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With Best of Intentions
  • Phil Merrell
Jul – Aug 2021

With Best of Intentions

Phil's journey on the Camino de Santiago... and life - 2021 Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 2, 2021
    Phil MerrellWith Best of IntentionsTraveler
    Church of card playing baby Jesus statue

    Ambasmestas

    August 3, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 34 °C

    Got coffee before leaving Cacabelos this morning. Usually we leave before anyone is open. Also took some pictures of the card playing baby Jesus church on the way out of town.
    I
    Had breakfast after 4 miles in Villafranca del Bierzo. From there, a narrow canyon leads up to the foot of O Cebreio pass. The main Camino route follows alongside a freeway and a major highway up through the canyon, which is not a main selling point. We heard of a more pleasant alternate route that went up the side of the canyon above all of the highway noise. The vertical element of this route was undersold considerably. We ended up gaining more than 1,400 ft vertically and then dropping back down 1,000 ft to meet the main Camino route. Aside from the vertical issues it was very pleasant with spectacular views of the Bierzo valley behind us. We are telling ourselves it was a good warmup for the O Cebreio pass which is coming up tomorrow.Read more

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    Walla Walla

    June 30, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    It’s Wednesday evening.
    Friday we drive to Boise for my sister’s 50th anniversary. Saturday my brother Dale and I will start from there on our journey to Spain. I’m sort of mostly organized. Tomorrow we have lists that cover most of the day.Read more

  • Phil MerrellWith Best of IntentionsTraveler

    Out of Walla Walla

    July 2, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Packed up and heading out to Boise on the first leg of the start. Attend my sister's 50th wedding anniversary tonight. My brother and I will get on the plane Saturday afternoon to start making our way to Madrid. Portland overnight, then Dallas and on the next day. Land in Madrid on the 5th at 9am.Read more

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    Boise to Portland

    July 3, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    Well, we made it to Boise. So far so good. Had a great time at my sister Anne’s 50th wedding anniversary celebration last night. Tons of family and a great video production. Congratulations to Anne and John! My brother Dale and I said goodby to our wives and are now waiting at the gate for our flight to Portland. Early tomorrow we head to Dallas, then change planes for our flight to Madrid (happy 4th of July btw). We arrive in Madrid at 9 AM on the 5th.Read more

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    THE NAME OF THIS BLOG

    July 4, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    If you are wondering about the name of this blog, it has a reason. While researching the Camino de Santiago on different forums, the most common comment about blogging was “I had the best of intentions, but didn’t end up adding much content.” In case this is also the case for me, I offer the name as an apology in advance. I do have the best of intentions to keep this blog relatively current, but if it gets in the way of the experience…

    As for the experience, why am I starting a 500 mile walk in a foreign county? Several reasons. I am recently retired from work that I really enjoyed and feel the need to transition. I need an adventure! Also, I haven’t spent a great deal of time with my brother Dale, who was already planning to do this walk (second time for him). I’m looking forward to getting quality bro time on the trail. I will miss Debbie, my wife, but couldn’t convince her that she needed to walk 500 miles in the heat. Lots of WhatsApp updates will have to do.

    People who have done the Camino say there is also a spiritual element to the walk. I do have some personal work I hope to accomplish on the Camino. I’d like to be more accepting and less judgmental of others and of myself. I would like to be a kinder and supportive person. And I’d like to say that if I am successful in my spiritual goals and any of you treacherous bastards try to take advantage of the kinder gentler me when I return, I’ll make you pay by god!

    We’re landing in Dallas, so bye for now. Next stop is Madrid! Happy 4th of July to you all.    Read more

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    Madrid

    July 6, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Hey, well we made it to Spain. Got to our hotel in Madrid, staggered around the city for a while trying to stay awake until bedtime (9 hr time difference), and then slept for 14 hours. Today, we had breakfast in the neighborhood and then went to the train station to buy tickets to Pamplona. Our idea was to go to a cool city and get some intel from other pilgrims on how difficult it is to get accommodations on the trail. Then we would decide which Camino route we would take… even though we already have semi-decided we want to go the Del Norte route along the northern coast of Spain.

