Scallops beers and swollen limbs sound like a strange mixture. But they were all integral parts of the day. Firstly my beloved was in pain. This was the first time in two Caminos I had seen him hobbling and we were only two days out from Santiago! Clearly speeding up had not been to his…

Only 2 days out from Santiago people. I headed off early again so that I could make some headway. Once my beloved caught up I encouraged him to go on ahead. I was slow but I could then take my time without feeling pushed to keep walking when I was in pain. Not that he…

I’ve got to be quick here. I am trying to catch up these last few posts before we head into Santiago. I apologise for my tardiness. I have been busy with friends and physiotherapists during my off time. But here is how the day went. Our dear Camino friend had come all the way to…

What a wonderful day! I could walk again! And there was hope we could still make Santiago together. The fisio yesterday obviously helped but I woke early and also stretched and exercised for about an hour. I used my mini tens and rolled on the spikey ball. It’s hard to explain how stiff one gets…

I told you I was ready for a taxi yesterday when the oasis of Fiobal appeared. I had gone to sleep with great hopes that the rest would cure the problem and in the morning I would be fine. That’s how it usually happens isn’t it? Desafortunatemente not today! I was unable to walk without…

I wanted to get to Triacastela. I wanted to walk there. But I was in pain and I thought it was all downhill. Thankfully I was wrong. Well kind of wrong. And I’m not sure I should be thankful about that. There were a significant number of uphills to begin with but nothing like the…

What a wonderful way to start the day! Serenaded by the singing Germans as we wandered off into the dark again. The first few km’s were flat and easy but I had a reasonably good recollection of the walk (or should I say climb) for the next 8 kilometres or so. As soon as I…

We had a bit of a sleep in today because we thought there was a communal breakfast at 6:30. We were wrong! All of our friends left early nevertheless we still started our day in the dark. And I still had a problem with my hip and lower back but so far this only bothered…

The descent yesterday had given me more than just memories. As soon as I strapped my pack on it hit me. I now had the privilege of back and hip pain! It was extreme. As soon as we left the albergue I felt the stabbing pain in my lower back and hip. This is not…

The distance wasn’t huge today but I had a slight recollection of a high level of difficulty. We had stopped at El Acebo last time so I could use the biggest pool on the Camino (always too cold for my beloved unless its Queensland in the middle of summer!). This time we would descend to…

Well after a great sleep in a real bed it was destined to be another good day wasn’t it? We left a little later than usual, a shorter day, it was a bit cooler, and we wanted our E75 euros worth at the nice hotel so we headed out past the Cathedral at 8am! It…

I’m sure you realise by now that the time given above is a door to door time and includes all breaks and everything in between. So a long day can either indicate a day of struggle, a lot of rest stops or a bit of site seeing and/or socialising. Every day is different but one…

I’m not sure it is possible to convey the sheer joy of sleeping in. My only dilemma was that I was starving and had to go down to eat in the dining room. Of course this effort woke me and meant I couldn’t get back to sleep. My beloved snoozed away until 10am – just…

Everyone was saying it. It must be an easy day. “Only 20kms today”. Since when is a 20km walk to be preceded by the word “only”? The truth is though that 20km is “only” after walking 25kms plus. Besides I think it is the breaking point for many people. Beyond 20 the pain and exhaustion…

Yep you guessed it – another early start after a pleasant night in a cupboard listening to the Brazilian snoring champions! Life is good! The positive of our albergue was that the hospitalario was up making coffee and breakfasts (read bread!) at 5. Also to cheer me up, while I was sipping coffee in the…

Before arriving at Bercianos I vlogged to myself – I told myself to watch this if I ever want to do camino again. I shall mark it “In case of Camino Calling” and save it to my favourites! I have to admit this day was a struggle. We started early and headed out of town…

There was a great deal of excitement leaving the nunnery today. I don’t think I have ever seen so many people up so early. The Italians were up, the girls in the end two beds left at 4am, the Ukrainian James Bond look alike and his wife were up and so too were the singing…

Apologies for delays in posting. The wifi has been dreadful. Oh dear me! This ended up being one of the funniest nights ever. But let me start at the very beginning. After dinner last night we arrived back into the albergue before lockup time ready for a decent sleep given we were only in a…

