Camino de Santiago de Compostela

[philipc67]

Hello all, Philip in Athens here.

I recently finished the Camino, starting from Roncesvalles on 20 September and arriving in Santiago on 21 October (32 days). I took 3 rest days (in Burgos, León, and Sarria) and had two "cheating" stages when I took the bus from Estella to Nàjera and the train from Sahagùn to León.

First of all, I would like to thank all the Forum members for their helpful and friendly pre-departure advice.

Then, I want to thank all the good friends I made along the way: Armin, Dorle, Ilona, Dennis and his lovely dog Raki (all from Germany), Joseph from Alaska, Rosemary from N Ireland, Stephanie from the UK, Dominique from France, Peter from Zurich, Christiane and Jeannine from Quebec, Lillian and Bruce from British Columbia, Beatrice from Mallorca, and Australians Roger, Cathy and Rita from Brisbane. The companionship they offered was very precious to me.

This Camino was a unique travel experience.

Now, in my life so far (42) I have been around quite a bit. Among other things, I have trekked mountain gorillas in Rwanda, swum with tortoises in the Galapagos, escaped a hotel fire in Amman, gone up a mountain to a Buddhist monastery in Bhutan, driven across Arizona, scuba-dived in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, got sunburned in Persepolis, touched a glacier in Patagonia, seen the moon rise over the minarets of Samarkand, got stuck in the equatorial forest of the Congo, accompanied the Greek Olympic team to the Beijing Games as one of their doctors, flown supersonic on the Concorde, and crossed the length and width of India alone.

But walking 25 km a day and living out of an 8-kg backpack for 5 weeks presented a whole different bunch of challenges.

No, I did not have a spiritual “revelation” on the journey. But I have become a calmer, more patient, optimistic, resourceful person, and better organised as to what I want to do with the rest of my life. It was very important to just be alone with my thoughts and my body. I am also fitter, with considerably increased physical stamina and muscular legs!

I was moved to tears on two occasions: at the initial pilgrim blessing in Roncesvalles pre-departure and at the pilgrim mass after arrival in Santiago. I found the 12 noon mass in Santiago Cathedral, where pilgrims come together, hugging and sharing the joy of safe arrival, to be overwhelmingly emotional. When the priest said “this is the end of your Camino, now you can go home to your families and all your loved ones who miss you and have shed tears for you” we were all weeping freely. Unfortunately the Botafumeiro was not used.

I feel no guilt, being Greek Orthodox, about attending Catholic mass and partaking of Holy Communion. I believe in Christ and am sure that He knows my sins.

Shortest walk: 17km (Carriòn de los Condes to Calzadilla de la Cueza).

Longest walk: 33km (Palas de Rei to Arzùa).

Hardest climb: Herrerías to O Cebreiro (I avoided the St Jean-Roncesvalles climb).

Hardest descent: Manjarín to El Acebo (a dangerous goat track and very slippery). The Acebo to Molinaseca descent is also bad, but in a pleasant green valley. The notorious "steep" descent into Zubiri on the first day was not as bad as I expected.

Places I loved: Burgos, Frómista, Puente la Reina, Astorga, Molinaseca, O Cebreiro, Portomarín.
I will never forget the evening in O Cebreiro. After an early dinner with Bruce, Lillian, and Dennis we took a walk around the village. The wind was howling but the night sky crystal-clear and, as most of the lights were out, the star cover was astonishing, long sweeps of the Milky Way swirling above us, so beautiful!

Places I hated: Hornillos del Camino (because of the flies), Sahagùn, Triacastela.

Beautiful stretches: the climb to Alto del Perdon, the descent from San Juan de Ortega, the foggy forest paths between Sarria and Samos, the final major climb from Herrerias to O Cebreiro.

Best breakfast: Just before the descent into Molinaseca. You come down from Riego de Ambros, pass through a lovely grove of chestnut trees, and on the mountainside is this little cafe looking out onto the valley. Delicious coffee and scrambled eggs while listening to classical music.

Dangerous stretches: the 5km stretch along the highway from Triacastela to San Cristobo (no protection for walkers, trucks come screaming at you) and also a couple of similarly dangerous highway stretches between Villafranca del Bierzo and Valcarce. I took the train from Sahagùn to León so avoided the notorious highway crossing there.

