Travel inspired

Hello:  Hola (oo-LA)

Thank you:  Gracias (GRA-see-es)

Currency: Euro

Spanish is the national language, but English is spoken widely along the Camino and most restaurants have English menus.

Note:  If traveling into Spain from Portugal, it is an hour later time difference.

It was to be a 25-year anniversary trip.  Not with my significant other (still looking!) but with two friends I met 25 years ago on the hike to Machu Picchu.  Once we realized we were approaching a quarter-century anniversary, we decided we should meet for another adventure.  And thus, we conceived the trip to Portugal with the intention to build in a walk on the Camino de Santiago. 

Although we were walking the Camino Portugues, we technically started our walk from Vigo, Spain as with limited time, our focus was to walk the last 100km to qualify for our official pilgrim certificate. To facilitate hotel bookings each night and the transport of our main luggage bag (we all had a carry-on for the bulk of our luggage and a day pack to carry on the hike), I booked this support with Hike the Way, a U.S. based travel company, to handle the logistics. In Spain, teetravel transported our bags each day.  Everything worked out great and eliminated the headache (or backache) from carrying everything with us and having to find lodging each night.

It was a great experience for many reasons – reconnecting with two friends I had met 25 years ago hiking the Inca trail, the daily exercise of walking through forests, fields, and small villages, and the opportunity to meet other pilgrims and share stories. Hike the Way had sent each of us the emblematic shell, each of us tethering it to our back packs to announce our pilgrim status.  And it was easy to spot the navigational shells every day as we walked, confirming that we were still on the trail.  The signs could be yellow hash marks on buildings or posts, or a painted yellow shell often on a blue tile background, affixed to another structure or post.  It was not easy to get lost. The most confusing section was leaving Vigo, but there were other pilgrims we could consult, comparing GPS maps and sometimes asking locals which way to continue.  They were obviously used to seeing the backpacked pilgrims and sent us on our way with a smile.  Fortunately, Hike the Way had also supplied us with an app that we could consult to make sure we were on track.  After the first day, we found we rarely had to consult it.  

Along the way, you want to make sure to have your pilgrim passport stamped at the beginning and end of every day, to verify your journey.  There are also opportunities for additional stamps as you walk.  For instance, some enterprising people have set up stops where they offered special stamps (a wax version in the color of your choice was a popular option) for a small no-pressure contribution.  It is worth a little wait for a unique stamp, and it is a good excuse to stop for a quick rest.

One thing to note if you are walking with friends, you need to walk at your own pace to be comfortable each day.  It’s not worth it to rush one person or slow your pace for another.  Just walk.  You can plan stopping points to catch up with each other and you will all meet at the end of the day since you are going to the same place.

A tradition is to bring a small rock from home, representing your burdens, which you place along the trail once you feel “unburdened”.  There were several spots where we could see the stones people had left along the way.

To expediate receiving your pilgrim certificate when you reach the end in Santiago de Compostela, you will need to pre-register at https://oficinadelperegrino.com/registro-individual.  You will be sent a QR code (keep track of the email or take a screen shot) which you will present at the pilgrim’s office where they hand you a number and you take your place in line.  It is all so well organized!  You will also want to purchase the distance certificate for only a few additional euros.  They even offer a small cardboard tube you can purchase to protect your precious documents during the rest of your travels.

Be sure to bring snacks to eat along the way and a rain poncho to cover yourself and your backpack.  Even though it only rained one afternoon on our journey, my poncho-less friend was pretty soaked when we reached our destination.

Spain Hotels (all included breakfasts):

·  Vigo – Hotel Ciudad de Vigo. An older hotel but well situated and comfortable.

·  Arcade – Isape Restaurante. A basic, very clean hotel with multiple beds in each room, a good dinner on site, across from a small church.

·  Pontevedra – Hotel Galicia Palace. A more modern hotel, very centrally located and a short walk to the old city center with beautiful buildings and a church.

·  Caldas de Reis – A Casa Do Latoneiro (Hotel Pousada Real). We actually had a private hotel for the three of us! We checked in at the Hotel Pousada Real and were directed to a small building about a block away.  The three-floor building had a separate room on each floor for each of us.  And we were the only guests!

·  Padron – Hotel Rosalia. Located right across from the train station.

·  Rua Francos - Casa Rural Restaurante Parada de Francos.  An older renovated stable in a lovely quiet location.  There were not a lot of restaurants around, but it was a short walk to a grocery store.

·  Santiago de Compostela – Hotel Gelmirez. A nice modern hotel only blocks away from the center of Santiago and the bus/train station. You can even book a massage!  Bonus - there was a laundromat around the corner for washing your sweat-infused wardrobe. 

