Hi everybody, in recent years when I have walked the Camino in Northern España, I use this forum for my blog, basically as I don’t do any other social media.

So, this year Liza and I will be walking from Leon/Astorgo to Santiago, about 260km over 11/12 days. So look out for my daily blogs here, pictures and thoughts from two pilgrims on 'The Way'... btw, if there is anybody on here that lives in Northern Spain, either Castile Leon,  Galicia, Asturias, or anywhere en route back to Bilbao, we would love to meet you 🙂 ¡Buen Camino!

Edited August 10, 20231 yr by Mal C

Dia uno:  Day one is now over, we had a great flight into Bilbao, short bus ride into the centre, and we arrive at our digs pronto.

it’s a wonderful city Bilbao, but then you know that!  All great but the problem is I just sat on my glasses and they are broken, and I’m totally blind without them.  So I’ll tape em up tomorrow and push on! 
 

I was really pleased with my Spanish today, I haven’t been here since 2019, but I’ve been having weekly classes ever since, and it shows, just need to listen harder because they talk quick here! 

Here are a few snaps today,  so enjoy lion infested fountains, lurching spiders and more pinchos than you can shake a stick at!  I’m knackered, I’m off to bed! 
 

hasta mañana chicos 

Edited August 10, 20231 yr by Mal C

12 hours ago, Mal C said:

Day one is now over,

Enjoyed the blog last time Mal, look forward to looking in how you are doing and reading a few stories of the people you meet along the way and of course the photos. Wish i had done at least part of the Camino when I looked at it early 2000's when I was fit enough and had nothing to prevent me other than the nervousness of never having holidayed solo.

 

Dia dos / day two

As we could not get the flight we wanted, this camino has started with a day on the train, however we are in Astorga, a wonderful town I have only walked through before. Back then I sampled a quick Cafe solo and a snap of the cathedral which is something else, check out the photos. 
 

We are in a convent called Albergue de Peligrinos Siervas de Maria, a fabulous convent and albergue on the edge of town. I had forgotten how some of these places work, most times the owners or nuns in this case will employ somebody to cover admissions as well as have volunteers. So the guy Pedro was hired by the nuns,but the volunteer from Germany can speak several languages, so they argue about who of ‘theirs’ gets the rooms and bunks, hilarious! Pedro wanted the large family from Brasil, but our German volunteer won this round and we got a room with Two bunks to ourselves, and I’ve deffo had the look off Pedro as we came back tonight….

tomorrow we are off to the mountains, Rabanal del Camino to be exact, about 20k which we can clearly see from the city walls. We will probably walk further, but that’s the norm here, guide books and pilgrim maps only go so far.
 

if you are ever in Astorga, do stop it’s a great vibrant town. 

Buenas Noche chicos 

Edited August 11, 20231 yr by Mal C

update!!!’   it’s now 10pm, and 27 degrees, super hot in here, and  Liza just saw a naked dude running around the floor we are on, we are now whispering havIng judged he’s on the outside of our room!  You get it all on this blog folks, just wait till we meet Americans they love the goss! Lol

I think that streaker has gone away, there are female voices outside our room now ! 
 

buenas noches 😴 

Edited August 11, 20231 yr by Mal C

Dia tres / day three

After the Shenanigans of last night, today has been a sold walk, we were out of the albergue at 6am, and exceded the 20k I mentioned probably around 10. Am, So decided to get up the mountain to Foncebadon which is a small pueblo pretty much on the top of the mountain range consistIng of maybe 4 or so Albergues. The good thing is this place is within reaching distance of Cruz de Ferro at 1504m. I mentioned CDF in my blog on 2018, there is a picture below for reference. So pilgrims carry either a stone or a keep sake that they leave at what can only be described as a pole in the ground, as you can imagine the offerings have grown over time leaving a pyramid shrine to remember, confront, confess. or just plain apologise, for what ever you want to say at special place. More spiritual that catholic I think. 
 

It’s a short hop across from there to Manjarin and Collodo de las Antenas and it’s downhill all the way to Molinaseca.  I just passed through last time, but it’s a welcome place to get your boots off and into the cold mountain water in the river that splits the town. 
 

I might update in a bit, I gotta have have my dinner. 

