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Santiago de Compostela

Lo conseguimos . We did it!

The People...

It has been a great adventure through the different Spanish regions...the landscapes , the food , the wine, hearing different Spanish accents and even a different language in Galicia . However it's the people you meet along the way, who are sharing this unique experience, who matter just as much.
Our constant companion , Kerry, from Seattle who has rented her house out for a year. She is going to Ireland from Santiago. A lovely,positive person.
The 3 Canadian girls we met on the very difficult first day - Susan , Kim and Kate .
Marty ,a Canadian who had only been married for 6 weeks before starting the Camino.
Lance and Michelle from Vancouver who have invited us to stay in their winter ski chalet if/when we go to Canada .
Chris from Belgium whom we met on the sleeper from Paris. He speaks 5 languages , is a bit of a philosopher and history buff ..and a great laugh.
John and Roxanne from Canada who sold their house, came out to do the Camino and then decide what to do with their lives.
The Korean film crew who are making a documentary about the Camino.
3 lovely Irish ladies who are doing the walk over several years. Theresa, Mary and Denise . There were 4 of them last year but their good friend Kathleen died. They brought her boots and took turns in carrying them.
Lovely Loretta from Winnipeg whom we met on the first day at the Auberge in Orisson .
Jim from Dublin - a great walking companion who also started on the same day as us in Orisson He did part of the walk with his wife last year so wanted to do it all from the " beginning ". His wife Aymer joined him , sensibly , where she left off last year along with their friends George and Anna.

We are meeting them tomorrow in Santiago .

O Pedrouzo

Not many chances to take photos today as it was so wet. We had to shelter under some trees (eucalyptus )  from the hail and there were distinct rumbles of thunder. We saw quite a poignant memorial to a man of 69 who died with only one day left to get to Santiago.

Only one more day's walking and 20 kilometres to go!

Portomarin, Palas de Rei , and Ribadiso

The days are passing quickly and the landscape hasn't changed a lot. Still walking  through pretty hamlets ..although there seems to be a person one day ahead of us with a cow...

The language of this region is quite different (called Galego) and is still spoken by a substantial minority. It is evident on road signs and menus. Accent quite difficult to tune into.
I have tried the local "pulpo " - octopus and it was delicious. They cook it in a little olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and paprika.

I have included some pictures of the ubiquitous "horreos ". John thought they were personal burial crypts ! It turns out they are for drying and storing corn.

Only 2 days to go and it looks like we will be walking through some rain showers . It is warm at 17 degrees and heather and gorse are still in bloom. Reminds us of a Scottish summer. Autumn is just around the corner although are still hydrangeas and dahlias in many gardens.

Galicia

We found a nice hotel in Villafranca del Bierzo in order to get agood night´s sleep (without the snorers) before a big day´s walk.

We set out as early as possible to tackle the 26 kilometres of that day. It gets light later now, so unless we want to be wearing head torches to light our way, we have to wait till about 8.30. The latest you can leave some hostels is 8 o´clock so we usually find ourselves in a cafe for our "tostadas" and "cafe con leche".

Everyone had been dreading this day...and talking about it endlessly. We reckoned it couldn´t be worse than going over the Pyrenees...and we were right. The last 8 km were relentlessly up - but we just took our time. It was raining and when we finally arrived in O´Cebreiro we were in the clouds. Hardly surprising as it is at an altitude of 1,330m. It was 4.30 when we stumbled in to the hostel. After a hot shower, a meal and some of the lovely Galician wine - Albariño- we felt fine again.

2 more days into Galicia and the views are stunning. The countryside is really green and we are now passing through farmland with Highland Toffee -coloured cows and beautiful valleys dotted with houses.We even saw some lambs today! The farmhouses remind me of the ones in Cumbria - the dry stone walls too.

In one village an enterprising señora greeted us and offered us a hot crepe! She sprinkled it with sugar - it was still warm...delicious. 

There was one blot on the landsape - a huge quarry near Triacastela. These quarries apparently provided the limestone used in the building of Santiago Cathedral. Medieval pilgrims would carry as much as they could to the lime kilns in Casteñeda     - a place we have yet to pass.

We have been lucky enouh to walk in sunshine the last 2 days. We have reached Sarria, only 115 km./ 72 miles from Santiago. This is traditionally where the "pilgrim" traffic increases. You can gain a certificate of completion(your Compostela) if you do at least the last 100 kilometres.

5 days to go!         

Toward the mountains

We have at last left the flat plains of the last few days to reach the highest point of our walk - 1,515 metres (4,940 feet ). We stayed in a village called Foncebadon just below this point. There were 4 hostels and a shop...otherwise few houses, many abandoned . There was no wifi anywhere in the village - to the horror of many walkers . A notice in one Albergue said

"No hay wifi, hablad entre vosotros"..there is no wifi, talk to each other!

Our first 2 kilometres the next morning took us up to the "Cruz de Ferro " which is a huge iron cross placed at the highest point. It has become part of the camino tradition to place a stone at the bottom of the cross which you have brought from home. It is supposed to represent a letting go of your worries or regrets in life. Some people just place it, say a prayer or merely think about loved ones. You are meant to pause a while and reflect on the purpose of your journey . We heard of a man who had brought a stone from his son's grave. We have a great picture of John and the contraption "el carro " in silhouette up beside the cross .

The stony descent that day was tricky for John but he managed . My hero. The reward for the climb was stunning views of the Montes de Leon with  the highest mountain Monte El Teleno at 2185 mts 7170 feet peeking out of the clouds.
The scents of fennel, thyme and something like cinammon wafted along beside us and we could almost have picked almonds, walnuts and fresh figs from the trees as we passed .
We saw many families in their orchards at the weekend picking their fruit . In fact a woman dragged us into her garden and insisted we take some apples and grapes for our journey !

Just leaving Leon today - the lovely Bierzo  region with its rolling fields and vineyards . They make a beautiful red wine here  - as we can testify!

We must nearly be in Galicia  judging by the adverts for octopus and bagpipe lessons ! See photos.