Day 45 - Santiago de Compostela - 16 October, 2014

Rest Day

Weather - More rain!

This is our final blog. Fittingly, our Camino journey finished with a dinner with John and Linda. 

It still is astounding that of all the walkers and the towns and places that we came across that the stars aligned under the Compostela.  John and I realised that at a small outdoor bar in the small town of Castrojeriz on Day 19 that we were related. To find that we shared great, great grandparents who immigrated from Scotland in the late 1800's is an amazing coincidence. They say the Camino provides and delivers. 

On our way back from the restaurant and to cap off the evening we came across Jervis Bay, Alan and Lyn in front of the Cathedral. It was fantastic to see them as we hadn't seen them since Sahagun on Day 23. They had only walked in late this afternoon. The only walkers we kept in touch with along the way and we haven't met in Santiage de Compostela are Ellen and Sparky (Diane and Barry) from Canada. We wonder what happened to them. Ellen was so resilient and we came to be in awe of her good humour despite the obvious pain she was in. 

Henk, Neil and I often chatted about what we observed along the way. The list below is in no particular order and is merely our observations. 

What we know now that we didn't know before...

Food

- Tap water is fine to drink. Most water fountains along the way are also fine unless signed otherwise. This saves carrying heavy amounts of water.

- Cake is offered at breakfast. Get used to it!

- Breakfast can be varied from toast and coffee to a full buffet.

- Cafe con Leche is similar to a flat white, Cafe Americano is a full cup of black coffee.

- Vegetables are rare.

- Food and drinks are cheap. The Menu de Peregrino and Menu del Dia offer three courses plus wine or water for approximately 10 - 12 euros. 

- The three courses are: first course which is often mixed salad or plate of cured meat or soup, second course is meat with chips or potatoes and third course is dessert which can be Arroz con Leche (creamed rice), flan (cream caramel), icecream or a piece of fruit

- Coke is dear, wine and coffee are cheap. Coke can be 2.20 Euros, wine and coffee 1.20 Euros

The Walk

- Everyone does the Camino in their own way and in their own time. It can be walking, cycling, and a mixture of walking, catching buses and taxis.

- Everyone greets each other with 'Buen Comino'. It crosses all languages.

- The path is well signed. 

- The Camino is about the people. You might even meet relatives who you never knew existed!

- The ideal distance is 20 kms per day with a maximum of 25 kms.  

- Rest days are important. If time does not permit then have shorter days. The body needs the rest.

- We would start a fortnight later as it was very hot in early September or break up the first five days into shorter days to be out of the sun by one o'clock on the very hot days.

- Watch out for bikes, there's plenty of them and most don't have bells.

- The sun gets up later due to daylight saving but many peregrinos start walking in the dark to secure their next accommodation if they are staying in albergues. 

- The walk is a pilgrimage not a walking trail. The ground is mostly prepared, very hard and compacted and can contribute to injuries eg knees, ankles, blisters, hips, back, shin splints.

- On hot days change the socks frequently (some do it every hour) and dry the used socks on the backpack. This will prevent many blisters. 

- Peregrinos keep cafes, accommodation and Farmacias very busy.

- The Farmacias have an extensive range of foot and knee supports, bandaids, gels.

- Painkillers such as Ibuprofen are sold at Farmacias. The tablets are 600mg compared to Australia's 200mg. They are known as Hikers Candy or Camino Candy. Many take Ibuprofen to dull the pain of blisters, pulled muscles, back pain etc.  

- It's very easy to collect the stamps (sello) along the way. 

- Green paths in Brierley's book are preferable.

Miscellaneous

- Learn basic Spanish as there are many places where English isn't spoken. 

- The Spanish are very friendly and helpful.

- Laundromats are rare. Be prepared to wash socks and undies every day at your accommodation. 

- Be prepared to become a passive smoker.

- All peregrinos look the same - backpack, walking pants, sandals and socks for after hours, walking sticks and scallop shell. 

