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Camino Frances 2023

August - October 2023
Camino de Santiago - Walking 500 miles and going to the ends of the Earth with Jörg by my side, watching over me. Read more
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  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
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    A day in Finisterre

    October 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    What a wonderful ending to the camino, dipping my feet in the ocean during the sunset in Finisterre. Finisterre is named and known to be the end of the world. When people believed the world was flat, this was the furthest point they could go. If they sailed out here to the edge, they would fall off.

    The day started by meeting Christina at 9:15 to catch the bus at 10:00 for the 3 hour bus ride. We arrived at 1:00pm but our hotel didn’t open until 4pm, so we grabbed lunch and then made the trek to the Faro (lighthouse). It is between 3-4km from the town center. I was wearing jeans, but it was way too hot, so I stopped on the edge of the road to change into shorts. The one thing the camino taught me is that doing this is no big deal. Really, so someone sees my underwear, people see the same on a beach, but much less cloth.

    We made it to the lighthouse, the 000km marker and the point where the clothes used to be burned. They have filled in the hole now and forbid it, but the stones are still there.

    I left Christina and went and climbed our special hill, Jörg’s and mine. So before I explain what I did today, it is time to go back in time and explain about the hill.

    In 2008, I had decided to do the camino in the fall of 2009 before meeting Jörg. He thought that it was interesting but didn’t have any desire to do it. He said he would just meet me at the start and the finish to celebrate. About a month before I was to start, he had decided to walk with me. He was in Portugal at the time and drove home to Germany, did a little training weekend and then left on a bus for Saint Jean Pied de Port to meet me for an August 30th start.

    You all know our journey now through the “throwbacks” I have been including. Our first kiss, our first “I love you”, our first fight etc. Well, after the camino was complete, we had rented a car and stopped in Muxia and Finisterre.

    After visiting the lighthouse and sitting at the point for awhile, Jörg suggested we take a little hike up the hill. So off we went and then we sat on some rocks at the top. He then said, “go look under that rock”. A little confused, I went and looked and there was nothing. Then he had a worried look on his face and said, “hold on”, then came back and said, “ok, over there under that rock”. So just a little distance away, I went and lifted the rock and underneath it was a plastic bag. Inside the plastic bag was the letter I had sent him during the summer with some photos I had taken on the beach of Tofino. The photos were of the message written in the sand with stones “I miss you Jörg”. In the letter I wrote, it also included two of the stones and they were in this bag as well.

    So all this time, during the summer and during the start of the camino I was wondering if he even really liked me, and he had already buried this stuff a month before we started the camino. So the answer was obviously yes. He stopped here when driving from Portugal back to Germany and buried it. How incredible and romantic is that?

    So today, I had decided I would visit that spot again. I found it by the pictures I had taken. I decided I would like to bury something here under a rock as well. The item I decided on was Jörg’s Yellow Arrow name tag that he used when we were hospitaleros. I had carried it with me along the camino the whole time in my waist pack. Every so often, the pin would open up and stab me through the bag. I would just laugh and imagine Jörg wanted my attention at that moment.

    So, Jörg’s pin is now safely buried under a rock on a hill, overlooking the ocean at Finisterre. He would love the spot. It is quiet and you only hear the ocean waves breaking against the rocks and shore.

    Christina and I walked back to town, relaxed in the room a bit and then headed out to see the sunset on the beach. It was a bit clouded so we didn’t get to see the sun setting, but the clouds did turn a pretty colour. I dipped my feet in the ocean and I felt it was actually quite warm. At one point, I turned around and Christina was taking pictures so I posed, and just at that time, a wave hit me from behind and splashed completely up my backside getting my jeans soaking wet. I just laughed. We eventually left the beach, I went back and changed, we went out for dinner at 8:30 and then are now quietly relaxing before bed. It is Christina’s last day in Spain and last day for the camino. She is leaving tomorrow for Porto and then flying home. I will see her again soon when I go to visit Denmark.

    Jörg walked 500 miles and went to the ends of the Earth for me. I have now walked 500 miles and went to the ends of the Earth for him. It is the very least I could do for the 14 incredible years of complete joy he had given me. I recognize that the love we shared was very special and doesn’t come around very often in life. I was completely blessed to have met him and I will cherish our short time together forever.

