Goat Creek to Goat Fell

June 8, 2018February 22, 2022 / runningforthegate / 1 Comment

Yahoo lassies!

On Monday the crew of us heading to Scotland to complete the Arran Coast Way in July had our one and only chance to train all together and it was awesome!

Shar selected the Goat Creek Trail for us seeing it would mimic much of our path in Scotland. I sure hope so too because the trail was great and I could do that for a week for sure!

The trail starts at the Goat Creek trail head just outside of Canmore and ends 19km later at the Banff Springs outside of Banff (the trail tail / trail butt as Rosa and Shar joked).

The path was undulating for the most part, up away from Goat Creek and then back down again as we left Canmore further behind and gained on approaching Banff. Just a few slogs up overall really – what a treat!!

At the head of the trail there was a big ole sign warning of wolves and grizzly bears in the area. Always a nice ‘welcome to the trail you hikers who may also double dinner’. Ha! Usually I see these signs when I am alone hiking and they freak me out – which 4 of us hiking though it was way less intimidating. Ok maybe not way less but at least a bit less.

Best way to curb the ‘gonna get eaten’ fear is to launch into full ‘don’t eat me’ mode. This includes being generally loud on the trail – holding conversations, hollering out a word or two every 50 feet or when approaching a bend in the path or a creek, and staying together if you have a hiking tribe.

Really you are just hoping to scare any wildlife away before there is any chance of you startling them into eating you. We also did a quick run down of what to do if we do see a bear, cougar or wolf so we were all on the same page. We did this loudly of course as part of our ‘be heard and be seen’ wildlife strategy. (I like to call things strategies so they sound all planned and awesome – even though this this was more of a ‘holy crap, what if’ scenario discussion.)

We had a lot of fun with the calling out a word every 50 feet or so strategy; turning it into a game of sorts. This keeps the bears away, is fun, and seems to eat up the miles quickly! We did the classic name that country sound off starting with A thru to Z, then a round for celebrities and one for names of songs. This last one may have include some short bursts of singing which may have been the best thing for keeping those pack hunting wolves at bay. At least when I was belting out the ole Toy Soldier by Martika! Remember that one?

During our walk we focused on a two things – the beauty of the trail and our gear. Lots of gear talk. Mostly gear talk. We were out there on Monday to test gear. Everything from socks to hats, and from undies to backpacks to see what will make the cut for Scotland.

I discovered my penchant for being cheap has resulted in wearing decade old SmartWools that don’t keep their shape any longer resulting in under the heel blister potential, and that my new hiking capris from Eddie Bauer are great but they are not the replacement for my long standing favourite Nike capris that need to make one final trip me thinks. I also confirmed that after logging probably 1000s of kilometers in my Asolo Backpacking boots across the globe I may need to splurge for some new insoles. I better get on that quick so I can train the next 6 weeks in them before we depart.

Rosa tried the switch from boots to shoes technique to see how that worked for her dogs – a strategy I deploy on 20km+ days with great success especially when it includes compression socks! Cheryl discovered that the pants she thought would be perfect were not and will not be making the cut for the trip’s packing list. Shar confirmed her hiking shorts are perfect for the trip and that the wax from Baby Bel Cheese can be used to prevent sunburns on your the nose if there is ever a shortage of sunscreen.

Overall the trail of 19km took us just over 4 hours at a very easy pace with lots of wee stops to check and test that gear and some snacks mid way too. The weather was overcast with some small breaks of sun – perfect for hiking! Not too hot or cold. Oh and

A little extra time was added to the trip for an extra special reason! We had to make one special pit stop for Rosa to see if Jamie Fraser of Outlander was perhaps at this standing stone – nope, she did not hear bees. Doh! We will try every standing stone in Scotland for you Rosa until we find him.

Oh and we had to stop for Shar and Cheryl to knock off a few yoga moves for those tight ham-dogs and hip-flexors too.

We rolled into Banff arriving at the trail butt by the Banff Springs Hotel of amazingness. But us classy gals didn’t stop there for a cool, fancy drink. No way! We made our way down to Buffalo Bills for a cold pint and some meat!

Then we headed up Banff Main Street to catch the Roam bus for $6bucks back to Canmore where our vehicles were waiting! Lots of peeps bike the trail we walked so there were even some bins strapped to the front or the back of the bus to bead back to Canmore.

Am awesome trial and trail day for all of us! We all loved the trail and each of us figured out something a little more than we knew before about our gear for Scotland.

Eeeek the trip is coming fast!

