The podcast is back with a new interview. In this episode we travel to A Guarda, right on the border between Galicia and Portugal, on the Portuguese Coastal Camino.

My guest is Rocío, a Spanish and French teacher who specialises in pronunciation and fluency. She happens to have a very personal connection to this part of Galicia. Rocío was born in O Rosal, a small village next to A Guarda. She spent many years living abroad and when she returned to Spain in 2019, she made a surprising discovery: the Camino was now passing straight through her home area.

For a long time, the Portuguese Camino was the inland route that enters Spain through Tui. The coastal route is relatively recent, and it has brought places like A Guarda into the pilgrim experience in a completely new way. For Rocío, seeing pilgrims walk through a place so familiar to her felt like rediscovering her own land.

O Rosal and A Guarda

O Rosal and A Guarda are close neighbours, but they are very different, as Rocío explains. O Rosal is an agricultural valley with a special microclimate that makes it ideal for farming, especially vineyards. Some well-known Albariño wines come from this area. A Guarda, on the other hand, has a strong maritime tradition. For many years, a large part of the population made a living from the sea. It was common for men to spend months at sea and then return home for a short period before leaving again. That contrast between inland and coast, land and sea, is still very present today.

If you’re walking the Portuguese Coastal Camino, A Guarda is an excellent place to stop for the night. The Camino runs alongside the harbour, from where you can enjoy beautiful views of the old town, with its colourful buildings. Walking through the centre is easy and relaxed, perfect for slowing down.

Monte Santa Trega (Santa Tecla)

One of the must-see spots in A Guarda is Monte Santa Trega (Santa Tecla). From the top, on a clear day, the views are spectacular: the River Miño flowing into the Atlantic Ocean, Spain on one side and Portugal on the other, with the Portuguese town of Caminha clearly visible. As Rocío points out, though, the weather makes the rules here. It can be sunny in O Rosal and completely foggy in A Guarda.

If your Camino takes place in August, there’s a very special event worth knowing about: the romería de Santa Trega (pilgrimage festival), one of the most important celebrations in the town. Families and groups of friends walk up the hill dressed in white to spend the day eating and drinking together. It’s also known as the wine festival. People dress in white and throw wine at each, so it’s normal for most people to come back down with clothes stained purple.

What to eat in A Guarda

And what about food? A Guarda is famous for its seafood restaurants (marisquerías). A full mariscada (seafood feast) is not for every budget, but if you can and want to treat yourself, A Guarda is the place to do so.

If not, there are always more affordable options: a simple tapa of mussels, empanada or fresh fish in one of the many bars in the harbour area.

Find out more about Rocío’s work on her website. 

In this week’s episode of the Spanish for the Camino Podcast, I welcome, for the first time two guests: Sandra, a Spanish teacher who specialises in colloquial language, and her father, Toni, a devoted pilgrim who has walked multiple Camino routes. Together, they share stories, challenges, and personal reflections from years of walking either together or on their own.

I’ve known Sandra for a while and I knew she had walked the Camino before, so I invited her to the podcast.

But then she asked: “how would you like to talk to a Camino friki (freak, geek)?”

Yes, please! The friki turned out to be her dad, Toni, who confirmed his huge passion for the Camino. In fact,  he says that if he could, he would walk all year long. When he isn’t actively on a route, he is planning one: checking maps, calling albergues, organising stages, and researching local conditions. His current project is the Camino de Levante, a long and less-travelled route with sparse infrastructure and long stretches between towns. He started in Valencia during Semana Santa, had to pause, and was actually resuming the day after our chat: he was planning to walk another 300 km up to Ávila (he did make it to Ávila).

Toni and Sandra walked their first Camino together around 2017. The route, the Camino Inglés. Sandra confessed she was nervous at the beginning because she hadn’t trained at all, but soon realised that the Camino Inglés is short, manageable, and incredibly rewarding.

Their second route together was a completely different experience: the Camino Primitivo. Much tougher, much more mountainous, and full of physical challenges. Toni tells a very summarized story of  Sandra’s blisters and rash, which made her final couple of days very hard. But she was determined and despite the difficulties setbacks, she made it to Santiago. 

In an extra audio you’ll find with the transcript, Sandra shares the full story, which is far more dramatic than you might think after hearing Toni.

