Santiago
We are now in Santiago, the finishing point for many pilgrims. Yesterday we received our certificates of pilgrimage - our Compostela - and today we went to the Pilgrims' Mass at the cathedral. No one had paid for the giant incense ball to be swung (it costs quite a few hundred euros apparently and was originated in the Middle Ages as a way of disguising the tasty odours of well-travelled pilgrims) but we were offered the exquisite singing voice of a nun instead, a very moving
Nearly There
Today we are in Sarria, the starting point for many pilgrims since to get the certificate (the Compostela), you only need to walk 100 km. It is Day 54 and we have walked just under 1160 km so far. After the mostly dry yellow plains between Burgos and Leon, we are now in the wooded mountains of Galicia. It's my favourite bit so far; everything I love. Plus delicious local food, my favourite being Caldo, a rich cabbage soup. We tried another local soup called Callas: chick pea
1000 km
Today we have reached this magic number! We are in Astorga, famous for its cathedral and its chocolate. We might even have a celebratory meal this evening.
Day 45 on the Camino
Today we are in Leon. It's a national holiday here in Spain but luckily Leon cathedral with its beautiful stained glass windows was open this morning. It is day 45, we have walked 950 km and are more than two thirds of the way through our adventure.
The landscape in the last 8 days has been less inspiring than before: we have been walking on a plateau with little variations in terrain. Dry red soil. Some crops. Long stretches of land with little changing except the light. T
Day 36
This 'week' has been slightly shorter and we arrived in the stunning city of Burgos yesterday where we are having our rest day. Today is Day 36 and we have now walked a total of 760km. We are more than half way to our destination of Fisterra, about 100km beyond Santiago, at the edge of the world according to the Spaniards in the Middle Ages. Burgos is the home of El Cid and the most spectacular cathedral I have ever seen - a UNESCO world heritage site. We spent an hour and a
