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Hiking In Tenerife

I was in the Canary Islands some time back and I had a blast. It's a really beautiful spot with lot's to do and the weather is of course absolutely amazing! The Canary Islands are a series of Spanish Islands off the south coast of Morocco and for my trip there, I was in Tenerife, the biggest of the Islands.

While the Island is relatively small (785 Square miles), it is of course a mecca for tourists. The more or less guaranteed sun combined with sandy beaches and night life is a winner for most, and so the Islands are a popular destination for many, particularly for folks from the UK, Ireland, Spain and Germany.

It's worth noting that Tenerife is effectively a Volcano and Teide is the name of the big volcano on the island, It's a majestic site to see as you fly into the airport, Teide rising high in all it's glory from the ground in the center of the Island.

Of course, I am all about hiking but I too wanted to relax on a volcanic sand beach, enjoy the sun and sample the many delicious restaurants on offer, like any typical tourist 🙂

I of course had my eye on some hiking though too 🙂 When I first started researching it I was happy to find that there are quite a few really nice hiking opportunities on the Island. I thought it might be useful to add some thoughts on them here in case you're planning to take a trip to Tenerife anytime soon and would like to get out on the trails there.

First off, I should reiterate just how beautiful the Island is, it really is a gem. Tenerife is unique in that there are effectively lot's of little micro climates all over the island. For example, moisture comes off from the sea in the winds and rises up against Teide, the big volcano on the Island which we'll look at some more below, on one side. The moisture however, can't always get up over the volcano. This means that one side is exposed to moist air regularly, while the other side is kept in more arid and hot conditions.

It follows then, that this type of weather diversity on the island, means that the flora, fauna and wildlife on the island is similarly varied and really beautiful. I'll go into that some more later too but for somewhere so small, the land is rich with unique landscapes with varied wildlife all within a few miles of each other. you can be walking on a black sand beach and then in a few minutes be on martian like landscape. It's pretty cool!

Teno Alto

OK, so Teno Alto was the first hiking location we checked out. Before getting into it, I should give an idea of where we were staying. The town we were staying in was Buena Vista Del Norte, a quiet little down on the West coast of Tenerife.

We were staying in a beautiful hotel on the coast there and as we were on the West side of the Island, the cool breeze was delightful coming in from the sea. Really excellent to have this while lazing about in the sunshine.

As mentioned, Teno Alto was the first place we decided to go hiking in as it was the closest to the hotel. There is lot's of information available in the town center in the tourist office on hiking routes and they'll happily help you out with any questions you may have.

So, to get to Teno Alto, you need to head up into the hills. Now, Tenerife is pretty easy to get around by car, there are main motorways around the island but also lot's of old roads that lead up into the hills. These roads are really, really small and windy and so you need to be careful on them. It takes a while to get used to driving on them for sure.

You can see the location of Teno Alto in the map above. If you don't have Google maps, fear not, you simply follow the map given from the tourist office and the signposts on the road. It is not hard to find but the roads do really get very small in places and they wind round and round on the way up. So take your time heading upwards as there can be traffic on the road and in many spots, two cars abreast just isn't possible, and you definitely don't want to fall over the side 🙂

We parked the car at the top of Teno Alto and basically headed off on the winding paths into the hills. you can follow these, they're all well marked, in a few directions and there are lot's of pleasant hiking opportunities. As you progress a long, you are greeted at the top by some farmhouses which sit lazily on the landscape.

As you go further into the hills you leave the farmhouses behind and you are greeted with lot's of beautiful rolling hills like in the picture below.

You can also head over these hills towards the sea. You get some fine views of the edge of this part of the island. There are many viewing spots along the route, that's me at one of the many of them below.

After taking some of the amazing views in there, you can head downward towards a lighthouse at the far side of the mountain. This is a much longer hike and one we decided to have a go at.

While we made it to the road, we decided not to push on to the lighthouse as we were running short on water and had to head the whole way back up the mountain to get back to our car.

Lesson 1 here is obvious 🙂 I'm an experienced hiker and so figured I had plenty of water with use for the journey we took on. However, the temperature was very temperamental. Remember that micro climate thing I mentioned? Well, we enjoyed cool temperatures and it was breezy when we parked the car up. As we headed on the trails into the mountain and eventually down towards the lighthouse, the temperature seemed to sore!

We had enough water to get back to the car but I didn't want to risk going to the lighthouse as that would have been too much adding another two to three miles to the hike. The main coastal road was also closed off in this area for some road works so there was zero traffic around and no shops in sight to get some water. Better to head back to the car where we had lot's of water!

