So, we finished it for the 5th time. What now? That’s where we find ourselves…
With our France trip beginning early tomorrow morning, it’s too difficult for us to stop and process our feelings or to make any meaningful assessments or reflections in so short a time.
Camino2023 was in some ways very similar to previous ones but also different. The pace of our upcoming “visit to the vineyards” will allow time to process Camino2023 and to think about what’s next for us and how to gleen the most from this most recent experience along the Camino Frances.
…. So, we savored the wines, French cuisine and relaxing environment of Provence for 30 days. On our trip back to Paris we stopped for a night in Chamonix, France and took in the awesomeness of the French Alps. The next night/day we stayed on a farm east of Leon, France with the Saône river in our backyard. Our drive into Paris the next day was uneventful and after spending a restful night in a modern hotel near Charles DeGaulle airport, we returned home after 91 days.
Our reflections on Camino 2023 continued even after returning to a more normal routine at home in the U.S.
Conclusion and what next?
We discovered the Camino Frances via a book-on-tape, The Camino- A Journey of the Spirit, written and narrated by Shirley MacLaine.
As you can see, or not, we started out at O’Dark:30 Here we are an hour into our walk, no longer in the dark and continuing our walk on pavement.We had breakfast at this modern bar/restaurant just as we entered San Marcos. There were only 6 pilgrims when we arrived and still just 4 pilgrims when we left. Virtually no crowding.Walking into San Marcos , we were almost alone.We’re walking down from Monte de Gozo, our last hill on the Camino. A huge complex is off to our left that has some 50 ugly concrete barracks and other support facilities for athletes attending nearby sports camps.This bridge was built several years ago to safely allow pilgrims to enter the city with the growing traffic and new expressways. In 2022, this bridge was packed with hoards of young pilgrims heading into the city… today it was just us and 5-6 pilgrims way up ahead.Crossing the expressway and heading into San Lazáro, a suburb of Santiago.Walking into San LazároLots of bars open this morning at 9:00 but only a few pilgrims.Some residential areas in Santiagomore residential and shops in modern SantiagoOur first glimpse of the Catedral towers as we entered the old section of Santiago.a picturesque plaza just before getting to the Catedral.We’ve stayed in this albergue in 2017 and 2019. Our room was one with a balcony and we watched pilgrims walk to the Catedral as we did today.Walking pastA view of Praza de Obradoiro, as empty as we have ever seen it.The western facade of the Catedral which faces the Praza de Obradoiro.This is the pilgrim’s office only 5 minutes walk from the Catedral. Only 5 pilgrims waiting at the door to go in to present their credentials yo qualify for the Compostela.
As expected with the small number of pilgrims seen on our walk this morning, we we received a number for our position in line, entered the office area and within 4 minutes were presenting our credentials and after a quick review by an official representing the Bishop of Santiago, we were issued our Compostela for completing the Camino de Santiago – Camino Frances.
Linda’s CompostelaJim’s CompostelaHaving our celebratory Hot Chocolate and Santiago cake after receiving our compostelas.Crowd building some since we walked in a half-hour ago.This is look at the Catedral from another angle.The Platerias Facade, where pilgrims typically enter the Catedral. Note the line up the steps.We thought the sign behind us was interesting showing we were in (zero km ) Santiago. 49 days ago we observed a similar sign in Roncesvalles, having just walked over the Pyrenees.July 13, 2023 … leaving Roncesvalles.
For friends and family who have followed us on this latest adventure, we want to thank you for your support and comments and also want to assure you that we are safe and quite well and once again we did not fall off the edge of the earth! More to follow tomorrow.
Last night we reviewed five different weather apps, including Accuweather, WeatherBug, WeatherRadar and WeatherChannel and all confirmed there would be 10% or less chance of rain this morning. (7:00-11:00).
This morning when we got ready to leave CHE, we again reviewed all 4 apps, including their respective radar and again confirmed no chance of rain this morning. So, we included rain gear in our day packs (wise pilgrims that we are) and began our walk.
Within 10 minutes, a very fine rain began, causing us to put on our rain gear immediately to keep from getting soaked and that condition prevailed until we finished walking at 10:30.
Linda joining the Camino on a path from Pensión CHE Note 2 pilgrims coming up behind her and to her left
Completely baffled by the totally un-forecasted precipitation of the morning, we concluded that what we experienced was not normal rain droplets from the sky from a cloud, that is picked up by radar. We were actually walking in a cloud virtually resting on or just above the ground consisting of a fine mist, not raindrops, all around us … for the duration of most of the walk.