Toni describes himself as a “simple pilgrim”. For him, the Camino is about personal challenge, daily effort, and stepping out of everyday convenience and embracing the challenges as part of the adventeure. Toni emphasizes that preparation is key, whether it’s training your body, planning accommodations, or understanding the risks along the way.

From animals to navigating less-frequented paths, being informed and ready makes the Camino safer and more enjoyable. He shares the story of a mastiff who rushed at him during his last walk on the Camino de Levante, and how staying calm (and using his walking stick wisely) helped him avoid a serious incident.

Sandra highlights something essential for all Camino-bound Spanish learners: you will need Spanish. When you call albergues in small villages, English may not be an option. Many accommodations are municipal or parish-run, staffed by locals who speak only Spanish. Understanding and being understood makes everything, from booking a bed to asking about facilities. much easier.

Finally, both Sandra and Toni talk about the people of the Camino. Even without sharing a language, there is connection. Toni remembers meeting pilgrims he never actually spoke to, yet feeling a sense of companionship simply by seeing them day after day.

And Sandra describes the Camino as a “nomadic village”: a travelling community that forms and dissolves naturally. She shares a wonderful story of recognising a fellow pilgrim years later at a concert. Neither of them realised at first, but after two hours of talking, everything clicked: they had met on the Camino. The bond was still there.

Find out more about Sandra’s work on her website. You’ll also find her on social media as @espanoldpm

Many pilgrims who walk the Camino de Santiago end up falling in love with the country and dream of starting a new life here. Some actually do. But as my guest in the podcast reminds us, moving to Spain 

In this episode of the Spanish for the Camino podcast, I speak with Jimena Ibarra, a Spanish teacher who helps expats in Spain. As an expat herself, she knows that moving to Spain means more than just speaking Spanish: it’s about understanding everyday language, culture, and the little things that make life here unique.

Jimena is originally from Mexico. Before settling in Spain, she lived in Germany, Ireland, and England. Despite being a native Spanish speaker, she was surprised by how challenging it was to adapt when she moved to Spain in 2013 with her husband and three young children.

After 12 years, Jimena now feels like a local, but she remembers well the difficulties of those first months. That’s why she helps others navigate the same experience through her work teaching practical, everyday Spanish for life in Spain.

Culture shock… even in Spanish!

One of Jimena’s biggest surprises was how different Spanish culture (and even the language) can be compared to what she was used to.

She laughs about one of her first grocery trips in Spain: her Irish husband asked her to buy cookies. After 30 minutes walking up and down the supermarket, searching, she couldn’t find any… until she realised they were in the breakfast section! “Who eats cookies for breakfast?” she thought. It was her first taste of cultural shock in Spain.

She also discovered that some everyday words in Mexican Spanish don’t have the same meaning (or aren’t used at all) in Spain. And although she speaks fluent Spanish, she had to learn expressions like ir a la compra (“go grocery shopping”) instead of using ir de compras for everything (ir de compras means to go shopping for clothes, shoes, etc. in Spain).

Jimena noticed another big difference: the Spanish way of speaking. “In Spain, people speak more directly, and sometimes more loudly,” she says. “At first, I thought everyone was angry!”
In Latin America, the tone tends to be softer, and people rarely say “no” so directly. Over time, she learned that people were not angry at her and that this isn’t rudeness: it’s just a cultural difference.

Tips for anyone planning to move to Spain

Jimena shared some valuable advice for anyone thinking about making the move:

• Keep an open mind. Every country has its own way of doing things. Spain works like Spain—not like Germany, the U.S., or Mexico.

• Be patient with bureaucracy. It’s usually slow. We even have a saying for it: Las cosas de palacio van despacio (literally, palace business moves slowly).

• Learn basic Spanish. Even if you’re not fluent, learning the essentials helps you become independent and enjoy your new life without relying on others to translate everything.

As Jimena says, “At first you need help, but eventually you have to take that step toward independence. That’s when you really start enjoying life here.”

Despite the challenges, Jimena wouldn’t change her decision. “We are here to stay,” she says. “Spain is home now.”
Her message is clear: come prepared, be patient, and embrace the differences, because life in Spain can be wonderful.

You can find Jimena online on her website or on YouTube.

