Day 24: Foncebadón to Ponferrada (28kms)

We could not ask for better weather in Spain thus far on the Camino.  It´s not too hot and not too cold.  It´s just perfect.  The clear blue skies and sunshine have been giving us much energy to keep walking.

The tranquility and solitude on the Camino allow for profound reflection, meditation and prayer.

Upon reaching one of the highest peaks on the Camino, we had to stop and just soak in all the magnificent views the Camino has to offer.

A beautiful little town just before Ponferrada called Molinaseca.

Ponferrada surprised us with a castle which we didn´t know about.

A few months until I turn 30

As I bid goodbye to my 20's in a few months, I decided that I'm gonna do something special when I turn 30 next year. As soon as I turned 29 this year, I made plans right away for my 30th birthday. I said I would rent a penthouse of a high-rise building in downtown Vancouver and have a huge party.

Uh, no that's not happening. That plan is officially scrapped. As I thought further, I realize that it's lame to celebrate my 30th birthday just for one night. Instead, I'm celebrating it for one month, yes one whole month.

I decided that I'm gonna spend a month of the summer in Spain walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela or commonly known as "El Camino" or "The Camino."



I don't know too too much about The Camino yet but I know it's about 8000 km walk that starts from the French/Spanish border across Northern Spain towards the Atlantic ocean to a city called Santiago de Compostela. In the middle ages, thousands of faithful Catholics would go on this pilgrimage, making it the 3rd most popular pilgrimage in the world (behind the Holy Land and Rome) among Christians. And in the last few years, the pilgrimage has been picking up popularity once again. The walk takes about a month to finish. So it is gonna be challenging. Isn't this a much better way to celebrate one's 30th birthday?