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The PeregrinoThe Peregrino
SatellittRediger rute
Commercial photographer / videographer, world traveler & retired airline employee (that really helps with the world traveling!). Les mer Austin, Texas
  • ReisendeCamino de Santiago Frances
    Dag 28

    Day 28: To Camponaraya

    8. juni 2023, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    It was a stunningly beautiful morning as I left my albergue in El Acebo and headed for Camponaraya. I turned around on the way up the first hill and turned back to take a pic of last night’s albergue. It was a big albergue, I believe they actually had a gym and offered massages but unfortunately after yesterday’s 30k hike, I arrived too late to enjoy them. (Although I can’t really imagine wanting to go to a gym after spending all day hiking, however a massage would have been great!)
    I walked through the village of Ponferrada and stopped for a coffee before continuing through the village of Molinaseca then into the big city of Ponferrada where I had a great lunch across from a giant Templar castle. It was undoubtedly the most ‘castlely’ looking castle I’ve ever seen! Then on through urban then rural neighborhoods before (finally) arriving at my albergue in Camponaraya.
    Albergues vary pretty drastically in the number of beds and the amenities they offer. This one was nice with large outdoor and indoor areas to enjoy a meal or a cerveza or a vino tinto or vino blanco. While sitting on the patio, I met Victor from Holland. His warm open personality reminded me a great deal of “Joost from Holland” in the movie “The Way”.
    Tomorrow, I have another 25k to go to Trabadelo where I’m excited to be staying at Casa Susi. It’s an albergue I heard about months ago due to their great reputation and I’m looking forward to it.    Les mer

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  • ReisendeCamino de Santiago Frances
    Dag 27

    Day 27: To El Acebo

    7. juni 2023, Spania ⋅ 🌧 66 °F

    Physically:
    I’m definitely out of the Meseta…
    For the past week or so I have been walking through what they call the Meseta. It’s basically a relatively flat agricultural region. Now that’s in my (metaphorical) rear view mirror as I’m back to climbing and descending mountains. In fact, today I passed the highest point on the entire Camino. While today’s assent and decent was not nearly as challenging as my first couple of days crossing the Pyrenees, I’m definitely not in Kansas…
    Also, to play a little catch-up as payback for yesterday’s 10k day, today I did a long 30k trek. It made for a very long day, although after the fog/rain subsided it was a beautiful solitary hike on a trail through the woods with wildflowers all around.

    Emotionally/Spiritually:
    I was completely alone virtually all day hiking very rocky mountain trails often in the mist & rain. Plus, one of the best-known locations on the Camino; the “Cruz de Ferro” (Iron Cross) was on today’s hike. Physically, it’s just an iron cross on top of what looks like a telephone pole sticking out of a big pile of rocks.
    Not being a “religious” guy, for me, the cross was not the most important part. The relevance was the rocks. The spiritual strength comes with the tradition that you leave a rock or a small memento behind to release a burden, or in memory of a loss or perhaps as a sign of a current love or devotion. It’s a tradition that has been repeated countless thousands of times as is evidenced by the many thousands of rocks people have carried from around the world to leave there.
    I did all the above and am not ashamed to say mine were accompanied by free-flowing tears. (In my best Yoda voice); “Very strong the Force is there”. It’s a very ‘spiritual’ place and hard to not be moved.
    Finally, I stumbled into my Albergue after 6pm and just crashed on my bunk until my 8:15 dinner time. Then enjoyed my three-course 15€ Peregrino dinner. Now I am in my bunk and ready for sleep.    Les mer

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  • ReisendeCamino de Santiago Frances
    Dag 26

