Melide to Salceda- 9/11

(Distance: 25 kms  Time: 7 hours)
The Day: Today was a pleasant surprise. Somehow we managed to stay between the waves of pilgrims and were left pretty much alone on the trail. It was a beautiful day, about 78 degrees, sun was shinning and we walked along mostly natural trails with lots of shade and a gentle breeze blowing. It doesn't get much better than that. If we can escape the tourist pilgrims one more day we will be home free in Santiago.

the day starts out

a small village we are entering

the typical path for the day

The People: Christian and Josie remain a part of our day as well as our numerous daily encounters with Cherry. We met some new people at dinner, a couple from UK and then a mother / daughter combo from Belgium. Lots of people around us ... all with their eyes on Santiago. We are getting emails from Mike (from Canada) and Jee Young (from Korea) but both seem on different paths than us and we may not ever connect with them again on this Camino ... we are hoping somehow we do as they have become very special people in our lives.

our modest pilgrim meal for tonight

our friend Cherry just ahead

Ventas de Naron to Melide - 9/10

(Distance: 27kms  Time: 7 hours)
The Day: It was a fairly easy day of walking without many ups or downs as far as the terrain. However, the Camino is changing at a rapid pace. It has been a very different experience since passing Sarria where a lot of people start for the last 100 kms. First and most obvious, it is more crowded with all the newcomers and the attitude & approach has change with people getting dropped off in a taxi and a lot more people not carrying their backpacks (they get them transported to the next stop). Looking closer at the people now around us, you see more "designer" clothing and women actually wearing makeup. Bright colored sneakers, cute little backpacks that are designed to look nice but not very useful ... things like that. For the first 700kms it was a Camino family and now it is more like a Camino city. For those people that just do the minimum last 100 kms their experience will be very different than ours ... it doesn't make it worse or better, just very very different. One good thing is the fact that when a group gets annoying we can easily out distance them especially on the hills. It is good for the ego when you pass by so many other walkers too :)

The People: Christian is still kind of with us ... he didn't walk with us today but we saw him and we are supposed to be meeting up at the albergue in Melide but so far we have not seen him. We met up once again with Cherry on the trail and also passed by Josie.

the path today pretty much followed the roads

some of our companions today :)

Barbadelo to Ventas de Naron - 9/9

(Distance: 31 kms  Time: 8.5 hours)
The Day: Even though we keep saying that we are going to stop leaving in the dark, we keep doing it ... 6:30am this morning with sunrise around 7:45. Ok ... some more project management talk ...today we gave ourselves a "stretch target" and we made it! 31 kms begins to put us in position to walk into Santiago around 10 am on Friday morning. The pilgrim Mass is at noon so that works out perfect. No new blisters or aliments today so we continue to do well on that front. Each day brings us closer to Santiago, which is a 2 edged sword. First our excitement increases with every step but then the realization of our Camino almost being complete makes us a little sad. We have lots of time to process all that we have experienced so for now we are trying to focus on the moment. One short month ago Santiago seemed so far away and now we are within 50 miles. It does not seem possible but by the grace of God it looks like we will make it.

The People: Christian continues to be with us, sometimes walking ahead and sometimes joining us. We had a surprise this morning when we stopped for our coffee. We walked into the cafe in a small village and Cherry was there to great us. Then later in the day we crossed paths with Josie once again. New friends, Jen & Helle from Denmark seem to be on a similar schedule as us so hopefully we will continue to see them (btw ... Jen is a project manger so we have had a lot to talk about). God continues to intertwine our lives with people we have quickly learned to call friends. Every time we think we have lost touch with someone forever, they show up at a cafe or somewhere along the "way" ... we are in awe.

the sunrise

small village   we passed through

the fog begins to lift

some of the "local" scene

a bridge to the next town

Triacastela to Barbadelo - 9/8

(Distance: 23 kms  Time: 7.5 hours)
The Day: We are starting out a little later so that we do not have to walk very long in the dark with our flashlights. Sometimes the yellow arrow markers are difficult to see without any natural light. Think about it ... it seems silly enough that for 500 miles we are following these little yellow arrows all the way across Spain, let alone to try and do it in the dark. Today we climbed another small mountain and the fog had a hard time lifting but as it lifted it provided some really beautiful views with a mix of mountains and fog in the valleys. We decided to not stop today in Sarria and to go on to the next town. Sarria is the last place that someone can start the Camino and qualify for the Compostela certificate and we wanted to be ahead of the crowd starting tomorrow in Sarria. The distance to Santiago is now less than 70 miles and we are anticipating reaching it on Friday (I know that would be Friday the 13th but we will let St James take care of that :) Now for my IBM friends that are project managers, that would mean we would reach our target one week AHEAD of plan. We have not had many blisters or injuries and that has been a blessing as everyday we see many people struggling with various ailments. Tonight we are in a very nice albergue that to be honest almost feels like a resort. When you look at the pictures below you will see what I mean. Yes ... God is good.