    As we bought our tickets, the agent said “Oh, this is great, there is a great festival there starting tomorrow”. It turns out, the Running of the Bulls festival will be going on for the next week. This will certainly have some impact on the availability of lodging, though maybe not as much due to COVID. So we’re off tomorrow for Pamplona, and may or may not have a place to stay, and may or may not keep going out of town if necessary to get a roof over our heads. And hell no, I’m not going to run with the bulls!

    I’ve been using my hard studied Spanish and of course it’s pretty rough communicating. Me: has a great question all framed out, asks the question. They: reply in not classroom Spanish, Me: dazed look, embarrassed shoulder shrug, shuffle off with lowered head. Yes, this trip will definitely be a learning experience.

    Good Night,

    Phil    Read more

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    Madrid to Pamplona

    July 7, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    A rocky night of sleep last night. Sill not adjusting to local time. I’m guessing that won’t be a problem when we start walking the Camino. We’re on the train to Pamplona now. I was hoping for a high-speed train but no dice. So we’re plodding along at 100+ mph on a regular train. Countryside is dry dry dry. Too boring for a photo. Irrigated farming, but in between it looks like sage. The hills we pass through are OLD. Nothing like our PNW basalt and granite.

    Including a picture of a local “bar” (ubiquitous small restaurants) close to our Madrid hotel where we ate lunch a couple of times. Lots of ham on the hook! Another photo of the Madrid train station. We hope to get into an Alburgue in Pamplona, but will walk out of town if they are full from the Running of the Bulls festival.    Read more

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    In Pamplona

    July 7, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We found room at the Jesus and Mary Catedral Albergue in Pamplona. Private room, which is pretty okay considering we’re STILL jet lagged and sleep starved. No more sleeping in!
    Pamplona is awesome! The old city is basically a big walled castle on a hill overlooking the new (1800’s) city. It has everything an old European city needs.
    Huge stone walls, a drawbridge, a cathedral, narrow winding streets made of cobblestones…

    The running of the bulls is happening all this week! And no Randy, I have no intention of getting anywhere near those 9 ft tall beasts of satan. The crowds are much smaller than a normal year (Covid), but the bars are packed with young people dressed in white with red bandannas and sashes, My brother and I ended up buying $2 souvenir shop red bandannas so we could fit in with the 18-30 year old crowd of runners. I’m sure we absolutely pulled it off.

    Tomorrow we have time to look around Pamplona some more and then we take a bus to Irun in the evening. That’s the town on the coast where we will start walking from the next day. Met a guy from Norway today who told us the first 5 days are spectacular scenery but brutally physical. He looked a little wimpy, but we’re still considering forwarding our packs if there is a service there.    Read more

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    Pamplona to Irun 1

    July 8, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We found an earlier bus out of Pamplona and decided we would rather get to Irun earlier than later. The other bus wouldn’t get us there until 7:30 at night. We are still discussing our first day walk. It’s about 15 miles unless we can find an intermediate place to overnight.

    Pamplona was great, but we want to get to the ocean and start walking. May have to come back again with Debbie.

    It’s been overcast and cool on our trip so far. It rained overnight and sprinkled during breakfast. It’s trying to sun on us as the bus heads into the coastal mountains.    Read more

  • Phil MerrellWith Best of IntentionsTraveler
    1

    Pasajes de San Juan

    July 9, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We headed out of Irun around 8. A little trouble finding the start of the trail, but with encouragement and help from people on the streets we got going. The trail was STEEP and went STRAIGHT UP THE HILL. Wow, someone should introduce the Spanish to the concept of switchbacks. We went up and up. And then we went up and also up. Great views of the city below on one side of the ridge and the ocean on the other side. Stopped at a sanctuary on the way. We made it to the top on in good health, thanks to lots of rest stops and stretching. Coming down… not so easy. We got off the track and ended up taking more time, but through some spectacular and rougher terrain. While uphill took more energy, downhill took a greater physical toll. Eating aspirin like popcorn helped (not really Debbie!). Into town, hotel, showers, dinner, glass of wine… Along the trail we started meeting other pilgrims (as they passed us) which was really nice. Local people seem excited that the Camino was starting up again. All in all, a good day that had some challenges that we overcame, are overcoming, are working on! Buen Camino!Read more

