Day 4 – Betanzos to Hospital de Bruma
DISTANCE: A gruelling 16.89 miles, 27km, 38k steps.
TERRAIN: Some very steep hills today. There were beautiful woods with eucalyptus trees but there was also lots of road walking. I miss the ocean views.
I was awake at 6 am but today I promised to wait for my friends. They all woke up at 7 am and we were ready to go by 7.50am.
LESSON LEARNED…
Mistake number 1 was not having any breakfast. It wasn’t until 10 am did we stop for our first coffee. I was gasping! It was a beautiful walk through forests and the way the sun shone through the trees was stunning. (Lots of photos).
I must admit, I was inspired by Erik Op Ten Berg to buy a “seat pad” and it’s been a godsend. Mainly because everything is so cold in the mornings. Even the chairs in the cafe. I’ve used my pad loads today.
ENJOY THE FRIENDSHIP ALONG THE CAMINO
11.09am – only 20mins after our last coffee stop and we see a sign for another bar. Outside it said “14km to the next cafe”. My friend Julie would be proud as I stopped again! 2 x coffee stops in 1 hr! And chocolate cake (homemade!).
Today I mainly walked with Alberto and Susie. Michael has declared them a married pair so we giggle about this all day. We create a made-up family for them including kids with weird names…. the things you do to amuse yourself on the Camino!
Alberto got very excited when he spotted a lion plant. We had no idea what one was until he showed us a very cute pink flower that when pressed together it roars like a lion (see video)
MY SPECIAL FLOWER
I felt rather left out when Alberto gave Susie a “flower of the day”. Each day they wear a new flower on their packs and it’s now a tradition. I wanted something on my pack to be part of the family so the first thing I saw was a pampas grass. It looked ridiculous, but we didn’t stop laughing. I kept it on my pack for the next 10 miles!
2.15pm – last cafe before our final destination (the landlady was very proud of her stamp! She kept telling all the pilgrims “sello, stamp, here here”. This bar was so friendly. She also wanted photos of us all.
NO ROOM AT THE INN, AND NO TENT!
Just as we left the final bar we had a text from Michael. The hostel was fully booked. No room at the inn! Panic set in as we started looking on booking.com and making phone calls. There was one place available which was only 1.7km from our final destination. A hotel room with 3 beds @ €25 each. We would have to accept it otherwise we would be on the street tonight!
ITALIANS LOVE THE SPICE GIRLS!
We were very tired so a bit of “Spice Girls” was launched via Alberto’s YouTube Channel and we sang our way through the last two kilometres!
Our hotel is excellent and we literally had wine,a hot shower and a pilgrim meal (noodle soup, chicken and flan). It’s now 2100hrs and I’m in bed struggling to keep my eyes open.
The best part of the day was phoning home and chatting with Matt. I miss him and Rachel when I’m away.
Night night all.
SPEND
- Cafe Con Leche for breakfast- €1
- Pina, chocolate cake and an apple €4.90
- Beer €2
- Hotel €25 (as all the hostels were booked so we have a room with three beds and our own bathroom) bliss!
- €7 at the local supermarket.
- Dinner €12
TOTAL: €50.90