Day 41 & 42 on the Via de la Plata

38km to Ourense

124km to Santiago de Compostela (Yep, it increased! Calculated something wrong somewhere…)

The day started off well, I left at a good time and started out with a good pace, walking with an English guy I'd met in the town before. It was nice as the first part of the trail wasn't very inspiring and he was also a photographer, so it was doubly as nice to be able to chat about photography and all things related.

The trail was very straight, very boring, very grey for a while, but it finally shifted towards lunchtime and we walked through some beautiful places. We made good time and ended up sat down for a long-ish lunch, parting ways after. I must’ve overeaten though, I felt so full and unusually sleepy after eating.

Lots of good boys on the path this morning.

The first Hórreo I’ve seen!

It was slow-going and dismal after, which wasn’t great since there were still many miles to go. Of course, that wasn’t enough, and it also began to rain. Heavily. The weather was foul, and the walk really not that exciting. Ourense is a big city and the path changed into the industrial, concrete “blah”ness much too early for my liking. I don’t usually mind these areas - there’s often something strange or interesting to see - but I just wasn’t in the mood today.

My shoes became soaked through quickly - this close to the end, I figured there wasn’t any point trying to buy new ones - and with around 10km to go, I was flagging hard. I inhaled all the snacks I had, taking small breaks in any shelter I could find as often as possible. As soon as the trail changed from peaceful nature to the outskirts of the busy city though, it felt like it would go on forever and ever.

Changing to dry socks was a much-needed moral-boost, even if they didn’t stay dry for very long.

It was already late when I finally made it to the beginning of the suburbs, but I calculated that there shouldn't be much longer to go and that I'd arrive maybe by 8 pm at the latest.

That was optimistic. The day’s tribulations weren’t over yet; I went the wrong way, following yellow arrows which went on to a lush hiking path… only to find out they weren’t actually part of the Camino. Excellent.

I didn’t even realise I was going the wrong way; the new path led over some wonderful hills covered in heather, away from the pavements and main roads, and I was really enjoying it. I finally realised, as the path I was following began to lead in the opposite way to where I needed to go, that I was possibly going the wrong way.

In the end, I made it to my hostel around 9.30 pm, dripping wet thanks to the pouring rain which came back with a vengeance when I was about fifteen minutes away. I think the entire walk was more like 40km in the end. My feet are ruined. I was heavily tempted to skip dinner and go straight to sleep, but I hobbled slowly to a yummy dinner and then passed out in bed, looking forward to a lie-in and a day off.

The moment I started down the wrong path without realising.

My rest day was full of treats; it was perfectly blue and sunny when I woke up after a long lie-in, then later on I met up with my cousin and we spent the day eating: big bowls of ice cream, the most delicious pizza for lunch, and we ended the day in the hot springs. This is what Ourense is famous for, its hot springs. There are private locations you can pay to enter, but also free, public hot springs and there are numerous dotted around the snaking Miño River that runs through the city.

It was an absolutely glorious evening and I really needed a second, maybe a third day dipping between scalding hot and freezing cold water to let my body recover from yesterday’s 40 km ordeal.

Oh yes.

Oh yes yes.

The hot springs.

Driving back along the Río Miño, the longest river in Galicia.

To be honest, I’m rather pleased that I managed to see it all the way through, and so soon after being ill. There are only four days of walking left now!

Until next time,

A x

---

About me

Hey! Ameena here - I’m a freelance portraiture and documentary photographer based in London. I enjoy telling stories about adventure, the outdoors, and our relationship with the natural world.

In this newsletter, I’m digitally retracing my steps on the Camino de Santiago. From March to May 2019, over 45 days, I walked over 900km along the Via de la Plata (the Silver Way) route of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain.

Donate a cup of tea?

If you’re enjoying this tale, you can show some love by buying me a strong cup of tea. This twitchy-eyed creative will thank you for the support and the caffeine!

You can also support me for free by pressing the little heart button, sharing this newsletter with others, and leaving a comment here, or find me on Twitter.