Pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in Spain
Portugal was definitely fun, but we headed via train to Madrid for a last couple of days before returning to the US. Following an overnight train to the Spanish capital, Mikey rested a bit and then went out exploring. Yes, this looks like a photoshopped sticker, but it's an actual sign in …
Packing took a little longer than expected, so Mikey literally had to run through the train station in Porto and jumped onboard with 20 seconds to spare! Surprisingly though, the trip was very pleasant and we flew south at speeds in excess of 220kph/135mph - basically as fast as Mikey ran to the train. …
We said a final goodbye to Santiago and headed to the bus station for the next leg of the post-Camino trip. Last year, Frank and Mikey decided to take a side trip to Porto in the north of Portugal. Mikey really enjoyed the trip, so he planned some extra time to visit the city again …
Since it took a little over a month to get here, Mikey decided to devote a full day to the Cathedral of Saint James. The most famous facade is known as the Puerta de Gloria. Although the Baroque exterior which is being renovated was a later cosmetic addition, the church was built in the …
Continue reading "Coda: The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela "
Housekeeping note: Last year, Mikey used the word "fin" to preface all posts following his and Frank's arrival in Santiago. It was intended to reference the Spanish/Latin word for end. T.S. Eliot aside ("...to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from"), there is still more to come. …
Totally unrelated to the Camino de Santiago, but Mikey has been following the Pamplona’s San Fermin festival rather closely this year. No, he’s not into bullfighting, but this is the first time he has been in Spain during the festival. This screen (like most others right now in Spain) is focused non-stop […]
Having met up with the masses from the French Camino, today was definitely uncertain as to how busy the way might be. Although many left before 6am, Mikey stuck around until 7:30 in hopes of letting the path clear out a bit. We were surprised to meet the Portuguese couple at a cafe right outside …
We bade farewell to the monastery today and headed to the penultimate stop Mikey and Frank made on their pilgrimage last year - Arzua. Although this monastery is only part of the Northern Camino, we would quickly arrive in Arzua where the our route joins up with the French and Primitive Caminos. The …
Continue reading "Camino Day 28: Sobrado dos Monxes to Arzua "
Mikey awoke well rested and ready for the last real uphill part of the Camino. While it would be much less dramatic than previous climbs, today features the highest physical point of the Camino del Norte and a whole lot of wilderness. The part Mikey was not expecting was how close we …
Continue reading "Camino Day 27: Miraz to Sobrado dos Monxes"
The band played on until 4. So, by 8am (the magical hour by which pilgrims must leave), Mikey was slowly trudging out the door. First stop was clearly coffee and orange juice. Now forgive me if we've already spoken about this, but orange juice in Spain is an interesting affair worth mentioning. …
Today was supposed to be a good bit longer of a walk, but it was as Mikey's first day back in shoes. Let's just say, it didn't go quite as expected. We left a little before 8am this morning. Above are the picnic tables where Mikey enjoyed local wine and …
We began our second day of walking in sandals along mostly paved roads. The recent morning fog has been nice since the cool ocean breezes are now behind us. Oh, and there was this wooded area that was still damp from an overnight rain. Yes, Mikey's sandals got wet and his feet …
The guidebook said that today would be hard. The guidebook said that today would be long and uphill. The guidebook said nothing about what to do when the achillies region of Mikey's left foot was so blistered that he would have to make one of the steepest and longest ascents of the Camino in flip-flops. …
The feet hurt. They hurt a lot. Mikey's advice for any of you who think walking a marathon each day would be cool: don't. Second note: no matter how comfy that bed is, get up! Do not linger around and wait until almost 9am before starting said hike. Otherwise, you'll end up sunburned like …
Today was a double day of walking. This is to say, we basically planned on getting up before 6am and walking for two shorter stages before turning in to an albergue. It almost worked out great! 5:45am and Mikey was on the road. He thought it a bit bizarre - almost like …
Today was the real push. What we estimated at about 40km (25 miles) was really just over 45km or 28 miles. As such, Mikey planned on an early 5:30am start, but really didn't begin until 6:30am. Still, with an almost 10 hour estimate, he didn't have much time to waste. Oh, and Mikey is …
Along the Camino, one finds that the larger the city, the more distressing entering and exiting it can be. Urban sprawl is definitely alive and well here, so not much to report until Avilés. This is a town with rich medieval history. Back around the turn of the last millennium, the king of Castile …
Mikey on The Way 