Last day - Finesterre

We walked to the end of the earth

We walked to the end of the earth

But actually we took the bus to Finesterre and walked the last 3 kms to the lighthouse which is where pilgrims traditionally burn their clothes or throw them into the ocean.

Finesterre was a great finale - it's a lovely working fishing town - it was fabulous to be by the sea. Many pilgrims do walk there but there wasn't time left in our schedule and I don't think we had it in us. But it was the icing on the cake and we met up with loads of camino comrades!

The lighthouse

The burning of clothes

The last lunch - Caldo Gallego

And Paella

Danny and Mo - as promised she made sure he ate that day - spaghetti bolognese - as a change from the boiled rice he now eats instead of cornflakes!

We bumped into Hannah and Dish and friends

Doreen with a broken ankle

And Magdalena ...

and Danny - looking good!!!

Day 40 Santiago

That's us at the Cathedral

That's not us!

John in Neville's hat

Inside the Cathedral

Last days walking and a strange mood enveloping the group - mixed emotions, weariness and fatigue, a desire to savour the last moments but a desire to get there and be done with it.

The walk into Santiago was not momentous but I had not built it up to be so - so no disappointments there. If anything it was better than expected - pretty country paths that skirted the airport, the same Galician farming villages. And then leafy suburbs with rose gardens leading straight to the big ringroad network and the city itself. No endless industrial suburbs to walk through.

As the day wore on , there was a competition as to who was the slowest in the group - me, recovering from a cold and no breath or Ruth who became progressively wearied and by the time we were 5 kms away complained of tummy upset. When we arrived at Albergue Aquario she collapsed onto a top bunk.

A pilgrim

Another pilgrim!

Day 39 Arzua - O Pedrouza

Meeting up with John and Mo
after today's walk

I (Jenny) took a 'sickie´ today. Just knew I wouldn´t make the 19km with a streaming cold and no energy and potentially more rain. But ...... the sun did come out finally and it has been rain free at last - hurrah!

John, Mo and Ruth left the apartment about 9am and I had a slow, lazy start. I took the 10.30am bus to O Pedrousa after coffee with 2 Frenchmen - Serge and Jean Claude -who were taking the bus to Santiago. They had done the camino twice before and wanted to miss the last etape (which passess the airport apparently) in order to save time and walk to Finesterre.

I signed in at the Albergue Edreira when it opened at midday and claimed beds in the dormitory for the four of us. It is very new and modern, clean and practical but never the less, sleeping is still communal, albeit in a large airy room. So John will have his first experience of snorers and screamers.

I am sure I made the right decision to rest today as I am starting to feel much better and feel I can tackle the walk into Santiago tomorrow feeling relatively human. With rain, illness and exhaustion, it was hard to keep up the momentum to finish at all. I sense everyone who has been on the road for a long time feels similarly - it is time to go home ......

One of many memorials en route
- not much to thank God for there???

John,Ruth and I walked through eucalyptus woods and pleasant paths today. Thankfully it was dry and cool. There were a number of inclines to cope with, not helped by the mountain bikers who have plagued us. At one point a whole group of them came down the path at speed, shouting ´buen camino´ making us leap out of their way. John was not pleased and swore at them. There was a constant stream of people walking the camino with day packs and some with back up vehicles waiting at various points. It´s difficult for us sloggers to feel that they are doing it right. Also met a group of 35 Irish people doing the last 100km from Saria to Santiago. Nice people but more of a walking holiday than a pilgrimage.

The world cup starts tonight, John demanding a bar!! Mo

......50kms to go!

Day 38 Melide - Arzua

Bread Shop in Melide

7am
I've woken up with a sore throat, cough and cold. Not surprising as I've been so wet and cold for the last three days. Fortunately just a short day planned to Arzua today as there is a long etapa tomorrow with no accomodation en route. We have booked a private albergue for 12 euros each. Seems the best compromise in the circumstances.

I'm not sure if it's still raining but suspect it is.

Last night, we were a group of 6 staying in this hotel planning to have dinner together. But they didn't start serving until 9pm. In most places, despite the normal Spanish late dining, they start serving pilgrims from 7 pm. None of us could face going out in the rain again - it was really torrential - so we stayed here. It was a lovely meal - lots of fish - but I was tired and past it and couldn't wait to get to bed - probably cos I was incubating this cold!


Oh dear! Didn't get far this morning when I realised I really couldn't go any further in the relentless rain.  After setting off dry with cosy feet and best of intentions, I gradually got wetter,colder and unhappier. And I felt so ill! Started to think I was mad to be doing it- didn't need to do penance or be a martyr to any cause.

I said to Ruth that if it was raining tomorrow, I definitely would not walk. I had made the decision. She suggested we try and curtail today. Fortuitously, we landed at a main road with a bar and a bus outside. The bus pulled away as we approached but the seed was sown. We went in the bar and ordered hot water to make a Lemsip and a taxi to take us to Arzua. It was only 8 euros. 

We had booked a private albergue that had offered us 2 double rooms for 24 euros per room. What a godsend! 2 big rooms, bathroom and kitchen.  I was able to spend the afternoon in bed with more of the Spanish equivalent of Lemsip.

