Camino del Norte & Primitivo

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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
What goes up must come down
September 23, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
Today's KMs - 41.3 kms
Total KMs - 408.7 kms
Total blisters - nothing new

After yesterday's effort to reach the peaks of the Hospitales today's walk started with 7+ kms of sheer descent (elevations to prove it). The downhill was beautiful albeit painful on the knees as it was through a pine forest with beautiful views of the Embalse de Salime Dam. I could just imagine Josh W downhill riding all the way and loving it. It was a bit sad to walk through the trees as the 2017 fires swept through this region and all the trees were blackened with little signs of regrowth.

As seems to be tradition we reached our final destination, Castro, too early so we decided to push on, despite the rain. The only thing being that the next town with an albergue was another 25 kms away which resulted in our longest walk so far at over 40kms for the day.

The afternoons walk was much more forgiving with only smaller ups and downs except for the last 1km approaching A Fonsagrada where we are spending the night. Another town on a hill that we've managed to make our final stop 😩

Long day so I think it'll be an early night tonight. More rain and muddy paths are on the cards tomorrow!Read more
TravelerWalked 40km a day in rain sounds like hard work.... at least there was no cow. The boys are having their Sports Day this Thursday. I might go to have a look.
9/23/19Reply
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Leg wrecker
September 24, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
Today’s KM’s - 24.2 kms
Total KM’s - 432.9 kms
Total Blisters - A couple more, from wet feet

Today’s walk is known as the ‘leg wrecker’, which seemed an exaggeration considering how much climbing occurred the last 2 days. But that title was correct, due to the number and difficulty of climbs and descents all day. Making it worse was going in circles trying to find our way out of town. Compounded by heavy rain as we stepped outside the albergue. That heavy rain, turned into 3 hours of constant drizzle.
So we where drenched, tired and had wrecked legs by the end of the day.

The only positive being tonight in O Cadavo Baleira is we are staying in a really new, nice hostel. With, good wifi, partition between beds for a bit of privacy, good quality bunks that don’t squeak and sway as you climb up or turn at night and a good washer and dryer set up so we could wash all our clothes.Read more
TravelerHave a good rest .....
9/24/19Reply
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Past the wall
September 25, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Today's KM's - 29.9kms
Total KM's - 462.8kms
Total blisters - 8

A leisurely stroll today to Lugo. Mostly walking through gently rolling hills and forests. The day started in the dark and with thick fog until about 9:00. Only a little bit of road walking, to keep us on our toes, as logging trucks thundered by. The main achievement today occurred as we passed under the walls of Lugo and now have less than 100kms to go to Santiago.

Lugo seems to be a relaxed place, with lots of bars and restaurants. The most impressive feature though is the Roman wall which circles the whole part of the old centre. The wall is 7m's wide, had 85 towers and 10 gates. With the way in and out of Lugo for pilgrims through 2 of those gates.

We have some time to explore Lugo as we wait for the crazy Spanish dinner time of at least 7:30 (most don't open till 9pm). This doesn't really suit pilgrims who have been walking since 7am and are sleep deprived due to sleeping with snoring strangers. Special treat tonight though, our bunk beds are deluxe and include a privacy blind. Too bad they won't block out the snorers 😴Read more
TravelerGood that you spent some time at a Roman Wall town, a UNESCO site. 👍
9/25/19Reply
TravelerAwesome pics!
9/27/19Reply
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Good decision, bad data
September 26, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Today’s KMs - 46.5kms
Total KMs - 509.3kms
Total blisters - 9 (one extra big one today 😑)

We left Lugo this morning about an hour later than usual after having a chat with the boys & Sue with a fairly easy day planned. There was a big chain of walkers out of Lugo. We suspect it’s because we are now around the 100km mark left to Santiago so it’s a popular starting point for those who want the compostela. It was also a lovely day walking with the first day in a while that it wasn’t raining and the terrain was relatively flat to start with.

The plan was to walk to Ferreira, about 28kms in total however once we arrived the town and albergues were really small and not too inviting. So with some “bad” data we made the good decision (in the end) to walk to Melide. The “bad” data was the amount of kms it really was to get to Melide which meant we accidentally ended up walking 46.5kms today instead of 28kms 😳 without any water left and no food.

