Buen Camino

This is what people say to each other on the road and/or as they leave a bar to get going again on the Camino. Old ladies say this to us as we pass through a village; young Spaniards say this as they whiz by on their mountain bikes. 

It means "good road" literally, but the idea is that you wish someone safe travels to Santiago. Nevertheless in our walking travels there have been some good roads, some bad roads, some interesting and some difficult roads - kind of like the roads we all have to travel in life. And in no particular order, here are some examples of the astounding variety of roads we've traveled so far.

Had to cross this bridge and climb those stairs to get to tonight's lodging. 

And along the road you meet people from everywhere - I think all roads must lead to Santiago de Compostela as well as Rome. 

At the country house where we were staying, we had some fun conversations with a delightful couple, Jeff and Jill, from Australia, who are world travelers and have hiked the Inca Trail among others. 

Also along the Camino today, we met the owners of a bar, a young  woman from the Phillipines and her husband from the island of Minorca, who met in Barcelona. They opened this bar because they loved the peace and tranquility of Galicia (they must mean when there are fewer pilgrims). Here's their darling little girl who speaks, Spanish, Minorcan, and English. She just turned three. 

Jill says you have to have friends in the farthest corners of the world.