Author: mamawithwanderlust

Photo by Ryan Hahler

Our last backpacking trip left Hanna with a bad taste in her mouth because of the tall grass and the mileage we did, SO I thought using a little bit of positive peer pressure with Hanna in regards to hiking the trail with friends would help her want to hike. I also had to reassure her that there would not be the tall grass section and the total mileage was 4.9 miles, so that meant that we could do about 2.5 miles per day.  Way easier!

We started off on Cook County Road 58 and hiked through the woods a lot of the time along the gorge.  The air was potent with the scents of fall in the North – crisp, clean, pine, and leaves.  We got to walk through aspen, birch, and pine.

Photo by Ryan Hahler

 

The kids found a super scenic area for a snack break.  They were all enjoying themselves and thought everything was so pretty.

We came across Barrier Falls and you could really hear it from the trail, but it was a bit difficult to see unless you really lean.  It was a bit precarious with how close you get to the edge of these cliffs while hiking, but it’s a great lesson in trust with the girls and I think great for self-confidence.

Photo by Ryan Hahler

We  had to get across Devil Track River and came across this cool bridge.

Photo by Ryan Hahler

Photos by Ryan Hahler

There are two areas to camp on this section of the trail.  We stayed at East Devil Track Campsite.  You descend to the hill to the river.  This is a cozy campsite and was perfect for three tents.  There was a nice firepit and Ryan had fun collecting downed trees and sticks for that.  The girls found what looked like a fairy’s cave and so were speculating about that.

After dinner we explored a bit and went to this A-shaped bridge that was built in the summer of 1992.  The girls had a blast throwing sticks over the top and racing those.  The West Campsite was on the other side of this bridge and had a bigger area so you could fit more tents there.  Ideal for a bigger group.

When we got back to our campsite, Hanna and I did not last long.  We were in our tent by 7:30pm along with Oscar.  Kim, Ryan, and the girls attempted to play cards but because it was so dark it was hard to see and because it was cold, it was hard to hold the cards.  It was nice falling asleep to the sound of the river.

The next morning we were able to wake up slowly and take it easy.  We made breakfast and hot drinks for everyone.

We were exploring the gorge and found some beautiful areas.

We packed up and headed out.

We had to hike up a lot of stairs to get out of the gorge, it was 150 steps and 200 feet elevation change.

This section of the trial follows a ski trail for 2.2 miles.  So it was well groomed thankfully.

We came across this .25 mile spur trail to Pincushion Mountain summit, TAKE THIS.  We left our bags at the bottom and went up.  We brought lunch up with us.  We had great views of Grand Marais, Sawtooth Mountain, Lake Superior, and the valley.

I had a blast with everyone and really like this section of the Superior Hiking Trail.  I love that we were able to do this in October and that it was so nice out.

My girls had the entire week off for MEA (Minnesota Educators Association) so we decided to try our luck and go camping on the North Shore for a week. This can be a bit tricky with the weather in October on the North Shore, it could be snowing, raining, or it could be warm. We had a few different adventures in mind for the week and Split Rock was the first of them.

The 4 of us went 3 separate ways in the beginning of the week….Brad to Germany, Hanna and I to the cabin, and Gretchen stayed in town for her soccer tournament’s championship game. Tuesday our friends who had Gretchen, and I agreed to meet at Split Rock State Park. I woke up early and decided to check if the infamous campsite #13 was available and it was…for one night. That’s all we needed it for. This campsite was on my bucket list since I’ve read a couple of different articles written on it in Minnesota Monthly magazine. What makes it so special is the gorgeous view of the lighthouse across the bay. It is also a little bit bigger than the other sites which was perfect because we needed to have 3 tents up.

Hanna and I arrived early afternoon and started carting our supplies in. It took two cartloads. We set up the tents and the camp stove, put our food in the bear proof locker, and got our campfire wood all set up.

The site was absolutely beautiful. We had a little walkway down to the beach that was covered in the familiar black basalt rocks of the beaches of the North Shore. It was a little precarious walking on these, but that didn’t stop us. The view of the lighthouse was stunning in the fall colors.

My aunt and uncle are spontaneous travelers and decided on a trip up to Duluth and Bayfield. They surprised Hanna and I by visiting us at our campsite since they were visiting the lighthouse. This was a very welcomed surprise.  They are very good about making you feel loved.

Hanna and I watched the sunset from the top of this cliff at the campsite. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I cut up some veggies and humus and poured a glass of wine.

After the sunset, I made an easy dinner for us of prepackaged Indian food. We also lit the fire and enjoyed that. Gretchen and our friends arrived about 8:30. We carted their stuff in and the girls made s’mores. It was a beautiful night about 35/40 degrees and we all stayed warm. We fell asleep to the sound of waves hitting the rocks.

We all woke up just before sunrise and had a gorgeous view of the moon and Venus in the early dawn sky. We watched the sun come up over Lake Superior. It was a bit frosty.

Photo by Ryan Hahler

Photo by Ryan Hahler

We made a breakfast of hard boiled eggs and oatmeal, also tea and hot chocolate.

Photo by Ryan Hahler

We set off to explore the shoreline. There were cliffs mixed with pine trees, birch trees, and maple trees. There is something so magestic and mystic about Lake Superior. The views are magical.

