spain Archives

Camino del Norte – Stages 33 and 34. Arzua to Lavacolla. Another rainy walk but really close to Santiago de Compostela now. 😊🇪🇸🥾

Posted on May 20, 2025May 20, 2025 by mewalsh1

We woke to rain and realized that we left the windows in our attic room open and had a flood of water on the floor and into the hallway. After cleaning that up with all of out bath towels, we packed and headed out. This morning was different than other mornings as there was a river of pilgrims heading out on the path. Most were wearing large colorful ponchos that covered them and their packs. Because of the rain people were walking with a determined pace. Cafes were few and far between and because of the rain, many people were stopping. Usually in cafe on the Camino Norte we might see two or three other pilgrims. Today there was a linest each cafe and finding a table under an awning or umbrella was a challenge. But it is all part of the experience. We ended the day at an albergue in A Rua run by a very nice couple it was super clean and thankfully, we both got lower bunks. We met Jonathan and Victoria from Michigan who were walking 2 weeks of the Camino with the Jonathan’s parents. But his parents were staying in hotels on the way not albergues. Victoria was a birth doula and Jonathan was in video production. We had a really nice conversation with them. We headed out for dinner for a typical pilgrim meal of soup, pork cutlet and French fries at the one local restaurant thst was open and were asleep by 9:00 pm.

A steady stream of pilgrims in rain gear

Pilgrim Meal of bean soup, pork cutlet and of course French fries

We woke up the next day and decided to beat some of the rain that was forecast so we stopped at the cafe and got a take-away coffee and croissant. A lot of cafes we had been to on our journey did not offer take away coffee but this is probably one of the benefits of walking with hundreds of others. According to the official pilgrim website, 2400 pilgrims per day were arriving in Santiago. I am sure this number is double in the summer. I’m glad we chose early spring to start our walk.

We almost beat the rain to Lavacolla, our destination, but just as we arrived into town, it started pouring. We ducked into a cafe and ordered a couple coffees to wait out the heavy rain. As we were leaving our Italian friends Eugenio and Sylvia walked in. We didn’t think we would see them as they had arrived in Santiago the day before. They actually walked back to Lavacolla that morning as they were staying in an albergue there. We agreed to meet them at 8:00 pm for one more pilgrimage meal. They were headed back to Milan the next day. As we headed out for dinner the sun came out and the sky was beautiful. It was a perfect way to spend the last night of our Camino-dinner with new friends and a beautiful sunset. Tomorrow we reach Santiago de Compostela – only 11 kilometers away. 🌅

Heading back from our final pilgrimage dinner with Eugenio and Sylvio

Heading back to our Pensión and to sleep

Camino del Norte – Stages 31 and 32. A rainy night in an old monastery, and a rainy 24k walk.

Posted on May 19, 2025May 19, 2025 by mewalsh1

We arrived in Sobraro before we could check in so we stopped for a coffee. As we walked in, we were pleased to see Sylvia and Eugenio. They were just finishing their coffees It was nice to see them as we didn’t think we would run into them again on the trip. They were not staying at the monastery but we’re going another 8 kilometers. The Monasterio de Santa Maria de Sobrado was founded in 951 and was handed over to the Cistercian monks in 1142. In 1954, the Cistercian (Trappist) monks began reconsruction. The monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The hostel is located in the cloister. It is very clean and organized and also very cool to stay in the monastery (also literally cool). It has a huge kitchen and we prepared pasta and salad for dinner. We met abril from Ukraine and a guy from Barcelona. They met on the Camino 3 weeks ago and have walked together every day and shared a bottle of wine each night. Romance on the Camino ;). At 7:00 pm we attended vespers service at the chapel.

Monasteries de Santa Maria de Sobrado dos Monjes

Heading out for a walk to buy food for supper.

Friends from France ready to head out in the rain

Our destination the next day was Arzua. It was a long 24k walk in the rain. I walked most of the day with a 78 and 76 year old couple from France. They walk on Camino every year for at least 6 weeks. They firmly believe that walking has helped them stay healthy. We were happy to arrive at the Albergue San Francisco and dry off. It was a little jarring as Arzua is the place where the Camino Frances, the Camino Norte and the Camino Primitivo all join together. Many pilgrims begin their walk at the 100k mark which is the minimum needed together a compestella showing you have completed a Camino. For much of the last couple weeks we saw pilgrims on the trail only intermittently. On some days we only saw 8 or 10 the whole day. We saw more in the evenings at the albergues. Now there was a steady stream of pilgrims walking into Azure. It will be a different experience for the next couple days with all the extra pilgrims walking. We now have only 38.5 left to reach Santiago.

