Camino de Santiago

1. Inspiration
2. Planning
3. Days 1 & 2 – Cincinnati to A Guarda
4. Day 3 – A Guarda to Baiona
5. Day 4 – Baiona to Vigo
6. Day 5 – Vigo to Redondela
7. Day 6 – Redondela to Pontecesures
8. Day 7 – Pontecesures to Cruces
9. Day 8 – Cruces to Santiago de Compostela
10. Day 9 – Santiago de Compostela
11. Day 10 – Santiago de Compostela to Madrid
12. Day 11 – Madrid to Cincinnati

Inspiration

Three events inspired me to take this journey:

Approximately 5 years prior, I saw the movie ”The Way” with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez. Many perigrinos from the State will admit that this movie was what convinced them to walk The Way of St. James as well. It is a moving story about one man’s journey along the Camino de Santiago and his son who inspired him to do so. It seemed like an amazing experience so I started doing my research.

Then several years ago, my niece Molly Schneider walked the entire Appalachian Trial from March until September. To leave your life behind and walk for 6 months is an incredible commitment and accomplishment! Her stories of being on the trail and experiencing ”trail magic” inspired me and planted a seed in my brain that it might be something I would like to do at some point. However, I’m not into sleeping on the ground in a tent nor am I okay with having to carry a ”pee rag” due to a lack of bathroom facilities. In addition, I am not at a place in my career where I can take off for more than a week or two at most.

The final push was talking with one of my favorite people on the planet and a person who I truly aspire to be like someday, Dr. Bob Keith. Bob is an older man (mid-80s to be more specific) and he has never stopped adventuring. He learned to scuba dive in his 70s. He biked across Iowa (yes, the whole state) yearly and might still. He and his wife have the most amazing travel stories and they walked the Camino a few years ago. I could go on and on about how cool of a guy Bob is but to sum up his advice for me, he said ”Colleen – if you want to drink great wine, eat great food and meet great people, you have to do the Camino”. Sold!

Planning

The Camino de Santiago was originally, and still is for many, a Catholic pilgrimage. My Catholic schoolgirl outfit has long since been retired and I am not a religious nor spiritual person by any means. But I still very much appreciate the history of this pilgrimage and what it has meant for the countless numbers of pilgrims who have walked this path before me for over 1000 years. That said, I did not want it to be a vacation but instead a time of self-reflection and an opportunity to gain perspective on the importance of living a good life. I was prepared to walk it alone but wanted to offer the opportunity to my two favorite people, Patrick and Cadi, because they were the only two who I was willing to share this experience with. Cadi immediately said ”hell no” (refer to my Maldives page for her preferred type of travel!). Patrick was hesitant at first but surprised me several months later when he asked ”are you still doing that walk?”. I was ecstatic when he said he wanted to join me! Plus, that gave me ideas for Christmas presents – hiking shoes, socks, backpack, travel towel, etc.

We planned to go as soon as he was out of school at the beginning of May. We decided to walk the Camino Portugues Coastal Route because it is not as crowded as the Camino Frances and we wanted to walk along the ocean. I joined the Facebook groups (Camino de Santiago, Camino de Santiago – American Pilgrims, Camino Portugues) and listened to a Camino de Santiago podcast. Patrick knows Spanish better than I do so his homework was to make sure we could find a bathroom, order meals and reserve our albergues (hostels specifically for peregrinos walking the Camino).

I booked flights in and out of Madrid and I planned extensively for what to pack. I specifically did not plan where we would stay except for the first two nights and the last night in Madrid before we went home. We took a short flight from Madrid to Vigo to get to our starting point and then planned to ride the train back to Madrid once we made it to Santiago de Compostela. I downloaded the Camino Ninja app which is linked to Booking.com and allows you to find and reserve your albergues on your phone. We were vaccinated against COVID-19, boosted and had negative tests 24 hours prior to boarding.

My first mistake – packing too much. Judging from some of the posts I read on the Camino Facebook apps, there are a LOT of people who overthink everything. I am generally a light packer but I still overpacked at 15 pounds. In addition to the packing list below, I wore my favorite Birkenstocks, travel pants with lots of pockets, short-sleeve shirt, sports bra, and underwear (of course). The bolded items are things that I did not use at all and only added extra weight. Convenience stores are plentiful and you can buy anything you forget. I recommend making sure your backpack is 12 pounds maximum.