After our easy morning, we took down camp and headed out to our next adventure…hiking part of the Superior Hiking Trail.

One of the feelings/things that was really difficult for me after coming back from our long vacation was really missing the feelings of being on the trail and wandering.  I really love having everything that you need on your person.  My family honored that want/desire in me and all agreed to go backpacking on a trail that is here in Minnesota, that is absolutely beautiful and sacred to me-The Superior Hiking Trail.  Pre-children my husband and I have hiked sections of this and pre-husband, I have also hiked sections of this trail with friends and my sister.  My oldest daughter, Gretchen, and I have an agreement to hike every section of this trail before she graduates from high school.

The Superior Hiking Trail has over 300 miles and goes from the Canadian Border to south of Duluth, Minnesota in Jay Cooke State Park.  You are basically on a ridge line overlooking Lake Superior, that being said the lake is not always in view.  It is a footpath only.  The Superior Hiking Trail’s website, shta.org, describes it like this:

A FOOTPATH ABOVE LAKE SUPERIOR

The trail is routed principally along the ridgeline overlooking Lake Superior.

• The SHT is 326 miles if each section is hiked separately. This breaks down into 310 miles of main trail and 16 miles of spur trail.
• The southernmost segment from the Minnesota border through the city of Duluth is 43 miles (41 main trail miles and 2 miles of spur trails). This section provides only day hike opportunities.
• The North Shore segment from the northern city limit of Duluth (Martin Road Trailhead) to the northern end of the trail is 269 miles if each section is hiked separately (255 miles of main trail and 14 miles of spur trails.) This segment provides both day hiking and backpack camping opportunities.

The Trail is characterized by ascents to rock outcroppings and cliffs, and descents into numerous river and creek valleys. Most rivers and streams are crossed by bridges. Overlooks of Lake Superior, the Sawtooth Mountains and inland woodlands, lakes and rivers are abundant. The trail follows rivers and creeks, often for distances of a mile or more, showcasing waterfalls and rapids, bends and deep gorges where thousands of years of rushing water has cut into layers of ancient volcanic rock.

One of the more challenging aspects of hiking the trail is the elevation changes. Instead of long climbs and descents found in mountains, the SHT is constantly ascending and descending.

• At its lowest point, the trail goes along the lakeshore, which is 602 feet above sea level.
• At its highest point the trail is 1829 feet above sea level and more than 1000 feet above Lake Superior.
• View a table of the elevation changes by trail section.

The section that we were doing the first day was from Pincushion to Bally Creek.  Because we were going to hike from one section to another, we needed transportation to get from where we were leaving our car in Cascade State Park to the trailhead that we had chosen to start.  We hired Harriet and can not recommend her highly enough.  She is a character, that you can totally depend on.  She met us a bit early, had GREAT stories to tell about living in Grand Marais, and she is one of those salt of the Earth women who does not put up with shit.

Hanna starting out

The first part of the trail you can see Lake Superior and you go through parts of the forest.  You cross the famous Gunflint Trail and start hiking up a hill.

Yes, Brad did carry our 14-year old Dachshund, Oscar, the entire time like this

Hiking with Hanna who was 6 at the time, Brad and I knew that we would have to take a lot of breaks and have snacks on the ready.  So we were totally prepared for that.  Gretchen kind of plows through all situations, be that good or bad, so we weren’t as worried about her.  She loves nature and challenging herself.  We got to one section of the trail that linked up with a snowmobile trail (The North Shore State Trail) for 2-miles.  When reading about this in the guidebook, we figured, great this part of the trail will be well maintained and groomed.  Boy, were we wrong!!!!  This 2 mile section, yes 2 miles, was full of LONG grass that rubbed against you.  I am not a tall person at all, 5 ft 2 inches, and found this sensation irritating but I adulted my way through the situation and knew that it would end at some point.  Poor Hanna, the grass was as tall as her at some points of the trail, so she was constantly being irritated by that sensation.  There were many points of this section that she would yell at me and tell me how much she hated stupid hiking.  All we could do as a family was listen and reassure her that this section will come to an end.  No pictures were taken of this.

We made it out of the tall grass

Hanna could not be any happier to be done with the grass and enjoying a snack

The rest of the trail you go through a red pine forest which is beautiful and past Sundling Creek.  The campsites were by a beaver pond.  There are two designated campsites at this section of the trail.  The first one that we came upon was already occupied by three tents.  So we made our way to the second site which had 2 tents already there.  Our fellow campers were 3 young women from St. Paul in their young 20’s, that were experiencing the trail for the first time.  The other tent was a couple that we assumed were in down in Grand Marais at the Fisherman’s Picnic and just using the campsite for a free place to stay.  They arrived super late and just packed up and left first thing in the morning.    This is not encouraged, but most likely happens.  Hanna’s FAVORITE part of the trail was definitely chatting up our fellow hikers.

After setting up our 2 tents, we had to pump water from the pond, which was very interesting.  There wasn’t a great spot to do this and Brad & I both agreed even using a great water filter, we may get some intestinal bug, BUT were thirsty enough to drink it.  I am writing this 3 months after the fact and happy to report we are all fine.  We cooked by the fire pit and enjoyed being at the campsite.  After hiking 8 miles with heavy backpacks, we were all tired and slept good.  There was a very slight hill so we all kind of slipped around in our sleep that night.  There was a little rain during the night, but not so much to affect all of our equipment being soaked….which happened to Gretchen and I the first time we did the trail together.  I am totally surprised, but not because she is awesome, that she wanted to still continue with our plan of hiking the trail in it’s entirety.

