Reflections on our Camino Blocktober journey
A. Introduction
Our Blocktober 2026 took us from the historic Blockhouse on Cape Town’s Table Mountain to northern Spain for our Blocktober Camino along the Camino Primitivo, and then back home — all in solidarity with survivors of gender-based violence. We set out on foot from Oviedo on 1 October, reached Santiago de Compostela on 18 October and returned to Cape Town on 22 October. Over the remaining nine days, we rejoined Blocktober’s familiar walks, cycling and swimming activities, culminating in the final gathering at the Blockhouse on 31 October.
In Spain, the Camino’s scallop shells and yellow arrows guided us towards Santiago (see our blog about Camino symbols). Our recorded walking distances also included detours, exploring towns and the extra kilometres involved in finding food and reaching accommodation.
Adding the walking, cycling and swimming after our return, we covered nearly 928 km and gained almost 23,000 m in elevation between us during Blocktober. A detailed breakdown appears at the end of this article. Getting to Spain and back involved approximately 22,267 km by air and 1,020 km by train. Yet these figures were never the point.
What mattered more were the people we met, the conversations and the shared purpose — from connecting with organisations supporting women in Asturias and Galicia to the friends and activity leaders who kept Blocktober going at home while we were away.
This article begins with our overall reflections, followed by a daily diary with photographs and impressions from Spain and our return home. While we were walking, we posted each new update first; with Blocktober complete, the diary now follows events chronologically, from our arrival in Oviedo on 29 September to the closing gathering on 31 October.
B. Reflections on the Camino Blocktober
Show links to individual reflections
 |
A light-hearted encounter with an Ecuadorian cyclist. |
Diversity
The people we met along the Camino came from most continents: from Europe, including Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Croatia, Ireland, England and Wales; from Australia; from Asia, including Singapore and the Philippines; from North and Central America, including Mexico, the United States, Canada and Nicaragua; and from South America, including Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. We met only two pilgrims from Africa, both from South Africa.
Some had completed several Caminos and returned again and again; others were taking their first tentative steps. Some walked long distances and carried everything themselves; others came for a weekend, travelling with luggage transfers. We saw a good number of pilgrims cycling, but none on horseback (another way to do the Camino). One cyclist from Ecuador joked with Dawie about how slowly he was walking compared with her cycling!
Pilgrims shared with us their reasons for doing the Camino: faith, peace, solitude, healing, adventure, companionship, a break from work, or simply the freedom of moving through the world on foot. And then there were the two of us, doing Camino Blocktober.
Conversations and connections
The Camino creates so many opportunities for connection.
We began in Oviedo with an unexpected conversation at a UGT trade-union office after spotting a banner opposing violence against women. In Lugo we met Paula Castro Meilán of Aliad-Ultreia, joined remotely by Bernadine from Cape Town's Saartjie Baartman Centre. We found overlapping concerns about violence, exploitation, trafficking, migration, economic dependence and recovery through body and mind. In Santiago we connected with Vagalume, whose work with women in situations of prostitution and vulnerability resonated with these conversations. The distance between Galicia and South Africa is large, but solidarity knows no boundaries.
Our Blocktober T-shirts opened many informal doors. Pilgrims asked what it meant, and a conversation about a walk became a conversation about gender-based violence or survivors’ ability to rebuild their lives. People accepted our Blocktober cards, followed our posts, or simply wished us well. Replies from friends and the Blocktober groups back home kept us encouraged through the rain, aching muscles and long, tiring days.
Hospitality
Hospitality on the Camino is exceptional. It is part of the history of the route. We have written separately about hospitality, but two examples are worth recalling here.
At A Pociña de Muñiz in Vilar de Cas, José explained in Spanish how his family had turned a derelict village forge into an attractive, intimate albergue, drawing on the help of an architect cousin and his wife's eye for design. The communal dinner and small rooms made it a place to remember.
At Fogar de Lecer in Arzúa, Paula Tapia García spoke about founding and running a hospitality business as a woman and the determination required. Her message to survivors of gender-based violence — that they are capable of this and much more — connected the local pilgrim economy directly to the purpose of Blocktober. These ventures are businesses, but they can also be places of genuine welcome and opportunities for women's economic independence.
The collection of pilgrims’ shoes in a dormitory captured another side of this hospitality. Each pair belonged to someone with a different story and a reason for walking, but at the end of the day we shared much the same needs: somewhere to wash, rest and sleep. A welcoming albergue offered more than a bed—it offered a sense of belonging and of connection. Around shared tables and in small dormitories, strangers became companions, and hospitality became something we could offer one another as well as receive from our hosts.
Read our blog about hospitality on the Camino.
A third travelling companion
We came to joke that there were three of us walking and talking: Lala, Dawie and Camai (our homegrown Camino AI), our tech companion capably managed by Dawie. Lala was sceptical about using AI along our way as she wanted to immerse herself in the experience. But she was pleasantly surprised that, if used to deepen one’s experience, it was a great Camino companion.
Most historic panels and inscriptions on old stones provided along the route are in Spanish and the regional languages Asturian and Galician, with older inscriptions even in Latin. Being able to ask for a translation or an explanation at a chapel, a symbol, a monument or a sign transformed what we could understand along the way.
More importantly, most people we encountered only spoke Spanish, while our Spanish was very limited. Live translation enabled conversations with local people (and others that did not speak English) that might otherwise have stopped after hello, a question about food or a few polite sentences. It was not always perfect, but it often opened a door. We could find out more about ancient history and very recent events.
For example, we would not have known about the ruined settlement of Soutomerille and its church, documented as early as the year 897, where Lala placed her hands on the stones and thought of people facing violence, quietly asking for their protection. In Castroverde we found the monument to Manuel Cordero Pérez and the campaign for women's voting rights in Spain in 1931. In Salas we learnt about newly installed memorial stones commemorating local people deported to Nazi concentration camps. This allowed us to compare some of these events with experiences in South Africa.
