Walking in the dark ..........

The worse part of the walking day is right at the very start. Getting ready to leave is fine, packing your bag, getting everything sorted and in position and setting out. Psychologically and physically it takes a little while to get into a rhythm and then it just becomes what is you are doing. What makes it worse it that when leaving a town inevitably there is a steep uphill climb involved so that it is really hard work. Peregrinos tend to leave early so that they are not walking in the heat of the day and aim to arrive at 1ish at their destination to grab a bed at the albergue as they tend to fill early. It is usually dark and especially if you are walking through areas where there are no street lights you need head torches.  On the french way there are many more people and on early mornings it looks like a load of miners going to work in the mine as there are dozens of people ahead of you with lights shing in all directions! 

This clip is of an early morning on our way out of Pontedueme.  We were walking uphill in the dark along a residential road where every house had a dog and every dog barked furiously at us.  It was miserable.

 

It was also hard to find your way in the dark as you couldn't easily follow the written instructions and could not see waymarks and yellow arrows either.  We got lost lost several times.

Me and Angela had our Blair Witch moment on the first night when the sun went down like a light being switched off and we were in the middle of a forest.  We had told Martin to go ahead and we thought we were very near the Albergue.  We panicked a bit, Angela kept running ahead and then stopping to let me catch up which was futile really.  We were worried about Martin who wasn't in phone contact, was he ok?

We went onto a main road and called out to a man in the house with the intention of getting a cab to the albergue.  In broken Spanish I was hoping that I was saying something like "Hiya, we are trying to get to Neda to the Albergue but we're a bit lost and we are a bit worried about continuing in the dark through forest where there are no street light.  Would you mind awfully calling us a cab?"  What I said was "somos peregrinos. Tenemos miedo! En el bosque, no luces!" Roughly translated this means "We are pilgrims.  We are scared! There are no lights in the forest!"  I think he got the message because of the wild look in our eyes and so he walked us back down the road where we came from and along the road telling us to cross the bridge via the main road where there are street lights and it was only 10 minutes. 

Fantastic! we walked along, picked up Martin who was getting really worried and went to the bridge only to find that we couldn't get onto the road.  We had done something wrong.  So we had to go via the original route through the forest in the dark right the way around the lake which took 2 hours!  But we had Martin with us so we were safe!

Day 7 - Home to Stansted

The morning was a bit rushed (what day wasn’t?) and there was a bit of confusion over the time we were leaving and how long it would take us to get to the bus stop to get the bus to the airport. We ended up missing the bus but had plenty of time in the end. Phew! At the airport it was hard to believe that we had packed so much into the previous 6 days.

Angela’s Dave made us all a roast chicken dinner which was so, so appreciated after a fairly meagre diet! I still remember the roast potatoes which were crunchy and yummy. Did we have one of Dave’s crumbles? I think we might have! Double yum!

Day 6 – Siguieros to Santiago (10 miles)

Last day and experience told us that the fact that it was “only” a certain number of miles meant nothing and we were determined to be in Santiago in time for a relaxing walk around the city and time to enjoy the pilgrims mass. It had not been possible to attend mass at all or do any of the sight-seeing that I imagined we would do so I wanted to make sure that the last day was less rushed. Me and Martin set off early but decided that we needed sustenance in the shape of hot chocolate and cakes so went back to the cafe we were at the day before but there was no late night / early morning partying this time!

Again, lovely to be walking in the dark but we missed our way mark again because we were talking! By now we were a bit reluctant to follow Spanish directions so when a driver told us to go back where we came from I sent Martin back and he was to blow on the whistle 3 times if it was ok to come back! Like a sheepdog scampered back to climb yet another hill in the dark. Too much for me and I cried my eyes out walking in the dark. Triggered by tiredness, and anger that we missed the turning and yet more anger at having to walk up a hill in the dark, my tears were about other stuff. So I told the concerned Martin to just ignore me and I spent time in quietness, walking in the dark, thinking about things.

