Ending in Santiago

Our last day on the Camino was today. It was supposed to be a quick 10km jaunt to Santiago. Laura woke up very ill with severe nausea. Despite my offers to her for a taxi ride, she was determined and we skipped breakfast and were on the road amid darkness by 6:30, except that we were on the wrong road. A couple of extra uphill kilometers was definitely not in her agenda and she was not impressed by my directional instability in the dark.

It all started innocently enough with some mild burp like noises, which led to gagging coughs, escalating to dry heaves and ending in a crescendo of full on, uncontrolled projectile vomit. This went on and on for much of our entire walk. This poor woman was going to leave it all out there, let it all hang , give it a 110 percent. Luckily we hit Santiago and she started to feel better. A cup of cafe con leche and she was almost good as new. I will never again underestimate the value of good coffee or breakfast being the most important meal of the day. This walk, which normally would have taken us 2 hours, took us 4 hours to do.

We immediately headed to the pilgrim's office, showed them our pilgrim's passport filled with dates and proofs of our journey, answered a few suspicious questions about our journey and promptly received our compostela (certificates of completion) complete with our authentic Latin names. My real authentic Latin name is Wigbert Sy and it took him 15 minutes to figure it out. I could have come up with Wigbertum Sycomea in ten seconds.

We arrived an hour early for noon mass, plenty of time to get reunited with old friends and turn a serene cathedral into a chaotic noisy international market place complete with screaming kids, crying babies and camel auction. Most were there for a full on Latin mass complete with unlimited confessions and multiple blessings. We, on the other hand, were really there to watch them swing this huge
Incense burner suspended by an 80 foot rope from atop the cathedral meant to deodorize smelly pilgrims. Picture six overgrown priest simultaneously pulling on one rope back and forth pretending that they are keeping the smelly congregation from smashing the piñata. Maybe the collection was too small, or the perigrinos as a whole did not suffer enough (I know I did), but they did not swing the piñata and I was totally disappointed. Over 700 km and no piñata, such is life. Have to take the good with the bad, I wouldn't look so good if some of you weren't so ugly.

Ps. Laura is feeling normal again and I still have a mother-in-law. She miraculously materialized in church right before mass. Miracles do happen when you least expect it.

Two Days-Just Over 60km

As soon as I state how good I feel, I get served my biggest lesson on the Camino. All day rain + 30km a day + new overly large untested underwear = all day wedgie friction = raw butt cheeks that burn with every step. Sorry about that tmi vivid description but that is the best way to illustrate how quick my downfall came. Each step came with a price and the price came early with my first step this morning and peaked with my shower this evening.

Laura's knee decided to give out at a steep hill after 24km. We took a break to bandage her knee and then we ambled on, slowly and painfully. There seems to be a rule in the Camino, the last 6km is always twice farther and takes three times longer than the first 6km. Today seemed even worst, how the mighty fall!

Nancy on the other hand is getting stronger each day. Not just physically but in every other aspect as well. She is already thinking of her next walking trip. We left her at her hotel which is 6km away from our place. She will start her final leg to Santiago by herself and we will meet her there, 17km on her own and that includes navigating to her hotel. If anyone knows her sense of direction, this is a HUGE undertaking for her and no one is more proud than her present son-in-law. I, of course, will not hear the end of it from Laura should this plan not work.

We are only 10km away from Santiago and Laura and I will find a way to walk there. After 700 km we will not succumb to the last 10. Friends await our arrival as well as the much anticipated pilgrim's noon mass in the great Santiago cathedral.

Reflections on the Camino

28 days, 638 kilometers, 28 different beds, meals in at least 50 different restaurants, each of us getting at least one case of bed bug attack, at least two dozen flans for me, almost every kind of weather imaginable, more churches than one expects to see in a lifetime, countless new friends, each of us breaking our newer $150 boots, remnants of my $3 hat and gloves, PRICELESS!!!!

I have been very fortunate, to have had one tiny blister, to have slept and eaten well, to have not been sick at any time, to have had rich experiences, and to have had great company. I walked with a 79 year old Flemish woman walking in sandals because no shoes could contain her terrible bunions. I had to lance her blister the first night I met her. She hardly speaks any English so I point to her feet whenever I see her, she just shrugs as if to say, "What can I do, these are my only feet so I walk with them through rain, and mud, and snow." Simone says she is addicted to the Camino. It is her 15th and she is still walking.

I have read people's accounts of the Camino as a daily ritual of poor sleep, long mindless kilometers of walking, calorie packing dinners before collapsing to slumber only to wake up and do it over and over again, much like the movie 'Groundhog Day'. We have found ours to be beautiful. The miles keep getting easier and the hills more forgiving. The scenery is abundant and constantly changing. The birds speak to us and the wind whispers our song. The Camino is anything but boring. We are excited with each new town we end up in. We arrive, shower, and immediately do the last thing you'd expect-walk the whole town and enjoy it.

