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LIVE from the Camino A Swan Song?

Tincatinker

Inveterate liar
Time of past OR future Camino
2012
Ferrol.
Hotel Silva €65. Clean, friendly and close to my favourite Mesón.

Great to get back to Neuvas Bodegas. Menu del Dia: Crema Verdure’s and Boquerones fritas. €9:50. The jarra of red included is just about drinkable. Back in the bar that evening there’s the usual good range wines Mencias, ribeiro etc. by the bottle or glass. The place is still as traditional, classic and great as ever. Martes Cafe Bar by the 113km marker also good and will provide a sello when the Tourismo is shut (most of the time)

On the way to Neda O Mariscador’s proprietor is as affable as ever but the aciete and tomate for tostados come in those little plastic motorway services tubs and pack irritation rather than flavour.

Neda. Pension Maragoto €48 shared bathroom and a breakfast. Fine.
Why is it always so difficult to get a meal in Narón & Xubia?The places that aren’t cerrado permanente are cerrado por vacance. We end up with a platter of meats and cheese and some fair empanadas in one of the bars in Narón. Nothing repeatable. That evening Flor del Mayo is closed. On a Saturday night?
Once upon a time in Brighton (UK) there was, in Hanover, The Pub with No Name, known as such because it had no name. Bar Chamale Como Queiras (call it what you like) brings a touch of nostalgia and a rather good Mencia from Bierzo.

Pontedeume:
Hotel Eumesa €80, worth €40.

The “new” route was pleasant enough. There were even bits where we walked on dirt(!) though much of it is paved. Easy going and enough mojones that it ought to be possible to way mark another Camino with the surplus.

Restaurante Luis, as ever, provided a good lunch and an excellent Godello. And an Orujo naturally.

Hotel Eumesa is swarming with pilgrims. In fact the Camino is swarming with pilgrims. Pontedeume to Betanzos there has always been someone in sight. Some Spanish groups of 6 - 10. English couples. A couple of veterans off the Norte / Ruta do Mar. German ladies in pairs and trio. A few singletons from across the Camino globe.

The newish Bar Naved just as the Camino hits the N 651 at Porto de Abaixo provides excellent tortilla and ensaladilla (and cold beer).

Betanzos

Hotel Villa de Betanzos €98 inc breakfast.


Comment to follow…
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Wonderful to read!

If you are still in Betanzos today you could pop over to O Pote.

Closed on Monday or we’d have been there in a shot. Been trawling that which is available on a Monday. Has been fun though I’m not sure I want to see a pincho of Tortilla de Betanzos ever again. The hotel is fine. Lots of people just like us. Correos better bring two vans 😉.

Meanwhile, close to the hotel, in sprinting distance on a wet evening, O Cruceiro is a neighborhood bar with two great Mencias: Pazo de Mariñán €2:20 Setembro €2:30. The Chica looked puzzled when we declined the pincho
 
I notice that the popularity is still growing for the Ingles. Found it already crowded last year around this time. Compared to 2014 and 2017.

Tomorrow you will be in Beche.
I recommend the restaurant/ bar there. Not the shed next to the muni swimmingpool but the proper restaurant ( up some stairs ).

Brasa de Beche.

Edit : only open from Wednesday!

Anyway: enjoy it to the fullest!
 
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Popped into the municipal albergue earlier, last stayed there in 2013 when it was all new and shiny. Still in good nick. The hospi stamped our credencial and told us we could have a look around. Bunk beds and partitioned cubicles now. The hospital said it was fairly quiet. Never full.

Went and paid our respects to the wonderful portico of the Parroquia de Santiago. The bar opposite is the perfect spot to sip a Ribeira and contemplate the life of those medieval masons
 
Tomorrow you will be in Beche.
I recommend the restaurant/ bar there. Not the shed next to the muni swimmingpool but the proper restaurant ( up some stairs ).

Brasa de Beche.

Edit : only open from Wednesday!

Anyway: enjoy it to the fullest!

