emdee

Just back from our Camino - a mini one starting at the 102km mark.

The idea of walking the Camino came to me from Mighty Quinn on a cruise board. As I read and researched it - it began to take a life of its own and soon I was writing to various Camino operators for quotes and information and scouring the internet for camino blogs.

DH first promised to drop me and pick me up each day but as he too read about the Camino he decided to walk with me. I read somewhere that the Camino chooses you and somehow this journey very different from any other travel we have undertaken chose us. Friends were incredulous that we, two grossly overweight and sedentary people, who enjoyed staying in 5 star hotels and visiting exotic lands would undertake this ( for us) monumental historic walk.

So one year ago we began our training regimen with short walks each morning and then longer at weekends finally increasing the weekend walking to 14 and 15 km. When the time came we felt totally comfortable with the 10-20k walks scheduled for us by our camino agent but little did we know... OK more later on this.

I have always done a lot of research in picking a TA. Its not just the price but the quality of the operator that is important. So when I went to South Africa I used And beyond, then known as cc africa, and when I went to east africa I used Sandi who is a regular on the Africa board and was entirely satisfied. I sent emails to a few agents and got varying replies in both prices and quality. There were the luxury caminos where they would have a car following you and providing aircon, chilled water and iced towels, The Spa caminos where your days would end in a beautiful resort offering health, relaxation and beauty treatments. The resorts at La Toja Island, Caldas de Reis and Mondariz are some of the most famous. But though I like my creature comforts I am no Spa Girl! I liked Liz Helmore from Nativa Travel the best. She was precise, forthright and offered an itinerary that seemed to suit. I was sure that I could rough it out at a Casa Rural or whatever, for a few days of walking especially since I would enjoy the luxurious Hostal Los Reyes Catolicos with its history at the end.

lincasanova

Can't wait for the rest! Congratulations!

taconictraveler

Congratulations is right! so glad you did this, and that you will tell us about it. It has been intriguing me for a while, mostly because of travel reports on this board, which I find fascinating, and of course, THE movie!

I know I will never do it, but I do want to read about it. so, Thanks, and waiting for more.

emdee

A few weeks after we decided on Liz my brother and his wife who live in India decided to join us on this trip - this only increased the excitement for us.

Our trip began with visits to Madrid, Toledo,and then on to key Camino towns which we would not walk but would visit.Salamanca, Leon, Astorga, Ponferada, Villafranca del Bierzo and O Cebreiro. The church bells rang in the evening for the pilgrims at Villafranca and the square was filled with peregrinos eating their night meal. Early morning past our guest house we watched them walk by some of them singing.

The winds were really high in O Cebreiro and as we saw the pilgrims climb up the hill we admired their fortitude. Our final night pre Camino ended in Lugo where we turned in the car.

Liz's ( Nativa) itinerary took over in the morning in Lugo where our driver Victor picked us up in a comfortable van and drove us to purchase our credentials and any last minute items in Sarria before dropping us off at Lavandeira. Our Camino had begun.

I had been kind of nervous that a lot of the Camino walkers would look down at us with our day packs and brand new Columbia wash and wear clothes The first day therefore began with some trepidation that soon ended in relief. Yes there were those who had clearly walked from Pamplona,or Leon or even Roncesvalles but there were a lot of others who looked liked us hauling a small day pack on their backs with sticks in hand. People were friendly right away and we soon began to talk to this priest from Leon who was originally from the US.

emdee

Cruisluv and myself were writing to each other about this topic going back a year so its great that both of us were able to do this this year!

emdee

All the walking we had done in our flat suburban community of Unionville, Ontario, though delightful, did not prepare me for the hills of Galicia. That and the 34 degrees hot, sunny weather undid me on the first day. After a wonderful Menu del Dia at Mercadoiro for my family and for myself a Tuna Empanada I found myself lagging behind with my water over. There began a hellish final few kilometres to Portomarin with my toes killing me with the downhills. At one point I didnt know whether my sugars were too low (am an insulin dependent diabetic) or whether I was dehydrated. I hastily ate a candy and sat down in the shade to drink the last of my water which was pretty warm by that point. Just before the bridge to Portomarin my DH was waiting for me. He had heard from others that I was resting but appeared ok. I was thankful to see him and felt almost delirious at that point. I quicly gulped all the water he had and I slowly made my way across the bridge clinging to him for support. Fortunately on crossing the bridge we found a small store by a pool who had ice cold water - I think I drank two whole bottles.

