The French Way – Camino De Santiago Documentary Late Summer 2023 27 Days from St Jean Pied De Port

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This 27 day 795 km walk along the Camino de Santiago Francés or French Way starting in St Jean Pied de Port going to Santiago de Compostela passing over the Pyrenees mountains through Roncesvalles, Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León, Ponferrada and Sarria in late summer of 2023.

The Camino de Santiago, known in English as the Way of St. James, is a network of pilgrims’ ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the saint are buried.

The Camino Francés (French Way) is the most popular of the routes, with the most deep-rooted historical tradition. Typically it takes at least four weeks to cover the 790 km long route, allowing for a few days rest days along the way.

Don’t want to walk with the crowds in the summer… watch my winter walk:

Filmed on Samsung Galaxy Note 10+, insta 360 one R, DJI Mini 3 Pro
Edited in Davincci Resolve Studio.

Background Music used under license from:
Uppbeat.com

CAMINO FRANCES STAGES:
00:00. Intro
00:33. Stage 0 Pamplona to Saint Jean Pied du Port
02:23. Stage 1 Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles
06:00. Stage 2 Roncesvalles to Zabaldica
09:40. Stage 3 Zabaldica to Puente de la Reina
13:43.Stage 4 Puente de la Reina to Estella
17:19.Stage 5 Estella to Sansol
20:32.Stage 6 Sansol to Navarette
24:37.Stage 7 Navarette to Santo Domingo de la Calzada
26:39.Stage 8 Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado
28:26.Stage 9 Belorado to Riopico
32:35.Stage 10 Riopico to Tardajos
35:03.Stage 11 Tardajos to Castrojeriz
37:50.Stage 12 Castrojeriz to Boadilla del Camino
40:13.Stage 13 Boadilla to Carrión de Los Condes
43:32.Stage 14 Carrión de Los Condes to Sahagún
45:26.Stage 15 Sahagún to Mansilla de las Mulas
48:03.Stage 16 Mansilla de las Mulas to León
58:55.Stage 17 León to Hospital de Órbigo
51:48.Stage 18 Hospital de Orbigo to Santa Catalina
53:43.Stage 19 Santa Catalina to El Acebo
56:35.Stage 20 El Acebo to Ponferrada
59:13.Stage 21 Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo
01:01:45.Stage 22 Villafranca del Bierzo to Las Herrerías
01:03:46.Stage 23 Las Heredias to Triacastela
01:07:55.Stage 24 Triacastela to Sarria
01:09:39.Stage 25 Sarria to Goznar
01:12:55.Stage 26 Goznar to Melide
01:14:48.Stage 27 Melide to Santiago de Compostela

I’m here at the bus station in Pamplona waiting  for my bus to St Jeann and there two buses one   at noon and then at 1:30 takes about 2 hours to  get up to St Jean from here and it costs € 22

I just made it into St jean it took  just over 2 hours and I’m going to   grab a bite to eat FL town a bit and then  go look for my albergue which should be   just out of [Music] town St jean looks  really really [Music] pretty this is a  

Pilgrim’s office here where you can  get your credencial sealed very cool stamp [Music] waiting   pilgrims [Music] I’m getting a bit of a early start today  it’s 23 km but it’s like a 1000 meter   climb so it should be a bit of a  challenge we’ll see how it goes [Music] 0:02:59.760,1193:02:47.295 [Music] I’m a bit out of breath I’m almost at the top  of this hill I think and it’s only about another   2 km to Orisson where there is an albergue  I’ll get my breakfast or at least the coffee  

But it is steep uphill all the way all the  way down in the valley is St Jeann and the [Music] fogs and it looks like  another beautiful day on the  Camino [Music] it is about another 14 km to  Roncesvalles I think but so far it’s  

Been uphill uphill uphill uphill but the  scenery has been absolutely stunning one   of my favorite walks of all walks so far as  I’m really glad I came back to do the Frances   I missed this walk on my first Cameo because  it had snowed and also because I didn’t want  

To do the uphill walk but here we are  and it’s a beautiful beautiful morning [Music] taking a quick break having  a quick sandwich good cheese [Music] all in all I’d say I counted 40 pilgrims which  is not all too bad as they all spaced out[Music]

