The Wife's Camino - Photos Along The Way

I didn't take many pictures during the second part of the Camino.  I'm sure the Wife took far more than I did.  She shared her pictures on her Bluesky accounts.  I took a few sunrise pictures and pictures of, and inside of, churches.  I took them all on my phone and a few didn't come out, but the ones that did were pretty good.

Here are a few pictures I took along the Way of Saint James.

Early summer poppies along the Way.

A view from the last 'big' hill on the meseta facing west.

The cottonwood fluffy was everywhere and looked like snow in places.

Sunrise ... the figure on the road is the Wife.

The obligatory shadow shot.

The templar castle in Ponferrada.

My pictures really don't do the Camino justice.  I realize now that I took only half as many pictures during the Wife's Camino than I did on my first two.  I also think I took better pictures during the first part of the Wife's Camino than the second.  I was in a different headspace during the second part and didn't look around enough.  I think I wanted to see it through her eyes and her pictures.

You can see all the pictures I took during the Wife's Camino, both in 2023 and 2025, in my 2023 - 2025 Camino de Santiago (The Wife's Camino) Google Photos' album.

A First And A Third - The End Of Our Caminos

From the thirtieth of May to the fifth of July, the Wife and I walked across northern Spain from Burgos to Fisterra, completing the Wife's first Camino and my third.  I think the Wife had a similar experience to what I had on my first Camino.  Doing anything that you thought you couldn't do is life changing and I think I'm right to say the Wife's life was changed.  My third Camino, for me, was very different, and this post will dwell on that a bit.

When you leave Burgos you start the meseta.  The meseta is a region of Spain similar to Kansas – flat, featureless, and covered in farm fields.  Some pilgrims skip the meseta, but that would be a mistake in my opinion.  It is a part of the Camino where your mind is allowed to wander.  For the nearly two weeks we were on the meseta, I felt two things: "Been there, done that" and "My second Camino had completed my experience. Why was I doing this again?"  My thoughts went to more sad things I associated with the Camino, namely G_v's death.  It was a rough time for me.  I tried my best not to let my feelings interfere with the Wife's experience but I have never been very good at suppressing my feelings.  Even so, we managed to visit some of my favorite spots on the meseta and the Wife has said the meseta was her favorite part.

By the time we reached the unofficial end of the meseta in León, I had come to realize that I was looking at this Camino wrong.  This was not my third Camino, it was the Wife's first Camino.  From that point on I thought of it solely as that, the Wife's first Camino.  My role was to support her and ensure she experienced the whole Camino.  From then on I felt better and the Camino experience felt right.

I was in charge of planning the daily stages.  We were walking shorter stages, averaging 10.2 miles (16.4 km) per day – I averaged 14.3 miles (23.0 km) per day on my first Camino.  Shorter stages allowed us to visit more places along the Camino.  We visited places that I'd enjoyed before as well as places I'd never been to before.  We had the albergue experience (pilgrim hostel experience) as well and the private room with/without a private bath experience (we indulged in more private room experiences than I'd had on my previous Caminos combined).  We had short days and inadvertent long days (I took a wrong turn leaving León and added 3.4 miles to an already long 13 mile day – our longest day on the Camino.).

The Wife handled the walking like a pro.  This was her first multi-day, multi-mile hike.  We were concerned with her feet as they had stopped us in 2023, but with a wider shoe, the Wife had no issues at all.  Well, she did have very large blisters on the outside of each big toe, but she said they didn't hurt at all.  After consulting a pharmacist, we drained the fluid.  We had to do this twice, as I wasn't aggressive enough in my treatment the first time, and the blisters refilled.  After doing it for a second time, the blisters were gone and didn't return.  As for my feet, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't lose any of my toenails. This was the first long hike without losing any.  I credit that to the shoes I was wearing.  I may post about them later.

I have to say that I am very proud of the Wife.  Even on the hard days, days when it was hot, humid, or cold, she never complained.  Having said this, we both have concluded that this will be our last multi-day, multi-mile hike ever again.  We still have a lot more things to see in the world that don't require us to walk ourselves into the ground.

Weekly Ephemera #145

Ok...It's been a while since I last posted.  As a matter of fact, I didn't post even once in June.  This is the first time since August 2006 – when I started Homer's Travels – that I've had a month without a single post.  This is unlike me.  The reason: my third Camino.

• Since my last post, the Wife and I finished her Camino (and I finished my third).  I could have posted while I was walking, but it didn't feel like an important thing for me to do at the time.
  
  We returned from Spain on Tuesday and I am having a difficult time re-entering the real world.  I was originally going to put together posts to document each day of our walk across northern Spain, but I stopped taking notes on day two or three.  Instead, I'll be composing three posts: my impressions of the walk, photos taken by me and the Wife, and a magnets post.  I'll give one preview of my impressions: I'm very proud of the Wife.
• Speaking of being proud of the Wife, this Friday was our twenty-eighth wedding anniversary.  The Wife celebrated by having a spa day.  We didn't go out or anything, as we were/are still tired.  It takes a while for your body to recover from walking thirty-seven days straight.
• While I was walking I was still reading.  Actually, I stopped reading for the first couple of weeks of our Camino.  Not sure why I stopped, but I eventually re-started my reading, and it became an important part of my after-walk recovery.  I ended up finishing three books which I will post about eventually.
• After getting home, I started catching up on my TV watching.  It was an activity that didn't require me moving, which is the only activity I could psychologically muster.  The only notable show was "Ironheart".  I like how it became a mix of tech and magic, and I was pleasantly surprised when an infamous magical villain was introduced.  I hope there's a second season.
• I ended this last week going to a concert – more on that in a later post.

The Wife's Camino – Part Two

Next week, we'll be returning to Spain to finish the Wife's Camino.  We're flying to Madrid and taking a bus from the airport to Burgos, where we left off two years ago.

To bring everyone up to speed, we started walking the Camino in May 2023.  Our original intention was to walk the entirety of the Camino.  With hindsight, I planned stages that were too long and pushed both of us too hard.  When we arrived in Burgos, we were planning to take a day off – our first after eighteen days of walking.  Along with the difficult stages we were walking, the Wife was having very painful foot issues.  When we arrived in Burgos and we were recovering from two long walking days, we decided the Wife's foot issues weren't going to get better, so we ended our attempt.  Before we even got back home, we decided to split the remaining two-thirds of the Camino into two legs: one in 2024 and another in 2025.

