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Europe 2025
  • Barb and Alan
  • Barb and Alan

Europe 2025

Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France and Belgium Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 27, 2025
    Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    3
    The Temple BarBangers and Mash 🙂

    Travel Day to Dublin

    May 27 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    We are ending our very long day traveling to Dublin right now and thought I would put down in writing why we are hopping around to so many places in Europe this spring/summer. Last summer when we were trying to decide where we wanted to travel next. Ireland came up in our conversation as did the Portuguese Camino. We asked ourselves, “Could we do both?”

    After researching some guided hiking trips in Ireland, we chose a hiking and island hopping small group trip with a company called Wilderness Ireland and booked it for the end of May. Then, we added on a flight to Porto, Portugal on June 7th so we could walk the 151 miles to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

    While we were calculating the date we would get to Santiago, we realized we were getting close to when the Tour de France would begin in Lille, France on July 5th. It has been a dream of Alan’s to see a stage of the Tour, so I snagged a couple of nights in Lille so we could be there for it. Since we had eight days in between Santiago and Lille, and we have never spent time in Paris (other than the airport), that became the next part of the trip. We will then end our trip with a day in Brussels before we fly back to Dublin and on to home.

    It seems like it’s going to be kind of a whirlwind type of trip, but also exciting! We are exhausted from our overnight flight, but we rallied today with some exploring and a little pub time.

    Tomorrow’s agenda:
    1. Sleep in!!
    2. First Irish breakfast of the trip
    3. 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour
    4. More exploring 🙂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    Our guide, Adam, sharing the Proclamation
    Destruction of the General Post Office 19161

    1916 Rebellion Tour

    May 28 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    We were so engrossed in our tour today, I didn’t take many pictures. But here’s what we learned:

    Imagine being in the middle of Dublin on Easter Monday in 1916, just walking around like normal, and suddenly a group of Irish rebels shows up and takes over the General Post Office — literally just walks in, kicks everyone out, and plants a flag declaring Ireland is now a free republic.

    Our guide, Adam, walked us around Dublin, sharing about the Easter Rising, and how it was one of the first major steps toward Irish independence.

    We could even see bullet damage on the post office as he told us about Patrick Pearse, a poet and teacher, who read the “Proclamation of the Republic “ in front of the building. There were other leaders too, like James Connolly, who was more of a socialist and led this group called the Irish Citizen Army, and even Countess Markievicz, who was this badass aristocrat woman with a gun fighting alongside the men. In fact many women played key roles in the fight.

    They had a group of about 1,200 rebels and held out in several buildings around Dublin — the General Post Office being the main Headquarters. But the British army didn’t exactly take it lightly. They sent in thousands of troops, artillery, and even shelled the city. After six days, the rebels had to surrender.

    At first, most people in Ireland weren’t really on their side. They thought it was a bit reckless, especially with all the destruction. But when the British executed the leaders, public opinion totally flipped. People started to see them as martyrs.

    We were surprised to hear Irish Americans played a huge role in all of this. There were guys in the U.S. like John Devoy who were sending money, and organizing weapons, Plus, the support from the Irish communities in places like New York and Boston — was massive. They kept the cause alive overseas. So even though the Rising itself was ended quickly, it lit the spark that eventually led to Irish independence a few years later.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    A typical room a family would have lived in
    14 Henrietta Street14 Henrietta StreetStairwell in 14 Henrietta St.1Literary Pub CrawlLocal guys Liam and Owen

    14 Henrietta Street/Literary Pub Crawl

    May 29 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Two things on our agenda for today:

    First, we went to 14 Henrietta Street for a very touching tour of the building. 14 Henrietta Street has over 300 years of people’s lives in its walls. We heard the personal stories of those who called 14 Henrietta Street home, starting with the rich in the 1700s who occupied it as a single family and then the horrible hardships of the poor who lived there when it housed 100 people. Almost 1000 people lived on the short Henrietta street in tenement housing, and the living conditions they endured were unimaginable. 😞

    Tonight, we got to experience a Literary Pub Crawl where we enjoyed some Irish ballads, met some wonderful local young men and heard the words of Joyce, Wilde, Yeats, Shaw and many others acted out as we moved from pub to pub. The last pub was often frequented by James Joyce and it has a first edition copy of his book, Ulysses displayed, along with a photograph of Sylvia Beach who is known for her Paris bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, where she published James Joyce's book Ulysses in 1922…great evening!