- Wifi  is free and plentiful.

- Service is good but can be done all in good time.

And so ends our blog. It has been a memorable walk. 

 Buen Camino! 

Day 44 - Santiago de Compostela - Finisterre - 15 October, 2014

Rest Day

Weather - Rain and more rain!

The best thing about today was that we weren't walking in the torrential rain. Unfortunately, John and Linda's last day on The Camino into Santiago would have been a very wet one. We will meet them tomorrow night and catch up over dinner. 

We booked a bus tour to Finisterre which is the final destination for some pilgrims and is 90 kms west of Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrimage to Finisterre is believed to pre-date Christian times and is associated with the "end of the world". It is tradition for a pilgrim to burn either their clothes or boots on arrival to rid the old life and begin afresh. 

Our small hotel lobby was mayhem as about fifty American tourists all of whom seemed to have English as a second language waited for their tour organiser. When they finally left there were four of us waiting in the lobby for our tour along with our tour guide cum bus driver. 

Our small bus meandered around the narrow streets of Santiago de Compostela picking up passengers. There were eight of us for the tour. The two ex-nurses from Sydney, Andrea and Margaret, joined our tour. We were very pleased to see them again as they are such an inspiration. It turns out that Andrea walked into Santiago de Compostela on her 73rd birthday and the people in the Pilgrims Office sang Happy Birthday to her. (Andrea is on the left in the photo.)

Our bus was warm and the bus driver gave us a squeegee to wipe down the insides of the windows as they kept fogging up. And the rain kept pelting down. We passed pilgrims with their heads down against the elements. It looked tortuous and we were thankful that we were in the bus. 

We made a few stops on the way to Finisterre. One was to a lovely bridge estimated to be about 700 years old and used by pilgrims on their way to Finisterre. 

The next stop was to the oldest and one of the biggest granaries in Galicia.  It was impressive. 

After the making of the film, "The Way" the small fishing village of Muxia has become popular. Muxia sits along the "Coast of Death" due to the very large number of ship wrecks along the coastline. We reluctantly ventured out of the bus and the rain stayed away for the majority of the visit to a rocky outcrop along the coast. We could easily see how ships could be in trouble in this part of the world.

When we finally arrived at Finisterre it really did feel like the end of the world. The fog was so dense that we couldn't see anything. We got out of the bus with all our wet gear and went in search of the lighthouse. The conditions were worse than Muxia. After having a quick look around and a quick photo with the lighthouse Henk, Neil and I found a small cafe and stayed indoors. 

This was not the day for sightseeing. We had hot coffees and tuna pie and waited for the bus to return to Santiago de Compostela. We returned at two thirty and it was still raining. 

Our bus driver was an excellent guide. He spoke many languages and was well-versed in the history of the area which was very interesting. 

We spent some time at the Santiago Cathedral Museum. In the evening we returned to our favourite tapas bar and tried some more delicious tapas. Tomorrow is our last day in Santiago de Compostela and it will be the last post of this blog. 

Day 43 - Santiago de Compostela - 14 October, 2014

Rest Day.

Weather - Cold and sunny

We had a wonderful rest day. Firstly, it was sunny and this made all the difference.

Our first task after a slow, enjoyable buffet breakfast was to get a Certificate of Distance which is different from the Compostela. It is issued by the Pilgrims Office and this time the office wasn't busy as we arrived earlier in the day. Obviously, today's pilgrims were yet to arrive in the city. We then walked to nearby Church of San Francisco to obtain our special certificate. We now have three certificates and our stamp book to show we have walked the Camino!

When we arrived at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela it was already quite busy with pilgrims and tourists. You can pick the pilgrims as they are the ones wearing sandals and socks! There is a lot of scaffolding both inside and outside the cathedral with the renovations so our view of the entire cathedral is incomplete. 

