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!
September 2025, I arrived in Rome, completing 8 stages, walking each and every kilometer between Sagres and Rome – approximately 4.250 km over 161 days.
I did not walk the stages in their natural order, nor did I only walk from west to east – e.g. I walked between Toulouse and A Coruna (i.e. east to west). Likewise, I hadn’t planned to walk to Rome when I set off from Sagres, some of the stages are completed over two periods, as I filled in the gaps.
See my day to day posts and pictures, by selecting one of the stages below.
The eight stages
Latest posts
Stage 19: La Storta to St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican 
September 20, 2025 My last day, a mere 19km plus the 1,5 km to the stage start from the hotel. The stage ends in the Vatican City. I fear the worst regarding crowds on a Saturday in the Jubilee year, but let's see. The day started with a good breakfast and excellent home made lemon yoghurt. I ate… Read more >
Stage 18: : Campagnano di Roma to La Storta September 19, 2025 On paper it was a 22km route with almost 500m elevation. I had an additional 1,5 km to the hotel, but still managed to walk 26km without getting lost at any point. The room I stayed in last night, didn’t offer breakfast, so I ate some the cake that the host had left in the… Read more >
Stage 17: Sutri to Campagnano di Roma September 18, 2025 Another hot and sunny morning met me as I left the hotel after a relatively simple breakfast and a chat with a man who had lived at the hotel for over a month now - he normally lived in Rome, but had temporarily moved to Sutri for personal reasons. I walked out of town towards… Read more >
Stage 16: Viterbo to Sutri September 17, 2025 It was supposed to be 32km but I ended up walking 37km, was shattered, and when I finally reached Sutri, I was told that the place I thought I had booked to stay, was full. The day ended on a high with a spectacular firework display in a Roman Amphitheater. Viterbo to Sutri is two… Read more >
Stage 15: Bolsena to Viterbo September 16, 2025 The first of two double stage days where I walk four of the official stages. Today was a 35km day, with more than 800m elevation. I wasn't the only person taking two stages today, Val from Canada and Katarina from Slovakia, who I met yesterday and Fernando from Spain were doing the same. Val and… Read more >
Stage 14: Aquapendente to Bolsena September 15, 2025 Another fairly short day, 23km and 350m elevation. Once the sun broke through the low lying fog, it was a hot and sunny, as I walk towards the medieval town of Bolsena and its volcanic lake. I stopped at the bar for a croissant and coffee, as the hostel I stayed at didn't serve breakfast.… 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.