😋😋😋

Go well, @Tincatinker!!
 
Last edited:
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
I'm in Pilgrim House today and then will be working again on Thursday, Baz. Will you be in town? Would be great to see you again!
We should be in Santiago 26th barring a worse than usual hangover. We have a couple of days in Santiago before heading for Ourense. Hope to see you. And anyone else who’s in town 😎
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Fleece in the morning. T shirt most of the day. Rain wear always to hand
Speaking of tee-shirts.... Where did you get the one you shared with us in a photo at the beginning of this thread? I'd buy one of those in a heart beat! (For my own probable swan song next April.)
 
Last edited:
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
I walked the Inglés last week and didn't find it particularly busy at all, other than the last stage.
 
Speaking of tee-shirts.... Where did you get the one you shared with us in a photo at the beginning of this thread? I'd buy one of those in a heart beat! (For my own probable swan song next April.)
My own design with a bit of help from @Jeff Crawley and a local printshop done the rest. I’m not sure if the paradox works in Spanish. I hope it does
 
So, today. Betanzos to Mesón do Novo. A reminder of the days when 14 miles up-hill would have been knocked out before breakfast and a reminder that those days are over. And so is this one thankfully 😅.

Meangos; Beche and the beloved Casa Avelina all provide relief (or “cold beer” as it’s known in the trade) and Mesón Novo €48, private bath, provides a hot shower, comfy bed and a succulent (!) pollo & chips. A couple of postprandial Brandies help to relax the legs.

Plenty of funghi in the woods. Oh, for a frying pan and a knob of butter:
IMG_2263.jpeg

Tomorrow’s forecast suggests the backpack won’t be bulging with wet weather gear…
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I notice that the popularity is still growing for the Ingles. Found it already crowded last year around this time. Compared to 2014 and 2017.

Tomorrow you will be in Beche.
I recommend the restaurant/ bar there. Not the shed next to the muni swimmingpool but the proper restaurant ( up some stairs ).

Brasa de Beche.

Edit : only open from Wednesday!

Anyway: enjoy it to the fullest!

But the shed has a nice selection of beers. Alas, I could find no way to finagle entrance to the swimming pool which, in the middle of August, I so so so wanted to do.
 
Fail to prepare? reduce your risk by buying this book full of practical info.
2nd ed.
Buen camino, peregrino!
May flavor be abundant and annoyance be minimal. Enjoy the dinos tomorrow.

heading for Ourense
Hmmm. For another swansong? 😶🤭
The shirt might need another outing, after all.

Plenty of funghi in the woods. Oh, for a frying pan and a knob of butter:
Yum. But alas albergues in Galicia have no means to do anything with either of those things, let alone a pension.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Pension Vilanova, private bath, breakfast €62
And, at last, a soft day and the kiss of Galicias gentle rains to ease us on our way. Mesón do Vento lived up to its name. It was blowing a hooley this morning though the rain wasn’t heavy, just persistent. Cafe Bar Uzal ( the dinosaur bar), and Cruceiro provided respite. Walking through the forested stretches provided shelter from the wind but also an autumnal hazard: cascades of acorns and chestnuts from the trees. A full grown chestnut in all its spiky glory provides quite a whack if your head or shoulder interrupts it’s journey to the ground.

We took the old forest route rather than walk the AP-9 ( have Turismo Galicia totally lost the plot?). It’s tarmac these days but the motorway is barely audible. And then we deviated 😉. About 4km along the old route from the motorway cross-under there’s a road to the right that will take you to Oroso Poqueno and the marvelous Mesón Oroso. They were remarkably welcoming to a couple of dripping peregrinos and fed us well on Caldo, Bacalao and a Chuletón de Vaca. The house tinto is excellent so we brought a spare for this evening. We’ll not be venturing far. Even Siguero is invisible through the rain.
 
Ah, well, and so that’s kind of that then.

