Summer 2025 - Camino de Santiago
This is a 1500km pilgrimage from Le Puy-en-Velay, France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The trek should take 6-7 weeks. Trekkers (in the thousands!) stay at churches, hostels, or camp along the way. Most people choose shorter routes but I will complete the longest route, because why not!?
Camino Blog
31/03/2025
Day Before Departure to London, UK
I went from an apartment, to a car, and now to a backpack. Having downsized twice now, I realize how many things I had that I don't really need. Tomorrow marks the beginning of a truely minimalist lifestyle in contrast to one of relative excess. So, I've got my spork, my headlamp, and my journal. It's time to adventure.
04/04/2025
Edinburgh
Alas, I have made it to my first destination, Scotland. I don't think I've ever been awake for 30 hours, but between moving out, catching ferries, flights, and buses - all with some delays - I arrived in London at 11:30 AM. At that point I had been awake for 24 hours, apparently you're supposed to fight jet lag until you sync with their time zone, but by 5 PM London time I had to sleep and did so for 11 hours. That was the best sleep I've ever had. London seemed quite familiar from the little I saw, lot's of graffiti and old housing. Edinburgh however, blew my mind. I have never before seen such dense and pervasive old school architecture. Seeing a majestic castle atop a great green hill in the middle of town reminded me of Mel Gibson with a blue face. I arrived at my forst volunteer spot, it's quite dirty here but there's a very strong and friendly community of diverse humans. There are four of us to a room, and about three rooms. I may stay here for three weeks or one, there is a another volunteer option in Vezelay, France in a castle. I may go there instead. I had ablayover in Iceland and I was very impressed how strong a culture an island nation of 400,000 has; strong economy and stronger language. Anyway, it's 7:30 AM here and my three roomates from Manchester, Italy, and Diego from I don't know yet are all still aound asleep. It's time to start my first day as a volunteer in Edinburgh!
07/04/2025
Volunteering
I should mention that the El Camino hike doesn't start until early May. Until then, I will be volunteering at an abondoned World War 2 bunker. It's wilder than it sounds. Someone has bought the bunker and is now restoring it into an entertainment venue. It's a slow process. People from all over the world come to offer help. I'm making good friends with my roomates from Italy, Miami, and Manchester. Karaoke was held in the abondoned bunker for all but 12 people, replete with smoke machines, speakers, instruments, and a 15 foot tall skeleton wrapped in Christmas lights. It was a sight to see, dancing humans in a semi-derelict bunker with WW2 memorabilia galore. There are goats, emus, and chickens that provide us with fresh eggs every morn. We joke that if an apocolyse truly were to come, we would be hunky dory. For the final week of April, I will be meeting one of my closest friends in Spain, where he has been teaching English. They take two weeks off there for Easter, and the festivals will be rich and lively. But for now, I will be walking the streets of Edinburgh in preparation for the El Camino. I walked 25 km through town yesterday. I had meant to only train that day but came across an 8 story tall distillery. It had a chic modern black design with a bar on the eighth floor. I arrived with my huge 30 pound backback and enjoyed a whiskey while overlooking the sprawling city of Edinburgh, with magnificent spires galore. Other volunteers happened to be at a small live music pub nearby, so I joined them. I was taken aback by the skill of these musicians, as they each downed pints every few songs - even a tiny Scottish gal with the voice of an angel. Scotland is more than I ever could have imagined, and it's only my fourth day. About 80 more to go!
21/04/2025
Crossing Straits
My time in Edinburgh has passed. I'm happy to leave for perhaps more sanitary living conditions, but I am terribly sad to be leaving the people I have met there from all over the world. It's amazing how close you can get with humans in so short a time. At the bunker, I was doing labour work. I was using heavy equipment and almost drove a tractor over a cliff, but all is well. It was fun digging in the rain with fellow travellers. Yesterday, after a ten hour bus ride from Edinburgh, I arrived in London again. I had a full day this time and chose to spend it retracing the steps my grandmother took to her highschool. During the war, she sometimes skipped classes to walk around the recently bombed buildings. I spoke with a gentleman who is now living where my grandma did, I was hoping he would invite me in for a cuppa, but instead we had a brief and friendly chat. She lived near the Crystal Palace, perhaps I should be a die hard fan now for the Crystal Palace Premier League futbol team. It was great to explore this part of my heritage, so starkly different from the rock and taiga of Denendeh. I had a run in with an unfriendly, well-dressed German girl last night. The night before last night, we all went out with some Australians, they were these hulking rugby players who worked in the Tasmanian SWAT devision. They were as kind as they were large. But for some reason, this girl did not like me despite my friendliness. I thought nothing of it, until last night when she struck me in my bunk. I was in bed and the fellow below me waa snoring like a chainsaw, at three in the morning, when she got back from drinking, she had a fit about the snoring, thought it was me, and hit me in my bunk to wake me, even though I was already awake. I scolded her that assaulting people is bad, she broke down crying and switched rooms. And last night was supposed to be my full eight hour sleep! What a drag! There's more to tell about how mean she was to me for no reason, and because of how kind I was to her, I suspect racism but I suppose we'll never know now. But after a few more hours of rest, a coffee in the morning, and filing an official complaint - all is well! Quite literally everyone else I've met has had a beautiful soul, and I can't wait to meet many more. I'm writing this as I cross the Strait of Dover. I'm on another ten hour bus trip to Paris. After tomorrow, I'll be taking a 24 hour bus trip from Paris to Madrid, including a five hour layover at the border. I'm looking forward to watching the landscape change, and feeling the temperature drop. I'll miss the chilly weather of Scotland, even if my American friends there, from Florida and LA, despised it. I am excited for France and Spain, it will be an enjoyable calm before the rough weeks to come on the Camino trail. May my body be strong, and fate kind.
