Category: Travel

To Sahagun and Bercianos, Days 5-6

Posted on by Pete Schloss

From the Camino an open letter. June 8, 2026.

Dear followers, friends, and family.

Again I share with you an open letters to my wife Christine. It is meant to be read by all, yet also to conveyed a feeling of intimacy. Please look over my shoulder and be within the closeness. Buen Camino!

Dear Christine.

It is our eighth day on the Camino and the start of our second week. Charlie and I are beginning to find stride within the limits of our abilities. I am listening to my body! So far I’ve managed to avoid blisters. Charlie is managing a couple and being proactive.

I woke with some disquiet this morning. I found myself thinking that before we had left on our respective adventures I had often commented that all I had to do was walk 300 miles while you had the difficult task of “herding cats”. What was meant as humor I now realize is all too true.

Charlie is an excellent Camino partner. Our abilities are similar, as are our outlooks on life. As adults we are responsible for ourselves, yet we watch out for each another. As a grandmother accompanying teenage grandchildren, you are responsible not only for yourself but for them as well. You are their guardian angel. In the 52 years that we have known each other you are still able to amaze me.

You know that in offering condolences I am reluctant to say “I will pray for you“. I find that to be a phrase overused and often given without intention.

I have learned of yet another friend who is faced with a serious and possibly life ending disease. I have on this occasion offered my “thoughts and prayers“.

I mentioned to Charlie that I carry many people in my thoughts, but I do not formally pray. He has given me an insight that is not the formula of the words that matter, but the thoughts given from the heart that constitute sincere prayer. It is a new piece of wisdom for me to consider.

I hope you will enjoy these pictures from the last two days. I love you.

To Everyone: Peace and Buen Camino! Pete

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This is one of a number of models painstakingly created and housed in a church museum. It is not the largest.
These are the statistics on the model pictured above. 
I was able to take a picture looking through the small doorway. The interior is as real looking as the exterior. 
King Alfonso VI and his queen. 
The convent chapel where we attended mass and later received a wonderful Pilgrim’s blessing. 
Charlie gave the first reading at mass in English at the request of the priest. 
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A huge private albergue. We enjoyed a private room with bath. 
One of many gatherings of Camino friends met on The Way. 
Dinner with Camino friends! A three course dinner with unlimited wine was only €15 per person 
Sunsets are occurring at nearly 11 o’clock at night. 

Hontanas to Carrión, Days 3-4

Posted on by Pete Schloss

From the Camino an open letter. June 7, 2026.

Dear followers, friends, and family.

In 2022 I decided that my posts from the Camino would be written as open letters to my wife Christine. They were meant to be read by all, yet they also conveyed a feeling of intimacy. I am continuing that “tradition“ from this Camino. I welcome, indeed celebrate, that you will look over my shoulder and be within the closeness. Buen Camino!

Dear Christine.

Charlie and I have completed our seventh day. However, the photographs that follow are from days two and three. We have been so fortunate that the weather has favored us. The extreme heat of the preceding week has moderated. Night temperatures are in the upper 40s and lower 50s (Fahrenheit) and daytime highs are barely above 80. The humidity is so low that I barely need a towel when I step out of the shower. A few minutes and my skin is dry!

We have met so many interesting people and so far none older than me. The “old ones” are out there somewhere!

We had an “interesting” experience at one albergue: shortly before bed the water for the entire village was turned off. We still don’t know why, perhaps it was to repair the system. Our hostess left bottles of water at the sinks which we used to brush teeth and drink. Unfortunately, (and unpleasantly) the toilets could not be flushed. The following morning I got up and stood before the toilet as nature called. When my first few drops hit the toilet bowl suddenly the tank of the toilet began filling, The town’s water was restored! It was a miracle of biblical proportions. Charlie had a great laugh when I told him. I hope you find it worthy of a smile.

I hope all is well with you and the grandchildren and that you are enjoying your own unique “Grandma Camino”. Love, Me

… and Buen Camino, Everyone!

The ruins of San Anton
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Charlie shelter from the sun at the top of a long climb 
Police or emergency workers driving the route to make sure that the pilgrims have enough water and are safe. 
The Camino!
Carla and her daughter India from California
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A waitress at our lunch stop. She is from the Ukraine and gifted us two special commemorative stamps honoring a Ukrainian victory that sunk a Russian warship. It was quite an honor! I had explained to her that my paternal grandparents immigrated to the United States from a small German community north of Odessa. 
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A beautiful morning, hiking along the canal. 
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Jerusalem, nearly 5000 km away. I once met a pilgrim nearing Santiago who had walked the Camino from Jerusalem. 
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Anna from Belgium and Diego from Florida.
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Very long day. Not too bad for a couple of old guys! 

