Laying stones in memory of the milestones of the millennium

I lay stones for the deaths of friends and family, but also for the death of societies or simple things like integrity.

I remember being told at 46 that I would never get a job in the financial industry again because I was too honest.

I'd known this for a while as during my handover I explained to a colleague that this was a list of the money we'd stolen from clients by accident because an interest marker had been missed on their account. He asked if the clients had noticed. I explained no, I'd found it and had started paying it back, some of it backdated 4-5 years.

He was a relatively new manager so when he asked me if the board were happy I laughed and said of course not. The Finance director was used to me highlighting bad news and a £500,000 hole which should've been spotted years earlier, had turned a mild case of diverticulitis into a perilous case of pereronitis.

Well that's ok for you but if we don't pay it then who will be upset, he asked. Only the clients I laughed and you'll be a star in the boardroom. They'd steal from their grannies and many of them have and I don't just mean a couple of measly Brussels sprouts out of granddad's flask down the allotment.

A week later I asked how he was getting on and he proudly told me he'd binned all my hard work. I jokingly said I had another copy and would forward it to whoever he wanted to do the job. One old granny was actually on the list and due £42,000. He declined, I shrugged and made a couple of the payments myself.

 What this sychophantic fool failed to realise was that our finance director had worked for Maxwell in the past and had paid out redundancy to someone he was supposed to fire on a trumped up charge. He resigned on returning to the UK having done what he thought the right, proper and just thing. 

What I failed to realise is there are many paths. We don't all want to hold back the gargantuan growth we could get if we just ignored mistakes. By spending so much time on reconciliation, correction and compliance we are quite simply employing people in loss making activities. Integrity is a dangerous path to follow. Looking back over your shoulder makes it difficult to move forward. 

I was reminded of a wee reconciliation I'd performed at one of the Scottish banks in the 80's a year after the £600m debacle I helped solve at NatWest. My investigation led me to reconcile an amount of £2000+ that had been written off. It wasn't too difficult and after 4 hours it demonstrated we had overpaid some clients £30k and under invested for £32+ clients. One of them a woman in her 70's. Perhaps a granny perhaps not, but she was due £1800. I resigned shortly afterwards as the local supervisor was very embarrassed to see a temp credit people with the shares that they thought they'd bought. Apparently they needed to pass it up the line despite the deals having already docked.

I don't know what in my psyche said I should break rules because the truth as I saw it was that people had given money to a bank to invest so they should invest it. I guess I felt this ship had not sailed and I've seen it so I can correct it.

I don't know why I thought that I should be an Otto van justice pilot, but it's just how I am. I'm wrong to work in certain environments and certainly any where short changing is a key essential skill.

When I worked in the sweetie shop I always made a quarter pound of wine gums or toffee bon bons, a quarter pound. I tried to get it as close to but always above. That's how I'd been trained. Take a big bon bon out and put a smaller one but never go under. I think I'm just wired that way. Numbers can be correct. It might take time but you can always reconcile. 

It's like the race nights at the pub or the golf club. 3000 tickets bought £1500 paid in prizes £1500 left. Not £1430 because 'I don't know why'. You do know why as you check after each race. It takes seconds. It always balances because humans can make mistakes and checking them ensures they are corrected.

At the end of the day we usually, eat drink and sleep on the Camino and it's good to know the next day will be more honest toil walking followed by the same. 

The gravitational pull of the Camino is something I've accepted. In life it's ok to accept things. You don't need to question all the time you can listen to the teenage fan club no longer upright, and sing the refrain "it's alright" like a lullaby, over and over again.

Fromista to carrion des Los condes

We got a good walk into Burgos from Cardenuela Rio Pico with a coffee at Orbaneja a bonus.

Simon strolls towards Burgos on the river route.

It always looks closed, the albergue and when we reached el Decanso on the edge of Burgos, Mark was a great help with returning the coffee cups until simon nabbed them from him leaving him empty handed. His shaking was giving the cups a scare.

His interminable shakes had Simon a tad worried as he tripped over the numerous kerb stones. By the time we were sat in Leon he was fine!

First up we got to Burgos then got the bus to Fromista. I was gutted to miss the Castrojeriz to Fromista stage but Mark would've toiled and there was no bus bail out. There was a boat along the canal but sadly we had to miss it. We got a taxi after getting off the bus.

A great wee bar on the corner.

This is another bar but you get the idea.

The walk today was from the poblacion to Carrion des Los condes and we would take the river route. First stop would be 5km to the place in the woods. It was hard work for mark but it was all flat. The next stage was to the ermita or wee church place 1km from villalcazar de sirga. Again it's about 5-6km.

St Jacques always provides and so we had good fun on the first stretch as I timed myself doing a word game in a race between Mark catching us. Mark won as I finished just after he passed us. It helped educate our walking as Simon and I took 25 mins for the first stage and Mark 35 mins. All in it was about 1 hour for us and 1 20 for him so when we did the next stage in 1.10 we knew we had 25 mins to get the change of clothes and look inside the wee church.

Over the last 1500m we met a New Zealander who was going to get a taxi too for the last 6km. Mark and her were introduced and bingo Simon and I set off like a starters pistol had fired.

Unlike earlier where we felt we were going to have to wait it was now a race against Mark in a taxi. He passed us at the 2km post so he won the race to the bar but we felt pretty chipper he had only drink half his glass. It was a belting speed trial for us and we loved it. I wandered around to the albergue and checked in. A superb 4 bed room with a huge bathroom. Hats off to hostel Santiago as I've stayed here a few times and in 2011 I vowed not to return. I'm so glad I did as the room was superb. It was 80€ whether there were 3 or 4 people so excellent value.

Cardenuela Rio Pico to Burgos

This is the first moment I've had to update the blog as it's been full on for a while with making sure Mark's not left high and dry in the heat.

