Camino Del Norte 2022

July - September 2022
First time walking the Camino del Norte Read more
  • 57footprints
  • 1countries
  • 62days
  • 798photos
  • 49videos
  • 954kilometers
  • Day 57

    Baamonde to Miraz

    September 13, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    We sleep in this morning, this will be our last sleep in on this Camino, we have under 20 km so we aren't in a rush. We get ready and head off, we have the choice of two different routes to get to Miraz today and we choose the complementary, we is a little longer but on more dirt paths. It is a beautiful walkRead more

  • Day 57

    Vilalba to Baamonde

    September 13, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Another early morning, alarm goes off at 6:00 am, I call out to Lisa “you can have the bathroom first up this morning” before throwing the covers over my head, rolling over and trying to pretend I don't have to get up. I had an afternoon nap yesterday, so tossing and turning was always going to be on the agenda last night. I wait till 6:30 am before getting out of bed, I get ready and we are on the trail by 7:30 am. It is raining and the sun hasn't risen yet, there is enough moonlight that we don't need a headlamp which is rather lucky, as we both sent ours on to Santiago (trying to cut our weight down). The trail today is beautiful, the rain continues for the next 30 minutes or so, there is a breeze and the walking conditions are absolutely perfect, we have a slight up hill at the start of our walk then the rest is pretty flat, we are able to kick it up a couple of gears and even overtake some pilgrims - this never happens, we don't understand what is going on! About 10 km in we come across a lovely little bar we stop for a coffee and baños break, we spend a good half hour here recharging our batteries, I meet a lovely lady from the USA as we are lined up to use the baños, her and her 2 companions have been walking the Camino del Norte since 2013 (they take 2 weeks every year, except through COVID) and walk the trail, they will make it to the end this year and will start the Camino Portugese next year. I love hearing pilgrims stories, it's so interesting and they are always different. We are off again and before we know it, it is 12:30 pm and we are walking into our destination for today ‘Baamonde’. There are so many pilgrims on the trail now and the vibe is pumping, we are nearing the last 100 km of our Camino and everyone is excited, also a lot of pilgrims may have just started, you need to walk the last 100 km in order to receive your compostela. We make it to our accommodation which is also a lovely bar, we get settled in for the arvo, order lunch and enjoy the vibe, oh and watching the rain fall, whilst sitting inside drinking vino!Read more

  • Day 56

    Vilalba

    September 12, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    I had an afternoon nanny nap after going to a bar for lunch - Lisa ordered more wine and the waiter wasn't taking NO for an answer when I said I didn't want another one, it didn't take much to twist my arm though, but I knew after having 3 I would be knocked out for the afternoon. Whilst I sleep acomatosed from all the wine, Lisa heads to the bar to write a post....I wake a couple of hours later to find a lovely note from Louie, I get ready and head down to meet her. we had both lots of French doors open when we went to bed, a lovely cool breeze blows in with a occasional rain, there is a Spanish lady singing, then the singing stops and 2 ladies start chatting until 2:00 am - I am still tossing and turning, then the lights outside go out, and instantly the chatter stops, all is quiet except for me still tossing and turning...eventually I drift off and it feel like the alarm has just waited for me to go to sleep before going off.Read more

  • Day 54

    Mondoñedo to Abadín

    September 10, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    It’s time to leave this lovely town, we have packed our packs, left the key to our apartment on the kitchen table and we are on our way. We follow a road leading up into the hills, starting on bitumen then turning in to dirt and finally just a walking path, it is a steep, hot climb and we are both feeling it, the shade of the trees is a god send and keeps us putting one foot in front of the other. About half way up this hill we come to a split in the road and we rest on a fallen tree with our packs off for a while, an older man arrives, we offer him a seat beside us, he is grateful to sit and rest while he waits for his wife. His wife isn’t far behind, we all chat for a while, and work out we are all going to be in the same town tonight, so we might catch up later. Ok, break over, it’s time to tackle the rest of this hill - it’s a long, hot winding path to the top. Woohoo we finally made it! We see a servo with a restaurant attached and decide to break here for lunch, there are no tables left inside, but we manage to score one outside. A waiter comes and takes our order, we order 2 red wines and 2 mineral waters. When our waiter returns with our drinks he sits the glasses of wine on our table and proceeds to pour the mineral waters into them! We are shocked, speechless and end up just bursting out in laughter! In all these weeks/months of ordering our drinks, this is the first time this has happened to us, and actually, it’s not too bad. We stay for about an hour, eating, drinking and chatting, then push on. We still have aways to go and the heat is severe. Thank goodness, we have finally reach our destination for today, it is still very hot and we can’t wait to check in, have a shower and grab a cold drink. We are staying at a fabulous albergue in a private room with its own bathroom but it has a shared kitchen and lounge area, it is super clean, modern and comfortable, our host is very welcoming and accommodating. After checking in & showering we head out to find a bar, there is one just down the road and we settle in there for a few drinks. The older couple we rested with on the path today spot us and ask if they can join us, of course we say in unison and we sit and chat for the next couple of hours, we book in here for dinner tonight. We meet another pilgrim he is an American called Ruddy, we get to chatting and he helps us out by ordering our meals as he is quite fluent in Spanish. We finish dinner and turn in early, it’s going to be another scorcher tomorrow, so we are getting on the road before the sun comes up.Read more

  • Day 52

    Ribadeo to Mondoñedo

    September 8, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We get to sleep in this morning and leisurely get ourselves ready, we were unable to book accommodation between here and Mondoñedo, which means we are catching a bus, it is scheduled to leave Ribadeo at 10:15 am. The day is overcast and drizzly, and we are not the only pilgrims on the bus, the common theme is a lack of accommodation - there just isn’t enough open this year for the number of people walking this stretch. So we board the bus, sit back and enjoy the views from the comfort of our seats. We make it into Mondoñedo by noon, and quite a few of us pilgrims disembark. The bus stop is on the edge of town, so it is a long uphill walk into the main area. It has a lovely feel to it and we have an apartment booked and will be staying here for 2 nights. Before we get to our apartment we decide to stop at a bar for some wine and tapas. We are the only pilgrims in this bar and it’s interesting listening to the banter and laughter among the locals. We then head to our accommodation, it is in a beautiful old stone building, on the second storey and it’s absolutely lovely. We unpack and head to the supermarket to stock up on supplies for some long-awaited home-cooked meals. Over the next 2 days, we explore this lovely town, including a visit to the cathedral, it is truly beautiful and I buy a Christmas bauble as a memento to hang on my tree. We also visit a hiking store, I need to buy a poncho and base layer (I sent both these items back home 🤦‍♀️), every time I have walked in Galicia it has been really cold and wet, so I am going to get these while I can. We enjoy plenty of home-cooked meals compliments of Louie and we savour these moments and also the flavours, knowing we will be eating out now until the end. This is our last rest day on this Camino, and our bodies have enjoyed the downtime, we leave here on the 10th of September feeling recharged and refreshed, ready for our next and last leg into Santiago de Compostela.Read more