In 2024, just days before we were supposed to return to Burgos, my Mom's health issues led to us canceling our return to the Camino.  After some more thought, we decided we weren't getting any younger and had to try to finish the rest of the Camino this year.

Over the last two years, the Wife has worked on her foot issues.  She got a pain-relieving cream prescribed by a foot doctor.  She combined this with wider shoes.  She hopes these changes will fix the foot pain she was experiencing.

On my part, I have put together a plan with much shorter stages.  We will also take days off when necessary.  This will lengthen our Camino by quite a bit but it will also be easier on us both.  The only thing I worry about is potentially losing the social aspect of the Camino.  Our slower pace most likely won't sync up with other pilgrims.  This sort of happened during my second Camino when G_v and I walked longer stages than other pilgrims did.  It did diminish the experience somewhat.  On the other hand, this is the Wife's Camino, and a slower pace will make it more enjoyable, allowing us to linger longer at more places along the way.  In any case, it's likely the plan will change as we go, depending on how we're feeling.

We are both looking forward to returning to the Camino.

You can read about the first part of the Wife's Camino starting with this post from 17 June, 2023.

Camino 2023 - Agés To Burgos ... To Santiago De Compostela ... To Home.

After doing 14.8 miles (23.8 km) to Agés, we would be walking another 14.6 miles (23.5 km) to Burgos where we were going to take our first day off.

We stopped in Atapuerca for a pre-breakfast snack (namely a croissant) before we tackled the big hill of the day.  The hill was a lot longer and rockier than I remembered from my earlier Camino.  It would be a difficult start to an equally difficult day.

The sign at the top of the hill with views of Burgos in the distance.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

At the top of the hill there is a cross and a sign.  As the Wife reached the top you could tell she was struggling.  While the system of socks and shoes I'd come up with was very effective in reducing blisters, it was not ideal for the bunions the Wife had.  The tight shoe, a requirement to keep blisters from forming, irritated the bunions to no end.  Combine this with the uneven, rocky climb up the hill and the Wife was in a bad place by the time she reached the top.  Oh, and there was the ankle pain and stiffness she was experiencing that, to me, sounded a lot like the pain and stiffness I felt when I developed tendinitis on my first Camino.

The rest of the day was relatively downhill on smooth paths/roads which looked deceptively easy.  We stopped at the next town and, along with nearly every other pilgrim on the Camino, stood in line to buy some yummy breakfast sandwiches which we ate on a table outside the restaurant.

Going forward there are two ways to get to Burgos.  One takes you through a rather ugly commercial area of Burgos.  The other takes you on a longer path through a park along a river.  On my past two Caminos I'd missed the turn off to the park way.  This time everyone took the park way which appears to be the 'new' official Camino into Burgos.

After passing around the Burgos airport the Camino reached a town where we rested in the shade.  After a couple weeks of chilly weather, the temperatures were starting to warm up and we felt it as we walked along the dirt roads.

The cathedral view from our hotel suite.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

After leaving the town, and getting directions from a kind motorist, we followed the Camino through parks and trees until we joined a path following the río Arlanzón.  The path became a paved walking trail that went for miles.  By the time we reached this part of the park, crowded full of Sunday strollers, we were exhausted.  The last couple of miles felt like they would never end.

After what felt like forever and a day we reached our hotel the Crisol Mesón del Cid.  I'd stayed at this hotel on my first Camino as I recuperated from my tendonitis.  It was located on the cathedral square - an incredible location.  The room we had reserved turned out to be in an annex off the square so we paid extra for a suite so we could stay near the cathedral.  The views from our hotel bedroom were amazing.

After showering we went into historic Burgos in search of food.  We found a place inside the Plaza Mayor.  We looked at each other across our table and I asked if we wanted to stop.  We both were exhausted, the Wife's foot was bothering her, and the past two days had been very long for us.  We decided to sleep on it and make a decision the next day.

As we waited for our food to come I made the mistake of looking at the train and bus schedules.  Next thing you know we decided we'd had enough and we just wanted to go home.  A few minutes later I'd bought bus tickets to Santiago de Compostela.  So much for sleeping on it.  I was the one who pushed us to quit.  The Wife agreed, and most likely if we'd waited a day the decision would have been the same, but I feel like I was the one who quit here, not the Wife.  I still feel a little guilty and we both felt a small bit of regret as we said goodbye to pilgrims we'd met as they left Burgos the next day.

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A merry-go-round in the Plaza Mayor.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

The next day we toured Burgos.  The Wife went to mass at the cathedral and we toured it afterwards.  We shopped for souvenirs and magnets.  We said goodbye to our informal pilgrim family as we met them on the street (including L_e, S_a's mother who was leaving Burgos alone after her daughter went home).

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Our bus left Burgos just after 4:00AM.  The bus station was only about a five minute walk from the hotel.  The bus arrived on time but left a few minutes late.  It felt weird getting on the bus.  The bus made a few stops along the eight hour ride.  Strangely enough it followed the Camino relatively closely.  We passed León, Astorga, and Ponferrada - all stops along the Camino.  This didn't make quitting any easier for me.  I was so conflicted.  I kept thinking of what the Wife would miss.  In my opinion the best of the Camino comes after Burgos.  I really didn't want to stop but I really had to stop.  I can't remember feeling so desperate to get home on either of my Caminos.

The Cathedral of Santiago from Alameda park.

We arrived in Santiago de Compostela just after noon.  The city felt very different to me.  For one, the bus and train stations had been combined at a large, newer facility (They had been in separate locations ten years ago).  I had to pull out my phone to get directions to our hotel.  Our hotel here was not my first choice but when I searched for a room in Santiago de Compostela there were only a couple rooms available - one very expensive and the other relatively cheap.  We went for the cheaper room at the Hotel Oxford Suites.  The place wasn't fancy but it was above a bar/restaurant and was only a block from the Cathedral.  It was too early to check in so we left our packs and went exploring.

Pilgrim pole shell.

We had some on and off rain while we were in Santiago de Compostela.  We watched pilgrims arriving at the cathedral square and celebrating their accomplishment - often just sitting on the ground, looking at the cathedral, lost in thought.

