When On The Way - Camino de Santiago, Bowling Green, KY (2025)

06/22/2025

6/22/2025 (Roncesvalles to Urdaniz)

Today we walked around 17 miles to the hostel that Jesus runs. It was a really tough day. Also, a lot of these photos are the favorite photos of people in the group from their day hiking today. I walked the majority of the day with Ben Klein, but spent a good amount of time walking with Christy, Kristin, Krista, Ava, Leslie, & Matthew. It’s been really great to spend time with everyone and catch up with how they are doing and feeling. Ben, Krista, Kristin, Ava, Leslie, Christy and I had lunch together. It was the best pizza I have had in a long time. I reached Zubiri with Ben , and we both got into the river. Krista & Kristin were there, and the Priest’s joined us too. Then, the mayor of the Camino (Matthew Klein) came out of nowhere. We made our way to Jesus’ after the river. Matthew and I got all the way into the pool, but everyone was hanging out by the pool at some point. Dinner was really special tonight. We all went around discussing one thing we loved about the Camino and what we look forward to in the future. The conversation was really raw. It can be tough to have those conversations, but being able to have them and facilitate them needs to happen at some point I believe. Additionally, we had a couple from Virginia that fell right into our fold perfectly. They both were Spanish professors, and it allowed us to hear from Jesus about why he started his hostel. And to top it all off we celebrated Cklein & Dklein’s 29th year anniversary. Then, Madre insisted that I go up to check out these kids playing “fronton”, a Spanish sport played in the towns. Kortney joined us too, and the kids were so nice. I played with them for at least over an hour before heading back to the hostel. What a great day!

Buen Camino
-John Klein

06/21/2025

6/21/2025 St.Jean Pied du Port->Roncesvalles

Today we crossed over the Pyrenees Mountains. We woke up at around 5:45 to both alarm clocks and roosters. We hit the road pretty early. The Pyrenees Mountains are always very humbling. It’s always straight up. In total we went up around 3,300 ft before coming back down around 1,500 feet@and 18 miles. There was a really good mix of mingling and community building within the group. All of us enjoyed breakfast at Orisson about 4 miles into the day. I walked with pretty much everyone today minus Matthew. He’s the roadrunner. We met people from Brasil, Sweden, New Zealand, Croatia, Taiwan, and many other places. We saw plenty of horses, cows, & sheep throughout the day. Christy and I walked through a handful of horses that were gathered on the Camino. Ben, Madre (Claire Katchak Klein), Leslie, and Ava took a detour and ended up saving someone who was really struggling. Ben carried his pack for over two hours I heard. He’s the biggest dawg. When we made it into town we enjoyed a really late lunch before some of us went to mass. The mass was absolutely beautiful with an incredible choir. After the service, the choir had a service. All the songs were in Spanish besides “I can’t help falling in love with you.” Everyone made it today, but it didn’t come without some difficulty. We are all enjoying some rest before heading out tomorrow to Jesus’ place. Completing today’s feat is incredibly difficult and it means that we are all capable of what is to come.

Buen Camino
-John Klein

06/20/2025

6/20/2025 Pamplona to St. Jean Pied du Port

Today has been an incredible day. We woke up and went to the church in Pamplona. It amazes me each time I enter it. Afterwards we went to the Camino store to buy poles before hopping on the bus. The shop was supposed to be opened at around 9, but the lady showed up at around 9:15-9:20. We cut it close, but we made it after buying poles and seeing the running of the bulls monument. After arriving in St. Jean, we went to get our Camino credentials. Then, we went to the top of the city to overlook St. Jean. We had lunch and explored the city for a bit. Matthew, Ben, and I played soccer and basketball before we got into the river that runs through the town. The majority of the group met us there. Almost all of us got in the river. Matthew, Ben, and I floated down the river before swimming back. A few of us went to the mass in the evening. The church was beautiful. The service was in French, but Catholic masses are universal. Afterwards we went for pizza which was really good. The pizza had an egg in the middle of it, which was interesting. The French albergue owners invited us down to have a drink with them which was a ton of fun. I’m beating Matthew 2-1 in the chess series. Tomorrow we go over a mountain! It will be great.

