The Way

These are photos from a 37-day, 530-mile walk across northern Spain known as El Camino del Norte, one of many routes to Santiago de Compostela. In English, this translates to “The Way of St. James,” commonly known as “The Way.”

Pilgrims have walked these caminos for over a thousand years for a multitude of reasons. The original purpose was to pay homage to the apostle St. James, who, according to Christian tradition, is buried at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. For us, it was a journey of exploration marking our recent retirement from the traditional working world.

We’d start early each morning, walking five to seven hours, averaging 14 miles a day. The path crosses diverse terrains: dirt, gravel, mud, rock, asphalt, concrete, and sandy beach trails through cities, towns, small villages, farms, and forests.

There is amazing coastal scenery of the Bay of Biscay, expansive views of rolling Spanish hills, and a plethora of cows, donkeys, horses, roosters, chickens, cats, and dogs along the way. Some days have long ascents followed by steep descents. Other days, the road is flat and winds through acres of farmland. Occasionally, we walk on narrow shoulders of regional routes, hopping from one side to the other to avoid blind curves.

All this walking for long periods allows the mind to wander, scrutinize the past, and wonder about the future.

This description is an excerpt from Doug Donohoe’s article, From Code to Camino: A Software Engineer’s 530-Mile Journey.