WalkWithDonna

Day 34 Santiago de Compostela - We've Arrived!

donna_jeff — Tue, 3 Jul 2018 22:39:00 GMT

So excited as we leave Amenal this morning on the last leg of our 500-mile hike from St. Jean Pied de Port, France to Santiago de Compostela along the Camino Frances, the Way of St. James. For a couple pilgrims who have hiked 33 days, we have an amazing lightness to our step today. It's raining, but no one cares. All the hikers we see are smiling and joking. Jeff tried to tell the Grand Canyon joke (you knew it had to happen!), but it didn't translate well...even with his amazing pantomimes.

As we near San Marcos we come upon this amazing pilgrimage statue. On the sides are images of Pope John Paul II and St. Francis. The two pilgrims on top are directing hikers down the hill toward Santiago...where they will climb the hill through town to the Cathedral (Dintaman & Landes, 2017).

This sign sits on a freeway on-ramp just outside Santiago, population 96,000. Seems like this would make for an interesting commute to work.

This Templar welcomes us to Santiago. He's stationed here to watch over the entering pilgrims.

Entrance to Santiago via the Camion route. Pilgrims add everything from shoes to flags to stickers.

The City of Culture of Galacia sits on a small hill overlooking Santiago. It houses the Heritage Research Center and History Museum, the Galacian National Archive, Galician National Library, and the International Art Center and Performing Arts Center (retrieved from:https://archinect.com/features/article/91086/showcase-city-of-culture-of-galicia).

As we get close, several encouraging signs tell us it's only 1,000 meters to the Cathedral!

We walk through the arch into the Cathedral square and are always amazed by the grandeur of this building. This is our third visit to Santiago and each time part of the Cathedral has been under rennovation. You can see the scaffolding on the west side. Pilgrim mass is held midday every day. Dark sky in the morning, blue sky this afternoon. An excited group of pilgrims enter the square behind us.

After a brief walk around the Cathedral square we head to the Compostela office to receive our official Compostela certifying that we walked from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago. The line this year is shorter than the past two years--only 45 minutes. The first year was two hours, the second over an hour. After taking this photo, I was not-too-politely informed by a security guard that no photos are allowed. The guards and the rules are new to us this year. By the time we received our Compostela, the line was twice as long, around the corner and outside.

We always meet the most interesting pilgrims in this line! This is Jean-Marie who hiked 91 (!) days from Belgium, through France and then through Spain to Santiago, 2,160 kilometers! We are wimps compared to Jean-Marie! He retired in January and told his wife that he wanted to do the pilgrimage while he was still able. His wife met him in towns on the trail three times, bringing him a new pair of boots and more sunscreen. The most interesting thing he shared was that he joined a network in France that set him up to stay with families on the trail where, for a very reasonable fee, he would be given a bedroom, and dinner and breakfast with the family. When he would near a town where he wanted to stop, he would send a text to the network. They would contact host families in that town and one would text Jean-Marie with an invitation to stay. Snuck this photo in line... Bad photographer!!

We are staying again this year a the Parador Reyes Catolicos, right on the Cathedral square. It's an incredible building that was started in 1499, originally built as a hospital to "shelter and restore the battered bodies of the pilgrims who triumphed over the last stage of the Way of St. James." - Santiago Parador Museum. The building was like a small city with priests, health workders, accountants, wine cellar, stables, medicinal garden and a jail. ...hmmm. Over the years it also housed orphans and others in need. Now it has very comfortable beds, amazing showers and a wonderous soaking tub! Every pilgrims dream. Did we mention an important lesson we learned last year? "Never, ever waste a bathtub on the Camino!" Hike 500 miles and you'll know what we mean... Those dogs are barkin' at the end of the day.

The beautiful Parador hotel is build of thick limestone walls and has a number of restful courthards.

This horse carriage is parked beside the Parador. It's used primarily for dignitaries and weddings. The Queen of Spain was visiting the newly restored statuary in the Cathedral when we arrived and most of the square was blocked by local police, federal police and Spain's version of Secret Service. We were hoping to see her in this carriage, but she evidently left in a Mercedes instead. The visit caused quite a stir in the area. Locals were packed into viewing areas around the perimeter of the Cathedral square hoping for a glimpse.

We always stop for a photo at the Guardia Civil substation adjacent to the Cathedral. I guess those Catholics need close supervision! Haha.

Guardia Civil police agency crest.

Amazing statues can be found on nearly every corner in Old Town Santiago.

The Paradores all offer the most amazing buffet breakfast. Breads, cheeses, fruit, eggs, meats, pastries, yogurt, fresh orange juice, coffee, potatoes and vegetables. The photos below show about half of the items available. Yummy! This holds us until dinner!

To walk off our breakfast we do some souvenir shopping and tour the city campus of the University of Santiago. We visited the main campus, a few miles from here, two years ago. The downtown campus focuses on biotechnology. We stop for a photo with the "thinking professor." I guess that was redundant...

Stopped for a Cafe Con Leche while shopping. Comfy chairs and dark wood panels in this Bistro.

We will travel home tomorrow after an absolutely amazing journey. We hope you enjoyed visiting the Camino with us. We truly appreciated comments, texts, emails and your prayers for our safety and good health. Jeff and Donna

Day 33 Arzua to Amenal

donna_jeff — Mon, 2 Jul 2018 06:39:00 GMT

It's cloudy and rainy as we leave Arzua, self-proclaimed land of cheese, honey and philosophy. They had us at cheese! As you saw from yesterday's photos, this is dairy land and the town hosts a cheese festival each March at which over 100,000 cheeses are sold (Dintaman & Landes, 2017).

At the top of the first hill we encounter a local entrepreneur carving some unique hiking sticks. Amazing craftsmenship! These are a popular item for pilgrims who start their Camino in Sarria. Those who walk longer routes tend to have lighter hiking poles, for the most part. We learned in year one, we can't take any sticks or poles in carry on luggage; they must be checked.

This typical trailside cafe is at the entrance to Calzada.

We met Jaren as we near the tiny town of Boavista. Jaren's from Holland and after hiking the Camino del Norte route, he joined the Camino Frances in Arzua. He shared his journey with us for about four miles. Evidently the beauty of the Camino del Norte is there are very few pilgrims on the trail, however there are also very few towns and cafes to make the journey more comfortable. Jaren says one day he saw two pilgrims at the beginning of the day, two farmers along the way and two pilgrims when he stopped for the night. He says initially his days were between 25 and 40 kms, but shin splints and blisters caused him to reevaluate his distances, after which he says he averaged 20 kms per day.

