Camino de Santiago 2025: Walking 191 Kilometers With my Mom to the End of The World

 For many years my mom has wanted to do the Camino de Santiago. 2025 was the year she decided she was going to do it. I had the vacation time available so I would embark on this journey with her as well for a fun mother/daughter trip. She decided to do a portion of the Portuguese route. Since we also wanted to walk to Finisterre ("the end of the world") we would only have time to do the last 100k to Santiago de Compestela leaving from Vigo in Spain. So our finalized route would be 100k fromVigo-Santiago to officially complete the camino, and from there another 91k from Santiago de Compestela to Finisterre, for a grand total of 191k over nine days of walking. This trip took a lot of planning but we managed to get ourselves as prepared as we could. New trail runners for the walk and a 30L hiking pack from Decathlon. That 30L pack would be our life for the nine days hiking. We made sure to have lots of merino wool for clothing!

Getting to Vigo

Funny enough, our flight path into Porto was nearly identical to my journey to Marrakech just half a year before. We went Halifax-Montreal-Zurich-Porto. We even managed to get the same seat on the Montreal-Zurich flight which gave us lots of leg room!

In Montreal my access to dragonpass had discounts to La Biscuitery, so as we love our chocolate chip cookies, we got to try some in the airport. They were really yummy! In all my times through Montreal I had never stopped there before. It may have to be a mandatory stop from now on!

After landing in Porto we had over an hour to kill until our bus to Vigo. We found a cafe in the airport to grab some sandwiches. Our meal times felt all messed up after the long travel time and with the time change. I am usually hesitant with sandwiches as they so often get spoiled with disgusting mayo on them. I am starting to think this is a Canada/USA thing. The sandwich I had in the airport and any after throughout our time in Portugal/Spain did not appear to come with mayo. So I was pretty happy about that.

Waiting for the bus outside you quickly realize you are not in Canada anymore. Some man just stood a few feet from me and lit a cigarette. So incredibly rude to smoke near so many people. Smoking is on a much bigger decline in Canada than Europe I have found. Even when comparing Disney parks in the States to Paris. I never see anyone smoking in the States, but at Disneyland Paris I felt like I was always getting fruity vape smoke in my face.

Once on the bus it was just a less than 2 hour drive to Vigo. I tried to take in some of the scenery, but I was quite exhausted from the travelling. I think I dozed on and off the entire drive.

Vigo (Mar 30)

After arriving at the Vigo bus station we walked the 10-15 minutes to our hotel. We were planning on going to the local Decathlon for some hiking poles but they were not open on Sunday's here. 

Our first little walk through the city was very enjoyable despite how exhausted we were. We had a beautiful cathedral opposite of out hotel but nothing quite beat the actual view of Hotel Atlantico itself! We got ourselves checked in and settled. We would explore a little bit of the city after a quick rest.

After our quick rest we started our walk around the city. Once out of the modern buildings we found ourselves in the older part of town that had beautiful stone walkways that made it feel like you were brought back in time. There was also an event going on in this part of the city with lots of people dressed up in older period style clothing. When we looked it up later we discovered it was called the "Reconquest of Vigo", celebrating Vigo as the first European city to repel Napoleons army. If we had known more earlier we might have stayed to experience more of the festival, but it was so crowded we wanted to find less busier areas. 

Along the route to exit the crowds we stopped in a little store for my mom to buy some deodorant. She had forgotten to pack some... though later on we discovered she did not forget it just got lost in her bag, haha. We wanted to find a little market store to pick up some snacks. A lot was closed on Sunday but we did find one closer to the waterfront where he picked up some fruit and nuts. 

Along the waterfront we set eyes on our first camino marker. Very exciting to see the shell that would be guiding our way for the next 191 kilometers. 

It was a beautiful day for a walk. Not a cloud in the sky. The waterfront reminded us of home with all the boats and ships. We ended up stoping at Burger King for supper. We would avoid fast food along the trail so figured we could have one last treat before our big adventure. We took our food to a bench along the waterfront. I got a ice cream with some Milka pieces in it since we don't have that back home. We noticed that the fries were not cooked very well. We both prefer more well done fries and these were so soft! We sadly discovered most of the restaurants seemed to have fries this way. Must be a Spanish preference?

Then we slowly headed back to the hotel to head to bed early. It would be having long days for the rest of our time in Spain. 

Camino Day 1: Vigo to Arcade (Mar 31)

Distance walked: 23k

We got up early to start our camino, before the sun was even up. We were excited to embark on this journey! We got our first passport stamp at the hotel. We needed two per day to officially complete the camino. We had a shell right outside the hotel to point us in the right direction. Early on in our walk I noticed a wall of graffiti. I liked that it had Scrooge McDuck on it.