This was what the Camino looked like for the first mile. It was a gradual uphill pull in the fine mist, not picked up in our photos.The path got a little less defined just before the airport.That’s part of the Santiago airport runway from where we will takeoff for Paris, early Friday morning.We passed this marker about 13 km (8 miles) from the Santiago Catedral as we emerged momentarily from the woods to reveal one of the expressways serving the city.Here we are continuing our walk around one end of the airport runway and back into the woods again.
We walked into the hamlet of San Payo (pop.25) where we stopped for breakfast. There were a hundred or so pilgrims in line to order, get their credential stamped, use the toilet. The rest filled the inside tables, except for the one Linda grabbed for us. The outside tables were unused because of the continuing non-rain.
Being the patient pilgrims we are, we waited for the lines to dissipate, then ordered, got our credentials stamped, inspected the restrooms and actually ate our breakfast before the next surge arrived.
We returned to the typical dirt path through the woods just before entering Lavacolla, our destination.A dirt path led us to the main street in the village of Lavacolla (pop. 171).The dirt path became a paved street.One of a number of impressive looking homes seen as we walked into Lavacolla.Getting nearer to our lodging.Some pilgrims just ahead of us as we arrived at Pensión Xacobeo.Pensión Xacobeo
We stopped and chatted briefly with the owner. She welcomed us and said we could check in and leave our poles/ backpacks, etc. but our room was still being cleaned and would not be ready until 1:00.
We left our poles (our transported packs had already arrived) and walked another few hundred yards to the village square and hung out at Bar/Cafe A Concha.
A ConchaThe Iglesia de Benaval/San Pelayo overlooks the village squareLooking down from the church at the village square
Lavacolla ( Latin: “Lavamentula”) literally means “wash private parts.” Medieval pilgrims seldom if ever bathed along the journey and ridiculed Muslim and Jewish enthusiasms for personal hygiene, so apparently took advantage of the small stream that runs through the village to cleanse themselves for arrival in Santiago.
The stream looking rather chilly for bathing today, but most pilgrims these days have already had a bath/shower or two along the way to Santiago.
We complimented today’s short walk with an equally easy afternoon in Lavacolla and had our host order a pizza for us, delivered to the pensión’s self-catering dining area.
The above is the 4 mile route we walked this morning, from Pensión CHE, going around part of the airport then advancing to within 10km (6 miles) of the Santiago Catedral.
We’re looking forward to our walk into Santiago tomorrow morning and the conclusion of our 5th Camino, Camino2023.
Santiago was waiting for us this morning as we left our knapsacks in the office of the Turistico Salceda. We exchanged hugs and good wishes and said our emotional farewells for likely the last time.
We took the short cut via the property back gate, revealed to us in 2015 by Santiago to expedite our walk to the medical clinic in O Pedrouzo.A nice silhouette of eucalyptus (right) and pines (left) as we walked along the shortcut.The light drizzle, threatening rain and fog, plus a mostly level dirt path made the walking easy this morning.We stopped for breakfast #1 at a newly established eatery near A Brea
The drizzle got a little stronger, but still not officially, rain, but Linda put in her poncho. Jim, however, decided the hassle of unrolling his poncho, getting it wet, then having to deal with it, when the rain stopped, etc. was worth the risk.
So, Jim figured if Linda was wearing her poncho, Mother Nature might decide not to get more aggressive and allow Jim to get away without wearing his. And if Jim wasn’t wearing rain protection, the same Mother Nature might, at least, continue the drizzle, justifying Linda’s preventive action.
Linda, in her poncho.Jim without his poncho, relying on the balance of Nature (Mother, that is).The Camino was not very busy for the duration of our walk this morning . This family of five passed us near A Rúa.Walking into A Rúa, still a slight, but lessening drizzle.Breakfast #2 at Restaurante O Acivro. It’s attached to a very nice Hotel Rural O Acivro in A Rua. Pronounced “Cola Cow”, it’s the Spanish version of hot chocolate. Ask for “chocolate caliente” and you get a much thicker drink commonly used with churros.This handsome fella hoped we had an apple handy, as we left A Rúa. Unfortunately, we were empty handed.This is where the Camino (a final section on pavement from A Rúa) met and crossed the main road going into O Pedrouzo… direction Santiago.
