WHEN WALKING

Home to Santiago – Day 78 A Salceda to Santiago de Compostela: 27km Thank you, Martha. At five or five-thirty, a very loud alarm goes off in the room and continues for thirty seconds, at which point the light is turned on, and for forty-five minutes Martha packs her bags. She leaves the room and…

Home to Santiago – Day 77 Sobrado dos Monxes to A Salceda: 34km The visiting nuns accidentally lock everyone out of the pilgrim mass this morning. Luckily, we all got well shriven at a beautiful Vespers the night before. It is a shame to miss the ranks of nuns and monks at song and prayer…

Home to Santiago – Day 76 Miráz to Sobrado dos Monxes: 26km I’m very much the last pilgrim to leave today. And it’s not all my own doing. I do sleep late, as everyone gets up and has breakfast so quietly. But everyone’s still there when I do make my way in. Once they’re all…

Home to Santiago – Day 75 Baamonde to Miraz: 15km This morning is so relaxed for everyone that I even get to say good morning to Iván, who is normally long gone before I get up. He sleeps in a little single bed across the way. I am in a little compartment of six beds,…

Home to Santiago – Day 73 Mondoñedo to Vilalba: 34km In the morning, I sit in my chosen breakfast place on the square, as the early morning workers come and take their coffees at the other tables. I receive a message from Bernard asking me to wait, nd so it’s nearly nine before I start…

Home to Santiago – Day 71 Tapia de Casariego to Vilela: 19km It is rare that I write a whole day in retrospect. But my short stage and rest plan for Tapia pleasantly misfires. I go to bed at the ridiculously late pilgrim time of 11 p.m. without doing my homework. It’s nice to have…

Home to Santiago – Day 70 A Caridad to Tapia de Casariego: 17km I am on the verge of making a decision I haven’t made before. I may cut a stage short. Today is due to be my last day in Asturias, my last day on the coast, and somehow, although I didn’t think it…