Category: Places

Well, we made it. The pilgrimage ended much like it began, in pouring rain, thick fog, and about 50 degrees. There was very little jubilation in the square in front of the cathedral as the drenched pilgrims huddled under anything to get out of the rain.

As we appoached Santiago, we passed all the usual sights without seeing any of them. I know we went past the airport runway because I heard the jets landing. I saw the sign for Mont Gozo, the hill of joy where one can first see the spires of the cathedral, except no joy today, just fog. The good news was the terrible weather kept the arriving pilgrim numbers down, and we only had a 90 minute wait to get our Compostela.

We had heard about the strict scrutiny the volunteers sometimes enforce: where did you start, why is this place stamp missing, how did you get from here to there. We had none of that, which apparently is only for those who start in Sarria or ask for a distancia which elaborates exactly how far you walked. We just got the gratis Compostela provided by the Cathedral. It took all of 4 minutes to fill out the form and received the printed certificate.

I want to thank everyone who followed along on this adventure, especially those who prayed us forward, because Lord knows we needed it. I will have some more about the Cathedral and Santiago tomorrow, then a quick recap of thoughts which occured to me along the way, and finally a longer bit of advice for aspiring pilgrims. And we still have Fatima and Lisbon to visit!

I’ll skip the weather report, as you already know it. Every morning, we watch the Spanish news and morning show in a bar or cafe as we have breakfast: the weatherman always shows a map of the peninsula covered with clouds and rain, then he complains about the cold temperatures. I could be a Spanish TV weatherman!

We only did 16 kilometers yesterday, and got into our pensíon in Arzua just in time to watch the town’s Corpus Christi procession go by our window. Turns out this Catholic feast is the town’s special feast day, so most everything was closed for the festivities which included a canon and a fiesta in the town square. Enjoy the video:

 

We went to the Pilgrim’s mass at the local church, then out to a restaurant called Casa Nené, where we lucked into the last reservation, as they have only 20 seats. Turns out this wasn’t your typical pilgrim stop. We had English speaking waiters and a real menu with small plates for sharing: lobster and cheese toasts, grilled fresh vegetables, locally-made cheese sticks and a nice bottle of local wine. It was a great change of pace.

Today was our penultimate walk, and the Camino decided to go full circle and end as we began: all day thundershowers. We completed half the remaining distance (20 kilometers), so God-willing we will be in Santiago tomorrow around lunch. We may have to swim the final few kilometers, but at this point we’re ready for it. We are holed up in our albergue, drying our clothes on the radiator, eating our emergency rations (don’t need them anymore), and taking naps.

Hasta mañana!

 

Yesterday was a long walk, 25 kilometers (about 15 miles) from Portomarín to Palas de Reí. We had the full range of weather, starting with cold and overcast, a little rain while we ate lunch (thank you, Lord), and eventually ending with mottled sunshine. We took some nifty shortcuts along roads, owing to a hidden treasure I found back at Samos.

Y’all know how I have been complaining about the “maps” in my guidebook. When we finished dinner next to the monastery in Samos, as the waiter bussed the table, I noticed the tabletop was…a 1:50,000 map of the Camino going forward! This was a military-grade map, and I was like a child at Christmas, but how to capture this extraordinary find? Judy reminded me to take a digital picture, and now I had a real map to use as needed.

So now when I face an evening’s planning session, I go to the enlarged digital photo. Yesterday, the guidebook had us walking downhill to a trail which then went back up over the crest of a large hill. I checked my map, and yes, the road we were about to cross went right around that same hill and rejoined the Camino on the other side.

While I was writing this post, I saw someone on Facebook calling out pilgrims who don’t carry everything, or take shortcuts or rest days. It was a classic “I’m a real man and you’re not” post.  I could not resist responding, mentioning heat, light, fabrics and medicine as things you might want to consider avoiding if you think you’re a real pilgrim. I guarantee you the medieval pilgrims went around a hill if they could, among other things they did to lessen the hardship.

We also passed some 3rd century BCE ruins along the way, some of the best preserved in the Iberian peninsula. They don’t even have explanatory boards up yet, bit were still quite remarkable.

Today was much shorter (15 kilometers), and we are only 53 kilometers from Santiago. The morning was as gray as ever, but the path was soft and smooth, and the hills and valleys very manageable.

We even spread out my poncho on a grassy field and took a nap: something I imagined us doing all the time if the weather had cooperated. Pilgrims were walking past us taking pictures: we’ll have to see if we show up on social media.

In the early afternoon, a giant glowing orb appeared in the sky. It seemed friendly enough, provided some heat, and was around most of the rest of the day. Anybody else see it?

We are all checked in another great room in Pensíon Berenguela in Melide. At the local church, they were getting ready for the feast of Corpus Christi. Another short day tomorrow, then two long days to Santiago!

We took two days to complete this segment, trying to use the less rigorous pace in place of a full rest day. Either the weather has marginally improved or we’re just getting used to it. Still overcast, but almost no rain and the temps may have touched 60 sometime during the day.

