32km today. Up and down. Scenery mostly hay field after hay field. We arrived in town and everywhere was full so we are staying at the municipal Albergue. 20 other people staying in the same room. We are really part of the Camino now and feeling it. Age is no barrier as we are all on the same journey and inspiring each other. We have been bouyed by today's experiences. Wow, we have arrived!!!
It was very strange to get up this morning and know that we were doing our 'toe taping ceremony' for the last time. We only had 10km to go which seemed like nothing after the last 32 days.
We started out in the dark and as the light came up Santiago was clouded in mist which finally lifted and revealed a lovely clear day. It didn't take long to get here and find the Cathedral and our accomodation is directly opposite so there is no forgetting we have arrived even if we wanted to.
We feel incredibly privaleged to have been able to complete the Camino and arrive here. 800km is quite a journey.
We sat in the Pilgrims' Mass with what must have been 1500 other people and we were in awe. They didn't do the big swining botifumero as there is a little problem with it but we are hoping it will be fixed before we leave.
We saw people we have seen and lost along the way and it seems that is something that happens. You may see someone for a few days and then lose them and then find them again. It seemed like we found all the people we have gotten to know over the last 800km. It is such a strange thing and very hard to try to explain.
The Cathedral is beautiful and we will do some more sightseeing in there before we leave. We will visit the remains of St James which are in there and that is what started pilgrims coming here in the first place over 1000 years ago.
So this Camino journey has reached its conclusion.......but there are others and we will be back. It's not really over!
We did another 30km day today and really made great time. We started out in tne dark for about an hour and a half and it was quite eerie as we were still on the heavily wooded tracks and paths which is where most of theday was spent. Eventually the light came through the trees and we knew we wouldn't see any rain today. Happy days..
Our thoughts turned to the fact that we will only have 10km to walk on the Camino tomorrow. It is strange to think that what we have been doing for the last 33 days so far is coming to an end. Our daily rituals and routines will no longer be after tomorrow and the people that we meet each day will be gone. This has been our life and major focus on the Camino and we wonder how we will adjust and return to the real world. Our lives are undoubtedly changed forever.
We started out with sunshine today and everyone was happy on the Camino. It didn't take long before it started to rain but it didn't matter. We are pushing on to Santiago because we want to go to the Pilgrims' Mass on Sunday so we have to get ahead a bit so we did about 30 km today.
We spent a lot of time on country lanes heavily covered with massive trees. We expected we should see a Hobbitt at any moment but all we saw were short pilgrims.
We got to our accomdation and found a laundry and finally got some much needed washing done.
Not far now.
We started out with some sunshine today and everyone on the Camino was happy. The rain came back again before too long but it didn't matter. We did about 30km today as we are pushing towards Santiago as we want to arrive on Sunday morning instead of the afternoon so we can attend the Pilgrims Mass at noon. The intermittent rain slowed us a bit because we had to continually stop to put on our rain gear and the take it off again. It was too hot on all the climbs to leave it on if we didn't need it.
We went through wooded lanes and country roads and it was really very pretty for most of the time. The paths that were heavily wooded made us want to look for Hobbitts but we only saw short pilgrims.
We finally arrived at our accomodation and managed to finad a laundry and got some much needed washing done.
So close now
Second go at this post as I accidentally deleted it.
Very windy day today, almost blew us off our feet it also poured with rain for a large part of the day. We are still in dairy country.
About 25 km today.
When we arived at our accomodation there were a couple of Koreans whos luggage had got lost. Fuzz and I were able to help with the bit of Spanish we know, some Italian and some English plus the help of the translator app on my phone. We got it sorted we ended up with two happy Koreans on the Camino today.
Great walk today, 22.4km of hilly country paths that were shaded with huge trees through what must be dairy country as there were lots of cows. Some of the cows are quite pretty. One had a baby with her and I vowed to never eat veal again.
No rain and that was such a treat. A great day on the Camino today.
The way has now been joined by many new faces who are starting their Camino from Sarria. It feels funny to be the travel weary veterans who are now being asked advice. We realise that we have learned quite a lot in the last few weeks after all.
700km down.....
19km. We started out in the dark with driving rain. There was quite a climb to start with on a very slippery country path. Most of today was on lovely country paths some very slippery because of the wet and debris from the overhanging trees that are now starting to shed their leaves.
The rain finally gave way to a very pleasant day as we continued along our wooded path to Sarria.
