Days 22 and 23

To the end!

Day 22 was a 25 km hike through hilly Galicia at its best from Lago towards Cee, an Oceanside town famous for its crecent shaped beach.  The weather finally cleared up, and while the begining of the day had a bit of a climb, and the end had the worst descent ever, it was mostly pretty peaceful and pleasurable.  The last bit into the town of Cee however was awful. Unbelievably steep, and hell on my  feet. The walk is also famous for the great divide, a nearly 15 km streach with no towns, food or water. Cee is beautiful though and I stayed in the nicest place. Had caldo galicia which is galicia broth soup that seems different every time I  have it. And grilled fish of some sort.

Day 23 was my last day. About 13km to Fisterra the town, and another 3 to the lighthouse at the end, the Cabo Finisterra. The furthest point west on the continent and once the home of the most important and ancient pagan alters, the alter of the Sun.  For pagens and most early human religions the Sun was the most important of all deities, and finisterra has been a point of pilgrimage since prehistoric times. It has of course now been claimed as part of the Camino de Santiago, a Christian pilgrimage, and is a fitting end to the Camino. It felt very final to reach the end and look out west towards the new world.

It was a pretty day, and the walk quickly became a nice change of pace as I left the forests and walked along the beach. The water is stunningly blue and of course freezing cold this time of year. The walk to the lighthouse and back is a bit tough as you just want it to be over when you get to the town. But having a celebratory beer at the end of the Earth and some incredible razor clams as I waited for a bus to santiago topped off a great day. I fly out early tomorrow and am absolutely exhausted. I gave this trip my everything and it's returned it all with tons left over. What a great experience.  Il upload pictures later, just landed in Austin.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/147782098@N03/7T2B06

link to final picture album

Day 20 and 21 of the Camino

Sorry no post last night, no wifi.

Day 20 was a bit cold and rainy. Made 22 km from Santiago to Negreira. Mostly through what galicia has shown before, lots of hills and rivers through forests of eucalytus. Got a gorgeous view of the cathedral from atop a hill outside the city. And then struggled mightily climbing another massive hill later on. Made even harder by the rain and the Camino being detoured a few km due to some tree issue (literally that is what the sign said. Tree issue). Got to walk through many small hamlets and farm towns, watching people do their daily chores. Ate a delicious orange while watching a man deliver bread door to door. Arrived exhausted, but ready to recharge for the next day.

Day 21 sucked. Awful weather as expected. Horrible hail, I can't stress that enough how difficult it is to walk in hail. I'm afraid I might get bruises from the hail. Lots of rain. Snow too. And ice. Saw a plow and got sanded by it's trailer. In a bar I hunkered down in for lunch I saw that it was the equivalent of a Spanish state of emergency in some regions due to ice and snow. Despite that I did walk about 28km in around 9 hours. A little more actually. I needed to as the Camino goes through long stretches here without any places to stay and my time is short. Another 22 km tomorrow to Cee, the first then on the while Camio franches to be on the ocean. And only 13 km from Finisterra. I am a bit worried though, as my feet got drenched and I developed a nasty blister on the bottom of my left foot. Hopefully a night's rest will make it more manageable.  Sadly I didn't get to take many pictures today despite some gorgeous views of the lake ahead as I was nervous about my camera so I kept it dry in my bag. A wise sacrifice I think.

Day 19 of Camino

Day 19: O'pedrouzo​ to Santiago de Compostella, 20ish km. 

I have arrived, at the end of the Camino de Santiago.  The weather held out today, dropping occasionally into low temperatures, but ultimately avoiding any rain.  It was somewhat of a difficult day, starting off with a ridiculous incident where a tooth I have capped chipped on a piece of toast. No pain thankfully bit it has made eating interesting. The Camino itself started with lovely paths through forests and around the airport, followed by the climb up monte del gozo, where a nice monument to Pope John Paul and St. Francis overlook the spot where pilgrims historically fell to their knees in joy as they glimpsed the Cathedral on the horizon.  After an incredibly long trek through the urban sprawl of New Santiago and then the old city itself, I finally Arrived.  Serenaded by the beautiful sounds of the bagpipes.  Played by a kind man who tirelessly plays all day long welcoming pilgrims to the 12 century Romanesque Cathedral housing the remains of the Apostle St. James the Greater.  

