Our stages - Camino Lebaniego (April 2019)

[Anamya]

Hi all

Finally I found some time to write after all the craziness of the last weeks. We just finished the Camino Lebaniego and got back home after the most intense 15 days or our lives (due to camino and non-camino reasons).

Many of you followed my husband situation and recovery here in the forum ( this thread ), and we are thankful for every positive wish. Every day of our walk, we would stop at the churches and make a prayer for everyone who wished us well and helped us on this journey.

In a nutshell, the Lebaniego was very, very tough, and had little to zero facilities at many points. The landscape, however, was mindblowingly beautiful. Given what we went through last week, it was very challenging physically and mentally, even though we were only doing 15-20km days. The trail was never flat, we were always going up and down.

Our stages:
Day 1- San Vicente de La Barquera to Cades (25km)
Day 2 – Cades to Cicera (16km)
Day 3 – Cicera to Potes (19km)
day 4 – Potes to the Monastery of Santo Toribio and back (6km)

Would I recommend this camino? It is quite tough. Probably not for someone who has not done other caminos or other hikes before. But definetly if you are more experienced and can deal with the loneliness and lack of infrastructure, because it is gorgeous. And our arrival in Santo Toribio was on of the most welcoming, beautiful experiences we have ever had, beyond any expectation.

And I was usually walking in front of my husband, because the trail was quite narrow in many places. Every time I looked back, I saw his smile and his expression of awe with magnificent landscapes as a background.

After all we went through, there wasn't a more beautiful view in the universe


That said, I will post some comments on what we did each day and my impressions on the trail.

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

Thank you BOTH for your prayers!!!

 

[Anamya]

Day 1- San Vicente de La Barquera to Cades (+-25km)

Serdio: albergue/bar
Munorrodero: inn/restaurant
Cades: albergue/hotel with bar

San Vicente de La Barquera is a lovely little city at a 1-hour-something bus ride from Santander. We left Santander by bus early in the morning and enjoyed an early stroll around the old city, where we got stamps at the Church of Santa Maria de Los Angeles.



I would suggest breaking the first day in half (SVB to Serdio/Munorrodero, and from there to Cades) if people have time. This way, a shorter and less lonely first day can provide an adapting period for this camino, as well as time to buy food to carry with you. The initial kms of the Lebaniego follow the same route as the Norte, so you will see plenty of pilgrims until you reach Muñorrodero.

(From there on, we saw no other pilgrims for the next 3 days...)

We were quite engaged in conversation with a German pilgrim on the Norte when we reached Muñorrodero, and totally missed the split of caminos. We backtracked a few hundred meters after seeing the Muñorrodero crossed sign, a clear sign we had gone too far. Then we had lunch at the city´s restaurant, and it was fabulous. Way more expensive than other Menu del Dia places (18 euros per person), but there was enough food for lunch and dinner on those plates and everything was delicious.

Then we got to the Nansa River, and that's when things got complicated. Although the trail is somewhat clear, I thought most arrows were placed is obvious places, while T-intersections or crossings would have no marking.

It is a beautiful walk, but we soon realised that doing 20-odd km on the first day was too much for us, even though we had done much more than that in previous years. Our bodies were still to tired of the hospital ordeal, and once we entered the senda, there was no way to get a taxi for many kms ahead. So we kept walking.

And we walked.
And walked.
And walked, as you do on the camino. Stopping frequently, dinking a lot of water, and I was always checking to see if he was feeling ok.

There was a moment the trail split into “Senda” and “Variante Água Baixas” (variant for low tides). We took the second. Not a good idea, the more humid soil makes plants grow quicker and the grass was very tall, making the walk a bit harder in some points.



Also, after you leave the Senda and the red arrows signal a weird 180 degree turn towards the road, you can choose between going on the road until Cades (around 6.8km) or taking another variant by the other side of the Senda (5km). I asked a local, and she said the senda trail was much shorter and quicker to get to Cades. We took that trail.

Bad idea.

The 5km on the sign were measure on flat (or by Cantabrian bears that cannot understand meters) and did not account for the ups and downs of the trail. It was so challenging that at a point it took us 15min to advance 300 meters. I was holding my tears when I heard Clint say “I feel a bit light headed”. I thought our camino was over. But we took lots of breaks, started counting steps, I tried to joke about the situation, and we finally reached Puente del Arrudo. Do not take the second strecht along the senda, stick to the normal camino on the road!

There was a fancy hotel there in Puente, I was happy to pay their high price to get a nice room with a hot shower and very fluffy pillows. Our legs needed a rest, so did my mind. I told Clint I was worried that, if all days were going to be like that, we should not go on with that camino. It was too much. We agreed, had our personal chat with the guy upstairs thanking him for being healthy enough to be in Spain, but also asking for clarity on what to do the next day.

Thankfully it got better.

 

[Anamya]

Day 2 – Cades to Cicera (+-16km)

Lafuente: drinks shop / albergue
Cicera: Hotels/Inns/Albergue/Tavern

We had a restorative night of sleep. An awesome breakfast at the hotel also helped a lot. The walk around Cades in the morning was very tranquil and easy, but we were worried about a stretch along the highway and cliff. The lady from the hotel said it was a quite dangerous pair of kilometers. I had a taxi phone number with me (I always kept one in hand, in case my husband had any emergencies) and we called Marta (+34 619 946 278) after leaving Cades to take us a bit further. After a difficult first day, I was not in the mindset to worry about the highway CA-282 and the cliff. Marta said she does not know why the camino follows that road and hopes the Cantabrian associations or government changes it to a natural trail further from the car and buses, as it can be very, very narrow.

We resumed walking around Venta Fresnedo and took pictures near the church towards Quintanilla, which was closed. The view was beautiful and we did our morning prayers there to thank the forum people.

The store and bar in Quintanilla were also closed, and we kept walking towards Lafuente. The walk there, although along the highway, was much more pleasant and not narrow at all.

There was a cure Romanic church at the entrance of Lafuente, which was unfortunately closed as well. The village has a little bar (only drinks, no food) and an Albergue. We stopped to say hello, but there was no one there. The place was pristine clean, toilets and dormitories were very organized. We stamped our credentials, left a small donativo for the using the toilet and left. We really wanted to thank the hospitaleros, but we could not find them. It was such a lovely albergue, much nicer than many in the Portuguese or Frances. Seemed like a nice place to stay.

(The albergue is the house with a colourful fence. View from the door)

It was an uphill towards Lafuente, and the uphill continued towards Burio and Cicera. We sat on the grass after Burio and had a lovely lunch of bread and salami we had bought the day before. From there on, always uphill towards Cicera. The wet greenery of river Nansa was truly gone, replaced by the incredible profile of Cantabrian mountains.