Tonight’s update not a great one, we swear the lady who we paid for our stay said dinner was included, so we had dinner, and told the waitress it was included, they both now says it isn’t, so I got a right bollocking from a Spanish albergue owner who all of a sudden has no English,  she did earlier. Not a massive deal it was 28 euro, but the ferocity took me back, I didn’t argue the point, but I wish I had now, I’m a bit pissed off, like restaurants in Venice, they don’t care, there will be more pilgrims tomorrow to fleece 😞 

tomorrows aim is to walk to Ponfereda which is just under 30k, early start again, if we can half that distance by 10am, we can enjoy the afternoon sun, more importantly get our washing on the line… and on that note, somebody stole Liza’s new Calvin Klein bra, don’t know what’s with Foncebadon this year but I’ll be glad to be moving on early light!  
 

Luego:-) 

Well done Both ,

 

love the pictures and the updates 

always wanted to do the Camino 

good luck , please send more as you go 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dígneme! 
Dia cuatro /day 4

Big day on the mountains today, started at 5:30, and walked through Cruz de Ferro, and across the mountain range down to Molinaseca. That’s 1500m down to about 300m. I did write about this decent last time I did this stretch, it hasn’t changed, it’s about 20k but my god is it hard coming off that mountain, basically a rock run, which never finishes! When it did we hit a pueblo called Acebo, we got breakfast and a sugar hit, I needed it, but that was still 8/9k from where we wanted to be.  

everybody we have met today, Rikki from northern Italy, Miguel from Madrid and a British guy who I didn’t get his name but he was the first Brit we have spoken to, all pushed onto Ponfereda which is another 8k on from where we are, we just didn’t have it in our legs today to cover that in the afternoon sun. 
 

We are currently in a hotel, could not get an albergue, it’s more expensive @57 euros but we have our own ‘baneria’ and some magnesium salts, and we are sitting pretty for a 26k walk tomorrow. 

below pic shows Cruz de Ferro at 6 this morning,. I guess that’s about 15 meters in height… 
 

Buenas noches 🌙 

Edited August 13, 20231 yr by Mal C

Thought I’d share the stamps in my pilgrim passport, so if you don’t know what this is about, you get a stamp every night you stay at an albergue or shelter , or at churches or pilgrim shops or services.

The reason is, you need to have shown this passport to the Pilgrim passport office in Santiago to receive your ‘Compestella’ which is a document written in Latin which dates to the 10th century, confirming you have made pilgrimage to the apostle Saint James, who is interned at the Basilica In Santiago. you need to have walked at least 100 kilometres  I think to qualify. 

Liza’s is one from the passport office in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Pyrenees, which she got back in 2017/8 it’s taken this long for her to attempt the walk. 

They are cool things to hang on the walk. 🚶 🚶‍♂️ 🚶🏼‍♀️ 🚶 

 

Edited August 13, 20231 yr by Mal C

38 minutes ago, Mal C said:

Thought I’d share the stamps in my pilgrim passport, so if you don’t know what this is about, you get a stamp every night you stay at an albergue or shelter , or at churches or pilgrim shops or services.

The reason is, you need to have shown this passport to the Pilgrim passport office in Santiago to receive your ‘Compestella’ which is a document written in Latin which dates to the 10th century, confirming you have made pilgrimage to the apostle Saint James, who is interned at the Basilica In Santiago. you need to have walked at least 100 kilometres  I think to qualify. 

Liza’s is one from the passport office in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Pyrenees, which she got back in 2017/8 it’s taken this long for her to attempt the walk. 

They are cool things to hang on the walk. 🚶 🚶‍♂️ 🚶🏼‍♀️ 🚶 

 

Really cool 👌 

Día Cinco / day 5

today’s camino is being brought to you from Moncloa de San Laázaro, a stunning, I guess you would call ‘Rustic’ hotel in Cacabelos, which is 24k from where we left early this morning.

Let’s  be honest, if I had been on my own, I would have used a Municipal @ 5 euro every night, but as I’m with Liza it seems we are not gonna slum it, this place has a bed better than my own, the food was the best we have had, the place is absolutely stunning, and the ‘Baneria’ was deep, and plenty big for a six foot pilgrim, the Spanish haven’t got any legs, so to speak, so every Bath in Spain fits a four foot monk!
 

