Day 12 - Bus to Astorga and Walk to Rabanal

 Once again,

we caught an early bus to Astorga,

from where we would walk to Rabanal del Camino.

Photo by Linda Hendrix

The Alsa bus is very nice!

And the ride was scenic.

The sun was still coming up when we reached Astorga.

If I do another trip like this one,

I'll plan to spend an entire day in Astorga.

There is a lot to see here, and I was sorry

that we had to rush in order to reach 

our evening destination.

photo by Linda Hendricks

Leaving Astorga

Photo by Linda Hendricks

Walking into Santa Catalina

which is always a great place to stop

for refreshments!

Photo by Linda Hendricks

When we got to the Cowboy Bar, 

it was packed,

so we snuck next door

for a quiet garden lunch.

But I still had to have my photo taken at the Cowboy.

Below is a great photo by Linda or Patty of the Cowboy Bar's owner.

Photo by Patty Moak

Love these green doors!

 Do not drink this water!

This night, we stayed at the El Refugio Albergue in Rabanal.

It's a beautiful place!

There is an evening mass,

sung in Latin,

at the Benedictine chapel across the road. 

The following photos are by Patty Moak

  

Some of us almost missed the mass,

because we were busy and singing

old songs from the 70's!

Is this Rapunzel?

Nope!

It's Charmaine!

We ended the evening with a wonderful dinner!

Thanks, Patty, for the photos!

This albergue is very comfortable,
and they serve delicious affordable meals for the pilgrim.
They also have internet,
and a nice place to hang laundry.
It's always a nice experience for our group.

* * *

Note:  If you are interested in walking the Camino Santiago, 

but are not quite ready to go it alone, 

consider joining Annie

on one of our small, affordable Camino walks. 

For more information see our website 

at this link: AnnieWalkers Camino

Day 11 - We bus to Leon

We picked up two new walkers in Burgos, Nancy and Laura from Iowa.

Next morning, we left at the break of dawn to catch our bus to Leon.

Anita wow'd us with yet another beautiful pair of shoes!

Anita and Lottie (who joined us in Logrono) wait patiently for our bus.

 Our two newest walkers from Iowa, Nancy and Laura, 

may feel a bit overwhelmed.

But they'll get used to us! ::laughing::

 Soon, the sunrise, beautiful from the bus window,

greeted us.

Another day on the Camino!

Once in Leon,

we all went our different ways.

We were not able to check into our hotel rooms

until after noon.

Some of the ladies went shopping and touristing

Photo by Linda Hendricks

I began my day in Leon at a fantastic little exposition at the Museum. 

There were 3 exhibits: one about Alexander the Great, 

one showing many ancient original biblical scrolls and texts, 

and one with fascinating woodcarved figures. 

I haven't been able to figure out the artist's name, but his work was stunning.

I may borrow some of the costuming ideas

for my Nativity Sets.

After the Museum,

I took a quick look at the nearby San Isadoro church.

Then, a break for Churros and Chocolate!

YUM

I've posted some fantastic photos of Leon on my Spring blog.

But here are a few more to whet your appetitite for this

fantastic city!

And of course,

I HAD to have my photo taken

with Elvis!

Day 10 - We Bus to Burgos

This morning, we take a bus to Burgos.

Getting 15 people organized and to the bus station in time

took some doing,

but we made it!

Pam shoots off a couple of emails before the bus leaves. 

Calfred II has free wi-fi as well as a nice computer room. 

The computers cost 1 euro for 20 minutes.

The group gathered at the bus station.

And we admired Anita's gorgeous, clean shoes!

Compared to ours,

which are muddy and worn,

hers were like heaven!

The scenery from the bus window was nice to see.

I remember walking these stages not so long ago!

Vinyards.

Just a few sunflowers remain.

The bull!

Burgos has some very cool statuary in town.

Smile! It's BURGOS!

This trip,
I was able to make it to the Archaelogical Museum.
It is fantastic,
and worth the visit.
If you arrive in time,
a bus will take you to the site
of the oldest human remains found in Europe.

There were sculptures of humanoids that were so life-like

you'd swear they were alive.

 We stated at Hostal Carrales.

It was nice, but I'd like to find a place that is a little lighter

and closer to the Cathedral for groups,

if I lead another one next year.

