A quick breakfast early in the morning, desayuno. Sometimes a buffet, sometimes coffee and a large slice of cake. And then we’re off, following the yellow arrows. Still cold. The sun just above the horizon. A raking light. An orange glow. Fairytale-like. Low-hanging mist in the valley.
How lucky we are!
Every morning is a celebration.
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We met a lot of people from South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Most of them are young.
I am always amazed how well-known this Camino is worldwide.
We met a South Korean woman and shared a meal at Elly’s World Kitchen. South Korean noodle soup. She wrote “Nice to meet you” in her language in my diary, Likewise for us. Buen Camino.
People suffer from blisters or worse. The Camino isn’t always easy.
Along the way, there’s a huge statue of a pilgrim whose feet are covered with plasters.
I hope he will be better soon.
At the highest point of the route stands the iron cross – Cruz de Ferro. (1504m) It’s an icon.
One of the reasons to walk the Camino is to honor a deceased loved one. It’s customary to bring a small stone from home and leave it at the cross as a farewell. Doing so, you leave a burden behind.
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Back in Burgos, we walked through the imposing gate into the old town. And there was the cathedral. This time we also wanted to see the interior. It’s impressive. The cathedral’s foundation stone was laid in 1221 by the King of Castile. The cathedral is full of chapels, with beautiful details. Here are some impressions of it.
Burgos is a milestone for many pilgrims on the Camino. The statue of Santiago in the church demonstrates the centuries-old history of the Camino.
Feeling nostalgic, we ate again at the pizzeria where we’d said goodbye in 2022, with some people we’d met on our trip.
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We walked part of the most walked, busiest camino; the Camino Fancès. And we loved it!
We drove by train from Gare de Montparnasse to Orthez near the Pyrenees. A quick comfortable journey. In a few hours we were in the town on the Camino. In the Tourist Office we got the first stamp in our credencial, and then we were ready for a beer. On the terrace we immediately became acquainted with Paulien and Jos. They had been walking for weeks, starting their journey in the Netherlands. The German Hans had joined them somewhere in France. They spent the night in the Auberge Municipal. We had reserved a room at a table d’hôte just outside Orthez.
The next day, after breakfast, we really started and walked for 26 km, through hilly landscape. The light was beautiful. After about 17 km. there was a resting place. And there we saw Paulien, Jos and Hans again.
That’s how it would go throughout our journey. We walked for long stretches together, but then at breaks, or at the destination after a day trip, we ran into people we saw before.
The nice thing is that everyone is walking in the same direction, all on the camino. This makes contact very easy. You regularly walk with someone for a while to let go of each other and sometimes run into each other again later. We often sat on the terrace with other hikers or ate together. “Menu Peregrino”. Many Americans and Canadians went out for the first time since the corona. There were also people from England, Ireland, Germany, Norway…
Now we are back in the Netherlands, they are still walking. With all those nice people in mind, we’re not quite home yet.
Bienvenue. We walked through the Basque area and we noticed that from the inscriptions on houses and on the double street signs. A beautiful language that could have served as an example for ‘The game of Thrones’. Route de Labastide / Bastidaxarreko errepidea.
After a spicy warm walk we arrived at Gite Etchetoa, with room for twelve pèlerins. A sober, but beautifully restored old house. Marie, who herself was fond of caminos, welcomed us with a glass of cold lemon water. “Throw your clothes from today in the laundry basket. I’ll run the washing machine during dinner later and everything will be clean and dry tomorrow.”
We ate at the big table and Marie shared dinner with us. To toast each other’s happiness, she poured each a glass of cider. Together we set the table, cut the bread and put the dishes from the kitchen on the table. Bottled water and wine. The meal was rich and delicious. Cold cucumber soup. Rice and ragout with a Basque sausage. Banana cake with ice cream for dessert. What a great experience. Pleasant buzz in which the Belgian Martine occasionally translated some of the rap told French stories for us.
The next morning after breakfast we set out early to Saint Jean Pied de Port, the place at the beginning of the Pyrenees, which is the starting point of the Camino for most hikers.
We were glad that we had already walked three days before the ascent over the mountains.
