Molinaseca to Cacabelos It was a chilly start to the day with a cool mountain air and the need for a fleece for most of the morning. The first city to walk through is Ponferrada which has at its heart an impressive old castle and we took time out of our journey to be tourists for an hour or so. Out of the city and along the wide valley floor where there is a 'Sunday afternoon' feel to the towns with pretty much everything closed for the day. This area is surround...

Rabanal to Molinaseca. I awake as a 60 year old which seems weird as I feel exactly the same as when I was 25 backpacking around Australia and New Zealand. Today is a long walk across the mountains including the highest point of the whole Camino. The early morning mountain air soon gives way to another hot sunny day and the climb is gradual and then a steep rise to get to Cruce de Ferro, the peak of the mountain range. Here the tradition is to leave something beh...

Astorga to Rabanal After the 'high' of yesterday's walk from sunrise to sunset, my body aches and I feel physically and emotionally drained. I cannot sleep because of the snoring in a nearby bunk and as I lie awake, I feel the sensation of two or three tears gliding down my cheeks into my ears. At 3.30 this morning, and after walking for four weeks, I do not think I can walk another step and I am exhausted. I have reached my low point on my journey. This Camino f...

Villar de Mazarife to Astorga Today starts my fifth week of walking the Camino and I feel in good shape both physically and mentally. I hope to be arriving in Santiago in a couple of weeks time and in the meantime, am treating each day as a new adventure. Most people who walk the Camino Frances take between five to six weeks. Some pilgrims of faith prefer to walk for 33 days as this represents a day for each year that Christ was alive on earth. For me, the old cl...

Leon to Villar de Mazarife The journey from the noise of a big city to the serenity of a small village by foot on one day is an unusual experience. The first part of the morning was spent walking through the city, then the suburbs, industrial areas and motorway network until finally the smaller villages and wide open spaces. In one small hamlet, a man had set up a stall near the drinking water fountain offering fresh orange juice, nuts and other foodstuffs. Payme...