Atypical Vagabond

30/09/2026

Why are university students in Coimbra dragging tin cans through the streets?

It looks chaotic. It sounds ridiculous. And somehow, it’s part of a tradition that goes back more than a century.

Latada is black capes, midnight fado, satire, strange costumes, a procession through the city, and a ritual at the Mondego River.

But the story behind it is much stranger than I expected.

Read it here:
https://atypicalvagabond.com/latada-coimbra/

Discover Latada Coimbra, from its 1870s origins to black capes, tin cans, fado, the Cortejo and the 2026 Festa das Latas traditions.

28/09/2026

I unpack my Camino de Santiago packing list and show what I’m taking on the Camino Francés — and what I’m leaving behind.
🥾 Watch here:
https://youtu.be/zYXi8Mey9Dc
What’s one thing you packed for the Camino and never used?

Packing for the Camino de Santiago is a battle between everything y...

27/09/2026

Here’s a tighter version that keeps your voice but gives it more momentum:

I’m walking 500 miles across Spain on the Camino de Santiago.

Thank you to everyone who’s been following along so far. If you’ve been watching the series, you’ve already seen a few of my misadventures along the way.

Now the journey continues.

This next stretch takes me deeper across Spain, one step, one town, and probably one questionable decision at a time.

Follow along here:

Walking the Camino Francés from Grañón to Atapuerca, Sage and I lea...

25/09/2026

There are a lot of Caminos. The Francés became mine. 🥾 I wanted the long road, the villages, the history, the people, and enough time for the trail to change the plan. Some days were hard. Some were quiet. All of it became part of the story. If you’re planning the Camino Francés, what matters most to you: distance, community, history, or simply the journey?

25/09/2026

33 days isn’t a rule.

It’s a popular way to divide the Camino Francés. That doesn’t mean it has to be yours.

Walk 15 km.

Walk 25.

Take a rest day.

Stay somewhere because you like it.

Stop because your body is telling you something the itinerary cannot.

I learned that lesson while walking the Francés myself.

Some of the best Camino days weren’t the longest ones.

The itinerary should serve the journey. The journey should never serve the itinerary.

Your Camino. Your pace. Your way.

🥾 Would you rather build a Camino around a fixed schedule—or leave room to change it?

And then use:

24/09/2026

There are a lot of Caminos. The Francés became mine.

Before I started walking, I thought I understood what I was getting into.

I had stages.
Distances.
Gear.
Places to sleep.

Then I actually started walking.

And the Camino Francés slowly stopped being something I was trying to complete and became something I was living.

The villages mattered.

The history mattered.

But the people became part of the route too.

You start recognizing the same faces. You share meals. You walk together for a while. You separate. Then somehow you run into each other again two towns later.

And your carefully planned itinerary?

Eventually your feet, knees, energy level—and sometimes the person walking beside you—get a vote.

That was probably one of the biggest lessons the Francés taught me:

The itinerary should serve the Camino. The Camino should not serve the itinerary.

Some of my favorite days were not the longest ones.

They were the days when I had time to enter the church, sit over coffee, notice the village, talk to somebody, or simply stop walking for a few minutes and look around.

If you’re thinking about walking the Camino Francés, that’s what I want to share here.

Not just the famous stops.

The stages.
The albergues.
The food.
The mistakes.
The people.
The strange little moments between everything you’re told you’re supposed to see.

Your Camino. Your pace. Your way.

🥾 Are you planning the Camino Francés, already walked it, or just thinking about it?

Follow the arrows. Find your own way.

16/09/2026

Sintra is incredible.

It’s also very easy to ruin by trying to see EVERYTHING in one day.

I just updated my complete Sintra Portugal Travel Guide with a realistic one-day itinerary, Pena Palace vs. Quinta da Regaleira, transport tips, hidden gems, and the mistakes I’d avoid.

👉 https://atypicalvagabond.com/sintra-portugal-unveiling-the-enchanting-secrets/

Plan a smarter Sintra trip with a realistic one-day itinerary, Pena Palace and Regaleira tips, transport advice, hidden gems, and mistakes to avoid.

15/09/2026

A fountain that gives pilgrims free w**e? Yeah. The Camino gets weird. 🍷🥾

Day 11 of our Camino Francés took Sage and me from Villatuerta through Estella-Lizarra, past the famous w**e fountain at Irache, and eventually uphill into tiny Villamayor de Monjardín.

And this was one of those Camino days that just kept handing us things.

Old stone streets.
Coffee and pastry in Estella.
Vineyards stretching across Navarra.
A monastery.
A ruined castle looming over the trail.

And, because apparently normal drinking fountains are too boring for the Camino, a wall with one tap for water and another for free w**e.

I don’t drink, so I skipped the w**e.

But watching tired pilgrims suddenly discover that the stories were true? Completely worth the stop. 😆

Eventually we climbed into Villamayor de Monjardín, where Sage and I had exactly what we needed: a bed, something to eat, a church tower, a ruined castle above us, and the Navarra sunset.

No huge landmark moment.

No dramatic finish line.

Just another day when the Camino de Santiago quietly reminded me that some of the best travel experiences happen when you stop racing toward the next famous place.

🥾 Villatuerta → Estella → Irache → Villamayor de Monjardín
📍 Navarra, Spain
📏 Roughly 14 km
🏰 Camino Francés · Day 11

I wrote the whole story—including where we stayed, where we ate, the Irache w**e fountain, and practical tips for walking this stage—on Atypical Vagabond.

👉 Full Day 11 story at the link in my bio.

Would you try the w**e from the Camino w**e fountain—or stick with the water tap? 😂

15/09/2026

A fountain that gives pilgrims free w**e? Yeah. The Camino gets weird. 🍷🥾

Day 11 of our Camino Francés took Sage and me from Villatuerta through Estella-Lizarra, past the famous w**e fountain at Irache, and eventually uphill into tiny Villamayor de Monjardín.

And this was one of those Camino days that just kept handing us things.

Old stone streets.
Coffee and pastry in Estella.
Vineyards stretching across Navarra.
A monastery.
A ruined castle looming over the trail.

And, because apparently normal drinking fountains are too boring for the Camino, a wall with one tap for water and another for free w**e.

I don’t drink, so I skipped the w**e.

But watching tired pilgrims suddenly discover that the stories were true? Completely worth the stop. 😆

Eventually we climbed into Villamayor de Monjardín, where Sage and I had exactly what we needed: a bed, something to eat, a church tower, a ruined castle above us, and the Navarra sunset.

No huge landmark moment.

No dramatic finish line.

Just another day when the Camino de Santiago quietly reminded me that some of the best travel experiences happen when you stop racing toward the next famous place.

🥾 Villatuerta → Estella → Irache → Villamayor de Monjardín
📍 Navarra, Spain
📏 Roughly 14 km
🏰 Camino Francés · Day 11

I wrote the whole story—including where we stayed, where we ate, the Irache w**e fountain, and practical tips for walking this stage—on Atypical Vagabond.

👉 Full Day 11 story at the link in my bio.

Would you try the w**e from the Camino w**e fountain—or stick with the water tap? 😂