Day 31 – 16.45 miles
Cocktails and a sleeping pill induced coma really rejuvenated us.
Good day today. Lots of hills to keep it interesting.
The newbies from Sarria were all chatty and having a splendid time although starting to show signs of discomfort.
All of us who have been walking more than 30 days are quieter – focused.
2 more days!!!
Day 30 – 17.70 miles
I had a tough day – pain in my feet and ankles all day. Bill was a champ as alway.
Fog until noon – sunny an warm afterwards.
Stumbled on the perfect Albergue in San Xustain – story book!
Sitting at a table – books in hand – gin and tonic – surrounded by flowers – unusual for this time of year says the bar tender – should be freezing at night.
A cow herder came through with 7 cows soon after 3 men on horse back momentarily followed by chickens and a rooster!
3 more days!!!
A loopy punch drunk Peregrino stole my phone and wrote yesterday’s blog. Sorry!
Day 29 – 13.33 miles
A person must walk the last 100 kilometers of the Camino to obtain a certification of completion. Last night we stayed in Sarria – just outside the 100 kilometer mark.
At breakfast this morning all we saw were sparkling new hiking boots and Peregrinos dressed like ski bunnies.
The Camino was full.
If anyone can identify the type of tree in the close up below, please let us know.
4 more days!!!
Day 27 – 15.34 miles. Physically demanding day. We climbed virtually straight up. Nothing compared to the first day climbing the Pyrenees when we were fresh and full of anticipation – however, the accumulation of miles on our bodies were hard felt.
One pueblo rented horses to help with the steep incline. Some Pilgrims opted for taxis (we still find this form of walking comical). – even the cyclist had their bikes delivered to the top of the hill.
Quaint pueblos, rocky trails through heavily forested land ridden with horse poop (trying to breath shallow only resulting in having to gasp for air), rolling hills lush with ferns, grass and grapes.
The fog rolled in late morning – fast and cold – visibility diminished but made for a perfect walking temperature.
Farmers were tending their sheep in the countryside and cows in town.
Our lungs got a good workout.
Day 28 – 24.15 miles – 10.25 hours!
It might have been one of the most picturesque days (we are now in Galicia) second to scaling the Pyrenees.
Started out in the fog but cleared within a couple of hours.
When you think pueblos couldn’t get more they do! Late yesterday and today each tiny hamlet had a couple of stone houses and dairy cows – barns attached to the house – air heavy with cow dung.
Rolling hills, tree lined paths and trout filled streams filled our day.
Only 5 more days!!!
Day 26 – 16.15 miles – slow uphill all day. Felt good.
Grapes, grapes and more grapes. Lots of water too. Stream after stream.
7 days left!!!
Tomorrow we climb our last mountain pass.
Day 24 – hiking with headlamps before sunrise, we went up 1200′, down 3,000′ and made 16 miles of progress towards our goal in 7.5 hours.
We reached the highest peak on the Camino where the Cruz de Ferro was. In current times people leave a stone with special meaning – either brought from home or picked up along the way.
We posted a photo (below) that shows our day’s hike (excuse all the scribble on the paper).
Fortunately the Pueblo we ended up in is another picture perfect Spanish town on a Sunday afternoon.
Paige had a steak dinner with Roquefort cheese and enjoyed every bite. The waitress gifted us 2 local liquors. Espresso, cigar and off to bed.
Day 25 – 14.30 miles
Last night we both felt the repercussions from the steep descent. Thank goodness for Ibuprofen.
We are back in the wine country. Red peppers are ripe for the picking. At 9:30 this morning a lady was out by her garden roasting peppers on a campfire.
The pan (bread) delivery lady was dropping off loaves of bread like mail. She cussed out a man for not coming to her truck fast enough and left a loaf for the person who was not home.
8 days left!!! Whoopie!!!
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Look for the cat on the roof.
Day 21 – 18.6 miles
Bill still holds his “famous guy” status for wearing flip flops only because his fans have yet to meet James, a 20+ year old with dreadlocks past his shoulders and walking BARE FOOT!
We started to see bare feet imprints this morning and then meet up with their owner. Impressive we must say -especially with the sharp rocky terrain and cold mornings.
We had to giggle last night after our blog posting. We looked at the 34 day walking guide paper and realized that we walked 1 and 3/4 days yesterday.
We are now another day ahead of schedule. Animals….
Day 23 – 14 miles.
We climbed 1,000 feet in elevation – it was a pleasant steady climb. Tomorrow we crest the highest point on the Camino.
