Dos Perigrinos
Commercial photographer / videographer, world traveler & retired airline employee (that really helps with the world traveling!). Baca lagi🇺🇸Austin
    • Day 3, To Barcelos

      18 Mei 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

      Camino Portuguese Day 3: to Barcelos.

      It was a great day today. Nice weather and a nice walk. We left Arcos in the fog but things cleared up fast. We ended up going off the “normal” path for an alternate path that took us through the trees to a beautiful hilltop church with a nice restaurant and a view to the sea. It was up, up, up and then down, down, down but definitely worth the journey. Speaking of “normal”, the first day and a half instead of taking the traditional or “normal” route, we walked up the coast on what is called the “Senda Litoral” route. Along that route you see very few yellow arrows guiding you. However, you do see lots of beautiful coastline and sand. (Perhaps the arrows are difficult to paint in the sand. Besides, if the ocean is on your left, you’re going the right way…)
      Once we reached Vila do Conde we cut over to the traditional Camino Portuguese route. Now that we are on the traditional route, we are seeing lots of the comforting yellow arrows the tell us we are indeed on the”way”.
      When we got to Barcelos we checked into our room (free upgrade at Casa da Ana!) super nice room! Then we took our showers and washed our dirty laundry. Feeling clean and refreshed, we headed out to see the town. Tomorrow we are at Casa de Fernanda. Our first true albergue.
      Baca lagi

    • Day 2, To Arcos

      18 Mei 2024, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

      Portuguese Camino Day 2: To Arcos

      Today started off with more walking on boardwalks by the ocean, mixed in with the typical Portuguese stone black and white cobblestone walkways.
      Once we got to Vila do Conde the route involved walking on lots of small two lane roads with virtually no shoulder to cut across from the coastal (or Sendai Litoral) route to the central Camino.
      We had a really great lunch in the little village of Strada. The food was great and the people were spectacular. The wife/hostess gave Jay a large scallop shell (since he didn’t have one) and then the husband (and chef) got his tool kit with drill and proceeded to drill a hole so Jay could hang it from his backpack.
      Side story…. We ordered pork ribs with roasted potatoes and salad. I was a little concerned because in Texas, pork ribs are definitely finger food. But, we were dining at a nice restaurant in Portugal so I didn’t know the proper etiquette. I asked the hostess if pork ribs should be eaten with your hands?… with a completely strait face she said “yes it’s much easier than eating them with your feet…”
      Today was a shorter day than yesterday but our feet were still complaining from yesterday.
      Fortunately we arrived at our Villa de Arcos a little before 3p. We were ready to take off our shoes and enjoy a little wine after about 23 kilometers (14.6 miles) or 33k steps…
      Baca lagi

    • Day 1, To Labruge

      17 Mei 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

      Day 1

      Today we left our place “The Lost Inn; Porto” about 7:45am. It was a mostly beautiful day, passing lighthouses and abandoned forts under sunshine mixed with occasional rain. Much of the time we were walking on boardwalks over the sand with the ocean on our left. Occasionally we were on traditional Portuguese cobblestone paths which are often white stones accented with black stone decoration (or the reverse). Being so close to the ocean, of course we had to eat seafood for lunch and dinner. Eighteen and a half miles and 43,000 steps later we arrived in Labruge about 4pm where we stayed at the Casa de Praia Guest House.

      Tomorrow we are off to Arcos.
      Baca lagi

    • Porto Arrival

      16–17 Mei 2024, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

      It’s been a couple of great days hanging out with Jay in Porto waiting for our bodies to get accustomed to the time change. We spent the days exploring the city. Porto is a wonderful city known for the beautiful ceramic tiles that adorn many of the buildings and a beautiful area down by the river with cafes to enjoy a meal or just a glass of wine. We walked across the Dom Luís Bridge over the Rio Douro to the city of Vila Nova de Gaia. Later we met up with a Watercolor artist I’ve followed that paints while walking the Caminos (Vincent Monluc) at a cafe on the river. Tomorrow morning we start our Camino with our first day of walking along the beach to Labruge.Baca lagi

    • Pilgrim’s Passport

      17 Jun 2023, Sepanyol ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

      This is my Pilgrims’s Passport (or Credential) that I got stamped at albergues, hostels, or hotels where I stayed as well as bars, cafes, and cathedrals to document my Camino across Spain for the official pilgrim’s office in Santiago.
      It also makes for a great keepsake!
      Baca lagi

    • Day 37: To Santiago!

