Sleeping Pilgrims

Well, Eugene was the first in a series of sleepers I collected in April and May when I walked 470km across the North of Spain on El Camino De Santiago. On any single day, numerous people are traveling by foot or bike along each stage of this pilgrimage route. For me, it was a unique way to see Spain and practice the language, it took me away from 18 year olds in hostels who were just in Barcelona to party and as a solo traveller, it was a good way to meet a range of people. There is a sense of camaraderie as you run into familiar faces each day, thanks to our common experience and goal. It really becomes a community. We sleep together in hostels which are specially priced for pilgrims; sometimes in small rooms, but sometimes in large rooms with 90 beds, bunks pushed right up against each other.
It sounds like a great way to rack up more sleeping portraits, right? The downside - apart from my excessive blisters - was that the majority of people wake, pack up and leave before dawn in order to finish their day of walking by the afternoon. Which means that first of all, I would have to be awake at ridiculous o'clock - when in actual fact I was usually among the last to leave - and that I had no morning light to shoot in. Flash photography at 6am is understandably unwelcome. So I got the few pictures I could during afternoon naps and they will appear here soon.