A rest day today; no walking except to sightsee and catch up with people. Still chilly and rainy, but with an umbrella and the ability to duck into a shop or a cafe it seemed to hardly matter. Karen and I went to the Convent and Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, as they are celebrating 800 years since that…
Category: Camino de Santiago
Day 38, Stage 35: A Rua to Santiago de Compostrela
Yay! Crazy rain today. All day. Heavy at times… and 22 km to the Cathedral. Went straight to the Pilgrim’s Office to get our Compostrela, and despite the high unemployment rate in Spain, only 2 people were working, so we stood in the rain for almost 2 hours to get our final stamp and certificate. But spirits are high and…
Day 37, Stage 34: Arzua to A Rua
Rain. All day. Heavy at times. 20 km, and muddy track. Field of vision limited to what I could see beyond the rain hat and double hood of jacket and giant red rain gear, so I watched my feet try to avoid puddles and rivers of water. It was not the nicest day on the Camino. But in true Pollyanna…
Day 36, Stage 33: Palas de Rei to Arzua
When I left my hotel before sunrise this morning the moon was high and there were thousands of stars in the sky. Couldn’t get a photo, but it was so wonderful to know that it would be a clear day! I had stayed at a place just south of town and it was the stop for a tour of Spanish…
Day 35, Stage 32: Portomarin to Palas de Rei
I had read that the Galicia region of Spain is rainy, so I shouldn’t be surprised by the near constant drizzle/shower/downpour, but I guess I was hoping for some Camino magic since we’d be so lucky for the first 30 ish days! So, today was a repeat of yesterday, with some level of drops from the sky until about noon,…
Day 34, Stage 31: Sarria to Portomarin
As Chris and I headed out of Sarria early this morning, we passed by the Igrexa de San Salvador, a 13th C church with beautiful hinges in the side door and a Romanesque tympanum over the main door. We left before dawn (photos from yesterday afternoon), and walked in the dark mist for about an hour until the rain began…
Day 33, Stage 30: Triacastela to Sarria
It was a beautiful, sunny day, although cold in the morning, and we had a short 19 km, although with several steep ascents as we climbed to Alto do Riocabo at 910 m. I walked with Karen, Kim and Chris again today, and we find that we enjoy both the time to talk, and much of the time in companionable…
Day 32, Stage 29: O’Cebreiro to Triacastela
After a very cold and rainy night in O’Cebreiro, I was so pleased to see sunshine and the promise of some warmer weather today. I’ve become such a SoCal girl that I slept in my fleece jacket last night! Karen, Kim and Aussie Chris met for breakfast, which these days is really tea and toast, and set off about 8:30…
Day 31, Stage 28: Ambasmestas to O’Cebreiro
What a great day! Chilly and misty, but George and the cousins had arranged for horses from Herrerias to O’Cebreiro today. We walked about 6 km before dawn in order to get to the town with the horses at the appointed time, and then we rode up the steep hill to O’Cebreiro on horseback! We began at about 780m and…
Day 30, Stage 27: Villafranca del Bierzo to Ambasmestas
After several long and challenging days, I decided to break up this stage into two, which many guides have as a strenuous 30 km. (Each book and map has different stops and distances, so I’m calling a stage a walking day, vs. those that I rested). Leaving Villafranca there were 3 options: one along the road, one along a natural…