Iglesia de Santiago de Boimorto

View of this large bird and nest on church steeple from our attic pension

Camino del Norte – Stages 27-29. Ribadeo rest day and then on to Vilalba. We are now in Galacia.

Posted on May 12, 2025May 13, 2025 by mewalsh1

John crossing the scary Puente de Santos bridge over the Rio de Ribadeo into Ribadeo

We headed over the Puente de Santos Bridge and I to Ribadeo. This went over the Rio de Ribadeo which was the border between Asturias and Galacia. It was a scary bridge to walk over. It was quite high. It did have a pedestrian walkway but this was quite narrow – maybe 2 1/2 feet wide. It was also a long bridge that seemed to creak and shake as cars and trucks traveled across. I was quite happy to reach the other side.

Indeano Family, Ribadeo. Ribadeo became prosperous after many “Indians”sailed to the new world and came back to Ribadeo wealthy and prosperous

We walked around Ribadeo and then headed out of the city to walk on the coast. There is a beautiful coastal walk out of Ribadeo for 19 kilometers. I ended up walking on it for 10 kilometers round trip. The coastal trail has a large bike lane the entire way and if return, I would love to ride a bike on the bike path the entire way. It was a beautiful walk none-the-less.

Puente de Santos bridge we crossed earlier in the distance

Once we made it to Vilalba and our alburgue, I headed out to the supermacado and bought food to cook for supper. When I returned from the store, I found the owner of the alburgue playing Spanish and American folk songs on his guitar and pilgrims were joining in the singing. It was very nice. Also, the Albergue was very clean and organized and we met some nice pilgrims as well from France, Africa and Germany. Overall it was a successful day.

Albergue as Pedreias, Vilalba -owner playing Spanish and American folk music

Camino del Norte – Stage 26. Navia to Figueras. Last day in Asturias.

Posted on May 12, 2025May 12, 2025 by mewalsh1

John on the coastal trail in Tapia de Casariego

Today we headed back to the coast. I read there were some great coastal variants near Tapia de Casariego and we decided to check them out. We literally had to walk across newly tilled farmland (on a path) to reach the coastal trails. They were really beautiful and we were the only two walking on them for most of the day.

One of many deserted beaches we have come accross

pit stop for cafe con leche with a view. The man sitting next to us was walking with his daughter. He has done 24 Iron Man races including one at the arctic circle in Norway. They are from Manchester UK.

We finally reached Figueras, and our albergue for the night. Patricia from Germany was the only other pilgrim at the albergue. Most others were staying in Ribadeo, across the river. After checking in and doing our laundry I went out to check out the town. It is a small village built around a large ship building company. It is directly across the river from Ribadeo. I miscalculated and thought Ribadeo was another 14 kilometers away. John’s leg pain was ok when he was walking, but it was not really improving. We decided to take advantage of my miscalculation and made a plan to revise our trip with a rest day in Ribadeo tomorrow and then shorter stages going forward. We had a nice dinner with Patrica then headed to sleep.

Camino del Norte – Stage 25. Barcia to Navia. 24 kilometers.

Posted on May 12, 2025May 12, 2025 by mewalsh1

As we were getting ready to leave the next morning, we realized we must have left Johns jacket at the restaurant. It was Sunday morning and they were not opening till 11:00 am. I told the woman who owns the Pensión what had happened via Google translate and she picked up her phone and immediately sent a text message to the restaurant owner. This is what it is like in these small towns. The small business owners all know each other. The restaurant owner said they didn’t have it but also since we were sitting outside, it was probably still there. They remembered where we were sitting as we were the only non locals there last night. We walked back over to the restaurant (750 meters out of our way) and didn’t see it. As we were leaving I looked under the table and found it. I was quite relieved as I realized it must have fallen out of out backpack when I was getting my jacket out. We were also quite grateful that the Pensión owner went out of her way to call to inquire about our jacket and quickly forgave her for all the noise the kids were making the night before.

After walking 3 kilometers we came to the river city of Luarca. We past several Indiano houses on our way into to town. We hoped to stop for coffee but every cafe was full of patrons and had long lines. We decided to keep going, happy that we had iced tea and nuts with us.

Luarca is an interesting town. As you approach the town you are on a hill looking down. We walked down streets, ramps and stairs into the town and then back up steep streets ramps and stairs after passing through town. The house and apartments were all built into the steep hillsides.

Lucarca from the other side of the river

We headed back into the countryside, passing multiple farms and small towns and going up and down hills.