Buen Camino
-John Klein

06/19/2025

We are back! We have a very exciting journey in front of us. We will be doing close to 200 miles from St. Jean Pied du Port to Burgos. Traveling to the Camino is inconvenient, but we tried to make the most of it. Getting out of the Barcelona airport was a bit tricky, but eventually everyone made it out alive. Christian, Sergio, & Danny gave us a tour of Barcelona. We saw La Sagrada Familia, two overlooks of the city, Christopher Columbus’ monument, the Olympic stadium from the 1992 summer Olympics in Barcelona, and more. Before our train ride, we stopped for lunch close to the station. We were in a bit of a hurry, but we managed to have a meal before getting on the train. On the four hour train ride, the A/C broke in the train car. It’s a tough day to travel to the Camino apparently. After arriving to the train station in Pamplona, we walked through the town walls into the city. Before getting to the hotel, there was a church that a few of us stopped in. Madre said it was really nice. We split up for dinner. The six of us who went into the city couldn’t find a restaurant with anywhere to sit. Ben and I split off to Bar Gaucho. We stood at the bar, but enjoyed octopus, duck, and another tapas or two. Overall, today has been great. How can you complain when you are in Spain, but there were plenty of bumpy moments. I think it’s natural on long travel days. It was really nice to spend more time with the group, and I’m very excited for everyone’s Camino. Tomorrow, we head to St. Jean Pied du Port and the next day we will start walking.

Buen Camino
-John Klein

06/15/2025

6/14/2025-6/15/2025

We wrapped up our Camino trip by celebrating birthday in Madrid last night. The restaurant was really nice, and it was nice to celebrate Laura. We went back and rolled through some of her favorite things she did this past year, and what she hopes to do this upcoming year. In the Klein household, we have different birthday traditions from what I would say are standard. We like to look back at the memories from the past year, we all discuss our favorite things about the birthday person, and Gammy makes a 30 question quiz about the birthday person. Having that dinner last night and trying to implement some of the traditions I am used to when celebrating birthdays was a nice reminder of home. There was no quiz though, because Gammy was missing in action. It was a great way to cap off our Camino journey. For me, traveling to end of the world was very special. It had been four years since I had last went. Sharing that with Mark, Laura, and Tucker was awesome. Thank you to Mark, Laura, and Tucker for making that Camino special. The only picture I have from yesterday is us at dinner.

This morning I flew to Rome. Manuel picked me up at the airport at around noon. Later in the evening, we went to the Italy Major Padel finals. Some of you may not know about Padel. It’s a hybrid of tennis and racquetball I would say. The Italy major is like the Wimbledon of Padel. To see the finals would be like watching Federer play Nadal or Djokovic playing Alcaraz in the finals of Wimbledon. The game was really fun to watch and the atmosphere was great. I made a couple friend from the South of Italy who I hope to help them out a bit with their plans to travel to the U.S.A next year. Also, I met a couple of Manuel’s friends from Rome. One of them, Giulio was doing his best to make conversation with me even though he could’ve just spoke in Italian with the others. We talked for about 10-15 minutes, and then we all agreed to go get ice cream. I’ve never been one for motorcycles or scooters, but when in Rome I guess. Giulio let me ride on the back of his scooter/bike through the streets of Rome which I thought was awesome.

Buen Camino
-John Klein

06/13/2025

Day 14: Today was the first day of the trip that we haven’t traveled by foot or vehicle since Madrid on day 1. It’s been really nice to wake up and sleep in the same place. We had a relaxing day. The lunch we had on the coast was maybe the best meal I had on the Camino this far. Later in the day, Tucker went to the beach while Mark, Laura, and I went to the end of the world again. The photos and videos are stunning thanks to Albanian named David with a drone. He asked us if we wanted one photo/video of us, and then he sent us all of these. I wish I had his info to give him credit, but if you see this David thank you very much!