Brande

Guest Post – The ‘Be You’ Training Plan

May 25, 2018 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Well Hello!

My name is Shar and I am Brande’s sister – here as a guest on the blog today! I am VERY honoured to be adding to the amazing posts that B (what we call her in our family) does throughout her adventures and her process of preparation!

We are gearing up to do a long distance walk in Scotland, the Arran Coastal Way. This will be long distance walking adventure number 2 for me! The Great Glen Way in 2013 with B was one of the most memorable adventures of my life time and I am sure this one will be that much better!

The reason I wanted to hop on the blog today was to address those whom are intimidated by the word “preparation”!

I respect so much the thought, care and dedication B puts into every day leading up to an adventure. But for me, I have a short attention span for most things! So the idea of getting through a long training routine in anticipation of wanting to just get going is SUPER unnerving for a person like me!

Best advice I can give is … do things that are gonna get you out there doing things! Don’t try to be or do something your NOT! Don’t over schedule and over complicate! You do you, and don’t apologize for it!

B made up this awesome training program (20 Week Training Plan) and sent it out to us for help and guidance on where to start and I took that program and twisted it a bit so it fit my family’ incredibly crazy schedule and my need for short and sweet commitments!

For me, I love love love Jillian Micheals‘ workouts – she is the bomb when it comes to short but effective work outs! The longest I have done is 28mins or less!! No going to the gym or finding time to hit an hour class; it’s my house and on my time! I don’t have to think, she tells me what to do and I am working every muscle I need to support the multiple kilometers we are going to cover on our next adventure! Start with the Beginner Shred if you want to give it a try – quick and effective! Oh and Yoga meltdown is an awesome one as well! Rock star!

Alternating that with a 5km Running App- which gets me outdoors with out having to rearrange schedules and move mountains to get there! Just throw on the runners and go! Combine it all with a 15-20 min recovery yoga when and if I can fit it in!

Throwing in some fun 30 day squat or plank challenges here and there makes it a workable routine that fits within an already crazy schedule and it all does not have to be done at once! Trust me I know how important fitting it all into a crazy schedule is!

To keep me going – I keep an pretty elementary schedule of what I need to do each day and cross off with a happy face when I complete it! Writing it down helps cement the commitment and crossing it off cements the accomplishment!

Does it make a difference? Why can’t you just stick to walking for your training?

Well what I noticed after just a wee few weeks is the recovery. Yesterday, after a 17km moderate hike with one of my besties – my recovery was nothing.

I felt the workout which we all want but I did not FEEL the workout! If you know what I mean. My endurance was awesome, the steep climbs and equally as important the steep descents weren’t painful!

This is what makes hiking for an average everyday Joe (or Shar) like me that much more amazing!This helps keep me motivated, it is such a great feeling when I do get the chance to get out and enjoy the mountains with out my body bitching me out when I’m done!

So start simple! I started the first week with just the Beginner Shred workout and added in the run on alternating days a couple weeks later – so it’s not overwhelming and I wasn’t struggling to keep up with life!

Take that step… even if you don’t have a long distance walk ahead! Feels great and keeps us young!

Happy Trails!
Shar

Announcing a New Adventure

March 11, 2018 / runningforthegate / 3 Comments

I am super excited to announce my next adventure …

I will be heading back to do some more hiking (hill walking as they like to call it) in Scotland this summer. A celebration of a milestone birthday. I cheered my 30th in Scotland so what a great way to bring in my 40th. Hmm maybe this trend will continue for my 50th in another decade!

The hike I will be celebrating with is the Arran Coastal Path, about a 108+km path that goes all the way around the Isle of Arran off the west coast of Scotland. An area I have never explored and an island that boasts it is a mini-Scotland.

I will be joined in my merriment with a trio of three amazing women…

My sister Shar, who I have done many hikes with including the Great Glen Way in Scotland back in 2013. Which we both loved and have been trying to get back on the long distance path together since! Shar brings the planning, go-get-em-ra-ra cheerleading, and excited clapping to our band.

My sister-in-scrapbooking Cheryl, who I have not hiked with before but have had the awesome pleasure of spending loads of deep thinking and laugh till you cry time with so it should be awesome. Cheryl brings the deep conversations, conventional and unconventional wisdom and get-it-done-in-colour to the troupe.

My sister-in-as-good-as-law Rosa, who I have not hiked with per se but we have put on a tonne of miles together walking and stair climbing during far off family vacations. Rosa brings the perseverance, logic, competition and hilariously heckling sense of humour to the team.

