Long Time Since Last Post

Well, I've finally decided to close out my blog. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to finish it, maybe in my mind if I didn't finish the blog I wouldn't have to finish my Camino. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my 33 days of walking across Spain, I truly was a journey of discovery, by that I mean the people I met, both Spaniards and other pilgrims like myself, the country of Spain, in particular the areas such as Galicia, which I felt was the most beautiful of all the areas I traveled.

As I think I've said before, Galicia, it was so beautiful. The climb into the mountains was unlike any other part of the Camino. There was a long climb up to the village of La Faba, initially I had not planned on staying here but it had been raining, I got here about 11 AM, there is a fantastic alburgue which is maintained by a German organization, they didn't open for a couple of hours and I was the first one here, I planted myself for a while, got out of the rain and looked over my options. The next alburgue was O'cebriero where I had planned on getting to, mental debate gong big time, I was just getting ready to head out when some friends showed up, it would be nice to spend some time with them so I decided to stay, I left my backpack at the front of the queue and went up to the village, I ran into other friends and they were heading on up the mountain, I started back to the alburgue to get my pack and go with them, but once there decided agains't it. Finally my mind was made up when the alburgue opened I got first choice on a bunk (first time this had ever happened), got cleaned and organized, someone asked if I wanted to go to the bar and watch the first round match of the World Cup, Switzerland vs Spain, how could I resist! The bar was tiny, about the size of an average living room the TV was a 13 inch, but it was fun, and Switzerland beat Spain! Surprisingly the Spaniards weren't too upset. The next day the climb up to O'cebriero was easier than I had anticipated, everything I had read or heard about this leg spelled suffering. It only took about an hour of uphill, but after walking for a month whats one hour! The village was enclosed by fog which made it mystical and haunting looking. The buildings were made of stone which added to the beauty. After this village it was a walk through the forest then downhill for quite a while.

During this part of the Camino with the World Cup in full swing, it was sometimes a race to the next village for the pilgrims who home country team was playing that day. It was always a party be it Leon, Astorga, never knew I would enjoy soccer so much.

Once we got through the mountains the weather turned warmer during the day but still stayed cold at night. The Camino was more crowded, when I arrived in Portomarin I arrived at a nice private alburgue, checked in and did my chores, about an hour later some German friends arrived, they went to get a bed but it had already filled to capacity. They ended up at the municipal alburgue with a bunch of Spanish teens, noisy is what I was told.

Many of the Spaniards seeking their Compostela walk this leg of the Camino, however for the most part they don't carry their gear, they simply send it ahead by taxi. We learned very quickly to secure accomodations in the future, an Aussie girl who was working in England had a phone so we made reservations for the next night. We thought we would have to be doing this for the remainder of the way, but this was the only time (or maybe one other)we did this. The Spaniards seemed to have specific alburgues they wanted to stay in so we just found others. If one only walks the final 100 km to Santiago the pilgrim needs to get 2 sellos or stamps per day in their passport, but me and my friends that wasn't the case, though we would usually get one because they were so unique, each and every one.

The final day of walking to Santiago really felt strange, it was within reach but at the same time I didn't want it to end, but on the other hand I had accomplished my goal so that was exciting. We started out in the dark and had to walk through a forest, it finally got light when we hit the city limits, Santiago is a big city so it was strange to see it. It was always a treat to run into people you knew, one friend Claire from Scotland I had seen the day bofore, but she kept walking because her and a friend wanted to stop just before Santiago. I thought I wouldn't see her again, but surprise about 5 km before the cathedral there she was! But the biggest surprise was still to come, while waiting to cross the street at a traffic light, the first one I had seen for weeks the Brazilian I had met on day 3 (he with the very bad blisters and had doctors orders to stay in Zubriri to heal) was standing there! At first I didn't recognize him, but I noticed the shirt, Brazil soccer, then glanced at his face, I couldn't believe, he had made it! We all continued on to the cathedral, it is so huge! Everyone was so emotional, smiles, tears, hugs, it all came out. We realizing we made it we headed over to the Compostela office for our certificates, we had walked the Camino de Santiago! I was expecting a huge line but it only took a couple of minutes. The next thing on the agenda was to attend the pilgrims mass at noon, we all wanted to see the swinging of the Botafumerio which is a very large insense burner that is swung inside the cathedral, legend has it, it was designed to hide the odor of the pilgrims arrivng there. But they didn't do it! After mass it was time to search out an alburgue, we had seen some coming into town, we walked back a couple of km and ended up in a brand new facility. we were some of the very few that stayed there. If I have the opportunity to do it again I will stay in the city center, there are older Spanish ladies who rent rooms out of their homes, this would have been a better alternative, it got old walking the half hour back and forth to the alburgue, I stayed in Santiago for 3 days before heading to Madrid then on to Germany


The last leg into Santiago was bittersweet. On one hand I was looking forward to finishing, I had walked 790 kilometers! Not an easy feat! Life on the camino was simple, get up, start walking, rest a bit, walk some more, rest, walk and arrive in another village, check into the alburgue, rest and spend time with friends, sleep, get up and do it all over again. After 33 days I looked forward to the reward of arriving and getting to enjoy the shared joy of accomplishment with the friends I had walked with, talked with, suffered with, laughed with, sweated with, you name it with. Thats the part I didn't want to end, the friendships of the camino are special in that it is such a unique journey, nothing else in the world compares. Not a day goes by that I don't have a special memory come to mind of someone I walked with, I would name them here but there are so many, most have been mentioned before but I don't want to miss someones name so I will keep those as memories, plus we all have Facebook!

The next 3 days were spent resting, saying hello and goodbye to amigos and amigas of the camino. We watched the World Cup soccer matches, took photos, attended a street party, I guess in some ways we were trying to hang onto each other and at the same time looking forward to getting on with our lives. I made plans to visit friends in Germany, I went to Bingen near Frankfurt and spent time with Sylvia and her family then went on to Rosenheim to visit Roland and also went to Munich to visit Judith. I finally returned At this point I was ready to return home, I had had enough of not sleeping in the same place for more than a couple of nights in row, of living out of a backpack, wearing the same clothes for 2 months. I also felt a bit lonely because of the special bond I had made with so many people on my Camino, I missed that and longed to just get back to a somewhat normal routine.

So if anyone reads this, I hope you enjoy it, it was fun to do and if you ever get a chance to do something unique I highly recommend keeping a blog, you'll be glad you did!

Buen Camino and Adios amigos!