Camai also helped us discover small places to stay, especially in the more remote parts of the Primitivo, and drafted Spanish messages or emails that we could use to reach out to owners who were not listed on large booking websites. Some of these places became our favourite accommodations. As we walked, we could dictate notes, check a historical reference and plan the next day. We were able to make short translated videos and social posts. This mattered because walking demanded energy, and our time was spent with people and nature. Technology did not substitute for the experience; it deepened it.
Fruits of nature
What a wonderful experience to walk through natural landscapes, although they have been used for agriculture by humans for centuries, and to enjoy some of their fruits - walnuts, chestnuts, apples and springs gave us strength and much enjoyment.
Reaching Santiago: an ending, and another beginning
On 18 October we reached Santiago de Compostela, the end of our walk from Oviedo. On the square before the Cathedral of St James, we watched newly arriving pilgrims embrace, sit in silence or burst into tears. At the Pilgrims' Mass in the Church of San Agustín, the church was full of people for whom this journey had profound religious meaning.
We came with our purpose, the Camino Blocktober. We left enriched by a broad Camino experience, the special conversations with organisations working on GBV across borders and many connections. Our Camino remains connected to the walks to the Blockhouse and the wider Blocktober community, in solidarity with survivors of GBV.
Completing our Camino and continuing Blocktober at home
The Camino did not end when we stopped walking. It gave us time to listen to strangers, experience the generosity of hosts and connect our Blocktober purpose with people and organisations facing similar challenges thousands of kilometres from home. We heard different life stories, but the concerns about violence, dignity, recovery and economic independence repeatedly revealed common ground.
The simple daily rhythm — pack, find the yellow arrows, walk, eat, rest and begin again — also reminded us how much progress depends on practical support and human connection. Our journey was enriched by directions, shared meals, conversations and encouragement from people who often (at least initially) knew very little about us. We hope the relationships begun with colleagues and organisations in Galicia will continue to foster exchanges of ideas and solidarity for survivors of gender-based violence. We carry that spirit home to Cape Town, where the walking, conversations and solidarity of Blocktober continue.
C. Our daily blogs
Show links to individual daily entries
- 29 September — we arrive in Oviedo
- 30 September — Oviedo: an unexpected Blocktober connection
- 1 October — Oviedo to Grado: we start walking (27 km)
- 2 October — Grado to Salas (24 km)
- 3 October — Salas to Tineo (26.2 km)
- 4 October — Tineo to Campiello, in the rain (14 km)
- 5 October — Campiello towards the Hospitales route (9 km)
- 6 October – across the Los Hospitales route (26 km)
- 7 October – Grandas de Salime to A Fonsagrada (27 km)
- 8 October – A Fonsagrada to O Cádavo (26 km)
- 9 October – O Cádavo to Vilar de Cas (16.2 km)
- 10 October – Vilar de Cas to Lugo (19.3 km)
- 11–12 October – two days in Lugo (21 km walking in the city)
- 13 October – Lugo to O Burgo de Negral (25 km)
- 14 October – O Burgo de Negral to Melide (26 km)
- 15 October – Palas de Rei to Melide (16 km)
- 16 October – Melide to Arzúa (15 km)
- 17 October – Arzúa towards Santa Irene (19 km)
- 18 October – Santa Irene towards Santiago (24.5 km)
- 19 October – Pilgrims’ Mass, Santiago and the Two Marías (10.6 km walking in the city)
- 20 October – Vagalume, Santiago and Vespers (11.4 km walking in the city)
- 21–22 October – departure and reflections (13 km)
- 23–31 October — back home, completing Blocktober
- Distance and elevation summary
29 September–31 October 2026, in chronological order.
29 September — we arrive in Oviedo
After travelling from South Africa via Istanbul and Madrid, we arrived in Oviedo by train on 29 September, the historic starting point of the Camino Primitivo. We settled into our hostel where we stayed for two nights, with the following day available to recover, prepare our packs and explore before the walking began. After months of planning the Blocktober Camino, we were finally here.
30 September — Oviedo: an unexpected Blocktober connection
From our accommodation, in the early morning, we looked down onto the wet streets of Oviedo, with the cathedral just around the corner. The school run carried on below: an everyday scene in the city where our own unusual journey was about to begin.
Before even taking our first Camino step, Blocktober produced an unexpected connection. Walking through Oviedo, we noticed a banner at the offices of the UGT trade union speaking out against violence against women. We went inside and met Antonio.
With some help from live translation by our phone, what began as an unplanned visit became a substantial conversation about gender-based violence, workplace discrimination, unequal pay, women’s unpaid burden of work, migrant women and the importance of economic independence.
Antonio told us about UGT’s work and its regular public actions against gender violence, gave us information to take with us, and offered to connect us with colleagues working specifically on equality and women’s issues. It was an encouraging reminder, even before starting the Camino, of what can happen simply by noticing a sign and walking through a door.
Read the article on our interview with Antonio by clicking here.
We attended Mass and received a blessing for pilgrims in Oviedo, on the eve of our walk. The next morning we would leave the city on foot.
1 October — Oviedo to Grado: we start walking (27 km)
 |
| Setting out from Oviedo. |
We finally set out from Oviedo, following the bronze shells and yellow arrows that show the way westwards towards Santiago. At the little 15th-century chapel of Santa Ana de Premoño, historically associated with a pilgrims’ hospital, we left one of our Blocktober cards.
 |
| A warm welcome on Day 1 |
At Villa Palatina in Paladín, beside a small river, we met a wonderfully helpful local who gave us practical advice about the Camino, accommodation and finding gluten-free food for Lala — his own daughter has coeliac disease. It was one of those unplanned conversations that was already becoming a feature of the Camino.