We are just 19weeks out and already having a wonderful time just in the planning. Over the coming weeks I will share our training plans, details of our itinerary and all the other preparation bits and bobs. Then of course a day by day, play by play here on the blog while we are on our adventure.

Brande

Tourists Dressed as Pilgrims

September 21, 2017March 11, 2018 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Well yesterday was a tourist day! While we still had the pilgrim shuffle, clothes and packs; we decided to take the day and be tourists.

We didn’t get to see any of Viana de Costa after coming in so late and tired the day prior. Sad thing. We had heard from many pilgrims that it is one of the nicest cities on the Portuguese Coastal Route. So we decided to strap our hiking shoes to our packs and instead venture around the city of Viana in sandals before making our way by bus to Esponsende. Our new home for the night and the start of today’s walk.

Wow are we sure glad we did!

Our day started with breakfast and a reminder of how wonderful the people of Portugal are. We were invited into this tiny cafe by the most sweet little old grandma for breakfast. They really only eat pastries for breakfast here and we were looking for something beyond a sweet. She personally made us coffee and a ham and cheese bun sandwich (so fresh and good) and then also gave us some traditional pastries to try as dessert. Ironically she gave the very pastry we were talking about wanting to try just minutes before. Custard / creek brûlée in a puffy yet chewy pastry shell. Mmm We were the only ones in the cafe and she was so sweet!

Next, we took the cool little elevator trolley car thing up the huge hill in the middle of the city center to see the city from and coast line from a birds eye view and check out this massive church.

Funny as we made our way up in a normal elevator to get to the street that has this trolley elevator an old wee man joined us. He simply rode up with us to ask if we are pilgrims,how far we are walking, where we are from, etc. we assumed he was just in the elevator by chance. Nope when we got off he took it back down and wished is a good journey. He simply wanted to know more about us and say good luck.

The church at the top was a temple and monument to Santa Luzia and it was very impressive! We could see it for a long long time in the distance as we walked into Viana the day prior, so it was neat to check it out!

Before we went into the church, Lana was held up by some wee grandma who was rubbing her arm talking about the Camino and pilgrim and her poor feet. All in Portuguese so only a few words were understood.

Next we ventured though the small, winding, character streets of the city center that have all these little shops and cafes, amazing tiles and iron work, and just feel so different than our streets back home in Canada.

We enjoyed a super yummy lunch sitting at a wee baby table on one of these side streets. We don’t understand all the words on a menu so find something we think we know and get that. Today we got ‘pork meat’ and it came with salad and chips and rice and a bun. I appreciate how seriously these great people take their carbs and starches!

Then made our way to the bus station behind the below gorgeous old train station for a 3pm bus to Esponsende. Prior to boarding the bus, the very nice man who gave us the bus timetable earlier that day came to the platform to confirm for us that we were getting on the right bus!

By 4pm we were in our new city of Esponsende checking into the really great Hostel Eleven.

We dropped our packs, checked in with the family on our arrival then headed out to see what this city has to offer.

Before leaving we asked the hostel guy to help us arrange bag transport for us, from Esponsende to Vila do Conde. It’s been tough every day to get someone to move our extra bag. Yesterday we couldn’t final a single company or person willing which was a big part of our decision not to walk. Well Hostel Elevan was amazing and they worked our a deal with a local transport company to move our pack for us as an exception to the services they provide for just 10 euros. Deal. What was so easy to arrange on the St James Camino is a real struggle here on the Portugal Coastal away, especially walking backwards!

That done and dealt with, we ventured out into the central city of Esponsende.

We wrapped our day up with some red wine and homemade pasta in our hostel kitchen. I hate cooking usually but when you have been eating out all meals on most days it feels so good to prepare what you eat! Also all this for 7 Euros plus an apple and cookies for a trail side snack tomorrow is a price we can’t resist!

By the way – that big plate of cheese and bread and chorizo isn to make sandwiches for it walk today.

Just prior to making this meal, we saw the three pilgrims we crossed the ferry into Caminha with a couple days again show up in a taxi. We weren’t the only ones who suffered the day before and had to skip some or all of yesterday’s walk as a result. Ouch!

We are heading out now to walk 25km to our next home, Vila do Conde.

Buen Camino!
Brande

Portuguese Camino now in Portugal

September 19, 2017March 11, 2018 / runningforthegate / 2 Comments

We are officially, for real, finally, super excited to now be in Portugal! We walked from Villadesuso to A Guarda and then we hopped a ferry to Caminha, the port city of Portugal.