    Tomorrow, we’re taking a train to Kilkenny, where some of my ancestors were born. 🙂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    23

    Kilkenny

    May 30 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    We took the train from Dublin to spend the day in Kilkenny. We climbed the round tower at St. Canice’s Cathedral, we saw The Black Abbey, and we walked the Medieval Mile and toured Kilkenny Castle.

    My Fleming ancestors came from Kilkenny, so it was special to walk through the town knowing many of the old structures were around when they lived there. At St. Canice’s Cathedral, a volunteer asked me what was the last name of my ancestors. When I said Fleming, she said WAY back in Kilkenny’s history (the 1300’s) there was an area south of Kilkenny Castle that was referred to as “in villae Flamingorum Kilkennie”: the town of the Flemish in Kilkenny - a strongly walled and gated suburb surrounded by towers, called Flemynstown. Pretty awesome to hear that!

    Tomorrow, we take a train to Cork to meet our guide for some hiking. We’re crossing our fingers on the weather 🤞🏻🤞🏻 We had a gorgeous day today, but we may get some rain over the next week.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    1
    Train to CorkCastle Freke

    Castle Freke and a High Cross

    May 31 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    We took a train to Cork and met our guide, Tom, who took us on a hike along Long Strand Beach and then by Castle Freke. The end of our hike brought us up the hill to Carbery Memorial High Cross before heading back down to the beach. Lord Carbery must have been very well loved for his wife to erect such an ornate tall cross in his honor. 💕

    We enjoyed the friendly people in our group- Bill and Sharon from Vancouver, Canada and Michelle from Chicago. But, I think the highlight was hiking by a castle! That was pretty cool! 🏰 Alan may say his highlight was the bucket of fresh mussels he had for dinner. 🙂

    We’re spending two nights in Baltimore and tomorrow we take a ferry ⛴️ to Cape Clear Island.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    Cale Clear Island Lunch Spot
    Baltimore Beacon2Lavender Ice Cream2

    The Beacon and Cape Clear Island

    June 1 in Ireland ⋅ 🌬 57 °F

    Today was absolutely stunning!!

    Accomplishments of today:

    1. We hiked to the huge Baltimore Beacon and didn’t get blown over by the wind. 💨

    2. We survived a WILD ferry ride over to Cape Clear Island.!!! I have never been on a boat going over such huge waves. I felt like I was a fisherman on an episode of “Deadliest Catch”. A few people on the boat had to make a beeline to the bathroom 🤢 and one poor girl just put her head against the wall and closed her eyes waiting for it to be over.

    I tried to film it, but I just had to keep my eyes on an island and focus on that.

    3. We spent four hours on Cape Clear Island. Besides hiking all around the island we first stopped at Claire Goats to experience milking a goat and to taste some really good goat milk ice cream. The best part was listening to farm owner (Ed Harper) sing to his goats to calm them down. His song is the music for today’s video. 🙂🎶🐐

    Tomorrow, we are crossing our fingers for good weather for our hike to Sheep’s Head Lighthouse.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan

    The Famine and Sheep’s Head Lighthouse

    June 2 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Before we went on our hike to Sheep’s Head Lighthouse, we stopped in Skibbereen to learn more about the Great Famine (1845-1852) and how devastating it was to the area.

    The Skibbereen area lost over a third of its people during the Great Famine. We were able to read the first hand accounts by a Dr. Donovan reporting on the disease, starvation and death from that area. It was extremely difficult to read, heartbreaking and unimaginable. 😢
    Between 8,000 and 10,000 unidentified souls from Skibbereen are buried in the infamous Famine burial pits.

    My pictures today are mainly from our hike at Sheep’s Head and the town of Bantry, but the devastating history of the Famine is the biggest memory from today.

