A Postcard From... Galicia Pt. 1
The start of the fourth and final segment of the Camino De Santiago
Coming into the last week of the Camino was bittersweet. On one hand I was so excited to get to Santiago and celebrate how far we’d come, but on the other I wasn’t quite ready to head back into the real world and say goodbye to all my friends. That being said, we didn’t let the looming goodbyes get us down, and had a blast on our last week on the Camino.
Read about the first three stages of the Camino here!
Camino Pt 4: Galicia
107 Miles | 4,073 meters (13,362 feet) of gain | 7 Days
Castro - O Piñeiral - O Cádavo - Lugo - As Seixas - A Peroxa - Santiago De Compostela
Castro - O Piñeiral - 17 miles
For the first time in a while, we woke up to a bright, sunny morning. Being 5k ahead of the previous town where most pilgrims stayed for this leg, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast while watching others walk by knowing they started their day much earlier than us. We waved and said hi to familiar faces, but as always, we weren’t in any rush to get moving.
The morning climb was met with beautiful views of green hills and windmills in the distance. However, to our dismay, there was not a breath of wind to reprieve us from the heat. We naturally split up during the climb but regrouped at the top, where we ran into our Scrabble friend. He snapped a picture of “the young giants,” as he calls us, since I’m the shortest in the group at 5’10”.
Continuing on, we crossed into Galicia, the final stage of the Camino. It was a bittersweet moment, knowing we only had a handful of days left. The Galicia markers are stone with “Galicia” engraved at the bottom (just in case you don’t know where you are?) But they’re quite beautiful compared to the spray painted yellow arrows we had been following for the last few weeks (but have absolutely grown to love).
The rest of the afternoon was pretty chill until it wasn’t. We planned to stock up on groceries since our albergue had a kitchen. To save time, we took a shortcut into town, which ended up being a mile of an incredibly steep climb that left us huffing and puffing. Once we caught our breath, we headed for one of the bigger grocery stores, only to realize it was siesta time. So we made do with a small market and grabbed enough for dinner and breakfast the following morning. Luckily, we’ve gotten significantly better at knowing how much food we need to make a meal (and have enough for the hungry boys) but to not have to carry too much for the next few miles until our Albergue.
Ana and Fritz took off ahead while Joachim, Erik, and I strolled behind. We passed a stretch of land marked as private property but designed as a rest stop for pilgrims. It had lounge chairs, hammocks, snacks, tea, and Camino information—a wholesome spot where I wish we could have lingered longer, but we had an albergue to check into.
Our albergue was another half-hotel, half-albergue setup. After showering, we trickled downstairs to the hotel bar, which was showing the Euros and offering plenty of free tapas. Eventually, Joachim and I headed upstairs to make dinner in a kitchen that was a bit tight on space, but nothing we hadn’t dealt with before. Good news for us, there weren’t many other pilgrims at the albergue, so we were able to take over the kitchen for ourselves. We piled around the kitchen table, ate, and played cards all evening - a great way to end an evening in my mind.
O Piñeiral - O Cadavo - 15 miles
The boys made breakfast for us this morning, and we took our sweet time enjoying it, not starting our day until 10 a.m. We headed off into a warm morning where Fritz and Ana took off ahead of us as they were on a power walking streak again, leaving Joachim, Erik and I to our own adventure. We spent most of the morning together before stopping for lunch at a small, off the path cafe complete with - tortilla.
After lunch, we encountered another long hill. As tends to happen, everyone settled into their own pace. I spent the climb lost in my own thoughts, which carried me through most of the afternoon. Thankfully, the hill was nicely shaded by the forest, keeping things relatively cool until the final descent into town, where the heat caught up with us. Joachim had gone ahead, and Erik eventually caught up to me as we made our way to the albergue.
By the time we arrived, Ana and Fritz, who had gotten in much earlier, had already gone to the store and started dinner prep. I managed to sneak in a much-needed shower and a quick nap before we all gathered around the outdoor table to eat.