Walking through the city of Vigo we found it a little challenging to know if we were on the correct route. After the shell at our hotel we didn't come across another one for almost 30 min. 

Just under an hour we were out of the city and we were both happy for it. Most of the walk was through the newer parts of the city and didn't offer much to see. We soon came upon a cafe: A de Charly where we treated ourselves to one of the best croissants I have ever had. It was perfectly crumbly and buttery.

Departing the cafe we passed through a tunnel before heading upwards on a fairly steep incline into a neighborhood type area. At the top the path leveled out and we were rewarded with stunning views of the towns below and river in the distance. We also set eyes on the first cat of many on this trip. I was hoping to get a photo of the cute kitty until it turned towards us and it's face was so scraggly and haggard like. I did end up with a photo as it had ran off, but we referred to it as "the zombie cat".

Next portion of the walk was my favourite of this first day. We exited the urban areas and entered into more enclosed wooded trail. We came across a small but lovely waterfall before the woods opened up on the left side to allow us views once again of the rivers and Galician hills. 

At the point where we would start going down, we came across a woman selling some camino souvenirs. We obtained our shells for our backpacks and obtained our second stamp of the day! We were official pilgrims now that we had our shells! They cost us 3 euros. 

We then went through a small village with lots of open fields. It felt very much like I'd imagine the Shire would feel like. At this point however, despite following the shells, we somehow got turned astray. We were no longer on the correct path. Not sure how that happened as the shells were much more frequent than in Vigo. We eneded up taking a short detour to meet back up with the correct path. I think we may have missed going through some of the village, but we were getting a little tired at this point and didn't want to risk the extra walking.

Now in the town of Redondela our next goal was to find a place to eat. We also happened across a small sportswear store and I was able to obtain my hiking poles! My mom was apparently "too cool" for the poles. She did get to pet a cute puppy while I picked out my poles.

Another few minutes along the camino path we found ourselves a small restaurant  to sit in and replenish our energy: Cafetaria Farola. I had the chicken burger and it was quite tasty! 

The architecture in this town was lovely to walk through. Stone walkways and cobblestone paths led us out of the town and into more tree led paths. A few kilometers more and we set our eyes on the town of Arcade where we would rest for the night.

I felt quite tired the last few kilometers. We were so close yet so far. My feet were getting a little tired and I couldn't wait to take my bag off for the day. Our lodgings for the night were not the nicest of the trip. The place was clean but this was the one stop where we would be in an Albergue. We did book a private room, so that aspect was nice. We had to make our own beds up which is something I had not seen in hostels beforehand. But it was a place to take off our bags and know we did not have to leave again until morning.

We showered and washed a few things before walking a little around the town. I wish I  could have explored more but I didn't want to overexert myself when we still had 165k to go. We got to walk back over the medieval bridge where Napoleons army was defeated. 

Then it was off to the supermarket to pick up a few small items and find a place to eat. There was a restaurant related to our albergue a minute up from us. It didn't open until 2000, like most restaurants in Spain. Not super ideal for our meal times, we usually eat supper at 1600 or 1700! The food at the restaurant was good, though once again the fries were not as well done as I would have liked. We got ourselves another stamp for our camino passports and then settled in for the night. Off in the distance as I was taking a picture of the sunset, I noticed the silhouette of what must be a giant cow statue in the distance which made for quite the majestic photo. 

Camino Day 2: Arcade to Pontevedra (Apr 1)

Distance walked: 12k

Thankfully today would be a much shorter walk. We once again set off before sunrise. Especially with how warm it can get we prefer to get most of the walking done before it gets too hot. The town of Arcade was lovely to walk through with the small country houses, and camino markers guiding our way. It looked like some of the townspeople made their own signs which was nice to see.

Leaving the town we went down a stone pathway into a more wooded area. With the sun not yet fully in the sky yet and the slight tinge of fog, it felt like we were walking into a faerie wood. Dirt pathways edged in stone and moss covered rocks guided our way for the next little bit.

After a slight incline where we had to traverse a pathway of uneven stone we entered into a clearing with a field of horses. They came up so close to us so we were able to get some nice photos! Just a minute or so up the road from them we saw a man selling some trinkets. He was very friendly and spoke to us for a little bit. We ended up getting a bracelet for my brother and obtained another stamp for our passport.

Our path took us though more woods and more clearings with views of farmland. The trails today were proving to be quite scenic. We reached a point where you could continue walking alongside a road or venture on a slight detour know as the "complimentario" route. A man doing the camino said the roadside was quicker. As much as we would love a quicker route, today was only 12k so we decided to take the more scenic route. I am not sure how much it added, but it was worth it for sure. The detour went through wooded paths the whole time and we got to walk by a stream the majority of the walk. The trees also blocked us from the sun which was a added bonus. 

