Kiwi Pilgrims

November 1, 2023

It seems that the days we don't walk are more tiring than those when we do, so we've had a quiet day in Alba de Tormes today.

We went back to the Museo Teresiana and bought Alba cards. Most museums, and churches, have an entrance fee which add up quite quickly but by buying the card at a reasonable price we have free access for 48 hours. The cards are more economical.

Having bought the Alba cards at the Museo Teresiana it was the first place we visited. As well as the museum to St Teresa we also had access to San Juan de la Cruz Church, St John of the Cross, which is now houses an exhibition rich in religious art as well as artifacts about both saints.

From there we went to the Carmelite Museum - it was here that we were able to view the tomb of St Teresa. It can be seen above the main altar of the Church of the Annunciation but from the Carmelite Museum side we can viewed very closely.

Later in the day we went to see the remaining tower of the Castillo de los Duques de Alba, which dates remaining to the 12th century. The castle itself is now in ruins. We were able to go up into the tower which gave great views out over Alba de Tormes and the surrounding countryside.

St John of the Cross Church. It at present holds the exhibition - access was through the Museo Teresiana.

Some photos taken in the Museo Teresiana:

The tomb of St Teresa and some photos of the room it can be viewed from in the Carmelite Museum:

The tomb of St Teresa

The remaining tower of the Castillo de los Duques de Alba:

It's walls were very thick - around 3 meters or more in depth.

One room was rich in frescoes painted between 1567 and 1571:

The ceiling of the fresco room:

Vews of Alba de Tormes from the tower:

Other photos of our day in Alba de Tormes:

St John the Cross Church

The Plaza Mayor

Jeff coming out of a pasteleria with some tasty treats. He had to queue for quite a while as it was a very popular shop.

The Church of Santiago.

A couple of random street shots:

31 October 2023

Mancera de Abajo to Alba de Tormes - 31 kms

Today we completed our Caminos Teresianos. We have walked the Ruta Teresiana, de la Cuna el Sepulcro - the Path of St Teresa, from the Cradle to the Grave - 108 kilometres from Ávila to Alba de Tormes.

We were up and away early and had a fantastic day's walking, made so much easier than yesterday's as there wasn't any wind. Once again we walked through vast open spaces with views forever. Crops long harvested apart from fields of maize we walked past later this afternoon.

Dotted throughout the vast cropping fields were piggeries and sheds which housed cows - the effluent from both is spread on the fields so some areas we walked through were quite fragrant.

We passed through two villages, Macrotera, where we stopped at a bar for a hot chocolate and tostada y mermelada - toasted baguette and jam, and Tordillos which had no services.

We were looking forward to reaching Garcihernández - the only town on the whole camino - as we were interested to see the shops and supermarkets, only it wasn't what we expected. We did find a shop calling itself a supermarket but it wasn't much more than a corner store. We bought bananas, tomatoes and baguettes which we had for a picnic lunch.

Most of the towns and villages we walked through on this camino route were like ghost towns. Many of the houses were obviously not lived in and we saw very few of the occupants of those that were. We did notice that the bar, and usually there was only one, was the meeting place. Locals seemed to gather there from early morning for their coffees and chats.

After Garcihernández it was on to Alba de Tormes, just another 8.5 kilometres. Most of today's walk was on grit-covered dirt roads, as we've had every day, but as we neared Alba de Tormes we were on farm tracks, very muddy in places making walking very slow.

The Caminos Teresianos markers we have followed all the way from Ávila took us right into the city and ended at the Plaza de Santa Teresa where we were able to get our last stamp in our credentials and receive our andariegas, our completion certificates, at Teresiana Museum.

We didn't spend any time at the museum as it was late by then so we checked in at our accommodation. We'll visit the museum tomorrow as well as St Teresa's church and tomb.

A pamplet given to us at the Museo Teresiana states: From the day she died in Alba de Tormes, on 4th October, 1582, the echo of steps of St Teresa of Jesus, the travelling saint, mystic and a woman of letters, founder of convents and reformer of her religious order, have not stopped for a minute. In fact, there is an ever increasing number of pilgrims tirelessly coming every year.