Early Spring, 2026

The gift of the Camino de Santiago is like the Jelly of the Month Club, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

There are memories, photos, life changes, and best of all, new friends made along the Way!

In October 2024, I walked the Camino Primitivo and fell in with a group of people that have become friends to this day. On this year’s trip I had the pleasure of spending part of Holy Week with two of these friends and their family in Zaragoza, Torlengua, and Soria! It was a great visit and a reminder of the possibilities of a walk to Santiago de Compostela – great people, beautiful places, and good food.

The day began in Madrid, which was just a continuation of the dizzying and sleep deprived flight from San Antonio the day before. Mercifully on the ground, I blazed through customs, the rest of Barajas airport, and made it straight to the Taxi stand. The taxi driver blazed me across Madrid to the Atocha train station. High-speed rail blazed me eastward to Zaragoza.

I had a few hours to burn in Zaragoza before my friend arrived, so I made a walking tour of the Old Town. There is lots to see here, most prominently is the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar. This church is one of the most beautiful I have seen in Spain. In contrast to the fascinating church, there are two bombs hanging on the wall inside. Four bombs were dropped on this part of Zaragoza during the Spanish Civil War. One of the bombs pierced the ceiling of the Basilica but didn’t explode, same with the three others.

A contemporary word about bombs – they are never holy and are never blessed by God. The bombs in the Basilica reminded me of this.

My Camino friend arrived in Zaragoza at 6:00 pm and drove me to the family village of Torlengua. My exhausting two days of travel ended with Spanish hospitality, family, friends, and jamón!

After sleeping off my jet lag, my friends and I drove to Soria for a tour of the town. We had a great lunch, walked the Old Town, walked through the Alameda de Cervantes park, visited the Monasterio de San Juan de Duero, and the amazing Ermita de San Saturio. I realized two things during our visit to Soria – 1) It is better to visit it with locals that know the place, and 2) It would take a lifetime to see all the beautiful places in Spain. I have barely scratched the surface in my travels.

After the good day in Soria, we drove back to Torlengua for the evening. We visited the family bodega and I learned how they processed wine back in the day, and also sampled 25-year old wine straight from the barrel in the lower level (where the grape juice was stored and fermented) of the bodega. The best part was the family socialization that happened in the upper level (formerly where the grapes were stomped). It was special to be a part of that. After the bodega, it was time for another home cooked meal, a fitting end to the day.

I mentioned the gifts of the Camino – memories, photos to stir those memories, life changes take shape on the pilgrimage, and friendships. I’ll add one more gift to the list – experiencing hospitality, it’s not just on the Camino, but seems to be a natural part of life here.

Thursday morning I traveled to Pamplona, from Pamplona to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. So far it had been airplanes from San Antonio to Dallas to Madrid. Train from Madrid to Zaragoza. Automobiles from Zaragoza to Torlengua to Soria to Torlengua to Pamplona. Alsa Bus from Pamplona to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

Tomorrow, I begin movement under my own power, one step at a time.