It's a long way to Santiago
It's a long walk we know.
It's a long way to Santiago,
Especially when you're slow.
From Salamanca to Zamora
To Ourense way down low --
It's a long, long walk to Santiago
Whichever way you go. *
*Thanks to Stuart and Sacha, who appear later.
(To be sung to the tune of It's A Long Way To Tipperary -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPLS5nNFWTU)
Two thousand years ago Caesar Augustus realized he had a bunch of retired soldiers on his hands. Soldiers who were trained in mayhem and who were apt to get cranky if they had too much idle time, so Augustus established Augustus Emerita as a retirement/farming community for the men. A retirement home in Extremadura -- The hard edge of civilization.
Augustus Emerita was at the center of Southwest Spain and the center of Extremadura where it was too hot to march around with sword and shield causing mayhem.
Emerita morphed into Merida where it's still too hot to march around, but sometimes assorted peregrinos, such as dw and I, set out to walk the Via de la Plata to Santiago de Compostela (more ambitious peregrinos start farther afield in Seville or Malaga, Marbella, Cadiz, or Gibralter)
Merida is a splendid city containing the best, most complete Roma
n ruins in Spain. There was some sort of civilization that pre-dated the Romans, and a series of excavations uncovered gold jewelry and other relics which no one wanted so the British Museum took them. During Napoleon's Peninsular wars the British chased the French out of Merida and between the two armies the Roman ruins got more ruined, but the amphitheater, the circus, the aqueduct and other buildings are wonderful relics. At some point the Spanish Duke of Corbos built a palace and used the ruins of the Roman Temple of Diana as a front porch but the temple is still interesting. The nearby Not Trajan's Arch is plain (the marble facade was stripped off centuries ago) but nicely monumental, and the Historical Museum (with Roman as well as some pre-Roman relics) is one of the best of its kind I've ever seen.
Extremadura was the home of a bunch of conquistadors: Cortes, Desoto, Francisco Pizarro (as well as sev
eral extra Pizarros) and others --- dw and I decided they went aconquering because it was too hot to stay home.
Between the Roman times and the errant conquistadors, the Moors ruled Merida, building the Alcazaba -- a walled fortress -- intending to keep ruling the city and area. It didn't work but it was a good effort. Of particular interest is the aljibe -- a small building with stairs leading down to a well (which is like a swimming pool in a basement). It's cleverly designed as the well is near enough to the river so that water seeps in, but far enough away that the water is thoroughly filtered. The well and the building are in remarkably good shape, as are the gold fish that swim in the water. Probably the gold fish are not original.
After two nights and a day spent touring the city we started walking. The first few miles were on a green painted bicycle/pedestrian path followed by a packed sand path with quartz crystals sparkling in the sun. On this first day we passed a Roman dam
(Proserpina), still functioning, though it's largely a recreational lake now. The dam is quite large and has clever elements such as back bracing so it doesn't collapse when the water gets low. Those Roman engineers knew their stuff.
During the day we were passed by six walkers and four bikes. More pilgrims than we expected. (we expected to be passed -- nearly everyone we talked with on this walk had done multiple caminos -- they all knew their stuff, were ready to put in miles, and with very few exceptions were faster than we were). But we were surprised on this day by the number of peregrinos. In fact on this first day we met more pilgrims on the trail than on any other day until we passed through Ourense nearly at the end of the walk (most days we didn't meet any fellow peregrinos).
In the early afternoon, shortly after El Carrascalejo, we met a herd of 40 dingy gray sheep; each wearing a brass bell, and each bell with a pleasant mellow tone. The soft crunching of hooves and mixed chiming was a delight. We stepped off the path to give them room. The herding dog really gave dw the once over -- checking to see if she was up to no good. She didn't seem to be, so he went about his business threatening the laggards.
Later we passed a herd of 30 cows who found us fascinating, so we entertained them with a short song and dance routine: We're having a heat wave,
A tropical heat wave,
The temperature's rising,
It isn't surprising,
She certainly can can, can
The cows loved the song and soft-shoe. They all moved closer for a better look and paused their cud chewing. We kept it short, as we were near our stop for the afternoon and we wanted to move on. "Thankyou, thankyou verymuch." --- A bow, tip of the hat, and two more kilometers to Aljucen where our first day ended. The temperature was in the mid-nineties (35C). Barely tolerable. dw: Barely survivable, you mean.
SOME ROMAN STUFF: Emperor Trajan (98 to 117 A.D) was born near present-day Seville. He was celebrated as one of the five greatest emperors. After Trajan, and for the rest of Roman history, emperors were honored by the Senate with the prayer: "Felicior Augusto, melior Traiano" -- "May he be luckier than Augustus, and better than Trajan." In Dante's Divine Comedy, Trajan is the only emperor allowed into heaven.
TRIVIA: The coat of arms for Appenzell Switzerland features a rampant bear with an erect penis.
A CURIOUS EVENT: Many years ago, when I was a letter carrier, one of my customers was an older (65 or so -- older to me at the time) woman who lived in a small, slightly shabby house. She was a pleasant, if rough edged woman and I spoke with her most days. One afternoon, as I approached her house, she was smoking a cigar and stomping back and forth on her sidewalk.
"Gee", I said, "What's the matter?"
"I'm so mad I want to kick a dog or something!"
"Oh, that's not good, What happened?"
She stopped pacing and looked at me: "I just found out the man I've been living with is my ex-husband! If I can find that son-of-a-bitch I'm going to shoot him!"
Truthfully, I didn't know what to say: "Wow, that's --- shooting's not a --- "
She glared at me, eyes squinted against the cigar smoke, and growled: "I mean it!"
