Camino Vía de la Plata

I slept well last night and woke with a sense of excitement about the day—walking into Santiago and finishing my Camino. My plan was to put off exploring the city today and leave that for when I return next week. Instead, I intended to catch an early morning bus from Santiago to Muxia, a town on the coast where I could relax and enjoy my achievement away from the Easter crowds in the city. This morning’s walk was short but refreshing. Despite the squally showers that forced me to keep my waterproofs on, I pushed ahead. After a couple of hours, I found myself walking into the city. Coming in from a direction I hadn’t taken before, I was unexpectedly rewarded with a close-up view of the cathedral towers—it was stunning. The city streets were still quite quiet as I made my way toward the center and then headed off to the bus station. Arriving early, I settled on a bench, took off my rucksack and waterproofs, and waited. About ten minutes later, a German pilgrim named Walter jo...

My Albergue at A Susana Through the night, I could hear the rain hitting the window, and by morning, it only intensified. My plan was to wait until noon, when I had to vacate my room, and then venture out onto the trail. I had 30km to walk—about six hours—and had decided to stick to the main road, which wasn’t ideal as it was much busier than the roads further south. Around 11 o’clock, while lying on my bed, I suddenly decided to take a taxi today. I just couldn’t face walking in the rain. It was a difficult decision because I really wanted to walk—especially being so close to Santiago. On balance, though, I felt it was the right thing to do. I went down to reception and asked the lady there to call a taxi for me. She phoned them up and assured me it was sorted; the taxi would arrive in just a few minutes. I rushed back up to my room, grabbed my coat and rucksack, and was about to close the door when I thought, “I should check if I’ve got everything.” That’s when I spotted ...

Adapting Plans in My Final Week Planning for this past week has felt completely different. I've thrown my original plans out the window and started making them up on a day-to-day basis. This change has been driven by new opportunities—like discovering a lovely new Albergue last night—feeling more capable at the end of each day's walk, and adapting to increasingly wet weather. Today, I received a severe weather warning on my phone, cautioning about heavy rainfall overnight and throughout tomorrow. Yesterday, I adjusted today's route, walking further and booking a hotel for tonight. My thinking was that staying here would allow me to wait until midday tomorrow—rather than being asked to leave by 8 a.m. The forecast suggests that the rain will ease up in the afternoon, so I'm hoping the trail won't be too challenging. I'll report back in tomorrow’s blog, although I might be delayed since I won't arrive until early evening. To...

Just a few days left I had managed to avoid some heavy rain over the past couple of days, but today, I wasn’t quite so lucky. I left the albergue, shutting the door behind me with a loud click. Making my way through the largely deserted streets of the city, I crossed an original Roman bridge that was quite impressive. It arched steeply, unlike modern bridges, and made me appreciate its ancient design. It took me quite a while to reach the suburbs, where the path began to ascend steeply—first winding through streets lined with houses perched on the hillside, and then, about 30 minutes later, into the countryside. At first, there were only a few brief showers, but soon, the rain came steadily, lasting for about two hours. The paths transformed into streams, and at times, it was hard to decide where to walk.  In truth, it didn’t matter much—my shoes and socks were soaked through anyway. The temperature had dropped as well, and I found myself starting to feel co...

Dan did come to the same albergue as me. He took a single room, and I opted for the shared dorm. As it turned out, there were only the two of us there last night, so we each had our own room. Dinner was served in the bar at 7 p.m., which was early for us. We went down promptly as soon as it opened and had a nice chat about our lives. Dan lives in Texas with his two daughters, his son-in-law, and they enjoy a family meal every Monday. Today, we had only a short walk to Ourense, so I really tried not to get up early. I could hear the rain pouring down outside when I woke up, so I planned to leave at 7:30. Dan was ready to go at the same time, so I said goodbye and headed out. I was so pleased to find that the rain had already stopped. In fact, I experienced only a brief shower later in the morning, despite the forecast for showers all day. As I was leaving town, I saw Reiki, a Japanese lady I’d met on the way to Laza two days ago. She recognized me, and we exchanged hellos. I...

