Bechhofen, Germany

Our Camino de Santiago is over. Easy final day on the bus from Finnisterr. We found an Albergue right across the street from the airport bus stop. This morning we did not know for sure when the bus would arrive, but we thought it might be there at 7:15 and it pulled up right on schedule.

We are visiting with Seth and I am drinking Dr. Pepper. I was cold turkey for over a month, but it sure tastes good now. And Seth has a supply of beer from Belgium and hefeweisen from Germany, so life is good.

Finnisterre, Spain

Here we are at the end of the earth. The bus ride from Santiago is not much more than 90 km, but it takes 3 hours. Sort of winding roads. Beautiful trip, though. We got brilliant sunshine for the trip through Galecian countryside and then along the coast. The coastline is spectacular. I am sure there are some nice photos on Google Earth and they would be well worth a few minutes of your time. I will post some in a few days.

The bus ride was good enough I was thinking how nice it would be to walk or bicycle it! The Compestalla for walking or cycling to Finnisterre is Celtic in appearance and there is another Compestella for walking 30 km up the coast.

I walked to the lighthouse while Patsy was walking the beach looking for shells. I took the route over the mountain, of course. Then, later in the evening, we both walked to the lighthouse along the road. The view from the road is probably better. It is impressive to think that people have been coming to the location of the lighthouse for about 5000 years for spiritual reasons. It is the western most point of earth in Europe. Early people thought the sun was extinguished somewhere out in the ocean and was reborn again in the east the next morning.

I met my friend, Matt, from Denmark while I was at the lighthouse the first time. He had walked from Santiago. He said he had swam in the ocean and allowed the waves to wash over him 9 times and had burned his shirt in the firepit by the lighthouse. Both are ancient pilgrim traditions. Patsy and I dipped our toes in the ocean, at least. Neither of us was interested in burning our shirt.

We have seen many of the pilgrims we met on the route in Santiago or in Finnisterre. We even met the french woman with the donkey named Sherpa at the holy door to the Cathedral. She was there early on Sunday morning, as the donkey might have been a problem with the huge crowds later in the day. I guess she figured he had done the pilgrimage from somewhere in France to Santiago, and he deserved to see the Cathedral. We took our picture with Sherpa. I am pretty sure he can´t get his own Compestella.

Patsy and I celebrated the end of our pilgrimage yesterday with a shellfish feast. We ate things like razor clams and something we think were purple worms. Great meal.

We bus back to Santiago this evening and catch an early flight to Frankfurt.

Compestela de Santiago, Spain

Patsy was still sleeping, the last I checked at 10 am. I left at about 7 am and the old city of Santiago was still sleeping also. I had to walk out of the old city for a coffee. I think the regular price of a coffee in a bar is way less for the locals than for tourists. I got a grande and it was about 60 cents and I am used to paying more than a euro.

I got in early through the holy gate to the cathedral before the line was long. (Actually, I was able to just walk in at about 8 am to check out that part of the church). I hugged Saint James. The holy gate is only open during years when the day of Saint James (25 July) is on a Sunday. I think the next year is 2021. There is the expectation that this year will see record numbers of Pilgrims. The rush is expected in July and August, with the greatest crowd during the fiesta of Saint James.

We will take the bus to Finnister tomorrow morning and stay the night there to check it out.

Compastella de Santiago, Spain

We walked up to the great cathedral here at about 1 pm today. It was nice and sad all at the same time. The cathedral itself is huge, with three separate plazas at the three main entrances. We will try to get into the cathedral either later this evening or tomorrow, as there was a huge crowd when we arrived, mostly not pilgrims.

We had rain for our last days walk, but it was warm enough so it was not a problem. The people in the Albergue got up before 5 am and it was almost completely cleared out by 7 am when we got up. They were well ahead of us so we had a quiet walk through wooded lanes. It was quite nice.

I will add pictures, probably when I get to Seth´s. We fly to Frankfort on Tuesday. We will spend a day here in Santiago and then take a bus to Finisterr and spend a night there.

Arco

We made it nicely to Arco, just 18 kilometers from Santiago. Patsy said she would take a rest day, but not with just one more day to walk. It should be an easy day tomorrow. We should get to Santiago by 12 or 1 pm and get our Certificate and see the cathedral. I think it depends on the weather what else we do. It may rain tomorrow and the next few days. Ryan air only flys from Santiago to Frankfort on Saturday and Tuesday, so we have to decide to leave just the day after we arrive or stay an extra day.