    I have one last thing I want to do. I need to finish the book that we both wanted to write about our camino journey. It may be something just for myself, or it may be for publishing, but I want to finish it. I will finish it.

    Thank you for sharing in my journey and for all your encouraging comments along the way. It was such a blessing to share our story with you.

    Julie XO    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023

    The next day in Santiago

    October 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    I woke up to pouring rain today. But guess what, I didn’t mind, I didn’t have to put on my hiking boots and hike 20 kms in it. I did, however, have to get out of bed eventually as I had a 10:30 appointment with the Tattoo Artist, Ethan Clay

    I had sent him a photo of the original design and told him I would want some changes. I had done up in Adobe Fresco a really bad mock up of what I would want but he was able to work with it and he quickly put the tattoo design together.

    I will explain the tattoo. Obviously, you can see that it is the infinity sign and that there are a boy and girl walking holding hands. I had him do the shell in the bottom left imperfect to match Jörg’s shell which had a few chips. I had carried Jörg’s shell from 2009 with me on this trip. In the middle, you can see the mountains on the right and the ocean waves on the left to represent the trail. I also feel that the ocean waves have a double meaning in that after the camino, we moved to the ocean which was a huge part of Jörg’s life. In the middle is Buen Camino. Jörg absolutely loved saying those words to everyone he met. It always brought him great joy. It also brought me great joy and strength on both caminos. Nothing like when you are feeling tired and sore, passing through a village and a local person says the words to you, you perk up a little more and can go a little further.

    After the tattoo I came back and had a little nap. In the afternoon, Christina and I went to the shopping mall by bus. We were there a few hours but I only bought a few things. Still need to do more, but I can do some shopping with Baars clan when I get to Germany.

    In the evening I got together with a few of my camino family and had a wonderful time at dinner at a Tapas Restaurant. Sharing all our stories, good times, challenging times, and silly idiotic times. The one thing we knew, is that half these stories could only really be understood or appreciated by those who have walked the camino. That makes them even more special.

    I have made a slight change in my plans. I am going to Finisterre tomorrow instead of Sunday. The weather forecast is better. So Christina and I are going together for one day. I know some of you thought you heard the last of me but I have one more blog entry after this. Finisterre has a significant memory for Jörg and I and I will share that story with you tomorrow.

    TTYL

    Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

    It was so nice to sleep in today. My watch alarm went off at 7:00am by accident, but I quickly switched it off and went back to sleep.

    We finally got out of the hotel by 10 and went to the cathedral. We hugged St, James and then stayed for the mass. We were lucky today because they had the big incense burner going. It was really quite spectacular.

    After mass we caught a taxi to the mall and I went shopping for a couple hours. I bought a pair of running shoes, socks, underwear, backpack, and a shirt for Joerg (but I am currently borrowing because I lost the blue one he gave me) I also printed some pictures for both of us (mostly pictures of the two of us) but I did print the shirtless one of Joerg that I love.

    After shopping we relaxed in the room for about an hour and then went to the special pilgrim mass at 8pm at the cathedral. It was so great. It was in a smaller chapel with about 40 people. We first had to introduce ourselves and where we started. Then there was a reading, and then if you wanted, you could share how you felt on the first day. Another reading, then shared what experiences you had, or lessons you learned on the Camino. I almost got up and shared my “butterfly” and “you are loved” stories but I didn’t.

    After the service, Joerg and I walked the streets arm and arm talking about our experiences and sharing them. One of Joerg’s was that he realized it was not good to always be alone, it was good to have friends and people beside you, then he turned and said to me “and you beside me”.

    We then stopped in a restaurant and had a beer, tapas and lemon sorbet with cava. While there, we talked about what happens next. I was happy when he brought it up as it was on my mind for a while and I was going to bring it up soon. I told him that I wanted him to be part of my life. He feels the same but feels a little conflicted because of his devotion and expectations of his family. He said he sometimes thinks about moving to Canada but doesn’t think his father would want him to. They are very traditional and want their kids around.

    I asked him “even if it was for a woman? Don’t you think he would want you to be happy?” He said “maybe”. We talked about Africa, how he could work in a factory in Canada but we didn’t make any decisions as we know we still have a few days left as we rented a car.

    This day was very special for me. Joerg confirmed what I could feel that he wanted to be with me. The funny thing is that I have not cried yet. I am so unbelievably happy. I think sometimes that it is not real, that it really isn’t happening. But on the other hand, it feels so natural that I feel calm about it.

