Leaving Castrojeriz there is nothing else for it than to go up and over that hill. You can see it for miles before you get there, and the sign warning you about the 12% incline is not adding to the enthusiasm. The first time I walked over it I wasn’t aware it was coming and … More CF21 Day 3 – Castrojeriz to Boadilla
My first morning actually on the camino started at a reasonable time, and the hospitalero at the Sol a Sol was already serving breakfast downstairs. Young and not so young Lindas and the Dutch lady Linda was walking with, gathered for an early feast of mini croissant, toast, butter, jam and marmelade, plus fruit, nuts, … More CF21 Day 2 – Hornillos to Castrojeriz
Sorry about the delay, but this camino decided to start with a bit of drama. The rain that was forecast seemed to arrive with thunder and lightning in the middle of the night, so I put on my poncho mainly against the wind and set off from Burgos (reluctantly). The first thing I saw and … More CF21 Day 1 – Pilgrims at their best
Yesterday I woke up at an airport hotel and took a prebooked taxi to the airport to make sure I wouldn’t miss my flight to Madrid with all the extra checks, controls, codes etc. I even paid for fast-track through security, which I think most of the passengers had done… So I got there hours … More Burgos – day 0
I know, I know. It covers my conundrum perfectly though. I have been mulling it over for ages now, pros and cons and hopes and dreams and worries and vaccines and all the new paperwork and flights constantly being changed, cancelled and refunded. I would say I have been in two minds, but it’s more … More Should I stay or should I go?
Just before covid struck, the Xuntas introduced the long awaited app for albergue capacity and bed availability during the busy season. Lots of privately owned albergues are already listed on sites like Booking.com and Hotels.com, but the municipals are not – they have always been strictly first come, first served. The idea was that pilgrims … More The albergue app is now scrapped
Some pilgrims bring USB or multi splitter charger plugs on the camino so they won’t hog the sometimes few charging points in an albergue, which is a great idea, but not always ideal as others might not want to just tap into someone else’s plug or get upset if you unplug theirs to replug it … More Top pilgrim tip: Power bank
This weekend the final piece of my next camino puzzle fell into place. I say the final piece – obviously there are still many moving parts: the covid situation in the UK, the covid situation in Spain, the rules and restrictions that could be added or lifted, the success or not of a green digital … More All set!/?
On the camino, there are those that wake up early, rustling quietly (or not) in the dark while packing up, and slip out into the dark well before the sun has started thinking about a new day. They walk by torchlight, crunching along in a moving circle of trail until dawn starts brightening the sky … More A day in the life of a chillgrim
Yesterday I got a reminder from my email calendar – my refund voucher for the cancelled Iberia flight, booked for a quick Inglés long ago, was about to expire. Basically a case of use it or lose it. Well, lose it wasn’t an option, was it? So I dived into the internet and all the … More Peregrinomics
Somewhere Slowly 