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Aug – Sep 2024

Camino

Our big retirement adventure part 1. We are walking the Camino de Santiago on the Frances (the french way) from St Jean Pied Deport, France to Santiago, Spain for a total of 879 km. Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 12, 2024
    Camino
    1

    On our way

    August 12, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today, Teresa and I leave on what will be the biggest adventure we've done as a couple. We are traveling to Paris today/ tomorrow. Over the next 75 days, we will walk from a small town in France, over the Pyrenees mountains and across the top of Spain to Santiago de Compostela. After the walk, we will vacation in Portugal, southern/eastern Spain, ending up in Paris for several days before returning home at the end of October.

    We will have walked 560 plus miles, been in 3 countries and made countless memories. Let the adventure begin!    Read more

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    Day 2

    August 13, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We left Portland yesterday to Seattle then to Paris, arrived today around 130pm local time
    Flight was great, paying for premium seats was a good idea as the flight was 9 plus hours long. We were on Delta, and the plane we had was a Team USA plane.

    Once in Paris, we found our Uber driver and went to the hotel. Took little nap, then did a little walk about for dinner and drinks.

    Tomorrow we take the train to St. Jean.    Read more

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    Paris to St Jean Pied de Port

    August 14, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Today was mainly a travel day as we took a train from Paris to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port with a change in Bayonne. It was about 6 hours all together.
    A lot of farm land in southern France.

    When arriving in St. Jean we picked up our credentials at the pilgrims office and received our official first stamp. We walked about the town, ate some dinner and then had a waffle for dessert.

    Went back to the Albergue to relax and get some rest...tomorrow we walk!    Read more

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    St Jean to Borda

    August 15, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    Today was no joke, straight up the mountain right out of St Jean. Not a long day only 5.5 miles but we had 2400 ft in elevation gain, definitely a huff and puffer for me.

    Made it to Orrison for lunch and a beer, then only 1 more km to Bordo. Met folks from Maine, Indiana, Wisconsin and Yorkshire, UK, along the way. The alburgue here in Borda is nice and clean.

    Mikael is our hospitalero and has been great. We'll have a communal meal with everyone staying here tonight, then get ready for a longer walk tomorrow.    Read more

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    Borda to Burguete

    August 16, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    12 miler today with ups and downs and we crossed the border into Spain.

    Had foggy, windy mist going over the Pyrenees today. Cows, sheep and horses wander the mountain sides grazing. In the mist, you could hear their bells but not always see them, kind of cool. At one point, a Shepard had his dog bring the flock down around us. We had to stop walking and watch the dog work, pretty amazing.
    Only had glimpses of the country side do to the mist, but what we saw was awesome.

    Overall, we covered 12.5 miles with another 2100 elevation gain to the max elevation of 4600 feet at the summit. My hips didn't lie, they were on fire! Tomorrow is a 15 miler, mostly flat.

    We're in a bigger albergue tonight holds 40+ but our room only has 8 beds. We'll see how the snoring goes...    Read more

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    Burgete to Larrasoana

    August 17, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Today ended up a longer day than expected. We did take our time but ended up walking later in the afternoon, plus, it was warmer today.
    Had a good walk today with people we met in Borda. Stopped for a snack, then walked with them for a while catching up on things since we saw them last.

    We grabbed some lunch, then put our feet in the river in Zuburi, it felt awesome. We then walked the rest of the way to our albergue, San Nicolas in Larrasoana. Had a nice communal dinner with other pilgrims staying here.

    By the end of the day, we put in 16 miles, and my legs and feet feel it, but well worth the effort for a day like today.
    Buen Camino!    Read more

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    Larrasouna to Pamplona

    August 18, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Great walk today! It was cool in the morning since we had an earlier start and beat the heat to Pamplona. Only a 10 miler so our legs and feet got a little break.

    On the camino, pilgrims receive a passport (credentials) at the start of the journey. Along the way, you must collect stamps daily as you travel towards Santiago. Stamps can be collected at albergues, cafes, bars, and churches. Each stamp is unique to that location. Today, we picked up 4 stamps because of the places we passed. A fun one was at a cafe, the local police stopped to greet pilgrims, stamp passports and take pictures, it was awesome.

    The other highlight was taking a route to visit a church built in the 13th century. A sister opened the church to us and stamped our passports, then let us climb the bell tower to ring one of the bells, it was amazing.