John and Mo arrived sodden and weary about 3pm. I don't think I missed much. It was another head down day. Before I lost the will to live, I had appreciated the pungent decongestive smell of the eucalyptus trees as we past through more Galician wet woods. Ruth got some of the leaves down for me and I crushed them and put them in my pillow. I think it helped. 

The four if us went out for Paella for dinner. I didn't have much appetite. A muted ocasion. I suspect we were all secretly hoping for a change in the weather and our spirits before the grand finale. 

Don' look now! Hunchback pilgrim and flooded path

John and I walked in the rain from Melide to Aruza. It was so heavy that even my knickers were wet when we stopped at the bar for lunch. John didn´t seem to mind the rain and remained chirpy. I couldn´t wait to stop. Luckily it was a short day and we had rooms at the alburgue so no dormitory experience for us tonight. Jenny´s cold got progressively worse and after seeing and missing a bus, she and Ruth got a taxi to Aruza. Tomorrow´s another day. Mo

Waiting for Paella

Day 37 Airexe - Melide (22kms)

6am
After a jolly evening last night and exchanging sentiments with others, I feel a bit more motivated to tackle today's walk in the rain although it feels a bit like going through the motions.

Some very loud Germans and Americans left our Pension about an hour ago. We are all still in bed and I think everyone has gone back to sleep. The local cock is crowing which means it's probably time for the rest of us to get up!

5pm
Another very wet day with little respite. Caught sight of a TV in one of the bars we stopped at and there are serious floods in Spain, on the North coast I think. Although Galicia is known for it's wet weather this is not normal for June. What should have been a fabulous walk was a real effort. I'm still walking in shorts cos it's easier to dry legs than trousers but I was cold and miserable.

We are staying in a hotel tonight but there is no heat so dripping clothes likely to stay that way. Hot shower helped warm me up and I've now got all my winter woollies on - merino wool, fleece etc.

I've just conferred with Ruth to ask what more I can say about today. She said it was a day with few redeeming features. We spent most of it knee deep in mud and we now seem to be in a small industrial town with no character at all. But we are not going out to find out if we are wrong as it is still lashing down.

On a more positive note (from John) - an angler only sees the flooded rivers as opportunities for sea trout to swarm in from the sea. Also many thanks to Peter for introducing us to the 'carajillos' - strong coffee and flaming brandy mixed together.

Day 36 Portomarin - Airexe

We left Portmarin by the foot bridge

and we walked through woodland ....

And then along the road .....

Havn't worked out what these are yet
but there are lots of them!

John and Mo before the rain really set in

Finally met up with John and Mo last night. John has been walking for 6 days and so far no sign of the pilgrim feet and leg problems. It s still common to see people hobbling about with bandaged feet, especially if they have recently started. So John is doing really well.

We talked about the accomodation problems and it looks like we will have to start booking ahead in order to ensure a bed. It really is quite stressful arriving I'm a strange town and panic booking the first thing available. John has yet to have the albergue experience and may miss out as you can't book ahead for the municipal ones.

I have to say I am not raring to go today. There is a definite feeling that the best is over and this is the tail end. The atmosphere on the camino is different since Sarria. The weather outside the Pension window changes from grey drizzle to lashing rain. We have to make sure that everthing we own is in plastic as the last month of hot weather has made us a bit careless.

The days walking was Wet Wet Wet! But we missed the pilgrim rush hour (6am-8am) by leaving at 9am. So there were far fewer pilgrims on the road. The few who were visible had dark plastic capes over themselves and their rucksacks and looked like strange hunchback creatures roaming around the countryside
We met up with John and Mo en route at the first coffee stop. Thereafter it was head down, teeth gritted until we got to the planned destination. Fortunately, John and Mo had booked a room with 4 beds so we are all in together tonight. Ruth is talking about a taxi tomorrow?? What a thought!

For dinner, we met up with Australian Sharon who we first met on Day 1 of the Spanish camino, Peter who was on the same flight fr Birmingham and Brenda from Denver. We had a jolly pilgrim meal. We have learned that we like the local soup Caldo Gallego - think it is made with potato and swiss chard or similar green vegetable. Also like the local cheese that is served with quince jelly (membrillas).

Day 36 Portmarin - Airexe

Galician gardener

Day 35 Barbadelo - Portomarin

100Kms to go - stones tell us every 500m now

Pink cape, hairy legs and leopard skin umbrella

Pilgrims outnumber the locals

Arriving on Portmarin

This is going to be a moan!

Woke up in the amazing Spanish house with clean white sheets about to luxuriate on the fact that we had time to stretch and come round as we wouldn't be turfed out at 7.30am. The German lady from Bavaria who had walked all the way from Geneva came back from the bathroom saying she'd had the worst night ever- and she had been on the road for over 60 days. She was bitten to pieces and had been fighting bedbugs all night!! She had their dead bodies and terrible bites to prove it. Although one reads about this, this was our first experience. The german lady had all the right sprays but they really went for her in her corner of the room.

