Ourense to Santiago

April 2018 - March 2024
An open-ended adventure by Ruth
Currently traveling
  • 6footprints
  • 1countries
  • 2,164days
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  • 183kilometers
  • Day 3

    On the way

    April 29, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    Got the train from Madrid and arrived at about 6 pm in Ourense We got our “credentials”, the pilgrim passport needed to stay in the pilgrim hostels at the cathedral. Tonight is our first night in a room with 10 bunk beds. Here, Rob catches an oncoming shower as it approaches the cathedral st Ourense. Tomorrow the walking beginsRead more

  • Day 4

    Hiking 20k

    April 30, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Our hike took us from a busy town, through an industrial zone and then up a loooong steep hill. From there we had lovely tracks wide enough for two to wale side by sde. It was a beautiful way down mostly dirt roads through largely oak forest. I heard a cuckoo! We crossed a stone bridge from medieval times and had lunch at Casa Castro. This gentleman basically thrives on meeting the pilgrims who walk by. Home made bread, soup and wine were offered and Rob serenaded us on the proprietors old guitar. This region has many old stone houses dating back to the 1800”s. Our albergue tonight is nearly full with pilgrims spreading German, French and Spanish. There are several from Australia. We are the only Americans we’ve met so far.Read more

  • Day 5

    Cooler than Maine

    May 1, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We had splendid weather for walking today, never above 55 degrees and frost on the fresh new grass this morning. The gardens are all plowed and a bit of lettuce and chard is up. Fruit trees just starting to bloom and the oak leaves are just about to open or are the size of your thumb, depending on altitude. Iur path took us over some high fields getting spread with manure, and there is some logging of eucalyptus tree groves going on as well. The wood smells so good.
    I’m doing okay muscle wise. Today is better than yesterday. The beds in the slbergues feel great and we sleep well despite having 16-20 roommates.
    We’ve enjoyed a good sandwich while soaking our feet in a stream today. We’ve had a beer at the end of each day, but hot chocolate is a popular alternate choice. It’s good to be in an agricultural area that feels like home. The old stone villages are distinctly European and charming.
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  • Day 8

    Arriving in Santiago

    May 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    After a super last night in the albergue at Outeiro, we hiked our final 14k to Santiago, where we promptly lost the trail and wandered up up always up to the crowded streets around the cathedral. The throngs of pilgrims was stunning, the narrow streets chockablock with restaurants and cafes. All rather overstimulating after our quiet woodland trails. They say it is common to run into people you met on the trail, who you think you’ll never see again, and we did. We met our Portuguese friends while searching for the pilgrim certificate office, and followed them to a street with an apartment that had been converted into rooms for rent. We got a lovely room with windows opening onto a narrow street and access to a kitchen. When we went back to the pilgrim office, our Belgian friend was there waiting, so we joined her and we all got our diplomas together. We decided to buy a few groceries and make supper with Christine as our guest instead of eating in a crowded noisy restaurant. We toasted our adventure and especially Christine’s having walked the full 1000 k from Seville. That takes about 6 weeks.
    Christine planned to walk on to Finisterre but we plan to rent a car in the morning and do a day trip. Sunday we fly from Santiago to Barcelona.
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  • Day 9

    End of the world

    May 5, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    On the drive to Finisterre we zoomed along a highway and then climbed some considerable heights on twisty secondary roads, where huge windmills stood in a line along the ridges. Then we began to see Camino signage again and people walking with backpacks. I felt both guilty and relieved to be sitting in a car. Apparently many pilgrims choose to see the ocean at the traditional end of the known world, and they will walk on for 4 days from Santiago.
    In the town, we felt a close similarity to our old stomping ground of Gloucester MA, where many Portuguese fishermen emigrated. After a really good dinner of very fresh fish, and watching the sunset at the lighthouse, we headed beck to the airport hotel, ready to depart in the morning.
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