Much of Galicia was constantly wet and misty and overcast
The nights are cold and damp in Foncebadón
Las flechas (the arrows) point the way
Windmills are everywhere across Northern Spain — Don Quixote would have a field day
Countless walking sticks, abandoned at the end of the Camino
Inside Santiago de Compostela Cathedral
The long and winding road to Finisterre
The road goes as far as you’re willing to follow it
Camino de Santiago
18 Oct 2014 — 24 Nov 2014
Talk about diving in the deep end. Prior to taking on the 500-mile trek across Northern Spain (plus 100 more to the coast), I hadn’t done more than weekend hikes and the occasional camping overnighter. Certainly not a 5-week pilgrimage.
And while hiking across mountains and plains and heat and cold and rain and fog and so many blisters isn’t the easiest introduction to backpacking, I couldn’t imagine one better. For all the aches and pains, there were also fast friendships and once-in-a-liftetime experiences.
You never forget your first, and I’ll never lose the memory of those five amazing weeks.
