“There are no beds.” “There are too many people.” The rumors flew up the Way faster than I could walk, carried by Radio Camino. They were shared over pilgrim menus and café con leche, baguettes and French cheese plates. Even when I’m home, if I see them ripple out across the Facebook groups and discussionContinue reading “Beating the Camino Bed Race”
Tag Archives: Camino Frances
My Camino Family
Before we left to walk the Camino de Santiago the first time in 2015, I read everything I could, including plenty of Camino memoirs. I was desperate for practical information and advice. How would I know where to sleep? Where would I find food? What if I needed a bathroom in the middle of theContinue reading “My Camino Family”
The Architectural Wonder: the Cathedral of León
The cathedral of Santa María in León has walls that soar almost 100 feet high and are filled with almost 2000 square feet of stained glass, spread over 130 church windows and 3 rose windows. To stand inside and survey what look like walls of glass, supporting a roof of stone, is to understand whyContinue reading “The Architectural Wonder: the Cathedral of León”
Pilgrim or Tourist (#CaminoTuesday)
The first time I came across a church along the Chemin du Puy that charged admission*, I laughed and walked out. I was a pilgrim, not a tourist. I would swallow those words later, like so many of my early attitudes on the Camino de Santiago, when I started to understand that France’s nationalized churchesContinue reading “Pilgrim or Tourist (#CaminoTuesday)”
The Pilgrim Statue of Astorga (#CaminoTuesday)
Over on Twitter, the hashtag #CaminoTuesday is becoming a thing. Someone (I don’t know who) announces a new theme every week, and people post their photos and stories that fit. Today’s theme is “modern statuary and sculpture,” of which there are plenty of examples along the way. But for some reason, this previously unpublished photo from myContinue reading “The Pilgrim Statue of Astorga (#CaminoTuesday)”
A Night at the Bullring
I was sitting in a restaurant this week, waiting for friends to arrive and half watching the giant TVs overhead, when a report on a bull jumping a fence in Spain caught my attention. Perhaps you’ve seen it? During a festival in Caparroso, Navarre, a bull released into a ring made a mad dash forContinue reading “A Night at the Bullring”
The Retablo of Navarette
Retablo: a devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art. More generally retablo is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar, whether a large altarpiece painting or an elaborate wooden structure with sculptures. (from Wikipedia) A few days ago IContinue reading “The Retablo of Navarette”
The Bridge of Hospital de Órbigo
The 13th-century stone bridge of Hospital de Órbigo is 200 meters long and boasts twenty arches, which now mostly rest on bare ground now that a dam blocks much of the Orbigo River, but the bridge survives because of the Camino-worthy legend of Don Suero de Quiñones.
Walking “the Whole” Camino
I saw another article this morning that referred to “the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile walk that stretches from the French border to the city of Santiago de Compostela.” The mistake was made by a reputable travel site, so I considered writing a polite letter to the editor, pointing out their error. But if IContinue reading “Walking “the Whole” Camino”
Book Cover Reveal!
Three years ago today, Eric and I woke before dawn, pulled on backpacks and hiking clothes that still felt awkward, and walked out of Le Puy, France, on what would be a 79-day, life-changing trip. And so it’s particularly fitting that today is the day I get to introduce you to the face of Walking toContinue reading “Book Cover Reveal!”
camino times two 