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El Camino de SantiagoEl Camino de Santiago
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El Camino de Santiago

March - April 2024
Pilgramage of 128 kilometers. Sister bonding on a bucket list trip of a lifetime. Mindfulness and spiritual renewal. Transitions in life. The Portuguese Way, Baiona to Santiago de Compostela. Read more
  • 61footprints
  • 3countries
  • 18days
  • 529photos
  • 64videos
  • 9.8kmiles
  • 9.1kmiles
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  • TravelerEl Camino de Santiago
    11
    Day 5

    Cantina San Miguel

    March 26 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    Lunch of tuna empanada, anchovy olives, frittata, and hot ginger tea. We are so cold, wet, and my feet ache. The rain somehow makes it more thrilling, but I'm starting to feel a bit delirious.

    What we've seen... calla lillies in the wild, surfers, avocado tree, lemon trees, orange trees and blossoms, wisteria, jasmine blossoming, sheep, little dogs in raincoats, purple sand.

    The coastal route takes us on the beach at turns down steep rocks, through the sand, and then back up to the street.

    We have another 10 km to go.    Read more

  • TravelerEl Camino de Santiago
    1
    Day 5

    Enchanted Eucalyptus Forest

    March 26 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    We thought we were walking 26.9 km today but it seems like it's going to be more than that

    I have my phone in airplane mode most of the time to avoid data roaming charges, so I'm oblivious to where I am and where I'm going. Which is okay.

    The group separated today into 3 groups, not on purpose; it just happened. I ended up in the last group probably because i was taking so many pictures. Comparing stories later, it's crazy how our routes and experiences differed.

    We ended up on a forest trail surrounded by eucalyptus trees. The moment we stepped in the fragrance embraced and surrounded us. The bark of these trees were peeling down to reveal the most beautiful colors in the bark.

    We came across a waterfall as well. The whole experience was magical and revived me to keep walking.

    As I was walking and trying to do the math about how many kilometers had been walked and how many were left, it just wasn't adding up for me. I felt something was definitely off, but regardless, as long as we were headed in the right direction, that was all that mattered.

    As we exited the enchanted forest, we were tested with a hard decision. Which way do we go? The signs pointed in multiple directions. I don't have service here, so I let them figure it out. This is so not like me as I'm usually the one reading the maps and sorting the directions.

    Anyway, who knows what happened. But we are so grateful for the spaces we experienced even if they weren't the most direct way.    Read more

  • TravelerEl Camino de Santiago
    Day 5

    NH Collection Hotel, Vigo

    March 26 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    Well, we ended up walking over 30 kilometers today. Not really sure how far exactly. But I can say without a doubt, that I have never walked more in one day in my life.

    The last half of the walk, Lisa, Dani and I were together. Several times we asked each other, "Do you still want to walk or do you want to get a cab?" Of course, we wanted to walk.

    We kept walking, even the third time the question was posed, we kept walking. At one point, we made a decision to exit the Camino trail and use Google maps to get to the hotel...

    We still had another 10 km to go, even though it felt like we had already walked 20 or 22... because we had.

    We walked along a creek bed and then through downtown Vigo, which seemed to go on forever. Both Lisa and Dani were checking their maps for directions.

    I'm not sure how, but it seemed like Google had us on a wild goose chase circling around the city but never quite finding the hotel. I kept hearing multiple times, "It's just 2 more kilometers."

    We turn a corner, and Lisa exclains, "This is the street that our hotel is on, I think".... yeah, nah.

    It was a steep hill street lined with orange trees on both sides. The oranges from last season remained, and the orange blossoms were fragrant. Orange blosson is my absolute favorite scent. I grew up with this scent as orange groves were prolific around my hometown. They had just pruned the trees, and large limbs full of green leaves, large oranges, and orange blossoms lay on the ground as we passed. I picked an orange blossom to smell and attempted to collect oranges, but I could tell by the way they felt they were spoiled.

    Well, by the time we were turned around again and it was still 2 km away, Lisa posed the question again, "Do you want to take a cab or keep walking?" Well, I had no guarantee that Google maps would not have us walking all night long, so I voted for taxi. We had to walk another half kilometer at least to get a taxi. The taxi driver was so nice. He said, "Don't worry, you're safe with me. I've got you." After a 10 minute taxi ride, including getting on the interstate, we arrived and somehow drug ourselves out of the car and into the hotel. Whole bodies aching, legs like noodles, and feet painful yet numb at the same time, leaving us wondering what we would find when we removed our boots... all is well. We arrived.

    Today was the big day. Tomorrow, the weather is just as bad and even more windy. But we only have 13 km to hike tomorrow.

    The question is... is it really only 13 kilometers??? Dani says that kilometers are longer in Spain than they are in Australia. We are roommates tonight.    Read more

  • TravelerEl Camino de Santiago
    Day 6

    Don Vinarius

    March 27 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 52 °F

    The walk today was gorgeous. It rained off and on. The wind picked up here and there. The sun never came out. The views were stunning, however.

    I felt like I was in a setting of an 16th to 18th century movie, where a queen is running for her life or perhaps going to meet her future husband and is being transported by horse and carriage through the forest. It looked just like that... bright green moss and algae growing on the trees and stone walls and ferns everywhere.

    I walked alone today for a couple of hours. I didn't intend to, but when I'm walking in the front with a hat and poncho over my head, hearing is difficult, and I didn't realize that there was no longer someone behind me. I turned around, and no one was there.

    Spring is beautiful here. Everything is blooming. With the rain, the waterfalls are flowing rapidly. The gardens are being tilled for planting. There are these little structures built up off the ground with air slats on the sides and often crosses on top of them. I believe they are for drying and storing grains, called horreos.

