Camino del Norte Day 40: Baamonde to Miraz 16km

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We made our own coffee and cereal at the albergue, but then saw most of the other pilgrims having a coffee at the cafe next to the albergue, which had wifi, so since we had no reason to hurry today we sat down for a second coffee in order to check email.

The first few kilometers of today’s walk were on a two-lane paved road, not very inspiring, but there was also almost no traffic at all, though we did see a Renfe train speed by on the parallel tracks. At right around the 100 km mark (left to Santiago), we turned off over a historic stone bridge and past a beautiful stone chapel in the forest. From here, the path was really beautiful, through thick shaded woods with shafts of sunlight breaking through.

As we walked through one small village, a woman was walking down the street with a plate of cake. She offered us each a piece and said they were preparing for a Romería later that day. We also saw the beginning of a Romería the previous day, so it must be the season for having parties.

Shortly after, we came across a loose dog, which always makes me a bit nervous, but this one was extremely friendly and began to follow us, sprinting ahead, then loping back. He must have followed us about 5km until he finally became distracted chasing chickens at one of the farms.

Miraz is a lovely little hamlet, with some very cool historic stone buildings. The albergue here is run by the Cofraternity of Saint James in England. Last year we stayed at the CSJ albergue in Rabanal on the Camino Francés and loved it, so we were excited to stay at a second CSJ place. The building was recently restored (it was the priest’s house historically). We had a very warm welcome from the English and Australian hospitaleros (there was even Vegamite in the kitchen for any Australian pilgrims wanting a taste of home…)

The warm sunny weather inspired me to wash almost all of our clothes, which have been rather damp through much of the past week. Some friends we have seen almost every day for the past month decided to hurry on today and walk the 40 km from Baamonde to Sobrado dos Monxes. We’ll miss them!

We are really on the home stretch, with only 4 days to Santiago. In two days, we will stop in Arzua and go back to meet up with my mom, who is in Triacastela tonight.

Camino del Norte Day 39: Vilalba to Baamonde 23 km

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We woke up this morning at our usual time of around 8am (the sun doesn’t come up until 8:30 and we’re in no rush…) We packed up and went down to the kitchen to make coffee and have some cereal for breakfast. Around 8:30, several police officers arrived and seemed surprised that everyone was still in the albergue. They pointed out that the official rules say we must leave by 8am (all the Xunta albergues have this rule posted, but no one has enforced it with the sun coming up so late) and asked us to leave as soon as possible. At least half the people were still sleeping up in the dormitory, so the policement went to rouse them and hustle them back out onto the Camino.

This was a really beautiful day with perfect sunny weather and cool temperatures. The Galician countryside was verdant, with green moss growing on the all the ancient stone walls lining the path. We stopped for lunch along a stone bridge and soaked up the sun while feasting on tuna, tomatoes and cookies (I apparently forgot to buy the bread, though…)

Baamonde albergue is beautiful, with room for over 90 people. There are rooms of 4, 6 and 8 on the ground floor, and the second floor is a loft with many beds. There is a large kitchen (though only one of the burners worked), a very comfortable dining room with several tables and chairs as well as comfy couches. There’s a pleasant green garden area outside with well-tended plants. The grocery store is about 2 min. away, and there are two bars and a pharmacy.

We went to the store to buy dinner supplies as well as stock up for tomorrow (not only is it Sunday tomorrow but we will be sleeping in Miraz, a town without a proper shop or restaurant, so we will carry all our food). The shop was very reasonably priced for a such a small one and we were able to find everything we needed.

The weather turned very cold in the evening and the albergue turned on the heat! I don’t think I’ve ever been in an albergue with the heat on, it was quite toasty and handy for drying wet clothes. Dave and I were quite tired, so headed to bed around 9:30pm. Some of our fellow pilgrims were up talking until well after midnight (in the common room, since it was so cold outside, so we could hear everything and the room had no door to close against the sound. In spite of the noise, we slept great.

Camino del Norte Day 38: Gontan to Vilalba

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We slept really well in Gontan’s very pleasant albergue. We passed through the town of Abadín and out into the countryside. The weather alternated between cloudy and sunny, though the temperature stayed quite chilly most of the day.

The trail twisted again back and forth over the main road, connecting quaint villages and farmland. Overall, the day was fairly unremarkable but pleasant.

We arrived to the Xunta albergue in Vilalba, which is a huge industrial building with a dark stone exterior. It’s an amazing place, but kind of an odd use of space with all the dorms on the third floor, bathrooms on the second floor, a lobby and kitchen on the ground floor, and half of the building is open all the way up all three floors.

