Apr. – Juni 2025

Camino Mixto

This year I explore the Camino Frances and the Camino Invierno, with a detour as an Hospitalera in Rabanal del Camino. Topped off with a Mediterranean Cruise! Weiterlesen

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Footprints
Fotos

Beginn der Reise
8. April 2025
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- Montag, 7. April 2025 um 22:41
- 🌧 8 °C
- Höhe über NN: 728 m
- Kanada 53.307262, -113.58453°18’26” N 113°35’2” W
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On my way!
7. April in Kanada ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
The adventure begins!🎒
I am about to board my first flight. Edmonton to Montreal 🛫👋
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ReisenderBrutal way to start, a red-eye flight and only two time zones! Glad to see you have begun the new adventure.🥾
08.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderThanks. Now for another overnight flight with six more time zones.
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ReisenderBuen Camino!
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- Tag 1
- Dienstag, 8. April 2025 um 09:16
- ☁️ -1 °C
- Höhe über NN: 47 m
- Kanada Dorval 45.458583, -73.75033745°27’31” N 73°45’1” W
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The next step
8. April in Kanada ⋅ ☁️ -1 °C
Soon I will board my next flight, this one to Madrid. My cousin Larry was kind enough to come to the airport and help me to pass the time today. Ten hours is a long time to wait.

And what do you think of my new little friend? I was thinking to name him Iago (like Santiago but not a saint) - unless you give me a better name?Weiterlesen
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Reisender Great to inspire and to motivate!
08.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderIago, Shakespeare’s villain from Othello?😀
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Way to go Arlene!! I’m so happy for you! I am anxiously awaiting my next camino, hopefully this year. Can’t wait to hear about your volunteering! Where are you starting? Stay safe and enjoy!❤️ [Marilyn]
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- Tag 2
- Mittwoch, 9. April 2025 um 15:21
- ☁️ 21 °C
- Höhe über NN: 828 m
- Spanien León 42.59502, -5.58121342°35’42” N 5°34’52” W
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España 🇪🇸
9. April in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Two sleepless nights in a rows is taking a toll! But tonight I have a private room!

I arrived in Madrid 🛫 about 6:45 a.m. (10:45 p.m. Edmonton time) and made my way to the train 🚆 station.

Everything went smoothly except for some difficulty activating an eSIM on my phone. But I did have time for a café con leche and a cerveza limón!

The high speed train to León was lovely and included a full lunch. Then it was a short walk to my hotel with that private room. I’ll start using albergues tomorrow.

Now I’m off to see the Cathedral and a few other places. And maybe find tapas. 🍷🇪🇸⛪️Weiterlesen
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ReisenderVery jealous. Buen camino!
09.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
Reisender Have a good experience Arlene
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Enjoy your adventure [Joan Campbell]
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- Tag 2
- Mittwoch, 9. April 2025 um 17:16
- ☁️ 23 °C
- Höhe über NN: 839 m
- Spanien León 42.601842, -5.57660842°36’7” N 5°34’36” W
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Exploring León
9. April in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
A shower and a change of clothes felt wonderful after 48 hours of travel! I set out to explore León. I saw my first Camino marker, stopped in at the Basilica San Isidoro, then Catedral León. It is such a beautiful building with so much history.

Then I had two things on my agenda. Eat something and buy some poles. The lack of sleep made me completely indecisive; so, after wandering aimlessly, I headed back toward my hotel and found amazing homemade potato chips, free with a beer 🍺 🍺 (una más, por favor), and a great price for 2 cheerful yellow hiking poles (both places less than a block from my hotel.)

Now satiated and exhausted, I am heading to bed.Weiterlesen
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Reisender Great pictures. Snazzy poles.
09.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderYes, I shouldn’t lose them 😎
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Reisender Oh my, that is a lot of stained glass! Beautiful.
10.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderI think the most beautiful church on the Camino Frances.
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- Tag 3
- Donnerstag, 10. April 2025 um 09:52
- ☀️ 13 °C
- Höhe über NN: 852 m
- Spanien León 42.600892, -5.57986242°36’3” N 5°34’48” W
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Day 1 - Leon to Oncina
10. April in Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
I had SUCH a good sleep! And the hotel provided a filling breakfast. I was in no rush today, so I didn’t start to walk until about 10:00.

Walking out of León was easy but via sidewalks and industrial zones. At one point was a big pedestrian overpass, but it was blocked off. I must have looked confused but a local woman redirected me to an alternative route.

