I am going to say that the start of this journey was back in 2011 when I watched the movie “The Way”. I used to be part of this monthly movie subscription called the spiritual cinema circle where they would send you inspiring movies every month. Well one month was that movie and when I watched it I said to myself that one day I will do that. Then 10 years later at the 4th of July party, I asked my cousin if he had every heard of it and he wanted to do it with me. He told me he had friends who had done it and recommended it and said he was in. I then shared that I was not in a rush because I didn’t want to leave on any trips during my dogs last year. As I look back on it, practically the vet bills were very expensive and I couldn’t afford it anyways. I don’t think he thought it would actually happen. However a year last the stars had aligned, he got approved for a sabbatical for 2023 and so we had started making plans. I share this because I think how you decide to do this trip is just as important as the actual trip experience. When planning I used a book, The camino Portugues by kat Davis, The app Buen Camino, and booking.com.

Day 0 / 1 ~ Cause you loose a day flying

So we flew into Spain at the end on May 2023. We actually had a 6 hour layover in France so we took the bus to the closest city for breakfast. However nothing was really open before we headed back to the airport. I got a tea, my cousin got a croissant and pastry and then we had to go back. This made for a very long day with no sleep since i cannot sleep upright on planes. Once we did get to Porto, Portugal we found the public transportation very easy to navigate. We stayed at the urban garden which had a beautiful garden in a very central location… at the top of a hill. We bought some hiking sticks at the decathlon. We got an buffet dinner at DaTerra Baixa. We walked so much that day through the city that my watch said we did 10 miles. So I guess that would make it our first day. My only regret is that we didn’t get to see this really cool book store called Livraria Lello.

Day Two

This was our official walking day. We went to go get our passports at the Porto Cathedral . Along the way we stopped off at Sao Bento. Then we hopped on a train to start our walking at Matosinhos. Otherwise it would have been way too long of a walk that day to get to Vila Do Conde. We did 15 miles all along the ocean mostly on board walks in the hot sun with a beautiful ocean breeze. So we walked a total of 18 miles because of teh 3 miles to get our passes then to walk to the trains. It was long day but very flat so it felt good. The first half was well maintained. The farther we walked the boards in the board walk got a little scary. Then at one point there was a huge chunk missing and we had to walk in the sand which made me question the rest of the structures. Then there was a block area of sand blown over where you could barely see the railings. There were touristy restaurants all along for drink breaks and then lunch. I was really looking forward to an ice-cream shop called Licious that had vegan ice-cream … but that day it was closed. We stayed at HI Vila do Conde and we ate at an restaurant that didn’t have much options for me but had a view of a pirate ship.

Day Three

The place we stayed was beautiful on the outside but the beds were hard as rocks. However we did have a private room. I will say that the beauty of the building was worth that bad sleep. And I think that was my only bad night of sleep to be honest. On our way out of town we stopped at O Forninho for some gluten free bread and they also had some macaroons. That was the only time we saw free gluten free bread at a bakery. I packed it into my bag for later and left. Well I guess I forgot the 2 macaroons on the table and the women chased us down to give them to me. The she proceeded to tell my cousin in spanish how heavy my bag looked. She tried to lift it while I was wearing it and I got 2 seconds of weight relief. She then told me I must have many sins to walk off on the camino for having such a heavy bag. Along the camino the locals still believe that walking the camino reduces your time in purgatory. For me my bag didn’t feel heavy when I’ve gone backpacking and had to also carry mt tent and all my food. My sins became a running joke for the rest of the camino and I was grateful she brought me the macaroons. Then we took one of the many paths to go back to the main path. We downloaded the wise pilgrim app which was like $3.99 and it was a life saver. We never got lost and followed it routes past all this aqueducts for maybe 5 miles on and off. When we finally got to the end of it we found out they were not as old as we thought they were. Once we joined the main path we went in and out of towns and magical forests. And just when I was struggling and questioning my resolve… I saw a rainbow which made me want to starting listening the brady bunch. That also meant it rained on and off the 2nd half of the day. It was another 18 mile day. More importantly it took me 11 hours which means I got in very late. It was strange for me since when training I usually did that in 8 hours. We ate as a place that was right outside the place we stayed which was Top O’tel in Barcelos.

