The police here all drive Nissans

What a day today was. First off, I somehow managed to sleep until about 11:30 this morning – two to three hours later than usual. I'd forgotten to set my alarm, and so I guess that in addition to my exhaustion from yesterday lead my body to indulge. Hey, I'm not complaining though! I had a bit of tea and bread, brushed my teeth, threw on some clothes and took Una over to The Alamo to see how things were progressing. Rebekah had driven back into Palencia to get in line early to finish up her health card application.

At The Alamo, James and Sebastien were discussing the orientation of a wall-to-be that Sebastien had started using one of the existing walls as a guide. It turns out, the wall that existed wasn't laid at the right angle for the door that was to go in, so the few layers of bricks needed to be removed and relayed. It's really fantastic to watch two guys try to accomplish all types of measuring with just one measuring tool that's hardly a yard long! Rebekah showed up to see how things were not long after I arrived. It turns out she was pulled over on the way home and questioned because some Cuban she was talking to in the office she'd been waiting in seems to be wanted by the police for some reason. She didn't have the best of experiences with them, but did recount that her Spanish was nearly flawless at her time of need. She's really a lot better than I think she gives herself credit for.

I came back to the house, some drinks were had, and then Paddy made a nice rice, spinach and feta cheese dish for lunch which we had outside in the courtyard being the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We had a nice white wine with the meal and a good helping of tasty Brie. We talked about cheese, and furniture, and plants amongst other things. After lunch we had some fig cake and slices of apple and pear. Fresh fruit here is really wonderful.

After lunch I took a siesta for a half hour or so, but couldn't really sleep, so had some tea with Rebekah and Sebastien. After that Sebastien asked me to come back over to The Alamo to help him start digging some ditches for the plumbing that had to go in this evening. The digger was supposed to have come in the morning but had not shown up. Much to our surprise – and I must say to my relief – the man with the digging machine had come and done almost all of the work. When I saw the extent of the digging that Sebastien had thought we might have to start by hand I was really grateful for hydrolic machinery! We finished off some of the smaller areas inside the house, and then James, Marianne and the kids stopped by. Not long after though the police came by to talk to Sebastien and James, presumably about the scuffle that had occurred on Sunday with Berndt. After taking information from them and asking them to come into the station tomorrow afternoon, the two men in uniform also came by Rebekah and Paddy's place to speak with them and ask them to come in and issue statements. Through the entire situation, my one thought was “Wow, the cops here drive soccer-mom cars.”

After they left I offered to make some Ryan soup (soup my grandparents made when I was little, tomato base with peas, beans, corn, and ground beef for those of you not privy to this wonderful dish) and it turned out fairly well. All the ingredients happened to be on hand in The Dispenser(!!!) so it was a quick prep meal. I ended up using garbanzo beans instead of baked beans like it calls for, but they tasted very good, and were probably much healthier! It's interesting how everything here is just a little different from how it is at home (whoa, unintentional John Travolta/Pulp Fiction moment there) and though it tasted good, it still wasn't exactly right. Much to my grandfather's assumed amusement though, I did add a little of the local beer – an ingredient I'd mistakenly added when I prepared the soup for my French host family back when I was abroad the first time, which to this day we like to chuckle at.

I just finished reading a few chapters of Capote, the book that the biographical film with Philip Seymour Hoffman was based on. I borrowed it from Rebekah and Paddy described it saying, “Well, it's not any good, but it's not bad, it's quite interesting.” I can't pass up a review like that, so I'll most likely make it my pre-sleep reading material. And now that I've gotten some of the clutter out of my head, I think it's time for me to work towards sleep.

Buenos noches!

Palencia and hiking home from Sahagun

Today Paddy, Rebekah, and I went to Palencia so that they could file/update some paperwork. Paddy got sent around to several places before being told that he didn't need the card his doctor told him to get, and as for Rebekah, she wasn't able to get a spot waiting in line, so she wasn't too pleased. It seems to be a universal practice to treat immigrants like crap. It makes you more considerate of people that have moved to the US when the roles are reversed.

Since things didn't take as long as anticipated, we spent most of the late morning and early afternoon wandering around the city. We saw the Cathedral, and after a coffee we were able to take a tour of the crypts, the cloister, and the museum. The museum boasts an early Greco painting of St. Sebastien. There was also an interesting work of art that requires the viewer to look at it from the side – otherwise all you see is a portrait that's stretched too wide. It was really neat.

After the tour we stopped to get Paddy some new boots at a store that was having a sale. Just a couple store fronts down was one of those mechanical rides that children sit on. I kid you not, it was a replica of David the Gnome! It was hilarious, and I really wished I'd had a camera to snap a picture.

Before lunch we walked through Palencia's indoor market, which was extraordinarily clean. The butcher stalls had some really interesting things, but I was slightly disturbed staring straight into the eyes of a fully skinned sheep's (or perhaps they were goats) head. It wasn't like it was just a skull either – it had the eyeballs still inside of it. Further down at another meat stall there was a whole cavalry of them. In addition to those there were pig's feet, pig's snouts, pig's faces, innards, tongues, larynx (I don't know how to or even whether I should pluralize that), and a whole assortment of bizarre miscellany. On the upside, all the fish and produce was remarkable fresh!