Everyone walks their own Camino. You get what you put into it. We have gotten our fair share and we love it.

Palas de Rei

I started out the day with my cold in full swing. It took about 8 kilometers of walking for me to feel better. It could be the first cafe con leche of the day that finally helped! Wonder what's going to happen when I get home and don't get either the walking or the delicious coffee to get me going in the morning!
Didn't take any photos today, but it was a day of walking through farm land and forests, very pleasant. Mom doesn't seem to be affected by her trio of blisters and Wig has been feeling great, I'm the slow poke of the group!
We just have 68 kilometers left...wow!

Portomarin

Woke up to snow covering our sky light, thought the weather was clearing as I stopped hearing the clatter of rain drops!
It was still another beautiful day, with just a little bit of rain, lots of cold wind and the occasional ray of sun!
There have been lots of big black slugs on the Camino, the whole way, I finally took a picture of one today. Wonder if they are pilgrims too. At least they make us feel fast!
We passed the marker for 100 kilometers left to get to Santiago, only a few more days.
The way is busier now. Lots of people just do the Camino from Sarria to Santiago, as its the minimum amount to do to be a real pilgrim! They all walk faster than us because they are fresh and excited. It's still fun. Wig has befriended a whole group of Americans on a luxury tour!

Sarria

My apologies for doing the blog yet again because Laura is tired. She thinks she is coming down with a cold. Poor girl, 24/7 with me for over 30 days now is just too much for her immune system to handle.
Todays journey involved an extra 6.5 km so we can avoid some uphills and downhills-NOT! It also included some sunshine, rain, wind, sleet and snow. With all the wardrobe changes, we felt like a one man Broadway act.
The longer route did take us over to Monasterio de Samos, one of the largest and oldest in Spain. To our dismay, we joined and paid money for a one hour tour in Spanish given by a local wanna be comedian monk who left all his Spanish understanding audience in stitches. I didn't even pretend to comprehend the guy because we were probably the topic of his jokes.
In any case, the bad weather took its toll on us. My $3 hat is trash after taking several flights in the wind, Laura is pooped with an aching knee and Nancy has added on a heel blister. To top things off, mom is staying at a 3 star hotel in the flat land with an elevator and a bath tub while Laura and I have an attic room on the 4th floor in a building where we have to climb over a hundred vertical steps just to get to where we can start climbing our 4 floors of narrow stairs. We would probably have an amazing view, except we don't have a window. On second thought, a third blister doesn't seem all that bad after all.
Dinner was far from disappointing as Laura and I had delicious rabbit and Nancy enjoyed her flattened boneless chicken. We are hoping to get better weather tomorrow in what looks like 23 km of ugly terrain. We have walked over 600 km and are on the final 100 km and hope to reach Santiago on Thursday, wish us luck.

Triacastella

Short 21 kilometer walk with downhill to the town of Triacastella began with thick morning fog. The author of our guidebook has definitely never walked the Camino. He describes today's walk as a short sustained downhill. All three of us certainly thought he was high on Galician weed when he wrote that description. We were thrown upon steep accents one after another to reach yet another alto before a somewhat cruel drop of 4 kilometers to our end town.
Congratulations to mom who is now a true pelegrino with two brand new blisters to add to her third day of walking the Camino. No dolor, no hay Gloria which translates to no pain, no glory. We were fortified partway down the hill with lasagna and callos con garbanzo (tripe with sausage and garbanzo. Dinner was paella with non remarkable lamb chops and delectable lengue (beef tongue) in such savory sauce that I wiped every drop of it with bread into my mouth. A visit to the pharmacy for some blister meds and a good night's rest should get mom set for our 25 km outing to a semi larger town of Sarria. I am in perigrino nirvana at the moment, full of energy with absolutely nothing aching but that can quickly change tomorrow.

O'Cebreira

Long day (10 hours) and 28 kilometers with 1200 meters of climbing. The last 8 kilometers was pure climbing. Nancy did great and got quite sunburned, most likely a photo sensitivity reaction with her med. My turn to feel good as I love to climb. This will be the biggest and longest climb of the trip.
Because of the ascent, we were constantly offered fantastic views of gorgeous landscape. Full mountains filled with purple heather and wild flowers abound next to constantly running cool rivers. Pictures show some of the fantastic local exercise equipment that we enjoy regularly.
At one time, I got the chance to run alongside twenty bulls within inches of me. No pictures were taken of this Pamplona tradition because I was ahead of Laura and her phone/camera. Okay they were all cows with udders but they all had horns.
O'Cebrero is a Gaelic mountain town reminiscent of Celtic lands much like Ireland with its small pastures with sheep, chickens and dogs running around town amid dimly lit taverns. We arrived with the skies clear and sunny with unending views surrounding us. Dinner awaited us with thick hot vegetable soup (caldo gallego) to provide inner warmth to a quickly freezing mountain air. Sleep awaits for the weary in anticipation to tomorrow's downhill.

