CAFOD Questions
When you are weighted down by your burdens, what or who is it that gives you strength?
How can you be this strength to others?
The others were keen to set off early again today, but I had said I wanted to leave later. I tried to stay in bed a little longer, but found that I had been awakened and needed to get up and sort things out for the day ahead. I had a light breakfast at the hostel, but even after this it was much to dark to proceed on the journey. So I decided to have a walk around Portomarin to see more of the sites. I strolled up the main street and into square then beyond that and sat in the park for a while - still too dark, I wished I had stayed a little longer in bed! I went back to the square and a number of pilgrims were beginning their trek, but it was still dark. I went for a cup of coffee and croissants in the Cafe in the town centre, stayed there for about 30 minutes and then decided as light was just showing on the horzion I'd better begin my walk as the others had at least 1.5hrs head start. I slowly walked down the main street, took the diversion Martin had pointed me toward the day previously, towards a picturesque footbridge that was supposed to be the route of the Camino. I could see when i got there that the route was blocked and most pilgrims were walking across the road bridge.
The light was improving as I strolled rapidly up the forest path enjoying the cool air and some rather pleasing views. The path took a turn northward and opened up to show Portomarin on the eastern horizon set against the backdrop of morning breaking (see the photograph). I walked rapidly continuing to ascend, into misty cloud with no more that 100m visibility; quite a dismal day really. I pressed on thinking I must catch up as they would be so far ahead of me, little did I know that I had probably past them all in the first hour of the walk as they had got lost in the dark. It was about 9:30 when I reached the highest point of the days walk, and odly enough the half-way point of the 100mile pilgrimage, and the sun mysteriously appeared from the mist and brightened the whole place. Across the road I could see sunflowers popping their heads above the hedge and fellow pilgrims visibly delighted with the views of yellow stretching into the distant greens and then toward the white of the cloud base below us and in thew distance mountainous peaks. This lifted my spirits and made the whole mornings walk worthwhile.
I felt I should motor on from there as the heat of the sun pored through and the temperature began to rise. I raised my pace thinking "I must be a long way behind" and pased pilgrim after pilgrim treading the path. I soon past Eirexe and was striding out across fairly flat undulating countryside well in front of others the walk was becoming a trudge. It was then I heard the sound of footsteps behind me - surely no one could have caught me they were all miles behind. I turned and realized it was Laura, a Spanish girl, who I had met with her friend in the Albergue the night before last - there was a mix up over the number of beds in the hostel and we were both implicated in that. Anyway Laura had found her walking pace that day of the walk, and was very much faster than anyone else on the Camino that day and had caught me up. I increased my pace again and walked with her for a while. Before I had realized, where I was, we had past the spot I wanted to make a detour to see Vilar de Donas and had arrived in OS Chacotes 1km outside Palas de Rei (our destination for the day). It was just before mid day so we halted there for a drink. The location was nice with a hotel and resturant close by so I checked out the two Albergues available and booked us all into one of those for the night. This was a very basic Refugio - reflected in the price of €5 per person - cheapest by far but still very adequate for what we needed. Later we were to find that there had been a ruckus in the other (bigger) Albergue as some had arrived back very late and so a lot of people there had a disturbed night - so we agreed that this was the right one to choose.
The evening was pleasant and so we all walked down to Palas de Rei to the Church of San Triso for evening mass. Sylvia a lady from Chilli who's read at each of the masses we had attended took her usual spot and I had the urge to take photograh - this seemed to be very much a part of her Camino experience and I thought she'd welcome the record - you can see these in the slideshow below.
I left the church having received the customary pilgrim stamp and met up with Colin (Ilkley - Yorks) once again. We chatted for a while before I set off for my bed for the night.
The CAFOD questions came to mind that night and I realized that unexpected warmth eases my burdens, just like the sun this day lifted me after trudging the misty way. Any form of warmth will do this especially other's love for me when life get really tough. And I know what I must do too...
The unfolding story of Alban and his fellow CAFOD pilgrim's journey to Santiago de Compostela during September 2011
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Day 4 (19th September) - Sarria to Portomain
Day 4 Sarria to Portomarin - 19th September
CAFOD questions for this day were:
What do you notice about the environment around you as you walk?
How often do you really appreciate the wonders of creation?
