Stages

Day Zero, Guimarães-Santiago

 We left rather late so it was dark by the time we got to Santiago.  Stayed in Costa Vella hotel, a really charming small place in the casco vello. I remember staying here many years ago, and again it was lovely,  although the rooms facing the street can be a little noisy. Parked the car in the Auditorio de Galicia, a free park not far away. Good thing was to go for a drink at Punto Negro, a local tapas bar nearby, and where we got our first stamp...This is the second time I walk this camiño, although we're heading first to Muxía, so there is at least one stage that is new to me....

Day 1, Santiago-Negreira, 21,8km

It rained all day... and it was cold (2 degrees at night) so it was not that pleasent. There are some nice stretches of oak forest, and not so much asphalt,  but with the rain we only wanted to arrive.  We stopped for a quick  coffee, and we met a Portuguese couple on bikes, a Portuguese girl from Torres Vedras, a French woman, and a few other pilgrims on the road. In Negreira we're staying in an overpriced small hotel with a funny heating system which is not pilgrim friendly and it is difficult to dry clothes.  We looked for options to eat,  as many restaurants were closed on Tuesdays. Didn't like more fancy Lume and left, and ended up in Mezquita, which was quite nice: croquetas, patatas ali-oli, raxo, some mencia, and the night was good. Tomorrow is an easy day, so we're taking it easy...

Day 2, Negreira-Santa Marina, 22,5km

If it was raining yesterday, today was crazy wet and very windy. Except for half an hour when we left Negreira on the beautiful river path, it rained all day. We stoped for a coffee mid way and many pilgrims were there, trying to dry a little. The camino is nice, hilly, with beautiful forests, stone walls with moss, but it was hard to look and enjoy. We arrived before 4pm, quite wet, and staying now in a small double room in Casa Pepa. They serve meals, have an open fire and also cater for pilgrims, with an albergue. We'll be  having dinner there later!! (we had and the pilgrim menu was quite good).

Day 4, A Grixa (ou Vilastose) - Frixe, 31km

After a lush breakfast, we left with some sun, the first in our journey. Beautiful granite Espigueiros or Hórreos along the way, many dairy farms. I think we were a bit tired from the previous day, so it was hard to reach Muxía. It wasn't flat either...so it was nice to arrive, the sea views, the beach (where I got a bit more sand for my collection), and the town. It was quite sunny for a change!! Bizarrely, we couldn't get the Muxiana, as the lady from the tourist office was on holidays! We had lovely lunch in town - fish soup and pulpo a feira!! After, we walked to the sanctuary, only to find it closed!! Bad luck...yet the views were wonderful...we still had a bit more than 13 km to go, so the climb after Muxía was quite tough. Ana was dying by the time we got to the nice rural hotel in Frixe. On the way we finished our food sitting down next to a lovely granite cross. For dinner, we eat in the hotel, a beautiful home made tortilla - about 8 eggs we were told - and some croquetas!! It was a long day so we went to sleep early and it was super quiet!

Day 5, Frixe - Fisterra + Faro, 21km

We left Frixe a bit late - 9am, with no breakfast, knowing that Lires was only 2,5km away. It was dry for a change, despite the heavy rain in the early morning! We went to Casa Eiras, a bar/restaurant with mature beef in display! A bit fancy, and prices were urban...but it did the job of getting us on track. Landscapes were nice, very green pastures, woods. At times it was muddy and rain was really heavy! A bit before Fisterra, about 3km, we stopped for another coffee, and the lady at the bar offered us two mandarins, which was a quite nice gesture in a camiño which is at times a bit commercial. We got the beach just before Fisterra under heavy rain, but it was nice to see the village ahead. In Fisterra we got the certificate at the municipal albergue and the weather was picking up. We decided to take a taxi up to the lighthouse and return walking. That was a great decision. For 5€ we were there no time, and made the most of the place, making photos under a fabulous sky. It was like we hadn't walked under rain for 5 days! The place is magical....the end of the earth and the vast blue ocean. We deserved a nice treat so we sat down in the lighthouse restaurant and had a drink and some squid croquettas, which was wonderful. A few more photos, and we walked down to try and catch the earlier bus. On the way we met a portuguese pilgrim who we had met a few days before - Inês. She also made it all the way, leaving Porto two weeks before. The responsible for the Monbus was nice and let us take the 16:45 bus instead of the 18:45. The driver tough, was still learning and the journey, through Carnota and Muros, was a little dangerous! Still, we got to Santiago ahead of our schedule, and still had time to buy some Santiago Cake, leaving to Portugal at about 19pm. By 10pm we were in Guimarães. What a journey!