The Camino took an alternate by-pass path just as we arrived at the edge of O Pedruozo. We continued up main street and prepared for the final portion of today’s walk.
We are staying at Pensión CHE, one of a half dozen or so eating and lodging establishments in O Pedrouzo owned by a guy who’s name, abreviated, forms the letters C.H.E. He is known as “CHE”.
In 2017, we learned the hard way that Pensión CHE is not in O Pedrouzo. It’s a couple of miles beyond, outside the village of Amenal, but only a few hundred yards off the Camino. It’s a nice property, has a big pool (always too cold for Jim to use). It also has no food, only a bar with drinks. If you want food, you order it from O Pedrouzo and have it delivered by a CHE establishment. No other services are near Pensión CHE.
Also, very few people in O Pedrouzo have heard of Pensión CHE as we found out in 2017, wandering for miles and miles around the town looking for it, by asking directions, etc. We ultimately discovered that you must go to Hotel Pensión Platas on main street O Pedrouzo and give them your name and they will arrange for a van to take you from there to CHE.
So, we got to Pensión Platas, checked with the sweet, young receptionist, who spoke reasonably good English, to verify that the same drill to get to Pensión CHE was in effect from 2022, our last stay. She confirmed nothing had changed.
She confirmed the next van would head out to CHE “around noon”. It being a few minutes after 11:00, we found a place nearby to have lunch, our main meal for the day. While eating lunch, he had the barkeep prepare us some sandwiches with take with us to CHE.
The barkeep delivered our sandwich supper to our table as we were finishing up, we walked a few steps down main street to Pensión Plata and met the van, which took us to CHE and that’s where we checked in after a 15 minute wait for our room and spent the rest of the afternoon doing our routine stuff.
Pensión CHE, a large residence is next door, that’s all.Bar/checkin areadining area (no kitchen), also hang-out areaThe CHE pool… a group of pilgrims from Valencia, sitting on the edge of the pool, feet only in the water. Once again, even in August the water too cold for a dip!
At 6:00, we pulled out our self-catered dinner and chowed down before calling it a day.
leaving Arzúa at daybreakWe joined the dirt path less than a hundred yards from our pension.Sections of deep, earthen paths were frequent occurrences during today’s walk.Breakfast stop #1: Not many pilgrims here at first, so we ordered and had a table and used restrooms without waiting, then, whosh!!!… it looked like this as we moved on...: the crowds lightened up a bit as we passed under the main road… …. within another few minutes the path filled up again as faster pilgrims walked by.
We walked on the relatively flat path for a while meandering through small neighborhoods of just a few farm houses each. Soon after, we returned to the woods and some uphill and downhills just to make it interesting.
a long gradual slope through mostly eucalyptus trees mixed with some pines and hardwoods (probably oak based on all the acorns popping under our shoes).We thought about stopping here for breakfast #2 but it was too crowded (no place to sit, lines too long)We walked through several flat, wide dirt paths that we hoped would provide some shielding if the threatening clouds delivered the forecasted rain for late morning. The wide paths also allowed for elbow room with the passing pilgrim surges.This section was heavily forested with eucalyptus trees.We also walked through several areas with these deep earthen paths… this one was just before stopping for a belated breakfast #2.We stopped for hot chocolate and a rest-stop at this unusual bar/albergue with a horreo hovering over the path.Linda stirring her hot chocolate at Casa do Horreo.We saw this beautiful palm tree and thought we might have entered a time warp back to South Carolina.Just before Salceda we passed a section with several large homes using hydrangea bushes as a buffer to line the path on both sides. We named it Hydrangea Lane because of the huge blossoms. As we closed in on Salceda, we thought the pilgrims might be thinning out, so we made one final stop for breakfast #3 at the last bar with services on today’s walk.Just as we got back on the path some 15 minutes later, still another surge engulfed us as we walked the final half-mile to our destination for the day.
We arrived at Albergue Turistico Salceda at noon and were recognized by Lyudmila Lires, Santiago Lires’ daughter. We were so happy to be welcomed so enthusiastically and to hear that she and her family were well. This is our 5th visit since 2015.
The front of Albergue Turistico Salcedathe barthe dining areaour roomSantiago’s daughter, Lyudmila, and co-manager of the Hotel Rural.steps between ground and first floorprimero plata (second floor hallway). Santiago’s daughter, Sandra, plays the viola.Our ‘light’ lunch: Ensalada Mixta (best on Camino2023 so far) for Jim. Linda’s favorite salad discovered here several Caminos ago (apple, eggs, asparagus)Crepes for dessertPork cheeks for Jim. Linda went light with homemade vegetable soup. Santiago was the chef for both delicious Galícian specialties.
