Good-Bye Camino Ingles! Hello More Adventures!

September 14, 2017.   

Sigueiro, Spain

In my last post I was trying to figure out what was going on with the enormous blister on my left heel.  

Picture from yesterday!

Fortunately I have a family who pushes me to do the right thing and I asked to have an appointment  set up for me at a clinic called Andarela.  I was very happy with the treatment that they gave me!  The person who helped me was fast, very professional, and very patient with all of my questions.  She explained to me that my blister is not infected (gracias a Dios),  but that it’s inflamed.  She took off the top cover of the blister (don’t do this yourself) cleaned everything and dressed it in a way that helps it to breathe and also to dry out and prevent infection!  I was very impressed.  The only thing that I didn’t have her do was to write down the instructions.  Hopefully I’ll get it all correct for tomorrow! Also it was very economical.  I felt much better immediately afterwards! Thank you very very much!

Talking about good treatment; a very big shout out to Chencho, the owner of Pension Vilanova.  He has been treating me like a queen during my stay here.  Look at this wonderful breakfast!

He’s been very supportive during this uncertain time and I have had some wonderful conversations with both him and his mother-in-law who helps him.

This is a new business, but Chencho strives to anticipate what his guests will need and to make their stay a great one.  I’m very impressed with his attention to detail and energy!  Here’s a picture of my room, but it really doesn’t do it justice. Definitely a great place to stay!

After my foot treatment I had to have coffee and a pastry to celebrate and then walked around Sigueira a bit after my foot appointment and then had a great lunch at Miras. It was nice to be able to walk some!

That’s actually coffee and some bites if tortilla. I had the pastry earlier.

The intersection where I had both coffee and lunch

A really big paella pan

The store where you can get anything and everything!

This is the Center for the study of the Camino Ingles?

The library, but I came at 3pm and it was closed

Sigueiro town hall

A memorial for those who died in the Madrid bombing

The “Menu of the Day”

Chicken thigh, drumstick with french fries

Cheese Cake

Ok, I was told by the foot professional that it would take about a week for my heel to heal completely.  So, I had to make a decision.   There are other things that I’d like to see and do while in Spain so I’m going to the beach for a few days and will do some “light” walking and not give my foot anymore trauma than I have to for right now.  

Somewhat disappointing, but someday I’ll go back to Presedo and finish my walk to Santiago on the Camino Ingles!  

I will have some more adventures, please feel free to continue reading my blog! 

Thank you for all of your supportive comments!

Status: Stalled – Camino Ingles Day 8

September 13, 2017 

Sigueiro – Pension Vilanova. 

Well, it’s hard to walk in flip flops for any long distance and it’s too painful to wear my walking shoes. So my Camino has stalled for the moment.

No pictures from today, sorry.  Tomorrow I’m going to try to walk into town.

One of my cousins pointed out to me that everything happens for a reason.  I totally agree. 

Going one step further (sorry for the pun) I think that sometimes good things can come from a change in plans, so I don’t get as disappointed as I once would have become.

This morning I had to decide what to do since I could only walk in flip flops so I decided to take the bus from Meson Novo to Sigueiro and stay at Pension Vilanova.  

Another woman was waiting for the bus too. Without giving too many personal details, we had a lively conversation from about 11:30am to 3:00pm! It was wonderful getting to know this woman from a totally different background, experience and country and to see how our philosophy about life is so similar!

I would not have met her if I walked today so am very happy in spite of my initial disappointment!

As for my plans.  I will stay here tonight and tomorrow; go to a clinic to make sure that my blister is ok (I think that it is) and then see how I feel after that. The good news is that my knee is fine, the wifi is good and there are many things that I can do while getting better.

By the way.  My new friend told me that the albergue at Hospital de Bruma was full last night and that there was additional room for 20 people at the deportivo.  They ran out of mattresses though.  Wow!

There is also a lot of “talk” from other people that I’ve met about the amount of asphalt walking and how before it was different.

About my accommodation for my next two nights; Pension Vilanova is not inexpensive, but is new (3 months), very nice, and the owner is providing great customer service! It’s about a 15 minutes walk out of town.

As for my plans…..I’ll get back to Santiago sometime, but I still want to spend some time in Southern Spain and also go to Barcelona to see Sagrada Familia! So we’ll see what happens. 