Day Four

So this is our third day walking the Camino and I want to start by saying that we stayed at someone’s house / auberge called Fernanda’s. We booked it on day two right before we started walking. I have also included a pic of a snail that I moved off the street so you have an idea of what we were walking on. There were a few omens that started this day. First after 3 miles my watch just stopped working. But then continued working for the last few miles of our walk. I am pretty sure we did 15 miles. Then next thing was right after a saw this pretty black cat… that crossed my path. Now I don’t believe it bad luck. But I do believe in omens that they are a warning to something coming. How could I not? It’s my last name. Anyways within a mile or two after the cat I get a sharp pain in my soleus from walking on those cobblestones. So much so that I grab my handy dandy creams and KT tape and deal with it right away. I normally wait till we get to our stop. I have a bit of a limp that day but i think it is no big deal. We continued our lovely walk to Fernada’s and have a lovely time at her home. She build a whole nothing space for us in her yard and she welcomes us into her kitchen for dinner and it was quite the party. My pants are getting think and holey in the thighs and she gives me a needle and thread. I notice some heat coming from my ankle but I am not worried. I am pretty sure my cousin still feels like staying at Fernanda’s was one of his favorite parts.

Day Five

That day I have many found memories. We entered a town with this outdoor festival going on where I bought these delicious chocolates. Plus there was music and dancing! We heard the music playing for miles after we left the city. I bought a cheap pair of yoga paints since mine were not going to make it another day. They were just getting shredded! This Italian kept passing us all day. So eventually he walked with us instead. We all stayed at a Hostel in Labruja that called to reserve, O conforto do peregrino / albergue. Originally we were going to walk farther but we heard that the mountain right past Labruja was brutal so we canceled our reservations is Rubiaes and hiked 16 miles that day. It was drizzling on us towards the end but it was a really lovely walking day. I noticed my ankle was swollen by the end of the day and looked like I got some heat rash on both ankles so I did some lymph drainage and went to bed.

Day Six

Ok here’s when it gets rough. And because it was rough I only took one picture. Plus it was foggy which was disappointing since the top of that climb was suppose to have some great views. It felt like we were in the clouds. So that tough hike was spectacular. Stunning woody areas. I was wearing hiking teva sandals because we were suppose to to get rain. The Italian started later than us but caught up with is right at the top of the climb when we stopped at a outdoor cafe where I had breakfast. Another tortilla. I swear I ate at least one of these a day! I leave a recipe below. Although I will need a year before I can eat another one. Once we stopped for lunch at Restaurante Forte d’ouro, I noticed my ankle was getting really bad. It was not just the soleus that was bothering me. The thing I thought was a heat rash was getting worse on the same ankle I hurt my calf. We did not get any rain so I switched into my boots in hopes that compressing it in the boot would help. I didn’t remember I had a wrap in my first aid kit till that night. It did not help and every mile for the last 8 miles of our 18 mile day was more tortuous. I decided that after we go out of the woodsy area and closer to a town I would get a taxi for the last 4 miles. But I could not find one. There was no public transportation options for where I was going according to google. It had gotten so bad I stopped in a small (can only fit 20 people) church to pray. I cried often that last 4 miles. I felt betrayed by my body. I was frustrated with how much pain I was in. That last mile I called my mom crying at 20 cents per minute and told her this was all her fault. She had me wear saddle shoes when I was a kid to correct my over pronation, but this just make it worse by not allowing my ankles to develop more strength and balance. And hey I did sprain my ankle like 5 times when I was younger and I still overpronate anyways. . She argued with me… she would not take the blame. I crossed the bridge into Spain, feeling beaten and concerned I would not be able to finish. I got to this amazing hotel my cousin had book in Tui. Iced my ankle that was the size of a baseball. Then took a bath and went to bed. I was so upset I couldn’t even have dinner.

https://www.seriouseats.com/tortilla-espanola-spanish-potato-omelette-recipe

Day Seven.

