Wednesday 13th June 2018...a really lazy day!!

I think I needed a lazy quiet day and this was it..... nothing really to report!!

Over the winter Malc had recorded a series about these seven strangers who met up and hiked some of the Camino and we watched the first episode tonight..it rekindled many thoughts and feelings with me and I started to look back through my blog am my journey on The Camino...here is one post from 2014....

Yashi Kochi!!!

Sunday 6th July 2014....Camino Day 33!!!

This is going to be a long one so get a tea or a coffee or a glass of wine.....
No Internet on Sunday so two day's posts in one!!!
So when I left off on Saturday night I was going to watch the second soccer game starting at 10pm and I did Netherlands V Costa Rica and I was rooting for CR....it was a good game not a great game that was scoreless and then went to extra time and still no goals and it was decided on penalties and Netherlands were victorious.....I do not know how but there must be a system where the game is decided not by a save or a miss of one player it is a team game and should be played that way imagine how the CR player who missed the last penalty must feel knowing his miss cost his team, his country and his fans a place in the semi final.  I like what they do in Hockey they just keep playing till one team scores!!!

UPDATE  the Internet just connected so ignore the opening statement.
So had a good sleep but I knew after 36 hours of being a lazy Pilgrim these boots were going to be moving today and they sure were my longest walk 41km but you know what????  I feel so good!!!!

A lot of today was on pavement and then into the big city of Lugo a bit of an issue here they are mired in the middle of a garbage truck driver strike day 28 and the city is a mess just a couple of shots of the Roman wall and Cathedral!!

I was soon out of the city and when I saw this my heart stirred and I realize how much I miss my tennis ....playing that is .....
and whizzing those aces past my buddies!!!!

Then I saw this sign and just had to show off!!!

My tattoo is of a native hockey stick and the number 99   if you do not know the significance of the number 99   you are banned from the blog(hint.....hockey player)

Some shots on the way as I past this church the service was in progress so I snook this shot from outside!

So after this shot

I walked about 2 km and came across two American girls sitting on the side of the road, Libby and Kathy.
Libby was suffering with the toe next to her pinkie on her foot and I stopped and offered to help.....she looked to be disheartened and I looked at her toe and it was swollen and obviously she had a blister there before....I offered her some of my inflammatory gel some cotton pads and suggested she may want to tape her three toes together........then I looked at my stick, thought about how I had been given the gift of it and how much I enjoy it and the plans I had for it in Santiago and then I looked at Libby and gave her my stick!!!  Doris may not have raised the brightest crayon in the box but she did raise a gentleman.....Libby thanked me so much and I carried on.

I was really in the rural areas and saw no hotels or Pensions but I did come across this private hostel

and after 41km it was perfect for me......14 euros which includes breakfast..it is very clean and I picked the bunk on top furthest away in the corner

12 beds and 7 are taken and I have interviewed each pilgrim in the room and none of them confess to snoring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did the laundry and this time they will sun dry....

had my tea and then relaxed in the sun it was lovely.
Then who comes into the court yard but the two girls and with my stick!!!!

look what Libby did to it!!!!

She hugged me and thanked me so much saying her foot was so much better they just stopped here for some drinks and were going another 5 km to a cheaper hostel...I told her to wait a minute and again felt wonderful about being able to help someone and gave her some cotton pads and the rest of my Epsom salts and told her when she gets to the hostel to soak her feet in cold water with the salt...another hug and she asked for my e mail address and promised me she had plans to pass forward my stick!!!!   Then they left!!!

I asked the owner if his wife would prepare me an omelette and at 8pm here I am!!!

So going to post this do some more planning after seeing this sign!!!

Can you believe it almost there.
I now know I can be in Santiago late Wednesday afternoon so I have contacted the lady who owns the apartment where I have booked to see if it is available on Wednesday!!!
Things I learned today.
Passing forward is a huge blessing.
My legs are great and faithful!!!
I miss my friends, well the nice ones that is!!!!
Yashi Kochi!!!

Tuesday 12 th June 2018.....back home!!

