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I will be walking the Spiritual Variant in October. My plan is to take the boat from Villanova de Arousa and then walk towards Santiago where I have a reservation for that night. If I can’t comfortably reach Santiago that day, I will take the bus that runs along the N-550 when I get tired, then...
I had put together the below charts on the Portugese Camino for one of the Facebook group. The first (with purple border) is for January through March. The second is the month of April and Total January through April. It is possible to see the effect of Easter which this year fell in March while...
A couple of items to know about the Monastery in Armenteira. There are only 25 beds with priority given to regular guests who may reserve. Pilgrims can not reserve in advance. It is expensive compared to the local albergue. There is no dorm and a single room is 50€, double 75€ and triple is 90€...
Tui /Valença is the most popular, about 9,600 pilgrims so far this year compared to 2,900 from Vigo. If you decide to start on the Central, consider starting in Valença which is just across the river and begins your Portuguese Camino in Portugal.
I personally love being described as a “tourist, not a real pilgrim” for booking a hotel room and being told that I should trust “the Camino provides” a bed in an albergue. No understanding that the reason there are beds available is because many of us book private rooms.
I walked the spiritual variant last year. The day I was to take the water and stone path it was raining heavily. The staff at the Albergue in Armenteira told us that the path was flooded and that we should take the paved roadway so we missed the best part of the Spiritual Variant.
The Spiritual Variant is going to be interesting to watch this year. Two big changes occurred in Armenteira this year. The albergue has 25 possible beds (count from a pilgrim this morning) instead of the 32 beds last year. (The old operator was terminated for exceeding the authorized number)...
Found this article about the cross while I was looking for the location. According to the article, this is the world’s tallest cruceiro.
https://www.mundiario.com/articulo/sociedad/cruceiro-xacobeo-miami-mas-alto-mundo-cuban-memorial-boulevard-park-miami/20231120121111287967.html
Definitely worth reading before or on the Camino. His description of the cathedral in Leon made me envious of the reception he received, another book worth considering is Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. His descriptions of what goes into building a cathedral gave me a better understanding of...
It is my understanding that whatever historical route may have gone through Vigo has long been lost to development and therefore any Camino route is best taken as a suggestion.
The new route that is mentioned is the Via Verde or Greenway that begins on the south side Urzaiz rail station (the...
Not sure I would say a building is finished until the front door is ready to be used. That may - or maybe not - be finished by 2034. It appears that there is still no agreement with what to do with the families currently living on the site of the future grand stairway...
I always carry a string bag with me when traveling. Before heading to the airport, I load everything I need to keep with me in it and place in in the top of my backpack. Makes it very easy to pull out in the rare instance they run out of overhead space and I need to gate check my backpack.
One definite advantage to buying direct from CP (Comboios Portugal) or Renfe is they will provide you with notices of schedule changes and cancellations. Very easy to get a refund on cancelled trains and in peak periods it helps to get advance notice if you need to rebook.
For those planning to walk the Spiritual Variant, the albergue in Armenteira reopens this week. The Concello separately announced that stays during the month of July will be free.
According to news reports, there will be new management which is reflected by the new phone number. Hopefully the...
If you go to the Cathedral website, and click on the Book Your Ticket option it will open a new window. At the bottom of the new widow under Get Invitations is a box to request free tickets to view the Pórtico of Glory. Two time slots are offered, 16:00 and 16:30 and you are allowed about 25...
While looking for info on discounts for Renfe I came across the following website for minors traveling in Spain. It might help answer some questions.
https://www.interior.gob.es/opencms/es/servicios-al-ciudadano/tramites-y-gestiones/dni/autorizacion-para-viaje-de-menores-al-extranjero/
This site is run by Ivar at in Santiago de Compostela.
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