Interesting remains of a building near Salceda. The walls of the rock homes are often 2-3 feet thick, as you can see here.

We cross lots of small streams again today over ancient stone bridges.

We bypass the "beer bottle bar" in Salceda where it appears that copious quanties of the brew is consumed. We see locals sipping wine in the cafes at 9 a.m. and many European and Australian pilgrims enjoying a beer by that time as well.

After a lunch stop in Santa Irene we round the corner and come upon this Guardia Civil patrol vehicle. The policia are inside having lunch, so we were able to snap a few images before they came to run us off. As we mentioned earlier in this journey, some are very willing to let us make photos, some are adamently opposed.

We've walked through lots of eucalyptus forests in the past three days. Because they grow so quickly, they are planted primarily for lumber and paper.

With so much rain today, we essentially washed our clothes while we were wearing them. And with only one day to Santiago, we elect to skip our hand washing and dive right into a hot shower and warm meal of stewed beef, or what we would call pot roast. We can't believe we will be in Santiago tomorrow after a short 12-mile walk!

Day 32 Palas de Rei to Arzua

donna_jeff — Mon, 2 Jul 2018 06:25:00 GMT

We leave Palas de Rei early in the rain as our destination of Arzua is about 19 miles. This statue on the edge ot town conventiently points pilgrims to the Camino path.

Tried to hijack this Bread Truck, but someone in our party put a damper on my plans. Tell me you wouldn't have tried...

This mausoleum and chapel sit on the outskirts of Leboreiro. Mausoleums always seem to have a chapel on the grounds, while graveyards do not. All the graveyards we've seen have been behind stone fences, and now have locked gates. During our pilgrimage in 2016, the gates were open.

The Casa Domingo albergue welcomes travelers with this massive stone scallop shell, a common emblem of the pilgrimage.

We are still mystified by this large basket made of small tree limbs. It's about 4 feet in diamater and sits just outside the church in Leboreiro. Jeff said maybe it's temporary quarters for children who are unruly in church.

Iglesia de Santa Maria church in Leboreiro.

Medival stone bridge near Furelos, population 135. We will cross several stone bridges today on our way to Arzua.

Arched stone bridge over Rio Furelos into Melide, population 7,800 (Dintaman & Landes, 2017).

Rooftops of Melide from the bridge. Melide is famous for its Pulpo a la Gallega. Boiled octopus over steamed potatoes in olive oil and paprika. Delicious! We've enjoyed this dish several times in the past few days. Melide is where the Camino Primative route joins the Frances (main) route.

As we leave Melide we meet Mercedes doing her laundry on the limestones at a pilgrim fountain/bath. She was delightful and we pantomimed a converstion with her for a few minutes before continuing on our way.

Another mile down the road and Jeff meets a small herd of milk cows. He's getting used to the livestock! There was a bit of apprehension at first, but I kept taking photos and saying, "They only have lower teeth on the bottom; they aren't going to bite you. Unless, of course you get caught in their back molars, which are top and bottom... then you're cuw food."

As we near Arzua we pass through Castaneda which housed the limekilns we mentioned a few days ago. This was the destination of the limestones that some pilgrims carried nearly 100 km to contribute to building the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela (Dintaman & Landes, 2017). We arrive in Arzua a bit damp (understatement), but in great spirits. This is the last tough hiking day. Not saying there aren't more hills to climb or descend, but they won't be as challenging as today.

Day 30 Sarria to Portomarin and Day 31 Portomarin to Palas de Rei

donna_jeff — Mon, 2 Jul 2018 02:57:00 GMT

After an extra day to rest in Sarria we're off this morining for Portomarin, about 15 miles. Right off there's this great staircase to climb through town.

These colorful signs are at the top of the stairs in Sarria before we pass the cathedral and leave town.

There's a nice cafe in Baradelo about 3.5 miles outside Sarria where we stop for a coffee alongside this unique pilgrim fountain.

The farm land on this leg of the journey consists mostly of grass hay, corn and cattle--beef and milk cows. There are a few scattered sheep. Horreos, or grain dryers, like the one below now become a common site at most country homes. This one is in great shape, some are a bit more worn. They are used to dry any grain, but mainly sweet corn on an elevated, rodent-free platform. They usually have tiled roofs, and always have a cross at one end,some times both ends.

The most interesting thing about Portomarin is the cathedral that was moved stone-by-stone to the top of a hill in town after the lower portion of the town flooded. Some of the stones still have the numbers on them that were used to aid in the reconstruction. We can still see some sturctures from the flooded city as we cross the bridge into town.

We leave Portomarin in the dark about 6 a.m. because today is about 16 miles of hills and downhills. As the sun comes up we see the work of an enterprising gardener near Monterroso who created these mushrooms and a gynormous lady bug out of painted rocks.

Another one of our favorite yard signs as we enter Palas de Rei. No need for a translation...

Day 29 Triacastela to Sarria - Lost for the first time!

donna_jeff — Sun, 1 Jul 2018 04:36:00 GMT

Okay, we knew it would happen, we got lost today and walked about 4+ additional miles to get back on track! In our defense, we were walking up a hill in very dense fog when we missed the marker signalling pilgrmis to take a sharp left to Samos. We started the day in Triacastela in rain, though the forecast was for sunny skies. I always have plenty of rain gear!

Lots of ruins remain in Balsa about 3 miles out of Triacastela...still on the route.

We may have been distracted by today's wildlife. Mommy hen and a few chicks.

Coming down the hill about six miles into our journey and we are wondering why we haven't arrived in Samos yet. Jeff is blissfully unaware that we have lost our way... Oh well, the scenery is stunning! At the bottom of this hill we hit a "T" in the road at which point we realize we're slightly off the trail...about four miles off the trail! Jeff makes his famous remark, "Oh well, the world's round" and off we go using Google maps to find Samos. A minor adjustment.

Jeff wanted to know if this was a beaver dam we passed on the say back to Samos. I'd really hate to meet up with a beaver who could build that thing! He's a city kid, so we'll give him some slack...

Arriving (finally!) in Samos, population 1,600, we stopped at a cafe for nourishment and saw these beautiful lillies on the patio. Finding one's way back to civilization is thirsty work. A Coca Cola Zero took care of that.

The Monastery of St. Julian of Samos was built in the 6th Century, is an active Benedictine monastery and still hosts a pilgrim hospital opened in the 11th Century. According to its website, seven bishops have come from this monastery. It is still inhabitied by the Benedictine monks who provide tours for 3 Euros, or used by groups as a spiritual retreat (http://www.abadiadesamos.com).

