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

Trip to Boyaca

Here are some possible destinations in Boyaca

Nobsa: Municipal Government
Some of the attractions they list are:
Viñedo Y Cava Puntalarga
Tejidos En Lana
Fabricación De Campanas
Fabrica de Muebles Coloniales

Terra.com also has this posted as a recommendation:
Tour Fantasia boyacense

And speaking of fantasy, this one is in Bogota in December
www.larutadelafantasia.com.

Camila's Trip to D.F.

Wow! Those pictures of Coyoacan and San Angel were great. Will and Jen, are you sure you don't want to spend Thanksgiving there instead of in Puerto Rico?








We could take a stroll along Avenida Francisco Sosa and look at all the virgenes and pretty doors and door handles, not to mention the knockers.



Look how colorful everything is! Wouldn't Pittsburgh be much more exciting if it had some brightly colored houses and candy stands?

Looks like this is a monologue

Yep, I'm talking to myself again!
I wonder if I will make the camino now that I have this iliotibial band tendonitis.

Blogger is up and running again

OK, everybody! time to get busy posting.
Papi: please log in and post a Puerto Rican photo to the blog.
I have discovered two new books at amazon on the Camino.




A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago
Walking the Camino De Santiago (2nd edition)
Naturally they don't have them in Pittsburgh

Adding Blog Authors

OK, Camila, Juan, and Papi,
You have been added to my blog authors list.
Right now only we can read it. Of course, when it gets to be interesting, I might open it up to the rest of the family and then, who knows?, maybe to the world!

I was also reading a Johnny Jet Post on the Camino de Santiago on Frommers:
http://www.frommers.com/articles/4033.html
No, he didn't do it, just wrote about it and stayed in 5 star hotels.

Beginning at the Beginning

This is the first post in the Xaparro Ramblings, which we hope we can sustain.

Our first ramble will be to Colombia, visiting relatives more than being tourists, eating typical food rather than visiting gourmet hotspots, touring supermarkets and neighborhoods instead of museums and historical monuments.