La Gran Aventura Day 142: Astorga to Rabanal del Camino

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

I think we all slept pretty well last night. We were exhausted. This morning, however, we decided to take an extra 30 minutes of sleep, and we took our time getting out. But thankfully, we already had a reservation for today, so we didn’t have to hurry on the way.

We are now off of the meseta, and we are into the mountains. Today was a steady climb -- not steep, but definitely steady -- throughout the day.

It was also pretty cold. We were in the 40’s most of the day. It rained a little off and on, but we were prepared for it, and it didn’t do much to slow us down. If anything, it sped us up because we just wanted to get to the albergue.

On the way, Kimball and I had another really good talk, and I had a moment of clarity. For a long time now, I’ve been listening to the Optimal Work podcast with Dr. Kevin Majeres. He’s a psychiatrist who works at Harvard, and his specialty is helping people to get the most out of their work. It’s not about efficiency or productivity. It’s about using your work to help you become a good person.

Anyway, Majeres is always talking about how if we can view our challenges as opportunities to grow, our bodies will process our adrenaline in order to help us face the challenge. We get stronger. We have more endurance. Our minds are sharper. We have more dexterity in our fingers. So much of what he does is help people to reframe their challenges so that they can see them not as threats but rather as opportunities to grow.

The idea has always resonated with me, and today everything kind of clicked. I was talking to Kimball, and we were talking about the challenge of the Camino -- and particularly the challenging road across the mountains that awaits us over the next week or so. Then suddenly, I was thinking about how in church we are taught that before we came to Earth, we chose to come to Earth knowing that it would be difficult but that through the challenges of mortality we would grow to become like our Father in Heaven.

We came here accepting challenges -- rejecting the easy road -- and if we want to be truly happy here, we have to do the same. It’s the only way to grow. This is something I love about the Camino and about pilgrimage. It’s such an amazing opportunity to accept and embrace the challenge. It’s a reminder of why were are here.

This albergue is great. The girl that runs it is named Beatriz, and she’s super nice. She and Betty hit it off from the start. Betty and I decided to leave the kids with pasta, and she and I went out for a “date night” and got some food at the restaurant downstairs.

When we got back River was playing with Aitana -- Beatriz’s daughter.

I’m exhausted, so I showered quick and climbed into bed, but Betty is still out there just chatting it up with Beatriz and her husband. She’s already invited them to our house in Michigan, and they are making plans to visit Frankenmuth.

Tomorrow we’ve got a tough day. It’s nine steep kilometers up to the Cruz de Ferro, and then 15 steep kilometers down to Molinaseca. I’m going to try to get as much rest as I can so I’ll be ready for it.

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La Gran Aventura Day 141: San Martín del Camino to Astorga

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

This morning was pretty good. Everyone did a decent job packing up, and right around 7am we were out the door. I’m so proud of the kids. They have been up at 6am basically every day since March 31. Everyone is tired, but they are doing such a good job. I couldn’t be prouder of them.

The weather for much of the over 27 km (17+ miles) was really good, but towards the end it really cooled off and the rain that we have successfully avoided for a month finally caught up to us. When we got into Astorga it was really coming down. Everyone ended up pretty wet, but we got to our albergue and dried off and had warm showers and now everyone is tucked in and sleeping.

Astorga is a really beautiful little town with a cathedral and a little palace designed by the great Antoni Gaudí. I went out this evening and got a few pictures. The light was tough because the palace was backlit by the sunset. But hopefully some of the pics I took will turn out.

River was fun today. Imagine having a smart and sometimes sassy four-year-old sitting right in your ear for 5-9 hours every day. That’s been my life for the past month.

For a while (weeks) all she wanted to talk about was Christmas. Finally today I put my foot down  and told her I wasn’t going to talk about Christmas anymore. So then she started imagining things. She was an ice princess and she was creating an ice path for us to slide along. Then she told me she had a watch like mine that would tell her how far we had walked. Then she was playing games on her “watch” and she was watching movies. At one point she told me she was going to put in “headphones” so she could watch a movie on her watch. Then I had quiet for a few minutes.

She also did some good walking (jogging) for about 35-40 minutes. It was a good rest for my back and shoulders.

All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Tomorrow we leave the meseta behind and we begin making our way into the mountains. We’ve got some tough days ahead. We are tired. We have come so far. And we are ready to take on the next stage.

