Month: September 2016

Today was our biggest day so far, 27 kilometers.  The Camino path split today and we decided to take the less traveled path.  I thought we would be walking on a Roman road but it was more like Roman rubble. Very few people take this route. For most of the afternoon it was just me, Beth and alot of flies.

Having these big days behind is giving us the confidence we need to complete this journey.  We have been noticing we haven’t had that ” Zen” moment when we walk. We are usually thinking about where the next coffee or restroom stop is or why our feet hurt so much. They say you need to listen to your body when doing the Camino. Our feet are usually shouting at us “Stop walking! Stop walking! What about “stop walking” do you not understand!

 

We are spoiling ourselves in a lovely small hotel in town run by a husband and wife that could not be nicer.

 

 

Last night after posting the blog we attended a special mass for pilgrims in the Santa Maria church.  These photos were taken earlier in the day.

After the mass the priest welcomed all the pilgrims and made sure to mention every country represented.  Next, two nuns welcomed us to their Parrish in both English and Spanish. They said they made a gift for each of us but were quick to add that they were light weight.  With us pilgrims it’s all about the weight on our backs.  Then the priest laid his hands on each of us in a special blessing and we were given a paper star by the nuns.  It was a beautiful blessing and service.

Thursday we woke up early to walk as much as possible in the dark.  The sun on the Mesata can be brutal.  One if our room mates called Tom out while we were packing to see the stars – they were amazing!  I tried to take a picture but it didn’t come out.  While we were walking we became unsure that we were on the right path.  On the Camino if you come to an intersection and don’t see an arrow you’ve taken a wrong turn.  There were about 10 of us from the US, Italy, Spain and Germany all trying to confirm we were headed in the right direction.  Finally we spotted an arrow!

The rest of the day was very tough, the landscape was all the same and we were lost in our thoughts along the way. We did stop in this picnic area to rest and stretch.

 

This was the view from the front porch of the Albergue we stayed in, I thought I’d share a sunset for a change.

Can’t wait for  Leon in a couple days.  We’re staying in a hotel and taking a rest day.  I need a pedicure!

 

 

 

 

Woohoo!  Today we are officially halfway through our Camino, both in days and distance. The writing on the coke machine reads, Santiago 419 k so it must be true.

Fromista yesterday was forgetable.  The Albergue was very pretty and there was a beautiful 10th century church but the hosts were abrupt and posted too many rules throughout the building.

We walked 20 k today and the sunrise was beautiful but the walk was tedious.  We were on the same road the entire day. There was nothing but wheat fields as far as the eye could see.

We’ve  learned that it’s really all about the people so today we’really staying with nuns. So far so good, they are very nice and we don’t have to sleep in bunk beds tonight (but we do have to clean the erasers and wipe down the blackboard).

We had a wonderful communal meal last night with 10 people in our albergue. We caught up with Fernando from Brazil who was trying to heal from tendonitis in his heel.  There was also Catherine (firefighter from San Franciso) who was a doing the Camino by bike as well few French men, and 2 people from South Korea.  A French Canadian in our group started his Camino from deep inside France on August 11th and already walked 1100 kilometers.

The meal was served under a large wooden post and wooden screw that was used to crush grapes in medieval times. We were then escorted downstairs to a medieval wine cellar from the 10th century. We then went deeper into another room where we were shown where there was an escape route to the street as well as how this cellar was once connected to the castle in town. Incredible.

Today’s walk was a beast. We haven’t walked a 15 mile day in quite awhile.

We are healing our sore feet today with large mugs of “cervesas”.   The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful……….Tom

 

 

 

 

 

---

We walked about 20 k today, all in the Meseta. It’s still very desolate and feels like you can see for miles but the sky is amazing.

While there are still some hills, much if the walk was on flat, level ground.  Many people choose to take s bus through the Meseta but they miss these ruins and very cool outdoor cafe.

As you get closer, the city  comes into view at the base of the mountain and you begin to see the ruins from a castle at the top.

 

Castrojeriz is a quiet little city, perfect for a late lunch after showers and laundry. 🙂

Burgos was beautiful and we really enjoyed sightseeing, eating and people watching but it was time to enter the Meseta.  This is the Prairie area that can be very desolate for miles but is still very  picturesque.

As we were leaving Burgos we met a Swiss woman, Renata who we walked with for the day.  She was doing the Camino in segments and just started this segment in Burgos. It was great walking with her, the conversation made the walk go quickly.

Many if you know that the movie “The Way” was the original inspiration for our Camino adventure.  We had the opportunity to stay ar El Molino, a farmhouse/ Casa Rural that is owned by Mila and Max whose daughter married Martin Sheen’s grandson.  There are a few pictures and movie posters signed by Martin Sheen and there was a wedding album we could look through.

