Day 36 - Portomarin to Palas de Rei

Well, Margie arrived at the resort in grand style last night. When her husband joined her at Ponferrada he brought about ten other friends from the Y in New York. He is apparently a director at the (Queens?) YMCA. Our resort being 800 metres off the Camino, they all decided it was fair to take a cab there (however, we have found out that under any circumstance they seem to  think it is fair to take cabs) so they arrived en mass with a great fanfare in a large number of cabs. Russ and Lynn were at the bar uploading the blog (it was the only place with wifi) and we gave Margie a big hug. We talked for a bit and then they all went off to check in and go do what pilgrims do after a long day of walking (laundry, shower, snooze).

The supper at the hotel was excellent once again.  It is very obvious that the owners are going out of their way to make the visitors feel at home.  The hotel was very full again, plus a few people seemed to come just for dinner, attesting to how good it was.

They had set up a long table for the New York crowd so we didn't really have an opportunity to talk with Margie. The resort was full of Americans, some of whom seemed to be doing a lot of complaining. No wonder they have a bad reputation! We noticed that the cook had a very polite way of listening to their various complaints (about just about everything, no menu, the room, the wifi, the lack of air conditiong - which we had - on and on) and then he just shrugged and took off.

We, on the other hand, were very pleased with everything about the accommodation and made sure to tell them. We especially loved their homemade wine and I think they gave us more of it than we were really entitled to, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. After supper we tried to have a 'hang out' with the kids, but the wifi was just too unreliable. As we left, Lynn had a european embrace with the cook and Russ shook his hand mightily.

Walking back to our room we noticed how dark it was, and so we went out on our deck.  The sky was crystal clear and there were an uncountable number of stars visible.  That was quite an awesome sight.

This morning we got going at 8am.  A pair of woman sitting next to us exclaimed that that was really early.  We explained that we had started as early as 6:30.  That really didn't seem to register. Later we heard them discussing how they would walk for a bit and then take a taxi to the next town, as they wanted to make sure they had enough time at the spa!  Different Caminos for different people.

After we finished breakfast we talked to the fellow on breakfast duty about whether we should get back to the Camino along the river or the road. We discussed the pros and cons of each route and opted for the road. Just as we were setting out we heard the roar and saw the headlights of his off road 'excursion' jeep, and he came zooming out of the garage and offered for us to get in. Russ started to protest saying we would walk but Lynn thought it would be really fun to have a ride in that thing and very rude to refuse his generous offer.  Three other men came out at the same moment and he gave the five of us a very exciting ride to where the Camino left Portomarin. Another european embrace for Lynn and hearty handshake for Russ.

The guide book warned us that the number of walkers would increase exponentially after Sarria, and that was no exaggeration.  There were more people than we have ever seen.  And they were very awed and bewildered with  our grand arrival at the point where the  Camino exited the city. And many were displaying the same problems that we had seen after Roncesvalles.

The province of Galicia has been exceptionally dry this summer.  We saw a military helicopter heading north, followed by two prop planes.  It was then we saw the two areas of smoke in the distance, obvious forest fires. We were sad that there were fires but glad that they were not on the south side of us which would have put us all in danger.

The walk was clear of fog today, with sweeping and majestic views of mountains and valleys. We also walked pretty much exclusively on sendas (ie, as opposed to walking on busy highways). Nonetheless, we are both glad we are nearing the end.  The temperature today was 29 and both of us are getting worn out from the walking. We are perfectly good for 20km, then it just gets hard. Today was 25km, and the last few were really tough.

The one thing we do notice, and unfortunately it calls up un-Christian thoughts, is the seeming lack of any concern on the part of many of the bicycle riders for the walkers.  They have this tendency to ride three or four abreast, and sneak up behind you without any warning.  A few have bells, but not many.  They then have to pass in formation, making no attempt to dissolve into a single file. It just gets very annoying having to stop and scrunch yourself up along the edge of the trail for them to zoom by without putting themselves to any inconvenience.