That goodness this was our rest day. We had plans for laundry and walked around but i felt very fatigued and foggy. I needed to get a few things like new hiking pants and a 2nd pole because of my ankle. Luckily I found all of this on the way to the laundry mat. As you can imagine I was not in the mood for pictures. Even though the historic area where we walked was charming. Plus I found a place with gluten free brownies(where they sold the pants) and a vegetarian Paella for lunch. But by then I was so exhausted I headed back to the hotel to eat it there. I realized once I got there that I had a fever and slept on and off of the day. I couldn’t even finish eating the delicious Paella and didn’t see any other to buy the rest of the trip. I talked to my mom later that night and she had said that she had gotten a rash so bad it turned into a fever before. Seriously mom?!? Do i have to get everything wrong with me you have? Turns out she is also allergic to wool. Keep in mine I brought to head to toe wool clothing. But it turns out it is this particular pair of socks that did it. It is the lanolin we get allergic to and more expensive wool products take it out. Plus my alpaca socks were just fine. I iced and elevated my ankle more, took a bath, and prayed my fever would break by tomorrow. I also felt bad my cousin had to explore the city by himself. I felt like such a buzz kill. And would feel that way for many days. I didn’t want my injury to ruin his trip. You never know what the Camino will have in store for you.

Day Eight

Luckily my fever broke by the next morning although I did feel very weak and still a little warm the next day. My legs felt so heavy on that days walk so me and my cousin separated sooner than we usually do. Yet I still kept a smile on my face as you can see in the pictures as well as my new pants. I also bought some steroid cream for my rash on the recommendation from my mom. And thank goodness I did because it looked even worse today. My cousin told me that there was a sign less than 5 miles out of town that told a story of a priest doing the camino who got such a bad fever her turned around back to Tui. Normally we will meet up at a cafe every 4 or 5 miles after we seperate just to make sure we are both doing ok, however this day we just kept in touch with texts. Shortly after we separated I stopped at a cafe and saw someone else who looked like they were recovering from an injury that was leaving the cafe as I was sitting down. I quickly caught up with him and walked with him half of my day. He stopped 4 miles before I was stopping as we did 17 miles that day. I was debating renting a bike for this day and just biking it. Then I would have been at the albergue in 2 hours easy peasy. I guess that have rentals in Tui, Spain that drop off bike and pick them up. So I could have rode for a day or two and continued with my walk. I took many pictures to keep my cousin up to date where I was. Plus there was an option to walk through an “industrial area” or take the scenic route and add 3 miles. You know I had to take the scenic route. I was actually feeling pretty good until mile 14. We (The man I met from England who had tore up feet and I) took many breaks and I elevated my foot and ever chance I could. We went in and out of woods and the best part … NO COBBLESTONES!!!! There was even a bagpiper playing in the woods. But I guess there they call it a Galician gaita in Spain. Luckily for me my cousin is a fast walker and got the Santa Baia de Mos hostel to reserve us both a spot since they were first come first serve and the only option in town. It was the cheapest and most primitive spot we stayed at, but the people were lovely and the town charming. I had only had eyes for my bed as my cousin made lots of new friends in the square with a bottle of wine he bought.

Day Nine

I woke up not feeling so weak, and had a bit more appetite. Until lunch we walked with some people my cousin had made friends with the day before. Unfortunately two stayed at the town we had lunch at and my cousin and another continued out to our next destination. Well not unfortunately because I would say that day was the impactful on me. I spent the first half working very hard to keep up with the group. Then I spent the second half walking through beautiful and magical forests. Had a nice talk to my mom in one of the forest because she was over at my house and I had started to keep in contact with her through my cat camera when she was over feeding them and watering my plants to not waste phone minutes. The first thought I had was I was enjoying myself more that when I walk in the woods by myself than in the group when I put all this pressure on myself to walk a certain speed. I stopped to say hi to some cats and sat on a moss covered stone wall. It was right around this time when I came out of the forest to a small town and realized I had to go to the bathroom. Looked at my my wise pilgrim app then google to find a cafe to go to the bathroom. NADA. However I did see a bus stop just a block or two away. I got off the camino and headed toward the bus stop. This old woman stopped me and spoke a bunch of spanish to me and I translated shortcut and bathroom but I’m not sure she understood. I’m sure she was just trying to make sure I did not get lost. Then she felt the weight of my bag and it reminded me about the women who said I must have many sins. I went on my way, found the bus and it let me off a block away from our Albergue aloxa hostel right outside of Pontevedra. I got to the bathroom and felt refreshed after my bus ride. So we walking another 90 minutes to get to and from dinner. That means my cousin walked 19 miles plus walked to dinner with me. He was a beast!

