Barcelona - end of the line

Our final week of another wonderful adventure was a relaxing one in Barcelona. We rented a small apartment near the Sants train station providing us with easy access and lots of time to explore this interesting city. We still did lots of walking but it was nice to have our own private space at the end of the day to cook our own meals and relax. Our daughter, Rachel, also joined us for our final 4 days so it was nice to spend more time with her and see some of the sights together. Prior to her arrival we did a day trip out to Montserrat, a one hour train ride away, where we took a rack railway ride up the steep mountain to the historic Monastery. The highlight was listening to the daily performance of the renowned boy's choir which sounded heavenly in the crowded basilica. From there we took a funicular higher up the mountain where there were fabulous view of the surrounding area below and several short and long (all the way to the bottom of the mountain) hiking trails.

In Barcelona, we split our days into checking out different parts of the city. On our first day we took a bus to the top of Montjuic, which overlooked the city and the Mediterranean, and then gradually walked back down. Along the way we spent time at the hilltop Castle and Fortress (a sad ending for the locals), then the Olympic Stadium (1992, open to visitors), walked through parks and gardens, and enjoyed the Magic Fountains and impressive cascading waterfalls in front of the National Art Museum. On another day we took in most of the Antoni Gaudi (1852 - 1926) exhibits which were scattered throughout the Gracia district of the city. La Sagrada Familia (his most famous piece of work and not yet complete) was fascinating to see and looks very modern compared to the many ornate Cathedrals we have previously visited in Europe. While the exterior has incredible stone work and some humorous features (standard Gaudi practice), the interior is very avant garde, especially for a building that was started in the late 1800's. The Nativity Tower provided nice views of the surrounding area and a long spiral staircase descent. We also saw Casa Milo, his curvy apartment complex where Gaudi allegedly told one of the original inhabitants who complained about not being able to get their piano inside, "to take up the violin instead". Parc Guell (his residential neighbourhood design, now a park) and Casa Batllo (redesigned personal residence) were his other highlights. In the evening we attended a jazz concert in the Palau de la Musica which was beautifully sculpted with a huge stained glass dome in the main concert hall and excellent acoustics as well.

On Saturday we spent our time in the Gothic Quarter (oldest part of the city with some remnants of the Roman wall still in place). There were many narrow, winding cobblestone streets and it was easy to get off track enjoying the architecture of the old buildings in the pedestrian friendly district (devoid of automobile traffic).  We walked along the famous Las Ramblas street, with it's tree-lined centre boulevard. City developers turned this 2 kms of the dry riverbed, which went through the centre of the city, into a lovely oasis for strolling, dining and people watching (we did all 3). The nearby Boqueria Market (13th century) was special in that many of the food stalls catered to the tourist traffic with lots of snack-sized portions that were difficult to resist (especially my cone of anchovies). On our final day we walked along the waterfront area. The harbour (with a swing bridge), waterfront promenade, the La Barceloneta area (old port) and Barcelona beach were our prime targets. After lunch we walked through the lovely Parc de la Ciutadella and finished off with a visit to the crowded Pablo Picasso Museum which was housed in five connected, medieval mansions. There were 19 well laid out rooms displaying art from different periods of his life (1881 - 1973) making it easy for the untrained eye to see how his work evolved over the years.

We are now back home, and yes, there is snow on the ground on the 25th of November. Time to start planning our next adventure!

View from the National Art Museum towards the city centre of Barcelona.

View of the Monastery at Montserrat. Yellow cable car and rack railway route visible if you look closely.

La Segrada Familia - Guadi's most famous piece of work.

Parc Guell - would have been a fun neighbourhood to live in.

Casa Batllo - nothing ordinary about this residence.

Palau de la Musica - amazing concert hall. Pre-show pictures only so we arrived early.

Mercat de la Boqueria - couldn't resist this anchovy treat (heads on).

Placa Reial in the Gothic district - while people watching in the harmoniously proportioned square (archway entrances only), Rachel and I ordered grande cervezas and received one litre steins.

Las Ramblas - the tree-lined boulevard was a popular place, day and night.

Barcelona Beach - a nice boardwalk to stroll along. The Mediterranean was a bit too cool for a swim this time of year (although some were taking the plunge).

Discovering More Favourites

Valencia was wonderful and turned out to be a fabulous reward for our Camino trek. The weather changed dramatically, from cool and rain to heat (22-23C) and sunshine. The city itself is beautiful. The central downtown is filled with well maintained historical buildings, 2 huge food markets, a 100 metre wide park (the dry Turria riverbed) that winds its way through the entire city (urban planning brilliance) and the Mediterranean Sea on the east side of the city, with a large port and sandy beach that seems to go on forever. We spent two full days walking around the city which had a good vibe. On the first day we explored both of the busy food mercados and took self-guided tours of the National Ceramics Museum and the old Silk Exchange building (excellent architecture). On the second day we walked along the lovely city park to the sea (5 km), relaxed on the beach and got our feet wet in the cool Mediterranean.

