On dual objectives

I left Australia with the objective of walking a Camino, and another objective of seeing more of Spain, namely Andalusia and regions north. My plan was to allow more time than on my previous Caminos so that I could see some of the rich history along this route - the Via de la Plata, a route from Roman times, that subsequent peoples used as their thoroughfare including the Christians a 1,000 yrs later to get to Santiago de Compostella. That is - some shorter days and a few tourist days along the way.

The weather pattern this year was hotter than the average with most days well over 30 and some 40. So after walking from perhaps 6 or 7 am until 11 or perhaps 1 pm, the normal afternoon state becomes one of being semi-comatose. The mood for seeing things was not there.

The objectives started duelling. So one day back a bit on a rest day, giving the minor blisters a rest I thought of a better plan. Stop walking and focus on the history. After all there is a reasonable bus network here. And the "history" is mostly at an altitude of 1,000 m plus or minus, with more manageable temperatures.

After having walked 250 kms, I have now used a few buses (and a bread van) and seen Caceres, Placensia, Salamanca, Avila, now in Segovia and will finish with time in Toledo. Most of these are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Torremejia and its ilk aren't on the same list.

For those paying attention to the geography of my blogs you might have already been curious about my speed.

Caminos have their place. At the moment I think Caminos only succeed as a single objective - tourism afterwards. There is a state of mind and body that you get into after 3 weeks or so. It cannot be explained - to know you just have to do it for yourself without distraction. And pick a weather pattern that suits you. Except if you are crazy, and there are a few of them.

Now back to Segovia. This morning I walked around the valley floor below Segovia. The locals have this place to escape the heat of city.

A Selfie

My first selfie. It appears everyone takes these, except all my friends.

But I was in good company - Mr Daimler and Mr Benz in the auto museum in Salamanca.

I only realised it was a Selfie after the event.

In the shadow of the walls of Avila

They had been waiting for me. Just as I entered the central plaza of Avila, after my bus ride from Salamanca, the band struck up, and the procession headed off for the Catedral. The congregation was large, with numerous children in their best,  every young girl in a long white dress. The boys in a variety of costumes.

During the lengthy church service, the music was broadcast across the city, exceptional quality.

Afterwards whilst having lunch, an enhanced procession began nearby and again headed for the Catedral with another ceremony but this time outside.

Avila has walls, that is what it is now famous for.

In their shadow about 7:30, in a large plaza outside the old city, a group of about 200 from young girls all the up to much older women, a wide diversity, began their public dance exercise routine. It is a way to get the whole town out on a Sunday evening. I sat and enjoyed 2 glasses of Rioja and 2 pinchos.

The Camino connection of Salamanca

Salamanca is halfway from Seville to Santiago. More than that, it had special church status in relation to Santiago.

Leaving Salamanca

For the last few days I have looked for an open cafe around 9 - only a few are open. Today, soon the crowds start walking past. The young women all frocked up, the men had found suits, younger siblings smart, the parents were familiar with the routine - it must have been graduation day. A blend of the locals and the grating American accent.

Around 7pm they all seemed to return from a very long lunch - typical of course. That night they partied hard, and loud well into the early hours in Plaza Mayor.  I didn't get much sleep.

As I walked through the Plaza Mayor on my way to the bus station about 7, the sun barely up, a large water truck was mucking out the plaza. The water jets powerful. People were on their way home, a few disoriented. They didn't notice the water truck. It had been politely pausing for them to move, and then continued. The disorientated also got washed up in the mucking out. The others laughed.

All of us continued on our way. I was in Avila a few hours later.

Many places I hear about try to be uniquely defined. Salamanca is one such place. It is a university town and its distinctive feature is having a very old university.

It is also a tourist town. Here there is the backdrop of locals, with swarms of students and tourists hustling past.

Plaza Mayor Salamanca

This is said to one of the best Plazas in the world. I did not see it at its best.

It was very loud, but she danced anyway.

And there was colour.

I think this is a classic

I came across a car museum, and even though this is from the USA it has an air of elegance and function. A smaller engine would improve it.

An OK Dinghy

It did something for your abdominal muscles. Especially when you were wearing a weight jacket for added stability - imagine a vest laden with 10 kgs of water.

I have since taken up walking with an 8 kg backpack.