    I am also sometimes scared. My life is changing so fast and so much. I wonder what is next.

    The Camino, what a memory! I must admit, I found the whole thing pretty easy, but I know that is because he was beside me, taking care of me, loving me. The Camino is complete, but the rest of my life is just beginning.    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    11

    Day 44 - Lavacolla to Santiago - 10km

    October 12, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    I have arrived. I was only 10kms away so it was a nice easy walk. I wasn’t planning to start until after 8, in daylight, but everyone was already awake at 6:30, so I just got ready to go and was on the road at 7:15. There was a bit with headlamps, but we were close to the city so a lot of areas had street lights.

    I stopped for a break at 4kms. I needed to fill out the details of my second credential as I had run out of room on my first one by Sarria. I wanted everything ready when I got to Santiago.

    I had mixed feelings coming into town. A bit of my sadness continued from yesterday, missing Jörg, but some of it was joy that it was almost done. I did a lot of talking with Jörg, quite often out loud, but no one nearby.

    When I arrived in town, I stopped on a bench about 1km from the cathedral. I wasn’t tired, I just wanted some time to hold onto this feeling. Jörg and I journeyed this together for over 750kms, and that part of the journey was going to be complete soon.

    I then continued on and came into town. When Jörg and I arrived in 2009, it was raining, so we just wanted a quick picture and then get our Compostela as soon as possible. So our first picture is around the back of the cathedral. I found the spot and took a picture there. I then decided to go around to the front and view the renovated cathedral. Looks quite different from when I was here 14 years ago.

    I didn’t spend much time in the Cathedral square, I wanted to get my certificate first and then come back. So off I went, and the process was very smooth. I waited maybe 10 minutes. When I got up to lady #15, she was very very kind. I told her that I wanted En Vicarie Pro on the Compostela with Jörg’s name. That is when you can add the person’s name on the certificate if they have died and you are doing it in memory of them. She asked me who he was, and she really engaged me in conversation so I told her our whole story. I had in my hand the picture of him holding his credencial from 14 years ago. She was really interested and even talked to me a bit about grief. I was at least 10-15 minutes with her. I am so very pleased that she took the time to make that moment so special.

    Then I went back to the cathedral and took out all the photos I had carried with me, and listened to some music on a playlist I created for Santiago, I shed a few tears, but not as many as I thought I might.

    Now it was time to find my pension. When I was looking to book Santiago, I was hoping to get something close to the cathedral as that is where Jörg and I stayed. My friend Jenna told me about her place and said she thought there was a room left, so I booked it online and saw on a map that it was close, so all good. So today, I turned on Google Maps to get me to the place, and if you can believe this, it is actually the exact same place Jörg and I stayed. Obviously a different room, but really crazy eh?!

    First thing I did was take a nap. Didn’t have enough sleep last night. After I uploaded my blog, I went out to meet Matt at his hotel. We were out on the patio having a drink and started up a nice conversation with Mark and James from London England. They were a hoot so we all went for dinner together at the hotel which didn’t start until 8pm. We had some good times, with the wine and vermouth flowing. I had to leave just after 10 as my albergue closed at 10:30. That is a very late night for a pilgrim. I was lucky that the light was still on and I had organized everything before I went out so it was easy to just pop in bed.

    After my nap today, I got in touch with Christina and we had lunch together. We had some Asian food, which was a welcome treat for me. Something different from bread and pasta. She is here tomorrow still so we will probably get together again then. We were making informal plans for me to come visit and meet her family in a couple weeks.

    After lunch, I came back to my room for a bit to get unpacked and a little organized, then I met up with Matt for a drink. I convinced him he should really go to the mass, it is all part of the experience and he is leaving tomorrow morning. So we went to the 7:30pm mass and we were lucky to have the botafumeiro. This is the giant insense burner that the cathedral is famous for and doesn’t always happen. Only on special days and if someone sponsors it. Today is a National holiday in Spain (It is like our Canada Day), so it was a good chance we would see it.

    We were both hungry so we went for dinner at the Parador. A couple of people Matt met along the trail joined us and it was a very nice evening. We were out until after 11. It was wonderful to see the cathedral all lit up. The next few days call for rain so I am incredibly lucky I arrived when I did.

    Ok, time to go to bed now. It is almost 2am and I have a 10:30am appointment with a tattoo artist!

