Camino: Day 10 & 11-Tackling the BIG Hill!

Day 10 - June 29, 2023

We left Rendondela early in the morning. Gotta love those early mornings. I am able to clock a lot of distance when it’s still cool. Still finish after everyone else but it would be much longer after everyone else if I started later. 

Walking through the various towns we have been in, early in the morning, is really lovely. It’s quiet and there is a stillness you don’t see when you arrive in the afternoon. 

We would be tackling a couple of hills and I was anxious to see how my hip held up. 

We started off at a good pace and it felt like the first five miles clocked right along. That’s a good feeling at the beginning of a long day. 

The route kept us higher so we got some great views of the coves below. 

We had two big climbs to do so we made sure to take our two hour break to rest up the feet and get some food and water. I’m trying to be very diligent about taking care of my blisters. We still have a ways to go!

We got through the first hill pretty well. I didn’t try and rush and took lots of small steps, and just kept working my way up. 

I’m finding the downhills to be almost worse than the uphill. Downhill pushes my feet to the front of my shoes which aggravates the blisters on my toes.  

Josh and Wendie caught up with us and then kept right on chugging along. We weren’t too far behind them when we got to a cafe at the top of the second hill. It was so nice to have a break and get some food! 

We chatted with a guy from Arizona, a girl from South Carolina, a couple of people from New Zealand. We also waved and said “Buen Camino” to several people we had seen on the trail. It was a nice break.  

It wasn’t long before we were heading into Pontevedra. Our hotel was pretty much a straight shot into town on the Camino route. We had made such good time that we were early for the 2:00 pm checkin. 

Conveniently there was a cafe right by the hotel so we had a drink to pass the time until we could check in. We no sooner had placed our drink order when Robin and Sea showed up on their bikes! So they joined us since they couldn’t get into their room either. We had a fun time swapping tales of our adventures for the day. 

It wasn’t long before our room was ready and we were able to go up and get cleaned up and rest. 

The plan was to meet everyone for dinner. I misread the text and thought the reservation was for 6:00 pm. It was actual a reservation for 6 people at 8:00 pm. Oops. 

We had brought our dirty clothes along because we were going to wash our clothes after dinner. So we just went and took care of that before dinner. When you only have a few sets of clothes laundry becomes very important. It was nice to have an actual washer and dryer instead of washing the clothes in the sink and hanging them dry around the hotel room. 

Nobody has dryers in their homes. That’s why we see clothes lines everywhere. Makes me appreciate my walk in closet full of cloths and the ability to use a huge washer and dry everything in the dryer!!

The square where the restaurant we were going to us a huge convent next to it. We sat at on a bench in the square and people watched.  We saw kids playing futbal, making the goals using their jackets to mark out where the ball had to go. There was a large group of senior citizens in wheelchairs under some trees talking and feeding the pigeons. They’re little kids chasing the pigeons and people walking their dogs. The dogs were also chasing the pigeons.  

Church and convent of San Francisco, A Coruña, Pontevedra, Spain

Dinner was amazing.  Once again I had prawns.  Kinda messy to eat because they bring them to you whole, but it’s so worth it!   Yum!

We headed back to the hotel so that we could get organized and be ready for an early start the next morning.  Day 11 we will be taking the Spiritual Variante which deviates from the main Camino route for about three days.  They should be long, hot days so we wanted to get an early start.

Day 11 - June 30, 2023

The first day of the Spiritual Variante.  

This was the stage with the BIG hill.  

The big hill with a lot of elevation. Ugh!

I was a little nervous but my hip was doing pretty good so I was feeling like overall it would go well.  It was supposed to be hot so we definitely wanted an early start. 

We were packed up and headed out the door around 6:45 am.  It was nice and cool and the sun was just comping up.  Pontevedra looks a lot different when there are no people around.  

We clicked right along and soon we were at the point where we decide if we do the regular route or the Spiritual Variante.  We had been following quite a few pilgrims out of town.  They all turned right.  

We turned left.  😆

New sign to be looking for.

Big signboard letting us know our options.

