Day 2 of 2 on Spiritual Variant. I left the monastery this morning and headed west to the sea. Most of the day followed the river, which was beautiful and peaceful. There were a lot of old stone mills that were still standing all along the river. It was a longer walk today, and we got a late start, so got full on afternoon sun/heat. Martin and Tanja went ahead and Rolf, Isabelle and I took our time with a lot of stops in the shade. The blister on the right heel...

This pin is not exactly correct, as travelpod couldn't find the Monasterio de Armenteira, and I'm not surprised. I am, however, completely surprised that I actually found it!!The day began by leaving the central route and embarking on the "variante espiritual". This route follows the way that the remains of St James were carried in 44AD by his followers. The story says that they were said to be "led by angels and guided by a star". It was by far the most ...

Nope, that's not a typo. So, I've been going along, blister free, and no real foot issues. Amazing and wonderful. Today, about 1/2 way through the day, I started having shooting pain that started in the heel bone and went up to pretty much my head - uh oh!   Each step was so painful at the end, I laid in bed for some time after arriving at albergue (got a bottom bunk - yippee!!) waiting for the pain to subside before doing any ¨chores¨. This isn't...

It's funny how the body bounces back. Would have never thought I'd be back on the Camino after last night's pain - but here I am, walking again! (And feeling good!)Slept in this morning - didn't set alarm. By the time I headed out, it was 10am! Yikes! Luckily there were clouds and some overcast skies, so I didn't get the heat of the mid-day sun. So, if you have been following along with my selfies, you are probably enjoying (laughing at) my ...

You may be the type of person who was a scout, camps out, or has traveled and stayed in youth hostels. That would NOT be me. Now I wouldn't consider myself high maintenance, but this is a whole new world... I think, after almost 2 weeks, I have figured out the secrets of the fireswamp (Princess Bride fans will get that) and now confidently navigate the experience with ease ;)First, there are many ways to pronounce albergue. From what I gather, the correct way...