We met a lovely guy this morning, Riccado from northern Italy, just finished his masters and has been taken on by Ernest Young in Germany for his first position, wants to go all the way, wants a CFO job in the future, and good for him. We left him with three things to work on, as the real work starts here! God if I had a penny for every….. lol

Anybody hazard a guess what a shop called ‘Grow Shop Hash Skull’ might sell? I saw it and took a pic, check it out below, skate shop maybe? can’t tell but that’s the best shop name we have seen so far! 
 

The Welsh might be ahead of us, we have seen ‘Cymru Am Byth ’ on walls, roads, in an albergue we looked at, everywhere!  We get it, but as the policía local have a look out for this sort of stuff…might be tricky for em, you know the folks with red dragons on their bags, If it had been me I’d have just printed stickers! What does that say about me I wonder?  Grabbed this off the net

‘Cymru am byth’ means Wales forever, and is pronounced come-ree am-bith.

Good to discover that the Chinese have what we used to call in the south of Spain ‘Todo shops’ they literally sell everything, you want a trendy T shirt, flip flops, stationary, cutlery, a lead for your dog, a can opener, parasol,  they got it… however they are miserable as sin, but for goods  that won’t cost more than ten euro, take that every time…

Liza is slumming it in the gardens, I’ll post some pics, I’m  off for an Alhambra Gold!

Hasta pronto 

Edited August 14, 20231 yr by Mal C

Mal, really enjoyed what you've posted so far! Excellent read. Just one short question, 20k/24k is this the distance to walk? E.g. 20.000m?

15 hours ago, Benji said:

Mal, really enjoyed what you've posted so far! Excellent read. Just one short question, 20k/24k is this the distance to walk? E.g. 20.000m?

Hi Benji, I’ve just edited my pictures from today but before I write today’s text, 20/24 ish kilometres, correct, we did 28.5 kilometres today, so 28,500 meters, or 17.5 miles give or take…

Dia sais / Day 6

‘Tombstone; the dead village!’ 

 I’ll get to the above shortly but some stats to begin, massive day, because the 17.5 miles, or 28,500 meters for our German brother, we walked today has put us in spitting distance of ‘O Cebreiro’ tomorrow. It’s only 12k or so, but we are walking, sorry climbing upto 1330m from about 600m in the pueblo we are in tonight, place called ‘Las Herrerias’. Guess what? We are in another hotel! Yep the Bath was the deciding factor, but unknown to us it was the 4ft Monk variety. The only win is you have to raise your legs to get your shoulders under, thus forcing the blood from your aching feet… to your ❤️ 

Won’t name the place, but Spain as with the uk can be full of contrasts, same everywhere isn’t it?  We were heading to our first major town only to follow the route through some hills in a different direction, and we came across it, half crumbling and dilapidated, Camino signs left unloved and barely legible.  Liza and I discussed this, the Camino for Spain is a massive commercial boost, and we guess to get some consistent branding it’s likely towns, cities and what we British call hamlets, or Pueblos here, apply for grant money from the Spanish government , well this town given its location, had its branding money but it’s not brought in the Pilgrims, I have to say other than a certain Albergue I stayed in near Logrono some years ago, is the most depressing place in Northern Spain. It pains us to say this  😞

We have an early morning competitor who is now a pilgrim companion. Every morning between 5:30 and 6am, she is there in front of us, anyhow we got chatting and her name is Emma, she is from Taiwan, and this is her first Camino, she started in Saint John PDLP, and she did ‘No’ preparation what so ever! She has swapped out her boots in Burgos, and is suffering a bit in the knees, but she is very welcoming and chatty, we also met Jennifer from Colorado, check out the photo below. 
 

I will get a picture, but there are two pilgrims who I have named ‘Zapatos Fantásticos’ the brightness of their Footwear can be seen from the moon!   Liza saw them in a cafe listening to ABBA… should I put them on a Pilgrim Hit list? Nah 

loads of great pics today, check out the selection of footwear left by pilgrims, really expensive walking boots just left on the side of the road! Also a pair of Wellington 🥾 boots… that can’t be right…

Luego chicos 

Edited August 15, 20231 yr by Mal C

We have her! Our Welsh Gorilla Graffiti Artist has revealed herself. 
 

