I walked the Camino de Santiago solo in 2014 and Najera was my absolute worst night. I had walked 30 kilometers into town, only to find no open beds, and I wound up sleeping in a storage locker. I called home crying, and wanted nothing more than to be done with the Camino. Later, everyone…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 10, Navarrete
We enjoyed today’s walk out of Logroño. We were prepared for an unscenic, industrial slog out of the city, but instead, much of the walk was through a beautiful park around a lake. There were a few unscenic moments, but we were so grateful for wide, paved trails, that we didn’t mind. We only walked…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 9, Logroño
Today was a really fun day. We started the day late, finishing laundry with the world’s slowest clothes dryer and taking our time packing our bags. It was such a short stretch to cover, that we didn’t worry about the time. We found breakfast in Viana on the way out of town. Breakfasts here seem…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 8 – Viana
Today was not our greatest day on the Camino. We knew it would be a long day, but we had no idea how long. The morning started out strong. The walk out of Los Arcos was flat for miles, and we got a reprieve from wrangling the beast uphill. Snails oozed up trees in the…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 7 – Los Arcos
The fatigue hit us thus morning. We were dragging our feet when we woke up, and the thought of walking held little appeal. The steady rain that was forecasted for the day didn’t help our spirits and we prepared ourselves for a hard day. We only planned to walk about 10 kilometers to Villamayor de…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 6 – Estella
When we woke up this morning, Addie turned to me and asked, “Mommy, do we get to hike today?” I have no doubt people were skeptical when we said we were going to walk the Camino with two young children, but already, I can’t overstate the positives. Addie is so proud of her accomplishment, and…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 5 – Puente la Reina
Today’s walk was a lesson in “where there’s a will, there’s a way”… as long as you have the help of overly optimistic strangers and the Spanish civil guard. We didn’t intend on climbing Alto del Perdon. This was the last stretch for awhile that we fully expected to taxi. The elevation map looked intimidating,…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 4 – Pamplona
After the rain and the obstacles yesterday, we decided to take a rest day in Pamplona. We’d originally planned to rest at our next stop, Puente la Reina, but we wanted to stop at the Decathlon store to buy new sandals for Sandra (I lost one of her beloved sandals on the train), some walking…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 3 – Pamplona
We didn’t walk the 21 kilometers to Pamplona, not even close, but the 6 kilometers we walked were enough of a challenge. The day started out rough. We all slept longer than planned, and still we were tired and grumpy when we began our walk. Homesickness and mental fatigued have kicked in, and Sandra and…
Walking the Camino de Santiago: Day 2 – Zubiri
790 Kilometers to Santiago! Our first stop of the morning was to get a photo next to the distance marker on the way out of town. It seems impossible now that we’re going to cover that distance, but each day we will chip away at that distance a little more. Today’s walk took us through…