Once through a tunnel covered in colourful art we were entering the city of Pontevedra. Our first impressions of the city were amazing. The streets were all stone and it truly felt like being sent back in time to the Medieval period. Traversing through the serpentine walkways directed by the Camino shells, we eventually made our way to the hotel. Along the way there were so many food and dessert options. We kept saying we'd have to go back through the shops! The hotel itself was incredible. It was originally a 16th century palace and it looked the part for sure. A stone entryway led us into a small courtyard before arriving at the door to the building. The inside was just as impressive with the grand stone staircase and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the entryway. This was one of our favourite if not the favourite stay of our journey! 

After a quick rest to get ourselves situated and get our tired feet out of our sneakers, we looked into what to do the rest of the day. Since it was such a short walking day we still had so much free time. Firstly we decided to find a place for lunch. 

We found a pizza shop and then a donut shop and with our food items we went into a courtyard to sit and eat and enjoy the atmosphere of being in such a well preserved Medieval city.

We had looked up a short self guided walking tour and started to make our way around the city. We visited old chapels and old ruins. Stopping at a visitor center along the way for another stamp. The Ruins of Santo Domingo were especially neat to see. Right in the middle of the city surrounded by newer buildings were these ruins coated in moss. 

After our walk we searched out for a supper spot. There was a Burger King but we wanted to attempt to not go to fast food places during our camino. A place called Lola & Lia caught our eye as it was open all day unlike most restaurants in Spain. Unfortunately once we were seated we discovered that they were only open for dessert items on the menu and not actual food. I ended up getting pancakes with chocolate sauce, bread crumbs, and vanilla ice cream. It was very tasty but not exactly the best thing to have for supper! 

After that we went back to our fancy palace hotel to rest up for another day of walking. 

Camino Day 3: Pontevedra to Caldas de Reyes (Apr 2)

Distance walked: 22k

With another early we start we said our sad goodbyes to the beautiful palace hotel. We would never forget our magical stay in the Medieval city of Pontevedra. We crossed the bridge that led us from the old city to the newer city of Pontevedra. Immediately you could notice a significant change. No more were there cobblestone streets and the occasional ruins of centuries old buildings. We were now being surrounded by modern day roads and buildings. Not as fun to walk through but a neccesary venture to complete our camino. 

Once outside the new city we entered back into countryside areas and little villages that we got to walk through. Some of these small villages were some of my favourite parts of the camino. I loved that the markers led you through towns and villages I would never would have even thought to have visited. You truly get to see the Spanish countryside as it is and not as some tourist trap (though the camino itself has become way more popular in recent years). 

Today took us through picturesque villages and through magical fantasy esque forests with moss covered walls. I would have loved to have taken more pictures of this stunning forest we walked though that was absolutely one of the highlights of our camino, but we ended up conversing with a few other pilgrims. We met a man from Wales and spoke with him the majority of the wooded walk. While it would have been nice to take more photos, this is a memory that can not be replicated. The people you meet along the camino will always be unique to you and are a part of what makes every camino so different for every person who embarks on the journey. We eventually caught up with the rest of his family and broke apart from there. Throughout the rest of the walk to Santiago de Compestela we did pass and get passed by this group a few more times. Always passing pleasantries to one another each time.

We stopped by a little cafe for a bite to eat before continuing on, collecting another stamp for our passport. I noted a little stone man with walking poles that I had to take a photo of! We were beginning to lose the foresty area and were entering into more open farmland. A few locations along todays walk had a bit of an unpleasnt odour. I have experienced the smell of farmland from back home, and this smell was vastly different. While I don't love the smell of cow manure, I would take that over whatever smell we came across in the Spainish farmlands. It was quite gross at times! Thankfully it usually did not last too long.

Shortly after we arrived to the 50k markers. We were halfway to Santigo de Compestela!This adorable orange kitty greeted us along the path. It almost seemed as if it would follow us the rest of the way. It was so cute as it rubbed itself along the backs of our legs. I just wanted to take him with us!

Then finally after another long day we caught our first glimpses of the town of Caldas de Reyes. This was also a very beautiful little town. It had some older buildings and cobblestone pathways, and a lovely river that ran halfway through the town.

