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Camino de Santiago

June - July 2022
"All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking."
-Friedrich Nietzsche.
Walking is slow and deliberate. Getting to deep conversations can be too. Read more
  • 26footprints
  • 3countries
  • 19days
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  • Camino de Santiago
    Day 6

    Hiking into the clouds- Orrison

    June 19, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We left our sweet little pension in St Jean and headed into the Pyrenees this morning. Wait- let me talk about the pension before I forget. Last night I went to sleep listening to the laughter and murmurs of the bar down the street and happy pilgrims about to begin their journey. I woke this morning to the sounds of pilgrims on their way down the street and at 7am when I set my alarm, the church bell drowned out my artificial ring tone- calling everyone in. Soon sounds of singing drifted down the street into our window. It was lovely.

    Last night was hot… remember… 108 degrees yesterday?! And Jon and I only had a window. The boys slept in the attic and had an air conditioner and when I went up to wake them up their room was actually chilly!!! At least THEY had a good night’s sleep.

    The heat wave broke today and although it is still very very humid, the temperature was suitable and an answer to my prayers. We left at 9am and the breezes from the mountains kept us moving higher. I could NOT have done today’s hike with yesterday’s temperatures. The Way provided.

    We are staying the night in an ancient shepherd’s house in an alburgue. There is a community meal tonight and we ordered sandwiches for our lunch tomorrow. I made all of these plans months ago at Christmas so it has been hard for me to remember what I planned which has been fun because it’s like a surprise for me!

    The community meal felt like a scene from an old epic poem. We all sat and ate as a community at the hearth of a large stone fireplace and everyone introduced themselves and explained why they were there. The conversation was really cool-listening to stories of people from all over. I sat by a young 20’s German kid who quit his job as an engineer for Mercedes’ Benz to live on a commune and teach yoga. The dinner was chicken soup and veggies with a basque cake. I was starving and it was delicious. Even Daniel ate his veggies!

    Oh also huge shout out to Jon for Fathers Day. I am grateful that he is willing to follow me on this crazy adventure! (And we really do make a good travel team- ask us to clean out the garage together and that’s a different story.)

    It didn’t rain today. Will the weatherman be wrong again tomorrow?!    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    111113
    Day 7

    Orrison to Roncesvalles

    June 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    There were no storms or rain today in the Pyrenees as the weatherman predicted but we did walk through the clouds.

    Breakfast was a small pilgrims breakfast of bread and jam. I think the boys had hoped for more. But we grabbed our sandwiches for lunch and took off up the mountain following the yellow arrows. Most of us were prepared with waterproof backpack covers but Jon sent his pack ahead with a courier because he was worried about his backpack getting soaked. He went with nostalgia when he chose his backpack because it’s the pack he had carried through Europe many times. He didn’t have a cover for his as a result like the rest of us. He enjoyed a pack-free hike today as a result.

    We climbed and climbed into the clouds- only seeing sunshine at the very top before heading back down on the other side. My hair and raincoat were soaked but everything else stayed dry. Along the way we could hear the baaa’s of sheep and mooo’s of cows and especially the eerie sounds of the low ringing from the bells they wore around their necks. We could only see them when they were very close because the fog was so thick but we knew they were around us.

    They trail was tough but as we climbed higher and higher there were safety stops for shelter in storms or for calling for help. I think many people have died en route (we saw a few memorials) and this is a modern solution. Wells for water are plentiful too. There was even a food truck in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. It was on our map and a true landmark on the trail. We bought a mid morning granola bar from him and used his WC (a rock behind the truck) and got another stamp and felt refreshed for a few more hours of hiking.

    We made it to the old monastery in Roncesvalles by 1:30 and reunited with many of our Orisson friends. The alburgue is very old (end of 12th century) practical and clean. Extremely efficient. No shoes inside at all! We sleep in cubbies of 4 bunks in huge rooms. Each room holds 100 people. I used my Z-quill to sleep last night and it worked great so I think I’m going that route again tonight to drown out the snorers.

    We had a snack on the patio of fried food and beer while we waited for the room to open at 2pm and now await the evening meal by showering and taking an afternoon siesta. (We are in Spain by the way now.)

    Dinner was a 3 course meal (The hungry pilgrims were very pleased except for the poor vegetarian at our table). Again we sat with some fun Americans we roomed with last night in Orisson (one is a middle school math teacher) and a fun German woman we met in Orisson. I’ll be sad to lose them when we pass them up in Pamplona.

    Speaking of… I have heard rumors of fires driving pilgrims off the road near Pamplona. That could be the next obstacle.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    1
    Day 8

    Rocesvalles to Zubiri

    June 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Today was test of our endurance. The mountains of the Pyrenees in our last two days were hard but we were starting with fresh legs. Today I started sore and it was a long 22 km hike through the foothills on what the boys dubbed the spine of the Pyrenees. Some kind of seismic uplift created a sideways shale spine of rocks which was our trail. I didn’t get a good picture of it but it was brutal on the feet. I just yearned for flat ground. Twenty two km isn’t easy but it’s even harder balancing on spikey rocks. But we did it and the waters of Zubiri was a great reward in the shadow of a 12th c. bridge. Our hostel is clean and new and has laundry with free soap so we couldn’t pass that chance up. The little yard has a clothesline for us to use.

