ensuitepilgrim's Blog

We had a smooth flight to Madrid and got a courtesy bus to T4 ,at the huge Barajas airport, where we took the Cercanias train to the bus station – 31 minutes, leaving time for a sandwich, before taking the bus to Caceres. This was a long, in time , journey, stopping at three towns, en route, the last being Trujillo, which looked like a must visit destination. Our accommodation in Casar de Caceres was good and we made tracks to the local restaurant, for a late meal, watching Barcelona being beaten by Valencia – a result which seemed to please the locals, watching.

We set off on a bright morning, after breakfast at Jorge’s cafe, speciality, Churros, but I had cheese and bacon toastie ! Mist was burning off the valley as we progressed a well marked path. Wild flowers and clumps of Lavender decorated the hedges, fields of cattle and sheep. Quite uneventful until we came to a diversion, made necessary by the construction a high speed rail links, from Madrid to the Portuguese border.

Even more impressive was this bridge crossing one of several rivers, feeding the Embalse.

Just after this point, the Camino combined with a local River Tajo GR route and weaved up and down the hills bordering the dam. There were fine views , but it was very difficult underfoot and we were relieved to be directed to walk alongside the N360, which carried very little traffic.

Eventually we reached Canaveral, where we were booked in to a wonderful, private hostal, in an old , renovated building, overlooking a small, Ollve Grove, chickens free- ranging, Lemon Trees in full fruit. Rightly popular , so much so, that  Mac was asked to pick up a free bed in our suite, to transfer to a dorm, upstairs,in order to accommodate a late arrival.

We met some very interesting characters over a tasty € 8.00 dinner, with wine. Some very interesting stories about the renaissance of the Pilgrim routes in Spain and the fact that the ubiquitous yellow shell, on a blue background ,was part of the deal with the EU, to subsidise the stone way markers, an aspect of an overall plan to give Spain a fresh, post- democracy look. ( see first photo ).

Most of the pilgrims had concerns about Tuesday’ s poor weather forecast of unseemly high winds and rain. Most opting to take a local bus part if the way. We shall probably follow suit.

‘When I decided to raise funds for Cancer Research, I didn’t have any more motivation than to make a small contribution to an organisation that helps develop newer and better treatments for cancer; such as the “keyhole” surgery that helped to prolong my life. It was my daughter, Hannah’s suggestion to make an appeal through the “Just Giving” website and it was their suggestion to set a target – we chose £1000.00!

The above photo shows me giving a PowerPoint Presentation  at The Spotted a Dog, Digbeth, to a gathering of family and friends. Bless and thank them all.
“John’s Camino for Cancer”
I am walking the Via de la Plata in Spain for Cancer Research UK because I am grateful for my recovery from serious Cancer.

Event: Camino for Cancer on 09/04/2016 Spotted Dog ” Camino for Cancer ” Night.
Raised: 106% of the Target!

£1,061.71 was the total by the next morning, with promises of more to come. I had a lot of help from Barbara – the raffle,logistics, John Tighe ,the landlord & his son Sean, John Meehan for coming along and giving us an acoustic set from his CD.See photo above.

I set out a few “artefacts” – Compostelas, Pilgrim Passports, memorabilia – had three framed for the occasion ! Doubt that I would ever have done that without this night.

A notable and welcome guest – my brother Matt, who flew from Holland,especially.

Well , that leaves a week now until Mac & I fly to Madrid and take a connecting bus to Caceres, where we resume our walk along the Camino, Via de la Plata. As you can see, I’ve got the T-shirt, now I have to be there and do it!

Our plan is to walk up to Zamora, with a day’s rest in Salamanca, en route. Logistically and apart from the walk itself,the trickiest part is getting from Madrid airport, north of the city, to the bus station , south of the city , but bearing in mind it’s a Sunday, crowds will not be a problem . Plan A is to take the Cercanias rail link, which takes 31 minutes , Plan B is the Metro, which involves two changes and takes an hour. Plan C is a taxi.The bus tickets are reserved and printed off – getting your head round Spanish bus websites is the equivalent of “Alice in Wonderland”.

I hope to Blog our journey , regularly, and am both excited by the prospect and motivated by the great support, described, above. ” Ultreia! “.

Well, the training walks have been going well; averaged just over 11 minutes per kilometre, on the last two.But need to bear in mind that these are only 6-7 mile long, albeit with rucksack at 10 Kg. On Caminos, we try to keep to 12 minute Kms, which loosely means 3 miles an hour. We have what we call a” bag break”, every hour and a longer break, ideally at a bar, every two hours or so. My fellow Pelegrino,Mac, is forever telling me that break is not a break without a….of some kind.

I have set out my kit, for two weeks now, I shall try to lessen it, however, what do you decide when faced with a choice between two T-Shirts?

With an important event, looming,the Camino for Cancer Fund Raising evening., I have put the finishing touches to the PowerPoint Presentation,designed a quiz and downloaded an eclectic mix of videos and music. Latest flyer went out,yesterday.

I have been more than vexed with the Brexit arguments that abound everywhere,my twin flags are as follows:-

God spare me the ” Little Englanders”. No more politics…..for a moment.I was sent a book containing short reflections on the Camino, thankfully free of sanctimony, I have greatly enjoyed it.