Our good mood for reaching our next destination was soured a little when we encountered some difficulty getting into our next accomadation. Apparently we had to call some number in order to get in the building and our airlo data plan did not allow calls. Either that or we could just not figure out how to make local calls with our Canadian phones. I was reaching the point where I just thought we should screw it and look for another accomadation. Luckily a man came out of the building and despite not speaking much English did his best to help us out. We eventually found the lady who was able to let us in to the apartment. Looking back, there were other reviews left from people being annoyed with having the same issue as us. Would not really reccomend this place just for the inconvenience alone. 

Once finally settled into our accomadation, we looked into what to see in the town and places to eat. There was a little pub type place across the street so we decided to head there first. I had some chicken strips and fries and I have to say, the fries here were probably the best I had in Spain. Still not as crispy as I would have liked, but adequate enough.

We then headed towards the river and walked a ways up and down. It was quite peacful and also quite nice to walk without our packs on. The river views were so beautiful! We found a little park area with some hammocks and stone lounge chairs that we could sit in and rest. 

Then it was goodnight to Caldas de Reyes.

Camino day 4: Caldas de Reyes to Padron (Apr 3)

Distance walked: 19k

Today was our latest start to date; 0800. I know, so horrible to get up and going so late! Like all the other towns/cities we stayed in and even with the later start, the streets were still quite empty. It allowed us to enjoy the unique architeture without lots of people around. 

We caught a very nice sunrise with an interesting bridge as a backdrop before we expereinced the first rain of our camino. Through some more fun forest paths the first spinkles began to fall on us. At first we did not think we had to bother with a rain cover, but that soon changed and we thought we better protect our bags. Once the back pack was on we found it annoying to take off and put on again. Which is why our first day in particular was so tiring. We did not take many breaks that day. We eventually realized that despite the annoyance of taking the packs off, it was a good idea to take a break around every hour or so to give our hips and legs a break from the walking and carrying our packs. Now at this particular time on the camino, we stopped and removed our packs a little earlier than planned in order to put our rain covers on. I also decided to put my rain pants on, though my mom elected not to.

After passing a horse and some cows we made our way to a little cafe. Honestly the main reason for this stop was in hopes the rain would stop by the time we were ready to embark again. I got a chocolate croissant and chocolate milk. And of course, more stamps for the passports! It's all about the stamps.

The rain did slow down a little, and throughout the day it was not too horrible. It went from a light sprinkle to a harder rain on and off the entire day. We passed through some more farmland seeing orange trees, old churches, and more animals. On one wooded path the trees were arched in a way that made it feel like we were walking through a tunnel. 

We found oursleves at a little shop were my mom got herself a snickers that she had been craving and we got ourselves some camino pins. I put mine on my shoulder pack alongside my Donatello pin. We of course acquired some more stamps. This shop like a couple other cafes that we had been to had a self serve stamping station. Perfect for introverts who hate talking to people like myself! That is one thing I have noticed along this journey. A lot of places do not mention that they have a stamp, you have to specifically ask to have one. I know thousands of people ask these places every year for stamps, but I still felt so awkward asking the shop and cafe owners. So these self serve stamps were great!

A little longer walking though wooded paths and enchanting cobblestone forests, and we were appoaching our next stop; Padron. 

Walking into the city was unique as we started off at a higher altitude. So we overlooked the city from a higher vantage point before walking downhill into the city itself.

We stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant: A Catrina; known for having the coolest stamp along the camino. I really loved the decour inside. It was done up like the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico. I loved all the colours. I also really enojyed that we were able to use an ipad set at the table to order our food. The food was quite good and I enjoyed my smoothie in a Day of the Dead cup. They were correct about the stamps. They really are the coolest! We could pick out a colour of wax and watch as they melted it down and then gave our passports a wax seal stamp. How cool is that!

We then walked around the city a bit, exploring their gardens that had some unique plantation compared to what we are used to back in Canada. The city similar to the other ones had that typical European vibe that I love with the stone pathways that make you feel transported back in time. 

Our hotel for the night was a little outside the city itself, but put us closer to our final destination. Because of this we had to explore the city with our packs on the whole time, but we were sure we would be happy for it with the little less walking we would have to do the next day! Less than 24 kilometers to Santiago de Compestela!

Camino day 5: Padron to Santiago de Compestela (Apr 4)

Distance walked: 25k

We woke up excited. We would be arriving at the official end of the camino! (Not our finish line though). Less than 25k to go. It is crazy how that can seem like such a small number after walking for over 75 kilometers. We got our bags all packed and ready to go before heading downstairs for the breakfast. We got in one last toilet break, got another stamp for the passports and headed out the door by 0750.

We started our trek walking though some lovely villages with stone walls and pathways. I spotted a black cat but it ran off before I could get a good picture of it. The weather said it may rain today as well so we kept our rain covers on our bags.