A8 highway we have followed for past month

About 6 kilometers from Navia , our destination, we met a couple from Belgium. They had decided to leave the Camino and walk along the N 634 road for the last 6 k into town as was a bit shorter than the farm roads the Camino followed. We were pretty exhausted and decided to do the same. They were a bit ahead of us and kept switching sides of the road every 15 minutes or so. We did not know why they were doing this as we prefer to face traffic but thought it was safer to be on the same side. The cars travel about 50 mph on that road. We later founded out they were switching sides to give her blisters a break. In retrospect it was not a good decision to stay on the road as the pavement was very difficult on my feet. Also it just wasn’t the same Camino walking experience. While the Camino often goes on back roads it tries to avoid the busier roads with faster speed limits. Needless to say we were exhausted by the time we made it to our Pensión and took a well deserved rest after our 25 k walk. We didn’t even bother to do laundry. After resting, we headed out to check out the town and get dinner. We found a place that was serving food at 7:00 pm and were happy to see our friend Hank from Belgium there eating. We joined him for supper and more good conversation before heading back to our Pensión and sleep.

Our room for the night – Hotel Casona Naviega

Camino del Norte – Stage 15. Comillas to Pendueles. We are still moving forward in Spain

Posted on April 27, 2025April 27, 2025 by mewalsh1

We left our alburgue with less sleep than we would have liked. While the albergue was clean and organized, the beds were close together and the top bunks were quite high. The bunks all had curtains, outlets and their own light which was nice, but I was pretty warm up near the ceiling and felt a little claustrophobic. We had the included breakfast of toast and jam with coffee and headed out. The town was still quiet at 8:00 am when we left and it was a pretty walk out of town.

We passed numerous beaches on our way and the only people in the water were of course surfers. I didn’t realize there was such a strong surfer culture in northern Spain.

As usual when hiking on the coast of northern Spain, we seemed to always be walking uphill – even near the ocean. We hiked up hill for quite a way and as we reached the top, the most amazing views spread before us. The snow covered Picos de Europa was on the left, a beautiful village was in front of us in the distance and magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean were on our right. I truly couldn’t believe the view and wondered why I had never heard of this place. I took a lot of photos but they don’t do it justice. John called it is “wow” moment. The most amazing thing was that cows were grazing on this beautiful land and there were no people around. And no high-rise hotels. I’m sure it is busier in the summer. But still….

San Vincente de a Barquera in the distance

We could see the medieval church of San Vincente de a Barquera in the distance for quite a while – for at least 5 k We finally crossed the bridge into the city, took a requisite Camino photo and stopped for a coffee and tortilla. We saw several friends from the hostel the night before in town. They are much quicker walkers than us.

San Vincent’s de la Barquera in the distance

We soon left Cantabria and entered the Asturias region. We hiked inland for a time thru the forest but eventually made our way back to the coast. We came to an intersection where we could choose to walk for a time along the road or choose the coastal route. We chose coastal. The trail as t marked but we could see the path crossing cow pasture and running along cliffs near the coast. We could see that a couple we met from Hungry earlier stopped at the same intersection but they chose the road. The scenery again was beautiful. We did lose the path a couple times – I think because it’s early in season and grass had overgrown sections. It was a bit scary at times as there was a sharp drop to the ocean on one side and thorns and large cows to the left. At one point, we were not sure how we would get thru one of the gates as there were several cows in the way. They seem quite docile but they are very large and there was no where to go on the right but down a cliff. But as we got closer they let us pass by without a problem. I have decided I really like dairy cows. 😊. The mother cows take such good care of the little ones.

Our albergue for the night, Aves de Paso

we arrived a little before they opened. John decided on a siesta while I went to check out the village of Pedentues.

Interesting rock just outside our albergue

Ruins of Indiano house. These were lavish houses built by Spaniards who sailed to the new world and made money in the Americas, especially Cuba. Many are still lived in today and are found in the Asturias region. Most had at least one large palm tree in front and were surrounded by walls and gates.

The albergue was the best we stayed in so far. There were only 11 beds and it had such a welcome vibe. They did a couple community loads of laundry for us. We were allowed to wash clothes worn that day. It is always nice to have laundry done by machine. We had a delicious community meal with new friends from Hungry, Argentina, Italy, Barcelona, Japan, Michigan, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and of course Germany. At dinner we received notes of encouragement written by pilgrims there the day before. Of course we paid it forward by writing out own notes to pilgrims coming the next day. The albergue was donativo which means you pay what you can for services offered.
it was a special experience and we slept well.

Delicious vegetarian supper with local wine

Messages of encouragement from other pilgrims.