We wanted to attend the Pilgrims' Mass at noon and had heard that it can become very crowded. The Aussie, LooLoo, from central NSW, who we met two days ago was sitting with her three friends on the south side transept. She suggested that the view of the proceedings would be better from that vantage point and we heeded her advice had an excellent view. We estimated there were about 600 people attending the mass with majority of them being pilgrims.

An older nun with the voice of an angel sang throughout the service. It was very moving. We didn't think that the mass would include the swinging of the thurible known as the 'Botafumeiro'. To our surprise the thurible was swung. 

It is the largest censer in the world and weighs about 80 kgs. Six men in rich red robes pulled the ropes and swung the censer so high across the altar to the transepts that it looked like it would touch the high ceilings. 

It went over our heads and it was very impressive. If Neil stood up from where he was sitting we were sure it would have hit him. We were very excited to see it. When it finished swinging the priest clapped and everyone joined it. It was very joyful.

Straight after the mass we returned to the large square outside the cathedral. Along the path a few days ago we agreed that the people who had kept us company along the way would meet at one o'clock. It was good to see everyone again including Dublin Paula, Aussies Kate and daughter Erin, Manchester Billy and NZ's Odette and Tony.  Kate's back is much improved (thanks to drugs) and they arrived on Monday as well.

We had a lovely long lunch together and it was a good way to catch up and have some finalisation to our frequent meetings on the path. Emails were exchanged.

After lunch we came across Hawaiian Sartya. We really liked her as she was a practising Buddhist and was a positive energy on the path. We frequently crossed paths with her since Day 25 at Calzadilla de Los Hermandillos. Sartya was walking gingerly in slippers on the cobblestones not because of the long walk. After arriving yesterday she had a tattoo of a shell applied to the bottom of her foot as a token  of her walk. 

As arranged on the path to Rua we met with Americans (North Carolina) George and Peggy for a wonderful seafood dinner at a small local restaurant. On Neil's recommendation we tried the octopus which was tasty and very different. We won't see George and Peggy again but we have enjoyed their company as we came across each other on our walk.

It has been a lovely day meeting up with all the wonderful people we came across. The Camino is certainly about the people you meet along the way. 

Day 42 - Rua - Santiago de Compostela - 13 October, 2014

Time Departed: 8.15 am

Time Arrived: 1.15 pm

Distance: 21 kms

Cumulative Distance: 790 kms

Percentage Complete: 100%

Weather: Foggy, cold, very overcast with later rain

Accommodation: Hotel Compostela

Feelings: Henk - Excited, Neil - Excited, Di - Excited

We did it! After 790 kms and 42 days we are now in Santiago de Compostela. We are feeling pleased with our effort and thankful for a safe journey. 

At breakfast we met Sue and Kerry from Bribie Island. They are about my age. They started walking from Triacastela about six days ago and were going well until yesterday. They missed the turn off from the Camino to our hotel and they walked an extra six kilometres before they realised their mistake. They turned around and after twelve kilometres of extra walking they said they walked straight to the hotel bar and had a beer. They caught the bus this morning and got off near where they walked yesterday. It would have saved them over an hour today.

When we left it was still very dark and foggy but we were keen to get underway. There were many walkers on the final section. We were all like horses bolting to the home paddock. 

We had a good morning tea break as we realised that we had to keep up the energy. Despite our enthusiasm there was still many kilometres to walk. 

We passed the two seventy-three year old ex nurses from Sydney. We met them on Day 30 between Astorga and Rabanal del Camino on a long hot path. They were doing well and looked very happy. Their philosophy of "one step at a time" has worked. It's an impressive effort.

Overall, today's walk was not difficult. Once we got to the outer edge of Santiago de Compostela we walked on flat pavement following the brass shells under our feet and our pace got faster. Three kilometres from the cathedral we had to don our wet gear as there was a light drizzle.

With one kilometre to go we counted it down. Walking through the old town was very pleasant and we will explore it tomorrow. Today we only had one goal in mind which was to to get to the cathedral. We walked through a short tunnel beside the cathedral where a busker was playing Galician bagpipes. So we were piped into the large square in front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. We had made it! We congratulated each other with a "high five" and had our photo taken. There were many peregrinos who had arrived before us standing in front of the Cathedral getting their photos taken. 

