Hopefully you’ve been following along with The Movement Studio’s instructor, Glenda, and her husband Rick as they’ve shared with us experiences from their Il Camino trek through France and Spain.
Altogether, their adventure covered 555 km, done in 27 days of walking with 5 days of rest/sightseeing!
Here are some more highlights from their trip that they’ve generously shared with us:
On Culture
“In a couple of hilltop villages we happened upon a fiesta complete with music and much pageantry. There were huge 9 foot puppets dancing around with people and there we were feasting on our queso and baguettes!
One night in a Galician town, after prepping for bed (that is bandaging up Glenda´s blisters, and stretching Rick´s legs) and tucking ourselves in, Rick heard the sound of bagpipes outside our window! After listening for about two minutes, we quickly dressed and headed out to the street below. Right outside the door of our hostel we found a slightly inebriated 12 piece band!
They were dressed mainly in white with large hats shaped like an upside down tulip covered in tin foil. They were playing various instruments (small bagpipes, accordian, tin whistles, guitars) and some them were dancing and two-stepping to the music. They played a few tunes much to the enjoyment of the locals and the congregating pilgrims. They seemed to be wandering from bar to bar playing, drinking and dancing their way along.”
On Architecture
“We were constantly amazed by the many beautiful cathedrals like: Santo Domingo, Burgos, Leon (the stained glass in this cathedral was awesome), Astorga and Santiago. The castle in Astorga with gothic turrets (Palacio Episcopal) was built by Gaudi. We spent an hour there overwhelmed by what he had created.”
“We loved some of the bigger towns where there are usually several plazas like in Pamplona, Logrono, Leon and Astorga.
Typically in these plazas there are no cars and restaurants and bars surround a central area. Children are usually running around playing while their parents are sitting visiting, relaxing and enjoying a beer or glass of wine. Two nights in a row in Astorga, Rick and I set ourselves up at the 40 yard line of a plaza that was about the size and shape of a Canadian football field. The children ranged in age from babies in strollers to kids around 12 or 13. They were biking, roller blading, on scooters, running, practising some gymnastics moves! and playing soccer with the doors of the town hall providing a convenient goal.”
Other Pilgrims
“For the most part pilgrims are a jolly, carefree lot whose main worry is a bed and a beer at the end of the day. But we did come across several exceptions. There was the man we passed (actually he was walking toward us away from Santiago) who was carrying a full pack on his back and a cross on his front. But not a small cross. This one was about 4 feet tall with the crucified Christ and must have weighed 20 pounds. A couple of days later we passed another man who had tensor elastic braces on both knees and one arm in a sling. So, some serious pilgrims.”
Other Highlights
Vineyards (we especially liked the wine from the Rioja region), olive orchards and windmills
Walking in the mountains provided stunning views in the Pyranees and in the Galician mountains; trees (oak, pine, eucalyptus – imported here for the pulp industry), hearing the Celtic music as we wandered into O´Cebreio (a mountain village in Galicia) after walking 32 km.
Birds: griffon vultures (wing span up to 3 meters) – at the end of the day we had a sense they might be hoping for one of us to drop and black birds with white wings – we think these are the birds building their nests on some of the church steeples and tall poles.
Flora: heather (purple and yellow), orange poppies, purple crocuses (growing in the dirt!)
Roman bridges and roads.
Again, from everyone at The Movement Studio and everyone else who is following along, we thank Rick and Glenda for letting us come along on their adventure. We wish them a safe trip home and look forward to seeing Glenda back at the studio.
