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A Camino to Remember

September - November 2023
We’re walking nearly 500 miles on the Camino Francés to Santiago! Read more
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  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    Day 12

    On the mend 🙏 in Logroño

    September 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    Today David is feeling better! Hopefully this virus will be the same for both of us, with two days and two nights of fever. If so, I’m about a day away from feeling better! Turns out a lot of other pilgrims have a similar bug.

    I felt terrible this morning and we contemplated taking the bus to Logroño and skipping the walk altogether for today. But…we both think it’s better to walk some than not at all so we made a plan to walk 7.5 km to Sansol. I’m glad we did! It was relatively flat and through vineyards and hay farming plots.

    We saw a shepherd with a couple hundred sheep coming our way on the path. I didn’t realize that a couple hundred sheep can make that much noise with her a little hooves! Strangely, there were a few goats intermixed. There were four herding dogs too. It was pretty cool!

    We learned how to navigate the Spanish bus system today, and took the bus from Sansol to the city of Logroño. After being on the Camino, walking through tiny towns, we were kind of blown away in the city! We were like, look! You could buy a soda on every block! They have this Gatorade like drink called Aquarius. We’ve been drinking those because they have electrolytes and we are sweating so much. It is hotter here than usual for this time of year. This weekend it’s going to be quite hot, in the high 80°F range. We’ll see how long it takes us to get back into our regular walking range after the bug. At least we know now how to use the bus! for €2.70, we could take the bus from one place to another city about half an hour away. The bus was nice too! Kind of like those discovery buses that we used to take kids on field trips in. You have to put your backpack underneath like big pieces of luggage. They were actually a lot of pilgrims on the bus. I imagine some of them were sick like us. There were a few that had big bandages on their feet from blisters. We were glad not to have blisters when we saw that!

    We might go out and explore this beautiful city a bit. If so, I will put a few pictures on the blog. Unfortunately, I’m still feeling under the weather enough that all I really really want to do is lay on the bed in this beautiful city.

    It’s amazing how much better life looks when you’re feeling a little bit healthier!    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    8
    Day 13

    Bus ride to Najera

    September 30, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    So! My report from yesterday about feeling better was a little premature. David is feeling better! I am super sick now though. And with good reason! I tested positive for COVID. So we are hanging out in the hotel room in Nájera waiting impatiently for my immune system to beat up on the little COVID’s! 🦠

    We don’t actually have pictures of much today as mostly we were masked and slinking from one hotel room to the bus and into another room. I have to figure out how to get David some food tonight. He gets disoriented so he can’t go on his own and I need to keep my germy self away from other people as much as possible. I haven’t eaten anything but a cup of yogurt and some soda and water in the last day and a half.

    It seems like every person I’ve known who’s had COVID in the past few months has had a mild case. I’m not sure why I’m so sick! Hopefully I’ll have better news to report tomorrow!    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    21
    Day 14

    Santo Domingo de la Calzada

    October 1, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    Well, due to my friendly little Covid friends, we bussed to the next town today, Santo Domingo de la Calzada. As we pulled into the town, it did not look impressive. It looked kind of industrial. Here all the buildings are earth tones. Honestly, the entrance to the town had kind of a Soviet feel to it.

    However, when we got off the bus and walked to the hotel where we are staying, we walk through the old part of town, which is amazing. This town has a cathedral! We went to get some lunch, which was a big deal since I haven’t eaten in a few days. Turns out I was only able to eat a little bit, but improvement is improvement! We kept seeing chicken stuff around town. Then I remembered I had read about this before we came here. So this is the town where allegedly some German pilgrims were coming through in the 11th century. Their son was accused of theft and was hung on the spot. Santo Domingo was alive at that time, and he jumped under the suns body to hold him up so he would not die. then the parents went and asked the judge to forgive their son, and not sentence him to death. The judge was eating his lunch, and he said I will commute your son sentence when these chickens that I am eating spring up and start dancing on the plate. And they did! The miraculous chickens! Somewhere in the cathedral, you can see chickens that are kept in there in a cage. After lunch, we went to the Cathedral to see if we could see the chickens which are descendants of the original miraculous chickens. But we did not see the chickens. By then, my limit of energy expenditure had been reached, and we needed to come home. So we went to the hotel and took a nap.

