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Camino Frances 2024

September – October 2024
  • shefollowsarrows
Ten years ago I completed the 500 mile Frances route that starts in the Pyrenees in Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port, France and ends in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It will be special to repeat this 10 years later, where it all began. Read more
  • shefollowsarrows

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  • shefollowsarrowsshefollowsarrowsCamino Frances 2024

    Atapuerca to Burgos

    September 14, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    We arrived in beautiful Burgos! Even though we took the more desirable river route into the city, it was a looong 20km!! We couldn’t check in at 1pm when we arrived so we went for a small bite to eat and watched an extravagant wedding taking place at the cathedral. It was really something special! Luckily we were able to get into our room at 2 so we could shower, call home, and send out a few texts. We were looking for a sports clothing store, but the only one was 2km away, outside the city. After investigating the logistics of this, we decided not to do that. It is seriously cold in the mornings (and most of the day) so we were going to buy another layer. Too much hassle. We will put another tshirt on or something until we stumble upon something more convenient. We went to the cathedral, got a stamp, and then found a place in the square for a couple glasses of wine to help those muscles. We ran into Erin and Carolyn who joined our table. They are from Quebec City. Carolyn is 80 years old!! Erin has been sick since Roncesvalles (2nd stop on the Camino). We ran into her coughing a few days ago and my heart went out to her. I know all too well how frustrating it is to be hiking with a nagging cough. I asked her if she had got medicine yet and shared with her my remedy that seemed to help. She appreciated my concern because she said everyone has been looking at her like ‘Typhoid Mary’! She still has the cough and she’s going to skip way ahead tomorrow due to needing to fly home the 26th. She has missed a lot of days. So sad. Great gal, really active in the church, it was nice to talk to her a bit more…although I didn’t want another strain of crap to fight off so I kept my distance a bit. The sun was hitting her just right to where every time she spoke I could see spit coming out of her mouth. No thanks!! I got up a couple times with my glass of wine and stood back. Yes, maybe I was treating her like Typhoid Mary too 😂. Holly and I went and found a place to eat by the cathedral where then a funeral was taking place. Priests and other members of the church in full dress. One popped into the restaurant we were in to get water so I got a photo with him. I don’t think he was a priest, not sure what his position was, but I liked his outfit 😆
    I’m writing this in the morning because I was too tired to blog last night. We have 31km today into Hontanas. Against my better judgement we are waiting for the hotel breakfast. We should have started walking an hour ago but we don’t have any stops or opportunity for coffee/food for 11km. It’s Sunday so everything is either late to open or not open at all. It’s not like we are trying to beat the heat of the day or anything!! Plus a little more time in this magical city is fine by me. We enter the Meseta today. 5 days of flat nothingness. It’s the contemplative section of the walk. We will just be walking on dirt roads through fields that have already yielded their crop for the year and have been mowed down. Small, sweet, towns with nothing much to look at. No flashy cathedrals or monuments. It’s time to look inward.    Read more

