Friday May 31 Molinaseca to Villafranca Del Bierzo 20 miles

The song of the day is The Beatles "Good Day Sunshine":

We take a walk, the sun is shining down

Burns my feet as they touch the ground

Good day sunshine, 

good day sunshine, good day sunshine

From a weather standpoint, today was the best weather we have had since arriving in Spain 4 weeks ago.  When we left the hotel this morning, the temp was around 45 degrees F.  By the time we arrived at Villafranca, the temp had risen to almost 80 degrees F. 

Since the walk was so long today, we decided to start a little earlier than usual, leaving our hotel at 7:30.  After an hour or so, we ran into our friend Annette.  We then stopped for breakfast in Ponferrada, a very nice town of 62,000.  Our breakfast table was next to a huge 12th century Templarios castle.  

We then continued on, through a picturesque valley of fields, flowers and small towns, surrounded by a snow capped mountain range.  The walk was relatively flat, a huge change from yesterday's strenuous hike through the mountains.  We stopped in to visit a small church along the way, and came across a florist and a young bride to be who is getting married in the church on Saturday.  they were getting the church ready for the wedding.  After a while, we stopped for lunch at a bar  in the village of Camponaraya.  

At this point, the geography changed a little, and all of a sudden, we are walking in vineyards.  We have not seen this in over a week.  For the lat week, most of what we have seen is wheat fields.

After a while, we run into some guy giving out free fruit/fruit drinks, and who is also a  teacher of Japanese Reiki (whatever that is).  It was a very interesting 25 minute stop, and I have included a picture here.

We then passed through the village of Cacabellos.  In spite  of the  weird name of the town, it was a delightful, thriving place.  We would love to go back and visit this town.  While there, we came across a 70 something grandmother from New Mexico.  She was taking 5 of her grandchildren on a walk across the Camino!  For her, this was her 5th Camino!  This is the kind of unusual stuff you come across out here.

As the day wore on, the temperature got warmer and warmer.  When we finally arrived at the hotel around 4:15, it was almost 80 degrees F.  

Tonight, we had the best meal we have had on the hike, surprisingly, at our hotel.  We had things like fois gras, truffles, sea bass, ox tail, scallops and several other excellent dishes.  All in all, a great evening.

Tomorrow, we have another 20 mile hike.  The key challenge tomorrow will be the significant climb of 2000 feet.  We are planning to leave relatively early in the morning to escape the heat.  What a change from just a few days ago when we were fighting the cold and possible snow....

Thursday May 30 Rabanal Del Camino to Molinaseca 17 miles

The song of the day is Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zepplin:

"So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains 

Where the spirits go now, 

Over the hills where the spirits fly, ooh. 

I really don't know."

Yesterday was probably the most challenging hike we have had so far, and at the same time, one of the most  beautiful.

When we awoke this morning, it was very cold, mid to high 30's.  Fortunately, the breeze was much lighter than the gale force winds we battled the past two days.   As we set off on the trail, we had to constantly edge the puddles remaining from the prior night's rain.

We quickly climbed  1000 feet, reaching a peak of almost 5000 feet.   The scenery was alpine like, with a light mist surrounding the mountains.   Many of the mountain tops were covered with snow, although we did not encounter any snow on the walk. At this point, we came to the famous La Cruz de Ferro, which is a huge cross, surrounded by lots of rocks and stones that hikers have left.   This is a symbolic gesture, representing leaving your burdens behind as you continue the journey.  I think Linda wanted to dump me on the pile, to leave her burdens behind, but there were too many witnesses!  I survive another day....

There is one unburdening that we did accomplish yesterday.  Linda has been feeling a little pain in her hips the past few days, so we decided to use the service which takes backpacks to the next town for Linda's pack.  I also unloaded a few of the heavier things from my pack, so I was carrying a lighter load myself.  No question, this helped a lot.

After about a mile of relative flat, we began a very steep descent of 3000 feet.  The descent was made even more challenging by the rocks and loose surface.  I can tell you, this type of hiking is very hard on the feet and body.