    A little side note: We have to give our guide, Tom, huge kudos for dealing with an unexpected flat tire on the van 🚐 while on our way this morning. In his words, “It was just a little bit of drama”. 🙂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    Donal "Dux" O'DonoghueThe Hugging TreeKenmareKenmare Church

    Lakes of Killarney

    June 3 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    An unbelievable character of a man named Donal “Dux” O’Donoghue met us in Killarney National Park and drove us to his boat launch at the foot of Ross Castle which, by the way, was actually owned by the O’Donoghue Clan in the 14th Century. 😲

    Dux loaded us up in his boat and took us across the Middle Lake, under Old Weir Bridge and to the meeting of the waters. We then went down the long range river before arriving at Lord Brandon’s Cottage.

    The lakes and surrounding scenery were beautiful, but it was the stories that Dux told which really made the experience memorable.

    After lunch at the cottage, we hiked part of the Kerry Way back to the van, going along the lake and then up through the oak forest.

    We are now back to our hotel in Kenmare after a great dinner. Tomorrow, we will be hiking on the Old Kenmare Road.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    11

    Old Kenmare Road

    June 4 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    I had to put on my head net today to guard against the pesky midges…so glad I brought it! Whenever we stopped for a break, if the wind had died down, they would try to land on our faces or in our ears…😬🦟

    We were hiking part of The Kerry Way along the Old Kenmare Road today. Old Kenmare Road is a historic walking route between Kenmare and Killarney in Ireland, once the main connection between the two towns.

    It was much cooler with off and on blustery showers, so I didn’t take many pics or video. Plus, I have an excuse…I was fending off the midges!🤣.

    Tonight, we are in Dingle. We are here for two nights. I am trying to recover from eating way too much at Danno’s with our group…such great food and a lot of laughs.🙂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    1

    Slea Head

    June 5 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    Today might have been the best day of this trip! It was actually a Plan B that Tom had to come up with because the ocean waves were too big to go out to the Great Blasket Island.

    Tom drove us along Slea Head where we got to hang out with some sheep and then we got to spend some time at the Blasket Center, which honors the unique community who lived on the remote Blasket Islands until their evacuation in 1953.

    We then left the Center on foot and hiked along the edge of the coast with the Blasket Islands always in our view. It was much more meaningful, I think, to have learned so much about the people who had lived on the island instead of just hiking on it.

    Our hike today had the sound and view of the ocean waves, some rain at times, and some beautiful sun that made all of the green around us just pop. The big surprise had to be the beautiful horses that decided to join us at our lunch stop.

    On our way back to Dingle, we stopped at a pub where Tom played guitar and sang. It was a perfect end to the Ireland part of our trip, and a perfect soundtrack for today’s video.💕🙂🇮🇪

    Tonight, we are packing up to take the train back to Dublin tomorrow. I will post again after we are settled in Porto to begin “Part 2” of our trip.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    Along the Douro River
    Dusk in PortoAcross the river in GaiaSandeman Cellar5Al excited for some Tawny Port 🙂Elderly woman in window1View out our window1Port and Sangria

    Porto Days 1 and 2

    June 8 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    We arrived in Porto and what a change from Ireland! We have gone from very cool weather to very warm sunshine ☀️. We have left the rural green fields for a densely populated historic city.

    We are in awe of the old buildings and especially the ones covered with tile! The city's historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a huge maze of narrow cobblestone streets and colorful buildings. I love the laundry hanging from windows to dry and the elderly women sitting on their tiny balconies watching the people below.

    We are staying across the Douro River in Villa Nova de Gaia at the House of Sandeman. We are surrounded by many Port wine makers and we had a fantastic tour of the Sandeman Cellars which included tastings of 10, 20, 30, and 40 year tawny ports. Alan was in heaven!

    Tomorrow, we will cross the river to stay right in the historic center.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    São Bento Train Station1Sights and sounds of PortoPorto Cathedral2Francesinha Sandwich

    Porto Days 3 and 4

    June 9 in Portugal ⋅ 🌩️ 91 °F

    We have been walking all over Porto! It has been so fun just strolling up and down the streets and then sitting and, while having a drink, people watching.

    We did a Progressive Lunch tour today with Leo. She shared some history of the city and took us to some local places for tastings of local dishes. All of it was SO good! My favorites were the Bifana sandwich from the restaurant called Conga and the Francesinha from Capa Negra. I am still stuffed hours later!!

