May 6--Heading North

Today was the day of long walks and long naps! We had to ride the bus up to Roncesvalles from Madrid (yes, we're leaving the city), so we got an EARLY start to the day at 7:30 a.m., and then we rode a bus for five hours.  I got a GOOD FAT NAP in before we got to Roncesvalles.  I seriously love Europe--just driving across the countryside was so amazing.

We had to make a stop about halfway through for 30 minutes because it was mandated for the bus driver, so we just went walking down the road (ended up going pee behind the bushes because, you know, when in Europe, do as the Europeans do:-)), and it was just a beautiful sunny day.  We had fields of crops all


around us, rolling hills on both sides--AMAZING! We arrived at Roncesvalles, dropped off our luggage, and THEN got in taxis to take us up to the head of the Camino so we could walk DOWN into Roncesvalles where we had already dropped off our stuff.

If I had to choose one word to describe the car ride to what ended up being the TOP OF A MOUNTAIN, that word would be winding.  Like for real, near the top I let out a burp that could have EASILY been a lot worse if I hadn't been careful.  That being said, I was with four other really fun students, and our French driver, Guillaume, was super cool.  We were singing Disney songs and hymns the whole way there--at one point, there were cows in the road that we had to shoo out of the way.  Plus, we are taking the Frances Camino, so we actually drove INTO France from Roncesvalles (which is in Spain) and then hiked 6.2 miles back into Spain from France.

What can I say about the hike other than it was so beautiful.  We started super high on the mountain and continued to climb up for a while.  It was chillier than I expected, but I didn't care that much.  It was very rocky and grassy where we started off.  We passed a fountain named for a person who died in battle, walked by some sheep, and then we got to these rolling grassy hills where the clouds were literally swirling around us.  For the rest of the journey (70% of which was at a 50-degree angle down), it was beautiful.  Lush forests as we crested the mountain.  We saw purple toothwort, hoof fungus, moss, tadpoles and these dark black slugs all while attempting to stop ourselves from tumbling down the slopes.  The forest was just alive--it was so green, the birds were going crazy in the trees (I had to send a recording of them to my mom)--it sounded like we were in a Disney movie, and the six miles flew by as we all talked to each other.

This isn't me in the picture, but it's the very start of the Camino.








Believe it or not, this is a SLUG! They are HUGE!

When we got into Roncesvalles, we got our "credencials"--basically our Camino passport which shows we are actually doing it--stamped at the nearby church.  We had 30 minutes before dinner which was amazing! Tortellini in cheese sauce for "primeros" (appetizers), Basque chicken for "secundos" and cheesecake for dessert.




After that, we were stuffed and tired, but a few of us got together and watched an hour of Megamind before we headed to bed for some much needed sleep.  And we could rest peacefully, knowing that we wouldn't be hiking or doing that much tomorrow :-)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

May 31--Becoming a Saint--is it worth it?

Image
Today was our last day of walking for the next week! I will say that after two days of hiking 16+ miles a day, my feet and legs were definitely feeling it more today. We are bussing around the area for the next few days.  On the schedule are some prehistoric caves, the Cathedral of León and its famous stained glass windows, and a beach on the northern coast!  Today's walk was pretty chill.  The last 5-6 miles were around the outskirts of León and then we made our way into León.  I got some good sellos  (I've almost filled my fourth credencial ), we met some friendly donkeys, met some not-so-friendly turkeys, and tried out the Spanish exercise equipment before we got to our hotel. We were 200 feet from where we just had breakfast, and I find all of my fellow classmates huddled around a fence.  For some reason, this turkey on the other side of the fence is ANGRY, like, he is completely puffed up, he keeps gobbling to intimidate us, and he is STRUTTING back an...
Read more

The Last Days--Thursday

Image
Oh my GOSH what a great day! I understand this is a study abroad, but holy SMOKES was it nice to just have a day that felt like vacation! To preface, we went to the western most tip of Spain, called Finesterra , or Fisterra depending on what map and language you are looking at. Its name comes from " Fin de la Tierra ," or end of the world. And MAN does it look like it - once you get to that coast, it is just blue as far as the eye can see until it all blurs together on the horizon. And back in the day when they thought the earth was flat, you can imagine sailing off the end of the world from there. BUT we didn't start there - first we visited this waterfall, I don't actually think I ever got the name of it, but at least in Spain it is the only place where fresh water flows directly into the ocean. Man, was it beautiful. And very tranquil. As we are coming to the end of this trip, it was nice to climb up on the rocks by the water and just contemplate.  But the best pa...
Read more

May 30--A River and Friends to Remember

Image
ALRIGHT! So, before I get started, can we just appreciate these cute little metal-working things that were on a house as we left Bercianos del Real Camino? Do I know if that house is still inhabited, or when the last time someone lived in it? No idea--but isn't it sweet to see these cute things that someone lovingly added to this house at several different times throughout the years? I like to see the art that people leave in these towns that are just slowly dying, and to know that at one point, this place was probably super alive and vibrant.  It's sad but also sweet. You know what is ALSO sweet? This thing that I tried in a town we passed through.  It's apparently called a torrija , and it's like SUPER thick and tasty French toast that is coated in I-don't-even-know-what.  I've been CRAVING cinnamon rolls, and I think this was about as close as I am going to get...and the craving was satisfied :D I still would have preferred a cinnamon roll straight out of my ...
Read more