I walked a bit with a woman from the UK, my first pilgrim contact! I was at the albergue by 1:00, with time for a cerveza.

The albergue I stayed in tonight was charming and peaceful in a sleepy little town. There were 5 pilgrims, from Germany, New Zealand, and Canada. There was a communal meal which included paella. Very yummy.Weiterlesen
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Reisender Great pictures and commentary. Have you named him Lago?
10.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderIt is actually Iago with a capital i- darn san serif font.
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- Tag 4
- Freitag, 11. April 2025 um 08:15
- ☀️ 8 °C
- Höhe über NN: 873 m
- Spanien La Virgen del Camino 42.55168, -5.66177242°33’6” N 5°39’42” W
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Day 2 - Oncina to Hospital de Orbigo
11. April in Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
Today I walked 25 km, a lot further than I have walked for a long time. But it was fairly flat, about half on dirt roads and half on pavement.

I stopped twice - once for café con leche and tortilla español, and once for a coke and napolitana. Healthy treats. Now I’m enjoying a cerveza. ☕️🍺

Tonight I will have dinner at the albergue. I am staying at Albergue Hidalgos.Weiterlesen
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Reisender Love this picture
11.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderYou are moving right along. Love the photos and maps
11.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
Enjoy [Terri Lupton]
12.04.25Antworten
ahhh [Laurel]
18.04.25Antworten
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- Tag 5
- Samstag, 12. April 2025 um 08:05
- ☁️ 9 °C
- Höhe über NN: 824 m
- Spanien Hospital de Órbigo 42.463495, -5.88417242°27’49” N 5°53’3” W
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Day 3 - Hospital de Orbigo to Astorga
12. April in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
There was light rain today, so I tested my rain gear. It was sufficient. My boots are a bit muddy though. The trail was on gravel roads quite a bit, with a red dirt. And more hills as well.

The slugs and snails and caterpillars were also in abundance on the trail. They seem to like the moist weather.

I got into Astorga early in the afternoon. I checked into my albergue, it is quite swanky with NO bunk beds and very modern.

I went to lunch at a Pizzeria and had amazing pasta.Weiterlesen
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Reisender Wonderful wisdom
12.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
Reisender Does your friend/mascot have a name yet?
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ReisenderYou can call him Señor Burro 🫏 or Diego.
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- Tag 5
- Samstag, 12. April 2025 um 15:44
- ☁️ 15 °C
- Höhe über NN: 879 m
- Spanien Astorga 42.45745, -6.0557542°27’27” N 6°3’21” W
Astorga
12. April in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
I met up with Llew, who will be my partner volunteering at the albergue. We went to see the Gaudi Camino Museum, which was once a Bishop’s Palace. Lots of history and art.

Some artifacts were from Roman times, some more recent. The building itself was a piece of art, designed by Antonio Gaudi. Even the tiles had designs integrated. Amazing!

I picked up a cheap bottle of vino tinto on the way back to our accommodation, so I’m set for the night.Weiterlesen
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- Tag 6
- Sonntag, 13. April 2025 um 09:46
- ☀️ 10 °C
- Höhe über NN: 884 m
- Spanien Astorga 42.456787, -6.05850842°27’24” N 6°3’31” W
Palm Sunday in Astorga
13. April in Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C
I managed to watch the Palm Sunday procession here in Astorga this morning. This is one of the things I was looking forward to in Spain 🇪🇸 and I was not disappointed.

It wasn’t huge, two marching bands and several walker (some appeared to be local dignitaries). Then came Jesus carried by about 50 men walking close together and marching slowly, creating a rocking effect of the ‘float’ - it wasn’t like a parade in North America but I’d call it a float anyway, though it must have been very heavy.

Walkers and spectators clutched either olive branches or dried palm fronds.

The procession went along the narrow streets to the Plaza Mayor, where there was a short service, then the crowd dispersed.Weiterlesen
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ReisenderQuite the pageantry! Very unusual take on the Palm Sunday procession to Jerusalem. Thanks for sharing.
13.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderVery typical for Spain 🇪🇸. some communities have processions every day of Semana Santa.
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ReisenderVery impressive.
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- Tag 6
- Sonntag, 13. April 2025 um 14:45
- ☁️ 16 °C
- Höhe über NN: 874 m
- Spanien Astorga 42.45525, -6.05294742°27’19” N 6°3’11” W
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More Astorga
13. April in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Other than observing Palm Sunday, I spent some time wandering around, enjoyed a café con leche with a slice of Tarte de Manzana 🍎. This is a walled city and had lovely views from the wall. The view reminded me of Calgary with the mountains in the distance.

