May 9 - Almaden to Real de la Jara

The 3 of us (Moos, Salvador and I) were the last to leave. Angel woke me up, gave me a piece of paper with his phone number and told me he was going to walk further ahead today. This 75 year old man is walking 40+ kilometer days from now on. Puts some of us to shame (not because how fast he´s walking the Via, but because his body can do so much)! On we went and it was another nice walk. The skies are overcast and a bit chilly. Unfortunately, it was another road day! See, the Guardia Civil yesterday as well as the woman of the albergue told me the road through the private estate was closed now. Pissed me off!! Why? When we got to Real de la Jara, Esmeralda told me that nooooo, the estate was open and that the road was beautiful! The CSJ guide says it is open, but we went with what the people had told us and bummer, they were wrong. Several of us were disappointed with this. Lesson.... ???
Either way, it was a nice walk, for the sides of the road we walked on was full of farms with bulls, sheep and those black (yummy ham) pigs. Oak trees in abundance, for these pigs eat acorns, which helps make their ham the best tasting in the world! The scents of the bushes, the flowers is intoxicating. I do not know the name of it, but the scent of church incense is all around us. The flowers from those bushes are blooming. I love it! The stork nests, which are on every corner of every tall building, especially churches are occupied by the mamas and little little babies. I can see their little bills poking over the sides of the nests. I cannot wait to see them taking their first flights. We are now in town and went to the ayuntamiento to get our credenciales stamped and pay our fees but it was closed with a note to go to the woman´s house who works there and let her know we are here. We do so; I notice I am limping a little more than earlier today and feel much pain. hmmm. We went back to the albergue which is at the beginning edge of town. You walk into a dining room and there are bedrooms on wither side with a small kitchen. It feels like you are in a cave, and have to duck yourhead as you go from room to room. The flies....oh my,the flies! Dozens of them in there. UGH! Salvador passed the time catching them. Then he and Moos went to the castle to explore it. At night it is lit up. Finally we go back to the ayuntamiento and wait for the woman. We meet a young man from Finland who speaks perfect Spanish. As we pay, Manolo arrives. Manolo is someone who had contacted me through a forum I belong to. We had hoped to meet and exchanged phone numbers. I recognized him right away when he arrived and we hugged. So cool we were able to accomplish a meeting. We went back to the albergue and was happy we were staying on the second floor. Spacious, wonderful and NO FLIES! Moos, Manolo, Salvador and I went to town and had tapas for dinner. We let Manolo order since he knew what sounded good and we had an enjoyable dinner. The pain in my leg is worrying me. TOTAL 16 KILOMETERS

May 8 - Castilblanco to Almaden de la Plata

We left early (early for us, everyone else except Moos was gone). The town was still asleep. I believe only 1 bar was open. We walked among all the little white homes and out of town, over the road. And on and on the road went. I meant to share that I have this little hip pain that radiates down my right leg, which at times becomes quite painful. So far it has not given me too much trouble, other than achiness. Walking on the road for so long starts to wear on my little bones. And this etapa is a very long one. I had to stop a few times to rest my leg and as we were approaching the turnoff to go into the park, I knew I had to stop. At this point I had walked almost 17 kilometers. If I had known, I would have taken a ride to the entrance to the park and walked the rest. But I was scared that I would get in trouble once going up the steep mountain. I really wish I had done that. For the worst part was that long and boring road, and the best part was yet to come.... a climb to El Berrocal, about 200 meters higher than where we were, and straight up. I told Salvador to keep going and that I would thumb a ride. Moos was waiting for us at the entrance of the park and Salvador really wanted to do it. I did not fear hitch-hiking (last time I hitchhiked was in 1970 with 2 other girls through Spain, France and England, on our way to the Isle of Wight music festival).
Off he went and I sat there for a moment. I could hear a car coming in the distance and I got up and walked to the other side of the road and stuck out my thumb. It was the Guardia Civil!! I remember how scared the people were of the brutal Guardia Civil in the times of Franco. Well, they were very nice men and stopped for me and took me to Almaden de la Plata and dropped me off right in front of the albergue. I waited for Salvador and Moos at the albergue. It was raining, everyone was wet. The woman at the albergue set up heaters for people to dry their clothes. Again the albergue filled up. Quite a few cyclists this time. Half had done the road the other half went over the Berrocal and were nursing their very tired leg muscles. Salvador swears he lost a kilo on this walk today. He took pictures through the park, El Berrocal, where there are beautiful views. (Once I can get his camera I can post some of thos pics). The skies opened up and poured heavily, but that did not stop anyone from going out to eat. Again the 4 of us ate together. Moos who is from Holland, is a very friendly man. (I think he´s a Viking) It was good for Salvador to have him as a walking buddy. TOTAL 29,4 KILOMETERS.

