Every day now, the Camino seems to get better. We broke today’s walk into two sections, as we knew the climb to the mountain town, O Cebreiro, would be too difficult with the stroller. We walked 10.5 kilometers to Herrerias, taxied to O Cebreiro, and then walked 3 kilometers to Liñares. The weather forecast predicted…
Category: Spain
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 31 – Trabadelo
We woke up early this morning so that we would be able to finish our 18-kilometer walk in the morning while it was cool, before the heat of the day made it impossible to finish. We were rewarded with a cool(ish) morning and a gorgeous sunrise over the vineyards around us. Today’s walk was beautiful….
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 30 – Cacabelos
In 2014, when I walked the Camino de Santiago solo, I got very lost trying to find my way out of Ponferrada. Some things never change… We woke up and headed out of the city, leaving later than we’d have liked. We had 15 kilometers to walk to Cacabelos, so not too far, but still,…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 29 – Ponferrada
This was a hard day, but the challenges were what made the day so incredible. When we finally reached our destination, we were both exhausted and overjoyed. Today, we planned to walk from our guesthouse outside of Rabanal del Camino to Manjarin, about 11 kilometers away, and then taxi to Ponferrada, as we have heard…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 28 – Rabanal del Camino
Today was another long, 20-kilometer walk, but we dragged our feet, getting started late. Today’s path was steadily uphill, but the ascent was so gradual we hardly noticed. We followed a gravel path surrounded by lavender and yellow bushes. At one point, we met a French man named Kristof. He offered to push the stroller…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 27 – Astorga
We woke early today, wanting to get a jump on the long walk to Astorga. We had nearly 20 kilometers to cover, and it was our goal that we would get to Astorga with enough time to do laundry and visit the chocolate museum. Today’s path was much more scenic. We finally left the industrial…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 26 – Hospital de Órbiga
Today’s walk continued along the unscenic interstate, but despite the depressing views (see the field of dead sunflowers below), it was a really pleasant day. Sandra and I took turns pushing the stroller, and we listened to podcasts and audiobooks while we walked and the girls napped. We keep hearing about how crowded the Camino…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 25 – Villandangos del Páramo
It was an unscenic 20-kilometer walk today. We left León early, intimidated by the distance. We don’t have many really long stretches coming up, but we do have a few days with 20+ kilometers, with our longest day being a 22-kilometer walk into Melide, and we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could do…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Days 23 and 24 – León
When we couldn’t find accommodation through the meseta, we found a bus to León, and we have absolutely zero regrets about this decision. The bus stop was packed with pilgrims all wanting to skip this grim stretch of the Camino for various reasons: the accommodation struggles, the boredom, the extreme heat… When we got to…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 22 – Carrion de los Condes
Today’s walk was long and flat and grim, following the senda, or pilgrim’s walkway, along the highway from town to town. None of us got a good night’s sleep the night before, and exhaustion combined with hunger created the perfect storm. The middle of today’s walk had us grumbling, once more, about quitting in León….