When we got back to the vicinity of the car, sure enough, the nice cool temperatures came back. It could just have been the day that was in it but I suspect this was my first experience of the varied climates on the Island. It's worth mentioning too that we encountered our first wildlife on the Island on our Teno Alto hike, a Hen hiding in among the vegetation!

Teno Alto is worth a visit. It's beautiful and quite secluded. Aside from some farmhouses, you won't see too much habitation and quite possibly not many other people. We met only two other hikers in the 5 or 6 hours we were there so it felt very remote.

While probably not the most famous place for hiking on Tenerife, it is really pleasant with beautiful rolling hills and some fantastic views out over the sea when you get towards the side where the lighthouse is. Definitely worth a look.

El Teide

I'm putting El Teide next as this was the order in which we did the hikes. El Teide is the name of the volcano on Tenerife. It's summit reaches 3718 meters into the sky, from sea level, and 7, 500 meters from the ocean floor so it's no small thing and is actually the highest point in Spain and the third highest volcano, on a volcanic ocean island, on the planet.

I'm not going to insert a map for El Teide as to get there is pretty easy as it is very well signposted from just about everywhere on the Island and it's also pretty hard to miss 🙂 as it towers right bang in the center of the island.

When you travel to Tenerife, Teide is easily accessible and there are several options to get to it. You can drive up to the visitor center, park and take the cable car up to the summit. Once at the summit you can then travel along few of the well marked trails there.

There also several other trails which lead from lower down on the volcano to the summit. For example, if you're up for a challenge, you can also approach Teide from Montana Blanca. That's a much different affair and it will take you about 5 to 6 hours to reach the summit of Teide. It's no mean feat in the Spanish heat I can assure you.

Now, I should add here that to truly go to the summit, you need to apply for a pass and you need to do this well in advance. If you don't have a pass, the cable car point is the highest point you can go to. Only a certain amount of people per day are allowed to go up to the top of the actual volcano, the edge of it. To the best of my knowledge, the volcano is still active, so be careful if you do 🙂 Kidding! It is still active though to the best of my knowledge …

Whats really cool are the clouds that I mentioned earlier. They come in from the Western side of the island and push up against the side of Teide. They quite often stay there and as you drive up through the park you actually drive up through and eventually above the clouds! Plenty of amazing views to be had for sure!

What to Expect?

If you've ever wondered what hiking on Mars might be like, this is probably as close as you'll get to experience that on Earth. The ground is, obviously, all volcanic rock. Therefore it has a lunar / martian feel and look to it. It's pretty cool, I have to say.

The rock itself is very dense, or at least that's how it felt to me when hiking over it. My feet got pretty sore quite easily, felt like the ground was much harder than anything I normally hike on.

As mentioned above, there are trails and you need to stick to those. They don't want people wandering off onto the volcano itself as it can be very dangerous. You can easily slip on loose stone, which there is lots of, and as the ground seems so hard, at least it did to me, impact from taking a tumble would not be pleasant!

What's kind of fun about Teide is that the summit moves. Yes indeed, as it's a volcano, that has from time to time went off, it has rearranged the landscape. The Volcano has actually got higher over time!

Historically, Teide was a sacred mountain to the Guanches, the original island people. Teide last erupted in 1959 and it has been known to be active throughout the centuries. There are numerous recordings of volcanic activity in the history books. Christopher Columbus apparently witnessed an eruption on Teide back in the day.

As you travel further down around the volcano, you will see all manner of beautiful plant life. Volcanic soil is nutrient rich so that mixed with the climate and the secluded location has led to some unique and beautiful flora, fauna and wildlife.

Masca

Masca is probably one of the most idyllic places to visit on Tenerife. Located in the North West at the foot of the Teno mountains, this lovely little village isn't the easiest to get to and can be very busy with tourists. If you get a few tourist buses up there, it can be difficult to get a car through for sure!

Historically, apparently Masca was once a hideaway for pirates and one could see why, even today it's hard to get to. For that reason, we decided a tour was the best way to visit this place, a hiking tour to be precise 🙂

As mentioned, Masca itself is a small but beautiful little village. The stone streets are really pretty and overall, the town area is really quaint and picturesque.

There are one or two cafe's and shops there and some houses, but not much else.

The hiking tour started in the center of Masca and headed down through beautiful ravines into Masca bay. This is a popular hike and one I really recommend checking out. However, be warned. If you hike down from Masca to Masca Bay of your own accord, you have to hike back up! There's no way out from the bay unless you have a prearranged boat ride.