One day at a time! I’ll be blogging my adventures when I get back on my feet (hopefully soon).

Thanks for following my blog.

Ampolla Alert – Camino Ingles Day 7

September 12, 2017 Presedo to Hospital de Bruma 8.5 miles (13.7 according to my best calculation from Eroski and JWS) since I did not walk it!

When I got back from having an early dinner last night I got ready for a shower and had a horrible surprise; the blister (ampolla in Spanish) that had started out small in Miño had grown to a huge size!  

I left the picture at the bottom just in case anyone was eating.

Anyway, the only thing to do at that point was to operate.  I had to be careful though to not get it infected. I’d had that problem before!

After it was done I got it ready for the night and went to sleep.  

Staying at albergues has its good  and bad points.  The good part is that they’re economical and you can meet people there.  We had a good group of people, but the bad part is that people snore (I’m one of those) and also people want to get up at different times the next morning. The other bad part for me is that usually the beds are too hard.

I usually end up waking up when the first people do and although I’m a sound sleeper it’s easiest for me just to stay up.

So I eventually got dressed and had a hard time walking in my shoes because of the rubbing against where my blister was located.  

The albergue as I was leaving

Walking the kilometer to breakfast was painful due to the blister and beachside my knee was acting up again.  

I had to make a decision.  Did I think that I could hobble 8 miles like this? Even with the recent changes this was supposed to be the hardest part of the Camino.  So I decided to rest again and took a taxi to Hosoital de Bruma.  I hadn’t slept well 2 nights in a row so I thought that I should get some rest.

Very nice place and people

Waiting for my room

WOW, really nice room!

Caldo Gallego

Steak and french fries

Dessert of Quince with Galician cheese

 

Ok, don’t scroll down any farther if you are squeamish!

So, tomorrow’s another day!  Will I walk to Sigueira?

I’ll let you know what happens!  

Rock On! – Camino Ingles Day 6

September 11, 2017 Betanzos to Presedo 9.3 miles (15 km on my phone)

I woke up briefly this morning in Betanzos at about 3am hearing something outside of my window. I think that someone was out there in the dark taking in his/her clothing from the line where it was drying. Probably a good idea because it seems to rain a bit each night.

The Pension that I was staying in was kind of interesting.  There are several bedrooms with twin beds, a shared bathroom, kitchen and deck where clothes can be hand washed and hung up to dry.  The window of my room opened up directly to the deck.  Not the ideal room, but it was economical, clean and safe.

I ended up going back to sleep and then waking up a few hours later.  It was dark out and I wanted to wait until 8am when the local bar opened so that I could use their wifi.  At 8:10am they were not open.  Darn!

So I went to the Chocolateria to get more churros.  Which was really a hardship!

I started talking to a Germán woman who had left her phone charger at Pontedeume!  Her friends had left, but she didn’t want to continue without a charger.  The problem?  No stores open yet to get another one and she didn’t speak Spanish to get any help.  I don’t know what finally happened, but when I left the plan was that she would wait until the “Chinese Store” opened (like a dollar store where I’m from.  These seem to always have people of Asian ancestry working there). If she couldn’t find a charger there she would take a taxi to Pontedeume and back to Betanzos.  She wanted to walk to Hospital de Bruma after that. I never did see her during my walk to Presedo, but I am curious about how it turned out!

So with that happening, then briefly finding wifi to update my family, then getting somewhat lost as I always do when leaving a town, I was on the road at a very early 9:40am!

There was a bit of a climb at first, but nothing compared to the climb out of Pontedeume! 

I felt better about the hill climb after taking the picture below.  

There was an opportunity to take a better picture of the view, but I didn’t want to walk back and then have to climb up again 😩😩

After the climb I was on a country road seeing what people plant in their gardens and sometimes going through forests of eucalyptus trees.

What in the world is this?

Can you see the bell peppers?

Long green beans

There is a bus from Betanzos to Presedo if anyone needs it.

Dog Center?

I had good memories of staying in a Rectoral, but this one was in the wrong direction!

Is that Scarecrow a Peregrino?

Below is a picture of two Peregrinos with huge backpacks.  One was a woman with pink hair.

