Sarria - Start of the Camino Walk to Santiago de Compostela (SdC)
The total distance between Sarria and Santiago de Compostela is about 114.8km. Sarria is a popular starting point for the Camino walk as it is the last place to start walking where you will be able to collect the Compostela (Certificate).
We arrived early into Sarria from Lugo by train. We checked into the hotel, did some nice walks around the town, had our meals and got ready to start the Camino walk the next day. [Bit excited and apprehensive 😊]
Day 1 Sarria to Portomarine (~22km)
The walk would be about 22 km, from the 114.8km mark in Sarria to Portomarin about 92 km from Santiago. We set off at about 8:30am.
There were many walkers walking from different directions to get onto the trails. [There is no need for a map or apps for directions - just follow the crowd 😉]
It was misty when we started the walk, and gradually the mist lifted. We walked past open fields, at times lined with trees or short stone walls. It was pretty.
Along the path, there are stone-markers indicating the distance from SdC. [hmm, indeed useful as a motivator 😌]
We reached the 100km mark at about 12 noon. We had already walk about 14 km in about four hours. [Not bad (?!) - another 8km to Portomarin...]
The weather was sunny, and we continued walking. There were two paths leading into Portomarin. Both led onto a long bridge leading into Portomarin. [A bit tired but glad that the first days' walk was manageable 😊]
We arrived at the hotel (~2pm, after a 5 1/2 hr walk). I noticed that our luggage had not arrived [Other luggages with the same delivery labels were already in the reception area]. Upon checking, we realised we had filled in the wrong address for our luggage delivery 😵 (PortoSantiago and not PortoSantiago Boutique). Fortunately, both hotels are managed by the same owner and our luggage was sent over. Also, the staff called the company to change the pickup location for the next day. [Thank you! 😊]
We had our tasty lunch and dinner (Pulpo - Octopus, Pimientos - Fried Peppers... again and others) at the same cafe, walked around the town and the supermarket (bought bananas and chocolate).
[A good day of walking except for the mini-scare of wrong delivery address]
Day 2 Portomarine to Palas De Rei (~25km)
We set off at about 7:30am for Palas de Rei. It's the longest distance we would walk in day (~25km) during the trip. The weather forecast was 'raining' from late morning, we tried to 'get ahead' of the rain by starting early. Palas De Rei is about 67km from Santiago.
The sky was overcast as we joined the rest of the walkers moving forth towards Santiago [For us - Palas de Reis].
We managed to walk for about three hours before it started raining. Even though I had my waterproof gear, my shoes were gradually getting wet, cold and uncomfortable. We arrived at our lodging past lunch time 😐 (~1:30pm, 6hrs of walk).
We realised we had booked an apartment and not a hotel room [hmm... all bookings were done half a year ago - I had assumed all lodgings were hotels]. The apartment was on the third floor, the owner lives on the second floor, and his shop is on the ground floor.
He showed us around the apartment, and passed a shoe-dryer to us [A shoe-dryer! Gosh, Thank you! Now, I'm glad we had booked an apartment with such a personalised service 😍]. We had our lunch, visited the supermarket and went back to the apartment [critical mission : to dry our shoe..]. There was a long queue of walkers in the shop, we excused ourselves to access the door to the apartment. [I guess the owner must be selling some good merchandise?!]
We had our dinner in a popular cafe [It's famous dish is once again, grilled octopus]. When we went back to the apartment, there was still a long queue in the shop.
[A fairly challenging yet rewarding day considering that we walked ~25km. Just after the walk, on reaching the apartment, I was shivering a lot from the cold which is rare. I must have been 'xtra'cooled down by my wet shoes and summer attire (?) 😕]
Day 3 Palas De Rei to Melide (~15km)
When we checked out early in the morning, the shop was already open. The owner stamped our booklet, and also gave us a souvenir keychain
[Realised the owner is a paralympic athletic and his stamp is much sought after. Thank you for the stamp and souvenir 😊]
The rain has stopped but it was still cold. Our next town is Melide about 52.7km from SdC. We set-off at about 8:30am.
The weather was pleasant. Owing to the rain the day before, the ground was muddy and wet on some of the walking paths.
We took a nice coffee and cake break at a cafe.
[I realised that the first cafe/store (amongst a few clusters of shops/cafes) would usually be crowded and have a relatively long queue for restroom. Thus, we would walk further down the path to other quieter cafes 😊 ]
We continued walking, enjoying the scenery.
We walked through a hill, and then a bridge before the outskirts of a town came into view - we had reached Melide (~11:45am, 4hr) 😊
Melide is a pleasant town. We had grilled octopus (again) and others
[Grilled octopus is popular in the Gilicia region. Melide is especially famous for it. Anyway, the dish was tasty and we liked it everytime we had it over the past few days - it would be grilled octopus daily till we are out of the Gilicia region?! 😮😉]
We also had our dinner at the same restaurant, and again ordered the octopus, pig ears and sausage (also the local delicacies).
[A good day of walking. I was pleasantly surprised that I did not have any muscle ache or pain😌]
Day 4 Melide to Aruza (~14km)
The next town to walk to was Arzua, about 39 km from SdC. The walk from Melide was about 14km. We set off at about 7:20am.
Since the distance to walk was relatively shorter, we had a nice break after an hour.
