Author: Thom

Hórreos were made primarily to store grain and hay and such. They’re up on stilts to help prevent rats and other critters from getting at the goodies. These particular hórreos aren’t in very good shape, but you can see much better examples in both wood and stone all over rural Galicia. These days, they’re just as likely to be a […]

We slept deeply that night in San Xulián. In my journal, I refer to the previous day as a “death march”. Hyperbole? Sure. But it was certainly one of the more physically difficult days of the Camino. Here our little Camino family pose with the innkeeper before heading out for another day. Left to right: Alicia, the innkeeper, Francine, Rebecca, […]

The village of San Xulián is not large, but its church dates back to the 12th century. Like many village churches in Galicia, it’s surrounded by a graveyard. You might think this a little creepy, to be surrounded by so many graves in such close proximity, but it is oddly peaceful. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: San Xulián (Galicia, Spain) […]

After speed-hiking the last few kilometers, Alicia and I made it to San Xulián in time to reserve four beds and four dinners. For the Albergue in San Xulián is renowned far and wide for its communal pilgrim dinner. And who should we meet there, but Billy! Remember Billy? We hadn’t seen him for hundreds of kilometers, yet here he […]

It was getting late in the afternoon, and we needed to find a place for the night before everything was full. There were four of us traveling together now: Rebecca, Alicia, Francine, and myself. We decided that our faster walkers, Alicia and myself, would power ahead to the village of San Xulián to reserve beds for us all, with Rebecca […]

You can see the history of Spain in this wall. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Leaving Palas de Rei (Galicia, Spain) Maps of the Day:

Often larger towns and cities will have special markers pointing out the Camino. It can be easy to get lost. I’ve always liked this marker in Palas de Rei, and I’ve even considered using it as the template for a Camino tattoo. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Palas de Rei (Galicia, Spain) Maps of the Day:

The eclectic nature of the Iglesia Parroquia de San Tirso de Palas de Rei is perhaps best exemplified by this Marian shrine. What you don’t see, however, is that there are several baskets nearby with a signs in various languages instructing pilgrims to take a slip of paper from inside. Each contains a short passage of scripture. Each time I […]

The interior of the Iglesia Parroquia de San Tirso de Palas de Rei reveals the true extent of the restorations and modernizations suffered by this church. Most of the building dates from the 20th century, though there are various bits and bobs dating all the way back to the original founding in the 12th century. The result is less a […]