Santiago in sun, showers and rain. Have shed a tear or two in the Obradoiro. Wonderful, as ever, to see the joyful, the tearful, the lost and the found thronging the square. Some of the old hustlers seem to have faded away but the new ones ply their trade with vigour.

I’ve paid my respects to Himself. And to Faith at Pilgrim House. I’ll try and bother Ivar and a few others tomorrow.

We’ve rented a little apartment, ( the ironies of my T-shirt keep on giving), I’ve always wanted to spend a morning in the Abastos and an afternoon cooking the plunder and now I can.

Anyone looking for route notes: the bits in the woods are lovely. And yes, it is possible to get a bad cup of coffee in Spain. Applications to the cafe Poligono. They take pride in that which they do so badly 😉
 
3rd Edition. Vital content training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
“And so it goes” (one for students of Kurt Vonnegut and the lives of Billy Pilgrim there).

Thanks, grateful thanks, to Ivar for the umbrella today. It’s been an umbrella day for sure.

I love the way in which this familiar city is different every time. That little bar is there not here, the other one isn’t here at all. The familiar streets are different every time. Sure Himself and his house don’t move, nor do the queues it seems. I contemplated sharing a little chaos by holding my umbrella high. A Tinker Tour of Santiago - I could almost fancy that myself.

Meanwhile, I appreciate the kindly messages and the comments on this thread.
 
Ferrol.
Hotel Silva €65. Clean, friendly and close to my favourite Mesón.

Great to get back to Neuvas Bodegas. Menu del Dia: Crema Verdure’s and Boquerones fritas. €9:50. The jarra of red included is just about drinkable. Back in the bar that evening there’s the usual good range wines Mencias, ribeiro etc. by the bottle or glass. The place is still as traditional, classic and great as ever. Martes Cafe Bar by the 113km marker also good and will provide a sello when the Tourismo is shut (most of the time)

On the way to Neda O Mariscador’s proprietor is as affable as ever but the aciete and tomate for tostados come in those little plastic motorway services tubs and pack irritation rather than flavour.

Neda. Pension Maragoto €48 shared bathroom and a breakfast. Fine.
Why is it always so difficult to get a meal in Narón & Xubia?The places that aren’t cerrado permanente are cerrado por vacance. We end up with a platter of meats and cheese and some fair empanadas in one of the bars in Narón. Nothing repeatable. That evening Flor del Mayo is closed. On a Saturday night?
Once upon a time in Brighton (UK) there was, in Hanover, The Pub with No Name, known as such because it had no name. Bar Chamale Como Queiras (call it what you like) brings a touch of nostalgia and a rather good Mencia from Bierzo.

Pontedeume:
Hotel Eumesa €80, worth €40.

The “new” route was pleasant enough. There were even bits where we walked on dirt(!) though much of it is paved. Easy going and enough mojones that it ought to be possible to way mark another Camino with the surplus.

Restaurante Luis, as ever, provided a good lunch and an excellent Godello. And an Orujo naturally.

Hotel Eumesa is swarming with pilgrims. In fact the Camino is swarming with pilgrims. Pontedeume to Betanzos there has always been someone in sight. Some Spanish groups of 6 - 10. English couples. A couple of veterans off the Norte / Ruta do Mar. German ladies in pairs and trio. A few singletons from across the Camino globe.

The newish Bar Naved just as the Camino hits the N 651 at Porto de Abaixo provides excellent tortilla and ensaladilla (and cold beer).

Betanzos

Hotel Villa de Betanzos €98 inc breakfast.


Comment to follow…
You were able to get food; that is a blessing.
You were able to get wine; that in and of itself is a blessing?
Hotel worth oonly half the price; this is the norm in life--everyting transaction is not a good/decent, worth-its-price, bargain. This applies to people too.
All of the above on your Camino--looks and sounds completely and totally normal. Feel blessed there you did not experience one single bad/terrible incident. Some people in life are blessed in this regard. Give thanks.
Enjoy the rest of your Camino.
Chuck
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-

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