Haloranch

If you'd like to see the photos Hans took while walking the Via de la Plata in October and November 2008, email us at haloranch@xplornet.com and we'll send you an invitation to view them. The photos can be viewed as a slide show or clicked individually, and each one is captioned so you'll know what you're watching on the screen.

Wow. The Rotarians in one of the Rotary Clubs in District 5360 will be sending a cheque on December 5 to The Rotary Foundation in support of The Walk to Beat Polio. The amount? A whopping $17,629 ! That exceeds our goal of $50,000 and brings the total raised for PolioPlus to $51,118. Thank you, Rotarians, for this fabulous donation. Many children will live freed from the scourge of polio.

Night view of Plaza Mayor in Salamanca Stones - sometimes there's no convenient place on which to paint a yellow directional sign, so they use stones.

Got some photos from Hans in the mail today, so here's a selection for you to enjoy. A view of Zamora. Here you see Hans writing in his journal at the end of the day. How's this for a catchy name for a sandwich?

Thanks to all the supporters of Walk to Beat Polio I would like to extend my great thanks and appreciation to all those individuals, whether Rotarians or friends and family, who supported the "Walk to Beat Polio" project. Whether your support was financial and/or emails with words of encouragement, they all helped to inspire me to complete the walk. And there is no better cause to support than Rotary International’s effort to eradicate polio from the world once and for all. There is no doubt that I underestimated "mother nature" when I thought that the weather this year would be much the same as it was last year. All my research indicated it might only be a bit cooler and a bit wetter. I had no expectation that I would face winter-like conditions for almost 10 days and I was ill prepared to deal with it. You can deal with hot and wet weather fairly readily as it is mostly a discomfort but freezing temperatures with strong winds is something totally different when

Peregrinos When I planned this trip I knew that there would be a lot less peregrinos as compared to last year. Statistically only about five percent of the Compostelas are issued to those doing the Via de la Plata. Over the whole 5 week period of the walk I saw no more than 20 pilgrims. Over the last 500 kilometers I saw only three walkers. Julia, a young lady (mid thirties) from Germany, whom I saw for two days until she took the northern route to Astorga and I headed over the mountains to Ourense. Federico, a Spanish gentleman (mid fifties) who was walking an astounding 40 kilometers per day but taking about 12 hours to do so. He arrived in Santiago two days ago and started in Sevilla four days after me. Thus he was taking only 29 days to walk the 1007 kilometers. Bart (mid forties) from Belgium, who was at the albergue in Ourense when I arrived and was still there when I left. He was straying there until he recovered from flu symptoms......he said! In my view he was taking advantage

I have completed my Rotary Project! I arrived at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela at 11:40 this morning after a 3 1/2 hour, 17 km walk from Capilla de Santiaguino. A total of 1007 km and 1.248 million steps from Seville. I then attended the noon mass, went to the Peregrino Office where my credentials were validated and I was issued my Compostela. There I learned that the big albergue where I stayed last year was closed for the winter. So, Iwalked down the street to the address where Markus and I had stayed the second night last year and lo and behold got a room for 15 euros per night for a couple of days. The last four days from Ourense to Santiagode Compostela, a distance of 111 kilometers was supposed to be a piece of cake but didnñt quite turn out that way. Firstly, I probably walked about 120 kilmetres when on the second day I missed a marker and ended up walking about 38 kilometers as opposed to the 29 that my guide book suggested. I must have been in a mental fog and the

Haven't heard from Hans since Ourense on November 5th but, if all goes as planned, I'm expecting him to arrive at his destination in Santiago on Sunday, November 9th. So stay tuned - as soon as I hear from him I'll update the blog and the website. www.haloranch.ca

The next four days (and last days) of walking will be a piece of cake. It’s a bit warmer now that I am over the passes so I don’t have to worry about dealing with the cold. The only thing that can create a problem is rain and frankly that won’t be a problem. I have learned a lot about walking this time. Lessons that will serve me well should I do some more. Just came back from the thermal baths which are about a 2km walk from the albergue. It was fabulous. Three hot pools starting at 41C and getting progressively colder as water flows from one to the next. There is also a cold pool. The water has some minerals in it but it is clear with a slight but not unpleasant sulfurous smell. For 6€, I got a towel , a badly fitting bathing suit and the right to use the facility for 90 minutes. An hour was more than enough and I felt great afterwards. I should have gone last nigh. There was a bar attached to the spa where I had some tapas, a small bocadillo and two beers for 2.70€. What a ba

