Tag: Villagers

Posted on

September 29 Astorga We Can Work it Out

This place has been so wonderful. The staff has bent over backwards to accommodate my needs.
My table is the one before the window.
And the man that tried so hard at the desk is now my waiter. He translated the Sunday menu for me. His name is Rubin.
And then he took my picture with my phone!
I’m wearing my new sweatshirt… Does it make me look fat?!
(John says no!)
[John: Right answer…]
The meal was one of the best on this Camino, including a fresh salad, pork tenderloin medallion, potato, peppers…
Meanwhile, Getz and Gilberto are singing Girl from Ipanima.
In the meantime, I’ve skipped ahead further than I had thought! 60 miles! Hmmm not sure how to mitigate that. Will look at it carefully and see if I should backtrack some. Who knows what I thought. I’ll ponder this tomorrow.

Posted on

September 29 Astorga Love is All You Need

My bag is not at the hotel.

This nice desk lady called Jacotrans. They will call her back shortly. I was afraid there might be a problem since I jumped ahead so far. I had fallen asleep on the train. Nearly missed my stop. Jumped up and ran off right before it started moving. My hiking poles are still on the train. I could cry. These are the kinds of things that happen when I need a rest day. I did not call Jacotrans about long-distance transport because I was so tired.

Jacotrans will get it here tomorrow for sixty euros. The man at the desk says too much.

And it’s Sunday. That means only the Pilgrim shop is open. I’m going to see about buying clothes…

Image result for pilgrim hats


The staff has worked very hard to retrieve my bags at a reasonable cost. I’m going to give the desk people a good tip for working so hard to help me.

The good news is, I now have wine. And a little snack came with it.

And I’m in a large town. There will be an outfitter store to replace my sticks.

The dining room is now open. What a day! Furthermore, as my nurse boss once said, “Nobody died”.

It’s so great to be in a place where people are nice, as has been my experience throughout this journey.


Posted on

September 27 Fromista to Carrion de los Condes 19 km / 12 miles

September 27. Fromista. It’s 0830 and I’m still not out of my room. Not very smart since that will make for a long walk in the heat of the day. Walked into a head wind the last 6-7 miles yesterday, and got an impressive sunburn. The heat, wind, and sunburn wiped me out, so I slept in this morning. Woke at 0700 and I’m usually up at 0545.  More Meseta today. Walking to Carrion de Los Condes. 19 km

Posted by phone
Leaving Fromista
Población de Campos – Pausing to determine whether to take an alternate route
Revenga de Campos
Revenga de Campos
Carrión de Los Condes
Carrión de Los Condes – Village children
Carrión de los Condes
Carrion de Los Condes: Proprietor of the Cafe la Parada. I spent too much time roaming around the village & the restaurant was closed when I arrived. The nice proprietor gave me enough food to make a meal. He had been there over 16 hours and still made time for me. No charge. The villagers are always so kind to us.

Posted on

September 24 Hornillos del Camino Villagers

At the Casa rural la casa del abuelo, there are friendly people to help travelers get to where they want to go. The man carrying the dishes of food called ahead to Mary’s lodging for the night, Hostal Linares, about 6 km away. The inn keeper is on her way down to pick up Mary. No charge!
And here’s the Italian fellow again!
Posted on

September 19 Santo Domingo A Summary from the Home Front…

This is John writing in the first person. I’m going to share a summary of our conversation of this evening, and sprinkle in a few photos she has shared with me. Mary has had a long trip today, pushing the limits of her comfort zone, but doing well, ne’er the less. Her original lodging plans didn’t work out as well as expected, but she’s found accommodations more to her liking.

Within this post, there are some photos she’s taken while sipping a glass (or two) of wine and chatting with me via the usual channels.
Through the miracles (read: technology) of Google StreetView, I can get a glimpse of where she is. So, with the give and take of chatting, I can pretty much get a sense of the environment. Amazing, really.
She had the opportunity to share a table with some local folks that may have been our for dinner, given how they were dressed. Mary and the lady to the right shared some language via iPhone text messages, some how. The young lady spoke a little English. Mary has been enjoying mingling with local folks along the way and has found them to be very friendly.
This is from StreetView Mary is along this strip of wide sidewalk somewhere…
A StreetView from across the street of where Mary is.

This family welcomed me at their table. They didn’t speak English; I didn’t speak Spanish, but we had a grand time. Shared family photos, made jokes. We all laughed and none of us understood a word. I love villagers!

Posted on

September 12 Pamplona Rest Day


This is Pamplona. Notice, there is no trash on the street. Recycling bins are actually used by pedestrians. Except for that beer bottle by the tree…
Mary and Papa Hemingway
Hanging out in the square
Hotel Tres Reyes
Hanging out with Papa. Hemingway that is. At the Café Iruña which is just on the north side of the Plaza del Castillo, Pamplona.
Cafe Iruña
I loved the open affection. Son and dad and mom.
Energy! Vibrant people.
And of course, a cathedral
Posted on

September 11 Larrasoana to Pamplona 16.5 km / 10 miles

[Note: Some of these posts, including this one, are being edited by husband John back in Kansas City. Putting these things together in a meaningful way is somewhat difficult using only a phone. John has offered to serve as an editor as Mary continues to hike, take pictures, do laundry, eat, and all the rest… He is making an attempt to put the posts in chronological order, so you may see some new posts further down the page.]

The map to the right outlines the hike taken from Casa Elita, in Larrasoana, Spain to Pamplona, a little over 15 kilometers.

To convert kilometers to miles, multiply by 5/8ths – gets you close enough…

The plan is to spend a couple of days at the Hotel Tres Reyes (Three Kings) and do some sight seeing. This town was a hang-out of Ernest Hemingway in the early 1920s where he wrote, The Sun Also Rises.

The path to the hotel passes the Plaza de Toros de Pamplona where bulls fights still occur.

Leaving Larrasoaña
Esteribar The wall art is incredible all along the way.
Always a welcome sight! These folks along the path with refreshments for sale.
Up. Esteribar.
Villava