I woke in my disappointing hotel room early and heard the swish of tyres against water outside on the street. I knew it might be a little wet again. I popped downstairs and grabbed my packed lunch. It was impressive to say the least! A ham and cheese triple decker sandwich an orange a banana…
Month: September 2019
Day 10 Pontevedra to Caldas del Reis – A spa hotel or not? 24kms (185.6km)
I know you think I’m travelling solo but really you get to know so many people on the camino and I have been travelling with my old German friends actually. Well at least I told them they were the old Germans. But they’re not the only Germans in the village you know. Don’t forget I…
Day 9 Redondela to Pontevedra Another Dark Start 23 km 7hrs 43 (161.6km)
Leaving Redondela saw me go up up up until I landed at a picnic area high above the city. There was still a street light but the camino headed off into the dark of a forest. I sat on a picnic table for a couple of minutes and i called my beloved to keep me…
Day 8 O Porriño to Redondela A Short Cut in the Evening 17kms (total Portuguese 138.6km)
(Yet again i have been tardy in my blog uploads and internet upload speeds have been uninspiring! I shall quickly update you on some of the days). The Old young one waited for me and we left together this morning but first I asked Helena for a photo so I could remember one of the…
Day 7 Tui to O Porriño 17.1kms 5hrs 16 mins (121.6kms)
I headed down the cobblestone streets in front of the convent first. I woke too early and couldn’t go back to sleep so I ate the nice breakfast that was waiting and juiced my own oranges. I was too slow for the Fräulein and the young one and felt I was holding them back when…
Day 6 Crossing the Border and nun so grand Rubais to Tui 23 km 7hrs 20mins (104.5kms)
Rubais to Tui was actually a lovely day. Sure, there was a dash of rain at the beginning but not too much really. Just enough to get us hot and sweaty putting raincoats on and then taking them off. The big event for today of course was going to be walking back into Spain. Not…
Day 5 Ponte do Lima to Rubiães – when I say wet I mean wet! 22.5kms 7.5hrs (81.5kms)
Today started at the youth hostel in ponte do limas like any other day – well any other camino day! We picked up our prepackaged breakfast from reception at 6 (because they don’t open the in-house breakfast until 8:30!) We buttered our bread rolls with sporks and drank our juice tetra pack and I bought…
Day 4 15km 4.5 hours Casa Fernanda to Ponte do Lima (59kms)
This morning started with a breakfast of bread bread and more bread. It was a communal breakfast and, although Fernanda wasn’t herself up, her husband was up feeding the masses and washing dishes before heading off to work. They certainly went out of their way to make people feel comfortable but it also seemed like…
Day 3 Barcelos to Casa Fernanda 12kms and a cat nap!
So yesterday I took the opportunity to try out some public transport options in Portugal. First I bought myself a coffee at the nice corner cafe, I also bought myself a Nata (custard tart) and a spinach and cheese pastry to tuck away in my pack. So off I went to the tram station. The…
Day 1 and 2 Portuguese Coastal Camino Reconnaissance Mission -Porto to Matosinhos to Vila do Conde 32 Kms over two days.
Actually I told my family and friends I was going to head down to Portugal and spend some time somewhere on the coast and reclaim some energy and let my toes recover before meeting my German friends and walking to Finisterre. I also thought I might walk a shortened version of the Portuguese camino and…
Day 5 Sigueiro to Santiago de Compostela – 5.5 hrs 17.8 kms – Finally arriving in One Piece
(I apologise for the delay in posting – at first I was busy catching up with old and new friends and then I was busy planning my next adventure!) So this morning was actually quite cold again but we warmed up quickly. Short cut Sally and I ate breakfast in our albergue – you know…
Day 4 Hospital to Seigura An Honorary German 9hrs 36 mins – 32 kms (34kms on my Garmin)!
The wind was still a little cold this morning and my roommate Shortcut Sally and I had a quick breakfast in the bar at the front of the Pension. It was supposed to be relatively flat but a little long today. The camarera very kindly walked us out to that dreadful highway and pointed us…
Day 3 Betanzos to Hospital de Bruma 25 kms 9 hours 40mins
Today I started walking with my new German room mate. I knew I would be too slow for her so I encouraged her to go on ahead as I enjoyed the view and the walk up up up. I know you probably thought yesterday was a complaint about up up up but it was really…
Day 2 Pontedeume to Betanzos 23km 6hrs 50mins All on a chocolate churro and a coffee
Let’s get to the point with this one. Rumour had it this was the easiest day of the Ingles. Rumour was wrong. Definitely wrong. I started the day with a chocolate churro and a coffee exactly where I had finished last night. After I had finished the churro I tipped the hot chocolate in my…
Day 1 Ferrol to Pontedeume – A grandiose Hypotenuse and the Albergue of nightmares 19km 6.15hours
Well I started my day in the dark with head lamp around my neck. There were plenty of street lights to start with. The breakfast the old lady had prepared for 5 euros looked pretty grim so i passed on it and headed down the long street towards the port area as advised by the…
Arrival – The English Way
I was heading to A Coruña to decide whether I would start the Camino Ingles from there because it is said to be the original starting point for pilgrims arriving from Ireland and England. The trouble was it was only 75 kms and if I hadn’t already walked 25 in my home country (even though…
The Irish Spy and the Reconnaissance Mission
So anyway after three days the Irish spy arrived in Burgos to undertake her reconnaissance mission for future caminos. She also planned to soak up some sun as it had apparently already left Ireland for the year. Of course with daily weather changes in burgos at this time of year her visit for some sunshine…
Resting in Burgos
So what have I been doing since Nájera? Well you may recall that I headed to Burgos for a few days rest and recuperation before the Irish Spy’s planned arrival. During this time I managed to take a tour on the Disney train seeing some important sites that I may have missed on foot. I…
Day 17 Exit stage right! Salir a la derecha!
It was dark and warm outside this morning. It had been warm all night. Our room had the two windows but with no breeze it was better to get some circulation from the dormitory. In the morning a French lady said it was a nice sleep because she felt lovely and cool and it didn’t…
Day 16 In memory of dumpster diving
I delayed going to the salon until 5.45 this morning. I had had a difficult nights sleep and was awake much earlier than this. I kept imagining Chinchas! Thank heavens I was just imagining! Our sheet washing and Mavis’s vacuuming had taken care of that! (Or had it – how old was the bag, did…