What’s up travel lovers!
Bienvenidos and welcome back to my series
On hiking the Camino de Santiago
the northern way,
Or what they are calling
the camino del norte
This is episode 6
I will be covering
days 26 thru 30.
Starting off here in La Caridad,
and hopefully making it to Baamonde.
Well, St. James is waiting for me,
So I am going to hit the trail!
On today’s journey
I will be in close proximity of the coast
the entire day.
In less than 15 minutes
I had left the town and the pavement behind me.
I would walk through some small patches of forest,
that would often be connected with farmland.
This would continue for almost 10 kilometers
before I would reach the very charming town of
Tapia de Casariego
I would check out the port,
and then stop and enjoy
Playa del Murallón o Maleguas.
Since this was one of the last beaches
I would see on the camino.
As tomorrow
I would start to head inland
towards Santiago de Compestela.
A sign marker put me back in the right direction.
and for the next several kilometers
I would walk along country roads
with nothing but my thoughts.
It was not long until I found a small chapel,
The Ermita de San Lorenzo,
outside the small town of Santa Gadea.
As I got closer,
I was rewarded with my last beach view
of the Camino,
and it was a good one.
Playa de Penarronda.
In less than 3 kilometers
I would make it to Figueras
from where I could see the endpoint.
As I crossed the bridge
I was entering into Galicia
and the final region of the pilgrimage.
I entered Ribadeo,
got my stamp and went to bed.
[stamp]
The next morning,
I got up early and hit the trail.
I said goodbye to the coast
and started trekking inland.
In a few short kilometers,
All that was left was a glimmer of Ribadeo.
All I could see
were green hills on the horizon in front of me.
It wasn’t long before I was reminded
I was now in Galicia.
Every few hundred meters
they had really nice camino markers.
Best part was they stated how far until the end,
It was great to see the number get smaller.
The further I made it into the hills,
the deeper I got into rural areas.
It was hard to believe
that I only had one week left.
Such an amazing journey,
better I not to try to describe it
but rather you experience for yourself.
I just tried to soak it all in,
stopping to enjoy the views
and even making new friends
as often as possible.
Before I knew it,
I had arrived to Lourenza
First thing I did
was check out the
San Salvador de Villanueva Monestry.
Stunning 17th century baroque architecture,
and if the doors are open
I suggest taking a peek inside.
20 minutes later
I was determined to complete part of the days hike.
From Lourenzá I would make a steep 200m climb,
With the next few kilometers filled with great scenery.
I met another peregrino and we walked together,
Discussing our experiences so far
and in no time
we entered the historic town
of Mondoñedo.
It is one of the 7 capital cities
in the kingdom of Galicia,
and is a great place to take a break.
I take a few minutes
to explore the town
as well as checkout the Catedral de Mondoñedo,
that was built in the early 1200s.
Update Peregrinos!
It is midway point of day 28.
This is the last week of the Camino del Norte.
I can’t believe I have walked so far!
There is only 155 kilometers left
until I make it to Santiago.
I am in Mondoñedo,
it started raining but we got to keep going.
It was starting to become obvious,
that with each step I took towards Santiago,
the greater influence the camino had
on the culture of the town or village I passed.
I left Mondeñedo
with about 17 more kilometers to complete.
First entering a forest made of eucalyptus trees,
passing grazing land,
and one hill after another.
The weather was not perfect
but there was still a beauty.
A dense fog,
that gave the terrain an enchanting sensation.
If there was ever any question
if Galicia
was as green as the other regions,
There were certainly no doubts anymore.
I continued hiking
and around dusk
the fog got thicker and thicker.
Luckily,
I was close
and entered Abadín
right at total darkness.
[Stamp]
Once again
I headed out into the unknown.
After the past few days of hiking,
today’s hike was going to be a breeze.
The fog from yesterday was still looming,
but it would have to take a hurricane
to postpone me
from accomplishing my goal.
I hiked among dense forests
with muddy paths.
Fields of mushrooms were growing on thick algae.
It was pretty much a biologist’s fantasy,
and even enjoyable for a layman,
such as myself.
With a gust of wind,
leaves would rain down
reminding me that winter was near.
Even though I had left the coast,
the element of water was all around me.
Later I even passed a group of peregrinos
doing the camino by horse.
I had just a few more kilometers
before I arrived to Vilalba in late afternoon.
Today was another easy day,
so I woke up and explored
the the center of Vilalba.
There was a nice market with local delicacies.
After taking a gander,
I decided to go on my way.
The weather forecast said to expect rain,
but didn’t say when or how hard it would come.
I trekked through
some more dense forests and farmland,
and almost got caught in a stampede
as a rancher was moving his cows to a new pasture.
A relatively mellow day,
which after 29 days of hiking
was much appreciated.
It was getting dark quickly
and the rain was getting stonger,
but fortunately I was entering Baamonde.
Fighting the elements was no longer my reponsibility…
for today at least.
As you can see it was a rainy day today,
but I just made it to the albergue in Baamonde.
that means that day 30 is complete,
And unfortunately this is the end of Episode 6.
So If you have any questions
about days 26 thru 30,
hit me up in the comment box below.
Until next time, safe travels!