The Cathedral​ is of course constantly under renovation as so many old buildings are, and sadly the famous front facade is covered by scaffolding.  Nonetheless the rest of the cathedral is stunning, a truly impressive monument to piety and the power of the Church.  The resources needed to build such a structure nearly a thousand years ago is mind blowing the more you think of it.  I toured the Cathedral and even was able to embrace the Apostle himself.   

All throughout the day I was deep in thought about the meaning of the Camino, what my expectations were and what I got out of it.  It's been a transformative experience so far and has taught me much about myself and I think the human spirit.  I received my compostella from the pilgrims office, the document that has been unchanged since the middle ages, given to pilgrims who have completed at least the last 100 km of the Camino. 

I did wait to post this until the next day, as I wanted to go to the pilgrims mass which I did today at noon.  It was a fascinating experience, which unexpectedly to me was packed full of people.  I figured mass on a Tuesday would be rather sparse.  Only a few were fellow walkers of the Camino, but as the Priest said (I think, my Spanish is still very weak) we are all pilgrims to Santiago.  It was a very pilgrim focused mass, with references to Santiago (that's Saint James in Spain) and to the sanctity of the pilgrimage.  I followed that up with lunch at a crepe place that served both the best crepe and the best chocolate cake I have ever had.  The rest of the day was spent resting, as the weather looks like it is going to clear up and so I will be setting off for the Camino to Finisterra tomorrow, the only Camino that starts at the Cathedral.  I will bore you all with the history of that pilgrimage later, but for now I will leave you all with thoughts of Santiago and the 310 km journey here.  It's been fantastic so far and I have no reason to suspect it won't continue to be so.     Only a few pictures. It took me forever to upload even this much. I'll try to go back once I'm in the us and upload more of my pictures. I did take over 2000 so far.   

Day 18 of the camino

Day 18. From azura to o'pedrouzo. Only 18 more kilometers to go!

Crazy that this is almost done. Lovely day yesterday. Weather was colder in the morning so I was able to get 2/3 off the 20 km done by 1. Had lunch at a bar and finished up at o'pedrouzo at 330, hung out with some fellow north americans, from Canada and Mexico. It was a relatively easy day over hills and through forests of eucalyptus and Rose bushes. I'll have to put up picture later. It was very pretty.

Storm is coming in later this week which might prevent my trip to finisterra. Il keep an eye out.

Day 17 of the camino

Posting in the morning of the 19th day  Fell asleeplast night before I could post  some of the pictures are on Flickr but I'm still having difficulties uploading in Spain.

Yesterday was a pretty full day, contrary to my expectations. I forgot to include the distance within the city to the place I stayed at and some of the hills were more intensive than anticipated.  So instead of an easy 15 km it was a more intense 20km.  But that leaves me less than 40km from Santiago.  Very much in place for a Monday arrival. Should be great. 

Most of the day yesterday was climbing and descending hills and river valleys, and walking through amazing forests of pine and eucalyptus. Smelt like a perfume actually, it was relaxing.  Ended the day in the last big city before Santiago, Azura.  It's an interesting town obviously built around the Camino. It's maybe 3 streets wide, the Camino in the center, but 3 km long with bars hotels and alburgues aplenty. I stayed in a place my father loved, a nice little boutique pension (not sure what that means either) called the casona de nene.  Nice comfortable room, though a weird bathroom where the lights constantly turn off and on and heating issues, but I slept well and am in good shape for the 20km today.  Had a yummy dinner at their restaurant at 8, after waiting​ 4 hours at a bar drinking local beer and eating some yummy pinchos, Spains meal times are really hard to get used to.  Had a cheese of the way plate the very nice Spanish waiter put together for me, with cheese from St Jean, leon, Santiago and azura which is renown for its cheese.  Followed by a chicken burger made from  chicken from a famous local farm which won some chicken award  best chicken burger I've ever had by far.

