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Camino de Santiago
  • Aimee Onderlinde
  • Kim Mettler

Camino de Santiago

Hola! Thank you for joining us as we fly to Spain and tackle a whopping 500 miles on the legendary Camino de Santiago. 🥾🇪🇸 We're super excited to share every step of our journey with you all! 📸
Much love,
Las dos hermañas locas 💕 Read more
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  • Camino de Santiago
    For 2 people who rarely drink Coke, it's funny that we both had a craving! 🥤We both felt like we were walking at a snails pace today...1This sweet couple was walking hand & hand for a large stretch of the day today ❤️Meeting Point AlberguePaella Dinner 🥘

    Entering the Meseta

    Apr 29–30, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    Burgos to Hornillos del Camino
    The Meseta is widely considered the “Mind” section of the Camino Frances, due to the long stretches with little distraction. It is about 220km long between Burgos and Leon, and can take 9 days to trek across. The Meseta is a high plateau in central Spain that's mostly treeless and covered in grain and vegetable fields. Most people either love it or hate it. We shall see which camp we fall into… 🌾🌾🌾 We completely lucked out and arrived into Hornillos after a long 22k day to grab the last few beds at an awesome albergue. Aimee is still recovering from a head cold & I’m fighting a bit of a stomach bug, so it felt like an extra hard day for both of us. A wonderful community Paella dinner was the perfect end to the day! ☀️We met new friends today from the UK, Spain, California, New Zeland, Australia, Italy & Germany. ❤️☮️Read more

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    Body, Mind & Soul

    April 29, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    It is said that the Camino de Santiago is a journey for the Body, Mind, and Soul.

    The three distinct geographical regions along the route correspond to the 3 stages of personal growth often experienced along the journey. These include physical conditioning, emotional reflection and spiritual awareness.

    Over the past few weeks, we have covered the first portion
    consisting of rugged, exposed mountains; steep, wooded hills, and fertile river valleys and lowlands extending from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Burgos. This is a landscape that tests and conditions the body in equal measure. For every sublime moment of sun-drenched well being there is an inversely correlated moment of pain-hazed doubt.

    We are now into the emotional Journey to Personal Growth of the Meseta. This central region encompasses the most uninhabited stretch of the Camino and thus provides an abundance of space and solitude.

    On the Meseta one battles not only long distances between villages and extreme summer heat but also boredom, uncertainty and the hundred other emotions that inhabit the human psyche.    Read more

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    Against the Wind 🌬️

    May 1, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 36 °F

    (Castrojeriz to Boadilla del Camino) It was very chilling as we left the town of Castrojeriz this morning but we were soon greeted with our morning warm-up and the highest peak that we will encounter on the Meseta. The strenuous road ahead climbed up and steeply down over the Alto de Mostelares.

    We were rewarded with amazing views of the Meseta from both sides of the plateau. The remainder of the journey today was through the open plains with relentless cold wind coming at us from every direction except from behind, we even had a little hail at one point! It’s amazingly how the weather can affect walking, and how with wind can tire you out, today’s 20k felt like 30k!    Read more

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    Our Dutch Alburgue in Boadilla del Camin

    May 1–2, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    You heard that right! A Dutch albergue in the heart of Spain 🇪🇸

    We were given a tip about this unique albergue a couple of days ago from some new friends from the Netherlands 🇳🇱 and were able to book the last 2 beds available for the evening.

    Two words were our motivation to push against the wind and reach our destination today: DUTCH PANCAKES! Yes, if it’s not clear yet, we WILL walk for food.

    Juntos albergue is a charming place of respite that prides itself on being an albergue for unhurried pilgrims who value a good night’s sleep more than an early departure. That’s why we have quiet time from 10 pm to 6.30 am, so you can really “sleep in” without being disturbed by pilgrims packing their backpacks noisily and shining their headlamps all around. We can’t begin to tell you what a luxury that is for an albergue.

    Believe it or not, heathy and hearty vegetable-based meals are hard to come by on the Camino, apart from a basic mix salad here and there or soup. The wonderful Dutch owners, having walked the Camino Frances themselves, bring to their albergue all the things they felt was missing from the journey, including wonderful vegetarian options and their famous Dutch pancakes…. How are we Dutch and have never had a Dutch pancake ?!?    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    We walked along a beautiful canal for the first 2k or soTrail along the road... this was our view for most of today1Us modeling our funny looking hoods, we call them our swim caps 😂Trail along the road... this was our view for most of todayDinner with our Netherland friends Daphne & KittyAsparagus & PancettaPilgrim in a 3-piece suit!

