We’re back! After an enforced break due to various commitments (explained in the podcast) we are please to get back into the saddle with the first of a 2 part interview with Jill and Peter Callaghan who have just completed the Camino De Santiago 500 mile walk in northern Spain.
Here’s a just a few images to whet your appetite for such a journey and appreciate this walk and the history involved.
Plenty of steep climbs and undulating countryside, along with sections through industrial estates. It does make you think about how the landscape has changed around the trail over the years.
They literally returned a few days ago and are looking refreshed from their adventure. Back to our audio podcast roots, its all about normal people doing interesting things. Enjoy!
Part two coming next week.
3 thoughts on “No 362 – The Camino De Santiago – Part 1”
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Can’t wait for the next episode. They should be so very proud of what they have achieved and hope Gill gets over her Policeman heel soon!
We’ve cycled the Camino Frances variation of the Camino de Santiago (which this route described in the interview is, from St Jean Pied de Port) twice now, self-supported. I can definitely confirm that it’s pretty much a route of thirds, with the middle third being the least interesting.
From a biking perspective, that middle third goes quickly as it’s mostly plateau and on easy tracks/back roads rather than off-road trails. I can imagine it’s a bit tedious on foot though!
The changes that you see in going from the Pyrenees across to Galicia are very noticeable, and by bike you get to see them unfold almost form one day to the next. The landscapes, the people, the architecture – all morph going westward.
For me, the Galician (westward) end was the most beautiful, but that’s just my view. The terrain is hard going on a loaded bike but oh so worthwhile – think a mix of Cornwall, Wales and Scotland, with the hills on steroids!
This year we’re doing the Camino Primitivo, the original pilgrim’s route across the Cantabrians, starting at Oviedo – shorter but by all accounts a lot more technical terrain. The ascent stats look like they bear this out… Really looking forward to it!
Coincidentally I walked the Camino at around the same time, though perhaps a bit later and at a more leisurely pace. Started in St. Jean on the 18th September 2013 and finished in Finisterre 10th November 2013. I didn’t pack nearly light enough, but Bob should be glad a fair proportion of the load came from backpackinglight.co.uk. For example my Honey Stove got its first burn in the field on the Pyreneean section, and the Mountain King hiking poles were great. As per bpl wisdom I wore approach shoes the whole way and for the most part they worked well. I needed more ankle support to start with as I got an ankle sprain early on, and had to walk with it for most of the journey; and towards the end the weather turned wet and cold so they got soaked through (they dried quickly though). This podcast really brought back the memories from the trip and their observations match mine too in many places. The comment about bunks pushed next to each other and finding yourself next to a woman you don’t know sounded really familiar (Burgos municipal albergue I’m looking at you), though you’re usually too tired to care too much about that sort of thing. I found a sleeping bag useful, as it got cold enough towards the end of the season and there may not be a blanket supplied at the Albergue.