We set off with the group very early this morning, in the dark, strolling through the streets of Sarria lit by the streetlights and we all walked up to the Convent still resplendently illuminated. The others (Christine, Nick Angela and Martin) carried on in the dark and I settled down outside the Convent to await it's opening at 8:30am. The sun was yet to rise and as I approached the Convent and stopped it was most apparent that the morning was quite cool. So for the first and only time on the trip I took out my rain jacket and put it on and sat by one of the bright lights for a little more warmth. It was not long after this that I noticed a young lady stopped and waiting by the convent too and so I went across to say hello (Ola). This was the lovely Hana Sparkle - from the Czech Republic and it so happened to be her first day of the Camino and so she needed to get her passport stamped at the Convent before commencing her pilgrimage. So we stayed and shred breakfast cereal bars together before the convent opened it's doors.
I needed to catch up with the others who were at least an hour ahead of us, however I was taken with Hanna and walked much further than I planned - she was extremely interesting and a vwery courageous young lady (same age group as Lisa my daughter). She had originally planned to do this with a friend, but her friend shyed off. Hana bravely decided to do the Comino on her own, not withstanding her own health problems. She had a huge travel pack - it seemed almost as big as her and it was clearly weighting her down as she walked and she was very pessimistic of completing the trip. I encouraged Hana to stand up straight as she walked and the load whilst not being any lighter, would be easier for her to bear. We walked together and met up with an Irishman Damian, Davit, Jane and Darren where we exchanged pleasantries and leaned a little of each-others camino expeiences and intets. I continued with the group through to Leiman, where they stopped for breakfast. I said goodbye to Hana and she promised to text me if/when she made it to Santiago do Compostela.
I pushed ahead and to my surprise I had caught up with the CAFOD group much quicker than expected. Nick was the closest and I past him as he was sending his daily picture to his colleague who was up-dating his twitter and just giving sites. Then Christine, and then the Wills. I pressed ahead and said I'd wait for them at the next church however I go there much quicker that I expected and there was a lovely Cafe - Casa Cruceiro - at Ferrerios where I was tempted for an early break. It was there I met up with the runners from Brazil who'd passed us the previous day, but this time they said they walked with their wives from Sarria to Santiago; they joked that they dare not leave them with the credit cards any longer :-) but in truth is the more sensible way to do the Camino.
Having ordered a beer I sat down to write up my reflections for the day, and within a few minutes was joined by the Wills , Nick and Christine. But even more surprising, Hana arrived a minute or so later too. Hana said she'd done enough for the day and would stop at the Albergue there for the night.
The others didn't say long and pressed ahead to look at the Church. I finished my drink and soon cought up. Nick an I went ahead and we met up with a group of American's from San Fransico and Hawaii who we walked and talked with for a whileas we began the rapid decent from Memiontos. They kindly took Nick and my photo just above Parocha looking toward Portomarin.
The bridge crossing the reserviour to Portomarin was spectacular, and not for those who suffer vertigo!
It was in Portomarin that we expedienced the large 120 bed hostel, that has excellent facilities, but felt as if you were sleeping in a very cramped hospital ward of bunks lined side by side. The others quite enjoyed this experience, I felt it was just too clinical for me and would have preferred something a tad more homely.
Portomarin is a lovely town too, with a wonderfull cobbled main street with colonnades either side which lead to the main square where a castle type structure of the church of San Nicolas XII (sometimes refered to as San Juan/Xoan). I guess the structure is castle like as there are strong links to the Knights of St John. We attended mass again and surprisingly the inside of this structure is very much church is both plain but enchanting with some of the statues
with interesting poises.
Oddly I didn't reflect on creation this day, but on the wonders of God's greatest creation and their works.
CAFOD questions for this day were:
What do you notice about the environment around you as you walk?
How often do you really appreciate the wonders of creation?
We set off with the group very early this morning, in the dark, strolling through the streets of Sarria lit by the streetlights and we all walked up to the Convent still resplendently illuminated. The others (Christine, Nick Angela and Martin) carried on in the dark and I settled down outside the Convent to await it's opening at 8:30am. The sun was yet to rise and as I approached the Convent and stopped it was most apparent that the morning was quite cool. So for the first and only time on the trip I took out my rain jacket and put it on and sat by one of the bright lights for a little more warmth. It was not long after this that I noticed a young lady stopped and waiting by the convent too and so I went across to say hello (Ola). This was the lovely Hana Sparkle - from the Czech Republic and it so happened to be her first day of the Camino and so she needed to get her passport stamped at the Convent before commencing her pilgrimage. So we stayed and shred breakfast cereal bars together before the convent opened it's doors.