    For dinner we had pinchos(small plates like tapas) and beers, a fine day on the camino!    Read more

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    Pamplona to Puente La Reina

    August 19, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Tough day today, Teresa's feeling like a cold is coming on and I have a tender Achilles so we're a little beat up.

    The walk was good, walked through Pamplona past big parks and the university. Once out of the city, it was a climb up to a memorial for the camino and down a steep grade on the other side. It was great walking weather in the morning but heated up in the afternoon.

    Some beers, Tinto de Veranos, ibuprofen, cold medicine, and muscle cream, we should be good to go tomorrow. We're going to shorten the day to help us heal.

    Buen Camino!    Read more

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    Day 7 Estella to Villamayor de Monjardin

    August 21, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We actually did a short distance today to get us back on our intended stops and to give us rest, which we needed. Roughly 6.5 miles through wine country. The highlights today were the wine fountain, the blacksmith shop and the ice cream that Teresa let me have...

    Actually, there are several cool little stops today. Rested legs should take us further tomorrow.    Read more

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    Day 8 Villamayor de Monjordin to Sansol

    August 23, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    I've caught the crud from Teresa so I went to bed early last night. Started out great and the walk was not bad. As Teresa mentioned, it's mostly up hill into these little villages so getting to our albergue at the end of the day feels good. We drink about 4 cold drinks, take a shower, do laundry and then relax until dinner.

    Since we're starting to get our walking legs and figured out to leave earlier in the morning, we're making better time and arriving early to our next stop. We beat the heat and then can take advantage of siesta time!    Read more

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    Day 9 - Sansol to Logrono

    August 23, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Our legs are getting used to walking, and boy, does it make a difference. Don't get me wrong, the feet and legs are tired at the end of the day, but most of the soreness is gone.

    It was a good day walking as we transitioned from fields of cut grain to vineyards as we entered La Rioja region of Spain.

    Tonight we went to the famous pinchos street Calle de Laural and had pinchos for dinner. It was awesome, a ton of people out and good food. I tried the olive, pepper, and anchovies skewers...not bad. The mushrooms were probably the best.

    Buen Camino!    Read more

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    Day 10 - Logrono to Ventos

    August 24, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Well, I may have been premature on the leg thing. Our legs were tired today and seemed heavy most of the day. We started to regret not taking a rest day as planned. We trudged on through the vineyards on a mostly flat (spain style) path. The walk out of Logrono was through a nice park system with trails and paths for walkers and bikers past a huge reservoir.

    Towards the end of the day, we met Begonia from Barcelona. We started talking and walking with her, and the next thing we knew, we were in Ventosa. She helped us pick up our pace without even realizing it.

    There's a festival here in Ventosa tomorrow, which would be awesome to see. They have 4 pigs being cooked and the town will go from 200 population to over 2000.

    We had a good dinner of frozen pizza with several others we've seen on the path. Mitch and Mira and Hans from the Netherlands and another couple from Norway. Nice people.    Read more

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    Day 11 - Ventos to Azofra

    August 25, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Today was a better day of walking. It was cool most of the day, much more enjoyable. Only one little climb out of a village that got us huffing a little. Still dealing with a head cold and sore Achilles but it was manageable today.

    We mostly walked through vineyards today as the landscape is wine country. In a few spots it had a feel of Utah with red rock and desert plants. We came across several aqueduct irrigation systems for the vineyards. At one point they were using a tractors pto to run a pump. Had a scare when Teresa rolled her ankle and hit the ground. She's okay, but we'll see how the ankle is tomorrow.

    Tomorrow is a long day so we're sending our bags ahead to give our legs, her ankle and my Achilles somewhat of a break.    Read more

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    Day 12 - Azofra to Castildelgado

    August 26, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    My wife is a beast, we went 19 miles today. Granted it was without out packs, but she was on fire. I spent most of the day behind her because she was walking so fast, all with a bum ankle. Me being me, I had to throw out those classic pick-up up lines like " can I have a burger with that shake", she did laugh and blamed it on her ankle.

    We passed out of the wine country and back into farmland. Lots of cut grain fields, some green beans and even some hop fields today. It was easy walking during the morning due to overcast sky's, but it warmed up in the afternoon. The cathedral in Santo Domingo was amazing.
    We're at a nice albergue with great hosts. They cooked us dinner of soup, beef stew, and a flan. Oh yeah, and plenty of wine.

    Tomorrow will be a shorter day, I hope.    Read more

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    Day 13 - Castildelgado to Villafranca

    Aug 27–Sep 1, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Today started a little rough for me as we had used all our ibuprofen and my achilles was pretty sore after yesterday. I gimped along until we found a pharmacy that was open. After getting some meds things improved, and the day was better.