We stumbled into town, beaten up and sore, but happy to see our matress is contained in a cover. In this regard, poor Russell is now experiencing the full consequences of our night in Villadangros. He is covered with boils and skin eruptions from the bed bugs. He was trying to deny it but a check on the Internet revealed the truth of the cause of the sores he is absolutely covered in. It says it can take up to 14 days to react, and react he has. We got a tube of cream from the Farmacia and almost used the entire tube dealing with his multitudinous blotches. His bed was crawling with them whereas Lynn's only had a few. So it didn't seem fair she had bites and he didn't! Well, in the end, he certainly did get the lions share.

Lynn is really worried because we have 30 km tomorrow and she is really hitting the wall at 20 now. She is going to figure out some way of bringing her running shoes to change shoes along the way. We just hope it isn't so deathly hot tomorrow. A very early start is certainly in order. Tomorrow is the last hard day. Wednesday is 20km and Thursday is 15km. So if we survive tomorrow (which we must), we are home free.

Summary - we are nearing the end with the number of walkers increasing by leaps and bounds, and cabs are doing a very good business.


Distance today - 25km
Distance total - 726.2km

Day 35 - Portomarin

The resort we are staying at is completely full, and it seems all are peregrinos. We didn't see any menu posted for dinner but we were just too tired to walk 1km into the town looking for a peregrino special. It seemed everyone else staying here was there for supper too - the restaurant was packed.

We sat down for dinner and all the food just started to arrive-no menu, no prices. We think maybe dinner is included here - hope we don't get a nasty surprise. It was like going to someone's house for supper, where they go to a lot effort to prepare a nice meal for you, and you just get what they serve.

In any event, the dinner was delicious and the cook (who had a diploma attesting to the fact he had taken a course in food safety and preparation displayed) was fussing about making sure everyone was enjoying his dinner.

Usually the wine that comes with the meal is pretty inexpensive and low grade (vino de meson - aka table wine). The wine served here is home made from their own grapes growing just outside the dining room,

but tasted like our favorite Ontario wine, Konzelman shiraz. The lettuce in our salad was also growing right outside.

There was a group from Los Vegas with their Spanish friend leading them, that had just started the Camino today from Sarria. One of the ladies was heartbroken because she had twisted her ankle at the restaurant in Sarria in the morning and after walking to Portomarin it was badly swollen and bruised, so was going to have to take a cab to her hotel in Palas de Rei today. It sounds like they had been planning to do the Camino with their Spanish guide for many years - so it would certainly be disappointing. They were staying at a spa today, so she was going to have a spa, massage, etc and hoped she would be able to walk the next day. Best wishes to her, but I think it would take a miracle, judging from the look of her foot.

I asked if they were travelling with Tee-Travel and she said no their Spanish friend had arranged everything. That made me feel pretty good about this place where we have 'their best room'. It seems the Spanish friend has them staying only in the best places!

They didn't look like your typical peregrinos either, they were very well dressed both at dinner and breakfast. Actually, these peregrino clothes of ours are starting to make us feel like poor, inappropriately dressed folk - especially in nicer hotels - but we have no 'good' clothes to put on, and no where to put any if we had them.

Today was our last day off, before we complete our trek to Santiago. Four more days of walking left.

We did the tourist thing today, with the understanding that we would not spend all day on our feet.

We first walked down to the rio Mino.  At the moment the river is a wide shallow stream, but during the early part of the year, January, the river covers the medieval bridge.

The original bridge, which dates to roman times, was rebuilt in medieval times and joined the southern district of San Pedro with the northern district of San Nicolas. The river formed a strategic boundary and consequently the area had a turbulent past.

In 1962, a dam was built which created the Belesar reservoir.  Much of the original town was submerged by the waters, and what remains gives one the impression of a place inhabited by ghosts.

Several of the important historic monuments, including the capela de Santa Marie

and the Romanesque church of San Nicolas, 12th century,

 were disassembled and relocated to higher ground before the lower areas were flooded.

The cobbled main street of Portomarin, rua Xeral Franco, has handsome stone colonnades on both sides.

As we were admiring the square, a large contingent of motorcycles paraded through town.  It seems there is a gathering in an adjacent town.  It was unclear whether this was an annual event or not, but it seems to re-enforce our ability to find fiestas.

And last but not least, we sampled the famous Portomarin tarta. The only way being to buy a whole pie.

This pie features healthy food choices like butter, sugar, flour and almonds, and living up to its reputation, was absolutely yummy.

