Lyon & Rose Travels

We have arrived! Our sweet Camino family waited for us slowpokes at the top of the hill Monte Gozo for the final 4k descent into Santiago, walking it together.   Martha, who has been walking from St Jean at the border with France, was definitely processing the end of this major journey. Marga, who has walked the Camino in full… Read more →

 Today was hard. Emotionally. I threw my walking sticks to the ground and then my backpack and sat in the gravel and said I’m done with this. We are just walking every day, why? This is our honeymoon? We had reserved beds at a private albergue in Ribadiso so we started late (9:20am) & took 2 hours for lunch in… Read more →

  The yellow arrows have been a constant presence on the Camino.  In a random ghost town at 6am, the arrow pointing to the left may be the only indication that you are still walking on the road to Santiago.  Sometimes the arrows are faint, blending into the yellow moss on the trees. Sometimes (lately, since Sarria), they are officially… Read more →

  Today we saw two calves, born just minutes before we walked up, with their umbilical cords attached and the placenta fresh and steaming, in the drizzling rain. We walked through quiet mossy fairy forests. We found new friends, Martha from Atlanta, Marga from Barcelona, Sergio from Lecce. We are staying in the cutest country albergue off the beaten path–no more… Read more →

  One of the cool things about Camino has been washing our clothes by hand…every single day.  A lot of places now have washing machines and dryers, but spending €4.50 per day to wash our clothes when we can do it for free seems silly! After a long day of walking, arriving to an albergue means a lot of chores. First,… Read more →

  I haven’t mentioned this, but my Achilles’ tendon has been sore and inflamed since Day Two (it’s Sofia writing now, on Day Twelve of El Camino).  At first, as I inquired with other pilgrims about aches and pains, I was assured that my body was simply adjusting to walking so much with so much weight on my back — and… Read more →

The clouds today were incredible! All day they graced the blue skies above us.  We walked from Sarria to Portomarin–the first part of the journey within the minimum 100k that are required to get the Compstela in Santiago. It was very noticeable that many people began their journey in Sarria today. Fresh faced, many carrying day packs and ostensibly having… Read more →

  Today we walked from Triacastela to Sarria. There are two ways to Sarria–the road and the mountain. Of course, as always, we chose the mountain. It was so beautiful!!           Tyran from Australia, who walked the Camino and loved this Donativo so much he came back to stay here for a few weeks. He has been helping build… Read more →

On our second day of walking, I began to move rocks. Little stones on our path would call to me like magnets wanting to be inside my pockets…to be moved down the Camino in some way. I collect stones at home and put them on my altar (so does Sammy). Sometimes I carry them with me in a pouch throughout… Read more →

We find ourselves in socks and sandals.   #mountains #marriage #onemonthanniversary     Read more →

O’Cebreiro was so built up as the hardest hill. But it was nothing compared to the day we walked up to Pradela, 2 days earlier, which resulted in an injury and rest day!! (See day 8.) Today was harder, with ups and downs and then a long long down to Triacastela. Downhill is definitely harder on the body and joints… Read more →

The first day we slept in a convent, we became pilgrims on El Camino — even if we didn’t yet know what that meant (and perhaps we are still reaching towards understanding). As such, we were given passports that would allow us to sleep for 5 euros each night in albergues, which is a word that really means refuge or… Read more →

We made it to Galicia!! We had Caldo Gallego (greens n potato soup) and Churrasco de Ternera (beef ribs) and actually were some of the first to make it to the albergue in O’Cebreiro! With an incredible view. Yum.               Read more →

Today we climbed a mountain, literally. About a kilometer up the road, as we looked down upon lush, verdant hillsides, Sammy’s lower back/hip began to pinch — a lot. Probably sciatica. The great slow down of our already slow pace began. I found my stride yesterday. All the sudden, as I came upon the footsteps of a pilgrim walking in… Read more →

Today we walked from Molinaseca to Villafranca del Bierzo. It was a long day, but since there were not so many hills we decided to do it. Whew! My feet have never been so tired!! After a 2 hour stop in Ponferrada for a Farmacia to get anti-inflammatory cream, the bank, and our usual second breakfast, we took the road… Read more →

Today we were up sooooo early. We walked under the Milky Way from 4:30-5:30 am before it started getting light and the stars went away until tonight. It was so beautiful to be under the stars with the headlamp off, all alone on the Camino while everyone else slept in their albergues.  At 5:30am we passed through Santa Catalina de… Read more →

On the plane ride here, Sammy and I watched a movie called Interstellar, which explores many topics related to space and time travel, the destruction and creation of civilizations, relativity, simultaneous realities, and much more. In any case, as we flew through the sky and the clock ticked 9 hours ahead, we were thinking of our relationship with time and… Read more →

  We rose at 5 am on our second day of walking. We had slept well, and woke without trouble, after having walked 13.2 miles our first day. On day two, we would walk 17.7 miles – far more than either of us have walked in one day ever. It doesn’t really hit you, what this is, this walking, this journey.… Read more →

 It has been amazing rising with or before the sun. Mostly, it has been out of necessity–after 11am it is unbearably hot, and with about 15 miles per day of walking, starting at 5am is the best way to go. The sun also sets at 10:30pm, so there’s a window between 8-10 to walk, but most of the albergues close… Read more →

  We have begun our 400km walk on the Camino de Santiago. Here we are in León, the night before Day One of the Camino, which was today. We walked 13+ miles and tomorrow the same. As we arrived into León, we both thought about how significant it is to start our journey from a city which holds the name of… Read more →