Oscar enjoying the sun

One of the inspirational things Gretchen and I decided to do, was in the guidebook after each section of the trail, she would write a lesson that was learned or experienced from that section.  From this particular section she wrote that,”Irritations are temporary”.  I think this is a great life lesson, yes there are going to be things that irritate the heck out of you, but you need to experience them in order to appreciate the experiences that are joyful.  And yes, that irritation will pass.

In the morning we made breakfast of oatmeal and this freeze dried egg, sausage, peppers, and hash browns which was really good.  We took down camp and started on our journey.

The next section was from Bally Creek Road, which is .1 mile from the campsite, to Cascade State Park.

Hanna less than thrilled to be hiking again

This section of the trail was really pretty.  You hike through more red pine forests.  As many of you know from reading my previous blogs about hiking the Camino, I was subjected to crazy blisters.  So this time I made sure to wear my hiking boots and use hiking poles and really pay attention to foot care.  Crazy enough though, I have had my boots for about 14 years and they started to fall apart on this hike.  I learned my lesson this summer about taking care of feet.  Poor Brad experienced blisters and so he had to care for his feet.

Luckily Brad had duck tape with him so we could duck tape them up.

As we entered Cascade State Park, we got to choose if we wanted to hike on the west or east side of the Cascade River.  For no particular reason, we chose the west side.  You cross over a street and hike along the road for a tiny bit, about a city block for comparison sake.  Then you get some great views of the river.

We set up camp at the Cut Log campsite.  It is named this because there is the remains of a ginormous tree that was laid to rest there.  Gretchen set up her hammock and we all set up camp.

To access the water source, you needed to walk down about 125 steps to the creek. This creek was beautiful and flowing.  We all enjoyed spending time there.  Quite refreshing after the beaver pond from the previous evening.

One of the most enjoyable parts of this campsite was our campsite mate named Jack.  He was a super interesting man from the Milwaukee area who was out on the trail for about 2 weeks.  He had a very gentle way about him and cherished his time on the trail.  He would wake up early to experience the forest waking up around him.  He practices Tai Chi and really seemed to live from the heart.  He enjoyed asking us questions and getting to really know us all.  We all made dinner together.  Jack was giving this wonderful homemade dehydrated meal from his campsite mates the evening before.  It gave me some ideas for future camp meals.  This camping trip because I did not have a lot of prep time beforehand, we did dehydrated meals that were store bought.

These directions make you smile.

Hanna has this fear of fire and Jack helped her with that.  He showed her how to build a fire and how to respect that fire.  It was great seeing her confidence build around that interaction.  I feel like there are certain things that are better taught by people that are not your parents in order to fully listen and get that lesson, this was definitely one of those times.  He also taught the girls the importance of hanging up your food bag to keep it out of the reach of bears.  Brad and Jack had a philosophical talk about religion after I went to bed and I fell asleep with Hanna while listening to their interesting conversation.

There was a full moon and Gretchen had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.  The brave soul, walked alone to the latrine.  She said it was so well lit from the moon that she had no problem.

The next morning we got up, made breakfast, packed up, and Brad duck taped the bejesus out of my boot.

We had a nice hike out.  We walked through the forest and found really nice spot to take a break along the Cascade River.

After playing in the water, we finished our hike up.  We crossed over the well known bridge that you can see the Cascade River Falls.

The lesson learned from this section of the trail is, “Friendships can be made around the campfire”.  Also, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS BRING DUCT TAPE.

It was nice to sleep in a bit this morning.  After a somewhat loungey hour, I got myself organized and packed up so that I could eventually move on to my next AirBnB in the country. Next door to where I was staying was a cool little Galacian Artisanal Shop, Merlin e Familia that sold really nice handmade items by local artists.  I stopped in there quickly the day before but wanted to linger and look around a bit more.  I found this little tapas set and bought it.

I met Megan and Sonali at “The Pilgrim’s Museum” that is attached to the Cathedral.  It was really beautiful and informative. I took a ton of pictures of informational plaques because I think they explain the information the best.

I really enjoyed this museum.  I found it super informative and understood pilgrimages more.

Afterwards, we ran into Laura and Patrick.  They were on their way to the Pilgrim’s Mass and we were on our way to check out the Paradores.

Megan and I wanted to check out the Paradores Hotel because it used to be the Pilgrim’s hospital.  This was one of the first hospitals in the world.  The plazas are gorgeous.

Megan and I decided to have our last meal in Spain together at the Paradores.  It was really nice and of course beautiful.  Patrick came and had a goodbye coffee with us.  The three of us shared what we felt we learned from the Camino before parting ways.

The time came to say goodbye to Megan and Sonali.  I’m so grateful to have done this with the two of them.

I stayed at Casa de Terre Branca and I can highly recommend it.  I really took the time to relax and reflect before I set out on my journey back home the next morning.  Look at the view from my window.

This trip has come to an end, I’m going to take some time to think about the next big adventure.  This trip has been beyond wonderful and I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to do this.

Life is an adventure!

