Some pictures of a snowy Galicia!

YES IT IS ICE IN THE FACE FUNGUS!

From Lubian (Place of the wolves)

Woke to screaming wind blowing a feckin hooley! It was hard to see if snow was falling but the ground was covered. The albergue was on 2 floors, 2 cyclists from Ibiza downstairs and me and the 2 guys from Mallorca upstairs. I tried to look outside and couldn't get the window closed again so it was out at speed wearing all my clothes. There were 2 mountain passes to climb and although the wind was blowing ice my body was quickly hot so I had to stop and strip off. Several times I disturbed Roe Deer (Corzo in Spanish) foraging in the snow and surprised that anyone would be foolish enough to be walking. Once I got to the top of the second pass at about 1250m I had climbed through the weather and it was cold but sunny. Irish people can do anything as long as the sun is shining. I noticed that I had lost a motorway and a national road then I realised they had been in a tunnel through the mountains but I wanted them for orientation. When I saw the motorway my heart leapt! the sign said Galicia, province of Ourense! Nothing bad can happen to me now. My friend Manolo told me years ago that there is a Celtic Goddess with big boobs who will always look after me. The big boobs were details of Manolo's but probably important ones, so I have never forgotten them. So now I am in Galicia, birthplace of the Irish people and somewhere in all that snow I crossed the invisible line that leaves me only 200km to go!

Walking in snow

The day started promisingly enough with a clear sky and a weak sun. By 1000 however the first sleet started to fall. I noticed on the overhead signs that lorries were being forbidden from overtaking on the parellel motorway between km96 to km124 because of snow. Broadly my journey today will be km86 to km114 so I suppose I will see some of it. Presently I am on a coffee stop and the snow is swirling outside but is not yet too bad. I have about 20km left to go and I will do all of it on the tarmac. I may even put my boots on instead of my sandals! There are snow covered mountains in every direction now and everything looks very beautiful when the sun appears. I hope it does that a bit more frequently as I do not want to walk the rest of the camino on roads in the snow.

TABARA

Leaving Zamora I met Beatriz by complete accident and headed off into the countryside. The Camino was, once again, following pointless detours even going East at one stage. I was getting fed up with not going North or West with my ideal being to do both at the same time! Anyway, as I came to another non-sensical sign pointing East I jumped ship and followed my compass. I soon came to a road junction and saw 2 names of places I need to get to. Unfortunately at 230 and 89km they were a little distant! Hoping that there would be somewhere in between I started walking along the side of the road. About 5km later a car pulled up in front of me on the verge with it's hazard lights on and a woman jumped out and ran up to me. It was as if I was her long lost brother! She tried to give me food and talked without pause about her own pilgrimages. If I was a lone female I would not approach me on a street on a sunny day much less an unkempt pilgrim close to nightfall! She wasn't sure how far it was to my destination but felt it was more than 10 km, it was actually 22km! Almost completely dark and starting to rain I thought I saw some lights in a valley in front. 30 mins later I was at a crossroads with a bar. I asked if there was accommodation and didn't get a clear reply. I hoped that meant some black market b&b! I have encountered it before, whole hotels supposedly closed to avoid tax while doing great business through the backdoor. It was one of those, so 12€ later I am in an en-suite room as the rain really started to hammer down outside. A good omen for my new direction I hope!

ROSE HIP REMEDIES

In honour of my mother, who takes the processed type, and of my Pueblo Ingles compañera, Sabela, whose family makes an old country medicine from them, I have been eating wild Rose Hips. They are one of the many things competing for the title of "Most vitamin C" and are guaranteed to ward off everything from Swine Flu to flat feet.

Dishonest Diversion

Today, for the first time on a Camino I encountered some deliberate obliteration of the signs, normally arrows, pointing the way. I followed them and missed the village of Bercianos De Valverde and the authentic Camino to Santa Croya de Tera. It is alleged that the staff of Bar La Moña in Villanueva de las Peras are responsible, attempting to attract pilgrims to their business. The arrows certainly point there and various people, in 3 villages, have them at the top of the suspicious list! Doubtless St James will roast their souls when the time is right!