It's about a 3 hour hike down so it will definitely be longer going back up … a lot longer. With the heat factored in, you also need to be very careful on the water supplies although there are usually people selling water and so on in Masca Bay.

I don't want to give the impression it's a popular beach resort 🙂 far from it, I mean it's some enterprising dude with an ice box filled with drinks. I wouldn't fancy lugging a freeze box full of drinks down from Masca town into the bay I can tell you 🙂 I assume he get's dropped off by boat with is a neat little sedgeway into what we did.

To give a general outline of our tour, which is a popular one on the island, picked us up at our hotel and drove us by minibus up to Masca. We then hiked down from there into Masca Bay, and from there took a boat to Los Gigantes. We finished up by taking a taxi back to Masca back to our minibus to be driven back to our hotel. Sounds complicated I know but given the terrain and the heat, it makes sense to do it that way. The boat ride is beautiful too.

As we passed down through the ravine, the scenery was just stunning.

In geological terms, if you're into that, there is a gold mine of stuff to see. Some of the patterns in the rock show where some serious geological action took place over the years. Note the train track type line in the rock in the photo below.

You can also see all manner of shapes in the lava formations that have built on to one another over the years, it's beautiful. I can't for the life of me remember but I can't help but wonder if these shapes may have actually been fossils … I'll stick with hardened molten lava shapes though I think 🙂

As already alluded to, the plant and animal life on Tenerife is beautiful and varied. There are so many diverse ecological environments, it's a breeding ground for all sorts of magnificent creatures.

For example, have you ever seen a frog plant? As we were hiking down passed some trees the guide brought our attention to a few plants. When we took a closer look, there were loads of little frogs on the leaves of the plant! It's not really called a frog plant of course but these little Guys hang out there, blissfully chilling out 🙂

How often have you seen something like that? Not often I'd bet. Again, loads of variety and beauty all around the trail down to Masca bay. As you head further down, you eventually reach the beach. It's a really welcoming approach as you start to feel the cool sea breeze hitting your face, really nice after a long and hot hike.

Then when you finally come out on to Masca Bay, oh man, what awaits you is something from a classic paradise island. Beautiful deep blue sea in a secluded little bay. Just stunning! It's a good idea to have your swimming gear with you so you can take a quick dip in the sea, a great way to cool down after a long hike!

After a 30 minute rest in Masca Bay, our boat arrived to take us off the island and over to Los Gigantes where we would take a taxi back to Masca Village to get the shutttle bus back to our hotel. The boat trip was really great and we again got to take in a lot of beautiful views like the rocks of Los Gigantes below. Again, what can I say, just really beautiful.

We also get treated to beautiful sea life on the trip back too … dolphins paid us a visit as we made our way back. Dolphins live in the sea and it was awesome to watch them jumping in and out of the sea.

Before wrapping this section up, to reiterate, it's a long hike down from Masca to Masca Bay, and if you don't do it on a tour, and so have a plan to meet a boat ride out of the bay, you have to go the whole way back up the ravine to the village. If you choose to do that, it is definitely better to do it with a few people, plan your route well and definitely have a map. If you were on your own and something happened to you, you could be stuck alone for some time.

What to Take Hiking in Tenerife?

I think hiking in Tenerife will be impacted by what time of year you go. We were there early June and the temperature was roughly 77 Fahrenheit / 25 Celsius. However, as you're so close to the equator, the heat is powerful. Just isn't the same as the same temperatures further North in Europe.

With that in mind, you need all the usual stuff in your hiking kit. Light hiking pants with a shorts option are a good idea as well as a hat and sunglasses. Definitely be careful with the sun at all times, sunscreen is a must of course and water is critical. I drink a lot of water and so I need to carry a fair bit of it with me hiking in that kind of heat.

A day pack to carry some extra's is a must and the usual basic first aid stuff for blisters and what not. Check out the complete day hiking checklist for an extensive list of things you should bring with you. You won't need all of the stuff on that list mind you due to the heat but what you need is on the list so it's worth looking through it.

All the trails we went on were very well marked so you can make your own way around pretty easily but always have a map when you head into new territory, the trail maps are free and I thought they were very good and easy to follow. We did have a guide for the Masca day hike though.

Apres Hike …

Aside from a few nice hikes, as the island is relatively small, everything is very accessible. After a hike, you can head down to one of the volcanic beaches to have a sun bathe on the black sand, another pretty cool thing to do for sure.

The water is great for swimming and there are all manner of other activities to keep you entertained when you're not hiking. All in all a fantastic spot for a trip!

