Pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in Spain
Thanks, Fitbit, for letting us know how absurdly long our dear pilgrim slept last night. 10 hours...Mikey, that should be a sin! As such, we decided to go to the basilica, but - guess what - it wasn't open. Ha! Well, let's give you a brief primer on the Basilica of Mérida just in case …
Thankful for a good night's sleep, we got up at 5:15 am and took a long, hot shower. Now, if you've never done the Camino de Santiago before, this probably doesn't seem like a big deal. However, since pilgrims carry all their gear in a backpack, absolutely no one showers in the morning - otherwise, …
Continue reading "Camino Day 12: Villafranca de los Barros to Mérida"
Zafra turned out to be quite a nice town. Our "discovery" of a castle and the eccentric owner of that restaurant made for a fun time. The nuns (even though Mikey has a morbid, albeit totally unsubstantiated, fear of such orders) had offered a very relaxing experience and the hospitalero even shook Mikey's hand and …
Continue reading "Camino Day 11: Zafra to Villafranca de los Barros"
It rained the entire evening yesterday and all last night, so we cautiously left the convent and decided to go back to the church for a better picture of the tower before heading off into the open countryside. After snapping this image of the bell tower, we walked to a nearby cafe and sat outside …
Last night was a little bizarre. We stayed in an albergue (as usual) but were alone in a dorm room that could house 18 pilgrims! Apparently, no one else showed up and it just worked out that way - but, we did catch Mikey sniffing himself a few times just to make sure. After such …
Continue reading "Camino Day 9: Monesterio to Fuente de Cantos"
As Mikey's bed was located right next to the open kitchen, when a grumpy Italian man started rutting about making his breakfast at 6 am, there was little use in many protestations. However, the final straw was when he turned on the kitchen lights at 6:10 - clearly breaking the 10 pm to 7 am …
Continue reading "Camino Day 8: Almadén de la Plata to Monesterio"
Luckily, Mikey asked for and paid the check when ordering the final course at dinner last night. We downed the coffee and quickly hobbled across the street to the Albergue. Our French friend was waiting to close the gates behind us. Hearing the gates lock behind us as we climbed the stairs, Mikey started humming …
Continue reading "Camino Day 7: Castil Blanco de los Arroyos to Almadén de la Plata"
The first night in an albergue is always interesting. One identifies the snorers (and vows to avoid them for the rest of the trip), figures out group dynamics insofar as leaders/followers go, and (through trial and much error) decides with whom one should converse and whom to avoid. Personally, we met a Dutch father and …
Continue reading "Camino Day 6: Guillena to Castil Blanco de los Arroyos"
Mikey on The Way 