    Tomorrow, we start our walk to Santiago de Compostela. Our backpacks are packed and ready. We have stuffed all of the things we won’t need for the next two weeks into our one suitcase, and it is supposed to be picked up tomorrow by DHL and transported to Santiago. I’m crossing my fingers it makes it. 🤞🏻🤞🏻    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    3
    Snack time!Len and Helen

    To Mosteiro

    June 11 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    We have watched many Portuguese Camino Central videos and a couple of common themes that are talked about are the cobbles being rough to walk on and the non existent shoulder along the cobbled roads. We can attest that what they say is very true!

    We left our hotel around 7:00 am this morning and meandered through Porto carefully following the yellow arrows and checking my app multiple times to make sure we were on the correct route. It’s a little confusing at times because there are different routes you can take. We are on the Central Route.

    Porto and its suburbs seemed to go on forever! We spent almost all of our time either on sidewalks or cobbled roads, and it wasn’t until after about 10 miles of walking where we finally felt like we were in a more rural area.

    Rural, however, did not necessarily mean a lack of cars. Without a shoulder or sidewalk, we had to be alert to the cars coming our way. Alan said the drivers seem to think they are formula one racers, and our food tour guide had told us yesterday she felt being a good driver in Portugal was optional.😂 Thankfully, the cobbles are so loud we could hear the cars before we could see them.

    We stopped at a couple of little bakery/cafes on our way today. The people were so kind and patient with my sad attempts at Portuguese while ordering.

    We are staying in Mosteiro tonight at Casa dos Caminhos and there are two other pilgrims here tonight:

    First, there is Len, a young actor who left his home in Hamburg at 3:00 am flew to Porto, then went immediately to the cathedral in Porto and then walked here. He is exhausted! His pack is SO big and it’s his first time doing a Camino. He is beyond excited to be here! He brought a tent and he’s pitching it in the yard. ⛺️

    Then Helen, from Taiwan, who has gifted this journey to herself for her 65th birthday. She will turn 65 the day she walks into Santiago.🙂

    We enjoyed a nice dinner together and now it’s time to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we walk to Arcos…a smidge less than today.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    1

    To Sao Miguel de Arcos

    June 12 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Today = dodging cars, rating the difficulty of the cobbles, dealing with the uncertainty of rain, the smell of freshly fertilized corn fields and wishing for a cafe to rest our feet.

    Today also = crossing an ancient bridge, smelling the fragrant hydrangeas and listening to the wind through the eucalyptus trees.

    Most of the time it seemed we were the only pilgrims on the route, but then we caught up to Helen walked a with her a bit.

    Other pilgrims seen today:
    * Two more women from Taiwan (one named Melanie)
    * Three people from the Netherlands - a husband and wife and a man named Jerome (I think) 🙂

    We finally did make it to a cafe, although it was at the very end of our walk! 😂

    We were spoiled by our host tonight with a four course dinner that normally would have been WAY too much food for me. Obviously, we burned some calories today because we ate it all!

    Tomorrow, we will walk to Barcelos.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    1Local card game

    To Barcelos

    June 13 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    By the time I finally plopped down on the bed we had walked 14 miles - 2.5 of those around Barcelos after we arrived.

    We are staying in the historic district of Barcelos and they are having a celebration that I think could go until the wee hours. The later it gets the louder it’s getting 😂

    Everything in the celebration is medieval themed 🏰 from the booth decorations, the music, and the performers (plus some regular people and kids) are dressed up. Even the kiddie rides are powered by hand cranks or pedaling. I had to try a cinnamon and sugar crepe that was cooked in a cast iron pan over a fire! 🔥

    Besides the celebration tonight, the best part of today may have been watching some local men play cards at a cafe. They were paired up on teams and it was lively!

    Tomorrow, we walk to Balugaes.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    Interesting Camino StatueOur room at Casas da Quinta da Cancela

    To Balugães

    June 14 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Beautiful countryside to walk through today and plenty of fellow Camino walkers to make the time fly by.

    Katie and Ingrid - A mother/daughter duo from Houston and Baltimore

    Shelly and JP - A married couple from North Carolina

    Eliana- A woman from Paris

    Charles - Man from Porto who encouraged Alan to try a couple of local food dishes, one called Rojões com Sarrabulho. When I heard it involved a pork blood porridge, it was a “no” from me.😂

    We have some hot days ahead of us. 😬 Temps will be 90 and above for the next four days so we will have to head out very early each day.