    Day 26: To Santa Catalina de Somoza

    6. juni 2023, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    After my (too) long day of walking yesterday, I decided on a nice easy less than 8-mile trek to the little village of Santa Catalina de Somoza for today. It should have been a pretty effortless trek, but my left leg shin started hurting more and again my right shin started having sympathy pains. Yep, I overdid it yesterday, so today I’m giving my body a break.
    Due to the short day, I slept in, then went to touch on some of the highlights of Astorga. The Cathedral is spectacular. One nice thing they did on the tour is one rooms had 3dVR headsets you could put on and view portions of the Cathedral that are normally not accessible. It was very well done and quite cool. Next door to the Cathedral is the Gaudi Museum or Bishop’s palace so I took the tour there too.
    After that, I headed back to the hotel to pick up my backpack and hiking poles to continue my journey. While there, I met the proprietor, Juan. His family has been living in that home/hotel for 11 generations. It’s a wonderful hotel and not an albergue, but this Peregrino needed a bit more comfort to make my feet and I feel better before the trek tomorrow. (Spoiler alert, there are mountains ahead…)
    I stopped in the village of Murias de Rechivaldo for lunch. Lunch was good but I wish the bar across the street that is owned by some Italians had been open. I’m not sure about their food but I liked their decor outside with colorful flowers filling discarded boots. Then on to my Hostal in the cute but very small village of Santa Catalina to rest my feet.    Les mer

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  • ReisendeCamino de Santiago Frances
    Dag 25

    Day 25: To Astorga

    5. juni 2023, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    Today was a (maybe too) long day. I hiked a little over 22 miles to the town of Astorga. When I started out my left shin was feeling much better. By the time I arrived, my left and right shins were bothering me.
    I started out from my albergue Tio Pepe about 7:30 this morning and didn’t arrive until nearly 7pm. Tomorrow I am going to do a much shorter day. Fortunately, there were several small towns on the way to stop and get a coffee or Aquarius (a non-carbonated electrolyte drink that taste great). I stopped for lunch at ‘Hospital de Órbigo’. It was one of the more interesting small towns I’ve walked through. Some of my Camino family that is several days ahead of me told me then they were here there was a big medieval fair with jousting and the evidence of the celebration was still apparent when I arrived today. It turns out every June they celebrate Don Suero’s Jousting tournament.

    A little history…. In 1434 the knight Don Suero had his heart broken so he locked an iron collar around his neck and declared he would host a jousting tournament here during the two weeks leading up to Saint James Day. Nobles got behind the event and champions showed up to take his dare. At the end of the two weeks Don Suero prevailed after breaking the lances of 300 opponents. He declared himself the victor, and free of the bonds of love. He then made the pilgrimage to Santiago as a final gesture of his release.

    The whole town has a very medieval feel with the medieval bridge and Templar and Maltese crosses and coats of armor displayed around town.
    The trail continued past rusty dirt (rock) farms and fields. I stopped by one and shared a little baby-cow love. Near San Justo de la Vega there was a little donativo (donation based) oasis with fruit (watermelon!), snacks, juice, teas and even hammocks available.
    About an hour later I topped a hill with a little rest spot and a view of Astorga in the distance. I stopped and got a wax seal sellos for my credential from a vendor and continued on to my destination for the evening.    Les mer

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  • ReisendeCamino de Santiago Frances
    Dag 24

    Day 24: To Villar de Mazarife

    4. juni 2023, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    On Sunday morning with the help of another 400mg Ibuprofen (sometimes referred to as “Vitamin I” by pilgrims) my ankle was feeling a bit better, so I decided to push on to Villar de Mazarife. I walked past more churches, past what appeared to be some hobbit holes and out of the bustle of Leon. After a while I was passing more beautiful wheat fields punctuated by red poppies and white daisys. Early in the day I ran across my Camino friend Lauren (American but living in Spain) and we walked together until I arrived at my albergue in Villar de Mazarife. Lauren continued walking as she still had several kilometers to go. After another 15-mile day my ankle was certainly not feeling any worse and perhaps a bit better so I’m confidant I’ll be able to continue tomorrow.Les mer

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  • ReisendeCamino de Santiago Frances
    Dag 23

