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Camino Francés 2022
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  • Laura's Adventures

Camino Francés 2022

A 41-day adventure by Laura's Adventures Read more
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  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    Are we there yet?

    August 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    At about 32k (per my watch) I came to this beautiful bridge and a nice village with quality buildings, clean, well looked after. I thought I was in Melide and, for once, the watch agreed with the guides.
    But no. I was in Furelos. Still 2k to go.
    At the end of the bridge there was a nice cafe with vegan food, and I couldn't resist. I had falafels (yum!). The beetroot hummus and crackers were complimentary. A treat!    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    Melide

    August 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    The city is quite big, busy and noisy with traffic, markets and a temporary amusement park.
    It's not a particularly nice city, like Burgos or León. It's famous for the traditional pulpo (octopus), cooked the Galician way. We had to go to a pulpería.Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    Pulpo

    August 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Monika, who wanted to do a shorter walk today, ended up in Melide as well. Nelly was here too. On the way we saw Susan, a South African lady I met a few times before.  We're all staying at different albergues (except Jan and I) but we arranged to have dinner together.
    This time, Nelly sat next to me and I helped with translations when she couldn't follow.
    Susan brought another friend.
    We went to a pulpería,  to try the local specialty.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    Children's Day

    August 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    The amusement park installations are temporary, part of the Children's Day celebrations.
    On the way back from dinner I challenged Jan at air hockey. We played 2 games and won one each 😄

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    1 month of Camino

    August 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Today is the 'monthversary' of my start at Saint Jean Pied de Port, and I only have one more day of walking to get to Santiago.
    Everything went so well! I remember in the beginning, I had so many doubts about how things would go:
    How will my feet handle it?
    How will my legs handle it?
    How will I feel carrying that backpack for so long?
    How will my hands handle hand-washing the laundry every day?
    Do I have everything I need?
    Will I meet any nice people, or will I be too lonely or bored?
    Will I get sick of so much walking?
    What if I get covid?
    What if I get any other illness or injury?

    Because of all these questions, I couldn't be sure that I could complete the Camino in one go. And even if everything went well, I couldn't calculate how long it would take me.

    I read that, on average, most people do it in 35 days. I allowed up to 42, in case I needed or wanted to take days off, or in case I needed to do shorter days. But assuming I arrive tomorrow, it will be 33 days for me.

    This means I have up to 9 spare days. I also don't want this to end just yet. I have a plan 😉

    Today's walk was about 25k, a good part of it under the shade of trees.

    I walked most of the day with Jan, and we met other people on the way.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    People

    August 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Today I met Joe (Ireland) and Isabel (Germany). They met for the first time last year, doing the Camino del Norte. This time they came to do the Camino Primitivo together. The Primitivo and the Francés joined at Melide, where we were yesterday.
    We kept passing each other today, and finally walked a few kms together and shared a table at a cafe.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    More people

    August 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    The two girls in the photo with me, Elena and Yolanda, plus 2 others who were travelling alone, got together in the garden of a bar on the Camino.
    When they saw other pilgrims passing, they asked them to join for a drink.
    The group got bigger and bigger, there was singing and dancing, and everyone had a bit of fun.
    The group was already quite large when Jan and I arrived.
    Most were young Spaniards who started the walk in Sarria. This shows the different mindset of the 4-day walkers as opposed to most people who do a longer pilgrimage. One group is there to have fun, the other is searching for inner peace. This is obviously a gross generalisation, but you get the idea.
    The demographic of the Camino undoubtedly changed after Sarria, and albergues in many villages were full.
    For this reason, in the last 110k of the walk we had to book ahead. For the same reason, we completed this section a day earlier than originally expected- to avoid the hassle of ringing around to find a bed for an extra day.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    The plan

    August 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    So, what to do with 9 spare days?
    There's an obvious answer: continue walking to Finisterre and Muxía. These are official pilgrimage routes as well. If I keep walking at the current rate, I can even walk back to Santiago and complete 1,000 kms.
    That's my next challenge! 😀    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    Last stretch

