November, 2014, Hedy and Sophia were on a pilgrimage in Spain. They were made aware of the El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage when they viewed a Netflix movie called The Way. I’ve included the emails to me (copy/pasted with no cleaning up) and also some selected photos from their adventure—
Sophia Hayes email, 9/30/2013—
We started in st jean pied de port to roncevalles, then to zubiri Spain. There’s lots of ppl but the weather is great!!!!! This is the perfect time for el camino I hear. I love it bc we get a bed each night and a hot shower. Mom however is extremely slow. I’m trying to be patient but it’s hard. I’m used to getting up and getting on the trail and she loves to dilly dally. Oh well, it’s so beautiful and I’m so happy to be here!!!! Miss you. Hug Stella I feel bad :-(
Sophi 10/2—
We are hiking 21 km today to Pamplona and we will stay 2 days so we can do laundry and rest.
Hedy email 10/3/2013—
Doing well I love d camino and to be a peregrine it’s really very beautifully nice forest . Beautiful little tows espanoles very nice people lets move to Spain love mom
Sophi, 10/3—
We hiked from Pamplona to urtega, Spain. Making some great friends! Most of the ppl from australia. Ill have to take a group pic soon :-)
Hedy, 10/3—
Hi dad I’m so sorry I didn’t write before I just see miself busy I’m slow my pace is different that d Jung crowds Including my daughter it’s very beautiful I stop to smell d forest a d take photos d little towns are just so pretty d people very nice I noti e Spain. Is very religious they respect a lot d peregrines A lot of people get out of their way to show you what u need staff that I have forgotten it existed on my younger years when I grew up .. Anyway vegetarian only half now I have my preference but not always find it . My pants are lose probably I lost that extra that I aways have .. Thank you for taking care of kolhs I also need to stop my phone for this 2 months. I. Bought 2 phones just to be able to keep peace of mind and comunicarme with sophi she is ? ? ? Difficult more than what I thought Anyway d caminos will give us some I n sigths , sorry can’t remember what I did with Stella papers maybe on d big drawer of my desk of araund my mess I took her to d clinics that R outside of HE B. viv knows what I’m talking about She recomeded they have computers and her data it’s probAbly over there Good Luck with it. I don’t remember any more they
Sophi, 10/6—
Sorry I didn’t email for a few days we didn’t have wifi!! After urtega we hiked to Estella which was not too far but it was a big town and we wanted to buy food in a store. The albergue was huge and full of drunk spaniards that were so loud and un courteous to the rest. I was very annoyed bc I just wanted to read my book. We couldn’t eat dinner til 930 bc they used all the dishes and didn’t wash them right away. Very rude. Mom wanted to stay a day in Estella but instead we hiked 10k to Villamayor. I’m so glad we did, we are staying in a private hostel and it’s very nice! It’s only 9 euros more (last night 6 euros each) but this one is brand new (built this march) and includes breakfast where yesterday’s did not. I think it’s worth it from time to time. Our room only sleeps 6 people and as of now it’s just me and mom. We are getting along very well, I just decided to sleep in bc there’s no point in rushing her, she does what she wants. We are having a great time! I’ll send some pics!
Hedi, 10/6—
hi dad ola my amor: not always i have the chance of a computer to write to you this is one of few times i am in the luck of finding one i can use well this is one of
my favoriy trips The camino its very interesting, its very beautifull im doing well walking 15 km a day i compare myself with others and i see: lots of people are knee problem others blisters on their foot others stomack problem …. we are doing k in all this the walk is a walk i like it the view is fantastic the albergues are of all kinds …some better than others … some cheaper los albergues munucicipales are popular and cheaper but i like the private ones because they are bit less crowded ….some sell the menu some kitchen facilities some laundry machine some others not anyway we are able to chose im doing the easy pack some lunch, rain coat camera and necesary staff the rest i pay for transportatio n 7 euros to the next albergue and that works well so in thay way we really have to arrive to the next point the people are very nice very respectull of the peregrino the food fantatico i love the vino the best! hey i m drinking vino…. today y went to mass it was very nice sophi is doing well and i notice is less malcriada than when we arrive i think she is having a good time
i have to say chau love to you and our pups mua Hedy
Sophi 10/8—
Just wanted to send an update from me and mom! We are in logrono, Spain! Mom has done very well I am very proud of her. I finally decided to give up on getting her up in the morning she is just not a morning person! So what I do is get up a little later, have breakfast with her and usually start walking with her and eventually leave her and go at my pace. She had made a friend, her name is Anne and she is from California. She is 70 and walks at moms pace and waits for her. We pay to have our things sent to the next town so we always know exactly where we are hiking too. Since I am the quickest I hike on my own and reserve the beds so they are guaranteed bottom bunks. I usually get Into town between 1-2 pm and they will show up around 6. Mom also bought us Spanish cell phones so we can call each other to check up if we need to. Now I don’t worry when she gets in around 6. It’s less frustrating and I can shower and read and nap while I wait and then we have dinner together. I’m glad we found a good system bc I had no idea how I would do this and now I know I can! We miss you and the dogs and gatsby too of course. Hope you are doing well!!!!!!!