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We went to the cathedral to book a roof tour but discovered all the tours were full for that day so we reserved one for the next day (our flight wasn't leaving until the late afternoon so we had the time).  We went to the pilgrim's mass and saw the swinging of the botafumeiro.  It appears that the botafumeiro is swung much more often now than they did ten years ago - the triumph of tourism (and the all mighty euro).

The rest of the day we explored the city, shopped the many shops, and enjoyed the food.  While I remembered a few places I had some difficulty orienting myself.  I did manage to find the best ice cream place that I discovered on my first Camino.

The Botafumeiro.

The Wife was a bit bummed that she didn't get a Compostela (a certificate of completion of the Camino).  Despite walking over 175 miles (282 km) she didn't qualify since you had to walk the last 62 miles (100 km) to get a Compostela.  Fortunately the Camino provides.  As we were visiting the Church of San Francisco a pilgrim told the Wife that the priest in the back of the church was giving out certificates for walking the Camino and visiting the church.  It wasn't a Compostela but it was something to commemorate her walk.

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On our last day in Spain we got up, left our bags at the hotel after checking out, and headed to the cathedral for our roof tour.  The roof tour gives you an interesting perspective and the view of the city is interesting.  It's well worth the time to tour.  This was my second time up on the cathedral roof but the first time it was pouring rain.  It was nice to see it on a dry sunny day.

We returned to our hotel, collected our bags, and walked the forty feet to the taxi station (our hotel was in a perfect location).  A taxi pulled up soon after and we went to the airport.  Our first flight took us to Frankfurt, Germany.

We had a thirteen hour layover in Frankfurt.  I hadn't noticed the layover length until after I purchased the ticket but I think it had the shortest layover anyway.  We ate dinner then moved over to the terminal we would be leaving from which entailed going through passport control for some reason.  At the other terminal we found a lounge area with lounge chairs and we claimed a couple for the night.  While the chairs were reclined and full body length they were not at the right angle for comfortable sleep.  Looking back I should have gone to one of the empty gate areas and laid down on a row of seats.

Our friend Albert in Frankfurt.

Neither the Wife nor I really slept that night.  I walked around the terminal ... at least I walked around the warm areas since parts were really cold ... and stared at the closed store fronts and restaurants.  Sometime during the night I checked our flight to see if an actual gate number had yet been posted (the gate number changed three or four times that night) and discovered our flight out of Frankfurt was going to be delayed by three hours.  I rebooked our flights but the new ones sucked so I looked again and rebooked again (each time I searched for flights the options would change).  I essentially rebooked back onto the delayed flight and picked a later connecting flight in Chicago.  The connection in Chicago would be close but doable.

The three hour delay of our flight to Chicago turned into four hours making our layover to nearly seventeen hours.  Since we stayed on the delayed flight the plane was nearly empty.  I moved to a center row and layed down.  I slept a little bit but not much.  We arrived in Chicago, waited for our checked bag (it took way too long to get off the plane), went through passport control and customs, rechecked our bag, and hustled to our gate in another terminal.  We arrived at our gate right when they started boarding.  We just had enough time to use the bathroom before getting on the plane but that was all.

Getting home from the airport was a breeze.  We were both tired from our crappy return flights and all the time spent in Frankfurt airport but we were happy to finally be home.

Photos can be found in my 2023 Camino de Santiago (The Wife's Camino) Google Photos album.

Camino 2023 - Torres Del Rio To Agés

We left Torres del Rio heading toward our target of Logroño.  The distance today would be of average length.  Average length for this Camino means 12.4 miles (20 km).

Sunrise.  Looking back east, the town of Sansol silhouetted in the morning sunlight.

The Camino was generally down this section but that didn't stop us from finding hills to climb.  We stopped in Viana at a pharmacist for more 'vitamin I' for me while the Wife visited the church across the street.

A rare horse pilgrim.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

By the time we reached Logroño we were tired (an ongoing theme for this Camino).  We stopped at the same albergue I stayed at on my first Camino.  It was a big municipal albergue and a bit more run down than I remember but not terrible like the one in Pamplona.  The wife took a nap after doing her chores and having lunch.  I got a second wind and explored the historic downtown until I found a gelato place (chocolate and dulce de leche).

D_r was here nursing an aching ankle.  She was a fun lady and it was nice seeing someone you knew.

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The walk out of Logroño is an unending slog along a park/bike path.  The straight flat path ends at a lake and park area.  We stopped at a little snack stand run by a famous pilgrim who walked in traditional pilgrim garb often with a donkey.  He talked with pilgrims about his multiple Caminos and the various paths.

A curious critter unsure about the passing pilgrims.

The path after the lake was not what I remembered.  I remember a dirt track along a fence.  The path is now paved.  Not sure this is new or just my crappy memory.

We stopped in Navarette (where I'd stopped for the night on both of my earlier Caminos) for breakfast, drink, and another church for the Wife.

The last four and a quarter miles past Navarette seemed to last forever.  I usually walked a bit ahead of the Wife.  When I found a place to rest I would wait for the Wife to catch up and sit down with me.  I found a place to sit and waited for her to catch up.  Not only did she catch up but she was so in the zone she walked right past me without seeing me despite being only five or 6 feet apart.

After another 12.4 mile (20 km) day we finally arrived at our target town of Ventosa.  This was a new stop for me.  We had a reservation since there was only one albergue in the small town (it filled up with someone sleeping on the dining room floor).  The albergue had a small store and a nice backyard garden.  Ventosa had two restaurants who divided up the clientele - one restaurant was open for breakfast and lunch, the other was open for lunch and dinner.

D_r was here too and joined us for dinner.  She didn't eat much as she had discovered the evil that are Principe cookies.  I purchased a tube of Principes here too - they are just as addictive as I remember.

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This day would be a shorter 10.2 miles (16.4 km) to the town of Azofra.  Since we really weren't in a hurry today we stopped for breakfast in Ventosa before we hit the Camino.

We weren't in a hurry because we had a reservation.  When I made our reservation I decided to make one at a very nice hotel in this tiny town of Azofra.  I kind of regret doing that.  The albergue in Azofra is very nice too with rooms with only two beds each.  Yes, it had a shared bathroom setup but it would have been nice enough and a heck of a lot cheaper than the hotel we stayed in.