The last 100 kilometers certainly has had none of the interest the first 600 kilometers did. It is much more crowded with less comradary. We are still seeing people we have not met in a long time. (pardon the spelling but the blog tells me none of my words are spelled correctly in Spanish).

We have been accompanying a french woman and her donkey, Sherpa. He is quite the pet and, I think, a good companion. We have seen one other donkey and several dogs walking the Camino.

Azura

We are in a bar on the way to Arco. Tomorrow should be our lastday. We have 12 km today and another 20 tomorrow. We walked without the crowd yesterday, but they are back today. A steady stream of walkers and bikers.

Melide

Melide is famous for its Octopus. It is great! We spent a couple of hours in a Pulpeteria, probably one of the best in the world. The octopus was great. Served with a bottle of wine, bread, boiled potatoes with paprika and a wooden platter of octopus and toothpicks to eat it with. The octopus is served with plenty of olive oil and a lot of paprika.

There was a mix of locals and perigrinos. It is a fiesta day here, so most everything was closed. I am not sure if the locals are more in evidence at the pulperia, but I think not. The local panaderia (baker) was swamped with locals stocking up for fiesta.

The Camino is full of people. Mostly young people doing the last 100 km for their credential, but including the people we have seen before. We saw the Korean priest we met in Logrono, the guitar player from Texas and others. Vicky was in the Pulperia and she is from Conroe, not far from The Woodlands.

The character of the Camino is much different the last 100 km. Many more people and not the same camradarie that we have seen before. But it is well supported by the Spanish.

We are about 50 km from Santiago, which we plan to do in three easy days. We did our last long day yesterday, with about 16 miles of walking. The weather is generally cool, but it heats up later in the day. The people on a schedule are walking a great distance these days, but we are ahead of schedule so we are taking it easy. Eating lots of octopus in Melide.

Portomorin

We are about 90 km from Santiago. Patsy is doing much better. The weather has been hot later in the day, but otherwise very nice.
We were in Sarria yesterday and it was in the middle of the annual festival. All the perigrinos (pilgrims) are in bed by the time the festivals are winding up, but it was still nice. Also, Sarria is the last place to start the Camino and get a certificate from the cathedral in Sangiago, so a lot more pilgrims are on the way. It was sort of amazing how many people were walking today. It could be that since today was Sunday, many of the people were just walking today, but I think we will see them tomorrow also. Many of the new walkers are teen agers. With the change in walkers, the Camino has a much different character here.
Galecia is hilly and the Camino has been mostly through small farms. Many are dairy farms with the famous ¨Rubio Galigo¨ cattle. Rubio in this case means Blonde. The route is up and down small hills and along paths with stone walls on both sides. In some cases, it was like walking in a tunnel, the walls were so high. There were a fair number of bars along the way. We stop about 10 am to get a drink and rest a bit, then we stop about noon for a bocadillo(sandwich). Then it is a few more hours to get to the town.
Portomarin was along the river here, but the town was moved up the hill in the 1950s when the river was dammed. Now there is a nice lake. The town is supposed to have a population of 2000, but it has at least 15 and perhaps 20 bar restaurants. It also has about 5 albergue for the pilgrims. The town is actually nice enough, even if it is not old.
Tomorrow is Palais de Rae, about 24 kilometers away, our last long day. The day after we go to Melide, a short day of about 10 miles and the day after to Azura, another 10 mile day and then two 12 mile days to Santiago.
We plan to take a bus to Finnistera from Santiago, just to see it. Some people walk the 90 some kilometers but we want to take the time with Seth and family.
We are still seeing many of the same people along the way. Very many do about the same distance as we do. It is always nice to recognize people you know among the other pilgrims.
I noticed in the shower today that my legs look different. I would not have thought that walking would require much change in my muscles from cycling, but they are distinctly different. I am sure I am not losing any weight. It might be I am eating a lot or that I have a few beers and a half bottle of wine every day.

O Cebriero and Triacastela, Spain

Patsy is done with her antibiotics, hopefully she will feel a bit better from now on. They made her nauseus and susceptible to sunburn.

We are in Triacastela, about 130 km from Compestala de Santiago. Almost at the end now. We crossed the last of the mountains today and yesterday. We were lucky to get beautiful weather both days. I got some great photos. Actually, the day before Patsy insisted that we do the scenic route out of Ponferrada. I think we climbed as high that day as the great mountain at O´Cebriero yesterday. Both days were great but Patsy was burned out by the time we got the necessary mountain, so we only did 10 km yesterday and spent the night in O´Cebriero. It was nice, though. It rained during the night and there were a few clouds still around in the morning, but it is hot now.