Sarria is now the starting place for modern day pilgrims as it is only required that you do 100km to Santiago to get your Compostella as opposted to one of the more traditional routes/distances. From here it should get quite busy with pilgrims and tourists all vying for accomodation and the already competive edge needed to aquire accomodation should from now on need to be more finely honed. Groups of people are pre booked and people we are talking to along the way who are only here for two weeks came with their accomodation pre booked for the duration of their trip. So today when we tried to book for tomorrow we found it hard to get accomodation so we decided that we should book for the rest of the trip. Fuzz became 'super man' of the booking world and took charge of the book and booked us through to Santiago where I have already got us booked for 3 nights until we go th the Uk. We are hoping that the bookings stick as we have found out that things can go astray. That just adds to the fun sometimes.
115km to go...or there abouts.
21km today. When we started out it was dark, there was driving wind and rain but we were comfortable enough in our ponchos. It lightened up and the rain stopped. It turned into quite a nice day. We had one very steep climb that was very muddy and slippery. The scenery today was lovely once again. Mostly farming and lots of cows. We had a herd of cows coming towards us on a country lane with no escape at one stage and that was quite scary. They all had horns even though they were cows. I wonder if that is where the idea of running from the bulls comes from.
We have seen lots of chestnut trees over the last couple of days but they aren't ready yet.
We came into Triacastela after a long 8km steep descent and we were very grateful to find our accomodation.
134km to Santiago but whos counting?
30km + again today but a totally different experience than yesterday.
It started out a bit rainy but more drizzle than anything. It eventually stopped but we couldn't trust the weather enough to really pack the rain gear away.
We knuckled down and got on with it today. We chose the option that had the least climbs and it followed a flowing river and went through some nice villages.
We missed a turn so we did some extra kms. Eventually we joined a muddy slippery path.
Today was the steepest climb of the whole journey and we climbed for almost 10km, it was muddy and slippery but it was great to get the top and saw this fantastic village and found our accomodation. We are staying in a really old building and our room is so funny. We have to keep ducking our heads under ancient beams.
We are now in Galicia which is notoriously wet so we had better get used to it.
7 walking days and 155km to Santiago...
Another 30 km day. It was wet and long and seemed to go on forever. Fuzz shins held up today but only just and I have been plagued with a sciatic problem for a few days so we are feeling the effects of 25 days back to back of walking (one day off in there ).
We walked through suburbs and along some roads and eventually had a climb and steep descent into Villafranca which is a lovely town.
I am glad today is over.
Ps. Check out the local Ford dealership.....it was the only funny moment of the day.
What an amazing day. The scenery was somthing else. We started out and it was very windy, almost enough to blow you off your feet some times. We really are in the mountains now. The wind howled up the valleys and the noise was incredible at times.
We got to the highestpoint in our whole journey today.
We eventually came to La Cruz de Ferro where there is a cross and a mound of stones. It has become a tradition for people to leave a stone under that cross and there is quite a mound now so it has been going on for some time. We left our stones and continued into the wind looking at the incredible scenery before the rain made us don our ponchos. It was fantastic walking along in the wind and rain with the scenery unfolding before us, wrapped in the safety of our water proof cacoons. I absolutely loved it. We didn't make great time over the 26km as we had so many photo opportunites.
Tomorrow is going to be wet too.
Only 22km today a bit of a treat after yesterday.
Fuzz was back on board today which was great and he took it very cautiously as he wanted to see how his leg was. So far so good so he will be back out there with me tomorrow.
It was mostly flat and easy under foot today and a shift in scenery that is very welcome. We can see the small mountains ahead of us that will turn into larger ones that we must cross in the next few days. There was forest for some of the way and we could always see some sort of greenery wnich is so welcome after the hay desert of days gone by.
This is quite a small village and we have found a nice little hotel. Not a patch on last nights accomodation with regard to appointments but we will see how the food stacks up as last yesterdays lunch and dinner was fabulous. I am constantly hungry and thinking about food!!!
About 32km today. The first half was quite easy but the second half was tough. Hills and rough under foot. There was a breeze that was lovely and not always sunny. Nothing of real note for the scenery but we did pass over the oldest bridge in Spain.
Fuzz was at our hotel to greet me which was lovely so I didn't have the accomodation anxiety that everyone seems to get just before arriving in each town. Everything went smoothly.
Astorga is a town I would like to spend more time in. I got here too late and too tired to see anything much. That and the fact that everything is shut during siesta which is usually when I want to see things.
