Pilgrims on the Way

Here our faithful pilgrims Francine and Rebecca sit at an outdoor café, awaiting their tardy afternoon lunch. It feels good to sit a rest a bit. We were fairly exhausted at this point, but we were also determined that we were not going to spend the night in Sarria with thousands of other pilgrims. Date: 27 April 2016 Place: Sarria […]

This statue of King Alfonso IX of León and Galicia is one of my favourites on the Camino. It’s just off the Rúa Major in Sarria. While it’s not a particularly realistic image, it certainly conveys something of the stubborn and tragic character of the man, who was the last independent king of León. Date: 27 April 2016 Place: Sarria […]

Just past the steps and the church of Santa Mariña, Sarria’s Rúa Major is crowded with pilgrim amenities: shops, bars, albergues. Many of these are indicated by these beautiful carved wooden signs. This one is for an albergue. There’s a bonus photo below of the street itself, where you can see several more of the signs, as well as Rebecca […]

Seen here from near the bottom and also near the top, these steps are instantly remembered by any pilgrim walking through the town. After a long day’s hike, they are a terror to climb. Whether they are as infamous to those starting here, I’ve no idea. There’s a bar right at the top of the steps, and you can believe […]

Vigo is the last little village in the string before you get to the large town of Sarria. You can see Sarria in the distance in this photo, and the contrast between the foreground and background is striking. At 111 km (officially), Sarria is the major town closest to the minimum distance of 100 km required for the pilgrimage. Needless […]

As we passed through the strings of hamlets and villages, we peeked into each place’s little church in turn. This one, probably in San Pedro do Camiño, is typical: a small stone structure, whitewashed on the outside and the inside, with rustic furniture and sacred art. I found them utterly charming. Date: 27 April 2016 Place: San Pedro do Camiño? […]

Francine refers to these sorts of trails as “goat paths”, particularly when there’s some sort of slope involved. Not a terrible slope here, but certainly slippery when wet! Fortunately, unlike the flooded Meseta, we had a relatively dry time in Galicia this year. This is also a pretty serious example of a holloway. Date: 27 April 2016 Place: Montán (Galicia, […]

This one speaks for itself. Date: 27 April 2016 Place: San Xil (Galicia, Spain) Today’s Map:

This is the tiny village of Balsa. It illustrates something worth discussing about this last part of the Camino in Galicia. Stretches of the Camino here are a sting of these tiny hamlets, one after the other, sometimes so close to each other it’s difficult to tell where one ends and the next begins. Many don’t have any signage, since […]