Said goodbye to June and her grandson Sam this morning and drove just over an hour to the lovely sea side town of Whitby.  It was a bit cooler but soon warmed up.

One of the high lights and seen for miles around is the ruins of The abbey!!!!

I walked all around and then down the 199 steps 

into town and then up the other side...

Great views in every direction...

I walked around for about three hours before driving back home to Janet and Malc’s arriving around 4 pm..

Good news is that Janet is feeling a great deal better and that Malc had a good band trip to Belgium he arrived home last night!!

I am going to have a few easy days before I leave again on Friday morning..where for??

You will have to wait to find out!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Monday. The post

The sunshine seemingly is following me around and after breakfast this morning June decided we should do a hike to a close by landmark.....

First of all we passed through the village of this famous man’s birth

Captain James Cook

by James Fossdyke

Born on 27th October 1728 in Marton, near Middlesborough, James Cook would go on to become one of the most famous explorers in British maritime history.

Indeed, young James’ childhood was nothing remarkable, and following his rudimentary education, Cook became an apprentice to William Sanderson, a local grocer. After 18 months working next to Staithes’ busy harbour, James felt the calling of the sea. Sanderson – not wanting to stand in the young man’s way – introduced Cook to his friend, John Walker, a ship owner from Whitby, who took him on as an apprentice seaman.

Cook lived in the Walker family house in Whitby and went to school with the other apprentices in the town. Cook worked hard, and was soon serving on one of Walkers’ “cats”, the Freelove. Cats were hardy ships, built in Whitby to take coal down the coast to London. Cook was a quick learner and rapidly established himself as one of the most promising apprentices in Walkers’ care.

In 1750, Cook’s apprenticeship with the Walkers ended, though he carried on working for them as a seaman. As always with Cook, it wasn’t long before he was promoted, and in 1755, he was offered the command of the Friendship, a cat he was familiar with. For many, this would have been the realisation of an ambition and they would have grasped the chance with both hands. Cook, however, wanted more than to spend his remaining years sailing in coastal waters in poor weather, so he politely turned down the Walkers’ offer and joined the Royal Navy.

Above: Captain Cook in 1776

Cook was placed on board H.M.S. Eagle, and in November 1755 he saw his first (albeit rather mundane) action. The French ship, Esperance, was in poor shape before it met the Eagle and her squadron, and it did not take long before she was battered into submission. Sadly for Cook, the Esperance was set alight during the short battle and could not be saved, thus denying the British the prize.

Two years later, Cook was posted to the larger H.M.S. Pembroke, and in early 1758 he set sail for Halifax, Nova Scotia. Service in North America proved to be the making of Cook. After the capture of Louisburg in late 1758, the Pembroke was part of the expedition tasked with surveying and mapping the St. Lawrence River to create an accurate chart, thus allowing British ships to navigate safely through the area.

In 1762 Cook was back in England, where he married Elizabeth Batts. The marriage produced six children – though, unfortunately, Mrs. Cook was to outlive them all.

While Cook was marrying, Admiral Lord Colville was writing to the Admiralty, mentioning his “experience of Mr Cook’s genius and capacity” and suggesting that he be considered for more cartography. The Admiralty took notice and in 1763 Cook was instructed to survey the 6,000-mile coast of Newfoundland.

After two successful seasons in Newfoundland, Cook was asked to observe the 1769 transit of Venus from the South Pacific. This was necessary to determine distances between the Earth and the Sun, and the Royal Society needed observations to be carried out from points across the globe. The added benefit of sending Cook into the South Pacific was that he could search for the fabled Terra Australis Incognita, the Great Southern Continent.

Cook was, fittingly, given a ship to take to Tahiti and beyond. A three-year-old merchant collier, the Earl of Pembroke, was purchased, re-fitted and renamed. The Endeavour was to become one of the most famous ships ever to put to sea.

In 1768 Cook set off for Tahiti, stopping briefly at Madeira, Rio de Janeiro and Tierra del Fuego. His observation of the transit of Venus went without a hitch, and Cook was able to explore at his leisure. He charted New Zealand with astonishing accuracy, making just two mistakes, before moving on to what we now know to be the eastern coast of Australia.

