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.

ARCA

Today was our penultimate walking day.  Coolish in the mornings (I have been wearing the South African flag arm warmers Tammy bought me) but soon have to moult the chill cheater and arm warmers as the day heats up.  We walked for two hours again before stopping. for a Cola Cao.  I had a banana so I bought a chunk of ´pan´and had a banana sandwich.  The path is quite busy.  Many more pilgrims left from Arzua this morning than have been leaving from the smaller places we´ve stayed in between.  Arzua is one of the stage stops in most guide books and it seems that many pilgrims religiously follow the Brierley guide (or other guides) and stay over at the places suggested in the books.  When we left Morgade, and Gonzar or even Casanova, there were far fewer pilgrims on the road early in the morning.
We covered the 20km in just under 5 hours and arrived at the Pension Maribel sign on the trees in the forest just before 12h30.  The sign says 500m to Pension Maribel.  After walking what seems like a km the next sign says 100m - then when you get to the next intersection another sign also says 100m.  We all booked in and I went to to the centre to get more time for my cell phone and to check out the restaurant where we will eat tonight.  It is the same little place we had a wonderful dinner in June so I´m looking forward to eating there again.
Some of us are planning on leaving early tomorrow so that we can make the 12 o´clock mass.  We will then wait in the square to meet the others as they walk in.  We are all looking forward to meeting old Santiago but are a little sad that our adventure is coming to an end.  We have booked two taxis to take us to Finisterre tomorrow night to watch the sun set over the Atlantic at the End of the World.

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. 

Internet

Since we've been in Spain I've only managed to post from one Internet Cafe which we found in Logrono. Hotels, Pensions, Hostals and even albegues now all offer WiFi (wee-fee in Spanish). Wifi is great if you have a laptop or notebook with you but for those with no computer devices it has become very difficult to find Internet facilities. I was hoping that our amaWalkers would all contribute to the blog but so far nobody has been able to find an internet to send their posts.

Progress on the Camino

I took this photograph used on the heading of this blog in June. 3 months later and there is a large construction going up in the field on the left facing the village. It looks like a complex of duplex flats. What a pity they didn't build it a bit further back or on the other side. It will dominate the view and obscure that lovely approach to the village.

This concrete and stone path down the hill to the magnesite factory outisde Zubiri is a welcome change as the dirt path used to be a death-trap in wet weather.

The eucalyptus forest outside Arca is making way for a new Autovia between Santiago and Lugo.  There is also a new highway being built between Santiago and Finisterre that will cut down travelling time to about 45 minutes.  One can see the roadworks cutting through the 'montes' forrests on the way to Fistera.

Busy Camino

 The Camino is very busy with large numbers of pilgrims vying for beds in all the villages. Beds in towns and villages are booked by midday and even large albergues have 'Completo' signs up soon after opening.
In Zubiri a woman was desperate to find a bed as everything was booked from Roncesvalles to Larasoana and Trinidad de Arre. The hospitalero in Lorca said that this year was crazy - much busier than last year. In Cizur Menor we met two couples from Belgium who were trying to book beds ahead in Puenta la Reina that day.

The tourist office told them that everything was full - hotels, pensions, albergues etc. I phoned the Hotel Jakue and managed to find them the last two rooms at R65 each. In Los Arcos we met them again. They were intending to stay in Logrono and had tried to book ahead but were told that everything was fully booked there and also in Viana - 9km before Logrono. I called Jose in Viana (whose apartment we had booked ) and he found them 2 rooms in his aunt's apartment. I am so pleased that we have pre-booked accommodation all along the way. Its hard enough to walk up to 25km a day in the hot sun without having to worry about where you will sleep at night. Over 134000 Compostelas were issued in Santiago up to end of August but those only represent pilgrims reporting at the Pilgrim Office there. Many more pilgrims are actually on the Camino who don't intend walking to Santiago - like Brian and Tricia, and the two couples from Belgium who are only walking to Burgos this year. when we started out from Los Arcos this morning there were pilgrims strung out on the path before and behind us as far as the eye could see. "It looks like Moses and the Exodus" said Brian, and he was right.

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6 Sept. Pamplona to Puente la Reina

We walked around the Citadelle before leaving Pamplona through the park. We stopped at Cizur Menor for a drink then started the steady climb up to the Alto del Perdon. It was a beautiful, clear day - no wind and very little smog so the views were incredible both back towards Pamplona and Puente la Reina. The temperature has been in the high 20s every day and many people have sunburn.
We stopped at the private albergue in Cizur Menor for cold drinks and a bocadillo. It is like an oasis in the town and such a wonderful place to stop.
Bell, Alan, Brian and I did the detour to Eunate and although the guide book says that the church is open every day but Monday it wasn't open. We ended up walking 27km today and it was great to arrive at the Hostal Jakue. We all stayed in double rooms and private bathrooms. The buffet was delicious.

The scenery is very different from walking in the spring when the wild flowers were spectacular and everything was green.  Now the wheat and cereals have been harvested and the flowers have all gone.

AmaWalkers' meal times

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Viva España !!

I checked the long range weather forecast today for Pamplona, St Jean Pied de Port and Zubiri.  It looks as though we will have perfect weather for a walk in (up?) the mountain!  Pilgrims often report on high winds, lashing rain or thick mist with no views when they walk from St Jean to Roncesvalles. 
We start walking on Friday 2nd September and it looks like it will be a beautiful day!

31 August:  Pamplona - 16/24°C Rain and possible thunder during the day. Partly cloudy skies during the night. 

1st September:  We travel to St Jean Pied de Port - 13/22°C - Few morning clouds, light rain with clear spells during the day. Few clouds during the night.

2nd September: We walk from St Jean to Orisson - 18/26°C - Sunny! 

3rd September:  Orisson to Burguete - 13/24°C - Sunny with some clouds.

4th September:  Zubiri - 17/31°C - Sunny with some clouds.  (Wow - 31°C???  Perhaps it is an error?)

5th September:  Pamplona - 16/22°C - Cloudy.

6th September:  Puente la Reina - 14/25°C - sunny with some clouds.