We had lunch at a hotel restaurant not far from the Cathedral. Rebekah and I both had a platos cobination of croquettas, deep fried shrimp, and salad. Paddy had a tuna salad and then a nice piece of grilled salmon. For dessert I had flan, Paddy rice pudding, and Rebekah some sort of custard. Wine, water, and bread as per usual, accompanied the food. American's really ought to get into that habit! There was a TV playing near by, and amongst other things there was a short news cast of a 6-year-old that weighed 89 kilos (approximately 195 pounds!). It was interesting because it was a big deal – and yes, it is, but you'd never hear about something like that in the States. Also, I think Liz Taylor finally kicked the bucket today. They were airing a sort of montage of her career on the news. Who knows. I need to check the Oscar winners. I'm interested to see if Pan's Labyrinth won anything.

On the way home I napped for a bit, and when we got back into Moratinos we stopped by The Alamo to see if Sebastien needed anything. He asked me to help him move some wood that was too big for him to move alone, so I left off there and helped him shift it all to a different location. I got back to the house and decided I wanted to go into Sahagun. I asked Paddy to drive me in, and he dropped me off at the Hotel Posh (not it's real name – but it's the nicest hotel in Sahagun and the surrounding area). I walked to the Internet place and hopped on the Wifi for a bit. Checked email, Google'd some things I needed to find out, and talked to Draque for a short while on Trillian. I'm researching plants that Rebekah can put in her yard, and also I needed to do some more searching to figure out what's wrong with my cell phone. I think I found the solution, so in the next day or two I should be able to use the Movistar SIM chip that Rebekah has.

After I was finished using the Wifi, I started back to Moratinos. It's a 9km stretch between Sahagun and home – lucky for me I was wearing my boots. The walk back took about an hour and forty-five minutes, but it was tiring. It was a good start for training before I head out on the Camino. The longest distance I'll have to walk in a day is 38km, and I'm hoping by that point in the pilgrimage I'm used to walking for long distances. I think the worst part about the walk back though was that it was dark almost the entire way – I think walking in the daylight would be much simpler because you aren't concentrating so hard on not running into something, or tripping over a rock or a hole, and there's more to actually look at!

So now I've taken a shower – something I'm probably really going to miss when I'm all sweaty on the Camino and the place I stop for the night doesn't have a shower – and had a couple glasses of vino (in Spanish pronounced almost like “bino”) and a nice dish of pesto and spaghetti. So I think I'm going to turn in and rest my feet – tomorrow holds another day of who knows what, so it's probably best that I rest up.

Buenos noches.

A day of culinary firsts, gin & tonic, and a cement mixer

I felt silly this morning – I woke up and no one was around. The remains of people being around were present... coffee that was just reaching cold from warm, a fresh load of laundry spinning in the washing machine, keys hanging in the door. For some reason though I had the feeling that everyone had left. I was all alone. Stranded in the middle of a foreign country, knowing so little of the language, and only my two feet to get me where I needed to go. Aside from realizing that perhaps I should have learned earlier in life how to properly drive a manual car, I felt a brief moment of panic. All I could think to do was to get some clean clothes, take a shower, brush my teeth. Not long after I finished grooming myself Rebekah and Paddy returned with Una (their terrier mix breed dog, whom I don't think I've mentioned until now) from their morning walk. What a relief.

We drove into Sahagùn to get some groceries, run a couple errands and indulge in some Internet use. I went to the local bank and learned a new word: “cambiar: to exchange.” It made me so sad when I handed over my five twenty dollar bills and only got sixty-eight Euros back. Thus is life though. I've not really needed much money at while I've been here. There were some initial upfront costs associated with getting settled in, but at this point I hardly need to spend more than twenty or so Euros a week. Food is mostly free (unless I'm chipping in for a meal that I'm preparing, or buying lunch in a café while on a daytrip), lodging is thankfully free and all I need do in return is help out when and where needed, which doesn't bother me one bit. While I've had my computer and cell phone still, it's been nice to not be sitting in front of the screen all day browsing and busying myself. And being making phone calls with Cingular is rather pricey right now, I've been keeping my phone use to the minimum. Tomorrow we're tripping into Palencia, the region's capital, and there I should be able to get a new SIM card for my cell phone.

I'm getting off topic though and rambling. We got some groceries, the most interesting of which was a bag of mixed seafood – mussels, squid, prawns, crab, and bits of seafood stick and smaller shrimp – and then I went off on my own to find the Internet café that has a wireless signal. I checked my email, replied to some I had, did a couple Google searches, and when Rebekah showed up she checked her own email and then we headed over to pick up the cement mixer we'd come into town to get. The men working on the outside of the house need it so they can reinforce the walls, so Rebekah and Paddy are renting one for the week. It wasn't “difficult” per se to get it into the truck, though the seating arrangements proved interesting after it was in, and getting it out later was a challenge all of it's own.

Back at home Paddy made paella, a dish based on rice and saffron and miscellaneous other food. It's typical of how many people make soup or stew out of leftovers in the fridge. We used some of the crazy seafood mix, and I thought it was pretty good – though Paddy said it wasn't a decent representation of paella at all. We also had some gin and tonics special with the gin we bought while in town. Delicious. I don't know how more people don't enjoy gin. Also from the grocery store we brought home a bag of ham flavored Lay's potato chips. While it doesn't sound very appetizing they were probably some of the better flavored chips I've ever had! I really don't think people in America though would be to keen on trying some oddity like ham flavored crisps.