    August 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    On the last day, I was 28k from Santiago, so it would be a full day's walk before I got there.
    Klaus was spending the night of the 23rd 6k closer, and Jan was coordinating the time so we could meet him again. But I was ready to start walking quite early, with head torch at hand, and off I went.
    This time, it was me lighting the way for another pilgrim, a young guy from Honduras living in Barcelona, Kervin.
    After about 6k we saw Klaus, who was sitting outside his albergue waiting for Jan.
    We went on, and had breakfast after 2 more kms.
    Eventually they caught up with us, but when they stopped for cerveza I overtook them, and didn't see them again until Santiago.
    After breakfast, my right ankle made me slow down at times, so I said to Kervin not to worry about me, and we each walked at our own pace.
    The higher pilgrim density was very noticeable in this part of the Camino.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    Certificate of distance

    August 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    This is another piece of paper that I bought as a souvenir. It is a record of the distance walked, based on stamps collected each day at different locations on the Camino.
    But they only consider the starting point and any obvious gaps (to deduct the corresponding distance).
    In my case, they recorded 779k which is the official length of the standard walk. It doesn't consider the variants I took, which make my walk longer.
    I also asked if I could get the full distance recorded if I still walked to Finisterre and back (it would be about 1,,000k) but they said no - they consider Santiago the end. If I go to Santiago again it would be a separate journey and I could get a separate certificate, but not one to cover everything 🤷🏻‍♀️

    It's all on Strava anyway 😅    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    La Compostela

    August 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    The arrival was kind of an anticlimax for me. After breakfast, I walked faster than usual (my ankle was making me slow down occasionally, not all the time), and non-stop for 20k.
    The reason was, I wanted to give myself a chance to see the botafumeiro in action. I knew it was a long shot, I didn't expect to see it, but why not give myself a slight chance?
    I knew there was a pilgrims mass at 12.00, and sometimes they swing the botafumeiro right after.
    I didn't have time to be there at the start of the mass, but I could get there before the end.
    I got to the Cathedral around 12.30, which would have been perfect in an ideal world.
    The Cathedral is huge. I spoke to a security guard at the door who explained: "you can enter the Cathedral for mass from the other door around the building, to the right. But they won't let you in with your backpack, you have to leave it somewhere, like the post office, 300m to the left."
    So I walked towards the post office, which was only metres from the pilgrims office.
    The pilgrims office issues the Compostelas (a doc to acknowledge that one has completed the pilgrimage) and I read previously that it is a place where pilgrims can relax, feel welcomed, get info, etc. and it was definitely a place I intended to visit.
    I asked the guard at the door if I could leave my backpack there, he said yes, but there was a queue to get in.
    The guards were asking everyone for a registration code to get in. The queue was slow because people were registering on their phones while queuing. I had done an online registration a day earlier, on advice I received from a tourist info office, however the purpose of the registration and how to use it wasn't clear at all.
    I was able to get ahead of other people when I showed my barcode, but the people at the door could have been more helpful in how they managed the crowd. The rego website also could have been more helpful.
    Once I got in, I was given a number and there was another double queue to wait for the number to be called. I quickly realised that it was the queue to get the Compostela. I meant to do that later, but since I found myself in the middle of that process and the queue was moving reasonably fast, I decided to stay and give up on the botafumeiro idea (of which there was no guarantee whatsoever, and for which I was likely to be late anyway, if it was used).
    Inside, two volunteers directed the people to one queue or the other, in what seemed to be an arbitrary fashion that I found quite rude. We were all pilgrims carrying heavy backpacks and it would have been so much better if we could wait for our number standing on one spot, rather than lugging our pack around.
    Anyway. I got my Compostela, found out where to store my backpack, and I did that.
    Now I was much lighter, and could do the standard visit to the Cathedral, and walk around the city for a bit. But first, I had to eat! I was starving, having had only an orange juice and a croissant so far in the day.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    The Cathedral

    August 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    After getting the Compostela and leaving the backpack in a locker, I did the obligatory visit to the Cathedral. I saw the box that supposedly holds the remains of Saint James, admired the architecture and the ornaments and saw the famous botafumeiro, hanging still.Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    The botafumeiro

    August 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    The swinging botafumeiro is one of the major attractions here. But it is very difficult to know when it's on.
    There's a lot of hearsay with inconsistent info, such as:
    They swing it all the time in summer
    They swing it every day, but you never know at what time (after a mass, but no one knows which one)
    They swing it every Sunday
    They swing it every Friday

    They never announce when it will be on, you have to be lucky. The official website of the Cathedral lists a few special dates of the year when it is used, and says that anyone can request it for any other day (for 450€).