After leaving Samos we finally arrived on that snow-capped mountain we've shown you pictures of earlier... Just kidding! This is debris from a large stand of cottonwood trees along side the Rio Samos.

Jeff beside the small falls on the Rio Samos.

The Restaurante Pontenovo about 3 miles outside Samos wasn't yet open, but the delicious smells coming from the building made us want to sit on this patio and wait for lunch.

These flower pots are attached to an ancient wall about five miles outside Sarria. Slate roofs are common this this area of Spain. Many, like this one, are in disrepair, but we see newer homes with beautiful slate roofs as well.

We made it to Sarria! We'll stay in Hotel Alfonso IX, king of Leon and Galicia from 1188 until his death. Ancestry.com states that 14th Century historian Ibn Khaldun claims Alfonso IX was called Baboso or Slobberer as he foamed at the mouth during fits of rage. Don't think we'll invite him to dine with us tonight...

Day 28 O Cebriero to Triacastela

donna_jeff — Sat, 30 Jun 2018 23:32:00 GMT

We "leave" O Cebreiro in the dark, but look an open cafe! It's still a bit dark, so for safety's sake it's best we stop for coffee and toast. Safety first!

Jeff ran out screaming when he saw the local boar's head. I caught up with him at this marker just up the trail.

The valley of Linares looking down from O Cebeiro. Jeff passes the church near the bottom of the hill about 4 miles out of O Cebeiro. This is where, in 2016, two lost pilgrms rejoined the Camino trail... Started in the dark that year too and missed the trail marker. See... safety first! Haha.

Because we didn't climb enough yesterday...we hiked to the Alto de San Roque today where this windswept pilgrim stands about 12 feet tall (Or as Jeff is saying about 2.5 Simons.) After a brief walk along the top we begin to descend into Hospital de la Condesa. The remains of this church sit adjacent to the Camino trail in Hospital.

Couldn't resist taking this photo of a farmer raking his grass hay. The rakes are so different now--horizontal rather than vertical, but they do a very neat job of creating rows for the massive round baler that will be along soon after. We saw lots of giant round bales wrapped in plastic to keep the hay dry.

We met Mary from Hamburg, Germany at a coffee shop in Fronfria. She's hiking on her own and says, "Some people just talk too much on the trail." She put her index finger to her lips and said, "You just want to say SHHHHH! " Cracked us up, she's saying what many are thinking!

According to Dintaman and Landes (2017) Fronfria was the site for the hospice of Santa Catalina, built in 1535, where lodging for pilgrims included salt, water, heat and two blankets. Sick pilgrims got all that plus an extra piece of bread, butter and eggs.

Jeff running with the bulls in Fronfria. Shhh... don't tell him they're actually cows. He's strutting around all manly! These two mounted officers of the Guardia Civil met us as we were descending another hill near Triacastela. The first policia salutes Jeff below as he passes by us.

We met this three-generation Spanish family hiking the Camino just outside Triacastela. Wow.

800-year old tree near Triacastela.

What's a visit to Triacastela without a stop at Casa Simon?!

Triacastela, with a current population of 772, was established in the 9th century and three castles (thus the name Triacastela) were bulit and destroyed there in the 10th century. Some busy folks! Limestone is plentiful in Triacastela and early pilgrims would carry a big stone 100 km to the limekiln near Santiago where it would be added to the construction materials for the cathedral there (Dintaman & Landes, 2017).

Day 27 Villafranca to O Cebreiro - Monster Hill!

donna_jeff — Sat, 30 Jun 2018 02:18:00 GMT

We leave Villafranca early today as we have a monster hill to climb and the temperatures are still a bit hot--high 80s. You can see from the sign below we have only 187 km to Santiago de Compolstela. We are ready--our very nice hotel packed us a "picnic" since we had to leave before breakfast. Most won't, but this is a great hotel--we stayed here on our 2016 pilgrimage.

We look back at Villafranca, still a bit before sunrise, as we begin to climb toward Pereje on our first leg of today's journey.

It's light by the time we arrive in Pereje, but we are the only ones on the streets. We've noticed that many small Spanish towns don't really come alive until about 10 a.m. We did find a cafe open so we stopped for our first Cafe con Leche. They were selling some Camino trinkets and these cool hiking sticks.

Flowers flow from every window box and ledge in Vega de Valcarce, the largest small town (population about 700) on our way to O Cebreiro (Dintaman & Landes, 2017).

Above Vega de Valcarce sits the remains of Castillo de Sarracin, built in the 9th century, invaded and destroyed, of course, and rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries (Dintaman & Landes, 2017).

This interesting building is at the base of the hill and a perfect ice cream stop for pilgrims who are about to burn up at least 1,500 calories going up this mountain! Those who chose to hire a horse for the ride up, don't stop for ice cream. These horses are headed back down to the barn having earned their owner 20-25 Euros apeice for toting pilgrims from Herrerias to O Cebreiro, about 8 km. They make two trips a day.

The view from the top is worth the climb.

O Cebreiro is the first Galacian town on the Camino. The church, Iglesia de Santa Maria la Real, sits at the entrance to the community, which is known as the birthplace of Father Elias Valina Sampedro, a local priest said to have initiated the yellow arrow symbol that marks the entire Camino de Santiago route (Dintaman & Landes, 2017).

After a delicious dinner of grilled pork chops we're off to bed. Dinners in the small hotels are either wonderful, like they are at the Casa Carolo where we stayed again this year, or they are interesting-- only a few have been inedible. We have learned that ordering fish can result in nearly anything arriving on a plate--could be delicious, could be something you wouldn't feed your dog. Another early 6 a.m. start tomorrow heading to Triacastela.

Day 26 Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo

donna_jeff — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 04:26:00 GMT

After a great rest in Ponferrada we are off to Villafranca today. In 2016 we walked from Ponferrada to Santiago de Compostela on our first pilgrimage, so we are excited to see what looks familiar.

Cool pilgrimage sign as we leave Ponferrada at 6 a.m. to avoid some of today's heat. Expected to be 90 degrees and humid. No big deal for a couple Phoenicians, right?!

These spry ladies heard there was a cherry theft in progress and they are after the scounderal who is boosting the Bings! The valleys outside Ponferrada are covered with cherries, vineyards, wildflowers and vegetable gardens. We've left the spanish wheat lands behind.