  • shefollowsarrowsshefollowsarrowsCamino Frances 2024

    Burgos to Hontanas

    September 15, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 48 °F

    We have entered the Meseta! Some people skip this stage as it is considered boring, and visually it is, especially after being wowed by the cities of Pamplona, Logrono, and Burgos up to this point. Some skip it due to time constraints too, but personally I am glad I have the opportunity to do it. It ties in the first and the last 1/3 perfectly. The first 1/3 is referred to as the “Body” portion where the body is getting conditioned, becoming stronger, and of course is the most sore! The second third is often referred to as the “Mind” section where the mind is opened up to receive the gifts this pilgrimage has to offer, and often, for me, becomes the emotional section (fair warning!!). The last third is referred to as the “Soul” section, or the spiritual portion, where the soul is lifted and the blessings are realized. So, I feel, if you skip this ‘boring’ section by the time you reach the end, you don’t get the full benefits of the pilgrimage. I’ve done Camino’s that were only a couple weeks in the past (half of the Frances, full Primitivo & Portuguese) and while they were beautiful and an amazing experience, I was left feeling like it wasn’t enough. This is why I like pilgrimages that are 4-5 weeks straight. My friend Nathalie from Brussels typically does 10 days a year and picks up where she left off each year. Lucky for me I have had the pleasure of walking with her on the full Primitivo, 10 days of the Norte, and 10 days of the Frances. I’ve also walked the Primitivo with Luba (Slovakia) and 3 weeks of the Frances. I met these two incredibly strong women in 2016. I’m so grateful to have had their company on my walks. I miss them!! For Nathalie, walking for 10 days at a time works for her and her career, it is satisfying, and she isn’t coming from so far away to do it. For Americans, New Zealander’s, etc., it is a long way to travel for only 2 weeks. It takes me a week just to adjust from the jet lag! So, now you know why I go on these walks for so long!! I’m not crazy, I just want to experience what I know is waiting for me in Santiago.😊🙏🏻
    Today was a great day. I’m feeling strong and I feel like I am definitely in the groove. Still no blisters or anything I’m concerned about physically. I feel so fortunate! Many have blisters, are hobbling down the path, dealing with blisters, inflammation and shin splints. It sure makes this already hard endeavor so much more challenging. We passed through a small village today and there was a painting on the end of a building that said “Denise…” I suspected right away what Denise they were referring to. Denise Thiem. An American pilgrim from Arizona that was murdered on the Camino by a resident wacko from the Astorga area. My heart sunk remembering her, and remembering when this happened. It is the only time it has happened and if I recall correctly this murderer changed the arrows that we follow and lured her to his property. It took time to find her wack job, but they did, thanks to her family and senator (Arizona) John McCain pressuring the Spanish government to let the FBI step in. So, the mural pained for her was not only an opportunity to remember and honor her, but a reminder that while I feel safer here than anywhere in the USA, to always be mindful of my surroundings. Here is the story of sweet Denise:

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-mysterious-mu…

    Arriving to Hontanas is always such a surprise! You walk and walk and walk forever and you’re unable to see any sign of the village and then all of a sudden you come upon a valley and bam, there it is. The end of the day. Is such a welcomed sight! I booked us a room in an albergue which is probably one of the best in town. We have a room with 2 queen beds, our own shower, and laundry is done by the Hospitalaria. There is a communal dinner (Yay! Love these!!) at 7 and right now I’m relaxing in this room that I am so grateful for. We heard that everything in the previous town and this one was booked up, or as they say here “Completo”. I’m so glad I had a sleepless night a few months ago and booked all our nights in advance. It has saved us a few times!! I can’t get connected to WiFi in the room so I’ll head upstairs to log in and post this. More tomorrow..Ultreia 🩷    Read more

