Spain | Jenny and Stephen's Travel Adventure

Camino – A Rúa (Day 31)

Date: Fri 7th June
Distance: 20 km
Temperature: Cool/Warm
Mood: High
Left: Arzúa 9:00am
Arrived: A Rúa 2:00pm
Santiago de Composela: 20 km
Highlight: Spanish Donuts

We were in no hurry this morning as we left Arzua as we only had a leisurely 20km to cover for the day. We decided to have breakfast a little further into the town rather than at our accommodation which was just short of the town. of Arzua, Whilst we couldn’t complain about the quality of food, we weren’t given the friendly hospitality that we have become so accustomed to here in Spain, so no Sello (stamp) from her cafe!! (She was definitely not a morning person!)

The Galician trails did not disappoint with every twist and turn offering up a perfect photographic opportunity, who knows what tomorrow’s trail might bring, so better take that scene to add to all the others of a similar nature! The trail soon turned to those more familiar in Australia with forests of gumtrees. We could have been taking a stroll in the Dandenongs rather than here in Spain. We were looking out for the picnic table and BBQ – a sausage in bread would gave topped off the scene together with a kookaburra! A surreal experience, but homely and pleasant.

We started the day off in long pants, but the day warmed up enough for us to lose the zip-offs during our morning coffee and donut break (no chocolate croissants available!). We won’t tell you that this break came only an hour after our breakfast stop!

On passing the 20km mark to Santiago de Compostela, it’s hard to imagine that such a significant city is literally around the corner!

Whilst as always we enjoyed the day’s walk and the Galician countryside our attention is now shifting to focus on our last day on the Camino. As they say, it is not about the destination but the journey and we have, without hesitation or doubt enjoyed every part of our journey together that began 12 months ago!

So tomorrow is a new day, the finalé as we enter Santiago de Compostela. We try not to have any expectations other than we know we will be sharing this day with many other Pilgrims all on their own special journey.

Will we be able to make an early start to the day so we can attend the Pilgrims mass at midday?

Here’s to Mañana!

Bounced back from my night out, even with the extra sausage (note, must read comments!)

More Photo’s

Camino – Arzúa (Day 30)

Date: Thu 6th June
Distance: 28 km
Temperature: Cool
Mood: Loving it!
Left: Palas de Rei 8:00am
Arrived: Arzúa 3:45pm
Santiago de Composela: 40 km
Highlight: Ever changing Camino scenery

Today we had a pleasant change back to cooler conditions. Whilst we love to see the sun out, it does come at a cost and the cooler conditions are ideal for walking in (not so much for photographing!)

We are simply amazed at the ever changing landscape and the Camino trail makes every effort to avoid the ugly side of the larger towns so is not uncommon for us to emerge from a magical green moss covered forrest into a town and then disappear out the other side down a rural lane way with the town quickly forgotten!

We had a big walk today with plenty of undulating trails that would drop down and over a creek and then have steep climbs up to a summit. Whilst nowhere as big a climbs as we’ve encountered before on the Camino, they do take it out of you. We stopped for a number of breaks during the day with a very bad habit of stopping for coffees and chocolate croissants whenever the opportunity arose. (Whilst never as nice as the ones in Paris, anything is good!) This might account for us getting in so late in the afternoon!

Whilst there is now more foot traffic, we still had plenty of trail to ourselves to enjoy (very hard not too!) and our fellow pilgrims can be quite entertaining at times!

Our last 2 nights accommodation were booked yesterday and we weren’t disappointed with the accommodation for the evening, especially for the cost. It also had the added bonus of being directly on the trail just before the township saving us a few extra steps! Not to mention a nice big hot bath to soak the weary muscles!