    My thoughts are random when I'm walking, and I observe my thoughts like passing clouds as they float in and out. I tried to meditate while walking, but that didn't work very well.

    I don't have any singular focus in my thoughts or issues that I'm processing. I'm just here. Perhaps escaping, letting go, letting down. Not being in control or knowing where I am, where I'm going, how far I've gone, or how far I have left to walk is a process of letting go for me.

    We stopped for lunch at Don Vinarius. I had a salad with lettuce, tomato, onion, carrot, sweet corn, and tuna. Wine is 2.50 Euro per glass. The cost of living and real estate is lower here it seems.    Read more

  • TravelerEl Camino de Santiago
    Day 6

    My Daddy's Stride

    March 27 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F

    These are some of the things that i think about when walking...

    Dani and Donna both had 45k steps yesterday, but I had just over 40k. Yet we walked the same distance.

    So today, Donna and I counted our steps in the same period of time at the same speed of walking. I had 3 percent fewer steps than she did.

    That math still doesn't add up... so I ponder this. How do these apps figure our steps and distance? When I look it up, it says that accelerometers can be off by 2%. I figure, besides having long strides, I must walk softly and not move my body much when I'm walking.

    So my thoughts trail off... What happens to my body if I carry myself in a different alignment? What happens if I swing my hips more when I walk? Ah, that makes my back feel better. What if I run out of storage on my phone and can't take more pictures? Are there any snakes in Spain? ... it goes on and on. I find myself observing my thoughts from the outside.

    Today, I walked 6.2 miles, 10 km.

    I'm picking up some Spanish, reading signs and menus. I learned a new phrase today. "de puta madres"... our taxi driver kept saying it over and over. It's foul language for sure, but used in a certain context, it becomes a way of expressing that something is f'n awesome. Spaniards cuss a lot, I hear, in contrast to Latinos.

    I left my really nice double outlet converter at the first hotel. Today, I picked up another. Got here to the hotel, and discovered that it's for a Spanish native traveling abroad and does me no good.

    Dinner was nice. I had hake and vegetables. I'm hoping to get a good night's sleep tonight. I haven't been sleeping well. Took a benadryl tonight.

    As Chivas    Read more

  • TravelerEl Camino de Santiago
    Day 7

    Adaptacion- Casa Fermín

    March 28 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 50 °F

    Day 3 of hiking, and I feel like my body is adapting. My body is accepting, surrendering to the rigor I've placed on it. The Advil helped, too.

    It rained all day, never stopped. My feet got wet for the first time. I didn't realize it, though, until I took my boots off at the end of the day.

    I'm really layered up in the morning, but then I get so hot after walking, and I have to take everything off to remove a layer. Here's the layers 1) underclothes 2) long sleeve shirt and leggings 3) sweatshirt and water resistant pants 4) coat and another set of water resistant pants 5) Fanny pack and backpack 6) Poncho. These plastic bits are very hot and don't let moisture out.

    To take off my coat and sweatshirt, I have to remove the Poncho and take off the backpack... in the rain. Remove the article, stick it in my backpack, and then put everything back on.

    I was walking solo when I arrived at a little chapel. It was small and packed with about 15 people. About half were a group of men from (not sure, they didn't speak English). I saw Caroline and Kelly at the front, so I joined them. I said something about singing Ave Maria, and then one of the men walked up to me with an orange and said, "Ave Maria."

    I walked up to the podium with my orange and began singing/ humming Ave Maria, but I couldn't remember all the words. They weren't really listening. They brought me a pocket knife to cut my orange. While standing at the front of the chapel at the podium, I peeled my orange and began singing The Alpine Shepherdess in Italian. I was breathless from the walk, and it was so cold that with each exhale, I could see my breath. My hands and the podium had orange juice all over them, and I had 15 pilgrims staring at me. It was a truly horrific rendition of the aria, but everyone was impressed and cheered as I finished.

    There was a little bar around the corner, and we heard that the rest of our group was there, so we joined them for coffee, beer, and whiskey... the latter for me.

    We came to an intersection, and there were camino arrows pointing in two different directions. The locals have always been so helpful and friendly.

    We watched a whole octopus being cooked on the street at the restaurant. Video attached.    Read more

  • TravelerEl Camino de Santiago
    Day 7

    La Estafeta, Pontevedra

    March 28 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 48 °F

    A most awesome dinner, de puta madres! (I got to say it!) I had bacalao, and it was delicious. The restaurante made us sandwiches for tomorrow and gave us Leche for our coffee. It's holy weekend, so not many places open tomorrow, and we have to have our provisiones on hand.

    Tomorrow is supposed to be 21k. We plan to leave at 9am. We have atun sandwich baguettes to take with us.

    The Camino is certainly getting livelier the closer we get. The first day, we practically saw no one. The second day, a handful of other pilgrims. Today, as the central and coastal Portuguese paths come together, we saw dozens, likely a hundred. The energy is building.    Read more

  • TravelerEl Camino de Santiago
    1
    1
    Day 8

    Lunch at O Camino d' A Eira

    March 29 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    We've walked 11 km so far today, a little more than halfway. It was raining most of the time, but we did get one hour without rain, and the sun even peeked out briefly.

    I've figured out the clothing. Much better with just my leggings, a short sleeve shirt, and a long sleeve shirt. I pulled my sleeves up so my shirt stayed dry under the poncho.

    We're at lunch now, and the sun just came out again. Maybe we'll have a dry walk this afternoon. 🤞

    Espresso and lentil soup.    Read more

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