17.2 km – 10.7 miles

7:20am to 11:30am walking time

250 meters – 820 feet elevation gain

It was a beautiful day for walking. And the way finally headed back into more interesting scenery. Knowing I had a short day, I left later than normal and also figured I could take my time.

Despite having another day on the Camino where I walked and ate alone yesterday, I had a more positive mindset when taking off today. Probably because of how nice the weather was and that I’d be heading to one of my favorite towns on this Camino.

However shortly into my walk I passed the guy that made me feel really uncomfortable 5-6 nights ago. I had hoped that I would have lost him based off me walking longer distances and/or taking a rest day. So as soon as I saw him (on the side of the trail talking to someone), I picked up my pace so that I could avoid him. This also meant that I wouldn’t have that slow paced day I was hoping for.

I didn’t mention it earlier on, but this guy wasn’t the first bad encounter I’ve had on this Camino. On day four, I had gotten lunch by myself and was at the counter to pay. An older local man was at the bar getting two beers for him and his partner. I did my usual smile and said “hola” and before I knew it, he grabbed my hand and pulled me in to kiss my cheek and then pulled me closer to try to kiss my other cheek – it was obvious he pulled me closer to try to miss and hit my lips. I was horrified and pulled away. The lady at the counter was horrified for me, but I don’t think she knew what to do about one customer being inappropriate with another customer and she knew she couldn’t speak English to ask if I was ok. I finished paying and left. I tried to shrug it off but I know now that the experience, added with what happened with a fellow pilgrim days later, has fully impacted me on this trip.

Any older man that looks at me, I now feel like I need to look away and I worry…will they be the next one to make me feel uncomfortable?

I have always looked at the Camino as a way for me to be or to become the very best version of myself. I think the Camino can bring out the best in everyone. However, with these experiences on this Camino , I cannot do that. I have to stifle who I am and who I want to be. And like today, I have to divert from my plans of enjoying my walk on a beautiful day to rushing away from someone that I don’t want to be around. It’s just not fair.

I’m really trying to keep a positive outlook on this Camino, but it feels like all it’s doing is testing me. I know full well that Caminos will test you, make you work through some things, but this has been nearly non-stop testing between experiences like those and all of the loneliness. I didn’t come here to be tested. I came here to challenge myself physically and try to get into better shape after Covid set me back with my lungs. But the other and most important factor I came here for was for the joy of the connections you make with people along the way. From walking with others that are so different from you – to eating with very mixed groups of people and just to enjoy every minute making new friends and enriching my life.

Yes I have met some amazing people – but day after day, I’m walking alone and eating alone and now after León most of the people I had gotten to know are a day ahead of me. It’s all broken my spirit for the Camino. And my biggest fear is walking into Santiago alone. Every other time I’ve walked in with people I’ve sweat alongside with, been challenged on hills or with bugs, or dealing with less than nice albergues together. I fear I won’t get to walk into Santiago with the people that know the same joy and the sadness of arriving there. For me right now, I’ll just be glad to have this over. 😔

I will keep trying. I will keep walking and earn my Compostela. I will keep saying “Buen Camino” and making conversations happen when I can. I’ll keep trying no matter how broken I feel right now.

Astorga is cute small city with lots of things to explore including a big cathedral and a Gaudi building. I explored the Gaudi building last time, so might opt for the cathedral this time, along with maybe finding some caches in town.

I did get to spend a few minutes talking to one couple from California I’ve gotten to know. That helped switch my attitude to being more positive after the day of walking alone and thinking about all the challenges.

Currently eating a tasty burger in one of the two main plaza areas in the downtown.

I feel bad to continually be sharing the tests this Camino has been putting me through. And I assure you, my experience isn’t the norm on the Camino. I wouldn’t have come back a 5th time if there weren’t something special about it. I’m just hoping that the something special will start appearing for me sometime soon.

32.6 km – 20.2 miles

7:00am to 3:00pm walking time

250 meters – 820 feet elevation gain

It was hard to leave my comfy hotel room this morning. Without fail, on a day that I need to be well rested, my insomnia kicks in the night before. At least I had gotten a good night’s sleep the night before last. I knew today wouldn’t be too bad hill wise, but anything over 30 kilometers makes for a physically strenuous day. I wanted to get to this town though because it’s adorable.