(Near Burio. Much steeper than it looks.)

Thankfully no Cantabrian bears, and no distance measured in bear meters.

The walk into Cicera was quite lovely. The pueblo itself is super cute, they maintained the stone houses. A Tavern opened in 2018 and serves tasty meals. We ordered a combination of eggs, salamis, fries and enjoyed every bite. They also updated us on taxi numbers and said closest one is Rafa, from Panes, who speaks some English and also does tours in the region: +34 659 201 315.

Our meeting with our host, Bruno, at the Escuela de Cicera inn, was a lesson to not judge a book by the cover. Initially I did not like him or the place, because he smoked a fair bit and the room had lots of pictures of monsters on the walls. I asked Clint what he thought, and he just laughed. “He's a nice guy, just like the ones we see in Bondi”. I told Bruno the paintings on the walls were a bit scary, and then he told me about the local folklore and the Cantabrian magical creatures. We are afraid of the unknown, right? The moment he told me the stories, they were not scary anymore. Not pretty, but not scary – just stories. He also carved nice wood pendants with Celtic motifs.

We soon went to sleep. It was such a good day. It was such a good night. We both felt we were really back on Camino, and we could do it.

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

I NEEDED to read this today!
Printing it out! I will patiently wait for further posts. Given all...ALL, that you and your Mister have gone through in the past few weeks, I am ELATED and thankful to be reading these posts's!

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

Dear Mods... @Kanga , @ivar, @grayland, @Tincatinker and last but NOT least @peregrina2000 ,
May We PLEASE commence an official sub-forum (at the very least) to Camino Lebaniego?

 

[The Kolbist]

Looks like the old route is prolly a better option than the river route.

 

[Anamya]

Looks like the old route is prolly a better option than the river route.

Hard to say as I have not walked the old road route. In hindsight, could have been a better option for us - the shorter route, maybe more infrastructure.

We went for the river because last time on the Portuguese camino Clint had issues with the asphalt, so we opted for an easier terrain for the feet. However we totally underestimated our personal levels of tiredness and health, after what happened on the week prior to this Camino Lebaniego (we were in a plane 2 days after my husband was discharged from hospital).

For a healthy person, I can't deny it is a beautiful route. There are waterfalls and lots of trees. Maybe just breaking the first day into 2 (SVdlBarquera-Serdio-Cades) already solves the problem.

 

[The Kolbist]

I would take the old route with an infrastructure (places to get a taxi, food, water, etc) than the river route (with occasional mud and streams to cross and no way to get a taxi just in case). For now, thats the plan plus i’ve heard the original route has beautiful views too. Just have to wear some reflectors to be more visible to motorists just like what we did in CP. Gronze still shows the orig route to be the main route.

 

[Ivan_Prada]

Hi all

Finally I found some time to write after all the craziness of the last weeks. We just finished the Camino Lebaniego and got back home after the most intense 15 days or our lives (due to camino and non-camino reasons).

Many of you followed my husband situation and recovery here in the forum ( this thread ), and we are thankful for every positive wish. Every day of our walk, we would stop at the churches and make a prayer for everyone who wished us well and helped us on this journey.

In a nutshell, the Lebaniego was very, very tough, and had little to zero facilities at many points. The landscape, however, was mindblowingly beautiful. Given what we went through last week, it was very challenging physically and mentally, even though we were only doing 15-20km days. The trail was never flat, we were always going up and down.

Our stages:
Day 1- San Vicente de La Barquera to Cades (25km)
Day 2 – Cades to Cicera (16km)
Day 3 – Cicera to Potes (19km)
day 4 – Potes to the Monastery of Santo Toribio and back (6km)

Would I recommend this camino? It is quite tough. Probably not for someone who has not done other caminos or other hikes before. But definetly if you are more experienced and can deal with the loneliness and lack of infrastructure, because it is gorgeous. And our arrival in Santo Toribio was on of the most welcoming, beautiful experiences we have ever had, beyond any expectation.

And I was usually walking in front of my husband, because the trail was quite narrow in many places. Every time I looked back, I saw his smile and his expression of awe with magnificent landscapes as a background.

After all we went through, there wasn't a more beautiful view in the universe


That said, I will post some comments on what we did each day and my impressions on the trail.

Thanks, Anamya for the update.
The Lord was with you both during the journey. Glad you were able to realize it this year and that it helped to the recovery (of both). For sure there will more Caminos to enjoy in the future.
Blessings

 

[Anamya]

Day 3 – Cicera to Potes (+-19km)

Pendes: cheese shop
Tama: restaurant (but closed on Tuesdays)
Aliezo: gas station that sells drinks
Ojedo: Hotel/restaurant
Potes: Albergue/hotel/inns/restaurants/bus/touristic attractions/gift shops


The next morning, Bruno prepared toasts with jam and coffee for us. We also played with his dog Rasta. She walked with him to Santiago and to Liébana eight times, he said. He also told us how to go from Cicera to Pendes by a greener trail, avoiding the asphalt into Cabañes, called the Rio Robero variant. He stamped our credentials with a cute stamp of a halucinogenic mushroom (no real ones were seem in the premises) and we started our walk.



It was downhill all the way to Lebeña, where a beautiful mozarabe church was built on a former celtic site. It was open, and every 30 minutes there is an explanation in Castillian about the history and architecture of the place. The landscape around is also breathtaking. It was built with the intent of hosting the relics of St toribio, which never happened, but is beautyful nonetheless. We made a nice meditation and long prayer here, thankful for coming so far and seeing so much beauty around us.


(Santa Maria de Lebeña church)

I loved the story about how they had a 2-thousand year old Tejo tree on that spot, which was cared for since the celts. In early 1990s, for the first time a storm was so strong that broke it down, and the city was sad and afraid it could mean the end of their village. Many people tried to replant parts of the tree. One botanist took little branches to Asturias, and one of them survived! The guy then brought it back to Lebeña in the early 2000s and planted it on the same spot. So, if you go there and see a tiny flimsy tree growing in the middle of a broken trunk (with a fence too big for its size around it), that is a branch of that original tree, still surviving even after two thousand years

From there, the uphill towards Allende was quite strong. In the pueblo, the locals have painted over the arrows pointing to Cabañes and made new ones pointing to the Rio Robero variant. It was the one Bruno suggested us to take. We did.

