Category: El Camino de Santiago
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Welcome to his pilgrimage! This blog is from Keith’s 2012 pilgrimage to Spain. For comments previously left on specific posts, you’ll need to click the post to open its individual page. We hope you enjoy it!
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Thanks for joining us for Keith’s El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. This is the last set of pictures. We hope you enjoy the slideshow. The plan is after the holidays and some rearranging of residences (our house is pending sale–yea!!), we will come back to post some info on lightweight backpacking, reference books info, etc.…
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Sorry for the delay in posting the first of a couple slideshows of picture of Keith’s pilgrimage, but hopefully it was worth the wait! More pictures in a week or two. Take care everyone!
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If you’ll recall, Burgos was the town where Keith started the walking phase of his Camino pilgrimage. This is the jet-lagged, before getting ghastly sick part of the trip. He has tons of beautiful pics to share, but as he’s organizing them, I thought I’d sneak a few on here for all of you that…
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And we thought he was worn out after all that walking in Spain! The plane trip home maxed him out, but he’s happy to be back! Although, I’m pretty sure we’re probably happier to see him. He bought the this t-shirt for two big reasons: 1) To commemorate the trip and 2) because he desperately needed…
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Keith went to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela early Tuesday so he could check out the museum before the Pilgrim’s mass. He said that it was pretty cool. He didn’t see anything totally amazing, but it was pleasant and included exhibits with tapestries and medieval art and paraphernalia. He especially liked the library. The…
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Keith said that today was a “grueling day.” When we talked after he arrived at the hotel he was very sore and tired, but said it was his own fault. Most of the trip to town wasn’t bad, but he got lost in the surrounding hills and that added a lot of going up and…
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I’ll post more pictures and updates later today, but wanted to share the first picture taken by Keith of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral! Way to go, Keith!!
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Before I speak to Keith’s impending Santiago arrival, I’ll give a quick update on his latest day’s hike. Today he travelled from A Rúa to Lavacolla. He said that this day was probably one of his favorites because the weather was nice and while there was one big hill it was not too bad. “It…
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Keith knew that he wasn’t going to need the blue pad he’d taken along to sleep on any longer because he has rooms/beds reserved for the rest of his travels in Spain. He also knew that the Frenchman he’d been meeting off and on was planning to sleep outside last night, but he hadn’t bumped…
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Now let’s get up-to-speed (but don’t get used to it—I’m traveling again over the next few days)—yesterday Keith trekked to Palas de Rei and it was kind of a tough day for him with the hills and damp weather. This was compounded with him thinking that maybe he’d packed his backpack wrong and a couple…
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Yesterday Keith walked a lot of the way with a German man named Harold who didn’t mind walking slowly because he was 62 and in no particularly hurry. Keith thinks he loved to hear his voice—he talked A LOT. He’d also “break into show tunes and go into bouts of hilarity.” At one point…
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Keith said that it was really a beautiful yesterday. The sun came up and there was a mist in the valleys. It was a good walk to Portomarin. (Note from L: Sorry everyone, but I’m catching up and talking about yesterday when he’s already in Ventas de Naron now—I’ve got some traveling of my own…
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As Keith was preparing to leave Sarria this morning, he was trying to take a picture of a black cat and the cat shied away and ran off. Keith turned to see what scared it away—thinking that maybe someone on a bike riding the Camino or something spooked it–but instead it was a herd of…
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On Keith’s way to Sahagun he passed into a new state called Leon. It’s good that he had this landmark moment because otherwise the day was “pretty dull.” He said there weren’t really any sights to see in the small villages that he passed through that day and there weren’t people passing him except for…
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Keith stayed in Calzadilla de la Cueza yesterday (hitting a major milestone – 100 km walked!) and after a good night’s sleep trekked his way to Sahagun today. Before leaving Calzadilla de la Cueza he had breakfast at his hotel (hostal not hostel) and they played the same music tape that they’d played the night…
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Keith’s trek today led him to the “municipality” of Carrión de los Condes. I’m sure there’s some sort of official definition that helps them decide whether it’s a village, a town, a city, or a municipality, but I have yet to figure out the system so far. The place he’s staying at reminds him of…
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Good news everyone! Keith is feeling much better and is back in action. Today he successfully made his way from Frómista to Villamentero de Campos after a short train ride back to the Camino path from Palencia. His first two days back on the Camino will be shorter ones then he’ll have a longer haul…
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Apologies everyone for the couple day lag in updating the blog. I blame Keith! But who doesn’t?? But, seriously, we were in kind of a holding pattern and waiting to see how things went over the weekend. We are happy to report that Keith’s trip to Palencia went pretty smoothly with exception of the fact…
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Keith is still sapped out and not gaining much-needed energy while resting in Frómista. So he paid a visit today to a local physician so we could be sure that there were no bigger concerns he needed to tackle. Thankfully, it seems as if the cold has not struck his lungs and is mostly just…
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Keith will be spending yet another day (and night) in the aldea of Frómista as he bolsters his energy and, hopefully, health. It doesn’t seem that this cold has advanced to anything worse and we’d like to keep it that way. We’re really hoping for some marked improvement by tomorrow. In the meantime, he will…
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Keith did get a pretty good night’s sleep last night, but will be staying another night in Frómista as he modifies the contents of his pack and has an extra day of rest to see if the cold will back off some. He did eat a full meal this evening for dinner—which is a good…
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To get you caught up, Keith’s Sunday was tough. He had a “big ass” (that’s “gran culo” in Spanish) hill soon after he left Castrojeriz. It was not a good feeling and really caused him much concern, but he made it up and also back down the other very steep side. He said it was…
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The good news is that last night (Friday) Keith slept well. Many of the pilgrims left early before dawn (they use headlamps), but he stuck around until daylight and enjoyed a little extra sleep. Each day he’s been on the Camino he has been able to progress in the distance he’s gone. Today he made…
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Keith had a very long night last night. :( While the albergue was clean—it was small, had no air moving and turned into him not getting much sleep—more like resting while he baked in an oven. Around 4:30 this morning an Italian lady left, then around 6 another group left—which is when he finally fell…
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Just talked with Keith a little while ago and he sounds worn out. He said that he could’ve kept walking, but he’s still needing more sleep to snap out of the time change. Another reason that he stopped for the day was because his pack (which is heavier than he planned–around 22 lbs) is making…
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Keith arrived in Spain at what was about 1 AM Pacific time/10 AM his time. He’d gotten just a little sleep on the plane—which for him is good because he doesn’t sleep on planes. And, thankfully, his bag made it through with no problems (we’d packed it in a large garbage back to keep the…
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Wow! 3:50 AM got here really early, but he is on his way. They messed with his flight plan even after we checked it late last night. He’s now headed through Newark instead of Dulles and will be stuck in Denver for over four hours, but there’s a part of me that is ok with…
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As only a few of our family and friends know so far, Keith has decided to take a pilgrimage on the El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James) in Spain over the next month and I thought that the best way to let others join in the adventure was to create a blog…
KEITH SCHEID, Author 
Looking forward to hearing what you think!