A beautiful day on my long walk to Santiago de Compostela

Another beautiful day on the Camino. I wake up early and see through the wide open windows how dark it still is. I don’t spend too much time to get ready. A lot of the things that I normally do in the morning are all done in the afternoons: showering, putting on clean clothes, and packing all that I need. I leave the hostel quietly and find my way back to the Camino.

The city is still asleep; I follow the river that leads me out of Ponferrada and into the fertile Bierzo region. I admire the sunrise and stop to photograph wildflowers.

The pretty blue-colored chicory is grown as a forage crop for livestock but grows here on the side of the street. And so does the yellow large-flowered evening-primrose; orginally from Brazil, it has somehow found its way to Northern Spain.

I stop at a small cafe and drink a freshly squeezed orange juice. But there is no time to lazily enjoy the sights of a village waking up. The sun is getting warmer, and I continue my journey through vineyards and orchards.

I find a hostel before the heat hinders my progress. The routine sets in: shower, clean clothes, doing laundry. Pilgrim days don’t start in the morning, but when arriving at the day’s destination.

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