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Haley Camino 2018

April 2018 - April 2024
An open-ended adventure by Haley Camino 2018 Read more
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  • TravelerHaley Camino 2018
    Day 1

    Ready to Go!

    April 18, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Hello Friends and Family,

    We depart Monday, April 23, for Jean Pied de Port, France, to begin a 500 mile walk (we hope) on the Camino de Santiago.

    Pilgrims have walked the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) to the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela for more than a thousand years. There lie the reputed remains of Jesus’ apostle James the Elder. As they have for thousands of years, most modern pilgrims travel the Way on foot, though some travel by bicycle or other means. For many pilgrims, the Way remains a spiritual journey through Spain’s villages and countryside.

    We plan to arrive in Santiago on June 5, and we’re happy to have you along!

    Laurie and John    Read more

  • TravelerHaley Camino 2018
    Day 8

    We made it!

    April 25, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    After 26 hours of plane and bus travel, we arrived in Pamplona around 4:00 yesterday, 2 very tired peregrinos. A little cleanup, and we were ready to sample some tapas at Cafe Iruna, one of Hemingway’s favorite hangouts. No bulls running this week.
    I introduced John to Spanish tortilla and croquettes, and he says the Cokes are OK. We also did some laundry —
    After some needed sleep, we ran some errands and found Laurie some good hot chocolate.
    Off to St. Jean by bus this afternoon to meet up with Kathy Wallace from Pittsburgh. Tomorrow’s the big day — a 7-mike walk to Valcarlos, starting out slowly!    Read more

  • TravelerHaley Camino 2018
    1
    1
    Day 10

    Over the Pyrenees

    April 27, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    To catch up:
    On Thursday we walked 7 miles from St. Jean, France, to Valcarlos, Spain. Easy walk, and we arrived in time for a 2-hour lunch. These things move slowly here—
    We stayed in a cozy guesthouse run by a Spanish couple, and we felt like old friends by the time we left next morning.
    Day 2, Friday, was a tough 11-mile climb, winding up and up through a valley in the Pyrenees. The first 7 miles took us 5 hours! Kudos to our friend Kathy, who’d suggested we send our packs ahead. We climbed much of the way with Ruth, an Anglican vicar from Wales (who WAS carrying her pack).
    We finally arrived in the village of Espinal, where John had his first taste of albergue life. He says he’s willing to try it again, but without the snoring from our fellow pilgrims next time!
    Only another 790 km to Santiago!    Read more

  • TravelerHaley Camino 2018
    Day 11

    Day 3 to Zubiri

    April 28, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We walked 9 miles to Zubiri today, dodging sprinkles and trying not to lose our footing on some rocky and muddy paths. Lots of pilgrims today because of the May Day holiday, and tonight every bed in town is occupied.
    We walked from one small village to another, passing by green pastures and well kept homes. We had some difficult climbs but nothing like yesterday, and now we have some time to rest before we walk to Pamplona tomorrow.

    I don’t know which part of the cow that was that I had for dinner, but it was delicious!    Read more

  • TravelerHaley Camino 2018
    Day 12

    12 Miles to Pamplona

    April 29, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    This was our first full 12-mile day, plenty of small hills and a few bigger ones that tested us. We were surprised by a street market and parade as we walked through the Pamplona suburbs — May 1 is a major holiday throughout Europe, so it’s been a 5-day holiday weekend and every town is packed.

    We’re staying at an albergue with these pod beds, complete with lockers, lights and electric outlets — quite luxurious by albergue standards. And a washer and dryer!

