Down time = Beach time
1,000 km's down, 500 to go. So we decided to take a few days off of walking and head to the tiny coastal village of Orio, near San Sebastian.
Not Made in China
This man has a shop right on the Camino trail where he crafts iron items by hand ranging in size from tables to keychains. It's nice to do business where you get something truly unique and "local" really means local.
A Few Days Ago
We met this lady at her tiny 3 table restaurant in France, and while her food was great, I seemed to just immediately connect with her. There was something very special about her which I can't really describe...so I had to go back the next morning to snap a photo with her.
500 miles done...500 miles to go
After a rest day in St. Jean Pied de Port, France, we walk through the Pyrenees into Spain and then head west for about 5 weeks.
Don't mess with the French...cooking
France is a country with enough oddities and annoyances to drive you crazy, but when it comes to food, things get seriously good, seriously fast.
Shell Station...Camino Style
As we get closer to Spain, the spirit and influence of the Camino is getting stronger. The shell is the guiding symbol for all the Camino routes throughout Europe. Pilgrims attach them to their backpacks for identification and inspiration.
Home for the Night
Southern France has a lot of very nice small inns located basically in the middle of nowhere. A great place to end your walking day, but hard to get up and go the next morning.
Half of Half = Half
At least it does when you're halfway through the first half of 1,000 miles of walking. We don't know if we'll actually make it the whole way, but we celebrated the milestone with a huge plate of french fries and a cold beer.
Walking Into Town
After a long day of walking it's nice to be rewarded with such a a beautiful place waiting for you at the end of the road.
A Beautiful Country
The towns and villages in the French countryside are very beautiful places. Without question the best way to experience them is by walking from one to another.
Time to Walk Again...a lot!
We are back on the Camino with a fairly straightforward plan. Start in south-central France and head southwest over the Pyrenees into Spain. After about 450 miles, turn right and go another 500 miles until hitting the Cathedral in Santiago. With a little help and a lot of luck, we should make it by Independence Day.
A Great Place to Spend a Week
We have some good friends from SLC who now reside in the stunningly picturesque and highly livable town of Annecy, France. We spent a great week here, relaxing and rejuvenating, before getting ready to start what we hope to be a 1,000 miles of Camino walking.
An Amazing Experience
We were fortunate enough to be in Vatican Square and attend a blessing with Pope Francis. As luck would have it we ended up in a pretty good position and took this non-zoomed photo. Catholic or not it was definitely something to be remembered.
When in Rome....
It's time to say goodbye to the lovely country and people of Australia and head to Europe to start walking! First we will enjoy some big city time beginning in Rome - a great walking about town with outstanding food and sights.
A Year on The Road
Hard to believe but we've been traveling full time for one full year. Some numbers: 18 countries, 101 cities/towns/villages, 5 continents, 45k miles in an airplane, 9.5k via trains/buses/cars, 2,466 miles on foot, a bunch of good meals (and one really bad one), and 6 really good internet connections.
Is this a joke?
It appears rather likely that in a few months we will be electing either Hillary Clinton...or Donald Trump as the next leader of the free world. Happy April Fools' Day!
Lunch in Wagga Wagga
You never know when moments like this are going to happen. We randomly walked into a small Lebanese restaurant ran by this lovely lady. She made us lunch from scratch and we sat down with her and the shopkeeper from next-door and had a great meal and a great conversation. This is certain to go down as one of our favorite Australian memories.
On the Road with The Apostles
This iconic stretch of Australian coastline on the Great Ocean Road is known as "The Apostles", even though there are only seven of them. It's not an even dozen, but still a spectacular sight to behold!
They Look a lot Like Rabbits
Really big rabbits. Since there are more kangaroos then people in Australia, it's not hard to get a good look at these unique and interesting creatures. They're very powerful yet graceful when they hop, but a picture does not do them justice.
