One of the most beautiful places on the Camino.
Author Archives: Victoria
Victoria Elleby 4/10
31 KM today. A pretty beautiful walk but very hard on the feet. I think my feet muscles are starting to tense up past the point of a simple massage! There is a knot in my heel the size of Texas and it makes it hard to step on it. 2 days till Santiago so it doesn’t matter much because 3 rest days before Finisterre will be brilliant!
Seeing the momma cow in the second picture, nurturing her baby was my favorite part of the day, also made me want to stop eating so much beef. Poor babies!!
buen camino
Victoria Elleby 4/9
25 KM today with way too many breaks!! A trip that normally takes 5 hours to make, delightfully took 9 hours due to the multiple stops at beautiful bars that played classical music from the shrubs and secluded forest hiding places where we stopped to eat chocolate and bread.
It also didn’t help that my Irish friend bought me some fire water shots and made me take them! But finally arrived and settled into a nice private Albergue right on time, to barely miss the rain and thunder!
buen camino
Victoria Elleby 4/8
25 KM! 4 days to Santiago, dragging my feet! Don’t want to go home and don’t want to stop in Santiago for 3 days! Inevitable effects of the Camino, wanting to stay on the Camino forever!!
Buen Camino. Hauling ass the next 110 KM in 4 days!
Victoria 4/7
34 KM later.
Tricastela finally. The mountains were beautiful but slightly tricky with a side of rain and mud! Signs of my first Camino blister are emerging! Approximately 27 days without being in a motor vehicle to St. Jean to begin the Camino!
What goes up most definitely will end up coming down! The way down after a morning of mountains was gorgeous, looking over all the cities we came through, to all the cities we would pass through!
Santiago in a few.
Buen Camino
Victoria Elleby 5/6
Raining so hard it was hard to continue so we stopped in a beautiful small town in the mountains and plan to cover lots of ground tomorrow!
Buen Camino
Victoria Elleby 5/4
Leaving Ponferrada, was the easy part today as we winded through the mountains on curvy roads that spiraled up and down and through plains of vineyards. The sun was a great asset to have as it reminded us the day grew older and older after every stop we made. The beating of it on your forehead was equal to burning your flesh just barely with the stove or the oven! Happy to be in the shade and slightly wet from my hair dripping on the back of my shirt!
Appreciate the miles of vineyards, because without them, there wouldn’t be the best vino tinto I’ve ever tasted in my hand currently!
buen camino
5/3 Victoria Elleby
Today was the best day ever!! The landscape was so beautiful. It is safe to say, that my feet won’t stop walking even if I wanted them too. 105 KM in three days! 215 till Santiago.
After waking up at 5 a.m and leaving by 5:30 to watch sunrise at Cruz de Ferro, we continued to climb through the Cantabric mountains to one of the highest points more than 1500 M up from the ground.
The snowy mountains to the left and the small towns and villages peeking at us when we finally get over a large hump. The highlight of the day was my friend Freddy and I, running down the opposite down of the mountain over rocks, running water, and lots of mud. The sun continues and the days are filled with brightness.
Buen camino
5/2 Victoria Elleby
Finally found some classmates!! YAY.
Beautiful 42 KM today as we approach the Galicia mountains. To ponferada if the legs will allow 35 tomorrow!!
buen camino
Sunrise on El Camino.
I had to wake up all year at 6 am for basketball practices and I dreaded it. Getting up at 4:30, on the court at 6, until 8 am when it was time for class! That’s a very long day, and I could never get my body used to that process three times a week.
Similarly coming to Spain, I dreaded the idea of getting up early at 7-8 am and walking for 6 whole hours of my day. Thinking about things this way, has made it hard to get out of bed some mornings as I know I’m trekking into the cold weather, with no gloves (I lost them), and not being able to return to the bed for atleast 8 hours.
One morning, I got up a little too early and around 6 i set out with a friend from the UK named Daisy, who frequently gets up earlier and out the door before 7 am. She is always one of the first people up, ruffling her back pack and items to get ready to head to the next place.
The sky was dark and you could still see the stars for about 20 minutes before the sun started to show her face. The sky is consumed by the light trying to force its way in during this time, and it fights hard. It turns from dark blue to lighter blue, to a yellow, to stretches of beautiful pink. I have never seen a sunrise so clear and eloquent, pushing its way into the new day. Maybe it’s the city lights, or the trees around campus, or maybe I’m just never being mindful enough of my surroundings to see this in my normal daily routine of living.
This particular morning was around two weeks ago and every morning I set my alarm for 6:00 am now. I can’t miss this or else my day doesn’t feel the same. A simple earthly process that happens every 24 hours has become the most important start to my Camino days. Breakfast and cafe con leche are important, but I feel like I’m missing something if that isn’t accompanied by this sight of natural war between two mediums. The darkness is filled with light by 7:19 usually and the day continues, but not without a gracious appreciation from this pilgrim.
utter bliss at 2 degrees Celsius.