Camino Day 7, Friday 5/4/07: Puente La Reina to Estella

[This was posted on Saturday] I cannot believe that I didn't write anything yesterday. We enjoyed Puente la Reina. Fernando complained about the Menu del Dia at a restaurant downtown but it was fine for me (I had fried fish and he had codornices but I think he was disappointed at their size). The stay in the refugio was good, although Fernando complained (again) about the snoring of the man from Germany and of an older woman from Germany. The German couple in the bunk beside us had spent 3 years in Chicago. She had arthritis and they were going to take a slow day on Friday. Then we met a couple of Norwegian women who were also going to take a day of rest. Many of the pilgrims were cooking their food or eating simple things they had bought at grocery stores. They are all quite frugal.
The next day, Friday, started out raining with a thunderstorm and continued. After our experience in Zubiri, we decided we were not up to walking in the rain. We stopped for breakfast at a chain called Taberna and the proprietor told us not to go by the Camino but to go by the "old road" that had been replaced by a new highway, because there was too much mud on the Camino.

We decided instead to cop out and take the bus to Estella. We missed the 7;50 am bus by about 10 minutes and had to wait in a panaderia for 2 hours for the 10 o'clock bus. But it only cost 1.93 euros and took 1/2 hour to Estella. We passed many sopping peregrinos on the road.

Estella is a city of 15,000 and much larger than Puente la Reina. While in Uterga we made reservations at the Hostal Volante (at the suggestion of the hostal owner in Uterga). Although on the outskirts of town, it was a very nice hostal, and the proprietor, Carlos, was a gem. The hostal was full because of a wedding but Carlos put another bed into a single room to accommodate us.

We went to a nearby supermarket and picked up food for lunch. I'd prefer to eat a menu del dia at 2 pm but Fernando always wants a snack and that screws up the schedule.


After our snack we went walking in the downtown area but it was very dead because it was during their siesta. I was very impressed with the town because the curbs and central gutter in the streets were of black marble.

Back at the Hostal Volante we took a nap and then talked to Carlos about a place to find "Gorrin asado" or roasted suckling pig, which is a specialty of the area. Carlos made reservations for us and then helped us plan the following day. We were pretty down on the Camino and just wanted to get to Logroño. However we found that there were absolutely no accommodations for Saturday night in Logrono. Instead, Carlos called various hostales and hotels in the next stage of the camino and made us reservations at the Hotel Monaco in Los Arcos and then at a private home in Viana, the place where Cesar Borgia dies and where Fernando really wanted to visit.

Then we walked back downtown (it must have been around 6 pm) and were surprised at how crowded it had become compared to "siesta time". We recharged Fernando's vodaphone at a tobacco shop (he still can't get reception in the smaller towns), watched a "sardana" trio in the town square, bought chocolates and alpargatas as we waited around for the restaurant to open at 9 pm.

We really didn't need reservations because nobody else was there. Our waiter was Colombian - he noticed Fernando's accent before we noticed his. - from Pereira. I ordered Piquillo peppers which were VERY good. The gorrin was a disappointment for me - too much skin and integuments and too little meat - enough to make you a vegetarian in no time - and it needed salt and Spaniards never put salt on the table. And it was pricey 948 euros) but not as much as we would pay in the US perhaps.
By then we were pooped and headed home. We talked to Susan and Grandma and to Camila that day. The night before in the refugio in Puente LaReina I sent a large email to everybody because again Fernando did not have phone reception.
That is an advantage to the refugios: they often have internet access where as hostales and hotels do not. We slept very well at the Hostal Volante even though it was on the major roadways. They had double paned windows and those Spanish pull-down blinds that shut out the street lights.

Camino Day 6, Thursday 5/3/07: Uterga to Puente La Reina

This was a very light day -- about 6 miles -- and not at all muddy and mostly flat. We took a detour to the Ermita of Eunate - a Romanesque church - through barley or wheat fields, also peas and asparagus - as well as vineyards, almond trees and olive trees.

We had "deayuno" of a bocadillo of baguette and tortilla (scrambled eggs) and cafe con leche in Obanos, which also produced the wine that we had the night before in the albergue. It wasn't much further to Puente La Reina.

The albergue de los padres Reparadores is at the entrance to Puente La Reina, is new and quite large. Since we arrived so early (about noon) hardly anyone else was there. We are in a room with 3 bunks (6 people) so that is not bad.

Some of the rooms upstairs are larger, with more space but also more bunks. It has a kitchen and a garden in back with a huge clothesline. There were only a couple of panties when we arrived but when we returned from lunch at about 3, all the lines were ful and the albergue was hopping. We met many of the people who were at the refugio in Roncesvalles when we started - since now they have caught up with us.
The older part of the city is very picturesque with great wide barnlike front doors, iron hardware, and assorted knockers. The windows are also unque, some with bars, all with shutters of various kinds.

We spent the afternoon walking up and down the old streets, taking pictures of churches, doors and door knockers, and the famous puente. Puente la Reina is really a charming little city, so charming that it convinced me to buy a walking stick as well. And Fernando began collecting little pins for his hat, getting the idea from an Australian who had his hat covered with souvenir pins from the various stages of the Camino.