300 TO GO

Fortunately it is now time to look at my pilgrimage in a different and hopefully happier way. I broke the 500km point just after Salamanca. The 600km barrier went the day before yesterday! Since I am now on a different route, which is not much walked, the only distance guide is now in descending order. The good news, according to it is that sometime tomorrow I will "only" have 300km to go! The statue of Santiago, dressed as a pilgrim, is one of the oldest surviving monuments.

RED KITES AND CROWS

I am aware there hasn't been a good wildlife call since the Fox. 2 main reasons. First, the large cities of Salamanca and Zamora have dominated the route. Secondly, the route in between is low crop, open and very windy! However, nature, never responsible for my entertainment, came out top today. I tried to photograph the scene, best efforts shown but it was all moving too fast! At least 7 Red Kites were flying wild patterns over 2 sections of woodland while some crows were making unhappy noises from underneath. I found it hard to understand what was happening and thought perhaps it was a mating display among the Kites. They were mirroring in pairs but were also engaging talons and plunging earthward locked together. As I got closer I saw one section of wood being divebombed by the Kites while the Crows appeared distressed. It is amazing how a big bird like the Red Kite can turn so sharply especially under the woodland canopy! It also really shows off their colours, particularly the white. I came off track to walk through the area to see if they had downed a Crow but there was nothing on the ground except lots of ejected shotgun cartridges.

ACHES ETC

The aches and pains continue with the exception of my feet which are now hardened to the point where I hardly need footwear. The soles are solid enough to stick a pin into them without me noticing and the upper feet look "glazed" where the sandals touch them. I haven't used boots in over a week. However, my shoulders are currently the weakest point and are extremely painful, in fact for the first few km I have to hold the weight of the sack with my hands behind me. My sternum also feels like it is going to part company. Just as painful but more amusing are my ankles which despite me taking my weight off them at night continue wanting to walk and sometimes do without me asking them to! My inner thighs are in tatters and look like the crispy skin on a fried chicken. All difficult and painful but no show-stoppers, I hope! Yes, I know... Tighten the f&£? Up! See I said it before you all did!

SANTA MARTA DE TERA TO MOMBUEY

Well it was good to get into Santa Marta crossing the River Tera, from which everything in the area gets its name. The albergue was a multiple-purpose hall which is clearly also the voting station come election day. It was very large with some beds in the corner and great showers. Unfortunately, it had no heating. I checked the temperature on my watch to see 10DegC inside. Not much warmer than the outside but a quick hot water fill of an old coke bottle meant a warm night in both sleeping bags. The morning came bright and cold and I warmed up by pushing on. Unfortunately the Camino started behaving badly and then it turned South and crossed the Rio Tera again! So, I abandoned it for the road which has been running in consistently the correct direction for days. The Spanish mark all their roads every 10m, 100m, km and in units of 10km so you always know where you are and how you are progressing. In 2 days I will have been walking for a month and I was happy to see that I am still managing a 5.5kmph/3.42mph pace. Another number of significance is 900m above sea level or just under 3000ft. Not that high but it has been thought provoking today to see the road maintenance crews out testing the snow ploughs and gritters.

Zamora in the mist

Zamora was quiet and magical in the mist/freezing fog last night. Well the next day dawned bright and clear with the temperature around 3C but that is no problem when it is not raining. I am still walking in sandals but that may have to change when I get into the mountains. The modern version of the Camino is being illogical again. Cut and broken by 2000 years of construction and fencing in. I suppose it is remarkable that it is there at all.

FOX AMONG THE WINDMILLS

No it is not the title of a great new folk ballad. But the story of how I met a fox among these windmills. I still don't know if the detour was pointless but I am glad I took it. The advantage was that it included a village, with a hostal, some 4km before my final destination, just in case the weather changed for the worse or anything unexpected happened. The disadvantage was that it meant climbing over a steep and very high hill. So high in fact that it was the site of about 40 wind-turbines. Anyway, where there's a hill there's a way! In training we were allowed to walk down hills but we always had to run up them. I don't know if it was the extremely strong wind blowing towards me, or the loud machine noise of the blades and turbines but a fox almost walked into my legs! It was a magnificent Dog Fox with all the colours of Red, Black and White clear and rich. I would have had time to photograph him but simply didn't believe that he would have kept coming towards me. He was within 2m before he reacted and then he was off at speed, in a zig zag, with those apparently "too short for their body" legs that foxes have. A feature of living in tunnels I suppose. Spanish has a much easier way to indicate gender, and fox is the Spanish word we all know, it is Zorro with the female being Zorra. English complicates the issue by calling the male a Dog Fox and the female a Vixen. Yes, Spanish people you have my sympathy when you learn a language as crazy as English. This was the second time I have met a fox at such close quarters and the first time it was a Vixen. We both came round a corner, on a track, by a river, in Andalucia. It was almost dark, I was late and she was heavily pregnant, in fact I think she was so pregnant that she was about to deliver and was looking for a safe place to do so. She looked at me, eyes full of distress and disbelief that I could be there at all. I assessed the situation and thought the best thing would be to pretend that she was not there at all, so I looked one way, she caught on and looked the other. We passed within a metre of each other, no hurry, no panic and to the best of my knowledge, neither of us looked back.

