Day 32

Got up today felling better, but only slightly so. Sue asked if we should take a taxi to Muxía. We’d probably have to walk 7km to the next village to find one. I really wanted to finish walking to the coast. Making it all this way and stopping 25km from the end seemed depressing. So we headed out. I sipped on water and ate a few crackers thru the day.

The path was good, not too many hills. Weather was cool and the sky overcast. We stopped for a lot of breaks. Half way there I resolved that this would be my last day of hiking.  I ached, couldn’t eat, and really wasn’t having much fun. We did make it into Muxía about 3:30.

Spit in the road - Fisterra left, Muxía right.

Starting out.

 The view today.

Time for a break.

Before we left Santiago we had gotten a new set of credentials for the Muxía-Fisterra leg of the Camino. They said we could get a certificate at City Hall. We couldn’t find City Hall. We saw a sign for Tourist Information and went there. They had a sign on the door telling us to go to the library next door.  We went to the library, but being Spain, it was siesta. They were closed until 4:30.

First view of the ocean.

Old church by the sea.

Rest time.

We checked into an albergue. They were able to do our certificates of completion right there. They also had two big pots of soup on the stove - “you no pay”.  Lentil soup and a cantaloupe soup. It was the first real food I had had in a while. I had a small bowl.

After a brief rest we walked around town. Muxía has a long history of religous importance. There are interesting rock outcropping in the sea.  Beginning in the 3rd century BC they were considered sacred and were worshipped by pagan monks.  Muxía means monks. The rocks were later adopted by Christianity as sacred.  There is also biblical significance.  Once, when St James was on his mission here, he became discouraged. He was sitting at the sea when a stone boat carrying the Virgin Mary was rowed to shore by angels.  She comforted him and gave him encouragement. There is one rock in particular that is said to be part of the Virgin’s boat.

The Virgin Mary’s stone boat.

After seeing all that we went for dinner. Sue had ensalada mixta and I ate the tomatoes. Still no appetite. We made plans for tomorrow. She really wanted to do the final leg of the hike to Fisterre. She figured she’d come al this way and couldn’t leave without completing it.  It’s 28 km.  I’d had enough walking without more recovery time.

So, tomorrow she will hike and I will take the bus. We will rendezvous in Fisterra in the afternoon.  It will be the first day we will not be together since we left on Apr 3rd.

Day 31

Today was supposed to be an easy day of only 25km. The weather had cooled to the low 50’s and it was overcast, so travel was good. There were a lot of hills again today.

Foggy start to the day.

Nice path for walking.

The terrain changed from trees to scrub brush.

Lonely path when you’re feeling sick.

In the afternoon I started slowing down.  I didn’t feel right. I couldn’t catch my breath and was feeling light headed and dizzy. We stopped and rested a lot! The last 10km were a real struggle!! Just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and concentrating entirely on that.

We made to O Logoso and got our bed assignment.  I laid down immediately.  I laid there feeling miserable for about three hrs.  Then got up and Sue and I went to have a coke in the restaurant area.  The food smell was too much, so we moved outside. Within a couple minutes I was feeling sick and raced to the bathroom.  The coke and everything else came right up and out.  I went back to bed and stayed there until morning.  We were going to play it by ear about our plans for tomorrow.

Day 30

Today we departed Santiago for the coast. It will take 3 days. There are two destinations we want to see - Fisterra and Muxía. The first two days we proceed west.  Then the path spits. North goes to Muxía. West goes to Fisterra.  We plan to go to Muxía first.

Last view of Santiago at dawn.

Along the trail.

The Romans built a lot of bridges.

City gate at Negreira.

It was a long day with lots of hills.

Just after was passed thru Negreira a woman outside her home asked if we needed a place to stay. We said we were continuing on. Then she asked if we wanted fresh water. That was welcome because we had some empty bottles and still a fair way to finish.  It was to our good fortune because she said the next place was 7km ahead, and it was all up hill.

It was a long hot day, but we arrived in Vilaserio after 34 km, ready for rest, dinner, and sleep.

Day 29 - Rest Day

We slept in a bit, then headed off for breakfast.  Pilgrim’s mass is everyday at noon, so we wanted to be there for it.