Acres and acres of vineyards line the hills of our pilgrimage today.

We watched this local gardner selecting her vegetable plants for her garden in Cacadelos. It was a long and contemplative process, but we enjoyed watching it! We were sitting outside enjoying a delicious bag of Bing cherries we bought from a street vendor as we entered town. A yummy treat and no Policia or local vigilantes chasing us down the street.

This amazing stone structure abuts a museum in Cacabelos.

Donna chased this bread truck through the streets of Valtuille de Arriba where the driver would blow his horn and ladies would literally run out of their houses to purchase their daily bread. Jeff was able to pry her fingers off the bumper after a few blocks. That's good bread!

We had a sunny climb leaving town and poor Jeff was HOT so we stopped at this interesting place to cool down and hydrate. Eric, from San Diego, provides cold drinks and snacks in exchange for donations...Karma will take care of him he says. He's a character, definitely a throwback to the 60s!

Jeff passes the Iglesia de Santiago as we enter the beautiful, historic city of Villafranca, population about 3,500 (Dintaman & Landes, 2017). Pilgrims rest here in Villafranca for the very steep climb to O'Cebriero the following day.

Ancient pilgrims who were too ill to continue up the hill could walk through the Puerta del Perdon doorway of the church and receive the same "indulgences" as they would have if completing the pilgramage in Santiago de Compostela (Dintaman & Landes, 2017). Modern pilgrims who can't make it from Villafranca to O'Cebriero take a taxi or hire a horse to take them up the hill! It's about 20-25 Euros to hire a horse from Las Herrerias to O Cebriero.

We stopped in town for a quick jamon and queso bocadillo (ham and cheese sandwich on that heavenly bread) before hiking to our very comfortable hotel on the edge of town. These pilgrims believe in a cool bath after a hot day of pilgrimaging and a comfy bed to rest in before tackling the next day's challenges!

Day 25 Rabanal to Ponferrada

donna_jeff — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 06:10:00 GMT

We leave Rabanal at first light as we will climb the Irago Mountains about 465 m. (1,525 ft.) and then drop steeply 925 m. (3,035 ft.). To refresh pilgrims on this difficult leg of the journey there are several fountains with very cold water--some potable, some just for rinsing your dusty pilgrim feet. Jeff found one at sunrise with a basin big enough to bathe.

The entrance to Foncebadon, population 13, is marked with this wooden cross in the middle of the road. According to legend, vicious dogs used to roam this town, but the only dog we saw was about the size of a small poodle being petted by several patrons at the town's one cafe (Dintaman & Landes, 2017). Around the bend from the cross the main road turns to rock and dirt. And a number of houses are in serious disrepair like the one you see below.

The bell tower is the only thing left standing of this church near Somoza.

At the top of the mountain is Cruz Ferro a wooden pole with and iron cross where pilgrims leave a stone a that represents a burden left behind.

Even cows have their own field crosses in Catholic country!

View from atop the Irago Mountain looking back toward Somoza.

Distance signs to Santiago at a unique Albergue outside Manjarin.

The nuclear plant near Molinaseca. We see it far in the distance as we come down the steep trail into Molinaseca. The interesting pilgrim below decided to do an entire yoga routine at the cafe in Acebo. Whatever it takes after climbing and decending that mountain today!

Rooftops as we enter Molinaseca. This bicycle statue is in honor of a 70-year-old cyclist from Germany who died in a bike accident here on the Camino in the 1980s (Dintaman & Landes, 2017).

Church in Molinaseca.

Part of the downhill path is solid rock, like Jeff is standing on and part is loose rocks. A tricky descent.

Leaving the Irago mountains behind we finally arrive 21 miles later in Ponferrada. The Templar castle here is one of the most amazing sites on the Camino. It was built in the 13th Century, is surrounded by a large moat, and has 12 towers, representing the 12 disciples (Dintaman & Landes, 2017). Ponferrada is a modern town with lots of industry and a population of about 68,000 (Dintaman & Landes, 2017).

Day 23 Astorga & Day 24 Rabanal del Camino

donna_jeff — Fri, 22 Jun 2018 00:16:00 GMT

We left for Astorga this morning across this amazing bridge in Hospital de Orbigo. This city is famous for a jousting festival of 300 knights in th Holy Year of1434 (Dintaman & Landes, 2017). The days are more sunny now and in the mid 70s. Nice!

Jeff on a street leaving Hospital de Orbigo. Just a few kilometers down the trail is Villares de Orbigo. It's a colorful place--both people and flowers.

I know you can't believe it! This is Jeff touching an animal! He's even smiling. The calves on this dairy farm are housed in these dog-house style huts. Interesting, but not a very social experience for these calves.

This interesting pilgrim shrine is atop the hill above Villares de Orbigo. The valley below is lush farmland.

We are looking down the trail onto Villaresde Orbigo.

This valley is covered with grass hay, corn and hops. You can see the hops behind this cornfield below.

On the left a large pilgrim statue awaits us at the base of the hill entering San Justo de la Vega. The next pilgrim is near the church entering Astorga. I think it's the same guy...and he beat us to town!

The church entering Astorga in the Plaza de San Francisco, where according to legend, both St. James and St. Paul preached. At one point Astorga had 21 pilgrim hospitals, second only to Burgos. Currently just over 12,000 people live in in the city (Dintaman & Landes, 2017).

Church and outdoor cafes on the square in Astorga. The chariot races are held here in August each year.

We left Astorga today headed for Rabanal del Camino. We stopped for a quick refreshment in Murias de Rechivaldo. Those stone walls and doorways are really solid! See the sign on the door... only 245 km to Santiago!

This beautiful courtyard is an an Albergue on the very edge of Santa Catalina de Somoza. There are many master gardners in Spain!

We appear to be getting closer to the snow! EEKS. We walked uphill all day today. We're not in the snow, but it's cooler here in Rabanal del Camino. Tonight it's raining and hailing. Might make for a muddy downhill tomorrow. About 5 km out of Rabanal, we stopped at the Cowboy Bar. How could we not? We had a soft drink and met a young woman from Portland, OR. She's headed for medical school at Chicago Loyala in the fall. Wow. Great day.

Day 20 Mansilla de las Mulas, Day 21 Leon, Day 22 Villavante

donna_jeff — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 03:02:00 GMT

We leave El Burgo Ranero again on a maple tree-lined path. Thousands of this maples have been planted on the trail to provide shade for pilgrims. These stone monuments are beautiful and simple reminders of why people have walked this trail for thousands of years.

