Sarria

You are probably wondering how I suddenly have time to post! Well, I´m trying to have a rest day in Sarria. I have approximately 5 days walking to Santiago and whilst I would love to explore the beaches after, I really want to go slow and catch up with those behind me. This morning we were awoken by a cd of church bells and birds tweeting. Nice touch, monks!! The sun has come back so I´m happy too. Ciao for now!

Don Elias Valiña Sampedro

In one of my photos there is a bust of a man, Don Elias Valiña Sampedro, who was the parish priest at O Cebreiro from 1959 until his death in 1989 who took it upon himself to restore the church and the ancient hospital (now the Hostal San Giraldo de Aurillac). During his studies at la Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca he wrote a thesis on the Camino’s history. He promoted this thesis at various universities across Europe and promoting the Camino de Santiago. Even more remarkable it what he did next. If you were wondering how the signs and markers that point the way on the Camino de Santiago came about then look no further than Don Elias Valiña Sampedro. This amazing man decided to undertake the Camino but found that many of the original paths had virtually disappeared, on his trip he decided to write a book and his Camino guide book was published in 1982. It was then in 1984, along with his nephews, that he started to mark the entire Camino with the big yellow arrows you see today with yellow paint he managed to commandeer from the Spanish department of transport. In 1985 he became a member of the Comisario del Camino de Santiago who were tasked with promoting the Camino and getting others involved and from this came the association known as Amigos del Camino de Santiago (Friends of the Camino). To give you an idea of just how important this man was you just have to look at the numbers who now undertake the Camino. In the early 70’s less than 10 Compostelanas were issued, in 1989 when Pope John Paul II visits Santiago over 5,700 Compostelanas were given out and it is estimated that in the holy year of 2010 over 300,000 pilgrims will have received one of these hard earned certificates.

lunes el 6 agosto

Today I wanted to go slow and I didn´t get far anyway. Leaving fairly late at 7.30 due to the fog, I descended the mountain under the mist. Nothin´ wild (!)was happening until I took a wrong turn down a country track. The route in Galicia is very poorly waymarked. A farmer on his tractor told me I was going the wrong way but I didn´t want to go back uphill so I said I´d carry on and he said okay. I sped off like a demon. It would be okay, it´s all downhill, right? Wrong!! I could see a road but I would have had to swim across a river so I told myself off and went back up. Luckily I saved face as the farmer was not about. This morning I kept criss-crossing a pair of wideboys from Madrid ' we kept laughing at how many times we were saying ´buen camino´ to each other. They were actually pissing me off at first because they were playing the radio, awful Pitbull music really loudly at 8am!! Just not necessary on a walk chicos. I stopped at a beautiful modern cafe and met a lovely woman from Montreal called Renee. A teacher, dur, but in a previous job she had a company making clothes for amputees. I have met a lot of people who have been involved in charitable type jobs. I keep bumping into people from a few days ago and it is really nice to catch up. Whilst sat on a wall at Triacastela, putting my factor 50 on, I met a girl called Salma from Columbia and we bonded over our high factor needs! She is an actress working in a theatre in Barcelona and we have just the spend the whole day together. Coming into Samos was tough, I have tendonitis (self-diagnosed) at the top of my foot and my knee is not too clever either. I blame downhills. Seeing our destino in the valley below was certainly ´vale la pena´as it was a detour of an extra 6k and some hills

. Tonight we are in Samos, staying in one of Spain´s oldest and biggest monestaries. It is donativo. We put our washing out where we could (mine on top of a bush) and sat in the sun with a fantastic meal (€9) and some Spaniards- rainbow salad, meat stew and homemade fries followed by a delicious Tarta de Santiago. Washed down with a bottle of red, porque no?! Aah it´s tough at the top. Later we took a tour of the monestary - photos on picasa. Salma went to mass and I went to the supermarket for tomorrow´s breakfast and now I´m sat in a Galician/Celtic bar with some red and free tapas. Not too shabby!!

