A couple of years ago I wrote about Mahler and Joseph Roth and the coincidence that they both lived in the turn of the Century Vienna. It was very much a gut feeling post (you can read it here) since I am not a history scholar, even less an Austro-Hungarian history scholar specializing in the fall of the empire.
What you read on the Camino is very important. I usually choose spiritually enlightening books. (The Book of Job, Gemma Simmonds The Way of Ignatius A Prayer Journey through Lent (she was my sister’s teacher!), Willigis Jager The Wave is the Sea, even a collection of Zen stories!) They also have to be physically light and small due to backpacking requirements. This year under my friend Paco’s recommendation I took an intellectually challenging book: Hugo von Hofmannsthal Ein Brief (Brief des Lord Chandos) – Letter to Lord Chandos followed by Claudio Magris’ analysis of the Letter in La Lettera Di Lord Chandos.
Hofmannsthal’s (fictional) letter from Lord Chandos to Francis Bacon is a short (22 pages) but fascinating essay on language. Magris’ analysis of the letter is a mind-blowing tour de force of fin de siècle Vienna and the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire and what was to follow in Europe. After a master’s and a PhD in literature, I was surprised to find that this is by far the densest reading I have ever encountered. It is rich, thick -but readable- and chock full of references: Kafka, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Freud, and Nietzsche (obviously), Borges, Saussure, Kubrick, Eco, Pasolini, Plato, Seneca, and Cicero, Roth, Kierkegaard, Klee, Van Gogh… and a whole bunch of other names I confess I have no clue who they are. But the point is that Magris explains in philosophical and existential detail the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, turn of the Century Vienna and what would follow in postmodern Europe. It was also very rewarding to read a real essay on what I wrote as a hack blog post…
In conclusion, this is a short, small book, perfect for travelling but dense and rich and glorious academic reading! Enjoy, you are welcome!
PS: If you want to read more about Chandos check out this article:
Greaney, Patrick. “On the Chaos in Chandos: Hofmannsthal on Modernity’s Threshold.” MLN 129.3 (2014): 563-573.
“Origin story” is a modern expression, I guess made popular by expensive superhero film franchises. But it is a useful expression, for example: to explain how I got started writing for people I have never met.
It happened in college, but it started in high school. My dad used to read the International Herald Tribune (which was a joint venture between the New York Times and the Washington Post, it was basically a newspaper for Americans abroad) and he would occasionally bring it home. We also received it at school, where I was a bit of a library rat. I was already getting the reading itch and would read anything lying around. Well, the last pages had some miscellanea: Sports, the funnies, classifieds, and a satire column, penned by Art Buchwald. I loved Art Buchwald, he was hilarious! So much so that I ended up doing my PhD specializing in satire. (You can see an interview with him here)
Fast forward a couple of years and I had some sort of gripe with my university. The solution? Write a letter to the editor in The Vanguard, the school newspaper, the style? Satire, obviously. After that letter came another one, and another one. Eventually the newspaper staff with the great Dave Newcorn as editor, made me a columnist -just like Art Buchwald! What a great moment that was. Yes, it was a small newspaper in a small university, but still, I got to write trying to imitate my Art Buchwald. And I´m still trying to write like him. Thanks Dave!
Oh you can read a random selection of articles I found here. Be merciful, it was the 80s and I had no clue what I was doing -not that I do now, either…
Besides the actual friendship, one of the very enriching advantages of one of your best friends being a fine art restorer is when he invites you to visit him at work. Jaime invited me to check out a Medieval bridge in Toledo and the Alfonso XII monument in Madrid (read about those visits here and here), amongst others over the years.
Recently Jaime invited me -and his brother with his two daughters- to visit him as he restores a Gothic altarpiece in Segovia.
Santa María del Parral is just outside Segovia’s city walls, across the river from the cathedral and the castle, a 45-minute (if you pay the Euro 10 toll) highway drive from my mom’s country house. It houses the last six monks of the Hieronymite order, which was once a powerful order favored by the royal family, and with monasteries all over Spain and Portugal.
The Monastery and its church did not disappoint. Despite having been abandoned for years after the government shut it down (together will all other convents and monasteries in the ill advised desamortización de Mendizabal), the gorgeous late gothic nave still stands and most of the monastery has been beautifully restored.
Besides the jaw dropping architecture, the monastery is fed by a really profound water source that provides the monks -and the multicolored carps in the pond- with the best fresh water I have ever tasted! It has all the minerals to satiate your thirst, unlike the thinner mountain water.
Since the Hieronymites are a very contemplative order, understandably we could only visit the “outside” cloister which is beautiful -and has a fountain of that delicious water, in fact, the monastery has never been hooked up to Segovia’s public water system.