We have our shortest walk today. It was sad knowing that we will be done hiking the Camino today.  I’ve really enjoyed waking up, walking, and stopping for coffee.  We have met great people and had great conversations.

We walked to Monte del Gozo which translates to the Hill of Joy.  This is the last hill of the Camino and you get your first glimpse of Santiago de Compostela.   We stopped at the portable coffee stand to get a cup of coffee and our last passport stamp.  We kind of lingered here a bit before descending down to Santiago.

Megan explained to us that as we enter the city it is like an architectural walk back in time.  You will enter in the 20th century and as you get closer to the Cathedral you go back through the centuries.

Right as we approached the Cathedral area, we were greeted by bells.

Renovations on the Cathedral but We Made It

We made our way to The Pilgrim Office to turn in our passports and obtain our Compostela.  There was a long line for this.  On our way we ran into Mark and Eileen and she was having the mixed emotions of finishing hiking the Camino that a lot of people do.  The now what.

Our grand plan was to go to Fisterra via the bus for the evening.  We ran into a French man that we had seen a lot and he informed us that the buses were on strike so we could not obtain a ride to Fisterra.  I was flying out on Friday morning and Megan & Sonali had an early train Friday morning so we had to come to terms that we weren’t going to be able to go.

We decided to go to the Pilgrim’s Mass at noon.  Backpacks are not allowed in the Cathedral, so we took them for holding at the post office.  Megan booked herself and Sonali into a hotel and I booked myself a room at an AirBnB.

The Cathedral had a huge St. James statue in the front of the alter that Pilgrims go up behind and touch his shoulders.

The Bishop gave Mass in Spanish and he said, “The pilgrimage is life. We need to walk in faith. The ultimate expression is faith.”  It was really cool being at this Mass surrounded by so many other people who were on this journey with us.

The Botafumiero which was originally used to fumigate the smell of the sweaty Pilgrims.  This was really cool to see.

The Remains of St. James

We went and had a celebratory drink and Sonali got to eat crepes which she had been craving for a few days.

It felt odd to separate from Megan and Sonali.  We each went to our separate ways for the afternoon with a plan to meet up for dinner.  I wanted to find gifts for Brad and the girls.  Shopping felt so odd after days of having all of your belongings on your back.

I explored Santiago a bit. It is a cute city with lots of fun restaurants and parks.

It was nice having a solitary moment in front of the Cathedral and being grateful for my feet.

Megan and I had a plan to have paella to celebrate.  There is this super philosophical man that we met on the Camino named Valentin who was from Bulgaria.  We were sitting down to dinner and we said wouldn’t it be interesting to have dinner with Valentin.  Guess who walked down the street at that moment, Valentin and he joined us for dinner.  He is the type of person who I swear is a transmitter from the Divine and says exactly what you need to hear, good or bad.  Great conversation!

Megan was on the hunt for pajamas so we found some for her and Sonali.  Then we had a glass of wine and talked.  We decided to meet up at the “Pilgrim’s Museum” the next day.

With all the walking around I did that day, I did thankfully walk 12 miles.

This day of walking was dedicated to Megan, Sonali, and myself.  I am so happy that Sonali had a soccer tournament up in Minneapolis last year and that Megan invited me to hike part of the Camino adventure with them.  Megan is my oldest friend.  We met when we were 4 years old.  I’ve always cherished our friendship.  There were periods of time that we didn’t see each other as much, but she is one of the best kind of friends there are because you just pick up with no trouble.  She is an inspiration to me.  She has a way with words and is a beautiful writer and poet.  She is so kind, inviting, and fun.  It is wonderful seeing her as a mother.  She is patient and loving.  I admire the way she explains things to Sonali.  She exposes her children to the world.  She is no nonsense.  In this trip she went above and beyond with me.  She shared her lessons in life with me and listened to me with a loving heart.  Not living close to Megan, it was so great for me to get to know Sonali this way.  She is such a smart, strong, and funny person.  I enjoyed how she was present in situations and really learned from them.  I liked getting silly with her.  She taught me to take time at the end of the day to unwind and relax.  She has been so many places and seen so much already in her short life that is only going to serve her.  She is a very solid person and it will be great to witness her grow.  As for me, I’m so proud that I kept going even when in pain.  I’ve always enjoyed my adventurous side and I’m the happiest when I’m doing something to feed that.  I love people and being in a situation like this where I get to meet people with good intentions from all over the world is perfect.  I loved feeling and experiencing the positive energy of the Camino.  All of this I will miss.  Megan told me that she can access this feeling when she is away from the Camino, so that is reassuring.  I’ve loved reconnecting with Megan as adults!  Buen Camino friends!

Megan and I starting the day off with hip openers.

As we left our apartment in Azura at 6am we encountered a bunch of other Pilgrims looking for the Camino.  It looked pretty comical seeing people going in every which direction.  Megan saw a baker opening her shop and asked her where the trail was. She pointed it out to Megan, Megan gave her a quick hug as a thank you, and showed everyone the correct direction.

Once on the trail, I had one of those magical conversations where someone was speaking French to me and I was speaking English to him and it appeared that we both understood what each other was saying.

The morning was a bit foggy and cool, which I think makes perfect walking weather.  I was wearing Megan’s hiking shoes so my feet had nice space.  They were still sore from being in tight shoes for days, but they at least had some reprieve.