Along the way, I hiked with Detlif, a very nice German guy.  He and I were able to solve many of the world's problems, in a very short period of time!  We stopped for lunch in a small mountain town.  Perhaps to honor my New German friend, I ordered a Frankfurter....jeez, this was probably the worst hot dog I have ever had!   

We continued down the mountain, and finally arrived at our hotel around 4:30.  A long day to be sure.  We stayed at the La Floriana hotel rural, a very stylish and newer hotel.

After getting cleaned up, we wandered into town for dinner.  And who should we run into but Detlif from earlier today.  We decided to all go to dinner, and Detlif's hiking companion Chistoff also joined us.  We had a reasonably good meal and very interesting conversation.

Tomorrow will be a very long 20 mile hike.  Fortunately, it's relatively flat, so that should help somewhat.

Wednesday May 29 Astorga to Rabinal del Camino

Today's song is Grahm Parker's "Howlin Wind":

And I know a howlin' wind runs through here blowin' every day

Yeah a howlin' wind runs through here takes my breath away

Nothing like a great night's sleep to revive flogging spirits.  Yesterday's wind really took it out of us (I would say it took the wind out of our sails, but that would be overkill!).  After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we finally left around 9 am to be greeted by a cool crisp day with a light wind.  As we were leaving town, we ran into our friend Annette from Washington, who joined us for today's walk.  After getting out of Astorga, that light wind turned into a very strong wind, right in our face.  This continued pretty much non stop throughout the entire walk of 13 miles today.  For the wind chill factor, the actual temperature is adjusted for the wind effect.  If there were such a factor for walking, I suspect we actually walked 25 miles today!

We had several terrific stops in small towns along the way, including one where we had a great lunch of fried eggs and chorizo sausage.  About 8 miles into the hike, it started to rain, of course into our face with a 30 mph wind!  After a few minutes of this, Linda decided to put her rain poncho on.  With the howling wind, Linda's poncho turned into a sail of sorts.  I was pretty sure she was going to play the part of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and get blown away to Munchkinland!  After about 10 minutes, Linda decided to take her poncho off after the rain stopped.   Who needs the hassle!

Just as we arrived at the village of Rabinal del Camino, it started raining again and hasn't stopped in the 2 hours we have been here.  After walking through the very nice village, we arrived at our lodging for the night, the excellent La Posada Gaspar, a former hospital from the 17th century.  We have a very nice room and will eat dinner here this evening. Mi have included a photo of the Posada.

Tomorrow, we have a 17 mile walk to Molinaseca.  We also have a significant climb tomorrow,  and will go over a peak at about 5000 feet.  For those of you who have seen the movie "The Way", there is a scene  where they leave some rocks at a giant cross.  This is at the high point of the climb  and is called   La Cruz de Ferro.  Apparently many people bring rocks with them from their home and leave them at the cross.  This is representative of leaving your burdens behind, as you continue on the final leg of the journey.   After leaving this area, there is a very steep descent of almost 3000 feet in a 7 mile segment. These types of walks are brutal on the knees and feet.

We received a report that it was snowing at La Cruz de Ferro today, with a ferocious wind. So, it could be a very challenging hike tomorrow!  

Tuesday May 28 Hospital del Orbigo to Astorga

Today's song is Bob Segar's "Against the Wind":

Against the wind

I'm still runnin' against the wind
I'm older now but still running
Against the wind

Yesterday was supposed to be a fairly easy 11 mile walk into Astorga.  However, we ended up walking into a chilling 30 mph wind much of the way, making the day much more challenging than we had anticipated.  The temperature was around 40 degrees F, but with the wind, significantly cooler.

In any case, we started the day on a high note, with an outstanding breakfast of bacon and eggs at the B&B we stayed the night before.  This was a great way to start to the day, and so exciting, that we even took a picture!

We then left the safe confines of the B&B to be greeted by a cold, blustery wind blowing directly in our face.  The trail yesterday was much more interesting than the last few days, and there were several challenging ascents and descents during the walk.  Fortunately, the trail went through a wooded area, and not along the highway, so we did not have to listen to the constant roar of cars.

