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Brian Smith
Brian Smith

Brian Smith

Residente a: Pottstown, Pennsylvania Leggi altro🇺🇸Pottstown
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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith
    1

    Day 19 - Camino Suspended

    24 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ 🌙 73 °F

    Well I am on my way back to the United States. The knee is just not getting much better. CJ arrived yesterday and we took a trial walk and before we got to 3 miles the pain was back and at about the same level, if not higher, than what it was when I stopped. CJ and I made the decision together and he will continue on to Santiago and I will live vicariously thru him!

    I am sure those that had read my daily notes understand that the Camino is just a wonderful experience. I say suspended as I will be back and I will finish what I started.

    I have met so many people that have done 2,3,6,7 Camino’s and I can understand why. This has a gravitational pull that will bring you back to it.

    I completed 213 miles which is about 45% of the pilgrimage. I know exactly where I ended and will come back and start at that very place!

    So many things of true value happened on this trip that I am a bit overwhelmed when I think about it. The freedom it provides, the people from all over the world that come here for much the same reasons, the time with CJ, the physical and mental challenges that it presents, the people in the towns and villages that support the pilgrims…The list just goes on and on.

    While I am sad that I could not complete the pilgrimage , I am so glad that CJ and I did what we did together and I will cherish that time for the rest of my life. Thank you CJ for being you!

    As I travel back to the States I think it will be tough to transition out of this “hiking with everything you need on your back” style I have fallen in love with. However I haven’t seen the love of my life in over 5 weeks and I can’t wait to see Susan tomorrow!!!

    I can’t disappoint those that have enjoyed the photos so my last post will be pictures from the Cathedral in Leon that CJ and I visited this morning after our last croissant breakfast together in Spain.

    Lastly, thanks again for all of the words of encouragement from all of you. It’s been great to share this extraordinary experience with all of you!

    Farewell Camino…. We will be seeing each other soon!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Day 17- Healing in Leon

    22 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F

    Just a knee update.
    As you see from the picture I have been icing my knee . I am doing it 5 times per day .keeping it elevated most of the day. Had the knee brace on day 1 and did not have it on yesterday.
    Today will be my 3rd complete rest day. First day I needed to go out to the grocery store to get food and walked about 3000 steps that day. There was pain in the knee when I walked and I had the brace on.
    Yesterday came in at 250 steps:)
    The funny thing is that new watch I bought kept notifying me to get moving throughout the day:)
    Also on day 1 of rest I did extensive googling on knee injuries. Probably wasn’t a good use of my time but did get a lot of info. One thing I read about that surprised me was the use of NSAIDS with soft tissue injuries. Seems like there is some debate about whether they slow the healing process. As a result I decided to stop taking the anti inflammatory meds I have and just see what happens as I am not in pain when not walking and the icing should help the internal inflammation which I assume I have. There is no exterior swelling.
    The knee has felt different yesterday morning as well as this morning. Yesterday it felt completely fine with ease of movement. No soreness or pain when I poke around with my hand, did a few squats and no issue. This morning the knee feels tighter and a bit contracted.A little feeling of soreness but mostly just feels tighter. I am assuming that these are good signs that healing is occurring. I plan to do my 250 steps today as well as I have enough supplies.
    Tomorrow I will need to go to the store again so that will be a good test of whether I have made any progress or not. After today I have another 4 days of complete rest so fingers crossed!
    Yesterday I mapped out a plan for the rest of the trail if I can begin walking it again. While they say this is an easy walk there are still quite a few elevation changes that one must navigate . The plan I concocted would have us stopping half way down the two largest mountains so that I can split the downhills into 2 days as my downhill walking is more of an issue that flat or uphill. Using this plan would have us arrive in Santiago on 10/9. We do want to go to Finisterre which is 51 miles from Santiago ( it is also called the “ end of the world”) and is the coast of Spain on the North Atlantic Basin . There are bus trips there and back so that will take a day. I ain’t waking 51 more miles:) Our flights are set for 10/10 so will need to push them out a day but did the research on that and should be easy to arrange but we will need to leave from Madrid instead of they Paris as it is difficult to get a flight from Santiago to Paris but easy to get a train to Madrid not to mention that everything I read is the train trip to Madrid provides great views as well!
    CJ is crushing the trail. First day he did around 14 miles and then yesterday he did 40km which is just under 25 miles! Also yesterday morning he had rain and 20 mph wind till about 11am. He said he only saw 10 hikers and 2 bicycle hikers in the morning. In the afternoon it was sunny and he was rolling along! Said it has all been flat and the views are not particularly grand as it is in the middle of the Meseta . He and I talk several times a day so he is keeping me connected with his journey . He has about 55km left to get to me so he should be here tomorrow afternoon. He will have great hiking weather today although it is 48 degrees right now and will only have a high of 65 today and partly sunny all day!
    So in conclusion I am doing the RICE approach, hopefully healing and trying to keep my sanity, Thank goodness for the internet and the 2 streaming services I have that work internationally( Apple TV and Netflix)! Many thanks to all that have reached out, I am hopeful that I can get back to the trail and so far so good so we shall see!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Day 14- Hontanas to Boadillo

    19 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ 🌙 64 °F

    So today we hiked from Hontanas to Boadillo de Camino a 28.5 km walk (about 17.5 miles) . Not only was it a bit chilly this morning but a heavy fog greeted us for about 90 minutes. It was definitely an eery feeling as our headlamps would cut through the fog!
    Hontanas sits down in a bit of a valley and the valley is rather long so until we walked up and out of it, we had the mist. As such the sunrise was uneventful so no good sunrise pics today!