  • shefollowsarrowsshefollowsarrowsCamino Frances 2024

    Hontanas to Castrojeriz

    September 15, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 64 °F

    Last night the communal dinner and company at our table was wonderful! We had George from UK(?), Josh from the Midwest, Bill from Connecticut/previously New York, and Annie from Copenhagen, Denmark. The conversation was hilarious, Josh and George could have their own comedy show. Bill kept it all going, while Holly tried to mother them by telling them they needed to wear hats and sunscreen because their faces were too red. The evening was full of laughter and the food was an amazing homemade Paella served in a huge pan. It was enough to feed at least 2 dozen of us with some leftover. The photo doesn’t do it justice from my angle. Today’s walking was a short and sweet 10km. We passed through the ruins of San Anton, which is such an incredible sight. Sad to see it in ruins, but happy to see some of it still preserved. I laid out the itinerary for a short day today (you’re welcome, Holly 😂) this was so we could do the big hill (2953 ft) in the morning at sunrise and hopefully capture the stunning views back at what we have walked the last few days. Also, it stages us into Boadilla del Camino with a 19km day.
    Once we arrived in Castrojeriz it was so early, too early to check in, so we walked from one end of the town to the other absorbing the architecture and shops. It’s a larger town than I remember, with 3 churches. This short day also afforded us the opportunity to visit a beautiful church with artifacts from the 15th century, pray, and light a candle for a young man from our hometown who is in the hospital with severe injuries. I thought of him all morning during our walk. When we entered the church and I kneeled to pray, he was top of mind. I fully believe in miracles and he really needs one, as does his wonderful family to get through this with him. Lord hear our prayers.
    I haven’t been to a mass yet on this trip, haven’t toured any churches either, and I felt that emptiness. Both Holly and I commented as we exited the church that it filled us up. We are on a pilgrimage after all, and it wasn’t feeling like one until this moment. I have seen so many over the years, I haven’t felt the pull to see them again or get duplicate photos, but it’s not about the admiration of the art, the architecture, or ancient relics, it’s about connecting with my Creator. I needed that “shot in the arm”. It grounded me and brought me back to center.
    We walked the town, I had a coffee and Holly was fortunate enough that we found a place that has oat milk (she’s dairy and gluten intolerant so finding a milk substitute is a win!) so she could have her Cola Cao which is like a hot chocolate drink. Her “coffee”. We checked into our albergue where we again have a private room with another communal dinner. We weren’t going to do a communal dinner again tonight if it was Paella or the usual pilgrims menu (choice of fish, chicken, pork, or a thin steak with French fries and a soup or salad). Much to our surprise the cook is Korean so we will have Bibimbap with beef and miso soup. Looking forward to something diffffferent, and of course an opportunity to talk to other pilgrims that we usually just exchange “Buen Camino” to as we walk by them or they pass by us.
    We are nearly halfway!! The city of Sahagun is considered the halfway point, but we are at the point where we have 279 miles to go, of the approximately 500 mile trail. After tomorrow we will have only 18 days left before walking into Santiago de Compostela and we have been walking 13 days straight. It is too soon to be thinking of that though, 18 days of walking is a long time!! Hoping and praying our bodies can endure and we remain healthy and strong. Holly slipped a couple days ago down a small hill on the river route going into Burgos. When I looked back at her fall her knee was bent back and all I could think of was Noooo not the knee. But as she slowly got up she said it was her tailbone that took the hit. She had to stand for a couple minutes to regain composure as she felt she was going to pass out. Luckily, while it is still bruised, it only bothers her when she sits directly on it. We don’t do a lot of sitting around, so she’s got this. She’s a tough little Irish woman!! ❤️🍀 Things like that can happen so fast, so using the trekking poles properly and taking it slow on the technical stuff is so important for getting through this unscathed. Or at least minimally unscathed!!
    Miss you all. More tomorrow, Caio!!❤️😘    Read more

