• Cari Krippner
juli – okt. 2024

Camino de Santiago

The Camino de Santiago, or in English, the Way of St. James, is a network of pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain. Läs mer
  • San Juan de Ortego to Villafria

    9 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    9 hours and 15 miles with a beautiful sunny day...almost made it to Burgos but decided to stop at a hotel for the evening and wash all my clothes while I wear my rain poncho. I am so excited to dry them all too! Nothing hanging off my pack to dry tomorrow...what an experience 🙂

    Last night I slept in an old monastary. I loved watching the bats fly around the coutyard at night. Unfortunatly, the monks must have been quite cold for most of the year! It was great to walk into a warm sun this morning.
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  • Where to Sleep?

    9 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

    That is a question I need to answer every day. There 6 kinds of Albergues (hostels) on the Camino.

    Municipal & Xunta (Galacian government) are basic hostels owned by local authority 8-10€

    Parish hostel owned by parish and ran by volunteers, often have mass, communal meals, and blessing, more relaxed, welcoming and generally donation My favorite!! I have met some neat people and made great meals. I do not mind sleeping on a mat on the floor for these experiences.

    Convent or Monastery hostel donation-15€ each are very different

    Association hostels ran by Spanish confraternities and generally well-equipped for pilgrims 10-25€

    Network hostels are private hostels owned by one person but handed over to a management group. 10-25€

    Private hostels not regulated 15-30€

    Hotels range in prices from 40-100+€ but are priceless every 3 weeks to wash ALL your laundry and sleep in on a matress.
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  • Burgos

    13 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    I spent 3.5 hours in the Burgos emergengy room to check out my toe. One must make sure infections are not septic and I was told "it is just a little infection. You are still fine. Keep an eye on it." I learned important things like use gauze, not bandaids and to keep them dry (no ointment and change socks frequently). On my way again...

    I made it to the cathedral right before it closed and it was magnificiant! It will need its own post. My hostel was literally 20 ft away. It was the first time I did not get lost leaving a large city!
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  • My Camino Family

    13 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Who is my Camino Family? They are the people who come into my life for a moment, a while, or repeatedly. They sometimes know my name: Hey, Washington, come sit with us or Look, Carina made it to town. They surprise me by showing up in surprising places. I videoed Mary's birthday greetings in 15 different languages and then saw her again at the Cathedral at Burgos with her parents who flew down from France to walk one day with her.

    Katrina from Germany ate breakfast 4 weeks with me ago and tonight and she is sleeping in my dorm. Jennifer came into a hostel exhausted after walking 45K and we giggled in the showers like children as I explained my way to get around the rules of no washing clothes in the bathroom sinks. Yes, I wash them in the shower! Jennifer stopped her chemo for stage 4 cancer to walk the Camino and said I was the first person who didn't say Oh, sorry. We laughed a lot that night and at breakfast when she was eating with Amy who I had spent an hour in front of a locked church huddled together staying out of the rain. Amy is still working online while doing the Camino.

    Today I walked with a young man from Germany whose mom and sister are teachers. He chatted for hours and got me across the hot meseta today.

    My Camio Family supports me. We do not exchange phone numbers or plan visits, but the time we spend together is meaningful.
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  • The Meseta

    15 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    What is the Meseta? It is 180 kilometers (112 miles) of flat farmland. Meseta means plateau in spanish and it feels like walking across central Washington or Kansas. Many pilgrims take a bus to avoid the vast, wind-swept track with no services and plenty of sun. I actually have enjoyed the last couple days.

    I have seen peaceful shepards with their sheep and trusty dog. I take a break to watch them interact. They really do know each sheep by name. They move the sheep to fertilize each field and the sheep can eat what is left after harvest. Quite clever.

    I enjoy the peace and quiet, except for the wind song and the bird song. There are endless crop fields: wheat on the better ground and barley and oats on the higher poorer soil. They were just putting in irrigation and planting other crops in some of the fields.

