Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Lizard Tales: TG for the law!
Lizard Tales: TG for the law!: "As of January 1st, Spain is essentially smoke-free. I hesitated to comment earlier because frankly, I didn't believe it would actually..."
Saturday, 15 August 2009
The Mountain Stage!
Well a few days have passed since my low point when my stomach wanted to go home even though I didn´t! After updating the blog I went for dinner in the albergue I was staying at and was cooked a lovely meal by the owner. Just what i needed; soup, potatoes with local sausage with a dessert of apples from the garden!
The next morning I felt much better so I was ready to tackle the highest point of the whole camino. within a few hours I had reached a village called Rabinal, and what should greet me? Beatles music! I felt 100% better than yesterday and the sound of Lennon just gave me the extra boost. I went on to to the ´Cruz de ferro´, an iron cross where each pilgrim placed a stone. For Paul, Andy, James and Elisabeth I placed an extra stone as they should have all been doing part of the camino but now can´t so I hope that makes up for it a little!
The path kept heading upwards but I still felt I could do more so 3 hours later (and 35km of walking) I reached a village deep in the mountains called acebo. It was very traditional and a guy who remembered me from my being sick in Leon invited me to have a drink and some food. With the sunset over the mountains I was feeling on top of the world.
I´ve been in the mountainous area of the camino now for a good few days and i´m loving it. It´s tough on the legs but great for the mind and the eyes! My last big challenge is O cebreiro tomorrow, the steepest climb of the camino. I´m staying in the strangest place to give me the rest I need for tomorrow´s walk; under the flyover of the main motorway! Tomorrow I cross into the last province of my journey, the lush area of Galicia. It´s starting to remind me of Wales!
Only 7 days left now until I reach Santiago, let´s hope I make it!
The next morning I felt much better so I was ready to tackle the highest point of the whole camino. within a few hours I had reached a village called Rabinal, and what should greet me? Beatles music! I felt 100% better than yesterday and the sound of Lennon just gave me the extra boost. I went on to to the ´Cruz de ferro´, an iron cross where each pilgrim placed a stone. For Paul, Andy, James and Elisabeth I placed an extra stone as they should have all been doing part of the camino but now can´t so I hope that makes up for it a little!
The path kept heading upwards but I still felt I could do more so 3 hours later (and 35km of walking) I reached a village deep in the mountains called acebo. It was very traditional and a guy who remembered me from my being sick in Leon invited me to have a drink and some food. With the sunset over the mountains I was feeling on top of the world.
I´ve been in the mountainous area of the camino now for a good few days and i´m loving it. It´s tough on the legs but great for the mind and the eyes! My last big challenge is O cebreiro tomorrow, the steepest climb of the camino. I´m staying in the strangest place to give me the rest I need for tomorrow´s walk; under the flyover of the main motorway! Tomorrow I cross into the last province of my journey, the lush area of Galicia. It´s starting to remind me of Wales!
Only 7 days left now until I reach Santiago, let´s hope I make it!
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Leon and being unwell
On Saturday we reached the last main stop on the main part of the meseta, El Burgo Raniero. The town was great disappointment as the shops and bars overcharged us and the hostels weren´t very accommodating! Also at 12am we heard the loud sound of the local rave that would last until 7am! We headed out in the direction of Mansilla where we decided to catch a bus to avoid the tiresome stretch into Leon. Although some of you may say that that is technically cheating the great guide of the Camino, John Burley, says this is a good alternative to wading through the ugly, industrial outskirts of Leon.
On arrival in the city we noticed a massive difference compared with Burgos, and we could see the Leon mountains in the distance. The hostel, run by Benedictine nuns, was very accommodating but I began to feel a heavy growling in my stomach. After a cheese and tomato baguette the pain was beginning to get worse and although I did my best to take in the sights of the city, all i really wanted to do was get back to bed. After a quick tour of the cathedral, which was superb, I ran as fast as I could to the convent. I locked myself in the bathroom and then it began, 12 hours of sickness. Without going into the nitty gritty of it all it suffices to say that it was bad enough to make me consider flying home. Being sick is bad enough, but when you have to share 2 toilets with 80 men in one hot, smelly dormitory I was thinking of calling Ryanair!
