Daily updates

Started early today to beat the heat since we had almost 14 miles of walking including a steep mountain to climb. First shot is in the tiny elevator in our hotel. It says max capacity was 4 people but it was a tight squeeze for 2 with backpacks and suitcases! We walked out of our…

It was a treat to have the day off from walking, at least walking to a new place as we have definitely done some walking today! Started off with coffee and quiet time to journal, read, whatever. After breakfast we strolled by the market vendors setting out their wares, everything from linens to records to…

An earlier start today, we were on the road by 8am as the temps will be in the upper 80s and low 90s for the next several days and we had 11.5 miles to cover. The day started cool, which made it easier on the gentle climb out of town. We came across another outdoor…

We got started at 8:30 this morning, our earliest start yet. It was a short walk day, only 9.5 miles, but the weather is starting to heat up, creeping into the low 80s and our feet, legs and hips are starting to feel the cumulative mileage. Making our way out of Barcelos, we saw lots…

We got on the road just before 9am. A slightly cooler day, yay! We saw a variety of Camino signs today as well as stones left on walks by previous pilgrims. Our first stop was the Sao Pedro (St Peter) of Rates church in Rates. Finally a church we could look inside! It was rebuilt…

We fueled up with another delicious breakfast (including some dessert- guess we won’t be losing any weight on this trip!), then were shuttled to the start of our Camino. The other pilgrims on our shuttle were from New Zealand and Australia- what a small world! We started in a suburb of Porto called Vilar de…

We started the day with a delicious breakfast at our hotel, both of us so grateful to have been able to sleep in comfy beds! Then we headed out for a guided tour of Porto, meeting in the old part of Porto at the photography museum that used to be a prison. The first stop…

We saw beautiful old stone walls on the bus ride across Spain. We passed through Salamanca, the university has gorgeous buildings. We saw a sign celebrating its 800th anniversary in 2018! 250 seems very young in comparison, lol. Sunset stop at the Portugal border to get some food. It was so nice to brush my…

On our way to the Camino! We had a rainy stopover in Boston, then headed to Madrid. Unfortunately after a few hours our flight was diverted to JFK because of a mechanical issue. After several hours we reboarded at midnight and finally arrived in Madrid at 1:30pm. We stood in a Disneyland line for passport…

I’ve been battling a few light colds the last couple of weeks, not sure if it’s the A/C at work or something else. So I’ve been lying low for the most part outside of work and getting in some hikes and walks. Here’s a bit of what I’ve been doing: I’ve spent two Sunday mornings…