Camino Day 5, Wednesday 5/2/07: Pamplona to Uterga

Pamplona to Uterga is 16.8 kilometers or 10 miles. We left at 7 am and arrived at 1 pm. 6 hours of walking at not even 2 miles an hour! The route was extremely muddy and the Alto de Perdon was steep going up and very rocky coming down.
Last night the cafe con leche I drank at Zubiri and the other one after dinner kept me awake ALL night. In addition, one of the Canadian women in the bunk next to ours was vomiting all night. It's at those times that you wonder if you might pick up some disease living in such close quarters at these refugios. [I also worry that I might fall off the top bunk and break a leg, a back or a neck] At least it felt so goood just to lie down.

The managers of the Albergue in Pamplona came around at 6 am turning on the lights and saying "Buenos Dias". All pilgrims must be out by 8am. So we started on our way at 7 am, at which time Pamplona is still a charming city.

The streets have been cleaned and everything is closed up. [That is something I haven't yet commented on: how very clean the streets were in the old parts of town, how they cleaned them with small street cleaners EVERY morning! The U.S. is a pig sty in comparison!]
We crossed the University of Navarra Campus, had another breakfast of croissants and cafe con leche, and crossed Cizur Menor into grain fields.

So far the road is good: broad and crushed limestone but it soon becomes steep and muddy and a repeat of yesterday -- except that it is not raining, only misty. There are no services in the area (no bars) and the trail is steep, narrow and mud.

It goes all the way up to the alto de Perdon where there are huge power generating windmills along the ridge and a metal sculpture of pilgrims. Fernando kept losing his shoes in the mud so we were creeping along beside the green grain fields and all the other peregrinos - there were many - kept passing us.

Then the trail down the mountain becomes extremely rocky but at least the strong wind from the west clears the sky and air of mist and the view west is clear and crisp - absolutely beautiful. From the Alto de Perdon you can see Pamplona to the east but today was very misty and so the view was not memorable.

The vegetation on the mountain included wild thyme. The road down, instead of being mud (clay), was river rocks so it was slow going again. We arrived in Uterba at about 1 pm so that means we walked 10 miles in 6 hours which works out to less than 2 miles an hour. One cannot make good time over such paths. It also didn't help that Fernando mislaid his wooden walking stick in Zubiri (he had bought it in Pamplona for about 5 euros, I think), so we were going very slowly and everyone was passing us. Fortunately we were stopping early at Uterba and not continuing on to Puente La Reina, which is the suggested destination.


That means the beds in the private albergue we chose were not full [there was only one pilgrim there at the time we arrived]. We had reserved a double room instead for 45 euros and had clean sheets, two twin beds, and our own bathroom. Such luxury! and I forgot to take a photo of it!

We took a walk around the village of Uterba and the buildings looked historic and the countryside was a lovely green. But there were no other stores, restaurants or shops in the town besides the albergue so we went back and took a nap, had a snack, and waited around for dinner. We also washed the mud off our pant legs and washed our shirts and underwear. Afterall we only brought two sets of underwear, pants, and shirts. Fortunately Papi was able to buy a walking stick at the albergue to help him over the mud and streams.
The Albergue had a menu del dia for 12 euros. I had menestra de verduras again, which was better than the one in Pamplona but still needs some tweaking (or else less cooking because the concept is good).

One thing I forgot to mention is that when there was vinegar and oil on the table for making your own vinaigrette for your ensalada mixta, the oil was always extra virgin olive oil with a wonderful flavor. Spain is the largest producer of olive oil so I suppose it is to be expected.
Fernando had paella (his favorite) as the principio and liked it very much: it was fresh and hot. For the entrada I had stewed veal and Fernando had lamb shank. For dessert we both had Torta de Santiago which was VERY good and made with marzipan.

Then we hit the hay since it felt so good to sleep in a normal bed of one's own!

Camino Day 4, Tuesday 5/1/07: Roncesvalles to Pamplona

8 PM: I am so tired I don't feel like writing but I will forget things if I don't.

Yesterday at 6 PM we left Pamplona on a full bus of pilgrims for the 70 minute ride to Roncesvalles.


When we arrived there at 7:15 pm, the regular albergue of 100 beds in a single huge room was already full so they put the whole busload in the youth hostel behind it.

That was actually better because, instead of 100 in a huge hall, there were 3 couples in 3 bunk beds in our room.

After we left off our packs, we went to the pilgrim mass.

We were afraid we wouldn't be able to have dinner because of the number of pilgrims but they added an extra sitting at 9:15 pm at the Casa Sabina. We had to be back at the youth hostel at 10 pm because that is when they lock the doors.
At 9:20 were were let in and sat with a german, Johann from Bremen, and a French woman who had bicycled down from Paris. Her hands were black from grasping the handle bars so tightly and she said it was very cold. We had soup (maybe a potato and sorrell soup?) and then fried trout with french fries, a bottle of wine and yogurt for dessert. The fish and french fries had never tasted so good!
We finished just in time to get back to the youth hostel. By then the other two couples in our room were already asleep so we had to take out packs out to the common area to get ready for bed. We decided that we really didn't need a bath. I slept pretty well in the top bunk eventhough there was some snoring. I did bruise my thigh badly getting up into the bed. I'm not as spry as I used to be and found it difficult to manage getting up into the top bunk. I had thought that the other two couples would be up at 5 am to start but I woke up at about 7:15 and no one else was up. [This turned out to be a bad way to start. You can't get late starts on the camino.] This however, got the other two couples up and we were ready and out before 8 am, although we did have trouble finding the beginning of the trail.