    On our day of arrival I made some enquiries and finally got a hot tip, from a source I can't reveal, that they would use it at a special service on 25/8 at 5pm. The info was given to Jan and I, because we came across as nice people I guess, but we were summoned to secrecy!

    Jan and I were planning to start walking to Finisterre on 25/8, but given this info, we decided to spend an extra day in Santiago.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    Last photo with Jinjoo and Klaus

    August 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Uploading late - this pic was from Wednesday evening. We had an early dinner because Jinjoo was leaving that night.
    Today (Friday) she messaged from Rome. She's spending a week there before returning to Korea. I have a feeling we'll keep in touch.

    I saw Klaus again on Thursday but I don't think we took more photos.

    Jan is also walking to Finisterre, so I will see him for a few more days.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    The full experience

    August 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    When I started researching the Camino, it didn't take long until I learnt about the dreaded bed bugs.
    They are a feature.
    For a few days I was kind of paranoid about them, and thought I'd be thoroughly checking every bed, possibly spraying bed and sleeping gear, not letting anything touch the bed, not letting the backpack touch the floor, etc.
    Early in the Camino I realised that those precautions were very impractical. Albergues are generally very clean, most provide disposable sheets and pillowcase, and I got to Santiago without a single bite.

    But today, having spent my first night in Santiago, my fingers were itchy. Then my forearm. Then my other arm... yes, I got the full Camino experience, bed bugs and all! 🤣

    It's gross ,I know, but honestly they feel no worse than mosquito bites and don't cause any disease. They're just a nuisance. I'm not worried, and I think that the chance that I'm carrying any of the bugs in my clothes, etc. are very slim. I checked my sleeping bag liner and didn't find anything.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    It paid off!

    August 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Logistics got in the way, but everything worked out in the end.

    Last night we were at Albergue La Estación. When we decided to stay for a second night, we asked, but they were booked out (good that we don't stay there again, that's where I got the bed bugs!).
    We were able to reserve at Seminario Menor for today (it was full yesterday).
    So, when we checked out from La Estación this morning, we carried our backpacks to the city and stored them at the pilgrims office, because we couldn't enter the other albergue until 1.30pm.
    We met Monika for lunch at 2pm, and then Klaus joined us. Time flew. I wanted to check into the other albergue before going to the Cathedral. We were advised to start queuing from 4pm. We had a leisurely morning but, suddenly, time was tight.
    We left the restaurant around 3.30. Picked up the backpacks, rushed to Seminario Menor, checked in, and rushed back to the Cathedral. We got there around 4.30 and there was a long queue.
    Jan was very disappointed, almost certain that we missed our chance, and we wouldn't be able to get in in time. One of his goals for the Camino was to be able to stay calm in adverse circumstances, and this was a hard test! The queue was advancing, but so was the clock. I thought we still had a chance, and would not give up. In the back of my mind, I also thought that the info we had could have been incorrect, and perhaps the botafumeiro wouldn't swing. That was one of my lessons: no expectations.
    Anyway, we finally got in towards the end of a mass in French. Then there were a few formal proceedings, some chanting, etc. and it was well after 6 when the bishop said something about incense... and the music started playing, and the show started!
    It was about 4 minutes, and the icing on the cake on a very successful Camino!    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    Albergue Seminario Menor

    August 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    My second night in Santiago was here, a very well repurposed old building, super comfortable and spacious.
    It's 1.6k to the Cathedral, but compared to my current daily walking, it's nothing 🤣

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    New beginning

    August 26, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Today I started the walk to Finisterre with Jan. I reserved an albergue about 30k from Santiago. He didn't book anything - he wanted to go a bit further but didn't want to commit.
    We walked part of the day together and part separately.
    We met Nelly on the way. She's taking buses here and there, not walking all the way. She wasn't feeling very well lately, despite arriving in Santiago with a bunch of French people. She almost flew home, but now wants to walk more and hopefully she will feel better.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    The way to Finisterre

