Day 32 - Santiago to Fisterre

We were up and out by 7:00am in order to walk to the bus terminal and purchase return tickets to Fisterre ( Finisterre) and ensure our seats on the 9:00 am trip. It is interesting that Monbus assigns a double decker bus for the 9:00am trip. Since we were so early booking out of our hotel, they agreed to store our backpacks and provided us with breakfast to go. 

We were lost briefly but locals set us back on track. We were shocked that there was no coffee at the bus terminal and the Monbus travel company is not listed as one of the eight counters in the bus station.  Purchasing the ticket gave you the bus number and the departure platform as this information is not posted and is only available the day of your trip when you purchase your ticket. We still had concerns as to whether there would be enough seats on the 3:00pm bus for our return to Santiago.  We met a father and son (American) whom we had advised in Leon about the benefits  of Keene sandals. Here he was wearing them with reports of being "blister free". 

The trip to Finisterre was absolutely breathtaking. We followed the coastline and saw all the little towns and villages and fishing boats waiting for the tide to come in. It took two hours to get to the town of Finesterre where we looked for a local map and cafe con leche. We met and said our goodbyes to our friend Jack from Alberta (with the high tech boots) who was anxious to complete his Camino by sunning on the beach. 

We headed out for our final push to the "end of the earth". We were proud of our time, far less than an hour. We were humbled by following a paraplegic man on a recumbent bicycle with trailer containing his wheelchair. 

We took photos at position 0.00 and looked towards home, remembering the many who left from here and never made it home.  We said goodbye to our Bulgarian friend and took photos with his camera too. 

 Our U.S.A. friend took one last photo of us together beside the last cross. 

The true message of the Camino was in evidence all along "the Way". 

Day 31 - Lavacolla to Santiago de Compostela

We were up at 6:00 am and out by 6:30 for the final push to Santiago. We wanted to ensure that we would be at the cathedral for the Pilgrims' Mass. We shipped our backpacks to our hotel because we knew they weren't allowed in the cathedral.

It was cool and clear and we started off at a good clip. We stopped for a WC and coffee within the city limits and made it to the cathedral by 9:00am. Since we were so early, we decided to line up at the Pilgrims' Office as it had not as yet opened and there were only twelve people in line. By 9:30 we had our Compostelas and Certificates for Distance. Ada dedicated her Compostela to her late husband, Iain, who had originally thought of walking the Camino. 

We toured the cathedral through it's many chapels. We met with our Italian friend who had raced in from Arzua (almost 40 kilometres) and was waiting for his friends to meet him. We then mounted the stairs to hug the statue of St. James. They call this "hugging the Apostle".  You mount steps behind the altarpiece to hug the central statue of St James from behind. As no photos are allowed in the small space and the gilded statue is so shiny, it was only possible to show the photo of the St. James statue here. 

Pat hugged the apostle with a special prayer for those at home.  The next visit was to the crypt to view the silver casket where the bones of St. James are interred. 

We left to find breakfast and prepare to return for the Pilgrims' Mass at 12:00 noon. The church was absolutely packed, standing room only. We were lucky to get a seat although the view was somewhat obstructed. Announcements were made about the visitors from all countries who had received their Compostelas. Since there was a huge group of beautifully dressed Spaniards present, we assumed that they were dressed for a wedding today.  We believed that some of them were participating in the service by reading from the bible. 

The Mass was truly moving. Two nuns lead the singing while there were at least twelve priests in their white robes at the altar. The service was projected on speakers and video screens throughout the cathedral so that the thousand in the congregation could participate. The organ volume was specular and reverberated beautifully in the wonderful accoustics of the architecture. 

With the twelve priests, the delivery of the sacrament went very smoothly and the Mass concluded with the arrival of the young priests in red attire preparing for the Pilgrims' special event.  They lowered the Botafumeiro with it's 3 inch thick rope and lit the incense. With the nine attendants pulling, they swung the incense in a huge arc over the congregation. It was spectacular. It is understood, that historically, the pilgrims smelled so badly that they had to perfume the air to disguise the odour. Now it is only done on special occasions for historical and emotional reasons.  After our month long walk, this was truly emotional! 