    The landscape is all agricultural, mainly cut grain fields and sunflowers. We passed several farmers bailing straw in the fields. We aren't seeing livestock like we did in the mountain region of a Navarra. However, we did walk past a pig farm and saw several livestock trucks hauling pigs.

    It's a good feeling when you come over a hill and see a village knowing they should have a bar or cafe to get a cold drink. The simple pleasures.

    Tonight we're in a private room which is nice. Had a great dinner with our camino friends Mitch and Mira from the Netherlands, a nice couple.    Read more

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    Day 14 Villafranca to Atapuerca

    August 28, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    What a difference meds and ointment make, legs felt better today. Straight uphill climb from the village for roughly 6 km through forested areas. A little later start than normal due to having breakfast at the hotel.

    Good day of walking, and once out of the mountains, we dropped back into farmland. However, we don't see the olive, fig, and apple trees along the roadways like we did before . Sunflower fields were the main crops in the fields (besides the grain fields that had been harvested).

    Another nice albergue with a great meal. We had creamed vegetables soup, pork loin with rice and vegetables and flan for dessert. Along with wine and bread. We had about 13 people for the communal dinner. People were from the UK, Australia, France, US, Hungary, and South Korea.

    Tomorrow, we head to Burgos for a rest day, we may encounter the first serious rain of the trip.    Read more

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    Day 14 - Atapuerca to Burgos

    August 29, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Well, we've been walking for 2 weeks now with no rest days. Burgos is the biggest city we've been in so far, so it's a good time to take a rest day.

    Teresa's doing great, and her legs seem to be getting used to walking. Mine are not. I've developed another issue in my quads, so we'll be looking into that tomorrow.

    Today's route was easy until we decided to take the "good" way and not the commercial way. I did question my leader, but she got us to where we needed to be (still think we took the long way).

    Ran into some camino friends ( Jeff and Kris) we walked with a week ago here in Burgos, nice to catch up and visit with them. Jeff's been the only one to recognize my beaver shirt because he's an Arizona Wildcat.

    It will be a good day to sleep in and do some sightseeing.

    Adios!    Read more

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    Day 15 - Rest day in Burgos

    August 30, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The rest day was great. Slept in, slow walked around town, and took a tour of the cathedral. Probably should have made the effort to see some of the other sights, but the priorities were to give our legs a break.

    To find a few stores we needed to visit, we left the Plaza and saw more of the neighborhood away from the tourist area, which was nice.
    Burgos is a very walkable city with a nice park along the river. Cafés and bars are everywhere so you'll never go with coffee, danishes, or pinchos.

    The cathedral is something else. Words can't really explain it, and the pictures we took don't do it justice. Some artifacts were from the 12th and 13th centuries.

    Tomorrow, we start the Meseta. It is basically crossing the plains of northern Spain. Some people skip this section due to the landscape and conditions, but not us.
    😳    Read more

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    Day 17- Burgos to Hornillos del Camino

    August 31, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Good day of walking. Our legs felt better, the aches and pains were minimal, and it was only 12 miles today. We sent our bags by courier to the albergue just to make sure we tried out our new "feet" tools without the extra weight. It seemed to work out well. Tomorrow will be another short day, so we'll carry our packs to see how things go.

    The landscape is changing again, flatter with some rolling hills of farmland. Looked like some fields of alfalfa, which we hadn't seen before. Had a special moment when we stepped into a small church. An older woman who was there invited us in, gave us each a pilgrims blessing, a Mary, mother of god pendent and a hug, then sent us on our way.

    Upon arriving at the albergue, we finished our chores and then soaked our feet in the cold pool. We had a siesta, made a few calls, and then had another pilgrim meal, but this time, there were about 18 people from several different countries. Our first homemade paella of the trip, it was delicious. Hopefully, the rain will end tonight, so tomorrow will be a dry walk day

    Adios.    Read more

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    Day 18 - Hornillos to San Anton

    September 1, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Had a good day. Legs felt good even carrying our packs. Short walk of 10 plus miles, so this also helped with the legs.

    Staying at an albergue that is a donitivo tonight. These are a donation based lodging in the truest sense of the camino. Basically, you pay what you can afford. This place included a pilgrims dinner that was tasty lentil soup and wine, of course. The pilgrims help make the meal and clean up after.