Our bodies are thanking us for this day off.  The collective punishment of 700km is starting to tell. Lynn had a foot massage today too (hers only cost 2 euros in the machine in our common room), and that coupled with a day of rest, should make her fit as a fiddle for the final push to get that certificate.

Another nice thing about our day off here is that Margie and her husband are walking here today and staying in the same resort. So we will be staying in the same towns (likely in the same hotels) and getting to Santiago at the same time. It's so nice to meet up with her again, and have the opportunity to finish the journey with someone we've know the whole way. She's also been in touch by e-mail with jack and george et al and we'll get the gossip at dinner tonight.

Yesterday our enthusiasm was at all time low but today we are feeling renewed, refreshed, energized, happy, and eager to carry on with the journey. We are both asking ourselves the question 'why did I do this?' The answer will likely take many years to reveal itself. But we are both certain it has been a transforming experience.

Day 34 - Sarria to Portomarin

Our hotel in Sarria was 500 metres off the Camino. A fairly solid 3*, we would say. Lynn wasn't feeling 100% and when she laid down, promptly fell asleep for 2 hours. Too many sleepless nights. She was woken up because Kristjan wanted to 'hang out' (aka have a video call).

After that, we walked back to the Camino and walked it through town, looking for a perigrino special. We saw the church, the monastery, and the peregrino store. None of the places offering a peregrino special really caught our fancy, and before we knew it we were back at the hotel.  It's wierd, but we had been  congratulating ourselves that Kevin was in a different part of town, yet here we were almost looking for him.  Also, all the shops were open as usual on a Friday, so we decided the hotel clerk must have been warning us that in Portomarin, all the shops would close at 2 pm on Saturday and be closed on Sunday.

We tried the 15 euro 'menu de dia' at our hotel and were pleasantly surprised.  It may have been the best supper so far.  Lynn had mushrooms, eggs and shrimp as a starter (never saw that one before), and veal as the main.  Russ had mixed salad and salmon.  Both courses were excellent and the white wine a very tasty change from the vino tinto (all along the Camino so far the wine included with dinner was only red, in Galicia it can be white or red). We sat right beside the butcher, chopping up meat all through the meal. It was a miracle he didn't chop off any of his fingers or his hand.

Lynn only ate about half her dinner and the waiters and butcher/cook were very concerned she didn't like it. She assured them it was very good, just too much. In spite of that she managed to eat all her dessert. Another couple said that the restaurant was recommended, and we now know why.

This morning we were off at 8:15.  The two very obvious observations were that it is staying darker later, and there were a ton more perigrinos on the trail, Sarria being the last starting point where can get a certificate that you walked the compostela walk.  The new walkers were obvious for several reasons: they were very clean, took pictures of every cow and church they saw, and some were developing foot problems early on.

Of course, we had to climb out of Sarria.  It was a 215 meter climb. It was foggy, although you could see the full moon. We commented that we had been lucky to see two full moons on our journey. The fog unfortunately obscured the view of the scenery, so there were no sweeping valleys and hills to be seen, mind you, we were very occupied with watching where we were stepping.  We seem to have discovered the secret Spanish stash of dairy cows, and had to watch for what cows left behind on the road. We are told that this is rural Galicia at it's best, wet and green with the sweet smell and squelch of cow manure underfoot.

We met up with Rosa just as we began this morning, and walked with her for a kilometer or so. We parted after that because we walk much faster and wanted to get to Portomarin before 2pm when the stores close. We probably won't see her again as she isn't taking a rest day here, but her husband is Canadian and they frequently visit Canada, so we told her to let us know the next time she comes, and visit Ottawa.

After we parted, we started wondering why we were taking a day off in Portomarin, since we were now losing all the remaining friends we have met. But once we started the days' 305 meter decent, we realized that the wear and tear of 30 days of walking, the last 10 in a row, was starting to take it's toll.

We arrived at Portomarin just after noon and made sure we stocked up on provisions for Sunday before the shops all closed until Monday.

