On board my Delta flight in Kansas City. Beginning a 27-hour trip that ends in Pamplona, Spain. Kansas City – Atlanta – Newark – Madrid – Pamplona. Tropical storm Ida has Newark in heavy rain and thunderstorms all day, so we shall see how it impacts my 7 pm departure to Madrid (or my arrival from Atlanta to Newark).
August 31: Bags are packed, I’m ready…
We leave the house at 0400 for my 0600 flight. I’m already homesick!
June 2021: Road Trip: Beaufort, Asheville, Knoxville
The Tesla was a COVID baby, so this was its first road trip. I spent more time at charging stations than was necessary due to my charging anxiety. Is this REALLY enough charge? Bert & Sarah Scott were my tech support buddies and helped with that anxiety.
Beaufort, South Carolina
Spanish Moss Trail: Started with the intention of 6-8 miles, but I barely made 3 miles! Not sure why I had so much trouble; maybe a combo of fatigue, heat, and that Low Country humidity. Still, it was a pretty walk through the marshlands.
Asheville, North Carolina
The North Carolina Arboretum: A leisurely five-mile walk through woods and along waterfalls followed by a stroll through the bonsai exhibit.
Knoxville, Tennessee
June 2021: This week’s walk along Tomahawk Creek Trail
Summer is here and the greens are luscious! Same ol’ path most days, but always something new and fascinating. Highlights for this week:
Camino Countdown: 3 months 1 week 1 day
It looks like September will be a busy month on the Camino. The fact this is a Holy Year and that people have been anxiously awaiting entry into Spain will make for quite a rush. The U.S. will be allowed into Spain as of June, 7.
Training has been slow lately; motivation is lagging, we’ve had many rain days + I visited family in Joplin for a couple of days. I’ve only walked 26.4 miles since May 7.
On another note, this evening is Day One of the Spanish Immersion class at JCCC. More to come on that. I’m a little nervous.
Camino Countdown: 3 months, 3 weeks, 4 days
The last seven hikes: Spring is always a surprise-a-minute season. Temperatures for the last seven hikes have ranged from the 40s – 80s. Flowers, greenery, and critters abound. Hikers and cyclists, old and incredibly young.
Trails: 55 miles over Tomahawk Creek, Line Creek, Oak Ridge Hills, Gary Haller, and Violet Nature trail.
Chance for a Camino Improves
EU rumblings indicate Spain may be opening to US (fully vaccinated) tourists this summer – maybe June. If so, I’ll be on my September 1 flight to Madrid. Still up in the air, but looking a bit more promising.
E.U. Set to Let Vaccinated U.S. Tourists Visit This Summer
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/25/world/europe/american-travel-to-europe.html
I have a few rest days interspersed among these stages, but here is my Stage Plan.
The Sounds of Silence
The Shadow Pilgrim
EVERY NIGHT IN A CORNER under the baroque clock tower in the Plaza de la Quintana, a hunched pilgrim appears. He stands life sized, and wears the traditional garb of the religious pilgrim: cloak, broad-brimmed hat, and a staff top-heavy with a gourd for water and the traditional scallop shell, which is the symbol of the pilgrim.
Upon closer inspection, the pilgrim is a trick of the light – and an unintentional one. His body is the shadow cast by the lightning rod pillar in the corner, and his staff is the shadow of the support column of the Berenguela clock tower. There are dozens of these lighting rods and hundreds of vertical supports in the cathedral exterior, but only one pilgrim. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/shadow-pilgrim
La Rioja wine region
The La Rioja wine region. We enter La Rioja shortly after Viana. Wine has been made in this region since Roman times.
There are four classifications of Riojan wine:
(1) Rioja – aged less than one year
(2) Crianza – aged at least two years with at least one in oak barrels
(3) Reserva – aged at least three years with one in oak barrels
(4) Gran Reserva – aged at least two years in oak and three years in the bottle.
Learn more about Riojan wines here:
https://vinepair.com/wine-101/learn-rioja-wine-spain/