All posts by Krystal L

Camino, Camino 2016, Spain, travel, Uncategorized

Camino Day 1: Sarria to Mercadoiro

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Image Credit: http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/

Today’s schedule:

7:00am Alarm
8:18am Breakfast at Matias Locanda
8:49am Begin the Camino
11:27am Snack break along the trail
12:49pm Lunch break at Casa Cruceiro 
2:12pm First boo boo of the Camino
2:49pm Stop at the Albergue Mercadoiro 
4:02pm Team JEJ reach the Albergue
5:30pm Kids dinner
6:42pm Kids watch 9 movie
8:01pm Dinner
9:00pm Bedtime for JEJ
10:00pm Bedtime for JKM

Distance covered: 16.3km/10.9mi
Mia’s pedometer: 28,396 steps

We must have had a disconnect somewhere because Mom was quite pissy when I turned on the room lights at 7am after my alarm went off. She has the idea that kids can’t function without 10-12 hours of sleep. That’s not happening in my family, unless it’s the weekend and we’re home in bed. Erika woke up crying about not feeling well but there isn’t much we can do for her besides 3 children’s Tylenol chewables. We packed up everything and headed out of the albergue and returned to the same restaurant as last night. Their breakfast buffet (5€ each) was disappointing to say the least. It didn’t compare to the American continental breakfast in most hotels. Mom was the classy American who pocketed two yogurts to take on the trail. After breakfast, it was time to hit the trail. 

The Camino leaves from a point right outside our albergue so we backtracked up the hill once more. I reset the pedometers for each kid and we were off. The complete countryside was blanketed in a heavy fog so we couldn’t see much for the first hour or two as we climbed up. Justin did really good and stayed up with us for the first hour. As soon as we slowed down, rather stopped, to let Grandma and Erika catch up with us, he fell back and walked with them. The scenery is gorgeous and there was so much to see around every corner. Thankfully the weather is beautiful, not too hot or cold and no rain in sight! The kilometer markers frequently have stacks of rocks on top and they are numerous, usually 3-4 markers per kilometer. After Mia was stopping to stack a rock on top of every one, we talked her  into doing it only when it changed kilometers, like from 99 to 98, etc. 

We stopped to sit on a rock wall and have a small snack after a couple hours. There are rock walls dividing all the different fields, very reminiscent of my trip to Ireland. The fragrance of cow manure hangs thick over the entire Camino except when we’re directly in town. It beats the heavy cloying perfume of women though so no complaints. Many beautiful wild flowers scattered all over so I had to stop and take pictures of each kind I found. 

We happened upon a cafe just after noon but Jose wanted to continue on a little more. Mia was getting hungry by the time we reached the next one and I was too to be honest so we stopped. José ordered the pilgrim’s menu (9€) which comes with a drink, first and second platter, and a dessert. He got caldo gallego, chicken breast with fries, red wine, and a banana as they are out of everything else. I ordered a tortilla de patata for Mia and I to share along with a bowl of lentil soup (3,50€) for me and a plate of macarrones pasta (4,50€) for her and a Cola Cao to drink. José knocked over his glass of wine and it poured all over the table, our phones, battery pack, nothing important you know. The gentleman there helped us clean it up and brought José the rest of a bottle of wine. What we hadn’t realized was that Mia’s pack was sitting right under the end of the table and the wine had dripped off the table and all over her sweatshirt. José ended up knocking over his next glass too. We had planned to sit there and easily for JEJ to catch up but mom texted me that they had just arrived at the first café and they were stopping to eat so we continued on. 

There were lots of other pilgrims out on the  trails today. We didn’t find any other kids that were walking but a couple passed us on bikes with a larger group. There are many Spaniards who take advantage of Semana Santa (Spring break) to walk the Camino. Many people comment on Mia for being so brave and courageous to do this with us so she is feeling very proud of herself as she should. We had our first medical accident of the Camino when we stopped to take a selfie. Since Mia is so much shorter than us, we had her climb on a rock wall to get in the picture. When we were helping her down, we let her fall and she scraped up her knee and drew blood. She was laughing in order to hold back the tears. 

We finally reached the albergue that I had tentatively planned on stopping at the first night. JEJ were still 4km behind us so it wasn’t likely they’d be able to go much farther before dark fell. We checked to make sure they had 6 beds available and say down to wait for their arrival about an hour and 15 minutes later. We got our own room with 3 sets of bunks in it and two Canadian gentlemen staying in the next room over. The room was quite chilly with no heater so we put the paper sheets and cases on that they had issued us upon check-in before laying out our sleeping bags and crawling in for warmth. 