TO ZAMORA

I arrived in Zamora to meet with Beatriz, who was a Spanish participant at Pueblo Ingles with me when she inspected ships for a living. Now she works in the much more useful Zamora Tourist Information! She set up some interviews for me to be used to promote Zamora in next years pilgrimage. My apologies to those of you who received a text arranging the interview with Beatriz and her cameraman Diego, I think my phone sent it to everyone I had been in contact with recently! We are doing a little more filming today and I think it will be possible to put the YouTube links in the blog. The reason why 2010 will be a special year is that it will be an Año Jacobeo. This is when the Feast Day of Santiago, 25 July, falls on a Sunday. This happens every 5, 6 or 11 years and was introduced sometime in history to promote falling pilgrim numbers. The incentive being that during a normal year, 50% of a pilgrims sins are forgiven, whereas there is 100% forgiveness for pilgrims during an Año Jacobeo! The practical outcome of this, more generous, level of forgiveness is that pilgrim numbers grow by 500%! I doubt if my participation will have any benefit to the attraction of additional tourists, however, I was glad to help. I also managed to get my clothes washed by a machine! After 3 weeks of being washed by hand they needed it! Also my first day of rest in 3 weeks walking is appreciated. It will remain to be seen how difficult it will be to motivate my body tomorrow morning now that it remembers what rest feels like!

THE SKY EARLY THIS MORNING

Salamanca

y
Salamanca, capital city of the Province and home to one of the older universities of Europe. Widely believed, by foreigners, to have the Best Plaza Mayor in Spain and to be where the best Spanish is spoken. Ask any 5 Spanish people those questions and you should probably expect 5 different answers! A large city of this size was also useful for me to buy an additional sleeping bag and a charge cable, for my ipod, to allow me to continue writing this blog.

Fuenterobles de Salvatierra

The albergue in Fuenterobles has a highly variable reputation regarding cleanliness, mouse droppings, cold water and eccentric hospitaleros. Well so far I have had no problems. The building is granite and wood and very traditional for the area. The sleeping accomodation is cleanish and I have had a hot shower. There is a wood burner in the dorm which I would like to light this evening as it will definitely be cold. I think it is just a rural area and the standards reflect this.The local bar where I am writing this has a bacon slicer on the end of the bar and, by contrast, a 40" plasma TV at the other. It is also only cleanish. The people however, are friendly and trying their best!

THANK YOU!

Just a chance to say, thank you, to all of you who have sent me messages of encouragement and advice about bird identification. All much appreciated. Also the late night phone calls, about 5, to my mobile phone, which I suspect originated from the clubhouse of the Mad Dog Motorcycle Club. Thanks for the slurred and incomprehensible messages. Especially the one from the lady, allegedly wearing only a bikini and offering things that would tempt any pilgrim! I am not sure the others in the dorm enjoyed the experience but it made me smile!

To Calzada de Bejar

Well another big day, maybe not in distance at 20km but definitely in geopolitical terms. I have walked out of the Autonomous Community of Extramadura, Province of Caceres, and into the Autonomous Community of Castille y Leon, Province of Salamanca. Everyone, I imagine, will understand Provinces but the Autonomous Communities are harder to explain. I suppose it would be similar to walking out of England into Wales. They have parliments and some self determination but are subordinate to the National Government in all the important issues. It strikes me as jobs for the boys, in a multi-level, 3 dimensional mess, in which no politician can ever be held responsible for anything, because no continious audit trail could possibly exist! Enough of politics! On to the weather! Yesterday, despite the rain, hit 23C in the afternoon and today Spanish TV reported that this has been the warmest November for 30 years. All this among early snow and severe flooding in the Canary Islands.