Being Sunday the Cathedral holds mass about  every hr starting at 7am. At about 10am we walked by the cathedral and decided to go in for a look.  There was a service in progress and it was packed. We saw a line of people wandering behind the alter, then a skinny door going down some steps about 10 ft behind the alter.  The door had the cross of St James on it.  We went down about 8steps to a small room.  There was a bench to kneel. It fit 3 people. About 6 ft behind an iron gate was an ornate silver box about 3’x2’x2’. Here was St James.

We exited on the other side and as we looked up we saw hands on the large statue of St James about 15 ft above us. We followed several others and came to a line of people waiting to go up. You enter a brief tunnel entrance, then go up about 10 steps. You are now looking over the shoulders of St James about 20 ft behind the alter.  This is in the middle of the service. You place you hands on his shoulders and kiss each one.  It’s all very moving. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed inside the Cathedral. but we snuck this one in.

St. James.

Cathedral complex from city park view.

Tired feet.

Dinner.

Is it really St James’ bones down there?  So legend has it, but even the Catholic Church does not authenticate the authenticity.  But it doesn’t matter.  It’s all very powerful and worth every minute.

We left and went to breakfast, then were back at 11:45 for the noon pilgrim mass.  It was standing room only. There were 100’s standing with more coming in.

The priest began the service by welcoming all the pilgrims.  Then he started reading a list. The city the pilgrim started from, and the countries represented; then the next city and the List of countries, and so on.  It was a long list.  When I heard pilgrims starting in Saint Jean Pied de Port in France, from the United States that was us!

All the while there was a never ending stream of people going up the the statue of St James behind the alter and paying their respects.

After mass we found a different hotel for the night, did laundry at a laundromat, and walked through old town.  Dinner was a huge platter of shellfish and a pitcher of sangria.

Tomorrow we start hiking again. This time for the coast.  Stay tuned.

Day 28 - We made it!

Today was another great day for hiking. The weather was in the high 70’s, sunny, light breeze.  We were excited about finishing, so we kept walking and arrived at the cathedral square about 5:30.  The last 10 km were pretty tough. We were tired and dehydrated but really wanted to finish.

Thru the eucalyptus.

Nice shady path.

Marker getting close.

Templer pilgrim statue at edge of town.

The path was really good all of the way.  I expected to be walking thru a large urban area for many miles, but the path had us going thru wooded shade most of it.  Large forests of eucalyptus trees until just a couple miles from the city.  10 mi out we stopped for a rest and talked with Steve from Long Island, NY.  We thought he was a newbie, but it turns out he started in France like us just a couple days before we did.  He retired on Mar 30th and left the next day for the Camino.  He said he wanted some time alone to contemplate some things.  He lost a son 12 yrs ago.

While we were walking we debated at what distance we would be able to see the Catherdral spires.  I thought we would see them 8 mi out. We walked and walked and walked.

The route today was disappointing in that there was little to see related to the Camino.  There were no historical things on the way, probably because we are so close.  Everyone just wants to keep going until they reach the destination.

We finalled reached the city limits and saw no church spires.  We walked more into the city.  Still nothing. This is a big cathedral.  Walked more. Nothing.  Got into the heart ot town.  Nothing.  Entered old town. Nothing. It was getting disheartening.  Saw a sign that said 1,000 m. Still nothing.  We’re within 200 m in old town and stopped because we did not see any church.  A woman motioned us forward and around a corner, and then town a tunnel.  Then, there, finally, we had arrived.  Somehow the topography of our route into town had kept the sight from view.

Cathedral of St James.

Panoramic of the square.

Side view.

We went to the center of the huge square in front of the Cathedral, pulled off our backpacks, took off our boots, and just sat there looking at the site before us.  We were exhausted.

As we sat there two old women came up and asked if we needed a place to stay. They were renting out rooms in their homes.  We said maybe later.  Then a man with leaflets for a hotel showed us where to go to get out compostella - certificate of completion.  He warned us that it would be a 2-3 hr wait.  We decided to do it then.  We arrived at 6:35 and waited in line with 100’s of other pilgrims.  We got our certificates around 7:40. They inspect your credentials and issue the document in Latin, including your starting point and number of km completed.  According to the church we completed 799 km.