The only other photos of Plasencia

Walled Cities

Back a bit I visited Caceres - it was good. The travel guides said Plasencia was also a good walled city. But that was Marketing and its purpose is to deceive. Free markets and the invisible hand fails when modern marketing has a role.

Plasencia was ok, Plaza Mayor the centrepiece with not much else. Some interesting features overlooking the plaza. The locals eating and drinking, few tourists.

Probably whilst drinking another Anise, Karin said she was tall and thin, and so she was. She walked through the Plaza Mayor many times, demanding I take her photo.

OK Dinghies

In my younger years I sailed Ok Dinghies. Some of my friends went to Sweden for International OK races, although I didn't, so I didn't get to meet Swedish people then. I stopped sailing when I fell off my bike after lunch, dislocated my shoulder and then had children.

Now much later I have met 2 Swedish women, veteran Camino walkers. Karin is temporarily disabled with tendinitis of the knee, and not walking. Marit is an EFI kind of girl, still walking but missing her travel companion who must now take the bus.  Rebekka from Germany near Frieberg is on the left- she is also disabled and has gone home.

The Camino can takes its toll. Back in Merida in the Albergue it was like an emergency ward. Infected blisters, tendinitis of ankles and knees, various strapping. More recently, big toe problems, and shoulders. 

Another taste of Caceres

This place had been classy, it still was. Fortunately not so crowded at the moment.

The Old City of Caceres

The other day, his master nearby, a coffee perhaps. Previously horses were part of life here.

Is this of interest?

The Avenue in Caceres

The median strip is lush, cool in the midday heat, and there was a row of many stalls selling jamon and cheese.

Camino Rituals

Way too much has been written about this for a thousand years or so. Anyway I will add my bit so it too can get lost in the annals of history.

A few years ago an Australian, Mr Tony Kevin (of SIEV X fame), walked this way and wrote a book about it. Some thought it a fine book although I have not read it. In his book he talks about 2 Swedish women he met on his journey.

Here they are again walking in Spain and I took this photo of them from their balcony overlooking the plaza just before they came down and we had breakfast, again, although not quite a ritual. They were in this plaza, "Plaza Mayor", when I arrived 2 days ago.

One of their rituals, perhaps their only one, is to have a glass🍷 or 2  🍷 🍷 of Anise of an evening, and Plaza Mayor is a fine place for that.

On Being

On Being, probably way too difficult to write about even for "him". So something tractable, "On Time in Spain".

A few posts ago there was a photo in the dark of the aqueduct in Merida, taken about 5:45 clock time. I was up much earlier and had been walking for 20 minutes or so.

Local natural time, or local solar time would have been about 3:30. Us peregrinos can be an early mob.

It is the heat that comes soon enough.

On the days leaving small villages I can have a coffee with the locals about 4:00 solar time - they want to start in the fields about dawn.

Now in Caceres for a few days. Monday morning went for the local idea of breakfast at 9 ish - few places open, still early with the sun not so high, but found one for the early office and very early shop workers. Shops typically 10am clock time.

My idea for this trip was to walk modest hours, finish by midday or a little later, still way before the real heat of the day, and to explore the local town, before an early sleep and an early start, and repeat. A key objective was to see a slice of Spain, not just walk through.

But we are having a weather pattern much hotter than the climate averages I looked at when planning this walk. The pattern has been walking (with rarely a sensible option for a longer day if need be) and being semi-comatose all afternoon.

About 9pm the locals and walkers can come to life. 

The wine and beers can be good. A glass of chilled Rioja with 2 large frozen grapes. Less walking is happening at the moment.

I spoke to a mad English man the other day. He had just cycled in this. 

On Symmetry

It is somewhat well known that perfect symmetry is not quite right, it jars, puts the mind somehow into a state of disequilibrium, and is thus not the ideal for beauty.

I think the idea is to strive for symmetry but not to quite get there.

I don't know about her.

She danced at Sunset

They had all gone, it was a little cooler and much quieter.

A group of musicians transformed the plaza near the church, they were good, or certainly good enough. It had temporarily been quiet after the others, the ones with bells, had gone. Then they played, and as she walked past she spontaneously began to move, to dance.

This is a deeply catholic place, its pervades everything, they had their very bad years. and now her muslim mother laughed, smiled at me and then unblinkingly gave me permission to take this photo.