Conclusion

If you're travelling to Tenerife soon and you like a bit of hiking, you're in for a treat. There's a lot of very accessible places you can go to and the variation between them all is tremendous. There are several other well known spots on the island which are popular for hiking which we didn't make it to but I will the next time for sure.

As a holiday destination, I can't recommend it enough, it does have it all … well most things I would be looking for anyway 🙂

I hope you found this article useful. If you did, please like and share. If you're going there soon and you're wondering what to do, some hiking trips on the island are definitely recommended. If you have any questions about any of this, please leave them in the comments and I'll be happy to help if I can answer them

The last word? Tenerife gets top marks in all areas as far as I am concerned. It's a winner of a spot to visit and there are some really nice hiking opportunities on offer all over the island … Hiking in Tenerife gets the thumbs up 🙂

El Camino De Santiago – Some Top Tips for the Pilgrims Trail

Just over a year ago, August 2013, I did one of the most popular and well known hikes in Europe. Calling it a hike would, to some, be incorrect as for many, it is first and foremost a pilgrimage.

The hike was on the ‘Camino de Santiago’ or ‘Way of St. James’. Recently I was chatting with a friend about the experience and he asked me what tips I had for it as he was thinking of putting it in on his travel plans for next year. After that conversation, I thought it might be useful to capture those tips in a post and share them here.

The Camino is a very popular hike. There was even a Hollywood movie called ‘The Way‘ made about it some years back starring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez to name just a couple of the actors. I watched it before I went actually, it wasn't bad.

What Is The Camino de Santiago?

Before getting into things, some background information on the Camino de Santiago might be useful.

Historically, the way of St. James was one of the most important pilgrimage routes in medieval times. Legend has it that after St. James's died, his remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where he was buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela.

I actually did a post about a year back explaining more about the history of the Camino de Santiago so you can check that out here. Or if you would like to check out some more in depth information, you can follow my trip here.

The Camino attracts all types of hikers and travelers all of whom have their own unique reason for walking it. For many it is a spiritual journey that can be symbolic of leaving something behind on the Camino, for example after a major change or transition in life. For others it is simply a beautiful hike.

The symbol of the Camino is the scallop shell, pictured below. There are many thoughts as to why this shell is the symbol of the Camino. From being used as a drinking vessel to scoop out water from a trough in medieval times to representing the nice idea, if you follow the lines on the shell, that all roads lead to one. Every Pilgrim will have one though, usually attached to their pack. You can get them in any shop for a euro or so.

The pilgrimage can take a number of routes but the main one starts in St Jean Pied De Port in France and ends in Santiago in Spain. Most people travel to St Jean via Biarritz or Pamplona.

The main Camino route can also be split into three parts, the hills of the Basque country, the hot and flat section of the ‘meseta’ and the beautiful green hills of Galicia. It's common for people to opt to do one section at a time on different trips, mainly due to the time it takes to hike the whole way.

The minimum distance you need to complete to officially complete the Camino de Santiago, defined as qualifying for a certificate of completion or Compostela, is sixty two miles on foot or one hundred and twenty four miles by bike, cyclists are just as common on the Camino. The closest big town to start from on foot, is Sarria.

Anyway, back to the main event so to speak. Below are some of the top tips I learned from my own and other peoples experience on the Camino. If you're planning on travelling to hike the Camino anytime soon, I recommend taking a look through them as they will help maximize your experience there.

Travel Light & Smart

Whether you're planning to do the whole five hundred plus miles of the Camino or just one or two of the stages, remember that you will need to carry all your gear with you on your back for the whole journey! Unless of course you plan to have porters 😉

You can arrange to have your gear moved on to your next location by taxi drivers and so you just have to do the walking. However, I think to really get the experience it's better to carry it yourself. While it is advisable to book accommodation ahead it is nice to have the freedom to do as you choose as things present themselves. That is, you might take a notion to sleep by a stream out underneath the stars, and why not!

Five hundred miles is a lot of walking so first and foremost, you'll need a good backpack to carry your stuff in. Also, you need to pack sensibly and pack light. If you bring any unnecessary stuff with you, be prepared to lose it as you will dump all unnecessary stuff as you travel. I can guarantee this as you just won’t be bothered carrying anything more than you need. You have been warned!

Bring Clothes Pegs

Following on from the traveling light point above and in line with it, you should bring some clothes pegs with you. Why clothes pegs? Well, it's better to pack several pairs of socks and underwear that you wash every other day to reuse rather than gathering up lots of washing. Having a few clothes pegs handy means you can hang them up to dry either in your hostel or on your pack as you hike, the latter being a very common sight on the Camino.

