Craig Henderson Europe '23 Part 11 - Camino Frances
20 September 2023 - Sarria, northern Spain; day prior to start of last stage of Camino de Santiago de Compostela (the Camino Frances)
Are the Caminos de Santiago the most well known multi-day walks in Europe? Or even the world? It’s a legitimate question. In both Australia and the UK, when I say: “I’m going to do some multi-day walks in Europe”, the most common response I get is: “are you doing the Camino de Santiago”? Or, more typically: “are you doing the camino de whatsitcalled…..you know, that pilgrim walk in northern Spain?”
OK, so the precise name might elude people but it seems that everyone knows that there is a walk across the top of Spain to a town that has been a Christian pilgrim destination for centuries. And half the people you speak to, either know someone who has done it or someone who plans to do it.
UNESCO’s 1993 conferral of World Heritage Site status has contributed to this widespread awareness, but popular culture has had a hand as well. Over the last 20 years there’s been a spate of books, movies and documentaries covering the various caminos. The most well-known of these is probably the 2010 movie, The Way, starring Martin Sheen.
There are a number of recognised pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela, some of which commence outside Spain. The most popular route is known as Camino Frances. It covers about 790 kilometres from St Jean Pied de Port in south-west France to Santiago.
My daughter Zara and son Ryan are joining me to undertake the last stage of the Camino Frances. This is the 115 km stretch from Sarria to Santiago.
Whilst I am thrilled to be walking with Ryan and Zara, I do have some reservations about this particular walk. For one thing, it goes against the grain to parachute in to this final stage of the Camino Frances. Will we feel like frauds as we share the final miles with those who have trekked all the way from St Jean?
Also, don’t these ancient pilgrim paths take populated and direct routes established over time to deliver pilgrims to their destination as quickly and safely as possible? Obviously, pilgrims have bigger things on their minds than attractive scenery.
And aren’t the Camino trails - and the Camino Frances in particular - crowded?
I hope these reservations are unwarranted. I’ll tell you in six days time.
21 September 2023 - Day 1 of Last stage of Camino Frances: Sarria to Portomarin (23 km; 5.5h)
Marcella, our host in our small hotel in Sarria, is charming and effervescent. She delights in welcoming her guests, bringing them together and sending them off in high spirits. Last night, as we headed up to our room at 9.00pm, she was standing outside the hotel waiting for her last guest to arrive, looking for all the world like an anxious shepherdess. We met the ‘lost sheep’ (Tara) at breakfast this morning. When Tara had arrived at 9.30pm last night, having not eaten, Marcella had taken her out to dinner.
Energised by Marcella’s crepes and chocolate sauce, we’re out walking before 8.00am. It’s not fully light yet and a bit misty, but there are plenty of walkers around. Excited babble in different languages wafts around us.
The first six km’s involve some gentle climbing. We’re on a mixture of minor sealed roads and unsealed paths that are wide enough for vehicle access but clearly rarely used for that. I’m surprised by the countryside. The gentle, rolling hills are very green and well-wooded. We pass by a number of farms and farmhouses but the agricultural activity is sporadic and low-level. It’s quite reminiscent of western Ireland.
There’s no shortage of food and drink venues. Some are very simple converted farm buildings that pilgrims of old might have recognised; others are new and purpose built. The more stylish of the latter would probably outrage the pilgrims of old.
After a few hours, our fellow walkers have dispersed, although you can always see some others ahead or behind you. It has the feeling of the middle of a fun run. Everyone is cheerful and supportive, conversations can be started easily, people have found their pace and are generally travelling comfortably.
Before we know it, the night’s stop of Portomarin is spotted in the distance. The pleasant path has soaked up the kilometres. The town sits above the wide Rio Mino and its associated reservoir. It’s a manageable size and has an attractive, vehicle-restricted central area.
22 September 2023 - Day 2 of Last stage of Camino Frances: Portomarin to Palas de Rei (25 km; 6.0h)
When considering walking part of the Camino in September, I’d been concerned about it being too hot. I’m not a fan of walking in heat! To address my concern, I pushed the walk back in my scheduling to the end of September. I also took some comfort from the the fact that the last stage is through Galicia which, with its hilly and wooded terrain, provides cooler walking conditions than further east.
