Steven – Page 5 – Following your feet

Day 116: Puyloubier to Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume

There were high expectations after yesterday’s great stage. Today’s stage, the first of a couple of shorter stages, 22km, continues east, ending in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume and its Cathedral, which towers above the town and is clearly seen from the motorway. It was yet another day where the sun shined all morning and rain was scheduled for…

Day 115: Aix-en-Provence to Puyloubier

After a day off seeing the sights in Aix-en-Provence, day five took me to the Bimont Dam and the Sainte-Victoire Mountains, including a climb up to almost 600m. Both weather-wise, walk-wise and scenery-wise, todays 28km was a great walk. I left the hotel fairly late and walked through the center of Aix-en-Provence passing the Rotonde…

Pictures from Aix-en-Provence

Aix-en-Provence is in my opinion one of the most beautiful cities in France. A university town, with many fountains, historic buildings, narrow streets and large boulevards, local shops and restaurants. We had a pleasant morning and early afternoon in the sun, before the rain kicked in, yet again, around 3 o’clock. We had a a…

Day 114: Pelissanne to Aix-en-Provence

It’s Sunday and I had originally planned as a day off to visit Aix-en-Provence. However, I changed my plans and decided to walk the what I thought was 26km to where I ended yesterday, 10kms after Salon-de-Provence in Pelissanne. It turned out to be a few kilometers longer. Today was cloudy and rain was scheduled…

Day 113: Mouries to Pelissanne

It rained heavily yesterday evening and I was prepared for some flooded paths as I left after breakfast. It turned out not to be too bad, although there was a puddle here and there. Today was one of the longest stages on my trip along Via Aurelia, 36km with a modest elevation gain of 440m.…

Day 112: Arles to Mouries

After a couple of days in Nimes and a day in Uzes and Arles, I was back on the road, on a warm day, turning more and more cloudy as the day progressed. The day ended with a torrential downpour, but luckily I wasn’t walking by then. From Arles I will primarily follow the GR…

Pictures from Uzes and Arles

After a couple of days in Nimes, we drove to Uzes and Arles. Uze is a beautiful small town with an historic centre, a large square, which I am sure is packed during summer, a cathedral and a palace. The town attracts many visitors due to its proximity to Pont du Gard, the most famous…

Pictures from Nîmes

After walking between St. Gilles and Arles, we spent a couple of days in Nîmes, where we had briefly visited in the early 90’s. Nîmes is an old Roman town, often called the most roman town outside Italy and even “France’s Rome”. It is famous for many historical buildings, most notably the Arena and the…

Day 111: St. Gilles to Arles

Spring had arrived in Provence, as we started off on the first day of my through hike between St. Gilles and Roquefort on the Côte d’Azur. My wife joined me for the 22km hike between St. Gilles and Arles, primarily along the Petit Rhone river, a branch of the Rhone that runs from Fourques (just…

Day 110: Arnados to A Coruna Airport

The last day of my trip to fill in the bits I hadn’t walked, started off in beautiful sunshine, which stayed with me for the whole day. I had convinced the owner of the hostel to open for breakfast at 8.30am instead of 9am, which gave me an extra 30 minutes walking, which was good…

Day 109: Malpica to Arnados

Today I start a 2-day walk between Malpica and A Coruna airport i northern Spain. The last time I was in Malpica was the autumn 2023 after completing the Lighthouse Way from Finisterra (Stage 2 on my walk to Rome). Back then, I took a bus to A Coruna and flew home. In Spring 2024,…

Day 108: Olveiroa to Cee

A short day today, only 20km, a relatively flat stage with some elevation (350m) but a lot of downhill towards the coast at Cee, and a fairly steep downhill at that. It was pretty cold as I left the pension and soon I saw frost on the grass, after passing a couple of streams that…

Day 108: Negreira to Olveiroa

After a days rest in the rain, I was back on the road with 35km and 925m elevation. There wasn’t any breakfast at the place I stayed overnight in Negreira, so after a shower and packing my stuff, I was on my way by 8.30. Leaving town, I didn’t find anywhere to stop for breakfast.…

Day 107: Santiago de Compostela to Negreira

Today was supposed to be my rest day. It is Sunday after all, and spending an afternoon in the church and town that in Spain is seen the same way as Fatima in Portugal, Lourdes in France and Rome in Italy, i.e. centres of Catholicism, seemed fitting. When walking, the weather plays a central role,…

Day 106: Viana do Castello to Seixas

Back in 2022 I didn’t walk this stage due to a sprained ankle which I suffered the day before when I rolled over on it. I spent the day in Viana do Castello and took the train to Seixas later in the day. Upon recommendation from a friend, I purchased an ankle strap, and it…

Day 105: Coimbra to Mealhada

It was two years and a day since I last was in Mealhada. Back then I decided to take the train to Mealhada and walk the few kilometers to Sernadelo, so that I could spend the morning in Coimbra and not least see it’s world famous library. Again this year, I decided to take the…

Day 104: Freixianda to Fatima

Today was always going to be a hit or miss day. I needed to take a taxi ca. 30km to the start point, I needed to walk 32 kilometers, that turned out to be 35km in a hilly terrain and there was a bus to catch at 16.30. Breakfast was at 8am, and the hotel…

Day 103: Carregado to Azambuja

Following yesterday’s marathon 37km, only 13km remained to reach Azambuja. That gave me some time to wash my clothes. I was up early and at the laundry as it opened at 8am. A 35min wash took 45 minutes and I had plenty of time to walk around the old town, and see the trams. My…

Day 102: Lisbon to Carregado

I walked the Camino Portugues from Lisbon as far as Porto in February 2023, but I didn’t walk the two first stages to Azambuja. I actually ended up taking a taxi from Lisbon to Azambuja, as there was a train strike. Therefore the second part of my filling the gaps walk is to complete the…

Day 101: Setubal to Lisbon (via Barreiro)

As many walkers know, walking is far easier in beautiful surroundings than walking along a busy main road, where one is worried that a car driver is more interested in their phone than the road – which happened to me today. In many respects today was a pleasant walk, starting with an uphill climb leaving…

Day 100: Brejos de Carregueira to Setubal

A magnificent start and end to the walking today, so-so in between. After two heavy days I was wondering how my legs and body would react today, which was a somewhat shorter day at 23 or 27kms, depending on where I took the boat from to Setubal. I was down for breakfast at 8 sharp…