Camino del Norte – Rest Day in Santander

Posted on April 21, 2025April 21, 2025 by mewalsh1

We got off the ferry in Santander and walked toward our hostel. We were tired and hungry and too early to check in so we stopped for a coffee and tortilla on the way. The city was full of people there for the Easter holiday. Our hostel, Alojamientos Cantiber was great. It was very clean and had a great kitchen and common area. We shared a room with 4 other people – including Wishy, a young guy from China and Alfonso from Rome. They were hardly around so we had the room to ourselves except at night. We were able to take it easy for the day. Our room also had a nice balcony that overlooked a street with shops and cafes. I would recommend it as an inexpensive place to stay if in Santander.

We were sitting on our balcony the night we arrived when I heard the sound of drums and trumpets. I looked down the street and saw the police had it blocked off. I realized that since it was Good Friday, it must be the Semana Santa parade. We headed down the street and were able to see most of the parade. The streets were lined with people but we found some steps to climb up and had a great view.

While in Santander we also went to the Catedral de Neustra Senora de la Asunción de Santander. The lower part of the church was built in the 12th century and several years ago, archaeologists found remains of the Roman Empire under part of the church. It is a beautiful and simple gothic style church. The complex includes a cloister where you can hear the organ music and the sounds of the mass going on inside the church.

Elevators instead of stairs in neighborhoods on hill.

Santander seems very prosperous with many stores, restaurants and museums. It is built on a hill and even has outside escalators instead of stairs to get to the hillier parts of the city. We didn’t explore the city as much as we might have as we needed a break from walking 😊, but enjoyed our time people watching.

Camino del Norte Stage 10. Laredo to Güemes.

Posted on April 19, 2025April 19, 2025 by mewalsh1

We headed out of Laredo and walked the length of the 5 kilometers beach. It was raining lightly off and on and we saw a beautiful rainbow, which I considered a good omen. At the end of the beach we knew we had to find the boat that ferries pilgrims across the estuary. We followed the arrows to the beach but did not see a dock of any kind. Eventually other pilgrims joined us and soon we saw a small boat coming from the other side. I wasn’t sure if we would have to go in the water to get on but they put ramp down to the beach. A few minutes later we were off to Santana, the city across the water. Santana was smaller than Laredo but seems much more prosperous .

Walking along the Paseo Maritimo and beach for over 4 k

Santana is a lovely town and if I do the camino Norte again; I would choose to stay there instead of Laredo. Outside of town we walked and walked and walked around the El Dueso Prison -one of the largest in Spain with a perimeter of 300,000 square meters and 336 cells. Santons has several beaches and we walked by them as well. There are surfing schools everywhere and there were surfers in the water and on the beach – all wearing wetsuits as it was only in the 60s.

After passing several surfing beaches the trail headed up a steep incline. We were heading over a mountain peninsula that separated several beaches. The climb was steep and difficult as it was wet from the rain earlier that morning. But the cliffside trail had unbelievable views the higher we climbed.

Near the top, Stephanie from Austria and the two Germain girls we met on the boat caught up with us. We all stopped to get our hiking poles out of our packs for the slippery steep walk down. We made it down and started hiking across the very long beaches. Apparently northern Spain has some of the longest sandy beaches in Europe.

We finally made it across the beaches teaming with young surfers attending numerous surfing schools and into the city of Noja where we stopped for a well deserved hamburguesa and fries. There were hundreds of people everywhere, spending the Easter holidays with their families.

After lunch we still had 16 k to go so we trudged on. As we were walking across a field we heard someone yelling to us and it was our old friends (by now) Karls and Mike from Germany. We enjoyed talking with them for a few k but they were stopping at San Miguel for the night. They apparently didn’t sleep well the night before and had also walked 40k the day before. Not to stereotype, but every German we have met have been intense hikers. We had reservation at a Pensión in Guemes 8 more k and trudged on. Soon we started talking to a family from Brussels who were doing 10 days on the Camino. We walked with them off an on until arriving in Güemes were they also were spending the night. One of the nice things about the Camino is talking to others while hiking as it makes the miles or kilometers fly by. Of course our current political situation was a topic of discussion.

Güemes is a very small town with a Pensión and an albergue with two cafes. We had a nice dinner at our Pensión and a great conversation with a couple from France who were basketball fans and knew about Newport, Maine because it is home of Cooper Flagg. The husband told us he attended Olympics in Barcelona in 1992 and saw the Dream Team with Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson etc play. John was happy to talk sports with him. Altogether today we walked 33.6 k or 21 miles. Tomorrow will be a shorter day to Santander.