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June 21st, 2021

July 25th, 2021

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We made it! Happy tears! Can't believe we did it! Still processing it all. Thank you everyone for your support during this adventure. Will post more photos in front of the cathedral soon!

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Couldn't believe we made it to the last 100 kilometers!! Woot woot!!

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After Sarria, it's a whole different camino!

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It really has been an amazing thing to watch the scenery change, even as we travel by foot. Walking into Galicia as been filled with rolling lush countrysides that are blanketed by clouds, charming towns with beautiful stone homes, old and raised grain storage units, and so many cows.

Galicia is one of Spain's autonomous regions and its people carry a strong pride in their heritage, which includes the Galician language, or "gallego." You may be surprised (or not) to know that we were quite happy to return to the climbs and descents, a big change from walking across the plateau the week before.

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Entering into Galicia was full of emotions. Galicia is the final region of the Camino. It was a celebration of how far we have walked, and a mix of relief and sadness for how little we have left.

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We woke up in the town of Foncebadón (at 4,724ft), and walked to the Cruz de Ferro (at 4,934ft) to start our day. It is tradition that pilgrims bring a small rock, often from home, and leave it at this cross. Leaving the rock behind represents the leaving behind of other things such as negative feelings or thoughts of the past, etc. The rocks that Maddie and Heather left at the Cruz de Ferro came from Milwaukee, hand-selected by our nephew/cousin/godson, Bode. Daniel's rock was a heart-shaped rock found by our cousin/niece, Carley, while walking part of the Camino with us.

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Fellow pilgrim interview with our dear friend Norbi!

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Just a little hello from the town of Santa Catalina :D

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The middle of our trip has been in the region of Castilla y León. It is a rather large region of the country that was created in the 1980s, joining together the provinces of Ávila, Burgos, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid, and Zamora. As one can imagine, we spent a lot of walking time in Castilla y León. From Burgos to León, we spent a whole week walking through an area called "La Meseta," a huge plateau the covers much of the Iberian peninsula.

Many pilgrims often refer to the meseta as one of the tougher stretches of the walk. This is not due to tough terrain, because it is a rather flat area. Instead, it is tough because there are not a lot of tree to protect you from the sun, and because the landscape stays pretty much the same for about a week. It is for these two reasons that the mental challenges of the Camino really start to kick in. While it was in fact quite challenging for us, we did quite enjoy the rolling amber fields of wheat and barley as well as the incredibly welcoming and often charming towns along the way. The large cities of Burgos and León were also beautiful.

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Once in a while you'll find a vending machine with all the best goodies! Very important, in many opinions, to put Vaseline or some type of gel on your feet in the morning. Compeed is also a favorite purchase along the camino to help with blisters.

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Something we really have enjoyed about the camino has been that every day as we wall, we are frequently greeted with "Buen Camino." Sometimes it comes from other pilgrims, and in that case, we say "buen camino" back. Other times, we hear it from locals, which really feels particularly good. "Buen Camino" means "good camino" and "have a good camino." It didn't take long for us to realize that this can also mean "good luck," "best wishes," and "wishing you the best with whatever you are working through." It's a rather beautiful understanding between oneself and the others around you.

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It's time to say "see you soon" to these two! We love you both and will see you in Montana! :D