We arrived yesterday after a 20km walk on mostly amazing trails or forest tracks along the coast line. Only a few kms on the highway path overall, an awesome change from the day prior. Here are some highlights:

We powered through the day in hours – likely because of our lazy, more than one coffee, amazing breakfast that was included in our hotel room cost the night prior.

We have been at this ‘walking / pilgrimage’ thing now for a while and 20km is peanuts to these legs and feet! So much so our pilgrimage spirt animal the snail may now just be an ironic mascot. Nonetheless, he was out cheering us on big time yesterday!

We hit A Guarda in about 3hours. Once there, we decided to head straight for the ferry port to meet our water taxi when he arrived in a couple hours. We were sure there was a pub or cafe at the port and we had pre-made some yummy cheese sandwiches (mine where cheese and jam) for our lunch. While walking though town we snapped a few pics of the good stuff. The first pic below is their public library – wow!

Our plan to go to Caminha, Portugal on a Monday was rather not well timed. Turns out the only day the ferry between A Guarda in Spain and Caminha in Portugal does NOT run is Mondays. Come on! What are the chances!

So the night prior I had posted a plea on a Camino de Santiago form I belong to on Facebook called Camigas. Basically women helping other women plan, pack, walk, and reminisce about their pilgrimages. Within minutes of posting ‘help’, I had a host of replies from these awesome ladies. One even had a picture of a poster from an Albergue that advertised who you could call if the ferry was not running to get a water taxi of sorts.

So I called some guy named Mario in Caminha who had a boat and arranged for a 4pm pick up by his brother, in a red boat, from the dock A Guarda where the ferry usually is. I think I did anyway. He spoke Portuguese. I have learned only the most basic Portuguese which does not include arranging nautical transport to another country. We both spoke only some Spanish. Disaster! Well turns out the plan with Mario was doomed from the get go – Portugal is an hour earlier than we were in Spain. Oops, who knew! So did we arrange for his 4pm or my 4pm?

Down at the dock hoping for the best and that Mario would show up – especially after we came across three other pilgrims who also didn’t know the ferry does not run on Monday’s and needed to cross and invited them with us and Mario’s brother. A troop of cyclists (pedal bike) from a tourist group showed up. A whole host of them, like 25-30 bikes. Turns out they rented the ferry to cross and we could join them if the ferry people agreed. What!? Yahoo!

So we boarded the ferry with the tour group and paid just 1 Euro to cross each. Mario’s brother was charging us 5 Euros each. We were not the only ones to hitch a ride either – the other three pilgrim’s did and a few cars drove on as well. Hilarious! How do you even go about renting a ferry in the first place!? One of the phrases you hear a lot on the Camino is ‘the Camino provides’ … it sure does!

I called Mario once onboard and let him know (I think) that we don’t need him, don’t need boat, have boat, but thank you. Hopefully he got the message and didn’t come across for us. I had talked to the women who works at the bar by the ferry station and she knew Mario. She would have seen us board and maybe called him too. What a place!

Good bye Spain, we had fun:

Hello Portugal, so excited to meet you:

Once docked and we had walked the few short blocks into the old city center we were in love with Portugal! The houses were that classic European style all close together with amazing doors and instead of paint, most homes were tiled on the outside. Amazing. We went crazy photographing the houses, the tile, the doors!

We settled into our new home for the night Arca Nova, did some laundry (you do this a lot when you only have a few items each) and then ventured the town for the evening! We enjoyed those sandwiches we had made for lunch for dinner instead.

We now say goodbye to Arca Nova and Caminha and make our way the 28km to Viana de Costelo.

Buen Camino!
Brande

Camino Portugal Coastal Route Begins

September 17, 2017March 11, 2018 / runningforthegate / 2 Comments

Yesterday was a horrible, no good, very bad day … we had to walk along beach after beautiful beach and enjoy endless sunshine here on the west coast of Spain. Tough, right?

We started what could be considered our fourth Camino yesterday, the Portuguese Way. We are not doing to full route which is from Lisbon to Santiago. But rather the costal portion only and in reverse. Walking from Vigo to Porto. As we get closer to Porto the weather will get warmer making our post Camino tourists days in Portugal that much better. We will be celebrating our Camino adventures with some days in Porto, Lagos and Lisbon before heading home to reality at the end of the month. Again, tough right?

The morning starting as usual – up around 7 and out the door of our home, Hotel Aquila, around 8. Leaving our extra duffel of the heavy stuff for transport. On this Camino we will be using Santiago Backpack Express and so far the owner of the company has just been so great helping is out!

