Leon and Astorga

Leon Cathedral in the Rain

We had a wonderful two days languishing in Leon while my foot was recovering. We were able to visit the incredible cathedral and the cloisters and museum next to it which house religious relics and statues from all the old churches in this region, a collection the likes of which I have never seen. I walked out in my own one evening while the guys were having a siesta and watched a bride arriving at the cathedral in a flowing wedding gown. How great would that be to marry in such a magnificent structure? We ate such good food and many pastries and cafes con leche that we felt like we had to make an escape. We were getting soft!

The good news is that my foot is completely recovered. Four days' rest did the trick. The bad news is that, although the 20k stage yesterday felt great, today we went 32k or about 20 miles, one of the longest stages on the Camino and I managed to get a few good blisters. Luckily tomorrow is 20k again so it's a little easier.

We are now in Astorga, a lovely town with the prettiest cathedral yet. There's a strange race of people here believed to be descended from the Berber tribes called the Maragatos and they still serve traditional Maragato food and cakes. We had some for dinner and it was interesting-a lot of very fatty pork, pork broth soup and some vegetables which tasted like cabbage and I'm pretty sure that there was some pork in them. Did I mention that the  Maragatos are dying out now? I wonder if heart disease is playing a part....

We're in the attic of a huge albergue tonight and for once, John and I have single beds side by side pushed together. It's nice just to hold hands. The rain is beating down on the roof. Tomorrow our rain gear will come out again but tonight we're going to sleep like rocks!

Market day in Leon

Most popular dog in Spain

 

Coming into Astorga

I loved this door!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leon

exceptional albergue in Calzadilla last night

Hola from Leon! Today we have taken the bus here, jumping ahead two stages so that I can rest my foot for a couple of days. We have missed a couple of stages through the Meseta (the plains) but at this point we are thinking strategically for what will get us to the finish line.

 

Here is the strange phenomenon of time on the Camino. There's a sensation of time travel here that is like nothing else. We travel along within this bubble of people where everyone walking within a day before or after us is known to us. It's our 'present'. The day our friends came from the UK, they drove us back to Burgos, which was at that point about three stages behind us. Suddenly, we didn't recognize any of the pilgrims around that area. When we chatted with them and explained that we had come back three stages, they looked at us as if we were these mysterious time travelers! "Wow-you're from our future! What does the future hold for us? How is the walk, the albergues..." It was so weird. Yesterday our friends drove us back to catch up with Mike again and as we passed pilgrims walking, we began to see people we knew again until eventually we found Mike and we were back in our own bubble again.

Now today we have taken a bus and jumped two stages ahead and suddenly we're in the future and there are tons of pilgrims but we don't know anyone. By the time we leave in two days, our bubble will have caught up again. It's pretty weird. 

We knew a lot about what to expect regarding the walking, the albergues, and the food here. The friendships we are forging are a pleasant and touching surprise. 

xx

rain in Leon today

 

Eeeeeeuuuu!!

Calzadilla de los Hermanillos

dinner with the Riches

The wind is howling outside across the plains and I am lying on my twin bed (with sheets and a towel!!) in strangely what is one of the nicest albergues we have stayed in yet but one of the most desolate towns out in the middle of nowhere. It looks like a ghost town scene from a Clint Eastwood movie. The only thing missing is the tumbleweeds.

After blissfully sunny warm weather for nearly our whole walk so far, there is a change coming tomorrow but we're okay with that.

Yesterday, we took a rest day and spent a fantastic day with our good friends from the UK Jon and Marianne. They coordinated their vacation plans with our walk so that they could meet us here in Spain. Because they had a rental car, we were able to drive up north and see some of Spain not on the Camino. We went to a medieval village and castle in Frias, which was built on a mountain and was picturesque and charming. We had a nice picnic, came back to Burgos and toured the cathedral (opulent and spectacular!) and had another fabulous tapas dinner. 

This morning they drove us back to continue our Camino but my foot was extremely sore and the ankle still quite swollen so I went to the urgent care in Sahagun while John walked. 

From what I could understand since no one in the hospital spoke English,  I have a strained ligament in my foot and was told that I need 3-4 days of not walking. Since we are now just two days outside of Leon, we are doing some strategizing to see how I can jump ahead a little. Still haven't worked out the details but we will figure it out.

Passed the halfway point today. I feel like we've been gone for months! Boy, am I sick of these clothes!!!