It was chilly and misty when we started but still very pretty. Beech forests and a nice woodland trail. Then it started hailing as we came into Burguete (a favorite haunt of Ernest Hemingway). In Burguete we had a very good cafe con leche and a croissant. it was not really raining too badly when we arrived in Espinal and bought a whole grain flat biscuit. Then it bgan the perpetual light rain for the rest of the day. The trail was extremely muddy much of the way and Fernando only had his tennis shoes - a very bad call. We seemed to walk forever after linzoan - through rain and mud. I think it was MUCH longer than the 22.2 km they said it was to Zubiri, and we didn't get in there until 3:30 pm. We had started just before 8 am and stopeed along the way for no more than 1/2 hour so that was 7 1/2 hours of walking. Papi, of course, is a slow walker and he was even slower with muddy tennis shoes.
When we arrived in Zubiri all the albergues, hostales, hotels and pensiones were full. The ones in Larrasoana were as well so we were up a creek. Fortunately others were in our same situation so we got a taxi (only two in zubiri and no bus runs on the holiday - it was May 1st - Labor Day) and with 3 Canadian women we went to Pamplona - picking up another couple in Larrasoana. I must say I wasn't sad to miss the second day from Zubiri to Pamplona.
Fortunately the albergue in Pamplona (Convento Adoratrices) was not full so we were able to get a bunk bed for 5 euros apiece. papi is all gung ho about these cheap beds!!
For our meal today (since we didn't have any lunch), we went back to the Bodegon Sarria on Estafeta that had such good tapas. This time the bartender explained that the "gulas" weren't really anguillas but imitation - like our imitation crab. They tasted good just the same.

Then we stopped at a pasteleria and got some cafe conleche and dessert. I also had a cafe con leche in Zubiri (also brandy and Pacharan - the sloe fruit liqueur) so I hope I can sleep tonight. [I couldn't]. I decided it would feel good to take a shower and so my daily ablutions are over. When it is so cold one really doesn't feel dirty - just cold. I hope our clothes and shoes dry by tomorrow but I doubt it.
Tomorrow we have reserved a double room at Uterga at the Camino del perdon. I don't think we'll be able to make Puente La Reina in one day - especially if it continues raining like it did today.

Camino Day 2, Sunday 4/29/07: Madrid to Pamplona

1:15 AM - Madrid Time
The flight to Madrid began boarding at 5:17pm instead of 5:30. Fortunately our flight from Pittsburgh DID arrive on time. The plane was a 767 with 7 seats across so it takes longer to board. The actual takeoff time was 6:15 pm. They offered a free hot meal! Can you imagine! US Airways?? Beef or pasta. The flight arrives in Madrid at 7:35 am but I am not sleepy - afterall, it is only 8:20 pm in Pittsburgh!
My backpack weighs a ton. I realized that when I was carrying it from Terminal B to Terminal A in the Philadelphia airport. It weighs even more than Fernando's - I hope it is the boots, but I will let HIM carry the cosmetics that we checked in a small box, along with pocket knives, as luggage. I know the pack will feel lighter on my back and we did carry 27 pounds for the backpacking course (tent, pads, stove & cooking equipment plus food)


9:40 am.
We landed in Madrid, got our cosmetic box from baggage, geared up and took the Metro (3 lines) to the Atocha Renfe stop and decided to see if we couldn't catch the 9:50 train to Pamplona instead of the 2:05 pm train. It was hard to find the right ticket counter (even speaking the language) but we did get tickets for the earlier train, which is absolutely empty except for a couple of other passengers. At least it is in our "coche". We are going first class, partly because Fernando remembers the night train to Toulon from Barcelona, where pickpockets were fleecing all the sleeping passengers. Plus first class gives you a meal, although it will be interesting to see what "desayuno" means.

Last night I wasn't able to sleep a wink. Somehow the seats in the plane put pressure on my left hip so I have numbing pain running down the back of that leg. The seats on the train are hard but there is lots of room for the legs and there are foot rests -- just like first class on a plane! Plus I have a window seat so I hope to see lots of country side -- not like a plane where you see nothing but clouds below your -- unless, of course, you are flying over desert.

Desayuno turns out to be tortilla francesa con beicon acompanada de croqueta de patata y salsa crema de guisantes. y fruta cortada.
The countryside outside of Madrid is quite green this time of year -- Fernando is amazed.

We really didn't have to make train reservations online ahead of time since there were only about 5 people in the car. The breakfast was a bit better than airplane food and the service, of course, was excellent.

We arrived in Pamplona around 2 pm and took the municipal bus into the casco viejo. The driver left us off close to the hostal but the streets are not parallel and perpendicular so it is hard to find out where you are. The street signs are on the sides of the buildings and sometimes hard to find.

