Back on the road again
We have had two good days of walking since returning to the path from Leon. We caught the 9.00am bus and had indulged in a second coffee before heading off from la Robla by 10.00 am. There was an earlier bus at 7.00, but even leaving our hostal at 8.00 am we were still in the half dark!
Leaving la Robla
We had company as we walked through one village. These are big dogs and they made us feel nervous, and so we didn't linger to take photos.
It is not only cars that that are parked in village streets.
Our lunch spot in Olleros de Alba
Looking back on Olleros de Alba.
Trying to get into the albergue in la Magdelena. The "key" was a WiFi token, but we couldn't make it work - they had neglected to tell us that on hearing the opening click, you then had to give a quick pull, followed by a push!!
The view from Lara's house
The church in Riello,complete with a cranes nest.
After the singing. Our priest friend is, apparently, very musical and a good dancer!
We had to be very careful leaving la Robla as this is where two paths - the Camino San Salvador and the Camino Olvidado - merge and separate. Getting ourselves sorted we set off on the way, taking a while to leave the industrial parts of the town. Indeed these past two days we have passing numerous quarries, the first one being about an hour out of the town.
We stopped and had lunch in a bus shelter in the village of Olleros de Alba, before heading up a long steady climb to the height of 1,293m, and then descending to the village of la Magdelena. Here we stopped at the bar to collect the key to the albergue. This is a new albergue, bright, spacious, and colourful. We thought we had it to ourselves, but Julio rolled in about 7.00, which sent us scurrying to tidy our gear!
This was a pretty good day of walking for me, covering just over 18kms. My foot, after initial stiffness, was not too sore. However, this morning my foot took quite a while to warm up, but have finished the day without too much stiffness.
Today, from la Magdalena (or actually from the neighbouring village of Canales, where the albergue is), to Riello was a slog. To save my leg / foot we shortened the stage by following the road, rather than traipsing over numerous stony hills. It was a stage of just under 14 kms instead of closer to 18 kms. What made it a slog was the really strong headwind that we had to lean into, and which blew the whole day.
In this part of the Camino accommodation is a little tricky and so tonight we are staying with Lara - high in the mountains. After a big late lunch at the bar in Riello she collected us and has driven us to her home, before going back to work. Tomorrow she will drop us back on the Camino so that we can go even higher into the mountains, before beginning the descent leading to the end of this Camino, in few days.
When we entered the bar at Riello I was greeted by Maria who had met me, at the bar in la Magdelena. Yes we do spend quite a bit of time in bars! Maria pointed out the Priest and so I asked her to ask him if he had a key to the Church, and of course he did. We all traipsed across the road, including Maria, her husband and a couple of friends. The last time, on this path, that I had been able to go into a church was back on day 2 in Balmeseda, and I was especially glad that I could sing a few hymns for everyone. The Priest knew Amazing Grace (he'd heard it with bagpipes!), and everyone sang along with me (in Spanish) My Lord What a Morning. It was a lovely time together.
Well done, Janet. It's good to see you doing it in style. And that the weather is fine (still wet here and Arlene and I got a bit muddy in Victoria). We had a nice session at Sunset Rock, organised by Chris and John, on Tuesday. Bill
ReplyDeleteWe might get drizzle today. If we do it will only be the second time since we started.
DeleteSomething strange has happened to your hair colour. Why would a young one die their hair so ?
ReplyDeleteI'm quite taken with the colour tone! It looks quite natural!
DeleteAmazing Grace on the bagpipes in Spain is not unusual at all.
ReplyDeleteThe song itself is very popular played on pipes. I think there was a Scottish guards band had a number 1 hit with it in the UK for a good number of weeks in the early 70's.
Bagpipes themselves are historically celtic so have a link to all areas of Europe where the Celts were, including Spain. We associate bagpipes with the "highland pipes" of Scotland, which are the strongest historical survivors but there are many more types. The Iberian pipe is the Gaita (I had to look that up) and specifically around Leon was the Gaita Cabreiresa.
FWIW my sister was a caledonian piper for many years, and I've even had a blow on a set myself and managed to make them squark, which is actually harder than it sounds.
I've only tried the chanter, but have given up on the dream of playing the pipes! I love the sound of the Asturian pipes. They are quite mellow.
ReplyDelete