Are rushes of blood to the head infectious?

[Bridget and Peter]

Ian and Rosie have made us think.

After the wedding of the pregnant teens on 28 Feb, it may be a very good idea for us to take a week off before getting back into the stresses of work. Maybe we too could take to the Camino Ingles.

Now, given that we will be suffering from PWAFGSS (Post Wedding And Family Gathering Stress Syndrome), and will have under a week, I guess, we won't want to be pushing ourselves. Which would be wiser, starting from A Coruna or FerroI? We are usually cyclists but I read somewhere that the Camino Ingles is not really suitable for cycling. So I thought we could walk. (We do walk, sometimes, too!)

I know we wouldn't earn the Compostella if we did the shorter route, but that doesn't matter, because we will when we complete our Home to Santiago by Stages Pilgrimage in another 2 or 3 years time. The idea of this pilgrimage would be to restore our jangled sense of calm and togetherness after the wedding. (Yes, we've done one before, so we know what its like. And this one is being done on a shoestring and I'm supposed to be knitting golden shrugs and helping the bride make bridesmaid's dresses etc etc)

So we would arrive in Santiago maybe on Sunday 1 March, catch a bus to whichever, and set off on Monday. I imagine.

Do people think this is just a mad whim because of reading Sagalout's plan, or could it be do-able?

 

[Sagalouts]

Well I've been accused of many things,but until now making people think has never been one of them.
but I'm glad your thinking of doing the"English way" sounds like you deserve a break and why not join this elite group ( just over 1000 did it in 2007) its the place to be its the new black.
we plan to walk from ferrol but only because Rosie wants to get a Compostela but having read Johns guide I like the look of the A Coruna route and while not receiving a Compstela I believe you receive a Cathedral stamp instead
And why not walk it -anything that gets people off cycles is a good thing it my book
Ian and Rosie
http://sagalouts-theroadtonowhere.blogspot.com

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Congrats on your discovery!
I recommend doing the walk from Ferrol, mostly because the Coruña route misses Betanzos and Pontedeume, the two high points of the whole route for me. It does take a little longer, but I think there´s a whole lot of richness in those first couple of days... unless of course you enjoy cities, and Coruña is a fine one. (I´m not a city person)

Rebekah

 

[Bridget and Peter]

Just back from meeting new grandchild Isabel (her parents are not teens but sensible twirties with a 20 month old already, who has been delighting us) so have not checked the forum since Sunday.

Rebekah, and others, some questions please:
if we get in to Santaigo mid afternoon on Monday (can't really get the Ryanair flight at 8am on the Sunday morning after the wedding!!) can we
1. travel to Ferrol by coach/train that afternoon and
2. walk to Santaigo easily in 5 days so we can fly home on Sunday.
3. how much warm clothing and what sort would you recommend wearing/taking?

We were fit enough to cycle 500 miles in October, but will not be doing a lot of training before this walk - too many gold shrugs to knit, bridesmaids, dresses to sew, buffet food to bake and freeze, etc. So won't be up to very long daily stages. Also I usually spend longer looking in churches than I intend.
Still, won't need to carry much for 5 days walking, just get smelly.

Hoping to persuade older daughter (who speaks Spanish with a Ecuadorian accent) and boyfriend to walk with us. Boyfriend not too sure at the moment. Religious motivation not his thing - what else can I tempt him with?

 

[Rebekah Scott]

1. travel to Ferrol by coach/train that afternoon and

Yes.

2. walk to Santaigo easily in 5 days so we can fly home on Sunday.

Depends on what you call "easy." The third day´s a tough 30k one, and if it´s dumping rain and the ground goes slippery, all bets are off. (Johnnie Walker a big help on this day. The liquid kind.)

3. how much warm clothing and what sort would you recommend wearing/taking?

Layers of light things. Fleece. Something with a hood. Extra socks.

Also I usually spend longer looking in churches than I intend.
Me too, when I can find them open.

Still, won't need to carry much for 5 days walking, just get smelly.

the smelly idea is a good one!

Hoping to persuade older daughter (who speaks Spanish with a Ecuadorian accent) and boyfriend to walk with us. Boyfriend not too sure at the moment. Religious motivation not his thing - what else can I tempt him with?

Don´t tempt him. If he goes when he doesn´t want to, he´ll be a pain in everyone´s... backside.

Sounds like fun! Ultreia!
reb

 

[lckgj]

Hi
I cant find the link to the bus timetable I used to get from Santiago to Ferrol in August but here are the notes I made at the time.....