The trail was very rocky at times.  Some people have described these types of rocks as "massaging" the feet.  Don't believe it for a second- they HURT!

Finally, around 1:00, we entered the beautiful town of Astorga.  Astorga is a walled town of about 12,000 people sitting on top of a hill (nice to look at, painful to climb...).  As with so many of the Spanish towns, there seem to be almost as many churches as there are people!  We counted at least 5 size able churches, including a cathedral,  just walking to our hotel.  We are staying at a terrific hotel called the Gaudi Hotel, named after the famous Spanish architect.   Our room has an outstanding view of the Cathedral and Gaudi's Casa Botine.  I have included pictures of the Casa Botine and Cathedral that I took from our hotel window.  

The first thing we did after arriving in town was to go to a sporting  goods store to buy warmer headgear for the last weeks.  The forecast is for cool weather the next week or so, and it is likely we will be walking through snow again in the next few days.

Later, we toured the Cathedral and Gaudi's Casa Botine.  To be quite honest, we were somewhat disappointed in Gaudi's building.  We find Gaudi's Barcelona buildings to be much more interesting and innovative.  The Cathedral was quite nice, although rather plain compared to several of the other Cathedral's we have seen.

Last night, we had a nice dinner with Annette from Washington State.  The food was the normal crap level of the Camino, but more than compensated for by  company and conversation!

Today, we have a 13 mile walk.  We are again entering the mountains and will face some a significant climbs.  Additionally, the weather is forecasted to be cold and windy again, so although short, it will none the less be a challenging day.  Tomorrow, we will walk about 17 miles with a very significant climb, reaching 5000 feet.

Ok, we are off.  I will get this posted later today when we arrive at our next place.

I would like to wish our American friends and relatives an enjoyable and relaxing Memorial Day.

We began the morning with a terrific breakfast buffet at the Parador hotel.  Most of what passes for breakfast in Spain usually consists of coffee and toast, perhaps a croissant.  But the Paradors all have excellent  breakfast buffets, with a full serving.

While at breakfast, we said hi to Will and Julie from Chicago.  We have run into this couple every few days along the way, and they are often staying in the same places as us.  Julie is a college professor and Will works for Intel and is taking advantage of his sabbatical.  This is one of the great Perqs in America, and offers something like 8 or 9 weeks of time off every 7 years.  Linda's brother Scott has worked for Intel over 20 years and has taken 3 sabbaticals during his time.  

We had a rather long walk of almost 20 miles today, from Leon to Hospital de Orbigo.  We had intended to walk  an "alternative " route that takes you through wilderness and is about 4 miles longer.  However, we somehow missed the fork in the path to take the other route.  We weren't the only one, and met a number of others who had the same problem.  

Instead, we ended up on a path that ran parallel to a very busy highway. All day long, all we heard was zoom, zoom, zoom as cars and trucks roared by.  So much for communing with nature.....so, the song of the day is the Band's "Endless Highway":

"You're gonna walk that endless highwayWalk that highway till you die"

Ok, perhaps that last line is a little dramatic, but the last few miles almost felt like that!

We walked most of the day with Annette from Washington State, who we have run into several times over the past few  weeks.  After lunch at a cafe along the way, Annette bought a round of a special Spanish liqueur called "cuarentaytres" (43 in English).  It was quite tasty and made the last 6 miles go faster!

Finally, we arrive at our  hotel, which is a very finally restored 17the century townhouse.  Truly a work of art.  We are looking forward to the dinner tonight, because it looks like much better faire than we usually get on the trail.

I am very excited about tomorrow.  We only have about an 8 mile walk into the town of Astorga.  We planned our itinerary so that we would have a short walk into Astorga and be able to spend an afternoon touring around.  Astorga is a very prominent ancient town of about 12,000 people, and is home to spectacular medieval buildings, as well as more modern buildings.  Of particular interest for us are a number of buildings designed by the famous Spanish architect Gaudi.  We have toured many of the buildings that Gaudi built in Barcelona, and his works are spectacular.  Many of you are probably familiar with the Segrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, which is probably his most famous work.

