Camino de Santiago
From July 10th to July 17th 2024
Lugo > Palas de Rei > Arzua > Santiago de Compostela
Day 0 - July 10
Landed in Santiago de Compostela and drove about an hour to Lugo where our hike would begin. We checked into Hotel Mercure Lugo and immediately went out to walk around the main city center of Lugo.
We walked along the city walls, went to lunch at Restaurante Campos where we drank white wine, sipped on gazpacho, jamon iberico, and eggplant.
After lunch we continued to walk around town, took pictures atop the city walls, picked up some postcards in a peculiar gift shop, watched a video in the basement of Casa dos Mosaicos and walked past the Domus da Mitra.
Dinner was at the hotel restaurant where we had zamburiñas, croquettes, green peppers & steak. We had a little more white wine before we called it a night to prepare for the next full day of the camino.
Day 1 - July 11
We started off around 9am and left the city walls of Lugo and headed west towards Santiago de Compostela. We started a daily stretch at the massive metal Lugo sign in the center of the city to signify the mark of the beginning of the start of the 100km mark to Santiago de Compostela.
We crossed a beautiful roman bridge (ARDF LVCVS) and stopped along the river at a unique looking restaurant/hang and watched the kids below play tennis.
We collected our first stamps on our pilgrims passports at a church dedicated to St. Lucia and then continued our trek while also picking blackberries growing wild alongside the road.
Day 1 of hiking was truly beautiful, the weather was sublime, our legs were sore, and lunch hit the spot at Meson de Crecente. We ate a mixed salad (with bonito tuna, of course), cocido, carne asada, a plate of assorted cured meats, rooster, and sipped on Estrella Galicia - all to share. We also tried pouring a kind of digestive into coffee after the meal.
Dinner that night was at Restaurant Espana (desde 1907) - we ordered a bit too much and the beef rice was a sight to see! We did our best to “finish it.” We walked by some bars on the way back to the hotel and were tempted to stop, but we knew we had a lot of work (walking) ahead of us.
Summary of day 1: walked a total of 20.6 kilometers (12 miles) at an average pace of 12:38. It took just a little over 5 hours and burned 1,300 calories. Total daily steps: 27,586.
Day 2 - July 12
Started with our daily stretch in Guntin - the morning was a bit overcast and chilly.
Along the camino, we passed along cows, local farmers, the town of Friol, black slugs, countless vibrant colored hydrangeas, picked mini plums off trees growing wild alongside the road, stamped our pilgrim passports, crossed an actual ancient roman bridge across Rio de Ferreira (that was said where they crossed with St. James body/bones), passed barking dogs.
We stopped for lunch at Casa Gorinos in Palas de Rei, got stamps on our passports, had some brewskis, and ate more typical Galician cuisine. We then got picked up in our sprinter and made our way to our hotel Balneario Rio Pambre.
Before too long we found ourselves in the hotel spa doing the water circuit and getting Celtic massages with hot stones.
Dinner that night was at the hotel. We had a vegetable soup, sautéed pasta nuts (described as a trail mix pasta), and we all ordered the fish of the day (a whole fish was served, of which we all tested our de-boning skills - some were judged by the wait staff more than others).
While we ate our dessert and drank post dinner drinks, we were visited by a bat that took 5-6 laps around the room before exiting the building through a different window.
Summary of day 2: walked a total of 14.8 kilometers (9.2 miles) at an average pace of 23:17. It took 4.5 hours and burned over 1,000 calories. Total daily steps: 22,952
Day 3 - July 13
We started our morning off with a “surprise” that ended up being a Castelo de Pambre and were visited by a local German Shepherd dog wanting to play
We started our walk in Palas de Rei, walked past windmills, open forests, places “feisimos”, past donated sneakers, a variety of horrarios, open fields of cows, narrow paths that led into small towns, past countless mile markers, past well built out family cemeteries, more cafes where we stopped for Spanish tortilla and nuts we swiped from our first hotels breakfast buffet, passed a beautiful mural dedicated to a well known Spanish female author (known for being a part of the preservation of the Galician language), and we finally made it to the town of Melide.
Before we made it to the hotel to check in, we first stopped in one of the most well known restaurants in town known for pulpo: Garnacha Pulperia. The energy of the restaurant was high, barely any spaces open to sit inside the beer-hall-like restaurant. Before entering the restaurant there was an octopus cutting demonstration where you got to watch them cook the octopus real time and prepare it to be served. We ordered pimientos, ensalada, tortilla espanola, pulpo, red wine served in traditional cup/bowls, and some beer. A valiant effort to try pulpo for the first time was made, and it was almost down the hatch before it was spit into a napkin. We were invited to take a digestive/shot on our way out: liquor de cafe o liquor de hierbas produced by Casa Mejuto. Overall consensus was that the food was incredible, the energy inside was electric, and a visit to Garnacha Pulperia is a must when in Melide.
We grabbed churros and ice cream before heading back to the hotel to lounging by the pool before our… yes, you guessed it, massages.
Dinner was at our hotel Pazo de Sedor. A peculiar grey looking coffee was served.