We are feeling the end of our Camino and I am not sure what I think about that. I am really into the walking each day. A Dutch woman I spoke to yesterday came from La Puey in France and she was saying the number of people on the Camino is in stark contrast with the French part of the Camino, and she was feeling the stress. It really makes me want to hike the Vezelay or La Puey routes!

We have been travelling though small dairy farm country. The villages in Spain are just making it, many of them. I am sure many young people move out to the big cities. I suspect the business from the Camino is all that keeps some of them alive. O Cebriero has a population of 50, all doing tourist business. There is a highway through there and at least 3 tour buses were parked there at one time. It is about as high as as major highways in Spain go I think.

Villafranca

We are finally getting some hot weather. We had a long but flat walk today, but it did get hot. The heat does take something out of you. We did daudle along the route today. Tomorrow we won´t go so far and will start a bit earlier. We left Ponferrada while it was still very cool and walked along the Sid river until we got out of town and joined the Camino. The first half of the walk was through sort of suburbs but with increasing large vegetable gardens, vineyards and orchards. The mountains are all around us, but none today.

We are meeting people we have seen before and then a few new ones. We came upon Yentz, a german we have not seen in two weeks and had dinner with him last night.

Villafranca has three huge churches and a castle. We are staying in yet another, although smaller, church at the edge of town. Of course, the city is sort of vertical, meaning a walk into the city center, with its very nice plaza, is far downhill and then back up a steep incline. Not what many of the perigrinos are looking forward to.

Look up Villafranca on the internet to see the churches.

Ponferrada 200 km

We are getting great, perfect weather now. It was beautiful going over the mountain to get here, but just slightly cool. It has warmed up today to about 75 degrees F, still clear as a crystal. The trip over the mountain was absolutely beautiful. The villages on the way were perfect. We even got a really good meal yesterday night at the Albergue where we stayed in El Acebo.

There are still few people who are not amoung the halt and lame. Luckily, I am in that minority. Almost all limp around the albergue and town after the day´s walk. Of course many are walking 20 miles a day or even more. Many are going at our pace, though. We see some of the same people day after day. We have slept in the same 4 person room with a french couple at least 3 times over the last week. (A good thing, as they dont snore.)

Astorga

We are getting stronger and Patsy´s feet are getting better. She is still not carrying her pack, but she is enjoying walking more. We have had some cold and windy days, but today we are getting clear weather and warm. The walks the last three days have been great. We have taken quiet alternative routes. Today was cold to start but warmed quickly as we walked through almost complete silence. The mountains were in view all the route and are noticeably closer now. The wildflowers are still profusely in bloom. The land here is dryer and full of small round stones. I would say it is marginal crop land although on the level parts it is cultivated. The view into Astorga was exceptional. We approached it from quite high and could look down on the city. Only five churches were visible as the rest were on the other side of the city. The city center is where the tallest church is, always.

The Albergue´s have been very nice, although the beds in the last two were enough to give me a back ache. They are set up more for warmer weather, which hopefully, we will get more of now. They mostly have kitchens and cooking is a nice alternative.

We find that figuring to walk 10 miles a day rather than our originally planned 15 works out better. We did our 10 miles today by about noon which will leave us the rest of the day to explore Astorga. The main church was designed by Gaudi and we plan to see it for sure. There are supposedly lots of Roman remains here.

I think we have about 270 kilometers or less to Santiago. It should be quite doable for us.

We walked with a couple of men from Belgium. They had both been in some trouble and their judge gave them the option of prison or walking to Sangiago. The judge gives them 15 euro a day for expenses which forces them to find a church or free albergue and to be careful what they spend their money on. An older couple from Belgium has been walking with them and buying them coffee at the bars to ease their way. It seems a very practical alternative to jail to me. The judge reasoned that it would get them away from their bad friends for 3 months or so and give them a chance to get their life straight. And it is cheaper than putting them in jail.

The local people we meet are friendly and helpful. Of course the other pilgrims are pleasant, with many ¨Buen Camino¨ greetings.

