The one where we survived the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

I just spent the last 5 days in the Galician countryside walking the path that millions of pilgrims have walked to reach the body of Santiago (James) the apostle buried in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. There is a rich and fascinating history behind the pilgrimage, but nothing can convey the experience like walking it yourself.

Galicia

No matter how many things I had heard from the professor or from other students who had done it in the past, mentally preparing for the talk of walking 22+ km each day is more difficult than it seems. The walking, hills, and fatigue were hard on our joints, but a huge obstacle (at least for me) was facing the increasingly longer distances of each phase to cover the full 110 km. Here is a break down of our trip:

Day 1: Sarria to Portomarin - 22 km

Day 2: Portomarin to Palas do Rei - 24 km

Day 3: Palas do Rei to Arzua - 28 km

Day 4: Arzua to Monte do Gozo - 32 km

Day 5: Monte do Gozo to Santiago de Compostela - 5 km

Our days varied between walking in groups and walking alone, taking in the landscapes and contemplating life. Much of my journey sadly goes undocumented through photographs, but I hope to make up for it by taking a few from friends.

Route in Spain

We began our trip in Sarria-the 2nd dot from Santiago de Compostela on the map- roughly 110 km away from our destination of Santiago de Compostela (you can see that walking the entire route, the actual full pilgrimage, would take much, much longer than the 4.5 days we spent walking). With bellies full of bocadillos and armed with a backpack and two feet, we began our pilgrimage through Galicia. The first day was long and a bit daunting as we realized the toll 22 km could take on our joints. About a third of the group managed to reach the hostel before the storm hit; the others had a taste of mother nature's kindness to pilgrims. A hot shower, good dinner, and a glass of wine undid most of the damage and we went to bed with  20% of our journey under our belt

The second day began with a bleak outlook of rain and breakfast (a croissant and a cup of coffee - I understand the whole concept of a Spanish breakfast, but couldn't help wondering how far I'd make it into the 24 km of the day with not much else to eat). We had a slightly better idea of what to expect and how to time our breaks in order to ensure we made it to the next hostel in one piece and hopefully without getting caught in the rain.

The day turned out to be quite beautiful; the terrain wasn't too challenging and we all felt good when we stopped for lunch with 7 km left for the day. I had spent the last few kilometers walking and talking to a wonderful Irish man I met along the way, but was more than happy to take a break with my fellow Stanford travelers.

Unfortunately we only made it 10 min into the next part of our walk before the rain started coming down cold and fast, quickly followed by hail. We were close enough that I was tempted to run the last few kilometers to the hostel, but with a backpack and slick terrain, I don't think that would have been a good idea. We made it to the hostel, a bit more banged up and much more wet than the day before, but with plenty of time to recuperate.

[to be continued...]