Travels Past & Future

Thursday 14/05/2026 Travel Day – Santiago to Madrid to Barcelona We’d asked for a breakfast box the night before since we needed to leave by 7:00 AM. Reception called a cab, and it arrived within two minutes. The station was only five minutes away. Which means… we probably could’ve squeezed in a quick breakfast after all, but we weren't the only ones with brown paper bags on the platform. On the train, there wasn’t enough room in the luggage racks for all our bags. So Kim’s suitcase ended up wedged between us, our legs turned sideways to make it work. Luckily, it was only a three-hour ride. Once we arrived in Madrid, we had a cup of tea, shared a couple of Twix bars, and headed through luggage control. My bag got flagged. “You have eating utensils?” “Yes.” I pulled out my cutlery set and opened it. The second security officer smiled—then asked the first one about the knives. She didn’t like my steak knife. Or my butter knife. Personally, I think I could do more damage with a...

Wednesday 13/05/2026 Today was all about Santiago. We decided to attend the early 7:30 AM Mass at the cathedral and had the opportunity explore the cathedral before the crowds arrived. Best decision we could have made. We had the rare chance to go down into the crypt and visit the tomb of St. James, and I was completely overcome. The tears just came—I couldn’t hold them back. The last time we were here, the line stretched around the main altar with an estimated wait of over an hour. Today, there were only about 50 people. At the midday service, you can’t even find a seat unless you arrive more than an hour early, and you certainly can’t wander the cathedral. After such an emotional morning, we went back to the hotel for a late breakfast, then spent the rest of the day strolling around town, picking up souvenirs. We had lunch at the bar behind the cathedral where they were setting up for the evenings concert. They were testing the sound system, so we were entertained by the music and...

Tuesday 12/05/026 The Camino is behind me, so now it’s time to switch into sightseeing mode. Who needs a lie-in when there are places to explore? Breakfast was at 7:30 sharp, and then it was off to the meeting point for our bus trip to Finisterre. Seven stops in total—here’s how it went. Stop 1: Ponte Maceria A 13th-century bridge and waterfall, with a legend attached: this is where St. James supposedly crossed while fleeing Roman soldiers. After his party made it across, the original bridge collapsed. The waterfall has been standing witness ever since. Fun fact: American actor John Malkovich often vacations here, staying at the local manor house. Coaches were pulling in and tourists were converging on the tiny village, but through it all, one old man just kept fishing like nothing was happening. Stop 2: Muros We visited the old St. Peter’s Church, mostly destroyed in the 18th century and partially rebuilt in Romanesque style since then. We also grabbed a quick cup of tea—sometime...

Monday 11/05/2026 The Last Walk Today is our final day on the Camino Portuguese—our last day of walking. We spend breakfast with our new friends, all of us talking about the day ahead and the moment we’ll finally arrive in Santiago. After wishing everyone a Buen Camino and a safe journey home, we make sure we’re ready to go. Blisters tended to, backpacks on, and a spring in our step (at least for now), we leave our accommodation. The trail feels lighter today. Not just because the end is near and we have just over 10km left—it’s something I can’t quite explain. There are still hills ahead, including the uphill climb into Santiago itself. Rain threatens, but the birds are singing along the path. My Strava app keeps robbing me of precious kilometers. Throughout the whole trip, it’s had me walking straight lines instead of following the trail’s curves, swimming across inlets, and even crossing the bay at Baiona. Alison, Julie, and I all hit record at the same time, and we never get t...

10/05/2026 - Alison  Padron to Milladoiro. Today we are walking from Padron to Milladoiro. It looks like I get to write about the days that Kim and Julie don’t walk. This is our second last day of walking so we all need to be fit for tomorrow to walk into Santiago De Compostela.  With our Mother’s Day phone calls we were all in good spirits. Thanks for making our day special. We gathered for our Mother’s Day photo all dressed in pink. Yes Megan we all wore pink again. Louise and I were off and running.  One thing that differs on the Portuguese to the St James is that the churches are not open. They are either locked or open with a locked grille. You can see in but cannot walk in. However, yesterday there was one small chapel open that I had to sing in.  Hang on stop rewind most churches were locked. We walked up to a church at the top of the steps just after we stopped for tea and cake, yes more cake.  Anyway last night the chapel in our accommodation, a bishops...

Saturday 09/05/2026 - Caldas de Reis to Padron Today we had a late start. We needed to catch a taxi back to the Camino trail and there was a severe weather warning from 2.00pm.  Our travel guide advised us not to walk if the was a weather warning, so we decided to walk the last 9 to 10km to get there before the thunderstorm hit.  Kim decided to catch a taxi to the next hotel, so Alison,  Julie and I were dropped off at Magarinos, while Kim continued on. Our walk took us past farmland, along roads and through vineyards. We took photos of the roses for Kim  as she usually stopped to smell the roses. We passed a robo-lawn mower, like a robovac but for the lawns. I could see Axel chasing it around, barking at it, while the cats ignored it. Julie - When we began the day I was immediately picked as an Australian because of my hat. After turning down an offer to trade my bushman hat for a Camino hat we began our walk. As well as vineyards and farmland we enjoyed walking...

Friday, May 8th, 2026  Another 22km day ahead of us. We set out from the Parador under cloudy skies—heaven help us when we have to go back to a Best Western motel. Crossing the Lérez River called for the mandatory selfie, and dare I say, I’m finally getting the hang of it. Today brought a few hills, but with the railway line never far away, I kept humming (okay,  singing to myself) what are the new lyrics: “I’m a-walkin’ along the railroad…” We took a break on some perfectly placed rocks, finishing the cakes we’d stashed from breakfast. Julie sighed, “I told Paul I’d come back thinner—but that’s not happening if we keep eating cake.” At our next stop for tea and yet more pastries, rain threatened overhead. Then someone nearby ordered French fries (I say French Fries because they don't know what chips are) and the smell broke us completely. We ordered some too. The rain finally arrived, so we ducked under cover, finished lunch, and pulled on our ponchos. Shortly after, Kim ...