    Boadilla del Camino to Carrión

    May 2–3, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    Like life, not all parts of the journey are pretty. While the 24k today was relatively flat compared to the trail over the past few weeks, today we walked alongside a road for most of the day. Though chilly, we had high hopes of staying dry. All was good until our luck ran out about 2k from our destination and we were suddenly caught in an onslaught of hail and rain 🌧️ for about 10 minutes.Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    Leaving Carrión
    Food truck pit stop with Daphne & Kitty2You know you're walking across Spain when you have a fresh loaf of French bread in you side pocket2The sleeping quarters at Albergue La Morena in LedigosThe view from inside my bed looking out

    Carrión to Ledigos

    May 3–4, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 36 °F

    Another flat day on the Meseta, however unlike our march along the road yesterday, today we were met with vast open fields, some wild flowers, and a few small wooded areas here and there.

    We left Carrión this morning knowing that our first town for a pit stop was not going to be until 17k (10.5 miles) down the trail. We were thrilled come upon an adorable food truck in the middle of nowhere at about 10k!Read more

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    Life in a Petri Dish 🤢

    May 4–5, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 57 °F

    (Ledigos to Sahagún)
    Another one bites the dust… unfortunately Kim’s now down with the sickness! In addition to catching my cold (this is Aimee writting) she also either had some bad food yesterday or picked up a very nasty stomach bug which kept her up all night. Selfishly, I’m hoping it was food poisoning so I don’t get it too!

    When planning for our trip, we took into account many things that would be taxing on us, mentally and physically.

    One HUGE thing that we absolutely did not think about was how much of a toll being in such close contact with so many different people from around the world would take on our immune systems.

    When you are sleeping in shared areas and eating communal meals with a revolving door of 12 -15 different pilgrims every day, it’s a wonder that we both lasted as long as we did!

    After a few days of R&R, we should be back on the trail.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    1Lee and his Uncle Paul from EnglandFresh ham anyone?Famous 5 star Paradores hotel from the movie "The Way"Pilgrim statue

    Halfway to Santiago! 🥂

    May 5–6, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    Kim is officially on the mend, but we took a short train ride to Leon, to give her body a bit more time to recover and save ourselves a day of hiking in the rain. Before leaving Sahagún, we received our “Halfway Compostela” certificates! We can’t believe that we are already halfway to Santiago! 🇪🇸 We had a relaxing evening in Leon and nice meal at Udon🍜 before hitting the trail again the next morning! 🥾Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    Craziest "pine" tree that I've ever seen1One of our fellow pilgrims channeling his inner Weird Al"Super Grannies" from Taiwon hiking the Camino! Age ain't nothin' but a number!

    Leon to Villar de Mazarife

    May 6–7, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    Today’s walk was a “short” 21k (13 miles) and our first hint of solid Spring weather ☀️ Plenty of sunshine and highs in the mid-60’s. We had the option to take the traditional Camino route along the busy highway, or opt for a few kilometers more and take the green/alternative route, so we opted for door #2. The route took us along a quiet country road for most of the day, with plenty of Spring wildflowers 🌺🌸🌼and birdsong 🪶 to occupy our time. Also, fresh lavender, rosemary & thyme 🍃 to pick & smell along the way! Our albergue for the evening had a very nice home-cooked communal meal of paella for roughly 40 pilgrims. 🥾🇪🇸Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    Davina from New Zealand

    Trail Magic

    May 8, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    When you are planning to travel 8k until your first pit stop of the day and you come across this beautiful pilgrim oasis on the way… that’s Trail Magic my friends!

  • Camino de Santiago

    That Night We Slept in a Tipi 🪶

    May 8–9, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    Tomorrow we will summit the highest peak during our Camino. Tonight in our tipi we will be lulled to sleep by the sounds of crickets and Cuckoo birds. 🪶

  • Camino de Santiago
    Aimee's Petoskey stone from her mom
    2Aimee's Petoskey stone from her momOur friend Paige from TexasThis was just one of the steep loose rock descents of the dayBrian from Denmark

    El Ganso to El Acebo (Cruz de Ferro)

    May 9–10, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Today was a special day. We reached Cruz de Ferro and placed our special rocks from home at the base. The Iron Cross marks the highest part of the mountain pass and has become the place where pilgrims the world over leave behind a stone brought with them from home or elsewhere on the camino.

    We knew this day would be a tough 25k as we went up and over the highest peak on our Camino, but we did not realize just how steep and rocky the decent from Cruz de Ferro would be. Luckily we were rewarded with some amazing views!    Read more

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    The Concrete Jungle

    May 10–11, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 64 °F

    El Acebo to Camponaraya

    We make it a point to find beauty every day on the Camino, but some days are just harder than others.

