Any Pearls?

[LesBrass]

So we've had a change of plan and we're going to walk the Camino Ingles at the end of April. We'll start at Ferrol and head to Santiago and we'll have a week so plenty of time if needed.

I know very little about this route... but I have a few months to learn. However, before I get started I thought I should ask the experts... are there any pearls of wisdom you feel you can share about this route?

We're going to drive to Ferrol and park there and then maybe get the bus back to Ferrol from Santiago when we finish... does anyone know if there is secure parking at Ferrol?

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts

 

[Al the optimist]

Make time to enjoy the beach at Cabales just before Pontedueme. Make sure you have plenty of water for the Bruma to Siguero stretch as it is a long exposed walk through the forest. That's a start, I will leave it for others to enjoy adding more. It was my first Camino and I fell in love with it. Enjoy it! Buen Camino.

 

[Saramago]

There are car rental agencies in the Ferrol area (search) - if you are renting a car from Avis, Budget etc etc why not leave it there and save a week's car rental cost.

 

[Al the optimist]

I would make a guess that LesBrass is driving there from home in France and that's why she needs to know.

 

[LesBrass]

Many thanks for the ideas folks - Saramago, sorry I should have mde that clearer... I've just updated my profile as Al is correct, we'll drive down from home in France.

I did find an old thread about parking at Santiago airport and this could be an option... then jump on a bus and head off to Ferrol? A little more research I think

 

[Al the optimist]

I nearly suggested Lavacola or Santiago itself and then a bus but didn't in case you had drive plans from Ferrol to A Coruna or wherever. Maybe JW or Ivan could advise?

 

[Camembert]

[QUOTE="LesBrass, post: 266845, member: 29343

Hmmm ....to park your car just as in any Spanish town , Ferrol is very chaotic .
Before our camino Ingles last year May I came by car and caravan .
One day we drove to Ferrol for touristical explorations but never found a parking place. It was packed with cars. So I turned around and went back to the camping site 17 kms north of Ferrol. By then I had a brandnew car I did not want to get damaged by banging doors against mine or banging my bumpers which actually were hit later on in France on a boulevard nearby the sea. The perpetrator went on without leaving any message -we were not there at the moment-but a witness saw it happen and noted the registrationplate of this brutal frenchman and called the police.p and left a note underneath the screenwiper .After 8 month and threatening my insurancecompany to end up all my insurances with them , they paid me my €1200 damage back. So I left my car and caravan on the campingsite and so this can happen to you aswell leaving a car in a chaotic place like Ferrol.
When you walk from the Ferrol center to the side of the river you pass a suburb with appartments before you walk to Neda. I should dare to leave my car there and should walk back for 15 to 20 minutes to the camino starting point
Eventually you leave your backpack in your car because you will come back on the same point so the first kms are "unloaded"
Send me a pm with your emailaddress andI copy the map and the place I mean.

From the Santiago busstation there is a bus runned by Monbus via Pontedeume to Ferrol.
The busstation is in the center of Ferrol.
Ask a map at the Ferrol tourist information where you also can get your stamp on your credential.

Our stop was Neda where we stayed in the albergue.
If you walkback from there over the bridge and head on straight you find a street with restaurants. The church in the mainstreet hasa nice stamp.
In Pontedeume the have a nice albergue however when we were there it was filthy and we could not get in before 18h00
When had to clean up the mess und and beds the pilgrims in the morning left.
From there we walked to Miño to the albergue We were the only guests and the frontdoor could not locked up so we blocked the doors with chairs and bunkbeds
But we did not sleep peacefully.
Next stop was Betanzos. They have a recently renovated albergue in the towncenter.
They did not provide blankets so it was chilly in the night and we slept with fleecevests on.
A smelly unwashed and heavily snorring guy spoiled our nightrest so that was the last albergue for us.
From there we walked 18 kms to bar Julia and phoned Antonio of hostal O Meson do Vento who picked us up there. We stayed in his hostal and he took us back next day from there we walked to Ordes where is a hotel in the center. From the camino it is a 3 kms detour but next morning you follow another detour of 3 kms and you hit the camino to Siguëro and cut a bit .
In Siguëro we stayed in hostal Miras but that is closed now. Read back on this forum for alternatives. Lots of posts about it.
From Siguêro is your last day to Santiago. Take some food and drinks with you
A big part you walk through the woods and just in the outskirts at an industrial estate you will find a bar, if you not are walking there during the weekend because than they are closed

 

[Balian]

I agree with Al make time to enjoy beach at Cabales.

