Day Four on the Camino Ingles is the hardest day, with a steep climb out of Betanzos, and then later in the day, the longest and steepest climb from Cafe Julia to Visono. but you are rewarded with great vistas and an eye-blindingly bright decor at the restaurant at Presedo. Day Four is also the midpoint of your hike, sometime in the middle of the day, you are suddenly closer to Santiago than to Ferrol and that makes a huge difference to your psyche. The path is mostly fields, with a few patches of forest, which was good as it was a hot day.

The first casualties

Today we were sad to see some of our fellow pilgrims drop out of the walk due to injuries or tiredness. Preparation is key, even though the Camino Ingles is a short walk, you need to be fit for it, as you have to get out everyday and just walk. Here we passed the Museo- Meson, a gloriously garish restaurant in Presedo. It was too early for lunch, but with our new rules in place, we had cafe con leche. I have to stop exclaiming how wonderful the coffee is in Spain.

Past Visono, at a crossroads, we came to this stone cross in the field. It is a pilgrimage, so I hugged it. I did. We had just laboured over the steepest section of the Camino Ingles, and we were grateful we had made it.

Again, the distance was incorrect, and we had to walk a few more kilometers to get to Bruma, where the hotel owner picked us up and drove us to our hotel that was off the camino. The hotel at Meson do Vento was a good choice, as after a hot and tiring day, we liked having a hotel to relax in, despite the albergue in Bruma containing a portion of the ancient “Hospital” or hostel for pilgrims. Sometimes one has to pick one’s battles.

If you want to read all about the more important stuff, like how you can walk the Camino in just 6 days, check out my book.