There are 3 “recognized” ways to do the Camino – walk, bike or on horseback. Today we saw the first person riding a horse. We were in a tiny Pueblo at the Cowboy Bar no less and low and behold here comes a real cowboy (photo below of Bill’s finger and the horse).
We walked a long another fence filled with crosses made by Pilgrims. It is intriguing how it changes my thought pattern and mood. I felt emotional the first time we saw them – maybe because we were new to the Camino and the crosses were unexpected. Today I felt lighter – carefree – it made me smile.
Our friends from Brazil – they always have huge smiles!!!
Day 21 – 22.36 miles!!!
It was cold, cold, cold this morning! We had to stop 15 minutes into our day to put on more clothes. Bill silently suffered in his shorts and flip flops. We were later told it was 35.5 degrees.
Within 1 hour and 45 minutes we were stripping off the layers and it ended up being a hot day – go figure.
We walked through the city of Leon. City walking is semi crappy and tough all around – from the hard road surfaces to playing “where’s Waldo” with directional signs. However, the historical city center was beautiful. The Peregrino’s guide books claim Leon has the best Cathedral but Bill and I nominate Burgos for that prize.
The town we planned to stay in had no hostels – no beds. Apparently, the sheet that we received in St. Jean listing towns and their room count was not accurate. This has been our life line since we have no guide book. For the past 20 days it has not let us down.
Soooo…. No beds equalled an additional 7 miles we had not planned on.
No problem though…. In the town with no beds we decided to be Spaniards and have their big 3 course lunch with wine at 3:15pm before heading out on our 7 mile journey.
Found a “hotel” – a real hotel – not a hostel with a private room. However it’s run by “Charlie” from Charlie’s Angels.
We buzzed the front door and a man asked what we wanted. A room of course – what else??? Got inside and a phone on the reception counter said dial 9 for servicios. Again we were asked what we wanted. A room. Charlie preceded to tell Bill in rapid fire Spanish to collect the key marked 104 from the counter – one of the 20+ keys they had on the desk and have a good night…. HA!!! No money changed hands, no names given, nada…..
Day 20 – 15.25 miles today.
We have walked 285 miles and have 215 to go.
Tonight we will sleep in our 82nd bed since we left May 1st!
There is plenty of water – rivers are full and irrigation ditches overflowing.
Stumbled upon a woman carrying a huge white rabbit that she swiftly clobbered with a club – laid it next to the previously cold cocked wraskly rabbit and started skinning it.
I can’t say enough about the weather. It is splendidly perfect!
We had a nice easy day today. Our old bodies are holding up quite well.
Bill has become “that famous guy” wearing the flip flops…. but of course he is.
Day 18 – 15.50 miles.
We walked through little villages that had mud and straw houses – also, a few earth homes where all we could see was a front door and a chimney.
The weather has been perfect – a little brisk in the morning and sunny the rest of the day – brilliant blue skies.
Day 19 – only 11.50 miles. Our choice was 11.50 or 18.63 miles – no towns in between so we took the smaller amount to rest up.
Our hostel has a private room – a huge lawn with palapas and lawn chairs!! It is only 2:30 in the afternoon – paradise.
It is a gorgeous day – high of 73.
You will see Bill when he found a duck blind and pretended he was hunting patos. Needless to say we had pollo and pescado for dinner tonight.
Who wants to meet up with us to finish this thing? You only have to walk 100 kilometers to get your credentials.
Yesterday we passed 2 milestones! We have now walked over 1/2 of the Camino and have completed 1/2 of the days!!!
Let the count down begin….
Day 17 – 17.40 miles.
It poured rain last night and today our trail surface was perfect! No mud like the other day. We were so lucky!
Day 14 – walked 12.5 miles.
We took off a day between 13 and 14 and rested our feet, got haircuts and had a wonderful dinner under the Cathedral.
Shocking to us – on our walk into Burgos we saw Pilgrims on the bus! They actually waved to us and gave us the thumbs up sign. We did not see one person from the trail walk into town! What’s up with that??
Many Pilgrims start in Burgos – so the trail was littered with new people. The town that we decided to stop in was overflowing and the community had to open up the gym to accommodate everyone.
Flies everywhere – on our face, ears, arms, under Bill’s glasses, face, nose, face, arms. URGH! We should have taken it as a sign….
We got 2 of the last beds in the Municipal Hostel. 8 people in our room. 2 people sawed enough logs to service the whole town with wood for winter!! Bill actually asked me around midnight if I wanted to leave. Not sure what he had in mind since the town was full – the next town was 12 kilometers away and it was pouring rain. We opted to pack our ears with plugs and I down a sleeping pill. Ugh! I won’t even go into details about the bed and the year old sheets…
I think we are the only pilgrims without a guide book!