We are now slightly over half way through our hike.  I thought it might be good to reflect a bit on how it has gone so far.  Because we are halfway, I'm going to use the device of a halftime sports show, similar to those on the football and soccer games.  I'm imagining a conversation between Chris Berman of ESPN sports and a Professional Spanish hiker we will name Javier, as they analyze the performance of Mike and Linda so far:

Chris Berman:  "Well, Javier, that was an incredible 280 miles of hiking!  The Fawkes's endured some extremely challenging conditions including snow, rain, sleet, hail, howling winds and even a few sunny days.  The trail conditions deteriorated along with the weather, making for some pretty difficult hiking.  What has impressed you so far Javier?"

Javier:  "Well, first, you are correct about the conditions Chris. In all my years living and hiking in Spain, we have not seen this type of situation in May.  This caught everybody by surprise.   I have been impressed by a couple of key factors Chris.  First, they put together a great overall game plan. It is clear that they spent a lot of time preparing by getting the right equipment, planning their schedule, etc.  As always with these two, Linda is clearly the backbone of the partnership, and the planning and preparation she did has paid huge dividends throughout the hike.

Chris:  How about that visit to Barcelona?  It sure seemed they enjoyed that.

Javier:  The 2 day stopover in Barcelona to visit their good friends Joan and Esther and then that fabulous Sunday they spent with Ana Munoz and her family,  got the whole experience off to a great start.  I think that really helped them endure the grueling weeks to come.

Chris: "Javier, you know I like to eat.  That paella they had at Carlos and Borja's place looked terrific."

Javier: "Paella is a specialty dish here in Spain, and Carlos was at the top of his game that day!  The next thing that impressed me was the way they were able to overcome some of the health issues.  After days 3 and 4 of this hike, I wasn't sure they would be able to on.  Both of them suffered some big set backs.  Chris, did you see that blister that Mike got on the bottom of his left foot on day 3?  As we would say here in Spain, that thing was half the size of Texas!"

Chris: "I have seen photos of that foot since then, and it is amazing how it has healed over into a hardened mess.  It looks like the well worn linoleum of the floor of a New York City dinner I like to eat at!"

Javier:  "You are right about that Chris.  You probably know that Mike also has two toenails that are totally black, and are in the process of falling off.  But, Linda's story is even more dramatic.  She also suffered her own foot problems and very well will lose a toenail herself.  And, she has a large blister as well.  As we would say here in Spain, it is probably half the size of Idaho!  More dramatic, was the fall she suffered in day 4, resulting in some pretty severe cuts and bruises to her hands, arms and legs. "

Chris:  "There was some controversy about that fall.  It was reported in the press here that two Italian guys had been stalking Linda.  Any truth to that rumor?"

Javier:  "We have not been able to substantiate that rumor Chris.  While it is true that there are indeed Italians out here on the Camino, we have not been able to link any of them to Linda's fall.  And of course there are other rumors out here that Linda was simply trying to take care of personal business if you know what I mean...."

Chris: "Well, it is indeed impressive to see how they have been able to shake those injuries off and continue forward.  What do you think they didn't do so well Javier?"

Javier:  "Chris, it is clear that they did an excellent job of planning for this journey from the standpoint of equipment, logistics, etc.  While both of them are in reasonably good physical shape, it is also clear that they vastly underestimated the physical challenges of this hike.  For example, prior to arriving in Spain, they had not done even one hike with a backpack.  Hiking with 20 pounds on your back is very different and requires training.  They also were not well prepared for the trail conditions, including rocks and uneven surfaces.  This is a mistake we see over and over again from the Americans who come over here.  For most Europeans, hiking and backpacking is a part of growing up.

Chris: "Who is the MVP of the first half?"