Our feet were already very tired by lunchtime on day one, so Villa Palatina’s chairs suspended over the river were a wonderful discovery. Shoes off, feet up above the flowing water — if only there had been options like this on some of the harder days ahead!
 |
| Tired feet already on day one — if only every stop offered this! |
2 October — Grado to Salas (24 km)
 |
| A message in a pilgrim book. |
The climb towards Fresno and the descents that followed gave this second day a different rhythm from simply covering kilometres on level ground.
Another day of green countryside, old villages, churches and conversations along the way. At the Santuario de la Virgen del Fresno we left a Blocktober card and wrote a message against gender-based violence in the pilgrim book — one small way of carrying the purpose of this walk with us.
We met Ruben, a young British pilgrim in financial services who is using a sabbatical for some remarkable journeys: he had already run from Norway to England for charity and was finishing his break by walking the Camino. We also spent time talking to Jim, an American pilgrim, about politics, society and the world we are walking through. We reached Salas for the night.
3 October — Salas to Tineo (26.2 km)
The route climbed out of Salas towards La Espina, then continued through small settlements towards Tineo, alternating between road sections, gravel tracks and earth paths. The changing surfaces and terrain help explain why this stage was more than a simple line between two towns.
We had considered delaying our departure to experience more of the festival in Salas, but rain was forecast and we decided to walk. Ironically, by the time we reached Tineo at about 17:00, the rain had still not arrived. Near La Espina we stopped at a memorial to six young men who fled Francoist repression and were later killed by the Nazis. It prompted a conversation between us about Spain’s history of repression and South Africa’s own history of people killed, disappeared or never properly accounted for.
The day also acquired a more personal drama when Dawie realised, several kilometres later, that he had lost his new prescription spectacles near El Pedregal. He backtracked and enlisted other pilgrims in the search. Rafael, who was heading back that way, promised to keep an eye out for them.
4 October — Tineo to Campiello, in the rain (14 km)
 |
| Wagon tracks from long ago. |
The rain eased later and, fortunately, the strong winds that could have made the exposed sections much more difficult did not materialise. We ended the day at Campiello, wet but still moving west.
Along the way we photographed old wheel-ruts in the path. Even on a day dominated by rain and keeping our clothes dry, there were traces of much older journeys beneath our feet.
5 October — Campiello towards the Hospitales route (9 km)
 |
| Into the woods. |
Five days of continuous walking and close to 100 km on the Camino Primitivo — the oldest of the ancient pilgrimage routes across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, followed by pilgrims since the 9th century. Today we left Campiello and passed through Borres, Samblismo and La Mortera, where the Camino divides. The legs are beginning to know that we are on pilgrimage: Lala’s knee has become painful and we have decided to send our heavier bags ahead tomorrow. Tonight we stay at Albergue Los Hospitales at Coliñas de Arriba, before continuing west towards Grandas de Salime. We had meaningful chats with pilgrims from Spain, Brazil, Finland, Sweden, Holland and UK about Blocktober and GBV.
This was our shortest walking day, but it brought us to the starting point for the demanding Hospitales crossing. The practical decisions — where to sleep and what to carry — were becoming part of the journey, rather than merely arrangements made before it began.
We also stopped at a Obi-Wan Kenobi bench bearing a poem, saying “Be kind to your sleeping heart”. Its invitation to pause and let the heart breathe was a welcome counterpoint to counting kilometres. Listen to the audio back story, A Bench for Chris, Ladybugs & Bliss, about a friend on the Camino.
 |
| The Obi-Wan Kenobi bench at a major route split. Take which route, should we? |
6 October – across the Los Hospitales route (26 km)
 |
| Knee trouble. |
Our initial plan for Day 6 was ambitious: to walk about 40 km all the way to Grandas de Salime, if possible, because we had not been able to find accommodation before that town. The route took us onto the high, exposed Los Hospitales ("The Hostels") section. We passed the remains of the medieval pilgrim hospitals at Fonfaraón and Valparaíso, and near Laguna de la Marta encountered an even older layer of history: a small reservoir associated with Roman gold-mining works. Wild horses greeted us.
Somewhere on that long mountain stretch, Lala saw a fallow deer leap across the path. It appeared and vanished so quickly that she felt a spirit had crossed her path. She does not yet know whose spirit it was.
From the ridge we continued via Puerto del Palo, Montefurado and Berducedo towards the Grandas de Salime area. It rained heavily and, after 26 km, Lala decided that with her knee starting to hurt, pressing on would risk injury, so she called it and we took transport to Grandas de Salime. We plan to make up the lost 14 km with a future diversion to an artist retreat.
It was one of the most exposed and memorable stretches of the Camino so far, and sending our heavier luggage ahead proved a very sensible decision.
7 October – Grandas de Salime to A Fonsagrada (27 km)
With rain outside, our walking sticks had a second job: holding up an improvised indoor washing line. Socks and other small items of clothing hung across the room, ready for another day on the road.
 |
| Rain outside; walking sticks become an indoor washing line. |
We left Grandas de Salime for A Fonsagrada on a long stage that carried us out of Asturias and into Galicia. Along the way we stopped at the small Ermita de San Lázaro de Padraira, a seventeenth-century chapel on the site of an old pilgrim leper hospital — another reminder of the systems of care that grew up around the Camino.
Crossing the Asturias–Galicia border was a milestone, although Galicia welcomed us with heavy rain. Almost immediately we began noticing a striking difference in how the Camino itself was maintained.