05/05/2025
Tapas
Perhaps my tongue is weak, or perhaps all coffee connoisseurs are wrong - but espresso tastes terrible. It's so acidic and bitter, I'd much prefer the watered down and far larger serving across the sea; in the typical American fashion. Otherwise, France and Spain have been fantastic. The food is delicious, people seem to stay up later, and I enjoy the higher density of humans. I stayed with my close friend in Spain for over a week. He lives in the city center of Madrid two stories above a busy alleyway. It was enjoyable smoking a cigar with him, as we watched the busy street below, waving at close neighbours doing the same. We visited Granada, about 4.5 hours by bus, which is known for their tapas culture. If you order a drink they serve you with a small dish. Often you would forget about tapas, order a drink, and end up with vinegar sardines or chicken liver - the surprise was always welcome. I survived the 24 hours bus trip from Paris. I was locked out of my friend's apartment when I arrived after my night bus from 12 am to 7 am, being so close to a bed, the wait was dreadful but I was let in when the roommates woke. I was expecting a quiet time in Madrid but it ended up being a fast paced stay with lots of friends and visitors, public concerts, and late night city expeditions. I loved my time in Madrid and made many new friends. Something else very interesting happened here, there was an unprecedented nation wide black out that lasted 8 hours or so. The black out affected Portugal and, I believe, France as well. For that whole period all traffic lights were off, subways stopped in the middle of tunnels amd the people had to be rescued, buses were packed with people panicking to get home, there was zero cell phone service, you could really feel the tension in the air as each hour passed. Police men with helmets and batons at their side were growing in presence, as were their mounted colleagues on branded horses. People couldn't pay for anything as card systems were down. It started at about 1 pm, I had a great time at the start. I was in the zoo and there wasn't many people that day. I will remember connected with the giraffes, a rhino, and a sea lion. I played peek-a-boo with the giraffe that was about five feet away. The rhino was only separated from my by 6 foot moat. The rhino didn't seem to like my presence, so it snorted at me and gave me the classic hoof scraping the earth. My heart jumped and I promptly left Mr. Rhino. I watched the sea lion swim im circles for almost an hour. Each lap it would surface and look at me. I felt peace here. It was sad to see the animals in such a limiting space, but what a perfect metaphor for what humans have done to themselves. But as I left the zoo, I really saw the choas outside. Traffic was heavy and all drivers were disgruntled, traffic men did their best to direct the vehicles. I passed by a fresh accidentband a man lay on the road, not moving. I thought he was dead, but at least he was blinking. I hope he's okay. I met up with my friend at his place, and walked around. Strangers were gathered around the few who had radios, all waiting for some kind of update or explanation. Many of us thought that this would last a long time. I began to imagine being trapped in Spain for a long time. (Tapas and cigars for a little while longer?) Young people were gathering with their speakers or guitars, there was singing and dancing everywhere, all apparently celebrating not working tomorrow morning or the nigh apocolypse. Although joyous in appearance, there was still an unsettling hum of uncertainty - as though those dancing to the music would just as soon loot the nearby vulnerable stores. Police cars zoomed to and fro, surely stretched thin during these chaotic hours. Around nine or ten, the lights finally came back on and everyone in the streets cheered in unison. Using contactless payment and power outlets after this had never felt so good. I am now in Le Puy, France. It is gorgeous and cold here. I will be starting my 750 km trip to the Spanish border in two days. I will meet up with my friend there and continue to Santiago. I don't think I'll be able to finish the full 1500 km but I will get as far as I can. Normally people have about 8 kg packs, but mine amounts to about 22 kg. I am strong, but this may prove to be a much harder trip than anticipated. No matter, I will take one step at a time. I will be making more regular and shorter posts from now on, so stay tuned! Also, forgive my spelling errors. I am directly updating the HTML code on my phone and it's a bit tricky. Anyway, I will now finish my café allongé and continue reading this book about the search for extraterrestrial life. Good bye!