Trust me, as already mentioned, you just won't carry any extra unnecessary clothing or materials with you when you get going and you will happily dump anything like this in the nearest bin rather than carry it needlessly for a hundred plus miles!

It's worth noting as an aside here, the nice spiritual symbolism of this i.e. not carrying any extra baggage and dropping stuff as you go. I don't think it's intentionally connected but it's a nice metaphor for what the Camino represents for many. Anyway, on to the next tip …

For Accommodation – ‘Albergue’ it!

If you want the full Camino experience, I recommend that you stay in the hostels (Known as an Albergue). In the Albergues (Not sure of the plural in Spanish!) you will be sharing dorm type rooms, see picture below, with many folks from all walks of life. The downside to the hostels is that the sharing of snores and odors is a given!

However, this is where you will meet your fellow Pellegrinos (Pilgrims) and make friends. You will also find that as you travel along the Camino you can repeatedly meet the same people from one place to the next and a sort of camaraderie and an attitude of helping one another out naturally develops which is kind of cool.

Some of the stories you’ll get to hear from the folk you’ll meet in the hostels will be well worth any snores you may have had to endure while crashing in them! Some will make you laugh but many will make you cry too.

Food – The Pilgrims Menu

You will see these offered in most restaurants as you travel through the various towns and hamlets on the Camino. The Pilgrims menu is a bargain three course meal for Pilgrims. The cost, when I was there last year, was anywhere from nine to twelve euro (eleven to fifteen US dollars exchange rate at time of posting). Standards will vary from place to place and you can of course opt for more expensive options. Generally speaking, the standard at these prices was pretty good. Look out for it on the menus!

On the trail, a standard sandwich (bocadillo), which is a hefty feast in itself, will cost you around three euro or five US dollars in a cafe along the Camino. The quality is generally very good so you can’t go far wrong at prices like that!

Pictured above is a typical bocadillo I ate on the Camino. It gives you a good idea of what you can expect for an average sandwich on the trail. As you can see by its size, at only five bucks, you won't go hungry!

Bring Suitable Hiking Gear

It’s crucial you have the right hiking gear with you for walking the Camino. I walked it late July and the weather was very changeable. Some days it was hot and other’s it was very overcast and cloudy. I was also caught in several downpours.

As part of your main gear, be sure you wear appropriate hiking boots or shoes that are well broken in, to avoid the dreaded blister, and definitely have a light hiking rain jacket with you for the inevitable rainy spells. As already mentioned, when it rains it can rain heavily so be prepared!

If you're hiking at a cooler time of year you will need rain pants and more layers for warmth. Most people choose to walk the Camino over the Summer period and I recommend this, definitely a better time to go and I think many of the hostels and restaurants are closed at colder times of year.

Always Wear Good Hiking Socks

I could have put this under hiking gear but I feel so strongly about this one I think it deserves a special section all on its own! I can’t emphasize enough the importance of having good hiking socks with you.

I've said this many times before and will continue saying it. I think your hiking socks are as important as your boots or shoes. You need good quality ones that will not help lead to blisters, a very common complaint on the Camino, or other sores on your feet.

As well as the sock option above I recommend the two sock strategy as well as using Vaseline on your feet. You need to do your best to keep your feet in good shape as it's the fastest way to a miserable hike on the Camino. There are some free medical clinics for Pilgrims all along the Camino that will treat minor ailments for free but Prevention is always better than cure!

Getting the Certificate of Completion or ‘Compostela'

To get the certificate of completion for the Camino or ‘Compostela’, as it is known, you need to acquire a ‘Pilgrim’s passport’ in advance, also known as the ‘credencial’. These can be acquired on arrival on the Camino.

Remember, you need to get the passport stamped in locations with the official St. James stamp in each town or village you pass through. Every bar, cafe, restaurant, church, etc. will have a stamp. Remember, to be sure you have no issues getting your ‘Compostela' on arrival in Santiago, you should get at least two stamps from two separate establishments every day!

On arrival at the certificate office in Santiago they will inspect your passport to be sure you have the correct amount of stamps. They will then ask you to pick why you did the Camino from three options: 1. religious reasons 2. religious and spiritual reasons 3. recreational reasons. When they have that they will then prepare and give you your personalized ‘Compostela', with your name on it, in Latin.

I did actually witness an Asian couple getting refused their Compostela's as they hadn't got it stamped correctly. They weren't happy campers! It goes to show though that they do take it seriously enough so be sure you get your stamps as you go.

