Random thoughts from Berlin

Before I chat about the expedition to Potsdam, a few unrelated observations and comments.

A clever and funny iPhone spoof suggesting that the next iPhone was designed with the look and feel of a unique SLR camera whose sole purpose was to take spontaneous food shots! Google it! It’s sadly true even for me!

As I wander by foot and cycle around Berlin I am in awe of the architecture. Berlin itself is one huge inspiring city cathedral. Furthermore I am constantly reminded that all but 70 years ago, Berlin was like the ancient ruins of castles and cathedrals, razed to the ground by relentless allied bombing. Each building I stand before or meander through, has been loving and meticulously restored to its former glory! It is fantastic in the figurative and literal sense. Black and white pictures attest to the utter devastation and desolation of each building after the war.

Despite one’s expectation that the cost of living and prices would be more in Germany, compared to Spain, this is not the case. As judged by a coffee and croissant or any similar snack, at least in Barcelona, these were as costly if not occasionally, more so in Spain! I know you retort- they saw me coming!

I am sitting in the lounge at Berlin central station waiting to travel to Hanover for the day to meet Aaron ( German guy stayed in adelaide). On the TV there is news on launch of new Nokia smart phone running Windows 8. Why do all new technology launches involve a man with a head mic, jeans and black top ( shirt or skivvy) who paces up and down holding the aforementioned device in his hand, the screen of which is back projected? As far as I can recall all new product launches involving Microsoft, have been defined with glitches, crashes and frozen screens.

Finally for the benefit of my techno nerds , the Apple versus Samsung saga has muddied the waters somewhat.

The iPhone and iPad run a distinctive and presumably unique operating system, iOS – version 6 due for release soon.

The Apple Mac computers all run a version of UNIX – it is the same core code that forms the basis of Linux ( open source) and …. Android! This is the mobile version of Unix, developed by Google and running on almost all other smart phones. So underneath it all, the Apple Mac range, Linux, Ubuntu, all run a flavour of Unix and in a simplistic way android phones!

Now off my soap box and onwards to Potsdam.

And so to my day in Potsdam.

Reassured that the bicycle route would be Germanic in signage – lots of “atchung” and “verboten” and pictures of a cycle, I set off in light rain, first stop the Berlin Olympic stadium. It was painless although a singular lack of signage, did not pass unnoticed on my part . A rising sense of apprehensive anxiety was, to some extent, allayed by a dedicated cycle path with stencilled stylised images of a bike. Who knows where it was going but hundreds of Germans were all going in the same direction, not to Russia surely?

At last, road signs directed me to the “olympicstadiumplatz”.

The 1936 Berlin summer Olympic stadium and complex is, how can I say it, not unexpectedly, germanic! The main stadium is grey granite, “powerful, bold, taunt and unconquerable “! Big thick square columns.

Adjacent is another arena whose design and layout evokes the ancient Greek Olympiad site. Wondrous feeling. Again I keep thinking of the thousands who filled these sporting spaces – the pomp, pageantry and not forgetting circumstance, as Herr Hitler opened the games. I have a fascinating sense of history at such times that is all the more relevant when I am acutely aware that my father’s generation was part of that history.

Around the perimeter of the main stadium were sculptures, in the same grey granite, of past german olympic champions ( only males of course) , looking not surprisingly “powerful, bold, taunt and unconquerable”! They were completely naked, not that I particularly noticed.

As the Olympic complex was not precisely on the main cycle route from France to Russia, here my daily dose of disorientation slowly engulfed me.

Within the space of 15 minutes I was forced to ask 4 Germans in succession, directions – 2 had no idea, the 3rd tried to send me back the way I came, the last was the local postman who knew most but not quite enough. SO … You can ridicule me about MY deficiency but when 4 apparent “locals” can’t even read a map or have no idea about where a road is ( turned out it was but a few hundred metres away) , amongst my convoluted mixed emotions, there was one other, none other than my old friend: “schadenfreude”!

