…Sharing each day with you has been an important dimension of the Camino for me, it added to the experience and gave life to these 48 days, so thank you for your support and accompaniment. Thanks also to Patrick and Laura for their diligent uploading. After siesta, when the crowds have dispersed I’ll go and hug Santiago and visit the crypt, remembering you especially…

A day of extreme beauty. I had breakfast at 08:00. The temperature, 4°C and overcast and with the wind blowing. Certainly the coldest day on this Camino. I had planned to walk 18 km to the town of Lalin and spend the night there, giving my shins a chance to recover. After an initial section on the road, the Camino veered off again through enchanting oak forests and farm…

I headed out about 08:30, it had just stopped raining, was cold and misty. I made my way through the town, across the beautiful Roman bridge and began a long climb up and out of Ourense. I didn’t realize Ourense, because it is 100 km  from Santiago, is a popular place to begin walking the Camino as it enables people to qualify for Compostela. This morning,  pilgrims…

Yesterday afternoon I packed a bag with shorts, slipslops and went off to the local Roman Baths still in existence in the old part of the town. I enjoyed my visit there four years ago and was determined to repeat the experience. Once again it was wonderful, full of old dears and a few young locals soaking in the water and catching the last of…

I immediately recognized and remembered the city as one I enjoyed 4 years ago. It has a quiet, feel about it. I had a light lunch and asked for more ice. I have continued the regimen of ice and arnica and remembering there is a hot thermal bath in the middle of the town, free for locals, (hot springs going back to Roman times). It opens at 17:00. I hope to be…

Three words describe today, “elevation, road, panoramic vistas”. I had to pay for the third as 2/3 of the walk was elevation and climbing and 80% of today’s walk on the road. The combination of the climbing and road has left me with what I think is the beginning of a shin splint as I have a pain in the front of my leg which made the last third of the journey, which was…

You will see from the photos it was an exceptional walk of amazing beauty and a warm sunny day as well. The route was a climb up over a pass into the province of Galacia about 23 km, the beauty was a distraction from the effort of the climb…

It was cool and overcast but had a distinctive Sunday feel to it. Very little traffic and the path crisscrossed the highways a number of times. In between, walked through oak forests in autumn colors, on patches of Roman road and through five quaint little villages. The terrain and soil has changed dramatically, so too has the architecture of the houses in the villages, everything is…

The walk this morning was as beautiful as the last two days, probably even more so.

At the first village I enquired about coffee and was told there was nothing and to continue onto the second village. En route, due to a confusion of signs pointing in different directions, I ended up…

A most interesting and intriguing day. I set out early, it was extra dark, being overcast and threatening rain. The sun struggled to break through at sunrise, whether it was because of the cold or last night’s rain or a mixture of both, but as I walked it was as if every bush or tree emitted a fragrance. It was like walking through the perfumery, an aromatic experience, almost intoxicating. I found out the name of the bush that seem to be most fragrant, it’s called…

I set out just before 8.00 this morning, the temperature was 43°F and said to fall to 38° F at sunrise. I stepped out into a fog or mist I thought was only localized in the low-lying village, but climbing above the village the mist persisted. At sunrise there was an feeble attempt by the sun to breakthrough but it failed and the remainder of the walk was in and out of the fog/mist with…

I waited until 08:30 this morning before setting out so as to give the group in the Albergue a chance to get ahead. It was 48°F, overcast and cold. The sun was able to make a brief appearance at sunrise, otherwise it was gray and cold the whole day until 15:30…

Blue, gray, wet Monday if ever there was one. Even though the hostel where I was staying, was right on the Camino it still took a half an hour or so to get through Zamora and then another hour through the industrial area. From the moment I stepped outside it began to drizzle and then by the time I had cleared the industrial area it was raining steadily. At the first village, where I…

Tomorrow marks the end of the Camino Lavente.  I now have the choice of either linking with the Camino Frances, which was my first Camino and is very busy or with the Camino de la Plata which I walked two years ago. I decided to take today and tomorrow as rest days and decide what the last leg of this Camino will look like…

A bit weather battered. It didn’t take long to leave Medina del Campo this morning and I was soon on a country road. What made today’s walk different was most of the 25.5 km was on stony, country road battling a strong wind from the South West. One of these obstacles would be enough, the two together became quite challenging…

I set the alarm for 07:00 but woke up earlier and decided to get going. Last night’s storm, even though it didn’t rain, still lingered, yet it was warmer than the two previous mornings. After leaving the city through the ancient gate and then crossing a medieval bridge, I passed through an industrial zone both active and abandoned, taking well over an hour. The Camino then alternated between…

I left Gotanendura around 08:15, it is not as cold as yesterday morning and it was light enough to easily find my way. Quiet, open road passing through four tiny little villages close together, about 3 to 6 km between each of them…

This morning I set out at about 08:30 and it was 38°C. The first village of Narrilleo de San Leonardo had nothing open, later same applied with Cardenosa, the second village, where there was supposed to be a shop open to buy supplies. The third village Penalva de Avila had nothing to offer except water from the spring, that the villagers could guarantee, so I kept going…

It was a very pleasant walk from San Martin to Cebreros in the cool of the morning, I wanted to see some Celtic runes en route, but they weren’t open at that time of the morning and as it was 44°F I decided to keep moving to keep warm…

Today’s walk consisted of three steep climbs, one almost immediately on exiting Almorox, the second a few kilometers later and the third was negotiating a fire break that the path used. The last elevation was particularly difficult because it was hot and I was tired and it seem to go on forever, in fact over 7 km. A climb, in elevation, of some 850m. In spite of the challenging route, the path was…

I set out for Maqueda, the next village about 7.5 Km away. For some reason heading North rather than West so I was much more conscious this morning of daybreak and eventually, sunrise. The  effect of the light once again on the fields and road ahead was spectacular, especially as the first light caught the golden harvested wheat fields. One thing I’ve learned about this Camino…

After arriving I made a trip out for groceries, came back had a cup of tea, then out again for Mass. Lovely priest, very enthusiastic about me walking the Camino, sent me with the sacristan to the priest’s house where another older priest, also very welcoming, gave me the stamp…

After siesta yesterday afternoon I went to  visit the Carmelite convent. This was S. Teresa’s fifth foundation after Avila. As I arrived I was lucky enough to meet the extern sister who let me in to the convent Chapel for five minutes. Wonderful sitting in the quiet, a special moment and blessing…

A joy to sleep in. Woke up, leisurely packed and then heard the bell for Mass in the Church across the street. I made it to the church just before Mass and asked the priest for the stamp. Another young guy, very welcoming, he had to return to his house to get the stamp when he returned, in broken English, said “the whole parish embraces you on your journey, remember us in Santiago”…