Passing by more churches and forests, we got to say hello again to our aquaintances from Wales. Then just out of the forest we came across a little rest stop. We got ourselves some super healthy snacks; Snickers and peanut M&Ms and used the self serve area to give ourselves another stamp.

A kilometer or so from that rest stop we began to hear music. At first we were a little annoyed. Similar to when hiking and some idiots have a speaker and take away from the sounds and peacefulness of nature. We thought some pilgrim had a speaker but to our surprise it was actually a man playing the piano. Our annoyance quickly turned to admiration. He was playing his music for the passing pilgrims. It put a smile on our faces. We gave him some money and got another stamp for our passports.

Eventually it did start to rain on and off. But we have to "camino rain or shine" is how I put it. I remember someone from work asking what I would do if it rained while on my walk. I just told them I would have to just keep walking and that that is why I had rain gear packed. 

We walked through another little town and as we were exiting and going down a wooded path we noticed a couple go off into the woods a little. The guy looked like he was squatting down. We do not know for certain, but suspect he was taking a poo. We were both just so shocked. We literally just walked through a town and could still see it from the path. Why would you go in the woods! Maybe he just wanted the full pilgrim expereience?

Soon we passed by the 5k marker and entered into the longest 5k of our lives. We were so close, yet so far! Once out of another wooded area we were soon able to see glimpses of the city. Our breaks were becoming less and less frequent. And once in the city we still had a ways to go before reaching the church. 

We knew we were close once we started seeing more and more camino based tourist shops. The Shell markers became less frequent but we still knew we were getting closer to the end. Then through the walkways of the city we could make out our first glimpses of the church spires. We entered out into the wide open courtyard and looked up at the Santiago de Compestela. We had made it! 101k done. We admired the site for a while and found a place to sit in happiness at our accomplishment. Even not being religious myself, I always find the architecture of churches so impressive and awe-inspiring to look at. Humans are capable of building such beautiful things, it is a real shame that architecture has become so mundane and universal worldwide. We are losing individuality and uniqueness in our cities across the globe. I don't want to travel to new cities just to see the same tall glass skyscrapers. 

Getting away from that sour thought, we went literally just around the block and found our hotel to get our bags off our backs. To our surprise the room was ready and we went right up and stored our stuff and changed out of our shoes. This was another hotel we were exicited for. It had this really cute terrace type set up that looked so nice and cozy.

With the sun trying to peak through the overcast clouds we started our next little adventure to find the office where we would obtain our certificates to say we had officially completed the camino. It was not even 1400 at the time we had arrived and already at least 100 people had already finished that day (they had the stats up). We logged in our info into a computer and waited in line to get the certificates. 

Now, offical pilgrims, our next goal was food. I had looked up an Italien place nearby and thought we could try that out. Look at us still avoiding McDonald's! The restaurant was called: La Piccola Italia. The food was quite good. I had some pesto pasta and my mom had some bolognese pasta. They gave us a small piece of chocolate that we saved for later.

Then we took the rest of the day to explore a little. We checked out some little shops while I searched earnestly for the next magnets for my collection. We went through this really tiny walkway that if google hadn't told us to go down, we would never have thought to walk. We found a pharmacy to grab some foot stuff for my mom and then searched for a good cookie place. I found one on Google literally called: Cookies & Drinks. We got a chocolate chip one and a red velvet one for later.

We returned to the Compestela before going back to our hotel. We had walked 101k to get here, we might as well go inside as well! It was just as impressive on the inside with its grand pillars and very detailed sanctuary. We were able to walk in behind it as well to get a closer look at the art. 

Now back at the hotel we sat out on our terrace to relax and enjoy our cookies. They had some sort of nutella type substance on the inside and the red velvet had an oreo tasting cream. These cookies would have been so good heated up but unfortunetly we did not have a microwave. They were delicious just as is!

Admiring our last stamps and certificates we wanted to rest up, for despite this being the end, it was not the end of our camino. Tomorrow we would set off on a new camino. A Camino to Finisterre or "the end of the world". I discovered that you could still collect stamps and get a finisterre certificate, so I was happy that our stamp collecting would continue!

Camino day 6: Santiago de Compestela to Negreira (Apr 5)

Distance walked: 20k

We completed our 100k to the end of the camino and now it was time to embark on another adventure. A journey to the "end of the world". We had the latest start of our camino at 0818. It was nice to get some rest before we have to walk another 90 kilometers.

Walking by the Cathedral de Compestela we got to enjoy the view without as many people. Only downside for today was that there was a marathon going on later on so the whole courtyard was being prepared with barriers for the end of the race.