On the Galician side there appeared to be much more deliberate attention to drainage and protecting the path against water erosion, whereas in Asturias we had seen very little of this. After days of rain and steep, exposed paths, the effect on both the condition of the route and the walking experience was hard to miss. We stopped at O Acebo for something to eat before continuing through the wet and cold towards A Fonsagrada. As we walked, we also reflected on how Blocktober 2026 is doing so well through collective leadership from many including Jean, Clare, Janeen, David, Janet, Peta, Trish, Stephen and Nancy. And how special to see Bernadine and Siba all smiles at the blockhouse again.
At Casa Cuartel that evening we cooked supper in the communal kitchen and spent time with Florian, a 25-year-old German pilgrim who had lived with a family in Lebowagkomo, Polokwane, Limpopo, as an exchange student. He had progressed well in learning Sepedi to communicate with his host mother, and was sad that COVID cut the exchange short before he could learn as much as he had hoped. We talked about South Africa, apartheid, GBV, the hopes of his university years and the unfinished work that remains to build democracy in South Africa.
8 October – A Fonsagrada to O Cádavo (26 km)
We left A Fonsagrada — literally “the sacred fountain”, a name that comes from the spring around which the town developed — and headed towards O Cádavo. On the way we stopped at La Taberna in Paradavella. The Ecuadorian owner gave us his own playful explanation linking the B in its name to bears and local bear sightings. Although taberna is the standard Spanish spelling for a tavern, the bear theme was clearly intentional: several bear figures around the place echoed his story. We then continued via A Degolada, A Lastra and A Fontaneira. The route still made us work, including the steep Costa do Sapo and the high ground around Alto da Fontaneira.
Along the way were more layers of Camino history and landscape: Santiago da Fontaneira, the hill at A Pasada and Campo da Matanza — literally the “Field of Slaughter”. Local legends connect the name with a battle, although accounts of its origins differ.
9 October – O Cádavo to Vilar de Cas (16.2 km)
We deliberately split the long O Cádavo–Lugo stage, walking 16.2 km to Vilar de Cas. We chose the longer Vilabade branch, passing the historic church of Santa María de Vilabade before continuing through Castroverde.
In Castroverde we came across a monument to Manuel Cordero Pérez, a socialist politician and trade unionist who worked alongside Clara Campoamor in support of women’s voting rights in 1931. We might otherwise have passed it by as just another statue, but Camai helped us uncover the story behind it and recognise its relevance to our Blocktober journey and South African experience. We learnt that the 1931 campaign faced opposition from various quarters, including some progressives who feared how women might vote. Women first exercised this right in a general election in 1933.
But this achievement was followed by a long reversal. After the military uprising of 1936 and Franco’s victory in the Civil War in 1939, his dictatorship ended democratic elections for women and men alike. Free general elections returned only in 1977. From a South African perspective, the comparison was striking: Spain recognised women’s suffrage 63 years before all adult South Africans could vote together in 1994—but its history reminded us that rights won can also be lost.
At A Pociña de Muñiz we met two Mexican pilgrims, and the conversation ranged from the freedom of walking the Camino without advance bookings, to Mexico’s relationship with Spain, Indigenous peoples and who benefited from mining in the country. It was another reminder of how quickly Camino conversations can move from practicalities to history and identity.
That evening fourteen of us sat around one table for a wonderful communal meal. A Welsh couple spoke about the slow food movement and regenerative farming, avoiding supermarkets in favour of local produce, weekly food boxes, and producer co-operatives that can give small farmers a fairer share of the final price. They pointed out symbols they recognised from Wales and possible cultural or language connections with Galicia; looking at the map, we found ourselves wondering whether this was because of the old Atlantic links from a time when travel by sea was often easier than travel over land.
10 October – Vilar de Cas to Lugo (19.3 km)
 |
| Asking for protection. |
We walked 19.3 km from Vilar de Cas to Lugo. Before leaving A Pociña de Muñiz, we recorded a short video interview with José, the owner, who told us how the family opened the albergue in 2018 by converting a long-abandoned ruin beside the family home, with the help of an architect cousin and the artistic eye of José’s wife. His father remembered the building as a ruin from his own childhood, and José’s research established that it had stood derelict for about a century. He also discovered that it had once been the village blacksmith’s forge. The result is a beautiful albergue that has helped make Vilar de Cas a stopping point in its own right, rather than somewhere pilgrims simply pass through on the way to Lugo.
On José’s advice we took the alternative route through the largely ruined settlement of Soutomerille to San Salvador de Soutomerille. The church is documented as early as 897 and preserves a striking pre-Romanesque window. For Lala it became one of the most emotional moments of the Camino so far. With her hands on the ancient stones, she thought of Elizabeth, a woman recently killed, and of women, children, boys and men living with violence, and quietly asked for protection for them. At that moment the purpose of our Camino Blocktober felt very real.
Later we stopped at El Descanso del Peregrino, where a local artist had turned fallen trees into carved sculptures and seats. We were offered coffee and freshly cut melon and watermelon, left a donation and were given Camino shells. The artist also asked for a photograph for Facebook, which meant Blocktober unexpectedly appeared on a local Galician Facebook page before we continued into Lugo.
11–12 October – two days in Lugo (21 km walking in the city)
Arriving in Lugo over the weekend meant waiting until Tuesday for our meeting with the local women's organisation. The delay gave us time to rest and explore the city. It was already a time to rest, and we could experience the San Froilán festivities and explore a city in which layers of history sit unusually close together.