We had a very pleasant walk, sunny, but not too hot and we made good progress. Roy and Veronica caught us up and we stopped at a cafe for beer and coffee and after a bit continued in together to Santiago. Unlike the French way and the Portuguese way the outskirts of Santiago was suburban and not industrial and therefore pleasant to walk through.

Had a good old chat with Veronica en-route and this was good as there hadn’t really been the opportunity to do so before now.

There was an impressive metal structure / archway to walk under about ½ km long as we came into the city. Very modern and chic. We turned a corner and then another and suddenly we found ourselves in the main square at the rear of the cathedral. This is so huge and amazing and we spent time just looking.

Next stop the camino office for our certificate! The queue wasn’t too bad and we collected our certificates and then the four of us sat outside the bar opposite drinking rather a good red wine waiting for the rest of our group to arrive. It was a really nice feeling to sit there knowing that all we had to do was to check into our hotel, come back for mass and something to eat. When the others arrived, we set off to the hotel to get ready for the 6:00 mass back at the cathedral.

The hotel was lovely, what a shame we were not going to spend much time in it! Time for a shower then back we went to the old city. Martin and Roy had kind of decided not to go to the mass but somehow they came in to have a look around the cathedral and were rewarded for their efforts as the botifumeiro was just being put into position as the mass was ending and we all got to see the swinging in full action!

Veronica and I positioned ourselves in the front row ready for mass and Angela texted me to say they had made it and were sitting at the back. There was a surreal moment when Angela T went up for a blessing, crossed her arms across her chest and bowed her head awaiting a blessing. It was a blessing for her that she could not see the priest’s face as he was evidently perplexed at this strange behaviour and looked around desperately for divine or otherwise intervention which was sadly not forthcoming. Oblivious to this Angela moved on (I am laughing out loud even as I write this) but more humiliation was to follow. Sue had witnessed all of this but as the next and last person in the queue she could not make a quick exit. She approached the priest with trepidation as she could see the bewilderment on his face as yet another strange woman with dodgy hand signals was approaching. Sue’s unique approach to reassure him however was to wink with alternate eyes and make amusing face gestures as she felt this would nudge his memory as to what he had to do! This was not successful and he now was resorting to looking around desperately for assistance. Sue simply scurried off and this drew an end to the matter.

Had a nice meal in a restaurant called Monroy (thought it was similar to RonRoy after Veronica and Roy and therefore a ‘sign’) and made our way back to the hotel stopping for drinks at a couple of bars as we went. Naturally I fell asleep at the last bar (I was up very early) and staggered back to the hotel for a well earned kip.

Day 5 – Hospital de Bruma to Siguieros (15 miles)

I checked on Angela at 4 in the morning and she had decided to stay in bed a little longer and leave with Sue and Angela T and Dave in daylight hours.  Me and Martin got ready in the dark and made our way out of the Albergue.  First problem – all doors were locked and we didn’t know how to get out.  Just like cat burglars we removed our rucksacks, pulled up a chair and climbed over a wall to freedom! 

It was lovely walking along in the early morning but unfortunately there were no cafes open,  so only water, banana and do-nut to sustain us.  When we hit a T junction with no signs as to which direction to go in we chose and went the wrong way and this brought our spirits down. 

There was no-one to ask and so we tried to flag cars down but no-one stopped.  We continued forwards in the hope that we would find some kind of main road and finally a car stopped and told us we were completely in the wrong direction.  By the time we made it to Buscas only 8kms on our route but having walked at least 12km we were feeling a bit rough.  We wrapped up in sleeping bags in the bus stop to have a nap to feel better and to wait for the cafe to open.   

The trouble was that unlike other early starts there was no cloud cover and so we were actually very cold and damp all the way through from the dew.  At 7.30 we found someone  to speak to and found out that as it was Sunday the cafes were not opening until 10 or 11.  This was going to be another totally rural day and the next cafe was 6km away.  If this was closed too then we might find ourselves in a dodgy position without any option but to go on.  It was probably due to a build up from the day before as well, but we both were feeling quite unwell, chilled and exhausted so we took an executive decision to call a cab and go straight to our destination.  We were proved right about the cafe and so knew that we had made the right decision. 