I needed to catch up with the others who were at least an hour ahead of us, however I was taken with Hanna and walked much further than I planned - she was extremely interesting and a vwery courageous young lady (same age group as Lisa my daughter). She had originally planned to do this with a friend, but her friend shyed off. Hana bravely decided to do the Comino on her own, not withstanding her own health problems. She had a huge travel pack - it seemed almost as big as her and it was clearly weighting her down as she walked and she was very pessimistic of completing the trip. I encouraged Hana to stand up straight as she walked and the load whilst not being any lighter, would be easier for her to bear. We walked together and met up with an Irishman Damian, Davit, Jane and Darren where we exchanged pleasantries and leaned a little of each-others camino expeiences and intets. I continued with the group through to Leiman, where they stopped for breakfast. I said goodbye to Hana and she promised to text me if/when she made it to Santiago do Compostela.
I pushed ahead and to my surprise I had caught up with the CAFOD group much quicker than expected. Nick was the closest and I past him as he was sending his daily picture to his colleague who was up-dating his twitter and just giving sites. Then Christine, and then the Wills. I pressed ahead and said I'd wait for them at the next church however I go there much quicker that I expected and there was a lovely Cafe - Casa Cruceiro - at Ferrerios where I was tempted for an early break. It was there I met up with the runners from Brazil who'd passed us the previous day, but this time they said they walked with their wives from Sarria to Santiago; they joked that they dare not leave them with the credit cards any longer :-) but in truth is the more sensible way to do the Camino.
Having ordered a beer I sat down to write up my reflections for the day, and within a few minutes was joined by the Wills , Nick and Christine. But even more surprising, Hana arrived a minute or so later too. Hana said she'd done enough for the day and would stop at the Albergue there for the night.
The others didn't say long and pressed ahead to look at the Church. I finished my drink and soon cought up. Nick an I went ahead and we met up with a group of American's from San Fransico and Hawaii who we walked and talked with for a whileas we began the rapid decent from Memiontos. They kindly took Nick and my photo just above Parocha looking toward Portomarin.
The bridge crossing the reserviour to Portomarin was spectacular, and not for those who suffer vertigo!
It was in Portomarin that we expedienced the large 120 bed hostel, that has excellent facilities, but felt as if you were sleeping in a very cramped hospital ward of bunks lined side by side. The others quite enjoyed this experience, I felt it was just too clinical for me and would have preferred something a tad more homely.
Portomarin is a lovely town too, with a wonderfull cobbled main street with colonnades either side which lead to the main square where a castle type structure of the church of San Nicolas XII (sometimes refered to as San Juan/Xoan). I guess the structure is castle like as there are strong links to the Knights of St John. We attended mass again and surprisingly the inside of this structure is very much church is both plain but enchanting with some of the statues
with interesting poises.
Oddly I didn't reflect on creation this day, but on the wonders of God's greatest creation and their works.
Monday, 19 September 2011
Day 3, 2 & 1 - 18th-16th September Toulouse to Sarria
Day 3 Tricastela to Sarria - 18th September
CAFOD questions for today were "As you walk this week, with minimal possessions, what are the things that you really miss? What do you find you can do without? What does this tell you about yourself and your lifestyle?
We all met in a restaurant close by my hotel and had breakfast together and decided to take the route via Samos some 6.5km longer than the traditional route (25km in all). This was a lovely route passing Renche on the way and crossing rivers on six separate occasions throughout the route which meant we were rising and falling for most of the route and the journey whilst very picturesque proved to be quite tiring too.
The route was quite boring to start with as we walked on the path that ran along the main road, that said we were following the rio Oribio valley so it was quite picturesque at times. We soon came to San Cristobo where we left the road and passed down the narrow streets of this village. As we approached the bridge I took the opportunity to take a photograph of the rest of the group walking over the bridge. And to our surprise I disturbed a pair of otters that promptly jumped on to the dam and dived seamlessly into the water pool one after the other. None of us had ever seen an otter in the wild before so this was an experience to treasure.
Samos is town that has a huge monastery. We stopped there to view the outside of the monastery buildings, and had a light lunch together. Time was of essence and so we decided to press on towards Sarria, rather that stay an extra hour to sample the inside of the monastery. But that way we made sure we all could get into the same accommodation. The route took us through many forests all very nice and cool to walk in. Today we experienced the only rain we had on the whole walk - more like a very light shower than rain - which started soon after we passed Cruce. The poncho's were unpacked by some, Angela and I decided to hold just walk in the cooling shower that lasted for no longer than 10 minutes - was quite pleasant really.
My rate of walking had slowed substantially and I realized that I was becoming tired, and the reason was because I was walking slower (seems very odd but true). But as a group we were all tiring and were pleased to stop for a quick drink at a small cafe at Taberna do Camino where the two Camino paths joined. On leaving the Cafe we came across two very fit Brazilian runners who had ran from Leon in three days (c180km !) and who were keen to meet up with their wives - who as they said had their credit cards - in Sarria before they depleted the card funds too much :-).
