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  • TravelerCamino Frances
    Day 36

    New Friends

    October 4, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Trabadelo, Spain
    Yesterday was a really low point and I kept wondering what were we doing? Felt as if we'd been sold a bill of goods and the Camino was a ruse foisted onto foreigners to keep small towns in Spain alive. After all, I read that Foncebadon had been an abandoned village inhabited only by wild dogs in the 1990's. Maybe we should be honoring our American heritage by walking the Oregon Trail. A chance happening totally turned my mental state around 180 degrees. When we stopped for arrival beverages in Cacabelos, a very nattily dressed older gentleman approached Mike and asked him if he spoke English. Turns out our new Spanish friend Jaime likes to come down to the café along the Camino for a glass of wine in hopes of practicing his English with pilgrims. He's done the Camino himself and enjoys sharing the camaraderie. When I asked about the beautiful lapel pin on his sports coat, he said he was a retired military man, a former Air Force pilot. He was delighted to learn of our military background as well. We knew we should be heading for lodging, but we lingered over a couple of drinks. When we finally said we had to leave, he said he'd be back that evening. As luck would have it, the only place we found for dinner at a reasonable hour last night was back in the same spot. Jaime returned midway through dinner, so we joined him on the terrace afterwards. He happily answered our questions about life in Spain and the dining habits. Turns out they eat their big meal at a late lunchtime, then finish off the evening with light fare. We'll have to try that when we're done walking the Camino and are hanging out as tourists. Jaime asked how I'd learned Spanish, so I spoke of growing up in Venezuela. Originally from Santiago, he lived in Argentina during his teenage years and retired to Cacabelos. It was amazing how much we had in common, discussing life in general. Hours earlier we met as strangers, we ended the evening as friends. Today's Camino took us over rolling hills through vineyards of the El Bierzo region, some fields of newly planted vines interspersed with older vineyards. Leaving Cacabelos at dawn, once again we were treated to a spectacular sunrise. We are getting hooked on beautiful sunrises, freshly squeezed orange juice, and café con leche. The El Bierzo soil is obviously very fertile. Vegetable gardens and orchards are tucked everywhere. The path was lined with chestnut trees loaded with nuts and fig trees laden with fruits, not to mention all the apple trees. Whereas the meseta was endless fields of grains uninterrupted by borders or variation, between the hills, fields and orchards, the El Bierzo provides a mélange of sights and sounds. We walked along a river most of the day, arriving in Trabadelo, a small lumber town, in time for lunch.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Frances
    Day 35

    Terminal Exhaustion

    October 3, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Cacabelos, Spain
    Our dinner companion of the evening was Everett, a Dutch vocational school administrator. After a particularly grueling year involving a school merger, he took a 2 month sabbatical to walk the Camino. At age 60 he is in the final years of his career and contemplating a change. He enjoys team building and wants a chance to build something new. He is totally enamored with the Camino and hopes to use the time to think and figure it out. Interesting that he's the third school administrator/principal that we've met, though each from a different country. Still a bit tired from yesterday's workout, we chose to wait for breakfast at our lodging before hitting the road. Scrambled eggs never tasted so good! We actually left in daylight this morning and felt like we were walking by ourselves since we were well behind the familiar pilgrim morning rush hour. First town up was Ponferrada, a decent sized town located between 2 rivers. The Knights Templar made it one of their headquarters and put it on the map as far as the Camino is concerned. They built the Castillo de los Templarios, a 13th century castle worthy of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Too bad we have a long haul today, as it really would have been nice to do the tourist routine and go through it. Instead we settled for a fantastic café con leche and raisin bun stop before continuing on and finally exiting the city along the river. The route today was up and down hill, but nothing near as challenging as yesterday. Good thing as we are still exhausted from yesterday with stiff and sore calves. We passed a winery offering a wine tasting with pinchos for 1.50 euros, practically a steal by US standards, but didn't dare stop for fear we'd never start again. We finally practically crawled into Cacabelos, our destination, later this afternoon.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Frances
    Day 34