Rain was forecast for most of the day, and after yesterday’s long walk, I wasn’t sure how far I’d be able to go.  I was up and out early, keen to get some miles in before the rain started. Before leaving town, I had to drop off my Albergue keys at the civil emergency office. They’d told me to put them in the letterbox on the wall, but when I got there, the office was locked, and the letterbox was inside behind closed doors. Luckily, there were some freshly delivered newspapers on the doorstep, so I tucked the keys into one and just hope they find them okay.  The first challenge of the day was a big climb—370 meters over 4 kilometers—and I wanted to tackle as much of it as possible before the rain arrived. Amazingly, I made it all the way to my next Albergue before the first drops fell. As I sit here now, looking out of the window, it’s raining steadily, and I feel grateful for my timing.  The climb itself was tricky; the rocks were slippery, and I had to be ca...

Chris and I had dinner at 9 p.m. yesterday, which was quite late for me—though perfectly normal for Spanish locals. At a nearby table was another pilgrim, Stephanie from Germany. She soon came over to join us, and we had a lovely time together. Because of the late night, I didn’t sleep too well, despite having my own room. I got up a bit later than usual but still left before sunrise. Stephanie mentioned she planned to get a taxi to the first town, A Gudiña (8 km), and then start walking from there. I must have stayed ahead of her because when I passed through the town, I didn’t see her. As I left A Gudiña and entered the countryside, the sun began to break through the thick fog surrounding everything. Bit by bit, the beautiful scenery was revealed. It was truly a gorgeous day for walking. The valleys were shrouded in low clouds, which created a breathtaking spectacle. At one point, the guidebook mentioned a huge reservoir in the valley below, but al...

Today's walk was a big one in more ways than one. It started with a climb to the highest point of the entire journey: Padornelo Pass at 1,365m. I took the N-525 again, as I don’t think I would have made it through the woods and countryside—it had rained overnight, making the paths likely muddy and quite slippery. Confirming what a Spanish pilgrim told me yesterday about the possibility of snow next week, I noticed red and white poles on both sides of the road (used to indicate snow depth). These poles ran from the village where I began the day all the way to where I finished, and at the top of the mountain, there was even a gritting depot. The climb to the pass took me about an hour and a half of continuous effort, gaining 365m in altitude. To my surprise, the route included a tunnel through the mountain. Walking through it felt a bit risky, but thankfully it was early, and the road was quiet on this Saturday morning. Just a minute after I exited the other s...

Another dry and fresh morning greeted me as I stepped outside and shut the door behind me, hearing the latch lock click into place. It’s always a moment of pause when that happens: *Have I got everything? What did I forget? Well, there’s no going back now, so I might as well start the new day.* I’m pleased to say I haven’t lost anything yet on this Camino, but since I have to move every day, I’m constantly checking to make sure I’ve got everything. Once again, I took to the quiet main road, the N-525, and made my way to the historic town of Puebla de Sanabria. It’s a lovely place, with its historic fortifications dating back to the 12th century, built to guard against attacks from Portugal. Although the fortifications were left in ruins for centuries, they were restored in the 20th century and now stand proudly again. On the outskirts of the town, I left the road and took a track that led down to the river. At first, it seemed like a big mistake—it wound along l...

Yesterday, I had a lazy afternoon sitting in the sun and then relaxing under cover in the kitchen/dining area. It had a large door that opened onto the entrance and led out to the garden. Throughout the afternoon, swallows kept flying in and around the space, and one usually perched on one of the beams. I noticed that the owner had left a hole in the wall when it had been rendered, and the swallows had made a nest there. I assume there had been a nest in the same spot before the property was renovated some years ago. Later in the day, another pilgrim arrived to stay the night, just like me. His name is Johan, and he’s from South Africa. We got along really well and spent the afternoon chatting. In the evening, the owner of the albergue made us dinner—a really tasty stew with loads of beans and chorizo. He left us with a bottle of wine and the big pot of stew. By the end of the meal, we (well, mostly I) had managed to finish it all, and I honestly couldn’t eat an...