James the Intrepid Pilgrim

Walking Day 10: 23 kilometers 30,524 steps The sun was out early today. We made our way out of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, over the bridge built by Santo Domingo and into the last of the vineards of La Rioja. Just after the town of Grañon We shall cross over into Castilla y León, the largest of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions (roughly akin to our states). We have walked through Navarra (capital is Pamplona) […]

Walking Day 9: 22 kilometers 31,220 steps I think today is Wednesday, and I think it is September 20, but I have lost track. The days sort of run together, and the date and day are not so important. Sundays are a little more noticeable because more things in the towns are closed. However, when we arrive in most towns, they are very quiet because between 1:30 and 4:30 or 5:00 most businesses are closed […]

Walking Day 8: 30 kilometers 40,605 steps Today was a very nice day. There was no threat of rain, and there were a few intermediate towns allowing us places to rest, get food, or explore a bit. (But we seldom feel as if we have time to explore intermediate towns on days where the overall distance is great.) Time is a bit short today so I’ll keep my comments brief. Tomorrow is a shorter day […]

Walking Day 7: 28 kilometers 42,400 steps Today, like yesterday, we crossed three rivers, which again means going down into the river valley, crossing the river (on a bridge), and then going uphill out of the river valley. The up and down hill walking is taxing, and today the the distance was the longest to date on the Camino Frances at 28 kilometers. We have left the autonomous region of Navarra (capital Pamplona) and entered […]

Walking day 6: 21 kilometers 27,377 steps Again, the rain eluded us today. The morning was very cool, brisk, and I wore my gloves. Because I am using hiking poles, my hands are exposed all the time with only very few opportunities when we stop to put them in a pocket out of the wind. So the lightweight gloves are nice. The sun was out early, and the sky was mostly blue. Very shortly after […]

Walking Day 5: 22 kilometers 30,542 steps We were expecting rain as we left in the cold 5 degree (41 Fahrenheit) morning from the old town on Puente la Reina on our way to Estella. We are happy for the third day in a row that the rain eluded us. Last year on this very stage, while walking with my friends Philippe and Marie-Pierre from Paris, 45-minutes from Estella the skies opened and it rained […]

Walking Day 4: 24 kilometers 34,914 steps We started the day leaving a sleepy Pamplona at 8:30 in a very brisk morning, almost expecting some rain. Thankfully, the rain never came. Pamplona is elevation just under 450 meters (1400 feet), and the main hill today is Alto del Perdón (The Hill of Forgiveness) at over 750 meters (2500 feet), and back down to Puenta la Reina at about the same elevation as Pamplona. So basically […]

Walking Day 3: Zubiri to Pamplona 22 kilometers  31,783 steps Today was a generally flat day compared to the previous two. But even the guidebook elevation diagram showed undulations, up and down, up and down. The climbs, while not nearly as long as the climbs of the last two days, were at times a bit steep. Much of the walk today was in forest or adjacent to forest by fields. And only some very short […]

Walking Day 2: Roncesvalles to Zubiri 23 kilometers,  32,235 steps The guidebook elevation map for today’s walk from Roncesvalles to Zubiri gave the impression that the walk was generally flat or downhill with two or three short climbs. While the guidebook was not wrong, it is unintentionally just a little misleading. This was a difficult day. The uphill stretches were very steep, most rocky, and some with mud and rocks. The flat or downhill stretches […]

Walking Day 1: Saint Jean Pied de Port, France to Roncesvalles, Spain 25 kilometers  36,044 Steps Today was the first day walking the Camino de Santiago in autumn 2017. The route is over the Pyrenees mountains from Saint Jean Pied de Port in southwestern France (elevation 200 meters, 600 feet) up and over the Pyrenees (high point elevation 1450 meters, 4800 feet) and then down to Roncesvalles in Spain at 1000 meters elevation, 3300 feet. […]