The town has a nice bar/restaurant and a grocery store - everything a pilgrim needs.  S_a and her mom were here and we spent some time chatting with them.  Most of our time in the town was at this bar.

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Another sunrise along the Camino.

The target for the day was one of my favorite stops, Grañon.  We had a short period of rain so we stopped in the city of Nájera for a rest and snack to get out of the weather.  By the time we ate some sandwiches the rain had stopped.

Further along the way we spent some quality time in the city of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, the home of the chicken church.  We had some lunch here, toured the cathedral (and saw the chickens) and the clock/bell tower.  The Wife tried to locate some tombs that looked interesting but the church where they were located was not open so we continued on the Camino.

Pilgrim shoes.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

We arrived in Grañon and checked into the albergue in the old church.  Things have changed.  The old worn stone stairs had been repaired.  The volunteers running it this visit were a bit unorganized.  The place was crowded, noisy, and chaotic.  I'd hoped the Wife would have the wonderful experience I'd had on my two previous Caminos but the whole experience was depressing.  You can't go home again I guess.

Despite all this we met a lot of people we would continue to see for the next few days.  A group of Italians who had met on the Camino and were walking together, a few Koreans, some Japanese women.  I guess these people were the silver lining of the cloud over Grañon.

The distance walked today was a long 13.9 miles (22.3 km).

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Our target was a place called Tosantos.  I had mixed feelings.  The parochial albergue was an unwelcome place ten years ago when we stopped there during our second Camino.  I was hoping to get beds in the newer albergue that wasn't there the last time I came through the town.

Ermita de la Virgen de la Peña - A cave hermitage above the town of Tosantos.

The Camino goes through several towns and it wasn't until the third town that we found a place to buy breakfast.  I was considering to stop for lunch at Belorado, the biggest city on today's section but we just walked through (with a brief stop at a church).

We arrived in Tosantos after a long 13.3 miles (21.5 km) and went to the newer albergue.  Unfortunately it was full. We ate lunch here before going over to the parochial albergue.  The hospitalero running the albergue turned out to be a very nice guy.  The whole atmosphere of the place was positive and welcoming.   I was very relieved.

We walked up to the Ermita de la Virgen de la Peña but it was locked up.  There was a guy cleaning up the area and it appears they are trying to keep it up which is nice to see.

The Italians, Koreans, and Japanese from Grañon all showed up but the number of pilgrims at the albergue was smaller and less chaotic.  After dinner the hospitalero had people read letters and notes left by previous pilgrims.  While I didn't participate (I was tired and went to bed) the Wife said she had a very moving experience.  I guess the experience I'd hoped the Wife would have in Grañon ended up happening at Tosantos.  No two Caminos are the same and the Camino always gives you what you need.

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The next two days were going to be long days.  We wanted to get to Burgos so that we could take a day off.  The first of these long days would be 14.8 miles (23.8 km) to the town of Agés.

The Wife with the sunrise at her back.

There were a few towns along this section and we stopped and had snacks or breakfast at nearly every one.  One part of this section is a climb up a hill and a long, straight slog that feels like it will take forever.  This section was bad my first Camino, not so bad during my second Camino, then came back with a vengeance during the third.

The country church of Agés.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

We survived the hard section and stopped at Cafe Marcela for some brunch and ice cream while we rested before walking the last part of the day.

In Agés the albergue I wanted to stop at was full so we stayed in the municipal albergue.  We were joined by the Italians (and possibly the Koreans and japanese ... I can't remember) here.  This place was pretty basic.

I was tired so spent most my time napping in my bed.  The Wife explored the town and visited the town church twice.  She liked how small and comfortable the church was.  She had an emotional moment with a dutch pilgrim who had been left at the altar.  The Camino is often walked by people who had encountered an unexpected change in their lives and needed time to process things.  This means many emotional times along the Camino.

In the evening we had dinner at a small restaurant that caters to the pilgrims.  The lady who does the cooking was hilarious.  The banter between her and her husband (who was doing drinks and serving the food) made us all smile.  The food was excellent.

Photos can be found in my 2023 Camino de Santiago (The Wife's Camino) Google Photos album.

Camino 2023 - Roncesvalles To Torres Del Rio

It was raining again as we left Roncesvalles.  This would be our last full day of rain ... I'd worried our entire Camino would be rained out.  I decided to push for a longer distance today since there was less elevation climbing on this section of the Camino and I wanted to see how the Wife and I would handle it.  The target for the day was the town of Zubiri which was 13.8 miles (22.2 km) from Roncesvalles. 

It was a lot tougher than the elevation profile said it would be.  You would think by now I would know not to trust elevation profiles.  We passed through a couple small towns on the way to Zubiri.  Where we stopped for an ATM and we bought some snacks.  Before entering Zubiri the Camino drops sharply similar to, but not as bad as, the drop into Roncesvalles.

The Zubiri bridge as seen from our albergue window.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

We crossed the bridge to enter Zubiri and stopped at the first private albergue just on the other side of the bridge.  We took two of the last four beds the albergue had available.  That is one of the big changes since my last Camino ten years ago.  Back then you didn't need to make reservations at albergues and in fact most municipal albergues didn't accept reservations at all.  That is not true anymore.  You can now make reservations in all the albergues and, since there are so many pilgrims now, it is safer to have a reservation.  I will talk about this in a later post.

The albergue was nice with private bathrooms (instead of shared bathrooms with multiple stalls/showers) and real towels.  We did our chores and went in search of some food.  We ran into a few of our Camino friends at or near a restaurant.  I went to find a pharmacy since I'd had a sore throat since I arrived in Paris and it wasn't going away.  The meds I was given did the job after a couple of days.

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The rain stopped with a rainbow.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

We left Zubiri the next day without any rain in the forecast.  It was nice walking without our rain gear on but the weather was a lot colder than when I walked my first Camino.  I'd packed a fleece hoodie figuring I wouldn't be wearing it much but I ended up wearing it most of the time we were on the Camino.

Our goal for the day was Cizur Menor which was 15.5 miles (25 km).  I was worried it would be a bit too aggressive so I had a couple options for stops if we changed our minds.