Neither Ruth nor I were bitten but we were shocked into jumping up and getting out as quickly as possible. On the way out, I told the lovely Spanish lady who had welcomed us. She was mortified and I got a barage of incomprehensible Spanish, the gist of which was that she kept a very clean house and they must be mosquito bites. I showed her the dead bodies and gave her a hug and said the house was beautifully clean but she needed to know about the bed bugs Not sure there is a lot she can do about it as the place is so ancient with so many nooks and crannies. Just really grateful that we weren't attacked.

The bed bug room!

The whole atmosphere of the camino changed today. We got off to a bad start and things didn't improve. There were hoards of people en route and loads of day trippers with big hats, big boots and small rucksacks covered in shells. And it rained. The first rain for over a month so can't complain but I am!

To cap it all the whole route smelt of manure, muck spreading and slurry. It was wet and sticky under foot.

We knew from the numbers on the road there would be a problem with beds and there was a generalised frenzy to get to Portomarin. I wondered why I was here and my instinct was to get out. Thoughts going through my mind like ' stuff the Compostela', get off the camino and find a nice quiet pension somewhere to spend the next few days.

Inside Monastry

When we arrived we headed for the first albergue with lots of beds - completo - what a surprise! Went in everywhere with rooms/beds signs and eventually ended up in an Ok pension sharing with Ruth. Trouble us they are not set up to deal with wet clothes which are hanging all over the room now.

John and Mo have arrived in Portomarin and will meet up shortly. Hope they are in better spirits. They have been doing quite long days to catch up with me.

Now we have 89kms left to do and 5 days to do it in. Should be a breeze? We want to get into Santiago on Sunday, do the Compostela stuff on Monday and do a day trip to Finisterre on Tuesday. We'll see.

Church Portomarin

Peter (who I got on the plane with on Birmingham)
- just a wee bit p'd off with the
change of vibes en route today

Day 34 Samos - Baradelo

Paddling

Monastry at Samos

Sarria

Left the monastry at 7.30am and had breakfast in the bar opposite. On the road for 8am and walked through beautiful oak woodland by the river for most of the morning. Lost Ruth and all other pilgrims in front and behind so walked alone. Not very well waymarked as this is a scenic diversion so was slightly worried about being lost.

As paths diverged about 5km before Sarria, more pilgrims appeared out of the ether. Passed through Sarria without stopping but loads of accomodation here of every ilk. Apparently, Sarria is the nearest place to Santiago that one can start from to earn the Compostella prize. So lots of people start here. Pressure on accomodation will be increased even more no doubt.

Walked onto Barbadelo to get back into the countryside and tried to get into the albergue. This tiny village has 3 albergues - all completo. We were directed to a private house next to the church - pure gold!

The house is huge and ancient - probably built at the same time as the church - 12th century and probably for the priest.

My washing - just to prove I do it!

Church and house where we stayed in Barbadelo

Pilgrim in the 9th C church in Barbadelo

Day 33 Fonfria - Samos

Arriving at the monastry st last!

Where I found Ruth today at her lunch spot

Walking through the mist

Slept badly despite the beautiful spacious building. Probably too animated after all the camino discussion last evening. Really interesting communal dinner.
Such a collection of people at dinner last evening all on a journey of self discovery but choosing to do it with lots of others. It's a very safe road to take and many people do it alone. It's easy to keep yourself separate or mix in as the mood takes you.

Last night at dinner I sat next to Jurgen, a police dog handler from Germany. He showed me a picture of his dog. There seem to be loads of German Shepherd dogs around here as pets and farm dogs, all roaming loose or just snoozing and totally ignoring pilgrims. In England, I would be frightened of walking past a farm house with 3 loose German Shepherds outside but these seem really docile. Jurgen says they are not the proper breed.

There was lots of discussion about why people were doing the camino. Escaping from work, stress, relationships. Trying to break out of the rat race, taking time out of normal life to ' find yourself'. Lots of peole doing it to mark retirement but lots of young ones as well. All in all, it is a therapeutic experience to walk through beautiful countryside day after day and have no worries except finding one of the plentiful beds. Social life comes with the package if you want it. To be recommended.



Today I walked with Ruth again through Galithian villages in the early morning mist. The mist lifted and we walked through woodland along a river bank. Prolific mock orange perfumed our path.

We planned to stay at the monastry in Samos - the largest in Spain and one of the oldest in the western world - 9th century. Has been receiving pilgrims for over 1000 years.

It took longer to get there than we thought and we didn't take enough rests to pace ourselves comfortably. So we were tired and a tad irritable on arrival to find queues. There is a pressure for beds and people start queuing early. But it ended up not being full. This is always the balance to be drawn - take your time, enjoy the walk, stop frequently, arrive about 5pm - and find the albergue full - or not as the case may be.

Just a word about food - the pilgrim fodder is starting to really pall. We are not getting access to real Spanish food. It is so frustrating. We were looking forward to a late Spanish lunch on arrival. The locals were eating all sorts of wonderful stuff and we were offered the 'pilgrim' menu. I said I didn't want it and pointed to what the Spanish were eating. Not possible!!!

With the beautiful Viking!