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    Pasajes to San Sebastion

    July 10, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Slow start this morning, still recovering from the first pdays vertical challenges. Yesterday, when we dragged our dehydrated and exhausted butts off the mountain, we took a cab from the Pasajes town center to our hotel. We took a bus back to where we left off walking to avoid the sin of “cheating”. Also we wanted to ride the cute little ferry across the harbor to the other Pasajes. A landslide has closed off the start of the Camino trail to San Sebastián, so we detoured through town, and joined others on a scramble up an overgrown trail that went (of course!) STRAIGHT UP!! We caught back up with the trail on top and had more great vistas as we left town. The trail continues along the side of the mountains with frequent spectacular views of the ocean breaking on the rocks far below and the unusual uplifted sandstone geology. As trails along mountains do, there were many ups and downs. Where the day before was all UP and then all DOWN, this day was a continuous series of smaller climbs and descents. Does the phrase “death by a thousand cuts” ring any bells here? By the end of the day we are both hobbling. Over dinner in San Sebastián we considered our options. No question we are going to layover a day and recover. After that, maybe jump ahead past the worst section of the Camino Norte, maybe move inland and pick up the Camino Frances. We have seen a beautiful and unique countryside and are enjoying our walk. We will adapt and change our plans and goals if we need to. It’s all good. Buen Camino!Read more

  • Phil MerrellWith Best of IntentionsTraveler

    Layover in San Sebastián

    July 11, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    No room at the albergue in San Sebastián but we got good sleep at our clean but funky and expensive pension in the old section of town. San Sebastián is the vacation capital of Spain and much of Europe & Britain. It is a par-tay town this time of year. There are great beaches that are full of people and the streets of the old town full of restaurants/bars. When a couple of old dudes with red scarves come hobbling into town on a Saturday night, watch out San Sebastián! So anyway, we slept well and in the morning, decided we needed to reassess our situation and decide if it was necessary to revise our plan. We immediately set up a situation room at a nearby bar/coffee shop (photo below). After coffee and ibuprofen, it became clear to us that the Camino del Norte is no country for old men. Spectacular scenery, but the terrain… It’s supposed to get easier after the first 5 days, but we still see a lot of “Sierra del …) on the map ahead. The towns are farther apart, which means less flexibility if you want to either stop early or walk later. And there are fewer pilgrims on this route. We haven’t really felt that Camino kinship with fellow travelers because fewer people walk this route, especially with the impact of Covid. We talked about continuing on as penance for our sins, but couldn’t really come up with anything we had ever done. So we have decided to (drum roll) head inland and pick up the Camino Frances. Dale has already done the Frances, but many people have done it multiple times. We will catch a bus to Logroño tomorrow morning and resume our walk on Tuesday having had a two day rest. We spent the rest of the day moving to an albergue and walking on the beach. After a seafood dinner, I’m back in bed writing up the day’s events. Speaking of food, the Basque people are famous for their cuisine, specializing in seafood. Pintxos (the x is silent) is a class of small cheap finger foods that can be a snack or a meal. It is served everywhere. It is typically served with a young acidic wine called “txakoli”, which is poured into the glass from about 3 feet above. We ate well. That’s all the news from Spain. Going to get some sleep now.
    Buen Camino,
    Phil    Read more