It’s few hundred ft and we’ll be there I’m  looking forward to it it was a tough walk [Music] it’s about 6:30 I’m just leaving this is the  albergue behind me it’s a very nice albergue   but it’s run by really bad hospitaleros  they have all rules for everything so you  

Felt more like going to jail you didn’t feel  very welcomed and it’s 755 km to Santiago it  is a bit narrow and you do share the road I  got out early because there were hundreds of   pilgrims getting ready at 6 so I decided  just leave before the rush really really  

Very pretty just stopped for [Music] breakfast  right I always love this blue sky you get in the   morning and by the look of it we’re going to have  another close to perfect day weather wise [Music] just walking through the forest here  it’s about another 12 km to Zubiri be but I  

Hope to make it a bit further but it’s been  a really beautiful walk this morning even   though walked the stretch before last time  I walked it was in the winter a few pilings   one or two noisy ones behind me but it’s easy  to get rid of them they simply walking a bit

Faster it’s been a really  really beautiful walk here this morning these villages are really beautiful and  spotless some countries have milk delivery they   have bread delivery I just stopped at a little  roadside stand and my back here I have an extra  

Stick somebody forgot and they called the cafe  so hopefully I’ll be able to give it to [Music] her just about in Zubiri I I’m going to stop  here for a quick break and to get some money  

Out of the ATM and then I’ll carry on and go  as far as I can beautiful bridge and now I’m   heading towards Pamplona or at least as close  as I can get to it but it’s much flatter now so  

I should be able to make up some decent distance  as a little streams but no major challenges had   a quick rest there and then right out into this  little town there was a gravel path going steep  

Down and it just took one misplaced footstep and  everything started to slide and I went for a major   major tumble and headed upside down in a fence so  my backpack got a bit torn up but thankfully that  

Was it the reason I had my boots on this morning  was so that I wouldn’t fall on those really bad   sections just about arriving at the final stop  it’s an Albergue Parroquial which means it’s run by nuns or monks  

And this one’s run by some really nice nuns  with a really good experience I am just leaving   the albergue here behind us the hospitalero out  there wishing everybody a goodbye I am about 8 km   outside of Pamplona so today I’m going to make it to  Puente la Reina hopefully if everything goes well

Instead of crossing the bridge today I’m  going to keep on going straight that way   you cut out all the walking through the city  even though I think I might just run over the   bridge quickly because there’s a beautiful  church to get a quick stamp a very cool  

Stamp this is the actual Camino as you can  see there’s a marker there but on this way   you go all the way through town I am going  to go on the other side just following the   the river back there which is supposed to be  a lot of parks it is very beautiful stretch

[Foot steps] here beautiful entrance  to the city and this is a beautiful   beautiful city I’m just going  to have a stop and then I am   going to continue stopped for coffee  and this fancy looking [Music] thing [Music] it’s following the camino signs [Music]

I finally made it out of Pamplona it took about 2  hours in total from the entrance to the exit but   it was really nice this time because it didn’t  go through any industrial area this now is the  

University and up ahead is the climb to the  Alto del Verdon so it’s a steep climb up the   windmills are up ahead you can see them way in the  distance and that’s something that you’ll notice   on the Camino Frances wherever the windmills  that’s where you’re usually [Music] heading  

Another quick rest up it’s been my third rest  on his way up from Pamplona but this is really   beautiful place with a nice old cross as  you can see there it’s about another two   kilometers up to Alto del Perdon and it’s a  climb up but it’ll take me probably another  

45 minutes so I’m top there and then it’s another  8 km 9 km from there to Puente la Reina just want   a little town before the Alto del Perdon a bunch  of pilgrims wanted to stay here but the albergue  

Is closed so good thing is is that I booked ahead  and had planned going up the hill anywhere [Music] I changed them to my boots because I  remembered it being rather treacherous   but I said dangerous because of all these  rocks that it’s 10 km to Puente la Reina n  

So it’s about 2 and 1/2 hours so I should be  there by 6:30ish something like that[Music] I had a very good night’s sleep because I  had my own room with very nice sheets and   it’s just about 8:00 it’s just getting light  and I’m heading down to the [Laughter] [Music]