There were two bus companies advertising the route, Castromil and Arriva but their timetables were identical so I suspect this is because they are now one company (?).

There were 7 buses per day, 12.00, 13.30, 15.00, 16.00, 18.00, 19.30 and 21.00. The timetable suggested there was a reduced service outside term times so I suspect they double as school buses.
The cost was 8 euros each and the journey takes about 70 mins. I would suggest having a quick look at a street plan of Ferrol before you go as I didn't find it very obvious which direction to head out of the bus station and there is no map or tourist info there.

5 days is fine. Have you decided which stages to do it in? There are two options depending on whether you want to use the albergues in Neda and Mino or not. The stages work out more evenly if you do the stages Ferrol, Pontedueme, Betanzos, Bruma, Siguiero, Santiago. If you stay in Meson do Vento instead of Bruma then it is pensions all the way and so you can lighten your load by not needing a sleeping bag.
Cheap pensions (and in some places this is the only option!) are sometimes not heated even in winter so I would suggest lightweight thermal undies that could double as pajamas. Things that are light and easy to take off and put on are the key as even when its cold you soon get hot going up the hills, especially if you are having to wear waterproofs.

Not sure how much info on the route you already have but please get in touch if there is any other info you need.

My son and I met only one other pilgrim on the route even in August so you should expect a quiet trip!

Buen camino

Laura

 

[Sagalouts]

Rebekah and laura have given us food for thought.
we will take the advise and as we will be 3 weeks ahead of you will let you know how we get on.
glad your back,keep asking those questions and can you knit me a golden shrug maybe a gallic one.
Ian and Rosie
http://sagalouts-theroadtonowhere.blogspot.com

 

[sillydoll]

The Santiago to Ferrol Arriva bus timetable attached.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is a Golden Shrug?

 

[Sansthing]

I was going to ask the same question!

 

[Deirdre]

Don't worry, Reb, I don't know either. But before we are told, we should guess! Perhaps a Golden Shrug is what you do when you miss catching the Golden Snitch??? (If you havent' read Harry Potter, you won't get it!)

Really, though, I'm guessing that since it is mentioned in the same context as weddings, dresses, etc, and is knitted, that it is some sort of wrap. Perhaps a short, elbow length, one button cape to go over the bridesmaids dresses in the chillier temps of the UK in winter? I'm still wondering about the golden part, though. Is that part of the name because these shrugs happen to be that colour or does it have a deeper meaning???? A mystery..... :wink:

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all my forum friends and Camino buddies....

 

[Sagalouts]

Before the weddings of princesses in england the elder female's in the household spin a flax of golden thread on family spinning wheels handed down through generations, and then together they make "the golden shrug" a thing of beauty its form a mystery shrouded in the mists of time

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?li ... d=11099861

Ian and rosie

 

[Bridget and Peter]

Ian

that's almost exactly what we need- how clever of you!

I have joined a knitting /crochet forum called ravelry.com in the quest for the perfect pattern, but they haven't been nearly as helpful as you have.

I mean the etsy link, but the myth is pretty good. Actually spinning wheels are soooo passe (Ivar, how do I do accents?) - I have a Japanese braid-making implement called something like humihiko and I have chained the prospective son-in-law in a dark cellar until he converts the raw material reaped from the shower plug hole into glistening streams of Rowan Kidsilk Night (colourway bronze) (NB that's a brand of knitting yarn which looks a bit sparkly)

Pilgrims for ever.

 

[Bridget and Peter]

The Santiago to Ferrol Arriva bus timetable attached.

Many thanks, Sil, downloaded and saved to the 'Camino' file.

That's the one after 'Bridesmaids (golden shrugs for)' and before 'Dragons and other wedding entertainers'

 

[lckgj]

A yarn about yarn....whatever next!
Ian, Rosie, Bridget and Peter, If in between your camino and wedding preparations you get a spare moment you could start preparing your entries for the World Biggest Liar Competition which is held in the Lake District every November.
This unusual competition was inspired by the efforts of a Victorian publican - one Will Ritson, who apparently owned a foxhound/golden eagle crossbreed which could leap over even the tallest dry stone walls. Since 1974, the good people of Holmrook have honoured his memory by holding a lying competition.
Politicians and members of the legal profession are barred from entry on the grounds they lie for a living!
Previous winners' stories include a geological account of the formation of the Lake District by giant moles, the fish-farming of mermaids, and an account of an action-packed holiday with the Pope.
The winner of the competition "may be publicly billed, advertised or referred to as The Biggest Liar in the World for as long as he or she holds the title"."
Here is this years winning entry...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7741043.stm