Hi friends and family and peregrinos
February.
Ok so we are late again with the blog etc and today is the 1st of March!
Elaine a Canadian friend that walked here by the river with me last year has come over and we have walked by the river again a couple of days and yesterday evening we had a BBQ here for them and had a lot of fun and sank a couple of bottles wine!
Pictures of river birds
Today we and all the extended family meet up at Simons brother Matthews and Aveni's house to celebrate Matt's and Aveni's wonderful new baby boy, Daniel's birth, also it was their first son's Thomas's birthday the other day and Matt's birthday was in this month of February too. So congratulations Mat, Aveni, Thomas, and Daniel. Congratulations to you all, well done and welcome little one. February will always be a busy and wonderful month in your household! You can see photos of the celebration and also our BBQ in the February 2009 album, and a short video clip on Maisie’s blog There is also a short video clip of some river birds on her blog too.
This month has been hectic, with me painting up the house as a little (buttering up present) to Maisie as she has agreed to let me go on camino in May! Tickets were eventually purchased on the net, plans drawn up and a rough route decided on. I downloaded a Spanish route from the net and found it a little bit better than the one I had translated before, although not much.
I did my best to translate it again and made a pocketsize book to take along. The route!!! Oh! yes it's called Mozárabe or The Arab almond way as I think its translated chuckle. The route given is from 3 days out of Cordoba by foot, starting in Alcaudete. You would eventually pass into Cordoba across the famous Roman bridge. I might well do this but it is more than likely I will start in Cordoba, walk out across this bridge and so re-enter the city, as the Romans would have done! In my romantic mind I will enter as the Romans legions must have done as they marched to change the garrison in Mérida to the north. Many pilgrims of old too would have walked from Granada and further afield heading for Santiago de Compostela as I hope to do again some 900 to a 1000 kilometres to the north! I have some ideas that may change on the way, like missing parts I have done before and taking a camino that goes into Portugal, but this will be sorted out on the way. First I must get to Cordoba.
I fly to Madrid and have to get to Cordoba the best I can by bus or train. Finding from where, will keep me occupied and panicking that first morning but I hope to soon be on my way south. For those of you who have never seen this city of Cordoba, it is one of the best in Spain with white houses and narrow streets covered with flower pots full of geraniums, gorgeous patios full of flowers and shrubs. It is full off charming people who on fiesta days, dress in the traditional Andalucía costumes that most of us (extranjeros) think of as the Spanish flamenco dress. I doubt that on the weekend I arrive I could be so lucky as to see a fiesta, but years ago I have come through villages when it has been!
I have been told that I am arriving at one of the best times of year to see the streets, flowers and patios. While I have been to Cordoba before and even started a camino from there, I have never had a good camino friend . to show me the city. I do believe with good luck maybe this time I might!! I can think of no better way to see it than to have your own good friend as a town guide!
Cordoba has a famous cathedral called the Mezquita.
It is the most incredible structure being a huge mosque and right in the centre a huge cathedral has been built. The two styles of architecture blend and enhance to form a wonder of the world!
It has been many years since I saw inside, because the time of my camino on the Vía del Plata in 2005 was just after the Madrid train bombing and I, with my rucksack was not allowed
in.
After a few days I shall head out of town by this camino passing a number of small villages and crossing some hot and hard walking country to arrive a couple of weeks later in Mérida, which is famous for it's Roman aqueduct, ruins and bridges. Then ah! You will have to come and see what happens -
Maisie will try to keep you informed of my whereabouts.
Meanwhile I must get fit and used to carrying that heavy rucksack every day. So till next month
Abrazos
Michael
February.
Ok so we are late again with the blog etc and today is the 1st of March!
Elaine a Canadian friend that walked here by the river with me last year has come over and we have walked by the river again a couple of days and yesterday evening we had a BBQ here for them and had a lot of fun and sank a couple of bottles wine!
Pictures of river birds
Today we and all the extended family meet up at Simons brother Matthews and Aveni's house to celebrate Matt's and Aveni's wonderful new baby boy, Daniel's birth, also it was their first son's Thomas's birthday the other day and Matt's birthday was in this month of February too. So congratulations Mat, Aveni, Thomas, and Daniel. Congratulations to you all, well done and welcome little one. February will always be a busy and wonderful month in your household! You can see photos of the celebration and also our BBQ in the February 2009 album, and a short video clip on Maisie’s blog There is also a short video clip of some river birds on her blog too.
This month has been hectic, with me painting up the house as a little (buttering up present) to Maisie as she has agreed to let me go on camino in May! Tickets were eventually purchased on the net, plans drawn up and a rough route decided on. I downloaded a Spanish route from the net and found it a little bit better than the one I had translated before, although not much.
I did my best to translate it again and made a pocketsize book to take along. The route!!! Oh! yes it's called Mozárabe or The Arab almond way as I think its translated chuckle. The route given is from 3 days out of Cordoba by foot, starting in Alcaudete. You would eventually pass into Cordoba across the famous Roman bridge. I might well do this but it is more than likely I will start in Cordoba, walk out across this bridge and so re-enter the city, as the Romans would have done! In my romantic mind I will enter as the Romans legions must have done as they marched to change the garrison in Mérida to the north. Many pilgrims of old too would have walked from Granada and further afield heading for Santiago de Compostela as I hope to do again some 900 to a 1000 kilometres to the north! I have some ideas that may change on the way, like missing parts I have done before and taking a camino that goes into Portugal, but this will be sorted out on the way. First I must get to Cordoba.
I fly to Madrid and have to get to Cordoba the best I can by bus or train. Finding from where, will keep me occupied and panicking that first morning but I hope to soon be on my way south. For those of you who have never seen this city of Cordoba, it is one of the best in Spain with white houses and narrow streets covered with flower pots full of geraniums, gorgeous patios full of flowers and shrubs. It is full off charming people who on fiesta days, dress in the traditional Andalucía costumes that most of us (extranjeros) think of as the Spanish flamenco dress. I doubt that on the weekend I arrive I could be so lucky as to see a fiesta, but years ago I have come through villages when it has been!
I have been told that I am arriving at one of the best times of year to see the streets, flowers and patios. While I have been to Cordoba before and even started a camino from there, I have never had a good camino friend . to show me the city. I do believe with good luck maybe this time I might!! I can think of no better way to see it than to have your own good friend as a town guide!
Cordoba has a famous cathedral called the Mezquita.
It is the most incredible structure being a huge mosque and right in the centre a huge cathedral has been built. The two styles of architecture blend and enhance to form a wonder of the world!
It has been many years since I saw inside, because the time of my camino on the Vía del Plata in 2005 was just after the Madrid train bombing and I, with my rucksack was not allowed
in.
After a few days I shall head out of town by this camino passing a number of small villages and crossing some hot and hard walking country to arrive a couple of weeks later in Mérida, which is famous for it's Roman aqueduct, ruins and bridges. Then ah! You will have to come and see what happens -
Maisie will try to keep you informed of my whereabouts.
Meanwhile I must get fit and used to carrying that heavy rucksack every day. So till next month
Abrazos
Michael
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