    I think I am getting better. I woke up with a lot of optimism this morning. I really need decongestant and maybe paxlovid, but it is Sunday in rural Spain so all of that has to wait until tomorrow morning. For the record I feel crummy tonight but not like I’m dying, so there’s that!    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    Day 15

    Belorado

    October 2, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    Today we bussed to Belorado. The bus didn’t leave until 12:40 so we ate breakfast and then went to the cathedral again. And we found the chickens!! They were actually good looking chickens. We heard they have multiple pairs of chickens, all direct descendants of the original miraculous chickens, so they swap each pair out every 15 days so they don’t get cramped by living in a small enclosure in a church.

    We arrived in Belorado during the siesta so we just hunkered down in our room and then went to the grocery store (very tiny, and you’re not allowed to touch the produce, a clerk has to come get it for you) and the ATM. We found a nice shaded place in the plaza to sit and then ate a little dinner…a salad with tomato slices, ham, and thin slices of preserved tuna with black outlived and oil and a pastrami sandwich on a crusty roll, which we split.

    Tomorrow we’re walking again. We are only walking about half the way and we have a town with two bars picked out from which we can call a taxi. The towns are too small for bus stops here! I’m actually thinking that although we’ve hiked all over quite confidently for the last 20 years or so, some of this trip might be harder than I thought. It’s hot, we’ve been sick, and David doesn’t move as fast as he used to. So…I decided there are no Camino police to say we’re doing things right or wrong (although their are plenty of judgy pilgrims out here for sure). But we want to have a good trip and a safe and healthy trip. So I’m very comfortable doing hybrid hiking and vehicle days. The last 100 km you are required to hike if you’d want a Compostella, a special certificate. And we’ll play that by ear. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes but just thinking that blind pursuit of a goal could be unhealthy, and for us maybe the goal for many people (“I walked the whole thing!”) isn’t the right goal anyway!    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    21211
    Day 16

    San Juan de Ortega, pop. 24

    October 3, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Okay, this is a very small place! Only 24 people!

    We decided to walk halfway here this morning and taxi over from Villafranca Monte de la Oca, which would be about 12 km of walking. But it was cloudy and cool for once and the first half was virtually flat through dried sunflower fields in various stages of harvest, and when we stopped at the midway point for a sandwich (bocadillo) and a soda, I told David I was feeling good and I’d like to do the rest of the walk. I could see on our mapping apps that it was a little uphill and then through forests. So we did it. Amazingly I’m feeling 100% like I’d normally feel if I’d walked that far, only I have a bit of a cough and still haven’t regained my voice so I kind of sound like a raspy Mickey Mouse when I try to talk. David appears to be completely back to normal now! So for our friends who offered up prayers for fast our fast recovery, thank you! ❤️

    The countryside here in Castilla y Leon is more dry than where we’ve been previously. We were thinking some parts of the scenery here look like the chaparral in California.

    Once we arrived in San Juan de Ortega we stopped in to the church before finding our lodgings. It’s a surprisingly big church with ornate stonework for such a small place. A group of older Germans on some sort of tour were there and they began to sing what sounded kind of like a Gregorian chant. It was very pretty. We’ve been having some interesting talks about our spiritual and religious beliefs while on our walks, which is new for us for the most part.

    We’re going to get dinner at the only place in town in a bit, and we’re walking into the city of Burgos tomorrow. We’re going to get COVID tests and see if both of us test negative yet. I’m guessing David will.    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    221
    Day 17

    Into Burgos

    October 4, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Today we walked from a town of 24 into a town of over 200,000! The first half of the walk was rural and quiet. The second half was along the side of a highway!

    We got to our hotel just a bit ago but we might just shower and walk over to the cathedral. It’s huge apparently!

    This is our last large city before we begin 5 or 6 days through La Meseta, rolling land where they grow wheat. Some people call it contemplative and some call it boring! Tomorrow we’ll find out.

    David’s health is almost all the way back to normal. I feel fine, but I am congested and have a cough. The weirdest thing is that about 95% of my voice is gone also. Luckily, they have pharmacies in big cities so I’m all stocked up on decongestants add throat, lozenges, and cough medicine!    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    2
    111
    Day 18

    Hornillos del Camino

    October 5, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F

    This morning we left Burgos, a big medieval city, and walked out into the rolling plain called La Meseta where we will be for several days.

    Last night and this morning we were able to get up close to the cathedral in Burgos. It was built in the 1200’s, and it is huge! Burgos has lots of pretty green spaces. At night the streets were full of people out for a good time.

    As we walked out of Burgos this morning we got into the country really fast. We saw another shepherd with his sheep. It’s really cool to watch the shepherd direct the dogs who in turn let the sheep know what’s what.