Krazy Kim is a lively one, and her tags are getting more frequent! Liza has started photographing, wait for it ‘Michael Jackson, yep he’s out here on Camino! He will have allot to confess to Saint James im sure…

pics in a min, bad Wi Fi in our expensive hotel..

malc 

Edited August 15, 20231 yr by Mal C

More pics, walk like an Egyptian, Liza drawing the sky, peligrino wellies…

 

Edited August 15, 20231 yr by Mal C

Día siete/ day 7

I had forgotten the unbelievable views on the next leg of our walk. The climb up-to O Cebreiro is a tough one, with one plateau after another, in places it’s soul destroying with a full pack.

We left at 7am, meaning we should get there as the cafes  open. But not before we passed through the cloud base, check out the photos, they are ok, but don’t do it the full justice. Below the cloud the atmosphere is wet and cold, they are dairy farmers here, as you rise above the cloud the sun streams through you… it’s a brilliant experience, all while you tend your sore feet and calves! 

last night was fun, I happened to pass this guy with a very cool shirt on, so I commented in Spanish, great shirt! He must have thought I was taking the piss as he said I’ve had it 15 years, well looking good for 15!years pal, that was in English. So he’s a German guy, not Spanish, and a bit of a tit, he got a ‘take it easy from his wife’ so all was fine in the world of cool shirts. 
 

That was until our host put them both next to us at dinner!  Well that was uncomfortable! Lol  I can tell you one thing, he knows buggar all about wine! He ordered the mouthwash @ 24 euro, while we had a good one from Leon, needed to breath but it pretty good for 8 Euro I thought, he can use his mouthwash to wash his shirt! 

Just  had some great intel, this year the Spanish government has given 25/30 year age groups from Spain 250 euro to walk the Camino, meaning it’s party time in all towns in the last 100k from Sarria. So we might skip around the main towns and use the places the massage lady at our Albergue has just suggested to Liza, So Samos, which has a great place to swim, Barbadilos has  a wonderful Monastery, and we have more  places to take us away from the crazy crowds… I have to say this is my third Camino walk, and it’s quiet, very few Americans, Canadians, you never meet many Brits, so I guess Italians are the the prominent pilgrims outside of the Spanish. 

We passed into Galicia this morning and it’s recognisable straight away in the way folks speak, Galician is the basis for portugués, so they have that kind of twang to their speech, I’ve been set straight twice today on how to pronounce certain words… I tell you one thing, its a long way from how folks speak in Albox / Arboleas and the south, you are lucky if you get ‘Buena’ as a greeting 🙂 in fact that’s all you normally get. 

finally for the chicos we have met and have been keeping tabs on, no ‘Zapatos Fantásticos’ today, their footwear must have sprung a leak! We saw Emma at O Cebreiro very quickly, Jennifer was not with her today, and maybe as we are going to start mixing it up to avoid the crowds, we may not see them until Santiago 😞 

Buenos tardes chicos 

Edited August 16, 20231 yr by Mal C

 

Edited August 16, 20231 yr by Mal C

22 minutes ago, Mal C said:

 

Wow fabulous photos, amazing 🤩 

Wonderfully described......with beautiful photos...makes me wish i was doing this 'journey of a lifetime'....doubt very much wether my knees would be up to it now....keep it going, hats off to you both!!

Dia ocho / Day 8

Another big day of walking and early start at 5:30 to get us back in the game! I have a great Camino guide, published by Michelin, every page gives you a stage, but it’s not what’s on the page that counts, it’s the distance. We do on average 25 kilometres per day, which at our position yesterday was short, we needed a biggie and today was it!!  9k from Fonfria to Triacastela, then a further 22k into Sarria, the town with a really cool Monastry. 

If you have ever walked with a torch at night, you will know stuff that moves fast can be really frightening, it’s  pitch black, Im walking along at a good pace, I look up and my torch reveals a semi clothed guy coming out of the bushes, frightened the Be-Jesus out of me… as it was he was a plastic statue of a Neanderthal man. Local albergue joke I’m sure..,

highlight of today’s walk was a hippie cafe / refugió called ‘Terra de luz’ I’d been to this place in 2018, and met some great folks. Today Liza met Snake hip yoga guru guy. Part Jesus lookalike, part yoga guru dude, he literally from out of nowhere, Horizontal Planed next to liza and asked 

“What have you learned?”

I can see Liza: thinking wtf, who’s this guy, urrrrr  “I’m emptying my head, that’s why I’m on Camino, are you walking the way? 

