- Time of past OR future Camino
- A few and hopefully lots more.
I walked last week from A Coruña to Muxia. As very few people seem to start at A Coruña, I thought it might be useful to post some details of my route/schedule. This was very much a 'mini-Camino' and I packed a lot of walking into a small number of days. It mightn't be everyone's cup of tea, but it was perfect for me. Tough on the feet, but great for the head!
I used the CSJ @JohnnieWalker guide to the Camino Ingles, which I really liked. It's a practical 'no-nonsense guide with no superfluous detail. So thank you @JohnnieWalker for all your efforts - and it was nice to meet you in person at the Cathedral.
I think someone posted in an earlier thread that they had difficulty printing this guide. I copied and pasted the pdf to MS Word and created a condensed A4 version that I printed and kept in my pocket. I had the full version on the kindle in case I needed it.
For the Muxia section, I had the new Brierley guide on my kindle. I didn't really use it. It's awkward on the kindle as skipping past the (IMO) non-essential detail is time-consuming. This wouldn't be an issue with the paper version.
Sunday 13 September:
Flight from Barcelona to A Coruña; arrived at around 3pm. This was the fastest airport exit ever! Within about 15 minutes of the plane landing, I was out of the airport and in a taxi.
I enjoyed a wander around A Coruña and walked 8kms from the Camino starting point at Rua Santiago to the Hotel Marisqueira. This gave me a little head-start on my first proper day of walking. There are a couple of other accommodation options noted in the guide that also allow for this head-start.
The walk out of A Coruña is nice, especially the park/promenade section. None of the churches or tourist offices were open and the people in the bars looked confused when I asked for a sello. So I've no 'proof' apart from my photos that I actually started there!
Monday 14 September
Hotel Marisqueira to Meson do Vento - about 25kms
As I was leaving, the nice guy in the hotel tried to help me by giving me directions (the hotel is 800m from the Camino). I foolishly followed his advice, rather than making sure that I retraced my steps from the previous evening. I ended up walking on a busy main road and then using the maps app on my phone to get me to Sigras by a complicated series of back roads. It was all fine in the end and a couple of local people were really helpful. As a solo female walker, I was a little nervous when a man in a white van drove past slowly and then turned around and pulled up beside me. However, he had seen that I was going the wrong way (again!) and gave me very precise directions that brought me to the St. Anthony statue with the quote about miracles. My mother would be proud
The rest of the day was uncomplicated and the weather was really pleasant. I saw no other pilgrims until Hospital de Bruma. I was glad that I had taken the advice to bring water and snacks as there were very few stopping points. I really liked this walk and would recommend it to anyone looking for some quiet time-out.
I enjoyed the friendly welcome and a great night's sleep at O Meson Novo.
Tuesday 15 September
Meson do Vento to Santiago - about 39 kms
This was a long, wet day. I didn't really use the guide as it would have dissolved in the torrential rain. I checked it a couple of times during the day, but the route was very well marked. It was nice to see a few other pilgrims during the morning. I saw none in the afternoon as everyone seemed to stop at Sigeuiro. So it was another solitary day, which was fine.
Although 39kms sounds like a long walk, it was relatively flat and much of it was on forest paths. I enjoyed it in spite of the weather, but I found the last few kms pretty tough as my feet were very wet. I was so happy to arrive at Hotel Santa Clara. This is a very pilgrim-friendly little place. The rooms are small and basic, but the people are so nice. The girl on duty even loaned me her umbrella so that I could go for a walk around Santiago that evening.
I then did the Muxia section in 3 stages:
Wednesday 16 September: Santiago to Negreira, about 22kms. Albergue El Carmen.
Thursday 17 September: Negreira to Ponte Olveira, about 31kms. Albergue Ponte Olveira.
Friday 18 September: Ponte Olveira to Muxia, about 33kms. Albergue Bela Muxia.
To be honest, the Muxia walk was the main focus of my mini-Camino and I knew that this was where I wanted to finish. Starting at A Coruña gave me an extra couple of days' walking, through similar countryside and with plenty of solitude. The Muxia stages were busier than the Ingles, but still very quiet. I was ready for some company at that stage. I had dinner with an old Camino buddy in Negreira and I'm sure that he had a sore head by the end of the evening
I ended my Camino with a swim off the rocks beside the Muxia harbour. People from warmer climates found this very amusing. Some Italian ladies even took photos!