By the way, the "punctuality" of RENFE trains is a joke. Our express (and more expensive) train from Sahagun to Leon was 20 minutes late. No explanation, no apology, nothing. Customer Service in Leon station was completely indifferent, their boss was, of course, away at lunch and siesta. They give an impression of incompetent laziness.

Bad stretch: the looooong, endless circumnavigation of Burgos Airport before the long schlep into the city through the industrial area. Take the No 8 bus from Castanares.

Craziest moment: being threatened with a rifle outside the Camino Real hostel in Calzadilla de la Cueza.

Happiest memory: On the way to Portomarin, I thought that I was a day behind my friends. Stopping for coffee I suddenly saw them walking up to me, one by one. We all walked together to the 100km mark and took a group photo. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day, the last day before nonstop Galician rains. We stopped for lunch in a beautiful little place in Mercadoiro with a big green garden looking out onto a valley. We had paella and beer, then lay around barefoot on the grass. Someone from the bar produced a guitar and we sang songs in various languages. A long, lazy afternoon with friends on the Camino, I will never forget it.

Weather: Rain and sticky mud during the first 2 days (Roncesvalles to Zubiri and then Pamplona) and the last 3 days (from Palas de Rei all the way to Santiago), one black rainy day in León, and a mix of sunshine and clouds for the rest of the trip. The entry into Santiago in pouring rain on the (surprisingly exhausting) last day was unforgettable, the city streets reduced to rivers of flowing mud, cars and buses splashing me with dirty water and drenching me from head to foot, I was gritting my teeth and repeating to myself, over and over again, FINISH IT, FINISH IT. It rained nonstop in Santiago from the moment I arrived to the moment I flew out 3 days later.

Monte de Gozo: I was glad to reach it but it is so unbelievably UGLY, surely they could have built a better monument and pilgrim facilities.

Arrival in Santiago: The Pilgrim Office was an anticlimax, just four bored young girls who couldn’t have cared less when I presented my precious Credencial for inspection. The “Compostela” was handed over with no interview and no fuss.

Practical tips I have learned:

You MUST break in your boots and put in some training before you leave. I trained for nearly two months, walking 10-12km on weekdays and up to 20km on weekends (with backpack).

Keep the backpack as light as possible. I started with 9kg, discarded things along the way, and reduced to under 8kg.

It is best to travel alone. You set your own pace, stop and continue as you like, spend as much or as little money you like, meet people along the way, and can be alone with your thoughts if you prefer.
"He travels fastest he who travels alone".

When you walk 25km a day you should allow yourself to enjoy eating and drinking whatever you like. I found that a stiff gin & tonic at the end of the day took the pain away.

Learn some Spanish before you go. I am fluent in Castellano and really appreciated the enhanced experience of sharing conversations and insights with local people.

You can never be too careful about foot care. Vaseline and Compeed became my best friends. I would Vaseline my feet before starting each morning, take my walking boots and socks off every 2 hours to allow them to breathe, re-Vaseline at least once during the day, wash a pair of socks (smart-wool) every day, and drink plenty of water. Only had one blister and 3 days of minor Achilles tendon pain during the whole trip! Voltaren Emulgel helps for tendonitis. Your toes bump into the front of the boot during steep descents so keep toenails clipped very short to avoid haematomas (I lost 2 toenails during a difficult New Zealand trek last year and learned my lesson).

In October it is still dark at 8am, the sun rises after 8.30, and the path lights up after 9. In the mountains the morning fog burns off at noon.

The 17km stretch from Carriòn de los Condes to Calzadilla de la Cueza is long, boring, and HOT, even in autumn, so bring TWO large water bottles.

Do NOT push yourself to exhaustion for the sake of doing a "macho" 35-40 km a day. I learned that my comfort zone was the 20km mark. I could push to 25km with no trouble if necessary but anything beyond that depleted my reserves for the next day. I walked two 30km days and one 33km day. The rest were between 22 and 27km. There is nothing easy about walking 25km a day!

For autumn journeys, a Goretex jacket AND a fleece AND a waterproof poncho AND gloves are advisable. September/October on the Meseta also mean newly tilled fields, ie manure, ie MILLIONS of flies (Hornillos del Camino was the most fly-blown place of all). They can turn a pleasant country walk into a day of misery. Bring a head net AND insect repellent. My wide, black head net frightened people, I looked like an executioner!

Do not mix Pulpo Gallego with red wine in Galicia, it can cause explosive diarrhoea.