That said, a few things that I would recommend are:

• Download the Camino Ninja app to help with booking albergues.
• Download Google Translate. We used it daily and it’s rude to expect locals in another country to speak your language.
• Believe those who recommend taking (or buying) at least one trekking pole. They would have helped my knees immensely.
• Spray your backpack, sleeping bag liner and blanket with Permethrin to prevent bedbug bites. We did not have a problem at all but rumor is that the little bastards can be a problem later in the season and we did not want to risk it.
• Instead of packing individual meds, organize them in a pill case for less weight and to save space

Days 1 & 2 – Cincinnati to A Guarda

We had a quick 1 hour flight from Cincinnati, Ohio to Atlanta, Georgia and an 8 1/2 hour flight to Madrid, Spain. Then we hopped a 1 hour regional flight from Madrid to Vigo and a 45 minute taxi from Vigo to A Guarda. We were delighted to arrive at our accommodations at the Convento de San Benito, a restored convent in a pretty little Galician fishing port. We were right across from the beach with a Spanish tavern within walking distance in the other direction. We sampled the local fare of mussels, langostinos, scallops and rice with fresh bread and vino tinto (red wine).

NOTE: Although I have esophageal issues, I did not want to miss out on experiencing the local foods. I took it slow at first with just a few bites of bread here and there but as the week progressed, I had no issues and was eating bread and Spanish ham left and right! I do not know why (and don’t care) but maybe it had something to do with the fresh air, exercise, lack of stress and absence of preservatives. In any case, my insides felt fabulous!

Day 3 – A Guarda to Baiona

After a great night of sleep in the convent, we were rested and ready for our first day of walking. We discovered quickly that The Way is well marked and easy to follow. The majority of those who live and work along the Camino are overwhelming delightful and welcoming. Locals and peregrinos enthusiastically wished us ”Buen Camino” or ”Bom Caminha” which translates into ”good journey”, although “journey” carries a deeper meaning than just a long walk. We started off along the beautiful and rugged Atlantic Ocean coastline toward our final destination of Baiona 19 miles away (more to come about our distance miscalculation later). My first experience in Spain was absolutely breathtaking. Our first distance marker was at 160 kilometers and our terrain ranged from grass to dirt to gravel to asphalt.

Approximately 4 hours later, we made it to our halfway point at Oia, another beautiful coastal town. We were quickly realizing that we might have underestimated how physically demanding this trip would be and we were happy to stop for lunch and a break. The Coca-Cola I had was the best one I have ever had in my life. Tired and thirsty, it was exactly what I needed. We continued on toward Baiona.

Another 6 hours later (!?), we made it to the Albergue Estela do Mar in Baiona completely exhausted. I am not sure how we managed it but we made a 19 mile trip into 24 miles (48,000 steps but who’s counting) and it took 10 hours. We missed a shortcut somewhere! It was HARD and not what we expected. My right knee was starting to go and Patrick’s feet were wrecked. Fortunately, neither of us had any serious blisters.

The albergue owner was apologetic about the hot water not working but we were grateful for a cold shower and a bed. He was amazingly hospitable and gave us a great history lesson on Galicia, Portugues Camino, food and customs. Unfortunately, I was slightly delirious from the pain in my knee and do not recall much except that in Galicia, I should order ”mencia” instead of ”vino tinto” and in the appropriate dialect. We did not have the energy to walk to a restaurant for dinner but I limped to the closest grocery store and picked up a few packaged items right as they were closing. Bedtime at last!

Day 4 – Baiona to Vigo

We woke up feeling 90% better and with renewed optimism. We knew our first day of walking would be our hardest so we were ready to tackle our second day. On our way out of Baiona, we stopped at a Pharmacia for an foot/ankle brace for Patrick and a knee brace for me. We also stopped at a souvenir shop to buy a walking stick for Patrick. We were patched up and ready to roll. Our route was to take us approximately 17 miles through several small towns and end up in Vigo, the large city where we flew into and picked up our taxi on Day 2.

I recall finding one little spot for lunch but do not recall going through several small towns. What I do remember is what felt like hiking up and down mountains over very rough terrain AGAIN. 17 miles turned into 20 miles. We were doing something wrong! By favoring my right knee, my left lower leg and knee were starting to take a major pounding going down hills. We stopped following the marked way and started following Google maps just to get there quicker. I would NOT recommend that – we went through some sketchy areas that were not peregrino-friendly.

So….wait….let’s back up. I did not mention it earlier but the podcasts, Facebook posts, guidebooks and stories from others all had two things in common. First, there will be a low point that will test you. Second, the Camino gives you what you need. Here we were – after only 2 days of walking, two relatively fit people with broken bodies and spirits. I had never, ever been in such excruciating pain. My right knee just would not work and I had to drag it along. My left shin was trashed and I quite possibly had a stress fracture. Patrick had some seriously scary foot pain. We were tired and crabby and considered admitting our failure and spending some extra time in Madrid instead. This was definitely our low point. We have both commented since then that we cannot believe we made it through that second day. But we did – the power of the human spirit is incredible.

