• Travels with my Cuz
Apr – May 2025

Camino 2025

Going solo this time. 600 km from Pamplona to Finisterre, Spain Apr 2 to May 4 Read more
  • Trip start
    April 2, 2025

    Day 0 Pamplona

    April 2 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    After a plane, bus, train and a short walk I arrived in Pamplona. Met a friendly couple from Calgary at the albergue and after a few tapas and a vino tinto it's an early night for me.

  • Day 1 Puente la Reina

    April 3 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Well it was supposed to be a 24km day that turned into 30...still not sure what happened but I guess I got thrown into the water on day 1, sink or swim.
    After the up and down of Alto de Perdon I took an alternate route (didn't realize it was 6km more) to that odd 8 sided church. Sadly it was locked but still worth it. After that, the route took me on muddy cattle paths. Of course my pants are muddy to the knees, ah well I really did enjoy my day. Finally checked in at 4pm. Lots of washing and resting to do.Read more

  • Day 2 Estella

    April 4 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    The day started with a nice climb in the rain but then it stopped and had a nice 24km walk to Estella. Mostly French nationals today on the path with nice conversations all mentioning my nice Quebecois accent 🤣Read more

  • Day 3 Torres del Rio

    April 5 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    A 30km day (as planned) and I am feeling the burn 🔥 Seems the sunshine brought out everyone, even some Americans. Nice to have people not refer to me as Celine Dion (jerks).
    I don't know where everyone was but so far the albergues are not full. Night 1 I had a 4 bed dorm to myself and yesterday again I was the only one at the monastery, we'll see tonight, so far at 4pm the 10 bed dorm has only moi🤔. Tomorrow's an easy day, only 20km (I hope).
    Stephen today I walked the forest path that we met up with Linda and that lawyer guy. It was beautiful but still a tough walk.
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  • Day 4 Logrono

    April 6 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Got in to Logrono at 12:30 after 20km but the albergue only opens at 2pm😏. Going to see if I can leave my pack and find out what all the drumming in town is about. Ok so they're celebrating the last Sunday of lent before Holy Week begins. I don't know what they're carrying, seems to be a stage.
    Last night there was a wonderful communal meal where everyone got to know each other and the wine was flowing. Glad it was a short walk today, to Viana it was nice in the vineyards and olive trees but then to Logrono, what a slog...mostly cobble and asphalt paths...glad I'm here. There was talk of us getting together for a Tapas run tonight, supposed to be 60 booths set up. Let see if that happens, it's Sunday and we're in Spain.🤔
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  • Day 5 Najera

    April 7 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    So the Tapas Run is every night 60 specialized Tapas shops open for everyone to enjoy. It's 2 blocks and packed.
    A 29km day took me 7 hours. Pretty quick because I had a great conversation with a New Zealander and we didn't even stop for long, just kept japping all the way to Najera. Poor guy arrived in Barcelona after 34 hrs of flying, the hotel was still closed so he went to Starbucks, started a conversation with a guy on the left while his backpack was being stolen on the right. Poor guy😒
    All in all it was a beautiful day😊
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  • Day 6 Santo Domingo de la Calzada

    April 8 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    An easy 22km day. Met up with Winston and Angela who are continuing a bit further. Maybe the last time I see them but that's the Camino. You meet people for awhile then they're gone😏. There are so many people walking now, I'm always trying to find my quiet spot away from the crowd. Tried again this year to visit the chicken church but again it's s closed. Santo Domingo is a really nice old town but everything is always closed (at least I was able to get supper)Read more

  • Day 7 Espinosa del Camino

    April 9 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    After a 31km day I am staying with the local German cat lady. I think there are 10-15 cats running around and she's following me around with a cleaning cloth. I hope she's just the cat lady and not the crazy cat lady🤣🤣.
    Today, as last year, is my least favorite walk. Road construction, path by the highway with lots of big trucks, very little shade BUT there were way less people. Maybe I left too.late yesterday at 7:30, today I left today at 7am. Well the cat lady is making me supper, hope it's appetizing.
    Shorter day tomorrow then Friday I walk to the Burgos train station. Time is flying..
    Oh I forgot, hope you didn't get all that snow?, here it's day 2 in shorts😎
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  • Day 8 Atapuerca

    April 10 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    So this village is where the oldest human remains have been found. There is still a dig going on and we visited the exposition that displays everything last year in Burgos.
    Today was a 22km day where the morning had lots of ups and downs, the afternoon easy flat.
    The cat lady, Sandrine, turned out to be very nice. When I opened the door to leave this morning 5 cats ran into the house
    ..ah well tat tat😹😹
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  • Day 9 Burgos/Leon

