Disneyland or Sanitago??

So one walks for almost a month and ends up at Disneyland??

It makes you miss the wheatfields and small...I mean SMALL villages!!

We got our certificates today! Soooo exciting...but I think getting another beer might be more exciting than this town! HAHH!!

It feels great to be done and running into Pilgrim friends at the front of the Cathedral!

We are all heading out today and tomorrow...but to reunite again next year I´m sure!

Mary and I are heading back to Barcelona tomorrow to catch a flight HOPEFULLY on the 28th! Keep your fingers crossed...not looking sooo good....luckily after we get to Philly it´s wide open!

Tomorrow it is official...

TOmorrow we will all go together to the Cathedral with Mary in a Taxi and get our certificates of completion! It WILL be framed!!

In town is the festival of Santiago..we reached it here for the festivities...but in reality...I think we all have something more to celebrate!

We will probably not do to the festival and keep that for another time!!

I will be either coming home 25-27. If I continue home alone I will try and make a stop either in Texas to see Sean, Chicago to see Geordan, or Aaron in Sacramento. Depends on flights and time.

4.5 kms...to Santiago..

Today we woke up and spent about 5 hours at the hospital. Everyone is ok...but Mary can´t walk. We took a taxi from the Pilgrim Village...got her X-Rays and she got a shot in her hip. The doctor said it was cause of too much walking...hummm...that is a genius explanation!! HAHAH!! Reality is, is that everyone there was really nice and helpful!

We got her to the Albergue and our friend Lorenzo went to the Pharmacy to get her perscription. The doctor said nothing is broken, no fractures, and it´s just swollen tendons. She said, the doctor, that she just needs to rest and will be ok in 2-3 days.

I took a taxi back to the village and completed the walk with some friends into Santiago while Mary rested to get better. In reality we all feel that we reached it last night after the horrible day-night of walking!

BUT....we are here..in Santiago!! YEAHH!!

TOmorrow we will see how Mary is doing...she will either come home with me in a few days...or if she starts feeling better like the doctor says she will stay and continue her journey.

The last 40kms...

Today we walked 36 kms to the last town 4.5kms outside of Santiago...today was 13 hours on the trail. The pains are slowing us all down!

I think Mary is my new hero!

We arrived at the ¨Pligrim Village¨ about 11pm in the dark and pouring down rain...this day was everyone´s worst!

Rainy Days are here...

For the few past days it has been raining like CRAZY!!! It has been a really nice change from the blistering heat!

Day 15

We have walked soooo far we have reached Tahoe!! It´s amazing!! The town we are in is called something like...umm...Portomarine. And there is an amazing lake that crosses over it. The town originally was built as a single road..then they choose to rebuild it with moving the church stone by stone up the hill...flooding the town and put a water resivoir in. I guess it´s called the ¨Flooded Town¨ or something...

When we got here all the ALbergues were full except one that we luckily got in..it holds about 160 people..I feel like we are in a hospital zone or a war care place. we walk in to a HUGE room divided by sheets as walls to seperate the 4 rooms of about 20 bunk beds PER room!! It´s huge...I wonder if everyone here has Typoid???

Today was exciting to get to the lake town...to then realize that it was totally disgusting to get in....Mary and I just miss the beach so much I think we WANT the water!!

I saw goats today!! yeahh!!

Ok...last one...Day 13 going on 14...

We had an amazing Italian dinner cooked for us....I got to see the sunset...well not really, but the clouds turned pink!

BTW...please ignore the bad spellings..it´s really freaking hard typing on this foreign keybord..we got..çç and ¿¿¿¿ and such to deal with!!

Day...12

Leaving town early in the morning...this was RIGHT our of town...we have reached many towns with bridges and water now...

The first day...on the way...

Before we reached the church that we slept on the floor...this is the first day of a short walk outside of Pamplona to Cizar Minor.

Last blog for the night...

This is really taking too much time to upload these damn photos that I don´t know if I can do more...

I would love to later share the rain photos...our new friends...the churches....the wheat fields...the vineyards...the wine foutain...the river we jumped in yesterday...the hills we tortured up....the heat we escaped by crawling into a small stone hut on the trail...the nice Spainish people we have meet...the wine we drank...the small stone villages we stay in...the places we alomst died....later it will be documented and shared!!

Alisa...you´d love this...

We have picked the best time of year so far...besides the heat wave we are experiencing....for the wild flowers to be out!! IT´s amazing!!

This guys was so DRUNK...that trail to the right is the Camino... had to walk by him...I think he almost fell off that thing!

There were so many cool small churches along the trail!

Professionals only...

Do NOT try this at home....

I have come to realize that this is the hardest thing I have ever done before...but the most amazing thing too!! There are many I think that would love to do what we are doing...but many I think that couldn´t do it!! Some days I´ve had I too think and wonder if I¨ll be able to finish it!

NOw that days have past....I know that I will make it and it´ll only be that MUCH MORE rewarding!! I know that when I return home that I can conquer anything...it´s impowering what I´ve been able to do the past few weeks...

P.S....don´t ever under estimate the power of a shower and a bed to sleep in..

Getting our credintials...

In Pamplona we arrived and checked in with the church to get our Pilgim credintails...since it was the first day of 7 of the RUnning of the Bulls the town was closed to pilgrim stays...so we later went pass town to a church for the night...


this photo is of me getting my credintail at the church...

Day 13...

This is the attic Albergue we stayed in. You were not allowed to get up before 6am, and we were woken up in the morning to LOUD Italian Opera....it gave you chills it was so amazing!

Yesterday we decieded to stay at the bottom of the 8km hill (which recommended in the books to be a 3 hour hike) till the morning!! I could NOT have done it..I was already done!!

We´ve been walking between 24-35km a day...to give you an idea what that is...it´s 40km for a marathon...26miles.

Today we reached a new part of Spain...the wetter area...yet I think we are having a heat wave!!

My camera has started to stop working....not so sure what is wrong with it!!...IT´s a LOT of weight to carry around for something that is not working!!!

I have blisters and sore feet...but finally after 14 days I´m getting used to the pain that it´s really just part of everyday life!....

It´s really funny to see the new pilgrims that have arrived on the trail after us...they are on day 3-4 and they are experiencing the same pain we did a few weeks ago...plus their skin is pale...and I know that will end up in a disaster if they don´t have sunscreen! We had to take our friend Lorenzo to the hospital yesterday before we left the town cause his sunburn had turned into a 3degree burn!! Soooo GROSSS!!

Lorenzo's Arm was finally starting to heal!