I want to be prophetic and share with everyone some words of wisdom that might help you on your way. But I am mere mortal. Anything I could share would be overshadowed by the wonder that greeted us to the plains of The Meseta! We started early again, we are champions! Actually we are frightened…

We were up early today and out the door first in the albergue again. I had had my first breakfast in the albergue. They even had a toaster! So much for not eating bread – the choice was bread or no bread. I also had a cup of tea. I was ready and waiting patiently…

Don’t forget to open this in WordPress and put a comment or click like so we know if you like keeping up with our journey ! We were in a nice hotel room last night – La Puebla – nice room nice staff and nice breakfast. Also up a bit late due to a farewell….

Rather than spend two nights in Burgos or somewhere else for a rest day, we had planned another short day which meant we needn’t arrive early because nothing would be opened anyway. We planned to have breakfast for a change and would still be there by lunch time. We had organised an American breakfast the…

This morning we left in the dark and we were the first to leave in the whole albergue. No wonder really, last night the choirmaster and I observed the comings and goings of everyone in the dormitory. There was not a person who walked past our beds at the entry door that wasn’t limping! Except…

Today was going to be an easy day. Together with the Choirmaster we planned to reach the foot of another pass over a mountain range into Burgos. Last time we walked from Belorado to San Juan de Ortega and then to Burgos my feet were very angry with me. This time I at least wanted…

There was breakfast from 5am in our albergue today which sounded perfect. Our hospitalario Josu was even up to prepare it for us. In reality it was bread and jam with a couple of cereals and coffee or tea. It wasn’t much but we weren’t going far and we could have second breakfast an hour…

This morning I woke very early with sore knees; what’s new you may ask – well the left one was quite swollen so I woke during the night and rubbed voltaren in it and put the mini beuren tens machine on it for a while. It actually worked and the swelling had gone by the…

Don’t worry! It’s a tiny little blister on my left big toe. It’s the sore knees that are more of a concern! We bought injinji toe socks for my beloved when we were in Pamplona and they seem to be working for him but my feet are different. You remember don’t you? I inherited my…

It was going to be a sad day today as our Irish yoga guru was leaving us at Logrono. Nevertheless we were entering Rioja wine country and we were still in good company with Speedy Gonzalez (also known as the Brazilian diplomat) and the Irish Choirmaster. We did our usual early wake up and tried…

My legs were on fire! But it was my knees that were going to feel it today. More of that later. We were coming closer to the day we would lose our Irish yoga guru because study and work back in Ireland were calling. We were all in high spirits though after having such a…

Before I start with todays post I want to let you know about a couple of other items I am pleased to have packed. I’m pretty sure I mentioned the sheeps wool the other day (fresh from the Nyngan farm I might add) but not sure that I praised the Leki hiking poles – they…

Just to keep you in the loop I thought I’d include this brief post. We ended up having a rest day in Pamplona as the cold or flu symptoms seemed to be hanging around me with aches and pains and fever and a bit of a runny nose. I decided to stay in bed until…

Today was interesting for a number of reasons – the people we would meet, the physical challenge and the distance we would cover yet again. Last night I had difficulty sleeping due to the not too distant fiesta music gently floating in through the window, combined with the general feeling of malaise associated with a…

8hrs 40mins 24.56km Eu15 each bed Eu12 dinner – Total Eu54 It was exciting leaving Roncesvalles this morning. It was dark, cool, there was a buzz in the air because many pilgrims actually start the journey here – In addition I was pain free! We passed our friends in hallways and bathrooms and visited the…

Day 2 Orisson to Roncesvalles I will admit to warming up quite quickly after leaving Orisson but once we reached 1100m it is fair to say that the weather was pleasant. Cloud cover and altitude meant that the walk today was a vast improvement on yesterday. Both times I had walked this path previously the…

Well the first day after we arrived in Santiago started with a fantastic buffet breakfast at the Hotel and a quick trip up the hill to visit Morgan Morgan Chris and Tim. You remember the American students who we adopted after bumping into them in so many albergues and bars don’t you? I think we…

