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Camino Francés

October 2022
Lifelong friends, Andrea and Elizabeth, are headed to Spain to walk/hike a portion of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Join us on our adventure! Read more
  • 12footprints
  • 2countries
  • 11days
  • 147photos
  • 12videos
  • 9.0kmiles
  • 7.9kmiles
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  • Camino Francés
    Day 9

    Buen Camino! Mileage total: 80.5 miles

    October 14, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    We arrived at the Cathedral in the late afternoon to a sea of people and a buzz of excitement! People were cheering and screaming when they saw people they knew from the trail, taking lots of pictures, and just sitting and taking in the moment. Some of the people had been walking for 40 days or more, starting from the south of France or another Camino. Our 6 days of walking
    seemed minor compared to that, but it meant so much to us. We were filled with joy, relief, and sadness as we embraced each other and our newfound friends. The immense and intricate Cathedral served as an appropriate backdrop. We later went to the Pilgrim’s Mass inside and the altar was startlingly beautiful with gold angels holding up a golden chalice. We had a special treat when 8 priests swung the largest catholic incense burner in the world back and forth in front of the altar, something they only do on Friday nights and holidays (see video). We topped the amazing day with a delicious dinner at a Michelin bib restaurant. Throughout the trip we would always say “this is my Camino” or “this is your Camino”. Camino means way or path. This journey really hit home that everyone truly has their own Camino that they are walking!

    Thanks to all our family and friends for supporting us through this amazing journey and we really appreciated your enthusiastic comments and questions! We highly recommend walking the Camino Francés. With a fire burning in your heart, anything is possible! Buen Camino! ♥️
    Andrea and Elizabeth    Read more

  • Camino Francés
    Day 9

    Day 6 Camino: 16 miles

    October 14, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Our last day of walking! We got up early to try and catch the sunrise and left the inn around 8 with our headlights on. We walked with our Israeli friends and met several people we knew along the route. It was bitter sweet- knowing we have walked so far and that it would soon be over. We savored the day, stopping for lots of photos, drinks, and food. It did start drizzling but not bad. There were a lot more people walking with us as everyone made their way to the Cathedral or Santiago; the traditional end of the Camino. We entered the city of Santiago de Compostela, a large city with a lot of hustle and bustle, traffic and noise. But as we made our way to the Cathedral the streets narrowed and wound their way around like a maze lined with stores, inns, and restaurants. There were many other pilgrims heading in our direction and our excitement grew as we made our way through the streets and alleys.
    To be continued …..

    Andrea and Elizabeth    Read more

  • Camino Francés
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    Day 8

    Day Five Camino: 12.5 miles

    October 13, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Luckily the baby in the creepy crib outside our room only cried once last night! 😱😂 We left our palatial manor house around 9:30am and headed to A Rua. We passed several people we recognized from the week and then saw our Israeli sister friends. We walked the rest of the way with them, stopping for lunch but the place was so crowded they ran out of food! The Camino is more crowded now because several of the routes come together in Arzua. Luckily we had packed some ham and cheese from breakfast and some ribs from the night before— of course!! So we had our own little lunch. It was overcast all day and a little drizzly at times which was nice and cool for walking. The Camino was pretty flat today and we walked about 12 1/2 miles. We are staying at a cute hotel in the small town of A Rua and had a delicious dinner and interesting conversation with our new friends from Tel Aviv. Tomorrow is our last walking day. We cannot believe how fast this has gone. We thought the walking would seem long, difficult and endless but it really was very peaceful- even the hills! We talked, pondered life, met new people, and viewed the beautiful countryside. It will be hard to see it end but it will also feel great that we did it!

    Andrea and Elizabeth    Read more

  • Camino Francés
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    Day 7

    Day four Camino: 11 miles

    October 12, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Today we walked from Melide to Azrua - about 11 miles. We went through many small towns, again passing farms, fields, and churches. The landscape and surroundings are constantly changing which makes the walk very interesting and not so arduous. We were feeling it more today; Andrea with a small blister on her toe and Elizabeth with some achey knees. We are starting to recognize people on the Camino who have been walking to the same towns as us and we chit chat as we walk or when we stop for a coffee or snack. We have an evening ritual of our Spanish wine (Andrea) and Sangria (Elizabeth) that we look forward to! Tonight we are staying in an amazing 17th century, refurbished manor in the countryside. Hopefully it’s not haunted! 👻 Enjoy our photos and videos, including “Camino Q&A”!
    Andrea and Elizabeth    Read more

