You Don´t Always Get What You Ask For !

Our group arrived in Santiago de Compostella on September 22 ina timely fashion; we were able to attend the Pilgrims Mass at Santiago Cathedral. I was feeling rather dazed when I entered the cathedral. I had just been to the Pilgrims Office to request my Pilgrim´s Certificate ...¨"Not the Compostella" I said ... I accompanied my friend, who was unable to walk,  from Arca in a cab. I went to Monte del Gozo and walked to Santiago from there." The kind lady looked at my passport and my credential listing all the stamps from St.Jean Pied de Port to Santiago and asked if I had walked most of the way. Yes I said ... not mentioning the group´s occasional bus detours through the Meseta and up O´Cebreiro. Amazingly she issued me with a Compostella certificate not the other tourist credential! "No!" I wanted to shout ... "I am a sham .. I am not as deserving as these other hard walking, sun-burned pilgrims with blistered feet and aching bones!"  The eager crowd of anxious pilgrims was pushing forward, breathing down my neck ... I thanked the official, took my Compostella and tearfully exited the building. So I was already in a certain frame of mind when I entered the Cathedral ... too late to find a seat I stand while the nun with the voice of an angel leads the throng of worshippers in a rehearsal of the responses. Then the actual service starts and among the celebrants is the priest from the first pilgrims mass I attended in the tiny town of Rabanal del Camino. At the end of the service a surprise ! The bishop of El Salvador is there with a group and thay have paid for the great incense burner , the legendary Botafumerio to be lit and swung ... a rite usually reserved only for occasions of special religious significance. I feel altogether too blessed ! We all meet in the square in front of this magnificent cathedral and hug and kiss each other ... as do other pilgrims who have bonded along the way. We retire to our accomodations in the medieval monastery recently partly adapted as a modern hotel ... its small cell-like monks rooms ideally suited to pilgrims but whose grand lower rooms, once cloisters and refectories adding a touch of regal grandeur. We have two days in Santiago to adjust to not walking and to get used to the idea of returning home.  We shop for souvenirs and  eat at fine restaurants (The Casino certainly stands out for fine fare and exceptional, friendly service). On Friday night, the entertainment in the streets turns the city from sacred to profane ... music, dancing, Galician pipers, medieval troubadors, flowing wine, cerveza and the mysterious flaming cauldron of liquer, spiced with coffee beans and orange peel around which witches chant their incantations! A true bacchanal ! What a town ... what memories! On Saturday morning I leave early and catch a train to San Sebastian. I have said final farewells to Sylvia .. our wonderful angel who has guided us through the spiritual and physical ups and downs of this journey, to Bell ... a perfect room-mate in every way; little Bell the Gazelle, always energetic, well organized and ever cheerful;  also to our other South African companions .. Theresa, Zuretha, Jill and Janette who have joined us for the last two weeks ... strong, good natured and always there to help an exhausted companion carry a heavy bag up a flight of stairs or retrace steps to meet and encourage a faltering walker onward. Christine ... whose has been a vast source of knowledge and help with translation in times of dire need and who has also received her Compostella! YEAH!  has  already left. Alan , always an eager Tapas companion and curious about sampling new cuisine and exploring nooks and cranies of each new town and city has departed early as well. On my long 11 hour journey I fly through some of the areas I have slowly walked over ... revisiting Astorga and turning north at Leon has we head over the Pyrenees to the coast. I can see from this vantage point why I spent all of the day walking to Roncevalles in a mist ... the mountains are perpetually covered in grey clouds. When I land in San Sebastian late at night it is lively and filled with fast cars and beautiful people. I see no sign of dirty, exhausted pilgrims. It is a bit of a shock ... all this fast paced activity. But I will adjust and enjoy the warm sunshine and smooth beaches ... there is great beauty here too ... perhaps the greatest gift of this Camino has been to bring a greater appreciation of life in general. I feel I know my place in this universe a little better ... it´s not that I have experienced a monumental life-changing experience. If anything ... I am  more like myself than before ... with one difference. I know I have done something rather exceptional and I am pleased  ... very pleased and amazed. Everyone should try to do one exceptional thing outside their comfort zone ... and with companions like I have had on this journey, the outcome can only be positive. Ultreya dear friends!!  Judy ...The Pampered Pilgrim

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.

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.

Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo

Although this is a 24km day (or 22.4km - or 23km, depending on which guide book you believe!) It is one the easier days on this section. The first 10km is on a flat path through many little hamlets all with acres of vegetables and fruit on both sides of the road. There are places to stop for a coffee and small shops to buy fruit or drinks. After Cacabelos you enter the vineyards and the path becomes a little steeper and more undulating. By then it is also hotter and the dust from the path covers your boots and lower legs in a fine powder.
We saw workers harvesting grapes in all the vineyards. Some carry the grapes in large, black plastic buckets which they tip into the back of lorries. Others pack grapes into white plastic crates which are stacked onto trailers behind tractors. One gang gave us each a big bunch of grapes the colour of dark plums. sweet and juicy for thirsty pilgrims!

As we entered Villafranca we visited the church of Santiago with its Puerta del Perdon where medieval pilgrims who were too ill to continue to Santiago could earn the same forgiveness of sins and indulgences as they could in Santiago. The doors were locked so no 'get out of jail' early for the amaWalkers! We got a stamp at Ave Fenix and I popped in to see Hermoine at the La Puerta del Perdon where we stayed in June.

This time I'd booked rooms at Casa Mendez which is on the other side of town, across the river. There are week-long fiestas in town and last night was a parade of 'gigantes' - giant characters - and a music fest at 8:3pm and mid-night. We were pleased not to be staying anywhere near the square. If you plan on booking accommodation ahead here is a tip. In most towns and villages with 'old' towns, the Pensions and Hostals in the old centers are not modern or 5-star and cost less than upmarket, modern hotels . If you want more upmarket accommodation you have to stay outside the old town. I much prefer to stay in the cheaper accommodation in the old quarter. Secondly, if you want a good night's sleep don't book a place on the plaza mayor (central plaza)as it could be the noisiest place in town! Last night was very quiet next to the river.

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

Olives, grapes, figs, apples, quince, chestnuts, almonds, blackberries all the way

We have had fruit all the way so far.  The brambles are laden with black juicy berries.  The figs are turning purple on the branches.  Some of the pears are so large that we are not sure what type of pears they are.  Olives are hard and green, chestnuts drop their hedge-hog balls on the paths.  There are pecan nuts, walnuts and almonds.  The grapes are amazing, all the vineyards purple with tight bunches of ripe grapes.  In the sops we can buy rasberries, plums, greengages and nectarines.  It is harvest time in Spain.
Walking in spring is wonderful for the spectacular wild flowers, the cooler weather and the large European stork that one sees on their huge nests on top of towers, steeples and specially built poles. The wheat, barley and maize fields are rolling green seas: the brambles are in full bloom, the olives, pecans, almonds, apples, quince and figs along the way have tiny clusters of fruit just emerging.

In autumn, the cereals have been harvested and a beige stubble remains. The brambles offer juicy blackberries all along the way. Figs are ripe, the chestnuts, almonds and pecan nuts are bursting their shells on the branches. Ripe apples lie on the ground, plump quinces ripen on the trees. It is harvest time and although the wildflowers have wilted away nature is generous with their fruits.
There is something wonderful about both seasons.

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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