We stopped in the next town looking for food but the bakery was closed so we walked on to the next town (we had snacks from the day before so we weren't starving).  On the way there part of the Camino was paved in stones and concrete.  With all the rain that had fallen the past few days the trail was wet and you had to watch your footing on the slick stone.  We passed a lady sitting at the side of the trail with a friend.  When we reached the next town, Zuriain, we found out that the lady sitting had slipped and broken her ankle.  Some friends had gone ahead to get help.

Pamplona and her cathedral.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

We had a good breakfast in Zuriain and chatted with some of our Camino friends.  I would say we were starting to form a Camino family but it was more like what I experienced my second Camino rather than the more cohesive family that formed on my first.  Like my second Camino we met people intermittently but rarely shared the same stages or destinations for the day.  They were more meetings in passing.

As we approached Pamplona I was feeling pooped.  The Wife was feeling the same.  We decided it was best to change our target to Pamplona.  We still walked 13.9 miles (22 km) this day.  I picked the same albergue I'd stopped at my first Camino which was a mistake.  It was a bit more rundown than I remembered with every toilet missing the toilet seat.

In the afternoon we explored the Cathedral and the city.  We ran into more Camino friends here as well.

Around this time (possibly earlier) I began suffering from painful back muscle spasms.  They would start after we stopped walking for the day and would last all afternoon.  I really don't know what I did but they made my in town down time uncomfortable.  I would later start taking megadoses of ibuprofen (800 - 1600 mg each day) which reduced the frequency and painfulness of the spasms.  The spasms would continue until a few days before we ended our Camino in Burgos.

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My goal for the next day was Puente la Reina but, after our tough day getting to Pamplona, I decided to do a shorter day especially since there was a significant climb today.  Our goal instead would be Uterga, a town I was going to stop at on my first Camino but decided to go past.  It was a shorter and more manageable 11 miles (17.7 km).

We left Pamplona and walked through Cizur Menor.  At this point I'm glad we hadn't pushed hard to get here the day before since it was a bit farther than I expected.  We did rest here before continuing.

We stopped at the town of Zariquiegui for a bathroom break and some breakfast.  The porta-potty didn't have toilet paper so I ripped some of the introduction out of the Breirley Camino Guidebook.  Since We really never consulted the guidebook using the pages as toilet paper seemed like a good use for them.  I'll mention more about Brierly in a future post though I have mentioned him before.

The pilgrim monument on Alto de Perdon.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

We climbed higher up the mountain reaching the top at Alto de Perdon.  It was cold and very windy when we walked by the pilgrim's monument at the top.  The way down is rocky and steep which made for a slow descent.  You had to be careful when placing your foot to prevent slipping or turning an ankle.  A few days later we heard an elderly pilgrim had slipped and fallen on this section and had died when her head hit a rock.

We reached Uterga and we ended up getting a private room with a private bathroom as a treat to ourselves.  A couple of Camino friends (E_l and a Serbian woman D_r) were here as well and we shared a dinner table that evening.

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Our next goal was the city of Cirauqui.  We even gave in and made a reservation since there was only one albergue in the small town.  We left Uterga and stopped in Puente la Reina for some breakfast and a rest.

The puente of Puente la Reina.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

After leaving Puente la Reina there is a long climb.  It was a lot longer than I remember and it paralleled a highway which I'm pretty sure wasn't there ten years ago.  This is another change I saw.  A lot of the roads we paralleled were either new or were much wider and carried more traffic than ten years ago ... progress I guess.

We reached Cirauqui and it was very early.  The albergue wouldn't open for three hours.  We found a social club where we could get lunch and use the facilities.  As we ate we decided we still had fuel in the tank so we decided to move on to the next town.  I texted the albergue in Cirauqui and cancelled our reservation and we moved on.

As you may have noticed I pretty much planned our stops on the fly.  I didn't know how capable I or the Wife were and our capabilities changed day to day.  Having to make reservations to guarantee a bed in an albergue made this spontaneous planning more difficult though.

View from our albergue in Lorca.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

We ended up stopping in the town of Lorca.  We didn't have a reservation here but had no problem getting beds.  I would say this town has fewer pilgrims stopping here.  Having said that they do have two albergues.  Ours was only half full at best.  The day's mileage was 13 miles (21 km).

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Since we continued on to Lorca the day before, today's walk to Villamayor de Monjardín was a more comfortable distance that still felt hard for both of us.

The Irache wine fountain.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

Along this part of the Camino you walk through Estella with its steep medieval bridge.  Past Estella we passed a blacksmith shop that was selling cool metal Camino stuff.  We purchased a small cross and shepherd's crook with a hanging shell.  Further along we passed the famous wine fountain of Irache.

The last part going into Villamayor de Monjardín was an uphill slog and when we reached  the town we were pretty tired.  We walked a relatively short 11.23 miles (18 km) today but we felt every foot of the 1,550 ft (472 m) climb.  We arrived a couple hours before the albergue opened so we had some lunch at the local bar and relaxed until we could get in.

There is a castle on the top of the mountain the town is built on.  The Wife tried her best to find someone to drive her up to the castle but everyone refused saying you needed a four wheel drive vehicle that could handle the rough road.  Even an offer of money couldn't motivate anyone.

The poppies added a splash of color to our Camino.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

We were a bit tired of communal meals - especially since the last three meals had been chicken - so we planned to have dinner in the bar.  Turns out the bar in this town had unpredictable hours and it closed before we could get dinner so we joined the communal meal for more chicken.

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We left the next day and headed towards Torres del Rio - one of my favorite little towns on the Camino.  The walk today was through wheat fields and along country roads.

The church in Los Arcos.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

We stopped in the town of Los Arcos for some breakfast/lunch outside of the church.  The Wife found this church to be one of the most beautiful and ornate churches she'd seen so far on the Camino.  We ran into S_a and her mother here and we chatted for a bit.

The last section between Los Arcos and Sansol is, for some reason or other, one of the hardest for me.  It is flat and usually hot and windy along this section and it seems to go on forever despite being short.  I was happy when we arrived in Sansol since this town is very close to Torres del Rio.

In Torres del Rio we stayed at the same albergue I stayed at during my first Camino.  Unlike a lot I saw on the Camino this albergue had improved with time.  There was a very well stocked store on the ground floor and the beds and bathrooms were nice.  We had another communal meal at a nearby hotel but fortunately it wasn't chicken this time.

