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Buen Camino!
  • Allison Allen
sep. – okt. 2023

Buen Camino!

Walking the Camino Frances with my niece Morgan. Læs mere
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    19. september 2023
    Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    3

    On my way!

    19. september 2023, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Well, it’s official! I have passed through airport security and I’m waiting for my first flight! My peregrinations will take me from Duluth to Chicago, then Toronto, then Paris, where I will connect up with Morgan. I’m under way! Thank you Gene, for getting me here, and for your heroic willingness to house sit two dogs, two cats, and an unspecified number of chipmunks.Læs mere

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    Made it to the train

    20. september 2023, Frankrig ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    So far so good! I had multiple delays but made all my connections. Morgan arrived ahead of me and did much scoping out the situation for us. Small hiccup right off the bat in Duluth; I had lost track of my Swiss Army knife, but the nice security man found it for me!🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ Goodbye, Swiss Army knife, I hardly knew ye.

    So! Now we take the train to Dax and connect there for the train to St Jean. So close!    Læs mere

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    2

    Roncesvalles

    21. september 2023, Spanien ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    We made it over the mountain pass, covering about 25 km between St Jean and here. We are in a giant converted monastery for the night, with something like 400 other pilgrims. Crazy! It rained today, which would have been fine, nice and cool, but Holy Crap, the wind! I swear it was trying to blow us off the mountain! Serious! Nevertheless, we prevailed, and not even a blister.

    Check out the slug! Next to my very large shoe just for reference. And a picture of where we are staying tonight.

    Tomorrows’s drama: will we find a place to stay ???    Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    1

    Zubiri

    22. september 2023, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    After yesterday’s face off with mountain passes and homicidal-force winds, today’s walk to Zubiri seemed absolutely pastoral. It was cool, foggy early, and had only relatively mild ups and downs until a final steep, rocky descent into town. The only glitch at all was the looming question of whether or not there would be room at the inn. The albergues that could be booked in advance were all full, so the sole option, other than walking to the next town and hoping for the best, was the municipal albergue. These take no reservations and are first come first serve. Leading to some stress and the need to fight a certain competitive urge as one walks. I’ll cut to the chance: we got in! Easily too, if I must be honest. A great relief and it’s unlikely after today that we will need to really worry about finding a place again until close to the end.

    Photos include a lovely view and a young donkey to back up the pastoral qualities of the day, and a slug, this one red and very color coordinated with me. Will slugs become a persistent theme of this travel blog? Hmmm.    Læs mere

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    Festival!

    23. september 2023, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We arrived in Pamplona to find streets filled with people, families, all eating and drinking wine. Found out they are having their annual grape harvest festival. Varies by date depending on the actual grape harvest, go figure! Was fun to wander through it, a beautiful day!

    Starting to establish a routine. Wake up, pack up, hit the road. Walk an hour or so till a good breakfast option appears and then eat. Walk more, take breaks as needed, snack, walk some more, arrive! Find albergue, feel relieved, check in, find bunk (my first top bunk is tonight), shower, do some laundry. Wander, eat, maybe enjoy a beverage with new friends, sleep, repeat.

    I’m glad to be learning a routine. Looking forward to settling into it and getting a little more inwardly focused at some point. Loving the whole process.

    Pictures of a stretch of path that reminded
    me a lot of Ireland, the courtyard of our albergue, and my and others’ laundry drying in said courtyard.

    No slug updates today!    Læs mere

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    Puente de la Reina

    24. september 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    What a day! So, what it feels like is that I am settling into a more solid rhythm, physically and socially. Today the climb, which looked kind of tough on paper, actually felt pretty good. The photo with the metal sculptures of pilgrims was at the top of the climb. The whole day was beautiful! Nice weather, beautiful scenery, some vineyards and (we think) almond trees.

    And, we have hit the festival season hard! Big festival day yesterday in Pamplona and today is a big day here as well. Some of their narrow, beautiful medieval streets were blocked off for running of bulls. Also much eating, drinking and dancing in big circles, adults and kids together. It felt like a privilege to be here to take all this in.

