A Day On A Path
Mendy waiting patiently. She rode ahead and waited at intersections. Marie rode slowly behind me. My trail angels.
Just look. I had no idea the Riverwalk trail was so beautiful. San Antonio when all out.
Snails! I scooted quite a few to the side of the trail to escape the perils of speeding cyclists.
We easily walked another mile just exploring the mission.
The walk from the hotel to Mission Espada was about five miles. These two missions are very close together, so if you start at Mission Espada, you’ll certainly visit more than two missions in a day. I think we added about eight miles by walking to/from the hotel.
Marie and I spent our childhoods together. I was ten and she was eight when I moved to the neighborhood. Mendy’s dad & his family lived two doors down from Marie. I am 76.
The walk is through “four eighteenth century Spanish Missions and the oldest functioning Cathedral in Texas. San Antonio is the only place outside Europe that you can officially begin walking the El Camino de Santiago.” El Camino de San Antonio Missions
Pay attention to the path options. Google likes to take you along high-traffic roadways and not-so-scenic byways. We paused frequently and assessed our options. Opting for neighborhoods and the Riverwalk path added a few miles, but was absolutely worth it.
There ain’t none.
If you want to walk from the hotel to the path (and back to a hotel), count on adding another 8-10 miles to the day. Our first day was about 12 miles and the second day, about 15 miles because we walked back/forth to hotels.
Benches are along the riverwalk. There are no cafes or places to eat, so bring your snacks/lunch/water with you. One detour we took through a neighborhood brought us by a service station and convenience store, but that was a chance happening.
If you start walking at Mission Espada and continue to Mission San Juan, then Mission San Jose, then to Mission Concepcion – the distance walking is only about 6.5 miles.
Then add a mile or two at most of the missions to get to/from the trail and explore the mission That brings the total day to only about 12 miles. If you ask the Pilgrimage office, they estimate 20 miles. Not sure how they come up with that.
BUT
If you are walking from the hotel to the mission, then there are more hotel to/from miles than Camino miles. That’s fine with us. We are taking two days and enjoying our visit.
Tuesday, April 16
Hotel to Mission Espada – 4.0 miles / 6.4 Km
Mission Espada to Mission San Juan – 2.0 miles / 3.2 Km
Mission San Juan back to the hotel – 4.0 miles / 6.4 Km
Back & forth to the trail from the missions. Exploring missions – prox 2.0 miles / 3.2 Km
Total for Stage 1 about 12 miles / 19.3 Km
Wednesday, April 17
Hotel to Mission San Jose – 4.0 miles / 6.4 Km
Mission San Jose to Mission Concepcion – 3.0 miles / 4.8 Km
Mission Concepcion to Pilgrimage Center – .5 miles / .8 Km
Back & forth to the trail from the missions. Exploring missions – prox 1.5 miles / 2.4 Km
Mary & Marie to walk to another hotel for the night – 3.0 miles / 4.8 Km
Total for Stage 3 about 12 miles / 19.3 Km
Boarding pass downloaded. Backpack ready. No rain in the forecast. Departure 0715 tomorrow morning. First stop, Chicago.
Sorta feels like: It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses
El Camino de San Antonio Missions
This whole recovery thing is moving so slowly. What the heck!? Later this week, under general anesthesia, the good doctor will perform an extensive exam and a biopsy to see what is going on with the recovery process. I still have 6 months and 17 days before my flight to Italy, so I should have time to prepare no matter what we have to do to get this show on the road.
Here it is, the end of February, and I’m still recovering from the effects of radiation.
Since my last post in November, I’ve switched Camino gears and decided to walk the portion of the Via Francigena from Lucca to Rome instead of a third (partial) Camino Francés. Airfare is booked. Lodging for all but two nights is booked. Departure date from Kansas City to Florence, Italy is September 13, 2023. That is six months and seventeen days from today, so I still have faith there will be time to recover and train.
Italian patience: Pazienza
Spanish patience: Paciencia
English patience: Enough already!!
In the spring of 2022, as I began training for my fall Camino Portuguese and Camino Ingles, I was hampered by what I thought was an outsized hemorrhoid. Off to the doctor I went – Fix this! Turned out to be cancer. A colonoscopy verified the cancer on July 22. Stage III anal cancer. Treatment was two rounds of two chemotherapy chemicals and 32 radiation treatments – every weekday for 32 treatments. On November 7, 2022, I was finally strong enough to arrive on the trail for my first recovery-from-cancer walk. One mile on the Turkey Creek trail.
Follow my training log here.
“I don’t think anyone has a choice. They have to come. And here they are.”
9/19/2022 Well. I had planned to be walking along in Portugal today. In fact, I would be spending the night in Rubiaes, Portugal.
It’s felt like I’ve been pushing myself to walk the Portuguese because I’ve walked the Frances twice, and I “should” experience a different route – a different country. But then, it struck me: This is the second time I’ve totally booked airfare and lodging for the Camino Portuguese and had to cancel – once for covid in 2020 & this time for cancer. hmmmm
The Frances continues to beckon, and now I’m thinking, why not? Why not go back for a the third time? I made an honest effort to walk the Portuguese, and here I sit.
I won’t be on a Camino until fall 2023, so there’s time to change my mind, but I’m thinking my feet will follow my heart, and I’ll be back on the Frances.