On our walk, we ran into a spectacular statue of the running of the bulls. Since it was Sunday, several families were taking pictures in front of it and children were climbing over it.

The Hostal Arriazu was easy to find once we located Calle Comedias -- it was on the second floor and there were already 3 peregrinos from Switzerland checking in. Although a spanish pilgrim did ride with us on the bus from the train station, I have a feeling that most peregrinos are foreigners.

The hostal isn't cheap (65 euros) with breakfast (which was horrid, except for the coffee, consisting of cellophane wrapped cakes), and the first room they gave us was in front with a double bed. We asked if we could have a side room and the lady at the desk, a Peruana, gave us a slightly larger room with two twin beds. it's actually on a side street but none of the streets have traffic, just people talking.

We went out for a walk and realized that people were having their lunch (it was 3 pm) so we decided we better adapt to their schedule, although we were still stuffed after the train desayuno.
We stopped at a place with a menu del dia for 15.95 euros. For the principio we had "menestra de verduras" which is a soup of big chunky vegetables. It is a specialty of this region and had baby artichokes, peas, beans, asparagus, and mushrooms. It needed a bit more salt and could probably be a good dish if it hadn't been cooked to death and had some herbs like parsley.

Then Fernando ordered conejo (rabbit) and I ordered lamb shank for the entrada, although I was already stuffed after the menestra. The waiter also brought us bread, a bottle of red wine, and a bottle of lemon-flavored seltzer water. Halfway through the meal we found that the wine and seltzer tasted really good mixed together. That became our staple drink on the Camino.


Fernando's rabbit was better than my cordera, although I got french fries with mine (yum) and he didn't. For dessert I had cuajada with miel (rennet custard with honey) and Fernando had his flan. The cuajada was just a rennet custard in an earthenware cazuelita. We ended with coffee: small, black espressos with two sugar cubes. I thought the lunch was good but Papi thought it was expensive.

Then we went home, took a shower and a nap, and washed clothes. Fernando washed all his but I only did panties and socks: I'm not THAT dirty... Then we went out again looking for an internet cafe but were unsuccessful. We did walk over to the Plaza de Toros and then up the estafeta where they run the bulls in the festival of San Fermin. There were interesting souvenir shops with the ZZZ botas (their shop is across from our hostal but was closed). They also had dishes of olive wood, including mortars and pestles. Alas, I can't buy them on this trip. I'm tempted to forget the camino and just do cities!

Camino Day 3, Monday 4/30/07: Pamplona to Roncesvalles

Breakfast at the hostal was a disappointment: packaged little store-bought cakes and cafe con leche - although the latter was good (we never had a bad cup of coffee in Spain). And orange juice. I forewent the cakes and decided to wait for the mercado. When we arrived at the mercado, most of the places were closed so we decided to wait and in the meantime go mail the 7 postcards we had bought. We ran into a couple of British ladies who were mailing packages. We ran into them later in a little supermarket and learned that they had brought too much and were sending things on to Santiago. They said they had spend the previous night in Zubiri and that it was so crowded that they had to sleep on mattresses in a shed. That was because of the May 1st holiday (labor day). (WE SHOULD HAVE PAID ATTENTION!!)

We bought tickets for the bus to Roncesvalles. There is only one a day at 6 pm and I worry that the Refugio might be full when we arrive. But the two British women also said not to stay at the main Refugio but the one at the back, behind the construction. We also ran into the Swiss peregrino, who is a hotelier who says that he only stays in hostales now and recommended "La Posada". A hostal in Spain is one step lower than a hotel. It might only be on one floor of a building and doesn't have things like restaurants and meeting rooms and all the other stuff we don't need.
Then we went back to the mercado and bought some queso Roncal, bananas, a cucumber and tomato. Then some bread and for dessert, the cafe y leche dulces that seem to be typical to Pamplona.

After checking out of the hostal at noon, we had to find something to do for six hours. We left our backpacks at the hostal and will pick them up this evening. We bought two ZZZ botas of 3/4 litros - of puro cuero that you can use only for wine or water and have to have some in so they won't dry out. At the beginning one is supposed to leave cheap wine in them to "cure" it.
3:30 pm: At the moment we are sitting at the Bar Bavaria, an outdoor cafe in the Plaza del Castillo. It rained and now the weather is turning quite chilly - so I am glad I brought my fleece afterall. When it is sunny I think I could have managed without it. We are having beer and papas fritas - in this instance papas bravas covered with mayonesa and ketchup with cayenne. Papi is mopping up the leftover ketchup and mayonesa with bread! If you don't specify the beer here they bring you heinekins.
Oh, but i forgot to mention the tapas we had this morning on Calle Estafeta at the Bar Sarria. It was with fried eggplant, onions and green peppers and angulas (or little eels, I think) [it turns out that these are pseudo eels like our pseudo crab fish since the real baby elvers are very expensive and very rare now]. It was very good. We really enjoyed Pamplona, the narrow streets in the old town, the tapas. Papi wants to go back for the Fiesta de San Fermin and the running of the bulls.