It is strange how borders mark such change in landscape and people. One side of the mountain pass, La Puerta de Bejar, was flatlands with green Acorn Oaks while immediately over the other side it is rolling hills/mountains covered with Chesnuts which are changing colour.















Tonight sees me in a village that looks Alpine and is only 30km fromLa Alberca where I often work. I had thought of going over to see Peter there but I doubt if my alcohol free state (2.5 weeks now) would have survived! I rang him and he assured me that it would not!

Aches and pains

Isn't it strange how each sore part of the body clamours for attention. Initially, well for the most part of 2 weeks it was my tendons, then my heels, then my feet. There was, overlapping these ailiments, a significant and painful situation which I cannot really write about. Let's just say that I have possibly been buying more talcum powder than anyone else in Spain! Presently it is my shoulders that hurt the most with the broken blood vessels in the photo. I cannot really rest them without taking my pack off but I alternate where I am taking the load between shoulders, waist and chest.

Carcoboso to Aldeaneuva del Camino

Woke to the pittter patter of rain around 0515 but initially it didn't sound too bad. Then the thunder started and then very heavy rain! I stayed in bed in the hostal of mad, no, let's be kind, eccentric Elena and set 1000 as the Go/No Go point. Being Irish, rain is not a mystery to me and frankly if I never saw it again that would be great with me! By 0815 I was prepped but the sky was looking ominous despite a sliver of grey as opposed to black, in the North. I checked my mountain watch for compass direction... good, pressure check... rising ... all measurable signs good... so 0900 brekkie with Eccentric Elena then hit the trail, which was very wet. Amazingly I had a shadow by 1005 and in the afternoon it was 23C! The indirect nature of the Camino direction is hacking me off now. First leg was South East then East then North such that by 1 hour only a very large hill had been circumnavigated. A very long 40ish km day with highlight of the Caparra arch.

On the left the representation of the Caparra Arch used to indicate the Camino in Extramadura. The real thing is incredible and is really the only thing above ground in an entire Roman City. Somewhere in all this history I had walked 400Km!

Cañaveral to Carcaboso

I started the day with 3 of the fattest churros I have ever seen. For those unsure of what churros are they are a deep fried extrusion of a bread like substance. I suppose the closest thing we have would be doughnuts but the doughnut would be classified as "Healthfood" when compared to a churro. However, I intended to, and succeeded in, walking 40km today so something to burn was essential! The route today was again not very directly North and disrupted by new road building in several places. Highlight of the day was the walled town of Galisteo where I stopped in the Pensioner's club (Well I do have a card signed by Her Majesty to prove I'm retired) and just for balance I had more deep fried food. Well it was all that was on offer. Excellent deep fried chunks of fish in a creamy sauce and deep fried potatoes Ali Oli. All very good but I bought 4 Activia yogurts on arrival at destination to try and redeem myself. I don't even like fried food but When In Rome... Talking of Rome, the route mañana will take me through the Roman city of Caparra. It has an extremely famous arch the profile of which is used as a graphic to indicate the Camino in Extramadura. I believe the city to be ruins only but I will see mañana. By the way mañana is used only because it is so much shorter than tommorrow! And when I am typing with only my thumbs on the itouch these things make a difference!

Cañaveral

I wonder if the people from this small corner of Extramadura were sent to an even worse alligator infested swamp in the Spanish Colony of Florida. Where eventually the US Military and then NASA fired rockets from. I have to say that despite having been to many places, and seeing many amazing things, that sitting on the shoreline watching Shuttle Columbia turn night into day has been the most impressive! I hope the hostal tonight is better than the squalid Cañaveral one I stayed in last night. Filthy with no hot water and a very high chlorine content in the water. The shower was like washing in freezing cold bleach. Fortunately I knew what to do "Citadel" When you don't have enough weapons, men, heat, money whatever to dominate the full space then reduce it to a Citadel. Like the government advice to the vulnerable to only heat one room. So I cleaned enough space to lie down and found a broken heater which could still be used. These heaters, typical in Spain, would be against the law anywhere else! They are circular and fit underneath a table, in a hole cut in the base. They strike me as the best way of starting a fire known to man! Anyway a warm and comfortable night, leaving the next morning touching nothing on the way out!

