Backpacking Adventures in the Mountains: Following the Camino Trail Across Galicia to Santiago De Compostela

In my opinion birthday holidays should be designed to proove that you are becoming fitter and more adventurous. So I decided to backpack the camino trail across the Galician mountains to Santiago de Compostela with a friend who was about to hit the big 50. We had just over a week to do it and worked out we could get there by walking an average of 25km a day if we started at O Cebreiro, a ancient village high in the mountains. Access to O Cebreiro was via a bus from Lugo. Buses leave daily from Lugo that stop at villages along the road to Santiago de Compostela.

Lugo was an interesting stopover. We asked directions from a local guy wandering the streets on where to find the pilgrim passports for our walk to Santiago de Compostela. Next thing he has us going on a 3 hour tapas and wine crawl with him through the village. He wouldn't let us pay for a thing and there was no catch. He lurks about searching for visitors to do his rounds with so look out for him if you are ever in town. Having drunk enough tathas (little traditional bowls) of wine and eaten enough tapas including pigs' ears, tripe, chorizo, barnacles and other interesting but slightly weird ingestibles, we staggered off with backpacks that suddenly seemed to have increased to twice their original weight. The 2 hour bus journey up the winding mountain roads to O Cebreiro was superb even in our bloated and intoxicated state.

The views from O Cebreiro over Galicia are majestic. Although it was already after 7pm the small church was still open for pilgrims on the trail to Santiago de Compostela to have their passports stamped. Several tourist shops almost spoil the ancient feel of this old stone village, however they are useful if you have forgotten any last minute items. Hotel O Cebreiro has a restaurant and bar with sweeping views across the mountains and serves value food. I recommend the garlic soup in particular; it came with local river fish and chips, local soft cheese and a generous quantity of red wine all for 9 euro. As if we needed more wine.

Our first day walking the breathtaking 23km from O Cebreiro to Triacastela had us on another high; the panoramic mountain views along the camino trail extend forever. Arrival into Triacastela had us drinking more wine with lunch at the tavern under the trees. We should have stayed the night in Triacastela as planned but instead decided to continue on a further 10km to Samos, village of the Magdalena Monastery. After food and wine, walking in the hot afternoon sun was not a good idea and we got the squirts along the trail and filled the bathroom with carrots during the night. Some people never learn.

No-one speaks English here although I found a friendly monk who spoke French. He advised us not to stay in the refuge as he didn't think it was right for us; being women I think, and limping sick ones at that. In our weakened state we agreed that we wouldn't cope in the refuge and stayed at Hotel Vitoria across the road. The monks prayed for our pain at the pilgrims' mass but it didn't seem to work. So first thing next morning we stopped at the pharmacy to buy horse doses of ibuprofen for breakfast, valerian for dinner, anti-diarrhoea products, and blister bandages for the feet. The pharmacy became our haven in every town, followed by the bar. Despite our loss of condition we appreciated the magnificent monastery and pretty village. I think the detour to Samos is a necessary part of any journey to Santiago de Compostela.

Rua, also, is a tiny unassuming village with some surprisingly good points. We found a great house, Casa da Gallega, with room for 8 people, and we had the entire place to ourselves. The friendly owner drove us a few kilometres to O Pedrouzo for tapas at a modern bar, Bule Bic. Bule Bic has great croquettes and calamari, and wine. A resort opposite the house in Rua is rather impressive. We ate good quality spaghetti and crepes with gambas (large prawns) and red wine for 4 euro each which was surprising and exceptional value. Red wine seems to dull the pain of aching limbs and back by the way. Even the smallest villages are focused on pilgrims making their way to Santiago de Compostela; it's a living and they don't seem to mind the constant invasion.

Next day two exhausted pilgrims limped 18km into Santiago de Compostela. The locals are very accustomed to pilgrims and see you as an income opportunity so accommodation is very easy to find. We were approached by a woman lurking outside the pilgrim bureau after having our passports stamped. Curious experience; the whole family took part in a kind of tag relay team, communicating by mobile phone to alert the next runner, to escort us the 2km to their building. Cheap and safe; can't complain about that.

Santiago de Compostela is a large town but worth spending at least one day if only to visit the magnificent, but in desperate need of a clean, Cathedral and to inhale as much fabulous tapas and vino tinto as you can stand. We found excellent bottles of red wine for 1.80 euro at the grocery store too; no really.

One last breakfast of Spanish hot chocolate and churros, and the obligatory ibuprofen, and it was time to limp away and seek therapy for drug and alcohol abuse; and more tapas and red wine. Absolutely recommended; next time we're going for a month.

Our backpacking adventure in the Galician mountains along the camino trail to Santiago de Compostela is one of my most memorable holiday experiences.