    Day 23: To León

    3. juni 2023, Spania ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    Saturday morning, I started off on what would be a 15 mile walk to Leon. So far, I’ve been really fortunate avoiding the common ailments that are common if not predictable with such long daily walks. I’ve only suffered one small blister. Unfortunately, shortly after starting out this morning a tightness/pain developed in my left shin. I walked/limped through a few little towns on the way in. Mantilla Mayor had me seeing spots when I briefly stopped there, and it also had another nice mural. I passed another bell tower that was home to massive stork nests and the “new” bridge into town. (It was built in 1778). I also met a new Camino family member (Sally Jo from Houston) that helped take my mind off my aching shin. By the time I made it onto Leon (it seems to take forever to get from the rural countryside into the heart of the big cities), I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue without giving my ankle a day or two of rest. (The standard prescription for what I am pretty certain is a “shin splint” or tendonitis). I stopped by a Farmacia and picked up some Ibuprofen, stopped by a bar and had lunch and a Tinto de Verona (basically red wine and lemon soda) and then rested awhile in my albergue. I also confirmed with them that I would be able to stay an extra night or two if needed and would let them know in the morning. Before long I was getting restless and the local 400mg ibuprofen had kicked in so I walked to the Leon Cathedral (it was spectacular) where I ran into my Camino buddy Kelly. We walked around the old town, took touristy photos, and acted silly (it was a great distraction from my shin). We then met up with our friends Collin from Austin, Sunny from Amsterdam, George from London & Bryan from Australia, and another pilgrim for dinner. Afterwards I hobbled back to my albergue, got off my feet and was in bed by 7:30. Hopefully tomorrow I can continue onward…Les mer

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  • ReisendeCamino de Santiago Frances
    Dag 22

    Day 22: To Mansilla de Mulas

    2. juni 2023, Spania ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    I left Bercanos del real Camino headed to Mansilla de las Mulas around 8:30 accompanied by Terry, his granddaughter Emma, and her boyfriend Jack. We ended up walking much of the day together and we were all looking forward to having our own place with private bedrooms this evening.
    Today wasn’t the prettiest or most dynamic of days. It was basically just a long (partially shaded) hike along a trail next to a medium busy road. Going through the village of El Burgo Ranero, storks were working on their nest on the bell tower. (You see them in a lot of the bell towers. I’m wondering if they have some sort of barter system worked out with the Catholic Church….)
    A little later I ran across a row of trees where someone had knitted little sweaters for the trees along the path. (Perhaps to make them more huggable?)

    Tonight, we had the apartment for Sue, Terry, Emma, Jack, and me. The “kids” offered to make dinner for us, so they went out and picked up groceries to cook a great pasta dinner while I worked on laundry for the gang.
    The original plan was that Sue (a salsa and swing dance instructor) was going guide a dance party, but that plan pretty much fell apart when the reality hit home that we had all already walked over 18 1/2 miles earlier in the day and none had the energy for any kind of party. So, after dinner we just all said our good nights, and headed off to bed in preparation of our hike to León tomorrow.    Les mer

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  • ReisendeCamino de Santiago Frances
    Dag 21