The next morning I decided to take a rest day and checked into the more upmarket part of the convent. With my own bed and bathroom I could relax a lot more and I slept for 7 hours! At 6pm I finally got up and met Linda, Agne, Andreas (German spiritual guy!) and Anne Marie for dinner. Managed to keep down some penne pasta and a glass of coke so headed back to the hostel for another 8 hours sleep. It had dawned on me that since finishing work on the 22nd July I hadn´t had a single lie in, nor more than 7 hours sleep. My body was obviously telling me to stop.
Yesterday I left Leon to begin the final stage of the camino, from Leon to the mountains and into Galicia. After a day of rest I could feel my legs beginning to hurt as they had done at the start of my journey. Then my feet started to ache and my throat called for regular supplies of liquid. It was a tough day in the 38 degree heat, but myself and Linda eventually reached a fantastic medieval town called Hospital de Orbigo. It was a great place that welcomed pilgrims with open arms and glasses of cold water-superb! However, in the middle of the night my stomach began to growl again and back came the midnight toilet visits. I couldn´t work out whether this was a sign to stop everything and come back and finish the camino at a later date or just another small glitch in an otherwise enjoyable "pilgrimage".
I left this morning for the hills but only managed 21k before my bidy packed in. The heat and effects of an upset stomach meant I had to call it a day today and so I´m here relaxing in a new hostel at the foot of the mountains I have to climb tomorrow. Linda decided to press on and so I´m now a solitary pilgrim once more. I hope to make it to the peak tomorrow morning without needing to call 112 (emergency services). Any advice or words of support will be appreciated over the next few days!
Love and peace to all!
On arrival in the city we noticed a massive difference compared with Burgos, and we could see the Leon mountains in the distance. The hostel, run by Benedictine nuns, was very accommodating but I began to feel a heavy growling in my stomach. After a cheese and tomato baguette the pain was beginning to get worse and although I did my best to take in the sights of the city, all i really wanted to do was get back to bed. After a quick tour of the cathedral, which was superb, I ran as fast as I could to the convent. I locked myself in the bathroom and then it began, 12 hours of sickness. Without going into the nitty gritty of it all it suffices to say that it was bad enough to make me consider flying home. Being sick is bad enough, but when you have to share 2 toilets with 80 men in one hot, smelly dormitory I was thinking of calling Ryanair!
The next morning I decided to take a rest day and checked into the more upmarket part of the convent. With my own bed and bathroom I could relax a lot more and I slept for 7 hours! At 6pm I finally got up and met Linda, Agne, Andreas (German spiritual guy!) and Anne Marie for dinner. Managed to keep down some penne pasta and a glass of coke so headed back to the hostel for another 8 hours sleep. It had dawned on me that since finishing work on the 22nd July I hadn´t had a single lie in, nor more than 7 hours sleep. My body was obviously telling me to stop.
Yesterday I left Leon to begin the final stage of the camino, from Leon to the mountains and into Galicia. After a day of rest I could feel my legs beginning to hurt as they had done at the start of my journey. Then my feet started to ache and my throat called for regular supplies of liquid. It was a tough day in the 38 degree heat, but myself and Linda eventually reached a fantastic medieval town called Hospital de Orbigo. It was a great place that welcomed pilgrims with open arms and glasses of cold water-superb! However, in the middle of the night my stomach began to growl again and back came the midnight toilet visits. I couldn´t work out whether this was a sign to stop everything and come back and finish the camino at a later date or just another small glitch in an otherwise enjoyable "pilgrimage".
I left this morning for the hills but only managed 21k before my bidy packed in. The heat and effects of an upset stomach meant I had to call it a day today and so I´m here relaxing in a new hostel at the foot of the mountains I have to climb tomorrow. Linda decided to press on and so I´m now a solitary pilgrim once more. I hope to make it to the peak tomorrow morning without needing to call 112 (emergency services). Any advice or words of support will be appreciated over the next few days!
Love and peace to all!
the Scots and the Meseta
Well what a week it´s been over here! Since my last post i have covered a couple of hundred km and have walked through a mixture of different landscapes (if that makes sense?). I left the church on the Sunday and headed to Belorado, a little town near Burgos, and decided I ddin´t really fancy wasting a day walking through the industrial mess and suburbs of Burgos so hitched a ride into town with 2 scottish ladies, Agnes and Anne Marie.
Burgos wasn´t what I expected it to be really. It had no atmosphere to it, and although I had originally planned a rest day there I decided to move on the following morning. I bumped into Linda from Miami who had met a week before, and we spent the rest of the week together making each other laugh and trying to keep one another sane on the heat of the afternoons!
