Beer to Lyme Regis 17km
Ascension 461 Accumulated Ascension 3095

We were very tired at the end of yesterday so hit the sack early and even the wake couldn’t wake us up. We are finding it difficult to sleep at night because the rooms are so warm. The B & Bs and small hotels are all made of thick walls of stone or brick. In the heatwave these absorb heat all day and then radiate the heat out all night. None of the accommodation has air conditioning or a heat pump but some do provide a portable fan. The bedding also seems to be heavy winter weight. We often have to sleep with the curtains drawn back and the windows wide open. Still we mustn’t complain we absolutely appreciate a soft comfortable bed each night for our tired old bodies.

Leaving Beer this morning we climbed over one little head land and then had two options. Our preferred option one if the tide was out, was to walk along the beach to Seaton. Option two was to go inland over a hill via a road. We checked the tide times with the ice cream seller at the beach and he said low tide had been 7.30am so we were good to go. The beach was loose pebbles and very difficult to walk on. It was only about a kilometre but you could feel the energy being sucked out of your legs with each step. Eventually we got to Seaton and off the beach and onto a promenade. There were a lot of people running about and we realised it was a Park Run. We spoke to one of the marshalls and it was exactly the same format as the Park Runs Barbara did at Otaihanga Domain. Every Saturday, 9.00am a 5km run.

At Seaton we bought some lunch and had a quick look at the historic tramway they have. There are 14 trams in the fleet and the ones we saw were very cute and one a double decker. As we left Seaton at Axmouth we had to cross the River Axe and the only real climb of the day up Haven Cliff. On this climb we got talking with a woman who was in the army, Ellie, and her Nepalese companion, a Gurkha, also in the army. He didn’t give us his name but I will call him Tensing. They were very friendly and chatty and the funny thing was Tensing kept referring to us as Sir and Ma’am. He said the secret to climbing hills was to distract the mind and so he chatted and asked questions all the time. And it worked. After going through yet another golf course we entered the Axmouth – Lyme Regis Undercliff, a National Nature Reserve. There was a truly massive cliff fall on Xmas Eve 1839 and the ground was considered so unstable it has not been farmed or changed since. It is effectively a wilderness area of virtually virgin woodland and dense scrub often with an almost eerie character.

With no sheep, cattle or rabbits it has become a safe habitat for much flora and fauna, many birds, flowers, butterflies and small animals thrive there. The geology of the Jurassic Coast makes the area very susceptible to landslides. Long spells of wet weather saturate permeable Cretaceous rocks. These rocks sit on an impermeable clay, they eventually give way due to the pressure exerted on them by the sheer volume of water and break away from the cliffs, leading to great scars on the landscape called undercliffs. Geology lesson for the day.

The walking through the undercliff was surprisingly hard. The track was narrow and sharply twisted and turned left and right and up and down. There were rocks and tree roots everywhere and you had to concentrate all the time on where to put your feet. Over 10km of this and it made for slow progress. It was more like walking through some rugged NZ bush. The good thing was it was almost all under the tree canopy so a lot cooler than the 26 degrees out in the sun.

Except at Seaton and at the end at Lyme Regis we didn’t see the sea all day. We are now in Lyme Regis and more about that tomorrow.

This is Paul’s packing list. We are not carrying everything ourselves in tramping packs and have the luxury of having our bag transported each day. Otherwise this list would be drastically reduced.

Hi-Tec Tramping boots
Oboz walking shoes
Keens sandals
Injinji toe socks x 2
Merino liner socks x 2
REI Merino socks for boots
Walking shorts x 2
Long sleeved Merino T shirt x 2
Ristretto sleeveless under layer
Merino underwear x 2
Thin fleece jacket
Poncho
Goretex raincoat
Columbia long trousers
Long sleeved shirt
T shirt x 2
Possum hair gloves
Polypro long johns
Warm hat
Buff scarf/bandana
Wide brimmed sun hat
Pyjamas

Day pack
Bum bag
Travel bag
LED headlamp
Walking poles
Water bottles x 2

Sun glasses
Reading glasses
Sun block
Lip balm
Antiseptic cream – Betadine
Knee bandage
Compeed blister packs
Vaseline
Revive muscle balm
Hand sanitizer
Pegs
Zip lock bags
Wool-it
Energy bars
First Aid Kit
Medication
Toiletries

Nikon Coolpix S3700 camera and charger
Sony NEX 5 camera and charger
Sony 55 – 210 Zoom lens
Sony Xperia Z tablet and charger
Transfer cable camera to tablet
Muiti electrical box
Europe adaptor plug
Kindle and charger
iPod and charger
Note book and pen

Travel documentation
Travel insurance
Passport
Bankcard
€ in small denominations
Books: “A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino De Santiago”, “Comino Lingo”
“The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago”

Iberian, Basque and Celtic cultures along with ancient Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian settlements developed on the peninsula until it came under Roman rule around 200 BCE, after which the region was named Hispania. In the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes (Vandals and Visigoths) and later by the Moorish Muslims from North Africa.

