Perpetual traveller

I recently discovered that a term 'Perpetual Travel' actually exists. Wikipedia gives a full explanation of the term.

I have always wanted to travel and just keep travelling, but I hadn't known there was ever a name for it.

So, if I've always wanted to do it, what keeps stopping me and sending me home?

Two things made me return from my last big trip (which was a year). One was that I felt that living this lifestyle wasn't appropriate. It's incredible how many people tell me that I should be at home working, living a normal life. Or contributing to society by having children (ah-hem, the world is already over populated!). So I tried it, even fell in love, but I got bored. (I didn't try having kids! - I've never felt that way inclined).

The second was that doing this lifestyle alone means that I rarely get to explore the things that I really want to. Like going to the national parks. Interestingly, unlike most people it doesn't bother me to visit things alone, it only bothers me that I can't go to them. (For reasons of safety or tours needing minimum numbers).

So, I have resolved to really try to meet another perpetual traveller to share this lifestyle with. Here's hoping.

Norway: expensive!

I took a flight from Malaga (Spain) to Stavanger (Norway) to visit a heavily pregnant friend. I will, of course, take the opportunity to see some of the country too.

The first thing that struck me about Norway was the colour of everything. The light seems to have a different clarity to it and it's really lovely. It makes it seem as though the edges of everything are all the more crisp.

It's cold here, of course, but when the sun shines during the day it can be quite nice. I'm pleased I haven't yet throw away all my worn out layers.

The other thing that people will tell you is that it's quite expensive here. They're not kidding! A coffee in a cafe is about $6. A smoothie and a sandwich $30. And this was just a cafe in a shopping centre.

My highlight so far was taking a hike to Pulpit Rock. 2 hours of rugged hiking up, another 2 back down, and a bus and ferry journey each way. Here's a photo.

Malaga: mystery unsolved

4 nights in Malaga, and I still can't decide if I've been here before, but I think I probably haven't. Let me explain:

This is my 3rd trip to Spain. The first time, in 1998, I came just after a couple of months travel in West Africa. Somewhere between Barcelona and Madrid I became sicker than I had ever been, and although I remember Barcelona (a wonderful city), I also only remember the sight of a bullring on a hill, lying in fever in a Madrid hotel room, and going for help at the hospital in Madrid. The rest has been wiped from my memory, although we (I was with a boyfriend) certainly visited other places.

Malaga doesn't deserve 4 nights but I'm waiting for my flight to Norway. Yesterday I made a day trip to Granada to see the Alhumbra, it was a waste of time because you need to pre purchase tickets to the Alhumbra, and I hadn't known that.

It turns out that instead of going Seville- Gibraltar-Malaga with a day trip to Granada, I should have travelled Seville-Granada-Malaga with the day trip to Gibraltar. Oh well, live and learn.

Speaking Gibberish

We've all heard of speaking gibberish. But in actual fact it's a term that refers to the way the people of Gibraltar speak. It's a combination of English (it's a British territory) and Spanish (it's a tiny piece of land on the Spanish Iberian peninsula).

As it turns out, I speak a lot of Gibberish. To me in was like listening to Hindi, most of the speech was the foreign tongue, with English phrases thrown in.

Gibraltar is also known as the rock, as its predominant feature is a big rock that everyone wanted, and the British got, due to its strategically good positioning. From Gilbralter it's just 14 miles to Africa, and all sea traffic going to and from the Mediterranean can be monitored.

I stayed in La Linea, it's cheaper and meant that I didn't have to pass customs with my luggage.
Gibraltar isn't big and only took 3.5 hours to look at, as I did a taxi tour which was cheaper and easier than doing all that I did via the cable car option.

Lost backpack!

After deciding not to continue with the camino I wanted to just grab a cheap flight I'd seen to Norway (to visit friends), but I thought I had best return to Seville to get my backpack from the hostel where I'd left it in storage.
That hostel was fully booked, so I stayed across town and walked across in the morning to get my pack. But they couldn't find it. We looked and looked. It wasn't anywhere in sight.

I was amazingly calm and quite uncaring. "Oh, we'll talk to the other staff when they come in, and call me".
After 4 hours had passed with no phone call I was sure it wasn't being found. I shrugged my shoulders. Shame about losing my new sexy jeans. Shame about returning and missing that cheap flight. Better buy some new things and keep going.

But then they called me. Found!

So I picked it up and booked a (twice the price) ticket to Norway for the end of the week. Then I hopped in a bus the next day to explore a few more places in Southern Spain.

Camino: packing light: under 6kgs!

This article is to help others with their packing.

Lots of the other pilgrims asked me how I was travelling with such a light pack. I wondered how they'd made theirs so heavy!
Of course, I have years of travel experience and time in a travel outfitter shop to help my expertise, but still I'm proud that I had less that 6kgs in my pack (it would have been less if it wasn't so cold too!).
It is said that you should only carry no more than 10% of your own body weight, so even I was carrying a bit "too much". However a lot of people had more than 10kgs, even though most of them do annual pilgrimages.

