Day 18. Scarecrows in shell suits!

From halfway to nearly home

We’ve just seen the weather forecast and its not drying weather!

Luckily we’re used to it and as we go marching on we realise we’ve only 2 weeks to go after Leon.

That means bin everything and buy new stuff for the last 14 days. Sod the washing it just gets in the way.

Its the first time we’ve seen temperatures you’d identify as being British, or even a Scottish July.

For those without the benefit of the www.mundicamino.com maps, we aim to be in Ponferrada on October 3rd/4th, so Si can hopefully see Man Utd, and I can count the premium bond winnings, which means October 12th is the finishing line – a full 12 days ahead of schedule.

Or to put it another way there are two bad downhills to come. 1000m drops in only 7km. Ouch says “Al no go down knees” lucky we’ve got 12 spare days!

Just thought I’d share that we’re both still in shock that we’ve got this far and are still functioning. Luckily you can’t smell a blog or the pictures!

www.500m.wordpress.com is the blog for Si and Al as they walk 500 miles across Spain to raise money for CHAS. Please read and comment.

CHAS is a children’s hospice and all donations are gratefully received. www.justgiving.com/deadbeat

Day 18. Hobbit houses!

Thurs. Forgotten day number. Look, beans that grow on trees!

Mansilla de las Mulas

What a name!

What a town!

What an Albergue!

This place is 4 euro. You can tell a lot about the Albergue by the price they charge.

There are about 80 happy clappy pilgrims and for those follow Si’s blog, we need more John Belushis!

The best part is the Germans sing one song, the French Quebecois sing another, the Swedes squeeze in the frog song, while Al squeezes his smelly shirt onto the over crowded washing line.

We’re sharing a dorm with 12. Not too bad but the middle of the night watering arrangements will involve us crossing many bunks and rooms. I sense danger for our fellow pilgrims.”Don’t worry” says Simon “we have our torch”. “Great” says I “after we kick them we shine lights in their eyes”.

We’re sharing with a sleeping bag with hair. We’ve been here 2 hours and that’s all the pencil case in the corner has revealed.

We were pretty tired. That last leg involved 6 toilet trips which is one per km. That’s me not Si, he never had any of the water! The last I managed to hold in until we arrived at the overbooked hostal. Once we knew we were Albergue bound it was head down and just clean the shower first.

There are few words that are adequate to describe the degredation these middle class pilgrims like to put themselves through. For me, I find it enriches the soul and reminds me never to share a shower with the Dutch.

Just kidding of course, its the Germans, its always the Germans. Why change the stereotype.

We’ve now done about 80km in the last two days so tomorrow’s 20km into Leon will be a breeze. So will our abuse of the Tapas bars, hotel facilities and general city. I can’t wait to get back to being a normal lager lout with Peregrino boots on and a happy repetitve, if somewhat irritating “muchos gracias por su ayuda” for anyone who holds a door or just points us in the directions gents, out of the ladies, or even out of their bar!

We think its day 18 today and are one or two days ahead of the St Gien or Mundicamino guides as they have us in Leon on day 21.

Surely when Gordon and Alison return from holiday they’ll tell their son he’s not required home for another fortnight.

Talking of home we miss it. Not just the creature comforts of beds, but the other things like non smoking bars! How mad is this – we’re sitting outside freezing our Tapas off just so that I can be in the non smoking part of the bar. I’ve had to drag Si away from the warmth of the plumes – iain, tom other ian, you should go to Spain – its a smokers paradise – buy one get 50 free.

I always said I wouldn’t be one of those reformed junkies that forgot the pleasure of the junk. Yep, it is a smokers paradise!

Ok, its time to eat – bring on the 3 courses for 8 euro – then we can attack the bed bugs if we’re still hungry.

Its just one long picnic!

Adios mi Amigos

 

www.500m.wordpress.com is the blog for Si and Al as they walk 500 miles across Spain to raise money for CHAS. Please read and comment.

CHAS is a children’s hospice and all donations are gratefully received. www.justgiving.com/deadbeat

Let Me Sleep!

Its all I could do to crawl to the bath this morning. I was knackered and in that place where only a fag and a coffee can kickstart you. As I do neither now I suggested the big fella let me sleep.

He declined my offer and so I arrived in the bathroom with just enough strength to push the shower button off and the bath on. Another five minutes would elapse before I had the strength to turn the taps.

I guess he thought another 40km would bust me. He was right. I soaked for as long as I could before searching for his tooth paste. This involved discovering that his large tube of E45 was curing the itch on his bottle of after shave, his mosquito spray, numerous other items and his beloved string. I laughed. That’ll give me another 20 minutes in bed, I mused.

All of which led us to leave town by 9am. A result! We were passed by the people who had left at 7am from 10km back but I cared not a jot – I’d had a rest.

By noon we’d past through a few town and done about 17km. I’d counted numerous stripes in the road and worked out the if I had stilts I should join the circus. As I didn’t I joined Si instead on a bench in a wilderness as we ate chunky ham, cheese, tomato bread, washed down with a little Meloncoton – peach juice.

That was just outside El burgo
Ranero, which was the place after Bercianos del Real Camino (you mean there’s a fake one!) Which was the town after Calzada something another.

We then walked 13km in complete wilderness and have just arrived at Reliegous – which is like Religious but spelt differently. I wanted to stop but the Albergue has broken water pipes and the smell will be mental. All those sweaty bodies, and that’s before you talk about flushing toilets.