We didn't last year but making a point of doing so this year by stopping at Neda on first day.

As Albertinho mentioned, I would also recommend staying at Meson do Vento and splitting that leg with Antonio picking you up at Bar Julio.

Our stay there was also one of our highlights and we will be staying there again this year.

Make sure you get Johnny Walkers guide its invaluable.

Buen Camino

 

[NoQ]

I walked the Ingles in April last year. Prepare for possible cold weather, rain and sleet

- Allow plenty of time to explore Betanzos and Pontedueme. Betanzos in particular has some wonderful churches and a lovely old quarter.
- All places I stayed were great apart from Hotel San Vicente which had no heating for 50 Euros when the outside temperature was below 10 degrees.
- Beware that Bar Julia may be closed - it was for me. If so, it's a long 30 kms between Betanzos and O Meson O Vento with no coffee stops.

Enjoy a great short Camino that is more challenging than the last 100 kms of the Frances and very beautiful and changing once you're out of the long industrial section of Ferrol

 

[Pelegrin]

I agree with Al make time to enjoy beach at Cabales.

We didn't last year but making a point of doing so this year by stopping at Neda on first day.

As Albertinho mentioned, I would also recommend staying at Meson do Vento and splitting that leg with Antonio picking you up at Bar Julio.

Our stay there was also one of our highlights and we will be staying there again this year.

Make sure you get Johnny Walkers guide its invaluable.

Buen Camino

The name of the beach before Pontedeume is Cabanas, that name reminds to Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro,
Cabanas means huts in Galego, and Copacabana the hut top in Portuges

 

[Al the optimist]

I stand corrected but don't worry it has not got my goat! Yes I know a goat has an r in it.

 

[Tia Valeria]

.....we walked to Ordes where is a hotel in the center. From the camino it is a 3 kms detour but next morning you follow another detour of 3 kms and you hit the camino to Siguëro and cut a bit .

We plan to stay in Ordés (at the Nogallas ll) and then return to the Camino. Is the detour marked out of Ordés? - we thought we would have to return to Calle de Poulo to be sure of reaching the Camino.

@LesBrass - with Johnnie W's guide you can work out your own stages by combining the albergue only and hostals options as well as the Meson do Vento break. We are having fun planning our stages for later this year. April/May could be wet and also with mud so waterproofs and boots are probably needed.

 

[Camembert]

We plan to stay in Ordés (at the Nogallas ll) and then return to the Camino. Is the detour marked out of Ordés? - we thought we would have to return to Calle de Poulo to be sure of reaching the Camino.

@LesBrass - with Johnnie W's guide you can work out your own stages by combining the albergue only and hostals options as well as the Meson do Vento break. We are having fun planning our stages for later this year. April/May could be wet and also with mud so waterproofs and boots are probably needed.

Valeria The detour out of Ordes is not waymarked. Funny detail. We went to the Ordes church nearby Nogallas and a priest refused a stamp in our credential because Ordes is not on the camino
It is not necessairy to return to the calle de Poulo From Nogallas you cut off a short piece of the camino. Out of Nogallas and Ordes you follow this road for about three kms and at the crossing where I am on the picture you turn left on the camino path. You see the road isa bit tricky because there's hardly a footpath or a decent hard shoulder we wore safety vests just for shure .
I am going to find out which direction it was from Nogallas and let you know

 

[Camembert]

Valeria. If you leave the Nogallas main entrance , turn right and at the backside of the hotel is a crossing with traffic lights-just. 40 meters from the Nogalls hotel
The crossing is the N 550 and the AC 3802 also known as the AC 524.
At this crossing turn left on the Ac 3802 and just follow this for 3,4 kms (beware for the traffic ) till you get a crossing left to a Calle. Right to Siguëro. This is the waymarked camino. Turn to the right on the particulairy crossing to hit the camino.