The evening before, we all decided that we had such a nice evening that we should find a place to all stay together again.  Eileen and I found an apartment in Lavacolla.  The pressure of getting somewhere quickly was off of us, so we were able to have a nice walk.

We came across Patrick and Laura having coffee so we joined them.

We all walked together for a while but then separated during bathroom stops.

Since we were not in a hurry, we had a really long, leisurely stop for lunch.  It felt great to put my feet up and Sonali’s leg needed the rest.  After our lunch stop I found a pharmacy so that I could purchase some ibuprofen to help reduce the inflammation.

We walked through more eucalyptus forests.

We had another decent sized ascent to make around the airport.  We met these cousins who were finishing up hiking the North Way of the Camino. They told us that there were hardly any people on that route.  At most in a day, they may run into 20 people.  The food is also supposedly fantastic on that route.  One of the guys was telling me this story of one of the days on the trail was so hot, that he seriously thought the bottom of his shoes were going to melt.  One of the men was the graphic designer for Funky Buddha Brewery and he was talking about the fun beers he got to design for.  They are out of FL and don’t distribute in MN.  I really want to try it if down in FL in the future.

As we got into Lavacolla we found our apartment. Mark and Eileen were already there.  Megan, Sonali, and I all took naps.  It was great!!

Eileen is a chef and made dinner.  They are remodeling their CA home and turning the basement into a bodega.

Patrick and Laura came by after dinner to hang out.  Laura had some serious blisters that she needed some tending to and Eileen helped her out with that.  I was showing Laura this one that was in between my toes and it seriously burst open and sprayed me right in the eye.  It was disgusting and hilarious.

We had a great night and it was sad knowing that we were going to have our last hike into Santiago tomorrow.

This day of hiking was dedicated to my inlaws, Dieter and Eunice.  We live close to them in Minnesota and they are a big part of our lives.  Eunice wanted to be a grandma for a long time, before I was ready to be a mom.  She loves spending time with my girls and makes them feel very special.  She always has something special planned with them.  She is very selfless and really shows her love through taking care of others.  She spends some of her time volunteering for various organizations that she is drawn to.  She loves to cook and bake, a skill she learned from her mom and thankfully is passing down to my girls and passed down to Brad.  When I am on my adventures she really steps in and helps Brad out with taking care of the girls, something I really appreciate and am extremely grateful for.  Dieter shares my spiritual side of experiencing the divine when in nature.  He has an eye for beauty and takes breathtaking photos.  He really enjoys good wine and has introduced me to some of my favorites.  My girls love him and enjoy getting silly with him.  Gretchen admires how well he can play the guitar and aims to be as good as him.  Brad really looks up to his parents and really wants them to be proud of him, which they are and do a great job of expressing that.  They are extremely healthy and take great care of themselves.  They have many interests and really dive into them.  They enjoy the outdoors and traveling.  I am very lucky to have them in my life.

We decided to leave the early this morning because of the increased number of Pilgrims hiking the Camino.  We were up and out the door by 5:20am.  We were having a beautiful morning hike as the sun was coming up.

We came across this cafe/bar/albergue that we decided to stop at for a morning coffee.  Omar, the barista, asked us where we were from.  When I told him Minnesota, he replied, “oh yes, the Timberwolves”.  I was really surprised that he knew where Minnesota was.  Usually people don’t know and if they do, they assume we are permanently living in winter.

This cafe had beautiful cakes.  The cheesecake had a thin layer of strawberry jam as a topping.  That morning I had already had eaten some chocolate.  I went ahead and ordered a slice of cheesecake, a cafe con leche, and a freshly squeezed orange juice.  Make sure to order orange juice in Spain.  The machine dispenses two oranges, squeezes the juice out of them, straight into the glass.  It is so refreshing and tastes so good.  The cheesecake was so good that Sonali had a second piece.  These 3 Frenchmen that stayed in the same albergue with us the evening before stopped in for a coffee as well.  They ordered cheesecake as well.

We left the cafe, me in a sugar coma, and headed on our way towards Melide.  There was a group raising money for the Spanish Paraolympics.  They were putting old fashioned wax stamps in your Pilgrim Passport for a suggested donation of €1.  Of course we participated, I think this organization is so inspirational.

As we approached Melide, we thought it be best to try to make reservations somewhere just so that we knew we had a place to stay.  Since it was raining, we stopped at the first cafe we came across.  Megan found this great apartment in Azura on Bookings.com.  It was cheap and pretty big.  Megan said that it’d be great if we could find two more people to stay with us to get it even cheaper.  Just as she said this, the CA couple came walking up.  We had seen them everyday and always chatted with them.  We asked if they were interested in staying with us and they were.  Everyone was excited about the prospect of a kitchen and a washing machine.

We were about to leave when I decided I should eat some real food.  All the sugar that morning was making my brain foggy and I could not think straight.  We had been sitting there for about a half hour before I decided this.  This is what can be annoying for other people when you are hiking with friends, you go off of other people’s needs.  Then Sonali decided she should eat and we convinced Megan to eat some soup because it was chilly from the rain.  Luckily by the time we were through with lunch, the rain had stopped.  This was really good for Megan because she could switch out of her shoes that would hit the back of her Achilles’ tendon and into her comfortable Birkenstocks.

