Pilgrims on the Way

In the village of Biduedo (or Viduedo, depending on who you ask), the locals have found a solid use for their old, obsolete farm equipment. Here, they’ve built a fence of it, but there are other places in the village where they’ve set them up as monuments. Date: 26 April 2013Place: Biduedo (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)Today started: Fonfría (Province […]

No, I can’t properly explain why I find old rusty farm equipment sitting outside to be so photogenic. There’s just something that appeals to the romantic in me, I suppose. Like the bones of some dinosaur embedded in a cliff face, they are reminders of a world gone but now freshly remembered in its remains. Date: 26 April 2013Place: between […]

As we started walking that morning, the mists of Galicia closed in around us. There’s something both mysterious and intimate in those mists that I find difficult to explain, but once you’ve walked there, you will understand. Date: 26 April 2013Place: Fonfría (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)Today started: Fonfría (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)

The next morning, we asked the hospitalero to take a photo of our little Camino family. From left to right: me, Iain, Francine, Bob, and Anja. There’s a fork in the road coming up, and while some of us are heading directly to Sarria, some of us are instead taking the alternative route to the ancient Benedictine abbey of Samos. […]

After dinner, we all sort of collapsed. Well, not all of us. Iain and a Japanese fellow named Su took turns playing the albergue’s guitar and singing. It was a splendid evening, even if we were exhausted! Francine, Anja, Bob, and I watched and listened. There was hardly any snoozing. Date: 25 April 2013Place: Fonfría (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)Today […]

If you stay at the albergue in Fonfría, dinner is down the hill at this amazing place. The food was outstanding, as was the company. More on that next week! Date: 25 April 2013Place: Fonfría (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)Today started: Vega de Valcarce (Region of El Bierzo, Province of León, Castilla y León, Spain)

This particular stretch of the Camino is a gently undulating terrain, but just a little further on there’s a bit called Alto do Poio, which I think might translate into something like “lousy hill”. This was a crazy bit of hill, so steep and full of boulders that at some points I was on all fours scrambling up the slope. […]

While much of Galicia is forested, quite a bit is given over to pastureland and farms as well. This should give you a pretty good idea of what much of this looks like from the Camino. Date: 25 April 2013Place: between Hospital da Condesa and Padornelo (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)Today started: Vega de Valcarce (Region of El Bierzo, Province […]