    TTYL

    Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

     WE HAVE MADE IT !!!!!!!!!!

    Today we started around 7:30am. It was raining again and it rained on and off all day. Along the walk today, we kept running into the same people. It was a nice calm steady walk in the rain. About 15 mins from Mount Goto (near the TV station) I took a misstep, twisted my ankle and fell. The ankle hurt but what hurt more was my left knee. I soon discovered that the knee was cut and bleeding.

    When we arrived just outside Santiago, I saw the end of a rainbow, then it started to pour down rain and didn’t stop. We went to the church (that walk felt like it took forever), took our picture then went to the pilgrim office to get our certificate.

    After that, it was time to find somewhere to sleep. We eventually agreed on a 2 star, right beside the church for 2 nights. It is a small room but it is nice and only 55E each night.

    After checking in, we showered and then went out to get something to eat. Then Joerg went back to the room and I stayed out shopping. It was hard in the rain but I bought a pair of pants, top, underwear and umbrella. Something I can wear tomorrow.

    The evening was spent in bed. Joerg I think slept for 12 hours total. I didn’t cry when I arrived. I think because I did all my crying yesterday.    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    2

    Day 43 - Taberna Valha to Lavacolla -23k

    October 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Almost there. I walked the 23kms today without my backpack. That was a huge help. I was still very slow going in the morning. I took a break at 2.5 kms and had an orange juice and bought a coke for the road. I was feeling ok, but very weak. Another few kilometres in I was feeling a bit sick to my stomach, but nothing arose with that. At about the 8km mark I stopped on a bench and opened up my coke and decided to pull out my headset. It was almost noon already and at that pace, I would arrive at 6 or 7. I don’t usually use my headset except on parts near the road, but the people that are walking now don’t really engage with you and only about 1 in 15 will actually say buen camino. I figured I need it and I am not missing out on much.

    Well, that sure helped. It was either the tunes or the coke, but I was on the move at my normal pace. I stopped in A Rua to say hi to Peggy and Kristen, and then was on my way again. The last 5kms were long but I knew I had a bed and my bag was already there. The crowds actually thinned out now, so I took off my headset again.

    It was worth the extra long trip to only have 10km left to go for tomorrow.

    I am settled and showered and now that I am here, I am a feeling a little down. I am missing Jörg quite a bit. I think partly because I am sick and he would absolutely be taking care of me, but also just because he isn’t here. Our last evening before Santiago was wonderful. We ran into a lot of familiar faces and had dinner with them which made Jörg very happy. My camino family is all scattered but I will see them over the next few days in Santiago.

    TTYL

    Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

    The hike today was nice again. Lots of trees and green. The one difference is that we finally had rain. The rain brought out the greens more. Joerg laughed at me in my poncho as I look like an alien … after looking at the pictures, I agree.

    At dinner, we all got a table together, the Canadians and germans … it was so wonderful. It was a great fun evening for our last night.

    Oh, I forgot to mention my time alone. In the afternoon, I told Joerg I wanted a couple hours to myself. I lied in bed and listened to my Ipod. I spent it listening to my inspirational music reflecting on my journey. I cried. I am so happy and blessed. After my time alone, Joerg came by with an English Cosmopolitian and then lied down with me for our last nap together on the camino. It was wonderful.    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023

    Day 42 - Melide to Taberna Velha -8km

    October 10, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Ok my devoted readers. Yesterday I left you hanging as to what decision I should make, to go out and eat dinner or stay in and not eat dinner. Well, it turns out there was a third option which I chose which was a big mistake. I had decided to go have dinner, but when I was outside my hotel, Charlene (from US/Canada/the world) was sitting having a beer so I joined her. Visiting with Charlene was not the mistake, it was actually quite nice, the mistake was only having a beer.

    When I got back to my room I was feeling sick. I got the chills and started sweating. I had a fever all night and it finally broke at 3am but a headache and sore throat were lingering. Given I didn’t have dinner, I ate all the snacks I had left in my bag and would nibble on them all night long. At 7am, I decided to go down and have breakfast. It was important to get some good food in me. It was an awesome buffet breakfast with eggs, bacon, toast and jam. They had all sorts of things, but I couldn’t eat them, I was quickly full.