What the Camino provided was a non-negotiable slower pace. At one point, I think this snail overtook me. What we quickly realized was that this was a gift. We were not listening so the Camino knocked us on our asses – exactly what we did not realize we needed.

Our slower pace reminded us to appreciate the beauty of Galicia. At one point, Patrick said “If we didn’t just climb that mountain, we wouldn’t have seen this view. It makes you realize how small we are in this world”. WOW.

We pressed on and ended up walking for 9 hours that day. We booked a room at the Hotel Alda Estacion Vigo so that we would have our own hot shower. We ordered pizza delivery and got Cokes from the vending machine and fell into bed broken but learning.

Day 5 – Vigo to Redondela

Famished from our previous two days of walking, we we were thankful that our hotel had a fantastic breakfast buffet. We met two older gentleman from Atlanta at breakfast. We told them about our first two days and their comments were ”you walked how long?” and ”you carried your bags?” which was their kind way of saying ”wtf are you thinking?!”. They suggested using a luggage service to carry our bags ahead and also mentioned that they sometimes take a taxi if their bodies need a day of rest. Patrick and I had to re-evaluate this plan and reset.

We only had a 10 mile walk that day so we decided to start walking and see how we felt. Patrick’s foot was feeling a little better so I used his ankle brace for my left leg and my knee brace for my right knee. I made it two blocks. We called a taxi and were in Redondela in 15 minutes. We had time to kill before we were able to check in to the Albergue A Conserveira so we found a typical Spanish pastry shop a few doors down from the albergue and enjoyed tea and fresh baked croissants and cream puffs. When we felt like we had to move on, we stopped at the Celtic Luada Irish pub.

No matter where you are in the world, there is always an Irish pub. They always have Guinness. They always have the same dark wood and decor. They always make me feel like I’m home. The bartender brought out the most delicious Spanish olives I’ve ever had with two tapas made with potatoes and eggs. The sense of failure that I was feeling in the morning started to fade as I sat there across from Patrick, remembering to find the joy in this journey. Whether at home or away, there is always so incredibly much to be thankful for. We probably killed 3 hours that morning just hanging out together and it was exactly what we needed. When it was time to check in to our albergue, we started a load of laundry and Patrick decided to stay and rest. I couldn’t go far due to the pain in my left shin but I hobbled back to the Irish pub to sit outside and watch the happenings in this adorable small Spanish town. I watched traffic, dogs, peregrinos, parents walking their kids to soccer practice, a bartender going to pick up fresh bread from the breadmaker and then to the market to pick up lemons and olives. I watched people just living their lives as I stopped to reflect on my own. The pub bartender brought me a new batch of olives with corn nuts with every Guinness I ordered. I’ll just say that I ate A LOT of olives that afternoon!

Several hours later as I was getting up to leave and go check on Patrick, two American women were arriving, laughing and taking pictures in front of the pub. I offered to take their picture…yada, yada, yada…3 more Guinnesses later, we were Facebook friends and planning to visit Antarctica together. My new friends, Rosemary and Jill, breathed new life into my journey. They are childhood friends who embarked on this adventure together. Jill was having foot issues so had been taking trains and taxis to meet Rosemary at their next destination. It was a welcome reminder that everyone’s Camino is their own. There are no rules. It is all about the personal journey and each one is different. I am so thankful to have met these two happy positive kindred spirits on that day and it is an afternoon that I treasure. I was re-setting and my spirit was renewing.

I eventually made it back to the albergue to get Patrick. We walked up to a little diner in the middle of town and watched the traffic around the roundabout as we ate our bocadillas and watched the locals as they filed in to play the lotto game. We decided to send our bags the next day to give our bodies some rest. We also decided we were going to skip Pontevedra and taxi to Caldas de Reis so that we could walk shorter distances every day and hopefully finish strong.

When we returned to the albergue, we met Nunu and Zalul. Zalul was a young woman from Turkey and Nunu was a young man from Portugal. They were both traveling alone but had met earlier along The Way. Zalul made an amazing turkish dish that she shared with Patrick. Nunu made sangria that all four of us drank. They were delightful and such an interesting pair. We were sharing our stories and Nunu’s words of wisdom were ”walk with your spirit, not with your feet”. Those words stayed with me throughout the rest of the week and still do today. The spirit and kinship of peregrinos is the most amazing part of this experience for me. Somehow, the right people with the right words of wisdom find you when you need them most.