The terrain was more hilly and undulating. Although it was slightly more challenging, the landscape was gorgeous. However the weather turned grey, and it started drizzling. We took another break.
We arrived at Arzua (~11am, 4hr). Most of the restaurants were still closed at noon, and we had a rather forgettable lunch.
We picked up a long (disposable) raincoat at the general store as the weather forecast for the next two days was rainy. We also had a forgettable dinner.
[It was a slightly more strenuous walk, but the two breaks were good. Although it rained, the landscape was scenic and charming]
Day 5 Aruza to O Pedrouzo (~19km)
O Pedrouzo is about 19 km from Santiago and the last town before we arrived in Santiago. It was already raining when we set off from Aruza at about 7:30am.
We walked and walked. I looked out for the distance markers and observed the types of walking gear and rainwear that other walkers wore to keep my mind off my wet shoes. I also had not seen any horreo as we walked away from the countryside. Some of the crops might get wet if there are sustained long period of rain?
[I noticed at the onset of the walk that some farms have a raised house-like structure in their farm. Upon checking - it is called horreo or tropes, and is agranary intended for storage of corn and other crops. It is usually made of stone or wood and raised from the ground to keep rodents and water out. They are protected by the Galicia Cultural Heritage Law.]
We arrived at the hotel (~12 noon, 4 1/2 hours walk). We realised that the hotel (a converted farmhouse(?) was quite a walk from the town.
We had our lunch in town, and walked the street almost from end to end.
We had a tasty dinner of prawns, grilled octopus and more.
[I assumed because of global warming/climate changes, I had expected warmer weather in May even though it might rain. However, the windy and rainy days made the days dramatically chillier and colder. I did not even bring a sweater (to lighten the luggage). I only brought a waterproof coat, long sleeve shirt and t-shirts 😟😕😒]
[A so-so day as it had rained non-stop and better lodging would have been good]
Day 6 O Pedrouzo to Santiago De Compostela (~19km)
It had been raining since we arrived in O Perdrouzo yesterday 😑. We set-off in the rain after our breakfast at 8am. [Despite the rain, I was eager to set off... we would be walking to our destination today!]
The rain continued, and we continued walking.
[Did I read somewhere that I could see the spire of the Cathedral when nearing the city? With such little visiblity because of the rain, I thought I need not actively look out for it 😔]
At last, a sizable town came within sight! We had arrived at the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela.
I couldn't wait to check into the hotel. We walked and walked.
We arrived at the hotel (~12:30pm, 4+hours walk). Yay! We had completed our walk as planned 😊😌😘.
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago is the final destination of the networks of Way's of St. James Pilgrim routes since the 9th century, and the old town was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1985. The routes of Santiago de Compostela were also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.
We enjoyed ourselves walking around the town, having coffee breaks and relatively tasty food. We visited the church and collected our certicate from the Pilgrim's Reception Office.
I also collected the Dual Pilgrim certificate (walked both Kumano and Camino) and souvenir from the Dual Pilgrim Office. [At the last minute (literally one minute before the lift arrived), I suddenly remembered my Kumano stamp booklet and dashed back to get it]
The food and snacks were reasonably priced and tasty. Surprisingly, there are also numerous Michelin-starred restaurants, we managed to make reservations on the same day for our two dinners in the city 😋😌.
I also really enjoyed the coffee breaks 😋😘 [I especially liked the thick chocolate and churros 😋]
Maybe useful information
Day 0: Hotel Alfonso IX ($137)
Day 1: Sarria - Portomarin ~22km , PortoSantiago, ($94)
Day 2 : Portomarin to Palas de Reis ~25km , La Huella del Peregrino ($173)
Day 3 : Palas de Rais to Melide ~15km, Hotel Lux Melide ($152)
Day 4 : Melide to Aruza ~14km, Hotel Arzua ($145)
Day 5 : Aruza to O Pedrouzo ~19km , Santaia en Casal de Calma ($139)
Day 6 : O Pedrouzo to SdC ~19km , Hotel Atalaia B&B
Day 7-9 : SdC , Hotel Atalaia B&B ($412)
It is preferable (important) to book the train tickets especially for Sarria and Santiago de Compostela in advance when tickets is available. We also booked all our lodgings about 6 months in advance (a few recommended hotels were full by then).
Transfer of luggages:
Correos - online booking.
Thoughts
It has been somewhat challenging to will myself to walk the long distances on the cold and rainy days. However, it was undoubtedly a memorable experience of walking with many others to reach the same final destination regardless of good or bad weather through the charming landscape.
Also, I had wanted to do the Camino walk when I first heard of it a long time ago. I had planned the walk for May 2020 but the pandemic happened. I am glad that I finally did it [Better late than never].
As I walked (quite miserably) in the rain, I thought of how to keep the shoe dry in the rain in future walk - haha 😐. The pair of shoe also became wet from water dripping from the pant's bottom, and from the top of the shoe/socks. For future walks, I will get a bottom guard (for ease of use) to cover a high-cut waterproof hiking shoe, and a long raincoat to cover the top of the bottom guard to prevent the rain water [My mistake - a pair of low-cut hiking shoes ('aesthetically' nicer-looking for city-walking compared to a high-cut one for better protection. 😒😒😧?! ].
I've liked going for walks and hikes overseas since I did my long walk in the Appalachian Mountains long ago. Reminiscing ...haha 😊