Waiting in line.  Where did all these pilgrims come from?  We didn’t see them on the trail.

The compostella.

Then we had to find a place to stay.  As we sat on a stone wall just off the Cathedral square an old woman in a small cafe said, “psst...psst...do you need a place to sleep”.  We said maybe.  She said come see my place.  Very beautiful and very clean.  She had us go behind the bar, up one step, thru a small door into a stair well.  Then up 2 flights to a great little room.  We were sold.

We dropped off our stuff and headed out door dinner - a liter of sangria and more great seafood.

Planning to sleep in tomorrow and rest up a bit, and take in the town.

Day 27

Today we began with 67 km to Santiago, and ended up with 38 km left.  It was a perfect day for hiking - low 70’s, partly cloudy, and quite breezy.

There were many churches open along the way to look inside and collect stamps in.

Knights Templer Church from 11th century. Temples were there to protect pilgrims in route. 

Inside. Original artwork from 11th century.

Roman bridge.

The path today.

Crossing stream.

Elevated grain dry.  Just about every house has one in the rural area.

We arrived in Arzua for the night. 9 albergues to choose from. We picked the Don Quixote because we like Man of La Manch.  50 beds.  It was a great choice because we ended up having the whole place to ourselves.

After we showered and did laundry we went out for great fish dinners at a local place, but ate by ourselves.

A week ago, the day we were walking thru the snow, we saw a news story on tv following a couple doing the Camino.  They walked thru the snow a few hrs ahead of us, and stayed that night in one town ahead of us.  Two nights ago in Palas del Rei we were talking to a couple and they said, “look on the street, there goes the film crew following the couple doing the Camino.  Have you seen them on the news?”

Tonight as we came back from dinner - there, right outside the entrance to the Don Quixote albergue, was the film crew, the couple being follow, and a band playing for them as they walked past.  How fun.

Band outside our albergue to greet tv show profile couple on Camino.

Celebrities.

That’s about it for today.  We are close enough to Santiago that we are debating if we should just do all 38 km tomorrow on a long day, or split in two.  We’ll see how the legs feel as we go tomorrow.

Day 26

Just after we left the albergue this morning, less than 1 km into our day we passed the 100 km marker to Santiago. It is a major milestone.

100km to go.

In order to receive your compostella at the cathedral in Santiago (your certificate of completion of the Camino) you need to do at least the last 100 km. You also have to collect at least 2 stamps per day in your credentials.

Many people start their Camino just outside 100 km. The last major community to start in is Sarria. Thus,  many people take a bus to Sarria and start there.


As a result, we have noticed a different mix of pilgrims.  First, there are more, in terms of numbers.  Second, they are all newbies.  I guess it is like getting older.  It’s nice to see the young people, but you like to have contact with folks of your own generation.  We are afraid that we will not run into any of our old friends from earlier on the Camino.  The young (new) pilgrims just don’t have the same experiences to relate to.  The newbies can’t believe we started 4 weeks ago in France.  Most carry little or nothing in terms of a backpack, and stay in hotels.  Oh, for the good old days.

In Portomarin we visited the Knights Templar Church, constructed as a fortress in the 11th century.

Knights Templar Church in Portomarin.

Another pilgrim statue.

Path today.

Path today.

Busy road.

With more us getting closer to Santiago, and more pilgrims on the route there are more albergues, more stores selling pilgrim stuff, and more churches open to collect stamps and light candles in.

We walked for about 3 mi with a guy from New Orleans.  66 yrs old, recently retired, twice divorces. The conversation was monopolized over his long distance running and his beer drinking. He asked us to join him for a beer, but we declined and kept walking.  We figured we had done our good deed for the day.

We ended up stopping in Palas de Rey. At our albergue we had 3 roommates from Madrid - parents on their early 70’s and their 40 yr old son.  They did not speak English, but we were able to communicate some in Spanish.  We also talked with a nice couple from Davis, CA.  We had a Galacian terrific dinner, but by ourselves after attending a pilgrim’s mass.

