Gibraltar Monkeys

These guys somehow were brought from Africa and live up high on the Rock of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar

The monkeys in Gibraltar are crazy! This guy was perched on the edge of the building on top of the rock! 

Hiking in the rock of Gibraltar!

It was cloudy but we could see the the northern-most point in Africa in the distance!

Ronda Spain

Ronda is such an amazing and unusual place we couldn't miss visiting.  The ancient city sits on the edge of a 1000 ft limestone cliff.  The drive getting there was intense.   The mountain road was so windy that even driving you started feeling sick.   It was worth it though.  The views were truly unique and awe inspiring. We hiked a few kilometers to the river below and enjoyed the sights.  A great day. 

Alhambra - Granada

This place was spectacular.  The craftsmanship is unbelievable.   It's truly a work of art on an epic magnitude.

Granada

Granada is very historical city.  With much to see. We spent two nights there. We mainly came to see the Alhambra a Moorish castle and palace.

More photos of Alicante

Alicante on the Mediterranean

We decided to take a few days to relax on the coast to rest before doing some more traveling.   We decided to check out a place called Alicante because we had met a German couple who couldn't say enough about it.  We were not disappointed, it turned out to be very nice place.

A rest while hiking up to catch the sunset 

Selfie overlooking the city 

On top of the castle 

View down from the castle 

View of the castle above the Mediterranean 

Madrid

We had a long action packed day in Madrid before heading to the Mediterranean coast.

Santiago after Hiking

We thoroughly enjoyed Santiago walking the streets and visiting the cathedral.   The mass was memorable particularly the swinging of the incense dispenser. Next off to Madrid! !

Camino de Santiago - Day 22 (final day )

Our last day went smoothly as we made our way into Santiago.  We started the day slowly to savor the last miles.  The scenery was beautiful and care was taken to avoid busy areas of town as we approached.  Reaching Santiago we were happy to be done hiking and finished the day in a Alberque about a half mile from the cathedral.

Camino de Santiago - A typical day

We usually woke up between 7-8 and organized our things.  We would then have breakfast either at the Alberque or a  nearby cafe.  We then started hiking between 8-9.  Hiking leaves a lot of time for reflexion and passes surprisingly quickly.  We usually hiked for 3-4 hour then stopped for lunch, stretching, and took our boots off.  Spain's meal schedule was a bit hard to adjust to at first. They offer very little food choices in the morning (mostly toast and coffe, neither of which I am a huge fan) and eat lunch and dinner very late. After lunch we hiked for another 3 hours or so before we took another break to stretch  and eat a bit more.  We usually finished hiking  between 4 and 6 pm. The days began to have a similar rythm and it may seem suprising that is was very relaxing (mentally) to not have lots of decisions to make. Walk all day, eat when we are hungry and stop at night after we were tired or finished a section.

Camino de Santiago - Day 21

Hoping to get to Santiago tomorrow we decided to make it a long day.  We planned 32 km for the day.  It was expected to rain so we pushed hard and covered 12 km by 11:00 am. The weather cleared and the day went smoothly until around 25 km when aches and pains slowed progress.  We arrived late to find the Alberque where we planned to stay closed.  No big deal except that we had sent a backpack ahead.  So we headed to the next bar to call about the bag and have a beer.  Once Rachel found out where the bag was I (Solomon ) ran back a kilometer to retrieve it. We found out from the bartender that there was another Alberque just down the road.    

Hum interesting.. horse with message of encouragement, man playing celtic flute, and creek bubbling.

Grapes

Beautiful gardens are common

Camino de Santiago - Day 20

Eirexe to Melide - 23 Km

The weather today was cloudy but fairly warm with no rain. This was a very nice change from the rest of the week! The scenery was enjoyable and much of the same as we have  been experiencing the last two weeks. We walked through Eucalyptus plantations, over old stone bridges, down rocky paths through the woods and along the roadside.

We have 51 Km left of the Camino and plan to finish in the next two days of hiking!

As we near the end of our Camino experience it is interesting the things that start to feel exciting that normally we take for granted.  Here is my list of things I am excited for (I will check with Sol and see if he feels the same):

Clean sheets made from fabric - When sleeping in the Pilgrim Albergues we are ususally given disposable sheets that are similar to a cheap hospital gown. They crinkle and dont stay put! Urg. Real sheets will be so lovely!

Real Towels - Solomon and I both have light weight, small microfiber towels. They dry amazingly well but are seriously tedious. Think of drying your whole body with a dishcloth.

A Real Bra- I sent mine to Santiago and have been wearing a sports bra for three weeks.  Sorry, TMI?

A queen or King Bed - Tired of bunk beds.  We have had some real beds too but still too many bunk beds.

A kitchen - I am ready to cook some of our own food.

So as to not sound spoiled or ungrateful - these are really truly not complaints. I think these are all part of having a real experience while hiking the camino. However, I am looking forward to enjoying things that I have previously taken for granted and ready for a change of pace! (haha - traveling faster than a snail will be fun too!)

This city street has more tractors than cars

Resting feet near eucalyptus plantation 

Tunnel of trees

A typical Alberque's bunk beds