I took this next picture right before meeting two Galician women who were picking up the chestnuts that had fallen to the ground.  I spoke with them and they told me that these “castañas” are really tasty!

After that was a longish stretch of gravel.  Due to my knee I was walking very cautiously so was quickly overtaken by three men from Napoli!  Oh yes, I forgot to mention the couple from Houston.  The first Americans that I had run into on this Camino.

At this point I started walking a stretch of highway that seemed to go on forever.  My very least favorite thing to do.  Also it was getting warmer out.  Asphalt plus heat isnt good for your feet or your knees.

These old churches are pretty neat.

I think that I saw this bush in Portugal 🇵🇹

Verbena, one of my most favorite plants!

Still on asphalt. When will I arrive?

I think that this is a lantana plant, but I’ve never seen the round things.

I can’t tell you how happy that I was to see the sign below! At this point I was still walking fine; but was ready for the end of the day.

Even happier to see this sign!

And here I am! 

There were two Hungarian women already at the albergue.  I got a spot on a bottom bunk in the corner to have a bit of privacy.  Shortly afterwards 3 young Spaniards came, two were from Madrid and one from Valencia.  They had traveled together before. The albergue eventually filled up with a couple from Minnesota, some more Spaniards and someone from Ireland.

After I had rested a bit I went to have a bite to eat before taking my shower.

There’s a place about 1 kilometer away (I found out today that it was just opened about a year ago).

Garbanzos with pork in a tasty broth.

Flan casero (homemade)

I thought that the food was great and that the family who runs it is charming!

After that I went back to the albergue to shower and discovered………..well, I’ll tell you in my next post.   

Next day, the hardest stretch goes to Hospital de Bruma.

Patience or Patient -Camino Ingles Day 5

September 10, 2017 Miño to Betanzos 7.3 miles (11.72 km according to my phone).

A day of “rest” helped a lot and proved that having patience was much better than doing too much and becoming a patient!

I was going to start out bright and early, but a miscommunication at the Hostel nipped that in the bud.  Never the less it was a beautiful morning and the beginning of a very enjoyable walk.

This house kind of caught my eye!  Then I saw this view and almost ran into a cat.  He didn’t seem to be at all bothered to have his picture taken!

From there it was up and over to get out of the city.

I continued down a quiet country road along the water to Ponte do Porco.  I have no idea why this area is called Pig’s Bridge, but there was a statue.  The bar besides it was closed though 😟

It’s hard to see, but this was a pumpkin!

A pretty view across the water!

A pig and a cross, what story is behind this?

 

More country road along the water until coming to this small bridge.

I was hoping that it’d be less than 13 km to Betanzos!

Grapes!

I couldn’t take a picture of the bridge, but this sign talked about the history.  I really enjoy it when they have these available!

Across the bridge and then through several small neighborhoods.

Much bigger than I’ve ever seen!

I wish that I could harvest these lemons!

A man from Madrid breezed by me in no time on the hill.

Just a little bit before the picture above, there were some houses and then afterwards a playground.  I was walking by one of the houses and I started hearing a voice.  I couldn’t see where it was coming from, but a woman was saying hi to me from her third story window!  I had to bend my head a lot to look up at her so we didn’t speak long, but she was very nice and wanted to wish me a safe journey. 

Fountain of Vila de Meus y Gas

“for the neighbors of the fountain 1883”

Daily picture for my mom.

I was a bit curious about this!

What is this?

I couldn’t quite get a good angle.

San Martiño de Tiobre IX century

Oranges!

I looked back down into the valley and saw a fixer upper!

I attended a small part of the mass

Walking down hill should be easy

Finally Betanzos! Another bridge to cross.

An entrance to the old part of town

A picture back across the river while drinking a Fanta!

An example of some of the stairs in the old section of town

Above are 2 pictures of the main plaza.  My backpack was waiting for me at one of the bars.  

From there I went in search of the Pension where I was going to stay.  It is in the newer part of town, not far from the plaza. 

The name had caught my eye, Chocolateria, but I found out that the Pension is close by, but not in the same building.  The owner of the Pension, Begonia (yes, that’s her name), was very helpful.  

I was really hungry and wanted to go to the plaza to eat.  I can’t remember the name of the dish below, but it was basically meat and potatos and tasted good!

