That bus from Bruma back to A coruna

[wendy busch]

I am trying to be very clear in my head about where I catch a bus back to A coruna on the camino Ingles.
If I walk from Ferrol to Bruma then want to walk the other arm of the Camino Ingles from A coruna, is the bus station at Bruma or Meson do Vento?
If it is Meson do Vento, I gather this is a separate town and is 1 to 2kms off the actual camino route?
Am I correct?

Thanks everyone.

 

[Camembert]

I am trying to be very clear in my head about where I catch a bus back to A coruna on the camino Ingles.
If I walk from Ferrol to Bruma then want to walk the other arm of the Camino Ingles from A coruna, is the bus station at Bruma or Meson do Vento?
If it is Meson do Vento, I gather this is a separate town and is 1 to 2kms off the actual camino route?
Am I correct?

Thanks everyone.

You can start first in a Coruña and walk to Hospital de Bruma as the small village officially is called and take the bus from there to Ferrol .
Mèson do Vento is not a town but a very small village too. It is about 4 kms from Hospital de Bruma.

If you walk from Ferrol to Hospital de Bruma you face a steep hill after bar Julia.
You could walk to there, give Antonio ,owner of hostal Mèson Novo in Mèson do Vento a call. He picks you up from there if you reserve a room and next morning you will dropped again at Bar Julia so you can stard freshly from there ,eventually without backpack if you stay another night with them what some pilgrims do.
Or walk on to Sigueiro
Mario's parents make a nice meal and breakfast for you . Lovely people.

Tip when taking busses.
Long distance Busses in Galicia look like touringcars. People are used to put their luggage ,bags,prams etc underneath in the luggagearea of the bus rather than take it into the bus.
Sometimes in busy towns like Ferrol you sit in the bus while the luggagecompartment doors are lifted up and you have no sight on your belongings .
It is not the first time luggage has been stolen while people were sitting in the bus. Allways keep an eye on your belongings.specially if your passports, traveltickets etc are in the backpack.

Buen camino

 

[wendy busch]

You can start first in a Coruña and walk to Hospital de Bruma as the small village officially is called and take the bus from there to Ferrol .
Mèson do Vento is not a town but a very small village too. It is about 4 kms from Hospital de Bruma.

If you walk from Ferrol to Hospital de Bruma you face a steep hill after bar Julia.
You could walk to there, give Antonio ,owner of hostal Mèson Novo in Mèson do Vento a call. He picks you up from there if you rsetve a room and next morning you will dropped again at Bar Julia so you can stard freshly from there ,eventually without backpack if you stay another night with them what some pilgrims do.
Or walk on to Sigueiro
Mario's parents make a nice meal and breakfast for you . Lovely people.

Tip when taking busses.
Long distance Busses in Galicia look like touringcars. People are used to put their luggage ,bags,prams etc underneath in the luggagearea of the bus rather than take it into the bus.
Sometimes in busy towns like Ferrol you sit in the bus while the luggagecompartment doors are lifted up and you have no sight on your belongings .
It is not the first time luggage has been stolen while people were sitting in the bus. Allways keep an eye on your belongings.specially if your passports, traveltickets etc are in the backpack.

Buen camino

Excellent. Thank you. While on the bus can i keep my pack on my knee?

 

[Camembert]

Excellent. Thank you. While on the bus can i keep my pack on my knee?

The busdriver refused us to come into the bus with our 50 liters backpacks !

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Excellent. Thank you. While on the bus can i keep my pack on my knee?

No - they have to go in the luggage department.
Keep your passport, cash etc. with you in a separate wallet and take it on board with you.

 

[mylifeonvacation]

But does the bus actually pass through Bruma? I was under the impression that you would have to go to Meson do Vento to catch a bus ... but perhaps there is another line that goes through Bruma?

www.monbus.es shows a bus from Meson do Vento to Coruna every hour or two (I looked at a Wednesday, for example). From Coruna you can switch busses to get to Ferrol. If there were a bus that passed through Bruma, that would be much more convenient, since it's a 2 km walk from Bruma (the albergue) to Meson do Vento.

I've ridden the bus from Coruna to Ferrol with my pack next to me, but there were plenty of empty seats that day. If it's a problem, you can just stow it below as luggage.

 

[miguel_gp]

The attached link shows the walking route from the Albergue at Bruma to the main bus stop in Meson Do Vento. Google maps estimates about 30 mins for the walk and it is 2.1 km.

https://goo.gl/maps/MCshJrDaNoJ2

Bus schedule for a random Friday in June shown below but you can search on www.monbus.es for a specific date.

Mig

 

[Camembert]

But does the bus actually pass through Bruma? I was under the impression that you would have to go to Meson do Vento to catch a bus ... but perhaps there is another line that goes through Bruma?

www.monbus.es shows a bus from Meson do Vento to Coruna every hour or two (I looked at a Wednesday, for example). From Coruna you can switch busses to get to Ferrol. If there were a bus that passed through Bruma, that would be much more convenient, since it's a 2 km walk from Bruma (the albergue) to Meson do Vento.

I've ridden the bus from Coruna to Ferrol with my pack next to me, but there were plenty of empty seats that day. If it's a problem, you can just stow it below as luggage.

The bus follows the main road N550 which leads through Mesón do Vento.
Hospital de Bruma is a small spot on the map so you have to go to the mainroad to catch a bus.
You were lucky with your backpack inside the bus. We bussed several times by bus during our 3 caminos and every time the packs had to stay below.
With the risk they could be stolen as happened before ad we several times read on this forum. At he Santiago busstation my wife waited on the bus and I stayed outside to keep an eye on our belongings. The drivers are not interested .