The albergue is located in an industrial area just before Vilalba, so I ventured the 2km into town to get groceries. I came back with fixins to make beef strogonoff, one of Dave’s favorite meals. Unfortunately, the kitchen had no pots, pans or cutlery, so we had to utilize our small titanium pots. I made the sauce in the larger pot, and boiled the pasta in three separate batches in the smaller pot. Very tasty with a cool bottle of white wine!

We were feeling quite tired, so turned in early and watched an episode of a TV show on our laptop. I know, I know, not a very pilgrimy thing to do, but so relaxing and fun.

 

Camino del Norte Day 37: Lourenzá to Gontan

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It’s nice to be back in Galicia, with its many rural farms and rustic hamlets, full of stone houses with slate roofs. I love seeing cozy spires of smoke coming from the chimneys. Services are few and far between, so it’s important to bring enough snacks and water. The sun was finally shining today, but the temperatures were still pleasantly cool. We passed a Romeria along the way, which is a yearly festival where the people of small towns do a procession to their local church or hermitage and have a big fiesta, with lots of food and LOTS of alcohol. We wandered about a bit, looking at the intricate pastries for sale and admiring the racks of ribs and boiled octopus on offer.

Most of today was gently uphill through a green valley with mountains towering on either side. We hardly saw anyone else all day. The Gontan albergue is quite lovely, with24 beds, a kitchen and even wifi! As in all Xunta albergues, we were issued a disposable fitted sheet and pillow case.

We took advantage of the sunny afternoon to finally get our laundry dry and enjoyed another delicious pasta dinner with supplies from the nearby village shop. Two Spanish guys who we had seen for the last few days arrived quite late after having stopped to eat at the Romeria. Sadly, all the beds were full and the hospitalero sent them to check at the sport center, which was closed. For legal reasons, they were not allowed to sleep on the floor of the albergue, even though there was plenty of space and even several couches in the dining room. There were no hotels within walking distance and the next albergue was more than 20km away.

Finally, a Czech couple offered the use of their tent and we offered the use of our sleeping pads, so the two were allowed to camp in the yard outside. It was a very cold night, so I hope they were able to keep warm!

Camino del Norte Day 36: Ribadeo to Lourenzá

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We got a fairly early start this morning, making instant coffee and toast in the albergue. However, since we weren’t sure when we would be in a bigger town again, we decided to stop by a café to use the wifi. We also had a hard time figuring out how the route goes through Ribadeo because it is not marked at all, so we had to explore and find our own way. I’m not sure why some cities just do not mark through town—there were plenty of signs for hotel and all kinds of things, but not one Camino arrow or shell.

The weather had looked brighter, but became increasingly cloudy and we were deluged with rain as we entered Vilela. We had heard there was a new albergue there that we wanted to visit, but we didn’t see any signs to it. We asked several people, who sent us in different directions. Finally we found it, right behind the only café in town, but even the building itself did not have any sign outside. It was a beautifully restored building but unfortunately was very dirty with only one shower that was covered in mold. It’s hard to understand why a community would take the time and expense to renovate their old school into an albergue, but not take the simple next step of putting a sign out!

The rain let up rather suddenly, and we enjoyed some sunshine to dry us off. It didn’t last long, however, as were socked by an even stronger downpour, which drove us to seek shelter under an abandoned barn roof. We thought of stopping in the albergue of Gondán, which had a lovely kitchen, but there are no shops or restaurants nearby, and we didn’t think we had enough food for the evening. The albergue also has the toilets and showers outside of the building and I didn’t relish the thought of running out in the rain to use the bathroom… There was no one else at the albergue yet and we would have had to call for someone to drop off the key.

We continued on to the next town, San Xusto, and were surprised to see a new albergue there! With only 10 beds (including a room of only 2 beds), it looked quite nice and there was no one there yet at 5pm, so we would likely have had the place to ourselves. Quite tempting, but we decided to press on to the larger town (2,600) of Lourenzá in order to cook a more substantial dinner. We arrived a little after 6pm, and the 18-bed albergue was almost full. We grabbed some food from the grocery store and made up a tasty pasta dinner. None too soon, as there was hot competition for the one stove burner and two pots available at the albergue…

I had a nice hot shower and did laundry in the dark, though our clothes will likely not dry tonight. The weather report says sun for the next 5 days, so we hope they are right! I have been surprised that this route has much fewer washing machines than the Francés, where it was possible to pay a few euros to wash every few days. I really get tired of hand washing, especially the arduous task of wringing things out… and no amount of hand washing seems to rival the cleanliness a machine wash affords.

My mom has also been experiencing rainy, cold weather on her route. She has completed two days already and seems to be doing well!