This time, taking the variant was surely the right choice.
In Allende it is easy to follow the signs that point to Rio Robero. Once you get into that trail, the arrows disappear almost completely, but the route is quite clear. And beautiful.
We took a few photos this day, but none could capture how immense and beautiful the place was. The mountains, the snow, the forest and those gigantic stones seemed fairy tale material. We were in awe all the time.

Just notice that there is only you and the nature if you follow this variant. We could eventually see the city of Cabañes on the distance, on the other side of the cliff. If you want any infrastructure, do not take this variant. If you are ok with the wild and want breathtaking views, go for it.


(Cabañes as seen from the Rio Robero variant)

According to Bruno´s explanation and what we saw on the way, these are some reference points:

- Once well into the trail, you will pass by an inclined sign with a faded map and a red arrow pointing to Cabañes on the right. Ignore it, continue on the left.

(ignore the sign pointing uphill. It is VERY steep. Take the narrow path on the left)


- You will keep going up along the river, pass some lovely small waterfalls, until you get to a point where you have to cross the river. There is a shallow area and also a fallen tree that can be used as a bridge.

(not exactly the Golden Gate, but does the job)


- Keep going, you will pass by a second painted red arrow indicating Cabañes to the right, near a sign post without a sign (just the post). Ignore it again, keep to the left (photo below, notice the faint red/white mark on the middle tree).



- Eventually you will notice ou are approaching the top of the mountain and reach a T intersection. There is no indication on where to go. Here you go to the RIGHT for the first and only time in this variant. The left takes you to a fenced private area. The right takes you into an area with 'castaños milenares' (Thousand year-old nut trees). If you see some thick, chunky trees with weird thin branches, you are in the right place.

(Notice the Nut trees near me. From here, it´s downhill towards Pendes and Tama)

From there we reached a road and kept walking into Pendes, managing to arrive at the famous Pendes Queseria (cheese shop) before its closing time (2pm). We bought a delicious blue cheese. According to the guy, they leave the cheese to grow fungus into the local caves, só they have a different flavour to other blue cheeses. Must be some sort of Bear essence. We loved it.

Also, getting the cheese was adamant, as we saw nowhere to eat since we woke up. We had some bread in the backpacks, and our lunch in Pendes was some bread with cave fungus cheese.

After Pendes, the walk towards Tama was downhill. Easy for me, not so much for Clint, that felt his knees complaining even with walking poles.

(Btw, I ended up using my walking poles a lot on the uphills! If you saw the discussions here, well, I got the jist on how to use them uphill and it truly helped. I'm still not a fan of poles on flat or downhill though, in those occasion I'd just strap them to my pack).

Tama, Aliezo and Ojedo were small cities along a highway. We were hoping to find a place to eat something more substantial, but the restaurant in Tama was closed and we ate our last 'ration' from the backpacks: a little box of Frosties I got from breakfast at the Cades expensive hotel two days before.

Also, no restaurant in Aliezo, but there was a gas station selling soft drinks and chocolates. That coke zero tasted better than normal. The guy at the counter said there would be a restaurant at a hotel, approximately 1km ahead.

As distances are quite loose in this camino, I don´t think it was exactly 1km, it was actually less than that. We stopped to eat at the Hotel Infantado, and we were HUNGRY. It was past 4pm and we only had little bits and pieces along the day. Our dirty pilgrim look did not match the crystals and floral wallpapers of the restaurant, but the waiters were super kind and made no distinction between us and the other clients – just asked us to leave our packs in the corner. We ordered a “Cocido lebaniego” (Lebaniego Stew), which is basically a gargantuan amount of pork cooked and diced, served on a plate with chickpeas and cabbage, and a broth on a side bowl for you to mix everything. I must say that that pig and chickpeas did not die in vain, we ate the entire thing and it was delicious.

With renewed energies, we made our way into potes. That was by far the largest city we saw along the entire trail, and it is also very beautiful. There was also plenty of accomodation options, and we opted for a small inn on top of a salami shop called La Antigua.

We also tried the famous drink Orujo, which appearantly has its own festival in Potes during November (95% of hotels already booked out for 2019). The lady in the inn mentioned that producers give free orujo to homeless people, and every distillery competes to present new flavours to buying clients. The pure distilled thing was a bit too much for my taste (40% alcohol), but the creamy one ('only' 17%) was quite similar to Baileys and very nice.

After this long, adventurous, challenging and wonderful day, we had the best and most satifying sleep in many, many days. We are so close now.

 

[Pruden]

Hi all

Finally I found some time to write after all the craziness of the last weeks. We just finished the Camino Lebaniego and got back home after the most intense 15 days or our lives (due to camino and non-camino reasons).

Many of you followed my husband situation and recovery here in the forum ( this thread ), and we are thankful for every positive wish. Every day of our walk, we would stop at the churches and make a prayer for everyone who wished us well and helped us on this journey.

In a nutshell, the Lebaniego was very, very tough, and had little to zero facilities at many points. The landscape, however, was mindblowingly beautiful. Given what we went through last week, it was very challenging physically and mentally, even though we were only doing 15-20km days. The trail was never flat, we were always going up and down.

Our stages:
Day 1- San Vicente de La Barquera to Cades (25km)
Day 2 – Cades to Cicera (16km)
Day 3 – Cicera to Potes (19km)
day 4 – Potes to the Monastery of Santo Toribio and back (6km)

Would I recommend this camino? It is quite tough. Probably not for someone who has not done other caminos or other hikes before. But definetly if you are more experienced and can deal with the loneliness and lack of infrastructure, because it is gorgeous. And our arrival in Santo Toribio was on of the most welcoming, beautiful experiences we have ever had, beyond any expectation.

And I was usually walking in front of my husband, because the trail was quite narrow in many places. Every time I looked back, I saw his smile and his expression of awe with magnificent landscapes as a background.

After all we went through, there wasn't a more beautiful view in the universe


That said, I will post some comments on what we did each day and my impressions on the trail.

I’ll walk Camino Lebaniego/Vadiniense starting Saturday , I know it’s a different and difficult one even I’m use to walk mountains and Camino Frances and also Camino de Invierno.
Thanks for your comments !
Buen Camino

 

[Csutak]

Good luck, Pruden!
Last year I wanted to walk there, but after all didn't dare to walk alone.
Maybe next year.

 

[Pruden]

Good luck, Pruden!
Last year I wanted to walk there, but after all didn't dare to walk alone.
Maybe next year.

I’m walking alone and I think I’m ready for that , but I don’t want to give it for granted because anything can happen on the way.
Thanks for your words!
Buen camino anywhere.

 

[Csutak]

Wish you all the best, Pruden! Take care of the weather.. it might be dangerous in the mountains in bad weather.