    The Meseta is true to its form in that it is a flat plateau but today we did have a peak to deal with. 1100 foot rise with a 12% incline. It was the first time we have seen an incline sign ! We marched up relatively easily and the views were just stunning as you could just see forever! With that said the decline was marked as an 18% decline which with my knee I considered unfair:) I hobbled down it literally one step at a time!

    The odd thing that happened while hiking this mountain was after we rested at the peak and started to approach going down, a police vehicle drove up the path onto the top of the hill. We were already 400 yards away but we could see the police get out of their car and start talking with the other pilgrims. I was hoping that they had come up the hill to offer rides down however no such luck.:) After we descended they did drive down the path and the car was marked civil policia so not sure what that was all about.

    I have forgotten to mention in the past but often the Camino path acts as a road …for farm tractors especially. Those guys come rolling along on machines with tires that stand taller than me and they don’t slow down for pilgrims:) it is either get out of the way or be smushed!

    After we came down the mountain we had about 10k to go and then I asked CJ about whether I should continue on with the pilgrimage or hop ahead and get the leg some rest. He said “ Dad I have watched you limp along for 30 + miles in the last two days but you got to give that knee sometime to heal and it isn’t going to heal while you are walking all day every day. I have calculated and planned it out so that you go to Leon now and I will continue to walk and be there in 4.5 days. I would like a few days rest after I get there so we can pick back up in Leon after that which will give you 7 days to rest that knee and we will still be on our schedule . Yes you will miss 75 miles of hiking but the rest of the trip will be that much more enjoyable for you. I know you can and want to tough it out but you just shouldn’t.”
    SO that is what I have done. Here we are in the middle of freaking nowhere but I got a phone and cell reception. We had already gotten a number of a taxi driver who serves the Meseta area so sent him a note using the What’s app platform and got him to meet me at the albergue we were headed to and take me to Leon( 75 mile trip!) Then found a 1 bedroom apartment in downtown Leon to hole up in , and confirmed that my pack that I had shipped this morning to the next albergue would be there by the time we were so the taxi could pick me up when we arrived. All told took about 30 minutes…you gotta love the internet!

    While I am seriously depressed about missing that section with him, I can’t help but admire his knowledge and logic not too mention how he has learned to handle me:) he is a pro!

    I know I will be bored to tears but I will stay off this knee except for food runs and I hope that this will enable me to carry on to the finish line in Santiago with CJ at my side. I will not miss that even if I have to do it in a freaking wheelchair!

    So this will be the last update for awhile but I would like to thank everyone who has sent notes of support. They have meant a lot to both of us!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Day 13- Burgos to Hontanas

    18 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    We traveled from Burgos to Hontanas today…our longest day so far at 31 kms or 19.25 miles. We have entered the Meseta which is a long and relatively flat plateau.

    The Meseta is about 180 km long and is reported to be dull and boring . As you will see from the pictures it is a rolling hill landscape of basically grain fields so far. I can see why people may say it is boring but there are still portions that create great contrasts and good pictures!

    We left early this morning and it was a bit chilly so we started in long pants and jacketed . By early afternoon the sun warmed us up but the winds kept us from over heating.

    We met several new friends today and also some that we haven’t seen in quite awhile. In fact 1 gentlemen we haven’t seen since day 2 appeared today and it was great to catch up and hear about his journey!

    On the physical front, not so good. My knee held up for the first 7 miles but after that it became a bit of an issue. As it was clear that the weight of a pack was aggravating things, at 15 kms CJ switched packs with me and as his is lighter that did help. We also began a more regimented system of rest periods . So I was able to make it the day 19 miles but there were periods where that was in jeopardy.

    Our new strategy is two fold. First , there is a service that will transfer your pack to your next location so that you only need to travel with what you need for that day so I will send my pack forward and will carry very little. If that helps the knee than we are good to go.

    If that doesn’t work then I will leave the trail and go forward to the next large city and rest the knee while CJ continues to walk the Camino and we will connect when he reaches that city. We will than try to continue together from there. If that doesn’t work then I may be faced with the decision to suspend my Camino and travel home.