Bridge and there is the famous  bridge crossing the Agra river [Laughter] here today I’m going to Estella  it’s only 21 km so it should be easier making   it a bit shorter day yesterday I did 36 km  according to my watch which is quite a lot  

But I felt really really tired when I got to  the hostel because it was very hot yesterday some pilgrims ahead of us and there’s  a sign to the bar where I’m heading   so I got [Music] myself a coffee and  a bocadillo de tortilla de chistorra

And of and now we’re on to the next stretch and   if I don’t remember wrong the  next stretch is really really Pretty beautiful town here back on a little section of the Roman Road it’s  really nice it’s much more difficult to walk on   these roads because they’re rather Rocky but  the view coming up I remember from my first  

Camino Frances is really spectacular cuz you  got the old Roman Road and you have the brand   new highway that I think goes all the way  to Santiago from here and it is actually   like it would have been in the Roman times  not all the big big giant Stones because  

The Romans used to walk 20 to 30 km a day uh  just like I’m trying to do right now the fin   a little stretch into Etella it’s actually a  beautiful walk here about another kilometer   or so to go but it’s nice because it’s in  the shade finally and it’s not quite as hot

I’m looking for my albergue which  is supposed to be somewhere very close by and this is a fantastic albergue  because you have curtains easy stairs   to go up and a beautiful little nook with  the light upad and storage lockers further

Down it’s about 6:30 just leaving the Agora  hostel fantastic hostel it is still dark you can see   everybody was up early so I decided  to make a early day we going to just go to  

Sansol today which is just beyond Los Arcos  which would be the normal stop so it’s a bit  longer too but it should be a good day I can bearly make  out where I’m going with my flashlight but here  

In Irache they have a very special fountainhere somebody  is filling up it’s not the best wine in the   world though it’s a beautiful crisp morning  sun is rising and we just were at the point   where there was a bend off one goes over the  mountains and it’s about a kilometer shorter Beautiful fields not a single cloud in the sky yet [Music] it’s really really pretty it is getting   warm there’s a castle all the  way on the hill on the back there was a rest area behind there  a lot of the pilgrims stopped there   but it’s only 2 km to Los Arcos I’m  going to stop for a coffee there and  

Then from there it’s another 7 km to Sansol  where I’m staying tonight [Music] [Music] leaving Los Arcos myself  an ice cream and it’s another 6   km or so to Sansol and that way  makes it 27 km which is not a bad day [Music]

A beautiful old palaces in the albergue here  very nice rooms but it’s pretty full I’m lucky   I reserved cuz I did get a bottom bunk bed but  they had to kick somebody out of the bottom bunk [Creeking door][Dog Barking[Bell]] [Birds Chirping] just coming up to something that I  thought was days ago hope you can make   it out proper there all these little  towers and then there’s a tree pretty cool it’s a beautiful morning it’s  not too cold fresh fields oh and  

Some rocks in the middle of the road you have to watch out we just made it over the peak  and down there in the distance all the way   down there is Logroño where we’re heading  and then I’m going to go a bit beyond that  

But it’s been very nice because there’ve  been very few pilgrims this morning and we’re going down the main  street here I’m going to stop for some breakfast stop for breakfast I got my I had my  coffee and now I’m heading on to Logroño and it’s  

Only another 8 km to Logroño so it’s another 2  hours I’m not going to stay in Logroño because   I do want to keep on going so that I’m not  on the regular schedule of everybody else so   that it doesn’t become a big problem finding  hotels and so and we’re slowly entering into  

The Rioja region where most of the Spanish wines  or most known Spanish wines come from [Music] here on the hill is a funny looking Bull and what it  actually is is an advertising campaign that was so  

Successful that when they banned billboards this  guy got to stay it’s for a brandy called Osborne   so they’re very cool they’re all over Spain  and whenever you see one they’re always fun   just made it into Navarette I’m looking for the municipal  albergue which I think is right up here the good  

Thing about albergue municipales is that you  cannot reserve ahead of time everything else   was booked up be sure to check out the  church because it’s unbelievable Got a bit of a limp today um I don’t know  why exact here I put my knee brace on and   hopefully that will do the trick I am  going to try to make it to Cigueña which   is right before Santo Domingo de  la Calzada it’s about 30 km [Music]

