I came to Spain to practice my French

Today I said "good bye" to my Camino friends Josette, Denise, & Lucie. I met them in Ventosa & we have travelled together up to Burgos. Josette is from France. Denise & Lucie are cousins from Quebec. They all speak French & some English, so what little French I know (and it´s not very much) got a real work-out. We left each other at the bus stop in Burgos, near the statue of El Cid. Josette is walking all the way to Santiago, so I will probably see her again, but Denise & Lucie will be cutting across the meseta & picking up the Camino again in Leon. I decided to get a hotel tonight, to have some space to myself, so had to say good bye when they headed to the albergue.

If you are reading this, mes amies, I miss you already! Bon Chemin!

Oh, and it rained like the blazes today.

Second day on the Camino

I´ve made it to Azofra & am in the fantastic albergue here: 60 places, all in rooms with 2 bed, NOT bunk beds!!! So far, it does not appear that anyone is sleeping on the floor. I got to do that in Logrono, at the church. The overall experience there was nice, but my body let me know quickly it will not tolerate sleeping on the floor again. I heard about it all the way to Ventosa. That albergue opened up early & was full by 1 pm (I scored a top bunk). More & more people kept showing up, so out came the mattresses until there was no room left on the floor. It was nice, however, to wake up to Pachelbel¨s Canon & then walk through vineyards ripe with grapes in the early hours. A very peaceful start to a nice day of walking.

Google Map of the Camino Frances

With permission, I've added a link to Jerome's Google Map. It's one thing to hear me nattering on about the Camino, but now you can see exactly where in Spain I've been walking. Thanks Jerome!

One week to go!

This time next week, I'll be in Madrid! After getting over jet lag there, I'll be headed to Logrono on the bus, & start walking on Tuesday.

My plans are to start at Logrono & end at Leon. I have 16 days to do this & my "schedule" has me arriving in Leon 14 days after I leave Logrono. If I feel like having a rest day or stopping earlier, I will have 2 days built in to my schedule to do that. If I don't use the days, I'll continue on to Astorga.

Here's my plan:
Day 1 Logrono to Ventosa
Day 2 Azofra
Day 3 Santo Domingo (got to have time to play with the chickens!)
Day 4 Villamayor
Day 5 Villafranca
Day 6 Atapuerca (or Ages)
Day 7 Burgos
Day 8 Hontanas
Day 9 Fromista
Day 10 Carrion de Condes
Day 11 Terradillos
Day 12 Bercianos
Day 13 Mansilla
Day 14 Leon
Day 15 ?
Day 16 ?

Where ever I end up, I head back to Madrid, spend the night, then go home. I hope to meet as many nice people on the Camino as I did in May. Okay, now off to pack.