This is the bridge into Melide

Once getting through the town, we entered some eucalyptus forests.  They smell so good.  These forests are controversial because they are not native to Spain and they really took off.  Some people want them and some people want them gone.

Sonali was suffering from shin splints on one of her legs, so after a while of hiking we stopped again so she could rest it.  I massaged it for a while.  My feet were still hurting so I finally tried on Megan’s hiking shoes that she couldn’t wear because they hurt her Achilles’ tendon.  They are size 8 1/2 and I wear a size 7.  They felt heavenly on my feet.  The front of my feet and my toes had so much space.  I can’t believe I waited that long to try them on!!!

We pressed on past one of the oldest albergues.  Patrick and Laura were staying there.  It was beautiful and right on the river.  I’d like to stay there sometime.  Megan stayed here before with her husband and raved about it.

Google maps took us a crazy long way through Azura to get to our apartment.  We were all so happy once we arrived.  Megan and I were going to run to the store when Mark and Eileen arrived bearing wine.  We drank some wine and chatted before running to the grocery store.  Nothing like shopping on a wine buzz and smelly from hiking all day.

Megan cooked and was happy doing so.  We had a fun night getting to know Eileen and Mark.

It felt so nice having some clean clothes and a clean bed to sleep in.  Life is good!!

This day of walking was dedicated to my oldest daughter, Gretchen.  She is my adventure partner in crime.  She is so interested in so many things from climbing, to learning to wind surf, to sailing, to horseback riding, to hiking all of the Superior Lake Hiking Trail.  She has always loved animals.  When she was a baby, my friend Jeanna and I took her to the Miracle of Birth Barn at the State Fair. When we were leaving the barn, she became so upset and was pointing and reaching for the animals.  She has a really tender heart for animals.  She is a huge lover of nature and the outdoors.  She also really enjoys all four seasons and has passions in all of them.  Winter is her season for cross country skiing and snowboarding.  Gretchen also really loves to read and is a very imaginative writer.  She really has a zest for life.  Gretchen can be her own hardest critic as well.  I love life with Gretchen in it.

This morning was an exciting morning.  It started off a bit slow because Megan’s poor 2nd outfit had been damp from being washed 3 days prior, so she hung them up outside on the clothesline the evening before hoping they would dry.   It rained really hard so they were soaking wet.  She had to put them in the dryer, hoping that would help, but European dryers don’t really seem to always dry clothes.  She had to hook the wet clothes to her backpack.  With all this happening, we sent our friends ahead to hike without us.

Once we left the albergue, the exciting part happened. We reached the 100Km from Santiago marker.

This marker is one of the most graffitied marker.  In order to earn your Compostela, you need to hike the last 100km.  A lot of people start the Camino here.

We were talking about how this part of the trail feels like fairies would live here.  Sonali said it seemed like you would see a unicorn running through the fields here.

We came across this sign:

This made me think of Brad.  Our first outing that we did alone together was to go see the movie “A Beautiful Life” at the Lagoon Theater in Minneapolis.  The next morning, Brad sent me an email with this written “Buon Giorno Principessa” in the heading.  After receiving that, I knew he liked me.

We came across this bridge that lead us to the town of Portomarin.  We made a quick stop there.  The town was getting set up for their market.  There were two woman preparing octopus to put on the grill, a woman selling handmade baskets, vendors selling jamon, and lots of other vendors getting their goods ready for sale.

We had a cafe con leche and then headed on our way.  On our way out of town, a family passed us.  A really athletic looking mom with her three teenaged daughters.  They looked very cheerful and they appeared to be energetic, super put together, and clean.  The father of the group had on a shirt that looked ironed.  We referred to them as the clean family because you could smell the soap, not a super common experience on the trail.  Not that people smell dirty, just not a super fresh soap smell.

After this picture, Megan freed herself of the wet pants hanging on her backpack.  There was a garbage bin on the trail and she unclipped them from the carbiner and chucked them in the trash.  She was done with pants that did not dry after 4 days.  A bit later on our hike, I was walking and starting to feel some pain.  All of a sudden it felt like a small piece of wood, cut in between my toes. I had to stop, take off my backpack, than take off my shoe and sock.  One of my blisters had exploded!!!  Amazingly after that, it felt better.

We decided to stay at an albergue in Ligone.  There were two of them.  Both were full.  Patrick thankfully sent a message saying that he and the Italian ladies were staying in Eirexe, about 1km away.  So we pressed on. This mama cow and her calves were the welcoming committee to Eirexe.

There were 4 other women looking for beds for the evening besides the 3 of us.  In the first albergue they only had 6 beds available. So the 4 women took those beds.  Luckily, across the street there was a really nice pension albergue that had exactly 3 beds left.  And to top it off, there were only 2 bunk beds in the room with a private shower and toilet.  It felt super luxurious!

We headed over to the cafe/bar after settling in to our room.  Megan ordered us a couple of cerveza con limon. I was feeling great after resting my feet the night before and thankfully to Megan helping me tend to my blisters.  As we were sitting and enjoying a beer, we saw a lot of people stop at the albergues to see about a bed, then get turned away.  We noticed that at the table in front of us sat the clean family enjoying a meal together.  Come to find out, the dad was Jose Andres who is a famous chef.  He basically brought tapas to the US.  He has a show on PBS called “Made in Spain”.  I had never heard of him, but after looking him up, I am super impressed.  Being an immigrant to the US himself, he is very vocal for other immigrants.  He had been tweeting from the Camino.