Above: Captain Cook landing at Botany Bay.

Cook landed in Botany Bay, just south of modern-day Sydney and claimed the land for Britain. For four more months, Cook charted the coast and named it New South Wales. It was easy going until 10th June, when the Endeavour hit the Great Barrier Reef. The hull was holed and Cook was forced to make for land in order to repair the vessel. The Endeavour made it to the mouth of a river, where she was beached for so long the settlement there became known as Cooktown.

Above: The HMS Endeavour after being damaged by the Great Barrier Reef. The enscription reads “View of Endeavour River on the coast of New Holland, where Captain Cook had the ship land on shore in order to repair the damage which she received on the rock”.

On the 13th July 1771 the Endeavour finally returned, and Cook’s first voyage was over. However, it was exactly 12 months later that Cook set sail once more, this time tasked with sailing further south and searching for the elusive Great Southern Continent.

This time, Cook was given two “cats”. The ships were fitted out for the voyage and named Resolution and Adventure.

Though Cook was a sceptic where the Southern Continent was concerned, he dutifully made three sweeps of the Antarctic Circle, in the course of which he sailed further south than any explorer had sailed before and became the first man to cross both the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. Cook returned to England in 1775 with little else to show for his three years at sea.

By mid-1776, Cook was on another voyage, again on board Resolution, with Discovery in tow. The aim was to find a navigable passage across the top of North America between the Pacific and the Atlantic – a task in which he was eventually unsuccessful.

The voyage became an even greater failure in 1779, when Cook called in at Hawaii on the way back to England. Resolution had stopped there on the way, and the crew had been treated relatively well by the locals. Once again, the Polynesians were pleased to see Cook and trade was carried out fairly amicably. He departed on February 4th, but bad weather forced him to turn back with a broken foremast.

This time relations were not so friendly, and the theft of a boat led to an altercation. In the ensuing row, Cook was mortally wounded. Today an obelisk still marks the spot where Cook fell, reachable only by small boats. Cook was given a ceremonial funeral by the locals, though what happened to his body is unclear. Some say it was eaten by the Hawaiians (who believed in recovering the strength of their enemies by eating them), others say that he was cremated.

Above: Cook’s death in Hawaii, 1779.

Whatever happened to his body, Cook’s legacy is far-reaching. Towns across the world have taken his name and NASA named their shuttles after his ships. 

Interesting article !!!!

Then it was on the to the car park to climb this hill....

That is where we are heading....

Great views..

June gallantly volunteered to watch my back pack whilst I climbed the hill.. a good work out and great views from the top..

Check out my back pack guard!!!

Back into the village for an ice cream and a short walk around

There are hundreds of these very scenic and cute villages around England.

Later in the afternoon June went and picked up her grandson Sam and he loves to play soccer so him and I went to the village green across the road and played for over an hour...

He is a great little player but he must learn when I say Sam have you had enough yet?  To answer YES!!!!!!!!!

Tonight the three of us went to Vince’s restaurant for a really great meal thank you!!!

All that soccer did me in ..an early night.

Tomorrow I  head back home with a short detour so stay tuned!!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Monday 11th June 2018...Monday morning!!!

Again having trouble posting the blog I think it is too long....

So here are the photos and the writing is in the post below.....

Sunday 10th June 2018.......a quiet Sunday!!!

My landlady made me a lovely cooked breakfast this morning before I left, June has been a perfect hostess....

It was an easy drive just over two hours to here...

This is where my cruise buddy June lives and we had communicated and she would not be in town till 5 pm so I got here at 2pm and had a short walk around the little town

And then found the local pub and had a great seat to watch the Men’s tennis final from Paris...what an amazing game!!!

I met June shortly after and we went to her lovely 1600’s home and caught up a little on our news and then her buddy Vince came over and we went out to dinner in the village.

Really tired tonight so off to bed early...

Yashi Kochi!!!