    Check out from the hotel was noon so I decided to try and go back to bed for a bit and see if the food helped. I woke up at 10am but still with a headache and feeling weak. So now I was 2 hours behind already on my day and had to make a decision. I thought I would try to walk but knew at some point I would need to take a taxi. Maybe I should just take it from the hotel. I thought, no, just try now and see how you feel, maybe you get better.

    After I left the hotel, I stopped at the pharmacy in town and asked “hables ingles?” And the woman just flat out said “no”. I can see the look on her face that she was annoyed and really didn’t want to help, so I just left. I know I could have pulled up google translate to help me, but when you are sick, you just don’t think rationally.

    So, I started walking and boy was I slow. I always track my walking with my Apple Watch and my pace was around 3kms an hour and it was a lot of effort to do that pace. About 2.5km in, there was a rural hotel. I decided to go in and ask her to call me a taxi. I took the taxi to Aruza which was about 5.5km before my final destination. I had the driver drop me at the pharmacy. This time I went in prepared with google translate with my symptoms and she gave me some cold medication (at least that is what I hope it is). I am supposed to take it every 8 hours.

    So today I walked a total of 8kms of the 20km I was supposed to. If it was at any other time, I would have just taken the day off, but I have now booked everything including the beds, tour of cathedral, tattoo, plane to Germany so I really need to stick to the schedule now.

    I am in a beautiful little albergue in a small village owned by a German woman - Heidi. She did all of our laundry together and I had a nice afternoon nap. We will all have dinner together. I hope I can eat it. My headache is less but I still feel weak. I have to try and keep drinking water.

    I have decided to ship my bag tomorrow. I would really like to walk the whole 23kms and that may help. Then only 10kms the next day into Santiago.    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023

    Day 41 - Palas de Rei to Melide - 16km

    October 9, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    20, 23, 10. “Huh”, you say “what are these numbers about Julie?” Those are the number of Kilometres I am doing over the next three days to reach Santiago. Unbelievable, in 3 days this will be done. I am so looking forward to it being done and if you ask any of the crowd I walk with that started in Saint Jean, they feel the same.

    The funny thing is, as much as I want it to be done, it is more because I am ready for it to be done, not because I am sick of it and want it to be over. About a day or two before Sarria, I realized I have a sort of peace about me. I really think there is a better word for it, but I can’t think of it at this moment. I feel lighter, easy going, not so worried are a few other words to describe it. In fact, the feeling is so deep that the Sarria crowd does not bother me. I enjoy seeing all the different people and know that they have their own reasons for doing the camino. I have just chalked this up to a different part of the camino. Just like the Pyrenees, the Meseta, the big cities and the 100k people.

    Last night I went to dinner with Rachel. Very sweet 19 year old girl from the US but is going to school in Sweden right now. We had some good chats and she struggles with what she wants to do with life (Something we all struggle with at some point).

    Everyone has their own reason for doing the camino, even if they don’t know it. There are a lot of people who are here because it is a very cool hiking trip. I have no resentment there, it is true, it is a very cool hiking trip and doing 100km in 5 days is no easy task and most people cannot do that, so it is great they are challenging themselves. I explained to a few people, including Rachel, that yes, I am doing the camino this time in memory and honour of Jörg but when we did the camino the first time in 2009, it was really because it was a cool hiking trip across Spain. I had read some camino books, and understood the spiritual side and there was hope that something would change (and of course it did, my dear Jörg moved to Canada), but it wasn’t the initial driving force to do the walk.

    Ok, enough about my thoughts and feelings, on to tell you about my day. I had a TERRIBLE sleep in the albergue. The albergue was nice, and no major snorers or people disturbing us, but the heat was unbearable. The people sleeping next to the windows had closed them and the room was an oven. I was on a top bunk so the heat was rising and there was nothing I could do to cool down. I actually have a fan, but it is too loud to use in the middle of the night. At one point I went down to the basement lounge to cool off. At about 6am, with hardly any sleep, I decided it was time for a hotel room. And I wanted a real hotel room, not a pension, not a Casa Rural, but an actual hotel. I found a 3 star hotel (extreme luxury in camino terms) that had a sale, and the room was going for 55 Euros. I snapped that one up. I am sitting in the room right now, writing this at a desk with the air conditioning on and looking out to the park across the street through my floor to ceiling windows. (I will attach photos of course!)