    Day 21: To Bercianos del Real Camino

    1. juni 2023, Spania ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    This morning I left before 7am and the sun was just up. It was a beautiful time to walk. After around 4K I arrived at Moratinos for a much-needed coffee break. After enjoying my coffee and pastry, I continued to a (fairly) major town on today’s hike, Sahagùn. Shortly before I entered the town, I passed over a medieval bridge and then through a monument that signifies the theoretical 1/2 point from St Jean Pied de Port France to Santiago de Compostela Spain. (You walk between two statues that mark the official 1/2 point.) That is of course if you walked directly from SJPDP to Santiago or about 400K of the 800K total.) Of course, I’ve been walking around the towns, having lunch, looking for bathrooms etc, so as of lunchtime today I have walked 321 miles or 517 kilometers since leaving SJPDP.
    Entering Sahagún you pass another great pilgrim mural and then a big gate “The Arch of San Benito” that was originally the entrance to a church but is now an entrance to the city.
    I went ahead and had lunch while in Sahagùn. I joined a nice French guy that I had seen several times on the Camino (Johan) for lunch. He started his Camino in a Le Puy France. It’s a gateway to the Camino that is about 750 kilometers before St Jean. So really where I started (Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port) was actually his 1/2-way point. I thought my 800k trek was a lot. Just goes to show, it’s all relative…Wow!
    After leaving Sahagún I continued my hike for a couple more hours to my stop for the evening; Bercianos del Real Camino. I’ve been walking with some of my Camino family from the US (Terry, his granddaughter Emma, and her friend Jack) off and on the past few days. It happens we are staying in the same Albergue this evening. We were all on our phones this evening looking for beds for tomorrow and I found a very reasonable four-bedroom apartment for rent. So tomorrow we are all splitting it along with another pilgrim (Sue) we just met. It should be fun!    Les mer

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  • ReisendeCamino de Santiago Frances
    Dag 20

    Day 20: To Terradillos de Los Templarios

    31. mai 2023, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    I left the monastery about 7:20 this morning and surprisingly almost immediately ran across a restaurant that was open. So, I sat down a bit for breakfast. Really, it was just bread and coffee because I knew I had about an 18-mile day ahead. Then I headed out of town past a nice tribute to the pilgrims and an old Roman road headed off somewhere. (They don’t build them like that anymore…) I then continued my trek through the Meseta.
    Pretty soon I was out of town and beginning a 17k segment that is stated in the guidebooks that is often without any services. No water, no food, no toilets, nada. Fortunately, it was a flat, easy (if long) walk past grain pastures etc. After a few kilometers there actually was a nice Guardia Civil officer parked in case anyone needed help and a little further there was a pavilion that fortunately was open. It made for a great rest and refresh place. I ran into a couple of members of my more recent pilgrim family (Collin from Austin and Kelly from Atlanta). Of course, I had to photograph some of the beautiful wildflowers along the way as well as the creative rock work from previous pilgrims. As I walked the final hour or so towards my final stop of the day thunderstorms were building around me and the temperature dropped. The cool was nice, but the thunder was a little disconcerting (my metal hiking poles and I were the tallest objects around…), although, the darker sky’s did make for some nice photos. I made it to my albergue “Jacques de Molay” before the rain hit. After dinner it wasn’t too many hours before I was tucked into my bunk to write this and then off to sleep.    Les mer

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  • ReisendeCamino de Santiago Frances
    Dag 19

    Day 19: Carrión de Los Condes

    30. mai 2023, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    It was a little shorter day today at a little less than 15 miles. It’s officially about 20k but I always manage to get a little distance just walking around. I started off about 7:30 this morning and passed by the XI century church; Iglesia de San Martin (consecrated in 1066) in the warm morning light. Then I passed by a little pilgrim monument in Villovieco. There was a fork in the path pretty early today that would either take you by the road or the river. The river route was only a bit less than 1k longer and shaded so it was an easy choice. Then I stopped for lunch in Villacázar de Sirga. While there, I stepped inside the local church the Santa Maria La Blanca that was built in the last 1/3 of the 13th century to check it out.
    The Knights Templar built it with the help of the Cistercians as literally a church-fortress to protect the pilgrims bound for the holy land. What is truly amazing to me is not just that these amazing structures were built around 1000 years ago… but you run across one in practically every little village.
    Speaking of churches and such, tonight I’m staying in a working Monastery. The Monasterio de Santa Clara. Although few would say I am at all “monk like” I’m pretty sure I slept in a room that has been used for monk or sister’s quarters. I have been keeping my eyes out for Julie Andrews but no sightings yet…    Les mer

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