Yes, the monastery does have rooms for (male) retreats, but you know I am committed to the Benedictine monks at El Paular!
After the visit, we had a nice lunch at a nearby restaurant before heading back over the mountains home.
When you sip a drink, a glass of wine, a scotch, you enjoy the flavors and complexities, the layers and textures, you return to it again and discover new subtleties, you explore the color and smell, every sip brings new nuances.
Reading Oswaldo Estrada’s Luces de emergencia is more like downing a shot: you feel the explosion of flavor in your mouth, the burning of your throat, and then a punch to your stomach. Do this eleven times and you feel like you have been eleven rounds with Joe Frazier.
As you go deeper and deeper into the stories you feel like you are eavesdropping on very private, personal stories, you feel embarrassed because you should not be listening to them. And then you start another one, hooked on the adrenaline of learning secret gossip. It is exhilarating, you want to talk to the characters, grab some by the shoulders and give them a good shake, hug others, sit and listen to others, console others. Get ready for an emotional roller coaster.
Not surprising, Luces won the International Latino Book Awards in 2020.
Having just finished my 4th Camino, the Aragonés, here is a bit of a comparison between the Francés, Norte, Primitivo and Aragonés to build on my previous analysis of the Francés and Norte (click here for that post):
I loved the Aragonés! It is wild and beautiful, we were very few pilgrims on the trail -about a dozen or so, most days I did not bump into any pilgrims! There are very few albergues and they are stage distance apart (with few exceptions), so we were the same pilgrims every evening at the end of the stage.
At around 7 days before it joins the Francés at Puente la Reina, it is a bit short. That is the worst thing about the Aragonés.
My all time favorite so far is the Primitivo due to the rugged beauty and the three days right in the middle which are quite hilly and “uncivilized.” It lacks the “spiritual” component of the Francés but makes up for it in natural beauty. At around a dozen days from Oviedo to Santiago it is a perfect “full” Camino.
The Norte is canonically the most beautiful: beautiful beach, beautiful forest, San Sebastian, beautiful beach, beautiful forest, Bilbao, beautiful beach, beautiful forest, Santander, Gijón… you get the idea. Plus, the food. While popular, this route still has far fewer pilgrims than the Francés.
The Francés is like Classic Coke: the most popular, the best known, the oldest (not really, just in modern terms, it was the first one to be rehabilitated in the 80s), and it is the most spiritual: most churches are open -unlike other Caminos, the change of orography makes this Camino “feel” longer. And the cities, with their Gothic cathedrals are impressive: Pamplona, Burgos, and León.
So, my ranking for now is: 1, Primitivo, 2, Aragonés, 3, Norte, and 4, Francés. Of course, you could start your Camino with the Aragonés and then hook up with the Francés, but you would miss crossing the Pyrenees, and the Navarra hills to Pamplona. On the other hand, by then the early crowds will be a bit more spread out…
Yes silly, of course I am thinking of next year’s Camino, but you will have to stay tuned to this blog for more!
Years ago, it must have been in a thrift shop in Chapel Hill I bought a “Monet and the Mediterranean” Exhibition poster; a windswept pine tree overlooking the sea. I loved it because it reminded me of the Mediterranean. I could smell the pine trees and the sea, I could hear the deafening song of the cicadas, feel the heat on my body, and taste the thousand flavors that unite this Mare nostrum.
Why is this region the cradle of Western civilization? Why is this diet considered the best in the world – olive oil, a little wine, veggies, and fish? Why is the Mediterranean lifestyle so admired and aspired to? In short, why is this region so special?
I am not a specialist, not an expert, in fact I have no clue, although I do have some theories: Ancient Babylonian culture lacked the convenience of an ocean, so slowly a migration occurred -think of Abraham- to the West, to the Med, et voilà! The rest is history, you are welcome.
Going back to the Mediterranean every year is a blessing and a pleasure for me. I feel at home in Mallorca or Greece, in Valencia or anyplace united by these waters. This year mom invited us again to spend a few days in her favorite spot, Camp de Mar, a small “cala” inlet where we have been going for decades! It did not disappoint amazing food, great swims in the ocean with my nephew and nieces, runs in the pine trees, overall, another memorable holiday.
So, the other day I was in the middle of the desolate province of Soria with my dear friend Jaime, as one does, and we decided to explore the Yacimiento y Museo Paleontológico de Ambrona in search of Wolly mammoth bones.
Who knows what the middle of the province of Soria looked like in the Pleistocene, but back in the 19th Century some Belgian dude conducting channeling work for a nearby train station discovered the first bones. Amateur anthropologist and wealthy empresario the Marqués de Cerralbo took an interest and started the first serious expedition. There were a few other expeditions and eventually a small museum was created.