It’s about 1430 on Tuesday, November 4. I am in Ourense where for the second day in a row I am drying out, not from too much wine, but from hours of rain. I have had precipitation in some form for each of the last four days but the last two have been the worst. But, a bit of hardship builds character. I tried to find a tuque and sweater for the cold weather but it’s almost impossible to find those things in the little villages in Spain. I swore that I wasn’t going to get a ride after the 50 km bus ride to Salamanca in the pouring rain, and I haven’t. Now that I have a cover for the backpack and can wear the poncho underneath the backpack it helps. Of course I scare small children when I walk into these villages. Yesterday, it started to rain as I was starting up the last of the passes on the trip and of course I got wet both inside my poncho (from the sweat) and those parts of me that were exposed. The worst part is walking in wet shoes and socks for hours on end. This morning

October 31 – Day 26 I´m in the tiny village of Lubian where you have to be a mountain goat to be a resident! The village is hemmed in by mountains on all sides and most of the ridges are filled with wind turbines. As you might guess the highest point of the village is where the "ayutanmiento" (city hall) is located and where they have internet service. Just what I needed, another climb. I completed my walk over the first pass of the Via de la Plata and arrived here at about 3:40 this afternoon. It took me about 7 hours to walk here and I pretty much walked straight through other than a 15 minute stop for coffee and a bocadillo at about the halfway point. And yes, it snowed for about an hour at the highest point. So now I have experienced pretty much everything.....heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, hail, thunder, lightning....not much left. So after 26 days I have completed 783 km with 224 km to go. Steps are at about 929,000. I should be in Ourense in about 4 days where I will ta

"Jack O'Lantern just couldn't keep away from the beer."

No, that's not a picture of Hans. Yet. But he's coming to the mountains and apparently, there will be snow. I am in Mombuey with 289 km to go. Have been trying to get into our emails, ¨walktobeatpolio¨ without success because the rural system here is so slow. Here is a brief update. Since Zamora have walked 127 km over 4 days. Conditions are unseasonably cold and windy. Minus 3 when I started this morning with a biting head wind. TV is reporting snowfall in the passes which I will be going through in the next few days. Am expecting rain and possibly snow over the next few days. Health OK although I am getting run down. Legs, feet etc. are sore. Hopefully will get to Ourense over the next 6-7 days where I will likely take a rest day to recuperate after climbing the two upcoming passes. Don´t expect to have internet over the next week. Lucky to find this slow rural system in this little village.

Q. What are you eating for supper? A. I heated up a can of beans with chorizo and a can of tuna in the microwave. Also bought 4 croissants on sale for 1.30 €. Two of which I am saving for tomorrow. Also had some red wine. Q. Is it at or below freezing each morning now for you? A. It has been around freezing for each of the last three days. Q. When is the latest you can leave the Albergue? A. They state 0800 but there are very few peregrinos and it doesn’t get light enough to walk until 8:20 or so. I won’t leave until at least 8:30 and it will get later each day (shorter days and heading north). Q. When does it get light enough for you to leave, and when does the temperature become a bit warmer so you aren't so cold in the mornings? A. I can always go to a bar and have a coffee or two while it warms up a bit. Am thinking of buying a pair of gloves. In a pinch I will use my socks. As long as it doesn’t get any colder I should be OK. Hopefully I can make it over the mountains

It took me two days to walk the 68 km from Salamanca to Zamora. Walking conditions were ideal although it is really cold first thing in the morning, about freezing. But by noon the temperature is in the mid to high teens which is great for walking. I may have to look for some gloves or mittens if this cool weather is going to continue. Unfortunately yesterday, out of the 36 km of walking, more than 20 were along the shoulders of a heavily travelled two-lane highway, N360. This is one of the things that I don’t like about the Via de la Plata as compared to last year. To this point there has been a much higher proportion of walking along or on tarmac. It creates a lot of problems as well as being hazardous. - hard on your feet and legs - dangerous - noisy - vehicles can throw up sand and rocks - drafts from huge trucks almost stop your forward momentum - you have to constantly focus on the traffic rather than on your surroundings - boring Today only about one km was along a highw