This is normally where you would stop if  you would have started in Logroño there   are a bunch of albergue in town that I’m  going to keep on going probably another   10 km or so so that I’ll end up with like  26 to 30 km today but it is a pretty town[Music]

[Music] made it into Santo Domingo  de la Calzada and I’m just looking for albergue [Music] there was a major snores so I snuck  out to an empty dorm room today’s a short   day it’s only 22 km to Belorado and I did book myself a private room I just had my breakfast I did  notice yesterday that if I don’t  

Have my breakfast in the morning I’m  really really I’m slow so it should be   a quick easy walk it is overcast but  I’m not sure it’s supposed to rain Here is the sign that we’re entering  Castilla León and it is a long stage   I think it is around 3 or 400 km at least so  this is basically where the Meseta start   it goes all the way to Galicia about 150  km from Santiago

it’s been quite a long  walk today here to Belorado but thankfully  it never rained and I’m just about down to   the place I reserved. Today I reserved a single  room so I can rest a bit that’s also one reason  

I like to get in a bit earlier so I can  really take advantage of having a single room Just outside of Belorado about a kilometer or 2 I had my first coffee here at the gas station   because all the bars and cafes were closed I  am heading to Atapuerca today I think it’s  

Like 25 26 km it is very overcast in the background there you can see the pilgrim slowly slugging up the hill I have been trying to get  away from the crowds cuz if you get up a bit too  

Late or a bit too early there masses of people  leaving but as you can see it’s really really foggy [Music] just stopped in Montes de Oca  the beautiful little town lots of cafes and   whole bunch of alburgues and last time I  came through this area was also very very  

Foggy it’s 12 km till the next up with  no services no villages but so far this   morning it’s been really nice there been  a whole bunch of villages so there’ been   a lot of little stops and now it’s a  beautiful section through the forest

[Music] a long straight before  we head down to where we very nice little town there  were two albergue there but I decided   just to carry on and carry on  to where I wanted to go today to Atapuerca and that sign there points to  where they found the oldest human remain  

The artifacts and the scull are actually not  here they Museum in Burgos so if you want to   see more about it and learn more about it I  highly recommend the museum in Burgos because  

It’s a huge fantastic modern museum and you can  go down and see the actual skull and know learn  more about the whole story about it but it’s  fascinating there are two or three albergues  here one right here let see if they got  space sadly I’m not staying in Atapuerca  

Because the hostel was I don’t know was all  but there was so many people waiting to get in so I called the one in the next town and  I got myself an ice cream so I’ve got fuel to  

Make it to the next one but been a bit longer  than I expected today like 36 km in total but  

Thankfully the weather was very cool so made it  very easy but here we are Rio Pico is the name of  his town very funny name but I guess there must  be a little river somewhere I got a whole room to  myself there only there’s only one other pilgrim 

from Taiwan and two French pilgrims that I met in  Atapuerca because they were waiting to get a room  there when I arrived they had been waiting for 15  20 minutes and they were getting annoyed so I just  called up this place and here we are a very nice little place

it’s just about getting light I took it  bit easy because only 12 km into Burgos and it   is drizzling a bit so I’m covered up I put on a  small rain jacket I got my umbrella just in case  

It starts to rain a bit more but it didn’t seem  to be enough for using the poncho cuz the poncho   is a pain to put on and off and it’s just like a  heavy drizzle nice little village on the horizonthere and the Camino that’s running next to the road

We’re on a little variant that takes  you away from the industrial area we will   be passing the airport and then before  Burgos coming into a very nice long Park this building here is where Columbus came to   talk to the Kings to get funding for  his journey to the new world [Music] [Ambient Noise] [Music] I just visited the cathedral  got my stamp Burgos was is absolutely   stunning just standing here by the  entrance to the town and the river is right here    Tardajos of that is 10  km from here so it’s not a big long walk look scruffy when you first  arrived

Got myself a private room   that I think I deserved it and this  is actually very nice room [Music] it’s still rather dark outside supposed  to start to rain in the next day or this  

