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El Camino
  • Stewart Warrilow

El Camino

A 67-day adventure by Stewart Read more
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  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Noja

    September 28, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I was thinking that there is something about Spain that has caused my unusual conversations to evaporate and I was missing them. And then out of the blue two ladies asked me if I was walking to Santiago. "Yes!" I replied. At last I'm talking to non-pilgrims! They asked me lots of questions about my walk then they told me they were going to Santiago too. This was surprising as they were very elegantly dressed so I had to ask if they were walking too. They must have realised I was less intelligent than they first thought because at this point they switched to speaking in English. They were flying to Santiago for a three day visit next week after they have attended a friend's wedding. That made sense! Anyway, I must still have made a good impression because they took selfies with me. I felt a bit like a celeb!

    I was calling home when a guy walked over and started talking to me. I told him I was on the phone but he just carried on so I listened. He was telling me the best path to take so I thanked him. He didn't tell me his 'best path' involved using hands to climb up. That is not what you want when it's 33 degrees and you've already walked more than 20 miles. Nor did he tell me that his 'best path' meant you had to walk along the nudist beach! It's the first time I've felt overdressed on this walk!

    Photos - the beach at Noja... the 'best path'...Berria beach which has a prison at the far end and a lagoon behind...the little boat that took me from Laredo to Santoña...I love goats and it was super to see a heard this morning    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Santander

    September 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I'd met this guy before. He is a retired sailor from the US Navy and he doesn't let you forget it. We were both waiting for the ferry to Santander and I thought the tide might be a problem.

    "Of course there's enough water! We landed boats on beaches in the War! Remember?" he said with authority, almost haughtily. Moments later a young Spanish later came over to tell us we will have a bit of a wait. The tide needs to come in more before the boat can dock. The sailor left me without a word and sat looking at his phone.

    I walked through a eucalyptus plantation earlier in the day. At times it was like walking through a cough sweet.

    Photos - Santander, the capital of Cantabria, at last!...the low ceiling and Romanesque arches create a very special space for prayer in the cathedral... evening fishing by the art gallery...much of old Santander burnt down in 1941 but the wide avenues that replaced it are a delight to stroll around...arriving at Santander by boat...peace and quiet while walking to Santander    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Santillana del Mar

    September 30, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    I was lying in the gutter like an upturned beetle. My legs and arms were going ten to the dozen and I was laughing out loud at my situation.

    How did I get here?

    I was walking down a steep country road but I wasn't concentrating and hadn't noticed the edge of the road was uneven. Boom! I went into a slow motion fall. I've fallen over enough times to know that you have to go into a roll only this time I hadn't factored in my rucksack so my elbow took the force of my fall and I landed on my back and stayed there. I knew my legs were still in the road so I held them up. The dying fly from Tiswas springs to mind.

    Eventually I realised I had to unclip my rucksack if I was going to get up but by then I had a crowd around me. I stopped laughing. I swear I hadn't seen anyone for ages and then I fall over and rentacrowd is on the scene. I was so embarrassed but everyone was lovely and I was on my way as quickly as my legs could carry me, which was very quick!

    In Bilbao, I washed a pair of my woollen boxers in a washing machine without realising it was a washer/drier. Big mistake. I think they would fit a 7 year old now.

    Photos - Jean-Paul Sartre said Santillana is the prettiest village in Spain, I wish I could capture it...I'm staying in a very old convent tonight...even I could catch a fish in this river...it was very foggy until 20am this morning    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    San Vicente de la Barquera

    October 1, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    I checked and it is not a fiesta in San Vicente but there is one hell of a noisy party going on in the square. It'll be earplugs tonight, even for me!

    Anyway, today I have had the luck of walking through some great scenery and villages, and to end it in the inviting, if noisy, San Vicente is perfect.

    Yesterday, I noticed the guy on reception was watching football on his phone so I got talking to him. His favourite teams are Barcelona and Liverpool so it was all good and it wasn't long before he offered to get the Wolves v Man City game for me on the screen he had behind his desk. So yesterday I sat at the reception desk, cold beer in hand, watching the game with a Spanish Liverpool fan. Fortunately he checked the guests in while I tried to keep a lid on it. Surreal but great fun.