Potsdam is quite something. The town and surrounds reminded me of an Austrian like setting without the Alps. The whole region is an UNESCO World heritage site. Wide cobblestones streets, pedestrian traffic only and somewhat touristy with respect to shops but the parks and gardens and palaces built by Kaiser Wilheim the umpteenth and his sons and heirs, again are mind boggling. There is an analogy here between religion,cathedrals and Kings and Queens and their palaces, but I am not sure what it is!

I cycled there following a lake on my right and returned, by a twist of useful disorientation, by an unintended different route, through the Grunewald forest on a dedicated cycle and walking road! A fortuitous “wrong turn”‘ .

Then spent a few hours in the evening trying to find a specific shopping complex, to no avail. Took the metro back to my hotel and collapsed onto bed.

Thursday I shall take a train to Hannover to spend the day with Aaron and his family

To Berlin

A travel day Sunday from Spain to Berlin. Having travelled on several airlines of different origin, it is a universal finding that ALL inflight magazines imply that by owning a Swiss watch, a man can climb Mt Everest, dive to 1000m below sea level or fly a Tiger Moth around the pyramids.

And another thing, duty free shopping – forget it! Giorgio Armani clothes Chanel Cosmetics, Polo Ralph Lauren Men store, Burberry, Escada, Bvlgari and Montblanc, Nikon, Sony, Alcohol, Tobacco: they are the “Baker’s Delight” of ALL airport terminals and once one converts ( If possible) there is not that much of a difference between here and there in terms of price. Arguably the one exception is alcohol, specifically Licquers and spirits? A bottle of Tia Maria, Cointreau or limoncello for me ( or GIN for my friends). Not having been to the Gulf countries, perhaps all things may be cheaper there?

Perhaps my professional Cathay Pacific First Officer contacts may care to comment.

Flying from Barcelona to Madrid and across to Germany, reinforced how much the geology and terrain in Spain appears similar to Australia. ( at least at 30,000 feet! Spain had a record dry winter and hot summer, the country was parched brown fields of wheat and occasional green of vineyards and olive trees.

‘Subtly all aircraft are different…” even in Spain and Germany, so WATCH the bloody safety demo as we taxi! One still needs to blow up the life jacket and blow the whistle to attract attention. The cabin crew,thankfully, in all countries “arm the doors” , BUT it was only ANSETT that “cross checked” – perhaps that is why they went bust? Also passengers don’t have ’emergency evacuations’ any more. The guiding lights still come on! Who cares anyway, if we are about to crash, who amongst us would NOT have an emergency evacuation, even before we hit the ground?

When Osley and I flew from Adelaide to Alice Springs, we were very attentive to the emergency procedures. and when completed, I explained to the hostess, that my travelling companion came from Brazil and was a little confused as to which ocean were were flying across? She was confused and not amused – a mandated requisite in personality combinations for Qantas cabin crew.

On Monday I walked for about 8 hours! I found that reading a city map in German is much easier than in Spanish. I was rarely confused until it came to returning! Confidently I set out for my hotel, eventually discovering that I was heading in the general direction of Egypt.

The local baker shop in Berlin is as common as the beer and winer bars in Spain. A ‘croissant’ is an universal word describing… well ….a croissant! However entering a german bakery and saying “Ich bin ein Berliner” , does NOT mean : I would like one of those round, deep fried, battered balls covered in sugar and filled with strawberry jam”.

The first such bread and cake shop that drew me like a magnetic, to my horror appeared to have flies buzzing inside the display counter! A closer inspection, revealed they were BEES! Now I know why its called a Bienenstich.

Keep left or right? That is the question. The roads are one thing but when it comes to footpaths, stairs, escalators, cycle paths, its chaos! Crossing the road is also akin to bungy jumping or worse still parachuting. I reflexly look to the left then the right, or as the childhood ditty went ” look to the left and look to the right then look to the left again, and you will never ever, ever get run over”….this works in Australia BUT not Europe.

