Reaching Santiago de Compostella is both exhilarating and sad. The trick is to bring home some of the calm and sense of interconnection found along the way.We have had three nights in Santiago and since we couldn't be enjoying buffet breakfasts and menus del dia all the time, we had the opportunity to see some of the sights. The roof top tour of the cathedral ...
Gordon: At Arzua the Camino del Norte joins the Camino Frances, the main pilgrimage route. It was a pleasant shock to suddenly be surrounded by a throng of pilgrims, and to see so many businesses catering to their needs. For the final 40 kms into Santiago we joined the walking pilgrims and rode along the trail. It was beautiful watching the fog rise off the ...
Ruth: There are moments along the way where it feels like we have travelled back to the Middle Ages. This feeling was intensified at Mondonedo where the whole town was being decked out for their Medieval Festival. Catapults were being set up beside tents selling spices and teas. This new Medieval market was peopled with a young generation of pierced and dreadlocked vendors whose marginal ...
Gordon: Last night we stayed in a pilgrim albergue in Spain for the first time. The experience felt more like anthropological research than a good night's sleep. The albergue itself is beautifully situated on a cliff above a beach with sea caves at either end. We had no reservations for the evening, so on rolling past the beautiful site we made an impromptu decision to ...
Ruth: We had another beautiful ride today, with the exception of the industrial landscape on this side of Gijon. Gijon is an attractive beach city with a long promenade stretching along the length of the beach.After our ride we had the afternoon in Aviles to see if we could learn how to live like the Spanish. Of course this started with a Menu del dia, ...
Hotel Carlos I : Our wonderful 300 year old hotel that gives Pilgrims a discount.Gordon: Tonight we are staying in Villaviciosa, the self proclaimed apple capital of Spain. And they don't waste these apples in the produce market, they convert most of them into cidra (cider). This is poured into your glass from a height of three or four feet to aerate it. You are ...
Gaudi's El Capricho in ComillasAfter Santander we left the suburbs and car dealerships and cycled into a much prettier landscape of rolling hills and little towns filled with stone houses. I do prefer them to houses sided with bathroom tile. Every country has its own version of this. I shouldn't be so critical, our house has asbestos shingles. Tiles can be used to great effect, ...
We are in Solares, south of Santander tonight, drinking beer and discussing how our experiences so far on this route compare to our other Caminos. We are on bike and not following the walking route so our knowledge is limited to the roads. We are also not staying in the pilgrim Albergues. Unlike the Camino Frances, the Le Puy and Vezélay routes, accommodation choices seem ...
We planned a short day today so that we would have time to look around this beautiful port town, and go swimming.The ride involved a couple of steep climbs, but there was little traffic and great scenery. It helps that the sun was shining all day. The pilgrim sightings have increased since Bibao. We were told by a Lithuanian pilgrim that the albergues are getting pretty ...
Gordon: After an early morning climb over a minor pass, we spent most of the morning on a gentle downhill roll into Bilbao. This region was an important industrial area in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and there are some unattractive reminders of that era. The last 30 kilometres into Bilbao was on a busy highway through an uninterrupted landscape of industrial enterprises and ...