“Now shall I walk or shall I ride?
‘Ride,’ Pleasure said;
‘Walk,’ Joy replied.”
―W.H. Davies
One week into El Camino, there have certainly been some unpleasurable moments, but the overwhelming feeling of the last week and nearly 100 miles has been one of joy. Below you can find some pictures highlighting our first seven days on the road.
Outside the cathedral in Sevilla, our starting point for La Via de la PlataSpotting our first of what would be many yellow arrows pointing us towards Santiago de Compostela.Having a picnic lunch outside of Italica, an ancient Roman ruins site that has recently gained fame for being used as a shooting location for Game of Thrones.
An olive orchardAn old watchtower sitting over the crest of a meadowed hill
For most of the walk, we’ve enjoyed as our companion an unending supply of beautiful natural sceneryThe symbol of El Camino. All of the lines in the shell represent the different routes one can take to arrive at the same destination: Santiago de Compostela.The view from our albergue over Castilblanco de los Arroyos, one of the villages we stopped inMany of our days have begun at a village cafe eating tostada con tomate and sipping on a mug of tea. This morning came before our first trying day on El Camino, an 18-mile trek over hilly terrain to Almadén de la Plata.
Checking out an old, ruined house along the way.A steep, seemingly endless hill is not what you want to see at the end of an 18-mile day, but we conquered it nonetheless.A site for sore feet.
Golden fields at dawn have been a consistent part of our walk. We’re hoping it stays that way!Some friendly farm dogs we came across
Exploring the castle in Real de la Jara
A much deserved beer along the wayOccasionally the scenery is not the greatest……but it can change quickly.
We began seeing a bunch of these small flowers that grew out of the ground individually without a stem or leaves.
Our seventh day took us past fields of grape treesSome of them were being harvestedExploring the town of Zafra
Worn Out Shoes 