Camino Ingles Day 7: Sigüeiro to Santiago de Compostela, aka the end!

We left Sigueiro at about 9:30 and had 15km to walk to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

Apart from a few spots of rain the worst of the weather was just a lot of cold wind, which made walking easier.

I kind of expected the path to be quite industrial as it was so close to Santiago but, either by luck or design, it was mostly forest and fields for all but the last few kilometres.

We saw many more pilgrims than previous days but only really talked to one, a lively Italian lady named Leah who told us she had left her husband at home and decided to do the walk by herself at the age of 70. She didn’t have any aches or pains and wished Danny improvement with his feet.

At about 11:30 we stopped off at a food place that was right next to the trail in a forested part.

It was a big open cement area and a huge echoing hall that looked like the world’s saddest wedding venue. It had a tiny bar and food counter set up so we had some coffee and sandwiches.

We have been told that the government is using money to promote this route but it would be nice to spend some money on making it safer as often footpath just runs out and trucks almost clip you as you walk.

The amenities and businesses along the trail (or lack thereof) have been a constant source of bemusement. The traffic along this branch of the Camino has been increasing drastically over the last two decades (from under 100 people to over 22,000 last year) but there’s quite long stretches of road with no footpath, no places to get food and not one public toilet to be seen along the whole route, which Danny says is typical of Spain. Anywhere that sells food is expected to let people use their bathroom but quite often there’s nowhere open.

Coming into Santiago from the opposite direction to the most popular trail meant that it was just right into the older part of town.

The industrial estate part of the walk wasn’t pretty but had excellent wide footpaths.

Our first sight of the cathedral??

How about now?

Then Danny said that we would hear bagpipes when we got close, an instrument that is traditionally Gaelic, so they are played here as well as in Scotland and Ireland. I completely neglected to take a photo of the piper, but eventually we heard them as we continued through the lovely ancient streets.

It was great to finish, and it felt like Danny might not have made another day with his blisters as they were getting worse.

Seeing all the groups of pilgrims getting photos and looking so excited was very nice, I imagine that if you’d come here just for this and if you’d finished one of the longer walks – quite a lot of people walk from France or further – the sensation of relief and achievement would be overwhelming.

Having just spent twice as long walking through much more dramatic countryside in England, this was fun but it didn’t particularly make me want to do other Camino routes. I’m not against the idea either, I just have other places I’d like to walk.

Danny and I did discuss what we’d learned from the experience. I’d totally agree with Deb that four days got me into my stride, so doing a longer trek would definitely be possible and if I’d put more effort into preparing I probably wouldn’t have had such sore feet in the beginning.

I felt a bit hamstrung by not speaking the local language and I think a lot of my enjoyment from travel comes from meeting people so that was a down side. We didn’t really meet many people who spoke English confidently.

I think if I’d done this years ago I would’ve been part of the ‘get up and on the road by dawn’ crowd, but going slower and making decent stops has increased my enjoyment. I don’t think I could ever walk ten hours a day so there’s no need to be up and out so quickly.

The time of year we’d chosen was really good. None of the days were too hot or too cold and we had luckily sat out the rainiest day. The time of year also meant that there were lots of flowers in bloom and the farmers were yet to spread manure on the fields. I always forget how much of country walking is accompanied by the smell of manure but it wasn’t too bad this time.

Despite being surrounded by long green grass most days my hayfever was fine. I really don’t understand why it’s so bad in England and not here where the plants are almost identical.

Collecting the stamps along the way was fun. Who doesn’t like stamps? I think the stamp system would be a great thing to institute on other long walks around the world. It’s an easy and fun reminder of all the places you stop at.

We did 122km or so, 100 is needed for the certificate at the end. We did get the certificates but I think the stamps are actually a better souvenir.

So that was our Camino! Probably the least impressive in terms of length but a very nice walk and Danny and I managed to get along very well, both being very patient when the other needed to go slowly or take a break.

To finish, here’s a series of photos of us in front of highways and derelict petrol stations. It’s not all forests and fields!

2May2023

Camino Ingles Day 4: Beche to Ordes

by Miss Penny Black

We set our alarms early and were on the road by 8:30. Danny left his sunglasses behind but otherwise it was a good start.

Our continual conundrum is where to stop for food. Since we started early we stopped at the first roadside cafe/general store where we saw lots of other pilgrims.

When Danny ordered sandwiches the lady brought the whole giant loaf/ring of bread to ask how much we wanted.

This is a style of service I could get used to.

God knows how she works out a price for this.

She made us take lots of photos – of her with us but also of her with other pilgrims.

She had a box of little flags and things and even found me a tiny clippy koala.

We also spoke to an American man from Kansas who was in Spain for a couple of months and was on his fourth Camino of the trip. He started on the primitivo Camino but wildfires blocked the path so he changed and had been doing bits of several.

Eventually it was time to hit the road. Today is a 17km walk and by lunch we had done 12km. The afternoon was a lot of hot walking in the sun. I employed my festival survival hack and socked my cotton scarf in water. At one point I saved my giant ice cubes from a cafe and wrapped them up for my neck, which worked well.

