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Spain 2023
  • Barb and Alan
  • Barb and Alan

Spain 2023

A 62-day adventure by Barb and Alan Read more
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  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan

    To Villar de Mazorife

    September 26, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    September 26

    It was so hard to slip out of the comfy king bed this morning and pack up to leave the hotel. 🙁 We were wishing we had planned a rest day, but now that we have walked to Villar de Mazorife, we’re happy we continued walking.

    We had to walk for about four miles to finally get out of the main part of the city. Then, we took a variant in the route to stay away from the busy highway. It was much more peaceful. For most of the walk Sue, from Florida, joined us. It always makes the time go faster when you’re talking to someone.

    The albergue where we are staying prepared a 4 course dinner for everyone tonight - fresh salad, gazpacho with bread, paella made and served by Pepe, and then crepes with fresh apricot and drizzled chocolate. 😋😋😋

    Henrick, who we hadn’t seen for a long time, is staying here as well, so we were able to catch up with what he’s been up to since we last saw him. He shared that he and Tom (guy from Ireland we had also met) took a taxi from Burgos to where they filmed the climax of Clint Eastwood’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Sad Hill Cemetery. 😂 Tom had told us quite long ago he wanted to do that, so we were glad they were able to make it happen.

    Tonight’s struggles:

    Sleeping in a bed that has a hump in the middle and is trying to roll us off the sides.

    And…Trying to ignore the sound of someone getting sick in the room next door. Oh my goodness!! 😳🤢😳

    Today was 13.7 miles. Tomorrow, we have a shorter walk to Hospital de Orbigo at 10 miles.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan
    1

    To Hospital de Orbigo

    September 27, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    September 27

    Today was a shorter day (10 miles) to Hospital de Orbigo, a place we only walked through five years ago, and a town with a fabulous medieval bridge that Alan couldn’t wait to see again.

    The bridge is one of the longest and best preserved medieval bridges in Spain and is one of the most famous landmarks along the Camino. It is known for a legendary jousting tournament.

    In the year 1434, a knight from Leon (Don Suero de Quinones) was scorned by the woman he loved. As a result, he challenged any knight who dared to pass over the bridge to a jousting battle. Knights from all over Europe took up the challenge and Don Suero successfully defended the bridge for a month until he had broken the 300 lances he had pledged to use in its defense. Thus, he retained his honor, although it doesn’t appear that the lady changed her mind. He later travelled on to Santiago to give thanks for his newly restored honor. There are indications that Cervantes may have used this story as inspiration for his character, Don Quixote.

    The Great Parts of Today

    1. The AMAZING sunrise!
    2. The birds chirping this morning
    3. Meeting Anna from Russia
    4. Alan seeing the bridge again
    5. Running into Candi as she entered town and then joining her for dinner.
    6. We have comfortable beds. 🛏️

    Tomorrow, we walk to Astorga. 🙂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan
    1
    1Donated Food for Pilgrims1

    To Astorga

    September 28, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    September 28

    Today was a good day! We started walking a bit before sunrise and the air had a perfect crispness to it. We met Roger from the UK and then ran into Candi as the sun was rising.
    The light was stunning this morning and it was hard for me to stop taking pictures/video.

    We walked the whole way to Astorga with Candi which made the miles and time fly by so fast!🙂💕 Candi was our inspiration to walk our first Camino, so this time we had to walk with her was pretty special. ❤️

    We have had the best afternoon exploring Astorga and just sitting in the plaza eating some food, watching the kids and families, enjoying some drinks and visiting. We topped off our day with a trip to a grocery store for some snacks and I was thrilled to get some chips and salsa and a bit of chocolate. My day is now complete. 😋

    Tomorrow we walk to Rabanal. We are officially done with the Meseta and are entering a greener and more hilly landscape.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan

    To Rabanal del Camino

    September 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 68 °F

    September 29

    We left early this morning to beat the heat and enjoyed walking under a full moon as we left Astorga. We stopped in each village we walked through - first breakfast, second breakfast, and then ice cream. 🙂

    It was exciting to be heading into some hills plus, we love the change in the buildings. The majority of structures are made from stone now and we saw our first roof made with slabs of slate.