Camino del Norte Day 35: Tapia to Ribadeo

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The albergue was silent last night and we slept amazingly well. We woke up to grey skies and enjoyed a hot coffee at a café before setting out. The markings out of town were quite confusing and we ended up following shell markers for about 2 kilometers, in what felt like totally the wrong way according to the GPS and maps. Finally, a local woman stopped in our car to tell us this was a poorly marked route that goes very far out of the way and offered to drive us back to Tapia to start over. We gratefully accepted and began on the more popular and shorter way, which begins along the highway but soon gets off into beautiful footpaths near the sea.

The weather continued to be grey and drizzly, but the stormy, rocky coast was amazing to behold. We relished some of our last glimpses of the sea, as we will soon be in Galicia heading south toward Santiago de Compostela. We enjoyed a snack break at a little hermitage overlooking the sea. The markings became confusing once again after the Penarronda beach. We followed arrows on a road route, but were disappointed that the camino route does not follow the coast more, where there is a local marked path already.

The rain became steadier and harder as we approached Ribadeo, which is at the far end of a 600m bridge. The pedestrian lane had only a low barrier separating the path from a plunge of several hundred feet into the river below. The wind and rain did not help with the feeling of being on a ledge over an abyss! We happily arrived at the Ribaseo albergue just as the rain became a deluge. We were the first to arrive to this sweet little albergue, the first of the Galician Xunta albergues on the Camino del Norte. The Xunta albergues are administrated by the government of the autonomous region of Galicia. They are mostly purpose-built with kitchens and all cost a flat fee of €5. They tend to be nice but sometimes lacking in character. This one, however, with a view down to the river, has quite a bit of character! There are only 12 beds here, but it is almost 6pm and there are only 6 of us here: 2 from Spain, 2 from Czech Republic, and we two Americans. There is a nice little sitting rooms with small tables and a couch, and a lot of brochures, maps and advertisements for services in the town.

While there were some tempting restaurants with €8 menus, we decided to utilize the kitchen, so Dave braved the elements to get some groceries and is now cooking up pasta with meat and chickpea sauce and peas. He also finally found some instant coffee packets that are not decaf! Every grocery store seems to only have instant coffee packets in decaf, so we stocked up when we finally found some with caffeine! Of course, a real café con leche is preferable, but this is cheaper and we don’t have to rely on finding a café open.

Looking forward to the hills of Galicia tomorrow, and hoping that the rain will be finished by then. My mom started walking today from Astorga on the Camino Francés and is sleeping in Rabanal tonight at one of our favorite albergues, Albergue Guacelmo, run by the British Cofraternity. We are looking forward to meeting up with her in about a week to walk to Santiago together.

Camino del Norte Day 34: La Caridad to Tapia

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Dave and I had a slow morning today, mostly because we have found a friend who is carrying an electric razor, so Dave took the opportunity to borrow it and give himself a haircut. We had a very easy walking day today, after our long day yesterday, as we really need to catch up on work. The weather was very pleasant and the path went through undulating farmland with some views of the sea in the distance.

We arrived in Tapia in the afternoon to find the albergue is right along the sea with a marvelous view! Our German and French friends that we have seen almost every day were there already. The weather was extremely cold and windy, and we were surprisingly tired so we laid down and took a nap. Tapia is a lovely port town with some nice restaurants down by the port. We enjoyed a cozy evening in the albergue, with the wind and cold raging outside, chatting with our fellow pilgrims and drinking hot tea and red wine. There were only about 10 of us in the albergue with 30 beds.

Camino del Norte Day 33: Luarca to A Caridad

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In spite of having a private room last night, we both woke up rather exhausted. As a weekend night, the café below us seemed to be having a rollicking party until the wee hours. Our bed was somewhat hammock shaped, which was uncomfortable on our sore backs and shoulders. We allowed ourselves the chance to sleep in, and even had a leisurely breakfast at a lovely pastry shop with huge delicious cups of coffee and speedy wifi.

The view down to the port leaving Luarca was superb, and we had a nice walk on smaller side roads and dirt paths. We thought about stopping half-way in Piñera, which has a former school renovated as an albergue. However, when we arrived to the albergue, there was a note saying to go back 1km to get the keys! Also, since it is Sunday, the local shop is closed so we would have to order meals from a local family, which might have been nice, but since it was still early we decided to press on to A Caridad.

We cross over the River Navia in the town of Navia and briefly considered getting a private room, since Dave was not feeling very well, but we continued on, arriving to the next albergue around 6pm. The older guidebooks that we have note that the A Caridad albergue is very wet and moldy, but there is currently a new albergue in the town just before A Caridad that is being used while the A Caridad albergue is being renovated.