Our destination was Casa Rural Santa Marina a simple lodging by the river. I almost fell into Mario's welcoming arms and was soon fortified with more iced water. We had a lovely wooden cabin type room with AC. Yeah! I needed the aircon so badly that day.

Dinner that night was Caldo Gallego, salad, pork and fries. The pork looked unappetizing as it was cut into strange chunks and not our north american cuts. But all the food was absolutely delicous and the chef Enrique in full chef's coat very charming. The salads were fresh picked from their own gardens. Mario also gave us wine and a local liqueur to end the meal. Replete and tired we had a good night's sleep.

I thought the dehydration was behind me and tomorrow would be a new day and all would be well but this didnt end up being the case.

baladeuse

I'm so happy to be reading this, as my DH and I have been talking about doing the Camino, possibly next year. As my son has Type I diabetes, I know that balancing physical activity and sugar levels can be quite tricky, so I am in very impressed with your accomplishment. Congratulations!

You are doing the Camino just the way I have imagined, so I am really looking forward to reading about your trip. I have lots of questions but will wait to see if they are answered in the course of your report.

BTW I also live in Ontario.

jgg

Enjoying reading this. I have two friends walking the Camino right now, about half way through their 30 day trek. They have been hampered by blisters, swollen ankles, etc. One friend is now required to wear compression socks. They were trying to be "pure" - they do not have a driver, carry everything on their backs, but they did decide to take a bus the other day, which gave them two days to rest and still stay on track. I think they too sound as though they are a bit overwhelmed. Looking forward to reading more.

emdee

Baladeuse, both my brother and myself are Type 2 but both of us use insulin.
I carried my insulin in frio pack. My brother however had a pack that didnt work. This made his insulin spoil and we had a bit of drama later on in the Camino where he had to purchase fresh insulin. Fortunately, DH is a Physician and on the strength of that the local doctor in Arzua wrote him a fresh prescription at no charge and he was able to purchase insulin from the store.

The different food, exercize levels etc are killers because its hard to control. My doctor said when in doubt go high but how high is always the question. Sometimes my sugar would go up because of the heat and exertion but then in two hours would come down quite a bit. I am used to travelling and adjusting but its always an art and not a science!

emdee

Day 2 Portomarin to Lestedo. A bit misty and foggy which was welcome after the heat. Very early on I knew that my toes were shot. I began to walks backwards on the downhills when possible and never thought that I would welcome the uphills which I hated on day 1.The day took its toll on me, physically. Day one when I was confused with dehydration it was more mental but here it was definitely physical.

I had taken 2 pairs of shoes ( Merrells) one half a size bigger and one 1 size bigger. I made the mistake of wearing the half size bigger pair the first two days. On the downhills there was no space between my nails and my shoes so I ended the day with a lot of pain. Figuring it was par for the course I just soldiered on all day waiting to get to the Rectoral de Lestedo which was a restored Rectory.

The Rectoral is a beautiful property with gorgeous views and lovely rooms. No aircon but otherwise beautiful. Our bags were waiting for us - forgot to say earlier that TA Liz had arranged baggage transfers with Zacotrans and except on one day they were pretty good.
After resting up we had dinner which we had selected from choices offered earlier,on arrival. For starters I had baked mushrooms followed by chicken both excellent. Everyone had the mushrooms but the others had the hake. All felt that the hake was tasteless - a sprinkling of Williams Sonoma chilli lime spice would have been nice!
I cannot remember desserts which is a sad thing. Pre diabetes desserts were a highlight of my life but now they are just relagated to being another course. I am sure that Santiago almond cake was one of the options as this was consistenly offered along with icecream at most meals. I think DH had cheese and quince.
As usual wine accompanied the meal but as I am not a wine drinker it didnt impact me much. I likely had half a glass of white. DH had the red which he said was OK.

We found that an Irish group were also at the Rectoral. They seemed to be fun loving and fun drinking - starting the wine at teatime and carrying on into the night with a lot of chatter. At 11pm they ended the chatter with a hymn. Sleep finally came to me then. The walls in these country properties are not made very thick and sounds carry really easily.

