McHughs on The Camino

May 25, 2019

In 2017, when we became empty-nesters, we decided to walk the French Camino, it was a great experience, and decided we would love to do it again.

This time we’re walking the Camino stating in Porto (Portugal) to Santiago de Compostela in Northwest Spain. It’s a shorter distance, but we’re looking forward to it. The best part is that this time, the kids are joining us. James just graduated from college, and Alicia finished her junior year.

Our first stop was Boston for graduation, then James and I flew to Barcelona to visit family. A few days later we all met in Lisbon. We had a day to explore there. We’re now in Porto. We will spend 2 nights there, and start walking on Monday.

Boston Family dinner in BarcelonaLisbonLisbon

Lisbon

May 13, 2017 – What a strange feeling not to pack up and start walking!! We had a very leisurely breakfast and went to walk a bit around town in the pouring rain. 

It really has been an amazing experience, something we will never forget. We started talking about doing this years ago, and we can’t believe it’s over! I’m sure our legs are grateful that we’re giving them a break, but we will definitely miss what became our daily job. It wasn’t always easy, we did get some aches and pains, and walked when we were very tired and/or hungry, but we had a goal every day, and just knew where we had to go. 

To be quite honest, I think we were both a bit worried about spending 24/7 for 35 days, we had even talked about taking break days and walking separately, but we managed to stay together the whole time without any major problems. It was a great time to reconnect, and I think we’re both grateful for this. We hope to do more walking trips in the future, but maybe nothing this long!

The walk is 500 miles (790 Km). Our shortest day was yesterday with 10 miles, our longest I think 22.  Most days we were done before lunch, except for maybe 2 or 3 days. Every day after eating and resting a bit we walked some more, so we added a bunch of miles.

Fitbit facts: According to my Fitbit, in 34 days we walked 611 miles, over 25 miles on two of the days. Over 1,250,000 steps, reaching 50,000 in two of the days. As far as climbing, the day we did the most was the first, in the Pyrenees, with over 500 stories, the next high day was 450. Poor old Fitbit may need to retire, how can I ever live up to this any more!

Thank you all for following and coming along with us. Also, thank you for all the encouragement, love and support, it carried us to the finish line every day! 

BUEN CAMINO!!!!

May 12, 2017 – 10 miles (16 Km) – After 34 days of walking we made it to Santiago!! It rained most of the walk, but when we walked into Plaza Obradoiro, where the cathedral is, the rain stopped and the sun even came out for a bit. It was a weird moment, glad to be done, but sad because we were done. We then went to the pilgrim office to get our Compostelas and certificates of distance. We waited for over an hour. We met with someone we walked for a few days, and had lunch, then got a massage and went to the pilgrim mass. They usually have a ceremony with the Botafumeiro, a huge incense container that swings from the ceilng in the cathedral and swings towards the sides, it takes 8 men to make this work. Unfortunately they don’t have that on Friday evenings, so we will try to catch it tomorrow.Happy to be In Santiago. Will try to post a little recap tomorrow.

Arriving to Santiago

First sight of the cathedral = Finish line!!

We made it!!!! 

Our Compostela and Cerificate of distance

Sean and his certificates!

Cathedral in the evening

The side not under construction

May 11, 2017 – 14 miles (23 Km) The day started out with rain, and it rained on and off all day. There were a lot of puddles and mud, which at first we were trying to avoid, but it became useless after a while. By the time we arrived to Amenal our feet were soaking wet. Not much to say about the walk, it was mostly  on trails, but some next to the road or crossing it, which is no fun in the rain with the cars driving at fast speed next to you. We’re staying at an old mill today again. We did take a little walk down the river to soak our legs in the cold water as it helps.

Only one more day to walk, and we will arrive to Santiago, and it’s our shortest walk! It should be quite a moment when we arrive to the cathedral in Santiago!

We are having internet access problems, so we only have 3 pictures today. Hopefully tomorrow we can do better!

This is what the trails looked like today 

Beautiful flowers!

Our hotel for tonight, an old converted mill. 

May 10, 2017 – 18 miles (29 Km) – Pretty long walk today! We left under cloudy skies, and again the forecast was for rain. While we did get a bit of rain along the way, most of the day was pretty nice. It’s crazy that we have less than 25 miles (40 Km) left!! Today wasn’t too hilly. It was still pretty crowded, especially until we arrived to Melide, a pretty big town, A lot of people must be staying there. We stopped because we heard they have the best pulpo gallega (octopus) on the Camino. It was good, but not the best we’ve tried. After that, there weren’t as many people on the trail. We arrived to Arzua with only a bit of rain. Glad to be done for the day! 