There are some other forum topics about this Camino. Have you read them?
Also, while I am reading Anamya's report, I am following her and her husband on the map and videos.

 

[VNwalking]

Holy moley, what an amazing walk you two had @Anamya !
I can't tell you how happy I am for you both, after that terrible scare you had.

After all we went through, there wasn't a more beautiful view in the universe

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

(And now there is another camino I want to walk. Sigh.)

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

...Hard to say as I have not walked the old road route. In hindsight, could have been a better option for us - the shorter route, maybe more infrastructure...Maybe just breaking the first day into 2 (SVdlBarquera-Serdio-Cades) already solves the problem.

This is what we've already been considering since, we both prefer days of less than 15km. There's so much to learn from your experience so, thank you for posting!

 

[Michael; Camino-addicted]

I’ll walk Camino Lebaniego/Vadiniense starting Saturday ,

I walked this way with my sister in 2017 and it was fantastic. It was my sevens camino and for sure the one with the most beautiful nature. We walked the route at Rio Nansa and for us it was like Garden Eden. But every pilgrim has another background of sportiness and health situation. For us it was perfect.

If it fits into your plan, I have a BIG recommendation for the albuerges in Lafuente, Portilla de la Reina, Horcadas and Gradefes. Portilla de la Reina is more a hostal, but the others are "real" albergues. The (I think polish") hospitalero in Lafuente cooked a wonderful meal and we had an amazing evening with campfire in front of the house. The meal in Portila was to fall on your knees and in Horcadas is a complet house with a very good equipt kitchen (buy your stuff in Riano). The Albergue in Gradefes is at the very end of the village and is also full equipt. In general, all the Albergues on this way were good, except Cistierna. There is no doubt that this Albergue also has everything that is needed for accommodation, but the situation around the house was quite unpleasant. And it was right between the two grandiose hostels in Horcadas and Gradefes.

Take care of enough water in your backpack, there are sometimes long distances without any chance to fill up the bottles, especially on the second part of the way.

We met between the split of the Norte in Serdio and Leon only a few pilgrims, the last one in Potes, and we enjoyed it very much to have so much time together as siblings, first time since our childhood..

It will be a special experience.

Buen Camino

 

[Csutak]

These forum topics might help those who are planning to walk the Camino Lebaniego:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/camino-vadiniense-in-september.59622/

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/guides-to-lebaniego-and-vadiniense.51676/

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/caminos-lebanejo-vadiniense-viejo-salvador-too-much-asphalt.54941/

 

[Anamya]

I walked this way with my sister in 2017 and it was fantastic. It was my sevens camino and for sure the one with the most beautiful nature. We walked the route at Rio Nansa and for us it was like Garden Eden. But every pilgrim has another background of sportiness and health situation. For us it was perfect.

I totally agree, Michael! If we were at our normal fitness level, it would have been a great walk by the river. It was just a misjudgement (as we do along caminos...) in distance that made this day difficult for us.
Interestingly, we did not see any other pilgrim along the route. But at Nansa river, we saw many families walking the opposite way, as it was a sunny Sunday and people like to go for a walk in that area.

Take care of enough water in your backpack, there are sometimes long distances without any chance to fill up the bottles, especially on the second part of the way.

Very wise advice. We could not find places to have a meal for lunch on days 2 and 3, neither places to refill the water. We relied on what we were carrying on the backpacks - water, bread, salami, cheese.

Also agreed with the Lafuente albergue. Very nice place, very clean and welcoming.

Will soon post day 4, thanks everyone for the support
Clint is much better now, walking, talking, just gets a bit confused at times, but doctors said it is normal and may take a while to be 100%. The camino surely helped healing and gave him some 'headspace' to relieve all the stress and pressures.
This forum is filled with awesome people

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

@Michael; Camino-addicted & @Csutak thanks for sharing!
Cantabria has its own website with Camino Lebaniego and Norte information. Not sure how current it is: https://www.caminolebaniego.com/camino-lebaniego/descripcion-de-etapas

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

...will soon post day 4, thanks everyone for the support
Clint is much better now...
This forum is filled with awesome people

Looking forward to it!

So happy to read this, about Clint. Still blows my mind, what happened less than a month ago? WOW

This forum is a sweet blessing.

 

[Anamya]

Cantabria has its own website with Camino Lebaniego and Norte information. Not sure how current it is: https://www.caminolebaniego.com/camino-lebaniego/descripcion-de-etapas

It is reasonably updated and reliable, @RumAndChupacabras. People just have to be prepared to find bars and others places closed.

The monastery people also keeps a facebook page with useful information on events, discounts and info on the Cantabria region: https://www.facebook.com/CaminoLebaniego/

 

[Csutak]

Anamya, thank you for all the information you have shared with us!
God bless you both!
I wish you as many Caminos in the future as you want!

 

[Csutak]

These videos are also worth seeing - they prove that the road along the river (on the first day) is quite "durro", especially when it's wet.

 

[Anamya]

These videos are also worth seeing

They surely are!
We watched those videos so many times before we went, and also while we were in Cades at night, recovering from the first day. They give you a very good idea of what to expect (little food and amazing views).

No photo os video captures how beautifu l the place is, though. Our third day was like @Michael; Camino-addicted mentioned, "like Garden of Eden".

 

[Anamya]

Day 4 – Potes to Santo Toríbio de Liébana (+- 6km return)

We slept until later on our last day in the Camino – around 8h30 instead of 7h, as most days. For the first time, we had a 'typical camino breakfast': orange juice, bread, coffee in a bakery somewhere in the town. Temperatures dropped a lot and it was also raining.

Surprisingly, we were so happy with our Camino that the rain was not a problem at all. “Looks like the guy up there sent some rain so we would not carry our ponchos for nothing”, Clint said. Our packs were really light for this camino (5.5kg and 4.7kg, without water), and everything was used.

We wore our ultra-light ponchos (mine I got for free in a fun run in Australia) and started walking out of Potes. A quick stop at the Pilgrim centre to get the last stamps and on our way up to the Monastery!

The trail up there is quite simple. It goes beside the highway, first on a large sidewalk, then on a red painted especial lane. We were going up when a tourist bus passed by us, and we started laughing. “We really chose the hard way up, right?”, we joked, while walking in the rain. Then a second bus passed, prompting more laughter. A few more turns and a third bus passed, this time with people on the windows taking photos of us! We became touristic attractions! The wet pilgrims! We were in such good spirits and having such a good laugh that we did not feel at all the 3km of uphill towards the Monastery. And almost there, a fourth bus passed by us.