We had a fun night of hanging out with people we have gotten to know on the Camino.  Lots of laughs and great conversation. This is one of my favorite things about the Camino.  Patrick after seeing cows all day, wanted some meat.  So we all had burgers with Spanish bacon on them…..YUM!! I totally recommend these.

Today’s hike was dedicated to Brad, it seemed like the perfect day for this after getting that little message.  I really enjoy fluttering around and Brad is the complete opposite of me.  I refer to him as the rock of the family.  He is the one who keeps us on track.  For extended members of our family he is always willing to help out with whatever anyone needs help with.  He really enjoys doing projects and always seems to have something going on.  Our daughters have him wrapped around their fingers.  He is a very involved dad and he makes us all feel safe.  He is quiet, not one to express emotions, but when he does it is very genuine, surprising, and thoughtful.  He loves to cook and bake.  He enjoys challenging himself and pushing himself with biking and skiing.  He always seems to have a lot going on in his head.  He is the yin to my yang.

Patrick, Megan, Sonali, and I had another early morning departure.  This morning was really fun despite the pain in my feet.  We walked with Daniela, an Italian woman living in Germany whose tibialus anterior was hurting her and Jean Paul the French man who worked on my blisters.  With Daniela, I spoke a combination of German and English.

Jean Paul has this crazy, fun energy and is one of those rare people that you meet who has a huge heart and wants to spread happiness to everyone.  This is how he greets everyone:

He has so much energy.  His big heart bought two boxes of ice cream treats after our breakfast coffee stop and was handing them out to people as he greeted them.

Daniela was really cool.  She wasn’t a believer until a couple years ago when she was in a car accident that should have killed her.  She enjoyed walking the majority of the trail in solitude to contemplate what she needed to.  She was using walking sticks and gave me one to use.  That helped me a ton.  I felt connected to her and had really good conversations with her for the short amount of time we spent together.

I walked a little slower due to the issue with my feet but was totally determined to not get into a taxi or take a bus while in the trail.  Sonali and I had it in our heads and hearts that we wanted to get to Santiago early on Wednesday morning so that we could bus it to Fisterra, where the Roman’s thought the end if the world was.  Megan kept reminding us that we do have until Thursday to hike, so to pay attention to our phyiscal needs and if we needed a rest day, to rest.

Reality of Rest Stops

When the Camera is Known to Be There

Megan could tell when I was hurting because I’d get quieter, slow down, and not be in front.

I loved how livestock would just be walking around the trail.  It’s so different from what I’m used to.

The heat picked up in the afternoon.  When we made it to Ferreiros, I was at the tail end.  There are two albergues and a lot of confusion.  Patrick was nervous because there was a huge group of Boy Scouts not too far behind us and was worried about everyone getting a bunk.  He booked himself into the municipal albergue and Megan had booked Sonali, herself, and I into a different albergue.  Patrick was really sweet and concerned about all of us getting a bed.  I had told Megan, once I was done at the bar/cafe I wasn’t moving.  I was putting my feet up after my shower and most likely not moving.  Megan went above and beyond what a friend should have to do.  She contacted Daniela who was in the other albergue to borrow her sewing kit to redo the work on my blisters.  Then she borrowed a lighter from a French man to sterilize the needle and worked on my feet.  So much love and gratitude for Megan ❤️.  We just chilled in our beds, zoned our, and elevated our feet.

One of the coolest things about the Camino is communicating with people with whom you don’t share a common language with.  They will speak in their language and you speak in your own AND somehow you understand everything.  Talking to others, they enjoy and have experienced this as well.

This hike was dedicated to my little one, Hanna.  I waited and tried so hard for her to get here.  This experience with that  totally changed my life and what I do for a career.  I was really tested on perseverance and not giving up.  She is one of the funniest people I know. Hanna really pays attention to detail and notices small differences.  She loves to cuddle.  She knows how to push her big sister’s buttons, but also totally hero worships her as well.  She enjoys making people laugh.  She can be prone to anxiety but does okay with help managing it.  She feels a lot.  I can’t imagine my life without her.  She is great at telling you what she wants and needs.

Venus behind Megan Early Morning on the Camino

This morning I woke up extra early to the sounds of my fellow Pilgrims snoring.  I took advantage of this and spent some quiet, alone time before Megan, Sonali, and Patrick joined me to begin our daily walk.

Walking out of O’Cebrerio in the early morning darkness was just beautiful.  You are walking in nature immediately.  Looking up at the sky you could see Venus, it felt like she had our back.

There is something magical about being on the Camino while the sun is rising, watching the world wake up.  On this part of the trail there are a lot of farms, so you will hear the roosters crowing, dogs barking, and cows mooing.  You see the shiny reflection of cat’s eyes running across the road or hiding in the bushes.

At day break we came across this elevation sign and a statue of Santiago (St. James).

It is customary for people to pick up a stone along the trail and think about something they want to leave behind.  People do this through prayer, meditation, or contemplation. Then you place the stone either back on the ground or on a marker.  You see this throughout the trail.  There are a number of people on the Camino that would describe themselves as non-believers.

