Miles: 18.74/Steps: 41,062
Todays Selfie
Category: Camino de Santiago 5/2023 Page 5 of 9
Miles: 15.34/Steps: 33,587
Todays Selfie:
Early in the morning, I had the choice of taking the street route or the longer river route to get to Carreon de loos Condes. I ended up taking the river route which was 13 miles. It was a quiet and peaceful walk that was mostly flat.
The clouds were amazing to watch today. They changed shape so quickly with the wind. I also really enjoyed watching the birds in the wind. It reminded me of the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a favorite of mine from when I was younger. If you haven’t read it, you should check it out.
I am a super slow walker in comparison to most and Father Mark and Marie caught up to me pretty early. I walked with them for a few hours. Father Mark read meditations, sang psalms and did the rosary while he walked. Most of this was in Latin. It was definitely an experience which made me think of all of the pilgrims who have walked the same steps that I was walking doing something similar.
Along the way Father Mark came a cross a church and asked if he could perform mass in it. He was denied which felt odd. Why wouldn’t a local church want to invite younger travelers in to their church to spread Catholicism. It feels like a lot of these communities and especially the Catholic church in these areas is getting ready to age out. Most of the parishioners are older. Younger people have moved to the larger cities and there are very few younger people who attend mass. In 10 years they will be running out of patrons.
Outside the church was this cool water pump.
We stopped in Villalcazar de Sirga for lunch and Father Mark was able to do mass for a small group of pilgrims in the local church.
Legend states that this statue of Mary has performed many miracles over the years.
Its always a glorious moment when you are within city limits.
Kat and I walked into town together and then met Dee for drinks with a friend. Dee graciously let Kat and I to stay in the apartment Airbnb she rented for the night.
Sadly Dee is having to go home because her plantar fasciitis has flared up but she got these lovely tennis shoes and is making the best of it. We told her she should get a knee bike and push herself along the Camino!
There was a combination farewell dinner for Dee and birthday celebration for Savina that evening. The entire restaurant serenaded Savina (and Kevin as it happened to be his birthday to).
Miles 18.01/Steps 39,425
Todays Selfie:
Random pictures from the day:
These flowers smelled so good. Almost like Jasmine.
Today was a really long day. My body was so tired and my feet were really hurting. At mile 14 I had to just sit down in the middle of nowhere to stretch and get my mind in the right place. I still had over an hour and I was doubting I was going to make it actually. I finally got up and this butterfly landed on me. Then it started flying in small bursts as if to say… “you can do it come on”. It would fly ahead and then come back to me. It flew with me about 200 meters. It was pretty amazing and got me moving again.
Shortly after the butterfly got me moving, I came across a bunch of friends and this cat at one of the bars. I stopped, rested and then carried on. 2 miles left! I could do it!
I was so happy to get to town and my alburgue! The town was like a ghost town though. There wasn’t much going on aside from the two alburgues. I shared a room with Yetta, Kat and a German couple who were grumpy and snored. I was just very happy to have my own bed and it not be a bunk.
I worked on booking reservations for the rest of the trip since things were filling up. I used a paper placemat to keep track of my reservations…You use what you have….
Miles 16.52/ Steps: 36,182
Todays selfie
Everyday we must get a stamp from our hostel, a church, restaurant or museum. Once we are 100km from Santiago de Compostela we need to get 2 stamps a day. About 3 miles into todays walk, in Moratinos, this guy was sitting outside of a bar doing wax stamps. We got to choose which stamp we wanted and the color of the wax. It was a lovely experience and a nice addition to the credential.
This town was so cute. Blue doors, Buddha’s in window sills and knitted decorations for the trees.
Sahagun is considered the halfway point if you started the Camino in Spain. The figurines made me think of the scene in the movie the Never-ending Story when Atreyu had to run thru the Sphinx’s gate. If you haven’t seen the movie you should! Feels appropriate to go thru this with Nikki since she was there at the beginning.
There are so many impressive wall murals:
Having fun with a statue with Joe, Orlando, Nikki and Annie
Goofing around at the midway memorial.
Most of todays walk was shaded by trees that lined the trail.
360km to go. (223 miles) to go!
Thank you to Heather for booking my accommodation because I couldn’t find anything in Bercianos. Rosa was the owner and was lovely and the hostel was great! I had a bottom bunk with fresh sheets and the bed didn’t squeak and no one slept above me! This is what dreams are made of.
We met up at a bar with live music and so many people were there! Bernardo, Savina, Nikki, Annie, Father Mark, Marie and Veronique! The singer was like Norah Jones/Eva Cassidy and just great background music to a lovely evening.
