One step at a time
My name is Steven Bloom. I started this blog when I was about to embark on the journey of a lifetime, visiting 88 temples on the island of Shikoku in Japan. It was fantastic, so in 2019 I went back and followed several of the beautiful Kumano Kodo routes on the Kii Peninsula.
During the Corona years I walked 1200km through Denmark following the Danish Pilgrimage, before walking various paths in Portugal and Spain in 2023.
Scroll down to see my latest posts, or my walking adventures.
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Latest posts
Via della Costa – Conclusion 
April 10, 2024 Spectacular villages nested on mountains or clinging to the coast, pastel coloured house, rugged coastlines, sandy beaches, high mounts and great food on top. What more could anybody setting off on a hike want? Starting March 5th 2024, I walked for 16 days, 3 in France along the Via Aurelia and 13 in Italy along… Read more >
Day 16: Cinque Terre March 22, 2024 Cinque Terre, the five towns, is a string of five ancient fishing villages clinging to the coastline, surrounded by mountains (up to ca. 800m). The tiny villages were until recently linked only by mule tracks and accessible only by rail or water. Beyond the five villages, Cinque Terre is also a National Park and a… Read more >
Day 15: Levanto to La Spezia March 21, 2024 Changed plans, a thousand or more steps, the sun above but cloud below and the highest elevation profile of the whole trip. The original plan was to walk from Levanto, to the first of the five villages in Cinque Terre and then walk along the coast from village to village. Unfortunately, the paths along the… Read more >
Day 14: Sestri Levante to Levanto March 20, 2024 30km on another beautiful day for walking, 1300m elevation, 40% inclines and walking through a 5km long tunnel. I suppose it is a sign of just how fabulous the views have been throughout this trip, that one eventually can hardly be bothered to take my camera out of its clip on my daypack, to take… Read more >
Day 13: Camogli to Sestri Levante March 19, 2024 A great day in the sun, lots of ups and downs, beautiful towns and a night in a historic home, and not to forget, burnt cream and sugar for dessert. Today was a long day, 33kms and 1166m elevation. I took the train from Genova station, conveniently close by, to Camogli. The train was delayed,… Read more >
Day 12: Genova to Camogli March 18, 2024 Short 21km walk to Camolgli. Mostly road walking in rain, but wow, the towns I passed and visited were fantastic. When I planned the trip, I had built up an expectation that today it would be sunny. Every picture of Camogli I have seen, the sun was shining. I'd planned a short day, so Lene… Read more >My walking adventures
Explore
Temples and Shrines
Vajra and Ema, Tori gates and Shitenno, Jizo and Omikuji. There's a lot to learn about Japanese Temples and Shrines. Read some of the things I've learnt when in Japan, many that I'd wished I'd known the first time I visited.
Japan is just different
Plastic food, white gloves, love of trains, pachinoko, toilets, manholes, social distance and futons. Japan is just different in so many different ways. Read about some of the differences I've experienced in Japan during my visits.
About me
That I was just following my feet, was something I often thought about during my pilgrimage to Shikoku, Japan, in 2018. I walked for 38 days, and at times it felt like my feet were walking, and the rest of my body just following.