Just a few days ago I indicated to you that we were limiting our distances so we could enjoy the last few days and arrive in Santiago in one piece. I also indicated it was much easier now that the weather was cooler, the paths were easier, there was more shade. And then we left…

We are aiming to arrive Santiago this Friday. That means we don’t have to kill ourselves walking to get there. Finally we can actually enjoy the journey. We can leave late, stop for lunch, I can even drink wine on the way and still arrive in time to relax at the albergue. I have to…

“I am sitting in the mist listening to the cock crow. A few early morning hikers have left already. I can hardly see ahead. The mist has engulfed the village. It’s 7am and we have a long day ahead of us. Twenty two kilometres to our next stop at Melide. People from the town before…

A late start meant we missed the crowds – it also meant we could meet a few stragglers like ourselves. People who were clearly not in a rush and happy to stop and have a coffee or a cold drink in between meals. I am sitting outside another albergue listening to Bonnie Tyler would you…

What a beautiful way to wake up after all that heat! The village was literally in the clouds and we were loving it. We had breakfast up the hill and set off into Galicia. Rumour has it that they even play bagpipes here because they have very old Celtic roots! It was a nice quiet…

“O’Cebreiro, don’t you cry for me I come from Los Herrieras with, and bandage on my knee!” Well, not really – just a bit of kinsiology tape actually. But I couldnt stop singing stupid songs in my head. We left a bit late knowing we weren’t going far and knowing it was a bit cooler….

Today we left late – actually normal by our standards – 9am. On the other side of town we stopped at the sign we were waiting for – 200km to Santiago – woo hoo! We were almost there. Well in Camino terms 200km is the downhill slide. Forget the fact that 90 percent of people…

It was going to be another hot day so we decided to leave early – by our standards anyway. So we left at 8am. Given that we had left early it didn’t seem necessary to rush so I stopped at another farmacia to see if they had strapping tape (it has now become a challenge)….

We actually left before someone this morning. Al from Kentucky as I recall – but he overtook us not far down the track. He had entertained me with his tale of not knowing how to open the door in the albergue room. He said “I have a masters degree and I cannot figure out how…

Ramon said goodbye to us this morning. He also asked for the Australian Flag for his flag garden. We were happy to donate and were the last to leave – what’s new?   It’s nice not to feel rushed – actually the truth is I can barely walk to the bathroom in the morning at…

I am writing this post from the garden of Albergue Verde in Hospital Orbigo. Our host is playing the guitar in the living room as two of the others prepare food for tonights vegetarian meal. I have just had my legs and back massaged by Gael – a gifted Spanish masseuse who was trained mostly…

When I was younger my mother used to tell me I had my grandmothers feet. Not her own mother’s feet mind you, but the feet of dad’s mum. She must’ve had bad feet. Our grandmother on Dad’s side was a beautiful little Irish lady who was obviously very capable and had travelled to Australia by…

A couple of things about this blog have been bothering me lately. One is that I don’t have time to edit properly and there are still many spelling errors and typos (and grammatical problems) and, two is that we are not sharing the full experience as the wifi has been so bad (or nonexistent) in…

As I started to write this post we were having a mid-hike break and I was sitting outside an albergue eating potato tortilla and sipping on the icy cold beer of my beloved. ZZ top were blaring La Grange out of the speakers. We had just walked almost 12 km across the Meseta without a…

Leaving Sahagun was a pleasure because a) it was probably my least favourite stopover on the Camino and b) the Real Camino track was both well maintained and almost entirely covered in shade for the whole 19 km. It was also quiet and easy as it followed a local road parallel to a freeway but…

Today was another cold day. Maybe we were just straight out lucky because the places that were meant to be the hottest and therefore hardest were actually a couple of the coldest days. The wind blowing across that Meseta is both spine chilling and refreshing when you are walking 20 k’s or so. We bid…

This day started well with our host driving us back to Hornillas. Enroute I was having a very in depth conversation with the lady in Spanish and my beloved husband was impressed. I learned that she was from Logrono and her husband was from around here. I complemented her staff Erica and Rodrigo from Brazil…