I must admit that I rather like the guttural German language especially when listening to a deep male voice. It instantly reminds me of Mozart and The Magic Flute, specifically Sarastro the Bass Baritone and his wonderful arias.

I have occasionally had a coffee at a Starbucks cafe where I find I am surrounded by young Germans with their MacBook Air surfing the net!

Basically on Monday I walked along Strasse de 17 Juni to the Brandenberg Gate and long an avenue Unter den Linden then to Alexanderplaz, the Museum island ( to which I will return for a full day) and then top Hackescher Market, returning home via The Tiergerten with a stop over in Egypt.

My travel book states :

“Montserrat is a mountain top monastery in Catalonia, Spain. Situated atop an unusual rock mountain, it is very popular among Catalans, and Catholic pilgrims come from far and wide to see the Black Madonna…”

not this catholic! I will never know if this relic is just covered in soot or dark skinned!

The slow train trip takes 60 mins then cable car to the top at about 1200m Whilst getting there was enjoyable, trying to return to Barcelona was a nightmare! Along with several other tourists: Russians, Germans and me, we have ascended and descended twice in the furnicular railway, unintentionally! We are confused and to make the whole sorry saga even more frustrating the local Spaniards seemed just ad confused and uncertain! I feel a letter coming on!

Arrived home around 7.30 pm having taken about 3 hours, and need alcohol! Anyway I guess I may laugh about it in retrospect.

A wedding party appeared at the Basilica on Montserrat today complete with smoking bride. I don’t mean she was hot, she had a fag in her mouth which detracted absolutely from her matrimonial beauty. Thankfully I won’t be kissing her tonight.

Another long queue for the basilica, so I bypassed the black Madonna and headed higher up the mountain and rock – looking a lot like smaller version of the Olgas near Alice Springs. around the summit were the ruins of several monasteries, small basilicas and hermitages ( where a hermit lives) Not a vintage red wine!

It was the most energetic day I have spent in Barcelona as I was walking and climbing for some hours. A few scratches , a blister on my heel and already I feel better!

A Peloton of BMX rides – MAMIL types half of them having a fag whilst partaking of coffee arrived at the busy half way point at the main village around 11am before heading down.

And another thing.. After the concert last night.. Why is it that in modern, jazz, blues orchestras,
call it what you will, the man playing the brass instruments- sax, tenor sax, trumpet etc is always moderately bald on to but insists on growing long hair which is fine, thin and straight almost to shoulders; whilst the man who does the sound and lights ( at the back with a bank of electronic wizardry), always has thick hair without a sign of baldness and invariably has a long pony tail?

I have had my last meal in Barcelona – the best Tapas so far and discovered by accident literally around the corner from my bed and breakfast.

Amazing news! I have been notified that the last 4 weeks of denial and pilgrim suffering, have not gone unnoticed in Rome. An edict from the Vatican – known as a Papal Bull – has recognised my efforts and I am the proud recipient of a complete set of monastic bedroom furniture, tastefully Hand carved in the Gaudi style – single bed size of course. But wait there is more – It is carved out of the last remaining bits of the original wooden cross.

Picture attached

Friday.

Another “hill” walk, yesterday Gaudi, today the area developed for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Similarities with Sydney abound. Just as Homebush Bay a waste dump ( radioactive?) was transformed into a “green” clean Olympic venue, for Sydney, so the same thing occurred in Barcelona. The whole area was on a hilltop 200 m above sea level. The diving pool was set into the side of the mountain so that spectators had the perception that competitors, especially in the 10m dive were almost diving into space from a height of 200m. The main arena was also fascinating. The main venues were open aired.

There are a series of cable cars from beach front to the Montjuic Hill, an older and death defying contraption there being one car going up as the other comes down which did nothing for my acrophobia. A more modern cable car takes one to the very top.