Snake hip guru guy: “I walk the way every day.”

Yep I can see where this is going, Snake hip Guru is gonna lay it on us! any more saffron in that shirt and his sandals will pass for kidney beans. I’m getting her out!
 

At that moment his colleague comes over, and reminds him about the next mediation session, something I am not adversed to what so ever, but with folks that don’t speak in riddles.  We fill up with food, grab a hand full of biscuits and head for the road. 

There are some pics below of other folks we met there, plus what looks like a birthday party for an Oompa Loompa, a little Spanish play on palabras 🇪🇸 

we are in the monesterio at Sarria, in a 40 plus dorm, gonna be a snoring party tonight, with another early start to head out to Portomarrin. 

Edited August 17, 20231 yr by Mal C

Hola, nice trip you’re having, I see. I’ve lived in Galicia (Pontevedra & A Coruña) since 1991.
My father-in-law, now 86, did the French route several times and the Primitive twice, a real tough nut, back in the early 90s, his final hike being the Vía de la Plata from Seville to Compostela. Huge respect. My knees wouldn’t take it now but I am considering the e-bike option, lol. Buen Camino!! 

Edited August 18, 20231 yr by macca

Hey Macca, thanks for posting 😉 you should consider the e-bike option, we have met loads of folks, families, couples and big groups of friends all biking it, some without, but allot will the ‘E’ option. 
 

malc 

Edited August 19, 20231 yr by Mal C

Dia nueve / Día diez 

hi folks no post yesterday as I just didn’t have time, but where I left off was leaving Sarria at 5am in the morning, we like to make hay while the sun isn’t there to hound us. 
 

so Sarria to Portomarin, 22k, done and dusted, we walked like wind that morning! Portomarin is a town I have history with, but only in that last time I walked here with a big group of pilgrims we opted for a ‘completario’ ruta, and ended up walking far further than we had wished! This time Liza and I crossed the Rio Miño, which was at least 10 meters lower than it normally is, and entered the town via a set of stone steps, the whole town is on a kinda plateau, which you walk upto, never seen a town like it. The central ‘iglesia’ is a really good one, I thought it had a touch of the ‘Norman’ in its square design, check out the pics. 
 

We kicked our boots around here for a bit then made a decision I knew was coming, as it is, we were always behind schedule, even with squeezing 5k in extra a day, we need to get ahead so we can collect our car at the Santiago train station on the morning of the 23rd, which means we need to get to Santiago on the 22nd. So to make this happen, we took a taxi to Palas de Rei, a town which I was all but happy to walk out of, some towns click with you, some don’t, simple. 
 

We walked another 4K to a small pueblo called San Xulion do Camiño. The albergue we found was called ‘Albergue Turístico “O Abrigadoiro” which very loosely translated means pilgrim that wears or is wrapped in a / the coat. Abrigar means to wrap or bundle together, and the ‘adoiro’ part refers to a person… it’s a great Albergue, food was spot on, we also met Anabele, from Manley in Sydney, we have both been Sydneysiders 15 odd years ago, so we had lots to chat about. This girl however was something else in the walking department, she was looking to do Saint John PDLP in the Pyrenees to Santiago in 21 days, that’s 3 weeks to walk 800 plus kilometres, she normally did high thirties to 40 plus km per day. With no rest day, that’s some going, we all fell to sleep about 9pm, and when We awoke at 5am, she was gone. 

today day ten of our walk had taken us 30k into Arzúa, a really nice town, then another 6 to 7k past, and we found a place called Casa de Heidi, run by Ralf, two cats, a dog and of course Heidi. Nice spot to stop as it’s Lizas birthday today, 27 again, also our wedding anniversary, so we are going to kick back with some Estrellas Especial, and some nice food. I always ask if they serve Alhambra Oro (gold) and of course they always look shocked you have asked, they don’t serve that southern s**t in Galicia! But us having lived in the south, We gotta ask! 
 

today has also been a first in the weather front, it has totally pissed down, sorry rained all day. We wondered about packing ponchós, glad I did now.  Autumn has arrived in Galicia, the leaves are all turning and the wind over the last few days has carpeted the walkways and gardens with colour, it’s actually lovely to walk through, but it’s been sticky as well with a pack. 
 

