August 31-September 16, 2025
DAY 1: Sunday, August 31 – We met at the Santiago Airport at 1:05 pm (Iberia flight IBO572 from Madrid) and had a short transfer to our retreat villas near the rural community of Pineiro. After our trip welcome and orientation, familiarized ourselves with our Art Tool Kit watercolor paint sets and waterbrushes with a limited color palette specially designed for our journey. Overnight: Hola Camp Camino . Meals included: Dinner.
Day 2: Monday, September 1 – Today we matched the colors around us and practiced fundamental watercolor skills, techniques for sketching trees, flowers and landscapes. The gardens were blooming and the hydrangeas were gorgeous! We also learned to sketch on the go on a short walk to the O Pino churh and cemetary. Walking: Approximately 3 miles, with stops to sketch. Overnight: Hola Camp Camino. Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
Day 3: Tuesday, September 2 – After breakfast today we took an hour-long bus ride to the village of Samos, home to the historic Monasterio de San Julian, one of Spain’s oldest active monasteries. Founded in the 6th century and later joining the Benedictine order, the monastery’s grounds feature a 9th-century Mozarabic chapel and a 1,000-year-old cypress tree, revered in Camino lore. Although Samos lies on the Camino de Santiago, long stretches between accommodations in this area make walking the Camino impractical for us, so we spent a night here to visit the monastery and soak in the rural atmosphere and spa at our lodging. Our art focus was about perspective and simplifying stonework, which we practiced throughout the trip. Walking: 1-4 mile option. Overnight: Casas Outerio. Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and tapas.
Day 4: Wednesday, September 3 – After a short bus transfer, we started walking on the Camino de Santiago from the village of La Faba to O Cebreiro Pass and its historic Celtic village. O Cebreiro’s cobblestone streets, small shops, historic buildings and Celtic-style round stone houses with thatched roofs, called “pallozas,” were a bit challenging to access due to the road construction in the village, but we managed. After Andre shared history of the church and its role in the revival of the Camino de Santiago, you chose a scallop shell to hang from your daypack. This iconic symbol of the Camino indicates that we are pilgrims. You also received your pilgrim passport (the credencial) and first proper Camino stamps. We stayed at a quaint family-run hotel with time to relax and sketch the vistas and picturesque scenes of O Cebreiro. Walking: About 3 miles. Overnight: O Cebreiro. Meals included: Breakfast, lunch Dinner.
Day 5: Thursday, September 4 – After our final bus transfer, we had a short ceremony to celebrate the beginning of our 105 kilometer pilgrimage. “Utreia et Suseia!” We startedhere in order to qualify for the official certificate, the “Compostela,” issued to pilgrims who walk at least 100 km to Santiago. The other requirement for the Compostela is to carry a pilgrim passport, the Credencial, and collect two or more stamps every day from churches, stands and cafes along the way. On our walk today, we passed through tiny hamlets built almost entirely of granite, including their narrow roads and slate-roofed houses and barns, which are often connected to form a single building. We also walked on rural lanes winding among moss-covered walls and groves of oak and chestnut, which felt like an amble through long green tunnels. In other words, we had many feasts for our artists’ eyes! We were headed for Portomarín, a small working town that was originally built along the banks of the Miño River. In the 1950’s the town was flooded due to the construction of a reservoir, and had to be rebuilt on higher ground. The unique, block-shaped Iglesia de San Nicolas was originally constructed next to the river as a fortress/church during the 12th century. The townspeople of Portomarín moved it stone by stone to the higher town square in order to preserve this magnificent monument. Walking: About 9.5 miles. Overnight: Portomarín. Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner.
