Camino highlights and moments to savour

My favourite places

León - My favourite city, grand and handsome, even though not very big, breathtaking stained glass in the cathedral. Lots of foodie options.
Burgos - That cathedral…, lively fun city, a really good human history museum, and good pinctxos bars.
Pamplona - A lively and family friendly city, with fantastic pinctxos bars.
O Cebriero - Pretty stone village in the mountains, can just imagine it in the misty rain. One of my favourite villages.
Astorga - Small but 1000s of years history, they memorable Gaudi’s bishop palace, very neat and tidy.
Molinaseca - The prettiest village I saw, and a mountain setting.
Samos - Beautiful and peaceful village in a lovely valley. I would love to have seen the church and monastery.

Favourite memories
The people I met - Especially Ian, Karen, Marissa, Cass, Nora, Maz, Leigh, Bruce, Brendon & Karin - all were amazing humans.
Ponferrada - The interview with the primary school girl leaving town was delightful and inspiring, the future looks good if we have more people like her.
Morning walking - Before the heat of the day and enjoying the early birdsong, the body still feels fresh and strong, people are either excited and talkative, or quiet and contemplative, the cuckoo call, the mossy stone walls, the meandering paths.
Feeling fit - Probably the fittest I've been since my 30s, and being able to overtake people on the uphills felt great.
Achieving my goals - The extreme distance and surpassing my previous best, summiting the 3 high points, walking over the Pyrenees, crossing the Maseta.
The surprises - The Michelangelo in the Legrono cathedral, the Leonardo sketches for the Last Supper in the Ponferrada castle, Marcella at La Casona and her All Black stories, bumping into Kiwis, bumping into the inspirational Andy Ramage.
Galicia - The loveliest region along the Camino, with mountains, hills and valleys, peaceful forests with the dappled shade and alive with birdsong.

Less inspiring memories

Blisters - My experience of the Camino was great but could have been even better without blister pain or the ability to walk freely.
The Meseta - Enjoyed the experience but sad at the lack of affluence and dying villages.
Cyclists - In general not a problem sharing the trail with them, but not pleasant when they don’t use a bell and pass dangerously quickly, or that they shout at each other to talk (including when they’re not on their bikes).
Downhills - Because my toes get crunched.

Final thoughts

Gratitude for the people that have supported me to get to the start and get to the finish.
Proud of what I've been able to achieve.
Disappointed that its over.
The scenery and countryside will be a memory to cherish.
A new appreciation for the Catholic culture in Spain.
The people that I met and shared time with were the real highlight, new friends who achieved something great together.Read more