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La Gran Aventura Day 140: León to San Martín del Camino

Monday, April 29, 2024

This morning I really wanted to get out early so that I could take pictures of the illuminated cathedral in the dark. But everyone was so slow getting out that by the time we made it to the cathedral, they had turned off the lights. But we got some good pictures of the sunrise.

I was in a pretty melancholy mood about that, but we did get a pretty good start on the day.

One of the reasons we were able to get out early was that we skipped breakfast. We decided we would just grab something on the way out of León.

By the time we started getting hungry we happened to be hiking past a little stand where a guy had fruit and granola bars and some other stuff. I thought: “Wow, the Camino provides once again.” But the experience wasn’t all that great.

This stand was like some others on the Camino where people offer stuff to pilgrims, and they don’t really charge for the stuff per-se -- they just ask for a donation. I’m sure there are people who take advantage of these people and don’t give anything, or maybe they give just a little. Anyway, the kids started telling me what they wanted (a granola bar, an orange, a little muffin, etc.). Then the guy barked at me to keep my kids under control. He said: “This is run by donations and I don’t have a big organization behind me paying for all this stuff, so you have to leave a donation.” It was about the coldest anyone has treated us on the Camino, and it really got my hackles up. We are busting our chops out here trying to take this whole family on the Camino. It’s tough, but we are paying our own way and being fair to everyone we interact with. Just the hint that I wouldn’t pay for something like this (or that my kids are brats) just made me mad.

Contrast that with the Pakistani guy who owned the restaurant where we ate roasted chicken yesterday. When we ordered he said with a huge smile and broken Spanish: “No gusta, no pagar” (If you don’t like it, you don’t pay). And then he delivered the best roasted chicken I have ever eaten and at a fraction of what we would have paid anywhere else.

OK, I’m done with this rant.

After that we just walked and walked and walked. My shoulders were pretty sore for the first half of the day or so, and Betty’s feet got sore, but we made it 26.24 km (16.3 miles). It’s the second farthest day on the Camino and the farthest we’ve walked since day 4 (Pamplona to Puente la Reina). We are really hoping to make it about that far each day for the next couple of weeks so we can knock this thing out. We are all really missing home. It’s not going to be easy. We’ve got some pretty serious mountains between us and Santiago. But we’re feeling pretty good.

Tonight we are in a little town called San Martín del Camino. Tomorrow we should be in Astorga -- the end of the Meseta, and (un)officially two thirds through the Camino.

Tonight we had a really great dinner of cheesy pasta -- specially made by our hospitalera. She made the hugest pot for us, so we’ve got a bunch of extra that we can take for lunch tomorrow.

Now it’s 8:30pm, and I really am hoping to get some good rest tonight. I haven’t slept well in days. Last night I kept worrying that Anahi would fall out of bed. She was on the bunk right above me, and it was about the squeakiest bed I’ve ever seen. So I’m really hoping for a good sleep tonight. If that can happen, we can get up earlier and hopefully beat the rainstorm that is forecast for tomorrow afternoon.

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La Gran Aventura Day 139: Puente Villarente to León

Sunday, April 28, 2024

This morning we really put in a strong effort to get out early. It turned out to be at 7:20, which for us is really good. It was a really quick 12k walk into church.

The LDS church in Leon is actually right on the Camino and very close to our albergue. We just walked straight to church and got dressed when we got there.

The branch in Leon is great. Everyone was so nice, and they had a great mix of Spanish and Latino members. I went to primary with River. It’s really becoming clear that she hasn’t been spending much time with other kids her age. She’s got a lot of catching up to do when we get home.

We haven’t been in an official sacrament meeting since Rome. That was on March 24. It was just so great to be back with the saints.

The rest of the day was spent just resting.  12k feels like practically nothing now. We are strong, but soon we will be back in the mountains, and that will be tough. We’ve got about two weeks of hiking from León, but most of it will be in the mountains. It’s going to be a big challenge, but we are all itching for home. So we are going to give it all we’ve got.

Oh, and I went this evening and took some golden hour shots of the cathedral. I think they will turn out OK, but I’m also looking forward to the early morning and hoping I can get some pictures then as well.

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La Gran Aventura Day 138: Reliegos to Puente Villarente

Saturday, April 27, 2024

Last night was interesting.

The municipal albergue in Reliegos has a bunch of bunk beds spread across two rooms. The beds line the outside of the room, and down the middle there is another double row of bunk beds right next to each other. So they are really like one giant row of double beds.

Betty and I were so excited to “share” a bed. But River somehow made her way between us so that was short lived.