    I will tell you that these plans and decisions are excruciatingly hard to work thru. Despite the knee , my experience has been and continues to be one of the most profound experiences in my life. To not walk into Santiago with CJ at my side is just to hard for me to accept so will do everything in my power to not have to leave the Camino without having finished. We have a long way to go and I am hopeful that I can modify my routine to allow my knee to propel me to the finish line! Some pain is ok, long term damage I will avoid…in the end I am hopeful that the Camino will provide!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith
    1
    11

    Day 12- Rest in Burgos

    17 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    This is our first rest day. Was kind of ancy this morning as I was at a cafe and watching pilgrims start their day but now have settled into the day and enjoying the rest and getting used to the knee brace and letting the meds do their thing. CJ and I toured the cathedral and I have a few pics from that. Will spend the rest of the day relaxing as our hotel room is right across from the cathedral and we have a terrace that makes people watching enjoyable. It has been raining a bit and the pilgrims are beginning to arrive in the city. They are a bit soggy:)
    Tomorrow we will start the second third of the journey !    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Day 11- Ages to Burgos

    16 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    We traveled from Ages to Burgos today. It was about 14 miles.. As we were staying out of town, the owner of our hotel for the night drove us back to Ages at 7am for a very reasonable price. He was a very nice guy.

    Our walk started in the dark and for the first time, I was actually cold as it was 58 and windy. The terrain is mostly flat except for this one section with a steep up then a steep down. The steep up went great, the steep down…. Well that was really tough on my knee.
    After that I decided to use the ace bandage I had bought a few days ago and it helped a bit . As the day progressed it was hurting a bit more so I kept adjusting the wrapping to find what would work the best.
    So during one of my wrap sessions a man from another pilgrim group , we had been passing them or them us for the last several days, came over to me and pointed at my knee and then his knee. He had a knee brace on . He does not speak English so I smiled and said yes we both have a knee issue. He took off his pack and rummaged thru it and found an extra knee brace he had and handed it to me! I mean how great is that!
    I put it on and it was a bit big for me but that combined with the ace bandage got me to Burgos. Just a great example of pilgrims on the path together.
    As we were nearing Burgos, CJ mentioned that there was a hospital .25 miles from where we were and he had read a post that it was relatively inexpensive in Spain. He went on to advise that his was the last big city we would be in for awhile and perhaps it was time to find out if something was really wrong with the knee. When did kids get so smart:)
    I walked into the ER, used google translate to communicate my problem. 150 euro price. I sat in the waiting room for 30 minutes and they asked me to come back. Using google translate talked with the doctor. He played around with the knee for a bit and sent me for an X-ray. He walked me to the X-ray center. I sat there for 5 minutes. They came out and said that they need 2 X-rays and the second one would cost more as my fee allowed for one. I said fine. They did the X-rays.
    I was sent back to the doctor in the ER. By the time I got there he had already reviewed the X-ray and said everything is fine it is just inflammation. Gave me a prescription for an anti inflammatory drug, a cream and said get a sports knee brace. He did mention something about rest as well:) I was done in 45 minutes. Went back to the desk to asked how much I owed for the X-ray……13 euro…

    Went to the pharmacy and handed the front desk person my prescription. She walked into the back and came out with the drugs and cream. I used google translate to ask for a knee brace. She came out and measured my knee then walked over to where the braces were , selected the right size, price for all three…29.50 euros…..
    I think they have health care nailed in Spain!!!

    So rest will be rest of today then all day tomorrow then hopefully back on the trail. Will do a bit of sightseeing with CJ tomorrow as he has become a fan of the old churches and Burgos has a very large cathedral.

    Not many pictures today as I was a bit fixated on the knee today

    The Camino sure did provide today. What a wonderful experience!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith
    11

    Day 10- Belorado to Ages

    15 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    Well today we went from Belorado to Ages . 27.5 km ( 17 miles) we started in the dark and then had a decent climb ( about 1000 feet) then walked along the mountain ridge, mostly wooded , until we came down the backside of the mountain to arrive in Ages. Didn’t take many pics as we were on the woods quite a bit.
    This is the first time we were not able to get a room so we had to take a taxi to a town off the Camino and tomorrow morning will taxi back to Ages and head to Burgos.
    We are going to take our first rest day in Burgos!
    After Burgos we have the Meseta which is mostly flat plateau for like 180km so we plan to have some large mileage days . From everything we read on this stretch it is dull and boring. It is also out in the open so hopefully the weather will remain cool. The forecast is for the highs to be in the mid 70’s so we should be good. So far we have also lucked out on the rain as we have only had periodic showers on 2 days. As of now the meseta forecast isn’t showing a ton of rain so fingers crossed.
    During our walk today we stayed mostly between the bubbles of people. CJ is diligently placing rest stops along the way for me to keep the knee rested. We also did a better job on food and water today. Yesterday was a bit tough and I had some heat exhaustion/ dehydration problems last night but today felt much better.
    lastly the Camino is described as having 3 sections. They are : The Body, The Mind and The Soul. Tomorrow we reach Burgos which is the end of The Body Section. Now since my body has been a bit beaten up in the section, I am hoping I won’t be robbed of my mind in the next section!
    BTW we are still having a blast!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Day 9- Santo Domingo to Belorado