Afternoon I have my poncho in my back pocket so  that in case it starts to rain I can just pull   it out because there’s a big storm front coming up  just entering Rabe de la Calzadilla very pretty beautiful beautiful  

Little town and here we go down the street  and there’s a very special mural coming up [Music] the sun is rising behind me and  it is just stunningly beautiful and   we got a big giant rainbow up here in front of us beautiful

it’s raining a bit but it’s off and on  so I’m just using my trusty little umbrella here  because putting on your poncho and taking  off your poncho of pain and umbrella is up   and down in 2 seconds just going by a police  car which is patrolling the whole area here  

Which is makes you feel good because a lot of  times you’re just out here in the nowhere with nothing we just entering Hornillos del  Camino I’ve stayed here before we have  the central Plaza and in the bottom  corner there is the albergue municipal

Just about in Hontanas down  the bottom of the valley there the clouds are slowly starting to appear  and in the background it doesn’t look all too nice Buen Camino [Birds Chirping] just had my coffee actually had two coffees  today cuz I know that there’s no coffees  

Coming up the sun has come out and just  looking around here it looks really really beautiful it’s about a 300 M climb that is very  manageable it’s not all too bad at  all but the wind is still very very strong [Wind] 0:39:06.626,1193:02:47.295 [Bell] [Music] I’m just leaving Itero de la Vega and it was the  first town outside of Castrojires very funny   little town I had lunch here because there’s nothing for the next 8 km so it’s been like 10 – 11 km

Till here and that’s another 10 km so I had  a nice lunch at a very funny Place very funny   hosts at the Albergue La Mochila but it was very  very nice I’m going to stay here I’m going to check out the  albergue it’s only another 5 km to Fromista but  

I’ve stayed in Fromista before I think this might  be a better choice I am leaving the Albergue here as you can see I have my poncho on  because it is raining today and it’s supposed to  

Rain all day yesterday was a super windy day and  today is supposed to be a super rainy day today it   is only like 23 km so it’s not all too bad and I’m  covered up with my new poncho hopefully it’ll be a  

Good poncho and hopefully it’ll be a bit less  windy than it’s been so far because it’s been   really really windy last days I think  I am it’s about 5 km to Fomista which is actually   a very pretty to but I decid to stay stay here  because I’ve already stayed in Fromista before

One thing that’s really cool  here is you get to walk over the locks pretty ancient [Water rushing] I’m off to Carrion de los Condes now I just  had a coffee and as you can see I’m no longer  in my poncho because it stopped raining  hopefully they’ll stay like this   

I got my poncho ready just in case I need it but  it’s 19 km to Carrion I should be there by 2 o’clock we’re finally just about in Carrion it’s about  a half kilometer and it’s been a miserable last  

Hour and a half of 6 km cuz it rained like  crazy and even though I’ve got fancy boots   and a poncho I still got wet took off my gaters  and the bottoms of my pants because they were  

Totally soaked and all the water that hits  your pants goes down into the boots so my   feet are wet even though these boots are Gortex  and everything they are totally soaked[Music] so I’m taking a rest day turns out to  be a beautiful day today

And this is my hotel place truly is pretty fantastic even the  ceilings here are just absolutely incredible I am just leaving the hotel tell here in Carrion  it’s about 7:00 a.m. it is very cold it’s about   5° Centigrade which is probably the low 30’s  or high 20’s

And today I’m hoping to make it  to the halfways point of Sahagún and we’ll see  how it goes but there is no wind right now and   I see stars in the sky so it’s a good sign it’s  about 35 km or something like that but it is flat

It’s about 17 km from Carrion to  the first stop so it’s a bit longer   stretch this morning but every now and  then they have these little rest stops   set up because there aren’t any services  it’s quite a long stretch actually with nothing

Just beyond this little dip  here we have Calzadilla and it’s rather scruffy   there are a few albergue but otherwise  there’s not much but I’m going to keep  on going to [Music]

Milestone in in a way very nice Sahagun marks the halfways  point of the Camino Frances so it’s quite the  albergue it’s  called the Albergue Cluny very nicely separated   and there were very few people in the albergue  my stuff at the albergue heading down to the  little Monument that marks the halfways point  