Sarria is a lovely little town built on a steep hill, so we found it quite a challenge to walk up the hill to the O'dorminento Albergue where we had diner together, and slept during the night. It was here we met Pam a very interesting American - artisan, who no longer had a home but traveled the world. Again we all attended mass together that evening too where Angela kindly established I might be able to purchase rosary beads from the ancient convent Mosterio da Madalena in the early morning 8:30am. Martin and I took a walk there after church and the whole place was illuminated ; see the slideshow for day 3 below:
I discovered that I really missed my personal friends and family, but I missed my own bed and the comfort, security, and cleanliness that offers, but also some I began to realize that I was missing some of my independence as the being part of a group restricted imposed ways of doing things on the group, such as times to set off in the morning. This would be come more apparent later as the rest of the group wanted to start much earlier - in the dark and I realized that I didn't like (or want to walk in the dark). Walking in the dark meant you miss beautiful sights - and to some extent you may as well have been walking in the dark in England.
Day 2 - Ruitelan to Tricastela - 17th September
Breakfast in the refugio another delightful experience, was followed by a relaxing stroll to Herrerias in the semi dark (c 7:15am)... The CAFOD questions today were: "Can you think of a time when you have been touched by the story of someone you have never met?" Followed by the question how can you make time in your life for others, those you meet and those you may never meet?
About 5km up the pathway the pathway split and I noticed a lady waiting. I decided on the right hand route only to hear Susan - the American lady who´d given me directions the previous day - say "that´s the cycling path you´re taking". Seems like she was acting as my guardian angel, Susan and I walked together up the left track that ran through the woods for a while. I learnt that she was not just a guardian angel but a writer of spiritually-uplifting books too and an expert on the Daniel diet - which I shall find more about in months to come.
As we came to the hills Susan slowed and as I needed to press on, I left her and made my way past a number of other pilgrim groups traversing the path to O´cebreiro. The sun was rising and then I saw the summit as I came out of the trees and what an amazing sight it was too. The clouds were clearly surrounding the village of O´cebreiro, but moving towards me, then as they reached the hill's edge the clouds just flowed down the hillside like a dam overflowing in slow motion - a most amazing sight to behold
Continuing up the hill I caught sight of a figure on horse back coming out of the mist with what looked like a spear in his hand - could this be Don Quixote ? Not so but a local farmer tending his fields in the early morning with a hoe over his shoulder - see photos. But the thought of this and the CAFOD question linked to the stories of Don Quixote with chivalry and quest for justice with the mishaps of the previous day made me smile. Further up the path I caught with Paul from the USA and shared the rest of the way to O´cebreiro with him - passing across the Leon/Galicia border was a land mark on the way. Again my paths would cross Paul's numerous times on the Camino do Santiago:
The rest of the team had started some 3 hours earlier at O'cebreiro in mist and pitch darkness so I was extremely privileged to arrive there just as the mist lifted and the sun came shining through. I met a chap called Colin from Ilkley (Yorks) in the bar there who recommended that I look inside the church, I took his advice and spent an hour praying there. What a place of incredible tranquility and peace.
Again I will cross Colin's path a number of times on the journey too, but never told him how thankful I was for his little bit of advice that day. I eventually left the beautiful village of O'cebrereio and made my way toward Tricastella meeting two ladies from Australia (Melbourne) called Joan and Shirley. I walked with them off and on for about 10 miles passing some wonderful scenery on the way. I learnt that Joan had travelled lots of different parts of paths of the Camino, and had about ten Camino pasports in her posession with various stamps for each route... And more recently she had been doing part of the Camino Norte that runs by the north Spain coast line. She said that this was a very beautiful route, but it has a huge problem - the problem turned out to be that the beaches that the walk passes are so inviting that Joan could not resist going for a swim and so that delayed her pilgrimage enormously. That made me smile and even more determined to try to walk that route next year. I later heard from Shirley that Joan fell ill on the penultimate day so didn't complete the Camino this time - perhaps I might cross her path some other time? But I had to push ahead as I need to catch up with the rest of the CAFOD Group in Tricastela. I put a spurt on as the path was down hill for most of the way, almost running at times. And when I arrived I was disappointed to hear the rest of the team had not been able to book me a pilgrim place in the Albergue they were stopping at and there were no places left now. I tried all of the other Albergs/refugio's in the town but all were full and so I ended up in a 1 Star hotel - with absolutely no redeeming features. But as I was exhausted and I had a really good night sleep so that didn't matter. A big lesson to be learnt - get booked in
before 3:00pm.