We also explored the Museo Romana which displays artifacts from when Romans occupied the area. Many over 2,000 years old!

Later on I had a cerveza and Patatas Bravas. Tonight we are having a communal meal at the albergue, Brazilian food prepared by our host. She walked the Camino in 2018, then opened her own albergue just a few months later.Weiterlesen
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Reisender Haha
13.04.25Antworten
Reisender Love the placemats 💗
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Reisender Very nice albergue.
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- Tag 7
- Montag, 14. April 2025 um 08:11
- ☁️ 7 °C
- Höhe über NN: 879 m
- Spanien Astorga 42.454617, -6.05537842°27’17” N 6°3’19” W
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Astorga to Rabanal del Camino
14. April in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
This is the day we arrived at the albergue we are to be volunteering at for a bit over two weeks. It was a 20 km walk, mostly up hill.

I had an oops with my garmin and accidentally turned it off at one stop so we have two videos for today’s walk. There is poor internet here so I may not be as regular with posts.

We have been introduced to the outgoing hospitaleros. Very nice, and we enjoyed our first afternoon tea party. Should be an interesting time.Weiterlesen
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Reisender Are they to visit? Or ?
15.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderI think you can stay in them, but they were too far off the trail to check it out.
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- Tag 8
- Dienstag, 15. April 2025 um 06:32
- ☁️ 1 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.160 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.482159, -6.28498342°28’56” N 6°17’6” W
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Hospitalera Training Day
15. April in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
Peter and Fiona, the outgoing volunteers, trained us for our duties today and introduced us to Susana at the tienda (shop).

It was snowing when the first pilgrim left before light, and continues to be cold with alternating snow, rain and sun. Even inside it is cold but we do have a fireplace and some space heaters. 🌨️❄️🌧️🌦️🥶 I should have brought more clothes☺️.

I have added some photos of Refugio Gaucelmo, my temporary home.Weiterlesen
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Reisender It is really inspiring Arlene
18.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderYes, I thought so also.
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I love the stork nests. [Laurel]
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Keep warm Arlene. [Laurel]
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- Tag 8
- Dienstag, 15. April 2025 um 20:42
- ⛅ 2 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.166 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.482392, -6.28521742°28’57” N 6°17’7” W
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Hospitalera Day 1
15. April in Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C
Fiona and Peter left this morning so it is just Llew and me to run the show now. We had 14 pilgrims last night.

I get to clean the upstairs and Llew does the downstairs. My part includes the dormitorio (20 beds) 🛏️and the servicios (showers and toilets) 🚽

Also I do floors upstairs and laundry.

Meanwhile Llew cleans the kitchen, office, entryway, and the lounge, including floors. Then he takes out the rubbish and gets the fire started in the fireplace.

Together we count the money in the donativo boxes and do some minor record keeping.

Tea is served at 5:00 pm, and breakfast at 7:00 am.

That will be my routine for the next two and a bit weeks. The photos today are mostly a tour of the albergue.Weiterlesen
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ReisenderThat is a lot of work!
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ReisenderIt’s not bad and I’m proud of our cleanliness standards.
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I think they have upgraded this room since I was there in 2013. I remember it as a dark room with wood or stone floors. It looks very nice with a good chance of keeping away bed bugs. [Laurel]
18.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderYes, improvements have been made. And the mattress covers are cleaned after each pilgrim.
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- Tag 10
- Donnerstag, 17. April 2025 um 10:45
- ⛅ 5 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.160 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.482145, -6.2849842°28’56” N 6°17’6” W
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4
Hospitalera Day 2
17. April in Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
I won’t bore you with the same details every day. Today the clean up was a bit quicker though, so I had time to walk around the village.

Also, the weather is much more pleasant today, so I can show you our garden. It is quite large and would be a wonderful place to relax later in the season.

During my walk about I did a bit of shopping at two of the three small tiendas in town. I found peanut butter (which is rare in Spain) and a thermal shirt (which I have been desiring). They say the Camino provides. Happily, it is true.

Here’s some history. In about 1990, a couple of British friends were walking the Camino and there was nowhere to stay between Astorga and Ponferrada. That is about 50 km! So they had the idea to build an albergue in Rabanal del Camino (not quite half way, but a great stopping point). Together with the Confraternity of St James (UK pilgrim group) and the bishopric of Astorga, a building was renovated. Gaucelmo is named after a hermit from the area.