Camino Day 1, Saturday 4/28/07: Pittsburgh to Madrid

12 PM: Will and Jen come to take us to the airport. Here are some photos of them and us. It is so exciting - even as I write this 8 months later.



2:00 pm: We have made it to the airport and through security with our backpacks - which we stuffed into duffle bags from Ralph's Army Surplus to compress them. This was Fernando's idea and it was a very good one, although I had my reservations.
Geesh! my backpack weighs more than fernando's!! Of course I've got 2 pounds of boots in there but I really did try to take the bare minimum. I think it weighs around 15.5 pounds.
At the moment our flight to Philadelphia is on time and I hope it continues to be because it arrives there at 4:39 pm and we leave for Madrid at 6 pm.

Good Gravy! It's already Thursday?

What happened to Wednesday? I know. We went to Yoga and then took Jen and Will out to dinner (Jen's birthday is the 2nd and we won't be here).

I found a bunch of restaurant suggestions on Epicurious for Logroño. I imagine they are ones we cannot afford as poor peregrinos (pilgrims). They mentioned that this Calle Laurel website had all the information.

The blossoms here in Pittsburgh (which is again the most livable city in the U.S.) are out again - the cherry blossoms and the Korean spice viburnum. OK Maybe that was last week in Pittsburgh and it is a week later in Monroeville, but we are looking forward to cherries this year since we didn't have any last year.

I was looking at the accuweather predictions for Pamplona, Logroño, and Burgos but they showed so much rain in the next two weeks that I decided to stick to the resources in Spain. We will take warm clothes and I will take an umbrella. They said the precipitation would be .16 inches so we aren't talking about too much rain. I was hoping for the blue skies and sun that we see so little of here in Pittsburgh but it looks like Pittsburgh will get more of that than we will in Spain!

Golmajerias

Golmajerias is the old Arabic name for sweets and although most of Spain was Muslim for some 700 years, northern Spain was a stronghold of christianity. So it is interesting that even here in La Rioja the name for sweets is Golmajerias and two typical dishes contain almendras (almonds). Any Spanish word beginning with "al" can be assumed to be Arabic (such as Alvarez, Alberto, Alvarado, and even Guadalajara - wadii al-Hajara). Spain and its Arabic heritage is fascinating.

Hosteria Alesanco describes in translated Spanish many of the typical dishes of La Rioja, including the two below: Fardelejos (which I have mentioned before) and Mazapanes.

Cocina de la Ribera del Ebro - Cooking of La Rioja

"El plato más destacado de la zona es la menestra riojana, compuesta tradicionalmente por coliflor, judías verdes, acelgas, alcachofas, guisantes, espárrragos y puerros." The most characteristic dish of this zone is the Menestra Riojana (Riojan vegetable casserole), composed traditionally of cauliflower, green beans, chard, artichokes, beans, asparragus, and leeks. There is one from Tudela according to Jacki Passmore in The Compete Spanish Cookbook with young broadbeans (fava beans) and baby artichokes. Since we are passing through La Rioja in spring, it should be the ideal season for these, as well as asparragus. We also have to remember that papas (potatoes) are called patatas in Spain.


This is a photo of menestra de verduras from CocinaVino.com. They also have a photo of menestra riojana but it looks cooked to death.

Pinxos y Fardelejos

Pinxos is the Euskadi (Basque) term for Tapas.
In March they had a Pinxos contest in Navarra and here are the results. It is too bad that they don't include photos and recipes for each of the Pinxos.

The following is from Spain.info
Fardelejo is a traditional Arabic sweet that was first produced in the town of Arnedo (La Rioja) in the 9th and 10th centuries.
This is a pastry cake filled with marzipan. Rectangular in shape and measures approximately 12 x 7 cm. It is made of one very thin layer of pastry, which is made from pork lard, flour and water, and a paste on the inside made of almonds, sugar and egg. The pastry and sweet paste mix is fried, creating a light brown, crunchy fried cake. In addition to being the typical sweet during popular and patron saint fiestas, fardelejo may be eaten for breakfast or as a dessert.

More on Mercados

I need to make sure that I never miss a mercado.
Here is one for Pamplona, the Mercado de Santo Domingo.

Navarra has a Gastronomy Site.
The products that we should make a point of eating are Espárrago (asparagus) de Navarra, Aceite de oliva (olive oil) de Navarra, Pimiento piquillo de Lodosa (piquillo pepper), Ternera de Navarra (veal), Queso de Idiazabal (Idiazabal Cheese), Cordero de Navarra (lamb), Alcachofa de Tudela (artichokes), and Queso del Roncal (Roncal Cheese).





We must remember to try Pacharan, even if we can't buy a bottle to take home. It is made from sloe fruit (like Sloe Gin), a prunus like plums, soaked in a sweet anisseed liquor (aguardiente), and actually was typically made in the home. Essentially it is a nice sweet red liqueur.

Maps of the Trip

I was going to use My Maps from Google Maps but it was not cooperating over this slow connection. So will paste together other sites.