Sophi 10/9—
We are in ventosa. Mom did really well and got here at 3:30! I got here at 2 pm so she is speeding up. Today we hiked 20 km and tomorrow we will hike 25.5
Sophi 10/9—
Me and mom are in ventosa. Today she got here at 3:30 instead of 6! She is speeding up. Today we hiked 20 km and tomorrow we will hike to ciruena which is 25.5 km away. Maybe you should move gatsby’s food downstairs or somewhere higher where singer can’t steal it! My poor kitty he must be starving! Me and mom saw three little kittens in a small pueblo and one looked just like gatsby! I picked him up and gave him bread then a big boxer walked by and little gatsby freaked out and ran away. He was so cute.
Sophi 10/10—
I didn’t know you could see the actual camino on google earth- that’s pretty cool! I made it to ciruena at about 2:25 pm – this morning I left at 7:40. This German fellow caught up to me and we started chatting and apparently got off route. Well we caught up with another girl who fudged up like us so all three of us made our own camino into najera. It was so funny bc when we finally made it to najera (which was only 10 km from ventosa) and found the camino markers we ran right into mom and our new friend Maria! I think I added about 3km to my day which is alright. So today I walked about 28.5-29 km I’m guessing and my feet hurt but I’m loving this private pension I’m staying at! We made reservations last night at casa Victoria with Maria, mom and Anne. It was 15 euros a person and we have our own room and bathroom. It is like luxury compared to some of these albergues we have stayed at. Let singer know that we didn’t abandon her! I miss the pets terribly!!!!!! I keep talking about them and watching the videos of Stella and gatsby playing. They are so sweet. Anyways I wish you had Facebook so you could see some of my pictures so far!!!!! I’ll try to send a few by email
Sophi 10/11—
Just sent some pics from our journey. Don’t ask me where they were taken I can only remember a few of the places. I don’t have many of mom since we don’t normally walk together. Today we are in redecilla del camino. I left at 9 and got here at about 12:15. I feel like I’m not walking very much but it was 17 km and mom is very tired. She suggested I walk ahead a few days so I’m not feeling so frustrated about only hiking a few hours each day. Most pilgrims leave around 7-8 am and walk until 4-5 pm; so in my case I don’t necessarily feel that I’m doing a pilgrimage bc I’m getting up last and arriving first and obviously not too tired. I’m thinking about it but I do feel guilty. Advice?? Mom has been losing weight, I guess maybe I have too a little but I’m not pushing myself nearly as hard as I could be.
Hedy 10/14—
hi dad im so sorry we are in burgos we have not have a chance to have ininternet in the little townss is difficult pay my credit card please from my s 15 i would like to be better araound it but sophi is kind of hadr to count with her its all about her she doesnt underestand imm old slow and dont have her pace i let her go on her pace and enjoy miself i keep on meeting nice people really nice people but she is jung and she gets impatient i dont know how to use my iphone and i have to wait to towns to have a real computer i had a great experience i went to see an incredeble site arqueological the oldest man in europe in atapuerca i love it the towns are great i love every bit and also i see churches photos and so much this is great today i try to take money from my accout i coulnt so sad i depend on braty sophi for that anyway she is haveing also a great time i m not worring too much i acept things as whtrn im home i love you i miss you and i like our holidays better because you are great compan7y and not bratty i will kkeep you posted as much as i can please pay my bills and i let you know when to put more money in her account we bouught two slepping bags tooo cold with tyhe ones we got and i gotr new staff for my shoes i got a big blister and sophi two jajajaja love mom
Hedy 10/14—
sorry about my spelling mistakes this computer sucks its from the ano of the pera slow like gatsby when u call him to get in the house so big hugs to all my hijas pups and so on love mom
Sophi 10/15—
Sorry I haven’t emailed, I ask for wifi every day just so I can keep you updated but sometimes were not so lucky and when you have walked all day you don’t really feel like walking to a restaurant just to get free wifi.