we met a lovely guy from France a few times, there is always a cat and mouse chase going on, I always make a joke of it, I always found it easier to speak to strangers personally, especially when it’s nout to do with the things I do or am into, northern soul springs to mind! Lol

anyhow this guy started his walk over a 1000k ago, he stated walking on 30th June… likes rugby and was thrilled to know we live in Wales, you know the Welsh are always out talking about the weather and the price of butter, and staring at tv on a sat afternoon 🏉 

We also hit the 100k to Santiago marker, check out below, big number that as we were told every Spaniard and his dog will be on the walk after Sarria, they were not joking, we passed massive groups of 20 plus school children, big groups of folks mainly doing day walks, or legs, so you pack a small bag, an umbrella and even your wellies if you wish, send your cloths ahead to a pre booked albergue and take your time, you can imagine the hardened pilgrims behind rushing in, yep we have bragging rights! Lol  silliness aside it’s a problem for folks like us as everyone is booked up, but I have always kept to one rule, get past the big towns, and the pilgrims thin out, that’s where you get the better digs.. and generally they are cheaper. 

we stopped at a Panadería called ‘Manso’ nice place but there must have been some all night rave or something as the cafe and the street was full of drunk teenagers, mix in pilgrims with back packs and ponchos and it’s madness… glad we got out of that town! 

jumping back to our taxi yesterday, a necessary evil I’m afraid m 😱 when we started walking again, we felt very odd, all the folks we knew bar a few were behind us, and liza literally said I wonder what happened to Krazy Kim, I looked at the side of the tunnel we were in and there she was, ‘Cymru am Byth’  that put us right back in the game! Funny how stuff like that happens. 
 

Luego  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 20231 yr by Mal C

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 20231 yr by Mal C

day 11 / Quick update, 17:57pm  We are now in Santiago de Compestella!! Massive effort today 38k, and we are literally licking our wounds, my legs, calves and feet may never be the same! Liza had done that with a blister from hell, seeped so much on the walk it came through her shoe, she has been on pain killers all day. A word of warning, don’t do this at home kids, walking without due care can really harm you!! Lol

Ill post a full update tonight, but a few pics until then.

¡Hasta pronto! 

Edited August 20, 20231 yr by Mal C

Wow amazing what an adventure 

well done 👏 

Dia douce/ Day 12
 

We arrived in Santiago yesterday afternoon after a serious walk, the conditions in the morning were perfect, the rain had pushed through from yesterday, there was light cloud, nice temperature and no direct sun, so we really went for it.  
 

There are some great pics from this area, no big surprises, no big hills, straight nice pathways with occasional detours through pueblos, they tend to have cobbled streets, which can be painful after two weeks! 
 

However, Before you know it we have decided to change the plan and push through to Santiago a day earlier, then the sun comes out and it’s super strong. Liza has taken painkillers and ibrobufen as her little toe is on s bad way after pushing it yesterday to get past the ‘Menu Del Dia Pilgrims’ you know the sort.   Liza has taken to calling them the ‘Metro sexuals’ I’m not sure even a Kenny from South Park could agree with that, maybe he could Kenny was a twisted, you know it!!  Sparkly white t-Shirts, umbrellas, clean Lycra shorts, it’s just a stroll in the park!  I bet they wear buM bags! 
 

So we are here, but we have just booked into a hotel to lick our wounds. We are going to get our Pilgrim passports stamped today and attend the pilgrims mass at the cathedral, now that is a great experience, my family are catholic but I never took it up so to speak.
 

if you haven’t, watch the film ‘the way’ with Martin Sheen, his son directs and plays a small but special  roll  in the film. This should give you a different feel for the pilgrimage. 
 

My next instalment coming soon, as I’m off to the launderette….

Luego

Edited August 21, 20231 yr by Mal C

On 19/08/2023 at 16:43, Mal C said:

Dia nueve / Día diez 

hi folks no post yesterday as I just didn’t have time, but where I left off was leaving Sarria at 5am in the morning, we like to make hay while the sun isn’t there to hound us. 
 

so Sarria to Portomarin, 22k, done and dusted, we walked like wind that morning! Portomarin is a town I have history with, but only in that last time I walked here with a big group of pilgrims we opted for a ‘completario’ ruta, and ended up walking far further than we had wished! This time Liza and I crossed the Rio Miño, which was at least 10 meters lower than it normally is, and entered the town via a set of stone steps, the whole town is on a kinda plateau, which you walk upto, never seen a town like it. The central ‘iglesia’ is a really good one, I thought it had a touch of the ‘Norman’ in its square design, check out the pics. 
 

