Pilgrims on the Way

This statue is found in the “Catskills” area just before Palas de Rei. This is how I imagine my Guardian Angel looks most of the time. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Approaching Palas de Rei (Galicia, Spain) Maps of the Day:

As you approach the large town of Palas de Rei, you pass through a long series of hostels and holiday camps. It’s like the Spanish version of the Catskills. This might be why this is generally considered a stopping place on the Camino for pilgrims. Unfortunately, this area is quite a way from the urban center, and in a town […]

The gravel sidewalk continued for some time, only becoming a proper trail again briefly as the Camino diverged from the road, which at the same time merged with the N-547 highway. Unfortunately, after too short a distance, the Camino was about to head back to the highway and become a sidewalk again. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Between Brea and […]

Just past the tiny village of Lestedo, we come to another Galician church surrounded by a graveyard. This is the Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago de Lestedo. I took a brief look around, but unfortunately the church was locked up tight. I think we’re 0 for 3 on this church now, which is too bad. From the outside, at least, this […]

Because sometimes, you just need a group photo. I didn’t take nearly enough of these on any of our Caminos. That’s Alicia and Rebecca on the left, and Francine and I on the right. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Portos (Galicia, Spain) Map of the Day:

Francine is taking no guff from the giant ants of Portos. This place, A Paso de Formiga, is famous all along the Camino. It always reminds me of that 50s monster movie, Them! There are several of these giant ants here, which really gets the place noticed. The food here is great, the proprietor friendly and garrulous, and there’s an […]

After a 19 kilometer “morning”, we finally grabbed a much-needed lunch at “the place with the ants”. We’re barely tucked in to lunch here, and it’s about two o’clock in the afternoon. In the background, you can see one of the giant ants that give this place its peculiar charm. More on them tomorrow. Date: 29 April 2016Place: Portos (Galicia, […]

Ligonde is actually two villages, separated by the better part of a kilometer. The “second half” of the village is properly named Airexe de Ligonde, as this is the bit with the church in it. Even the modern Galician word for “church” is “irexia”, so in this place name you can see a little bit of the word’s evolution. It’s […]

In Ligonde, there’s a lovely little rest spot for pilgrims. We actually had plans to spend the night there in 2018 but thought the better of it and pushed on. Today, however, we’re here about lunch time. We grabbed some fresh water, some fruit, and rested our weary bones. This sign is next to the door, and of course I […]

The sidewalk Camino continued after Ventas de Narón through woodland and scrubland with the occasional pasture full of cows. When the trees were thin enough, in the distance you could see rolling farmland trailing off to the horizon. It was, as the kids say, “super cruisey”, and we made great time. We walked through several tiny farming communities before arriving […]