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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
    2232
    Day 43

    Santiago!

    October 30, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    Today was an incredible day! We made it to Santiago! We rejoiced and we cried and we are slowly settling into “normal” life. All over the city are wandering pilgrims in ponchos looking like this reentry into a world without long stretches on the trail is not a smooth and easy process.

    Tomorrow we will be in Santiago and we’ll go to the pilgrims’ mass and see inside the cathedral and do laundry. The receptionist at our hotel is going to help us wean off if Camino pizza and pork with fried potatoes. He says he’ll send us out for real Galician food tomorrow.

    The walk was tough today. David pulled a muscle in his calf yesterday so he was very sore and moving slowly. The new blisters I got to match the ones on my other foot were making my whole foot sore and stiff. And it rained a lot again!

    But…as we saw the distance markers ticking down and as we got our first glimpses of the cathedral, it was like nothing else. What elation! And how overwhelming! We laughed and we cried! We were filled with gratitude for having the health and time and stamina and support to make this journey. We felt like the pilgrim statues at Monte de Gozo, whose pictures I’ll post.

    We went to get our compostelas, our certificates of completion. There are about 20 volunteers who ask to see your credentials with the stamps from stops along the way. You fill out a form online as you enter to state your reason for walking. When I got my compostela the nice French woman who helped me said I looked so happy and that I couldn’t stop smiling!    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    1
    1
    Day 42

    Into Arca

    October 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 50 °F

    Today we walked into a tiny village called Arca which is near O Pedruoso. We are within 20 km of the cathedral in Santiago!

    We again didn’t take many pictures due to the rain but it was not nearly as rainy today as yesterday. We had a very gentle walk through countryside and planted eucalyptus groves as well as through villages and deciduous oak groves. There were a couple sections next to the highway too. Some of our Camino friends were talking about the movies fan’s documentaries about the Camino. One thing they never show is how much of the Camino is on paved roads and next to highways!

    Today we stopped for coffee early and later got a sandwich in a village. They brought us little bowls of callous con garbanzos, a soup made of garbanzo beans, broth, and tripe. It was really good! I’m not sure I’m going to start putting tripe in our shopping list but it was very good in a soup.

    We are in an unusual little casa rural, an inn. It has rooms and a little restaurant next door. We like the little restaurants in inns; you don’t have to help searching for food, and the food is usually pretty good. Lots of meat and fried potatoes, but it’s usually tasty. This village probably has 100 people max so I’m glad food is easy to find here today!

    Tomorrow we are on to Santiago!    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    1
    Day 41

    Into Arzua

    October 28, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    We have very few pictures from today. Amy says that for a trip to be a real adventure you have to have some extreme weather event. And so today we had a real adventure! I think it’s some sort of a tropical storm system again. This morning it didn’t rain much but this afternoon it rained so hard that the Camino flooded. We were supposed to walk 30 km which is about 18 1/2 miles. We got about 17 of them done and then just could not continue on anymore. I didn’t even seem safe out there today. So we found an albergue and a nice man called a taxi for us. We took a taxi into Arzua. The room is pretty and it even has a towel warmer in the bathroom. Towel warmers are great because when they are turned on the little bars get very warm, and they are perfect for hanging hand washed and rung out socks, underwear, hats, and other things that are soaking wet because of a very wet day on the Camino. Only two more days after today, and tomorrow, it promises to be not quite so wet. We will post some pictures in a bit. We are off to the pharmacy to get some special Band-Aids for David’s blister to toes. And then we are off to get some good food for dinner! Everything is good, because we arrived at our destination and nobody got hurt.Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    2541
    Day 40

    Into Palas de Rei

    October 27, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 50 °F

    Today we walked about 20 miles. It’s getting a little bit more difficult because we both have blisters now and because our feet are just achy. I don’t think that’s going to remedy itself. I think we’re just gonna have achy feet for the next 70 km or so. This town has two pharmacies and two small markets. The town is not actually that big! Anyway, we visited the pharmacy to get some blister treatment. And we picked up more ibuprofen. I think we’re gonna make it for three more days of walking.

    This morning in Portomarin when we woke up, we could hear the water coming down super hard on our roof. Luckily, by the time we were walking, it didn’t rain nearly as much. We’ve had a few periods of no rain at all today! We didn’t take as many pictures as usual because it’s hard to do it when your phone is in your pocket under a couple layers of rain gear!