Day 6 – Redondela to Pontecesures

We woke up ready to walk again. Our plan was to take a taxi to Caldas de Reis and walk approximately 10 miles to Pontecesures, a small town right before the larger town of Padron. I wrapped my knee and ankle. Patrick decided his foot was better without a wrap but he was dosed up with Naproxen. We had breakfast in Redondela, grabbed a couple pieces of fruit at the market and caught a taxi. The driver dropped us off on the outskirts so that we could walk through Caldas de Reis. It was another beautiful day of walking. The landscape was changing from coastal to countryside and equally gorgeous. The air was clean, fresh, and smelled like flowers.

We walked slowly and I stopped often to snap a picture and rest my legs. After about 3 hours of walking, Patrick could take no more. His foot was screaming and he thought it might be broken. He has never been one to complain so when he says he’s hurting, I believe him. The Camino provided us a taxi sign so we taxied the last couple of miles to the Centro de Medica. in Padron. Word of advice – always get travel health insurance for these kinds of trips! I always do for international travel and have never used it until now.

The medical staff spoke very little English (although their English was better than my Spanish). Patrick managed to get his message across that he though his foot was broken. The doctor gave it some good yanks and poked around but said it wasn’t broken. He gave Patrick a packet of prescription strength anti-inflammatory meds and we were on our way. We had to backtrack a little to get back to the Hotel Rural A Casa do Rio in Pontecesures but we stopped for bocadillas on the way. Patrick was starting to feel better partly due to the meds but also because he had been worried that he might be doing more damage to his foot by walking on it. The trip to the hospital lifted that worry from him at least. My dinner was wine, Spanish olives and patatas frites and we fell into bed that night.

Day 7 – Pontecesures to Cruces

Padron is a very cool town and I wish we had stayed there instead of Pontecesures but perhaps next time, I will plan to spend more time there. My pain was stable and predictable at this point. Ten miles of walking was doable for me. Twenty was was too much. Our next albergue was Camino de Vieira, about 10 miles from Pontecesures, and we sent our bags ahead again to give our legs a break.

The Camino signs were plentiful along The Way and easy to follow. It struck me funny that sometimes, they were a simple spray-painted yellow arrow. I wondered if someone before us had taken a wrong turn at that spot so they added that marker afterwards.

Another observation was the baths that were commonly seen. I think I read somewhere that these were for peregrinos to rest and soak their feet. They were very cool and obviously very old.

As we were getting closer to our final destination of Santiago de Compostela, there were more and more people joining us as some of the routes were merging and because many choose to do just the last 100 kilometers. I felt like I was part of something amazing to see so many others walking the same path.

One of the most interesting places I saw this day and really on the entire trip was this cemetery. We had been walking a couple of hours so Patrick took a rest on the bench and I wandered around for close to an hour. The buildings were old but the gravestones were not really all that old. Death dates extended through the 1980’s. There were hundreds of people laid to rest here and an overwhelming number who lived past 100 years of age. There must be something about the clean air and fresh food!

We soon arrived at the Albergue. Since we had such a short day, we arrived to the Albergue around 2:00. This one had a pool! There were probably 15 of us at this albergue and we were in a room with 6 others. We met two women in their early 20’s from Germany who were both traveling alone but had met along the Camino. I was struck by their bravery, independence and strength. They had been walking for about 2 weeks since arriving in Porto. We also met another woman whose age was hard to estimate but I would guess in her 60’s. She was quite literally homeless and one of the most interesting people I met. She spoke very little English and very little Spanish but I did catch a few phrases – “no address”, ”no peregrino”, ”free as a bird”, ”my home (pointing to her backpack)”. I also made out that she had been walking for years as she began listing the places she had walked to and from “Siberia”, ”Africa”, ”Germany”, ”Saudi Arabia”. The hoodie she was wearing was tattered and her knotted hair was sticking out of holes at the top. Her pants had holes in the knees. She stood around 5 feet tall and her backpack was stuffed and must have weighed 25 pounds. In the morning, I offered her my hooded rain jacket to replace hers. She took it, looked it over, pointed to her bag to indicate that she already had everything she needed and gave it back to me with a smile. It was a humble reminder to be grateful for the gifts in my life but to also recognize and respect that others experience very different journeys and value different things.

Day 8 – Cruces to Santiago de Compostela

We woke up in the morning with a plan to walk to Milladoiro, about 10 miles away. We were well rested and had a good breakfast in our bellies and started walking. As we got closer to Santiago de Compostela, the landscape transitioned from rugged hillsides to small communities. It was common for these communities to have only 15 houses in them with a population of probably 40 people total. Sheep, dogs and chickens in the yards were common as were gardens of vegetables and what looked to be small personal vineyards. We occasionally saw a resident but they were neither friendly nor unfriendly. The peregrinos seemed to be just another daily part of their lives and we made no impact on them.