A transfer station is an inspiring reminder of man’s ability to generate electricity. Also I know I look sunburned but it’s not as bad as it seems and I am wearing a hat and sunscreen all day.

A pilgrim bath that was the first we’d seen that actually looked clean enough to put your feet in, even though we didn’t.

Authentically Spanish afternoon snack;-)

Sitting in a dirty bus stop watching trucks go past.

My hip pain came back a bit in the afternoon but only in short spurts. We had our worst walking right before our hotel in Ordes, right beside a highway with only a narrow strip and heaps of trucks. It was pretty grim but the trucks very kindly moved over as far as they could, probably cursing us all the while.

When we got into the town we stopped at a pharmacy to buy ibuprofen and more foot plasters.

The towns seems to have some interesting street art.

Our hotel with generic tortured trees. Why do they cut all the branches off?? It looks awful and there’s no shade.

We arrived about 4:30 and decided to relax and shower before seeing where to eat this evening and do some laundry. Exciting stuff!

Action shot of our pilgrim passports being stamped. I don’t think I’ve mentioned them before. You have to get at least two stamps a day to prove you’ve done at least 100 for a certificate at the cathedral. We keep changing our minds about whether we want the certificate or not.

My room has a bit of a weird smell but whatever.

We went out to do laundry and have dinner.

An entire meal of salad was very exciting.

I took a photo of this bin truck outside the restaurant where we had dinner to remind myself of all the trucks they drive through Ordes constantly. I’ve never seen so many trucks in a small town.

A note regarding yesterday’s post, we discovered the tiny sheds on stilts were actually for storing corn.

Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler and we are going to set off around 8am as the hotel breakfast is at 7:30. it’s another day that’s just under 20km. It’s worked out well they we arrive at our destination in time to shower, rest, then enjoy the evening somewhat. I can well imagine that doing this for weeks on end would result in much improved fitness. Im not sure I’ll see any benefit but it’s nice knowing we are succeeding at something that seemed quite daunting initially.

1May2023

Camino Ingles Day 2: Pontedueme to Betanzos

by Miss Penny Black

I am not sure I’ll have a lot to write about today because I am completely exhausted but here’s today’s walk in brief.

First, it’s Sunday, so Pontedueme was pretty quiet. We had tomato on bread for breakfast but with ham this time.

The path out of Pontedueme, starting from our breakfast table, went up, up, UP.

Still, we consoled ourselves with the amazing views as we sweated through our clothes. Or as I sweated and Danny lightly dampened his clothes. It turns out Danny doesn’t sweat much, which somehow seemed quite unfair.

One the first day of our walk we had discovered pilgrim fountains everywhere. They have running water and foot baths with a bench around. On this day we saw a few but nowhere near as many. I would be interested to know if they are a feature on other routes.

During the first half of the day we walked through forest and along some very pretty trails. Thankfully not all the forests were eucalypts.

We saw a lot of grape vines on trellises. This was probably the most impressive.

The roadside verges were full of flowers and there were many lovely scents along the way.

The path took us through very varied scenery, including beneath massive pillars that held highways above wetlands.

We saw beaches and waterways.

For lunch we stopped at a very pilgrim-themed place to have a bite. There was a cute and very tiny dog.

The lady running the stop was lovely and very welcoming. We left after having a very restful sit and picking some wild strawberries from their garden.

Just a short way down the track we saw a huge mural featuring the woman from the pilgrim stop. If only we’d had a photo with her!

I bought an apple in the next little town and we came across a large group of women pilgrims walking so slowly that they ended up being the first (and probably last) people we would overtake. Sure, they overtook us later on but it did feel nice to not be the slowest for a short while.

The path continued to be very hilly.

Towards the end I was really struggling. My right hip was hurting, particularly on the uphills, which was doubly annoying because on the downhills the soles of my feet really stung. Across the day I took 5 ibuprofen tablets and I’m not sure they helped much.

This is a photo Danny took of me struggling;-).

The second half of the day was through countryside that felt almost deserted and was also lacking the plentiful benches of the morning so we stopped and sat in a gutter at one point to eat our snack nuts (snuts) and biscuits.

Classy!

The sandals I bought in England were a nice change for my feet in the middle of the afternoon as we climbed the last hill. A lady pulled over as we were halfway to the top and told us it wasn’t much further. At the tip we found her with her husband manning a little pilgrim stop with cold drinks and a donation box. They asked where we were from and then pointed to all the eucalyptus trees, telling me they were from Australia. Yes, I had noticed that half of Spain looks exactly like the trees around my house, thanks.

We got a stamp and then sat down for a rest. A Dutch fellow came along and sat down for a chat. He had done many Camino trails and usually came with his family.

The couple at the stop took a photo of Danny and I together before we left.

Eventually we made it to Betanzos. The hotel was nice, we had Japanese for dinner and used the laundromat. My feet were pretty swollen and my blisters worse than I’ve ever had in my life! We’ll see how tomorrow goes!