Of the Camino Frances so it’s been 390 km that  I’ve walked so far and it’s another 390 km to go [Door creeking open] it is still rather dark I’m going for my  coffee right now there is a coffee shop right here

but I’m going a bakery around  the corner open they open at 6:30 which  is very nice and I know that they make good  coffee because I’ve stopped there on my last camino I’m going to try to make it as close  to León as possible today that way I get  

A bit more time in Leon tomorrow it’s about  50 km to or something like that I’m not 100%   sure 50 or 60 but it’s a bit too long to  make it in one stretch   my main goal today is to make up as much distance  as possible

And when you’re on the Meseta  here that’s literally what you want to do you  want to make up as much distance in as short  a time as possible just walking through Burgo  Raierno which normally would be the stage end  

It’s only 18 km so I’m going to carry on to the  next one which would be Mansilla de las Mulas The Cameo here is extremely flat as is a  terrain but all the way in the back there  

Are the Picos de Europa. We are next to road but  there’s absolutely no traffic on the road the   one thing I’ve noticed is that whenever you  carry on after a stage there are no pilgrims left

We’re still walking next to the  road it’s about another kilometer or so to we in  Mansilla de las Mulas and as you can see there  clouds have come back it’s um been a long walk today

just stoped for a coffee and I got this  which is a “torrija” which is delicious kind of like a french toast  another 18 km  from here to León. It’s a very flat camino it’s   reall the nicest section of the  Camino there was only one little nice  

Part which is a bridge and then it’s all  pretty much sidewalk and industrial area   so I didn’t film much but we’re just about in  oldtown starts just up front here and tonight   I’m booking a single room for €35 which  isn’t much more than albergue in Mansillas [Water tickeling]

I’m just on my way out of León right in  front of me is a bridge that crosses over   to the Camino Frances behind me is the Parador  which is a very fancy hotel which cost $450 it  

Didn’t used to used to be quite reasonable  but I’m going to try to make it to Hospital   Obrigo which is about 30 km today so we’ll  see how that goes the walk out of Leon isn’t   really very pretty it’s mostly just sort  of nondescript residential areas and now  

We’re making it out to the industrial area  there’s still markers on the floor marking   that it is the Camino and there always are the  little arrows painted everywhere so you really  

Can’t get lost the Camino bends off into two  sections the North and a South section I’m going  to take the north section because I know it’s  shorter we’re next to a very very busy road here [Music] here sadly there aren’t any storks  around

I just got myself a bocadillo of jamon and cheese because I didn’t want to stop at a  restaurant didn’t waste too much time there still a long ways to go but these bocadillos for 3  euro really really really delicious [Music]  

I’m just about in Hospital de Obrigo it’s a beautiful  beautiful town as you’ll see in a second [Music] The two very good albergue  here so hopefully they have space I ended up switching  albergue because cuz there  were so many people but this one is really really nice I am leaving the albergue here in Hospital  de Obrigo absolutely wonderful albergue called the Albergue Verde

The camino this morning is still next to the  road but in a short while we’re going to be bending off it’s a stunning sunrise we’re  still next to the highway by the way but   only because I took the different variant of  the Camino the short version without actually  knowing it

Approaching Astorga  which is all the way down in the bottom   there there’s a little town before it’s about  another 5 or 6 km way further than it actually looks [Music] the weather has become a  bit boggy wsh it’s not raining it’s a  

Slight drizzle maybe not even that bad  I’m going to continue on another 7 or  8 km just so that I’m a bit ahead and  there are a whole bunch of little towns there’s one in 2 km then one in 4 km and so  forth   

It’s still very early to quit for my liking so I’m going to give it another  hour and then I’m going to take a rest[Music] ahead is Santa Catalina the town I’m going  to be staying in tonight

it is starting to drizzle a bit heavier and it’s about 4:00 so  I think it’s time to call it a day [Music] As you can see it’s very wet it’s been raining all   the way I’m going to stop  dry out a bit here before I continue the poncho before and I was soaked  underneath totally so I changed the layer   and I Saran wrapped my knees hopefully I’ll  stay a bit drier this way