So, what did I take?
1 day pack and a satchel.
2 sets of clothes, with layering ability for warmth, I could wash what I hiked in that day at the end of the hiking and it would be dry before bedtime to re-wear the next day.

The sets included:
2 Bras
2 Singlets/vests for underwear
2 Long sleeved fitted thermal shirts*
2 Long sleeved, collared shirts. (One is rated for sun protection, I hiked in it every day. The other is a silk cotton blend, light. Both dry quickly after hand washing.)
2 pairs trousers (zip off were recommended, so I took a pair but preferred to hike in the others as the leg zipper irritated my skin).

Also:
1 set PJs. (Actually long sleeved trousers and shirt that I could wear out if wanted).
3 pairs socks
3 pairs panties (quick drying)
1 pair thermal leggings*
1 sweater
1 Hat: broad brimmed & waterproof
1 rain poncho (reusable type with clips... I could use it and some cord to make a shelter if needed. )
1 pair 'Croc' sandals (I really like crocs for travel, there are lots of different styles. I can wear mine casually, or in the shower. When using shared bathrooms you should wear water suitable shoes in the shower to avoid getting fungus infections). Crocs are also soft underfoot at the end of the day.
1 swimsuit (for thermal baths)

1 silk sleep sheet (everybody else had sleeping bags but there was always at least a few blankets available to those who asked).
1 silk scarf. You need a pillow slip! But European pillows aren't the same shape as Aussie ones, so I wrapped the pillow in my scarf. Silk is light (and they say it keeps you younger!)
1 sarong (not needed really)

Toiletry bag: really basic and obvious stuff. Less obvious: Shampoo bar (takes less space and won't spill), multi purpose soap (for skin and laundry, I'm told I could use it for hair too...). Sunscreen (but not much as I wear long sleeves, long trousers and a hat). Moisturiser (I had oil for my hair which I used on my skin too).

Towel: I don't have a big towel. Just this: a face washer (flannel) that I use in the shower to clean with, then I use it to wipe off excess water from my body. Then I have tiny (like 30cm squared) thin 'N-rit' travel towel to dry off the rest. I have a second one of these for my feet and crocs.

1 Water bottle, 1litre. And a disposable 500 ml bottle too. (I believe that if it's at all true that these shouldn't be reused because they breakdown, then we shouldn't be drinking from them at all).
1 sunglasses.
1 basic first aid kit: things for injuries.
1 a length of cord (didn't need it)

Smart phone. On this I had the guides (Apps) to the camino, Spanish-English dictionary, podcasts to listen too, books to read. I didn't carry any paperwork other than a small notebook and map.

Note: I always pay a lot and buy good hiking socks, as I believe that socks are as important as shoes for not getting blisters. I didn't get any blisters, but it was the number one complaint of other hikers. 1 pair of socks had individual toes, these were my favourite for hiking.

* I had intended to throw away the thermal layers as soon as the weather was warm enough.... But it didn't stay warm long enough.

I saw a pilgrim with a hair dryer: very unnecessary!

Advice: Test the hand washing and drying before you go - you want fast drying layers: you want to carry less items, lighter and more effective items, and you certainly don't want to be carrying items that don't dry on time (you won't be able to wear them then next day and wet clothes weigh more!)

Sun protection: I saw quite a few pilgrims with severe sunburn, some with blisters. Take the sun seriously! I prefer to wear long sleeves, sunscreen makes me hot, makes dirt stick to the skin, and sweats off and has to be reapplied.

I hope this helps!!!

Camino: people met along the way

One of my reasons for hiking a camino was to see who I'd meet. Here's a summary of 3 of interest:

The French juvenile delinquent (if that's the right thing to call him). He was walking with a social worker and she told me about this system of treatment. They'd been walking almost 3 months, from France along the Camino Frances to Santiago de Compostela, and then backwards along the Via de la Plata. Both had heavy packs and didn't have the cool gear that makes a pack lighter (like travel towels, and high tech sports wear). She said it was meant that in 3 months (they were almost finished) he'd have had time to reflect on the crimes he'd done and about changes he could make to improve his future.

I spoke to him too, and asked what he would do when he got home, he said he'd go back to school and hopefully help sick people. She'd told me he'd had a terrible upbringing. He's 18.


The ex-Political Prisoner. Honestly when I heard this it had taken me by surprise. But this man had been East German and imprisoned from, I think, 1971-1975. His English wasn't so good, so I couldn't get a lot of information. He said something about secret service.
I only found out about this because he checked into an albergue just after me and was distressed to find the room had no window. He said after bring imprisoned he really preferred to have a window.


The man with a Donkey: I met him in Seville and he left a few days before me, first going North East to pick up a donkey he'd bought to do the camino with. I later ran into him a couple of times more. He looked like he was having a really difficult time, perhaps he hadn't realised how difficult donkeys can be? He said the donkey was stubborn and progress was difficult, especially through town. Later I tried to assist him when he requested, but hurt my knee again in the process.

Camino: my stages

Distances are estimates. Brackets indicate those completed by bus.