    Cruz de Ferro

    October 2, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Molinaseca, Spain
    We had a delightful dinner with 2 young ladies who are also on the Camino. Emma, 26, from British Columbia, Canada is on a break from school. When she returns, she'll be finishing up her degree in forestry. She's following in family footsteps, as both parents and her sister have done the Camino. Alex, 19, from Perth, Australia, was taking a break from work and school. When she finishes the Camino, she's heading to Portugal to work for a bit before heading to England. She plans to live, work, and study in England for about 2 years before returning home. Her field of studies is economics and international relations. She was very down to earth, had all her plans well researched, and was the most squared away 19 year old I've ever met. We finally called it a night as we're all heading out early. The sky was still dark when we left in the morning, only stopping in town for a quick café con leche. It's almost 8 kilometers to the Cruz de Ferro and we hope to be there early. It was a steady climb uphill and just when we thought we should be there, we entered the small town of Foncebadon, which we joked translated meant "fooled you, you still have a few kilometers to go". Sigh. Fortified by orange juice, we continued on. We finally made it to the Cruz de Ferro, an iron cross originally mounted on an oak tree, on Monte Irago with an altitude of 4,938 feet, the highest point on the Camino. Traditionally pilgrims leave a stone signifying a burden at the cross and say a prayer. The closest spot to the heavens guarantees the quickest transmission, I guess. Many things are not what they used to be, and this was no exception. The oak tree has been replaced by a telephone pole (direct line to heaven?) and even though there have already been over 300k pilgrims this year, the size of the stone pile was not commensurate with years’ worth of pilgrims. Determined not to get distracted by the disconnect, we carried on the tradition, leaving stones as well as a star from the US flag while we said prayers for family, friends and country. Two kilometers down the road we passed through Manjarin. While we jokingly refer to small places as a one-horse town, this was literally a one-person town. Manjarin is occupied by the last of the Knights Templar, who is dedicated to caring for pilgrims. Though the guidebooks said rustic with no electricity or running water, we did see solar panels and a wind generator out back, concessions to the times I suspect. The descent from the Cruz de Ferro was steep and rocky with large slabs of slate throughout. The numbers of rocks in the trail seemed directly proportional to the steepness of descent. If the rock had been snow, this would have been a triple black diamond ski slope with moguls worthy of an expert. We earned the billy goat badge by carefully picking our way downhill safely while young folks behind us jumped from rock to rock with amazing speed. We stopped for a quick lunch in Acebo before finally making it to Molinaseca for the night.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Frances
    Day 33

    Old Home Week

    October 1, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Rabanal del Camino, Spain
    Astorga, population 11k, is an interesting place and home to the strong mountain people known as Maragatos, who historically knew their way around mules and mountains, creating a transport hub for moving goods from coast to interior. The Maragato heritage is celebrated in the cuisine, as well as commerce, as transporting cacao beans from the New World led to processing it into chocolate long before Milton Hershey was even a twinkle in his grandmother's eye. Of course we had to stock up on chocolate for our journey, sampling the different varieties before making a selection. We headed to the town square for arrival beverages and to watch the famous city hall clock figures, a Maragato man and woman, strike the bell on the hour. On the way we ran into Sheila, an American from California, Des, our Irish friend, and a young Camino couple (Ottowa/Los Angeles) we've chatted with along the way. We finally made our way to the place advertising a pilgrims meal at a decent hour, and ran into Peter and Susie, our British friends. We managed to drag ourselves back to our lodging in time for curfew. We exited Astorga before dawn, bound for Rabanal del Camino. We've left the flat meseta behind and climbed steadily uphill into the mountains of the Leon region. Clay and straw building materials have given way to carefully fitted stone, almost a cross between a mosaic and jenga. We've seen sheep and cattle in the fields. Paths wind through small villages, fields and woods. Passing through Valdeviejas, Murias de Rechivaldo, Santa Catalina de Somoza, and El Ganso, we finally arrived in Rabanal del Camino for lunch. What a crazy day! First we stop off for coffee at a cowboy cantina in El Ganso, then it's a hot dog (?!) for lunch in Rabanal. We'll make an early night of it tonight as tomorrow's route takes us by Cruz de Ferro, followed by a deep descent into Molinseca.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Frances
    Day 32

    Ah, Love!

