Highlights

• 🍳 7:00 am – Breakfast here always makes me chuckle. Bowls of tinned mixed fruit complete with glacier cherries – very retro! Gaby, the “secret squirrel,” stealthily whips up a sandwich for lunch and slips it into my bag (yes, my bag!!).
• 📸 7:50 am – A quick group photo with the sunrise glowing behind us. Smiles all round – off we go!
• 🥾 9:35 am – Today is all about people. The Camino is buzzing. After a steep climb out of Betanzos, I fall into step with four lively ladies from Cornwall. They’re here celebrating one of their 50th birthdays on Wednesday – which just happens to be Santiago Day. What a way to mark the milestone!
• 🛎️ 9:44 am – In a little village, we find a church with a rope dangling down the wall leading to the bell above. Last time I was here, an old lady scolded us for ringing it too much. This time, Gaby steps up with glee. “Dong!” rings the bell. She grins. “Can I do it again?” Of course she can.
• ☕️ 10:55 am – After what feels like endless tarmac, the trail finally melts into magical forest. And then – salvation – a café! Café con leche, plus a bocadillo to take away. Familiar faces drift in: the Cornwall crew, the Americans, Stefano, and even the young Portuguese duo who get a high-five as they pass. These little cafés are the beating heart of the Camino – places where conversations flow, friendships form, and our stamp-queen Wendy swoops in demanding her sellos.
• 🥪 12:44 pm – Picnic time! Bocadillo in hand, I sit in the shade and fuel up for the climb. “The Americans are coming!” someone shouts playfully as familiar faces appear. The mood is light, the hill ahead less so. Lou, Lucy, and Jane blast music and dance their way up. I stick in my earbuds and power on, promising to meet everyone at Granny’s Café.
• 📸 On the way, I pause to take a photo for an Asian family – their son has them dancing round a chair (TikTok, perhaps?). Surreal, but joyful to see.
• ☕️ 2:10 pm – Granny’s Café. A Camino legend. I arrive to find Granny in full swing – fussing over Lou, Lucy and Jane. She’s turning out parasols, plonking stools under our feet, and dishing out biscuits, salami, and beer. A saint in an apron. Soon the whole gang arrives, reunited and re-energised for the final push.
• 🐈‍⬛ 2:35 pm – Then… a noise. A kitten crying pitifully from the roadside. It’s the unmistakable “I’ve lost my mum” mew. I try to coax it over, but it bolts. My heart sinks – traffic whizzes past and I feel awful leaving it. Later I hear John tried earlier to rescue the same kitten but it bit him several times. Fingers crossed he doesn’t start foaming at the mouth!
• 🙌 3:00 pm – Destination reached. Five of us hop in the shuttle to our hotel, while three keep walking, chasing extra stamps for their passports.
• 🍺 4:00 pm – A cold beer with Alison and John is heaven. We meet Rianna from Holland, who is an absolute gem – full of stories about her Camino journey so far.
• 🍽️ 7:30 pm – Dinner is… an experience. We discover another party of 14 Brits here (Durham, Manchester, Leeds). How have we not bumped into them yet? One is a priest due to give a sermon in Santiago on Wednesday. Banter flows between our two groups, a proper British knees-up.
  Food-wise, I swap my pork chop for John’s salmon. Dessert is odd: everyone else tucks into cheesecake, while my “pineapple” arrives as two sad rings straight from a tin. Camino life keeps you humble! 😂
• 🛏️ 9:48 pm – I’m done. Feet up, lights out. Tomorrow is another day on the road to Santiago.