Slight change of plans......

After 45 degrees, heavy rain, and blustry wind we decided to find some prettier weather. We took a taxi to Fromista then a bus to Palencia and then a train to Leon! I love Leon! First thing we did when we got here was walk past their magnificient cathedral. Next we checked into the alberque. The rooms are separated into men, women and married. I thought that was funny. They had a picture on the co-ed bathroom that had a stickfigure man + sitckfigure women = stickfirugre child with a lollypop.

After the albergue we found one of my favorite places in Leon: McDonalds! Nothing like a good old fashioned burger to make you feel at home. After that we went to the albergue and washed clothes..... In a machine and with soap! What a luxury! Later we went to a vesper service and then to mass. After that we went to sleep early.

We got a hotel to get a break from the snorring in the albergue and are going to spend the night in Leon. After we get all of our pictures uploaded (which takes a long while) we are going to go to the two cathedrials in Leon and then go to the castle. I think lunch or dinner may be at Burger King. The Spaniards are scandalized.

Everyone should check out the pictures that we posted on my profile today!

Just out for a pleasure cruise at night. Through... eel infested waters...

This is not the Meseta I remember. Last time I walked through the Meseta it was hot; very hot. Today we walked from Castrojeriz and it was cold; very cold. I could have handled the cold but it was also windy and raining. We only walked ten kilometers and decided the we had entered Camino Hell and it was time to stop for the day. The rain turned the mud path into a slip and slide. As I was walking, my feet slid, but I never fell. The wind blew the rain into our face and it stung because the wind was blowing so hard. I would write about the scenery however my face was buried in my pancho.

One of the problems with the Camino through the Meseta is that you cannot walk small distances. You have to commit to at least 10 kilometers before you reach the next town. Tomorrow we have a few smaller distances. Which is good because the weather doesn´t look like it is going to get much better... for the next 5 DAYS! I looked at the forcast through Monday. It looks much like the same. The wether is about 50 degrees before the wind chill which takes the temperature down to about 40 degrees.

¡Buen Camino!

Some amazing people

I met one amazing lady on this trip. Several days ago, we were leaving Pamplona early in the morning and a lady asked us in her very broken English, "Do... you... know... the way... out of the city?" We said we thought so and she was more than welcome to stay with us as long as she liked. Karstr (sounds like car-star) is from Germany and began to tell me what brought her on the Camino. She said her mother and husband had passed away several years ago and she had no children. She had taken this as a wonderful chance to travel since she had no one to worry about her and did not have to call home. She was free as a bird. She had sung in a choir at her church for several years and loved it.

Now she decided to travel further and walk the Camino. She started walking in Germany a few months ago and then came to France. She said, "The weather was just too bad, so I took a bus." Then she started in St. Jean in France (which Trey and I started the day after this cause it was way too hard without training). And this lady decided to SLOW DOWN to walk with us. My feet were hurting so bad then that we stopped for about two hours to rest and Karstr stayed with us. Then she doctored my feet and waited on us and then began again with us.

I asked her how she was able to do this alone. She said, "God gives me strength for today! If I do not have Him, I have nothing. That is what keeps me going." She continued on ahead of us and we have seen her a few times since. She is doing so well and we hope to see her again soon. She plans to walk all the way to Santiago.

Karstr will turn 72 in September.

On we go!!!

We continue on down the path of Santiago. Today we walked in some amazing weather to start the Meseta. The breeze was perfect and the clouds filled the sky. No hot weather to worry about today. We passed through some Medieval ruins that have been around since the 15th century. When we arrived in Castrojeriz, we went to Mass and saw several ancient artifacts in the church. We arrived at our hostal around 1:30 and made it right before it started raining. Tonight we will stay in a small albergue and get up around 5:30 and start walking again in the morning!

Two days ago we stayed a full day in Burgos and it was absolutely amazing!!! It was a huge town and we saw an old cathedral that took us almost 2 hours to see. Several paintings were collected here and they are restoring several parts of the interior and exterior of the building.

We saw several friends then and said goodbye to many. Everyone here is traveling at different paces. Some have more time than others and some walk much further than others.

Trey and I miss you guys and look forward to seeing you when we get home!

Kelsea

Grañon to Tosantos

Hello again!!!
We had an amazing time in the albergue last night! We stayed in a peroquial albergue, which means it is owned by the church, donation only, and run by different volunteers throughout the year. It was beautiful! The albergue was in a bell tower attached to the cathedral and we got to got to the top of the tower and see the town. We arrived and asked if we were at the albergue and asked if this was it and they said, "This is not an albergue! It is a hospital! We are here to take care of you and give you whatever you need." It was a breath of fresh air to have such amazing people there. The donations from the people who stay the night before pay for the food for the following day. The donation box was open and had a sign on it that read, "Give what you can, take what you need." Absolutely amazing. I should live my life like that more often. We all pitched in and cooked dinner together in Grañon, as well as Los Arcos the night before, and now we will do the same tonight in Tosantos.

Tomorrow will be our day of rest and we will most likely take a bus or taxi into Burgos and spend the day resting and seeing some of the town.

Check out Trey´s Facebook profile and we have several pictures from the first part of the trip posted!

Talk to you again soon!!!!
Kelsea

A typical day

Here is a typical day on the Camino de Santiago. We wake up about 5:30 am and leave the albergue (these are the hostals that we stay in that line the Camino.) We walk for two hours. As we walk we watch the sun rise and we pass pictuersque towns. At one of the little towns we get a cafe con leche. Coffee in Spain is always espresso so we are basically getting a latté and it only costs €1.50. We always eat outside on the patio and the street is a beautiful scenn of old houses with family crests on them.

After breakfast we walk for another two hours and we stop for coffee again and continue walking. We usaully arive at our desitnation between 1 and 2 in the afternoon.

The walking varies. There are some days where the views are breathtaking and the towns are picturesque, and there are other days where we walk through urban sprawl and we can hardly breath because of the fumes from the cars.

After we finish our day, we get lunch from the little shop. Lunch consists of cheese, nuts, cherries, and a drink. After we check into the albergue we meet up with our friends that we have made. We will play the guitar and talk. Some nights we go to mass and most nights we cook with friends at the albergue. The next day we start over. Its pretty wonderful!

Nevarria

Its gotten hot. We are having a wonderful time but the heat can be relentes. We made the dreaded walk from Los Arcos and the sun started beating down hard. I saw the 5 kilometores sign that sunk our hearts the last time I was walked that streached. We decided when we got to Los Arcos that we will try and stop walking at 12:30. We walked a bit farther today but we didn´t wake up till 6:15 and did not stop walking till 7:30. With all of that we walked fast.

We have been having trouble getting internet access. I am getting kicked off the computer so I will hopfully post when we get a chance tomorrow.