  • Camino Francés
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    Day 6

    Day three Camino: 9 miles

    October 11, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    After a pretty terrible night’s sleep - we could hear the person in the next room snoring all night! - we got up a little later and had a nice breakfast of freshly squeezed orange juice, yogurt, toast and eggs. We were driven to the trailhead and started day 3 from Palas de Reí. Knowing it was “only” 9 miles made us a little more energetic, but we were tired! We walked through several small towns/hamlets, passing old churches, and walking under a canopy of trees. We ran into some more cute dogs and cats and and saw/smelled many more cows. We chatted with people from Iceland, Bueno Aires, Barcelona, Romania, Canada & Chicago. We joined two sisters from Tel Aviv for dinner this evening and had a wonderful time talking. It’s incredible the diverse group of people doing this experience. All different ages, abilities, ethnicities, and languages. Some are fit and have all the expensive gear, while others are in their matching workout outfit, full makeup, sneakers and a tiny bag. We all are headed to the same place - Santiago de la Compestella. Some people started from the beginning and this is day 30+, while others like us will do a 6-day journey and come back a few more times to do the rest. We finished the day with 9 miles completed and a total of 11 miles after we explored our latest stop, the town of Melide.
    CAMINO Q&A: Send us your questions in the comments below and we will make a video to answer them on Wednesday! 🥾🎒🌎
    Buen Camino!
    Andrea and Elizabeth    Read more

  • Camino Francés
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    Day 5

    Day two Camino: 17 miles 🔥

    October 10, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 50 °F

    We started today bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to conquer the day! Soon after we started though we were hit with a pretty steep hill, pouring rain and high winds. But not to worry- we had the gear!! We threw on our raincoats, rain pants and even rain cover for our backpacks! We continued throughout the day walking with a steady stream of other pilgrims. We stopped for lunch- bacon and cheese sandwich- and then for ice cream of course! As the miles passed our feet definitely were feeling it! The newness and wonder wore off pretty quickly! By mile 14 we were pretty done but we dug deep and knocked out the final 3! We arrived at our hotel- a 218 year old farm house with beautiful grounds and a delicious meal. We are definitely beat and glad for our “short” day of 9 miles tomorrow!

    A and E    Read more

  • Camino Francés
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    Day 4

    Day one Camino - 15 miles

    October 9, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    After a hearty breakfast of ham, cheese and lemon cake we hit the trail. We weren’t sure what to expect on our first day- 15 miles is a lot! We started off with an incline and after Elizabeth got out her poles we were movin’! There was a steady stream of people of all ages speaking many different languages ahead and behind us. A lot more people than on our New England hikes! Everyone was friendly and we said “buen Camino” as we left them in the dust! 😉 The landscape was very diverse from sprawling hills to field and farms to rocks and rivers. We saw cows, lambs, horses, chickens, dogs and cats. Having so much to take in helped the time and miles pass and we were soon more than half way. There are many little bars along the way and we stopped a couple of times to refill our water and empty other things! We had a delicious lunch of Spanish tortilla and a goat cheese and honey sandwich- 😋 Our final leg was a steep decline and then a steep incline up stairs and windy roads to our hotel. We put our feet up- literally on the wall to stretch out and rested for a while. We are both amazed at how quickly the 15 miles went by! Tomorrow is another 15. We’ll see if that sense of awe and wonder carries us through the next trek through the rain forecast for tomorrow. ☔️🥾

    Andrea and Elizabeth    Read more

  • Camino Francés
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    Day 3

    Arrival in Sarria

    October 8, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    We left our wonderful Madrid hotel and headed to the train station for our afternoon 4-hour trip to Sarria. It was a great train ride which included naps, reading and chocolate. We arrived in the town of Sarria (pop 13,500) around 5pm and we streamed off the train with approx 50 other peregrinos. Our hotel for the night is directly across from the train station so we had little to walk with our now somewhat embarrassingly large bags. 😂When we start tomorrow on the Camino, our duffles will be transferred to our next hotel 13 miles away. We will carry day packs with necessities.

    We are both feeling a wide range of emotions. Excitement, nervousness, fear of the unknown. I think both of us will feel more assured after we’ve completed our first day. We will check in again after our 6-8 hours on The Way tomorrow. Next stop: Portomarin

    Buen Camino!
    Elizabeth and Andrea    Read more

  • Camino Francés
    1151
    Day 2

    Madrid

    October 7, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    We arrived in Madrid at 5:30am and made our way to the hotel for a power nap. We then walked all over Madrid to see the sights. It’s a wonderful city and the weather has been perfect … low 70’s. This is a city of people who greatly appreciate food and wine which leads to countless delicious options. We are headed out soon for evening tapas and sangria. Jet lag has us a little woozy, but we have had a great day regardless.Read more

  • Camino Francés
    2
    Day 1

    Let the adventure begin!

    October 6, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    We are at Logan in Boston, waiting to board our flight to Madrid, arriving early Friday morning. Buen Camino!

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