Camino de Santiago Recap Part 1

I’m back from my journey of a lifetime, walking the Camino de Santiago along the Portuguese Way. I can’t wait to share it with you.

To keep the length of my posts manageable, I’ve decided to split my recap into two parts…so here we go with part 1.

Traveling to Baino, Spain

Our trip started out with a long series of flights, beginning at the beautiful newly-remodeled Salt Lake City Airport.

From there, it was a 2-½ hour flight to Dallas, Texas, where we boarded the longest leg of the trip, 9-½ hours to Madrid, Spain. Luckily, we splurged on First Class, so we could have the seats that lie completely flat for sleeping. They also provide bedding, slippers, and a little toiletry bag.

For a look at the seating arrangements, see my YouTube video. I will just say it was well worth the cost for the comfort it afforded us for such a long flight. In addition to the extra space, they served a three-course dinner and a light breakfast. It wasn’t Michelin Star quality, but it wasn’t bad for airplane food.

In Madrid, we made it through Customs in quick time and boarded the final quick hop to Vigo, Spain, where our driver was waiting to take us to Baiona.

Rest day in Baiona

We arrived at Hotel Bahia Bayona and were pleased with the location, near the ocean and right next to the Camino path.

The room was small, but clean and comfortable. That night I slept in a single bed for the first time since childhood. It was surprisingly comfortable.

And we had a nice little balcony with a view of a small inlet and a colorful lemon tree.

That evening, we enjoyed delicious pizza and wine and did a little site seeing.

We had a scheduled rest day in Baiona, so that we could enjoy the pretty shoreside city and hopefully adjust to the 8-hour time change.

Related video

Day 1: Baiona to Vigo

The next morning, at about 9 a.m., we hit the trail for our first day of walking. It was sunny and 61 degrees F. We were excited and nervous to get going.

This was the one portion of the Camino that was not well marked and was less crowded, so we relied heavily on the Camino Ninja app to ensure we were staying on track.

Much of the day, we walked along the beach, which was beautiful and so peaceful to listen to.

We were also in awe of all the beautiful flowers.

We got our first credential stamps. We were officially pilgrims.

This was a long day…16 miles…and it got a little warm later in the day: 75 degrees F. We weren’t yet conditioned to the long distances, and the last three miles were pretty tough. We were very happy to arrive in Vigo, but still had the challenge of finding our hotel. Apple Maps laid out the turns, but failed to mention that we needed to take an elevator and a funicular just to get up to the street it was on. Luckily a kind passerby was able to clear that up for us.

Hotel Tres Luces was another small, but clean room that suited our purpose of a place to shower and lay our heads.

The only thing that could get us out on the streets again was our hunger, and this dinner was well worth the effort.

Check out the video below to see the unique after-dinner “clean-up crew.”

Related video

Day 2: Vigo to Arcade

Day 2’s start was similar to the day before. We hit the path at 9 a.m. under sunny skies and 61 degrees F. We were both a little sore starting out, but once our muscles warmed up, we felt pretty good.

It was a little challenging finding our way out of the city and back onto the Camino, but once we saw this unofficial sign, we knew we were on the right track.

Overall the signage today was great, and there were more pilgrims on the trail, so we never felt lost.

The climb out of Vigo was steep, but we were rewarded with this spectacular view.

We walked through more forests, including one with a nice waterfall, where we stopped for a photo and to get our first wax stamp.

We were treated to periodic glimpses of the ocean throughout the day and saw some beautiful old architecture.

These interesting grain bins were everywhere.

We also came across this touching memorial wall and spoke with a woman who was walking in memory of a friend who had previously walked the Camino with her and had since passed away.

We passed through more vineyards as well.

We were pretty worn out by the time we arrived in Arcade.

Unfortunately, it was another mile along a busy highway to get to our accommodations, Hotel San Luis. This hotel was a little rundown; however, it might have been just the room we were given, as we did peek in another room that looked like it had recently been remodeled. We had the pilgrim dinner in the hotel, which was just okay, but the coffee and dessert were good.

Related video

And that’s it for Part 1 of my Camino de Santiago recap. I hope you’ll join me next week for Part 2, as we make our way from Arcade to Santiago de Compostela.

Your turn

1. What have you been up to while I’ve been away?
2. Have you ever been to Spain? What did you think of it?
3. What else is on your mind? Anything at all; I just love to hear from you.