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Camino de Santiago 2018

April 2018 - April 2024
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  • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2018
    4
    Day 12

    Los Arcos to Logrono

    May 1, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    Today was an exceptionally tough day. My guide book said: “Enjoy the views as you walk through the beautiful rolling hills of La Rioja vineyards”. Well, that sounds beautiful but it translated to having to hump your pack up and down a lot of hills! My goal today was not to push it to Logroño as it was to far, however I reached Viana where I planned to stay and I could not find a bed or a room so I pushed on with a guy named James from the UK where he had a room booked in Logrono. We limped into Logrono at around 6pm. An 18 mile day which would have been fine had it been flat...but the hills...Ugh! I plan on a shorter day tomorrow...it is only an 8mile hike to the small town of Navarrette so I am shooting for that. Take care, I hope everyone is well. Thank you for checking in!Read more

  • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2018
    3
    Day 13

    Lograno to Navarrette

    May 2, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Hola from Navarrette, Spain. I am in a small town between the larger towns of Lograno and Burgos. So, a couple things have happened...I have discovered that I cannot walk 17-18 miles per day through hills and valleys, get into a town and search for a place to stay at 5 or 6 pm. I am too tired and there is limited rooms and most are taken by that time of day. Sooo, I plan on hiking until one or two o’clock, and dumping into the closest town which may or may not have WiFi...so, If you don’t hear from me, don’t worry...just off the grid. I reached Navarrette at around noon today...met up with two hikers that I have gotten to know, Kristy from Australia and Ellen from Virginia...had lunch at a cafe and they
    proceeded on to the next town and I stayed put here. I found a great Albergue in the center of town for around $10. I settled in, did some laundry and walked around town some. I am sharing a room with a group of Canadian woman from Ontario and they invited me for dinner in the Albergue kitchen. They cooked, I mostly sipped wine and sliced some chorizo but a good time had by all. I plan to head out at around 730 am...not sure what my destination is as of yet but somewhere west of here. That’s about it from Spain...hope all is well back home. Thank you for checking in!    Read more

  • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2018
    2
    23
    Day 14

    Navarrete to Najera

    May 3, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Hola from Najera, Spain! I left the Albergue at around 0715 this morning...first stop...a cafe for breakfast. After a breakfast of fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee and a ham & cheese croissant and a stop at the town fountain to fill my water bottle...I was off. The hike to Najera was blustery and partly sunny....a bit cold but I am prepared for any weather so not a problem. The hike took me through mostly vineyards but did add the occasional path with a never ending hill just to remind you who is the boss. I arrived in Najera around 1pm and stopped into a cafe for lunch...a chorizo & egg bocadillo and a coke. I arrived in town and decided to get a small hotel instead of an albergue. A hotel is more expensive but you have a private room and a bathroom instead of a bunk room and shared facilities in an albergue. Also, albergues have lots of rules...lights out at 10pm..lights on at 7am...bunk rooms, so it is difficult to sleep...that type of thing. My hotel tonight is the best yet...a great room and bed and a bathtub! Heaven on the Camino! Tomorrow I set out for Santo Domingo...a 14 mile hike. That’s all from Najera for now...hope all is well!Read more

  • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2018
    2
    4
    Day 15

    Najera to Santo Domingo

    May 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Hello from Santo Domingo, Spain. I got a late start from Najera this morning, so I arrived a little later to Santo Domingo at around 4pm. I met up with an 81 year old Australian guy named James on the way into town. He was at least a km behind me and caught up with me in under an hour. He walked the AT at the age of 65, walked the full length of the UK in his 70’s and now the Camino at age 81. I am a little embarrassed to admit that he crossed the Pyrenees in 7 hours at age 81 and it took me twice that long. Very humbling. He is actually in the bunk next to me tonight in an old monastary run by a group of nuns. The trip here today was uneventful really....lots of vineyards, grassy fields and hills, a 14 mile day. One note of interest...I walked through a literal ghost town today...very weird. Apparently a developer created an upscale community complete with a golf course and hundreds of condos...the whole thing flopped and it was abandoned as is. It felt like I was in a nuclear area like Chernobyl in Russia in the 80’s. Tomorrow I will attempt to make it to Belorado. Some stories from the Camino: On the same day I crossed, a guy arrived at the Albergue Orrison (the only refuge on the Pyrenees crossing) at around 5pm...they had no room for him and turned him away. He went a mile up the trail, pitched his tent and settled in until the wild horses came along and destroyed his tent...scared the guy half to death apparently but I hear he survived okay. I met a 19 year old kid hiking the Camino backwards...started in Portugal and is walking to his home in England...about a 4 month trip. There is apparently another guy from Maine hiking somewhere near me but haven’t met up with him yet. That’s it from here for now....I am getting there. I have walked over 100 miles so far but can’t pin down the exact number but that means I am 20% of the way and still alive! Take care, I hope this finds everyone well!Read more

  • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2018
    2
    Day 16

    Santo Domingo to Belorado

    May 5, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Hello from Villambistia, Spain....as usual, thank you for checking in. I left Santo Domingo yesterday morning at around 7:30 am and arrived in Belorado at 3pm. I did not post last night due to being busy with the festivities in the albergue. There are a bunch of people that are traveling in a group and I have been running into them a lot and they invited me to join them. So between that and a great political discussion with two young political science majors from Germany and Denmark....the ole blog got neglected. The political discussion was great...the girls had never actually met a Trump supporter in person so they were very interested in my views on American politics. I like to think that they walked away a little more enlightened. 😉. The walk yesterday was through mostly grassy fields and small towns. I started listening to the music on my iPad for the first time on the walk....it actually adds a whole other dimension to the walk. Nothing says healing like walking through a 900 year old town with “YMCA” blasting through the earphones! As I write this, I am at a cafe in a small town between destinations....I am not sure where the final destination is today as beds and rooms are getting more difficult to find. The tent may be coming out soon. That’s all for now and thank you again for checking in!Read more

  • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2018
    3
    122311
    Day 17

    Belorado to Villafranca Montes de Oca

    May 6, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    The Camino de Santiago. I read about it, I watched videos about it but nowhere in my research let me know how hard it is to do. Your feet hurt all of the time. But through the hurt, things are happening physically that are really good. First, I think that I have lost 15 lbs and a pant size already. Cardiovascular wise? I can actually make it up a long hill now without huffing and puffing and feeling like I want to die. I am drinking between 3 & 4 liters of water each day. I have made some adjustments which makes things easier....like stuffing my IPad..which is my camera...under my chest strap for easy access, putting my fanny pack on my side instead of my front so it doesn’t impede my stride....little things like this help. Another story from the Camino: I met a guy volunteering at the Albergue a couple of towns ago...he has hiked the Camino 23 times. His dad...hiked the Camino 30 times starting in 1957. I just want to make it through it once...that’s hard enough! It’s interesting when it comes to the locals response to you as you walk through their towns. Some people are really indifferent and show no signs of even noticing you. Others however, give you a big smile and say: Hola! Buen Camino! The Camino is a big deal to a lot of Spanish people...it seems and they respect you for making the trek. I have met a fair amount of Spanish people that are trekking...it looks very good on a resume here apparently. Maybe some are doing it for that reason, maybe for deeper meaning...not really sure. It’s funny though...I have walked through bad neighborhoods, past gang type people but it’s like an unwritten rule here...don’t mess with a pilgrim and they leave you be. I find myself tonight in a small town, I am in a little pensione which compares to a small b&b in Maine. A nice room, shared bathroom and just overall, quaint and classy. I face an uphill climb of 5.6km up over a mountain in the morning. I stopped here because I just couldn’t face that hill at 2pm and already tired and sore. So I head out in the morning, packing the meal I cooked tonight...a full water bottle and hopes that I make it up and over before it gets to hot. Thank you for checking in as usual! I hope this finds everyone well!Read more

  • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2018
    2
    222324
    Day 18

