Animals and cool shoes

The part of the Camino we were on is in Galicia, the northwest part of Spain. It's very rural and agricultural. There were animals everywhere, very close to the road. Often, actually, *on* the road. This cow watched us eat lunch one day.



Check out these shoes. They are very common among farmers. They are carved from wood; the funny sole keeps the feet out of the muck and they are easy to hose off.



These chickens were also guests at one of our hotels.

More Camino pictures

A lot of the time the Camino looked like this. We were often in forests, with no one else around. I walked alone alot, pretty much going at my own pace. Other pilgrims were respectful of one's need to chat or not.






This is a typical village. Narrow streets going between ancient stone houses and barns. There was always a little church, too, usually open. In one little hamlet, there was a woman standing in the path, selling fresh sugared crepes (I don't know the Spanish word for crepes.)




This woman was walking between her home and a nearby village. 250,000 people walk the last part of the Camino every year, so she hardly noticed us.

Camino de Santiago

My husband and I went to Spain, to walk the Camino de Santiago. It was a beautiful trip, but not for the faint of heart. We walked 140K, or about 85 - 90 miles, in a week. We had great weather, and I took loads of photos. The shell is the image of St James, and it's everywhere. Here is the shadow of a fence in Samos, at the monastery there.

This is our group, starting off on the first day. There were eight of us and a guide walking every day. There was also a "sag wagon" for anyone who was tired of walking, and every couple of hours it would be on the side of the path somewhere, where Carlos , another guide, would make sure we all had water.



Here we are on the second day, at the highest (and coldest!) part of the trip. See how the pilgrim in the statue is leaning against the wind? We were way up in the mountains, and the wind was sometimes fierce. Fortunately, after this, the weather warmed up, and we weren't quite so high up. The rest of the week we had great weather - cool mornings and no rain.

Tomorrow, I'll post some photos of the Camino. I'm hoping to use some of the recurring images in quilts.