Through Our Looking Glass

Distance Today: 20.5 km Total Distance from Oviedo: 349.1 km (All Trails) Official Distance from Oviedo: 321 km Elevation Gain: 541 metres Weather: Sunny; warm/hot Highlight: WE DID IT! A funny thing happened to us late yesterday at the Noja Rooms 2 in Pedrouzo. We lost our clothes! We checked in, got cleaned up, washed and hung our clothes on the clothesline conveniently located outside our second floor window that overlooked a walled courtyard. We had no clothes pegs but…

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Distance Today: 18.0 km Total Distance from Oviedo: 328.6 km (All Trails) Elevation Gain: 425 metres Weather: Sunny; warm/hot (33C) One more day before we reach Santiago de Compostela! This is what our second to last day of walking the Camino Frances looked like. Lots of people and lots of signs (and graffiti!)…

Distance Today: 20.5 km Total Distance from Oviedo: 310.7 km (All Trails) Elevation Gain: 601 metres Weather: Sunny; warm/hot (30C+) We had a bad night at our albergue in Melide and a morning that started far too early. All twenty beds (ten bunks) in our room were occupied and there were many disturbances that led to lack of sleep. The albergue was noisy. First of all, the metal staircase outside the door to our room clattered and echoed whenever anyone…

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Distance Today: 20.8 km Total Distance from Oviedo: 290.2 km (All Trails). Elevation Gain: 492 metres Weather: Sunny; warm AM; hot PM (30C) Highlight: Culture shock! Our entire focus today was on our arrival in the city of Melide where the Camino Primitivo joins the Camino Frances. Suddenly the population of pilgrims walking to Santiago would increase dramatically. We weren’t looking forward to it. Sixty per cent of pilgrims who receive their Compostela in Santiago walk the Camino Frances while…

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Distance Today: 30.1 km Total Distance from Oviedo: 269.5 km (All Trails) Elevation Gain: 820 metres Weather: Sunny; cool AM and warm PM Highlight: Countdown We followed the bronze shells through the Plaza Mayor, past the cathedral, and through the Puerta de Santiago to the outside of the Roman walls of Lugo and then promptly got lost. Directions from some locals helped us find our way to the Camino and finally we were on our way. We walked on peaceful,…

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Distance Today: 17.2 km Total Distance from Oviedo: 239.4 km. Elevation Gain: 433 metres Weather: Overcast; cool Highlight: Roman Walls We have walked through only small villages and rural areas on the Camino Primitivo so arriving at the city of Lugo today came as a shock. The last city we were in was Oviedo two weeks ago. I hadn’t listened to music at all on this Camino but it was a welcome distraction while walking along the busy highway leading…

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Distance Today: 16.1 km Total Distance from Oviedo: 222.2 km. Elevation Gain: 350 metres Weather: Fog early AM; sunny; warm Highlight: Albergue A Pocina de Muniz Today we enjoyed one of the easier hikes of this Camino. We woke up to early morning fog which was gone within a half hour of leaving the albergue in Cadavo Baleira. Our first stop was in Vilabade (6.6 km), a town that was established as a Franciscan community for pilgrims in the 15th…

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Distance Today: 22.7 km Total Distance from Oviedo: 206.3 km. Elevation Gain: 851 metres Weather: Sunny and cool AM; warm PM Highlights: Hospital de Montouto This was one of those days when the morning was fabulous and the afternoon dragged on with too many “mountains” to climb. The Spanish kilometres sometimes seem out of whack! The walk offered a variety of walking conditions on small roads and footpaths including some steep sections along with some wonderful examples of rural Galician…

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Distance Today: 24.7 km Total Distance from Oviedo: 183.6 km. Elevation Gain: 916 metres Weather: Overcast; cold Highlight: From Asturias to Galicia This was one of our longer walking days and (sorry to say) one of the less interesting ones in comparison with some of the others. Our impression of the day might have had a lot to do with the cold weather and the fact that there were few opportunities to stop for cafe con leche breaks. We just…

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Distance Today: 13.4 km Total Distance from Oviedo: 158.9 km. Elevation Gain: 654 metres Weather: Sunny with cloudy periods; cool Highlight: Highway walking, scenic footpaths, and Castro When we left the Hotel Las Grandas this morning and hiked up the road en route to Grandas de Salime 5.8 km away, we had the best view of our hotel perched on the cliff and of the abandoned buildings used during the construction of the dam in the early 50s. There wasn’t…

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