The Grand Canyon - Good Physics

“What’s the first color you think of when you think of the Grand Canyon?”

I bet most people would answer, “Red” given the geology of the region. That’s a good answer. And you are probably right.

When I arrived two days ago, I was struck by how blue the landscape is.

It comes down to the physics of distance: The further things are away from you, the more atmosphere you are looking through. The more atmosphere you look through, the more light gets distorted by atmospheric molecules, especially short wavelength colors like blue. This distortion causes those distant objects to take on the blue hue.

Look up: “Rayleigh Scattering” for the complete explanation of why this is.

And given the distance you can see from the south rim. It makes sense why I was seeing blue. This canyon can hold a lot of atmosphere.

Artists have been using this effect for years to make more realistic paintings and drawings.

Take a deeper look next time you are wandering through your local art museum and run across some landscape paintings.

The artists who understand light and physics will often offer you a more believable picture.

The Power of Wool Socks

The south rim of the grand canyon is about 7000 ft above sea level. It snows here frequently, though this year has been mild. The top of the trails near the rim tend to ice up from foot traffic and the contrast in temperatures between day and night. They are really slick.

Given that one slip at the wrong spot could send you skidding over a cliff, this is not something one should take lightly.

A long time ago, I learned that putting wool socks over your shoes will give you traction on ice. I put that in the memory bank, and forgot about it until this morning, while I was packing my kit for the hike.

I put in two pair of wool socks and a pair of scissors, thinking, “Hell, why not? We might need them.” And away we went.

Sure enough, The trail was a mix of compacted snow, ice, and hardened mud. We tried with just our boots (morons!) as we eased our way thirty feet into the slide before we hit our first bare earth patch. We were in it whether we wanted to be or not.

I called a halt, and said, “Let’s try the socks.”

We pulled them over our boots and I snipped off the excess with my sissors. I took a few baby steps in them on pure ice, and THEY WORKED!

I had traction. I had grip. I could dance like a billy goat if I wanted. Behold the power of wool socks! I felt like a super genius for once in my life.

We smugly sauntered down the slide for another quarter mile, passing other tourists clinging to the rock as they picked their way down.

Once passed the ice section, we stripped them off, and I put them in the side pocket for the return journey.

We got to talking with other folks taking off their ice spikes. One couple mentioned, that they “just spent 200 dollars on crampons just to do this hike.”

And there we were with old wool socks that probably cost less than 20 dollars for the pair.

Scenes from the Canyon

Rim Ravens

The ravens of the canyon country live wonderful lives. There is ample food and water to be found in the campground, which gives them so much time to soar with the wind and thermals of the canyon.

They look like they play all day long, soaring effortlessly wherever they want. They are often in chattery groups, cawing, clucking, grunting and cooing.

They really are living it up.

I like to think that people who suffered through crippling mobility issues in their lives come back as rim ravens. What a gift: to move with speed, grace, and playfullness over this magnificent landscape that is the Grand Canyon.

Desert Power

Here are twenty-one black jack photos of desert beauty, van life shenanigans, and keen observation from the Ministry of Midlife Mayhem.

May you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed living them.

1. My Accomplice Linda. I gave her a Mr.T valentine today. She’s worth it.

2 and 3. I’ve said it before, but nothing dries clothes faster or better than a windy warmish desert day.

4. Stone Face.

5. A fine hike about the Organ Mountains.

6. “What are you taking a photo of Thom?

7. Cactus!

8. First tree climbed of 2025.

9. Dust storm moving in.

10. Fixing Stuff. The water system had an air leak causing the pump to palpatate. I tightened all fittings to cure it.

11. Home made van bread. This one came out mighty fine. Overnight poolish.

12. Northern end of the Florida mountains.

13. I biked up this 17% grade… just about killed me.

14 and 15. Linda and Landscape.