Javier: "Well, I have a two part answer to that one Chris.  The first is very obvious, and it's Linda.  As I mentioned previously, she is the backbone of this relationship, and makes sure everything works.  But in addition to the traditional strength she brings, her excellent social skills and command of Spanish have served her well on this trip.  The second answer to the MVP question is perhaps less obvious, but also important, and that is ibuprofen!  You might not know this Chris, but here in Spain, ibuprofen is sold in 600 mg capsules.  In the USA, the maximum size is 200 mg.  Also here in Spain, ibuprofen is sold in gel form.  The Fawkes' have wisely exploited these opportunities to their advantage!"

Chris: "Any advice for the Fawkes' on the second half of the hike?"

Javier:  "Well, as we say here in Spain, "poco a poco" which basically means little by little.  What I mean by this is that you just have to take one step at a time and not get in a hurry.  Also, the geography will get more hilly and with mountains this next few weeks, so they will have to adjust to those changes.  And continue to enjoy the social part of the hike.  They have thrived in the social environment of the hike and this has served them well.  How about you Chris, any advice from your side?"

Chris:  "Well, Mike should stay away from the Mormon jokes.  The South Park guys already did that with the Broadway play, and they did it much better.  Mike should stick with what he does best- bashing the French!"
-----------------------------------
I would like to close out this segment by reprinting a poem that my good friend Michael Dubilier sent as an inspiration for the last portion of this hike.  I think it is very appropriate:

Roethke
The Waking
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

I learn by going where I have to go. 

Is there anything better than a Spanish town on a sunny Sunday afternoon?  Leon is truly a beautiful town of about 130,000 people.  In many ways, it remind me of a smaller version of Barcelona.  There is an old commercial part of the city, with numerous bars, cafes and shops.   The streets were packed with Spanish families, enjoying themselves.  When we lived in Barcelona, Linda and I loved going on long walks through the city, and we did the same thing here today.

Last night, we ate in the old portion of the city  and it was packed.  In particular, we saw many groups of men, in their mid 20's.  We found out that these were mainly bachelor parties.  I believe mentioned in the Burgos posting last week that May is the month of weddings and communions.  In addition to the bachelor parties, we also saw a couple of wedding parties last night.

At the hotel we stayed yesterday, there were 8 communion parties going on.  It's really something to see all the little girls in their fancy communion dresses.  And today, at the Parador we are staying, there are many more communion parties.

This afternoon, we toured the fantastic Leon Cathedral, which was built in the 1300's.  Incredibly, Leon was only a town of 5000 people when this was built.  The stained glass in the Cathedral is very impressive, particularly since it was a sunny day.

In a previous, post, I mentioned the business model of a church we toured, where they charged $3 to get in, then an extra $1.50 to turn the lights on for each individual exhibit.  The Leon Cathedral charges $7 to get.  Then, there are extra charges for the museum ($4), cloisters ($4) and the tower ($5).   It's quite a business, but the upkeep on these things must be horrendous.  One other interesting approach- in the middle of the Cathedral, there is a kiosk that accepts credit cards to make donations to the church!  I have included a picture of this as well.

The Parador we are staying at is an impressive building.  I've included a few pictures here, one with Linda our front, and of me in one of the courtyards.  I truly can't figure out how the Spanish govt can keep up the Parador system, because the maintenance has to be huge.  In any case, they are terrific places to stay and we enjoy them greatly.

Even though today was technically a down day, we probably walked 8 miles, touring the city!  However, there is a big difference between walking 8 miles with nothing on your back compared to carrying a 20 pound backpack!

Tomorrow, we have a 20 mile walk to Hospital de Orbigo.  For the most part, a flat walk, hopefully without too many sharp rocks!

Saturday May 25 Calzadilla de Los Hermanos to Leon

I have two songs for today:

"Rocky Ground"  by Springsteen 

We've been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground 

"Carry that Weight" by the Beatles

Boy, you're gonna carry that weightCarry that weight a long time

We had a walk of approximately 17 miles today.  We woke up early this morning, but since the restaurant didn't open until 8, we waited a while to leave.  We really enjoyed the "Casa Rural" hotel we stayed in and include a picture of the hotel, as well as Linda with the proprietor, Lionel. Lionel is a very funny Cuban who hiked the Camino several years ago and ended up marrying a Spaniard.  He and his wife run the hotel together.