Then, at about 2am, we all woke up to a giant thud.

Ian, who had been sleeping with Kimball on the double bunk above us, had rolled off the bed and plunked down onto the floor right next to me.

It woke up everyone in the room (another 8 or 10 people). The guy next to us was very concerned, and because he was Spanish he expressed his concern with a generous supply of curse words.

For his part, Ian handled it all pretty well. He had smacked his head pretty hard and fallen onto his hip.

I just pulled him into bed with me and River and Betty, and after making sure nothing was broken or bleeding, we tried to get back to sleep.

But after something like that, it’s pretty hard to just fall asleep. I kept wondering if Kimball or Alicia would fall off the bed.

So it wasn’t my greatest night of sleep. But I haven’t had a great night of sleep since February, so that’s nothing particularly new.

After the excitement of the night, I decided to let everyone sleep in a bit. We had already planned for a short hike today (12k only about 8 miles). Ian’s hip was pretty sore, so we sent his pack ahead. That’s been the biggest blessing for us.

The hike itself went well. Ian’s hip didn’t bother him at all while hiking. It’s just the pressure of the belt.

We made it to our albergue just as the rain started. That makes it since the first two days of the Camino since we haven’t had to hike in the rain. Cold and windy, yes. But no rain. It’s such a blessing -- maybe a Camino miracle. Certainly a tender mercy.

Our albergue for tonight is really nice. A bit pricier, but we have a room all to ourselves, and we are all on bottom bunks. And it’s very warm, so warm that Betty asked me to open a window. I’m hoping she has an especially good sleep.

Since tomorrow is Sunday, I decided to go to Leon this afternoon to get some new shoes. Ian’s have completely fallen apart as well, so he came with me.

The bus to Leon wasn’t working today because it’s Saturday, so the hospitalero just gave us a ride into town (about 15 minutes).

We went to the Corte Inglés, which is a huge department store that many people disparage, but I actually love. Ian loved it too. He told me visiting the Corte Inglés was his favorite thing we’ve done on the trip. He especially loved the toy and book sections.

We both got some new shoes, and then we went and got KFC for everyone because our albergue has no kitchen. That meal turned out to be a hit when we got back.

I’ve been exhausted all day, so I took a nap and spent a bunch of time just catching up on track videos. I think I needed a little break. River was also exhausted, and she’s been trying everyone’s patience.  I hope she can get some good rest tonight as well.

We are closing in on two thirds of this trip done, and everyone is starting to feel like the end is close. But soon we will be off of the flat meseta and we will have to cross a pretty formidable mountain range. I know Betty’s foot isn’t 100%, and my right Achilles tendon and knee are getting sore as well. Hopefully the new shoes will help.

Just a couple more weeks, and we should be headed home.

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La Gran Aventura Day 137: El Burgo Ranero to Reliegos

Friday, April 26, 2024

This morning was perhaps our best morning ever. I think it’s good for us to sleep in a shared room because the kids can’t really talk things out in the morning. They know they just have to quietly get up and gather their things. Also, in a shared room there is much less space for people to chuck their stuff around, so everything is already in the bag in the morning.

So this morning we got up. Everyone gathered their stuff. We had some breakfast. And we hit the road.

We really wanted to make our town, Reliegos, early because it’s supposed to rain this afternoon. After walking a little bit we ran into some friends from before. Jorge, an American guy we met way back in Villafranca Montes de Oca, and a couple of younger ladies (from Brazil and Israel) that were in our albergue last night. We started walking with them, and things were going great. Then River said she wanted to walk, so she hopped down, and she did a great job of staying with everyone. That means she was really mostly jogging the whole way. I kept asking her if she wanted a ride, but she insisted on walking and chatting with the Brazilian girl.

That ended up lasting at least a few kilometers. It’s by far the most walking River has ever done in a day, and I was grateful. But towards the end she started walking slower and slower, and we were falling further and further behind. When Kimball stepped up next to Elena (the Brazilian) to talk to her, River became furious, insisting the Elena was only her friend.

So then she decided she was done walking, and she plunked down on the ground. She wouldn’t let me pick her up, and she wouldn’t walk. So we just sat there for a while (thankfully there was a bench close by). After about 15 minutes of waiting, we started walking again, but by that time everyone was far ahead of us. We couldn’t even see them. River was really upset about that, and she let the whole world know for about the next hour. She just cried and cried. She didn’t want to stop. She didn’t want to go. She didn’t want to eat. She didn’t want anything. She was just mad and sad.