In the cathedral we said our goodbyes to Ana and her family (USA), to our Italian translator friend, and to Sue from U.S.A. and  Belgium. 

We checked out the bus to Finisterre for Monday and purchased our train tickets to Barcelona for Tuesday. 

Day 30 - Salceda to Lavacolla

We left our two star Hotel/Alberge in Salceda at 6:30am in the cool and overcast dawn. The path followed the N547 highway through eucalyptus forests. 

After O Pedrouzo, we stopped at the Hotel Amenal Cafeteria for tea. While we were updating our blog, a group on horseback arrived for refreshment. We had not realized that you could ride into Santiago. The horses and their Italian riders ( seven couples) and their leads continued to lead us for the next 4 kilometres.  

The riders dismounted and asked for a photo-op with a lone pilgrim sporting a boldly decorated prosthetic limb. He happily obliged. 

The trail went around the Lavacolia Aeropuerto runways heading into Santiago continuing to give us regular kilometre updates. 

We had pre-booked our stay at Ruta Jacobeo worrying that with the volume of pilgrims, we would not get beds closer to the city. Turns out that our little hotel was a three star Michelin. (Our kind of camping!) Our room had a bathtub for the first time since we left home. We took turns filling and soaking. We went for beer and snacks while we updated our blog. 

Dinner at 8 pm meant that this was the latest we had stayed up in weeks. The Peregrino meal proved to be exceptional. We enjoyed scallops and fabulous seafood paella. 

We were surprised when our pilgrim friend, Ana and her family that we met in Salceda had come to the hotel to celebrate a family birthday. 

We shared happy greetings and hopes that we would all successfully meet at the Cathedral in Santiago the next day for the pilgrim's mass. 

Day 29 - Melide to Salceda

We were on our way just after 7:00 am back into woodland and a marker indicating only 50 km to Santiago. Our first stop was at Boente where the German cafe "el Aleman" beckoned us for breakfast. Their specialty was crepes, and they were delicious. We stopped again at Ribadiso do Baixo for WC, tea and almond torte. 

Much of the day was spent walking through eucalyptus forests. We felt truly blessed today. Because we knew that we had a very long stage to cover, we had shipped our backpacks and booked two beds in Salceda. Our blessings were four fold: no rain, a light breeze, lots of shade and the peaceful coolness of the forest. 

After walking almost 30 kilometres we discovered, to our horror, that we had no reservation and no backpacks at this Alberge. We walked back one kilometre to the only other Alberge in town, praying to see purple backpacks at reception. Thank goodness, the backpack delivery coincided with our arrival and the receptionist assured us that she had two beds for us! Whew!!! 

When we finally connected to Wifi, we did receive an email from Pereiro in Melide explaining that we had mis-addressed our backpacks and she had corrected them for us, assuring us that this was a far superior Alberge. And it was! 

Touristico Salceda was a two star hotel with a ten bed Alberge. We had real sheets, not disposables and a nice patio bar and outdoor dining room. We met Anna from Boston (Venezuela born) travelling with her family, a group of seven, doing the 100 kilometres into Santiago and shared some lively conversation. 

We had another excellent Pilgrim meal, croquettes and salad, fish and braised cabbage and the noted Galician Ribeiro white wine. 

Day 28 - Eirexe to Melide

We were on the road by 6:30 in the cool, cloudy dusk. Yes, the roosters were crowing as we left the Alberge. It has become easy to pack and exit in the dark. 

We walked 8 kilometres before we found something open for breakfast in Palas de Rei. We went into the local church where Pat said a special prayer for  sister-in-law Marilyn and lit a candle. 

We stopped at a new hotel, La Cabana, for breakfast and shared a monster toasted egg and ham sandwich. 

We walked an additional 4 kilometres to Casa Domingo for tea and WC. There were about 50 pilgrims vying for one toilet and it came with no paper or soap! Always plan for a 10 minute wait! 

The walk went through woodland forests with shade and a breeze as we crossed from the region of Lugo to A Coruna. 

We booked into Periero, a private Alberge in Melide. We went out to eat the local specialty at Pulperia Exequiel, octopus cooked in wine and served spiced with bread on wooden platters. We added Pimenton Padron (grilled green peppers, cooked in olive oil with sea salt) and local white Rebeiro wine served in soup bowls to our order. We enjoyed a few laughs with a group of Danish gals that we have met along the way. 