The walk today was mostly bland. It was nice while in the heart of the city, but then the outskirts of big cities take forever to get through and the walk was alongside a highway most of the day.

On the edges of town, you usually have to walk through some undesirable places. Industrial buildings and so on. There was a lot of that today.

I even got to walk past a massive distribution center for a pilgrim’s favorite store – Decathlon! I didn’t take a picture though since it wasn’t all that interesting. I will be buying myself a duffel bag from there when I get to Santiago to help carry any additional stuff I buy once I’m done walking. I do intend to buy some new clothes so that I’m not wearing fitness gear for the time I’m traveling with my parents.

After getting out of the industrial area, it was just long flat stretches that felt like they may never end. It was hard to find interesting things to take pictures of along the way. Corn fields lose their appeal very quickly. 😃

The iconic thing about the town is the long bridge that you walk across to enter the town. You can see a jousting area off to the side when you walk along the bridge. Pilgrims might agree with me that the rocky bridge is painful on feet that have already put in 30+ kilometers.

Got an albergue with bunks that have a bit more privacy. I’ve seen more and more albergues and hostels with similar setups. I’m not going to lie, I’ll pay extra for something that’s not a squeaky old bunk bed – especially one with no roll bars for the top bunks. I definitely have a fear of falling off of those and it’s not a ton of fun climbing the ladder to get in and out of bed when you’re not a kid.

I need to search out food. Other than snacks, I haven’t eaten much today. Definitely having a hard time with siesta – meaning that most restaurants don’t serve food between 3-7/8pm.

Rest Day

Sorry for the late post – I’ve been having trouble getting photos loaded and the app wasn’t super clear that I had run out of space and needed to pay for a more expensive plan.

Not much to report today since it’s my rest day. I slept in and then got some laundry and organizing of my bag done in my hotel room.

I went through the guidebook again to look through my plans for the last 12 days of walking. If all goes as planned, I’ll arrive in Santiago on the 20th. I do have wiggle room of a day if needed. Unlikely, but if I feel ambitious, I could arrive as early as the 19th.

León is a wonderful city to explore. It’s been quite busy being the weekend. The downside to having a rest day on a Sunday is that most of the shops are closed. I was hoping to see if I could find some gloves for when I head into the mountains but there’s no shop open for that nearby today. I should hopefully have another opportunity to look in Astorga in a couple days.

The pictures are from last night and while wandering the around geocaching in the city today.

I’ll have a long walk tomorrow to start things back up after my rest day. But tomorrow will be one of the last days without quite a bit of elevation gain.

18.1 km – 11.2 miles

7:20am to noon walk time

160 meters – 524 feet elevation gain

Current view shown above. I’m checked into my hotel, I’ve showered and now it’s time for lunch. Excited to be back in León, since it’s a fun city. It also has a local craft brewery just down the way from the cathedral so I’m looking forward to getting an IPA there later today.

Today I purposefully started a bit later since it would be a short walk into the city. As soon as I got downstairs in the albergue, I realized it was raining and that I’d have to get my rain gear out for at least the start of the walk. Luckily the rain was pretty light and gone within about 20 minutes of walking.

As with walking into most big cities the great views are limited. The closer you get. The more industrial things usually get. León was no exception to this. Once getting into the city, it was a bit more interesting.

I finally got myself a glass of the amazing fresh squeezed orange juice today and it was as good as I remember it. Definitely recommend trying it if you visit Spain.

As I walked into the city, it started raining again but it wasn’t bad enough for me to get my poncho out again. As I approached the cathedral, the sun started to come out. There seems to be some old timey fair of sorts going on in the city as well as a farmers market near my hotel. Lots to see and do today.

I’ve seen a few pilgrims I know wandering around and hoping to see more over the rest of the day and tomorrow. But otherwise, it’s just time to explore and relax.

26.7 km – 16.6 miles

7:00am to 1:10pm walking time

0-ish elevation gain

Today was about one of the most boring days you can get for walking on the Camino. They often say people get really tested on the Meseta due to the uninteresting terrain. This day is probably where that happens for many. However, it wasn’t a bad day for me. I woke up feeling sooooo much better after spending about 13 hours in bed last night. I can eat again! Some of the others who have been sick are feeling better today too. It definitely makes a difference on how your walks go – especially in long stretches without bathrooms or even good “nature toilets.”

