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 ...

6 May 2026 - Vigo to Redondela Kim Waking up in NH Collection Hotel in Vigo seemed way too fast as we arrived late last night. The day started with breakfast as usual. We advised Julie that she could eat cake and still loose weight while walking the Camino. So, for breakfast she had a plate of churros, almond cake and pastries. The rest of us had either eggs or cereal. We took cake and pastries for morning tea. The first part of our walk was through the streets of Vigo, it took about an hour to reach the outskirts of the city. Then the climb through the back streets started, up, up and up. Someone had opened up their garage and sold drinks, fruits and Louise and Alison bought a badge for their hats and we got a stamp. We were still climbing up while admiring the view of Vigo. We found a spot on the side of the road on a narrow corner and had morning tea (obviously cake for all of us). We continued on the back streets (still up) until we reached the top. Once at the top it was a pleasan...

7/5/2026 Alison We are leaving behind Redondela and hiking to Pontevedra. Our travel is lighter today. Not in kilometres or in elevation just in numbers. Julie’s blisters are all over her feet, walking would burst them all and that would not be fun. Kim on the other hand has the flu and the hills would be unbearable. She has a good reason to get better before we get back. Kim said,”We will stay and rest until 10am then off to the Paradores.” I think Kim just likes the Luxury of the Paradores’.  So off Louise and I went from our accommodation last night which was an old manour house originally built by the Franciscan monks. They were forced to leave the country in the early 20th century and the house and land went into disrepair. It has now been fully restored to its original condition and looks fantastic. Off we went down the driveway (400 metres) around the corner under the train line past the petrol station, across the highway through the heavy machinery yard and back onto the...

Tuesday 5th May Julie  We ate early and reluctantly left the comforts of the Paradores. It was a 750 metre walk just to get out onto the road to join the Camino. We began our walk around the bay in the rain with our ponchos on. The walk was flat with stones, dirt and some boardwalks. We stopped for morning tea at about 10.30 and the Paradores was so huge that we could still see it. We passed through villages, had an ice-cream at a skate cafe, detoured onto the beach at one point and tackled some steep stairs and hills. Lunch was in the shade in a secluded bay and by that stage the rain had stopped again and the ponchos were off. Then… walking again for a couple of hours.🤨We caught a cafe just before it closed for siesta for a quick cup of tea. Sometimes that’s enough to keep you going for another hour. We reached the outskirts of Vigo and decided to eat as we knew that if we didn’t then we would probably not go out again. We had walked 22 km by this stage and Kim was exhausted. Sh...

Monday, 4th May 2026 – Rest Day We kicked off the day with a late breakfast and a stunning view from our window. The Parador overlooked the water, which glittered in the morning sun—just gorgeous. But by the time we were ready to head into town, the rain had started. So instead, we explored the Parador itself. Honestly, it felt like wandering through a museum—every corner filled with art, tapestries, and ornately carved tables. There were little lounge areas everywhere, perfect for sitting, reading, or just doing nothing. After a while, we checked the weather again and set off along the walkway around the old fort wall. Naturally, we got a little sidetracked along the way. The fortress is preserved in spectacular condition. A full three kilometers of defensive walls encircle the peninsula, and you can walk along most of them . We followed the Paseo de Monte Boi—a looped walk that offers breathtaking 360-degree views of the bay, the Cíes Islands, and the wild Atlantic beyond . Also, on...

Sunday, 3rd May 2026 – Rain and the Coastal Climb We were down for breakfast by 7.30am and ready to head out the door at 8.30am. That's when the rain started. So—ponchos on. Kim and Allison had briefly considered putting on their gaiters before we left, but the rain only got heavier as we walked along the coast. Soon enough, they were wishing they'd worn them. As for me, I was testing out a different pair of hiking pants than last time. Bad idea. These ones soaked through immediately. My old ones never did that. Before long, the fabric was sticking to my legs, and rain had run straight into my socks. Every step came with a squelch. Around the 8.5km mark, we stopped for morning tea. Kim was wet, cold, and feeling her cold getting worse—especially with those soggy feet. She made the wise call to ring a taxi. Off to the Parador. Who wants to walk when you can sit in luxury. Alison, Julie, and I pressed on. We decided to take the coastal route over the mountain instead of the li...

02/05/2026 Saturday Today we walked from A Guardia to Oia. We started out around the port on a beautiful sunny day.  We mainly walked along the coast on dirt tracks with some walking on the pavement next to the road.  In Galicia the government has embraced the Camino and on the well trodden paths they have dedicated walking tracks so pilgrims don't need to walk on the road. We had a relatively short day of 14km and arrived at the hotel in time for a late lunch just 2 doors down and we even bought take away dessert to take back for dinner later that night. After lunch we made use of the laundry and washed our clothes, even the ones that didn't quite dry from the previous days. I left my poles at reception while our hostess Carmen was showing us around her beautifully renovated bed and breakfast with lots of antiques scattered around, including cast iron irons, tea cups, tea pots, plates and water jugs. The tour even  included their secret garden which looked over the ...

01/05/2026 Friday Today we walked from Vila Praia de Âncora, Portugal, to A Guarda, Spain. We started along the coast, passing donkeys and goats, plus a peloton of cyclists up on the highway—we could hear them coming long before they arrived. A celebration race for May Day, a public holiday. When we reached Caminha, we found a water taxi and crossed the Minho River into Galicia, Spain. We ordered tea and a cold drink at a café, though Kim and Alison only got half a small cup of tea. Then we ate our bread rolls in a park and decided our routes. Kim and Julie took the long, flat coastal path, while Alison and I tackled the hills to see the Celtic village ruins. When we finally reached the first house, I told Alison to look around while I waited. She took two steps up and said, "You have to see this." She was right—it was amazing. The village houses were built of stone in circular shapes, packed so closely together that you couldn't walk between some of them. Was the climb w...

30/04/2026 Thursday Another 20km day today. We were down for breakfast by 7.30am, where we also made a bread roll for lunch, cake for morning tea and filled our travel cups with fruit. Todays walk was listed as having very few services, so we made sure we had enough food. It was raining when we were about to leave, so we put on our ponchos and headed out. That's the last we saw of the rain. It started out as overcast and steadily improved throughout the day. Our stop for morning tea must have only recently reopened for the season. We ordered a cup of tea and ate our cake. We tried to only stop every hour, not counting the times everyone waited for me to catch up.  Walk an hour - 5 minutes rest. Walk an hour morning tea, repeat, lunch, repeat, afternoon tea. Our walk was a combination of boardwalks and forests with welcome shade, with the occasional road thrown in. We were going to walk the final part into Ancora along the boardwalks, but the sand dunes had totally reclaimed ...