Jaime and I arrived late and the museum was closed, but we did get to see the Woolly mammoth replica and to walk around to conduct our own -fruitless- search for mammoth bones. Fortunately, we visited during the longest days of the year so we could walk around a bit. After our expedition we decided to celebrate with dinner in not too far Medinaceli, which is a beautiful village!!
After six Caminos I am willing to share one of my favorite hacks, which I have talked about in passing in my Camino chronicles but have never written a full post on.
After a day of hiking with a heavy backpack, one of the best -and fastest- ways of reducing, indeed eliminating, bodily inflammation is a good dip in cold water. So, when I get to the albergue I always ask the hospitalero about available local dips: streams, pools, rivers.
Sometimes there is a little stream running near the albergue where all you can do is dip your legs, on the Camino del Norte you occasionally have the privilege of stopping on the beach, and some towns and villages have rivers and streams where you can have a chilly dip.
On my recent Camino Aragonés, the Aragón River was flowing exceptionally big, fast, and muddy due to the recent rains, so I was unable to dip in Sangüesa. Fortunately, Jaca, Sangüesa, and Monreal all had amazing and inviting municipal pools waiting for me! Even though they were not the TikTok trendy Wim Hof ice baths, they still were refreshing and cool and offered a great opportunity to stretch and cool down.
Special mention goes to the Jaca facility where for 7 Euro I got the Olympic pool, plus Swedish sauna, steam bath, jacuzzi, water jets, etc. Amazing, the best 7 Euros I have spent on the Camino!
So next time you go on the Camino, pack a swimsuit. You are welcome.
Last year’s Camino Primitivo Albergue Review was quite well received and is in my top 10 posts this year, so I have decided to do the same with the albergues on the Camino Aragonés which I just finished. Like I did last year I will then post the reviews on Google Maps to share the knowledge.
Notice the Camino Francés por Aragón
Somport – Albergue Aysa 2,5/5 stars
This is a tricky one. It does double duty as a high mountain refuge and for pilgrims. It sits feet, yards away from the French Border, and that is all you will find there besides a road maintenance shed and the closed down Customs building. The views are amazing, and it is the “unofficial” start of the Camino Aragonés, so you do not have much of a choice. Having said that, Pedro and his son Marc are not the most hospitable hospitaliers. Pedro had another pilgrim and I wait half an hour in a hallway while he prepared breakfasts; he could have invited us to at least sit down with a cup of coffee, or -and this might be pushing it- prepare our breakfast and then continue preparing everybody else’s breakfast since they all arrived much later. It is also a bit on the expensive side at Euro 27… supply and demand I guess when you are the only albergue at the top of the mountain….
Jaca – Municipal Albergue 4.5/5 stars
Marisol is a sweetheart hospitalier! The albergue checks all the boxes for a correct. large, urban albergue: right downtown, clean, good bathrooms, ample kitchen, and dining room, it even has a cute little garden. And the aforementioned Marisol knows everything about Jaca! A couple of pluses are no bunk beds, yeay! The beds are paired up with a night table in between and you can store your pack under the bed (this is a bit cumbersome since you have to move the mattress and lift the board to access the space, nobody I saw used this feature). The only thing missing from this albergue was a washer/drier, which in an urban, public albergue is expected, the only thing missing for the full five stars! 11 Euro.
Arrés – Municipal albergue managed by volunteers. 5 stars
After a beautiful but looong climb you will suddenly hit this tiny, ancient, stone village. The albergue is the first building you will see; it is housed in an ancient stone building, carved into the stone -in fact, the toilets on the bottom floor have exposed rock! I was lucky to have Ray El Peregrino as the volunteer hospitalier, this guy is a rock star pilgrim who has walked every Camino!! And he cooked a great dinner: Hearty vegetable soup and tortilla española packed with onion, peppers, and chorizo. The albergue is fairly basic, but that is expected in a tiny, medieval village in the middle of nowhere. The hospitalier gives the pilgrims a tour of the tiny church before the community style dinner. Oh, and it is a “donativo” albergue, meaning that you put into the box what you can/want (the going rate for municipal albergues is around Euro 11, so that is about how much you should give, if you can, a little bit more if you consider that dinner and breakfast are included).