At the Olympic museum I learned that Johnny Weissmuller in 1922 became the first man to break 1 minute for 100m ( perhaps even 110 yds in those days) – using the over-arm crawl stroke.

He later became a movie star, famous in one role only – Playing Tarzan in the 1950 – 60s black and white films. Tarzan the Ape Man, created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, famous for living up a tree with a monkey and a young boy! In the books no women, ( its camels in the desert, apes in the jungle ) in the movies, being American, a woman was involved.

Even though pre-pubertal and pre-physics, I distinctly remember that I was confused, vaguely irritated, as despite the gravity defying swinging from vine to vine, his leather apron thingy NEVER seemed to obey the laws of gravity but rather those of decorum. A sort of tutu tease! In retrospect, my unease, irritation and anxiety were indeed a reflection of my subliminal awareness that the laws of nature were not being obeyed – iin more ways than one!

I went to the Palau de la Musica Catalana and it’s a smallish space and despite its Gaudi like appearance it’s a copy cat! I sat through a jazz type concert for 90 mins! Mr Lacey would have been proud of me.

Again my absolute lack of any sense of direction, had me walking around in circles when the theatre was literally tucked in a narrow street 50 metres away.

So many museums, I need a break so taking a train to Montserrat tomorrow – Saturday

Friday.

Another “hill” walk, yesterday Gaudi, today the area developed for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Similarities with Sydney abound. Just as Homebush Bay a waste dump ( radioactive?) was transformed into a “green” clean Olympic venue, for Sydney, so the same thing occurred in Barcelona. The whole area was on a hilltop 200 m above sea level. The diving pool was set into the side of the mountain so that spectators had the perception that competitors, especially in the 10m dive were almost diving into space from a height of 200m. The main arena was also fascinating. The main venues were open aired.

There are a series of cable cars from beach front to the Montjuic Hill, an older and death defying contraption there being one car going up as the other comes down which did nothing for my acrophobia. A more modern cable car takes one to the very top.

At the Olympic museum I learned that Johnny Weissmuller in 1922 became the first man to break 1 minute for 100m ( perhaps even 110 yds in those days) – using the over-arm crawl stroke.

He later became a movie star, famous in one role only – Playing Tarzan in the 1950 – 60s black and white films. Tarzan the Ape Man, created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, famous for living up a tree with a monkey and a young boy! In the books no women, ( its camels in the desert, apes in the jungle ) in the movies, being American, a woman was involved.

Even though pre-pubertal and pre-physics, I distinctly remember that I was confused, vaguely irritated, as despite the gravity defying swinging from vine to vine, his leather apron thingy NEVER seemed to obey the laws of gravity but rather those of decorum. A sort of tutu tease! In retrospect, my unease, irritation and anxiety were indeed a reflection of my subliminal awareness that the laws of nature were not being obeyed – iin more ways than one!

I went to the Palau de la Musica Catalana and it’s a smallish space and despite its Gaudi like appearance it’s a copy cat! I sat through a jazz type concert for 90 mins! Mr Lacey would have been proud of me.

Again my absolute lack of any sense of direction, had me walking around in circles when the theatre was literally tucked in a narrow street 50 metres away.

So many museums, I need a break so taking a train to Montserrat tomorrow – Saturday

Barcelona day 1

I had forgotten that overseas travel between destinations – as happened today flying from Santigo de Compostela to Barcelona – by definition involves the WHOLE day! One grins and bears it! Sometimes it seems that alighting from the plane, awaiting luggage and clearing the airport takes as long as the actual flight!

