Our days start early - usually around 6am as we rise and start to get dressed and packed in the dark. Breakfast is usually a coffee and roll along the way. Early on we would eat at our albergue but lately we have left before their service is offered. On long days we stop for lunch and have sandwiches but on shorter days we try to get into town for a nice lunch. In each of the major towns we stop in - the albergues, bars and restaurants offer a Pilgrims meal. The meal consists of an appetizer, an entry, desert and beverage. A great value for 9-10 euros/person. Service is good and the portions are huge. But unfortunately the menus look the same in almost all the places :>) So after 10 days the pilgrims meal is loosing its appeal - and you know I like a great value. We see hake (fish) and pork and chicken dishes and always some offerings of pasta and salad. Sometimes their is a regional specialty and that is always worth trying. You usually get a bottle of wine with your meal (yes Toni I did say bottle) and it appears it has a bottomless offering - though we have yet to fully test the hypothesis.
So like Hans from Amsterdam we might come home with stronger legs and not lighter kilo's. But we will have a fondness for the regional dishes and local wines and shared laughter with friends.
Buen Camino
Bob
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Sadness in Santiago
As we started our walk today we heard that there was a very serious train crash in Santiago. Early estimates were 75+ people dead and over 100 injured. The train was on its way into Santiago to celebrate the feast of St James - the biggest celebration of the year in Santiago. Many people plan their Camino walks to coincide with arriving in Santiago to celebrate on June 25th and 26th. This year their celebration has turned into mourning for their country men and visitors. In recognition of the mourning the festivities have all been cancelled.
This evening the Pilgrim's Mass in our small town of Palas de Rei was full with Pilgrims and locals alike. My gut says the small church would be full most evenings to bless the pilgrims but tonight the disaster in Santiago was the focus. Four priests celebrated the Mass, and though I could barely understand most of the service, I was uplifted by the voices that reached out in prayer and praise. There were no instruments - no organ or piano. The priest would start the song and the whole church would join .... young and old...Spanish voices that rivaled a choir. The Spirit lifting them in unison was as good as anything I have heard. I could not think of a purer form of praise. As much as I love music - I could feel the love being shared in a unique and powerful way.
May those impacted be with the Lord this day and may their loved ones find comfort in their faith and the support of family and friends.
Buen Camino
This evening the Pilgrim's Mass in our small town of Palas de Rei was full with Pilgrims and locals alike. My gut says the small church would be full most evenings to bless the pilgrims but tonight the disaster in Santiago was the focus. Four priests celebrated the Mass, and though I could barely understand most of the service, I was uplifted by the voices that reached out in prayer and praise. There were no instruments - no organ or piano. The priest would start the song and the whole church would join .... young and old...Spanish voices that rivaled a choir. The Spirit lifting them in unison was as good as anything I have heard. I could not think of a purer form of praise. As much as I love music - I could feel the love being shared in a unique and powerful way.
May those impacted be with the Lord this day and may their loved ones find comfort in their faith and the support of family and friends.
Buen Camino
Day 8 - O´Cebreiro to Triacastela
Last night was the largest albergue (pilgrim hotel) we have stayed in as it had 104 beds. I was surprised how quiet it was during the night but knew there would be alarms starting at 5:00am for those who love the cool morning start. We grabbed a quick snack on the mountain before starting our descent. Todays walk is only 21km´s or a little over 13 miles but the downhill will work the knees, back and hips pretty well. The morning sky has beautiful colors as we await the sun to rise. How great to be up before the sun everyday. We start out alone but join our german and dutch friends at our first coffee break. The views continue to be amazing. I had thought of the route as flatter - but these days in the mountains have been my favorite - today is another amazing day of endless views. we arrive in Triacastelaby 12.30 and wait in the que for 1:00 check in. We have a four person room and are joined by our friend Magda from Poland. Julia and I head to town and join friends for drinks we later grab showers and do laundry - the typical pilgrim day. The public albergues are cost efficient (5 OR 6 euros) but the private versions have a lot more charachter for 10 euros a bed. We enjoy a little rest and head up for our pilgrim meal around 7:00. Our group is growing and our dinner is now for 12 and represents a fun cross section of countries. The menu´s are starting to look the same - but the volume is huge and includes bottle of wine as well... all for 9-10 euros. As we leave the mountains I am hopeful the scenery reamins as amazing - I know the company will
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Languages
Taylor and I have really enjoyed practicing our Spanish on this trip. My food and question asking vocabulary is getting much better! But what I didn´t realize was how many other languages we would learn and hear along the Camino.