I washed Mia’s sweatshirt in the utility sink outside to get rid of the red wine and hung it out on the clothes line. We sat at the tables outside the restaurant and chatted with everyone passing through. One couple showed up with a daughter about Erika’s age and they had a drink while figuring out their next move and they decided to push on. The kitchen doesn’t start serving dinner until 7pm so we ordered a whole tortilla de patata for the kids to eat. Afterwards, we tucked them into bed with the Kindle so they could watch the movie “9”. José and I went over to eat and found that the Canadians had built a fire in the woodstove so we sat upstairs to eat and relax. They only offered two main dishes; fish or chicken. We ordered one of each and Mia got spaghetti carbonara. After we finished eating, I brought my journal over so I could write in the warmth while José played dominoes with Mia. The Canadians sat downstairs and video chatted with their family back home and complained about pretty much everything. Hike your own hike I guess but geez. Back to the room where JEJ were already sleeping and we crawled into bed. Justin and José slept alone in their bunks while mom shared with Erika and I with Mia. She’s got a super hot core so she was my personal people heater all night long. Buen Camino!  


Breakfast at Matias Locanda: 30€
Lunch at Casa Cruceiro: 18,90€
Lunch at Casa Morgade: 7,50€ (Erika toast 1,50€, JJ egg/cheese bocadillo 3€ each) 
Dinner: 44,75€ (fish/chicken 7, spaghetti carbonara 5, tortilla de patata 15, 4 sodas for 8€, tinto de verano x2 8€,  house wine 1,75€,  beer 2€)
Fruit 5,50€ (7 pieces) 
Mercadoiro Albergue: 60€
Total Daily Expenses: 166,65€



Camino, Camino 2016, Spain, travel, Uncategorized

Camino Day 0: Traveling from Santa Marta de Tormes to Sarria

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Today’s schedule:
 9:20am-Depart Santa Marta de Tormes on bus #29 to the Salamanca bus station
10:15am-Depart Salamanca

11:15am-Arrive at Zamora bus station
11:15am to 2:15pm-Explore Zamora 
2:41pm-Depart on Renfe train (delayed to 3:11pm)
7:18pm-Arrive in Sarria 

7:35pm Check into Albergue Monasterio de la Magdalena
8:30pm Dinner at Matias Locanda Italian 
10:30pm Lights out

 I think we’ve experienced just a little of everything except mud today. The morning plans went off without a hitch and we were able to catch both busses to arrive in Zamora right on schedule. Even though our train wasn’t scheduled to leave until 2:41pm, we wanted to get here early so we could do a little exploring beforehand. The kids were bouncing out of their seats on the bus, thankfully it was half empty. 


There was a city park beside the Zamora bus station so we walked over there to let the kids play and have a snack while I figured out our next move. I hadn’t done any research ahead of time so it’s research as we go. After they played, we headed towards the cathedral. It was a half hour walk (2.4km) that took about twice that long. We happened upon a stand selling filled muffins or “barquillos” so the kids came to a screeching halt. Some of them were dipped or “bañado” in chocolate but they are all filled with something! Mom picked out an apple one,  Mia got a dipped strawberry, Erika a dipped banana, Justin a chocolate chip covered cookie, and José a coconut one. I planned to help anyone finish theirs. We sat down in the Plaza Mayor to eat them and take another break. I sense a running theme here with the kids and we haven’t even started the Camino yet! 

We continued our explorations and happened upon an unexpected surprise! A pressed coin machine. The clerk inside the store even gave me bright shiny 5 céntimos coins when I went inside for change. Each kid picked out their design and got in an upper body workout at no additional cost. We finally made it to the cathedral and castle. There was an actual moat around the castle which was pretty neat. It was closed so we aren’t able to go in and see the inside. You could see the wheel that was used for the old drawbridge. 

Mom sat down on a bench and started feeding the kids again, this time a packet of tuna with mayo mixed in, blech! Mia had set her trekking pole down on the other side of the castle grounds and a Spanish mother walked over and brought it back to us. The sun was shining and Mia had taken off her sweatshirt as she’s the first one to get hot. We packed everything back up just after 1:30pm so we could make it to the train station on time. Exactly at that moment it started to sprinkle… and then pour. We ran and sought cover in the opening to the cathedral. The pack covers went on the backpacks and rain coats on us. Meanwhile Erika is bitching about me not letting her pack an umbrella! We set off down the streets in the pouring rain and I’m still zipping back and forth taking pictures. When the hail started coming down, I was howling with laughter and I’m sure everyone thought I was an idiot but it was hilarious! Thirty minutes earlier we were relaxing in the sunshine and now this. Are we in Spain or Central Oregon? 

