Camino de Santiago Blog

The Camino de Santiago is one long, incredible journey. Having a packing list that only includes the essentials will make your journey easier. It’s likely …

Packing List for the Camino Read More »

The Camino forum was an amazing resource for me when researching the Camino de Santiago. I did the full Camino Frances as well as the Camino del Norte in 2013 with my guitar. In May of 2014, I did 4 days of the Camino de Madrid to Segovia and I’ll be doing the Camino Primitivo route this July.

Love was the last thing I expected to find on the Camino de Santiago. But I did and twelve years later our son is nearly three years old. Therefore I thought this would be a good time for this post.
I set out expecting a journey with few people, and I expected those few to be a bit odd, or older religious types – well it was a pilgrimage, not your usual holiday. Expectations are interesting phenomena, I don’t know about you, but my expectations of future events are usually completely wrong.

I wonder if there if something that for many of us we do not get from our daily life.  I have met and talked to many people who have walked the Camino Frances more than once.  Walking the Camino Frances is a fairly big commitment in the way of time and money.

I got thinking on this yesterday while out hill walking in the Wicklow Hills.  I notice a Santiago de Compostela badge attached to one of the walkers back packs.  I asked, as I have a tendency to do.

There is nothing better on a rainy Sunday afternoon than to pull out one of my Camino movies and enjoy the flood of memories.

Beautiful and unique gifts for pilgrims-to-be and memorabilia for pilgrims already finished with the Camino.

Buying presents can be hard especially for pilgrims. Many peregrinos while walking realise that they need very little in life. They live off a backpack for several weeks and stick to a routine of the Camino — wake up, eat, walk, sleep.

Thus material things are no longer as important as before.

I reflected in a previous story, that the Camino is a place where the magic happens, something I have not experienced anywhere else, there is a strange ‘need’ to return that I cannot explain, a longing for something…

You have to be fairly motivated to walk the Camino de Santiago from St Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in North West Spain – as it is 800km.  Usually 800km with your rucksack on your back containing everything you need for a month.  Sleeping in hostels with strangers, communal showers, and no privacy.

The main Albergue in Puente la Reina is at the start of the town on the left-hand side, the Camino passes the front door. There …

Puente la Reina Read More »

After a couple Camino’s and seeing dozens of pilgrims having a hard time with the Camino Blues, I think it is worth a writing an article about.  I am certainly no professional, but someone who has experienced the transition back to “The Real World” after the Camino twice.

‘Many people avoid the Meseta, catching the bus from Burgos to Leon’, I heard on my first day on the Camino de Santiago. I was shocked. I thought most people were keen to walk the full route, either in stages or as a single pilgrimage. Whilst setting out to walk and enjoy the whole 800km, the Meseta was the section I was looking forward to with anticipation. I became curious as to what my experience would be.

If you lack the inspiration to start walking or hiking, these inspirational walking quotes will get you from the couch and motivate you to be active.

Portomarin developed along both sides of the River Mino, the town was of strategic importance and always garrisoned first by the Order of Santiago, then …

Portomarin Read More »

There are so many things that are great about the Camino de Santiago makes it difficult to reduce to my list of the top ten things to do and see.

Ponferrada became a city in 1908 with a population of only 3,000 at that time. Today the population has grown to over 67,000 making it …

Ponferrada Read More »

People who’ve already walked the Camino de Santiago know that there’s one thing that should absolutely not be missed — the Cruz de Ferro. Also known as the Iron Cross, it is set on a gently sloping hill that also happens to be the highest point of the French Way.

The views offered from up top are incredible indeed, and the legends behind it are enough to spark the imagination of any history buff who’s looking for their next adventure. But most of all, the respectful peace of this spot is spiritually uplifting even for the non-religious, and travelers who long to see something unique that reflects much of the Camino spirit should definitely make a stop here.