Casar de Caceres

A very nice little town where I stayed on the main square. Even more importantly it was 300km!

PHOTO OF CACERES IN THE RAIN

INLAND ARTICLE

Just because I am out on the road doesn't excuse me from my monthly column in INland magazine. The magazine is aimed at foreigners who live in Andalucia, mostly the Province of Malaga, who would rather not have anything to do with the Costa Del Sol, other than essential shopping expeditions to buy Marmite and Branston Pickle. Anyway here is my Christmas article:

WALKSPAIN DECEMBER 09

Why is it that we always find something when we aren't looking for it? As you may remember I am on pilgrimage at the moment, having already walked, some 230Km, from Sevilla to Merida, sadly only about a quarter of the way to my final destination of Santiago de Compstela. You can read more about the pilgrimage, and see some photos of the passing countryside, at my blog which is at rutadeplata09.blogspot.com Tonight I am lodged in a tiny village, in Extramadura, called Aljucén. The pilgrim's hostal here is not provided by the municipality but is a private business. These are vital, as it would not be possible to walk the camino without these privately run albergues. There is normally a trusting, and charming, method of getting the key for these places. Something like: Speak to the bar staff in Bar Sergio, or Manuela in number 22 has a key, or look under the blue flowerpots, or if all else fails give the Policia Local a ring and they will let you in! It was during one of these key searches that I found myself looking for a lady called Noeme and knocked on some large, iron studded, wooden doors set in a portal of local granite. It was when she invited me in that I discovered that, not only was the large house, complete with courtyard garden, being lovingly restored in a traditional style but that it contained a Roman Spa! She offers Roman Spa breaks, with optional massage, in this traditional village setting just North of Merida, the former Roman capital of Spain, and possibly in possession of more Roman buildings than Rome itself! Her website is www.aqualibera.com and she has an attractive studio apartment so that guests stay on site and mere paces away from the hot pools. The main focus of course is the Roman bath, in the photo, which is as authentic as modern hygiene regulations allow. Given it's isolated setting why not combine a wonderful historic visit to Merida, and it’s Christmas shopping, with some traditional Roman bathing and massage. Go on, you deserve it, there is even a discount if you come dressed as a Roman, and it is so nice that, despite it's totally anonymous possibilities, that you might even want to bring your own wife! Happy Christmas!

David Johnston is an international walking guide living in the Sierra De Las Nieves Natural Park. He offers a range of walking and cultural activities from day trips to holidays. He has a website at http://www.walkspain.com/ and can be reached at 619732245.

STORKS?

Ihave had a helpful bird query from Celia in Toledo Province. She wonders if the birds I saw circling really were Storks (Sky Photo). Well I am now unsure, but their wings had the black and white stripes I would have expected to see and secondly their nests, on high structures, have been abandoned, making homes for many smaller birds, however I am basically still unsure and she has sowed the seed of doubt. However, I was delighted with her suggestion that they might have been migrating Cranes because I have been seeing 2 types of birds that I can't identify and I think she has solved half my problem. The large grey birds I have been seeing only on the ground are most probably Cranes. (Ground photo). There is another, very camera shy, bird which I keep seeing, now don't laugh but it's back section looks like an Oyster Catcher. OK I know, I know! I have not got it in profile yet but I imagine I would have seen the beak. Any help on this bird, open grass, black and white, wings forward and high, would be appreciated.