My concerns look as if they are going to be unfounded (at least for our chosen week). Yesterday, the temperature peaked at 20C and there were a couple of showers. It’s drizzling as we start this morning, and on the cool side (maybe 14C). The forecast for the next few days suggests sunny weather with maximum temperatures ranging between 20 and 23C. Nothing to fear in that!
The drizzle increases to rain on a couple of occasions this morning and, as a result, the cafeterias along the route are very busy. It feels odd to be dealing with crowds and queues on a multi-day walk. At our first stop today, I bowl up to the bar to order, thinking the queue is for the WC. My fellow walkers inform me, a little harshly I feel, that the queue is for the bar.
The walking today is similar to yesterday, although there is more road walking today. There is little vehicle traffic on the roads, but they’re still roads. Around lunchtime we reach the high point for the day, Sierra de Ligonde (750m). It’s a good vantage point for the surrounding hills.
Palas de Rei is our resting place for the night. It doesn’t have the same focused central area as Portomarin and there’s quite a bit of traffic rushing through it.
Dinner provides some unusual entertainment. The bar/restaurant we choose turns out to be hopelessly understaffed. The sole waitress becomes more and more irate and agitated as people outrageously enter the premises to ask about getting a table. She loudly denies request after request and gesticulates wildly as she shoos them out. Periodically she engages in a shouting match with the kitchen about goodness knows what. They totally mess up our order but we’re far too intimidated to say anything.
23 September 2023 - Day 3 of Last stage of Camino Frances: Palas de Rei to Melide (15 km; 4.0h)
A shorter day today so we resist the pilgrim urge to rise before dawn. It’s a clear morning and the temperature, as we get under way at 9.00am, is only 7C.
There’s more track walking today, compared to yesterday. Not single-file tracks, think more four wheel drive type tracks. Though many of them have clearly been around for a long time and have probably always been pilgrim paths. Between hamlets or farm buildings, the tracks are often lined by large oak or pine trees.
We have morning tea with the missing sheep from Day 1, Tara. Today is a challenging day for Tara as she has to cover 30km’s and she’s developed some hip pain. Tara is (originally) from Killarney, my next destination after Spain, and provides me with a few pub suggestions.
Around the middle of the day we reach the hamlet of Furelos. A traditional band is playing and, to our delight, a group of nuns is dancing to the music. We then discover that a medieval festival is taking place in the village. Numerous people dressed up in medieval clothing are milling around and role playing. We’re now uncertain whether the nuns were the real thing or not.
Melide is a largish town which is famous for pulpo galega galician, an octopus dish. The main street is lined with pulperios, eateries devoted to this delicacy. It’s boiled in a muddy-looking broth then served with paprika. It’s quite tender and flavoursome but we don’t manage to finish the plate.
24 September 2023 - Day 4 of Last stage of Camino Frances: Melide to Arzua (15 km; 4.0h)
A warmer 12C this morning as we stroll off shortly before 9.00am. Melide hasn’t made much impression on us. Its cause wasn’t helped by our hotel being situated on the outskirts, in a semi-industrial area. We’ll remember it as the pulpo town.
Early on we pass a small chapel, Igrexa de Santa Maria de Melide. There’s a throng of our fellow walkers around the entrance. We’re impressed by their apparent spiritual fervour until we realise that there’s a table with a sello stamp out the front. Most walkers carry a pilgrim passport (or credencial) with them. This is a booklet used to accumulate stamps or sellos from churches, hostels, shops and eateries along the route.
There’s a slightly jarring concurrence of religious and commercial goals here. Sellos in your credencial provide the proof that you’ve walked the camino required by the authorities at the Cathedral of Santiago. That proof then entitles you to the Compostela, the traditional certificate given to pilgrims since the 13th century. But it also incentivises walkers to frequent commercial venues and some venues use them to lure walkers in. Humans being humans, some turn the gathering of sellos into a competition.
Four days in, we’re starting to get a sense of the make-up of our fellow walkers. It feels like about 50% would be Spanish. Amongst the Spaniards, all age-groups seem fairly represented and the male/female split looks pretty even.