Day One 4/28/2007
We leave Pittsburgh on US Airways, Connecting at Philadelphia and flying into Madrid

Day Two 4/29/2007
We arrive in Madrid, God Willing, at 7:35 am (1:35 am EST and 10:35 pm PST)
We take the metro to the Atocha train station in Madrid and catch the train to Pamplona at 2:05 pm, arriving in Pamplona at 5:44 pm. We will be staying at the Hostal Arriazu.

Day Three 4/30/2007
We will spend the day in Pamplona (Iruña).
Here is information about where Hemingway stayed in Pamplona.
Then we will take the bus to Roncesvalles at 6 PM, arriving there about an hour later.

Day Four 5/1/2007
We plan to walk from Roncesvalles to Zubiri. That is shorter than the suggested route to Larrosoana

Day Five 5/2/2007
Zubiri to Pamplona

Day Six 5/3/2007
Pamplona to Puente La Reina
In Puente la Reina there is a Hotel Rural Bidean that looks interesting - in case we are tired of the Albergues.

Day Seven 5/4/2007
Puente La Reina to Estella

Day Eight 5/5/2007
Estella to Los Arcos

Day Nine 5/6/2007
Los Arcos to Logroño

Day Ten 5/7/2007
We pland to spend a day in Logroño, which is the capital of La Rioja - Wine country.

Day Eleven 5/8/2007
Logroño to Najera

Day Twelve 5/9/2007
Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada
This is where we will splurge and stay in an historic Parador.


Day Thirteen 5/10/2007
We will take a bus from Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Burgos.
"La tierra del buen vino, la morcilla, el lechazo y la sopa castellana."

We will stay at the Hotel España.

Day Fourteen 5/11/2007
We will spend the day in Burgos.

Day Fifteen 5/12/2007
We will leave for Madrid, probably by bus.
We will probably stay at the Gran Hotel Velazquez on the recommendations of Juan Manfredi.

Day Sixteen 5/13/2007
We will sightsee in Madrid

Day Seventeen 5/14/2007
We will return home.

Santo Domingo de la Calzada

This morning we made reservations at the only Parador along our route at
Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

More information about Santo Domingo is available at
http://www.lacalzada.com/.

Weather on the Camino

Here in Pittsburgh it is raining. Today I am going to Washington DC for a Computers in Libraries conference and it is supposed to be raining even more there.

On the Camino the weather looks a bit better. In Roncesvalles they have a low of 5 (centigrade) (here we are 4.5 or 42) and a high of 14 (57) with only a 20 percent chance of rain until Friday. In Pamplona it is warmer (8 and 19) and in Madrid a little bit warmer still (10 and 19).
Here is the Spain weather website: http://www.inm.es/

Trial Run and Renfe Tickets

Yesterday morning we bought the Renfe train tickets from Madrid to Pamplona - First Class no less! We figure that we will be SOOO tired from our overnight flight to Madrid that we should pamper ourselves. The train leaves from the Atocha station at 14:05 and arrives at 17:44.
Then we called with a nobelcom.com 1minute Spain card and made a reservation for Sunday night at the Hostal Arriazu in Pamplona
http://www.hostalarriazu.com/
because the Hostal Bearan (which has been recommended in various sources) was full.

Finally, while Fernando was at the University working on a proposal with a colleague, I took my loaded Gregory Shasta backpack (14 pounds) and walked for about 2 and 1/2 hours on the South Side rail trail along the Monongahela River, completing about 8.8 miles according to the gmaps pedometer site. Then Fernando picked me up and we went over to REI where the salesman convinced us that we didn't need new lighter packs since the Shastas that we have carries the load so much better. And it is true: they have a substantial padded hip belt that takes the load off of the small of the back.

That evening I was pooped, but as they say, it was a good pooped.

Turismo Rural

I ran across this website for rural tourism:
http://en.toprural.com/
So that in case we become cripples we can just rent a casa rural in the country.

Los Credenciales

Whoopee! They have finally arrived! So now we have credenciales from the americanpilgrims.com that will let us into the Refugios! No excuses now for not staying in them. They are not particularly stunning but perhaps the stamps that we get at each town will be.

I also ran across this article on markets in northwestern Spain which might come in hand another year if we continue the camino
The Markets of Northwestern Spain

Mas Mercados

Logroño has a mercado called Mercado de San Blas. It seems to be a permanent mercado that is open all week. It has lots of meat and sausage stores. Here's an article from El Pais.

Unfortunately we won't be in Puente La Reina for the roasted peppers:
Entre los meses de octubre y diciembre, en Puente la Reina huele a pimiento asado. Cientos de navarros acuden a la localidad para comprar los pimientos frescos o ya asados y listos para pelar y embotar. Los puestos se instalan junto a la curva de la carretera N-lll.

Mercados and Artesanias

I've just discoverd that Estella has its weekly mercado on Thursday. If we leave from Pamplona that's exactly when we'd be there!

The website of the "kingdon" of Navarra also has a section on Artesanias and a website on Tourism with a section on the Camino de Santiago.