      17 Jun 2023, Sepanyol ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

      The Way.
      In a logical sense, today was like any of the other 37 days I have been walking from Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port France to Santiago. Just another 20-kilometer (12 mile) day of my 800k (500 mile) journey. A little shorter than most, a walk-through villages and cities, through fields, on paths and roads, leading to a destination.
      Below, I’ve posted photos of what I saw during the last 20k. They say little about what I experienced excepting the photos of my Camino family I met along the way. I started the day walking with Traci from San Diego that was practically sprinting knowing her husband had flown over and would be meeting her when she walked into Santiago.
      Thank you, Dorothy, for accompanying me for the first 11 days of my Camino adventure and the travel days in Paris and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port France. It was great just spending time with you. What really made the Camino such a memorable experience was so much more than the walk and the Spanish countryside. What makes the Camino so special is the connections you make along the trail. There are too many to mention them all, but hank you Rebekah from Australia. Dorothy and I met her in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port over a month ago and she made it a point to greet me as I walked into the Santiago Plaza. Thank you, Cecilia, Bryan & Marta & George, Linda, Collin and (Irish) Emma. Thank you, Sally Jo, Kelly, Alice & Aurelie. Terry, (Amish) Emma and Jack. Thank you, Peter, Jono, Escher and their family. Thank you, Klaus, Elena, Victor, Lauren, Katarina & Julia, Karen, Ingegerd, Nayhouy, Mike & Barb, Natalie, Mina, Eva, Sudah, Sunny, and so, so many more.
      As humans, we are driven often more by emotions and feelings than logic. At least for me, that is definitely the case, and I would consider that a good thing. Therefore, today was so much more.
      The Camino, “The Way” is more than just a really long walk from France through Spain. Some believe it’s some magic meridian lines along the route that give healing powers. Christian’s have walked the route for over 1000 years to show devotion to St James the Apostle. Many say the route was walked long before that. All I know is it is a unique experience. I believe that beyond the infrastructure (albergues, yellow arrows (everywhere) and well-maintained pathways), it’s the people like those mentioned above that choose to walk the walk. Perhaps because of the shared experiences and pain, connections are quickly formed. The people are virtually never judgmental, kindness is omnipresent. It’s the way I want to be. It’s the way I want the world to be. I want us all to be seeking the same destination.

      That being said, today I walked into Santiago.
      This journey has ended.
      I will carry my memories of the quiet moments, the wonderful moments walking with my sister and the many wonderful people that enriched my journey with me. Always.
      I believe carrying these experiences will help me enrich those around me.
      My feet are tired. My heart is full.
      The journey continues.

      Postscript…
      I started the Camino on May 12th, 2023, from St Jean Pied de Port France and walked into main Cathedral square of Santiago de Compostela Spain on the early afternoon of June, 17th 2023.
      According to my Fitbit I walked:
      37 Days
      1,370,946 Steps
      956. Kilometers
      597. Miles

      And…
      Those statistics are a relatively insignificant part of the journey.
      Baca lagi

    • Day 36: To O Pedrouzo

      16 Jun 2023, Sepanyol ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

      As I’ve gotten closer to Santiago the trails have been busier and there have been more crafts people and vendors along the trails with a sellos (stamp for your pilgrim’s passport) marketing their wares. It’s not at all like you are walking through a crafts fair, but you will usually pass something to capture your attention every hour or two.
      I ended up running into my friend Tracy this morning and we walked together the entire day. Tracy is a pocket-sized force of nature that walks substantially faster than my normal pace, but the great conversation and the excitement that tonight was my last stop before Santiago took my mind off our faster speed, and it was great getting into my destination for the day much earlier than I would have at my normal turtle 🐢… pace. It was almost a 24k day, but it went by really fast. More Hórreos (interesting, elevated grain storage buildings that are unique to Galicia) on the trail today as well as more beautiful fields and tiny villages along with one fairly good-sized town (Arzúa). The early arrival at O Pedrouzo was nice and I met up with a group of Camino family from South Africa, the UK and New Zealand that had been crossing paths with me for a few days. Finally, later I met up with Bryan and Marta that have become part of my core Camino family.
      Tomorrow, I know will be very bittersweet. I will walk into Santiago which will mark the end of my Camino de Santiago Francés.
      I will finally be able to fly home and rejoin my wife and family that I have been missing for weeks. I will also be leaving behind such wonderful friends that have become my Camino family through our shared joys and challenges. Still the memories will remain.
      Until then, tomorrow to Santiago!
      Baca lagi

    • Day 35: To Ribidiso.