I've made a flickr album which I will caption properly over the next few days. https://flic.kr/s/aHskkbtxqo
I used the CSJ @JohnnieWalker guide to the Camino Ingles, which I really liked. It's a practical 'no-nonsense guide with no superfluous detail. So thank you @JohnnieWalker for all your efforts - and it was nice to meet you in person at the Cathedral.
I think someone posted in an earlier thread that they had difficulty printing this guide. I copied and pasted the pdf to MS Word and created a condensed A4 version that I printed and kept in my pocket. I had the full version on the kindle in case I needed it.
For the Muxia section, I had the new Brierley guide on my kindle. I didn't really use it. It's awkward on the kindle as skipping past the (IMO) non-essential detail is time-consuming. This wouldn't be an issue with the paper version.
Sunday 13 September:
Flight from Barcelona to A Coruña; arrived at around 3pm. This was the fastest airport exit ever! Within about 15 minutes of the plane landing, I was out of the airport and in a taxi.
I enjoyed a wander around A Coruña and walked 8kms from the Camino starting point at Rua Santiago to the Hotel Marisqueira. This gave me a little head-start on my first proper day of walking. There are a couple of other accommodation options noted in the guide that also allow for this head-start.
The walk out of A Coruña is nice, especially the park/promenade section. None of the churches or tourist offices were open and the people in the bars looked confused when I asked for a sello. So I've no 'proof' apart from my photos that I actually started there!
Monday 14 September
Hotel Marisqueira to Meson do Vento - about 25kms
As I was leaving, the nice guy in the hotel tried to help me by giving me directions (the hotel is 800m from the Camino). I foolishly followed his advice, rather than making sure that I retraced my steps from the previous evening. I ended up walking on a busy main road and then using the maps app on my phone to get me to Sigras by a complicated series of back roads. It was all fine in the end and a couple of local people were really helpful. As a solo female walker, I was a little nervous when a man in a white van drove past slowly and then turned around and pulled up beside me. However, he had seen that I was going the wrong way (again!) and gave me very precise directions that brought me to the St. Anthony statue with the quote about miracles. My mother would be proud
The rest of the day was uncomplicated and the weather was really pleasant. I saw no other pilgrims until Hospital de Bruma. I was glad that I had taken the advice to bring water and snacks as there were very few stopping points. I really liked this walk and would recommend it to anyone looking for some quiet time-out.
I enjoyed the friendly welcome and a great night's sleep at O Meson Novo.
Tuesday 15 September
Meson do Vento to Santiago - about 39 kms
This was a long, wet day. I didn't really use the guide as it would have dissolved in the torrential rain. I checked it a couple of times during the day, but the route was very well marked. It was nice to see a few other pilgrims during the morning. I saw none in the afternoon as everyone seemed to stop at Sigeuiro. So it was another solitary day, which was fine.
Although 39kms sounds like a long walk, it was relatively flat and much of it was on forest paths. I enjoyed it in spite of the weather, but I found the last few kms pretty tough as my feet were very wet. I was so happy to arrive at Hotel Santa Clara. This is a very pilgrim-friendly little place. The rooms are small and basic, but the people are so nice. The girl on duty even loaned me her umbrella so that I could go for a walk around Santiago that evening.
I then did the Muxia section in 3 stages:
Wednesday 16 September: Santiago to Negreira, about 22kms. Albergue El Carmen.
Thursday 17 September: Negreira to Ponte Olveira, about 31kms. Albergue Ponte Olveira.
Friday 18 September: Ponte Olveira to Muxia, about 33kms. Albergue Bela Muxia.
To be honest, the Muxia walk was the main focus of my mini-Camino and I knew that this was where I wanted to finish. Starting at A Coruña gave me an extra couple of days' walking, through similar countryside and with plenty of solitude. The Muxia stages were busier than the Ingles, but still very quiet. I was ready for some company at that stage. I had dinner with an old Camino buddy in Negreira and I'm sure that he had a sore head by the end of the evening
I ended my Camino with a swim off the rocks beside the Muxia harbour. People from warmer climates found this very amusing. Some Italian ladies even took photos!
I've made a flickr album which I will caption properly over the next few days. https://flic.kr/s/aHskkbtxqo
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