• Goodlife Pilgrims
  • Goodlife Pilgrims

Camino Frances 2022

Years of dreaming becomes a plan for a 60-day trip to Spain with the intention of walking for 40 days on the Camino Frances and following on to the ocean to the end of the world, Finisterre, and Muxia. En savoir plus
  • Belorado to Santovenia De Oca

    10 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    Leaving Belorado presented us with a reality check... we have 554 Kilometros to go! But looking back at our Gain, we've come over 200 Kilometros. The best thing we do is focus on the next proximate goal... such as the next pueblo where we can get a café con leche, for example.

    Tonight we stay a few Kilometros off the main "official" Camino at a muninciple albergue. But we are on the old original trail and will take it into Burgos tomorrow for a rest day.
    En savoir plus

  • Santovenia De Oca to Burgos

    11 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    We made it to Burgos after not much sleep due to the snoring in the albergue and a group that decided to pack up at 5am. So we were on the road early. Walked about an hour under a full Spanish moon until sunrise, and arrived at our hotel just after 12 Noon.

    Burgos is lovely, to say the least.

    Our little morning troup consisted of one of each of us from Mexico, Germany, Japan, The Dominican Republic and USA.

    Long, morning-video-shadows are cool!
    En savoir plus

  • Rest Day In Burgos

    12 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    I’ve come to the realization that a good rest day on the Camino begins with an order of Churros y Chocolate, and then consists of walking almost a much as a you would to the next stop!

    I’ll let the pictures do the talking about our way too short stay in Burgos..,En savoir plus

  • Burgos to Hornillos Del Camino

    13 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    We thought the walk from Burgos to Hornillos would be boring and a struggle since it is the beginning of crossing the Meseta, but it was anything but.

    First we saw a Korean mother-daughter team that we had not seen in a few days and it was gratifying to see they are progressing with us. We got a foto with them. We are trying to do that at every opportunity, because you never know if you will see each other again,

    Second, we stopped in a restaurant/hostel “La Fuente” in Rabé de la Calzada to use the bathroom and met the couple who were running the place who just so happen to be from Azua, Dominican Republic, where Cristina is from. De Azua para todo el mundo!

    Third, we entered several small churches along the way and in the last received a pilgrim’s blessing and pendant from the señora attending.

    Lastly, the Camino Frances is very full right now. The albergue operators are all commenting about how packed it is. Our luck has it that one couple canceled their private room at “Meeting Point” before we arrived and the hostelera remembered us and penciled us in and we grabbed it. So no snorers or flatulent spewers for us tonight!

    We had a great menu del día with a Spanish couple from Segovia at Manolo’s bar up the street.

    So we have stepped out of Burgos onto the dreaded Meseta feeling very blessed indeed!
    En savoir plus

  • Hornillos to CastroJeriz

    13 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    We left the Meeting Point albergue around 6:30am and walked for an hour under a half moon bright enough to illuminate our path without using the flashlight. Two breakfasts later and a beautiful walk into Castrojeriz gave us an hour to wait for our lodging to open up at 1pm.

    We had a drink at a bar on the main plaza and we’re treated poorly by the staff and overheard locals complaining about pilgrims. 99% of everyone we meet on the Camino is so kind and friendly and when they are not, the contrast is significant.

    The hotel manager treated us superbly and her suggestion for lunch at the Meson turned out to be exceptional as we sat down we saw our Brazilian friend the Career-changing from advertising artist to tattoo artist who is doing a year’s worth of travel including Caminos doing tattoos. We invited him to join us. He will eventually set up in Barcelona in his new business. We ate dinner with him at the communal dinner in Roncevalles and we had seen him one other time on the way since then. He has held up here in CastroJeriz a few days to heal blisters.

    We climbed up to the castle as part of our routine of checking out the Pueblo we are staying in. And on the way back to the hotel we stopped by the church for a guided tour and it turns out it is Santo Domingo de Guzman, the patron of the Dominican Order and namesake for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

    Lastly, had a light dinner at our hotel, which sadly will close after this season due to lack of people to employ.
    En savoir plus

  • Castrojeriz to Fromista

    15 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    The Meseta provided a good day on the Camino. Not sure why people pass it up. As I was drawn back into the “real world” this evening by events, I’m reminded how life often feels like there’s too much going on. A symptom of our modern complicated lives? The Camino has a way of simplifying and clarifying the necessities: Air, Water, Food, Shelter, Hospitality, Companionship… I’ll leave it at that for today.En savoir plus

  • Fromista to Carrion de los Condes

    16 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    The walk was good this morning, although we didn’t sleep well last night due to no a/c and keeping the windows closed to keep out the bugs.

    We were gifted one of those iconic Camino moments when a Sheppard lead his flock of sheep with two dogs across the highway blocking our Camino for a minute. It was a nice reminder of the stories my father told of tending sheep in Rainier, OR on their farm on the Columbia River delta under the Longview Bridge. He gave us a tour of all the area where he grew up last summer when we visited him.