We kicked our boots around here for a bit then made a decision I knew was coming, as it is, we were always behind schedule, even with squeezing 5k in extra a day, we need to get ahead so we can collect our car at the Santiago train station on the morning of the 23rd, which means we need to get to Santiago on the 22nd. So to make this happen, we took a taxi to Palas de Rei, a town which I was all but happy to walk out of, some towns click with you, some don’t, simple. 
 

We walked another 4K to a small pueblo called San Xulion do Camiño. The albergue we found was called ‘Albergue Turístico “O Abrigadoiro” which very loosely translated means pilgrim that wears or is wrapped in a / the coat. Abrigar means to wrap or bundle together, and the ‘adoiro’ part refers to a person… it’s a great Albergue, food was spot on, we also met Anabele, from Manley in Sydney, we have both been Sydneysiders 15 odd years ago, so we had lots to chat about. This girl however was something else in the walking department, she was looking to do Saint John PDLP in the Pyrenees to Santiago in 21 days, that’s 3 weeks to walk 800 plus kilometres, she normally did high thirties to 40 plus km per day. With no rest day, that’s some going, we all fell to sleep about 9pm, and when We awoke at 5am, she was gone. 

today day ten of our walk had taken us 30k into Arzúa, a really nice town, then another 6 to 7k past, and we found a place called Casa de Heidi, run by Ralf, two cats, a dog and of course Heidi. Nice spot to stop as it’s Lizas birthday today, 27 again, also our wedding anniversary, so we are going to kick back with some Estrellas Especial, and some nice food. I always ask if they serve Alhambra Oro (gold) and of course they always look shocked you have asked, they don’t serve that southern s**t in Galicia! But us having lived in the south, We gotta ask! 
 

today has also been a first in the weather front, it has totally pissed down, sorry rained all day. We wondered about packing ponchós, glad I did now.  Autumn has arrived in Galicia, the leaves are all turning and the wind over the last few days has carpeted the walkways and gardens with colour, it’s actually lovely to walk through, but it’s been sticky as well with a pack. 
 

we met a lovely guy from France a few times, there is always a cat and mouse chase going on, I always make a joke of it, I always found it easier to speak to strangers personally, especially when it’s nout to do with the things I do or am into, northern soul springs to mind! Lol

anyhow this guy started his walk over a 1000k ago, he stated walking on 30th June… likes rugby and was thrilled to know we live in Wales, you know the Welsh are always out talking about the weather and the price of butter, and staring at tv on a sat afternoon 🏉 

We also hit the 100k to Santiago marker, check out below, big number that as we were told every Spaniard and his dog will be on the walk after Sarria, they were not joking, we passed massive groups of 20 plus school children, big groups of folks mainly doing day walks, or legs, so you pack a small bag, an umbrella and even your wellies if you wish, send your cloths ahead to a pre booked albergue and take your time, you can imagine the hardened pilgrims behind rushing in, yep we have bragging rights! Lol  silliness aside it’s a problem for folks like us as everyone is booked up, but I have always kept to one rule, get past the big towns, and the pilgrims thin out, that’s where you get the better digs.. and generally they are cheaper. 

we stopped at a Panadería called ‘Manso’ nice place but there must have been some all night rave or something as the cafe and the street was full of drunk teenagers, mix in pilgrims with back packs and ponchos and it’s madness… glad we got out of that town! 

jumping back to our taxi yesterday, a necessary evil I’m afraid m 😱 when we started walking again, we felt very odd, all the folks we knew bar a few were behind us, and liza literally said I wonder what happened to Krazy Kim, I looked at the side of the tunnel we were in and there she was, ‘Cymru am Byth’  that put us right back in the game! Funny how stuff like that happens. 
 

Luego  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Norman style is known in Spain as Románico. It encompasses roughly the same period of construction as the great Norman cathedrals and churches in England. Love the simplicity of it. We’re quite lucky in Galicia to have some excellent examples. Arzúa and Melide are famous for cheese and octopus respectively. Sometimes we jump into the car and drive to Melide from Coruña just for an octopus sesh. No place like Galicia for polbo á feira, of course. In Santiago de Compostela one of the best places for pulpo is O Bochinche near the Porta do Camiño, in Rúa San Pedro, well away from all the tawdry shite and rip off joints near the Cathedral, lol. 

