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So…frankly…there is no way to adequately describe Camino. I guess it is sort of similar to describing the smell of a rose and one has never seen a flower or the feel of the wind on the beach if you have never seen the ocean. You want to describe the sensations but words are just not adequate. We thought today we would fill in the gaps…the snippets that will help transport you here. First off the day was easy. Thirteen and a half miles of walking. We were above the clouds 1/3 of the day. The earth and the vegetation could hardly contain their joy that Easter is coming. There were FIELDS of yellow; violets everywhere; fruit trees proudly displaying blossoms. Some of you are following us on the Camino and tell us to tell you WHERE we are.  We were in Tricastille last night at the cutest albergue called Albergue Atrio. We walked the old Pilgrim trail down to Sarria. We are staying at Pension Escalinata just before Santa Maria church.  We have another mountain range in front of us but nothing like the two we have crossed. We AND our legs like the ascent better than the descent….not…

Well, sit back and sip a coke or cup of coffee because there is so much to tell you. (Or you can just sign off now and not read this prose. I told you that we are not travelogue fans so you have a choice here ) What a day it was! We like ro start around eight a.m. but when I am in the sun a lot I get a fever blister on my lip. I brought medicine but not enough for this episode. Sure, I’ll just go to the Pharmacy in O Ceberiro where we are headed. NOPE, there are no pharmacies for two days. O0ps, that won’t work. So we wAit and wait and wait outside the local pharmacy. ( think that Jesus thought Jan might need ANOTHER patience lesson! I gratefully got meds and we bid adieu to our wonderful albergue hosts and took off for our scenic mountain hike. The first three miles are up a valley with gradual inclines and rushing snow-fed stream beside us. Heavenly!!! We can do this all day. Then we took a strong, well marked left into the woods AND we started to climb. I mean climb. We went straight…

There are two sides to this title. One side: The Pilgrims…As Ernest and I walked an easy 12 miles today it was so easy to think of the friendships we are making with the pilgrims. As I have mentioned before nationalities from all over this amazing earth are represented. At this point we have only met pilgrims who are predominantly male and all are of an age that could be our children or oldest grandchildren. Most are very well schooled, fluent in multiple languages, single, inquisitive, open.  Our Hungarian friend competed in The World Track and Field trials in 2016. He just completed his studies to be a veterinarian. His recent marriage is in trouble. Two German girls have just accepted new high paying and demanding positions with large companies. They see this brief interlude as the last opportunity to walk Camino for a long time. A Spanish dad and twenty-something daughter are taking this time for togetherness. Always there is a story…a life..a problem…a tribute. They are called but we are all on this journey together. Second side: Ernest and me. We have always been best friends even when we would consider murder but this has been such a…

The picture is of our topographical map of our journey today. You see that we had quite a ascent. Let us both tell you about our day. Jan: This was my absolutely favorite day so far.  Rabanal was the quaintest  village and we woke up to snow.  Here we go again…layer after layer after layer. I felt like the Pillsbury dough boy but I was warm. Well, I had lost one glove and Ernest refused to let me suffer for my own mistake. I wore one of his gloves and he wore one  sock and one glove. I married a wonderful,generous,kind man. Folks, I am a bit “athletic” but I have never been a serious hiker unlike Ernest. I just kept stopping and exclaiming,”Ernest, look at this! Have you ever seen such majesty?”  I was,overwhelmed by God’s creation. The snow capped mountains surrounded us. It was literally breathtaking. I still am amazed as I write of it. The ascent was really pretty easy. The altitude affected us but we stopped frequently to gaze at His splendor and that helped our breathing. Then, before, I seemed to know it we were approaching THE CROSS. As a pilgrim you are supposed to…

This is Ernest giving our daily update today.O what a glorious, crisp Saturday morning walk from Religeos to Mansilla de las Mulas, one of the oldest walled villages in Spain. The 6k walk was wonderful and walking around in Mansilla, looking at the ancient walls-they were so high- like about 14-15 feet high, was breathtaking. But, alas we are taking a half day of rest by taking a bus from Mansilla, 17 k, on into Leon. The guidebook says the buses leave every 30 minutes all day long. Walked up to the bus station only to find that the $1.65 bus ride doesn’t leave for 5 hours! So then quick $20 euro taxi ride into our hotel in Leon. Just a beautiful sunshiny day for brief walk around Leon- so many people filling the streets- street accordion players on the corners- a walking group of young girls singing- and all decked out in pink jackets. Lunch on a very narrow street, had to be the best tapas ever eaten.  So far, our equipment has done wonderfully, but wish my pack weighed about 6-7 kilos instead of 10 kilos. I have seen a couple of experienced Pilgrams with much smaller packs,…

What have we learned in five days of pilgrimage? One thing we know for certain is this is different from hiking. We can’t really put our thoughts around it!  Why is it different?  Sometimes we talk about St. James. One of the brothers that Jesus called the sons of thunder. Their name indicated that they certainly were not mild and meek men. We discuss the fact that all Jesus disciples except James’s brother, John, died for the truth they knew. Is it how we are treated that makes this different?  ALL are encouraging!  ALL  wish us well! ALL expect us to respect God and love Him! “BuenCamino”(Good Pilgrimage)…whatever the reason you are walking..be about that business and do a good job! Is it that even though we walk together we have hours of solitude?  We sometimes walk for miles with the only words spoken verbally are, ” Are you okay? Did you see that hawk? Aren’t the mountains comforting?”  The rest of the time Ernest’s brain is in his “nothing box” and mine is reflecting. ( Ernest calls this thinking/praying!) But it is different and we are called!  We KNOW it. We are pilgrims! The day was hot! Almost from…