    September 30, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 79 °F

    Astorga, Spain
    Last night at the albergue pilgrims dinner the subject turned to shoes. As you enter the facility there's a big closet with racks filled with an assortment of footwear. Pilgrims are expected to take off their hiking gear and deposit them on a shelf to avoid tracking dirt all over the place. Dick, from California, was lamenting his shoe experience on the Camino. His favorite hiking boots bit the dust shortly before his departure. He took them in for repair, but they were declared DOA. That put him in the position of embarking on the journey with untested foot companions. He started in new boots which gave him blisters, then switched to trail shoes. His feet were hurting, so plan C was sandals. Hopefully that works as he's running out of options. We are very pleased with our Hoka trail shoes which are serving us well. At this point they are rather dusty and the tread is showing signs of wear (after 350+ miles you would too). We're debating whether we should burn or bronze them when we get home. We started the day in darkness, on a path paralleling the road which meant we were listening to sounds of traffic while sucking in diesel fumes. Now wait, someone said this was supposed to be the prettiest part of the Camino. Scenery picked up as we crossed the Puente del Paso Honoroso, a 19 arch bridge from the 13th century made famous by a knight who had been rejected by the lady who was the object of his affections. He put an iron collar around his neck and conducted a jousting tournament for 2 weeks, taking on all comers. After defeating 300 contestants he removed the collar from his neck, declaring himself to be freed from the bondages of love. Good to know he finally moved on. We passed through Hospital de Orbigo, Villares de Orbigo and Santibanez de Valdeiglesias as the accompanying terrain turned to rolling hills. This is just a little warm up for the mountains looming in the distance. On the way into San Justo de la Vega near the Cross of Santo Toribio we could see Astorga in the distance as our first troubadour/ flamenco guitarist serenaded the pilgrims urging us onward. The music was nice, but the thought of chocolate, one of Astorga's claims to fame, is what kept us going. Just may have to substitute chocolate for arrival beverages.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Frances
    Day 31

    It All Works out in the End

    September 29, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    San Martin del Camino, Spain
    For our last dinner in Leon I was hoping to have a great meal. One of the challenges of the Camino is Spanish dining habits. Lunches are large, served between 1-3 pm. Then everything closes and they roll up the sidewalks until 5. The people begin to surface about 5, when drinks flow freely accompanied by pinchos or bocadillos (fairly substantial appetizers). In small towns where the Camino is a primary industry, you can usually find a pilgrim dinner being served around 7 or 7:30 as most albergues lock the doors at 10. Any curfew violators are in a world of hurt, with no place to stay and no access to their stuff in the albergue. In the cities where pilgrims are a minor addition to the economy, finding dinner can be a challenge. Forget about early bird specials. No self respecting Spaniard would dare step foot in a restaurant before 9 pm. How do they do that? I decided not to leave things to chance, firing up the iPad and consulting TripAdvisor for dinner recommendations paying particular attention to serving hours. Found one place with outstanding reviews and service that began at 7. We made our way through the city and were on the doorstep at 7:45 pm. When I asked about dinner, the guy looked at me like I was crazy and said they didn't start service until 9 pm. Tomorrow's a long haul, so staying up late or skipping dinner weren't options. We headed back across the city, willing to settle for Burger King if necessary. Several blocks later we spied a door and sign indicating a dining room upstairs. No one in sight at ground level to ask, we trudged up the stairs. The place was deserted, but a gentleman was quietly setting up tables. When I asked what time dinner was served, he said how about now. Music to our ears! We settled in and chatted with him about regional specialties. He was very proud of the Leonese cuisine and talked us through the menu. He even brought us a sample of cecina, an aged, dried beef like none we'd ever had in the USA. It was bursting with flavor, slightly smoky, sweet and melted in your mouth. When the roasted lamb arrived, it was a "when Harry met Sally" moment. The owner was pleased with our appreciation, and we had the best meal of the Camino to date. In the morning we took off for San Martín del Camino, a long slog on a path paralleling the highway, broken only by stops in suburban Leon bedroom communities for coffee, juice and snacks. Those mountains are getting closer with every step.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Frances
    Day 30