I am staying at Casa de Marcelo in the old city of Barcelona. I was met at the bus stop by Oliver , a friend of Marcelo. At this point I had a sense of deja vue which only Kenneth will understand as I immediately recalled the delightful “accidental ” bed and breakfast that we stumbled across in
Bendigo all those years ago! It was run by, as it turned out, two gay guys and we had a wonderful evening dinner together. I remember there was a pet squawking cockatoo that constantly walked/waddled after a rather old kelpie sheep dog, with whom it was obviously besotted! The older guy was a former airline trolley dolly (Dutch – given name “Art”- see I am not senile! ) and his young partner a “muscle mary” with his own gymnasium purpose built shed with full length mirrors around all 4 walls!

The other reason I remember the establishment is that it was called Ravenswood – the name of the castle in Lucia da Lammermoor! ( the Opera by Donizetti!)

I am sitting in a busy side street near the sea tonight and have had a serve of Spanish sausages, chips and vino blancho. Having lost about 8 kg I can afford to lapse for dinner. It’s now 10 pm and people are still turning up in droves to sit down for dinner. Marcelo tells me breakfast from 9am!!! I shall take a walk and swim before then surely!

Slept in! I am becoming Spanish! It’s quite humid in Barcelona. I am 10 mins walk to the sea. Marcelo explained that there are bad Mosquitos! This bed and breakfast is in an old 3 storey apartment block – perhaps more than a hundred years old. An ancient lift with cage like doors runs up the middle of the stairwell – one imagines a body discovered in the lift early next morning. As luck would have it Monsieur Hercules Poirot is staying in the apartment above.

No air conditioning – open an old wooden window! This window opens onto the old wooden window in the wall of the adjacent block! Spaniards are very friendly.

Barcelona – the seashore is hot, windy without natural shade and at 10am appearing rather sad and tired like St Kilda or Glenelg but worse.

City Smell: musty, humid – slight mix of sewerage and in the narrow back streets, stale urine. Then a small baker shop with that unique smell of fresh baked bread combined with a musty, smell of flour on a dusty floor. I pass another shop that smells of spices

Now I know that the iPad has a camera and some of my best friends travel with their iPad, but there is something vaguely queer, in a sort of disproportionate way seeing tourists point an abject about the same size as an A4 sheet of paper and take a picture. The same applies to holding the device up to your ear! This is an incontrovertible argument as to why the iPhone will maintain the exact same dimensions over the next 100 years! Taking pictures or listening and talking to a “brick” went out of fashion a decade ago!

The most interesting visit so far has
been the Museu Frederic Mares. As the brochure states: ” tens of thousands of familiar and unusual objects that document Spanish lifestyle from the 18 to 19 th century. Beautiful delicate fans, jewellery, smoking pipes, toys, time pieces, smelling salts bottles, lace..the list goes on !

Had a swim on the Mediterranean tonight. Water almost too warm!

BMX bikes, showers and Dickens

It’s all about the bike….
I can summarize my dislike of mountain bikes in one word: “mountain”.

Having completed the Camino on a BMX, the terms ‘Cycle-cross’ and ‘Trail Bike’, have totally new meanings. As some of you deduced, having unpacked the beast at Pamplona, the starting point, I managed to set it up with the front wheel facing BACKWARDS!

Consequently I rode the first week oblivious to the giggling and pointing young Spaniards until some kind soul, stopped me as I sweated and panted, pushing the beast on foot, up a cobbled incline in a small village and he made it abundently clear that my front wheel was in reverse!

No bloody wonder I found it impossible to ride up the mountains!

Responses from readers making predictable, gratuitous comments about arse around front wheels and my sexuality will be ignored.

Reminds me of a variation of the nursery rhyme that my mother used to quote to me: “Mary had a little bike, its’ wheels were white as snow, and everywhere the front wheel went the back wheel had to go”.

At times the bike behaved like Mulga Bill’s Bicycle, for it bucked and weaved and at times appeared to have a mind of its own. It invariably headed for the most obvious huge and sharp rock on the track even though I had the handle bars hard left, the bike went hard right! It would buck, pig-root and slide backwards then clear a stump and shave a tree! Once I almost did end up in Dead Man’s Creek!

