Memorable Moments on the Norte and beyond (including mishaps)

[Umwandert]

In May/June 2022 I walked the latter 40% of the Norte and the extension to Muxia and Fisterra after having survived the Salvador as some kind of exhausting but wonderful warm-up. This was my second camino. As I love reading entertaining blogs and daily pilgrim diaries on this forum and elsewhere, I like to share some of my experiences from my recent camino.

I used to walk mostly from 9am till 6pm and was exhausted sometimes, so I didn't have time to write anything regularly while actually on the camino. But now, a few months later I had reflected on my most memorable moments. Including of course my most happy, surprising, thoughtful or anxious experiences. And as I like to do, I tell these moments as little stories with some details I remember and a few pictures.

I hope you enjoy and I would love to hear about similar encounters or experiences of other pilgrims.


(1) Fun with clergymen

I started the camino del norte in Áviles and I wanted to do it right. That meant to visit the local cathedral the day before starting walking to get a stamp. When I went up the stairs in front of the Iglesia de Santo Tomás de Canterbury a pilgrim just left the very picturesque church with a credential in his hand. This is the right place for me I thought and entered.

As soon as I reached the pews the organ started to play. I realized the mass just had begun, so I took a seat and looked around. There were around a dozen people in the church (it was late morning) and one priest accompanied by two assistants was conducting the mass. No chance for a stamp. At the left I saw a confessional with two seats. One was occupied, in the other there was a priest taking a nap.

Well, I decided not to disturb him and just waited till the end of mass whose procedures I was vaguely familiar with (I am not religious, but I was raised catholic before leaving the church in 1989). After 45 minutes the service was over and the sleeping priest woke up. I asked him, whether I could have a stamp for my pilgrimage and he told me to go behind the scenes with him. So I entered some kind of clergy changing room. There was the other priest and his assistants. He took one look of me and my credential and said with a very loud voice “Ah, otro alemán!” (another German). I sighed deeply, obviously looking like I am personally responsible for all the suffering my countrymen’s vacationing is bringing to other countries and replied: “Sí, hay muchos” (Yes, there are many). He burst out laughing and I was dismissed with a nice stamp and good wishes on my way.

Making clerics laugh isn’t a bad start to a camino. Towards the end of the Norte it happened again. Two days before approaching Santiago I stayed in Sobrado dos Monxes in the albergue within the monastery, which is run by monks. I arrived quite late around 6pm. The monk in charge was from the United Kingdom, so we spoke English. He explained everything and showed me the way to my chamber (I was to share it with two Polish guys I met before and a Finnish lady). As we walked through the patio towards the rooms I noticed that he had a whistle around his neck, like a soccer coach. He saw the question mark on my face and told me with a big grin: “I use this when visitors walk into areas they shouldn’t”. I nodded in deep understanding and replied: “Yeah, it’s really nice to have some fun every now and then”. And he laughed like I had told him a dirty joke. Of course this encounter made my day again.

Maybe I should also try to meet humorous monks in my everyday life!

To be continued…

 

[WalkingLester]

I walked the Norte in March 2019. One day I wound up walking the long stretch before Markina with two German peregrinas. Our plan was to stay at the Monasterio de Zenarruza. A peregrino we knew arrived before us at about 3 pm. Later he told us that the head Monk was irritated with him for arriving late and not calling. He said he told the monk that he thought there were three more pilgrims still on the way and he replied, “Let’s hope not.” As we walked up the medieval rocky path to the Monastery we were quite tired. I remember playing the theme song from the movie “Rocky” for inspiration. As we entered the courtyards from the rear of the Monastery it was getting dark and all was quiet, we saw no one else. I felt like I had been transported back to the 14th century. It was truly a mystical experience. We arrived well after 5 pm and the Monk did indeed seem annoyed with us. He said, “Poco tarde para ustedes, no?” ( a little late for you pilgrims?). He brusquely showed us around the albergue room and, on his way out, to indicate where we should leave a donation he curtly slapped the donativo box.

At the time, we thought the situation was humorous. But fast forward to 2022 as I again walked the Norte I felt that God was displeased with me. The universe was out of balance. I resolved to stay at the Monasterio again and to make friends with the Monk.

By the time I reached Markina I was tired. It had been hot that day. I considered whether I should stop there. But, by golly I had a PLAN and I was going to stick to it . As I walked up the rocky path up to the Monasterio I was beyond despair. It was so hot! I could only walk about 20 steps at a time then I had to lean over, put my hands on my knees and catch my breath. Then I would straighten up , wait for the near fainting feeling to pass, drink some water and proceed. As I arrived I was very critical of myself for not stopping in Markina. But then, I noticed that I was feeling deeply thankful that I had finally arrived in God’s house where I could find sanctuary and drink liters of water. I was overcome with a profound sense of gratitude.