We got the bus #4 from Avenida la Paz having walked past the stop at plaza Espana as it said 28mins. 

We chuckled as it meant we had missed the bus by 2mins. I've thrown in the www.autosotoyalonso.com bus because we missed that by 20seconds. No idea where it was going but I look forward to hearing.

Yes you've guess we are going back the way from Burgos.

It's a time travel thing and as Simon and I walked in 3 times from Castanares we now know it's 1 hour to the best tortilla on the Camino. 

Bar Tropical is about 20 minutes from the cathedral and is just after you cross the footbridge.

The tortilla was so good Simon and I had another. €6 was brilliant too.

And the next day we walked back in and stopped at our usual cafe then got a bus at 5.30pm to Fromista

Camino week 3 - 2023 Oct

As I embark on week 3 it's really funny how much we've done.

The arrows are well positioned and the light is largely shining on what walks we've done.

Week 1 was Irun to San Sebastian and on to Bilbao.

It was beautifully brutal it every sense. The walking was tough with hills and also underfoot conditions. I walked the 44,000 steps from Irun twice and probably did nearly 50,000 the first day after taking a wrong turning at the outset. Leaving at 7am arriving at 6pm it was a good warm up for the week to come. We missed one stretch from markina to Guernica so will catch that next time. The biggest eye opener was probably that there were more places to stay than we thought although markina does have a shortage of facilities and so they offer rooms in houses. It's also most remote in terms of transport. Guernica on the other hand is easily reached from bilbao. Markina is probably best got to buy taxi from a tram stop although public transport via the coast is the option. It's definitely the new walk to do but weather dependent as the underfoot conditions make it very dangerous.

Week 2 saw us concentrate on the section from Pamplona to Logrono and was positively easy by comparison. Both distance and underfoot conditions were easy and using Estella as a base meant no pack either. I'd say we just kept ticking over and then stopping as the 30 degree heat was oppressive from 2pm onwards.

Week 3 starts with a day off bussing to San Sebastian then Bilbao before finally arriving in Santander for an evening on the tapas y vino.

Next day is an early bus to Burgos dump the bags and get walking along the river arlanzon and try to get 10-15km in before the heat does for us. The next day will see us try belorado to Monte's de oca. Then on Thursday Oct 5th make it to Cardenuela Rio Pico.

Thereafter we will go with the flow but hopefully make it to hornillos on Friday via a walk a bus and a walk before using fromista as a base for Friday/Saturday/Sunday 8th

Options will then exist to get to Leon for Monday 9th or getting train back up to santander before Gijon 11th

Management theory's good but in practice

Yes in practice how do we ensure we maximise the tools at our disposal so optimising the success of our venture.

In working or a walking context it's the same old story.

Do we buy the best poncho's, boots rucsac and sticks, stay in albergues or hotels to maximise the experience. Just like working the goal of walking a Camino might just be to trust in serendipity and let the experience unfold the answer.

Pamplona Estella Los Arcos Logrono buses and trains

I'll update the buses and trains section when I get back but the big news for today is I'm on the logrono - Estella - puente la Reina - San Sebastian - Irun bus that left logrono at 7.30am and leaves Estella at 8.15am arriving San Sebastian 9.45am.

The train from VITORIA-GASTEIZ to Pamplona is excellent but generally the network won't always work for pilgrims

We used Estella as a base for 2 nights a few years ago and this trip we did it for 4 nights. It worked well especially as the 4pm bus back from the new bus station in Logrono only took 40 mins.

It's a cracking town and just enough variety for pilgrims to be worth a few evenings.

Bus travel was easy and as long as you read the timetable correctly and you know what day it is you'll be fine.

Travelling back to puente la Reina you have the previously mentioned 8.15 express but also the bus that stops at maneru etc.

Our plan had been to walk mont del perdon then bus from puente la Reina but after a good rumble in Pamplona walking up from the train station it was apparently too hot and bloody stupid to head out at 14:00 in blazing sun. We did manage three walks and got the bus mostly or just walked into town or out of town.

The exception was a 45€ taxi to Sansol on the last day when we walked to Logrono.

Los arcos bound with Kevin the mad traveller

Great fun as always and we stumbled into Kevin who was clearly enjoying the break from fall in Wisconsin. I say fall out of courtesy and of course I mean autumn.

There was nothing autumnal about the weather today as the guage went up up and away. It started for us at 7am and it was borderline cool but by the time we climbed out of Estella to arrive at the imperious casa Luisa it was time for breakfast.

Next stop was the irache Fuentes, home of the free wine. 

Even an alcoholic like me doesn't want a glass of wine at 9am but I did put some in my water bottle, in that holy water and wine kinda way.

And then we walked out of villamayor de monjardin passing the church again and the sunflowers, down the hill and we marvelled at the lack of grapes.

After another few steps we were now in Los arcos and I was paraphrasing David Bowie.

Sitting in the market Square, god was gently crying. Pilgrims were sweating and yapping away but the earth well it was dying... it was 5 years......

....is that all we got....5 years.....

So I forgot to say Kevin is from Madison home of butch and Garbage and my tenuous link with Shirley Manson who may or may not have sang on the deadbeat tape with autumn 1904 or even the wild Indians with "maybe". He can ask next time he's in the co-op in Madison.

The bus stop is outside pension mavi. It's the best menu del dia for miles around so if you want to enjoy great food and wine head there. It's by the bus stop so no excuses even for the bus pilgrim.

So we waited on the bus and it turned up 2 minutes late at 17.07. I love thos Camino stuff and am so grateful for every day I get out here.

Tomorrow we will be riding on the 7:45 bus to sansol but who knows we might get off in Los Arcos but judging by the weather if we want to make logrono then we have to get moving early.

Buen Camino