Photos can be found in my 2023 Camino de Santiago (The Wife's Camino) Google Photos album.

Camino 2023 - The Beginning

Time to post about our Camino.  On May eleventh the Wife and I started to make our way to the start of the Camino.   We flew from Omaha to Chicago where we hit our first delay.  Our flight from Chicago to Paris was delayed just over an hour due to a technical  issue in the cockpit (a bad screen of some sort).  This was when I really started to worry.  The time we had in Paris to get our checked bag, get through customs and passport control, and to get to the train station was a bit tight before you took the delay into account.

We arrived in Paris.  We collected our bag (the bag with all the liquids and pointy things that irritate security people - we'd carried our backpacks on the plane), breezed through customs and passport control, and headed for the taxi station.  As we got in the taxi we told our driver we needed to get to the train station in an hour before our train left.  His English and our French were not that great but I'd printed out the name of the station so I could just show it to the driver without me mangling the pronunciation. When he heard we needed to get there in an hour he made this 'are you crazy' face.

The taxi took off and he drove like a madman until we hit the late morning traffic.  Along the way we saw the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower in the distance.  Despite the traffic he got us to the station with about ten minutes to spare.  He even followed us into the station to make sure we knew where to catch our train.  When we say that our train was delayed we all had a laugh.

Our train to Bayonne was over an hour late - the second delay of the journey.  It was a relaxing ride through the French countryside and we ate some lunch along the way.

When we got to Bayonne our connection was still there.  Bayonne is a small train station so walking over to our connecting train was easy.  The train to St Jean Pied de Port is a small, two car train.  The cars are newer and bigger than the ones I rode in twelve years ago on my first Camino.

View from our hotel room.
(Taken by the Wife)

An hour later our travels were done.  It started raining just before we arrive at the station.  The Wife and I broke out our rain gear and we started walking to our hotel. 

We had to wait for someone to open the door and check us into our hotel located in an old building (the year 1720 marked over the door) in the historic area of the city.  Our room was nice and the location was ideal.

The next morning (Saturday) the wife discovered that her backpack sternum strap had pulled loose sometimes during transit.  I tried to get it back on but couldn't do it.  Fortunately there was an outfitter next door to our hotel and when the man who worked there couldn't fix it, the woman who worked with him, after whispering that she was better than him, fixed it for the Wife.

I want to say something here.  Back in 2011 on my first Camino there were precious few services geared towards pilgrims.  No outfitters.  Most bakeries, bars, and restaurants didn't open until 9:00am.  I have to say that in the last twelve years that has changed.  St Jean Pied de Port has two outfitters on the same street.  Bakeries open with breakfast services as early as 6:30am.  Food trucks have appeared along the road in the Pyrenees.  This makes things a lot easier for the pilgrims.

Bridge over the Nive river in St Jean Pied de Port.

We spent a day buying snacks for our first and second walking days, a little sightseeing around this nice French city, and eating good meals in preparation for our walk.  We'd beat the rush and had gotten our pilgrim's passport and Camino shells at the pilgrim's office the day we'd arrived.

Sunday, 14 May was the official start of our Camino.  We had a very short day to the Orisson Albergue (pilgrim's hostel) so we were not in a hurry to leave.  We had a reservation at Orisson so we were not in a race.  The Wife went to Mass at a small church not far from our hotel.  When she returned it was drizzling so we geared up, put on our rain gear, and headed into the Pyrenees mountains.

Despite the on and off rain there were some views to be had in the Pyrenees mountains.

A lot of what I saw along the way didn't match my memory of my first Camino which is understandable.  Memory fades and landscapes and civilization changes as well.

We met a couple of women as we were resting and admiring the cloudy view.  One was from England (E_l) and the other Australian (T_r).  We would run into them over the next week or so.  Ar least one of them is still walking the Camino as of this post.

The view from the Orisson Albergue ... The blue sky made an appearance.

After 4.9 miles (7.9 km) with 2,200 ft (670 m) of elevation climb we reached Orisson where we checked in, did our chores, and made ourselves comfortable at the bar/restaurant.  That evening there was a communal meal with everyone at the Albergue.  We all got up and introduced ourselves.  There were people from all over the world on the Camino for many diverse reasons. Here, along with E_l and T_r, we met S_a and her mother L_e.  We would see them many times over the next two weeks. 

The view down the mountain from the trail.
The hazy rain made the forest look ethereal.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

The next day, Monday, we left Orisson with a to-go sandwich packed in our backpacks and headed out into the rain.  Today would be the hardest day of our entire Camino, not because it was the longest day but because of the elevation change.  Over the next 11 miles (18 km) we could climb up 2,600 ft (793 m) and down 2,040 ft (622 m).  After walking into Spain we stopped at a small shelter where a bunch of us crowded in out of the rain.  The Wife and I ate our to-go ham and cheese sandwiches before going back out in the rain.

The last part going into Roncesvalles, Spain is a very steep drop down the mountain.  It was slow, wet, and a bit hazardous.  We were already tired by the time we started down this section.  By the time we arrived at the Roncesvalles Albergue we were exhausted.

We checked into the Albergue and did our chores.  The rain came and went as we explored the area around the albergue.  The main things in the area are a church, a few hotels, and restaurants that all cater to the pilgrims.  The Wife and I had a few drinks with pilgrims we'd met at Orisson before going to pilgrim's mass and having a communal meal at one of the restaurants (where we met more pilgrims).

It was colder this time compared to my first Camino.  It was a bit chilly sleeping in the albergue despite the building being full of people.  I still slept well if I recall correctly.

I took only a few photos this Camino.  The Wife took more and I will supplement the ones I took with hers.  Photos can be found in my 2023 Camino de Santiago (The Wife's Camino) Google Photos album.