Day 6: Friday, September 5 – Today was a layover day to explore the colors, sights, and sounds of Portomarín while we practiced a variety of watercolor techniques: wet on wet, layering wet on dry, spattering and scratching-out. We continued working on perspective, adding people in front of the iconic Saint Nicolas Church and watching the local men gather. Our lodging, the Pousada de Portomarín, is the oldest hotel in town, beautifully renovated with a pool and spaces to relax. Andre, Rob and Julie took a walk to the river. Overnight: Portomarín. Meals included: Breakfast only; Dinner is on your own tonight.
Day 7: Saturday, September 6 – As we continued our journey through forest groves, we also walked past small farms with pigs, cows and chickens, working dogs, fields of corn and huge kale plants. We encountered farmers whose pride in their agrarian way of life is tangible. Today we stoped at a highlight of our pilgrimage, Castro de Castromaior, the remains of a 2,400-year-old hilltop fortress inhabited by pre-Celtic peoples and, later, Romans. Here, Andre told us about the pre-history of northern Iberia and practice our art in this most magical and powerful place. The focus was looking at shapes and values to more accurately portray so many exposed stone walls visible from above. We had lunch next to the Capela a Magdalena, and luckily met the blind caretaker, a modern-day templar in the tradition of the Knights Templar of the 13th century, the famous protectors of pilgrims on the Way. Our last sketch spot was the Cruceiro de Lameiros, one of the oldest stone crosses on the Camino, another beautiful sketching option. Walking: About 13 miles. Overnight: Hostería Calixtino. Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner.
Day 8: Sunday, September 7 – Our rural lodge is named after the first pilgrims’ guidebook, the Codex Calixtino, and is the perfect place for a layover day to focus on our travel journals as we continue to hone our watercolor and sketching skills. We’ll notice that the stone houses around us now have red tile roofs rather than slate. We enjoy time for dynamic stretching and a walk through the rural area. Walking: Around our lodging. Overnight: Hostería Calixtino. Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner.
Day 9: Monday, September 8 – Today we passed through the town, Palas de Rei, or “Royal Palace,” named after the residence of a Visigothic monarch from the beginning of the 8th century. Our destination was Melide, the largest town on our Camino. Along the way we continued to see horreos, the traditional raised granaries designed to store grain away from rodents and moisture. We stop at the Iglesia de Santa Maria, famed for a legend about its Mother Mary statue and how it kept disapearing from the church. On our final approach to Melide, we will cross a beautiful four-arched medieval bridge. Dinner tonight includes a traditional Galician octopus dish called pulpo a fería (optional) paired with local white Ribeira wine served in cuncas, traditional ceramic cups. Walking: About 11.5 miles Overnight: Melide. Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner.
Day 10: Tuesday, September 9 – We passed through the town square and Melide’s imposing Romanesque church, St. Peter. We crossed a sweet little stepping-stone bridge and stopped to sketch and enjoy freshly picked raspberries, juice, coffee and pastries at an organic farm stand on the trail, with the cutest pink car. Since our planned lunch stop was closed, we walked to Boente for a feast of the last plates of food the bar had available, spinach tortelinni, chicken, salad and cheese and meat plates. The owner encouraged one more glass of wine for everyone “Gasolina for the camino!”
We had a happy hour stop in the light rain and steep descent to Ribadiso, our home for two nights. Our lodging has an unheated salt-water swimming pool, the perfect place to soothe our feet after several days of hiking and the sun came out for us in the afternoon. Walking: about 10 miles Overnight: Ribadiso de Baixo. Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner.
Day 11: Wednesday, September 10 – On last of our layover days on the Camino, we dedicated it to painting flowing water and passing pilgrims. Pension Ribadiso is situated next to a Roman bridge over the River Iso and a historic stone hostel that has housed pilgrims for centuries, both of which are fantastic sketching subjects. Our group had the renovated house-turned-boutique hotel to ourselves, with beautiful grounds for swimming, painting and relaxation. Nearby there is also a local swimming hole and recreation area on the River Iso where we had lunch on the patio with singing and dancing. Some of us walked about 3 miles to Suso’s cow farm and learned all about medium size milk farms, Overnight: Ribadiso de Baixo. Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner.