    On the way out of one of the two tiny pueblos we visited between Burgos and here (Hornillos del Camino) we saw a little chapel open so we went in to check it out. There was a tiny nun in there who put her hands on our heads and prayed for us to have a safe Camino! She even gave us these little religious medals to wear around our necks.

    It’s very isolated out here where we’ll be for the next few days. We are still in a private room but in an albergue. Tonight we’re having communal dinner with about forty people at the big tables here.    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    22
    Day 19

    Catrojeriz

    October 6, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 52 °F

    Today we left Hornillos in the dark and walked to Castrojeriz. The walk was mostly flat and through agricultural lands where wheat is typically grown although we didn’t see any wheat until the end of the walk. Tomorrow’s a rest day for us so I will write more about this place, but it is really beautiful. There’s a big hill above the town with a crumbling castle on it.

    People here have been very nice. We’re looking forward to checking out the church tomorrow.

    And they have a farmacia! Although David is pretty healthy now, I’m a week past my COVID positive test and still struggling with congestion and cough and very scant voice. We’re doing well with our walking (although any hills have me wondering “is it always this hard to clim a hill???”) but in the afternoons I’ve been napping. I guess my body just needs the extra down time.

    It’s funny (in a great way) how now that we’ve settled into a routine, David’s cognitive challenges are basically just what they are at home. He gets a little confused about where we are and has trouble making decisions. But he now pretty much seems like his old self. I can’t say enough good things about predictable routines. As long as David kind of knows what to expect, he seems engaged and having fun.’ Our first few days on this trip he was so confused that I feared I had broken some abilities that work well for him by bringing him here. But it’s been a very pleasant surprise to see him rally, adjust, and thrive in this new place! I’m so glad we are able to do this together!

    Also we have been discussing the role of religion and our spiritual beliefs a lot on this trip, something we rarely talk about. I believe in a creator and in the mystery of “everything,” where David is more accepting of the teachings of his Lutheran upbringing. Anyway, one of the things I’m pretty skeptical about is the power of prayer. However, I know a lot of people are praying for us now, and I don’t know if that too is helping, but I’m very grateful fair our friends and family members who are praying for us.    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    2
    Day 20

    Rest Day in Castrojeriz

    October 7, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Today was a rest day for us. It was great! We washed and dry your clothes on the outdoor clothesline. We took naps. We visited the local church. We drank cold sodas during siesta time. It’s going to be hot here tomorrow so we’re going to leave around six or 6:30 in the morning!Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    Day 21

    Into Frómista

    October 8, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 48 °F

    Today we got up early and started our walk to Frómista in the dark. In fact the first hour or so wasn’t the light of headlamps! We had a big uphill in the dark. Then we began being able to see.

    We’re on La Meseta, a relatively flat agricultural area that is isolated. La Meseta has a reputation as a boring, monotonous weeklong stretch, and many people skip it because “it’s boring.” We have both found this whole area lovely! It’s quiet and pretty, and the agricultural fields are interesting. Today we saw dry agriculture as well as irrigated fields. We saw many different crops, and there were several we couldn’t identify. The weirdest thing we saw was when we could see a rise ahead and saw what looked like a white bus. “What IS that?” we kept asking each other. Turns out it was a boat in a canal. We walked along side the canal for about two miles.

    So having mostly recovered from COVID we have been feeling good. And it was all fun and games until about the last three or four miles today when all of a sudden David started to tilt. Like his body is leaning to one side! Because of his cognitive issues it was hard to get a straight answer out of him about what was going on. (Just as an aside, not giving information in a straightforward way seems to be one of the big things that has changed about David’s day to day personality. He kind of talks circles around whatever he’s trying to say. It’s quite frustrating for the listener, usually me. Maybe it’s frustrating to him, too? It’s hard to say.) It seems that somehow he hurt his lower back and that’s made him lean? He looks a little like a banana or a boomerang when he normally would be standing straight up and down. We made it to the hotel and he’s konked out and I gave him three ibuprofen. Not sure what we’ll do tomorrow. I carried David’s backpack and my own the last two miles or so. And we can ship his backpack ahead and I can carry both of our water and sweaters, etc. Some kindhearted people on the trail were telling me he was very badly injured and needed to go to the hospital. But I’m not sure kindhearted trail passersby are the best source of medical information! Obviously I’ll let you know how we dealt with this tomorrow once we figure it out ourselves.    Read more

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