After dinner, we each called our parents—a moment I found oddly sweet. That said, it feels slightly unfair that everyone else can have private conversations in their native languages while I’m out there chatting in English for all to hear!
O Cadavo - Lugo - 21 miles
Today felt special for two reasons: we were reaching Lugo, our last big town (and where we planned to take a rest day the following day), and we’d hit the final 100 km of the Camino—another bittersweet milestone. Determined to maximize our time in Lugo, Joachim and I decided to actually get an early start for once. So we were up early making breakfast, aiming to be walking by 8.
By 8:15, the three of us (Joachim, Erik, and me) were out the door, leaving our power walkers to handle the dishes—our “you cook, you don’t clean” rule—and knowing they’d catch up soon. Spoiler: we didn’t see them all day. Why? Because we took the longer, scenic route. Meanwhile, Ana and Fritz opted for the shorter path, passing us somewhere along the way and reaching Lugo far ahead of us.
Our route offered little in terms of food or rest spots, but we had snacks to keep us going. When we were desperate for a break, we stumbled upon the “pilgrim oasis,” a small shaded area where a kind local provided water and fruit for passing pilgrims. On such a hot day, with minimal shade, it truly felt like an oasis—a much-needed pick-me-up for the final stretch.
Coming into Lugo we had to stop for a photo in front of the 100km marker. Kind of surreal to think we were coming up on our final days (only 62 miles to go). To celebrate, the three of us stopped for what turned out to be the best ice cream of the entire Camino before heading to meet Ana and Fritz at our apartment for the night.
The apartment was spacious, and we were thrilled to have a place to relax for the next day. After showering and settling in, we decided to enjoy the evening with drinks and tapas. With no alarm waiting for us in the morning, we embraced the chance to stay out late and take part in the Spanish Night Life (although a Wednesday night). I thoroughly enjoyed a few glasses of Tinto de Verano or “red wine of the summer” - a mix of cheap red wine with the equivalent of Fanta Orange Soda. A sweeter version of Sangria? The tapas ranged from absolutely delicious to some of the worst food any of us had ever tasted resulting in a true adventure of the evening.
Lugo - Rest Day - 0 miles
Rest day! And conveniently, it also happened to be the Fourth of July. Erik and I were determined to give our European friends a true taste of the USA. Once everyone slowly woke up, we made our way to the grocery store to gather supplies for a classic July 4th pancake breakfast and burgers for dinner later that evening.
I quickly learned that American pancake mix doesn’t exist in Spain—a true shock, I know. With no measuring cups or spoons in the apartment, I improvised using a recipe I found online. Thankfully, the pancakes turned out well—or at least everyone said they did, which is what really matters.
We spent the day exploring Lugo, famous for its Roman walls. Built in the third century, the walls still stand tall, encircling the old town. We walked along the top of the walls, enjoying panoramic views of the city below. Naturally, we had to take Ana and Fritz back to the ice cream shop we discovered the day before—it was just as good the second time around.
In the afternoon, we grabbed towels and headed to the river. We’d spotted what looked like a public pool on the map, but when we arrived, it was packed with screaming kids and turned out to be private. Instead, we found a beautiful park by the river, filled with people picnicking and relaxing. It was the perfect spot. A few of us went for a swim, and then we all sprawled out on our towels, reading and soaking up the summer vibes—a quintessential rest day, if you ask me.
Back at the apartment, Erik and I took on the task of making burgers and fries for dinner—the second installment of our Fourth of July menu. We may have underestimated just how little hunger we’d have after not walking 20+ miles, so we ended up with way too much food. Still, we ate as much as we could before calling it a night.
With an early wake-up looming, we threw on a movie and headed to bed after what felt like a much-needed day off.
I hadn’t planned to take a rest day—not because I don’t think they’re necessary, but because I wanted to keep pushing through. In hindsight, I’m so glad we took one. It was such a treat not to strap on our backpacks for a day and to spend time together in a more relaxed, “normal” way. Not that anything about our day was remotely “normal” by everyday standards, but getting to enjoy each other’s company without the grind of walking all day, especially so close to the end of our journey, was really special and I’m so happy we did it.