Little Green Men The crosswalks in Salamanca have animated little men as well as a countdown clock to let pedestrians know what is happening. When you are not allowed to cross the little man faces you and is coloured red. When it is OK to cross the little man turns green and starts walking in profile while the clock counts down. With about 10 seconds to go on the clock the little fellow starts running faster and faster. I wonder if he shoots jaywalkers? ....eria Lots of the Spanish stores have names describing the services or products with a suffix ending in ...eria. For example, fruiteria, panateria, chocolateria, libreria, etcetera. I noticed a new one in Salamanca, joyeria.....turns out to be that it is an aptly named store that sells jewellery!!! Even the Thieves Take a Siesta When Franck and I arrived at about 3:00 in one small town our guide book indicated that we could get the key for the albergue at the local police station. We found it without difficulty only to realize that i

I am writing to tell you that I think you're amazing. I tell people you're walking across Spain and their eyes boggle. Then I tell them how far it is and they look shocked. And then I tell them it's to help raise money for Rotary's fight against polio, and they're moved. We're all moved. (Not as moved as you, walking 1,000 km, but still!) You are incredible. You just decide to do something, and do it, and I don't know anyone else who is like that. It doesn't matter if it's hard or a challenge, or takes months of preparation and planning... you just do it and make it happen. You're going to change people's lives doing this. People will live better lives because you decided that instead of just walking across Spain --as though that weren't enough -- you were going to raise money to fight a horrible disease while you did. Kids will be able to run. Women will have children and families. Men will be able to work, when otherwise, they would hav

If you're checking the blog for news on Hans and his walk in Spain, the Walk to Beat Polio, you should instead check here . Look for the latest date in the upper left corner and click on that. His last news was Thursday, October 16 and he had completed 300 km at that time, which was after 11 days of walking. Many of the small towns through which he passes have few amenities and Internet is only sporadically available. Keep checking the website above as it will have the latest news. Buen Camino.

Hans got stuck in a 20 minute downpour. I'll be posting his account on our website later today.

Top 10 reasons to be thankful at Thanksgiving and every other day: 1. I’m thankful for my life. We don’t realize how slender the thread is that binds us to this earth until it threatens to snap. I’m so grateful mine hasn’t broken. 2. I’m so thankful for Hans and Alethea. Without them, my life would turn from blazing colour to drab black and white, and I would stumble through life like a somnambulist in a grey world. 3. I’m grateful that my Mom and Dad are still healthy enough to be able to live alone in their home, and with most of their marbles intact. 4. I’m grateful that Hans’ Dad has such a positive outlook on life that, despite his blindness, he is out and about every day to take long walks. 5. I’m thankful for all my friends, close and far, who care about me. 6. I’m thankful for Rotary, which has opened a world of friendship around the globe with people who share our values. 7. I’m grateful to be living in a place that has 4 seasons. While I don’t like to be outside in the

Latest word from xplornet is that they expect to have resolution by late Saturday afternoon. We'll see. Meanwhile, you may be able to log into webmail. If so, don't try to delete anything or you'll get hung up and have to log in again. We may get snow flurries tonight.

As of Friday morning I have been able to log onto the Walk To Beat Polio webmail only once, but email on our other 2 accounts is coming through on the computers. If you cannot log into webmail next time you are near a computer, you can continue to use the comment section of the blog to communicate or, use my gmail account to send emails. Hopefully by the time you read this all will be well again. It's very frustrating. Meanwhile, it's -6.2 degrees here. Yesterday morning it was -5. I think you have better weather. (Not an actual picture of today as we have no snow, but it's darn cold anyway.)

It was sad to say goodbye to our friends from Debrecen and Budapest. Zsolt, who sadly caught a bad flu and couldn't join us, nevertheless made reservations at a fabulous trendy new restaurant in downtown Budapest called Klassz. Look where we're sitting. It was like dining in a wine cellar. And the food was excellent. Even though we didn't stay late, darkness comes early in Budapest. The moonlight was glazing the sidewalk as we stepped out into the cool evening air and we hugged goodbye. It was a great holiday. Now, Hans is on his 4th day of walking the Via de la Plata in Spain. Internet in the little villages through which he's travelling is so far non-existent but soon I should be able to update the blog and our website with news on how he's doing.

