Villar de Mazarife to Astorga Today starts my fifth week of walking the Camino and I feel in good shape both physically and mentally. I hope to be arriving in Santiago in a couple of weeks time and in the meantime, am treating each day as a new adventure. Most people who walk the Camino Frances take between five to six weeks. Some pilgrims of faith prefer to walk for 33 days as this represents a day for each year that Christ was alive on earth. For me, the old cl...

Leon to Villar de Mazarife The journey from the noise of a big city to the serenity of a small village by foot on one day is an unusual experience. The first part of the morning was spent walking through the city, then the suburbs, industrial areas and motorway network until finally the smaller villages and wide open spaces. In one small hamlet, a man had set up a stall near the drinking water fountain offering fresh orange juice, nuts and other foodstuffs. Payme...

Leon Leon is a city whose history goes back a thousand years. Having been subjected to the Barbarian and Moslem invasions, as from the 10th century it has witnessed the emergence of the monarchy and nobility of northwestern Spain. The gothic Cathedral was built in the 13th century at a time when over a hundred churches and cathedrals were established across Europe in this style. The most impressive features are the stain glass windows which are stunning. We also ...

Mansilla de la Mullas to Leon After a paella and a good nights sleep last night, I feel pretty good again this morning for the 18km walk into Leon. It's a beautiful morning and the route today follows a senda (path for the Camino), the 'hard shoulder' of a busy road and specially built Camino tracks and road bridges. I bump into Mike from London, one of only a handful of British people I have met since day one. There are a good number of Australians, Americans an...

Hermanillos to Mansilla de la Mulas Despite the extra hour in bed with the clocks going back, I awoke feeling tired and a little queasy, wondering if the bug has finally caught up with me. Had I been walking by myself today, I probably would not have risked setting out. The first 17km today is on another old Roman road with no villages, no people, no shelter and no water. It's not the sort of place to fall ill or have a mishap, especially in temperatures in the h...