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

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.

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!