Category: Destinations

Coming Soon: Camino Route Report – Camino del Norte 2019

Posted by on December 6, 2019 in Activities, Adventure, Advice, Destinations, Travel

Grandpa’s Latest Camino de Santiago

During the month of October 2019, Grandpa completed his third Camino de Santiago in Spain. He trekked for thirty-one days on the Camino del Norte, along the north coast, from Irun at the French border to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. Daily accounts of that journey to find inspiration and meet new friends will be available on the blog site in the coming weeks. Follow along as the trail days are posted or select Camino de Santiago here, or from the blog’s main menu.

Camino del Norte (Coastal Way)

The length of the Camino del Norte, also known as the Camino de la Costa (Coastal Way), is over 800 kilometers (more than 500 miles). Depending on where you find your information, this distance varies. I used a Village to Village Map Guide by Harms, Dintman, and Landis for my trek and will use their measurements for consistency throughout the report. One of the difficulties in measurements for the Norte is the number of variations on your path to Santiago, variations you don’t find much of while walking the Camino Francés. The Camino del Norte is 833 kilometers from Irún, at the French border, traveling through the cities of San Sebastián, Bilbao, Santander, and Gijón to Santiago de Compostela. An option popular with pilgrims hiking the Norte is to leave the traditional route and follow the Primitivo route over the mountains, meeting the Camino Francés at Melide. I followed the Norte to Arzúa, where this trail intersects with the Francés.

About the Route Report

Each day in the route report will list start and endpoints, the distance walked (in kilometers), the time it took to walk that distance, notes about the route, a log of that day’s adventures, people I met and fun we had, and some indication of costs, weather, and trail conditions.

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Planning Season

Posted by on April 16, 2018 in Activities, Adventure, Advice, Destinations, Travel

Eckhart Tolle tells us—when thinking of the future—that we plan in the now, in the present moment. He has been an inspiration in my life, and I do my best to embody this concept of planning, here and now. My 2018 planning season is mostly complete.

Planning season has its moments.

 

Much of these past winter months I have stolen moments to plan for future travels. I know, right? If you’ve read my blogs before you’d get the sense that I never go anywhere—NOT! And as is my usual wont, I’ve planned a lot. Much of it in succession.

The first flurry: A hands-on work project in Mexico with Grandma’s Rotary club, which happens to butt up against a section hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Fly to Mexico, work, hang out on the beach, work some more, fly to San Diego, then start hiking. I’m meeting a couple of my buddies there and hiking from the Mexican border for 342 miles to the north. That’s the plan.

Rotary led high school refurbishment project, Las Varas, Nayarit, Mexico. 2015

Rotary led high school refurbishment project, Las Varas, Nayarit, Mexico. 2015

Rotary led high school refurbishment project, Las Varas, Nayarit, Mexico. 2015

That takes a lot of groundwork. Permits, buying supplies, figuring out resupply plans. Packing. Thank goodness that I live with my travel agent. She booked flights for me to get from Point A to B then C and on to D—where she has me appearing on stage at a Rotary convention following our Polio’s Last Mile campaign. (Recognition is a wonderful thing—but the day after getting of the trail? Really?)

Backpack and resupply boxes ready for the Pacific Crest Trail.

Oh well. It was all planned in the present moment.

Then there’s a trip to Europe this summer touring with our granddaughter and visiting with friends in Provence. Grandma made all those plans. From there—what the heck—add on a trek around Mont Blanc with a good friend (Karla, in my book Su Camino). Karla has done a masterful job of planning that one. I’m so looking forward to these adventures.

The next time I get to sit and plan, in the now, I’ll be looking into a Grand Canyon hike, with a twist. I want to get to Northern AZ (from my Nor Cal home) by bus and train—only. That’s nothing unusual in Europe, but in the States, especially out west, it’s not easy.

One other thing: During these past months, I jumped into writing fiction, for fun. It was more of an experiment into creativity. I discovered “the flow.” With no practical training or specific education in the art, I just went for it—making it up as I went along. I’ll try to get it finished up in the next couple of months (while trekking around) and uploaded to Amazon. It’s called, Three Red Sedans: A Mild-Mannered Mystery/Thriller.

