Camino Pilgrim

One day hike at a time I plan to walk across Estonia this year. I aim to continue further at least once a month.

The official starting point of Camino Estonia is the oldest church in the country – Tallinn Dome Church (Toomkirik). It was built in the early 13th century by the Danish kingdom.

You can buy here a pilgrim passport and get the first stamp. The next two churches inside Tallinn on the trail were closed today. Sundays are the best to find an open church along the trail for a stamp in the passport.

I was so excited that I forgot to look for yellow arrows at first. I had already memorized the first stage from Camino Estonia website Google Maps. There were yellow arrows to be found as long as you followed the GPS trail perfectly. I tested If I could find arrows if I crossed some roads from a different location and I would have been lost instantly. The GPS trails will come handy as I continue to less familiar places.

Half of the country is experiencing a snowstorm for the past few days. The temperature is slightly above the freezing point. Some of the street crossings are underwater. I had waterproof hiking shoes and thick merino wool stockings, but those socks did more harm than good. I managed to get a blister just by walking home.

Last year with a bicycle I already tested out the first three stages of this Camino just to get familiar with the conditions along the way.

Pääsküla bog plank roads were partially underwater when walking there a month ago. With these current weather conditions I will rather make my own way out of Tallinn tomorrow.