    Market Day

    September 28, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 73 °F

    Leon, Spain
    We had a much needed rest day in Leon today, reveling in the luxury of sleeping in until 7 and starting the day at a leisurely pace. The moons aligned this time and it's Saturday, as in market day in Leon. Plaza Major is packed with food stalls and purveyors of all sorts of fruits, vegetables, nuts, olives, flowers and sausages. At the Mercado del Conde Luna, a central covered market, the vendors are mostly meats and seafood. Seafood stalls have fish of all shapes, sizes and colors, plus prawns, crabs, snails, and shellfish. As for the butchers, let's just say no part of the animal is wasted. Ears, snouts, feet, tripe, tongue and brains join hearts, livers, kidneys and who knows what all. Add in the assortment of sausages, whole lamb carcasses, and every cut of meat or poultry you can imagine and then some. Moving right along, the next plaza was the garment district with shirts, pants, socks, undergarments, hats and shoes. Ceramics and art were featured in a few other parks and squares. At one point we heard music and spotted a folk group/band marching with bagpipes. Bagpipes in Spain? The Celts were among the people who came to this area, though not as well known as the Moors. The population of Leon was out in full force, shopping, socializing, and enjoying morning beverages and snacks. We hopped on a cute little city sightseeing train that made its way through town, past all the major sights. It took us out past the Convento de San Marcos, a monastery built by the Knights of Santiago back in the 12th century. Over the years it has served as a hospital for pilgrims, a prison, and now a five star luxury hotel (the posh place featured in The Way with Martin Sheen). It's currently under renovation, so no opportunity to recreate those scenes. We ended up in front of Casa Botines, an incredible trapezoid building created by the famous Spanish architect Gaudi (of Catedral Sagrada Familia in Barcelona) for textile merchants. Combining function with artistry, it has been restored as a museum of art, history of the building, and tribute to the architect. Outside a bronze sculpture of Gaudi sits on a park bench, admiring his creation. We managed to cover a lot of territory on our "rest" day but hope to find dinner before the traditional Spanish seating at 9 pm so we can get to bed early. Tomorrow we are on the Camino again.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Frances
    Day 29

    Camino Family

    September 27, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Leon, Spain
    Mansilla de las Mulas was a delightful small town with children playing in plazas and medieval city walls still standing. We had dinner at a restaurant in an old pharmacy and met Susie and Peter, a lovely couple from England who had spent considerable time in the Middle East and Far East. After the usual pleasantries the conversation inevitably turned to Brexit. They brought another perspective, feeling like the polarization it was creating was splitting the country not only figuratively, but ultimately literally. They feared the end of the United Kingdom, with Scotland and Ireland leaving the union to become independent countries, and only Britain and Wales remaining. Interesting times ahead. We awoke in the morning to roosters crowing and once again stumbled out into the dark in search of coffee. The small places in town along the route that we had scoped out the night before were locked up tight and we had to walk a few kilometers down the road to Villamoros before finding a place. We shared a table with Felix Sr. and Felix Jr., a father and son duo from Germany. The son had just graduated and was walking the Camino on his own. His father had joined him for a week, sharing the Burgos to León section. He had done the Camino before, but by bike. It was a special time that was quickly drawing to a close. Father was hoping that at the end of his gap year, son would head to the university and study law (like his father) or medicine (like his mother). From Felix Jr's face, you could see that the jury was still out. Back on the road we trucked on. The path followed the highway, passing through Puente de Villarente and Arcahueja. The Camino was slated to become very industrial on the way into León and having had the pleasure of that experience in Burgos, we caught the bus at Arcahueja for the last few kilometers into the city. León is the fourth largest city we will pass through on the Camino. Much of its heritage has been preserved, with ancient city walls incorporated into contemporary buildings and many historical buildings restored and still in use. Cobblestone streets as well as streets made of river rocks set in mosaic patterns wind through the city adding charm and pedestrian challenge. Plazas seem to be tucked everywhere, providing ample room for markets and outdoor cafes. As we sat to have a quick lunch, Christine, our French physician friend passed by and stopped to join us. She is ending her Camino in Leon as planned. Later while touring the cathedral we bumped into our British friend Helen. We've been in this city of 125k for only a few hours, and yet running into friends and familiar faces of fellow pilgrims as if it were a small town. The shared experience of the Camino provides a bond of kinship similar to that we've experienced over the years with our military and sailing families. No matter how far from home, someone's there to greet and look out for you as we take care of each other.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Frances
    Day 28