We went up the first hill walking through small neighborhoods.  Many of the hills were steep and windy, barely enough room for a car let alone a car with two pilgrims with backpacks walking along the side.  We were always keeping our ears out for the sound of cars.  

San Juan de Poio monastery.

There is also an albergue (hostel) at this monetary.

We passed a huge monastery and decided it was time for our first break of the day.  We had gone about 5 miles and had a pretty solid pace.  The hills weren’t too overwhelming for me, it was still cool outside and my hip and feet weren’t mad yet.  

We go some drinks and a snack and were hanging out for a bit when guess who we see again?  Yep, our wonderful Camino sister, Irina!!  We thought she was going to be walking farther the day before and that we probably wouldn’t see her again.  Joe looked up the hill we had just come down and says, “You won’t believe who I see!”  

Then he stands up, throws his hands in the air and shouts, “IRINA!!!”  

She is shaking her head and laughing at her crazy Oregon friends, all while trying to walk and get her phone out to take pictures of us.  Lol. 

Irina and her new walking buddy, Hammish.

We had met her latest walking buddy the day before.  I nice young man named Hammish, who was from New Zealand.  Hammish sticks out the memory easily because he has duct tape all over his shoes.  We asked him about it the day before.  He didn’t have enough cushioning on the soles of the shoes he brought.  So he bought some flip flops, took out the strap and then used the duct tape to secure it to the bottom of his shoe.  When we first met him the duct tape was looking pretty ragged.  But he had found a store with a new roll so he was able to redo his wrapping and was good to go.  Lol. It may seem silly but it was working for him and it was on the cheap.  Win win!

Walking shoes with flip flop sole a la duct tape!

They took off after a bit with some prompting from Hammish to get Irina moving. Probably the last time we would see her while we were on the Camino trail.  

Joe and I got going not long after that.  We still hadn’t seen Josh and Wendie.  We thought they might have caught up with us by this point but not yet.  

The trail brought us all the way down to sea level before we started going up the big hill for the day.  

Nothing like making us start as low as we could go before sending us up.  

Sea level at low tide in Combarrow, Spain

It wasn’t long before we were heading up the second hill of the day.  It was much hotter by this time and I was much slower.  But I just kept plugging away at each steep part and worked really hard at not letting it feel undoable in my own head.  

The elevation on the big hill.  460 meters = 1,509 feet

I had estimated the hill would be about 4 miles of up.  So in my head I broke it down into worrying about one mile at a time.  Seems much more doable.  

We worked our way through the town and as usual, the streets were narrow and steep.  We are pretty sure we know why you don’t see many heavy Spanish people!  Whew! 

We were going through one neighborhood and this couple starts yelling at us in Spanish.  Joe was ahead of me and there was a marker for the Camino in front of him.  They were telling us to not go that way and to turn left instead.  Then I realized there was a construction sign that looked like a detour for the Camino.  Joe and the couple talked about it and we figured out that the road was blocked ahead and we needed to take the detour.  I’m so thankful they stopped us.  It would have been the pits to get up that part of the hill only to have to come back down and go back up another way.

Detour on the Camino, but it was well marked!

As we continued our climb we would stop for breaks in shady spots.  Joe was going for 10 minutes walking and 2 minutes resting.  Then we would turn around and look at the view. 

Wowzers!  It was stunning!

Josh and Wendie caught up with us a little over halfway up the hill.  It was awesome to see them and have some laughs as we all worked our way up.  

We came to a lookout spot and it was awesome to see how far up we had gotten.  We weren’t quite to the top but it was a great place to take our higher elevation picture to compare to our sea level picture. 

Not at Sea Level Anymore Picture

We made it to the top!  I did really solid.  Basically kept working my way up and not thinking about the top but just thinking about taking the next step.  Being in the moment as they say. 

Our day was not quite done.  We did have a decent to do into the town of Armenteira.  This was steep and pretty rocky in places so it took some time.  I’m not much faster at steep downhills than I am steep uphills.    But when you get out of that section you pop out onto a road and this is the view. 

Looking down into Amenteira.