Leon

We took a bus from Burgos to Leon. Our original plan was to go from Burgos to Sahagun, but the bus did not go there. We will still have a few days in the Mesita, a very flat hot dry plains. That does not sound to bad to us, as we left very cold, wet weather behind. The forecast for Burgos for the week was cloudy and wet with a high for the entire week of 20 degrees C. It was 25 degrees C when we got off the bus yesterday evening and delightfully dry.

From the bus ride of 140 kilometers, we could see that the land was getting steadily less cultivated. We guessed that it was usually drier although covered with puddles from the recent rain. Not all the land was cultivated and more of it was in dry land crops. The villages seemed a bit more poor to me, especially after the land surrounding Burgos.

When we got into Leon, we did not know where the Albergue (pilgrim´s refuge) was located but headed for the tall spires of the main cathedral, usually a sure bet. The cathedral is impressive, as in every major Spanish city. I would recommend looking for pictures of the cathedrals of Burgos and Leon on the internet. I am sure the photos there are better than any I could take. They have a long history and are beautiful. The scale and detail are both astounding. I spent a lot of time in the one in Burgos and it seemed every surface was intricately carved wood or stone. The main vaults seem to reach up forever and much of the light is from stained glass windows, high above you.

We spent the night last night in the Benedictine Monestary in Leon. It was a beautiful old place which welcomed Pilgrims very graciously. The only downside is the Pilgrims want to get up too early. People are up and stirring before 6 am.

We are staying the morning in Leon to see more of the city and to replace one of our rain ponchos. We think we mistakenly placed one poncho on a rack with items left at the Albergue for anyone to take. As it was raining, someone borrowed it immediately. I expect we will not see more rain, but Patsy is forever the pessimist.

We are not able to do as many miles as we had hoped but after the bus ride, we should be able to maintain walking the remainder of the way. If not, we can adapt easily enough.

We are meeting people from everywhere. Because we had only heard of the Camino when we crossed in on our European bicycle ride, I was surprised how many Americans we are meeting.

I am still trying to figure out how to download photos. Hopefully they will be along, if not soon, then eventually.

Santa Domingo de Caldez

We are in a bar about 6 km from Santa Domingo. We have had some slow going but seem to be doing ok now. The countryside is still gorgeous. We walked today through mostly rolling land that is almost all cultivated with wheat, barley, beets and grapes. Near villages we see well tended gardens with potatoes and fruit trees.
Yesterday we were in Najera, where it was a regional fiesta day. The big event was the regional championships for bull fighting. Najera is squeezed between an impressive cliff face and the river egro. The church in Najera is built into the cliff and has survived intact for many centuries. It is impressive. I am sure there are photos on the internet if you are interested. I did not take any in the church as I am sure there are better than I could do. We slept in a large room last night with about 60 people. If we were not so tired by the end of the day, it would have been impossible to sleep. But we did just fine.
We will have completed 190 kilometers by the end of the day, about 120 miles. It is hard work but still nice to do.
We usually find a menu de perigrino, a menu of the day served at 7 pm for the pilgrims. (Dinner in Spain starts about 9 pm, 10 pm in large cities.) The menu of the day includes a starter course with salad spagetti or soup, then the main course is meat of various sorts and then dessert. It includes wine or water and bread. They generally taste pretty good and will fill up a hungry Pilgrim.
I wish I could describe the fourty colors of green in the fields along our path. The sun shines down through the clouds and spotlights different places as we walk along. Randy is having a great time. There are so many people for him to talk to. I have found that iñ some of the villages they have a backpack service to transport your backpack to the next stop on the trip. Now the question was, am I a purest and wish to carry my pack or do I use the service. No contest, I am supporting the local economy. This trip is supposed to be fun. I feel so free without the pack.
I am getting into the spirit of the walk. Without seeing any Tv or news, the stress level goes way down and I have the time to contemplate life in general. At this point it seem to be pretty satisfactory. Thank goodness for our Alpine poles. They make walking so much easier especially in the rougher parts. Most everyone uses them and now I can see why.