So like Mulga Bill I have left the BMX at the bottom of the Santiago Creek and await the next cycle adventure in Ireland. I have another 3 weeks though to try cycling in Barcelona then Berlin and Stockholm. I must continue my pilgrimage across the continent.

HOTELS

All the hotels on the trail were delightful and appropriate to the tenor of the trip. 2 star or an occasional 3 star hotels that were clean and simple with basic bed and soft fluffy pillow and of course a hot shower. It would seem embarrassing if not entirely inappropriate, to turn up at the equivalent of the SAVOY hotel given that the whole sense of the journey was one of modest deprivation (without a modicum of depravity).

Breakfast varied – from the predictable hotel basic smorgasbord to sitting down at a rough wooden table and a “set menu” of OJ, a toasted bun and milk coffee. Like it or lump it!

Shower recesses were also interesting and varied. Many were a sort of Perspex cylindrical quarter circle reminiscent of the time machine out of a Dr Who TV series. There were major design flaws as the radius of the circle of the average shower in many hotels was so small that if one dropped the soap one could not bend over. Any attempt to do so would have led to, at worst serious internal injuries, third degree burns to the bum or at best a possible pleasant douche.

Again please no predictable gratuitous comments!

Have finished my book on the remarkable life of Mary Benson! My cousin has confirmed that there is a genuine genetic relationship. I wondered before if I exhibited autosomal dominant features, but on objective reflection I can only be X linked recessive.

I have been listening to a wonderful audiobook as I fall asleep on my iTouch : “The Mysterious Life of Charles Dickens” written by Peter Ackroyd specially for that fine English actor Simon Callow. It has stimulated me to return to those Dicken’s books that I read as an adolescent. With “Mary Benson” finished , it’s David Copperfield on my Kindle.

Weighed my self at the delightful new guest house in Barcelona: 68 kg ! Marcelo is the delicious owner . That is a story that awaits tomorrow!

Santiago de Compostela

The cathedral is quite an edifice. Built in granite, therefore rather cold and “bleak” in atmosphere.
Its’ architectural beauty and breath taking grandeur is not in the top 10. Not that in any way can I claim to pontificate! From what I can remember it is surpassed only by the Vatican in terms of human activity and mayhem. In the huge plaza Pilgrims of all ages loiter or lay about; others sit trance like, yet others, younger and hippy like, chat on their iPhones – to whom I wonder: boyfriends, girlfriends, family or local parish priest?

Why have they done this pilgrimage? Is it for the same reason that in 1960s hippies flocked across the subcontinent searching for enlightenment and hashish? In 2012 kids come to a stone edifice, in 1969 they just trekked across a continent wanting
to be”stoned”!

I toured the cathedral and descended to gaze upon St James casket. I crept into crypt, clicked and crept out. Silver gilded casket – dust to dust within I suspect ? The guide books state that the church and tomb contain “his relics”.

Each day in the cathedral there is held a Pilgrim mass at noon, church packed to the domes, choir and a veritable procession of clerics – but no smells or bells not even a cherubic alter boy! The catholic church is keeping up with technology – the service is “mic-ed” and shown on big TV screens throughout.

Practicing my little curtsy – getting better – it’s all a simple matter of bending at the knees!

Along each side of the knave are a series of confessionals each manned by a priest. There was a lot of sin along the Camino I assumed, as they were ALL constantly “occupied”. If the church can video a service, it is a minor step to Improve the confessional queue by introducing the “take a number and wait to be called” system for confessional. Although I am not clear in my own mind how this would comply with “the first shall be last and the last shall be first” edict?

I looked around me at the multitude and pondered how many actually “believed”? That included the more than a dozen priests involved in the service! Surely there must be a doubting Thomas or two amongst them?