  • Phil MerrellWith Best of IntentionsTraveler

    San Sebastión to Logroño by Bus

    July 12, 2021 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    It rained overnight and drizzled all morning as we prepared for and left San Sebastián. Hit a Starbucks on the way to the bus station to see if we could get an American coffee instead of a cafè americano. No dice. Took the bus through the coastal mountains and into cool dry overcast of the interior. It’s really been nicer weather here than the record heat you are experiencing back in the PNW. The private albergue we wanted to stay at in Logroño had closed due to covid so we went ended up at the Logroño municipal albergue. It’s a clean, dormitory style place. The nice thing about albergues is the people and the Camino orientation. People noticed they hadn’t seen us on the trail and introduced themselves. The woman running the albergue strongly suggested we get reservations each night because so many albergues are closed and the ones open are restricted to half capacity. We picked a relatively easy 9 mile walk for tomorrow to the small town of Ventosa and she called ahead and made reservations for us. Really nice people associated with the Camino. Did laundry for the first time on the trip. Things were getting ripe after the effort of the near vertical trails on the coast. Talked with Debbie, got dinner, and back in bed because they close up tight, lights out at 10. Calling it a day now. See you in the morning for our first day walking on the Camino Frances!
    Buen Camino!
    Phil    Read more

  • Phil MerrellWith Best of IntentionsTraveler

    Logroño to Ventos

    July 13, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Up at 6:30, packing up in the mostly dark. Out the door at 7:30. It took a while to get out of the fairly large-sized city of Logroño. We walked for over an hour to get all the way out. Stopped for coffee break on the outskirts. The Camino was well marked in the city, which I understand is not the case in some places. By well marked, I mean wherever a course change is needed there is a sign with an arrow, or a clamshell plaque (symbol of St James & the Camino) is cast into the sidewalk, or in many more cases, there is simply a yellow (the official Camino color) arrow spray painted on the sidewalk, wall, or street sign pole. Once out of the city, the path separated from the highways and we took off through the countryside. Our relief was huge as we began scaling the mighty 20 ft high 8% grades of the Camino Frances. Stopped frequently to stretch out the hip I’ve been protecting, and to finish off the last of the emergency supplies Debbie sent with me. The emergency being that there was no place to get breakfast until we got to Navarrete, around noon.

    It’s really different on the Frances route. A pretty fair number of the local people you pass greet you with a smile and a “Buen Camino”. The Basque people are nice, but based on our limited time on the Del Norte route they are just not as into the Camino. An example, when we were coming into Navarrete, and old(er than us) man handed Dale some of the mint he had just picked from his garden with some “Buen Caminos” and I think blessings on us both. Then seeing that I didn’t; have any, he led us aside to the mint plant and made sure I had some also! I tucked it into my backpack strap and smelled mint for the rest of the day.

    Tired but still moving well, we made it to Ventos around 2:30, which was beer-thirty Camino time. We stopped at the first place and sipped a cold one, glad we stared out with just 9 miles the first day. Had a little difficulty finding the albergue because of bad address on a website, but arrived nonetheless. It is a very nice albergue. Tile floors, a courtyard with fountain, and just nice and clean. After a shower we went out for dinner to the “Bar Virgen Blanco” or “White Virgin Bar”. I mean we just had to. It turned out to be a great entire family run restaurant with lots of laughter and good vibes. Had a great salad and a pretty good paella which we shared with a bottle of good local Tempranillo. We are definitely in Rioja wine country now. Most of the day we were walking through vineyards. They mostly prune to head-style, and low to the ground, which is a lot different than Walla Walla vineyards. Some pictures below.

    Time to get some sleep. Doing another 9ish miles tomorrow to the town of Azofra.
    Buen Camino,
    Phil    Read more