    April 11 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Short 17km walk to the train station. No earlier trains so had to wait 4 hrs at the station but it's all good. An hour and a half train ride and boom💥 I just gained 7 days. Not bad for 15e and 250km/h. Just got to the hostel right downtown and close to the cathedral. Pleasantly surprised it's so nice. Well I'm off for a walk and food. It's 7pm so time flies.Read more

  • Day 10 Villar de Mazarife

    April 12 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    A 22km drizzley day so still needed to wear the poncho. I took a different route from last year, it was pretty nice, not too much road. Staying at a real old fashion albergue today. No washing today as nothing will dry. It's ok the cat lady did all my wash for 3e. Low bunk beds, sure I'll hit my head often, and so far we are 3 (Canada, Japan, UK). The UK boy better not snore!Read more

  • Day 11-12 Astorga

    Apr 13–14 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    A very long 32km day. At least tomorrow is a rest day. Met Sonny and Lucien at the albergue and we ended up walking together and having a wonderful day. Even ended going for a traditional Spanish dinner with Lucien this evening. Unfortunately tomorrow everyone's moving on so I will probably not meet them again
    Ah well 😌
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  • Day 13 Foncebadon

    April 15 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    What a 28km day. Left Astorga and took an alternate route. Arrived in a lovely old village where a native mountain tribe people are. The meal I had 2 days ago is their tradition. And it's a Uneseco Heritage site. Not one street paved and the houses are built with this red brick and I'm the only pilgrim. So pretty. Left the village, again with an unmarked path and came to a fork on the road, with a big hill and 2 gated paths🤔. The gps says to take the 2nd gated path, ok, hope some farmer doesn't come out of his house yelling at me. So the path is right, not private and no wild boars or raging bulls running out of the woods and it brings me right back to the Camino route. Yeah!! The day is downhill from there. It's getting colder, windy and cloudy. Then the rain starts, poncho on, snow starts, back to rain and mud then hail. I'm glad I'm here in my own private room, not sure how that happened but I'm not moving😁😁 And I have TV!!!!Read more

  • Day 14 Molinaseca

    April 16 in Spain ⋅ ❄️ 1 °C

    The 21km day with the dreaded shale stone descent into Molinaseca that never happened.
    Day started in Foncebadon with just little flurries that didn't even need the poncho. I started ascending to Cruz de Ferro and the snow became real. More ascent and once in Manjarin we could not stay on the path and slowly everyone moved to the bike route, aka, the road. The civil security kept passing and even the plow salted twice. Eventually it changed to rain but I promised not to do anything stupid and knowing the dangerous path from last year and how wet snd muddy it was, I decided to stay on the road until Molinaseca. I'm all checked in the albergue but I see no radiators for heat 🤔 Gonna grab a 'never washed' blanket.Read more

  • Day 15 Cacabelos

    April 17 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    A sleep deprived 23km today. Lots of snorers last night Ponferrada was as beautiful as I remembered it. The rest of the way, not too interesting but at least it was dry and a bit warmer. All is good

  • Day 16 Las Herrerias

    April 18 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    A 30km day started out dizzily and the alternate route I took was so beautiful. Walking through those vineyards is really a privilege 🥰. I wanted to take the second alternate through the mountains but the rain was getting heavier and I didn't want to be going through mud. If there was a day I wanted to walk on pavement it was today. Hard rain all day, I was soaked, even my shoes. Gonna get my rest because tomorrow is the big climb to O'Cebriero, 2nd highest ascent on the Camino.Read more

  • Day 17 Triacastela

    April 19 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 5 °C

    Ya so not enjoying this one. After a good 5km of climbing then 15km of blizzard conditions I gave up! It was almost 2pm, soaked to the bone, difficult to find the path so I stopped at a cafe and asked them to call me a taxi for the last 10km. If this crap continues tomorrow I'm just going to cab it to the next town as it's not worth getting sick. I'm here for a happy time, not misery.
    Now I'm clean and warm at the albergue(11e). We'll see what happens tomorrow. It's all good🙃☺️😁
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  • Day 18 Sarria

    April 20 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Ah the world is back to normal.. Dang what was that yesterday? Crazy! Today only an 18km dry walk cause I'm meeting up with Lucian and Sonny later. Most of the day was in the muddy woods with alot of steep climbs. A Spanish young man was a bit worried and stayed close, often asking if I was ok. So nice🤗. So just waiting for the dryer to stop then heading out to see if there is Easter stuff happening.Read more

