One step at a time — a journey of 976 kilometers across Spain - EUROPE SAYS
Audio articles on Wilson County News made possible by C Street Gift Shop in downtown Floresville!Landmarks in Calzada de Valdunciel on the Via de la Plata encountered by Thomas Yingst on his journey through. . .
Audio articles on Wilson County News made possible by C Street Gift Shop in downtown Floresville!Landmarks in Calzada de Valdunciel on the Via de la Plata encountered by Thomas Yingst on his journey through Spain include the Iglesia de Santa Elena, a church honoring Calzada de Valdunciel’s patron saint. What began as a quiet personal challenge for me, a retired U. S. Air Force colonel, became a 976-kilometer odyssey (about 606 miles) across some of Spain’s oldest roads, loneliest plains, and most storied cities. Over several weeks this past March and April, I walked the Camino de la Plata from Seville to Santiago de Compostela, a route older than the pilgrimage tradition itself, once used by Roman legions, medieval traders, and migrating livestock. What I found along the way was a Spain most visitors never see. A journey measured in footstepsI set out from Seville under the Andalusian sun, weaving through the industrial edges of the city before the landscape opened into farmland. From there, the rhythm of the walk took over: early departures, long stretches of silence, and the steady companionship of fellow pilgrims met along the way. Thomas Yingst of Floresville stops in Ciudad Romana de Caparra — the remains of an ancient Roman city — located on the Via de la Plata, during his 606-mile walk through Spain in March and April. The ruins are located in the north of Extremadura in the valley of the River Alagón. I crossed Extremadura’s vast agricultural plains, where vineyards and olive orchards run to the horizon. I passed through Cáceres, Salamanca, and the small villages that stitch the route together, places where a bar, a church, and a handful of houses form the entire world for a night. Some days were marked by conversation, like the morning I walked with two gentlemen from the UK across the empty countryside north of Salamanca. Other days were defined by solitude, the kind that sharpens the senses and slows the mind. Small towns, big momentsIn Calzada de Vadunciel, I stepped into the quiet Iglesia de Santa Elena, a modest church that has welcomed pilgrims for centuries. In A Gudiña, I climbed into the mountains of Galicia, trading the dry interior for mist, stone villages, and the smell of eucalyptus. By the time I reached Santiago, I had crossed four regions, dozens of microclimates, and nearly a thousand years of history underfoot. A walk that becomes a storyI kept a journal throughout the journey, a blend of sensory detail, historical context, and the emotional texture of long-distance walking. My entries trace not just the geography of Spain but the internal landscape of someone moving deliberately through the world, one step at a time. What emerges is a portrait of a traveler who isn’t chasing speed or spectacle. He’s curating a life built on intention: daily rituals, physical endurance, and the quiet satisfaction of arriving somewhere entirely under his own power. A pilgrimage in the old senseIn an age of instant travel, my walk stands out precisely because it was slow. The Camino de la Plata demands patience, resilience, and a willingness to be changed by the land itself. For me, it delivered all of that, and something more subtle. “It’s the kind of journey,” I reflected in one entry, “where the landscape rearranges you as you move through it. ”Pilgrimage journeysThere are various pilgrimage walks in Europe, among them:• The St. Francis Way/Camino di Francesco —www. viadifrancesco. it/en/• Camino de Santiago de Compostela/Way of St. James, various routes —santiago-compostela. net/• Pilgrim’s Way, England —www. britishpilgrimage. org/portfolio/pilgrims-way-to-canterbury. There are also noted pilgrimage walks in other parts of the world, including India, Tibet, Japan, and the Middle East. San Antonio, Texas, also has a Camino route! Pilgrims can make journeys among the San Antonio Missions and earn part of their travel on the English Way of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Learn more atcaminosanantonio. org/. U. S. Air Force veteran Thomas Yingst III is a resident of Floresville. Readers may recall his long trek last year across Italy, “Thomas Yingst follows in the footsteps of St. Francis,” in the June 25, 2025, Wilson County News. He’s also completed pilgrimage walks in Portugal, France, and England.