The next day we rented a car and drove north up the coast. The province of Valencia was filled with orange groves, with a mix of olive trees as we got further north. The Deltebre Peninsula had lots of rice paddies which I suppose supported all of the paella meals that were prevalent along the coast. We made a short stop into Peniscola to visit the castle city where El Cid was filmed  before spending the night in Vandellos. We spent most of the next day in Tarragona, another great find. It has numerous Roman ruins throughout the city which was founded over 2000 years ago. The remains of the Roman Circus (chariot races), the amphitheatre (gladiator fights), the double-walled old city (original Roman walls reinforced with medieval walls in the 1300's) and the Cathedral were the highlights for us. It is also the home of the Castells championship for the province of Catelonia whereby teams attempt to build the tallest human tower possible, a challenge started in 1712. We missed this year's tournament by a month but saw a picture where the winning team made it to 8 levels which would have been amazing to watch.

We skipped by Barcleona and continued north to Girona for 2 nights. Girona's ancient city was fine but our main reason for stopping there was to visit the nearby city of Figueres, Salvadore Dali's hometown and his magnificent museum. It is the second most visited museum in Spain after the Prado in Madrid. We spent over 2 hours admiring the art of the incredibly talented and imaginative artist. He purchased the former theatre and redesigned it, including a crypt for himself which he permanently moved into in 1989. It was full of fun exhibits and others that made you wonder what hallucinatory drugs drove his mind at times. We gained a new appreciation for his vast array of work (including jewellery design) which we have always enjoyed. We did see a copy of an original piece that we have at home but I am now starting to think that we may be in possession of the copy.

Today we drove east to the coast again and headed south along the scenic Costa Brava. The winding road clung to the side of the mountains with the Mediterranean Sea below. We stopped for lunch in Tossa de Mar, a beautiful seaside town with a 12th century wall still protecting the old village and fortress, with a nice bay and beach beside it. It would be easy to spend more time there especially when it was warm enough to swim in the sea every day.

We have just arrived in Barcelona where we have rented a small apartment near the centre of the city, for our final week on this adventure. Our daughter Rachel will join us from Basel for the last 4 days before we return to the land of freezing temperatures and snow.

Valencia - City Hall

Valencia - downtown centre

Mercado Central - anchovies were considered a delicacy (and priced that way).

Walking through Turria Park on our way to the Mediterranean and coming across the City of Arts and Sciences (only two of 4 fascinatingly designed learning centres).

Relaxing beside the Mediterranean Sea

Tarragona - the Castells Monument. Honouring a tradition that started over 300 years ago.

Tarragona - Roman Amphitheatre

Figueres - Salvadore Dali Museum

Dali's Mae West Room. "Installation art" according to the missus.

Tossa de Mar - a beautiful little seaside town 90 km's north of Barcelona.

Buen Camino

I made it.........2 weeks without being attached to the internet! I did receive occasional RBC updates (Rhonda's Broadcasting Service) for news, weather and sports but I kept my hands off of her Kindle while my laptop was safely stored in Madrid along with some other non-essential items while we walked the Camino de Santiago. During our 7 days on the Camino (extra days before hand in Leon and Lugo, and more time in Santiago at the end) there was enough weight in my backpack......2 sleeping bags, a second set of clothes for each of us, toiletries, towels, and a few more items......that I didn't want it to become a burden since we walked almost 20 km's a day during 6 days (115 km's total). As it was, the weight was similar to my golf bag which I was used to carrying most days during the summer. We could have used a transfer service like many other pilgrims (as we were all referred to, or peregrinos in Spanish) on the trail, but in doing so you need to commit to a stopover point further ahead and we preferred the old-fashioned pilgrim journey and the flexibility to stop whenever we wanted which turned out to be a good decision. We had nice weather for our first two days on the trail but then the rain started and continued every day until we finally departed Santiago, 10 days later. We ended up walking 23 and 25 km's on our first two days, and then only 16-18 km's a day after that, starting later, finishing earlier, or taking longer breaks when the rain was persistent. At the albergues (hostels) where most people stayed overnight, we always seemed to be the driest of the bunch and didn't have to worry about putting on damp clothes in the morning.

Our Camino experience was a wonderful one despite the cool (10-16C), inclement weather. It was 'spiritual' in a way but I would describe it as 'peaceful' for us. There was lots of uninterrupted time walking through the lovely countryside to think about life in general, how fortunate we are, and what matters most to us. We met strangers from all over the world who became friends for several days since you would often meet them again further along the Camino, as everyone moved along at their own pace. There was no animosity to be found anywhere, everyone was very friendly and wishing each other a "buen camino" with every passing.  The Camino is a great way to become 'happy' if that is not the space you are in.