Day 12: Thursday, September 11 – On our longest hiking day, we started out with anuphill walk into Arzúa, the largest town in the area. We passed farms with cows renowned throughout Galicia for their rich milk used to make the region’s famous cheese, often enjoyed with dense quince jam, also locally made. Today the trail was mostly forested, passing though several rural communities nestled in the rolling hills. We ascended a small pass and took a rest stop at the top before our last descent and return to Hola Camp. Walking: About 15 miles. Overnight: Hola Camp Camino, O Pino. Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner.
Day 13: Friday, September 12 – Many pilgrims walk directly from A Rua to Santiago, but we had creative work to do, taking time to enjoy the scenery and sketching the Way. We walked up and down short hills, through rural areas and groves of eucalyptus trees and even around a runway of the Santiago airport, a reminder that we were in the final days of our pilgrimage. Lunch was next to the Chapel of Santa Lucia in San Paio, providing an opportunity to review skills we have developed about rendering stone, perspective, people and skies. We stopped at the stream in Lavacolla like the medieval pilgrims who washed there, preparing to arrive at the Cathedral in Santiago. Once at Casa Amancio, we had a happy hour on the patio and a fablulous meal of salmon or some kind of cheeks :). Walking: About 7.5 miles Overnight: Vilamaior. Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner.
Day 14: Saturday, September 13 – We spent time at Monte de Gozo, named the “Hill of Joy” because it is the first sighting of the Cathedral. We left a small stone from home, symbolically releasing a personal burden we were carrying and spent some time in solitude, reflecting and sketching. We walked into the city and the medieval quarter, following the traditional route to the Cathedral and the end of the Camino. After spending some time in the “workers plaza” Plaza de Obradoiro, the main square, we had lunch on the other side of the cathedral and continued to celebrate our accomplishment. We stayed at the historic inn in the Monastério de San Martín de Pineiro. The old part of Santiago has many sidewalk cafes and gift shops with traditional azabache (jet), silver and enamel jewelry, often with Celtic or traditional Camino symbols. Most of us went to dinner in an old Hardware store, Boodegon Casa Chico. Walking: about 7 miles. Overnight: Santiago de Compostela. Meals included: Breakfast.
Day 15: Sunday, September 14 – This morning, we’ll join a local guide for a walking tour of the old city to learn more about the history of Santiago and put our sketching skills to practice along the way. Finally, we’ll celebrate our pilgrimage with a delicious final meal together at OSendeiro. Some attended evening mass in the Cathedral. Walking: Around town. Overnight: Santiago de Compostela. Meals included: Breakfast, Late Lunch.
Our amazing community of Artsy Way Pilgrims at our celebratory meal:
Day 16: Monday, September 15 – We said goodbye to Rob and Julie on their way to Portugal and the rest of us hopped onto our private bus for the northern coast and two other points considered by some pilgrims to be the true end of the Camino. We stopped to sketch at Ponte Maceiro, a spectacular Roman bridge spanning the Río Tambre, with riverside water mills and gorgeous waterfalls. Then we headed to Cape Finisterre, named because medieval pilgrims thought this westernmost point of Galicia was the very end of the earth. Finisterre has its own official “Km 0” marker just before the lighthouse. We walked along the beach and had lunh at the Fisterra marina. Our last stop was Muxia and we had to walk through a fair and carnival to reach the Santuario da Virxe da Barca, or Church of Our Lady of the Boat, which also has a Km 0 marker, illustrating that Camino has different ends for different pilgrims. The church is named for its historic legend of a mythical visit by Mother Mary, and it provides a peaceful and dramatic ending to our day, perched high above the rough breaking waves of the northern Atlantic. Walking: about 4 miles Overnight: Santiago de Compostela. Meals included: Breakfast.
Thank you for your amazing presence on our Artsy Way Camino!