What was our surprise, however, when we got there and someone probably mentioned to the priests and volunteers that they saw pilgrims alog the road... they waited for us! Everyone on the buses, they stayed outside the Pilgrim Office and formed a corridor for us to enter. A volunteer, Ms Marga, welcomed us and almost could not believe we had come all the way from Australia. “Two days flying and 4 days walking to get here! Welcome, peregrinos! Welcome, everyone, to the Monastery of Santo Toribio!” And then everyone (us, the people in the buses, Marga) started clapping, hugging each other, rejoicing that we were all there.



The following moments were magical. We entered the Monastery and the priest (which I cannot recall the name and really apologize for it) invited all of us inside the large part of the church. He made a beautiful presentation about the history of the place and how the Lignum Crucis came to Spain. He then took it from its golden altar in a side chapel and brought it to the front, and asked people to line up if they wanted to approach it.

We lined up as well, but Marga called us on the side and said “if you are willing to stay for the Pilgrim mass, you can get closer”. We agreed – it was our intention to stay for the mass anyway. We then just observed people approaching the cross. The reactions varied a lot, from expressions of complete devotion to instagrammable excitement. Once that presentation was over, however, most people went away, and we admired the simple, but beautiful, architecture of the church.



We entered the side chapel and waited for the Pilgrim mass at midday. It was just us, a family with two teenage kids and probably more 6-7 people. The priest stopped by my side and asked if I wanted to make the reading during the Mass. In Castillian. With my heart beating like a drum, I went to the altar with him and opened the book to read the page he pointed.

We had not mentioned to them that Clint was bedridden before the trip. The passage he asked me to read? I kid you not. “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were strengthened.”

I just could not keep in my chest all the gratitude I was feeling – for everyone that helped Clint's recovery, the doctors, the friends, the support from family, forum, work... Gratitude for seeing my husband strong again, for being in Spain, for walking another Camino, for being so welcomed at the monastery, for having such an amazing life so full of opportunities. Omg, the list was immense.

We are not the most religious people, but we do have faith. That service was so moving, Clint was replying in English, myself in a broken Spanish, the people singing with the priest, I had never been to a mass that moved me so much. Then the priest once again opened the altar and got the cross out. And this time, we could approach it, touch it, say a little prayer if we wanted. So I did, and then turned to look at Clint behind me.



He did not ask the priest or the cross for health or protection or anything. He took an envelope from his backpack, and inside he had six photos – six of his Army friends who died serving in the Afeganisthan war. He started crying like I had never seen before, the tears rolling down his face and the sobs echoing accross the chapel. He put the photos near the cross, made a prayer, and the priest hold hands with him and said a few words. The entire chapel went silent, and then the family with the teenagers approached us and hugged Clint. “Thank you for coming here”, they told him. “And thank you for never forgetting your friends.”

At this point I was a mess of emotions. I have never, ever felt so much and so intensily as I did on that day in that monastery. There was so much love pouring out of people that 30 minutes before were complete strangers, I just wish I could give it back somehow. If any of those people is reading this, please, know that those moments were unforgettable.

By the end of the mass, Marga took us for a mini-tour around the open areas of the Monastery, and wrote our certificates (which they ask for a 1 euro donation to make... we were pleased to leave more than that). Then it was time to walk down the road. More hugs, smiles, and long lasting memories created.

So, the monastery is a very interesting building. The Lignum Crucis, undoubtfully an impressive item, kept inside a gorgeous gold and glass case. But the experience, wow, the experience was unbelievable. We walked down the road, back to Potes, in the rain and wind, but there was not a drop of pain or tiredess in our bodies.

We got back to Potes, looking for a place to have lunch. Holding hands. Smiling. Laughing. There is definetively a lot of love in the world, and along the last two weeks, we were blessed with the opportunity to feel a lot of it.

Thank you all. Sincerely,
Ana and Clint.

 

[Pruden]

Wish you all the best, Pruden! Take care of the weather.. it might be dangerous in the mountains in bad weather.

There are some other forum topics about this Camino. Have you read them?
Also, while I am reading Anamya's report, I am following her and her husband on the map and videos.

Yes I have some information and also I got the App Camino Lebaniego, but usually I go my way and don’t use much of technology , even I got lost doing Camino de Invierno 2 year ago.
Thanks for your words!
Buen Camino

 

[The Kolbist]

Day 4 – Potes to Santo Toríbio de Liébana (+- 6km return)

We slept until later on our last day in the Camino – around 8h30 instead of 7h, as most days. For the first time, we had a 'typical camino breakfast': orange juice, bread, coffee in a bakery somewhere in the town. Temperatures dropped a lot and it was also raining.

Surprisingly, we were so happy with our Camino that the rain was not a problem at all. “Looks like the guy up there sent some rain so we would not carry our ponchos for nothing”, Clint said. Our packs were really light for this camino (5.5kg and 4.7kg, without water), and everything was used.

We wore our ultra-light ponchos (mine I got for free in a fun run in Australia) and started walking out of Potes. A quick stop at the Pilgrim centre to get the last stamps and on our way up to the Monastery!

The trail up there is quite simple. It goes beside the highway, first on a large sidewalk, then on a red painted especial lane. We were going up when a tourist bus passed by us, and we started laughing. “We really chose the hard way up, right?”, we joked, while walking in the rain. Then a second bus passed, prompting more laughter. A few more turns and a third bus passed, this time with people on the windows taking photos os us! We became touristic attractions! The wet pilgrims! We were in such good spirits and having such a good laugh that we did not feel at all the 3km of uphill towards the Monastery. And almost there, a fourth bus passed by us.

What was our surprise, however, when we got there and someone probably mentioned to the priests and volunteers that they saw pilgrims alog the road... they waited for us! Everyone on the buses, they stayed outside the Pilgrim Office and formed a corridor for us to enter. A volunteer, Ms Marga, welcomed us and almost could not believe we had come all the way from Australia. “Two days flying and 4 days walking to get here! Welcome, peregrinos! Welcome, everyone, to the Monastery of Santo Toribio!” And then everyone (us, the people in the buses, Marga) started clapping, hugging each other, rejoicing that we were all there.

View attachment 56920

The following moments were magical. We entered the Monastery and the priest (which I cannot recall the name and really apologize for it) invited all of us inside the large part of the church. He made a beautiful presentation about the history of the place and how the Lignum Crucis came to Spain. He then took it from its golden altar in a side chapel and brought it to the front, and asked people to line up if they wanted to approach it.

We lined up as well, but Marga called us on the side and said “if you are willing to stay for the Pilgrim mass, you can get closer”. We agreed – it was our intention to stay for the mass anyway. We then just observed people approaching the cross. The reactions varied a lot, from expressions of complete devotion to instagrammable excitement. Once that presentation was over, however, most people went away, and we admired the simple, but beautiful, architecture of the church.