    14 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    Today was another rather short one at 14 from Santo Domingo to Belorado. We started at 730am and walked a 6 Kms to the next town and had a delicious breakfast at a food truck at the entrance of the town. BTW most towns have a breakfast place right. At the entrance to the town and just about all pilgrims will stop there. Pretty much a gold mine. Usually the second place in town has no one… you kind of feel sorry for them!
    The weather was great for walking this morning at 59 degrees and overcast. Got a good sunrise despite the cloud cover.
    We have left the La Rioja region and are now in Castillo de Lyon/ Burgos
    Most is the scenery was grain fields with sunflowers patches intermingled. Grain has been cut already and the sunflowers are dead so ….outside of the rolling hills pretty bland. About halfway thru we ended up on a path next to a highway so that didn’t increase the ambiance!
    What I have been confounded with is property lines. I see none throughout the fields and the natural landscape doesn’t seem to work either . Must be a way cause it can’t be owned by 1 person:)
    We met several folks along the way, New Zealand, Hong Kong and , Brazil were the new countries . It is amazing how many countries are represented.
    We are staying in a really nice albergue that actually has a pool!
    There were many signs along the way today. My favorites sign was “Walk with pain, find your mind”, That kept my mind busy for most of the trip today.
    It is amazing how you can focus on an issue while you walk . In addition it is clear that doing a walk like this you will always have some pain somewhere but you adjust , accommodate and move on. In life that holds true as well. your mind is a powerful thing that can propel you to deal with most anything that arises…..
    2 more days of relatively short segments will land us in Burgos and then the messers is not far away where we will be turning on the afterburners and knock up some high mileage days!
    Injury update: brown knee holding steady some pain but manageable, CJ having some shin issues and hoping that a few more short days will help!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Day 8-Najera to Santo Domingo

    13 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Today was our first slow day…. Only 13 miles:) We walked from Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzado. We are still in the La rioja region and we started with miles of grapes and then all of a sudden it went to grain fields. Inter mingled with the grain fields were sunflower fields as well.
    Apparently La Rioja is a smaller region so at the end of the walk tomorrow we will be out of the region. CJ has been gobbling the grapes for two days now so he is bummed about leaving the region
    We have entered a new bubble of people on the walk. It is kind of odd where you see people for a few days and then you find yourself in a new group of people. Some of our old acquaintances have speed up and some slowed down. When talking with people we seem to be about a day ahead of normal.
    We met several new people today and the funny story is at some point CJ and I started talking politics and it went on for about 45 minutes or so. In front of us was a man who after listening to us the whole time slowed down and joined us and said “ Boys that is the most spirited debate I have heard so far on the Camino!” We then explained that we were father / son and he said well that does explain it.
    He was from Southern Ireland and a nice guy. He and Cj continued to lament the stage of politics for the next 30 minutes or so. Then he says “Gents I must take a rest as I normally don’t walk this fast but I couldn’t stop listening to your conversation so I kept walking fast and now I need to slow down before I have a heart attack:). “
    We continued on and we were a bit in front of him and started talking about the sunflower fields and he yelled out “ are you guys going to talk about sunflowers or something important!” It was hilarious!

    So this part of the walk is rather flat or perhaps we are getting our legs in shape so the up and downs don’t seem to phase us. We are planning out the next several days and we will have another short day tomorrow followed by longer days after that.
    We arrived in Santo Domingo around 130ish, checked into our accommodations , hand washed our clothes and then set out to find some food. Afterwards we turned tourists and walked around the town including a tour of their cathedral. Every town has one here:) you will see some pics from there but try to identify the one that is a box with a skull in it. Apparently that is St Jerome’s skull. Will need to research who St Jerome is:)

    No pondering today as for some reason CJ and I had the same pace today so we were chatting the whole day. BTW we did run into the Irish man once again and let him know we solved World Peace since the last time we saw him. He got a good chuckle out of that!
    In terms of health both of us are holding up well. CJ has had a few blisters but nothing major . I got some CBD cream for the knee and that is helping quite a bit and today was mostly pain free . Thanks to Karen Thurber ( former pilgrim turned advisor:)) for that suggestion as she sent me a pic of the cream and I walked into a pharmacia and they immediately knew what it was. Both of us have some minor shin related things going on but 2 short days should help that.