It was still very early when we arrived and went to a cafe to get a hot drink and breakfast.  It was a really strange set up as at one end of the cafe there were loads of drunk young people who were still enjoying their Saturday night out.  It was a bit surreal to be sitting there with our rucksacks feeling like death warmed up (and completely sober) watching them falling over drunk, drinking our hot chocolate and cakes.  We sat there for a little while and then families with young children came in and sat there as well. How bizarre!

We found a place for us to stay in Sigueiros in rooms above a bar / restaurant.  We did investigate the option of staying at the sports hall but we went for the rooms as they were pretty cheap.  Me and Martin laid out our sleeping bags in the park and slept for a couple of hours until the rooms were ready and then proceeded back to the bar to wait for the others.  We were feeling quite restored by now and as you do thinking what was the fuss about but there you go! 

The weary wanderers turned up, beers and dancing followed as a group of musicians turned up stopping at all the bars in the town.  Angela got her massage oils out and I massaged feet and shoulders in the bar as the beer did its magic.  Staggered back down stairs after showering for a really good meal.  Sue claimed her foot massage then and there as she had been too busy

 dancing and had missed out earlier! 

Day 4 – Betanzos to Hospital de Bruma (18 miles)

Confusion about leaving time!  We set our alarm for 3 with the view to leave at 4 and Angela set hers for 2.45 with the view of leaving at 3.  At 3.15 she impatiently knocked at our door and wanted to know what was happening!  Left at 4 for the long and winding road to Hospital de Bruma.  Now picking up writing this blog a month after our return (Sorry! New term at a new school has left me in bed at 8:30 every night!!) 



I was led to believe that the Camino Ingles
was lined with armchairs

The thing about caminos is that is can be horrible in that you are stretched to your limit physically and you want to at times stamp your little feet and go “I am not moving this has to all stop”  So like Shannon in Lost series 1 I had a couple of sulks today.  Round about dawn, I remember there was some light I said that I was stopping and sat outside someone’s house on their bench (surely they wouldn’t begrudge an old pilgrim?)  Martin and Angela ignored me and continued uphill round the corner where they found a bus stop with a seat!! I thought this was an ideal spot for breakfast but Martin was anxious to make headway and made the fatal mistake of trying to separate me from a banana moment, by telling me there was going to be somewhere much better to stop further on.  “What? Do think there are ****ing armchairs waiting for us 2 miles down the road???!!”  Because, as we all knew, there was not going to be anything to sit on unless we found a cafe or (not).  He was only trying to be helpful poor man. 

One banana later my sugar levels started to rise and my enthusiasm with it and we continued until we stopped and laid down on the side of the road. Literally. Martin went first then Angela then me all in a line by the edge of road.  No pavement or pedestrian area.  Didn’t bother to take off our rucksacks so laid there like upturned turtles and went to sleep.  I did think that it would make a good photo but felt too knackered to reach to the bum bag for my camera.  Woke up to the noise of lorries driving past our heads. 





We got up and went looking for some armchairs.  Stopped briefly at Leiro a small hamlet to: you guessed it take off our boots and socks and rest up.

Arrived at Bar Julia having seen only forest and country lanes on the way and rested.  Boots and socks off.  Hot chicken noodle soup and beer is a fantastic combo!  By now this was half eleven.  With hindsight, we should have left when we felt restored an hour later. But, we wanted to walk together as a group and we didn’t think we had too far to go and we had called the others who were only 15 mins away and so we decided to wait a bit longer and finish the walk together.  Everyone arrived we had a nice lunch and then decided to wait till the heat of the day was gone as it was too hot to walk in the heat.  We left at 5 thinking that we only had 11km to go but the problem for me Martin and Ang was that we had been up since 4 and it was to prove too long a day for us. 



Hot tip: How to take a rest without anyone else knowing
 - talk about the pretty flowers!



