Author Archives: janeinspain.blog

Seattle is called the Emerald City because it has a vast number of evergreen trees that remain green and beautiful all year long. Hotel rooms in Seattle are very expensive. The moderately priced ones start around $200 per night. Since Theresa and I have experienced many albuergues in Spain, we were curious about American hostelsContinue reading “Seattle — the Emerald City”

We’re off on another adventure but this time it’s not in Spain. Theresa and I have just arrived in Seattle for a couple days and then we board a ship for Alaska. If I were a superstitious person I would have concerns right now. Joining us on the cruise will be my mother-in-law Sally whoContinue reading “JANE NOT IN SPAIN: Seattle & Alaska”

We are definitely ready to go home. I wouldn’t call this trip a “vacation”, it was more of a journey. Our Air Europa flight from Barcelona arrived in Madrid early afternoon and we were settled in the hotel around 2:00 pm. It was a beautiful afternoon so we decided to take a final wander aroundContinue reading “Goodbye Spain!”

The CDC requires those traveling internationally to get a viral test no more than 3 days before traveling by air into the United States (US) and to show a negative result to the airline before boarding a flight. Before leaving the US, we purchased verified antigen test kits from American Airlines. We purchased and splitContinue reading “Returning to US: Required Covid Test”

When it rains, it pours. And today was a pouring rainy day. Tomorrow we head to Madrid and the following day we fly home. However, we were notified that Renfe was anticipating a strike and we were advised to cancel our train tickets to Madrid and find another way there. The choices we had weContinue reading “Barcelona: Sagrada Família & La Boqueria”

Mallorca was a joy ride and I hope I get the opportunity to return some day. We barely scratched the surface of this fascinating island. After Theresa and I completed the 2017 walk on the Camino Frances, David and I toured around Spain for a couple weeks. We spent some time in Barcelona so thisContinue reading “Barcelona: Park Guell”

The most spectacular views in Mallorca are found on the North coast in the mountains in the Serra de Tramuntana. Windmills, dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries are still a significant feature of the landscape on Mallorca. The ones with the “arrow” feature are used for extracting water into a reservoir. Many areContinue reading “Mallorca: The Serra de Tramuntana”

The Oleander hotel was about three miles from the heart of Palma. It was very convenient to take the city bus. We caught it about a block from the hotel. The 13th century Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma is massive. It is a Gothic landmark that overlooks the Bay of Palma. It was builtContinue reading “Mallorca: Touring Palma”

Mallorca has been on my bucket list since Theresa and I started going to Spain in 2017, I just never thought it was a possibility. Now, we are headed there. I didn’t know much about Mallorca (aka Majorca) but did some speed reading research to catch up before going there. It’s one of Spain’s BalearicContinue reading “Mallorca … We’re on Vacation Now!”

There are many Caminos in Spain. Traditionally, people have walked the Camino for religious purposes but not so much anymore. I’ve read a report that said 10% and another that said 25% of all walking the Camino do it for religious reasons. It is believed the Santiago Cathedral houses the tomb of St. James, andContinue reading “CAMINO INGLES: Returning to Finish 2019”

Our first stop at the end of The Meseta is the city of Leon which has a population of 134,000. Leon’s finest treasure is its Gothic cathedral. We spent a couple days enjoying the city and our new found freedom from rural life on The Meseta. The Catedral de Leon features 130 stained glass windowsContinue reading “Leon”

Our next stop is Leon and that means we are saying goodbye to the Meseta after being on it for 14 days! Most people blow through it in seven days and complain that it was too long and boring. But not us — we doubled down on the dare. It’s very exciting at first toContinue reading “Goodbye Meseta!”

We were packed up and leaving El Burgo Renaro around 8:00 am and the moon was just rising. What a beautiful sky and it was the perfect view from all of the public exercise equipment. Next stop is Reliegos — land of the bodegas which are wine cellars built into hillsides. Some also function asContinue reading “Reliegos”

The monastery halls were quiet and it was a peaceful night’s sleep. Before we moved on, the Brothers had breakfast food set up in the dining room. Our next stop was El Burgo Renero which was a wool producing town, the biggest business of Castila during the Middle Ages. Huge flocks of sheep, up toContinue reading “El Burgo Renaro”

Sunday, September 19, 2021: This town is a little bigger than the previous few with a population of 2800. It contains some of the earliest examples of Mudejar architecture. The city thrived with a diverse population including Muslims and Jews. Sahagun’s historic architecture illustrates the Romanesque-Mudejar style, which incorporated Islamic decorative motifs and was builtContinue reading “Sahagun”

Saturday, September 18, 2021: Slow start today. It’s 7:00 am and dark out. Time to roll up the sleeping bag and load the backpack. This daily routine is getting old. I wonder how small the next town is going to be and if there’s any way to skip it. The days were becoming repetitious withContinue reading “Terradillos de Los Templarios”

September 17, 2021: Another isolated village in the middle of nowhere with a population of 54. There was a lot of tractor traffic and not many cars. We were surrounded by sunflower fields everywhere. There were two places to stay in town and both were sold out. Because of the reduced capacity due to covid,Continue reading “Calzadilla de la Cueza”

Thursday, September 16, 2021: In the Middle Ages, Carrión was a wealthy and important town with as many as 10,000 citizens. According to legend, Charlemagne camped here in his campaign against the Moors, who had succeeded in building a castle in Carrión in the 8th century. Carrion’s population is about 2,200. There are several monasteriesContinue reading “Carrión de Los Condes”

Wednesday, September 15, 2021: It rained all day yesterday and into the night. Today the air was fresh and the sky was cloudy which isn’t so bad — there’s no shade here so cool and cloudy is ok. Today’s distance is only about 6-7 miles so it will be an easy quick day. I reachedContinue reading “Vilementero”

Fromista had been a breadbasket farm area since Celtic times until being destroyed by the Moors and later rebuilt in the 12th century. In spite of being a successful market town in the 15th century, the town declined until a revival in 1773 when the canal brought water and again allowed agriculture to thrive. Rain,Continue reading “Fromista”