All the people at the Refuge with us have bandaged feet and big blisters except for Randy who has been bouncing up and down the mountain trail like a baby goat. I have filled his pack with some of my stuff but it has not helped. I am going to start picking up rocks to add. There are a lot of people walking the Camino, most of them just want to do it for the adventure. It is a great way to experience the country and it´s culture. Most of the people are French or Spanish with the Germans coming up strong. Then there are people from all over Europe, Finland, Sweden, South Am. Australia, well you get the idea. There are a surprising number of Americans. Last night we stayed in a refuge where about one third of the people spoke English. Usually only a few have any English but I like the Spanish people. They don´t laugh at my bad accent and try to understand what I am saying. We are out of the steep mountains for now and into the steep hills. This is the wine growing region. The different crops and the vineyards and olive orchards make a beautiful mosaic below the stone villages built on the top of the hills above them. These are very small villages usually, built around a church at the very top. The streets are unbelievably steep. So we have been walking along getting in touch with our inner selves so here are my insights so far. Just because they say you can drink the water in the pilgrim fountains doesn´t mean that I can. Randy´s guide book is very inaccurate concerning mileage and topography and pretty much everything else. You can use the public toilets in Germany but you don´t want to try it in Spain. The Spanish people are wonderful and caring hosts who try very hard to make your stay pleasant. One week down and I think it may be getting easier. I will try for more profound insights on this second week.

Trinidad

From Zibriz, the path was generally through woods and hills. Beautiful scenery. We are getting along well with walking but took a short day today while walking through Pamplona. The old city is really quite nice, with its high walls and narrow streets.
We have seen wild flowers in profusion the entire trip. Spring is a good time to be here.
The houses and buildings in this part of Spain are mostly stone with stucco and they all have red tile roofs. When you see a village from a distance, they are too pretty to describe.

The grocery stores vary in size from tiny to small. The small village we are in now has 3 very small groceries and a fruit market.

Randy

This part of Spain is unbelievably lovely. The villages we pass through are neat, clean and a well cared for blend of the very old and new. The farms look well tended and prosperous. The Spanish people are very friendly and helpful. We have met lots of people from all parts of Europe and even a few Americans. It is suprising how many people are doing this walk. The refuges are clean and comfortable and not too noisy. A bed and hot shower are all I need. The paths are rocky and steep and walking in Texas did not prepare us for this. At times it is gruelling but the vistas are sometimes worth it. Three days out and I am still hanging in there.

Patsy

Zibiri

We started walking about 8 am this morning after an all night bus ride and it rained until about 1030 am. However, it did quit raining and the sun came out later in the morning. We walked about 15 miles, more or less. Since we started walking a day early and did not do the first day from St John Pied de Port, we are about 2 days ahead of schedule. I think we will take a short day tomorrow. Patsy was very tired and sore after today´s walk so we might walk to Trinidad tomorrow and then on to Pamplona the next day.

The fog was so thick this morning it seemed suspiciously like rain, ever the the coming down in sheets. But it was warm enough so it was actually pleasant enough. There are a few English speaking people doing the Camino that many signs are in Spanish, French, German and English as well as Basque. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. They are amused by our Spanish but not in any hurtful way.

The church in Roncevalles is just like the photos. Very ancient looking. This is sort of mountainous country, but with forests and farmland. More hay than anything else and not many vineyards. Some of the towns are small. Roncevalles has a population of 30. Not many services there. We are staying in a very nice Refuge. Hot showers and we share a room with three bunkbeds. There were hot showers with lots of water, so it meets Patsy´s minimum requirements. We had the perigrenos dinner at a cafe tonight and it was very good. I had spagetti for a starter, Chicken Polo for second and flan for desert. Filling and tasty. It comes with water, wine and bread. Nice for somone who walked 15 miles.

Food is very important on a trip like this one. Don´t laugh! I may spend more time talking about dinner than the other aspects of the trip.

Trinidad:
I took a few photos today that should look pretty good. Mostly of mountain views and a few monuments. The bridge here in Trinidad is very scenic and old.

Roncevalles, Spain the first day on the Camino

We made to Roncevalles but the weather is too bad to get a ride to St John, so we start our Camino from here. Rainy and wet with too much fog to go over the mountains.

Patsy is shown here with a fellow pilgrim with whom we shared a taxi from Pamplona. The church in the background is huge but the village has a population of about 50. Many of the churches along the Camino were built for the pilgrims and this was an important stop on the Camino Francais.

Costa Blanco Spain

We are having fun with the family. The weather has been good, Seth,s family thinks it is famously hot. From Houston it is only warm. The girls are spending much of their time in the pool or the beach. Today is both. We have some nice photos which we will send when we can. Tomorrow we leave for Irun and St. Jean Pied de Port, the start of our Camino. If the weather there is anything like the weather here in Altea, we will do very well.

