September 11, 2016: We leave the quaint little town of Ages, Spain with anticipation of reaching the large town of Burgos along with a little dread. The last stretch will be along busy roads, but we continue to simply follow the yellow arrows. 
This is Randy’s last day of hiking the Camino as he will be returning to the life of a farmer in Minnesota. Harvest awaits…
Top three photo picks of the day:
September 10, 2016: Belorado to Ages ~ 28 kilometers
Over-achievers today as we go a few kilometers past the elevation map above.
We find beds in the Ages Municipal Albergue and wander the streets exploring the village.
While exploring Ages we stumble upon a small museum of miniatures that Marcial Palacios creates of regional sites, as well as historical methods of labor in the village and on the farm.
The passion that Marcial puts into his works and animated explanation of each miniature is interesting as I try to comprehend with my limited Spanish skills along with gestures. Best salesman ever as we purchase a small, lightweight toy.
Junk sculptures line stone fences and fill the yards of this unique street in Ages. I couldn’t find info about these displays so your guess is as good as mine.
Shout out and buen camino to Jim and MaryAnne Leas of leascomadventures.com.
Top three photo picks of the day:
Apparently, I’m in the “prime” of my life…
A prime lens has just one focal length (in contrast to a zoom lens that covers a wider range of lengths).
Back in the day I used prime lenses while shooting with medium format film cameras, but the digital world has found me using zoom lenses exclusively for several years.
Why would I want a prime lens when I could have a zoom that covers a variety of lengths? Easy answer – money. In the midst of downsizing equipment, I’ve found myself in need of an affordable lens to go on an older body. Quality and price are both factors and the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM seemed to fit the bill. My other lenses open to 2.8, so having a faster lens at 1.8 could be interesting. Maybe I’ll reinvent myself as a low light street photographer – you never know.
So, at sunset I took my new little lens to our nearby slough to try it out… pretty much straight out of camera except for tweaking exposure.
Used this 50mm lens while trying out a DIY beauty dish, of sorts, with equipment I already had on hand – cheap $37 slave that screws into a regular light socket inside a silver chick warmer. Not much for catch lights, but kind of worked.
Price for this handy little lens? $125 – much less than the $1600 price tag for a new 24-70 Canon 2.8 zoom. While I like the lens for stationary subjects, I did find the autofocus slow when trying to capture moving subjects.
Following is one of many reviews: Digital-Picture Review of Canon 50 mm EF f/1.8 STM Lens
All images posted were taken by myself, Joyce Meyer, in Manfred Township, Lac qui Parle County, located in Southwest Minnesota.
September 9, 2016: As we put our boots on this morning we share a moment with a forlorn Damion from the UK as he contemplates whether to continue his Camino with very sore blisters or call it quits. We’ve enjoyed his wit, humor and banter, so are hoping he continues. Final answer…? A very somber ending as he makes plans for catching a flight back home. Camino hearts are breaking for this well liked and kind gentleman as we all know how hard it is to accept defeat. Safe journeys, Damion.
Today should be close to a 25 kilometer day so we leave the albergue early, making our way down the dark streets of Santo Domingo.
We enjoy the company of Roger and Nancy from Colorado and interesting conversation makes the day click by so much faster. Thank you for sharing your day with us and we are curious as to your Camino experiences after we parted ways.
What… am I hallucinating? A huge stuffed animal is hiking towards me!
Following is a link to a short video explaining their project: osoperigroso
Smiles on the Way is a site that has information about these two and their walk.
We arrive in Belorado finding only top bunks with no bed rails available, so Joan will face her ultimate challenge tonight. The room is very tiny and there is no room to throw her mattress on the floor for sleeping. Will she sleep walk and fall out of bed or not sleep at all? We will see…
A bonus tonight is meeting and spending meal time with charming Alexandra who lives and works in Malega. I am so tired that I can hardly speak, but the table conversation still flows freely. Buen Camino, Alexandra!
Top three photo picks of the day:
September 8, 2016: A short video of the day…
This morning finds us departing in the dark hoping to find available beds in Santo Domingo. We are meeting more Camino friends as we trudge along and cherish these conversations and chance encounters. You know who you are!!! We look forward to and enjoy the e-mails updating us on their Camino journeys and life in general.
Best welcoming committee on the Camino with wine in a jug, tapas and friendly staff at the Santo Domingo de la Calzada albergue operated by the Spanish Confraternity. Nice backyard area with outdoor laundry facilities, kitchen and spacious lounge/dining area. A bonus is that many of the pilgrims we have encountered along the way are staying here.
Apparently, English and German-speaking pilgrims need rules, so we make good use of the wonderful laundry facilities in the backyard. Randy is extremely impressed with Julio’s Scrubba Portable laundry bag (Click on link).
Our Irish hospitalera enjoys friendly conversation with Randy and leaves him with a bro hug. 
A tour of the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada includes viewing a live rooster and hen. A gothic henhouse was built during the middle of the XVth century to keep alive a hen and a rooster in memory of the most famous of Santo Domingo´s miracles. Click on this link: Hen and the Rooster Miracle for the full story behind this live display. I was told they switch out the fowl every 14 days, so I’m guessing chicken soup is on the menu every couple of weeks.
