This has been hard. How do you put into words what you have experienced and reflect on what it all means. I do need to acknowledge Colleen, my wife. She allowed me to use most of our Summer Break to walk the Camino again. This meant us being apart, that must have been hard at […]

One of the vivid memories I have of the last Camino was the meeting of pilgrim friends in the plaza or streets of Santiago. It was great to bump into Patrick and introduce him to Andrew. I had talked alot about Patrick and his incredible speed! There was Peter from Holland, whom Andrew and I had met just outside Astroga […]

  The phrase "Filgrims" I blame Jes for. A Filgrims is a fake pilgrim, someone who hasn't done the whole Camino. They start in Sarria, just over 100 kms from Santiago ( or 200 kms if traveling by bicycle) so they can receive the certificate or Compostella to show they have walked the Camino - […]

  Today was tough. My shins are really sore so at some points I was shuffling along. It felt like the fronts of my lower legs were gripped tightly in a vice. Ironically going uphill was easiest. In my head I was determined to stop in Portomarin and rest for the day but Andrew and […]

Sitting down for a drink at a bar today, Andrew and I got talking to a middle aged German guy who was biking the Camino. One of us made the comment that he was probably interested in the Euro football match between Germany and Italy. He said that he wasn't a football fan but was […]

Farmacia image from Alamy.com Just like in Korea, Spain has pharmacies on every street corner and in between. For the peregrino, they are a God send. The green cross symbolizes relief ! Today I need to visit a pharmacy on two occasions and both times I was glad I did.  The second visit was to buy […]

  Today we reached one of the focus points on the Camino. On the top of a mountain there is a tall wooden pole with an iron cross on top, hence the name Iron Cross. I don't know how long it has been there - something I will research. The cross was a touching moment in […]

  Today was Andrew's first day of walking. I was a little anxious about how he would go after the two long flights to Europe. The alarm jarred our world at 5:30am and we were out the door and walking by 6am. I needn't have worried. He hit his strides quickly and we soon fell […]

  Andrew arrived this afternoon after a long haul from Auckland via LA, Munich and Madrid. It is great to have him here and experiencing the Camino with me. I know that I will need to make adjustments after 18 days of making decision for myself. It has been important to talk those through. We […]

  The Camino is visualized through the yellow arrows, shell icons and signs that mark the way to go. I have often thought for a pathway that has been used for over 1000 year, you would have thought it would be pretty streamlined - it is not. That is part of the challenge or charm. […]