We took one more little trail and it pops you out right in front of the one bar/restaurant in the little town.  Josh and Wendie were sitting at a table having a beer waiting for us.  So lots of cheering and some crying. (No, it wasn’t Josh crying, it was me if you can believe that! Lol) 

I just walked 13.73 miles, had a total of 2,310 feet of ascent throughout the entire day and all of that was after already having walked 112.2 miles in the 10 days leading up to this.  

Yep.  

I’m a badass!!! 

One of the things that I really have had to work hard on over the years is comparing myself to others or putting down my accomplishments because I didn’t do it as fast or as well as someone else.  

I think I am pretty much over that.  

Because the feeling I had as I walked down that last little slope to my husband and my friends was that I rocked my day!

And it felt really good!

So on the days that I am doubting myself I’m going to look at this picture and remind myself that I am a badass.  💜

Since we couldn’t check into the hotel for over an hour we sat and had drinks and got a snack at the restaurant.  Sangria and “chips” for the win.  (French fries!)

Then we went over to the monastery that is located in town to look around and see if we could get stamps for our Camino passport.  The spot to get the stamps was closing but we could come back later and get it done.  We wandered around the monastery a bit.  Yet another beautiful building! 

Soon it was time to check into the hotel.  We had to walk up yet another hill to get there but it was so nice to get into the nice air conditioned room and relax before dinner. 

Dinner was back to the same place we had our snack earlier.  It was close and it was basically the only show in town.  Lol. But we definitely were cleaner the second time around. 

So far, at the end of Day 11 I have walked 125.9 miles.  Still four more days to go.  I’m a little behind on sharing but hopefully I will be caught up tomorrow!  

Buen Camino!!

Days 7, 8 & 9 of Camino, Portugal 2023

Day 7 - June 26, 2023

Joe and I got up and got on the road a little before 7 am. We wanted to get some miles in before it got hot, especially since there was some hills coming.

Josh and Wendie were going to have breakfast at the Bed & Breakfast we stayed at. Robin and Sea were hopefully going to be riding their bikes. The bikes were supposed to be delivered the evening before. 

We walked along the ocean for quite awhile and the day was beautiful! We had ocean breezes to keep us cool and lots to look at. 

We hadn’t been able to go to the grocery store the night before but we passed a gas station with a mini-mart and were able to get some snacks for the day. 

After about two hours we stopped for a break at a cafe. We were able to get some drinks and a light breakfast. Out Camino friend Irina was there so we got to visit with her. She was walking with Nick from San Francisco. Joe and the rest had met him on one of the days I didn’t walk. Very nice guy. Actually, everyone we have met walking the Camino have been super nice! 

RV/camping spot where we took our break.

I had to do a little redecorating with my blister bandaids on my feet. Then I made sure to use the cream I was given for my hip. So far everything was feeling pretty good. 

The lighthouse we could see from the trail along the coastline.

When we got to a little over seven miles we started heading up. This was when I would really see how my hip was doing. I kept it slow and steady the whole way up. The trail had lots of big rocks to navigate over or around so it was slow going anyway. 

It was pretty cool to start out with the lighthouse above us when we were down on the coast and then end up WAY above it when we got to the top!

The lighthouse but now looking down on it from the hill.

From the top we could see down to Baiona. What a great view. We had to go down and then tackle one more hill before dropping into the city to get to where we would be staying. 

We had just sat down for a break on some benches at the top of the hill when we heard “Caw caw!” Josh and Wendie had caught up with us! So we all took a break together and shared about our day. 

We were getting tired but the motivation was that we were staying in a castle for the night! Parador de Baiona. The hotel part was built in 1969 but the castle walls and fortifications from ancient days are still standing! 

We decided to get groceries and go to the pharmacy before we went to the castle so that we didn’t have to come back into town if we didn’t want to. It meant lugging the groceries a fair distance while still wearing our backpacks, but it was all good.

When we got to the pharmacy we bumped into Robin and Sea! Their bikes were not delivered the night before. So they took an Uber to the castle and were able to check in early. They explored Baiona for the day and the bikes came to the castle so they would be able to start riding the next day! 

When we walked up the street towards the castle it was suggested we go to the left instead of the more direct round to the entrance to the right. There is some disagreement about whose idea it was but regardless. We took the path to the left and it took us around the outside of the entire fortifications. Just another mile + at the end of the day. 