    My Kingdom for a Mule

    September 26, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    Mansilla de las Mulas, Spain
    Mike had a restless night, certain he heard knocking on doors until all hours. I, on the other hand, put my earplugs in, snuggled under the covers, and had the best night's sleep of the Camino according to my Fitbit. Exhaustion will do that for you. As for truck stops having the best breakfasts, not so much in Spain. The lone barista was prepared for the coffee onslaught, with saucers prepped with napkins, spoons, and the obligatory 1 packet of sugar, stacked high in the ready position. He was busier than a one-armed paper hanger in a windstorm, with breakfast limited to juice, coffee and pastries. With 13 kilometers to the only stop on the route, I developed a new appreciation for the saying "the Army marches on its stomach". A little protein goes a long way. We stopped mid-morning in Reliegos for eggs and coffee. One of the churches along the way is known to have stork nests on the steeple roof. If you time it right, you just might see the stork babies in the nests. As we passed I wondered, if storks deliver human babies, who delivers the stork babies?? Obviously, I've been on the meseta one kilometer too many. Approaching Mansilla de las Mulas, we can see a mountain range in the distance. Did my Scarlet O'Hara best to not think about that today. After all, tomorrow is another day. Mansilla de las Mulas was a medieval market town catering to pilgrims and did a booming business in mules. Bet those folks back then took one look at the mountains looming in the distance and knew a good thing when they saw it.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Frances
    Day 27

    Killer Calves and Arms of Steel

    September 25, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    El Burgo Ranero, Spain
    Pilgrims dinner last night was an interesting mix of 3 Germans who spoke no English or Spanish, a young woman from Germany currently residing in South Africa and multilingual, a pair of Swedish sisters who spoke English, a Frenchman who only spoke French, and us. We managed to get through it, but the real fun was afterwards, watching Mike armed with google translator carrying on a conversation in French with Bernard, who had worked on ships and submarines. Liberal amounts of red wine lubricated the process and good time was had by all. This morning we scarfed down some fruit and trail mix to get an early start. The sun was a tiny smudge on the horizon and the dark quiet refreshing. In a 0.5 horse town you can't rely on streetlights but fortunately we have headlamps. We made our way to the next town before stopping at the second bar (yes, the place was actually named that... owners must have a sense of humor) for coffee and running into our new friend Michaela from last night. Our paths crossed multiple times during the day. Today’s fields of the meseta were smaller with more variety such as corn, kale, and a vineyard. Trees and bushes formed periodic wind breaks. The soil has gone from white clay when we originally started to rich brown, red, mustard and now red again. Sometimes it's rocky and sometimes not, a continual source of interest. Mid-morning before Sahagun, we passed through 2 pillars marking the official geographic center of the Camino. Yahoo! We've been walking for 23 days and averaging about 4 km per hour. At this point we have killer calves, arms of steel, and abs of...flab? Somehow in the mornings when we get up, doing crunches just doesn't make the list. We'll have some serious catching up to do in that department when we get home. It would be nice to go home with taut, flat tummies, but let's face it. It's probably not happening and besides which surely there are easier ways to lose weight. Of course, the hamburger we had for lunch in Bercianos del real Camino probably didn't help, but after walking for 5 hours we just needed a little protein. We finally made it to El Burgo Ranero around 3 pm. Spirits were flagging, and I don't think I could have gone on much past the 28 km we covered today. When we checked our accommodations for the night, it was a bit of a shock. Looks like we're staying in the town truck stop. Good heavens. Did I book a room for an hour or the night? Somehow the description and reviews were somewhat vague in that regard. But hey, the restaurant is open 24/7 and don't truck stops have great breakfasts?!Read more

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