Author: Thom

It’s not quite highway walking on the Camino from Triacastela to Samos, but most of it is definitely right next to the highway. Not my favourite, but definitely better than being on the highway itself. Still, a beautiful day for a walk through some stunning terrain, which includes some cliffs most likely created when they built the highway. Today will […]

This pilgrim monument was erected in 1965. Like many of the pieces of public art on the Camino, it depicts Santiago, though it gives prominence to the Cross of Saint James or Cruz de Santiago. This town of Triacastela is a point of decision in the Camino: to press on to Sarria, or to take the alternate route to the […]

We stopped for lunch in a place called Parrillada Xacobeo, which in Galician means something like “James’s Grill”. This is a pretty typical Camino lunch, possibly even too much food for mid-day: salad, chips, bread, and a random protein, washed down with beer, vino tinto, orange juice, or soda at your discretion. Date: 26 April 2013Place: Triacastela (Province of Lugo, […]

Sadly, there aren’t three castles in Triacastela. Oh, there used to be, but in AD 968 Norman raiders made it this far up the Río Oribio and put an end to that. More than a thousand years later, the town somehow retains their memory in its name. Unlike the Vikings, we on the other hand were just looking for someplace […]

No, I have no idea what they’re photographing, but here are Francine and Eamon both being fascinated by … something. Date: 26 April 2013Place: As Pasantes, probably (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)Today started: Fonfría (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)

Although I’m not completely certain, I believe this magnificent old tree – possibly an Ent – is in the village of As Pasantes. It’s difficult to know for sure, since this decentralized village stretches for almost a kilometer along the Camino, and there’s little to indicate where it begins or ends. I do know that we took another photo at […]

Although I’ve said it before, it’s worth repeating: cows have right of way in Galicia. Through much of this region, the Camino follows local roads and paths often used for herding cattle from their barns to the fields for grazing. They are large and apparently unaware of where their bodies end and the outside world begins, so be careful out […]

After a slight break for a little vacation involving hockey and bookstores, we’re back! We took our second breakfast at the café of the Albergue Filloval with Anya, when who should we see walking around the corner but Eamon! I started walking with him waaay back on my first day on Camino, but we hadn’t seen him after our short-cut […]

All along the Camino in Galicia, you will see these tiny waterfalls – springs, really. The air is alive with the sound of splashing and trickling as you walk. The ground here is absolutely saturated because, as the saying goes, “the rain in Spain falls mainly in Galicia”. Date: 26 April 2013Place: between Biduedo and Filloval (Province of Lugo, Galicia, […]