Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement certificates
Entry 5: So… Long time no see… I do have my excuses though. As we entered the mountains, computers and wifi became almost non-existant. Also, I´m very tired, all the time. Instead of telling yu about the last 21 days of walking (that would be boring and a lot of effort), I´ll just tell you about some main events.
We were in a place called Fromista. It happened to be the festival of San Telmo (their patron saint), so there was a funfair and circus performers. In Fromista there was , like, a 1000 year old church but at this stage we´ve seen so many churches that they all look the same (well not really).
We walked to a place called Sahagun. The walk there was possibly the highlight of this trip because there were little hobbit homes (the Spanish call them “Frodo´s homes”). Just little houses built into the hills. There actually bodegas and they store wine but people do live in some of them. Sahagun wasn´t great but the albergue had hot water and that´s all that matters.
Our next rest day was in Leon, which is another big city. There was (of course) a cathedral there but it wasn´t very impressive. We stayed in a convent and the nuns were very strict (but I really do love nuns). Leaving Leon was the worst day ever (I´m not even being overdramatic oh my God). It rained non stop and we hadn´t put on any rain gear so we were soaked. When we got to the albergue I poured water out of boots. However, the man who runs the albergue, Pepe, spent all night trying to dry our boots by the fire.He literally devoted his whole evening to our boots.
We were in a great place called Astorga. There was a Gaudi building (he was from Astorga) and I visited a chocolate museum, where I understood nothing because I don´t speak Spanish.
We had a big landmark moment when we reached the Cruz de Ferro. It´s the highest point of the Camino (5000 feet) and it´s where you leave your stone. A lot of people broke down in tears and it was just a really memorable occasion.
In Ponferrada, we visited a castle of the Knights Templar and I called everyone a peasant, which got me some looks.
We entered the province of Galicia and everything looks Irish. They play Irish music and there are (scary) cows and sheep.
We walked from Sarria today, which is where 80% of people start so it´s major busy.
Woah, long entry.
In other news, I´m eating way too much bread and I´m probably gaining weight. Also, it is cold.
Miles walked: 430 (I think)
Miles left¨: 70
Entry 4: Thursday the 28th of March we walked from Najera to Santo Domingo dela Calzado. That night we stayed in a hostel run by nuns (who were very nice). The next day was Good Friday and, as we knew there would be a lot happening, we stayed in Santo Domingo. There was a market and that night there was an amazing procession (which was also a little scary). That night we stayed in a lovely albergue where I ran into Sean (from the school)! Tis a small world..
Saturday we walked from there to Belorado. The weather was atrocious so we didn´t venture out.
Sunday, we walked Belorado to Villafranca del Montes de Oca. It was a rather small village with not much to offer but we did meet up with a lovely Engllish family.
Monday, we walked Villafranca to Atapuerca. The walk in the morning was lovely (freezing but lovely). We were up in the mountains in forest. Atapuerca was an interesting place as it´s “officially” where our ancestors come from.
Tuesday, we walked from there to Burgos. There was a lot of industrial sights and walking on highways as Burgos is a big city (population of over 170,000) but we did see a deer.
Now here it is, Wednesday, and we´re in Burgos. I absolutely love it here. We went to the cathedral (second biggest in Spain) and some other sights.
Miles walked:137
Miles left:313
Entry 3: When I last wrote I was in Estella. We left Estella on Saturday the 23rd and walked to a small village named Los Arcos. That day’s walk was rather easy but the last few hours were tough as the sun was very hot. We had a rest day in Los Arcos and, because it was Palm Sunday, there was a lovely procession and mass, which was held in a very ornate and beautiful church.
Monday, the 25th, we walked from Los Arcos to Viana. We had planned to only walk as far as Torres del Rio but decided to continue. That day we visited a 13th Century church, linked to the Knights Templar, which was very cool. Viana was a nice town and the albergue we stayed in was great. The church in Viana is where Cesare Borgia is buried and so that was really interesting.
Tuesday, the 26th, we walked from Viana to Navarette. We didn´t do much as it was raining a lot (the weather has taken a turn for the worst but it´s meant to get better soon).
Today, Wednesday the 27th, we walked from Navarette to Najera. We had time to visit a monastery and a museum of artefacts (both were interesting but a little cold) and there´s a fair in town so we might check that out. The albergue is nice but there´s no hot water and the lights are a little too bright for my liking. All in all though, everything is pretty peachy.
Miles walked: 78
Miles left: 372
Entry 2: We started walking yesterday (21st March). With bags on backs and walking sticks in hand, we left Pamplona at about half eight in the morning. It was a gorgeous day (so, naturally, I got severely sunburned). It was a pretty difficult walk as it was all uphill. By 1pm we reached Alto de Pedron, which is where the metal statues of the pilgrims are. The walk became easier after that and we reached Puenta la Reina by 5pm. We stayed in analbergue for the first time. There were four bunk beds in our room (so, eight people. Three who snored). We got up early again today and walked from Puenta la Reina to Estella. The walk was much easier and we met a lot of other perregrinos who were super nice. We´ve just checked into our albergue and there’s probably about fifteen bunks in the room.
Miles walked: 27
Miles left: 423
Entry 1: We left Cork at the early hour of 4am and didnt arrive in Biarittz til 4pm (what with five hour waits in Stanstead). We took a lovely old train to Hendaya and from there we took the metro to San Sebastian. Our original plan was to to start in St Jean Pied de Port and walk from there to Pamplona. Unfortunately, the pass through the Pyrenees was closed off due to snow. So, instead we went to San Sebastian- which is an absolutely gorgeous place and everything there smells really good- and checked into a pensione. The next morning we walked around for a couple hours and then took the bus to Pamplona. We arrived there at about 1pm and we went for coffee (well actually I dont drink coffee so I had Coke) at Cafe Iruna, which is where Ernest Hemingway used to hang out so, yeah, I fangirled a bit. We checked into Hostel Hemingway (everyone in Pamplona really loves Hemingway), which is really cool. Tomorrow, we start walking. To be honest, Iḿ already exhausted.
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