Food! Remember this is Spain and most restaurants do not serve dinner until 8 or 8:30 p.m.  A few notable options below.

·  Vigo - Berty’s Burgers.  I’m not a big burger fan but these burgers had some unique topping offerings and were delicious.

·  Pontevedra - Il Piccolo (Italian)

·  Santiago – Restaurante Central Santiago (great scallops); Las Vegas (recommended by a local and had excellent squid); Galician soup (delicious with vegetables, potatoes, and beans); the almond tarta from the Benedictine nun at St. Pelayo Monastery.

The Camino Experience

Our most challenging day was the first day (16 miles), walking from Vigo to Arcade.  It was a little tough getting out of Vigo since the signs were difficult to find. We saw other pilgrims looking as confused, and we consulted with each other, using different apps to try to find the correct path since the signs were almost non-existent.  A lot of very steep hills, mostly on pavement so not extremely challenging.  We walked through a lot of forest once we left the streets of Vigo (and the bike path).  We met one man carrying a liter of Coke in his pack (breakfast of trail champions!) who said he and his friend had walked from Porto.  People of all ages, shapes, and sizes (many not looking so fit), were walking on the trail, enjoying themselves on a sunny and temperate day.  We stopped for lunch in Redondela and had pizza and salads at a small restaurant crowded with small groups and other pilgrims.  We walked through more farms on the way out of town, along a busy highway for a short time, and then up steep hills to join a dirt path through a forested section before another very steep hill (15% grade) and then finally downhill until we reached Arcade. It was a bit exhausting for a first day, but we were happy for hot showers and a great dinner of salmon and vegetables at the restaurant. 

The second day’s walk was much easier (8 miles), walking from Arcarde to Pontevedra.  A few hills, across an old Roman road, the stones still bearing grooves from carts and carriages.  One highlight - we made a stop for a certificate stamp made with wax and a small shell charm. Most of the trail wound through forests, cool shade, and alongside a stream, little bridges here and there to avoid the water.  We walked until we reached Pontevedra.  On to lunch for some Italian food, then a nice wander through the old town and the fabulous old buildings, especially the Church of La Peregrina, shaped in a curve like a scallop shell.  As we wandered the town, we bumped into a woman we had met on the train from Porto to Vigo and stopped to compare notes on our journeys.  Then we looked for the shell signs to have a jump on the next day’s path forward.  

On our third day (14 miles), we started the walk from downtown Pontevedra, and it was well marked with signs.  Our destination was Caldas de Reis.  We crossed a wide river and then followed the signs and the people through woods, along highways, and through small villages.  I was about 20 minutes ahead of my friends and stopped to wait for them at a small restaurant along the trail, contemplating lunch. Since the offerings didn’t look too tempting, we decided to power on to our final stop.  And then it began to rain.  Bring a poncho to cover yourself and your pack!  One friend did not have a jacket or poncho and was drenched.  Fortunately, it was still warm enough that being wet was not too much of a concern.  When we finally arrived in Caldas de Reis, we stopped at the first place we could find for a quick lunch and then walked on to our hotel.  How exciting it was to find the hotel manager was directing us to our own building with three rooms, a relatively new and very nice place.  Next on the list, enjoying the hot springs to soak our feet with other pilgrims, followed by massages at a small place close to the church with a woman named Chus.  It was a very welcome and excellent manipulation of our road weary body parts.  I felt immediate relief.  A quick bite for dinner and then time to relax in our private abode.

On day four, it felt like a long walk from Caldas de Reis to Padron (12 miles), snacking on edamame beans and dried figs to bolster my energy.  No rain today, but some hop-scotch around the many puddles.  We left town following a herd of pilgrims and soon entered some lovely forests where I walked in cool shade.  I walked alone most of the day setting an even pace to enjoy the sunny breezy day, on a trail that was an easy trek.  We marched on until I encountered a Sunday afternoon market in the town of Padron. It wasn’t easy to know if I was still on the trail as I meandered through the crowds inspecting booths full of goods – t-shirts and other clothing as well as produce. I sat and waited for the others since our hotel seemed a bit remote and not a likely spot for lunch.  We had some good Mexican food and then continued through the downtown area, across the river and over to the train station to see the hotel situated across the street. The hotel seemed to be in mid-renovation since the reception/eating area and the hallways did not match the rooms.  The bed was quite ancient and the bedding, well, a green flowered sheet.  No complementary water in the room.  The best excuse for a post-hike beer downstairs.  For dinner, we had soup and salad at the hotel because it was too much effort to walk another mile or so into the main town area. 