After lunch I took my siesta, and ended up sleeping for close to two hours, the result of continuously snoozing the alarm on my cell phone. I woke up just before some local men started sawing away at the large tree in the courtyard – much to my delight as I don't think I'd have liked being woken up by a chainsaw outside my window. After getting up, I took Una over to The Alamo to see how things were going with the work there. Paddy, James, Sebastien, and another man was there who was supposedly there to handle the plumbing. Now that Berndt is gone they will probably need some extra help over at The Alamo, and I offered to lend a hand when needed. Concerning Berndt now that I think about it... He lost some of his things on his way out of Moratinos last night, and Rebekah found them. We asked around town earlier when we were there to see if anyone had seen him. Granted what he did wasn't something good, he at the very least deserves to have his belongings, and in all honesty his crime was based for the most part on speculation and rumor. It's really too bad that things weren't worked out in a different manner.

Anyhow, after peeking in at The Alamo, Una and I walked along the Camino eastward toward Burgos for about a kilometer or two at the most. It was nice to get out, and it really made me anxious to get out and start the pilgrimage myself. Though I don't think I'd be inclined to take the dog, or any animal for that matter along with me!

We came back to the house, had some green tea, and then went out back to unload the cement mixer from the truck. I wrote some post cards and took them over to the local mail drop, and then stopped over at The Alamo to let Sebastien know that dinner was almost ready. We had “Cocideo Asturina,” translated literally as Asturian Stew, which was a mixture of white beans, tomato base, onion, and three different types of sausage. It was simple but really great with bread and a nice hard Spanish cheese made from goat's milk and aged. The wine that we're drinking lately is a local variety called Crianza. It's made in the region of Palencia where we live, and the particular one that we've bought a case of is called Los Molinos, made by Felix Solis Bodegas. It's a darker red, but despite it's 2001 vintage tastes like it was bottled fairly recently. No bother however, wine here is so incredibly cheap it's not an issue to buy a case and not care for it – it still gets drunk, and then there's more of a different kind after that anyhow!

Sebastien headed to bed shortly after dinner and now Rebekah, Paddy, and I are relaxing in the kitchen – the main congregating area of the house – reading an writing. Una is vying for attention from anyone who is willing to give it, and we've moved on from Edith Piaf to some nice string music. Life here, in Spain, and in most of Europe I'm coming to find, can be so very simple and unassuming. I've only been here a week and already I'm afraid that it's going to be so much more difficult to leave in August than it was last time.

No worries though. It doesn't do any good to anticipate the future like that. I've got so many more experiences awaiting, and from just the last week it's apparent that new discoveries and learning opportunities are waiting around every bend of my adventure.

An interesting twist to an already interesting day

Today Libby, Rebekah, and I went to Bilbao, a city on Spain's northern coast, where the Guggenheim Museum is located. The drive took about three hours and was really lovely. We passed through farmland, rolling hills, mountain ranges, and saw dozens of small villages. I really like how so many of the villages and towns here in Spain seem to be built right around the local church. It's interesting to see from a point of view that shows you the layout of the town. Moving on, we got into Bilbao and easily found parking – despite what our guidebook said – near the indoor market. Bilbao supposedly boasts the largest indoor market in all of Spain. Unfortunately it's closed on Sundays. We found a bar, had a cafe con leche, and made a point of finding out where we were in relation to the museum.

When we'd determined how to get there we took the tram (they're bright green!) to the Guggenheim and got quite a good view of the museum's structure, designed by famous architect Frank Ghery. Climbing some stairs you come up to a very large shrub covered in flowers which is in fact a huge terrier plant sculpture. The museum entrance fee was only five Euros due to the fact that the third floor was closed because they were between rotating exhibits. The first and second floor are vast in size, but don't really house a ton of material. The Guggenheim has one of the world's largest galleries showcasing large abstract sheet metal sculptures that you can walk around and inside of. Some of them spiral, others are formed in flowing parallel lines. You're able to see a miniature model of the sculptures in a small room off the back of the gallery.

One of the coolest exhibits was a number of ticker lines (like the one used on Wall Street) that were installed vertically, and they had a message, which turned out to be sort of a poem/story that scrolled up the tickers, each at a different speed. After the story finished, it restarted in another language. It was cool because standing in front of it caused an immense sense of vertigo, but after a while if you looked up at them it made you feel like you were floating. The words scrolling up seemed like air bubbles in an aquarium or a glass of soda.

The second floor housed four different contemporary German artists, but I didn't really appreciate any of the works, aside from a large abstract sculpture in one room. The rest was mostly comprised of one of the artists in particular – Joseph Byues or something like that – and most of it just seemed to be personal belongings and crap with his name stamped on it. I suppose everyone's got an opinion of what is and is not art, and furthermore what is good and what is bad art. It just didn't catch my fancy is all. Oddly though the sculpture that I liked was by him as well. Go figure.

After the museum, which didn't take very long to tour, we followed the tram tracks into another part of town and tried to find some place to have lunch. No luck, so we hopped back on – we were bad and didn't buy tickets for the second trip seeing as no one checked or scanned our tickets the first time! - and made way back toward the “old” district near where we had parked the car. We wandered down the tiny side streets lined with shops closed for the day and lots of small cafes and restaurants – most of which were really overpriced. Finally we found one that suited us, waited for a few minutes for a table, and then had a tasty lunch. Rebekah started with a plate of mixed seafood, then had squid cooked in it's own ink. Libby had croquettas (deep fried balls of creamy sauce with bits of ham) and then endive, salmon, and tuna wraps. I started with an order of pork pate and my main course was a crock of lamb stew. Everything tasted so great – even the squid, which I tried. It left a slight aftertaste of brussel sprouts in my mouth. It was odd. We had a nice white wine with lunch that had some great grapefruit-like flavors to it.