    I will end with , for the record , prior to this trip I have walked 10 miles or more like maybe 5 times in my life all of which were in the month before I left for this trip. I now refer to 13 mile days as short days…. Go figure! As they say “ The Camino Provides! “

    Ps I forgot to post a video yesterday so am posting today. We went up a rather steep hill and there we and other pilgrims were treated to a nice guitar player!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Day 7- Logrono to Najera

    12 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    So today we ventured 28km from Logrono to Najera. Logrono is a very large city so took us a bit of time to exit the big city and get back to the countryside.
    So in the La Rioja region the soil is a red clay which apparently is great for growing grapes as they were everywhere today. I would guess 14 miles worth:)
    At this juncture there aren’t as many small towns we travel thru instead larger towns with more distance in between. Today a little less than halfway to Nájera was Navarrete. Has about 3000 residents and is the pottery center of the region. Would make sense based on the clay there! BTW red clay when it is wet is really soupy and sticks pretty heavily to shoes. We were lucky to avoid the rain but many puddles showed the thickness of the soil when wet.
    The views continued to be amazing along the way and we made good time as the terrain was easier today and the weather was perfect. not the hot afternoons that we had had. Looking at the weather app this may continue into next week as well!
    Nájera has about 8000 residents and dates back to as early as 923. It is known for the production of furniture. The town is nestled next to a mountain that has many caves throughout and has a very cool looking side that looks like jagged red rock!
    I think I will name today “ milestone day”
    We crossed over 100 miles walked( we are at 117.5) and we made it 7 days walking without any major injuries , a few blisters and tweaks of things but nothing major! Two good milestones to reach!
    Oops almost forgot to mention, a common picture on the Camino is one that is your shadow. You walk for hours “into” your shadow, got to admit it’s kind of cool!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith
    1

    Day 6- Los Arcos to Logrono

    11 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    Let’s name today “ what a difference a day makes” .Today was to be our short mileage day from Los Arcos to Viana a mere 11 miles away. Had a great night of sleep , had breakfast and we waited to leave till 8am as thunderstorms were in progress. We got on our way and as the rain had just stopped it was really wet and muddy. My shoes are no longer the color they were ! Then the rain came again. Not bad but showers on and off for a few hours,. So now I had to learn how to get the pack cover on and still have access to what I needed, hold the umbrella and 1 walking stick while stowing the other stick conveniently, deal with mud in shoes and wet feet. CJ of course had answers for everything and it is fun watching him do things as he is walking as it looks so easy….it’s not:). BTW I forgot to mention that I have now mastered how to get the water bottle out of its pocket in the backpack and back in while I am walking. For those of you that think this is easy…it’s not but after 5 days of trying , I have mastered that arm move… for the most part anyway. Then through a pack cover on and that just makes that move more complicated!!!
    So we are about 8 miles in and my knee is feeling good. On ibuprofen I was at 90% normal and when it wore off like 75% so we decide that 11 miles was too short so we huffed to Logrono for a total of 28 km or about 17.5 miles.
    This morning we had cloud cover most of the way so it was a delightful walk and we made really good time. We arrived in Vianna just as they were wrapping up some sort of bull running event. We got there to late to see it but as you will see in the pics everyone was wearing white and red clothes. Very boisterous crowd….
    So we have passed from the Navarro region to La rioja region. All day we were passing grapes orchards, almond trees, and olive trees. CJ had quite the fun getting the almonds off the trees and was very inventive as to how he cracked the shells. never seen a walking stick used like that before:) the almonds were soft and delicious ! Got to admit we did taste the grapes today… OMG a were they tasty!
    The views were spectacular again today even with the cloud cover. A few great rainbows as well.
    Our afternoon was in the sun again , warm but not as warm as the last 2 days. We stopped for a break at the 5km left mark and for fun thought we would face time with Susan. Pretty cool how you can stay connected 4000 miles away! We arrived at Logrono at around 4 , checked into our hotel and then we went for dinner. In Spain restaurants open at 8 pm… Logrono is known for its Tapa streets. Very cool vibe!
    We visited the main church in town which is huge and very old. It also has a Michelangelo painting on display!

    So pondering today was about watching CJ in his element. This is what he does and I have never had the opportunity to watch him do what he does and what he loves. Very cool to see how he navigates all the issues and how calm and “ at home” he is “on the trail” . As parent you always want to see your kids go forward in life and shape their path to something that fits them. There is no doubt that this is one of the things that bring him joy and happiness. So glad I am getting to experience this with him.    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith
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    Day 5- Lorca to Los Arcos

