June 9 - Day 6 of our Camino - Carrion de los Condes to Leon

A small sample of the stained glass in the Cathedral in Leon

built in the 1200's I think...edit please...?

The wood carvings were very interesting.

This was the "meat lovers" meal at the "Roman" fair held right beside the cathedral.

Klari is not so sure about the "meat lovers" choice for tonight's meal.
It reminded us alot of the annual Rotary Ribfest in St. Catharines.

An evening view from the Ramparts just outside our own rooms at the Real Coligiata San Isidor in Leon.

We savoured some fresh bread with a wonderful goats cheese that we purchased at the fair beside the Cathedral. Some fine wine managed to creep into the late evening snack.

Nola posing on the same ramparts a little earlier in the day.
These ramparts were the outer wall of our hotel which was another converted Monastery.

This was the entrance to the hotel.

An inner hallway of the Hotel

Hospital de Orbigo

June 8 - Day 5 of our Camino - Burgos to Carrion de los Condes

Different kinds of road hazards - we had several herding issues
Hit the mesetas on the ride into Carrion. Rolling hills but entirely exposed to the elements. Appeared to be the granary of Spain - huge fields of grain, one after another. Luckily cool weather - we could easily have been exposed and hot as heck for the entire ride. Wind picked up and rain threatened toward the end of the ride. John graciously volunteered to "break wind" for the rest of us. We all felt so much warmer.

Just another animal crossing!

Thinking of my buddy "pedal dammit" John S.

A regular daily post ride sight

Interior hallway at our digs, The Monasterio San Zoilo in Carrion de los Condes

Our hotel rooms all looked like this...we hesitated to post this online!

The cloister at the "hotel"

June 7 - Day 4 of our Camino - a day off in Burgos

Day off in Burgos was rainy, holiday so everything closed, walked around cathedral, stopped in at coffee place with pan chocolate then visited castle although did not venture into underground tunnels. Museum of Evolution closed due to holiday; a shame because oldest evidence of Neanderthals in this region. As rain permitted, walked about, enjoying beautiful walkways along the river etc. stopped at a local fine food emporium to purchase a top notch Spanish prosciutto, wines and other goodies. Pizza night second night. Discovered dollar stores have made their way to Spain. Dan bought a bright orange rain cape in case of further moisture, leading to an infamous incident the following day of the cruising pumpkin, eerily flapping in the wind and seen for miles around.

Klari at the front side of the Burgos Cathedral

Inside the Cathedral in Burgos.

The entrance to the old city in Burgos

A view of Burgos fom the castle. 

The tunnels in the castle hill above the cathedral in Burgos. These provided escape routes and a protected water supply if under seige.

Statue of El Cid in Burgos.

Many bulls but this one in Burgos...

June 6 - Day 3 of our Camino - Logroño to Burgos

Today was a long ride, combining two days-worth, to give us a day off in Burgos the following day. 

Eccentric Sello stamper after we found "Our Way" back to the Camino trail

 

Many of the roads were just like this. Little traveled, beautiful surfaces and views that drew you in.

Santo Domingo de la Calzada

We´ll tell you about the chicken myth soon....

Th real chicken thief

 Stork nest across from John´s hotel window

One of many beautiful stained glass windows!

El Cid - hero of early Spain

Cool weather, intermittently rainy on the ride into Burgos, road construction and a forested stretch without any amenities. Drove back to collect John, Nola and Ian at Villafranca. Settled into hotel then went for tapas.

June 5 - Day 2 of our Camino - Pamplona to Logrono

Fortunately we could bring the van to our apartment in the morning to pick up our luggage as several of our city stops had restricted access to the city centres at all other times of the day. This makes the city cores very   user friendly for exploring and dining (and bar hopping!) , great for the majority of Camino walkers, but very difficult for those of us with support vehicles. Many days we were severely challenged in getting to our accomodation. The brown door on the left was access up to our apartment but no label or information anywhere to be seen. The write up for the establishment stated that we could pick up the keys at the nearby host hotel...which turned out to be more than a kilometre away....the first of many similar "misrepresentations" that we would encounter! 

Nola was driving today and our meeting spot was the bridge at Puente de la Reina where we could enjoy some beautiful views, get our "sello" for our passport or credential, and enjoy a noon meal.

The meals at noon all brought smiles to our faces as we usually picked either a pilgrim´s menu or the specialty of the area. Base meals ranged from 9 to 12 Euros and as you can see were ample in quantity and normally exceptional in quality. As our riding normally consumed 2500 to 4000 calories, we operated on a deficit basis despite some of the intakes. Add the "tourist walks" to our cycling efforts and we could rationalize any and all food and beverage experiences...

Our second beautifull bridge of the day was found in Estella just before our scheduled stop in Irache. 

Unfortunately the wine fountain was empty on arrival so we only had the photo opp, not the real experience! After this stop, was a "short" ride to Logroño. For Klari, this represented her first 100k ride.

I will show some of the road "textures" as the Camino progresses just for those who cycle and want to relate to the ride experience. This is where the Trek Domane excelled as it provided excellent compliance dampening the vibrations of the road.

Note: Need Calle Laurel Pic


Logroño - John's birthday meal - found Calle Laurel - a street famous in Logroño for tapas bars - used Nola's theory of choosing a busy one - worked well. Had a most delightful meal sharing tapas along with a pitcher of beer and a pitcher of sangria. Definitely one for the memory book.

June 6

Hello Everyone,

I think I may have finally found the spot to post a comment.  Glad to hear the ride is going well.  Sorry that
your tech difficulties are hampering the posting of pictures.  We are all anxious to see them and to receive a steady stream of news.  I see that tomorrow is a non-ride day so rest up, enjoy, and don't forget to do that laundry!
Greetings to all and take care of yourselves.

Mary