    We are walking to Ponte de Lima tomorrow and spending two nights. Thankfully, that will have us resting for one of the really hot days. Unfortunately, the hottest day (high of 99 degrees) is the day of our biggest climb up to Alto da Patela. 😩🥵 A Camino is never easy, but I’m really not a fan of hiking in really hot weather. I’m hoping the weather report is lying.😂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    Ponte de Lima Bridge
    2River ViewMonday Market-A Tradition since 11251View from our RoomOld City Tower Wall1

    Ponte de Lima

    June 16 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    We walked into Ponte de Lima to discover they are celebrating the city’s 900th year anniversary!!! From the year 1125 to 2025…crazy old! The bridge that crosses the Lima River has parts of it that were built by the Romans in the first century and the rest during the Middle Ages.

    We ate outside at a cafe that was right next to the old city wall and tower and we could see each stone has the original stone mason’s mark clearly visible. The tower and wall were constructed in the 1300’s.

    We have taken a rest day here and will continue our walk tomorrow. It is very hot today, but we were able to walk around and enjoy the HUGE market that happens here every other Monday. The market has been going on since the year 1125! 😳

    The owners of the place we are staying are so kind! Because we are leaving at 5:30 in the morning to try to beat some of the heat, they realized we would miss breakfast. So, they packed us some food for the hike.❤️

    Ponte de Lima is a beautiful city, especially at night. We waited for the temperature to cool a bit and walked around as it darkened to enjoy the lights on the bridge and the buildings.

    Our next stop will be in Rubiães staying at Casa de S Sebastião. There is a pool there and, with the high being possibly 98 degrees, I may find myself in it. 🙂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    1Exhausted after the Climb

    To Rubiães

    June 17 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 66 °F

    Just a few words for today:

    1. It was HOT! 🥵
    2. We climbed for what seemed like forever.

    The heat really took its toll on us (and everyone else) today. I don’t think we can even drink enough fluids to replenish what we lost in sweat. But, we made it and are currently comatose in our air conditioned little room at Casa S. Sebastiao in Rubiães.

    Tomorrow, we walk to Valença. 🤞🏻🤞🏻 for cooler weather.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    Woman from Belarus selling homemade pierogis
    Peter and Muriel from UtrechtOverhead view of Valença (not my pic)1

    To Valença

    June 18 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    We met a woman from Belarus selling homemade pierogis along our path today. We were planning on only getting something to drink (because we can’t drink enough in this warm weather), but she had quite the sales pitch and we ended up with a couple of pierogis.

    We walked on mainly cobbles, some dirt paths and remnants of a Roman route called the Via Romana XIX. We realized we have gotten so used to the cobbles now. They are still rough after a long day of it, but it’s definitely not as horrible as before. Hopefully, I haven’t jinxed ourselves.

    Walking into Valença was awesome! I loved going through the tunnel in the fortress wall and entering a village with narrow, cobbled streets. We are staying within the fortress tonight in a cute little apartment.

    We said goodbye to Peter and Muriel (from the Netherlands) today. They are spending some extra days not walking and our paths won’t cross again. 😞

    Tomorrow, we walk across the Rio Minho and into Spain. 🇪🇸    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    2
    2

    To O Porriño

    June 19 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    The biggest excitement today was walking into Spain. We immediately have more pilgrims on their way to Santiago. 🙂 It felt familiar, especially when we were able to order some tortilla, Santiago cake and that lovely toast with the tomato spread, olive oil and salt (Alan adds avocado 🥑 to his).

    We walked 12.6 miles today. We were, at times, a group of Australians🇦🇺, Americans, and a girl from Canada🇨🇦, so the time went by pretty fast.

    We ended our day at a bar called Underground. Javier, the owner was so energetic and his food was AMAZING! I have never had a better piece of carrot cake in my life! He took our picture to hang on his wall with a pin for the United States 🇺🇸.

    Before we pack our packs for tomorrow, we once again hold up items and try and decide if the weight of an item is worth carrying it. 😂 Alan’s ready to throw out a few things. We’ll see.

