Category: Camino de Santiago
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Day 32: The end of the earth / The return of Manolo, pt 2
Muxía to Finisterre / 23 miles Walking around the point to see waves crashing on the giant rocks beneath the old church and lighthouse Climbing up on the rocks to soak in the view and the moment, until the wind nearly knocked me over and I climbed back to the path Finding Muxía’s “Km 0,000”…
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Day 31: Ocean in view, oh the joy
O Logoso to Muxía / 19 miles Seeing “moderate weather warnings” for wind and rain, but low likelihood of thunderstorms, so setting out before dawn while some older pilgrims were looking for the bus schedule Stopping 1.5km in, already wet with rain, to do a weather radar check and eat a second breakfast A very…
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Day 30: Windy, wet, delightful
Vilaserío to O Logoso / 15.6 miles Thinking the weather couldn’t be worse than yesterday and getting even more hopeful when the first ten minutes were dry! Feeling raindrops on Minute 11 and thinking “this is fine” Walking through a storm that had rain hitting me at a 45 degree angle because the wind was…
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Day 29: Galicia delivers on wet and windy
Santiago de Compostela to Vilaserío, 22 miles Early morning departure from Santiago, including a visit to the empty Plaza del Obradoiro and a gorgeous view of the moonlit Cathedral The best breakfast of the Camino at the Cafe Tertulia, where 5 euros and 80 cents gets you two fried eggs, two slices of bacon, one…
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Day 28: Arrival in Santiago, pt 1
O Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela / 13.5 miles A general feeling of excitement on the trail as everyone soaked in their last day Taking sunrise photos for a cute American couple who hadn’t gotten a picture together since St Jean Seeing the “10,000km” sign… just two more hours to go Finding moments of quiet…
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Day 27: The return of Manolo, pt 1
Melide to O Pedrouzo / 21.3 miles Chugging a YoPro yogurt protein beverage to kickstart my morning Charging into barbed wire in my urgent search for a forest bathroom in the morning twilight Seeing more runners en route to Santiago… they were jogging probably 10k per hour and only carried a tiny backpack for water…
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Day 26: In search of sustenance
Castromayor to Melide / 19 miles Waking up inexplicably* damp *Realizing I’m now in Galicia where it’s usually raining, misting, or threatening a downpour Walking through pre-dawn mist and only discovering I was not alone on the trail when I took a selfie and a fellow hiker showed up behind me in the photo (this…
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Day 25: Friends old and new
Sarria to Castromayor / 20.5 miles Protein chocolate mousse before leaving the albergue Realizing upon leaving the albergue that I was 500m away from the trail, requiring a pre-dawn navigation of city streets and a steep hill slick with rain. I eventually found the path, but somehow circumvented the famous staircase that leads you out…
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Day 24: Mostly resting
Triacastela to Sarria / 11.5 miles Taking the path to San Xil, which was flooded in fall leaves and full of quiet shade Trail time with my Mallorcan friends — I have a standing invitation to Alcudia if anyone wants to join me Walking behind two guys wearing very strong cologne Finding the best trail…
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Day 23: Crossing into Galicia
La Laguna to Triacastela / 15.4 miles 7:15am departure, tackling the final 150 meters / 2 km ascent to O Cebreiro while bathed in moonlight (no need for headlamps!) Entering Galicia, the westernmost Comunidad Autonoma I’ll pass through on my hike Watching the sun rise over the mountains behind me from the vista point in…