We will check it out, was going to ask, we will drive back to Bilbao from Santiago, if we take the coastal roads, any suggestions en route? 
 

malc 

Día douce / day 12

Santiago de Compostela - Our second day in our hotel, we have been bumming it about the town taking in the sights, New pilgrims stream in every day, and we have bumped into some folks we met on our pilgrimage. 
 

This morning Liza and I attended the Pilgrims mass at the cathedral, then after a cafe solo y menta te, went to the pilgrims museum, which is literally across from the main cathedral  entrada, If you ever visit the city, deffo go, it’s free and really well done. 
 

Tomorrow we will hop in a hire car and make our way across to Bilbao airport, but not before stopping over night at Playa Isla, which looks to have a great beach. 
 

So other stuff today, my legs are returning, Liza had a nasty infection on her little toe, which will need to be looked at on our return. We just went cloths shopping, looks like we will be eating small pieces of cheese for the next few months! And we have our pilgrim passports stamped and ready, just need to enjoy tonight before we leave Santiago tomorrow. 
 

As we walked I noticed loads of boots and shoes that had been discarded on the way, as a tribute here is the:

“La Galería de Zapatos Fantásticos” featuring pilgrims who may or may not have got to Santiago ! 

 

Edited August 22, 20231 yr by Mal C

More pics from Santiago and folks we met coming in:/)

Massive congratulations, amazing achievement well done you guys ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Epic, well done. Loved reading and seeing your photos. Great adventure 👍

I feel as though i've been on the 'journey' with you both......the story telling has been enthralling and extremely captivating.....the photography absolutely wonderful......so many beautiful picturesque scenes.....hope you both recover soon from the effects of the journey.....would just like to reiterate what others on here have said.....WELL DONE!!

Wow, thanks all for your kind words, we really appreciate the sentiment:-) 

I will still keep posting pics as our journey is not quite over, but before I do.

if anything above from our pilgrimage has brought out the wanting to go yourselves, I can’t say much more than these trips can be life changing for some folks. It’s a physical challenge for sure, but as I discussed with Macca, e-bikes have opened this up allot more. And you can rent them here, all along the way; we are considering taking our kids next year all the way from the Pyrenees to Santiago.

in terms of development, I recently left a new job I had to work for myself, and I have had a big chance to think and decide on whats next, that’s positive.

so to sign off, for now, Buen Camino a todos (everyone) and check out the pics from our last day back…

Malc & Liza

Some Photos from our journey home, started in Santiago and stayed overnight in a small pueblo outside Santander, Quijad, nr puente San Migel and nr Torrelavega, so we went for the local hotel option, which turned out to be a ‘hoot’! Mira mira (look,look) said grandma marly, when I got back liza had baracaded the door, I kid ye not, it was all going on last night, kids fighting in the next room, a crying child, no idea why but Abuela Marley went in the room with a ladder!!!
 

I went into the local town, it’s a farming town, and you know you walk into a bar,  and they all look at you as ‘who’s the stranger’ I intimidating as hell… in fact I’ve had this in France loads on rural areas. anyhow they didn’t have what I needed so I returned to find liza with a chair under the door…. Abuela marly’ la asesina de tijeras!!! Lol the scissor killer! 
 

fff, I was only gone 30 mins…I actually liked her, but she ran her hotel with an iron fist…bit of charm though, and request to straighten my spanish she was cool as chips…

we also got chance to hit the beach last night, check out the pics.  place called La Isla, great beaches with serious mountains in the beyond. We have really been surprised, as I’ve walked through many northern cities and towns, but never traveled the coast, it is stunning! 
 

We dropped the car, and guess what Easy Jet have informed us our flight is delayed! Not that I care, I’ll just have another beer in the airport 🙂 

Edited August 24, 20231 yr by Mal C

Edited September 11, 20231 yr by Mal C

Looks like an amazing experience and definitely on my list of things to do since retirement - in fact before!  People say the Portuguese version is a bit quieter so having never been to Portugal - but shared a room with a Portuguese Olympic Greco Wrestler on an Olympic Conference, I am keen to experience it maybe next year.  Any tips much appreciated but have loved this story!