The catherdral looks amazing and so does Gaudi's castle. There is also the ruin of a Roman house but unfortunately those places will have to wait until next time.
About 22km today. I started out on my own after Fuzz waved me off from the Parador Hotel as he is having shin problems. So I was happily going along by myself and watching very closly for the markers today as there were two ways to go and I had arranged to meet Fuzz at a specific place so the wrong decision at the option could have been a bit of a disaster because it would have been difficult to get to the other place. So at the junction where both routes converged I wasn't sure (things are not always that clear here). So much head scratching and everyone that went past either didn't speak English or didn't care what route they were on. Well I looked up and this nice young Irish guy from Vancuver who we have seen on and off since day one happened along and he was on the same path as me today so we worked out what was the correct path to take and off we took. We were making great time and after the junction it really was a lovely walk. My phone rang and I thought it would be Fuzz telling me how he was getting on and I saw that it was Glen. He told me that he and Mels son had just been born. Niel very quickly worked out that this was a special moment for me and took a photo while I was on the phone, he was then very patient as I blubbered on for a while. I finallly found Fuzz and gave him the news and of course he was as excited as me. It was lovely that Niel (who isn't staying in the same place as us) sought us out later to congratulate Fuzz. The first town after my big news we stopped for a little break and I decided to have a drink to wet the baby's head. We were joined by another lady Caroline from Australia who was equally excited and joinded us in the celebration. That is the spirit of the Camino.
I will post the special photo whenI get it.
Well, we have had a lovely time resting here at the Parador Hotel. It is a beautiful building with an interesting past. It has been a Monastory, school, hospital, military barracks, prison, horse stables (not necessarily in that order) as well as our hidey hole for two nights. And now we have to leave and start walking again. Poor Fuzz is having problems with his shins so I am hoping today that we go through a town big enough to have a pharmacy or something. I have run out of ideas to help him.
We have enjoyed being in Leon, although we didn't do much sight seeing we did visit the cathedral which has spectacular stained glass windows which my photos don't do justice.
We have decided to take the scenic route today. It is slightly longer but the alternative mostly follows the road so we will cover about 22km to Villar de Mazarife.
The photos are of the cathedral and the Parador.
About 20k today. Hardly a hay field in sight. A couple of hills today which is a bit of a shock to the system after all the past days of being on the flat. We could see the mountains off in the distance to our right but no real scenery to mention.
We got to leon and finally to to our accomodation. We are staying at the Parador Hotel. We are spoiling ourselves for two nights here after 20 days of walking we are due a rest and a treat. The parador really is a treat and very luxurious especially after the last 20 days. The hotel was built in the 16th century and is very beautiful. The photos don't do it justice. There is a museum here as well so we will be busy looking around here as well as the town for the next couple of days.
Not sure if any one has noticed that that date and time on our photos is in correct. The camera is set in Oz time. It will probably stay thay way.
25km no stops. No where to stop if we wanted too anyway. The route we took was 25km without a single village or anything along the way. It was the original Roman route and they have some Roman way roads roped off. We also saw some very ancient way markers which would not have been seen on the other route I don't think. Still so much hay. I am amazed that we have walked for days on the flat and it is all hay. We finally came to a down hill and as we rounded the corner we saw not only our village in the distance but a view of the Pyrennes which are now only a memory of days past.
The last 10 km to Mansilla went on forever. I have found that the last 3 to 5 km of each day go on forever whether we are walking 25, 30 or 15 km.
I am feeling that this journey far surpasses anything else I have ever done physically and mentally.
Short story is....got lost ...got on track and saw more hay fields and more hay fields. How much hay really is needed in the world?
Anyway we had very nice accomodation and some of the best food I have had.
We did however go past the half way point today (depending on who's book you are reading) and that is the only photo I am posting today.
We got an early start today and really marched the first 17km when it was quite cool. There wasn't much to see except more hay fields and it was another flat day. There was no where to stop for the first 17km anyway. We had a coffee and off we went for the last 13km. Still not much to see. We finally found what we thought was our accomodation but we were told that we weren't expected there. Hmm, long moments of panic followed because there was only one other place in town and if that wasn't where we were supposed to be we were in trouble because it would have ment walking 3km back or another 13km on. 3 km doesn't sound far but after today it would have been a marathon. It all ended well as you can see from the photos. We love this place and the owner is Italian and comes from very close to Fuzz's family. Small world.
We have now passed the halfway mark on our 17th day of walking. Another Wow moment.....but 400km to go.
