Brad & Kathy Lohner

The Lohner Family

Brad & Kathy Lohner




Europe » Spain » Galicia » Santiago de Compostela September 25th 2017

Hi All. I'm finished! 820 km later I arrived in Santiago today after leaving southern France on August 21. It's been an amazing trip. My feet are blister-free finally. Walked the last four days pain-free. At night, my feet tingle and feel hot which is keeping me up at night sometimes. Oh well. Now all I want to do is sit ?. Here are some pics from the last few days. Again, I apologize for the lack of posts. FB is way easier than having to login to this site and fiddle with the pics etc. Thanks for coming along on my journey. I'm off to Finistere tomorrow for a day trip and then likely heading to Barcelona to check out Gaudi's work. Then a 6 hour train ride back to Paris and home.... read more
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Europe » Spain » Castile & León » Vega de Valcarce September 18th 2017

So posting to Facebook is way easier than this blog. If you are not already a connection of mine on FB, please send me a friend request and I might accept! ? I've covered about 630km from the beginning of this trek. And what I thought was going to be a pretty easy endeavour has turned out to be a real test of my feet, organizational skills, but mainly mental toughness to finish the Camino despite all the foot ailments and homesickness for real home cooked meal. There is only so much chorizo sausage a guy can handle!!! I'm not going to give a day to day explanation ; however I will post a few pics from along The Way and I hope it gives everyone an idea of what life on the trail is like. ... read more
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Europe » Spain » La Rioja September 2nd 2017

Days Twelve and Thirteen St. Dominic de la Calzara to Belorada and onto San Juan de Ortega - approx 47.5 km The first day was spent mostly hiking uphill it seemed. Both of my feet are feeling pretty bad. Right more than my left now. Each step was pretty ginger. Hike took me through Granon, Redecilla DEL Camino, Castildelgado, and Vilori del Rojas before ending in Belorado. Each of these villages have their own church and the whole community centres around it. Water is readily available the entire stretch. What can I say about Belorado? I happened to arrive there in Sept 1st which is a festival weekend. Huge parties, music, and all nighters all over town. My room was 1/2 block from part central and loud. Luckily I had ear plugs so it wasn't an ... read more
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Europe » Spain » La Rioja August 31st 2017

Los Arcos to St. Dominic de la Calzara - approx 80 km Weather for the last few days has been good. Not much scorching sunshine and generally overcast. I've been trying to get up at an early hour to take advantage of the cooler mornings. Couple of things are starting to annoy me a little about this trek. #1 If I get up early to avoid the heat AND get suitable accommodation at the next stop, I can't enjoy half my hike as it's in the dark, and; #2 I'm too bagged when I get to the next stop to get all my chores (laundry, shower, shopping) to see the sights that each stop has to offer! Los Arcos area has to be the Napa Valley of Spain. So much wine and so little time. Definitely ... read more
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Europe » Spain » Navarre August 27th 2017

Estella to Los Arcos - 21.5 km at 28C. Today started early waking at 5:30 am with everyone else and out the door by 6. The markers leading the way are not very evident in a couple of places as you leave Estella, so be sure to bring a powerful LED headlamp. You won't regret that $35 purchase from MEC. (I don't get commission). Once you've made your way into the usual gravel trails, it's clear sailing. I ran across a huge party still raging at 7:04 am. You could hear it across the valley. These Spaniards know how to party! The way to Los Arcos is pretty easy relative to earlier stretches I've done. Not much in the way of hills and quite scenic until you reach Villamayor de Monjardin. Once here, it should be ... read more
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Europe » Spain August 26th 2017

Puenta le Reina to Estella - 22.4 km at 36C The climb out of the valley leaving Puenta le Reina is tough. It's a long climb and just when you think you have reached the top-no. Once out of the valley, the trek is quite easy, meandering through many little villages where I stopped for breakfast, snack, and lunch. Lunch consisted of two large wieners stuffed with cheese and jalapeño peppers and a cup of dry noodles. Yum! The walk from the last village before I reached Estrella was gruelling with the temp reaching 36c and no reprieve from the heat. Not a lot of shady trees. On the bright side, a pilgrim can sustain himself quite nicely in all the natural fruits along the way, most notably fresh wild figs. When they have a ... read more
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Europe » Spain » Navarre August 25th 2017

Day Six Cizar Menor to Puenta la Reina - 20.3 km Today's trek started two hours before dawn at 4:45 am. I wanted to beat the heat. My fellow walkers all had the same plan. I had to use my LED headlamp to watch my footing as well as to not miss the markers pointing my way! That would be bad. The hike heads west out of town and climbs over a ridge line ( incline of approx 770 m) towards a row of wind mills. At the top of this ridge line, I remember commenting to a fellow walker that either my pack was missing something or I was getting stronger and she echoed the same comments. Here at the top you can rest a bit with a roadside merchant selling the strongest espresso I've ... read more
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Europe » Spain » Basque Country August 24th 2017

Day Four Larrasoana to Cizar Menor 20.7 km Today's walk was much easier hill-wise but I'm starting to feel twinges in my feet and sides of my left knee. It is supposed to be hot, so I woke at 6:00am to take advantage of the cool air. Air was cool but my glasses fogged very quickly due to misting. As the day wore on, temps started to reach 35C as I approached Pamplona. Luckily Kirsten loaned me her red bandana. Not sure she is going to want that back (ugh). Pamplona is a very metropolitan city with the bull runs contained within the walls of the local citadel. Very touristy which was to be expected. Lots of post bull run stuff on sale; however, I'm already at max capacity. It's about this time that I reassess ... read more
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Europe » Spain » Basque Country August 24th 2017

Day Three Roncevaux to Larrasoana 25 km When you first arrive at the Roncevaux monastery, there is a water fountain at the top of a long set of stairs leading to the registration desk. DO NOT drink that water. All hikers, including me, were filling up and drinking like crazy. Later in the afternoon I overheard someone say there is no drinking water in the building and you must go to the public fountain about 2 blocks away. Sure enough, I checked and there was a health warning posted in a crammed PSA bulletin board. Good one! Maybe post it next to the fountain??? Just a thought. Anyhoo - Today I'm off to Larrasoana and I can't decide if my stomach feels good or not... By now I've sort of joined a herd of walkers from ... read more
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Europe » France » Aquitaine August 24th 2017

Today started at 12:19 am with someone in my shared bunk space having to pee. They were using a bright led headlamp. Woke everyone up. I purchased a led headlamp too, but it has a red light option so you don't wake everyone and blow your night vision at the same time. Breakfast was served at 7 and everyone was on their way to Roncevaux, Spain. Total was 17.1 km of steep climbs and winds gusting up to 50/kph. I found myself leaning into the wind so I would get blown off the trail. The winds were headwinds for most of the way, making the trek just a little more challenging. Arrived into Roncevaux at about 1:30 pm. There is no drinking water at the monastery where I'm staying (183 beds), but there is a prominent ... read more
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Tot: 0.147s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 10; qc: 86; dbt: 0.0869s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb