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Primitivo

October - November 2023
A 31-day adventure by Nipawin Read more
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  • TravelerPrimitivo
    2
    Day 10

    Day 26 Lugo to Ferreira 556km

    October 18, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    I had a good sleep. We were in a room of 12 beds all used.

    Said "Goodbye" to many of my friends as they decided to go further today than I.
    Roberto from Italy, Peter from UK, and Pierre from Salzburg France.

    Beautiful walk today . The forecast was for rain but it only rained for a short while. The sun even came out 😎

    I loved hearing the ducks on the river as I walked along it. Also the birds....

    The scenery is changing and I am feeling sad that tomorrow will be my last day on the Primitivo. 😥 We join the Camino Francis in Melide.
    More people and paved roads.
    I am less than 100 km to Santiago.

    I met a threesome from Argentina (mother/daughter) and a friend. They started in Lugo. If you walk 100 km you are entitled to a certificate.
    So more pilgrims have joined our path because they started there. Sarria is another popular starting point for a certificate.

    Reached the Albergue. They only serve breakfast which is great because there isn't any supermercados ( grocery store)
    here.

    But there was a bar next door. I had the best freshly made Tortilla!!! There is enough for lunch tomorrow).

    Had a great chat with John from Taiwan He walked 26 km for his first day!! It is just pouring tonight and I asked about his rain gear....he has a coat but no pack cover. I gave him mine as I haven't used it all trip except at the airport. I can get another no problem

    Oh yes there was a Korean massage fellow who massaged my feet and calves tonight. He loves Disney and sang along to The Circle Of Life Song😅    Read more

  • TravelerPrimitivo
    2
    Day 11

    Day 27 Ferreira to Melide 578 km

    October 19, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    OK today was the worst weather I have walked so far this trip.
    It poured with rain and wind for 3 1/2 hours. There was nowhere to stop until 15km. I powered through it listening to Carrie Underwood. 💪 The saving grace was that it was relatively flat so I could pick up my pace to just over 13 min/ km.

    At one point I saw 3 pilgrims huddled in the middle of the road.....I thought there might be a problem but no....they were taking a smoke break😅

    Very muddy and water flowing everywhere! Reminded me of hiking on the West Coast Trail😂🤣 Except more road walking.
    Not many pictures because of the weather.

    When I did stop at the bar my gang was all there happy to see one another and complain about the weather. Some were actually hypothermic which was not good at all.
    I saw Claudia again she was freezing. I luckily had 2 layers of my merino wool long sleeved tops which really worked well👍

    After my break the rain stopped and the sun came out for a brief while.

    Coming into Melide you could see a lot of Pilgrims. You had to be super careful on the roads as the drivers DO NOT YIELD TO Pilgrims😱😡

    I met a lovely couple from Montana.
    AND John is here!! He made great time. So nice to check in with him again. He gave me the link to his hiking group in Taiwan on the Meet up site

    I am staying at the same Albergue that I stayed at last year. It is wonderful🤗

    Just chilling now. There is a Pilgrims service at 8 pm that I am going to try and go to.

    My wet boots created a few more blisters for me 😳

    Anja sent me a pic of a baby burro. I will include it😍

    So I have officially completed the Primitivo👏😂💪
    But I am sad😥 as it was really spectacular🥳    Read more

  • TravelerPrimitivo
    Day 12

    Day 28 Melide to Salcema 604 km

    October 20, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    I must apologize as I did complete the Primitivo however I am continuing to walk. I am not completely finished walking yet. I am now on the Camino Francis route to Santiago 27 km away but I am doing it in 2 days as I have had some rather hard days.

    Pouring with rain this morning so there are not many pictures.

    It did stop off and on and gradually improved towards the afternoon.

    I can't believe how many bars are on this section
    There are so many more pilgrims. The atmosphere is different. Some people don't even say "Hola" when you great them🤔

    The landscape is so flat now. I walked by an active logging site:
    Falling, removing branches, decking and loading. Unsure of the type of trees as it was dark.
    Very interesting.

    Beautiful scents from the eucalyptus trees.

    I saw my first pilgrim with a dog walking. It barked excessively at me..... The owner said it was a lovely rescue dog that sometimes does that to people🧐 It was part blue heeler so no surprise.

    I am staying at an Albergue that I stayed at last year. It is close to the restaurant with the excellent food. I met Stacey from Maine and Denise from the Hamburg area, and we went out for a fantastic dinner. Fresh scallops and the best salad with goat cheese I have had in Spain yet👏🥳 Delicious!!

    2 more sleeps until Santiago. It will be so fun as Denise, Stacey and I will see Mass together on Sunday. The botafumeira will be used.    Read more

  • TravelerPrimitivo
    2
    2
    Day 13

    Day 29 Salcema to Lavacolla 622

    October 21, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    I began my day with an amazing breakfast 😍 See pics. It was at the restaurant where we had dinner at last night.

    I could almost see my breath this morning🥺 I am so happy that I have my merino wool clothes and down vest. Some of my friends on the Del Norte sent all of their warm clothes home during the heat wave🤔

    Beautiful peaceful walk until a couple of kms from Lavacolla. Huge groups of cyclists with no bells. I am sure they are going to hit a Pilgrim 😱 They are terrifying.....no respect for walkers at all.

    I also saw a large group of Japanese people and a woman that looked like she was in her 80' s. WOW!!! More and more people appeared. It is very crowded at the Albergue tonight.

    I met a couple from New Brunswick that have done 7 Camino' s. The one they are completing now started in Lourdes. They talked a lot about that experience and said it was very beautiful. That is where I am considering to go after walking. I am also considering Fatima in Portugal.

    I loved the scent of the eucalyptus trees🥰

    I lost my second headlamp🙄

    Tomorrow Santiago😅👍👏🥳    Read more

  • TravelerPrimitivo
    44
    Day 14

    Day 30 Lavacolla to Santiago 632 km

    October 22, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Started my walk into Santiago in the dark using the flashlight on my phone because I lost my second headlamp🥺

    Clear night and the sky was lit with stars. All of the winter star sky😍. It was beautiful....

    I heard an owl either catch something or it was a screech owl? I am unsure....I also heard one hooting. It truly was magical.

    I did go off track..but discovered the error very quickly.

    Marched into Santiago and arrived at the Pilgrims office just when it was opening at 9.

    I was so happy to receive my Compostela 😅👏

    Then I had breakfast. Delicious.

    When I walked back down to the Cathedral at 10 there was an enormous line. I thought it was for the Noon Mass so I stood in line as well. When I got to the front I was told it was the wrong lineup and had to walk to the opposite side of the Cathedral. I was successful in getting in and a great seat

    It was a packed service. The highlight was the Botafumeira.
    Please watch the video on the wiki link....it is so cool.

    https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botafumeiro

    They obviously do not have smoke detectors in the Cathedral🤣 I wondered about people with asthma🤔 It was so smokey with the strong smell of Frankincense incense. What an experience😁

    Afterwards I met up with Stacey and Denise, Debra and Jennifer.
    I had what was called a warm salad. Spinach, mushrooms onions and carrots topped with buffalo milk mozzarella cheese!!
    Wowsers👍 It was so good🥰

    I then found my Albergue and figured out my next adventure.
    I am taking a rest day tomorrow then walking to the Coast Muxia and then Finisterre.

    I saw John at the Supermercados tonight. He did so well!! But he's very tired....like me. I am in a 4 bunk bed room. Hopefully I will sleep well tonight🤞🍀    Read more

  • TravelerPrimitivo
    11
    Day 14

    Day 31 Rest Day in Santiago

    October 22, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    I had a great sleep. It was awesome to just take my time getting up and going
    I had a delightful morning chatting with Marissa from New Jersey. She is an artist and I w pmas privileged to see her start a postcard picture first by drawing it and then using watercolour pencil crayons. Absolutely amazing!!!!

    I then went out and did some errands I sent 1.76 kg of my stuff home to lighten my pack😉👍

    I also had my first churro with a raspberry centre🥰🤗

    I toured the cathedral and saw the tomb of St James. "The Door Of Forgiveness" was open so I was able to go behind the sculpture of Jesus.....very cool!
    My friend went on the tour of the cathedral on the roof and was terrified. She did get some amazing pictures though. She has a best friend who lives in Spooke. They went to art school togeher.

    The sun came out today......that was a great event😎

    It is supposed to rain tomorrow Surprise Surprise!!!! I will head out hiking to Muxia which is on the coast. Stacey is there right now for a few days before she heads back to Maine on Wednesday.

    I think that is about all for now. I hope I will be able to take a few pictures tomorrow🍀🤞🙏😅    Read more

  • TravelerPrimitivo
    111111
    Day 16

    Day 32 Santiago to Negeria 654.5 km

    October 24, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Did not want to get out of bed this morning. I was very "Cosy, Cosy"🤗

    But I did and joined the guy from Belgium and the two Italian women who were up as well
    We left for Muxia around 7 am

    It was a very wet walk with much appreciated sunny breaks😎
    I absolutely love my new headlamp😍 The lowest setting on it is as bright as the highest setting on my other one for sure👍 Thank-you Marissa 💖

    I had a freshly made Tortilla for my breakfast 😍 I never get tired of them.