The farm was interesting with lots of animals and old equipment.  They also had these bombs on the grounds although we’re not sure why.

We had a great communal dinner sitting with 2 women from Switzerland   and the surprise at the end was Grapa!

The day started with a beautiful sunrise.

 

We walked about 22 k to Burgos, a beautiful old city known for it’s Cathedral.  We are fortunate to be staying in a hotel right across the street.

 

We are fortunate to be here on a Saturday because that seems to be wedding day.  We saw 4 bridal parties just outside the Cathedral or the church across the plaza.

The Cathedral Plaza was incredibly busy with tourists, wedding parties and all of the restaurants.

We stopped to have a late lunch in the plaza before touring the Cathedral. There are 21 separate chapels in the Cathedral but we’ll  just show you the central one.

 

Hope you enjoyed the short videos.  We wanted to give a you a real feel for Burgos and more importantly the Internet speed at the hotel is super fast!

Adios for now.

 

Friday was another short day (16 k) because of the steep climbs and descents.  This one scared us a bit but it looked worse than it was.

It didn’t rain but was misty all morning.  The sign post below reads Santiago 532 kilometers!  We’really making progress.

 

We haven’t seen cows since the the first week on the Camino and we never saw them this close.  They are free range cattle and were just hanging out on the Camino path.

 

 

 

We arrived in Ages too early to get into the Albergue so we explored the town.  It was a pretty little town but not as friendly as some we’ve visited.

 

I think we missed the stork’s nest in the video, here it is on the bell tower.

 

 

 

 

The people really were not very friendly except the man who owned the albergue we stayed in.  He was very nice and we had a terrific dinner with a couple from South Africa.

We’re calling today a rest day because we only walked 11 k.  We feel a bit like slackers and our friend Craig from Nottingham, England confirmed this as he kept walking. That’s him on the right with Tom and Dennis from Canada.

We’really staying in an Albergue attached to a very nice hotel and the guide books say you need to plan on doing nothing because there’s nothing else in this village (population 200).  The hotel was right next to this beautiful church.

The grounds were beautiful and the room was nice with no bunk beds – that’s always a plus. Dinner was also one of the best we’ve had because of the connection to the hotel.

 

 

With not much else to share, we thought we’d give a snapshot of a day in the life of a peregrino.

Each day we wake between  5:30 – 6:00am and sneak out of the room so we don’t wake the other peregrinos.  We pack our backpacks and head out to breakfast at a local bar (most restaurants are simply called bars) where we have the most delicious  cafe con leche and some type of pastry.  We then walk in the dark until the sun comes up around 7:30am but it’s getting later every day.  We then stop for our second cup of cafe con leche if we can by 9am or so.

We stop about every 8 k to take off our boots and socks and give our feet a break.  Lunch can be anywhere between 11am and 2pm .  If it’s earlier we call it our 2nd breakfast ?

When we arrive at our destination we check in and have our credentials stamped.

At the Albergue we unpack, make up our beds, shower then do our laundry.  This could be by hand or sometimes we have the luxury of paying to have it done.

After laundry we explore whatever town or city we’re visiting.  We’re usually starving from the walk so we have tapas or pintxos to hold us over until dinner.  The locals take siesta from about 2pm til 5pm so we might nap during that time as well. This is usually when we work on this blog if the WiFi permits. After 5pm we go to the supermarcado for tbe next day’s supplies.  Dinner is later than we’re used to at 7:30pm.  After dinner we might stop for a glass of wine.  Lights out is at 10pm and we get our rest to do it all again the next day.  It’s a simple life that revolves around eating and walking but we’re enjoying meeting the terrific people from all over the world.

1. We had another early morning leaving Santo Domingo and the chickens. The terrain is changing; less vineyards and more wheat fields and fields of dried sun flowers. It’s still very beautiful.

The hay stacks are really huge, I know they don’t seem as impressive in pictures but the are taller than many of the homes here and sometimes as wide as a city block. So of couse we needed a selfie with the hay stack.

Today I felt a bit like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz following the yellow brick road.

Belorado is a beautiful little city and we stayed is a nice Albergue with a reputation for good food.

The church has these huge stork nests and sits in front on the ruins of a castle.

Finally, there was a beautiful plaza where we could relax and have fun with the other peregrinos.

Thank you for all the comments, they  keep us motivated.  Let us know if there’s anything your curious about or if you have any questions

There are a few panoramic pics posted on Facebook that were too big for the website so be sure to check them out.