Now there are at least ten places for pilgrims to sleep, from tents in the public garden to private rooms in the Posada. There are at least two churches, three tiendas (shops) and several bars/restaurants. And it started with Refugio Gaucelmo!Weiterlesen
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Reisender Love this picture.
17.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderSo do I ❤️
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Reisender Maybe for you and Greg
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ReisenderI don’t think so.
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- Tag 11
- Freitag, 18. April 2025 um 16:33
- ☁️ 11 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.169 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.482372, -6.28632842°28’57” N 6°17’11” W
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Hospitalera Day 3
18. April in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
Today started out with decent weather, then around 11:30 it started to rain and the temperature has dropped since then. There is more snow forecast tonight.

When we opened at 1:00 we had eight chilly pilgrims waiting at the gate, then only three more since then.

The weather in Rabanal is cold but the fireplace and the company is warm. Pilgrims from España, Switzerland, USA, Ireland, and Korea joined our tea party. ☕️🍪

I went out for a pilgrim meal this evening, very filling and tasty. 😋Weiterlesen
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ReisenderThe fireplace and the company is warm. Beautiful picture.
18.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
Reisender Interesting to see the pilgrims. 😌
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Reisender Nothing like a warm bowl of soup on a chili day🩷
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- Tag 12
- Samstag, 19. April 2025 um 07:06
- ☁️ 1 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.157 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.481583, -6.28508342°28’54” N 6°17’6” W
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Hospitalera Day 4
19. April in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
Sorry to go on about the weather. Today is forecast to be the coldest day, then tomorrow slightly warmer. We might even get into double digits by Monday or Tuesday.

Today I decided to bake lemon 🍋 squares for our tea. This was an adventure as I am not accustomed to using a gas range. Setting the oven temperature is a guessing game. I only overcooked them a bit.

We have another family today, from the Netherlands 🇳🇱 but living as nomads with their ten year old son. He has too much energy considering he walked 20 km today. He was required to do a homeschooling lesson before tea (or in his case, Colacao).

In the evening a couple of pilgrims pulled a puzzle off the shelf and started in on it. So we couldn’t stop until it was finished. Great fun, except for the one missing piece.Weiterlesen
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Reisender It's so nice to see the trees with the leaves all out!
20.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
The bird song is lovely and i can almost smell the green leaves. [Laurel]
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- Tag 13
- Sonntag, 20. April 2025 um 10:56
- ☀️ 6 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.168 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.482447, -6.28574742°28’57” N 6°17’9” W
Hospitalera Day 5
20. April in Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C
Happy Easter Sunday! The sky is much more clear today and we can see plenty of snow on the nearby mountains.

How many can say they have been to Easter Sunday service in a 12th century church presided over by our neighbours at the Benedictine Monastery? I can now claim that experience!

Today we had our first Canadian pilgrims, from Ontario. Also Spanish, French, Brazilian, American, Italian, United Kingdom, and Portuguese.
🇪🇸🇨🇦🇫🇷🇮🇹🇧🇷🇺🇸🇵🇹🇬🇧

If you are interested in our albergue, we have a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/share/1FX8m8EVVS/?mibe…Weiterlesen
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ReisenderGreat pictures and commentary.
21.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
I loved this church service. Did the Priest sing it in Gregorian Chant? [Laurel]
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ReisenderThis was a regular mass and was in Spanish.
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- Tag 14
- Montag, 21. April 2025 um 09:00
- ☁️ 6 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.160 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.48198, -6.28487242°28’55” N 6°17’6” W
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Hospitalera Day 6
21. April in Spanien ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C
My family asked for more donkey so I decided that Diego could help with my chores.

Most of our pilgrims were European today, but we did have one from Mexico 🇲🇽 and two bicigrinos from Argentina 🇦🇷. We also have a wheelchair pilgrim from the Netherlands. She has wheeled all the way from home over about 10 years (in stages).Weiterlesen
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ReisenderHopefully Diego is well paid!
21.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderAlmost as much as I get paid.
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Reisender😆
21.04.25Antworten
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- Tag 15
- Dienstag, 22. April 2025 um 07:48
- ⛅ 5 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.160 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.481983, -6.28487242°28’55” N 6°17’6” W
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Hospitalera Day 7
22. April in Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
It’s hard to believe that we have been here for a week now! Today the sun is shining and the temperature is up to a balmy high of 14 degrees today!

Llew placed an order with our neighbouring tienda a few days ago, and today I picked up a Tarte de Santiago and fixings to make a beef stew. Yum!