The great physical presence is the Roman wall. We walked the circuit of about 2.1 km around the old city. What makes Lugo so remarkable is that the wall still forms a complete enclosure, unlike so many old walled cities where sections were breached, demolished or reused once the fortifications were no longer needed. Yet it did not survive untouched. Our reading about the fourteenth- and fifteenth-century conflicts around Lugo took us into struggles against the bishop and the church-linked feudal order. For us it was striking to think that these challenges to feudal power came centuries before the broader dismantling of the feudal system that had kept many people in conditions of servitude.
 |
From Lugo’s Roman wall, a view of A Castrexa — a striking mural depicting a warrior woman from pre-Roman Galicia. |
Inside the walls, Lugo Cathedral left a very different impression. We were overwhelmed by the sheer richness and ornamentation: carved walnut, marble, paintings and religious objects in gold and silver, with rubies, diamonds and other precious materials. This made us reflect on the immense wealth and power accumulated by the Catholic Church over centuries. The audio guide assumed quite a lot of knowledge of Catholic traditions and architectural terminology. At the same time, we noticed many visitors praying and lighting candles, a reminder that this is not simply a historical monument but remains a living place of faith.
San Froilán brought another side of Lugo to life. We watched a medieval-style parade and traditional dancing, with the old city becoming a stage for music, costume and public celebration.
We also met the Welsh couple again for supper. They asked about our Blocktober T-shirts, which led to a long conversation about Blocktober and the Saartjie Baartman Centre. We found a great deal of common ground in our values and outlook. As another unexpected South African connection, all three of their children will be travelling to South Africa in March for a cousin’s wedding.
Our accommodation produced a different kind of reflection. We had booked via Airbnb a room in someone’s apartment partly because we hoped it might give us a more personal connection with a local resident. In practice, our host kept very much to herself and we hardly got to know her at all. It was the one place on this Camino where we stayed in somebody’s home but did not feel the warmth we had encountered so often in pilgrim accommodation — an interesting reminder that staying in a private home does not necessarily create connection.
13 October – Lugo to O Burgo de Negral (25 km)
We stayed two full days in Lugo since the 13th was the first day we could meet Aliad-Ultreia, a local NGO working with women affected by gender-based violence, trafficking and sexual exploitation. We met Paula Castro Meilán, a young psychologist whose warmth immediately set the tone, and Bernadine from the Saartjie Baartman Centre joined us from Cape Town by video.
What struck us most were the similarities across very different contexts. We spoke about machismo and toxic masculinity; the links between gender-based violence, drugs and alcohol; and the way substances can also become a means of coping with the consequences of abuse. She explained their experiences of prostitution, sexual exploitation and trafficking, including the vulnerability of migrant women from Latin America.
Aliad-Ultreia is much smaller than the Saartjie Baartman Centre and has a more limited accommodation component, but the underlying challenges and much of the support work felt remarkably familiar.
Bernadine described how the relationship between Blocktober and the Saartjie Baartman Centre developed organically, and how much survivors and staff value walking on Table Mountain, being in nature and SISSA’s community-based OptiFit exercise programme. Paula was particularly interested in that physical dimension of recovery.
Aliad-Ultreia already takes a holistic body-and-mind approach, including therapeutic yoga, but for her the conversation opened up ideas about possibly adding walking, nature and exercise to that work.
We left with a strong sense of solidarity: different countries and different scales of organisation, but many of the same problems, values and possibilities for learning from one another.
Click here for our blog about this engagement.
After the meeting we left Lugo for the roughly 25 km walk to O Burgo de Negral. Much of the first 15 km was on hard surfaces — not steep, but tiring on knees, ankles and joints. Reaching a forest track later in the day felt like a relief and a return to the kind of Camino walking we enjoy most.
At O Lar do Alecrín that evening we met three Colombians — Daniel and Adriana, the parents, and Gabriel. Daniel and Adriana are both recently retired pilots, and we had a wide-ranging conversation about walking the Camino and many other things. They spoke very critically about recent changes in Colombian politics and about their experience of the previous president, which prompted us to reflect on some of our own experiences during the Zuma years in South Africa. It was another example of how the Camino opens space for conversations that move quickly from the personal to the political.
14 October – O Burgo de Negral to Melide (26 km)
This was a long, hot walking day — not especially difficult terrain, but a real slog. We began in beautiful mist; later the sun came out and it became very hot. Much of the route was on hard surfaces, including small roads, and our aching knees increasingly reminded us of every kilometre. The day's theme was resilience: on some days life feels wonderful; on others you simply have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
One quiet, meaningful moment came at a beautiful river, where we left stones for family members who are unwell, with wishes for their recovery.
 |
We kept enjoying the apples and walnuts on the way, while Lala longed for a tortilla. We eventually found one at the town of As Seixas after roughly 22 km.
We were heading to Melide so that we could take a bus back, against the direction of the Camino Francés, to Palas de Rei. We had arranged to meet Ralf Jürgens at Do Picho on the 15th and planned to walk the section back towards Melide the following day. This diversion would also help make up some of the distance we had missed after heavy rain and knee pain earlier in the Camino.
At Melide the bus stop was poorly marked, although Google Maps led us to the right place. A friendly local man, waiting across the street in the shade, confirmed the stop and chatted to us. He advised us to watch an older man sitting across the road: when that man stood up, the bus would be arriving. It worked exactly as he said. The man's local knowledge and generosity were a welcome reward after a tiring day. We arrived in Palas de Rei exhausted, found a small restaurant serving a delicious gluten-free pasta meal with homemade ice cream, and collapsed into bed, ready for the planned interview the next morning.
15 October – Palas de Rei to Melide (16 km)
Early in the morning we received disappointing news from Ralf Jürgens, a human rights activist, that he had developed a high fever and had to cancel our visit. We had arranged to meet at Do Picho near Palas de Rei. Do Picho’s work connects art with wider human rights concerns, including addressing LGBTQI issues. We wished him a speedy recovery and hoped to speak virtually once he was well.
We had made the diversion from Melide back to Palas de Rei for this meeting. Illness and changed plans are part of life — and the Camino. We set out on foot towards Melide, turning the disappointment into an opportunity to cover some of the distance we had missed after the Los Hospitales mountain crossing.