But I’m glad we didn’t go the direct route because it was really beautiful and I am pretty sure we wouldn’t have done it if we waited and then we would have missed out on seeing some cool structures and views. 

“I fart in your general direction. Your mother was hamster and your father smelt of elderberries…” (If you know, you know 😂)

We finally made it to the reception area of the hotel to check in. Josh and Wendie’s room was ready and they took off to clean up and rest.

Unfortunately our room wasn’t ready and we had to wait about 40 minutes. They had some lovely couches for us to sit on so we could be comfortable while we waited. We politely declined and went out and sat on a wooden bench just outside the reception area. They really didn’t want our stinky, sweaty bodies sitting on their cloth couches!!!

Here we sit in the foyer in front of reception. Dirty and sweaty with our backpacks laying on the ground next to us. Meanwhile all these people are coming in to check in and they are dressed to the nines with fancy luggage. Very hoity toity! 

Don’t mind the two vagabonds in the foyer. They aren’t actually homeless! Lol

Getting a shower felt amazing as usual. And being able to lay down on the bed flat. Ahhhhhh

After some down time we decided to get something to eat. The castle had a bar with a patio looking out over the ocean so we decided that would be great! Didn’t have to go far and we could be chill. Except that the kitchen had just closed so no food, only drinks. And when kitchens close in the late afternoon, they usually don’t open again until 8:00 pm!  We didn’t want to wait that long for dinner so we decided to walk down into the city. Joe had found a burger place that was close that sounded good. 

We found the place easily and put in our orders and got some drinks. While we were talking we saw Irina walk by so we had her come over and we bought her a drink. It was fun to get to know her better. She can talk up a storm!! (Yes, even more than me!)

Irina, me and Joe! Buen Camino!1

After dinner we started making our way back to the castle. I decided I needed to go put my feet in the ocean before I lost my chance to say I put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean, especially the Atlantic Ocean on the Europe side of things. There was a beach/swim area right at the bottom of the road going to the castle so I walked down to the water, took off my sandals and walked into the water. The water was cold but not as cold as the Pacific Ocean in Oregon! 

I found a shell. 💕

Joe and I talked about the walk planned for the next day. It was going to be another really long walk and the weather was forecast to be hot. We were supposed to have breakfast at the castle but that didn’t start until 8 am. Which meant we wouldn’t start walking until after 8:30 am. 

14.2 miles for the day.

This is the extra bit all around the castle. 🤣

Day 8 - June 27, 2023

We woke up a little before 6 am and talked about it some more and decided to skip the breakfast and head out early. The more miles I could get done before it got stupid hot the better.  Getting up early had advantages. The sunrise from our room was stupendous!

The plan was to take coastal route so that we would avoid the really hilly route into Vigo. We had a great start to the morning. A beautiful sunrise, saw some Camino friends and just really enjoyed the morning. 

After a couple of hours, as usual, we stopped for a rest break and to get something to eat. Since we didn’t get breakfast we decided to have croissants. They were so good!! Those breaks to sit without the backpack on and take off the shoes and socks for a bit are amazing! Although it does take a bit for the blisters to stop complaining when we get going again. But after a little bit it’s not so bad. 

Replica of one of Christopher Columbus’s ships.

We started out again and had some hills to walk but nothing too bad.  We were walking down a road and we hear “Caw caw!” We turn around and here come Robin and Sea on their bikes!! The  bikes finally came and so they were getting their first Camino day together! 💜 We chatted for a bit, they let us know that Josh and Wendie weren’t too far behind us. Then they took off on their sweet rides and Joe and I began walking again. 

A little while later here come Robin and Sea again. The route took hikers down onto the beach, across the sand and up stairs. Just a bit much for people riding electric bikes (Those suckers are not light!)  They had to find alternate routes several times. 

Meanwhile, Josh and Wendie caught up with us and we walked together for quite a ways. At one point we followed the wrong arrows for the path we wanted and ended up on the hilly one going into Vigo. 

It wasn’t terrible at first. A lot of it was in wooded areas that were cooler and prettier.  Josh and Wendie had gotten ahead of us so we weren’t with them anymore. 