Train to Pamplona

This week I posted to the gocamino listserv my question about how to get from Madrid to Pamplona. The only flights were at about 8 pm at night and afterour experience at Gatwick in 1999, I don't want to spend a whole day in the airport waiting for a flight. So our other options are a 5 hour bus ride or a 3.5 hour train trip. The other pilgrims on the gocamino list serve seemed to like the train better than the bus. There are 3 trains a day and we are hoping that we don't need reservations. Afterall we don't know if our plane will arive on time with us on it.
http://www.continental-auto.es/
http://www.renfe.es/

If we can't get a train or bus on sunday, we can stay overnight and catch one the following day.

This past week they have been having snow in the Pyrenees and rain in Pamplona. A british pilgrim died of hyperthermia after he got lost on the trail from St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles.
http://www.diariodenavarra.es/
The Camino (Ruta de Napoleon) does not parallel the highway in that area and there are many tales of pilgrims becoming lost in that region. The Refugio at Roncesvalles would ring a bell in the night to guide pilgrims who were lost to the Church.

I also read an account of a barefoot pilgrim who left on April 29th and said that it was quite cold. So I will take that lightweight fleece shirt afterall.

Ultreia!

April Showers

Last week I received my renewed passport so that all we are waiting for are the credenciales - which may never come. I don't have too much faith in these American Pilgrims We also have to make plane reservations from Madrid to Pamplona. And hotel reservations Sunday night in Pamplona might be a good idea, and then take the bus up to Roncesvalles, where it is currently raining just like here. The bus doesn't run on Sunday so no point in planning to take it Sunday night.

Videos of the Camino

Here's a nice one that shows the trail and countryside, even if it is from 2004
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmgK7jSfg44

here's one with black and white photos.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xtgz4pAvLi4

Back to Accommodations on the Camino

This is a list of albergues on the camino
http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/albergues/

The infocamino site offers a lot of information on restaurants and accommodations by stage
http://www.infocamino.com/

For instance, here is the information on the camino in the province of navarra:
http://www.infocamino.com/etapa.php?provincia=mapanavarra.php&etapa=0

The restaurants look a little kitschy.

In any case, Papi and I will have to sit down at our new internet connection at home and go over the infocamino.com site just to see what is available and what to expect.

Here is the tourism site for the Kingdom Of Navarra
http://www.turismo.navarra.es/

Here are some hotels to check out

Ronscesvalles
http://www.casadebeneficiados.com/

http://www.laposadaderoncesvalles.com/preciosposada.htm

Puente la Reina
http://www.bidean.com/

The Chaparros Conquer A New State

So last week Mandy and I decided to finally look into that Spring Break trip and we managed to find a priceline deal that we couldn't resist....on Waikiki beach in Hawaii!

We're not going for too long (five nights), but I think it's enough to really get some good suntanning, snorkeling and just plain relaxing done. But I'm posting here for your help because we really want to explore all of the island and not just the touristy beaches. So far, our list of stuff to do includes....

1. Dole Plantation
2. hiking up to Manoa Falls
3. snorkeling in Hanauma Bay
4. possibly a catamaran whale/dolphin/turtle watching excursion
5. Bishop Museum
6. North Shore to check out the surfing and views
7. hiking Diamond Head for sunrise
8. Pearl Harbor
9. Byodo-In Temple
10. Lyon Arboretum hike

But we'd like any and all suggestions or things you may have heard about Oahu!

Zubiri

Here are some accommodation possibilities for Zubiri, between Roncesvalles and Pamplona

http://www.alberguezaldiko.com/
10 euros per person

http://www.hosteriadezubiri.com/
65 euros for a double

Weather on the Camino

This website has maximum and minimum for the months in centigrade
April:
Pamplona's average maximum is 15.5 or 60 F.
Its average minimum is 4.9 or 41 F.
Its daily temperature is 50 F. That means we should wear long pants maybe.

May:
Pamplona: max 67, min 47, daily 57.
Logrono: max 70, min 49, daily 59.
Burgos is colder: max 63, min 42, daily 53.

Albergues/Refugios and other Lodging

The accommodations sound intimidating.
Here's a list of possibilities from consumer.es.
They offer user opinions which only make it more difficult since there are some very positive and others very negative. All they have to do is mention "piojos"...

Distances on the Camino

Here's a running total of the mileage and the stages.
It's from http://www.xacobeo.es/
You can also get all the consumer.es .pdf files for the Camino Frances in one printout.

1. Roncesvalles - Larrasoaña
Length: 27,3 km
Estimated time: 7 h
Distance to Santiago: 720 km
Difficulty: High
27.3 km /16.96 miles
(Note: many Americans seem to stop in Zubiri instead)

2. Larrasoaña - Pamplona
Length: 15,2 km
Estimated time: 4 h
Distance to Santiago: 704 km
Difficulty: Low
42.5 km /26.41 miles

3. Pamplona - Puente la Reina
Length: 23,5 km
Estimated time: 6 h
Distance to Santiago: 681 km
Difficulty: Medium
66 km / 41.01 miles

4. Puente la Reina / Gares - Estella / Lizarra
Length: 21,8 km
Estimated time: 5 h 30 m
Distance to Santiago: 659 km
Difficulty: Low
87.8 km / 54.56 miles

