Author: Edward Dunar

We reached Santiago today! We’ll post more about our last two days tomorrow. It’s a thrill to be reach our goal.

Edward here! Today, we officially passed the 100km mark, which is a significant point on the journey because it represents the minimum that pilgrims must walk to earn their certificate. The character of the Camino changes here, too, as the trail becomes busier, accumulating newcomers and gradually converging with other routes as we approach Santiago.

We wanted to find a proper signpost to mark this important threshold, but this is the best we could come up with:

The signposts in Galicia are oddly specific. Surely they could have placed this one six meters earlier to give us the satisfaction of a round 100km. But who are we to question the Camino?

Today was filled with various highlights. In the first fifteen minutes, we found a beautiful Marian shrine carved into the inside of a 700-year-old tree.

The morning’s walk was through an enchanting green forest blanketed with fog. 

We had breakfast in a rural cafe where we chatted with fellow pilgrims who we met last night. As the fog gave way to sun, we passed a sculptor’s studio. 

The artist gave us a stamp in our credential book using burning wax. Pictured below is a page from my credential book, which gives us access to alburgues and verifies that we have walked the Camino when we finally seek our certificate. It also serves as a nice keepsake, a record of where we have stayed and what we have seen.

Our end point is an alburgue run by British alumni of the Camino. The volunteers welcomed us with afternoon tea. We are now resting and gearing up for a longer walk tomorrow, which will end at an alburgue connected to a Trappist monastery known for its delicious fudge. This last stretch of the Camino is certainly granting its share of delights!

(Edward) 

Today, we took a shorter day. During our manageable and painless 14km, we still encountered beautiful sights and wildlife.

We stopped in Vilalba to stay at a beautiful alburgue that opened only 2 months ago.
During this last week, we are extending our spiritual practices as we prepare for the end of our pilgrimage. The last time I walked the Camino (just the last 100km of the Frances) was about ten years ago, so I decided, during the last ten days of my walk this time around, to carry out an examen of one of those years each day. Walking through the past ten years day by day has been a powerful experience. So far, it has both called my attention to the many blessings in my life and illuminated those areas I need to work on to be a better disciple of Jesus.

We’re back to a regular pace tomorrow, when we reach the final 100km mark!

(Edward here!) Some of the most interesting people we have met on the Camino have been the hosts of alburgues and houses of hospitality. Many of them got their start after walking the path themselves. Four of their stories stand out to me because they are remarkably similar while expressing different approaches toward faith and life.

Ernesto is a retired priest whose work among the shepherd villages in the Picos de Europa inspired him to travel the world learning about the distinctive spirituality of poor agricultural communities. He decided to purchase the abandoned lifelong home of his grandparents in Guemes and transform it into a pilgrim’s alburgue, which is now one of the most beloved stops on the Northern Way. For every group that passes through, he recounts the story of his journey and urges his guests to approach the Camino as a chance to experience an alternative way of life of solidarity and relationality.

José does not consider himself to be a religious person, but he is energized by serving others. He once left a high-paying job in finance to work with elders in a nursing home so that he could spend more of his time making others’ lives better. While walking the Camino, he realized that the most satisfying part of the experience was helping other pilgrims– aiding them with the language, sharing medical supplies, giving encouragement. He decided to establish a donations-only alburgue near Aviles that would welcome all pilgrims regardless of nationality, religious affiliation, or ability to pay. Noticing that his town’s church had an attached rectory that had sat empty for years, he offered to rent and restore it. He now works every day at his alburgue, never taking a day off because he feels nourished by the work.

His wife, Terín, was skeptical of the project at first, but quickly realized its significance. She began to see her work at the alburgue as an expression of her Catholic faith. While telling me about her sense of mission, she said to me, “Here in Spain, we have an expression: wherever God plants you, blossom! There is work to do in every place and every season. Wherever you are, there is a call.”

Last night, Kate and I stayed at the home of Karmela, a painter who opens her studio to six pilgrims each night. Karmela was inspired to such hospitality by her own walk on the Camino Frances, as well as a deep desire to live more in harmony with nature (needless to say, she is a big fan of Thoreau) and in line with her political ideals. Yesterday, Kate and I were her only guests, so we stayed up late drinking cider and discussing spirituality, art, anthropology, and the joys and challenges of maintaining an open house on the Camino. The house reflected Karmela’s artistic talent. Her paintings of the Camino hung on the walls, and each room offered a surprise (for example, the shower was designed to look like the prehistoric cave paintings in Ribadello!)

These hosts hold different religious positions and beliefs, but they all share a common pattern: the experience of active service and love for others on the Camino led to an embrace of a radical way of life of hospitality and integrity. As Kate and I pursue our own vocations going forward, we will treasure these examples and conversations.

Looking ahead, we have several lighter days as we approach the 100km mark. A week from today, we will be celebrating the end of our journey in Santiago de Compostela.

After our string of 30km days, we now have space to take our time a bit more. Our itinerary includes a couple of longer days, but for the most part we will be able to move at a steady pace of about 21km each day.