    We kept leap-frogging with people we knew on the trail the whole way here. The first part of the hike was beautiful going through woods (one of the areas has a sign that said that it was called “witches woods” because 9 witches were burned at the stake there! Spooky!!!), little farm towns and playing with the cats who greeted us knowing that pilgrims often bring food and head rubs. Daniel was in Heaven. We bought lunch at a Mercado and I carried a grande baguette a few hours (it kept rubbing into low pine tree branches on the trail but don’t tell my people- what they don’t know won’t hurt them). We ate it at an outdoor restaurant with a few other familiar faces from the trail.

    Dinner was the ONLY restaurant in Zubiri but thankfully we got there before the crowd and got a table. We told the next wave of people (again- friends from the trail) to drink lots of beer because it was going to be a long wait. We ate off the pilgrim’s menu but thankfully we had some choices. I had paella and flan. The wine was a mere 2 euros a glass. Since we are early, Jon and the boys are playing cribbage in our little backyard with astroturf. (Btw, we keep running into a Korean mom and son who cook their food wherever they land! Tonight they are also in our albergue. They are carrying carrots and rice in their packs. Impressive!)    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    Day 8

    Yo soy Juan

    June 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Buenos noches.
    Esta es mi primera Relive Video. Te gusta?
    Y me afeite.

    See translation
  • Camino de Santiago
    Day 8

    End of roncessvalles to zubiri

    June 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    I keep forgetting to start recording at the beginning of our hike. Oh well. This one is from tuesday, when we (most of us) were feeling pretty good. For a time, Ollie carried my pack and daniel carried two - his and Ollie’s — to try to help me overcome some feet and blister problems (and just keep up in general). Bless them.Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    1111
    Day 9

    Zubiri to Pamplona

    June 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We have a wrench in the plan. It changes everything. I’ll get to that in a minute.

    Yesterday started well again. I think we were in a very nice groove of hiking by 9am and we felt like we were making good time. Jon has had some feet issues that has slowed him down a bit but he’s a trooper and isn’t complaining. He bought new boots for the trip and didn’t quite break them in enough. Also he has a heat rash all over his feet which also has turned into blisters. On the other hand Aiden brought a pair of hole-y sneakers (which I was horrified to see him wearing when it was too late at the airport because I asked him if he needed new shoes). His feet are fine and so are the rest of ours. Go figure. We got a stamp a few hours into our hike by a volunteer at a church who was also giving advice. Our goal was to stay ahead of the ladies group who had no image of athleticism but somehow was always on our tail catching up to us when we had just seen them doing yoga in a town square. How do they do it?!

    We always seem to drag after lunch and the last two hours are rough. But we made it to Pamplona by 2pm and checked into our air conditioned hotel!! Yay!!! Ollie and I went to the train station to get jet out reservations for Sarria. Here’s the snafu. No reservations available. Not for a week! We can’t get on a train!!!! The renfe site wouldn’t let me book the tickets ahead of time using my Eurail pass so it had to be in person. I worried about this part of the trip but assumed they could add more cars on a train if it fills up. Nope. I think it’s a combination of fires south blocking the trail, pope announcement that he’s going to Santiago, and maybe some construction on a route. It’s the trifecta of problems for us. In fact there are no trains to northwest spain at all. So… what do we do? Here’s our plan so far. We booked another night in Pamplona to rest and decide. Today we talk to the pilgrim’s office and make a solid plan. To be continued….    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    Day 10

    Stuck in Pamplona

    June 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    I left off this journal yesterday not knowing if we were going to get out of Pamplona and if we would even finish our journey. We went to bed after a few prayers a very lovely bottle of local wine (the waitress for some reason gave me the whole bottle?!) and slept in a great hotel with air conditioning and was served a genuine all you can eat breakfast (the boys made good on that deal) and suddenly the answer was in front of us. We needed to ask the pilgrims office for help. It just so happened to be right around the corner from our hotel. The pilgrims office helper called around and typed into his computer like a mad man and threw out the wild idea of taking an over night bus to Sarria. We had to decide how badly we wanted to finish this. Our other option was to head to the Mediterranean and sit in Barcelona for a week. Everyone agreed to continue on. I guess we are on a mission (dare I say “from God”?!). We leave tonight at 10:30pm and get to Sarria at 10:33am tomorrow. Then we start hiking again. Now, I know my limits. And there is no way I can do a 24km hike after a red eye bus ride. So we booked a taxi service to get us right at the 100km mark outside Santiago so our compestellas are still legit. We hike 10km (much easier) and stay in an apartment in Pontmarin and we are back on track with timing. I had already canceled all of my hotel and albergue bookings so we wouldn’t lose money when I thought we wouldn’t make it. So now we hike like real pilgrims with no plans and hope for the best. Buen Camino! (God is protecting us and helping is through the journey! I kind of think these frustrations are all a part of his plan to teach us. The boys definitely learned how to handle set backs. No one panicked. No one argued. We just worked it out and the answer was presented to us.)

