After a rather lovely breakfast of eggs and bacon at the Formiga, I hit the road at a leisurely pace. It was another perfect Goldilocks kind of walking day – not too hot, not too cold, not to sunny, not too windy, in fact just right. When I got to Palas de Rei, I sat … More CF Sola 19, Day 10: Portos-Melide

When I woke up, the dorm was practically empty again. I had a chat to Helen in the bed next to me, a lovely bubbly lady who started in Sarria and was already loving it. We ended up having a coffee together before starting out, and kept each other company through the day. It was … More CF Sola 19, Day 9: Portomarin-Portos

How many favourite days can a pilgrim have? When I set out from St Jean in 2012, my companion had brought gold star stickers to mark her favourite days and ended up sticking them on each and every diary entry. That’s how the walk from Sarria feels. OK, so there might be more people on … More CF Sola 19, Day 8: Sarria-Portomarin

From Triacastela there are two paths to Sarria – one shorter, via San Xil, and one longer, via Samos, with its once incredibly powerful monastery which still hosts pilgrims in the old buildings. As you leave Triacastela you see these two markers (reasonably) clearly pointing out the two alternatives. Then as you get onto the … More CF Sola 19, Day 7: Triacastela-Sarria

Having a room instead of sleeping in an albergue meant I could wake up in my own time, nice and refreshed, and have a leisurely breakfast of café con leche and Santiago cake at my favourite table downstairs. Then it was off to find one of the two lovely green paths out of O Cebreiro, … More CF Sola 19, Day 6: O Cebreiro-Triacastela

Finally, the day of my subida favorita – my favourite uphill. Yogi and I went for a morning coffee, and who did we bump into but Piia! Suitably refreshed we started walking towards Herrerias at the bottom of the O Cebreiro climb. Walking at different speeds we agreed to meet at the last bar, by … More CF Sola 19, Day 5: Vega de Valcarce-O Cebreiro

One of the big topics the night before was whether or not people were taking the winding tarmac trail next to the road or going ‘up and over’, meaning the camino duro or Pradela route – or The Donkey Killer as we call it – a steep up and steep down greener route, significantly prettier … More CF Sola 19, Day 4: Villafranca-Vega de Valcarce

In the morning the two who came home last, were also last to leave the room. We had a coffee downstairs instead of in town, and then I went up to the square, which was almost empty at this time. Then I did what I always do when I leave Ponferrada – I got a … More CF Sola 19, Day 3: Ponferrada-Villafranca

Ah, the joys of the albergue. I had quite forgotten about the squeaky toilet door in the Mesón, which is still squeaking as loudly as ever. Coupled with the automatic light, it is bound to wake even dog tired pilgrims up. So when someone went to the toilet in the night, he or she woke … More CF Sola 19, Day 2: Acebo-Ponferrada

Finally the day had come – I was going to start walking again. And from Rabanal, one of my favourite places, to Acebo, one of my favourite walks. I am a lucky, lucky girl! The weather and temperature were both perfect. After finishing my packing – still not got the hang of it, I never … More CF Sola 19, Day 1: Rabanal-Acebo