View attachment 56921

We entered the side chapel and waited for the Pilgrim mass at midday. It was just us, a family with two teenage kids and probably more 6-7 people. The priest stopped by my side and asked if I wanted to make the reading during the Mass. In Castillian. With my heart beating like a dum, I went to the altar with him and opened the book to read the page he pointed.

We had not mentioned to them that Clint was bedridden before the trip. The passage he asked me to read? I kid you not. “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were strengthened.”

I just could not keep in my chest all the gratitude I was feeling – for everyone that helped Clint's recovery, the doctors, the friends, the support from family, forum, work... Gratitude for seeing my husband strong again, for being in Spain, for walking another Camino, for being so welcomed at the monastery, for having such an amazing life so full of opportunities. Omg, the list was immense.

We are not the most religious people, but we do have faith. That service was so moving, Clint was replying in English, myself in a broken Spanish, the people singing with the priest, I had never been to a mass that moved me so much. Then the priest once again opened the altar and got the cross out. And this time, we could approach it, touch it, say a little prayer if we wanted. So I did, and then turned to look at Clint behind me.

View attachment 56922

He did not ask the priest or the cross for health or protection or anything. He took an envelope from his backpack, and inside he had six photos – six of his Army friends who died serving in the Afeganisthan war. He started crying like I had never seen before, the tears rolling down his face and the sobs echoing accross the chapel. He put the photos near the cross, made a prayer, and the priest hold hands with him and said a few words. The entire chapel went silent, and then the family with the teenagers approached us and hugged Clint. “Thank you for coming here”, they told him. “And thank you for never forgetting your friends.”

At this point I was a mess of emotions. I have never, ever felt so much and so intensily as I did on that day in that monastery. There was so much love pouring out of people that 30 minutes before were complete strangers, I just wish I could give it back somehow. If any of those people is reading this, please, know that those moments were unforgettable.

By the end of the mass, Marga took us for a mini-tour around the open areas of the Monastery, and wrote our certificates (which they ask for a 1 euro donation to make... we were pleased to leave more than that). Then it was time to walk down the road. More hugs, smiles, and long lasting memories created.

So, the monastery is a very interesting building. The Lignum Crucis, undoubtfully an impressive item, kept inside a gorgeous gold and glass case. But the experience, wow, the experience was unbelievable. We walked down the road, back to Potes, in the rain and wind, but there was not a drop of pain or tiredess in our bodies.

We got back to Potes, looking for a place to have lunch. Holding hands. Smiling. Laughing. There is definetively a lot of love in the world, and along the last two weeks, we were blessed with the opportunity to feel a lot of it.

Thank you all. Sincerely,
Ana and Clint.

This is like watching “Footprints” again... gracias por compartir... we wish to have the same experience next year..

 

[Anamya]

This is like watching “Footprints” again... gracias por compartir... we wish to have the same experience next year..

I really hope you have a similar experience, Kolbist! It was a tough trail, but so special!

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

@Csutak Holy Mole', what an eye opener, Etapa 2 video is ! That will kick my heinie unless, I start training on Mt. Charleston NOW.
@Anamya, now I'm really impressed with what you and Clint achieved!

 

[The Kolbist]

I really hope you have a similar experience, Kolbist! It was a tough trail, but so special!

It's actually the wife who hates to walk in the mud coz it really slows you down and I tend to agree with her. Anyway, I could not find a single video that uses the original route via Bielva on CA-850 so if it rains the night before we may have to take CA-850 (main route) from Hortigal and plan to do 2 stages to Santo Toribio from San Vicente otherwise we'll take the Senda route (river route) and do it in 3 stages. We'll just rely on Prov 3:5-6.

 

[Csutak]

Dear Anamya, your story and experiences are so moving that they moved me to tears.
I can well imagine your feelings because I had two similarly emotional experiences a few years ago in Santiago in the Convento de San Francisco.

 

[Anamya]

@Csutak Holy Mole', what an eye opener, Etapa 2 video is ! That will kick my heinie unless, I start training on Mt. Charleston NOW.
@Anamya, now I'm really impressed with what you and Clint achieved!

Of course we were not in our normal fit state, but for me, the first 3 days were like doing Cebreiro after Cebreiro (CF), followed by the Alto da Portela (CP).
With much more stunning views though. I Dont think that video or photo can properly capture it.

 

[Michael; Camino-addicted]

like doing Cebreiro after Cebreiro (CF), followed by the Alto da Portela (CP).

A very good description of the route

For us the most difficult section was between Lebana and Cabanes. It was so steep and the sun was burning and in between I wished just to sit here in the middle of the small road and wait for the end. Fortunately not every wish is fulfilled immediately

But when we where on top, life came back into my body because the view was incredibly beautiful. This ascent is worth every drop of sweat.

The following day on the way to Espinama / Fuente Dé was much easier, although it has much more altitude difference. When we walked away from the river in the valley, it was around 12km only up, but much more steady, not so steep and nearly always in the light forest. Good to walk when you take enough time. But also at this stage you have to carry food and enough water. There is nothing except beautiful nature between Arenos and Pido and we walked, I would say, 4 hours.

 

[Anamya]

For us the most difficult section was between Lebana and Cabanes. It was so steep and the sun was burning and in between I wished just to sit here in the middle of the small road and wait for the end. Fortunately not every wish is fulfilled immediately

But when we where on top, life came back into my body because the view was incredibly beautiful. This ascent is worth every drop of sweat.

Can't agree more. In our case, it was cloudy, so no burns. But the neverending uphill... Finally ends in a stunning place.

Another thing that is important to mention is that the Monastery closes between 1pm and 4pm, so people have to time their arrival. Pilgrim mass is at midday and they usually bring the cross out if there are pilgrims, we were told.

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

...followed by the Alto da Portela (CP)...

Guessing because I always called it La Bruja is why I didn't notice this before. Er meh Gerd! That was a beast to me...thought my heart was going to fly out my mouth. So, I REALLY need to work on this.

BTW, if any of you ever come out to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, take advantage of some awesome hiking, only minutes away from the Strip! Mount Charleston is 11,916 feet (3,632 m). There's also Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire

 

[AshIreGal]

I walked this way with my sister in 2017 and it was fantastic. It was my sevens camino and for sure the one with the most beautiful nature. We walked the route at Rio Nansa and for us it was like Garden Eden. But every pilgrim has another background of sportiness and health situation. For us it was perfect.