Ruesta – 3 stars
Ok, this is a good one: In the 1960s the government built a dam, flooding the fields where the good people of Ruesta earned their living from, so they were forced to leave, abandoning a beautiful medieval stone village. In 1988, the local government leased the village to the trade union federation CGT (Confederación General de Trabajadores), a bit of an anarcho-syndicalist trade union, with the condition that they rebuild, and eventually repopulate the village. So, guess who runs the local albergue? You guessed it the folks from the CGT, who, regardless of your political viewpoints, are really nice and sweet. I had a large room with an even bigger balcony where I was able to tie my rope and sun dry all my clothes! Dinner was community style with two options for appetizer and entrée (I had vegetarian lentils and the chicken, both delicious) and a few options for dessert. The one black spot was breakfast: a shrink-wrapped piece of bread with a patty of jam and one of butter, a coffee -probably made the night before and covered with a saucer, and the cheapest available tetra-brik orange juice. For Euro 4, breakfast could have included some cold cuts, etc.
Sanguesa – Municipal Albergue 5 stars
This is a no-nonsense, basic but correct albergue, and the first with a washer/drier! Maybe because the Navarra government cares just a bit more of their pilgrims than the Aragón one (let’s see if they get the hint…). This albergue, while small with 14 beds and (only two of them are bunks) is right downtown, has amazing showers, and a solid kitchen. The only problem is that there are more pilgrims than keys (probably because pilgrims inadvertently take them) so we had to always be knocking on the door, or asking pilgrims if they had a key!
Monreal – Private 4,5 stars (you have to be at the albergue at 5pm for your paperwork)
High up on a hill, and with a killer set of stone stairs to kill you off before you get to the door of this albergue, it is a perfectly lovely place. Renovated by the local trade school, it has exposed wooden beams. Aura the hospitalier is nice and generous with her advice and local knowledge, she also owns one of the two local bars/cafés. Unfortunately, the albergue is owned by an investment company in Pamplona so Aura is only there for a while each day to collect the cash and take a photo of your id.
Honorable mention:
Albergue Restaurante de Artieda
We stopped for our midday snack here and what a beauty this place is: hanging on the edge of the hill overlooking the Pyrenees. It is a private albergue with the best sandwich I remember having in a long time!
“We should take wandering outdoor walks, so that the mind might be nourished and refreshed by the open air and deep breathing.” — Seneca
Somebody recently asked me what my happy place was, the answer was easy: walking on the Camino. I just walked my fourth.
The Camino Aragonés, is the route taken by pilgrims from the South of France, Italy, and Eastern Europe. In France it is known as the way of Toulouse since that was the meeting point of all the Southern European ways.
This choice was personal for me, for although there are many Caminos to choose from, my grandfather, Antonio Balsón was from Aragón, which gave this Camino a bit more meaning for me.
After two trains and two buses I arrived at the high mountain refuge of Somport -literally on the French border. I walked around France a bit, looking to get my credencial stamped but there was nobody around.
Massive rain the next morning forced me to walk down the mountain on the road instead of the path since this was basically washed out by the rain. Fortunately, only about 4 cars passed in two hours.
The descent was beautiful despite the rain and walking on the road, so on a sunny day on the path it must be glorious. The Camino passes an old railroad tunnel that connected Spain to France, but it was closed in the 70’s (there are now plans to re-open it). There is an amazing old station which has now been refurbished as a fancy hotel. The end of the stage was in Jaca, ancient capital of Aragón with its old churches and fort. I enjoyed a great swim and a bit of a spa at the municipal pool, I will write another post on that…
After the first day’s descent the next few days hiking was on beautiful rolling hills, through forests and wheat fields. Since last year’s Camino Primitivo Albergue Review gets a lot of hits, I will also write a dedicated post to reviewing the albergues on the Aragonés, stay tuned.
A few days into the Camino, it crosses into Navarra, where food is even more idolized than in Aragón, making for glorious midday snacks!
After six stages the Camino merges into the French Way. But although this Camino is short, it is intense and beautiful. We were about 10 pilgrims on the Camino, so we basically got to know each other at the albergue stops. Most days there is only one end of stage village, and that village only has one albergue so your options as a pilgrim are fairly limited. It is also quite rugged with many long stretches of hiking between villages, which forces you to plan your snacks and water well, but it also makes for good walking. I loved this Camino for its ruggedness, and it has automatically moved up to be my second favorite after the Primitivo.
It is the long stretches of walking that cleanse your mind and your soul. There is nothing else to do but walk, every day. My average day on the trail was 7 hours and a half (27,3 km / about 17 miles average per day for a total of around 164km, just over 100 miles), so you have time to think, meditate, sing, look at the birds and the scenery, it is a total break. This is not a secret, even the ancient romans knew this as the quote by Seneca at the beginning show.
Since I already walked the French way in 2017, and I was somewhat pressed for time I stopped at Puente la Reina and made Santa María de Eunate my “spiritual” ending, in lieu of the Cathedral at Santiago.
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