Portsmouth to Santander (Ferry)

It’s nice to rest. However I did do all my laundry (in the shower) and festooned it around the cabin (note to self, its much easier if you do a day at a time!), caught up on this blog, and had general rucsac sort out. Now only 24 hours left. The other jobs I have are…

Mark up a paper map. I have brought a northern Spain map, which I  will cut out what I need and mark up as a progress tracker/motivator. For navigation I have plotted my route with a gpx file in Organic Maps (what maps.me used to be until it became commercial!). Has everything I need from the overview to the tiny detail and doesn’t need a data connection. I also have pdf copies of maps on my phone with notes on accomodation etc.

Write custom phrase book – I have a little book which I try to write down the most useful phrases, in the hope they may stick one day! I’m 60 days into Spanish duolingo, and there is a Spanish lesson on the ferry. None of this can hurt – its my weakest link!

Get a stamp in my Credencial del Peregrino (Pilgrim Passport). I’ve managed to get a stamp everyday, which is needed to get a “compostela” (certificate) when you finish. You need one stamp per day, and two stamps per day in the last 100km (200km for cyclists). It will give access very cheap beds in Pilgrim Albergues,and the Pilgrim menu in restaurants, so has multiple purposes. As I’ve already said, I’m so pleased to have picked up my Credencial in the UK, rather than waiting to get one in Spain (https://www.csj.org.uk/)

Frantically do more Duolingo – I’ve managed to get to 5th in my leader board (everyone else must be really bad) – but I’ve found Duolingo really engaging, and nags just about the right amount when it looks like you might miss a day

Plan first day – planning on 35km following the coast to  Boo de Pielagos, (which I have booked on advance) – not the official Camino del Norte, which looks terrible following busy main roads. Its over twice the distance, but if something is worth doing it’s worth doing in good style! I need to do some things in Santander, get a stamp from the Cathedral (people say the tourist office, but I’ll try the cathedral first!), and the essentials of cash, food and water. I think that is what the next month will look like walk, water, food, sleep and repeat. I’m looking forward to it – Bueno Camino.

I’ll try to keep these updates going, but I do need a good connection to upload my photos. I can’t decide whether to get a Spanish data sim, or rely on my pre-brexit phone contract honouring its commitments (it normally just hoovers up data, and then says you have breached our fair use rules) Let’s see :)