Spain

I love to walk in Spain!

The quick links to each blog are below

Newly added: Caminho da Coasta which starts in Porto, Portugal but on day 7, crosses into Spain. Here is day 1 – you can find each day listed and linked on the Portuguese page.

‘I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” R . L. Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes

Time spent in Spain: 4.10.16 – 17.12.16; 12.5.17 – 24.5.17. Spring 2018. Autumn 2019.

Some of these blogs were written ‘on the spot’, some soon after the event, and others when I returned to Scotland. What a joy to compile them!

The origin of my decision to visit Spain (and walk) for the first time:

At the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, I heard Jean-Christophe Rufin explain (and these are my own words from the memory of that event), that all the walkers he saw seemed to be scribbling or typing a blog at every stop of the way, but that he decided not to do that and to rely instead on his own memory afterwards. But I am a 53 year old woman who has had 2 kids and has a head which is already very full of experiences, so I didn’t want to rely on mine!

I began to walk the Camino Frances in Pamplona, Spain.

Writing:

Writing has been a good way to assimilate and integrate my experiences, to make sense of where I have travelled, what I was thinking, and the conversations I had with people. It enabled me to tell my family, friends and colleagues what I was up to (similar to one of those newsletters you sometimes receive in Xmas cards!). I now realise that it also keeps the spirit of my wonderful adventures alive.

spain-autumn-2016-phone-886 — Donkey in a temporary street stall, Feria, a Basque county fair.

There were two distinct parts to my journey: one where I visited fellow Shiatsu (acupressure massage) and complementary therapy practitioners, giving sessions in return for bed and board. The other where I walked the Camino Frances and part of the Via de la Plata (‘o contrario’, backwards), staying in different hostels and hotels every night.

Burgos, a major town along the Camino Frances, Spain.

The former came out of finding a way to stay in Spain where I could offer something valuable in return for somewhere to lay my head. The latter was inspired by friends – Phyllis and Liz – and by books, programmes I heard on the radio, and the film, ‘The Way’. It turns out that walking the Camino suits someone like me, a normally busy person, active, and perhaps tending towards being workaholic or at least feeling full of responsibilities. I trained myself years ago to sit and meditate, but it could be that walking is more appropriate to my character.

“that fine intoxication that comes from much motion in the open air, that begins in a sort of dazzle and sluggishness in the brain, and ends in a peace that passes comprehension.” R.L. Stevenson, taken from various blogs (see below in English & French).

Camino

A walk, or track, often trodden for religious and spiritual reasons since the Middle Ages, by ‘peregrinos’ (Spanish for pilgrim). The best known is The Way of St James of Compostelle, or Camino Frances. All paths are signposted by the coquille Saint Jaques shell which walkers also carry to symbolise their journey. ‘The Camino de Santiago comprises a lattice of European pilgrimage itineraries which converge at Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain.’ (Michael Murray, for ref. see below). They can begin in Jerusalem, Rome, and Paris, famously at Sean-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France; and are travelled across Spain, Portugal, France, England and elsewhere in Europe.

spain-autumn-2016-phone-2732 — The shell sign alongside the number of km still to travel. This one indicates I have arrived in Santiago de Compostella (November 23rd 2016) after walking from Pamplona. It is the final way marker of the Camino Frances, Finnisterre, Spain.

My itinerary

This is where I went, in the order I visited: October – Downton (New Forest, Hampshire, England), Santander (by boat from Portsmouth), Salinas, Aviles, Oviedo, Bilbao, Egileor, Vitoria Gastiez, Feria, San Sebastian, Pamplona. Camino Frances 1 (Urtega (by bus from Pamplona) to Najera). Cortiguera, Aranjuez (via Madrid). Camino Frances 2 (San Juan de Ortega to Carrion). November – Madrid. Camino Frances 3 (Leon to Santiago de Compostella), Finnisterre, Santiago. There are links below, to the blogs I have written about each of the places.

Map showing Santiago de Compostella in north western Spain, the home of the Tomb of St James, final destination of pilgrims from all over the world.

December – Camino Via de la Plata (Santiago to Vilar de Bario). Xinzon, Ourense, Las Matas (via Madrid), Valencia (via Madrid), Olocau and Sierra Calderona, Barcelona, Edinburgh (by aeroplane).

Isn’t long distance walking very hard on your body?

