Pilgrims from across Europe have been walking to Santiago de Compostela for centuries. The residents of Great Britain, however, had to walk to the south coast of England, sail across the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay, and then walk to Santiago. There are two historic ports of entry for the English pilgrims: Ferrol and A Coruna. I chose Ferrol, a major port town for the Spanish Navy, approximately 120 km from Santiago to start my second Camino.
I caught an early bus from Santiago to Ferrol and then walked in a light rain to the starting point on the dock. There I found an information centre where I received my first English Camino stamp.
Peter and Maureen
Peter and Maureen are a father and daughter team from Liverpool, England. I met them on the dock taking a selfie. They were celebrating Peter’s 80th birthday by walking two days of the English Camino together.
Most of my day was spent walking the north shoreline of Ria de Ferrol through an industrial area of town. The waterway eventually narrowed and was crossed by a pedestrian bridge next to my destination for the night, Albergue de peregrinos de Neda.
Maria and Yilin
Maria and Yilin are friends from Singapore. This was their first Camino. They chose this shorter Camino route not knowing how they would like it. They were all smiles on the last day when I met them again.
Unfortunately, The town was shut tight for siesta by the time I got there at 3pm. At 8pm I headed out in search of supper. My Spanish is poor and the menu was on a chalkboard. Google Translate helps but it is not always accurate. I ordered “Jamon Serrano” and a “Mixta Salada”. The server delivered a basket of Galician bread (a tasty crusty sourdough), a generous green salad with onions and tomatoes, and a plate of 24 slices of a ham equivalent to prosciutto. He smiled. I didn’t finish the jamon serrano but I kept the extra bread for breakfast. I missed Luís my translator.
Today I walked 25 km.