Last night we enjoyed an outstanding meal at the hotel with a French guy, a lady from Holland and a Canadian guy.  I'm always interested in how people get the time off to take this hike, so I asked the French guy how he was able to get 6 weeks off.  He politely explained to me that he gets 11 weeks vacation, which includes the standard 6 weeks mandated vacation, plus extra vacation for the hours he works in excess of the standard 35 hour work week.  Fair enough, that's the policy in France (although an expensive policy to be sure).  And who do you think chose that moment to rip into the harshness of the USA approach toward workers?  The Canadian guy!   

Jeez, I was just trying to have a nice dinner.  As opposed to my normal approach, I just shut up and continued to eat my meal.  Who the hell needs a debate with a Canadian on a Friday night?!

Meanwhile, back to our 18 mile hike today.  We had been warned about this portion of the hike by our friends Dewey and MJ who hiked the Camino in 2012.  They said this was their worst day of hiking due to the roughness of the trail.  Also, you don't come to a town for the first 14 miles or so.  As a result, we really had to stock up today on food and water (and hence, the heavy backpack and the Beatles song!).  

After a few miles of walking on a paved road, we continued onto the path, which is the original Roman road from 2000 years ago.  Funny enough I picked up a stone and it had graffiti on it that said  "Caesar was here"!  In any case, the path was very rough and uneven, with lots of rocks.  It sort of reminded me of a root canal- occasionally painful, but always irritating.  Linda said I sounded like the Clint Eastwood character from the movie Grand Torino:  "Grrh..."

After a while, we came upon the two Australian women Jeanette and Sherry, who we had walked with a couple of days ago.  We continued on with them until we reached the town of Reliegos, which was 14 miles from where we started. Here we stopped at one of the most unique places we have seen, a bar called Bar La Torre.  The proprietor considers himself a sort of Elvis guy, huge fan.  A Christmas album by Elvis was blasting from the sound system!  So, of course we stopped for drinks and to get a little bite to eat.  We were soon joined by several hikers we had seen over the past week.  It was a sunny, beautiful day today and it was very pleasant sitting in the sun.

We then continued onto the next town, Mansilla, about a 3 mile walk.  After a brief stop, we decided to take a bus into Leon, which is about 10 miles further.  While we were waiting at the bus station, we met Lesley, a 67 year old British lady who is hiking the Camino by herself.  I have included a nice picture of Lesley with Linda.  In the background, you can see a bunch of Spanish men playing cards.

After a rather short bus ride with several other hikers, we set out to find the hotel that I had made a reservation for tonight.  We searched and searched and searched, and walked several miles.  While wandering around a side street, we ran into Katherine, the American woman who lives in Switzerland, and has hiked the Camino by herself.  Her sister from Ohio flew over to meet her and hike the rest of the trail with her.  We are having dinner with Katherine and her sister and another woman this evening.  

Finally, we reached our hotel, a very nice place with a good bed!  It will be good to have a nice shower because I smell like hell....

We are taking tomorrow off and will be moving into the Parador.  We wanted to stay there tonight, but they were sold out.  By the way, for those of you who saw the movie "The Way", you might recall a huge palace like place where Martin Sheen treated the other hikers to a night in a nice place.  This is the Parador, where we will stay.

Today's song of the day is Van Morison's Lonely Avenue (from Too Long in Exhile):

"lord, ain't this a lonely avenue"

We left Moratinos around 8 am this morning, after an excellent breakfast at our hotel.  The two women from Australia, who Linda had walked with a couple of days ago, joined us for breakfast.  They had left their hotel almost an hour previously, and were just stopping for breakfast.

After a walk of about 8 miles, through mostly flat and uninspiring agricultural land, we stopped for a lite snack of a pizza and coke.  Even though the pizza was undoubtedly frozen, it tasted great just because it was something different than the usual morning fair.

