Day 55 – Oct 30,  2022 – Mercadoiro to Ventas de Narón (18,90 km / 11.75 miles)

We were excited to have our shadows back today. The weather was sunny with a nice cool breeze. The break in the storm for our longer day today is greatly appreciated.  

Day 56 – Oct 31,  2022 – Ventas de Narón to Pontecampaña (15,84 km / 9.84 miles)

Happy Halloween! I am disappointed we weren’t able to shoot a video for you of us in costume.  For the past week, we searched for simple costumes to wear while hiking today. We were hopeful we would find something yesterday, when we rolled into Portomarin, but it was Sunday so everything was closed. 

Oh well, we tried. Instead, we dressed up as hikers on the Camino.

Day 57 – Nov 1,  2022 – Pontecampaña to Boente (18,53 km / 11.51 miles)

We enjoyed another cool, dry day today. As we get into our final push into Santiago, we’ve been forced to do some longer days. Some of this is due to how the towns are spread out, but more of it has to do with the calendar and the albergues closing down for the season. Today was a longer day than we wanted, especially since we haven’t taken a down day since we left Astorga 16 days ago. Our feet are constantly sore, but we see the finish line only 46 km away. Shut up feet, we got this!

Day 52 – Oct 27,  2022 – Triacastela to Samos (9,69 km / 6 miles)

We had a short walk today only 10km. When we arrived one hour before we could check in, we decided to have a bite and a drink at the bar across the street. This was one of the coolest places we’ve found so far. All the furniture is antique and the food was fabulous. But most importantly, the soundtrack was outstanding. The owner had built her own playlist on Creada (the Spainish version of Spotify). It flowed with offbeat folksy cover tunes. It was wonderful.  

Then we traveled back in time while visiting the Monastery of San Xulián de Samos which is an active Benedictine monastery in Samos, Galicia, Spain. It was founded in the sixth century.

The stone work and art was magnificent. The tour was given in Spanish so we didn’t understand much. We would get a few words here and there and probably words we wanted to hear… it seemed the monk leading the tour said “quesadilla” often. But maybe I am just hungry. Unfortunately photos weren’t allowed, but you can view the monastery from their website here. 

Day 53 – Oct 28,  2022 – Samos to Sarria (14,54 km / 9 miles)

Today was rainy, hilly, green and gorgeous!  We are now only 114 kilometers from Santiago as we enter Sarria.

We went for a drink and asked for tapas and couldn’t decide so the bartender asked “una de cada” or one of each. Rex said sí, por qué no!” Which means, sure why not.

We stayed in a dorm-style albergue for the last time intentionally. We wanted to feel the new pilgrim energy. But the albergue was too loud and sleep was hard to come by. It is all a part of the Camino experience. 

Day 54 – Oct 29,  2022 – Sarria to Mercadoiro (17 km / 10.56 miles)

We experimented today. We wanted to give you a day in the life of a pilgrim walking the camino. So we created a point of view (POV) video just for you. This way from the comfort of your warm, dry living room you can walk 17 kilometers with us from Sarria to Mercadoiro. 

It is best with the sound on and even better on a large screen with surround sound. You can listen to the rain, wind, birds, tractors, cows, footsteps, and my heavy breathing when walking uphill.  No uphill swearing though. Sorry. 

The video reflects 7 hours of walking, condensed to less than 14  minutes for your viewing pleasure. 

Enjoy and thanks for following!

Day 48 – Oct 23,  2022 – Valtuille de Arriba to Trabadelo (14,25 km / 8.85 miles)

Day 49 – Oct 24,  2022 – Trabadelo to La Herrerías (10,37 km / 6.44 miles)

Day 50 – Oct 25,  2022 – La Herrerías to Liñares (11,14 km / 6.92 miles)

Huge climb up to O’Cebreiro today in the rain and wind.  Watch the video for all the fun. 

Day 51 – Oct 26,  2022 – Liñares to Triacastela (19,66 km / 12.21 miles)

Today was our longest walk since before our break and we did well. We’d be lying if we said our feet aren’t hurting, but we have no new blisters or injuries. We are now less than 140km to Santiago!  Woohoo!  We walked the majority of the day with a lovely couple we shared a table with at breakfast from Australia (Jenny & Peter). The conversation made the walk fly by. 

Thanks for reading, watching and providing moral support of our journey.  

Day 45 – Oct 20,  2022 –  El Acebo to Ponferrada (16 km / 9.94 miles)

Day 46 – Oct 21,  2022 – Ponferrada to Camponyara (9,4 km / 5.84 miles)

Our Camino path took us to the town of Ponferrada, Spain. We’d heard there was a castle we needed to check out here and with a short hike planned today, we took the opportunity to visit right when it opened before leaving town. 

The Templars Castle of Ponferrada was constructed by Ferdinand II from 1178- 1282 AD to protect pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago. The castle was named after the famed Knights of Templar who protected the town in the 12th century.  The Knights were a fearsome unit, and one of the most skilled during the crusades. Having changed ownership a number of times, the castle was once a Roman citadel and is now owned by the King of Spain.

The castle is enormous and the architecture is stunning. It was designed in a polygonal shape, with a mountain and a river flanking two of its sides and double and triple walled defenses making it an absolute fortress.

It was made a Spanish national monument in 1924 and its operation is funded primarily through tourism and event hosting. On the day we visited, there was a corporate conference being held in the courtyard. 

We enjoyed our visit and the history lesson it provided about the Knights Templar and the centuries of structural additions and modifications which went into the imposing structure we see today. 

Day 47 – Oct 22,  2022 – Camponyara to Valtuille de Arriba (10,3 km / 6.04 miles)

We beat the rain!  The weather forecast is calling for 10 straight days of rain. Since our epic day of rain at Cruz de Ferro, we’ve been pretty strategic (and lucky) about staying within the windows of time between rain showers. We did get a few sprinkles while we walked today, and the downpour waited until after we arrived at our albergue. 

We reserved an incredible donativo for tonight. This is the first time we are staying in a donation only albergue where you pay what you can afford for the bed and breakfast. There is no set price set by the owner of the albergue. These homeowners decided to open their home to pilgrims taking the alternative route through the vineyards. They have 5 beds available. It has been a very nice experience. Lunch and dinner for an extra 16€ for each of us and both were delicious. They served a salad with some of the sweetest, most delicious tomatoes we’ve tasted. They brought the seeds with them from Málaga, a city in Southern Spain and planted them in a community garden they have nearby. On their property they also have a fig tree orchard and we were given delicious samples as desert with our lunch. What a treat!

Many times now, I have been stopped by fellow pilgrims asking about the donkey I have hanging from my pack. Since several of you have asked as well, now is a good time to share the story.