Summary of day 3: walked a total of 15.1 kilometers (8.8 miles) at an average pace of 22:01. It took 4 hours and burned just under 1,000 calories. Total daily steps: 23,660
Day 4 - July 14
Woke up to unfortunate news from the US, which started the morning in a somber way.
We did our morning stretches at Cappella de San Roque, walked through the town of Melide for a bit, got distracted at a local food market in town where sausage links, jamon, pig skin (chicaron), cherries, cheese, live rabbits (about 15 of them), honey, bee pollen, plums, lettuces, and such were being sold. We dabbled in a few things before continuing on our journey.
We picked up our first stamps of the day at Iglesia de Santa Maria de Melide - a quant church just on the outskirts of town. We lit candles and enjoyed the Cantus Firmus Monks music playing from the speaker and echoing throughout.
Halfway through, we stopped at Taberna de Parabispo for a break and a snack.
We continued on and made our way to the glorious town of Arzua. We tried way too many times to try and get the right photo, and just settled on taking it the normal way - smiling. We sat for lunch at Albergue Ribidaso and had a great lunch with Kike taking great care of us. Beers, peppers, salad, calamari, Spanish tortilla, bread & white wine. There was a cute stray puppy running about the restaurant looking for scraps.
Post lunch we climbed up the hill to get closer to the center of Arzua and came across a friendly older gentleman (of whom we named Pepe). He came to shake our hands, tell us about Dia de Carmen, and how there would be a party in town that night. Before we could register all that was going on, he layed kisses on our cheeks and bid us adieu. He called us bonitas and we’re sure he thoroughly enjoyed the rest of his day - as did we. Whatever it was, it caused dynamic shift in the remainder of the trip.
We checked into our beautiful hotel 1930 Boutique Hotel and sat for dinner there a few hours later. We ordered a cheese plate, beef cheeks & potatoes, white wine, table bread & more. Shortly after, we made our way to “the party” which started as watching the Spain vs. England Euro cup game in a bar full of Spaniards (we were the only non-spanish speakers, it seemed). Spain ended up winning and that set us up for an energy filled rest of the evening. Victory shots were had, candy teeth were put on display, and we made our way to the street party that was happening in the center. We were letting Jesus take the wheel.
The city party was decorated with lights, two massive stages, food and drink vendors, all while a constant rain shower made its presence known. We found basecamp in a bar near one of the stages where we gambled a little, sipped on cervezas, made friends, ran into Kike again, and watched as Paris de Noia took the stage as the headliners. We danced with our LED headbands in the rain with other pilgrims & locals until almost 4am. Full menuda liada.
Summary of day 4 : walked a total of 16.1 kilometers (9.9 miles) at an average pace of 30:54. It took 5 hours and burned just under 1,000 calories. Total daily steps: 23,057
Day 5 - July 15
Waking up with hangovers, cuidao, we made our way out of the hotel where the hotel manager handed us back our LED headbands that we had apparently left in the lobby. More stretching warmups, laughing about remembrances from the night before, we finally made our way to lunch at Marela Cantina.
We passed by the wall of wisdom, picked up some hand drawn post cards from a fellow pilgrim from Hungary, and we pulled out our rain gear as it started to rained on us for a bit.
After lunch we were feeling a bit better and were relieved when we finally reached Pazo Santa Maria - Hailey’s favorite stay of the whole trip. The girls went for more massages before dinner and sleep. While walking to our rooms that night, we did hear the bass pumping from nearby Arzua calling us to have another night of party in town. We did not oblige. Everything was under control.
Summary of day 5: walked a total of 17.6 kilometers (10.76 miles) at an average pace of 32:07. It took almost 7 hours and burned almost 900 calories. Total daily steps: 25,071
Day 6 - July 16
Woke up feeling much better than the previous day and were feeling energized knowing that this day would be our last day of hiking.
Lunch was at a great spot called Casa de Amancio. We had more zamburiñas, a cheese plate, a cured meat plate, a vegetable linguine, croquettes, and a delicious cheesecake for dessert.
We made it to Parque Monte de Gozo where we were able to see the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela for the first time. We took an obligatory heart photo and made our way down the hill to have a celebratory cocktail before heading into town.
At last we made it to Santiago de Compostela. We took all the pictures, checked into our hotel and made it just barely in time for the 7:30pm mass. We went back to the hotel for dinner, received our pilgrim certificates, and then went out on the town to celebrate our accomplishment. Local street musicians were playing traditional Galician music at Plaza del Obradoiro and a pilgrim couple decided to dance in the middle of the band while they played; it was very sweet. A bar (A Trastenda De Xabi), a dap at Pub Momo, and a quick 15 minute attempt at dancing in a disco - bing bang boom - we were on our way home again in the early evening. Carallo!
Summary of day 6: walked a total of 23.4 kilometers (14.5 miles) at an average pace of 25:21. It took over 8 hours and burned over 1,500 calories. Total daily steps: 33,511
Day 8 - July 17th
City tour of Santiago de Compostela
Lunch at Atafona
Spa day at Hotel A Quinta A Agua Relais Chateaux
Said goodbye to our trusted friend, security and guide: Gonzalo
