Author: Jeff Home
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Familiar Flora
As we near the end of our Camino, I’m starting to notice some familiar plants along the Way. The Cabbage Tree (which is endemic to New Zealand) is also known as a Torbay Palm tree in the UK. The growing heart of a cabbage tree is edible and tastes much like (wait for it)… cabbage…
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Decaying Dwellings
Walking through many towns along the Way has revealed so many properties for sale – many of them in various stages of disrepair and collapse. I just love the stone walls and use of wooden beams in these old buildings. Sadly so many are destined to fall apart and return to a pile of rocks…
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Galician flora
The past few days have seen very few new flora on the Way. Having entered Galicia we are seeing less fields of grain and instead more cows (and when you can’t see them you can certainly smell them). The Oakmoss has actually been present for ages but I only really noticed it a couple days…
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Elías Valiña Sampedro
Today we officially walked across the border from Castilla y León into Galicia and arrived in O Cebreiro. For many pilgrims on the Camino this is a favoured starting point (and indeed it seemed there were many fresh faces wandering around this small town looking to escape the wet weather). I was particularly interested in…
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Post-meseta flora
So many familiar flowers along the Way of late… but also loads of new ones – some completely unexpected. Some Nerium oleander – all three colours! Finally some more edible flora… We haven’t seen the grain fields we saw all along the meseta for a while now. Lots of sweet chestnut trees though! Note the…
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Getting ready to gig
Last night we stayed at a wonderful donativo in Santa Catalina de Somoza called La Bohème. We enjoyed a tasty vegan pilgrims menu (yes, you read that correctly – we shunned meat for the evening) cooked by our host David. At some stage in the evening I offered to play for the guests. Fortunately (for…
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Unexpected Turkey
I never expected to see a turkey whilst on the Camino… and this proud momma was working hard to stop me getting close to her baby. I didn’t press the issue!
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The Calzada Romana Route
We chose to walk the Calzada Romana route from Calzadilla de los Hermanillos to Mansilla de las Mulas. A route not so often walked. John Brierley wrote about this stage… On the Calzada Romana we will encounter no asphalt roads, no sendas, no town, no farmyard, no house but also no water fonts and little…
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Meseta Flora
The Meseta is over 200km. That’s a lot of plants to walk past and try to identify! I’ve included all the ones that I hadn’t already seen to date. My main criteria is that it has to either look nice, smell nice or be edible. Several are familiar in name – but it’s exciting to…
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The Meseta March
The meseta refers to the long stretch of plains between Burgos and Leon (about 180km in total – more than 8 days of walking). The weather can be changeable (although for us it has remained windy and stonkingly hot), the scenery is monotonous (fields of wheat, barley, lucerne and clods of earth) and the way…
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Bibimbap on the Camino
As we left San Anton I was already thinking about dinner that evening (walking all day with a backpack tends to shift your priorities to more basic needs). We’d managed to reserve dorm beds in an Albergue in Castrojeriz that was run by a Korean – and the promise of Bibimbap for our evening pilgrim…
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Deadly Flora
As we approached San Anton I noticed a unique plant that I’d not seen on our walk to date. Henbane causes loss of muscular control, dilation of the pupils, heart palpitation, hallucinations, delirium and in large doses, coma, and death. I marvelled at the beauty of its flowers – but didn’t investigate closer!
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San Antón
Founded in 1146, this monastery (just outside of Castrojeriz) was handed to the Antonianos order (in the 15th century) who were devoted to tending to the pilgrims walking the Camino. As I was taking the picture of the rusting Jesus I heard someone say “it looks like they caught the guy who stole the roof…
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Flora to die for
Not everything we see along the Way is edible – obviously! Some of the plants have such obvious names that you’d be a bit of a fool to even play with them! I met a wonderful young man today who informed me that “carrot” is “Karóto” in Greek! Thank you James!
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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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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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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…
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Olives, grapes and cherries
We walked out of Los Arcos after some recent overnight rain. The trail was muddy and slippery – which just offered us more opportunities to spot plants. The fruit is far from ripe, but that didn’t stop us sampling the cherries we noticed. We continue to pass fields filled with wheat but more and more…
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Flora along the Way again
The trails and paths of the Camino are lined with so many plants and species. Some, like wheat and barley are familiar but there are also many that I’ve never even heard of (let alone seen) before! The last time I posted about the Flora on the Way and have decided to keep up the…
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Grapes and gripes
It seems everyone on the Camino has heard of the winery (Irache) with an outdoor tap that serves vino tinto (red wine) for free to passing Peregrino (pilgrims walking the Camino). It’s a great bit of marketing for the winery who make a point of exclaiming the tap is to help encourage the pilgrims. It…