The Meseta was the next part of the camino which was to last over a week. It´s a tough part of the walk as it is very monotonous and can send you crazy as you stare at the same fields for the whole day! It straddles the area known as Castilla-Leon,and is huge. I stayed in some great little villages alobg the way, my favourite being the "oasis" in Boadilla. It had a swimming pool, bar, ice cream stand, restaurant and internet too! An Argentinian family ran the hostel so there was a warm, welcoming and caring atmosphere as well as great food!
The funniest day came when we were heading to the same oasis as we passed through a small area of parkland. I noticed on the ground a dead bird, and what I thought was another dead chick. However on closer inspection the wee chick blinked at me and stared for a while. Linda said for me to squeeze my water bladder over it so it could have some water. As I did so the chick opened its beak and gulped down the liquid! Over a period of a few minutes it began to flap its wings and jump around, it was coming back to life! Very carefully we scooped it up and placed it in the trunk of a tree from where its nest had fallen. Just then an old guy approached us asking if we wanted some sweets. As my Mum told me when I was young, "you should never accept sweets from strangers!" However on this occasion he was also offering a stamp for my pilgrim´s passport, and so I accepted.
As I sucked on a refreshing peardrop I told Pepe about the poor chick, and with a wave of his arms he ran to the tree and grabbed it by the neck screaming "siete colores, siete colores!" (seven colours). Apparently it is a beautiful bird that sings far and wide and is prone to attacks from cats. It was a prime target in the area where we had found her and wouldn´t have lasted much longer (especially if a tired pilgrim had trodden on her on their way past by the bar!) He said he would tend to the female (a bird expert it seemed) and would e-mail me photos of her progress. We called her Ave Maria.
Little did we know that the next day we would be passing through a town that St Francis of Assisi visited many hundreds of years ago. I have therefore earned the reputation of being a modern day St Francis!
Burgos wasn´t what I expected it to be really. It had no atmosphere to it, and although I had originally planned a rest day there I decided to move on the following morning. I bumped into Linda from Miami who had met a week before, and we spent the rest of the week together making each other laugh and trying to keep one another sane on the heat of the afternoons!
The Meseta was the next part of the camino which was to last over a week. It´s a tough part of the walk as it is very monotonous and can send you crazy as you stare at the same fields for the whole day! It straddles the area known as Castilla-Leon,and is huge. I stayed in some great little villages alobg the way, my favourite being the "oasis" in Boadilla. It had a swimming pool, bar, ice cream stand, restaurant and internet too! An Argentinian family ran the hostel so there was a warm, welcoming and caring atmosphere as well as great food!
The funniest day came when we were heading to the same oasis as we passed through a small area of parkland. I noticed on the ground a dead bird, and what I thought was another dead chick. However on closer inspection the wee chick blinked at me and stared for a while. Linda said for me to squeeze my water bladder over it so it could have some water. As I did so the chick opened its beak and gulped down the liquid! Over a period of a few minutes it began to flap its wings and jump around, it was coming back to life! Very carefully we scooped it up and placed it in the trunk of a tree from where its nest had fallen. Just then an old guy approached us asking if we wanted some sweets. As my Mum told me when I was young, "you should never accept sweets from strangers!" However on this occasion he was also offering a stamp for my pilgrim´s passport, and so I accepted.
As I sucked on a refreshing peardrop I told Pepe about the poor chick, and with a wave of his arms he ran to the tree and grabbed it by the neck screaming "siete colores, siete colores!" (seven colours). Apparently it is a beautiful bird that sings far and wide and is prone to attacks from cats. It was a prime target in the area where we had found her and wouldn´t have lasted much longer (especially if a tired pilgrim had trodden on her on their way past by the bar!) He said he would tend to the female (a bird expert it seemed) and would e-mail me photos of her progress. We called her Ave Maria.
Little did we know that the next day we would be passing through a town that St Francis of Assisi visited many hundreds of years ago. I have therefore earned the reputation of being a modern day St Francis!
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Walking ahead and bombs
After waking very late the next morning I realised I would have to get a bus to the next village if I was to escape the day´s heat and be in with a chance of getting anywhere that day. After a cup of tea and some yoghurt I joined the locals to get to a lovely town where I would begin that day´s 30km walk.
The heat became greater throughout the day and I worked my way through at least 6 litres of water as well as 3 lemon fantas! When I reached the next stop, which was in a large town called Logroño, I decided to leave the other guys and head to another village as I had gotten a taste of village hospitality the day before. At 4pm, after almost collapsing at the top of a path by a busy motorway, I arrived in Navarrete, a peaceful town in the region of La Rioja (of wine fame). I had a great evening even though I was now by myself again, and sampled the local meal of the day which consisted of rice and a whole roast chicken!
