Camino Completion

Day 21
July 18
We walked from Mazarife to Asotrga. This was our longest day of walking. Not only that, it was also the hottest. I was commenting on the heat and Jeff said, “Just think Florida.” I said it is not this hot in Florida. To confirm my suspicions, I got out my handy time and temperature device and we looked at the temp. 109.3 F! So much for heat like Florida! Finally, Astorga, our destination was in sight. There was a train track to cross, and a fancy switch back ramp up and down had been constructed for walkers and bikers, making the way across about 10 times as long as it needed to be to get across the track. Then as we came into town, we knew that the place we were staying was to the right, but the route took us to the left, again, for switch backs up a hill. Not welcome in the blazing heat. On the way through the city, we stopped to buy a chocolate bar since Astorga is famous for its chocolate. The shop was air conditioned. Yeah! After arriving at the albergue and recuperating, we toured the Bishops House designed by Gaudi and the cathedral. It was lovely.

Day 22
July 19
We walked from Astorga to Rabanal del Camino. The albergue at Rabanal was staffed by a volunteer couple from the US whom Sue and I had met at the gathering of the American Pilgrims in Winter Park. As we waited in line to sign in at the albergue, there were signs posted about bed bugs, which are a problem on the Camino. Malcolm had gotten some several days before and had asked me if they were from bed bugs. I didn’t know. At Rabanal, after seeing the signs about the bed bugs, we asked about Malcolm’s bites. Another one of the hospitalero volunteers was an older woman from Great Britain. She looked at the bites and confirmed they were from bed bugs. She then squirreled Malcolm away for “fumigation.” She turned to Malcolm and said, “Come with me into the cupboard.” It was very funny. Malcolm was given some shorts and a tee shirt, and his clothing and backpack were taken away for treatment. The backpack was emptied and all the clothes was washed in hot water. This was welcome, since it had become evident from the smell of Malcolm and his pack, that he was not doing his laundry each day, as the rest of us do, so he got his laundry done for him. The backpack was put in a large dark colored plastic bag and put out in the sun. Apparently the heat kills the bedbugs, larvae, etc. So, Malcolm left the next day “de-loused” with a pack full of clean clothes!

Day 23
July 20
We walked from Rabanal to Riego de Ambros which was about 20 kilometers. Today we traversed the highest point on the Camino, Cruz de Ferro. There is a large cross there at the top of the hill. People leave stones at the foot of the cross to symbolize leaving their burdens behind. It was cold and windy at the Cruz, about 53 degrees. Passing the highest point felt like a milestone. The trail was through “chaparral” to quote Sue. I would call it scrub. Bushes and wildflowers and grasses. Some small oak and pine. There was one albergue in the town and it was run by the same guy who ran the only restaurant in town. The town was charming.

Day 24
July 21
We walked from Riego de Ambrose to Fuente Cacabelos. We went through the large town of Ponferrada and on through several smaller towns. It was hot and we walked on and on and on. When we got to Cacabelos, it turned out that the albergue was on the far side of town. The town was far larger than expected. I walked and walked looking for the sign for the albergue. (Often you can see from one end of town to the other, but not Cacabelos!) Tired and hot, it was on and on through the town. Finally, I stopped to ask someone where the albergue was. From her answer in Spanish, I caught mention of the church and two bridges. Sure enough, I walked on, past the church, over one bridge, then another, and there on the outskirts of town, was the albergue. It was in the yard of a church, built in a u shape, around the church. There were separate rooms, with room for two in each, and no bunk beds. One of the few nights we did not sleep in bunk beds! This town is famous for wine, and Mark wanted to tour a winery, so we did and the tour was given in English and it was very interesting. Then we ate at a restaurant featuring Mexican food, which was really bad!

Day 25
July 22
We took a bus from Cacabelos to Villafranca Del Bierzo, about 10k, and then we resumed walking, to Vega de Valcarce. Jeff, Sue, and I walked along a river, through small towns, and it was very scenic. Mark and Malcolm took another route that involved several substantial hills, the hardest walking of the Camino, in their opinion. The most up and down, with beautiful views and vistas. We all met at the end of the day at a private Brazilian albergue. The food was delicious. One of the guests in our room had severe snoring issues. Malcolm woke me up in the middle of the night suggesting that I pursue getting the man medical attention!