We did have great luck with our albergue last night. Sometimes it is a tiny room with little heat, a shared bathroom, and small beds. Last night it was this:

And here’s the view from the common area.

Today’s walk into Portomarin was even shorter: only about 11 kilometers. We got to sleep in at the albergue, so much so that the cleaning team tried to enter our room at 8:00, since most pilgrims are gone by then. We got a nice “occupado? vale, vale!” from the cleaning lady, using the all-purpose Spanish phrase (vale, vale) which means OK, or yes, or whatever, based on the context.

As we meandered down the trail, we had a little bit of literal sunlight, and then some figurative sunlight, too. The first came in the form of a glowing orb in the sky, which means this was our 7th day of direct sunlight on the camino, which was a cause for joy. The latter was suddenly running into Samantha, a young friend we first encountered way back in Larrasoaña and had offered to drive to Fatima after the Camino.

There she was, joining us on an Indiana Jones-like trail into Portomarin for a coffee con leche. Rejoining Camino family members after absences brought on by different schedules and places is a true joy. Hope we see more of our early Camino friends before we finish!

Sarria is about 115 kilometers from Santiago, so it is the unofficial start of the Camino for Spaniards hoping to get a Compostela with a week of hiking. The nature of the Camino changes greatly here. The way is crowded with bunches of college students, teen-agers, and various groups traveling together. No more long solitary marches: now we are part of a mass movement.

But before we reached Sarria today, we had another quiet day as we mucked our way out of little Samos and rejoined the main Camino. We had our customary overcast skies and on/off rain, but the temps got into the 50s so were able to discard our rain gear and just get wet, which is a better alternative than wearing rain gear as you hike and being soaked in sweat underneath it!

While the trail yesterday into Samos was quite delightful, the trail back out today was a mess. Steep hills with water running down the trail, or muddy little pueblas where you choose which puddle to step in. Luckily, when we rejoined the main trail, the skies cleared and we got some sun. Perhaps it is a foreshadowing of the rest of the Camino.

Today was also a landmark in that I met my biggest Camino goal. I told my Spanish teacher in Mexico that my goal was to be mistaken for a Mexican while in Spain. When I was checking in to the pensíon today, I mentioned we live in Mexico. The hospitalera said I spoke like an authentic Mexican; I was overjoyed! Who knows if she meant it as a compliment? I’m taking it that way!

We spent a night in a tiny little town called Biduedo at a charming inn named Casa Xato. It was very much like staying at someone’s house, as we were the only guests and were treated so well. The owner even started a fire for us: I have never seen anybody light a fireplace with a propane tank and a blowtorch, but it works really well! We asked her when was dinner, and she said “when do you want it?” We asked what was for dinner, and she said “what do you want?” We just ordered a thick local soup, bread, and wine, but she insisted on also serving us a meat tart very famous in Galicia. Like I said, we were family.

While the weather remained high 40s and overcast, our walk today was almost all downhill and along a river. The valley is secluded, safe from the winds, but damp. It looked like if you sat down for a moment, the moss would start growing up your leg. Cool, bordering on cold, but now we are pretty used to it. We even found an old rock wall to use to sit and rest on.

When we crested the final hill, we could see the Monastery at Samos. This has been a place of reverent worship continuously since the 6th century. The monks took the rule of St. Benedict (Ora et labora, or prayer and work) in the 9th century, and still practice it to this day. The monastery is not technically on the Camino, on an optional side route, but has been associated with pilgrimage since the initial discovery of St. James’ remains.

As is our routine, we arrived in the early afternoon, got cleaned up and changed, arranged for laundry, took a nap, then went sightseeing and had an early dinner. The best part of today was attending the evening Mass.

I am going to miss pilgrim menus and meals!

We walked 700 meters up, 20 kilometers along, and about 500 years into the past today. We are about as high up as one gets on the Camino, and it is quite literally downhill from here to Santiago. We are in o’Cebreiro, just barely into Spanish Gallicia.

If the spelling seems odd, it is: this part of Spain is Celtic, and this mountain-top town looks it. From the round, thatched roof buildings, the stonework, the wet and above the clouds climate, it all looks pretty familiar…in Ireland, or Scotland!

The haul up here was as hard and bad as we are used to. We passed up an offer to ride horses, which in retrospect was a poor choice. They passed by us on a tight portion of the mountain trail, and left behind one more thing to watch out for on the ground! We had no rain nor wind, but overcast skies and only 50 degrees, which in the end proved a blessing as we were generating plenty of heat on the hike.

Our albergue looked like every other stone building in the tiny little town, but held a surprise: a remarkably modern room with a private bath and a nice view. Today’s effort required an afternoon nap, then some local exploration. I had my first bad pilgrim meal: puny trout and undercooked fries…I guess it had to happen sometime!

We made it to the pilgrim’s mass at the church, which is the oldest existing one tied directly to the Camino. It was very moving.