Hoopoes and Weather

Ordinary magpies, briefly, collectively called a "Murder" then back to the prettier Azure Winged Magpies. My question of the day would have to be "Who let the Hoopoes (Defininitely not my Photo) out of the box?" I have only seen 2 feathers up to now but I have seen over 20 individual birds today. Their ability to completely close their wings between flaps is lovely to watch. I have never thought why they might do this before but having a 1000Km of thinking time means that time can be given to thinking about important things like that. My guess is that the major benefit to streamlined flight, especially in scrub woodland, is the ability to escape predators by gliding through tiny windows in the foliage. Something not possible with wings extended and certainly somewhere that a predator could not follow. Talking about Predators, I was in a small village square when I became aware of the air shaking. I have heard this noise lots of times while riding my Harley in a large group of other Harleys but here? In the middle of the Spanish oak forests? My answer wasn't long coming. It was the Paramilitary Police Force, The Guardia Civil, training off-road riders. There were lots of them and the low, throaty, 4-stroke roar from something like 50 Honda 400 dirtbikes made the air viberate. The instructors were front and rear with hi-visibility tabards, while the students were wearing white tabards with a 3 digit number so their performance could be assessed. The instructors were deliberately jamming them 3 and 4 abreast into very narrow village streets to see if they could cope. There were some touches but fortunately no fallers. I walked on their tracks all day with the rumble of their engines at the edge of my hearing but I never saw them again. 50-60 bikes riden hard but, because their weight is spread, causing no track damage, in stark contrast with horses which, because they point load, destroy tracks. Somewhere today I walked out of the Province of Badajoz into the Province of Caceres and I now have walked more than 25% of the route at just over 250km so progress is being made. The feet are hardening and muscles strenghtening, let's hope I stay fit for the mountains and poor weather that I know is in front of me. Cheerily the first winter deaths in the Spanish hills happened this week with snow already down below 1000m, rainfall has been extreme with rivers flooded and bursting their banks. Finally, as a real morale breaker it has been so windy that, for the first time, more than 50% of Spain's electricity has been made by wind turbines. Snow you can avoid, rain you can use waterproofs but wind....

PILGRIM IMAGES

MERIDA

I cannot explain how important Merida is. After they moved from Cordoba, Merida was Rome's "New" (25BC) capital city in Spain. Originally named Emerita Augustus it probably has the best Roman remains almost anywhere. It's theatres, arenas and triumphal architecture are still to be found throughout, most impressively the bridge which brings you into the city. Photo in previous blog entry. It has now been closed to traffic but in 1992 I rode my Harley across it. I think, having been to Rome, last January, that there are more evident Roman remains in Merida. You cannot scrape back a square metre of soil without revealing something. Here are some general photos. Emperor Trajans Arch, Amphitheatre Entrance, Aquaduct.

Somewhere along the way of all this history I passed the 200km mark. Aches and pains abound at the moment and I hope that it is just the body getting used to it's new role. In any case the next few days are quite short, which is probably a good thing!

Well no longer any doubt about the birds. The 2 red kites quartering an olive grove and I thought the calls were distress calls from the ground. But today I started to see large vortexes of storks with more than 100 birds per funnel. I watched them form twice. One minute there would be 150 birds in formation and then the lead bird would begin to spiral and the rest would follow. Most were wheeling clockwise but some were flying obstinately against the flow. About 2 km before Merida there were 2 Eagles hunting in oak scrub. It was too far to tell what sort they were but one of them dropped onto some unseen prey in that falling anvil style that eagles have.

As I was crossing the majestic Roman bridge there were about 30 Cormorants drying their wings in the branches of a submerged tree. There were also Coots and Moorhens in the reeds.

If you wonder why most of the wildlife mentioned are birds it's for 2 reasons. First I am walking in the day and most mammals are nocturnal, less mad dogs and Englishmen, and secondly the Spanish are very keen hunters. They forecast, or boast, in newspapers about how many million animals they hope to kill in a season. That is not a criticism, it is just how it is.

Quartering Kites

Sadly not my photo but the Red Kites have been quartering vineyards either side of me for days. Quartering just means the division of the ground for searching between the pair. It is a technique directly adapted, from nature, by most miliary forces. I actually thought that they had prey trapped on the ground as I could hear strange noises. I was wrong, instead of looking down I should have been looking up.

On leaving Zafra I started to see these signs on the trees. There were about 6 Lurchers with their handlers as I was leaving town and just as I drew level a hare broke cover it went at a hell of a lick with 3 dogs on it. It went over 2 hills before I lost sight of it. The dogs were hot on it's tail and unfortunately after hill 2 there were mesh fences running either side of the track. That would seriously reduce the Hare's advantage. It is the Buell versus Harley, or Fighter versus Bomber equation, basically the shorter you are, the faster you turn. Thats why some of you are having problems catching your wife/girlfriend. Still, there was no sign of the hare's demise on the ground and those dogs may never come home! In some ways I hope they do not as one of the Spanish walkers told me their owners just hang them in the trees if they are not fast enough. There is also a significantly more humane re-homing scheme which thankfully is gathering momentum.

