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Days 27 through 33, Laguna la Castilla, Triacastela, Sarria, Portomarín, Palas de Reí, Ribadiso de Baixo, O Pedrouzo and Santiago de Compostela

Wrapping up now, the last eight days were a whirlwind of hiking with family and friends through the mountains of Galicia, often through calf-deep, muddy puddles and sideways, nor’easter style rain.

This entertainment segment of the trip - with much food, drink and laughter and including Natalie, Tom, Jessica and Jeff as guest pilgrims - helped as a transition for me away from pilgrim life and back to the real world. Not gonna lie, it’s going to take me a minute to readjust to a regular routine.

Once in Santiago, I received my Compostela that certifies I completed the Camino and I attended the Pilgrim mass, the Botafumeiro swinging 60 meters overhead to disperse incense and the Holy Spirit.

And so it ends. I am thankful to have received the gift of time to make this journey and for all the support and love received throughout that made it possible and so very memorable.

After walking 500 miles in 33 days, my plan is to keep walking. Look for me on the bridge in South Portland on the way to work or crisscrossing the marsh neighborhoods of Scarborough, hanging on to my Camino vibe.

And wherever you are headed, I wish you a Buen Camino!

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Days 25 & 26, Villafranca del Bierzo and Laguna de Castilla

After traveling all day via train and bus from the southeast corner to the northwest corner of Spain, this chiquilla arrived at my albergue today to walk with me for three days.

Chaco-clad, these Gale girls are Galicia bound through the mountains tomorrow!

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Days 23 & 24, Foncebadón and Ponferrada

Ears popping from altitude, I continue to work my way westward through terrain that looks to me just like the western mountains of Maine, a vast range of rolling, rounded, green, tree covered mountains.

The culmination of this stage of the Camino is the Cruz de Ferro, or Iron Cross, elevation 1,520 meters and the highest point above sea level on the Camino Frances.

A replica of a structure built in the 11th century as a way finder for pilgrims , the cross sits atop a mast which is surrounded by an enormous rock pile. Many pilgrims carry a stone with them that represents a personal burden, and they leave this stone at the cross, thus abandoning their load. Others pay tribute to their children or other family members by leaving a stone behind to honor them.

I am carrying a small heart shaped stone given to me by Heidi, in remembrance of sweet Tom Mac, who we lost eight months ago today. I had planned to do a shot of our favorite whiskey when I delivered the stone here - Tom and I loved to drink whiskey together - however during my ill-fated visit to Pamplona earlier in this Camino, the whiskey nip exploded in my backpack. So there were no shots of whiskey this morning.

If Tom were here, I know he would be cheering me on, and would likely be joining me in my final 100 km next week. It brings me both sadness and joy to know this stone and token of my friend, whiskey doused, will be here forever. Rest in peace dear friend.

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Days 21 & 22, San Martín del Camino and Astorga

The corn fields end at the doorstep of Astorga and with little fanfare, the Meseta is behind me. To the north I can see the mountains of Asturias and to the west those of Galicia, where I am headed next. Tomorrow the climbing begins as I move toward the highest elevation of the trip later this week, and likely cooler temperatures and rain, as Galicia is known as the Scotland of Spain.

Last night at a country hostel I discovered what might be my new favorite wine brand - “Peregrino” - as well as my new favorite pedicure design shown on a fellow pilgrim. Just ignore the bandaids covering all the blisters……

It is amazing how even when carrying all your belongings on your back and walking 15-20 miles a day with a life turned upside down, there is a daily pilgrim routine most of us have fallen into.

I arise at 6 and quietly pack up and leave my hostel around 6:30. This gives me a jump on some quick miles while it’s still very cool, with the bonus that I see the sunrise behind me at 8. After a couple of hours I am usually able to find a cafe or bar where I grab a hearty breakfast. I am burning thousands of calories a day and need to refuel often. One restaurant owner declared that I was “scrawny” and asked if she could please add extra ham and eggs to my Salmorejo - this actually happened. So I have abandoned my plant based diet for now and I am eating what is readily available. In Spain, that’s often something involving pork.