I’m heading on to Rabanal now I think it’s another 8 km if  I’m not wrong and then it’s uphill to the   Cruz de Ferro and then downhill I put on my  hat underneath because you need the brim at   least keeps the uh poncho off from flying in  my face all the time

It’s still raining and rather wet the path is going next to the road  but some pilgrims actually walking on the road   and I prefer to be out here because when  you see the cars come by they really get sprayed but it is raining not very much but just  

Enough to keep it really wet as  you can see my poncho is soaked Got myself a Sopa de Ajo which should  help warm me up    I just changed into different pants and a different  shirt because everything is soaked it’s about another 8 km to  Acebo where I want to head today

I’m here by the Cruz de Ferro the a is a  place where you’re supposed to bring a little   stone and offer it the rains are getting  more intense and the wind’s getting more intense I am walking on the road because the  Camino just ends up being a river of water coming  

Down at you and it is very foggy so you can’t  see much but it’s been a long and very wet walk today It’s really dark I got my headlight on just  walking through the next little town um as  you it’s still raining it’s another 6 km  to Molinaseca it’s pouring down but it is pretty you can see all the fog rolling in

I just  came around the curve and I then got blown  take a bus from Molinaseca there a lot of cars and taxis  running around so we need to be pretty careful   especially in the cure s straight down  there in the valley ahead is Molinaseca Just stop for breakfast here in Milinaseca a giant tomato tostada and the  day is looking way nicer than before and finally  came out but we’ll see how it goes cuz I would  like to go beyond Ponferrada

Molinaseca is a  beautiful town as you can see there are a whole bunch of albergue and beautiful   little streets on the side definitely a place to  stop and this is actually where I wanted to stop  

But it rained so badly yesterday that there was  no ways I was going to make it down here the rains   and the winds were just was terrible yesterday  and I got soaked the walk from Molinaseca to Ponferrada is all along the road on a sidewalk  so it’s not very interesting at all [Music]

I am just leaving the albergue here  in Ponferrada very nice place got   a beautiful kitchen and everything and  the rooms were excellent the dorm I had   to whole dorm six person dorm to myself very  comfortable beds

But I am going to… where am I going? to Villafranca del Bierzo I’m  leaving a bit late as you can see there’s   light outside which is quite unusual  and this albergue is right on the Camino one of the reasons I left a bit later  today because it was still supposed to rain at 7:00 a.m. 

today it’s  only 24 km so I could take my time [Birds chirping] [Music] Sat by the fire for a second and had  a soup and now its another 9 km to Villafranca we just had a quick downpour after 15  minutes so I’m walking on the side of  

The road here so not much traffic but  the countryside is absolutely beautiful   I don’t want to get on the Caminos here  because I know how muddy they can be cuz   last time I was on it when I did it in  the winter and it was super muddy we’re  

Just walking into Villafranka beautiful  little Castle tonight I’m staying in a monastery and I got myself a private room  today even though they did have some dorm   beds here but I think I deserved it and  this is actually a very nice room [Music]

Getting ready to leave here I’m just looking  out of the window it looks like a beautiful   day today today I’m not heading all too  far it wasn’t supposed to be raining this   morning but it looks like a fantastic day  it’s only about 20 something km because I  

Wanted to avoid hiking up to o’Cebreiro the  last part of the day because it’s about a   11 km uphill walk and I wanted to avoid  that so I’m staying just before the the  uphill section I’m heading towards a bridge  to cross the river and to get on the Camino

Over here we have the Camino but they have improved this since the last time and   they put in a sidewalk so you no longer  have to walk on the road itself every now   and then you get off the road here the  little sleepy Villages really are nice [Moo]

I’m just walking out of la Herreiras tiny little  village there’s only 20 people living in this   town but the hotel was absolutely fantastic one  of my favorites so far today it’s a long walk up  

or steep walk up to o’Cebreiro that’s why I’m  getting a bit of a early start because I want to   make it to Samos the monastery in Samos and it  is a quite an incline going up I think it’s a  

1000 m gain and it’s like 8 km of uphill and it’s  supposed to rain a bit later so right now there’s   no rain which is [Music]