    The Meseta is a good place to think.
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  • Halfway! Sahaguñ

    17 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    I am laying here with only 2 other ladies in the room and it is so quiet. Last night there were 30 snoring, rolling, talking in their sleep pilgrims in one room. We even have our own toilet and shower! Unbelievable! The building is a converted monastary with Benedictine nuns still at one end. They joined us at mass and I bought hand cream for my dry cracked hands and cookies they made to share at our communal dinner. They were a success.

    I'm coming to the end of the Meseta. Today was a windy hot one and I will miss the wide open space that gives me time to think and stretch my legs. I am now walking 14-18 miles a day with a 20 pound pack easily. I have some things to mail out to the end at Leon to lighten my pack a bit.

    Thank you for all your prayers and positive comments. They get me through that last hour of the day.
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  • Your Camino

    19 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    I heard that you get the Camino you are given, not the Camino you want. I didn't understant that until today.

    This morning the hostal looked like a mini MASH unit with pilgrims helping each other wrap ankles and knees, check blisters, share moleskin, and talk about better ways to keep bodies going. The Camino is taking its toll on everyone.

    I have a Morton's neuroma on my right foot which has stopped me from walking for a couple days. I went to 2 hospitals in search of a cortazone shot to no avail. So I took a bus into Leon and one this morning out of Leon. I hope to be able to walk tomorrow.

    I didn't mind not walking through the industrial suburbs but missed seeing things on foot. It was also sad that a whole day of walking was only 20 minutos and 2€!
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  • Special Places #1

    20 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    This has been the most welcoming pilgrim chuch I have been to so far. It was still a very old church but reach out to every person who walked through the doors. They needed money for renovations and asked for 2€ for each candle lit and placed in the circle of fire. In the 25 minutes I sat there, pilgrims paid for and lit quite a few candles and looked at the bibles in their language. Many pilgrims whispered about the people on the wall. I had never seen other pilgrims stick around in a chuch this long. This chuch got it right. It just felt right.Läs mer

  • Special Places #2

    20 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    Sometimes you spend over 3 hours in a hospital in Burgos waiting to see if your toe is badly infected when you would rather be exploring the city. Then when finally know you will live, you rush to the cathedral because it is the only free day of the week. You arrive in time to see several pilgrims you know and have over an hour in this beautiful building! Things work out.

    El Cid is a Muslim title of respect and the great son of Burgos who was despised and feared. He was born in Burgos in 1040. He was hired by one of children of Ferdinand 1 because he thought he should have gotten all of the inherentes. He was exiled twice and married off to a niece, Jimena. He died fighting the Moors, buried in a monastary with his horse and later moved to the cathedral. His horse is still at the monastary I think, but his legend lives on.
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  • The Power of One

    22 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 48 °F

    Many people bike the Camino. Some look like they are doing the Tour de France, with their heads down racing at top speeds.

    I saw a sunflower, stopped under the shade of a tree and pulled out my camera when I heard the screaching of breaks and thought I would hear a crash.

    What I saw next surprised me. A young man came to an abrubt halt next to the same sunflower. He obviously didn't see me in the shade. In a smooth move, before his bike even stopped, his hand reached into his back jersey pocket and he slid out his camera. He quickly took a picture and I thought he would speed off. But he didn't. He leaned over and gently caressed the leaves. He then tipped his bike even more and smelled the sunflower!

    As I quietly stood there I wondered what country that young man was from and how interesting it was that we had passed 100's of sunflower fields and he didn't know what they were. He pushed off and reached top speed in seconds. I crossed the street and took my picture.

    For the next several hours I thought about that sunflower. I hoped the 60 year old lady I ate lunch with who has 2 sons and lost her husband to ALS 3 months ago passed by and smiled. I hoped Jennifer, who stopped her chemo on her stage 4 cancer to do the Camino took joy in its beauty. I hoped many pilgrims took its picture to remind them of the Power of One.

    If one sunflower can stop a speeding bike, imagine what One smile, One postcard, One prayer, One kind word could do in this world? Believe in the Power of One.
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  • Camino Time

    22 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 48 °F

    It's day 40 of 45. I have prayed every day for Time...

