At the halfway mark of the Camino - Days 5 & 6

Here we are, Days 5 & 6 completed and we're halfway done The Camino. 397 km completed, 386 to Santiago de Compostela. And, to make us smile even more, most of the hill climbs are behind as well.

At risk of boring you with ride details, especially the hill climbs, this morning was a brutal climb, most of which was pushing the bikes up the hill. 1030 meter climb at an average grade of 14%. Topping the climb off was this beautiful late sunrise view looking east toward Castojeriz, last nights stop. Now, what goes up must come down ... our descent was 620 meters at an 18% grade, on gravel. Now we know the value of disc brakes.

According to the maps, the majority of our remaining ride will be flat, mostly gravel (think Lochside Trail), some pavement. 

Our bikes have done well. Today they deserved a good cleaning and chain lubing. 

Northern Spain has experienced another drought with little rain last winter and virtually nothing available for irrigation this summer. Hectare after hectare of grain fields, interspersed with sunflower fields have dried up from thirst. 

Tonight we are staying at our first Albergue, in the small village of Ledigos. An Albergue is a shared-accommodation, sort of hostel and inn combined. Albergue's are the norm for pilgrims and fill up early in the afternoon. The Camino "walkers" tend to finish their day around 2 pm so that they can be assured a bed. Camino "cyclists" go on for another couple of hours which makes an Albergue bed a little more iffy. 

This is not an Albergue :-) It is the ruins at San Anton and now another UNESCO world heritage site.

Tomorrow is Leon. Time to break out the dancing shoes and learn to Flamenco! With the wind at our backs ...

Ciao! 

How many beautiful cities are there in the world?

What do you choose to do after an all-night, transcontinental flight when you are tired and hungry? If you are us, you drop your bags at your AirBnB in downtown Barcelona, change clothes and head out on an adventure! 

Barcelona, like many other European cities is a mix of the old and new. What's truly remarkable here however, is the commitment to architectural design and livability. 

On a beautiful August day in downtown Barcelona along Las Ramblas, a van driven by people who were intent on destroying innocent lives, killed 13 people and injured countless others through a senseless act of terrorism. The photo below is a memorial to those who died on that day.

Following hours of walking and a city bus tour, we stopped for dinner at a small cafe in the gothic district. A birthday celebration at the table next to us provided introductions to a young stand-up comedian from Amsterdam (Simone Keunen) and her mother and with our waitress who just so happened to be from Quebec. Small world.

Cities are most photogenic in the evening, especially at the Arc de Triomph.

... talk later