Our first stop of the day was at Tertulia for some breakfast. We both got a variation of pancakes and I got myself a cup of fresh orange juice. I usually hate pulp, but quickly grew used to it with the fresh juice along the trail. I loved that we were able to sit outside even though there was some rain starting. The way they had the tarp set up allowed us to be protected from getting wet and we could enjoy the atmosphere of the early morning city.

Fueled for the day we continued our walk through the city, enjoying the stone walkways until we found our first marker for Finisterre. Only 90k to go! Along our walk in the city we also noticed a Michelin star restaurant and it had a photo of the Michelin man. I thought it was funny that they had the Michelin man on the window but after a quick google found out that the two Michelin's are the same. I had no idea!

Now out of the city we got to enjoy some lovely green spots of moss covered walls, and walkways of trees that feel like they are bending in over the trail. Whenever I see trees forming almost a tunnel like image it reminds me of that scene from Fellowship of the Ring when they use that cool effect on the pathway to make it look like the trees further away are getting closer.

Our walk started taking us a bit uphill and we could see the cathedral in the distance. Already we had walked so far. Then in a small inhabited area an orange cat ran up to us and starting rubbing up against our legs. It was so cute! I love seeing the cats during our walk.

Soon after we found some more animals, this time horses in a open field. They did not come that close but we were able to admire them from afar.

Some more wooded pathways and few old ruins later and we found oursleves at a little rest stop for a brief lunch. We actually did not want that much but then the waiter brought us out a small bowl of pasta. It was very yummy and ended up being a very good time for food as we were about to approach a very long uphill section.

The hill seemed to go on forever and ever. We took more frequent breaks and we continued the long and tedious climb. The photos do not do justice for how steep it was. Definitely one of the longest and steepest sections of our camino thus far.

The hill was worth it though, for shortly after that tiring walk we found ourselves in cute medeival town of Ponte Maceira. This town was so beautiful with the old bridge running across the river and with all the buildings in the foreground with the orange shingles. The craziest part was that cars could actually drive across the bridge. It seemed way too narrow, but then all of a sudden there was a car driving by. Another bonus to this town was the adorable kitty we ran in to.

Soon after we made it to our hotel in Negreira. It was a pretty basic hotel but we did not need anything fancy. Once again we ran in to the problem where all of the restaurants were closed until later in the evening. This is not a country for 5pm supper people like us. Google maps made it seem like a pizza place just up the road was open, but when we walked past it the metal slider door was halfway down. There were a couple people in the store but we figured they were locals. We saw a fellow pilgrim go in and waited to see if he was succesful, but alas he soon left with no food. 

There is not much in this town and most things were closed. We did make our way to the supermarket where we got ourselves a couple snacks. Google is also not to be trusted with restaurant times. We walked to another restaurant but that was also closed. By this time the pizza place would open sooner so we just headed back there. Though sadly the pizza place did not have pizza at the moment. I ended up having some chicken tenders instead. 

Then we went back to the hotel to get some much needed sleep. 

Camino day 7: Negreira to Marzaricos

Distance walked: 28k

Now we have arrived to the infamous day 7. This was a challenging day mentally and physically for my mom and I. It was the day we came closest to hitting a breaking part. Especially with the main part of the camino already behind us, there were moments we contemplated just taking a taxi to the next city. But we persevered  and we defeated this day!

We left around 0808 after some breakfast at the hotel and were in pretty good spirits despite the daunting distance ahead of us. The morning atmosphere was one of my favourites of the trip with the overlaying fog that gave us some eerie images and allowed me to take a really cool photo of my mom walking through the town. It looked like I put a gray scale filter on it!

The beauty countinued for the morning as we came to a slight uphill into a wooded path. We could see the fog within the trees below like a blanket over the land. And now that we could see the sun, when it broke through the trees onto our path it looked so mystical. A magical morning indeed for what later became our most dreaded day.

We left the forest for a brief moment to walk through a small village. I found another orange cat that I caught mid meow in the photo. When I zoomed in, the cat looked almost demonic. Still cute though! Back in the woods we continued to try and take breaks every hour or so walking and would take our packs off to give our hips a break. We tried to be especially desciplined today with the longer distance.

Not too longer after, we found a sign pointing to stairs going uphill to a hostel/cafe. We really were not thrilled to add more stairs to an already long day, but we were not sure when we would next find a place to eat. So we elected to go up for breakfast. It ended up being worth it, the food was really good! Though the sandwich they gave me was enormous! Bigger than my head!

There were some nice views of the farm lands at lower elevations and we did get excited at one point seeing more horses. But alas, this is the point in the day when things started to go down hill (though we seemed mostly to go endlessly uphill). 