Well today was hard! Maybe it is just the accumulated fatigue catching up with me? I noticed last night that I had a sub surface blister on my right heel. They are difficult to fix as you have to go fishing with a needle for them because you can't see them. The best fix is to drag dental floss through behind the needle and leave it hanging out both sides to act as a wick. That way it won't repressurise and the floss is both sterile and medicated. My shoulders are looking abused too with broken blood vessels from the pack straps, it weighs about 16kg. My Achilles tendons are both screaming, surprisingly the right more than the left. All in all, very normal for weeks 1 and 2. Week 2 will be worse before the body, hopefully, gets used to walking with weight on. Once that happens only death can stop you! Todays highlight was an understanding cafe owner who served me a great meal, with alcohol free beer, right in front of the TV (See photo) while I watched the last Grand Prix of the year. It was held in Spain, in Valencia. Valentino Rossi was already World Champion but raced well coming second, the massively talented Dani Pedrosa won at home! Casey Stoner fell off on his arse on the warm up lap, broke his bike and didn't race. This proves that nobody, including Casey Stoner can reliably ride that Ducati, no matter how fast it is!

Baby Animals

It has been surprising to see lambs, kids and piglets being born so late in the year. It is already cold with a significant wind chill factor. It reminded me that the weather forecast in the Falkland Islands used to always include the phrase " The wind chill today for newly shorn sheep is...." Anyway it means that I have packed well and I suspect that I will eventually wear everything, maybe all at the same time!

The hostals in the province of Extramadura have been excellent, see photo, many of them could be Paradors if they were divided into individual rooms rather than domitories. However, there is one major disadvantage....it is now 0203 and the snoring, having gone through a quieter phase is now back with a vengance! Tonight's final is being played out between Spain and Norway. Luis, from Spain, has the edge at the moment as he is occasionally screaming in his sleep as well as snoring. Christian, from Norway, is deaf with 2 hearing aids so is probably not disturbing himself too much! Still, it gives me a chance to write this blog instead of wasting my time sleeping. I knew that the snoring is one of the biggest challenges that is why I slept rough in the woods last time I walked the Camino. I have the gortex bivi bag in my sack but my fleece bag is not man enough for the job. Maybe after I get to Salamanca and a big Decathalon sports store I can buy a sleeping bag that will keep me alive outside and away from the snoring! I am loathe to throw the fleece bag away as, like all my gear, it holds memories for me. I bought it in Kathmandu, in Nepal, and slept in it for 3 weeks while descending the Karnali River in 1999. I also used it the last time I walked the Camino Frances in 2004.

REMEMBERANCE DAY 11 NOV 09

It seems appropriate to be here for Rememberance Day. For this is Badajoz, and there will be British boys buried near here. Badajoz was a hard won Battle Honour from the Peninsular War when British, Portuguese and Spanish forces, under Wellington, rid Spain of Napoleon.

Just like all the others military personnel who are dying at the moment.

"At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them"

Monesterio to Fuente de Cantos

Well the day began well but ended in very fine drizzle. Enough to darken the colour of your clothes, and make you cold but barely enough to wet you. The wind was blowing from the West and, since the entire route is South to North, only my left side got damp. It was a lazy start to the day with an 0930 interview with Sandra and Colby from Radio Libertad in Madrid as part of their radio show for improvers in English. They are going to get a weekly update on my progress. After the interview I managed to find La Casa De La Cultura and they kindly let me use their computer to update this blog. Waiting for me was an email from my friend Pablo in Los Angeles saying that he had been listening to the radio show via Internet. If anyone needs proof that the world has become very small then surely this is it! Me, on a mobile phone in a hostal in Extramadura, being interviewed from a studio in Madrid, while my friend in Los Angeles listens in! As I left the village I had 1 Red Kite overhead but as I turned a corner I had an amazing wildlife spot. A stream only 2m wide ran to the left of the track and just as I got level with it, 3 fresh water otters ran across, right in front of me! Now maybe some of you cannot go outside without seeing otters but despite the fact that I grew up on an 80km long lake, it was my first time to see fresh water otters in the wild. I have seen salt water otters off California but this was a real "Ring of bright water" experience.