Day 17 O Pedrouzo – Santiago de Compostela

So we arrived.  We had an early breakfast and started walking at 6:50. We knew about the new ticket system in Santiago and I wanted to be sure we arrived in time and I also just wanted a little more time in Santiago… So we set off.

We don’t rush but it’s fair to say our stride and pace has improved over the last few weeks.  The kilometers just fell away and we reached Santiago Airport in no time. Onwards past familiar landmarks we walked.  I’m always surprised by how few pilgrims take the slight detour to visit the pilgrim statues at Mont Gozo.  Why walk so far and not? We wandered down, gazed across the city at those famous spires before continuing on. 

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Day 16 Boente – O Pedrouzo

I slept so well last night.  We had dinner with our Swedish and Polish friends, 10€ for a really excellent meal.  Earlier we’d sat beside the pool watching the washing dry and catching some late afternoon sun.  It was a great end to our day.

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Day 15 Ferriere – Boente

Last night for the first time we had no phone signal and the WiFi wasn’t so good… Sadly that meant we spent a little more time dozing in the afternoon and then later more time drinking. Oh well 😁.

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Day 14 Lugo – Ferreira

Last night we had a lovely dinner in Lugo with our Swedish chums.  It was Kjell’s birthday on the 7th and Ger’s today so it felt appropriate.  We found a restaurant in the old town near the cathedral and tucked into enormous steaks washed down with a fine rioja… A fine time indeed!  After this feast we wandered back to the albergue listening to a band playing behind the cathedral; Lugo was in party mode but we were off to bed!

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Day 13 O Cadavo – Lugo

So our albergue last night was really lovely.  The shower was great and the lady so helpful but… Maybe it was because the bed was small… Or because the mattress was hard… Or the pillow not right… Or the room too stuffy… Or perhaps the noise from the albergue loo above us was a tad noisy… Or perhaps  the emergency exit light above our door was too bright… But for some reason we just never slept very well.

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Day 12 – Fonsagrada – O Cadavo

There was no mist today!  Yeah!  Nothing else mattered because the sky was clear and we could see stars and distant lights and no mist!

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Day 11 Grandas de Salime – Fonsagrada

Last nights accommodation was OK but I think we’d been spoilt by Miguelin!  We did however have a really wonderful pilgrims menu in town before retiring.  All our gang seemed to have walked on so there weren’t many familiar faces, but we hope we’ll catch up by Lugo.

We set the alarm for early as we wanted to be on the road at first light, which for us was 8:05.  It seems that we are still in the mist belt. I have to say I’m getting a bit bored with the grey now and I’m hoping it blows away soon.

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Day 10 La Mesa – Grandas de Salime

Last night our albergue was first class.  Hotel Miguelin at La Mesa is really not too much further on from Berducedo but oh the beds, the showers and the dinner were worth it!

We thought today would be a shorter walk and although we expected it to be tough we decided to linger a little longer and left around 8:30 after a leisurely breakfast.

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Day 9 Samblisimo – La Mesa

We knew it would rain today.  We had hoped for fine weather but I took solace in the fact that the albergue still said it would be OK for us to cross the mountains via the “hospitals” route.  This stage is sometimes referred to as the king of the stages.  It’s majestic and wild and isolated.  It’s one of the most scenic stages of all the Ways to Santiago. It passes through high, uninhabited areas with exposure to unpredictable weather.  This stage shouldn’t be taken lightly and we needed to be well equipped with water and supplies, and with the right equipment for rain and cold.

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