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Spain San Martín del Camino

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  • TravelerCamino Mixto
    2221
    Day 5

    Day 3 - Hospital de Orbigo to Astorga

    April 12 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 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.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mixto
    2
    Day 4

    Day 2 - Oncina to Hospital de Orbigo

    April 11 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 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 pan chocolate. Healthy treats. Now I’m enjoying a cerveza. ☕️🍺

    Tonight I will have dinner at the albergue. I am staying at Albergue Hidalgos.    Read more

  • TravelerChris’s Camino
    Day 27

    Short walk to Oncina de la Valdoncina

    Yesterday in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    I had seen comments on the Camino forum about this being a very cool albergue. So I figured I would give my feet one more short day, and stop here. So around 6 miles. My feet are happy. It is pretty cool place, 300 years old, I am the only one here. But she does have a dog that I can pet. Maybe some cats too but they are out doing cat things.

    There has been much advice to get a bus on the way out of Leon and skip the outskirts which are not too pretty. But since it was a short distance anyway, I decided to tough it. It wasn’t all that bad. Got to see some older less kept-up parts of the city. Lots of slow traffic near me most of the time as well. Then my walk changed to an alternate route that goes through the countryside for a while, before coming to this tiny little town. I did see a bunny, but was unable to get it on the camera. There are no restaurants open in this town, but Olga, the albergue owner is going to make dinner.    Read more

  • TravelerFénix Camino
    Day 12

    Day 10. Stg 22. Astorga

    April 29 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    The 15-mile walk to Astorga was a great way to end my Camino. The walk itself had a little bit of everything, the people were entertaining, and it was a perfect spring day.

    I walked stage 22 of the Camino to celebrate Simon Bromley's life. Simon was Tania's husband, who passed away in 2016. He always wanted to walk the Camino, and now Tania is walking the walk for/with him. He was a wonderful human being and husband. Big hug to Tania my Camino angel 😇

    As we walked, we came upon a hippy Camino food stand out in the middle of nowhere, and I firmly believe Simon had something to do with it. It had a huge buffet of food and drinks. It only accepted donations and had a wonderful vibe to it. The dog (hector) was a bonus (see video) .

    The city of Astorga has a rich and ancient history dating back over 2,000 years. Founded as Asturica Augusta in the 1st century BCE by the Romans, it was a key military and administrative center due to its location on major Roman roads, including the Via de la Plata. It became an important hub for gold mining in nearby Las Médulas. Pretty old!

    We visited The Palace of Gaudí designed by the renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. His most famous work is without a doubt the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Also visited the Iglesia de Santa Marta cathedral, which was built in 1751.

    As I mentioned, this is my last stage for this trip. I'm taking the train back to Leon tomorrow to explore the city a little more. I'll spend the night and take a train to Madrid to catch my flight back home on Friday. Hopefully, I've instilled a couple of you to consider the Camino de Santiago. It's challenging physically and mentally but well worth all the great lifetime experiences. I'll be back next year to wrap it up. Thanks for joining me on my adventure. Enjoy!    Read more

  • TravelerFénix Camino
    Day 11

    Day 9. Stg 21. San Martin del Camino

    April 28 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 39 °F

    Brutal 16-mile walk today.

    The walk out of León was nice with all it's buildings, enclosed streets, and history on display.

    The first defensive Roman walls (1st video) were built during the Roman period, around the 3rd–4th centuries AD. These walls formed a fortified rectangle around the settlement. The walls were about 5 meters high (16 ft) and up to 4 meters thick (13 ft) in places. Parts of the wall can still be viewed today. Massive!

    Once out past the city limits, we pretty much hugged a busy truckers road. It really is mentally fatiguing to see where you are going for 5 miles in a straight line. Totally exposed to the sun beating down on us. Makes for a long day.

    At least the Albergue was nice, but we've had no power since Spain, Portugal and France's power grid went offline around 1 pm.

    The feet are doing well. Lots of people are cutting their Camino short due to injuries. Knees, ankles, and feet are the main issues. The toe socks are popular this time around. Guess i need to give them a try next time.

    Finally! Power back on at 3.25 am.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino 2025
    Day 12–13

    Day 11-12 Astorga

    April 13 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    A very long 32km day. At least tomorrow is a rest day. Met Sonny and Lucien at the albergue and we ended up walking together and having a wonderful day. Even ended going for a traditional Spanish dinner with Lucien this evening. Unfortunately tomorrow everyone's moving on so I will probably not meet them again
    Ah well 😌    Read more

  • TravelerCamino 2025
    Day 11

    Day 10 Villar de Mazarife

    April 12 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    A 22km drizzley day so still needed to wear the poncho. I took a different route from last year, it was pretty nice, not too much road. Staying at a real old fashion albergue today. No washing today as nothing will dry. It's ok the cat lady did all my wash for 3e. Low bunk beds, sure I'll hit my head often, and so far we are 3 (Canada, Japan, UK). The UK boy better not snore!Read more

  • Camino De Santiago 2024
    211
    Day 28

    León to Mazarife

    October 19, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    And we are back at it, a great rest day in León, perfect timing. We took the bus out of León and started walking with only 13 k to cover. Arriving in Mazarife and feeling pleased with ourselves. People you meet along the way are always interesting and sometimes surprising.Read more

  • TravelerCamino de Santiago
    2
    11111
    Day 29–30

    Day 25 Leon to Villar de Mazarife

    October 18, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Hiked 14 miles today started out cold 38 degrees
    Full moon over the city
    Wine storage house
    Met a group of high school kids from Dublin Ireland on bikes
    Ate fresh figs on the trail
    Saw a unicorn treeRead more

  • TravelerCamino De Santiago
    Day 2

    Planes, speedy train, and automobuses

    October 14, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Oooh, boy. It’s been a day. A literal day. Just under 24 hours ago, Geoff and the kids dropped me off at Dulles. I slept maybe an hour or so on the flight but that was it.

    Had a connecting flight in London to Madrid. From there, I took a commuter train to a train station to take the high speed (“alta velocidad”) train to Léon. From there, I walked to the bus station to get to Hospital de Órbigo, where I am now, ensconced in my bunk bed in the Albergue Casa de los Hildagos.

    I was flying high and feeling pretty good about my Spanish skills but as the day wore on and my energy lagged, so did my confidence. I was ripe pickings for a total asshole dude at the Léon bus station who refused to help me as I tried to verify I was going to the right door for my bus and mocked me when I reverted to English out of habit/shock/exhaustion/whatever when he was rude to me. I managed to not cry in front of him but I cried for the kind elderly folks I asked next for help and then the bus driver. Ultimately, I had the right fucking door the whole time. That guy is a dick and I hope his falls off. Sorry not sorry.

    Things of note:
    1. I had the most amazing ham and cheese croissant at the Madrid Chamartin train station.
    2. At that same cafe, there were two women with Camino shells on their backpacks so I wished them a “Buen Camino.” I was rewarded with a blizzard of Spanish flying back at me and I said, “Despacio! Mi español no es bueno.” They spoke zero English but we managed to exchange that they were on their way to start in Sarria and I was able to tell them I was meeting my friend who started in France.
    3. Donuts in Spain are called “dots,” which is way better in my opinion.    Read more

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