16. Monkey Rock. Can you see it?

17. The view from Lovers Leap looking north.

18. Spanish lentils with chorizo and toast. Excellent.

19. Breakfast. Toast, Raw Honey, Tangerines.

20. Keep on Truckin. Linda’s first drive. I had her drive up and over a mountain pass to see how she handled it. She did great. Now I can have her drive while I go biking…

21. We aren’t stoners. But we are van lifers. It’s these small goofy moments in the morning that are hard to document, but are immensely hilarious. This picture works.

Home Again... Sort of..

Here I am, in the familiar territory of New Mexico, catching up on my journal. Its been too long since I’ve written a dispatch, and it’s about damn time.

I’m home again… sort of.

I would consider the van one of my homes, but it’s weird. It’s like being home, but the view out of your living room window keeps changing. And that’s van life.

I spent two days before we departed working on the van. Vans, like all homes, require maintainance. I installed my diesel heater under the passenger seat. It wasn’t hard, it did require a lot of time rolling around in the dust underneath the van. While I was down there, I upgraded the support system for my propane tank too.

The heater installation went very well, and now I can be even further off grid.

I also installed a new faucet, a tootbrush holder by the sink, and cleaned up my mess.

So, chores complete. Now it’s time to get on with the finer points of van life! We are taking on a three week journey of various haunts of the southwest.

First up, a fine hike up Dog Canyon.

Where’s Linda?

It was a great hike. We got sunburned, thirsty, dusty and happy. All hallmarks of a grand day out. It was about 80 degrees today, which was almost too hot for hiking. But, I thought of my friends getting pounded by snow, and smiled.

Signing off for now with a cold gin and tonic at sunset, journal in hand.

The Allure of Luque

We were hiking west on a ridge top gravel road amongst the ever present olive trees. It began to sprinkle, but we prefer clouds to bright sunshine anyhow - we are among the pale people.

To the south, the town of Luque hovered in the hills. It was visible in the haze - Luque being one of the white walled villages of the region.

I began to ponder the idea of going there instead of continuing this camino. Not seriously, but just “what if..” If you hike long enough, everything gets thought about.

We moseyed on, eventually making it to Baena. After eating, and getting clean, we sat down to figure out the next day. We started talking about what we’d seen, and “What was that village up in the hills to the south?”

Well… We went to find out.

After thirty six days of hiking, we were over it. We’d hiked four hundred ten miles across Spain on three different caminos. We made it to Santiago - That was our main goal. This was a lark. And larks? Well, they don’t have rules. When one is on a lark, you can pretty much do whatever you want.

Here are some photos of the last couple days.

Lunch Stretch.

This image will probably get me black listed one day. But, it was just a sign on a building and I couldn’t help but flex.

We went to a great bar in Alcaudete. We asked for “anything with eggs.” She came back with this massive plate of eggs and ham on fries. Hell Yeah!

The castle and cathedral of Alcaudette in the early morning.

Humanlike torso holding up leaves.

Toad, in death.

An olive tree.

So we came to Luque. And Luque is okay! Though we had grand ambitions of hiking or biking yesterday, we did absolutely nothing. Our bodies said, “No!”

Fine by me.

Headed to Cordoba from here. It’ll be nice to catch some city energy.

The Olive Groves - CDJ - To Alcaudete

How many olive trees does one need to see in a lifetime? I think I’ve had my share from just today, but I’m still not tired of them.

They are very picturesque. The lighting and clouds helped make many of these scenes pop.

It’s hard to show just how many olive trees there are here. The orchards strech from horizon to horizon.

Today’s great dog. The pup in the background was not happy at all about his coworkers friendliness to the pilgrims. “What are you doing??” It barked. “Those people are untrustworthy!!”

Today’s lunch: carrots, cucumber, hummus, tomatoes, cheese, crackers. Not bad.

We crossed a Roman bridge today. I find these old structires fascinating. They are still standing and in use thousands of years later.

See that distant mountain in the background? You can just make out the white band below it. That’s where we started today, some ten miles away at this point. Most of the towns and villages here are painted white. It makes them easy to see from afar.