    A lot of our walk today was through forested land. We also went by a lot of rolling hills and pastures. By enlarge it was a pleasant walk. At this point, our feet are so sore though, everything hurts! It is hard to imagine being a medieval pilgrim, making this journey in sandals!    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    2212
    Day 39

    We Arrive (Very Wet!) in Portimarin

    October 26, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    Today we left Sarria and walked to Portomarin. We didn’t take as many pictures today because it was pouring almost all day!

    Sarria is the beginning spot for the last 100 km of the Camino. To earn a compostela, you have to walk at least 100 km or ride at least 200 km. So a lot of people begin their walk here. So we saw a lot of be people and heard a lot of new stories. We saw a child and a dog in a raincoat out there today!

    Here in Galicia there are a tons of cows and many rural houses have these little structures called horreros. They are grain storage buildings that are elevated to keep rodents out, but they looks like little crypts. Or luxury dog houses. Or…well when you’re walking you get to exercise your imagination making up what you think horreros look like they could be used for!

    We saw long horned cows today and a few goats.

    We have been seeing “our purple friends” all over Spain in more mountainous places. They’re these purple bulb flowers like little tulips. We can go for quite a while without seeing them and then they’re back! Like Camino friends who we don’t see for days or even weeks and then there they are in a
    church or at a bar drinking coffee!

    When we got all the way to Portomarin, we crossed a long bridge over the river and then encountered a steep staircase. It wasn’t as bad as it looked but it was not a welcome sight. I read before we came that Portomarin used to be right on the river but when a dam was built downstream creating a reservoir, the residents disassembled the old town rock by rock and reassembled all the buildings up the hill. They must have decided that all the new buildings would be white because even from a distance you can see that Portomarin is an all white town!

    We crossed the official 100 km to go marker today too. Pretty cool! Some Australian Camino friends walked up just then and we took turns taking pictures with the marker!    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    321
    Day 38

    Into Sarria

    October 25, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    Today we did a “short and easy” walk into Sarria. Turned out to be a hard walk on our feet but I think that is more about the previous days’ (and weeks’) walks than today’s. Unfortunately I tied my shoes a little tight coming downhill and David finally got a blister on his second toe. Anyway after about 13 miles I told David “I’m sorry but I think I’m beginning to feel grumpy because my feet are really hurting!” After 14.5 miles we reached our lodging for tonight and then got some food which helped. I had a beer with lunch, very normal by Spanish standards, thinking it would help with my sore feet but it just made me sleepy. Hoping for a better feet day tomorrow!

    We saw lots of cows! I included a picture from a travel agency’s window of a sign saying in Galicia you will never walk alone because there are over a million cows here.

    It wasn’t supposed to rain until 3:00 today but it started to rain around noon.

    We are down to 114 km to Santiago. In fact Sarría is where people who only have time to walk 100 km start.    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
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    212
    Day 37

    Windy and Rainy Walk to Triacastela

    October 24, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 46 °F

    Today we walked 22 km or so to Triacastela. It was super windy and quite rainy at times. The trail was beautiful, sometimes through farmland and sometimes through the woods. It was pretty cold, especially when our gloves and shoes and hats got wet. I’m not an expert on wind speed but the gusts up on top of the ridge today were hard enough to knock us off balance!

    We stopped for hot chocolate and a sandwich when our fingers were getting super cold. It helped a lot!

    We saw a few cows out grazing but many cows were in their barns in the little villages. We were surprised to see the pilgrim monument we took a picture of. Poor pilgrim looks like he’s been fighting the wind since the Middle Ages.

    We were glad to get out of O Cebreiro. It’s cute but it’s a place that has a “we don’t really like pilgrims” vibe. The innkeepers and residents were not friendly at all. I kept waking up at 4, then 5, then 6 because I was anxious to leave. Triacastela is cute and our Belgian innkeepers are nice!

    Can you believe that tomorrow night we’ll be in Sarría, the starting point for 100 km pilgrimages? We have to be sure to get two dated stamps in our pilgrim’s credentials each day to qualify for a compostela, a certificate of completion, at the end of our Camino. It should not be hard; each day we’ll get a stamp at our lodging place and at any bar (coffee shop) or church we stop at. The distance markers we are seeing are now in the 130 km range! In Galicia, the markers are very precise, measuring the distance to Santiago in thousandths of kilometers, which means each marker tells you the precise number of meters to St. James’ tomb in Santiago.