The day after I was woken up by the other pilgrims in my room, and thinking that it was about 5:30 I left the hostel looking for my yellow arrows to lead the way back to the camino. However it wasn´t 5:30 but actually FOUR THIRTY! I couldn´t see anything, yet alone yellow arrows, so camped out by the road until sun rise when eventually I could see the yellow arrow BEHIND MY BACKPACK!! I had a little laugh then set off, for the first time with my fleece on my back as it was actually pretty cold in the early morning of Saturday. Bit by bit i reached a large town called Najera, where I drained my blisters in front of a wedding crowd (well, I didn´t know they were about to descend on the main square!) and decided to head for another village away from the busy centre. In Azofra I was greeted by a Stork that lives on the top of the local church, just as the clouds gathered and a storm whipped open the wooden shutters. Luckily I was inside a very modern hostel when the heavens opened, so I had escaped the rain.
It was at this point, alone and tired, that I was told a bomb had gone off in Mallorca, and was advised not to head to Burgos where bombs had gone off a couple of days earlier. I read more into it and decided to carry on regardless as nothing was going to stop me from getting to Santiago de Compostela! That evening I cooked with a few other people in the hostel and went to bed at 9pm, probably the earliest I had been to bed for years!
On Sunday morning I left for the next town, but didn´t expect further rain. I couldn´t put up with being soaked any longer so got out my very attractive khaki green poncho. I was admired by many people, and women swooned when I walked past. Luckily by the time I arrived in the town centre of the next town the rain had stopped and my embarassment faded. I had a quick coffee and some toast before visiting the cockerel and hen that live in the local cathedral (google search Santo Domingo de la Calzada if you´re bored and want to learn more) then headed for my destination for Sunday afternoon at the edge of the Rioja region.
My best day so far was on Sunday evening where I stayed in a little village called Grañon. The pilgrim hostel there is in the church tower, and is by donation only. There are no beds, just roll mats, but everyone eats together at the top of the tower before heading for the church. The atmosphere there was fantastic. Although a little noisy (mainly due to the bells) everyone was really friendly and the food made by fellow ITALIAN pilgrims. It goes without saying that the food was fantastic, even though I was recruited to wash up afterwards! We then took ourselves through a passageway into the church where we talked about our day in candlelight. It´s a tradition that everyone says a part of the service in their own language then finish by giving everyone else a big hug! It was a great way to finish the week and I fell asleep next to a noisy Italian priest and a noisy spanish guy looking forward to the week ahead.
The heat became greater throughout the day and I worked my way through at least 6 litres of water as well as 3 lemon fantas! When I reached the next stop, which was in a large town called Logroño, I decided to leave the other guys and head to another village as I had gotten a taste of village hospitality the day before. At 4pm, after almost collapsing at the top of a path by a busy motorway, I arrived in Navarrete, a peaceful town in the region of La Rioja (of wine fame). I had a great evening even though I was now by myself again, and sampled the local meal of the day which consisted of rice and a whole roast chicken!
The day after I was woken up by the other pilgrims in my room, and thinking that it was about 5:30 I left the hostel looking for my yellow arrows to lead the way back to the camino. However it wasn´t 5:30 but actually FOUR THIRTY! I couldn´t see anything, yet alone yellow arrows, so camped out by the road until sun rise when eventually I could see the yellow arrow BEHIND MY BACKPACK!! I had a little laugh then set off, for the first time with my fleece on my back as it was actually pretty cold in the early morning of Saturday. Bit by bit i reached a large town called Najera, where I drained my blisters in front of a wedding crowd (well, I didn´t know they were about to descend on the main square!) and decided to head for another village away from the busy centre. In Azofra I was greeted by a Stork that lives on the top of the local church, just as the clouds gathered and a storm whipped open the wooden shutters. Luckily I was inside a very modern hostel when the heavens opened, so I had escaped the rain.
It was at this point, alone and tired, that I was told a bomb had gone off in Mallorca, and was advised not to head to Burgos where bombs had gone off a couple of days earlier. I read more into it and decided to carry on regardless as nothing was going to stop me from getting to Santiago de Compostela! That evening I cooked with a few other people in the hostel and went to bed at 9pm, probably the earliest I had been to bed for years!