Our Hotel was a real gem – super old but clean and had all the amazing original features. Check it out:

For breakfast we stopped at the Hotel Bafia Cafe right on the waterfront where the Camino begins. They didn’t really offer a hot breakfast but the waiter asked what we would want and said he could try and make it happen. He did! Cafe con leche; bacon and eggs and bread; and for breakfast dessert (yes that is a thing) chocolate and churros. This has been on my list to try while here in Spain – it’s a pretty standard breakfast here and I can see why. Delicious! Too much chocolate and not enough sugar and cinnamon, if you can believe that! I was pumped with sugar and ready to walk!

Oddly, once we did start out at around 10am, we couldn’t find any way markers for the route We decided we will just keep the water to our right side and stay as close to it as possible and eventually we will find the Camino arrows. We knew the little towns and milestones we needed to hit as per our very high level guide book, so that helped give us something to aim for. We are walking in reverse so do have to look back to find arrows and then do the opposite thing – but there was not an arrow to be found in The city of Vigo.

Our first hour was spent walking through the industrial, port area of Vigo which left much to be desired really. We powered through it as quick as we could to get it over with. Thumbs down for this section.

At about the 6th kilometer we came out of Vigo and into a little town called Bouzas and that is where the beauty of the Coastal route started to really show it self. Thumbs up!

Here are some highlights of our amazing, sunny, beachside or directly on the beach walk yesterday. I would say 15 of the 22kms was basically a dream!

We took a brief break mid-afternoon for some fruit and nuts from our pack. But by about 3pm a craving for a sea side cold one overcame us. You can only walk by that much beauty on your right and amazing cafes on your left before you give in to a ‘sit and sip by the sea’ moment.

That out of our system (for the day anyway), we made our way the final 4-5km into Nigran our new village for the night.

We are staying at the Albergue Pazo Pias which is an 1600s monastery of sorts refurbished into a type of hostel. Wow, amazing, maybe it’s haunted, how awesome, and cool! Check out the hallway and all me the first two words that come to mind? Starts with a colour and ends with an alcohol. Ha ha

We did our usual feet up for a bit and check in with the family on our safe arrival. Then out for a couple of drinks and some eats. Here in Spain during certain hours of the day, you get a wee tapa when you order a drink. Yesterday’s were super yummy!

We were back at the room for 900 to journal, social media and wind down for the night. Oh and full disclosure – this is a bit of a confessional. We were (ok I was) too hungry for the kitchens to open to get dinner. Here in Spain you cannot get a cooked meal between usually 3 and 8 sometimes even 9pm. The kitchen staff are off on siesta. So you either eat early or wait, which after walking all day can be tough to do. So we, no joke, had a pizza from Pizza Hut – yup Pizza Hut in Spain, first one we ever saw. It was so good! The crust and sauce are very different than home and way yummier (more fluffy and way more oregano and the cheese is so good). If it makes it any better, I did wash it down with a a Spanish red wine!?

Well that was yesterday and we loved it. Today we are up and at it for a 20km day walking from Nigran to Villadesuso. It is not as sunny today but this blondie is secretly happy for a little cloud cover once in a while (don’t tell Lana – she loves all out, hot hot hot sun).

Buen Camino!
Brande

PS We finally found some way marker arrows about 15km into our 22km day – let’s see if today is a little better!

Mucho Gusta Muxia

September 15, 2017March 12, 2018 / runningforthegate / 2 Comments

Yesterday Lana and I completed another one of the Camino trails with our waltz (ok maybe not quite that graceful) into Muxia, Spain! The other end of the death coast (Spain’s name for it, not mine) and the Camino.

The day was a long one at 30kms that ended up feeling much longer, likely due to the kilometres and kilometres of just barren forest track we walked through the whole afternoon. Beautiful for sure but you start to wonder if you are getting anywhere at all if there are no milestones to pass.

We started the day with a hot breakfast at the cutest little hippy breakfast place run by some nice Germans right in the centre of Finisterre near the water. Once filled up on coffee and eggs, at around 10am, we started walking.

Now getting out of Finisterre to walk to Muxia is not as well marked as these two pilgrims are used to. We had our bearings mostly correct and the help of a pilgrim who completed the journey in reverse just the day before to get us started. We were pretty happy to see the first ‘a Muxia’ shell way marker though to confirm we were heading in the right direction. With 30km to cover, you don’t want to waste energy and distance getting lost.