    We arrived in Carrion de los Condes around noon. The town has a great vibe. Bought some needed supplies and we were granted immediate access to our Hostal room. One of the best showers in days. Hot water until clean and then turning the water to cold to help the footsies recover.

    Lunch was a fantastic 3-course meal for 14 Euros. It was so good we made reservations at the same Restaurant, El Corte for this evening.

    After visiting a farmacia, we are now going to take a proper Spanish siesta.
    En savoir plus

  • Carrion de los Condes to Ledigios

    17 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Both Cristina and I felt our feet have taken quite a beating today. Some evenings you go to sleep thinking, “How am I going to be able to walk tomorrow?” Then you walk 23k. The pack seems lighter as we’ve become accustomed to carrying it. That’s what 17 days of hoofing it gets you… sore feet and a lighter pack.

    An easier day tomorrow, and the a long day the day after.
    En savoir plus

  • Sahagun to Reliegos

    19 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    From our shortest day to our longest so far. We kicked off an hour earlier which means we started walking before 6am to beat some of the sun. Not sure how they survived on the meseta in the July/August heat wave… we would have been hiking at night only!

    Cristina’s challenge is regulating her heat with clothing, because it starts out quite chilly, and my challenge is how to not overheat my feet.

    Our Albergue Las Hadas in Reliegos is kind of like a hippie retreat with a vegetarian dinner. The vibe is tranquilo. We were some of the first to arrive which is always nice when competing for showers and getting the laundry dry before the sun fades.

    I calculate 24 kilometers to our hotel in Leon tomorrow where we will stay two nights. But, we always seem to walk further as tracked by my Garmin watch.

    After Leon we have no rest days planned until Santiago. So far so good!
    En savoir plus

  • Rest Day in Leon

    21 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ 🌙 66 °F

    Our rest days always begin with churros and chocolate. We need one of these cafes in Champions Gate!

  • San Martin to Astorga

    23 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    We made it to the city of Gaudi, Astorga, after our last full day on the Meseta. Viva la Meseta! Good food. Good chocolate. Exceptional architecture, and two very tired pilgrims keeping our promise to check out each community we stay in.En savoir plus

  • Astorga to Foncebadon

    24 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    We loved the walk today because it was not flat and we could use different muscles. Foncebadon is a no-stop-sign town, last stop on the way to the famous Cruz de Ferro. BUT it has an amazing Pizza Parlor! We are staying at La Posada del Druida, which means something like the resting place of the wizard. We have a big downhill tomorrow that everyone is warning us about. Ok… sleepy time!En savoir plus

  • Foncebadon to Ponferrada

    25 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    We climbed up in the dark of the morning enjoying the stars to the Cruz de Ferro and left the traditional stones. The rest of the day was spent navigating the loose shale stone decent into Molina Seca where we stopped by the albergue Santa Marina on the outer edge town. We had a great conversation about pilgrimages with the hospitalero Alfredo. If we were to ever do this again, We’d rearrange our stops to spend a night in Molina Seca.

    But tonight we sleep in Ponferrada under the protection of The Knights Templar. Everything is closed until 8pm for siesta… so these two hungry pilgrims will have to wait.
    En savoir plus

  • Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo

    26 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    We took our time walking to Villafranca and it was cold and then sunny, but beautiful. Our route eventually took us through vineyards and the harvest was in process. I think we like walking through this kind of country best because of the rolling hills.En savoir plus

  • Villafranca to Las Herrerías

    27 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 48 °F

    Today we took an alternate route out of Villafranca to Pradela and on to Trabadelo to reconnect with the traditional Camino. It was a steep climb but the views were superb.

    We ate breakfast at a fantastic little albergue in the town in the mountains only reachable by a jeep trail. We saw a lot of chopped wood stored for heat in the winter. Farm raised eggs and Spanish bacon with a fruit smoothie for breakfast.

    Now we are in las Herrerías awaiting dinnertime and resting for our climb over O’Cebreiro tomorrow.
    En savoir plus

  • Las Herrerías to Triacastela

    28 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Big climb today and the sharp drop after O Cebreiro. Walked almost the whole day in mist and rain. I’m sure we missed out on some fantastic views. Rain forecasted for tomorrow. Worried about the hurricane in Florida.En savoir plus

  • Triacastela to Sarria via Samos

    29 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    We left the albergue Atrio just after 7am and wished we had waited until daylight. No fun walking in the rain and the dark. But despite rain all day it was one of our most loved days on the Camino… quiet, peaceful, lush green. Now in Sarria waiting for the restaurants to open.En savoir plus

  • Sarria to Portomarin

    30 septembre 2022, Espagne ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Slow, nice walk today thanks to no rain and cooler temps. PortoMarin is a lovely city with a nice dinner time vibe. The trail was busier but not as much as we expected from earlier reports. We didn’t experience the throngs of school kids that others have mentioned. But we did see a lot of fresh pilgrims with new shiny shoes.En savoir plus