All posts tagged: Galicia

Day 12 Santiago de Compostela

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My ‘John the Scot’ would have been proud of me. I’m up by 4 AM and rearing to go at 5 AM sharp. When I descend the stairs, I find that the lovely Spanish family are all packed and ready too! We head out and it’s pitch-black outside. Never has a purchase felt so good as my new headlamp does now. Outside it’s eerily devoid of other people, even as we pass O Pedrouzo, and we walk for quite some time before daylight breaks and we begin to see anything at all. The darkness doesn’t bother me, but the teenagers Paula and Maria keep close, especially when a dog jumps up and start barking at us, seemingly coming from nowhere. Luckily there is a sturdy fence between us. We walk all the way past the airport before we come to the first café that’s open, Porta de Santiago. I am grateful to have a much-needed breakfast here, having walked non stop for 13 km, which is halfway to Santiago de Compostela. Here I meet some …

Day 11 Camino to Santiago de Compostela – O Castro

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In the morning I make the decision to take a day of rest. It’s not so much my bad knee that has swollen up and still hurts that is crucial. After many intense days of walking in wonderful company, surrounded by the extraordinary spirit of community that the Camino so generously provides, I feel the need to pause and wait for my soul to catch up and reconnect with my own Camino, because in tomorrow is the day I arrive in Santiago de Compostela, and it is an important day for me. I’m pleased to have come to this conclusion and head across the road to see if there is any breakfast to be had. Here I find Tine, who is trying to find plane tickets home, and after a while Suzanne arrives, who also has problems with her feet and is now taking shorter day stages. Eventually I gather my belongings and head to O Castro. It turns out to be an excellent decision. My new ‘home’ is a very nice little room in …

Day 10 Camino to Santiago de Compostela – from Palaís de Rey to Ribadiso

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When I left the house this morning at 6.30 AM, I notice that my left knee is hurting, making me almost limp. Oh no, am I not going to be able to walk today!? This is going to be another long walking day, as it’s 26 km to Ribadiso. Just as I’m leaving town, Melek joins me and I’m pleased to see him, because today I’ve brought with me Frankincense, the essential oil that helps with aches and pains, and he told me his neck is hurting.  We walk till we see a tiny café on the outskirts of the town, and enter. The place looks brand new and is very sweet, with lots and lots of lovely cakes, but it isn’t something you would want the first thing in the morning, so I just have a coffee. Anyway, it serves our purpose, and we sneak behind a corner. The essential oil is not supposed to go directly on the skin, so I’ve also brought a cream based on other essential oils, and we blend …

Day 9 Camino to Santiago de Compostela – from Portomarín to Palaís de Rey

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I never tire of these beautiful sunrises, the reward of early evenings and extremely early mornings. Today it’s uphill, uphill, and even more uphill for at least 15 km, right from Portomarín. However, it’s perfect walking weather, mostly overcast and occasionally drizzly. Even though it’s tough going, I’m enjoying myself. A new-born calf, and is that the mama cow anxiously watching it from inside the barn? If so, why separate them? A couple of times I pass the same couple, and on a particularly steep section of the Sierra Ligonde Mountain, I stop and rest on the same bench they are sitting on. We chat for a while in English, and then I ask them where they are from. Sweden, they answer, and we burst into laughter when I reply that so am I! After this I continue to walk with Bjarne and Grethel for a while. Then they point out another Swede, Melek, and we all join forces till we reach a restaurant where we stop to have lunch. We joke and say that …

Day 8 Camino to Santiago de Compostela – from Sarria to Portomarín

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I leave Sarriá behind me not long after 6 AM when it’s still dark. The first thing I meet is an express train rushing past me just by the trail! If I wasn’t fully awake before, I am now. The sunrise is particularly beautiful today, and I’m enjoying my walk. The first 10 km feels easy enough, and I rest for the first time at a café after two hours, where I have my breakfast, a coffee and a French omelette. I ponder again the difference walking the Camino from the last time, and the community spirit I’m missing when Wilfried catches up, and we continue to walk together. At A Pena we come cross the 100 km milestone! It has a huge significance, especially to those pilgrims who have hiked about 688 km up till now all the way from St. Jean Pied de Port. But, wait a minute! This isn’t how I remember this milestone from the last time! Yes, they have made changes since then, such as making new milestones and moving …

Day 7 Camino to Santiago de Compostela – from Tricastela to Sarria

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Today’s hike goes through the glorious Gallic landscape, that I love. There are two routes to choose from, the one via Samos and the other San Xil. I choose the San Xil route, because it’s the one I hiked last in 2012, and would like to re-experience it.  It is just as beautiful as I remembered if not more, as the sunshine makes the scenery even more attractive. Higher up on the mountain it is pleasantly cool, and a large part of the trail is shaded by trees. I absolutely love walking these appealing sheltered trails. In 2012, people made their way mainly by following the hand-painted yellow arrows and milestones. Today, the routes are clearly marked, so it’s quite impossible to get lost. I see many more pilgrims now, but no more than I can walk alone for many stretches. From time to time, I keep company with a Spanish mother and her daughter, and several times I bump into a German pilgrim, Wilfried, and we chat. Me in 2012 and 2023 in the …

Day 6 Camino to Santiago de Compostela – from O Cebreiro to Tricastela

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Late start today after unfortunately only getting 4,5 hours of sleep. There are some significant changes on the Camino since my last time here. One of them is that they have created alternative routes. At O Cebreiro the forest track I took 2012 is now a complimentary route, and the new one I take today is the official route. It’s a delightful soft forest path running parallel to the road, but you never actually see it through the dense forest, and sometimes it runs on a different level from the road too. It’s foggy and everything gets damp, including me, but it’s a pleasurable hike. The first café I get too is dark and crowded. I grab a quick coffee at the counter and want to exit, but there’s a bunch of Americans getting ready to leave too, and one of the girls has left a backpack right in front of the door. I wait for her to move it so I can pass, and she replies rather impertinent that I can just jump over …

Day 5 Camino to Santiago de Compostela – from Las Herreías to O Cebreiro

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I overslept! Gah! Woke up at 6:45am after the best sleep I’ve had in weeks! But of all the days to do this, did it need to happen today when I had a date to walk with others. Well, the good thing is that I probably needed it because I’ve been sleeping very little for far too long.  Left Las Herrerías at 07:20 and though I was the last pilgrim out, but of course I wasn’t. The climb is steep at first, but wonderful. The forest is refreshing and has a sweet scent of leaves, bark, and soil, and I’m incredibly happy to be in Galicia again! Well, technically I’m still in Castilla y León. The border to Galicia is a bit further on up the mountain, but mentally I’m already there. As I have anticipated this climb to be difficult, I’m booked to stay in the village of O Cebreiro at the top of the mountain, so I can take it easy and walk at my own pace. It’s going to be fun to …