Commenced in Seville
• to Guillena 23kms
• to Castilblanco de Los Arroyos 18kms
• to Almedén de la Plata 30kms
• to El Real de la Jara 16kms

• to Monestario (20kms)
• to Zafra (46kms)
• to Mèrida (68kms)

• to Alcuescar 16km and (21km)
• to Aldea del Cano 15km
• to Cáceres 11km and (11km)

• to Albergue Embalse de Alcantara (10 ) and 23kms
• to Plasencia 10 and (??)kms.

Camino: I quit!

Having hurt my knee yet again I've decided I need to do some more restful activity. And so I've quit hiking. It's also turned cold and slightly rainy, so that's helped the decision.

Really, after being robbed on day 1 the camino hasn't been how I'd hoped.

I've now taken a bus to Baños de Montemayor, which is still on the Via de la plata, and famous for its Thermal baths. I figure its a good place from where to figure out my next step, and enjoy some thermal waters.

I arrived to find the town was having a festival. This is the 3rd festival I've happened upon so far. I sat and watched this one, outside the town hall there was a band playing, old folks dancing, everybody drinking. Latee when I passed there were people dancing with paper mâché heads for the kids, and then later there was modern music from a DJ for the young adults. Like I've said before, Spain knows how to have a fiesta. This fiesta was for San Isidro: the saint for agriculture.

Actually, to look at Spain you wouldn't know that its economy is suffering so badly and there was such high unemployment. The people are well dressed and smoking and drinking and eating out. The towns and roads are maintained. High speed train lines are being built. Public transport is really nice.

Having seen all this it makes me remember the time I worked in a bank: the showy people with the latest clothes, cars, accessories, had credit card debts. The people who wore last seasons clothes and looked after what they had, had money in the bank.

I believe I'll bus the remainder of this section of the camino to Salamanca. Beyond that, I still need a plan. I might return to the camino later, it depends on how everything else is.

Camino: robberies

Those who have been following this blog know that I had a terrible robbery on day 1 of hiking Via de la Plata from Seville.

I have met lots if people travelling alone, male and female, so I was unlucky but I do recommend hiking the southern sections with company.

However, I'm not the only one to be robbed. I recently met a pilgrim who said she came through on that same first stage as me (to Guillena), some 4 days prior, just behind a couple who had also been robbed by 2 men in balaclavas with knives (yes, a couple... 2 people together!). She wished she'd thought to tell others in the forum and guide as I had.

The night following the robbery a Dutch man had told me in that in the Guillena Albergue he had laid awake at night when he realised someone was coming through the window. He clapped his hand loudly, the intruder left, and he got up and closed the window. Unfortunately he didn't tell anyone in Guillena, but there was no hospitelero when we all left. I later heard that the following night a toiletry bag was stolen from that hostel. (Really, what a nuisance! I'd be disappointed to lose my toiletry bag and the thief should be disappointed to have it.)

Later I met a guy from Belgium who had his backpack stolen from the hostel while he slept in Castilblanco. He caught a bus back to the next big town (Camas), and bought a new one and some new things and continued. Fortunately he said that he had a lot of things out of his pack so they didn't steal everything.

And in Caceres, the day I left, I was sitting in a bar, at the bar, having breakfast (note, I haven't taken up 7am drinking, breakfast is eaten in bars in Spain). I had casually put my bags down. Then I sensed trouble. A young person had come in behind me with the pretence of going to the cigarette vending machine. But I really think she'd been going to snatch one of my bags, so I got up and moved them both to under my guard. She left without cigarettes or bags.

Still, it should be disappointing for me and the thief should my backpack or my food bag be stolen. Not a single thing in either should be of value to anybody else. No electronic gear, no money. Just dirty worn out clothes, and an old toiletry bag inside an old daypack that's getting holes. And an old food bag has opened packets of dried fruits and nuts, tea bags, and water.

Two thieves have already turned down the contents of my bags!

Camino: day 16; with Donkey

When I arrived at the hostel with the dog following I was pleased to see that Stefan was there with his donkey, 'Chico'.

I had met Stefan in Seville at the backpackers and he had left a few days prior to me to collect his newly purchased donkey and start his camino. I had run into him again in Aljucen and Caceres. And he'd looked like he was having a hard time.

Travelling with a donkey is a traditional method of doing the camino. But not an easy option at all. It means travelling at whatever pace the donkey wishes, camping out most the time, and missing any city sightseeing.

Stefan asked me if I'd help him for a while the next morning and I said I'd be pleased too. He said the donkey progressed better with one person up front on the rope and one behind.

I had also wondered if Stefan was really as okay as he said he was, so I wanted to have the opportunity to see for myself.

Ha! Chico and Stefan had rested a day at the lake side hostel and had passed 2 nights there (I guess when a hostel will let you park your donkey you take the chance). And Chico, who usually is apparently hard to move was in a hurry. If I couldn't keep up with the men in my first days, I certainly couldn't keep up with Chico!

At first Stefan had given the rope to me and I'd been pulled at a quick pace up the slope from the hostel. I realised I was hurting my knee again. I asked Stefan to take the rope.