    Edit: Here in Triacastela we are in such a nice pension (inn). We just went out for a wonderful dinner (for 13€ each we got first course, second course, water, wine for me, and dessert). David’s been fun, joking and having a great time, and I’m having a great time with him. Still, sitting by the fire at the inn before we go up to our room he asked, “What country are we in again?” We choose to be upbeat and joyful in spite of our challenges but sometimes it’s hard to watch his cognitive abilities slip away 😢.    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
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    4
    Day 36

    O Cebreiro

    October 23, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 45 °F

    It was a great day! It was supposed to rain but it didn’t rain hard. We got our feet wet at our hats wet. But it was a great day. We got in by noon. We only walked 9 km today but it was up about 2000 feet. We had heard that today’s hike was going to be extremely difficult, but it was oversold. It wasn’t a bad hike at all. I guess living on the West Coast and hiking in the coast ranges, and in the Sierra has taught us some things.

    This town is set up as a Celtic town. It is in the province of Galicia. We can’t tell if our hosts at our rural house are speaking, Portuguese or Galician! But it’s definitely not Spanish.

    It’s rainy and cold outside but at least our radiator in our room is on kind of. It’s a little chilly in our room but at least the radiator is hoping to dry or wet socks, and hats. And we can eat our dinner here in the place we’re staying so we don’t have to wawander around a little town in the rain.    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
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    Day 35

    Las Herrerias

    October 22, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    Today we walked around 15 miles steadily uphill. It was very gradual and felt pretty flat! We walked alongside either a river or creek all day. Today’s walk was almost entirely on the side of the road. We stopped in two small churches. He we got stamps for our pilgrims, credential, and each of the churches, which is kind of unusual, because a lot of times there’s no stamp in churches. Beginning in Sarria in a few days, we have to be sure to get at least two stamps with dates per day to qualify for our Compostela, which is a certificate showing that we have completed the Camino. No rain today but it’s supposed to rain every day except one for the rest if the trip.

    We are in a little hostel right now that has cows right outside the window that have large bells on their collars that go donka donka donka!

    David’s back feels great as long as he doesn’t have to carry a backpack. My blister on my feet from my poorly fitting shoes is slowly disappearing. At this point in the walk, my legs and feet are very sore. I don’t think anything’s wrong, I think I’ve just walked almost 500 miles over the last month!

    We were sad to say goodbye to our friends, Lisa and Lisa, but they texted us that they made it up to the top of the mountain we are climbing tomorrow. In one of the little churches, we stopped into. We saw our friend Sandra from our first three or four days of the Camino! What a surprise to see her after all this time!    Read more

  • TravelerA Camino to Remember
    3
    Day 34

    Rest Day in Villafranca del Bierzo

    October 21, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    This is really a lovely mountain town. It’s cute and very picturesque!

    We are taking our last rest day here before slowly climbing upward toward the mountainous town of O Cebreiro the next day. Sadly this is the last day we’ll spend with Lisa and Lisa who we really like. They are going up to O Cebreiro in just one day. Very hardcore! It was hard to say goodbye to them tonight 😢. And we loved our host Dani (Daniel). We got a great group photo!

    Today we got our laundry washed at our hostel where they offer laundry service. We also got haircuts! Then we went to the grocery store for trail snacks. We are always looking for something compact, durable, and relatively calorie dense but having enough sugar for a jolt if we need it, and we got some sugar crusted peanuts as well as some jelly beans. The supermarket was small by American standards, pretty large by rural Spanish standards, and well-equipped. I posted some pictures of it today.

    We tried to visit both of the town’s churches and both were closed. One of them has a Puerta de Perdon, a door through which medieval pilgrims too injured or too sick to complete the journey to Santiago could walk or be carried to see a priest who would offer them absolution despite their inability to finish their pilgrimage. There is another Puerta de Perdon in León, which is maybe five days behind us. These days neither door opens other than on festive days so modern day pilgrims need to just keep on truckin’!

    .
    We were looking at a cool building and walked to the door to see what it was. Turns out it was a natural history museum! Yay! The collection was odd. There were lots of paper mache giant costumes worn in festivals and a collection of dusty taxidermied birds, mammals, and a few other critters. The building belongs to an order of priests who were missionaries and they brought back specimens from their missions. There were also specimens from near here. The woman who staffed the place took us to a room full of big paper mache costumes to see a video about local wildlife. The viewing space was weird. But the video showed bears, foxes, small and large deer, lots of birds, and some sort of ibex looking animal. Maybe we’ll see some wildlife on the last part of our Camino!

    We bought new gloves for David, hooray! We ate pizza for lunch with Lisa and Lisa. And now we’re chilling out in our room, trying to allow our sore parts to rest a bit.    Read more

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