Some highlights from our morning walk – which did I mention was warm and beautiful and full of sunshine! A welcome change from the past few days of sogginess. Even when we kinda sorta lost then found our way, we didn’t mind it was sunny!

At about 12km into our day and around 12noon we came into a village called Lires. Here we stopped at a cafe called As Eiras for a cafe con leche to get us going for the last 18km. This would be the last village, cafe, water opportunity until we reached Muxia in another 18km. So we really, really enjoyed that coffee! I also particularly enjoyed it cause of the heart in my creamy foam!

After our pit stop, we walked /slogged that 18km on some pretty neat woodland paths featuring stone walls, some asphalt local roads but mostly spent our time on a forest track (think logging road). It was this barren track that had us feeling the miles on our feet. It was just never ending and most of it up. Also the wind was so strong up along the top of the hills that you were working twice as hard as usual against it to get anywhere!

Finally about 3pm we both felt like we should have been there already and we were starving. We stopped and sat on top of a stone wall and ate the sandwiches we had made the day prior and shared a tetra, individual to go box of wine in our Canada cups. Mmmm

Lunch in our bellies and our feet ‘rested’ we figured we had to have only a few km left in the day … or the guide book was wrong (for the first time ever) and this day was way more than 30km it said it was.

We had been sure for the last hour or more that the coast was just around the corner or just over the next hill. It wasn’t! But now for sure it had to be, had to be – my feet hurt lol. Well it was! Within minutes of leaving our lunch time wall, we could see the coast! Yahoo!

In just a couple kms we were checked into the lovely Albergue Da Costa with the above view, had our feet up and were checking in with family on our safe arrival. Wow what a place.

Later that evening we ventured down to the water’s edge to see the church, Camino milestone maker, and lighthouse. Below are some pics showing you just how beautiful it really all was. If you follow me on Instagram (@brandedavison) I also put up a 360video.

We wrapped up the evening with some eats … we thought we ordered pork chops with chips and we got pork n chips of sorts. Weird but so yummy! Like meat poutine without cheese and gravy – ok so not really like poutine at all. But yummers all the same.

Today we are off to bus and train to Vigo, Spain where we begin our Camino de Portuguese, Coastal Route tomorrow.

Buen Camino!
Brande

We See the Sea in Cee

September 13, 2017March 12, 2018 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Yesterday, Lana and I were back at it – moving along the Camino by our own two (well four) tired but happy to be on the trail feet.

We walked from Oliveroa to Cee. A go of 19kms or 30,465 Fitbit steps in a little less than 4hours. We had the pleasure (tongue in cheek) of either mist, rain or just plain old sogginess all day. It was our first day on the Camino where we had to wear waterproofs for the full walk. We have been at this Camino thing now for a couple weeks so that’s not too bad! No complaints.

We were up this morning at our usual time of about 7am with the rest of the hostel crew in our room of 12 near full bunk beds.

I was feeling more rested than the days prior thanks to my headphones that play literally the sound of a big electric fan running on repeat. White noise magic! Lana was a little less rested. A pilgrim in the bunk next to us was sawing logs like no one’s business. I turned up my white noise volume and Lana tuned him out – snoring not the problem. Turns out another pilgrim could not tune out the snoring and proceeded to snap loudly or clap from across the room trying to get the snorer to wake. But instead of waking the snorer actually just woke everyone else up. Not sure where they read that the snap/clap technique was a thing – cause it sure was not. You can tune out a consistent snore but not someone snapping and clapping loudly in small room at midnight. Too funny (well it is now, it was not late last night).

Any who, we were up and ready for our soggy day by 8 or so and enjoying breakfast (coffee, toast and bananas) in the cafe of our albergue. By 920 we had done our good morning social media stuff and we hit the trail. See ya later Casa Loncho of Oliveroa.

Boots on, packs covered, and waterproof jackets on we set out. We had pre-made some sandwiches for lunch but it looked like the sogginess of the day was going to prevent the vision of a picnic we had in mind. We threw them in my pack anyway of course and hoped for the best!

We were quickly out of our village and walking on a forest gravel road of sorts – up, down, across and up another river valley. The rain prevented much of a view and the fog hid the row of massive wind turbines that dot the ridge of the hills.

At the 4 or 5km mark we walked through the last couple of villages we would see before starting a barren stretch of approximately 12kms into Cee.

At one of these villages we learned about the ferocious Vakner said to haunt the woods we would be walking through – that’s great to know!? Where is my bear/Vakner spray? Do you act big with a Vakner like you would with a cougar? Or make loud noise and back away like a Bear? There was no Vakner tips in the guidebook.

