Travel 2023 – Page 3 – Lucretia Field

September 22, 2023

Today was a rest day! We got to sleep in, wander aimlessly around Sarria, and invite some Camino family over for dinner in our huge, gorgeous apartment. Taking time to let me feet rest was good and getting to sleep in was fantastic.

Yesterday’s statistics:

Kilometers walked: 22
- Started in: Fillobal
- Ended in: Sarria
Elevation change:
- Meters up: 814
- Meters down: 276
Blisters: 3 (but all 3 are mostly healing!)
Different pairs of shoes worn: 1
Figs foraged: 0 (no opportunities)
Pairs of pot people seen: 0
Sightings of the Frenchman with the blue van walking the wrong direction: 0 (I hope he’s doing okay!)
Houses for sale that might actually be currently habitable: 0 (not many homes for sale in general)
Piles of horse poop: didn’t bother counting (this part of the walk some people do on horse back)
Granola bars consumed: 1
Snuffles sniffed: Lots. I thought I was done with this…
Ear pops: 5
Favorite moment: contenders
- Morning breakfast when we all had a really good laugh about my impromptu photoshop skills
- Arriving in Sarria and seeing the magnificent apartment we rented for two days with an amazing balcony and fantastic views. Not to mention, doors and sheets!

September 22, 2023

September 20, 2023

We’re officially in Galicia now! The food and local language have changed and so have the Camino trail markers. It will be interesting to see what else will be different.

Today’s statistics:

Kilometers walked: 25
- Started in: Las Herrerias
- Ended in: Fillobal
Elevation change:
- Meters up: 795
- Meters down: 513
Blisters:
Different pairs of shoes worn: 1
Figs foraged: 0 (no opportunities)
Pairs of pot people seen: 1/2 (only saw one pot person, which is not in fact, a pair)
Sightings of the Frenchman with the blue van walking the wrong direction: 2 (but one he was just sitting in his car)
Houses for sale that might actually be currently habitable: 0 (not many homes for sale in general)
Piles of horse poop: lost count at around 30-something (this part of the walk some people do on horse back)
Granola bars consumed: 4
Snuffles sniffed: Lots. I thought I was done with this…
Ear pops: 5
Favorite moment: couple contenders
- Fresh orange juice after a big climb uphill
- Entering a room full of candles in the church at O Cebreiro. The warmth of the candles was really lovely after the cold of being inside a cloud at the top of a mountain. Also, the light was so warm and cozy and the smell was also fantastic
- Lunch of Galician potato soup with bread and hot chocolate after very cold winds and light mist from still being in the cloud
- The family of sheep being taken for a walk on our path by their horse, 2 dogs, and eventually their human owner

September 20, 2023

September 19, 2023

Today’s statistics:

Kilometers walked: 20
- Started in: Villafranca del Bierzo
- Ended in: Las Herrerias
Elevation change: “mostly flat”
- Meters up: 30
- Meters down: 200
Blisters: 3
Different pairs of shoes worn: 3
Figs foraged: 0 (I found a tree, but nothing was ripe)
Pairs of pot people seen: 0 (maybe it’s less of a trend here?)
Sightings of the Frenchman with the blue van walking the wrong direction: 4 (or maybe 5)
Houses for sale that might actually be currently habitable: 2 or 3 (nearly all of the properties for sale are extremely rundown)
Favorite moment: not sure quite yet

September 19, 2023

September 18, 2023

Today’s statistics:

Kilometers walked: 22
- Started in: Ponferrada
- Ended in: Villafranca del Bierzo
Elevation change: “mostly flat”
- Meters up: ~180
- Meters down: ~150
Blisters: 3 (2 are teeny tiny)
Figs foraged: 2
Pairs of pot people seen: 3 (see photos for reference)
Favorite moment: Ines surreptitiously showing me the 2 packets of ColaCao (hot chocolate mix) she had taken for me from the breakfast cart. It was very sweet!

Here’s some photos from today!

September 18, 2023

September 17, 2023

Well it’s been a while since I updated because actually walking this thing is a ton of work and my brain doesn’t work right at the end of the day, or the wifi doesn’t work, or I’m just too tired. So, here’s a brief rundown of things.