The pilgrim daily routine

After 3 1/2 weeks we have the system figured out.  Here is how our day goes:

Alarm on the IPad goes off at 6:30.  It’s all dark in the albergue but we are not the first ones in the room up and making noise. We brush teeth, roll up sleeping bags, and start packing up the backpacks.  We have slept in most of our clothes, so we only have a couple things to put on.  If it’s raining we add the rain gear.  We fill the water bottles with tap water in the bathroom or kitchen.

When all packed-up we head to the boot room to put on the hiking boots and grab the hiking poles and head out the door.  It’s 7:15. Dawn is at 7:22. We take a Tylenol and an allergy pill and wash it down with water.

We start walking.  On the way we eat the chocolate croissant that we purchased the night before. Our pace averages 2.5 mi/hr when walking.  When training in Madison we averaged 3.0 mi/hr., but that was under ideal weather and terrain conditions.  After taking account for breaks, our net pace is about 2.0 mi./hr.

After about an hour and a half we stop for an expresso and a pastry.  Then we push on for another two hours before stopping for scrambled eggs and a coke.  It’s probably 11:00 am now, and we’ve got 7.5 mi done.

If we are in a town with something to see we’ll have a look around. Most likely we push on.

Along the way we snack on the things we picked up at the grocery store - peanuts, dried apricots, cookies, chips.  Recently Sue has been making turkey and cheese croissant sandwiches that we munch on.

About 1:30 we stop again for a break. Probably a coke and chips and a bathroom break.  We should be at about 12 mi now.  We check the map, think about the weather, how we are feeling, and talk about how much further we feel like going.  Seems like many people quit for the day around 1:00 because have been very few people on the road in the afternoons.

If everything is good we keep going.  It feels like we can and should go further. We probably continue a couple more hours, calling it quits between 3:30 - 5:00 after 16 - 18 mi.  Occasionally we make it a little further.

After we call it quits we check in to an albergue and are assigned our bunk beds.  Paul on top, Sue on the bottom. We unpack the backpacks, roll out the sleeping bags, and decide if we are going to shower.  Most days we do, but not all. It depends on how hot and sweaty we feel, and how much hot water there is.  In one albergue they said hot water would be available after 7 pm.  It never came on.  In one monastery there was a sign that read,”water is a precious gift from God- don’t waste it”. We think they forgot to say that the hot water was reserved for God.  Most places it is plentiful.

We normally also hand wash a couple pieces of clothing.  That depends on how much sunshine is out so things can dry.  All our clothes are made of quick-dry material, but that only works if it not raining and sunny.  Sometimes the rooms have radiators that you can put wet things on to dry, but that only works of they turn the radiators on.

After that we find ourselves a bar for a drink or two.  We bring our guidebook to plan out the next day. We may seek out a market for supplies the the next day.  Then we look for a place for dinner.  It might be at the albergue or at another restaurant.  Dinner is always great, a ton of food, delicious, a caraf of wine and desert are included.  It’s always 10 euros.

Then it’s back home to try to do a blog posting before brushing teeth, and falling asleep to the sounds of our roommates snoring  (and occasionally farting) as we rest to get ready for another day.

True bliss.

Day 25

Short post today.  Pretty uneventful. We left the monastery in Samos at 7:15 under cloudy skies.  The ground was wet, but it was not raining. The weather was cool in the high 40’s to low 50’s. We walked through beautiful country - lush green farm country with rolling hills, mostly following fast clear streams.  Rain came in the afternoon, so we broke out the ponchos.

We passed through Sarria, and expected more to see, being the 2nd largest city in Galacia.

 Stairs in Saria

Main St in Sarria.

We met Dick, a retired pilot from Virginia.  He is 70, on his 2nd wife and 6th Camino.  He started today.

After 16 mi we ended up in the very small community of Ferreiros. We think it is only an albergue and restaurant, but very pleasant.  Had dinner with a couple who retired from Upper Michigan to Florida. They started in Ponferrada a week ago.

View of Camino path from our albergue picture window in common room. 

We expect to arrive in Santiago de Compostella on Sunday.  There we will take a day of rest, before continuing on for 3 days to Finisterre on the coast. Finisterre means the End of the World.  At one time it was believed to be the western most point on earth.  It is a traditional finish for many pilgrims.  Most say they will walk it, but many end up taking the bus. We’ve resolved to walk.