On Sunday morning I left for the next town, but didn´t expect further rain. I couldn´t put up with being soaked any longer so got out my very attractive khaki green poncho. I was admired by many people, and women swooned when I walked past. Luckily by the time I arrived in the town centre of the next town the rain had stopped and my embarassment faded. I had a quick coffee and some toast before visiting the cockerel and hen that live in the local cathedral (google search Santo Domingo de la Calzada if you´re bored and want to learn more) then headed for my destination for Sunday afternoon at the edge of the Rioja region.
My best day so far was on Sunday evening where I stayed in a little village called Grañon. The pilgrim hostel there is in the church tower, and is by donation only. There are no beds, just roll mats, but everyone eats together at the top of the tower before heading for the church. The atmosphere there was fantastic. Although a little noisy (mainly due to the bells) everyone was really friendly and the food made by fellow ITALIAN pilgrims. It goes without saying that the food was fantastic, even though I was recruited to wash up afterwards! We then took ourselves through a passageway into the church where we talked about our day in candlelight. It´s a tradition that everyone says a part of the service in their own language then finish by giving everyone else a big hug! It was a great way to finish the week and I fell asleep next to a noisy Italian priest and a noisy spanish guy looking forward to the week ahead.
Bulls, windmills and wine fountains
Hey all!
Firstly, many apologies for not writing before, all the internet places I´ve found tend to be in albergues and are usually occupied and cost a fair amount!
So I´m going to give you a wee taster of my journey so far.
I started from Pamplona last Tuesday in search for yellow arrows that lead the way to the route of the camino to Santaigo. I found them really easily at 5:30 am and was soon heading out of Pamplona for my first challenge of the journey; to climb the álto del perdon´, a huge hill that tests the legs of most walkers or ´peregrinos´(pilgrims). I was really pleased with my progress and met a bunch of great guys at the top, two Irish girls, one American, One Italian, an English girl and a Hungarian guy. Over the next 2 days we spent a lot of time together, both on the walk itself and in the evevings also.
After arriving at teh first hostel in the afternoon we heard that there was a bull run in the town that evening so we headed down into the centre to watch it all from a front row position, in the street where the bulls were due to run. Luckily we were invited into a bar that iron bars over the door so we could keep running into the bar when we wanted to duck from the bulls horns! It was a great experience and I´d love to run with them next time!
Day 2 was really hard as the legs were aching and I realised that I´d have to give some of my stuff away. After arriving in the second town (25k later) I searched through my bag and started to ask random strangers if they´d like deodorant, t-shirts, boxer shorts and much more! No-one accepted so the hostel manager said he´d take them off my hands to give them to other pilgrims!
On the third day I walked past some peaceful wind turbines as well as a wine fountain! Apparently for anyone who wants to reach their destination they have to have a cup of the glorious navarra wine, which was lovely but strange at 7;30am! The rest of the day led me through vineyards and past jumping grasshoppers with red wings. Witha lighter rucksack I was really feeling good on the camino but realised my original plan to do 35km every day was a bit too over ambitious. By mid afternoon myself and Joan, an Irish girl from Kilkenny, who is also a teacher, were very tired, sore, and baking in the 38 degree heat. Luckily we stumbled upon a little hostel where a hippy looking guy took us in and offered to drive us to the nearest supermarket after a sleep and showere. Arcardi, the hippy guy, was very hospitable but also very crazy. The ´supermarket´was actually a tiny shop which doubled up as the village bar. It was necessary, therefore, to sample a cold beer in the evening sun and we met up with the guys from the first day. We eventually stumbled back up the hill to our hostel at 10:30, which was a bit to late for an early morning start...
Firstly, many apologies for not writing before, all the internet places I´ve found tend to be in albergues and are usually occupied and cost a fair amount!
So I´m going to give you a wee taster of my journey so far.
I started from Pamplona last Tuesday in search for yellow arrows that lead the way to the route of the camino to Santaigo. I found them really easily at 5:30 am and was soon heading out of Pamplona for my first challenge of the journey; to climb the álto del perdon´, a huge hill that tests the legs of most walkers or ´peregrinos´(pilgrims). I was really pleased with my progress and met a bunch of great guys at the top, two Irish girls, one American, One Italian, an English girl and a Hungarian guy. Over the next 2 days we spent a lot of time together, both on the walk itself and in the evevings also.