Anyway, that just made arriving in Melide even better. Melide is where the Camino Frances and Camino Primitivo meet. So we’ve gone from towns with albergues with as little as 8 beds to albergues of 145 beds (in Melide at least). I don’t know how we’re going to react tomorrow walking with hundreds of other walkers instead of our usual 10-20 walkers at most. Not looking forward to that. But with only 52kms left to Santiago it won’t last long. I can’t believe how close to Santiago we are now!Read more
TravelerA surprise is often a blessing. I see that Simon has the walking stick now? Have you eaten Melide’s famous boiled Octopus? 😋
9/26/19Reply
TravelerI couldn't bear eating the octopus but we ate a lot of melindres - glazed donut like puffs 👍
9/27/19Reply
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Wet lemmings
September 27, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Today's KMs - 33.3kms
Total KMs - 542.6kms
Total blisters - 12 (3 new ones today on the same toe ☹️)

We left Melide in the rain which didn't ease for the next 7 hours until our arrival into O Pedrouzo. There was a constant stream of coloured ponchos and rain jackets down each path as we all walked the Camino, sliding our way through like wet lemmings. The guide book wasn't kidding, foot traffic has definitely grown exponentially. It was hard walking through the crowds which included more bikes than we've seen since we arrived in Spain. Odd to see riders without helmets speeding pass us on foot. It must be a different experience doing the Camino by bike. We even saw kids walking the Camino today.

There wasn't much to see today with the scenery blocked by the fog/ rain and photos made impossible without other walkers in the way. It was interesting to see everyone and wonder how different their journeys have been which brought them to the path today. We did notice that we were in the minority with our packs on. Most walkers must have sent their packs on with some walking in jeans and wearing thongs/ flats. We were doing it hard & they must have thought we were stupid.

Aside from the crowds of lemmings there were so many bars, eateries and camino merchandise stalls along the way. Neither the Norte or the Primitivo had anything like this. The luxury of not having to carry your food and water each day!

Now, only 19.4kms to Santiago!Read more
TravelerTake a good rest. A change of mood, ease of pace. Travels like a tourist rather than a pilgrim? Ready for the big day tomorrow!
9/27/19Reply
Darryl Congratulations your thoughts bring back the same memories. In Santiago get your Credenza later in the day not on arrival as the que will be long.
9/28/19Reply
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Santiago de Compostela
September 28, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
Today's KMs - 19.4 kms
Total KMs - 562.0 kms
Total blisters - 12

WE MADE IT!
What a feeling after 21 consecutive days walking 562 KMs (average of 35,120 steps per day) our journey came to an end at the most amazing, majestic cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. I must say, the atmosphere outside the cathedral was overwhelming with emotion as pilgrims made their final steps on their Camino journey.

It was a nice moment to take in before the realisation of just how many people there were sharing this moment with us. This became particularly evident when we tried to get our Compostela (certificate of completion) from the pilgrims office. We were handed a numbered ticket #1099 and #1100. They were up to 287 after 3 hours of processing 😬... Apparently the average wait is around 6 hours. So, we decided we didn't need the piece of paper for now.

Instead we had a bus to catch in the afternoon to Muxia where we've decided to extended our journey and walk to Finisterre. More about that later, for now we are just chuffed to have made it, a little battered and bruised but already talking about our next Camino 😜Read more
TravelerWell done! That would the longest ever trekking for both of you! Remember to receive your Certificates? A proof your endurance, determination and mental toughness in your self discovery as pilgrims.👍👍
9/28/19Reply
TravelerYay! Both of you have made it!!! Now it’s time to put up your legs and relax. 😄👏🏻👏🏻
9/29/19Reply
Darryl Congratulations
10/3/19Reply
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Up for more
September 28, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
After finishing in Santiago 3 full days early we decided to catch a bus to Muxia, a beautiful coastal town west of Santiago. From here we will walk to Finisterre, the unofficial finishing point of the Camino and once believed in Roman times to be the end of the known world.Read more
TravelerBeautiful scenery.... you can enjoy and relax!
9/30/19Reply
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Suckers for punishment
September 29, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Today’s KMs - 29kms
Total KMs - 591 kms
Total blisters - 13