The Zamora train station is literally meters away from the bus station so that was an easy find. We knocked all the rain off ourselves and our gear and packed away the covers and coats. We used the bathroom or “aseos” and sat down to await our train in 25 minutes. They announced our  train and we headed out to platform 4. It involved going down stairs, walking in a tunnel under the tracks, having an agent scan our tickets, and then coming up on the other side. The wind was blowing and it was slightly chilly out on that platform. The best part was realizing that our train was running late but we had to stay on the platform and wait without knowing when. We all huddled against a barrier and used it as a wind break. We gave  up after about 30 minutes of waiting and shivering. Murphy’s Law: That damn train pulled up as soon as we dug everything out of our packs. 

The train was okay. No power outlets anywhere near our seats, cafeteria car serving juice and croissants and the sort for 4€ and up. The kids were bouncing off the walls again but nothing in comparison to the “adorable” preschool sitting ahead of me. Our children always look like angels in comparison with others. The view was quite beautiful. Mom wasn’t too happy when the train started operating in reverse half way through the trip. The train arrived about 20 minutes behind schedule and it was a short hike to the albergue. Google Maps took us on a back way but we found it. We didn’t see another soul there beside the front desk guy. A friend I met in Salamanca recommended a restaurant in town so we locked our backpacks in the lockers and walked down the hill again. It happened to be the first restaurant that we came to so that was nice, and convenient. The food was good. Justin and Erika shared a pizza Bianca aka cheese pizza. I had spinach tortellini and the portion was half the size of my appetite. Jose ordered shrimp pasta and Mia got spaghetti ala carbonara so I helped her eat it as the dish was huge. Mom got vegetable lasagna for her vegetarian find. No dessert for us. The kids added their signature to the wall and we walked back to the albergue to turn in for the night. 

Local transit bus: 1,05€ each with abono card

Normal bus from Salamanca to Zamora: 5,30€ each

Barquillos 7,70€
Pressed coins 3,15€
Renfe train (ALVIA 04325) – Turista from Zamora to Sarria: Adult 33,90€ child 20,35€
Albergue: Monasterio de la Magdalena 10€ each (private 6 bed room)
Dinner at Matias Locanda 55€
Total daily expenses: 326,70€


Camino, Camino 2016, Spain, travel, Uncategorized

Traveling to the camino

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           The Camino De Santiago

Tomorrow we are going to start the Camino de  Santiago . First we  had to go to the bus stop well we were walking there it started raining at least my dad could see the bus. So when we were on the bus it was like only 10 minutes. So when we were at the other bus stop we were playing games. When we were at the train station we had 2 hours to play at the parks and explore Zamora when we were walking around Zamora we got hungry just in time because there was a cupcake shop I had a strawberry  cupcake and my dad got a coconut cupcake also Erika got a banana  cupcake Justin got a chocolate chip cupcake and my grandma an apple cupcake  we had to stop at plaza mayor and ate we kept walking and hit the cathedral and it started raining then hailing ouch we started to walk more and there was a castle we ate tuna with mayo I lost my stick but a girl came with my stick WO .When we were on the train my grandma past time with playing games.
Finally the microphone said Sarria and we got off “Finally” so we got off and we walked to the albergue and we went in to our room and set up. Today we ate at a Italian restaurant.

Camino, Camino 2016, Spain, travel, Uncategorized

Preparing for our Camino

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Formally known as the Camino de Santiago or Way of St James, it is usually referred to as the Camino. My obsession dates back many years to my first glimpse of it when a Facebook friend made the pilgrimage as part of a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity. Then I proceeded to watch the Martin Sheen/Emilio Estevez indie film “The Way” a couple hundred times and that’s all she wrote. The Camino is what actually brought our family to Spain. If I hadn’t heard about it and dreamed about it for so long, Spain would not have been on my radar at all. I started training for this cross country hike for years and the original plan was that José, Kara, and I would walk it in August of 2015 to celebrate their 40th birthday.

Instead of doing that, I moved the whole family to Spain in September 2015 and the Camino got put on hold as we figured out the logistics of doing it while the girls and I were in school full time and well, the girls. When I received my second semester classes, I realized that I would have six weeks off between classes and it coincided with Mom and Justin’s visit to Spain. My mom is a hiker. Like one of those crazy hikers who disappear up into the mountains for a few weeks and you don’t know if she’s alive, lying at the bottom of a ravine with a broken leg, or anything. She wasn’t my worry, well just a little but Kara and I bought a travel insurance policy so if she breaks a hip on the Camino, we’ve got her bills covered. We got travel insurance for Justin too, just in case he gets a little crazy out there and does who knows what. I probably shouldn’t have said that. If karma or fate has any sense of humor, I hope that they aren’t going to take that as a challenge.