It was striking to retrace on foot a journey that the bus had covered in about half an hour the evening before. Walking the roughly 16 km took several hours. That contrast between modern speed and the slower experience of travelling on foot brought us back to the history and meaning of pilgrimage.
The growth of the Camino is astonishing. Around 650 pilgrims received Compostelas — the official certificates awarded in Santiago to pilgrims who complete the pilgrimage requirements — in 1985, compared with more than half a million in 2025. The Primitivo represents only a small fraction of today's pilgrim traffic. We explore this history and its continuing meaning in this blog.
At Melide the Camino Primitivo joins the much busier Camino Francés. The difference was immediately apparent: where our Primitivo stages could be quiet, we could now look around and would often see a dozen other pilgrims at once.
As the Camino del Norte joins further ahead, the flow towards Santiago will grow.
Along the way we kept crossing paths with four women pilgrims from the Philippines. When we stopped to chat, they asked where we were from, and our Blocktober T-shirts soon became the subject of conversation. We explained why we were walking and what Blocktober is about. They were enthusiastic and encouraging, and we exchanged information so they could find out more.
Along the way, we passed a beautiful, simple house that served as the office of a women’s co-operative producing herbal preparations and natural oils. We hoped to pop in, but there was nobody around. A large, friendly dog was keeping watch. A postwoman arrived, equipped with a clever little trick: she carried dog biscuits on her rounds. Between our limited Spanish and her explanation, we gathered that the treats helped her befriend the dogs she met along the way. Rather than barking or threatening to bite, they greeted her with enthusiasm. A small, delightful example of a practical approach.
As we approached Melide, we came across a magnificent mural of the Galician beekeeper Isidro Pardo Varela. It carried a message that spoke directly to the spirit of our Blocktober walk: “I'd like to make a human hive; if people stuck together like bees do, the world would be a better place.” After the disappointment of our cancelled meeting, his words were a moving reminder of the strength we can find in solidarity and looking after one another.
16 October – Melide to Arzúa (15 km)
We set off from Melide on a cool, sunny morning after a breakfast of coffee, yoghurt, gluten-free muesli and fresh orange juice. The Camino Francés was now noticeably busier than the Primitivo, with more walkers and cyclists and people from many countries.
One of today's highlights was a long conversation with the people we called the “three Ms” — Marco and Manuel from Spain, and Martina from Croatia. We spoke about Europe, migration, machismo and women’s safety, bringing us back once again to the reasons for our Blocktober walk.
After we started our walk, we met cyclists from Ecuador and Venezuela, who teased us that they expected to reach Santiago today while we would take three days.
We stopped to admire and film an especially large Galician hórreo, one of the long, narrow raised granaries traditionally used to dry and store crops while keeping rodents out. We compared it with the broader, more square-shaped hórreos we had seen in Asturias. We recorded a short explainer; see video below:
 |
| A large hórreos in Asturias. |
 |
| Maize drying in an hórreo. |
We walked on to Arzúa and our accommodation at Fogar de Lecer. We tried scallops for the first time — the shell that has become the symbol of the Camino — and found them delicious and beautifully prepared.
17 October – Arzúa towards Santa Irene (19 km)
We began the morning at Fogar de Lecer, where we interviewed Paula Tapia García, one of the owners and a woman entrepreneur. She spoke about her experience of building a hospitality business, the challenges women face, and offered a message of encouragement to survivors of gender-based violence: “You are capable of this — and much more.”
The short Blocktober video below introduces her story. Read more in Hospitality on the Camino and the spirit of Blocktober.
Today's walk to Santa Irene was shorter than some of our earlier stages, and a welcome opportunity to enjoy the countryside at a gentler pace. Despite the greater numbers of pilgrims on the Camino Francés, we found the walking pleasant, much of it on shaded paths away from tarmac roads, through rural Galician scenery. It was a welcome contrast with some of the hard-surfaced and more tiring stages behind us.
At lunch we enjoyed local Arzúa-Ulloa cheese and met Lee, a Filipino now living in Barcelona. The conversation ranged widely. He has lived and worked in Spain for three years and spoke about the pain of encountering barriers and prejudice as a migrant, whether deliberate or unconscious.
We discussed the prosecution of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This brought to mind the unrest in South Africa following Jacob Zuma’s imprisonment. Lee suggested that holding the proceedings outside the Philippines probably helped reduce the risk of similar unrest there. He spoke, clearly with some understanding, about housing and political tensions in Spain.
We learned about Santa Irene’s small historic chapel and a spring traditionally associated with soothing pilgrims’ feet — an appealing thought after more than two weeks on the Camino.
That evening at Albergue Santa Irene, we shared a table with pilgrims from different parts of the world, each with their own reasons for walking. Anne-Marie, an older French pilgrim on her twenty-ninth day, valued the chance to meet people, enjoy nature and have an adventure. Peter, a minister from Denmark, had walked for 34 days and still looked remarkably strong. One of the young women from California, on her fourth Camino but walking only a weekend section this time, introduced us to her Spanish friend Jaime, who was on his first. She spoke of the freedom the Camino gives her, took a keen interest in Blocktober and asked for a card.
18 October – Santa Irene towards Santiago (24.5 km)
We set out while it was still dark. The forecast was for a sunny day, although the morning was chilly and windy.
With Santiago drawing closer, we felt the anticipation of completing the pilgrimage. But the final approach still had plenty to make us stop and think. The Camino is not only beautiful woodland, mountains and pastoral scenery: it also passes through ordinary places, roads and areas under the pressures of modern development. We stopped at a church before entering Santiago to give thanks for our journey.
 |
| Petition to protect the Camino. |
We also passed a field ploughed directly downhill (rather than along the contour), where soil erosion was clearly visible. Having spent so much time walking through Galicia's farming landscapes, we were surprised by this disappointing sight.