So I hiked 40 km the day before yesterday from villa Franca montes de Oca to Burgos. Man, that was a very tough day. 40 k = 25 miles. I’m carrying all my things now too. I took the day off yesterday to wait for mom, she arrived at 2 pm. We spent the day getting new new sleeping bags bc the ones we bought at good sport were liners!!!! Man, I was so disappointed about that. We were literally freezing every night. Then we went across town on the bus to this book store where I could buy an English book. I bought the first game of thrones bc Nat and josh said its great! It’s also over 800 pages so it will keep me busy for a while.
Unfortunately I got very frustrated with mom bc she keeps losing her temper and yelling at me in front of everyone. It is beyond embarrassing…. I would prefer to hike alone for a few days to collect my thoughts. She is with another pilgrim about her age (from Ecuador) and they will be spending another day in Burgos. I am feeling much better but I think the camino is meant to be done alone rather than with another person. I have heard of many relationships ending here. Very interesting. Don’t worry, this is an incredibly safe trail and everyone is so nice and helpful. I will not be hiking to far ahead either.
Sophi 10/16—
I’m in honturas which is 21.5 km from tradajos. I didn’t want to get super ahead of mom. I actually wanted to stop at the town before (5 km back) but when I arrived I noticed an old abandoned building that was caved in. The town has been abandoned. I was so disappointed bc my backpack is ridiculously heavy and cutting into my hip. When I took a shower today I realized it actually bruised and cut into me, it really hurts. I’m going to have to get rid of some of this weight but I don’t know what else I can leave behind — I need everything I have!!!!! How is my Stella and gatsby?? I plan to reunite with mom tomorrow. I already miss her strangely enough.
Sophi 10/18—
I’m with mom again. We met up last night in Castrojeriz! I I walked up into this old castle (will send pics) and explored and read my book there. I had a great time. Today we walked 25 km to fromista. As long as we’re getting along and she tries to keep up I am willing to wait for her. I am reading game of thrones now so I’m more patient :-)
I’m glad that you are enjoying your time alone and have fixed the house! Thank you for checking on my Stella every day and taking them twice a week to the park. I miss her terribly and it makes me a little sad that I won’t see her for a long time. Nataly said she will be there this weekend so make sure she pays gatsby lots of attention!!!!!! How is he doing????
By the way it’s a good thing I’ve been posting photos on Facebook bc it locates where I am! So I will be able to figure that out by checking my Facebook page later! :-)
Sophi 10/21—
I was going to hike 31.7 km today but I’m pretty tired and have already hiked 24 km and 8 more km seems too much right now. I’m in bercianos del real camino, and I know this is where she was planning to stop today.
Hedy 10/21—
Going from logrono to ventosa doing ok slow but ok love mom
Sophi 10/21—
We try to spend low and I’m pretty frugal about that but today I chose a hostel with 2 beds bc we really needed the rest and I don’t want to wake up to 8 men snoring. The other night we had a Korean and an Italian rhinoceros in the albergue and I woke up several times with ear plugs in, awful. If I see those men in town I avoid picking the same albergue as them!!!!!
Sophi 10/23—
btw: we have made it to leon! very nice big city. we expect to be in santiago de compostela in 2 weeks!!!!!! me and mom are doing and looking great!
Sophi 10/25—
Right now I have 220 € left and I’m going to be extremely cheap from now on. I spent 3.83 € on toasted bread and hummus and that’s all we ate for breakfast and lunch. We are so thin it’s awesome!!! I no longer have a double chin, lol!!!! For dinner we are only having zucchini soup. Mom is ready for us to get to santiago already but I don’t want this trip to end!!!! I will have to continue working out just to stay like this. I’ll send a picture…
Sophi 10/29—
Me and mom are in cacabelos, only 190 km to go! Very exciting to get under 200 km. mom is so ready to arrive, she says she has no idea what possessed her to do this trip but I am enjoying it. The albergue municipal in cacabelos was only 5 € each and we got our own little room but it’s literally one long shed with multiple compartments. I can still hear people snoring next to me but at least I have privacy which most albergues don’t provide. It is also an icebox here!!!! No heating and it’s very cold. We are sleeping with our jackets on, inside our sleeping bag and they gave us 2 blankets each. Today we hiked 24 km, tomorrow we will hike 23 km. hope you and the pets are good. I think we will arrive to santiago by nov 7-8. Earlier than expected!
