Camino De Santiago
Two newlyweds walking across the northern coast of Spain to start a world adventure
See it on the interactive map · Flyby videos
Chapters
- Home To Gatwick, 3:15am · 1 pebbl
- EasyJet To Biarritz · 2 pebbls
- Train From Bayonne To St-jean
- St Jean Pied De Port -> Roncesvalle · 4 pebbls
- Day 2: Roncesvalles -> Larasoaña · 7 pebbls
- Day 3: Larrasoaña -> Pamplona · 5 pebbls
- Day 5: Pamplona -> Puente La Reina · 6 pebbls
- Day 6: Puente la Reina -> Estella · 5 pebbls
- Day 6: Estella -> Torres Del Río · 4 pebbls
- Day 7: Torres del Río -> Logroño · 8 pebbls
- Day 9: Logroño to Ventosa · 4 pebbls
- Day 10: Ventosa -> San Domingo · 6 pebbls
- Day 11: Santo Domingo -> Belorado · 3 pebbls
- Day 12: Belorado -> San Juan D. O. · 1 pebbl
- Day 13: San Juan D. O. -> Burgos · 5 pebbls
- Day 16: Into The Meseta · 1 pebbl
- Day 17: Short Hop To Castrojeriz · 3 pebbls
- Day 18: Castrojeriz -> Town · 3 pebbls
- Day 19: Population To Carrión · 1 pebbl
- Day 20: Carrion -> Ledigos · 2 pebbls
- Day 21: Ledigos -> Calzada D.L.H. · 3 pebbls
- Day 22: Calzada D.L.H. -> Reliegos · 1 pebbl
- Day 23: Reliegos -> León · 2 pebbls
- Day 25: León -> San Martin d. Camino · 1 pebbl
- Day 26: San Martin d.c. -> Astorga · 3 pebbls
- Day 27: Astorga -> Foncebadón · 3 pebbls
- Day 28: Foncebadón -> Ponferrada · 4 pebbls
- Day 29: Ponferrada -> Villafranca · 1 pebbl
- Day 30: Villafranca -> La Laguna · 5 pebbls
- Day 31: La Laguna -> Triacastela · 2 pebbls
- Day 32: Triacastela -> Barbadelo · 2 pebbls
- Day 33: Barbadelo -> Gonzar · 4 pebbls
- Day 34: Castromaior -> Melide · 2 pebbls
- Day 35: Melide -> Salceda · 2 pebbls
- Day 36: Salceda -> Santiago! · 5 pebbls
Home To Gatwick, 3:15am
1.5 hours sleep, but on our way to catch our flight to Biarritz!
EasyJet Check-in (fun)
EasyJet To Biarritz
Landed At Biarritz
Big Beach
St Jean Pied De Port -> Roncesvalle
First part of the walk!
St-Jean-Pied-De-Port
Got our pilgrim passports, ready to go!
Refuge Auberge Orisson
Really steep ascent to here (about a third of the way), gonna be a tough day
Made It 🥵🥵🥵
Feet are dead. Such a tough, long hike - hardest one out the way. Got a hotel room next to the monastery here, hopefully our feet recover overnight. Tomorrow’s walk mainly flat - phew
Day 2: Roncesvalles -> Larasoaña
Today is mainly flat/downhill (apparently!). Heading 26km through Basque hamlets and forests to the riverside village of Larasoaña. Slightly late start but a shorter hike than yesterday time-wise
Quick Fuel-up
In a small town called Espinal, built in 1269 as a refuge for pilgrims running away from violent bandits. Realising Estrella Galicia is on tap around these parts 😏
Death Chickens (from Yesterday)
Ick
More From Today
Constant sound of bells attached to all the sheep, cows, horses in almost every field. So peaceful. (Admittedly I was listening to the Hairspray! soundtrack for some of it). Closing in on Pamplona. Arrive there tomorrow after a “short walk” 🥵
Day 3: Larrasoaña -> Pamplona
A short hop (16k-ish) to Pamplona where we’ll be staying in a hotel that was one of Hemingway’s favourites. Possibly staying there for two nights depending on how we feel.
Off Again
Embracing the pilgrim lewk. Pamplona here we come 🥾 another beautiful, sunny day with cold breezes - ideal weather!
Made It To Pamplona!
Epic approach into Pamplona, home for the next two nights.
Pintxos 😋
Sitting in a backstreet in Pamplona trying out the famous ‘pintxos’ - cod thingy then an anchovy thingy. Delicious. Keep bumping into a Taiwanese couple who we have met at every stop. Husband bought it for wife as a 60th birthday present. They don’t seem tired at all really. He said today was “just a short walk” - hope he was joking.
Day 5: Pamplona -> Puente La Reina
Rainy start. Walking with two lovely californians who are also relying on James’ map skills
Mountaintop Memorial
Ft. Emo sunflowers
Made It. Found The Wine Bar Immediately
Puente La Reina. After 24km, 400m elevation, and good chats with our new friends from California, Cheryl and Pauline
Queen's Bridge
Built in the 11th century by the Queen of Pamplona
Day 6: Puente la Reina -> Estella
A ‘short’ walk today (21km). James feeling great. Jules feeling a bit like the Tin Man but spirits are high. Think Tin Man post oil, skipping stiffly down the Yellow Brick Road.
Meltdown In Beautiful Settings
Met first full-on emotional block climbing up a hill. Legs so sore! Stopped to blub. But now walking along a vineyard towards lunch. Somehow spirits have lifted.