Just a short note that during my stay here I got behind in my blog.  No wifi at the Pension, and since I was still trying to figure out how to online send my backpack to the next stop I ran a bit late with everything.  

Stay tuned for how I got from Betanzos to Presedo all in one piece!

Not the End of the World – Camino Ingles Day 4

September 9, 2017. Miño to Miño 5.4 miles (8.69 km per my phone)

No, that wasn’t a typo.  I stayed in Miño today.  This morning I woke up before my alarm after a great nights sleep, stepped out of bed and said “OUCH“!  Actually I was thinking something else in that moment.  

Apparently my right knee did not like the 29 floors (according to my phone) that I went up.  Now what?

I spent some time rubbing my knee and considering my options.  I tried walking again and it was somewhat better. I thought back to other Camino challenges:

2011 Camino Frances I had about 8 blisters and went to the doctor, got sick with fever, had problems with my allergies.

2013 Camino Frances went pretty well really, I can’t remember any big problems. One or two small blisters.

2015 Caminho Portuguese da Costa I had two bad blisters and one of those got infected. I won’t forget that soon.

So my point is that I’m ok.  I can walk fine, most of the time. It’s not the end of the world.  I’m disappointed, but fortunately I have plenty of time. I decided that I would do the following:

1) stay in Miño today and  just exercise lightly.

2) take some anti-inflammatory medication and use some cream

3) see if I can find a knee brace

4) walk to Betanzos tomorrow and send my backpack to my next stop.  

I went down to breakfast where I saw the Italian Peregrinos from Milan that I had met yesterday.  It felt a bit lonely seeing them leave after breakfast and then have to carefully walkup the two flights of stairs to my room.

However I walked back down those same stairs and took the opportunity to explore this pretty town some more. Here are some things that many Peregrinos see while on Camino.

The Pharmacy

The Grocery Store

The place where you buy churros!

I did go for a second breakfast here. The churros were still good.  This time with coffee!

The local church

The church was not open, but the sign gave me its name.

The Menu del Dia

The above reminds me a bit of what my mom calls the blue plate special. You get wine, or water or sometimes pop.  A choice of a first course, then a you can select a main course then dessert or coffee.  The price is pretty good for a lot of food.

The above is a picture of the sidewalk and the street.  The street is on the far left.  The red is parallel parking and then the sidewalk.

The train from an overpass view

A local bus stop

A fruit store

The tourism office

Market Day tomorrow!

My favorite, the pastry store!

Seafood Store used by the locals.

Those who know me well will understand the significance of the picture above!

Here are those chestnuts that the squirrels took Wendy Gage!

I still remember how surprised I was when I first came to Europe to see so many “specialty” stores.

Cute little tree growing outside if a restaurant on my way to the beach.

A very fun looking hair salon.  I was tempted…..

In Miño there are two main beaches.  The one that I showed you yesterday was the Port.  Today though the tide was out.

Ok, I live on a Port city and I was amazed to see the last picture.

A pretty bush; anyone know what it’s called?

I bought two of these.  Arepas made by a very nice woman from Venezuela!  Very fresh and filling!

My first view of the Praia Grande (the big beach).

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This is a video of the big beach.  By this time the wind was picking up and it was starting to rain.  Fortunately it didn’t last long!

Well, not an exciting day, but I got through it ok.  I’ve be n sitting for awhile so I’ll take a very short walk to the grocery store to get some bottled water.

Tomorrow I’ll be on my way to Betanzos!

Ocean View Wins! Camino Ingles Day 3

September 8, 2017.  Pontedeume to Miño 7.8 miles (12.55 km according to my phone).

I wasn’t sure how much sleep that I’d get last night; Festa das Peras in Pontedeume was really loud!  I was tired enough though that the next thing that I knew I was startled awake at 6:30am by my alarm and also the party in the street below me!  Wow! 

I got ready and went downstairs to pay and the owner said that the second day is even crazier!

Got some breakfast at the local bar and saw a few Peregrinos pass by.  The Camino Ingles has more people on it than before, but many fewer than the most popular, the Camino Frances.

At this point I’d decided to go to Miño instead of Betanzos.  I knew that there were going to be some fair sized hills and that I hadn’t put in the training time.  Also, I have plenty of leeway in my schedule so why not go to the beach?