  • shefollowsarrowsshefollowsarrowsCamino Frances 2024

    Castrojeriz to Boadilla del Camino

    September 17, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 48 °F

    Last night, dinner didn’t disappoint! It was everything I had hoped for and while it didn’t look like much when placed in front of this hungry pilgrim, I was unable to finish! We were seated by a father and son who are from Madrid, an Australian, French woman, and another guy who I didn’t catch where he was from. Conversation around the table was focused on Holly and the Spanish guys as she tried to practice her Spanish and find out bits about their lives. I chimed in when I understood what was being said, but focus for me was on the food at 7pm and hopefully bed by 8!! While it was a short day, I was tired and hungry as usual and honestly didn’t want to work so hard to converse!
    As for today, there’s nothing like catching a sunrise on top of a mountain after a long climb. What a rewarding walk first thing in the morning. It’s like our albergue knew people liked to head out early on this day to catch the sunrise on top because breakfast was at 6:30 and normally it’s 7-8am. We woke up at 6am and were first in the breakfast room. Cold walk again but we opted for shorts rather than leggings because we figured the climb would warm our legs up in no time. Funny how fast we can walk when it’s cold, hoping to get that blood circulating and warm us up. We were fine. In fact I was better than fine. I’ve done this climb 3 times in the past and each time it kicked my butt so I went into it with respect. Much to my surprise I managed that mountain better than the other 3 times, and I was 11 years younger the first time! I guess those morning 4-5 mile walks back home all year a few times a week have helped! I didn’t even break a sweat or have to peel off my jacket. To be fair, one of those times I did it was in the heat of the day and the little pesky flies swarmed my sweating head and body. I was batting them away the whole time. This time, not one. They weren’t awake yet! Once at the top we were just in time for the beautiful sunrise and the spotlight on the ground below highlighting what we had walked for a few days. What a peaceful sight. Of course what goes up, must come down, so we headed down quite a hill back to the flat desolate land of the meseta. We stopped at the hermitage Ermita San Nicholas, a church which is now both a church and albergue previously run by Benedictine Monks, but now is run by Italian hospitaleros. It’s rustic, but they serve communal dinner by candlelight to those who stay and offer the ancient ritual of washing pilgrims’ feet. I got a few photos, donated some coins, and got a stamp from this special place. About 1km from there we came upon the small village of Itero de la Vega. We were 10km (halfway) into our walk and there was a popular bar/restaurant that had food and coffee so we stopped there for a break. I’m so glad we did. I had a cafe americano, and a delicious jamon y queso bocadillo that had tomato and lettuce on it (usually it’s just a thin slice of ham and cheese so it felt fancy!). That carried me through the day perfectly. We arrived after 20km to Boadillo del Camino to our private room. We felt we had an easy day only walking 20km, but our feet were ready. Part of keeping our feet and bodies happy is not pushing them 30+km. The days we do that we are just asking for trouble (blisters, shin splints, tendinitis, etc). We need to do it here and there but doing that most days is insane. One girl we passed today did 40km the day before. That’s just mad! I’m not sure why anyone would, it’s not enjoyable. I’ve done 35-38km on a couple times on previous caminos and I will never again. So, we arrived at our accommodation and checked in. Our backpacks were transported today and we went to the area where they are all piled up. Mine wasn’t there, but thankfully Holly’s was. I have an AirTag in it so I wasn’t too worried about losing it forever but it was quite an inconvenience to wait a couple hours for it to be retrieved from where it was dropped off in the town ahead. Not a big deal, just meant I got my shower a couple hours later. While waiting we ran into Bill from Connecticut. He took a rest day yesterday at the place we stayed at 2 nights ago and walked 18 miles today! I didn’t think we’d see him again due to his rest day, but he made up for lost time and hoofed it! I like him. He was a teacher for over 40 years, definitely a man I feel safe around. He has 3 adult daughters, and you can tell he was a good daddy to them. They always come up in his conversations and he’s proud of them.
    No communal dinner tonight but the place we are staying at has a restaurant which seems to be serving all day (no siesta!), so I’m hoping for an earlier dinner and early to bed. We have about 25km into Carrion de Los Condes tomorrow. That’s all I have for today, I’ll check in tomorrow ❤️    Read more