I walked over to a group of people and there was the Monk talking to a Swiss peregrina that I had met before. She looked exhausted. For although she was young and fit she had packed over 30 pounds which resulted in a knee injury. Every step was painful for her. She was trying to communicate with the Monk and ask if she could have a bed but she had no Spanish and he had no English. She asked if he spoke German. No. He asked if she spoke Italian. No. He asked where she was from. Switzerland. He said, “Frances?” Yes she spoke French!!! I really love those polyglot moments on the Camino!!

When it was my turn to speak to the Monk I was very polite and deferential. I had gained a lot of Spanish since 2019 and we had a friendly chat as he showed me around. He was initially somewhat brusque but seemed to warm up to me. I then bought some drinks and souvenirs from the tienda. My mission to befriend the Monk was complete. God smiled on me again.

 

[Cullo]

In May/June 2022 I walked the latter 40% of the Norte and the extension to Muxia and Fisterra after having survived the Salvador as some kind of exhausting but wonderful warm-up. This was my second camino. As I love reading entertaining blogs and daily pilgrim diaries on this forum and elsewhere, I like to share some of my experiences from my recent camino.

I used to walk mostly from 9am till 6pm and was exhausted sometimes, so I didn't have time to write anything regularly while actually on the camino. But now, a few months later I had reflected on my most memorable moments. Including of course my most happy, surprising, thoughtful or anxious experiences. And as I like to do, I tell these moments as little stories with some details I remember and a few pictures.

I hope you enjoy and I would love to hear about similar encounters or experiences of other pilgrims.


(1) Fun with clergymen

I started the camino del norte in Áviles and I wanted to do it right. That meant to visit the local cathedral the day before starting walking to get a stamp. When I went up the stairs in front of the Iglesia de Santo Tomás de Canterbury a pilgrim just left the very picturesque church with a credential in his hand. This is the right place for me I thought and entered.

As soon as I reached the pews the organ started to play. I realized the mass just had begun, so I took a seat and looked around. There were around a dozen people in the church (it was late morning) and one priest accompanied by two assistants was conducting the mass. No chance for a stamp. At the left I saw a confessional with two seats. One was occupied, in the other there was a priest taking a nap.

Well, I decided not to disturb him and just waited till the end of mass whose procedures I was vaguely familiar with (I am not religious, but I was raised catholic before leaving the church in 1989). After 45 minutes the service was over and the sleeping priest woke up. I asked him, whether I could have a stamp for my pilgrimage and he told me to go behind the scenes with him. So I entered some kind of clergy changing room. There was the other priest and his assistants. He took one look of me and my credential and said with a very loud voice “Ah, otro alemán!” (another German). I sighed deeply, obviously looking like I am personally responsible for all the suffering my countrymen’s vacationing is bringing to other countries and replied: “Sí, hay muchos” (Yes, there are many). He burst out laughing and I was dismissed with a nice stamp and good wishes on my way.

Making clerics laugh isn’t a bad start to a camino. Towards the end of the Norte it happened again. Two days before approaching Santiago I stayed in Sobrado dos Monxes in the albergue within the monastery, which is run by monks. I arrived quite late around 6pm. The monk in charge was from the United Kingdom, so we spoke English. He explained everything and showed me the way to my chamber (I was to share it with two Polish guys I met before and a Finnish lady). As we walked through the patio towards the rooms I noticed that he had a whistle around his neck, like a soccer coach. He saw the question mark on my face and told me with a big grin: “I use this when visitors walk into areas they shouldn’t”. I nodded in deep understanding and replied: “Yeah, it’s really nice to have some fun every now and then”. And he laughed like I had told him a dirty joke. Of course this encounter made my day again.

Maybe I should also try to meet humorous monks in my everyday life!

To be continued…

Many thank for sharing your journey with us. Buen Camino

 

[Umwandert]

(2) Failing at walking together

On my maiden camino, the Ingles, I never walked with any other pilgrim. It was January and I just didn’t have the opportunity. I had met only two Italian women on the whole way to Santiago and they didn’t seem interested in any conversation. I was also alone in the albergues. On the Salvador in May 2022 I met more pilgrims but the terrain was so demanding that everyone kept to their own pace. Also it seemed to me that there were only very experienced Spanish pilgrims who rarely walked alone, but in pairs or small groups.