Don't be Afraid to Travel Solo

The final note I will add here is don’t be afraid to walk the Camino on your own. Many people do it this way and if you are on your own, you will make even more of an effort to meet people and make new friends on the trail. Meeting people from all walks of life and from every corner of the globe is a majorly cool part of the whole Camino experience so don't be afraid!

On the other hand, if you've some stuff you need to process or things you need to let go off, being on your own will give you the time and space you may need.

Conclusion

And thus concludes my main tips for walking the Camino. If you're planning to do it in the future, you won’t be disappointed, it’s a wonderful and unique experience! If you follow some or all of the tips listed, I can assure you, it will only add to the whole experience.

If you've any questions about the Camino I am happy to answer them if I can. Leave a comment below or drop me a line via the contact page.

Have you hiked the Camino? What was your experience? Have any top tips for it? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

El Camino de Santiago – Santiago de Compostela!

Today I want to make a final post on my hike on the Camino de Santiago. I pick it up after my last El Camino de Santiago post where we just entered Santiago.

Walking into Santiago is really like any other city with roads, traffic, etc. However after about ten to fifteen minutes you cross into the old town of Santiago or the old part of the city. This is very noticeable as it gets very beautiful very quickly.

You eventually walk down on the last parts of the Camino before you come into the square in front of St. James Cathedral which is a truly beautiful site.

The square was filled with Pellegrinos all lying about on the ground or wherever they could get some reasonable comfort and rest, many of them exhausted after five hundred miles of hiking the Camino. It’s quite a sight to behold.

After taking in the beautiful vista of the Cathedral, I walked around the side to enter the Cathedral. It’s interesting as I have been in many major Cathedrals in the world, for example St. Peters in Rome. I always find that all Cathedrals usually have an air of piousness or a somber twinge to them. However, St. James was really quite different.

Because of the nature of the Camino, Pilgrims arrive in with large backpacks, hiking boots hanging off their feet and looking tired and tatty. That is of course to be expected after hiking over five hundred miles. However, I found that this added a much different atmosphere in the Cathedral. It was much more relaxed as people sat on the floor stacking their backpacks against the walls.

There really was just a sense of quiet relief all round from people who were just happy to have finished it. This gave a relaxed feel to the cathedral which I found really infectious and it was a really nice feeling.

As all the group came in bit by bit, we assembled at an agreed time at the right side of the Cathedral and some of us went in to sit down and wait for the Pilgrims mass at noon. As it is always so busy, it is advisable to get into the Cathedral earlier to be sure to get a seat. I highly recommend sitting in one of the sides of the altar in the cathedral. The main reason for this is that for some of the masses, the Botafumeiro is swung in the cathedral and so if you’re sitting on either side of the altar, it will swing directly over your head.

The Botafumeiro is a massive incense burner that hangs on ropes. Four men come out and using the ropes swing the Botafumeiro from one side of the church to the other with the incense smoke flowing out if it. It really is quite a sight, you can get a sample here.

The story goes that in centuries past, Pilgrims would arrive in for the mass after walking the Camino and they would, for want of a better way of saying it, be quite smelly. They would do their best to wash up in the troughs of water around the Cathedral but this wasn’t really sufficient so to help alleviate the smell, the Botafumeiro would send incense out across the cathedral easing the smell of the many pilgrims. Incense of course has a purifying purpose in a spiritual sense too so perhaps they could cleanse the air whilst cleansing the soul!

For the Pilgrims mass I attended the Botafumeiro wasn’t used. However, we were told it would be used the following evening at the seven thirty mass so I did get to see it in action and it really is a spectacular sight.

The other thing I remember about the mass was the nun who sang throughout it. She came across as really kind and friendly as she encouraged the whole congregation to sing along with her in Spanish. Her voice was truly amazing, I can still hear it in my head.

Getting your Certificate (Compostela)

After the Pilgrims mass, the next thing to do was to head around to get the Compostela (certificate of completion). This was handy enough to do and the queues weren’t too long when I got there early Friday afternoon. The people really do check your pilgrims passport so remember to get at least two stamps each day while doing the Camino. There was one lady across from me who only had two stamps in her passport. She obviously didn’t know that you needed two per day! The officials refused to give her, her certificate of completion. She was heartbroken. Make sure it doesn’t happen to you if you do the Camino!