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    Azofra

    July 14, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Up at 6:30, out the door at 7:30, coffee on the way out of Ventos, then it’s the walk. We have been going through endless miles of vineyards since we arrived in Rioja. It really is all they do here. The scenery is not notable, but it is so dang pleasant that it makes a strong impression. History is all over the place, and every foot of the land has been in use by someone or another for some thing or another forever. We walked for several hours before getting to Navarrete where we stopped for breakfast. Then back to walking. Weather is still mild to chilly. Low 70’s and overcast again, and that’s the forecast for the rest of the week. We got to our destination town Azofra in the early afternoon. The albergue wasn’t open yet so we had a beer with some other people who were waiting. While we were waiting, a German guy with a horse showed up. He had been walking all the way from Germany with horse and a dog. People who saw him earlier said the dog would take the reins and lead the horse when they were on the trail. This albergue has all double rooms, which is nice. The wifi sucks however, so I haven’t been able to talk with Debbie. Dale and I went for a walk (I know!) around this little town and and went by a winery to see if we could get a tour of the winery and the old caves they still use for storage. Closed for covid, but a woman came out and talked wine with us for half an hour. As we were walking we saw the horse had gotten loose and gone off on it’s own. A bunch of local people were standing with it trying to figure out what to do. Eventually the owner caught up with it. A group of people from the albergue ended up at the town restaurant for dinner. People from all of the world. Then back to the albergue and bed. Another 9 miles day tomorrow, and then we should be in enough shape to be walk a bit farther. We would like to get a minimum 10 miles per day average, and shouldn’t have any trouble doing that. The town spacing and the weather have been perfect for easing our way into shape. Our next stop should be Santo Domingo de Calzada, an interesting town with a cathedral.
    Good night!
    Phil    Read more

  • Phil MerrellWith Best of IntentionsTraveler
    1

    Grañon

    July 15, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    We started out early as usual, with coffee on the way out of town. Then walked for a couple of hours before stopping for breakfast at Cirueña. Then on to Santo Domingo de Calzada where we stopped at the cathedral. It’s an interesting town with a history of some interesting miracles that may have occurred ages ago. There is a chicken house shrine that is associated with one of the miracles. It’s complicated, ask me about it when I get back. The cathedral has built up streets all around it, so it’s impossible to get a picture that shows the whole building.

    Our original goal for the day was 9 miles to Santo Domingo de Calzada. But after the cathedral we miraculously felt up to going on to the next town. So we ended up at Grañon with 12 miles under our belts for the day. We’re starting to get into shape! We need to get an average of 10 miles a day in order to finish at Santiago de Compostela in time to meet our wives in Portugal near the 18th. We will probably do some longer days in order to have layover days in some of the more interesting cities. We will use the postal service option to have your backpack forwarded to an albergue so we can do those long days. In the end, if we want to take more time, we will. It’s about the journey.

    Interesting note, we’re at the west edge of Rioja province and suddenly the vineyards are gone and it’s all dry land wheat farming we’re walking through. Not as interesting as the vineyards, but still a very pleasant countryside. A long hill we ascended today had a nice surprise at the top. Way out in the middle of nowhere someone built a resting place with concrete lounge chairs. These people are really supportive of the Camino.

    Tonight we’re staying at a “Donativo” albergue, where you pay what you feel is appropriate. A communal dinner and grab as you go breakfast are included. It’s clean, but has a lot of “character”. So far every place we have stayed has accommodated my travel CPAP needing a plug in.

    Got a call in with Debbie tonight, which was nice. And I think I’ll be able to upload 2 days posts that I didn’t have internet for yesterday.
    Heading to bed now.
    Good Night,
    Phil    Read more

  • Phil MerrellWith Best of IntentionsTraveler

    Villambistia

    July 16, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Breakfast at the albergue was last night’s bread, jam, and instant coffee. So we picked up a “tortilla” at the next town. A tortilla in Spain is eggs with other stuff baked in a pie pan. Other stuff is always potatoes and onions, but can include ham, bacon, etc., even fish. We walked through closely spaced small towns all day. Quite a it of the day was close to a major highway, which was less pleasant. But cars and trucks passing by honked and waved occasionally and everyone says “Buen Camino”. It’s still been a good day. I took a video walking through a pretty and larger town of Belorado. Our goal for the day was Tosantos, but when we got there it was a tiny town that was all closed up and the highway ran through the center of town. We decided to go another 2 kilometers to the next town, Villambistia, and it was definitely the right move.

