Hi. This is Dave. This is Thursday and I'm in Dennistoun (Glasgow, Scotland). Bathroom light fitting just fell out of the ceiling, 2 hours up a ladder, just what I needed with plenty of packing still to do! Simon has made it to Santo Domingo on day 3 of his trip. That's about 200 km from Roncesvalles where he started. All well. I leave Glasgow tomorrow on a 6 am flight to London then Oviedo then bus x2 to Burgos where, all being well, I will hook up with Si. We head off next morning to Carrion de los Condes.
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Dave x
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Hi people. My first blog en route. See Simon´s entry under ´First Half´for full details of the Camino so far. This is the end of my day 2 and we´ve arrived in Leon, that´s 87 km yesterday from Burgos to Carrion then 100 today. Si and I are with 3 Spanish guys that he met in Pamplona which is good because we´re all going at different speeds through the day.
After a tough journey getting here - my flight from Glasgow to Stansted was 3 hours delayed so had to fly to Luton instead and transfer by bus to make connection to Oviedo. Once there took me 2 hours to re-assemble the bike and then a 4 hour bus trip to Burgos to meet up with the others.
Leaving the hotel yesterday morning I promptly fell off the bike into an open trench fenced off by builders, skinned my arm pretty bad. 10 mins into the cycle I then had a puncture - huge nail cut through tyre in 2 places. The omens weren´t good! Some tough off road stuff and a pretty big hill and we made it to Carrion. Others all on mountain bikes and i´m basically on a toughened racer - some of the terrain is frightening.
Most of today on tarmac or paved roads so 100 km not too bad. Staying in albergues - hostals for pilgrims, costs €4 or €5 a bed and has basically all you need - hot showers, somewhere to lock the bikes, lots of smelly snoring peregrinos.
Big hills are a bit further down the line so we´re trying to cover the miles while the weather and the roads are good.
Need to eat now or expire. Will update again soon.
Hasta luego.
Dave x
Hi Dave
A few of us have just read your update, we hope that's not a sicky your going to be pulling when you get back!!! Were you drunk driving and that's why you had fallen off. That's sounds like a lovely place in Albergues, what's it called, the Hilton.
Au Revivor alright goodbye x
ecs
Hi Dave and Si,
Glad that the trip is going well,sounds great although knackering I'm sure!!
Hope them hills aren't too bad.
Take care,
Alex. xxx
Hi,
Have just had a text from Dave, they are in Portomarin, with less than a 100km to do!!!
The end is in sight...Well done guys not far to go now.
Take care.
Alex. xx
Well done Dave. Though it does sound a rather tortuous start to the journey...flights, buses, bike assembly, crashing and your first puncture moments after beginning!
Hope all the training in & around the Trossachs is paying off, cheers,
John.
Hi All, thanks Nicky, Alex & John for your comments, first chance I´ve had to use internet in a few days. Now at a point where not sure where I am or what day it is!
We´ve just arrived in Melida with only 50km to go to Santiago. An easy morning the way things have been. Today was probably the worst - rained most of the time, nearly all off-road so wet cobbles, mud, leaves, lots and lots of hills. Having come this far we´ve decided to check into a hotel instead of a hostel, basically so we don´t have to break in like we did last night (they lock these places at 10).
The big hills were yesterday and the day before - absolute murder (I´m minding my language - don´t know who´s reading). Baking hot sun, 8 km all uphill - only thing I can compare it to is something out of the Tour de France but you´re averaging about 5 kmph, head down, sweat flowing off. Don´t ever do it! Coming down is fun though, topped out at 65 kmph, which is frighteningly fast on a bike.
So, I´ve done about 450 km, Simon´s done about 750.
Will try to post some photo´s in Santiago tomorrow. Can´t believe we´re nearly there. This has been a phenomenal experience.
Run out of internet time.
Cheers
Dave
..contd.
A brief description of our days (we are now 4, one of the Spanish guys headed home a couple of days ago (His name actually WAS Santiago, which I couldn´t get my head around). Up at 7.30 in these hostels which you share with anything up to 30 other pilgrims, most of whome snore, cough and fart liberally through the night. If you get 3 hours´kip you´re doing well. Takes a while to get packed, breakfasted and try to avoid starting! Then it´s all on the bike, sometimes very beautiful, cruising through ancient villages with old paved roads and lots of dogs and chickens and sometimes it´s on exposed mountainsides feels something like cycling up Ben Lomond. Keep meeting up with several other groups of cyclists and even though their kit looks sharper, we seem to be keeping up a fierce pace. Day is punctuated by gallons of water, the odd beer and lots and lots of food, you just eat all the time. The best is picking figs off the trees on the route or chestnuts. Every few km there is a water fountain, probably drinking 5 or 6 litres of water a day.
You go into a sort of trance after a while and arriving in a busy city just feels wierd. Whenever we get somewhere it seems to take ages to sort things out, like we´ve got half a brain left between the 4 of us.
Best albuerge (hostel) was tiny and in a tiny village in the mountains, only us and 2 other pilgrims (you have to have your pilgrim passport - credenÇial - to stay in these places for 3 or 4 euros a night), local restaurant will take the rest of the week off! As we got ready to leave, the full moon was sinking in the sky over the hills as the sun came up in a cloudless sky. OK, I know ´getting a bit poetic there but the scenery is amazing and the Camino takes you away from any normal roads.
We should be in Santiago de Compostela early tomorrow afternoon, barring any mishaps (only my fall, puncture and one of the Spanish guy´s fall have befallen us (ha,ha) - fingers crossed).
Cheers
Dave, Si, Victor & Toni.
PS Thanks to Tom for txting me weather reports.
Keep going boys. Fantastic effort from all concerned, wonderful.
Hi Dave
Keep going your nearly there, you's are doing great. We are just getting ready for you coming home so we have left you whoopie cushion and a big jar of sudacrem for your saddle sores in your room.
Take care and see you soon
ecs xx
Fantastic.. you've made it!! Really chuffed for you all, well done.
Alex. xxx
glad to hear you have made it. congratulations.
Sarah
made it!
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