Frias from up in the castle

Streets of Frias



Up in the castle in Frias

Castrojeriz

sunrise over the plains

We were happy to leave the desolate and fly-ridden town of Hornillos del Camino today. We were lucky to be in a brand new albergue. Heard that a girl was robbed at the municipal one and lost all her money and her passport. We are VERY careful with our important stuff.

Walked through wide open land today, past a town called Hontanas that we didn't even see until we were about a kilometer away because it was built in a huge rift or canyon in the plain. It was the craziest thing. It wasn't a place I'd want to be during a flash flood.

We also passed the ruins of a convent that were beautiful. You had to walk right through it on the trail. 

We're in Castrojeriz tonight at a lovely place that has a terrace with big shade trees and great tapas. We ate some pulpo(octopus), patatas bravas(fried potato chunks with a remoulade style sauce), mejillones(mussels with the same sauce), mocilla(a sliced up rice and sausage thing-a specialty of Burgos), and rabas(unidentified deep fried French fry shaped somethings).

Tomorrow we head to Fromista and will hopefully successfully rendezvous with our friends from the UK.

Now for a little siesta before our 8pm dinner.

xx

coming to Castrojeriz

walking through the ruins of a convent

flies drinking moisture from our clothes in Hornillos

Greetings from Burgos

Burgos Cathedral

Hello from the beautiful city of Burgos. After a very long hot march from San Juan de Ortega yesterday we arrived in Burgos. We treated ourselves to a much needed hotel room for a long soak and then washed our laundry in the bathtub like the gypsies that we have become. (It left a brown ring!)
Dinner last night was fantastic at the Cervezeria Morito, where we had amazing raciones. A racione is the next size of serving up from a tapa. We inhaled the beautifully prepared and served food in minutes! The snack food here becomes very monotonous after a while and we long for some variety and some vegetables after our continual diet of pizza, paella, pasta and bocadillas(sandwiches) and the occasional tortilla (an egg and potato pie). We were delighted to find fresh salads with carrots and mushrooms on them!
Woke up today with a very swollen red foot so it's a bus day for me today and the guys have gone on to Hornillos on foot. I'm okay with taking a rest day, trying to hang in for the long haul and think strategically.
Heading out on the Meseta today, the high plains of Spain. We haven't seen rain in a week. Hopefully, our luck will hold.
More from the next town with wifi.

Walking to Burgos

San Juan de Ortega

good food!

 

Belorado, San Juan de Ortega and Burgos

I'm back on the trail again and my sandals have been a lifesaver so I'm still wearing them. I have a couple of blisters but nothing like others here. Thanks to everyone for the good advice, which we are following!
The fiesta in Najera turned out to be an all night affair so we got little sleep in the albergue, but we enjoyed the wonderful music and these interesting people.
Tuesday's walk took us through Rioja and endless vineyards to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, where we stayed at the huge albergue run by the Spanish Confraternity of St. James. We arrived hot and exhausted and were immediately offered bread with chorizo, fresh watermelon and wine. The building was lovely but the rooms were big and noisy. Had a decent dinner in town and then there was a festival happening so we went to observe. The guy pushing a wheelbarrow / pretend bull who was chasing all the little kids (they start training early for Pamplona!) thought it would be funny to chase a tired pilgrim and nearly gored John, who had to sprint away, not an easy feat after so many miles!! It was hilarious!
Yesterday we walked to Belorado and stayed in one of the nicest albergues yet, generous warm people, fresh homemade food and clean accommodations...and a swimming pool!!! During the day we had left the vineyards behind and crossed from Rioja into the rolling hayfields and sunflower fields of Castilla y Leon.
We pass our six hour walks every day by laughing, singing, reciting poems, telling stories, and greeting other members of this big Camino family who are moving along in a wave with us. We're learning to say good morning in every language you can imagine. It's fun!
Today's stage brought us to San Juan de Ortega. More about that tomorrow!

Confraternity of St. James albergue

croissant for walkers

pretend bull

Castilla y Leon

Three amigos

Najera

 

We have arrived in Najera today in the Rioja region. After a very long hot walk yesterday into the big city of Logrono, my ankles swelled up last night and no amount of Ibuprofen or wine seemed to help. We found a nice pilgrim dinner in the city and then went back to our beds and collapsed. This morning my feet weren´t feeling much better and the thought of pulling those boots on and walking another 19 miles today made me want to cry so we made the decision that I would hang around and catch a bus to the next town and John and Mike would walk. 