    The municipal albergue is actually in a bar (restaurant) and it is the center of town life. Tables all over the square in front with people talking and laughing. The woman who runs the albergue/bar is a total hoot. It’s nice and clean and there is only one other person staying there. We got in around 2:30 and we usually get a beer and something to tide us over until dinner. We asked for an order of fries with our beers and she brought potato chips. We asked for something a little more and she went away for a while and came back with big plates of cod in a lovely sauce and a huge beautiful salad. She is fixing us dinner tonight for 10 euros and promises it will be memorable. In fact, it’s time for dinner now. Ciao!!    Read more

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    Agés

    July 17, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    The dinner last night was great! Asun (Asunción) cooked up some pasta with clams and a chicken dish in a really nice sauce. As always, a bottle of wine comes with a “pilgrim’s dinner”. It was an ok local wine with no label.

    We started walking without breakfast or coffee. Got coffee a mile later in Espinosa del Camino at a pleasant bar. Had our breakfast at Villafranca Montes de Oca. The “Montes de Oca” means “nettles mountains”. You walk up a pass for about 4 miles going out of town. The terrain changes from wheat fields to oak forest to pine forest as you go up. But no nettles. We spent most of the day walking in nice pine forrest before descending back through oak and into wheat again to arrive at Agés. Got cleaned up, and got a beer with bread and salami to tide us over until dinnner.

    Today we decided that we didn’t want to haul our packs up the pass and took advantage of a service the postal service offers. They will come pick up your pack and deliver it to the albergue of your choice for 5 euros. It made a big difference, of course. I’ve been fending off shin splints and Dale some potential blisters.

    Tomorrow we get to the big city of Burgos and will do a layover. Burgos is famous for their huge gothic cathedral, museums, and pervasive cool architecture. Hopefully it will also get us healed up for the rest of the walk. We’re less than a fifth of the way to Santiago de Compostela.    Read more

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    Just a pretty wall we passed
    Agés I think, in the rearview mirrorCast your sins...First view of BurgosOld treeDinner in front of our hotel in Burgos

    Burgos

    July 18, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Well, we made it to Burgos, Came close to calling a cab for the last 4 miles. My foot is acting up in the ankle/shin region. Yesterday was hard on it, particularly coming down from the Nettles Mountains. I was sore last night and stiff this morning. Had breakfast at the bar we ate dinner last night so I could get some anti-inflammitories going. Took off walking and everything was going swimmingly until we had another hill to climb up and come down off of. The rest of the day was slow walking with lots of rest stops. But we’re here and in a great hotel on an interesting little street full of bars (restaurants, remember) in the old town, close to the cathedral. We had a tough time finding the hotel. It’s one of those skinny streets and has a very small entrance off of a big square. They are doing some work on the entrance, and it was partially obscured by scaffolding. When you get past the entrance it’s an old narrow street full of restaurants with tiny tables outside and full of people. Like walking into it’s own world from the more normal city streets we walked through.

    We took an alternate route into Burgos, because the official route is known for several miles of industrial setting. The alternate route ran along a river going into town and was very pleasant, if not well marked. Could just see the top of the cathedral in the distance, but wow, it is big and ornate.

    The hill I mentioned earlier had an interesting feature. On top, there is a large cross in the middle of a pile of stones. Tradition is that Camino pilgrims bring a stone from their home with them. The stone represents the sins they have committed and they rid themselves of the stone and the sin here. I had heard of this place before we left for the Camino, but we were originally planing on taking the El Norte Camino route so I had no stone. I was able to find a rock nearby to pose for the picture, not that I had any sins to forgive.    Read more