Spain emerged as a unified country in the 15th century, following the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs from the Christian States that had not fallen to the Moors, and the completion of the centuries-long re-conquest, or Reconquista, of the peninsula from the Moors in 1492. The same year that Christopher Columbus “discovered America”.

Spain was Europe’s leading power throughout the 16th century and most of the 17th, a position reinforced by trade and wealth from colonial possessions and became the first world power. Through exploration and conquest or royal marriage alliances and inheritance, the Spanish Empire expanded to include vast areas in the Americas, islands in the Asia-Pacific area, parts of Italy, cities in Northern Africa, as well as parts of what are now France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

By the middle of the war and plague ridden 17^th century, Spain was dragged ever more deeply into the mire of religiously charged wars. These conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the economy generally.

In the latter half of the 17th century, Spain went into a gradual decline, during which it surrendered several small territories; however, it maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire, which remained intact until the beginning of the 19th century.

The decline culminated in a controversy over succession to the throne which consumed the first years of the 18th century. The War of the Spanish Succession was a wide-ranging international conflict combined with a civil war,

In the early nineteenth century The Napoleonic War left Spain economically ruined, deeply divided and politically unstable. By the end of the century Spain had lost all of its vast colonial empire.

Although the period around the turn of the century was one of increasing prosperity, the 20th century brought little peace.  In the worsening economic situation of the Great Depression, Spanish politics became increasingly chaotic and violent and culminated in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39).

In the 1960s, during Franco’s rule, Spain registered an unprecedented rate of economic growth which was propelled by industrialisation, a mass internal migration from rural areas to cities and the creation of a mass tourism industry.

Spain joined the European Economic Community in 1986 and fully adopted the Euro in 2002. In the early 2000s Spain experienced strong economic growth  but had a huge housing bubble and a high foreign trade deficit. The global financial crisis of 2007-08 caused the 2008-15 Great Recession of Spain  which included a strong economic downturn, a severe increase in unemployment (up to 27%), and bankruptcies of major companies.

Tough austerity measures, an increase in taxes, radical labour and banking reforms and other measures meant that by 2015 the economy had reversed its negative trend and had started to improve.

Spain (officially The Kingdom of Spain) is located on the Iberian Peninsula (along with Portugal and Gibraltar) and has been inhabited by modern humans for about 35,000 years. About the same time as Aborigines have been in Australia.

It has an area of approx 507,000 km², about twice the area of New Zealand, and a population of about 47 million compared to our 4.5 million.

Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament(two houses or chambers).

New Zealand is also a constitutional monarchy but we have a unicameral parliament (one house or chamber).

The present constitution has been in place since 1978 after the death of Franco.

The present monarch and Head of State is King Felipe VI (since June 2014).

Previously Spain had been a fascist dictatorship under General Francisco Franco after he won the 1936 -39 Spanish Civil War. Franco’s Nationalist forces (supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy) fought the Republican side (supported by the Soviet Union, Mexico and International Brigades). The war was viciously fought with many atrocities on both sides and over half a million killed.

The Constitution  allows for the right of self-government to the “nationalities and regions” of Spain. Autonomous communities were to be integrated with adjacent provinces with common historical, cultural, and economical traits.

Spain is made up of 17 of these autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities. In turn these communities are made up of 50 provinces, and below this are hundreds of municipalities.

Each of the seventeen communities has a different degree and form of autonomy. Some have their own laws, police force, education and health systems, and language. Very different to New Zealand, but similar to say the United States or Australia.

On The Camino we will pass through 4 of these autonomous communities: Navarre, Le Rioja, Castile and Leon, and Galicia.

Officially the language of Spain is Castilian Spanish but there are co-official languages of Catalan, Basque and Galician.

Spain is a member of the European Community (EU), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and NATO.