Today was only a 20-kilometer walk from Hornillos to Castrojeriz, but I still left long before sunrise.
There is something primal about walking alone in darkness, assisted only by a headlamp or the full moon.
Continue readingTag Archives: hiking
A chill in the air, a moving spiritual encounter, and all of Ireland seems to be walking the Camino
I’ve had a run of Irish companions on the Camino today (meaning the past 24 hours).
There is my perennial friend Eoghan (Owen) who I encounter every couple of days.
Last night in Burgos, Kate from Tasmania and Martin from Bristol (Eng.) joined me for some tapas before calling it a night.
Continue readingA layover day in Burgos leaves me exhausted
You’d think a day off would mean rest and relaxation. But no.
I spent nearly the entire morning walking about in the massive cathedral. It is not so much a place of worship as a … well … I don’t know what.
Continue readingThe Camino path plays mind games before yielding a most magnificent city
A mystical morning, on the path from little Ages to Burgos. The full moon was strong enough to cut through the gauzy morning haze.
No headlamp was needed, though Deny from Quebec and I walked right past the turn, both of us talking, neither of us looking for the yellow arrows in the woozy dawn light.
Continue readingWalking into the moon
My bunk-room mates settled the issue for me this morning in Belorado: Should I get up early for the 18 mile walk to Ages or start late and cope with the afternoon sun?
The rustling and zipping of bags, dropping of electronics in the dark, scurrying to the bathroom, the burst of red light from headlamps — it all began before 5 a.m.
That’s ok. I wasn’t sleeping much anyway.
Continue readingThe Camino is the gift that keeps on giving
Last night in Santo Domingo, a woman from Wisconsin handed me a “tree of life” sticker which I promptly pasted on the back of my iPhone case. Next to the one from DeYoung museum in San Francisco.
She handed them out several of them to people in our auberge bunk room.
Continue readingHeigh-Ho! Heigh-Ho! It’s off to walk we go
To make your troubles go
Just keep on walking all day long!
Since arriving at Casa de la Abuela at 3 pm, I have checked in, made up my bunk with the sheet and pillow case provided, grabbed a responsibly long hot shower, gathered together the dusty clothes for laundry, hung laundry to dry, walked down the street for a cold Coke, booked a room for tomorrow in Logroño, discussed hiking strategies for tomorrow with bunk-room mates, answered e-mail, went shopping for trail snacks, had dinner with housemates, organized my pack for tomorrow…
Today’s walk from Estella to Logroño was 13.5 miles in 85 degree heat.
Continue readingOn to Estella
It was a day of pain angels, steep climbs and descents, charming villages, persistent knee pain, and smacking good conversations.
Somewhere on the road, an ex-US citizen named Lori dropped in and deduced that my knee was in intense pain.
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The ups and downs of life on the Camino
The trouble with walking the Camino all day long and pulling into a new town is, you’re never going to get enough of it.
If you aren’t weary to the bone, there’s laundry to do, sore feet to attend to, a backpack to resort and repack, a communal dinner to attend.
Something. Always something.
Continue readingToday, pilgrims found each other and “Camino families” begin to form.
“Everybody was so stressed about climbing the Pyrenees yesterday that making new friends was the last thing on their minds,” a young friend suggested today.
We were marveling at how social everyone had become overnight.
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