Lots if bikes : serious BMX ( ie expensive) and tandems. Cyclists in full riding rig. One can buy Camino Knicks and top complete with a Camino trade-mark, the mussel /clam shell, tastefully printed across one’s arse.

Having commented before of the little evidence of supermarkets, they are now quite obvious but not in anyway resembling Woolies,Coles or IGA. Small and closed between 1400 and 1900 hours!

Most shops are small and individual – every second shop is a cafe/bar. Basic shops that evoke the old corner store of bygone days and bread shops that have no sense of a Baker’s Delight or Brumbys. I fear I am about to lapse, dietary wise!

Considering the world population in the 1600 years from Jesus’ birth, the sheer size and breadth of artistic creations in all it’s forms and all in the name of God, beggars belief. It is awe inspiring. I guess that in medieval times, it was subsistence and survival. In ones’ spare time, rather than poking an iPad by candle light one knocked up a stone column, a tapestry, a silver chalice, a triptych, fresco or painting.

Sadly all the cathedrals, churches, basilica, monasteries, convents and hospitals have blurred into a theological thesaurus of similar structures. I will be totally unable to differentiate upon my return.

All along the delightful quaint medieval paved streets are the inevitable tourist shops as well as cake stalls. The principle delight is a Santiago Cake- basically an almond orange cake that I make at home. It is dusted with icing sugar into which is marked a cross. Easy Peasy!

Tom Jones concert tonight in a huge plaza beside the cathedral. Starts at 11.30pm!! Yes you have read correctly!

I now admit after all these years that whilst I am sure of my orientation, I have absolutely no sense of direction. Even with a Garmin GPS or a map, I can’t find my way around easily! If I were the Prodigal Son, I would never return.

Tomorrow, Barcelona so tonight I went to a “restaurant” as opposed to a local cafe. Had seafood paella. In case you are wondering , nothing especially out of the ordinary other than it was in Spain and so psychologically should have been out of this world! Finally lobster in Spain is the same as lobster in Adelaide – $100 a serve. Next time!

Hallelujah

It is finished. Into thy arms I commend my bike. I am certified, it’s in Latin – incomprehensible – so much for my Latin classes at school. Sitting having vino blanco and tapas. I have another full day in Santiago before flying to Barcelona for a few days. Wish I could speak more Spanish

Set out from Melide, altitude 500m give or take a few metres and finishing up at Santiago de Compostela at 260m and 55 km away. As to the ride it was very appropriate that on this the last day, I had a revelation : There were numerous ‘minor’ ascents and descents. For every 50 m ascension there was about 75m descent. BUT each 50m up was an incline of 10%,on a rocky dirt track whilst each 75m descent was at about 2% and on bitumen.

It’s not rocket science is it?

On the first hill on the outskirts of Melide, an elderly grey haired woman offered me a pamphlet entitled “why you should trust the bible”

I reasoned that she must be a retired Nun, then I contemplated : ” do Nuns ever retire, or rather
perhaps they just give up their habits”? (forgive me father for I have just told an old joke)

Secondly to proffer such literature on the Pilgrim Trail surely must be preaching to the coverted? Although in my case, it’s akin to advising me “to trust Microsoft outside an Apple store”!

In this the last 40 km there are Increasing numbers of stalls along the trail selling fruit, trinkets and T shirts.

I passed a group of youths with apparent cerebral palsy and their carers some 30km from Santiago.

Then suddenly an apparition ahead of me: Jesus ! A billowing cloak, hood, stave, bare feet and as I drew level, a beatific young man with beard and angelic smile. I considered dropping to my knees in front of him. Was he real or was the octopus at Melide last night, off?

Another explanation suddenly presented itself to me: surely it was Joseph? Not Joseph the father but Joseph my nephew!

Tapas means “point” in Spanish ? Has to be cause that is what I do when ordering.

Today I shall explore Santiago then fly to Barcelona for a few days tomorrow.

My next blog may be called
” It’s all about the bike”. – stay tuned