The monastery/chapel is vey quiet today, all the monks and priests have left. Maybe something to do with the pope’s passing? Last time I went on Camino, in 2022, the queen died. Is there significance?

We have a small group today, just six pilgrims. Two young girls from USA offered to cook dinner for everyone ❤️. It was lovely, they even used some herbs from the garden. Which seems to be a friendly place for insects also.

I was asked about the tea. This albergue is managed by the UK organization Confraternity of St James. They stock the albergue with plenty of English tea at the start of the season.Weiterlesen
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Reisender That's a load
22.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
Reisender ☕️ That is a lot of tea!
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ReisenderThe Queen and the Pope would not want you to take it personally.
22.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
I'm doing some catch-up, Arlene. Love your photos! [Nick]
29.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
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Reisender Camino Mixto
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- Tag 16
- Mittwoch, 23. April 2025 um 07:03
- 🌙 5 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.160 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.481975, -6.2848842°28’55” N 6°17’6” W
2 1
Hospitalera Day 8
23. April in Spanien ⋅ 🌙 5 °C
Having a small group of pilgrims made the cleanup easier, and we were finished in record time.

The sun is shining today so I hung the washing on the line in the garden. It dried very quickly.

I went for a walk to the end of the village, that didn’t take very long. There are a couple more restaurants I could try. However, I would have to walk uphill to the albergue after eating, so I’m not sure if I want to do that.

Llew and I cooked dinner for ourselves today with a beef stew, just adding what we found in the pantry to the beef we bought. Tasty! Homecooking was a welcome change.

We have our youngest pilgrim to date; Helena is not quite two years old and traveling with Mom and Mom’s friend. She spends most of the walking time in the stroller but has been playing in the garden for much of the afternoon. Luckily we have a small room with two bunks that we can offer to families with small children. That keeps the baby out of the main dorm. Everyone is happy about that.Weiterlesen
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Reisender Who is Diego’s friend?
23.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderLlew brought the kiwi.
24.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderWow! Not quite 2? How has she been with travel?
23.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderShe has been great. They are just walking 5 days, but last year they walked the Camino Portuguese when she was less than one year old! She is a natural pilgrim.
24.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
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- Tag 17
- Donnerstag, 24. April 2025 um 06:54
- 🌙 7 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.160 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.481983, -6.2848842°28’55” N 6°17’6” W
Hospitalera Day 9
24. April in Spanien ⋅ 🌙 7 °C
Last night’s pilgrims were a bit slow to get going. Especially one fellow who forgot some clothes on the line in the garden, and then ended up forgetting some other things beside his bunk. Oh, well, he has a lighter backpack now.

This afternoon we had a visit by a lady from the Sanidad department. She took some water samples and checked the water temperature of the showers. “Bueno” she said. Then I think we get a report after the samples are analyzed.

We have only four pilgrims tonight, very quiet. We had a guest at teatime from the monastery next door. Benjamin is a different kind of hospitalero at the monastery, which is more of a retreat experience. Pilgrims can stay there for a minimum of two nights if they would like some peaceful time to reflect or process their Camino.Weiterlesen
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- Tag 18
- Freitag, 25. April 2025 um 12:16
- ☀️ 18 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.166 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.48243, -6.28518842°28’57” N 6°17’7” W
1
Hospitalera Day 10
25. April in Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
I have a total of 18 hospitalera days at Gaucelmo, so I won’t be upset if you get a little bored. Each day is much the same, but the pilgrims each day are so diverse and interesting. We did have a little excitement last night when the smoke alarm in the dormitory went off just before ten pm (pilgrim midnight). For no reason. Disturbing for all.

The storks were active this morning as we did our rubbish run. They make quite a lot of noise at times.

Today we were invited to share lunch in the monastery, it was lovely. During lunch we were asked to be silent while one of the monks read the bible and then some music was played. Afterwards we had a short chat before hurrying back to open the gate.

We have 12 pilgrims today. Four are from the UK. 🇬🇧 They were so happy to speak English and to enjoy the English tea. Plus, Mike from the UK bought some wine so we could all toast his birthday (which was two weeks ago but he didn’t have anyone to celebrate with at the time.)Weiterlesen
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Reisender Always good to celebrate one’s birthday 🎉 🍷
26.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
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Reisender Camino Mixto
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- Tag 19
- Samstag, 26. April 2025 um 10:59
- ☀️ 8 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.169 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.482478, -6.28629242°28’57” N 6°17’11” W
1 1
Hospitalera Day 11
26. April in Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
Some of yesterday’s pilgrims were pigs. Usually people are quite tidy and considerate. Not so with a couple of the people from last night. It didn’t help that they spent the whole afternoon drinking. At least one fell out of bed in the night, and there was more snorers than we have had so far. And then there was the mess in the baños. Yikes!