After wandering down our street we pathetically gaze inside a restaurant at 6 p.m. and inquire as to evening meal service. 7:30 p.m. is the meal time and our sad, hungry faces must appeal to the gentleman’s heart-strings as he pauses and decides to make an exception. He rushes around and quickly sets a table for us. The best paella EVER!!!
The Irish hospitaleras invited us to a prayer service in the basement of the albergue, so this early meal time means we return in time to attend. Hard to stay awake, but glad we participated since we need all the help we can get. Bonus is this piece of artwork on the wall of the prayer room.
Top three photo picks of the day:
September 7, 2016: Scroll down for a short video of the day.
We stock up on water and food because for the next few hours of the journey we will not have much for shops until the town of Navarrete 13 km away. 
This will be a thirty kilometer day, so we get an early start to beat some of the heat.
Randy finds a little store in Navarette with everything under the sun crammed inside and he needs a bandana to protect his ears and neck from the scorching sun. Hanging around the counter, he takes forever to make a decision… could it be the posters below the counter that distract him? (Click on the image for a larger viewing window.)
Plump grapes are plentiful and tempting as we pass through numerous vineyards and hear recordings of birds in distress and canon explosions to keep birds away from the ripened fruit. We have seen many small tractors with spray tanks behind heading out to the vineyards. No wonder there are no flies or bugs of any kind on the grapes. It’s not very healthy to be eating unwashed grapes that have been in contact with a pesticide besides the fact that it would be stealing. Enough said.
Interesting “bee hive” hut along the trail would provide shelter, if necessary. It appears to be of modern construction and quite messy inside from garbage left by people. The mom in me wants to lecture… Pick up after yourselves!
Randy and Joan are strategizing in the cute little Vino y Camino apartment that Joan found in Najera. We are in heaven with kitchen facilities, washer/dryer provided, our own bathroom/shower and they even provided us with a bottle of delicious red wine. (Hence, the name.) All in all a good value.
Top three photo picks of the day:
A-a-h-h! Buen Camino!
Maybe we all just long for some connection to a life where a rooster still crows in the yard…
As farms become larger and automated with huge equipment, (Hey, you don’t even have to steer the tractor these days!) the farmers of yesterday have found themselves in the category of nostalgia. Fewer farms today require daily manual labor of the past… cows to milk, a variety of animals to feed/butcher, eggs to collect and bailing hay meant stacking heavy bales on the hayrack by hand. Farm kids didn’t need the weight room to excel in sports as their daily chores took care of that. Kids were not asked to work, but rather expected to earn their keep. (as my father-in-law used to say)
Sounds like a tough way of life, but those who grew up on a farm “back in the day” most likely also have fond memories of life as well as a tremendous amount of respect for the parents who raised them.
September 6, 2016: Scroll down for a short video with some Creedence Clearwater Revival plus proof that Joan can still stop traffic!
As you can see by the elevation map, we start the day with a hill work-out while the rest of the day appears to level out a little. However, the heat continues to sap our energy as we plod down the path.
We meet a friendly, interesting young man named Julio from California sitting by the side of the road switching out socks due to blisters. Conversations flow throughout the day about observations and plans while on the Camino, as well as life, taking our minds off the heat. We often wonder about the rest of his journey to Santiago as we lose track due to a different pace as we do with many people we meet. A good lesson learned: Live in the moment and make the best of it while you can.
We also meet a new friend, Julius, today and have been in touch with this talented photographer/animation artist from Poland living in Dublin. It was great to talk about photography with someone who understands me.
Graffiti in the tunnels plus the shade provide a little respite from the heat.
We find beds tonight in the Apostol Hostel in Logrono with a familiar scene on the wall of our room. I don’t think this means I can cross the Statue of Liberty off of my Bucket List.
Top three photo picks of the day:
Make your own kind of magic this holiday season.
(Click on image for a larger viewing window.)
‘Tis the season… to photograph children and holiday lights.
I had the opportunity to photograph this little tyke at a festive location: Santaland in Madison, Minnesota.
Available light gives such a “magical” look when photographing children with holiday lighting with the goal being a pleasantly lit face with glowing lights. So… shut off your flash.
Tips for photographing lights:
Basic camera settings:
1) Set a wide aperture (low f-stop number) like f2.8, or as wide as your lens will go.
2) Bump up your ISO to around 800-1250 (not an exact science) I topped out my ISO on some of these since it was such a dark area with no outside lighting.
3) Make sure your shutter speed is at least 1/100th to freeze the subject. I had an active 1 1/2 year old subject so I cranked the shutter up to around 200.
Now those numbers above aren’t a magic formula, but they give you a good starting point. If the Christmas lights aren’t bright enough, bump up the ISO or slow down your shutter speed (just not too slow unless you are going for a blurred motion look!!). It may help to have a little available light coming in through a window to light the subject, but not too much and no direct light since that would overpower the glowing holiday lights. Even lighting on the face is important.
Image color look pretty weird? Either set the white balance in your camera while taking photos or adjust it in the post process in Lightroom or Photoshop. I shoot in Raw so I worry about it during the post-process steps. More information can be found on white balance here: What about White Balance?
I’d highly recommend a trip to Santaland located upstairs above Heather Floral right on Main Street, Madison, Minnesota.
… and don’t forget your camera!!
RJMeyerArts 
