Author Archives: jmwtarland

Relatively quiet day in Santiago. Met quite a lot of people whom we had previously crossed paths with. We are hoping for something of a big reunion later before going to the evening service in the cathedral, but the logistics may prove difficult?
Anyway going to close the blog at this point. We have had a wonderful experience and met many lovely people from every continent. Thanks to everyone for following and trust you found it entertaining, and we hope that maybe it proved inspiring for some and may encourage similar ventures.

Set off at 6 for our last walk of the trip. Another good weather day with just a few showers mid-morning. Met a party of special needs children and after checking with the teacher, I gave one of the older boys my walking staff - it was all quite emotional. Further on I changed into trainers and left my old trusty boots by the roadside with a farewell message. ◦ Called into 3 bars on the way in for birthday Albariño which must have been frustrating for Irene who was waiting to surprise us near our hotel. A few tears were shed as we saw her and the Happy Birthday banners she had put up. Got checked in, spa bath and siesta for me, Sight seeing and socialising for Irene and Susan. Met them later near the restaurant that Irene had booked. Had a quick drink with Luiz and Andreas whom we last saw almost 3 weeks ago. Andreas has found himself a Dutch girlfriend and seemed quite happy with life 😂. ◦ Had a really nice meal and were really ready for bed immediately afterwards!

Made a bit of a pig’s ear of our second last day. We left late as breakfast was included, wearing our jackets and waterproof trousers for the predicted rain, and guess what, the sun came out! So stripped off and when the rain did come we didn’t bother putting our trousers back on as we were just over an hour from our hotel. Anyway surprise surprise you can get pretty drenched walking for an hour in torrential rain! We were marching on when Susan spotted a name just before the town, and said ‘is that not where we are staying’ – good spot Susan.
Had a beer and sort of nagged the woman to let us in early which she duly did. Our Scottish magician came in looking for directions so we have provisionally arranged to meet him, along with his wife and sister in Santiago tomorrow.
The sun came out early afternoon so I took advantage of the hotel’s outdoor pool to have my first swim of the Camino. Needless to say I had the pool to myself…. There was a laundry on site so Susan did her last wash of the Camino.
Spoke to a lovely German couple before eating and then had a rather boozy dinner ourselves – not exactly ideal preparation for our final walk tomorrow.

Really early start to try and beat the predicted rain again. Another lovely walking day that took us through the town of Melide that we had stayed in 2013. Susan seemed to remember details of it but I can’t say I recall much about it. We did see a barbers which is literally the first one this trip. We met quite a large group of young Americans, one of whom Josiah, explained that they were a choir from a small Christian university in Pennsylvania and that they were going to be singing that night in the town where we were staying.
Anyway our luck ran out about 2 miles from home as we encountered our first rain of the trip. Susan put on her rain jacket but I didn’t bother as it was quite warm and the shirts I have been wearing dry very quickly.
Got checked in, had a quick shower and change of clothes and checked out a restaurant (owned by the hotel) and the location of the cathedral, and went for a few beers.
Back for a siesta and then to the cathedral to hear the choir. The singing was amazing and very moving. Then to dinner which was a very unperegrino menu of scallops and entrecôte steak! Had a blether with Lou from California and Chris from Newcastle, both of whom are meeting their wives in Santiago.

Yet another early start, marching out at 6.15. It is noticeably busier now as many of our fellow walkers have started walking in the last few days. Once again the weather was kind with the predicted rain failing to materialise. Most of the people we have met previously are now a day or two ahead of us but it was nice to see Rita (from Texas we think?) whom we last saw trying to see a doctor, for badly swollen legs, around 3 weeks ago. Most of the walk today was on forest paths which would have provided welcome shade if only the sun was out! As usual we arrived too early for our official check-in time but as in virtually every other case the hosts are extremely accommodating (pardon the pun) and let us in early. Unfortunately the town proved to be a bit run down but we found a nice restaurant and shared a large salad and then had burgers which we barely touched. Sort of begs the question, at what age do your eyes stop being bigger than your belly?

Early start for our walk to Portomarin. We continue to be incredibly lucky in avoiding any rain and enjoying warm and overcast conditions. Met Jim again at our first coffee stop so he joined us for the rest of the walk. We continue to walk through rich farmland with lots of cattle and some sheep evident. We met Heather (from Devon) at a later stop so there was 4 of us walking into town. Beautiful approach on a huge bridge over a wide river. We took a walk to the restaurant recommended by our host and, after the usual flurry of WhatsApp, booked dinner for 7.30. Roger and Cindy are joining us. Roger is the long distance walker I mentioned earlier, he went on to tell us that one of the characters in the Reese Witherspoon film ‘Wild’ is based on him. Lovely meal and my first taste of pulpo 🐙 this trip. Wore my rain jacket for the first time leaving the restaurant.

