Pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in Spain
Here goes the last installment of our Camino blog: Following a return to the States on the 25th of July, we stopped by the family cabin in the North Georgia mountains. Here's a shot of the cabin in the woods. Yeah, it's pretty desolate, but what would you like for a time away, right? …
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 …
Grouping these days together as they were kind of two of the same. Since we stayed on the outskirts of Gijon last night, we arrived very early in the morning. Much like San Sebastian, Gijon has a wonderfully inclosed beach in a sort of clamshell shape. High tide covers all of the sand in …
After nearly a week of clouds and rain, the sun came out today! It began with a peaceful walk out of town. This bridge reminded Mikey of many that he had seen last year on the French Camino. More importantly, the blue sky was a welcomed change. Mikey stocked up on water from this …
There is really nothing like going to sleep in a thunderstorm. The even pattering of the rain on the roof and the rolling thunder rumbling in the distance are things Mikey has grown to miss since moving out west. When this is repeated the next morning, however, it is not as enjoyable. You see, …
Just a few observations before we get started: 1) La Isla isn't an island. 2) Mikey almost skipped the walk today. 3) Rain blows - especially when it's blowing. 4) Considering said rain, we don't have a lot of pictures of today. Remember how we opened the windows last night to hear the rain? …
Today was pretty long, but the sights were stunning as usual. Upon leaving Llanes, Mikey noticed that he had not refilled the water bottles - oops. Finding no fountains along the way he really felt like he was up (*something*) Creek. Nope, it was just Poo! Yeah, that's right, there's a town called Poo. …
Mikey slept like a rock - like a rock that didn't wake to any of his 4 vibrating alarms! He was still the first up and out the door - well, except for the older lady in her underwear whom he walked in on while attempting to brush his teeth. Not sure who was more …
Today we said goodbye to the province of Cantabria and began our trek through Asturias. Although the walk was an easy-going 20 miles, Mikey wanted to have the included breakfast at his hotel. As it didn't start until 9am, we left a little later than expected. Aside from being "carb-o-licious," it was just cute! …
Today's hike was all pavement. While that was a bit tough on the feet, the views coming out of Santillana were rather stunning. Also, It rained a bit last night and so the day was overcast and cool. After yesterday's 90+ average, 68*F was so welcomed! These Cantabrians really take pride in dressing up …
Continue reading "Camino Day 12: Santillana del Mar to Comillas "
Today was definitely hard leaving Santander. After hitting snooze way too many times and crawling back under the covers, Mikey put it best by likening getting up with skydiving. I mean, why would you jump out of a perfectly good plane?! Well, the first step is the hardest. Early on, we crossed a bridge that …
Continue reading "Camino Day 11: Santander to Santillana del Mar"
OK, so where do we start? Yesterday was a shorter day in that Mikey hiked a less arduous distance, but took a ferry, checked into his hotel, and met up with the remaining Irish pilgrim from his group for a small bite. Ergo, it was busy! Well, it started raining in the early evening, …
After a peaceful night's rest at Father Ernesto's, Mikey enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of coffee, local fruit from the estate, and fresh-baked bread with homemade jams (also from fruit grown on the property.) We reluctantly bid adiós to the British couple and headed off for an easy day of coastal hiking. Yep, this was …
Today began a bit later as the first ferry to Santoña departed at 9am. Ergo, Mikey had a leisurely breakfast of coffee and stale bread courtesy of out nuns of perpetual prohibition of pleasure. I mean, for 10€, couldn't they have sprung for juice or doughnuts?! Just sayin... Anyways, we had a 5km walk …
We woke up a little late (6:30am), but well rested after a night at Camping Islares. After packing up, we headed out on what would be a mostly inland route. Still, the path led by the beach for just a bit so that we could snap a few parting pictures. Spanish infrastructure can be …
Mikey's decision to hang back in Bilbao for a day of rest now necessitated his skipping ahead a bit in order to rejoin the Irish walking group as they had continued on the Camino. A quick 20 minute bus ride from Bilbao to Castro-Urdiales got him back with the group and he only missed …
Perhaps Thoreau put it best when he wrote, "Things do not change; we change." Today was both a day of rest and a walk down memory lane. (Plaza Moyua, heart of Bilbao) In case you did not know, many years ago, Mikey was an exchange student to the Basque Country and …
GOOD-MORNING, GERNIKA!!! It's 6:30am and Mikey is on a 35km mission today. (OK, that was a bit of channeling Robin Williams, but the Irish-American team has to keep up the pace as we move through the bush today. It rained from 2-6am, so we left around 6:30. The fog stayed with us for most …
Today began much better than the previous. After coffee with a couple of new-found Irish friends, Mikey headed out of town for a brief walk alongside the highway. From the very start, the path was well marked and (most importantly) dry! Still, Mikey stopped to empty and then refill his water bottles with …
According to the Eroski "Northern Camino Guide" (Eroski is like a Basque Super Target), today's trek is one of if not the hardest of the entire Northern Camino. As the blisters and calluses have begun, Mikey took an afternoon nap after the beach yesterday and got up extra early this morning. Oh, and that …
Following a mostly restless night, Mikey was happy to get on the trail this morning. Although early departures have thus far resulted in more free time in the afternoon to explore, he's identified two major drawbacks to this strategy. 1) There are no cafés open at 6am, so this means no morning coffee. 2) It's …
So the day began again at 6am. But, as Mikey was leaving San Sebastián, he passed about a hundred teenagers who were just then stumbling out of the beachside discotheques - oh to be young! This is a view of the "Playa de Concha" or Shell Beach from the west side. Mikey got out …
So, there's that classic "journey of a thousand miles" bit, but Mikey's just doing 500. Still appropriate? Anyways, he got started at 6:03am local time and it was 17*C/63*F. While he almost considered a jacket, the uphill climb left him soaking wet in just short sleeves. But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. On the way …
¡Hola de España! Actually, that's not exactly correct. If you were to ask anyone here in the village of Irún, he would be quick to inform you that this is Euskadi, or the Basque Country. Sure, the Ibérico hams hang from the ceiling ... and an oversized bowl of olives holds pride of place on …
Today was quite an adventure in Paris. While Mikey had planned on visiting the Louvre, he just didn't feel like waiting 1.5 hours to get in. Instead, he settled in at a nice cafe and sipped on what Parisians call a cappuccino. Nice try, but this was bigger than a latte! It was very tasty …
Mikey finally made it to Europe! His direct flight from Atlanta to Paris was rather uneventful with the exception of that rough part when he made what he now surmises was an inappropriate reference to the film Airplane instead of simply declining the fish entree. (Yeah, by now he's probably on an FAA watchlist somewhere out …
Welcome to Mikey's Camino de Santiago blog! As you may know, Mikey is preparing for a 35 day (825km) pilgrimage through the northern coastal region of Spain along the Northern Camino (El Camino del Norte). Following a recent pilgrimage last Spring with his father, Frank, Mikey is going this time alone. Don't worry - there …
Mikey on The Way 