Santiago de Compostela One of the magical experiences of the Camino is the Pilgrims mass held every day at 12noon in the magnificent Cathedral. We took our places especially reserved for peregrinos an hour before the start and were rewarded with a great view. Today the botafumeiro was used - that's the huge incense burner which is swung high up into the Cathedral and provides a spectacular experience. A great way to formally end this Camino. Every Camino is di...

A Picarana to Santiago de Compostela At 1.45 this afternoon, I walked into the square in front of Santiago's historic Cathedral at the end of my Camino. I shed a few tears. The little group which had formed yesterday continued on the final 16 kilometres into Santiago, where all the Caminos have ended for centuries. We met up again with Ron and Blanca from Calgary for the final 5kms, which was perfect symmetry as we had met them on day one out of Lisbon in the ...

Caldas de Reis to A Picarana Nearly there! A lovely full days walking in the company of Steve and Mary, two Kiwis and Rosalee from the same town in Oregon as Margita. Its amazing how time flies when you have lots of new conversations, the scenery of the hills is superb and the surface is woodland and country roads. After pushing on beyond Padron, where many stop overnight, we found our first option thwarted by hotels being closed but eventually found a little ...

Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis It was still dark at 8.30 this morning as we searched the town for a morning breakfast. On this journey so far I have felt very strong mentally and physically but this morning I had an emotional wobble. It's probably because this Camino is coming to an end, as is, more generally my amazing gap year and in a week or so I need to make some big decisions back in the 'real world'. The Camino does this to you. I turned to my music and ...

Redondola to Pontevedra Another lovely day. The sun has shone all day and walking through the forests has been delightful. There are many more pilgrims now especially from Spain as you qualify for a Compostela from Valenca/Tui. There are more younger folk too a s you can fit in this 'mini Camino' into a weeks holiday. Lunch was by the estuary at Arcade which was a very enjoyable hour or so watching people walk on by. The afternoon contained a 4.5kms walk alo...