Camino de Santiago: Walking Tour

Welcome to Spain! Our adventure begins in Sarria, in the Galicia region, in the northwest of Spain. This autonomous corner of the country has its own language, cuisine, and culture, distinct from the rest of Spain, but is perhaps most famous for being the home of Santiago de Compostela, the final point of the Camino de Santiago. Over the next week, we will walk the last 100 km of this iconic and world-renowned pilgrimage. This evening at 6:00 PM, there will be a meeting where we will meet our local leader and a small group of fellow travelers who will join us on our journey. After the meeting, we will collect our "pilgrim's passport", and then perhaps we will go to a local restaurant for our first foray into the exciting world of Galician cuisine.

Today is a brief introduction to the Camino de Santiago: it's all about finding our way, so let's make sure to take our time and stop to enjoy the surrounding landscapes. Keep our pilgrim's passport handy as it will be stamped at least twice a day during our journey. Starting from Sarria, we will walk a predominantly paved path through beautiful countryside, passing chestnut and oak woods, small farms, villages, and wheat fields. We might stop for a break at Santiago de Barbadelo or the church of San Fiz de Reimondez: our leader will be available to share historical facts and curiosities about the highlights we encounter on our journey. Some of the small farms we come across will sell delicious fresh products like jams, bread, and cheeses: perfect snacks to keep us going! After about 4.5 hours of walking (excluding breaks), we will conclude the day in the delightful town of Portomarin. An excellent place to recharge, the town offers an enticing range of restaurants and beautiful views of the Embalse de Belesar lake. When the town was flooded by the creation of the Belesar reservoir, the historic buildings were dismantled and rebuilt on higher ground, so they can still be admired today.

We are in for a day full of stages, including climbs and descents. We will first ascend Castromaior and Sierra de Ligonde, then gradually descend through the villages of Eirexe and Ligonde until we reach the town of Palas de Rei, our final destination for the day. Here it will be possible to visit the Pambre Castle, a historic fortress that is a symbol of medieval military architecture in Galicia.

Let's get ready for our longest day on this stretch of the Camino de Santiago, covering the distance from Palas de Rei to Arzua. Today's terrain is undulating tarmac, so let's prepare for some ups and downs. First, we will reach the town of Melide: it is home to about 9,000 people and is one of the most populated places on our journey. Melide is famous for its fantastic food, specializing in polbo a feira, a tasty octopus-based dish. Our group will meet in Melide to enjoy a traditional lunch of polbo a feira, which we might follow with some melindres, popular glazed mini doughnuts in Melide. For those wishing to rest their legs, we will have the option to take a taxi to Arzua, otherwise, we will set off on foot and continue the final stretch of today's journey, crossing the Iso river and tackling a series of short but steep slopes. Upon arrival in Arzua, let's make sure to ask our leader for information about the revered cheese produced in this region: it's a must-try while we're here!

Before leaving the town of Arzua, some essential stops: tasting the typical Arzua-Ulloa cheese and a visit to the church of Santiago in Arzua to certify one's pilgrim credentials. Backpack on and off we go, this time towards Pedrouzo, a small Spanish hamlet. On the way to our destination, we are surrounded by green hills from which hermitages emerge, solitary places of refuge and contemplation, like the church of Sant’Irene.

Let's get ready for our last day of walking, conquering the stretch between O Pedrouzo and Santiago de Compostela, and each step will bring us closer to the majestic Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. We'll start by walking through a dense green forest: with no cars or houses around, we might take this time to silently reflect on everything we've achieved over the past week. Later, we'll follow a long stretch of road between Lavacolla and Monte do Gozo, then we'll exchange rural landscapes for urban ones as we cover the last 5 km. We'll listen to the sounds of Galician bagpipes welcoming us into the cathedral, marking the end of our journey along the Camino de Santiago, a truly impressive feat. We'll present our stamped pilgrim's passport and receive the Camino certificate, proof that we've walked the 100 km to Santiago de Compostela. If we arrive at the cathedral before noon, we can enter and participate in the pilgrim's mass, where the list of all those who have collected their Camino certificates in the last 24 hours will be read aloud. The group will also visit the Pilgrimage Museum to learn about the history of the Camino de Santiago and other pilgrimage sites around the world. Tonight, why not treat ourselves to one last dinner with the group in town? We've earned it!

We did it! Let's say goodbye to our fellow walkers and our guide, with whom we have shared this intense spiritual journey and more. Thank you, Pilgrims!