Day one in St. Jean Pied de Port we were handed 2 sheets of paper. One had a 34 day walking plan that showed kilometers and elevation. The other showed each town along the way and whether or not there was a hostel and service there. Basic.
Someone asked Bill how we are doing it and he told them Christopher Columbus did not have a map!
Before stopping in Burgos we deviated from the suggested 34 day plan and hit the middle towns – tiny villages not occupied by the masses.
So….. with that said.
Day 15 we walked 20.5 miles – trying to separate ourselves.
We started out walking in the mud – adding another 1/2 pound to our feet!
Remember how Bill asked if I wanted to walk a marathon and I said hell no. Does 20.5 miles with a backpack, muddy feet and 2 mountain climbs and descents in 1 day after walking approx. 200+ miles equal a marathon?? You tell me?? I think it qualifies!!!
We paid for a private room after the previous night – ahhhh.
It’s was another small town of about 150 people but there were 16 men playing cards at the bar and the local fiesta started. Carlos and Jesus were tending the bar.
Day 16 – Did I mention we had a private bath with towels and sheets on the bed last night???
Today (Sept. 7th) we walked a little over 15.5 miles. Started out rainy, cold and windy but ended up being a beautiful day.
Almost no one on the Camino – we accomplished our goal.
It appears that most churchs or “torres” have stork’s nests. Today is the first time we actually saw a stork!!! They do exist! No baby in it’s mouth!
We stumbled on the most beautiful 12 room hotel in an old family house in a town with only 12 residents – yup you read that right – 12 residents. The cousin of the duomo is helping out and will cook us a 4 course dinner tonight. There are only 2 other people staying here and they are Spaniards on vacation!
The gal left us a bottle of wine on the reception counter and ran to the store to buy food for dinner. The reception area has overstuffed couches and a 50″ TV. Oh and there is wifi!!!
Donation did not equate to bedbugs!! Yeah!
The town was tiny – no restaurants were open in the evening so the hostels served dinner.
The local bakery donates bread to the church’s dinner (served at the hostel we passed on). All they ask for in return is for the pilgrims to gather in the street – announce what country they are from and then form groups based on their common languages and sing a song – any song.
The baker hand picked a few of pilgrims – slapped wigs on them and had them sing La Bamba while delivering the bread to the church. Of course, Bill was a perfect target – performing famously!
Day 11 – 17.4 miles – tough day. Our feet hurt – bodies hurt – brain hurt. We slept 12 hours making a remarkable recovery.
Day 12 – 12.5 miles – much better!! We can always feel our feet yelling at us but today was tolerable.
The sun shined and the breeze helped keep us from boiling. Fall is in the air. Slept another 12 hours!!! In bed by 6:45.
Day 13 – today Sept. 3rd – walked 13+ miles. Weird walk – started out straight uphill on jagged rocks and then on road pavement and city sidewalks through 2 cities – ending in Burgos. Trails are much better.
We used our points and splurged – staying in a real hotel with sheets, towels and A/C.
Taking tomorrow off – I’m starting to look like “the Donald” and “Don King” combined. We also need to rest our feet to gear up for the next 20 days…
15 miles today. Cold morning – had to stop and add clothes – by mid afternoon the sun was warm – especially climbing hills.
The first hostel we stumbled on was on the top/3rd floor of an old church. Beautiful! However, the sleeping room was in a loft area with 30 mats on the floor. Not! A German Public TV crew was there making a documentary about the Camino (of course they pick the only hostel without beds to show how we struggle along the way).
The only other option was a hippiefied hostel. Donations only. Basic and painted by someone on quaaludes. They have beds. We will rest our heads there.
Does “donations” mean sorry about the bed bugs???
Dove hunting must have opened today (the weather felt just like home). The shotgun fire was brisk and we saw game wardens driving through the hills.
We ran into the Cruz Roja (the Red Cross) – they gave me a shirt and thanked me for volunteering.
I learned today that I can walk and make things at the same time – the crosses on the fence inspired me to make another…..
Tomorrow we walk uphill the whole day! Hello calves….
14 miles on day 8 and 15.25 miles today. We have completed a little over 25% of the Camino.
Tonight we will sleep in our 71st bed since we left May 1st.
Yesterday we walked past a 1/3 mile of chain link fence full of crosses made by Pilgrims using sticks, grasses, socks etc. It evoked a strong, immediate response – one of joy, sadness, accomplishment and a reason for the Camino. We both added to the approx. 10,000 crosses already there.
Every night we have a Basque Pilgrim’s (peregrino) dinner – 3 courses – wine, bread and water included.
Bill before….
Bill after…