Hedy 10/30—
We arrive in vega de valcarcel we did 25 k again tomorrow we will go to ???? We are 167 km from Santiago tired still enjoing and philosophing about it sophi is contenta no more Mody staff so I got some more euros d exchange was horrible 1.45 for 1 euro so it’s expensive today I had octopus it was 10 euros so $14.50 and I didn’t like it :( but yesterday we had pizza individual veggie it was 16 euros so I’m expending about 30 to 40 euros A day I pay lots of staff for sophi she is running low In money’s … It’s ok still fun d little town very beautiful still good the cold weather it’s getting it’s arriving g still beareble love to you and pets Tua Bella
Hedy 10/30—
I think I will have a rest on Santiago maybe she can go to finisterre walking I will probably go by bus so she can have a few days on by herself
Hedy 10/30—
Hi dad I had not seen this letter before it’s ok whatever she decides I have no problem !!! She sees Jung people doing it alone I am slow I can’t go any faster I get exhausted I need to take care of miself I didn’t come to compite a race to get to Santiago faster Love mom
Hedy 10/31—
I’m alone Sophia wanted to be by herself I’m in alto del poio tomorrow maybe l ll do 20 km
Sophi 11/1
How did gatsby get fleas? It is not even flea season! Dirty kitty. Thanks for taking care of him and getting him the revolution. I need to get his and Stella’s shots too but ill do that after I come home. Today we arrived into Samos. I believe we will arrive into santiago by nov 6! This is great bc it means I can walk to muxia (another 3-4days) and then from there walk to finisterre (1 more day)! Mom says she will take the bus but you get a certificate in Santiago, muxia, and finisterre only if you walk and prove it by stamps on your credential. I will definitely walk, why not? 4-5 days is nothing after walking for over a month!!! To me it’s worth it but I think she’s exhausted at this point. Today’s hike was beautiful but it was raining and that royally sucked. More later–
Sophi 11/4—
We are in Palas de rei! 65 km left to santiago. We both walked the whole way, never cheated and took a bus or taxi. So proud of mom, she’s done great and were getting along so well! We met another mother and daughter who are also hiking together. We are meeting up with them tomorrow in melide. It’s raining every day til we arrive to santiago… Hopefully we get there Thursday or Friday. Probably Friday nov 8. We don’t mind though bc our flight to Barcelona is on nov 17. I got us a private room through airbnb at someone’s apartment for about 42 €, and then we fly to Rome on nov 20. I got us an entire apt through airbnb for 55 € a night. Our two flights were cheap as well! About 30 € each. We are excited to see Barcelona and Rome and feel we deserve it after walking a month and a half. I still want to continue to muxia and finisterre after we arrive to santiago which will take an additional 4-5 days but I don’t mind. Hopefully mom will join me but it’s up to her and I know she’s ready to finish; this has been a long journey!!!! It has also been very educational for both of us. We are so proud of ourselves and were looking great! I think the camino rejuvenated the body and mind. We miss you and the pets!!! Thanks for taking care of their vaccines. I really appreciate it and I’ll pay you back of course!!!!!
Sophi, 11/6—
i feel that i have learned A LOT. very excited to put all this knowledge into action when i return to san antonio. thank you for everything that you have done. right now we are eating lunch in ribadiso, we will hike to salcedo today. we should only have 28 km left and will probably hike 20-25 km tomorrow and finish early on friday morning — just in time for the 12 oclock mass on friday with the pilgrim blessing. we are happy to accomplish this goal. i am so proud of mom, she did not complain too much, she hiked the ENTIRE thing, did not cheat with a bus or taxi even though she had made friends who ended up taking the taxi and tried convincing her. she is so stubborn and even though it was hard for her, she did it. more later!
Sophi, 11/7—
We are in labacolla. 10.4 km from santiago! We will be there tomorrow before noon. Mass starts at noon and they will announce our names, date we started and where we travelled from. You only need to walk the last 100 km to get the compostela but we hiked about 800 km. we are so proud!!! Will take the rest of Friday off and Saturday because it’s raining but the next 3-4 days should be sunny so I will go to muxia and finisterre with or without mom. She has not decided, she wants to take a taxi. We will see….
