James the Intrepid Pilgrim

Saturday, May 6, 2023Walking from Montamarta to Granja de Moreruela23.4 kilometers Today, the bed race was in full force. The next town, Granja de Moreruela, is very small with only one albergue with 30 beds. The two private accommodations are already booked. Leaving Granja de Moreruela, the Camino route splits. The Via de la Plata continues north to Astorga, and the Camino Sanabres starts here and goes northwest more directly to Santiago de Compostela. The […]

Friday, May 5, 2023Walking from Zamora to Montamarta20.5 kilometers The old historic town of Zamora is beautiful and has an atmosphere and feeling similar to Salamanca – energetic and alive. After another night in a dismal albergue and enduring some of the loudest snoring I have ever heard, I’m glad to be leaving. Maybe the accommodation in Montamarta will be better. As we left Zamora we came across a very old Camino Way marker. This […]

Thurssday, May 4, 2023Walking from El Cuba de Tierra del Vino to Zamora31.8 kilometers After the very long day yesterday walking over 30 kilometers to the bus stop at the prison and then the bus ride into El Cubo de Tierra del Vino, I was not looking forward to another day of over 30 kilometers to Zamora. It had to be done because the only intermediate town was very short of pilgrim infrastructure. Knowing that […]

Wednesday, May 3, 2023Walking from Salamanca to El Cuba de Tierra del Vino31.6 kilometers After a rest day in Salamanca I was a little concerned that we might feel good and over extend ourselves today. And that is almost exactly what happened, although differently than we anticipated. The goal today was a small of Calzada de Valdunciel, a short distance of 16 kilometers from Salamanca. The next town of El Cubo de Tierra del Vino […]

Tuesday, May 2, 2023Rest day in SalamancaNo walking today except to view sights as a tourist A great deal has been written about Salamanca covering its rich and long history. I am not going to even try to re-tell the history of Salamanca. I can report from our short time in Salamanca that it is a city with great energy and activity. There are many things to see and many places to eat – except […]

Monday, May 1, 2023Walking from Morille to Salamanca21.2 kilometers Today we reach Samalanca, the approximate half-way point of the Camino routes Via de la Plata and Camino Sanabres from Seville to Santiago de Compostela. The day started out cool again in the early morning at 11 C (52 F) and soon warmed so that a jacket was not needed. Here I am leaving Morille at a sculpture in front of a local library. Morille is […]

Sunday, April 30, 2023Walking from Fuentarroble de Salvatierra to Morille21.6 kilometers First, a bit of an apology for not posting the last few days. There has been very weak or non-existent internet access, and very poor phone reception in some of the recent locations. In Morille, there was good internet at the bar in town, but no internet in the albergue, and phone reception at the albergue was so weak I could not use my […]

Saturday, April 29, 2023Walking from Calzada de Béjar to Fuentarroble de Salvatierra21.6 kilometers Note: there was no internet Saturday after the internet for the whole town went down, and today (Sunday) is a difficult network day, as well. I’ll try to get Saturday complete and complete our Sunday walk on Monday when we arrive in Salamanca and the approximate halfway point for our journey from Seville to Santiago de Compostela on the Via de la […]

Friday, April 28, 2023Walking from Aldeanueva del Camino to Calzada de Béjar21.95 kilometers After the long 31-kilometer day yesterday in the heat, we planned a shorter day today. While shorter, there were two very long and steep hills to climb, making the day not as much of a rest after the long day yesterday as we had hoped. We are closing on three full weeks on the Via de la Plata, and feeling stronger every […]

Thursday, April 27, 2023Walking from Carcaboso to Aldeanueva del Camino31 kilometers Today was the second longest day to date on the Via de la Plata route of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes. And today was definitely the hottest. It was a long day walking almost the whole way on beautiful (there’s that word again) natural paths through cattle grazing land. As the day wore on, the heat intensified, and by the time we finished, […]

Wednesday, April 26, 2023Walking from Riolobos to Carcaboso21.5 kilometers We are well into our third week walking the Via de la Plata Camino pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. We are feeling strong and getting stronger. My biggest concern has been the slow healing of the large blisters on the ball of my right foot. This is getting better every day. Yesterday was the first day that I did not feel pain with every step, […]