Finisterre to Muxia along the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death) called this because of the high loss of life in shipwrecks from days gone by and more recently from oil spills. It is hard to find words that do justice to the beauty of the coast and to this part of the walk. The serenity of this section was a welcome change from the busyness of Finisterre. There were many small villages along the way but not one cafe. Lots of farm land, wandering dogs and thin cats. It was an easy walk with only one hill to speak of, green forest and the occasional cow. I did make a wrong turn just a few km from town. After crossing a small creek while balancing on a fallen tree (walking sticks are wonderful) I soon realized that the field I was in was not the path. I could see signs of trails so I trekked on. After climbing over a stonewall which I realized might not have been the best idea out in the middle of nowhere, I decided I was in too deep now to turn around. It occurred to me that the trails I saw may have been animal trails, not human's, as they got smaller with every step. After climbing over a second stonewall I was now in a field of thorny bushes, fortunately wearing long pants. Almost there now, one more wall and I was on the road. Which road I wasn't sure but a road nonetheless. A farmer in a nearby field directed me (in Spanish) to another road and in no time I was back on the trail.
Muxia is a small fishing village with a mix of very old stone homes and some newer buildings all mixed together. Town planning for lining up the streets has not been thought of. Each street is a different width, some big enough for cars, some not.
After performing my pilgrim chores done for the last time (hotels after this) I joined some pilgrims for cafe con leche at the seaside. Even though we had only passed on the walk, we sit together as old friends, very enjoyable. My reputation as a fast walker continues and a German couple describe my walking style as that of a sewing machine, we all laugh. The young couple are traveling with her parents who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary by having their 15th Camino walk, this time from Santiago to Muxia, some 120 km!
I'm off to watch the sun set. Buenos noches.
[948 km logged with the pack]
Monday, 1 October 2012
Sunday, 30 September 2012
Cee - 52 km, Finisterre 19 km
Saturday - Negreira to Cee 52 km. I started my walk feeling a little miserable in the morning. I stayed at a municipal albergue with people that I had no connection with. A group of young people that had been traveling together for weeks, a couple of quiet young men that looked like they hadn't washed their clothes in weeks and a loud man who had too much to drink (for too many days) complaining about the 'death of the Camino', criticizing pilgrims who use cell phones and listen to music. I walked through quiet forest paths and sometimes along the sides of roads where cars travel at high speed. Fortunately by the time I had my second cafe con leche the world was looking to be a better place. The suggested route for the day was a 33 km leg. I got there by 2:30 had an hour long break and decided that the sea was calling me. It was only 19 km more so off I headed for a glorious walk on my own. Fields of purple and yellow wildflowers and the scent of thyme made the walk spectacular. Quite high up at this point and surrounded by wind turbines it was indeed very windy. For the first time in this trip I had to use my scarf to hold down my wide-brimmed hat. Feeling somewhat like Little Bo-peep on I walked. When I first caught sight of the ocean I was ecstatic. The extra mileage was totally worth it. I arrived in Cee, had a lovely walk along the waters edge and a delicious long sleep.
Sunday - Finesterre. 19 km. The walk into Finisterre was beautiful. I stopped first in Cee for a coffee then walked 2.5 km to next town and stopped for a second coffee this time on a terrace overlooking the sea. After getting a bed and having my clothes washed in a machine ( a pilgrim luxury) I walked the final 3.5 km to what was once known as 'the end of the earth' in medieval times. The walk toward the faro was emotional as I sensed the end of a very long journey. After spending some quiet time overlooking the ocean I walked back to the alburgue and down to the beach for a long barefoot walk letting the waves soothe my feet and ankles.
Finisterre is a tourist hub and in that sense a little bit of an odd ending to the journey I have been on. Four tour buses passed me on the way down from the lighthouse.
Tomorrow I plan to walk on to Muxia a 29 km journey (or 31 km depending what map you read) before I take an early morning bus on Tuesday back to Santiago to meet Qi. It will be my first wheeled transportation in over a month.
Sunday - Finesterre. 19 km. The walk into Finisterre was beautiful. I stopped first in Cee for a coffee then walked 2.5 km to next town and stopped for a second coffee this time on a terrace overlooking the sea. After getting a bed and having my clothes washed in a machine ( a pilgrim luxury) I walked the final 3.5 km to what was once known as 'the end of the earth' in medieval times. The walk toward the faro was emotional as I sensed the end of a very long journey. After spending some quiet time overlooking the ocean I walked back to the alburgue and down to the beach for a long barefoot walk letting the waves soothe my feet and ankles.
