Splat Goes the Pilgrim
Via Francigena #4 of 20. I hear an odd guttural sound come out of my mouth about the same time I feel my feet go into the water. Somehow the expensive camera is still In my hand but I hear it hit the cement. Only later does it dawn on me how lucky I was not to have my 20 pound back pack on.
Paris to Lausanne: Post # 2 of 2
Via Francigena #3 of 20. The thundering hooves of bullshit are stampeding my way, and there is nothing I can do to stop it.
Paris to Lausanne: Post # 1 of 2
Francigena #2 of 20. This is my closet, and I’m in Paris. As I wake up and work my way through my jet lag fog, I comprehend there is nothing cool in my closet backpack, even for just an airport breakfast.
Happy Anniversary
Via Francigena #1 of 20. Yeehaw! Happy Anniversary to us! Nothing says “I love you” like dinner and a movie in an airplane and a shoe box hotel room in Paris.
Postscript - Madrid to Seattle
Santiago #47 of 47. After a month of unseasonably cool weather on the Camino, on the day we left, temperatures started to soar.
Fisterra to Muxia, and that’s it.
Santiago #46 of 47. We left our backpacks at the hotel today for our final walk to Muxia and hoofed it alla carte up the trail, which begs an important question: If you don’t carry a backpack, do the kilometers count?
The End of the World
Santiago #45 of 47. We found the Atlantic ocean today, right where it’s always been, and then spent our evening at the The End of The World
Acknowledgement
Santiago #44 of 47. Today we begin the final stage into Fisterra. This is our second of three endings, and more than finishing the Camino de Santiago, this feels like a completion to me.
It’s a Wonderful Day for a Bidet!
Santiago #43 of 47. It’s a magical moment to open the bathroom door and see a bidet, and a wonderment in a threadbare hotel on the Camino. It’s so civilized. I am reminded of a little song I sang in Italy while on the Via de Francesco: it’s a wonderful day for a bidet, today, it’s a wonderful day for a bidet!
The Čårgåthöng™
Santiago #42 of 47. I’m not sure what just happened but I think we walked 25km and I didn’t notice it.
Santiago de Compostela: Rest and All You Can Eat, Beer and Cry Day, # 4
Santiago #41 of 47. Here’s the punch line. We’re not exactly done. Although we have finished the Camino de Santiago, we still have three days to Fisterra, the Spanish coast, and one day to Muxia, the place where the angels brought Santiago’s body back to Spain. Who in their right mind would miss that?
Cebreiro Cheese
Santiago #38 of 47. I’m taking the Rocky Brown cheese challenge and am eating as much Cebreiro Cheese with honey/quince paste as I can before I leave the region that made it famous.
100km Left to Santiago de Compostela
Santiago #37 of 47. Yay! The “100km left to Santiago” marker!
A Day to Air and Brain Out
Santiago #35 of 47. It was a great day to air and brain out. The kind of day you need your photos to remember what you walked.
The Bierzo Region and Weird Things
Santiago #34 of 47. This was the wine and cheese tour day, minus the wine and cheese.
My Least Favorite, Nasty Down Hill Climb
Santiago #33 of 47. Some guy went blasting past us on a bike right before this trench appeared. This gully is at least four feet deep. We didn’t hear a crash or find him balled up on the side of the path, but sometime soon, in a nearby town, an unusual soprano will audition for the local choir.
Everyone Walks
Santiago #32 of 47. All kinds walk the Camino. Today was a very busy day on the trail and a study in contrasts.