The place we are staying today and tomorrow is 800 meters off the Camino, and as we were limping in, we thought this better be good. Well it is lovely - like a lodge in a park in Ontario. There is even a campground here. The fellow said we have the best room, and it is just what the doctor ordered. We have a private deck outside our room with chairs and table, overlooking the river and a medieval bridge. The room is very spaceous and has air conditioning. A bathtub would have been nice, but this will be a wonderful place to relax and rest the feet. They have horse back riding here, and the horses are right outside the room - eating apples that have fallen on the ground.

The end is now in sight.  Only four more days of walking to Santiago. We are not sure whether we have gained any new insight, only time will tell. Enthusiasm today was a bit low, but that may because of exhaustion, or just simply because the end is close.

Summary - good days hike with lots of new pilgrims on the road.

Distance today - 22.5km
Distance total - 701.2km

Day 33 - Triacastela to Sarria

Supper last night was a bit of a treat, grilled steak. The steak was probably the worst steak we've had in our lives, chewy, fatty, and full of bones (it may have been beef ribs actually) but after endless nights of the same thing, it was a welcome change.

We are becoming convinced that somewhere in Spain you can buy a book entitled "Menus for Perigrinos".  The peregrino specials are virtually the same everywhere, with minor variations in preparation, which can add a dimension of excitement, or disappointment. We have to say that between the primo, secoundo, and dessert, you can get a very economical, nutruitional, and filling basic meal. It's salty and most food is swimming in (olive we hope) oil but with all this walking you lose a lot of salt sweating so we must need that, and isn't olive oil good for you?

The other nice thing is that you pretty much know what you are going to get (in spite of the Spanish). It's just that after 30 plus days and counting, the food gets to be very boring.  For example, last night Russ had the local specialty soup, for a first course, which turned out to be cabbage, potatoes, salt and water.  No broth of any kind, just water.

We could order off a menu for a change, but the wine alone would likely cost more than the entire meal.   So we stick to the peregrino special, and are very grateful for it.

After a wonderful afternoon sitting out on the patio with all our belongings baking in the hot sun, having all our laundry washed and dried, a wonderful meal, and countless sleepless nights: Lynn decided not to perform any mattress checks. We both had a very sound sleep, with no evidence of little friends this morning.

Todays walk was very pleasant.  It started off in a heavy fog but it quickly became apparent that we were going to get our shirts soaked from the exertion so took our fleeces off.  This left us in a much more enjoyable state for walking.

It was basically a series of ups and downs through very small villages that were still asleep, perhaps permanently.  The guide said there was a 300 meter rise, but that had to be the difference in the highest elevation versus the lowest and didn't account for the endless ups and downs. Lynn kept thinking, 'I thought we already climbed the mountain?' A few farmers were out with their John Deeres, and cows in the field were watching the crazy people go by.

It was interesting to enter a very small village and find that the only pilgrim facility is a Coke machine sitting incongruously beside the trail.

Now that we are in Galicia, which is the first place that the wind off the ocean hits, it is humid and foggy. It was very foggy and damp when we set off but the sun did come out later and there was some very nice scenery, once we could see it.  What we particularly enjoyed were the parts of the trail with overhanging branches forming an arch.  You almost expected a hobbit to step out in front of you.

We got into Sarria about noon time.  Sarria is a fair sized town but from the information provided by the hotel clerk when we checked in, the stores close at 2pm for the day today, and are closed all day Saturday.  It must be some kind of holiday. Even in Spain they usually work a bit more than that! We wanted to have a rest day here but couldn't get a hotel, so we have a rest day in Sunday in Portomarin, where we go tomorrow. If everything is closed, it's just as well our rest day isn't here.

We are starting to see a lot more people on the trail.  In order to get your compostela in Santiago you have to walk the last 100km, so a lot of people start their walk here.  You wonder why a piece of paper could be that important.

Our hotel is right across from the train station and a ton of fresh new pilgrims have just arrived.

Summary - another nice walk on good trails. We can hardly belive we only have 5 more of our 35 days of walking left. It's quite a journey.

Distance today - 18.7km
Distance total - 678.7km

Day 32 - O Cebreiroto Triacastela

It is interesting to note how the medieval churches have embraced technology.  Most have sound systems, and many have screens. Even the 9th century and oldest extant church associated directly with the pilgrim Way at O Cebreiro, had a number of large screens in the santuary.  Before the mass it showed the time of the mass, during mass it showed the applicable responses in four different languages alternating with inspirational images.  This made the mass conducted in Spanish, much more accessible to the international gathering.