After dinner we settled our bill and chatted briefly with our hosts, wishing each other well, in case we didn’t connect tomorrow morning. The highlight of today was our reunion with two special friends we have made on the Camino Frances.
top: the street where Pensión Orios is located. bottom: the entrance to our building, marked by the big ” P” for pension.Melide town center at sunriseWhich way is the Camino? In the dark, this could be a problem.., was for us on our first Camino. The arrow on the right takes you past several more historical markers than the road on the left, but both roads converge on the way out of townOn the path out of Melide we soon encountered downhill and uphill sections, some rather steep. A modern home with an ornamental horreo in the front yard… with a non-traditional use.A closer look at the horreo reveals the left door is for the mail/newspaper and the right door is for the morning delivery of fresh bread, “pan”an interesting tree canopied section of flat pathWe walked through a number of eucalyptus forests that dominate this area and continue for the rest of the Camino.The mature eucalyptus tree is very tall and straight… in the distance we could see the next generation of forest underway.The Camino in Galicia has some rather picturesque bridge scenes like the one above.This huge eucalyptus tree was right on the path and it’s height and size and straightness was awesome The path wound through a number of farm properties with corn fields, cattle and trees… many with impressive homes and yards … in clusters of one to maybe 3-5, not associated with a hamlet or village.Whenever the walk got too flat or otherwise, easy, the Camino created hill for us to tackle, up or down, to remind us that this was a pilgrimage, not a ” walk in the park”.We stopped for breakfast in Boente, then continued on to Arzúa.After a few more small villages, we entered the outskirts of Arzúa on a long, straight, mostly flat dirt path.We passed this newly completed house that must belong to a relocated pilgrim from Va Tech, Tennessee or Clemson.The path changed to a wide sidewalk and quite a bit of traffic, coming and going on this Saturday morning. Arzúa also has it’s share of huge building exterior murals.We stopped at this bar on the way to Pensión Casa Elena for a breakfast #2.
We got to Casa Elena at 11:45 and were able to checkin after a 15 minute wait for our room to be ready. Normal checkin was 1:00.
The rest of the day was pretty much routine, much of it resting and recovering from yesterday’s longer walk.
The owner took this photo as we left Rectoral de Lestedo at 6:45.Palas de Rei is not a favorite. We’ve stayed here once, stopped for breakfast 4 other times and inspite of all the pilgrim traffic, maybe too much, the barkeeps and pilgrim housing keepers tend to be short, indifferent or just plain negative when interacting with us.… after a relatively quiet walk to Palas de Rei, about mid-way through town, the pilgrims began feeding from a multitude of overnight accommodations into the Camino so that by the exit from town, the Camino was loaded.Exiting Palas de Rei with most of the pilgrim surge ahead of us by now.A van loaded with pilgrim gear for supporting a group of pilgrims walking, some with only a stick. We’ve noticed a larger number of families walking the Camino since Sarria.A mom and two young girls passing us.Construction on this part of an autovia exit? seems to have stopped since we first viewed it 2015. It does provide nice shade, though, when it’s hot.In San Xuluan, two contrasting hórroes (used to store grain and other food crops in winter to keep dry and away from varmints)… one very old and the other relatively new.a seriously impaired pilgrim walking the Camino on crutches
We stopped at O Coto and had lunch and rested after 8 plus miles and then continued on to Melide.
nice even path out of O Coto on the way to MelideIglesia de Santa María de Leboreiro
The Iglesia de Santa María contains an image of the virgin that legend says was found in the nearby fountain when light and a pleasant fragrance emitted. Villagers took the image to the church, but that night the virgin went right back to the fountain. After a few days of back and forth, the locals made the tympanum and dedicated the church to her and the image finally deemed to stay put in the church.
Tympanum of Santa Maríastatue of the Virgin that kept retuning to the fountain until the parishioner’s dedicated the church to her.15th century wall paintings inside the Iglesiamounted just outside the church was a model of a “palloza”, a traditional thatched roof house built by Astur tribes of pre-Roman times.after Leboreiro, a medieval bridge into Disicaboa very strange tree that has fascinated Jim everytime we walk by it… today he documented it into a photo in our blog.tree lined path along an industrial area outside Melide. An apparent warehouse fire recently destroyed the building leaving only metal racks and ash. The tree damage indicates the fire was confined to the building behind the fire scorched trees and brown leaves.here the path continues along an industrial park of mostly warehousesmore wall murals, this one of a beekeeper
Our room in Pension Orois was larger and newer than the last two visits. Walking the extra miles today got us to our room to checkin at 1:30. After chores, we napped then went to a favorite, Bar Garancha.