    For my teacher friends, that you have more time to spend with that one student that needs that extra time.

    That you have time to plan, grade, execute, meet expectations, put up bulliten boards, schedule meetings, talk to parents, meet with each other, and still go home.

    That you have time for dishes, laundry, the others in your life, and more time for those 4 legged friends who love us unconditionally.

    That you find time for yourself to go for a walk or curl up on the couch or read a good book.

    For my Friends and Family that you cherish the time you spend with each other

    That you spend some time reflecting every day, breathing, finding peace

    That you know we all have the same amount of time to use wisely

    Time has been elusive on my walk. I have not remembered the date or day of the week. I have not checked my phone for the time constantly. I get up with the intention of doing good during the day.

    I have seen Time in the many old and slow things. I know that soon the walking of my Camino will be done. I hope I can continue my Camino Time.
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  • Astorga to Molinaseca

    27 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    The hardest part of the Camino has been when I have been not feeling well. I had a fever in Astorga. My body knows what to do. I slept for 2 days and felt much better but then all the plans I made had to be remade. I did not get to tour Gaudi's Palace nor the Chocolate Museum, but a pilgrim did give me a piece a Astorga Chocolate and that is probably what cured me!

    I was too weak to hike up to the highest point so I took a taxi and walked down. I'm all for compromises.
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  • Up and Down a Mountain

    27 september 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F

    I began the misty, rainy day passing many vineyards. I began thinking of all the vineyard parables/stories I know. I bet you could come up with a bunch. I noticed how some vineyards looked neat, while others were weedy, yet they both produced grapes. I watched families work together, snipping the bunches of grapes off the vines and filling up buckets. One farmer handed me a few and they were the sweetest grapes I have ever eaten.

    If you must walk up a mountain in the rain, it's much more fun to ride a horse up it! I called Victor at Al Paso Stables and he was, of course, booked until Saturday. I knew it was last minuto so went to sleep. Víctor woke me up 2 hours later to say someone cancelled and can I be there at 9AM. Of course I can! It took 4 phone calls to find a taxi that "might" get me there...don't worry, Victor will wait. I did get there on time and had a blast getting to O Cebriero. By the time I got to the top, the drizzle was a downpour and the trail had become a stream so I took the bus down the other side and spent 2 days drying off in Sarria.

    Coming into Sarria I walked passed an old monastary that was closed with trees along the trail and I thought I heard bag pipes. I was quite surprised when I got to the top of the hill and there he was making music.
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  • Molinesca to Cacabelos

    27–28 sep. 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    I make a point to turn around every couple kilometers. Not only to see where I have been, but to see things from a different perspective. That is when I catch the sun coming through the clouds over the mountains or I see a line of pilgrims behind me and I know I'll be saying Buen Camino many times as each one passes me. I don't mind being passed. My Camino animal is the snail and even snails get to their destinations.

    There have been many farm cats on the Camino. None of them are friendly as they all have a job to do...keep the mice population down. In the cities, the cats hang out by the churches where they are fed daily by the elderly dog-walkers. I watched in awe while the bored dogs waited patiently as their owners threw old bread and meat on the ground. No less than 10 cats showed up from nowhere ending their feast with a drink from the fountain, slinking away as fast as they had appeared. So imagine my surprise when I met a Friendly Cat! This cat ran up to me, weaved between my legs, looked at me, got some pets and proceeded to walk several kilometers with me. I was beginning to wonder what I would tell Cindy, when Friendly Cat decided to turn around with a flick of her tail and trotted back to the village. I wondered if she walks with other pilgrims. Maybe she is the Pilgrim Cat.

    Great news! I walked into and out of a large city without getting "distracted" (lost). Penferrada was big. I saw a high school group of 109 teens walking the Camino 9that I would see frequently over the next 4 days. It was their 2nd week of school and 1st field trip. They walked 35K a day and were quieter each day I saw them. They loved speaking in English and were very considerate for teens. I chatted with the brave teachers who offered to give me several of the students.

