So last night I slept in a convent!  And a  jolly good sleep it was too.

After a few hours exploring the town we had dinner with a very jolly German guy and his wife. He really was VERY jolly and he also ate anything that no-one wanted; I would say he had a hearty appetite!   He also had wine with everything… Even adding it to his yoghurt!!  But he and his wife were really very lovely and we had a pleasant evening.

I must have gone to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, but the girls told me in the morning that some poor Pilgrim was banging on the door at 9.45 trying to get to his bed.   Normal lights out is 10:00 pm but here it was 9.30pm…he wasn’t allowed in so I wonder where he slept! Continue reading →

So our albergue last night turned out to be a diamond in the rough.   We had a great meal and a quiet comfy night in our little room for four.

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I’ve been walking with the same faces for a while now.   Catherine is from Australia but also has a British and an American passport and I call her a hybrid.   I guess I have walked with her the most and we have spent most time together after meeting way back in Estella Continue reading →

Last night I stayed at the municipal albergue in Castlejeriz.  Catherine and Mike are here too, so after we’d done our chores we went in search of a cold beer and made plans to meet for dinner.   And at dinner we found a table for three but were soon joined by Theresa, Pam and Sherry and then a few others… and our table grew a lot… as is often the way!

So I enjoyed the company of great pilgrims, on a lovely terrace looking out at the big old hill we were to climb the next day.  And when we’d finished we said our goodnights and headed off to find our beds,  wandering our way back through the streets in the moonlight.

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Coffee  with friends at Hontanas

Since I started my walk I’ve met several people who are walking the camino to try and find some clarity or direction.  I  generally prefer to walk alone but quite often will pass people and chat for a while.   We’re a few weeks in now so many of the faces are familiar and folks share their experiences and reasons for walking. Continue reading →

WE ARE IN BURGOS!  And the counter has dropped down to 489 km to go. It  just seems surreal that I’m here because it was here last year that the seed of this trip was planted.

So anyway to catch up… I was booked into a great private albergue in Villafranca but none of my friends appeared and I wondered if they had all bottled the 27km. To be sure I wandered back into town to the municipal albergue… And there they were!   So, I hauled my bum back up the hill to collect my stuff and I grabbed a bottom bunk with the rest of the gang. Then we all hauled our bums back up the hill again because the pilgrims menu in the posh hotel was far too good to miss!

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I left Granon as the sun was just thinking about coming up. I had a strange night in my hotel room… It felt too quiet without a dozen other pilgrims and I woke maybe 3 times in the night. But the bed was lovely and the privacy was great too.

I had breakfast with Pam and Theresa, 2 ladies from the US who’d joined us for dinner last night but who I’d met breifly before in Viana.  I was on the road in the cold grey light of early morning.  Last night at dinner we all agreed to walk to Villafranca de Montes de Oca.  That’s 27km and I have no idea why I said ok! Continue reading →