You also can follow directly the N 550 to Siguëro but this is a very busy and dangerous road to walk along with all heavy traffic.

If you like I make some printscreens of the map where the right turn is to the waymarking.

Best regards from Holland
Albertinho

Picture 1. Here we turned right on the camino. In the distance is Ordes. This is the AC 3802
Picture 2 Nel is standing at the corner and looks at the direction a Calle which is past you if you are there
Picture 3 is a little bit further direction Siguêiro.
Walking here and looking to the right in the distance (not 0n the picture but as a landmark) you'll see a big powerplant.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Thank you,
We should be able to find it on our map. If not we'll come back for more help.

 

[Tia Valeria]

We have found the roads needed thank you. One other question:- by taking the slight detour we would miss the bar at Calle de Poulo so would we pass a bar at all before rejoining the Camino? Short distance, but still maybe useful for a sello.

 

[Camembert]

We have found the roads needed thank you. One other question:- by taking the slight detour we would miss the bar at Calle de Poulo so would we pass a bar at all before rejoining the Camino? Short distance, but still maybe useful for a sello.

No Tia It is one straight road with some houses just when you leave Ordes
The first opportunity is in Oroso A small village on the camino at the right side is a smakl bar. Opposite is a kind of hostal/ bed and breakfast. . next one you find entering Siguiro . there the camino leads through a kind of park but we walked on to a roundabout and followed the mainstreet where at the end was Hostal Miras. At the beginnig of that street was a bar . In Siguero are lots of opportunities to obtain a stamp.

 

[Camembert]

All our stamps on the Inglès.
My good friend from the Portugese caminho Diogo bought me the credential in Lisbon so the first stamp is from the Sé cathedral in Lisbon. We did not start there this time. The Valdoviño one is north of Ferrol, a camping site were we camped before we started walking and parked our car and caravan during our camino Ingles.
It started with the third one on 8th of May at the Ferrol Tourist office. The church in Santa Rita just before Neda. The council of Fene Pontedeume albergue Albergue de Miño and Betanzos. Bar Julia, Pension o Meson Novo ,hotel Nogallás. The poligono restaurant on the industrial estate in Santiago, the first opportunity to drink something coming from Sigueiro So take drinks and something to eat with you because you most of the time walk trough the woods. I now see I miss Miras. Oh la la ... In Santiago I went into some bars and asked for a stamp and viathe app AIRBNB we booked a room at privat people opposite the busstation and Maria Angeles wrote a text on our credential. Well a short story in stamps about our camino Ingles last year.

 

[Camembert]

And forgot to tell in Santiago at the pilgrims office Laurie Reynolds wrote out and handed over personally our credentials.
Laurie is known as peregrino2000 on this forum and is doing such a good job as a volontairy for all us peregrinos.
This has to be said I think

 

[Al the optimist]

I remember that park so well. It had been a hot day from Bruma, especially on the wide, exposed path through the forrest. I had started well prepared with water, a 3 litre hydration system and a 1/2 litre safety. However before the forest I found myself with a Rastafarian who had nothing! I gave him the small bottle as I left him just before the forest. At some point in the forest I sucked on nothing!!! After that it was hard work. He caught me up resting in the bus stop after the forest. When we crossed the bridge in the park I made a gourd out of a plastic bag and we drank gratefully. It sustained us until that first bar by the statue. After a drink he continued to Seguiero while I stayed at the Miras. I had to tell him the way onwards as he didn't even have a guide. To meet sucha humble man with such faith in provenance was a great experience.

 

[andy.d]

I've just posted a report on my walk at the beginning of February here:

https://pilgrimpace.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/camino-ingles-january-2015-stages-etc/

If you look back at the previous few posts on the blog, you will get the stories too, which might help in where to look for or avoid pearls!

Andy