The castle and church of Alcaudete.

Today’s sunset.

Spain has been good to us. Today was a very beautiful day. The sun and road beat us down this afternoon. We are very tired, but happy.

On Jàen, Toast and Hiking - CDJ - To Martos

You ever been to Jàen? “HY-en”

I have. From a quick look at the map on the train ride down here, it didn’t look that big, nor that interesting. But, never judge a city by a map. Jàen, is a very likeable place. It’s big. It’s got great street scenes. It’s the green olive oil capital of the world!

We had our morning coffee at this cafe which specializes in toast. In fact, you can get toast all day long here in many different varieties. We opted for our favorite of butter and marmalade

The coffee and toast was excellent!

I was thinking of how great this place is:

It was warm, busy, and small. Just one “J” bar running about twenty feet long.

Three men behind the bar ran the show - taking orders, serving up the coffee and toast. In the confined area, bumping and sassing each other is the norm.

They didn’t seem stressed out. Their bar was packed, and all they sell is coffee, beer, and toast. They make a living at it. How sweet it is.

The room is full of locals having their morning coffee. There’s three seats at the bar. That’s it. Most people stand at the counter, spend a few minutes socializing before getting on with their day.

There’s not many options to drink. You can have espresso with milk, without milk, or a beer.

There’s quite a few toast options to be had, but all of them involve real ingredients. There is nothing “free” here. The bread and beer has gluten. The butter and milk has dairy. Take it or leave it.

We took it, and breakfast cost about 5 euro.

I think what I love most about Spanish cafés is there is no bullshit to them.

This café could never fly back home. People would want gluten free, dairy free, and vegan options. They’d want a place to sit, and something to drink besides coffee, with or without milk or beer. This breakfast would cost $15 dollars, plus tip. There’s nothing wrong with any of that mind you, I’m happy you get what you want, but it would kill this place.

This is a stand up toast joint. And it’s perfect.

After toast, we got down to business. This business was starting the Camino de Jàen which arcs around the olive trees from Jàen to Cordoba. It’s a small piece of the Camino de Mozarabe. And fit our time frame perfectly. We slapped the cathedral to commemorate the start of our walk and got to it.

Do you like olive trees?

There are more olive trees in the Jàen region than there are visible stars in the sky. Every available inch of ground has an olive tree growing out of it.

It’s only day one, and I can’t contemplate the amount of olives that come through here.

On a side note, the olive oil here is exquisite. In my opinion, Spain produces the world’s best olive oil. There are reasons the Romans nurtured, and imported most of their olive oil from their Spanish holdings.

Do you like good dogs, horses and donkeys?

Me too.

We are on our way. It’s warm! It’s sunny! We stepped back in time to mid autumn. How sweet it is!

Santiago! Finished! - CDS Primitivo

We left the cafe at seven forty five this morning. It was cold! With daylight coming on strong, we set a fast pace to keep warm. We are also only twelve miles away from the finish line.

Talk about motivation… Let’s get it done!

And so we did.

There were more compelling scenes today than yesterday. It was a cool little section of trail, that I don’t think gets a lot of praise. It makes sense. Everyone just wants to get to Santiago.

Rock Face.

I like the color banding on this scene.

That’s a hot sign.

Dig the green grove.

We did it! We hit the church plaza and tried to show all of our teef!

This concludes the Camino de Santiago Primitivo and half of the Norte.

As with everything cool I’ve done, I felt happy, but more happy to go get pizza and beer. It’s just how I’m wired.

As for us, we are going to take a day off and reposition down to Jaen. We will then take on another week of hiking on the Camino de Mozerabe to finish before Christmas.

More to come, but thanks to those who came by to follow along. Cheers!

Second To Last - CDS Primitivo O Pedrouzo

It’s the second to last day of this trek. Things that used to matter, don’t matter anymore. I didn’t look at the route, nor it’s profile until seven miles into the trek. We simply caught the trail and got to work.