I knew that my first challenge of the day was the climb out of town.  Curves going uphill for about 1 mile or so.  It reminded me a bit of the first small section of crossing the Pyrenees, with everything really steep. Close to the top I noticed an older woman watching my efforts.  She didn’t seem too impressed. When I got to her she let me know that there was a way that wasn’t so steep! I thanked her.😇

I’m in the right place

After the hill (mountain), I had a nice walk on a country road.  I love plants and saw heather, persimmon, limes, grapes, pears, flowers, newer houses and older houses too.

Heather like I have at home

Difficult to see due to the light, but these are pears.

Persimmons

Lines

Grapes!!!!!

Next I went passed several picnic areas, got a little lost, saw a really big aloe vera plant, went by a golf course (thought of you Bill S.), over a freeway and then groaned.  Another hill!

I should have taken this path

Hill number 2

 

There was no one to see me sweat.  Several small groups of people; mostly Spanish had passed. I did eventually make it up and found another really pleasant walk.

Before too long I was starting to go down hill and took a break at another picnic area.  Here I met three Spanish men from Ibiza.  I asked them to take a picture for my mom!

I was almost to Miño!  Briefly walked alongside of a stream, through some forest, beside a freeway, and I made it!

Miño is a really nice town.  I went to the tourist information booth and was given some suggestions of where to stay.  She showed them to me on a map and even called to make sure that there was a room available. An older German couple came in and the walk had worn  them out also.  They were taking a bus to Betanzos since they were on a limited amount of time.

Here’s a picture of “La Terraza Hostel” and my room.  Pretty ok place in a good location.  

After resting, showering and washing my clothes, the next order of business was eating. I felt hungry, but not ravenous. This chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato did the job.  

Still plenty of time to go to the beach.  It was well worth the trip!

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Just had to finish my day with churros and chocolate!  

Tomorrow I’m off to Betanzos.  It’s getting chilly and there are clouds.  I hope it rains a bit tonight and then dries up before dawn!

Yay! I Made It! Camino Ingles Day 2

September 7, 2017.  Neda to Pontedeume 11.3 miles (18.19k). This is according to my phone. John Brierley’s book and Eroski Consumer have it at 16km. 

Beautiful walk today, but I have to say that I’m beat!  Lots of up hill and down hill. Doing this without any training while working a desk job has really taught me a thing or 16. 

I was able to get going a bit earlier than yesterday.  It’s hard though because the sun isn’t even up until 8:00amish.  I really don’t like walking in the dark because I feel like I miss a lot.  Here are some pictures of the Neda Estuary that I might have missed if I’d left in the dark.

Below are two of the maps that I’m following (from J. Brierley’s book).

The elevation map. It looks like I’ll have some ups and downs today!

My first indication this morning that I’m back on the Camino.

This was a great walk on a somewhat chilly morning.  The walking path starts out on granite and cement and eventually changes to a boardwalk which goes through the salt marsh.  There were lots of walkers out, some were older couples, some were walking their dogs.

I had to look it up, but marismas means salt marsh.

No one was using it, but it looks like a good exercise course. 

A look back at some interesting buildings, including a church on the Xubia side of the estuary.

It seems that I spent the night in the town of Xubia, but in no time at all I was in the town of Neda.  Here’s the narrow lane that I walked in on; a minute later a car came through and nearly scared the s#%*t out of me since the lane is so narrow and I’m so wide (with my backpack).  I also took this picture of a cemetery.  

Not too long afterwards I climbed my first hill of the day which ended at the sign for Silva.

Lots of gardens.  Can you see the green beans?

The cat below didn’t even look up when I talked to him!  One of several cats and dogs that I saw today.

If you remember from yesterday, there were two shortcuts to get from Ferrol to Pontedeume which avoid Neda.  Here’s what option two looks like from this side of the Ria (estuary).  You can see San Martín de Xubia to the left of the big bridge with the pedestrian bridge in between.

Yay, I made it to the top of the first hill!

Lots of quiet roads with nice homes,  beautiful plants and an area to wash your clothes!

Where I live the plant above is an annual and comes in a 4 inch pot.