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    The Main Gate in Burgos

    Burgos/Hornillos del Camino

    July 20, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Resting up in Burgos has been good. My ankle was bugging me pretty good and it’s feeling somewhat better now. Just sleeping in in a private room is nice. The cathedral, unfortunately was closed to prepare for the 800 year anniversary celebration. Saw some of the sights, but mostly just layed low and rested on Monday. I iced my foot and tried without luck to find a place to get my ankle taped. It’s better from having the rest, but I need to protect so it can heal up. We want to keep going, but I can’t risk making it worse. We picked an alburgue to forward our packs to last night and are splitting up for the day. Dale is walking to Hornillos del Camino and my plan was to keep looking for foot help and then take a bus there. I found a sports medicine clinic and went there first thing this morning to camp on their door. I caught the first person that showed up and they are going to work me in at noon! Then I’ll catch a bus that leaves at 1:15 for a town near our planned stop for the day.Read more

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    Hornillos del Camimo

    July 20, 2021 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    The physical therapist in Burgos help me a lot. He spent an hour hands on and then taped my ankle. I missed the 1:15 bus, so I wandered around Burgos waiting for the late bus at 6:45. It’s a very fun town to have to kill some time in. The cathedral 800 year anniversary celebrations were going strong. After a giant battle of the bands playing traditional Spanish music at the cathedral plaza, which I could hear but couldn’t get close enough to see, the bands spread out through the city singing and playing at bars for wine. See the clip below.

    I wandered back to the bus station early and found out the bus didn’t actually go to the town i wanted, but would drop me off 4 miles from the town and I would have to walk the last leg…. starting at 7:30 when it’s still 90 deg. I totally folded, took a taxi. So that’s how I lost my pilgrim purity bragging rights, And full confession, once we tried out forwarding our backpacks we have never looked back. But hey, I’m 67 freaking years old and I’m walking 500 (-12) freaking miles! Can we get a little break here?

    Met Dale at the albergue in Hornillos del Camino, had a great paella dinner, and hit the rack.    Read more

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    Castrojeriz

    July 21, 2021 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Out of Hornillos at 6:45 this morning to avoid walking in the heat. Had to walk 6 miles to the next town that had breakfast. After that, plugged along another 6 miles in increasing heat to get to Castrojeriz. We are now entering the central highland plains, nothing but dry land wheat in a scorching flatland. This is the part of the Camino that leads one to introspective spiritual thoughts, like ‘what the hell am I doing here!!?! “

    We did come across the ruins of the Nunnery of St. Anton. Pretty cool place.

    Did laundry, got d inner at the albergue, and now I’m in the sac, finishing up with you. Good night!    Read more

  • Phil MerrellWith Best of IntentionsTraveler
    View from bedroom window this evening

    Frómista

    July 22, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We were up early and on the road walking by 6:15 this morning, trying to beat the heat. It was still dark, which made it a little difficult finding the spray painted arrows that guide you through the towns. Outside of town a little bit is a pretty good hill hill that we climbed up as the sun rose. In the picture below you can see the sun about to break and if you look closely on the right, the village of Castrojeriz where we slept last night. A short walk across the top of the hill and we had a wonderful view of the countryside we’re heading into. We also found an 18% grade going down the other side. I walked backwards part of the way down to save my ankle.

    Farther on we crossed the cool old bridge at Pontefiterro. The video only shows 1/3 of the bridge.

    Breakfast at Itero del Castillo, and back on the road. We stopped for a break at the cool old town Bodilla del Camino, where there is an interesting column in the square next to the church. The rest of the day’s walk was spent along a canal that actually had a tour boat. We got to our destination for the day, Frómista, around 1:30, just catching the start of the HOT phase of the day. Showers, calls to home, dinner, and another day of walking the Camino de Santiago is winding down.

    Tomorrow we have will stop for the night in Carrión de los Condes, a favorite stop of my brother during his first Camino in 2016. When he stopped there before, there was a convent where the nuns sang with heartbreaking beauty and prepared a wonderful communal dinner for the pilgrims. We don’t know what will be there in these days of COVID.

    My ankle is doing much better. We went 14 miles today and it only got tired. Its still wrapped and I’m icing it now, but I think I can heal it up. I was seriously concerned I wouldn’t be able to finish the Camino a couple of days ago.
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