caseyblanton

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Santiago Nights.

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2 May 2018. Arrival & Night Scenes in Santiago + 1 May - Monte do Gozo, aka the Gulag.

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29 - 30 April Arzúa—> Salceda —> O Pedrouzo

We’ve moved slowly to catch up with the Francés, spending a night in a beautiful newly renovated 18th c Pazo - or manor house, the Pazo Santa Maria. The next day we joined the Francés and indeed there were pilgrims everywhere - kind of a culture shock for us. But we soon blended in and began to meet people. Tomorrow it’s Monte de Gozo or The Gulag which brings us within a short morning’s walk to Santiago on 2 April.

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28 April

This is a special day to celebrate the end of walking the Camino Norte as we arrive at Arzúa where the Camino Norte meets the Camino Francés. There are still three days of walking into Santiago, but we’ve spent the night in a rural hotel, 18th c. and renovated in 2005, to mark the end of the Norte and our fondness for it.

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26 + 27 April Roxica —> Sobrado de Monxes

Our last two days on the Camino Norte are bittersweet. The Norte has been challenging but we’ve loved it. It’s a quiet and beautiful walk with just enough pilgrims to keep it interesting. Tomorrow we walk into the Camino Frances which is apparently now crowded and so hard to get beds in the albergues. We’ll miss the Norte.

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26 April - Miraz to Roxica

We’ve slowed down to a snail’s pace: only 8 miles today. But after walking through the magical dark forests of Galicia we’ve landed up at a kind of farm-stay albergue owned by the sweetest family. And it’s nearly empty - sharing the room full of bunks with a young couple from Seville.

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April 24 & 25 Vilalba —> Baamonde—> Miraz

The going is good and the weather is holding. We have a little family of friends to share the days and nights. Soon the Norte meets the Frances and that madness. For the time being we are in heaven.

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23 April: Abadín to Vilalba.

We’re making our way vaguely south, away from the coast, headed to Santiago. We should be there in about a week. It’s hard to believe the time has gone so quickly. Today was much easier, 14 miles of walking but less mountainous than the last few days - although apparently our hill climbing is not over.

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Galicia Days - April 21-22.

The Camino Norte is getting steeper and steeper by the day and the walking much slower. But the countryside is stunning.

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April 20 - First day walking in Galicia.

Galicia is notorious for its fog, its soup, and its mountains. We’ve had all of that today as we walk out of Asturias and into Galicia.

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April 18. Trouble w/ Posting on Tumblr. Testing.......

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9 & 10 April Asturias

April 9 was Yakle’s Birthday so of course we celebrated and of course we walked. We are still joined by Petra and Christian so our spirits are high despite the long climbs, the mud, and the rain.

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8 April 2018

We walked about 8 miles from Nueva to Ribadesella through sunshine, greenness, flowers, and mountains. We are walking with Petra and Christian from Germany still, really enjoying their company and high spirits.

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7 April Llanes to Nueva

It was an easy 7 mile walk today through the Asturian countryside - from mountains to beaches. Nueva is a small town along the Camino Norte, red tiled roofs and mountains all around. We’re looking forward to meeting friends here tonight from Germany, Petra and Christian, whom we met on the Portuguese Camino in 2015. They’ve taken a week off work to walk with us a few days.

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3 + 4 April, 2018: Portsmouth and Storm at Sea

3/4/18: We arrive at Gatwick and take the train to Portsmouth to wait for our ferry to Spain. There’s time to walk around the old port and see Garrison Church, a medieval cathedral that was fire bombed in WW2. Also time for superior English fish and chips along the quay.

4/4/18: The ferry is also a cruise ship with French food and snazzy rooms to which we had wisely upgraded. All was well until 4am when the storm hit with high winds and rough seas. Everyone was seasick and happy to see the dry land of Spain.

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5 April 2018

First full day in Llanes, a city we love from last year’s Camino Norte. We walked through this small seaside town to see cathedral and ‘Cubes’ art installation along the harbor. Then an amazing lunch at El Bálamu.

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Brittany Ferry 3 April

We boarded our ferry to Spain at 5:00 pm. Room & Dinner a great success. The giant storm at sea from 4am to 7am was terrifying. Yakle still sleeping it off-I've made my way to the bar where there is WiFi and other hardy souls feeling a little wobbly like me. Four more hours to Santander.