Today we are walking along an old road that the Romans used to transport gold from Galicia to Rome. We can see the Cantabrica Mountains in the distance, some still topped with snow. There's art along this path illustrating some old tools and farming implements used by early settlers (Dintaman & Landes, 2017). We also pass through the town of Reliegos whose claim to fame is that it was struck by a meteor in 1947. The 38 lb meteor is now on display in a science museum in Madrid.

We arrive in Mansilla in the early afternoon and locate our hotel, the Hotel Albergueria de Camino and meet our very enthusiastic host, Javier. He seems really excited to see us and pulls us into the hotel cafe for some snacks and sangria. He was slightly disappointed that we had water... but he recovered quickly to regale us with stories of his visit to the U.S. in the 1980s on an educational teachers tour. He spent a week in Phoenix and was excited to meet pilgrims from that city. We had the best time visiting with him and listening to his great stories. His hotel is packed with local antiques.

Dining room at Javier's hotel. Dinner was completely different than anything we've had yet. Pork in verde sauce. Yummy.

This is the patio behind the hotel and you can see a few of the eclectic items hanging from the walls and scattered about.

Jeff freaks out seeing a dead rat as we leave Mansilla the next morning.

This amazing bridge, with 20 arches, outside Villarente takes us over the Rio Porma. Villarente hosted the Camino's first ambulance service--donkeys who transported sick pilgrims to locale hospitals. We saw one donkey as we approached the town, but it appeared to be out of service.

As we enter the outskirts of Leon, we are detoured due to bridge construction. The detour, of course, leads us over a minor mountain. The silver lining? We had this beautiful bird's eye view of Leon. You can see the Cathedral in the distance. Leon's population is about 130,000 and it's a modern city with many residents living in highrise buildings downtown. It's a busy vibrant place and has been since about 1100 when it became a flourishing center for the wool industry and in 1188 hosted the first Parliament in Europe (Dintaman & Landes, 2017). Its wealth blossomed under Alfonso IX and enabled the city to build an amazing cathedral.

These are some of the original city walls on the outskirts of the city.

Architecture is mixed, old and new, throughout the city business and residential districts.

Our hotel in Leon had this great sign for pilgrims--only 309 km to go!

We didn't see anyone in cowboy boots, but you can get yourself a pair in Leon. We have noticed that there's an abundance of shoe stores in the cities in Spain. Shoes are big here and everyone is wearing either new shoes or very well maintained shoes.

Street scenes in Leon. There's a trout festival here in late June that we will miss by about a week. Darn!

This store was filled with candies, chocolates and had a window display filled with fresh potato chips. I can tell you those chips are GOOD!

Elvis is alive and he lives in Leon! The street scene below is from a neighborhood adjacent to the cathedral.

Monday was a holiday in Leon and there were hundreds of school children learning to dance on the cathedral square.

Even the military school nearby was part of the festivities in the square.

Jeff is standing outside the main entrance to the cathedral. We took a tour of this cathedral known for it's amazing stained glass windoes. In the photo below you can see a tiny nun walking past the cathedral. Actually, she's a regular-sized nun, just dwarfed by this incredible building. According to Dintaman and Landes (2017), this is the fourth church built on this space. It was constructed in 1,205 in a quick 100 years.

We discovered a police station just a block from our hotel.

This statue of a resting pilgrim faces the Hostal San Marcos a 15th century pilgrim hospital, now a Parador hotel. This hotel, featured in the movie "The Way," is where Martin Sheens treats his friends to to an evening of luxury accommodation.

Our hotel tonight is a historic mill converted to a bed and breakfast. It's a beautiful property, just a bit off the beaten track. Owner, Mercedes, is a wonderful host and our dinner meal, served family style, was delicious!

The dining room of this bed and breakfast is filled with intersting antiques (not Jeff!), like these radios that my brother-in-law tells us are likely from the 30s or 40s.

Our fellow pilgrims at dinner: Louise and Helen from South Africa, and Fabio from Brazil.

Days 17, 18 and 19 - Calzadilla de la Cueza, Sahagun, and El Burgo Ranero

donna_jeff — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 05:26:00 GMT

Leaving the huge monastery converted into Hotel Real Monasterio del Zoilo in Carrion de Los Condes. Not a seamless transition from monastery to hotel, but really interesting, nonetheless. Construction on the monastery began in 1047.

These pilgrims were feeling a bit stiff as they arrived at the Monastario... You're wondering which ones, right?

There are a number of these stone or concrete cross monuments along the trail and throughout the towns along the Way. Face of the Monasterio/hotel.

This enterprising senor provides straggling pilgrims rides on the Camino trail from Carrion de Los Condes to Calzadilla -- 17 km (about 10.5 miles) for only 12 Euros! This stretch of the Camino has no villages, cafes or bathrooms. We saw the cart go past us full of passengers while we were obeying the important sign below at the tilt-up cafe.

This pilgrim from Milwaukee was sporting solar panels on her backpack to power her (annoying) radio. We hustled past her. To the right below is Jeff's favorite sign so far. This was posted on several trees at the single refreshment site on a long seven-mile stretch of trail--that had no facilities! The trees just past this makeshift cafe were getting lots of "watering."

We stopped here on the outskirts of Calzadilla de la Cueza for lunch before going to our hotel. Jeff's mantra, where there are cops, there must be donuts! There were donuts, but instead we had the best dish of paella ever! Yummy rice with saffron, shrimp, sausage, peppers and more! Still having our best meals in these roadside or trailside cafes. Our hotel host was a truly engaging gentleman who proudly displays his seven Compostela certificates. He has walked the Camino de Santiago seven times between 1998 and 2017. Wow. He was a very congenial hotelier.

We leave Calzadilla for Sahagun and as we cross the Rio de la Cueza we enter Tarradillos de los Templarios. In the 13th century the church here belonged to the Knights Templar, protectors of the pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela. Jacques de Molay in the mosaic sign below, the grand master of the Templars was arrested on a Friday the 13th in 1307, on what are said to be trumped-up political charges and burned at the stake. It is suggested that this may be the origin of the superstition about Friday the 13th (Dintaman & Landes, 2017).

The weather is improving every day now, but there's still a bit of mud to negotiate.

Still not sure what happens to the pilgrims that belog to all the boots we see along the way... This one saved his shoelaces. Hmmm.

This large Albergue (hostel) in Moratinos, population 68, had a Canadian flag flying so of course we stopped to visit and have some refreshment.

Trees with sweaters in Moratinos! No idea...