  • shefollowsarrowsshefollowsarrowsCamino Frances 2024

    Carrion de los Condes

    September 18, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    We started out with the moon as our light at 7ish, it was dark and cold but it was nice to see the sun rise to kiss the landscape behind us. We kept turning around to watch the changing sky and take in this total peacefulness. We could see headlamps ahead in the distance, but ran into no one. This Camino is so crowded right now, I still can’t get over how many people are on it. One of my photos shows what we encountered as the day went on. Unbelievable. We call it the herd! We try to keep our distance from the big herd of people..my inner introvert wants to either pass them all or hang way back!! I enjoy meeting new people, but not on the trail. That’s more of a time where I like to keep my circle small. I don’t want to get into a group where you feel you can’t stop when you want, or where we feel pressured to try to keep pace with people who aren’t our pace or go slower. The more we go along, the more I keep hearing of people suffering with shin splints. Sometimes those develop into stress fractures if you don’t rest and ice. We are only almost halfway, I hope they can slow down, or take a rest day. Praying we don’t start developing overuse injuries too. So far so good! I did last year and it was so painful. Had it not happened in the last week, I am not sure I could’ve handle a few weeks of extreme pain! We rest quit a bit when we are done for the day. I’m glad Holly doesn’t turn from pilgrim to tourist when we get to towns! She’d be on her own for those ventures!! I like to visit churches when it works that we are there when they are open, but I don’t need to see every monument or every single site mentioned in our books. Today while we started out with very crisp temps, it ended up being about 74 degrees when we quit. Doesn’t sound too hot (and it’s definitely not in comparison to previous years), but it’s enough to start sweating and needing sunscreen. Tomorrow will be 2 degrees warmer in the morning (50) and 2 degrees warmer in the afternoon (76). We wore leggings this morning and by 12-1pm we were wishing we had shorts!! Tomorrow will be a couple kilometers more than today so I’m definitely wearing shorts! Sorry I don’t have a lot of ambition/energy to write today, time to check the laundry, pack for tomorrow and head to dinner at 7. Talk tomorrow 🩷😘Read more

  • shefollowsarrowsshefollowsarrowsCamino Frances 2024
    2

    Terradillos de los Templarios

    September 18, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    Happy to be checked in at our albergue for the night! What a long day of about 27km (17 miles). We started out with breakfast at the place we ate dinner at last night and it was perfect. Dinner was so good last night we knew it’d be good. Speaking of dinner, Holly and I shared a bottle of red wine-Rioja Crianza (the good stuff) and it only cost €20 ($22), had a nice, big, fat, juicy, steak (hard to find a decent steak here “pilgrim” steaks are usually thin, cooked in a pan, with lots of fat on them), and we had one of the best warm salads I have ever had. In total was about $55 each. The bottle of wine would’ve cost that in the USA. I got a photo of the wine and salad but not the steak..I wasn’t thinking of photos when that bad boy arrived! Glad we had a good dinner, our bodies were really craving some vegetables and protein. Weather was nice today until the last couple hours where it got pretty warm. Although only reaching about 75*, it was enough to drench my hair with sweat. There was a long desolate stretch of 17km with no services except a sweet trail angel who set up a cart with tables and chairs. We stopped for a tall glass of fresh squeezed OJ and coffee. We bought snacks (banana, trail mix bar, chocolate) at the store yesterday so we had enough “food”for the day. The landscape was monotonous, and the road looked never ending. You could see miles ahead and it was nothing but pasture land and dead sunflower fields. I like what Holly said, she said it reminded her of Texas where you can see your escaped dog running down the road for 3 days! 😂 I was glad to get off that soul sucking road, but on the positive side, it did give me lots of time to pray and contemplate. I’ve needed that. The next 10km stretch was better as it was lined with trees, which much to my relief, provided some shade. We arrived in Terradillos de Los Templarios at about 2:15. What a welcomed sight!! I stayed here on my first Camino in 2013 and liked it a lot for its decent food, spacious dining area, yard, and clean rooms. Holly and I have our own private room/bathroom for €22 each. Not bad at all. We have (and will again on this trip) pay more for a bunk bed in a dormitory and share a bathroom with several. Laundry is in the works now and tonight is another communal dinner. Nothing fancy, but it will provide all we need to make it 24km to Bercianos tomorrow. We will pass through Sahagun and that is the official halfway point, although I read that the real halfway mark is at the 400km marker, which we passed today! Who knows, all I know is we are making good progress, both are doing well, and we are totally grateful for this experience!! More tomorrow 😘❤️Read more

  • shefollowsarrowsshefollowsarrowsCamino Frances 2024
    Characters from the movie The Way ❤️👣Halfway Baby!!Holly and her new hat!