    August 26, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    There are roughly 90k between Santiago and Finisterre. It's typically done in 3 or 4 days.
    Jan was very much set on doing it in 3 days, and the idea of ~30k per day suited me. His idea was different, he wanted to do 35-30-25.
    I had already booked a bed at Albergue Rectoral San Mamede da Pena. We left Santiago together, then he wanted to speed up, so I let him go and we would meet again for breakfast, at the first cafe on the way.
    After breakfast, we walked together again until the biggest town we would pass through this day, Negreira. That's where we saw Nelly, but she was with another pilgrim in a cafe we didn't like, so we only spoke for 5 minutes and walked on, towards the river, in thehope we'd find somewhere to eat there. It was lunchtime. This town was also the last chance for some supermarket shopping for a couple of days. We found a supermarket before we found a nice cafe, and I proposed to buy a picnic lunch there, apart from the other supplies we needed.
    As it turned out, the river did not have an open area for a picnic, but a park nearby was good enough. It had benches in the shade, and a water fountain.
    After lunch, Jan wanted to go faster again, as he was planning to go farther than me. It was hot and we just wanted to get to our albergues.
    He was walking faster, but also stopping more, so I kept catching up, and at some point I passed him.
    I got to my albergue, settled in, and a bit later he was at the reception asking for a bed 😂
    I had a feeling he might end up doing that, as it was getting a bit late in the afternoon and too hot to go on for another hour. It was definitely the best decision he could make because the albergue was great, and the dinner (set menu) was excellent value, delicious and very abundant.
    At the dinner table we met most of the other guests - all new people for us.
    The interesting thing about this extension to Finisterre is that now we were mixing with people who got to Santiago via different routes, and we could learn about them.
    The pic shows a sample of what the landscape was like. Some of the walk was along the road, but a good part was in trails with good tree cover.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    New friends

    August 27, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    All the new people we met last night were very nice. They were from Germany, Italy, US, Portugal, Austria (?) and Spain.
    Today we're on the second leg to Finisterre and I walked all day with Pablo, a dentist from Bilbao (Spain).
    We saw some of the other people from last night when we stopped for breakfast and lunch.
    A few of us are staying at the albergue Logoso tonight. Another nice place with good food and great value.
    I started walking just after 7am and got to the albergue later than I wished, as afternoons are getting very hot again.
    I intend to start earlier tomorrow, we'll see!
    My plan is to get to Finisterre tomorrow and to Muxía the day after. Pablo planned to do it in reverse: he goes to Muxía first. The route makes a fork, one arm going to each of these destinations, and there's another route between them, forming a triangle.
    If I leave as early as I want, I won't see Pablo tomorrow, but we will meet at some point the day after, as we will walk in opposite direction.    Read more

  • Laura's AdventuresCamino Francés 2022Traveler

    Russell

    August 27, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Dinner at the O Logoso albergue & restaurant was very good value., and the music added a good atmosphere.
    The guy playing guitar is Russell. He's from England, and the author of many written messages pilgrims could see on the way to Santiago.
    I saw the messages but didn't stop to read (a bit long to read just at a glance), 1) because on my last 20k to Santiago I was keeping a good rhythm and didn't want to stop, and 2) because at a quick glance I saw words that sounded negative, and since I didn't know who wrote and why, I chose to ignore.

    On my walk to A Pena yesterday, one of the times I caught up with Jan, he was sitting on the side of the track chatting with Russell. I'm sure the thing that started the conversation was the guitar. I stopped for 2 minutes and had a few words, but didn't want to sit down as I wanted to get to the albergue and rest there. In those 2 minutes I heard that Russell has been on the Camino for 3 years, sleeping in a hammock. He thought he would not be able to go back to 'normal life'. I said, life could be anything he wanted, and if living like that worked for him, that was ok. But he said he wasn't sure he could sustain that either and didn't know what to do.
    At the time I wished I could stay and learn more, but it was getting late for me and I kept going.

    I was surprised to see him again at O Logoso. I heard a bit more of his story: he turned 58 just 2 days ago and sounded heartbroken and possibly depressed. He said he had a girlfriend and he had to end the relationship last year because she was very jealous and he couldn't deal with that, but he still loves her. That gives background to one of the written messages, which Pablo saw and remembered: "there are many dangerous drugs in the world, and the worst one is love".

    I liked Russell's style with the guitar. He played songs I like a lot, but only fragments. He didn't play a single song whole. He also repeated himself a lot when talking. It's obvious to me that he has mental health issues. Despite the depressing undertones, he's kind to the people he meets. I hope he finds what he needs.    Read more

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