    While the big cities are beautiful in their own unique ways. The walk in, through, then out of the cities is tough. Sometimes both mentally and physically as we literally pound the pavement for miles and miles on end. The big city cathedrals are stunning but it’s definitely the small towns along the Camino and earthen rural trails that have our hearts. 💞Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    Kim's surprise bday bling that I brought from home
    Kim's surprise bday bling that I brought from homeWe were greeted by a herd of cats as we began our assentWe were greeted by a herd of cats as we began our assentThe town of Villafranca belowThe red arrow is pointing to door #1 (The normal Camino)

    Camponaraya to Trabadelo

    May 11, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    Aka… Kim’s bday hike, Aka… that time we climbed a mountain just for fun when we didn’t realize we had to climb another the next day. 😬

    Along with following way markers “the yellow arrows” we also rely on our trusty guide book and a few different phone apps. Sometimes you are given a possible alternate route, like the “choose your own adventure” books from our childhood.

    Today’s choices according to the app were…

    Door #1: The shorter route taken by most where pilgrims keep along the road which winds along the valley floor following the old national VI road, in the shadow of its replacement highway which soars above. The camino here is on paved asphalt, the old road surface, but is separated from the road by a barrier wall. There are numerous places where it crosses the road, and you are encouraged to watch out for traffic here; it is infrequent but speedy.

    Or Door #2: If we fancied a climb and a not too long (2k) detour. The way offers much better views with little to no traffic and it passes through a chestnut forest. Although the route via Pradela adds less than two kilometers of distance to the day, there is a significant amount of elevation gain/loss. The app also warns that “There may be an old woman there warning against the dangers of wolves, of traveling alone as a single woman, or any other strange and deranged reasons. Ignore her and carry on your merry way.”

    We chose door #2 for Kim’s bday. It was a beautiful day and we did not fancy another concrete road march. Little did we know that we were going waaaaaay up to walk along a mountain ridge line. The views were stunning and we only saw one other pilgrim our whole time on the mountain, well worth the extra effort.

    As we were enjoying pre dinner conversation and a cocktail we were told that the following day we would be greeted by one of our steepest climbs. To quote the app “ When the trail begins to climb again the path is rocky and steep and slick with mud and horse shit. Tread carefully and think happy thoughts.”

    Oops, in retrospect, maybe the days optional climb was not the best idea 😂, but we didn’t regret it.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    2We were surprised to meet up with our friends from the UK again!32

    Casa Susi ~ Trabadelo

    May 11–12, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    In doing our Camino research, there was one small special Albergue “Casa Susi” where we were really hoping to snag a bed. A few weeks into our trip, we calculated when we might arrive in the Trabadelo area and called to see if there was an opening for May 12th. Unfortunately, the date was booked. After looking at our schedule a little more we checked for an opening on May 11th, and they had 2 beds available!!!! It was fate that we were treated to this wonderful Albergue on Kim’s 50th birthday.

    Our jaw dropping day in the mountains culminated with an incredible celebration at Casa Susi, with a home-cooked vegetarian dinner, birthday desserts & singing , followed by a special visit to La Torre de Villafranca del Bierzo Bodega 🍷 to see Dan Mullins (A famous Camino podcaster and musician) in concert! 🎶 . We were up way past our normal 10pm bedtime 😂. Susi and her wonderful husband, Fermín, were such wonderful hosts, we couldn’t have asked for a more special day on the Camino 💕    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    Trabedelo to Liñares (O’Cebreiro)

    May 12–13, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    The climb up to the town of O’Cebreiro is legendary, only second to crossing the Pyrenees Mountains in Camino Francés folklore.

    Hmmmm, so how did we not know this when choosing to summit on “optional” mountain the day before tackling this beast?!?

    We don’t have many pics from the muddy, horse shit (yes, you can apparently take a horse) climb itself, but true to the stories it was rough going. Halfway up, while refilling our water bottles a run away horse came charging down the trail! We came to find out later by someone looking for said horse that it was kicked by a cow… we couldn’t make this up if we tried 😂.

    On the climb to O’Cebreiro we officially entered our last Region of Spain, the Glacia Region.

    Celtic cousin and western neighbour to the province of Asturias, this is Spain’s most north-westerly region, where the inhabitants are fiercely independent and the language spoken is more akin to Portuguese than Spanish. The misty green hills of Galicia are riddled with ancient paths, little hamlets and age-old superstitions, and its long Atlantic coastline is famed for rocky headlands and complex estuaries. They are also famous for Pulpo (octopus) in this Region. 🐙    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    Samos Monastery

    May 13, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    The Monastery of San Xulián de Samos is an active Benedictine monastery in Samos, province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain. It was founded in the sixth century.

    The monastery was the School of Theology and Philosophy. It is also an important stop on the Way of Saint James, a pilgrimage leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great.