Check out today’s spread featuring jámon Serrano and tomato purée with olive oil to top off the bread. Breakfast of champions! Or at least, of Camino walkers.

Refueled, I settle in for 4-5 hours more of walking, check into my hostel by 2, shower and wash all my clothing by hand and hang it in the sun. It dries in an hour.

I seek out more calories, typically in the form of the “menú del día”, my new favorite thing in the universe.. For around 15 euro I get a first and second plate of food along with bread, dessert and wine or a drink. Whaaaaat? It’s a total feast. I am in love with this daily meal.

Afterwards there is time for exploring, if the feet allow, mass, possibly a pilgrim blessing in the local church and general chill time with new friends. Lights out at 9 and REPEAT the next day!

And did I mention I have walked over 500 kilometers? Just sayin’……

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Days 19 & 20, Mancilla de las Mulas and León

Out here on the Camino, there is a diverse group of people from all around the world walking for any number of reasons. Asia, Australia, North and South America and of course Europe make a parade of nations. I see a lot of couples, groups of friends, neighbors who have paired up and left their husbands and wives behind, every configuration.

The group that most surprises me is the overwhelming number of women walking alone. I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise, as why would I think other women wouldn’t have the same idea as me.

The thing that most catches me off guard about the solo female travelers is that what we are doing here flies in the face of everything we, as women, are taught about safety and taking care of ourselves. Growing up I was taught how to keep my guard up and stay safe: beware of this; don’t do that - the list of precautions I was taught is endless. These lessons are all based on one thing: fear.

So here we are, all of us, breaking every rule every day. We go out alone before sunrise and walk through city parks by headlamp, looking for yellow arrows. We trek across rocky dirt paths that traverse farmland, again, alone in the dark guided by moonlight or flashlight. We walk through dense forests with no one in sight.

We have all discarded fear and instead are embracing freedom, adventure, openness & optimism, and are loving every minute of it. It’s the ultimate personal reboot. This is the gift of the Camino.

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Days 17 & 18, Terradillos de los Templarios and Bercianos del Camino Real

I have passed the halfway point in my Camino, with over 400 kilometers of walking completed and only 350 more to go to reach Santiago. To mark this milestone, I visited the Santuario de la Virgen Peregrina where today I was given a beautiful certificate to acknowledge this moment, as well as another stamp in my pilgrim passport. The passport Is a booklet I received in France at the start of my Camino, and at every stop I make or church or monastery I visit, I receive a dated stamp that tracks my journey. When I arrive in Santiago de Compostela, this will serve as proof of my completed Camino and qualify me to receive an ‘official’ Compostela - even though this ‘officialness’ may not be needed personally, as I know what’s going on here. In order to qualify for the Campostela, one must walk the Camino for spiritual reasons, complete at least 100 kilometers of the Camino and have the passport to prove it.

Along the way, I have been awed by so many small acts of kindness toward me and other peregrinos as we move about both these small villages and large cities. Every day many hundreds of us file through these pueblos and the locals roll out the red carpet for us. It is a mutually beneficial relationship - these country folks need jobs and we travelers need meals, groceries and beds.

In Pamplona, when I inadvertently stepped off the Camino, an older woman stopped me and pointed out my error, putting me back on the right path. In Agés, a young French speaker showed up at my albergue at 6pm and it was full. It was several kilometers further to the next village, so the hostel owner called around and found a bed for this woman, then drove her there when she was done with her shift. As I make my way across Spain, people of all ages whisper ‘Buen Camino’ quietly in my ear as they pass me.

Yesterday brought a long stretch of 17 kilometers with no services at all along the way, just fields. This sweet man set up a food truck at the halfway point, serving up a lot of deliciousness to all the travelers. Win, win, win for all.

I am taking a much needed rest day today after averaging 25 kilometers per day for the last 11 days, without pause. My knees are appreciating this choice as I sit in this garden with my cafe con leche, to which I am now very much addicted.

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Days 15 & 16, Frómista and Carrión de los Condes

My westward march continues through open spaces growing grain of all kinds. The quiet mornings are interrupted by flocks of birds announcing the rising sun and occasional church bells marking the time of day from a distance.

