Welcome to Tui, Spain!

I will begin walking the final leg (118k) of the Camino Portuguese Way in the morning … And … documenting my progress via both my YouTube channel and Instagram account for GhettoGirlTravels!

See you there and Buen Camino!

As some of you will remember, I walked the entire French Way of the Camino, for my 67th birthday, two years ago! It took me 40 days! So, why walk another Camino? I’m on a cruise, leaving from Barcelona, at the end of the month. So … you know me … I flew to Lisbon early and decided that I had time (and maybe the knees) to walk part of the Portuguese way.

I have to be honest! It’s been hard. My first Camino was in July. This November is cold and rainy along the Portuguese Way. My backpack is for both the Camino and the two cruise trips that will follow. This is my first real attempt at traveling internationally with only one small bag. I have a “one in one out” policy. Today, I dumped my rain soaked tennis shoes and purchased a new pair.

It’s said that the Camino provides. I’ve met so many great people along the way to keep me going and a few others who told me it was OK to stop. My hotel in Mos was really closer to the next city over and not on the Camino trail. I stopped to rest, while a truck backed out, in front of me. A woman approached and asked if I needed help. I asked for directions to my hotel. She saw the name on my phone and said, “I’ll drive you. It’s too far!”

I took an Uber from the airport hotel back to the trail, in Mos, and continued walking. I had booked rooms in Redondela and Arcade. Both were short distances that took me six to eight hours to complete. I was sitting in a bus shelter, waiting out the rain, before my final push to Arcade, when two women appeared. They asked if I was OK. I told them my whole cold, wet, knee arthritis saga. Then, I asked where they started from? They replied, Tui! They had walked over 30k that day! It had taken me five days to walk the same!

You have a lot of time to think, when you’re walking any part of the Camino solo. When I walked in 2023, I didn’t know about my bone on bone arthritis. Now, it played in my head, with each and every step. At a sign asking me and my knees to do the impossible, I said yes! It was late. I didn’t have another 360 meters in me, so I picked the 70 meters with the 15% grade. I figured more pilgrims would also take it and I wouldn’t be as alone on the trail, if I needed help. Was it the smartest choice? It was a painful downhill choice, after the ascent. Thank goodness my Albergue was just across the street from where the trail ended. I was the only pilgrim booked for the night.

I decided to call it quits, the next morning. I took an Uber to Pontevedra. The 12k would have taken me eight hours. I had booked two nights, to give myself a rest, before I tried to do an all nighter push to Padrón. Two days later, I took the train. There’s an express train and a local train. I, of course, took the wrong one. A woman getting off the train with me saw the shock on my face. She asked where I was going and I showed her the name of the albergue. Her reply was, “I’ll drive you!” Her car was parked at the station and she had an hour before she began work. That whole the Camino provides works, even when you’ve stopped walking!

The ride took less than fifteen minutes and she pulled over near the center of town. My final Albergue was a mere ten minutes away. I was refused a bed, because I booked via the Expedia app. I sat, used the free WiFi, and sent a message to customer support. They called and I was given a bed. My guess is the owner was used to how Booking dot Com makes the reservation for you and then you pay onsite. She said she’d never work with Expedia and I didn’t know enough Spanish to explain that I found her Albergue on Expedia.

The next morning, I walked fifteen minutes to the correct train station. I used WiFi from the hotel across the tracks and purchased an earlier train ticket. I was officially done. It felt good. I pushed myself halfway and stopped, before doing any real harm. I arrived at the train station, ate something at the cafeteria, and then made my way to the Cathedral. The people I met along the Portuguese Way were amazing. For that alone, I have no regrets.

Once there, I counted four pilgrims seated on the ground, in front of the Cathedral. I greeted those who had completed their journey. My hotel is a short distance from where you show your official Camino Passport to receive the Compostela Certificate. I didn’t complete the 100k necessary for the certificate. So, I walked on to my hotel. I’ve booked a hotel (dorm room) for the six days I had left to finish the Camino. Could I have walked the final 25k (along with walking and not taking Uber and the train)? Maybe, or maybe not. I’ll never know the answer to that question.

What I do know is I’ll be 70 next year and I now know how important it is (for me) to pick a warmer month and give myself more time to walk, recover, and finish! Oh, you were thinking that my Camino days were over? Northern Way, See you when I see you! XOXO—GGT