    This albergue is in the ruins from an old church and hospital from the 14th century. The current owners wanted it to be a real pilgrims experience. Hence, there is no electricity or hot water, there is a flush toilet...thank god. This is where we met Denise, Loretta, Hannah and Stefan.    Read more

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    Day 19 San Anton to Boadilla del Camino

    September 3, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Had a good walk today, even with a big hill to climb. They say the Meseta is flat, again a lie. It was 12% grade up and 18% down, but a heck of a view. A couple of the pics show the mountain we went over. It reminded us of Table Rocks, on the top, it plateaued for a bit before the decent.

    The albergue was really nice, had a pool to soak hot, sore feet. The people working here were awesome, they work hard. Had a good pilgrims dinner of soup, beef stew or chicken and ice cream for dessert. Plus plenty of wine to drink.

    I'm so proud of Teresa. She was worried about the physical part of this adventure and slowing me down. As you can tell by the pics, she's always in front and is kicking my ass.    Read more

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    Day 20 - Boadilla to Villacazar de Sirga

    Sep 3–4, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Today was our first day walking with major rain. We left the village seeing lightning and some loud thunder boomers. About 15 min into the walk, it started pouring. We donned our ponchos and kept moving, it rained like a mother. The girls we had been walking with, started a little later than us. They dodged back to the albergue to wait out the storm, hence they were the smart ones.

    Had some breakfast about 5k in to dry out our feet as we sent our packs ahead and didn't pack another set of docks in our day pack. It was a short day today only. 13 miles. The cathedral in Villacazar is nice, built in the 13th century by the Templars in order to protect pilgrims on their way to Santiago.

    Now we're sitting drinking Tinto deVeranos, eating chips, and relaxing. It's almost siesta time. I love this Spanish culture.    Read more

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    Day 21 - Villalcazar to Calzadilla

    September 4, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Good weather today, cool morning, but warmed up by the time we made it to our albergue. More trees and corn fields dotted the landscape today. Got back into the grain fields as we reached Calzadilla.

    We take a morning selfie each day, and it's usually the one I post first. Some looked refreshed other times, not so much. I guess I snored a lot last night, so Teresa's a little tired in the picture this morning.

    If you were wondering, here is our routine for a day. Wake up at 6 am, do our morning duties (brush teeth, bathroom), gather our belongings, and move from the sleeping area to a common area to get ready. Doctor our feet or muscles, eat a banana, then hit the path between 0630 and 0700.

    We walk 3 - 6 km to the next village to get coffee, OJ, and some food... hopefully. We then keep walking, and around 10ish, we stop at a bar/cafe to get a cold drink and a snack (or eat something we bought the night before). At this time, we kick off the shoes to let the feet breathe.

    We start walking again. Usually, we'll stop to take in water, stretch, and/or take pictures. We keep walking until we reach our stop for the day, usually around 130 to 230pm. We check in, take a shower, wash clothes, hang them to dry, then get some lunch and a beer, or a tinto de verona.

    After lunch, we siesta until dinner, usually around 7pm. After dinner we will buy bananas or other snacks to pack for the morning. We then fill our water bottles, doctor our feet, or apply muscle cream again and take some ibuprofen. We blog and head to bed around 9ish.

    Then do it all over again in the morning. The life of a pilgrim.    Read more

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    Day 22 Calzadilla to Sahagun

    September 5, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Tough day as my feet and legs never felt like they were in sync. We made it to Sahagun, which is the geological halfway point of the Spanish portion. Since we started France, it's actually more than halfway... yeah us!
    It's been 3 weeks of walking, and we're finally understanding what works well or not so well for us.

    We attended a pilgrims mass and blessing (we need all the help we can get), which was nice. Stayed an albergue that was run by the Marist faith in a private room with our own bathroom...for the cheapest fee so far. They had a donation breakfast this morning that was just right.    Read more

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    Day 24 - Sahagun to Reliegos

    September 6, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    What a difference a day makes. I made a few changes to my feet prep, and it seemed to work. We did our longest day yet, 19.5 miles, and we both felt good when we arrived.

    The last 8 miles were pretty lonely as we only saw about 5 bikers and 2 other pilgrims. The landscape is changing again, more irrigated fields, such as corn, sunflower, and some other leafy crop that we haven't figured out what it is. Even the grain fields are irrigated in this area. More trees and rivers as well. We are leaving the Meseta and entering more mountains in the next few days.

    Tomorrow, we will be in Leon after about 15 miles of walking.    Read more

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