Back on the Pilgrim Route.

And, heading towards Astorga after a very splendid break in a secret albergue in a secret village hidden high in the mountains. Possibly the most beautiful place I have ever visited. Sunshine all week and the woods, forests and valleys all bathed in glorious sunshine everyday :)

But, rain cometh :(

Chestnuts, mushrooms, apples and pears. Plenty to eat for free. A perfect trout river at the bottom of the valley. A 40 bed albergue with 8 showers, loos and sinks all to myself and a huge wood burning stove to play with. All has been documented photographically on old skool film and will be published here at a later date. Very interesting history to this village. And, there are wild boar, wolves and bears! More later.

Must make Astorga in time to catch business tomorrow and make some cash to buy a huge umbrella. It is the only solution. I may then venture off track again for a couple of days to visit Leon. Looks to be a city with cash potential.

A Small Diversion

A bus ride some 150KM off track for a Two week break from pilgrimage. I'll return to Benavente to start hiking again. In the meantime I have work to do.

I've noticed a big cultural difference recently. Things started changing gradually, but now the landscape, way of life, the people are all very noticably different. I'm liking this part of Spain a lot. Can't say exactly where I am for now, but it's very beautiful.

Tomorrow I will be hiking a further 20KM into the mountains and losing all internet for a few days at least, possibly longer. Logistically, things are going to get very complicated from here to Santiago. I have a lot to pack in, but I'm far further into my route than I expected to be by now, so there's no rush.

Back in a couple of weeks, or so???

Benavante

Monster hiking through fine weather and effing foul weather. I have crossed Camino de Santiago and continue to follow Ruta Mozarabe/Via de la Plata northwards. I will be walking a huge loop around the north western corner of Spain and returning to the point at which I crossed camino de Santiago to follow that route eastwards.

I'm in Benavente. The free albergue is a rather cool, hard to find (very unexpected) dereilct railway station.

A small town with a castle that is now a Parador hotel, a huge flour mill, a couple of nice churches, an outdoor municipal swimming pool with water chute (for summer use only) and an exercise park that some bloke with no legs is currently using as I write from the library.

On a convergence of Two rivers, Benavente is pretty much surrounded by plains filled with poplar plantations used for producing match sticks and fencing stakes. At this time of year the are totally naked but for the gold tops of late falling leaves. Almost surrounded by plains, but not quite. Between the 'V' of the rivers are fertile valleys renowned for the harvest of varied crops they produce. There is a harvest fair here at the end of September each year.

I have invested in a quality body warmer and a pair of light weight combats. I now have 38 pockets. Pockets for cash. Pockets for cigarettes. Pockets for lucky stones. Pockets for rubbish. Pockets for pretty much everything. Took me almost an hour to find my pocket torch last night. Cash is low. Very little going to local charities ATM. I also have a schedule to stick to over the next few weeks. Hopefully here, Astorga and Ponferrada will provide a bit to see me through a few days (or, possibly weeks) in the wilderness. I may go off radar for a while. People have been goo enough to give their time for me to interview/film/photograph them, so if I have to take a bus ride off route for a while I will.

The rains have stopped. I'm all togged up in new, warm, dry clothes... I'm off to sketch in the streets of Benavente :)

Beautiful Day Today :)

Blue skies, glorious sunshine and a crisp breeze. Perfect hiking weather, but I have a large panoramic sketch to finish. I have about €40 more in my pocket than I had when I arrived in Zamora, so another night in a cheap pension isn't a problem and I may collect a handful of €'s this afternoon.

A quick note about albergues:
Since reaching Zafra they have all been very nice. Some a bit pricey for what you get, but others are dirt cheap, or even free. It all evens out. Often they're restored, historically interesting buildings. Or, monastaries, or a room in the bishiops house! Most comparable thing in the UK would be 'old school' Youth Hostals. The deal is that you can stay One night only as a pilgrim. The albergue here in Zamora is located in the old quarters behind a very pretty little church. It has balconies with views across the river. A good kitchen and salon. Excellent showers. Dorms of 8 bunks. For the first time in about Two weeks I was not the only pilgrim. One other French guy hiking in the opposite direction.

