Santiago at last

Hello, everyone.  Yesterday we walked into Santiago. The published stages had it as a shorter day, around 16km but Strava tells me we did a bit over 18km. But what's an extra 2 km between friends, right?

First sight of the Cathedral!

This is the first time we have entered the city from the north. There's quite a bit of city to go through from this direction. 

The St. James statue and bas-relief art on the (?) Diocesan office across Obradoiro Square from the Cathedral. As y'all can see, the centuries-old art has been cleaned.

We didn't stop, but it's always nice to spot the free wifi place.

Lunch today was shared tapas: pulpo a feria, follwed by bacalao con conservas de tomate y de berenjena. Yummy.

The tapas were quite good--now I want to learn how to make that cod! 

House wine was a Mencia (a red Galician grape) which we hadn't tried before.

Tarta de queso with "blueberries" glaze

The cheese tart was really great. I'm not sure that it has blueberry glaze, it could have been lingonberry as the color is a bit red, but the combo was excellent. 

We have eaten at this tapas bar in prior years and then it was okay. This year the food was very good.

After a few days with not much wi-fi, a post!

Hello, everyone.  I will do a quick recap. We left Monday early and walked to Pontedeum. As y'all can see from the name, there is a bridge to cross. 

After Pontedeum we walked to Betanzos. There, we stayed in a Xunta albergue. These albergues are sponsored by the province of Galucia. They are basic, but they get the job done. They usually don't have working kitchens, because the Xunta's reason for sponsoring the network of albergues is to support the local economy. They also have the standard 10pm albergue curfew and they don't accept reservations. 

A fountain and a bench along the way. You should always look carefully to check whether the fountain is "potable" or "apto para consumir humano" before filling your water bottles from it. 

The more modern version. Note that they're trying to discourage people from drinking directly from the tap.

This is a celebration mural about the lady who has a little, very busy, bar along the way. 

After Betanzos we walked to the area of Bruma. We actually stopped a little short, as we had located a room just before the town. We also very much enjoyed our snack at Casa Avelina, a bar in the area. Lovely wine, delicious pinchos, wonderful hospitality. And as we walked over to our room, it suddenly poured down rain! 

If there weren't any rain, we wouldn't be in Galicia.

Mists under the sunrise light this morning. 

After that, we walked to Sigüeiro. Yesterday's walk being a little short, today's began with catching up on the missed kilometers. We ended up having walked about 28 of them. Weather was cool but very nice.

Caminos 2026, a couple of days

Hello, everyone.  We're having a rest day today because the last two days were pretty near 30km each. Our feet were feeling it. We decided to take a no-travel day in Xubia/Naron.

We left Cedeira at 0800, walking the Coastal Route as far as state road 102, having forgotten to start the Strava, and used that route to transition from the Coastal to the Inland way. At the bar in Porto do Cabo, where the 102 meets the inland way, I remembered to start Strava. After 2 hours of walking! 🤣 We walked along the route, mostly except when confused, into the Xubia area. (Thank heavens for Mapy.com, which helped us get back on track more than once!) 

Contrary to route information in our Cicerone book--the older one--and app--the new book--that tiny bar/tabac  in Porto do Cabo was the very last of the day's walk. But the weather was nice. 

We found a place in Xubia and have discovered the new futuristic hotel. Maybe. We rang the intercom bell at the door, after asking about a place "today" they opened the door and we did the whole registration and payment by remote video. They even activated the room keycard by remote!

We then extended the stay by another night, also by remote.

The Chapel of Hunger which we passed by enroute. It was closed up.

Cool tree fungus at edge of Cedeira

The church in Xuvia. I believe the sculpure above the door is the Holy Trinity. The Father appears to be wearing something like a triple crown. Jesus is on the Father's right hand--our left side--and the Holy Spirit is the dove at the top. The parish has Sunday Mass at 1230 according to their posted schedule.

Catching up after a couple of days, Caminos 2026

Hello, everyone.  I don't think I've posted for a couple of days. This is a quick catch-up. 

We had taken a train ride for part of the planned day a couple of days back. We slept in Covas that night. I posted about that day. 

The next morning, we tried to fill our water bottles at the sink in our bathroom.  Whoops. The bottles were too tall, and we had no cups to pour water with. We figured that we could get water fairly soon when we found an open bar. We found no open bars, pretty much until we arrived in our destination village. That was a full morning eith only about a half bottle of water to share. Lesson learned: buy water bottles the night before when you see them. You won't be sorry.

The following morning I had a bit of the tummy, so we found a bus stop. As the bus wasn't due until 10:40, when 0900 hit we found a nearby bar and got--well, I got manzanilla (chamomile tea) and my sweetie got cafe con leche. We rode to Ortegueira, visited the climic for a script and bought the meds, then found a place and did some serious resting. 

Then, today, we started walking again, with goal of reaching Cariño. This was just shy of 20km. The day began a bit fresh, as we say in South Texas, and got only a bit warmer. I was walking in my long sleeved merino ter, so that was great. We met a very sweet soul, a gentleman who had walked the coast for 5000 km, and he told us some things about our next day's walk. It was great to meet someone who had walked such a long way.