After lunch we headed back to the car so we could find the Termibus Station where Libby was taking a 10:30 overnight bus back to Barcelona to leave for the US on Monday. We got a little lost after trying to follow the tram, but eventually found our way there. It was sad to see Libby leaving so soon, but luckily Rebekah will be going to the US in a week or so to do some work and take care of some things back home, so she will be able to see Libby again soon. We said goodbye to Libby after she got her bus ticket, and then got back onto the highway towards Santander, another coastal town. We drove along the coast for a long while with the ocean on one side and mountains on the other. It was really wonderful. On the down side, Spanish drivers can be really crazy, as twice on the way home someone passing people in the opposite direction nearly missed causing an accident. Eventually we headed south to get back to Moratinos, and got home just after 9pm.

When we came in, we found Paddy in the kitchen with Berndt, who was very upset. It seems that some things were said, and rumors heard about something he'd done and he was planning to leave. We weren't really sure what had happened, so we tried to calm him down, and managed to get him to agree to just wait until morning to leave, if at all, assuming things couldn't be sorted out. To make a long story short, it seems Berndt had gotten himself into some trouble and done something bad, and James and Sebastien insisted he leave Moratinos. There was quite the little drama unfolding in this sleepy little town, but by midnight or so everything seemed to be sorted out with minimal confrontation, and Berndt had left Moratinos. It was certainly an interesting end to my day, and made it clear to me that not everyone on the Camino is necessarily a good person – however, really, where in the world is that not true? It's unfortunate that bad things do happen sometimes, but it's equally important to remember that most of the time people should just mind their own business. All in all though, i don't think there are going to be any other issues here in Moratinos anytime soon.

Time to turn in and sleep now. Buenos noches!

Sardines, Schpetzal, and the “Fancy” Bodega

Today was a great day. I think the best part may be that I found out I've lost 12 pounds since arriving in Europe. I don't really know how that's possible, but it seems to be so – I hope I don't have a tape worm or anything!

Rebekah took Libby and I into Sahagun again today so we could go back to the Internet place and Libby could get her bus ticket to Barcelona from Bilbao. She'll be leaving tomorrow evening after we spend the day in Bilbao and then returning home to the US on Monday from Barcelona. I was also able to download all my emails from Google into my Thunderbird Application on my laptop so I could better sort through all of them. The multiple messages from the Couch Surfing website and the Yahoo Peace Corps group I'm a member of were just too cluttered to try and read online.

Saturday it turns out is also market day in town, so we took advantage of the stalls in the main street and got some bacon, sardines, trout, chorizio (sausage), and brie. We also picked up bread and a newspaper for Paddy. Back at home Paddy cooked up the sardines and some salad for our lunch. It was the first time I've eaten sardines that weren't out of a can or on a pizza, and I can say they tasted okay. A little too much work for something that didn't taste amazing, but they made a decent lunch along with some leftover ratatouille. Libby and I then took a nap – I really love siestas! - and after we woke up Rebekah called and told us and Paddy to come over to the bodega sight to see one of the neighbors' bodegas – the “fancy” one. It was the bodega with the pretty bricked door and a TV antennae. Inside they had done an incredible job of remodeling it, and it was quite the party room. A TV, a bar, an oven and stove, a wood burning stove for heat, electric lights, remodeled walls, tile, steps, and a wine storage area.

Sebastien and Berndt spent the day over at The Alamo doing work in Jame's place. They tore down a wall between two rooms, and Berndt made a walkway around the main area with boards as it had turned into quite a lot of mud. It seems here in Spain, workmen don't have any sense of urgency or regard for their profession. I'm not talking about the two pilgrims, as I think they've done more for James so far than any of the so-called professionals have, but the actual plumbers, and carpenters, and electricians. Rebekah and Paddy are having the same issues, in that no one here seems to understand the concept of contracting when working on a remodeling or construction job. It's really aggravating for someone from the US where our economy thrives on a sense of customer service and satisfaction.

Rebekah had me do some things around the house while she and Paddy went out for a walk, and after I was through the sun came out a bit so I sat in the courtyard and wrote a letter to my grandparents and did a little research on walking the Camino. Rebekah suggested I check out an alternate starting point to St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port which adds about 2 days onto the entire pilgrimage, but takes you through a wonderful part of Spain that a lot of people usually miss. This alternate start route is called the Aragon Way. I'm really excited about walking, and to practice a bit am going to load up my sack and start hiking back and forth between Moratinos and Sahagun which is about 9km, one-way. The longest stretch along the Camino will be 38km, which equates to a little under 23 miles. I think the changes in altitude (walking up and down hills and the like) will probably be the toughest part of the hike. Also, from talking to the Pilgrims as well as James and Marianne, I think I'm going to start the Camino in early April instead of waiting until May. My original plan was to stay with Rebekah until April, travel around Spain until May, and then do the Camino from May to June. So now instead I think I'll start the Camino in April, go to Italy and France from May until July, and then spend the rest of July and part of August seeing Spain.

