• Boris Sønderskov

Camino 2024

My Camino blog - Camino Frances April - May 2024 Meer informatie
  • Day 22 Fonfria - Sarria

    18–19 mei 2024, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    26.7 km (654.3 km from the start). 32.000 steps. 1620 calories. 6 km/h

    Huge hostel last night - my room had 50 beds - and room next door had 30 beds. Finally Danish pilgrims in there but not someone I wanted to talk to. Couple where wife was bitching over everything, 3 younger guys talking about amount of beer they had during Camino and older chap who absolutely wanted to educate people around how important it was to be fit as him. God dammit, he was doing pushups in the middle of hostel 😂😂

    Rainy day today, from start to finish. Doesn’t bother me at all - as long my gear is working. And it is working - I made to Sarria dry - and sweaty 😅

    If stage yesterday was going up - today stage was going down. 1428m going down and 591m going up. If this was beginning of Camino - my knees would be destroyed. Now - nothing special - I am in pretty good shape and I could keep doing this for a long time.

    Sarria is a place where Spanish people start their Camino - quite curious about amount of people on the path - we’ll see tomorrow
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  • Day 23 Sarria - Gonzar

    19–20 mei 2024, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    29.2 km (683.5 km from the start) 1957 calories. 37.000 steps. 5.7 km/h

    Sarria is a town where Spanish pilgrims start on Camino. Suddenly more people on the path but many tings are different.

    Last night hostel was nice. No dinner, no breakfast but staying in the middle of the larger city - I was up to the pizza (again). And one more time I can conclude - I am not going to have that bloody pizza on Camino. All 3 pizzerias I tried were closed - and not opening later that evening. Huge disappointment.

    Ended up buying tapas for a lot of money in local supermarket (whole 10€ 😀) - and used leftovers for breakfast. Nice - but still no pizza for this pilgrim.

    From Sarria path is suddenly in much better shape. People have nice outfits, some even smell of perfume 😂. No big backpacks - Spanish pilgrim have enter the scene 😂

    Walked first 20 km sharing path with hundreds of people but after 20km everyone was suddenly gone. Well - those pilgrims are taking only 20 km/day, transporting their backpacks with taxi service and sleeping in luxury hotels.

    Another rainy day in Galicia. Couple days ago it was snowing 🌨️, yesterday temperature was 3° and this morning 7°. No global warming (yet) in this part of the world 🌎
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  • Day 24 Gonzar - Melide

    20–21 mei 2024, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    31.5 km (715 km from the start). 5h 56min on the Road. 39.000 steps. 2095 calories. 5.9 km/h

    Last night hostel was great. Didn’t expect that as village is 39 inhabitants big 😂 Great room, huge pilgrim menu and best of everything - breakfast with eggs and bacon. Waited until 07:30am to get that breakfast and it was absolutely worth it.

    Long stage today - considering I have been walking for 24 days now. 618m ascent and 707 descent - quite challenging when I am walking so much.

    So many people on the trail - no backpacks, no dirty clothes. Spain has entered the Camino and this, what they are doing, is no challenge at all. It is walk in the park but if this is going to grant them shortcut to heaven 😂😂 - fine with me.

    Staying in Melide - big city considering where I have been staying until now. Is it pizza day today? I am not talking about microwave heated supermarket pizza - I want a real deal 😂

    Only 55 km to go - and only 2 days left. I am ready to get back to civilization - first acclimatizing in Porto - then returning to “civilian” life in Copenhagen 🥰
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  • Day 25 Melide - Salceda

    21–22 mei 2024, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    25.2 km (740.2 km from the start). 31.000 steps. 5h 5min on the road. 1658 calories. 5.7 km/h

    Melide provided what I have been craving for in 20 days - deep pan pepperoni pizza 😂 It was greasy, fat and disgusting - and I loved it 😇

    So many people on the Camino. Very few with big backpacks, mostly with small bags and no equipment. It was raining again today and many Spanish pilgrims were wet and their pretty new sneakers were suddenly dirty and wet 😂 Welcome to Camino without global warming

    Unfortunately - sad news on Camino. Missing pilgrim from France, age 45, has been found dead on descent from Pyrenees. Experience hiker was missing since Sunday but found this morning. Just a reminder that Camino is not a joke and, especially in Pyrenees it can be a very challenging task.

    Staying at Salceda - small 27 km from my finish line. While I am enjoying my well deserved beer - some Spanish pilgrims decided to have a party. It is going to be a fun afternoon - after they remember that they still are missing some 11 km before their stop for today 😂😂
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  • Day 26 Salceda - Santiago

    22–23 mei 2024, Spanje ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    27.1 km (667.3 km from the start). 34.000 steps. 1708 calories. 5h 10min on the road. 6.2 km/h

    Last night hostel was the most expensive on my Camino trip - and what a shithole 😂 Old, very thin walls, you could hear kitchen, air conditioning, bathrooms in other rooms - and people talking 😱 Food was delicious and that was important.

    So many pilgrims on the road. I walked very fast today - wanted to make it done. I am so ready to get back to civilization. I loved Caminos first 22 days - and I didn’t like last 4 days.

    Spanish pilgrims are not taking this task so seriously. They are slow, usually taking all the space and not considering other people are walking there too. Every non-Spanish pilgrim I talked to was more than irritated by our Spanish co-pilgrims.

    Arrived at Santiago just around noon. While everyone rushed to noon mass - I looked after Camino pilgrim office. Waiting time was 35 seconds 😂 - and expected waiting time later today will be 5-6 hours.

    Got my Compostela - a proof I have walked from Saint Jean Pied de Port - 779 km. My Garmin calculated little bit less - but those are small details.

    I am tired, satisfied and little proud. Walking Camino in 26 days was ambitious but I did it.

    Tomorrow is off day and bus trip to Porto. That will be my final note in my blog - and my retrospective to my Camino experience.
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  • Day after Camino: Santiago - Porto

    23 mei 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    It’s day after Camino. Santiago is busy, noisy and full of people 😂

    I woke up to free morning - my bus to Porto was not before 11:30am so plenty of time. Not something I tried last month.

    If Santiago was noisy - Porto is concrete/asphalt jungle. I prefer Copenhagen - or even better - Camino.

    Camino retrospective - have not found the god (haven’t really looked after him/her). Was never in doubt what I have at home - the whole Camino story was about challenge and some time on my own. And Camino delivered.

    It was hard, beautiful, wet, cold, challenging, rewarding and sometimes lonely. Exactly what I came for.

    26 days was very optimistic but I didn’t have any major issues with it. I was walking way too fast - especially over Pyrenees. That costed pain in my knees for 5-6 days. Rest of the Camino was easy - and relaxing.

    Would I do it again? Probably not - Been there, done that got the t-shirt 😂 - time to find another challenge.

    Waiting for my wife in Porto - washing all my clothes as I don’t think all my clothes smells of roses. Looking so much forward seeing her soon ❤️❤️ I did miss that girl 🥰
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    Het einde van de reis
    23 mei 2024