Pilgrims on the Way

A little more graffiti, this time on the side of a viaduct. A reminder of why I do this at all. Compare and contrast with this version. Date: 18 April 2013Place: between Reliegos and Mansilla de las Mulas (Province of León, Castilla y León, Spain)Today started: Bercianos del Real Camino (Province of León, Castilla y León, Spain)

In addition to the plentiful public art on the Camino, there’s also an amazing amount of memorable graffiti. As Christmas approaches, I thought I’d share this one from just beyond Reliegos. I took this photo about 45 minutes after the one I posted yesterday. Merry Christmas, all! The Camino Photo of the Day will return after the holiday. Date: 18 […]

In the village of Reliegos, we find this wonderful statue. Is it meant to represent Santiago? Or is it an image of a medieval pilgrim? The clue might be found in the Santiago Cross on the back of the statue… or perhaps not. I know I’ve said it before – and I’ll no doubt say it many times more – […]

When we arrived in the little village of Reliegos, I took this photo because I thought the in-town bodega was kind of neat. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was actually recording a pretty fair representation of the weather and temperature as well. Hot. And. Sunny. It’s about a quarter after one in the afternoon. Date: […]

We saw numerous stands of trees like this: all arranged in rows and grids. They exist all along the Camino, from Navarra right through into Galicia. I can only presume that they are tree farms, though this one here out on the Meseta is perhaps not in the most expected place. Date: 18 April 2013Place: between El Burgo Raneros and […]

I just love these picnic areas on the Meseta. Of course, in 2016, many of them were underwater from the flooding! Now, I’m not the fastest walker, and often on Camino I fell behind my companions. But for some reason, on this particular day I was on fire. I blew past these picnic areas, often where many pilgrims were resting […]

A string of these monuments runs along the Camino between El Burgo Raneros and Reliegos. While some have been defaced or are covered in graffiti, most of them have become repositories of small stones, piled up by passing pilgrims. The cross, of course, is the Cross of Santiago, and they also feature the shell symbol. Date: 18 April 2013Place: between […]

Spotted this sign as we were leaving the village following our second breakfast. Mansilla de Las Mulas is our destination for the day. What does it say that this seems so close? It’s about 10 AM, and we would arrive just before 4:30. Date: 18 April 2013Place: El Burgo Raneros (Province of León, Castilla y León, Spain)Today started: Bercianos del […]

We had a visitor for our second breakfast in El Burgo Raneros at the Cafetería El Camino. She was quite insistent that we give her at least a nibble of our tortilla. I imagine she’s quite familiar to the locals, as she seemed to have the run of the outdoor café tables. Date: 18 April 2013Place: El Burgo Raneros (Province […]

We came in search of breakfast. Well, second breakfast at any rate. El Burgo Raneros is a cozy little village, with a population of about 800. The road surface goes from gravel to cobbles and back again, the houses are packed tightly together, and we arrived at about 9:30 in the morning. Date: 18 April 2013Place: entering El Burgo Raneros […]