We are going to do the most popular of the Caminos, the Camino Francais. Here is a map. We are starting just to the east of Roncevalles, Spain, in St Jean Pied du Port, France. All the major routes from France meet at or near St Jean.

Photos of the Jacobsweg near Bechhofen

Here are some photos along the Jacobsweg (German Camino de Santiago). All the photos are a few minutes walk from Seth's house. The paths through the woods here look just like the photos. There are a lot of paths and the Germans use them a lot. The scallop shell sign in a couple of the photos is the sign for the Camino de Santiago. We expect to start seeing a lot more of those a week from Monday.

We are finally getting some nice weather.Seth, the girls, the neighbors and Patsy and I went to the dinasaur park today to get some son. They seem to be suffering from sunlight deprivation. There was a lot for the girls to do there, so it was a great success. The weather was so nice, it was great to be outside.

A video mistakenly taken instead of a photo at the Landstuhl castle. Savannah and Amber love this castle. Ruins seem better to them than a well maintained castle.

The Vineyards at the wine festival. The vineyards in Germany are at least as beautiful as anywhere.

The town center at the wine festival. Rendi wearing her high heels.

Patsy and Liesel (sp) walking about in the vineyards during the wine festival.

Savannah at a wine festival.

A view of the route into town from Seth and Kathy's house in Bechhofen.

Here is a photo of Seth and Kathy's duplex.

Jakobsweg (Way of St James)

We have noticed the scallop shell signs on some of the paths here. Come to find out, the Way of St. James extents this far. Below is a web site with a pilgrimage path through Bechhofen.

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=20713

There are some old tank barriers left in the countryside from WWII in the first photo.

I finally got a photo of me. One is of Seth and me. The other one is me in my walking clothes walking in Bechofen, Germany. Seth says it has rained every day, so you just can't wait around for good weather.

It is pretty country with lots of walking paths. You can see some of the farm country in the photo of me and Seth. At least walking in 50 deg F is not nearly as bad as cylcing in it. Patsy and I have both had more than enough cycling in wet, rainy, cold weather.

Bechofen, Germany

We made it to Seth's without a hitch. Nice trip all around. Beautiful part of Germany. Pictures will follow later today.

Some nice You Tube posts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u_oa7J4xik

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EppyMumKRHU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y45YVNxT1go

Keep training

Patsy and I have been doing at least some training. 6 miles again today. The Woodlands has nice walking trails. Our route today included The Woodlands triathalon. It looked like it got perhaps a thousand entries. There is a very nice park on Lake Woodlands where the swim is done. The roads are closed or traffic restricted for the bike andrun. Last week the park hosted the Spring Bark, which is like an old fashioned dog and pony show except no ponies. We fly to Germany on 11 May and that is not long from now. Seth is already finding us places to walk to keep in training.

Our Schedule

Our plan is to fly to Frankfort, Germany on 11 May to visit with Seth and family. We will all go on holiday near Alicante on the Mediterranean coast of Spain on or about the 25th of May.

On 31 May, Patsy and I will take the train from Alicante through Madrid on to Pamplona. We should be able to get a bus to Roncevalle and a taxi on to St. Jean de Pied du Port. If all goes well, we will start walking on 1 June 2010. If not, then we will spend the night where we end up and make our way to St. Jean the next day.

Our end date is not firm. We might be able to do the trip by the end of June, but probably only if we take a bus occasionally. If we bus, it will be in the center of the country. The walk is 450 miles and we are not sure if we can keep up 15 miles a day for a month. If we hold up well, we might just stay and finish in the first week of July.

We fly out of Frankfort on 13 July. When we are not walking, we plan to spoil the grandchildren. (Seth and his family live in Bechofen, Germany where Kathy is working at the hospital in Landstuhl.)

Patsy training for the Camino

Here is Patsy starting her training for the Camino. Actually, she has been training on her new bicycle for some weeks now and going to the gym for months. Now we are doing more serious specific training. This trail is a half mile from our house and has about a one mile loop. We like it.

You can see that Patsy is using trekking sticks. She says she can hardly walk without them now and she has only been using them about two weeks. They do make walking easier and their use seems to be very natural with little learning required.

We are also bicycling more just to improve our endurance. I am still doing the cycling classes at the Y and lifting weights, but I am hiking places, sometimes with my pack.

Camino de Santiago site with lots of good photos.

This is my first blog, so please be patient. I am still experimenting.

Here is a link to a good Camino site.

Here is another Camino de Santiago site.