Category Archives: Diary

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 32+1: Sunday 11 May 2025 – REST DAY in SANTIAGO de COMPOSTELA (Finisterre Tour) Well in many ways, today turned out to be not so much of a Rest Day after all – and I was away from Santiago for the most part of it. They say that a change isContinue reading “Somewhere Beyond The Sea”

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 32: Saturday 10 May 2025 – PEDROUZO to SANTIAGO de COMPOSTELA (20 [+4] kilometres) Of all the long treks that I have done in my time, perhaps this one was the most emotional to complete. The square outside the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela is renowned not just for the buildingContinue reading “To Be A Pilgrim”

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 31: Friday 9 May 2025 – ARZÚA to PEDROUZO (21 [+2] kilometres) An odd thing happens when there are greater numbers of people on the trail – one ends up speaking to fewer folk, not more. In the early days and weeks of this trek I felt aligned with most ofContinue reading “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 30: Thursday 8 May 2025 – PALAS DE REI to ARZÚA (29 [+4] kilometres) Galicia is green, verdant and lovely. A part of me is surprised at how lush everything is here, but then we are up in the hills, and getting close now to the ocean, where the maritime westerliesContinue reading “Country Life”

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 29: Wednesday 7 May 2025 – PORTOMARÍN to PALAS DE REI (25 [+4] kilometres) I would argue, and others might agree, that there is nothing like music for triggering memories, and for taking us back and reminding us of a person, a time, or a place. Along this Camino Francés IContinue reading “Let It Be”

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 28: Tuesday 6 May 2025 – SARRIA to PORTOMARÍN (23 [+3] kilometres) I am not sure what the collective noun for trekkers is, nor for pilgrims come to that, but I will go with a ‘procession’. Today was the day when the masses arrived on the Camino, as Sarria is theContinue reading “The In Crowd”

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 27: Monday 5 May 2025 – O’CEBREIRO to SARRIA (40 [+2] kilometres) The Galician weather, arriving usually from across the Atlantic, is renowned for its volatility, and I was always aware that to walk the entire 800 kilometres or so of the Camino Francés without experiencing rain was a virtual impossibility.Continue reading “It’s All In The Game”

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 26: Sunday 4 May 2025 – VILLAFRANCA del BIERZO to O’CEBREIRO (29 [+2] kilometres) Today’s was a testing walk, with a sting in the tail. The first three quarters of the path follows a gravel track heading gently up the verdant valley of the Rio Valcarce and, whilst running parallel toContinue reading “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 25: Saturday 3 May 2025 – PONFERRADA to VILLAFRANCA del BIERZO (24 [+4] kilometres) The Bierzo region of Spain sits in the north-west corner of the province of Castilla and León, and comprises Ponferrada and the upper reaches of the Rio Sil basin, including Villafranca where I am resting at theContinue reading “Flowers”

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 24: Friday 2 May 2025 – FONCEBADÓN to PONFERRADA (27 [+4] kilometres) I am feeling rather euphoric tonight, having had a wonderful day in the hills that included the highest point along the entire Camino Francés route – Alto Altar, at 1,515 metres above sea level (so around 170 metres higherContinue reading “Up Where We Belong”