Day 31: Palas de Rei to Azúa (November 30)

Becky with Andreo and Danielle. They met on the Camino and are very cute to see.


Our lunch..... pulpo gallego.




Mark and a tentacle.

Day 30: Portomarín to Palas de Rei (November 29)

Everyone is telling us how Celtic this area is with the stone walls and the mist and all the green. There is a lot of pig, sheep, and cow dung to walk on too.


We met someone from Boston today along with her Spanish and Belgian friends. She knows one of the gals we´ll be working with in Bolivia. Crazy!

Day 29: Sarria to Portomarín (November 28)

Galicia is so beautiful!


At the end of today, we are only 90 kilometers from our destination. That means we've walked over 700 kilometers.

Day 28: Triacastela to Sarria (November 27)

That marker says only 114 kilometers to go!

Day 27: O'Cebreiro to Triacastela (November 26)

Another albergue..... just to get a better idea of the variety of places there are. Sometimes we sleep in a room with 4, 8, 10, 50, or 100 beds.


We didn't take that many photos on this day but it was a day full of spectacular views. This was taken in the morning right as we left. All day in the valley, you could hear the sound of pigs squealing. It was really awful. We asked an old Spanish man what all the fuss was about and he said that they were slaughtering pigs because they normally do that before the winter cold sets in. I think we might give up pork for a while.....seriously.

Day 26: Villafranca del Bierzo to O´Cebreiro (November 25)

After walking 31 kilometers, the last twelve of which were uphill, we entered town to find this Franciscan chapel. We (Brend, Mark, Becky, Eamonn, and Kathrin) entered to hear Taizé music playing softly. As we sat and looked at an image of the crucified Christ, we began to sing together the words ¨Bless the Lord, my soul and bless God´s holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul who brings me into life.¨ Beautiful moment to end a long but beautiful day.


Kathrin and Becky (who enjoyed singing Abba´s Fernando to keep up their spirits). Today we entered Galicia and the weather is normally foggy, cold and rainy but today we find sunny, clear and chilly.




Becky was trying to create her own ¨Running of the Bulls¨ but I think she just startled the poor cow.

Day 25: Molinaseca to Villafranca del Bierzo (November 24)

Thanksgiving with Eammon, Brend, and Kathrin. Ramón and Alfred are in the background. Mark had duck stuffed potatoes and I had some steak and potatoes. A great second Thanksgiving! (see previous post)


I´ve never seen turkeys in Spain before and of course on Thanksgiving Day, we see two. The owner said that today was their last day to live. This had nothing to do with Thanksgiving but it is just that they are becoming picky eaters and the owner said she was fed up with their attitudes.

Day 24: Rabanal del Camino to Molinaseca (November 23)

Eamonn treated us to an early Thanksgiving celebration. Gabriel from Mallorca joined us. He was the second runner up for the European kick boxing championships.


The fog was beautiful....looked just like snow and just below it was our destination.



Becky at the Cruz de Ferro.

150 miles to Santiago! 2 more days until Thanksgiving.....

Dear friends and family, Tomorrow we come to the Cruz de Ferro where traditionally pilgrims leave a small stone at the foot of a cross. Mark and I have both been carrying our collective stones for 23 days now and are looking forward to leaving them. We´ll be at 1505 meters altitude which will mark the highest altitude of the entire trip and still we have no snow. We are fortunate to have had such great weather and although it´s a bit cold, we have plenty of clothing and feel very little discomfort throughout the day.

We have about 10 more days until we reach Santiago! Seguimos caminando. (We keep walking.)

Today, we read Hebrews 11 and thought about all the pilgrims who have journeyed for one reason or another. We wish you all a ¨buen camino¨on the journeys in which you find yourselves.

Day 23: Astorga to Rabanal del Camino (November 22)

This albergue was recommended to us by our Mallorcan friends Venancio, Rosi, Julian, Paki, Julio, y Sergio. We had the whole 72 bed place to ourselves. The owner´s name is Esperanza which means hope.

Mark outside of the Cathedral of Astorga.

Day 22: Villar de Mazarife to Astorga (November 21)

Lorna and Vicente cooked an amazing meal for everyone of pasta carbonara and lentils with vegetables. A great feast with great company.

The view as we´re about 3 kilometers from Astorga, our resting point for the evening.

David, from Barcelona. He lives right on the Camino and devotes himself to caring for pilgrims. He provides food and drink to those who pass by and he also cleans the path. I asked him if he gets lonely and he said he meditates and spends time with the pilgrims.

Puente de Órbigo. It´s one of the longest and best preserved medieval bridges in Spain. It dates from the 13th century. Here is a quote from our guide book written by John Brierly. ¨A noble knight from León, Don Suero de Quiñones, scorned by a beautiful lady, threw down the gauntlet to any knight who dared to pass as he undertook to defend the bridge (and presumably his honor) against all comers. Knights from all over Europe took up the challenge. Don Suero successfully defended the bridge for a month until the required 300 lances had been broken. Together with his trusted comrades he then proceeded to Santiago to offer thanks for his freedom from the bonds of love and for his honor, now restored.¨ (This was in 1434.)

Corn fields.....this day kind of reminded us of Wheaton.

Day 21: León to Villar de Mazarife (November 20)

The albergue where we´re staying tonight. Fireplace, private room, hot showers ...all for 7 euros.





Becky, Father Eamonn and Brend. We´re less than 300 kilometers from Santiago!

Day 20: Mansilla to León (November 19)

Chicken and potatoes in a fig sauce. Amazing!!! Menú del Peregrino....a lot of restaurants offer a great meal at a reasonable price for the pilgrims.

Outside the Cathedral of León.

Brend and Mark eyeing a Kebab menu.

Alfred, the Scot walking past the Cathedral of León.

Day 19: Calzadilla de Hermanillos to Mansilla de las Mulas

This was our view for most of the day. We walked on an ancient Roman road that Caesar Augustus and Charlemagne used. The Muslim and Christian armies used it for their campaigns as well. It was awesome/terrible to think about all that had happened along the road.



Tomorrow, we should be in León and we´re excited to be in a big city.

Day 18: Terradillos de los Templarios to Calzadilla de los Hermanillos (November 17)

This evening, we happened upon an albergue in which only Mark, Samuel (pictured above) and I stayed. No heat, pretty dirty, and no staff to supervise. Samuel made a wonderful pasta dinner and we put some wood in the stove and made the most of it. Samuel speaks German and French so we pieced together conversations and had a great evening together!

Taken in Sahagún which Mark and Brend like to refer to as Saigon.

Yes we are wearing a lot of clothing but don´t worry, it´s not that cold. It´s only a bit damp and chilly in the mornings and evenings.

Day 17: Carrión del Conde to Terradillos de los Templarios (November 16)

Eammon, Jackie, and Becky on the porch of the albergue. This albergue was a bit more expensive than normal (10 euros) but it was well worth it.


This old man stopped to tell us we HAD to go a different way. He was very emphatic but we had a hard time understanding him so we just enjoyed his company as best we could and then moved on.

Mark seems to have lost the bottom half of his pants.

View as we´re leaving Carrión del Conde.

Some interesting graffiti and posters along the way.......