By the numbers:

Kilometers walked: ~105
Kilometers left till Santiago: ~200
Meters ascended: ~1000
Meters descended: ~1240
Days spent walking: 5
Days left until Santiago: 10
Blisters formed: 1
Threats of blisters: 2
Skinned knees: 1
Sniffles sniffed: infinite! (Maybe not quite, but I would not recommend being sick while hiking)
Successful ear pops: 5 or 7 or something, lost count but it was a miracle every time it happened and gum didn’t help
Items intentionally left behind: 3
Top bunks slept in: 2
Non-bunks slept in: 1 (+1 in León)
Bottom bunks slept in: 1 (+1 for tonight)
Nights without a pillow: 1
Days I sent my pack ahead: 1 (that was today)
Tortilla Españolas consumed: Too many to count
Pounds of bread eaten: I have no idea but it accompanies nearly every meal
Group selfies taken: 5 (I think I finally got the technique down)

For now that’s all I’ve got the energy and focus for, so here’s some photos from the past few days. At some point I’ll add descriptions too!

September 17, 2023

September 13, 2023

Here we go!!!

Day one of walking the Camino for real! Heather and I started in León, joining up with Rae, Rhonda, and their friend Ines. We had grocery store Tortilla Española heated in our hotel microwave for breakfast, along with some juice and yogurt we didn’t want to have to carry. Then we started our way out onto the Camino. It took a while to get out of León, but once we did, the road was most either paved or gravel in fairly good shape. Now we are in Villar de Mazarife at a hostel where we expected to make up 5 of the 6 occupants in a single rooms, but instead we are 5 of 9 in a 10 person room. Not a problem with me, I have ear plugs and we will make it work.

Me, Ines, Rhonda, Rae, Heather. My ability to take group selfies is improving. The first attempt won’t be show. I’m

We wandered over to a separate albergue to have dinner, which was lovely! A salad, gazpacho, vegetarian paella, and a crepe for dessert. It was wonderful!

I’m happy to be sitting down and not carrying a pack. We will see how sore I am tomorrow, but for now, I’m happy with the 21km we walked today and also happy to be sitting

I have a few more photos to add but they aren’t loading on the albergue wifi, so that’s all for now.

At some point maybe I’ll go back and do a bit more about Madrid and León, but for now, cheers!r

A spring along the way

September 13, 2023

September 8, 2023

Yesterday we went to El Burgo de Osma. One of the residents, Paula, gave us a ride and dropped us off at a waterfall a few kilometers from the town along with her two dogs. We swam in the cold, but exhilarating water and went under the waterfall for a free, very intense shoulder massage. The puppies were hesitant about getting in the water, but after a bit of coaxing, one of them came in long enough to confirm that we were okay before rushing out again.

We climbed part way up some sort of water control system on the side of the waterfall. The water was directed to flow down tiered pools. Moving between the pools was difficult because the water pressure rushing to the next pool was so intense. It was cool to have little personal pools though, and the structure was neat. It was nice to overcome my initial feelings that it was a bad idea and just go for it once Abby decided to try. In a way it felt like old times, when I was a little kid and she wanted to do something that scared me, but then she would do it and help me do it too, making sure I was safe the whole time. Thanks Abby!

The water was slightly cloudy from the waterfall kicking up so much silt, that made it hard to see the bottom which was an adventure because the depth kept changing dramatically and unexpectedly

The spot where we climbed up against the current into the little pools

Abby with the pups in front of the waterfall

After swimming, we snacked on a bit on the things we had brought from Navapalos and chatted in the shade. Then Paula came back and we returned her dogs to her and walked along a bike/walking path into El Burgo de Osma. We sat on a big rock overlooking the river and ate pomegranates. Since every Spanish village has a castle in/near it, we found a good spot to look at the ruins of the Burgo de Osma castle as it overlooked our snacking spot.

The cathedral of El Burgo de Osma

Hey look! It’s a castle

From there we walked to the grocery store to buy some yummy nut/fruit bread before heading back to the waterfall to wait for Paula to come pick us up again.