My one comment about the Rectoral which is gorgeous in every respect is that it lacked warmth. I missed Mario who has soundly kissed me on both cheeks on departure admonishing me to take care of myself in Spanish. At the rectoral, the man who served the food and seemed to run the place would have no problem finding an alternate career in a funeral home. He didnt even wish us the customary Buen Camino when we went to have our credentials stamped. But no matter another day would soon begin....

lincasanova

I'm enjoying your observations

Marija

Waiting for more!

emdee

Day 3.
Toes now a bit red but no blistering we began an early morning journey towards Palas de Rei which was to end in O Coto-Leboreiro.

During this journey some of the faces became more familiar. The young and athletic ones with their 40 k a day walks rushed past us in a blur. Older folks like us stopped to look at the scenery, the horreos, summber flowers and farm animals. In Palas the Rei we passed a huge bakery operation with a ton of delivery vans outside. I decided to venture in for the promise of warm fresh bread just out of the oven. Saw various empanadas on a table just out of the oven. These are round in Spain and made similar to apple pies and were unusual to me as I am more used to the half moon empanadas served in Argentina or Chile. I asked her what kind she had and whether she would sell me one all through sign language and a few words. We have no Spanish at all. She replied that she can 3 kinds, Bacon and Chorizo, Tuna, and one other kind which I cannot recall. We bought the fatty and tasty Bacon one for the princely sum of 6 Euro instead of a quarter for 5 euro at the restaurants. We gestured and asked her to cut it for us. She obliged cutting it into 4 quarters and making two separate packages for each one of our knapsacks. She was really amused that I gave her the 10E note while DH put his hand out and took the change. This was our system. I kept the notes handy in an outside pocket of my purse he took the change and put it in shirt pocket that had a velcro closure. We sat outside the bakery on a step eating the delicous and fatty warm pie packing the rest for later.

By the time we reached the church in San Xulian I couldnt really feel my toes especially my big toe. It was one blur of pain. The backward walking continued on downhill portions until we finally reached the Casa de Los Somoza in O Coto.
My family had already arrived at the Casa and were resting. We had a quick shower and sat on the patio with a drink of wine and water ( for me). Dh enjoyed the wine along the road. Drats the Irish were there so that meant another late night! They were actually really nice people. It was a lovely breezy day and as I looked down at my right toe which was huge and red. Left was red as well. DH was going to have to perform some surgery that night.

Marie Puri or Mama Somoza as she was affectionately called by my sister in law was the hostest with the mostest. She fed us well with delicious food and excellent wine. Her salad was a huge confection which was enough for two or three normal people and kept admonishing us to finish her offerings or she would be offended.

Our room was large with three beds - one served as a staging area - we do not travel light! Unfortunately the bathroom was dark and mouldy.

Post dinner the surgery was performed and DH pronounced that one toe would likely lose a nail. I wont bore you with the amount of seris fluid or whatever came out of it but it was considerable and the toe now looked like a deflated balloon. It hurt me through the night and it was a good thing that the room was airless and warm as even the touch of a sheet was excruciating.
I dont know what kept me up more the airless room,the sounds of the irish or the pain but finally at 12 or 1 I dropped off into a stupor albeit without any wine.

lincasanova

I can feel your pain!!

emdee

The next day was our rest day as we had a two nighter at Somoza. We were to walk the 5k to Melide with a taxi to bring us back after lunch.

I decided to wear my walking sandals with socks. The day was wonderful comfortably cool and misty early on but sunny after noon. Each step at this point hurt - even the rubbing of the sock over the now bandaged blisters. Fortified with Tylenol and the prospect of the Pulpo I walked on. It was a really pleasant walk into Melide with the opportunity to rest along the way.

Once in Melide, I decided that I would walk in sandals for the rest of the way. Since I had carried an older pair of sandals I decided to purchase a new pair and carry it each day in my knapsack. I did this from this day forward but in the end the sandals held and I brought them home.

It was suggested that we try Pulperia A Garnacha but after inspecting the place and clientele and walking along to Ezequiel which was recommended by both Brierley and Cruiseluv we decided on the latter. We were not sorry as the Pulpo was delicious. Our taxi came precisely at 3pm and we had an early and restful evening before our walk to Arzua.

Dinner was fried fish and some other delicious stuff. The Somozas didnt disappoint when it came to victuals. They served a white Tosca wine which was crisp and very pleasant as well.