So finally on the Norte I wondered about the social element, what it would be to meet other pilgrims along the way and in albergues, although I wasn’t expecting to find any “camino family”, as this is probably more likely to happen on the more crowded camino Frances.

My first attempt was a Canadian guy on the way to Soto de Luiña. I asked him about the albergue situation. He told me, the Norte didn't require reservations after the junction to Oviedo for the Primitivo. But it was only after a few minutes that I realized he was just too fast for me (we were heading for a climb and unlike me he had poles). So I wished him a buen camino. I knew I had to keep my own pace. I also noticed that when I’m deep in conversation I tend to become oblivious to my surroundings. Which can lead to errors.

An error happened on my second try. This time I met an Austrian guy on the way to Navia. I had already seen him and his friend in Áviles (we left there at the same time), but they went to Salinas where I stayed on the main trail instead. He used poles and was really energetic (a marathon runner), but suffered from some serious blisters. It was a nice chat, he told me about some of the other pilgrims he had met, the calf problems of his very experienced friend (who had done 12 caminos but had to take the FEVE train that day) and about accommodation problems they had faced much earlier on the camino (they had started in Irun). After ten minutes chatting and walking we suddenly realized we had missed an arrow. Again, his tempo was faster than mine, so I let him go.

Maybe it was just not to be. My third attempt was a walk with a young Czech woman. I had seen her with her partner on the mountain alternative (Palancas) after Soto de Luiña – we were the only pilgrims that day which chose this wonderful route. She caught up with me at the entrance of La Caridad. We talked about stamps, that her partner was way ahead that day and where she wanted to stop that day (much further than Tapia de Casariego, which was my destination). This time our tempo was similar. And again I chatted and forgot my surroundings. This time I missed the church and the town centre, where I wanted to stop for lunch. So I had to return later.

After that I had friendly little talks with other pilgrims, but made no attempt to walk with anybody. I guess it just doesn’t work for me.

To be continued…

 

[dimdog]

In May/June 2022 I walked the latter 40% of the Norte and the extension to Muxia and Fisterra after having survived the Salvador as some kind of exhausting but wonderful warm-up. This was my second camino. As I love reading entertaining blogs and daily pilgrim diaries on this forum and elsewhere, I like to share some of my experiences from my recent camino.

I used to walk mostly from 9am till 6pm and was exhausted sometimes, so I didn't have time to write anything regularly while actually on the camino. But now, a few months later I had reflected on my most memorable moments. Including of course my most happy, surprising, thoughtful or anxious experiences. And as I like to do, I tell these moments as little stories with some details I remember and a few pictures.

I hope you enjoy and I would love to hear about similar encounters or experiences of other pilgrims.


(1) Fun with clergymen

I started the camino del norte in Áviles and I wanted to do it right. That meant to visit the local cathedral the day before starting walking to get a stamp. When I went up the stairs in front of the Iglesia de Santo Tomás de Canterbury a pilgrim just left the very picturesque church with a credential in his hand. This is the right place for me I thought and entered.

As soon as I reached the pews the organ started to play. I realized the mass just had begun, so I took a seat and looked around. There were around a dozen people in the church (it was late morning) and one priest accompanied by two assistants was conducting the mass. No chance for a stamp. At the left I saw a confessional with two seats. One was occupied, in the other there was a priest taking a nap.

Well, I decided not to disturb him and just waited till the end of mass whose procedures I was vaguely familiar with (I am not religious, but I was raised catholic before leaving the church in 1989). After 45 minutes the service was over and the sleeping priest woke up. I asked him, whether I could have a stamp for my pilgrimage and he told me to go behind the scenes with him. So I entered some kind of clergy changing room. There was the other priest and his assistants. He took one look of me and my credential and said with a very loud voice “Ah, otro alemán!” (another German). I sighed deeply, obviously looking like I am personally responsible for all the suffering my countrymen’s vacationing is bringing to other countries and replied: “Sí, hay muchos” (Yes, there are many). He burst out laughing and I was dismissed with a nice stamp and good wishes on my way.

Making clerics laugh isn’t a bad start to a camino. Towards the end of the Norte it happened again. Two days before approaching Santiago I stayed in Sobrado dos Monxes in the albergue within the monastery, which is run by monks. I arrived quite late around 6pm. The monk in charge was from the United Kingdom, so we spoke English. He explained everything and showed me the way to my chamber (I was to share it with two Polish guys I met before and a Finnish lady). As we walked through the patio towards the rooms I noticed that he had a whistle around his neck, like a soccer coach. He saw the question mark on my face and told me with a big grin: “I use this when visitors walk into areas they shouldn’t”. I nodded in deep understanding and replied: “Yeah, it’s really nice to have some fun every now and then”. And he laughed like I had told him a dirty joke. Of course this encounter made my day again.