leaving in the dark

the view as the fog lifts

the view from our albergue's garden

The People: Today we spent part of the day once again with Christian and seem to be crossing paths with a young girl from Japan named Mari ... they are at the albergue with us tonight. Around lunch time when we passed through Sarria, Betsy and I decided to stop at a cafe for something to drink. As we approached some empty outdoor tables a woman called to us and asked if we would join them for a drink. The man she was with lives in Sarria, she is from Italy and they hope to open an albergue that caters to people with disabilities. They bought us a drink and wanted to know everything about our Camino journey.

Betsy & me as we rest after a hard day's walk :)

our view from the lounge chairs

Lugana to Triacastela - 9/7

(Distance: 23.8 kms  Time: 7 hours)
The Day: We started out early and in the dark. The weather wasn't great but it wasn't raining ... lots of fog. We were high up in the mountains and it was cold. Betsy wore her fleece most of the day and I had a long sleeve shirt on. Still, as some of the fog burned off, the views were spectacular yet again. We both felt pretty strong most of the day and we enjoyed the walk. It does seem as if it is becoming more crowded but we were still able to find some stretches where we were alone. One benefit ofmthe fog was that it was very quiet ... kind of like when you are out in a snow fall. We got to our destination by 2 pm and after doing our laundry, getting a shower and grabbing some lunch it was almost time for Mass. The Mass was very unique and tailored for pilgrims. The readings were read in 7 different laungues and Betsy read the the English version. We are now only 6 days from Santiago which is hard to believe. Soon this will all be just a memory which feels kind of sad.

The People: We had one of those days where old friends seem to pop out of nowhere. After reaching the top of the mountain around 8:30, we had breakfast and  saw Sally & Mark fom Colorado who we had not seen for a couple of days. Moving on, we started down the path when out of a building came Cherry from NYC. It was great to see her again and we walked together for a while and caught up. Then a little further down the path we passed Jamie who we thought was way in front of us. It turns out he got a bad case of tendinitis and had to rest for a couple of days. Later on in the day out of nowhere, Christian showed up and we walked the rest of the way into town with him. In town we saw a number of familiar faces which just makes you feel good.

Villafranca to Laguna - 9/6

(Distance: 26.3 kms  Time: 7 hours)
The Day: Cleansed of our bed bugs, we are back on the Way. Today was a solid day of over 26 kms with the last 10 or so climbing to about 1150 meters up in the mountains. This is the feared climb that Camino books talk about people paying to have their backpacks taken to the top for them while they make the climb. After tackling the Pyrannes and walking almost 400 miles we figured we were up to the challenge. We indeed made it without too much difficulty and will go another 200 meters first thing tomorrow morning to the top and continue on from there. Santiago is now under 100 miles away!

The People: We made some aquaintances along the way today but were alone for the most part.

early in the morning the Way followed a road

the road to the top

the view close to the top - spectacular

In Villafranca - 9/5

The Day: We stayed the day in Villafranca but not really by choice. Somewhere over the past two or three days we got into bed bugs. We have no idea how since we have been careful (we thought) and have sprayed our beds every night before using them. Betsy got bitten more than me but we both have multiple bites. So, we stayed in Villafranca to deal with it. The people at the albergue were wonderful and washed all of our clothes & sleeping bags in ammonia and they sprayed our backpacks & sealed them for 24 hours. The good news in all of this is that it rained all morning long so we avoided the challenge of walking in our rain gear. That is the first rain we have encountered and because of the bed bugs, we were able to dodge it.

The People: Most everyone we have met has moved on with the exception of Christian who had to take a day off for a sore tendon. We ran into him in the main plaza in Villafranca and sat at a cafe and shared a pitcher of sangria.

A special blog from Betsy: Hello everyone.  God, once again is reminding us, maybe me,  that he is in control.  Having bed bug bites on the Camino feels a little like being a leper.  We only have a few bites but it causes a systemic reaction so spots appear all over.   My legs and arms were covered yesterday and I had a couple of spots on my face.  It has been a very humbling experience for me.  The one thing I was really worried about for  this journey was getting bed bugs. Not being able to walk gave us some extra time, so we spent some of it in a beautiful church.  I was catching up on some daily readings, and one from 9-4 was Jesus healing the sick and casting out demons.  It helped me to accept these spots as sign of the inward cleansing that God has been doing on this journey.  It also is a reminder that He still has a long way to go. It is hard to believe that we are less than 2 weeks away from Santiago. I miss you all but would not change a thing, except, maybe the flies. I do not understand why God created flies! We are praying for you all and the special requests that you have given us.