In Cacabellos we had dinner and at dinner people were speaking German, Deutch, Korean, Czech, Spanish, and English. How cool is that!? We really take language for granted because while I was able to speak Spanish to the waiter I couldn´t speak any of our friends native languages but the one language we had the most in common was English. Everyone´s English is so impressive.
In O´Cebreiro at Lucy and Marieke´s birthday dinner Happy Birthday was sung in English and German which was fun!
Nadine and I had two funny moments that evening. Once she was pouring wine for me and said "You´re Welcome" because I had said it earlier. I responded saying that I was planning to say Thank You once she gave me the cup back. I then explain that if you say You´re Welcome before someone says Thank You it´s like you are trying to help them with their manners which apparently was not at all what she was intending! After dinner we had planned to get an ice cream (my weakness!) but it was so cold and getting late that I thought we weren´t going to. But as we passed the ice cream store she said "I feel like an ice cream" which I took to mean that she wanted to get one - and since I cannot say no to an ice cream I was like let´s go! Turns out she meant she was feeling cold like an ice cream. The fact that all of our friends have such good English that we get down to little semantic confusions is amazing to me! Most of them don´t speak it much at home so they seem to enjoy practicing and unfortunately English is basically the only way we can communicate. Man I´m glad I grew up learning it!!
More soon on our last few days - we are leaving Sarria in the morning. This is the last town you can start in and still get a Compostela in Santiago so we are expecting it to be crowded from here it - more friends to meet!!
In Cacabellos we had dinner and at dinner people were speaking German, Deutch, Korean, Czech, Spanish, and English. How cool is that!? We really take language for granted because while I was able to speak Spanish to the waiter I couldn´t speak any of our friends native languages but the one language we had the most in common was English. Everyone´s English is so impressive.
In O´Cebreiro at Lucy and Marieke´s birthday dinner Happy Birthday was sung in English and German which was fun!
Nadine and I had two funny moments that evening. Once she was pouring wine for me and said "You´re Welcome" because I had said it earlier. I responded saying that I was planning to say Thank You once she gave me the cup back. I then explain that if you say You´re Welcome before someone says Thank You it´s like you are trying to help them with their manners which apparently was not at all what she was intending! After dinner we had planned to get an ice cream (my weakness!) but it was so cold and getting late that I thought we weren´t going to. But as we passed the ice cream store she said "I feel like an ice cream" which I took to mean that she wanted to get one - and since I cannot say no to an ice cream I was like let´s go! Turns out she meant she was feeling cold like an ice cream. The fact that all of our friends have such good English that we get down to little semantic confusions is amazing to me! Most of them don´t speak it much at home so they seem to enjoy practicing and unfortunately English is basically the only way we can communicate. Man I´m glad I grew up learning it!!
More soon on our last few days - we are leaving Sarria in the morning. This is the last town you can start in and still get a Compostela in Santiago so we are expecting it to be crowded from here it - more friends to meet!!
Day 6: Cacabellos to La Portela de Valcarce
The days are just starting to run together now... Feels like we've been out here awhile. Today was another shorter day about 13 miles. It's amazing no matter how far you are going you get so tired that last mile whether its mile 11 or 17! Need to somehow trick my brain into not knowing where we are stopping!
Our Today we met up with Shy early on on the morning. He was born in Israel but moved to New York when he was little. He shared some great stories about his life and his time on the Camino which got us thru the first hour or so! He got injured in the first few days of the Camino because he ran down a very steep hill and both of his knees had some trouble after that. We walked along the highway most of the morning with Shy. There were 3 possible routes in the afternoon and we were going to do one thru the mountains while Shy stayed on the road. Unfortunately we missed all of the routes and stayed along the road the whole day. I even had my first Camino experience of no bathroom and had to choose between cars seeing me or my dad and my brother haha. I got some honks out of that one.
We slowly made it into our albuergue for the night around 1:30 and we were very happy to be there! We chose to stop at El Peregrino with Nadine and Artjon and enjoyed our dinner with them - got some pasta which was a little different from the standard menu that every place seems to have! The rest of our friends pretty much went on ahead of us but we planned to meet up with them on top of the mountain at O´Cebreiro the next day.
We enjoyed having our own 3 person room at this albuergue and even got to FaceTime with Erin & Miles and Mom.