After Paula drove us back to Navapalos, we made and dinner at a scandalously early 6pm. We gave some to Paula as a thank you for going out of her way to drive us. She thanked us and put it aside for later, because the crazy Americans eat way too early. We had a relaxing night of chatting and eating before Paula came back over to invite us to a little going away party. At around 10pm, we had a small party with food and music with the other inhabitants of Navapalos. It was a lovely send off for Abby and I got to practice my Spanish at least a little bit.

All in all, it was a nice last full day in Navapalos for both Abby and I.

The mosquito netted sleeping hammock I slept in.

The next morning, Abby packed up the house and we got a taxi to the bus station, arriving about an hour before my bus. We had some yummy leftovers from the previous day and I fixed Abby’s shoe by sewing it up with dental floss while we waited.

The bus back to Madrid was much less crowded than the bus out to El Burgo de Osma and the ride went quickly. From the bus station in Madrid I took a quick metro ride into Central Madrid where I met Heather at her hostel. We ventured out into the city; seeing the Plaza Mayor and the Palacio Real de Madrid (from the outside) before getting some tapas for dinner and calling it a night. It was a nice first night of actually spending time in Madrid. We’ll see what we get up to the next few days!

September 8, 2023

September 6, 2023

I arrived in Madrid late at night on September 4th from London. Our flight as delayed nearly an hour, but finding my hostel was easy, just about 45 minutes from the airport. The hardest part was figuring out where the sheet was for my bed because there were other people asleep in the room and I didn’t want o wake them up by turning on a light or making too much noise.

The next morning, I had to check out by 11am, so I walked over to the bus station and got coffee and something to eat to try to kill time while I waited for my bus to El Burgo de Osma which was leaving at 14:45. I wandered up to a park where pieces of the Berlin Wall are on display in the center of a fountain. The park also had many resident green parrots. Thankfully they also had a drinking fountain because I had finished the water in my bottle and unlike the USA, Spain doesn’t appear to have much of a culture of public drinking fountains near public bathrooms in places like train stations and airports. So, after filling my bottle from an outdoor fountain, I headed back to the bus station.

Pieces of the Berlin Wall in a park in Madrid

Group of very vocal green parrots in the park

The bus was very full and left only a few minutes late. The woman next to me spoke no English and we had some pleasant small talk about where I was going and where I was from although my Spanish is quite rusty. She kept telling me to speak to the other foreigners on the bus in English, so eventually I asked one of them who was part of a big international group what the purpose of their trip was. From what I gathered, there was some sort of conference they were all going to. It’s wild to me that an international conference or meeting would happen in a place like where the bus was going rather than in a city like Madrid. As far as I could tell, they all got off the bus in the middle of now where. It was fun to try to eavesdrop on their conversations a little bit. I was able to understand a little of a conversation some Germans were having about the logistics of the conference. The nearly 3 hour bus ride was pleasant enough, although it was really wild to be going through tiny Spanish towns that seemed to have a population of maybe 100 at most.

The countryside was beautiful, with rolling hills as well as flat fields. Occasionally there were horses or cows on the side of the road and lots of fields of sunflowers. In some ways it felt like I could have been somewhere in the Midwest of the US, but then randomly there would be a ruined castle or small adobe brick village and the illusion would break.

When I arrived at the bus station in El Burgo de Osma, my friend Abby was waiting for me with her electric bike, rollerblades, and some groceries. We plopped by bag on the back of the bike and Abby rollerbladed along side me as I biked the approximately 14km to Navapalos.

Navapalos is a stop on the Camino del Sid, one of the routes of the Camino de Santiago – although not the one I will be walking. According to Abby, in the 1980s, some people decided to try to revitalize this abandoned village. They rebuilt some of the houses and buildings. Then something happened and it ended up being mostly abandoned again. The Spanish government would like it to stay populated so that the existing buildings are maintained and the place is useful. So, there is a couple here, who have been given permission to live in Navapalos legally and for free and to allow others to live her as well. Abby has been living here for free for 4 months in a house with a lock on the door, glass in the windows, running – although non-potable – water, and occasional solar powered electricity. Her houses is surrounded by ruins of other buildings and some that have been fixed up. There is a stream with drinkable, although not necessarily good for you, water about a 2-3 minute walk from her house.