Maybe I should also try to meet humorous monks in my everyday life!

To be continued…

I walked the norte this year, in June, & also stayed at the monastery in sobrado, the abbot's name is Lawrence, quite honestly one of the nicest people I have met, his wit, & humour was a great relief after a really hard yomp..

 

[C clearly]

After that I had friendly little talks with other pilgrims, but made no attempt to walk with anybody. I guess it just doesn’t work for me.

I would never attempt to "walk with someone." I might chat with someone on the path for a few minutes, but then let our distinct paces sort themselves out. Even if we had the same pace, after a few minutes of chat I would make a point of moving ahead or behind to let us walk our own walks. Maybe 30 minutes later we'll meet up and chat again. Maybe we'll walk 5 m apart for an hour. But always with no strings or expectation attached. I hate it when I stop to tie my shoe lace (sometimes to get a bit of space) and the other walker stops by my side while I do it!

 

[Former member 92300]

I would never attempt to "walk with someone." I might chat with someone on the path for a few minutes, but then let our distinct paces sort themselves out. Even if we had the same pace, after a few minutes of chat I would make a point of moving ahead or behind to let us walk our own walks. Maybe 30 minutes later we'll meet up and chat again. Maybe we'll walk 5 m apart for an hour. But always with no strings or expectation attached. I hate it when I stop to tie my shoe lace (sometimes to get a bit of space) and the other walker stops by my side while I do it!

This is me most of the time. On the Frances - the only time I walked with someone more than 20 minutes was going into Burgos - I think I was doing 42km (or something ridiculous) so I could get there a day early and enjoy a rest day. I actually walked probably 3/4 of the day with one friend and we were able to "pull the other along" when we were no longer loving the last kms lol. And then there was a day on the Norte where I walked with one couple on and off for several hours. Walking with people is hard - someone is always speeding up or slowing down. Even when you walk the same average speeds.

 

[Umwandert]

I walked the norte this year, in June, & also stayed at the monastery in sobrado, the abbot's name is Lawrence, quite honestly one of the nicest people I have met, his wit, & humour was a great relief after a really hard yomp..

Yes, exactly, that's him! Thanks a lot for the name, which I couldn't remember. His dry humour is really wonderful. When I complained a bit about the weather he replied: "It's Galicia. What did you expect?"

By the way I found an interview with Lawrence on YouTube (in Spanish), where he speaks about the monastery.

 

[Cullo]

My wife and I have walked three Caminos and we too enjoy the tranquility that comes with walking alone - we set off together each morning but after about 30 minutes we have settled into our own pace and are walking alone. We try to keep other in sight but at times that doesn't work, so we have a set procedure if we haven't seen each other for more than 10 minutes.

Notwithstanding our enjoyment of the solitude that can come with being on the Way, we do enjoy walking with other pilgrims we meet and are still communicating with people that we met on our first Camino. However when we do meet fellow pilgrims, it's often the case that I'll be walking with a one and Anne will be walking with their companion.

I can identify with those who are experiencing too much solitude. In 2016, we met two brothers who had walked (in winter) from Seville and they hadn't come across a single fellow pilgrim over about 800km - boy did we have a big night! Anne and I also had many days on the Via Podiensis when we didn't come across another pilgrim - that didn't detract from our experience but it made the opportunity, when it did present, to walk with someone else that much more enjoyable.

I guess it's all about what one is seeking on a Camino - for me, it's about the absence of 'noise'/distraction and I'm very happy to share that solitude with someone else when it's apparent that they feel similarly.

 

[Umwandert]

(3) Do I look like a bus pilgrim?

The norte was not too crowded in May, but occasionally I came across groups of organized pilgrims (even several hundreds of them later on my way to Fisterra and Muxia). On that particular sunday I had started my walk in Navia, where I had stayed at hospitalero Aurelio’s highly recommendable albergue. He was very helpful in explaining the coastal alternative ‘Senda costera’ (it adds 2,3 km to the camino according to gronze.com). If I hadn’t been informed I certainly would have missed the sign at Valdepares. It was actually the first day when I was really walking along the coast, the days before my path had been quite some distance away from the ocean.

Shortly after passing the beautiful Playa Porcia beach, the trail headed back inland to join the original camino on a paved country road. There I met many hikers either with small daypacks or none at all (but with neat looking hiking outfits and shells). I was going down a hill. They came towards me like an endless procession of ants following a chemical scent. Next to a small picturesque church I saw a woman sitting at the roadside guardrail. She yelled angrily into her phone. She obviously couldn’t understand why the bus didn’t pick her up there and why the group had to walk a long way up the potentially dangerous road with no shoulder.