This section of trail is flat, wide, and not nearly as hilly as the last couple weeks. We walked faster than any other point of the trek so far. It was very noticeable, and quite pleasant.

We met a couple good cats today. This one joined us, and walked with for s block, which is pretty good for a cat.

Eucalyptus grove.

Fresh mushrooms.

We finished the hike by one this afternoon today. We tucked into a menu of the day and had a glass of wine.

There really isn’t much to say about today. Some days are like that, I guess. I shared a carrot with a donkey. That was about the highlight.

We are rolling on tomorrow. Twelve miles to Santiago.

The Ragged Edge - CDS Primitivo To Arzua

The mornings are cold, crisp, and frosty. The afternoons are warm, leaf scented, and earthy. We are on the ragged edge of early winter or late fall depending on the hour, the terrain, and the wind.

It’s a beautiful time to be hiking.

We left Lugo in a thick fog.

As the day brightened, the frost makes nice highlights on the veins.

I was hoping to find some ice on the creeks. I was even luckier to find some vibrant leaves encased in ice. The sun not high enough to reach into the deep ditch.

This omelette cheese sandwich was easily one of the best sandwiches on the trail.

The dog and I share the same coat.

Galacia has some great dogs! We’ve been making a lot of friends.

We were lucky enough to see a trio of shepard dogs in action. They moved two herds of cows from one pasture to another. This one took a break to come see us, and get some loving!

In the more rural areas, there aren’t any cafe’s open. We’ve been having to walk five miles before getting our morning cafe con leche. When we do get it, it tastes mighty fine. It’s warmth and comfort smothering any morning chill we might be carrying.

We’ve got two more days of hiking before we get to Santiago. It feels very strange to be this close to it. When we started a month ago, Santiago felt like a foreign concept. Something that was there, but not a reality. It was too far away to contemplate. But now, it’s there. It’s right there.

I’m neither happy, nor sad. I’m not that excited really. It’s the stoic Finn in me, I suppose. I just know that I really enjoyed this trek so far.

Fog and Forest - CDS Primitivo To Lugo

We stepped onto the trail this morning into a thick fog. It wasn’t raining. That fact alone was a major improvement over the last three days. Nor was it windy. It was a quiet morning of bird song and beautiful views of Galacian forest paths. It was one of my favorite on the Camino so far.

Galacian forests are a healthy mix of old oaks, eucalyptus, cedar and pine. All of it covered in ivy. It’s a satisfying landscape to walk through.

This lonesome tree out in the field reminds me of Nebraska in spring.

I found my first white phallus stink horn mushroom today! It was a great day for mushrooms. There were a dozen different varieties to be found. Every three steps there was another patch.

Eventually the sun broke the fog and the whole world turned neon green again.

I like this scene. Handsome healthy horses from near to far with a good leading line and eucalyptus trees in the back ground.

This may not look like much, but this was a fantastic mid morning snack of steak, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, and two types of local cheese. Fantastic.

We have 100 km to Santiago! We will finish it this week!

For our afternoon luncheon, we found another top three tortillas. It was delicious.

Our goal is within reach now. It’s kind of a weird experience to have walked for so long to get somewhere, and soon you will be there. Then what? What do I do all day if I don’t have to walk?

We’ve got a plan in the works.

Cold Rain - CDS Primitivo to A Fonsagrada

Oh they warned us at the cafe. “It’s going to rain! It’s cold! It’s windy! It might snow! I wouldn’t go if I were you...”

But what is a pilgrim to do? We didn’t have many options on a holiday weekend Sunday, but to walk on. There isn’t any buses today. There were no cabs. We could’ve maybe holed up in the town we were in, but that required some long wait times, and just wasn’t viable. Besides, we’re pilgrims. We walk on. It’s what we do. We thanked them for their good sense, and walked out into coldest of December rains.

“Fools,” they probably said.

“We are fools,” we said, ten minutes later.

Our feet were soaked within the first two miles. My core was warm, but from the knees down, I was wet and cold. My gloves helped for awhile, but eventually they were sodden and not much help either.

