All the Paths are One

 Hiking Day 21    April 28

Colunga to Villaviciosa

Miles 12.0

Total miles    285.5

Ascent    983’

Descent    1055’

“Todos Los Caminos….Son El Camino”    All the Caminos (Paths)…Are the Camino (Path)

The St James Way (Camino de Santiago) is actually an extensive network of routes and tracks that begin in many different places, but they all end in Santiago de Compostela on the westernmost edge of the continent of Europe.

Around the year 820 CE, the tomb of Saint James the Apostle was discovered in Galicia. Today, 12 centuries later, scores of pilgrims travel along the Camino for many different reasons.

There are currently 281 Caminos recognized on routes through 29 countries. 49 of the routes are in Spain. In 2019, 350,000pilgrims arrived in Santiago de Compostela from 190 countries.

All the routes eventually lead to Santiago…you could start in Rome and walk to Santiago!

All the paths are one path…

The day begins in a light mist that quickly fades away. The route is easy to follow and leads to unpaved paths and remote paved roads. Farm land abounds. Farm animals are in every field. The fields are are rich dark green. 

                                                Wet roads from last night’s rainfall

The day passes quickly with only 4 hours of walking and we at our hotel by 1 pm. Tomorrow is a rest day!

                The pre-Romanesque San Salvador de Priesca. Built in 921 CE, it is one of the oldest churches                             on the Camino. As are almost all of the churches on the Camino del Norte, it is locked. Inside are original paintings still visible on the walls.