One step at a time
My name is Steven Bloom. I started this blog when I was about to embark on the journey of a lifetime, visiting 88 temples on the island of Shikoku in Japan. It was fantastic, so in 2019 I went back and followed several of the beautiful Kumano Kodo routes on the Kii Peninsula.
During the Corona years I walked 1200km through Denmark following the Danish Pilgrimage.
Mid 2022, I stopped working and my wife meant that I needed a project. After some thought, I decided to walk from Sagres on the Algarve in Portugal, to Rome in Italy. Therefore, I have walked various, often not so popular, fabulous paths in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy.
This blog is written for me to enjoy in later life, but feel free. I hope you enjoy it, and that it perhaps can motivate somebody to walk, or walk a less trodden path.
Visit the blogSagres to Rome
When I stopped working in June 2022, my wife said that I needed a project! Whilst walking the Fisherman’s Trail, Camino Portuguese and Lighthouse Way during 2023, an idea developed that I should continue to Rome. That should take a few years! Mid-2025, I have now walked 7 of an expected 8 stages, 3.800 km of the expected 4.500 kms between Sagres and Rome. In late summer of 2025 I plan to continue from La Spezia to Rome in Italy.
The eight stages
Latest posts
Day 13: Aigues-Mortes to St.-Gilles 
May 10, 2025 The pain in my ankle intensified, super irritating but mostly manageable when I walked slower than I normally would. It is good that it is my last day, as I wouldn’t want to continue walking. At least the weather was pleasant, sunny and 20 degrees. Today I continued along the Canal Sète à Rhône, leaving… Read more >
Day 12: Carnon to Aigues-Mortes May 9, 2025 A short 19km stage, with no mistake missing turns today. However, it wasn’t plain sailing. I have a swollen left ankle/shin, and not sure whether it is an allergic reaction or shin splints. Whatever, it was painful each time my left foot hit the ground. I left through Carnon’s high rise flats, soon reaching the… Read more >
Day 11: Sète to Carnon May 8, 2025 I really need to get my morning act together. For the second day running, I missed a turn that led to extra kilometers, and on a 30km+, sunny and warm day, they really count at the end of the day. Today I change canals. Continuing towards St. Gilles, I will be following the Sète to… Read more >
Day 10: Agde to Sète May 7, 2025 A sign just outside the hotel said 24km to today's destination, Sète, I ended up walking 35km. I slept until 8am, which was somewhat later than normal. At breakfast I had to give emergency help to my wife at home in Denmark, as her mobile payment app no longer worked. So it was 9.30 by… Read more >
Day 9: Beziers to Agde May 6, 2025 There are always days that just pass by, days where you don’t really remember very much. The 27kms from Beziers to Agde was such a day. The most notable part of the day were the lock at Agde and Ouvrage du Libron. I do recall that much of the day (ca. 60%) was on tarmac,… Read more >
Day 8: Capestang to Beziers May 5, 2025 I left the B&B just as the door bell rang. The man at the door had hit a parked car, and the car belonged to the owner of the hotel. I beat a hasty retreat, unfortunately into the rain. Before leaving town I visited the church that totally dominates the skyline - so much so,… Read more >My walking adventures
Explore
Temples and Shrines
Vajra and Ema, Tori gates and Shitenno, Jizo and Omikuji. There's a lot to learn about Japanese Temples and Shrines. Read some of the things I've learnt when in Japan, many that I'd wished I'd known the first time I visited.
Japan is just different
Plastic food, white gloves, love of trains, pachinoko, toilets, manholes, social distance and futons. Japan is just different in so many different ways. Read about some of the differences I've experienced in Japan during my visits.
About me
That I was just following my feet, was something I often thought about during my pilgrimage to Shikoku, Japan, in 2018. I walked for 38 days, and at times it felt like my feet were walking, and the rest of my body just following.