Good taking a quick  breather through here it is a very strenuous  path up here it is rather rocky and rather wet  but I’d say it is much more strenuous than the   path up to after St Jean to Roncesvalles it  is muddy but it looks like it’s going to be  

A good day uand the sun has just risen    and it’s about another 4 km to a o’Cebreiro so should be another hour or so but it’s been  really really nice and thankfully it hasn’t   been too cold and it hasn’t rained so far

behind me here is the sign that we’re officially entering Galicia it’s been around 15  days walking through Castillia León and now it’s   only another 5 days till Santiago from here for  me cuz I’m going to speed up my walking a bit [Bells] [Birds] it’s a beautiful Camino today

We have Triacastella in our view there Just as I was departing it started  to rain so now I’m in this little room and   I really had no desire of staying in  an albergue tonight to tell the truth

Turns out to be a beautiful day today yesterday I  stopped for a coffee at around 4:30 but the second   I left it started to rain and when I went out to  eat it was still raining so it was a good choice  

It’s a bit longer but the monastery is supposed  to be absolutely worth it [water rushing] The monastery in Samos was absolutely  fantastic it’s about another 10 km to Sarria Just entering Sarria actually going to try to get   something to eat first before make up  my mind what I’m going to do next [Music] I am just leaving my hotel here in  Sarria it is supposed to rain as there’s  

A big storm front coming up uh and I am dressed  for the occasion so we’ll see how that works [Bells] there are a whole bunch of pilgrims  the reason being is because Sarria is one   of the points where you can start your Camino  and still get the credential stating that you  

Walked the Camino Frances it’s only 113 km  from here to Santiago and a lot of people   are taking six to 7 days to do it and  hopefully I’ll be in Santiago in 3 days   as you leave there are two different routes  you can take one that leads you through the  

Valley and one that cuts up right where the  train tracks are this one is much shorter   than the other one so that’s why I’m taking  it cuz I I want to get as far as possible today just arriving at the spot where the  two variants of the Camino come together  

The variant I came down I didn’t see a  pilgrim for about an hour [Music] This is the Rio Miño here, I’m going to  stop here for lunch and then carry on[Music] Just had a quick lunch in Portomarin and now I am carrying on another 8 or 10 km  depending on the albergue situation

But it’s nice to walk in the afternoons because they way less people I haven’t seen a pilgrim since I left  town and I don’t expect to see many pilgrims I”m in front of the Albergue Municipal in Goznar  and I’m headed off to Melide today it was   supposed to be a rainy day once again and  it did rain overnight but right now it looks  pretty good so off we go well it wasn’t going  to rain this morning when I left the albergue  

So I didn’t even have my poncho on and  then 5 minutes later it started to rain Just as it was starting to rain I pulled in  and stopped in this albergue I was there   get a beautiful place and thankfully I did stop  there for like 15 minutes because it started to   hail like crazy but the weather has moved on  and I’m moving on pretty crazy weather today

we have Palas de Reis peeking  through the forest here but I’m  going to keep on walking to Melide  the weather it looks like is holding just leaving the hostel here in Melide and  today I’m going to try to make it as far as  

Santiago so it’s a long long long walk  hopefully I’ll be able to make it it is   not the nicest weather today but the sky is  clearing up a bit so hopefully it would it  

Won’t be as bad as it seems I’m just taking  a quick shelter here because it is coming  pouring down and I’m looking for a coffee shop  there are some pilgrims ahead of me and it is still quite dark so it’s difficult to see the rocky terrain coming out here [Music]

Arzua is one of the main stops on the Camino just stopped for breakfast and they  got some churros and my coffee [Music] Arzua is a place where the Camino Primitivo  and the French merge I’ve been down this part  

Of the Camino a few times the rain has gotten  a bit better here’s one of those trucks that  will send your backpack it is nice and  light again so and see where I’m going we’re on the final stretch here of my  Camino Francess number two

I just past o’Pedroso actually just went straight  instead of going into town you don’t   have to walk through town and you’re  always in the forest which is kind of nice I’m getting close the final  little forest here before for the airport

Somebody got rid of that  boot right at the end of the camino [Bells] [Bagpipe Music] [Bells]