    So what did we do with our time today? We walked around town and saw the running of the bulls road and the stadium. We saw the wall and the park. We sat in a cafe for hours while it rained and had hot chocolate and churros. It was a day of resting our legs. Jon bought some new shoes and socks and is already free of his heat rash. Oh. Also, I insisted on Donner Kebab for dinner. I lived in that stuff when Jon worked in Germany and I roamed the streets of Heidelberg every day. It was a fond trip down memory lane for me. Tomorrow we catch up to our schedule and are back on track.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    111
    Day 11

    Back on the trail. Portomarin

    June 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    After a rough night of buses and transfers and masks and more buses, we made it to Sarria. The taxi was waiting for me with a sign. (I’ve always wanted that!) We had him take us to the 100km (to go) marker and we hiked from there in very little sleep. It was only about 8km and everyone was a trooper. It was a beautiful hike and perfect weather. The crowds are thicker and the pilgrims are less athletic. (I saw a3 year old hiking!)

    We took the bus to Sarria (the train was broken) with some girls from Boston and they had been traveling for 36 hours. They missed their train and there was no chance of getting on another one. They looked beat.

    It feels good to be back on the trail and I’m glad we chose to continue. When you have a goal in mind, it is hard to let go. We are all tired and ready for bed at 6pm but glad to be back in action. By the way, our housing tonight is an entire apartment with 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms. We decided to go to the grocery store and pick up frozen pizzas for dinner rather than wait for the Spanish eating time of 7pm. It was a good move but the bar outside my window is a bit raucous. I bet I’m so tired it won’t matter. Daniel is already asleep. He can sleep anywhere and he sure is tired. (Even he admitted though that he’s glad to be back on the trail.)    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    Day 12

    Video: portomarin a palais de rai

    June 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Today’s video. Some sun. Some rain. Then some sun again. Many peregrinos. A parade of ~60 SEATs. (Like an old fashioned beetle, but with an even smaller air cooled engine.) An albergue run by CRU volunteers that provided shelter, snacks, drinks and old spanish farmhouse ambience…started by an american in 1990 who raised funds to buy the house. 25 km.Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    3
    Day 12

    Portomarin to Palas de Rei

    June 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    The trail today seemed crowded when we started. I have a feeling there will be more and more pilgrims the closer we get to Santiago. Ollie said with disgust “ugh, there are so many sinners around here!” By the time we got past a humongous group of Spanish teenagers we were feeling less like we were in a shopping mall. I ran into the Boston girls and we were glad we all made it after that rough bus ride ride to Sarria.

    We miss our friends from the beginning. It’s harder to make friends on the trail now because there are more people and more places to stay. In Orisson to Roncessvalles there were only one place each so everyone knew the same people. Now we are all spread out and we don’t all eat together at night. I’m so glad we started in St Jean to get that experience. The trip to Sarria was annoying but I don’t regret the decision to start there.

    The way had good temps today. We enjoyed a steady stride and stopped twice -once for coffee and and an amazing egg casserole and once for a sandwich which we all shared. We never even ate our lunch but no one seemed hungry. We made it to our apartment by 3:15. Not bad. It was our longest day yet but tomorrow will be even longer.

    To break up the monotony the Way found ways to entertain us today. Once we stumbled into a cute little centuries old barn turned missionary center. They gave out free coffee and cookies and lemonade. It was bought years ago by an American and run by volunteers from all over the world who want to spread the Gospel. It was the perfect cozy respite out of a drizzle of rain. Then we were greeted on the road by a crazy parade of 60 little cars all in different colors in a parade honking and waving and playing La Cucaracha in their horn. Many had a wicker picnic basket strapped to the roof and some also had a bottle of wine up there too. They were all happy to see the pilgrims and enjoyed the attention we gave them as they drove past.

    It did start to downpour at about 6km to go. But it stopped soon after and I was mostly dry by the time we walked into town.

    One sad thing did happen today. Ollie lost his pilgrim’s passport. I started a new one for him with a postcard on the trail but we aren’t sure what it means for his compestella and it was a cool souvenir and proof of a cool accomplishment. I posted that it was lost on the Americans on the Camino Facebook page. And one lady reminded him that the Camino is really in your heart, not on paper. Ollie says he’s fine with it but as his mom I feel bad for him. Who knows? Maybe the Way will provide. We know that penance and a piece of paper does not grant forgiveness and that only comes through the grace of God. But you know… it’s still fun. We did get him a Spanish credential at the church in Palas de Rei. Now his is different which makes it special. He is behind in stamps but he can still collect the stamps along the way. (You have to have at least 100km worth of stamps by Santiago.

    Speaking of collecting stamps. It’s like an ancient game of Pokemon Go. It is fun to get the cool ones. I have one with a guy rocking on his guitar. That one is my favorite.    Read more

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