Recommended albergues: Camino del Perdon in Uterga, San Rafael in Agès, San Bol, and El Camino in Boadilla.

Rudest albergue: San Juan de Ortega.

The wild dogs of Foncebadòn are a myth.

Recommended restaurants: La Peseta in Astorga, O Pino in Arca (you can indulge in a nice steak here before the last day).

Recommended hotels: San Antón Abad in Villafranca Montes de Oca, San Zoilo in Carrion de los Condes, Las Doñas del Portazgo in Villafranca del Bierzo (absolutely great, big comfortable beds and fluffy white pillows, my best night's sleep on the Camino, poached eggs on toast for breakfast), and Casa Benidle in Palas de Rei.

There is no shame in staying in a hotel or hostel. I value my privacy and, as I also snore, probably did other pilgrims a favor. A long soak in a hot bath after a day's walk does wonders for your leg muscles. Each travels on his own Camino in his own terms. Plus, on the "hotel days" you can get some laundry done efficiently, there is no need to stink.

If you want to splurge: the Parador San Marcos in León and, of course, the Hotel Reyes Católicos in Santiago de Compostela.

Must-sees: Estella Museum, Burgos Cathedral, Monastery of Las Huelgas (Burgos), church of St. Martin in Frómista, León Cathedral.

Recommended detours: Eunate (a MUST, the 12th century church is a jewel), Samos, Vilar de Donas (also a must, a 2.5km detour from Portos after Eirexe, a beautiful small church where the knights of Santiago are buried, the gatekeeper's name is Jesùs, make sure it is open before you go there, his phone No is +34 669 544 009, Ivar please take note).
The last detour I took was to see the Castillo de Pambre on the way to Melide. I took a taxi from Lobreiro, leaving my backpack behind and taking only my waist belt and camera. The 14th century Castillo de Pambre is just beautiful, your idea of a romantic abandoned castle. Do not attempt to walk there, it is further than you think and the route complicated. I made sure that the taxi dropped me back at Lobreiro so that I wouldn't cheat on the walk during the last days.

Obtain at least one stamp per day on the Credencial and two per day from Sarria onwards. Tick “religious reasons” when you register at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago in order to receive the “Compostela”. Otherwise you will get a secondary alternative “completion” certificate.

There is no need to buy any souvenirs or do any major shopping before the end. You will find millions of souvenir shops in Santiago with everything from jewellery to coffee mugs to bottle openers. One minor peeve was that I couldn't find an "Ultreya" T-shirt. Shops and Ivar please take note!

Finally, a BIG no-no: Do NOT take your dog on the Camino. Spanish albergues, hotels, and restaurants are unbelievably hostile to dogs. My friend Dennis from Munich brought his dog Raki along and a friendlier, lovelier animal you couldn’t imagine. They did about 20km a day so that Raki wouldn’t be too fatigued. Each day he had tremendous difficulty finding lodging where the dog would be accepted. On two occasions Raki was attacked by other dogs and we had to beat them off.
A Hungarian man I met also had his dog with him. They slept in a tent and the poor animal was always exhausted and developed paw blisters. They stopped the Camino in Ponferrada. Several of us pitched in to help buy them the bus fare back to France.
Do NOT bring a dog, think of the animal, not yourself. Please check what the law in Spain mentions re SERVICE dogs compared to "pet" dogs, Ivar any input?

So, this was my Camino. I understand the attraction it holds and why some people do it again and again, but for me, surviving it just once is enough.

I hope all the above is helpful and would welcome your input.

Take care.

Philip

[ivar]

Congrats!

Thank you for a fantastic post!
...very helpful for new pilgrims.

Greetings from rainy Santiago,
Ivar

[elzi]

Wow! Great post philip!

Bits that amazed me (you were threatened with a rifle?!!!), bits that made me smile, bits that had me nodding along!

And don't worry in a month or so you will have forgotten all about the "surviving" part and will be itching to get back on the trail...!

[sillydoll]

"........ just once is enough." Famous last words!

(Come back to the forum when you decide to do another long trek Philip!)

[andy.d]

"........ just once is enough." Famous last words!

(Come back to the forum when you decide to do another long trek Philip!)

Yes - having said the same two weeks ago I'm now almost on the point of committing to walk the Camino Ingles with my daughter, probably in 2011 (it will be a few years before I get a couple of months free to do another big one).