This day had a lot of road walking which was just very energy draining. We were also approaching the warmer parts of the day and we now had very scarce coverage to shield us from the unrelenting sun. I could not imagine doing this in the summer months! I think I would literally melt. We reached a point where we would do our best to time our breaks when we found the next shady spot. Not very easy to do this day. Some breaks we had to do with no coverage and some the only source of shade was a small tree. Our excitement from this morning was waning quickly.

The roads we walked on just seemed so endless. We loved walking though the forest and there was hardly any on this later part of the day. Just open roads with the sun beating down on us. Looking back at the pictures, the day does look lovely with the green grass and blue skies. Can't say we got to admire the beauty in the moment when we felt we were dying of heat. The other aspect that made this day harsh, is that the horrible smell mentioned on an earlier day was so much more present today. In the farm land areas it felt like thats all we could smell for a good portion of walking. And it was a horrible smell, I can't even describe it. You know it's bad when I work in a operating room with the smell of cauterized skin and other unpleasant things, and yet I would have to say this farm smell was far worse. We always knew when to prepare our noses as it always seemed to follow these weird heaps of I don't know what surrounded by tires. If we saw that, our noses were about to be under distress.

We then made it to a divide where pilgrims could either countine to one town or the other depending on where you booked your hotel. Both had markers to guide the way. And then we headed uphill, and then uphill, and then uphill. It felt endless! We had seen windmills all day and now we were right below them. Once we finally started going downhill we were so relieved. Plus we only had a few kilometers to go. So close yet so far. It was the longest 3ish kilometers that we have ever experienced. 

This hotel was easily the one that made us the happiest to see. It was such a relief. We made it! After a long gruelling walk through smelly farmland and blistering sun with no shade, we were done walking for today. We could rest up for more walking tomorrow, haha.

The hotel was a little confusing to get in. The main door wasn't open. We had to go around to a side entrance. Once checked in we went up to our hotel and collapsed on the beds. There would be no exploring today. We only left to get a bite to eat from a pizza shop called Pinocchio's. The woman at the shop was lovely. She made us a delicious pizza and we ate all of it. With no fridge we had no choice really. So many places served only coke but I was happy to get a glass bottle of pepsi (I have not see those in a long time). Now all fed, it was time to rest up.

Camino day 8: Marzaricos to Cee

Distance walked: 26k

Today we were back to an early start at 0730. The start to this route had a lot of roadside walking with yellow arrows on the ground leading our way. Since this was a sort of detour we did not hit an official camino shell marker for a while. At one point in the morning a car drove very close to us at a great speed. It scared us both a little. There was not much offroad for us to walk, but with this being a camino route you would think the drivers would be a little more careful. It did make me wonder with some of the routes taking you on the side of a road, do any pilgrims get hit by cars? I did try to do a quick search later on that day but nothing really came up. 

We got to see another really nice sunrise and in less than an hour we were back on the main pathway showing only 37 more kilometers to Finisterre. We saw a cat lying in a field which always brightens the day and on the flip side saw the tire farm pile thing that equals the horrible smell. It did not last long this day thankfully.

Next major destination was the town of Olveiroa which is also a popular overnight location for pilgrims. We just did a quick walk through, and passed by some really neat artwork. One of which had someone with a wolf mask on. The artstyle reminded me of Princess Mononoke.

Leaving the more urban areas we ventured back into our favoured wooded paths. Walking over a stone stone walkway over a stream we began a more upwards walk. Not nearly as bad as it was yesterday. It was also earlier in the day so the temperature was better. This part of the walk was also much more scenic and with our higher vantage point we could look into fields and valleys below us. In one of the fields we spotted a herd of cattle. They were different from the cows at home with their large curved horns. 

Then it was time to stop for a food break. We came across a little cafe called O Logoso and got ourselves some sandwiches and orange juice. We also met a few more pilgrims, This group did the full camino starting in France and did not know each other at the start. They met along the way and decided to join up and the even decided to just keep going after reaching the end. So interesting who you can meet along the way. One of them even had their dog with them!

Continuing on we satrted walking though a more open field area with a pathway for pilgrims. Along this path we came across a little food and gift station with no one around. There were prices listed and a box for money. My mom got so excited over this, especially since there were bananas. She got one and we both got a bracelet. We left some money of course. Really amazing that they trust the passing pilgrims to honor the costs. Hopefully people continue to pay for what they take because it is really quite nice to see. They even had water available.

Before heading uphill again we passed a giant statue of a wolfman. I did give it a google and there is some sort of story/legend in the area to do with the wolfman. Which explains the mural and the statue. At this point in our camino we started trying to play some games to pass the time, like humming a song and the other person trying to guess it. Mine were mostly Disney songs!

