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On the Camino: One Day at a Time, one Photo at a Time 10.0

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More 2024 Camino Guides available
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I don’t know why the photo appeared twice, sorry about that!
 
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Camino Frances
Samos
Rúa do Salvador
La Capela do Ciprés/ the Cypress Chapel

photo taken December 1, 2013



Located + - 100 m. from the main Samos monastery La Capela do Ciprés which contains the oldest remnants of the original complex may once have been a monastic cell. This chapel is named for an adjacent millennial cypress tree 25 m. tall, one of the most notable trees in Spain.
 
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Anne&Pat,
Thank you for you kind comment and this splendid photo. What a joy it is to see and share such beauty on this forum. Long may it be so.
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
April 21, 2022 First day on the Camino Invierno!
Until this day, I had been walking the Camino Frances for the third time, enjoying the comfort of knowing what was coming next, but now everything was new and exciting.
On this day I walked from Molinaseca to Villavieja, with a long and exhausting climb to the albergue carrying all my food for dinner and breakfast the next morning. I should have brought enough for lunch as well, because there was nothing open until Santalla del Bierzo, the last stop before the climb.
The views over the valley, where everyone I had already met would be walking on to Cacabelos and then to Villafranca del Bierzo, were spectacular. The photo is of the path up to Villavieja.
 
del Norte July 7, 2019. Up, up, up for at least a kilometer, whew! Very steep leaving Zarautz after being told there is no bed available. I cried as I was already exhausted and not sure where I was headed. If I would have known what I know now I would've taken the walkway along the water to Getaria instead of taking the more challenging way. I had started in San Sebastian this added an additional 5.3 k.

 
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Camino Frances
Casanova
horreo/granary

photo taken December 5, 2013



Casanova is a rural Galician hamlet west of Palas de Rei and east of Melide. Throughout Galicia the CF passes through many small hamlets which have such granaries.
Fellow walker D. Madill in his 2014 blog Galician Granaries provides extensive research re the history/location/protection of these vernacular structures.
 
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I will walk my first Camino in 2024 and I have thought about walking CF to Ponferrado then diverting to the Invierno. My guidebook says the Invierno is not recommended for first time pilgrims. What do you think?
 
LenB said:
I will walk my first Camino in 2024 and I have thought about walking CF to Ponferrado then diverting to the Invierno. My guidebook says the Invierno is not recommended for first time pilgrims. What do you think?
Click to expand...
LenB said:
I will walk my first Camino in 2024 and I have thought about walking CF to Ponferrado then diverting to the Invierno. My guidebook says the Invierno is not recommended for first time pilgrims. What do you think?
Click to expand...
After you have walked the CF as far as Ponferrada, you won’t really be a first time pilgrim, and you should be ready to tackle the Invierno. Some of the days are longer by necessity, as there is no option for a stopping place in between, and this makes it, in my opinion, more difficult than the Frances. But the scenery is wonderful and the route much more solitary than the Frances. I did it at 73 years of age so I would think you will be fine!
I wasn’t sure, early on in my Camino, if I would take the Invierno or stay on the Frances, but I had allowed enough time for the couple of extra days it would take and by the time I got close to Ponferrada, I felt that I was ready for the challenge.
Buen Camino!
Rowena
 
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April 22, 2022 Camino Invierno

A shorter walk on the second day, about 12 km from Villavieja to Las Medulas to allow time for a good lunch at Hotel Medulio and for exploring the paths around Las Medulas and the incredibly steep climb up to the mirador and the galeria. An amazing landscape, formed by the Romans rather than by nature, but spectacular all the same.

 
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Camino Frances
east of Melide/near O Coto

photo taken December 5, 2013



Near here I once wearily stopped to eat a second breakfast in the patio of a rather chic, but friendly, casa rural. A small van of tourists arrived and a few hyper-tidy ‘Sunday pilgrims’ with walking sticks, but no packs, exited in order to sample the trail! Spotting my pack and shell they politely asked “How long have you been walking?” “48 days!” I answered. Stunned they dashed to the bar and never moved on.
... Chacun a son gout!
 
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23rd, May, 2022. Making up for being unable to post yesterday, with two photos of the same thing!

The first is the view of Ermita de la Virgen de La Pena ( Our Lady of the Crag), which is found about 1km from Tosantos, taken from the village. It’s built into the side of the cliffs with a 12thC image of the Christ Child.

The second was taken five minutes later leaving Tosantos and looking back at the Ermita.
 
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Camino Frances
Melide
Rúa Codeseira, 43

photo taken December 5, 2013



In Melide the Hospedaje/ Restaurante Sony had good food, friendly service, low prices and much macho atmosphere. Road workers, police, and lorry drivers eat here as did I during many caminos. December 2013, when the Xunta albergue was closed for renovation I stayed here in a small single room with private loo/shower and glorious heat. It was a comfy stop for that cold winter night!
 