    10 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    So the best name for today is …. Survival:)
    Knee is still acting up but tried numerous ways throughout the day to walk in less discomfort. Kept the ibuprofen up as well.
    We started at 545am as we were going to go from Lorca to Los Arcos a 30km(18 miles) walk. last night we had a lot of thunderstorms that dumped a bunch of rain so we knew it was going to be a sloppy day. As it turns out it wasn’t as muddy as I thought it would be but still a lot of puddles and mud to navigate.
    The day started with an uphill section and we got thru it before the sun was up. Sunrise was unremarkable and we were making good time . We joined another group for a bit , a Brit,Canadian, and Australian. Very nice people and we shared experiences, stories and reasons. They stopped for breakfast and we powered in planing on brunch. A bit before our brunch we came upon the famous wine fountain. It was 10 am or so but CJ did sample the wine. I have included a picture of the sign next to it that answers the question of how do you put free wine out?
    BTW their is a typo on the sign so see if you can find it.
    Our designated stopping point was Villlamayor de Monjardin. It sits up on a hill and has the most incredible views that were worth the 600 ft incline we walked to get there. Quaint little shop that makes I guess what you would call a modified baguette panini sandwich. It was divine( pic included in case susan wants to make them in the future:) )
    From that town to Los arcos is basically farmland that has some ups and downs but mostly flat. It was afternoon so a bit hot but a nice breeze. Most of the pics come from that section.
    I did not ponder much today as I was focused on getting the walk completed without any further damage to the knee so let’s just say on was focused on survival today:) I think I was successful with that but will know more in the morning. We are planning a short day tomorrow, about 10 miles , so we shall sleep in a bit tomorrow and hopefully the time will help heal the aches and pains!
    Lastly I did include an animal pic I got today that kind of sums up my pace today!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith
    2

    Day 4 con’t

    9 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    Just some pics!

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Day 4- Zariquiegui to Lorca

    9 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    Well the name of today will be “Kodak Moment” . From the moment we started it was nothing but one picture worthy view to another. Sunrises, landscapes, bridges , grape vines etc etc. It is a challenge to get the walk in with all of this beauty surrounding us.Not to mention the fig trees all over that kept CJ full of snacks!
    So we got the early start this morning and had the head lamp hiking experience which was really interesting and lead me to my first pondering idea for the day( more on that later). The walk started with a good uphill climb and we got to the top right as the sun was rising over Pamplona. Couple of pics of that as it was magical. At the peak there are the metal pilgrim statues as well. The funny thing is atop that mountain ridge are many windmills . Kind of odd to see modern technology aside a centuries old trail.

    At this point we began the descent as the sun was rising which was good as it was rocky and steep. CJ gave me some more walking stick mgmt lessons because my trapezius muscles were killing me. Took a bit to get used to the new techniques but it did seem to rescue the strain. One of the tips was to relax my death grip on the polls and to stop trying to stab the earth to death:) my forcefulness with the poles was transferring to much of the pressure on my trapezius

    During the descent I encountered injury number 1 . My foot went one way and my knee went the other way. Not too terrible but definitely tweaked. 5 or so miles after that stopped at a phamarcy and got some ibuprofen which is helping . Right now downhill still has some discomfort but flat and uphill is ok.

    We cruised thru the first 13kms and along the way walked with a group of four for a bit. 1 lady from Holland, 2 guys from Slovia and 1 guy from N Carolina. He lives about 2 miles from CJ. Go figure …. they had started there day at 4 am so we said good bye when they stopped for breakfast as we had a few more km’s to get in.
    At the halfway point of the day we found a great breakfast place and took our break to feed and hydrate. I had done a much better hydration job today and had a few snacks before we left so my energy level was good. CJ explained that he was getting his hiking legs so don’t be surprised if I zip out ahead. No problem slow and steady was good for me! So I followed him quite a bit today.
    Our lunch was in Manura which was a really quaint town and we went to a restaurant a bit off the trail and you could tell they were surprised to have pilgrims come in for lunch. The food was great and they were hospitable but even though I don’t know Spanish I could tell the guys at the bar were having some fun with our appearance:)

    Then we set out for the afternoon walk which again was in very sunny and hot weather and without a lot of shade. We cracked out our sun umbrellas and they helped a lot. Mostly small up and downs until we got to our destination. Why is it we always pick a place straight up a freaking hill to get to…..erghhh

    We checked into our albergue and the two guys we bunked with last night came into the place like 10 minutes after us! They are from Germany and no English so we smile and laugh with each other…

    We just planned tomorrow and it’s going to be a long day as the way the towns layout and some impending rain we have to get 18 miles in tomorrow (30 kms). I will keep the ibuprofen up tonight so that we can accomplish this. As a reward CJ is looking for hotels or pensions to stay tomorrow night. Not that I don’t like bunk beds in a room with 20 other people but I plan to be cranky tomorrow:)

    So my mind this morning was on the topic of not knowing what is ahead that I need to plan for. My whole life I have always looked ahead and developed plan a, b, c etc etc. it drives Susan nuts. When you are walking up a mountain in the dark with nothing but a head lamp., guess what. ….You can’t see what is ahead, you can’t create plans …. You just move forward and deal with it as it comes and you know what, worked out just fine, Susan you were right:) It will take me sometime to get to that approach in total but it was pretty cool to be able to do that this morning and the irony hit me right then hence my pondering.
    My second pondering was early afternoon when we were leaving a town and CJ stopped and said, …”Dad look at that mountain with the wind turbines…. That’s where we’re this morning” When I looked I said to myself …holy crap that is far away. Most of the time I look forward and the past is the past. When you are hiking and you can see the tangible result of the past , it then leads me to think about taking the time to look back and feel good about what I have accomplished . I rarely if ever do that but it did feel important to take that moment today and savor the victory. Thanks to CJ for that!