    For the longest time, Alan and I could not figure out why there were so many people on the path today, but then we talked to some Swedish women who told us they were part of a bus tour that dropped 35 of them off to walk this section. We also noticed another group. Once they all moved on from our end point of Rabanal, the town was quiet again. 🙂

    After some FaceTime with Adrianne, Grant and little Eddie❤️, we had a late lunch/early dinner with Candi and Nancy. I literally inhaled my spaghetti!! The constant walking and the burning of calories makes me crave pasta. 🍝

    We are now back at our hostel organizing for tomorrow. Even though we have our own room, the bathroom is shared, and there has been a woman in the bathroom, talking on the phone forever!! 🚽😳 She doesn’t seem to even realize other people (Alan) need to use it. 😂

    Tomorrow, we climb to the highest point on the Camino and then down to the town of Acebo. Candi and Nancy will be walking beyond us so we may not see them again….you never know on a Camino, though. 🙂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan

    To Acebo

    September 30, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 72 °F

    September 30

    We were loving today until the downhill that went on FOREVER!!! We thought it would never end, especially with the sun beating down on us. Here we had planned only 10 miles today, but the end made it seem way longer.

    Special Moments:
    1. We walked up and by Cruz de Ferro (The Iron Cross), where I had left some of Dad’s ashes five years ago. We were also able to say a little prayer and remember sweet Alivia while we were there. ❤️

    2. We thought we wouldn’t see Candi and Nancy again, but saw them twice today! 💕🙂 They walked on for eight more kilometers from our stopping point (which they shared was more of the awful rocky downhill - ugh!!!)

    Funny Moment:

    We were so tired when we checked into our room, we ended up going into room 1 instead of 2. While I was in the shower, a woman from Dublin opened the door and walked into the room (it was really her room). Alan had just put his shorts on. A few seconds sooner and he would have been naked 😳.

    She was a good sport and took the room that was supposed to be ours. We all had a good laugh over it when she joined us for drinks and called her husband to tell him what had happening. 😳😂 She said even if he had been naked, it wasn’t anything she hadn’t already seen before. 😂😂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan
    Alan Wishing for a Flat TrailBridge into MolinasecaDon and Maryann

    To Ponferrada

    October 1, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    October 1

    The descents yesterday and today about did my hip and knees in…I don’t mind going downhill, but going down steeply on sideways slabs of rock and then loose scree-like rock is not my thing AT ALL! I am so glad we can put that part of our journey behind us. 🙂

    It’s amazing how our minds usually forget the hard unpleasant parts and tend to only remember the good. Not sure I will forget this, though.

    We walked into Ponferrada with Judy from Dublin. She’s the one who almost caught Alan without his shorts yesterday when we were accidentally in her room. 😂

    Ponferrada has an amazing castle! The castle of the Templar knights of Ponferrada is a magnificent building. It houses the Templars’ Library and the Ponferrada Investigation and Study Centre, which contains almost 1,400 books including facsimile editions of works by Leonardo da Vinci.

    It was originally a hill-fort and later a Roman citadel. At the beginning of the 12th century, the Templar knights took possession of the fortress and reinforced and extended it to use it as an inhabitable palace and for protection, on the route of the pilgrims on the way to Santiago de Compostela. It is so large, it’s hard to get a good photo.

    For the past few days I have been craving pizza and we were able to have amazing pizza during our late lunch with Don and Maryann from San Francisco. Craving satisfied!

    It has been HOT in the late afternoon, so tomorrow will be another early, early start. We walked by moonlight this morning and plan to do it again.

    We have 128 miles left and are headed to Villafranca del Bierzo.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan
    1
    Judy from DublinMaty and Julio Restaurante Espinal1

    Villafranca del Bierzo/Vega de Valcarce

    October 3, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    October 2-3

    I am in our room in Vega de Valcarce with the balcony door open listening to the sound of the rio Valcarce babbling just below us. The sound of the river is absolute HEAVEN, and the terrain we have now entered is soothing - hills, trees and the sound of water. We are almost to Galicia.

    Yesterday, we survived some early morning road walking while dodging a few cars. Then, we walked through some beautiful vineyards! My favorite part was a gorgeous white house on a hill flanked by big trees and surrounded by the vineyard.

    It was hot yesterday afternoon and Alan wilted big time. First thing we did when we arrived in Villafranca del Bierzo was sit down and order a couple of beers and pizza. Alan perked up immediately! 😂 While hanging in the plaza we had a chance to visit with Camino friends Stefan, Kim, Don and Maryann. We also saw Karen, Pam and Hanz who we hadn’t seen since Hontanas.

    This afternoon we had our best meal of the Camino at Restaurante Espinol. The couple who own the restaurant (Julio and Maty) were so kind and the food was spectacular! I was able to satisfy my steak craving and Alan loved his grilled sea bass.