The Irish also overnighted at Samoza but I cannot remember their noise that night and went to sleep well drugged. DH carries a complete apothecary with us on any of our travels and I was thankful that oblivion was sweet and early.

emdee

Day 5 Melide to Arzua was a misty foggy day which was good. The cab came to pick up to take us to Melide on time. The terrain got interesting after Boente. The ups and downs both horrendous but with the sandals and socks and only the occasional twinge and being well medicated I managed ok. We took frequent rest stops and so did everyone else. Finding an occasional tree stump or boulder was a challenge but at least there was no blazing sun. At one point I snacked on wild black raspberries they were plump and delicious by a bridge. Our hotel was towards the end of Arzua and we were impatient to get there. Now we were always careful to keep all bottles of water full at all times.

Casa Restaurante Teodora was a motel type operation but the room was refurbished and newish and bright. We had both lunch and dinner at the Casa. In Spain, I became totally addicted to the green salads that came with a ton of other things as well: Tuna, tomatoes, olives and bottled asparagus. They used boston lettuce here and the salad leaves were buttery and fresh. The leaves of the lettuce in Spain were so different from out tired supermarket stuff. Of course I am aware that food tastes better when you are tired and hungry as well. The second course was chicken and they had used a bit of curry when crisping the skin. Although a leg piece the chicken was lean and tasty - maybe free range. I think I had the same meal for both meals with the samller salad at dinner.

No sign of the Irish - that meant a good night's sleep for me and that is what it was.

My sister in law's prayers to StJames seemed to have worked as we had no rain again though it was forecast and the clouds threatened a bit. A camino in Galicia with no rain - indeed a miracle from St James.

Around this time we began to see families with young kids. Some of them walked, others were in carriages and others were held in the arms. One young girl was only about 8 or 9 and skipped alongside her parents. They were travelling the hard way with their packs on their backs but were doing 10 or 12 k a day. Wow. I was so impressed with her. One family was travelling with a baby in a carriage and two dogs. An older gentleman had a three wheeler cart with his backpack and other possessions. I was filled with admiration for them especially since I had my two trusty American Touristers with the kitchen sink in them. The demographic had changed a bit too. There appeared a lot of older people - even some in the 70s. Here was I fussing about my feet, my arthritic knees and my blood sugar when they were 15 or twenty years older than me ( I am 59) and walked slowly but without complaint. I felt diminished by them. The bulk of walkers were European a smattering Brit and American. We did see someone with a Canadian backpack but I have been told that doesnt signify anything. I guess we were the only 2 Canadian East Indians we saw and my family the only 2 Indians!

lincasanova

emdee, I am sure you are a huge inspiration to many out there wondering "if they can do it".

cruiseluv

emdee, how great to see you here and read all about your Camino! I was following you "virtually" since you had sent me your itinerary. So sorry about your problems with the feet, hope they're recovered by now.Oh yes, that downhill to Portomarín is a killer!
You were so brave to walk backwards! I don't think I could have ever attempted that.

Looking forward to the rest! Welcome back.

adrienne

I'm going to try the same walk next year and also need to get into shape so I'm following your tales of foot problems closely.

I looks like you should have walked hills (up and particularly down) which is not a problem for me as there is nothing but hills where I live and one really nasty hill in particular that has a sidewalk. I will definitely be able to do this hill before the Camino.

Then the shoe problem. I had never thought about buying shoes that were too large. One time I had a pair of boots that were too large and I kept tripping. What does everyone think about buying shoes larger than normal?

Did you get a pedicure before you left so your nails were smooth and cut short?

emdee

I read a lot on the Camino and bought good shoes from MEC ( Canadian version of REI). The person who sold me the shoes had walked the Camino himself. He advised that there should be a space so that toes dont get hurt. YOu actually try them on a slope in the shop. I used the shoes for 6 months. I do also have high arches so sometimes the upper part of my feet touch the shoe but these pairs were comfy.

People also get larger shoes as the feet can swell. Mine didnt at all.

I had my feet done but because I am diabetic they will not cut my nail too close. My nails were filed and smooth.

If I had done some slopes before going especially some severe ones on rocky terrain i wouldnt have had a problem. As it was I walked on slight inclines and mostly flat ground.

It is what it is. yes I was upset and in pain but I didnt let me spoil my experience.

Everything cannot be perfect and the weather was. Also Nativa arrangements. Couldnt ask for more there.