James The Nature Photographer
Going mad
Estella
Made it to this random, beautiful town. Sounds of bells in the distance. At 8pm there’s a local festival where they hand out potatoes, apparently. Also, a picture of my tasty (despite its looks) artichoke lunch for good luck. Vegging ever closer to Santiago. Just a billion miles to go. 🥔🥦🧅🍅🥕🧄🍠🫑🫛🥬
Day 6: Estella -> Torres Del Río
This is the longest yet - 28km. Feet bandaged up for support. Going to push through 5km at a time then take a foot massage break
Wine Fountain
“Pilgrim, if you want to get to Santiago with strength and vitality, have some of this wine and something something” - a weak translation of the sign next to this free-flowing WINE FOUNTAIN!
Middle Of Absolutely Nowhere
Absolutely Bloody Exhausted
Walked past the horizon today. And again. And again. Felt long. Both exhausted.
Day 7: Torres del Río -> Logroño
Closing in on our next big town - just 20km today as we pushed through the extra miles yesterday. Taking a day off tomorrow. Bet you can’t guess what we’ll be doing. (Hint: Logroño is in La Rioja) 🍇
Made It 🥵
Logroño is gorgeous. This afternoon felt quite hot and intense, although was cool walking past all the Rioja vineyards absolutely bursting with big juicy grapes. Going to try and start earlier the next couple of weeks as we’re headed straight West and the afternoon sun blasts in your face as you walk, even with a big sun hat on. Feet dead again. Day off so welcome.
Bodegas Ysios
Just letting the feet recover ya know?
Sweet Sounds Of Logroño
Distant bells, wine pouring, happy chatty Americans nearby. Enjoying Logroño very much. And loved La Guardia, magical little town. Accidentally joined a Spanish-only wine cellar tour earlier - learned nada since my Spanish has seriously deteriorated since abandoning Duolingo, and got muchos evils from the elderly mujeres thanks to the dregs of clothing I am wearing (the rest is in the hotel laundry). Pink sky. This is the life. 30km to go tomorrow - hoping for an early start to avoid as much of that brutal afternoon sun as possible.
Day 9: Logroño to Ventosa
19km to Ventosa, and if feeling good will continue on for another 10k. Not the early start we hoped for - had a bad night’s sleep
Red Squirrel Showing Us The Way
A red squirrel guiding us along the way 👼🐿️. (But actually luring us into a trap where Daddy “El Pointio Earrios” Squirrel could attack us from the flank)
The Stamp Of Nutproval
After a perilous first encounter, we quickly learned that walnuts were key to gaining the trust of northern Spain’s squirrel community. Thank you to the friendly locals who showed us how.
Another Day Done ☑️
Day 10: Ventosa -> San Domingo
Actually out the door by 7:30am! Rainy, cold, dark. Long walk today to San Domingo - expecting about 9 hours including a break for lunch.
Makeshift Lunch
Cannot wrap our heads around the seemingly random lunch times at restaurants around here. Too early for this restaurant, so made do with a banana, crisps and a twix (so healthy… nat. 16km still to go today though.)
That Was Horrible But We Did It
Horrid weather that made it feel like we were walking the backstreets of Slough, long windy paths that never seemed to end, and very painful feet (both of us). The closer we got, the further the destination seemed. Had a few moments where we were both thinking ‘wtf are we even doing, let’s fly to some nice beach somewhere’. Could not have made it 10m further than the hotel. BUT we managed over 32k today so feeling proud of ourselves. Much shorter walk tomorrow. We WILL make it to Santiago. Got a nice restaurant booked for tonight but both unsure if our feet can make it there - it’s a whopping 500 metres away.
Los Caballeros Restaurant
Quite an emotional dinner after such a long, cold, rainy walk. Hobbled through torrential rain to get there. Hot Basque lamb leg and wine was amazing. Honestly such a great chef. 100000000000 stars.
Day 11: Santo Domingo -> Belorado
23km. Let’s go.
The Story Of Lance-a-lot
Leaving late today after spending the morning at our wonderful hotel, which was formerly a convent. Not relaxing, no, but plucking up the courage to lance an enormous blister on my heel. It was truly a repulsive affair. Now off to see some chickens that roam freely around a cathedral, apparently. Then we’ll be on our way.
Cats ‘n’ Swings
Hobble hobble, hobble hobble, hobble hobble, hobble hobble, hobble hobble, etc etc.
Officially 1/3 Of The Way To Santiago
Paella to celebrate 367,593 steps, 234km, and one third of our journey officially complete. Waitress said I needed to ‘go for a walk’ after seeing how I’d scraped every last drop of mine up. 🥲🫠☠️
Two more days to Burgos where we’ll take our next rest day. In the meantime, both waddling like penguins (today was not as easy as we hoped!)
Day 12: Belorado -> San Juan D. O.
Trying our luck at an albergue today as no accommodation was available to book online. Let’s hope they have beds for us. First, a ‘lovely forest walk’ according to guidebook. 24.5k-ish, mainly uphill.
Absolute Snoring Chaos In The Albergue
We took too long to get here due to blisters on my feet 🐌 so have ended up at the single worst reviewed albergue on the entire Camino. Room of 22 beds, we’re both on top bunks next to each other. The snoring is hilarious (thankfully we have ear plugs but as they always say, an ear plug is no match for the sound of an exploding steam train). Lights are on full throttle. American guy next to us was prepared to throw his cowboy hat at the snorer. Lady underneath me laughed. But now she’s asleep and causing the tectonic plates to shift with her heavy-metal nose grumbles. Lord give us strength. (We are in a monastery, in after all).
Day 13: San Juan D. O. -> Burgos
After a hilarious night’s experience (although, to be fair, we slept quite well on our top bunks), we got kicked out of the monastery at 8am. So we march unshowered to a nice hotel in Burgos.
Day Off
Nice to rest the feet. Pouring rain. Slow-cooked lamb. Mucho vino 🍷