    We finished off the afternoon with a trip to the supermercado for a couple of snacks and then the pharmacy for some more electrolytes for our water - Alan hopefully won’t lose all of his energy again on this trip. 👍🏻

    Best Parts of the Past Two Days:

    1. Laundry Service in Villafranca del Bierzo - Our clothes needed it!
    2. Comfy bed two nights in a row!!!
    3. Seeing Katrina (New Zealand) again after thinking she was way ahead of us
    4. Visiting with Judy (Dublin)
    5. Trying some Galician liquors
    6. Meeting quick witted Trudy (Australia) Trudy’s quote on how far she’s walking each day - “I’m on an Ibuprofen timeframe” 😂

    Tomorrow, we have a big 2300 foot climb up to O’Cebreiro and then to Linares, where we will be staying for the night.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan

    To Liñares

    October 4, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    October 4

    Today was a perfect day to climb high up to O’Cebreiro. The air was cool as we left in the dark and never got uncomfortable. We walked along a stream, by many cows and through the trees until we were out in the open with a view down the valley where we had come. This type of a blue sky day makes hiking seem easier.

    When we stopped for a quick break, we ran into Nika again! We love the ebb and flow of the Camino. You never know who will turn up.

    Once we were to O’Cebreiro, there was a collection of Camino friends having drinks/snacks - Don and Maryann, Judy, the Switzerland women, Karen, Pam, Hanz and Trudy, with these last four drinking a bottle of wine and some beer before heading back out to hike some more. 😂🍷🍺
    Don shared his Cebreiro cheese and honey with Alan which was the cheese he was SO looking forward to trying. We then had to hike our last 3.5 kilometers to Liñares, where we are staying.

    Both Alan and I have bottom bunks tonight in the albergue. At first, I thought I would have to do the top, but the hospitalero let me have a bottom-WOoHOO!

    Tomorrow, we walk to Triacastela. 93 miles left to go. 🙂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan
    1

    To Triacastela

    October 5, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 64 °F

    October 5

    All I can say is, “Today was a beautiful day!” Hiking high in the hills through mountain family farms was perfect.

    There was the warm sunrise that lit up the rolling hills and the sounds of working farms mixed in with the sounds of footsteps. There were stone churches, fences and buildings, cats in barn doors, and German Shepherd dogs helping move cows slowly down the road to a different pastures. There was the perfect cafe with tables out back to taste some Santiago cake and have a drink.

    We experienced all of this, while climbing a bit, then descending down, down, down to Triacastela where we just finished having a great dinner with Don and Maryann.

    It will be hard to top today. Tomorrow, we will climb over a few more hills to a place just past Sarria. 82 miles to go.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan

    To Casa Barbadelo

    October 6, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    October 6

    We climbed a lot early this morning (much of it in the dark) and then descended steeply. Alan’s knees decided not to work correctly for a bit after so much downhill 😂 Thankfully, after a breakfast stop, they were back to normal. 👍🏻

    We arrived in Sarria just in time for a hamburger lunch which tasted SO good! I always am hopeful for a perfect serving of french fries, but they are never crispy enough for me. I’m craving some Smitty’s extra crispy fries with Gillham sauce. 😋 Pretty much, I’m craving anything salty because the afternoon heat causes me to sweat so much.

    I finally took a picture of some chestnuts today. For days and days we have been walking under the trees or by them and the chestnuts are everywhere. I’ve even almost rolled an ankle on a few. We’ve also seen a lot of acorns which we found out are loved by goats.

    We are staying a couple of miles past Sarria at a place called Casa Barbadelo. The final mile to here was rough because they had just fertilized the fields with manure, and that combined with the heat was not pleasant. 😂

    Happy Moment - This place has Diet Pepsi!!! Woohoo! I haven’t had one in over a month and have had to resort to Coke Zeros.

    Tomorrow, we walk to Portomarin. 68 miles to go.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan

    To Portomarin

    October 7, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    It was a big moment today when we walked past the 100k marker! Woohoo - the end is in sight! This last bit includes more people and it becomes more touristy, but we have tried to mentally prepare for the change.

    There were two things I wasn’t prepared for, however:
    1. I was not prepared for how horribly stinky it was going by some of the farms today…it was a whole new level of gag inducing stink. 😳
    2. I was not expecting to find a new blister between two of my toes tonight. We are so close to the end, and I can’t believe I’m dealing with this now, especially with a 15 mile day tomorrow.🙄

    Tonight is all about trying to stay cool - the afternoon/early evening heat was a bit too much.🥵☀️ So…dinner was some Italian food (outdoors in the shade) with Don and Maryann, followed by eating ice cream in the plaza. 🍦

    Tomorrow, we walk to Palas de Rei. 57 miles to go.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan
    1

    Palas de Rei and Boente

    October 8, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    October 8-9

    Yesterday was a hard day. Physically, because we did 16 miles and mentally, because our bodies are tired and want to be done. Plus, there are way more people on the Camino because many people start at the 100k mark and also because some of the other Caminos connect here.