We got into Cariño in time to have the Menu del Dia at the restaurant Cantabrica: caldo gallego, a protein course with maybe the best fries we've ever had, and dessert. (We didn't have the same protein choice, but both came with the lovely fries.) We visited the grocery store and picked up some yogurt and pudding and wine for a light, but hydrating, supper and called it a day.

View of the area from yhe balcony of our room in the Pension Hotel Cantabrica. Lovely room, pretty area, very comfortable little town.

4th Walking Day, Caminos 2026

Hello, everyone.  This was a short walking day, as the previous two days had taxed us and we needed to rest. 

Some sights along the (paved) path:

The waves were rolling over the rocks.

More pretty waves

Giant stone turtle?

The northern coast of Spain has so many cool rock formations. 

After walking 10 km to San Cibrao, we considered options. One of the thing we considered was that, despite what I had concluded from studying Google maps, the town that had been planned for a stop point seemed to have few lodgings for travelers. At least, if the travelers weren't using a car. We decided to skip ahead a day by bus or train.

We noticed that the town we were having coffee in appears to no longer have a bus station. We went to the train station, which doesn't sell tickets, and found the posted train schedule. (If the station doesn't sell tickets you either pay the conductor at boarding or, if there isn't one, pay at the departure gate on arrival.) Then we settled to wait. There was another pilgrim waiting for the train, too, and we enjoyed talking with her. We rode the train to Covas, found a place, and walked around figuring out our departure route for the next morning.

3rd Walking Day, Caminos 2026

Hello, everyone. 

On this day we encountered some hills. The route(s) has some confusing signage. (The day before's walk to Basilica San Martiño was marked with arrows and also with the brown Cantabrico painted signs. We used Google maps and what signs we found to get from there into Foz.)

Sunrise on the Cantabrico path.

Cool eroded rock. Can you see the tiny tunnel where the water goes all the way through?

Dinner that evening: paella!

We almost managed to finish the pan. It was delicious and full of sea protein foods.

2nd Walking Day, 2026 Camino do Mar & Ingles

Hello, everyone.  Today's walk began at 0700--before sunrise in this region--and ended at about 1530. Per Strava, we did a little over 25 km. Our first break, about 10 am, was a coffee and pastry bite at Cafe Moderna in San Cosmo. The owner was very friendly and he told us about his bike caminos. The coffee and pound cake were also very tasty. That little  bit kept us going until evening.

The Basilica of St. Martin sits in a secluded valley near Foz.

By working hard and pushing a little--thanks, mapy.com!--we got to the old former cathedral of St. Martin. This 1,000 years-plus old church had been the bishop's seat until the sea raids made it too dangerous to keep the seat exposed to the robbers. The bishop's seat moved down to Mondonedo and this church was declared a basilica. 

We got there at just before 2 pm--that time is the universal siesta closing time in Spain. We only had about 10 minutes to visit.

The Blessed Sacrament is conserved at an altar at the side. The church has 3 altars, this one is the left one. 

The waves in Foz harbor.

We stopped for the day at about 3:30 pm and found a place at Hotel Rego.

First walking day, 2026 Camino del Mar & Ingles

Hello, everyone. Today we started late, because we needed to visit the tourism office in Ribadeo before leaving, and they don't open before 10. 

The lady was very helpful and gave us route information. 

We walked out of town to the seaside, where we spent most of our 4.5 hours walk.

Birdies enjoying their day on a rock

Fat seagulls hanging out at low tide

As Catedrais beach requires appointments to visit from Holy Week through to the end of September. You're supposed to use the QR code on the sign. They want each appointment request to include names, number in party, and a passport number. We decided that was just too much information collection just to be allowed to walk past the scenic rock formations.

The people viewing the rocks at that moment. There was a parking lot full of cars. They do have a concession with restrooms, some snacks, and cold drinks. 

After seeing the general area and resting for a little while, we walked on. We found a room at Hotel Playa de las Catedrales. And that was our day.

Day 3: transition day

Hello,  everyone.  The first 2 days of this year's Camino were the flight over and a night of rest. Today we are going to Ribadeo on the train. 

View from the train platform

The seats are comfortable, and Renfe has free on board wifi. 😃

Ultreia!

Pilgrimage 2027 is on the road!

Hello, everyone.  We're officially en route for Ruta del Mar and Camino Inglés. 

another angle on the famous McAllen Airport butterflies 

Walked at Bentsen State Park today

Hello, everyone. Today started out cloudy and cool, but we went over to the park anyway. There were a lot of birds for a change.

The turkeys were hanging out on the access road for the canal, later they went farther into the park and started vacuumung up all the dropped seed at the feeders. The boys did some tail fan displays but the girls didn't care.

There was a lone white pelican near the boat put-in, and a solitary roseate spoonbill as well. (Think big pink bird, not a flamingo.) 

The weather was good for walking, not too hot or cold and not much wind. The park has upgraded one of their bird blinds to have a roof and seating like their premium on on the ring road. This newly upgraded blind is in the very middle, accessible to a walk or bike only path. We saw a lot of cardinals and waxwings there. Green jays, of course. On the way out we also saw some chachalaca. So it was a nice bird-seeing day.