  • Day 19 Portomarin

    April 21 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    A 23km day and so far walked 421km. I think I have about 200km to go
    I walked some of the day in the poncho but it was mostly dry. The beginning of the day was quite busy as a whole bunch of new people (most) start here,Sarria,but as I walked more, the mob spread out and it turned out to be a nice walk (no need to elbow people haha SH). You know I keep telling people at home, ah the Camino is doable, just go at your own speed and you'll be fine. BUT those km still need to be walked and most is up or down. Not so much flat and honestly I don't know if everyone can do it. I am tired at the end of the day. I keep thinking of that 78 yrs lady I met that was supposed to do the big climb same day as me...wonder what happened? Did she make it in that weather?? Did she try or just taxi it?
    Horreos are Galician grain storage they used in the old days. They are now all national monuments and you cannot destroy or remove them from your property. The ones with crosses used to belong to the church and of course that 's where's you stored your share to the church. Today since you can't remove them, people use them like a shed to store summer patio furniture..it's true, maybe not your lawn mower since they're pretty high up 😁
    Well I'm blabbing since most people now are not very friendly, no more holas or buen caminos, they just pass you without a word. Only 1 more day then I skip to Santiage on Wednesday. I like this pick and chose Camino😆 Thursday new territory 🙃🙃🙃🤗
    RIP Francis😔
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  • Day 20 San Xulian del Camino

    April 22 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    30km day brought me to San Xulian, pop 14.
    It was a beautiful sunny warm day that everyone was talking about. Tomorrow only 11 km to walk before taking the bus to Santiago.

  • Day 21 Santiago de Compostela

    April 23 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Still a 15 km walk and I really had to hustle to catch the 9:50 am bus because the next one was at 4pm. Of course I arrive 15min early all sweaty from almost running and he was 30 minutes late. Ah well still got to Santiago at 12:30. On our way we kept crossing pilgrims walking, not sure how I felt about that.
    Arriving in Santiago was completely different from last year, I guess the cut and paste Camino seems a bit 'non official' but I don't care. I did it the way I wanted. Tomorrow is the discovery of new territory- can't wait.
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  • It swung!

    April 23 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Pilgrim Mass tonight with the Bishop 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😁😁

  • Day 22 Negreira

    April 24 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    A 23km day with an expected big climb...oof! This part of Spain is really different. No abandoned villages with houses falling down. It's almost like the suburbs of Santiago but in the country. It's really beautiful. They tell me at the albergue that tomorrow is an even bigger 10km climb 🤪 gonna be a 28km day.
    I met a young Czech man while walking and he is planning on walking 53km today!! So far the record I've heard has been 50km...crazy!! Many people do 35km++. I don't know how they do it.
    So far this new Camino has alot less people and alot less Spaniards walking. Just enough that you pass people or they pass you so you know you're not alone. I even saw about 10 people walking BACK from Finisterre. I guess when you get to the end of the world and want to avoid falling off the climb, you turn around and start walking where you come from.🤣
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  • Day 23 Lago

    April 25 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    A 29km dry day brought me to Lago and this beautiful and only albergue in this dairy town. Actually the whole day today was walking through dairy farm after dairy farm. Man they have cows here! A different walk then yesterday, very few villages and almost no services. Glad I went to the supermercado😉 yesterday to pick up breakfast and lunch. They seem to have a nice pilgrim meal here in their restaurant. But of course I have to wait till 7:30 😏
    Man it is hilly here, my legs and feet hurt so much I had to rub them twice with the Voltaren and took 2 advil and this morning I was ready to go.🚶‍♀️
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  • Day 24 Cee

    April 26 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    A 25km sunny day brought me to the beach! Seems we've left dairy country and just gone for a walk in the country. I think I passed only 2 villages and again no services and then this lovely never ending path. It was wonderful scenery but no place to sit down or rest so the walking doesn't stop. Suddenly I come across a Hermitage that are always closed and this one is open and a local man is encouraging me to go see. St.Peter's Hermitage has a recording of brothers chanting and a homage to the Pope, very special. Since I paid for a candle I can sit and rest while I'm admiring..
    Finally the ocean and the little town of Cee...so nice. Gonna head out and try to find some snacks and maybe a cold one down by the water ⛱️ .
    Tomorrow 2 days in Finisterre, my feet and legs are going to be happy with the rest.
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