Day 16 of the camino

Palas de rei to melide today, a nice shorter day of 15km.  Took it easy and slow today, weather stayed nice, though hotter in the afternoon.  Lovely hike on paths through woods and over small rivers.  I lagged back a bit to stay behind a spanish school trip that is walking the Camino from Sarria to Santiago.  A group of about twenty high school aged kids.  I'm rather jealous of their school trip actually, I know my school never did anything so interesting. 

Hung out at an extremely popular bar for a few hours at around noon.  I've really started to like the local beer Estrella galicia, and had the best tortilla I've had in Spain. 

Made it to melide by 330.  was able to relax and take a bath soaking my poor abused feet.  Melide is famous for its octopus, served in pulparias so I went to one of the ones in the area.  Delicious octopus, boiled fresh and served on a wooden plate with 4 seasonings: paprika, sea salt, olive oil and one last spice I couldn't figure out.  something a bit spicey, maybe cayanne or something similar.  In Melide you eat the octopus with toothpicks and the wine is served in small ceramic bowls rather than a glass. 

Tomorrow another easier day with only 15 km to azura.  sorry no pictures again, upload speeds in Spain are awful at so many places.  

Days 14 and 15 of the camino.

Sorry for not posting yesterday but I was exhausted.

Day 14 was a significant chunk, about 22km over the hills of Galicia through what is affectionately called cow country. Farm smells and sights abound, as I routinely had to stop and let animals cross the road, from herds of cattle being brought to pasture to sheep doing whatever sheep do.  Passed the 100 km to go marker! Gorgeous sunny day, with plenty of opportunities for resting and reading​in the shade. Had an ice cream pop to cool down before the final stretch a steep descent into the river valley, over a bridge and then agonizingly up a set of stairs. Picked a poor place to stay, much further off the Camino. The first alberque in portomarin was the one to go to. With what I was later told was stunning views of the river and a nice yummy menu.

Had a delicious dinner myself of Galician broth, a soup which had white beans, potatoes and veggies and some incredible pork, finishing off with my first taste of torta de Santiago, an almond cake famous here.  Not as good as the amazing razor clams I had in Sarria but good nonetheless.

Portomarin is actually a pretty interesting town history wise, as it was once where the river is now, but there was a big flood that killed many of the villagers. They moved up hill and moved stone by stone the 11th century church, now dedicated to a saint of drowning victims.

Day 15 was another grueling trek. I purposefully made this section harder to try and add room for the Camino finisterra. I'm now past that point and my next two days ease out. 25km today to palas del rei, named after a palace that used to be here. Lots of fellow pilgrims today, as saria is a popular starting point. Walked with a few German girls, one who started in leon like me but has somehow never crossed my path before, the other who had started all the way in St Jean the traditional start of the Camino. She told us horror stories of the pyranes being closed and having to walk all the way around.

Beautifull day again today. Stopped a few times for drinks and rest in bars in some of the small farming towns. Awful beginning of the day past a fertilizer plant. I was gagging for miles. Blisters nearly got to me in the end, I needed to stop by the time I was done. A bit of knee pain, ankle is achey and my calves are sore but I think I'll be good to go tomorrow. Pain is part of the Camino I think. Everyone has blisters at this point, even the people who started in saria were complaining about them! Perseverance is one of the challenges, through pain, weather and the smells of the region and fellow pilgrims. 68.2 km to go to the doors of the cathedral in Santiago. For me, 15km tomorrow to melide.  

Sorry couldn't upload pictures. Very slow wifi. 

day 13 of camino

Day 13 triacastela to saria about 20km.

Gorgeous most of the day, walked up a bit to a nice mountain overlooking the valley Saria is in. Nice descent into the town, through farms and lovely landscapes. Not much to say really.

Only 110 km to go to Santiago! Took a rest day, but now I'm ready to go 22km the longest trek get into portomarin. Weather should hold up.

Sorry for the short post, next one should be better.

Day 12 of the camino

Day 12: o'cebreiro to Tricastella.

