Last year from Holland to Santiago : what comes next ??
All along my bike ride last year some people had warned me not to get adddicted to the Camino but of course it had to happen , I got stung by the "Camino Bug " , this has nothing to do with bedbugs or the likes . I simply experience , what so many others before me had and after me will , that special feeling of doing the Camino . The hospitaleros Frans and Jacques at the albergue Nos Repos at Augy s Aubois (Fr.) were the first ones to do so. They had made their caminos several times over the past years , on foot as well as on a bike . However at the time I was at the albergue , soaking wet like a drowned cat , I was more impressed by one downpour after another over the past weeks . And then again along the way , experiencing the hospitality of the "natives", when I needed help , the friendly talks with fellow peregrinos , that little bug kept bothering me. In Palas de Rey I had my dinner in a Columbian bar/retaurant , from the outside it looked like nothing much . Inside however it was cozy and it was one of those places that instantly made me feel comfortable the terrace in the back yard was crowded with people and (fortunately) no place left for me. So I sat at a table next to the kitchen and listened to what I thought was Cuban music , but I came to find out it was Columbian. The owner was busily running back and forth with food and drinks but he still had time to offer me a drink , I told him I was in no hurry at all and after I had a good menu del péregrino with a caraf of red vino de la casa and most people had left , I got to talk with the man . He was a Columbian refugee who with his wife and father had drifted across several countries and finally ended up in Spain . Many pilgrims had come by his place he did understand the feeling to search for ??? But he added , pilgrims do so of their own accord and can return safely to their home afterwards , he and his family had been looking for a home . After our talk he offered me a scotch and coffee , I paid and left . So many months later in the familiar surroundings of my home I reminisced about my camino and I knew I had to go on a search again . I had visited the sites of other "peregrinos" on the internet and my site was gaining visitors too . Tens of thousands of "pilgrims" visit the grave of St. James each year and more do so every year . But which road to take this time ? I finally decided to bike the Via de la Plata , a camino which is very much different than the Camino Frances longer , more rugged but allso less crowded The Via starts in Seville and continues North roughly East of the border of Portugal , when it crosses the Camino Mozarabe , one can take this road going Eastwards towards Santiago de Compostela . All in all about 1000 kms .Like last year I will bike solo , I am somewhat of a lone wolf and having a companion means ; to be able to get along very well cause both of us are saddled up with each other for weeks . Going solo has another advantage too , it means one has to talk with the natives and fellow "pilgrims" , and this of course is an important part of the camino. Often people want to know the distance I will cover each day , my answer to that is : " I don't know " . I leave that to chance and depending on the circumstances along the way . The Way is my goal and Santiago patiently waits at the end , I have plenty of time .
Luggage
Like that famous song years ago I will be travelling light , in this case "Less means More" . I have learned my lesson , last year I left a trail of stuff I gave away or left behind in France , because I will be mainly sleeping in Albergues there's no need to take a tent with me , if circumstances permit sleeping under a starry cloudless sky has its charms too . I have prepared the gear ratio of my bike so the need to push is limited and bought a GPS . I have the habit of leaving the track in search of interesting sights in some cities this may lead to getting lost , this little gadget will put me back on track .
A ticket of Ryan -Air will take me and my bike from Dusseldorf (Germ.) to Seville (Sp.)
For my itinirary click on : Routeschema 2009 in the menu I will keep track of my trip by sending fotos and remarks to my travellog .
For last years blog : http://avsantiago.spaces.live.com/ click on fotos part 1 and 2