I had to huddle underneath one of these in a cold, wet day to have some breakfast.

Below is a picture of option #1 from yesterday. 

This is a good picture since it also shows the Port area of Ferrol on the left. From there it was all downhill to Fene where I took a short break and also found a pastry store.

Here’s a picture for my mom!

Boy I look hot and sweaty!

I had a piece of tortilla with chorizo, tomato, orange juice, but didn’t eat the bread. The pastry looks funny, but it’s a chocolate covered elefant ear.

The next stage was another hill going through woodland with the scent of eucalyptus in the air and then a series of country roads.  I saw lots of fruit including lemons, kiwi, apples and grapes.

The grapes made me think of home and my grape arbor.  I had a great time looking at all of the arbors that were in this area!

I finally got to Vilar do Colo! I was tired, hot and sweaty.  Well, really mostly hot and sweaty. I had an Orange Fanta.  Second soda for me in about two years!

Downhill again to get to the beach town of Cabanas.  Very nice walking except for a stretch along the side of a busy road.  Not really dangerous, but it made me nervous.

A much bigger geranium than what I normally see at home!

My first view of Cabanas in the photo below. I really tried not to look since the anticipation of arriving can make this part of the walk seem to be the slowest.

Another short rest after walking down hill.  For me the down hill is almost as difficult as the uphill!  Then I finally arrived in Cabanas and could see across the bridge to Pontedeume.

I made it!!!!

This reminded me a bit of the Caminho Portuguese da Costa.  We would always end our day by walking over a bridge to our destination.

Once I got there I realized that something was going on in town.  It turns out that September 7-11 is their Pear Festival.

Very very busy, but I managed to get a clean, safe, economical room.  It’ll be noisy tonight, but that’s ok.  I might slip down to the bar and get some orujo or maybe cuarenta y tres licor. Below is a picture of my room after I made myself at home. 

It turns out that I really didn’t have a dinner.  I wasn’t really hungry which isn’t a great sign.  I do think that I got enough calories though since I got an ice cream cone and this…….

Tomorrow I have to decide whether I’m going to Betanzos or stopping early in Miño.

I’m inching my way along.  I think that it’ll depend on how I feel. Miño has a nice beach!

Go Rocky Go! Camino Ingles Day 1

September 6, 2017.    Ferrol to Neda 9 miles today plus some walked yesterday for a total of 9.6 miles (15.5km).

Every time I start a Camino I’m really nervous. Will I be ok, can I do it, will I get blisters, these are only a few of the doubts that I have right before a Camino. This time it’s a bit worse because I didn’t train at all AND I didn’t lose my winter weight.

Today though I had a nice beginning;  I slept through my alarm!  Also I was very foggy this morning (hopefully the last of the jet lag!).  I pulled myself together, set aside my doubts and was able to get going at about 9:15am.  I really think that this was one of the latest departures in my entire history!

First step was to find the yellow arrows. Here is a map of the Magdalena section of Ferrol.  This area is kind of like an outdoor shopping mall.  My hotel was in Almendra street just above it and I walked from there down Terra street this morning.

I always get a bit lost getting out of cities, and today was no exception.  Here is a statue that I found while trying to find my way.

Here’s the yellow arrow!

Remember in the Wizard of Oz everyone told Dorothy to “follow the yellow brick road”?  Well today everyone told me to keep the water in my right. This meant going through Ferrol’s Port and Naval area.

After that I was in the Carranza neighborhood.  They have a wonderful walking area and park along the water.  I saw many people with their dogs and a few runners.

I’n not sure what the tree below is, but there were spiney things on the ground underneath.

Also, I’ve been told that this type of sign can give me information on my cell phone?  How does it work?

There were even people digging for clams and a windsurf school!

Not too long afterwards I have my first decision of the day; do I go to Pontedeume or not?  If you look at a map (from J. Brierley’s book) you can see that there are a total of three ways to get to Pontedeume.

Well, I had decided that I would stop in Neda for the night, so it really didn’t matter anyway.  Instead I had a small bite to eat in Gandara.

I could see a McDonalds in the distance, but decided to have a Serrano ham and cheese sandwich and fresh squeezed orange juice.

Gandara was kind of interesting, lots of big furniture stores and car dealerships; I walked by SEAT, Renault and KIA.