Unlike day six when I felt defeated and looking for a ride. This time I felt like camino rewarded me for digging deep into myself and exploring the expectations I set for myself. I expect myself to walk faster. I expect myself to be strong enough not to get injured. Whether that was my ankle or my back just a two summers prior. That I realized that expectations I set upon myself take me out of the moment. I don’t enjoy the sights around me. I miss the magic. I realized I would rather walk alone than with people that I feel pressure to walk faster with. And to be honest I would rather walk with my dog than most people. Because dogs see and smell the magic too. Now I still am constantly reminding myself of this lesson learned and I think it is what I came to learn on the camino. Especially when it comes to the expectations place on my health and weight. How much magic am I missing out on ad I place that pressure on myself. My cousin said something interesting to me … Isn’t this amazing what we are able to do. (or something like that) And I said no… I expect my body to be able to walk 18 miles a day. I feed it and treat it well and I expect it not to get injured. It is so strange as we age. I used to do many 100 miles ride a summer in my 20’s. Just a few weeks ago I did the 4th of july ride, only did 30 miles and got smoked by an 83 year old who told em she does 15 min/ mile when hiking. During the camino there were 60 and 70 year old people walking faster than me. It can be frustrating when you aren’t where you think or thought you would be. So not I am on an internal journey to bring balance back to my self. Balance to what my body can do and what my mind thinks it should be doing.

Day Ten

Just a few miles out of Ponteverdre was the start of our spiritual route. The is the option that takes you back on the coast and then a boat ride back to the main route. We stopped in Combarro for lunch with a view before a very challenging ascent. The incline was so steep for 4 miles I questioned why some of those streets didn’t just have stairs. That first picture you see? We got that hike is just 5K! It was so tough that 1K before that overlook in the picture I layed down on a bench at a bus stop and fell asleep. It was great! The rest of the trip up the mountain a very steady and much more enjoyable. I did find the trail last couple blocks to the monastery to be tretousious. Plus at that point I was very emotionally and physically drained even though it was only 14 miles. I highly recommend staying at the monastery if you can. The gardens and building were beautiful. I made it just in time for the pilgrims mass. Plus my cousin was ecstatic to see this beautiful wedding take place at the church which included a whole row of bagpipers. We went to their website and filled out the information form to reserve our spot.

Day Eleven

The trail out of the monastery was my favorite part of the whole trip. I will add the two video I took to the end of the what did I pack video. But the video and pictures do not do it justice. All people could talk about that night was how magical that trail was. Plus it was for 5 miles of our 16 mile day. Then we followed the river for another 4 mile which was also very peaceful and flat! It was such a lovely morning! Plus it was the day that my ankle was finally feeling better. I kept wrapping it everyday just to be safe. We stopped for lunch and then the rest of the walk was normal all the way to the coast and Vilanova de Arousa. Once we saw the water we knew we were almost done for the day . That last picture is me standing next to a bruja. They were all over the galicia and I even got a couple souvenirs. Behind me in that pic is a new cafe and albergue that wasn’t even on the apps yet. It was very nice but I don’t remember the name or even where we were. We stayed at the Hotel Bradomin which was close to all the restaurants. They were not very vegetarian friendly. I guess we would have had to go cross the bridge to the island. But we didn’t want to waste the money on a cab and an expensive restaurant. Lots and lots of fresh fish.