Potable water spot just a 2-3 minute walk from the village

The old unused water wheel. Now there’s a pump, installed in the 1980s to pump water to the village

Small, very cold pool just upstream of the pump where we went for a very brief swim

It’s absolutely gorgeous here with expansive vistas and very cool looking adobe buildings in various states of habitability. There is an apple orchard very close by and road running by, but mostly it is extremely remote and kind of a world of its own.

We wandered around some of the ruins and then had lunch with one of the inhabitants who later invited me over for coffee and a chat. He wanted to practice English, so we chatted a bit about his life and my upcoming adventures.

It is really lovely here and amazing to get to experience a place like this. It is absolutely fascinating that is exists and is free. It is also really exciting to me that I was able to get here without a car. Abby and I are going to get a taxi back to Burgo de Osma because she is also leaving the same day I do and has a bit more belongings than will easily fit on the bike with my things. But it is still amazing to me that I was able to get here from Madrid for less than 8 Euros and 3 hours on a bus.

Welcome to Navapalos!

September 8, 2023

September 3, 2023

Today was a day for taking tourist photos and seeing the outsides of a lot of famous buildings. I headed out from Maryland Station to Tottenham Court Road station on the Elizabeth Line around 11:30am for a grand walking adventure. I headed toward Trafalgar Square and got sidetracked by the bronze statue of Mary Poppins in Leicester Square on the way. The fountain at the center of square has a statue of William Shakespeare on it and around the fountain are other bronze statues of famous actors and characters.

Being acutely aware of the fact that I was in a super touristy area where most people defaulted to passing on the right rather than the left when walking, I headed for Trafalgar Square, hoping the sunhat I was wearing and the small bit of sunscreen I had on would be enough to keep me from getting too burned by the bright sunshine.

From there, I wandered along The Mall towards Buckingham Palace. The green space along the mall was really lovely and the trees made for a nice break from the sun. The feel is very similar to the National Mall in Washington DC, but with fewer cars and the buildings lining it are older and

Seeing the outside of Buckingham Palace felt very similar to seeing the outside of the US Capitol building. Lots of people taking photos to prove they had been there rather than because there were particularly interesting things to be taking pictures of. So, I dutifully joined the group at the gates to stick my camera through the bars to try to get a picture of the puffy-hatted guards and was rather underwhelmed.

The grounds around the Palace were more interesting, beautiful flower arrangements, gilded gates with statues representing various regions of The Empire were also interesting.

From there, I headed to Westminster, just a short 15 minute walk away. I opted not to go into the Westminster Abbey gift shop and instead just walked around the outside looking at the immense detail in the building’s exterior. The Palace of Westminster is somehow so much larger than I imaged it would be from seeing it in photos and in media. Big Ben, of course was conspicuous and as I started across the Westminster Bridge I did my best to take a classic tourist photo that through it’s imperfections of cars, people, and buses in the foreground proves that I was there and took a photo to prove it.

From Westminster I headed to Waterloo Station to join the London Loo Tour I had scheduled with my friend Alice’s sister Rachel. After only a minor moment of confusion about which toilet I could use and which (out of service one) we were meeting in front of, I joined up with the tour by spotting Rachel’s plunger.

The tour was really interesting and highlighted for me, as was intended, how important and complicated public sanitation projects are and how urban, modern society relies so much on systems many people think very little about on a day to day basis.

After the tour, Rachel suggested I could check out the a pub with a small Sherlock Holmes exhibit in it. I am not sure exactly if I found all of the ‘museum’ material, as most of it was posters and information about Sherlock Holmes related plays and movies, but it was still a fun, free diversion from walking and there was a room setup like Holmes’ office which was fun to look at for a brief moment before heading out.

From there, I walked back across the Thames to the Southbank where I wandered into a free art exhibit at Bankside Gallery, home of the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers. It was a nice little exhibit of different artists and a variety of subject matter. From there, I wandered along the Thames more just enjoying being out in the city on a nice day.

I saw the outside of the Globe Theater, which unlike some of the buildings I saw today is probably really only interesting on the inside. I thought the most interesting part of the outside of the building was how unimpressive it was, nestled between modern buildings. I think the real way to experience it would be to see a show there because while all the world is a stage, a stage isn’t very exciting without a play.

