All in Good Faith

The local sausage and bean speciality, fabada Asturian fabada (bean stew) is one of the best in the whole of the north, so I stop off at the village of Lastres for lunch. Along the way, a couple of pilgrims are hitchhiking and I pick them up. “We need to get to Gijón,” they say, and I ask if they mind stopping for a plate of fabada along the way. They agree with manic enthusiasm. It seems they have been surviving on sausage, cheese and bread for a while.

As I watch them eat the stew, and chew on blood sausage and chorizo, I feel that I’m finally earning brownie points with God.

When we eventually reach Gijon I dive into the pool of a local spa hotel, feeling like a bit of a cheat. But hey, I deserve it. I am on a pilgrimage, after all.

Day Three
Santiago de compostela
I head out of Gijón at 5am, and pass many pilgrims by the side of the road on my way into Galicia, and call in for breakfast, a church visit and coffee at the town of Melide.

When I arrive in Santiago I head straight for the Toñi Vicente restaurant – one of Galicia’s best – to sample some local haute cuisine. This is a very early lunch in Spain, and with only 45 minutes before I have to be at the cathedral to complete my pilgrimage I scoff the scallop dumplings and fantastic raw salmon slices, topped with cheese ice cream.

On the cathedral roof at Santiago de Compostela Afterwards, I hit the narrow streets and get lost among tired, mangled pilgrims, seafood restaurants and shops with a seemingly endless supply of scallop shells. After much weaving around, I stumble onto the town square at last and stand beneath the soaring spires of the majestic Santiago de Compostela cathedral. The bells ring noon, crashing into a deafening toll. I walk around the cathedral and climb up to the rooftops, taking in the celestial view and the joy of having made it to such a beautiful place – blister, sweat and ache free. Fake pilgrim? Clever pilgrim more like!
For more details on walking the pilgrim trail, Visit www.spain.info/uk.

Try the best local cuisine
Foodie heaven
> For some of the best food in the Basque Country, seek out Baserri Maitea (Atxondoa, Forua, tel: +34 946 253 408, www.grupozaldua.com), immensely popular and hidden deep within the region’s green hills.

> Santander’s Restaurante Cañadío (15 Calle de Gómez Orena, tel: +34 942 314 149, www.restaurantecanadio.com) offers amazing local cuisine with a modern twist.

Now which one of you would be Mr White? > For the best fabada in the North, head to Casa Eutimio (C/San Antonio, tel: +34 985 850 012, www.casaeutimio.com) at Lastres and gorge on beans, chorizo and morcilla (blood sausage).

> After walking the many miles of the Camino de Santiago, treat yourself at Toñi Vicente (24 Avenida Rosalia de Castro, Santiago de Compostela, tel: +34 981 594 100). But make sure to book your table a good few days in advance.

Hotels fit for a pilgrim
Where to stay
If you get too tired walking, and are in need of understated comfort and impeccable service, check into Bilbao’s Gran Hotel Domine Bilbao (61 Alameda de Mazarredo, tel: +34 944 253 300, www.granhotel dominebilbao.com), where you can breakfast with stunning views of the Guggenheim. Gijón’s Hotel Palacio de la Llorea (61 Ctra. Villaviciosa, tel: +34 985 131 812, www. palaciodelallorea. com) has a lovely spa that’ll revive those aching muscles, while Hotel Hesperia Balneario de Guitiriz (Estrada Balneario, tel: +34 982 022 200, www.hesperiabalneariodeguitiriz. com) is the perfect place to recuperate for days on end. Finally, in Santiago itself, you can find comfort and elegance in the small five-star Hotel Palacio del Carmen (Calle Oblatas, tel: +34 981 552 444, www.ac-hotels.com). Go on, you know you deserve it!