Day 51: Mondoñedo to Arzúa | 105km

22 July 2026

I believe today was the biggest day of elevation on the entire trip so far. I didn’t really track it that closely in Norway since I never needed navigation, but I doubt I did more than 1,500m of elevation in a single day before. Today, though, was about 1,800m. However, after so many kilometres in my legs at this point, I feel strong enough to tackle any mountain, almost. My bike is also lighter than it was in Norway, which perhaps not surprisingly helps a lot.

I tackled the biggest mountain first thing in the morning with relative ease, and then just sort of trudged on. The landscape was still mountainous, but going inland, there were far more farms and the landscape looked drier than along the coast. The heat has also picked up a bit, so we’ll see if I need to start earlier going forward. I hope I won’t have to go back to the extremes I experienced in France, though.

I stopped for lunch in Guitiriz, where I ordered a large Estrella Galicia, some side tapas, and a big portion of Spanish Milanese, which is chicken pounded thin, coated in breadcrumbs, and pan-fried. I normally don’t even eat chicken, but it was extremely tasty and perfect food for a weary traveller like me. Sitting there in the packed restaurant/bar, I was struck by just how busy it was. I thought about the other small towns I’ve passed through in Spain, and it always seems like people are out and about. This is in stark contrast to most of the small towns I’ve passed since North Cape, where in Spain they seem much more alive. People come in and out, order beers, coffees and some light snacks, chat between tables and laugh.

This sense of community, real-world connection and bonding over food is probably my favourite thing about Spanish culture that I’ve observed. In Sweden, and most of Northern Europe, it’s rare that people meet at the local bar or restaurant, and from my experience of going through them, most restaurants are pizza places where it would be difficult to find any local delicacies. There are probably a multitude of reasons behind this, but the end result of people not connecting across generations in the local pub is surely a big loss of community. It’s hard to see a revival, if it’s ever been that way, of this type of meeting place in Sweden, but I hope it does.

Tomorrow, I will begin the final section of the Camino del Norte to Santiago de Compostela. I’m excited to see the end of the pilgrimage, but sad to leave behind all the places I’ve gotten to see since I started it in Irún. However, there’s much ahead to be excited about, like reaching the coast again, which I’ve longed for every day I haven’t seen it on this trip.