After arriving at teh first hostel in the afternoon we heard that there was a bull run in the town that evening so we headed down into the centre to watch it all from a front row position, in the street where the bulls were due to run. Luckily we were invited into a bar that iron bars over the door so we could keep running into the bar when we wanted to duck from the bulls horns! It was a great experience and I´d love to run with them next time!
Day 2 was really hard as the legs were aching and I realised that I´d have to give some of my stuff away. After arriving in the second town (25k later) I searched through my bag and started to ask random strangers if they´d like deodorant, t-shirts, boxer shorts and much more! No-one accepted so the hostel manager said he´d take them off my hands to give them to other pilgrims!
On the third day I walked past some peaceful wind turbines as well as a wine fountain! Apparently for anyone who wants to reach their destination they have to have a cup of the glorious navarra wine, which was lovely but strange at 7;30am! The rest of the day led me through vineyards and past jumping grasshoppers with red wings. Witha lighter rucksack I was really feeling good on the camino but realised my original plan to do 35km every day was a bit too over ambitious. By mid afternoon myself and Joan, an Irish girl from Kilkenny, who is also a teacher, were very tired, sore, and baking in the 38 degree heat. Luckily we stumbled upon a little hostel where a hippy looking guy took us in and offered to drive us to the nearest supermarket after a sleep and showere. Arcardi, the hippy guy, was very hospitable but also very crazy. The ´supermarket´was actually a tiny shop which doubled up as the village bar. It was necessary, therefore, to sample a cold beer in the evening sun and we met up with the guys from the first day. We eventually stumbled back up the hill to our hostel at 10:30, which was a bit to late for an early morning start...
Monday, 27 July 2009
Alicante y Madrid
Hola de españa! After a few hours sleep I managed to catch my flight with Louise from Liverpool to Alicante and we were greeted with fab weather and a very busy bus! After arriving at our hostel which was above an adult shop (typical!) we met up with the happy couple to be and had a wee beer at the Royal Naval Club of Alicante which made us feel very special!
Alicante was great, especially the wedding.It started at 8 at night with Ang arriving in an original VW Beetle, looking very much the Spanish bride. After being served with lots of tapitas and several beers we were called to our table which ended up being the noisiest of all, oops! The food was varied but I think I liked it all, even though I could hardly move afterwards! Angela and her new husband then entertained us with some well practised dancing, it was superb! Then it was our turn, but we had a free bar to loosen everyone up a bit! We returned to our hostel at half 5 in the morning so i didn´t really feel awake when I had to catch a train to Madrid on Saturday.
After saying farewell to Louise and Tracey my fellow Brits abroad, I left Alicante for Atocha in Madrid. There, as reliable as always, were Matteo and Elena, who had organised a weekend of fun for us all. After a tour of Matteo´s flat in the posh part of the city, we enjoyed a variety of Madrileña tapitas before heading to the local Irish pub and then Karaoke! I was unlucky enough to not get picked by the Spanish DJ, probably to the relief of most of the people in the bar! Yesterday we spent the day in the Retiro Park which is next to the main museums of the capital. I now know how to play (and lose) many new card games so I can entertain my fellow pilgrims over the next few weeks. After a gourmet burger we headed home as I had to catch my train this morning to the much colder city of Pamplona!
Alicante was great, especially the wedding.It started at 8 at night with Ang arriving in an original VW Beetle, looking very much the Spanish bride. After being served with lots of tapitas and several beers we were called to our table which ended up being the noisiest of all, oops! The food was varied but I think I liked it all, even though I could hardly move afterwards! Angela and her new husband then entertained us with some well practised dancing, it was superb! Then it was our turn, but we had a free bar to loosen everyone up a bit! We returned to our hostel at half 5 in the morning so i didn´t really feel awake when I had to catch a train to Madrid on Saturday.
After saying farewell to Louise and Tracey my fellow Brits abroad, I left Alicante for Atocha in Madrid. There, as reliable as always, were Matteo and Elena, who had organised a weekend of fun for us all. After a tour of Matteo´s flat in the posh part of the city, we enjoyed a variety of Madrileña tapitas before heading to the local Irish pub and then Karaoke! I was unlucky enough to not get picked by the Spanish DJ, probably to the relief of most of the people in the bar! Yesterday we spent the day in the Retiro Park which is next to the main museums of the capital. I now know how to play (and lose) many new card games so I can entertain my fellow pilgrims over the next few weeks. After a gourmet burger we headed home as I had to catch my train this morning to the much colder city of Pamplona!
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