With no reason to delay (besides being mangled by a Vakner) we got right to the barren stretch – it was foggy, humid, raining or misting (similar to a Scottish like mist) the whole time. We had our hoods up which makes it really difficult to have a conversation. So we just got up business!

While I couldn’t have my camera (aka iPhone) out much due to the rain, I was able to snap a few pics. The landscape was just awesome even in the rain. I can’t imagine how great it would look on a sunny day!

Before long we were at the ‘distinct decent’ section that was described in our guide book. A long, big toe punishing hill that when over means you are in Cee.

Lana and I did an assortment of jogging, switchback, long stride and short stride hiking techniques to get down the hill while keeping our toes intact. Lana felt the jogging was her best bet and would often be 20-30 feet in front of me jogging almost out of sight in the thick fog. If she didn’t have her lime green cover on her backpack I am not sure I would have seen her at all. Seems the Vakner does not like jogging, so we not only got down the hill in great time and we also kept the beast at bay. Win, win!

All of a sudden we saw a road, some houses m, and if you squinted hard enough you could also see the sea in the distance. We had made it to Cee on the Sea!

We found our humble new home, Albergue Tequeron at the beginning of town and just a couple blocks from the harbour and a bunch of great cafes and checked in. The hostel lady greeted us with tea and cookies! Perfect after such a soggy day!

We were finally in a dry place. So decided to have that pre-made sandwich picnic we had planned for a sunny afternoon instead in our rain roof hostel terrace!

After that there wasn’t too much to do besides hang our stuff to dry, shower of the muddy mess that was on our legs (clearly kicked up by our amazing speed and agility on the muddy trail) and check our Cee from under the hoods of our rain jackets!

Well that ended up being a sit in a great pub and journaling, playing Camino-grams (a travelling version of Scrabble / Bananagrams of sorts that I made with paper and stamps before leaving home – too keep the weight down) and seeing what is happening in the world on iPad and iPhone. We love evenings like this!

We are up and at it again this morning with a walk to what is called Mile 0 of the Camino in Finisterre about 20km away. The forecast is 30% rain and 97% humidity… aka soggy but smiling!

Buen Camino!
Brande

In Line for Santiago

September 10, 2017March 12, 2018 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Yesterday we made it to Santiago and were given these awesome bits of paper that prove we are pilgrims! Pilgrim!! Ok we already knew by the dust, sweat and blisters we had that status but something ‘official’ made it much more real somehow!

Our day began around 830am yesterday after alone, last morning – we had the hostel room all to our selves and that is such a novelty we couldn’t resist enjoying it. Most of the the pilgrims left before 6am to get to Santiago for the noon Mass in English, but walking 2 hours in the pitch back is not my idea of a good time. We also needed a bit of time on wifi so before we left we chilled in the hostel living room sipping instant coffee (well sugar, fake cream and only some coffee from the taste of it) for a vending machine. We would need a real coffee room to replace this taste from memory.

On our way we were pleasantly surprised that it had poured rain most of the night – everything was fresh and the chances it was going to rain on us decreased. We expected a lot of pilgrims this final day but there was a lot fewer than most days. It’s funny how we hate too many pilgrims on ‘our path’ but also want just enough to confirm we are going the right direction.

Our way out of town was delayed by a brief photo shoot with our pilgrimages’s spirit animal – the snail.

Before stopping for our first coffee (real coffee made by humans not machine), we had some great path to cover.

Just before 10am and at about 3.4km we were ready for our coffee and a little warm up – while not as cold as the day before, the air had a bit of a bite and the clouds were keeping us pretty mindful that it could rain or mist, at least, any time. We had our shells and pack covers at the ready.

Leaving Cafe Amenal, we continued forward with some caffeine in our shuffle and started to feel like we were getting close now. The path started to provide lots of little photo opportunities for pilgrims and people were asking other people and groups to snap their pics, which wasn’t the case on the trail till today. Some people say the Camino should not include technology, but I say let’s all remember it’s ‘the Way, your Way’. And as a scrapbooker there is no way I could leave my camera (aka phone) at home!

We stopped again around lunch (at about 9.5km into our 22km day) for a glass of wine and to eat the amazing sandwiches we had prepared the night prior. We had found a salad (quite literally) of the local Arzua cheese which is amazing creamy goodness – so added some meat and baguette for an awesome lunch!