The main Albergue in Estella is on the left just as you enter the old town. It is welcoming and has good facilities, however, it …

Estella and the Irache Wine Fountain Read More »

For me leaving Roncesvalles is a dream as the route is mostly downhill a welcome change after yesterday. 300 meters after Roncesvalles you will come …

Day 2 Roncesvalles to Larrasoana 27.4km, about 7 hours Read More »

The “Napoleon Way” from St. Jean was closed due to deep snow accumulation and continued snowing, so initially, we had to take the path that followed along the road all the way to Roncesvalles.

Belorado with a population of just over 2,000 was a welcome resting place for me in 2004. I only walked 12km this day and rested …

Belorado Read More »

There is a tourist office at 16 Calle Masones, they can provide a town map and a city map for Leon. Mansilla was a Roman …

Mansilla de las Mulas Read More »

Carrion was first settled by the Romans and was known as Lacobriga. Later the Visogoths held the city, their existence is evidenced by the tombs …

Carrion de los Condes Read More »

I first heard about the Camino de Santiago from a friend whom I went on a yearly trek with. We had climbed the peaks Mt. Chirropo in Costa Rica, went to the depths of the earth together to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and hiked the ancient Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.

This is a transcript of a talk I was asked to give at an information session on walking the Camino, presented in September 2016 and sponsored by the Albuquerque, New Mexico Chapter of The American Friends of the Camino.

I first walked the Camino de Santiago in 2004 on the Camino Frances route. 

I asked for book suggestions a few weeks back on the Camino Facebook page and on the weekly newsletter and The Way, My Way by Bill Bennett was suggested in both, so I bought it and read.

After the ravine known as “Barranco Mataburros” – the mule killer, you reach the plain where Viana can be seen in front of you. Viana …

Viana Read More »

Charlemagne was King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor. Born in 742 AD, he was a medieval king renowned for his accomplishments and charisma. For forty-seven years, King Charlemagne ruled most of western and central Europe.

Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Spain’s northwesternmost region called Galicia (as well as of the province of La Coruña), is among the most important …

Santiago de Compostela Read More »

I have been thinking, dreaming, and planning for this for nearly 20 years. I first read about the pilgrimage to Santiago Compostela in a 14th century biography, The Book of Margery Kempe. Margery, a quirky English mystic, took several pilgrimages over the years, including Rome, and Jerusalem. The medieval and ancient concept of pilgrimage fascinated me.

If you can afford and plan to use hotel accommodation, restaurant meals, and luggage carried then this route report is not for you. In our five Caminos between 2006 and 2015, we stayed in albergues, cooked our own or shared meals and carried our own backpacks. Our last Camino we were 72 and 77 years old and it took us 44 days of walking compared with between 30 and 33 days earlier.

The earliest references to El Burgo Ranero is from 1126, there are a few interpretations of the town’s name: one is the town of frogs, …

El Burgo Ranero Read More »

For most people walking the Camino de Santiago means a month walking across northern Spain covering about 800 km, (500 miles). So it is not surprising that most of us plan on a few rest days along the Camino.

Below are some of the towns and villages that I suggest are good places to stop for a day and be a tourist instead of a pilgrim.

It is my belief that the Camino always has something to teach us, whether subtle or profound. Those effects may be conscious throughout your journey, …

How the Magic of the Camino de Santiago Changed Me Read More »

When planning the Camino, we are often faced with a choice of going for it alone or as a part of a group.

The main costs for any of the Camino de Santiago routes are your daily budget on the Camino and getting to and from your start and finish points.

Yes, what about food? A question that had not occurred to me before going to Spain and France to start my first Camino.

My typical day on the Camino de Santiago started about 6am. I was a mature student before hiking the on the Camino de Santiago for the first time; at that time I would have been doing well if I was awake before 9am, (I had got into student life and loved it). So six in the morning was initially shocking, however, I easily got used to the early morning.

I think I am a terrible example of getting fit before walking the Camino de Santiago.  I walked only once for about 3 hours, with a rucksack, to see how I would be walking before going to Spain.  I did have some hill walking experience, though not a lot.  I would have walked in the Wicklow hills about twice per month in the two years previous to my first Camino, that was it in total.