 

[mylifeonvacation]

Thanks @miguel_gp and @Albertinho for those clarifications. Great info, as always!

I keep thinking of walking the Coruna arm, just because it looks so beautiful (I drove it last year when on my way to Coruna from finishing the Camino Porgtuguese). After I walked into Santiago, I thought "Well, that's it. Two caminos and I'm done now". Then I drove through Abegondo / Carral on the N-550 and saw how beautiful it was between Meson do Vento and Coruna and started thinking "...well, maybe just once more ...". Funny how the camino does that to you!!

 

[wendy busch]

Thank you. Very helpful

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

As privately copied to Wendy, to the best of my knowledge there are NO buses in the tiny village of Bruma.
You need to walk to the main road. Or get a lift - the hospitaleiro in Bruma is very, very kind and helpful. There is a bus-stop almost directly outside Meson Novo in Meson do Vento. Here's a photograph of it!!!!


You'll notice a roundabout sign ahead. That's turn right for Betanzos, and straight on for A Coruna.

 

[Al the optimist]

Last September I walked from the Bruma albergue to Meson do Vento. Before leaving home I had printed a map from Googlemaps. It was easy to find my way as the junction decisions easily matched up to the map. I started off by going down the road beside the playground next to the albergue and arrived at the main road roundabout and turned left into the village. I think it is slightly quicker that way.

 

[mylifeonvacation]

Great detail, @Stephen Nicholls ! I was thinking the bus stop would probably be further in the village, but this perfectly shows it. Thanks for posting!!

EDIT: I just went to Google maps to see the street view, and there is the bus stop from Stephen's photo, right across from the gas station & Hotel Canamina (reported to have an great menu del dia). In the Google maps view from July 2015 there are two people standing a bit before the bus stop looking like pilgrims with backpacks at their feet, but the lady has her thumb out - as if hitchhiking! This just stuck me as very comical, the idea of catching a ride with the Google car.

 

[maricristina]

Pleased that pilgrims are walking from A Coruna. I have suggested, in the past, that instead of walking out of the city along many streets people should take the bus to the Al Campo supermarket then walk. It could be that this has changed. All the other information on the bus seems correct. We returned to A Coruna by bus thence to Ferrol. That bus stopped at Neda from which one can walk again.

 

[wendy busch]

Hi Everyone.
It sounds like I should begin in ferrol , walk to Hospital de Bruma, onward to Meson do Vento and there catch a bus to A Coruna . Rather than beginning in A Coruna.

Would that be a better arrangement?

 

[maricristina]

I hope I have not "muddied the waters". I had not thought about which place to start. A Coruna is an interesting place and I was glad we visited it before setting out. There is the church of Santiago from which English pilgrims began that part of their pilgrimage, the Tower of Hercules lighthouse and the garden in memory of Sir John Moore who was killed there etc, etc. The walk out as far as the supermarket was dismal!
Please give a thought to Barry McGinley-Jones (RIP) when you see the granite slabs on the route in homage to the English pilgrims who walked it. My husband and I unveiled the one on Neda church in the Holy Year of 2004. He was a great supporter of that Camino.
Buen Camino Wendy.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Hi Everyone.
It sounds like I should begin in ferrol , walk to Hospital de Bruma, onward to Meson do Vento and there catch a bus to A Coruna . Rather than beginning in A Coruna.

Would that be a better arrangement?

If wanting a Compostella then I suggest ensuring that you get a second sello in Bruma (and a full set from Ferrol- Bruma) otherwise it could look as though you have not fulfilled the 100kms rule. Starting in Coruna to Bruma then Ferrol to Santiago would not have that problem

 

[miguel_gp]

Just as a slight aside, for anyone that is flying out of A Coruna after their Camino, that same bus through Meson Do Vento passes by the airport and will drop at a bus stop on a roundabout where the spur road to the airport leaves the main N550. There is an approximate 500m walk to the airport terminal (nothing compared to what you have just walked ). Just ask the driver for the stop but it is a few 100m after the road goes under the runway approach lights.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Hi Everyone.It sounds like I should begin in ferrol , walk to Hospital de Bruma, onward to Meson do Vento and there catch a bus to A Coruna . Rather than beginning in A Coruna.Would that be a better arrangement?

Sounds a fine idea. I had a reason for starting in A Coruna. It was the last pilgrimage in which my brother "saw me off" at the start, and our plan was to visit the grave of Sir John Moore, about whom was written the fine martial poem based on an incident in the Peninsular War.

Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As his corpse to the rampart we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
O'er the grave where our hero we buried.

So I began in A Coruna: my brother died five months later. I still miss him.

 

[Camembert]

Sounds a fine idea. I had a reason for starting in A Coruna. It was the last pilgrimage in which my brother "saw me off" at the start, and our plan was to visit the grave of Sir John Moore, about whom was written the fine martial poem based on an incident in the Peninsular War.

Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As his corpse to the rampart we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
O'er the grave where our hero we buried.

So I began in A Coruna: my brother died five months later. I still miss him.

We are happy we met your brother and you in Santiago by that time. We had a good time together in café Casino with a glass of beer and a glass of wine. Happy memories.still got the pictures of your brother and you.
Best regards
Nel and Albert

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

We are happy we met your brother and you in Santiago by that time. We had a good time together in café Casino with a glass of beer and a glass of wine. Happy memories.still got the pictures of your brother and you. Best regardsNel and Albert

It would be lovely to have a copy of those pictures, Albertinho. Any chance? I think you know my e-mail address!

 

[Camembert]

It would be lovely to have a copy of those pictures, Albertinho. Any chance? I think you know my e-mail address!

I will have a look for you Stephen. Of course I know your emailaddress