Day 36 – Hiking to Herrerias

Yep, we found the Camino!

Early morning adios to Villafranca del Bierzo.

Mike, crossing the bridge over Rio Burbia.

Same bridge, looking upriver.

Ah, the sound of running water!

(Ah, the spectacle of Mike, faux fly-fishing.)

Dos amigos, ready to hike to Herrerias.

(Rio Burbia now in the background.)

Closing in on Santiago de Compostela!

Poppies seem to grow anywhere.

Gotta love the attitude of that flower!

Our goodbye from on high to the big

church in Villafranca, Iglesia Colegiata.

Hiking this path for 7 miles

on a slow, steady incline.

Dave checking the woods for elves. 

You can see them only in peripheral vision,

never when you look at them straight on.

Evidence of tree elves, for sure.

Thunder and lightning and rain to spare!

Ducked into a restaurant to wait it out.

After 45 minutes, we moved on.

Lighting a candle at a small church in

La Portela de Valcarce.

Inside that church.

Outside that church.

Mike's ice cream brunch break in Ambasmestas.

Dave, moving on to Las Herrerias.

Saruman in his castle, way above Mike's head.

Guess we'll have to skip the invasion...or

maybe...d'ya think we could fly up there?

 Our home for the evening.

Just us and the cows.

Las Herrerias - That's all there is, folks!

 One small street, but at least 3 ice cream

freezers, so Mike is happy enough.

The church door in Herrerias.

It's closed. Deserted.

And one of the bells is missing.

Do you think this guy is related to the tree elves?

Or maybe just an elf-land version of muggles?

(Hope your Harry Potter lingo is up-to-date.)

Tomorrow we walk on to O'Cebreiro.

It's an uncommonly short trek on the

Camino, a little under 6 miles. All uphill!

A story from Mike:

Today, I got thinking about friends and what we have in common. 

Here are a few things Dave and I have in common:

1. We both wore a mustache for over 20 years. Funny story: One day, after wearing mine for 22, I decided to shave it off and gave no warning to the family. I came down Saturday morning with a clean face, said hi to Lynna, ate breakfast, and chatted her up for a while. I even kissed her several times. She mentioned that she thought I looked ill, and asked me several times if I was okay, but it wasn't until about 10:00 AM that she finally realized I had shaved it off!

*We both like banana ice cream and were thrilled to find chocolate banana ice cream in Ponferrada and have it with our Camino buddies, Laura and Emily.

2. We also like chocolate and banana milk shakes. Go, St. Malo! (And Ruby's, on the Balboa pier.)

3. We walk with the same cadence on the Camino, both feet and poles, left then right at the exact same time. Our length of stride varies, but the rhythm and tempo are precisely the same.

4. We both had hot cars in college. Dave sported a 442, and I had a Mustang. (Don't laugh, Lynna!)

5. We dress alike with Underarmour pants and Vasque walking boots.

6. We both collect country western buttons and put them our hats. (Um....what???, asks Sue.)

7. We both love a good steak, which is hard to find on the Camino.

8. When driving with our wives, Dave and I handle the directions. When Lynna or Sue say to go left, we both go right. 9 out of 10 times, that turns out to be the correct choice. It's more reliable than Mapquest!

9. We both have ancestors from Denmark and England, with families that settled in Northern Utah.

10. We both have four children and only one wife. Thank Heavenly Father for that.

11. We both like salted peanuts, salty potato chips, and bananas in our morning cereal.

12. We both drink the last bit of milk out of the cereal bowl each morning.

13. We both took Spanish in high school for several years but only know "Buenos dias" and now 14. Buen Camino." (Actually, Dave still remembers one of those dialogue sentences about the library, to be fair.)

15. We are both phonetically challenged. He speaks Spanish the same way I do: backwards, upside-down and inside-out, but we both understand a lot of what is said.

16. We both love to help and support those with big challenges and want from the bottom of our hearts for them to know how much they are loved.

A story from Dave:

The terrain changed dramatically today as we walked up the mountainous Valcarce valley and along the Rio Valcarce. We walked along the river all day as the rain water swelled its volume. We are now in an area with many large, old trees...some covered in moss. One tree had a hole in it, and I was sure it was the home of elves. You see, I have experience with tree elves, because we have a magic tree in our front yard. The tree pictured below reminded me of that wonderful tree. The elves at home leave presents for our grandkids each morning when they stay overnight, and the kids can't wait to run out there every morning and see what appears. They are always looking for the elves and wanting to introduce themselves. Of course, you can only see them with your peripheral vision in the early morning or late at night, and they move very quickly. We didn't spot any elves this morning, but I'm sure they live in this magical valley along the Rio Valcarce. And the beautiful presents they left were all around us!

Click below to support suicide prevention

and mental health, the causes Mike and Dave

are championing with their walk.