Camino with a Kilt

Follow us across northern Spain as we walk the 500 mile Camino del Norte, with Colin in a kilt and Sarah (mostly) writing about it. Expect tales of food, photos and foot woes.

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Clouds, sea or mountains? #mistymornings #endoftheworld #finisterra #nofilter (at Finisterre)

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We made it! 910.5 km, 43 days, 14,444 meters of hills, a few blisters, many new friends, several extra holes in the kilt and...a whole life ahead with my new husband-to-be 🙌🙌#finisterra #endoftheworld #happinessis #thatview😍 #thatman😍 #wedidit (at Finisterre)

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So we're out of the mountains, and tomorrow we arrive in Santiago! After 5 weeks and 500 miles, we'll walk into the city with this brilliant bunch ...and then keep walking til we hit the coast again. The sea is calling and the feet don't want to stop moving 👣🙃🌊 #justkeepwalking #pilgrimcrew #26kmtosantiago #caminodesantiago #caminodefinisterra (at Galicia, Spain)

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Nice day for a walk #caminoprimitivo #asturias 😍#over500kmdown #lessthan300kmtosantiago (at Asturias)

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Here is where I chose to hang my hat up (for a spot of lunch) #picnictime #scarecrowhat #seenbetterdays #asturias #caminoprimitivo (at Asturias)

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A coincidence

While sipping cider (obvs) last night, Col spotted a familiar face on local Asturian TV. A text this morning confirmed that Rich was indeed camping in the Picos de Europa with his family and had indeed been interviewed that morning by a local TV network. Bizarre.

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A realisation.

This evening, while hiding from the rain eating fabada in a sideria in Oviedo, we noticed a significant correlation between a slowing of the rate of walking and our passage through cider country. While averaging well over 20km per day through Basque and Cantabria, in Asturias we managed an impressive 5km over 3 days. We blame the cheap, delicious fermented appley goodness.

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The pipers pipe and the women wear clogs in the apple capital of Spain 🍎🍎 #villaviciosa #asturias #capitaldelamanzana #caminodelnorte (at Teatro Riera)

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So that's adios to the Camino del Norte, and hola to the Camino Primitivo as we leave the coast and head inland to Oviedo. Looking slightly manic after getting over sunned on yesterday's walk, a huge feast of stew, deep fried steak, rice pudding and more cider in festival-filled Villaviciosa, followed by very little sleep.. #caminodelnorte #caminoprimitivo #tothehills #justkeepwalking #asturias (at Asturias)

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Serdio. A village out of time and a rib eye steak to beef up tired muscles 💪

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Comillas to Serdio. Not a bad spot for a picnic, plus some ancient Cantabrian cows 🐮

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Is it Scotland or is it Spain?

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Santillana to Comillas. Another pretty town. And Indianos churches and houses galore en route. Cantabria is getting better. And TADAH! A tent. And home cooked grub. 👌

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After a morning of retail therapy in Santander’s decathlon (and bumping into Nicole, a German teacher on leave with tinnitus, who we walked with on day 1) we caught the train beyond the urban sprawl and began walking again, tent and jetboil stove strapped to our bags. Coming out of the station, we spotted a head of white hair on the bridge. Hide! Antonia (aka 59), the first person we met on the Camino, is an Italian schoolteacher very capable of telling us off for cheating. And for telling me (whilst half naked emerging from the shower at Guemes) that she “Just had the BEST orgasm”

Antonia, true to form, marched ahead. We caught up with a blonde, tired looking Dutch girl on her first trip without her family, walking the Camino to prove a point. Janna had run out of water and was exhausted from a couple of days walking on pavements from Santander but still managed to talk at a million miles an hour about ex-boyfriends, hippy parents, her peer group at school who are 'sweet, but just at a different stage of life to me', and Sartre. Into Santillana de Mar, expecting to find a Spanish medieval Bourton on the Water, and somewhat pleasantly surprised. Especially by Jesus Otero, a sculpture born in the village who had his first show in Santander at the age of 16.

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Guemes to Santander. A good thinking spot for deciding to buy a tent.

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Where the mountains meet the sea, the sun is shining and the cider is just too good #caminodelnorte #asturias #anotherrestday #badpilgrims #ribadesella 🍻 (at Río Sella)