    Off to the pilgrims dinner and then to hopefully a good night sleep!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith
    11

    Day 3-Larrasone to Zariquiegui

    8 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Well I am going to give a name to this day. I will call it “River ran dry”. We set out at our normal time and we had about 10 miles to Pamplona, the city where they run the bulls!. The entire way we followed Rio Argo river and was the most delightful section we have walked so far. The river has its twists and turns which we followed and the river ran fast in parts and slow in others. Weather was perfect in the morning and CJ had picked up the pace a bit so I was taking up the rear for most of the morning. We stopped at a cafe about 4 miles in and sure enough our man Ray was there. 3rd time he tells us that we won’t see him again as he is slow but I am not believing that!
    We arrived in Pamplona which is a large city and the trail crawls right thru the center of the city and its downtown area. Kind of funny to have the sweaty crowd with backpacks walking with the city shoppers. My goal of purchasing a new Fitbit did not pan out as the 3 places I went to that online say they sell them don’t so I got a cheap one that will do most of the job till I get home.
    After that search was over we discussed and both of us did not want to see more of the city so we choose to push on.
    As we were leaving the city , there was a very large group of people centered around a large building ( you will see the pic) and they were waiting for some sort of event. The place was crawling with the national police and they were on the rooftops guarding as well so I will assume that some important people were involved in the event. The problem was the people were all crowded on the Camino route so we were challenged to push through the crowd with our packs… I had stored my walking sticks in my bag but was tempted to pull them out at one point :) we finally got thru the crowd and on our way. We never did figure out what the event was.

    Leaving Pamplona took awhile as it is a large city but once we got out it was really hot, dry desert type land and the last water fountain before we entered the last 6 mile stretch was out of order. In addition the last 3 miles was on a very long uphill section.
    SO the “ran dry” part was me, about 3/4 of a mile from our destination I crapped out. CJ was zipping in front of me so I just let him go. BTW the last 3/4 was all uphill.
    At this point I was out of water , totally drained of energy….but I was carrying a banana which saved the day. Sat in the shade had the banana ( the video I took was from that spot!)and then tackled the hill. At the top of the hill was the entrance to the town and there is CJ sitting right next to the towns water fountain right at the front gate of the city with a huge smile on his face …I drank 2 liters:) Lesson for the day is to eat and drink more:)

    Total Miles for the day was 16.25 ….will start the step count again tomorrow:)

    So my reflection for the day( mostly in the morning) was about how the little things matter when you hike. Moved water from left to right side as my right side was hurting, it worked.. move the shoulder straps down as my neck was killing me, reduced that ache, had various pains and used the poles differently to take the pressure off.. it worked several times…. All in all they were little adjustments that had major impact. In the end , the little things in life matter and I need to pay better attention to them as small adjustments can have big impacts .

    Tomorrow we are planning another 16 mile day, CJ is a little worried that it may too much so we have a backup plan but it will be hot again tomorrow so we are going to leave an hour earlier . Will get to walk with head lamps …. Never done that before!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Day 2- Roncevalles to Larrasona

    7 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    So today according to the guide books was to be one of the tougher days but CJ and I both agree , much more reasonable than yesterday. We traveled from Roncevalles to the quaint little town of Larrasona. According to my Fitbit we walked 20 miles but the maps would tell you 17 so I guess the extra is when we walk around the towns and such. for the record it was a 45,200 step day.It is actually more than that but MY FITBIT DIED! Now is not the time for it to bomb on me but alas it did. Good news is tomorrow we will pass through a larger town, Pamplona and as luck would have it there are several stores there that sell them.
    This was a much more traditional walk as we left a bit before sun up and walked to the next town about 2 miles or so and had breakfast. Wonderful coffee baguette sandwiches and croissants. Gives us the much need caffeine and carbs to get going. We then traveled to the next town and visited a local market and picked up the food for the rest of the day. CJ is really good at hydration and food intake. He is constantly reminding me to drink and instead of a lunch we have 2 breaks on the trail where we snack . It works very well to keep us fueled throughout the walk.
    Today we were more in the sun than yesterday and it was a bit warmer but still great walking weather. We did stop for a coffee midday and reconnected with Roy our 75 year old Brit that we met yesterday. This is his second Camino and as he says he is a bit slower but he gets it done! We also met 2 men from Australia who watched the movie The Way and decided to do the walk. They also have their eye on the AT so Cj had some fun filling them in on how that compares to this.
    Everyone says how social the pilgrims are during this pilgrimage. So far it seems that everyone is social at cafes and albergue’s but on the trail it is heads down walking with the occasional grunt:).
    We are staying at what’s called a Pension tonight…not sure how they got the name pension but they do have a dinner tonight with and it looks like about 8 pilgrims are attending so will be fun meeting some new people.
    Lastly when you walk you have a lot of time to think and ponder things. Today my thoughts where on material needs and/ versus material wants. So for the last several days all I “need “is in my backpack ….and I haven’t really wanted for anything else except for that new Fitbit:) … I will continue to ponder this but I have wanted and acquired so many things throughout my life yet here I am with all I “need” on my back … and loving it!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith
    11

