via de la Plata - Sunday 20th March

via de la Plata - Sunday 20th March - Home to Santiago

This morning was filled with all of the small details of setting off on any holiday – unplugging everything, delivering the cats to the cattery and checking on passport and tickets many, many times.

On other occasions we have taken the coach down to the airport but seeing as four of us were heading down this time we drove and parked in one of the long stay car parks and then caught the bus to the airport. We had already sorted our toiletries into bags but going through security always takes time anyway and we were glad to be through and headed to get some food.

We had only just finished eating when we found that Mum and Dad’s flight to Porto had been cancelled – they had been planning to walk the Camino Portuguese and meeting us in Santiago when we had all finished but there were no other flights to Porto available (or to Santiago either – had there been then they could have caught a bus out from there to Porto.

Our own flight was not cancelled but when we were loaded and seated we found out that it was to be delayed by 1 hour and 50 minutes! Becky dug our Monopoly Deal cards out of her bag and we spent most of the time playing that.

By the time we had landed it was 11:20 meaning that we had missed the last but into Santiago before we had gone through passport control so we caught a taxi to the hotel we had booked beforehand – the taxi cost us 21 euros which seems to have been a fixed rate.

After the long day travelling it was nice to relax a bit in the hotel room.

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Route Napoleon closures: November-March

For anyone thinking of setting off on the Camino anytime soon just a reminder that the Navarrese Govenmnet closes the Route Napoleon over the Pyrenees from November 1st - March 31st each year (and longer if need be). Roncenvalles in the snow The official notification for this (from last year) is below.

The Camino Primitivo

The Camino Primitivo (or the Original Way) is reportedly the very first Camino Way to Santiago in the 9 th century when most of Spain was under the control of the Moors and it runs from near the city of Ovideo in Asturias as it starts in Villavicosa (which also lies on the Camino Norte so many people follow this Way from Basque city of San Sebastian (Donosti in Basque) or in from the French border at Irun ( this route then hugs the Bay of Biscay passing through Guernica, Bilbao, Santander, Llanes before going under the Picos de Europa and then heads along the coast to Ovideo) before branching off onto the Primitivo which goes across the mountains and through the city of Lugo before joining the Frances at Melide. The route is 320km long. Image taken from https://viaalpina2013.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/camino-del-norte-camino-primitivo/

Albergue - Arca

126 beds in large rooms but sectioned off into 6s - two bunks and two single beds. Lights above each beds and lockers (but no locks on them). Large kitchen - the best equipped in Galicia as far as I know. Showers are hot but open and mixed. A little tired in appearance but I do stay here every time I'm in Arca!

On the Camino

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