Feeling hot, hot, hot

 [Usual  'blogging on the hoof' disclaimer re spelling and typos, remember to click on photos to enlarge detail :) ]

Today is Friday the 13th -  lucky for some.

 I forgot to mention that yesterday in Plaza Mayor, in the center of Madrid, a bird pooped on me so hopefully it gave us good luck for today, Friday the 13th. 

We started walking today and the forecast looked hot hot hot. 

We had a hearty breakfast as there are no villages between Tres Cantos and Colmenar Viejo.

 We stocked up our water bottles at the Mercadona, a fantastic little supermarket chain across Spain which has the most amazing fresh food and it's very economical. We always check out the fish department and it never fails to amaze me the range of beautiful fresh fish you see in the fish markets.

The trail today had very little shelter, it was stinking hot. We walked amongst pretty fields of poppies and wild lavender  - a very rural landscape. We crossed little streams with stepping stones that can be treacherous when the streams turn into rivers with the snow  melt, but we managed just fine today. 

Interesting to see some talented person decided to add their artistic flair to the trail marker, must have made a major effort out here in the middle of nowhere :)

As with most villages, they are on hilltops to see the invaders approaching and Colmenar Viejo is no different. We slugged it out up the gradual path to the village in 28° heat with no shade.

 We found brief respite in a shady spot beside the cemetery and sat down on cool marble flagstones and rested, bliss. We looked back to Madrid and in the distance we could see two big blobs that are  huge buildings that mark the edge of the city of Madrid, we'd walked a long way already.

 Turning in the other direction beyond Colmenar Viejo we could see the Sierra de Guadarama which we will cross in a few days time. There's still snow on the tops, but we're  hoping this heat will surely melt that snow by the time we get there. 

 As we slugged our way up the gradual incline we stopped and rested in the cool of the Iglesia. The Iglesia, or Church of the Assumption of Our Lady of Colmenar Viejo sits on a site dating back to the 1540s, incredibly beautiful inside and a cool place to rest a while. It was great to see all the storks nests way up on the basilica roof and in the trees in parks. Will try and get better pics tomorrow.

 Then a small last test of endurance to Hotel Chiscon, our bed for the night. 

It's a fantastic old building with loads of character and best of all it has a bathtub, ( good for clothes washing).  As knackered  as you are when you get in and want to get your pack off,  the drill is wash sweaty gear for the next day, shower and siesta in that order. Dinner is served at 8:30 p.m. so we'll do our housekeeping tasks, check the trail map  for tomorrow and rest up, it's been a long hot day.

Forecast for tomorow Saturday is hot but overcast, yay.

Madrid

 Thursday 12th May 2022

(Rusty blogging skills disclaimer, click on photos to enlarge, typos to be allowed due to speed blogging on the hoof :)

We left New Zealand on Tuesday the 10th of May at 3:50 p.m. Our flight route was Auckland to Brisbane, Brisbane to Dubai, Dubai to Madrid. We arrived in Madrid Wednesday the 11th at 1:25 p.m. local time and in our jet lagged state were very  happy to see our luggage arrived with us :)   

Quick travel observations in covid new normal/travel times, flights are at approximately 60% booked, wearing a face mask continuously makes your ears hurt, transit terminals are functioning with minimal staff and many shops and restaurants are not yet open. The travel really is just to be endured between point A to point B unless of course you travel business or first class which I imagine is a totally different story :)

 We collected our luggage, jumped in the hotel shuttle, jumped in the shower and then  jumped into bed. We had a bit of sleep to catch up on. It was great to be able to lie down, stretch out and get some decent sleep. We woke up at 3:30 a.m. wide awake,  it will take us a few days to adjust to Spanish time :)

 Today we head a great breakfast in the hotel and we went off to the center of Madrid for the day. We went to the Real Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago y San Juan, Church of John the Baptist, in Calle de Santiago and collected a credentiale / a pilgrim passport, where we record our progress on the Camino daily. The Camino de Madrid is approximately 322 km from Madrid to Sahagun.We will walk through small villages and fields and forests, over a high mountain pass. We will take it one day at a time. 

It is great to be back in Spain, the heat, the food, the culture,  the architecture, the history,  the people....... it's all so different from what we experience in New Zealand. 

Bring on the adventures!

Getting ready

 Not long now and we will be saddling up our backpacks for another slow adventure walking in Spain.

Departure date 10 May and then the torture experience of air travel for too many hours before we land in Madrid.

More posts and photos to follow. Our pack weight is approx. 9ks each so we are travelling lite!

Finnisterre and Muxia

Tuesday 30 July 2019

Gorgeous sunny day to take a bus ride out to Finnisterre and on to Muxia. Rather than fuddle and muddle with public bus times we are taking the easy option with a private bus tour. Our guide is incredible, originally from Argentina, now residing in Santiago de Compostela and he speaks, Spanish, Italian, German and English, yikes.... impressive.

Our first stop was at the largest horreous/grannery store in the region which just happened to have a stunning old church right next door. Lovely little village where we managed to lose one of our passenger flock for about 20 mins. 

We passed beautiful little beaches and bays as we tootled along the coast towards Finnisterre, the end of the world in ancient times. Next stop some Cascades, aka waterfalls that pour into a bay, a coastal Cascade. Looked like Nordic fjords, very pretty.

Finnisterre is a lovely old traditional fishing port. Fresh fish is still sold daily in the fish market. We were too late for the fish sales so we settled for tasting the local delicacies in a restaurant on the wharf....best paella in the world! 

On to the old lighthouse at Finnisterre, the end of the world. Stunning day, deep blue sea, gorgeous coves and pilgrims enjoying standing at a 0 kilometre marker.  A very special place, pilgrims often leave special momentos here.  Travelling with my sister today who had carried a scallop shell from NZ to honour her husbands life, very special.

Then back on the bus, slight detour to a hospital as one of our fellow passengers fell on the rocks at Finnisterre and needed X-rays, a different passenger to the one that got lost, and on to Muxia, another special pilgrim spot, wild and isolated. The most wonderful old church standing strong against the sea, and I imagine, raging weather in Winter.

Fantastic day, special on so many levels.