We had our farewell dinner with the four Canadian ladies who were heading back home today, and Rosa, at the restaurant where the ladies dinner was included. Rosa and our dinners are not included.  Kevin and Erica were going to join us, but Kevin's dinner is included, and he was staying at the same place as us, so that fell through. We had a great time, unfortunately, Nadine was feeling under the weather and went back to her room part way through supper.  It was unclear what the problem may have been but Maureen said she got ill on the last day last year.  So perhaps it is exhaustion, or sadness at leaving the Camino.  We all had hugs and wished them Buen Camino on completing their pilgrimage next year.

This morning started out on a somewhat rocky road.  The room we had was in Russ' opinion OK, but Lynn didn't like it from the get go and didn't sleep all night.  So the appearance of the bug in her bed was not welcome news.  We are both a little shell shocked from our bed bug experiences and while it appears to be an unfortunate but unavoidable part of the Camino, it has left us pretty sure that this is our first and last walking trip.

Breakfast was a treat. Russ went down with the suitcase and to get started ordering coffee for breakfast, and Lynn was going to follow.  The door guard, Mrs Sweetness, was just unlocking the door when Russ arrived.  A "desayuno, por favor" was greeted with a "si".  Then a long harangue that included "what is your room number".  Despite my best attempt to explain Lynn would be down with the key, and no, I didn't know the room number, Mrs S was NOT providing any breakfast until the neccessary info was provided.  No tickie, no laundry, or in this case, no breakfast.  Lynn did eventually show up with the key and breakfast appeared.  It then became very humorous to watch every other person show up, some leaving their key in the door of the room, and all subjected to the loud, fast Spanish interrogation "what is your room number".

The first part of our trek today was uphill, which was interesting as we had thought we were at our highest point.  But no, we had to drop 60 metres just to climb 67 metres.  The walk was in the clouds, visibility poor.  It seemed chilly but with the high humidity, we got hot fast, and as with many people, were taking layers off after only a few minutes of climbing.

Every once in a while, we would drop and a view would open up, and then we would climb again and it was clouds.

We walked with a couple from Montreal for a while and heard about the bus /train crash in Ottawa.  We have been totally disconnected from the world and knew nothing about it.

We ran into Kevin and Erica at Alto do Polo, the high point on the trail, where we stopped for a break.  They seemed to be powering along just fine.

Then it was, more or less, all downhill.  The clouds lifted and we were greeted with wonderful views.  The views included cows, many cows, and twice we were on the trail as the farmer moved them to pasture.  We almost wondered if they calculated how fast a pilgrim could walk so as to ensure cows were walking on the same trail.  They are very docile, nice looking, but they do have very big pointed horns and leave a lot of piles of cow manure.

Before walking the Camino a lot of the books, especially the one by Guy Thatcher of Ottawa, talked about cow manure and Guy even had a theory about it - whereby pilgrims would walk around it in the morning but right through it later in the day when they got weary. We were wondering about this, because pretty much until yesterday near Galicia, we never saw cow manure on the trail, only horse manure (and lots of that).  Now we are seeing lots of cow poop.  It seems they can't just put it on one side of the trail or in a straight line, it has to be randomly sprayed over the trail so that your view while walking is of road and dung, rather than scenery.  Then to improve things, there was grandma hosing down her part of the road so that there was liquid manure right across the path.  Ah, yes, the trials and tribulations of the pilgrim.

Climbing O'Ceibriero yesterday, or perhaps a better way of putting it, walking only 8.3 km yesterday, was like a day off.  Today was 'only' 21 km (never thought we'd say that), so pretty easy. The walk into Triacastela was very beautiful. We were in a road cut with an archway of trees overhead - very lovely.

The town is a mix of old rundown buildings and new and we are staying in another Casa, so Lynn was pretty apprehensive. But the place is quite nice, has a lovely patio/garden outside the room, and does laundry for a most reasonable price. So all the clothes have been washed and many dried in a dyer. Halleluhah! The suitcase and backpacks have been sitting in the hot sun on the patio all afternoon, and the local farmacia even had the perfect - washable/reusable - solution to her slight foot problem. So we are very pleased with our accommodation today. Kevin and Rosa are both in the same place. Hopefully Lynn will be able to sleep. The mattress is in a cover, but that doesn't guarantee anything.

