A month before starting this Camino, while walking the Dingle Way I found that the Tralee to Dingle Town section is The Kerry Way. Back in medieval times some Irish Pilgrims would walk through Tralee to Dingle Town and take a boat to Ferrol or La Corona. Hence, from then on I am calling it The Irish Way.
A month before starting this Camino, while walking the Dingle Way I found that the Tralee to Dingle Town section is The Kerry Way. Back in medieval times some Irish Pilgrims would walk through Tralee to Dingle Town and take a boat to Ferrol or La Corona. In my case I came from Ireland to France by plane and walked to Santiago before bussing to La Coruna.
I arrived in La Coruña at 8 and walked to St. James Church. The entrance was blocked by a guy sleeping. I was not sure whether he was a pilgrim or a homeless man but I stepped carefully over him to enter the Church but it was locked.
Oh well. I don’t want to wait so continue on along the harbor and then a long way through the city.
Eventually getting out of town I came across a small chapel noticing a Celtic cross. I liked to think it was an Irish Church but after all this is Galicia, a Celtic region of Spain. Around 2:30 I made it to Sergude’s and a very nice Galicia government Albergue.
The only bar in town had some delicious food; soup followed by ribs with fries.
Continued on the next day through some country lanes and a bit of forest before walk on road to hotel in Meson de Vento. From here I could continue south to Santiago, but I wanted to experience the walk from Ferrol as well. Most pilgrims opt from one of the two starting points. By starting in Ferrol pilgrims are able to walk the full 100K fulfilling the requirements for obtaining a Compostela (Certificate). I caught a bus back to La Coruña and then another bus to Ferrol.
Ferrol is quite nice and at the harbor they had a Tourist Office where one can get an official stamp for the beginning point of the Irish(English) Way. The woman who provided the stamp, Esther, is a local married to an Irishman, David from County Mead which provided a nice second start to my Irish Camino. I then began this part of the Camino and walked to my accommodation for the night, Hostal Frontera.
Later that evening, my Camino buddy John Nolan of Wexford who I met on my first Camino arrived. We would be walking together.
2019 August