So many to choose from – that is the only problem…

Accommodation Options:

Women Travel the World websites lists 6 options in the South of Spain – from the fabulous women only Diva Espana (I have stayed there, and would gladly have stayed longer) to a new listing near Almeria that offers horse riding as part of the package. Search

Tour Options

The Women Travel the World website Tour Calendar lists tours for women – most of them are women only and cater especially for women travellers.  There are walking, writing courses, painting, horse riding, and riding and writing courses

Women Tour Companies

What are we waiting for….

You are still on time to join Women on Tour on a very special break in the sun. We’ll be spending a few days relaxing, learning useful writing tips and enjoying the sunny Andalucian countryside. Read more

Through a comment on this blog, I have just been introduced to another great women’s tour company called Women on Tour.

This UK based company is for women and run by women – the have some great trips to Barcelona, Istanbul – meditation workshops, creative writing and drawing, walking in Spain and more. They are also looking always for new travel guides – perhaps that is you?

Our all-female company was set up to offer you the possibility of exploring new avenues in friendly and safe company. It is our experience that when choosing to travel alone – because of incompatible diaries with our friends or the need of independent travel or the simple freedom of not having to fall in with other people’s preferences – we’ve felt at times pulled between the need for adventure and exploration and the need for security and companionship.

As women travelling alone, we found that the prospect of having to wine and dine in the hotel every night of our stay or of feeling at times uncomfortable in unfamiliar circumstances could eventually dampen our plans.

It was these observations that first inspired us to facilitate a safe and relaxed environment for women to enjoy new experiences, to explore, whether it is outwards or inwards, whether they are travelling alone or accompanied.

Today, Women On Tour is an on-going project that follows a simple premise: to provide the opportunity of bringing together women from a wide spectrum to exchange knowledge and expand their horizons.

“Where are the men?” This was clearly the unspoken thought of many who watched the five of us toss the ropes and maneuver our Barge through the locks on the Canal du Midi in Southern France. We were the only crew of women on the canal and when on the last day we steered our way through the famous seven locks at Beziers, the crowds that come to watch this spectacle gave us a round of applause for our efforts. Read more

We have left Santiago de Compostela and I have also finished the Pray section of Liz Gilbert’s Eat Love Pray. She writes “I believe that all the world’s religions share, at their core, a desire to find a transporting metaphor.”

This metaphor of journey, of the hope and possibility of change, of openness to being and learning along the way seems very vivid as well as being also very matter of fact, here in Spain and Portugal. Read more

We are staying at a great little hostel in the walls of the old city – in the heart of everything.

It is called Mapoula a small family run establishment.  Rates vary in the high and low season and are from 25E/night for a single in the low season. Breakfast is not included, neither is access to tea and coffee, however wifi is free and they have a computer for guest use too.  They are also very helpful and friendly and there is a lift to the third floor premises – their website says:

“If you are somebody who likes to get the most out of your budget without giving up comfort, the Hostal Mapoula is the ideal lodging solution for you.”

It should have been a short and relatively easy day, but my leg was swollen and painful, so I walked slowly with a strange flat footed gait.

Rosemary had lent me her walking stick which had been useful for threatening dogs and crossing muddy streams, but now came into its own as a support. The quiet woods and shady lanes of the past few days gave way to new towns and building sites, with road works and new tarseal obscuring the Way.

After going up a steep hill on a new road, beyond MillaDoiro, I could see no Way marked, so chose ‘down and north’. Not a good choice as I ended up by the river I wanted to cross into Santiago, but no bridge. So up the hill again, asked for help from two people who gave me contradictory advice, decided to head for the nearest bridge, and limped off.

Later I learned that this spot was the scene of three separate assaults on women travelling alone, only a few weeks ago. Each had hesitated, trying to find the way, and a man had offered to show them – leading to complaints to the police and an arrest. The guide book had been promising the uplifting sight of the Cathedral spires in the distance, but all I could see in the rain was chimney pots aand cranes. Read on

The bright yellow spotted lizard lay on the path, looking like a child’s toy. But it was real, and unexpected. later I saw another one, its gold colour matching exactly the chestnut leaves which fell around me in the woods.

Each time I stopped for a rest there would be a blue butterfly, or the first autumn crocus, or a long tailed magpie to watch. Lovely surprises, and some not so lovely. Read more

We are in Santiago – the end point of pilgrimage for upwards of 115,000 each year who travel from all over Europe, mostly walking 100-1000 km.

Today we attended the midday Pilgrim’s Mass at the Cathedral, which is held every day. The place is packed – standing room only. Some pilgrims have just arrived and carry their staff and backpack, others have had a shower, but you can generally pick them – cargo pants, open faces, expectant and somehow also content and expectant. Read more

Hot water flowed from the spring by the old Roman bridge in Caldas de Reis- a place where kings used to stop and where Thomas a Becket gave his name to a church. I stopped to feel the waters, and lost my bearings. no signs visible, no-one around, as it was siesta. An old man came up over the bridge, called out to me, and pointed his walking stick towards a tiny lane. Again the unasked for kindness, and from a man who must have seen so much sad history in Spain. Read more