    Funny, today I had more quality alone time that felt meaningful, and also more social connection and great conversations. We talked politics in the US and Great Britain, and compared funeral practices in the US, GB and South Korea, for starters. Who knew? Just a really good day.    Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    12

    Estella

    25. september 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today was not an especially tough day but it did get hot and the last few kilometers I trudged along pretty slowly. One of the photos is of a tunnel under a highway that gave welcome shade for a rest stop.
    Celebrated finding beds in the municipal albergue, which has a much quieter vibe than the last couple did.
    I was super pleased with myself when I used my phone to navigate to a grocery and ATM, and then found my way back without my phone. Whoo hoo! Visited a gorgeous church and cloister, which purports to house a relic of St. Andrew. The really ornate photo is of where it’s housed.
    Get to sleep on a lower bunk tonight, such a treat!    Læs mere

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    Two stages!

    27. september 2023, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    I forgot to post yesterday, so I’ll catch up here. Yesterday was a nice walk to Los Arcos for several reasons, despite the heat. One, a couple iconic stops early on; a blacksmith whose father and grandfather were also blacksmiths in that location. He makes small items for sale (photo below) and also larger items, like a gorgeous, dramatic, huge bull. Right after that stop was the famous wine fountain, offering both water and wine for free. A queen endowed this centuries ago, apparently and the government continues out via a local wine maker. Again, see photo!

    Also yesterday was nice because I spent the day walking with Tom. We are both Catholic and had fun geeking out on history of the church, the issue of hell, and best of all, comparing conversion stories. So fascinating!! Made the day (a moderate 21 kilometers ) go more quickly. And just to head you off at the pass, friends and family, Tom is married, so don’t even go there:-)

    Today was a longer day, about 28 kilometers, and we got an earlier start: 6:45. It was cool, dark and lovely. Today has a wonderful breeze too, which seemed to greet us at the top of each rise, like a reward for our efforts. I had more quiet time, and I was glad for it. It was a long walk though, and a nice thing that happens once in a while is that you come around a bend to find someone has set up a little food and rest station. An oasis! That happened today and I include a photo.

    It has been surprising how quickly we connect with people as we walk, and then worry we will lose track when places for. We were both thrilled to see our friend Jun already settled in at the albergue we stopped at today. And again, after David and Olly thought they would stop at the previous town they just messaged that they are here - hooray! Our little world coalesced quickly! Now if we can track Rebecca down we’ll feel complete.    Læs mere

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    Rest stop

    28. september 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Just a mini note about how sweet it is partway through a day of walking to just stop for a while, take the shoes off, have a snack and just be. Right here there are some lovely wooden benches and gazebos alongside the way, and up on the hill yet another beautiful church. There’s sun, shade, a breeze, and all the time in the world.Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    1

    Nájera

    28. september 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    For a 28K day it was not bad! Started early, at 6:00 to maximize time spent walking in coolness, and that worked well on this hot, sunny day.. Saw LOTS of grapes. So many grapes! We visited a church with more gilding than I would have thought possible.

    I met an enterprising momma cat and four kittens who sat along the camino and were well fed, including having some leftover chicken bocadilla from my pack.

    I also had my first communal dinner made for us by the hospitaleros who run the albergue. It was wonderful! Good good, good conversation.

    Tomorrow is an easy day, only 21 kilometers, so we’ll sleep a little later and enjoy a less demanding day.    Læs mere

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    St Domingo de la Calzada

    29. september 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    What a great day! Kind of a triple header off a famous stop, a really nice albergue, and a really, really good meal.

    It’s famous because of a story of a miracle involving a false accusation, a hanging, and the month long survival of the hanged man, culminating in the local official, when hearing of it, saying that the man was as alive as the chickens that were just them being served to him. At which point they both came to life. For centuries a pair of chickens has always lived in the local cathedral to commemorate the miracle, attributed to St. Domingo.

    After two 28 Km days today was shorter, maybe 21? We got into town fairly early and discovered that our albergue was just extra nice, with footbaths to soak your feet in cold water and other amenities, like bags of olives, and beers in the vending machines. The self-serve laundry hand washing area was very nice too. Also the cathedral to explore, chickens and all, and a big clock tower with nine large bells.

    I was in a celebratory mood and noticed a Michelin rated restaurant close to the cathedral. Morgan and I are with our friends David and Ollie. It was fabulous! A really fun night. We barely made it back too the albergue by the 10:00 PM curfew! Which is why yesterday’s adventure is only now being reported.    Læs mere

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    1
    221

    Santo Domingo to Belorado

    30. september 2023, Spanien ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    After all the fun and food yesterday we were slow to roll out and didn’t start walking until 7:00. Which meant an extra hour at the end walking along unshaded roads under a hot sun. But! The morning started so beautifully, with that giant full moon hanging in the sky ahead of us in the dark, and then a deep orange sunrise building behind us. The mornings have been magical!

