Last updated Nov 18, 2021 | Published on Oct 31, 2021 | Hiking in Spain, Portuguese Camino
“¡Buenos dÃas!” said a friendly-looking man, waving at me from the other side of a fence. The greeting broke me out of my reverie. I had headphones in and my mind was miles away. I removed my earbuds and smiled, looking around. The man was standing in a...
Last updated Nov 6, 2021 | Published on Oct 28, 2021 | Hiking in Spain, Portuguese Camino
I awoke this morning feeling much better than I did yesterday. I still felt a bit tired, but otherwise much improved. It seems that spending the day in bed was exactly what I needed. Time to continue along the Portuguese Camino towards Santiago de Compostela! I was a...
Last updated Nov 6, 2021 | Published on Oct 25, 2021 | Hiking in Spain, Portuguese Camino
I awoke to a dingy hotel room with a sore back and a headache. My body felt as if I had gotten hit by a truck. I had slept poorly the previous night thanks to an extra firm mattress. My trick of stuffing pillows under my hips and shoulders had helped a little, but not...
Last updated Nov 6, 2021 | Published on Oct 22, 2021 | Hiking in Spain, Portuguese Camino
“Una copa de vino blanco de la casa por favor,” I said to our server. The woman taking our order was the owner of the both the café and also the adjoining albergue (hostel) in which we were sleeping that night. In fact, Natalia and I had given her all our...
Last updated Nov 6, 2021 | Published on Oct 20, 2021 | Hiking in Portugal, Hiking in Spain, Portuguese Camino
Sunlight streamed through the windows of my hotel room and nudged me awake. I groaned. We had stayed up a bit later than I had intended the previous night. And we drank a lot of wine. By this point, I had been walking every day for a week. I was ready for a day off....