To Triacastela

Man I´m annoyed my posts don´t have paragraphs, after painstakingly putting them in!!! Herrerias - Alto de Poio A mist hung over the mountains that I was to go over so I decided to leave a little later so there would be some light. There´s nothing like climbing 600m first thing in the morning (!) I came across a couple, him running and her on the bike with their things. I don´t know who got the raw deal there. Crossing into Galicia, I was definitely entering a very different Spain. It is very like rural Ireland, from the manure on the road, the smell of peat burning, farmers leading their cattle down the road and little dogs yapping. Ha ha. The only difference is that the cattle wear bells. The weather is cooler and I have been cursing myself for sending home my warm rain jacket. I don´t really remember walking today, my feet etc are all conditioned to it by now. I could walk about 40 every day now but I am way ahead of schedule so I´m trying to slow down. It´s difficult to stop yourself when you are flying along. The views have been worth this morning´s climb. Tonight I am staying at a very high point of the route 1337m and it´s very chilly at night without a jumper! I ate what I will call peasant food and it was delicious. I have become very lazy when it comes to ordering. Tonight i had ´meat and potatores´' I didn´t even bother to ask what kind of meat but it had obviously been stewing for hours in a great sauce. Makes a change from fried stuff. Now that I don´t have to cover up the old sunburn I want the sun to come out! I really miss some of the friends I have made along the way and I wonder if they are ahead or behind me.

The big one

Astorga-Acebo.
40km. Over. A. Fucking. Mountain. The best day so far!!

Started out under a full moon. Bumped into friendly Glaswegian I keep seeing (must be roughly at the same pace), he is walking in a kilt. I didn´t ask too many questions.

Really got ahead of the pack today, zero body complaints. Miracle. I feel I could walk on an on. And so I did. Up into the mountains where I met Jin, a SK who had studied in Nantes. We had a great day laughing about how we were turning French with our ep noises. The path was incredibly beautiful. We had lunch out in the sun with Elvis on the radio. Soo soo good. She also fixed me up with some safety pins as the zip of my craghoppers broke this morning. I tell everyone who asks that my knee needs ventilating or it will seize up. They believe it as well.
As I reached the highest point of the whole camino 1515m, I decided to ignore the cross on top of a pile of rocks until some American (from SF, claro!) insisted I go up. He was cycling from Lisbon to Frankfurt.
Onwards I went until a reached the place I wanted to sleep. I REALLY needed the loo so I dove straight into the albergue and asked for a bed. I should have looked around first as I would have realised that I should have kept on walking. The ´hippies´ running the ´shack´, as it turned out to be, laughed when I asked them ¿tiene una cama? BTW I saw about 15 flags outside, you don´t often see that so I must have been tricked into thinking I was staying in a 5* hotel. They half smiled at me and said "Nooooo.... mattresses.. I played along with the joke, even as they said "y no duchas". Thank god I asked to see the room first - they pointed to a cowshed that was partitioned - cattle on one side, mattresses on the other. No one was there either. I needed to make a quick getaway si I politely said, "No hay gente, voy a continuar" and ran off down the road. It was 4pm and 10k from the next sign of life. Toilet or no toilet I HAD to make it to somewhere better. It should have been an easy 10k but it was partly on asphalt (hard on the feet) and then on rocks most of the way down. To get me through it I began to sing, random songs, over and over such as "I am the music man..", "The Grand Old Duke of York" etc. Hmm... Seeing the town of Acebo over the ridge of the mountain was a real ´hallelujah´moment. After 11-12 hours walking I arrived about 6pm and bumped into the Glaswegian and a Swedish guy I had met earlier. So nice to see familiar faces! I have to say my dinner that night was awful. A plate of peas to start, barbecued steak covered in oil and then a tin of fruit cocktail. A SK guy I had dinner with was in hysterics as I tried to hide my feelings from the waitress. The wine was horrendous too. Anyhoo, catching up with the others, they were having a delicious dinner outside and were staying in a fancy casa rural. To cut a short story long I was NOT well after my meal and had to delay leaving as I got no sleep at all. In the morning I was really upset to not find my walking stick and as everyone else had left I was cursing the bastard peregrino that had stolen it. A real Castaway moment, Nooooo, Wilson!!! Seriously. So when I spotted him propped up at the bar where I had left him I could have cried. The first thing I saw as well was a face in one of the knots. Ha ha, I´ll get a photo to prove it. I arrived in Ponferrada on Friday (even more beautiful city - the castle reminded me of Angers) . Did about 37k. There was no way I was going to stay in an Albergue as I was still feeling rough. On my phone I booked a room at a Parador in Villafranca and it was one of the best decisions ever!! Google paradores and you will see why. This morning I ordered breakfast in my room and seriously overfaced myself!!! I had to haul ass (literally) up a mountain straight after but it was so worth it. I am staying tonight in the mountains (3k from the border with Galicia). The power has been going off intermittently and I thought I was not going to get my dinner (think Dougal getting his steak taken away from him). So I proceeded to drink vino tinto in compensation. When the power came back on and it did arrive I was like a pig at the trough jeje.