      15 Jun 2023, Sepanyol ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

      Almost there… only two nights to Santiago! Today was a long (over 30k) hot day. The guidebooks showed a 26k day (which my feet will tell you is already pushing my limits) but they, well, lied. Don’t get me wrong, it was a beautiful hike. Just long, and by the time I arrived, hot.
      Before leaving town there was a nice pilgrim statue helping to point the way. (Not that there is any doubt.)
      Today I met new people, walked alone, and reconnected with some, including a friend that was Dorothy’s and my roommate the first night we arrived in St Jean Pied de Port before beginning our Camino. Today’s walk included periods of young exuberance, periods with only the birds singing, and a few minutes to stop and listen to some nice Spanish guitar.
      Tomorrow, to O Pedrouzo.
      Baca lagi

    • Day 34: To Palas di Rei

      14 Jun 2023, Sepanyol ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      It was a foggy morning…
      As has become my routine I started my walk shortly before 8am and proceeded over the bridge leaving Portomarin headed to Palas de Rei.
      Galicia (the area in Spain where I’m currently walking) is truly beautiful. Lots of greenery, flowers and of course, more quaint villages. Today about 80% of the Camino was on (mostly) tree covered trails and the remainder was on small country roads. In proportion to the increased number of Peregrinos there are more independent vendors set up on the trail. Some selling their crafts, some like a woman Miriam, just collecting stories from pilgrims about their Camino.
      One of my favorite stops of the day was an ancient Pagan site that was inhabited from about the fourth century BC, to the start of the Roman occupation. The somewhat surprising thing is although not visible from the trail, it was marked with a plaque and only about 400 feet off the Camino. Still in their quest to get to their destination virtually no one took the (very) short path to the site. They walked by totally unaware of its existence.
      It was pretty cool to be walking around exploring the (fairly small) spaces where people were living and working twenty-five hundred years ago.
      My tiny Camino perspective is how many people or things do we pass by unaware every day, missing that with a little focus they may have an effect on us.
      Today was a fairly long day at just over 26km (or just over 16 miles) and I was hot and tired by the time I arrived in Palis de Rei. After dropping off my backpack it was great to run into a group of my Camino family for dinner.
      Tomorrow to Ribadiso
      Baca lagi

    • Day 33: To Portomarin

      13 Jun 2023, Sepanyol ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

      I walked out of Sarria shortly after sunrise accompanied by throngs of young people….
      I admittedly had a certain trepidation about how the Camino would change after Sarria knowing so many new pilgrims would be joining the Camino.
      To receive the official documentation that you have done the pilgrimage to Santiago, you have to prove you have walked the last 100k or biked the last 200k to Santiago. Since Sarria is just over the 100k mark it’s a very popular place for an official start, therefore over 70% of official Compostela walkers skip the first 700k, and just start their Camino in Sarria. I passed the official 100k to Santiago marker today around lunchtime.
      And so… starting in Sarria there is substantially more noise and especially more young people.
      My day did start off really busy however it was really fun talking to all the young people. One group of kids that were all around 15 doing a summer school trip presented me with a small tote bag with their school logo and wanted a photo with me. I’m not sure if it was because I had already walked 700k, or they thought I was really old and perhaps they should get a photo now because I may not make it to the end….
      A little later while having coffee I met Mario. He is 74 and has walked 11 Camino’s. Wow! A bit later on the trail, I ran into him, and he told me he was watching me walk and I should not hunch over so much and keep my head looking further down the path. I’ve been working on it, but old habits die hard…. Thank you, Mario.
      Although the trails were more crowded, there is some universal slinky rule that dictates the ebb and flow of crowds. You can always walk between the crowded sections or walk in them. It’s all a matter of pacing yourself. So, all in all it was a beautiful day surrounded by periods of silence alternating with throngs of new peregrinos discovering the joys and aches of the Camino.
      By the time I arrived in Portomarín I was in dire need of a toilet. I crossed the big bridge over the river to discover a large flight of stairs as my final challenge before I could find a baño and a cerveza. Glad I made it….
      Tomorrow to Palas de Rei…
      Baca lagi

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