Festival of Flowers – Day 24
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »CHAPTER 2 - FIESTA! The fiesta was really started. It kept up day and night for seven days. The dancing kept up, the drinking kept up, the noise went on. The things that happened could only have happened during a fiesta. ...
A room of our own, Day 25
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »Some of the other pilgrims in the hostel set a new record by getting up at four o’clock, whilst we depart at the lazy hour of a quarter to six. The cycle track leading to Fromista is flanked by several ...
Breaking Bread together – Day 26
Monday, March 24th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | 3 Comments »A miracle has occurred - there are clouds in the sky! The next village of Itero de la Vega has tudor style black and white houses, which makes it seem ancient, since to British eyes these are about the oldest ...
A load of tripe – Day 27
Saturday, March 29th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »Our final two sections of meseta, separated by a wide chalk valley, are bathed in a rosy, soft dawn light that makes you feel even more apart from the world below. It’s a tiring but very pleasant walk, and we ...
Burgos, City of El Cid – Day 28
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »It’s a whole week since we last had a day off, and our aching bodies aren’t allowing us to forget. We head over to the Cathedral, packed in amongst a maze of streets, a Gothic giant which dwarfs that in ...
The Cyclops – Day 29
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »As we leave the city centre at six o’clock the next morning, great crowds of people are still wandering the streets, or queuing to get into nightclubs. The waking hours we are keeping are truly alien here. We’ve been dreading the ...
The Big Paella – Day 30
Sunday, April 6th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | 2 Comments »We’re passing frequently through villages again, which is good news as it means I don’t have to carry four kilos of water, with every Spanish village having a public fountain. Many houses here are stone to the top of the ...
Fiesta de San Pedro – Day 31
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »It’s only a few miles into Santa Domingo de la Calzada, founded by its namesake, another saint who dedicated his life to helping pilgrims on their way (after he was refused entry to San Milan monastery due to his illiteracy). ...
New boots – Day 32
Friday, April 11th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »Helen is still dehydrated from yesterday’s heat and is suffering with headaches today; once you’re dehydrated it takes at least a day of constant drinking to get your system back to normal. Luckily it’s cloudy so at least she shouldn’t ...
Lazy in Logrono – Day 33
Monday, April 14th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »This is a wealthy, modern city filled with trendy cafes and shops, a business centre rather than a tourist one. This provides us with the perfect excuse to do very little but relax, rest in the park and munch empaňadas ...
Into Navarra – Day 34
Thursday, April 24th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »After crossing a great bridge, a long, slow climb takes us into Navarra, the heart of the Basque country. The effort is rewarded by Viana, a hilltop town will panoramic views behind. It’s an enchanting place of old mansions and ...
The Way Ahead – Day 35
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | 1 Comment »There was a sign in the hostel reading ‘Silence until 7am’; a late start but we’re not planning to go far today so we thought it would be ok. So we were surprised when the hostel owner switched on all ...
Fountain of Life – Day 36
Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »We decide to have a really short day today, to ensure we don’t arrive at Pamplona before the start of the fiesta. Happily, our Dutch hosts serve a big, leisurely buffet breakfast. Afterwards they hand out tiny sewing kits to ...
Bridge of the Queen – Day 37
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »Outside Estella we crossed the Salt River. In the Santiago pilgrim museum we saw an original copy of the Codex Clatinus, the original book written to help pilgrims and reputedly the world’s first guidebook. The author of the Codex warned ...
To the Fiesta – Day 38
Sunday, May 11th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »We were kept awake much of last night by guitar-playing pilgrims, but were cheered outside town when we saw a signpost declaring ‘Santiago – 825km’. It sounds a impressively long way, but I’m glad there’s no pointer for Istanbul. After ...
Long Live San Fermin! – Day 39
Friday, May 16th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »We lie in as long as we can, until Maribel wakes everyone to come and watch the first encierro on her television. There’s an absolute throng of people all along the half mile of narrow city streets; it seems impossible ...
The Running of the Bulls – Day 40
Saturday, May 24th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »Beyond the walls a massive funfair has been set up. We wonder round the stomach-churning rides before opting for the big wheel – which still proves terrifying for Helen. We run round after a peña band for a while before ...
Adios, Peregrinos – Day 41
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 Posted in Fiesta, Spain | No Comments »The arid plains of Spain seem to be behind us at last as we near the Pyrenees – today’s hike passes through beautiful beechwoods. The villages have changed too – Burguete is a cluster of whitewashed Alpine chalet-style houses with ...