A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words...

Mileage to date: 487 km or 302 miles

 Happy Father´s Day

to my Dad, My Husband & My Son, Chase!
We love you!

As I am always limited on time when using the computer, I decided to upload some more photos.  They will help tell the activities of the week...

We met these children in Leon.  They are from South Korea and are traveling throughout the world for 10 months--with their teacher.  They are ages 9 thru 13 and they have been walking on the camino!!  They started in the same city that we did and are also carrying instruments.  In each town, they give a concert wearing traditional Korean dress and singing many songs.  They are so well behaved and very polite.  I was amazed at how young they are.  After they finish the Camino they will be traveling to such places as Turkey, India and South America.

 Don´t hate me girls, but this is a typical breakfast for us!!  There are no eggs and bacon for breakfast.  It is usually pastries, toast & jam, coffee, hot chocolate or fresh squeezed OJ.  I was actually afraid to eat this kind of stuff as we know it has many calories.  But after walking 8-10 hours a day, we need it!  My mom and I have also had ice cream at least every other day :)

This is actually a funny situation.  We came to fork in the road and before we knew it, there were about 10-12 pilgrims gathered.  Everyone was discussing the map and which to go.  After about 10 minutes, everyone except my mom, I and two others went to the left.  We chose the road on the right and were very happy that we did.  It took us to a nice little albergue where we had a really fun time!

 My mom is adjusting her boot.  This is something that we do many, many times a day.  If we do not listen to our body and make adjustments, we will pay for it later.  I had been checking my feet every morning and every night.  I would go over every square inch and add tape to any hot spots.  About a week ago, I became lazy and ended my routine.  Needless to say, I have 3 very large blisters.

This old guy was from France.  He is a good example of the ¨Senior¨ pilgrims on the trail.  There are many people 70 years and older.  We couldn´t keep up with this guy!  His upper body looked like an older man, but his legs looked like they belonged to a 20 year old!!

We are always up before the sun!  This means that EVERY morning we get to see the sun rise :)

This is an example of one of the wash basins where we hand wash our clothes.  I have become an expert agitator! haha  It may look dirty, but it´s actually the color of the rock.  The water is always ice cold, but refreshing on a hot afternoon.  After the sink, it´s off to the clothesline!

I can´t remember the city that we were coming out of, but this was one of the longest climbs we had yet.  It may not appear so, but it is VERY steep.  It´s small baby steps as we carry our heavy packs up the road.  Once we got to the top, it was an amazing view of the city and the valley below.  We have one more climb before we finish.  It will be much steeper than this trail.  Hope we make it!

 This is an example of the signs they post in the albergues.  Every night, everyone is always joking about who will snore the loudest.  Although, I must say that it has not been a problem.  The only thing keeping us awake is the people in the cities who stay up all night!

This is us after a long hot afternoon.  Even though we were on the floor we were so happy to have lots of space.  And we didn´t have to climb up or down from a  bunk bed.  We also had the window right above us.  It´s quite an honor and responsibility to be in charge of the window! haha

This is one of my Camino Angels!  Her name is Ingrid and she is originally from South America, but has lived in Holland for over 40 years.  When I was having terrible ankle pain and doubting that I could go on, she came but and lifted my spirits.  She told me story after story.  Many of them were hilarious.  She helped me get thru some very hard times on the trail.  I will never forget her :)

As I mentioned, we arrived in Leon yesterday.  It was an amazing sight to see so many people.  Normally when we arrive in a town, it is siesta time.  Even the larger cities look like a ghost town, but  not today!!  There was a huge farmers market and thousands of people.  I went around and around with my video camera!

Vender selling beans

This is a side view of the cathedral as we came down the streets of Leon.  This was definitely one of my favorite cities!

More of the farmer´s market

Ladies were going thru linens that were laid on the side walk.  It must have been a 75% off sale, because they were going crazy!

This is a familar scene.  The pilgrims are waiting for the albergue to open and take a rest from their packs.  I have truly enjoyed staying in the albegues.

This is what my ankle looked like yesterday.  The swelling comes and goes.  I think my blisters hurt more than my ankle.  When we arrived in town today, the hostess at the albergue noticed I was limping.  She said, "I have a fantastic Physical Therapist here.  I can have him look at your foot if you like."  I immediately accepted.  Later after I showed and washed my clothes, she called me to the kitchen.  Out came this old man who was very scruffy looking.  He was wearing a little white hat, white tshirt and pants and a white apron.  He was unshaven and had long grey hair.  He also had  a long braid in the back.  HE WAS THE COOK! haha  He asked me to sit down and he placed my foot on this leg.  He began to inspect and massage.  He asked the lady to bring him some tape and he bandaged my ankel.  Then he said (in spanish),"That should get you to Santiago!"  I gave him a hug and a kiss on both cheeks.  Then he immediately went back to the kitchen to finish preparing our dinner!  We are having a family style dinner and he is serving a HUGE wok of Paella!  I´ll definitely be posting pictures later.

This is my friend St. Jacque. He is the patron Saint for the Camino.  I leaned on him and told him that I was tired.

If all goes well, we plan to be in Santiago on June 1st.  This will give us plenty of time to walk the extra 90 km (55miles) to Finesterre.  Many people are doubting that we can do it.  We will go slow if we have to, but we hope to make it to the END OF THE WORLD!!

Love and miss you all!  Yvette & Yvonne