It became a matter of enduring it. We could do it, it just wouldn’t be pleasant.

After we climbed the giant hill, the wind found us and things got that much harder. We were mostly wet, and the wind sliced through us. Then, it began to snow.

I laughed. Everything the locals predicted came true. Almost as if they’ve seen December storms around these parts many times.

It was bad, but as long as we kept moving, we were fine. God help us if we rolled an ankle or something. That woukd have been brutal.

Taking a break in a cold church entry way.

I like the mood of this scene.

Somewhere up there we left Asturias behind, and entered Galacia.

Perhaps the darkest forest I’ve ever seen.

I saw a dozen big shaggy manes today.

Anyone else see a couple of skinny dudes holding up the power cables?

And after a long, long time, we saw it: The finest Galacian steakhouse I’ve ever seen! We meekly walked in on a very busy Sunday and scored the only table available. We were ecstatic! We had croquettes, steaks and fries, a bottle of wine, a shared brownie and coffee. It was a very fine meal.

And then we had to finish the day. Home was another two miles down the trail. Drinking half a bottle of wine and eating a big meal helped dull the pain.

The sky opened up and the sun came out, if only for a little while.

This cat ran up to me and tried to tell me, “that it’s owners were gone, and it was cold out, and to please let me in.”

And finally two takes on the same scene.

We made it. We took the hottest showers you’ve ever had and laid down.

If we have it our way, we may just keep laying here until next June. But, tomorrow is another day, and we are getting closer to Santiago.

Neurotic Skies - CDS Primitivo to Grand Salime

The second we stepped outside the albergue a COLD gust of wind hit us, and ripped through our weakening psyche. Damn!

We walked 100 yards to the cafe, and it was definitively closed. Just then, another COLD gust ripped through us, this time with drizzle attached. Double Damn!

It was disheartening to say the least. A cup of coffee and a roll make any hiking day better, not just when It’s cold and dark and wet out.

Fortunately, we are made of tough stuff. There was nothing to do but put on another layer, and get moving. We figured we’d warm up after the hill, and so we did.

“The Lord works in mysterious ways.”

We walked to La Mesa in the dark, and we were getting hungry. My accomplice mentioned there was a hotel and restaurant, but we didn’t have high hopes it would be open. Our plan was to eat a soggy 3 day old peanut butter sandwich at the chapel, and keep moving. But, as luck would have it, the restaurant was OPEN! I became a pious man on the spot.

The whole day might have been completely different if that cafe had been closed. But, it wasn’t and we ate toast, butter, jam, coffee, juice, and a banana. After that, we could face anything!

Like this giant hill!

We had neurotic weather all morning. It started to rain, so we put our stinky ponchos on. Why do ponchos never dry? After one use they seem to retain a light coating of water for the rest of their lives.

We had to cross an active cow pasture. Nothing quite like walking though muddy shit in the rain.

Cows are HUGE. I don’t trust them. If they wanted to, they could put a hole in you. And it’s not like I can out run them while wearing a twenty pound pack through a slick shit strewn field. But, these ones were pretty chill, so no chasing was necessary.

We did meet a miserable wet donkey. You’d be a miserable donkey too, if all you had for companions were cows.

The cloud over us broke, and the landscape fell away down to the dam far below.

Go out in bad weather, especially in the winter. If the sun can break through, the whole world can turn quite beautiful for hours on end due to the low angled light. In the summer, these photos wouldn’t be nearly as good.

I like the small vignettes of nature.

Two Dogs.

I love it when an animal’s personality comes shining through. I met this guy at the Venezualan cafe. He had his beer can, and he wanted you to throw it! Here he is waiting for his person to come back out.

And this fella across from the albergue… I’ve never seen a dog lean over the rail like a sailor watching the sea. We went over and gave him a good long back scratch. I don’t think I’ve ever made anyone happier than that dog.

MOUNTAIN - CDS Primitivo

“You can’t climb a mountain fast.”