We saw this unopened beer & thought Josh would think it was funny. Trail beer! Turns out Josh had left it for Joe. 🤣🤣🤣

But then we dropped down into Vigo. 

We found a cafe for another break and to restock our water. We were both pretty much out and still had a ways to go. At this point, looking at the map, we decided to not follow the arrows anymore and just do a straight shot to the hotel. Basically down a main road in Vigo that would get us really close to where we needed to be. 

I was really struggling at this point.

Everything hurt. 

My feet hurt.

My blisters hurt.

My hip hurt.

My muscles hurt. 

You get the picture. 🤣

So now we are trudging along a major road in a relatively big city. Lots of cars and people. Not the cute little towns we had been walking through. 

And the best (worst) part?

It was freaking UPHILL THE ENTIRE WAY!!! 

Seriously. I don’t think the city of Vigo has any downhill at all. 

Those last five miles were a grind! Lots of little stop breaks in shady spots. But we didn’t take off the backpacks and shoes. Mostly because I didn’t think I could get going again if we stopped. 

We finally found the hotel! The desk person told us that all our friends were already there. Robin and Sea had gotten there about an hour before us and Josh and Wendie only beat us by about 10 minutes.

We ended up with 16.74 miles for the day. That was a tough one for sure. 

It took me awhile to cool down enough to take a shower. If I take a shower while I’m still hot and sweating, then I’m will still be sweating when the shower is over. So I need to cool down enough so that a nice cool shower actually feels refreshing after I’m done too. 

We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant near the hotel. The food was really good. I just was to the point where nothing sounded good and I didn’t feel like eating. I had a salad and Joe shared his lasagna with me. It was all really good.

We walked back on the hotel and it was still really light outside. Sunset wasn’t until after 10 pm! So crazy!

I doctored up my blisters and we went to bed. 

16.74 miles for the day!

Day 9 - June 28, 2023

I was a little worried if I was going to be able to even start walking today. My hip felt pretty bad at the end of the day before. I had decided that if I woke up and it hurt like it did the day I tried to walk and only made it one mile, I would just call it ahead of time. 

But when I got up in the morning it felt surprisingly good. So I decided to go for it. 

It was supposed to be a shorter stage. Less than 10 miles which many like 12 or so. Mostly flat with a big downhill at the end as we dropped into the city of Redondela. 

The four of us hikers had breakfast at the hotel and were on the road by 7:30 am. Some hills to start with but we took it slow since the day before was hard on everyone, not just me. 

Navigators Extraordinaire!

In spite of not being in a huge hurry we ticked the miles off pretty quickly. We found a great spot for our first two hour break. A little waterfall area and a picnic table. 

The drop down into Redondela was really steep and my blisters weren’t too happy about that. Oh well! 

Sign in a church where we got our Pilgrim Passports stamped. 

Still smiling on day nine!11

Getting closer to Santiago!

We got into town and it wasn’t even noon yet. So we found a cafe to take a break and people watch. It was nice to be done so early, especially before it got too hot. 

10.62 miles for the day.

Then we found our apartment we were all sharing for the evening and sitting right down the road were Robin and Sea! They had taken a different route on their bikes then we walked so we never saw them pass us! 

Since we still couldn’t access the apartment we decided to go get drinks. I had a really yummy Sangria and the cafe owner also brought us Spanish tortillas. We were a little confused because we didn’t order them. When the guys went to go pay for the drinks and food she wouldn't let them pay for the Spanish tortillas. They were a gift for the Pilgrims. So very sweet!

We made our way back to the apartment and let ourselves in. Everyone took showers, got laundry organized because the place had a washer and then rested in our rooms. After a long relaxing evening we went and had dinner. Unlike the night before, I was hungry! I had grilled salmon and it was so good!!

Tomorrow is another longer day with hills. But the temperature is supposed to be in the 70’s so that will be nice. After tomorrow I’ll have a better idea of how my hip is holding up before I decide if I’m doing the big hill for the Spiritual Variant or not. 

Can’t believe I’ve gotten this far!

Feeling more badass every day. (And more tired!)