On day five we had a lazy morning start for our seven-mile journey to Rua de Francos.  After breakfast and packing our bags, we wandered down through Padron, looking for the shell signs designating the continuation of the Camino.  On the way to town, we stopped at a small park and marveled at a large sequoia planted in the center, stretching up to the sky as all sequoias do.  We settled at a quaint coffee place before we started our hike for the day.  More walking through small villages with beautiful stone homes, many looking newly built, along narrow roads between stone walls.  Lots of vineyards and slowly dying hydrangeas; a sunny day with a light wind to keep us from sweating.  We made one quick stop for a one-euro restroom break at a small cafe.  Onward. Crowds seemed to dwindle a bit as we were nearer our final destination.  Once we reached our hotel, we discovered we had a building to ourselves again, this time it was a renovated stable (the doors were a dead giveaway) with two rooms upstairs and one down, and a large kitchen/ living area with beautiful wood floors and accents.  The site manager informed us that they would not be able to provide lunch or dinner because the chef was sick.  We found a small restaurant about 10 minutes away where they served us the menu of the day - a rice dish with seafood followed by thin slices of pork served over French fries.  Delicious! Good food, but I don’t recommend the wine.  A couple at a table next to us ordered a bottle and then offered the remainder to us.  As we sipped on the offering, our eyes met, and we all smiled in recognition of what I would describe as a very basic bottle of wine.  One thing we found, having arrived on a Monday, there were very few restaurants open for dinner.  As we sat in the hotel dining area having drinks, the staff very generously accommodated the few of us staying at the hotel with sardines, bread, and some pickled mussels in place of dinner.  Isn’t the point of a multi-day hike to lose weight anyway?

The final day was an eight-mile journey and a push to reach the Santiago cathedral and attend the noon mass for pilgrims.  I was determined to make it!  A cold morning, a weak breakfast, and a final day to enjoy walking in Spain.  I was soon so far ahead of the others and kept going, looking for the signs which were not so obvious at times. I kept in contact by sending WhatsApp messages to my friends to help keep them on trail.  I met a couple of young women from Taiwan and an older couple from Australia to walk the last bit into Santiago.  Then the confusion of masses of people and streets while looking for the signs, all while heading for the towers, peaking above the crowds and the other buildings.  And then I was in the main square, pilgrims with their tell-tale shells on backpacks sitting and lying about, crowds of non-pilgrims posing for photos in front of the massive and impressive buildings.  But where to go for the mass?  I started walking around the enormous building to find the church and queue for the mass which I made just in time. The cool stone interior was a fitting end to the journey.  I sat on the floor along the wall, my backpack beside me, while the priest chanted in Spanish and I tried to respond in English from my Catholic upbringing. The magnificence of the interior quieted most attendees – the opulence of the gold, the high, high ceilings, and the large metal cage of swinging incense. A “phone cop” scolded people who had phones out, and I was thinking it was a shame that people could not put their phones down for the mass.  The mass was not too long and soon it was time for the sign of peace. 

I made my retreat and found my friends at a café outside – they had just managed to see me before I entered the church.  We enjoyed lunch and a quick rest before searching for the certificate office.  It was a fast queue to claim our certificates and then find the “0” mile marker for a photo.  We made it!  Amen.  

I do recommend spending an extra day to relax and explore Santiago de Compostela before you leave. Make time to visit the Museo Catedral de Santiago.  It’s best to purchase tickets ahead of time online as the tickets sell out quickly and there are limited English tours.  Include the Portico of Glory and the Tower/roof of the Cathedral (which seems to be a liability in disguise) for amazing views over the city. Then to the monastery museum, another exercise in magnificence with elaborate, gold filled alters, carved cherubs, and other art.  Take a stroll through the area as there is plenty to explore.  You’ve earned it!  And of course, you have to buy an almond tarta from the Benedictine nuns at St. Pelayo Monastery, where we encountered a sweet nun (stationed at a window, behind bars) who happily let us take a photo.  Please ring for service!  We bought a huge tarta which we cut and sampled immediately.  Of course.  

Since our plans were to return to Porto for a few days, we had booked a bus for the journey.  I booked our bus through alsa.es as they had more trips per day versus Flixbus. It was a four-hour ride (you lose an hour going back to Portugal, so it looks like three) and the driver made a couple of restroom stops.  The bus/train station in Santiago is new and very nice.  You can sit and have something to eat and drink before your journey but allow enough time as it can be crowded.  

Most of all – have fun in your pilgrimage!  Soon you will find yourself plotting which route to take when you return another time. 😎