Padrón peppers, pulpo (octopus) and Tortilla Espanola
Tummies filled we went back to our room and called it a day. 5 days to Santiago!
In spite of the longer distance, today’s walk went well. The sun stayed tucked behind the clouds/fog most of the morning and when it didn’t, the trees provided plenty of shade. The temperature stayed in the high 60’s to low 70’s, helped by a nice, cool breeze.
90% of the walk was on pavement or a sidewalk like dirt or gravel path. We generally stayed on the pavement for more uniform footing and an occasional shortcut. ( a benefit of doing the Camino more than once).
shortly after leaving Hosteria Gonzar, at first light, the Camino veered left off the highway… we continued straightthe shoulder was narrow, but vehicles are used to pilgrims so they generally gave us extra room.The yellow arrow painted on the back of this sign confirms that we’re not the first to take this alternate route (to save some walking)the Camino came out to the highway to join us , then went back to the less direct path, which we were avoiding.
We stopped for breakfast #1 at Casa Molar, an albergue/bar in the tiny hamlet of Ventas de Narón. We have stopped here each of our 5 Caminos, especially for the toast which Linda ranks among the best.
the uphill walk out of Ventas de Navón
Ventas de Narón was the site of a major battle in 820 AD in which the Christian army of Asturian King Alfonso II (the chaste) sent the advancing Muslim army packing, beginning the the multi- hundred year process that eventually returned Christianity to northern Spain.
downhill walk into Ligondebreakfast #2 (hot chocolate) just before Ligondecute house in Ligondefirst time pilgrims taking the path (injury-getting-ready-to-happen wash) to the left, seasoned pilgrim ( Linda) taking pavement alternative to the rightLinda having breakfast #3 OJ at a bar less than .5 mile to Lestedo…. French lady walked by shortly after photo taken
Toward the end of our walk we passed a couple who appeared to be struggling. They were from Leon, France and the lady was limping badly. She had apparently injured her ankle during the morning walk. Jim asked if they had any tape for the ankle and both replied no. Jim offered to give them some of our KT tape and explained how to use it to reduce the movement of the ankle and hopefully reduce the pain until they could have it properly treated.
The couple was very appreciative and we bid them good luck and buen Camino. About 15 minutes later, we were sitting at a bar, having OJ when the couple walked by. They both waved and gave a thumbs up. The lady and the man both had huge, smiles on their faces and she was walking without a limp. It certainly made our day, to be able to assist another pilgrim.
Our checkin was immediate when we arrived at Casa Rectoral de Lestedo. We got a light lunch, did our routine afternoon activities including naps and then had a nice dinner in the dining room, served by the relatively new owner who purchased the property in 2018. We stayed here in 2015.
Today was a relief after yesterday’s heat wave. The remaining days will be cooler with possible rain. 6 more days to Santiago!
The taxi arrived promptly at 7:00 and took us to Portomarin where we stopped for breakfast, then began our walk for the day.
Surprisingly, the pilgrim traffic was not as overwhelming as expected.
leaving Bar Gonzar in Portomarin at 7:30… heading out of Portomarin to go toward Gonzar along with other pilgrimsbeginning the relatively steep, 1.5 mile incline up the mountain after the bridge leaving Portomarin.high pilgrim traffic, but typicalnear the top of the climb out of Portomarin at the top, tree-lined path leveled out and allowed faster pilgrims to put distance between us. most of the walk was on a path on the shoulder of a secondary road, periodically changing sides of the pavement back on the dirt path again, we walked through several picturesque wooded areas and this section that was destroyed by a fire in 2019 but has recovered nicely in just 4 years.nice, shady walk through this wooded section
For sure, there were a lot of pilgrims walking out of Portomarin, as usual, but after the huge numbers we observed yesterday going through Morgade, we figured a similar level of pilgrims would be seen today, especially the closer we got to Santiago. But based on prior Caminos, pilgrim traffic today was normal… busy for eateries and restrooms from 10 to 12:30-1:00, then almost nothing.
