SETTING THE PACE

Sunday September 21st

Jan and I are up early. Juan has already headed out. The Sardinian girls are just opening their eyes. Breakfast is our first item on the agenda. At 7:30 we find a workers coffee bar in the center of town. I order cafe americano grande, no sugar... this brings stares from others at the bar. Jan is more civilized, she orders cafe con leche grande...a more acceptable beverage. We skip toast in

looking back on Ponteduerme

favor of almond filled croissants.  Fully energized we go back to the albergue, don our back packs and start our first steep climb of the day.  The views climbing above the town are grand.                                                                                                                                      

We walk through a lovely arbor with grapes ready for picking.  Many of the forests are planted with eucalyptus trees.  The scent can be intoxicating.  The sun and air are warm.

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Just as we reach our half way point in our 20 km day we experience a downpour.  We have arrived at Minos, another seaside town. There is a market going on with many vendors,we spot a bar with outdoor seating under the arcade.  It is a relief to take off the backpack and rain cape. We order water, coffee, empenadas. The patron also brings us slices of sweet, cold, juicy melon and local cheese and bread. We get our best sello  for our credenciale here...a green martini glass! Jan sees other patrons eating tiny shrimp and orders some for us.  So good! Water bottles refilled we are ready to take on our second 10 kilometers.

Eduardo from Lima, Peru

As we amble out of town we spot our friend Eduardo.  He is very happy to see us.  He missed a sign posting on a gate earlier in the day and had to double back to make sure he was on the Camino.  As the "senior" member of our group, I am allowed to call out rest times.  We are walking in full sun. I need to rest frequently.

Church of San Martino do Tiobre

  Up ahead is a pretty little church with inviting steps and a little shade. Just what I need. We all settle on the steps. Soon a young cleric in cassock comes out and tells us about the church built the 12th Century in the Romanesque style. He brings out a great big key and opens the door for us to go inside. It is like walking into an air conditioned building! The cleric reminds us that when we reach the Cathedral in Santiago we must hug the statue of the Saint for all who have helped us along the way.

It seems to be a long walk to Betanzos, especially the last 3 kilometers. But at last we climb the last hill to the town center.  It is a huge plaza with hundreds of people enjoying the fine weather.

Cold water

Plaza Mayor - Betanzos

We find a table at the nearest outdoor cafe. We each have two orders of cold bottled water over ice!

We part company with Eduardo and find our way up the street to the albergue.  It is in a recently renovated 16th century building.  The bunk beds and showers never looked so good! The Sardinian girls are there, two Italian girls whom we have met several times and of course Juan has been there for hours and knows all that is going on.  Instead of searching for dinner tonight we go for rich creamy dishes of ice cream.  Even weary pilgrims need this kind inspiration!

Buen Camino,
Mel

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

Saturday, September 20th

The Camino Ingles or The English Way is most definitely the road less traveled. Last year on the Camino Frances there were hundreds of walkers on the route. If you thought you were alone all you had to do was wait 10 minutes and you would have a walking companion. Jan and I walked almost 4 hours yesterday and we did not see another Pilgrim.  The frequency of albergues is also greatly diminished. We have planned each day's walk so that we finish at an albergue location.

Last night we stayed in a municipal albergue.  There was a sign on the door directing us to go to a local bar to get the key if the door was locked and someone would come by at 9 pm to check us in, provide us with a sello in our credenciale and give us directions for leaving in the morning.  Juan, an older gentleman from Madrid was also staying.

This morning Juan was up and out the door by 8:15. It was raining. So we had another cup of coffee and enjoyed our waterfront view of the river.  Suddenly there were 6 American Pilgrims walking into the albergue wanting sellos for their credenciales. It took a while to get across to them that we were Pilgrims like them. We learned that they were having there luggage transported and staying in more luxurious surroundings that provided meals and transport and more. They were excited to see how other Pilgrims were making the journey.

Narins blooming with joy.

  Our plan for the day is to walk to Pontedueme - 15 km or about 9 miles. We start out with rain gear, but it is not windy...and soon we have dry pleasant weather. There is a bit of  hill climb but the views looking across the water and out to the bay are lovely.  The local gardens are full of a pale pink Autumn  lily called a Narin. It is every where and lifts the spirit.

albergue interior Pontedueme

This afternoon we met another Pilgrim walking in our direction.  He is Eduardo from Lima, Peru.

the multi arched bridge

The three of us walk together as far as Magdalena Beach in Cabanas. Jan is anxious to get her boots off and experience the cool water on her feet. I have no interest in wading, but enjoy her enthusiasm  for the moment.  We part company with Eduardo and march on toward our destination somewhat refreshed. We cross the inlet over the multi-arched bridge into Pontedueme. Our albergue is located  at the edge of a lovely marina.  The sign on the door tells us there will be someone to let us in at 5pm. We wait the fifteen minutes and the official arrives.  Inside we find that Juan arrived hours ago!  The building is old but has been nicely renewed with a great sleeping loft full of bunk beds. We are both ready for hot showers.  Soon two women from Sardinia arrive.  We are finding our Camino family.
Buen Camino,
Mel




Jan at Magdalena  Beach

GETTING STARTED

Friday, September 19th

Mel at the Ferrol waterfront

It is still raining. No surprise! I walked to Galicia Praza to meet friend Jan who has arrived from Scotland to make the journey with me.  I arrived as she stepped off the airport bus.  We eat a hearty breakfast at the hotel, take some 'wee' sandwiches and cheese for later.  Backpacks on we head for the local bus to get to the bus station. The bus driver is great about letting us off near the station and making sure we know which way to walk. 'Buen Camino'!

  The bus to Ferrol is packed with students from the University heading home for the weekend. We end up on the second bus.  The rain is coming down in sheets.  We take little notice. This is the first time we have seen one another in 20 years.  Suddenly it is 3pm. The bus has stopped, Jan and I are the only ones left on the bus.  This must be Ferrol.  We have no idea where we are in the town, but we guess a direction for the waterfront and start walking.   We walk (wander) for 35 minutes to find the Tourist Information booth at the Waterfront.  This is the place to get our first sello in our pilgrim credenciale. The tourist office opens at 4 pm and we are off! The goal - walk 118 km to Santiago de Compostela over the next 6 days.

Our first scallop shell symbol 

 Our first destination is a sweeping walk around the sheltered inlet from Ferrol to Neda a little more than 14km.We find our first Scallop Shell and yellow arrow markers. We walk past large Spanish Naval bases as we journey through Ferrol. The road we follow is busy with cars,the weather is variable with rain and wind and sunshine.  Backpacks seem to grow heavier, but we are confident. The local people wave to us and make sure we follow the correct path. Two folks out walking near our destination ask if we are going to the Albergue in Neda... follow them it will be quicker and easier. Good thing, it is heading toward Sunset  at 8:30 pm.  As we approach the double arched footbridge we are about to cross, it is over arched by an incredible rainbow. A perfect welcome to our first stop on the journey.  It is energizing to begin another Camino.
Buen Camino.

double arched bridge at Nede

Jan checks our map

Looking back at Ferrol