 

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Finishing Is The Reward

Posted by on December 23, 2017 in Activities, Adventure, Destinations, Travel

Last month, I reported on my then-upcoming adventure at the Marathon Des Sables Peru in a post called Crunch Time. If you were unable to follow along with the race, I’m happy to report that I did complete the 155-mile, six-stage event, ranked in the top 100 competitors—which was my stated goal in an even earlier post, All About The Goal—and as the top ranked American in the field. Finishing this footrace was no easy accomplishment, but always with the end in mind, I did manage to work through challenges during the race and come away happy with my results. (more…)

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The Via De La Plata – Revisited

Posted by on November 20, 2017 in Activities, Adventure, Advice, Destinations, Travel

Introduction:

I was recently asked to present my 2016 Via de la Plata trek in Spain, and I thought I would share my speech and slides in this post. I was one of seven presenters speaking on routes other than the most commonly walked, Camino Francés. My friend Laurie Ferris over at thecaminoprovides.com was one of the organizers of the event and had this to say about the event when she posted the slideshows on her website:

“Our NorCal chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino had its annual Welcome Home celebration event on November 11th, 2017 in Oakland. This year we had presentations on Camino routes “beyond the Francés.” It was a fun way to learn about less popular routes that are off the beaten path. It also gave the opportunity for first-time pilgrims and veterans to share some highlights at a gathering. We did the presentations in 10×10 format, which is ten slides in ten minutes. We had seven routes represented, and I presented on the Camino Inglés. It was challenging for all of us to select photos to include, and to speak for only ten minutes, because we are all very passionate about our experiences!”

This was a very fun experience for me and it brought back many of my wonderful experiences while making that fabulous journey, last fall. Hope you enjoy! (more…)

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All About The Goal

Posted by on September 29, 2017 in Activities, Adventure, Destinations

Earlier this month I posted a short promo video announcing that I have joined the campaign to end polio. (Read on for another video with more detail.) This project is a partnering with the Rotary Club of Middletown, California—one intended to raise funds and awareness to finish the “Last Mile” to eradicating this horrible disease.

Please join us: donate at End Polio Now. #polioslastmile


Very few runners have the wherewithal to win a marathon, an ultramarathon, or a long stage race—I applaud and marvel at those who do. For those of us without that ability, and using a bit of self-reflection, well, we must determine what it is that we expect from our performance. That process is easy for me because I am goal oriented and steadfastly stick to my goals until they are accomplished, or they no longer make sense. (more…)

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Out And About In Seattle

Posted by on July 16, 2017 in Activities, Advice, Destinations, Food, Getting There and Away, Lodging, Travel

Big cities don’t thrill me, but Seattle, Washington, has many fun and out-of-the-ordinary things to do, beautiful scenery, friendly people, good food . . . I could go on.

During a recent trip, we spent a few days in Seattle, sightseeing and catching up with an old friend. Though it was typical weather for the US Northwest—with gray skies, occasional mist, and one day of actual rain—we made the most of our time there. And once again, we arrived back at our hotel one evening wondering why we thought we could pack so much into a day—at our ages. (more…)

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I Need A New…

Posted by on June 5, 2017 in Activities, Advice, Destinations

So now my first few short training runs are in the bag; six months to go.

Being well into “middle age” (and retired from professional life for a few years now) does not make me old. The body may age, but I refuse to get old. That’s a conscious decision we can all make.

Last year, my logbook indicated that I ran, walked, and hiked a total of 2,700 miles in calendar 2016. At the start of that year, our local running club, the Lake County Milers, posted a mileage challenge―speaking to my competitor’s spirit―and I had some big things planned for the year. For example, I trained for and ran only one ultramarathon, the Redwoods Creek 50K (31 miles), and then I planned for and hiked the John Muir Trail in California (approximately 220 miles plus an additional 30 miles to join the JMT from Cottonwood Lakes trailhead). I also walked my second Camino de Santiago in Spain, the Via de la Plata (625 miles). (more…)

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‘Twas An Honor—The Chaperoning Experience

Posted by on April 25, 2017 in Activities, Advice, Destinations

One partly cloudy day last week, I enjoyed chaperoning a field trip for my granddaughter’s fourth-grade class. When she called to ask if I would join her and the students, I immediately said yes—as fear began to rise up in my gut. The trip with her class was to Bouverie Preserve near Glen Ellen, California. Spring is the most beautiful season in California with all of the green and dense patches of wildflowers that bloom before our summer heat turns everything golden brown.

I had never been a chaperone before, (more…)

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Just Off The Beaten Path: Santa Rosalía, BCS, Mexico

Posted by on April 18, 2017 in Advice, Destinations, Travel

The American at the border crossing in Tijuana said of Santa Rosalía, “That’s a dirty little town.” Since that was our stated destination, the man’s assertion seemed quite rude. But we handled his affront well enough. And, yes, one might think so, if you are—as most do—driving straight through Santa Rosalía en route to somewhere else, somewhere better known to the average tourist who spends his or her time elsewhere in southern Baja.

Santa Rosalia from Las Casitas, to the south

Treasures Abound in Southern Baja (more…)

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