About 1.5 miles out of Sahagun this ancient bridge leads us to the Church - Ermita Virgende del Puente. This church and the city of Sahagun are protected by the two large Templar statues you can see below.

Us with our protectors the Templars. There's a second Templar opposite this one, but he's bashful (in the shade and not as photogenic).

Jeff kept trying to strike up a conversation with this pilgrom, in Sahagun, but even he couldn't get the guy to talk. Jeff was so disappointed (not!) that we were just a week too early for him to participate in the bull fight activities in Sahagun. While we were walking through town, workers were constructing the corral fences through the busniess district of town in which local men will "run" several unhappy half-ton bulls up to the Plaza de Toros de Granada bullfighting ring. They do this six times during the fiesta honoring St. Juan of Sahagun.

Cast of pilgrim soles leaving Sahagun, population 2,625.

Leaving Sahagun we crossed the Rio Cea over the Puente Canto, the "singing bridge." Jeff chose Willy Nelson's "On The Road Again" as his bridge song today. The path now follows a beautiful line of popular trees which provide shade now that we're seeing some sun. Eventually, the popular trees are replaced with maple trees.

This former pilgrim hospital, "Our Lady of the Pear Trees," is just east of Bercianos de Real Camino. That doesn't look like a pear tree to me... We contunue along our maple tree-lined path to Burgo del Ranero where we will stay for the night.

Days 15 & 16: Castrojeriz to Fromista and Fromista to Carrion de los Condes

donna_jeff — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 00:37:00 GMT

We leave Castrojeriz along a street bordered by lovely roses.

We walk along a marshy area before crossing the Rio Odrilla. According to our guidebook (Dintaman & Landes, 2017) thousands of tons of stone were dumped into this marsh to create a Roman causeway to transport gold and other minerals.Just after the river, the trail turns steep as we climb up to Alto de Mostelares. The photo below is Jeff at the top (after we recovered!) looking over the path down to Castrillo de Cabezon. This portion of the path down is paved as parts are up to 18% grade.

Near the bottom of the hill we can see these wind generators near Castrillo de cabezon.

Just outside Itero de la Vega we are welcomed to the Provincia de Palencia. According to the Codex Calixtinus complied from 1138-1145, under the direction of Pope Callixtus II, the territory is "full of royal treasure, of gold and silver, fabics and the strongest horses, and flush with bread, wine, fish, milk and honey. It is however lacking in firewood and the people are evil and vicious," (p. 3197/7125). How bad can they be if they have flower boxes outside their windows all through town and provide sustance for the weary pilgrims below who've stopped for nourishment?

We walked for about 2 miles along a broad irrigation canal, the Canal de Castilla, built from 1753-1859 (Dintaman & Landes, 2017). Originally, mules towed ships up and down the canal. Today it feeds several fields of wheat, potatoes and sugar beets, and comes to a dam structure just outside Fromista.

Look at that blue sky! We enjoy a beautiful and very brief break from the storm clouds as we walk through the town of Fromista to our hotel.

This is what it looked like as we ducked into the hotel literally five minutes before the heavens opened over the Iglesia de San Martin.

We left Fromista under clouds, but the weather is predicted to be partially sunny today! As we near the town of Poblacion de Campos we cross a bridge lined with these Camino markers. The river below is filled with frogs calling their mates at the top of their little froggy lungs!

We walked past this metal statue of a pilgrim and adjacent Templar Cross that the homeowners placed in an orchard that abuts the Camino trail. A nice bench was also provided under a shade tree nearby. How nice many people are to weary pilgrims!

An intersting pilgrimage mural and Camino signs as we approach Ravenga de Campos.

Even Coca Cola is into the pilgrimage! Only 419 km to go...a Coke Zero sounds good about now! We stopped for lunch at the cafe below in Villalcazar de Sirga. I really need to take some pics of our amazing food. One plate you see is a jamon and queso bocadillo (ham and cheese sandwich). The other plate as something new for us. It's the normal tortilla (eggs baked with potato slices, onion and peppers) sliced in half and stuffed with lettuce, tomatoes and a light dressing. Sounds kind of weird but it was delicioso!

A handsome pilgrim waiting for his lunch in Villalcazar de Sirga. He's looking around the cafe for the Knights Templar who were the original protectors of Villalcazar.

After our yummy lunch (no Knights Templar showed up. Like most in Spain, they probably eat later in the day.), we headed across more wheat fields to Carrion de los Condes our destination for today.

According to Dintaman and Landes (2017) in the Middle Ages Carrion de los Condes was a wealthy town of 10,000 with 14 pilgrim hospitals. Legend holds that Charlemagne camped here during his campaign against the Moors who had the audacity to build a castle here in the 8th Century. This intresting mural below welcomes us to Carrion de los Condes and we cross the river Carrion below the church.

Our hotel is here in the rennovated Montasterio de San Zoilo. Tomorrow we hit the halfway mark in our pilgrimage. I can't believe it! Seems too soon.

Day 14 Hornillos to Castrojeritz

donna_jeff — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 00:04:00 GMT

Manuel made us a great breakfast and then drove us back to town to resume our hike here in Hornillos. There's a legend that pilgrims who soak their feet in the San Bol fountain just outside of Hornillos will be cured of all foot pain. It was filled with algae and who knows what else, so we decided to rely on moleskin, KT tape, Bandaids, and Neosporin. It takes Jeff about 20 minutes to wrap his feet every morning. Time very, very well spent! Of course they look like alien feet (and I don't mean Canadian) when he's done...

I pulled out my rain gear early...

Pilgrims often place rocks atop the camino markers throughout the pilgrimage.

Jeff headed down the hill to Iglesais.

At the bottom of the hill we came upon this tour van that is driving tourists to see the Camino pilgrimage and pilgrims from the road. Jeff ran up to the van and pressed his nose on the window, waving a hello to the seniors inside. I'm sure they had a good laugh. I know I did!

Coming into Hontanas. Just up these stairs is a cafe, seven miles into our day and the perfect time for a cafe leche and a Coke Zero.

Church in Hontanas. Legend claims that in the 1670s pilgrims were terrorized by packs of wolves who roamed the hills near Hontanas and come out at night to attack weary pilgrims. We didn't see any wolves, but then we didn't hang around after dark either.

Found this "billboard" funny as we leave Hontanas. The miles are a bit off... There's a muncipal pool just behind this building, but it's definitely not ready for summer swimmers yet. Yucky green!