[RestlessRose]

Congratulations Philip !

I too have travelled fairly extensively but how I had made it though my camino is still beyond me, and yes, on my walk to Monte del Gozo all I could focus on was finishing the walk.

After a few long soaks in the bath, fresh clothes, my own bed, gleefully sleeping in till 10am, and as I pour over the photos I had taken, amazingly I started thinking and wondering which route I will walk next, and when that could be !

>>> ....... surviving it just once is enough

Rebecca

[ranthr]

Hello Philip from Athen!
After my first camino I also said never again! Still I met you on my third.
Thank you for summing up the camino, it helped me think back. Arrived in Santiago a day before you and shared the mess with some of your caminofriends. To my great pleasure the botafumeiro was used. That did not happen during my previous visits in the cathedral. The priests seemed to enjoy swinging it too.
Well, I enjoyed reading your summary.Still I did not agree with you about the hotel in Villafranca Montes de Oca. The rooms and food were good, but the bosses treated their employees very badly several times in front of guests. As a union worker I did not like that. I decided never to stay there again.
I wish you a good life in the years ahead. Perhaps you will inspire more Greeks to walk the camino.
And thank you for the lunch in Sarria.
Grandmother from Norway

[panchaplancha]

Thank you Phillip for the most informative descriptions of your camino. Many will benefit from your summary comments.

[anniethenurse]

Enjoyed reading your post - very informative! Congrats and I´m almost sure you will be walking again soon!
annie

[goonerpilgrim]

I certainly appreciate your insight, Phillip! Very informative, indeed.

¡Buen Camino!

[Gareth Thomas]

Practical tips I have learned:
Do not mix Pulpo Gallego with red wine in Galicia, it can cause explosive diarrhoea.

Philip, this is invaluable information! The last thing we want to meet on the Camino is an octopus with diarrhoea...

Enjoyed your post!

Gareth

[skilsaw]

The last thing we want to meet on the Camino is an octopus with diarrhoea...

Sounds worse than an octopus with sore feet.

[bbz180]

Great post Phillip. Made me think of all the places I stayed during my Camino.
For me Pulpo was one of the highlights of my journey...but def. with beer!

I don't miss the crazy way getting into Leon where cars are inches away from you and you feel death breathing down your neck...but everything else about the Camino was pure magic.

I def. miss packing my bag in the morning and looking for the yellow arrows.

I've been back about a week from my trip and I already have a itch to go back to the Camino. I would like to do the Norte since I really enjoyed going to Finisterre and seeing the ocean.

[Caminando]

Thanks for a detailed post Phillip. Much of what you said tied into my experiences. It's a funny old thing, this Camino; I too have walked in various places which are spectacular, but the Camino is in a class of its own.

[falcon269]

I enjoyed your descriptions and good advice. Congratulations on your accomplishment.

[nalzatron]

I plan on doing the camino sometime in May of next year. I really like your posting. Question, if i only have about 2 weeks for the trip, where do you recommend i begin?

[skilsaw]

I Question, if i only have about 2 weeks for the trip, where do you recommend i begin?

If you can average 28 kms / day, you can start in St. Jean Pied du Port at the unofficial beginning of the Camino Frances and walk to Leon.

Or you can walk from Leon to Santiago. This can be done in 12 to 14 days.

My personal choice would be SJPP to Leon, and plan to complete the Camino at another time.

[Gareth Thomas]

The poster has withdrawn this post.

Since he has already conceded in a later post that the tone of the post was inappropriate, but that has not satisfied critics who continue to go on about it, the best thing is to eliminate the post and the poster will retire from the Forum and shall not post again.

I hope everyone is happy now?

[Rebekah Scott]

Yow!
If he didn´t whine a bit about Spain and Spaniards, he wouldn´t be a real pilgrim!

[falcon269]

Why don't you tell us what you REALLY think, Gareth. Don't hold back this time.

[nellpilgrim]

Practical tips I have learned:
Do not mix Pulpo Gallego with red wine in Galicia, it can cause explosive diarrhoea.

Philip, this is invaluable information! The last thing we want to meet on the Camino is an octopus with diarrhoea...

Enjoyed your post!

