The weather today reminded me of our first arrival in Santiago back in 2015. It was raining and wind was whipping the autumn leaves around then, just as it was today. I thought about what I wrote then, words that still resonate: “The rainy weather we got while walking into Santiago was consistent with my feelings of sadness that this amazing experience of walking the Camino de Santiago was coming to an end. It was the journey of a lifetime….
Today felt like a prelude to tomorrow, when we’ll finally reach Santiago de Compostela. The official distance we walked today was 16 km, but it was 22 km according to Dave’s smart watch. We have just 8.8 km to go! Today’s highlight revolved around the sheer number of pilgrims on the trail. It’s funny how every time we stopped—whether for a quick photo or to adjust something—we’d find ourselves merging into a completely new group of walkers. It was as…
Dave and I were awake long before dawn today, needing to be at La Barca del Peregrino (The Pilgrim’s Boat) by 7:15 AM. We were taking the Traslatio Route from Vilanova de Arousa to Padrón, a 28-kilometre journey. According to legend, this is the very route Saint James’ disciples followed to bring his remains back to Spain after he was martyred. The story begins in Jerusalem, where Saint James was beheaded in the year 44AD by King Herod Agrippa. His…
We woke up to heavy rain again and the possibility of flooding. We dawdled for awhile in hopes that the rain would let up. On our way out we met Sandy, a pilgrim with an interesting story to tell. Four months ago, she had a recurring dream about the Camino, which was no ordinary dream. She would close her eyes, and the dream would continue. So, she took it as a sign and booked a flight to Lisbon to walk…
Today the pouring rain and the 420 metre elevation gain over seven kilometres from Combarro to Armenteira tested our resolve. It’s the steepest hill on the Camino Portuguese and we didn’t want to hike it in the pouring rain. The hotel receptionist called a taxi for us and within ten minutes we were being whisked up to the top of the hill. On the way, the taxi driver pointed out what is normally a stunning viewpoint, although no view was…
Today was one of those days that kept getting better and better! 😃 It started with us cocooned in our rain gear as a steady drizzle followed us from Pontevedra. We soon reached the crossroads where an important decision had to be made: to continue along the central route to Santiago or branch off to the Variante Espiritual. The pilgrims around us carried on straight to Santiago, but we turned left, having already chosen to walk the Variante Espiritual. Coming…
We couldn’t leave O Refugio de la Jerezana in Cesantes without being featured on their Instagram page and taking family photos of our hosts and family, too. After that bit of morning fun, Dave and I hit the trail toward Pontevedra. Dogs were barking their goodbyes, roosters were crowing, and songbirds were in full concert mode. At 13°C, it was another perfect walking day. Before long we came to a beautiful view of the sun shining on Arcade down below….
It was another gorgeous day, although there was a chill in the air when we left our albergue in O Porriño. It was also the busiest day we’ve experienced on any of our Caminos. Many people are walking just the last 100 km so that they can receive a Compostela in Santiago. According to our Wise Pilgrim app, we covered about 18 km today, from O Porriño to Cesantes, which is just past Redondela. Dave’s smart watch says it was…
After a week of walking the Camino Portuguese – mixing the Coastal and the Litoral routes – we crossed the border into Spain. That’s a bit of a milestone in our journey. Though rain was forecasted, the sun shone as we followed the beautiful coastline toward Caminha. We were moving at a leisurely pace so missed the morning train we were hoping to catch from Caminha to Valença. That left us with time to enjoy lunch and meet Allan, a…
Breakfast this morning at our hotel was absolutely the best – an incredible buffet, with hot and cold options. As if that wasn’t enough, Cole Porter tunes were being played live on the grand piano. Totally satisfied, we set off for what we thought would be a 22 km cocoon-in-rain-ponchos kind of day. It was for much of the day. Instead of taking the Coastal Camino route, we took the “Litoral” route, hugging the ocean’s edge most of the way. The…