We didn't go inside the cathedral. No backpacks are allowed and we didn't want to leave them at the front. The rain was now coming down heavier so we hightailed it to the Pilgrims Office to get our Compostela. We had to line up behind the others who had arrived before us. We stood outside the office in the rain under a grape vine. We thought it was ironic that probably the most rain we had experienced on the walk was standing outside the Pilgrims Office. We collected our Compostela with our names written in Latin. The whole process took about forty minutes due to the numbers. They had about seven desks processing the pilgrims' credentials. 

San Francisco Church was not open so we will go there tomorrow. We would like to obtain the special Compostela in honour of St Francis of Assisi's pilgrimage eight hundred years ago in 1214. It is only being given in 2014. Neil slipped out later in the afternoon and got his Compostela from San Francisco Church. 

With the rain getting heavier we felt we it was time to settle into our hotel. We met at six and we were very hungry. The restaurants weren't open and we chose a very delicious tapas bar as an alternative. 

It was good to see some familiar faces as they came into the bar. After dinner we went to the cathedral but the evening mass had started so we were limited to where we could walk. However, we were able to walk behind the main altar where tradition is to embrace the statue of St James. Tomorrow morning we will visit the cathedral before the noon pilgrim mass which we will attend.

The cathedral is undergoing a massive restoration program. The majority of the front of the cathedral is covered in scaffolding with cloth showing how the cathedral should look.

We are now in Santiago de Compostela for four nights. There are a few things we would like to do before we leave. We are wanting to go to Finisterre which is ninety kilometres from Santiago. Some peregrinos undertake the walk to Finisterre and the tradition is to burn either their walking clothes or boots. We will be catching a bus and doing a tour of the area. Our walk is finished! 

We have had a wonderful, unforgettable experience. Tomorrow is a rest day! 

Day 41 - Arzua - Rua - 12 October, 2014

Time Departed: 9.10 am

Time Arrived: 2.30 pm

Distance: 20 kms

Cumulative Distance: 769 kms

Percentage Completed: 97%

Weather: Fog, very cloudy, cool

Accommodation: Hotel O Pino

Feelings: Henk - Happy, Neil - Excited, Di - Happy

We had a late start as our breakfast wasn't served until eight thirty. We walked back along the country, dirt lane with all the dogs barking at as again. The Camino path followed Arzua's footpath through the functional town to a pretty wooded path. It was very overcast with fog for most of the morning and wet underfoot but we were fortunate that it didn't rain. 

The walk was quite an easy undulating one and once again through many eucalyptus forests. There were no towns but minor hamlets of houses and farms.

We got a lovely surprise at our first break at Calzada where there was a modern cafe on the path. Americans Peggy and George were there. We were very pleased to see them as we haven't come across them since Carrion de Los Condes on Day 21. 

They walked with Canadians Lisa and Bill for quite sometime and plan to meet them at Santiago de Compostela on Tuesday evening. We hope to meet up with them also on Tuesday evening if it can be arranged. This will be done via our emails. We spent some time catching up on our walking adventures.

There seems to be many Australians on the path. We left Peggy and George at the cafe as they were having a longer break. They were only walking thirteen kilometres today. We met four Aussie women from central NSW and spent most of the remainder of the walking day talking to them. They started their walk a few days ago at O Cebreiro and were thoroughly enjoying it. The walk goes very quickly when we talk. 

At twelve thirty we arrived at a busy cafe at Salceda and it was a good time to stop for lunch. The outside tables were wet from a shower which we obviously had missed but we managed to wipe it down and sat out in the cool. The cafe had about one hundred t-shirts hanging from its ceiling. 

Rua is a very small hamlet. We found the only place in the area serving dinner about a half a kilometre away from our hotel. We had an enjoyable last meal on the path. It's hard to believe that tomorrow night we will be in a large city and our walk will be finished.

