Ruth: There are moments along the way where it feels like we have travelled back to the Middle Ages. This feeling was intensified at Mondonedo where the whole town was being decked out for their Medieval Festival. Catapults were being set up beside tents selling...
Luarca to Tapia de Casariego: A Night in the Albergue
Gordon: Last night we stayed in a pilgrim albergue in Spain for the first time. The experience felt more like anthropological research than a good night's sleep. The albergue itself is beautifully situated on a cliff above a beach with sea caves at...
Villaviciosa to Aviles: Learning From the Spanish
Ruth: We had another beautiful ride today, with the exception of the industrial landscape on this side of Gijon. Gijon is an attractive beach city with a long promenade stretching along the length of the beach.After our ride we had the afternoon in Aviles to see if we...
Llanes to Villaviciosa:
Hotel Carlos I : Our wonderful 300 year old hotel that gives Pilgrims a discount.Gordon: Tonight we are staying in Villaviciosa, the self proclaimed apple capital of Spain. And they don't waste these apples in the produce market, they convert most of them into cidra...
Solares to Comillas: Tiles: the pros and cons
Gaudi's El Capricho in ComillasAfter Santander we left the suburbs and car dealerships and cycled into a much prettier landscape of rolling hills and little towns filled with stone houses. I do prefer them to houses sided with bathroom tile. Every country has its own...
Castro-Urdiales to Solares: Camino del Norte First Impressions
We are in Solares, south of Santander tonight, drinking beer and discussing how our experiences so far on this route compare to our other Caminos. We are on bike and not following the walking route so our knowledge is limited to the roads. We are also not...
Bilbao to Castro Urdiales:
We planned a short day today so that we would have time to look around this beautiful port town, and go swimming.The ride involved a couple of steep climbs, but there was little traffic and great scenery. It helps that the sun was shining all day. The pilgrim...
Bilbao
Gordon: After an early morning climb over a minor pass, we spent most of the morning on a gentle downhill roll into Bilbao. This region was an important industrial area in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and there are some unattractive reminders of that...
San Sebastián to Elgoibar: Lessons in Navigation
Those lines really do look flat on the map! We continue to learn the same lessons but with even less forgiving terrain when you get it wrong. Those nice little back roads do nothing but climb up to mountains that need not be climbed in the first place. This morning we...
Into Spain and onto the Camino del Norte: San Sebastián
We have entered Spain and are waiting out a rain shower before heading out of San Sebastián. There is something about me and rain on beach days. I was tired so we took a bus into the old town yesterday before walking back along the beach. Our walk was interrupted by a...
L’hospital D’ Orion to St-Jean Pied de Port and St. Jean to St. Pée surNivelle: the Pays Basque
Ruth and Gordon: We completed the Voie de Vezélay yesterday at the pilgrim Disneyland of St. Jean Pied de Port. Suddenly we were no longer on a quiet route with just a few pilgrims. St. Jean is the starting point for many pilgrims from all over the world. At our...
St. Sever to Hospital d’Orion: Gluttony in the Gascony
Gordon: After a few weeks of cycling there is no more welcome sight than a smorgasbord. I do not believe they are a part of traditional French culture, but we have seen evidence (including advertisements and expanding waistlines) that they are becoming...