Day 7 - Cruz de Ferro

Mi familia y amigos,
I left a rock inscribed for all of you at the base of the Cruz de Ferro this morning. It is in the company of thousands of other rocks, all of which are prayers of love, well wishes and thanks for our family and friends. You all deserve to be in this company of treasured people for eternity. It was an overwhelming experience to be there. And you were all there with me. Buen Camino. B.

Day Six - The Camino Provides

Early this morning we came across a fruit stand. The gentleman said all that was there was there for us, that the Camino provides. Fine bread and fruit! Such graciousness everywhere. Spent time in Astorga, a beautiful city with grand cathedrals and architecture.

Day Five

Gray sky for most of the day but no rain. Cool, perfect hiking day. We did 15.5 miles, have checked into an aubergue for the night, showered, and looking to sate our thirsty,  hungry selves! Walked through several postcard towns today. Quiet little villages. It's Sunday, and churchbells were ringing everywhere.

Day Four - Epilogue

Just finished dinner with 30 people from all over the world. Dinner was a beautiful salad, homemade bread, gazpacho,  paella, and crepes with strawberries and chocolate sauce. And all the wine you could drink. Wow. An amazing event!

Day Four

Beautiful day for hiking.  Clear blue sky, nice breeze, couldn't ask for more. Our first night in an aubergue, which is lovely and clean. Dinner is at 7:00 with homemade paella and wine. Spent some time lounging in the courtyard with fellow pilgrims. And sheep. Lots and lots of sheep.

Day Three - Leon

We took the subway in Madrid to the train station and came to Leon. We spent most of the day there and managed to find the well hidden Camino office. We now have our credentials,  the requisite Camino shells on our packs, the first stamp on our credential, so we are officially pilgrims! Leon is a beautiful city. Tommow, off to more a distal locale.

Day One

Saw the sunrise in Phoenix,  the sunset over Manhattan, and the sunrise again over western Spain. Explored around Madrid,  got train tickets to go to Leon on Friday, and had a great day with my fellow pilgrims. A pretty incredible day...can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!

First cafe con leche...

Delicious! At an outside cafe in Madrid. Nice!

And so it begins...

Somehow seeing the boarding passes is a sure sign that this adventure is about to start! The planning is over. It's time to go!

The Blogosphere

Hello, Friends and Family,
This is my first ever attempt at a blog, and you are on my list of those of whom I'd like to keep in touch with while I'm in Spain on the Camino de Santiago trail.  I'll be sending you all a link to this blog.  You will also need to establish a gmail account with Google.  Just go to Google and create your own gmail account and this should work.   You'll need to log into your gmail account to respond to anything you see on this blog.  Give it a try!

These boots are made for walkin',

And that's just what they'll do...

Camino profile

Hmmm...there are some steep hills ahead.

It's a good thing I'm practicing with the blog site before I head over to Spain.  Lots to learn here...

In less than three weeks, I head to Spain to begin the Camino journey!  I've been thinking about this and planning for over a year and a half, and it's nearly here.  Can't wait to begin!