Camino 2022

​ Day 30 May 31 As we left the mountain O’Cebriero this morning at 7:45am we were greeted with very heavy mountain fog - with the hints of sprinkles- so being the sort who does not want to get wet sported the rain gear  It was useful for the first half hour then the weather cleared and remained so for the rest of the trip today We have so lucky thus far with the weather  Passing through many little towns again on the leg made the walk quite enjoyable- although we did have the hill of all hills to climb - short lived and well groomed Stopped once for a short rest we soldiered on for the 22 km to Tricastle for the days end Last evening we went to the Pilgrims Mass at the historic church on O'Cebriero and it was full of pilgrims. Many take this as a starting point for their Camino and the tour bus pilgrims also start here. The church is staffed by Priests and Monks and the three I met back in Astorga at the Cathedral who were from Pennsylvania were there also  The Monk leading the ser

​ Day 29 May 30 Monday  Well today is day one of week 5 Hard to believe  Our weather forecaster had us in rain most of the day Wrong again - overcast for the first hour and on / off again though out the day Excellent day to do this 29 km walk which ended with 8 kms up the mountain to O’Cebriero - 600 m climb at the end of the day My memory from 2017 - even with sore feet - the climb was not that bad Memory serves me well - and with great feet it was enjoyable as I rekindled the memories from 2017 My group - all but me - reserved horses to do the last 8km climb for 40 Euros - not part of my Camino plans I passed the horse paddock at 12 noon and arrived at the top at my hotel at 2:30pm They had to wait for the horses to return from the mountain and let at 2 pm and arrived at 4:15pm On foot I was 15 min longer and I had a brief stop and picture stops along the way Really nice day and glad to be back in O’Cebriero for the second time Church is for 7pm which I plan to attend Lovely afternoo

​ Day 28 May 29 Villafranca del Bierzo Hard to believe tomorrow we will be starting week five of our Camino adventure with under 190 kms to complete  As mentioned I am revisiting my 2017 Camino memories since Leon As we were sitting having an amazing pizza last evening wondering what our route out of Ponferrada would be in the morning Daniel looked up from our patio table and noticed the all to familiar Camino emblem - which we have followed from day one in various forms. Our hotel was behind this booth. Easy start for us this morning. No one wants to get lost right out of the gate The roses on this Camino never get old. Interesting fact I learned over a grande raddler ( 1/2 beer 1/2 lemon juice - 2% alcohol) as I noticed several vineyards had single rose bushes / trees - the same plague that would devastate the vines is more infectious to the roses - so the roses warn the land owner of the disease being present so he can protect his vineyard. I liked my explanation for the single rose

​ Day 27 May 28 Saturday We are on our second of two rest days on this 39 day Camino We are at Ponferrada which is mainly known for the Knights Templer  We had a long day yesterday in high heat so we left the site- seeing to today  Rested well - met for the Templer Castle tour for 10am - which took 2 hrs There has been a tremendous amount of work done to make the tour safe with walkways / guard rails and such. Beautifully done in natural wood The Knights Templer were active in the 12th and 13th centuries with the mandate to provide and protect the pilgrims as they journeyed on to Santiago When one considered the most important shrines to visit they were 1) Santiago de Compostela, 2) Rome and 3) Jerusalem Travel was often dangerous - however it was a spiritual investment to visit the relics of a saint It was quoted “To have an impregnable castle in the Middle Ages was equivalent to the dissuasion of a modern day nuclear weapon” The Knights Templer came around 1178 taking over this castl

​ Day 26 May 27 Friday We were in for a long day today so we met for breakfast at 6:30am which meant wake up at 5:30am On the road for 7 am Cool start at 6 deg but nature rewarded us with above 30 deg by mid afternoon - thanks a bunch The team was anxious to reach the Cruz de Fierro where we leave something of our life at the foot of the iron cross - which is now a wooden pole with an iron cross on top They all felt a little less enchanted with the whole state of this well advertised key Camino attribute I was here back in 2017 so nothing had changed for me Someone comes and cleans it up I am sure And it is situated right beside the main road  Oh well - on with our story  I left a piece of the Trinity North boundary wall slate Trinity Ssint John New Brunswick  Canada 2022 With the Canadian and New Brunswick flags and one of my wooden crosses You see me at the cross and another with me and the full height of the Iron Cross The difference in five years almost to the day which I was here