El Camino de Santiago and other trails.
I’ll be brief today. I walked 30km/18mi in 6.53hrs, my worst day so far because I have blisters on my toes. Today we walked through the vineyards of the O.D. Bierzo most of the day with temperatures at 78F. I needed to get a taxi to be taken to my final destination.
Today we had a charming walk with a group of people that included a one-hour second breakfast along el Camino. We had dinner together, and the conversation was very interesting, with many people from different backgrounds and countries sharing their experiences. It seems that the largest representation is from Australia, although there are plenty of French, Spanish, English, Americans, and virtually every other country represented. And, of course, we are also encountering all walks of life. Among us, there is an actor, an Anglican priest, plenty of retirees, a venture capitalist, students, a lawyer, etc. The great thing about the Camino is that it sets everyone as equals.
We didn’t have rain today, it was an easy walk, especially for Jeremy who has tendinitis. We walk through a long, beautiful, and boring forest in Europe, probably eight kilometers of the same green scenery followed by a local Cuckoo bird. From now on every time I hear a Cuckoo clock it is going to remind me of this stretch of El Camino. This afternoon when we arrived at our hostel we learned that the water heater was broken and our host was trying to find another accommodation for us. Luckily we had the best travel agent who also was looking for a place where we could stay for the night. Right now is the highest season for El Camino and the small towns don’t have enough beds for all the pilgrims that are arriving every day. At the end, we stayed in a hotel outside Burgos. Tomorrow we are going to be drive back to Ages and start where we stopped today.
Today we walked the longest stage in our itinerary, 30 kilometers, which is about 19 miles. At this moment, we are mesmerized by the fact that our brains want to keep going, but the body is breaking down, slowing us down with knee pain, skin rash, backache, and so on. But on the other hand, we are very grateful to live this experience of simplicity in our life, basic material things, thinking a lot about ourselves and spirituality.
We had great weather the first four days of our pilgrimage; now we are not sure what is worse, a day with rain or an intense windy day. Today was challenging to walk due to the strong wind in El Camino.
Today was an easier hike than yesterday. We walked 22km with only a few uphill or downhill sections. The weather was fantastic for hiking this morning, and we ran into many people that we had seen on the trail yesterday or at the hotel. It feels like a kind of camaraderie since everyone has only one objective: to walk and reach the next town. As courteous pilgrims, we salute them with “hola” or “Buenos Dias,” followed by the official sentence “Buen Camino” (have a good way). In the past two days, we saw people from many different countries. It is like being in Silicon Valley, hearing different languages spoken on the streets.
I always procrastinate when it comes to packing.
#buencamino
Today we were tired after our longest hike yesterday, so we went for a short hike. We walked 4.93 miles.
I think we are ready for El Camino!
This weekend is the one when we chose to hike on Saturday and Sunday.
Today we went to Berry Creek. We hiked 12.08 miles in the most scenic area of Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
TrekTok 