    Villafranca Montes de Oca to Ages

    May 7, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Hello from Ages, Spain...a small town, population 65 that is just east of the large city of Burgos. I left my very comfortable pensione this morning around 8am and after a long walk through a forest, I arrived in Ages at around 2:30. There were no hotels with inexpensive rooms..only albergues, which are getting tiresome because of the whole bunk room situation. So...I decided to haul the tent out of the bag and give that a try. I went to the local church...the 16th century Iglesia de Santa Eulalia....complete with a very large stork nest at the top. There was an elder Spanish woman who was apparently the overseer of the church and after explaining, mostly with sign language, that I wished to set my tent up in the courtyard, she was very happy to let me do so. This is the way that the Camino was done in the old days before the whole albergue infrastructure was in place....people stayed in church courtyards, hay lofts etc. As I write this, I am getting some dinner at a local cafe and using their WiFi. That is about it for now....tomorrow, I walk into Burgos. Take care all and thank you for checking in!Read more

  • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2018
    2
    411
    Day 19

    Ages to Burgos

    May 8, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Good morning to everyone. I packed up my tent and left Ages at around 7:30 am in the morning. I walked a couple of miles and came across a place for breakfast. After a coffe and an apple pastry, I was on my way again. The walk to Burgos took me up over a mountain, which was quite steep I might add, and the path ran along a Spanish military base. Once at the top, I could see Burgos...still a 4 hour walk off in the distance. I have officially walked 180 miles of the Camino but with the added daily walking within the towns to find lodging, walking to find food....I beilive I am actually approaching 200 Miles. I had a nice hotel in Burgos...very inexpensive by American standards...with breakfast, my own room and shower. You really start to appreciate all these things when you can find them. Living and sharing facilities in an albergue gets old. I went to the huge church in Burgos....I have never seen a church so vast in my life...photos don’t do it justice. It took me 15-20 minutes just to walk around the structure on the outside. It was built from 1221-1260 I think. I can’t believe that building so huge and so ornate would be possible with the tools and means of that time period. But huge it is. That’s it for now...I hope this finds everyone well!Read more

  • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2018
    2
    242
    Day 20

    Burgos to Tardajos

    May 9, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Greetings from the small town of Tardajos....just west of Burgos on the Meseta. The Meseta is known as the high plateau in central Spain. Whatever it is or whatever it is called, it is a week of no shade and high temps. I left Burgos this morning and headed west. It took some time to get out of the city but one point of interest to me...I came to this place in the road and recognized it immediately when I saw it which is odd because I have never been here before but it was a spot where a big scene in the movie “The Way” was filmed. As I said, I landed in this small town of Tardajos...population 950. I am not sure where everyone is because I have only seen about 10 locals. A lot of the town is boarded up as are a lot of these small Spanish towns. I checked into a pretty modern albergue for $13 for the night complete with a nice cafe/bar and laundry facilities. Some albergues have a washer and dryer but they want around $10 to use them. They also offer hand washing sinks and clothes drying racks for free, which is the option I chose as most people do here. I am sharing a room tonight with 2 German guys, two sisters from Arizona and a young girl from Australia. A very nice bunch as most people are that are walking. I had the “pilgrim meal tonight which is a 3 course meal with wine...for a decent price and the portion size is always very good as well. The hard part about albergues is that you need to be out by 8am...rain or shine. The price you pay for cheap lodging I suppose. That’s it for now, off to sleep in a few. I hope everyone is well! Thank you for checking in!Read more

  • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2018
    2211
    Day 21

    Tardajos to Hontanas

    May 10, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Hello everyone from Castrojeriz, Spain. I was not able to post yesterday due to the WiFi situation in Hontanas. Apparently there was no internet working in the town. When I say in the town, I mean the two or three albergues that cater to pilgrim travelers because other than that, there were no signs of life. The walk through the meseta was cold and blustery but fortunately, it was a east to west wind so it was at my back all day. I arrived in Hotanas at around 3 pm and there were not many beds available so I grabbed up one. Like I have said, albergues are not my favorite but it was threatening rain and there was no shelter for my tent. I ended up in a room with a guy from Georgia, one from Boston and a guy from Germany. It was a decent night all in all. They served a pilgrim meal at one big table for all of the travelers which consisted of chicken paella, salad, dessert and all the red wine anyone could ever want. The chicken paella was delicious which they served in a huge wok shaped pan on the table. One unique thing about Hotanas is that you approach it for miles and can’t see it until you are on top of it and you start down into this little valley. That’s all I’ve got for now, I hope this finds everyone well and thank you as usual for checking in!Read more

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