Since we have the kids in tow and limited time, we decided to do the final 110km into Santiago de Compostela starting in Sarria, Lugo. That will qualify everyone to receive the Compostela certificate at the end of the journey. Providing that everyone is still in good health and good spirits, we are going to continue on and walk all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in Finisterre and maybe up to Muxia. We won’t know for sure until we reach Santiago. Tomorrow begins our journey as we take a bus from Salamanca to Zamora and then board a train to Sarria where we will rest up and start out bright and early Tuesday morning.

The general rule of thumb for long distance hikes is that you shouldn’t carry more than 10% of your body weight. We will be sleeping in albergues (pilgrim hostels) every night and eating in bars and restaurants. The weather will be fairly chilly in the mornings and rain is forecasted for half the journey so our packing list is varied. In order to not carry multiples, Mom and I are going to share the same pair of shower shoes, Erika, Justin, and Mia are going to use the same pair of Crocs for the shower, my family will use the same tube of toothpaste, and I’m carrying Jose’s Kindle HD loaded with movies to occupy the kids at night before they pass out in exhaustion. Everyone has their own cell phone and charger to take pictures with during the day and hopefully write a short blog note in the evenings.

I weigh 176.4 lbs so my pack is over weight at 21.6 lbs…

I am currently sitting on the couch and debating the last minute things that I want to throw in my backpack. This is a once in a lifetime experience for all 6 of us to be doing this and I’m thinking that I want to bring my DVD camcorder. I haven’t weighed my pack with the Kindle, journal, pencils, and camcorder yet but I already had a couple pounds of wiggle room this morning when I laid everything out. [Update: with the camcorder and charger and stuff, I’m over the target weight by 4 pounds. I think I’m going to go for it though. Maybe I’ll burn more calories in the bargain!]

Jose weighs 181 lbs so his pack is right on target at 18 lbs

José dislocated his shoulder when we were living in Mexico in 2014 so he has developed some arthritis in that shoulder now. Even though he is super strong and completely capable, I am worried about how the weight of the pack is going to affect that shoulder. He is bringing along his protein powder and bars, vitamins, glucosamine/chondroitin tablets, acid reflux tablets, allergy eye drops, and the like. The good thing is that his load will only get lighter as he goes along and uses up his supplies.

Erika weighs 83.2 lbs so her pack is slightly over weight for her

Mom is actually carrying Erika’s Crocs and her rain jacket to help lighten Erika’s load and to fill up Mom’s pack as it doesn’t have a frame so it doesn’t hold the rain cover on very well due to lack of shape. Erika has carried a heavier pack on her John Muir trail journey but she wasn’t covering the same kind of distance that we are hoping for. The first few days will let us know what kind of adjustments we need to make in her pack.

Mia weighs 86.4 lbs so her pack is right on target

Mia is carrying almost all of her load with the exception of her eczema medicine, washcloth and towel (which I don’t have anyway so we’re going to share), and comb. I’d say she is doing pretty good considering that she is the youngest one in our group! I’m not sure how long she is actually going to use the trekking pole but they collapse down pretty well so I can strap it onto my pack if it becomes useless for her. I have never used any kind of staff or pole and we don’t have any strenuous downhill sections so I think it would be more of a hindrance than a help.

Justin weighs 48 lbs so his pack is almost 15% of his body weight

My dear Justin who weighs almost nothing at 9 years old. Once he puts on one outfit, he is really carrying very little in his pack and that already puts him way over the 10% target. Mom brought his Keens to wear for the hike and it turns out that they are not big enough for him so she had to buy him a pair of women’s tennis shoes at the local sports store because they don’t carry good quality children’s shoes. Mom has moved most of his stuff over to her pack.

Mom weighs 119 lbs so her pack is way too heavy for her weight but she’s stubborn

What can I say? She is just far too stubborn and insists on carrying far more than she should. Some of her load comes from the stuff that Justin isn’t able to carry for himself. Mom was planning on carrying a lot more food than this but we’ve managed to talk her out of that slowly. There are going to be plenty of stores, bars, and cafes to eat, drink, and replenish our supplies. I think our longest stretch between pueblos is like 8km/5mi. At least her load will lighten too each day as she eats her food supplies. She is wearing a long hiking skirt with many pockets that she could be hiding a lot more food but she claims to be innocent. I told her to carry a copy of their passports in her wallet and leave the real ones at home. It would be a nightmare to replace Justin’s with Kara on a different planet.

So that’s it…the kids are tucked into bed, the backpacks are neatly lined up in the living room, the leftover apple crisp is sitting on the counter ready to be heated up for breakfast, and the adventure begins in less than 12 hours, eeks!