I soon was being left behind. Stefan turned to say "I have to go with him, Buen Camino" (Buen camino = good walk). And off they went. I was disappointed, but I had tried.

Later in the hike I was caught up by The French man and Perrina (the dog), and so I was able to ask if he had any dog experience (fortunately he has a little), and give some advice. Then we met Stefan and Chico in the next town.

I then diverted from the camino by taking a bus to Plasencia. And yep, I did hurt my knee a little trying to keep up with the donkey. So now I'm wondering what to do.

Camino: why do a pilgrimage?

Traditionally people would walk a pilgrimage for religious reasons and the Via de la Plata is an old Catholic pilgrimage route and an old roman road too, but these days the reasons for doing a pilgrimage are many and I have met very few religious pilgrims.

Many are simply walking for some time away from the modern world, and for exercise. Some are trying to decide on some important life changes, and are taking time to reflect. Many, to test themselves.

Many do one of the Camino's every year. There are lots to choose from. Remember I'm not doing the famous one, but the Via de la Plata.

The christian side of the camino is interesting. Apparently the pilgrimage can be a penance for crimes. And this does make me curious about the super religious types who have done the pilgrimage multiple times. Apparently there is a prison (in France I think), that has a policy of releasing a prisoner each year if they walk the French camino to Compostela with a heavy pack and guard. I kind of met one of these teams.

For me, I was attracted to the camino for a multitude of reasons but mostly, I wanted to walk from villages to small towns, amongst farms, woodlands and open views, enjoying the company I met and eating the wonderful regional foods of Spain.

Camino: Day 15; with dog!

I'm quite pleased with myself. Today I walked the longest stretch I have done since my knee troubles, and I'm feeling quite okay!

Today I started out by walking to the Caceres bus station. Then I had to wait an incredibly long 1.5hours for a bus to Casar de Caceres, from where I hiked. I took the bus for the first bit as I'd heard it is boring, and the hostel not wonderful, so I figured I may as well skip it. Great choice!

I was feeling a bit concerned about today's walk. After being robbed on Day 1, I'd finally walked alone last week for 2 stages, but on reaching the final stop, I was cautioned by a local that I shouldn't be walking alone.
I was also concerned about the 23kms for my legs.
And finally I'd had another warning this morning from a Spanish pilgrim on the same bus "you're crazy! Absolutely crazy, setting out at this hour, it's too hot!". This warning didn't worry me, it was hot, but not too hot for this Queenslander.

But, I wanted to do the walk. Doing it felt like a better thing to do than hanging around. So I did.

Upon leaving Casar de Caceres a young but big dog, super friendly, bounded up to me. I gave it a quick pat. It started following me. The dog had no tags, only a flea collar and seemed hungry. Having a dog along made me feel better, protected. So I wasn't very forceful in my pitiful attempts to send it back, I tried hissing at it and waving my arms and telling it to go in English and Spanish, normally I'd chase a dog, but my knee's still not that great. I wouldn't throw stones or hit at the poor thing.

Finally I realised it was too late to send it back, and I couldn't. I managed to have it and I crawl through a fence to get water for it.

Towards the end we met a young French pilgrim who was resting. He really liked the dog. We chatted and then continued. He caught up with us on the road and came to the hostel with us.

At the hostel the host called the civil guard and an animal shelter but neither were interested in this dog. The dog had seemed hungry right from the start and she's of that age that dogs are often dumped. So we all think she's most probably a stray.

The young lady at the hostel called her boyfriend who brought food. She woofed it down!

The Frenchman intends to walk back to Paris, and is mostly sleeping under the stars, and he said he'd like to have her. So, result, the young Frenchman has a new dog. We all decided it was the best and only option... I hope she was a stray. She's really well behaved and friendly, won't bark at anything, and runs from small dogs. She just seems to want someone to be with. And the young man might be needing company too.

She's been renamed: Perrina, which is what they call a female dog (affectionately) in this part of Spain. It was figured that regardless of her name before, she would have heard that from time to time anyway.

Camino: Day 14, reflecting on WOMAD

Sunday became a rest day for me. The German man had decided to walk and the German woman decided to rest her ankle problems for another day. It seemed reasonable to me to wait and go with her. In the end the man decided to wait too.

During the WOMAD festival I'd discovered my knee still hurt too much: I couldn't dance! So, this is why I chose a rest day. (Plus I'd had to stay up past midnight to see the Australian band 'the Barons of Tang', who were interesting...)

There are a few things I'd like to tell you about the festival, things that caught my attention:
Staying up: No matter what age a Spaniard is, they can and will stay up late, really late. I mean at home and elsewhere children are in bed by 8 or 9, and old people seem to choose this too. But in Spain I've seen toddlers and kids of all ages out (with parents) at midnight. And people beyond retirement ages too.

Haircuts: maybe it was the crowd attracted to WOMAD but Spain has more bad haircuts than anywhere I've ever been. Mullets, rats tails, undercuts, shaved off one side, dreadlocks of varying sizes on the same head, wacky fringes. This is on both guys and girls. But I like the spirit of it, I'm wondering if I should get an undercut and a wacky fringe?

