Haloranch

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. /W7QOcQTA-8M/s1600-h/015.JPG"> 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...