Off at 6.30 for an uphill trek for the first hour and a bit. We had the option of an alternative route to see a very famous monastery at Samos but didn’t think it warranted the extra few miles involved. We had planned breakfast at a town that turned out to be two farms and a shed! Fortunately the next town had a small cafe that sorted me out with my usual breakfast of tostada con tomate, while Susan had a massive pan o’chocolat! Managed to get into our apartment at 11.30 and showered and relaxed. Had a wander about later. There was a farmers market in town – looked like quite an event but it was slowing down by the time we got there. The town itself was a bit dreary with lots of closed shops. We had a beer in front of a big tv screen on the pavement obviously in preparation of the European cup final. Some local lads jumped in as we rose to go so I gave a few chants of ‘Liverpool, Liverpool, Liverpool’ as a small wind-up. Went for dinner in the small restaurant across from our flat, excellent meal as always.

Set off at 6.30 for the hilly walk to Triacastela. Initially walked with a couple of guys from Valencia. Valencia sounds lovely so, needless to say, Susan has added it the list of places we should visit. Met up again with Sandra from Australia who wasn’t going far as she was unable to find a room further up the trail. Walked a fair bit with Scottish Jim who has a fund of stories as he was in a pop group before becoming a magician. He was telling me he couldn’t really swim but could manage a width having learned to do that in Ringo Starr’s swimming pool!
Checked into a lovely room in a new complex in the centre of town. Had a beer before showering and resting before exploring the town. There is not much in the town other than albergues, hostales and hotels and apparently not a spare bed to be had. Met Jim for a couple of local ciders and dinner in our hotel. Early night.

The good news today is that we have a very short walk today, the bad news is that it is all uphill! Anyway we set off far too early and even taking our time and having a longish coffee stop we arrived in O’Cebrerio just after 9. We had a lovely encounter with a German lady who was one of the very few people we have met who is doing the Camino the ‘wrong’ way. She told us she had married late in life to a fisherman from Finesterre (shades of Shirley Valentine😀) who had unfortunately died a year or so ago and was walking from Finesterre to St Jean Pied de Port in his memory. O’Cebrerio is a beautiful old hill top village, just a bit lower than the top of Ben Nevis, with still many of the original circular thatched houses intact. It was actually fairly busy, and the first time we had encountered coach parties admiring the sights. We had something of a morning session catching up with various people as we sat outside in the sunshine. Then a long siesta before exploring the village before meeting Wolfgang and Germaine, and our fellow Scot Jim for dinner. Had a nightcap in our hostal before bed and the barmaid recognised the Mallorcan pattern on Susan’s bag. It turns out she worked for years in the Puro beach bar near Portixol and was very keen to return once things return to some kind of normality.

Relatively short walk today but set off early as we had decided to take the ‘mountain route’. We were very glad we did as the views were spectacular. Once again we had the trail to ourselves until we came to the first small village and indulged in coffee and their home baked chestnut cake. Had a nice chat to a couple from Palm Springs and a French guy and his Chilean partner. The French guy did say he could talk a lot and that proved to be accurate.
On the way back down to the main route we met a lovely Croatian girl trudging up the path wondering why her guidebook said the way was flat, so she was obviously pleased, when for once, we could definitely assure her she was heading in the wrong direction.
Had a nice walk along the flat, stopping for juice and latterly beer before arriving in Herrerías (Blacksmiths) around 1pm. Lots of horses about and apparently it is quite common for people to hire one for the next days trip up to O’Cebreiro.
Usual relaxing afternoon before going next door for a beer and meeting several old friends and some new people. Talking to a nice American couple and the husband mentioned the Appalachian trail, so I asked which part had he done, and as I should have perhaps suspected, he had completed the entire 2300 miles of it in one fell swoop.
Had dinner with Rob, Judith from Germany and Mary from Australia. Also Jim, originally from Cumbernauld, now in his early 70’s. Part of the fun of the Camino is guessing people’s background / job and I would defy anybody to guess that Jim was a professional magician. He is currently vice-president of the British Magicians Society. He was explaining that people develop tricks and, and if I understood him correctly, then sell them to the highest bidder.
Anyway we finally realised after 4 weeks of walking that our very Scottish habit of offering people drinks and asking for communal bills for meals is not normal Camino behaviour. Most, not all obviously, people prefer to simply pay their own share.