"Information does not change behavior. Practices do."
- Richard Leider
My journey today on the Camino took me from Najera to Granon. I traveled 17.4 miles, 28 km, and 38,563 steps. It was another beautiful day for walking with sunny skies, cool breezes, and comfortable temperatures in the mid 60's. It did rain for a bit later in the day, about the last 15 minutes of my walk as I approached the town of Granon.
After a restful night of sleep in a nice hostal in Najera, I headed out with my Canadian friend Lauralee for the journey to Granon. We headed in the wrong direction out of the city of Najera, and nearly got attacked by a large dog trying to jump a fence just outside the city center. We failed to notice the wrong turn, and were alerted by a taxi driver about 1km away. He gave us some directions (in broken English) about how to reconnect with the Camino, and we headed out a country road in hopes of linking back up with the trail. At first, it didn't seem too promising, but we ultimately linked back up with the Camino about 2 miles out of town...so no harm was done!!
I grabbed one of my usual breakfasts about 8km out of Najera. A normal breakfast for me on the Camino is freshly squeezed orange juice, a banana, a cafe con leche, and an egg/potato tortilla, (which looks like a piece of pie).
In Granon, I stayed in a donativa for the first time. This means that there is no set amount to pay. You pay what you think the dinner and night of lodging should be worth. Upon arriving at the donativa, I was led up to the third floor of the building. There were bunks everywhere, but on the walls it seemed. The decor was a mix between a Halloween haunted house and the Adams Family residence. I picked a bunk by the steps and realized this was really going to be an experience for the ages. There were about 20-25 of us staying there and only one restroom. There were Finns, Canadians, South Africans, Americans, Australians, Brits, Scots, Romanians, Germans, and probably other nationalities that I'm inadvertently leaving out. We actually had a decent dinner of pasta, chilli, salad, vegetables, and bread. I didn't end up sleeping very well due to the ringing of the church bells every half hour, and the freezing temperatures in the house. It seemed as if everybody in the house was coughing this morning from all the dust, etc... in the structure. To top it all off, one man in the room to the left of me claimed to have a Poltergeist type of experience during the night. Something or some being kept removing the blanket from his feet during the night, and he was totally convinced of it!! So let me ask you, how much would you pay for this experience?
Lights out.
- Richard Leider
My journey today on the Camino took me from Najera to Granon. I traveled 17.4 miles, 28 km, and 38,563 steps. It was another beautiful day for walking with sunny skies, cool breezes, and comfortable temperatures in the mid 60's. It did rain for a bit later in the day, about the last 15 minutes of my walk as I approached the town of Granon.
After a restful night of sleep in a nice hostal in Najera, I headed out with my Canadian friend Lauralee for the journey to Granon. We headed in the wrong direction out of the city of Najera, and nearly got attacked by a large dog trying to jump a fence just outside the city center. We failed to notice the wrong turn, and were alerted by a taxi driver about 1km away. He gave us some directions (in broken English) about how to reconnect with the Camino, and we headed out a country road in hopes of linking back up with the trail. At first, it didn't seem too promising, but we ultimately linked back up with the Camino about 2 miles out of town...so no harm was done!!
I grabbed one of my usual breakfasts about 8km out of Najera. A normal breakfast for me on the Camino is freshly squeezed orange juice, a banana, a cafe con leche, and an egg/potato tortilla, (which looks like a piece of pie).
In Granon, I stayed in a donativa for the first time. This means that there is no set amount to pay. You pay what you think the dinner and night of lodging should be worth. Upon arriving at the donativa, I was led up to the third floor of the building. There were bunks everywhere, but on the walls it seemed. The decor was a mix between a Halloween haunted house and the Adams Family residence. I picked a bunk by the steps and realized this was really going to be an experience for the ages. There were about 20-25 of us staying there and only one restroom. There were Finns, Canadians, South Africans, Americans, Australians, Brits, Scots, Romanians, Germans, and probably other nationalities that I'm inadvertently leaving out. We actually had a decent dinner of pasta, chilli, salad, vegetables, and bread. I didn't end up sleeping very well due to the ringing of the church bells every half hour, and the freezing temperatures in the house. It seemed as if everybody in the house was coughing this morning from all the dust, etc... in the structure. To top it all off, one man in the room to the left of me claimed to have a Poltergeist type of experience during the night. Something or some being kept removing the blanket from his feet during the night, and he was totally convinced of it!! So let me ask you, how much would you pay for this experience?
Lights out.
3 comments:
How Funny!
GREAT breakfast choices!!!!!!
George, I do enjoy the Spanish breakfasts. I seem to remember you enjoying some type of juice mix. I can't remember if it was orange and pineapple combined or something else.
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