Booze: apparently BYO to the festival isn't a problem. Young adults carried in 5 litres water bottles filled with wine which would be mixed with Coca-cola. They drank this from the biggest cups I've ever seen. See the picture below which shows the situation: almost everybody brought booze in.

The Spanish certainly know how to make a great fiesta!

Camino: Day 11; perfect!

Today was exactly how I thought the camino should be! I'm simply happy. Maybe the blessing of the priest last night worked? (It was a lovely blessing, even without being religious I felt privileged to receive it).

I wasn't woken too early. I had a leisurely breakfast, with other pilgrims, in a bar near last nights' accommodation.
I walked most of the 15kms alone. I passed others, I was passed by others, and I was accompanied for awhile while hiking and again whilst sitting in a village rest point.
I found coffee between 10 and 11 in a roadside bar (it was bad coffee, but anyway).
The scenery was beautiful and interesting. (More wildflowers, cattle farms, oak and olive plantations, sheep, roman bridges and roman road markers. Today we actually followed the actual old roman path and also a stock route.).
The sun shone and the temperature was perfect.
I walked at a reasonable pace, my knee is a lot better than it was, and I'm doing manageable distances.
I arrived by lunchtime at the albergue and had a wonderful menu del dia in the village.
I chatted with other pilgrims and a German woman wanted to cook so 4 of us had a communal dinner.
It was a simply lovely day!

I'm in Aldea del Cano.

Camino: Day 12 & 13; such luck!

My knee is getting better and better. Yesterday I hiked 11kms to a sleepy little village thinking I'd stop there the night. But, having reached there by midday I decided that it looked rather boring and since 11kms is enough for my knee I would take the bus to Caceres.

I'd heard wonderful things about the old city of Caceres, and it deserves all the applause. It is World Heritage listed and is impressive for its collection of medieval and renaissance architecture and history. It is simply beautiful, strolling the streets is a delight.

But! What is even more, I arrived to discover that the WOMAD festival is on here this weekend(!), and the town is pretty much sold out of accommodation. I got a hotel list from the tourist centre and started phoning and found a cheap pension on the plaza which had kept 2 rooms available for pilgrims. Just enough for me and my new German friends! So, being that WOMAD in Adelaide (Australia) had always been on my 'to do' list, I'm staying 2 nights.

How lucky am I! And, there's an Australian band playing tonight, called 'The Barons of Tang'.

Other delights are worth mentioning are from yesterday's camino. As I had mentioned, we've been following an old roman route and a stock route. The stock route is still used and yesterday I passed sheep going in the opposite direction (I had noticed a facility for sorting and loading sheep onto trucks at the edge of the last village).
Later I followed a hare down the road (I think it was a hare rather than a rabbit), I followed it from a distance of about 70m for about 100m until I stood on gravel that crunched underfoot and it bolted.

At one point I crossed a country aerodrome, which I imagine only sees activity on weekend with people whose hobby is flying. And later I viewed a castle in the distance.

Waiting in the small town of Valdesalor for the bus I guess I witnessed some of the effects of Spain's high unemployment : young men (a core group of 6 or 7) hanging about smoking in the bus shelter. 1pm on a Friday and it seems nobody had anything better to do. Most weren't just smoking cigarettes, and one was employed as he kept taking money from people as they came and went. Maybe he was selling places on a bus trip;)

Anyway, I'm very excited to be in Caceres for WOMAD.

Camino: Day 10: half and half

I hiked!
This morning I hiked with 2 self proclaimed slow walkers, both men. After a while Juan decided that Miguel and I walked too slow, and left us, but didn't get so far ahead as we caught up with him while he rested. Miguel has 5 screws in his hip to slow him down. That's how slow I'm going!

The walk wasn't so enjoyable for me, my leg and knee are hurting, but I'm not in pain like I was 5 days ago. I recon it's okay.

Aside from my personal hiking troubles it was a beautiful and easy walk: we saw Roman ruins (Aqueducts and more), an ancient roman dam (still in use, in the past the aqueducts were used to take the water to town), and more farms and wildflowers.

Most people setting out from Merida today, including my 2 companions, seemed to be aiming to do 2 stages. I decided the one, which was 13-15kms, was sufficient.

It was a rather early start. Not that any of us had planned it to be, but the Italian in the bed next to mine had an alarm go off at 5am. Then, apparently he hadn't prepared (like one should if going early), rustled his stuff for 30 minutes, and then .... Lay back down in the bed for another 20 minutes!

Despite that I beat the Italians to the end of today's 2nd stage! I took the bus. And I'm not sharing a room with them or anyone else tonight. There were only top bunks left, and without ladders, so I told the hospitalero about my knee and suddenly found myself in a private room.

I hiked the first stage, then I had thought I'd stay in that town the night and relax in the Roman baths which are just €5 for pilgrims. But then Miguel suggested I take the bus to the next town to meet him and Juan again.