From here on it looksas though there are cheap, or free albergues no more than Four hours hiking distance apart. With plenty of towns en route with sketching potential I should be fine.

Business as Usual

Today was better. No hassle from police. Enjoyed sketching and made enough to cover costs at least. Also remembered it is Saturday and stocked up on paper and pens. Zamora's alright in the sunshine.



Found a great little tapas/pincho bar. Second favourite in the whole of Spain so far! Bar Sevilla on Calle Alfonsod Castro. €1,90 buys a quality wine and quality snack from a huge selection. I went for tortilla with ham followed by paella. The paella was given a suspiciously long time in the microwave, but I could do with a good blowout and I have a hotel room with my own bathroom to enjoy ;)



And, whilst on the subject: best ever tapas/pincho bar in Spain so far was in Salamanca. From Plaza de España walk along Paseo del las Canalejos. Opposite the park are Two great bars. One is exceptional for fantastic local food. €2 buys a wine and whatever you want from a huge selection of traditional stuffs. Excellent.

Spain's Best Kept Wine Secret 2

This has been one of the most fun parts of pilgrimage for me. Seeing, and eating the grapes from the vine and trying the local good stuff :)

If you like a no messing, full bodied Crianza with clout check out a few Toro's. I like very much. Nothing subtle going on here, just a quality punch in the right direction at 13 - 14%. Yay! My sort of wine. No doubt those with more eloquent taste buds will notice some undertones of berries, or something. I'm sure it works on other levels, but I'm quaffing by the bottle.

Oh Dear! Intervention Policia Nacional.

Shame. I was enjoying Zamora up until now. May continue anyway, but he was a right arsey fucker. Undercover police (or, perhaps off duty. I wasn't aware that Nacional operated undercover on the streets) jumped out of car: 'You're not allowed to sketch here'. Why not? 'Because it's private property and you need permission'. Were can I obtain permission? He then told me where, but it's closed until Monday, so you may as well fuck off basically. I suspect he would be even more arsey if he saw me again. I also suspect he was just on his way home going off duty. I'm going with the second suspicion. Or, I'll try sketching in Plaza Mayor and see what happens there.

Big 'Boooooooooh!' to nasty Policia Nacional Zamora trying to spoil the charity cause. First poblem I've had since the first town outside of Granada. All the police have been generally friendly and helpful everywhere else. Just one cunt in a bad mood.

Onwards and upwards...

I guess if I was just to ask Policia Municipal if I could sketch in Plaza Mayor they would simply say no just for the sake of it???

Wolf!

Didn't post this yesterday because I wasn't 100% sure, but after a bit of local research it seems it was indeed a wolf. My first live, real, wild wolf spotting. About 4KM north of Cubo del Vino the track follows fairly dense woodland to the right and fields of corn to the left and there are wolves in the woods. Apparently local farmers aren't happy. As well as controlled, licenced culls many wolves are hunted illegally.

Thanks again for comments. I agree that Zamora has a very unique charm. What makes it very different in atmosphere for me is that there isn't an overbearing cathedral presence. As beautiful as cities like Salamanca are, there is no getting away from the ostentatious display of wealth and power from the state and church. Zamora has many small churches and a cathedral, but the cathedral's location doesn't impose on the rest of the town and the churches are all small, old and very pretty rather than dominating edificies designed to impose on everything around them. I like Zamora, but I don't think any city in Spain I come across will quite do for me what Granada does for me. Pretty sure I know what I'm going to do when I eventually return.

I've taken a €60 gamble and booked into a hotel for a couple of nights. It's wet now, but the forecast is good. A couple of hours sketching yesterday returned €40. I'm sure I can do that again today and take €100 or so over the weekend. Today will mostly be spent in the dry warm library researching pilgrimage and pilgrim routes. The one thought occupying my mind much of the time during lonely hiking stretches is why? Why did they do it? Beyond all the romance that religion plasters history with, I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that pilgrimage was nothing more than a glamorised recruitment campaign for the crusades. A young Mozarabe man feeling a bit oppressed by the Moorish regime may set off to the lands of hope and Christian rule from the south, but what does he do once he gets there? Toughened up and fit for a fight I reckon he simply joins one of the many mercenary armies fighting for the Pope, or the King. Good pay and it's one way home at least!

