Camino de Santiago Day 2: Sarria to Portomarin
Sarria to Portomarin First Day of Walking the Last 100km of the Camino de Santiago 22 kilometers 13.5 miles Elevation: 510.97 meters up + 580.25 meters down
Camino de Santiago Day 1: Arrival in Sarria
Camino de Santiago Day 1: Arrival in Sarria As promised, I am continuing the logging of my Camino journey through this blog. I am now back at home and thoroughly enjoying re-living my Camino memories through writing about them. Since the arrival of a long-awaited group of ladies in Sarria marked the beginning of a …
Camino de Santiago Day 13: Triacastela to Sarria
Camino de Santiago Day 13: Triacastela to Sarria 20 kilometers 12.5 miles My last day of walking alone was a shorter one, and I was ready for it. It was raining when I fell asleep the night before and it was supposed to rain most of the day, so there was not point in trying …
Camino de Santiago Day 12: Las Herrerías to Triacastela
Camino de Santiago Day 12: Las Herrerías to Triacastela 28 kilometers 17.5 miles I think I’ve mentioned before that I do not enjoy walking in the dark. Lots of folks on the Camino get up early and walk in the dark. But after a morning of doing it with Anna, I was so sure I …
Camino de Santiago Day 11: Villafranca del Bierzo to Las Herrerías
Camino de Santiago Day 11: Villafranca del Bierzo to Las Herrerías 22.5 kilometers 14 miles There were three ways out of Villafranca del Bierzo. I had studied all three before going to bed and had chosen the one I would take. I got an earlier start and the morning air was fresh and cool. I …
Camino de Santiago Day 10: Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo
Camino de Santiago Day 10: Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo 25.5 kilometers 16 miles Sometimes the problem with doing a really long day isn’t just how you feel at the end pushing yourself that hard. It’s how you feel the next day. I struggled to drag myself out of bed, and I reasoned that I …
Camino de Santiago Day 9: Rabanal del Camino to Ponferrada
Camino de Santiago Day 9: Rabanal del Camino to Ponferrada 32 kilometers 20 miles Every once in a while on a hike, you schedule a day that you know is going to test you. You know when you schedule that higher mileage that it will push you to your limits. But you kind of want …
Camino de Santiago Day 8: Astorga to Rabanal del Camino
Camino de Santiago Day 8: Astorga to Rabanal del Camino 19.5 kilometers 12 miles When I got off the bus in Astorga, it was still dark. I walked through the town like a zombie in the cold morning air. I had gained elevation via the bus ride and the temps were significantly cooler. It was …
Camino de Santiago Day 7: Los Arcos to Logrono
Camino de Santiago Day 7: Los Arcos to Logroño 28 kilometers 17.4 miles Anna’s last day of walking was our longest day yet. A bit daunted by the distance, we decided to get up and hike in the dark. We left at 6:15, after downing a cup of coffee and some toast at La Casa …
Camino de Santiago Day 6: Estella to Los Arcos
Camino de Santiago Day 6: Estella to Los Arcos 21.5 kilometers 13.5 miles We had coffee at our hostel before heading out on Day 6 from Estrella to Los Arcos. The day before, we enjoyed getting out early and doing most of the walking in the morning, but this stage was going to be our …
Camino de Santiago Day 5: Puenta la Reina to Estella
Camino de Santiago Day 5: Puenta la Reina to Estella 22 kilometers 14 miles We started early on our way from Puente la Reina to Estella to get ahead of the heat, and we were proud of ourselves for leaving in the dark. But then a coffee shop was open and the chocolate croissants were calling …
Camino de Santiago Day 4: Pamplona to Puente la Reina
Camino de Santiago Day 4: Pamplona to Puente la Reina 23 kilometers 14.3 miles It was going to be a hot one on the walk from Pamplona to Puenta La Reina. At least that’s what we’d heard (and seen), so we set an intention to get our earliest yet start. Let’s try for walking by 7, …
Camino de Santiago Day 3: Zubiri to Pamplona
Camino de Santiago Day 3: Zubiri to Pamplona 20.5 kilometers 13 miles It was still dark when I woke up from my best night of sleep so far on the Camino. I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and went out to sit on our balcony under the stars. A little tiny sliver of a …
Camino de Santiago Day 2: Roncesvalles to Zubiri
Day 2: Roncesvalles to Zubiri 22 kilometers 14 miles An alarm went off nearby at 5:30. I think it belonged to two young guys from Florence in the pod next door who then began to try to get ready quietly in the dark. I crawled out of my bunk and Anna asked me what time …
Camino de Santiago: Arrival
Camino de Santiago: Arrival in St Jean Pied-de-Port I stepped off the bus after its arrival in St Jean Pied-de-Port and immediately walked up into a small park that overlooked the road. I found an empty bench above the vineyard covered hills and sat down to breathe in the presence of this place I’ve …
Back to the Camino
Well friends, It’s that time again. I’m headed back to the Camino de Santiago. My hope is to walk 266 miles (428 kilometers) of the Camino this time around. My sister will help me get started in the Pyrenees, then I’ll walk for a week by myself. And Lord willing, when I get to the last …
Notes from The Ouachita Trail: Walking in the Rain
It’s 5am and I’ve been awake a couple of hours already, which might have something to do with the fact that I’ve been holed up in my sleeping bag since yesterday afternoon. I woke up yesterday morning to rain on the tin roof of the Holdon Valley Vista Shelter. We had stopped at the shelter …
Ouachita Trail, Here We Come.
Well friends, the end of 2020 is within sight. I daresay it’s been a year we will never forget, even if we want to. But before this year is over, I am hoping to squeeze in a little (socially-distanced) adventure AND bring some light and love to the world in the process. So I am …
A Camino Love Letter
Maybe you were “supposed” to be somewhere else right now, but instead you are at working from home or doing school from home, or you are doing a job where you have to wear a mask all the time. Probably, in some way, your life has changed drastically over the last several months. Something is …
On pilgrimage.
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about the self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. -Wikipedia I’ve been reading and thinking lately about the idea of pilgrimage. I love to go for a walk, but …