Burgos

We had quite a cold, rainy experience walking to the large, modern city of Burgos. We chose to take the longer route which led us through the manicured public park leading up to the city. We splurgedLæs mere
Hontanas

We trekked across the Meseta, which is a geographical area that has a reputation for being boring, repetitive and bleak. In the 1670s, Italian pilgrim, Domenico Laffi, had this to say about theLæs mere
Boadilla del Camino

We stayed at the Casa En El Camino albergue. As it was recommended by our guidebook, we were excited to see what it was like. Embedded in a tiny, crumbling town, the albergue was one of the fewLæs mere
Carrión de los Condes

Rural, agricultural area (common to see farm equipment on the roads). Lovely park by the water, spent time there with new friends. Enjoyed the peaceful feeling of the cathedral. Tom picked upLæs mere
Terradillos de los Templarios

We made it past the halfway point today, 250 miles and went on a bit further to reach the Terradillos de los Templars, which was once home to a 13th century church belonging to the Knights Templar.Læs mere
Calzadilla de los Hermanillos

The wonderment of trekking along a 1,000 year old Roman road, the Vía Trajana, was only somewhat diminished by the raining, overcast conditions.
After a not super difficult, 17 miles, we arrived atLæs mere
León

An extra night in León gave us time to wander, visit the doctor and rest our feet. Tom successfully completed some mini surgery on his blisters & I've been taking antihistamines. Apparently,Læs mere
Hospital de Órbego

A very long day of backpacking brought us away from the city to the tiny little hamlet of Hospital de Órbego. There, we stayed at the Albergue Verde, a delightful private hostel that was a littleLæs mere
Astorga

We are officially out of the Meseta! We enjoyed the new, varied scenery of green hills and trees. While it was a relatively shorter day, Tom battled his blisters, which made it feel a bit longer. WeLæs mere
Foncebadón

We were in high spirits today as we walked into the Cantabrian Mountains, the steady climb was a welcome change from the flat, open Meseta. We took lunch in Rabanal del Camino, the Maragato villageLæs mere
Ponferrada

Tom was excited to see the sunrise at the Cruz De Ferro so we quitely slipped out of our shared Albergue room before daybreak around 5:30am. We were two of the first to arrive at the Iron Cross andLæs mere
Villafranca

Instead of staying a second night in Ponferrada, we skipped our scheduled rest day and pushed onward, to Villafranca. As we were leaving, we ran into two other pilgrims who were a bit lost. It'sLæs mere
Faba

We conquered the Camino Duro (the hard way) today. It's an alternate path that some pilgrims take to avoid the highway walking of the regular route and leads straight up into the mountains. It felt soLæs mere
Triacastela

We had a wet 16 mile jaunt across glorious, blossoming mountains to the town of Triacastela, which marked our transition into the last region on the Camino, Galicia. Galicia is known as the country ofLæs mere
Barbadelo

The route today took us through more lush forest, it feels like such a treat after the Meseta. We are becoming more and more confident that we will make it to Santiago. It's a great feeling. We'veLæs mere
Ventes de Narón

This journey has had many high points and, as any good pilgrimage should, it's fair share of low points. Today held both. We woke to learn of an emergency at La Maison and spent the morning blearyLæs mere
Melide

A rainy 17 mile journey through verdant forests and crumbling villages brought us to the town of Melide, a hub of commerce during the middle ages. It's population of 7,824 feels huge after ourLæs mere
Arca

Our longest day yet, we traveled for 8 hours, 21.6 miles, with 2,200 ft elevation gain. Tom made his goal of 50,000 steps and we both collapsed at the albergue when we arrived. Incongruent with ourLæs mere
Santiago de Compostela

We arrived in Santiago on May 31st, 9 days earlier than when we estimated we'd arrive, and went straight to the Pilgrim mass at the renowned Cathedral that probably does not have the remains of StLæs mere