Author: Thom

The gravel sidewalk continued for some time, only becoming a proper trail again briefly as the Camino diverged from the road, which at the same time merged with the N-547 highway. Unfortunately, after too short a distance, the Camino was about to head back to the highway and become a sidewalk again. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Between Brea and […]

Just past the tiny village of Lestedo, we come to another Galician church surrounded by a graveyard. This is the Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago de Lestedo. I took a brief look around, but unfortunately the church was locked up tight. I think we’re 0 for 3 on this church now, which is too bad. From the outside, at least, this […]

Because sometimes, you just need a group photo. I didn’t take nearly enough of these on any of our Caminos. That’s Alicia and Rebecca on the left, and Francine and I on the right. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Portos (Galicia, Spain) Map of the Day:

Francine is taking no guff from the giant ants of Portos. This place, A Paso de Formiga, is famous all along the Camino. It always reminds me of that 50s monster movie, Them! There are several of these giant ants here, which really gets the place noticed. The food here is great, the proprietor friendly and garrulous, and there’s an […]

After a 19 kilometer “morning”, we finally grabbed a much-needed lunch at “the place with the ants”. We’re barely tucked in to lunch here, and it’s about two o’clock in the afternoon. In the background, you can see one of the giant ants that give this place its peculiar charm. More on them tomorrow. Date: 29 April 2016Place: Portos (Galicia, […]

Ligonde is actually two villages, separated by the better part of a kilometer. The “second half” of the village is properly named Airexe de Ligonde, as this is the bit with the church in it. Even the modern Galician word for “church” is “irexia”, so in this place name you can see a little bit of the word’s evolution. It’s […]

In Ligonde, there’s a lovely little rest spot for pilgrims. We actually had plans to spend the night there in 2018 but thought the better of it and pushed on. Today, however, we’re here about lunch time. We grabbed some fresh water, some fruit, and rested our weary bones. This sign is next to the door, and of course I […]

The sidewalk Camino continued after Ventas de Narón through woodland and scrubland with the occasional pasture full of cows. When the trees were thin enough, in the distance you could see rolling farmland trailing off to the horizon. It was, as the kids say, “super cruisey”, and we made great time. We walked through several tiny farming communities before arriving […]

After Hospital de la Cruz, the Camino crosses a busy highway and takes the form of a sidewalk next to a rural road. This little section is lovely mix of forest, farm, and pasture. This section of Galicia reminds me of early days on the Camino in Navarra. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Between Hospital de la Cruz and Ventas […]