    Tomorrow we’ll climb Alto de Perdon, the Hill of Forgiveness, about 2500 feet. More tomorrow —    Read more

  • TravelerHaley Camino 2018
    Day 14

    Alto de Perdon

    May 1, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    Monday, 4/30: A big climb up out of Pamplona to Alto de Perdón, “where the path of the wind meets that of the stars.” The ridges here are lined with wind turbines. Today we made ourselves take several 30-minute breaks, which we haven’t been doing — we have to rest and get something to eat/drink, every 2-3 hours to keep our energy levels up. Papaw even drank a beer when we stopped in the afternoon!
    Spent the night at a beautiful rural house just short of Puente la Reina, where we shared a meal with about a dozen fellow pilgrims and the red wine flowed freely. The place is run by Alicia and her husband Carlos (who also cooked and served our dinner).
    Ah, 8 hours of sleep — priceless!    Read more

  • TravelerHaley Camino 2018
    Day 14

    16 Mile Day

    May 1, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    We walked through Puente la Reina this morning and spent a few minutes admiring the 13th century bridge leading out of town. Then a BIG climb through chilly winds and intermittent sunshine — the temperature suddenly drops or goes up 10 degrees every few minutes.

    We meet the same folks over and over again — Bill and Treva from Orlando, sisters from MA and NC, “Jack” from Ireland and his wife, Kim from S. Korea... we always meet up at the next bar or Albergue.

    We are tired campers, but we’re very comfortable in an Albergue perched on the river in Estella. It’s a renovated tannery with the best shower on the Camino!    Read more

  • TravelerHaley Camino 2018
    Day 16

    Cold and Windy Walk

    May 3, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    May 2 & 3, Estella to Los Arcos to Viana:

    John had discovered that the secret to Camino life is E-S-P: Just concentrate on Eat, Sleep, and Potty, and the walk is fine!
    Yesterday a Japanese doctor and his wife stopped their BMW as we were crossing a road and asked to take our picture! So I guess we look like real pilgrims. He gave us his card and said to give him a ring if we ever come to Hiroshima.
    We stopped at the wine fountain at Irache — yes, Jennifer, a fountain that dispenses wine instead of water! John had a taste with his pilgrim shell, just like they did 1000 years ago. Laurie finally found a good chocolate croissant. And we stayed in a dorm with 12 of our new best friends.

    Still no rain, but today was cold and windy all day long. We’re tucked up in a room above a local bar, where we were served a typical menu of the day — 2 courses plus dessert, bread and wine or water, all for €11.5 each (about $14).

    Rest day tomorrow — only 6 miles to Logroño.    Read more

  • TravelerHaley Camino 2018
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    Day 19

    Logrando, Najera and Santo Domingo

    May 6, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Tonight we’re staying with the Cistercian nuns in their spotless hostal on the edge of town. We’re hoping this is a quiet neighborhood, after listening to crazy screaming Spanish young folks half the night in Najera last night. We finally had beautiful sunshine all day today, temps around 70, shorts weather at last.

    We’ve been walking through vineyards and olive orchards, yellow fields of rape, and all kinds of vegetables — artichokes, arugula and peas. There are vast fields of wheat and barley. We fill our water bottles at the public fountains as we pass through villages. In Navarrete we visited the Church of the Ascension, perhaps the most beautiful I’ve seen in Spain.

    In Logroño we treated John to a Burger King chicken sandwich, fries and a Coke, but in the evening he had Spanish style pork ribs — a real hardship! We keep meeting up with the same people again and again, on the street or in the cafes.

    Only 3 more days to Burgos, and 2 nights in one place!    Read more

  • TravelerHaley Camino 2018
    Day 23

    Burgos!

    May 10, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Lovely Burgos with its beautiful cathedral, and 2 nights in the same bed! The weather continues to change every few minutes as winds blow down from snowy mountains. We’ve left the vineyards and olive trees for fields of barley and walks alongside the roads.

    Since our last post, we’ve stayed in Belorado and San Juan de Ortega, and much of the walk has been the hot and then cold, just put your head down and go kind of walking. We passed a golf course in Ciruena but John decided he didn’t want to walk 18 holes. Many of the villages in this area are pretty deserted.

    This morning we spent about 2 hours in the 13th century Cathedral. I’ll try to post some pics in a separate post. It’s really indescribable — each time you turn a corner there’s a room or chapel more beautiful than the last. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

    Meanwhile, below:
    A sign at a hilltop food oasis, where you pay what you want for what you take. Note “fun” is on the menu.
    Typical Camino bar/cafe
    John with Two of our travel buddies from England
    Flowers along the way

    Out to the high plains tomorrow!    Read more

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