A couple of miles later, we come to a fork in the trail.  The "original" trail turns to the right and heads through the village of Calzada de Coto (sounds like a sandwich doesn't it?), while an alternative route continues alongside the highway to another town.  We continue on the traditional route, as we (think) we have previously made reservations at at hotel in Calzadilla de Los Hermanillos, about 6 miles further down the trail.

So, we trudged on.  Only, we seemed to be about the only people on the trail.  After the crowds of the past week, this is almost shocking, and makes us think we are lost. We kept walking, finally arriving to Calzadilla around 1:30.  The town was very dead, and we saw perhaps 2 people  as we walked the entire distance of the village.  Finally we came to our hotel, and went to check-in.  Linda talked to the proprietor in Spanish, explaining that we had made a reservation about a week earlier.  The owner looked up and down her register, and told Linda in Spanish, "I'm sorry, you don't have a reservation."   Ugh.   But then added, "however, we do have an extra room."  Woo hoo"!  Beats the hell out of me where (if at all) we had made a reservation for tonight, but we are safely ensconced in a beautiful "Casa Rural" hotel room in quiet Calzadilla for the night.  We are eating in the hotel restaurant tonight at 7:30 for their special pilgrim's meal.

We believe that most of the hikers took the alternative route today.  That route is much shorter to Leon, with apparently more alburgues (cheap hotels)  and a smoother trail.  Tomorrow, we have a hike of about 17 miles or so.  Our friends Dewey and MJ, who took this walk last year, tell us that the hike tomorrow was their hardest day, because of the uneven surface and sharp stones on the trail.  We will be taking a day off on Sunday, to rest and recharge our weary bodies.  We have now traveled approximately 260 miles out of total of 480, so we have passed the halfway point in our travels.

Sent from my iPad

Thursday May 23 San Zolio to  Morantinos 19 miles

I think the theme song for today is the Band's "The Weight":
"I pulled into Nazareth, I was feeling about half past dead;
I just need some place where I can rest my head..."

It ended up being a somewhat longer day than antipicpated when we left around 8:30 this morning.   When we left the hotel, it was a  crisp, cool, sunny morning, probably low 40's degrees.  A great day for hiking.   Over time, it warmed up, and we stripped down our clothing layers.  Last week, when we were walking in the snow, we were wearing 6 top layers, plus "long johns" and pants on our legs..  Today, we ended up at one layer.  As a result, the weight of our backpacks has been increasing!

After about 7 miles, we came to our first stop, which was basically a "truck" cafe that a guy had set up in the middle of nowhere to serve hikers.  I have to hand it to this guy- very enterprising, and he has to be making a good profit, as his pricing was pretty high.  I ordered a sausage sandwich (basically a hot dog) and a soft drink for $7.  When I ordered the sandwich, he asked if I wanted tomato on the sandwich, or ketchup and mustard?  I said, "both, I want tomato and ketchup and mustard. ". He said, it's a choice- ketchup and mustard or tomato."  I said I wanted both.  He asked me, "where are you from?"   I said "USA."  He responded, "oh, ok, that explains it."  Huh?  Explains what?   Well, I guess there is a rationale there.  I'm a guy who goes to Costco and gets a hot dog and a coke for $1.50.  And that includes unlimited ketchup, mustard, pickles, onions (but no tomatoes.....) as well as refills on the coke.  So, yes it's true that we Americans don't like trade-off decisions!

Linda then spent the next several miles walking with two women from Sydney, Australia. One a native Australian and the other a Dutch woman who married an Austalian.  We have met a number of people from Australia on this trip.

A couple of days ago, I mentioned that we have passed several grave markers on the steep hill climbs of this trip.  I commented that these guys probably died from heart attacks because the climbs would kill just about anybody.  Today, the walk was flat most of the day.  We also passed a few grave markers along the way today.  I'm quite confident these guys died from boredom, not heart attacks, because today's hike was not all that interesting.