    The Large Cloister was built between 1685 and 1689 and has 3,000m², making it the largest in Spain. It is known as “Father Feijoo”. The style is an austere and simple combination of classicism and Herrerianism: nine semicircular arches on each side on the ground floor, Doric columns on the first two floors and Ionic columns on the windows of the third. The walls of the upper floor were decorated with scenes from the life of Saint Benedict and are the work of Enrique Navarro, Celia Cortés and José Luis Rodríguez.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    Group of school kids from IrelandIt's not unusual to see big groups around the major cities in the morning

    100k TO GO! 🎉(Sarria to A Pena)

    May 14–15, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    For those who have little time, but want to experience the beauty of the Camino, you can walk the last 100km and receive the same pilgrimage certificate or Compostela as the pilgrims who have walked all 800k. The route begins in Sarria and ends in Santiago de Compostela, crossing the mountainous landscapes of Galicia.

    For this reason, the Camino becomes much busier after Sarria. There are even large school groups! Some pilgrims who have been walking for 4-5 weeks prior to Sarria have a really hard time adjusting to this culture shock, even if you know it’s coming. While it’s hard not to judge the influx of new pilgrims with their cute small day packs, clean shoes, and fresh legs, overall we have not been bothered. We understand that people have time and physical limitations that may prevent them from enjoying the whole Camino and welcome their new energy.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    Look 👀, no packs!!!!This area is home to a lot of eucalyptus treesThis area is home to a lot of eucalyptus trees

    Melide to Salceda

    May 16–17, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Today our Albergue’s were only a 14k walk from each other. We wanted to walk some more today and knock off a few K’s off tomorrow’s hike so we dropped our packs at our Albergue after 14k and walked another 11k to Salceda WITHOUT our packs, which was an absolute treat!

    When we were done walking, we took a taxi back to our beds for the night. In the morning, we took another taxi back to where we stopped walking the previous day to continue our journey. The added expense of the taxi’s were well worth the experience of getting to put in k’s without weight on our backs! 🥾    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    🎉 15k and countingOur Brazilian friend who we met way back on the bus from Pamplona to St. JeanWalking through groves of eucalyptus trees over the last several daysWalking through groves of eucalyptus trees over the last several daysPaige from TexasOur fancy hotel for the night!Our fancy hotel for the night!Our fancy hotel for the night!

    Salceda to Lavacolla (10k Left!)

    May 17–18, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    How can it be that we only have 6 miles left?!? Seems like just yesterday we were nervously planning this trip. We treated ourselves to a “fancy” hotel room this evening, before we hike our last few miles into Santiago tomorrow and it is bittersweet for the both of us. As we sat in a nice dining room, filled with people sitting at separate tables, having separate conversations, all in English, we immediately missed the communal Camino that we’ve experienced over the last month— rooms overflowing with multiple languages, sharing a meal and laughing (or commiserating) about the trials of the previous day. They say that re-entry back into everyday life after the Camino is hard and I think we’re both beginning to understand why. To be certain, this journey has imprinted itself forever on our hearts. 💕Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
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    In the home stretch!In line at the pilgrim officeOur double sided pilgrim passports, stamped & dated along the way 💕Our official 100k Compostela in LatinOur official 100k Compostela in LatinLatin translationOur official total distance Compostelas in LatinCathedral at nightView of the Cathedral from our apartment

    Our Journeys End ~ Lavacolla to Santiago

    May 18–19, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    The last leg of our Camino ended with a short 10k (6.27mile) walk into Santiago. It’s quite fitting that our last day on the Camino was shrouded in fog and rain just like it began 32 days prior. 💧We were a mix of emotions as we entered the large town square in front of the Cathedral with a bagpipe playing as we passed by.

    Everyday, early Spring through late Fall, hundreds if not thousands of pilgrims end their journeys in the Cathedral square, it’s a very special place to be. As of May 23rd 2024, 120,399 pilgrims received their compostela so far this year. We went back to the Cathedral square many times after our initial arrival to greet friends and celebrate with other pilgrims finishing their own Camino.

    As you walk the Camino you carry with you a Pilgrims Passport (Credential). The pilgrim passport is an essential document for any Camino pilgrim. It is used to collect stamps (sellos) from hostels, hotels, churches, bars and cafes and more along the way.

    In order to access pilgrim accommodation and to obtain your Compostela when you reach Santiago, you will need Pilgrim Credentials. This document will be asked for at pilgrim accommodation along the route and it serves as proof of your pilgrimage.

    After taking pictures & celebrating with our fellow pilgrims, we visited the pilgrim office to show our filled passports and claim our official Camino Compostelas!

    In Santiago we each received 2 different Compostelas, one stating that we completed the last 100k of the Camino and another which lists the town that we stated from with the total kilometers that we walked. There are many different Camino routes through Spain of varying distances.

    Our first night in Santiago we treated ourselves to a small 4th floor apartment with a beautiful view of the cathedral.    Read more

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