    After days walking through the Rioja Region we left it today - that’s what the tall marker in the photo indicates. No big change yet in scenery. The walk was not too eventful, just eventually very hot! It did take us through the birthplace of St. Domingo. And also it was fun to encounter a pharmaceutical vending machine, loaded with all sorts of things often needed by foot weary pilgrims.

    Everyone on the path was buzzing about the albergue with the - gasp! - swimming pool!! Which is where I am now, and I will say, soaking my feet in that very cold pool felt very good. We also carbo-loaded at the pilgrim dinner, so I’m ready for a good walk tomorrow, hopefully with a 6:00 AM start.    Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    6

    Belorado to San Juan de Ortega

    1. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Another hot day! We did not leave as as early as intended; 6:45, but of course that was fine. Not a lot of elevation change today, and for some good stretches of the way a very pleasant change in the form of trees! We have been walking in very open agricultural land for…maybe a week? The shade and the company that trees always seem to provide were both very welcome.

    Our albergue tonight is in a former church/monastery with its foundations laid in the 10th century (I think?) dinner for me was more modern - pizza and beer.

    There was a good Mass here too, by which I mean that we were provided printed guides to help us follow along in six different languages, and the priest gave his homily in the most basic Spanish he could manage. I was able to follow quite a bit of it and I appreciated his efforts.

    Tomorrow is a big day; we will arrive in Burgos, which is big town and the former capital of Spain, with a lot to see. It’s a common point at which to take a rest day and that is our plan. We have booked a small two bedroom place. It will seem SO luxurious!!

    The arrival in Burgos also marks the completion of the first third of the Camino. The saying is that the first third is all about the body, the second addressed the mind and the third, your spirit. I May be a day ahead of schedule as my mind started acting up a bit today, giving me material to cheer on s as I worked my way toward this stop. Such a process!    Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
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    Burgos

    2. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We walked into Burgos yesterday. Morgan and Olly led the way and successfully tracked down the elusive river route into the city as David and I followed along at a slower amble (David and Olly are a father and son pair who lined up well with Morgan and myself, age wise. We were pretty excited as the plan was to take today off. Rest day! Woo hoo!

    We stayed in a nice little air BNB and each enjoyed the luxury of Our Own Room. Fabulous. Went out with a nice group for tapas and I was so hungry I forgot to take pictures, which really is a shame because they were numerous and very intricate and beautiful.

    Also took a quick initial circuit around the cathedral. The fountain includes some carved figures that are…interesting. Tom tells me there was a train of passing very worldly images outside cathedrals at time, in contrast to the more virtuous interior images, so maybe that’s what’s going on?

    Today it was just amazingly nice to sleep in, in luxurious privacy, and then make my leisurely way to a nice cafe for café con leche and a really good croissant. Visited the ENORMOUS cathedral, and also a very nice museum on human evolution. Ate well at lunch and supper and now actually feel eager to hit the trail again tomorrow morning. My feet barely ache at all…    Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
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    Leaving Burgos

    4. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    After resting and refueling in Burgos, we left refreshed and wound our way slowly out of the still dark city, leaving through a gorgeous arch by the partially lit up Cathedral. Food and coffee ended up being much more elusive at that hour than expected and we ended up walking for a good 12 or 14 kilometers before finding an open café. Ack! The walk was interesting though! We saw a processionary caterpillar! I had read warnings about them - apparently their bristles are extremely irritating to the skin and they are not to be touched. I also walked by an area just covered with snails, very odd. Along the way we passed a sign letting us know we had only 500Km to go, down from 800. Progress!Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    2

    Entering the Meseta

    4. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    On the very edge of the meseta is a tiny, beautiful village. It has a lovely small chapel just as you leave town, and I’m so glad I decided to stop in.
    Inside were two elderly nuns. One asked my name and gave me a very loving blessing and a miracle medal to wear as a necklace. And because I paused there my timing was perfect for meeting up with a shepherd leading his flock from one field to another with the help of two dogs. He was very friendly and put up with several of us taking photos and video. This is exactly where the landscape suddenly opened into the wide open beauty of the meseta. I felt, deeply, as if I had been very warmly welcomed into this new stage of the Camino, one I have very much been looking forward to.