We have been on the road for more than a month now.  The last night in León, we had to make a decision. We have found a comfortable pace and rest schedule, and we are steadily progressing toward Santiago. However, we are taking much longer than we anticipated, and we cannot just speed up. So, do we delay our return for 10 days, or find a way to make up time?

The latter was an option as we were in a big city, with all the transit options that entails. Since our goal was always Santiago, and we’re doing it for our own convenience, we decided to skip ahead by train. Next we had to decide how far: a day and a half to Astorga, or three days to Ponferrada. The former doesn’t buy us much time saving; the latter puts us back on our original schedule of finishing after about a month of hiking. As far as the Compostela is concerned, all that matters is the last 100 kilometers. So we jumped a train to Ponferrada and walked ahead to Cacabelos.

This got us past the next mountain, and more importantly, a very steep downhill segment near Ponferrada where many have fallen. The weather has been favorable, and we are now in the el Bierzo region, a microclimate which reminds us of home. Hemmed in by mountains, they have a wet, temperate climate which makes great roses and wines.

While we are getting more up/downhill segments and rain, the trails have been very good and the temps warm enough to make the rain just a nuisance. We still haven’t solved the challenge of timing our meals. When we want dinner, they are only serving tapas; when we want tapas, the bars are on siesta. We stayed in Cacabelos last night and la Portela tonight, before heading to o’Cebreiro tomorrow. That is the beginning of Gallicia, an ancient Celtic region where the cuisine turns more toward seafood, and the music and climate resembles Ireland.

All things considered, we are in a good rhythm, and even my cold has cleared up. We look to finish strong in the coming ten days!

We took a rest day and toured León, which proved to be everything that Burgos was, only better. Its gothic cathedral was far more impressive than Burgos’ baroque one, the tapas more plentiful, the weather more amenable, and even the costs (a little) less expensive. Here’s a shot of the main altar, which has been restored to its original gothic beauty:

But it remains difficult to really capture the effect of the entire structure. I did this video lying on the floor with my hands over my head. It starts at the dark main entrance and then pans across the ceiling through the choir area toward the aforementioned altar. You may need to change your angle of view at the end to avoid vertigo!

We still have a problem getting used to dinner times that start at 20:30. In the smaller towns, the restaurants cater to the pilgrim crowd by offering a prix-fixe menu at early dinner hours. Here in the city, some offer a pilgrim lunch, but after that it’s tapas until dinner starts after 8:30. Since we were all tapa-ed out and wanted a real dinner, we waited; it was worth it, but when you have to get up at 5:45 AM, you don’t want to be finishing dinner at 21:45!

Depending on times and distances, may be a few days before another post!

 

We have made it to the Meseta, and the weather is sunny and warm, but not too hot yet. These legs of the journey are mostly flat, through fertile croplands and small towns.

We left Castille, but I have to mention a bit of local cuisine which demands attention: red beans and sausage. It comes as the first course on many pilgrim’s menus, and of course it is delicious. But note the size of the serving bowl in the picture: at least three full servings! I told the waiter I wanted a soup, not a swim.

The Meseta, or Spanish plains, is the bane of many pilgrims, for it is hot, flat, and devoid of shade. That which plagued us earlier (cooler temperatures) has now returned as a blessing, so we are enjoying very comfortable 70 degree days full of sunshine.

Judy resumed carrying her pack, and we reinstituted a 5 minute rest break every hour which really rejuvenates her. I have been working to reserve us a private room each night, and aiming for a more reasonable 20 kilometer a day average. The churches are as spectacular as before: some Gothic, some Romanesque, always some Baroque inside.

The towns just come and go, like the scenery: Frómista, Carrión, Calzadilla, Sahagún. Some of the small villages are nothing more than several albergues and a bar or two, with a bunch of empty houses and a population of a hundred or so. Without the Camino, they would be history.

We did have one very interesting evening in Calzadilla. About 1:30 am, a bright light over our door woke us up: the fire alarm! I could hear the alarm beeping in the hall, but the door was cool, so I went out to investigate. I ran into another pilgrim,an Englishman, who was also wondering what was going on. No one from the hostel was around. I found a way to turn off the beeping, but the power remained cut off and the emergency floodlights stayed on. We inspected the building and found nothing: no smoke, no fire, but still an active alarm. The other pilgrim went out into the town to look for the owner at another building, while I continued to fiddle with the alarm.

Suddenly, a side door flew open, and there stood the owner, naked except for a pair of speedo-style underwear, and swearing a blue streak in Spanish. I explained in English that the alarm had been going off for over 30 minutes, that we did not know what to do, and that another pilgrim was out in the town looking for him. The owner swore some more, indicating to me this was not the first time the alarm malfunctioned, that we had to reset the master fuse, and why would anybody be outside? He reset the alarm, closed the door and turned off the lights!

So I waited until my colleague came back. He had woken half the town, but now there was no alarm. I got the owner to let him back in, and off we went to sleep. Except now I can’t rid myself of the vision of the swearing-hostel-owner-in-skyvvies. I may need Lasik when we get back.

We’ll be in León next, preparing for the final third of the Camino.