Tag Archives: English Way

Bruma to Sigueiro

We enjoyed our stay in this Albergue, even though I was TOPBUNK again. Have I mentioned that I seem to get the top bunk a lot. Well I do. A lot. Not a fan of climbing up that little ladder. Getting down, no issues, up, Ugg!

This was built right into a hillside, showers and bathrooms on the left, we had to go outside to get to them, bunk room and sitting area on the right.

The attendant here told us that we would not qualify for a Compostela once we reach Santiago . The rule from the church is that you have to walk the last one hundred Kilometers leading into Santiago to qualify. Those other 300 Kms we walked are irrelevant. 😐
We’ve seen the trucks delivering bread every day, 1st time I’ve seen the bin to put it into.

We have been seeing the same people now everyday since starting the English Way. It’s nice, even with the language barrier it usually works. The Greek woman speaks perfect English because she’s actually from Pennsylvania. The elderly Spanish woman, we had coffee with and chatted on the trail a few times now. The two young Danish girls whom are always singing or laughing. Then the group of four, no idea where they were from but we chatted several times meeting at coffee or beer breaks.

This was where we stopped for coffee. The person had all these statues and other things including a dinosaur outside.

We continued on, energized.

The weather was beautiful today. We seemed to walk on more paths also. The road top would just end and a gravel type path continue on.

We walked 15.5 easy miles today. Tomorrow we walk into Santiago, should also be less miles. We hope to arrive around lunchtime. Below is Al’s relive video.

https://www.relive.cc/view/vevYQ5W8nJv

Until then.. be well

Sigueiro into Santiago

We were the only two in our Albergue last night. We chose to share a room instead of purchasing a private room but we didn’t have to share! No Top Bunk! There was a kitchen, a washing machine and it offered free breakfast.

We got showered and then washed our clothes. We hung them out on the line under an enclosed porch. Then we went to the grocery store. We decided on a fresh store made pizza. I happen to really love pizza so that sounded good to me. We also got some salad fixings, bananas, apples and things for lunch tomorrow.

We got a double whammy when we found we had no pan to cook the pizza on. I did check before we left and saw that the kitchen had just about everything, but alas no pizza or baking sheets.

Then we couldn’t light the oven anyway!

Al is good at improvising, he cut the pizza and put half of it in a frying pan and used another pan as a lid. It turned out Fantastic!!

We left the Sigueiro and walked a bit through town before entering the countryside.

Once we left the woods we started seeing the outskirts of the city.

Then before we knew it we were seeing the Cathedral.

We found the Pilgrims office and got our number then waited to be called in. I was 989 and Al had 1006. We didn’t know if we would be given a Compostela or not, based upon what we had been told.

But Surprise! We got them!

Below is Al’s Relive video of todays walk.

https://www.relive.cc/view/vevYQ52N3Jv

Also, Al forgot to start the Relive tracker until we had walked for awhile this morning.

O Burgo to Bruma

I forgot to add this again, even my brain is tired.

https://www.relive.cc/view/vXOnxNZkMBq

We have been getting up and out earlier. We left the hotel and walked on the sidewalk until we were led down to the greenway. The English Way is certainly more way-marked, I’m not sure if it’s because we are closer to Santiago or not.

Very pretty down by the river.
I wonder if this is a dredger.

We saw a few people out walking or jogging. We left the greenway and then walked through a park until we turned at this bridge.

From here we turned up and back onto a sidewalk. We crossed hoping to go into this church. We didn’t want to disturb the people praying inside, so we continued on.

We walked along streets for an hour or so and decided to take a coffee break here.

We started leaving the outskirts of the city and entered a more rural landscape. Still walking on roads, but not as busy. We haven’t seen any rain since leaving the other route.

We couldn’t get any water here, non-potable

We continued walking in and out of a bunch of little towns. I took a screenshot of the list of them we passed through today.

Casa de Barral, a Late-Gothic manor house. This house was built in the early 16th century!!

Pretty much everywhere we look is something interesting, either beautiful flowers, old buildings even the roads are incredible. I certainly love it more in the mornings when we are just starting, I noticed by the end of the day, a lot less pictures.

https://www.relive.cc/view/vYvEKygP7w6

You will notice in today’s Revive video, we walked over 17 miles!! The “hill” we went up was 1522 feet. I think I cried once when we rounded a curve and we could see it still snaking up. 😱

Hopefully an easier day tomorrow, until then.. be well.

Out of GijĂłn to A Coruña

We caught our bus early and had a long ride. Once in A Coruña, which is a bustling port town we made it to the beginning of the English Way.

Church of Saint James

We found the beginning of the Way in a square behind the Church. We followed a tour group inside the church. They were snapping pictures all over the place, we were trying to make sure we were in the right place. A kind priest came out and directed us to his office. He asked us where we where from stamped our credentials.

Below I show a picture of our current credentials, as we go we get more stamps. The last 100 km require 2 stamps per day to get a Compostela.

By saying our credentials I mean, our proof that we have passed through or stayed the night in a certain place. When we check into our Albergue they put their unique stamp on our Pilgrim passport ie, our credential.

City Hall
Maria Pita a local heroine

Plaza de Maria Pita in A Coruña.

A Coruña is famous for its galerías, also known as a glass balcony.

We walked several more kilometers through the City before getting to our hotel.

Dorean got schooled on what a red light means at a street crossing , “No you can’t go, you go when it’s green” She just likes to just look, if it’s clear, Go!

Below is Al’s Relive video of our days walk. More tomorrow, until then .. be well.