pilgrimsandprophets

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Camino Primitivo || Halfway

Day 7: Grandas de Salime to A Fonsagrada, 29.36 km, 18.2 miles In the greatest show in television history, Patriot on Amazon Prime, the hero tells a little girl how he does hard things; he goes halfway and one more step. At that point it’s easier to finish than go back. That’s a pretty good pilgrim philosophy… By the end of today’s walk, I’ll be halfway to Santiago! And another milestone, I’ll…

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Camino Primitivo || What Goes Up (must come down, and then up, again)

Day 6: A Mesa to Grandas de Salime, 19.86 km, 12.31 miles Thanks again, Wise Pilgrim, for the graphic… Because a walk to Santiago de Compostela is a very unique and personal experience, I’d rather not give advice. I believe us pilgrims get more out of the journey when we go straight at it without the opinions and advice of others. My only exceptions – when asked a specific question or if the…

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Camino Primitivo || Hospital

A perfect day in the mountains!!

Day 5: Colinas de Arriba to A Mesa, 28.72 km, 17.8 miles Don’t fret, there were no medical emergencies today, just a walk along a mountain route called Los Hospitales (translated to English, the hospitals). Back in the day, the kings established “hospitals” to care for weary pilgrims…medical care probably limited to a warm fire, a place to rest, and some broth – similar to my own medical plan.…

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Camino Primitivo || Always Up

This walk from Tineo to Colinas de Arriba, stunning - at the top of each hill and around every corner...

Day 4: Tineo to Colinas de Arriba, 23.37 km, 14.49 miles 1000 Words (Picture > Words) Just a few words before I turn it over to my photo gallery. While having first coffee this morning, I remembered the artisan bakery across the street (an Albergue La Plaza benefit). I wandered over and bought to donuts for pilgrim fuel. They were indeed artisan. I saw my Australian friend, James, (a younger,…

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Camino Primitivo || Ups and Downs and Everything in Between

Up, down. Repeat. Include some mud at critical junctures. A great hike!!

Day 3: Salas to Tineo, 23.63 km, 14.65 miles Guidebook Information If you are pondering a walk to Santiago de Compostela via the Camino Primitivo, don’t do it if: Your ascending muscle groups don’t like going uphill, and/or Your creaky knees don’t like going downhill, and/or Your shoes don’t like mud… These challenges are apparent just 3 days in. Rise & Shine, Part II Thanks, Wise Pilgrim…

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Camino Primitivo || Rise & Shine

Day 2: Grado to Salas, 25.81 km, 16 miles Two things became apparent this morning as I prepared for Day 2 on the Camino Primitivo. The sun takes its time rising in October, it’s not light enough to walk until 8:30 am. Just to be clear, I’m not afraid to walk in the dark, but I prefer scenery over darkness. Plus, it’s been well-documented that I am not a morning person, so the longer I can stay…

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Primitive||The King and I

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MUXÍA to FINISTERRE, DAYS 5/6

Closing the loop on the Ways west of Santiago de Compostela...

CAMINO DE MUXÍA, ETAPA 5/6, MUXÍA to LIRES to FINISTERRE, 28.1 KILOMETERS* *There are a few reasons I record these journeys in this blog: 1) It’s a really good place to share and store pictures from the journey, 2) It’s a good practice to help me process my thoughts from pilgrimage, 3) to provide some useful information (but definitely not a guidebook!!) for people considering pilgrimage, and…

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The Muxía Way, Day 4

Oceans and opacarophiles...

Camino de Muxía, Etapa 4, A Grixa to Muxía, 26.3 kilometers* *The distance between A Grixa to Muxía is 15.4 kilometers but I walked around town and out to the Santuario de la Virgen de la Barca twice. Just want to set the record straight for any fact-checkers reading this. Inspired by Gary P. Nunn’s, “What I Like About Texas,” I recorded these thoughts while walking this morning between A Grixa…

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The Muxía Way, Day 3

20 miles on foot and a good place to hang my hat for today...

