No small accomplishment considering the usual state of my ankles and feet. With braces on ankles and knees and an Aleve now and again, I'm continuing on. Some longer walks, some blissfully shorter ones now and again. The best part for me is meeting the people, hikers and locals. The hikers make it such an …
Category: Camino Primitivo
It’s all downhill
We were all up by 7, dressed and having a bit of breakfast, enjoying that we could make coffee, especially since I'd had none the day before.... That huge hike day not even caffeine powered! Chris came into the kitchen and we all broke out into a round of happy birthday, as we had learned …
The split decision
The albergue turned out to be exactly what I imagined for a Camino. The dormitory space had 24 of us in bunk beds, with boots and poles kept at the door. A number of us met at the bar for drinks before the communal dinner. The host was gracious to make special food for the …
There are no eggs!
Since we knew we were going to have a relatively short day we decided to meet at 8 for breakfast at the restaurant connected with the albergue. We had checked out the menu the night before and were excited to find most items had eggs included. So imagine our disappointment when we tried to order …
Nothing but blue skies…. And mud
After a somewhat restless sleep we arose to a breakfast of goodies we purchased the evening before at the local grocery. Can't remember when I had such a good time going through a supermarket looking for good stuff that was packable and would sustain us. We lucked out that even on an early Sunday morning …
Slugs and snails and puppy dog tails
The morning began much more auspiciously than the evening before. Everyone woke gently and quietly, with the early risers taking their gear into the outer room to pack up without disturbing anyone else. Mandy decided we needed a more substantial breakfast so I wouldn't "fizzle out" as I felt I did by the end of …
The Dictator
So there we were, 9 pilgrims settling into the albergue at San Juan de Villapanada. No host in sight, but everyone knew the basic ways of the albergues, so no worries. I was pleased to find they had chilled bottles of wine in the fridge for a small donation. We uncorked one and began sharing. …
Rain, rain go away
After staying the night in Emcamplera, listening to the pouring rain throughout the night, we headed out, with our packs covered in Mandy's ingenious trash bag covers and our equally clever trash bag skirts. May not have looked as slick as going with expensive REI gear, but very effective and easier to deal with in …
The Camino Primativo Route – the hike begins
When one mentions hiking the Camino most people are only aware of the main route, the Camino Frances. Instead, we're hiking the Primativo, which you can spot on the map. It should be a different experience, even for Mandy, as when she hiked the main and northern routes, back in 2008/09, she didn't have access …
Continue reading The Camino Primativo Route – the hike begins
And the modes go on….
When last you heard from these intrepid travelers we were sitting pretty in a Vancouver hotel awaiting our flights to Madrid. We arose before the crack of dawn to catch the shuttle to the airport and were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise along the way. Zipped through things at the airport and found ourselves waiting …
Redpath At Ease 