Villafranca del Bierzo

Another beautiful day! Moms first day on the Camino, she seems to have survived despite a few spots of sunscreen failure.
We are walking through another wine region, so the rolling hills are covered with lots of old growth vines. I had a local bottle of wine with dinner and it was wonderful.
As we headed out for our usual evening stroll around the town we got too hot, so we found a big church to peek into. It was a fascinating old Romanesque structure. The ceiling was made of rocks. And it was nice and cool!
Resting up for a big climb tomorrow.

Ponferrada

Took less than a couple of hours to make it to this town. Definitely started too early as Laura did not get her cafe con leche and was not in the mood to deal with me.
We checked out the town and waited for Nancy, Laura's mom, to show up. They have a twelfth century castle in town and we visited it with her. It is Wednesday, another obscure holiday, and everything is closed-again. Well the castle visit today is free but all the good things in the castle worth seeing are off limits as well. Spain has an over abundance of holidays that no one seems to know or care about. I think they have more saints than any country in the world and it allows them unlimited holiday time and I should drink my cafe and not cry about it so much.

Molinaseca

Today we ascended to the highest point of our whole journey through the pass of Irago. The morning climb was fairly long and constant but nothing excessively steep and we enjoyed it. At the top was Cruz de Ferro, a Camino monument atop the highest point of our journey made up of a single iron cross atop a weathered pole. People add stones and other tokens of love, hope and blessing to the great pile. Laura placed her two stones and I inserted a rock that I have carried with me from California. It carries with it all our well wishes and love for our dear friend Bill Giachino for his full and complete recovery.
After a few more undulating hills where we were treated to amazing snow capped mountain sceneries, we started descending. And what a descent! Steep and never ending, for hours, and far beyond what we ascended the past few days. Laura was having a terrific day, allowing gravity to do her work. I suffered. My ankles rolled, my big and little toes complained, the soles of my feet burned, and my knees cussed at me.
Eventually, 27km ended in our town of Molinaseca. We quickly worked our way to the river, just below our hotel. Armed with our two legged chairs, some chocolate, tangerines, books and a bottle of wine, we soaked our sore ankles and feet in the cool water of the river. Then Laura took a long bath and I went back on the trail to greet and cheer our friends as they crawled into town.
Tonight we had a group dinner as well as a group walk and said our farewells to new found friends as Laura and I will be falling behind a bit as we meet her mom tomorrow in Ponferrada, only a 7.5 km walk away.

Casualties

Weather has been amazing for the last ten days or so and we can't really think of a better time to be here. That doesn't mean we haven't had our fair share of horizontal sleet, all day headwind or frigid temperatures early on.
Three people have died on our first week while crossing the Pyrenees. We have had people half sunk in deep mud and had to be pulled out of it sans footwear. One of the Australian woman had a bruised face after being blown off her feet by strong winds. There have been quite a few souls with ice packs on their legs after a losing bout with the ground. The Camino takes its toll but we continue on.

Astorga to Rabanal del Camino

Today we left early to head towards the mountains. Nothing to steep and only 21.4 km. We are glad to be climbing as the views become fantastic. I play doctor to friends who have problems with aching feet, blisters and shin splints.
We end up in the mountain village of Rabanal, quiet and interesting. We attend evening mass by Benedictine monks sung in a Gregorian chant and Vespers. Great but not kind to Laura's feet as the standing portion was unusually long.
Pictures includes one of a pilgrim dressed up like a member of the knights Templar. He always seemed to walk by himself as other pilgrims may have thought him odd.

to Astorga

After arriving to a new town and having showered and change, we are always amazed that people say 'buen Camino' to us. How do they know that we are pilgrims? So, I start paying closer attention to pilgrims after they have discarded their backpacks and walking sticks. Pilgrims walk with what we call the Camino waddle, you never see them walk straight down steps, they are always taking it one step at a time, sideways. Pilgrims are always asking for the nearest location for food or the farmacia so they can quickly restock their supply of Compede and other blister medications. Now I understand why.
We started todays journey on a crisp frosty morning. A quick ten mile morning walk to the beautiful walled city of Astorga, gateway town to the mountains. We are back to the serene and beautiful paths of the Camino, through wooded oaks and away from roads and highways. We are back climbing hills and the air is wonderful and the views, spectacular.
Astorga was the chocolate capital of the world. It is here where they develop modern techniques to produce large quantities of it. Every 3rd shop is a chocolate store and they all sell the same kinds. We also toured the beautiful Gaudi Episcopal Palace and the large but disappointing cathedral. High point was actually catching a street play on one of the plazas. A bit confusing and went something like this. A witch was being burned on the stake, she morphs into a maiden. She is captured by soldiers but she escapes. She is chased and finally cornered, beaten up and bloodied, and hung by ropes until a knight rescues her. Kids watching were totally crying and traumatized, audience like us were just confused by the violence. The town is nevertheless beautiful.