We made it!! What a feeling to finally arrive and see all of the pilgrims milling about. Thank you to all who prayed us to Santiago or sent positive thoughts our way. We could feel your support the whole time we were walking.
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Day 45 O Pedrouzo - Santiago
It is a very cool, foggy morning. The fog has swallowed up the other pilgrims and it feels like we are alone. When we walk near the airport at Labacollo it is still too foggy to see the planes. We can hear them but we can´t see them which disappoints Bernard. Eventually the fog thins out and the eucalyptus trees are all around. The scent is everywhere. One pilgrim says it is like walking in a spa! The sun burns away the fog and it is beautiful and clear for the remaining distance to Santiago! When we arrive we are kind of stunned - what to do first? We decide to line up for our "Compostela". They only allow 3 pilgrims at a time per area so you have a private personal moment with the person taking your information and reviewing your "passpost credentiale". Then yoour credentiale is stamped on the first page where it says "..arrived at Santiago on..." and again on the last page as the last stamp collected. You are handed your "Compostela" with your name written in Latin and you are done! All the pilgrims leaving the office are smiling as are we.
After a shower and a nap we head for the Cathedral. It is massive and totally dominates the Plaza del Obradoiro. We did a tour - saw the Portal of Glory (through the scaffolding and rebuilding) with the Jesse tree in the center with the imprint of the hands of thousands of pilgrims. Then we gave St. James a hug for all the pilgrims who have arrived safely and for all the pilgrims yet to come, and we visited the crypt where St. James is buried. All the pilgrim rituals were now complete. We had heard that the botofumeiro (the large incense burner) would be lit that night after the 7:30 mass so we selected our seats early and had a wonderful view of the whole proceedings. It was actually swinging over the aisle right beside us! The cathedral was full, full. Pilgrims with backpacks and tourists with cameras all mixed together. Afterwards we went for dinner where we met a couple from Edmonton who were watching the hockey game! They are walking on to Finisterre but for us our walking is done although we will always be on Camino! BUEN CAMINO!
Will post more pictures when we can find WIFI.
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Fwd:
This is the monastery in Samos. It is quite the sight from above and from across the road in the town.
Day 44 Arzua - O Pedrouzo
Excellent walk today. It started out raining but it didn´t last too long. At each stop we met other west coast Canadians - people from Denman Island, Victoria and Vancouver. We may see them tomorrow in Santiago! Yes, we will be in Santiago tomorrow. Everywhere we went this evening people are anticipating their arrival in Santiago tomorrow. I imagine the trail will be very busy. Bernard says after 44 days of practise, the day we have been practising for has arrived! Buen Camino!
Day 43 Melide - Arzua
My appetite is back! After a good breakfast we are gone. We walked through some beautiful oak and eucalyptus forests. The eucalyptus trees are so tall and every so often you catch a whiff of their scent. Arzua is a nice sized town and has all any pilgrim could want plus the weather has been great today, not too hot. We had dinner at a cafe in the plaza (we love the plazas) then went to the mass in the church in the plaza. At the end we received the pilgrims blessing along with about 25 other pilgrims from all over the world. We are walking a little further tomorrow so to bed early. Buen Camino!
Day 42 Palas de Rei - Melide
We seem to be moving very slowly but we have arrived at the octopus soup capital of Galicia. We didn´t try it - Bernard wouldn´t anyway, but my appetite is totally gone - temporarily I am sure. We did go to a medical clinic which was empty - no customers. After a thorough examination and 10 minutes on oxygen, the doctor prescribed some antibiotics and a puffer. Hopefully we can have a quiet night. We are only 50.5 kms. from Santiago! Buen Camino!
Day 41 Gonzar - Palas de Rei
We had a very nice easy walk today. There are more and more pilgrims on the way. We met two young men dressed as knights of old but with modern lighter material. When we asked if we could take their picture they showed us sign "il donativo" (by donation). They were raising money for a charity in Santiago. We were happy to give them a donation, besides they were so cute, one played his plastic horn for Bernard. We had our first Spanish "hamburgesas" - it was a change from the Pilgrim´s menu. Buen Camino!
Day 39 and 40 Morgade - Gonzar
When we left this morning it was very misty and cool which makes it nice to walk. Again it felt strange to walk without our backpacks but much easier of course. We stopped in Portomarin, avillage built on a hillside overlooking a huge reservoir shich you have to cross to get into the town. The marker at the end of the bridge reads 92 kms to Santiago. Bernard and I are both very tired so we will spend an extra day at our albegue before our final days to Santiago. Here at Casa Garcia the 82 km. marker is at the corner. All these signs that we are almost done. There was a huge concert here last night that started at midnight and went until 5 this morning. We could hear it but we were so tired it didn´t really bother us. Today we are just laying around and walking around the village. We went to mass at 1:30 which didn´t start until 1:45 Spanish time in a village. Evening comes and we are both feeling better so off again tomorrow. Buen Camino!