Camino 2013: Epilogue

I ended my Camino posts back in 2011 with a review of the numbers.  I'm going to do that again but there are fewer numbers this time.  Not carrying a real GPS limits my data collection fetish ability.  Here we go:

• Total distance was 991 kilometers (615.78 miles) walked in 42 days.  This does not include any miles walked in the cities and towns.
• My average daily walking distance was 23.59 kilometers (14.66 miles).  This is slightly more than what I did in 2011.
• The longest stage was 33 kilometers (20.51 miles) from Negreira to Olveiroa.
• The shortest stage was 8.7 kilometers (14 miles) from Borce to Canfranc Estación.  This was a short stage since we bypassed a portion of the Arles Way due to landslides.
• I have no real elevation data for the trip but it was generally the same as the Frances.
• I stopped in 29 places that I hadn't stopped at last time including San Bol, La Faba, and Samos.
• The food this time was awesome.  Last time I could count the good meals on one hand.  This time I could count the bad meals on one hand.  A complete reversal.  I credit the smaller towns and albergues for this.
• We took a one day break along the Camino in León.
• We took the bus or alternate transportation twice.  Once to skip the landslide area after Borce and once from Jaca to the San Juan de la Peña Monastery.
• I ate four tubes of Principes and one tube of double stuff Principes - a significant drop from last time.
• I ate an ice cream nearly everyday starting in Borce.  There were a few days where none was available but I still think I easily ate 42 ice cream servings this Camino.
• I bought two rosaries and an earring/bracelet/necklace set for the Wife.  I bought a small statuette of a Santiago Pilgrim for myself.  I bought fifteen magnets to commemorate my trip.

My 2013 Camino route.

[Click on map for a larger version.]

The Camino had changed a lot since my first time.  It felt more crowded.  Parts of the Frances felt like a race to get to beds ... though G_v and I always got to our destinations earlier than the crowds.  Staying in smaller towns and smaller albergues often countered this racing feeling as most of the crowd went to the larger, Brierley stops.  Last time you could always see pilgrims in front or behind you as you walked but they were always at a distance.  This time around they were closer.  I guess you could say the pilgrim density or pilgrims per mile was higher.  The number of pilgrims doing the Camino has been increasing but the number has jumped since the movie "The Way" came out in late 2011.  I think the movie brought a lot more English speaking people to the Camino this time - mostly Canadian, Aussie, Kiwi, and American.  In 2011, when I walked my first time, 183,504 pilgrims received Compostela certificates of completion.  In 2013 the number increased to 215,929.  There was a rumor going around on the Camino ... I helped pass it along ... that Oprah Winfrey was thinking about walking the Camino.  If this is real, the Camino, as a pilgrimage of solitary contemplation and introspection, will come to an end.

The increasing numbers are also changing the attitudes of people.  There seemed to be more people unhappy with what they were doing.  Their attitude was one of "I can't wait til this is over."  I never thought this my first time.  I had tough days, no doubt, but I never wanted it to 'just be over'.  In 2011 when I met someone doing the Camino for a second ... or third ... time I always asked them what they could tell me to help with my Camino.  I looked at them with respect and a little reverence.  This time around I was the Pilgrim doing it for a second time.  When people found out they would look at me like I was nuts and ask with an incredulous tone "Why?!?"  As N_r said (she was a second time pilgrim as well) she felt she was often defending her decision to walk a second time.  This was a reflection of the attitudes of many pilgrims - they were not having a good time and couldn't understand why you would do it again.  I think a lot of people, especially the English speakers who had seen "The Way", had underestimated the difficulty of the Camino.  I think they thought it looked fun, easy, and thought it would be a cheap vacation - a walk in the park.  Combine the unexpected difficulty and the uncooperative weather and I think I know the source of the general bad attitudes I encountered this time on the Camino.

With the increasing number you would think there would be a lot of Camino Families forming but that isn't what I experienced.  Most groups walking together were groups of two to four people.  In 2011 my group was over a dozen strong at its peak.  We didn't walk together but we often coordinated where we would end the day.  This time around it seemed that people were walking at such disparate rates and distances that groups would merge and then separate continuously along the Camino making it hard for larger groups to form.  I lost track of all the time I would meet someone and then not see them at all for a week at a time before we came together once again.  Was my 2011 Camino Family an aberration or has the dynamic changed on the Camino?  Hard to say.

My attitude towards the Camino changed as well and it was to be expected.  It felt very "been there done that".  I really enjoyed the new parts along the Aragones and the alternate routes we took along the Frances.  The crowds took away somewhat from the experience adding a little bit of stress.  The attitudes of the pilgrims was draining and a bit demoralizing at times.  The weather - be it rain or dreary overcast - really affected my mood.  Most of all the fear of the unknown that was there last time ... the fear that turned my pilgrimage into an adventure ... was not there.  Despite stopping in different places, staying in different albergues, and meeting new people, the sense of adventure was greatly diminished.

Despite all of this, I still enjoyed my Camino.  Once I overcame the blister issues and my surprising lack of stamina early on, the Camino was quite enjoyable.  Walking with G_v meant I was never lonely - something that wore on me last time after I got separated from my Camino Family.  I saw new things and met new people.  While there were a lot of people who seemed not to 'get it' I met several who did.  These people were the ones I would say hi to when I saw them and who would share stories.  They were the ones who really appreciated what they were doing.  They were the ones who made my Camino worth while.

I was proud to complete the Camino without skipping ahead on a bus like last time.  This changed how I felt at the end of my Camino.  When I returned from the Camino last time I felt like I'd taken a test and had come up incomplete.  This time the feeling was quite different.  When I sat on the rocky cape overlooking the Atlantic ocean and watched the sun set over the waters I felt a wave of completion.  This was what I missed the last time.  It took a second Camino to walk the whole thing and to enjoy the sunset and the end in Fisterra.

My Camino experience lasted a little it past Fisterra.  There was the issue of the shells.  As I've mentioned before, I lost or destroyed three shells along the Camino.  The last one I'd left by accident at Hotel Larry in Cee.  On my last day in Spain I'd sent an email to the hotel asking if they'd found it.  A few days after I got home I got a reply.  I am happy to say that the necklace, with the shell from J-M and the yellow Bhutanese cord with its traveler's blessing, is now hanging from my desk lamp in my den.

One last thing.  When I left for France to start this Camino I knew this would be my last Camino.  When I saw the sun setting in Fisterra, I was absolutely sure that it would be the last time.  Then I sat in the bar listening to N_r talk about the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo.  The absoluteness began to waver a bit.  In hindsight G_v and I should have followed N_r to the Camino del Norte.  It would have changed our whole experience to the better I think.  And now I have a tiny hankering to do the Camino del Norte or the Primitivo.  It won't be any time soon though.  RAGBRAI and the Appalachian Trail will come first.  After that, after 2017, who knows.  I may return to the Camino.

