9kms down the road we came to a little village and stopped to have coffee and something to eat. When we left we failed to see an arrow pointing to the left and took a right turn. It wasn't until we reached the next village about 4kms away that we realised we were not on the right road. I asked a local how to get to Hornillos and he told us to continue on the road for 7kms and then take a right turn and walk on that road for 4kms. Our little detour meant that we walked over 30kms yesterday instead of about 26kms. When we got to San Bol we were really weary and footsore and even though there didn't seem to be anyone about, we agreed that we could not walk another 5.6km to the next village.

Now let me tell you a little about San Bol. There are ruins of a medieval village in the fields, an ancient spring that miraculously brings ice cold water to the surface - in the middle of this arid landscape - and the waters are said to be healing. San Bol is remote building about 100m off the camino path. It only sleeps 10 pilgrims and consists of a two roomed building - one room is the sleeping quarters and the other the living. This one is shaped like a beehive with a high curved ceiling. The outside walls are covered in murals of the Knights Templar, the wind God Triton and a rather weird Madona who seems to rule over all the fields. There is no running water, no electricity and no toilets. One drinks from the healing stream, washed from it and the toilet is an open field at the back. Inside, the living room ceiling is painted black with little silver stars and the walls are stone - except for one which has a Madonna coming out of the sea with little sperm tadpoles floating through the blue sky from her hair! Apparently it was set up by a New Age group some years ago but is now owned by two young Italians. The Hospitalero is a 22 year-old Austrian girl who started walking the camino but fell in love with San Bol and hasn't left yet. Anneliese's face was an absolute picture when we entered the rooms and found dirty dishes from the night before waiting to be washed, beds with rumpled blankets on them - and a cat sleeping on one of the double bunks - and a wooden carving of Christ with feathers, chains, beads and artificial flowers stuck all over it! The hospitalero told us that there is a mouse in the house so the cat is kept to keep the mice population down! Bravely she swallowed hard and stayed the night! The young Italian - rastafarian hairdo and all - cooked the dinner - salmon, roasted peppers, risotto, salad and oranges with walnuts. Marion and I agreed that we had the best night's sleep so far on the camino. It was pitch black, there was no traffic and no one dared get up in the middle of the night to wee in the field!

We slept soundly until after 6,30 and had a wonderful 15km walk to Castrojeriz. I will tell you about our day here in the next email as there are pilgrims waiting to use the Internet.

Love to all
S A M

From a hot and sunny Castrojeriz

In Burgos we decided to find a small hotel so that we could sort out our packs, have some laundry done and, perhaps get a good night's sleep. Anneliese saw a HOSTAL sign and we checked into the Hostel Acacia at 60 euro for a 3-bed room. Anneliese had the single bed and Marion and I shared the Matrimonial bed! We then found the main Post Office to send some stuff home and then off to the cathedral. I didn't want to go through it for a 3rd time so I walked around the outside practising my new hobby, looking for Mason signs in the stones. There were master masons and builders who walked all over Europe finding work on various churches and monasteries and one can find their marks in the stones if you look hard enough. I have bought a book (in Spanish) called "The Signs in the Stones" and I have been able to identify a number of master mason signs. On the way back to the Hostel we had a menu-meal at the Alibaba Cafe - a sandwich (which was a wrap) chips and a drink for 6.50 euro.

Next Day:
Yesterday was a strange day from the moment we awoke. At about 5h30 Anneliese told us that she had been killing insects in her bed all night. The tick like creepies were on the walls and crawling over our bedding!! YECH!! We don't think they were bed bugs because none of us was bitten but they made our hair crawl so we quickly packed up and left without making coffee or having our yoghurt and fruit as planned. On our way into the city Anneliese discovered that she had left her precious waist bag behind so we walked back to the hotel and had to wake the owner as the front door had locked behind us. Once Anneliese had retrieved her bag we set off again through the dark streets of Burgos trying to find the yellow arrows by the light of the moon and streetlights.

About 9kms down the road we came to a little village and stopped to have coffee and something to eat. When we left we failed to see an arrow pointing to the left and took a right turn. It wasn't until we reached the next village about 4kms away that we realised we were not on the right road. I asked a local how to get to Hornillos and he told us to continue on the road for 7kms and then take a right turn and walk on that road for 4kms. Our little detour meant that we walked over 30kms yesterday instead of about 26kms. When we got to San Bol we were really weary and footsore and even though there didn't seem to be anyone about, we agreed that we could not walk another 5.6km to the next village.

Now let me tell you a little about San Bol. There are ruins of a medieval village in the fields, an ancient spring that miraculously brings ice cold water to the surface - in the middle of this arid landscape - and the waters are said to be healing. San Bol is remote building about 100m off the camino path. It only sleeps 10 pilgrims and consists of a two roomed building - one room is the sleeping quarters and the other the living. This one is shaped like a beehive with a high curved ceiling. The outside walls are covered in murals of the Knights Templar, the wind God Triton and a rather weird Madona who seems to rule over all the fields. There is no running water, no electricity and no toilets. One drinks from the healing stream, washed from it and the toilet is an open field at the back. Inside, the living room ceiling is painted black with little silver stars and the walls are stone - except for one which has a Madonna coming out of the sea with little sperm tadpoles floating through the blue sky from her hair! Apparently it was set up by a New Age group some years ago but is now owned by two young Italians. The Hospitalero is a 22 year-old Austrian girl who started walking the camino but fell in love with San Bol and hasn't left yet. Anneliese's face was an absolute picture when we entered the rooms and found dirty dishes from the night before waiting to be washed, beds with rumpled blankets on them - and a cat sleeping on one of the double bunks - and a wooden carving of Christ with feathers, chains, beads and artificial flowers stuck all over it! The hospitalero told us that there is a mouse in the house so the cat is kept to keep the mice population down! Bravely she swallowed hard and stayed the night! The young Italian - rastafarian hairdo and all - cooked the dinner - salmon, roasted peppers, risotto, salad and oranges with walnuts. Marion and I agreed that we had the best night's sleep so far on the camino. It was pitch black, there was no traffic and no one dared get up in the middle of the night to wee in the field!

We slept soundly until after 6,30 and had a wonderful 15km walk to Castrojeriz. I will tell you about our day here in the next email as there are pilgrims waiting to use the Internet.

Love to all
S A M