We all attend the evening mass at the church of Santiago (take note Santiago's statue above the tabernacle) in the photo see slide pack of photo's taken on day 2 that follow:
Day 1 Toulouse to O´cebreiro - 16th September
My first day (travelling to the Camino from France) could it be a disaster?
The question posed in the CAFOD pilgrimage reflection booklet was strangely pertinent - "What are your hopes and expectations as you set out on your pilgrimage?"
Well having booked my bus ticket on the Internet I never in my wildest dreams imagined there would be 5 buses from Toulouse bus station all going to Spain and leaving at 23:59hrs! But worse still none of these were destined for Bilboa - the place on my ticket...
I can’t speak French or Spanish so it wasn’t boding well. So my answer to the question was forming - "please God just help me get me to the agreed meeting place in O'cebreiro safely!" I was also experiencing perhaps a little of how the illiterate poor of the world may feel not knowing how to communicate and be sure to get what I need.
It turned out that none of the buses were destined for Bilboa, but the driver of the last bus to leave decided to bring us under his wing. One thing after another complication transpired to make the journey ever more complex heading in and out of Bilboa without allowing me to get off and then dropping me off some 100km north of Madrid at 9:00am and told to get another bus in an hours time!
Needless to say I was somewhat apprehensive at times on the journey, but I slowly began to feel the apprehension go and a feeling best expressed by the Spanish when they say "mañana, mañana" in-other-words whatever was to happen would turn out OK tomorrow - I should not worry, but trust that God would make it good.
I ended my bus trip at Ponferrada safe and sound but some 3hrs later than planned. Only to find out that Christine, Angela, Martin and Nick's flights were delayed too and they wanted me to let the hotel know when I arrived of their delay. When I phoned the hotel the hotel denied any knowledge of a booking... It seemed whatever could go wrong was going wrong and this did not bode well for the pilgrimage ahead. It was just as well that my motivation for doing this pilgrimage was strong - to raise funds to help the poorest of the world help themselves out of poverty. The realisation that the minor insecurities that I was facing on this journey were insignificant compared to poverty stricken people in war struck nations that I was aiming to support - perhaps a feeling of solidarity was emerging. That said I knew I had my wallet with me and I could easily hire a car or find a way out of this situation if need be.
After many phone calls to hotels and different Refugio we managed to get booked up in different locations; me in a Refugio in Routelan (Leon district) the others (through the help of the taxi driver) in Triacastle (Galatia district). This meant that I would be setting off some 10km further away from our starting point and roughly half a days walk more to do on the first day of walking.
For-all that heartache the refugio I booked in to was very special; with only 20 beds. It was set off the road and as I walked down the road towards the accommodation I was met by some very friendly American ladies Susan and Erin, who were enjoying a beer outside the local bar relaxing after their days walk. They offered a kindly welcome and directions to the place I would be staying that evening. Little did I know at that time that I would form a close friendship with both of these ladies later in the journey and find that I'd be travelling back to England with Susan at the end of my pilgrimage.
The owner and chef of the refugio, were fantastic, they arranged a filling 4 course evening meal with all pilgrims sitting together, and the atmosphere there was very special full of fellowship and love. Breakfast the next day too for a mere €15. And what an experience to wake-up to the sound of Ave Maria at 6:00am putting us all in the mood for walking.
Looking from my bed on the first evening I had a real taste of the rural life I would experience during my walk to Santiago.
Later I was told by Nick, Angela and Christine that they arrived at a 3 star hotel in Triacastela - as the taxi driver refused to cross the border with Leon. They all had luxurious room for €26, with en suite. They arrived at about 7:00pm which meant they didn't get an evening meal nor breakfast. For all the luxury of the hotel I think I may have had the better experience that night.
We all met in a restaurant close by my hotel and had breakfast together and decided to take the route via Samos some 6.5km longer than the traditional route (25km in all). This was a lovely route passing Renche on the way and crossing rivers on six separate occasions throughout the route which meant we were rising and falling for most of the route and the journey whilst very picturesque proved to be quite tiring too.
The route was quite boring to start with as we walked on the path that ran along the main road, that said we were following the rio Oribio valley so it was quite picturesque at times. We soon came to San Cristobo where we left the road and passed down the narrow streets of this village. As we approached the bridge I took the opportunity to take a photograph of the rest of the group walking over the bridge. And to our surprise I disturbed a pair of otters that promptly jumped on to the dam and dived seamlessly into the water pool one after the other. None of us had ever seen an otter in the wild before so this was an experience to treasure.