As I passed the small church there was suddenly a gap in the procession and 50 meters later I realized that I was been followed. (I have a habit of turning around from time to time). Well I certainly looked like a pilgrim and an elderly gentleman obviously thought I was showing him the way. After another 100 meters, when I stopped for a break and an energy bar, it became clear that he was really lost and two more guys were following him. The rear guard of the ant train had suddenly chosen me as their leader! When I stopped, they stopped too and looked quite puzzled. I was amused and told them, that I was not a member of their group (quite obviously given my big bagpack) and their fellow travellers all went up the hill minutes ago. I wondered how long they would have followed me if I hadn’t had my break.

That incident made smile for several kilometers.

To be continued…

 

[Umwandert]

(4) How a dog almost ruined my camino

After a week of hiking along the coast (actually the path barely touched the sea) I decided to spend a rest day in Ribadeo, the first town in Galicia. The reason was that I wanted to have enough time to visit a natural wonder: playa as catedrais, a beach with famous rock formations that look like stone arches of a mighty cathedral. I found that these formations can only be visited at low tide, which was around 2pm that day. This fitted perfectly with the train schedule of the FEVE, the small train, that connects most towns on the north coast. There are two train stations close to the famous beach.

So I went there, the day wasn’t sunny, but the beach was crowded, I had to wade through knee deep waters to reach the most spectacular area. And of course I took pictures with my cell phone. Then it ran out of energy. I sat down on a rock on the edge and tried to recharge it with my power station. At that moment, out of nowhere, a dog approached and distracted me, so that my iPhone slipped out of my hand. It was only a brief moment and luckily it didn’t fall into the water, but onto wet sand. After that charging didn’t work. There was sand in the connection, my plug no longer fit. I tried to scrape out the sand, I blew air into the connector (which of course is totally stupid) and then it dawned on me: It’s not working anymore! My phone is my lifeline, my watch, my camera and my navigation system. It has to work on a camino. I feel lost without it.

Panic set in and I left immediately, walked back to the road and to the Esteiro station (of course I didn’t know when exactly the train was going to leave as the timetable was in my phone). On the way back I picked flower stalks and blades of grass to clean the obscured connection. To no avail. Fortunately the train came just a few minutes after I reached the platform. 45 minutes later I was back in my hotel (no albergue, because I like it a bit more comfortable on rest days).

Thanks to my laptop (I just can’t travel without), I found out that there was a telecom store and a PC repair shop in Ribadeo. But it was siesta time now, so I had to wait and calm my nerves. At around 4:30 pm I went downtown and discovered that the telecom shop no longer existed. The PC shop was open and I explained the incident in my mediocre Spanish (I now know phrases like ‘se cayo en la arena mojada” and “no carga mas!” which I will probably never forget). Two friendly guys took a look at my iPhone and told me to come back in 30 minutes. I left and went to an adjoining café where I ordered hot chocolate for my nerves. I have to admit, the wait was nerve-wracking. What if they couldn’t help me? I was already thinking about returning to Oviedo to have the phone repaired at the nearest Apple shop (or buy a new one, after all my Iphone was already four years old).

To my great relief after 30 minutes I was told that my phone was charging again. They just vacuumed the connection, no need to open the phone. I told them that they saved my camino life. The bill was 5 Euros. I was so grateful that I bought a new charging cable. Looking back, of course I could have walked the camino by following the arrows only but I had gotten used to my buen camino app, which gave me a great sense of security on the Salvador. And I just love taking lots of photos on the go, without them I wouldn’t have the same good feeling.

So that was my most shocking and at the same time one of my happiest moments on this camino.

To be continued…

 

[Umwandert]

(5) Sleeping in a cat’s paradise

When I reached the albergue Witericus about 9 km after Baamonde around 6:30 pm the first thing I saw was a cute little cat. Then another one. And then even more of them. Approximately 12 to 14 cats sat, played or stared at me in front of the albergue in Carballedo. After a long walking day this setting was utterly unexpected and seemed quite disturbing for my tired brain. No one else was to be seen, and there was no noise. It’s like the final scene of the Hitchcock movie “The birds” I thought. Only with cats. And like Tippi Hedren in that masterpiece I made my way very slowly through the carpet of animals. Because you know “If they join forces, we all will be lost” I recalled one line of the film.

