Here is a Camino moment – one of those special encounters I had on the Camino. When I reached Santiago, I toured the Cathedral and was amazed by the carvings on the Portico of Glory – carved by Medieval French sculptor Master Matteo in the 11th century. The Portico of Glory …
I had heard rumours of a so-called secret pilgrim, or hidden pilgrim, from the concierge at our hotel in Santiago. It was all a bit cryptic, so I decided to find out more. But first, it was time to visit the museum and tour the cathedral – including hugging the Saint. …
Finisterre We felt that our Camino would not be quite complete without a visit to Kilometre Zero at Finisterre, and a side visit to Muxia. Finisterre is reputedly the place at which the boat carrying St James’ body landed on the coast of Spain, and the place where the local …
We were looking forward to seeing the famous Botafumeiro, but we wanted to make sure we had our Compostelas, or certificates of completion. So first thing, we headed down to the Pilgrim Office to receive our Compostela – the certificate we receive to mark the conclusion of our pilgrimage. There …
Pedrouzo was shrouded in mist as we set off to reach Santiago de Compostela. Day 41 of our Camino, and it’s All Saints Day. Some time ago we wondered if we could reach Santiago by this date, knowing that it would definitely be a day on which the famous Botafumiero …
On this, our penultimate day on the Camino before reaching Santiago, we are heading for Pedrouzo on a short stage before our final push to our destination. We left town amidst a large group of Belgian school students who were walking from Sarria. One young student spoke with us for part …
It was the end of daylight saving, and we awoke to find Dawn almost upon us – an hour earlier than we had expected. So we breakfasted quickly and headed out of town, realising that the kilometres were rapidly counting down. Arzua beckoned. We headed out into majestic woodlands, then …
We left Palas de Rei early, en route to Melide, and we found a cafe open for breakfast. As we left Palas de Rei we passed a pilgrim statue and an ancient cross – we are clearly on the Way as marked out centuries ago. Each farm-house we passed had …
Up early, we walked with our headlights on – or rather Sharon did – my headlamp was no longer functioning. On to Palas De Rei (Royal Palace). The moon gave a wan thin smile as the Way climbed yet another Alto, or mountain. The air was crisp and cool and the first …