The new place (in Árboces, 1km before A Caridad) was quite nice, with 32 beds and only about 10 of us staying there. We took rejuvenating hot showers and walked into town to have hamburgers for dinner. We caught up with Zak, our American friend, and some Spanish young people we had seen before.

Camino del Norte Day 32: Cadavedo to Luarca

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We walked a lot of today with our new friends Zak, from Oregon. We had coffee together at the nearby café (and utilized the wifi of course) then began our short day to Luarca/Al Muña. The walk was pleasant but somewhat unremarkable. There were a few confusing spots with arrows indicated in more than once direction, but we found our way. The trail has been improved since most of our guidebooks were written, so we were pleasantly surprised to have more walking on dirt paths and smaller roads rather than the highway.

We arrived in Luarca in the late afternoon, and debated whether to stay or keep walking. We had heard that the Al Muña albergue, which is 2 kilometers off-route, was not very nice and that the hospitalero was very unfriendly. There was an affordable pension along the camino in Luarca, which came recommended by the Cofraternity of Saint James guidebook, so we decided to stay there for €30. We were not all that impressed with the place and its saggy bed, but it was nice to have a room to ourselves and we both fell right asleep and slept for several hours!

We went out to explore the town a bit and get some groceries for dinner. We especially enjoyed eating empanadas de atún, (tuna empanadas) from the bakery. We were still so tired that we treated ourselves to a movie night in the pension and watched a movie before drifting off to sleep.

Camino del Norte Day 31: Soto de Luiña to Cadavedo (25km)

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We didn’t get much sleep last night, mostly because Dave felt some creepy crawlies in his bed so we moved to the dining room and slept on our foam mats on the floor, but were awakened at 6:30 by some enterprising German fellows who were starting before dawn to do an extra long day. Our dear hospitalero Pepe who briefed us on the route today neglected to mention that there is a split with a more mountainous route staying off the highway. At the split, I decided to explore this mountain option while Dave stayed on the more popular twisting and turning option on the old highway.

The mountain route was beautiful and remote, with lovely views to the sea and into a valley to the south. I had the path completely to myself and didn’t see a soul for about 8 kilometers. Flurries of purple grey butterflies fluttered around me and purple and pink heather blanketed the forest. The trail was fairly well maintained and marked until it joined a paved road, when all the markers stopped.

I came to a Y with no markings, and after consulting maps and guides, could not tell which way to go. Most of the guides do not include the mountain route because apparently it is not marked completely! I followed a very faint arrow to the R onto a very pleasant country lane and passed a sweet little chapel and descended down to the town below to meet up with Dave and walk the rest of the route on the sea route. Apparently, the rest of the mountain route is poorly maintained and very difficult, so it seems like it is being phased out as it is rarely used. It’s too bad, as I really enjoyed such a long stretch of quiet nature far from roads.

We were rather worried that the albergue in Cadavedo would fill quickly, as it has only 10 beds (with 3 more mats on the floor). However, we were only about the fifth to arrive so had no problem getting a bed in the tiny albergue. People continued to arrive, and one Spanish woman came just as the beds had all filled. She was so crestfallen we offered to sleep on the floor so that she could have a bed. In reality, we quite prefer sleeping on the floor in the kitchen to another crowded room of bunks ☺ but she was quite happy and grateful, especially to have a bottom bunk. We were a bit disappointed that two people arrived by support vehicle but grabbed some of the best beds, since usually those who come in car are not able to select a bed until all the walkers have arrived… This small albergue is a bit ramshackled, with a toilet that is not hooked up to running water (you have to flush using a bucket) and using the hot water heather always tripped the circuits plunging us into darkness… but for only €3 it is hard to complain! There are some private rooms available in town for €15, which is a also a good option that we saw pilgrims utilizing.

Since the albergue costs only €3 we decided to treat ourselves to a hot dinner at the nearby restaurant. We had an extremely filling and tasty meal for €8 each. We had a bottle of red wine, a first course of tuna pasta (for Dave) and a huge tureen of delicious pea soup with potatoes and sausage (for me, which could have easily been enough to fill me up completely!) followed by a massive plate of stewed beef and fried potatoes, then had tasty homemade arroz con leche and flan for dessert. Tonight was one of the few times I have seen Dave unable to finish his meal, especially rare when there is still meat on that plate!

We are hoping to catch up on sleep tonight, but might be difficult sleeping in the kitchen which is also the place that pilgrims congregate to socialize. Our crew here tonight is made up of a Lithuanian man (from Palanga!), two Germans, three French, one Italian, one Spanish, a Scottish guy, an American from California, and we two Americans.