• Marilyn Mosicki
  • Marilyn Mosicki

Camino de Santiago

A dream to be realized Læs mere
  • Day 24 - To Calzadilla

    2. oktober 2022, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Day 24 - To Calzadilla de Los Hermandillos
    13 1/2 kms; Difficulty 1/3
    26°C

    Another short day today.

    Perhaps I can take this opportunity to define some of the names/words associated with the Camino Trail:
    - Camino = “the way”
    - Santiago = “James“
    - Camino Francis = “the way from France”
    - Camino de Santiago = the way of James”
    - The Way of St. James = in the New Testament it is stated that James, son of Zebedee, was a fisherman and he and eventually followed Jesus and became one of his disciples.

    I would like to tell you the story of the that I am walking. The word Camino simply means “the way”
    - Camino Francis (“The way from France”)
    - The way of St. James (James, son of Zebedee in the Bible New Testament, was a fisherman and a disciple of Jesus.
    - Camino de Santiago

    have names which mean the following: Camino Means “the way”. So (Camino) Francis means “the way from France”. The way of Saint James is thought that Saint James, disciple of Jesus,
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  • Day 26 - To Leon

    4. oktober 2022, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Day 26 - To Leon
    19 kms; Difficulty 1/3
    27°C

    Took it easy for what I got to Leon. Seems like a beautiful city. I went to check out the Catadral de Leon which looks again unbelievable, but I got there in time to go to mass so I did that instead. I will go to tour the cathedral tomorrowLæs mere

  • Day 27 - Day in Leon

    5. oktober 2022, Spanien

    Day 27 - Day in Leon
    27°C

    I am the most unlucky with my three days. I made sure this time it was in the middle of the week and wouldn’t you know, today is a local holiday and all the stores are closed!!!! 😡 I wanted to get a haircut and a massage among other things!
    I started the day by doing laundry. Boring, but thankfully didn’t take long.
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  • Day 31 - To Riego de Ambros

    9. oktober 2022, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Day 31 - To Riego de Ambros
    22 kms; Difficulty 3/3
    23-24°C

    Today I came upon a place called Cruz de Ferro. As you will see from the photo it is a huge wooden pole with an iron cross at the top and an enormous pile of rocks at the base. Everyone walking the Camino is aware that they will come across this site. The idea of it is to bring a rock from home or anywhere really. The rocks represent the burdens that people carry. As they leave their rock behind, they hopefully unburden themselves of whatever troubles them, and hopefully are able to live a happier life. Needless to say it can be very emotional for people.

    This place is believed to be “an ancient monument which was first erected by the ancient Celts, then dedicated by the Romans to their god Mercury (protector of travelers), and later crowned by the cross and renamed as a Christian site in the 9th century. For centuries, pilgrims have brought a stone to the place (from home or the flatlands below) to represent their burden. The stone and the burden are left here, leaving the Pilgrim lighter (literally and figuratively) for the journey ahead.”(Camino De Santiago, Village to Village Guide).

    All sorts of items are left. Stones with messages on them, memorial pictures, etc. A friend I met on the trail left a picture of his deceased wife and sprinkled her ashes.
    After being on top of the rocks, at the pole, I sat near the little church thinking. And while looking at the enormous pile of rocks that have been left for centuries, I couldn’t help but think of the enormity of burdens unloaded here over the centuries! I pray that each and every “unburdening” was successful at the time and that they remained successful permanently.

    Most of the trail today was not good, as you’ll see in the pictures. I really don’t like trails like this. They slow me down, they’re dangerous, and I cannot take my eyes off the trail to see the beautiful views. It was tiring.
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  • Day 32 - To Ponferrada

    10. oktober 2022, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Day 32 - To Ponferrada
    13 kms; Difficulty 3/3
    21°C

    As of today I am in the range of 570 km accomplished!

    Mountains look beautiful with the clouds/fog.

    My second picture shows an overview of where I am on the trail. I started at the far right in St Jean Pied de Port, France. Not too much left in to go!

    The trail was much the same as yesterday, as well as what shows in the next picture. It was more treacherous today though because it had rained last night so the trail was wet. Then I left in the dark, so really not safe. I came across people who had taken a taxi, instead of walking that stretch of the path. They didn’t feel that part of the trail was very safe at the best of times, let alone when it was wet.

    More beautiful pictures of a Cathedral. I’m running out of strong adjectives to describe their beauty.

