Year: 2024
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Stinking Willy
It’s important to embrace your silliness from time to time… and so it is with our discovery of the Tansy Ragwort. The Tansey Ragwort is also commonly known as the Stinking Willy and Stinking Nanny. Not to be confused with the Hog weed!
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Alpine Flora again
For the last couple of days we’ve been walking through some more alpine regions – and this has meant a change in the flora we see on the side of the Way. Many of the flora are familiar, but so many are new as well. The White-rock rose in particular is a replacement for the…
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Rural Mural
As we walked through the small town of Agés I noticed a couple of murals painted in the windows of disused buildings. The artist has done a wonderful job of capturing the essence of domestic beasts in this medieval rural setting. I just had to steal a photo!
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Proper Camouflage
We were walking along the trail and suddenly were confronted by this reptilian monster – casually chilling in the undergrowth. We have seen quite a few “green slithery lizards” sneaking across the path – but this was the first time we’d managed to get a photo before they slithered away. This lovely lizard is commonly…
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The end of our second week
Today marks the end of our second week, as well as marking Jeff’s 54th birthday, and it’s been a blast. We’ve had great food, great drink, great conversations with new friends, and generally misbehaved 😜. Here’s a brief synopsis since my last post from day 10 at Nájera: Day 11: Rest day in Nájera Day…
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Still more flora along the Way
Many of the plants we’ve been seeing over the past few days have remained familiar, but new ones keep sprouting up! Here is a quick summary of the “new stuff” that has caught our attention as we walk through La Rioja country. We are still seeing loads of wild seeded (as well as planted) Wheat,…
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What a relief
Wandering about Nájera today I noticed the ancient reliefs above windows and ornate doors in the town. The Santa María la Real monastery entrance was stunning – all in relief! All this Romanesque and gothic influenced architecture can make one dizzy!
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Vine Keepers
As we trekked through La Rioja and the expanse of grapes became apparent, we noticed some stone structures akin to massive stone beehives or igloos. The “guardaviñas” are circular stone constructions and are also known as “chozos (huts)”. They were built with mostly flat stones and little mortar, stacking circularly more and more concentric as…
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Txuletón and on and on…
Day 8 After returning to a longer walk (18.76km) after our shorter rest days, we ended up in Viana. We’d been hoping to stay in accommodation owned by a sidrería, but it turns out they shut the accommodation ages ago and still haven’t updated their website 🤷♂️. Thankfully, we managed to get a late lunch…
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They seek him here – they seek him there!
I’ve noticed these pretty red flowers for a few days now. It turns out they are known as scarlet pimpernel. Scarlet pimpernel flowers open only when the sun shines; their habit of closing in dull weather has given the plant the name “poor man’s weather-glass.” Personally I find it easier to just look up at…