You may leave the Camino but the Camino never leaves you ...

Camino 2013 - Days 47 And 48: Santiago De Compostela And The Way Home

Day 47

I walked with G_v to the airport bus stop less than a block from our hotel.  Her bus came at 10:00 AM, we said our goodbyes, and I waved as the bus pulled around the corner.  I now was alone and I had eleven hours to kill before my bus left.  Once again I had that 'last at the party' feeling.  I don't much like that feeling.  On the other hand, if I'd left first I would have felt like I was missing out on something.  I can't win.

The rainy streets of Santiago de Compostela.

I walked to the pilgrim's consignment office, an addition since the last time I was there, and left my bag there.  For two euros they would keep you bag for a day.  Now, without my bag, I was free to walk around the city.

A couple hours later I'd pretty much visited every souvenir shop.  I'd looked up and down for a nice Virgin Mary for the Wife and came up empty handed.  I did buy a necklace, bracelet, and earring set for the Wife's Christmas present.

I gave in and ate at the Burger King for lunch.  I did the same thing last time so it may be the start of a ritual ... who knows.  I stopped at the internet cafe next door and checked email and news.  Nothing much had happened in the seven weeks since I'd last checked the news.  It was still messed up.  At G_v's suggestion I looked up the email address for Hotel Larry and sent an email about my shell necklace.

A famous statue in a nearby park.

I wandered around ducking in and out of places as the sun ducked in and out of rain clouds.  I ended up sitting in the Cathedral and writing in my notebook several times during my wait.  It was the easiest and most comfortable place to be when it was raining outside.  It was also fun to watch the pilgrims and the tourists wander around.  You could tell the pilgrims by the wonder in their eyes and the silly grins.

A bench and statue memorializing a favorite professor. 

I ate my last ice cream - one scoop of chocolate chocolate chip with two scoops of dulce de leche - while I walked in a nearby park.  This was my last ice cream ... well, it was the last one in Santiago de Compostela anyway.  It was very good.

I pointed several pilgrims toward the pilgrim's office.  I took pictures for a group of bike pilgrims in front of the Cathedral.  I tried my best to kill time.  The sun even made an appearance in the afternoon.

Pilgrims enjoying the sun and the end of their Camino.

I'd given up on seeing anyone I knew.  N_r had left to walk to Fisterra that morning and most of the people I'd met were long gone.  Then I met the old Brother and Sister (the guy wore the "I'm not her husband" t-shirt).  I hadn't seen them in ages - I'm guessing it was over a month.  They remembered me and asked about G_v.  They'd just arrived and they seemed very happy.  I ran into them several times that day as they were touring the Cathedral.  I considered taking the Cathedral audio-tour too but never did.

When it came time to eat dinner I was totally indecisive.  I walked from one restaurant to another checking out menus and nothing ... I mean nothing sounded good.  I realized now that when it came time to eat I'd just followed the crowd or, in most cases, G_v.  I ended up buying an apple, a banana, and an Aquarius Limon (a lemon sports drink) at a small tienda.

The drizzle returned so I went to the consignment office, picked up my pack, and headed to the bus station before it really started to rain.  By the time I got there I was sweating and my four dollar umbrella was giving up the ghost.  I dumped the umbrella in a trash bin and explored the very uninteresting bus station.  Most of the little stands in the station closed their doors at 8:00 PM and they only sold sugary snacks anyway so I avoided them.  I'd had enough sugar for the day.  I did find a place to buy a sandwich and a coke and that topped off my dinner for the day ... oh and the tube of double stuff Principes in my bag.

I confirmed where my bus would be (I'd bought the tickets the night we returned to Santiago de Compostela from Muxía) and I waited.  As usual I'd come to the station way too early.  I kept my eyes open for other pilgrims but I didn't see any.  I guess most pilgrims either fly home or take the train.  I was taking the bus more for time reasons than anything.  The train got to Madrid too late for me to catch my flight.  The bus would drop me off at the airport with time to spare.

The bus left on time.  There was only one more pilgrim on the bus - a bike pilgrim - who spent most of his time talking on his cell phone.  I tried to sleep but it didn't come easy.  The bus passed through  A Coruña, Lugo, and Ponferrada, on the way to Madrid.  It was funny to see Camino markers as we passed Pereje and approached Ponferrada - especially since I was going the opposite direction as I'd walked it.  It was too early in the morning for pilgrims to be walking when we passed through.

Day 48

I arrived in Madrid, changed buses and got to the airport five minutes early.  I was so early I had to wait an hour or so before I could check into my flight.  I gave my pack to the airline clerk and hoped it would get home in one piece (it did).

Going through the first security checkpoint was easy.  There was a second checkpoint at the gate - thank you America for your strict security rules.  I stop at a cafe and bought my last natural orange juice and chocolate napoleon for breakfast.  I topped it off with an ice cream bar ... yes, ice cream for breakfast.  I tried my best to get rid of my euro coins but didn't quite succeed.

They opened the second security checkpoint and I went through.  I was picked for a secondary screening.  They asked me questions about what I was doing, gave me a basic pat down, and x-rayed everything I had and searched my carry on.  Nothing major.

I bought an Economist magazine to read on the flight to Chicago, I ate everything they offered on the flight, and did my best to stay awake so that I would be in sync when I got home.  I even watched the in flight movie, something I rarely do.

In Chicago you have to go through immigration.  What a freaking mess!!!  I ended up standing in four different, long, slow, and unorganized lines.  Fortunately I had plenty of time to work my way through the security/immigration swamp.

I ate at McDonalds and finished the meal off with some Ben and Jerry's.

The flight home lifted off just as the sun was going down.  The view out the window was spectacular.  Once again the sun was pointing the way.

From my airplane, the sun going down outside of Chicago.

The Wife picked me up at the airport.  I think I was a little more mellow about the whole experience this time.  I will post more about how I felt in a future post but for now I can say that, while I enjoyed my Camino, I was happy for it to be over and for me to be home.

Pictures can be found in my 2013 Camino de Santiago Google Photos album.

Total Distance Walked: 991 km (615.78 Miles)