Summary - a nice days walk.  Hard to believe but we will be in Sarria tomorrow, so there will be many more pilgrims on the Way, and shortly our journey will be finished.

Distance today - 21 km
Distance total - 660 km

Day 31 - Las Herrerias to O Cebreiro

Today, all we had to do was climb a mountain. The mystical O'Cebreiro.

The distance we had to cover was only 8.3 km, but with a 700 metre rise. We didn't want to get there too early, but we didn't want to do the climb in the heat. So we got up and went to breakfast so as to make sure our bag was in the lobby at the required time of 8am.

We didn't figure this out in advance, but we passed through two towns on the way up, breaking the walk into three sections of 2.8km, 2.7km, and 2.8km, respectively.

We set out at 8:55. The weather was cool and nice. We started out on a road but soon turned on a lovely trail through the woods. Lynn would have liked to see the mountain in all it's majesty to awe at the challenge before we started to climb, but we never got such an opportunity. For the entire Way we were always walking either in the woods or along the edge of a cliff with a road cut on the other side about 4 metres high completely blocking your view of what was coming. Maybe that was for the best?

The first stretch was in the woods along the rio Valcarce with numerous waterfalls and rapids. Very lovely to listen to and see. The climb in that section was 270 metres and we got to the first town, La Faba, at 9:40 and met up with Kevin and Erica having a coffee. We trudged on, worrying that if we stopped all of the necessary body parts we needed to keep moving would seize up. Kevin told us as we went by that it was 1km to the next town.

The second stretch climbed 300 metres and this time we had sweeping views of the surrounding mountains and valleys below. It started off being a very heavy mist (not raining but there was precipition in the air) but soon it was sunny and the view was stunning. We thought of Genesis and the wonder of God's creation, but we know that this landscape has been carved out over eons, and humans have only inhabitated the earth for a very short period of its existence.

As we neared the second town of La Laguna we met a procession of cows being driven to pasture by a farmer (who cleverly brought his horse along to ride back up the hill). We were all on the same narrow path along the side of a cliff, with his dogs running around herding the cows and barking a lot. Right in front of me the farmer smacked a cow who decided to stop causing two other cows to lock horns, which really got the dogs going. I was about a foot away from all this trying to make myself really small. The dogs got the two cows under control in a real hurry and they passed by down the hill. That was a bit of excitement!

I looked at my watch and it was 10:20, and I wondered how it could have taken that long to do 1 km. A quick check of the guide showed Kevin had gotten the distance all wrong.

On the third stretch, we were in the clouds and couldn't really see anything. It was a mere rise of 130 metres so quite easy. The next thing we knew we were at the top, and it was 10:45.

We found our hotel but the room wasn't ready and our suitcase wasn't there, so we had a cafe con leche. We were both freezing in our totally drenched t-shirts and shorts. Russ had his fleece in his backpack, lucky, but Lynn stuffed hers in the suitcase in an attempt to keep the weight of her backpack down. Raincoat to the rescue.

We went to the church, and sat in there for awhile listening to heavenly music, praying, then sight seeing. When we came outside Kevin was just arriving along with James and his whole entourage. They used one of his friends as a Camino arrow.

We went over for a photo op and to see what they were planning to do. Russ mentioned that James was just three short of having twelve disciples. They all carried on, so we have probably lost them for the rest of the trip. Buen Caminos were wished all around and before leaving Lynn took James hand and said 'sorry for your loss'. He said 'I hope everything turns out well with your daughter'. I just wish we could have added a feather to his staff.

O'Cebriero is a major tourist destination, with large buses full of sightseers and souvenir shops. We dutifully went through them all, but are saved by having no where to put anything.

We went for lunch and ran into Rosa, our classy Spanish peregrina friend. This was very lucky because she helped us order lunch and more importantly fill in our new credentia (which is all in Spanish). She was supposed to have a reservation in the hotel we had lunch in but that somehow fell through, and she was very annoyed and spent most of lunch calling all the other hotels in town on her cell phone. She was looking forward to reuniting with the Canadian ladies tonight. She also told us she had almost quit the Camino a couple of nights ago because she ran into bed bugs. The Canadian ladies had told her of our experience (we're beginning to think everyone knows of our night in Villadangos!)