    I walked alone for about 5km and then ran into Peggy (from New Hampshire) so we walked the rest of the way together into town (16km in total). She was going another 5km, so we had ice cream and then parted, but I am sure we will run into each other again.

    After showering, I met up with Matt for a drink which was nice and we had a good chat. It is sooooo very hot still so it was time for me to get back to my air conditioning while I have it.

    They have a buffet dinner here at the hotel at 7:30, and I first thought I would treat myself (I don’t even know how much it is), but I am so enjoying just relaxing in the room, that I think I might just survive on my nuts and treats in my bag. We will see. I probably should have something, but they also offer a breakfast, so maybe I skip dinner and just have a great breakfast. Oh, how tough these decisions are.

    Before I go, I thought I should give you an update on my bed bug problem. I have not had any new bites. I have a feeling I just got bit that one night, but they didn’t hitch a ride with me. I am still keeping everything separate in my bag, and have decided when I get to Santiago, I will wash everything again, and empty my backpack and leave it in the sun for a couple hours in a black garbage bag (that is the famous trick to killing them and their eggs.)

    Ok, going to go put my feet up and watch a little TV.

    TTYL    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    5

    Day 40 -Portomarin to Palas de Rei -26km

    October 8, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    I got the last bed at the albergue at the first one that I stopped at after a long hot day again. I was awake around 6am, but it was too early to get out of bed. I decided I might as well do my morning ritual (brush teeth, take medicine, fix hair etc.) so that when it was late enough, I could just get up and go. It really is a guessing game. I want to start early enough so to finish early before the sun is too hot, but then I don’t want to go too early and miss the scenery.

    I decided I would leave the hostal and go get some breakfast before I leave. I got a chocolate croissant that I ate right away but got a sandwich to go. Peggy arrived at the cafe after a large tour group of Germans so had to wait a bit for her food. I think we ended up leaving around 7:30am. We walked together for about 2/3rds of the day. I ran into Matt (guy from LA) so I walked with him until the end. It is kind of funny now. I really don’t get a chance to walk alone too much now, but I don’t mind. There are so many people on the trail, you might as well walk with someone and talk, because that is what most are doing.

    It was a long 26kms today. I was trying to get a bed before reaching here, but I knew the chances were slim, most of those in the small towns were full. I didn’t mind, as tomorrow will be a shorter day.

    I am sitting waiting for my laundry to be done. I didn’t do any washing the last couple days so there would be no hiking tomorrow if I didn’t do it. I am looking forward to not having to do the hand washing laundry soon.

    Ok, I am keeping this short. The scenery today was nothing spectacular, in fact, mostly boring, so not many photos and no video. Let’s hope tomorrow is nicer. I don’t have to leave until 8am so that will be nice.

    TTYL

    Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

    Well, saying I am in a crappy mood now about sums it up. I was fine until dinner but that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I AM SO SICK OF GERMAN!!!!!!!!!!

    We started out in fog again today. The ground was wet so I decided to wear my poncho to start off. It soon came off when I realized there was no rain coming and I was getting hot. We hiked to Portomorin where we stopped for coffee and groceries. Seeing the old ruins in the river was kind of neat. We stopped and had lunch in Gonzar and then continued to Ligonde. It is here where things started to go down.

    The albergue in Ligonde was nice but there was nobody there and no one working there. Joerg really wanted to be with people as we were alone yesterday. I really wanted to be alone but I could tell he wanted to see people so I agreed to go one 1 km more. Well, he got his wish. We are jammed in a room with 18 beds, barely room to put bags. The showers are 2 together so you have to share the space.

    The funny thing is, I didn’t mind the room (I have had worse), but I wanted some time alone so Joerg went for a beer and I went for a walk (after my shower). I kind of felt bad leaving him alone (though he was with a couple Germans) so I eventually came back to sit with him. Well, they continued to speak German so I buried my head in my guide book. When I even asked the woman a question in English (Did she like travelling alone), she answered “yes” and then proceeded to explain in German why. Holy Crap … and I was the one who asked her the question. To top it off, she spoke perfectly good English.

    Well, it was time for dinner and they joined us so it was another hour of pure German and me staring out to space. I couldn’t take it anymore, I just had to leave when I finished my dessert. I went for a little walk, then just decided to go to bed early. So here I am at 7:30pm writing in my journal.

