We entered the city of León about mid-day…and despite cold, rainy weather at first…this has been our favorite city to date (also why this post was later than normal.) Possibly because May 1 is a holiday here, there was a real energy in the narrow streets when we arrived and continued through the evening. We …
Day 19 – El Burgo Ranero to Mansilla de Las Mulas
We set out just after sunrise today in order to beat the predicted afternoon thunderstorms for the Meseta. With wind chill temperatures near freezing…we kept a brisk pace to stay ahead of the clouds and arrived in Mansilla de Las Mulas just as the rain began to fall. From the sculpture in the square…pilgrims are …
Day 18 – Terradillos de Los Templarios to El Burgo Ranero
We crossed the official halfway mark between SJPDP and Santiago de Compostela today! We entered the town of Sahagun and took a few minutes to celebrate by getting our pilgrim’s passport stamped and taking a picture to memorialize our 50% accomplishment. (The church bells actually rang 12 noon right as the photo above was taken. …
Livin’ On A Prayer
“The Way”— is the movie that started it all. Dave & I had heard about the Camino while living in London, but watching the movie really made an impression and we decided to add this to our list of “Things To Do”. The movie stars Martin Sheen and is directed by his son, Emilio Estevez. …
Day 17 – Carrión de la Condes to Terradillos de Los Templarios
After a great sleep in the old monastery hotel, we headed out to another cool, sunny morning…with one distinct change. The prevailing easterly wind that had been at our backs for the last week was now coming straight out of the west at 10-15 miles per hour. This wind was in our face consistently all day. The …
Day 16 – Boadilla del Camino to Carrión de Los Condes
We began the day with a chilly 3-mile walk out of Boadilla del Camino along the edge of the Canal de Castilla. It reminded us of our lucky time living along the Thames River in Richmond outside London. The flowing water…the cold breeze…the singing birds…all reminded us of London. The bright sunshine…we do not recall …
Day 15 – Hontanas to Boadilla del Camino
We stayed in the small village of Hontanas last night…right next to the 14th century church of the Immaculate Conception. Although we had no internet connection, we had gone to bed confident that our iPhone alarms would wake us promptly at 6:30am. Not to worry, though…the bells of the church gonged every hour on the …
Béisbol
Yesterday, we had no wifi or cell service. When’s the last time that happened to You?? So, Dave & I began an earnest discussion of baseball. The Detroit Tigers are not starting well. NY Yankees are mediocre. Boston Red Sox seem to be on fire! I love baseball. Born and raised in Richmond, VA, the …
Day 14 – Burgos to Hontanas
Connectivity issues prevented us from posting Tuesday’s recap…so today we will be providing posts for both Days 14 (April 24) and Day 15 (April 25)…a “Twofer Wednesday”. Upon leaving Burgos today…we were scheduled to enter the Meseta…Spain’s high plateau desert….during the afternoon of our 30KM/18 mile walk. We had been forewarned that these next 7-8 …
Day 13 – San Juan de Ortega to Burgos
Today we arrived in Burgos, the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous region of Castille and Leon. The change in venue from morning until afternoon was drastic. We began the day in a small burg (San Juan de Ortega) of 20 people and finished the afternoon walking into a city with a …