 

I had a very pleasant morning in Logrono with a much needed rest. I lingered over my cafe con leche in a little cafe on the square, talking to some American pilgrims from Indiana, then wandered over to one of the sporting goods stores, where I bought a pair of ´trekking sandals´, which I immediately pulled on to relieve the pain in my heels, and then caught the bus. I arrived here at about noon and found our albergue which is on the river, beautiful and brand new. The guys came at about 2, we did our daily laundry and washing up and went into the town here. 

 

It is the festival of St. John today in Najera and there is live music on the square. The town band is wandering through the streets, playing. The local priest is visiting with the people sitting out at the cafes, and little children are running around with their black Najera bandanas on. It´s very charming.  Yesterday we walked through a village having a festival and they had run bulls through the town just before we got there. The festive atmosphere was fantastic. We also came upon a poor young guy from Australia who had broken both legs the night before. A taxi had dropped him off from the hospital into a chair at a cafe and there he sat. John and Mike were able to carry him up to a room in the hotel and onto his bed where he assured them that he would be okay but I worried about him all day. Apparently, he had gotten drunk and jumped off something high.

 

Tomorrow is a much easier day ( only about 12 miles!). I should be well rested by then and may wear my new sandals if the boots are stilll hurting. John got his first big blister today so we´ll be doctoring that tonight.

Miss everyone!

Los Arcos

A fountain that pours wine instead of water.

vegetarian paella

Irache

a beautiful weather vane

Hello  from Los Arcos.  It was a long, hot trek across open fields and vineyards today, about 26k because we stopped a little early last night and had to make up ground a little.

The place where we stayed last night was wonderful, kind of hippie-ish with a gorgeous vegetarian meal of salad and paella and local wine.  We passed a fountain today in Irache that poured wine instead of water.  It was our welcome into the beautiful wine country through which we are walking.  There were many olive trees yesterday, and today we have seen some spectacular ancient churches and towns.  It's so much to take in.  We keep pinching ourselves that we are in Spain walking the Way.

Two days ago a lady passed us while we were sitting on a lovely bridge with our boots and socks off.  She told John his feet were beautiful.  He made a sign that they weren't smelling great, and she told him that all feet of the Camino are beautiful.  This morning a man who fixed our breakfast in the albergue told us that it was his privilege to be there serving us.  I feel very humbled by the sentiments.  This is a special walk.  Sadly, some in our group limped in last night looking worse for the wear and had to stay back a day.  We are down to three now after many tears at this morning's departure.

We are still walking with our friend Mike from London, who lost his brother 8 weeks ago to ALS and is walking to raise money and awareness.  Tomorrow -- Logrono and a much-needed hotel room!

Alto del Perdon and Pamplona pictures

 

 The gate to the old city of Pamplona.

Group snack on the trail: fresh sheep cheese which we bought from a shepherd in the mountains, nuts and fruit.

Our wonderful group chilling in Pamplona.

Seems to be the going sentiment.

Alto del Perdon

"Where the path of the stars crosses that of the wind"

Puenta la Reina

We have arrived in Puente la Reina this afternoon after what felt like an easier day today - 19 kilometers or about 12 miles.  I never thought that I could even walk that far much less think that it was an easy day, but it's funny how we just start walking and the mountain or village in the distance is suddenly right in front of us.  Today's walk was through rolling countryside with one big climb up to Alto del Perdon, probably one of the most iconic places on the Camino, where we enjoyed the lovely metal sculptures, the incredible wind turbines, and the views.  It was my favorite place so far.

Some of our group of eight amigos have suffered badly, and we split up a little today.  Most of them have caught up now at this lovely private albergue where John and I have a private room for a change.  Spain is beautiful.  I could have only brought four colors in my little watercolor plaette, umber and sienna for the checkered brown landscape, a little dark green for the dotted trees here and there, and a nice cerulean blue for the sky.  The villages are ancient, many with walls surrounding them, all with beautiful old churches.  We stopped in two villages today and sat outside at cafes, eating chocolate croissants and drinking cafe con leche.

It's an interesting life on the Camino, with nothing to do but walk and eat!  When we arrive, it's a hot shower, a quick clothes wash, unpacking, and then just a short down time before we find a dinner somewhere.