I used today to listen to some of my podcasts. I seem to recall this day the first time I walked the French Way was the only day I listened to the Camino playlist I had made for myself. I generally just listen to the sounds on the Camino, but when the environment around you isn’t interesting, listening to something makes the time go by faster.

I only saw a few pilgrims I knew at my first stop today. I think many of the people I know may be moving on to León today, which means I may not see them much again. I’ll be taking a rest day in León on Sunday so even with that I’ll probably lose a lot of the people I’ve met. But that’s how the Camino goes.

When I checked into my albergue, I was only the third person there. Lucky for me to get my choice of bunks that way. I got the only one that doesn’t have the higher bunk attached. I always pay for the 1-2 euro liners for the mattress and pillow you see here. A lot of albergues have plastic lining on the mattresses as a way to avoid having issues with bed bugs, etc.

It’s a slightly bigger town, but there’s still not much to do here. After showering I wandered around town to find lunch. A good meal!

Tomorrow will be a shorter day into León. It’ll be fun to explore that city again. And with how cold it was this morning, I’ll be looking for some gloves since that’s one thing I didn’t pack. If the weather stays cooler, the mountains after León will call for all the warmer layers.

19.5 km – 12.1 miles

6:45am to 12:00pm walking time

0-ish elevation gain

When it rains it pours. It didn’t actually rain today (though it’s supposed to this evening), but the hits keep coming for me on this walk. I had a horrible night last night with food poisoning symptoms. I got up exhausted since I barely slept. I know the rumors are going around that the water might be bad along the section of the Camino. Whether it’s that or a flu bug going around, it’s hit a ton of pilgrims hard yesterday and today. Can’t really pinpoint a common place where the random variety of pilgrims I know of that got sick and I’ve mostly been in private rooms lately, so that’s why we think maybe the water got many of us. Either way, I’m pretty miserable today.

I had plans of going 26-28km today to the next town after this one. I almost stopped and stayed at Sahagún, but I couldn’t find any open hostels or hotels. I decided to keep walking to the next town because at least if I got there, I’d be able to break the 2 days into León into two shorter days. I also considered just getting a bus or train to León and skipping the next two days of the Camino. But I’m too stubborn and I want to walk all 500 miles.

This was part of my afternoon hydration plan since I haven’t eaten anything at all today. I figured the beer could try to help kill the germs. Lots of electrolytes and water. I picked up a bocadillo, but purposefully waited until I was back at my hostel room to eat it. So I’ll attempt that after this.

The day was shorter (unfortunately) and also pretty easy going. I walked to Sahagún by myself, but just outside of there Ben from the US and Liam from London joined me and we walked together to Bercianos. We had some great conversation along the way, so I really appreciated the company. I took a break with them and then they went on to the town I had planned to go to.

I’m in yet another sleepy town tonight outside the bars and albergues (even two of those are closed today). After showering and getting my laundry done I headed back to the albergue as you enter town because it had good looking bocadillos and I figured that would be something mellow to try with my stomach. While there I ran into Chris and Ken from Florida and Wayne from Canada and we sat down together while they had lunch and had some nice conversation. This has been a better day of avoiding loneliness, but I’d love to be feeling better to spend dinner with them as well. I’ll be trying to sleep super early.

Anyway, really hoping I feel better tomorrow. This bug or food poisoning is something pretty awful.

30km – 18.6 miles

6:45am to 2:45pm walking time

100 meters – 328 feet elevation gain

I started today off finding a friend from the caching community’s geocache just on the edge of town. Since I started a bit later I was able to lose the headlamp shortly after finding the cache.

Today’s walk had no towns or services (other than a food truck – if you caught it after it opened) for the first 17 kilometers. So I didn’t stop until closer to 10am for my first stop.

I hesitate to tell this story, because I don’t want people to think the Camino is unsafe or a place you have to be on guard (especially as a woman). However, it happened so I’ll tell it.

