Camino Sanabres 2019

The Camino spirit is alive and well—I discovered that last night when Luigi invited me to join his group of three Italians for a home-cooked spaghetti ragu, eight in all. We enjoyed the mish-mash of languages and laughed the evening away—no one wanted it to end. The hospitaleras were invited and brought out some of their stash of pâtés and spreads.

Today was a great day for walking the 19.5 km (12.2 mi). The albergue here was a far cry from yesterday’s, so I opted to stay at a casa rural with my own room and bathroom—only one other couple here—a real splurge that won’t be available once I turn off on the Camino Sanabres. Not sure where the others went—possibly to a new Casa rural advertised by a leaflet delivered as we were walking by a car!!!!!

Here are some pics: first, the street cleaner spraying down the streets; dinner from last night; my Casa Rural; lastly, cyclists, maybe a few dozen that passed me by and wishing me, Buen Camino.”

The day started with an un-forecasted drizzle, so instead of a planned short 8-mile walk, my French buddy and I decided to take the bus for the short distance. Then he opted to stay there and I opted to walk 20 km (12.5 miles) to Zamora. The drizzle had stopped by then and I gained a day to spend at a more interesting place than a 200-people village. The short walk would have put me in town before noon with nothing to do. The whole walk would have been uncomfortably long.

Zamora is a fascinating city of some 60,000 with a history going back to Roman times. It lies on a rocky hill in the northwest overlooking the Duero (that empties into the Atlantic in Porto, Portugal. With its 24 characteristic Romanesque style churches of the 12th and 13th centuries it has been called a "museum of Romanesque art. Zamora is the city with the most Romanesque churches in all of Europe. I visited the Cathedral and the museum in its former cloister and was overwhelmed—so impressive.

Here are just a few pics: my entry into Zamora as I crossed the Duero River and the view of the fortifications and cathedral in the distance; the next three are inside the Cathedral, the religious float made of silver and gilded, a St James altar piece, and the third, an amazing silver altar piece; lastly is the outside of the cathedral.

Here is a pic of our four-bed room—huge space between top and bottom bunks!!!!

Much less windy today and more enjoyable; walked 12.7 miles (20.3 km). Had a continental breakfast at the other albuerge which gave me a good start because nothing else was available along the way—that had to last me (and it it). Chose the Albergue Y&M and was one of the early ones to arrive at about 1:30 PM and first in the shower is always a treat.

Here are some memorable pictures: the first pic gave me a real scare, as in, do I really have to cross this water—panic; after looking at my electronic track, I realized I missed a detour about 100 yards back! The second picture is what the trail looked like paralleling the highway; the third and fourth pics, were common sights along the way.

Mucho viento hoy! First day trekking in Spain was an easy one: about 10 miles (16 km) on level terrain but the head- and cross-winds were fierce, maybe with 30 to 40 knot winds. Most of the route was over a dirt farm road. By noon I reached my first destination staying at a municipal albuerge for 5€—a real bargain. Only one other peregrino is here, a young Spanish fellow. About a half dozen others are staying at another private albuerge that offers breakfast—I'm going to try to get a breakfast with them tomorrow morning because there’s nothing else available. You can see from the pics the road and my albuerge.

MI left Vienna City Center right after a lovely lunch very close to the airport express train yesterday on Monday. My cousin, Martina, joined Susanne, Peter, and me. The flight was short of three hours and I had a hotel reservation at the Madrid Airport. To call the hotel for a pickup, I decided to get a SIM card for my phone right at the airport. After a good night’s sleep, I went back to the Airport today Wednesday, to catch a bus to Salamanca. So here I am checked into my hostel and ready to walk tomorrow morning. The weather here in Spain is quite a bit warmer than in Vienna which was hit with a cold spell. Nevertheless, I already miss all my relatives in Austria—we had such a great visit.

I spent more than two hours visiting first the new Cathedral (16th-18th centuries) and adjoining it the old Cathedral (12th-14th centuries). So much architectural character and art pieces as well as religious relics—it’s hard to take it all in. Since the Salamanca diocese was once part of the Santiago diocese, the two cities have a special relationship. Some of that comes through a special exhibit in one of the halls of the old Cathedral that has a statue of St James.

Before looking at some memorable pictures from Salamanca, I had to insert a picture of the alps we flew over on the way to Madrid—makes you shiver just looking at them. Next is the new Cathedral, then the house of shells built by a knight of the order of St James; the statue of St James in the old Cathedral; and the interior of the new Cathedral.

And I couldn’t resist a churro with hot chocolate in Plaza Mayor: