Reflections

Well it is nearly a month since I returned from Santiago de Compostela.  It is still too early to say in some ways, if , and what I learned from the experience.  Walking for days on end is a curious experience.  Not always how you imagine it.  Over time, fatigue takes over the early energetic, enthusiasm at the offset, so a certain amount of rhythm and habit kicks in, giving way to a progressive evolution of emotions.  The closer the destination comes into focus, there is change again--the desire to reach the goal mixed with the sadness that it is all about to end.  Yet for the pilgrim, constant is the overriding metaphor--life as pilgrimage.

I am still limping slightly, especially if I am tired or am on my feet too much, or overexert myself--I never really stayed off my feet to rest them when I returned to Paris (no small wonder!), so I don't think that helped.  My MBT (Masai Barefoot Technology) sandals do seem to help--those shoes with the funny curved bottoms that are supposed to help your posture by mimicking the walk of the Masai. I think just wearing different shoes help, as does going barefoot.  Pounding the pavement, however, does not.

As for the errant walking stick, it turned up at my doorstep two days later, undamaged.  The so-called low-cost airline had to pay a high price for leaving without the cargo, and for making me check the stick which collapsed so conveniently into my backpack. . .

I have so many photos that creating an online photobook seems a prohibitively expensive prospect which I'll have to forgo--I've had most of them developed and just put them in two regular photo albums!  I have nearly 400 of them.  Flipping through them, in more or less chronological order, helps bring back the memories of each mile of my journey. . .  And the Galician countryside was truly beautiful (thank goodness it didn't RAIN!) 

I've uploaded all of them to Flickr, so if you're interested, I can add you as a "friend" and you can view them--just email me and let me know. . .

If I were to do this again, I would be sure NEVER to walk over 15 kilometers a day--that seemed to be my limit.  And no morning walks before 8:30 a.m.  It would have been good to have scheduled a couple of extra days of  NOTHING, so that it would allow more flexibility in my schedule.  For example, walking a 10 km day would give me an opportunity to do the 2.5 km deviation off the Camino to see a small church with spectacular frescoes without having to think of it as 5 extra kilometers to walk!  Sometimes these little spur of the moment detours can be the most rewarding. . .

As for the final stretch to Santiago, where there is a paucity of albergues, it would have been best to stay in a small hotel.  Even the nice looking Hotel Amenal where I stopped for breakfast at 7 a.m. on my final day of walking, still a kilometer outside Lavacolla and putting me close to my 15 km limit, would have been preferable to the long haul from O Pedrouzo.  Also it would have been helpful to have obtained a decent map of Santiago beforehand to check out the exact locations of the prospective albergues relative to the historic center of the city!  Unfortunately, it seems the only "streetplan" on Amazon seems to be out-of-print!

All in all, it was a GREAT experience, and I'm glad I did it. 

To watch a video version of my Sarria to Santiago de Compostela experience, click here. 
 

Day 9 : Santiago de Compostela to Paris

Well here's the blog sans photos--my micro SD card is full!  I left early in the morning, intending to take a cab, but the women at front desk convinced me the the airport bus, at EUR 3, was a better deal, and was within walking distance.  I made it to the Praza de Galicia (a rather large circle or round-about) only having to ask for directions once, and managed to spot the bus as it arrived. This was  fortunate because the bus stop location wasn't clearly indicated on my map!


I did take one photo of an airport restaurant where I had breakfast and wished I had discovered when I originally arrived in Santiago.  It never occurred to me to check out the departures lounge. When waiting for the bus to take me to Lugo, and then to Sarria, I had lunch in an Italian cafe...


 The fact that this is a pulperia is a give-away that this is a Galician place serving octopus. . .

After checking in, I returned to check-in because this time I was unable to carry on my walking stick.  I had no trouble carrying on a tiny Swiss folding knife with scissors, but a collapsible cane is apparently a no-no, even if it was inside my backpack.

Inside the gate area there were a few interesting shops and places to eat--a good thing because I was early and my flight was delayed a half hour.  And since Vueling Airlines is a low-cost, pay individually for everything airline, I decided to have lunch at the airport where the food had the potential of being better.

The 2-hour flight was uneventful--I managed miraculously to have an aisle seat--until my arrival in Charles de Gaulle.  Apparently the plane had managed to take off without the cargo--so no walking stick!  I have dutifully filled out the required paperwork, but feel it could have been a lot worse.  Even if I lose it, my total losses (except for  the EUR 22 that I wasted on a Spanish SIM card) probably only include 2 pair of errant underwear and an stray earring.  One poor Belgian couple that I had accompanied into Santiago yesterday found out, 7 days into their Camino, that their house had been broken into and their safe and valuables taken.  Although it wouldn't cover everything, they did have insurance, so they decided to deal with it on their return since this trip had been planned for some time.