The Camino Francés crosses most of Spain from east to west, and goes through 4 different regions. The biggest (and one of Spain’s biggest too) is Castilla y León.

My guest on the podcast today is Sara Castro, a Spanish teacher and host of the podcast Spagnolo a 360 gradi. Although she lives in Italy and mainly teaches Italian students, Sara is originally from Castilla y León, which is crossed by several other Camino de Santiago routes too.

We talk about the Meseta, that long, flat stretch of the Camino Francés between Burgos and León. Sara explains why this part of the Camino can be tough, with its extreme weather and seemingly endless landscape, but also deeply rewarding for those seeking a more introspective journey.

Of course, we also talk about food. The hard weather  we mentioned earlier influences Castilla y León’s cuisine: you’ll find lots of hearty dishes like sopa de ajo (garlic soup), lechazo asado (roast lamb) or lentils and chickpeas stews. The Ribera del Duero wine is produced in this area too.

Valladolid, Sara’s town, hosts a national pinchos and tapas competition.  You have to pay for those, but right on the Camino, in León, you get a free tapa with your drink. 

More on tapas and pinchos here.

Sara also invites us to discover the region’s rich cultural and historical heritage: the cathedrals, castles and other monuments as well as centuries of history: El Cid, Christopher Columbus, kings and queens like Isabel de Castilla and Felipe II, Cervantes… 

If you’re planning your Camino or simply want to learn more about this part of Spain, this episode will give you plenty of reasons to slow down, explore, and enjoy every step through Castilla y León.

More about Sara and her work: https://www.saracastro.net/

Her podcast, Spagnolo a 360 gradi (don’t let the name fool you, the podcast is all in Spanish!): https://open.spotify.com/show/7vjXdkLC5TLYvqXHMGle4B?si=fd6275b07c52464d

And here is when she invited me to her podcast.

Santiago in the Canary Islands? Yes, really!

There are over 140 places named after Santiago all over the world. A few of them are located on the Canary Islands, so this week on the podcast I welcom back Marina Rodríguez, who you might remember from episode 25, when she told us all about the Camino de Gran Canaria.

We talk about places in the Canary Islands that are named Santiago... and something else that connects Galicia and the Canary Islands.

Playa de Santiago

The first place Marina tells me about is Playa de Santiago on the small island of La Gomera:  a quiet fishing village with black sand beaches, tucked at the mouth of the Barranco de Santiago. It started out as a fishing spot, then grew into a hub for canning fish, exporting tomatoes and bananas, and welcoming ships. Today, it’s still authentic and peaceful—definitely not the kind of place overrun by tourists.

Santiago en Tenerife

Then we jumped over to Tenerife to explore Santiago del Teide. This mountain village sits near Spain’s highest peak, Mount Teide, which is actually a volcano. It’s not the only volcano in the area. The nearby  Chinyero last erupted in 1909.

Fun fact: the town was once just “Santiago,” but constant postal mix-ups with Playa de Santiago in La Gomera (letters ending up on the wrong island!) forced the locals to rename it Santiago del Teide. That solved the problem, and the name stuck. Nearby you’ll also find Puerto de Santiago and the dramatic cliffs of Los Gigantes, plus whale and dolphin watching.

More links between the Canaries and Galicia

Of course, since Marina is from the Canaries, we couldn’t resist diving into local culture and language. We discovered more interesting links between Canary Spanish and Galician, like similar vocabulary. c

And we talked about the Canarian version of Galicia’s furanchos: guachinches (in Tenerife) or bochinches (in Gran Canaria). These started as homes where families sold their extra wine alongside homemade food. Today, they’ve evolved into more conventional restaurants serving traditional dishes, though the most authentic ones still only open in winter, when the new wine is ready.

Marina shared two theories about the name guachinche. One is that it comes from buche (sip) > bochinche / guachinche.

The other? A popular legend that it comes from locals teasing English visitors with “I’m watching you” as they drank! And that became bochinche /guachinche. No one knows for sure and there’s no evidence that that’s the real origin of the word, but it’s a great story.

If you’re curious about language, culture, and hidden corners of the Canary Islands linked to Santiago, this episode is for you. And if you want to learn more from Marina, check out her website Lengua Babel.

I started this series on places named after Santiago a few weeks ago with an episode on Santiago de Chile. You read/listen here.