Berndt had gone into town to get his glasses fixed and picked up things so he could make dinner for everyone tonight. He fixed veal meatballs, kale (red cammage) which was cooked down with appples, and schpetzal (sp?) a German dish similar to noodles crossed with dumplings. It was very good, and I was glad to try some schpetzal that didn't taste like dirt! Before dinner James and Marianne stopped by and surprised Sebastien with a new guitar which they had bought in Leon. He had one along the Camino, but then it had been stolen. He was so happy and played some music for us after dinner. To end our day, Rebekah drove Libby, Sebastien, and I back into Sahagun and we found a bar where we enjoyed a beer and watched a little of the football (soccer, not American football) game that was on this evening. We chatted for a while and then headed back to Moratinos. We're going to Bilbao in the morning and will be seeing the Guggenheim, and then sadly saying goodbye to Libby. She has to go back to the US on Monday. Now though it's time to go to sleep because I need to get up early. I'll have plenty of pictures from our day tomorrow.

Day trip to Leon

Friday morning, Rebekah and I went into Sahagun to run a few errands before we left for a day trip to Leon, a town about an hour away from Moratinos. This was also the day that Daniel headed out to continue his journey along the Camino, so before we left for the day we said our goodbyes to him. Libby gave him a couple of the post cards which I'd bought in Barcelona so he could write messages to family and then she was going to mail them from Ohio when she got home.

Leon is one of the cities along the Camino, so we saw a number of pilgrims trekking by as we drove in Rebekah's Renault. Coming into the city we drove by a large fountain, and then found a parking spot not far from the Gothic cathedral that Leon boasts. It very much reminded me of Notre Dame in Paris, and I got some really great shots of it from the outside. You're not able to take pictures from the inside of the church, though the architectural and artistic workmanship inside was amazing. It only would have been nicer if the sun had come out so we could see the beautiful rosette stained glass windows lit up. The relics of St. Isidor are housed inside the church as well. We stopped in the tourism office and got some information about Leon, and then had a cafe con leche in a nearby bar.

Then we walked around town for a bit and ended up at an Italian restaurant in one of the plazas near the other sight we wanted to visit. We had a great lunch there – Libby had a cream of vegetable soup and ham and veal, Rebekah had a rice salad and pesto tortellini, and I had a mixed plate of sliced hams and sausages and a veal stew. We sat around and chatted through lunch and waited until the church across the plaza reopened. Inside we toured a room with dozens of frescoes depicting different religious occurrences and then moved out to the cloister area. I got some really amazing pictures of the carvings and architecture in the cloister. After this, one of the guides took us up a narrow winding stone stairway to show us into the library where tomes and hymnal books were kept, and the finally a show room where religious relics were showcased.

We visited a sportswear shop down the street so Libby could pick up a souvenir referee jersey for her boyfriend's father, and then we wandered through some side streets and alleyways in town. We found lots of neat little shops and cafes, and a great plaza. I took so many pictures in town, and many of them turned out fairly nice. Libby had a great digital camera, and I'd kind of like one for myself. It's a FujiFilm FinePix S5200. It takes great shots, and is very easy to use. (Wow, as if that doesn't sound like a blatant advertisement to my family!) Rebekah got a nice tablecloth from this store that supports the sale of good from third world countries, I got some tasty chocolate, and then from a “head shop” type store along the way I got a good pair of Thinsulate gloves for only three Euro! They smell like burlap and remind me of being in my grandpa's barn.

On the way home from Leon the sun started to come out just as it was going down, but made a nice display with the clouds. We also drove past a Toys'R'Us, and I was like “What the hell!?” I didn't realize they were an international store name. It was weird but funny and sort of comforting in a way. Another comfort was being able to get on the Internet once back in Sahagun. Rebekah knows the owner of a computer shop near the center of the city and he let us use two of his computers. He also has a wireless network that is free to access.

Back home we were treated to a traditional “poor man's” Belgian dinner cooked by Sebastien. It consisted of cooked apples and potatoes and hamburgers cooked in a ketchup, butter, and onion sauce. It doesn't sound very appetizing, but really it was quite good. I also learned that Belgians really do put mayonnaise on everything!

Concerning Pilgrims, James, Marianne, les enfants, and fantastic Indian food

The paths in the courtyard are very slippery when they've gotten a little wet because of green moss that has grown on them. Coming out of the main house in the morning after waking up means I either have to remember to try and not slip if I'm wearing shoes, or I get my socks terribly dirty. Thursday morning held a bit of the same, and something I should come to expect in Europe – strong black coffee with too much sugar, bread of some sort with maybe a little butter and jam, and a shower. Well, perhaps I won't expect the shower so often, especially after I've started the Camino. A large crate containing the rest of Rebekah and Paddy's worldly possessions arrived from the US. The salon was filled with boxes and the like. Unfortunately some things were broken in the move, including Rebekah's wooden coat tree.

After this we moved some things around the house – and old oven, some rebar, etc. - that Rebekah wanted moved to the back so some gypsy man can come and take them away. We sat around deciding what to do about lunch and dinner for the evening, and then when we had a vague idea of what we needed to get we drove into Sahagun to get groceries and some things from the hardware store. Sebastien said he was able to repair the broken coat tree so we needed nails, wood glue, and some varnish. Looking for somewhere to park we saw Rebekah's friend James sitting in his car. He and his girlfriend Marianne were back in town. In town we hit up the hardware store, then on the way to the supermarket we decided that I would make ratatouille for everyone, as something that was hearty and filling and at the same time healthy and vegetarian – Daniel is a veggie. We stopped at a small grocery and got some of the vegetables necessary and then went to a larger store to get other things. The supermarket here is small but filled with all kinds of products. Everyone in this country is so small.