The scary steep climb proved to be fairly insignificant after all we had been through so far and we stopped for a celebratory beer at the Cafe in Vizono.  We left at 7 with only 7km to go but somehow this took forever.  Did we get lost I can’t remember but Dave and Martin went on ahead to make sure could get a place at the Albergue.  We were on our last legs when we arrived at 10:00.  It was lights out at 10:30 and we had to have a shower and it would have been nice to have eaten something.  Angela had her “losing the plot on the camino moment”  while me and Martin saved ours for the next day.  Didn’t sleep well for some reason (we were sleeping right by that woman in the video of the empty albergue earlier and I did hit my head when I stood up)

Day 3 – Pontedueme to Betanzos (12 miles)

Me, Angela and Martin set off early at 6 this morning.  Estimates in walking time had been way out so far and with this being a 12 mile day wanted to set off early to miss the heat and in the hopes we would arrive early afternoon.  Having missed out on the beach yesterday wanted to have time to visit the ‘theme park’  in this town. 

It is a really, really, really, really steep that takes you out of town, and it goes on for ever.  One of the disadvantages of walking in the dark is that you don’t pick up the yellow arrows and waymarks and so we missed our turn off and walked up to the main road.  ‘helpful’ locals will give directions as if you are travelling by car and once you are off the signs it is virtually impossible to find the route again and you have to follow the roads to the villages you are looking for. 

Secretly, Martin loves these detours as he is in his element, leading us out of the wilds, sniffing the ground for animal tracks and broken twigs to deduce the presence of recent peregrinos.  Personally I prefer the technical advantage of my ‘HTC legend –not-quite-an-iphone’ and the maps app plus free wifi in the cafes and asking locals to point to the route on the touch screen!  In the end, neither option was successful and we did not pick up the trial until we reached Mino and asked at the tourist information office. 

Went to the nearest cafe, took boots and socks off and drank more beer, ate calamares and cured ham with bread.  Excellent!  The rest of the gang by this time were at the other side of Mino and didn’t not miss the turning! (We were like the advance guard, texting our mistakes so they didn’t do the same!) 

Again this was a very nice walk which led us past the beach and although we were very tempted to run into the sea we were concerned that our plasters would come off! And we had run out of supplies!  Unlike yesterday we did not meet up for lunch as a group.  They were the other side of Mino and were just starting lunch as we finished. 

Angela regressing as we stop for a rest and a play at the top of the hill

We expected to see them on the road later or for them to stop at the cafe and to walk in together but as it turned out they passed us while we were sitting there and so we arrived just after them!  Great to see a cafe that was not on our itinerary and couldn’t resist!  Ang dropped the beer for a brandy and coffee and boots and socks came off for all.  Naturally I went to sleep! 

Stayed in an apartment above a bar called Betanzos Chocolaterie which was ok and found what looked like a nice restaurant but there were concerns from those the next day who braved the seafood paella!  Concerned about the lack of cafe opportunities for the next day the Angelas and myself caught last bell at the supermarket for some goodies to eat on the way.

Day 2 – Neda to Pontedueme (8.5 miles)

Angela has recovered from her ordeal in the forest and is now confident she knows the direction to go in.

Given that we had had such a long day with the travelling, we decided not to set off too early this morning as it was ‘only’ 8 miles or so again.  We expected to get to our destination with enough time to sit on the beach and have a nice swim!  Guess what! Didn’t happen!  We didn’t end up leaving until 11 o’clock but it was a cloudy day with a bit of drizzle and so I wasn’t unduly concerned about the late start.  A really pleasant walk. 

We chose the most comfortable walking speed for ourselves and me, Nurse Ang and Martin hung to the rear and the rest of the group forged ahead. 

Caught up a couple of hours later, drinking beer outside a cafe!  So sat down for our first beer which moved to another and then we felt peckish and then there were delicious tapas all served with fab home-made chips.  Tasty calamares, little chorizos and chicken goujons made with fillet. It was yummy-yum yum.  A group of Spanish peregrinos stopped and we had a good chat.  They were having their backpacks carried by car and we were a bit jealous!