Sophi, 11/8—
We arrived to santiago this morning at 10:30 am! We went to mass at noon and they did not announce our names like we heard… Just mentioned where people from different countries started. Then we went to mass again at 7:30 bc they were doing the incense ceremony for the pilgrims and we also met back up with Claudia and gabby from Germany (the other mom and daughter that walked from Astorga). Tomorrow I will take the day off to see santiago bc I slept most of today…. and Sunday I will leave to muxia and then go to fisterra. It will take me 4 days. I already got the plan from the tourist office. 1st day is 21 km, then 32.5 km, then 33.4 km to muxia and 29 km to fisterra. Mom wants to come but I don’t think she can walk 30 km a day — ESP 3 days in a row so she will take the bus there and hang around santiago. We are very excited to arrive, it was a happy day! We miss you all so much!
Hedy 11/9—
Hi dad finally we have arrive .. The last week rain every day I remember our New Hamphire Appalachia trail now I know …what it is to walk with wet shoes not very good !!!and d cheap rain gear I bought didn’t help either I keep on buying d wrong staff . anyway we went to mass on arrival yesterday and it was emotional
Today we went back to visit d tomb of d apostol Santiago I pray for all our family our pets all our dear ones and bla bla tomorrow I decided to walk to Muxia and finisterre I’ll go on my pace sphi it’s too fast and I get exhausted I get hecha polvo really d turism administration is great got maps, and info how to do it info also about how to return by bus great so I will get two more of those certificates Yupi I’m happy love you hugs to pets and hi to whoever ask for me Chiau Tua Bella Hedy
Sophi 11/12—
We have changed our minds (once again) and now we are walking to finisterre first. This restaurant owner told us that it’s much prettier bc you walk next to the ocean whereas the muxia route you do not. I have stayed with mom so that I can continue to motivate her. It’s really nice bc we are getting along so well and we have fun together! Much different than when we started. The camino was very good for us!
Mom says thanks for paying her bills. Please apologize to the pets for not receiving their post card… Also explain to them that we are so tired and dumb that we procrastinate is all. Give them each a big hug and kiss!!
Sophi 11/14—
So as you can tell by the subject line… We changed our minds again and have arrived to Finisterre! Well, I have, and I am waiting for her here… I found us a hostel with a nice room, 2 beds and a balcony where you can see the ocean view for 25 €. I was very excited about that!!! It is 12:17, mom should arrive within the hour. We will receive our finisterre certificates here when she arrives. She is undecided about going to muxia since it’s a 30 km hike… But I will continue tomorrow regardless. Here’s a photo of me drinking a “Sophia” cocktail that the bartender invented for me :-)
Sophi 11/14—
Mom will hike with me to muxia– so proud of her. :-)
Sophi 11/15—
We arrived into Muxia and received our 3rd certificate! We are very excited!!! We will hang around town til 2:30 tomorrow until the bus takes us back to Santiago. I am proud of mom as well. Her speed has picked up and we walked in together around 5 pm and hiked 29 km today. We are happy to be finished with the camino but also a bit sad…. More happy though!! Our flight leaves Rome on nov 24. We arrive the same day since we are traveling back in time 7 hours. Excited to go to Barcelona on Sunday!!!
Sophi 11/17—
We are in Barcelona! We spent the afternoon with Tuuli in her apartment. She has two super cute kids. They had a fashion show for us and made us a chocolate cake. We had a great time. Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain a lot but if it’s not too bad were going to do the bus tour where you can hop on and off around the city. Rome on Wednesday.
Sophi 11/20—
We just arrived in Rome! Super excited! We rented a really nice apartment through airbnb which is much cheaper than a hotel! I’ll send pics if I can or show you later. We are excited to come home Sunday night at 9 pm!
Hedy 11/22—
Fa griggia oggi e piove moltiso Fa molto fredo inverno! Della italia I think we will arrive araund 9 pm ready for my casita mio marito, cane gato love Tua Bella Hedy Gloria
Sophi 11/24—
I have asked Viv and Nat to contact you but I was able to get internet at the airport. We are in Frankfurt and unfortunately mom left her passport on the plane from Rome to Germany. Luckily the American consulate booked us another flight at 5 pm to Washington since he was able to verify moms identity and citizenship. He has cleared us through customs and is with us until we board our next flight to guarantee our arrival into the United States. A blessing from above, especially because it’s Sunday and the American embassy is closed. We were very lucky he was here. We will now arrive into San Antonio tomorrow morning at 8:28 am and I have asked Nataly to pick us up. I will check my email as soon as we arrive into Washington. We are so relieved we get to come home because for an hour there we weren’t sure. See you tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!
