Tag: adventure
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Day 10, 11, & 12: Permission to Rest
~33 miles (by bus), from Saint-Côme d’Olt to Estaing to Conques On the Camino, people always say, “listen to your body,” and while some people take that advice, we have met many who keep walking despite clear messages from their body to take a break. For us, we always said we would take each day…
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Day 9: Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac to Saint-Côme-d’Olt
~11 miles, lots of downhill Another very challenging day. It started off quite lovely, with some of the best trail we have walked so far, but ended on rough, sun exposed trail, and very hot temperatures (over 90 degrees). We also met an adorable donkey being walked by a French couple and their dog (walking…
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Day 8: Montgros to Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac
~13 miles, long difficult descent Today was a long hard day that included about 1500 ft of elevation loss on steep, rocky paths. As we descended into the valley, the temperature rose and the wide open plateau was replaced by basalt spires, green grass, and dense forest. Before the long descent, we had an amazing…
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Day 3: Monistrol-d’Allier to Saugues
~10 miles (big uphill and then rolling hills) Today was challenging, although not as difficult as yesterday. The route went up the mountain instead of down, but the path was wider and not quite as vertical as the day before. Shortly after leaving Monistrol-d’Allier we came across a small chapel dedicated to Mary Magdalene built…
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Day 2: Montbonnet to Monistrol-d’Allier
~10 miles, mostly downhill (but very steep and difficult) Todays walk was hard. We descended about 1500 feet in just a few miles; the track was near vertical and filled with rocks and roots and lined with blackberry and stinging nettle. The long decent was rough on my knees, but we went slow and managed…
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Brussels, Belgium (Pre-Camino)
Synchronicity is a funny thing. We often notice that which we are focused on, however sometimes it feels more significant than that. Sometimes there are moments in life where you can’t help but feel like you must be on the right path. Our visit to Brussels was just such an experience. We stopped in the…
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Amsterdam
Our time in Europe, began with 4 days in Amsterdam, one of my favorite cities in the world! It had been 14 years since I visited and I was looking forward to getting over jet lag while reacquainting myself with this place. Our plane landed at 9 in the morning, after a 10 hour flight,…
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Packing for the Camino
I have this funny narrative in my head about having the “perfect” backpack of belongings for our upcoming walk on the Via Podiensis in France. I’ve had 11 years to plan (since I walked my last Camino in 2012 and learned so much about pack weight—mostly that I had TOO much), so it just seems…
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Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
I had the pleasure of spending the last few days in Estes Park, Colorado for a work conference and was captivated by the expansive and dramatic landscape. In between workshops, I had the opportunity to spend a few hours (I know, not nearly enough time, but it’s all we had!), in Rocky Mountain National Park…
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The Next Adventure: Camino de Santiago (Via Podiensis—France) July 2023
Two months ago I bought plane tickets to Europe with plans to walk my second Camino, this time the Via Podiensis (also knows as the Chemin du Puy) in France. I walked my first Camino 11 years ago this summer (~175 miles total on the Camino Frances in Northern Spain); a decision that, at the…
It Could Be Sunshine 