Some of the highlights along the way included:
- our first few days in Leon and Lugo before the trek. Both were beautiful medieval cities with ancient Roman walls surrounding the old town where we spent our time admiring the architecture and walking the cobble stone streets.
- Sarria, where we started our Camino walk (as many people do), and the first pilgrim we met (William, Netherlands) had actually walked with our good friend John Dowd earlier on the trail. Quite a coincidence.
- meeting up with John a few days later in Melide (as planned) and spending a day together. John actually started his journey in Le Puy, France at the beginning of September, and was walking a total of 1500 km's to Santiago, an amazing accomplishment. He had arrived in Sarria ahead of us but took a bus to Santiago to meet his son, Bryan, and friend Mitch, before taking the bus back to Sarria and restarting his trek. That allowed us to move ahead on the trail and they caught up to us a few days later, walking at a faster pace. We had a good chance to catch up with one another during our time together.....a fun and tasty meal (octopus specialty restaurant) and spending the night in the same albergue room that had 14 beds. We walked the first 5 km's together the next day before we let them continue on in the rain since they had a further destination in mind and we chose to dry off in a café.
- the albergues along the way were a pleasant surprise. We somehow managed to find places that were clean and quite acceptable for the 10 Euro p.p. fee ($15) and devoid of any loud snorers that were on the trail (the only complaint we heard from some pilgrims).
- the Pilgrim Menu, served throughout the Camino at most restaurants, and many albergues. For 8-10 Euros, you received a 3 course meal (appetizer, main, dessert, with 4-5 choices for each course) along with bread and a half bottle (or litre) of local wine. It was a very good deal.
- how well the Camino was marked. It would have been very difficult to lose track of the trail. Every turn was well marked with a either a blue and yellow scallop shell sign or a yellow arrow on a wall or the paved road. When passing through a city, a bronze scallop shell was displayed in the concrete sidewalk. I suppose with over 200,000 people walking the Camino each year, they have had time to perfect the markings since pilgrims started doing this trek back in the 9th century.
- arriving in Santiago de Compostela and seeing the magnificent Cathedral, meaning our journey was complete. We went to the Pilgrim's Office and received our Compostela (over 100 km's walked, town and village stamps in your Pilgrim Passport for proof), and then headed to our private room for a well deserved rest.

We spent 5 days in Santiago, enjoying the lovely, pedestrian-friendly old town, and bumping into other pilgrims that we had met along the way. We toured the Cathedral and knelt before the casket of St. James, one of the original apostles and the reason the pilgrimage to Santiago started 1200's years ago. We also attended the Pilgrim's Mass, where the botafumeria (large incense burner) is raised and lowered by 6 strong men while swinging back and forth and almost reaching the domed ceiling 25-30 metres overhead. It was amazing to watch in the packed Cathedral. On another day we rented a car and drove out to Cape Finisterre (End of the Earth, or so they once believed) where we walked to Kilometre Zero of the Camino at the Atlantic Ocean. Some pilgrim's leave their hiking boots behind when they arrive and some still burn their worn and dirty clothes at a special shrine. Our return drive took us along the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death) where the beautiful but rugged coastline has taken its toll on many sea vessels. We also stopped into the Igrexa de San Francisco another day to pick up our 2nd Compostela. It was the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi's pilgrimage to Santiago, and on every 100th year anniversary the church awards a special Compostela to the pilgrims reaching Santiago.

Last night we arrived in Valencia, via Madrid to pick up our extra backpack which had been stored at the train station. Our first impression has been very positive and we look forward to a few more days here, especially with a sunny, 22-23C forecast in our future. I will provide more details in my next report.

Buenas noches..........Miguel

Leon - Cathedral de Santa Maria. Over 1800 square metres of stained glass windows.

The first day on the Camino de Santiago trail. The sun was shining!

Our Melide aubergue. Ready to head out into the light rain with John, Bryan (left) and Mitch (Australia), and a peregrino photo bomber.

Our posse on the trail. The boys hiking boots were still a little damp when we left that morning.

A common countryside view when walking along the Camino Frances.

A trail marker left and maintained by a local villager.

Reaching our final destination. We wore good raincoats but our often worn ponchos from the Dollar Store provided even more protection, especially for the backpacks.

A view of the huge Cathedral from our 3rd floor room in Santiago, a 10 minute walk away. Unfortunately for our picture gallery, the two main towers were undergoing renovations, so the external view did not match the wonderful framed photograph pictures we had been teased with along the way.

The botafumeria swinging back and forth at the end of the Pilgrim's Mass. We have a good video of the action which we can share later.