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Day 54: Final day in Santiago
It felt almost surreal waking up this morning and realizing that the Camino is done. I had some fun experiences today. I went to the pilgrims mass at 12:00 at the Cathedral and got to see the botafumiero swinging. It’s never a guarantee that it will be on any given day, so I lucked out!…
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Day 52 and 53: Arzua to Pedrouzo, and Pedrouzo to Santiago
Two fairly easy 12 mile days through the rolling hills. The mornings have been cool and misty, and the afternoons quite warm. I arrived in Plaza de Obradoiro in front of the Cathedral de Santiago yesterday afternoon. After that, I went to the Pilgrim’s Office to get my credential, toured the cathedral including the tomb…
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Day 48 through 51: Portomarin to Ligonde to O Coto to Arzua
The last few days have been moderate mileage through the Galician countryside as I draw closer to Santiago. Today is a rest day in the medium sized city of Arzua before the final 2 day push! The heat from a few weeks ago hasn’t really returned, and the evenings and mornings are quite cool. Much…
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Day 44 through 47: O Cebreiro to Triacastela to Sarria to Portomarin.
The last few days have been through the beautiful Galician countryside. The descent out of O Cebreiro was moderate, but long. It was a steady downhill over 20 kms. After that, it was a lot of smaller ups and downs. Many of these little towns are located on rivers, so the end of the day…
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Day 40 through 43: Molinaseca to Villafranca de Bierzos to Vega de Valcarces to O Cebreiro
The last few days have been through a region called Bierzo. Still technically part of the Castilla y León province, but has distinctly different geography and climate from points further east on the Meseta. It’s probably my favorite part of Spain. It’s after the Meseta, but before the green heavy dampness of Galicia. The topography…
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Day 36 through 39: Astorga to Rabanal to El Acebo to Molinaseca
I’m taking my mileage a little bit slower until the shin splints are completely gone. But they’re a little better every day, so I’m encouraged by that. Astorga marks the unofficial end of the Meseta, which means more hills, more green, and less monotony. Many people, including me, welcome this stretch. The trail steadily climbs…
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Day 33 through 35: Rest days in León
León is one of my absolute favorite places on the Camino. The tapas scene is like none another. Every little bar will offer you a free tapa…usually a couple of bites… with every drink that you buy. Spending a couple of days in this beautiful town also allowed these shin splints to calm down a…
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Days 28 through 32: The 5 day push from Carrión de Los Condes to León
I didn’t post the last few days because, quite frankly, the Meseta is rather boring. it’s endless days of walking along the path, punctuated by little tiny villages. Sometimes the path goes through fields, and sometimes it goes along “sendas”, which is a pedestrian byway that goes right alongside a major highway. Either way, it…
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Day 26 & 27: Población to Carrión de los Condes, and a rest day in Carrión de los Condes
Yesterday was a beautiful day spent walking partially through open fields, mostly wheat and sunflowers, and a lovely shaded path that is next to the canal like the day prior. I arrived in mid-afternoon to Carrión de los Condes, which is a nice medium sized town and ideal for a rest day. I immediately found…
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Day 24 & 25: Hontanas to Itero de Vega, and Itero de Vega to Población
It was very pleasant on the trail the last few days. Yesterday was about 13 miles and today was about 11. The trail has flattened out considerably. There are some hills, but large stretches of flat land as well. Today in particular was really nice, as much as the walk was along an irrigation canal,…
A Wisconsin Girl Takes a Walk 