Then I saw some wooden benches and tables and a young man with curly hair reading a book. The friendly Hungarian pilgrim showed me where to find the hospitalera. She had answered my call from Baamonde earlier that day. I found it wise to call ahead as there were only 9 beds. I had reserved the penultimate. As I entered the building I met two more cats. The hospitalera looked exactly like the vet my sister works for. She explained everything and showed me around. When I asked how many cats lived with her she didn’t seem to know the answer and replied “around 20”. Wow, more cats than pilgrims! In the dorm area (where there were no hidden cats) I met the other pilgrims, 4 young girls and one pensioner, all German. Two polish guys arrived a bit later.

Luckily, being in the middle of nowhere with no supermarket or restaurant nearby, the albergue offered dinner meals. Not a communal dinner, but various simple pasta dishes and salads. After eating my noodles I was sitting outside with the other pilgrims, when one of the German girls tried to count the cats. “Das ist aber ein Hund”, I said because in the middle of the cats suddenly a small depressed-looking dog (same size like the cats) appeared. When one of the cats came to my legs I petted it and said in a sweet voice “I hope you little monster are not worm-infested”. I still was stunned about the feline eldorado, as I had never seen so many cats in one place. So I sent a few pics to my vet assistant sister, asking “Tell me, am I caught in an animal hording situation?” She answered quickly: “Not at all. All the cats look well-fed and healthy. And they have enough space too. Cats are wonderful. Relax!”

Well, I guess I am more of a dog person. So I tried to relax. Later in my upper bunk bed I was looking into the clouded sky and slowly drifted off to sleep when suddenly…


… a dark face appeared, staring through the window from outside. No human face.

I almost had a heart attack. After the shock I heard the echo of my sister’s voice in my head: Cats are wonderful. Relax! The black cat obviously was an adventurer and had decided to climb the roof and shock the cat-skeptical pilgrim a little bit. Luckily I didn't have any cat nightmares that night.

The next morning, when I started my walk to Sobrado I laughed a lot about my experience, even though everything felt quite unreal, like I had been in a parallel universe. I was deep in thought, missed an arrow and walked 2 km into the wrong direction. Well, not the first time.

To be continued…

 

[Umwandert]

(6) Lousy stamp management

I love my credential. In fact I had several, one from Leon especially for the Salvador, one for the Norte and later another from the Santiago tourist office for Fisterra-Muxia. I learned that stamps are really easy to get. But most stamps from bars, restaurants and especially shops are rather simple and boring looking. The most beautiful motifs come from churches and albergues. So I tried (following the recommendation of the Xunta de Galicia) to get such stamps. Unfortunately my stamp management wasn’t always the best. Three stamp situations that got me thinking:

When I was denied a stamp
It was right at the entrance to La Caridad when I passed an albergue. It was 11 am, so I didn’t expect anyone to be around, but there was a person sitting at a table in front of the albergue (the door to the albergue was open) with some papers on the table. I said hello and politely asked for a stamp. The guy (I just assumed he was the hospitalero) said, that the albergue didn’t open before 2pm. I explained that I didn’t want to stay but collected stamps preferably from albergues and churches. He told me to go into the town, there were churches and bars with stamps. So I gave up and wondered. Maybe he was not in charge and had no access to the stamp, but the albergue door behind him was open and he looked like he belonged to that place. Strange I thought, maybe only pilgrims staying there are entitled to a stamp (but I had gotten a stamp the day before at the albergue of Luarca without staying).

When I had to refuse a stamp
The opposite situation happened at the end of the Norte. The credential I used was the Holy Year Special edition which has only 34 spaces (significantly less than the regular one). Since I was pretty generous with stamps during my first week I started to run out of space and limited myself to only 2 stamps a day. That day I had already received a stamp in my breakfast café in Miraz. The second stamp would be from Sobrado. So when I had my lunch break in the albergue in A Roxica, I was so sorry to say no. I had not asked for it but the hospitalera brought the stamp along with my cake and coke. To deny the stamp made me feel bad. The same situation repeated itself one day later. I know I could have used a second credential, but I wanted to have the last stamp from Santiago in the last space of my original credential. Maybe that’s due to some kind of German sense for order. But it made me realize that I wanted to make sure there was enough space for stamps on future caminos.