Resumed walking and Martin sped up and walked with the others for a while.  Me and Anglela took our time and did a bit of blackberry picking (they are honestly the most tasty and musky blackberries I have ever tasted!) and stopped at a little house that looked really interesting and went to ask someone if they could take a photo of us because it was so picturesque.

A woman came out shouting loudly (difficult to tell if they are friendly sometimes cos they shout a lot when they are being nice too!)  "etc etc Molina etc etc"  I thought it was her daughter's name or something because she poked her head out but what it was she thought we were wanting to have a look at the Molina which we discovered means Mill.  To our amazement she had a really old functioning water mill that ground up different types of flour and she showed us around and turned it to demonstrate how it worked!  I did video it so if I can get it on the blog I will do so later.

Martin like the true gent he is sat in a bar supping ale on the edge of the town until me and Ang turned up again and we walked together into the centre.  We arrived at about 7.30, an hour after the others and we checked into accommodation. 

Dinner at 9 and walked around the town trying to find somewhere that wasn’t tapas and ended up eating back where we started close to the hotel.

Day 1 – Ferrol to Neda (8 miles)

At the bus station in Santiago - Looking a bit nervous?

The plan was that having flown into Santiago, we would catch the bus to Ferrol and visit the tourist information office to collect our ‘Credencial’ which is a kind of passport or booklet that we get stamped along the way to demonstrate that we have walked the route.  We were then going to lunch and start walking to Neda which was ‘only’ 8 miles after all to the first stage. 

If there were any problems, such as plane delays etc,  we would camp down in Ferrol for the night although this would have meant a 16 mile walk for the first day, so it was to be avoided if possible.  The plane wasn’t delayed but we had to wait an hour for the bus to Ferrol and then the tourist information office was closed till 5 and so we found a nice bar which served nice beer and we waited ..... 

They were'nt really posing!!!!

We did not start walking until 6 in the evening and we fully expected to be there by 9 at the latest.  It was a nice walk that took us round by a sandy beach and pleasant recreation areas and then into the forest.  The faster walkers picked up a pace as it was getting late and were trying to get to the Albergue before they locked up for the night at 10. 

Angela before it got dark and we were running through the forest like crazy people.





The final stragglers (me and Nurse Ang) and Martin who waited for us to catch him up, made it at midnight.

Camino Ingles - Where are all the Cafes?!

Each camino is very different in character. The Camino Ingles is very rural with beautiful countryside. The route took us through a lot of forest and farmland, we saw a lot of corn on the cob, cabbage and potato picking. So no truly nasty smells! It was also very hilly and it was physically demanding. We did go through a couple of seaside towns but these were more Whitstable than Blackpool and as we tended to arrive early or late evening we didn’t have the opportunity to explore.

When you are walking like this, one of the highlights is the cafe! It isn’t JUST for the opportunity to drink an ice cold beer or a caffeine laden coffee it also a sign of life! On this walk there was very little opportunity to sit on a seat, it was the forest floor or sit by the side of the road. A cafe is also a psychological signpost to say “only 20km to go!”. Not forgetting the all-important-loo-stop! We didn’t come across nearly enough of them and when we did we didn’t want to leave! Even the walk into Santiago itself was very pretty with very little motorway walking. The outskirts of the city from the other directions were quite industrialised but this was suburban and pleasant

We were walking for 6 days in all with relatively short days building to 2 longish days then a nice and easy walk into Santiago so that we would be able to spend some time in the city. Or so we thought! For some reason every day took far longer than we expected! So that we only had time to get in, eat and go to bed. Sometimes we didn’t get to eat haha!

We are BACK!!

Hi everyone!  The plan was that we would update the blog en-route and give you a step-by-step account of our daily adventures but alas that was not to be.  Apart from exhaustion and zero if not minus zero time, it was difficult to find technology along the way.

