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Camino de Santiago (Frances)Camino de Santiago (Frances)
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Camino de Santiago (Frances)

August - October 2023
We're setting out on an adventure of a lifetime. Just two crazy kids walking 500 miles across northern Spain. I hope you enjoy following along. Read more
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  • Camino de Santiago (Frances)
    232
    Day 11

    Day 5-Pamplona

    September 7, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    Wow, today caught me by surprise. I woke up feeling good with nothing hurting. The path was supposed to be pretty flat but there were some steep climbs. Our albergue packed us a breakfast that was enough for breakfast and lunch so we ended up not stopping to rest along the way. We just snacked as we walked. Big mistake, as I hobbled into Pamplona 11 miles later.

    Before getting into Pamplona we took a detour to a church that let us go into the bell tower to ring the bell. The weather got pretty hot after that so we pulled out our fashionable sun umbrellas. The Brits we walked with were melting and said they were going to buy umbrellas in Pamplona.

    We had dinner with the Aussies and watched locals dancing in the Plaza. By the time the night was over, my aches and pains of the day were gone but nonetheless I'm looking forward to our rest day tomorrow.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago (Frances)
    Day 12

    Rest day in Pamplona

    September 8, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 73 °F

    What can I say? Unbelievable, unexpected, and unforgettable. First, by chance, we met a local tour guide whose live online tours I followed during lockdown when I was recovering from spine surgery.

    Then we met King Felipe and Queen Letizia who were here to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the unification of the three boroughs that became Pamplona.

    We toured the beautiful cathedral and then saw the gigantes parading through town.

    Just so you don't think our lives are all sunshine and butterflies, we left a suitcase at the hotel in Pamplona so that we could either offload some stuff or add new things to our backpacks. I had made several packets of my hair products that I intended to remove from the suitcase and put in my backpack for the rest of our Camino. Well, after we took the suitcase to the post office to send ahead to Santiago, I remembered that I didn't pull the hair products out and I really need to wash my hair. And Pat left his razor in the suitcase so we'll both be looking frightful. Oh well, it was still a stellar day.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago (Frances)
    11111
    Day 13

    Day 6-Uterga

    September 9, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    I was a little sad to leave Pamplona and the great time we had there. I could easily spend a month or two just "living" there. The Camino took us past the University of Navarra so we detoured to the general office to collect a stamp. For those who don't know much about the Camino de Santiago, we collect ink stamps in a booklet to present to the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago. If we fulfilled certain requirements, we are issued a Compostela which documents our pilgrimage. We can get stamps at our lodging, restaurants, churches, etc.

    Our 12 mile journey today included gentle ascents to the Alto de Perdon peak which is covered in wind turbines and a Pilgrim monument. The decent into Uterga was steep and covered in loose rocks but we made to our lodging in good shape.

    After two nights at a nice hotel in Pamplona, tonight's accommodation leaves alot to be desired. We reserved a private room, but there is a room behind ours and that couple has to pass through our room to get out. They are very nice so I don't think there will be any issues. The place smells a little off, like mold and Raid.

    We happened to meet a fellow Sacramento pilgrim couple on the way today. Paloma and Enrique are pretty much on the same schedule we are. There are a few others here that we've shared dinner with over the last week.

    After my hair product fiasco, we bought some conditioner this morning. I figured I'd use our Dr. Bronner's bar soap for my hair and the conditioner would make me somewhat presentable. Luckily, someone abandoned shampoo in the shower so now I feel like a million $$$.

    If you've noticed I'm always wearing the same clothes in the pics, it's because I only have two sets of clothes, one I'm wearing, and one I change into after my afternoon shower. Then I wash the dirty set and hope it will dry by the next day.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago (Frances)
    321
    Day 14

    Day 7-Cirauqui

    September 10, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Today was a day of almosts. We left Uterga at sunrise when it was nice and cool out. We were supposed to walk 12 miles today but it was more like 14 miles. I had the bright idea to detour a couple of km to see a mysterious church called Santa María de Eunate. It's in a valley surrounded by farmland and nothing else. There's no record of its origin, only alot of supposition. We had to wait a half hour for the church to open (we were early, they were late).

