First day of the Camino de Santiago

Tuesday, Sept 1

“Camino de Santiago” means “walk to Santiago”.

a famous pilgrimage done by people for thousands of years.

After an early breakfast at hostel we set off. Following the shells. The whole way is marked with these beacons, guiding people the way. It’s fun to see them embedded in the streets, buildings, lampposts, etc. Shells became a symbol, as early pilgrims would carry one to drink out of streams. We have some attached to our bags.

We got pilgrim passports, and you collect stamps as you go. Cafes, churches, hostels, everywhere seems to have a stamp.

Today we walked 19.6 miles mostly through agricultural countryside. We could see mountains in the distance. Crazy to think about how we’ll be waking through those in a couple days.

Had a picnic lunch, and took many breaks throughout. There are loads of public fountains to fill up on water.

Walking through small towns is cool. Some towns even seemed deserted. Lots of people would wish us “buen camino”, “have a good walk”. This is a common greeting between fellow pilgrims.

Jacob’s chair did well, burning though much of his 2 batteries, as it was a longer day.

Stayed at a Albergue, which is a hostel dedicated for pilgrims. There are some in almost every town you walk through. Served us a nice dinner there and met some nice fellow pilgrims.

There was some long hot stretches today, but we were all in good spirits. Talking, singing, and really enjoying the countryside. It will definitely be challenging to do this everyday!