Kategorie: Camino Francés

I left O Cebreiro at around 8am, having ripped open the wound on my finger tying my shoelaces, and having to clean up the place after I covered it in blood. The first half of the day was up and down hill, not really changing altitude. It was still really foggy and cold, and I stopped at a bar around 8km in to grab a hot coffee and some food. The second half was more or less going down hill I passed a few villages on the way. And since I had put so much load on the right foot …

Still not feeling 100% again, I got on the road at 7:30am and had a pretty good pace. It was to early to pass through the door of forgiveness, so I will have to wait for that till Santiago, I guess 😉 I left this wonderful village surrounded by mountains in all kind of green colors, yes the Meseta brown was getting a bit too much, and set out for the next mountain. 31k stretch going up to 1300m over sea level. My sped was great, and when Francesco passed me for the first time, he was impressed with my …

I don’t know what happened, but after separate dinners, Hunter and I wanted to go for just a few drinks. And again we closed down every bar, drank all of their cheap Spanish whiskey called dyc, and then ended up in a night club with people half our age. We woke up at 10am in the hostel we booked, and were both still pretty knocked out. I immediately packed my bags and took off. What a painful start into the day. I had the worst hangover ever and was crawling down the road. I got rid of the sandals, that …

Wow, what a day. I started out early, to climb that 8km up to 1500m over sea level to the iron cross, the Cruz de Ferro. I started the climb alone, but quickly met Kelly, a Canadian woman I had met at 2 nights ago in the Albergue. We continued to climb together, and it was quite the climb. After a coffee in Foncebadón, we got to the last 3k which go up to a 6% ascend. And out of the fog appeared Gabriel, that angel we met when Maggie broke down on the trail. And once again one of …

Since that outdoor store was closed on Thursdays, I waited till 10:30 till it opened. And they even had shoes in my size! I tried 3 pairs, and decided to go with the low maintenance one of my top 2. the other one was all leather, and this probably not really a shoe for the Camino. When I stepped outside it started to rain real hard. Since it was already noon, I started my walk out of town anyway. I was soaking wet in seconds. But the foot was holding up, and the pain was still not too bad. I …

So another 27km stretch done. I noticed, that ever since I found out that I could not permanently damage my foot, I can control the pain much better. It kind of felt like I could tell the foot, whenever it started to act up, to shut it, and carry me up that next hill. Started out next to the road again, but once I got to Hospital de Orbigo, where the two routes reunited, it got a lot quieter and prettier again. Hunter and Floris had told me they would be staying there, but I knew it was way to …

And I‘m talkin‘… Left at 7:30am, since Martins bag, that Jacotrans had not picked up yesterday and sent on to Villa de Mazarife was still not picked up. So the lovely lady at the concierges desk called them again. I hope he got his bag no in Astorga where he walked to today. I walked out of town happy, with a new backpack and confidence that it is just pain and cannot stop me if I don‘t let it. I decided to take the Old Camino running by the road, and not the Denis route, to see how far I …

After a long night with my bro Hunter, I sent home the tent, sleeping mat and the old backpack. Went back to the hotel, put my foot on two pillows and stayed in bed for most of the day, till I had another reservation for the Hotel spa. Used the spa time to go back between sauna and the ice bucket. So I hope my foot appreciates the care day, and will carry me those last 300km. Walked around a bit after my spa time, and got some long pants and a jacket, as it is getting quite cold at …

So today I bought a new backpack, which is a lot lighter than the old one. I was debating this for a while, and today I found that the aluminum frame had poked a hole into the fabric, and It looked like it was not really balanced anymore. After I finally went to the hospital. A few hours of realizing my Spanish won’t do for this, and I was sent in to a wonderful young doctor who did speak a little Englisch. They quickly asked how many km I had already walked, and while shaking their heads, and pointing at …

I started the walk to León at 6am. There were only very few other pilgrims out, and it was even colder then yesterday. I got breakfast in the next town, and continued with the sun slowly rising in my back. The second half was tough, and I think I will grab a taxi tomorrow to drive me the 4K to the nearest public hospital to finally get the foot checked out. I can handle the pain, but it just makes it so much harder. In León I took a stroll around and had breakfast in the restaurant in my Hotel. …