    Photos - my first view of San Vicente... it's retro night at the local disco...Comillas has amazing architecture (I could have spent the best part of a day there)...one of many beaches I walked past....and one of many golden churches....I loved this dinky house next to the small river    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Pendueles

    October 2, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Walking with mad Dominic is a dangerous affair. He sincerely believes that alcohol is good combined with exercise. "You do not know this?", he said in exasperation with his heavy French accent when I questioned him. Today we tested his theory while walking along cliffs and he was like a mountain goat whereas I, on the other hand, was walking like a bloke who has had a couple of beers. No surprise there.

    The main thing is I got to tell the tale in spite of his best efforts to see me off. At one point he said he could hurl his walking cane five metres in the air and catch it. He was half right. He threw it five metres but it landed on me before he caught it, sending me toppling!

    In spite of all that I love his company. He is staying in a place 15 kilometres further on from me so it's unlikely I'll see him again but we pretended otherwise. I said I'll walk a bit extra each day and he said he'd wait in Santiago but neither is likely.

    That's how this walk can be; a cycle of happy and sad and it is richer for it.

    Photos - a river on the way to Pendueles... Dominic crossing a natural bridge over the sea...the beautiful coastline here...how I refuel    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Vera the dog

    October 3, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Ana lost her partner suddenly a couple of years ago. They had both loved walking Camino routes and so last year she opened a hostel. I was so lucky to stay there last night as she creates a great atmosphere and brings out the best in people. I laughed so much I was a giggling wreck by the time I went to bed. Anyway, a guy was there who had walked all the way from Switzerland with his dog, Vera! They hadn't walked in a straight line either. He wanted to visit Lourdes so they did that before walking along the Pyrenees until they reached the Atlantic. They have been walking for three months now! Vera was the star attraction, everyone loved her. I also met a lawyer who works to stop people on death row in the USA being executed. I felt so humbled. She is walking here because, unsurprisingly, she needs a complete rest. She has links with Manchester University and, as a result, is a big Huddersfield Town fan!

    I also walked through Poo today. Nobody else got the joke! I really needed an English speaker around.

    Photos - the lovely Vera with her rucksack...Poo station...sound on for the acoustics at Bufones de Arenillas (I thought it sounded like a giant breathing)...not how the English tend to think of Spain but I love it... Ana's hostel.    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Villaviciosa

    October 4, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Some folk I talk to are looking for an inner wisdom when they do this walk. I'm just out to enjoy myself BUT I have discovered that the more cider you drink, the less horrible it tastes. I am in Asturias which is the cider, or Sidra, centre of Spain. I have walked through so many orchards that I decided I had to try it. I don't like cider in the UK and, at the beginning, I disliked it just a little less here. However, they have given me a litre to drink with my meal. The waitress gave me a quick lesson on how to pour it (a little at a time from a great height) and left me to it. I'm losing the power of speech but it is just beginning to be palatable now. I just hope I can get back to the hostel later.

    Photos - a street in Villaviciosa. This is a working town and it's not the prettiest but it has a good feel to it....

    At last, a proper sink for laundry...

    One of many beaches...

    My view when I left my place this morning...

    I liked this washroom...

    I walked through a small place called Vega which had lots of murals so here are a couple...

    A hórreo. You see these everywhere. They are granaries. They are draughty for ventilation, raised to keep out rodents, used for storing grain or similar.

    Me walking. Photo taken by an Austrian engineer!    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Gijón

    October 5, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I didn't realise this place was a bar, I thought it was just a house in the village we were walking through. The guy I was walking with spotted it.

    There was a large, burgundy coffee machine behind a dark wooden counter on the left, and on the right was a glass display with a solitary blue cheese and a ham inside. On top of the glass display were some faded boxes of biscuits. Between the counter and the coffee machine was a tiny old lady, shaky with a lopsided smile. The room held four small square tables, each with two chairs. We were the only ones there and it felt as though this was as busy as it gets.

