Frens on Foot

  It was a very pleasant day to walk today, a bit shorter than usual.  We left early to hopefully avoid the rain, it was a mystical morning!  We started out walking through a forest of oak and beech trees, with some holly trees as well.  The path was lined with rock walls, and we began to walk through farms, with cattle and chickens, and the earthy smell of manure on the fields.  The birds were noisy in the woods, and I finally heard my first cuckoo!   I thought I was taking a lovely shadow picture, didn’t even notice Dick messing with me! The flowers are gorgeous as always.  Foxglove grows along the road, there are almond trees, and every garden and balcony is wild with roses.  Can you see the witch in this picture? AND we hit a milestone!!  One hundred kilometers left to go before Santiago!  The road is very well marked, and at times you can choose which route to take to the next town.  In this case we took the road more traveled....

    So last night we were in a luxury hotel, in the shadow of a cathedral, with chocolate on the pillows.  Then we got in a van and drove across about 200 miles of the Spanish countryside, much of it alongside the Camino trail.  We frequently saw pilgrims, but the path was not very appealing.  When we got to Sarria, we talked with several people who assured us the Meseda plateau (the part we skipped) wasn’t very interesting.  The German we talked to said Boring!” but the Dutchman thought it was wonderful because it was so wide open with nothing around!  All a matter of perspective I guess.   Tonight we are sleeping in a stable.  A very nice converted stable.  But a stable.  So cool!  The weather has held so far, and despite rain in our future, tomorrow promises to be a nice day.  And we are very ready to get back to walking.  Funny how we have missed it! About 7 o’clock yet another procession came up the street, ...

 *  Birdsong and sunshine in the morning is a blessing to be absorbed for the day.    * These folks know how to do pastries.     No matter which half you get, the filling goes ALL the way to BOTH ends.     No one gets cheated. Ever.    * Espresso is really strong.  Really strong.  Being wired does not necessarily make it easier to climb hills in the morning.  Better add a little leche to dilute the jitters. *You can communicate almost anything with any one, despite a lack of common     language, if you are both committed to the conversation.  And lots of other people will try to help too.  And if you can’t figure it out, you can smile and laugh.  Works every time.  One of the joys of the Camino.                                                         ...

  Entering the gate into the Cathedral Square Bussed it to Burgos this morning.  It was about a two hour bus trip, and the Camino path followed the highway most of the way.  The country is beautiful with vineyards as far as you can see, but this stretch of the Camino was close to the road with very little shade.  Did not look like we were missing too much, no regrets there! Got into Burgos about 2 pm, our hotel is in the old city directly in the shadow of the gorgeous Burgos Cathedral.  After dropping off our stuff, we headed out for lunch and found a great little cafe right in the area.  Marghareta pizza was the order of the day with olives on the side.  Barb got a salad as well, which turned out to be a big hunk of melted cheese in a delicious tomato sauce.  Not exactly as anticipated, but yummy nevertheless!   Next we headed for a tour of the Cathedral.  It cost 10€ to enter, 8€ if you are a senior citizen, and only 5€ if you are a pi...

 Woke up to a beautiful day.  We had all pretty much decided to take a taxi to Los Arcos this morning, but Jim decided to walk it.  He texted us a few times along the way, we were quite reassured that he only had about 5 miles, 5 kilometers and 5ft and 5 inches to cover today.  We have really enjoyed his dry humor!  Actually he enjoyed his solitary walk, and made excellent time - easier to keep moving when you only have one shoe to adjust, one meal to order, one water bag to fill and two poles!  He also was able to offer help to a woman who fell and apparently broke her arm, he stayed with her while they waited for the ambulance.  Grateful for his medical knowledge and skill! Jim casts a long shadow! The rest of us took the taxi to to Logronos, and arrived about noon at our beautiful hotel.  We were in the old city, and it, like all the other cities we have visited, was charming, with a quiet center square.  We checked in, and then went to ge...

 Happy birthday Ron!  Dick and I spent a few moments in the morning before we left deciding what the focus of the day would be.  We have met so many amazing people, all with one purpose on a shared journey, and it is such a gift to see everyone not only get along, but offer to help, encourage, and share love and laughter.  We decided our focus today would be prayers for our country and the world, to break down barriers and live together in peace.  And to reflect our own peace in Jesus to others who crossed our path. It was a beautiful morning, but quite chilly, so once again we went through the “Will I need it?  Do I want to carry it?  Rain gear?  Wind shirt?  Short sleeves?  Long sleeves?”  Funny how you make decisions when you know it will be in your pack all day long.  And get heavier as you go.   As we began our walk, we heard beautiful singing behind us.  It was our friends Charlotte and Sydney, who we had met a ...

It was overcast and cool this morning with potential rain in the forecast.  We walked along a busy road on our way out of Punta la Reina.  The town is named for the six arched Queens bridge, built in the 11th century to allow the pilgrims to cross the Río Arga avoiding expensive ferrymen and treacherous boat rides.   We were all a little slow this morning, but since we are in no hurry, that wasn’t really a problem. Our path this morning started along side a busy highway, with lots of large trucks, just like at home.  As we left the city, the path ran between large shrubs and brambles-lots of brambles!  But everywhere along the path there are flowers.  The air was fragrant with Eutruscan honeysuckle, Spanish broom, and wild geranium.  And almost all of the gardens have gorgeous roses!  And the fields of poppies are stunning.   Bird vetch, olives, Spanish Broom, poppies growing in the rapeseed. The terrain was pretty steep, up as well as down, ...

  K It was a great day for walking!  The last few days we have been very focused on making to our destination, and felt like it was struggle to finish each day.  Last night we spent some time talking about our expectations for the trip, and decided we just need to slow down and enjoy the journey. Duh.. That is exactly what we did.  It was a glorious morning as we walked through the busy outskirts of Pamplona, which is a much larger city than I expected after our experience in the old walled city last night.  We climbed up a rather steep route to the top of Alto de Perdón, where the wind swept statues of pilgrims and the amazing views of the vast wheat fields were stunning.  The ridge is lined with giant windmills, which always look like aliens to me!  On top of the ridge stands a group of statues of pilgrims on foot and horseback depicting the journey.  Very impressive.  There is also a memorial of standing stones in tribute to all of the inn...

  It is a tradition on the Camino to get your Credencial (pilgrim passport)  stamped wherever you stay each night, as well as at churches, bars and cafes along the way.  If you want to receive your Compostela, which is a document of completion awarded to those who complete at least the last 100 km walking the Camino, you must present your completed  Credencial at the pilgrim office in Santiago.  You are asked the reason for your pilgrimage and if you answer does not include a spiritual motivation, you receive an alternate certificate.   My credencial and stamps so far  This map is from my credencial.  So far we have walked from St Jean (not shown) to Roncevalles,  (upper right) to Zubiri, to Pamplona, to Ponte de Reina, to Estrella, where we are tonight.   So far I have walked 204,100 steps!  (At least according to my Apple watch.)