One last day of walking... famous last words but this time I think we mean it. Today we walked just short of 30kms from Muxía to Finisterre. It was by far the wettest walk we have done with everything completely saturated. The coastline between Muxía and Finisterre is totally exposed to the Atlantic Ocean and we had head wind blowing rain into our faces for most of the way. Our “waterproof” goretex shoes and our “waterproof” jackets and bag covers were no match for Mother Nature today. My jacket was meant to be waterproof for up to 8 hours walking and 10mm of rain - not the case Cederberg!

It was a beautiful walk though despite the rain especially the cape at Muxía which we walked to first thing this morning and it feels right to finish in Finisterre.

We are off to the Cape Finisterre later tonight to hopefully see the sunset but not sure there will be much to see given the weather 🤞Read more
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Faro de Fisterra - KM 0.0
September 30, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Today's KMs - 6.0
Total KMs - 597.0
Total blisters - 13

It's official - we are done! We can't walk any further west now. Instead of going to Cape Finisterre last night in the rain we opted to walk this morning in an attempt to catch sunrise. Instead we just got dense fog but it was so worth it and we had the place to ourselves.

It's official now (in our minds anyway) because we placed Ollie's shells and one of James's rocks on the official KM 0.0 marker. Normally there are lots of rocks on top but it was just ours this morning.

As we put on our soggy wet shoes from yesterday and started walking to the Cape in the dark it was sad to think that this would be our last walk, albeit just 6kms. But what an amazing experience and such a great way to finish our Camino. Just so grateful for this time we've had away. Priceless.Read more
TravelerPlacing Ollie and James items there... what an idea to make them feel a part of your memorable journey ! 👍
9/30/19Reply
TravelerIt's tradition to carry a rock from home with you on the journey and leave it on the Camino. Symbolic of leaving your burdens behind.
9/30/19Reply
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Withdrawal symptoms
October 1, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
It was a strange morning... Normally we would wake up early, quietly pack our bags (so not to wake the whole room) and head off for the day's walk before sunrise. Breakfast was as we walked and usually just muesli bars.

But this morning, we slept in till 7:30am, had a hot coffee and toast on proper chairs/ table and got to call the boys. It was so nice and civilised. Our first day not walking... I'm not sure how we feel, I think we're having withdrawal symptoms already! We did see posters for "Camino Psychologists" in Santiago & Finisterre for walkers 🤔

We also went out for lunch and pigged out on burgers at Goiko Grill (a popular gourmet burger place in Spain) and we felt a bit guilty. I guess it's the start of our "other" holiday now except we still look like hikers with our whole two changes of clothes 😬

Tomorrow we are back to Madrid for a couple of days before flying home. I guess all good things must eventually come to an end.Read more
TravelerOllie said that your lunch is ‘yummy 😋 ‘
10/2/19Reply
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Farewell Santiago
October 2, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
An early start today as we walked to the train station to catch our train to Madrid. We said a quick goodbye to the cathedral on the way and hoped that we may return one day.

The train was surprisingly really good - fast, on time and spacious. We arrived in Madrid and could tell instantly we were in the capital. So many demanding, elegant buildings with streets packed with people. We are staying right on Gran Via, the main street, so we are right in amongst it (just looking completely out of place still in our hiking gear). Great location to get into everything and a good excuse to get a new outfit to wear 😉Read more
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Hola Madrid
October 3, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
TravelerThe boys are looking forward to see you both! I am waiting to board to Singapore...
10/3/19Reply
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
More of Madrid
October 4, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
Almost home...
October 5, 2019 in Qatar ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C
At Doha airport.... So much waiting 😴
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo Traveler
No place like home
October 6, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
There's no place like home and there's no two quite like James and Ollie. It's good to be back with the boys.

Also, who needs a Compostela? When we got home Ollie presented us with his own certificate - didn't need to wait 6 hours for his either 😉Read more
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Trip end
October 6, 2019