Molinaseca to Villafranca - 9/4

(Distance: 31.2 kms  Time: 9.5 hours)
The Day: It was a long long day. The day started slow as we made our way first thing to Ponferrada (a 7kms walk) for our coffee and pastry. We found an ATM to replenish our money and then were on our way again. The day grew very hot (we were told it was the hottest day this summer for that area) and there wasn't a cloud in the sky ... with very little shade. The country side has changed completely now from flat fields of wheat to mountains & grape vines. Also the forecast appears to indicate we might have to deal with some rain but we deal with things one day at a time.

The People: Along the way yesterday, we met a couple from Virginia and ate lunch with them. We also saw Dami and Claudia, friends from a while ago, and then at the end of the day we briefly saw Angeliek. It is interesting that as we deal with what the day brings, each decision seems to reunite us with someone or introduce us to someone new and that enriches our experience.

castle in Ponferrada

castle wall

passing through a town for lunch

grape vines have replaced the wheat fields

Angeliek as we enter Villafranca

church in Villafranca

Foncebadon to Molinaseca - 9/ 3

(Distance: 20.7 kms  Time: 7 hours)
The Day : We stopped short of our goal today as we spent more time in the mountains than we anticipated. It was perfect weather and being at the highest point on the Camino at sunrise was spectacular (lots of pics below). Today was a special day too as we placed our rocks at the foot of the Cruz de Ferro... a simple iron cross atop a weathered pole with a huge pile of rocks & other tokens of love. It was a special time and we stopped for a while to recollect all the prayer intentions everyone gave us for the Camino. The rest of the day was downhill from there ... literally, as we descended about 900 meters to the bottom of the mountains. When we entered Molinaseca we began to cross an old stone bridge when we saw Jamie and others swimming in the river. Of course Jamie invited us in so down we went to the river. We didn't go swimming but we did soak our sore feet in the very cold water and it felt great. So that combined with the time spent in the mountains as well as the difficulty of the decent all did us in and we called it a day.

The People: I already mentioned seeing Jamie again but we also stayed in touch with Manfred. Cutting our day short also reunited us with Thorunn and Angeliek. Then we had a real surprise and saw Cherry whom we had not seen for along while. Funny how God works all that out for us :)

sun rise in the mountains

spectacular views as we walk in the mountains

Cruz de Ferro as the sun rises

rock pile at the foot of the Cruz de Ferro

our walk continues in the mountains ... God's beauty all around us

river / "swimming pool"

cooling our feet in the river

Astorga to Foncebadon - 9/2

(Distance: 27.2 kms  Time: 7 hours)
The Day: We had a rough start this morning ... both of us were ornery and we took it out on each other. Things smoothed out after a while and we ended up making good time. We both can see a difference in our stamina and the time it takes us to cover distances. (Hmmm ... does that mean I am now walking at Betsy's pace ?) By 11:30 am we had already walked our target of 21 kms so we had some lunch and then continued on to the next town. I have been trying to post pictures that give a feel for the country side & environment and since Leon we have noticed some changes. Gone are the wheat fields and the average age of the pilgrims has seemed to increase. Probably because we are loosing all the college age folks as schools get back in session and vacations in Europe come to an end. Tonight the town we are in is up on the side of a mountain and the view is magnificent.

in Astorga

The People: On and off today we saw Angeliek and Christian, and they are with us at the albergue. Some new acquaintances today but no new " friends"

Mazarife to Astorga - 9/1

(Distance: 31.2 kms  Time: 8.5 hours)
The Day: Well even with our "injuries" we made the 31 kms today. We both still hurt but that was to be expected. The terrain itself was not too difficult but it was rocky and hot. I had an incident when we were going over a bridge that crossed a railroad track, a gust of wind blew my hat off and it landed down on the tracks. I successfully retrieved it as Betsy nervously watched me. Tomorrow is a less aggressive day as far as how far we want to go, but it is mostly all uphill. Just another day on the Camino ...

The People: Most of the day we walked with our friend Angeliek with brief encounters with Thorunn and Jolie. We are becoming very comfortable with being by ourselves with some shared praying, a little conversation and a lot of silence (a good kind of comfortable silence) with only the crunching of the stones & dirt paths beneath our feet.

the road today

an old bridge into a town along the way

Betsy and Angeliek

in Astorga