The terrain was never-ending beauty and the Camino signs remained reliable even if there was an random spray-painted yellow arrow here or there. We made it to Milladoiro at around 12:00. We stopped for lunch and I ordered from the ”Pilgrim’s menu” which is traditionally a simple meal and ”you get what you get”. What I got was a fish complete with eyeballs, skin and tail. It came with a bean-based soup and potatoes. This is not the meal I would have ordered if I was home in Cincinnati but one of my favorite parts of traveling is experiencing the traditional foods and it was actually delicious.

As we were finishing our lunch, Patrick and I assessed our injuries and checked the time. We only had another 8 miles until Santiago de Compostela and our choice was to either stay here and kill some time this afternoon or press on and spend the evening in Santiago de Compostela. We decided to press on. We booked Hotel Oxford Suites right on the Santiago plaza. As we got closer and closer to Santiago, our excitement grew. The Camino signs because more frequent. We saw more and more peregrinos approaching their final destination and our anticipation mounted.

Finalmente! After walking 18 miles on our last day, we made it. Our legs and feet were wrecked but our spirits were restored. The feeling is hard to describe but it was a combination of relief, joy and gratitude. It was an incredible experience to walk into the plaza and see others celebrating the ending to their own journeys as well.

That evening, Patrick and I ate dinner at an Italian restaurant just off the plaza. He was tired and went to bed but I decided to wander around a bit. Guess what I found…

Afterwards, a thunderstorm rolled in for a spooky walk home.

Day 9 – Santiago de Compostela

In the morning, we woke to peregrinos arriving on horseback. I thought it was still raining but the noise got louder and louder and soon I realized it was the clip-clop of hooves on the cobblestone streets.

Santiago de Compostela is an interesting city. The architecture is medieval and the Catholic heritage is apparent everywhere from Catedral de Santiago to the various other ancillary buildings. The wealth and extravagance is excessive. Not only is Santiago the endpoint to the Camino, it is also a popular tourist destination. We felt strangely separate from the tourists though and the shop owners catered to the tourists more than they did to the “dirty pilgrims”. Anyhow, pilgrims were carrying everything on their backs and didn’t have a lot of space for souvenirs so we weren’t much use to them. Nevertheless, I mention this without judgment and only as an observation. We had made such an incredible journey but what is important to one person doesn’t mean much to another person. I was humbled yet again.

I talked Patrick into going to mass that day with me. As I mentioned before, I am neither spiritual nor religious and in fact, neither of us believe in any gods. However, the history of the Catholic church is still interesting to me. Plus since Patrick attends a Catholic university, it is interesting to him as well. The cathedral was magnificent. It was packed with hundreds of people and I will admit that I did take communion just so that I could get closer to the front of the church to see it. If there is a god, I might get reprimanded for that one on judgment day!

The best part of the mass was the swinging of the botafumeiro cauldron. I did not get a good video but I found this one on youtube which is a great representation of what happens. It is absolutely incredible. After this, one incredibly talented woman sang Ave Maria acapella – it brought tears to my eyes.

Day 10 – Santiago de Compostela to Madrid

Our only requirement on this day was to make our way to Madrid and get our COVID tests. We had a train booked from Santiago de Compostela to Madrid. It was a 3 hour train ride. Then we took a taxi from the train station to the airport for COVID testing. We hopped a subway to downtown Madrid for lunch and then walked to the Pestana Plaza Mayor, our VERY nice hotel for the night. I decided we deserved a luxury night so I booked our room overlooking the city center and it was worth every penny. They had just finished their annual festival so the stage was still set up but unfortunately the entertainment had ended.

Madrid did not disappoint. The art and culture scene is vibrant as is the shopping in the exclusive neighborhood of Salamanca. I would definitely like to re-visit Madrid to take a deeper dive here.

My legs did not allow this however so I sat at an outdoor wine restaurant and people watched and ate a bottomless bowl of olives for hours on end.

Day 11 – Madrid to Cincinnati

All journeys must end. Reflecting on this one, I can say that this was the hardest physical activity I have ever done, hands down. This is partly, or maybe mostly, because I did not truly know what to expect. Knowing what I know now, I would allow more time and plan on walking no more than 15 miles per day. I would also remind myself that it is perfectly okay to send your backpack ahead if needed and catch a taxi when you need a little rest. That said, I am ready to start planning my next walk…maybe the Camino Frances next time. Buen Camino!

“It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” – Ernest Hemingway