Category: Camino

  • 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 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 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 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 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