For most of the day, I felt like we were walking in the Midwest where I grew up.  The road was a straight, flat gravel road, through fields of wheat and oats.  I read that where we walked was the original Roman road through Spain, but one would certainly not know that from the walk.  This made me think that the people in the Midwest are missing a big opportunity.  Perhaps they could re-market those gravel roads as being Original Roman roads and bring in a lot of tourists!  Perhaps they could take a page out of the Mormon's book, who managed to take many of the original bible stories from Israel and re-position them as having happened in the eastern USA!  Ok, I have be honest, Linda warned me that I am pretty close to the line here, likely over the line.  I hope I haven't offended my midwestern relatives or my Mormon relatives too much.  Thank god, I don't have any Midwestern Mormon relatives...

Finally at 3:30, we arrived at the Hostal Mortantinos.  It is run by by an interesting couple- a Spanish guy and a German lady.  It certainly appears they have been able to get the best out of their relationship in running this hostal- it has a German efficiency and cleanliness, combined with a Spanish charm.  (You would not want it to be the other way- german charm and spanish efficiency...).  All in all, a great choice.  Linda was very happy because they also washed a load of clothes for us. Most days, we wash our essentials in the sink, and then wear the other stuff for several days.

I have described several of the villages we stayed in as "One horse towns" because they were so small.  This town is something below that, with only 20 people.  Linda calls it a "One donkey town" because its too small to even have a horse.....

We walked around the village this evening and stopped in a local bodega for some wine.  We met two guys from Israel and invited them to join us.  They are 70 years old and walking the camino together.  For one of the guys, this is his 3rd time walking the Camino!  He told me that he takes a month each year away from his wife and family to hike various places around the world.  It was fun to talk to these guys, and we enjoyed sharing our own experiences in Israel with them.

Tomorrow is about a 16 mile day.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and not get too hot.

Wednesday May 22

Today was a fairly straight forward walk of 13 miles from Fromista to San Zolio.  The first 6 miles was along a tree lined canal, which is used for irrigating the agriculture. When we were first leaving town, we came across a group of 20 hikers from Barcelona. This group hikes a portion of the Camino each year for a week.  That way, in 5 years they will complete the entire Camino.  They also rent a bus, which accompanies them along the way, carrying their luggage, providing transport if you don't want to walk that day, etc.

At this point, we stopped in Villal Cazar de Sirgia for a coffee and to tour a 11the century church.  They have made a real business of this church.  First, you pay 2 euros each to get in.  Then, the church is virtually dark and you can't see much.  There are a number of exhibits along the way.  If you put a euro in a box, the lights on that exhibit go on for 5 minutes or so.    We tried to freeload by following some rich Brits around- let them stuff the box!  It got me thinking though- perhaps this is how we should set up the US government- let's just have a series of boxes (a locked box Al gore?) for gov services.  If we want to use them, we stick dollars in.  If not, the lights stay off so to speak.  The same with wars- if some country wants us to help them out, we send them a money box first.  "oh, you want us to bomb your rebels?  That will be $1 million per bomb...."  It would sure beat the hell out of of the totally ineffective and worthless group of leaders, legislators, lobbyists, etc that passes for government in the USA these days.

We then had a rather bland 5 mile walk along the highway, arriving at Carrion de Los Condes around 1:15.  Carrion formerly had over 10,000 people but has shrunk to less than 2,000.  Based on the  activity in the town, it probably needs to shrink some more, as things seemed pretty slow. Along the way, we passed several hikers that we have met over the past several weeks.

We then came to our lodging for the night at San Zolio.  This is an impressive converted monastery, and the rooms are quite nice, although beds are hard as rocks!  We took a tour of the monastery, and have included photos.  Mike then had a 2 hour board call for a US company.  When that was finished,  we had a terrific dinner at the Spanish restaurant at the hotel.  After sharing a large portion of outstanding jamon de iberica (the unique Spanish ham), I had a very creative salad which included fois gras.  Excellent food.

Tomorrow will be a more difficult 19 mile hike to Moratinos, a town of less than 100 people.