Our walk through the Cordillera Cantabrica region

        Morgan and I have made it half way through our Camino journey. We have about 220km to Santiago and then another 90km to Finisterre, “the so called end of the earth.” We are still on our pace of about 20-25 km a day, and are still astounded at how much good weather we are having. We thought that it was going to be scorching hot all the time, but the mornings have been very cool, and we have needed to wear jackets. We hiked through La Rioja region last, and spent our days meandering through wine vineyards. We are now in the Cordillera Cantabrica region, which is more mountainous like the Pyrenees.

        We did have one part where we kind of cheated on the Camino. Coming into the city of Burgos, there is 10km stretch of urban sprawl, which is not fun to walk. As we walked in the bright sun of the day, Morgan got the bright idea of hitch-hiking into town. So after about 20 cars of no luck and many laughs, one nice lady decided to pick up some grungy looking Americans. She looked like she was on her way to a ladies’ luncheon, and was decked out in costume jewelry and nice clothes. She spoke no English, and it was fun trying to converse in Spanish. She dropped us right in front of the cathedral, and totally made our day. She also tried to do the whole fake kiss on the left and right cheek as we were leaving. I honestly had never done this before, so I just gave her a big, fat, real kiss on the cheek. She did not seem to mind.

        One of the highlights of our Camino thus far has been our four days off for rest. We spent two of them in Burgos, one in Leon, and one in Astorga. We were both physically drained from walking so much, so we decided to take a break. The Burgos and Leon Cathedrals were amazing, and the cities were quite different from each other. Burgos seemed more French in style and architecture, and Leon was more Spanish in nature. We splurged one night, and got a private room in Leon where there were no people snoring or turning the light on at 0600. That is our biggest pet peeves when staying in albergues. Morgan always rolls over, and gives the guilty culprit the evil eye while mumbling a few choice words.

        One of the biggest things we joke about is how stores and shops close at such odd hours during the day, and blame it on “siesta.”  Whenever we arrive somewhere they are either closed for the day or do not open back up till the evening. For instance, the post office in one of the cities was only open from 8-11 AM 4 days a week. They take this siesta thing seriously in Spain, but we wonder how they ever make any money. Also, if it is Sunday, almost no stores are open in the smaller towns. We also joke about how there is always someone in the room who packed all the things in their bag in grocery sacks and zip lock baggies. Inevitably at 0600, they are rustling around going through every single one. It is very annoying. The last thing we have noticed is how all the Asians dress in the best gear and equipment, and how they all look like they are about to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro. They are dressed as though they are going on a 2 month mountaineering expedition, or Everest base camp. These are just some of our observations.

          We stayed in our favorite albergue of the entire Camino last night. It was in Rabanal del Camino, and it was run by the Catholic church. They had 40 beds in an old monastery, and attached was a working monastery where the local Benedictine monks lived. We were greeted by a generous and hospitable British couple who were in charge of the albergue for two weeks. They volunteer once a year, and they made our stay most enjoyable. As Morgan will tell you, I love British accents, and Claire, who was about 65, was like a grandmother to me. We had discussions about how wonderful sleep was, and why the British put milk in their cups first before the tea. I feel more cultured now. The couple showed us to our rooms, and quickly told us that tea and biscuits were at 5 PM in the garden. There was an herb garden and a huge yard with tables and chairs to relax. They also had apple and plum trees that were in season, and we got to pick about 3 pounds of fruit. At 7 PM we went to Vespers service where the monks sing in Latin, and they also request that the pilgrims walking the Camino read verses of scripture in all different languages. Morgan was the lucky English speaker, and got to recite about 6 lines in front of the church. It was a neat experience, and it was one of the things I did on my first Camino. It was really hard for us to leave Gaucelmo albergue because it had such beautiful views in the mountains and wonderful hosts.

         We are now continuing on with our journey, and our next stop is Galicia where it is more rolling hills and cattle farms. Continue to check for more blog posts as we near Santiago!

        Cheers,

             David and Morgan