Saint Jean Pied de Port is an old walled town at the foot of the Pyrenees. For most Camino hikers, this town is the starting point, which is noticeable by the crowds. Many people were still looking for a place to sleep. Fortunately we had reserved a room in advance. We went to sleep early, because the next day promised to be spicy; across the Pyrenees to Roncevalles in Spain.
We set off at half past eight. The weather was crystal clear, but the wind was blowing hard. After a few hours there was a cafe with terrace where we drank coffee and ate a sandwich. There was a real mountain atmosphere. The view is magnificent. Vultures flying high above us.
A bit after the border we are at the highest point and through a forest with mossy oaks the path goes down quite steeply. Roncevalle is the end point of the route. And almost everyone sleeps in the large Albergue in the monastery.
Now we are walking in Spain. The villages we pass through are old and beautifully situated in the landscape. Usually there is an opportunity to drink or eat something.
About 12 km after Pamplona, the camino crosses the Alto del Perdón, the highest point in the area. It is one of those places on the route that stays with you because of the beautiful view and because of the “Monumento del Peregrinos” from 1996 by sculptor Martinicorena, which depicts pilgrims through the ages.
There is a second monument, slightly below the highest point, with a circle of stones and signs with place names on it. In the middle a high stone in which a screaming person is carved, reminiscent of Picasso’s Guernica. The name ‘mountain of forgiveness’ is appropriate here.
After the top there is a steep descent over a stony path to Puenta la Reina.
Along the trail, hikers have made their memorial signs.
Donde se cruza el camino del viento con el de las estrella
How nice it is to walk in an area that is so completely different than we are used to at home. We look sharper and notice how beautiful the light is.
There is the festival of San Mateo, the patron saint of Logroño, in the third week of September. But at the same time it is the harvest festival, or the wine festival of the Rioja. Children from all over Rioja bring baskets of grapes to the cathedral which are then carried in procession to a wine barrel elsewhere in the city. Children stamp the wine grapes barefoot. The result is sacrificed for happiness in the next year.
An important tradition at this festival are the chamizo’s; places where the city’s clubs offer snacks and drinks for a small fee.
There is much more this festival week; fireworks, parades and more. But we haven’t seen it all.
A few days before we arrived in Logroño we walked along the Fuente de Vino, of the Rioja Bodega, where you can drink wine. We were already there at nine o’clock in the morning, not really the time to drink wine yet. David and Lisel drank from their Jacobus-shell. We had our coffee-mug. A ritual sip.
We walk through places with beautiful names; Puenta la Reina, San Juan de Ortega and Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
Santo Domingo has been important for pilgrims in the Middle Ages. He is the founder of the town. He built a road in the rugged forest and built a bridge over the Oja River to make it easier for pilgrims on their way to Santiago. He also built a hospital for pilgrims; now converted into a luxury parador. Most striking is the large, beautifully restored cathedral with the bell tower next to it. Special for a town with about 7000 inhabitants. But the cathedral is most famous for the chicken and rooster that are kept there.
Legend
In the fourteenth century, a German couple with their 18-year-old son went on a pilgrimage to Santiago. During the night in Santo Domingo, a girl tried to seduce the son, but the boy refused. The girl then accused the boy of theft. He was convicted and hanged. The grieving parents continued on their way. On the return journey they found that their son was hanging alive on the gallows. They went to the judge, who was just sitting at the table at the time. “That boy is as alive as this fried chicken!” said the judge. The sequel can be guessed: the chicken came to life and the judge returned the boy to his parents.
Santo Domingo also played a role in the tiny ‘pueblo’ of San Juan de Ortega, about fifty kilometers away. San Juan built around 1150, with the help of San Domingo, a monastery with a hospice as an aid post for pilgrims. Originally, the monastery was inhabited by Augustinian monks. Over time the monastery fell into disrepair, but with the revival of the camino it has been restored piecemeal and now houses an albergue.
Burgos, our end point, is about half way up the camino. Most of the people we spoke to walk as far as Santiago de Compostela. To our great surprise, we found people in Burgos that we had lost for a while. We had split a route into two short distances, they took a rest day. Our last night on the camino we ate a pizza with six of them.
We are back in the Netherlands, they are still walking. With all those nice people in mind, we’re not quite home yet.
We hope to continue our camino next spring.
more photos about our caminos can be found on Instagram: ‘remembering_my_camino’
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