Day 8 : O Pedrouzo to Santiago

Today was grueling--there is no other word for it. I started out at 5:30 a.m. which should have allowed plenty of time to walk the 18.5 km to Santiago, plus an extra 1/4 km since the albergue was off-route.  I  had both my headlamp on and the flashlight mode on my cell phone activated, and there was a long winding route through the woods in the dark.  The trees appeared to be all eucalyptus and pine, and very tall.  Very spooky. 

An hour and a half later, at a break in the forest, I stumbled upon a lovely hotel restaurant in the village Amenal and had some breakfast, as I had only had hot chocolate from my auberge vending machine. I met a couple of American women from Arizona in the restaurant as I was leaving. Sometime later I was joined by a Mexican couple but lost them along the way when more Spanish-speaking people appeared. Unfortunately the were no photos for about 3 hours, due to the pre-dawn hours, but the terrain was mostly wooded, anyway, which I've photographed before.

Santiago bas relief in the dark

 

little crosses woven into the chain-link fence along the way

The frustrating thing is that the markers with the city names and mileage petered out at some point making it difficult to judge distances. It may be because the trail was re-routed 6 km out of the way when the Santiago/Lavacolla airport was constructed.

I stopped at a cafe/albergue near the little church below and noted the coins (mostly Euro 1,2 and 5 cent pieces) wedged in between the stones.  When finally in Santiago I  visited two more restaurants with the same phenomena.  I asked if it was done for luck, and was told it was just done for remembrance sake.

After passing through San Paio, I arrived at the village of Lavacolla. I understand that the meaning of the word "Lavacolla", put politely, meant to wash your backside.  Medieval pilgrims didn't bathe very often, but would stop here and wash up before their final journey to the cathedral.

I continued on through the villages of Villamaior and San Marcos trudging uphill towards the Monte de Gozo--"Mount Joy."   Here pilgrims once had a panoramic view of the city, perhaps even seeing the Cathedral. Today it has been flattened somewhat and is dominated by an immense statue commemorating Pope John-Paul II's visit there in 1993.  At the same time an enormous albergue/pilgrim complex that can accommodate up to 3000 people was built with shops, restaurants, cafe/bars, etc.  Unfortunately there is a lack of albergues between O Pedrouzo and Santiago, and this location would have been perfect as it is just some 4.5 km from Santiago, but I couldn't see myself staying in such a place.

The monument at Monte de Gozo

View from Monte de Gozo

Since I had been walking uphill for a considerable distance, I considered the medieval pilgrim of custom of walking barefoot from here to Santiago, thought about switching from hiking shoes to my more sandal-like shoes, but decided to just continue on instead, limping into the outskirts of the city, counting the minutes.  It was several kilometers to the city center and there was no way I would make the pilgrim mass at noon.  I finally reached the Cathedral at 12:30 pm.!

Heading down toward the city form Monte de Gozo

Pilgrim knight

Don't know what this means, but these effigies were outside a house on the way into Santiago

And here it is--the Cathedral--I tried to block out the scaffolding!

Saying that the Santiago Cathedral is ornate is an understatement--part Romanesque, part Baroque--it is quite imposing.  Since I was too late for the pilgrim mass, I inquired about accommodations at the Seminario Menor (too expensive) and settled on a cute albergue called The Last Stamp in the old quarter around the Cathedral.  I had spotted the albergue I had reserved on the way into Santiago and there was no way I was going to hobble back two kilometres to where it was located.

Galician bagpipes (Gaita)

After dropping off my packpack, I headed for the Cathedral to greet the statue of Saint James and check out his alleged remains, and went next door to the Pilgrim Office to pick up my Compostela certificate.

 

As you can see, the blank pages are now filled with sellos (stamps)

And here is the precious Compostella, still written in Latin

The main altar of the Cathedral

The huge botafumeiro--the world's biggest censor

 

At 6:30 pm I was ready for dinner, planning on making it for the 7:30 pm mass, but was told that dinner wasn't served until after 8 pm! Not even the special so-called pilgrim meals.  Disappointed, I had coffee and the almond flavored tarte de Santiago, and waited until I heard the chimes announcing the mass, finally eating around 8:15 pm.  The mass I attended was in Castilian, not that I remember very much Spanish, but the only other option was the 6 pm Galician one, so at least I had a fighting chance.

 

Living pilgrim "statue"

Much is made of the Botafumiero, the huge censor that is used on important religious days, usually about 30 a year, with the exception of special Holy Years. There is a lengthy article in Wikipedia for those interested in reading about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botafumeiro

In the Old Testament, incense was an offering pleasing to God, and in the fifth chapter of the apocalyptic book of Revelation in the New Testament, it represents the prayers of the saints, an aroma pleasing to God. Because of its extreme popularity, some groups are willing to pay the EUR 250, needed to pay for the charcoal, incense and the salaries of the 8 men needed to operate it,

Medieval pilgrim garb was for sale

A life-size replica of the Botafumiero in a silver shop

Santiago alive at 9:30 pm with people still checking out restaurants

"I had always believed, and continue to believe, really, that there is no more beautiful square in the world than the one in Siena.  The only place that made me doubt its authority as the most beautiful square is the one in Santiago de Compostela.  Its poise and its youthful air prohibit you from even thinking about its venerable age; instead, it looks as if it had been built the day before by someone who had lost their sense of time."