We are holding up well.  My ankle is still sore but I'm treating it with ibuprofen and wine :-)

Pamplona and beyond

Today was our toughest hike yet. The consecutive days of hiking are taking a toll and we had to go about 15 miles today. The diet of bread and more bread makes it tough but we were rewarded after a long slog with the historic city of Pamplona, where we sat down finally and had pinxos (not tapas!) and cold beer. Then we had a quick look around and continued on to the small town of Cizur Menor, where I´m typing this in a small lounge that is part of our alburgue for the night. Our group is a little worse for the wear but John and I are well. No blisters yet but I have a very sore Achilles tendon and limped for the last two miles or so. Hopefully, sleep will help but sleeping in a room with ten people when you´re on a bunk bed is difficult and when you wake up at night, there are usually a few other people awake listening to iPods, struggling with the same insomnia. The exercise helps. Tonight´s pilgrim dinner was a first course of paella (mostly rice and a little meat), followed by meatballs with french fries in gravy and some french bread followed by cake. Oh, and a bottle of wine is always included. Needless to say, carbs are not a problem on the camino. Fresh fruit is more of an issue. We are in good spirits, though, and excited to go up to Puenta la Reina tomorrow. More to come but for now I´m on the public computer. Miss all you guys!

We're on our way!!

Hello from Roncesvalles in Spain! After a 25 hour journey to St. Jean which included two flights, two trains and finally a two hour harrowing bus ride across the border, we arrived in the evening on Friday. It took some wandering to find our B and B and we were ready for a hot shower, a beautiful meal and bed.

Spent the day on Saturday exploring St. Jean. We found the pilgrim office and bought our French credentials, had lunch in a sidewalk cafe and then dinner at the auberge where we stayed for the night, Esprit du Chemin, run by Dutch pilgrims. We slept on bunks with eight people in our room. Nerves and excitement ran high and we couldn't sleep at all. 

6:30 am came early! After a great breakfast and a lot of fumbling with our gear, we set off . We made it down the hill to the gate of the old city and then the rains came! We stopped under the gate and donned jackets, pack covers and rain pants. It was like climbing into our own personal sauna.

The 8k walk that day was steep, wet, and difficult. I won't lie when I say that I questioned 

why in the world we were doing this. We arrived at Orisson in the rain and because we had packed a lunch and Orisson has a restaurant, we ate our sandwiches outside, sitting on a cold wet wall before we went in.
We were lucky enough to get a private room, which we later deemed "the woodshed", as it was out in the back and unheated and damp. It did have a double bed, though, and warmed up nicely after a while. At dinner, we met and chatted with a nice bunch of people, including a girl from Canada, a guy from Australia and a British guy. We had a pleasant evening of laughter and good food before heading to bed early.

Hi, all. As you can see, it´s not easy to blog from the road. I´ve typed multiple entries on my phone which have been erased or frozen due to poor wifi connections. With any luck, this one might work. As you can see, we are well on our way, hale and happy. We survived the first very rainy, cold and misty climb up to Orisson, a long 8K in our rain gear that honestly had me questioning whether or not this whole adventure was a good idea. We were treated to the only private double room in Orisson Auberge and ended up having the most delightful evening and dinner with a group that became our constant travelling companions. The next day dawned clear and crisp and we set off into the Pyrenees for a six hour hike that was so spectacular, through rolling mountains dotted with sheep and horses that eventually we just ran out of superlatives. It had to be one of the greatest days I´ve ever had. At one point, we stopped in the midst of the most incredible vistas to eat our lunch, packed for us back at the Auberge. It was a fresh baguette with house made pate, just incredible when eaten in that surrounding. We made it all the way to Roncesvalles and with our group now grown to 8 people, had a wonderful evening and dinner and then slept in the new alburgue there (now in Spain). The accomodations were four bunks to a cubicle. Lights went off promptly at 10 and on at 6 am. We fumbled around and were off again. (This entry will have no paragraphs because <i´m typing on a European keypad and haven´t found the return button so pardon the run'on story!) Yesterday was another good walk of about six hours into the town of ziberoa, where we found a lovely little private alburgue for the eight of us in a ten room bunk room. By now, we have met so many people that it feels like we are one large family walking. Our immediate group is made up of Brits, Canadians and Aussies. We also see our friend David from Asheville and his brothers daily as they leapfrog us on the trail. they´re doing well and having a grand time, too.

And we're off!

Here we are at our neighbor's home, waiting to catch a ride to the airport. Our Camino has officially begun. My pack weighs about 12.8 lbs. and John's is about 17.6 lbs. so I think we did well. The wiplstick is strapped on and we're ready! In about 24 hours we will arrive in St. Jean, our starting point. Woohoo!