In this age of mass tourism when taking a cruise or a package tour is a growing phenomenon, the simple experience of walking by foot along a Spanish Camino is a growing trend. Last year in 2018 over 320,000 people walked into Santiago de Compostela and many more ( like myself) have walked just part of a Camino finishing before Santiago. In my seven days … Continue reading The Spanish Camino brings soul to the travel experience
The last three days of walking have taken us from the hot, dry and remote region of the Extremadura into the cooler and mountainous parts of Castile y Leon. Walking along grassy paths with a view towards snow on the mountains was a pleasing change. We continued to see Roman miliarios, creeks and streams of water, more wildflowers and large numbers of fine looking cattle … Continue reading Walking to San Pedro de Rozados along Via de la Plata
I have now walked three days along the Camino called Via de la Plata, a distance of 68 kilometres. The weather has been dry but hot in the afternoons without shade. I have now adapted to that sensation of being a Pellegrino when you carry everything you have in your pack, your most important job for the day is to find and follow the arrows … Continue reading Walking from Cañaveral to Jarilla along Via de la Plata
Arriving in Caceres (my starting point for walking part of the Via de la Plata Camino) was a bit different. As I hopped off the train from Madrid in the evening I faced cold and rain. Time for a taxi to my hotel only meters from Plaza Mayor. As I arrive I hear the bands and music and see that some kind of festival is … Continue reading Caceres – one of Spain’s splendid small cities
For me there are three distinct parts to doing a long walk. The first stage is the planning and research which I always enjoy even if time consuming. The second stage is actually doing the walk which can be surprising and tough. The third stage is about processing the experience and using this to make future plans. Here are my impressions following the Portuguese Camino … Continue reading Reflections on Portuguese Camino in May 2017
Madrid is a laid back city which is not overly dominated by tourists and is compact enough to be able to walk to all major attractions. A really neat thing about Madrid is that there are many things to do which are either free or cost very little. Enjoy the Glorious Gardens in El Retiro and Walk Along Paseo del Prado – El Retiro is huge … Continue reading How to spend a Day in Madrid Mostly for Free
Padron to Santiago de Compostela Since we started today’s walk from our accommodation 5 kilometres past Padron we had a walk of about 18 kilometres to our final destination, Santiago de Compostela. We would soon be joining hundreds of pilgrims walking from Porto like us (or perhaps from Seville or France or Germany or elsewhere) at the finish of the pilgrimage in the heart of … Continue reading Portuguese Camino in May:Day Nine Final Day
Caldas de Reis to Padron After 24 kilometres of walking in the rain today we have arrived at a beautiful place to stay called Casa de Meixada. It is a rural Casa near Padron and only 17 kilometres from Santiago. So our final destination is very near now and tomorrow’s walk into Santiago will be exciting! Today I took very few photos because of rain … Continue reading Portuguese Camino in May : Day Eight
Arcade to Caldas de Rais Today has been a super long day of walking. It has been our longest leg of about 37 kilometres. Arriving at our hotel (which took an extra half hour to find in this largish town of Caldas de Rais) was a wonderful feeling. We were somewhat drowned rats by the time we arrived after 3.30pm but again we were lucky … Continue reading Portuguese Camino in May: Day Seven
Food and Footsteps 