Saturday, March 5, 2011

FINALLY

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AS I GET READY TO GO TO EUROPE TO WALK MY THIRD CAMINO DE SANTIAGO STARTING ON APRIL 26, 2011  FROM LE PUY-EN-VELAY, I AM FINALLY PUBLISHING...
Sunday, February 13, 2011

SETTING THE SCENE.......

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I consider walking my first Camino in 2007 to be one of the best things that I have done in my life. It wasn't long after my return to C...

FRIENDSHIPS MADE AND SUSTAINED....

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On the first day of my 2007 Camino, I met a fellow pilgrim from Hungary, Janos Szakal. We became good friends and walked together for about ...

PRELUDE: BUDAPEST TO SEVILLA (OCT 4, 2008)

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Public transportation in Europe is great. It took the equivalent of  $6 and just over an hour to travel by tram, subway and bus respectively...

PRELUDE: SEVILLA (OCT 5, 2008)

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Sevilla is a gem of a city and well worth visiting for a day or longer. Its early history goes back to Roman times. In the 11th century it b...

DAY 1: OCT 6 SEVILLA TO GUILLENA (22 KM) 33,728 STEPS*

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* A number of Rotarians and other people pledged support based on the number of steps that I took. So I attached a pedometer to my backpack ...

DAY 2: OCT 7 GUILLENA TO CASTILBLANCO DE LOS ARROYOS (19 Km) 25,484 Steps

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The bar next to the albergue was open early and the four of us had a leisurely breakfast of coffee and tostadas. Overnight, the clouds had r...

DAY 3: OCT 8 CASTILBLANCO DE LOS ARROYOS TO ALMADEN DE LA PLATA (30 KM) 36,398 STEPS

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Today was going to be a challenge. The first lengthy day (~30 km) with many hills and a significant climb towards the end. A smoking hot day...

DAY 4: OCT 9 ALMADEN DE LA PLATA TO MONASTERIO (38 KM) 48,730 STEPS

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The first part of our day started with a beautiful walk through acres of holm oaks that were overflowing with herds of free roaming sheep an...

DAY 5: OCT 10 MONASTERIO TO FUENTE DE CANTOS (22 KM) 28,830 STEPS

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At Monasterio the trail passed from  Andalucia to Extramadura, a vast but relatively flat and sparsely populated region of Spain.  The big...

DAY 6: OCT 11 FUENTE DE CANTOS TO ZAFRA (26 KM) 34,626 STEPS

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The first five days although very hot (~30 C) had been almost perfect for walking. But it was about to change. I was awoken at 6:00 AM by th...

DAY 7: OCT 12 ZAFRA TO VILLA FRANCA DE LOS BARROS (21 KM) 27,541 STEPS

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The weather had definitely changed. We left Zafra in a light drizzle and a bit of fog. It wasn't a problem since we were well prepared. ...

DAY 8: OCT 13 VILLA FRANCA DE LOS BARROS TO TORREMEGIA (28 KM) 36,620 STEPS

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Kilometer after kilometer of grape vines interspersed with groves of olive trees made this a flat boring day. Boredom was broken by occasion...

DAY 9: OCT 14 TORREMEJIA TO ALJUCEN (33 KM) 47,811 STEPS

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The 16 kilometers to Merida passed quickly in anticipation of viewing the many archeological wonders from the Roman era.  There is no grande...

DAY 10: OCT 15 ALJUCEN TO ALDEA DEL CANO (38 KM) 47,281 STEPS

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The tenth day covered 38 kilometers under a blazing hot sun. The first half passed quickly as it was not overly warm early in the morning. T...