    Walking along in this beautiful, silent landscape, alone, this feeling only deepened. Then abruptly the land just fell away at my feet, dropping steeply and creating a stunning vista which I could not begin to capture on camera. As I dropped down the slope toward the waiting plain I can only say that I felt as if I were falling into the very lap of God. I can’t explain it, I can only report. It was a very happy day.    Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    22

    Castrojeriz

    5. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Today was an easy walk! Along the way we stopped at a gorgeous ruin of a Franciscan pilgrim hospital. There’s an albergue there, and someday I’d love to stay.
    We rolled into town in the early afternoon, walking with our super excellent Camino friends David and Ollie and decided to stay at the albergue they had sussed out, Orion. Bibimbap for dinner made by the Korean co-owner - something different to look forward to! After perusing the town (again, such gorgeous, narrow streets!) and finding a much needed ATM we decided, because two of us are in our mid-20’s, that we should climb up the very steep, shade-free mountainside to visit the ruined castle. Yes it was almost 90 F at that point…But, it was a castle, and the view was great, so all good. Back in town we also discovered an ossuary, with a message for we the living which you can read if you look at the two scull and crossbones closely. Always good to contemplate our mortality. Really!Læs mere

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    Villarmentera de Campos

    6. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    We decided after much consultation, especially between Morgan and Ollie, that we need to step up our game and make a little more headway. Which is how we came to walk about 34 Km (21 miles and a bit, 😬) today.
    We left at 5:30 and walked the first couple of hours in the dark. And cold! Can I say, though, that our early mornings walking in moonlight that makes the gravel road glow all silver white as it stretches ahead of us, have been really magical. Except when row upon row of dead dwarf sunflowers manage to make it kind of creepy…
    We started our walk today, after being pointed out of town by a giant yellow arrow projected onto a church, by climbing a quite steep hill for what seemed like a long time, and then coming down the shorter, but even steeper other side. We were glad to get that out of the way early! It was a very long walk, but we took liberal breaks as needed and got into tonight’s albergue by around 4:00. Not bad! And my first little blister, which appeared yesterday, is no worse after all that. Amazing!
    Our albergue this time is quirky, with a teepee, statuary, two donkeys and a pair of very large geese. Slightly scary geese. Most important though, it has a bed for me, and I think I will sleep well tonight.    Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    1

    Calzadilla de la Cueza

    7. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    What can I say about today? God’s lap can get Really Warm! Today was simple, just about the walking. After two stops, a small village where coffee was had, and a large town where I happily loaded up on sandwich makings and dried fruit and nuts (ok, and also some pink and white marshmallows which for some reason I could not resist), it was time to launch into a 17 Km stretch with no villages or fountains whatsoever. One just walks. Morgan and I made lunch in a rare shaded rest stop and then - walked a lot more. It was great, lots of time to just reflect, but not much for photo ops. I took a pair of pictures below, one facing forward and the other looking back. Ha! Admittedly, the last eight kilometers were kind of grueling, but not in a miserable way.
    The albergue we found beds in is great! Each is always so unique. This one has a pool, and nice shaded sitting areas. The owner is very sociable and also walked the Camino and felt very affected ny it. After the heat the pool, shade and beers were great. The paella purchased next door was spectacularly bad. The conversation more than made up for it though. Me being me, I had no idea what a huge part other people would play in my experience of the Camino. Another really good day!    Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    2

    Sahagún

    8. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    On paper, today was an easy day, only about 21 kilometers, but I was feeling it a little more. Still, a good day, and beautiful landscape. We are staying in an albergue run by the Marist Fathers, and we were greeted so warmly and have been so well cared for, including a Mass in English and Spanish offered by an Irish priest who also led a discussion for those who were interested in talking about our experience thus far. It was nice to have a chance to process!

    On the way today we also passed through the official halfway point, two statues which, if you walk between them, are said to convey all the benefits of the full Camino in case you aren’t able to make it all the way to Santiago. A little insurance policy!    Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    2

    THAT day

    9. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    So, it kind of had to happen eventually, right? Just one of those days. Started out with a nagging cough that had kicked in last night. Whacked my right thigh on a guard rail, hard, in the early morning dark. Picked up my second blister walking too fast, too long for the first 10 K en route to breakfast. Then had a pretty nice stretch, took good breaks, but then had to do the last 12 K of a fairly long, 30K day in the heat of the afternoon. Yesterday afternoon I think I described as grueling but not miserable. Today was both!

