This albergue in Las Herrerías in on my top ten list. Enjoy the hospitality and vegetarian meals they serve.
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I always enjoy a good sign in Spanish and English.
Walking through fields of grapes was one of my favorite activities. This walk into Villafranca del Bierzo is one of the most scenic, in my opinion.
A little lavender to brighten up my day.
Breakfast #2 in Molinaseca. Cafe con leche, bread and tortilla española. I looked forward to this break every day.
Making sure I represent my favorite outdoor store, Next Adventure, at the top of Cruz del Ferro. Yes, that is snow. Let's just say I didn't stick around for very long.
I forgot my rock at home. So I left a little "love" from Oregon. My home state and my pride.
In the town of El Ganso, there is the Cowboy Bar. A must-see stop, especially when it is pouring rain outside.
Pilgrims have to get creative when walking the Camino. This pilgrim made gaiters out of grocery store bags. Genius!
Still working on my foot problems, I took the bus to Astorga. Lo and behold there was a chocolate museum! I never pass up chocolate!
Many pilgrims walk by this church and never set foot in it. Iglesia San Froilán. It is the most modern church you will encounter on the Camino. Built in 1961, it's probably one of the newest too! Stop in here. Please! You won't be disappointed.
The Cathedral in León is one of my favorites on the Camino. I took the train from Sahagún to León to rest my feet. The tendonitis in my foot had gotten worse and I need to rest it as much as possible. While it was a rainy day, there was a break in the clouds. Tall churches with spires make me swoon.
I made contact with Rebekah Scott, an American ex-pat who lives in Moratinos with her ex-pat Irish husband, Patrick. She was kind enough to give me a ride to Sahagún and helped me buy some insoles for my shoes at a pharmacy. If you are ever in trouble on the Meseta, Rebekah is a great resource. This is the walk into Moratinos.
This was another bus day. I bussed 26.8 km from Carrión de los Condes to Terradillos de Templarios after walking 5.6km from Villalcázar de Sirga. This dog was walking back and forth on the roof of this house, barking at people.
I grew up on a farm. These cows greeted me as I arrived in Terradillos de Templarios by bus. We shared pleasantries.
I don't have a ton of pictures with me in them. This one was taken by in Revenga de Campos. There are lots of pilgrim statues all along the way.
This bridge and river was so inviting. If I remember correctly, it's located just after the San Nicolas Chapel and albergue.
Yes, I know. I haven't been good about posting my reflections. Life gets in the way of blogging sometimes. Here's the last half of my Camino, continuing on Day Eighteen.
This was our first day of snow (I know, you can't really tell here)...at the beginning of May! I had shipped all my warm stuff home. I made due with what I had.
Fresh from my mailbox!
There's a new kid on the block and I'm excited to share this new resource for pilgrims planning to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain. In the past, guidebooks in English have been limited to two options. Neither are perfect and to be honest, I've yet to find a guidebook for anything travel-related that meets my needs. The newly released guide, "Hiking the Camino de Santiago: Camino Frances" by Anna Dintaman and David Landis is a refreshing and exceptional example of what a guidebook for the Camino should look like. I've been combing through the book over the past few days, comparing it to another guidebook everyone else in the English world worships and adores. This review will NOT be a comparison. It will be a list of pros and cons so pilgrims can make their own decisions about what works best for them. Without further ado, here we go!
Pros:
- Each region of Spain has two pages devoted to the region with yearly temperature ranges, as well as average rainfall. Both of these are important to the pilgrim. They also include information about food, language, and history.
- All of the maps and elevation charts are
to scale. Each stage has an elevation chart that goes from 0m to 2000m
for elevation, and every 5km for distance so you can get an accurate
portrayal of the days highs and lows. Each stage has a map with
topographical lines, which assists in giving you an accurate look at
what your day of walking will be. For those of you who do a lot of
hiking or backpacking, you will understand how important it is to have
accurate information. I love maps and the fact these ones are to scale
and with topo lines makes me happy!
- The first page of each
stage has the following information: Distance (kilometers/miles), time
range to complete, difficulty level, percentage of path paved/unpaved,
and a list of towns with albergues. Further into each stage there is a
list of other accommodations in each stage to suite all pilgrims housing
needs on the Camino.
- The authors understand more technically savvy people are using the Camino these days. They have an area of their website devoted to all of the links they mention in the guide. You can find links to albergues, hotels and more here.
Cons:
- This isn't a huge con, but the book weighs more than some of the other guides out there. However, please note that this book also features the route to Finisterre and Muxia, which usually requires that you purchase a separate guidebook for that section, so in my mind, it's a wash if you plan to go to Finisterre and Muxia (which you should!).
- Lots
of photos. Don't get me wrong. I love good photos and feel they
really add to a guidebook. I think they could have cut a third of the
photos and thus reduced the weight of the book a bit. In the grand
scheme of things it's not that big of a deal, though.
All things said and done, this guidebook is a unique, new take on the Camino Frances and I wish I was walking it again this year to try it out! Please consider supporting these new guidebook authors and purchase a guidebook here.
You can also find their website here.
GPS tracks can be downloaded here.
Alternate stages for walking can be found here.
Like other guidebooks, you can get up-to-date changes here.
And for other reviews, check out one here.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of "Hiking the Camino de Santiago" for free and to review. I would have purchased it anyways because I am such a critic of guidebooks on the Camino in general. The opinions in this review are mine alone. If I would have bought it myself, the opinions would have been the same. My love for this guidebook makes me want to book a plane ticket right now and start walking again.
This is the most famous piece of graffiti on the Camino. It's also my favorite because it's a beautiful piece of art, too.
This bar is where a Camino miracle happened. A woman from Bilbao walking with her young daughter had lost her camera in Burgos. A pilgrim picked it up and left it here, knowing she might walk by. Wow!
The walk out of Burgos was nice for a bit. Can you tell I like walking by rivers and streams?
The town was closed for the most part due to it being a Sunday. However, there was a local bar open and they were serving the standard pilgrim snack: cafe con leche y tortilla.
Today was a "zero" day where I didn't travel. I hung out in Burgos and saw these lovely ladies wandering down the street. For some reason, they reminded me of my Italian great-grandmother.
Outside the Cathedral in Burgos. I took the bus because I got absolutely no sleep the previous night due to a symphony of very loud snorers who I heard through my earplugs!
The view in Burgos down by the river is breathtaking.
Hands down, this was one of my most favorite albergues on the Camino. This is the upper room at the albergue in Tosantos where I experienced a very rich, prayerful time with other pilgrims as we shared our stories and our intentions with one another.
This photo was taken on the way out of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. It was so green and lush in this field.
I have been pretty honest about my foot struggles while walking my first Camino. This photo is an example of my taping technique which alleviated some pain from my tendonitis. I also had a few blisters I was working on too.