Last photo before the rain hit hard and we hiked the last 4 miles to Castrojeritz in mud up to our armpits...only a slight exaggeration. It sticks your shoes/boots like epoxy and feels like you're carrying an additional 4 lbs. on each foot.

There's an amazing castle atop the hill from Castrojeritz, the Castillo de San Esteban. According to the "Camino de Santiago Village to Village Guide (Dintaman & Landes, 2017) the castle, founded by Julius Caesar, was used by the Romans to protect the roads to the gold mines in Galicia. We were too wet to hike up, and it's not recommended when muddy.

Just outside town we saw the ruins of the magnificent Convento de San Anton, which was constructed beginning in the 11th Century. The Arch was breathtaking. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the camera out in the downpour. St. Anton is the patron saint of animals and people still bring their pets to the site to be blessed on his sanit's day.

Time to dry out and get some rest in Castrojeritz before tackling the BIG hill just out of town heading for Fromista in the morning.

Day 13 Burgos to Hornillos del Camino

donna_jeff — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 05:05:00 GMT

After a terrific breakfast of literally everything, we roll ourselves out to the Camino trail on a cool morning in Burgos. Our focus still on food, Jeff finds his soulmate below. After posing with Mr. Gelato, he had to pull me away from this window display of today's breads.

We passed the Universidad de Burgos as we walked through town this morning. According to its website it enrolls about 11,000 students in 30+ undergraduate programs, graduate programs and a law school.

This beautiful driveway fronts an estate just outside Burgos.

We met Peter in the laundromat in Burgos yesterday and again today, with his wife Alison in a cafe in Tardajos. Alison was touring the cathedral in Burgos yesterday while Peter was doing their laundry. She says, "I was taking care of our souls, he was taking care of our undies." They're from Melbourne, Australia and are hiking part way and biking part way.

We saw lots of stork nests today. They're atop stone arches, church bell towers, etc. Anywhere high enough.

It's Saturday and this church in Tardajos is being prepared for a wedding.

This wall of signs directs us out of Tardajos toward Rabe de Las Calzadas. Jeff was looking for grapes, but it's too early in the season...

This troubled fence outside Rabe de Las Calzadas is made from pallets. Evidently, not the most long-lasting fencing material.

Hornillos de Camino in the distance from the Camino trail.

We stopped for lunch in Hornillos and found this Welcome to Arizona sign above our table. We are staying at a historic bed and breakfast about 4 miles outside of town tonight so we called our host from the cafe to pick us up. Miguel was a great host and excellent cook! We were the only guests on this Saturday evening.

From our hotel window we see this optimistic senora hanging out her laundry. We can only conclude that she has sophisticated weather radar that is showing her a brief window of clear skies before the next rain storm.

Burgos Cathedral

donna_jeff — Sat, 9 Jun 2018 07:23:00 GMT

We toured the cathedral at Burgos today. Wow.

Day 12 Atapuerca to Burgos

donna_jeff — Fri, 8 Jun 2018 04:43:00 GMT

Our hotel from Atapuerca was several miles out of town and required a taxi ride. ...Have you heard the one about the two pilgrims who went into a bar? One pilgrim attempted to phone a taxi and got a recording, in Spanish, of course. After trying the second phone number and receiving another recording, in Spanish, of course, that pilgrim turned to the her companion pilgrim and said "hmmm…" She then began a ridiculous pantomime in an attempt to get assistance from the bartender/patrons, who of course, speak only Spanish. This performace was Oscar-worthy. Pilgrim two decided it was time to disappear to the bathroom, in embarrassment perhaps? Eventually, a patron, likely terrified by the convulsing pilgrim, agreed to call the taxi number and helped the ignorant pilgrims secure their taxi. Pilgrim one, bought that saint (in a bar?) a beer and collecting pilgrim two from his hiding place in the banos, hustled outside to wait for the taxi. Hopefully, nothing will surface on YouTube.

Easy day today, a very flat hike from Atapuerca to Burgos. And it started with Jeff chasing a donut van around the hotel parking lot!

It rained all the way to Burgos, population 178, 500, so no photos along the way. We did walk through about 5 miles of industrial park as we entered Burgos. There’s a gigantic Goodyear Tire processing plant on this path. Whew…stinky! Lots of jobs though.

We passed a few funny US-named businesses. Here’s the picture of the Bar Arizona. We also saw a Las Vegas hotel, and a Miami bar.

As we near the cathedral area we are walking along this path lined by these beautiful trees. The shrubs are pruned in layers.

As we turn toward the cathedral we see a glimpse of the amazing structure.

The cathedral in Burgos, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the biggest I’ve seen at 139,930 sq. ft. It cannot be captured in one photo without a wide-angle lens. According to the UNESCO website, construction of the cathedral began in the 13^th century and was finished in the 16^th century. After a 200-year hiatus, work began again, mostly artistic enhancements—for another 100 years. According to UNESCO It is a comprehensive illustration of Gothic style, depicting the history of Gothic art through architecture, paintings, choir stalls, tombs, and stained-glass windows. Retrieved from: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/316

This poster was in the Larruz café in the cathedral square. It’s a busy place of commerce and cathedral visitors.

We are staying for two nights at the Palacio de Burgos below. Another rest day after 190/500 miles!

Days 10 and 11 Santo Domingo to Belorado and Belorado to Atapuerca

donna_jeff — Thu, 7 Jun 2018 05:38:00 GMT

We left the beautiful Parador Hotel in Santo Domingo as we headed for Belorado today. Lots of small towns and wheat fields today. Saw the funniest sign, but didn’t take a pic as it was covered with graffiti. It said: Yay God, Boo Devil. Made us smile. Below, leaving Santo Domingo.

We found this very cute mobile coffee/snack bus in Granon, population 307.

Every town, even the smallest, has a Catholic church. And we're not talking a few rooms in a strip mall. These massive structures are hundreds of years old and made of huge stones. The craftsmanship is astounding.

A typical street scene in Granon.

As we crest our first hill of the day we come upon this really tall sign in the middle of nowhere that illustrates the Camino trail in the Castile of Leon, the largest autonomous region in Spain. We will walk through this region for about 400 km until we come to the Galicia region near O Cebreiro. We will talk (whine) more about O Cebreiro later as it is a major climb on a double stage of the journey. We remember it vividly from 2016.

I wanted to hike over this snow-capped mountain, only a slight detour, but Jeff said no. Haha. You all know how I feel about snow.

The graveyards and mausoleums in Viloria de Rioja, and all of the regions we've seen so far, are behind walls and locked gates. In Galacia, they are more open. I was able to capture a photo through the gate.