We were both freezing, and our hands numb. After lunch we went and checked into our hotel. The bag still hadn't shown up. This is the room from hell and Lynn is imagining she sees bed bugs everywhere. Of course they don't come until dark. The bed at least is in a cover and the cover is covered by a sheet. We'll see.

Prayer Of La Faba

Although I may have traveled all the roads,
crossed mountains and valleys from East to West,
if I have not discovered the freedom to be myself,
I have arrived nowhere.

Although I may have shared all of my possessions
with people of other languages and cultures;
made friends with Pilgrims of a thousand paths,
or shared albergues with saints and princes,
if I am not capable of forgiving my neighbor tomorrow,
I have arrived nowhere.

Although I may have carried my pack from beginning to end
and waited for every Pilgrim in need of encouragement,
or given my bed to one who arrived later than I,
given my bottle of water in exchange for nothing;
if upon returning to my home and work,
I am not able to create brotherhood
or make happiness, peace and unity,
I have arrived nowhere.

Although I may have had food and water each day,
and enjoyed a roof and shower every night;
or may have had my injuries well attended,
If I have not discovered in all that the love of God,
I have arrived nowhere.

Although I may have seen all the monuments
and contemplated the best sunsets;
although I may have learned a greeting in every language
or tried the clean water from every fountain;
if I have not discovered who is the author
of so much free beauty and so much peace,
I have arrived nowhere.

If from today I do not continue walking on my path,
searching far and living according to what I have learned;
if from today I do not see in every person, friend or foe
a companion on the Camino;
if from today I cannot recogniz hime God,
the God of Jesus of Nazareth
as the one God of my life,
I have arrived nowhere.

Summary - a nice walk, easier than expected, with spectacular vistas.

Distance today - 8km
Distance total - 639km

Day 30 - Villafranco del Bierzo to Las Herrerais

If yesterday after our long slog we were asking "Why am I doing this?" - today we got an answer.

However first, we must say that the hostal last night - where we stayed in the best room in the house - was possibly even more charming than the Albergueria del Camino that we stayed in Mansilla de las Mulas. The tile in particular was absolutely beautiful and made one want to totally redo the bathrooms. The room had lots of cosy/artsy knick knacks (very unusual), interesting magazines that were very relevant to peregrinos (eg. on wines and restaurants in Spain, religion in our day, and a Peregrino magazine- unfortunately for us they were all in Spanish), and lots of desks, chairs, a couch and coffee table, a sky light, cathedral ceiling, you get the picture. The restaurant had many embroidered wall hangings with a Camino theme, the wooden stairway had beautiful carvings on the posts of the shell - it was truly beautiful.

The hostal restaurant was closed on Monday so we went down to the Plaza Mayor for dinner. Just before dessert, you know the intoxicated Aussie we've told you about - well he's from New Zealand and his name is Kevin (bloody) Wilson - after the comedian - and he came and joined us. He then told us at least three times that he had come close to thumping an English pilgrim that was giving him a hard time about drinking beer and smoking. This in spite of the fact that the Englishman was drinking a lot of wine. He was obviously very offended and upset, and thought there should be more of a 'live and let live' sentiment on the Camino. He does have a point, who are any of us to judge another? Didn't Jesus say, 'let you who are without sin throw the first stone.'

We were expecting today to be relatively short and easy, so we waited for the 8am breakfast, which was very good and set off at 8:45am.

The day started off nice and cool.  We have been so fortunate with the weather so far.  You read books about the Camino and everyone talks about rain, mud and miserable conditions.  We have been fortunate to have had perfect weather, with no rain, while walking so far.

So off we went this morning, dutifully following the scallop shells and yellow arrows.  These two have been our constant companions and guides.  Off we go, up the hill, up the hill, up the, oh dear!  The Michelin guide showed a path along the highway but we were climbing.  It ends up we were on the "recommended" trail,  which climbed 400 metres in about 4 km, but the view was spectacular. In fact, this had to be the most spectacular walk either of us have ever walked in our lives.  This is certainly a part of the reason we are doing this!