We arrived in Santiago de Compostela at about 3 p.m. and entered Praza do Obradoiro, in front of the Cathedral of St James. It was wonderful to have reached the destination where the various Camino pilgrimage routes converge. A steady stream of other pilgrims was arriving, many visibly emotional after their own journeys.
 |
| Arrival in Santiago, with protestors. |
We also saw the tents of a housing protest in the cathedral square. It was a striking juxtaposition: pilgrims celebrating the end of a deeply personal journey, while local residents were calling attention to the difficulty of securing affordable housing.
We went to our accommodation at Hospedería San Martín Pinario, a monastery very close to the cathedral, and had a short rest. Excellent place to stay, by the way!
We then rushed to the Pilgrim Reception Office to obtain our certificates for walking from Oviedo, arriving only about a minute before closing. Staff ushered us to a large screen to complete the process. Despite our last-minute arrival, the office was exceptionally efficient and well organised.
That evening we celebrated over supper with our Welsh Camino friends. Sharing this milestone with people we had met on the journey made the arrival all the more special.
19 October – Pilgrims’ Mass, Santiago and the Two Marías (10.6 km walking in the city)
 |
| Pilgrim's mass, under the shell. |
We attended the Pilgrims’ Mass at the Church of San Agustín in Santiago, the destination we had reached the previous afternoon. Because the cathedral's main altar was undergoing restoration ahead of the 2027 Holy Year, the Pilgrims’ Mass had temporarily moved to San Agustín. The church was overflowing, and seeing newly arrived pilgrims moved to tears brought home the powerful spiritual appeal of this centuries-old journey. Many worshippers around us seemed to know the order of the Catholic Mass by heart, while we sometimes needed to watch for cues to stand or sit. With a translation in our ears, we could follow the sermon’s simple message about love — for yourself and for others — and the beautiful singing by the principal priest, every now and then encouraging the congregation to sing the chorus.
Later, we went to see the main cathedral itself. In contrast to the deeply moving Pilgrims’ Mass, we felt more ambivalent about this visitor experience. We were unsettled by how commercialised it seemed, with various paid options for exploring the building and its special spaces.
 |
| Protesters at the cathedral. |
We also interviewed one of the housing protesters on the square in front of Santiago’s main cathedral about Spain’s growing housing crisis. The conversation highlighted how difficult it has become for ordinary people to find affordable, secure housing, particularly young people trying to establish independent lives and older people living on limited incomes. The protester raised concerns about property speculation and the conversion of residential properties into tourist accommodation, which reduce the availability of homes for local residents and put upward pressure on rents. Some of these pressures are familiar in certain South African cities, although housing deprivation and poverty are far greater challenges in South Africa. It was a striking contrast: while pilgrims celebrated reaching Santiago, many local residents were struggling to secure something much more fundamental — a place they could afford to call home.
We headed to the market, hoping to find a lively place where we could sample something local — perhaps roasted chestnuts, in contrast with all the raw chestnuts we had eaten. Instead, the market was surprisingly subdued, especially compared with the wonderful fruit and vegetable markets we know in Cape Town. On our walking tour the following day, Sandra explained that many Compostelanos — Santiago’s residents — now live in newer neighbourhoods beyond the historic centre, although they still return to its streets, bars and restaurants. With rising rents and the pressures of tourism also affecting life in the old town, we wondered whether some of its everyday local bustle had gradually shifted elsewhere.
After passing a large “Free Palestine” flag in Alameda Park, we came upon the colourful statue of the Two Marías - see the story below.
We also considered going on to Finisterre, by the sea at the “end of the earth”, where some pilgrims continue their journey. In the end we decided not to go as Santiago was where we wanted to conclude our Camino. Coming from Africa, we felt a certain irony in the idea of a European “end of the world”.
The day after arriving in Santiago, we felt slightly adrift. For weeks, our days had revolved around simple questions: where to walk, where to eat and where to sleep. Suddenly there was no next stage. We wandered the streets of Santiago, attended the Pilgrims’ Mass and watched other pilgrims completing the journey we had just finished. Perhaps the challenge now was not simply to return to ordinary life, but to take something of the Camino with us — its simplicity, friendships, discoveries and the solidarity that had given our Blocktober journey its particular purpose.
20 October – Vagalume, Santiago and Vespers (11.4 km walking in the city)
 |
| Arriving at Vagalume's offices |
We met Vagalume, an organisation supporting vulnerable women in Santiago, as recommended by Aliad-Ultreia in Lugo.
The conversation continued our exploration of how women affected by gender-based violence and exploitation are supported, and of the similarities and differences between this work in Spain and South Africa. It gave us another opportunity to reflect on what we had learnt through the people and organisations we had encountered along the way. Read our blog on these discussions.
We also explored Santiago further, including a walking tour and a visit to the Pilgrimage Museum. There was time back at our accommodation to work on the blog and organise material gathered during the Camino.
At the Pilgrim Reception Office we had a quite different experience from our hurried visit on the evening of the 18th, when we collected our certificates. This time we joined an English-language opportunity for pilgrims to talk and reflect, facilitated by volunteers from different countries. It was a lovely gathering: a chance to listen to others’ experiences, explain our own Camino Blocktober, and recognise that reaching Santiago does not mean the inner journey has finished. We would warmly recommend it to English-speaking pilgrims arriving in Santiago.
Our final church experience in Santiago was Vespers, an evening service in which the psalms are sung or chanted. Young men in religious formation were singing within an old liturgical tradition, using Latin and Spanish. The voices were not especially strong, but it was moving to watch a centuries-old form of worship being carried forward by a younger generation.