Here we are at 3 in the morning waiting for the Stansted flyer to come and collect us.  Little did we know that we were not going to be in our beds until gone midnight having got lost in the forest! More of that later!

Sue's Memoirs of the Camino Ingles 2010

As Jenny has already said elsewhere the longer the period between the event and the recalling of that event the more we edit our memories and so I had intended to write something as soon as we got home while everything was still fresh in my mind. We’ve now been home just over a week and I’ve only just got round to writing these thoughts and it has surprised me to realise that it is already difficult to separate and recall the events of each day but I hope that the memories are still fresh enough to capture some of the smaller details of the trip. Even so, my memories will no doubt be different to others who were there at the same time at the same events but this is how I remember the days of our pilgrimage.

Wednesday 25th August 2010

The day starts well. The Pilgrims – Jenny, Martin, Angela T, Angela A, Roy, Veronica, Dave and me - all meet up at Stansted airport as planned and everyone is in good spirits despite the early start to the day. After arriving at Santiago de Compostela airport we take a bus to the main bus station and then have to wait over an hour for the bus which takes us to our starting point for the walk in Ferrol. This bus turns out to be a travelling sauna so by the time we arrive we’re all flagging from heat exhaustion and have already sweated out what feels like about half a stone (though this turns out to be wishful thinking). We arrive at the office which distributes the ‘Pilgrims Passport’ papers only to find that it is siesta time and that it does not re-open until 5.30 (‘ish’ in true Spanish style). So we happily go off and have a welcome beer, pick up some food supplies and when we’ve all finally collected our paperwork proceed to the first leg of the walk – a mere 8 miles to Neda, which we estimate should take around two hours. So four hours later and we’re walking in full darkness across some bog land with no sign of the hostel to which we’re heading. By this time me, Dave, Veronica, Roy and Angela T have lost Jenny, Martin and Angela A who are somewhere behind us. We frantically race to meet the 10 o’clock deadline for getting into the hostel and just about make it by the skin of our teeth. (Actually the door had been locked but luckily the ‘commandant’ was kindly and let us in and was sympathetic when we explained that others were on their way.) By now we are all quite concerned about the others when Jenny calls to ask for directions from a nearby bridge – in her words they are ‘shanked’ – and they arrive about an hour after us.
So for most us this is our first experience of staying in an ‘Albergue’. Albergues are government owned hostels – but hostels only for pilgrims. Therefore you need a Pilgrims Passport to stay in one (and a touch of madness also helps). Angela T’s face says it all as she espies the funky showers and the ultra-cool row of bunk beds in the 24 bed dorm. If you ever felt that you missed out on those girl guide/scout holidays get yourself off to an albergue! The only difference is that with age comes snoring but let’s not mention the snoring…….
Oh sod it, let’s talk about the snoring. The next morning, having not slept a wink, Veronica is just about ready to kill anyone suspected of snoring and it has to be said that there was a full symphony of snoring going on for most of the night – no wonder those Italian kids left so early! For some reason this was Veronica and Roy’s first and last Albergue experience.

Thursday 26th August

Jenny, Martin and Angela A set off ahead of the rest of us as they want to get a head start before it gets too warm. The rest of us set off a while later and it’s not long before we find a little coffee shop serving delicious ‘coffee con leche’ served with cakes. Fortified, we set off happily on our second day of walking. Somehow we seem to miss the others but when we stop for lunch they arrive behind us so we all have lunch together – delicious tapas with a beer…or two…and maybe a glass of wine….or two…. While we are eating lunch another group of pilgrims come along – a lovely family from Seville, two brothers and five of their nieces and nephews, who we were to see fairly regularly over the next few days. We all set off again and it’s not long before our group separates again and the afternoon stretches out ahead of us. Alarm bells should have been ringing at this stage because today is supposed to be just over 8 miles yet we started out at about 8.30am and it’s now about 7pm. Eventually, the leading group arrives in Pontedueme to find that the lovely family from Seville are installed in the accommodation Jenny had earmarked for our stay here – waving to us from the windows! There is another hostel opposite but it is closed and doesn’t appear to be opening in the foreseeable future. Oh we should have known the Spanish ways better by now – by the time Jenny comes along it has re-opened and she manages to get a room but by now we have already booked into another hotel. It has to be said though that those white fluffy towels seemed so luxurious after the night before. Our evening finishes with dinner all together and our spirits are revived.