Samos is town that has a huge monastery. We stopped there to view the outside of the monastery buildings, and had a light lunch together. Time was of essence and so we decided to press on towards Sarria, rather that stay an extra hour to sample the inside of the monastery. But that way we made sure we all could get into the same accommodation. The route took us through many forests all very nice and cool to walk in. Today we experienced the only rain we had on the whole walk - more like a very light shower than rain - which started soon after we passed Cruce. The poncho's were unpacked by some, Angela and I decided to hold just walk in the cooling shower that lasted for no longer than 10 minutes - was quite pleasant really.
My rate of walking had slowed substantially and I realized that I was becoming tired, and the reason was because I was walking slower (seems very odd but true). But as a group we were all tiring and were pleased to stop for a quick drink at a small cafe at Taberna do Camino where the two Camino paths joined. On leaving the Cafe we came across two very fit Brazilian runners who had ran from Leon in three days (c180km !) and who were keen to meet up with their wives - who as they said had their credit cards - in Sarria before they depleted the card funds too much :-).
Sarria is a lovely little town built on a steep hill, so we found it quite a challenge to walk up the hill to the O'dorminento Albergue where we had diner together, and slept during the night. It was here we met Pam a very interesting American - artisan, who no longer had a home but traveled the world. Again we all attended mass together that evening too where Angela kindly established I might be able to purchase rosary beads from the ancient convent Mosterio da Madalena in the early morning 8:30am. Martin and I took a walk there after church and the whole place was illuminated ; see the slideshow for day 3 below:
I discovered that I really missed my personal friends and family, but I missed my own bed and the comfort, security, and cleanliness that offers, but also some I began to realize that I was missing some of my independence as the being part of a group restricted imposed ways of doing things on the group, such as times to set off in the morning. This would be come more apparent later as the rest of the group wanted to start much earlier - in the dark and I realized that I didn't like (or want to walk in the dark). Walking in the dark meant you miss beautiful sights - and to some extent you may as well have been walking in the dark in England.
Day 2 - Ruitelan to Tricastela - 17th September
Breakfast in the refugio another delightful experience, was followed by a relaxing stroll to Herrerias in the semi dark (c 7:15am)... The CAFOD questions today were: "Can you think of a time when you have been touched by the story of someone you have never met?" Followed by the question how can you make time in your life for others, those you meet and those you may never meet?
About 5km up the pathway the pathway split and I noticed a lady waiting. I decided on the right hand route only to hear Susan - the American lady who´d given me directions the previous day - say "that´s the cycling path you´re taking". Seems like she was acting as my guardian angel, Susan and I walked together up the left track that ran through the woods for a while. I learnt that she was not just a guardian angel but a writer of spiritually-uplifting books too and an expert on the Daniel diet - which I shall find more about in months to come.
As we came to the hills Susan slowed and as I needed to press on, I left her and made my way past a number of other pilgrim groups traversing the path to O´cebreiro. The sun was rising and then I saw the summit as I came out of the trees and what an amazing sight it was too. The clouds were clearly surrounding the village of O´cebreiro, but moving towards me, then as they reached the hill's edge the clouds just flowed down the hillside like a dam overflowing in slow motion - a most amazing sight to behold
 |  |
Looking the other way... | |
 |  |
Continuing up the hill I caught sight of a figure on horse back coming out of the mist with what looked like a spear in his hand - could this be Don Quixote ? Not so but a local farmer tending his fields in the early morning with a hoe over his shoulder - see photos. But the thought of this and the CAFOD question linked to the stories of Don Quixote with chivalry and quest for justice with the mishaps of the previous day made me smile. Further up the path I caught with Paul from the USA and shared the rest of the way to O´cebreiro with him - passing across the Leon/Galicia border was a land mark on the way. Again my paths would cross Paul's numerous times on the Camino do Santiago:
The rest of the team had started some 3 hours earlier at O'cebreiro in mist and pitch darkness so I was extremely privileged to arrive there just as the mist lifted and the sun came shining through. I met a chap called Colin from Ilkley (Yorks) in the bar there who recommended that I look inside the church, I took his advice and spent an hour praying there. What a place of incredible tranquility and peace.