I looked at the guide which had 20kms for that stage, maybe too much still for my leg, and decided to do the Roman baths and then take a bus.

The baths were so lovely. I'm very pleased I stopped and relaxed for a while. I feel better for it.

Remarkably when I left the baths I met a pilgrim who'd left Seville a few days before me, and is hiking with a donkey.

Tonight's stay is in a charity house "Esclavos de Maria y de los Pobres" (Slaves of Maria and the Poor), run by monks. There will be a benediction at 6.45pm (I've decided that it'd be in the spirit of things to go), and a pilgrims dinner afterwards. Lights out 9pm, and not on again before 7am. For all this donations are requested. It's all very interesting.

Camino: Day 9; Mèrida

Smart choice today. I took the bus, 3 sections ahead, to Merida.

My reasoning: that I wasn't sure my knee was good yet for hiking any country miles and Merida has so much sightseeing that I could test my abilities on that and just do as much or as little as suited.

I did a lot! Merida is full of old roman ruins, I visited the Ampitheatre, the Theatre, the racecourse, the temple of Diana, the arch, the longest preserved roman bridge in the world and looked at the aqueduct too! I have survived it, with just a little hurting. And I walked everywhere.

I recon tomorrow I'll hike!

By the way, Julio Iglesias will be performing at the old Roman theatre on June 22nd. I mean if he went to the Brisbane entertainment centre I wouldn't be interested, but to see him here would be unforgettable, as well as seeing the theater at night.

Camino: Life of a pilgrim

Since I'm not doing much, let me tell you what it's like to be a pilgrim.

Firstly, people get up early. I don't quite get it. I'm a natural early riser and usually I'm amongst the first up, or THE first up, when I'm travelling. It's great, it means that I can use the toilet and shower without having to queue. (I tend to stay in hostels with shared facilities).

On the camino though there are lots of people getting up and starting hiking in the dark. I understand that on the super busy Camino Frances people do this to beat the crowd to the next place and get the best bed. It's a snowballing problem with people getting up earlier and earlier to beat the others.

But, this camino isn't so busy, and if a bottom bunk is needed (like I've needed it recently for my knee) you can often call ahead and request one from a private albergue. The days are long, in terms of daylight hours, so really there isn't a need to rush. Some say they are beating the heat,, what heat? I haven't found it hot yet.

Then you hike. You carry all your things and the water and snacks needed. Some days are more than 30kms without passing a town. If you pass through a town you can, of course, stop to buy food and drink.

Pilgrims mostly stay at Albergues. They are special Pilgrims hostels. Most towns on route have a municipal albergue, run by the town council. Some have a private hostels/albergues, and some have both. Some people are carrying tents and they camp.

Albuergues are all different. The municipal ones are usually more basic. The beds are usually bunk beds, and so far I think I've had up to 24 beds in a room. My best had 2 beds in the room and I had it to myself. Both of these were municipal.

Some have no bedding (although, if, like me, you don't have a sleeping bag, there has so far always been a blanket available). I travel with a silk sleep sheet, and in only one place I have they provided sheets so I'm pleased I have it.

To stay at the municipal albergue you must have a pilgrims credential. Some of the privates also demand a credential, others just have a different price for people without a credential.

A credential is kind of like a 'Pilgrims Passport'. It can be obtained from 'Friends of the Camino' associations around the world, purchased from a few private businesses associated with the pilgrimage, or, if you are catholic and making a religious pilgrimage, you can get one from your Catholic Church. I bought mine for €2 from Triana Backpackers (where I started from) in Seville.

On arrival at the Albergue, municiple or private, the 'Hospitelero' (host), writes your details in a book and stamps your credential. He or she then takes payment. Mostly it's €10, but it can be as simple as no fee but a request for a donation.

Then you pick the best bed available in the dorm. I haven't yet had to go on top, but I teamed with fast walkers... And now I have a bad knee I'm beating the crowds by taking the bus.

Then everybody does 2 things: shower and laundry. There might be just 2 bathrooms (with toilet and shower in the same room) for 28 pilgrims. I like to remind myself that the slum in Mumbai had something like 1 toilet for 350 families, and this is better and a choice. People are mostly very efficient and the wait is never long. Beauty queens and kings don't seem to go on pilgrimages or stay in albergues.

The Spanish close most shops between 2 and 5, and that's when lunch is served in the restaurants, dinner is after 7.30. Usually there is some place offering a pilgrims menu for €7-9. It'll be a first plate (soup, salad, pasta, etc), a second plate (meat and potato chips), bread, dessert, and a drink (beer, wine, water, or soft drink). This could be had for lunch or dinner, but I usually have a late lunch and then eat something light for dinner.

In the late afternoon most will take a wonder in the town streets or sit around talking. Or, as is the modern day, they'll be on their smart phone using the Internet.

Then, while the rest of Spain never sleeps (at 9pm kids are playing in the plaza and men are walking dogs) pilgrims go to bed between 10 and 11.