Our Today we met up with Shy early on on the morning. He was born in Israel but moved to New York when he was little. He shared some great stories about his life and his time on the Camino which got us thru the first hour or so! He got injured in the first few days of the Camino because he ran down a very steep hill and both of his knees had some trouble after that. We walked along the highway most of the morning with Shy. There were 3 possible routes in the afternoon and we were going to do one thru the mountains while Shy stayed on the road. Unfortunately we missed all of the routes and stayed along the road the whole day. I even had my first Camino experience of no bathroom and had to choose between cars seeing me or my dad and my brother haha. I got some honks out of that one.
We slowly made it into our albuergue for the night around 1:30 and we were very happy to be there! We chose to stop at El Peregrino with Nadine and Artjon and enjoyed our dinner with them - got some pasta which was a little different from the standard menu that every place seems to have! The rest of our friends pretty much went on ahead of us but we planned to meet up with them on top of the mountain at O´Cebreiro the next day.
We enjoyed having our own 3 person room at this albuergue and even got to FaceTime with Erin & Miles and Mom.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Day 7: Halfway!!!
Today marked our halfway point - we have walked 100 miles and have 100 miles left to Santiago!
As we may have said before we took two 30 kilometer days and made them 3 days. Luckily many of our friends that we were walking with chose to do the same thing! So that was nice. Last night we lost a bunch of them but we all decided to stay on top of the mountain today so we met up.
We stopped early on for breakfast with Nadine and Artjom which consisted of toasted bread with butter and jelly and some coffee. We also each had an orange - not the best breakfast when you are preparing to climb a mountain but at 6:30am you eat wherever you can find that is open! We met Carolina from Brazil and enjoyed chatting with her - and we ended up being bunk bed mates that night! The beginning of the day was pretty flat with some small hills/inclines. We met up with a friend who told us a terrible story about some bed bugs she encountered in an albuergue a few nights before after the one we were staying in was full :( Terrible experience but the next albuergues she went to really knew how to handle it and got her all cleaned up!!
Then we hit the mountain and we hit it hard! Taylor was leading today and he was zooming up the hill! So dad an I were huffing and puffing to keep up! The climb was tough but the views were GORGEOUS! Unfortunately, the camera cannot capture the beauty but we tried :) We reached the top, O Cebriero, by 10:45! So that was exciting to have our day done so early. The albuergue didn't open until 1 so we checked out the town and had some drinks (yep wine before noon!) and lunch. The wine was so local and fresh it was served in an unlabeled bottle! Crazy. We waited in line for our room for about an hour and got a good spot with our friends in the room. Dad was happy to have a corner as he needs to lay everythingg out when he unpacks his bag! This was the first place without shower curtains so that was interesting and a surprise! But overall it's a nice clean albuergue.
This afternoon we rested, did laundry, hung the laundry on the line with an amazing view, had drinks, shopped, and listened to bag pipes! Great afternoon and we love the downtime on the mountain. Good for our bodies too to have the time to rest. Dad's back has been sore post-hiking so he is in search of a massage once we find a big enough city!
This evening we ha birthday dinner for two of our new friends, Lucy and Marieke, who both had birthdays today! We sang happy birthday in German and English and had Santiago cake for dessert. Santiago is the name of the city we will end it but also an almond cake with powdered sugar on top. Yum!
Lights out is at 10 most nights - since we don't hike as long today I'm not sure I'll sleep as well... But it's bedtime now! The view out the window next to my bunk bed is amazing!! I'll try to add that soon!
Friday, July 19, 2013
Grandpa's on the trail
We spent some time today with four walkers - two men and one lady from Holland and one man from Germany. I would guess in their late 60's - they all had walked from their homes and are destined to be in Santiago in about a week. They will have done about 3,000km's each - so similar to the AT in distance. They met on the trail and the German did not know the folks from Holland - but the German man and one of the men from Holland both became grandfather's while on the trail walking together. Both grand children were born on July 10th! The same day as Julia's birthday. How is that for a small world. Pretty amazing walk - they all look in great shape and I hope we get to see them again in Santiago.
A prayer tonight for all grand parents and great appreciation for their roles in our lives and the lives of our children.
Blessings
Bob
PS from Julia - I'm missing Miles and all my baby time!!! (Missing his parents too! haha)
A prayer tonight for all grand parents and great appreciation for their roles in our lives and the lives of our children.