We now have less than 20 kms to go to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. We won't make the 12 noon Pilgrim Mass so that will be the next day as it is a daily occurrence. We are not sure how we will feel as we walk towards the Cathedral. It will be 42 days since the start of our walk at St Jean Pied de Port. It seems a long time ago. 

Day 40 - Palas de Rei - Arzua - 11 October, 2014

Time Departed: 8.30 am

Time Arrived: 3.45 pm

Distance: 28 kms

Cumulative Distance: 749 kms

Percentage Complete: 94%

Weather: Cold, cloudy in the morning and sunny afternoon

Accommodation: Casa de Fogar de Lecer 

Feelings: Henk - Good, Neil - Eager, Di - Keen

We had a good day's walk. Our friendly host drove us back to Palas de Rei a distance of 15 kms through dense fog. We immediately met Dublin Paula, a woman in her thirties, and spent the majority of the morning walking with her. We have been keeping in synch with Paula over the past few days.  She walked from Leon to Santiago in June and is now in-between jobs so she decided to walk it again! 

As the distance was long we worked out our walking strategy of breaks based on the location of the towns and cafes. The strategy was walk eight kilometres, have morning tea, walk 12 kilometres and have lunch and then walk the remaining eight to Arzua. This worked well and when we arrived at Arzua we were still feeling strong.

At morning tea Melbourne Helen arrived and we walked with her until she had an earlier lunch. The topic of conversation has moved onto when everyone plans to arrive in Santiago de Compostela. Most are arriving either Monday or Tuesday. 

We liked today's walk better than yesterday as there were more wooded areas including more eucalyptus forests and farmland.  

There were also a number of old villages to keep us interested. There are still many market gardens we are passing. 

We came across a chap with his donkey and dog and they were walking back from Santiago de Compostela. They looked very relaxed.

Our lunch break was at a modern cafe on the edge of Boenta de Arriba. We had a longer lunch as we were hungry and we wanted to give our bodies a good break. 

Once we set out again we were feeling very refreshed. We needed to be because there were a number of long, steep ascents which we didn't bargain on. 

Our accommodation is excellent and similar to a B&B and is about one kilometre from the town. We met at six o'clock and set off in pursuit of a place for dinner. Whilst having a drink at an outside cafe Dublin Paula went past and suggested a restaurant she knew from when she last did the walk. We had an enjoyable dinner together and one of the best Menu de Peregrinos we have had. The restaurant was very busy and we saw Aussie Kate and her daughter, Erin. Kate has sustained a back injury.  She is persevering and having her backpack forwarded onto the next accommodation and taking strong painkillers. We told her about American Jim's solution of throwing money at a problem! She's determined! We all hope to meet following the noon mass on the Tuesday. 

We walked back to our accommodation in the dark. This involved walking down dark, narrow farm lanes. We set off every dog barking from here to kingdom come! Thankfully, they were all tied up and it was very funny. 

We now have two days and 39 kms to go. 

Dayy 39 - Portomarin - Palas de Rei - 10 October, 2014

Time Departed: 8.15 am

Time Arrived: 2.45 pm

Distance: 25 kms

Cumulative Distance: 721 kms 

Percentage Complete: 91%

Weather: Fog, cloud, cold then sunny

Accommodation: Pazo de Ludeiro

Feelings: Henk - Good, Neil - Good, Di - Good

Breakfast is more crowded since Sarria with the extra walkers. We caught up with the Perth couple Kathy and John who said they had a good first day. We set out in the dark  as it was very overcast.

We had an initial steep ascent out of Portomarin and the higher we climbed the more we walked through either mist, cloud or fog. We weren't sure what it was. It was pleasant walking with visibility significantly reduced. The cloud didn't clear until noon when blue skies appeared. 

Today and tomorrow are longer days and these are the times when we think of how to plan the walk to keep a positive approach. Today the little cafes were well placed for our breaks. At eight kilometres we had morning tea and we were very pleased with our time even though the majority of the walk was climbing. The cafe was very busy. Aussies Kathy and John and Meredith and Phillip were also there. 