Earplugs are necessary. With so many people in a room there'll be snorers... And there was the time when I apparently kept people awake with my teeth chatting due to the cold!

Also worth a mention is that old European men have no qualms about walking around the dormitory in their underwear, no matter what shape they are in. They'll even have conversations with you whilst so underdressed.

And, if you're leaving early its best to have your clothes and bag ready and at the door so as not to disturb the couple of people who aren't getting up so early.

Camino: Day 8; resting

This is getting repetitive: bus, rest, bus, rest, bus. And boring.

My knee's still not good. It gave out on me on a short walk through town this morning and I've now got a nice new walking stick.

Excitingly though, I did find a nice cafe with lovely little cakes and biscuits and great coffee. For €1.70 I sat and ate 3 treats and a cafe con leche. I love eating in this country! It's fantastic and cheap!

Menu fun

I'm in a bar in Zafra, Extremadura. Fried piglet seems like a particularly cruel thing to have on a menu. But lucky they have this English translation because when I use my dictionary to translate the Spanish, "Guarrito Frito", I get 'Fried little Slut'!. (Which actually sounds worse from a hygiene point of view).

I didn't order it! I don't eat veal, and I couldn't eat piglet.

When I was a kid granddad captured a wild piglet. It was tiny, cute, and we kept it and called it 'Pork Chop'. Eventually, when it was big, I don't know if it escaped (ie a parents' lie to not have crying kids) or if it became many pork chops.

On the farm I witnessed many animal kills for our table: cattle, sheep, goats, chickens and pigs. I'm actually okay with it, but I think it's better to farm animals 'free range', and not eat meat excessively.

I fully appreciate vegetarians, but I tried it and I'm a nicer and more stable person when I eat a little red meat.

Camino: day 7: bus again

I've discovered something quite wonderful! Taking the bus is super cheap.

I mean as a pilgrim I had and have every intention of walking but I also don't intend on working this knee to the point of no return (if there is that), so I'm giving it time to heal. So today I took the bus.

2 Stages of VLdP, about 40 kms, and 2 days walking, or €3.54 and 45 minutes on the bus. It's great. And the buses are fantastic.

I enjoyed the bus scenery. Today it looks as though I missed walking past cultivated fields on rolling hills. Pretty enough, but also open enough to be enjoyed from the bus window.

When I got to this pilgrims hostel (which is beautiful and in an old convent), I had lunch and then took a slow walk around the historical centre (the hostel is well located beside it). It was good to move a bit and this is a beautiful town.

Camino: Day 5; bused it!

Just so that you know, taking a bus for a section, especially in this part, isn't cheating. You can get a credential (like a certificate of completion) by walking the last 100kms.

Today, with my bad knee, the kind man who runs last nights' albergue (hostel) drove me to the next town so that I could catch a bus to this town, Monesterio. Then I went to the doctor; although I already knew what the prescription would be, everybody said I should get it looked at.

The doctor prescribed Ibuprofen, ice and rest. That's what google had said too. I'm not happy about the ice, it's already too cold here (even if everybody else seems to disagree).

It snowed in this town just 5 days ago! And for me 21 degrees Celsius is sweater worthy.

Monesterio is famous for ham (from those Iberian pigs) and has a ham museum. It's an excellent and very interesting museum and the ham's wonderful too.

I will stay here all day tomorrow and rest. In the evening there will be a festival with Flamenco in town, so I'm excited to be able to go for a look at that. I love dancing and festivals so this is a bit of luck.

Stopping here is also meaning losing my Spanish hiking companions. I've appreciated their company but I hope to find some slow walkers for the next stages and stopping is giving me this opportunity. (As most of the stages are 20-30kms and most people will only do one a day one tends to meet the same people day after day).

Camino: Day 6: resting

Today was a dull day. I only went out in the evening to a plaza to see a local fiesta, but soon tired of standing on one leg while music played too loudly for me to easily converse in Spanish.

I didn't realise it before I went, but it was a beer festival. I'm an terrible example of an Aussie: I don't drink beer and I've little tolerance for drunkenness. I had a glass of wine, learnt to eat sunflower seeds as the Spaniards do (like parrots!), and excused myself.

It was a nice festival though. The people here are very friendly even the man in the bar where I had dinner last night was recommending a doctors treatment for me.

With a day of internet access I decided to start being proactive in trying to find a travel partner. I realized that I just can't do the things I want to do alone. I knew I couldn't in India, but thought I could in Spain. In getting robbed it was proven that nowhere is really safe.

Today I've been on the travel forums. Lets hope I find something.

Camino: Via de la Plata, Day 3

Today was a beautiful but long day: Almost 30kms and finishing with a steep uphill climb. But I made it!

I spent most the day in disappointment that I hadn't yet seen the Iberian Pigs as mentioned in my guide. Let me explain: I love pigs! I also love elephants and camels, but pigs are the best.

It's this extreme: I have a wonderful book at home. It's called "Beautiful Pigs", and has pictures (photos, drawings, and paintings) of different breeds of pigs. I love this book. If I'm feeling down I only have to browse the beautiful pigs to feel better! I do not like caricatures or things that do not look like real pigs, so forget acquiring for me some cutesy pig thing. I love pigs, not piggy things.