We got back home to Moratinos and James, Marianne, and their two children Poppie and Fin, came over. They own a property in town that Rebekah and Paddy jokingly refer to as The Alamo, due to it's current condition – walls falling down, rubble scattered about. James offered to cook everyone dinner, and so I decided to make my ratatouille for lunch. It ended up being a little different than I've normally made it, as the tomatoes weren't incredibly “juice-ful” and I didn't know there were canned tomatoes in The Dispenser (what Rebekah and everyone call the little room across from the kitchen where many things end up being stored... it's like a pantry). So I ended up (and I know my grandfather will laugh at this) using a local beer to stew the vegetables in. It turned out rather nice and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Right before lunch, another pilgrim showed up, Berndt from Germany. He used to work for a printing company but then they went bankrupt and he was without a job. He's an interesting man, and seems to know quite a bit about a lot of things. He said he'd stopped by Moratinos because he had spoken with James, and knowing a bit about electrical work he thought he could be of help over at The Alamo. So he stayed for lunch, and we got to know him a little better. He also came with a ukulele which we got Daniel and Sebastien to play later that evening.

So James, Marianne and the children and their dog Africa came over later in the day, hauling sacks of groceries into the kitchen. James and Marianne are both really great people, and I love listening to them talk. Also, they've got really cute kids. James is very lively and entertaining while Marianne is a bit quieter but really intelligent and outgoing. We kept feeding Poppie, who is about two, peanuts and she ended up mashing them all up in her mouth and then I think much of the mess ended up on Marianne.

James prepared a huge fantastic Indian dinner for all of us, consisting of stewed lamb, roasted chicken, curried cauliflower, green lentils, and homemade naan – a type of flat bread. It was utterly delicious, and we all ate our fill with good red wine from Sahagun. The kitchen table was hardly large enough to seat everyone – nine of us – along with holding all the food, so some sat around it and others sat on the floor and near the fireplace. It was a special day for Daniel, because along his spiritual journey on the Camino, this day marked the end of the first of three phases and the beginning of the second. In celebration he actually ate meat during dinner and then afterwards smoked a cigar. After dinner Daniel and Sebastien played songs on the uke, which sounded nice, but slightly comedic coming from the distinct sounding instrument.

Eventually we all made our ways to bed, and I must say I dozed quite contentedly straight through the night.

Finishing post concerning first day at Rebekah's

After lunch we drove through some of the other nearby areas and saw another small town as well as an very small abandoned village which Rebekah said is now entirely used as a farm. We returned to Moratinos where we were greeted by two younger men, pilgrims, who had arrived on The Camino. Daniel, from Germany, was on his way to Santiago and had met earlier in the week with James, one of Rebekah and Paddy's friends who is also working on fixing up a residence in Moratinos. Sebastien, from Belgium, was on his way back from Santiago and happened to meet Daniel shortly after they both arrived in Moratinos. Rebekah said they were more than welcome to stay and that she'd have them help with some of the things that needed doing around the house.

We all came in and Libby and I took a short nap. Being Ash Wednesday, there was a mass being held at the church in town at 5:30pm. Rebekah, Paddy, and I attended and I met a few of the other villagers. It was interesting to see a mass in another language, as I didn't really attend for any religious purposes, but more so to see another culture's traditions. It ended by 6:00 – we called it Church Express – and we headed back to wake Libby.

After the mass we went over to meet with Rebekah and Paddy's friends, and one of the men, Celestino, invited us to visit his bodega and have some wine. So here is my description of the bodega. For anyone who is familiar with Tolkien's Hobbits, then it is most easily conceived as being a Hobbit hole. They are cave-like dwellings built into a hill with small doors and no windows. Some of them were originally used as places to press and store wine, and Celestino, who owns two bodegas, still makes wine in his. They are perfect for this process because being built under the earth, much like a cellar, they have a constant cool temperature. We tried some of Celestino's wine, which again was a Temparnillo. It was very new – which was apparent by it's taste. When it warmed up a bit in our cups though it had a very nice fragrance akin to fresh picked strawberries. I think given some more time to age it could be a very good wine. After seeing Celestino's other bodega he gifted us two bottles of wine that he was not sure of the variety or age, and then we headed back home.

We fixed a dinner of mashed potatoes, meat and onions, and roasted peppers. It was supposed to be like Sheppard's Pie, but because the electricity here is delicately balanced between several heat generating appliances we weren't able to bake it and so just mixed it up ourselves. Very good, especially with the wine Paddy opened for all of us – a professionally made Temparnillo.

To be continued tomorrow...

Continuation of earlier post made from Cafe Zentral in Sahagun, Spain.

More on Barcelona... The Park Guell had this amazing fountain, which unfortunately was covered up due to some construction or other while we were there. The park itself is huge, with many good views of Barcelona as well as a large plaza with surrounded by the longest bench in the world, entirely created with mosaic style works by Gaudi. A stairway under the plaza area lead to an expanse of Romanesque pillars, which Libby explained were supposed to be the makings of the neighborhood church in Gaudi's original plans. I took as many pictures as I could with the limitation of a disposable camera that I bought – my only concern is that I think the camera was meant for use for in situations of close distance shots. We shall see, and if they do not develop well, I'll just have to re-visit the sites I saw in Barcelona when I make my way around Spain later during my trip. Other things at the park worth noting were an excellent view from a man-made monument of stone rising up over the trees, location of two large crosses. I'm not sure what this are was called, but I can check later. It was a bit frightening coming back down though, as the guard rail was on the inside of the stairway - leaving the outer edge open and prone to clumsily induced falls – and also it was not reachable from the first few steps down, so my fear of heights made the task of descending slightly more daunting. I also was surprised to see bright green parrots flying about and nesting in palm trees – oh yea, did I mention they have palm trees here?! Finally, the park is also home to the Gaudi Museum, which I didn't visit this trip to Barcelona, but perhaps I will get the time to next visit.

