The reward for my swifter-than-expected pilgrim’s progress on the Inglés was that most precious of all commodities - time. After my earlier Caminos had concluded, a clock had been ticking, with planes and trains to catch, places to be and people to see. This time, I’d built in some space for myself to arrive. There …
Author: johnelsewhere1968
Thoughtful wanderer in search of virtual meaning
You Must Go To Muxía
So says lshmael Villalobos, a Gitano father who explains that a Camino cannot end in Santiago. This information was conveyed to me in “The Way”, which by now you will have realised has become like biblical canon for me. More than 80 kilometres away from Santiago on the Costa da Morte, reaching Muxía required another …
Camino Completaro
I rose early on this last day of walking, keen to get going by 7am in order to arrive in Santiago at roughly the same time as the rest of the gang. It had become clear that my walking pace was easily the slowest, counterbalanced only by my determination to complete this Camino in full. …
Camino Compadres
The Inglés may be the shortest of all the Camino routes to Santiago, with this fifth day of walking already bringing us to within 16km of the Cathedral. But that hasn’t changed the special character of this experience, with the rapid formation of a Camino family. The individuals who started walking from Ferrol five days …
Thank U
Many years ago, I watched a film and it changed my life. Martin Sheen played a father to a lost son, at first bewildered by his grief, then determined, against all expectations, to walk the Camino de Santiago in his honour. For no good reason at all, I decided that I would also walk that …
To Stick Or Not To Stick
That is the question. This is my third Camino and on both previous walks, I had comfortably managed the distance without the aid of walking sticks. Clanking away on the path, creating a tedious cacophony, I had always thought they were just another thing that I might leave behind, or another thing to trip over. …
Up and Over
Having prepared for the Camino largely by walking along pleasingly flat local canal routes, I was somewhat apprehensive as I left Neda this morning. Listening to other pilgrims who had walked the Inglés, this second stage had been described in breathless terms, with some serious hills to navigate. The first day had been pretty canal-like …
Back and Forth
After a day of happily mooching around A Coruña, here I was at the Estacion de Autobuses wondering how to buy my bus ticket to Ferrol, where the Camino Inglés has its official starting point. Naturally, a Camino Angel stepped forward to assist me. That’s what always seems to happen when you need a hand. …
Who Do We Think We Are?
It’s Camino Eve, the night before I start walking to Santiago de Compostela for a third time, and I’ve spent the day exploring the sunny streets and broad boulevards of A Coruña, here on the northwest coast of Spain. From here, I’ll catch a bus to Ferrol tomorrow morning and begin the Camino Inglés, the …
Stormy Weather
Not every road trip in Iceland is fun. I took this picture while driving around the Snæfellsnes peninsula during my first Airwaves festival, in November 2015. I thought it would be a good idea to nip up and see Kirkjufell for the first time, with plenty of time to get there and back again in …
johnelsewhere 