We climbed up and over a mountain today. The mountain offered a very mountainous experience, complete with compelling landscapes while we could see them, wild horses, gale force winds, a thick fog, more wild horses, steep rocky paths, cold and hardship.

It was a hell of a fine day.

The trail to the high country was beautiful.

Wild horses. I’d rather be lucky than skillful. As soon as we gained the ridge, these horses came galloping up. I’m half convinced they were trained to stand against the perfect backdrop.

Near and far.

The fog rolls over. And the wind picks up.

More wild horses.

Searching For The Hermit In Vain

By Chia Tao

“I asked the boy sitting beneath the pines. He said, The master is gone alone herb picking somewhere on the mount, cloud-hidden, whereabouts unknown.”

As soon as we started our decent, Boom! You could see forever. We’d been in the clouds for four hours, and that’s all we knew. In a matter of ten steps, it was though the cloud never existed.

Pizza!

We made it to town after a long hard day. The bar had pizza, and cold beers. It was a really good way to recouperate. Such a simple thing, pizza and beer… but so wonderful.

Screen Savers - CDS Primitivo To Borres

Coffee con leche and a croissant for breakfast. The bill paid, and away we go.

So long Tineo! You’ve been good to us. We stopped in Tineo for two nights. We needed a rest day, and a chance to do laundry.

The laundromats here are fantastic. They have soap already programmed into the wash cycle. You don’t need a separate purchase to add your own.

They also have espresso machines too! Tineo has a bakery that offers the fluffiest donut I’ve ever had. We multi-tasked, combining bakery breakfast and drying our clothes.

Today was the prettiest walk of the trek so far. This morning was another stretch of country lanes winding through the forest. As the sky lightened and grew bright, the blue of the distant mountains contrasted beauifully with the green grass and trees.

I tried to work a group of horses to make this scene work, but it didn’t have the strength of just the solo horse.

My accomplice!

A cow family.

Our great dog streak stretched to a sixth day!

In the afternoon we followed the road, and the landscape just got better. This is where computer screen saver landscape photos come from. Asturias is a landscape photographers dream.

Albergue Life

Dibs on the Top bunk!

Dinner albergue style.

We got the key to the albergue and chose our bunks. I always look for a low bed near an outlet and a window if possible. Given that we are the only pilgrims here, I got just what I wanted.

I spent a few hours trimming my moustache, showering, writing up the days findings in my journal and blog. Now I’m just lying here, content to do absolutely nothing.

Tomorrow? We climb into the sky.

Country Lanes - CDS Primitivo To Tineo

This section of trail mostly followed the old country lanes from village to village. These are the old roads. These lanes are the living history of this land. When times were simpler, and to leave your village might have only happened once in your life.

This is a beautiful section of trail. The landscape of Asturias is incredibly interesting to me. It’s just farmland, true, but there’s always something to look at, and contemplate.

My camera rarely left my hand. We dillydallyed a lot, but it couldn’t be helped.

And mud? We found a lot of that.

This horse was ten feet above me, looking down as I walked by. I think it might be the finest horse portait I’ll ever catch.

The dangers of photography:

I’m walking along and the scene above catches me. I pull out my camera, get my composition, check the lens and physics. “Perfect.” Done.

I start walking again, slipping my camera back in my pocket when I set my right foot down into a giant pile of wet soupy cow shit.

“Great! Just great.”

I did my best to wipe it off, inventing a few dance moves in the process. I’m pretty sure the hotel tonight won’t be happy to see me, but shit happens, ya know?

A church from the 1400s.

I love these old buildings. Humble buildings. Buildings they built from materials at hand, by hand - mostly stone. They are still standing 700 years later. The masons are some amazing artists. Practical people who build beautiful buildings.

We are on a five day great dog streak!

This fella ran up to me and said, “C’mon! Let’s go!” He took us for a walk for a half mile to the next village. Clearly, he’s done this before. He’s a pilgrim collector. He ran ahead, marks his territory and scratches up the roughage. He knows the way.