It has been great to spend time, recently with my children and the grandchildren, farm visits and mealtimes…As rbrault wrote in his blog spot” Enjoy the little things,for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things”

Plans are afoot for two holidays in the motorhome, May and July.My greenhouse has been repaired and seedlings are coming along, there and on the laundry room windowsill. I have a lot to plant out, before setting off for Madrid on April,17 th. Also a lawn to scarify and  daughter,Hannah’s new allotment to work on. Which reminds me that”Heaven is under our feet,as well as overturn heads”;Thoreau

Finally, have my last physio session, shortly, trying to shake off a niggly calf problem,I was reminded of a quotation from Kenji Miyuzawa, ” we must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey”; well, Kenji, I shall be embracing Ibruprofen on my next walk.

This was a more relaxing journey, with Tom Henry and Jude. I should not be too surprised if Mac and I don’t  thumb a lift or two, on our Camino! I hope everyone enjoys the Spring and the lighter nights to come.Apologies for my writing this in a rush.

Well, had one of those ” your stats are booming” type messages from WordPress this morning, which, occurring on 1st March and my first walk with fully laden rucksack, as preparation for next month’s Camino, prompted me in to writing this Post.

I shall not try to be too rigorous in relating events ( such as they were ) , too chronologically , but focus on themes of Family, Camino and anything that strikes me, as I go.

Perhaps, most topically, is Cameron’s decision to call a Referendum, in June, on the UK’s place ( or not ), in Europe. I believe it would be disastrous for us, as a liberal democracy to leave Europe; economic reasons apart, it would allow the Tories un restrained abuse of powers, concerning our civil liberties. I have to include a cartoon from The Observer, as it brilliantly captures the Brexit ” raison d’etre”; must omit mention of their back-up crew of Farage and Galloway….GHU. And as for Trump!

No more politics, till the next time. Great distraction and pleasure, in being with the grandchildren, both here and in Berkhamsted. Vickee, who returns to work, later this month , at the end of her maternity leave, bemoaned how quickly Martha was growing and demonstrating her own , endearing personality traits. Who would not miss her?

Lots of great times with her brother, Jude and cousins, Tom and Jake.

Have joined a couple of informative, Facebook groups to do with my old grammar school, St Phillip’s and a Motorhome travel group. A problem I find with these pages and which never ceases to irritate, is sloppy spelling and grammar. I even had a “post” pulled because I pointed out an a use of the apostrophe ….

Found Facebook to be of great help in spreading the word about the fund-raiding evening, I am organising at the Spotted Dog, Alcester St, Digbeth,on Saturday, 9th April; it is for Cancer Research and features a presentation on what a Camino is, or could be, followed by music and chaos!

It has astonished me and also made me envious, of how many motorhomers are over- wintering in Spain & Portugal; Blue skies and sea views. Notwithstanding that, I took St David’s Day as my starting point to take Camino preparation to the next level. I have been walking fairly regularly, including South Africa, since December. But March 1st meant carrying the rucksack , with 10kg weights, for the first time in five months. I  aim to get at least a 100 miles done, albeit in 6 – 8 mile bursts, before we leave for Madrid and Caceres on April 17 th. Feel fine after today’s 7 miles. Am reminded that one of the weights in the rucksack, literally, is a set of Small Dumbbells, still boxed; anyone wanting these? Small donation to my JustGiving Page ! You can still donate and not have them! The total donated so far is £ 536.71 and I am really grateful to everyone for their support, so far; I am aiming for £ 1000.00 by April 9th .

Finally, I received a request from Holy Family Catholic Primary School, ( my last headship ), to take part in their Vocations Week, in June. My vocation as a teacher ; it has got me pondering, I can tell you. Not about taking part, of course, I was flattered and pleased to do that, but recalling those critical decisions , nearly fifty years on…..

This is the largest , private reserve in the WesternCape – 2200 ha.in the hills above the garden route. We enjoyed the diversity of biomes, Fynbos, the views and forests . Over 35 species of game, a large variety of Antelope and over 101 bird species,recorded.Including this amazing Yellow Bishop,that we were fortunate to spot, by the Crocodile enclosure. Speaking of Crocs…..See above.

We were driven in a four wheel drive Land Rover, to a number of habitats,two of which, the African Wild Dog ( endangered species ) and the Lions, were in electronically fenced enclosures.

We were able to get close by Wildebeest, Antelope, including the beautiful Springbok.

Herds of Zebra wandered nonchalantly , though wary of the unpredictable White Rhino.

Two other highlights were getting close to a Giraffe and a sighting of some Blue Cranes. See above.

A quiet drive back to Fynbos Ridge, for our final evening in South Africa; picnic on the patio.

Fynbos Ridge is situated in its own,private Nature Reserve, about 3 miles West of Plettenberg. A lovely , secluded oasis; the only noise being birdsong, or the pig we saw, snoring, on a blanket , in the owner’s office. Plett is an underwhelming town of shopping malls and restaurants, but the Bay and surrounding countryside are the real attractions. Glorious beaches and the Indian Ocean.