    Joerg I know feels bad, but in some ways I think he should. The very least he could do is try to translate some of it for me so I don’t sit there like an idiot. Next time ... I am not going to let myself get into that … when the Germans arrive I am just going to leave.

    (Excerpt from the next day in the Journal)

    Well, the evening yesterday ended very nicely. Joerg came to bed all nice and drunk so I took advantage of him just like I warned him earlier. He was asking if he was the problem and I said no and we would talk about it tomorrow. And we did talk about it. I explained that sometimes I would like to be alone, simply for the reason to be alone and nothing to do with him. I also talked about the translation thing and he apologized. He usually does do a good job but there was none at dinner.    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    111

    Day 39 - Sarria to Portomarin - 22km

    October 7, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Wow, all I can say is WOW. I thought I was prepared, but you are not really prepared until you witness it. What I am talking about is the mass exodus from Sarria.

    I started at 7:15 this morning. The temperature was to go into the 30s again today and I had 22kms to go, so I wanted to get here as soon as I could to avoid the heat of the day. Well, that didn’t work, it was still 3:30pm when I got here.

    I started without the headlamp but we soon left the lights of the city so it was time to put the headlamp on. When I was putting it on, Joyce (from Netherlands) asked if she could walk with me with my headlamp. So we walked together for 3.5km. That was the spot for the first break and the sun had risen. The place was huge and the crowds were just as big but only 2 people working there. It took at least 15 minutes to get my breakfast. The nice thing is that it was bacon and eggs. Normally when you travel, you are excited to have the local food, but after 39 days I was so excited to have food from home!

    Then it was time to walk again, but I realized soon I needed to use a washroom, so in another 5km, I had to stop for a break again. Well, this place was even busier. I had to wait at least 15 minutes for the washroom, and then 10 mins just to buy a bag of chips (so that I could use the washroom).

    I then stopped another few kilometres away for my lunch. I was going to keep that short but got talking with a guy from LA who is doing the 100km. So because of all the long breaks, I was again stuck in the heat of the day. The good part this time, is that I had a great sleep last night, so even though I was a little tired because of the heat, I still had energy when I arrived.

    After lunch, it was less than a kilometre to the 100km marker. I had to do a double check that it was the right spot, but it was. The camino path has been rerouted in many places, so this marker needed to obviously be moved. In the pictures, you will see a picture of Jörg at the 100km marker and you will see me with it today, in a completely different place.

    After showering and getting organized, I ventured out and found the supermarket. Got some water, but I couldn’t bring myself to buy some bread for the road (kind of tired of it). I have some trail mix and nuts in my bag, so that will hold me until I need real food tomorrow. I think it is 8kms away.

    I ran into Joyce again, so we went to dinner together at a nice Italian restaurant. The forecast for all of next week is in the 30s everyday until I reach Santiago, so I really have to discipline myself to take shorter breaks, I think I will try to set a timer on my phone.

    Ok, time for bed --- wash, rinse and repeat all again tomorrow. Almost there.

    TTYL

    Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

    We ran into Joerg’s girlfriend a couple times again. The second time, she came up from behind us as were sitting at a bar and she rubbed Joerg’s shoulders. Joerg was quick to point it out. I eventually said to him “I don’t mind when she touches him because I know I am the one who can touch him anytime”.    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    2

    Day 38 - Fillobal to Sarria - 22km

    October 6, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Well, are you sitting down to read this? It wasn’t an exciting day but lots of interesting things happened so I may have a bit of a run on the mouth (or fingers in this case).

    First off, I had a wonderful private room last night but I had a terrible sleep. I finally faced the facts yesterday that I have bed bug bites. I had washed everything I own and put in the dryer. I figured it was solved, but I woke up about 1am and had a couple more bites. I am not sure if these were already there and just started itching or if they were new. I was so paranoid about it that I couldn’t really sleep. Every time I thought I felt something, I quickly turned on the lights and nothing was there. At about 4am I finally said, “this is enough, I need sleep, don’t think about it and just sleep.” So I got a good couple hours of sleep.

    I was awake and ready to go by 7:30 so I decided to go. It is still dark until 8am these days so I needed to wear my headlamp. Off I went, about 20 minutes or so into the hike (it was downhill on a path), I could hear someone hiking behind me and see a headlamp. That is no big deal, always happens, but when I looked forward, I saw someone coming towards me (up the hill) that wasn’t wearing a headlamp. I started to wonder why they didn’t have a headlamp and why are they walking backwards on the trail. It took me at least 5 seconds (and count that, it is pretty long), to realize that the figure coming towards me was just me. It was my shadow created by the headlamp on the person behind me. Too funny!