    I ordered a coffee and she gave me an espresso, which was perfect. She asked if I wanted milk. I said no so she smiled and gave me a double espresso at no extra charge. She radiated kindness.

    After we had finished our coffees I went to pay and the old lady gave me way too much change. I told her it was wrong and she gave me even more change! I made sure we paid our bill plus a tip. She smiled throughout our exchange.

    I hope nobody takes advantage of her kindness.

    Today I continued to walk through the bucolic Asturias until I reached Gijón, a city with a large beach, marina, and where people have lived for over 7,000 years

    Photos - Gijón... the boat I'm sleeping on tonight in Gijón marina, cider barrels are very big, the morning mist is just beautiful. Me and the Ninja, mad Dom.    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Soto del Barco

    October 6, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    I had two very contrasting conversations today. The first was this morning with the first person I saw, an old man out for walk. We started by talking about walking and then he asked if I'd tried Asturian cider (sidra). I admitted I didn't like it. He was taken aback at this and started asking me questions like which ciders have I tried, and how much have I spent. He decided I needed to buy and try more expensive ciders and said I could try some of his. This was at 8.30am so I had to give up the offer unfortunately. He also told me I need to eat more bread! He was a real good laugh even though I was struggling to understand all he said.

    The second was as I was walking out of Aviles. A little dog was yapping and the owner, a well dressed old lady, told me off for scaring her dog! "How am I scaring your dog?" I asked. "By wearing this and this," I was told. She pointed to my walking poles and rucksack. I apologised to the dog and walked on.

    Photos - today was 26 miles through a conurbation pretty much so the first photo is a street in the old part of Aviles and the second is an example of what I've walked through for a large part of the day. It can't all be pretty beaches unfortunately.    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Cadavéu/Cadavedo

    October 7, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today was a killer. Hot, up and down, stone and mud, and all of the pilgrims were keeping themselves to themselves. So I haven't spoken to a soul other than hello.

    On top of that, the village I am staying in has a reputation for being unfriendly to pilgrims. So I bought today's food at the last shop before this place and I'll be staying in tonight.

    Fingers crossed I'll see someone tomorrow!

    Photos - I have hardly seen the coast today as I have been walking through wooded valleys. Fortunately, I saw this just before I finished today's walk...

    Leaving Soto del Barco this morning (it's still dark at 8am)...

    Palacio de los Selgas (I haven't a clue what this place is, I just thought it looked nice)...

    It's so green here...

    I have walked through several streams today so I thought I should have a picture of one.    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Navia

    October 8, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    This place, Navia, could be lovely but it feels like it has just become a place for motorways and railways to pass through. The good thing is that I've had conversations today.

    I was walking through Luarca, a pretty fishing village,and using my phone for navigation. This old lady told me where I should be heading so I started talking to her. The streets in Luarca are steep and we were walking uphill and talking. I could have fallen over when she told me she was eighty years old. Sure, we were walking slowly but the gradient was well over 10% yet she didn't break a sweat!

    The place I was going to stay at didn't do vegetarian food so I walked here ,which does no food). That was a bit of a downer but luckily for me Dublin Kevin is in the next bed so I'm sorted for a bit of chat.

    Photos - Navia complete with various viaducts...Luarca (very friendly town)...Río Esva this morning    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Galicia!

    October 9, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    So this, Galicia, is the last autonomous community of Spain I'll pass through, having walked through the Basque country, Cantabria, and Asturias to get here. And Galician will be the fourth language I hope to hear/see after Spanish, Basque, and Asturleonese. It's a big country! I was told that it is so big that the sun rises in Barcelona one hour before it rises in A Coruña. I haven't fact checked that but I can believe it judging by how dark the mornings are in the West.

    Hopefully, the temperature starts to move towards the Galician norm (i.e. cold!) as the daily high has regularly been over 30 degrees for a week now. I brought one short sleeved shirt and two wool vests to wear so that shirt gets washed every night, and I wear it the next day regardless of whether it is dry or not.

    Photos - the view from the 600 meter long bridge that links Asturias on the left to Galicia on the right. I crossed the bridge with a German lady. She was shouting "Wunderschön" repeatedly (or at least that's how it sounded) in response to my "Not bad is it?"