Camino de Muxía, Etapa 3, Santa Mariña to A Grixa, 30.1 kilometers This walk to the coast from Santiago might be my favorite terrain of all that I’ve walked (Francés, Português, Inglés). I love the views, the forests, and the fields. I’ll add more to this in the next post. I decided on this journey that 20 to 22 kilometers a day is my sweet spot for walking (my range is 10km to 43km). The…

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The MUXÍA Way, Day 2

Sauntering (thanks Thoreau for the explanation) through the Galician countryside...

Camino de Muxía, Etapa 2 – Negreira to Santa Mariña, 21.1 kilometers Negreira Outbound I woke up at 5:30 am in a coughing fit and clambered out of my top bunk, trying not to wake everyone in the albergue. Dragging my blanket with me, I went to the common area in the front of the building to work out my cough and gather my wits. The 1 euro vending machine coffee was the magical elixir. By the…

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The Muxía Way

Taking care of unfinished business...

Camino de Muxía, Etapa 1 – Santiago de Compostela to Negreira, 21 kilometers Unfinished Business In the fall of 2022, I walked the Camino Francés from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago and planned to continue on to Finisterre, then up the coastline to Muxía, and finally to back to Santiago. I had made some very good friends along the French Way and decided it was more important to spend time…

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CAMINO INGLÉS - Santiago de Compostela

There's something about walking into Santiago!!

I’ll admit that sometimes I’m a shallow man…for instance, in this broad religio-cultural adventure that is the Camino de Santiago, one of my absolute favorite things is breakfast in the morning. The contents of this breakfast that inspires me – at least one Cafe Americano, a Napolitana de Chocolate, or it’s very suitable substitute, the Croissant Simple. It’s not uncommon for me on a good walk to…

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Camino Inglés - Sigüeiro

Poor sleep, more rain, and finally some sun!!

Stage 3 – Hospital de Bruma to Sigüeiro, 24.8 kms Fourth day of walking, fourth day of rain. Today’s still weepy skies alternated between drizzle and a light sprinkle. It wasn’t too bad, except… The walk was preceded by one of my worst nights of sleep ever in an albergue, and I’ve slept communally on the Camino 80 or 90 nights over all my journeys. First, the evening was damp and cool. I travel…

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Camino Inglés - Hospital de Bruma

Cold, wet, and windy walks are made better by good companions, hospitality, and healthy economy.

Stage 3 – Betanzos to Hospital de Bruma, 24.4 kms This 10 second video captures the whole day of walking – rain, wind, and uphill… Regardless of conditions, a walk on the Camino is always made better by good company. My brother and I walked together through the whole stage. Normally, he’s an early riser and I’m a late starter, so we travel together but separately, ending the day in the same…

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Camino Inglés - Betanzos

Stage 2 - Pontedeume to Betanzos, about 20 kilometers

Pontedeume to Betanzos, 20.2 kms Pilgrim Fuel – Café Americano, napolitana de chocolate, and a bonus croissant. The day started right in Pontedeume. I slept in, by pilgrim standards, until 7:30 am. By 8:00 am I strolled out of the Albergue Rio Eume like a man on a mission, looking for breakfast. There was an open bar near the path going out of town and I stopped for the most important meal of…

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Camino Inglés - Pontedeume

Stage 1 of the Camino Inglés, 22+ miles from Ferrol to Pontedeume...

Stage 1 – Ferrol to Pontedeume, 27.9 kms In can you were wondering, I slept like a rock, not stirring until my alarm went off at 7:00 am. I walked out of the Hostal Zahara at 7:30 am, bound for the Ferrol Tourism Office (officially called Oficina Municipal de Turismo y de Atención al Peregrino @ Paseo da Mariña, s/n 15401 Ferrol). This is the starting point for the Camino Inglés and the place…