When a stamp made me cry
That happened in Vilanova de Lourenza, the first stop after Ribadeo. My mood was a bit shaky that evening as I had thought a lot about my late mother that day. When I passed the church it was unexpectedly open (the week before almost all churches had been closed). So I went in for a visit and for some time of contemplation. There was a stamp for use, but I first lit a candle, took a seat and was deep in thought when I heard some commotion from the entrance. A group of male Spanish pilgrims had entered and stamped their credentials. After that they talked to each other quite loudly with no sign of respect to the place. After 5 minutes I started getting a bit angry, got up and went to them, telling them something like “Por favor, silencio. Este es una iglesia. Como los elefantes!”. They looked embarrassed, stopped talking and left. Then I stamped my credential and looked at the stamp. It was the Virgin Mary holding her baby. A loving mother with her child. My anger just evaporated and I started crying. Thankfully the elephants had already left. Later that evening in a local restaurant I discovered that there was one dish one the menu my mother used to prepare. So I ordered liver and had a nice evening wrapped in my childhood memories.

To be continued...

 

[Umwandert]

(7) Lost and found on the camino

It’s part of my life to lose things like scarves, gloves, hats or towels. On the camino I had to make sure that the most important things all had their fixed place in my gear, which I checked every morning before leaving. My wallet in the left trouser pocket, my cell phone in the right one, my credential in the left jacket pocket, the mask in the right one, the powerbank in the head pocket of my bagpack. And my medication had its place in an inside pocket of my bagpack. Losing even one of these items would have been problematic and could have easily meant trouble or disrupted my camino.

Around 5 km before Vilanova de Lourenza I found a good quality black hat on the camino in the forest. I went to albergue Savior that day, which was quite full (the other albergue in the town was closed). Around 15 pilgrims were there. I asked around but no one claimed the hat. So I left it there.

I thought, thanks to my security system, that won’t happen to me. Well... The evening of the next day, when I reached my destination – albergue O Xistral approximately 15 km before Vilalba – I was greeted by the hospitalero and two pilgrims who were staying there. When I went to the shower I couldn’t find my toiletries. The whole bag of toothpaste, toothbrush, razor, soap, shower gel, plaster etc. was gone. I was stunned, it must have stayed in the Vilanova de Lourenza albergue. I remembered putting it aside while rearranging my stuff in the backpack. No problem, said the hospitalero, Vilalba is a big city, you can buy everything there.

So I used the hand soap from the bathroom to shower and wasn’t too mad about myself. Finally, my most important items were not missing. But after the communal dinner (lentil soup, tortilla and salad) I discovered that my daily asthma spray was gone too. For some reason I must have put it in my toilet bag the day before. Now I was concerned. In Germany I need a recipe from my doc, the medication needs to be refrigerated in the pharmacy before first use and they almost never have it on stock, it has to be ordered and will be delivered the next day. What were my chances of finding it in Spain?

I googled and found out that my medication has a different name in Spain. I didn’t have much hope, especially when I realized the next day, that Vilaba wasn’t a big city but more of a depressing looking small town with lots of broken buildings. I went to a small pharmacy in the center and explained what I was looking for. The pharmacist nodded and in one movement she produced not one but two different versions of my medication (suave y fuerte), both chilled as prescribed. But it’s very expensive, she said. That didn’t bother me, I was super happy and bought the suave one for 43 Euro.

The biggest surprise came at the end of my camino, when I reached Olveiroa on my way to Fisterra after completing the Norte. On my very first camino in January 2020 I had lost my charging cable and cell phone plug. I was almost sure that I had left it in the hostel in Olveiroa.

28 months later im June 2022, in late afternoon I returned to Olveiroa, this time I didn’t stay in Casa Manola. But I remembered the nice restaurant and stopped for cake and coke. Out of curiosity I asked whether they have a leftover box with forgotten items. I described my missing cord and plug and that I had supposedly left it in one of the rooms 2 years ago. The guy behind the bar said wait a minute and went into the kitchen. Just a minute later he returned with my cable and plug.

I was absolutely stunned. They really had kept it! I left a a generous tip and told him, I would love to return next time as a guest. The camino really provides!

To be continued…

 

[Umwandert]

(8) Walking against the stream

I had heard about pilgrims who walk the camino backwards and wondered about their experience. During my two weeks on the Norte between Áviles and Santiago I met only one reverse pilgrim after Cadavedo and greeted her with great respect. I guess it’s much harder to navigate when you have to deal with the arrows showing to where you come from. Even though I had the buen camino app I relied mostly on the arrows and used the app only when in doubt (which happened frequently, up to 3 times a day).

On the way to Fisterra in June I met a handful of reverse pilgims (mostly in the middle of the day). But when I decided not only to walk to Fisterra and Muxia (I did this in 2020 after my first camino, too) but also back to Santiago – although this is an official camino – I felt like a reverse pilgrim.