    The hike today was new to me. The last time I was here, the standard trail was through a town called Samos. Now, that part of the trail is an option, and going straight through is the regular trail. The regular one is 6km shorter so you know which one I chose.

    It was shorter, but it was a bit of a challenge. After about 3kms of going down, it was time to go up again. It was a pretty big hill and then there were steep parts going down again. Jenna and I laughed the night before because when you see the elevation profile, it almost looks like the “middle finger”. When I got to the top, I sent Jenna a text saying we definitely named it correctly!

    Today was only 22km (funny I can say only 22km now), but I was feeling extra tired. I am sure it was lack of sleep that contributed to my lack of energy. I made lots of stops to replenish the energy.

    I arrived around 3:30pm, so in the late hot sun again. When I was checking in, Yannette saw me and said a group of them are getting together for dinner at 6 so I joined them. It was fun chatting about nonsense stuff and laughing (I am keeping this PG so I won’t give details). At one point someone asked if we thought we lost weight. Most of us said yes. I can feel it in my shorts and can see it on my face. Then someone had an idea to find a picture from when we started. So I dug back, and boy can I see a difference. That felt good.

    Ok, I am going to head to bed now. Keep our fingers crossed that I don’t see any new bites in the morning or I will definitely need to take more aggressive tactics to rid my stuff of them. The good thing is everything is contained in one bag. The other good thing is that I looked around the table tonight and saw lots of bites, so it ain’t just me.

    TTYL (Video coming tomorrow, sleep 💤 more important today)

    Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

    The hike today was beautiful. Lots of trees and mountains and very cool old villages. We took our time and walked at a steady pace. I think we finally arrived at the Albergue at 5:30pm. Along the way, Joerg and I kept joking about his “girlfriend”.

    Last night, there was a German lady with a German man that we kept running into. They stopped at our albergue. At one point, Joerg told her that I only spoke English. She didn’t say anything, then he started to say it in German but she cut him off saying she understood. She then still continued to speak in German. At one point, she started rubbing Joerg’s leg for a good 30 seconds then she offered him a mint but did not offer me one. I didn’t think anything of it except that she was a little rude.

    Later I asked what she was talking about when she was rubbing his leg and he said he can’t remember but it was nothing to do with his leg, she was just rubbing it. That was too funny. I don’t feel threatened at all, but we were joking about it all day. For example, there were notes on some posts and he said they were from her telling him to meet her after dark under Cassiopeia.    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    1
    11

    Day 37 - O Cebreiro to Fillobal - 17km

    October 5, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    I started the day by coming out at 7:00am to see the stars. Cassiopeia was right in front of me. I don’t think many of you know the significance of Cassiopeia for Jörg and I so I will fill you in now.

    About a month after we met in Nashville, Jörg and I travelled together for a week in my car visiting the national parks of southern Utah including Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, etc. We ended the week visiting the Grand Canyon together. Well, the first day of the trip, we were in Zion. I actually had a tent so we camped together. I forget at what point in the evening (I think in the middle of the night), I pointed out to Jörg the constellation Cassiopeia (it is the W shape set of stars). It is the only one I know (well except for the Big Dipper) and learned it from the movie “The sure thing” in the 80s.

    Well, throughout the week, we would always look to the sky in the evening and I would point it out. On the last night we were together before he left to go home to Germany, we were up at 4am and we both went out of the motel room to look outside for it but it was cloudy. Throughout the years we joked about it whenever we had a chance to look at the stars. I feel he is now in those stars watching over me.

    Today was lovely. Coming downhill from O Cebreiro is nothing like coming down from Cruz de Ferro. It is quite pleasant, the path is mostly smooth but steep in some places. I hiked the day with Jenna. She is off to Triacastela (another 3.7km) today so we separated and will probably see each other again in Santiago.

    The town I am in is still on the mountain, about 2/3rds of the way down. I have a private room today and it is beautiful. I am sitting in my room, waiting for my laundry to dry, then I will venture out and just sit and enjoy the view for the rest of the day. My friends Nadine and Jacqueline are here (from Belgium) so I am sure we will have a nice visit.

    TTYL    Read more

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