The receptionist at Periero helped us arrange to book beds and ship our bags on to Salceda.  

We had walked a total of 29.82 kilometres to Melide. In Galicia we have been delighted to see markers which count off the distance from Santiago each half kilometre. This makes the walking seem to go so much faster! 

Day 27 - Vilachi to Eirexe

We left Casa Banderas at 7:00am walking in the dark, cool, overcast dawn. The humidity was already very high. We crossed over the bridge over the reservoir at Portomarin 

and followed the Camino route through fields and forests. We walked 8 kilometres before we found an open cafe in Gonzar for a WC and breakfast. There were many pilgrims, only two toilets, no paper, no handwashing water and no "real food". Morning offerings are often cello wrapped fake croissants, chocolate donuts or fondant covered cakes - "manufactured foods"-inedible - because the kitchens often don't open until 12:00 noon. We walked through two or three more villages with no real cafes or shops.  We sat down to air and treat our feet when we were passed by a disabled person on a "Segway" chair! We've never seen a two wheeled chair before, let alone any wheelchairs on the Camino to date although their are disabled facilities in many of the alberges. 

We stopped for tea (donativo) at the Refugio Fuente de Peregrino run by a religious order in Ligonde. They have a pamphlet about the Five Symbols of the Camino and the Life Lessons - "What comes after the Camino?" 

We stayed in our first Alberge sponsored by the Xunta de Galicia in a converted school in Eirexe. There were modern facilities for 18 pilgrims, and a suite for a disabled person. As soon as we had done our laundry, it started to rain so we moved everything inside to dry. Luckily,  we found a dryer to use so we could pack our clothes up for the morning.

The restaurant across the road offered a Pilgrim's meal so we got to try Galician soup (with kale and beans) and lentil soup (with chirozo sausage). The calamari was excellent. 

We are pleased with our progress as we are only 73 kilometres from the Santiago de Compostela.

Day 26 - Sarria to Vilacha

We were up early at O'Durminento and set off. The Bar Tapas was open and welcomed us for coffee. There was low cloud and it was cool and very humid as we headed uphill thru the forest following a gurgling brook. It was 10:30 when the sun broke through the clouds. 

We found a new model Lamborghini and Ada wants one!

Through Galicia we noticed a lot of new things that we hadn't seen in the last province, Castilla Y Leon. The first was the antique grain storage bins scalled "horreos".

The second was the crosses (cruzeiro) on tall pedestals found in many small villages but also seen at some private farms.

In the market gardens we noticed two metre tall plants that turned out to be "kale".  We found out that vegetables, including this kale is rarely on the menus, because it is considered "peasant food"! 

We decided to stop at Vilacha at Casa Benderas Alberge three kilometres before Portomarin. Here we met Gordon Bell from South Africa, Anne Marie from Denmark and their Hospitalero, Kunt from Greenland.  Gordon cooked us fried green (poblano?) peppers and spaghetti dinner.  

The topic of interest was Jack (from Edmonton) and his "z-coil boots" with shock absorber that allows him to cover 40 kilometres a day!  

Day 25 - Villafranca del Bierzo to Sarria

We were up and finished breakfast by 7:30 am at the Alberge del peregrino at Villafranca del Bierzo. We had decided that if we wished to actually see the sights along the route and have enough time in Santiago, Finisterre and Barcelona, and to save Ada's foot for the compulsory 100 kilometres, we should move along. The Tourist Bureau booked us a taxi with Dositeo Number 8 for pickup at the office at 10:30 to take us directly to Sarria. The driver was wonderful and gave us a full commentary as we followed the Camino route by car. He stopped frequently to let us take photos. 

First we saw the mountain with the original Camino France's steepest route. We saw a thatched roofed round palloza typical of Galicia.

The driver took us into O'Cebreiro a beautiful restored village with another Galician  palloza which is used as an emergency shelter when pilgrims are totally stuck.  There is also a brand new modern Alberge which has recently been renovated to accommodate 104 pilgrims. 