In the distance we spotted our first view of the ocean. The ocean always makes us so happy. In Nova Scotia you are never more than an hour from the ocean. Despite this, I never tire of seeing it. Even with all the trails and hikes in NS, everytime we see the ocean my mom and myself always get so excited for those beautiful coastal views.

Rejuvenated by sights of the sea, we knew we just had to keep walking and that the end was getting closer and closer. We did a quick stop at a little church ruin a little off the trail. We had not realized there was someone there but this man came over to us and encouraged us to go inside. We felt a little obligated to do so. But there was a camino stamp so I suppose it was worth it! We also got our first glimpse of the town of Cee where we would be staying.

It was then a long downhill into the town. Which makes sense considering we were at a higher altitude and going into a seaside town. The seas air was starting to hit us now. After so long being without ocean, it was so lovely to see it again.We made our way through the town and checked into our hotel. We had some time so we decided to walk around the town a little. Again it was challenging to find a place that was open with food. We found one place that said it was open all day but when we got there they were telling us to order quickly as their kitchen was closing soon. These places really need updated times on google. We were very thankful that they did let us order some food. 

After the meal we walked to the beach and sat and enjoyed the ocean views. What also made us happy is that we were almost to the end. Only 16 kilometers to walk tomorrow and we would be officially done our 191 kilometer camino. Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the last walk.

Camino day 9: Cee to Finisterre

Distance walked: 16k

We finally made it to our final day of walking. Our camino journey would end today. And with a 0755 start we went to the beach to catch the sunrise and to say goodbye to the cute beach side town of Cee. The start of the days walk toook us uphill through the cobblestone walkways of the town to take us towards Finisterre. The great thing about leaving early is catching the beautiful sunrises's and there are always way less people in the morning. 

We walked through more paths with moss covered walls that felt fariy like and past open fields, all while getting the occasional ocean view that we love so much. We passed a few more cats along the way and even had a little puppy come up to us while walking through a neighbourhood.

 

At the 8k mark we went through another magical forest with stone walls guiding our way. We were almost there! Once we got to the end of the forest trail we set our eyes on our final destination. The end was within reach! The last little bit went by quick. The scenic coastal walk helped with that for sure. 

Once in town we looked into a place to eat and found a cute little cafe that had such endearing decor. I was served my tea in a little tea cup and saucer. The tables were pink and they had lots of plants around the windows that just made the atmosphere so cozy.

We then tried to check into our hotel but the doors were not even open as we arrived before 1600. Rather than wait around we decided to take our bags with us the last few kilometers to the "end of the world". I suppose having our bags the remaining few kilometers made it more offical! This walk seemed long as while it was not steep, it was a steady incline nearly the entire way. But once we spotted the lighhouse we were so happy! 191 kilometers completed with our bags on the entire time! We ended up meeting some men from the UK and Ireland who had done the whole camino starting in France. They asked my mom where her poles were. See, it is weird for her not to have them! We chatted with them for a good 10 minutes or more. It is quite amazing hearing about other peoples caminos. 

We spent some time exploring the little area and taking in the lovely ocean views surrounding us. Saw another cute kitty and bought myself a kilometer 0 magnet. We even got one last stamp that had kilometer 0 on it! The man was gone went we went by again, so it was good we got the stamp when we did. Then it was time to lug our bags back to the hotel. This time we were able to check in. 

After a brief respite and now bag-less, we took the time to explore the little town and had some lunch at one of the few places open before 8pm, and finished with gelato for a dessert. We got our certificates for finishing the finisterre camino and went back to the hotel to relax from an exhausting 9 days. But our camino was not yet done. I told my mom that we just had to see the sunset at "the end of the world". I did not love the idea of waking the 3-4 kilometers there and back again, but we may never be there again. So we did it. We after walking all day, walked back up to Finisterre to catch the sunset. At least we did not have our bags this time. 

I think in the end the walk was worth it! We even got to see som goats, and I got some lovely photos of some of them with the sun getting close to setting. We walked around trying to find a nice place to sit and went up on some rocks to get a nice vantage point. Then we just relaxed and enjoyed watching the sun set at the end of the world. The perfect way to end our 9 day camino. 

This turned out to such a wonderful adventure and I am so happy that I was able to do it with my mom. I know she had been wanting to do it for so long. I am not sure if I would have done it without her. I had never even heard of the Camino de Santiago before my mom started talking about it. While some moments were challenging both mentally and physically, I am so glad we did it. It brings you through towns and villages that you would never even think to visit. We saw so many amazing places and despite my introvertness even met some incredible people. After this we did end up going back to Portgual for a few days. (I will write a separate post for that as this one has been quite long.)