Spain
El Ganso

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    • Day 4

      Day 3: Astorga to El Ganzo

      April 8, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

      Today was a short walk. 9 miles. But out of those 9 miles it rained a lot!! Found out my new waterproof jacket is not 100% waterproof.
      When we got to El Gonzo we had a choice. Keep going another 4.5 miles or stop. Patrick chose to stop here because we are sleeping in a teepee.
      Mind you, it is cold and rainy all day long. Now, bed time we are sleeping in a teepee with no heat. We are fully clothed. Jackets on and 3 big blankets. I hope I will be ok. The man next to me is snoring.
      We got here early so we played cards and relaxed most of the day.
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    • Day 30–31

      Day 26 Astorga Day 27 Rabanal

      May 7, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

      What a beautiful city Astorga is. So much to see! 25km day. Had a wonderful meal and met new Pilgrims at our albergue that started their journey in Leon. Only their 2nd day, ha amateurs🤣
      Day 28 had us starting out before 7am and it was good to check in at 1pm after only 20 km. A steady ascent through some small towns that I think wouldn't exist without the camino passing through. Tomorrow we are back climbing, now to Cruz de Ferro, an important stop for pilgrims.Read more

    • Day 22

      Rabanal

      September 25, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

      Not many photos!
      Off and on rain SO, several wardrobe changes, again. Cold in the morning to start. Then we warmed up. Rain, then geared up. The rain stopped then the FLIES swarmed.
      Across the road there were perfectly happy cattle no flies on them. All the flies in the our side of the road were swarming the pilgrims! 10 flies were constantly trying to land on my face, ears, neck, hands, legs. Gad!!!! 6 to 8 km ( And I kid you not) of this was trying at best!
      Tammy cashed it, we are getting different consuming to ensure we were in a fly free ZONE.
      That was another calamity. By the time we found a room we had 20 minutes to turn in our laundry. We still had to get there it was 300m away. We had to change out of all clothing throw it into our ‘Camino’ laundry bag and without a shower run it down to the gal who was within a 20 minutes going to cease taking laundry.
      We blasted the 300m( no small distance when tired). Then a cooler was needed. This was me, in need of a shower with some clean clothes on ( no bra, but a jacket), dashing down the flights of stairs. I am greeted by a pilgrim, who I don’t know, but he greeted me with a traditional“Buen Camino” which requires a response, he shook my hand which he kept and pirouette’d me around as zi kept moving. 😅. I made it to with our laundry with minutes to spare! 😂. Then headed up to take a turn in the shower. Whew! We were pretty proud!! 😅
      Back to the cows, this is dairy country. Every other area we traveled through I could ask for oat milk, almond or soy. Here, there is no milk but cow milk! 😉. Sad for me ( not warm me up hot chocolate, the milk alternative also fills me up as zI can’t do breads or cheese, etc. ). But I love the attitude!!
      Just before we entered there was a camping area called Indian Campo, There were Teepees. 😉
      . We ran into the Aussie, Ian, and his buddy. Ian is the guy born in the UK whose parents moved to Australia, then to Canadia, then back to Australia to find the temperature they liked, he chides . We met his French wife who has rejoined him after dashing back to Singapore for a 25th bday with their daughter. People do these things (?)
      We had a break filled with fun, high laughter.at a . well known Cowboy’bar’ ( recall that means food/ coffee/ drinks all day) .
      And bonus! Our last minute Alburgue is really cute! Enlarge the photo of the flooring. Each rock was hand placed. Who does that kind of work anymore? Side note: as you look at the first photo of the building in which you would never guess that inside (most of these) is a court yard.
      Open to the air, here they often hang the bed sheets, Pilgrims may hang their laundry. Sorry send and visit.
      Ooh, an extra side ! We walked 300m to the ‘main’ building further back in town for an actual 5pm dinner. Nope, I chide you not!! We didn’t need to wait until 7pm or as in Astorga, last night, 8:30pm. Fantastic!
      AND our laundry which we could pick up at 7pm, arrived at 6pm at our table! Better than dinner and a show!!!
      I recommend taking a look at our bedroom door! Mind you our bathroom is great, the room is not huge. It’s also not from the Middle Ages. But come on! When was that door first built?? 1600’s? It’s almost my favorite part of the stay!
      Tomorrow we start crossing the mountains. Probably in rain! ☔️
      Hugs to all
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    • Day 5

      Day 3

      August 4, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      Day 3 saw us out at 5am, to get a big section of the longest day hike out of the way, it was a tough first 12 miles, with me feeling a bit off and not having had enough breakfast, but i pushed in to our first stop, where we g coffee and a pan ou chocolate, which was delicious(also collected our stamps)Read more

    • Day 30

      Eating crow..

      September 12, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      I totally made fun of Michael last night for wanting to go here when we were looking at the guidebook for the next day. We ended up having lunch here and it was the best TEXAS burger! So not really crowded but burgers.Read more

    • Day 24

      22. Tag: Astorga - Foncebadón

      August 25, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Nachdem mal wieder irgendein Fest stattfindet bekommen wir erneut nicht besonders viel Schlaf, da auch hier die Nacht zum Tag gemacht wird und die Spanier die ganze Nacht durchfeiern. Selbst als wir morgens aufbrechen ist noch der gesamte Plaza Major voller Feierwütiger.

      Die Strecke wird nun endlich wieder etwas bergiger. Ich freue mich tatsächlich über die Höhenmeter, was für mich eher untypisch ist, da ich Berge an sich nich mag. Aber hier verändert man sich halt und so freue ich mich also nun also über die kommenden Höhenmeter.