    Bercianas del Real Camino

    September 20, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌩️ 52 °F

    We made it past Sahagun today to Bercianas del Real Camino today which means we are over the halfway mark!! Woohoo!! It was a tough 25km, the town couldn’t have come at a better time, we were totally wiped out. No real reason, the weather was great, nice and cool all day, but we didn’t arrive until about 3. That’s my limit!! By 2 I want to be where I need to be for the evening, showering, doing laundry, and off my feet. We started at 7:30, still dark, so 7.5 hours is enough. We stopped in Sahagun because we needed food for the last 10km and Holly left her hat at the place we stayed last night so she needed sun protection. That little stop cost us a good hour, which set us behind but food and hats are important so it was necessary. We didn’t leave the albergue we are staying once we got here. Laundry and dinner were able to be done here thankfully. We are in a dorm room with several others. ONE girls toilet and 2 showers. Really? Who designed this place? Obviously not a woman!! Princess needs to tough it out for one night and I’ll be back to a private room tomorrow night. 😂 At least I’m in a bunk, albeit a top bunk, with a curtain and little light and plugins for my phone. I feel like a little kid hiding right now on my phone when I should be going to sleep. The snoring has already started in a bunk near me..as well as some passing of gas..and someone trying to hide their coughing (ok my heart goes out to that person lol been there!) this should be a restful night. Ugh. The smell of menthol is filling the room soothing someone’s sore muscles, luckily that helps with the other smells. God help me. I’m too old for this communal living shit. I have booked all our accommodations ahead to Santiago so I think we have only one more bunk room situation out of the next 15 days. This too shall pass..but on a positive note..we are on the downhill slide. We’ve got this!! 😘😘Read more

  • shefollowsarrowsshefollowsarrowsCamino Frances 2024

    Mansilla de las Mulas

    September 21, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    Ya know you’d think it’d be easy walking the meseta today, which is flat terrain, but dang it was taxing. We did about 27km total and 12.5Km of it was without any towns or services. I bought a €5 sandwich at about 8km and we stopped halfway through that 12.5Km for a break at a picnic table. We took the shoes off, ate, talked, and got ready for the last bit. We entered Religos and had another 6 to go, but the way I break it down, and the lies I feed myself during the day is “this is shorter than our morning walk back home” I can totally do this. Problem is the last 5Km is the hardest. Always. Our bodies are aching, our feet are pissed, and we totally have our resting bitch faces on. There is nothing pretty about the last 5Km 😂. My photos of the walk today were few. Nothing you haven’t already seen so I walked around and got some of the town we are in tonight. The terrain today is totally the same as the last 4 days. But, we are leaving the meseta after tomorrow!! Woohoo we made it through this section, didn’t go crazy, and didn’t skip a bit of it. It was beautiful, it was a drag, it was enlightening, and I’m sooo glad it’s over. We will walk only 17km into León tomorrow and I can’t wait to see life again. We will likely get in by 1 and be able to visit the cathedral and go to the pilgrims mass. I’m really looking forward to getting a pilgrim blessing by the priest. They do this mass also for those who are too injured to continue and to bless them since they won’t make it to Santiago (I’ve been one of those people in 2013 and 2016). But this year, so far, I feel great and I’ll take the blessing for the final 2 weeks! We are going to enter Galicia soon. Love the terrain there. While it’ll be more challenging than the flat ground we’ve walked, it gives variation and it’s much more beautiful. Lots of green forested areas and more mountainous, of course. Guess what makes it so green and beautiful though? Rain!!! The forecast looks good from what I can see, but last night the forecast said no rain and we woke up to it and needed to wear rain gear this morning. Nothing crazy and it didn’t last long, but the weather app was definitely wrong! I just mentally prepare myself for rain anytime I’m in this province. It can dump buckets at a moments notice. Having said that, after last year, I’ve had a talking with myself and said I wasn’t going to melt, die, or wilt. It’s only water. As long as it’s not hot, I can handle wearing rain gear without the sauna effect and I can do this. Shoes will get wet, but the shoes I chose will dry quicker than most anyone else’s (Brooks Cascadia my friends are the bomb-not the waterproof version-that’s like hiking with plastic bags around your feet everyday). So there it is, I said it out loud, this last 2 week stage is for embracing my absolute hate for hiking in the rain, should I be presented with it. I’m late to get this blog done tonight. We had to go to a laundromat to do our laundry because we have a private room with no laundry service. So that took time and then of course find dinner at 7 before we died from starvation. We were given this recommendation by the innkeeper when we checked in so we found it and walked in at 6:30. Of course they don’t serve until 7, so we ordered a glass of wine while we waited. It was small, loud, and dark, with Spanish locals talking a mile a minute. We looked at each other like we don’t want any food cooked from here, the bartender was drinking wine, there was one little table left and it was totally cramped! We took our wine out to a different table and decided we’d finish it and hunt down something else. Pretty soon lots of pilgrims started coming into the establishment and we were like what the heck, where are all these people going to sit? Do they know how tiny it is? Then the wine drinking bartender opened up the dining room and voila there was a dining room with white table cloths and a charming area to eat. We then immediately got in line 😂. It was filling, simple, and cheap. So glad we stayed!! Back to our room, packed up for tomorrow, and ready for some city tomorrow. It may be a little jolting after all these small villages and peace and quiet. I think I want visual stimulation, but we will see..Read more