Friday 27th August

Jenny, Martin and Angela A leave at some ungodly hour in the dead of night but the rest of us decide to take advantage of the fresh croissants and coffee on offer in the hotel and it’s tempting to linger there. Nevertheless we set off at the planned time of 9(ish – we are beginning to get the hang of the Spanish timekeeping) and climb our way out of Pontedueme heading towards Betanzos. We seem to keep on climbing for most of the day and, oh boy, some of those hills are steep!
We stop for drinks and a snack in a small town called Mino (I think) and get a text message from the others to say that they are there too but somehow we manage to miss each other. Did we meet up with them later? I can’t remember but we meet the family from Seville again and they tell us that they have been unable to book accommodation in Betanzos because the hotels are full. As we didn’t book in advance this doesn’t bode well for us. We arrive and start to scour the town for somewhere to stay and it seems that we have no option but to stay in a fairly expensive hotel but we are saved from this by the ever resourceful Jenny who manages to find some cheap rooms which turn out to be four rooms in an apartment. Some strategic planning puts the snorers (no names) conveniently at one end of the apartment while the other bedrooms are at the other end! Happiness all round! We find a bar which sells interesting cloudy wine and then go to a restaurant which sells interesting paella. Upset stomachs are the order of the night and so, somewhat queasily, we wake up to face our longest day of walking.

Saturday 28th August

The night before we had decided that today we are going to walk together as a group. Although Jenny Martin and Angela A once again set off under cover of darkness the plan is to meet at lunchtime and then stay together. The morning walk seems to go on endlessly and we keep thinking that ‘Julia’s Bar’ is going to come into view with every bend we go round but it never seems to materialise. Just as we think we can’t go another step we get a text from Jenny to say that they have arrived and we are only a short distance away. The place is worth waiting for and we have a lunch in true Spanish style. So now we are all together and we decide to go and sit by the river until the sun has lost some of its heat – it is fiercely hot today. This doesn’t prove to be as easy as it sounds but soon we are all collapsed in a field in the shade with our boots off and taking a well earned nap. The walk resumes a couple of hours later and we think we will reach our destination by early evening. Ha bloody ha! Once again we find ourselves desperately trying to get out of the forest before it gets dark and trying to reach the Albergue in Hospital do Bruma before they lock us out.
And so our next Albergue experience begins – hmm – well for some of us! Roy and Veronica decide that they will decamp to a hotel in order to preserve their sanity but the rest of us proceed for our next dose of self flagellation. The commandant here turns out to be a headmaster of the old-school kind and starts clapping his hands and telling us to move quickly as it’s ‘lights out’ at 10.30pm. No time for dinner then. It was more than Angela A could bear and causes what I like to think of as her ‘I’m too f****** tired to eat my f****** banana’ moment. It wasn’t funny but it kinda was.......I’m sure she’ll think so too, now. And if Angela T’s face was a picture at the first Albergue then it was nothing compared to the look that emerges when she realises that the showers and toilets are in an outside courtyard – oh yes they are!

