Santiago in the Mist

Friday 23rd September

We woke up to a misty Santiago with all the graniter and stones glistening with dew.  Christine was the first to leave us on her way back to Sweden. We were sad to see her go as she kept us smiling with her great sense of humour.  Christine was our senior lady and she shared  her wealth of knowledge about the Camino, and especially about Santiago, with us.  She speaks a number of languages and as such was a an angel to a Hungarian in distress who had to return home but couldn´t speak a word of English.  Christine speaks perfect Spanish and was able to help the pilgrim sort out his problem. 
We made an early start up the hill to the Market - a daily open market which supplies all of Santiago with fresh produce ranging from eggs, fish, meats, vegetables, fruit etc etc.  The girls were able to find a few souvenirs and t-shirts at the market as well.  Next stop was the flea-market, the internet cafe, the tourist office and lunch. 
Last night we had dinner at the Casino. The group surprised me with a gift of a lovely hand sewn bag that I had admired at the flea-market, plus a lovely silver cross from Angels, one of the best silver shops in town, and a box of chocolates.  I was very touched and thank them all again for their generosity.
Then we went to Bar Fuco-Luis for a queimada.  (Google the word - it is a fascinating incantation involving arujo, sugar, orange and lemons rinds, coffee beans and fire!) Pepe set the queimada bowl up on an outside table and we were soon whoopìng and ooohing and calling out to all the ´brujas´(witches) out there.  A Portuguese couple from Brazil joined us and a few Aussie pilgrims we´d met along the way joined in the at the end. When the last drop of cooled fire water was drunk we strolled down to the sqaure where Tunas (musicians in medieval minstrel garb) were entertaining a crowd of people.  We boogied a little, laughed a lot and took dozens of photos which I´ll try to add to the blog when we get home.

50kms to go - from Melide

Hola amigos! - from Judith,

Well, here I am sitting (finally) in an internet cafe with only 50 km to walk before arriving in Santiago de Compostella. We have entered the third section of the trip, from the town of Sarria to Santiago .... the critical 100 kms that one must walk before receiving one´s religious certificate or "Compostela."

Well ... I hate to admit it but I will be receiving a "tourista" certificate because I took a cab for part of the journey between Morgade and Portomarin. Both Christine and I will take that and Sylvia as well because she is a Buddhist and does not walk for "religious" reasons. hen I heard that I felt better. She has walked the Camino multiple times! 

And today, as I was walking I saw a blind man with a walking stick in one hand and a sweeping cane in the other and I thought to myself, "Yes, there are people who are truly deserving of this compostella. Their faith allows them to achieve miraculous things."

Christine is taking this very badly, but her health simply does not allow her to walk up to 25 kms a day. In Morgade, I stayed with her for moral support as she was very depressed. While we were waiting to call a cab, a Hungarian couple asked for her help in organizing their return home due to a death in the family.

Christine was the only one there able to speak three languages and get it all sorted for them. I thought to myself then that there is a reason for everything. In her own way she provided a minor miracle for this couple.

Prior to our arrival in Sarria we went as a group, by small bus up to the mountain top village of O Cebreiro ...

high above the clouds, to visit a 12th century church, resting place of The Holy Grail.  It is a remarkable village, only about 20 houses, many of Celtic origin, the round stone thatched Galician style. Altogether a bit of an Indiana Jones experience. Yes ... I did see the true grail (one of them .. the other is in Valencia !)
The bus dropped us off in Sarria in the afternoon and we walked 13 kms to Morgade (a hamlet of about 2 houses!) through very rural, very noxious smelling roads ... lots of cow dung and fields fertilized with pig manure and urine. In fact, the whole of this section has been primarily rural, with the paths running through farms and fields, sometimes shaded by large oak and chestnut trees.

 Sometimes I want to shout "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" as the breezes knock down showers of acorns and chestnuts on to our heads!" The scenery would be very familiar to New Brunswickers ... it looks  like the land and hills around Hampton and Sussex . The South Africans are enchanted with this ... I am rather bored as it seems so familiar and I miss all the little towns. Most named places are simply hamlets with one or two farms.
Now that we are in Galicia and getting closer to the sea the temperatures are cooler. The next big city will be Santigo itself.

All in all I have enjoyed the larger Spanish cities most of all ... the architecture, historical churches, lively squares and noisy night life ... not to mention the tapas bars and the wine and food. Pamplona , Viana , Leon and Burgos certainly stand out.

 Pamplona

 Logroño

 Burgos

 León

Astorga

 I haven´t been a terribly good correspondent because many days I was simply too tired after walking in 35 degree temperatures and not feeling up to hunting for an internet cafe.
A lot of my trip has sort of blurred into a single impression of hot, dry dusty roads with agonizingly brutal downhill stretches on rubbly roads and trails.