The ground changed from granite to boardwalk (memories of Caminho Portuguese da Costa) and there were also people using the side of the path to do some running training and then I ran into a man resting his sheep.

I could not get the sheep to stand still so that I could be in the picture. I must have smelled pretty bad by that time.  The old man was very nice and kept telling me to “keep walking with the water on my right.”

The next small town was Naron, which had some nice houses and some  gardens.  I hope that my mom looks at the pots at the base of the trees!

Now I was close to the second option to Pontedeume and the monastery of San Martín de Xubia.

Here are some interesting animal pictures shortly after the Monastery.

Next I came to this:

I hope that you understand why I’ve been thinking about the Wizard of Oz movie.  I started to take the left way, but thought that it was heading wrong so I took the right way; literally and maybe figuratively also.

My phone ran out of memory so no pictures of this section.  I ended up asking for some directions to Pension Maragoto from a really nice man.  His directions took me off the Camino onto Estrada de Castela.  I walked this for awhile, but was ready to stop so checked in  instead at the Hotel Kensington.

The room is small, but just right for me and the owner was nice though he wanted to talk about US politics.

A Pilgrims first duty when finished walking is to shower and wash your clothes.  Hopefully mine will dry before tomorrow. This morning my underwear was a bit wet and I didn’t feel comfortable pinning it to my backpack to dry!  

The next thing to do was eat!  I was hungry, but not ravenous.  I did have the Menu del Dia (8.5E, I have no idea how much this is in USD).

Pasta soup, chicken and French fries and homemade flan. Well, my day is done…….I did pretty ok in spite of my morning doubts.  No blisters so far.

Tomorrow, on to Pontedeume. Hopefully I’ll start earlier.

Getting Ready to Start

I can’t believe that I went to bed at 5:30.  In the morning.  I woke up at 9am the same morning. What a bad case of jet lag!  Once I was up though I was up and hungry.  Here’s my breakfast, all my favorites: pan tostado, 3 different kinds of jam, membrillo, jamón serrano, fresh squeezed orange juice and café con leche!

I stayed at my brothers favorite hotel in Santiago.  I feel so spoiled now!  They took really good care of me.  

My plan for the day was: 1) to stay up as long as possible; 2) get a poncho; 3) get a buff; and 4) get to Ferrol.  I accomplished all of the above and walked about 6 miles!  

This is my 5th time in Santiago and I’ll probably be there 2 more times on this trip, but here are some of the sights.

I was able to walk across town and highly recommend the following store for sports stuff:

I also found a great bookstore, the Folla Nova and bought 2 lightweight books.

After a brief stop at the hotel to pick up my backpack I went to the bus station. 

Spain has a great bus system once you understand it.  In the US where we use only one bus system that goes throughout the county.  Spain has several, but they specialize.  Castromil (Monbus) is the one to use to get around in this part of Galicia.  I got there just in time for the 1:30pm bus and got to Ferrol at about 2:45pm. Here’s the bus schedule:

There was an older Italian gentleman on my bus, I think that he’s going to walk the Camino Ingles also.  Soon after getting to Ferrol I was at my hotel and settling in. The first picture is of my key.  Thank heaven that I have to turn it back in when I go out.  It’s really heavy!

Definitely not as nice as yesterday’s hotel, but it fits my requirements: 1) inexpensive; 2) clean; and 3) safe.

Oh oh, by the time that I was settled it was 3:45pm and I hadn’t eaten since about 9:45am. Many restaurants close after 4pm and then open up again at 7pm.  I walked quickly and found a few places and got a very filling 3 course meal for 8 Euros.  The 2nd course was some kind of stew which was really filling!

After eating I decided to walk around.  I found the starting point for tomorrow’s walk and since it goes back past my hotel I thought that I’d do this part today! The first picture is the starting point by the Port.

Very easy walking.  I went past the Parador  (fancy historic hotel).  

There were some signs to follow.

It’s really funny, but when I was walking to the starting point hardly anyone was in the streets.  As I walked back to the hotel, lots of activity.

Some interesting sights. The first is of someone getting furniture up to their 3rd floor apartment.

Ok, it’s almost 9:30pm, I made my goal!  Looking forward to tomorrow! Next stop, Neda.