The lodges are spacious and ours had its own patio and ” Braii” – BB Q, which we made use of; after all the fine meals out, it was great to cook outside, simply and the idea of a Braii, in January, is irresistible.

We went to an Elephant Sanctuary, where we went walking and feeding with the elephants, under expert guidance. Thoroughly enjoyable and informative. The afternoon was spent , in Hannah’s case lying on the beach, in our case , a long walk on the sands, where I found some remarkable shells; rainbow coloured for a Rainbow Nation.. On returning to our starting point, the need to quench our thirsts was met by large glasses of Castle Beer.

Never tasted better ; a terrific day.

National Park, “Wilderness”,in which there are several walks, all associated with varieties of Woodpecker, that populate the boards of the river Touws. Having paid a relatively expensive ” tourist ” rate to enter , there was a large campsite, carefully arranged along the river bank.It was well populated and is especially popular  Dec – Jan holidays.As veteran campers, we were impressed with the facilities and the location!

This walk was along the river, occasionally climbing the edges of the increasingly higher sides, by a wooden Boardwalk. Soon enough a crossing of the river had to be made , by a hand pulled Pontoon – great fun – except for canoeists, who had to paddle and lift the ropes, without garrotting themselves.The Walk up the river gorge got higher and higher, occasional use of staircases was necessary. Glimpses of the river, now much narrowed, could be made, through the trees , which provided a welcome canopy of shade from the sun. Eventually the waterfall was reached, above an array of long fallen, massive boulders. It cascaded down amongst some happy swimmers, then coursed along into a small pool, where the less adventurous also enjoyed a swim, in the ochre coloured water.

Rested and watered  ourselves, we made our way back; at a quicker pace, being downhill. We had enjoyed the ” Half – Collared Kingfisher Walk”, the small creeks, marshy areas, tangled tree roots, reed beds and hardwood trees, gave us an enjoyable insight into this part of The Garden Route National Park.

A short but interesting drive along Route 62, taking us over the Outeniqua Pass, around the town of George and past Victoria Bay, to Wilderness Retreat – an arrangement of thatched bungalows, interspersed with a great variety of tropical vegetation and a splash pool.After  a walk around the Lagoon and along the Beach ( now the Indian Ocean ), a shower was needed and the opportunity to wear a little, fluffy, white number! ” The Girls” restaurant was recommended and lived up to expectations ; its seafood platter was ” estupendo”, accompanied by a really dry Riesling, from Stellenbosch. South Africa is the eighth,biggest producer wine, world wide,1000 000 000 litres, and South Africans account for 53% of it; unsurprisingly, every restaurant, humble, or grand, has an extensive wine list, with tasting notes.

Another walk in the Wilderness National Park, planned for tomorrow, but mustn’t ” go jumping waterfalls ” – a line from a little celebrated McCartney song, comes to mind.

It’s along drive from Stellenbosch to Mooiplaas Guest House and we took the Mountain route, via Worcester. It was two hours befor we foojnd a truck stop and farm shop, for coffee.The scenery was fascinating…for the passengers and driving conditions were good; Lorry  and slower  vehicles, pulled over to the left, to allow you to overtake. Some of the place names reminded you of the British rule, Wellington, Robertson,Prince Albert Road.At Laingsburg, we turned off the N 1 and following a dusty, gravel road, through the Towerkop Nature Reserve ( stunning canyons ),over the Huis River and after a few ” diversions”, made it to Mooiplaas.

We were greeted at the entrance by an indignant Ostrich; there were a few about, but the other birdlife, in the grounds was more varied and entertaining to observe, from our patio, in this scenically appointed guest house. A wide ranging vista stretched across the horizon, and it was enough to relax by their pool, before….Homemade soup and BBQ’D Ostrich steak, for dinner. A bottle of Pinotage, from the Mandela Estate,followed  by complimentary glasses of Port.They make Brandy  and Port in this far , eastern edge of the wine country. Another excellent stopover, for one night, before an hour or so’s fried, to ” Wilderness”;now that does sound enticing…

There could not be a greater contrast to CapeTown; this university town, with its archetypal Cape residences, many restored after devastating fires , over the centuries,and nothing above two stories.

The second oldest European colonised city, after Cape Town.Famous, too, for the number of Oak trees , lining its streets.

A number of churches, too, Dutch Reformed, including one set up for slave children, after emancipation.

Eerily quiet, even the traffics seems noiseless. An informative Tourist Office provided a walking guide, with 72 buildings and sites of interest. All doable in a couple of hours. The final buildings we saw were over the river, cottages built by Cecil Rhodes, for workers; now a riverside restaurant.But opposite on some sweeping , playing fields, backdropped by mountains, were two games of cricket, taking place, senior and junior. All taken very seriously and the players resplendent in whites.

Back to Spier for dinner in the Eight Restaurant; a South African version of Tapas ! We could only manage three – Succulent slices of Rump steak, huge nuggets of beer batter fried Hake, accompanied by imaginative salads – we were satiated. Returning to the room, I took a photo of a sculpture, pixelated to represent a dying slave: a dramatic finale and a poignant reminder.