Negreira to Santa Marinas That great philosopher Dolly Parton once said, "If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain" and so it proved today. For a glorious few minutes, the sun appeared amidst blue skies and my mood lifted when I saw a wonderful rainbow. When it rains in Galicia, it really rains. This morning a huge thunder and lightning display around Negreira delayed our departure and we decided to do this next section over two days instead of one...

Santiago de Compostela to Negreira After a pleasant rest day and sadly saying farewell to Alan and Sherry and to Jim and Dave who have all been great companions, it is time to join the Camino again. This morning before setting off, I bumped into a 12 year old English boy who had just walked the Camino with his Mum -unbelievable! The final leg of my journey across Spain is 90 kms and is certainly not a stroll as there are some steep gradients and hilly sections to...

Santiago Today is my daughter Livy's birthday. Despite not being able to speak through FaceTime, there were big smiles from us both and sometimes that conveys all you need to know. Jon, Alex and Livy have all sent me texts which mean a great deal to me. After collecting my special 800 year anniversary Compostela from the San Fransiscan church, it was time for the pilgrims mass at noon. It was a beautiful and moving ceremony with the announcement of the nationalit...

I am so happy to have arrived at the end of my Camino Frances journey in Santiago de Compostela. Another 20km day in heavy rain showers and sunny spells lead me to where all the Camino routes have converged for centuries. There is no welcoming ceremony or fanfare, just the realisation that there are no more yellow arrows or scallops shells to follow (well, for 24 hours at least!). This is the end of my epic 500 mile journey on foot from St Jean Pied de Port to Sa...

Rabadiso to O'Pedrouzo Tomorrow I will walk into Santiago de Compostela. I will have taken over one million steps and after five and a half weeks on this journey, I will reach the end of my 'pilgrimage'. At this point, I want to give special thanks to my lovely physiotherapist Caroline back in my local Colchester hospital. When I saw her in the summer with my dodgy right ankle, she gave me a series of exercises to do and provided special insoles to support my arc...