Walking into Gonzar we began chatting with Martha. She began by greeting us with “good morning” with only a hint of a Spanish accent. Jim asked where she was from and she said, “Spain”. She asked where we were from and we said United States, then South Carolina. Surprised and excited she said she lived in SC for a year. Jim asked where and she said Spartanburg! We said, well hello neighbor, we live in Greenville. And then she was really surprised, as were we.
Martha from Madrid
It turns out, Martha, who currently lives in Madrid, did a one year study at Wofford, which led to further conversations about Meredith, Drew, future plans, etc. Before we knew it, we were at the door of our Hostal and so we said our goodbyes and continued with our respective Caminos.
It was 10:00, 72F and our room was not going to be ready until 1:30 so we found a nice shady spot on the outside terrace behind the restaurant, away from the pilgrim comings and goings, and had various drinks stretched out until lunch, then had lunch and eventually got into our room at 1:20.
We did chores and Jim took a dip in the pool to get relief from the rising temperature which is forecasted to get to 98F.
Gonzar Hosteria pool seen from our room.
Update: the 98F forecast was way off. We’re in the restaurant where the AC is much cooler than our non-AC room. It’s 109F outside!!! A record for this area.
It’s 5:30 and a couple of pilgrims just checked in to the albergue section of the Hosteria having been walking in the inferno all afternoon. They seemed to be fine. The guy asked me if the wine was cold!
We had a light dinner seated at the coolest table available and by the end of the meal were glad to get back to a little warmth in our room. The outside temperature was down to 94F by 8:00 and should be down to the low 80’s by 9:00. (sunset at 9:20).
The forecast for tomorrow morning and the next few days shows a significant cooling trend, so weather should not be an issue for walking from here on to Santiago.
leaving Barbadelo at daybreakmore pilgrims concentrated in one area than we have ever seen this far from Santiago
We walked by our favorite place to stay on the Camino. We found Casa Nova de Rente by accident in 2015 and stayed here every Camino thru 2019, when we stayed 3 consecutive days, using it as a base when rooms were scarce in this area. The 400 year old family home is a classic Galícian farmhouse. The family treated us like family, including inviting us to eat dinner with them in their spacious kitchen.
Casa Nova de Rente, no longer open as a award winning Casa Rural (B&B) property… reverted back to a family home during and since the pandemic.Typical path this morning, low 60’s, foggy, overcast… high in 90F’s forecasted.picturesque cool morning walkstill lots of fog but a stone “causeway” to add varietyold, deformed, sometimes spooky trees add to the sceneryhard to avoid photos of other pilgrims today… mostly starting from SarriaWe stopped at this bar for breakfast, having skipped one two miles earlier because it was overcrowded including no available seats, long lines to order snd longer lines for restrooms. This one was not much better.heavy flow of pilgrims as we got to Casa Morgade, our home until tomorrow morning.long line for ladies restroom when we arrived at Casa Morgade.This is a time-lapse photo covering a 30 second period of pilgrims walking past Casa Morgade while Jim waited to check-in. This typical flow rate of pilgrims lasted from 10:45 – 1:30 pm.
Our room and auxiliary areas is one of the best we have seen anywhere. It’s well thought out and effectively addresses all the needs of domestic and international pilgrims.
common area for 6-8 double w/bath rooms, open, airy, plenty of good, comfortable seating.spacious room with shelves, window ledge to dry socks, rod with hangers. plenty of good lighting.Any well-designed room should have a separate unit beside each single bed or side of a king/double bed… electric outlet, table/shelf for your stuff, light switch. That seemed to be the standard for rooms like ours.All crumbled from Jim’s pocket, this information sheet is genius. It was given to us at check-in and has a treasure trove of answers to the key questions that any guest needs, and it’s in the guest’s native language.A nice outdoor area (private) provided for the 8 double room with bath rooms in our building.
After being into our room nearly 2 hours prior to official checkin time, we got showers and did some hand washing of clothes and hung them out to dry just outside our door on provided drying racks.
We made good use of the early checkin but were also waiting for the crowds to dissipate, we hoped, before attempting to get lunch, etc.
When we had lunch at 2:45 in the albergue dining room, the pilgrim traffic was almost nil.
The rest of the afternoon was devoted to resting, napping and blogging.
At 7:00 p.m. we were not hungry, but were a bit antsy, so we walked another 1.5 miles to the 100km marker, took some photos to avoid the crowds tomorrow…
the 100 km milestone for the Camino de Santiago de Compostelaselfies are not our specialty
Jimandi 