May 7 - Guillena to Castilblanco de los Arroyos

I did not feel too tired this morning. Even after an uncomfortable sleep. Not quite used to hard floors! We took our time and were the last to leave. A little road walking, not too much and finally on real paths, which gives me a better feeling that I am on a Camino. The ground is still a bit flat, very gentle rises here and there, but nothing that taxes the breath. We went through many gates, ran into Esmeralda (Peru) and her German friend. Wildflowers are starting to show themselves, that makes me a very happy pilgrim. Flowers are something that gives me such pleasure. At home my gardens, my pots are full of flowering plants. My birth center is maintained by gardeners that make our place so beautiful that people who are stopped in traffic in front of our buiilding have called us on their cell phones to tell us they love our garden. Yes, flowers fill me with beauty. We are walking among olive trees and oaks, a rocky path that requires alot of looking down. Still, I stop and turn around so I can see where we have been, take a swig of water and look ahead. I am starting to feel good, content. We arrive in Castilblanco de los Arroyos and quickly find the albergue, located behind a petrol station. We are some of the first there, all our friends from Guillena are already settled in. We shower, wash clothes and rest. The albergue has a patio just outside the door and one can see over the rooftops of the town. All the houses are white, with red roofs. The sun is setting and making those colors that makes one feel peaceful. Many others arrived, a couple on bikes and then all the beds were full. Today many Germans and a couple from Iran. I heard later that this past Saturday night, while everyone was asleep, some guys came in with a fire extinguisher and sprayed the pilgrims that were by the door with it, then ran out. The police were called and no one knows whatever became of it. Luckily it was not us, for Sal and I were sleeping in the same beds. We went to a bar for dinner just across the street and ate with Angel and Moos. Angel is an amazing man. This is his 15th Camino. He has walked them all and this is the 5th time on the Via de la Plata. He says this is his favorite...why? "You´ll see", he tells me. I smile, I cannot wait! Pilgrim menu was not too bad; Salvador loves to say albóNdigas. TOTAL 17,8 KILOMETERS

May 6 - From Sevilla to Guillena

We went to the cathedral and got our credencials stamped. Looked for the signs, the arrows, anything we could find and made our way out of the city. It was a hot day. A very hot day! We were in good spirits. Leaving Sevilla, we passed through an old gypsy camp. It is not like the gypsy camps I remember when I was 13 and living in Spain for 9 months; no, there were no typical characters, women dressed with long dresses, brown skin, squatters on a piece of land. Here instead were what we call trailers, dirty ones, litter all over the ground, old cars in disrepair, in some it looked like they were living in them. No, they do not have that gypsy look, now it looks yucky. I felt like part of the culture was lost.
Along the road we hear rifle shots going off every couple of minutes. No idea if we were in a hunting area, but nope. Here come men on horses followed by a caravan of hundreds of carts being pulled by bulls, oxen, horses, donkeys or tractors. Each one had several people in it. Reminded me of a wagon train. On foot were many people. Women dressed in their native flamenco type dresses, men in theirs as well (suits, not dresses). We stopped a couple of women and asked what was going on and they said it was their Romeria to El Rocio. I took a picture of Salvador with them. Every town in Spain has a Romeria, a walk, a pilgrimage of sorts to their local holy place, where they will do religious rites, eat, sing, play music and dance. Good times. I sure wished we had been asked to join them, for I can just imagine what that night would have been like. We moved on. We went through Santiponce- Italica- a site with Roman ruins. We spent a short time there not realizing we missed alot of it. Have to go back there as well someday. Then on and on we went in this heat! The road was long, no shade for a long time. I saw a tree in the distance and was looking forward to getting to it. But I think it kept moving further away, for it seemed forever before we got to it. A little stream that had a bridge under water, so we went looking for a place to cross it. A fallen tree served that purpose- we crossed it and got to that tree and promptly spread my sarong and layed down. Salvador did as well on his and we fell asleep for a little while. A couple came by and that woke us up enough to get it together to move on. So we did. Arrived in Guillena. Found the "albergue". NO way in hell that this is an albergue. I argued (not really) with the young man who was in the gym. How can this be? Imagine a locker room.... two benches....two mats. That´s it. Now imagine these mats were trampled on and full of dirt. The floor of the place littered with garbage. The toilet, with no door, no seat, full of shit. The sink almost gray with so much crap. On the other side of the buidling was a twin room. One man was sleeping there. I was dismayed. I was so tired that it was inconceivable that this could be what this town was offering as shelter to us. I called Patricia, a woman I know from one of the forums I am on and who apparently had decided not to stay here (she was walking 2 weeks before me). I called a hostal, too expensive. So reminded myself of the saying, "a tourist demands, a pilgrim is greatful". So I asked for a spray cleaner and cloth and cleaned the mats, the toilets and the sink. By now, Moos, from Holland had arrived and he got the broom, swept the place and picked up the litter. OK. Better now, especially with others there. That is what makes anything bearable. The company of others. 4 mats, 6 people. One man put the benches together and slept on that, another one on his sleeping bag on the floor. Ivan from France, Angel from Spain, Moos from Holland and Manfred from Germany. And Salvador and I. We took our shower, ate what we had in our bag, washed clothes and slept. TOTAL 22,6 KILOMETERS