 There were certainly days when I wanted to pack it all in. However, I walked until I couldn´t walk any more and if it was possible I called for a cab to finish the last few kilometers.

 As a result my feet and knees are still in good condition. There were days however when I had no alternative but to walk on in my very slow manner until I got to my destination, sometimes after 12 hours ... worried about heat exhaustion and running out of water.

 Sadly, after all of this I seem to have shed very few pounds. The pilgrims fare is unusually starchy ... bread, cheese, smoked ham. Dry toast with coffee in the morning, an omellette on baguette for lunch and some sort of mixed salad or fish dish in the evening. Very few fresh vegetables.

 Today, as I am now in the Galician region renowned for its seafood I had octopus ,boiled and then chopped up and seasoned with a spiced olive oil, for lunch. "Interesting"! Bought a bottle of the areas famous white wine  Ribeiro to share with the others tonight.

Sylvia has done an excellent job in choosing our accomodations ... usually two to a room with an ensuite shower and sometimes a tub. So we haven´t really been roughing it by sharing accomodation in large albergues where there can be as many as 100 other pilgrims sleeping in bunks! So I really have been a Pampered Pilgrim and when I get home I hope to download my photos and compose a more descriptive blog with that title. Now , my time is about to run out and I must go . Will write agian from Santiago ...Judy

el Camino de las Cafe-Bars

I have been really frustrated by our inability to get stamps -´sellos´ - from churches in our pilgrim passports. The majority of churches we pass by are closed. Of those that are open, there are very few with a pilgrim stamp on offer.  I think three churches on this trip have had someone sitting in the church offering a stamp to passing pilgrims. 
I remember reading somewhere that the pilgrim office doesn´t really like to find a credencial filled with stamps from bars and restaurants but if you do not stay in the albergues the only other places you can get stamps is cafe-bars, restaurants, hotels, tourism offices etc.
In some towns you read a notice on a church door directing to another church in the town for the ´sello´ When you get there that church is also closed.  In Melide the other day we walked an extra few hundred meters to the Parish Church to get a stamp in our passport.  We couldn´t find one but a rather irritated gemtleman sitting in the pews told us to go to the door on the right of the altar.  I knocked on the door and when I opened it, two angry men told us to go away in no uncertain terms.  "Sello?" I asked.  "No! No! No!" said one, shooing us away with his hands.  So, no church sello in Melide but we did get three from different bars on the way out of town.
Many cafe-bars have a stamp or stamp and pad on their counters so that pilgrims can just walk in and stamp their passports without even buying anything from the bar.  Surely churches can do the same thing?  If a church is open to visitors, they could chain a stamp to the table at the entrance that has their notices and booklets on it. Even if the church is closed it would be possible to have a small table outside somewhere with a stamp on the table for passing peregrinos.
The very enthusiastic priest who used to usher pilgrims into his little church in Furelos passed away about 2 years ago and now his church is also closed.  I remember being conned into entering his church in 2002, seated on the pew and having to listen to a half hour discourse on the history of the altar and pillars - all in Spanish - before we could make our escape. 
When I get to Santiago and offer them my credential I will forgive them for thinking that I have made a pilgrimage to the bars and cafes of Spain from St Jean pied de Port to Santiago - I just hope that they will forgive me!  There just weren´t any other opportunities to get stamps anywhere else.

In Arzua

We are in the Pension Arcano in Arzua, a very nice pension in a quiet road off the main Camino route that runs through the centre of the town.  They have an enclosed indoor ´terrace´ on the first floor with pot plants grown by the mother who was ironing linen when we arrived.  It is a long, airy room with three wrought iron cafe tables and chairs at one end, a vending machine with all the coffees and chocolates, and another with cold drinks and chocolates in the centre of the room and then a comfortable 12 seater leather curved sofa around a centre table.  On the far wall are washlines where all the linen is hanging to dry.  This internet facility is tucked into a corner with a screen around it.  We have bought salads, fruit and cheese and will have dinner in tonight.
Our stay at A Bolboreta in Mato Casanova was really wonderful.  It is 2km off the Camino trail but worth the walk for a comfortable night´s stay.  The dinner is €8 for a 4 course meal and breakfast is included in the room charge.  They put out a breakfast - for those wanting to leave early in the morning - with microwaves, toasters, breads, biscuits, jams etc. 
We made an early start this morning and walked through lovely forests and many small hamlets.  The first big town was Melide and we followed the yellow arrows to the parish church to get a stamp.  I was directed to a door at the side of the altar and when I knocked and opened the door, two men angrily chased us away telling us to ´Vamos´.  ¨No sello aqui?¨ I asked.  ¨No, no, no!¨they said.  ´This is a Camino de las Cafe-Bars´ I commented to Bell and Jill.  Most of the churches are closed when you pass by them.  Those that are open don´t have stamps and when one is directed to the parish church to get a sello you are chased away.  Nearly all of the stamps in my credencial are from bars, reaturants, pensions, hostals and albergues - very few churches. 
The next 11km were very hot so we were thankful for the shade of the forests.  From around Boente 6km from Melide, the terrain becomes hilly and undulating as you descend to many small rivers and climb out on the other side.  We stopped at Ribadiso da Baixo to have lunch at the cafe-bar next to the ancient San Anton hospice albergue.  The man in the cafe-bar recognized me and said that he remembered my ´hombre´who drank brandy and coke!  (That was Charles Mason on the last group walk so I hope someone reads this and passes on the message!  He has not been forgotten!)
The last three km to Arzua were undulating but they passed quickly.  We found our pension, checked in and then went out to buy food for supper. We will make Seville Ensalade - a salad with many different fruits, olives, cheeses and lettuce, tomatoes, onions etc.  Tomorrow is our penultimate walk and we are all a little sad that our Camino is coming to an end. 

