Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

[nidarosa]

Hi, we are two Norwegians who intend to walk the Camino Ingles in September 2008, from Ferrol to Santiago. One biker, one bookworm, we would love to hear from anyone else planning on walking this part of the Camino at the same time. Also any advice about the etapas and the albergues - or anything else it would be handy to know - would be very much appreciated!

Cheers,
LM

[JohnnieWalker]

Hi - the Camino Ingles section of the Forum has some very good postings on the subject. I'd also recommend the CSJ guide although in truth I found the route from Ferrol so well waymarked the guidebook was purely for information.

[nidarosa]

Just getting everything ready now to set off on my first camino - flying in to Santiago on Thursday! I have already booked a room in the city centre, as we will be getting there quite late, and then we get our credencials and go out to Ferrol the next day to start walking.

The information I have got from this forum is incredible - I have cut and pasted together a pretty comprehensive 7 page document from different posts, everything from step by step directions to phone numbers to impressions of the landscape and opinions on the food and accommodation. Thank you all! I will try to organise my notes and post any changes as soon as I come back.

My walking boots are nicely broken in, my Teva sandals just about ready, my Altus is already packed into my new Talon 44 backpack ... It might seem like a lot of investment for a little week's walk, but I am walking the Portugues and the Frances next year, so this is like a test run, really. And I am really looking forward to it!

Anyone else going next week?

All the best,
LM

[JohnnieWalker]

Greetings from A Coruna on the other arm of the Camino Ingles! There have been some spells of very heavy rain recently - mostly in the early mornings and shortlived - I hope thet will have passed when you are walking.

I really hope you enjoy your pilgrimage - please let us know how you get/got on.

Hasta Santiago!

John

[nidarosa]

Thanks, Johnnie! I was hoping to go out to Coruna after we have come back from the walk, it seems like a(nother) beautiful city. I am keeping an eye on the weather forecast, and we might have to sit out the rain in town for a day or two and go later - no point in ruining it when we are not pressed for time anyway. Any suggestions for great and cheap restaurants in Santiago? I have heard of a place which serves exclusively mussels, and I love seafood, so it sounds very tempting. Can't wait now!

All the best,
LM

[JohnnieWalker]

Hi

I walked down from A Coruna to Bruma today and the weather was great for walking - cool, not a great deal of sun and not a drop of rain...

A Coruna is only 50 mins by bus from Santiago and you can get the best seafood ever!

Lots of sea food places in Santiago - there is a really cheap sea place on the Rua do Pena ( I think) - and great fun. And the Berberechos...almost as good as Loch Fyne cockles!

Enjoy

John

[nidarosa]

Rua da Pena? Is that not where I am staying?? Smack in the middle of town? Sounds very good, I must say ... Thanks again, Johnnie, I shall be telling you how I went on!

If you are still in Santiago on Friday, I might see you there (I realise I will be looking for someone who looks like your little icon, logo at the front and all, but if you see a tall redhead with a blue Talon with a Norwegian flag and a sunflower on the back, that'll be me ...)

All the best,
LM

[peregrina2000]

Hi, LM and John,

I have just returned from the Camino Ingles and had a very enjoyable walk. Many thanks to Johnny Walker for all the helpful tips, it really made things easy. I walked this one with my husband, who is not a very avid walker, and we found that it was easy for him to stop walking after 16-20 km and either hop a bus or get a taxi. So it's a nice alternative for newbies who don't want to start out with 25-30 km days. I'll just note a few random impressions:

-- definitely spend a day in Coruna if possible. It is a lovely town, at least the old part is, lots of pleasant walking, nice old churches and pretty plazas. We took the bus from there to El Ferrol in the late afternoon and started walking soon after the tourist office opened. So we walked about 12 km from Ferrol to Neda (did not stay in the albergue, but there is a ** pension that's adequate). Leaving so late meant we got to Neda around 10 pm, but night was just falling when we arrived.

-- Take the Avenida del Mar alternative coming out of Ferrol. It's a very popular promenade and though we were the only ones with backpacks on, we were among hundreds of residents out for their afternoon stroll and it was very pleasant.

-- Pontedeume (and its beach across the bridge Cabanas (?), are a nice stop. We stayed at the Bar Luis, again totally adequate. We had a picnic lunch in the pine trees next to the ocean on the beach before the bridge and it was very pleasant. This is not a high end international seaside resort, just a very pleasant little hamlet with a lot of Spanish families enjoying the summer. And the 2 km walk up to the romanesque church, San Miguel de Breamo, was a real highlight (even though the church is closed). It's a pretty building in a very tranquil spot, nice to just sit for a while. As Johnny Walker recommended, I took the forest path up and the road down, because the spectacular bay views are all from the road. It was great.

-- Betanzos -- what a lovely town! Really a nice place. We got there early in the afternoon (my husband caught a bus in Vinas) and were able to enjoy the town. Highly recommended.

Overall, I would say I thought the scenery was the prettiest on the first few days, but the surface was basically all pavement up to Betanzos. That was hard on my feet. From Betanzos on, it seems there was much more off road walking, but tthe scenery wasn't as beautiful.

We never saw another walker. Not even in the Hostal Miras in Sigueiro. But maybe we would have if we had stayed in the albergue in Hospital de Bruma. I walked through the village and spent a while at the very nice albergue there. The hospitalero is a very chatty friendly guy, who told me that his yearly numbers hover around 1300-1500. Looking at the book for the days prior to when we arrived, there were anywhere from 2 to 25 people on any recent night.

So all in all, it's a fun walk. For me the main surprises were the huge numbers of ripe blackberries along the road, the hot sunny days (never got anywhere near my fleece, and only had one morning with rain),the total absence of cow patties (we saw not one dairy operation, no farmers with sticks leading their cows out to pasture or in to the barn), and a tremendous amount of corn growing. Coming from Illinois, I felt right at home.

So, LM, I think you've picked a good first Camino -- hope you will enjoy it. Laurie

[JohnnieWalker]

Alas LM I fly on Friday morning - what a pity have a cerveca on me!

Today arriving in Bruma is a group of 20 pilgrims from Ireland who sailed from the emrald isle to Ferrol - now that´s an adventure!

Hasta pronto

John

[nidarosa]

Thanks, Laurie - I have copied your post and added it to my little collection of information on the Ingles! Have looked at the weather forecast, and it looks as if the Altus all-covering, circus-tenty raincoat is going to be a very good investment indeed...

Thanks for all your help, I'm off tomorrow!

All the best,
LM