  • shefollowsarrowsshefollowsarrowsCamino Frances 2024
    San Isidro BasilicaSan Isidro Basilica

    Leon

    September 22, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    I’m writing this the day after arriving in Leon, there was too much to see and do in this beautiful city yesterday so I’m doing a quick morning blog. The walk yesterday was great, more than 17km as I posted previously, it was a couple km more, which is a lot at the end of the day 😂!! We started in the fog and it didn’t lift for a few hours. It was cold and eerie, but very quiet and peaceful too. We arrived in Leon, and noticed there was a bike event going on. Probably more than a thousand people (kids too) on pedal bikes and all were making their way to the cathedral, just as we were. Talk about jolting me into the real world!! It was highly overwhelming after all this country road walking, but it was also really cool. Everyone was having such a good time. Our room wasn’t quite ready so we went to a restaurant where we were lucky enough to get a table that looked out onto the square and we could people watch. I ordered a refreshing sangria and something to eat. It was an authentic Italian restaurant and omgosh it was good. I had tortellini in a pomodoro sauce that was so fresh!! Holly was happy to hear they had gluten free pasta so we was loving it too. We finished up there, checked in, showered, called home, and went out on the town. The cathedral is so impressive. It’s always so beautiful to see, no matter how many times I’ve seen it. But I wanted to go to the San Isidro Basilica (BTW, some historians say the Holy Grail is kept there..it’s a controversial subject-others claim it elsewhere, but how cool would that be to be in the same building as that!?) to see what time mass was and to see if Holly could get another credential for her stamps. She’s nearly filled hers up and I brought 2, so I’m good. Mass was at 7:30, so we did that. It was quite moving for both of us. I love Jesus!!
    Sorry for the short blog today, I’ll do better when we get to a smaller town today and have more time!    Read more

  • shefollowsarrowsshefollowsarrowsCamino Frances 2024

    Hospital del Orbigo

    September 23, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    Jeez I missed yesterday blogging!! Not much to report though, except we stayed in a cool little albergue! Our hospitalario was really funny and so happy! We washed clothes in the washer and hung them to dry outside, nice day for it. Drank wine while they dried and met a couple people staying there and had great conversations. Low key days are perfect. I’ll post some photos of the albergue ❤️Read more

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