    The footpath was very high, very narrow and windy enough for me to take my hat off before the wind did it for me.

    The last three photos are just some of the (yes, more) lovely beaches in Asturias (Penarronda, Tapia, Porcía). Today was the last time I will see the sea until I reach Fisterra (Land's End) in ten days or so.    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Mondoñedo

    October 10, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Galicia is beautiful! And I've only been here for just over a day!

    I walked through a town called Lourenzá which has a one thousand year old monastery. Well it used to be a monastery. It's now a church, museum and town hall.

    What I learned was that in the mid 1800s the Spanish Government raised money by selling off stuff that wasn't theirs to sell. They sold monasteries, charities and common land. The Government asked some rich people to organise the sale. I guess the government equated rich with clever but maybe they didn't consider that perhaps you have to be a little bit selfish or even greedy to be rich. The rich folk divided the land into lots and auctioned it, but they made the size of the lots so large that only rich folk could afford them. Surprise! Surprise!Most of the land ended up in very few hands. Worse than that, the charities and monasteries used to provide education and medical aid to the common people, and the common land provided grazing, wood and hunting. All of that support disappeared. The result was that many people had to leave the countryside to take low wages in factories (owned by the rich) or emigrate, or lead an even tougher life if they stayed put.

    Anna was the wonderful Asturian host who took the time to speak to me in Spanish.

    Photos - Mondoñedo cathedral

    The Fonte Vella (old spring water source) at Mondoñedo

    The old monastery at Lourenzá

    Galicia

    A stand pipe. These have been a godsend ever since I landed in France so I had to get a photo

    A furry caterpillar. I see these, maybe, every other day and I love the way they bumble along

    Me with a camino sign    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Vilalba

    October 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Vilalba isn't the prettiest town I have walked through but the surrounding countryside is like Arcadia; green, fertile, babbling brooks, shady copses and rolling pasture. It's like Shropshire with mountains.

    I was talking to a young lady from the North of Italy. She has walked alone for over 700 kilometres and only (her word!) has a couple of hundred left to do. She was telling me that doing this has given her the confidence to be herself and not try to be what she thinks others expect her to be. This took her completely out of her comfort zone but she has surprised herself at how well she has coped. It was wonderful to hear her say that and to see her beaming smile too!

    Photos - The keep of Vilalba castle is now a luxury hotel

    Three photos of the route through Galicia. Lush.    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Miraz

    October 12, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Tonight I'm staying in a hostel run by the British charity the Confraternity of St James. Their website has been a great resource. The hostel is manned by volunteers and I'm lucky in that the volunteers at the moment are from Formby and their daughter lives by Calderstones Park so it was nice to have a chat. Unfortunately I noticed my accent getting broader and broader as the conversation went on.

    Photos - Miraz tower, just around the corner from where I am staying.

    Sunrise. It has been really special to see this so often.

    I saw walls like this in Brittany too. It seems to me to be a difficult way to build a wall. I've tried to find out more about this method and failed

    Chestnuts (castañas) - I have been walking over these for days.

    Hórreo with autumn crocuses

    Sometimes it feels as though I'm back in Britain

    Today's laundry facilities    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Boimorto

    October 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Wow! It can rain here! The only person I have spoken to is a barman. The pilgrims were just heads down, trying to keep the rain off their faces.

    Photos - Blustery on the road to Sobrado Dos Monxes

    The Trappist monastery at Sobrado. I could've stayed here tonight but I'm keen to reach Santiago so I kept walking

    I was standing in the middle of the road when I took this. You couldn't see where the edges of the road were. You'll notice I'm wearing a skirt - perfect for walking in the rain!

    Last night we had foraged chestnuts...Dario (Portugal), a Spanish guy whose name I don't know, me, Andrea and Michaela (Italy)    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Walking to Santiago

    October 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Overexcited, I decided to get to Santiago today which meant setting off in the dark.

