The Camino Inglés

                                                          

Back again to fill in the gaps from the last post. It might have sounded like I spent a long time in Santiago, which is sort of true, but not completely, as between Christmas and Three Kings Day I managed to walk the Camino Inglés, sometimes in fine weather, but a good half of it in the pouring rain.

This Camino derives its name from the fact that English pilgrims would cross by boat and latterly on a ferry, and walk, either from Ferrol, or from A Coruña. These days, to qualify for a compostela, pilgrims must walk from Ferrol – unless they have walked 25 kilometres on a recognised route in their own country, in which case they can begin a A Coruña. I began in Ferrol, but did a side trip to A Coruña also. I was fortunate to experience both these cities in fine weather, even sunny at times!

                                         

Stupidly, leaving Ferrol, I missed the turn to cross the river by the road bridge, making the day much longer for me! I was pretty tired by the time I got to Pontedeume, but after a short rest and I was able to go out and explore this delightful town. It is built on the banks of the river, which are high and steep and thus wherever you go, other than along the river front or parallel to it is either up or down. It also means that the following day there is a steep, hard climb to begin the day!

I didn’t establish why, but a street, near where I was staying, has mosaic like pictures of boar imbedded in them. I can only assume that in this area there is some sort of folk heritage attached to them. Certainly in a village further along, A Ponte do Porco, there is a folk story involving a wild boar which in a nutshell goes like this: - a much respected servant fell in love with the daughter of a land holder. Another man, her suitor, was jealous and had him banished. Now married to the daughter, the husband shot a wild boar (with an arrow – this was a long time ago!), but only injured it. The boar returned and killed the wife / daughter. Some days later, the boar was left on the bridge with the servant’s dagger (given to him by the father) in it.

                                                 

Once completing the early morning steep climb, walking along the river on this day was very pleasant, spoilt at the end by the fact that I was unable to find a room anywhere. The last place I went to made enquiries for me and the only answer was to backtrack, in the intermittent rain, to the albergue. Although I had lightened my pack by leaving a box of things at the hostel in Santiago, I still, fortunately had a towel and sleeping bag with me!

                                                            

The next day walking towards Hospital de Bruma the weather gradually got worse, to the point where it seemed unsafe to be walking. I had planned to catch a bus back to Santiago for the Puerta Santa (holy door) closing and New Year. Out of the blue, a bar appeared. I decided immediately that it was time to be prudent and catch a taxi to the bus stop, three kilometres down the road. It was very bad light, about an hour before sunset, a busy road, and the wind was so strong I had to stop and brace myself sometimes because it was buffeting me off course. Added to that the rain was stinging as it was driven into my face and eyes, and was so heavy my rain gear was ineffectual, leaving me wet and cold. Anyway – the Señora insisted I only had tres (3) kilometres to walk and wouldn’t call a taxi. I couldn’t communicate the safety issues, so after generous refreshments, outside I went, turning on my flashing lights for safety, and stopping every time a car approached, eventually making it to the bus stop with plenty of time to spare, and able to change into dry clothes!

After my sojourn back in Santiago I then resumed my journey, detouring first to A Coruña to have a look at this delightful town. I didn’t have quite enough time to walk from there, join the Ferrol path, and get back to Santiago for “the kings” so another bus trip ensued, back to where I had left off. This time it was a dry day, but cold and cloudy. Both Ferrol and A Coruña are large and interesting cities. Exploring them I managed to clock up over 16 kms just walking from one landmark to another. There is a strong link to England in A Coruña, where Sir John Moore is buried, as per his wish to be buried where he fell. There is a garden where his memorial is and without really knowing much about it I got quite a surprise to see grevilleas growing and other Australian plants. It turned out that each section of the garden had plants of the different continents of the world. Though I tried hard to get to it I was unable to visit the Tower of Hercules (not sure why it is called that!). This is a lighthouse which is apparently a Roman historical monument, but darkness had fallen and so had to miss it.

After spending a day in A Coruña it was a bus journey back to where I had stopped a few days earlier. I had two stages to walk, both fairly easy, with the second day being quite short. The issue with these last two stages of the Camino Inglés is that some of it has been rerouted to shorten the total distance, but in doing this there are long stretches where, though walking on a “country road” it is a road running parallel, and next to, a major freeway! This is anything but quiet and peaceful, and gets on ones nerves after a few hours! That said, the last few kilometres into Santiago was a delight. So too was my stay in Saida hostel in Siguero. For the price of €35 I had a lovely (single) room with a spotless bathroom and a hearty breakfast, with my hostess, Bea, giving me two little “hands of luck” to take as a souvenir.

As well as passing through countless eucalyptus plantations, I even walked past a few acacia plots!

                                                          

The Camino Inglés is a delightful way, passing through some wonderful towns and villages. I think it is harder than it’s rival – the Camino Francés from Sarria, but certainly when I was walking it, it is quieter. From what I understand the re-routing means that some of the peace that this way was renowned for has been sacrificed. I enjoyed it, as I always do, even with the wind and rain! Telling a couple of pilgrim friends about the challenges I faced, they commented that I was still smiling - but if I didn’t, what else could I do??!!