Rest days – Somewhere Slowly

CF21 Day 26 – Santiago

22/10/2021

What do you do when you wake up in Santiago and have nothing to do, nowhere to go, and can’t seem to get back to sleep after waking up at pilgrim o’clock? Well, if you’re staying in the Pinario, you can go down to the Obradoiro square just to see dawn changing the colour of … More CF21 Day 26 – Santiago

CF21 Day 10 – Rest day in León

13/09/2021

So what do you do on a rest day in León? Answers are many – sightseeing, visiting the cathedral, taking a historical tour, going to the museums like Casa Botines, planning your route forward, meeting other pilgrims… Or you can follow my rather boring lead and do lots of laundry and invent clever ways of … More CF21 Day 10 – Rest day in León

Burgos – day 0

31/08/2021

Yesterday I woke up at an airport hotel and took a prebooked taxi to the airport to make sure I wouldn’t miss my flight to Madrid with all the extra checks, controls, codes etc. I even paid for fast-track through security, which I think most of the passengers had done… So I got there hours … More Burgos – day 0

A cold O Cebreiro by night

01/09/2020

(From our winter camino, late February to early March 2020) Another lovely day, and a tentatively better ankle! We decided to forego the breakfast in the busy motel café and hoped there would be an open bar in Ambasmestas or Vega de Valcarce. If nothing else, the local shop would have some food and drink … More A cold O Cebreiro by night

Sightseeing in Villafranca

30/08/2020

(From our winter camino, late February to early March 2020) Oh, the bed was lovely and the day outside was so, so grey and miserable. The ankle was no better, and we were now bandaging it and the Scouse Spouse was taking anti-inflammatory painkillers. Sad, but it is what it is. There would be no … More Sightseeing in Villafranca

Visiting Molinaseca and Ponferrada

29/08/2020

(From our winter camino, late February to early March 2020) After the difficult descent the day before, the Scouse Spouse’s ankle wasn’t feeling right. We reluctantly decided to forego the beautiful but very tricky way down to Molinaseca … shame, since it is one of my favourite parts of the trail. However, we were there … More Visiting Molinaseca and Ponferrada

The Escapist

20/06/2020

My September camino is on hold. My recent May one was done virtually. The 2021 Holy Year might go either way – boom or bust – and nobody knows when the camino as we know it will get back to normal, if it ever does. Chances are albergues will have to rethink, reorganise, refurbish and/or … More The Escapist

A fond farewell to Burgos

28/11/2019

I had two things to do in Burgos this time: Visit the Museo de Evolucion Humana, to see the finds from the archaeology digs in nearby Atapuerca, which we walked past the day before, and go inside the cathedral to sightsee again. I met up with my new best buddy, the Swiss lady, who also … More A fond farewell to Burgos

CF Day 19 – León to San Miguel

18/02/2019

Rest day! Yay! We slept in, then went for a small wander and had a late, lazy breakfast in the sunshine at our local León square. Then we browsed our guidebooks and itinerary plan. And … discovered we had a problem. When we planned the walk, the idea was to get a local bus past … More CF Day 19 – León to San Miguel

CF Day 17 – Sahagún to Reliegos

15/02/2019

But it wasn’t over. It seemed the camino flu had rested too, and now it returned with a vengeance! I woke up in a cold sweat at stupid early in the morning, with a blistering headache and a dreadful feeling that something was seriously wrong. I tried to drink water but couldn’t hold it down, … More CF Day 17 – Sahagún to Reliegos