Blessings
Bob
PS from Julia - I'm missing Miles and all my baby time!!! (Missing his parents too! haha)
Day 5 Molinaseca to Cacabelos
We again rose early but had a slow departure from our albergue - there is a large group from Brazil that must have 25+ members and all are dressed in team uniforms as they do the Camino. As they depart each day they sing and pray as a group in their native tongue. Beautiful to hear. It is a long flat walk today per our guide book - but we have decided to break two days up into three - so today is 20km instead of 31km and we will do the same the next few days. After the down hills my legs are happy for the flatish walk that takes us through Ponferrada and eventually to Cacabelos. A pleasant breakfast stop across from the Castillo de los Templarios - a 12th century castle. The order was started here in 1178 but outlawed by the Church by 1312 as they were fearful of their growing power. We walk with a wide variety of new friends - a young couple from Germany, a UN lawyer from Australia, a group if 4 crazy Irish guys, a mother and daughter from NY, two sisters from the Czech Republic... and others that we have come to know and pass along the path. It is one of the great parts of the Camino and we are enjoying each new person the Lord has put in our path. We arrive by 1:00pm on this short day and grad a hostel vs an albergue - the three of us will have our own room and a chance to soak in the tub and relax. We enjoy a big lunch and the kids go swimming while I catch up on my journal and this blog. Tonight a bunch of the young folks are heading out - I will have a quiet meal and get ready for the climb ahead. The next two days will have us eventually ascend to O'Cebreiro and my back needs some time to prepare.
Blessings all...
Blessings all...
Day 4 - Rabinal to Molinaseca
We rose early to grab as much cool morning air as possible. By 6:00 pm we were down stairs enjoying morning coffee and toasts with our British hosts and new friends who volunteer at the Albergue. They have all been very nice but this one was my favorite. People were super friendly and I really enjoyed the chance for all the pilgrims to spend time together vs going off in lots of different directions. Only pilgrims can stay at the albergue's and they are usually 5-7 euro for a bed for the evening. Albergue Gaucelmo was free (including breakfast) - only asked for donations if you could afford. We are still trying to master the morning exit process - people start to stir around 5:00am when there are long days ahead and all movement is done in the dark. Need to have morning stuff out and be ready to work on any foot repairs and repack as needed - then try to scoot out quietly. Luckily I have yet to have to attempt from a top bunk :0)
Our walk to Molinaseca was truly beautiful - a morning sunset to start - always at our back as we are headed due west - and surrounded by mountains on three sides as far as we can see. Several natural springs greet us and the water is fresh and cold. We enjoy some ascents but know from our guidebook it is mainly a day of heading down the mountain - painful on an old man's knees. By late morning we come upon Cruz de Ferro - a simple iron cross atop a weathered pole - 1,500m above sea level. Pilgrims leave rocks or other momento's to reconnect with the purpose of their journey and reflect. a good chance for us to do the same. We then start our descent and the combination of a very rocky path makes the first big drop a true workout . It would be the trend for the day...long winding beautiful downhill drops - and amazing vista's to keep you smiling during the process. For a few of the large downhills we took to the road and actually ran down hill. We had read it was easier on the knees and all of us agreed. We arrive in Moliaseca in time for a swim in the river - Taylor is the driver and he meets a large number of new Spanish friends. A great day four includes a pilgrims meal and thanks.
Our walk to Molinaseca was truly beautiful - a morning sunset to start - always at our back as we are headed due west - and surrounded by mountains on three sides as far as we can see. Several natural springs greet us and the water is fresh and cold. We enjoy some ascents but know from our guidebook it is mainly a day of heading down the mountain - painful on an old man's knees. By late morning we come upon Cruz de Ferro - a simple iron cross atop a weathered pole - 1,500m above sea level. Pilgrims leave rocks or other momento's to reconnect with the purpose of their journey and reflect. a good chance for us to do the same. We then start our descent and the combination of a very rocky path makes the first big drop a true workout . It would be the trend for the day...long winding beautiful downhill drops - and amazing vista's to keep you smiling during the process. For a few of the large downhills we took to the road and actually ran down hill. We had read it was easier on the knees and all of us agreed. We arrive in Moliaseca in time for a swim in the river - Taylor is the driver and he meets a large number of new Spanish friends. A great day four includes a pilgrims meal and thanks.
The rocky downhills
Natural Spring
More downhills!
Pictures just can't capture the view
Cruz de Ferro
Rocks left behind at Cruz de Ferro
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Day 3: Astorga to Rabanal del Camino
So I was kinda praying today that we wouldn't have Internet tonight ... And look at that we don't lol. I love being able to update everyone on what we are doing and check in with everyone but it was time to feel a little but more like peregrinos.
