30/01/23 – 05/02/23 221 km I left Tiebas before 8 o’clock. It was still dark, but I had no choice, the Albergue in the next town didn’t open until February so I would have to complete two stages in one day. I hadn’t done a fifty kilometre day since Galicia and I knew it would …
23/01/23 – 29/01/23 158 km I followed the road out of San Sebastián to the small village of Lezo. I had to go this way as those walking the Camino usually crossed the river downstream by boat which of course wasn’t an option for me. I was feeling fresh after two day’s rest and managed …
16/01/23 – 22/01/23 128 km The rain is back! By the time I had walked two hundred metres to my local for my final breakfast I was wet through. It was gonna be a long day. I followed the river out of Bilbao, passing the Guggenheim on the way before embarking on a gruelling climb …
02/01/23 – 08/01/23 125 km There are some things in life that you can’t plan. I still can’t believe how lucky I was, that after four months on the road, I was in exactly the same place as Cristina for New Year’s Eve! It really is remarkable when you think about it. I didn’t walk …
26/12/22 – 01/1/01/23 180 km For the first time in weeks it wasn’t raining when I left the Albergue. I found a nice little bar and made sure I had a filling breakfast before leaving, as I knew I was unlikely to find anything open along the way. I also bought myself a piece of …
19/12/22 – 25/12/22 207 km My second night in the old schoolhouse wasn’t as comfortable as the first. The wind was howling through every crack in the brickwork and water was hammering down on the roof. I gave up pretending to sleep at 7am. When I opened the shutters I could see horizontal rain illuminated …
31/10/22 – 06/11/22 242 km As I left Antequera on the first morning of November, temperatures still roasting, I only had one thought. After nine consecutive weeks of walking, surely I was due one without incident? The walk out of town was dull however things started to improve after I had reached a series of …
24/10/22 – 30/10/22 223 km Monday was a godsend, it was the first time I’d had two consecutive day’s rest and I hadn’t realised how much my body needed it. I only left the hotel once, to stock up ready for the next day’s ascent of Mulhacén. It was bliss! I woke up on Day …
17/10/22 – 23/10/22 222 km Despite revelling in the familiarity of walking so close to the place I consider my home in Spain, I hadn’t really enjoyed the past two weeks. The GR7 had become repetitive. For the most part I felt like I was marching through an endless field of produce in its various …
10/10/22 – 16/10/22 185 km I must have woken up a thousand times during the night. Although my reclaimed sun lounger was a godsend, the flickering security light on the disused restaurant and passing traffic were a nightmare! So at 5am we gave up and made our way to Cieza where Armand would catch a …