    Our quiet mornings are now pretty busy with newcomers who have fresh legs who speed past us at times. We have had to adjust a bit.

    So yesterday we ended in Palas de Rei tired and a tad bit grumpy - actually, quite grumpy 😂. But, a good rest and an early start this morning turned into a great day! Nika joined us after our first stop and walked with us all the way to Boente. The miles fly by when you can share them with someone. She, too, had a hard time the day before and called us her “Camino Angels” for walking with her and brightening the mood. 💕 She’s ahead of us now, but we hope to see her on the 13th in Santiago.

    Don and Maryann are a bit behind us, but they will get to Santiago on the 12th like us. 🙂

    Special Moment of the Day:

    There is a group doing the Camino called J’s Crew. The “J” stands for Jen Schuringa. Jen suffered a debilitating traumatic brain injury in a car crash 10 years ago and she is doing the Camino in her wheelchair with the help of her crew of 15 friends and family. We talked to her dad today when we noticed he was walking very slow and limping. He broke his toe, but he’s not quitting - he felt if Jen can do it in her wheelchair with her Crew then he can do it with a broken toe. ❤️ Jen and her Crew are spreading the message that not even a traumatic brain injury can permanently rob you of community, purpose, and joy. You can read more about Jen at Jenschuringa.com

    Tomorrow, we walk to Salceda. 29.28 miles to go.    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan
    2
    Eucalyptus ForestBirgitte, Jolanda, and Anke from SwitzerlandThree Students who Practiced their English with UsChurch Across from our Room13K from Santiago

    To Salceda and San Paio

    October 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    October 10-11

    These last two days have been so relaxing - only 13 miles and 10 miles. We kind of laugh that those distances are relaxing, but going up the hills doesn’t really bother us anymore and the surface of the paths in Galicia have been easier on our feet.

    These past few days have so many new people on the path, so it is really exciting when you see Camino friends from earlier on the journey. Today, our Switzerland friends (Birgitta, Yolanda, and Anke) stopped to rest at a bar with us. We thought we wouldn’t ever see them again, and we all greeted each other like long lost friends. 💕🙂 We finally got a group picture!

    Even though it has been crowded with new pilgrims, we had SO much time to ourselves today walking through the eucalyptus forest and through the deep, worn down trail. We finally caught up with a group of middle school students and one of their teachers. What a joy they were! Some of them practiced their English by asking us questions and they were so excited when we asked if we could take their picture. 🙂

    Tonight, we are staying at a place called Last 12K. We are beyond excited to have a comfortable bed and normal pillows. So often, the beds and pillows are hard and quite often, on a double bed, there is only one long pillow! 🙄 That doesn’t work too well for two people. 😂

    Tomorrow, we will walk the last 12 kilometers to the Cathedral in Santiago. Hallelujah! We have tired bodies.

    Candi and her friends have finished in Santiago and our friend Nika finished today. Our friends Don and Maryann will finish tomorrow, like us. We hope to welcome them as they walk into the square. 🙂    Read more

  • Barb and AlanSpain 2023Barb and Alan
    2
    With Yoland, Birgitte, Don, Maryann and AnkeDon and MaryannJudyCandi and April

    To Santiago

    October 12, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

    We are finished!! 38 days and 500 miles ended with us walking into the Cathedral square and plopping ourselves down on stone ground, happy and relieved to be done. Eric and Caroline were also there and for the next few hours we enjoyed watching people finish their Caminos in front of the Cathedra and helping take pictures of everyone. 🙂

    There was a huge round of applause for Jen and her crew when they wheeled her in and then another when a young man proposed to his girlfriend. They were such jubilant moments, in fact the whole square was bubbling with happiness and relief to be done.

    We were able to welcome Don and Maryann as they finished and then got to see our Switzerland friends and then Judy (along with her husband who drove from Ireland to meet her).

    We finished off the day with tapas and drinks with Don, Maryann, and then the Chicago crew and Katrina from New Zealand. We also were able to see Candi April and Maria before they leave tomorrow.

    We now get to sleep in for a few days without heading out early in the morning to walk. 🙂 We will meet up with our friend Nika and Don and Maryann tomorrow and just relax before heading home.

    Camino de Santiago 2023 is complete!    Read more

    Trip end
    October 31, 2023
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