Casanova

This morning our bus arrived at 7;50am to take us back to Gonzar where we stopped walking yesterday. It seemed like an awfully long way - more than 25km. We walked for 2 hours before stopping for a Cola Cao (hot chocolate) and a pastry.
Then we stopped at Palas do Rei after getting a stamp in our credencials at the Information kiosk opposite the Cabanas where we stayed in June. There was a market in the square so we bought cheese and fruit for the next day. We have started walking through corridors of trees with mossy stone walls, passing through tiny hamlets and farms.

 On one path we had to stand aside whilst a small herd of dairy cows with huge, pendulous udders lumbered past followed by an Alsatian type dog and a farmer. Before we knew it we were in Casanova with just under 2km to walk to A Bolboreta.
We did the things all pilgrims do at the end of a day's walking - washed clothes, showered and sat in the sun discussing the day. There were two other pilgrims at dinner and we had another wonderful 4 course meal for €8. Butternut soup, salad, paella, meat and sauted potatoes and Tiramsu - served with jugs of wine, water and bread. Tomorrow we walk to Arzua.

Molinaseca & Ponferrada

Everyone was a bit pooped today from the long, hot, rocky trail from Rabanal. The 7 of us who walked all the way decided to walk the last 5km, from Riego de Ambros, on the road as we were weary of rocks and shale. It was hot but it was a relief to walk on a smooth surface and we think it was a little shorter than the trail.

Zuretha, Theresa and Janette - Rabanal

Bell and Jill

On the way to to the Cruz de Ferro

Bell, Janette, Theresa, Zuretha, Syl and Jill and the Cruz de Ferro

Rocky path to el Acebo

Ponferrada in the far distance

Memorial to a fallen peregrina outside el Acebo

We walked on the road for the last ± 5km to Molinaseca

Slate rooftops of Molinaseca

Peregrinos bridge into the little village

Site of the most important gold mining in the Roman Empire.  22km from Ponferrada

This morning our taxis collected 7 of us from Molinaseca and took us to Las Medulas - a spectacular landscape created during the most important gold mining era in the Roman Empire (2000 years ago) and now a World Heritage Site about 22km from Ponferrada. Two of our group decided to walk to Ponferrada instead.

We had a wonderful stay in an old palace - La Casa del Reloj - in Molinaseca last night.Before we left Molinaseca this morning Bell and I were lucky to be given a guided tour of the private part of the 'Palace' by our host. It was very grand. Tons of antiques, art works, statues, carpets, a private chapel - with her grandfather's embroidered vestments hanging in a cupboard - and a fabulous refectory which she called her Bodegas. She also owns the park across the road. Very special place to stay.

 We are now in Ponferrada (Pons Ferrata or Iron bridge) a town with a masssive fortified Templar castle .
We were dropped off at the Hotel Temple, a very smart, 4-star hotel about 10 minutes from the Templar Castle.
Ponferrada once boasted at least 10 pilgrim shelters. Now there is only one, the Albergue San Nicolas de Flue that sleeps 200 people.
Tomorrow we walk ± 22km - depending on which guide book you believe! - to Villafranca del Bierzo. We are all tanned and looking fit!

Burgos to Leon and Astorga

We got a Jimenez bus from Logrono to

Burgos. 

From Burgos we got an ALSA bus to Leon - all tickets were pre-booked and paid for online

Jill, Janette, Theresa and Zuretha joined us in Leon.
We took an ALSA bus from Leon to Astorga and started walking from there to Villafranca del Bierzo