One of the pilgrims that I’ve seen most of the way so far is an older man likely in his late 70’s, doesn’t speak English, seems very charismatic every town he goes to. Since he doesn’t speak English and my Spanish is limited we’ve only shared limited “Buen Caminos” and so on in passing. Last night I went to a bar to get a beer to take back to my hostel to have with the dinner food I had. He was there and insisted on buying my beer and then insisted on me sitting with him and his other Camino friend. I was exhausted but sat down so as to not be rude after him buying my beer. I indicated that I was tired. Anyway we tried our best to communicate through my very limited Spanish and google translate. It was all normal conversation until he seemed to suggest that the other guy and I needed to be together. The other guy was really embarrassed by his statement and so was I. That guy left and I quickly tried to finish the beer. Then he asks me if I was staying in the albergue and I said no, a hostel. From my limited Spanish and his gestures, I could tell he tried to indicate that he should come back to my hostel with me. I said “no, no, no.” I finished the beer and politely told him I had to go. He insisted on hugging me before I left. It was so incredibly awkward and uncomfortable.

I’d say that over my years of coming to Spain, I’ve generally always had at least one awkward experience with an older Spanish man where there was unwanted flirting and trying to get me to stick around talking to them despite me gesturing that I needed to go on.

It saddens me because it makes me wonder if I just shouldn’t smile at every stranger the way I do on the Camino.

I very much had control of my own situation in this incident and all of the others in the past and didn’t feel like I was in any danger. But dang, if it doesn’t make things uncomfortable.

I also found myself trying to avoid that guy today and I will continue to do so by trying to walk farther ahead each day.

After being so lonely so much of this walk, that experience of trying to connect with a fellow pilgrim in positive way and having it end that way has left me that much more disheartened.

I will continue on though.

Cats always make things better. These two had important jobs at both of the bars they worked at. They seemed to check on each and every customer to ensure they didn’t waste any of their snacks.

After having a tough morning mentally, I took breaks in most towns and had nice conversations with fellow pilgrims from the US and Germany. That helped switch my mood around for the day. I walked a town farther than planned (but didn’t make the extra 9km trek to Sahagún – to the happiness of my feet). I’m staying in a nice albergue with a great outdoor space and it even has its own geocache! I’ll be having a pilgrims meal of spaghetti tonight as I’m staying in an Italian owned albergue.

Overall the walk was easy and the weather was perfect. Definitely not the typical hot temperatures that the Meseta would normally have this time of year.

I’ll need to do some research on where I’ll go tomorrow. Still trying to decide if I’ll try to get to Leon on Friday or Saturday.

25.1 km – 15.5 miles

7:45am to 1:30pm walking time

50 meters – 164 feet elevation gain

It was a better day today. I had every intention of leaving at 7am today – knowing it was a “shorter” day of only 25km. As soon as I was about to put my pack on, I heard thunder. While nothing like a thunderstorm was in the forecast the day before, I decided to wait a bit before leaving as I figured some rain would be coming with that thunder. Sure enough, heavy rains, strong winds and lightning followed along. I checked the radar and it looked like if I waited until 7:45, I could avoid the storm.

The plan worked. I left and not a drop of rain hit me. Just wind and cooler temperatures. You will not hear me complain about cooler temperatures on the Camino.

The start of the walk goes along a nice canal and you cross over at a small set of locks. Then you’re at the bigger town of Fromista. I stopped there to get a coke and a croissant to take along the road since I wasn’t ready for a break yet.

Today’s Camino day is probably one of the easiest and most straightforward days there is. The views are similar most of the way with flat or only slightly rolling farm fields. There was an option to take a more scenic route for part of the day that was about a kilometer farther than just following the roadside path. I had done the scenic route last time so I opted to save the extra walking and see what the other route was like. Going that way meant I ran into a couple Camino friends at one break. They had left early enough to get stuck in the storm so they were trying to dry their stuff out.

One of the things I saw today was the bread truck. It’s like an ice cream truck but instead of little songs, it has a very unique and loud honk. Twice I watched it honk, park and then local women would come out of their houses and buy loaves of baguette style bread. No packaging – just carry the bread back to their house after purchasing it.

Carrión is a great little town – with lots of nuns. Though I didn’t choose to stay in the albergue with the nuns this time around. But it’s a fun little city to explore.