09/05/2025
Camino: Day 3
My blog post was deleted because my browser closed while writing it, oops! I will update on day 1 and 2 tomorrow. I walked 37 km today and am quite sleepy. I managed to find a home to sleep in with a delicious meal made by the host.
10/05/2025
Camino: Day 1, 2, 3, and 4
The hike is not what I expected. Instead of scruffy young adventurers there are affluent, retired French people; all decked out in the finest gear. I am by far the youngest on the trail, but that hasn't stopped me from meeting amazing people. People call it the Camino Family, because no matter what pace you have, you always seem to cross paths with the same people. I particurly like these older german guys I keep seeing that I shared a small room with on day two. I hear about Parisian pride, and was amused when the head of a parisian family assured everyone at the table that a -25C day in Yellowknife wouldn't be nearly as cold as a -5C day in Paris, because it's a 'wet cold', classic. Oh, and appartly his son was a fancy chef, he said that about three times. The hostel host yesterday literally cringed when she found out I was anglophone. It was tough following the intimate dinner with three older french people. She was quick to usher me out the door the morning after. I'm enjoying these experiences of being a bit of an outsider. I already really try to include people, but I don't think I've been trying hard enough, especially with foreign people. My body is getting used to the tough conditions. My feet are hardening, and my shoulders and back are getting used to the weight of my backpack. Shoulders like mule. I must rest now, the room is finally getting to bed. I'm rooming with three lovely french people, co-ed dorms.
12/05/2025
Day 5 and 6
Today marks kilometer 150. The past two days have been the best so far. Two dinners ago, I was plating food for 20 or so people, the food was delicious. The hike the day after was rough, mostly uphill, very windy, with heavy rains. The mud made things tough amd perilous. But upon arrival in a tiny town, I stayed in an old castle built in the 1100's. It was cold in the castle and there was a very tight spiralling staircase going up three stories. I ended up getting supper at a local restaurant with a fella I was walking with. It can be hard speaking French with people, because few people are willing to simplify their language, they just switch to English or continue to speak quickly with complexity. But this guy spoke English at the same level I spoke french. So our conversations naturally switched between both. A perfect language exchange! Today's walk was perfect. It started woth 5C weather, then as I descended the sun came out and making the lush forest and purple flowers pop. Tonight's dinner was fantastic. We had the whole history given to us by the host. A seashell is emblematic of the pilgrimmage, you sea people with ome attached to their bag. I was unaware it was used as proof of completion for delinquents who were forced to do the pilgrimmage as punishment. Bunk mates tonight are two swiss fellas, a quebecuer, and a swede. May the best snorer win.
17/05/2025
24hr Spread Eagle
It's incredible what 24 hours of rest can do for the body. After 8 days of arduous trekking, after a day of 35 km from 9 AM to 9 PM and then sleeping near the trail in my bivvy bag, then walking 26 km more the morning after at 6 AM, I arrived at the next town, not in pain, but sheer exhaustion. I decides to get a private room for two nights for a modest price. I spent the next day laying in the grass by a church reading my book. I felt like I could literally feel my muscles and tendons strengthening. It was incredible. I enjoyed some woodfire pizza and an ice cream cone. A nice change from the usual cheese, nut, meat trio for a meal. The morning after, I left and was amazed at how light the ~50 lbs. bag was. I thought I forgot heavier items but it was just because I had finally taken a rest. Every day for over a week it was 8 hours of walking, socializing, sleep, then walking again. My body was exhausted. Anyway, 5 more weeks to go! My backpack is becoming an appendage of mine. It's shape and contents constantly change with the weather and my needs. It's alive! It's as though I've stepped through am invisible membrane since my last post. From mountainous chill and rain, it's now lush fantasy land. Many of the cities I've been walking through have been awarded top 100 most beautiful towns in France, and it's easy to tell why. It's all green, and laced with flowers. Everything is made from rock - the roads, the fences, the houses, the shingles. There are rivers, cats, birds, fountains, and markets. Now I understand the great appeal of France. Paris was meh, but the rural south is *chefs kiss*. I can't wait to see the Pyranees, and rural Spain. Adios!