Our timing was impeccable – while we were inside at Casa de Amancio it poured rain hard, like I mean buckets of rain, for about 20mins and then didn’t rain again for the rest of the day. Not sure how but my wine and sandwich tasted even better watching the rain cascade off the glass roof that I was under!

We continued on our way that afternoon, again seeing many more pilgrim associated monuments and structures than noticed in prior days.

Coming into Santiago on sore feet and walking through a regular, old city with the cathedral almost completely hidden by scaffolding and sheets was a bit anticlimactic. We knew this would be what to expect but you secretly wish for maybe a parade or a banner or a marching band least?

We snapped a few pics and then went and got on the 2hours + line up to get our pilgrim’s certificate. It was cold and our feet were sore and wow that line barely moved and no one got the ‘personal space is important’ memo but we happy to be there.

Finally with our pilgrim certificate in hand, and a need to get off here barking dogs we paused for a quick photo shoot and heading to our albergue for the night.

While relaxing in our room we enjoyed an awesome view of the cathedral from our window and some refreshments and snacks. It feels so good to arrive at your next home for the night – so we never rush the getting our bags sorted and beds set up process.

At around 730 we headed out to see the old city that surrounds the famous Santiago cathedral – what a beautiful place. To give our feet a break we decided to take a total tourist trap train around the city. Some good info and we were totally laughing at ourselves the whole time.

After our Chu-Chu ride about the city, it was after 9pm and we were starving for supper – oddly this is the time everyone eats supper in Spain so the restaurants were fun and busy. We found a great place without too long of a wait and enjoyed an amazing pilgrim’s meal!

So full and so tired, we heading back to our albergue, The Last Stamp, for a good night’s sleep.

Well the good night’ sleep didn’t exactly pan out, but we are up and at em again this morning anyway – this gal is drinking two coffees before we even hit the road! So tired but still so happy to be here.

Today we start our next Camino – 5 days to Fisterre and Muxia (the Spanish coast)!

Buen Camino!
Brande

Taxi, Train, Walk

September 6, 2017March 12, 2018 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Yesterday Lana and I got back to walking the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) after a couple of amazing sight seeing days.

We were up before the crack of dawn (not joking, it was still dark outside) for a 5am train from Leon to Sarria where we would resume our pilgrimage. The train ride was 4hrs but in our first class seats where you could near totally recline, were provided with water, sleep masks, blankets and ear plugs we were only awake for about an hour of it. If only our flights to France and home from Portugal would be so comfortable!!

Arriving in Sarria we adjusted our packs, I transitioned from flip flops to sneakers (lots of asphalt roads in our walk today) and then we made our way to the Monastery of Magdalena about a km away. Here we were leaving a duffel bag of our heavy stuff like toiletries for transport to the albergue we stayed in last night in Porto Marin.

Why? No joke, Lana’s feet are in a bad way. She is a blister bandaid (compeed) advert! We are pulling all the stops to get her to a place where she can walk and enjoy it and that means diff shoes, less weight, compression socks, you name it. When every single step hurts, everyday is absolutely no fun. Usually Lana and I are total geeks together with jokes and antics – and sore feet make that really tough to be. So we are getting things sorted! We have weeks left to walk and we will be laughing till we cry again soon!

Well there was a wee mess up with the transport company. After a few telephone conversations in my less than adequate Spanish – we finally had the bag picked up at 11am. Instead of 930am as planned. Almost a couple of hours later than we wanted but hey we both had packs pounds lighter than before and we were ready for an awesome day and our first, much delayed cafe con leche in 3.7km in the next village of Balderado.

After that first coffee – we were spiced right up and getting silly already!

The day continued with walk and walk and walk on really easy paths and only some uphill but some lengthy downhill that timers the big toes ringing. It was over 30 degrees and we were roasting but loving it.

Much of what we walked though in the morning at least was farm land, and in this heat well it smells worse than you can imagine – we had a ready solution.

We pulled into a baby cafe about half way through the day for the yummiest sandwiches and the biggest coffee we have had yet! Oh and we met a new friend, wee gato. He very much loved the meat on our sandwiches.

The afternoon was well full of walking – imagine that. At about 22km we arrived in PortoMarin, a very small village organised around the main square and church (pretty standard for Europe).

We toasted the end of a great day, and enjoyed the local traditional fare – some Galicia broth soup (leeks, chick peas and potatoes) followed by some pulpos (octopus) and potatoes for the main course. Then some local desserts a flan (like our creme caramel) and a Santiago tart (chewy, thin cake). It was interesting and actually quite tasty but I don’t think I need to order it again.