Traveling with Joe

For those of you who have seen the movie, “The Way”, we are within a stones throw of the Iron Cross where you leave your stones from home.  The village we are in dates at least back to the 8th Century when the Spanish people from this region fled to the mountains to evade the Muslim invaders from North Africa.  It was a great hike… Read More

Starting tomorrow and until the end of the trek, we have long days and are heading into the mountains tomorrow.  Tomorrow night we are staying in a “crumbling” village and the following day, for those of you who saw “The Way”, we are leaving our stones at the iron cross.  The Guide has made it abundantly clear that we are going to get our asses.. Read More

  Day 10 (or so) Day 23 (or so)  

Today we walked a hair under 20 miles.  After our incredible restful stay in Leon for 3 nights we have a 2 night stay in Astorga, a much smaller but quaint little town in the foothills of what will be the biggest challenge on the trek.  In a day or two we start climbing and I believe we have 5 days in the mountains before.. Read More

We are staying in a hotel that was originally a Monastery about 1,000 years about when it was originally built. http://www.hotelrealcolegiata.es/en/hotel That’s why I don’t get too upset that the internet is sketchy; it must have been a nightmare to retrofit this building the way they did.  The exterior walls are about 3 feet thick alone.  The sound proofing is surprisingly bad; I’m listening to.. Read More

So I’m sitting in the bar having yet another bocadillo de jamon & queso (Ham and Cheese Sandwich) and there’s a TV blaring behind me.  First I notice that it is partly in English then I notice that it is an advertisement for some kind of thing you stick under your Boobs (for women) so they stick out when you go out.  The disturbing part.. Read More

Even though I am taking an entire day off, I can tell my energy levels are still low.  I’m going to do a quick post of pictures and mostly let them speak for themselves.  That’s one good thing about the Camino; more often than not you don’t need words.  That’s a good thing because about half the time when I try to record something I.. Read More

I know that our Guides and the Company that arranged this trip have our well being in mind and on this hotel is leap years better than many of the places we have stayed in.  But, at the same time, it is a comedy of errors.   There are 91 rooms here but based on the size of the Lobby, Common Areas, Restaurant, Bar and.. Read More

 The official signpost for the Camino is the Scallop Shell.  In theory the spines point to the base of the shell and that is the direction we are supposed to go. You can tell however that even with the few Scallop Shells you see here they are not reliable (and people would steal them).   The Camino de Santiago is, for the most part, maintained.. Read More