Finisterre is a tourist hub and in that sense a little bit of an odd ending to the journey I have been on. Four tour buses passed me on the way down from the lighthouse.
Tomorrow I plan to walk on to Muxia a 29 km journey (or 31 km depending what map you read) before I take an early morning bus on Tuesday back to Santiago to meet Qi. It will be my first wheeled transportation in over a month.
Friday, 28 September 2012
Negreira -23 km Camino Finisterre
I'm on the road again, this time walking from Santiago to Muxia (north of Finisterre). As many of you likely know my good friend Qi will be joining me next Tuesday when we will walk from Santiago to Finisterre before we visit Portugal. Since I arrived in Santiago a week ahead of schedule I had the choice of either traveling around in a more conventional manner before Qi arrives, basically being a tourist in Spain or continuing to walk. Since I am in walking mode, and clearly not outfitted for swanky city living I decided to keep walking, pretty much my favorite thing to do anyway.
This part of Spain, known as Galicia is quite different from earlier days. I'm sitting at an outdoor cafe on a busy corner where it must be rush hour as an endless stream of traffic goes by. Other pilgrims have come from many different routes, not just the Camino Frances that I took. I have seen no familiar faces since I began earlier today. I have heard that only 1% of pilgrims actually continue on to Finisterre, though it seems busy enough as the municipal alberque that I am staying in was full about an hour after I arrived.
The weather in Galicia is known to be misty, with frequent rain, as I discovered earlier this week on my walk toward Santiago. Today is gloriously sunny, with a strong breeze that seemed to have whipped up after I arrived in Negreira. This is a good thing for a pilgrim because it pretty much ensures that your clothes will dry. This fact reminds me that the life of a pilgrim is a simple one. With the only daily concern being to walk, find a bed, shower, do laundry and eat, life has much fewer details to worry about. It makes me wonder why I spend time when at home, worrying over so many little things. I make a promise to myself to be mindful of this when I resume a non-pilgrim lifestyle.
Being a pilgrim allows one to take pleasure in the most simple things: a hot shower after a walk (you often hear people moaning in the shower, it's hard not to laugh sometimes), a cup of coffee and food to replenish your hungry body, a pillow to lay your head on, these are luxuries for a pilgrim. Oh, I forgot to mention the pleasure of finding wifi so the pilgrim can pass on the experience :-).
I haven't decided how far to go tomorrow, this part of the Camino has bigger gaps between the towns and villages and in this case a long stretch without food. I'll let you know how I make out when I find wifi again.
A big congratulations to all of the CRR Army runners and good luck to those running PEC this weekend!
This part of Spain, known as Galicia is quite different from earlier days. I'm sitting at an outdoor cafe on a busy corner where it must be rush hour as an endless stream of traffic goes by. Other pilgrims have come from many different routes, not just the Camino Frances that I took. I have seen no familiar faces since I began earlier today. I have heard that only 1% of pilgrims actually continue on to Finisterre, though it seems busy enough as the municipal alberque that I am staying in was full about an hour after I arrived.
The weather in Galicia is known to be misty, with frequent rain, as I discovered earlier this week on my walk toward Santiago. Today is gloriously sunny, with a strong breeze that seemed to have whipped up after I arrived in Negreira. This is a good thing for a pilgrim because it pretty much ensures that your clothes will dry. This fact reminds me that the life of a pilgrim is a simple one. With the only daily concern being to walk, find a bed, shower, do laundry and eat, life has much fewer details to worry about. It makes me wonder why I spend time when at home, worrying over so many little things. I make a promise to myself to be mindful of this when I resume a non-pilgrim lifestyle.
Being a pilgrim allows one to take pleasure in the most simple things: a hot shower after a walk (you often hear people moaning in the shower, it's hard not to laugh sometimes), a cup of coffee and food to replenish your hungry body, a pillow to lay your head on, these are luxuries for a pilgrim. Oh, I forgot to mention the pleasure of finding wifi so the pilgrim can pass on the experience :-).
I haven't decided how far to go tomorrow, this part of the Camino has bigger gaps between the towns and villages and in this case a long stretch without food. I'll let you know how I make out when I find wifi again.
A big congratulations to all of the CRR Army runners and good luck to those running PEC this weekend!