I keep being asked whether I suffered from the walking, and I understand the question because I, too, was very worried about this, and allowed it to put me off starting. I did have a week or so of blisters at the beginning, but I had researched what to take with me before going, and had plasters, cream and a sewing kit with me (yes, we sew a thread through the part with the fluid and let it drain out over time to stop it getting infected!). The other pilgrims were really helpful and showed me how to look after my feet, so I didn’t have to stop, and my skin hardened up soon enough.

spain-autumn-2016-phone-3179 — Early on the Camino Frances, Spain.

My main concern had been my back and the load. I carried approximately 18kg (which was more than the recommended 5th of your body weight) and although it felt very heavy after 32km, there was no pain. All that yoga before I left, my daily ‘Salutations to the Sun’ helped. I did have to pay to get it home on the aeroplane at the end, which was a nuisance and might have been avoided. The next time I took a new-style, light-weight sleeping bag and towel to lighten my pack. See my What to Pack in your Rucksack blog for more details.

I trained as a professional dancer in my teens and early twenties, and am therefore used to daily class, working through the pain and stiffness of the night and previous day’s exertions. This probably helped me to deal with the numerous small physical difficulties which arose when I walked, especially at the start of the day. I used my Shiatsu and other training to identify the source, relax into the areas I was holding tension, and, lo! they disappeared as quickly as they came.

There were many other people who suffered and some who had to give up. I helped with Shiatsu where I could (feet, hands, ankles, backs etc) in the evenings at the hostels. It was good to meet travellers I had massaged later along the way, and particularly in Santiago on the final day, and discover that they had been able to complete the hike.

spain-2016-001 — Leaving Portsmouth, by sea, October 2016.

Between Portsmouth and Edinburgh I walked a lot of kilometres!

700+ (Caminos), not including Sierra Calderona, Egileor, Aviles-Salinas, walking friends’ dogs, walking to school near Valencia, all the cities…

The first part of this blog is a very long list of the places I have walked and visited in Spain – one per day of each Camino! If you would like to read the introduction, it is here

Are you thinking of walking the Camino? What is the Camino? Where is it? How do I get there? and much more.

Here is my triumphant arrival at Santiago de Compostella after walking for 5 weeks from Pamplona. I write a little about what I got out of it.

Here are links to the main cities of Spain and other beautiful smaller towns and mountain regions which I have visited

Zaragoza and the Museo de Zaragoza

Olocau Spain Mother’s Day Weekend

Olocau March 2018

Spain, Olocau 2

Spain, Olocau 1

Valencia and Sierra Calderona pt 1

Olocau and Sierra Calderona pt 2

Via de la Plata camino (The Silver Road, it is sometimes called)

Via de la Plata camino day 1 Seville to Guillena

Guillena to Castilblanco los Arroyos

Castilblanco de los Arroyos to Almaden

Almaden through El Real to Monasterio

Monasterio to Fuente de Cantos

Fuente de Cantos to Zafra

Zafra to Villafranca de los Barros

Villafranca de los Barros to Torremejia

Torremejia to Merida

Merida to Aljucen

Aljucen to Alcuescar

Alcuescar to Aldea de Cano

Aldea de Cano to Caceres

Caceres to Casar de Caceres

Casar de Caceres to Embalse de Alcantara

Embalse de Alcantara to Grimaldo

Grimaldo to Galisteo

Galisteo (to Oliva de Plasencia) to Aldeanueva de Camino

Aldeanueva de Camino to Calzada de Behar

Calzada de Behar to Fuenteroble de Salvatierra

Fuenterroble de Salvatierra to Pedrosilla de las Aires

Pedrosilla de las Aires to Morille

Morille to Salamanca

Salamanca to Calzada de Valdunciel

Calzada de Valdunciel to El Cubo

El Cubo to Villanueva de Campean

Villanueva de Campean to Zamora

Zamora to Montamarta

Montamarta to Tabara

Tabara to Santa Marta de Tera

Santa Marta de Tera to Vilar de Barrio (coming soon!)

Vilar de Barrio to Xinzon to Ourense (again)

Xunqueria de Ambia – Vilar de Barrio

Ourense – Xunqueira de Ambia

And the few days before that: Laxe – Castro Douzon – Cea – Ourense

The last few days, which I walked first going backwards from Santiago de Compostella – Outerio – Bandera – Laxe. In the direction of Seville (north to south)