We are staying at a awesome albuergue run by the UK. There are 3 people working here at a time and they have to have already walked the Camino in order to volunteer. They are here for 3 weeks and then other people come. Today was a short day so we arrived at 1:00 and the albuergue didn't open until 1:30! Part of the reason we got in so early was that Taylor was our leader today! He was passing people left and right! The beginning of the day was a long dirt/gravel road but it ended with a trek into the mountains. We got I to the mountains for real the next day but the end of the day had some steep sections!
The best part was the 4:30 tea where we got to sit and chat with peregrinos from Germany, Italy, France, and the US. Pretty cool! It's a gorgeous place with a nice yard and balcony.
This evening we went to vespers which was songs in Latin. There was a booklet to sing along that also had the English translations. Dad even was asked to do a reading. I loved the Latin - this was one verse that I found particularly powerful:
"Quoniam ipse cognovit figmentum nostrum recordatus est quoniam pulvis sumus." "For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust"
After many dusty trails and the beginning of the mountains this one really struck me.
After many dusty trails and the beginning of the mountains this one really struck me.
Most albuergues have a boot rack
I love hanging my laundry out to dry each night!!
Dad doing his reading - after he read it in English it was read it Spanish, French, German, and Italian!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Day 2
Hello Everyone/ Hola Todos,
we are currently relaxing in the attic of our Hostal, San Javier. we have met many people already, and still have about 2 weeks of walking left. oh dear.
we are roughly 254 kilo from Santiago which equals roughly 150, or so miles.
My calves, hamstring and shoulder blades are very sore, but nothing i can't handle.
i am filming a little bit for Youtube.
tengo much sueno, necessito dormir :)
-Taylor
we are currently relaxing in the attic of our Hostal, San Javier. we have met many people already, and still have about 2 weeks of walking left. oh dear.
we are roughly 254 kilo from Santiago which equals roughly 150, or so miles.
My calves, hamstring and shoulder blades are very sore, but nothing i can't handle.
i am filming a little bit for Youtube.
tengo much sueno, necessito dormir :)
-Taylor
Mario - an answer to prayer as he entertained us and let us practice our spanish through a rough rocky hilly section
Paradise!! Everything was free for peregrinos and the main David lives here year round - no electricity or internet ... or shirt apparently in the summer!
The hardest part of getting into Astorga - we can see it in the distance but it's still SO many kilometers!
Sunday, July 14, 2013
And we're off!!
We stayed last night at the parador in Leon! Fancy accommodations for some peregrinos but such a cool building we couldn't pass it up. It used to be a hospital for pilgrims and monks used to live here at some point as well. The building was then converted to a hotel.
Yesterday we explored Leon! Taylor found a walking stick he likes and a knife to carve into the stick some and we all got our shells for our backpack - the symbol of the Camino. Today we will be following yellow arrows and shells 13 miles to our next stop!
Met up with a cool peregrino last night named Tomas. He's from Ireland and was sharing some advice and funny stories.
Time to head out after enjoying a beautiful breakfast spread. Leaving a little later today than we normally will but couldn't miss out on the breakfast as it was included in our stay!
Yesterday we explored Leon! Taylor found a walking stick he likes and a knife to carve into the stick some and we all got our shells for our backpack - the symbol of the Camino. Today we will be following yellow arrows and shells 13 miles to our next stop!
Met up with a cool peregrino last night named Tomas. He's from Ireland and was sharing some advice and funny stories.
Time to head out after enjoying a beautiful breakfast spread. Leaving a little later today than we normally will but couldn't miss out on the breakfast as it was included in our stay!
Majestic Madrid
A day in Madrid was the perfect start to our journey. The city holds lots of memories for me. In the early 1990's during my SAIC days we did a joint venture with the largest Spanish utility - Iberdrola. I was a frequent visitor for the following year and Madrid was the first major international city that I got to know. Dandy and I have fond memories of seeing Bruce Springsteen here in Madrid during his "Born in the USA" tour. We were back with Taylor during his time studying at the University of Salamanca - but today was the first time visiting with Julia. Our jet lag did not allow for an extended tour - we would have loved to have done the open bus ride around the city - but it was a taste of the magic that Madrid offers. Always buzzing - the beauty of it's palaza's - the international feel of the inhabitant's - spectacular cathedrals - and yes great sangria and tapas. The visit was too short but served as a jolt of energy as we head off to Leon and the start of our walk early Monday morning.