Day 26
July 23
We walked from Vega de Valcarce to O’Cebreiro. Lots of uphill walking. O’Cebreiro is a tourist town at the top of a mountain with beautiful views. There is a Celtic influence there. The church incorporates the earliest surviving buildings on the Camino. This church was served by a priest who started the system of marking the Camino with yellow arrows. He died in 1989 and is buried in the church. The yellow arrows are our guide day in and day out. There are signs and cement markers with yellow arrows and the scallop shell, but these are augmented by yellow arrows painted on buildings, on the asphalt, on posts, really all over. And these arrows tell you where to go. Just follow the yellow arrows, day after day, kilometer after kilometer, all across northern Spain. That is our guide! When you are not sure where to go, you look around, and eventually, you will see a yellow arrow showing you the way, thanks to the priest, Don Elias Valina Sampedro, of O’Cebreiro.

Day 27
July 24
We walked from O’Cebreiro to Triacastela. The walking was downhill. We started high, above the clouds and could see the mists below. It was lovely. Tricastela was a good sized town. There was a woman at the albergue who was doing the Camino with a walker. It was hard to imagine. Mark had fish soup and tongue for dinner which he found delectable.

Here’s a description of a typical day for us. We get up between 5 and 6 am. We typically dress and pack by the light of the headlamp, since others in the room are often still sleeping. Some people are up and leaving at 4 or 4:30 a.m. We usually eat food that we have purchased the day before – yogurt, fruit, cereal, bread and cheese, cereal bars, coffee, depending on what was available the day before. We leave the albergue as the daylight appears. Mark and Malcolm walk together. Jeff, Sue and I go at our own pace, sometimes two of us together, sometimes separately, sometimes walking with others we have met along the way. Malcolm and Mark arrive at the albergue first and try to make arrangements for all 5 of us, though at some the people have to be there and it is first come, first served. When we get to the albergue, we recuperate. Eat something. Shower. Do laundry by hand, at the sinks provided, with bar soap, and hang it out to dry on laundry lines. Malcolm naps every afternoon. Jeff usually does, too. Sue and Kim nap and rest some days. We check out the town and the church. Look for a store to get food for the next day for breakfast, lunch, snacks, but it all has to be carried, so we don’t buy much, and we shop often. Sometimes there is no store, and we make due with what we have. Sue and Mark are dedicated about writing in the journals most afternoons. Jeff writes postcards. We wake Malcolm up and go to dinner about 7 each day. Over dinner we discuss our plan for the next day: How far will we go? Where will we stop for the night? Which albergue will we stay at? After dinner, it is back to the albergue and getting ready for bed. Lights are out about 10.

About the albergues, they are basically what we might think of as youth hostels. Some are privately run, others are municipal. Generally, there are bunk beds. There is anywhere from 4 to 50 people in a room. The bathrooms are shared, sometimes men and women together, sometimes separate facilities for men and women. There are showers with hot water. There are facilities for hand washing of laundry. Sometimes there are kitchens and refrigerators. Sometimes there is internet access that is coin operated. The albergues are locked at a certain time – usually 10 or 10:30. Everyone has to be out by 8 in the morning. The cost per night varies from donation to 10 Euros, but the cost is generally about 5 euros. While an albergue is basically a hostel, only Camino pilgrims are permitted to stay at albergues. To sign in, you are asked for your “credential.” This is a cardboard folder that has your name, etc. on it, and that you have stamped each place you stay, and sometimes at other churches and sites passes during the day. The stamps on the credential validate that you are a pilgrim walking the Camino, and then you can stay at the albergue, where they stamp your credential when you sign in and pay. We found the albergues clean and basically comfortable, having what was needed.

As you walk the Camino, you get to know some of the people who are walking with you, so we pretty much always knew other people staying at the albergues and there was a sense of always being among friends.

Day 28
July 25
Today we walked from Triacastla to Barbadelo. Barbadelo is just past Sarria. Sarria is just over 100 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela, our destination. To qualify as a pilgrim and receive a compostela, a certificate validating that you have completed the Camino, you must walk at least 100 kilometers. So, Sarria is a common starting point for those doing the 100k Camino. After Sarria, we noticed many people each day that we had not seen before. This was another hot day for walking. As we headed into Barbadelo, it was over 103 degrees on my thermometer. July 25 is the feast day for St. James, the patron Saint of Spain, so there are many festivals to celebrate. In Barbadelo, as we found to be common in Spain, the celebration took place after 10 p.m., which makes it difficult to participate when the albergue is locked at 10. So, we did not celebrate with the local people.

