There’s a strong smell of cheese on the Camino de Santiago

“That’s dung, not cheese” I told my city friend Wendy and it permeated most of our route on the Camino over the next seven days.

We walked the Camino Francés starting in Sarría on 8^th October and along the way, there were various places to get the Camino passports stamped: little churches, barns, restaurants, buskers and store-owners, who also seized the opportunity to sell their Camino-themed wares.

Walking the Camino de Santiago was more than a physical activity for me. I switched off from what is my normal every day and other than using my phone to take photos I went device free, and it was lovely.  Mostly we set off around 8 – 9am, with everything working around getting our suitcases to the hotels’ lobbies for 8am and this turned out to be the biggest nuisance for us. Next time, we’ll pack lighter and differently.

We met people from Glasgow, Argentina, Cork, Texas, New York, Brisbane, Dublin, Cambridge UK, Ohio, Saskatchewan, however most walkers were Spanish.

Buskers

The last thing I expected to hear in the middle of the countryside was a bagpiper! This first of several pipers we came across on our walks told me Galicia is Celtic and Galicia’s music, most notably the bagpipe or ‘gaita’, is the instrument that we have in common, with musicians from Ireland and Scotland coming here to play.

Camino Symbols

On the way to Palas de Rei, we met a group of Amerians who invited us in to their ‘albergue’ for hot drinks and biscuits, and hugs. Their story is interesting. They are Central Baptists from Texas who occupy this space all year round to reflect with anyone passing by looking for answers while walking the camino. They also offer to pray with anyone who’d like it.

You don’t have to be religious to walk the Camino, many walk it to enjoy something different, for the personal challenge, or simply to take a break from everyday life as was my case, however it was so much more for me over the seven days. Emotion and tears hit me out of the blue a few times, taking me by surprise.  

Rhea White, introduced the term Exceptional Human Experience (EHE), which describes spontaneously emerging unusual experiences, which have positive effects on mental and physical health and touch on areas outside the common reality of our everyday world.

My mother died last December and had a soft spot for robin redbreasts so when this robin flew past my face and landed on a tree beside it, I was super emotional.

Camino Tourism

The camino is most definitely a massive source of income for all the little businesses along the various routes: hotels and guest houses, restaurants and cafes, and laundrettes.

We found everyone to be friendly and respectful and a couple of the accommodations we stayed in were exceptional, namely Rectoral de Lestedo outside Palas del Rey and the 1930 boutique hotel in Arzua.

Humberto – “it’s like Umberto Eco with a H” – was our fantastic, ubiquitous host at Rectoral de Lestedo. Not only did he provide beautifully presented, delicious food, he insisted I taste the local wines and it was only polite to accept. Humberto discovered the building that would become his hotel when walking past it as a camino pilgrim himself – you can read his story here.

Walking up to the Oak tree outside Humberto’s.

Adriana, one of the owners at 1930 boutique hotel in Arzua – her elegance and good taste were evident throughout the hotel.

Lessons learned for 2024

Suitcases at dawn

Not at dawn but it felt like it. We had to have our cases down to reception each morning at 8am for the courier companies, which took them on to the next night’s accommodation (some pack everything in to one knapsack for the entirety of their walk and carry it all for the duration). While it mightn’t sound like a big deal, trying to figure out what to wear for a whole day ahead and get the case closed, again, was always a chore for us!

After one day of intense rain on our second last day, we had to somehow separate wet clothes from the rest the next morning, which was impossible.

One freaky happening was meeting a couple of American ladies at a laundry room in a hotel lobby, who’d been bitten by bed bugs. They were about to put everything in the wash at a high temperature, “that will kill them”, however their arms were covered in bites which they said they’d have for at least a week. The ladies had shared a dormitory, which many ‘pilgrims’ choose, and the bugs love to hop into suitcases. 

We didn’t choose the dormitory option! We also had zips on various bags and our cases.

Food at your accommodation

On our second last night we were booked into a hotel in the middle of nowhere – they came to collect us – arriving at 4pm. We wanted to bathe, eat and sleep early but discovered the kitchen wasn’t to open until 8pm, and that was that! We hadn’t thought to check this with our agency because we assumed – never assume – that we’d be able to dine when we wanted, or have a good alternative option available to us. We didn’t here. This was the day of the rain and we went to bed grumpy for the first time.

Walking into Plaza de Santiago on 14^th October

We walked into Santiago de Compostela in full sunshine. People were coming from all directions into the city, all of us heading for the ‘square’.

After exchanging photos and hugs with our new friends, we made our way to a nice 5* where we swapped leg stretches for the luxury of an indoor pool all to ourselves. We laughed at our delight at being able to luxuriate in a massive bath and lie on our beds in fluffy robes and slippers.  Honestly, a bit of ‘hardship’ made me enjoy this decadence so much more!