    Day 1 -St Jean to Roncevalles

    6 settembre 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    We got started at 7am , as the first part of the walk was thru the city of St Jean. The first stop for the day would be Orisson which is about 5 miles. While you are going up the mountain at the end of the first 3 miles I said to myself, this isn’t so bad , I can do this….. Well the next 2 miles is what people must be talking about:…Straight up for the next 2 miles , asphalt for the most part with a little of gravel path toward the end. It was a bit tough but in a good way. It’s your first day so the adrenaline certainly helps! At the 5 mile mark is a great hostel that has a restaurant that serves food and drink to all…Very timely! Many stay there for their day 1 end point but we were headed to Roncevalles a mere 10 more miles. At Orisson we were at 2700 feet so half the elevation was complete. With 10 miles for the second half, so must be less strenuous …. Wrong:) It’s all about when the elevation is on those next 10! All kidding aside the walk was challenging but not a killer. You will see many overlook pics primarily because I kept saying we must be at the top take a picture…well we weren’t at the top…. It just kept going! Then we did finally hit the top and started coming down. That’s when I confirmed that I really like going up better!
    Many gorgeous views along the way. The Pyrenees have a great mix of field and forest. Forest is mostly beech trees that are very cool to look at. Many goats, sheep , cattle and horses grazing the fields on the mountain. The horses had cow bells on their necks… first time I have seen a horse bell .
    About 5 or 6 miles into this section was another timely placed food truck that sure came in handy.
    We arrived at our end point in about 7.5 hours. Little over 16 miles traveled and according to my Fitbit 41,000 steps. Our hotel is right next to the towns church and had just started their daily pilgrim mass. Beautiful church packed with pilgrims!
    Tomorrow will be another 17 mile day but we came out of day 1 pretty good with no major pains just some minor aches. All in all great day. Lots of great thoughts and conversations along the way. Met folks from UK, Australia, France , Spain and South Korea . Only 1 from the US. She lives in Oregon.    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Saint Jean Pied De Port

    5 settembre 2023, Francia ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    We have arrived at the starting point of the Camino Frances. Saint Jean has a population of just 1500 but serves the needs of over 50,000 pilgrims per year. In 2022 , a little over 52,000 pilgrims began their pilgrimage here. While France had the highest number of pilgrims, the US was second with about 7200. The town is known for its narrow streets and was the ancient capital of the Basque region of Basse-Navarre.
    We checked in at the pilgrims office , registered and received our official pilgrimage passports. This will be used throughout the trip. A pilgrim needs to have their passport stamped throughout their journey as evidence of their pilgrimage. In Santiago , pilgrims present their passport to the office to receive the official Compostela !

    We are staying at a hostel , Gite Compostella just a few clicks out of the city center.
    At 700 am tomorrow we will begin. As Saint Jean sits at the base of the Pyrenees , our first day will be up the Pyrenees (highest elevation is about 4500 feet) and then about a third of the way down where we will pass into Spain and arrive at our destination, Roncesvalles. About a 16 mile trip for the day . The first two days of the pilgrimage are said to be the most challenging so excited to get started!
    Cj and I will debate tomorrow ‘s starting point at dinner tonight. The official starting point is a little past the pilgrims office and our hostel is further down the Camino path. Since we have technically already traveled that part of the path shall we go back to the starting point again or shall we just go forward from our hostel…hmmmm….    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Biaritz, France

    4 settembre 2023, Francia ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    A cool coastal town in southern France. From here we will take a train to St Jean Pied De Porte. Our plan was to have dinner at the hotel and then crash but the hotel restaurant was closed so we went into the town and had dinner right on The Bay of Biscay. food was great and the view was very calming which is good as we have less than 48 hours before the walking begins! BTW in the photo is Eden Rock. Very large rock!Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Paris airport layover

    4 settembre 2023, Francia ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Long layover in Paris airport on our way to Biarritz for the night…. Paris airport has its perks….Free Wi-Fi that is fast, charging stations all over the place , fountains inside, Starbucks , baguettes and …..a smoking room! ( place was packed!) .
    Flight over was uneventful , 6 hour time difference will hit us later today as we didn’t sleep much. We did spot many potential pilgrims in the airport, large backpacks and hiking clothes are the tip-off!    Leggi altro

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  • Brian SmithCamino FrancesBrian Smith

    Taking Off!

    3 settembre 2023, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

    Our journey begins with the flight to Paris. We will land in the morning then a late afternoon flight to Biarritz where we will spend the night. From there we will train it to St Jean Pied de Porte which is where the Camino Frances starts! We plan to start the walk Wednesday .Leggi altro

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