October 6 Day 1 in The Walk To Beat Polio -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Hans left Budapest on Saturday October 4 for Seville, Spain it was raining steadily. "It seems like a fitting way to leave Central Europe since the rain followed us for three weeks through Budapest, Vienna and Prague," he wrote. Unfortunately the continuous cold and damp weather that plagued us for three weeks also left Hans with a cold just four days before his scheduled start to the Walk. Colds pretty much come and go at their own pace but we treated his symptoms anyway as best we could with salt gargles and Ibuprofen. Since he's in excellent physical shape he's bouncing back very quickly and is off and walking on Monday October 6th just as planned. He writes: "It is 8:00 a.m. here and I will definitely leave a bit later this morning. Am feeling about 98 per cent and getting better all the time. I may not wait until 11:00 a.m.

Damn. Missed the free shuttle from Heathrow to the Lodge by a mere 5 minutes. When I landed at Gatwick everything went smoothly, but there was a line-up getting tickets on the National Express bus to Heathrow. I knew I would be late arriving at Heathrow since my information was that the last free shuttle on Saturday and Sunday was at 10:00 a.m. so when I got my bus ticket and the lady asked at which terminal I wanted to be dropped, I said the first stop. It only took about 30 minutes and I was quite prepared to throw myself on the mercy of the innkeeper when I phoned for the shuttle, which was at 10:30 but she wouldn't be swayed. Very apologetic she was. Eventually gave me the phone number to LHR, a local "taxi" service which would pick me up for about L9. I asked if there were stores nearby where I could buy aspirin but she said no, they were located in a little village. "There is a MacDonald's about 10 minutes walk away... If you need something, you&#

What is it about postal employees? We had postcards to mail and needed stamps. The post office was quite difficult to find and when we did, there seemed to be no organized process for who got served next. We lined up behind a woman and the three of us kept an eye out on the two clerks on duty. Both were moving at the speed of evolution. Meanwhile, more customers arrived and after initially appearing puzzled, lined up behind us. The lady in front got served. Then a third wicket opened and since we were next, we presented ourselves in front of her. Her pretty face hid the snarling hag beneath. After waiting long enough for the other two clerks to finish with their customers and deal with those who had been behind us, she looked up and informed us to go to one of the other wickets. Which were now occupied. Then she beckoned over a customer who had been hanging around the counters and helped him. *sigh* When we finally got our row of stamps they had the extra little blank ends at t

Yikes. I sure missed my scarf today and could have used a sweater too. The sunny morning promised a balmy day, but no sooner had we passed the point of no return on our way to the Charles Bridge than sterling silver sky wiped out the sun. The wind came up and stirred the street debris, whipping leaves and litter around our feet. It was miserably cold. But by the time we reached Charles Bridge the sun managed to poke out again and suddenly it was hot. Much of the rest of the day was spent zipping and unzipping my jacket. Charles Bridge has 30 statues, many kiosks and even street musicians. Each statue tells a story and while they don't look remotely alike, they make me think of our totem poles. Both of them are created not just as art, but to help the storyteller relate history down through generations in the absence of a written language. At least that's what I think. Then we climbed the hill to the palace and 207 - count 'em - stairs to the palace. *gasp* It left m

Jazz notes livened up our dinner just prior to attending the upcoming guitar concert. We had barely enough time to eat, but managed to get through the potato soup, goulash and ice cream to the accompanying music of a delightful jazz trio. Well, for some it would be more delightful than others. I'm not a great fan of jazz, but I do appreciate live music in a restaurant. Even if it's jazz. The musical mood followed us across the street to the intimate venue of a small chapel in the St. Giles Church. Czech guitar duo Jana and Petr Bierhanzl performed selections from Vivaldi and Paganini as well as from lesser known composers (at least to me). We were a small but appreciative crowd, though I would have apprciated a few more well-known selections. On the walk home we chose to follow the river so we could see the castles and cathedrals lit up at night. Gorgeous, if a little chilly. Even the swans glowed as they drifted through the lights. Alas, our camera doesn't take gr

This is a city of sirens. Daily, nighly, hourly. We haven't seen any accidents but there must be a lot of them. Often we see the blue flashing ambulance lights when we're out walking, without sirens, but there must be a reason their lights are on. It's strange. We did see cars speeding down the darkened roads last night on our way back from the Charles Bridge so maybe the drivers are bad, but we really haven't seen any other evidence of it. Lots of doggie poo on the sidewalks despite the sign: But then, dogs can't read.