The route over the past two days covers more forests and parklands across the mountains. We have been treated to some stunning views and pleasant trails.

Edward here! Sorry for the delay in posting this time around. We experienced what will likely be our three most intense days of walking on the Camino, with lots of hills and itineraries over 30km. Upon reaching our destinations, we wanted to do little but eat and sleep.

Yesterday was significant because the trail presented a decision: continuing on the coastal path, or splitting inland to Oviedo, the beginning of the Primitivo Camino, believed to be the oldest of the paths.

This split also marked the last time we would see some of our companions. Over the course of the Camino, you become familiar with pilgrims who are walking at a similar pace. Over the past two weeks, we have seen about a dozen familiar faces on and off. Sometimes we would walk together with them, and other times we would eat with them at the alburgues or run into them at cafes. 

One of our closest friends on the way has been David, a factory worker from Austria. This is David’s eighth time on the Camino. He has walked most of the major routes. When we asked him what kept bringing him back, he remarked: “God has been good to me. I have a wonderful wife, a talented son, healthy parents, and everything I need to be comfortable. This is my way of giving thanks.”

David made friends with many of the other pilgrims through his kindness and mischievous humor. He would often pray with us along the way, and he gave us advice about good hostels and alternative routes. Yesterday, we said goodbye to him at the intersection as he made his way to the Primitive Route. 

The rest of yesterday’s hike was difficult. The fog made it impossible to see more than a few meters ahead, and we climbed two substantial hills, one of which required an ascent of 430m. However, our destination, the port city of Gijón, was well worth the effort.

This is actually my second time in Gijón, a vibrant, active city. When I studied for a summer in León nearly ten years ago, I joined a group of classmates in a weekend getaway here. Given that Kate and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary yesterday, we decided to stay an extra day here in a hotel. We are getting lots of rest today, but we have also managed to fit in a fair amount of sightseeing. We strolled along the beach, enjoyed some breakfast tapas, explored the cathedral, and visited a museum featuring the excavation of a Roman bath house.

Tomorrow, our Camino continues! We are about halfway through our journey.

We had a smooth morning of walking through Colombres today. The villages we passed were quiet because it is Sunday, and the overcast and cool weather lent itself to pleasant hiking. Because our clothes didn’t quite dry from last night’s washing, we decided to stop a bit early and splurge on a room at a cozy alburgue in La Franca that offers laundry service. The proprietor is friendly and has a beautiful white cat named Luca.

(Edward here!) One of the few disappointments of our time on the Camino so far has been the rarity of churches being open for viewing and praying. 

Over the past two days, this has started to change! Last night, we stayed at a very sparce albergue run by a monastery in Cóbreces. This hostal included a remarkable benefit: an invitation to join the monks for Vespers and Compline.

Both services were magnificently beautiful. We tried our best to chant along with the brothers, who sang the psalms and prayers with heartful familiarity. Kate and I agreed that our favorite moment was during the Regina Caeli at the end of Compline, when the monks prayed most emotionally as a spotlight illuminated a statue of Mary. Afterwards, the abbot offered us a blessing and sprinkling of holy water. 

Today, we found a beautiful small village chapel open along the way. We stopped there for our morning prayers. The morning light streamed through the stained glass window above the altar, with depictes the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Sacrament. We were grateful that this small town left open their chapel for pilgrims to enjoy.

At mid-day, we stopped in Comillas for coffee and walked through the city’s cathedral, which included some impressive Marian votive statues.

Another highlight of Comillas was walking past Gaudí’s Capricho. It was closed for a private event, but we caught a glimpse through the gate.

We are now staying in San Vicente de la Barquera, a fishing town. Tomorrow is our longest hike so far on the Camino. If all goes well, we’re going 30km (18.6 miles).

Buen camino!

(Edward here!) Yesterday was a doozie! We encountered our most rugged trek so far, with lots of elevations and declines. Fortunately, strenuous climbing usually grants the reward of stunning views.

Today was a bit easier, and we’re already starting to notice our bodies adapt to 30km walks and steady climbing. 

(From Edward) Today’s itinerary offered a surprising amount of variety. Upon leaving Pobleña at the crack of dawn, we braved another grueling stair climb. We were immediately rewarded with a stunning view of the ocean as the sun rose. 

We passed forests, small villages, and pastures of cows. We took a terrifying shortcut that amounted to walking on the thin shoulder of a highway.

The endpoint suggested by our guidebook and app was Castro-Urdiales, a city filled with historical sights (evidence of human settlement here reaches back to 12000 BCE) and natural beauty. Once we reached downtown, we ate breakfast with fellow pilgrims from Barcelona, Croatia, and Germany and prayed at the Gothic church Santa María de la Asunción.

We decided to walk further to get a head start on tomorrow’s route of 30km. The alburgue which we had hoped to sleep was unexpectedly shut down, but we found a small cabin at a nearby campsite for only 20 euros. We are now eating sandwiches in the shadow of a green mountain as we prepare for more adventure tomorrow.