jcat
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2016-2023
Hello all,
Completed my short Camino (Sarria-Santiago) last week, and just returned home from Spain. I know most have or plan to walk further than me, but I figured a trip report might aid someone. I’ve walked bit and pieces (day trips) of the Camino over the last 20 years, and this last trip just wet my appetite even more for a longer trip. Just need to find the time to take 35 days off from work
I will try and cover trains, accommodations, equipment, etc. I pre-booked my rooms at Hostals or Pensions so I missed out on the Albergue experience, but still met a lot of great fellow pilgrims.
Madrid – Sarria
I took the train from Madrid to Sarria. The RENFE website didn’t show the trip available until just a couple weeks before I needed, but no problems once it was booked. In Sarria, I stayed at the DP Cristal. Clean, quiet, inexpensive and a great place to stay if starting in Sarria. Arrived in town around 7pm, quickly checked in, and got my first Camino stamp. I could have had dinner downstairs from my room, but decided to walk around and look for my first Camino marker. I didn’t succeed in finding a marker, but found a nice spot for dinner and a drink. I figured I would see some pilgrims in the morning and just follow them. Well, not too many pilgrims around in February but found a nice café for some coffee and they pointed me in the right direction. My Camino had begun.
Sarria – Portomarin.
First day was my favorite day of the journey, probably because it didn’t rain too much. Walked mostly by myself, but met 5-6 people who I would get to know better over the next few days. Made plans to meet up with a few for dinner in Portomarin. The sights were great and I took plenty of pics with my IPhone.
One strange experience: Got hit up for money by a pilgrim walking in the opposite direction. I don’t think I look like someone to mess with, but this guy was pretty aggressive. He could have been legitimately down on his luck, but he really rubbed me the wrong way and had to sternly tell him to get lost.
Arrived in Portomarin and checked into my room at the Portomino. Decent room but the floors in my room and in the hallway were damp and slick 24/7. Had a light lunch at the restaurant / bar just across the road. Met up with a few other pilgrims for my first pilgrim dinner at a spot near the main town square.
Portomarin – Palas de Rei.
Started my walk at 8:00am and met up with three other pilgrims once over the bridge on the way out of town. They were deciding to go right or left, both ways marked with arrows. They decided to go to the left, so of course I went to the right. Bumped into the usual suspects (pilgrims) during the day but mostly walked by myself. This is the day that the rain started and didn’t stop until Santiago. Thank god for good rain gear.
I stayed at the Pension Palas. About a 5 minute walk from the center of town. Ate lunch with a couple pilgrim friends and then found a good grocery store to stock up for dinner. Slept great at Pension Palas.
Palas de Rei – Arzua.
This was my longest day 29.8 KM and it poured rain for most of it. Started again at 8am and don’t think I saw another pilgrim until close to Melide. A few of us had talked about stopping for lunch in Melide, but once we got there we decided to forge ahead. Walked in a group for awhile until slowly drifting apart due to different walking paces. I had reservations at a Casa Rural (can’t remember the name right now) outside of Arzua and a few others also decided to book rooms there. Once in Arzua, waited at a bar for the others staying at the Casa to arrive. We called the Casa who sent over 2 cars to pick us up and drive us 10 minutes into the country. Had my best meal of the trip at the Casa with other pilgrims. Probably had my worst night of sleep due to the paper-thin walls at the place. The next morning they drove us back to the exact pickup spot and we were off again in the pouring rain.
Arzua – O Pedrouzo
This was the shortest and easiest day. Rained all day, but the walk was pretty flat. Nothing memorable during the walk, but had a great time in O Pedrouzo. I stayed at Pension Maribel which was again about a 5 minute walk from the center of town. Met up with others for a late lunch and then again for dinner. Watched a soccer match with some fellow pilgrims and locals and then got a great nights sleep.
O Pedrouzo – Santiago
I got a later start than normal (about 8:20am) and ran into pilgrims I hadn’t met before. Besides the constant rain, had a great walk to Santiago. Caught up with a pilgrim friend as we approached the Cathedral and later met up with others for lunch. Enjoyed the 7:30pm pilgrim mass with my new friends then went out for our final dinner.
Equipment:
Shoes: Until my departure date I was undecided on wearing my waterproof Salomon trail runners or my Merrell mid waterproof Moabs. Went with the Moabs and glad I did. They performed great and I don’t think that the trail runners would have done as well in the rain / mud that I encountered.
Pack: Osprey Stratos 34. I am partial to Osprey and have owned smaller daypacks and larger packs for camping. I’m glad I went with the Stratos. It was a great fit and very comfortable to wear.
Rain gear: Went with REI brand for my pants and jacket. Both were definitely tested and performed great.
Timing:
I figured it was a slow time of year, but didn’t expect so many places to be closed. I would say that 90% of albergues, restaurants, bars, etc. between the bigger towns were closed. Most had signs saying they opened back up around the first week of March.
Wow, this got long! Overall it was a GREAT experience and can’t wait to go back!
Thanks to this forum and members for all of the great information and I will be happy to give back if I can.
