Still walking!

Getting enough internet to actually post something has been a bit difficult for the last week or so. Everyone checking in to the albergues gets onto the wifi making it almost impossible to do anything. I'm going to try getting this ready as a draft and then sending it out later on during the night when everyone is sleeping. Maybe that will work. We'll see!

Visited the city of Burgos the other day and have been walking along the Meseta a long relatively flat plain where a lot of wheat and sunflowers are grown. 

Spent a night in a 15th cent hermitage, now set up as an albergue run by an Italian confreternity. The hermitage has no electricity, we were welcomed with a foot washing ritual, and a delicious candlelit dinner. 

Last night I stayed in an albergue run by Augustinian nuns. A beautiful Mass and pilgrims blessing and a great pot luck dinner. 

Off to Sahugan tomorrow. 

Statue of Santiago in the Hermtage of St. Nicholas. 

Candlelit dinner in the hermitage of St. Nicholas. 

Hermitage of St. Nicholas

Outside of St. Nicholas hermitage. 

Along the Castille canal. 

A church built by the Knights Templar. 

Retablos in the Knights Templar church. 

Outside of Knights Templar church. 

Dinner with the Augustinian nuns in Carrion de Los Condes. 

The vast Meseta. 

Ciruena to Granon.

Dinner the other evening with Brian and Stephanie and a Frenchman, in Ciruena. 

Stopped for the end of Mattins with the Cistercian nuns in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. 

The Retablos in the cathedral in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. 

Chains of some Christians rescued from the Moores. 

We stayed in a real neat albergue last night. It was in the bell tower of a 15th cent. church, run by the parish. All the pilgrims helped prepare dinner, then Mass at 7pm dinner at 8 and night prayer by candlelight in the church. We all slept on mats on the floor in the tower. A very peaceful and restful evening. 

Place to leave your boots. 

Door knocker at the Albergue. A pilgrims staff, scallop shell and gourd. All signs of the Camino. 

Retablos of the parish church in the villiage of Granon. 

Chanter stand. 

Choir stalls where we prayed night prayer. 

Dinner at the albergue in Granon. 

Hopefully I'll be in Burgos by Monday afternoon!

Thanks for the prayers my blisters are healing nicely! 

Walking

The past few days have been quiet walking days. Nothing real exciting, kind of breaking into a nice rythem. Up and walking by 6 am. A few hours if walking before breakfast at the first open cafe I come across, and some more walking to the villiage I'm shooting for for the evening. A shower, do some laundry and hang it out to dry some lunch and a nice siesta. Later in the evening some exploring and some dinner. Sleep and repeat. 

I've been wslking with some really nice folks the lady few days!  Theresa from Berlin, George from Virginia, and Brian and Stephanie a great couple also from Virginia. Brian and Stephanie are on an around the world trip and have been traveling for over a year already. Theresa moved on today, needed to get more miles in in order to be finished on time. George also went on a villiage or 2 beyond where the rest of us stopped today. I've been averaging about 15 miles a day. 

I'll try posting some more pics and see how it goes. 

I'm praying for you all, please continue praying for me!

George and Theresa

Santiago(St. James)

Entering the province of Rioja. Nice wine region. 

Amazing church in Navarette 

Breakfast this am. (Already walked about 6 miles). 

 

Walking

The past few days have been quiet walking days. Nothing real exciting, kind of breaking into a nice rythem. Up and walking by 6 am. A few hours if walking before breakfast at the first open cafe I come across, and some more walking to the villiage I'm shooting for for the evening. A shower, do some laundry and hang it out to dry some lunch and a nice siesta. Later in the evening some exploring and some dinner. Sleep and repeat. 

I've been wslking with some really nice folks the lady few days!  Theresa from Berlin, George from Virginia, and Brian and Stephanie a great couple also from Virginia. Brian and Stephanie are on an around the world trip and have been traveling for over a year already. Theresa moved on today, needed to get more miles in in order to be finished on time. George also went on a villiage or 2 beyond where the rest of us stopped today. I've been averaging about 15 miles a day. 

I'll try posting some more pics and see how it goes. 

I'm praying for you all, please continue praying for me!

George and Theresa

Santiago(St. James)

Entering the province of Rioja. Nice wine region. 

Amazing church in Navarette 

Breakfast this am. (Already walked about 6 miles). 

 

Some pics

Publishing pics has been a bit difficult due to spoty wifi or other internet connection. So today I thought I'd start posts with only a pic or 2 and upload more as the internet cooperates. So here goes!  Let's see if it works!

A nice place I had breakfast this AM. with a wood fired oven like we built in CA. Very nice. 

12 cent. Church of St. Estaban I stopped in today. 

City hall in Pamplona. No bulls running today!

12 cent. Statue of Santiago in the church where I'm staying this evening. 

God bless!

Pray for me!

Detachment

Most of the Alberques ( hostels for pilgrims) along the Camino require you to leave your hiking boots in a certain room or location when you check in. So Wednesday night when I checked into the Albergue at the Augustinian Monastery in Roncesvalles I did as requested. I didn't feel to comfortable doing this with over 500 pilgrims staying there that night but followed the rules just the same. 

When I got up on Thursday morning and was ready to head out low and behold my boots were gone!  Now mind you over the past 8 months or so I have tried on countless pairs of boots and bought and returned 5 pair before finding a pair that fit my fat feet comfortably!  Sitting right next to where I had left mine were a similar pair even having the same inserts mine had, but not mine. After searching the room for mine they weren't there!  So I eventually set off in this other pair, about a half to a size smaller. A very uncomfortable walk yesterday.  Along the way I mention what happened to a few friends. 

About 3 in the afternoon while I was taking a break resting my weary feet and had finally come to the realization that maybe I had a lesson in detachment to learn a friend came up and said he thought he knew who had my boots!  Another friend of ours had started out early and didn't realize until about an hour latter he had the wrong boots on. Tom (friend number 1) told him he thought he knew who had his boots and realized where I was rushed ahead about an hour in order to catch up with me.

Thanks be to God I was finally reunited  with my boots. Now if only I can find my prayer rope which is missing!  LOL. 

Trading boots after a long difficult day!

Hola Spain!

After a great dinner and a good nights sleep I started day 2 over the Pyrenees. 

View back into France

Our Ladyof Orisdon. This statue was carried to this location by Basque shepherds from Lourdes about 100 years ago. 

Up up up!

First mile marker to Santiago!

Border crossing into Spain. Why is the flag of Puerto Rico hanging here? 

An emergency shelter. 

Cows. 

The decent into Roncesvalles. 

The abbey church in the Augustinian monastery in Rocesvalle. 

Inside the 9th cent. Church of Our Lady of Roncesvalles.

Santiago Peragrion inside the Abbey Church in Roncesvalles. 

Only 1 small blister so far. Feeling great. 

Pray for me!  

Over the Pyrenees Day 1

So after meeting a few people I met in one of the pilgrimage forums online for lunch today in St. Jean Pied de Port we headed up the mountain to Orrison where I am spending the night. Wow!  What a workout. But the views were spectacular!  Worth every bit of the effort!  A nice cold beer after 31/2 hours walking up the steepest mountain I've ever seen. A nice shower and did the laundry and a very nice dinner. Off to bed!  Prayers for all. Pray for me too!

Abouna