Again I will cross Colin's path a number of times on the journey too, but never told him how thankful I was for his little bit of advice that day. I eventually left the beautiful village of O'cebrereio and made my way toward Tricastella meeting two ladies from Australia (Melbourne) called Joan and Shirley. I walked with them off and on for about 10 miles passing some wonderful scenery on the way. I learnt that Joan had travelled lots of different parts of paths of the Camino, and had about ten Camino pasports in her posession with various stamps for each route... And more recently she had been doing part of the Camino Norte that runs by the north Spain coast line. She said that this was a very beautiful route, but it has a huge problem - the problem turned out to be that the beaches that the walk passes are so inviting that Joan could not resist going for a swim and so that delayed her pilgrimage enormously. That made me smile and even more determined to try to walk that route next year. I later heard from Shirley that Joan fell ill on the penultimate day so didn't complete the Camino this time - perhaps I might cross her path some other time? But I had to push ahead as I need to catch up with the rest of the CAFOD Group in Tricastela. I put a spurt on as the path was down hill for most of the way, almost running at times. And when I arrived I was disappointed to hear the rest of the team had not been able to book me a pilgrim place in the Albergue they were stopping at and there were no places left now. I tried all of the other Albergs/refugio's in the town but all were full and so I ended up in a 1 Star hotel - with absolutely no redeeming features. But as I was exhausted and I had a really good night sleep so that didn't matter. A big lesson to be learnt - get booked in
before 3:00pm.
We all attend the evening mass at the church of Santiago (take note Santiago's statue above the tabernacle) in the photo see slide pack of photo's taken on day 2 that follow:
Day 1 Toulouse to O´cebreiro - 16th September
My first day (travelling to the Camino from France) could it be a disaster?
The question posed in the CAFOD pilgrimage reflection booklet was strangely pertinent - "What are your hopes and expectations as you set out on your pilgrimage?"
Well having booked my bus ticket on the Internet I never in my wildest dreams imagined there would be 5 buses from Toulouse bus station all going to Spain and leaving at 23:59hrs! But worse still none of these were destined for Bilboa - the place on my ticket...
I can’t speak French or Spanish so it wasn’t boding well. So my answer to the question was forming - "please God just help me get me to the agreed meeting place in O'cebreiro safely!" I was also experiencing perhaps a little of how the illiterate poor of the world may feel not knowing how to communicate and be sure to get what I need.
It turned out that none of the buses were destined for Bilboa, but the driver of the last bus to leave decided to bring us under his wing. One thing after another complication transpired to make the journey ever more complex heading in and out of Bilboa without allowing me to get off and then dropping me off some 100km north of Madrid at 9:00am and told to get another bus in an hours time!
Needless to say I was somewhat apprehensive at times on the journey, but I slowly began to feel the apprehension go and a feeling best expressed by the Spanish when they say "mañana, mañana" in-other-words whatever was to happen would turn out OK tomorrow - I should not worry, but trust that God would make it good.
I ended my bus trip at Ponferrada safe and sound but some 3hrs later than planned. Only to find out that Christine, Angela, Martin and Nick's flights were delayed too and they wanted me to let the hotel know when I arrived of their delay. When I phoned the hotel the hotel denied any knowledge of a booking... It seemed whatever could go wrong was going wrong and this did not bode well for the pilgrimage ahead. It was just as well that my motivation for doing this pilgrimage was strong - to raise funds to help the poorest of the world help themselves out of poverty. The realisation that the minor insecurities that I was facing on this journey were insignificant compared to poverty stricken people in war struck nations that I was aiming to support - perhaps a feeling of solidarity was emerging. That said I knew I had my wallet with me and I could easily hire a car or find a way out of this situation if need be.
After many phone calls to hotels and different Refugio we managed to get booked up in different locations; me in a Refugio in Routelan (Leon district) the others (through the help of the taxi driver) in Triacastle (Galatia district). This meant that I would be setting off some 10km further away from our starting point and roughly half a days walk more to do on the first day of walking.
For-all that heartache the refugio I booked in to was very special; with only 20 beds. It was set off the road and as I walked down the road towards the accommodation I was met by some very friendly American ladies Susan and Erin, who were enjoying a beer outside the local bar relaxing after their days walk. They offered a kindly welcome and directions to the place I would be staying that evening. Little did I know at that time that I would form a close friendship with both of these ladies later in the journey and find that I'd be travelling back to England with Susan at the end of my pilgrimage.
The owner and chef of the refugio, were fantastic, they arranged a filling 4 course evening meal with all pilgrims sitting together, and the atmosphere there was very special full of fellowship and love. Breakfast the next day too for a mere €15. And what an experience to wake-up to the sound of Ave Maria at 6:00am putting us all in the mood for walking.
Looking from my bed on the first evening I had a real taste of the rural life I would experience during my walk to Santiago.