The constant downside to siesta in Spain is that when you’re hungry when you arrive in town, it can be hard to find food other than the pilgrim basics (bocadillos and tortillas). I wanted a hamburger today and it took walking around the town twice to find one. My search resulted in me finding a pricey but tasty bacon cheeseburger.

Still determining if I’ll attempt a 39km day tomorrow to get to a town I want to stay in. It might be a game time decision based on how I feel and how the weather is.

28.7 km – 17.8 miles

6:15am to 1:45pm walking time

270 meters – 885 feet elevation gain

Today was another really hard day mentally. While I had a good evening last night at the pilgrims meal at the albergue (eating some fantastic chicken paella), I still find this to walk to be incredibly lonely. I do know lots of pilgrims now and I try to socialize with them when I can, but walking day after day alone is getting really hard to enjoy.

You add feeling sluggish, to sweating profusely, to walking on hard rocks so your feet feel like they’re on fire, to having every bug in Spain repeatedly flying into your face. Well, let’s just say that doing 18 miles of that alone gets really hard.

I had two breakdown moments today. One in the middle of farm fields where I could see no one in front of me or behind me. The other was when I was trying to check into my albergue and the guy at the front desk ignored me. I guess he wasn’t the employee to check me in, but I didn’t know that at the time. When the check in person arrived he told me I looked tired. I nearly started to cry in front of him. I just said it had been a hard day and I’d feel better after a shower.

Luckily the nice couple from Florida joined me for lunch so I got some of the socializing I’ve been needing more of.

I know it’s hard to compare this to my first Camino when my new friend Eva was with me every step of the way. Even if she and I didn’t always talk, it was really nice to have someone there, so I never had to feel alone.

Tomorrow will be a new day.

Just after it got light enough to be able to see, I approached the very cool ruins of an old convent. It felt like something out of Lord of the Rings. Apparently there’s an albergue there – but nothing else. Definitely a great place to take in for a few minutes on the way.

Today was another day where stops were minimal. I’m noticing that to be a trend – though it’s not what I remember from the first time I walked this route. I don’t know if it’s that it’s a shoulder season or if Covid closed many places down (probably a combination of both), but there are less options for first or second breakfast and lunch – along with less access to bathrooms.

Today has the biggest hill of the Meseta. It’s one that’s actually more daunting to look at for the 20+ minutes as you walk toward it. And it’s basically go up, walk on flat and then go back down a steep hill. It would actually probably be easier to walk around this hill, but the Camino tends to find the hills anywhere it can.

Tomorrow will be a slightly shorter walk ahead the temperatures look to be a bit cooler so that should be good.

30.5 km – 18.9 miles

6:25am to 1:15pm walk time

250 meters 820 feet elevation gain

Longest distance yet but luckily didn’t feel like that long of a day. However the last few kilometers, my feet were very tired of walking on the rocks embedded in the road. Other than that, I felt like I had energy enough to walk more. This morning I walked past the 501km marker. Weird to think I’ve walked over 300km already.

The walk out of the city was very quiet since it was Sunday morning and the city wasn’t ready to wake up yet. Today’s also the day we reach the Meseta. It’s a little less exciting than other parts of this Camino, and there are long portions of not a whole lot to look at.

I also didn’t find any cafes open in the first town, two hours into the walk. I was ready for a break, but this had to wait until the next town. When I finally found a cafe open , I finally started seeing pilgrims I know again.

One cool stop today was a small church where a nun inside gave everyone their stamp in their credential, gave you a necklace and each person got an individual blessing.

There weren’t many places to stop at all today with limited towns to walk through. So my second and last break was in the town the guide book recommended staying tonight. However, with an easier walk, there was no reason not to push on until I got to Hontanas.

Hontanas was a livelier little village the last time I stayed here but outside of the fancy new albergue I’m in and the municipal albergue, there seems to be nothing open today. However, don’t feel sorry for me about that because today I feel like a “luxury pilgrim.” The fancy new albergue was 30 euros for a bed, dinner and one hour in their hydro-spa. Basically it was a pool with all the fun jets to help one relax after walking 30+ km.

The food and the sleeping arrangements are pretty nice here too. I’m excited for the paella dinner here tonight.

Another long day tomorrow so I’ll probably try to head out earlier than usual since it’s hotter in the Meseta.