Finally we get to a house with three dogs behind a fence. They come running, mad as hell, cursing and barking. This dog stands them up, and says. “Screw you guys! I’m a free ranging dog, and you guys are in jail. Suckers.” He pees on THEIR fence corner and trots off the way he came.

Those three dogs are beyond angry.

Job well done, fella.

December is here. The temperatures are dropping. It’ll likely rain every day. We are happy we brought an extra layer of clothes. We’ve been exceptionally lucky with the weather so far. Fingers crossed.

So far, we’ve hiked 238 miles with 150 miles to go. Once you get into hiking mode, it’s hard to remember life before and imagine life after the trail. What will we do all day???

Fo Drizzle - CDS Primitivo to Salas

It didn’t ever fully rain today, but drizzled through most of it. As we hiked, we got damp, then wet. It was too hot for a jacket, but too damp not to wear it. You either sweat from the inside, or got damp from the outside. You couldn’t win. As we all know, some days you can’t win… you can only play the game.

The day started with a giant hill. The climb went well enough, some would call it “a real bitch of a climb.” But, that’s the primitivo for you. It has one challenging hill climb and descent a day, guaranteed.

We made good time this morning, as we usually do. But after lunch, we bogged down. The forest trails were muddy and slick. It smelled of autumn. The forest was covered in freshly fallen leaves on a carpet of rotting ones from last year and the year before. It’s how soil is made. We slipped along as best we could, and enjoyed the fall scenes and fresh air.

The drizzle made the world interesting and beautiful. I did my best to pull out my camera when the scene was right.

I’ve noticed that no matter the day, or the length of trail, that the trail is always two miles too long. Today we hiked two miles less than yesterday, but it took the same amount of time.

We were ready to be done. We stopped off for groceries and a caña before heading to our hostel.

We took HOT showers. The kind of shower that puts 30% life force back into you. I sipped a beer and ate a handful of peanuts. Life became bearable again.

The Original - CDS Primitivo

We started a new trail today. This one is called the Camino de Santiago Primitivo. “Primitivo” means original, not primitive. Which stands to reason, as this is the original Camino.

We did seventeen miles today. We had no issues. We are in shape. Pack weight doesn’t matter anymore. We can walk all day, and just enjoy it. All of our hard work on the Norte has paid off.

“Oh, Heyyyyy!!!”

I found a lot more mushrooms today. We also walked through more patches of wooded forest, with old trees. I love being in the forest. I’m very comfortable there.

We saw this old house with the roof caved in. And then I noticed the cooking pot, and the bottle of oil still standing there.

Asturian welcoming commitee.

This dog waits all day for pilgrims to come by and pet her. She gets so much love.

If you look closely at the first dog picture, you’ll see the insecure jealous dog in the background, yipping away with rage. Meanwhile, this dog just laps up the attention. So serene.

We are getting our “Tramp Stamp” booklet all filled up. The pilgrim needs to collect stamps of where they wandered, proving they did the hike.

In Santiago, they will review your booklet and sanction your hike accordingly. I’ve heard you get a certificate of completion and an audience with the Pope!

“Waugggghhh!!!”

The day ended in Grado with a “menu of the day” at a fabulous restaurant. The highlight of the meal was the goat and French fries. I love goat. I’ve only had it about six times in my life, but every time it’s been absolutley delicious.

This trek is off to a great start. More to come ftom Asturias.

Southbound - CDN to Oviedo

Today was our longest hike of the trip, some 17 miles. After our rest day, our legs felt strong! After years of neglect, we are finally starting to get into shape!

This of course was morning legs talking. Afternoon legs had a much different opinion on the matter.

Beautiful Predawn Sky

Donkeys of the Morning

It was hot today. We were baking in the sun, and if it wasn’t for the shaded country lanes, we’d probably be scorched. I couldn’t imagine hiking this in the heat of the summer.

This hot day ended as they all do with an ice cold caña.