I think her life had been significantly different from mine.
---------- And so it goes, DJA ---------
It's a long walk we know.
It's a long way to Santiago,
Especially when you're slow.
From Salamanca to Zamora
To Ourense way down low --
It's a long, long walk to Santiago
Whichever way you go. *
*Thanks to Stuart and Sacha, who appear later.
(To be sung to the tune of It's A Long Way To Tipperary -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPLS5nNFWTU)
Two thousand years ago Caesar Augustus realized he had a bunch of retired soldiers on his hands. Soldiers who were trained in mayhem and who were apt to get cranky if they had too much idle time, so Augustus established Augustus Emerita as a retirement/farming community for the men. A retirement home in Extremadura -- The hard edge of civilization.
Augustus Emerita was at the center of Southwest Spain and the center of Extremadura where it was too hot to march around with sword and shield causing mayhem.
Emerita morphed into Merida where it's still too hot to march around, but sometimes assorted peregrinos, such as dw and I, set out to walk the Via de la Plata to Santiago de Compostela (more ambitious peregrinos start farther afield in Seville or Malaga, Marbella, Cadiz, or Gibralter)
Merida is a splendid city containing the best, most complete Roma
n ruins in Spain. There was some sort of civilization that pre-dated the Romans, and a series of excavations uncovered gold jewelry and other relics which no one wanted so the British Museum took them. During Napoleon's Peninsular wars the British chased the French out of Merida and between the two armies the Roman ruins got more ruined, but the amphitheater, the circus, the aqueduct and other buildings are wonderful relics. At some point the Spanish Duke of Corbos built a palace and used the ruins of the Roman Temple of Diana as a front porch but the temple is still interesting. The nearby Not Trajan's Arch is plain (the marble facade was stripped off centuries ago) but nicely monumental, and the Historical Museum (with Roman as well as some pre-Roman relics) is one of the best of its kind I've ever seen.Extremadura was the home of a bunch of conquistadors: Cortes, Desoto, Francisco Pizarro (as well as sev
eral extra Pizarros) and others --- dw and I decided they went aconquering because it was too hot to stay home.
Between the Roman times and the errant conquistadors, the Moors ruled Merida, building the Alcazaba -- a walled fortress -- intending to keep ruling the city and area. It didn't work but it was a good effort. Of particular interest is the aljibe -- a small building with stairs leading down to a well (which is like a swimming pool in a basement). It's cleverly designed as the well is near enough to the river so that water seeps in, but far enough away that the water is thoroughly filtered. The well and the building are in remarkably good shape, as are the gold fish that swim in the water. Probably the gold fish are not original.
(Proserpina), still functioning, though it's largely a recreational lake now. The dam is quite large and has clever elements such as back bracing so it doesn't collapse when the water gets low. Those Roman engineers knew their stuff.During the day we were passed by six walkers and four bikes. More pilgrims than we expected. (we expected to be passed -- nearly everyone we talked with on this walk had done multiple caminos -- they all knew their stuff, were ready to put in miles, and with very few exceptions were faster than we were). But we were surprised on this day by the number of peregrinos. In fact on this first day we met more pilgrims on the trail than on any other day until we passed through Ourense nearly at the end of the walk (most days we didn't meet any fellow peregrinos).
In the early afternoon, shortly after El Carrascalejo, we met a herd of 40 dingy gray sheep; each wearing a brass bell, and each bell with a pleasant mellow tone. The soft crunching of hooves and mixed chiming was a delight. We stepped off the path to give them room. The herding dog really gave dw the once over -- checking to see if she was up to no good. She didn't seem to be, so he went about his business threatening the laggards.
Later we passed a herd of 30 cows who found us fascinating, so we entertained them with a short song and dance routine: We're having a heat wave,
A tropical heat wave,
The temperature's rising,
It isn't surprising,
She certainly can can, can
The cows loved the song and soft-shoe. They all moved closer for a better look and paused their cud chewing. We kept it short, as we were near our stop for the afternoon and we wanted to move on. "Thankyou, thankyou verymuch." --- A bow, tip of the hat, and two more kilometers to Aljucen where our first day ended. The temperature was in the mid-nineties (35C). Barely tolerable. dw: Barely survivable, you mean.
SOME ROMAN STUFF: Emperor Trajan (98 to 117 A.D) was born near present-day Seville. He was celebrated as one of the five greatest emperors. After Trajan, and for the rest of Roman history, emperors were honored by the Senate with the prayer: "Felicior Augusto, melior Traiano" -- "May he be luckier than Augustus, and better than Trajan." In Dante's Divine Comedy, Trajan is the only emperor allowed into heaven.
TRIVIA: The coat of arms for Appenzell Switzerland features a rampant bear with an erect penis.
A CURIOUS EVENT: Many years ago, when I was a letter carrier, one of my customers was an older (65 or so -- older to me at the time) woman who lived in a small, slightly shabby house. She was a pleasant, if rough edged woman and I spoke with her most days. One afternoon, as I approached her house, she was smoking a cigar and stomping back and forth on her sidewalk.
"Gee", I said, "What's the matter?"
"I'm so mad I want to kick a dog or something!"
"Oh, that's not good, What happened?"
She stopped pacing and looked at me: "I just found out the man I've been living with is my ex-husband! If I can find that son-of-a-bitch I'm going to shoot him!"
Truthfully, I didn't know what to say: "Wow, that's --- shooting's not a --- "
She glared at me, eyes squinted against the cigar smoke, and growled: "I mean it!"
I think her life had been significantly different from mine.
---------- And so it goes, DJA ---------