The officials will ask you to sign your name and mark why you did the Camino. You have three options which are roughly 1. For religious reasons 2. For religious and / or spiritual reasons and 3. For recreational reasons. After you select, they give you a certificate in Latin with your name on it. They will try to find a Latin version of your name, if it exists, for the certificate too.

And that is that! The Camino de Santiago complete, pilgrims mass finished and Certificate in hand.

Lot's to do in Santiago

I was staying in Santiago the next two days so I had a lot of time to have a walk around the city. It really is beautiful. There is a lot to do in the Cathedral itself like hugging the status of St. James, viewing his tomb and of course the many tours that are on offer. You can get one of the talking accompaniments to take with you and go at your own pace or you can join one of the many tour guide groups available in multiple languages.

I highly recommend the tour of the Cathedral roof and the Museum. Great way to kill a couple of hours. While on the tour, the tour guide lady told us about a mass in a church beside the Benedictine monastery where mass is sang every morning by the nuns at eight o’clock. That sounded amazing so I got up to attend and it was amazing. The majority of the mass is sang by a choir of nuns, was really beautiful.

There are of course many beautiful restaurants to sample in Santiago and you can kill happy hours strolling around the city watching the many street performers or sampling a coffee or the hot chocolate and churros in one of the many cafes.

The city park is worth a visit, there’s a beautiful view of the city from the main viewing point in it and there is of course plenty of bars and night life with live bands, clubs, etc.

I was staying in a converted monastery called Hospederia San Martin Pinario just on the left hand side of the Cathedral. It was really nice and very cool to stay in an old monks room converted with modern amenities.

Finally, I highly recommend a coffee or a bite to eat in the five star Parador hotel just on the left hand side as you’re facing the Cathedral. A bit of luxury is nice after all that walking. If you can stretch to stay for a night in the place, all the better. Oh and don’t worry about looking scruffy in your hiking gear after walking, while not normal in most five star hotels they’re well used to it there. A pilgrim is a pilgrim!

The Camino Shell

There is one more thing I just realized that I forgot to mention about the Camino. Most Pilgrims you see on the Camino will have a shell on their person or ties to their backpack.

This shell is the symbol of the Camino. Legend has it that it was used symbolically to show that all roads lead to one and practically as tool for scooping up drinking water from the troughs and wells as the Pilgrims travelled the Camino centuries ago. It’s an interesting thought and I do like the symbolism.

Conclusion

So that is the end of this series of posts on the Camino de Santiago. I hope you found them useful if you plan to hike the Camino yourself. I do recommend it, it really is an experience unlike any other I have ever had in both hiking and general terms.

Remember to always have the right hiking gear with you. If there was ever a time when you needed to have the right hiking boots and hiking socks on, a comfortable back pack or a good rain jacket, this is it. Walking long distances repeatedly day after day brings its own unique challenges and so you need to be prepared with the best hiking gear available to ensure you have as comfortable and safe a hike as possible.

Have you hiked the Camino? What experiences did you have along the way? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

El Camino de Santiago – Day Seven and Eight!

And so, we come to the last stage of hiking on the Camino de Santiago!

This stage runs twelve and a half miles from O Pedrouzo to Santiago. As with my previous blog entry, the group I was travelling with actually did this stage over two days but I will be combining both days into one post.

O Pedrouzo to Santiago

We started from O Pedrouzo and headed for Lavacolla. This was about six and a half miles in total and so was completed in a very short time. People who had been having trouble with their hiking boots and blisters were now pretty hardened up so this was a cake walk in hiking terms.

It was another sunny day and again we walked through dense eucalyptus in shade and peace and quiet. It really was a very serene walk. As we were only going a short distance, we didn’t set out till much later than previously so we were not on the road till about nine in the morning. By that time the normal caravan of Pellegrino’s who set out early in the morning, to take advantage of the cool morning air, were long gone.

We were staying in Lavacolla and I want to make a special mention for a really beautiful country house we stayed in on this night. It’s called Xan Xordo. It’s located in the quaint countryside of Lavacolla and it really was a beautiful place. I had a beautiful four poster bed and a proper full sized bath! A luxury I can tell you as even though I had been staying in hotels the whole journey to date, so far from roughing it, they all only had showers, no baths. I’m not normally a big fan of baths, much more a shower type of guy but after all the walking of the previous days the opportunity to stretch out in a long hot bath was just divine!

As mentioned, the location was just beautiful. There’s a small courtyard in front of the Xan Xordo with a table and chairs for resting in. There’s a canopy over the table and it was so cool as it is actually made from grapevines with real bunches of grapes hanging from it! Totally awesome. As well as that, at the very front of the courtyard there was a tiny little church. This would have been owned by the family who were of means going back generations. It really was something special. A private little church in your front yard, how about that!