If it fits into your plan, I have a BIG recommendation for the albuerges in Lafuente, Portilla de la Reina, Horcadas and Gradefes. Portilla de la Reina is more a hostal, but the others are "real" albergues. The (I think polish") hospitalero in Lafuente cooked a wonderful meal and we had an amazing evening with campfire in front of the house. The meal in Portila was to fall on your knees and in Horcadas is a complet house with a very good equipt kitchen (buy your stuff in Riano). The Albergue in Gradefes is at the very end of the village and is also full equipt. In general, all the Albergues on this way were good, except Cistierna. There is no doubt that this Albergue also has everything that is needed for accommodation, but the situation around the house was quite unpleasant. And it was right between the two grandiose hostels in Horcadas and Gradefes.

Take care of enough water in your backpack, there are sometimes long distances without any chance to fill up the bottles, especially on the second part of the way.

We met between the split of the Norte in Serdio and Leon only a few pilgrims, the last one in Potes, and we enjoyed it very much to have so much time together as siblings, first time since our childhood..

It will be a special experience.

Buen Camino

Interesting to read your comment about Cisternia Alberge. I knew that I was going to be arriving late to cisternia about 2 weeks back. I used the first telephone number from one of the lists. Spoke to a nice lady and in fact the phone was passed to a Spanish speaker who asked all the right questions..and then said no problem, just arrive and ring the number on the door and someone will come with key. I turned up at door to a sign OCCUPADO, and local people tut-tutting as I think they were disappointed for me. A local lady stopped and I explained that I had telephoned in advanced. We then rang another number and this lady spoke to Roberto. He said it was OCCUPIED and that was that. This lovely lady then pointed me up the the street again to a helpful family out enjoying the sun, and a senior from this family walked me to Hotel Moderno and I paid €25. I warned the people one day behind me on Olvidado, and then opted for camping .. but that was not a hut.. it was like army beds raised off the floor in an non completely enclosed rent and they FROZE (even though it was really hot during those days). Perhaps, Cisternia has some internal issues to work out. Who knows? The Cisternia people were friendly though.

 

[Mycroft]

Hi all

Finally I found some time to write after all the craziness of the last weeks. We just finished the Camino Lebaniego and got back home after the most intense 15 days or our lives (due to camino and non-camino reasons).

Many of you followed my husband situation and recovery here in the forum ( this thread ), and we are thankful for every positive wish. Every day of our walk, we would stop at the churches and make a prayer for everyone who wished us well and helped us on this journey.

In a nutshell, the Lebaniego was very, very tough, and had little to zero facilities at many points. The landscape, however, was mindblowingly beautiful. Given what we went through last week, it was very challenging physically and mentally, even though we were only doing 15-20km days. The trail was never flat, we were always going up and down.

Our stages:
Day 1- San Vicente de La Barquera to Cades (25km)
Day 2 – Cades to Cicera (16km)
Day 3 – Cicera to Potes (19km)
day 4 – Potes to the Monastery of Santo Toribio and back (6km)

Would I recommend this camino? It is quite tough. Probably not for someone who has not done other caminos or other hikes before. But definetly if you are more experienced and can deal with the loneliness and lack of infrastructure, because it is gorgeous. And our arrival in Santo Toribio was on of the most welcoming, beautiful experiences we have ever had, beyond any expectation.

And I was usually walking in front of my husband, because the trail was quite narrow in many places. Every time I looked back, I saw his smile and his expression of awe with magnificent landscapes as a background.

After all we went through, there wasn't a more beautiful view in the universe


That said, I will post some comments on what we did each day and my impressions on the trail.

Hey, Anamya, I just came across your description of this walk. It sound lovely, albeit difficult, and if it weren't for COVID....
In any case I am curious about the ST monastery. Do pilgrims stay there? About how much do they charge? Do they allow women to stay?
When you say facilities are sparse, do you mean you brought tent and sleeping bag, camp stove, etc?

 

[Anamya]

In any case I am curious about the ST monastery. Do pilgrims stay there? About how much do they charge? Do they allow women to stay?
When you say facilities are sparse, do you mean you brought tent and sleeping bag, camp stove, etc?

Hi Mycroft!
I highly recommend this walk. Maybe not for those pursuing a first camino, but for more seasoned walkers, sure.

Pilgrims do not stay in the Monastery, they have to walk back to Potes for a place to sleep, or keep walking towards Arenos and Fuente De (https://www.gronze.com/etapa/potes/fuente). I recommend arriving at opening (10am) for a visit and then staying for the Mass at noon.
In Potes there are albergues and affordable hotels (and probably fancy ones as well).

I did not bring a tent or a camp stove, and actually wouldn´t feel safe, terrain-wise and weather-wise, to camp in that region. What we did was to study the maps well to always evaluate how much we would have to walk to get to the next food/water/bed location. We always carried bread, salami and water with us, and that was our lunch in some occasions.
We normally don´t do it, but for this walk we booked our accommodation in advance so we would risk being without a bed in the mountains. There are not many options, so Munorrodero, Cades, Lafuente, Cicera, Cabanes e Potes are the common pics.

I hope that helps and you can eventually live this experience. It was amazing

 

[Mycroft]

Hi Mycroft!
I highly recommend this walk. Maybe not for those pursuing a first camino, but for more seasoned walkers, sure.

Pilgrims do not stay in the Monastery, they have to walk back to Potes for a place to sleep, or keep walking towards Arenos and Fuente De (https://www.gronze.com/etapa/potes/fuente). I recommend arriving at opening (10am) for a visit and then staying for the Mass at noon.
In Potes there are albergues and affordable hotels (and probably fancy ones as well).

I did not bring a tent or a camp stove, and actually wouldn´t feel safe, terrain-wise and weather-wise, to camp in that region. What we did was to study the maps well to always evaluate how much we would have to walk to get to the next food/water/bed location. We always carried bread, salami and water with us, and that was our lunch in some occasions.
We normally don´t do it, but for this walk we booked our accommodation in advance so we would risk being without a bed in the mountains. There are not many options, so Munorrodero, Cades, Lafuente, Cicera, Cabanes e Potes are the common pics.

I hope that helps and you can eventually live this experience. It was amazing

Many thanks, Anamya! I hope the world opens up again for my pilgrimage plans. Walking vicariously through the forum really helps me!

 

[The Kolbist]

@Anamya - Hi, I thought there's an albergue right next to the Monastery of Santo Toribio which is managed/owned by the monastery. In fact, in my research you can actually call for reservation. Was it closed when you got there in your camino?