We passed Triacastela on our way to Samos where we saw the enormous Benedictine monastery  which absolutely fills the village. You enter via a small door next to a Petrol station which is built into the monastery walls. 

We arrived in Sarria and it was Sunday, Corpus Christi Feast day. We were unaware that pilgrims had been recruited the previous evening to help with the floral decorations along the path of the main route through the city centre. After Mass at the church of Santa Marina a procession is local and church officials marched accompanied by the pealing church bells and a youth band. 

Within two hours the Municipal workers with shovels and brooms had the street cleared and hosed down. 

Our Alberge O'Durminento, proved convenient and offered a wonderful four course home cooked meal. 

Day 24 - Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo

We were rudely awakened at first, by loud kids in the nearby parking lot with car radio blaring about 5 am. Within 15 minutes a high pitched alarm went off ( possibly set off by a Pilgrim leaving early) which was not shut off until after 6 am. (We wondered if this was a routine to get the Pilgrims to leave early.) 

We were on the road before 6:30 am thinking that with towns located every 3 kilometres this morning there would be lots of opportunity for a coffee break. Little did we know that there was nothing open on a Saturday morning. There also were no toilets! 

The first open Bar was at Fuentes Nuevas. They did have a toilet but the food offerings looked like Vachon "Joe Louis" that I wouldn't eat at home. But when you are desperate, you can somehow choke down a cellophane wrapped chocolate waffle or packaged donut. 

Ada limped along another 2.5 kilometres but needed a seat in order to switch from her hiking boots to her sandals. The first bench we arrived at was at a wine co-op. Of course you have to "taste " the wine offering. Little did we care that it was only 10:30 in the morning. The wine of course was good and came with empanadas (meat tart) and a bathroom. These are all important additions on the Camino.

The path moved off the roadway through scenic vineyards where we met up again with "the New Mexico family" walking with two from the Carolinas. The scenery was like a picture with workers in the fields as we walked the dusty path. 

It is both interesting and frustrating when we see signs updating the distance to Santiago.  Here are three in the order that we saw them today. 

We passed through Cacabelos and continued walking on the pavement to Pieros. The rising temperature, lack of breeze and reflection from the pavement made this stretch feel like the fire of Hades. Our guidebook suggested that we avoid the first turn off but take the second one. It offered no more shade. We had both finished our first jugs of water and were well along our second. 

We had a delightful surprise of an artist's studio in the middle of nowhere. If you want a large horse head sculpture these were wonderful. 

We came upon the Municipal Alberge for Villafranca del Bierzo and chose not to take another step.  The town would have to wait until we were showered and revived.

Our choice for supper was a restaurant for another pilgrims' meal or the Supermarcado for groceries. We opted for salads from the grocery store. 

While in town we discovered that the streets were cordoned off for a triathlon. It was fun to see the cyclists roar into the village and swap their bicycles and helmets for running shoes and caps and take off for the river. 

Day 23 - El Acebo to Ponferrada

We left El Acebo after a lovely breakfast including cereal for the first time. It was cool and overcast. The path quickly became rocky and challenging. It is easy here to twist or sprain an ankle which would possibly put an end to this year's Camino. 

We limped into Molinaseca looking for the Farmacia.  Ada found the Dr Scholls gel heel cups and a metres worth of bandages. Pat found Immodium  "quick" . 

We had breakfast and bought supplies. We watched the Municipal worker refurbishing the dam doors which hold back the river for the community swimming pool.

The local Mercado featured their fruits on a turning record turntable. Great use if you are no longer playing LPs. 

We left Molinaseca with a limited number of yellow arrows, but the sun baked on and we felt that we had done an unnecessary side trip to Campo. It was 90 + degrees when we crawled into Ponferrrada. We were worried about sunstroke so Pat was carrying an extra 2 litres of water.  There are reminders along the way!

The Alberge, San Nicolas de Flue was not far from the Castillo de Los Templarios.  

We showered and laundered and headed to tour the Templar Castle. The Storm, thunder and lightning, rather vicious made us hunker down in the castle.  

We really were blessed that the storm hit after we were stopped for the evening. 

We were also blessed that we arrived at the Albergue and got bunks in the four to a room, rather than 100 in the overflow in the basement. This hostel has room for 174 pilgrims in 10 rooms.