Day 10: Aviles to Cudillero There are days to remember, and days to forget. Often the days to forget are the ones you remember. I have never before been so wet when walking. Until today, given I am on the Spanish northern coast, notorious for changing weather and rain, I’ve been lucky. On previous days it has rained but nothing…
Day 9: Gijon to Aviles I was stopped five times today by strangers, including the police, during a stage that didn’t have a lot to offer, but Aviles had a surprise. I am writing this in my hotel room watching the rain fall and a lot more is expected to fall. According to an average of my weather apps, 50mm…
Day 8: Villaviciosa to Gijon With breakfast at 7.30, and after a good chat with a German walker staying at the hotel, I was on my way by 8.10. It was interesting to hear his reasons for walking, to put a stressful daily routine behind him, recharge his batteries and as a time for reflection. He preferred to walk alone.…
Day 7: Colunga to Villaviciosa Not a lot to tell about today, met a number of fellow walkers and a Spanish guy spoke Swedish to me. Today was the shortest day of walking on this trip, 18km. Last night I read that there was a dinosaur museum close to Colunga, that would have added 5-6 km to my walk to…
Day 6: Nueva to Colunga Yesterday I was sitting in the sunshine, today it is cold and cloudy, and just now I am doing my favourite activity whilst travelling, washing clothes at the local laundromat. I carry clothes for 5-6 days – I’d rather carry more clothes than wash more frequently – some people only carry clothes for 2 days…
Day 5: Puertas to Nueva A beautiful days walking in the sun, a dramatic nose bleed, inland beach and stone arch at the end of a gorge. I’m writing this sitting on a bench in the small town of Nueva. It’s late but warm, as it has been all day. I was on the road by 9.00 after a nice…
Day 4: San Vicente de la Barquera to Puertas Another great day walking. Beautiful sunny weather, but windy, so it didn’t feel too hot, but hot enough to walk in shorts and a t-shirt. After an early breakfast, I was leaving San Vicente by 8.30. When I arrived yesterday the town was packed, now Sunday morning, I only met a few young who had…
Day 3: Santillana del Mar to San Vicente de la Barquera It was a long day where I was off track to see Gaudi’s summer cottage and Santana helped me through the last 7 or so kms. A planned 33km with 800m elevation, ended up as 36kms and a couple of tired feet at the end of the day. To make it worse, the whole day…
Day 2: Boo de Pielagos to Santillana del Mar If it’s going to rain, it should rain on days like today, the next shortest stage, lots of industry and lots of road walking. That wasn’t the case – glorious sunshine all day. After breakfast I took the train to Mogro, as did 10 or so other pilgrims. I did not realise that Santander has…
Day 1: Santander to Boo de Pielagos The weather could have been better for a first day walking, a mix of pretty much everything – wind, rain, sun, cold and warm. But the walking was fantastic. It is difficult to understand that the majority of pilgrims walk through the outskirts of the city, all road and a mix of housing, commercial businesses…
Day 0: Copenhagen to Santander Today I embark on the 4th stage of my walk between Sagres on the Algarve coast of Portugal and the Italian capital, Rome. My three previous stages took me from Sagres to Porto, Porto to A Coruna in northern Spain, and Roquefort on the Cote d’Azur to La Spezia in the Cinque Terre National Park…
Via della Costa – Conclusion Spectacular villages nested on mountains or clinging to the coast, pastel coloured house, rugged coastlines, sandy beaches, high mounts and great food on top. What more could anybody setting off on a hike want? Starting March 5th 2024, I walked for 16 days, 3 in France along the Via Aurelia and 13 in Italy along…
Day 16: Cinque Terre Cinque Terre, the five towns, is a string of five ancient fishing villages clinging to the coastline, surrounded by mountains (up to ca. 800m). The tiny villages were until recently linked only by mule tracks and accessible only by rail or water. Beyond the five villages, Cinque Terre is also a National Park and a…
Day 15: Levanto to La Spezia Changed plans, a thousand or more steps, the sun above but cloud below and the highest elevation profile of the whole trip. The original plan was to walk from Levanto, to the first of the five villages in Cinque Terre and then walk along the coast from village to village. Unfortunately, the paths along the…
Day 14: Sestri Levante to Levanto 30km on another beautiful day for walking, 1300m elevation, 40% inclines and walking through a 5km long tunnel. I suppose it is a sign of just how fabulous the views have been throughout this trip, that one eventually can hardly be bothered to take my camera out of its clip on my daypack, to take…
Day 13: Camogli to Sestri Levante A great day in the sun, lots of ups and downs, beautiful towns and a night in a historic home, and not to forget, burnt cream and sugar for dessert. Today was a long day, 33kms and 1166m elevation. I took the train from Genova station, conveniently close by, to Camogli. The train was delayed,…
Day 12: Genova to Camogli Short 21km walk to Camolgli. Mostly road walking in rain, but wow, the towns I passed and visited were fantastic. When I planned the trip, I had built up an expectation that today it would be sunny. Every picture of Camogli I have seen, the sun was shining. I’d planned a short day, so Lene…
Day 11: Genova (20km) Today I should have walked 19km from the Genova neighbourhood Voltri, where I finished yesterday, to the centre of the city. The walk would have taken me along the coast past the container docks, the airport and the massive cruise ship terminal. Instead, I decided to walk the 19km, but sightseeing in Genova. The owner…
Day 10: Celle Ligure to Genova (Voltri) A closed tunnel causses a 3km detour and an unexpected Milan-San Remo cycle classic. Today should have been an easy 20km trip along the coast with next to no ascent. Thanks to a closed tunnel, I had a more than 3km detour, including a number of climbs, so I ended up with over 400m ascent.…
Day 9: Spotorno to Celle Ligure Don’t trust the weather forecast. I did 🙁 . Wild boar, Danish art by Asger Jorn and Olmo bicycles. A shorter walk today, 23 km and a mere 538m in ascent. The day started in the forest before reaching the coast and staying there through Savona and onto Celle Ligure. The weather forecast said cloudy,…
