Fonfría — Samos — After Fonfría, the pilgrim can choose to take a direct route towards Sarria, or take an extra day to detour to the Benedictine monastery at Samos. …

Herrerías — Fonfría (partly on horseback) — Another day I have to pull from my memory, and I have no trouble doing so: this is the day I did part of the Camino de Santiago on horseback. If you read through Camino forums with the dedication I did when preparing for my pilgrimage, you’re likely to hear…

Molinaseca — Herrerías — Combing through my journals, I realized that I failed to write down a description of this day, so I’ll do my best to reconstruct it from my memory. …

The Way of the Cross — As we transition out of Holy Week and now celebrate the Easter Season, it is worth taking a day to share the meditation I made on the Sorrowful Mysteries while praying the rosary in the early morning on the way to the Cruz de Ferro. Agony in the Garden Jesus must…

Cruz de Ferro to Molinaseca — After the Cruz de Ferro, we continue on towards Molinaseca along the steep and rocky downhill paths of the mountainous terrain. We pass through small, one-road villages, wave at bicycle pilgrims zipping past, and stop at the iconic rest area with multicolored signs displaying the distance to various destinations around…

Cruz de Ferro — Waking up this morning, the prayer we said together last night echoes in the pre-dawn darkness: “May our sleep be a reminder of Christ in the tomb and may we rise with him again to new life in the morning.” Today, we will experience one of the major milestones of…

Astorga to Rabanal del Camino — Anne and I start preparing to leave the albergue this morning in a cloud of anxious energy. Still unsure exactly where near Astorga the American woman disappeared while walking the Camino, we continue this stage of the pilgrimage with extreme caution, and had made plans to meet with a few…

Villar de Mazarif to Astorga — Today we start early again to walk with the sunrise. Most of the path follows a paved country road — at least the first eight kilometers, and it is a mostly pleasant day overall, with many stops for breakfast and refreshments along the way. Between Villar de Mazarif and Astorga…

León to Villar de Mazarife — We get started regretfully early (I could kill for just another hour in this luxurious hotel bed), leaving León together as a group around 6:15 in the morning. In the first couple of hours, it’s easy to understand why many pilgrims take a bus to the outskirts of the city…