Day 29
July 26
We walked from Barbadelo to Portomarin. This is a community that is now up on a hill, but used to be along side a river. Then the river was turned into a reservoir, and the town was moved up the hill. The church was dismantled, the stone building blocks numbered, and it was reassembled at the new town site. You can still see the numbers on the building stones. We entered the town over a long, high bridge, and then up a steep flight of stairs. We are getting near the end of the Camino, and have a schedule worked out until the end, so are ready to make plans for returning from Santiago to Barcelona, where we fly back to the US. There was internet at the albergue at Portomarin, so we bought our plane tickets from Santiago to Barcelona. This was the best option over train and bus. We booked through Ryanair, on line, in Spanish, which was quite a challenge, but we did it! Then we were told that we would have to print out our boarding passes or be charged 10 euros each for having them printed at the airport. We haven’t seen a printer since we left!

Day 30
July 27
We walked from Portomarin to Palas De Rei. The walk was gently sloping and scenic. Palas De Rei was another fairly sizable town. The albergue had a bar and restaurant. And there was internet access. And the computers had printers. The first we have seen on the Camino,, just when we need one to print out the boarding passes. So, we printed our boarding passes, and it seemed miraculous! The guys has some kind of stewed knuckle for dinner which they found to be delectable. Grateful for our appreciation, the restaurant added liqueur to our dessert with a flourish. Very nice! The Olympics start tonight and we try to figure out how to watch the opening ceremonies. The bar at the albergue is closed, so no TV there, and the albergue is locked at 10 and the ceremonies start at 10:30, so we miss seeing the opening ceremonies. This is disappointing.

Day 31
July 28
We walked from Palas De Rei to Ribadiso. Much of the walking is on woodland pathways. Our ending point for the day turns out to be a very small town. Two albergues. One restaurant. No store. There is a TV at the restaurant, so we are able to watch the Olympics. Jeff eats octopus, a local specialty. We can’t believe how close we are to the end. The beginning was enchanting. The middle seemed endless. The ending seems to be coming at breakneck speed!

Day 32
July 29
We walk from Ribadiso to Arca Do Pino
We are staying mainly at private albergues now because we can make reservations and be sure of all staying together, even though we arrive at different times. It is also busier, the closer we get to Santiago.
Today’s walk is largely though forest and woods. There are many eucalyptus trees, which are raised for use making paper and furniture. The smell is delightful. We have been told that this last section of the Camino is flat. No inclines. Well, whoever said that is not from Florida and has a different definition of flat. We are still going up and down throughout the day on relatively gentle hills and inclines, but it is up and down nonetheless.
Arca Do Pino is another sizable town. We stay at an albergue that is fairly new. There is a soda machine in the main lounge. Most of the soda vending machines that we have seen in Spain have Coke, etc., but also have beer. So you can get a beer out of the soda vending machine. At this albergue, there is a big sign on the vending machine, “Have Beer.” Apparently, there is no beer in this machine, but the algergue has been if you ask at the desk. The sign really means, “We have beer.” But, as we have found again and again in Spain, something is lost in translation!
Our plan is to walk within 5 k of Santiago tomorrow and stay at a huge albergue just outside of the city, then to get up and walk into the city arriving early in the morning. So, only two more days of walking! WOW. That is hard to believe.

Day 33
July 30
We walk from Arca Do Pino through much forested area. There are many more people on the Camino, but it still does not seem crowded by any means. I still go for up to an hour without encountering others. There are many groups of young people and scouts heading to the end. We meet up at Monte del Gozo, the huge albergue that is just 5 k from the outskirts of Santiago. This albergue is really a village. There is a church, a snack stand, a huge sculpture in honor of Pope John Paul II who visited. The albergue has 500 beds. The places we have stayed have accommodated 20, 30, maybe even 100 people, but certainly nothing like 500! After resting and having some food, we discuss our plan to stay here for the night and head to Santiago in the morning. It is only about 1:00 p.m. so we decide to make our way to Santiago today. The five of us walk together the last 5 k into Santiago. We arrive at the plaza outside of the Cathedral. We relish the moment, take pictures. There is a sense of disbelief. Then we head to the Pilgrim office to get our compostelas, the certificates that verify that we have, actually, walked the Camino.
Then we headed to our hotel to dump our bags and refresh ourselves. Then we head back to the cathedral to see the inside, which is spectacular. We see the alleged tomb of St. James and we head up behind the altar to touch the statue of St. James. Then we walk around and check out the town. It is charming. We see people we know from the Way. We begin our transition from pilgrims to tourists. We met a man on the Camino who was from Santiago. We asked him what we should do there. He said, “See the cathedral, eat seafood, and walk the streets of the old town.” So, that’s what we do.

We spend Tuesday in Santiago attending the pilgrim mass at noon and seeing the town. Then on Wednesday, we take the bus to Finesterre, the western most point in Europe, once referred to as the end of the world. Thursday we fly to Barcelona for a week of sightseeing and recuperation. August 9 we fly back to Florida ending a truly amazing journey!