Later I was told by Nick, Angela and Christine that they arrived at a 3 star hotel in Triacastela - as the taxi driver refused to cross the border with Leon. They all had luxurious room for €26, with en suite. They arrived at about 7:00pm which meant they didn't get an evening meal nor breakfast. For all the luxury of the hotel I think I may have had the better experience that night.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
24km walk to Bruniqel & Penne
Today I did a 24km grueling walk with a fully loaded backpack in hot but overcast weather. The terrain was vey difficult, but I managed the walk ok.. Here are a few photos.
Tomorrow is my last day with Ross and I make my way to Spain, leaving at midnight and expecting to arrive at 3pm.
Tomorrow is my last day with Ross and I make my way to Spain, leaving at midnight and expecting to arrive at 3pm.
Puyclesi Choral Concert
Day four with Ross and family - Sunday 11th September.
This was the day of the annual choral concert in Puyclesi - the long hours of preparation and practice ended and the real event commenced at 6:00pm at the Church of St Corneille.
The choir was to sing Valdi's Gloria followed by the very popular 5in France at least) Faurè's Requiem with some professional singers taking on the solos
It soon became apparent the event would be sold out and a number of late arrivals had to be turned away. The event went swimmingly with both audience and chorists enjoying the event.
Some photographs follow:
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| From Puycelsi Concert 2011 |
The choir was to sing Valdi's Gloria followed by the very popular 5in France at least) Faurè's Requiem with some professional singers taking on the solos
It soon became apparent the event would be sold out and a number of late arrivals had to be turned away. The event went swimmingly with both audience and chorists enjoying the event.
Some photographs follow:
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Is Puycelsi one of the most beautiful of all French villages?
Undeniably yes! Here's a few photos I've taken from Ross and Ginny's house that prove the case:
The first morning as I looked out
Same view after the mist dispersed
Here are a few more in a slideshow:
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Alban's Pilgrimage starts - 8th September
Alban begins his trip to see his BT colleague, boss, and great friend Ross Jenkins and his wife Ginni at their home in the French village Puycelsi. The trip to France was planned to sample the delights of Puycelsi, help with the annual concert and plan the 2012 pilgrimage c1000km - starting in this village. It was arranged before Alban became aware of this year's Camino pilgrimage organised by CAFOD, however the two arrangements fit very nicely together and this is why Alban leaves before Angela, Martin, Christine and Nick.
Ross and Ginni became Franco-files sometime between the late 1980's and the mid 1990's when they fell in love with this charming place and decided to buy and renovate a large house with views to die for there.
Needless to say Puycelsi is one of the most beautiful of all French villages, situated atop of a hill surrounded by the forest of Grésigne (c4000 hectares of trees and the most important forest of Midi-Pyrénées - mainly oak trees, with some chestnut trees and conifers).
The photographs and video above give a visual appreciation of Puycelsi and are courtesy of the tourist site which contains the history of the village click here to see more..
Alban plans to travel from Puycelsi to O'Cebeiro on the 15th September. Here is a flavor of the pilgrimage from O'Cebeiro in March/April last year, some stunning scenes but a tad cold - for those interested click the play below and then load to full screen - enjoy...
Look out for more from Puycelsi in the coming few days.
If you’d like to help Alban then why not sponsor him on this journey and in doing so help the poorest of the world out of poverty by visiting his fundraising page by clicking here (if that doesn't work then copy http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CAMINO-Sept2011 into your internet browser).
More posts will follow this covering some of our reflections and pictures from each day of the pilgrimage - please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...
Ross and Ginni became Franco-files sometime between the late 1980's and the mid 1990's when they fell in love with this charming place and decided to buy and renovate a large house with views to die for there.
Needless to say Puycelsi is one of the most beautiful of all French villages, situated atop of a hill surrounded by the forest of Grésigne (c4000 hectares of trees and the most important forest of Midi-Pyrénées - mainly oak trees, with some chestnut trees and conifers).
 |  |
Alban plans to travel from Puycelsi to O'Cebeiro on the 15th September. Here is a flavor of the pilgrimage from O'Cebeiro in March/April last year, some stunning scenes but a tad cold - for those interested click the play below and then load to full screen - enjoy...
Look out for more from Puycelsi in the coming few days.
If you’d like to help Alban then why not sponsor him on this journey and in doing so help the poorest of the world out of poverty by visiting his fundraising page by clicking here (if that doesn't work then copy http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CAMINO-Sept2011 into your internet browser).
More posts will follow this covering some of our reflections and pictures from each day of the pilgrimage - please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...
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