    This city had an amazing castle. I wished I had more time to explore it. An elderly local showed me a path through the park so I avoided all the traffic leaving the city. It was very tranquil with many people out walking. The schools were out for recess enjoying the nice weather. I passed the hermatage of St. Blase and had different funky signs to follow before climbing into more vineyards.
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  • Santiago de Compostela

    3 oktober 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    I did it! I arrived at 9:30 PM yesterday after walking 40K or 25 miles in the worst weather I had in 45 days. I could not have done it without ALL of your prayers and my guardian angels!

    I was greeted in front of the Cathedral in the dark by Cindy and taken less than a block to our hotel room. Though small, it feels like a castle as it has real sheets, hot running water, and privacy. Cindy even brought a set of clothes I haven't worn for 45 days!

    Today, we went to the Pilgrims Mass, got my credentials, and napped. I am getting over the Pilgrim cold that everyone seems to have. Tomorrow, we are taking the bus to the end of the world. Stay tuned.
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  • Bus Trip to The End of the Earth

    4 oktober 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    I was planning on walking the extra 6 days to Finiterra, but ran out of time. Cindy surprised me with an all-day bus trip there that stopped at several places. First, we went to Santa Maria do Campo, an ancient church that had the most moving stations of the cross I have I ever seen. A young lady asked me if I was okay, and I told her the paintings were breathtaking. She bowed her head and said she was the artist and gave me a hug. I loved how such an old church had modern stations.

    Then we went to a hydroelectric plant and waterfall on our way to Fisterra. The day was humid and misty and only convinced me more that I would walk this part some other day. It was fun to talk with the pilgrims walking and those who took the bus in. Tomorrow, we will continue our journey with an early morning flight to Barcelona. Join me for another, very different week in Spain 🇪🇸
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  • On to Calafell

    8–19 okt. 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    We are staying at a lovely little apartment in Calafell an hour south of Barcelona. We had dreams of going into Barcelona, but we enjoyed decompressing by the ocean that we decided we would save that for another trip.

    I am sleeping a lot and letting my body physically heal from the Pilgrims Plague. It's what every pilgrim gets when you sleep like sardines, and one starts coughing. In Santiago, you could hear almost everyone have this respiratory/nasal distress. I understood why they used to have hundreds of Pilgrim Hospitals along the Way!

    I'm almost fully recovered with lots of TLC from Cindy. She came prepared with a bag of OTC meds and herbal teas. Most importantly, she has made delicious meals that I can eat and insists I keep drinking more water.

    So I have been quite content to explore Calafell. Yesterday, I walked 4.5 miles around the right side of the beach. It's so much easier without a pack! I saw beautiful flowers, tons of apartments, and more being built, curious cats, Roman ruins, and came back along the beach. The clouds didn't dampen anyone's spirits as people were outside eating in the cafés and walking too. The true tourist season is over, but people are still layiny on the beach and fishing. I can't wait to see what the other half of the town holds.
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  • Last Day in Spain...Coming Home

    9 oktober 2024, Spanien ⋅ 🌙 73 °F

    Well, this adventure is almost physically officially over. We land in Calgary in another 4 hours, then on to SeaTac.

    I hope to post my "missing" days when I get home. I have some pilgrims who promised to email me photographs from the days I did not have a phone. I look forward to checking my computer. So keep checking back.

    I am still processing this amazing adventure. Firstly, I want to thank everyone who followed me and kept me in their thoughts and prayers. I would not have finished without you. Secondly, I appreciate everyone who took the time to read this. I had not written anything for public consumption like this before and didn't consider myself to be a good writer. Your responses gave me daily encouragement to write more and to put one foot in front of the other. I learned I can always take one more step...in walking and in writing! Finally, know that each step l took was a prayer for each and every one of you. I lit candles, prayed in small churches and huge basilicas, and said each of your names daily as I walked the Camino de Santiago. The last 45 days have made a difference on the outside and the inside.

    Again, thank you for all your support and love ❤️
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    Resans slut
    10 oktober 2024