    I also met a fellow, Patrick, from Ireland that has done the Camino 18 times! His first Camino was 22 years ago. He has seen many changes over the years.

    Our Albergue tonight is perfect. Hot showers ..... 2 sixty gallon tanks. No messing around with that here 😅

    My boots are filled with newspaper hoping they dry somewhat overnight🤞🍀🙏

    There must be at least 20 people here tonight. I am quite surprised because the weather is so poor and it's almost the end of October!

    Not too many pics today....    Read more

  • TravelerPrimitivo
    1111
    Day 17

    Day 33 Negerie to A Maronas 679 km

    October 25, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    So.....I thought I had experienced my worst day of weather but I was wrong. I think this is Day 10 of rain.

    The morning started out great. Then it deteriorated into pouring continuously. I kept hoping it would improve......but it rained harder and the wind picked up nearly blowing my hat off!!

    I was thoroughly wet at 10 km. By 22 km my feet were swimming in water..... My poor feet😥 They have taken the brunt of all this rain. But here's to Merino Wool and keeping me toastie warm🥰💪

    Anyway, I can't believe how many other Pilgrims were out slogging away in this wading pool of water and mud.

    At one point I started laughing out loud at how I have paid to be here on this Camino. It is just like Nanaimo weather only it is much warmer 16 C....but still how funny is this😂🤣😂

    I saw a group of people on horseback doing the Camino. The picture was taken from my refuge in a bus shelter🥺 I ate my avocado ,/pavo (turkey) sandwich there.

    So.....it is going to be worse tomorrow. I am not a quitter however I am not going to put my poor body through the extra burden of dealing with the wet (my poor soggy sore feet!). It is not worth it,!! Besides I have walked almost 700 km

    Enter Plan B. I am taking the bus to Santiago tomorrow,and spending the night. I will then bus to Porto Portugal the next day September 27.

    I might as well see something new and exciting. It is raining everywhere although Barcelona and Valencia have sun I think.

    I hope you get the drift of how wet it can be.....socked in for sure🙄    Read more

  • TravelerPrimitivo
    Day 18

    Day 34 A Maronas to Santiago

    October 26, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    So in the Spanish culture, they like to close their windows and shutters at nigh.t very tightly. There is absolutely no way any fresh air can come into their casas.
    Well, last night my bed was right beside a window and I was able to leave it open🤠 .....until this little Spanish face appears asking me to close it. I said I could not breath without it open ( which is true because the room smelled 😳)
    Then Mark came over and said he was so happy I kept it open. But I did feel a wee bit bad....but I got over it😉

    Mark and I walked 800 meters to flag down the bus going to Santiago. It was just pouring!!!

    We asked the lady at the Bar where we were waiting about the bus and she told us that it wasn't coming anytime soon. "Plan B," was to call a taxi to the next town. She called 5 different drivers and they did not have any time to help us.
    Then all of a sudden the phone rang and we had a cab🤗

    He also drove us directly to Santiago Bus station. It was great sharing the cost it helped a lot.
    I bought my ticket to Porto for tomorrow and walked to my Albergue.

    The sun came out this afternoon which was very much appreciated😎

    I really did not see any photo opps today except the 2 I posted

    I miss my daily 5 hour walks already☹️

    It is presently 7:30 pm and Pilgrims are still arriving at this hostel It is jammed packed!!! I cannot remember it being this busy last year.🤔🧐    Read more

  • TravelerPrimitivo
    11
    Day 18

    Day 36 Santiago to Porto Portugal

    October 26, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    It was not raining when I walked to the bus depot 😁

    I had my morning cafe con leche and am now waiting for the bus to Porto.

    Very comfortable bus ride. Met a mother /daughter from Bavaria. They had just completed the Porto Camino.

    Got off at the bus depot and saw that my hostel was 2 . 5 km away. I started walking....and saw the train/ Metro station. I found an information booth and was able to ride the subway close to my hostel.

    I wanted to check-in but I didn't realize that Porto is an hour behind Espana so had to wait.

    I decided to eat and ordered a delicious fish dish called Pataniscis with tomato rice.

    I went back to the hostel " So Cool Hostel" only to find it was the wrong one😳 The one I was booked at was called " Cool Hostel". But it was easy to hop on the metro for another couple of stops.

    When I got off I was inundated with all of these people. It was a street that was a mall ( no cars) and it was very crowded.
    There was a street vendor selling castanats which are roasted chesnuts. They roast them on briquets. They tasted like potatoes to me🤔

    I found my hostel got settled then did laundry. The owner was doing laundry and filling Ikea bags....where is there an Ikea here?

    Went to bed early as I was very tired.    Read more

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