    Because of this detour, we ended up having a steep ascent into Obanos and it was starting to heat up. We trudged along and stopped for patatas bravas in Puente la Reina. The stretch between there and Mañeru reminded me of the American River trails. The first almost occured on this stretch. The Vuelta a España (Spain's answer to the Tour de France) was coming through this area today. We saw two helicopters fly by really low so we knew the cyclists were going by at that moment. Twenty minutes later, we ascended to the road they just passed through.

    We arrived in Cirauqui, our final destination of the day, to the whole village finishing up a wine festival. They were all wearing a wine glass on a harness around their necks. It looked like a good time we almost had.

    The almosts really don't matter. I had a physically challenging, but fun day with my honey. And we have a great private room with our own bathroom and balcony.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago (Frances)
    1
    11221245
    Day 15

    Day 8-Villamayor de Monjardín

    September 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌩️ 70 °F

    We had a long day (17+ miles) ahead of us so we started out at 7am while it was still dark. It was also raining with lightening and thunder. We carefully walked over an old Roman road and bridge trying to dodge the puddles and mud. Miraculously, our socks and feet didn't get wet.

    We walked through several towns, crossed over many bridges and played with some kitties. It's mostly a blur.

    We have a private room and bath today but have to sleep in bunk beds. It's my turn to take the top bunk. Oh, I had seafood paella for lunch and veal cordon bleu for dinner. Yum!

    The lesson I learned yesterday was to drink an Aquarius (Gatorade-like) at every break. I did that today and I feel great. Except for my feet. They hurt. Alot.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago (Frances)
    1
    Day 16

    Day 9-Torres del Río

    September 12, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Woke up early to eat our breakfast and be on the trail by 7am. Our host left breakfast on the table for us. Lovely fresh bread, homemade jams, donut peaches, and oj and coffee. It was good but since it was all carbs, I was hungry a couple of hours later. Luckily, there was a food truck with picnic tables set up so we has sammies and Aquarius.

    It's funny how the body parts that hurt in the evening, don't hurt in the morning. I guess that's why we keep walking. The trail today was nice and easy. We started downhill and then it leveled off for most of the day, meandering through beautiful, green farmland.

    We arrived in Los Arcos in time for lunch. We wanted pizza but it wasn't available for a couple of hours so we had tortilla de patata. We waited another half hour for the church to open because we heard it was a beauty, and it did not disappoint.

    The half hour wait gave me time to attend to my foot. I have a problematic pinky toe that gets pinched and I've been surprised how well it's been handling the walks. Well, up until today. After two weeks in Spain and nine days on the Camino, I can officially announce that I have a blister. Yesterday's 17 miles must have done it in.

    The last four miles seemed to go on forever, partly because it was actually six miles for a total of 14 miles today.

    Our place today has a pool! The water was freezing but we got in anyway.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago (Frances)
    11
    Day 17

    Day 10-Logroño

    September 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Another 12 mile day that turns out to be 14 miles. At least it was mostly downhill and flat. Alot of the friends we're making now are transitory since we're doing different distances. We still get to chat a little and wish each other a Buen Camino.

    We had a 6 mile walk to Viana and on the way we found a cute food stand run by a lady from Milan. We stopped for a Aquarius and a croissant the kept trekking. Viana was a larger and more modern town than I expected after seeing so many small, medieval villages. We arrived at 11am and found out they were doing a small running of the bulls at 1pm. We pondered waiting around to see it but that would mean we would walk the next 6 to 8 miles in the heat. So we opted to eat our snack and a couple of pintxos and then head to Logroño.