Of the non-Spanish contingent, North Americans are the most prominent, but there are probably an equal number of (collectively) Italians, French, Germans and Portugese. After that, I’d say the Irish and then citizens of the UK. Australians are, maybe, next in order. The demographics are different amongst the non-Spanish - those in their 50’s and beyond are over-represented. Also, I think there are more women than men in the non-Spanish contingent.
We arrive in Arzua shortly after 2.00pm. It’s only 23C but it feels warmer as the day is cloudless and there was not much shade over the last hour or so. As it’s early, we’ve no great desire to go to the hotel yet. Typically, the hotel rooms are standard hotel rooms and only a couple have had a guest lounge. Luckily, the town square is fully-treed and a restaurant/bar occupies a corner. We find the shadiest spot and settle in for a couple of hours of sangria, cards and people-watching.
25 September 2023 - Day 5 of Last stage of Camino Frances: Arzua to Rua (18 km; 4.5h)
Ryan and Zara have developed sizeable blisters on their little toes. I have some experience of this common walker ailment (!) and have a few techniques for addressing it. They’re not full proof but they should get R and Z through the next couple of days.
It’s going to be 25C today, our warmest day so far. We’re hoping for shade and, happily, there’s plenty of it in the first couple of hours. The path meanders through a series of small woodlands, separated by pastures and the occasional hamlet. The hills are gentle, with no drawn out climbs.
We plan our dinner destination quite carefully (and try to book) because in some of the towns/villages the restaurants get very busy. But lunch we just take it as it comes. You can always find something and pre-planning seems over-prescriptive to us. At lunch today, we luck out with an interesting menu and an English speaking waiter with the time and inclination to explain it to us. My Ensaladilla is comprised of: potato salad, green salad, carrots, boiled egg, tuna, mayo and black olive powder. Washed down with homemade iced lemon tea. On a warm day, a perfect walker’s lunch!
This afternoon we pass through a few eucalyptus forests. We’ve seen stands of eucalypts throughout the walk but there seem to be more of them here. At times, you would swear you’re in the Australian bush! A bit of googling tells us that they were introduced to Spain in the 19th century when a Galician monk who had been a missionary in Australia brought some seeds back with him. Over many years, they’ve been encouraged by governments and the timber industry due to their rapid growth. Now there’s some controversy around their proliferation as they are seen as having exacerbated catastrophic forest fires in October 2017 and being detrimental to local flora and fauna.
26 September 2023 - Day 6 of Last stage of Camino Frances: Rua to Santiago de Compostela (22 km; 5.0h)
Today is a momentous day for all Camino walkers. It’s the day we walk into Santiago de Compostela, our destination.
If you’ve been on one of the caminos for an extended period, this is the culmination of an epic journey. For most, it would have involved significant physical hardship and perhaps sacrifice.
If the walk has been a religious pilgrimage, the goal of walking to Santiago along the very same path that pilgrims have followed for centuries and worshipping at the Cathedral of Santiago is within grasp. Your dream of walking into Santiago as a peregrino is soon to be realised.
Our period on the Camino Frances has been a relatively short six days. On reaching Santiago, we will have walked 115 km. Not enough to generate the extreme emotions of those mentioned above, but certainly enough to warrant a modicum of satisfaction.
The first couple of hours of walking today are some of the best we’ve experienced. It’s a misty morning and as we walk through older woodlands with mossy earthen embankments on either side, I feel I’m witnessing the same environment pilgrims centuries ago would have experienced.
Santiago is bigger than I expect. From the outskirts to the centre of the old town takes almost an hour. During that time, you can sense the excitement mounting. Some walkers chatter and even sing, others prefer quiet introspection.
When we enter Plaza del Obradoira and finally come face to face with the huge and ornate facade of the cathedral, it’s hard not to gape and gasp. Walkers fill the plaza, sitting contentedly on the flagstones and soaking up the atmosphere and their achievement. People congratulate strangers. When an elderly woman plods in, she is immediately surrounded and cheered over her last few steps. The finish of this walk is like no other. Whether or not you’re religious, it’s an uplifting and life-affirming experience.