There is not a lot out here, nada, actually.

As they say, one picture is worth a thousand words. So I will leave you with some thousands of words.

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Days 13 & 14, Hornillos del Camino and Castrojeriz

I have now entered the Meseta, the high plains (elevation 2,000’) of north central Spain known for relentless heat in summer and freezing cold temperatures in winter. This is the breadbasket of Spain. Think vast expanses of sky and fields of wheat. Walking the Camino here is akin to walking across Kansas.

There is no billowing golden wheat this time of year as we are beyond the harvest. Instead there are fields of dry wheat stubble that look like the crops have recently had a close shave.

I am well into part two of the Camino, the “mind” section. Known for heat, big skies and wide open spaces, many pilgrims choose to skip this part. Some grab a bike and blast through it, some hop on a bus and go to Astorga to rejoin the Camino there. I love the openness, the quiet and the raw beauty.

Last night Hornillos del Camino - population 12 - after a quick 20 kilometer walk, brought much needed clean laundry, yoga on the shady lawn and a beautiful homemade paella prepared by our host over a fire in her outdoor kitchen. It honestly felt like a 5 star hotel, my standards have obviously recalibrated.

The full moon was my guide this morning as I made my way deeper across the Meseta toward Castrojeriz, along with the sun rising over Burgos behind me. No headlamp needed!

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Days 11 & 12, Agés and Burgos

I have officially passed the one third mark of my Camino, walking over 300 kilometers in 12 days. Just 500 more to go!

Many people approach the Camino Frances as three logical parts: body, mind and soul. The first phase, body, is where you are preoccupied with the mechanics of the walk such as the inevitable aches and pains that surface, the blisters and other foot discomfort, the knee tweaks from the frequent climbs and descents, as well as the neck and hip issues that may result from carrying a 15 or 20 pound (or more) backpack all day. It’s kind of a whole bundle of nasty that can arise, no one is immune, certainly not me. I can now proudly say I am an expert in blister management! That said, I know better than to declare victory, physically speaking, with so much more distance to cover in the weeks ahead. But I am optimistic that my generally high fitness level and steady walking pace will see me through.

The last two days I hiked through dense pine forests with wild heather all along the path as well as through more fields of sun baked sunflowers with their little brown faces all turned toward the sun.

To beat the heat, I left Agés this morning well before sunrise. I was rewarded by a starlit morning walk as well as yet another gorgeous sunrise over the village and countryside left behind.

Seen along the way, this intrepid capitalist was open for breakfast in the wee hours in Atapuerca, virtually the middle of nowhere. Note the neon “open” sign in English, they know who their customers are!

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Days 9 & 10, Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Belorado

I have left the lush, green vineyards of La Rioja behind and have now entered the quite sun scorched region of Castilla y León. The sun is blazing and there is rarely shade. I am carrying a lot of food and water so that I don’t get caught without supplies. I visited a pharmacy yesterday and the super helpful pharmacist hooked me up with a complete set of Compeed bandages to take care of blisters, SPF50 lip balm and electrolytes to help replenish as I go. Spanish pharmacies put my local CVS to shame!

All around me is great big blue sky and many shades of brown landscape. I can not only feel the heat, but it’s visible. I am crossing potato farms as well as fields of sunflowers used to make oil. These sunflower fields have seen prettier days, as now they are just skeletons of what they once were.

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Days 7 & 8, Logroño and Nájera

Just as Pamplona threw me many physical curve balls such as getting lost, losing some important personal items and having next to no available lodging, Logroño threw me some psychological curve balls that I am glad to have caught and now discarded.

Logroño is a medium sized city and the capital of the new region I traveled into yesterday, La Rioja. Yep, I’m in wine country! There is currently a festival underway so the city is in full party mode. There is beautiful food everywhere, people are all busy munching on tiny brochettes, mini grilled lamb chops and giant croquetas with jamón serrano draped over them, just to name a few snacks. And naturally there are giant goblets of Crianza as far as the eye can see.