Finally, we made it to our town -- Reliegos. It’s pretty small, but the albergue is nice. We actually stopped at a bar just at the entrance of town where Betty and the girls were waiting for us (Kimball and Ian had stayed with me and River). Elena and her friend were there, which made River very happy.

We got some yummy treats there, and just hung around waiting for the albergue to open.

We ended up walking over 12k in just about 3.5 hours. It’s a good pace for us.

Oh, and one more thing. It’s been dawning on me that Ian doesn’t remember The Princess Bride. Of course all of my kids have seen it (I’m not a monster), but he must have been too little. It’s been annoying for him to not get my references, so today we are going to watch it. We started it while we were waiting on the albergue. We’ll finish it in a bit.

This is going to be a really relaxed day.

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La Gran Aventura Day 136: Sahagún to El Burgo Ranero

Thursday, April 25, 2024

I had really hoped to get out early this morning, but it turned out to be really late. I had some confusion about the backpack transportation service, so we ended up waiting around and not leaving until nearly 9am.

The hike today was shorter -- just 18k. It didn’t feel too tough. Betty is feeling better in her foot. It’s always a bit sore, but it’s manageable. I think all of us are feeling like that now.

This albergue isn’t the fanciest, but it will do. We are all in a shared room, and it’s pretty cramped quarters. When Betty and I went out for lunch/dinner, the market was closed. So we just went to a bar and ordered a couple of big salads. They were amazing! One was made with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and bacon, and the other had lettuce, tomato, and a bunch of sautéed mushrooms.

I’m pretty certain I need new shoes. My old ones are really wearing out, and my feet are pretty uncomfortable every time I put them on. The soles are totally smashed down, and they are running really thin. I’ve been putting it off, because I worry about getting blisters from new shoes. But I’m pretty sure in Leon I can find the same kind of shoes (Hoka Speedgoats), so I’m going to try to take care of it there.

The weather is getting colder today, and some clouds have rolled in. It looks like we might have cold and rain off and on for the next week. I’m so grateful for the protection we’ve had from the elements so far. I couldn’t have asked for better weather. But we may have to work with some rain over the next several days. That should be interesting. I’m planning a bit shorter stages until we get through this.

Now everyone is resting. I might take a little nap here by Betty, but I’m afraid I might not wake up. I’m pretty beat.

Update: I ended up doing some work, and then I went out and rustled up some food for everyone. Then Alicia had some stuff she wanted to talk about, so she and Betty and I went out for a walk and we got some hot chocolate at a bar and we just talked and talked.

One of my favorite things about this trip, and I know I’ve said it before, is the opportunity to just talk. Back home, if one of the kids is struggling, it seems like we never have the time to just talk. Good communication just takes time -- a lot of it. I’m finding more and more that with teenagers especially, you just have to sit and let them talk about what they want to talk about. They want to be heard. I was so grateful this evening that we had the time to just sit and work things out.

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La Gran Aventura Day 135: Calzadilla de la Cueza to Sahagún

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Once again the forecast called for rain, and once again the weather was perfect for us. It’s nice a cool, and there is just a gentle breeze. Perfect hiking weather.

This morning we had a hard time getting out on time. We had a private room, and it should have been easy, but it wasn’t. These slow starts are going to bite us one day.

Sahagún is considered the geographical center of the Camino. There is a cool couple of statues that mark the halfway point just as you come into town. So even though we’ve hiked exactly halfway now we know we are more than halfway done because we had a bunch of half days in the beginning when Betty was sick. We’re moving right along now.

In Sahagún we stayed at the Albergue Santa Cruz. It is really nice. Tonio, the Catholic priest in charge, and his crew do a great job of running everything. At 5pm we had a really nice “Pilgrim tea” where pilgrims were invited to get together and have some cookies and a drink and to talk about what we’ve learned on the Camino. The kids did a great job sharing.

Later, I introduced Betty, Nidia, and Joycelyn to one of my favorite Spanish foods: salmorejo. It’s like gazpacho (which is basically cold tomatoes and other veggies blended up with olive oil), but it’s ground up with bread as well -- so it’s really thick. It’s super good.

In the evening we had a nice communal dinner. Tonio and co. put up the first course (a yummy creamy veggie soup), and then everyone else added what they could (tortillas de patatas, chorizo, chips, olives, etc.). We all sat around a big table, and we had a great time. It was a really nice afternoon and evening.

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