Camino Diary, Day 34

It was Saturday and we had a short walk that took us through residential areas and wooded paths as we came within sight of Santiago. We stopped just short of our final destination. Five kilometers from the Cathedral of Santiago at an interesting spot called Monte de Gozo. We could have walked in and then

Camino Diary, Day 33

What kind of people walk the Camino de Santiago? All kinds. There are retired people, gap year young people, people trying to find an answer of some kind, people on spiritual pilgrimage, people walking in memory of a friend or family member, people on religious pilgrimage, people on a holiday, people on their first Camino,

Camino Diary, Day 32

I don’t have a cold anymore. The cold has me. I took cold meds last night and that caused me to sleep in and get a late start. I was groggy as we started and walked very slowly as our day started. Knowing we would have a short day, I wasn’t feeling the urgency to

Camino Diary, Day 31

Today was our last Wednesday on the Camino. I still can’t believe that’s true. Our albergue had heavy curtains to keep out the morning sun. We could have slept in. But someone decided to get up early and go to the bathroom – without turning their alarm off. After 20 minutes of buzzing, we were

Camino Diary, Day 30

There were several things I didn’t take into account as I planned for the Camino. One of those things was fixed schedule I had created by having flights one day after arriving in Santiago that I would need to make in order to meet my wife in Ireland. That fixed schedule meant that I couldn’t

Camino Diary, Day 29

We were out of our albergue and walking by 7:30 a.m. Breakfast service was running slow so we decided to get going and make due with the bars and water we had for the day’s walk. It was a misty morning but we never put on our rain gear. A few people were stopping and

Camino Diary, Day 28

Early to rise, early to walk… Getting nearer the end of our Camino. Today was the beginning of the end. We are in the final 100km of our journey and while that figure sounded way too long on day one, it now sounds way too short. I’ve lost weight. I’m sleeping well. I feel better

Camino Diary, Day 27

We were up early in Triacastela. It was a short night but we were ready to get on our way again…after we stopped for first breakfast before leaving town. The day started in early morning light and fog. The sun came out and then disappeared again and played hide and seek with us all the

Camino Diary, Day 26

A short walk in the rain landed us in Triacastela for the night. We chose this spot as the place we would begin our final walk to Santiago. Where we would begin our last 100 kilometers of this journey. It’s hard to believe we are this close to the end. As much as I have

Camino Diary, Day 25

Today, according to the guidebook, we’ve crossed over the last of our “mountain tops” and it’s all downhill from here. I can see elevation ahead so I suppose it’s all relative but we won’t return to this same elevation again on the Camino. This morning was a classic Camino morning. A British pilgrim in the