    The last two pictures I sent to Mariah and told her it was Rapunzel’s castle. Now she wants to come here so badly to see it! ❤️❤️❤️
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  • Day 33 - To Villafranca

    11. oktober 2022, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Day 33 - To Villafranca del Bierzo
    26 kms; Difficulty 1/3
    23-24°C

    Today was a tough day on the trail. Although it wasn’t difficult, it was a long 26 kms. Everything hurt. Probably the very difficult trail the last two days taking it’s toll.
    I LOVE this statue. It’s obviously Jesus and I’m thinking St. James!
    Back in wine/vineyard country after many days out of it. Beautiful views.
    My digs for tonight! The monastery. I have a large and lovely room. And then my view from my balcony.
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  • Day 35 - To Biduedo

    13. oktober 2022, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Day 35 - To Biduedo
    24 kms; Difficulty
    20-21°C

    Today was the final BIG ascent! Glad that’s behind me. It was pretty darn tough in spots. But there was also a few short trails through the bush which were very pretty. The payoff for the hard work of ascending is the beautiful views!

    The countdown begins!
    I will be in Santiago in
    6 days. I have 640 km behind me, 160 to go. And I have to say I’m looking forward to it. The trail, as beautiful and amazing as it is, is tough. It causes a lot of wear and tear on the body and the soul. And I’m getting tired! ❤️
    The last three pictures are where I’m staying tonight. Casa Quiroga in Biduedo. Population 31!
    Very foggy tonight!!
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  • Day 36 - To Sarria

    14. oktober 2022, Spanien ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Day 36 - To Sarria
    26 kms; Difficulty 2/3
    23°C

    I mentioned yesterday how small Biduedo is (pop 31). Well it’s basically just a farm with a few extra buildings. In fact all the towns that I went through today were like that. I was dodging cow manure all day! The picture of the cow was within one of those towns.

    Today the trail was the final major descent. And I’m glad. It was really hard on my knees…..and I have good knees! I can’t imagine how those with “bad knees“ managed. I suspect many of them jumped head by taxi. I know some did.

    As shown above, today is day 36. Pretty well everyone who does Camino Francis, IF they walk the full way, will take more than a month. Of course there is a way to do it faster and that’s to “jump ahead” by taking a taxi, bus or even horse to subsequent parts of the trail. I think I can safely say that pretty much everyone I met either jumped ahead already or plans to. They do it for various reasons…..injuries, illness, time constraints, and some pre-plan to only do a portion of the Camino. And that’s fine. To each his own. Everyone does the Camino as they choose. None is wrong because it’s their Camino. I have chosen to walk the whole way. I honestly can’t think of anyone that I have met who walked every step.

    I stopped at a place that offered snacks by donativo (donation). It was an interesting place. They had several signs and there was a meditation group chanting off to the side.

    And I finally made it to Sarria. Everything hurt again. Going downhill is not easy!!?
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  • Day 37 - To Portomarin

    15. oktober 2022, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Day 37 - To Portomarin
    24.5 kms; Difficulty 2/3
    20°C

    It was quite the sunrise leaving Sarria this morning!

    Today it couldn't decide whether it wanted to rain or not. So rain gear always at the ready. Thankfully all I got was a few little sprinkles.

    Sarria is sometimes referred to as the 100 km city which means it's the last 100 km to Santiago. This is significant because anyone can received their Compostela (certificate of proof of completing the Camino) as long as they have at least two stamps in their credencial (a booklet also called a passport which is stamped potentially by every hotel, albergue, restaurant, or bar that you attend.
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  • Day 40 - To Arca

    18. oktober 2022, Spanien ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Day 40 - To Arca
    24 kms; Difficulty 3/3
    19-20°C

    My time is winding down rapidly and I’m getting tired! 24 to 26 km/day, on these last few days, is really hard.
    Beautiful bright sunrise again this morning while going through a town/city called Arzua.
    The countdown continues, but now in kilometres rather than days. Tomorrow is the big day, the day I finish!! Six weeks on the trail! That is a bit on the longer side. I could’ve done it faster, but I didn’t want to. Before I left home I said I was going take it easy, take my time and enjoy it. So I did. I bought a one-way airline ticket for that very reason. So there would be no pressure to finish.
    There was a spot along the trail that was quite interesting. I don’t know how or why this particular spot was chosen, but it seemed like a type of memorial. Several pictures and notes were left and hundreds of crosses carved into the rock.
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