train – mightyturk

Our Detailed Camino Itinerary – April and May, 2013

February 24, 2018

This time in 2013 Anita and I were doing a lot of hiking to prepare ourselves for our Camino Santiago hike across Northern Spain: our favourite trip of all time.

I know many of you are preparing for your own pilgrimage. I am therefore re-posting our own experience. You will find much detailed information and lovely photos of our own experience plus places to stay along the route and iconic things to see and stories.

Sincerely hope that this helps!

Our Camino Frances with more info:

Mon Apr 22, 2013: In transit from Toronto to Paris

Tue Apr 23: In transit from Paris to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

The plan:CDG to Paris Gare du Nord every 5 to 7 minutes; takes ~25 min; TGV 8537 dep Paris Montparnasse 12h27 arr Bayonne 17h32; TER 67331 dep Bayonne 18:07 arr Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port 19:33 Note: We missed our train from Montparnasse by buying the wrong ticket from the airport. Human help is sadly absent or too far away in Paris stations and we let a local buy our tickets for us. Our ticket didn’t let us on the subway at Montparnasse – the right one should have. For these tricky situations take the time to find an information kiosk. Don’t panic. We caught a later train to Bayonne (more money) and took a taxi from there to SJPdP for € 110!!

Stayed at Hotel Itzalpea 5 Place du Trinquet, SJPdP Tel 33559370366 itzalpea@wanadoo.fr (€78/nt)

Wed Ap 24: SJPdP

Got our Carnets de Pèlerin (Passports), bought hiking poles at La Boutique du Pèlerin, walked around St. Jean to check the way out of town, ate a lunch by the river, walked up above the town to the citadelle and ate dinner for the second time at Chez Dédé. Yum.

Anita bought hiking poles here for €10 each. The prices of most things are very reasonable.

View of the River Nive and the Cathedral in St. Jean. We collected our stones for the Cruz de Ferro from the river.

Evening walk to the citadelle in St. Jean.

Thu Ap 25: Begin Camino: Walk 8 km from Saint-Jean to Orisson

Stay at Private Refugio Orisson – Half Board 32 € (yes, that’s thirty-two monopolistic euros per person) refuge.orisson@wanadoo.fr Tel: 34681497956

“Wow! Look how far we walked.” That’s St. Jean in the distance.

The private refugio at Orisson – 8 km uphill from St. Jean

Fri Apr 26: Walk 17.1 km from Orisson to Roncesvalles

Not so nice today. We were committed to continue to Spain via the high pass. Yike!

Shrine to an unfortunate pilgrim named Jean Paul

Good stuff: Pyrenees Horses – Basque Country April 26, 2013 on the Camino Santiago

Window of King Sancho VII – Sancho the Strong

Silo of Charlemagne. There is also a very good museum in Roncesvalles but no photos were permitted.

Perhaps the remains of Charlemagne’s rear guard, killed by Basques as revenge for the rape of Pamplona

Stay at Hotel Roncesvalles, Mayor, Roncesvalles Tel +34948760105info@hotelroncesvalles.com Cost: 70 € using booking.com Arrived at 17:30 after a cold, wet 10 hour hike from Orisson. Borrowed rice to save my camera and we washed and dried our very muddy boots and rain pants in the lovely suite’s huge shower area. Ate our pilgrim meal at the hotel.

Sat Apr 27: Visit Roncesvalles; Taxi to Pamplona

Roncesvalles: Visited the Real Collegiata de Santa María (see above photos), Capilla de Sancti Spiritus, Capilla de Santiago, Battle of Roncesvalles Monument, the Silo of Charlemagne and the Museo.Ate lunch at nearby Casa Sabina, whose chef is also responsible for the kitchen at H. Roncesvalles.

Taxied (€55) to Pamplona, skipping one stage – Zubiri.
Book Early the Hostal Navarra Nr bus stn Db-€60 Calle Tudela 9, tel 948-225-164 There was no room when we called the day before. We stayed at Pension Arrieta (€ 40) 34-948-228-459, which has two nearby locations. The wifi is in the building with no elevator. Felt like we were disturbing the family whenever we went back there to ask questions or use the Internet, but they were nice and polite.We visited the cathedral: Choir contains “Mary of the Adopted Child; Mary is original but child is not; Tomb of Chas III in nave ooh aah.Ate supper at the Bar La Granja for € 33. A local bride-to-be, dressed in toilet paper and accompanied by friends, was one of the customers.

Pamplona Cathedral’s exquisite choir and the famous “Mary with the adopted Jesus” – Jesus was added later.

At Rincón del Caballo Blanco before Sunday Mass

With Jesús and Pinte at the Encierro after Mass

Encierro (Running of the Bulls) Monument

Bar Gaucho – Amazing pintxos thanks to a tip from Jesús

Continue reading “Our Detailed Camino Itinerary – April and May, 2013”

South America Trip.8 – Bolivia

Tihuanaco on the Bolivian altiplano — A farm near Tihuanaco, a pre-Inca site between La Paz and L. Titicaca

Sat Aug 19, 1967:

Departed Buenos Aires by train for La Quiaca. The trip to La Quiaca took, if I remember, two nights on the train, during which time we climbed to 11, 293 feet. My sheepskin coat came in handy. While I’m not sensitive to altitude, carrying my heavy bag from car to car on the train caused me some huffing and puffing. Starting out alone, I met four American Peace Corps volunteers on the train. They had, like I, just finished their two-year assignments. Theirs were done in Uruguay. There was a married couple and two single women in their group. I particularly remember a Japanese American named Jo Ann from Chicago who was either a Ph.D in Chemistry or on her way to doing one. She later visited me in Montréal. They all were fluent in Spanish and great company for me, alone since I let my companions George and Ian go ahead while I spent extra time in Rio de Janeiro.

We did make it to La Quiaca, crossed into Villazón on the Bolivian side, and took a second train up through Bolivia to La Paz. This was a further 16 hours or so and about another 1000′ of elevation.

I took the above slide as we descended on La Paz from above. Continue reading “South America Trip.8 – Bolivia”

Revisiting Our Oily Assumptions

David Suzuki’s insightful piece says that rail vs pipeline is the wrong question.

He focuses on real, simple, economic questions and asks rather, “Why?” or, at least, “Why Now.”

He includes links to support his point and allow the reader to read more if he/she wishes.

He stays away from the issue of dishonouring our promises made to our First Nations and the poisoning of their water, air, soil and people because, I assume, the arguments he makes stand strongly on their own.

Winning the political battle will not be easy without the involvement and courageous resistance of our First Nations, however, as FN lawyer, Pamela Palmater has argued strongly. I have summarized her position, and the full-blown attempt by Stephen Harper to wipe out their culture, here.