Steph Cooke – Outdoor Writer

We awoke to darkness and the depressing sound of heavy rain drumming against the window. Today was a shorter day to Santiago, but walking through rain again would be a miserable experience, and not how we had imagined completing our pilgrimage. We hung around in the lounge for a while, trying to delay our departure,…

Having enough room to dress and sort out gear was a welcome luxury, although I still managed to lose several items, including my deodorant. After an extensive search I declared it to be lost forever, although I later found it in the depths of my rucksack. I was able to purchase a takeaway coffee from…

I woke at 6 am from the best sleep I’d had on the Camino so far – what a difference a comfy bed and a little more privacy make! After a swift breakfast of croissants and an iced coffee purchased from the supermarket last night, we set off once again into the darkness of the…

Chatting while we were getting ready to leave the albergue, Rachel and I realised we had both had the same experience during the night. We had woken in the early hours and spotted that the front door of the Albergue was wide open, light spilling in from the streetlights outside. Neither of us could face…

I woke early, feeling surprisingly refreshed. The room seemed very quiet, and I thought the reports of snorers along the Camino must have been exaggerated until I took out my earplugs and realised they had been very effective at masking the noise! Rachel and I took full advantage of the tiny kitchen. In the absence…