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Monte do Gozo - 66 km, Santiago - 6.6 km
Tuesday - Monte de Gozo 66 km. The day started off innocently enough with the intention of walking 31 km to Arzua. The weather forecast rain during the day so my walking companion and I had decided to sleep early and rise early to miss some of the predicted rain. My head hit the pillow at 8:15 pm (Monday), in less than a minute I was fast asleep until my alarm sounded at 4:30 am. I jumped out of bed, eager to be ready on time and proudly emerged dressed and packed in ten minutes flat. It was only then that I heard the sound of pouring rain lashing against the window. Back to bed for an hour (not such a hardship) and we set off an hour later in light rain. The walk went well, up and down hills, light rain for the first 24 km and fairly heavy rain for an hour. We landed in Arzua before noon, wet but happy. You see where this going.... Since we were wet already and it was still quite early we decided to go 16 more kms. Not long after we started the rain began in earnest. We walked on through beautiful forest paths. Though I had expected to be among many pilgrims during the usually busy last 100 km, we practically had the walk to ourselves, very unusual. (The last 100 k is what is required to receive the Compestela.) What we didn't know was that an alburgue housing 120 pilgrims had been closed down due to the dreaded bed bugs which explained why all of the places we stopped at for a bed were full. We walked on eventually realizing that we needed to prepare ourselves mentally for the full walk to Santiago, if we came across a place before Santiago that would only be a bonus. Not only were there hardly any pilgrims on The Way but there were hardly any cafes or villages as I had expected as we got closer. Hungry, at 6:00 pm we came across a fancy restaurant/hotel (also full) that seemed like a perfect place to have some food to refuel for the remaining approximately 15 km walk (we weren't exactly sure where we were but knew that we were just shy of 55 km, GPS info). I reviewed the menu and ordered food, feeling lucky to have found somewhere to eat at the right time. When the waiter said the kitchen was closed - Ahhh, yes, then I remembered, I'm in Spain, it is still siesta time! A bag of chips, a pear from my pack and a hunk of two day old bread and we're on our way.
The walk was quite hilly, though I still felt strong. The occasional sharp pain in my foot and knee I took only as a small protest from the body, nothing came of it. By the time we reached a large alburgue at Monte de Gozo just on the edge of Santiago we decided to check for a bed since it was about to get dark and we didn't have a room in the city which could have meant even more unexpected mileage. Fortunately the alburgue can hold 400 people and we were happy to get a bed, have a shower and hang wet clothes anywhere we could. I slept well, with my coat on, until 7:00 am.
Wednesday - Santiago 6.6 km
The short walk into the city center was exciting. I stopped for two cafe con leche and a chocolate croissant on the way to receive my Compestela. Reaching the cathedral made my heart pound and I was surprised to feel such excitement as I climbed the stairs to be guided into the office where you are asked if you walked the whole way, you must show your credential containing stamps from all of the places you stayed and explain briefly why you made the walk. The kind woman asked me if it was very hard? I stumbled to answer at first because I enjoyed it so much I find it difficult to say it was hard, but then I remember feeling that the hard part was deciding to go, wondering if I could make all of the arrangements necessary to leave, figuring out how to choose and pack everything I would need for a month that was light enough for me to carry, traveling alone in a foreign country, this was the difficult part. I can't tell the woman that as I stand silent for a moment with my thoughts, so instead I say, "Yes, sometimes it was difficult" and I leave it at that. She smiled warmly and nodded, "Yes, congratulations, you've done it". I have my Compestela stowed safely in a tube and I feel proud to have received it.
Afterwards I find a room with a single bed, my very own bathroom and a lovely small balcony that overlooks a busy square not far from the cathedral. The Mass at the cathedral was moving and emotional even though I am neither catholic nor particularly religious. I will stay here in this lovely city for two nights before making my next move. I have until Tuesday before Qi arrives to join me.
Thanks again for coming with me on this walk. It isn't finished as I will likely walk more before and after Qi comes. I'll keep you posted.
The walk was quite hilly, though I still felt strong. The occasional sharp pain in my foot and knee I took only as a small protest from the body, nothing came of it. By the time we reached a large alburgue at Monte de Gozo just on the edge of Santiago we decided to check for a bed since it was about to get dark and we didn't have a room in the city which could have meant even more unexpected mileage. Fortunately the alburgue can hold 400 people and we were happy to get a bed, have a shower and hang wet clothes anywhere we could. I slept well, with my coat on, until 7:00 am.