20 km day. Wound up being harder than I thought it would be.  Was more up hill than expected, many valleys which I went up then down and the weather today was horrendous.  It was all the locals were talking about.  Hardcore hail, insane wind.  Snow! Lightning which legitimately frightened me.  Despite all that though it was a good day.  Made amazing progress towards Santiago.  My feet are a bit blistered, but I have a rest day quickly approaching.  Between the rain and snow and hail I caught some amazing views of the valley below.  Some great pictures once I get the time to run them through my computer.  I love the camino, and these kind of days exemplify that. 

I've made far better progress than expected.  Already I am easily a full day ahead of schedule.  Plus I had built into my itenerary significant catch up days for if I fell behind.  So I have thought long and hard about my options and have decided to try and push for the Finesterra Camino, instead of finishing in Santiago.  Finesterra is an additional 4 days, 90 km away from Santiago. It is the original finishing point of this pilgrimage before the Christians, what the pagans believed was the end of the Earth.  It was always my goal to try for it, but now I am confident I will have the time.  So now I plan on reaching Santiago on the 20th, exploring the city on the 21st and then moving on to finisterra, ending up there on the 25th. 

Dinner today was fabulous by the way.  Most of the town restaurants have a pilgrims menu of the day for 10 Euros with a whole bottle of local wine, bread and dessert.  Today for example I had a cold plate of local curred meats and cheese, a trout caught in the river behind the restaurant and a lovely chocolate flan.  Add in a Spanish dessert wine (we don't serve that porteguesse Port crap here!) and you have a fabulous cheap and hearty meal. 

For the history buffs among us Tricastella is a fascinating little town.  Once home to three castles, as the name would suggest, it was a crucial location in determining trade across Spain.  Most importantly for pilgrims, the limestone mined here in the local quarries was used in the creation of the Santiago cathedral.  Indeed medevil pilgrims would be given as much limestone as they could carry with them on their pilgrimages to Santiago to help build the cathedral. I am thankful to avoid carrying any limestone with me.  Frankly that sounds horrible. 

On to Sarria tomorrow, another 19km. Then a rest day to sooth my weary feet. 
Flickr should be up to date, though only with a portion of my total pictures.  so should yesterday's post.       

Days 10 and 11 on the camino

Sorry about the lack of posting lately. Once again I found myself without wifi. 

I'm pretty tired so I'll have to come back later to add more to this.
Day 10 was a long day, about 20km from Villafranca to Las hererias, a tiny Hamlet just before the climb into Galicia. Sun was beyond brutal, had to pick up sun screen at a pharmacy. Thankfully that weird weather and hot sun has passed and we are back to winter here in Spain.

This was a nice little hike, alongside beautiful rivers and roads through small Spanish villages. Las hererias is gorgeous. The meeting point of a few river systems, it's green and fertile. I can only imagine what early settlers thought when they came across it.

Day 11 was a shorter hike, only 8 or so km. But it certainly felt longer as it was almost all up steep unforgiving paths. Stunning vistas and views of valleys behind and Galicia ahead helped spur me on.

Galicia is an odd place, with strong Celtic ties, and traditions like bagpipes and even similar foods like cabbage and stews. Gorgeous though, it's really an Incredibly fertile land, with strong ties to the ocean and Mediterranean.

Lots of fun stories about this little town of o'cebreiro. The church is famous for a number of things. Firstly it was said to house the holy Grail for a number of years. Later it was the scene of a miracle when a local boy walked up the mountain for mass on a cold snowy winter day, the priest at the time chastised him for his piety, saying he should have stayed home. When he went to give the boy the sacrement the wine turned to blood and the bread to flesh, showing gods anger at the priest's words. This was recognized by the pope at the time as a legitimate miracle.

Lastly, but not least, this church was home to the modern father of the Camino, who famously drew many of the arrows we follow today and set in place the stone landmarks that I've taken pictures of. He famously was driving along the Camino one day and cave across a group of Basque rebels who were suspicious of this priest. He opened the car to show his cans of yellow spray paint and told them he was preparing for the invasion to come. Prophetic words as his work has ushered in a popularity in the Camino.

Tomorrow another long day into tricastella. Thankfully all downhill.

Sorry about the lack of pictures. Won't let me upload at the moment I'll try again later. Update: should have pictures now.