Gareth

Hey Gareth,
I have a particular fondness for the idiosyncratic, contradictory,contrary and plain hornery. But I am curious as to the shift in 'tone' between the initial charming bonhomie of your first post (quoted above) and that of your latest response to the same material on 8th of Dec.
Perhaps I'm failing to decode some embedded humor implied by the various 'smiley faces' ? If so my apologies, and I hope Philip is a better 'decoder' than I have proved to be. If not can one expect another reversal of 'tone' any time soon Gareth, or should one just wait till the east wind stops blowing? (by the way this little face implies that the above, though slightly tongue in cheek, is nevertheless genuinely perplexed)
Nell

[Gareth Thomas]

I am curious as to the shift in 'tone' between the initial charming bonhomie of your first post (quoted above) and that of your latest response to the same material on 8th of Dec.

Yes, Nell, that is a good point and deserves better explanation from me. Thank you for pointing that out.

Between reading Phillip's post the first time, I happened to read it again later, and this was after I walked the Camino again from León to Santiago in mid-November, and I also stopped in León again on the way home because I wanted to spend a couple of days examining the sculpture and stained glass in the cathedral. As I read this post, I felt that I identified more with the Spanish people who are the hosts to us pilgrims than with the people who whine about the poor service they get for the little money it costs to experience the Camino. I particularly felt that the series of negative comments running through this particular post were unjustified and therefore I gave the post a counter-blast.

I take the view that if one is capable of making some pretty harsh criticisms, one is ready to receive them as well and I stand by my comments in response to the post but also enjoyed some other parts of Phillip's post when I read it initially. But you are right, Nell, I should have explained why I was suddenly exercised to respond again to this material, and it was because I was recently in these places he wrote about and felt for the local people. I wondered what would they make of such criticism? And if there is one thing I would change about my post it would be to say that I hope he does return to the Camino again but without grousing quite so much afterwards about his poor experiences.

Gareth

[falcon269]

Gareth, you have not addressed your entitlement to make this comment:

Go home and don't bother doing it again.

[Gareth Thomas]

Gareth, you have not addressed your entitlement to make this comment:

Go home and don't bother doing it again.

You will see that very point modified in my post above, which you may not have seen before you posted shortly after. I take your point, though, and my tone is probably not finely tuned enough to the sensibilities of the Forum!

I stand by the substance however, and I think it worth adding this. Recently I arrived at Monte del Gozo and before continuing into the city, I used their very reasonably priced and spotlessly clean laundry facilities. I was waiting for my laundry and went to the pilgrim centre's excellent bar and restaurant area and bought a large Estrella Galicia for a very low price, poured with a cheerful smile by the girl serving the pilgrims and listening to the litany of complaints from a loud group of Irish and French pilgrims* sitting at the bar, bad-mouthing just about everything they had experienced on the Camino: the Spanish people; the pilgrim facilities, etc. etc; and even the 'lousy bus service' from Arca to get here (!) After a while, listening to this, I just laid into them and gave them a good lecture on politeness towards the country that hosted their stay for such a cheap cost!

To me it was an echo of those people when I read again the grumbling in Phillip's post. When I walk the pilgrim way I find that I am increasingly defending the Camino against such grousing and there is too much of that going on now. The surge in popularity of the Camino, with many people coming for the experience they have read about in recent best-selling books, seems to me to be encouraging a 'consumer rights' kind of mentality in which it is quite normal to go along the Camino complaining about all the facilities and services.

People who used the railways were once called passengers but in a consumer-driven age they were re-designated customers and this created customer services and a whole industry based around customer complaints. Let's hope pilgrims do not begin to see themselves as customers too quickly. Personally, I feel happy to counter that trend quite openly, so I stand by the substance of my post. We piligrimins are a tough-skinned lot but we also like to get on our high horses a bit, don't we? Right now, it is clear that we like to have the balance right between complaining about the Camino and complaining about the customers who complain about the Camino!

However, after reading my post again, I stand corrected by you all on my tone which I agree is too harsh.

Gareth

(*Note to Ivar, I think I said German instead of French when I recounted this to you, but I later remembered there weren't any Germans in that group moaning about the Camino, just Irish and French.)

[andy.d]

I don't want to get into the debate of who is or who is not a true pilgrim, but one thing that does seem, to me at least, to be part of pilgrimage is gratitude. People who live along the Camino don't owe me anything, but I found on the Camino Levante this year that people, without exception, went out of their way to help me. This was truly humbling and it got me through some tough times.