Pilgrims on the Way

Francine wanted to pose by this sign, as her late father’s name is Franco. The town of Francos is not actually on the Camino, but it’s the center of the civil parish we’re entering. We’ve walked past this sign twice now, and it’s always been defaced in some way. Apparently Franco is not so popular amongst some in Spain. Date: […]

This is the church of Santa María de Ferreiros, which despite the name is not located in the village of Ferreiros, but in the nearby village of Mirallos. Like many churches in Spain, it is surrounded by the parish graveyard, which you can see here with tombs sometimes layered two or three high. Unlike most churches in Spain, however, this […]

Over its long course, the Camino wends its way through many rural landscapes. As we walked past a farmstead near the village of Mirallos, Francine was mobbed by a flock of chickens. I was a little slow to pull out my camera. Though I took several photos, none of them really captured the event properly. Francine and the flock had […]

Tell me brother, have you found the Yellow Sign? Date: 28 April 2013Place: between Ferreiros and Portomarín (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)Today started: Sarria (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)

The stretch of the Camino between Sarria and Portomarin is absolutely beautiful and serene. For many, many pilgrims this is the first part of the Camino they see, and it’s certainly a great introduction. This section of the country is beautiful… particularly if it isn’t raining and overcast. It’s very much like western Washington State that way. Date: 28 April […]

Mere moments after the two happy pilgrims posed at the 100km marker, we came upon the village of Morgade and, perhaps more importantly, a bar. Since it was nearly 1pm, we stopped in for a bite of lunch. It’s my understanding that when the Galician Xunta replaced all of the markers some years later, the 100km marker eventually ended up […]

What you see here is two happy pilgrims! We stand at the famous 100km marker, clearly pleased to have made it this far. This is by far the most vandalized marker on the entire Camino – so much so, that for a while it was removed entirely. At this point, Thom has walked about 700km, and Francine approximately 125km. Date: […]

Here’s Francine on Camino in Galicia! The terrain in this section of the Camino is very up and down, but more undulating than steep. This section of Galicia is a mixture of farm and meadow and forest. The weather was generally cool and sunny, though we had occasional random rain squalls. It was, in short, a great walk. Date: 28 […]

My journal entry for the day simply says, “So many pilgrims now”, but I find that most of my photos contain nobody. It’s half past noon, and here’s a lovely rusting piece that has made the transition from obscure bit of farm equipment to public art, as nature slowly reclaims artifice. Date: 28 April 2013Place: somewhere past Cortiñas (Province of […]

Presumably this marker sat at 104 km from the Cathedral in Santiago. We ran into a number of these old markers in the string of villages after Sarria. Often they were not in or even particularly near to a village. Sadly, most of these charming old markers are now long gone, replaced by shiny new versions with brass plaques telling […]