Sunday 29th August

So we have survived our second night in an Albergue and we have persuaded Angela A to set off with the ‘late’ morning crowd. Jenny and Martin have already left by about 4am but we decide that it is worth taking time to reorganise bags and have something to eat before setting out this morning. It’s like the division of last rations as remnants of cakes, oat bars and portions of bananas are shared. Desperate times. Off we go and lo and behold we find a cafe open and stop after about 10 minutes for some proper sustenance – it’s amazing how our spirits are revived by the sight of KitKats behind the bar! We also see the older members of the Seville group followed by Veronica and Roy looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after their peaceful night! As we leave the cafe behind it’s not long before the Seville family overtake us looking like they are on a mission to somewhere. When we stop later at another cafe for lunch and see them again we discover that they were hurrying to get to Sunday Mass in the village and we wish that we had done this too. This group also prove to be our friends when they manage to secure a plate of food for us even though we have been told by the grumpy owner that food is not available on Sundays. As it happens it emerges that the ‘grumpy owner’ is recovering from illness and listening to his story turns out to be the most spiritual part of the pilgrimage for me.
The next part of our walk is probably the hardest to endure. The road is flat but seems endless and often we are in the full glare of the sun and there are hardly any places to fill our water bottles. Dave finally resorts to knocking at a house door and the owner allows us into his garden where there is a well and cool running water.
We fill the bottles and although Angela T takes some coaxing we are on our way again and eventually we reach Sigueiro where Jenny, Martin, Roy and Veronica have already arrived and are waiting in a bar. Cold beers all round and suddenly a brass band appear as if to welcome us and we even manage a little jig in our walking boots! Our rooms are just above the bar so no more walking tonight and as there is also a restaurant attached to the bar that’s where we decide to eat dinner.

Monday 30th August

Although there have been a few shaky moments we are complete in number and ready to face the final day’s walk into Santiago de Compostela. Jenny and Martin set off early followed by Veronica and Roy and me, Dave and the two Angelas bring up the rear. By the time we leave, the shops are beginning to open and we stock up with fruit and bread for our lunch because it seems that we are unlikely to find any bars en route. Although this is a short walk compared to the previous two days it still seems to be a long haul. We do, however, find a bar and decide that we simply have to get out of the sun and why not use that time for some beers and maybe a glass or two of wine to wash down our little plates of sausages and chips ;-) And so the final leg of our journey sees us walking into Santiago de Compostela where instead of the euphoric sense of achievement we might have expected to feel we’re simply ready to collapse into the nearest bar. Eventually we move and after surviving the walk Angela A decides to make a spectacular fall off the Cathedral fountain steps and nearly breaks her ankle. Luckily she seems to be intact and we finally seek out the Peregrinos office, collect our Compostela and make our way to our hotel where we meet up with the others. After a quick shower it’s back to the Cathedral for Mass. Unfortunately we don’t see the famous botafumeiro swinging high across the cathedral (though Jenny, Martin, Veronica and Roy were lucky to catch this at the end of the previous Mass) but the Mass is still quite special. Unfortunately the priest doesn’t seem to understand the universal practice of giving a blessing when someone approaches with their arms crossed over their chest and I am left exchanging quizzical looks with the priest before I skulk away back to my pew leaving him helplessly waving the host in the air. Awkward moment.
It’s our last meal together and although we’re all tired there is nevertheless a feeling of ‘mission accomplished’ and it’s also an appropriate time to celebrate Jenny’s 50th birthday. I really hope it has lived up to her expectations as she put so much effort into the preparation of the trip. Without a doubt it has been a challenge but I can honestly say that it’s been a great experience for me. I’ve enjoyed the camaraderie and spending time with old friends and getting to know new ones. Yes, there have been highs and lows but the highs have definitely outweighed the lows for me. So would I do it again? Well, I don’t know about anyone else but Dave and I are already planning our next expedition – maybe the Portuguese way next year!



Tuesday 31st August – Friday 3rd September

After waving everyone off (well, in our thoughts anyway even if we didn’t get out of our beds) we spent the morning in Santiago and then moved on to Baiona, a small coastal town south of Santiago heading towards Portugal. The journey was interesting as we decided to take the train to Vigo and then a bus connecting to Baiona. When we came into Vigo we wondered what we were letting ourselves in for but we needn’t have worried – Baiona was beautiful with sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. Wednesday was spent exploring the place and on Thursday we took a boat to Las Islas Cies, voted no.1 in the Guardian 2007 as the best beach in the world. On Friday we travelled to Oporto and spent a few hours in the city before returning home on Friday evening. It had been a really relaxing way to end the holiday.