May 9, 2017 – 15.5  miles (25 Km) – We left Portomarin early under cloudy skies, as we were trying to beat the rain. It felt very muggy. As soon as we left town we went up some pretty good hills, until we got above the fog. It was a beautiful view! We walked through a lot of the same scenery as yesterday, very green, lots of trees. We have been walking through lots of cattle farms these last three days. The smells are at times pretty hard to take, and there’s quite a few cow droppings along the way, you have to watch your step!

We arrived to Palas de Rei and beat the rain. We took a little walk when we were here, and could hear some thunder. After we got back, it started raining and hailing, we’re glad we made it here before it started. There are at least 5 people that are staying here tonight that have not arrived yet. That would be a rough walk! 

May 8, 2017 – 14 miles (22 Km) – Nice warm day, pretty hot by the time we arrived to Portomarin. We left Sarria early, and there were already quite a few people on the road. We walk at a pretty good pace, so we passed a lot of people. Most of the walk was on pretty nice trails, some with shade, which was appreciated. 

We passed the 100 Km to go mark, bittersweet moment. We only have 4 more days of walking. Our legs and feet will be happy to stop, but we are not ready to be done and go back to reality. 

Right before arriving to Portomarin we crossed the river Miño, and then a bunch of steps. Cute little town. Our hotel is pretty new, and we have a river view, not a bad spot to sit and write. 

May 7, 2017 – 12 miles (19 Km) A bit shorter walk today, which was nice, as our legs are feeling the last few days. It was sunny all day, also a nice change. Tomorrow is probably our last dry day, then there’s rain in the forecast for the rest of our trip. Let’s hope it’s not too much!! We had a few hills and walked mostly on trails, and the scenery was pretty nice, mostly green mountains around us.

We’ve made it to Sarria, just over the 100 Km mark to Santiago. That is the distance you need to walk in order to get a Compostela, the certificate of completion. You also need your pilgrim passport with at least 2 stamps per day to prove you have done it.  A lot of people don’t have time to walk the whole thing, so they start here. Just walking into town, we were amazed at the number of albergues (hostels) around. The Main Street has tons of them! We expect the trails will be much fuller tomorrow.

 

May 6, 2017 – 13 miles (21 Km) – We had a very grey start to the day. Luckily we had a little break in the weather yesterday before going to bed (yes, it was still light outside), so we had pictures of the scenery in O Cebreiro. This morning we couldn’t see anything at all, as the clouds were very low, and it was raining. Despite being told that were were on the top of the world yesterday, we started going uphill (what????!!). Luckily that wasn’t too long. We walked mostly on trails, with no visibility for a few miles, then it started to clear up a bit. We got some rain along the way, and after we got to Triacastelo it was pouring. The last part of the walk today was a steep downhill, not great for the knees, but we managed to do it without problems. 

Not much going on in the town of Triacastela, except that it seems like there are more pilgrims. We’re guessing it will just get worse after tomorrow when we arrive to Sarria and get to the point where people who are doing the last 100 Km start their walk. 

This was the view from O Cebreiro, we took the picture last night

Sean with a pilgrim statue, you couldn’t see anything beyond that. A very foggy and rainy start to the day.

It finally started to clear up a bit after a few miles.

A church along the way with a rope for the bell. Too hard to resist!

At the bottom of the hill, almost arriving to Triacastela

Very cool chestnut tree right before Triacastela

Church in Triacastela. It’s hard to see, but there are 3 castles carved under the figure of the saint. The town used to have 3 castles, that’s where the name Triacastela comes from.

May 5, 2017 – 21 miles (33,5 Km) – What a day!! Started out with overcast skies, and as soon as we went over the bridge to leave the town it started raining. So we stopped, put on our rain gear, and up the hill we went. There was an alternate route that was hillier, longer, but not along the road, so of course, we took that one. The first few Km were pretty steep, then more gradual. It wasn’t very cold, so we tried all sorts of clothing combinations when the rain stopped and then started again. This route added about a mile, and we also took a wrong turn, so ended up doing more than we should have. After the detour we joined the regular route, and also the other pilgrims. We had been pretty much alone the whole time until then. We had a few miles of flat-ish road/trail, until the real hill started. It was quite a few miles of uphill, some very muddy, some slippery rocks, but breathtaking views. Finally made it to O Cebreiro (top of the world as people here call it). It’s a small, cute town. Quite a few pilgrims staying here. Cold, rainy evening, but we are happy to be here. It’s the most amount of hours we’ve walked in a day, we are pretty tired. 

We made it into Galicia, the last region and where we end. We just made it under the last 100 mile mark!! Just one more week of walking!