Best bits

I can´t really put into words how special this trip has been. I don´t know if it´s the physical challenge, the amazing beauty of the place, the people I am making instant friends with or what! But I feel like I am really living in the moment and my head is really clear. Best bits... When you don´t eat for hours, food tastes divine! Especially the juicy fruit which I am devouring! Finding a potential seat (even if it is just the shadow of a tractor) when you have been walkng for hours. Talking to a new friend when you have been lost in your own thoughts for an hour. Seeing a yellow arrow or a concha (shell) when you are sure you must be on the wrong path. Finding a water fountain (fuente) when you are running low. Finding a new path which is on natural ground, not asphalt! The challenge of walking uphill. Watching the beautiful butterflies and smelling the pine/eucalyptus. The cheap local wine (€1-€1.30 a pop). I will have to pack a few bottles, Ryanair or no Ryanair!! The locals coming up to you for a chat. Bumping into a friend from days ago, ones you never thought you would see again. Walking at 5am under the moonlight and actually seeing the stars. Watching the moon go down as the sun rises. I was lucky enough to see the full moon. Watching the sunset from the mountains with a glass of wine and good company. Getting a bottom bunk. Sleeping like a baby at 10pm. Pushing yourself to your physical limits. Stuffing your face on tapas. Enough said. Reaching medieval villages you would never have seen otherwise. Always finding a place to stay. Becoming more tolerant. Of flies (I don´t even bat them away now!). Of snoring. Of peregrino menus (€8). Cheap, but sometimes below the usual Spanish standard it has to be said. Taking your boots and socks off at breakfast-lunch-breaks. Dipping them into a stream. Being able and enjoying wakling 30km+ a day. Cafe con leche and pain au chocolat for breakfast no.2 at 9am. You know it makes sense! Plus the pains here are A5 size and come with cutlery. Just what the doctor ordered?! Hmm. Being free to walk as slow/fast/far as you like. On your own, as a pair, group... Not wearing a watch. And not so great... Walking downhill. A nightmare - rocks and pebbles galore so you have to go about 1km an huor. The pain in your knees.

Photo album

https://picasaweb.google.com/108778662763047991495/CaminoSoFar Fingers crossed this link works

Astorga

I was on a real mission to reach Astorga. We set off early and as I font have a watch I would guess it was 530. We walked for an hour in the darkness across cornfields. In the distance I can see an outline of the Picos de Europa.

I reached Hospital at 9, 3 and half hours walking, to have breakfast pñ a terrace overlooking a medieval bridge. Apparently it was defended by a knight who inspired Don Quioxite.

The villages past here have had a timeless feel - many of the houses are made of earth and need a new layer every year. Some have been built into the hillsides, a bit like a hobbit's place?

I flew up the hill today, overtaking everyone - I feel like I am wearing the yellow jersey. Well, a scarf at least! I look ridiculous but nobody cares.

Tbc.... I have a curfew lol

Suddenly the landscape has become very green (mmm Eucalyptus), we must be getting close to Galicia! I can see tomorrow´s montanas ahead of me but I´m really looking forward to it. In the middle of nowhere today, I came across a shack with a stall of fruit and drink. The two young hippies who were running it (giving everything away for free) live outside and have been doing this as a service to peregrinos for 3 years. I donated some money for the fruit I took. The last 3km today were extremely tough coming into the city, as usual. Walking from 5.30 - 2.30 is quite a long time! But, if you don´t walk, no-one is going to carry you. Believe it or not, there are actually no buses on the camino because most of it is off-road. Astorga is (boringly for you) yet another beautiful and historic city. Of course, these cities grew from the importance of the camino. It seems to be famous for its chocolate but I have resisted the signs for churros.

Saturday

Trying to write this blog retrospectively is really difficil, so I must make an effort to do it every day. So much happens in 24 hours, it feels like yesterday was a week ago.

At this very moment I am in a hamlet called Herrerias, a few km from the Castilla y León/ Galician border. I am making very good progress - too good and I need to slow down but it's tricky when you are enjoying walking so much.

So.. to take you back a few days.

I reached Astorga after 38km on a swelteringly hot day. I posted a photo of myself looki.g down on the city beside a cross. You may have noticed I am EXTREMELY covered up. No, it was not cold (36c), I was merely perfecting the art of being an English rose. I am sunburnt on my chest, shoulders, legs, arms... So I am wearing the silk yellow liner as a scarf.