Wednesday - Santiago 6.6 km
The short walk into the city center was exciting. I stopped for two cafe con leche and a chocolate croissant on the way to receive my Compestela. Reaching the cathedral made my heart pound and I was surprised to feel such excitement as I climbed the stairs to be guided into the office where you are asked if you walked the whole way, you must show your credential containing stamps from all of the places you stayed and explain briefly why you made the walk. The kind woman asked me if it was very hard? I stumbled to answer at first because I enjoyed it so much I find it difficult to say it was hard, but then I remember feeling that the hard part was deciding to go, wondering if I could make all of the arrangements necessary to leave, figuring out how to choose and pack everything I would need for a month that was light enough for me to carry, traveling alone in a foreign country, this was the difficult part. I can't tell the woman that as I stand silent for a moment with my thoughts, so instead I say, "Yes, sometimes it was difficult" and I leave it at that. She smiled warmly and nodded, "Yes, congratulations, you've done it". I have my Compestela stowed safely in a tube and I feel proud to have received it.
Afterwards I find a room with a single bed, my very own bathroom and a lovely small balcony that overlooks a busy square not far from the cathedral. The Mass at the cathedral was moving and emotional even though I am neither catholic nor particularly religious. I will stay here in this lovely city for two nights before making my next move. I have until Tuesday before Qi arrives to join me.
Thanks again for coming with me on this walk. It isn't finished as I will likely walk more before and after Qi comes. I'll keep you posted.
Monday, 24 September 2012
Portomarin - 34 km, Palas de Rei - 27 km
Sunday - Samos to Portomarin 34 km. We rose early to walk at 6:00 am, I had a restless night and was up since 4:00 am. The chorus of snoring seems to wake me sometimes more than others, I wonder if I've had too many cafe con leches? After packing to go we soon realize that the rain is coming down so hard there is no point in going until closer to sunrise, so instead we don the rain gear and walk 20 meters to the cafe to wait it out. This is the first rain of my journey. By 7:30 am we walk. The long johns I chose to wear for the first time on this trip seem like a good idea for about 20 minutes until we start walking so fast all I can think about is finding a place to shed them. Sarria was the first stop around 9:30 am at a bar/cafe. Two young men arrive at the bar to refresh their drinks ( I remind you this is before 10:00 am on a Sunday morning.) They are so inebriated they can hardly talk, when they sit down at the table with us, we smiled and packed up our bags to continue the journey. Rain comes and goes and huge wind gusts rustle the trees so much I was a little afraid of flying branches. As we crossed a very long bridge into Portomarin the wind gusts were so strong I had to brace myself and take double steps to get my balance more than once. Later when we checked the weather we see that there had been 80 km/hr winds! After reaching the town square pilgrims mill about saying all the alburgues are full and we'll probably have to walk on another 8 km. Fortunately we found a lovely place on the edge of town, shopped and cooked a meal in the alburgue kitchen. There are small skirmishes in the kitchen as many pilgrims vie for pots and pans to cook with. Alas, a lovely group meal was enjoyed with my Camino friends.
Monday - Palas de Rei 27 km. With only two days to Santiago (all going well) I have finally figured out how to creep out of the alburgue without making noise. This makes me smile. The weather has changed abruptly over the past two days, no more hot afternoons, this does make the walking easier. A Camino friend and I opt to share a room with two beds instead of face another alberque with up to 100+ people in one room. Santiago is closer and I'm both looking forward to being there and sad to be so close. Somehow I find it hard to imagine getting up and not walking. I'm addicted to the routine after only three weeks and it seems like there is no better way to spend a day. I miss running however and look forward to shedding my pack so that I can see how it feels to run after a month off. It makes me smile to think that I'm going to run a marathon in November without actually training and also when I a realize that I'm so conditioned to looking for the yellow arrows that point The Way I'll be searching for them when I'm home. [752 km to date]
Monday - Palas de Rei 27 km. With only two days to Santiago (all going well) I have finally figured out how to creep out of the alburgue without making noise. This makes me smile. The weather has changed abruptly over the past two days, no more hot afternoons, this does make the walking easier. A Camino friend and I opt to share a room with two beds instead of face another alberque with up to 100+ people in one room. Santiago is closer and I'm both looking forward to being there and sad to be so close. Somehow I find it hard to imagine getting up and not walking. I'm addicted to the routine after only three weeks and it seems like there is no better way to spend a day. I miss running however and look forward to shedding my pack so that I can see how it feels to run after a month off. It makes me smile to think that I'm going to run a marathon in November without actually training and also when I a realize that I'm so conditioned to looking for the yellow arrows that point The Way I'll be searching for them when I'm home. [752 km to date]
Saturday, 22 September 2012
O Cebreiro - 29.5 km, Samos - 34 km
Friday - O Cebreiro 29.5 km, I had a magical day on the top of O Cebreiro. The weather was perfect for the task of climbing, a bit of sun and occasionally cloudy.The climb was steady at first until at La Faba it became a very steep and rocky trail. My walking partner for the day was a young pilgrim less than half my age (as was pointed out during the climb). We attacked the steep sections with gusto. Sweating and puffing my way up that climb was energizing. Loving every minute of it I was also very thankful that there were some less steep sections to allow my heart a few moments to recover before it had to work hard again. The view up the mountain was beautiful and somewhat daunting as it seemed almost impossible to think that we could actually be climbing to the top. Lush green fields all around, and tractors that looked so small your brain tells you it must surely be a toy. We stopped at the last rest place to refill water bottles and have an electrolyte drink, ready for the final 2.5 km ascent. As it turned out the hardest part was done and before we knew it we were at the top enjoying spectacular views all around. The energy in the small village was enchanting as many happy pilgrim's wandered about, some limping others looking exhausted but all looking satisfied and happy to have arrived. After the usual shower, laundry routine I enjoyed a hot bowl of delicious potatoe soup and the sunny afternoon sitting outside drinking cafe con leche chatting with pilgrims about their respective journeys. (I had a sore tendon above my foot for a few hours but after I rested it seemed to forgive me and stopped hurting. This seems to be a common pilgrim injury.) A wonderful dinner with agroup of pilgrims ended a perfect day for me atop O Cebreio.