    It was lovely when I only had glow worms for company but it wasn't long before I saw three pairs of eyes reflecting in my headtorch. And then the barking started. If the Spanish section of this walk had a soundtrack it would be barking dogs. Normally, they are chained or behind a fence but it was too dark for me to tell whether that was the case here and they didn't sound like pooches. They started to move towards me. I didn't want to take any chances so I turned my torch off and ran into the eucalyptus plantation to the right. I'm guessing it was eucalyptus because the trunks were dead straight and so too were the rows. Fortunately the dogs were still barking so I could tell where they were. I needed to get deeper into the trees. Still they were barking but it was more distant. I fumbled in a direction that would take me beyond the dogs and, when the barking was dull enough, I turned my torch on and found my way to the road. I'd heard others talk about being scared by dogs here and I always thought they were exaggerating the threat but I was genuinely concerned whether those dogs were tethered or not.

    I've just eaten with a Colombian, Latvian, and a bloke from Stoke who lives on a barge. You get all sorts here!

    Photos - Pilgrims never miss a photo op

    Another beautiful sunrise in Galicia

    A Roman bridge over Río Mera

    Eucalyptus. They deserve a photo since I have walked past so many

    Dog "greeting" a pilgrim    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Santiago de Compostela

    October 15, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    In the ninth century it was claimed that the remains of St James the Greater were found in Compostela. There are many apocryphal tales of St James in Spain so it would not have been odd to have suggested his remains were found there.

    From that discovery, Compestela became a centre for pilgrimage and in the 15th Century the pope declared it one of the three great Christian pilgrimages along with Rome and Jerusalem.

    Nowadays, between two and four thousand pilgrims arrive each day (except in winter). To qualify as a pilgrim you need to have walked 100km to reach Compestelaand the vast majority of people do just that. You don't have to walk it all in one go and many do it over several years, picking up where they left off each time

    At the end you receive a certificate which is known as the 'compostela'. It's written in Latin, including your name!

    Photos - the cathedral of Santiago

    A wet Santiago this morning

    The Botafumeiro in action at Mass. I learned afterwards that I was extremely lucky to see this. The Botafumeiro is one of the largest incense burners in the world. It gets up to 35mph at full speed!

    The queue for mass    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Walking to Fisterra

    October 16, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    It was good to get back on the road and away from the bustle of Santiago de Compostela. However I wasn't in peak fitness for the walk. Last night a few of us got together for a meal. We had all walked the Northern coast of Spain, some of us were continuing to Fisterra but some were not so we thought a meal in Santiago would be fitting. After much wine and beer, it ended up being a lock-in and the landlord got his home made liqueurs for us to try. The liqueurs were poured from five litre plastic containers so the presentation wasn't great but they all tasted great, especially the coffee. The main thing was I managed to get to bed without waking the dorm up. The previous night, I managed to bring a curtain rail down!

    Photos - The river at Ponte Maceira

    The bridge at Ponte Maceira

    A gloomy Galicia this morning

    A great bunch of people with homemade liqueur    Read more

  • Stewart WarrilowEl CaminoTraveler

    Fisterra/Finisterre/Land's End

    October 17, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    A 31 mile walk in driving rain was certainly one way to end a trip but it wasn't the end. I was at the lighthouse, trying to take it all in, when two ladies, Carmen and Frances from Barcelona, started talking to me. After a lovely chat Carmen told her husband to take a photo of me, she told me to get look after myself and asked me to remember them. I was heartbroken!

    So why did I do this walk? Bereavements and books.

    As far as bereavements go, I have had a lot of time to reflect on the wonderful people I've known but who are no longer here, and I think I needed that.

    Several books have played a part but it all started when I was given Laurie Lee's 'As I walked out one midsummer morning'. It's the true story of a rural lad who picks up his fiddle and walks across Spain, knowing only enough Spanish to ask for water. It's a wonderfully crafted account of his adventures and of his narrow escape when the Civil War breaks out. Highly recommended but be careful...you could do something out of the ordinary.

    Photos - the first or last milestone

    Proof that I did it

    I couldn't take many photos because of the weather but I just wanted one last one of wonderful Galicia.    Read more

    Trip end
    October 17, 2023
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