- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Ingles (Sept'24), Camino Portugues (May'22)
Just finished walking Ingles from Ferrol with my Wife. We did it in 5 days and arrived in Santiago on September 5th. FANTASTIC experience. I look forward to doing this route again someday.
We knew September is part of the high season, but we wanted to spend my birthday and our anniversary together in the Camino, so we went ahead anyways.
We like to take our time walking and enjoy a quieter time together on the actual Camino. So we opted for booking places in advance and starting later in the morning ~ 8-9am. This worked out great, we probably saw 10-20 people while walking each etapa since most pilgrims opt for a 7am or earlier start (anecdotally).
Cafes and restaurants in the towns were full and lively, and it was really easy to socialize and befriend fellow pilgrims you saw in the Camino once in town.
We got really lucky with the weather. Cloudy most days with no rain and it stayed in the mid 60s - low 70s during the daytime. I am writing this the day after we arrived in Santiago while it's pouring outside ️
The first day walking to Pontedeume and the views of the Rías are memories that I'll treasure forever.
I will also remember forever that hill getting out of Pontedeume I am glad I had my coffee that day.
Betanzos has a beautiful town square. I wish we had had more energy to explore it, but we ended up getting groceries and making bocadillos where we stayed at Pensión la Plaza. They are very close to the main square and the owners were incredibly warm. Lots of space to hang out and socialize with fellow pilgrims.
The bottleneck / pinch point at Bruma is real We probably saw 50 - 60 peregrinos that day. We started walking around 7:30am that day.
We ended up pre-booking a place at Mesón do Vento called "Apartamentos Camino Ingles II" via Booking. It's a brand new Casa Rural 15 minutes walking from Mesón do Vento. It was 70 € for a private room for two with breakfast and a shared bathroom. Beautiful grounds and plenty of space to reflect, write or socialize.
The proprietary was extremely friendly and even offered to pick us up / drop us off from Bruma, but we chose to walk directly to the accommodation instead.
While staying there, we met some wonderful Brits and Aussies doing the Camino as well and became fast friends.
The next day we decided to walk to a "Sendero Jaimos" marker on Google Maps and follow a rural road until we reconnected with the Camino at the Iglesia de San Pedro de Ardemil.
I found the Meson do Vento to Sigüeiro walk to be tough. Specifically the last 2km. Something about walking so much next to the highways and industrial parks drained me. The beginning and middle part through farmland are gorgeous though.
The walk from Sigüeiro to Santiago was full of mixed emotions. It was the shortest etapa, but I caught myself walking slower than usual, because I didn't want it to be over.
We arrived at Praza do Obradoiro and spent quite a while there. Giving thanks and basking on what we just had done.
We went to the Oficina de Acogida del Peregrino to get our Compostelas and the line to get in must have been ~ 60 people at 1:30pm. It moved incredibly fast though. Kudos for all the great work they do. We had registered earlier that morning and had our QR codes and were in and out 10 minutes flat.
Now we are enjoying Santiago, reflecting on this experience, feeling thankful and of course, planning the next Camino.
We knew September is part of the high season, but we wanted to spend my birthday and our anniversary together in the Camino, so we went ahead anyways.
We like to take our time walking and enjoy a quieter time together on the actual Camino. So we opted for booking places in advance and starting later in the morning ~ 8-9am. This worked out great, we probably saw 10-20 people while walking each etapa since most pilgrims opt for a 7am or earlier start (anecdotally).
Cafes and restaurants in the towns were full and lively, and it was really easy to socialize and befriend fellow pilgrims you saw in the Camino once in town.
We got really lucky with the weather. Cloudy most days with no rain and it stayed in the mid 60s - low 70s during the daytime. I am writing this the day after we arrived in Santiago while it's pouring outside ️
The first day walking to Pontedeume and the views of the Rías are memories that I'll treasure forever.
I will also remember forever that hill getting out of Pontedeume I am glad I had my coffee that day.
Betanzos has a beautiful town square. I wish we had had more energy to explore it, but we ended up getting groceries and making bocadillos where we stayed at Pensión la Plaza. They are very close to the main square and the owners were incredibly warm. Lots of space to hang out and socialize with fellow pilgrims.
The bottleneck / pinch point at Bruma is real We probably saw 50 - 60 peregrinos that day. We started walking around 7:30am that day.
We ended up pre-booking a place at Mesón do Vento called "Apartamentos Camino Ingles II" via Booking. It's a brand new Casa Rural 15 minutes walking from Mesón do Vento. It was 70 € for a private room for two with breakfast and a shared bathroom. Beautiful grounds and plenty of space to reflect, write or socialize.
The proprietary was extremely friendly and even offered to pick us up / drop us off from Bruma, but we chose to walk directly to the accommodation instead.
While staying there, we met some wonderful Brits and Aussies doing the Camino as well and became fast friends.
The next day we decided to walk to a "Sendero Jaimos" marker on Google Maps and follow a rural road until we reconnected with the Camino at the Iglesia de San Pedro de Ardemil.
I found the Meson do Vento to Sigüeiro walk to be tough. Specifically the last 2km. Something about walking so much next to the highways and industrial parks drained me. The beginning and middle part through farmland are gorgeous though.
The walk from Sigüeiro to Santiago was full of mixed emotions. It was the shortest etapa, but I caught myself walking slower than usual, because I didn't want it to be over.
We arrived at Praza do Obradoiro and spent quite a while there. Giving thanks and basking on what we just had done.
We went to the Oficina de Acogida del Peregrino to get our Compostelas and the line to get in must have been ~ 60 people at 1:30pm. It moved incredibly fast though. Kudos for all the great work they do. We had registered earlier that morning and had our QR codes and were in and out 10 minutes flat.
Now we are enjoying Santiago, reflecting on this experience, feeling thankful and of course, planning the next Camino.