The nighttime sleep went less well with a busy room full of pilgrims, some snoring, others rising at 3:00 am to pack and walk for the day. Onward.
Saturday - Samos 34km. The walk to Samos was more challenging than expected. Somehow I imagined an easy-ish descent after another small climb. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep but the walk seemed more difficult than I anticipated. The pilgrim route was very busy until a small group of us headed toward Samos, a small diversion before reaching the next bigger town along The Way. It was good to be on the less crowded, shady and picturesque route to Samos.
... I have to continue later as I'm heading out of wifi zone into the first rainy day I've had. Squelch, squelch.
The nighttime sleep went less well with a busy room full of pilgrims, some snoring, others rising at 3:00 am to pack and walk for the day. Onward.
Saturday - Samos 34km. The walk to Samos was more challenging than expected. Somehow I imagined an easy-ish descent after another small climb. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep but the walk seemed more difficult than I anticipated. The pilgrim route was very busy until a small group of us headed toward Samos, a small diversion before reaching the next bigger town along The Way. It was good to be on the less crowded, shady and picturesque route to Samos.
... I have to continue later as I'm heading out of wifi zone into the first rainy day I've had. Squelch, squelch.
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Villafranca del Bierzo - 42.5 km
There is a good reason for the marathon distance today. Tomorrow will be the last very big climb on the Camino, up a mountain called O Cebreiro. The weather prediction was for rain on Saturday, so a decision was made to walk to the base of the mountain today hoping for good weather tomorrow during the climb.
The Camino is changing as we get closer to Santiago. Buildings and homes are more modern and certainly the towns and villages are more populated. More people have joined the route as new pilgrims start in Burgos and Leon. There are many new faces every day. I'm staying in a place called Ave Fenix, it is funky and friendly. (It was also among the very last rooms in town as we arrived late). A pleasant walk around the town looking for the food market lead me to beautiful garden among streets that seem to go off in all directions. I did find my way back to the alburgue but it was a bit of a fluke. We ate a communal dinner with delicious chickpea soup, salad and fried egg with melon for dessert. As I was sitting on my bed packing for the morning a cat brushed up against my leg, somewhat of a surprise. The man above me is snoring softly and people mill about as the curfew approaches. I'm hoping for a reasonable night sleep before an early morning start. My quads are a little sore from the steep downhills over the past two days ( and perhaps from the steep climb and high mileage :-). Thanks for following me on my journey.
The Camino is changing as we get closer to Santiago. Buildings and homes are more modern and certainly the towns and villages are more populated. More people have joined the route as new pilgrims start in Burgos and Leon. There are many new faces every day. I'm staying in a place called Ave Fenix, it is funky and friendly. (It was also among the very last rooms in town as we arrived late). A pleasant walk around the town looking for the food market lead me to beautiful garden among streets that seem to go off in all directions. I did find my way back to the alburgue but it was a bit of a fluke. We ate a communal dinner with delicious chickpea soup, salad and fried egg with melon for dessert. As I was sitting on my bed packing for the morning a cat brushed up against my leg, somewhat of a surprise. The man above me is snoring softly and people mill about as the curfew approaches. I'm hoping for a reasonable night sleep before an early morning start. My quads are a little sore from the steep downhills over the past two days ( and perhaps from the steep climb and high mileage :-). Thanks for following me on my journey.
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