    I know I had to look pretty bad because about two miles before I arrived a local man pushing his bike up the hill in the opposite direction stopped to give me worried looks, pointed to his watch and explained it was very late, pointed out that it’s hot as hell and then told me how sorry he was. I tried to reassure him I was fine, really! Oh my.

    To cap it off our albergue today is the first one I have found just plain unpleasant . But! I’m showered, fed, electrolyte-ed and soon I will be sleeping. All really is well.    Læs mere

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    Respite in Leon

    10. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    So, we made it to Leon today! It feels like just in time, limping to our air BnB, where we will spend today AND tomorrow before heading back into the fray on Thursday. I think I took exactly one photo as I walked today, of a distance marker showing our great progress. Only 329.5 kilometers left, it proclaims, and that was before we walked another maybe 25 Km today. We started with 800 ahead of us, so!
    The walk into Leon, like maybe any city, was not especially scenic, so not much to share, visually.
    We were happy to meet up with a fellow from Germany we hadn’t seen for days; this is such a fun part of this experience, connections that braid in and out as we all make different choices about how far to walk on any given day, while all still adhering to the same route. We greet one another as old friends!
    The air BnB I found has exceeded our expectations, as in addition to the giant tub with jets it ALSO has a small sauna. This apartment may save my life…
    Anyway, I know it’s absurd to be saying this but wow, this is an undertaking, and that’s not just the chest cold talking. I wish I had a clearer sense of what it all means at this point, but having jumped into this deep, fast-moving river, all I can really do is keep letting it carry me along. Starting again on Thursday.    Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    2

    León

    11. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    So, a good rest day! Lots of sleep, a leisurely start to the day, and a stop at a pharmacy to get cold meds and compeed (which, if you are not in the know, is for blisters.) My first walk of the morning apparently was at the Hour of Beer Delivery (see photo). I explored the Cathedal and an adjacent diocesan museum. The Gothic stonework and the stained glass was mind bending, it really was.

    It was nice watching so many local people circulate through the great space in front of the Cathedral and the surrounding streets of the old city in the evening. Many kids and many small dogs on leashes. All of us, milling about at our usual human scale in the shadow of those incredible flying buttresses, built of course by us humans, but clearly with such a different scale in mind.    Læs mere

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    San Martín del Camino

    12. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    Back on the road today. We had a choice of two variants, one of which was off the highway and more scenic, but also a much longer day, I’m mostly recovered but now it’s Morgan’s turn to feel puny, so we made the sensible choice and walked the shorter, uglier route. Plenty of scenery lies ahead, as we will be heading into woods and big climbs, day after tomorrow. It was a good choice for today, for us both.

    Not much for photos though. As I wound my way out of Leòn, I passed one of the Paradors, of which there are several (Five? Seven?) along the Camino. These were huge hostels/hospitals for pilgrims back in the day and in recent years have been recreated as rather luxurious hotels, stayed at by almost no pilgrims. That is what the photo is.    Læs mere

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  • Allison AllenBuen Camino!Rejsende
    71

    Astorga

    13. oktober 2023, Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Such a very nice albergue we arrived at today! Even if it had been a bad day, which it was not, ( well, speaking for myself. Morgan is under the weather and did not want to get up - see pic) this place would have made it all good. A warm welcome, a funky, appealing layout, and best of all a wood stove which has suffused the place with the cozy smell of wood smoke, which I love.

    There was also a much nicer than usual oasis along the way, also with sort of a hippy vibe. Very nice!

    Today was also cool and overcast, with occasional light rain: a welcome change! Also the landscape is changing and we had some nice climbs. It sounds weird, but too much flat walking is hard on the feet and legs.

    Astorga is a pretty town with a Cathedral and a palace. I did not fit in a walk through the palace. Next time!

    The time remaining is really getting short now! That said, my early panicky feelings that it’s all going too quickly sometimes morphs into thoughts of how nice it will be to be home. Just depends! We have a LOT of rain ahead. We’ll see how that affects my outlook. I may like it!    Læs mere

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