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Camino Frances
west of Arca
photo taken December 8, 2013



As the sun rose on this frigid December morning frozen fields sparkled like crystal. The weather was perfect for walking the last 20 km into Santiago de Compostela and up the hill to the cathedral for the 9th time. Weeping upon arrival I touched again the ancient stones and offered silent thanks for all that had been which enabled this camino.
 
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Anne&Pat said:
24th, May, 2022. Between the Monumento de Los Caidos and San Juan de Ortega.
View attachment 134022
Click to expand...
I'm sorry Anne and Pat but I disagree.
This seems more like an artistic expression than a monument to the "caidos". I'll try to explain.
"Caidos" in Spanish, is what the "franquistas" only called their dead. The look of these monuments were gray and fascit.

Near San Juan de Ortega there is a monument that marks the mass grave where 300 republicans were rifled. This monument was made by his relatives. In some guide it is labeled as a monument to the caidos. According to google it is called Monumento La Pedraja. Maybe it's a confusion

https://www.google.com/maps/place/M...bac114096db243d!8m2!3d42.3729423!4d-3.3419118

 
I think that @Anne&Pat is placing that extraordinary glade of wooden sculptures between those two points, rather than suggesting that it is a monument to the Civil War dead itself.
 
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No problems Josep. We have stopped twice at the very moving monument on the Camino, between Villafranca and San Juan de Ortega, and said a prayer for those commemorated there.
 
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€46,-
Camino Frances
Santiago de Compostela

photo taken December 10, 2013



When leaving Santiago de Compostela
in the pre dawn rain I silently vowed to return again next year on foot and then turned west to slowly walk towards the sea at Muxia.
 
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Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
A rather incongruous phone on a wall next to the Plaza Mayor in Madrid. Taken last month on my way back from the Norte.

The wiring is old; it needs wound up; the earpiece is shot; and it sits at a height where most people would not be able to use the mouthpiece. But why is it there?
 

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April 26, 2022 Approaching A Pobra do Brollón, Camino Invierno



I had planned two days from Quiroga to Monforte de Lemos, a distance of about 37 km, but all the accommodation in between was closed at that time, so with the help of a taxi, I started at the medieval bridge A Ponte, making the distance about 20 km. I had the impression that the driver was used to dropping pilgrims off at that spot!
It was disappointing, though, to not have been able to walk the entire way, and it put me a day ahead of schedule to arrive in Santiago. On the bright side, next I could take a rest day and explore Monforte de Lemos.
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
towards the sea
Muxia

photo taken December 13, 2013



The sky cleared and the sun shone as I approached the Muxia shore after the last wet trudge along remote forest paths.
I had walked from Santiago to Muxia staying at pilgrim albergues in Negreira, Santa Mariña de Maroñas, and Dumbria. Since heavy rain and strong wind were the daily norms on this solitary route perseverance was peremptory.

...Thus exhausted yet euphoric I reached the true end of my 9th camino.
 
We met this man walking with his son near Villafranca. I had stopped to pick up a chestnut to look at it. The man took out his knife and cut into it to show us the inside. We had a chat and he invited us to stop at his nearby farm to eat fruit. A camino regret that we didn't take him up on his kind offer. October 5, 2012.

 
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April 27, 2022 It doesn’t get any better than this!
The view from my window at Hotel Puente Romano in Monforte de Lemos, a lovely town where the Counts of Lemos used to reside on top of the hill. A great place for a rest day, with a fruteria around one corner, a café around another, shops close by and stuff to explore on top of the hill.
Camino Invierno

 
Rowena said:
April 27, 2022 It doesn’t get any better than this!
The view from my window at Hotel Puente Romano in Monforte de Lemos
Click to expand...
Haha, that's a bit creepy. I could have sworn you posted my photo, but the trees aren't in leaf in yours, and my pic is not cropped - your pic is definitely better!
And I totally concur. It is one of the best views ever.

And
 
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Is David still there? I know he's had a couple of breaks over the years.
I'm tempted to swing over that way as I come up from the VdlP next year.
He's a very special guy...... you sense it right away.
 
Robo said:
Is David still there? I know he's had a couple of breaks over the years.
I'm tempted to swing over that way as I come up from the VdlP next year.
He's a very special guy...... you sense it right away.
Click to expand...
Indeed.David is very special. Fellow forum member NobleHiker stopped at the Casa earlier this spring.
 
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Rowena said:
April 28, 2022 Looking back at the Igrexia San Salvador de Moreda presiding over the Galician countryside.
Camino Invierno
Click to expand...
That was such a lovely place to pause!
A little farther along, in Pineiro, looking back towards Monforte:

Beware of the Border Collie here. She might lick you to death.
 