Day 38 Sarria - Morgade
We both had a wakeful night with Bernard coughing quite a bit and I am coughing some too! We took it very slowly today and realized we should have sent our backpacks ahead. We will do that tomorrow. We are in a beautiful little Albergue in a private room so if we cough all night we will only disturb each other. There are so many pilgrims passing by it is unbelieveable. It feels like the whole world is doing the Camino! Some have their full backpacks but many are travelling in groups with small day packs. To each their own Camino!
Day 37 Lusio - Sarria
We wake up all alone in this huge monastery. The hospitalera left at 9:30 last night and locked the door behind her. It feels really weird to be rattling around in here. We quickly pack and have a cup of tea and we are off. The trail is empty from here to Samos. We have breakfast at a bar across the street from the oldest monastery in the whole western world. It looks ornate and austere at the same time. Part of it is used as an Albergue. The bells ring 9 o´clock as we leave. We walk through wonderful old oak and chestnut tree lined trails. All the way into the city of Sarria the Camino markers show the remaining distance to Santiago and I can´t help but feel butterflies of excitement. It is here in Sarria that many pilgrims start their camino since to receive a "compostela" you must walk the last 100 kms to Santiago. Sarria is 115 kms from Santiage so we have to take it one day at a time. Tonight we are staying at Albergue Casa Peltre - a little bit of country in the middle of the city. The yard has lounge chairs and the neighbour beside has a horse in a small field, the neighbour behind has a lovely garden with lots of lettuce that she is feeding to her chickens. There is even a washer and drier here, yeah!! Buen Camino!
Day 36 Alto Do Poio - Lusio
The sun was rising just as we started out. Another beautiful sunny day. The Camino goes through some very rural villages with the smells to match. Then you turn a corner and there are the telltale red or green or white plastic chairs indicating a bar and your morning cafe con leche. We passed a limestone quarry far below us in the valley. Apparently the pilgrims of old would pick up what they could carry and take it to the lime kilns in Castenada for the building of Santiago Cathedral. Sorry our backpacks are full! We decided to take a short detour (.4 km) to stay in Albergue Casa Grande Xunta (in Galicia the J in words is replaced by the letter X) in the village of Lusio. It is a beautifully restored monastery building with 60 beds in 4 dorms. So far we are the only ones here - it is so quiet and peaceful. The only drawback is there is no tienda (store) or bar and the only food we have for dinner tonight is half a dozen eggs, a bit of pasta, a bit of cheese and an orange! Bernard found a woman in a house close by who sells her homemade wine for 2 Euros a bottle and also sells beer. She also sold me a baguette. I guess we won´t starve. Buen Camino!
Friday, 7 June 2013
Day 35 La Faba - Alto Do Poio
It felt weird this morning starting our walk without our backpacks. We left them with their brown envelopes and 5 Euros with directions for the transport company as to where we wanted to pick them up. They were lined up with about 8 other backpacks. The hike up to the top of O´Cebreiro was not as bad as expected and we were at our backpack pickup destination in about 2 1/2 hours. Since they were not there yet the lady at the tienda told us to keep walking and she would send them on to our destination for the night. So we told her we were going to Alto do Poio and sure enough - they were there when we arrived. She hadn´t even asked us our names! We are still up quite high - 1335 meters - and the views today have been so beautiful and tranquil. We are sitting outside at the bar and the Camino trail rises steeply here and comes out right beside us. We can watch the exhausted pilgrims appear like rabbits out of a rabbit hole. Because that was us a couple of hours earlier we can feel compassion for them. Some are ready to stop here and others move on even though you can see how tired they are. We wish them Buen Camino!
PS Our snorer friend has also arrived!Day 34 Trabadelo - LaFaba
We started the day nice and slow since we were only going 13.3 km. The first 10km was a piece of cake, nice and level, stop for cafe con leche, enjoy the beautiful weather then the last 3.3 km alsmost finished us. We are headed for an Albergue almost half way up to O´Cebreiro. We knew it was going to be steep but not even Teapot Hill could have prepared us for what we encountered. It was very rocky and it was very busy so you felt pressured to keep going. We were very happy to reach La Faba. We still have 5 km to go up tomorrow so we ahave decided to have our backpacks transported to our next destination. It was either that or we were going to have to be transported down the hill! The Albergue here is very nice and we are on time to have a bed - so is our friend who snores, but he is in a different dormitory. I watched a man and his wife plow their garden in the valley below with a donkey. She was leading the donkey and he was guiding the plow. The bell around the donkey´s neck echoed up the valley to us. They work very hard for what they have. Buen Camino!