 --Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Day 7 : Salceda to O Pedrouzo

In some ways it was difficult leaving the Albergue Touristica Pousada de Salceda because of a congenial group of pilgrims, and a pleasant rural setting, despite the annoying lack of a decent wifi signal, hence no blog. I have had no luck connecting with my friend Rhonda either, so I hope all is well...

Not long after Salceda there was a bronze plaque to a fallen British pilgrim, William Watt, who, I believe, died of a heart attack in 1993, only a day away from his goal.  I have encountered a few other similar memorials to others who have recently died along the route, but, of course, during the middle ages hundreds of thousands died, and the ruins of past hospitals and hospices which once lined the route are still occasionally evident. 

 My start was a late one, and after a lengthy walk  the day before, this was supposed to be a leasurely one. All of the guidebooks seem to count the mileage differently, though, and today's shorter walk felt longer than I had anticipated. The place I was planning on staying was in O Pedrouzo, but the maps along the way were a little confusing, especially since my albergue was slightly off the Camino. Since The signage had been a bit confusing where two Germans had been hit on a major road in Santa Irene, l  was a little aprehensive.

near where the Germans were killed trying to decide to take a tunnel near the highway

my destination is not here but should be and "you are here" is not properly marked!

more confusing maps--the yellow line is the trail

 Fortunately, a lovely older Australian woman, whom I had met at dinner the evening before, accompanied me almost all the way to my albergue.  One of the reasons I was flagging was that one of my ankles started to give me problems. Immediately after dropping my backpack at my destination, I headed directly to the pharmacy for an ankle brace...

Since I have long trek scheduled for tomorrow and hope to make it to the pilgrim mass at noon, I decided to take it easy and rest up.  This meant I decided to skip the pilgrim mass this evening at 6 p.m.  I did attend one such mass at Palas de Rei with a Danish woman, and would have liked to have gone again to compare notes, but making it to Santiago is more  important! 

 From the outside the auberge looks like nothing special, but  it has some interesting accoutrements that most others have not had thus far including a foot massaging machine, a refrigerator, two microwave ovens, a coffee and soda machine, and a HOT SANDWICH machine! There are adequate outlets in the bedrooms and cloth sheets and pillowcases (as many use disposable ones). There are also shelves to put stuff on in the bathrooms. The 5 star one in Palas de Rei was deficient here!

Albergue Edreira

bedroom

foot massager

hot sandwich machine

More scallop shell motifs

 

Day 6 : Boente to Salceda

Well, for those of you following this blog daily, I apologize for yesterday's lack of a strong signal and the inability to publish my usual missive! 

without headlamp

Instead of starting in compete darkness as I had the previous day, I waited until almost 8:15 a.m.--still not quite daylight, but permitting some visibility without a headlamp. The road wound through more lovely woodlands, then countryside dotted with occasional farmhouses, then suddenly an almost suburban village!  Sometimes the path seems so remote, yet at times I am aware that there a major road nearby.

this, too, is the Camino

cow crossing

Ribadiso de Baixo

morning mist

cows sunbathing

I reached the good-sized town of Arzua too early for lunch, so just stopped at a supermarket briefly, and continued on. Arzua is known for its cheese, so I had to try some. It is a busy place as it is here that the Camino Frances connects with the Camino of the North.

 

way markers in the pavement

backpack transport for the weary

back street leaving Arzua

This proved a long stretch of the Camino for me, and I was very happy to discover a cafe/bar in Calzada, where I caught up with a few familiar faces, including an older German woman I had a good conversation with in the albergue in Boente.
 

outside of Arzua

chicken empanada

cafe/bar in Cazada with a small grocery store and gift shop!

It is here that I almost got lost again. A German man and I somehow missed a trailmarker the day before and we went about half a kilometre hors piste before a local alerted us to our error. My second error, below, may have been encouraged by locals, however, as one house even had a map attached to the gatepost of his yard, and another a small wooden hand-made sign. A woman driving past me told me that I had missed my turn, but I used the "map" I had photographed to find my way back.

It has occurred to me that some villages like Furlos or Ribadiso are picturesque enough to be artists colonies, and that their potential is not nearly exploited enough given the current state of the Spanish economy. And when I saw the advertising for the construction company pictured below complete with "before and after" photos, I thought of all the old buildings I had seen with "for sale" signs along the Camino...Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Oprah's people have been spotted in Santiago and Asturias...