Slight change of plan. Taking a more careful look at the map it makes sense for me to continue walking to Ponferrada before breaking to visit friends and places of interest in the mountains. So, about another weeks hiking ahead of me. Pretty sure Ponferrada and Astorga can bring in a bit of cash and there are cheap albergues to make use of in both.

Thanks to Tammo in Granada for the comments. I'm managing to maintain a very healthy float now, but things may have been very different without the generous donation to get started.

Zamora.

Yay! Beat the rain to Zamora. Two relatively easy days of short hikes in glorious sunshine. Beautiful countryside and loads of wildlife. All looks a bit French along this stretch. Fields full of grape vines, maize and stubble with the odd coppice of birch and poplar here and there. Little wine villages with streets of bodegas.

Spent last night in a tin pueblo with no shops and just one bar. Albergue was just €6 and once again I had the place all to myself. I passed just Two other pilgrims on track. A French couple travelling in the opposite direction. €15 bought me a good meal with a bottle of wine and a couple of brandies. Friendly service and very friendly village also. Awoke to sunshine this morning and decided to skip breakfast to try and beat the rain. Couldn't resist a slight diversion to Morales del Vino. Took an early lunch with a couple of red wines wondering what on earth could be immoral about wine.

Wildlife: Fantastic. In one single momentary glance into the skies around me I saw a heron flying low ove a pond, a huge kite circling gracefully no more than 20 Meters above my head, a peregrin falcon , a kestrel, a pair of dark coloured ducks I didn't recognise, sky larks and countless other round nesting birds. Also saw foxes and all sorts of other birds I couldn't identify along the way. Loads of birds of prey.

Three days sketching in Zamora (hopefully with sunshine) then I take a break from walking for a while and head to the hills to fell trees and make logs and cider and other country stuff. Will build up my arms a bit. They feel as though they're fading to nothing compared to my legs.

Sticky Mud the Colour of Wine

That was a bit shit.

20KM in wet, cold windy weather mostly on roads getting sprayed by lorries. Not nice. When it wasn't road it was very clay rich mud that added a good Five Kilos to each hoof. Finally decided to walk along the unfinished new road. First layer of bitumen gave way under foot like a plush carpet. Soaked to the bone. Oh well - it only makes the coffee and brandy taste so much better when you eventually make it.

So, it's not a town with buckets of wine, but a small dead end village with rich red soil the colour of wine, or something. And, don't I know it.

One major redeming factor: mushrooms galore! All sorts. I have a huge bag of seta for dinner. To be lightly fried in butter with garlic and a Fly Agaric for after dinner experimentation. Only joking. Possibly? I'm in a bar watching a nature programme on large screen TV. The crocodile just ate the baby egrets mum and the football table is starting to not make any sense at all. Who knows what it's talking about???

Rain, rain, rain.

Is there anywhere in Europe it isn't pissing it down, or snowing? It's relentless here. Managed about Three hours hiking this morning. It's now chucking it down once more in that penetrating, cold London stylee.

The footpath also seems to have disappeared again. This walking on roads wasn't part of the deal in my over romanticising imagination. I was expecting quiet tracks through rural bliss between every town. Not to be sadly, although it has to be said that there is more track than road.

On the plus side, accommodation seems to be cheap and plentiful all the way from here to Santiago. Better still, I am the only pilgrim - I get the very nice albergues all to myself. Currently in some tiny village. Made use of facilities to wash my clothes and put them up to dry over the heater. Only to then be told that I need to be out by 8am because it's cleaning day. Hmmmmm??? No way my clothes will be dry and I need plenty of changes for the coming rain and snows. Also fancy cooking myself a nice hotpot to down with a fine red and a very late, contemplative night texting friends. Fat chance I'll be awake by 8am never mind out!

Thanks again for the comments. Very nice. A very nice company is now paying my phone costs and a PDA is on its way. I'll be scanning and uploading pics of sketches very soon. Also posting links to video clips and photo essays. I hope.