It led us to reflect on how church ceremony has framed our pilgrimage, despite us not being religious Christians. We began in Oviedo with a Mass and a blessing for pilgrims; in Santiago we attended the Pilgrims’ Mass at San Agustín, and on our last full day we listened to Vespers. There appears to us to be much pageantry in Catholic worship: voices, processions, ceremony, paintings and elaborate decoration. Some of the great church buildings look plain or austere from the outside, yet inside they are filled with colour and artwork.
21–22 October – departure and reflections (13 km)
We left Santiago on 21 October by train for Madrid and then we flew home via Istanbul in Turkey, arriving on 22 October - to a wonderful welcome by Betty, our dog. Across the two days we had to do lots of walking in Santiago, at train stations and airports.
23–31 October — back home, completing Blocktober
Returning to Cape Town on 22 October did not mean the end of Blocktober. From 23 to 31 October we rejoined the familiar walks to King’s Blockhouse on Table Mountain, along with swimming and cycling — including a ride right up to the Blockhouse with the Blockheads. After weeks following the yellow arrows across Spain, it felt good to share our home trails and waters again with the people moving for Blocktober in Cape Town while we were away.
That collective effort was one of the joys of returning. Activity leaders in Cape Town and elsewhere kept an impressive programme of walking, running, cycling and swimming going throughout October. The Blocktober roster records regular swims at Clifton and Camps Bay tidal pool, as well as participation elsewhere in South Africa and the world. It was wonderful to rejoin this community, as we had planned to do, united by solidarity with survivors of gender-based violence.
On 31 October we gathered at King’s Blockhouse for the final Blocktober solidarity walk. Janet invited us to mark the occasion with a simple ritual. Rituals, she explained, help us acknowledge important beginnings and endings, whether the birth of a child, a marriage or a death. This was the last day of October and our final Blocktober walk of the year with friends from the Saartjie Baartman Centre. It was a moment both to put the month behind us and to consider what we might carry forward from it.
Janet pointed to the Blocktober cairn at the Blockhouse — similar to the piles of stones that mountain walkers sometimes build to show the way when a path is difficult to follow. As she explained, cairns are used by those who have gone ahead, leaving stones that tell the next walkers, “This is the way.” This cairn was also a symbol of togetherness. She invited each person to add a stone, through which they could leave behind something sore or painful, and take away something meaningful from the experience, perhaps something invisible.
Janet went first, and her words were especially moving. She thanked one of the group for a conversation about something that had happened to her when she was 21. That conversation, she said, had helped her feel that she could put her shame down. What she chose to take with her was “a wonderful sense of joy that we can do this again in the future”. It was a deeply personal demonstration of the ritual she had just described: acknowledging hurt, laying it down, and carrying forward joy and the prospect of walking together again.
Read Janet's blog on this event.
We also handed over to Siba gifts we had received in Oviedo, Lugo and Santiago, which she received on behalf of the Saartjie Baartman Centre (SBC). It was a tangible way of bringing home the generosity and solidarity we had encountered during our Camino.
A few days earlier there was also a reminder of why the freedom to move safely matters. Within days of returning home, Dawie was mugged by two armed men while out on a Blocktober walk on Table Mountain. The experience brought home how vulnerable people can feel even in places they know well. For women in South Africa, the risks often include the added threat of harassment and gender-based violence. All of us should be able to walk, run, ride or swim without fear.
Safety demands effective prevention, policing and accountability, but also serious attention to poverty, inequality and exclusion, which can contribute to the circumstances in which crime takes root. None of that excuses violence. It reminds us that a safer society needs both immediate protection and sustained social change. We ended Blocktober with gratitude for the people who make these shared activities possible, and renewed determination to keep moving in solidarity with survivors long after October ends.
Distance and elevation summary
Each cell shows distance travelled (km) followed by cumulative elevation gain (m). Camino figures are approximate.
| Participant | Camino (1–22 Oct) | Back home (23–31 Oct) | Total Blocktober |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lala | 398 km · 8,820 m | 70.6 km · 2,804 m | 468.6 km · 11,624 m |
| Dawie | 398 km · 8,820 m | 61.3 km · 2,448 m | 459.3 km · 11,268 m |
| Together | 796 km · 17,640 m | 131.9 km · 5,252 m | 927.9 km · 22,892 m |
D. More from Camino Blocktober
- Blocktober takes to the Camino — why we took Blocktober to Spain. Leer este artículo en español.
- Camino Blocktober: The Complete Journey — our day-by-day diary, photographs and reflections. Leer este artículo en español.
- Is this how it should be? — Lala on the freedom to walk without fear.
- Hospitality on the Camino and the spirit of Blocktober — welcome, shared meals and women’s economic independence.
- Finding common ground in Lugo and Santiago — conversations with organisations supporting women affected by violence and exploitation.
- Blocktober Camino meets with Antonio from UGT Asturias — equality, migrant women and preventing gender-based violence.
- Blocktober meets human rights activist — Ralf Jürgens on human rights, LGBTQI+ inclusion and community action in Galicia.
- Symbols — how a scallop shell, Blocktober’s changing logos and striking artworks connect stories of identity, hope and solidarity.
For Spanish-speaking readers: The following note explains how to access Spanish versions of our articles or use your browser to translate articles published only in English.
Para los lectores en español: Los artículos que tienen una versión en español incluyen un enlace junto al título. Para leer los demás en español, puedes utilizar la traducción automática de tu navegador. En Chrome o Edge, abre el artículo, haz clic con el botón derecho y elige «Traducir al español»; en el móvil, busca «Traducir» en el menú del navegador. La traducción es automática y puede contener errores.
E. Other Steps for Saartjie blogs
- More blogs and Blocktober activities — other Blocktober experiences, voices and ways to get involved.
F. Donate to the Saartjie Baartman Centre
Support the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children and its work with survivors of gender-based violence through the Blocktober fundraising campaign.
No comments:
Post a Comment