Anyway, back to today...
I was disappointed for 29kms of walking but finally I saw a pen of the black Iberian sows just 10 minutes from our pilgrims hostel. Then I showered and went to a restaurant to try the local speciality: Iberian pig.

I still walked with my 6 companions today, but I have my confidence back. This afternoon I went for a walk in this lovely village alone. And I got money from the ATM! (And so repaid the Italian.)

This village is small but sweet. And I love how on every tall building of each town (so the church) there is a stork in its' nest.

On the walk today we passed through the 'Parque Natural Sierra Norte' (north mountain range natural park). We passed old cork plantations (each 7 years the bark, which is cork, is taken), plantations of pines for pine nuts, cattle farms, goats and finally pigs. The wildflowers were still spectacular and the views (as we had that steep walk) were magnificent.

And now I'm exhausted.

Camino: Day 4; another problem

This morning I said goodbye to my Italian knight (well he was the one who came along when I was robbed and then escorted me everywhere). It was sad to say goodbye but he wanted to do 2 stages today (so 33kms) and I only wanted to do one (13kms). So, it was better to say goodbye.

One of the Spaniards went with him and the other 3 Spaniards made an early departure for the 13kms, while I stayed back to walk with the Spaniard who had joined the group alone. He was making a late start to go to the post office and send some excess luggage home.

I chose to walk with Pedro because I was having to walk too fast with all the others and I felt that with just him we could walk a bit slower. Put 6 men in a group and they all seemed to be trying to walk the fastest.

Anyway, regardless of my slow down today I now have the results of walking too fast. My left knee became very painful in the last hour of hiking today.

I've been googling a solution. It seems that walking too fast and pushing beyond what you are used to can cause such problems. Rest seems the best advice at this stage. Ice was also mentioned, but I'm already cold here.

I had felt I needed to walk with the group for safety. But by doing so it seems that I'm doing damage to my knee. Can I win?

Tomorrow I'll see if I can take a bus to the next stop. And rest. And see where that leads me.

Oh, and today we walked through a field of pigs! ... But they were all sleeping :(. An English guy turned up here today, he said the pigs licked him, and showed me a video. I'm a bit jealous really.

This town, called Real de la Jarra, has 2 castles. They are possibly really cool, but I'm barely walking so I really don't know.

Camino: Via de la Plata: Day 2

I have accidentally become one of the pilgrims who goes without money. I had heard stories of people who do this, one from the Netherlands with just €5 in his pocket, relying on the hospitality of others to provide for him. He made it to Santiago with the €5 still in his pocket.

I had never intended to travel this way, but yesterday I was robbed of my cash. The Pilgrims Refugio refused to charge me the €10, and having no money I was in no position to argue. The Italian took me to dinner, and when I asked for company to the ATM he said not to worry I could relax and do that tomorrow. I had been fairly shaken, I didn't want to go to an ATM alone (I'm weary of them in Spain anyway due to the thieving of gypsies), so I said okay, I can repay you tomorrow.

Today I we hiked together and now I have tried the ATMs in this town, and neither of them worked. I called my bank and they said that they have no record of my trying and therefore it seems there is no communication and I should try another. They said my account is fine and there is money. There are no more ATMs here, but I have a bed for tonight (this one asks for a donation from pilgrims), and food for tomorrow and my Italian friend has fed me all day.

After yesterday's robbery I managed to have not 1 but 6 bodyguards for today's walking: The Italian, the 4 Spaniards, and another Spaniard who had been hiking alone. They are all older men and nobody speaks English, but I've appreciated their company.

My Spanish is re-emerging well. I had hardly spoken it for 3.5 years, but yesterday I had the big test of describing the thieves and events in Spanish for an official police testimony. Four of the Spanish companions speak Andalusian Spanish so I often have trouble understanding them, in fact it is easiest to talk with the Italian.

The hike today and yesterday (although overshadowed by other events) was spectacular. I have passed fields of wheat, beets, olive trees, oranges trees, and acorn trees (acorns are to feed the Iberian pigs). Some portions of the walk have been beside roads, but mostly it's been on paths through the countryside. Uncultivated soils, like those beneath the trees or beside the roads, are covered in wildflowers. It's like the best possible cottage garden, only endless in size. I recognize daisies of varying types, red poppies, rosemary and lavender; but there are so many more flowers. I have seen herds of cows: both dairy and beef, goats on a farm for producing goats cheeses, and many beautiful Spanish horses. The villages are pretty and well cared for. Yesterday I also passed roman ruins, but as it was raining I kept walking with barely a glance in their direction.

At the end of day 2 my leg muscles are feeling it. I wonder what my legs will be like at the end? I didn't prepare for the camino... Although I walked a lot in India I didn't have much opportunity for country hiking.

Twice today we passed men with knives. I was surprised and untrusting after yesterday's events, but they were simply picking wild asparagus.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get money. At any rate we have a big day ahead: 30kms!