    We arrived in Logroño around 2:30pm but still had to walk another mile to our hotel. At least we have a rest day tomorrow and we're near Calle Laurel where all the tapas bars are. By the way, right before Logroño, we left the Navarra Basque region and are now in La Rioja. So it's time to switch from pintxos to tapas.

    We wrapped up my blistered pinky toe but because it tucks under the 4th toe, it hurt all day. I hiked in my Chaco sandals to give my toes extra space. After we showered and felt alive again, we figured out a way to tape my toes so the pinky one doesn't hurt as much.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago (Frances)
    132
    Day 18

    Rest day in Logroño

    September 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    What a treat to wake up and not have to put on the backpack and head out. I couldn't rally last night to go to the famous Calle Laurel for a tapas crawl so we're doing it twice today, first at lunch then for late dinner.

    Our hotel has a great breakfast spread of ham, chorizo, salchichón, cheeses, breads and eggs however you'd like. We stuffed our faces and then went out to explore. We walked along the Gran Via which reminded me of the downtown San Francisco of my youth; relatively clean, modern and lots of shops. We toured a couple of churches then headed to Calle Laurel to sample some tapas. The area wasn't very crowded at lunchtime which was fine by us. I had to try the mushrooms at Bar Soriano I had heard so much about...yum. Other standouts were the torreznos (fried pork belly), patatas bravas, and the creamy tarta de queso (slightly underbaked, crustless cheesecake). Most of these places specialize in one dish so you eat that and move on to the next place. Shops started closing at 1:30 and reopen about 5pm. The restaurants close about 3pm and reopen about 7:30. So we went back to our room for siesta time.

    The tapas bars slowly started opening at 7:30pm and were in full swing at 8:30pm. Who are we having dinner this late?! It was a little more crowded but we always had plenty of space.

    Now were getting ready to hit the trail tomorrow.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago (Frances)
    3211
    Day 19

    Day 11-Ventosa

    September 15, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    Pretty easy walk today, although it turned out to be 14 miles instead of 10.5. We tried to leave early today but the breakfast buffet didn't start until 7am and you know my priorities. We even snuck jamón y queso sandwiches in my bag for snack later.

    The walk out of Logroño took us past a Guardia Civil base so we walked in and asked if they had a sello (stamp) for pilgrims. They did and were very nice to us. They take pilgrim safety seriously.

    The rest of the walk was pretty flat and took us around a lake where we met Marcelino at his donativo stand. We made it to Navarrete before the rain and ate our sandwiches among the other pilgrims outside next to the church.

    The alterpiece of this church is really impressive. I put a 1€ coin in a box to illuminate it. Spectacular comes to mind. I'll have to do some research to find out how such a small town has such an impressive church.

    We continued our way to Ventosa, our destination for the night, through vineyards loaded with grapes. It sprinkled most of the way so we covered our packs but didn't bother with our rain jackets or umbrella. The spinkles felt good and helped us stay cool.

    We got to Ventosa at 1:30pm, earlier than our normal end of walk. We shared a yummy pizza at the Buen Camino cafe then checked into our place. It's a nice room with a gorgeous bathroom and there's a comfortable shared livingroom with tea available. Perfect since now the rain is coming down hard. Dinner tonight is a salad and chicken paella.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago (Frances)
    113
    Day 20

    Day 12-Azofra

    September 16, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    Short 11 mile day today. We left our hotel a little after 6am in order to finish walking early before the heat. It doesn't really get too hot here but you feel it when you're walking this much everyday. We stopped at the local restaurant that was, thankfully, open early for some breakfast and then we were on our way at 7am while it was still dark. Sunrise isn't until 8am here.

    We stopped in Nájera for a snack and continued on to Azofra. Between those two towns were flies contstantly annoying us. We arrived in Azofra at noon and sat in the plaza for a couple of hours greeting pilgrims as they arrived. There are lots of flies here too. I'm not sure what's attracting them and I'm pretty sure it's not us.

    The rest of the day will be spent strolling around town and having dinner.    Read more

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