Camino del Norte: from Santander to Santander or as Sandy calls it “Meano del Norte”.
September 30 is a down day in Santander which means doing laundry and getting ready for another week of walking. We also visited the local mercado just for interest as we certainly can’t buy anything.
We really liked Santander with a good mix of old and new. Below is the original Santander Bank being renovated.
And so our El Camino de Santiago de Compostela saga ends. We made the halfway point in number of days but not miles. We have wonderful memories, have made some great friends and have no regrets. We are unsure of what the future holds regarding Jim’s health but will rely on the wisdom and expertise of his doctor’s at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Our plans are to fly to Barcelona tomorrow to spend some time with our stalkers, Andrew and Dick. If Jim’s doctor’s summon him home immediately we will go and if they say no rush we will head to Lisbon and Porto with A & D for a few weeks of touring.
[…] from Bilbao to Santander. Jim began struggling and we had to abort the pilgrimage on October 3 in San Vicente de la Barquera when Jim just felt that he couldn’t go on due to exhaustion on the hills. We returned to […]
Sandy and Jim, What a WONDERFUL recounting of your trip. Your photos are stunning, and they absolutely capture the essence and the beauty of the places you saw, and the steps you took. I would have loved to see what you would have seen on the Primitivo, where I have never been; but that may have to await your next journey (or mine). Do not mourn the unexpected ending. As you well know, the journey is far more important than the destination. Your journey was filled with wonder, humor, great food, companionship and love. It could not have been better. Take good care of yourselves. Buen Camino! Tom Connell
Thanks Tom, we look forward to meeting up with you in person someday. You understand the beauty and significance of this pilgrimage. We treasure your comments.
Dear Jim and Sandy, We so enjoyed meeting and journeying with you on the Camino, even if for only a few days. You both are delightful people, and your positive spirits buoyed us during our own travails. Again, we are glad that Jim listened to his body and didn’t soldier on. Really hope our paths will cross again someday. Xoxo Bonnie and David
Although you are understandably disappointed that your pilgrimage was cut short, we are thankful that you made the right decision. Please consider a quiet rest in our home as part of your recuperation plans. We love you and continue to pray for you.
Jim and Sandy – You have given of yourselves to all of us and the world what most could never conceive of, let alone endure and experience. Thanks for your endurance and deliverance.
All the love and admiration from Joe and Sandy.
I thoroughly enjoyed your beautiful journey. Your photos and captions are amazing!
I’m sorry that you have to end it but you need to take care of yourself, Jim.
Have a safe flight home.
💕Lynnette
P. S. In my opinion all animals are beautiful. I’m sure that you know which photo I’m referring to!😉
I am sorry to hear you were not able to complete the Camino.
Jim, I hope you find the source of your problem and it can be fixed.
Sandy, it makes me happy that you have been so supportive.
You guys are amazing and fearless and are an inspiration.
Wishing you both all good things.
Brother and Twin Sister,
We can’t imagine your disappointment at having to cut this adventure short. But for sure you are doing the right thing. The memories, new friends, photos, and stories are all never-to-be-forgotten treasures that will continue to return warmth and joyous smiles for a very long time. We salute you and celebrate what you have accomplished. Fabulous job!!! We love you and look forward to hearing more first person accounts. We keep you in our prayers always-more so now as you seek healing.
Oh Jim and Sandy, we finally managed to get into your fabulous blog, prose and pictures – have heard about your decision to call it a ‘día’ from Peggy; WhatsApp seems to be out of order right now so hope you don’t mind us communicating this way. You have such great and realistic attitudes to life, you are wonderful people and friends. Fingers crossed and best wishes you get to go to lovely Lisboa and beyond! Sigi and Paul xx
Jim’s phone was hacked and we had to reset it, losing the what’s app phone number which was a virtual eSIM. Have now retrieved it so should be back on WhatsApp soon.
Thanks for your thoughts and love. We will get this thing sorted out.
Congratulations on an extremely successful adventure! You accomplished so much and should be extremely proud! We enjoyed the blog, photos, descriptions, and stories. Let us know when you arrive back in the USA as we are excited to reconnect! (and hoping us former 87 Beaconers are not on your naughty list!) 🙂
We would love to get together. Our home base will be Newport so should be easier. Will let you know when we get home.
You are part of the happy times at 87.
Going to see Dick and Andrew today.
Beautiful post and photos – we are so sad this ended like this for you but we know you made the right choice. You are strong , positive and delightful people to be around and we hope we can do something together w you soon! Keep us posted how you’re doing! We are taking this week to explore parts of Colorado we haven’t seen before to celebrate our 23rd anniversary yesterday. The Aspen are gold and the sky blue – glorious ! Big hugs , Karen
Leave a Reply to Living our retirement dreamCancel reply