There was no water all the way across the 13km plain so I was delighted to fill my boots at the local fountain.  Then I thought sod it I’ll have a fag and a coffee. Well I had a coffee. Its coming up to 2 years since I had a fag so probably best not to start just yet.

A local’s just passed by and suggested if we want water we buy it as if you drink from the fountain you’ll be leaking every 10 minutes.

I’m away to the toilet – psychosomatic I’m sure. Then we go to Mansilla. It 5pm local time – I should be sleeping!
www.500m.wordpress.com is the blog for Si and Al as they walk 500 miles across Spain to raise money for CHAS. Please read and comment.

CHAS is a children’s hospice and all donations are gratefully received. www.justgiving.com/deadbeat

Maths for munchkins by a Muppet

Yes Muppet Al here with your morning trivia quiz.

The first question is easy. If you buy a loaf of bread and Si breaks and takes his half, how much does Al get?

A quarter of course, Si’s no dummy

The second is straight out of Al world.

We walked along a road white stripes in the middle like most roads.

The stripes were nearly 4m and the gaps between the nearly 10m – it all depends how big my legs are.

There were 80 stripes and gaps that made up a kilometre.

It took Al 11 minutes and it took Si 10 minutes 15 seconds

How fast were dynamic duo moving during that kilometre.

A clue is we did the 9.5 km to breakfast in 1.40 – not bad

The final question

How many people looked at Al while he counted the stripes in the road and how long before the white coats appeared.
www.500m.wordpress.com is the blog for Si and Al as they walk 500 miles across Spain to raise money for CHAS. Please read and comment.

CHAS is a children’s hospice and all donations are gratefully received. www.justgiving.com/deadbeat

Day 18 – Sahagun to Mansilla

We must be getting nuts the longer this journey goes on or we actually are getting fitter!!

Today having done 41k yesterday, we did another 37k today despite sleeping in and not starting til 9am this morning.  Tomorrow I assure you we will be doing 20k to Leon and then drinking and eating tapas for the rest of the day.

This finishing walking lark at 6pm is playing havoc with our drinking.

As for today. As we are still in the boring bit of Spain scenery wise I will continue my little views on other things Spainish.

Flies – They are everywhere. Inside or out you cannot escape them. Smoking does help aleviate the problem a bit, but generally you are never far from them. So far i´ve eaten two. Accidently of course…….

Corn – The jolly green giant stuff. This seems to be one of few plants actually growing in these parts at present. They have these massive watering contraptions the width of the whole field which go backwards and forwards watering a whole field at once.

Doughnuts – These have become our staple breakfast food.

Bean trees – As you will see they do exist. Trees that actually do have beans growing on them. This is no Aprils fool!

Walking wise we followed the same tree-lined path for almost the whole day, well over 30 k . The most interesting points were

the spanish scarecrows dressed in ´Shell suits´. At last a good use for them!

A place called Religos – Á Town called Religion´- Straight out of some Spaghetti Western.

In the same place little ´hobbit´houses built into the hillside with steep stairs leading down into the ground.  They are really where the town stores all its wine and they´re called ´bodegas´.

Other than these it was just walking, drinking, eating and waiting for Alan whilst he has one of his many loo stops each day.

Arrived Mansilla at 6pm. Staying in Auberge (another name for refuge) today. Cramped but clean.

Very tired.

Adios Amigos

We’re clean, we’re back!

And we’re out – its official. No not Simon and I we’re in bed – well seperates but let’s not go there – no the tragedy of that comical grip we had on the CIS Trophy.

I usually back 4-2 when Motherwell come to town as I once jumped up in the east terracing as Arnott slotted past Leighton in the 93 minute. I was clutching my 50p at 66/1 slip but there weren’t many buying it.

Well tonight they’ve finally avenged it. My sources tell me our car crash football was superb as ever – when it was – and suicidal when it wasn’t. I like it that way and although we don’t have many trinkets in the cabinet – not as many as in my Great Grandfather’s day – or Granny McFadden’s dad as I prefer!

As all that history will tell you he masterminded a lot of our early success including winning the cup all those years ago. He even stood up for the jambos when they were going to be thrown out of the fledgling SFA for fielding “professionals”.

Still I cling onto the undeniable facts

I kissed my granny, she kissed her dad and he kissed the Holy Grail. So I’m only a couple of kisses short of enjoying a Scottish Cup triumph. I’ll put a stone down for Jimmy McHardy tomorrow – another great Hibernian who lived and died without witnessing that parade.

But to Sahagun we go. 7km more the sun is shining and I’m burning. We look at all the fantastic architecture – “these paths are well made” says one “aye the Romans knew a thing or two about paths” says the other.

Si vanishes into the haze as Al follows him vaguely before returning his gaze to the awesome nature of the bumpy stoney path.

Aha! A yellow arrow points across the road. Where is Si – oh – he has gone – but where – we’ll meet again – more singing – and they do and they arrive at a hostal at 6.30pm – and are charged 50 euro for a room – its got a bano – that’s banyo for bath – no is actually nyo quite often.

So now we are full circle and ready for sleep – lots of it. Caledonian Challenge I don’t think so – this is “easy” – and its murder!

www.500m.wordpress.com is the blog for Si and Al as they walk 500 miles across Spain to raise money for CHAS. Please read and comment.

CHAS is a children’s hospice and all donations are gratefully received. www.justgiving.com/deadbeat