Libby and I sat down for a while to rest our feet – which after 9 hours or so of walking were well used – and then walked our way back down to the closest Metro station. We rode the train back to the train station, Barcelona-Sants, where we waited around for our train to Sahagun. It seemed every young person in Barcelona was flooding the station to take train downtown in order to celebrate Mardi Gras. We saw some really interesting costumes as well as some really horrible costumes. Our train left Barcelona at 10pm and we were in a sleeper car with three other people – a mother and son, who we learned were Columbians who'd lived in Spain for 10 years, and another younger guy whom we didn't talk to very much. It wasn't a very comfortable train ride, but I did manage to find a decent position to sleep in at some point. Ten hours on a train is not the best way to spend your time, but I was glad that we took a night train because then we were able to conserve day time for other things.

At around 8am we arrived in Sahagun where Rebekah and Paddy met us with their dog, Una. We rode back to Moratinos, where they live, in their amazingly wonderful European make “mini-van.” Moratinos is just about 9km from Sahagun, and only has a population of about twenty people... indluding Rebekah and Paddy! Coming up to their home, you wouldn't think it was anything special. Moratinos has four or five streets with one main road through town – a plaza, a church, a barn, a local carpenter, assorted homes, and that's about it!

Coming up to Rebekah's home you only see a door leading into a square brick building that could be best described by the term “facility.” Coming through the front door however, all thoughts of anything ordinary or boring are distinguished. The main entrance opens into a small passageway which leads into a large garden/courtyard with trees and a well. Off the first corridor are a door for a storage area, and then opposite a cozy kitchen/eating area. Moving into the courtyard there is a small attached room with the toilet, bathtub, and washing machine – they use a neighbors drier and have a sort of laundry swap going on. On the other side of the courtyard are three more doors – one which leads into a room once used to store hay, another which was a former grainery attached to the house, and then the third leads into the main part of the house. There are two stories with four bedrooms, three complete and one in a state of remodeling, a salon, and workshop area, and a back door leading out to another yard, which is considered the back yard of the residence. There's a great antique grain thresher there as well as a large stable and garage building. As Rebekah and Paddy's home lives along the Camino de Santiago, they sometimes have pilgrims who stop at their home to rest for the evening. Eventually they would like to have the capability to house animals such as horses and donkeys that some pilgrims travel with. Finally, one of the best parts of the town of Moratinos is that each residence has it's own Bodegas. I'll discuss what those are later in this or another post where I can go into much greater detail.

So that's the best I can afford for a description of the amazing home I get to stay in for the next month or so, but I will absolutely be posting pictures as soon as I can.

After a much appreciated hot shower, a cup of coffee, and an apple we met some of the townspeople and were invited over later in the day for a drink. We then made our way into Sahagun again to get a tour of the area. We stopped by to see a shop owned by one of Rebekah's friends, an older woman named Paca. They sell a variety of items including school supplies, trinkets, books, and other miscellaneous goods. She gave us some homemade cookies before we left, and I guess at some point in speaking with Rebekah and Libby referred to me as “Blondie.”

We stopped by a store to get some shampoo and shaving cream, and then a bakery to get bread for the day, and finally at the post office so I could mail a few post cards and get stamps for later. After this we visited the Cafe Zentral, which is where I wrote my last post from. After our half hour there we moved to another bar and enjoyed a beer and tapas of bread and cured ham. Delicious. Rebekah drove us through the rest of Sahagun, and we saw some of the famed sights of the city including the remains of a former monastery's gated entrance. We then stopped at a “dive” called Cafe des Pellagrinos (Pilgrims' Cafe), where we had our lunch. It is common in Spain for lunch to be ordered from a Menu de Dia, or a daily menu. I referred to these earlier as the choose your own adventure meals. I had a first course of saffron rice and rabbit, a second course of trout cooked with bacon inside, wine, bread, and dessert consisting of heavy whipped sweet cream and a strawberry preserve. We finished lunch with coffee and friendly chat. That's one thing about the people of Spain that I really love – Siesta. Lunch time is very important for Spaniards, and they often take 2-3 hours to eat and rest right in the middle of the day. Afterwards, around 4 or 5 o'clock, people return to work and continue working until 8 or 9 in the evening. Dinner is then typically later than Americans would eat, and consists of tapas, which is essentially an assortment of small to meal sized appetizer-like foods. Additionally, in the region I'm in, Palencia, it seems that almost all of the red wine produced here is made from Temparnillo.

Okay, it's getting late and everyone else has gone to bed, so I will finish this entry off tomorrow morning.

Ciao.

1 Euro for a half hour...

So, I´m in Spain and currently sitting in the Cafe Zentral in Sahagun. It is the major city near Moratinos where Rebekah and Paddy live. Libby and I arrived this morning via train from Barcelona at about 8am Spanish time. It was a 10 hour train ride, but I did manage to get some sleep and have had a couple coffees. Woo.

Barcelona was so incredible. Libby and I flew in and arrived at 9am, found our way to the central train station and checked our bags in a locker area. We got a ticket for 10 bus rides so we could take the Metro around the city. We started by getting a Metro to Casa Milla, which was so much better in person. I really want to see it again in the evening when it´s all lit up. From there we traversed the streets of Barcelona and found Casa Ballto. Again - incredible.