The drink of the night was Vino Tintos which is red wine, a fizzy lemonade and a shot of some liqueur. It really is light and refreshing and a perfect summer drink!
Lovely wall art and a Camino sign on my way back to my hostel for the night.
Miles: 15.78/ Steps: 34,555
Todays selfie!
Lately my schedule has been to be up and out between 5:30am – 6:30pm. It normally takes 30-40 minutes to manage foot maintenance and get everything packed up and out the door. I normally walk until 1:00pm-2:00pm and am in bed asleep between 8:00pm- 10:00pm. Today, I was up before sunrise and it was gorgeous!
I do enjoy setting off early and watching the sunrise. It makes it easier to get out earlier when I am woken up by someone’s snoring. Sometimes one must take the bad with the good.
Below are just some random shots from the day.
331 km/205 miles to go!
The path is lined with trees that provide shade in the afternoon. I did actually walk on the road a lot today because my feet were hurting from the rocks on the trail.
There are random statues and memorials everywhere.
Not many dogs out today so I had to settle for a cat picture. 😊
Someone tried to liven up the scenery and give the trees some color! Such a nice gesture.
Did you know this was the dead center of town!
I am on a similar path/timeline as this Korean mother daughter pair. The mother pulled her daughter out of school for 40 days to do the Camino and the little girl is such a good sport. I think she is really enjoying this walk and time with her mom.
These 3 guys and I have been on the same path for several days. As I mentioned, I am a slow walker so they always catch up to me in the mornings, exchange niceties and then continue on. We have also stayed in the same hostel several times. They are always playing cards and laughing amongst themselves. Last night we finally shared a room and I got to know them. SUCH NICE GUYS! They are part of a hiking club and live north of Madrid. They are walking as far as Leon and then will come back to finish the Camino in the fall. Anyways, they always make me laugh and are helpful and patient with my broken Spanish.
After seeing wheat and grassland for so long I was very excited to see cows!!!! I watched the calves for a bit. It looked like they were up to something!! Haha
Some towns really cater to the pilgrims because of the amount of income they bring. I think some towns are annoyed by them. I have witnessed entitled and rude behavior from pilgrims that is a bit embarrassing to be honest so I can understand both sides. Mansilla was a bit in between but had this lovely statue placed in one of the town squares which I loved and appreciated.
After a stop at the Farmacia, Nikki, Savina and I were going to go to the grocery store but it started raining so we suffered through a couple of drinks at the bar until it stopped. We finally made it to the grocery store where we didn’t really get anything that was healthy but had a fun look around!
We finished the night off at a restaurant with the group. It wasn’t the best food but it also wasn’t the worst. Irish Kevin, Nikki, Sabina, Annie, Marie and Diane made for an interesting night of conversation!
Foot update: I have zero blisters! Yay! My shoes are great and there is no friction at all. I met 3 more people today who had and loved Hokas at home but they tore up their feet on the Camino. It’s too many to be a coincidence at this point. My arthritis in my big toe is acting up quite a bit and the plantar fasciitis is acting up in my left heal. Both are manageable and I have a plethora of creams and drugs to help. No matter the distance, the last 3-4 miles always feels really hard and it takes me about 30-60 minutes of sitting once I arrive to get to be able to function properly. That said, all of the pain is worth it. I’m having tons of fun, enjoying the people I meet and the lessons they give me and the experiences I am having.
I have a few more days left of the flat Meseta and then we move into another mountainous region again for the last third of the walk.
Miles: 15.78/ Steps: 34,555
Todays Selfie
Aww!
I made it to Leon very early in the day and got checked in. I had a private room and bathroom for 2 nights. I never realized how exciting it is to use a real towel when it’s been awhile since you have used one. The bathtub was tiny but I still enjoyed every minute of my soak!
Once I got settled, I met up with Nikki to have a wander.
I was so happy to meet up with my 3 Spanish Friends before they left to go home to Madrid. I didn’t know Nikki was taking pictures in the background but I am so glad she did!
We planned for a farewell lunch with Father Mark, Annie and Marie as they were going their different ways from Leon and it turned into quite the get together. Sonya, Lou, Sharon, and Sabina joined us as well! We ate at Ezequiel Calle Ancha and the food was GREAT!
I ended the night with a drink overlooking the cathedral and I ran into some friends along the way. Paul was my bunkmate the second night in Roncevalles and I sat with Sonia and Lou for dinner the first night in Orrison. I love how we run into people over and over when we least expect it. We all start out as strangers but really become friends and care about each other along the way. No one cares how much money a person has or what religion they believe in. We really just care about people as individuals.