So most people did not get a very restful sleep. Unlike our other guests who commented on their excellent sleep. I’m glad I have a private room. Even so, the loud thumps were disturbing. Maybe he fell out of bed more than once.

I do like cattle, and there were several grazing in a field by the rubbish bins. You can still see snow on the mountains.

Apparently today is ladies only at Refugio Gaucelmo. (Just by chance) We had 6 women, all of them showed up individually. They were so happy with our ladies night ❤️. They had also been in some albergues with men who make excessive noise. Yes, I know that women can also make noise and be messy, but we all believe that tonight is likely to be muy tranquilo. 😌

Llew was quite impressed to be the only man in the house, and just had to get a photo with all the girls.

Tonight I went all the way down the hill to the start of town and had the advertised Pilgrim’s Big Meatball. With 🍷 vino tinto of course. It was very good. I spoke with a couple of American pilgrims. They each had a private room at the Posada.

The sun was shining today but it felt a bit chilly with the breeze. Diego likes the fireplace.Weiterlesen
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ReisenderDo you know the name of the mountain we can see in the distance of your first three shots?
26.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderProbably Pico Teleno, but I’m not certain.
27.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
ReisenderSleep well, pilgrim.
26.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
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- Tag 20
- Sonntag, 27. April 2025 um 15:28
- ☀️ 16 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.159 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.481955, -6.28481342°28’55” N 6°17’5” W
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Hospitalera Day 12
27. April in Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Almost everyone slept well last night, and the cleaning was very easy today.

Yesterday Larry asked about the mountain in some of my photos, so I have added a screenshot of my best guess. Pico Teleno, thankfully not quite on the Camino. Based on the amount of snow it is probably a higher elevation, and colder.

I attended Sunday Mass again, this time I understood a bit more. Benjamin from the monastery shared an English version of the readings and I was able to follow at least some of the sermon. And the service is similar in any language.

Wow! Pilgrims kept coming from the time we opened until about 6:30, when I posted the ‘COMPLETO’ sign. Twenty is our maximum right now, meant to be in one big dorm, though I put a family in our 2 bunk room (4 beds) as Mom is sick with a cold and cough. In the summer we can house 37 pilgrims when we open the ‘barn’ - too cold in there right now.

This evening I went to Posada de Gaspar for dinner. Usually they find a table for me in the bar (it’s like a small pub) but today they sent me to the dining room. I thought that was only for fancy guests (they have fancy guest rooms) but apparently is okay for overflow. I had the hamburguesa again but this time I was smart and took off the top bun, eating it with a knife and fork. This includes ham, bacon, burger, egg, and cheese on a large bun with tomato and lettuce. Accompanied by fries and a cerveza. Very nice, too much food.

I’m not sure if I posted a photo of Julián Campo previously, but I am adding one here. We are on Julián Campo Plaza, along with the monastery and church. According to the plaque he was a volunteer in Calcutta, but may have ties to the Camino as well.Weiterlesen
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Reisender Perfect.
27.04.25Antworten
Still looks like cool Camino walking, with so many people wearing warm coats. [Nick]
29.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
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- Tag 21
- Montag, 28. April 2025 um 13:04
- ☀️ 16 °C
- Höhe über NN: 1.146 m
- Spanien Santa Colomba de Somoza 42.481542, -6.28254242°28’54” N 6°16’57” W
Hospitalera Day 13
28. April in Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Another beautiful sunny spring day in Rabanal de Camino! With a small glitch of a power outage. Hopefully it is solved before tea time❤️🫖☕️.

At least we are done all the cleaning, which wasn’t so bad with 20 pilgrims.

I visited with Brother Kastian this morning. He runs the monastery gift shop and makes rosaries during quiet times. These are very beautiful.

Still no power here. I guess it is widespread in Spain and Portugal. We are fine though, and at the moment I seem to have data so will post this. Will follow with photos etc when able.Weiterlesen
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ReisenderHope you weren't too badly impacted by the power outage. Ken saw it in the news and thought of you.
29.04.25AntwortenÜbersetzen
Reisender❤️❤️
29.04.25Antworten
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