We walked past Franz Kafka's House and into the Jewish Quarter. The cemetery here is Europe's oldest Jewish burial ground with the oldest grave dating back to 1439. Bodies here had to be buried vertically and so close together the tombstones nearly touch. I could almost hear the whispers of the dead. Ancient secrets swirling on the air as we walked by. Buried here isRabbi Low, who used mud from the Vltava River to fashion the legendary Golem, a clay monster, to protect Prague's Jews. The legend is that it protected the residents from the danger of mean-spirited Catholics outside the walls of the Jewish ghetto. Nearby is the theatre where Mozart premiered his opera don Giovanni. This strange looking monument was erected to commemorate the event though in my opinion it's more suited to the cemetery above.

This is one of Prague's most photographed cultural and historical monuments, so we figured millions of people can't be wrong and we photographed it too. They hold frequent concerts inside but they were on the pricey side - nearly $100 each. Instead, we're going to attend a guitar concert this evening in a small church close to the river. Our walk took us past the Powder Tower so named because after it became obsolete as a gate into the Old Town, is was recommissioned as a gunpowder storehouse. Then we came to my favourite part of the walk, the Astronomical Clock. Try as I might, I couldn't figure it out. On the hour a mechanical parade of saints rotates through two open windows above the clock. Since we chanced upon the clock at 11:45, we decided to wait and then splurged and paid $12 for two glasses of coke so we could sit and watch. The crowd was huge. I can't imagine what it's like in summer. The skelton you see is mechanical and pulls a string which r

Our little boutique hotel is great. Lovely room and for the first time, WiFi in the room. Yes!! Life is good (but the good life is better.) Today I learned that pigs do fly in the Czech Republic. They have pork sparrows on the menu. Yup, that's what it said. I ordered them and the waitress volunteered that "they're new." "Pardon?" I asked. She explained they were new today and I asked if this was the first time they were on the menu. "No", she replied. "But they're not from yesterday or the day before." Aaah, I thought. They're not leftovers. Yumm. Ordered them since they were "new" and they looked like ordinary pork bits, not sparrows at all. Had a glass of $2 wine which tasted like, well, $2. The bottle of Perrier cost nearly $3.

Blue skies, nothing but blue skies, from now on. Yes!! Today, the day we're leaving for Prague there's clear blue sky and the forecast is 20. Luckily, then blue skies followed us all the way to Prague and it was a glorious 18 when we arrived this afternoon. To backtrack slightly, I must admit that the subway system i Vienna rocks. Getting from our hotel to the train station took 2 lines and yet it was only minutes to get here. Minutes, I say. The public transit systm is simply grand. Still haven't recovered from the prices here. Two cokes at the train station cost over $5. If only airplane seats were as wide and comfortable as these train seats. The drop down table from the seat back ahead of me is so far forward I have to lean to reach it. Really, the comfort of train travel here is just fabulous, and the stations are always in the heart of town vs. airports which are so far away. The clackety-clack that accompanied us as we left Budapest for Vienna was noticeably a

On our last day in Vienna we decided to focus our promenade on Vienna's less travelled but still interesting back streets. One interesting cathedral is the 14th century Church of St. Mary. Restricted by the narrowness of the medieval streets around it the church's unusual floor plan is only 30 feet wide. It has only one width of pews down the center, yet the rest of the church is as gothically elaborate as any other we've seen. There's a most unusual clock spanning a narrow street in the city's oldest marketplace. The clock was used in an important scene from the film The Third Man and if you're a movie buff, you might remember it. This whole area, the old market - which used to be the location of the public gallows way back when and up to the 1700's, has been preserved. The streets are narrow and tight and if there were no cars around, you'd feel as if you had stepped back in time. There was an old smitty located here and you can still see a replic