This is our quaint room in Belorado. The Hotel has rock walls inside and out. Beautiful. Belorado was settled by the Romans in the 10^th century. It has a population of 2,140 now, but evidently in the 13^th century it was hoppin.’ Then it had eight churches, an annual fair and two pilgrim hospitals. The city is known for its leather goods.

We left Belorado early as today's journey is nearly 19 miles and over the Oca hills, which in medieval times were a dangerous route filled with thieves. We made it across without incident. As we leave town toward Tosantos we see “Our Lady of the Cliff,” built into the rock above the town.

We stop to rest our feet and have a cold drink in several of the small towns along the way today. This is Villambistia below. The churches are an iconic feature of every town and often sit on the highest point in the village. They are recognizable from several miles away on the trail.

The vista overlooking Espinosa del Camino.

Met these cuties on the Oca hills. The two girls, 13-year-old Angelica and 11-year-old Sandelie are from Belgium and 8-year-old Andre is from France. The hills were no challenge for these kids! Andre would run ahead and then run back to the girls, then run ahead again. We were hyperventilating just watching him.

We stopped briefly to watch some logging activity on top of the Oca hills. These pine logs are cut to exact length before being hauled to the sawmill.

The trail down the hill into San Juan de Ortega is lined with pine and oak trees. The couple you see below are Tina and Jimmy from Oahu. We walked with them for about a mile and traded "stories." You all know the one who tells tall tales on the trails--Phoenix, Spain, wherever.

Even the weeds that line the ditches are beautiful in Spain!

The cathedral in San Juan de Orgeta, houses the tomb of St. Juan de Ortega and offers a daily evening mass to pilgrims passing through. We sat at a table across from this historic site and had some yummy bocadillos (sandwiches) for lunch. Not ever sure exactly what’s in them, but who cares, they’re great.

Historic bridge along the Rio Vena outside Ages. Just past Ages is the town of Atapuerca which boasts an archaeological site acknowledged as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a large body of prehistoric humanoid artifacts. Some sources say more than 90 percent of all such artifacts found in Europe.

One of us has a few ouchies and both of us are a bit tired after our 19 miles today. One of us perhaps more so as I heard him hollering and laughing from the bathroom. He forgot to remove his calf sleeves before getting into the bath. Oh well, they needed washing anyway.

Day 9 Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

donna_jeff — Tue, 5 Jun 2018 03:20:00 GMT

Brisk when we started this morning, but we warmed up after the first hill! We are walking through lots of vineyards again today as we start out. Some workers below are out trimming the grapes. They’re not using any tools, just breaking of the part that they wish to remove and throwing them into the middle of the rows.

As we come around a corner and see the small town of Azofra, population 251, we are greeted by some ominous-looking clouds! Like most small towns it has a few Albergues (hostels) for the pilgrims. The rooms (shared) range from 11 to 15 Euros in most towns. Everything in the Albergues is communal. Can you say HOTEL!

We stopped at a tiny café in Azofra for a café con leche. Lots of flower boxes in storefronts and many apartment windows.

Headed down the trail toward Ciruena, population 131. There’s a golf club in town and little else. Some beautiful townhomes, and apartments were built here, but when the financial crisis hit Europe in 2008 many were never sold or were foreclosed on. It’s called one of Spain’s “Ghost Towns.” We estimated about 10% occupancy from what we could see walking through.

As we walk toward the historic district in Santo Domingo de la Calzada we came upon this giant Camino arrow and stop for a couple photo ops.

Santo Domingo is home to 6,694, a good-sized town on the Camino. It was developed in the 11^th Century. A very interesting legend from this town holds that a magistrate saw his chicken dinner come back to life, feathers and all, when distraught parents of a boy being unjustly hanged begged that their son be spared. Live chickens, said to be descendants of the miracle fowl, are kept in the cathedral to this day in honor of that story/miracle.

Right across the square from the cathedral, we’re staying at the Parador de Santo Domingo de la Calzada. It was originally a hospital built for Pilgrims in the 12^th century. The lobby is impressive and the rooms are wonderful.

Day 8 Logrono to Najera

donna_jeff — Mon, 4 Jun 2018 04:50:00 GMT

We left Logrono early as we have around 18 miles to go today and of course most of it is uphill! How does that work...seems like the days are mostly uphill. At some point we surely will start down. Seriously, every day is up and down hills--as you would expect in Northern Spain. The La Roija province has installed these unique pilgrim trail markers.

This wetlands perserve is just west of Logrono. It's adjacent to a campground, the first we've seen. We saw a family of swans, a family of ducks, as well as fish jumping while we walked the perimeter.

It's about 7 miles from Logrono to Navarrete. You can see it there in the distance. We are about five miles out at this point and starting to think about breakfast. We take time to stop every 3-5 miles, if there is a town or cafe. It gives us time to take off our boots, people watch and sip a cafe con leche. And of course if there is bread or pastry, we dive on that. One of the benefits of walking up and down hills all day is you can pretty much eat whatever you want!

Ruins of the Hospital de San Juan de Acre, Hospital de Peregrino, was built as part of a monestary that origniated in 1185. The hospital and hostel served pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela.

Still in the wine region of Northern Spain today and walking past many vineyards and wineries. The Don Jacobo winery outside Navarrete boasts that its wine is "Born on the Way."

After a quick break in Navarrete we're off to Ventosa. The weather is perfect today. Rain later, but 70 degrees and a light breeze now.

Stopped for lunch in Ventosa and met Patrick from Ireland. He has walked the Camino six times already, and will complete two more pilgrimages this year. He's planning to travel to the US to hike the Pacific Crest Trail next year. Very interesting guy...a bit full of blarney, but entertaining.

This intersting fellow named Viser was playing his guitar in the shade and singing songs he wrote about the Camino. We meet a few trail musicians on the trail every year. The first year we met a young man in lederhosen playing an accordion. Jeff asked Viser to play "Oh Canada," but he just shrugged and continued his act. I don't think he speaks Canadian.

More vineyards and the Vivanco winery in Aleson, between Ventosa and Najera where we will stop for the day.

A short rest break before crossing the Najerilla River into Najera.

The Guardia Civil - Police Station - in Najera. This is the station where our friendly officers from yesterday work.

It was a long day to Najera, but we had a geat time. Feeling good and headed to our hotel for the evening. Off to Santo Domingo de la Calzada tomorrow. Easy day only 13 miles and one hill!