Have a blessed Sunday my friends
Bob
Have a blessed Sunday my friends
Bob
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Madrid
We had a great first day in Spain!
Our flights were great - so much food!! Only managed to get about 3 hours of sleep between movies and eating so we are all exhausted this evening. I'd have to say the highlight of the plane rides was dad opening a foil wrapper and deciding it was cheese and taking a huge bite, I wish you could have seen his face when he realized it was butter!!
We easily took the metro to our hotel and checked in. I got my first round of laundry with my dr bonners soap done. And we headed out to explore Madrid. We saw the palace, lots of gorgeous churches, plaza mayor, and ended with tapas on plaza st anna. We enjoyed traveling around differrnt areas and sampling the sangria! Taylor has been really keeping us accountable for speaking Spanish! I wish I had the confidence to speak that he does - hopefully by the end of our trip I will! He's been teaching dad words, we've been looking up words, and we are trying our best to speak to everyone in Spanish which is fun!
We made it until about 8:30 out and about and are not getting to sleep early - headed to Leon on the train tomorrow!!
I couldn't get any pictures to upload from my phone so we will have to do that from Taylor's computer later.
Our flights were great - so much food!! Only managed to get about 3 hours of sleep between movies and eating so we are all exhausted this evening. I'd have to say the highlight of the plane rides was dad opening a foil wrapper and deciding it was cheese and taking a huge bite, I wish you could have seen his face when he realized it was butter!!
We easily took the metro to our hotel and checked in. I got my first round of laundry with my dr bonners soap done. And we headed out to explore Madrid. We saw the palace, lots of gorgeous churches, plaza mayor, and ended with tapas on plaza st anna. We enjoyed traveling around differrnt areas and sampling the sangria! Taylor has been really keeping us accountable for speaking Spanish! I wish I had the confidence to speak that he does - hopefully by the end of our trip I will! He's been teaching dad words, we've been looking up words, and we are trying our best to speak to everyone in Spanish which is fun!
We made it until about 8:30 out and about and are not getting to sleep early - headed to Leon on the train tomorrow!!
Friday, July 12, 2013
The evolution of the Camino
For the last 18 months I have thought off and on about walking the Camino. Friends had done it previously and the movie "The Way" added to my curiosity. I am not an outdoorsy kind of guy but looked at it more from a spiritual time of reflection. As I approached five years of retirement I saw it as a chance to stop and reflect on what the Lord had in store for me next. He blessed the last five years by bringing CNM into my life and a new group of devoted friends that inspire me every week - but it was time to stop and listen to how I might best serve. Or so I thought. Little did I know His plans were bigger then mine. I had targeted a September Camino but my daughter Julia decided to go back to grad school in the fall and had a three week crack in her schedule this summer to do a portion of the Camino in July - wow....Okay Lord - thank you - we can do that and experience it together. What a blessing. Not to be limited - the Lord then said - how about Taylor? He was graduating from an intense two years of college in late June and an early July escape to one of his favorite places on the planet might be a great experience for him as well. He thought about ti and decided to join us as well. Double wow... A month later we are about to depart and share the experience together. I could not have imagined it a year ago but it is a gift I will treasure for a life time.
Our goal is to walk from Leon to Santiago de Compostela. It is approximately 200 miles. Our guide book breaks it into 13 daily sections and we have 16 days to do the 13 sections. We will average about 15 miles per day. Our first day walking is Monday June 15th and our last day will be Thursday August 1st. You can see a map of the Camino Frances and our stages from Leon http://www.santiago-compostela.net/frances/index_cf_en.html
Time to run ... hope we can keep you updated along the way as internet access allows.
Thanks for your prayers
Bob
Our goal is to walk from Leon to Santiago de Compostela. It is approximately 200 miles. Our guide book breaks it into 13 daily sections and we have 16 days to do the 13 sections. We will average about 15 miles per day. Our first day walking is Monday June 15th and our last day will be Thursday August 1st. You can see a map of the Camino Frances and our stages from Leon http://www.santiago-compostela.net/frances/index_cf_en.html
Time to run ... hope we can keep you updated along the way as internet access allows.
Thanks for your prayers
Bob
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Training Walks
Pictures from our training walk in Riverbend Park. The trails are so nice - but all shaded and we know we will not have that luxury most days on our walk! Nice to at least get some shade while we are working on adjusting to carrying our packs. This was our first real training walk with all three of us and our packs!
Packing!
Almost everything that went into my backpack ... pack is about 14.5 lbs now which is a great weight for the Camino!
- Julia
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