 

[peregrina2000]

I thought there's an albergue right next to the Monastery of Santo Toribio which is managed/owned by the monastery

Unfortunately, it is closed. At least that was my experience in 2011, and is also the current situation according to Gronze.

When I walked, we were allowed to spend two nights in the Potes albergue, which I liked a lot even though it is in the old jail! This gave everyone time to go out to visit the monastery and come back on the day after arrival in Potes.

 

[LesBrass]

Unfortunately, it is closed. At least that was my experience in 2011, and is also the current situation according to Gronze.

When I walked, we were allowed to spend two nights in the Potes albergue, which I liked a lot even though it is in the old jail! This gave everyone time to go out to visit the monastery and come back on the day after arrival in Potes.

we were so disappointed not to be able to visit Potes. We tried a few times but the town was so busy and perhaps only half the folks were wearing masks... this was early July when the numbers were lower then but we weren’t taking any chances. I guess that means we’ll just have to go back again

 

[Anamya]

@Anamya - Hi, I thought there's an albergue right next to the Monastery of Santo Toribio which is managed/owned by the monastery. In fact, in my research you can actually call for reservation. Was it closed when you got there in your camino?

Indeed, there is an albergue slightly down the road. You don´t stay in the Monastery, it is a separate building. It was open when I went there, but currently it is closed. From the official Camino Lebaniego page: https://www.caminolebaniego.com/inf...ues-de-peregrino/34-albergue-de-santo-toribio

 

[davejsy]

Day 4 – Potes to Santo Toríbio de Liébana (+- 6km return)

We slept until later on our last day in the Camino – around 8h30 instead of 7h, as most days. For the first time, we had a 'typical camino breakfast': orange juice, bread, coffee in a bakery somewhere in the town. Temperatures dropped a lot and it was also raining.

Surprisingly, we were so happy with our Camino that the rain was not a problem at all. “Looks like the guy up there sent some rain so we would not carry our ponchos for nothing”, Clint said. Our packs were really light for this camino (5.5kg and 4.7kg, without water), and everything was used.

We wore our ultra-light ponchos (mine I got for free in a fun run in Australia) and started walking out of Potes. A quick stop at the Pilgrim centre to get the last stamps and on our way up to the Monastery!

The trail up there is quite simple. It goes beside the highway, first on a large sidewalk, then on a red painted especial lane. We were going up when a tourist bus passed by us, and we started laughing. “We really chose the hard way up, right?”, we joked, while walking in the rain. Then a second bus passed, prompting more laughter. A few more turns and a third bus passed, this time with people on the windows taking photos of us! We became touristic attractions! The wet pilgrims! We were in such good spirits and having such a good laugh that we did not feel at all the 3km of uphill towards the Monastery. And almost there, a fourth bus passed by us.

What was our surprise, however, when we got there and someone probably mentioned to the priests and volunteers that they saw pilgrims alog the road... they waited for us! Everyone on the buses, they stayed outside the Pilgrim Office and formed a corridor for us to enter. A volunteer, Ms Marga, welcomed us and almost could not believe we had come all the way from Australia. “Two days flying and 4 days walking to get here! Welcome, peregrinos! Welcome, everyone, to the Monastery of Santo Toribio!” And then everyone (us, the people in the buses, Marga) started clapping, hugging each other, rejoicing that we were all there.

View attachment 56920

The following moments were magical. We entered the Monastery and the priest (which I cannot recall the name and really apologize for it) invited all of us inside the large part of the church. He made a beautiful presentation about the history of the place and how the Lignum Crucis came to Spain. He then took it from its golden altar in a side chapel and brought it to the front, and asked people to line up if they wanted to approach it.

We lined up as well, but Marga called us on the side and said “if you are willing to stay for the Pilgrim mass, you can get closer”. We agreed – it was our intention to stay for the mass anyway. We then just observed people approaching the cross. The reactions varied a lot, from expressions of complete devotion to instagrammable excitement. Once that presentation was over, however, most people went away, and we admired the simple, but beautiful, architecture of the church.

View attachment 56921

We entered the side chapel and waited for the Pilgrim mass at midday. It was just us, a family with two teenage kids and probably more 6-7 people. The priest stopped by my side and asked if I wanted to make the reading during the Mass. In Castillian. With my heart beating like a drum, I went to the altar with him and opened the book to read the page he pointed.

We had not mentioned to them that Clint was bedridden before the trip. The passage he asked me to read? I kid you not. “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were strengthened.”

I just could not keep in my chest all the gratitude I was feeling – for everyone that helped Clint's recovery, the doctors, the friends, the support from family, forum, work... Gratitude for seeing my husband strong again, for being in Spain, for walking another Camino, for being so welcomed at the monastery, for having such an amazing life so full of opportunities. Omg, the list was immense.

We are not the most religious people, but we do have faith. That service was so moving, Clint was replying in English, myself in a broken Spanish, the people singing with the priest, I had never been to a mass that moved me so much. Then the priest once again opened the altar and got the cross out. And this time, we could approach it, touch it, say a little prayer if we wanted. So I did, and then turned to look at Clint behind me.

View attachment 56922

He did not ask the priest or the cross for health or protection or anything. He took an envelope from his backpack, and inside he had six photos – six of his Army friends who died serving in the Afeganisthan war. He started crying like I had never seen before, the tears rolling down his face and the sobs echoing accross the chapel. He put the photos near the cross, made a prayer, and the priest hold hands with him and said a few words. The entire chapel went silent, and then the family with the teenagers approached us and hugged Clint. “Thank you for coming here”, they told him. “And thank you for never forgetting your friends.”

At this point I was a mess of emotions. I have never, ever felt so much and so intensily as I did on that day in that monastery. There was so much love pouring out of people that 30 minutes before were complete strangers, I just wish I could give it back somehow. If any of those people is reading this, please, know that those moments were unforgettable.

By the end of the mass, Marga took us for a mini-tour around the open areas of the Monastery, and wrote our certificates (which they ask for a 1 euro donation to make... we were pleased to leave more than that). Then it was time to walk down the road. More hugs, smiles, and long lasting memories created.

So, the monastery is a very interesting building. The Lignum Crucis, undoubtfully an impressive item, kept inside a gorgeous gold and glass case. But the experience, wow, the experience was unbelievable. We walked down the road, back to Potes, in the rain and wind, but there was not a drop of pain or tiredess in our bodies.

We got back to Potes, looking for a place to have lunch. Holding hands. Smiling. Laughing. There is definetively a lot of love in the world, and along the last two weeks, we were blessed with the opportunity to feel a lot of it.

Thank you all. Sincerely,
Ana and Clint.

Oh my gosh, how beautiful and moving to read of your experience at the monastery