Unfortunately, 

I did not take a lot of photos in Burgos.

We did ride the Choo-choo, which was worth the trip,

and saw the Cathedral.

On To St Jean Pied de Port

The road up to SJPP is winding and narrow and it feels like you are on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride! About 10 k from our destination some of us were needing a break.

Here are Jeffrey, Eileen, and Judive waiting by the taxi. So far, the weather looks to be perfect!

We arrived at Gite Compostella and were warmly greeted by Peter, the owner. 

He is always so happy and hospitable!

This painting hangs in the dining room. 

Joe says it looks like Adrian Brody. 

I just think it is lovely. 

Here I am with our beautiful group of pilgrims.

It's an international group, 

with people from the USA,

Australia,

and South Africa.

Linda and Pam

are signing up for their Pilgrim Credential

while the others patiently wait their turn.

Afterwards, 

a cold drink and a nice meet & greet

to hear each other's stories.

"How did you hear about the Camino?"

and

"Why are you walking?"

led to laughter, as well as tears.

From out of the blue came a voice,

a voice like no other,

a voice we would learn to quickly recognize

and grow to love.

It was PAM!!

Our lost sheep who had arranged to meet us in SJPP.

She didn't waste any time making friends!

I miss her now... I miss them all.

Clare, from South Africa,

and Joe from Portland, Oregon

get acquainted over a beer.

Later, everyone chipped in and

we 'ate in' at Gite Compostelle.

They have a nice little kitchen there

with a couple of good sized tables.

This is going to be a fun trip!

Ok!

Everybody to bed!

It's going to be an early morning!

The Gypsy Poop Sting

Weird photo, huh? You know what it is? It's Joe, cleaning off what's left of the 'poop' the gypsy squirted on us this morning on our way to the bus.

I hope you have all read my blog on gypsies and pickpockets. If I had not watched the video and read the stories I would have had no idea when this nicely dressed gentleman walked up to me and said "You have something on your backpack. It's dirty". He motioned upwards, indicating it had come from above.

Above, indeed!

Immediately I remembered this as being one of the ways they get close enough to pick your pockets. As he was conveniently pulling out a baby-wipe, saying "Here! I will clean it for you," I shouted "NO!!". And Mr Birdpoop jumped the other direction and walked away...fast!

I took off my pack at the next bench and saw my pack was covered with what appeared to be left by a giant vulture!

Because I'm in the middle of a perfume reaction from the Hostal, I'm super sensitive to scents. So I immediately smelled perfume. I stuck one finger in the 'poop' and realized the jerk had squirted me with liquid foundation makeup. Sheesh! Just what I needed!

We stopped and cleaned off my pack. Them I looked at Joe's back and he'd been squirted also! As we walked on to the bus, he said "uh-oh. He got your pants too!"

Man, I was mad as a wet hen! I already had a headache and now I would have to smell perfume for the next six hours.

We cleaned up the best we could. Once I calmed down I had to laugh. I was thankful I had read up on pick pocketing ploys. Otherwise I might not have known what was happening until the "nice man" had not only cleaned me up ...but had also cleaned me out!!

So beware, travelers!

Read my blog on pickpockets and be sure to watch the films I posted. It might save your wallet and your trip!

Buen Camino!

Barcelona!

Had a great short flight to Barcelona. It yook about 2 hours

We took the airport A-1 bus on the lower level to Plaza Espana, (5,75 each) where we caught the metro to the area of Hostal One. Metro tickets were 2 earis each! Its cheaper to buy 10 if you will be here a day or two

I like this place so far. Decently clean for a Hostal, air conditioning, and a very sweet staff. They serve a free dinner at 9 pm but I don't think we can wait that late to eat.

I had to unplug some of those "plug ins" they had in the bathroom and had to leave the doors and windows in our room wide open to air it out. I wish people would not use those darned things!

We walked to the bus station to buy our tickets to Pamplona. The first bus tomorrow is at 7:30 a.m. There were only four seats left! Cost was about 25 euros each.

On the way back we found a nice market where we bought cheese and figs and salchichon for the bus trip tomorrow. Then we found a Dia market and picked up bread and yogurt for breakfast.

Now it's time to relax.