Walking across Europe - 2013: Camino Norte - October 13, 2025 Day 9 Vilalba to A Logoa

Daily Information

Distance: 32.4 Kms

Elevation G/L meters: 376:(401)

Cumulative Information

Planned Distance: 231.5 Kms

Actual Distance: 240.5 Kms

Actual/Planned Distance: 103.9%

Another great day on the Camino Norte but Holy the gas tank was running on fumes as we entered the Albergue at A Lagoa! We walked 32.4kms with very manageable elevation gains/losses.

Strava route link for the day!

We are so very fortunate…no rain and cloud cover until the very end. Both Paulo and I were walking quite strongly through the day…well ok the last km or so “when the heck are we going to get there?

This morning though did not get off to a great start as 1) Booking.com cancelled an upcoming reservation on poor information. Thankfully after directly contacting the accommodation we were able to confirm our reservation is good 2) a rather important zipper on my Eddie Bauer shorts failed…thankfully a safety pin my “in case of need” stuff came in handy 3) Paulo woke up whining “this bed is too hard”…I guess he prefers mattresses that bend like a banana. My “I’m so sorry for you” was clearly not welcome or sincere 😇

Forgot to mention yesterday as Paulo and I were nearing the Parador a kind woman looked at us and asked “do you need change?”. I guess we looked pretty terrible so Paulo nicely said “no thank you” and asked her “do you know the way to the Parador?”. Oh my quite the exchange 😂

Last night at the Parador…YES we stayed there…Paulo surprised me and very kindly said “Guy I want to thank you for all your planning efforts…please accept that this meal is on me! That was classy and it was a great meal! The first menu item was pulpo…delicious!

Breakfast at the Parador…first time in 2014 in Leon…did not dissapoint!!!

From a pilgrim encounter I met

- Marie from Canada (Calgary) who just left a career working on marine vessels in the Great Lakes

- couple from Germany Mr ? and Angelica - 8th Camino

- Randal from the United States (Idaho) whom I had the pleasure of walking a number of kilometres with. Randal is retired and worked in IT most recently on Workers Compensation package implementation in some Canadian locations. His wife passed away in 2019 and this is his first Camino (started in Bilbao). Time flew by quickly and we chatted about this and that.

I mentioned working on IT projects the last 10 years from a business perspective…specifically to see if he shared my admiration for System Architects. You know the best job in the world drawing clouds ☁️, cylinder shapes and incomprehensible connecting lines while making oddles of money. While I may be imagining things I think Randal understood very well. To the 3 System Architects who may be reading this…well I can’t help myself 🤣😇

At some point Mr ? from Germany joined us and the conversation quickly turned to a subject that I totally avoid initiating or even participating in. The current state of affairs. However it was immediately clear where Randal stood and it was likewise very clear where Mr ? stood.

Later in a coffee shop Randal simply said “I didn’t mind at all” I was glad to talk about this. Randal provided me his particulars and asked to be added to my blog as a subscriber.

The morning walking 19kms or so to Baamonde was very enjoyable…

Then after Baamonde we hit a brutal stretch…maybe 3kms or so along a major highway…yuck! This is what I refer as point A to B walking. No reason at all to walk this other than I have to get to B!

The atmosphere has changed and we are starting to see pilgrim walkers walking the last 100kms to receive their Compostela’s. For the walkers who have been walking from afar there is simply determination. Santiago de Compostela is the goal…they deserve it…they will get there! For many if they were at home there is no way they would be putting in the effort required…it has become a mental challenge which surpasses the physical.

Paulo and I at the 100kms to Santiago de Compostela Monin