That was a whole new feeling. I was used to overtaking pilgrims or being overtaken, but not to constantly meeting them on my way. I made a little game out of this and counted the pilgrims I would greet along the way. These are my stats:

• Fisterra to Muxia: 36 pilgrims came towards me and I was overtaken by 3 pilgrims walking in my direction.
• Muxia to O Logoso: 37 pilgrims came towards me and I overtook 5.
• O Logoso to A Pena: 241 pilgrims with with 3 pilgrim’s horses, 2 dogs and one donkey came towards me and I overtook 2 pilgrims.
• A Pena to Santiago: 361 Pilgrims and one pilgrim dog came towards me, and I overtook 4 pilgrims.

Conclusion: That means in the last 4 days of my camino 675 pilgrims came towards me! No wonder I felt like a bobblehead, constantly greeting people. On my last two days I met pilgrims almost every few minutes. I also encountered huge groups, for example I passed around 80 portuguese-speaking pilgrims at a parking lot close to A Zas. They just got their briefing by a guide.

Of course I always said hello and buen camino. Once I was chatting near Mount Aro with an American, who asked me about Olveiroa. I told him what I knew and added “You are my number 125 of the day”. He said he liked that number. But at the end I got tired by the huge number of encounters and then just smiled and raised my hand for a greeting. I have learned that a reverse pilgrim can be very beneficial for those who walk in the other direction. I answered questions about topography (“How many climbs tills Muxia?”) or upcoming services (“How far away is the nearest bar?”). When I walked on my last day I came upon a group of Brazilians. A girl stopped and asked me for help. She had accidentally taken her room key from a hotel in Negreira. Of course I offered her to return her key (after all the hotel was right on the camino).

Only a few pilgrims didn’t respond to my greeting. I found the experience interesting but I admit like some other pilgrims had said before, this path has a very different camino feel. Anyway, it was interesting, because I had done part of this camino in 2020 and tried to remember the places and what was coming next. I was quite amazed at what I still remembered (many bars and albergues were closed in January 2020) and what I had forgotten. But all in all the last 2 days were way to crowded for my taste. I don’t think I‘ll do a reverse camino in the future, there are so many others I need to walk in the right order first.

That’s the last of my camino memories. Thanks for reading, commenting and liking.
Next time I start a camino I’ll try to do a live report.

 

[LavanyaLea]

• O Logoso to A Pena: 241 pilgrims with with 3 pilgrim’s horses, 2 dogs and one donkey came towards me and I overtook 2 pilgrims.
• A Pena to Santiago: 361 Pilgrims and one pilgrim dog came towards me, and I overtook 4 pilgrims.

Wow at the number for the last 2 days! Do they have enough albergues for 361 pilgrims?? I suppose you mentioned one of them was a group of 80 Portuguese pilgrims getting off a coach, so they would probably be picked up at the end of the day by the bus and taken to where they’d be staying for the night… but wow! Was it the weekend by any chance? Thought Fisterre/Muxia is much quieter.

Anyway, it was interesting, because I had done part of this camino in 2020 and tried to remember the places and what was coming next. I was quite amazed at what I still remembered (many bars and albergues were closed in January 2020) and what I had forgotten.

I know what you mean… just finished Primitivo and when passing through the last few towns on the Frances which I did earlier this year, I was telling my friend back home whom I did the last Camino with, “we had beer here!” “This is where I stopped cos I was so tired and now I feel fine” etc etc.

 

[Umwandert]

Wow at the number for the last 2 days! Do they have enough albergues for 361 pilgrims?? I suppose you mentioned one of them was a group of 80 Portuguese pilgrims getting off a coach, so they would probably be picked up at the end of the day by the bus and taken to where they’d be staying for the night… but wow! Was it the weekend by any chance? Thought Fisterre/Muxia is much quieter.

No, the last two days of my camino were actually Wednesday and Thursday (mid-June). I assume that many of the pilgrims I saw were part of groups and not staying in albergues. I booked all my accommodations on the Camino Fisterra-Muxia a day or two in advance. Albergues in O Logoso and A Pena were quite full with only a few spaces left.

 

[NerdGjerd]

My first ever comment or post!!

I just wanted to say I loved reading your stories and viewing your photos here!

 

[Umwandert]

Thank you NerdGjerd. That's very encouraging.

 

[jimsheppard]

I walked the norte this year, in June, & also stayed at the monastery in sobrado, the abbot's name is Lawrence, quite honestly one of the nicest people I have met, his wit, & humour was a great relief after a really hard yomp..

Yes I agree. Brother Lawrence is a splendid chap. He runs a tight ship in the Sobrado Monastery but is very pleasant to talk to with some interesting stories.