We had tasty Torta de Santiago (Cake of St James) which is a speciality of Galicia and is the region we are now walking in. The tart has an almond meal base with an icing sugar topping and the Camino Cross marked out. It's origin apparently goes back to the Middle Ages.

Peregrinos are constantly adding tokens such as stones to kilometric markers, growing cairns and memorials along the way. A couple of times we have come across ever-growing stone circles as the peregrinos go past they add another stone. The last time we saw this was at Artapuerca on Day 16, 

We walked by acres of eucalyptus forests which was strange. Apparently, in the 1800's a Spanish priest who moved to Western Australia thought it would be a good idea for his home region to have gum trees growing for furniture and other purposes. It was not successful but the trees have adapted well and are now considered a problem. 

After a half hour break for lunch at 12.30 pm we had an enjoyable downhill walk of eight kilometres to Palas de Rei. This is quite a large town. Henk rang our accommodation so we could be picked up. We had to wait fifty minutes outside the town hall until our host arrived. By this time we were cold and stiff. We should have gone to a cafe but didn't want to leave our post in case our host arrived.

Our accommodation is impressive and is 13 kms out of Palas de Rei in an isolated farming area. The guest lounge was very warm due to the large fireplace. It was relaxing sitting by the fire and having a drink before dinner. Our host roasted chestnuts in the fire and we had great fun opening the hot shells. We loved the chestnuts. 

We now have three days and 66 kms to go. It's all going very quickly. 

Day 38 - Sarria - Portomarin - 9 October, 2014

Time Departed: 8.30 am

Time Arrived: 2.45pm

Distance: 23 kms

Cumulative Distance: 696

Percentage Complete: 87%

Weather: Cold, cloudy, patches of sunshine

Accommodation: Pousada de Portomarin

Feelings: Henk - Good, Neil - Eager, Di - Content

We passed a major milestone today as we have less than 100 kms to go. When we reached the 100 kms marker stone in a lovely shaded lane we stopped and took photos of the much-graffitied marker. At every half kilometre now there is a marker so we can count down the kilometres to Santiago de Compostela. 

There were noticeably more walkers on the path. At breakfast we met two Aussies from Perth (ex Liverpool), Kathy and John who were starting today. We were expecting rain and although it threatened to rain a few times we were fortunate to arrive at Portomarin dry. 

It was an enjoyable walk as we frequently passed through many little villages, farm complexes and clusters of stone houses. There was a heavy rural smell for most of the day.  A lot of the path was between dry stone walls and in oak woods. 

Just before lunch at Ferreiros Neil spotted a dramatic fungus growing just off the path in a sheltered wood. A couple of others joined us to take photos. 

We enjoyed a longer lunch as we sat outside in the sun. 

One Canadian woman who started at Pamplona because she didn't have confidence in her ability to go over the Pyrenees arrived at a nearby lunch table. After arriving at Santiago de Compostela this Monday she was keen to go back to St Jean Pied de Port to complete the first part. 

We passed many granaries made either of brick or wood. These are known as horreos and are common in the area. They are raised from the ground on pillars so rodents do not eat the grain. 

Once again there were cattle in the fields and the movement of them on the minor roads. We had to get off the road at one stage as a farmer walked her stock back to the sheds. 

The walk after lunch was an easy downhill one. We had to walk across a very high bridge crossing the River Mino and climb some steep steps before walking into Portomarin. 

The town was shifted in the 1960's to cater for the construction of a dam. When the water is low as it is now the old bridge and the remnants of buildings can be seen. The Church of St Juan of Portomarin which was originally designed as a church and temple was moved to higher ground brick by brick. The bricks were numbered and these numbers can still be seen on the outside of the church. 

We met Aussies Meredith and Phillip in the foyer of the hotel and spent a lovely evening at the hotel's restaurant.