5. Estella / Lizarra - Los Arcos
Length: 21,3 km
Estimated time: 5 h 15 m
Distance to Santiago: 638 km
Difficulty: Low
109.1 km / 67.79 miles

6. Los Arcos - Logroño
Length: 27,9 km
Estimated time: 7 h
Distance to Santiago: 610 km
Difficulty: Medium
136.9 km / 85.07 miles

7. Logroño - Nájera
Length: 29 km
Estimated time: 7 h 15 m
Distance to Santiago: 581 km
Difficulty: Low
165.9 km / 103.09 miles

8. Nájera - Santo Domingo de la Calzada
Length: 21 km
Estimated time: 5 h 15 m
Distance to Santiago: 560 km
Difficulty: Low
186.9 km / 116.13 miles

9. Santo Domingo de la Calzada - Belorado
Length: 22,4 km
Estimated time: 5 h 30m
Distance to Santiago: 537,5 km
Difficulty: Low
209.3 km / 130.05 miles

10. Belorado - San Juan de Ortega
Length: 24 km
Estimated time: 6 h
Distance to Santiago: 513,5 km
Difficulty: Medium
233.3 km / 144.97 miles

11. San Juan de Ortega - Burgos
Length: 29,3 km
Estimated time: 7 h 30 m
Distance to Santiago: 484 km
Difficulty: Low
262.6 km / 163.17 miles

Vegas in less than 48 hours

I know it's not international, but I figure that we should post about all our ramblings, no matter how mundane. Plus, i doubt most of you have seen my pics from Las Vegas.


It was a very spontaneous trip because we had planned on going to santa barbara for the weekend, but after comparing hotel prices (150 for one night in santa barbara versus 130 for two nights in vegas) we took off on our four hour journey to sin city on the Thursday night before MLK weekend.

However, we did pretty well with the vices. Since mandy doesn't really drink (she turns red and about passes out after one) we spent most of the time walking around, shopping, checking out the sites. It was a much more relaxed time than the last time I went with the guys. We saw the water show at Bellagio (sounds corny, but really quite amazing), checked out the Chinese New Year Display at the Bellagio and even went to the M&M store (well that was mostly because it was hovering around 32 degrees all weekend and inside is better than out).

On Friday we went to a Cirque de Soleil show at New York New York called Zumanity. Unfortunately, I think they are just mass-producing them at this point, trying to cash in as quickly as they can. It was mediocre both in performance and music as well as lacking the sheer awe factor that often accompanies the Cirque de Soleil shows. Skip it and go see Eau when you are in town (I've heard it's amazing).

We also did a timeshare presentation for some gift certificates and blackjack tokens, but that's a whole other story ;-)

if you want to see the rest of the set on flickr, here's the link

No Turning Back!

Today I bought our plane tickets, leaving April 28th and returning late Monday May 14th. Oh my god. I forgot to ask Papi if he had a class on Monday...

I'm beginning to read blogs about the camino again.

One blog from May 24, 2006 talks about being left off at the bus station at 5 am in Pamplona and he said it was FREEZING and that he should have packed long pants!

Here's the website of a couple from San Diego who did the camino in 2003.
http://www.ourcamino.com/links.html.
They have a schedule of their walk and a list of the clothes they took.

More on Roncesvalles

The Official site of Roncesvalles has information on accommodations

Roncesvalles offers the regular refugio, a youth hostel, and two hotels:
La Posada (50 euros - $65 for a double; pilgrims meal is 8 euros, $10.40)

To Get to Roncesvalles
Take a RENFE Train at 9:50 am from Madrid to Pamplona, arriving at 13:20 (1:20 pm).
And then take a bus at 6 pm from Pamplona and arrive in Roncesvalles at 7:10pm. (But isn't that kind of late to arrive at the refugio?) This will give you a chance to see all the towns you are going to walk through for the next two days.

Roncesvalles

I figure that this would be a good place to start. St. Jean Pied de Port might add too much strenuous hiking over the Pyrenees at the very beginning of our trip.
The Wikipedia entry for Roncesvalles says that its Refugio is the first one of any size on the trail and one of the best.

The article in caminodesantiago.me.uk says:
"The albergue at Roncesvalles is one of the largest on the Camino, about 120 beds in the one large room, quite daunting...The need for ear plugs becomes apparent. The noise of 119 sleeping pilgrims is enough to keep anyone awake."
"Roncesvalles is not a town, more a tiny village. There is no shop, two bars and the church. Book your evening meal at one of the bars before the evening service in the church. The bars get very busy so if you don't book you will wait sometime or not get a meal at all. There is nowhere for breakfast here, (when I was last there). However only about one hour away (walking of course) there is a cafe which serves breakfast to pilgrims. It is well marked and on the route. "

The service in the church is worth attending.
Walking from Roncesvalles is easy going and not hard or challenging.

On the other hand, has the Collegiate been turned into rural apartments?
Casa de Beneficiados. It costs 60 Euros for a double.

Back to the Camino

We survived Colombia and Andres Carne de Res and are now thinking again about the Camino de Santiago in April/May. According to this Camino weather page, May is the rainiest month.
http://www.peterrobins.co.uk/camino/weather.html