Buen Camino
-John Klein

06/12/2025

Day 13: We walked from the town Cee to Fisterra today. In total we did around 10-12 miles. Fisterra was known to be the furthest point west in the world before the America’s were discovered. The direct translation of Fisterra is end of the world. When my dad and I did our Camino 4 years ago, after 550 miles Fisterra was our ending point. Seeing the Fisterra across the Atlantic Ocean today was special. Seeing the final destination in your sight creates a mix of different emotions. Of course there’s a bit of sadness, because the pilgrimage comes to a conclusion. However, part of the pilgrimage being so special is that it has to end at some point. Reaching that endpoint is a task that isn’t completed without suffering and digging deep. So, when you reach that trail mark it’s significant. Laura and I kept talking about how we were fine taking our sweet time to get to the top. Just to soak every step we had left. When you reach the end of the world, there’s a Camino trail mark that has 0,000 Km on it. That means you have officially completed a Camino. We grabbed lunch up top while we looked over the water. We traversed back into town after a few hours. Later in the evening I went back up on my own to the end of the world. I had never seen it before at night, and I thought it would be cool to see. The weather was pretty cloudy, but it still made for great views. Plus I am accruing a bit of journal debt. At the top, I sat on a boulder while writing in my journal about the past days that I didn’t have the time to write about them earlier.

Buen Camino
-John Klein

06/11/2025

Day 12: The group decided to make a bit of an audible today. Instead of walking, we decided to go to Muxia for more of a beach day. The beach and water was super nice. When we got there in the morning, we were the only people there. As the day went on, the tide moved in significantly which was neat to see. Mark and I journeyed to the top of the city where the end of a Camino is located. There was a stunning church with beautiful music being played. Mark mentioned to me that the church opened up to the ocean instead of the town. We thought that was a very beautiful thing. Despite only knowing my great grandfather for a few years, I lit a candle in the church for him today. I’m named after my great grandfather, and I take a lot of pride in getting to wear his name. More recently in my life, I’ve talked with my family about doing a trip in his honor. This trip leading up to working later this year is a part of me trying to see the world for him in a way. The views at the top were some of the best views I have ever seen. We traveled back down to the beach before getting a cab to Dumbría. The place we are in tonight has been one of the favorites for all of us. We look forward to walking into Fisterra tomorrow. Fisterra was known to be the end of the world before the Americas were discovered. I look forward to fully completing our pilgrimage tomorrow, but I will miss Mark, Laura, and Tucker severely. The four of us have a special dynamic, and I will make sure to squeeze the most out of the last couple of days.

Buen Camino
-John Klein

06/11/2025

Day 11: Here were some pics from the day after Santiago. We ended the night in Oruiero, which was a nice little town. Chess and soccer were played at our hostel. The chess series between Tucker and I is now 5-2-1 in my favor.

06/10/2025

Day 10: Yesterday we reached the Cathedral! We walked 12-13 miles to the footsteps of the Cathedral where St. James lays today. Throughout our journey, we made new friends, had great meals, and enjoyed many laughs, while seeing the beautiful country of Spain. The Camino is very special in that it’s very much a spiritual journey. I enjoyed this journey with Mark, Laura, and Tucker very much. The four of us have become a tight knit group, and are already discussing plans to connect stateside. While being my fourth year out on the Camino, I feel that I’ve learned way more than I ever expected. I thank the Camino for this, but especially Mark, Laura, and Tucker for their wisdom and friendship. I know the journey has been transformative for all four of us. Additionally, the community we made along the Camino made things even better. I know all four of us have made friends that we plan to stay in touch with post Camino. We said goodbye to many friends we met this week that we’ve felt like we’ve known for a long time. Someone asked me if I’m addicted to the Camino. I had never thought of the Camino as an addiction, but something has always and will continue to bring me back to these routes. We are going to enjoy the next couple days in Galicia.

Buen Camino
-John Klein

06/08/2025

Camino stay for the night in O Pedruozo!

When On The Way - Camino de Santiago

06/22/2025

06/21/2025

06/20/2025

06/19/2025

06/15/2025

06/13/2025

06/12/2025

06/11/2025

06/11/2025

06/10/2025

06/08/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category