We took a night at the albergue in Pola de Siero. We were the only people staying there. It was a bit like living in a castle by yourself. It was cold. The whole place echoed as you walked to the loo. It was great having a nice quiet albergue.

Shadow hikers.

“Triplets!” ~ Molly Wolf for the win in the caption this contest…

Horse mouth. It kinda smirks like my cousin Jay.

This girl… At first, she acted like a good watch dog: Barking from a distance, acting tough. But I whistled, and motioned to her, and she came half way. I did it again, and she came over for a good scratch, then belly rubs, then in your lap, I LOVE YOU, PET ME! She got a piece of cheese… I half expected her to join us, but she calmly walked us by her house and stayed home. Great dog!

Medeval bridge. The engineer in me is very intrigued by these old bridges. I’d have loved to see one constructed, and help build one.

This day ended in Oviedo, and Napoli style pizza. This pizza was absolutely delicious and will be on my mind for some time to come. My favorite pizza is the “diavola.”

Turns out Oviedo is a pizza town, and there are many options. I’d love to do a self guided and inspired pizza tour here.

This marks the end of the Camino del Norte for us. We are switching trails, and headed southwest on the Camino de Santiago Primitivo Trail.

The norte was good to us and we got in shape. Now we want some mountains, and more country paths. We begin tomorrow.

Musing - CDN to Villaviciosa

Today was peaceful. We were up in the foothills most of the morning. The walk was good. All this walking gives you plenty of time to think. These are the idle musings of a pilgrim.

What it would be like to hike this with the energy you had in your twenties?

I thought a lot about making art. I caught several drawing ideas, ones I should write down so I remember.

Two thoughts kept coming: I should make art. This art will sell. I don’t know why it would, but something tells me it will. I just need to do it.

The people that live the life they want, do the things they want to do. They are bold about it. They don’t hesitate, they just do what moves them. And even if they fail, they are at least doing what they are passionate about, and that’s the rub.

And I have a chance, a choice to do it. So, why not?

For lunch, we had fabada. A delicious Asturian specialty of white beans and sausage.

After a week of walking, we are taking a much needed rest day. And back home it’s Thanksgiving. So time to relax, and kick our feet up for a day.

This Coast - CDN to Colunga

We put a good two hours of hiking in the dark to get here at dawn. It was worth it. This IS the best breakfast spot of the trip, and we aren’t going to rush.

This coastline is rugged, jagged, and sharp. You don’t want to trip here. The waves are big today, and the sound is deep. The roar of the ocean hitting these rocks is ancient. It goes deep into our psyche. I can’t stop watching the waves.

The sun rises a little. We walk on. We start finding active bufones! It’s as though the ground is breathing through these nostril like openings connected to the sea.

It’s all hydraulics of water pressure pushing air through a narrowing tube. They are all over the place! And they “breathe” in time to the ocean swells.

This is not an easy coastline to hike, and it works us. It also slowed us down. But that doesn’t matter, this is why we are here. To embrace it all, and this coast is worth embracing.

We stop off for an early lunch in some town along the way. It’s a bar for old men, run by an old man, with food made from scratch by an old woman. We love these places. They are reliably open in the morning. And they serve good food.

Then what you know what we did? We got on the bus! We weren’t going to make it to our next town before dark at our current pace. We fast forward two towns by bus, and got out to walk the rest of the way home.

Die hard Camino purists will likely criticize our move, but so what? We are making our camino work for us, and this was the right move. We may not hike every single step of the trail, but we will get 75% of them. And 75% of 510 miles is still a hell of a lot of steps.

Besides, check out this scenery. This is how we spent our afternoon, walking through paradise! We are so lucky to be alive and healthy enough to be able to walk these paths.

I love these fence lines…

So over it for the day…

We made it to town! We had a couple drinks in the late afternoon sunshine, content to do absolutely nothing over a glass of cool albariño….

“Ahh, Is this not happiness” ~ Jin Shengtan, 17th Century Chinese sage