The penultimate day … Even if we were planning to carry on to Finisterre, it still felt like our focus – like most of the others on the trail – was on Santiago. We took our key back to the hotel and went for breakfast across the street from it. Nanci went to get money … More CP Coastal day 14 – Caldas de Reis to Padron

The next morning, Nanci had to take the Beast back to the café for the pickup, and with the skies threatening rain, I decided to just start off at a slow pace and let her catch up. Turns out I hit pilgrim rush hour, to the extent that when I joined a cluster* of them … More CP Coastal day 12 – Redondela to Pontevedra

Leaving Vigo city centre is about a 4 km tarmac walk, but fairly easy. We followed a straight street for ages, stopped by small bakeries and fruit shops to pick up tiny Santiago cakes, bananas, apples and an avocado – the upside of being in an urban area. We were aiming for a bar where … More CP Coastal day 11 – Vigo to Redondela

Nanci’s birthday! We had two treats planned: a sushi meal and shopping at Decathlon in Vigo. But first – a trio of beaches for a birthday walk. From the other side of the river we followed green shells and arrows instead of the normal yellow – this is an alternative, beach heavy route. Beach one: … More CP Coastal day 10 – Sabaris to Vigo

We started the day by going back to the same bar to have breakfast, sadly without bumping into the lovely Canadian ladies again, though the place was full of pilgrims. Shortly after picking up the trail we ran into a local man with an umbrella – it was threatening rain on and off – who … More CP Coastal day 9 – Viladesuso to Sabaris

We started the day with a bit of a logistical mystery – according to my guidebook there should be a place called Hiringuito about half way, serving food and drink, but there was no sign of it on the Wise Pilgrim app. The very helpful man at reception searched Google for it, and then realised … More CP Coastal day 8 – A Guarda to Viladesuso

Today we would be leaving Portugal and enter Spain by boat from Caminha. We hadn’t walked for long before we could see the volcano looking mountain top on the other side of the water. Nanci had booked tickets for the crossing the day before, and there are two companies competing for business, so make sure … More CP Coastal day 7 – VP de Ancora to A Guarda

The night before I had heard from my camigo David that it was indeed possible to walk all the way from Viana along the shore, so we did. There were areas of soft sand, but manageable, some adventurous route choices, and most of all beautiful views. The only problem with this stage was that facilities … More CP Coastal day 6 – Viana to Vila Praia de Ancora

The next morning, after a brilliant hotel breakfast with Everything (yes, including hard boiled eggs), we asked the receptionist where the best trail was, because our guidebooks disagreed. She said we had to choose between sand and road, which both sounded like tough going. Luckily Nanci has long experience with beach walks, so she decided … More CP Coastal day 5 – Amorosa to Viana do Castelo