But after a week on the road, on foot, carrying all of my belongings and being with my new found pilgrim family, it was too incongruous for me. My feet want to walk and I want to continue to be disconnected from space and time.

I left Logroño well before daybreak, making my way quickly away from the chronic snorer in my hostel just as soon as I could. Many people, very many, were still in the streets this morning at 6:30 after pulling all nighters.

And the moral to this story is that I will visit no more large cities!

The sun rises here at 8, so I had over an hour of looking for markers in the dark. Along with a few others. I made my way away from the city and deeper into the vineyards of La Rioja.

I walked 30 kilometers today, easy peasy as it was all flat. The entire day I was surrounded by grapevines laden with purple/black grapes. Gorgeous, and as we red wine lovers well know, delicious!

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Day 6 - Los Arcos

Let’s talk about wine. Red wine. Spanish wine. Wine on tap .An actual fountain of wine!

Passing through the town of Irache today I passed by a bodega which features an old stone fountain dispensing an endless stream of red wine, the fuente del vino. This puts a huge exclamation point on the idea that Spain is a very festive place.

At the risk of generalizing about all people of an entire country, I think it’s fair to say that people here are incredibly social and love a good fiesta. You can point to the Reyes Magos in January and the parades that go along, as well as San Fermín in Pamplona for the running of the bulls, Féria de Abril in Sevilla, and even Semana Santa, which while religious, is a collection of elaborate processions and traditions. The list of celebrations is endless.

Add to these annual rituals the daily routines of tapas and pintxos, long walks with friends to take in the scenery, extended leisurely meals with family and friends, and there you have it.

As one fellow peregrino put it today, “I cannot find a wrinkle in how the Spanish find balance in their lives. It’s all just so well done.”

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Day 5 - Estella

Leaving Puente la Reina at dawn, you can see the ancient bridge for which she is named, the Queen’s Bridge.

Like a scar, the A-12 highway cuts across the pristine Navarra countryside while pilgrims crisscross beneath it and around it. While underway today, I came across a modern day aquaduct, mirroring the one in Segovia built by the Romans 2000 years ago. Imagine what would happen in your town if the government declared they would be building such a structure. Petitions and outcry against it, for sure. I love the respect that Spain gives to those who came before them by copying a useful, ancient invention!

Today I passed many farms and gardens of all shapes and sizes. Gorgeous produce that I would love to cook and eat! Below are olives, grapes, tomatoes, pumpkin, English walnut (according to Google lens, thank you @Trevor!)

A possible day of rest coming tomorrow!

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Day 4 - Puente la Reina

Today’s walk was about 17 miles through farmland and a climb of about 2400 feet to the Sierras de Perdón. This is a bigger than life sculpture at the summit depicting the devil attempting to exchange a pilgrim’s soul for a drink of water.

At one point there was a solo farmer working his fields. I couldn’t help but think their job is the daytime version of a snowcat at night - solitary, dangerous and valued.

Along the ridge for as far as the eye could see were wind turbines whirring away, creating energy.

Happy to be in Puente la Reina for the evening, this hungry pilgrim is heading out for some pintxos!

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Day 3 - Pamplona

Pamplona, city of the running of the bulls, is scenic, historic, celebrated and loved. But she was rude to me in many ways and I am happy to have left this morning. Adiós Pamplona!!

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Day 2 - Roncesvalles to Zubiri

I spent the night in an ancient monastery last night that has been converted to a hostel for pilgrims. I was awakened at 6am this morning by the sound of monks chanting, it was beautiful.

So onward I went on my journey to Santiago, stopping at the trailhead to note the iconic sign indicating the distance to my destination. Yikes!

Passing through the Basque towns of Espinal, Viscarret and Lintzoáin, the sights did not disappoint.

The symbol of the Camino is a yellow shell on a blue background, but you never know exactly what format it will take.

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Day 1 - Buen Camino

Setting out at daybreak from the French Basque town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port at the foot of the Pyrenees, I passed through the gate where millions of pilgrims have passed before me over many centuries.

Sunrise over the Pyrenees and a gorgeous day unfolds

New friends wandering about the mountains

Welcome to Spain!

And I cannot resist this one……😜😂