      Die Etappe ist weniger anstrengend als gedacht und die Höhenmeter sind wirklich gut zu bewältigen. Martin der mich heute wieder begleitet hat einige Probleme und so überlasse ich ihm meine Stöcke bis er sich in Foncebadón selbst welche kaufen kann, ich brauch sie heute sowieso nicht und so habe ich schon weniger Gewicht zu schleppen :)

      Wir hatten ursprünglich geplant nur bis Rabanal zu gehen, entschließen uns aber auf Grund des kühlen, bewölkten Wetter dazu weiter zu gehen. Die Steigung nimmt nach Rabanal etwas zu, ist aber dennoch gut zu bewältigen. Meine Laune steigt mit jedem Höhenmeter, die Landschaft ist ein Traum, der Wind der mir durch die Haare fährt ist einfach wundervoll und die ich habe das Gefühl mehr über den Weg zu fliegen, als ihn aktiv zu gehen. Es könnte nicht besser sein. Ein kurzer Teil des Weges führt durch einen kleinen Wald mit Mannshohem Farn und ich werde gedanklich zurück auf das Endstück des Tangariro Crossings in Neuseeland katapultiert.

      In Foncebadón angekommen bekommen wir die letzten beiden verfügbaren Betten, ein Doppelzimmer. Was soll’s, etwas teurer als sonst, aber vermutlich können wir wenigstens mal wieder eine Nacht durchschlafen. Und wir haben Handtücher! Richtige Frotteehandtücher! Ich hätte nie gedacht, das ich mich mal so dermaßen über einfache Handtücher freuen würde. 😂
      Es sind eben die kleinen Dinge, die wirklich zählen...
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    • Day 7

      El Ganso

      October 8, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

      Familie en vrienden,

      Welkom dat jullie gekozen zijn bij deze blog. Om deze samenkomst vlot te laten verlopen zou ik graag hebben dat iedereen liked.

      Nu we dat uit de weg hebben zal ik eens bloggen. Na ons heerlijk te overslapen hebben zijn we vertrokken om bij 7 uur (normaal vertrekken wij nooit zo laat :O!) en eindelijk beginnen de mooiere landschappen zich te tonenen. Mideleeuwes stadjes of stadjes die wel eens mooi afgewerkt waren konden we nu bewonderen (ik heb toch goede woordenschat e). De voroge dorpen bestonden altijd uit klei en als dat niet het geval was hadden er 10 autos zich precies in de gevel geparkeerd. Vliegende autos bestaan dus echt.

      Maar ja helaas kan ik jullie dit niet allemaal tonen want ik ben weer zo lui geweest om er fotos van te maken. Dus ik zou zeggen, googlemaps is je vriend hiervoor. Voor derest hebben we er weer iedereen van afgestapt en zitten we in een mooie albergue die gemaakt is geweest door de eigenaar zelf (zoder dat hij kennis heeft over het maken van huizen). Hopelijk stort het wel deze nacht niet in. We hebben ook nog het heel vriendelijke trio ierlanders tegengekomen dewelke we gisteren ook hadden gezien. Een ervan is een aannemer (met zijn eigen bedrijf), zijn zus werkt al verpleegkundige en de schoonzus is de eigenaar van een modebedrijf. Welk leuk ol hun verhalen te vertellen. Helaas door de wijn zijn ze wat weggevloeit uit de hersenen.

      Maar ja aan deze bevenstaande oninteressant uitleg heb en jullie ook niet echt iets aan dus ik zou zeggen: slaapwel zoetjes en tot morgen.

      Ps: vergeet niet te liken ee
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    • Day 32

      Foncebadon

      October 2, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

      Walked 13 km uphill in rain.
      Accomodation packed and shit show. Average meal. Everyone clothes and shoes soaked we are not allowed bring them inside to dry. 7euo to use dryer, I shared with 4 other ladies and got today's clothes dry, we just had to give to owner where not allowed in laundry.
      Owner reminded me of basil on faulty towers he cooked slap up meal, pork chips and egg, with a supermarket tub of yogurt for dessert.
      Hoping tomorrow is better but worried about decent down mountain. Went to toilet about 4am and man was wanting to leave but we were completely locked in. Very dangerous fire hazard
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    • Day 23

      The walk was great

      August 14, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      I wasn't sure if I would finish at Rabanal del Camino (20k) or Foncebadon (26k) today.
      I walked alone and had time to think. There's a business idea that I had in the back of my mind for a long time, and I developed it a bit more. I also thought of something else I would do if I decided to take any real steps with the first idea. It's something I always discarded for being 'too hard', but compared with starting a business seems very easy. I will keep pondering the possibilities for now.
      Getting to Rabanal del Camino was easy, despite being uphill. I was in the sun but there was a cool wind that made all the difference.
      I stopped at Rabanal for lunch. I had a veggie burger and it was delicious!
      Jan called to say he and his German friend found an albergue and were staying there, in case I wanted to join them. But I was re-energised and ready to tackle the longer and steeper hill to Foncebadon (see mountains in the last photo), and that's what I did.
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    • Day 20

      The Cowboy Bar

      August 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

      A Camino staple and legend, the owner is a man of few words but a heart of gold. It has a foosball table, cold beers, and a Spaniard’s idea of what a Texan bar would look like. There’s no way I’d skip this stop.Read more

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    El Ganso, 24718

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