Betanzos to Santiago

Typical Ingles path – back road through a forest.

Camino January 2026

Saturday February 7, 2026

Betanzos to Bruma – 15.3 miles

Today started out with clear skies. First time in a while. Trouble is the forecast is for rain starting at 1PM, with an inch and a half expected today. Flooding is expected. Last night the forecast was for light rain starting at 2PM with no significant accumulation. I had 15 miles and 2,700 feet of climbing today. The morning was beautiful. Lots of back country roads and some dirt paths as well. I read there was a café 6 miles in, so I planned to stop for a snack. There was a town, but no café. Oh well, I will stop at a church ½ mile further. Then I went around a corner and there was a sign and a short path. I figured may as well check it out. A great little café. Perfecto. There was a young German girl there. I had seen two Spanish guys get dropped off this morning, so 3 pilgrim sightings today. I didn’t stay long as you could feel the rain coming.

When I got first stamp at the visitor center in Ferrol, the woman there told me I should stop in at the Café Avalina in the town As Traveas. Yesterday I booked an apartment for tonight and the instructions were to pick up the keys at the Café Avalina. OK, I plan to stop there anyway. I walked in soaking wet as the rains had started. The woman was amazingly kind. Her bar was full, but she helped my with my wet gear, got me paper towels and cleared some chairs so I had plenty of space. I told her I met her friend in Ferrol and she was so cute. She got a picture to confirm they were best friends. She does not speak any English, so communicating was fun. She brought my drink and snack and I told her I was supposed to pick up a key to the apartment. She got it and gave it to me. Never asked for an ID as we were best friends by now. She must have called the owner of the apartment as he showed up 10 minutes later to say hello. He offered me a ride to avoid the final 2 miles of walking. I said no. He offered to take my pack for me and I also refused. The bar owner then got one of the customers who spoke good English because they felt I must not be understanding. I explained I have been walking for over a month, starting in St Jean on the Frances, I can walk 2 miles in the rain. Their final offer was for me to use an umbrella. It was amazing hospitality.

The young German girl came in about this time and sat down at the table next to me. There is a saying on the Camino that the first time you meet someone you are strangers, the second time you are best friends. She was stand offish this morning, but was a chatterbox this time. She is 21 and walking on her own. She has been alone at every Albergue and a bit nervous. She went to Ecuador for a year at 18 to learn Spanish and is now studying in Spain for a year. Her English is very good as well. I didn’t even think she spoke English this morning.

The last two miles were uneventful. All smooth getting into my home for the night. I am actually about a half mile off the Camino as there was only the Municipal Albergue open in Bruma, and they do not provide anything but a mattress. The Albergues outside Galicia also provide a pillow and a blanket. I only have a blanket with me and with the rain it is much nicer being in a warm private place at night.

Sunday February 8, 2026

Bruma to Sigueiro – 15.1 miles

Today started out quite foggy. It poured last night with temperatures in the upper 30s. By morning it was not raining and had warmed up to 41 when I started my walk. Since I stayed off the trail last night it was over a mile to get back on the Camino. At the intersection was my new German friend I met yesterday. She saw me coming and waited, so walked together much of the day. Being a weekend there were quite a few locals out walking. About 6 miles in we stopped at a local café and got toast and a Cola Cao. The forecast was for a 10% chance of rain this morning, so of course when we went back out to resume our walk, it was raining. It did not rain hard and stopped after 20 minutes or so. Two Spanish guys passed while we were inside. We soon caught them, but they seemed to be having a serious conversation between the two of them and barely acknowledged us as we went by.

Today was mostly a gradual downhill walk. There was a lot of road walking, none on a busy road with cars, but still a hard packed surface. With the easy terrain it is tough on the feet. I much prefer the hilly terrain.

The rains held off all day except for the brief shower this morning. Tomorrow we are back to 100% chance of rain with .5” expected. Tomorrow is the walk into Santiago and the completion of the Ingles.

Monday February 9, 2026

Sigueiro to Santiago – 9.9 miles

Last nights pension was very nice. It is rated 9.4 on Booking and it was certainly that in my book. The woman was very nice at check in. The room was super clean and comfortable, and it came with breakfast, which is rare here. And it was a great breakfast. The typical toast and coffee, but also cheese, meats, yogurt, cereals, fruits, fresh OJ and assorted baked items. And of course, Cola Coa. A great way to start the morning.

I mentioned how finishing the Frances was anticlimactic. Well the Ingles was even more so. First it is only 71 miles, compared to 480 for the Frances. And after 4 reasonable walking days, today we were back to a constant soaking rain. It was 50 degrees, so I also was sweating inside all my rain gear. Honestly, the snow is so much more pleasant to walk in for me.

Today was 80% on roads and started along a very busy road. With the rain and trucks it was a very loud start to the walk. After the first mile or so we the path was at least quiet. With the constant rain I only took a picture of the cathedral. It was then off to the pilgrim office to get my Compostela.

My original plan had been to get lunch, then a bus south to Padron and walk the Portuguese route south for 2 days to Pontevedra and catch a train from there to Madrid. At the pilgrims office I changed into dry clothes and also checked the weather forecast. Flood warnings for the next 3 days. Padron is expecting 1-2 inches of rain tomorrow. Pontevedra over 2”. Hmmm. I went to lunch at my favorite Italian restaurant and decided I would spend the night here in Santiago and not go to Padron. Give myself a night to come up with a plan. I have to be in Madrid on Thursday night to catch my flight to the US on Friday. The rain on the coast is supposed to be only .5”, so maybe bus to Muxia. Trouble is the winter schedule has only slow busses with lots of stops and only 3 per day.

While checking in to the same place I stayed 6 nights ago the receptionist told me Renfe (the national train) went on strike today and I may or may not have a train to ride on Thursday. I have not bought a ticket yet, since I am not sure where I will be travelling from.

So after I post this, I will figure everything out. Vigo is a city 90 minutes by bus south of here. Flights are much cheaper, so I will probably take a bus in the morning tomorrow and on Thursday fly to Madrid.

After doing my laundry. Actually, just drying my clothes, I ran into my new German friend. She is going to the 7:30PM mass, then catching a 9:30 bus to go to southern Spain where she is in her third year of university. I will probably head over as well and meet her at he mass.

Thanks for following along. I know the weather was a big theme this year. It was pretty crazy, but I do enjoy the adventure it adds. I was prepared with the proper gear and never felt I was in a dangerous situation. The winter does bring a very different group of people here, which I really enjoy. I do love the Frances route. Walking the Ingles was good since I had never walked it, but I would recommend any 70 miles of the Frances over this route. I am also very biased to a longer walk.

I am not sure what is next. We have Wrangell Saint Elias in Alaska as our last National Park to visit. Maybe we will head there in May or June this year. I have 200 miles remaining on the Appalachian Trail to complete a section hike, but I really don’t have the motivation to “complete” that journey. I have completed a through hike, I don’t care about a section hike.

No, I did not photoshop anyone out of this photo.

Travel is the perfect catalyst for tolerance and acceptance. – Author unknown