From there I walked back over the Thames, this time on the Southwalk Bridge and headed back to Leytonstone.

According to my phone’s distance tracker, I walked 10.7 miles today, which includes a trip to the duck pond this morning. So, all in all, a good day of sun and fresh air along with silly photos taken for the sake of taking photos and a nice touristy time in London.

September 3, 2023

August 31, 2023

Well, it happened, I am finally off on my grand European adventure with some specific plans laid out, but a lot of uncertainty built in for new opportunities to arise.

I left Baltimore, Maryland in the evening of August 29th with a carry-on backpack and a small ‘personal’ item for under the seat. With the full moon visible over the clouds as we made our descent, I arrived in Reykjavík, Iceland at 4:30am local time for a short layover before heading to Stansted Airport outside London, UK. The flights were uneventful, but I didn’t sleep especially well, which was to be expected. My attempt at making a neck pillow by using the removable waist strap of my backpack was somewhat, but not very effective. It may need to be prototyped more to make it work better, but I think there is potential.

Two months of travel during a season change in one backpack? I guess we’ll see how it goes!

It needs some work, but maybe I should suggest Cotapaxi (the backpack company) workshop it as a feature of the backpack. Hmmm

Border control entering the UK was much less involved than I expected when compared to my recent visit to Canada. Just a quick passport scan and a camera that probably uses facial recognition software and I was through to head to customs with nothing to claim. Unfortunate that I don’t have a passport stamp to prove I did the trip, but that’s okay.

So, here I am, visiting a friend in Leytonstone, London where the sky is currently the expected cloudy grey and there is a slight chill in the air despite yesterday’s bright blue sky. Leytonstone is cute and homey, with walking paths running between the houses and buildings and cats roaming the streets. There’s a large park a short walk from where I am staying with a duck pond and a temporary carnival set up. Yesterday we went to feed frozen peas to ducks, pigeons, and whoever else decided to show up.

Small town Carnival/Faire in Leytonstone. It’s giving Midsomer Murders vibes.

Lots of pigeons, geese, and some other funky looking friends showed up to enjoy their veggies.

This morning, we had a lazy start to the day to account for my jet lag – which hasn’t been too bad – and because in general I’m just not a morning person.

After lunch we headed to Brick Lane, a vintage clothing and market block in Shoreditch. As expected, the public transportation here is very effective and it was wonderful to not have to wait more than a few minutes for a train to arrive. Wandering through vintage clothing markets, exploring bookshops, and grabbing some coffee were a nice way to start off my stay in London.

Then we walked from Brick Lane to the Thames to see the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Gotta get some touristy stuff in every now and then! We got to see the drawbridge on the Tower Bridge go up to let a tall ship through. A local told us that the bridge only opens about four times per week, so we were lucky to get to see it. London Bridge is comparatively nondescript and boring, but labeled in bold letters to make its name known to the world.

From there we walked along the Thames to St. Paul’s Cathedral to see it from the outside before heading back to Leytonstone on a different train line to a different nearby station than the two I had already experienced. Having options for how to get around on transit, is so nice.

Tower Bridge with a tall ship sailing through! Ignore the cranes in the background and it feels like it could be from a different time.

Proof that I was actually there, gotta get a touristy photo every now and then. I’m glad I threw in this jacket at the last minute, it was appreciated.

St. Paul’s Cathedral from up close. We might try to climb up to the top over the weekend.

I’ve noticed a few minor differences in how walking and pedestrians flow here that I find interesting. First, as is to be expected in the country where people drive on the left, they also walk on the left side of the sidewalk and on staircases. In the more touristy locations we went, the cross walks have “Look Right” and “Look Left” printed as you enter the street to remind people from the rest of the world (mostly) that things are different here and to prepare them for traffic to come from the opposite side they might expect it to. Despite this change, which I expected, but still find sort of funny, on escalators there are signs that say “Stand on the right” as one would in the US. I find this detail interesting and sort of funny in a way. Breaking my habit of walking on the right will be a struggle, but for now mostly people have been accommodating when I forget, so I will continue to try to be aware and hope I don’t offend anyone too much.

Cheers till later!

August 31, 2023

Category: Travel 2023