Completed my short Camino (Sarria-Santiago) last week, and just returned home from Spain. I know most have or plan to walk further than me, but I figured a trip report might aid someone. I’ve walked bit and pieces (day trips) of the Camino over the last 20 years, and this last trip just wet my appetite even more for a longer trip. Just need to find the time to take 35 days off from work
I will try and cover trains, accommodations, equipment, etc. I pre-booked my rooms at Hostals or Pensions so I missed out on the Albergue experience, but still met a lot of great fellow pilgrims.
Madrid – Sarria
I took the train from Madrid to Sarria. The RENFE website didn’t show the trip available until just a couple weeks before I needed, but no problems once it was booked. In Sarria, I stayed at the DP Cristal. Clean, quiet, inexpensive and a great place to stay if starting in Sarria. Arrived in town around 7pm, quickly checked in, and got my first Camino stamp. I could have had dinner downstairs from my room, but decided to walk around and look for my first Camino marker. I didn’t succeed in finding a marker, but found a nice spot for dinner and a drink. I figured I would see some pilgrims in the morning and just follow them. Well, not too many pilgrims around in February but found a nice café for some coffee and they pointed me in the right direction. My Camino had begun.
Sarria – Portomarin.
First day was my favorite day of the journey, probably because it didn’t rain too much. Walked mostly by myself, but met 5-6 people who I would get to know better over the next few days. Made plans to meet up with a few for dinner in Portomarin. The sights were great and I took plenty of pics with my IPhone.
One strange experience: Got hit up for money by a pilgrim walking in the opposite direction. I don’t think I look like someone to mess with, but this guy was pretty aggressive. He could have been legitimately down on his luck, but he really rubbed me the wrong way and had to sternly tell him to get lost.
Arrived in Portomarin and checked into my room at the Portomino. Decent room but the floors in my room and in the hallway were damp and slick 24/7. Had a light lunch at the restaurant / bar just across the road. Met up with a few other pilgrims for my first pilgrim dinner at a spot near the main town square.
Portomarin – Palas de Rei.
Started my walk at 8:00am and met up with three other pilgrims once over the bridge on the way out of town. They were deciding to go right or left, both ways marked with arrows. They decided to go to the left, so of course I went to the right. Bumped into the usual suspects (pilgrims) during the day but mostly walked by myself. This is the day that the rain started and didn’t stop until Santiago. Thank god for good rain gear.
I stayed at the Pension Palas. About a 5 minute walk from the center of town. Ate lunch with a couple pilgrim friends and then found a good grocery store to stock up for dinner. Slept great at Pension Palas.
Palas de Rei – Arzua.
This was my longest day 29.8 KM and it poured rain for most of it. Started again at 8am and don’t think I saw another pilgrim until close to Melide. A few of us had talked about stopping for lunch in Melide, but once we got there we decided to forge ahead. Walked in a group for awhile until slowly drifting apart due to different walking paces. I had reservations at a Casa Rural (can’t remember the name right now) outside of Arzua and a few others also decided to book rooms there. Once in Arzua, waited at a bar for the others staying at the Casa to arrive. We called the Casa who sent over 2 cars to pick us up and drive us 10 minutes into the country. Had my best meal of the trip at the Casa with other pilgrims. Probably had my worst night of sleep due to the paper-thin walls at the place. The next morning they drove us back to the exact pickup spot and we were off again in the pouring rain.
Arzua – O Pedrouzo
This was the shortest and easiest day. Rained all day, but the walk was pretty flat. Nothing memorable during the walk, but had a great time in O Pedrouzo. I stayed at Pension Maribel which was again about a 5 minute walk from the center of town. Met up with others for a late lunch and then again for dinner. Watched a soccer match with some fellow pilgrims and locals and then got a great nights sleep.
O Pedrouzo – Santiago
I got a later start than normal (about 8:20am) and ran into pilgrims I hadn’t met before. Besides the constant rain, had a great walk to Santiago. Caught up with a pilgrim friend as we approached the Cathedral and later met up with others for lunch. Enjoyed the 7:30pm pilgrim mass with my new friends then went out for our final dinner.
Equipment:
Shoes: Until my departure date I was undecided on wearing my waterproof Salomon trail runners or my Merrell mid waterproof Moabs. Went with the Moabs and glad I did. They performed great and I don’t think that the trail runners would have done as well in the rain / mud that I encountered.
Pack: Osprey Stratos 34. I am partial to Osprey and have owned smaller daypacks and larger packs for camping. I’m glad I went with the Stratos. It was a great fit and very comfortable to wear.
Rain gear: Went with REI brand for my pants and jacket. Both were definitely tested and performed great.
Timing:
I figured it was a slow time of year, but didn’t expect so many places to be closed. I would say that 90% of albergues, restaurants, bars, etc. between the bigger towns were closed. Most had signs saying they opened back up around the first week of March.
Wow, this got long! Overall it was a GREAT experience and can’t wait to go back!
Thanks to this forum and members for all of the great information and I will be happy to give back if I can.