The next morning, the final day of hiking, we started out around eight in the morning to make our way to the beautiful city of Santiago. We wanted to be there for the Pilgrims mass which is on every day at noon so this gave us plenty of time to get there.

As we approached the city, we expected hoards of pilgrims on the Camino and things did start to crowd up the closer to Santiago we got. The first major place of note between Lavacolla and Santiago is Monte do Gozo. There’s a long hike uphill here which can be tiring but I found it fine on the cool overcast morning that it was.

You will also find many of the one day bus tours starting from this point. They drive and drop off bus-loads of people who then walk back into Santiago to St James Cathedral.

Overall the hike was pleasant and as expected we arrived in good time to Santiago for the Pilgrims Mass at noon.

Conclusion

In my next and final blog post on the Camino de Santiago I will go into a bit more detail on arriving into Santiago, St. James Cathedral and the Pilgrims mass, acquiring your ‘compostela’ (certificate of completion) and so on. Much to review!

But that was that as far as the hiking was concerned. We had all reached our destination successfully! There were some casualties along the journey with blisters, swollen feet, sore backs and the like but overall everyone did a great job to get there. Approximately seventy miles walked over eight days. Not bad going!

If you want to go to the start of this series on the Camino, click here. If you want to read the next installment, click here 🙂

Have you hiked the Camino? What experiences did you have along the way? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

El Camino de Santiago – Day Five and Six!

As with the last blog entry in this series on the Camino, I am combining my two actual days, five and six, into one post here as normally, most people would do what I and my group did over two days in one day.

This is the penultimate stage before heading along the final part of the Camino for Santiago. The stage covers twenty or so kilometers from Arzúa to O Pedrouzo.

Arzúa to O Pedrouzo

For most of the day we walked on natural paths that were sheltered well from the sun by the many eucalyptus trees. The end of the hike for the day saw us climb around the alto de Santa Irene. Before that we walked on largely level pathways crossing three small shallow river valleys.

At this point we started to notice the Camino was starting to get a bit busier. This is because we were of course drawing closer to Santiago but it is also because many tour operators operate shorter walks for tourists in from some of the smaller hamlets and towns closer to Santiago.

You can’t get your Compostella for doing these tours but it does give people a small flavor of walking the whole Camino.

The weather held again for this part of the hike with the sun poking its nose out from under the clouds across the morning.

This day I had put on a pair of freshly washed hiking socks from day one. I had hand washed them with me in my shower in the hotel, the previous day! I wasn’t entirely sure if this would work but that’s the advice I was given from another Pellegrino.

You will notice as you walk the Camino that many people are effectively a walking clothes line. They wash their dirty gear in the hostel and then attach it to their backpack walking the next day to let it dry in the sun. This is why a good tip for doing the Camino is to bring a few clothes pegs with you!

There’s another general point I should mention here that I have not mentioned in any of the posts on the Camino yet to date and that is to do with the cost of things.

As with most of Spain, Northern Spain is very reasonably priced. When you are buying food in any of the many café’s in either the small towns along the way or the many beautiful little ‘middle of nowhere’ farmhouse cafes along the way, the prices are very good.

Prices do increase, as with any city, as you approach Santiago but even there I found everything to be very reasonable.

To give you a few examples, in the smaller towns a standard glass of red wine was about sixty cents in Euro, approximately eighty cents in US Dollars.

A coffee maybe one euro, approximately one US dollar twenty five.

A Bocadillo, or sandwich, on the Camino is usually a very large affair and will cost you about three euro, approximately four dollars but Man do you get one hell of a sandwich for that price. See the bad boy below as one example and I’d already ate a big chunk off of it!

You will also find that in the many small towns and restaurants along the Camino, they will have what is called a Pilgrims menu or meal. This usually involves a three course meal with a few options for each course. While you will generally get offered similar items in each location, as nice as Galician tart is by day three I was very tired of it, the food is generally pretty good. This will cost anywhere from nine to twelve euro, approximately eleven to fifteen US dollars.

So, as you can see, food prices are very reasonable as is accommodation.

Conclusion

All in all, another very pleasant day's hiking on the Camino and I certainly didn't go hungry 🙂 Well, I will leave it at that for today. Tomorrow will be the final entry on this series of posts on the Camino as we head for Santiago!

If you want to go to the start of this series on the Camino, click here. If you want to read the next installment, click here 🙂

Have you hiked the Camino? What food experiences did you have along the way? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!