    Tomorrow, is a tiny bit shorter but we have a big climb. We are headed to Redondela.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    Bethany and her mom 🙂
    Camino friends: Tracie, Deb, Nancy and Renae2Terri and Dave

    To Redondela

    June 20 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    Best parts of today:

    1. Our legs are much stronger now, so the tough climbing today was surprisingly not too bad. 🙂

    2. The steep downhill to town went fast while we walked with a couple from Louisiana.

    3. It wasn’t too hot for us today…WOoHOO!

    4. Enjoyed hanging out with some Camino friends this evening who gave us some lessons on Australian words for things. Alan may be calling his sunglasses “sunnies” from now on.😂

    5. The best and craziest part of today was Bethany and her mom walking in to have dinner at the same restaurant as us. The coincidence was just mind blowing! Amazing we were in the same town, but out of all the restaurants in this city…it was a pure Camino moment. 🙂

    Tomorrow, we walk to Pontevedra.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    Grandson walking the Camino with his Grandmother ❤️
    32Camino Friends Terri and Dave

    To Pontevedra

    June 21 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    Usually each evening we will read about the next day’s walk so we can kind of prepare ourselves mentally for what’s to come. Yesterday was supposedly a hard climbing day, but we felt good about how it went.

    Everything written about today, in my opinion, is a lie! 😂 It was supposed to be easier…NO WAY was it easier! We just kept climbing, then steep downhills and again endless climbing. It became somewhat comical. 😂

    We persevered and, as we were in our last miles, we came across a young man walking with his precious little grandmother. As they walked side by side, he held her hand. She had made it up and down those hills! Talk about a spirit lifter! 💕🙂

    We enjoyed a wonderful evening with our Camino friends, Terri and Dave and now it’s time to rest up for tomorrow’s walk to Caldas de Reis. The books say it’s flatter…we will see.🙂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    1Alan posing as a tired Pilgrim
    Camino Friends from Portland

    To Caldas de Reis

    June 22 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    13 more miles today was much easier than the past two days. 👍🏻

    Walking into a town for us involves:

    1. Looking desperately for a bar/cafe with umbrellas to sit down in the shade and have something to eat/drink.

    2. Checking the time to make sure it’s late enough the kitchen is open (usually 1:30 or 2:00) but not too late because the kitchen may be closed by 4:00 and not opening up again until 8:00 or later.

    3. If we are lucky to achieve #1, we then proceed to check in to our accommodation.

    4. Shower, wash some things and then get the feet up and rest a bit.

    5. Start thinking about dinner, but don’t want to wait until 8:00 pm. So we end up looking for a grocery to buy something decent to eat.

    Today, we did all of these things but…because it is Sunday, every regular grocery store was closed except one - a Japanese Mini Mercado. Our dinner consisted of instant ramen with a Snickers for dessert 😂

    Tomorrow, we will walk to Padron, our final stop before Santiago.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan

    To Padron

    June 23 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 88 °F

    We definitely are in “just get there” mode. 😂 Hardly a picture taken today. We stopped one time for a snack and then just walked straight to Padron.

    We visited with some Camino friends, took two trips to the bakery, one trip to the store, a shower, a nap, and finished washing some clothes. Tomorrow, we do the final 15 miles to Santiago. 🙂Read more

  • Barb and AlanEurope 2025Barb and Alan
    1
    3212

    Made it to Santiago

    June 24 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 66 °F

    After almost 7 hours of walking and over 40,000 steps, we made it to Santiago - WOoHOO! It was our last day and our longest at over 17 miles (after walking around tonight). My right foot has thrown in the towel with three blisters…good thing we are done. 😂

    We sat in the square for some time to soak in the moment, watched people finish and talked to other Pilgrims we had met along the way. We even used Google Translate to talk to a French couple we had seen almost every day on this journey. 🙂

    Then it was time for food…Hiker hunger is real! We had a huge lunch and then finished our evening with a fantastic dinner…I should say Alan ate a real dinner and I had Santiago cake and ice cream 😂

    We are spending an extra day here to rest and then we are off to Paris.

    The Camino Portuguese is finished. ✅💕    Read more

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