Day Twelve

Day twelve was our boat ride. We almost didn’t get a spot because we didn’t book ahead time. One of our walking buddies got into Vilanova de Arousa and told us she got the last spot for one company so we called right away while were still walking the day before. We called the one that had billboards along the camino. So I recommend as soon as you see the billboards… call them. So around 8am we took the one hour and some change boat ride to Padron. Then we still had a 14 mile walk to Albergue Milladoire. This was the only time I cooked in one of the kitchen. I grabbed a pound of pasta, some sauce, gluten free cookies for dinner for my cousin and me.. I also got some jelly for some gluten free bread I still had leftover that I had for breakfast the next day. We could have pushed ourselves to go all the way but we would have gotten in late and all the places were already booked. We wound of being a day ahead of schedule. Siantago Is where all the routes collide and I recommend booking ASAP. This was also one of those albergues where people were in the common room making new friends. Most of them were not like that.

Day Thirteen

The 5 mile walk into santiago. You would think we had more pictures. We got our passport, dropped off our bags because they didn’t allow them into church. Went to the pilgrim mass and were lucky enough to see the Botafumeiro in action which is an incense burner the size and weight of a person. Google it… it was amazing! Even though I only walked 5 miles to our destination I would of walking another 3 hours to check out everything this city had to offer. This included the chocolate factory which had a gluten free almond cake I brought home to share with my family. It was right across from where we stayed which was the Last stamp. Went to another chocolate shop. Bought some souvenirs; One for me… one for my family. There was a massage in there somewhere. Then met up with my cousin for dinner at Resaurante Cafeteria La Flor. Then we strolled around Parque da Alameda for the night. Such a weigh was lifted to be done with the camino.

Day Fourteen

So after we started planning the camino and had already booked our tickets I heard about walking the extra 55 miles to Finisterre. I knew we didn’t have time so I forgot about it. It wasn’t until I was on the camino talking to other pilgrims when I found out you can take a bus there. Perfect! We aimed to be done a day earlier ( which I had a buffer to be safe) and go on the bus. Then once in Santiago we heard you can rent a bike… bike there then they will pick up your bike and you can take the bus home. Many people were taking 2 days to bike it. But I knew if i had just added some biking into my training I could have done it in one. I didn’t have 2 days to bike it. I had one day for Finisterre. That is my 2nd regret for the trip. That I could have biked to the end of the world. So me and my new friend from Poland took a bus to the official mile 0. It was very curvy and I felt very sick. We saw another girl who said she was going to get off the bus early and walk the last 6 miles to the end. She got up and we joined her. Mostly because I wanted to throw up. And also maybe because I still wanted to walk. It was more than 6 miles. It was 10 miles and the last miles was all uphill. Plus the mile to get back down to the bus. I wound up missing my bus by a minute but i caught the next one an hour later. I feel asleep on the bus back to Santiago. Met up with my cousin at A Porta Verde for dinner then went to bed for my last night in spain.

Day 15 / 16

I’m not really sure what I did on that last day in Santiago. I think it was just walking around and eating and seeing people who were just getting into Siantogo that we met along the way. I went to the ClemCafe for breakfast. This was my favorite restaurant in Santiago and wish I went more than once. I was hoping to get an early bus or train out of Santiago so I could spend more time in Porto but they booked up fast. By the time I got into Porto, the book store was closed I only had time to check in at Boavista Guest House, go out to eat at Remedio Santo, then go to bed. My flight was at 5am and I think I got less than 4 hours of sleep. I just didn’t think I could sleep at the airport and I never am able to sleep on the plane. They did give me a wakeup call and reserved my cab which was nice. The airport was so dead I could have waited an extra hour to get there. I was the only one going through security! Had a 3 hour layover in Amsterdam and then the final flight home. We must have had a tailwind because we got there an hour early and there wasn’t a gate ready for us. Right after the airport, my mom and I picked up my dog. I started counting down the days till I got home to see my family and pets again. This was the longest trip I have taken as an adult. For those who are interested in goinand were curious about budget. It was 1,000 for the airfare and around 1,500 for the rest. (Not including dog boarding). Also the only 2 towns we found to exchange money was in Porto and Santiago. The biggest question I get asked is would I do it again? I would do something like it again but I would want to see something else. I do recommend it! And if you think you are too old, there was one woman celebrating her 80th birthday. Plus many people in their 60’s and 70’s just did less miles. I am interested in doing the first week of the frances route through the pyrenees. Combine it with a trip to watch the tour de France in person. Would this be something you would want to do?