We walked on, told stories, got to know Patrick more, and came across this cafe for a morning break.  With sore, blistered feet, breaks FEEL SOOOOOOO GOOD.  I was just learning what works best for me in these painful situations.  Shoes off at stops are an extremely common sight at a cafe.  The Spanish Tortilla (like a frittata with potatoes and onions) and coffee con leche was my fuel of choice.

One of the coolest things about the Camino is meeting people from all over. Patrick and I were inside waiting to order, when we started talking with three women inside as waiting as well.  One woman was the coolest, bubbliest woman from Madrid.  She told me her secrets to cook the beloved Spanish Tortilla.  The other two women were named Valentina and Laura, they were from the same region in Italy and did not know each other before the Camino.

Valentina told me about taking the longer route to Samos.  At this part of the trail you have two choices, either follow the road or take the longer, more scenic route that follows a river to Samos.  In Samos the albergue is in a Benedictine monastery that dates back to the 6th century.  The church has a daily Vespers service at 6pm, so Megan was sold.

The heat of the day was really picking up. Patrick had talked about the Day 3 Struggle of the Conscious.  He said in a lot of life situations, transitions, or changes that day 3 is usually a struggle.  I’d have to say, that this held true to me.  I was in pain from the blisters and thinking, taking a taxi wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, would it? I was really having an inner struggle, so I was comforted knowing that this was ‘normal’ or a common occurrence.  It somehow kept me going.

Agree with it or not, “The Running of the Bulls” started in Pamplona, Spain.  This is a calmer laid back version, a farmer ‘walking’ his cows back from the field to the gate.

Since we were at such high elevation we had to walk down hill for a portion of the day.

This man was walking up the trail as we were going down.

For a long portion of this route, we were in nature.  We walked through a couple of old, abandoned small villages.  But basically we were committed to getting to Samos.  Megan and Sonali had been on the trail for 20 days at this point, so their bodies were used to this.  It appears after meeting a lot of people whom started in St. Jean, that their bodies and feet had already gone through the pain stage.  That gave me hope.  I was grateful for another newbie to be walking with us.  My body and muscles felt great, it was just the blistered feet that were the problem.

Turning around the corner, the monastery came into sight.  It was such an awe inspiring sight after not seeing a lot of buildings along the way, then all of a sudden this.

For the last portion of the walk into town and the monastery, I had to go into a meditative state by watching Patrick’s feet walk in front of mine.  He said mentally knowing that I was depending on his feet, it helped him concentrate on doing something.  After a long, hot day of waking I was THRILLED to be at the monastery.

The first thing I do at the albergue’s is put the sheets on the bed and pillow cases that the albergues provide (trying to prevent the spread of bed bugs) and then I shower. This shower was one of my favorite showers in my life because it felt so healing.  The shower itself was nothing fancy, a bit dirty in fact but after the long day it was the most welcomed thing in the world.

I had flip flops to change into after hiking.  Wearing these, fellow Pilgrins saw how gross my feet were.  We went to grab a cerveza con limon and sat with the three Italian women we had met….Valentina, Laura, and Daniela.  Laura was tending to her blisters and offered to give me Compeed for mine.  I took her up on that offer and traded her a lower leg massage to be redeemed at a later time.

I went with Megan to the Vesper’s service.  Daniela was there as well as one of the most energetic French men I’ve ever met named Jean Paul.  During the service I was massaging Daniela’s left lower leg because her anterior tiblia was really hurting her.  It seems odd to do this in a church, but Megan said it was one of the most beautiful experiences for her to witness.  Healing during vespers.  Jean Paul saw my feet and told me he would do surgery on the blisters.  He had been waking since May 5th and started at the south of France.

After the service I had a couple of cervesa’s to prepare myself for Jean Paul’s treatment.  What you do is take a threaded, sterilized sewing needle and sew it through your blisters.  You keep the thread in the blister along with an antibiotic cream to prevent infection.  The theory is it keeps the blister drained.  Since Jean Paul didn’t speak a lick of English and me not a lick of French, we had quite the funny exchange.  I had to call Megan over to translate for us.  Sooooo much relief!!!  I massaged Jean Paul’s calves for an energy exchange payment.

It felt sooooo good to go to bed that evening.

Today’s walk was dedicated to my dad. He has had a lot of struggles both personal as well as watching my mom go through everything with her cancer.  I can’t imagine watching your life partner endure this.  My dad has been there for me and a lot of my friends throughout my life.  I remember him coming up to drop off my Aunt Adeline’s car after I graduated from the U of M and asking me what I was going to do with my life.  He is not one that tells you what to do but listens.  He is someone who does not waste anything and has been a “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” person before it was cool to be.  My girls refer to him as Hot Dog Papa because he loves to take them out for hot dogs.  My girls also know that Papa is going to take them to the zoo and swimming at the YMCA. He is one whom quietly is there.  Growing up my mom worked as a night nurse on the weekends.  My dad was actively involved with getting us out of the house so she could sleep.  We spent a lot of time at the zoo.  He also did some of the cooking.  So I was raised with the idea that men are actively part of both child rearing and domestic chores.  My dad has the reputation of knowing a lot of people and talking with them.  All the grandkids know and expect this.