Collins Camino

Hornillos Del Camino to Castrojerez

The second day of hiking in the meseta, the scenery was a little bland, but still very beautiful. I met and walked with Joe and Bunny from Florida, a brother sister duo. Joe was retired IT and IT leadership, and Bunny was a medical technician. Joe and I nerded out for a bit, and he passed down some good advice. Stopped for breakfast at an albergue off the path, but ended up running into so many folks I’ve met it was worth it. Breakfast was also very good, omelette with chorizo. A cat was playing with all of the pilgrams and also jumping around the field — very funny to watch. Night before was a symphony of different synchronized snoring, honestly impressive, but terrible to sleep to. The afternoon had too many gnats to deal with — the buff came in pretty handy to block them all out.

Castrojerez to Boedilla Del Camino

Pretty typical day on the trail on this day — hiking, briefly chatting and meeting new folks, and then chilling at the albergue. A big climb and descent in the morning led to some pretty views, and I was able to chat with Kait from BC for a bit. My albergue this night was called Juntos; known for their vegetables and Dutch pancakes. Absolutely delicious dinner! Ran into friends Wendy, Barbara, Inez, and James. Also made new friends with a group from British Columbia and Alaska — all great folks, and although a slight spoiler, I’ve ran into them several times since! Stephanie and Ray own and manage the northernmost USGA golf course in Alaska, and it is entirely run and maintained by individuals with special needs. Their story was incredible, and its on my list of places to visit! Midnight Sun Golf course. Heather and Greg were the other couple, old farmers, serial entrepreneurs, and overall good folks. Greg is an award winning auctioneer for cattle — and he proved it too. Very cool to hear/see! The dog you see was a greeter at a Italian Monk run albergue, and the cat followed me around talking for a good 30 min while I was on the phone.

Boedilla to Carrion

A very flat and straight hike this day; in the morning I hiked alongside a very pretty aquaduct and a great sunrise. The day wasentally tiring, as it’s very flat, and only brown, but I was able to get a good private room and speak with Jenni post hike. Ended the day with pizza, beer, and a movie in the room!

Carrion to Terradillos de los Templerios

A long hike today – hiked most of the day with Ingra from the Netherlands. A very nice lady, and she loved having someone to talk to. I understood about 50-60% of her speaking, but she was a lovely person. Saw Claude and Cheryl, I had made conversation with them on the trail earlier; and ended up eating dinner with them. Both are ultremarathon runners, (100+ miles at a time!) and we talked for a good 2-3 hours. Cheryl snapped a great panorama with the sun and moon on the path, and I was hiking in the photo. I hope it loads properly on this platform!