Saw a few fountains, and also the Arc de Triompf which made me laugh a little. Libby says that when Barcelona was built they wanted it to be like a second Paris. It was neat, but an entirely different style from the Parisian monument.

We walked down side streets to Sagrada Famillia, which was so much bigger than I´d expected. I took pictures of it from every angle.

After that, looking for the Picasso Museum, we happened upon this district of small alley side-streets. All kinds of shops and cafes and the like. It was so peaceful and quaint. I could live there. The museum was very nice for 4 Euro, but Libby says the one in Paris is better. I didn´t get to see it last time I was there so I´ll have to check it out.

We had our lunch, which is the biggest meal of the day, at a cafe in the same district (I can´t recall it´s name right now but I´ll update again and put it in). The menu of the day consists of 2 courses, wine, bread, and dessert. It´s like a choose your own adventure. I had a Russian Salad - an interesting take on tuna salad - and cured ham and sliced potatos. Libby wasn´t so fortunate and had baked artichokes which didn´t taste very good, and what we at first thought was calamari, but ended up being tripe... we both had the realization at the same time after we had each tried some. Yuck!

To end the day we visited the Parke Guelle, a neighborhood that Gaudi had built for Barcelona´s elite, but which didn´t end up working out to that regard. A very long walk up a huge hill - not unlike the ones in San Francisco I´d imagine. Though there were periodic escalators built into the roadways. From the top the view of the city was breathtaking.

I have just over a minute of Internet time left - so I´m going to cut this entry off here and write some more on my laptop at home tonight.

Adios!

My Itinerary

I leave Monday, February 19^th, 2007 from Cleveland Hopkins Airport at 3:00pm EST, arrive in Newark, NJ at 4:45pm EST, then depart for Barcelona, Spain at 7:15pm EST. Our plane touches down in Spain at 9:10am on February 20^th. That’s Spain time, which is currently six hours ahead of EST. Oh, and the “us” I’m referring to would be my good friend Libby and I. She’s flying over to Spain with me and will be there until the 26^th. She’s taking a mini-vacation to visit her mother and step-father, Rebekah and Paddy, whom I’ll be staying with for the first three or four weeks of my time in Spain.

Libby and I are planning to spend most of the day we arrive in Barcelona. While there I plan on visiting Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family), Casa Milà, Casa Batlló, and Park Güell. It really seems from my research that Gaudí built Barcelona. J There are museums and other sights I plan on seeing as well, but for the most part I will probably let Libby guide me, as she’s visited Barcelona a few times prior – that and at some point in my trip I’ll be visiting the area again.

So after Barcelona, we will take an overnight train to Sahagún which is approximately 11km from Rebekah and Paddy’s home. They live at a junction along El Camino, which is a roughly 500 mile pilgrimage across Northern Spain which I intend to walk later in my trip. They need some assistance with fixing things up, so in return for allowing me board I’m planning to help them however I can.

Sometime in late April or early May I’ll set out to tour the Spanish countryside. On my list of places to visit include: Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Málaga, Granada, Valencia, and Bilbao, home of the world famous Guggenheim Museum. This will take me south and then up along the Mediterranean coastline, back towards Barcelona and then to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France where the walk along El Camino begins. Google Maps was crafty enough to let me plot out an approximate “path” from St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The walk is paced out to take a month.

Map: St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, FRANCE to Santiago de Compostela, SPAIN

Once I’ve reached Santiago, I’ll make a stop back to Rebekah’s to replenish my things and then catch a cheap flight to Rome, Italy. From here I plan to travel to Southern Italy and then make my way back north. I’d like to spend 3-4 weeks backpacking in Italy seeing as much as I can. One thing I stumbled across accidentally was Cinque Terre, an 11km stretch of coastline along the Mediterranean where five villages are connected by footpaths. The trail is also referred to as the Lover’s Walk, which I had learned about from one of one of my wine workshop instructors last year. While in Italy I’d also like to visit Florence, Bologna, Milan, Venice, and Naples.

From Italy I’ll find my way into France… and then all will be well J I am so excited to get to explore France much more in depth than I did during my last stay in the Loire Valley. I fully intend on basking on the warm sunny shoreline of Nice, traversing the Alps to Strasbourg, seeing the beaches of Normandy, marveling – yet again – at the dazzling brightness of Paris, and indulging in some of my favorite wines in Bordeaux. After having my fill, which will doubtfully be ever, of France I’ll head back to Rebekah’s one last time at some point in August and after a wonderful six months return back to the States.

Welcome...

Benvenuto! Bienvenida! Bienvenue! Willkommen! Welkom!

What better way to introduce my new blog than to welcome everyone who reads in a few of the different languages I expect to encounter along the way! (That’s Italian, Spanish, French, German, and Dutch for those of you who were wondering)

So thanks for taking the time to have some interest in my travels abroad. I’ll try to update as often as possible while I’m backpacking from place to place, and will hopefully have many pictures to share. At this time I’m not sure what the limitations of Blogger are for image uploading, so at some point in time I may begin posting links to photos using some other service. We shall see.

In the meantime, I’m going to take the next few posts to overview what I have planned for this trip and try and provide some useful and interesting information about some of the things I plan on seeing/doing while over seas.

As a final note – I’d love to hear from any and all of you tracking my progress. Please feel free to comment on my posts or contact me via one of the methods listed at the side of this page. I’ll try to have an updated mailing address available for places that I intend to stay in for a week or more, otherwise, email works just as well.

Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoy following my journey.

Ryan