Day 33 Cacabelos - Trabadelo
Another clear sunny day and a beautiful walk through a beautiful part of the country. We followed a river and an old highway most of the day. There is another pilgrim here that we have seen several times before. Like us he travels slowly. We try not to get stuck in the same room as him because he snores quite loudly. We managed it for tonight but Bernard and I are both coughing so we will probably disturb the two others who may arrive to share our room. We walked through a lovely mountain village called Villafranca de Bierzo. The Camino always runs through the oldest part of the towns and villages so we get to see all of the old churches with their bell towers and storks nests, and the extremely narrow streets where there are even cars parked. There are window boxes on balconies filled with pots of geraniums and petunias. There are new doors and windows and sometimes when a door is open you get a glimpse of the foyer and the door beyond. The sun is very hot out here in the courtyard of the Albergue so Buen Camino for now.
Day 32 Ponferrada - Cacabelo
Walked between lots of vineyards and admired many large gardens. The roses are all in bloom in the yards - some standing straight and tall and others tumbling over fences. We are walking several short days (16.7 km today) before we climb again to go over O´Cebreiro - 1330 meters. Here in Cacabelo (sounds disgusting!) the Municipal Albergue is very different. It is built around a Church. They have used the stone wall surrounding the Church as the back wall and put another wall about 8´ closer to the Church all the way around. They have added doors and partitions so everyone has a 2 bed cubicle but the side partitions do not go up to the roof. They call it "chalet style". You can hear everyone but you can´t see them. We have a whole new set of pilgrims here today. They are younger and walk much faster and further than we do. Every now and then we see a familiar face, which is nice! Buen Camino!
Day 31 El Acebo - Ponferrada
Thirty-one days on the trail! More downhill today and very treacherous in places, but is Spain ever beautiful! Have I said that before? More flowers - flag lavender everywhere contrasting with the white broom. As we descend further it soon warms up and we are finally able to take off our toques, gloves and jackets. We are through Molinaseca and up again into Ponferrada where we have decided to stay in the El Castillo Hotel tonight. We had a very noisy night last night with several loud snorers. The lady in the top bunk next to ours got so disgusted she grabbed her sleeping bag, blanket and pillow and left! I don´t know where she ended up sleeping but her friend on the bottom bunk was one of the snorers. Our hotel is located just down the street from a huge castle that used to belong to the Knights Templar. They oversaw and protected this region for the Church for over a hundred years. But fear and politics made them hand over their holdings and disband. This area, actually the whole of Spain has quite a history.
The roof tiles have changed from red clay to black slate and we are back in wine country - Bierzo wine. So that is at least two kinds of wine we will have to research when we return home - Rioja and Bierzo.Sunday, 2 June 2013
Day 32 Ponferrada - Cacabelo
Walked between lots of vineyards and admired many large gardens. The roses are all in bloom in the yards, some standing straight and tall and others tumbling over fences. We are walking several short days (16.7 km today) before we climb again to go over O'Cebreiro - 1,330 meters. Here in Cacabelo (sounds disgusting!) the Municipal albergue is very different. It is built around a Church. They have used the stone wall surrounding the Church as the back wall and put another wall about 8' closer to the Church all the way around. They have added doors and partitions so everyone has a 2 bed cubicle but the side partitions don't go up to the roof. They call it chalet style. You can hear everyone but you can't see them. We have a whole new set of pilgrims here today. They are younger and walk much faster and further than we do. Every now and then we see a familiar face, which is nice! Buen Camino!
Day 31 El Acebo - Ponferrada
Thirty-one days on the trail! More downhill today and very treacherous in places, but is Spain ever beautiful! Have I said that before? More flowers-flag lavender everywhere contrasting with the white broom. As we descend further it soon warms up and we are finally able to take off our toques, gloves and jackets. We are through Molinaseca and up again into Ponferrada where we have decided to stay in the El Castillo Hotel tonight. We had a very noisy night last night with several loud snorers. The lady in the top bunk next to ours got so disgusted she grabbed her sleeping bag, blanket and pillow and left! I don't know where she ended up sleeping but her friend on the bottom bunk was one of the snorers. Our hotel is located just down the street from a huge castle that used to belong to the Knights Templar. They oversaw and protected this region for the Church for over a hundred years. But fear and politics made them hand over their holdings and disband. This area, actually the whole of Spain has quite a history. The roof tiles have changed now from red clay to black slate and we are back in wine country - Bierzo. So that is at least two kinds of wine we will have to research when we return home - Rioja and Bierzo. Buen Camino!
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