What Will It Be?

For those who followed my blog, you know that last summer I hiked the entire Appalachian Trail. Since then, I’ve been asked many times “What’s the next adventure?” I wanted something different, that my wife, Pat, would join in. After a lot of discussion we settled on a section of the Camino de Santiago. 

The Camino

The Camino de Santiago (the road to Santiago) is a series of routes through Spain’s countryside that conclude in the city of Santiago de Compostela. The city has a shrine to Saint James and pilgrims have followed the caminos for more than a thousand years.

More than 400,000 will complete a Camino annually (versus 1000 on the AT), which officially requires a pilgrimage of at least 100 kilometers. Over time, towns have arisen and grown to support the pilgrims. As a result, I thankfully wouldn’t need to sleep in a tent or carry multiple days worth of food.  Most pilgrims arrange to stay each night at a local hostel. But since we are  ultra-platinum blazing, Pat has arranged hotel accommodations for each night. 

Our Section 

Credit to Pat for doing all the homework.  She selected a section that would take us from the city of Ourense, through farms, forests and towns, to conclude in Santiago. Our hike will cover about 75 miles over 6 days, generally 12 – 14 miles with one short 8 mile day.

Getting Started 

Traveling to our starting point took a full day. The city of Ourense is historic in its own right, so we took an extra day to tour the city. The highpoint was the Cathedral of Ourense, with sections constructed between the years 1220 and 1722. You don’t need to be religious to appreciate the history and architecture. Try zooming in to see the detail in these photos…

At night we enjoyed the charm of the local restaurants. Pulpo (octopus) is a local delicacy and served everywhere. Turns out that when the church was running the government, fishermen would pay their taxes with a portion of their catch. Octopus was considered the least favorable of the catch, and therefore used as payment.  It’s now traditional fare.

I’m usually rather picky regarding seafood, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Our first local meal included pulpo, local scallops, and razor clams. It was all delicious! 

Tomorrow we begin to hike.

Thanks for listening.