Have we mentioned all the little geckos we have seen? And grasshoppers.

At one point we met up with Kevin and his  adopted walking partner, Erica (who is 71 and has purple hair - reminding us of Kristine), and he told us about the lamb chop dinner he had last night, again!  We decided at that point to dub them Sherry Lewis and Lamb Chops.

We carried on up the hill, all the while being entertained by the fantastic scenery, and the view of the pergrinos following the highway below, as we had planned to do.

A climb like that is always followed by a descent. Descending, we passed through groves of chestnut trees and pines.

Once we reached Pradela, another one horse town, we believe the farmer in the overalls alerted the wife to open the bar, so the perigrinos could spend money.  The town is basically a very poor farming town, the bar a great coffee stop, and the cows totally unconcerned.

Once out of Trabadelo, where we had lunch, the track was on or near a secondary paved road.  Not the most pastoral scene but with little traffic, quite nice.  We passed through several towns, some quite nice, and some showing signs of having seen better days.  Most had churches, locked at this of day.  Perhaps only open on Sunday, or not open at all.

Our endpoint for the day was to be Las Herrerias in 19km. Unfortunately,the mountain route we had taken out of Villafranca was longer, we had missed the Camino at one point and walked 2 km longer, and our end point was actually 2km farther than Michelin showed.  All this to say our easy 19km walk today was in fact a moderate to difficult, at least 24 km walk. Oh well, soldier on. Besides, Lynn had a wish that was about to be granted.

Hot and weary, and disheartened because the Way today was longer and much more difficult than we anticipated, we passed Vega de Valcarce, 4km from our destination, when Lynn saw James ahead, magic staff in his right hand, a half finished litre bottle of beer in his left (even in Spain on the Camino there must be laws about that), and he was alone! Lynn had been hoping for some private time with him to find out his reason for doing the Camino and God had provided.

He said he had lost his friends some time back, and was walking slowly, hoping they would catch up.  A very likeable young gent, we talked for several km about the Camino, and our experiences.

At a suitable opportunity, Lynn asked why he was doing the Camino. He said, 'you know the movie the Way?' Of course we did. He said his mother had seen that movie and wanted to do it and asked him if he would do it with her, and he told her he would. She died of cancer in March and he wanted to do it for her so bought a ticket to Madrid without researching it at all. Then he wondered where to start, and bought a bus ticket to St Jean Pied de Port. All the friends he is walking with, he has met along the Way. Then he asked us why we were doing the Camino, which we shared with him. He thinks Kristine should do the Camino.

Every pilgrim has some reason to be here. Many of their reasons would break your heart. He left us at a park near Ruitelan, hoping his friends would catch up. We wonder what his quest will reveal to him, as we wonder what this quest will reveal to us.

Finally, we reach Las Herrerias.  What was supposed to be an easy day turned out to be not so, but we have learned a lot today.

Our accomodations today are at our first Casa Tourism Rural establishment, which is very nice. After getting our room we went down for a cerveza and saw a young Italian peregrina we have met several times on the Way. We chatted with her and  she was very distressed because she had run into bed bugs at an Alberque along the way.  Their solution was to offer her a can of spray for her sleeping bag. A yes, her sleeping bag sprayed and plastic bagged, and now she just wanted to wash it.  She was in contact with her parents on the Camino via email, who were concerned she was safe, but she said she had not mentioned the bed bugs to them.

A span of years separate us, and the price of our daily accomodations vary vastly, and yet we all have the same problems on the Way. This is the lesson that it doesn't matter how smart, how rich, how powerful or privileged you are: everyone is susceptible to the same difficulties (aka shi*) in life.

We have decided to put the bed bugs to bed, so to speak. It is one of those things we have no control over, so we will just need to deal with them if and when we need to deal with them. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. Another lesson driven home on the Camino.

Perhaps the real answer to "why"?

A reminder we all have a reason for walking, and many of the reasons are heartbreaking.

Tomorrow we climb O'Cebriero. The reputed hardest day, biggest climb, of the Camino. Looking forward to seeing our Canadian lady friends on their last night.

Summary - a longer, harder walk than we had anticipated.  An answer to 'why am I doing this'.  A time to think about others as you trudge along the highway.

Distance today - 24km
Distance total - 631km