There is a small, vey small, public cemetery at The Abbey that houses only a handful of markers for the families in the nearby villages of Ilarratz and Eskirotz. The church, formerly the parish church of St. Lucia, would have served both communities. Every few days, someone from the towns comes by to […]
Fragrances and Flowers at The Abbey
One of my favorite memories of walking the Camino de Santiago is the fragrance. There is pine, rosemary, lavendar, eucalyptus, sage, and acres of freshly mown grass. This afternoon, walking between the two small towns on either side of The Abbey, I was reminded of that glorious fragrance. Not pine today, not eucalptus, but a […]
Greeting Pilgrims at The Abbey
Pilgrims start arriving right at sunrise – probably before! We leave each day from Pamplona at 7:15 or thereabouts, arriving just a few minutes later to open the church and start working, I’ve got the easiest job ever! I speak to passing pilgrims and welcome them to The Abbey, escorting them into the church […]
Working at The Abbey
Greetings from Pamplona! I will be volunteering at The Abbey this week and posting photos and updates so you can get a sense of this important project. The Abbey is owned now by two former pilgrims, Neill and Cath – they are working to save it with a goal of making it once again a […]
The Abbey
Next week, I will be helping out a bit at The Abbey – just past Zubiri on the Camino Frances. Please take a quick minute to read their fundraising page and, if you can, send them some love! Ultreia – y Buen Camino! Photo credit: Neill Le Roux
Roncesvalles to Zubiri (2014)
On our way out of town, we took a few photos next to the road marker: 790 km to Santiago de Compostela. It’s kind of a rite of passage, I guess, to show the first steps taken in one’s pilgrimage. I like to tell people though, that the pilgrimage starts when you decide to go, […]
Hospital de Órbigo to Murias (2012)
Before we left the glorious Albergue Verde, we asked the hospitaleros about the next stop. When you walk off-season like we do, this can be the best information you get all day: where do we stop next? The answer was simple. They recommended we pass up staying in the larger town of Astorga and stop […]
León to Hospital de Órbigo (2012)
This was indeed a leap of faith. My daughters had never done anything like this, walking with backpacks into totally unfamiliar country, and I was pretty arrogant, thinking we’d just be fine. We were fine – of course we would be fine – but thinking back on the way we planned each of our stages […]
Portomarín to Palas de Rei (2010)
And then I got lost leaving Portomarín. I thought the Camino went up the hill past the church when it actually continues off to the left after you cross that bridge before you climb into town. I learned to find out where I am on the planet before moving, otherwise you move in the wrong […]
NYC to Roncesvalles (2014)
The plan was fairly simple: we would fly from our Thanksgiving visit with my family in Chicago to New York, spend a few hours exchanging our wheelie bags for our backpacks, and then head out to the airport to fly to Madrid. My daughter and I arrived in Newark in the morning and had just […]
Tumbleweed Pilgrim 