Burgos to Hontanas June 1-2, 2026

Posted on by Pete Schloss

From the Camino de Santiago

Dear Christine.

I am sorry that it has taken this long for me to share pictures of our emerging Camino. I finally got the email service fixed so hopefully these missives will upload without further “hiccups“.

As in past Caminos, I am writing these as open letters to you with the intention that they are shared with our larger community of family, friends, and followers.

I regret that the limitations of time and Wi-Fi are such that I can not give an in-depth narrative on what we see and experience. You and I will be able to speak privately, but I hope that anyone else reading this letter will make use of a fertile imagination to fill in the details.

Christine, I love you.

And of course,

Peace Everyone. Pete.

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Burgos, An Ancient Monastery, May 31, 2026

Posted on by Pete Schloss

Tomorrow Christine and the three grandchildren depart for their adventure. Charlie and I depart for ours. Two different experiences, two different directions, each an adventure nonetheless. I will not see Christine for nearly a month and I will miss her dearly. I have decided that any future posts from this Camino will return to the “Dear Christine” format.

But that is tomorrow and today is today. Charlie and I toured the ancient and magnificent Monasterio de Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas.

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In 1187 the Pope authorized its establishment. In that same year King Alfonso VIII and Queen Eleanor granted the monasteries charter. The monastery is also their final resting place. 

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It stands today as an ancient monument surrounded by a modern city.

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Into the 16th century the Abbess was afforded near regal authority over a domain that covered over 50 towns and villages.

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Until the Council of Trent in the 16th century she was authorized to hear confessions, give absolution, and perform many of the duties now reserved solely to priests.

The monastery, once home to hundreds of cloisterednuns, now houses 10 nuns and approximately 22 women in formation to become nuns.

I took over 50 photographs, but I’m constrained to sharing only a few. I hope they give the flavor of the experience of our visit:

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Here is where the Abbass conducted meetings with the remaining nuns in residence. They voted on pending issues and received instructions from her. The stained glass windows which are barely visible in this picture are the oldest in the country of Spain. They date to the 12th century. Modern science has yet to figure out how the red panes were created 
Another view of the meeting chamber.
One of the two main crypt rooms reserved for royalty and their children. Napoleon‘s troops looted these sarcophagi in the 18th century. 
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One of a number of paintings from the 1500s magnificently restored to their vibrance and beauty. 
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One of the interior cloisters.

Walk back to the center of the city included passage along the tree line pedestrian ways.

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A brief clip from an incredible street performance.

Buen Camino and Peace Everyone. Pete.

The Burgos Cathedral, May 30, 2026.

Posted on by Pete Schloss

The construction of this Cathedral, officially known as Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Santa María de Burgos, began in 1221.

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It underwent major renovations in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1984.

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It and the city of Burgos are hidden gems unknown to most American tourists.

The highlight of the visit for me was a product of the 21st century. For only € 2 one was treated to an eight minute virtual tour of the cathedral, including “standing“ atop the spires, and viewing the cathedral interior while hovering 100 feet above the floor. It is a dizzying experience and I could not help but laugh when a virtual pigeon landed in front of me. Try as I might I could not catch him!

Charlie being fitted with his virtual reality headset. 

The experience was shared by Charlie and the grandchildren but not Christine. I am confident that if she had tried she would have lost her non-virtual lunch.

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Here are some images from the day:

The Chapel of the Constables, whose carved images lie atop their remains.
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I could not resist including this image where it appears tourists are trying to use their cell phones to raise the dead. 😉
A view of the hall that surrounds the cloister. 
A statue of Santiago The Moor Slayer, probably not politically correct in the current century. 
An example of the intricate carvings both in wood and stone, which are found throughout the cathedral. 
The main altar 
A view looking up from the floor beneath the main altar. 
The famous “golden staircases“. 
The Papamosc, an animaton built in the 1500s. He chimes on the hour, his arm pulling the cord which rings the bell. Simultaneously his mouth and eyes move. Pretty creepy! 

Buen Camino and Peace Everyone. Pete.

PS. This is my third day at the hotel. The first was in 2013, and the second in 2024.

Out hotel lies directly along the route of the Camino de Santiago. There are many routes of the Camino as this picture reveals. Most of them pass through Burgos, and by this hotel.

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Theresa is the desk manager and to my amazement she remembered me on both occasions subsequent to my visit in 2013.

2024

She greets me as a long lost brother and is an utter delight. My opinion is shared by Christine, Charlie and the grandchildren.

2026