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The wind gods took a day off today. Yesterday, the trees waved their arms at me frantically. Today, they just stared as I walked by. I could feel the quiet, so much so that at one point I sat down on a rock on the side of the path, closed my eyes and listened forContinue reading “A Very Filling Meal”

First things first: I wanted to mention something that embodies the Camino spirit that I saw yesterday after arriving in Leon. I bumped into Francisco, the Youtuber from Almería, in a coffee shop. He was buying a coffee and pastry for some poor soul who obviously did not have the means to pay for itContinue reading “A Very Windy Place”

Leon is the last of the big cities before Santiago de Compostela. It was a nice walk from Mansilla de las Mulas. There is an alternate route that takes you on an ancient Roman road, which I kind of regretted not doing, until meeting the folks who had and their description of a long andContinue reading “León”

Lisa and I got away from our lodging on another chilly morning well before the sun came up and, as with many mornings, we followed Venus. As the sun arose at our backs, the surroundings became clearer and we walked along a mostly flat path lined with sycamore trees through fields either already harvested orContinue reading “Dinner Surprise”

Lisa and I set off from Terradillos about 7:15 and got to Sahagun about 3 hours later. It was our coldest morning yet, at 37 deg F. In Sahagun, you can get a half-way certificate. Some may think that a half-way certificate is not very important, but it does demonstrate that you have walked nearlyContinue reading “Halfway”

I had to grab a taxi from Hornillos to Carrión de los Condes to catch up with Lisa and make up for the days I fell behind in Burgos and Logroño. I arrived in the morning and checked into the Hospedaria del Convento de Santa Clara. Let me go back in time for a moment.Continue reading “Mistaken Identity”

It was good to be on the bus going in the right direction. It was a nice refresher of the towns I had walked through not long ago: Najera, Santo Domingo, Belorado, Atapuerca and finally Burgos. They tend to blur together after a few days. I had a cup of coffee and a toasted hamContinue reading “A Happy Place”

I mentioned in an earlier post that good fortune often comes my way on my travels. I should have suspected something was amiss this morning when I boarded my bus to Logroño and a minute later another bus coming into the station crashed into my bus, breaking the gull wing mirror and sending cracks propagatingContinue reading “Death in the Afternoon”

Early in my career I had the good fortune to work in Spain. One of the oil fields I looked after was near Ayoluengo, an hours drive north of Burgos. I never spent much time in Burgos if I could help it. Years later, driving from Madrid to Pamplona with the family, I stopped inContinue reading “The difference in the foam on a cafe con leche and on a beer”

I was able to catch up on the queen’s funeral highlights today after a relatively early arrival in Burgos. The Last Post and the piper’s lament were quite moving. I have had similar moments along the Camino almost every day. But they are as difficult to describe as the emotion I felt listening to thatContinue reading “Long March into Burgos”