Experience Camino: part 6 – the best octopus and public holiday

10 days done, 3 days to go. It felt so unreal at that moment. We already walked more than 200 kilometres and it looked like we would make it there! But before that happened, we needed to conquer a couple more challenges…

DAY 11

Palas del Rei – Arzúa

28,5 km (walked 29,57 km)

6:56:00

The longest stage, we walked almost 30 kilometres that day. But it wasn’t the longest walk, my watch showed a total time of almost 7 hours and 10 minutes of walking on day 4. That felt like the most difficult day, the day when we crossed the mountains.

Cows everywhere, again

One more day of walking through the fields and meadows and small villages full of cows’ excrement on the road. It wasn’t raining this time so it was a bit better. We made fun of it and sent a picture to one of my friends that day. Cows were there first, good morning!

This day was long, but it felt fine. It wasn’t that hot anymore, there were no great mountains in the way. The only challenge of that day was not to order more pulpo and keep going instead…

Restaurant serving the best pulpo

I had this restaurant noted in my notebook. It was after 10 am when we came to the spot and ordered a beer and plate of octopus. Beer at 10 am? In Spain, nobody cares. People are free to do anything they want here without being judged. 

The restaurant had an open kitchen, and the chef who was cooking the octopus was at its very front, so people passing by could see him cooking and cutting it. He offers small pieces to taste for free as well. It was insane how much octopus was cooked in that place only during the time we were there.

They brought the octopus with bread and beer. We had our first bite and agreed that it was the best octopus we ever ate and one of the best meals ever. It was cooked perfectly, melting on our tongues when chewing it. Complemented with the spices, which brought out the flavour. The soft bread and cold beer with it. I could eat that every day!

Arzúa

We were walking through the forest that day, crossing the small river. It was nice. Arzúa was a small town, nothing special. We washed our clothes there one last time. Next time, we will be washing them at home! At least my friend will. I continued my travelling and spent a few more days in Portugal after Camino.

Accommodation

Albergue los Caminantes – Good accommodation, average and comfortable.

Restaurants and bars

• Pulperia a Garnacha – the restaurant, to which I dedicated one whole paragraph. You simply have to stop here and taste the octopus, even if you’ve never eaten it before.
• Churrería O’Furancho d’Santiso in Arzúa – nice looking restaurant and the food was great as well!

DAY 12

Arzúa – O Pedrouzo

19,3 km (walked 19,29 km)

4:40:08

We went to pick the clothes up in the morning and found out that they were not dry yet. It was the first time this happened to us, everything was always dry until the morning as most of the days of our Camino were dry and hot. Days in Galicia were more humid and not that warm, the clothes were hanging on the lines outside on the covered patio. 

Well, we did the same thing many other pilgrims were doing. We used the safety pins we packed and hung the clothes on our backpacks, so they were drying while we were walking. We saw many clothes, even underwear, hanging from others’ backpacks before. It was a common procedure.

It was only a short walk compared to what we walked yesterday. We enjoyed it and took some pictures. We passed such an interesting restaurant, but it was closed!

How many bottles are too many?

It was in the middle of nowhere in a small village. The beer bottles were everywhere, hanging on the nails or glued to the wooden arches which would be decorated with some flowers and plants anywhere else. They were on the trees, benches, and walls. We weren’t the only ones who stopped there and took pictures. 

We were disappointed that it was closed. Maybe we were there too early? It was before 9 am and we wanted to keep walking. There was no note regarding the opening times. There are more pictures from pilgrims who spent some time inside on Google Maps, check it out!

The pool is an extra €5

Reaching our last albergue felt weird. It was the last accommodation that we would share with other pilgrims. The last place where we could meet people we had been meeting for the last 2 weeks.

There was a pool! But we were advised, that we have to let them know before we want to use it as there was an extra charge of €5 per person using it. We were looking forward to this albergue with the pool the whole journey. We wouldn’t mind paying extra for it, it was weird, but what to do? But guess what? The weather on that day was horrible! It was cold, it was raining most of the afternoon, as far from the pool time weather as possible. Such a disappointment.

Washing the leggings with wet tissues and hair straightener

We could compare pilgrims walking the proper Camino with the tourists, who came here to enjoy the walk and be as comfortable as possible here. 

I didn’t plan to wash my clothes on that day, but I realised that it would be probably cold and rainy the next day and I had only one pair of leggings with me, the ones I was wearing on the day. We didn’t sweat at all on that day, so they were good to go for one more day. But they were all black and from the mud up to my knees. I found the wet tissues and “washed” them that way. Still wearing them, I was going with the wet tissues up and down until all the mud was gone. Sorted!

In the meantime, there were a couple of tourists next to us, going through their belongings packed in small suitcases. The girl opened it and there was a hair straightener on the top of her clothes. Hair straightener on Camino. We giggled and rolled our eyes. Such a luxury!

Public holiday in O Pedrouzo

O Pedrouzo is a small village with one main street. There aren’t many restaurants, we had lunch in one of them while there weren’t that many pilgrims yet. We went to the grocery store to buy snacks and some food for our last day. 

Well, it was the 15th of August. Public holiday in Spain. That’s why so many restaurants were closed! Unfortunately, the grocery store was closed too. Plan B?

We saw a gas station on the way to the village, so we from one end of the village to the other. Not even sandwiches there. We bought ice cream, crisps and chocolates. We were hungry again. So we decided to go to have dinner. 

Leaving the restaurant without paying

The restaurants were so full of people! As there were only a couple of them open. We sat at one of them and had to wait for a while to be able to order a pizza. Then we were waiting 30 mins, 45,… My level of hangriness (hunger + anger) was rising. We tried to get the attention of the waiter. Good luck! The chaos which was happening in that restaurant was insane. People were waiting to order, to pay, waiting for food, and then a large group came in and got pizza while we still didn’t have ours. More people coming in to get the takeaway pizzas.

After more than an hour, we were told that they had forgotten about us. We stood up and left. It was the first time in my life I left without paying. We had one beer each and a shot of coffee liquor (you have to taste that one!). I didn’t care. The service was one of the worst I ever encountered.

Dinner of the day – cake and smoothie

We tried one more restaurant where we saw some pilgrims we knew, but we were told that we needed to wait for an hour. We asked for bread with butter and ham. Anything! Still the same answer. So we ended up in the ice cream place, where I managed to buy the last piece of cake they had and some mango smoothies. We went to sleep hungry. And I don’t want to see that village ever again. It was probably the worst afternoon of all Camino.

Accommodation

Albergue Mirador O Pedrouzo – it was nice, at the main road at the beginning of the village. The bathroom was shared amongst many people, it was a full bathroom with a shower and toilet, pretty large compared to the previous albergues. But there were only 2 of them on our floor.

Bars and restaurants

Casa Tía Dolores – the bar with bottles I mentioned already. Check the opening hours the day before if you want to take a break there.

Something extra for today – Daily routine

We walked ‘only’ for 13 days, but we met pilgrims, who walked the whole Camino for 32 days or even more. It was a huge stress for the body and mind, therefore we needed to have a routine during the day to be able to survive it and continue the next day again.

Morning

1. Don’t skip the alarm, you need to wake up on time!

You can argue that it is kind of a holiday. Yes, you don’t have to wake up and go to work, you are not responsible for anyone and anything those days. But later you wake up, later you will start walking. It is crucial, especially during the summer, when the temperature rises crazily during the day. You are usually walking under the sun, so it can get hot. 

We usually set the alarm at 5 or 5:30 am and aimed to leave albergue within an hour, it all depended on availability of the bathrooms. This way, we could enjoy an hour or two before sunrise and then the first hours of the day while it wasn’t that hot yet. Pack the headlamp!

2. Eat something before you start walking

It doesn’t have to be full breakfast. But don’t skip the food completely. You can eat energy/protein bars, muffins, any kind of pastry or even some cookies or crisps.

After approximately hour of walking, we stopped in the local bar/restaurant, sat down and had proper breakfast – tortilla de patata, coffee, pastry,…

During the walk 

3. Refill the water whenever possible

Even if you are missing only a sip or two from your water bottle, stop by the water fountain, drink and refill. We learned that the most of the water fountains we found were safe to drink from, except the ones where it was literally the sign that the water is not drinkable. No sign – no danger. If you want to stay on the less hazardous side, you can ask for a refill in any restaurant and bar, even if you don’t purchase anything from there. They are happy to give the tap water to pilgrims for free.

4. Use the bathroom whenever possible

In every bar or restaurant where you will have a break, even if you don’t feel like you need it. Still better to use the toilet there, than to look for a cosy place in the bushes.

5. Snack throughout the day

This advice is from the running coach from the marathon training – eat for your future you, not for your present you. It is too late to eat when you are already hungry during exercise, even during the walk. Your body will start to struggle with energy when the feeling of hunger will appear. Keep track of your snacking, try to eat something small every hour or two. Sugar, carbs, and caffeine are your best friends on the go. 

After you finish your kilometres

6. Stretch and sit down for a couple of minutes

You take off your shoes and go to your assigned bed. Put the backpack down and start stretching. I know many people don’t stretch even before or after gym. They can probably afford to be sore the next day. But you can’t! You are walking the next day. So stretch, especially your leg muscles and do some twisting of your back and shoulders, too. If there is enough space, lay down on the floor for a couple of minutes, or at least sit down. Don’t lie in your bed, you are probably dirty and sweaty after all day and you could fall asleep like that.

7. Shower and change of the clothes and shoes

The shower is the best thing ever after those days. Enjoy it, but don’t stay too long as other pilgrims are waiting for it. Change to the clothes you are not using for walking and if possible, walk for the rest of the day in some open shoes – sandals or flip-flops. If it is too cold or raining when going outside, wear a pair light trainers you packed for your afternoons.

8. Buy food for the next day

Go to the grocery store and buy snacks for the next day and something for your early breakfast. Don’t walk without snacks, you never know what can happen while you are in the middle of nowhere. Be smart!

9. Wash the clothes

There are washing machines available in albergues or you can hand wash. This was the worst part of the day, as you are already tired and you don’t have energy to do any chores. You don’t have much choice as you pack only a couple of pieces of clothing.

10. Rest, eat, repeat

Eat during your afternoons. You will feel like you are eating more than usual, but you are also spending more energy than during your usual day at home. Have a nap, take a walk around town, and go to sleep early. Repeat for as many days as possible…

Are you ready for the very last part of this series about Camino de Santiago? If you don’t remember how this all started, you can come back to part 1. And if you are excited about how it will all finish, stay tuned…