Next stop is a village called 'El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino'. I like the sound of that very, very much. I hope the rains don't spoil my downing of red wine by the bucket load :)

Sunshine!

At last. Some half decent weather. City full of tourists. Completed Three large sketches this morning. Sold them all. In total I collected well over €200 and I still have this evening and tomorrow to make more. If I can buy more paper??? Can't believe I still get caught out by Saturday afternoons in Spain. Hopefully a Chinese sell everything shop will be open with 'everything' I need.

Looks like I'm back on for a Monday morning start towards Zamora. The mural commission turned out to be HUGE. I'll come back to it after I've made Santiago de Compostela. It's at least Six weeks work. Very fun work at that. Didn't really need a reason to plan a return visit to Salamanca, but reasons don't get much better than painting big murals for a living :)

A big THANK YOU to Salamanca. Looking set for €300 to a local charity and enough to see me on my way to my next destination.

Dognammit! More Rain :(

And, the forecast doesn't look to hot.

I'm on a total rain avoidance plan. There is no decision to be made. I'm staying in Salamanca until there's a decent break in the weather. Hiking in the cold and wet isn't what I want to do. Not a bad thing. The longer I stay here, the more people I get to know and the more chance of picking up commissions. There's also someone here I would like to get to know a bit better. Seems as soon as I give up on one lost cause I'm eagerly chasing the next. A big part of me wants to settle down and stop moving, but it's not as big as the part that says 'keep on travelling'.

Even in the stinking weather I'm managing to make more than enough to pay for bed and essentials here. There are far worse places to endure the rains. Think I'm looking at moving on by Wednesday at the earliest unless I have an exceptionally good weekend. If anywhere can come up with an exceptionally good weekend cash wise in bad weather, then I suspect it's Salamanca.

Thanks for all the comments. It's nice to know people are reading even if I'm just blogging for my own memories as much as anything. When the sun comes back I'll start posting some decent photographs and links to video interviews.

Even More Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrier!

Despite the very horrible weather Salamanca is deliverying. Making enough between showers to cover cost of bed, food and drink and have bought winter clothes (although one of those €14 body warmers on offer in Carrefour may come in handy also).

Picked up a mural commission :) I will leave my mark on Salamanca in the way of a graffiti defying painting on a door in Plaza Mayor. Yay! Free bed for Saturday and Sunday courtesy of a very nice person, so I just have to cover the cost of One night hostal fees and what I make over the weekend should see me clear to Zamora. If the weather picks up I should make plenty.

Not nice working conditions at all. But, Im thankful that Im making enough.

Cold, Wet and Windy.

Brrrrrrr! Someone flicked the switch down another level a month early. Can't make any cash in the rain, and I can't sell in Salamanca's Plaza Mayor anymore. Shame. That was an almighty good pitch. Good news is that I do now have official permission to work the streets of Salamanca (if not Plaza mayor), so no need to worry about Policia Local. Only took 10 minutes at the town hall to get sorted.

Hoping the weather clears for the weekend to make some more decent money, but at the moment far more is going out than coming in. I need winter clothes. There's lots of snow where I'm heading!

A Pilgrim's Beard.

Just shaved mine off. Six weeks worth. I was turning into someone I didn't recognise. He was much older than me.

Salamanca Was Beautiful...

Then it started pissing it down.

Arrived pretty much skint. Slept in the cloister thingy of some old convent. Quckly drew a few postcard sketches. Sold them very cheaply to buy large rolls of craft paper for panoramics and started sketching Plaza Mayor. Very challenging sketch, but Salamanca was packed on Sunday and I cleared €120 in a couple of hours. Thankfully sorted with a hostal for a few nights and planning to stay here until Saturday to save some money.

Tough hiking distances. I need the rest. Stayed in my first, nice contemporary albergue in Olive de Plasencia. Only One other person there, so we had a dorm each and choice of showers. Bar, cooking facilities, TV plus DVD library. Fire place. Very nice and not a whiff of religion in the place.

Also met my first pilgrim actually walking. They do exist. There are more tracks on the paths now. It is also getting more commercial and more expensive.

