Got back midweek from our Camino!
Day 1 Ferrol to Neda
Our hotel was in the middle of Ferrol so we walked down to the official starting point and had to back track afterwards - in hindsight, we should have wandered down to the starting point and back the evening before to cut that out of our first day milage.
First whole day is walking around the Ria Ferrol - bits of pretty beach but mostly industrial port vibes and a good bit of road walking.
Our hotel in Neda was Paza da Merced - maybe top 5 hotels we've ever stayed in.....it was $160 for our room - it would have been a +$700 room back home here in Austin
Day 2 Neda to Pointedeumo
We did discover there are several bag services - 5 euro per bag per day - you could pick and choose days, so we utilized that 2 or 3 days just out of convenience.
Lots of road walking and a lot of it was still along the Ria Ferrol just horseshoing around on the other side.
Pointedeumo was the prettiest town we stayed in - lots of old medevil structures still in place from the 7th and 8th century but it is built on a hill so EVERYTHING is slanted. I can't imagine walking around there drunk.
Day 3 - Pointedeumo to Betanzos
Lots of up up up right through town to get the day started. Much prettier, way more farmland and trees. We are way into all the cafes along the route - it's like glampacking - hike 5 miles, have a couple glasses of wine, hike 5 miles, eat dinner and more wine.
Day 4 - Betanzos to Bruma
Easily the most challenging day - both in milage and elevation gain.
[this day was from the red mark to the second red mark]
Before you get to Bruma, the route from Ferroll merges with the route from A Coruna so you start to see a lot of new faces.
Bruma is tiny and lodging is limited but there are some nearby towns that have lodging that will shuttle you. Ours had laundry service, which was awesome.
Day 5 - Bruma to Sigueiro
Similar distance as the day before but without the elevation.
Lots of farmland and probably the most non-pavement milage of the trip. We stopped after about an hour at a cafe - there were two locals (in their early 20s) who were hammered (before 10am) talking to everyone - they were a hoot.
When we got to Sigueiro, we watched the Champions League Final at a bar, which was fun.
Day 6 - Sigueiro to Santiago de Compostela
Short Day to Santiago de Compostela.
Getting our certificate was interesting - I think only Chic-fil-a and Disney have a more dialed in system to move lines along. Train to Madrid was easy to get to and super smooth.
Other notes....
The food was fine but it was ridiculously repetitive - same 3 or 4 things for breakfast, same 3 or 4 things for lunch, same 6 or 7 things for dinner....at every stop.
We stayed at a mix of hotels and hostels - in the hostels we did get a double private room in each one. As a result of this, we did not need any of the bedding, pillows, or towels that we packed - so that was just wasted pack weight.
Overall fantastic trip - would definitely recommend and we'll very likely do another Camino.