To Sevilla - let´s start

After spending a few days in Madrid and Valencia visiting family, we took a plane to Sevilla on the 4th of May to start our journey. Realized too late that we cannot get to see Granada and Cordoba´s wonderful sites, since you have to reserve or buy tickets ahead of time, so stayed in Sevilla only a couple of days. But what a beautiful city! I must come back as a regular tourist someday. The hostal was charming, the Hostal Picasso, although we had to share our room with 3 others, just like a pilgrim´s albergue....and not so cheap either. We walked around, saw several sites, went to the cathedral and its magnificent organ and Salvador wanted to see a futbol game, so headed to the stadium, bought tickets and saw a live game. Sevilla against some other team (ahh my memory). We rooted for the home team which was good, since we were amongst thousands of fans and they also won. Sevilla is so beautiful!! We went to the Plaza España, architecturally a splendid place. I fell in love with this builing. Due to a water shortage (?) the fountains were not in operation, so we missed an extra of this gem. I met with Maite, a midwife from Sevilla I had connected with online. We went to a little cafe, chatted a while.... I gave her a poster I had brought from home, and she gave me a little booklet of thoughts and stories of births. It was so nice to meet up with a midwife from Spain and ask and listen to her speak of the status of midwifery and home birth. She likes my birthing center, which she was online, and wants me to come help her open one up here. Hmmm, an open door... We went to the Office of the Amigos del Camino where we bought our credencial and some pins. It was nice chatting with these volunteers, who have a wealth of information of the different Caminos. Ate in the Toro room of the Bar Miami, where we were served a huge plate of different types of meats. We had a friendly folkloric server. Loved her. Yeah, and good protein. The night before we left we went to a tablao, a hole in the wall with not even a name above its door, and saw an incredible show of flamenco. One guitarist, one singer and one dancer. Rows of tables filled with spectators, drinking all kinds of things, and enjoying themselves. A "volunteer" in the audience came up and danced with the woman. It was awesome!! I watch this dancing and feel it deep in my heart. Their faces, either showing pleasure or pain or both..... very sensuous! We just happened to sit across a couple with their baby. She went to school with Layla and Kevin. Leon High School, class of 89. How small the world!

Tomorrow Salvador and I will be leaving for Spain and starting our walk. I believe our walk will take about 7 weeks. Salvador has no idea what he just signed up for..... bwahahaha. He told me he is adding a nice shirt in case he meets a senorita.

I will think of you often.

Think of us and send healing thoughts to our feet!!
Some of you have not seen my video of pics from the Camino Frances,some of you are probably rolling your eyes (there she goes again). Enjoy.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=26561450
Now where's that Viking?

Kisses
Lillian Alicia

On my Santiago forum there is an incredible group of people who give and give, stories and advice and information, to all of us who are embarking on our Caminos. I too share, since I am now a Camino veteran. In today's forum there were some beautiful writings that moved me. This one is from Sillydoll, who expresses her sentiments in such a way that I felt it spoke not just for her but for all of us as well. I want to share with you.

"You can almost pick out pilgrims who have walked a long distance on their camino - they have that chilled out (almost spaced out!) laid back, no fuss look about them. We met an Austrian in Foncebadon who had walked from home. He was so quiet and withdrawn, tanned and weather beaten that he almost blended into the landscape. Pilgrims who are just starting out or who have only been walking for a few days still have a clean-cut, worried, apprehensive, sometimes ‘loud’ look about them – like the group of pilgrims we met at Sarria who stood out with their clean clothes, raucous songs and never-ending banter.
The first few days on the camino are an anxious time for most. I think ‘jet-lag’ is a symptom of your soul trying to catch up with your body - especially if you have flown across oceans and continents to get there. It takes me at least 3 or 4 days to get over jet-lag and settle into the rhythm of the camino - getting ready in the morning, setting out into a strange land and walking every day.
The camino breaks you in slowly. At first you are shattered at the end of each day but then the endorphins take over and you get used to the adrenaline rush. You can only start to relax once the backpack is comfortable, the shorts don’t creep, the shoelaces are tied properly and once you become accustomed to spotting the yellow arrows you stop fretting about getting lost. You start to ‘go with the flow’ and you lose sense of time. After a few of weeks you get into the Zen-zone. You become one with nature and all your senses are alert – like antennae – and you can hear a gentle wind, a field mouse, crickets in the wheat and listen to the silence.
Last year my husband joined us in Sarria and walked for 7 days and although he enjoyed it very much, he said that he didn’t think he could do that for 6 weeks. I explained that one doesn’t repeat that first settling in week over and over again. The first week is the most difficult but you get fitter and fitter as time goes by; you stop fighting the camino and let it take over and when you do that, you become a part of it and that is the addictive essence of the camino. That is why we keep going back for more."

Yeah.