We got in a little over 2.5 miles today, this was a training walk to maintain fitness.

A pleasant walk at Bentsen Park

Hello, everyone. The weather today is what the local radio personality calls "Chamber of Commerce weather" which is lovely, partly cloudy, not too windy, and tee-shirt temperature. So we went over to the park for a little walk.

The park had scheduled a birding walk, and we were the only ones there so we walked over to the volunteer "bird guide" and invited ourselves along. He told us about birds, of course, and about the changes in wildlife and plant growth over time. It was very interesting. 

This little hawk was supervising the feeding stations. It doesn't need to be said that the small birds were a bit shy!

The wild turkeys were out and about and not afraid of anything. 

A new zipper wallet (edited to add link)

Hello, everyone.  After walking the Camino Francés with a me-made bill fold that didn't have a closure and didn't have any kind of an idiot loop attachment, I decided that the bill fold situation could do with improvement.  After scrolling past many Youtube videos, running down long pages of search results, and thinking about it, I went back to one of those videos: Ripstop By The Roll's simple zipper pouch kit. It was almost exactly what I wanted. 

The kit came, along with another kit that inspired me in their shop, and it had a piece of ripstop that wouldn't ravel, because they use something like a hot knife to cut it, a zipper, a piece of grosgrain for grab loops, and their video. I had also ordered some pocket mesh and the sample stuff sack kit--this came with some hardware tucked into a piece of light ripstop. I made an interior pocket with the mesh, edged with some scrap ribbon in the stash, and a label tag from that scrap of light ripstop, and otherwise followed the directions as given. 

It should work out okay. 

Arzua to Pedrouzo and on to Santiago!

Hello, everyone.  This is another of the catch-up posts.

Arzua to Pedrouzo (O Pino) is about 20 km. We had great weather. 

Entering Pedrouzo

Pilgrims' Mass at Santa Eulalia de Arca

We stayed at Albergue Porta de Santiago,

 where we have stayed before. The laundry facilities are okay on washer, great on clotheslines. The upper bunks have ladders, of course, but these ones are much less uncomfortable to climb.

Rolling out before 7 today!

This little chapel is at the Monte de Goyo, the mountain of joy. It is said that, during the early centuries of the Santiago pilgrimage, when arriving pilgrims viewed the Cathedral in the distance from this height, they were overcome with joy to be actually arriving at their goal. From here, it's only 5 km (3 miles) to the Cathedral.

After going to the Pilgrims Reception Office and getting our Compostelas issued, we had a celebration lunch next to the Mercado. 

Portomarin to Palas de Rei

Hello, everyone. This was another day of mostly good weather--a few drops of mist, but not enough to put on our ponchos--and going over hills and through trees and fields. It's flower season still and we saw so many beautiful azalea and rhododendron shrubs in peoples' gardens.

These ants have been photographed before, as we're now walking stretches that are included in several routes, but this year they are black. There are more ants in the beer garden now, too. 

Cute potted plant arrangement made of wooden fencing.

We stayed at Casa Curro in Palas de Rei. This little pensión had the cutest room, with its cheerful red and white color scheme.

At the exit from town, an arrangement of the town symbol.

Sarria to Portomarin

Hello, everyone.  Yesterday's post didn't quite catch us up. Today's post will cover the next day. 

We left our barndominium in Sarria at our usual time, about 0700. The weather is no l9nger so cold that I need gloves in the morning, in fact it seems that spring is finally springing up for real.

In Galicia, the official route has kilometer distances to Santiago marked on the mojones. (A mojon is,an official marker, like the one in Bentsen park that is half of the border market, with the othar half being in Mexico and the actual border point being the center of the two.) If there are two routes, one will be "official " with distances and the other will be "complementario" and no distances are displayed. (In 2018, walking the Norte route, we elected to take the old route, paved, instead of the new, cool route, through a higher altitude meadow, and we spent the entire day with Complementario markers as we walked past houses. There weren't any bars or restaurants,  and we were pretty sure the new path had none either, but our path did have an impressive log to rest on at one point.) There was only one route out of Sarria, so picking the way was basically keeping an eye out for arrows, shells, and morons.

I thought the color contrast between the blooming broom shrubs and the green trees was pretty cool.

Galician cattle resting and probably chewing their cud.

There is one thing that wasn't photographed but maybe should have been. Just before Portomarin,  there was a split sign. One sign said "historic route" and pointed left. The other sign said something like "new route" and pointed right. I foolishly went with "historic" instead of asking the conveniently loitering road conservation guys about the choices. Should y'all find yourself in a similar situation,  ask the nice man hanging out there next to his work truck. The way we followed wend to a narrow, water-carved slot with slippery stones and very little room for a pole tip. Some people turned around to crawl backwards down the steep rock "stairs" which I was not able to do. I did make it down, using my hiking pole that was already out and grabbing the rocks at the side with the other hand. But it was really scary and so I think if there is a choice that isn't described in guide books, y'all should ask questions before deciding. 😉 A word to the wise and all that.