Beautiful countryside once again. Found fig trees with ripe fruit and my first pomegranate tree with ready to eat juiciness. A tip for eating pomegranates the easy way: break the fruit up into small pieces in a bowl of water. All the crud floats to the top and all the goodness sinks to the bottom. Skim and pour the water out then stuff your face using a spoon.

If you're into renaissance architecture you'll love Salamanca. I haven't had a chance to explore much yet, but it is an exceptionally beautiful city. Or, at least it is when the sun shines. Chucking it down and the forecast doesn't look to clever. I'm off to the games hall for a few rounds of pool and air hockey with a couple of Swiss pilgrims I first met in Cordoba. It will keep me out of the bars at least.

Oh Noes! Cash Flows.

Gradually making my way towards Salamanca. Beautiful countryside once again. Nice sunny days and looking good until at least Monday, but getting very cold by night. No sleeping out ha meant paying for hostals/albergues in small villages with no supermarkets. It's proving to be an expensive stretch.

Passed by an old Roman town with the main arch marking the crossroads still standing. Very strange to find it in the middle of nowhere. Cappara. Large photo (click on it) - sorry. Not mine. Still not able to download and upload yet, but I have asked people to email JPEGS of sketches. I'll get my act together soon.

With very little cash I plan to hike big time and reach Salamanca sooner rather than later. Hopefully make some money to pay for new winter clothing and warm beds. A free bed is available for One night for all pilgrims. I'll probably stay at least Five days if money making works well.

Very tired! This is not easy work even if it is very enjoyable.

Onwards and upwards...

Who Flicked the Switch?

Brrrrrrrr! Cold, wet and windy yesterday. Not that I cared much. I enjoyed a night in a luxury hotel courtesy of some very generous person. No cock sucking, or anything. Just a very welcome, no obligation gift.

It's definitely turned to autumn. The globes on the orange trees are turning bronze rather than green. The late afternoon shadows are noticeably longer. The deciduous trees are losing leaves. It's getting cold by night, but today was warm and sunny and the forecast looks good.

I'm about 15KM north of Plasencia - a small city I really enjoyed regardless of rain. Sold well. Collected good drops (20 Camel and a huge bag of fruit amongst them. Thanks to professor of English Antonio for a well considered bag of conference pears, apples, oranges and bananas. Appreciated greatly). A very workable place and a town I couldlive very happily in. Good people and some very nice places to enjoy outdoor life. The main church facade is well worth a bit of consideration. So much work!

My only quibble was one of the Policia Local who I couldn't quite sus. I actually hit him, but in circumstances that were beyond my control :D The idiot thought it would be funny to wake me my stamping his boot on the ground. I instinctively reacted with a hard, fast fist in the direction of the noise and cuaght him on the shin. Thankfully he laughed, but sometimes you wonder who you should be more wary of. I was sleeping under an arch in the main square. I may well have looked just like any other drifting down and out. Perhaps I am? Whatever his intention, or idea of humour, it makes you think.

Back treking in the countryside. It is stunningly beautiful around here. A very romantic. mountain surrounded landscape with streams running down hillsides through oak woodland and dry stone walls. I'm still in Extremadura and making slow progress towards Salamanca. Think I must have ascended 500M this afternoon. A short Four hour hike, but tough going with all the weight I'm carrying. Very enjoyable all the same. Off to search for the albergue here. Apparently it's a donation for bed deal. We'll see what happens.

Jesus Wept!

Rain, rain, rain :(

It's like being in Wales, but with prettier buildings.

Looking as though it's going to hang around for a while, so I'm going on an indoor tourist trail for the day. Cathedral, churches, museum, exhibition about ancient Andalus beings... plenty to keep a tourist dry and happy for a day.

I like it here. It's a bit more real and gritty than the over polished cities of Zafra, Merida and Caceres. I liked them also, but Plasencia seems a bit more liveable. More everyday people doing everyday stuff and not as many tourists (although there are still a fair few).

If the rain doesn't stop I will need to come up with a wet weather cash making plan. I'm all out of pocket money.

I've given up completely on the free pilgrim beds. I've given up completely on the whole relgious thing actually. It's all a load of bollocks. Nice churches and cathedrals mind.