October 6, 2013 --- My first, My Best. 34 days SJPdP to Santiago de Compostela.

As I sit here today, I can't believe it was I on that trail nine years ago. How did I get so fortunate to experience such a thing? Something that for me was orchestrated by God from inception to completion, I was just a willing passenger. I will long for those days on the Camino at that time in 2013 knowing I can never have a first again.
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Camino Frances
west of Murias de Rechivaldo,
east of Santa Catalina de Somoza

photo taken November 16, 2011



Snow-capped mountains marked the distant CF route along the horizon west of Murias de Rechivaldo.
Indeed on this mid November day "winter was coming"; thankfully I was prepared for winter weather!
 
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27th, May, 2022. Statue of Santiago in the Gothic Church of San Roman Plaza de la Iglesia
in Hornillos del Camino. We went to the delightful Pilgrim Mass there in the evening. Following Mass the enthusiastic Priest asked us all to participate in a sing song, singing a song/hymn from our own country. We sang Waltzing Matilda!
 
The castle of Sax, or Sax castle, whichever you prefer, looking more like a Spanish castle than a Spanish castle has a right to look. It is just north of Alicante and you pass it on the Lana or the Levante (they follow the same route to begin with). It was right on the edge of the area disputed between Moors and Christians and changed hands more times than a dollar note - to this day no one is exactly sure who built which bits. 8th May this year. It had just stopped raining and we didn't see any more rain until we were in the Picos.
 
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Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
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dick bird said:
Right at the foot of the castle, I seem to remember. Lovely little museum.
Click to expand...
Yes, agreed Dick.

Haven’t seen any of your posts for awhile and just noticed your new profile on the Forum. Congratulations on your new position as a Moderator ( two from OZ now!), we see you have actually been one for about a month! Fantastic.
 
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Camino Portugués
Pontevedra
Lugar San Amaro 6

photo taken December 12, 2011



Having left the camino path for highway N-550 I was very surprised to spot this airplane! Who knows when, why or how it "landed" north of Ponferrada on route N-550 near the Cafe Maracaibo?
 
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Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Best lightweight Camino guides
Ideal pocket guides for during & after your Camino. Each weighs only 1.4 oz (40g)!
29th, May, 2022. When we arrived in Fromista in 2014, we were too tired and hot to do much exploring, so we didn’t! This year, luckily, it wasn’t quite so hot just warm! We had a great stay with Gabriel in his Albergue Luz de Fromista and also managed to visit the amazing 11thC Iglesia San Martin, with its many beautiful capitals. This particular church had been highlighted to us by the Forum members, thank you.
 
Train on the 4-day Catalina Camino
Train for your next Camino on California's Santa Catalina Island March 16-19
30th, May, 2022. We took the river route between Poblacion de Campos and Villalcazar de Sirga and had a beautiful walk. The photo is of us approaching Ermita de la Virgen del rio, which luckily for us was open this time. It wasn’t in 2014.

Coincidentally our photo today follows mspath’s photo today.
 
Rowena said:
May 3, 2022 Puente Ulla, Camino Invierno
These statues are located within the church of Santa Maria Magdalena de Puente Ulla. I was curious about the female figure holding the skull. Does anyone know what this represents?

View attachment 134671
Click to expand...
Rowena,
A skull is a symbol of life's fleetingness and the universality of death. Read more here. This female figure is Santa Maria Magdalena as inscribed on the scupture's support.
For more on her life as depicted in artistic images of Saint Mary Magdalene see this article.
 
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Best lightweight Camino guides
Ideal pocket guides for during & after your Camino. Each weighs only 1.4 oz (40g)!
Leaving for Paris and a 10th CF

photo taken October 13, 2014



At our local station another adventure would begin from home to Paris, then to Bayonne via the overnight sleeper train. Thrilled at this my emotions spun; thankful, respectful and humble, but still curious and with an ever eager heart.
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Theatregal said:
Ten years ago today, October 12, 2012, my first camino arrival, feeling incredibly strong and deeply grateful for this remarkable journey.

View attachment 134717
Click to expand...
Lovely photo. The exhilaration shows.
Aside: That's a big backpack! ...or perhaps a small person
 
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Thank you! When I asked the question, I thought you would know the answer.
I assumed it was Mary Magdalene but hadn’t noticed the inscription on the base of the statue.
 
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May 4, 2022 First view of the cathedral



On this day I walked slowly, not wanting the journey to be over. Sadness always accompanies my arrival in Santiago, along with the realization that I must keep returning to the Camino until I am unable to do so. For me it truly is about the journey.
 
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